Preface

Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is arguably one of the most important steps in the current phase of the development of modern mobile communications. It provides a suitable base for enhanced services due to increased data throughput and lower latency figures, and also gives extra impetus to the modernization of telecom architectures. The decision to leave the circuit-switched domain out of the scope of LTE/SAE system standardization might sound radical but it indicates that the telecom world is going strongly for the all-IP concept—and the deployment of LTE/SAE is concrete evidence of this global trend.

LTE specifications define evolved radio access for 3GPP's 3G evolution path and so they have an important influence on the core development of the new mobile network system. Along with requirements for high-speed data support for the radio network, the core network specifications have been updated to guarantee end-to-end performance. The specification work under the same 3GPP umbrella ensures that all the relevant aspects are covered in the interworking of the evolved radio and core, as well as between previous generations of 3GPP 2G and 3G networks.