LTE Radio Sharing Session – Partner

5 September 2016
OVERVIEW
Evolution to LTE
• LTE is the next step in mobile radio communications after HSPA
• Evolution driven by data rate and latency requirements
Main LTE Requirements
• Peak data rates of uplink/downlink 75/150 Mbps with 1 carrier of 20 MHz
• Reduced Latency:
- Enables round trip time <10 ms (compared with HSPA+ which is < 30ms with 2ms TTI)
• Ensure good level of mobility and security
- Optimized for low mobile speed but also support high mobile speed
• Frequency flexibility and bandwidth scalability:
- with 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 MHz allocations
• Improved Spectrum Efficiency:
- Capacity 2-4 times higher than with Release 6 HSPA
• Efficient support of the various types of services, especially from the PS domain
- Packet switched optimized
• Operation in FDD and TDD modes
• Improved terminal power efficiency
• Support for inter-working with existing 3GPP system and non-3GPP specified systems
LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) in 3GPP Release 10
• DL Spectral efficiency 2.4 bps/Hz/cell (1.7 bps/Hz/cell in LTE) for a 2x2 antenna configuration
• Downlink data rates up to 1 Gbps (low mobility) and 100 Mbps (high mobility) and Uplink data rates up to 500Mbps
• Reduced Latency
• Uplink MIMO (up to 4Tx) and further DL MIMO (up to 8x8)
• Backwards compatibility and interworking with LTE and other 3GPP legacy systems
• Support for wider bandwidth (up to 100MHz) by carrier aggregation
• LTE-A terminals may Rx/Tx on multiple component carriers simultaneously to reach the higher bandwidths

Both
Bothcontiguous
contiguousandandnon-contiguous
non-contiguousCarrier
CA is
supported
Aggregation
offering
is supported
improvedoffering
spectrumimproved
flexibility
spectrum (e.g.
flexibility
for refarming).
(e.g. for refarming)

More info 3GPP TS36.814

What is new in LTE?
- New radio transmission schemes:
• OFDMA in downlink
• SC-FDMA in uplink
• MIMO Multiple Antenna Technology
- New network architecture: flat architecture
• More functionality in the base station (eNodeB)
• Focus on packet switched domain
- New radio protocol architecture:
• Complexity reduction
• Focus on shared channel operation, no dedicated channels
anymore
‒ Important for Radio Planning:
• Frequency Reuse 1
No need for Frequency Planning
Importance of interference control
• No need to define neighbour lists in LTE
• LTE requires Physical Layer Cell Identity planning
(504 physical layer cell IDs organised into 168
groups of 3)
• Additional areas need to be planned like PRACH
parameters, PUCCH and PDCCH capacity and UL
Demodulation Reference Signal
NETWORK ARCHITECTURE
Evolution to LTE

• Flat architecture: single network element in user plane in radio network and core network
Evolved Packet System (EPS) Architecture - Subsystems

PDN: Packet Data Network HSS: Home Subscriber Server (part of IMS)
PCRF: Policy and Charging Rule Function
Evolved Node B (eNB)
eNB Main Functions
Inter-cell RRM: HO, load balancing between cells
Dynamic Resource Allocation (Scheduler)
Radio Admission Control
User Data Routing to the S-GW/ P-GW
Transmission of Paging Msg coming from MME
• Only network element defined as part of e-UTRAN
• Replaces the old Node B / RNC combination from 3G.
• Provides all radio management functions
• To enable efficient inter-cell radio management for cells
not attached to the same eNB, there is a inter-eNB interface
X2 specified. It will allow to coordinate inter-eNB
handovers without direct involvement of EPC during this
process.

Transmission of Broadcast Info (e.g. System info, MBMS)

Radio Bearer Control: setup , modifications and release of
Radio Resources
IP Header Compression/ de-compression

Connection Mgt. Control: UE State Management, MME-UE

Connection
MME Selection at Attach of the UE

eNode B Meas. collection and evaluation

EPC Network Elements
MME: Mobility Management Entity Packet Data Network Gateway
- Pure signalling entity inside the EPC: - Connection between EPC and a number of external data
Signalling coordination for EPS bearer setup/release networks (comparable to GGSN in 2G/3G networks)
- Subscriber attach/detach - IP Address Allocation for UE
- Tracking area updates - Packet Routing/Forwarding between
- Roaming Control Serving GW and external Data Network
- Trigger and distribution of paging messages to UE - Packet screening (firewall functionality)
- Radio security control
- Authentication, integrity protection Policy and Charging Rule Function
- Quality of Service (QoS) negotiation with the external PDN
- Charging Policy: How packets should be accounted
Serving Gateway
- Manages the user data in the EPC HSS: Home Subscriber Server
- Receives packet data from the eNodeB and sends packet data - Permanent and central subscriber database
to it - Stores mobility and service data for every subscriber
- Contains AuC (authentication center) functionality
LTE Air Interface - Downlink
Fast Fourier Transform
• Two characteristics define a signal:
– Time domain: represents how long the symbol lasts on air
– Frequency domain: represents the spectrum needed in terms of bandwidth

• Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and the Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) allow to move between time and frequency
domain representation and it is a fundamental block in an OFDMA system

• OFDM signals are generated using the IFFT

OFDM Basics
• Transmits hundreds or even thousands of separately modulated radio signals using orthogonal subcarriers spread across a
wideband channel
• Data is sent in parallel across the set of subcarriers, each subcarrier only transports a part of the whole transmission
• The throughput is the sum of the data rates of each individual (or used) subcarriers while the power is distributed to all
subcarriers
• In LTE, these subcarriers are separated 15kHZ
• OFDMA is an extension of OFDM technique to allow multiple user transmissions and it is used in other systems like Wi-Fi,
DVB and WiMAX
• OFDMA Symbol is the Time period occupied by the modulation symbols on all subcarriers. Represents all the data being
transferred in parallel at a point in time
OFDM and Multipath
• Multipath causes Inter Symbol Interference (ISI) which affects the subcarrier orthogonality due to phase distortion
• Solution to avoid ISI is to introduce a Guard Period (Tg) after the pulse
‒ Tg needs to be long enough to capture all the delayed multipath signals
• To make use of that Tg (no transmission) Cyclic Prefix (CP) is transmitted

• CP consists in copying the last part of a symbol shape for a duration of guard-time and attaching it in front of the symbol
• CP needs to be longer than the channel multipath delay spread
• 2 CP options in LTE:
‒ Normal CP: for cells with short multipath delay spread
‒ Extended CP: designed for use with cells having long delay profiles
Subcarrier types
Data subcarriers: used for data transmission
– Reference Signals:
used for channel quality and signal strength estimates.
They don’t occupy a whole subcarrier but they are periodically embedded in the stream of data being carried on a
data subcarrier.

