Performance analysis of LTE-advanced networks in different spectrum bands

Hutchison 3G under the brand name of Three launched 3rd Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP Rel 5 High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) networks, worldwide. The HSDPA network is capable of delivering data rates up to 21 Mbps today. In Rel 7, 3GPP standardised HSPA Evolution (HSPA+) which was specified to deliver maximum user data rates up to 42 Mbps by using dual Carrier Aggregation and 64 QAM in the Downlink. Since the launch of HSDPA network in the UK, Hutchison 3G observed significant increase in the data traffic. In order to deliver Mobile BroadBand (MBB) services to its customers more efficiently, Three UK has started to focus on new technologies which have been standardised by 3GPP in Rel 8/9/10. Although Long Term Evolution (LTE) network performance was studied by other researchers, the aim of this paper is to analyse the performance of LTE Carrier Aggregation (CA) in different spectrum bands to meet the International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced (IMT-Advanced) requirements.