45 NTT DOCOMO Technical Journal Vol. 13 No.

4
2012 NTT DOCOMO, INC.
Copies of articles may be reproduced only for per-
sonal, noncommercial use, provided that the name
NTT DOCOMO Technical Journal, the name(s) of
the author(s), the title and date of the article appear
in the copies.
*1 Core network: A network comprising
switching equipment, subscriber information
management equipment, etc. A mobile termi-
nal communicates with the core network via a
radio access network.
*2 IMS: A communication system to realize mul-
timedia communications by consolidating
communication services offered by circuit
switching, using IP technologies such as SIP.
VoLTE IMS GSMA
1. Introduction
Since both LTE and Evolved Pack-
et Core (EPC, which is a core network
*1
accommodating LTE) are All-IP net-
works for offering high-speed mobile
broadband and multimedia services
[1][2], it is inevitable that voice services
provided over LTE which is the sub-
ject of this article adopt an IP-based
system.
The GSM Association (GSMA), an
industry organization, has conducted
studies on Voice over LTE (VoLTE)
using the IP Multimedia Subsystem
(IMS)
*2
platform - IMS being a system
standardized by the 3GPP for IP-based
multimedia services - as a means to
provide voice services over LTE, and a
document called VoLTE Profile has
been drawn up which specifies a set of
minimum required functions [3].
This article describes the back-
ground to the creation of the VoLTE
Profile, its specifications and the basic
procedures VoLTE follows.
2. Background
When the specifications of LTE
were first completed in 3GPP Release
8, there were several systems existing
to provide conventional circuit
switched voice and SMS services (that
have been offered in 3G radio access)
over LTE which does not have circuit
switched domain
*3
Those included the
3GPP-standardized Circuit Switched
Fallback (CSFB)
*4
[4], the IMS [5] and
the non-internationally standardized
Voice over LTE via Generic Access
(VoLGA)
*5
[6].
Due to the existence of these multi-
ple systems, there were strong concerns
that unless service operators adopt the
same system, there would be adverse
impact on the service qualities includ-
ing interoperability and international
roaming. It was also feared that the
adoption of different systems would not
allow the equipment vendors to take
advantage of scale so that equipment
Overview of GSMA VoLTE Profile
Itsuma Tanaka
0
Takashi Koshimizu
0
It was agreed in the GSMA in February 2010 that voice ser-
vices over LTE (VoLTE) shall use the IMS platform stan-
dardized by the 3GPP with a view to maximizing internation-
al interoperability. This article describes the background
behind the adoption of VoLTE using IMS, the contents of the
VoLTE profile which is a technical specification drafted by
the GSMA for VoLTE implementation and, the technical
details of IMS registration and voice call origination proce-
dures which form the basics of VoLTE.
Core Network Development Department
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46 NTT DOCOMO Technical Journal Vol. 13 No. 4
Overview of GSMA VoLTE Profile
investments by the network operators
would increase.
In order to solve these issues it was
necessary for the industry to adopt a
single system for voice, and the GSMA
undertook from 2009 to 2010 to draft a
service migration plan for VoLTE (Fig-
ure 1).
The VoLTE envisaged by the
GSMA, while accepting systems using
CSFB and VoLGA as transitional steps,
sets out the system using IMS as the
final goal, and agreement has been
reached on aiming at this final goal.
Against such a background, the
VoLTE Profile is the technical specifi-
cations drafted by the GSMA to imple-
ment VoLTE using IMS.
3. Overview of VoLTE
Profile
3.1 Scope of VoLTE Profile
Specifications
The VoLTE Profile, as shown in
the VoLTE network configuration in
Figure 2, specifies the minimum
mandatory functional set out of the
optional functions for the interface
between the terminal and the core net-
work (User-Network Interface (UNI))
in the IMS specified by the 3GPP. In
particular, there are specifications each
of the basic functions/optional services
provided by the IMS, its voice media
such as codec, and the various
LTE/EPC capabilities.
The VoLTE Profile has been speci-
fied based on 3GPP Release 8 but, in
addition, the functions standardized in
Releases 9 and 10 have also been partly
adopted.