Null subcarriers (no transmission/power):

DC (centre) subcarrier: 0Hz offset from the channel’s centre frequency
Guard subcarriers: Separate top and bottom subcarriers from any adjacent channel interference and also limit the
amount of interference caused by the channel. Guard band size has an impact on the data throughput of the channel.
OFDMA Parameters
• Channel bandwidth: Bandwidths ranging from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz
• Data subcarriers: They vary with the bandwidth
‒ 72 for 1.4MHz to 1200 for 20MHz

• Frame duration : 10ms created from slots and subframes

• Subframe duration (TTI) : 1 ms (composed of 2x0.5ms slots)
• Subcarrier spacing : Fixed to 15kHz
Peak-to-Average Power Ratio in OFDMA
The transmitted power is the sum of the powers of all the
subcarriers
- Due to large number of subcarriers, the peak to average
power ratio (PAPR) tends to have a large range
- The higher the peaks, the greater the range of power levels
over which the power amplifier is required to work
- Having a UE with such a PA that works over a big range of
powers would be expensive and consume a lot of battery
- Not best suited for use with mobile (battery-powered)
devices
OFDM Wrap-up
• Pros:
‒ High spectral efficiency and little interference between channels
‒ Robust in multi-path environments thanks to Cyclic Prefix
‒ Frequency domain scheduling offer high potential for throughput gain

• Cons:
‒ Severe High PAPR (Peak to Average Power Ratio)
‒ Small subcarrier spacing makes it more sensitive to frequency offset (subcarriers may interfere each others)

• OFDMA Operation:
LTE Air Interface - Uplink
 SC-FDMA in UL
• Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access: Transmission technique used for
Uplink
• Variant of OFDM that reduces the PAPR:
‒ Combines the PAR of single-carrier system with the multipath resistance and flexible
subcarrier frequency allocation offered by OFDM
• It can reduce the PAPR between 6…9dB compared to OFDMA
• Reduced PAPR means lower RF hardware requirements (power amplifier)
• SC-FDMA and OFDMA Comparison:
- OFDMA transmits data in parallel across multiple subcarriers
- SC-FDMA transmits data in series employing multiple subcarriers
• In the example:
- OFDMA: 6 modulation symbols (01,10,11,01,10 and 10) are transmitted per OFDMA
symbol, one on each subcarrier
- SC-FDMA: 6 modulation symbols are transmitted per SC-FDMA symbol using all
subcarriers per modulation symbol. The duration of each modulation symbol is
1/6th of the modulation symbol in OFDMA
• One user is always continuous in frequency
• Smallest uplink bandwidth, 12 subcarriers: 180 kHz
• Largest uplink bandwidth: 20 MHz
OFDMA and SC-FDMA vs. CDMA
• Larger bandwidths and frequency flexibility
‒ OFDM provides performance benefits over CDMA based system when the bandwidth increases beyond 5 MHz
‒ OFDM makes it simpler to provide different bandwidths
• Frequency Domain Scheduling
‒ OFDM can take benefit of frequency domain scheduling which increases capacity up to 50% compared to CDMA
• Reduced UE power consumption
‒ LTE uplink uses SC-FDMA which enables better power amplifier efficiency
• Simpler multi antenna operation
‒ MIMO is simpler to implement with OFDM than with CDMA
• Same multiple Access Techniques for FDD and TDD in LTE
‒ OFDMA in DL and SC-FDMA in UL. In WCDMA, TDD mode is different than FDD although some harmonization was
done e.g. chip rates and coding solutions
Physical Layer Structure and Channels
Introduction
• It provides the basic bit transmission functionality over air

• LTE physical layer based on OFDMA downlink and SC-FDMA in uplink direction
‒ This is the same for both FDD and TDD mode of operation

• No need of RNC like functional element

‒ Everything radio related can be terminated in the eNodeB

• System is reuse 1, single frequency network operation is feasible

‒ No frequency planning required

• There are no dedicated physical (neither transport) channels anymore, as all resource mapping is dynamically driven by the
scheduler
Frame Structure (FDD)
• FDD Frame structure (also called Type 1 Frame) is common to both uplink and downlink.
• Divided into 20 x 0.5ms slots
‒ Structure has been designed to facilitate short round trip time
• Frame duration =10 ms (same as UMTS)
• FDD: 10 ms radio frame for UL and 10 ms radio frame for DL
• Radio frame includes 10 sub frames
• 1 Sub frame represents a Transmission Time Interval (TTI)
• Each sub frames includes two slots
• 1 slot = 7 (normal CP) or 6 symbols (extended CP)

SF: Sub Frame

s: slot
Sy: symbol
Resource Block
• Physical Resource Block or Resource Block (PRB or RB):
12 subcarriers in frequency domain (180kHz) x 1 slot period in time domain (0.5ms)

Capacity allocation is based on Resource Blocks

• Note: Although 3GPP definition of RB refers to 0.5ms, in some
cases it is possible to find that RB refers to 12 subcarriers in
frequency domain and 1ms in time domain. In particular, since the
scheduler in the eNodeB works on TTI basis (1ms) RBs are
considered to last 1ms in time domain. They can also be known as
‘scheduling resource blocks’

Resource
Element
Downlink Physical Signals and Channels
• Downlink Physical Signals
‒ Reference Signals
‒ Synchronisation Signals

• Downlink Physical Channels

‒ Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH)
‒ Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)
‒ Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)
‒ Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH)
‒ Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator Channel (PHICH)
‒ Physical Multicast Channel (PMCH)

There are no dedicated channels in LTE, neither in UL nor DL

Reference Signals: OFDMA Channel Estimation
• Channel estimation in LTE is based on reference signals (like CPICH functionality in WCDMA)
• Reference signals position in time domain is fixed (0 and 4 for Type 1 Frame) whereas in frequency domain it depends on the
Cell ID
• In case more than one antenna is used (e.g. MIMO) the Resource elements allocated to reference signals on one antenna are
DTX on the other antennas
• Reference signals are modulated to identify the cell to which they belong.
Synchronization Signals Allocation (DL)
• Synchronization signals:

‒ Transmitted during the 1st and 11th slots within a radio frame
‒ Occupy the central 62 Subcarriers (around the DC subcarrier) to facilitate the
cell search
‒ 5 Subcarriers above and 5 Subcarriers below the synch. Signals are reserved
and transmitted as DTx
‒ Synchronisation Signal can indicate 504 (168 x 3) CellID different values and
from those one can determine the location of cell specific reference symbols
Mapping of DL Physical Channels
• PBCH:
– To broadcast the MIB (Master Information Block), RACH parameters
– Occupies the central 72 subcarriers across 4 symbols
– Transmitted during second slot of each 10 ms radio frame on all antennas
• PCFICH: RB
– Carries details of PDCCH format (e.g.# of symbols)
– Can be transmitted during the first 3 symbols of each TTI
– Occupies up to 16 RE per TTI
• PHICH:
– Carries H-ARQ Ack/Nack messages from eNB to UE in response to UL transmission
– Normal CP: Tx during 1st symbol of each TTI
– Extended CP: Tx during first 3 symbols of each TTI
• PDCCH:
– Carries the DCI (DL control information): schedule uplink resources on the PUSCH or
downlink resources on the PDSCH. Alternatively, DCI transmits TPC commands for UL
– Occupies the RE left from PCFICH and PHICH within the first 3 symbols of each TTI
– Minimum number of symbols are occupied. If PDCCH data is small then it only
occupies the 1st symbol
• PDSCH:
– Carries user data, paging data, SIBs (cell status, cell IDs, allowed services…)
– Is allocated the RE not used by signals or other physical channels
Uplink Physical Signals and Channels
• Uplink Physical Signals
– Demodulation Signals:
Used for channel estimation in the eNodeB receiver to demodulate control and data channels
Located in the 4th symbol (normal CP) of each slot and spans the same bandwidth as the allocated uplink data
– Sounding Reference Signals:
Provides uplink channel quality estimation as basis for the UL scheduling decisions -> similar in use as the CQI in DL
Sent in different parts of the bandwidth where no uplink data transmission is available.
Not part of first NSNs implementations (UL channel aware scheduler in RL40)

