Higher Order Modulations and GSM/EDGE Radio Access Network Evolution

The GSM/EDGE radio access network (GERAN) is continuously evolving to support higher peak data rates and to improve coverage. The evolution process is controlled by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specification work, within the technical specification group (TSG) GERAN and its working groups. One of the proposals how to increase the radio network performance is the usage of higher order modulations such as quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). That could be seen as a straight step when compared to the introduction of the additional 8-PSK modulation in 3GPP Release 99. The performance evaluation of higher order modulation namely 16-QAM in GSM environment is presented. A comparison with other candidates such as the dual symbol rate is discussed. The effects of transceiver and receiver impairments, frequency hopping, and power amplifier non-linearity are examined separately with the help of a link layer simulator. The obtained results are compared with 3GPP objectives approved on the 24^th TSG GERAN meeting