It should be noted, however, that
the specifications for the Network-Net-
work Interface (NNI) an interface
relevant to roaming and interoperability
are outside the scope of the VoLTE
Profile although they are being studied
in other specifications.
3.2 Network Configuration
and Basic Functions of
VoLTE
As shown in fig. 2, VoLTE encom-
passes three areas: terminals, the
LTE/EPC and the IMS. The LTE/EPC
consists of five modules for mobility
*3 Circuit switched domain: A functional
block of a network offering circuit switched
services.
*4 CSFB: A function to enable voice services
provided in the circuit switched domain by
switching to W-CDMA or GSM systems when
originating/terminating a voice call while
camped on an LTE network.
*5 VoLGA: A technology to offer virtual circuit
switched voice services by accommodating the
LTE radio in circuit switched networks.
Circuit switched
Voice
3G era Final goal
LTE introduction-
Migration phase
IMS
VoLTE
VoLGA
CSFB
Figure 1 Voice service migration
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47 NTT DOCOMO Technical Journal Vol. 13 No. 4
and the QoS control: the eNodeB
*6
, the
Mobility Management Entity (MME)
*7
,
the Serving Gateway (SGW)
*8
, the
Packet Data Network Gateway
(PGW)
*9
and the Policy and Charging
Rules Function (PCRF)
*10
. The IMS is
comprised of four modules for voice
session control
*11
: the Proxy Call/Ses-
sion Control Function (P-CSCF)
*12
, the
Serving Call/Session Control Function
(S-CSCF)
*13
, the Interrogating Call/Ses-
sion Control Function (I-CSCF)
*14
and
the Application Server (AS).
Among the basic functions of the
IMS, there are the IMS registration con-
trol for setting up transmission paths
between the terminal and the IMS
equipment, security functions for user
authentication and the basic voice call
origination/termination function. These
functions are controlled by Session Ini-
tiation Protocol (SIP)
*15
and are
described in detail in Chapter 4.
3.3 IMS Supplementary
Services
Terminals and networks conform-
ing to the VoLTE Profile must be
equipped with the following three func-
tions: call forwarding, caller ID presen-
tation/restriction, call-waiting/holding
and multi-party conference call provid-
ed by the IMS; operator determined
barring control by network operators;
and, SMS over IP, so as to inherit the
supplementary services which have
been provided in current circuit
switched networks.
In enabling the users to start/stop
supplementary services, Unstructured
Supplementary Service Data (USSD)
*16
has been conventionally used between
the terminal and the core network.
Howerer, in VoLTE, XML Configura-
tion Access Protocol (XCAP)
*17
defined
by the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF)
*18
and the 3GPP is used.
3.4 Voice Codec
Adaptive Multi-Rate Narrow Band
(AMR-NB)
*19
that is used in the current
*6 eNodeB: A node accommodating base station
and radio link control functions in the LTE
radio access system.
*7 MME: A logical node accommodating the
eNodeB and providing mobility management.
*8 SGW: A packet gateway in the camped-on
network accommodating 3GPP access systems.
*9 PGW: A gateway serving as the interface with
the IMS platform and performing IP address
allocation, packet transfer to the SGW, etc.
*10 PCRF: A logical node for controlling user data
QoS and charging.
*11 Session control: A function to manage end-
to-end type IP communications by the network.
*12 P-CSCF: A server for relaying SIP (see*15)
messages located at the interface point to the
EPC. It not only relays SIP messages but also
has the role of triggering QoS control in coor-
dination with the EPC.
*13 S-CSCF: A SIP (see*15) server performing ter-
minal session control and user authentication.
*14 I-CSCF: A SIP (see*15) gateway server that a
remote network first connects to when inter-
connecting networks or roaming. It has the
roles of identifying the S-CSCF and relaying
messages.
*15 SIP: A standardized protocol in the IMS appli-
cation services that performs session initiation,
modification and termination necessary for
exchanging voice, video, text, etc. among mul-
tiple clients.