• Uplink Physical Channels

– Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)
– Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)
– Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH)
Uplink Resource Mapping
• Demodulation Reference Signal:
Always on symbol 3 of each slot (normal CP)

• PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) mapping:

‒ Intended for the user data (carries traffic for multiple UEs
‒ Data is allocated in multiples of 1 RB (12 subcarriers in
frequency domain). Only factors of 2, 3 and 5 resource blocks
are allowed

• PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) mapping:

‒ Carries H-ARQ Ack/Nack indications, uplink scheduling request,
CQIs and MIMO feedback
‒ If control data is sent when traffic data is being transmitted, UE
multiplexes both streams together
‒ If there is only control data to be sent the UE uses Resources
Elements at the edges of the channel with higher power
‒ PUCCH occupies RBs at both edges of the uplink bandwidth (in
green in the picture on the right)
Random Access Channel (PRACH)
• For Random Access attempts. PDCCH indicates the
Resource elements for PRACH use
• PBCH contains a list of allowed preambles (max. 64
per cell in Type 1 frame) and the required length of
the preamble
• RACH operation uses around 1.08 MHz bandwidth
– This is equal to 6 resource blocks of 180 kHz
• The location of those resource blocks is
dynamically defined by 2 RRC Layer Parameters
(PRACH Configuration Index and PRACH
Frequency offset)
– 4 possible PRACH durations (PRACH
configuration index parameter selects one of
the 4)
• PRACH only carries the preambles and it is used
during the RACH process
Modulation Schemes
• 3GPP standard defines the following options: Physical Modulation
QPSK (2bits/sym), 16QAM (4bits/sym), 64QAM (6bits/sym) in both channel
directions (UL and DL)
PDSCH QPSK, 16QAM,
• UL 64QAM not supported in initial releases
64QAM
• Not every physical channel is allowed to use any modulation scheme:
PMCH QPSK, 16QAM,
• Scheduler decides which form to use depending on carrier quality feedback
information from the UE 64QAM
PBCH QPSK
PDCCH QPSK
(PCFICH,
PHICH)
PUSCH QPSK, 16QAM,
64QAM
PUCCH BPSK and/or
QPSK
Physical Layer Procedures
LTE Timing Advance
• eNB generates timing advance instructions for each UE such that all uplink transmissions are synchronous when they arrive at
the eNodeB
• eNodeB notes the deviation of each UE transmission from the required arrival time. It returns a TA msg. to each UE with the
amount of change (+or -) required
Cases:
• When no Timing Alignment is established (initially) or UE is out of synch:
– TA is obtained with the Random Access Procedure
– Initial timing advance based on received RACH preambles per UE
• When UE has previously established time alignment (in synch):
– Periodic update of UL timing
– Timing based on received PUSCH on TTI bases or periodic CQI reports on PUCCH
Counter (in second) LNCEL-expectedCellSize
ID Name 2.1 km 5 km 10 km 15 km 30 km 60 km 100 km
M8029C1 TIMING_ADV_BIN_1 0<= d <78 m 0<= d <468 m 0<= d <1006 m 0<= d <1505 m 0<= d <3003 m 0<= d <6006 m 0<= d <10000 m
M8029C2 TIMING_ADV_BIN_2 78<= d <156 m 468<= d <1014 m 1006<= d <2012 m 1505<= d <3011 m 3003<= d <6006 m 6006<= d <12012 m 10000<= d <19999 m
M8029C3 TIMING_ADV_BIN_3 156<= d <234 m 1014<= d <1248 m 2012<= d <2516 m 3011<= d <3764 m 6006<= d <7508 m 12012<= d <15015 m 19999<= d <24999 m
M8029C4 TIMING_ADV_BIN_4 234<= d <312 m 1248<= d <1482 m 2516<= d <3019 m 3764<= d <4516 m 7508<= d <9009 m 15015<= d <18018 m 24999<= d <29999 m
M8029C5 TIMING_ADV_BIN_5 312<= d <390 m 1482<= d <1716 m 3019<= d <3522 m 4516<= d <5269 m 9009<= d <10511 m 18018<= d <21021 m 29999<= d <34999 m
M8029C6 TIMING_ADV_BIN_6 390<= d <468 m 1716<= d <2028 m 3522<= d <4025 m 5269<= d <6022 m 10511<= d <12012 m 21021<= d <24024 m 34999<= d <39998 m
M8029C7 TIMING_ADV_BIN_7 468<= d <546 m 2028<= d <2262 m 4025<= d <4528 m 6022<= d <6774 m 12012<= d <13514 m 24024<= d <27027 m 39998<= d <44998 m
M8029C8 TIMING_ADV_BIN_8 546<= d <624 m 2262<= d <2652 m 4528<= d <5333 m 6774<= d <7979 m 13514<= d <15916 m 27027<= d <31832 m 44998<= d <52998 m
M8029C9 TIMING_ADV_BIN_9 624<= d <702 m 2652<= d <3042 m 5333<= d <6138 m 7979<= d <9183 m 15916<= d <18318 m 31832<= d <36637 m 52998<= d <60998 m
M8029C10 TIMING_ADV_BIN_10 702<= d <780 m 3042<= d <3432 m 6138<= d <6943 m 9183<= d <10387 m 18318<= d <20721 m 36637<= d <41441 m 60998<= d <68997 m
M8029C11 TIMING_ADV_BIN_11 780<= d <858 m 3432<= d <3822 m 6943<= d <7748 m 10387<= d <11592 m 20721<= d <23123 m 41441<= d <46246 m 68997<= d <76997 m
M8029C12 TIMING_ADV_BIN_12 858<= d <936 m 3822<= d <3900 m 7748<= d <8553 m 11592<= d <12796 m 23123<= d <25526 m 46246<= d <51051 m 76997<= d <84997 m
M8029C13 TIMING_ADV_BIN_13 936<= d <1014 m 3900<= d <3978 m 8553<= d <8653 m 12796<= d <12946 m 25526<= d <25826 m 51051<= d <51652 m 84997<= d <85997 m
M8029C14 TIMING_ADV_BIN_14 1014<= d <1092 m 3978<= d <4056 m 8653<= d <8754 m 12946<= d <13097 m 25826<= d <26126 m 51652<= d <52252 m 85997<= d <86997 m
M8029C15 TIMING_ADV_BIN_15 1092<= d <1170 m 4056<= d <4134 m 8754<= d <8855 m 13097<= d <13248 m 26126<= d <26426 m 52252<= d <52853 m 86997<= d <87996 m
M8029C16 TIMING_ADV_BIN_16 1170<= d <1248 m 4134<= d <4212 m 8855<= d <8955 m 13248<= d <13398 m 26426<= d <26727 m 52853<= d <53453 m 87996<= d <88996 m
M8029C17 TIMING_ADV_BIN_17 1248<= d <1326 m 4212<= d <4290 m 8955<= d <9056 m 13398<= d <13549 m 26727<= d <27027 m 53453<= d <54054 m 88996<= d <89996 m
M8029C18 TIMING_ADV_BIN_18 1326<= d <1404 m 4290<= d <4368 m 9056<= d <9156 m 13549<= d <13699 m 27027<= d <27327 m 54054<= d <54655 m 89996<= d <90996 m
