Implementing Carrier Aggregation on 4G Long Term Evolution-Advanced Network in a Dense Urban Area: A Techno-Economic Assessment

Abstract

The implementation of mobile cellular networks of the fourth generation, known as 4G Long Term Evolution-Advanced (4G LTE-A), is accelerating throughout the globe. Thus, the number of users in any given area is bound to rise with technological advancements. However, internet connec-tivity has become challenging in Indonesia, particularly in the dense urban area of Central Jakarta, due to network conges-tion caused by the region’s enormous population of users and limited existing frequency. Therefore, this research aims to utilize the 2100 MHz frequency band as an additional fre-quency for the 4G LTE-A network in the dense urban Cen-tral Jakarta region. Furthermore, this research employs a techno-economic assessment of the deployment of 4G LTE-A with and without carrier aggregation (CA). The purpose is to see if expanding the 4G LTE-A network in the study area by adding the 2100 MHz frequency and utilizing the CA method is feasible and beneficial. According to the results, using the CA technique leads to fewer eNodeB requirements in the dense urban area of Central Jakarta than without the CA technique. Furthermore, through network simulation soft-ware, Forsk Atoll, good quality of the Key Performance Indi-cators (KPI) is obtained. In addition, based on the business perspective, this research acquired good Net Present Value (NPV), and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) values are ob-tained, with returns on capital in the range of two to three years. Overall, these findings indicate that deploying 4G LTE-A technology in the planning region using 2100 MHz as an additional frequency with the CA technique is feasible and beneficial for cellular operators.