*16 USSD: A protocol used when setting various
parameters in circuit switched optional ser-
vices.
*17 XCAP: A protocol used when setting various
parameters in IMS optional services.
VoLTE
terminal
Scope of VoLTE Profile
*NNI for roaming and
interconnection outside
scope of VoLTE Profile
Scope of VoLTE roaming and interconnection studies
(1) UNI specifications for basic functions
and optional services provided by IMS
(2) Codec specifications (3) LTE/EPC capability specifications
MME
LTE/EPC
IMS
eNodeB SGW
IMS UNI
PGW P-CSCF
PCRF
S-CSCF
AS
I-CSCF
Other networks
Other networks
NNI for interconnection
NNI for roaming
Figure 2 VoLTE network configuration
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48 NTT DOCOMO Technical Journal Vol. 13 No. 4
Overview of GSMA VoLTE Profile
3G circuit switched voice services has
been specified as the mandatory voice
codec in VoLTE. In addition, AMR
Wide Band (AMR-WB)
*20
voice codec
having a better quality can also be used
as an option. In transmitting the voice
media, Real Time Protocol (RTP)
*21
and RTP Control Protocol (RTCP)
*22
are used over User Datagram Protocol
(UDP)
*23
/IP.
When initiating a voice call, com-
municating terminals exchange capabil-
ity information between each other and
a common codec installed on both ter-
minals is selected as the codec to be
used.
Tone signaling using Dual-Tone
Multiple Frequency (DTMF)
*24
is also
specified as mandatory for the terminals
and networks.
3.5 Capabilities Relevant to
LTE/EPC
By connecting to an Access Point
Name (APN)
*25
for VoLTE immediate-
ly after the power is switched on, a ter-
minal is set up ready to originate/termi-
nate a voice call at any moment. The
APN for VoLTE uses a globally shared
format and its bearer is completely sep-
arated from other data services such as
the Internet.
One of the reasons why such a
specification to separate the APN was
agreed to is because it was considered
necessary to enable emergency calls to
the local emergency agencies via the
camped-on network even when the ter-
minal is roaming.
The LTE/EPC realizes a high level
of voice quality in VoLTE by guaran-
teeing the necessary bandwidth for
communication through an appropriate
QoS control by the LTE/EPC layer.
In transmitting the SIP and XCAP
signals, which are the control signals
for VoLTE, a QoS specified exclusive-
ly for SIP is used (QCI
*26
=5), and in
transmitting voice media, a QoS with
guaranteed bandwidth and a minimum
transmission delay is used (QCI=1).
Therefore, in the LTE/EPC, two
bearers are required, one for the SIP
signaling and another for the voice
media.
4. Overview of VoLTE
Basic Control
4.1 Procedures from Power Switch-
on to IMS Registration
Figure 3 shows the control proce-
dures from the moment of the VoLTE
terminals power is switched on until it
reaches a status where voice communi-
cation becomes possible.
Before voice communication
becomes possible, following two proce-
dural steps need to be performed, name-
ly LTE Attach
*27
and IMS registration.
As the first step, when the power is
switched on (fig. 3(1)), the terminal
sends an Attach request message to the
MME (fig. 3(2)). A destination APN is
not sent from the terminal at this
moment.
The MME that has received the
Attach request conducts location regis-
tration together with the Home Sub-
scriber Server (HSS)
*28
(fig. 3 (3)), and
downloads the subscriber profile
*29
con-
taining the APN for VoLTE.
The MME decides the destination
PGW based on the VoLTE APN infor-
mation that has been obtained and
makes a request to set up a bearer
between the SGW and the PGW (fig. 3
(4)).
Within its bearer setup procedure,
the PGW assigns a terminal IP address
and at the same time identifies the
address of the P-CSCF the terminal will
be connecting to (fig. 3(5)). The PGW
sets this address in the Protocol Config-
uration Option (PCO) an informa-
tion element used for direct communi-
cation between the PGW and the termi-
nal and passes it to the MME via the
SGW (fig. 3 (6)). The MME sends to
the terminal, by way of the Attach com-
pletion message, the PCO with the P-
CSCF address, thereby completing the
Attach procedure to the LTE/EPC (fig.