M8029C19 TIMING_ADV_BIN_19 1404<= d <1482 m 4368<= d <4446 m 9156<= d <9257 m 13699<= d <13850 m 27327<= d <27628 m 54655<= d <55255 m 90996<= d <91996 m
M8029C20 TIMING_ADV_BIN_20 1482<= d <1560 m 4446<= d <4524 m 9257<= d <9358 m 13850<= d <14000 m 27628<= d <27928 m 55255<= d <55856 m 91996<= d <92996 m
M8029C21 TIMING_ADV_BIN_21 1560<= d <1638 m 4524<= d <4602 m 9358<= d <9458 m 14000<= d <14151 m 27928<= d <28228 m 55856<= d <56456 m 92996<= d <93996 m
M8029C22 TIMING_ADV_BIN_22 1638<= d <1716 m 4602<= d <4680 m 9458<= d <9559 m 14151<= d <14301 m 28228<= d <28529 m 56456<= d <57057 m 93996<= d <94996 m
M8029C23 TIMING_ADV_BIN_23 1716<= d <1794 m 4680<= d <4758 m 9559<= d <9660 m 14301<= d <14452 m 28529<= d <28829 m 57057<= d <57658 m 94996<= d <95996 m
M8029C24 TIMING_ADV_BIN_24 1794<= d <1872 m 4758<= d <4836 m 9660<= d <9760 m 14452<= d <14602 m 28829<= d <29129 m 57658<= d <58258 m 95996<= d <96996 m
M8029C25 TIMING_ADV_BIN_25 1872<= d <1950 m 4836<= d <4914 m 9760<= d <9861 m 14602<= d <14753 m 29129<= d <29429 m 58258<= d <58859 m 96996<= d <97996 m
M8029C26 TIMING_ADV_BIN_26 1950<= d <2028 m 4914<= d <4992 m 9861<= d <9961 m 14753<= d <14903 m 29429<= d <29730 m 58859<= d <59459 m 97996<= d <98996 m
M8029C27 TIMING_ADV_BIN_27 2028<= d <2106 m 4992<= d <5070 m 9961<= d <10062 m 14903<= d <15054 m 29730<= d <30030 m 59459<= d <60060 m 98996<= d <99996 m
M8029C28 TIMING_ADV_BIN_28 2106<= d <2184 m 5070<= d <5226 m 10062<= d <10565 m 15054<= d <15807 m 30030<= d <31532 m 60060<= d <63063 m 99996<= d <104996 m
M8029C29 TIMING_ADV_BIN_29 2184<= d <2262 m 5226<= d <5616 m 10565<= d <11068 m 15807<= d <16559 m 31532<= d <33033 m 63063<= d <66066 m 104996<= d <109996 m
M8029C30 TIMING_ADV_BIN_30 2262<= d < infinite 5616<= d < infinite 11068<= d < infinite 16559<= d < infinite 33033<= d < infinite 66066<= d < infinite 109996<= d < infinite
LTE Channel Quality Indicator (CQI)
• Indicates the DL channel quality (PDSCH) as experienced by the UE
• With the CQI the eNB estimates an optimum MCS so BLER is on target
• CQI not only considers time domain but also frequency domain. CQI reference resource:
– Time: Defined by a single subframe (TTI)
– Frequency: Depends on the PRBs for which is calculated
Wideband CQI: Referred to the complete system Bandwidth
Sub-band CQI: Referred to certain # of RBs
• Types of CQI reporting:
Periodic: On PUCCH (or PUSCH)
Aperiodic: On PUSCH
• In case of Spatial Multiplexing (MIMO) a CQI per code word needs to be reported
• individual MCS per code word
Cell Search Procedure
• Process by which UE acquires time and frequency
synchronization with a cell and detects the Physical Cell ID
• Cell search not only at power up but also to support mobility (i.e.
terminals need to search, synchronise and estimate neighbour
cells to decide HOs)
• Step 1:
UE searches for the PSS carrying the Physical Cell ID index (3
different possibilities: 0,1,2)
• Step 2:
Detected PSS, position of SSS is known.
SSS can take 168 values that are Physical Cell ID group.
The set of values for the two SSS within a frame are different-> UE
gets frame synchronization (10ms)
In LTE, there are 504 physical layer cell identities grouped into 168
groups (SSS) each one of them contains 3 cell ID (PSS)
• Step 3:
With frame synchronization and the Physical Cell ID the UE knows
the physical cell ID. It can identify the cell specific reference signals
and begin channel estimation
Then, it can decode the BCH that carries the system information
SIB Overview
RACH Procedure
• Used in several cases. E.g. initial access (from idle to connected), to re-establish a radio link after a failure, as part of the
handover to get UL synchronization
Process:
• UEs selects randomly a preamble from the list of preambles broadcasted in the BCCH
• UE calculates Initial Tx Power based on pathloss (OLPC)
• Checks contention parameters (i.e. max. number of retries)
• UE transmits initial RACH and waits for a response before retry. Open loop PC ensures that each retry will be at a higher power
level
• Upon receipt of successful UL RACH preamble, eNB calculates power adjustment and timing advance parameters together with
an UL capacity grant (so UE can send more info)
 H-ARQ: Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (Physical Layer Retransmission)
•Procedure
UE or eNodeB requests retransmissions of data packets incorrectly received
• HARQ principle used is stop-and-wait-ARQ
• 8 HARQ processes can be used for continuous operation both uplink and downlink
• ACK/NACK info is transmitted in UL via PUCCH or PUSCH and in DL via PHICH
• HARQ operation supports chase combining (exactly same symbols are re-transmitted) and incremental redundancy
(retransmission is not exactly the original packet). UL uses incremental redundancy whereas in DL, incremental redundancy is
the preferred mode but chase combining can be enabled as well
LTE Measurements
Intra LTE measurements (from LTE to LTE)
• UE measurements
– CQI measurements (seen previously)
– Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)
– Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ)
• eNB measurements
– Non standardized (vendor specific): TA, Average RSSI, Average SINR, detected PRACH preambles, transport channel BLER
– Standardized: DL RS Tx Power, Received Interference Power, Thermal Noise Power
Measurements from LTE to other systems
• UE measurements are mainly intended for handover
– UTRA FDD: CPICH RSCP, CPICH Ec/No and carrier RSSI
– GSM: GSM carrier RSSI
– UTRA TDD: carrier RSSI, RSCP, P-CCPCH
– CDMA2000: 1xRTT Pilot Strength, HRPD Pilot Strength
LTE Protocol Layers (Layer2/3)
LTE Protocol Layers
• LTE processing is structured in different protocol layers
• Differently to WCDMA all the protocols end in the eNB

