Non-regular network performance comparison between HSDPA and LTE

In this paper we study and benchmark the performance of 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) Downlink with constant bit rate type traffic. In addition a non-regular simulation scenario is considered using realistic propagation data and base station positions related to Tokyo city downtown area. HSDPA was introduced in 3GPP Release 5 and in further releases the technology has been improved with e.g. receive and transmit diversity technologies and support for higher order modulation schemes. LTE was introduced in 3GPP Release 8 with completely new physical layer and improved Radio Resource Management (RRM) functionalities. The benchmarking is performed with fully dynamic system level simulators based on detailed and commonly accepted models for e.g. mobility, propagation, call generation and fading. The results show that LTE Release 8 outperforms HSDPA Release 8 in terms of spectral efficiency and user throughput. With 8 UEs per cell and LTE MIMO about 90% of UEs are fully satisfied, while about 45% of the UEs are fully satisfied with HSDPA MIMO. This results also about 30% gain in spectral efficiency even through with LTE the network is running half empty due to uneven UE distribution in non-regular network with variable cell sizes.