3 (7)).
As the next step, after the Attach
procedure is finished, the terminal will
*18 IETF: A standardization organization that
develops and promotes standards for Internet
technology. Technical specifications formulat-
ed in this body are published as Request For
Comment (RFCs).
*19 AMR-NB: One of the voice codecs used in, for
example, telephony services.
*20 AMR-WB: A voice codec used in, for exam-
ple, telephony services, having a better quality
than that of AMR-NB.
*21 RTP: A protocol standardized by the IETF for
delivering voice, video and other media in real
time.
*22 RTCP: A communication protocol for tasks
such as controlling transmission rates by
exchanging information on data reception sta-
tus between the device and streaming servers.
Used in combination with RTP.
*23 UDP: An upper-layer protocol above IP, nor-
mally used in the Internet. Unlike in the case of
TCP, functions such as confirmation of the
establishment of communication between the
server and the terminal or the re-transmission
of dropped or lost data are omitted.
*24 DTMF: A method to send audio tones uniquely
allocated to each button of a telephone set.
Alternatively called tone-signals or push-tones.
*25 APN: The name of a network connection point
used by users to connect to the network when
performing data communication.
*26 QCI: QoS classes specified by the 3GPP for
bearers in the LTE/EPC. There are values of 1
to 9, and the smaller the value is the more the
bandwidth is guaranteed and the smaller the
transmission delay.
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49 NTT DOCOMO Technical Journal Vol. 13 No. 4
start the IMS registration process (fig. 3
(8)). In this process, the terminal must
set the International Mobile Equipment
Identifier (IMEI) for the identification
of the terminal, and the IMS Communi-
cation Service Identifier (ICSI) value
declaring an IMS voice service so that
these pieces of information can be used
for service control, charging and other
purposes.
Furthermore, because LTE has high
transmission efficiencies, it is specified
that Signaling Compression (SigComp),
a technology for compressing SIP sig-
nals, is not to be used.
When the IMS registration request
arrives from the terminal via the P-
CSCF, the S-CSCF performs registra-
tion procedures with the HSS (fig. 3
(9)a). At this point in time, the S-CSCF
acquires the information necessary for
user authentication and proceeds with
the authentication procedure for the ter-
minal (fig. 3 (9)b). After the authentica-
tion has succeeded, the S-CSCF down-
loads (fig. 3 (9)c) and stores the service
control information of the user from the
HSS. Then, the S-CSCF notifies the ter-
minal that the registration is completed
(fig. 3 (10)) thereby finishing the IMS
registration process.
4.2 Voice Call Origination
Next, the origination of a VoLTE
call is described by means of Figure 4.
In the VoLTE profile, a scheme called
the precondition is adopted whereby
a session is established after bearers for
the voice media for both originating
and terminating directions are set up.
When the user initiates a voice call
(fig. 4 (1)), the INVITE message sent
by the terminal travels to the terminat-
ing terminal via the P-CSCF, the S-
CSCF and the AS (fig. 4 (2)). The
INVITE message is set with, for exam-
ple, the identifiers of the originating/ter-
minating terminals, the declaration for
*27 Attach: A procedure to register a terminal on
the network when, for example, its power is
switched on.
*28 HSS: The subscriber information database in
3GPP mobile communication networks. Man-
ages authentication and location information.
*29 Subscriber profile: Information necessary
for service management such as contract, user
settings and camp-on.
VoLTE
terminal
(9)a. Registration and authentication
(9)c. Service information download
(1) Power-on
(2) Attach request
(7) Completion of Attach
(8) IMS registration request
(9)b. Authentication
(10) Completion of IMS registration
(3) Location registration
(Download APN for VoLTE)
LTE/EPC
HSS
eNodeB
MME/SGW
(P-CSCF address)
PGW P-CSCF AS S-CSCF
IMS
(4) Setting up of
bearer for VoLTE
(6) Bearer response
(5) Terminal IP address
and P-CSCF allocation
(P-CSCF address)
SIP
bearer
LTE Attach
IMS registration (SIP)
Figure 3 Control procedures from VoLTE terminal power switch-on to IMS registration
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50 NTT DOCOMO Technical Journal Vol. 13 No. 4
Overview of GSMA VoLTE Profile
using the precondition, and the codec
capability of the originating terminal.