• Layer 3: RRC
PDCP, RLC, MAC and PHY Layer are configured by the RRC protocol. Some functions:
– RRC Connection Management (creating, modifying and deleting Radio Bearers)
– Mobility Management (measurement control and reporting)
– System Information Broadcasting (SIBs), Paging
LTE Data Flow
• Fields of MAC PDU can have variable size but the MAC PDU itself needs to fit into Physical Layer Resource Blocks to which it
will be mapped
• MAC SDU can belong to different logical channels (multiplexing is possible)
• MAC header contains information for each of the SDUs, MAC Control Element or Padding in the MAC PDU regarding contents and
length

Note.
CRC: for block error detection
In LTE the sizes of the RLC frames change dynamically based on the radio conditions. For higher data rates a larger RLC PDU is used
(reducing the overhead) and for smaller data rates a smaller RLC PDU is used to avoid a lot of padding. Furthermore, because RLC
and scheduler are implemented in the eNodeB it is easier for the RLC to know the instantaneous radio conditions. This is not the case
in HSPA as the RLC is in the RNC and the scheduler in the NodeB so the instantaneous radio conditions are not know to the RNC.
LTE UE Connection Management Overview
Mobility and Connection States (1/2)
• 2 sets of states for the UE are defined based on the information held in the MME:
– EMM: EPS Mobility Management States
– ECM: EPS Connection Management States
• EMM:
– EMM- DEREGISTERED
MME holds no valid location information about the UE (location unknown)
• UE can not be paged

– EMM- REGISTERED
UE registers with an MME and establishes a default bearer for application data transfer via attach procedure or TAU
procedure after inter-system HO
UE responds to paging messages
Mobility and Connection States (2/2)
• ECM:
– UE and MME enter ECM-CONNECTED state when the signaling connection is established between UE and MME
– UE and E-UTRAN enter RRC-CONNECTED state when the signaling connection is established between UE and the E-
UTRAN
EMM & ECM States Transitions

C-RNTI: Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier. Uniquely identifies a UE within a cell. Only exists if UE is connected. Assigned by the eNodeB.
S-TMSI: SAE- Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identifier: uniquely identifies the UE within a tracking area. Assigned by the MME.
TA Update: Tracking Area Update
 RRC States

CCO: cell change order

The LTE to GSM Network Assisted Cell Change (NACC) allows for a service continuity of data services when changing
from a LTE cell to a GSM cell.
LTE Mobility Management
LTE Handover Principles
Only hard handovers in LTE (no soft handovers)

• Lossless
– Packets are forwarded from the source to the target

• UE-assisted
– Measurements are made and reported by the UE to the network

• Network-controlled
– Target cell is selected by the network, not by the UE
– Handover control in E-UTRAN (not in packet core)

• Late path switch

– Only once the handover is successful, the packet core is involved
Handover Procedure
Handover Preparation
1. The source eNB configures the UE measurement
procedures with MEASUREMENT CONTROL
2. UE is triggered to send MEASUREMENT REPORT to the
source eNB. It can be event triggered or periodic
3. Source eNB makes handover decision based on UE report
+ load and service information
4. The source eNB issues a HANDOVER REQUEST to the
target eNB
5. Target eNB performs admission control
6. Target eNB sends the HANDOVER REQUEST
ACKNOWLEDGE to the source eNB
Handover Execution
7. Source eNB generates the HANDOVER COMMAND
towards UE
Source eNB starts forwarding packets to target eNB
8. Source eNB sends status information to target eNB
9. UE performs the final synchronisation to target eNB and
accesses the cell via RACH procedure
DL pre-synchronisation is obtained during cell
identification and measurements
10.Target eNB gives the uplink allocation and timing
advance information
11.UE sends HANDOVER CONFIRM to target eNB
Target eNB can begin to send data to UE
Handover Completion
12. Target eNB sends a PATH SWITCH message to
MME to inform that the UE has changed cell
13. MME sends a USER PLANE UPDATE REQUEST message
to Serving Gateway
14. Serving Gateway switches the downlink data path to the
target side
15. Serving Gateway sends a USER PLANE UPDATE
RESPONSE message to MME
16. MME confirms the PATH SWITCH message with the
PATH SWITCH ACK message
17. By sending RELEASE RESOURCE the target eNB informs
success of handover to source eNB and triggers the
release of resources
18. Upon reception of the RELEASE RESOURCE message,
the source eNB can release radio and C-plane related
resources associated to the UE context
Handover Measurement Procedure
eNodeB sends Measurement control to UE giving
Reporting thresholds

UE identifies others cell ids (Physical Cell ID - PCI -)

from Synchronization Signal

UE measures other cells’ signal from Reference

Signals (RS)

When the reporting threshold condition is fulfilled,

UE sends Handover measurements to eNodeB
Neighbor list Generation in LTE
• LTE UE can detect neighbours without neighbour lists ⇒ simpler network
management
• UE reports other cell IDs to eNodeB
• If the target cell ID is known by eNodeB, it will proceed with the handover.
• If the target is not known by eNodeB and no is X2 enabled,
– eNodeB asks UE to decode Global cell id of the target cell
– eNodeB finds out the target cell’s IP address from O&M
– eNodeB enables X2 connection to the target cell
– eNodeB proceeds with the handover

• 2G network operators need to define neighbour lists towards LTE

• Also 3G network operators need to define the neighbour lists but it is possible for
UE to detect the new cells outside neighbour list which makes neighbour list
creation simpler
Terminology in LTE and in 3G
Intra LTE Handover via S1

• Applicable for intra and inter frequency HO

• DL Data forwarding via S1
• Handover in case of
– no X2 interface between eNodeBs, e.g. not operative, not existing
or because blacklisted usage
– eNodeBs connected to different CN elements

• Not visible for the UE is HO is executed via X2 or S1 interface

• MME and/or SGW can be changed during HO (i.e. if source and target eNodeB belong to different MME/S-GW)
Bearer Management (QoS) and VoIP over LTE
Types of bearers

