4G Americas, a wireless industry trade association representing the 3GPP family of technologies, today announced that it has published a new white paper, titled, Self-Optimizing Networks - The Benefits of SON in LTE, which describes the motivation behind SON and the potential benefits it brings to network operations.

“Recent deployments of HSPA+ and LTE have highlighted the need and opportunity for self-organizing capabilities within the network that enhance network performance and permit potential reductions in operational expenses,” said Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas. “Self-optimizing features in the network are part of the network solutions toolkit for operators to continue to attempt to meet the extraordinary demands on the network. Yet, SON is just part of the answer and the industry continues to need much more spectrum.”

Self-Optimizing and Self-Organizing Networks (SON) can significantly improve network performance and user experience. SON is a key component of LTE and is being standardized by 3GPP with key SON features contained in 3GPP LTE Release 8, Release 9 and Release 10.

The white paper describes key features from the 3GPP standardization and how these capabilities will positively impact network operations in HSPA+ and LTE networks. In addition, the paper explains the newer features of LTE SON in Release 10 and how they will address self-optimization and self-healing that will allow the networks to operate more efficiently while providing overall improved user performance.  The application of SON techniques to address deployment and operational challenges with Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS), and picocells, femtocells and relays also are described to address the impact of SON on a variety of radio systems. 

Some conclusions of the white paper are:

• LTE SON leverages network intelligence, automation and network management features in order to automate the configuration and optimization of wireless networks, thereby lowering costs and improving network performance and flexibility 
• A key goal of LTE SON standardization is the support for multi-vendor network environments, which has resulted in the definition of standard messaging formats to convey information between entities that can be used to implement a given SON algorithm
• Strong operator interest in LTE SON is evident from the significant SON contributions coming from organizations such as the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN), and examples of the deployment of various SON use cases by LTE operators in their respective networks
• Results from SON trials in a live HSPA network demonstrate the benefits for operators and provide further validation of the potential benefits of SON in LTE networks 

Pearson added, “The scope of LTE SON functionality will clearly continue to expand and evolve with upcoming releases of the LTE standard, thereby ensuring LTE’s continued success in tomorrow’s wireless marketplace.”

Self-Optimizing Networks - The Benefits of SON in LTE was written collaboratively by members of 4G Americas and is available for free download at: www.4gamericas.org.

About 4G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Mobile Broadband Technology

4G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of leading telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization's mission is to promote, facilitate and advocate for the deployment and adoption of the 3GPP family of technologies throughout the Americas. 4G Americas contributes to the successful commercial rollout of 3GPP mobile broadband technologies across the Americas and their place as the No. 1 technology family in the region. The organization aims to develop the expansive wireless ecosystem of networks, devices, and applications enabled by GSM and its evolution to LTE. 4G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., with an office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Dallas. More information is available at www.4gamericas.org.

4G Americas' Board of Governors members include: Alcatel-Lucent, América Móvil, AT&T, Cable & Wireless, CommScope, Ericsson, Gemalto, HP, Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks, Openwave, Powerwave, Qualcomm, Research In Motion (RIM), Rogers, Shaw Communications, T-Mobile USA and Telefónica.