The terminating network responds
with a 183 Session Progress message
(fig. 4 (3)). The 183 Session Progress
message is set with information such as
the codecs on the terminating terminal.
When this is received by the P-CSCF, it
commands the PCRF to set up a dedi-
cated bearer for voice media (fig. 4 (4)).
The PCRF, in coordination with other
devices in the EPC such as the PGW
and the SGW, sets up the bearer for the
voice transmission with the appropriate
QoS (fig. 4 (5)).
The P-CSCF at the same time sends
a 183 Session Progressmessage to the
originating terminal. Upon receipt of
the message (fig. 4 (6)), the originating
terminal compares the capability of the
terminating terminal with that of its
own and determines the codec to be
used. Then, the originating terminal
notifies the terminating terminal using
the PRACK message the codec that has
been selected, and 200 OK message
is received from the terminating termi-
nal (fig. 4 (7)).
Following this, when both terminals
have confirmed the set up of the bearer
for the voice transmission with the QoS
based on the UPDATE message from
the originating terminal and the 200
OKmessage, which has been sent as
the response to the UPDATE massage
(fig. 4 (8)), the terminating terminal
starts playing ringtones to notify the
incoming call to the user (fig. 4 (9)
(10)).
When the user on the terminating
side responds (fig. 4 (11)), a 200 OK
message is received by the originating
Originating
VoLTE
terminal
(1) Call origination
(2) INVITE
MME
/SGW
LTE/EPC
eNodeB PGW
PCRF
(7) PRACK+200 OK
(12) 200 OK
(8) UPDATE+200 OK
(10) RINGING+PRACK
(Codec information of terminating terminal)
(Capability/codec of originating terminal)
(Notification of codec selected)
(Completion confirmation of setting up of bearer for voice media)
P-CSCF AS S-CSCF
Terminating IMS
IMS
(6) 183 Session Progress
(5) Setting up of bearer for voice media
Bearer
for SIP
Bearer
for voice
media
(9) Calling
(11) Response
(13) Voice media
(in communication)
(4) Service notification
(3) 183 Session Progress
(Capability/codec of terminating terminal)
Figure 4 Voice call origination
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51 NTT DOCOMO Technical Journal Vol. 13 No. 4
terminal, and the session is established
(fig. 4 (12)), thereby starting the actual
voice communication (fig. 4 (12)).
5. Conclusion
This article has described the back-
ground to VoLTE using IMS specified
by the GSMA and to the VoLTE Pro-
file, network configuration, minimum
mandatory functions and the basic
VoLTE call control flow.
Now that the specification of the
VoLTE Profile is completed (as of the
summer of 2010) the GSMA is current-
ly working on VoLTE international
roaming and interoperability systems.
NTT DOCOMO intends to actively
contribute to these studies.
References
[1] GSMA PRD IR.92 : IMS Profile for Voice
and SMS, Mar. 2011.
[2] M.Yabusaki : All-IP Mobile Network,
Ohmsha, 2009 (in Japanese).
[3] K.Nishida et al. : Basic SAE Management
Technology for Realizing All-IP Network,
NTT DOCOMO Technical Journal, Vol.11,
No.3, pp.4-12, Dec. 2009.
[4] I.Tanaka et al.: CS Fallback Function for
Combined LTE and 3G Circuit Switched
Services, NTT DOCOMO Technical Jour-
nal, Vol.11, No.3, pp.13-19, Dec. 2009.
[5] 3GPP TS23.228 V11.2.0 : IP Multimedia
Subsystem (IMS) ; Stage 2, Jul. 2010.
[6] VoLGA Forum Homepage.
http://www.volga-forum.com/
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