• EPS bearer provides user plane connectivity between UE and PDN-GW

– EPS carries user data between UE and PDN

• Radio bearers provide connectivity across the air interface. Two types:
– Signalling Radio Bearers (SRB) carry C-plane data (RRC and NAS messages) or
– Data Radio Bearers (DRB) carry U-plane data (user data/traffic)

• S5 interface provides connectivity between a home S-GW and a home PDN-GW. S8 provides roaming
connectivity between a visited S-GW and a home PDN-GW.
Bearer Management
• There is always at least one EPS Bearer (default bearer) to provide always-on IP connectivity:
– Created during the attach procedure
– It does not mean that there is a Data Radio Bearer established all the time
• Any additional EPS Bearer is called a dedicated bearer
• All user plane data transferred with the same EPS bearer has the same QoS
• Support for multiple EPS bearers is a pre-requisite for voice support
• Conversational Voice cannot be carried with just with non GBR bearers Requires two bearers:
– QCI (QoS Class Identifier)=1 for user data
– QCI=5 for IMS signalling
• It is possible to support up to 4 EPS bearers per UE
• The EPS bearers can have different QoS requirements (QCI) so multiple services can be used at one UE
• Supported radio bearers combinations per UE and Flexi Multiradio BTS:
SRB1 + SRB2 + 2 x AM(*) DRB
SRB1 + SRB2 + 3 x AM DRB
SRB1 + SRB2 + 4 x AM DRB

SRB1: transfer RRC messages using DCCH logical channel.

Also NAS msg. if SRB2 is not configured
SRB2: transfer RRC messages using DCCH and which
encapsulate a NAS msg. SRB2 has lower priority that SRB1
(*) AM: Acknowledged mode
QCI (QoS Class Identifier) based service differentiation
Non-GBR EPS Bearer
• Differentiation of 5 different non-GBR QCI classes with
relative scheduling weights
- QCIs: 5,6,7,8,9
• Support of different non-GBR QoS classes
• Flexi Multiradio allows to assign relative scheduling
weights for each non GBR QCI on cell level
• The relative weight is considered by the UL and DL
scheduler
• Default bearers are set up with QCI 9 (for non-privileged
users) or QCI 8 (for premium users)
Conversational Voice
• Support of GBR QCI=1
• Needed to introduce high quality voice services in LTE
• IMS based voice services
• Admission control enhancements to handle GBR traffic
• RLC UM is applied for EPS bearers with QCI=1
• Bearer combinations
• SRB1+SRB2+ …
• 1, 2, 3 or 4 x AM DRB + …
• 1 x UM DRB
LTE Voice Evolution

MSS: Mobile Softwitching solution

NVS: Nokia Siemens Networks Voice Server
IMS: IP Multimedia Subsystem
CSFB to UTRAN or GSM
• CSFB can be done via redirection or PS handover.
• Redirection from LTE to UTRAN or to GSM during the call setup
• Both, MOC and MTC setup supported
• EPC must support CS inter-working for mobility management and
paging
• Redirection by RRC connection release message with a
RedirectedCarrierInfo IE that enforces the UE to search for any cell
first at the highest priority UTRA carrier or within BCCH carrier • Required when there is no Conversational
set for GSM Voice support on LTE side
• Priorities for fallback layers are operator configurable
Smart LTE Layering
• UE will camp back into the LTE carrier after termination of the CS • Smart LTE Layering allows to move LTE supporting
call using
UEs in non-Idle RRC states i.e. Cell_FACH and
- 3G feature - Smart LTE Layering Cell_DCH to LTE
- 2G feature – Fast Return to LTE • Various triggers for redirection to LTE including CS
call release, Channel type switch and user inactivity
SRVCC to WCDMA/GSM
•Seamless handover for voice services to WCDMA/GSM when leaving LTE coverage
•Voice services are handed over to the CS domain
•Non voice services are handed over to the PS domain in WCDMA. This is not supported in GSM
•Procedure identical to LTE to WCDMA handover (i.e. same neighbour list, thresholds and measurements)
•eNB triggers SRVCC only if UE has EPS bearer with QCI=1 established and MME and UE are SRVCC capable

SRVCC: Seamless Radio Voice Call

Continuity
Basic LTE RRM (Radio Resource Management)
Scheduling
• Motivation
– Bad channel condition avoidance

• Cell-based scheduling (separate scheduler per cell)

• Resource assignment in time and frequency domain (UL/DL)
• Scheduling on TTI basis (1ms)
• Proportional fair resource assignment among UEs
• Priority for SRB (Signalling Radio Bearers) and HARQ re-transmissions over DRB (Data Radio Bearers)
• Common channels (i.e. system info, random access and paging) have highest priority
Link adaptation by AMC (UL/DL)
Optimizing air interface efficiency
• Motivation of link adaptation: Modify the signal transmitted to and by a particular user according to the signal quality
variation to improve the system capacity and coverage reliability.
• It modifies the MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme), the transport block size (DL) and ATB (UL)
• If SINR is good then higher MCS can be used -> more bits per byte -> more throughput.
• If SINR is bad then lower MCS should be used (more robust)
• Flexi Multiradio BTS performs the link adaptation for DL on a TTI basis
• The selection of the modulation and the channel coding rate is based: AMC: Adaptive Modulation and Coding
• Downlink data channel: CQI report from UE ATB: Adaptive Transmission Bandwidth
• Uplink: BLER measurements in Flexi LTE BTS
Outer Link Quality Control (OLQC)
Optimize the DL performance
Feature: CQI Adaptation (DL)
• CQI information is used by the scheduler and link adaptation in such a way that a certain BLER of the 1st HARQ transmission is
achieved
• CQI adaptation is the basic mean to control Link Adaptation behaviour and to remedy UE measurement errors
• Only used in DL
• Used for CQI measurement error compensation
– CQI estimation error of the UE
– CQI quantization error or
– CQI reporting error
• It adds a CQI offset to the CQI reports provided by UE. The corrected CQI report is provided to the DL Link adaptation for
further processing
• CQI offset derived from ACK/NACK feedback
Power Control
Improve cell edge behaviour, reduce inter-cell interference and power consumption
Downlink:
• There is no adaptive or dynamic power control in DL but semi-static power setting
• eNodeB gives flat power spectral density (dBm/PRB) for the scheduled resources:
– The power for all the PRBs is the same, it is evenly distributed over the spectrum
– If there are PRBs not scheduled that power is not used and the power of the remaining scheduled PRBs doesn’t change:
Total Tx power is max. when all PRBs are scheduled. If only half of the PRBs are scheduled the Tx power is half of the
Tx power max ( i.e. Tx power max -3dB)
• Semi-static: PDSCH power can be adjusted via O&M parameters
– Cell Power Reduction level dlCellPwrRed [0...10] dB attenuation in 0.1 dB steps

Uplink:
• Uplink PC is a mix of Open Loop Power Control and Closed Loop Power Control:

• Closed Loop PC component f(i): Makes use of feedback from the eNB. Feedback are TPC (Transmit Power Control commands)
send via PDCCH to instruct the UE to increase or decrease its transmit power
• UL Power control is Slow power control: every 100ms
Radio Admission Control (RAC)
Objective: To admit or to reject the requests for establishment of Radio Bearers (RB) on a cell basis so eNodeB is stable and gives a
minimum service level per end user

• Based on number of RRC connections and number of active users per cell
– Both can be configured via parameters
RRC connection is established when the SRBs have been admitted and successfully configured
UE is considered as active when a Radio bearer is established
– Upper bound for maximum number of supported connections depends on the BB configuration of eNB (e.g. up to 840 active
UEs for 20MHz).
However, typical values for RL10/RL20 RAC are ~100…120 irrespective of the bandwidth as, as long as DRX is not
supported (RL30) the max. number of active UEs would consume too many resources for PUCCH (scheduling requests,
CQI, etc)
• HO RAC cases have higher priority than normal access to the cell
Transmission Mode - Transmit diversity with two antennas
Benefit: Diversity gain, enhanced cell coverage
• Each Tx antenna transmits the same stream of data with different coding and different subcarriers -> Receiver gets replicas of
the same signal which increases the SINR.
• Synchronization signals are transmitted only via the 1st antenna
• eNode B sends different cell-specific reference signals per antenna
• It can be enabled on cell basis by O&M configuration
• Processing is completed in 2 phases:
• Layer Mapping: distributing a stream of data into two streams
• Pre-coding: generation of signals for each antenna port
Transmission Mode - Spatial multiplexing (MIMO) with two antennas
• Benefit: Double the peak rate compared to a 1Tx antenna

Two code words

(S1+S2) are transmitted
in parallel to one UE
which doubles the peak
rate

• Can be open loop or closed loop depending if the UE provides feedback

• Spatial multiplexing with two code words
• Supported physical channel: PDSCH

• Closed loop: UE estimates the radio channel and selects the best
precoding matrix (the one that offers maximum capacity) and
sends this information to the eNB
• Open loop: no need for UEs feedback as it uses predefined
settings for SM and precoding
LTE Planning General Principles
Link Budget
• Estimating maximum allowable path loss for a single radio link

• Calculate the cell ranges for the different clutter types based on the maximum allowable path loss and on the propagation
environment
Transmitting and Receiving Modeling
• EIRP: Effective Isotropic Radiated Power • Receiver sensitivity
Single RB bandwidth
EIRP = PTx _ antenna + Gantenna − L feeder − LTMA
ins − Lbody + GMIMO
S Rx = −174dBm / Hz + 10 ⋅ log(15kHz ⋅12⋅# RB) + NF + SINR
Tx Power per antenna connector:
Receiver bandwidth
• eNodeB 8/20/40/60 W license based control
• UE 23± 2dBm Noise power

Number of Physical Resource

Feeder Loss (only in DL): Thermal Noise Density:
Blocks
• 0.4 dB in DL with Feederless solution • DL: all available in the 10*log(KT)+30
• 3 dB in DL otherwise (exemplary value) channel bandwidth
• UL: only those RBs Noise figure (HW specific)
Body Loss (UE only)
allocated for
• 0 dB for PC cards/laptops transmission Signal to Interference
Antenna Gain Ratio
• 18dBi (although variable with • Source: link level
frequency band and antenna type) simulations
TMA (MHA) insertion loss
OFDMA / SC-FDMA
• Only affects downlink
• 0.5 dB if TMA is used DL: OFDM receiver looks at the whole bandwidth, thus all available
Total power increase due to transmit diversity Resource Blocks should be considered.
techniques UL: SC-FDMA receiver looks only at the allocated bandwidth, thus not all
• 3 dB in DL for 2Tx diversity if not already but only assigned Resource Blocks are assumed in sensitivity formula.
considered in SINR
Link Budget Example
LTE Network Planning Items

• There is a trade off between coverage and capacity

• LTE planning is not feasible to do based on propagation only
• Tight frequency re-use 1 impacts strongly on SINR distribution
• Planning is similar to Mobile WiMAX and HSPA
– Frequency reuse 1 same as HSDPA
– OFDMA, subcarrier concept similar to WiMAX

Outage
probability
improvement
due to
interference
reduction
LTE capacity depends on SINR
• Low other to own cell interference can be achieved by planning clear
dominance areas

• The cell coverage (and overlap) must be properly controlled

• The cell should cover only what it is supposed to cover

– Low(er) antenna heights and down tilt of the antennas
– Use buildings and other environmental structures to isolate cells
coverage
– Use indoor solutions to take advantage of the building penetration
loss

• Avoid sites "seeing" the buildings in horizon especially over the water or
otherwise open area
PCI Planning
Introduction
• There are 504 unique Physical Cell IDs (PCI)
Physical Layer Cell Identity = (3 × NID1) + NID2
NID1: Physical Layer Cell Identity group. Range 0 to 167
– Defines SSS sequence
NID2: Identity within the group. Range 0 to 2
– Defines PSS sequence

• PCI impacts the allocation of resource

elements to the reference signal and the set of
physical channels

• Allocation pattern repeats every 6th Physical Layer Cell Identity

PCI Planning
In priority order, number 1 most important (all four should be fulfilled,
ideally)

1. Avoid assigning the same PCI to neighbour cells

2. Avoid assigning the same mod3 (PCI) to ‘neighbour’ cells

3. Avoid assigning the same mod6(PCI) to ‘neighbour’ cells

4. Avoid assigning the same mod30 (PCI) to ‘neighbour’ cells

Example 1 PCI Identity Plan

PRACH Planning
Principle
PRACH configuration two cells must be different within the PRACH re-use distance to increase the RACH decoding success
rate
PRACH transmission can be separated by:
• Time (prachConfIndex)
– PRACH-PUSCH interference: If PRACH resources are separated in time within eNB
– PRACH-PRACH interference: If same PRACH resources are used for the cells of an eNodeB.
– PRACH-PRACH interference is preferred to PRACH-PUSCH interference so prachConfIndex of the cells on one site
should be the same

• Frequency (prachFreqOff)
– Allocation of PRACH area should be next to PUCCH area either at upper or lower border of frequency band, however
should not overlap with PUCCH area
– Avoid separation of PUSCH in two areas by PRACH (scheduler can only handle one PUSCH area)
– For simplicity use same configuration for all cells

• Sequence (PRACH CS and RootSeqIndex)

– Use different sequences for all neighbour cells
Preamble Formats
• 3GPP (TS36.211) specifies 4 random access formats for FDD

• Difference in formats is based in the different durations for the cyclic prefix, sequence and guard time which have an effect on
the maximum cell radius
• Only Formats 0 and 1 are supported in initial releases (up to RL30)
Recommendation:
Select Format0 for cell ranges
<14.53 km
Select Format1 for cell ranges
<77.34 km
PRACH Configuration Index
• The parameter defines the Allowed System Frame for
random access attempts, the Sub-frame numbers for random
access attempts and the Preamble format
• RACH Density indicates how many RACH resources are per
10ms frame.
• RACH density values E.g.
– RACH density=1 Only one random access attempt per
frame
– RACH density=2 Two random access attempts per
frame

Recommendation:
Configure the same PRACH configuration Indexes at cells
belonging to the same site. E.g.:
3 or 4 or 5 if RACH density=1 and 6 or 7or 8 if RACH
density=2 (Preamble Format 0)

Recommendation: use PRACH density 1 for start

PRACH Frequency Offset
• Indicates the first PRB available for PRACH in the UL frequency band
• PRACH area (6 PRBs) should be next to PUCCH area either at upper or lower border of frequency band to maximize the PUSCH
area but not overlap with PUCCH area
• Parameter is configured based on the PUCCH region (see PUCCH dimensioning) i.e. its value depends on how many PUCCH
resources are available.
• If PRACH area is placed at the lower border of UL frequency band then:

PRACH-Frequency Offset= roundup [PUCCH resources/2]

• If PRACH area is placed at the upper border of the UL frequency band then:

PRACH-Frequency Offset= NRB -6- roundup [PUCCH resources/2]

PRACH Cyclic Shift
• PrachCS defines the configuration used for the preamble generation. i.e. how many cyclic shifts are needed to generate the
preamble
• PrachCS depends on the cell size
– Different cell ranges correspond to different PrachCS
• Simplification: To assume all cells have same size (limited by the prachConfIndex)

Recommendation:
Select PrachCS based on the cell range E.g. if estimated cell
range is 15km then PrachCS: 12
If all cells in the network are assumed to have same cell range
them PrachCS is the same for the whole network
PrachCS and rootSeqIndex
• PrachCS defines the number of cyclic shifts (in terms of number of
samples) used to generate multiple preamble sequences from a
single root sequence
• Example based on PrachCS=12 -> number of cyclic shifts: 119
– Root sequence length is 839 so a cyclic shift of 119 samples
allows ROUNDDOWN (839/119)= 7 cyclic shifts before
making a complete rotation (signatures per root sequence)
• 64 preambles are transmitted in the PRACH frame. If one root is not
enough to generate all 64 preambles then more root sequences are
necessary
– To ensure having 64 preamble sequences within the cell it is
necessary to have ROUNDUP (64/7)= 10 root sequences per
cell
• RootSeqIndex points to the first root sequence to be used when
generating the set of 64 preamble sequences.

Recommendation:
Use different rootSeqIndex (value 0…837) across
neighbouring cells means to ensure neighbour cells will use
different preamble sequences
PRACH Planning – Wrap Up
Steps:
- Define the prachConfIndex
• Depends on preamble format (cell range)
• It should be the same for each cell of a site
- Define the prachFreqOff
• Depends on the PUCCH region
• It can be assumed to be the same for all cells of a network (simplification)
- Define the PrachCS
• Depends on the cell range
• If for simplicity same cell range is assumed for all network then prachCS is the same for all cells
- Define the rootSeqIndex
• It points to the first root sequence
• It needs to be different for neighbour cells
• rootSeqIndex separation between cells depends on how many are necessary per cell (depends on PrachCS)
Tracking Area Planning
Background
• Tracking areas are used for EPS Mobility Management (EMM)
• Each eNodeB can contain cells belonging to different tracking areas
• Paging messages are broadcast across the tracking areas within which the UE is registered
• A tracking area can be shared by multiple MME
• Tracking Area Identity (TAI)
• Constructed from the Mobile Country Code (MCC), Mobile Network Code (MNC) and TAC (Tracking Area Code). All
broadcast within SIB1
• IMPORTANT: tac=0 not supported
• The normal tracking area updating procedure is used when a UE moves into a tracking area within which it is not registered
• The periodic tracking area updating procedure is used to periodically notify the availability of the UE to the network (based
upon T3412)
• Tracking area updates are also used for
• registration during inter-system changes
• MME load balancing
• Large tracking areas result in
• Increased paging load
• Reduced requirement for tracking area updates resulting from mobility
Planning Guidelines

• Tracking areas should be planned to be relatively large (100 eNodeB) rather than relatively small

• Their size should be reduced subsequently if the paging load becomes high

• Existing 2G and 3G location area and routing area boundaries should be used as a basis for defining LTE tracking area
boundaries

• Tracking areas should not run close to and parallel to major roads nor railways. Likewise, boundaries should not traverse
dense subscriber areas

• Cells which are located at a tracking area boundary and which experience large numbers of updates should be monitored to
evaluate the impact of the update procedures
PDCCH and PUCCH Capacity
PDCCH Dimensioning
Scope: Optimize the resources reserved for PDCCH as they represent an overhead via maxNbrOfdmSymblPDCCH as RL10/RL20
don’t support dynamic PDCCH allocation (i.e. reserved PDCCH symbols per subframe are always the same)

• PDCCH resources are accounted in terms of CCEs that can also be aggregated in groups of 1, 2, 4 or 8 CCE
– 1 CCE = 9 Quadruplets = 36 RE
– The higher the aggregation the more robust PDCCH (e.g. good at cell edge)
• Max. number of CCE for PDCCH depends on the bandwidth and the parameter maxNbrOfdmSymblPDCCH
• maxNrSymblPDCCH (default value : 3) defines how many symbols per subframe (1ms) are dedicated to carry PDCCH
resources
• Considerations when planning the parameter value:
– Max. number of simultaneous UL and DL grants to be scheduled per TTI
– Desired aggregation level for users at cell edge:
▪ if not enough PDCCH capacity available scheduling will be blocked
– Additional DL overhead introduced by increasing the number of PDCCH symbols and its impact on the max achievable
user throughputs
Maximum number of
CCE for different BW
PUCCH Dimensioning
Scope: Dimensioning of the PUCCH region (how many RBs) to avoid excessive overheads
• PUCCH is used to transfer Uplink Control Information (UCI) when the PUSCH is not in use through different PUCCH formats:

• PUCCH is allocated RBs at the 2 edges of the channel BW

‒ To avoid fragmenting PUSCH RBs
‒ To provide frequency diversity
• PUCCH always occupies 2 RBs distributed across the two time slots of a subframe
• Each PUSCH transmission uses 1 RB on each side of the channel bandwidth
• Total number of Resources required for PUCCH is the sum of the resources required for scheduling requests, for CQI and for
Dynamic ACK/NACK. It considers also the maximum amount of UEs in RRC connected mode

MaxPucchResourceSize = nCqiRb + roundup {[((maxNumOfCce) + n1PucchAn – pucchnanCS * 3 / deltaPucchShift ) *

deltaPucchShift] / (3*12)} + roundup (pucchnanCS / 8)
Example of PUCCH allocation within a frame
• Necessary to calculate how many PUCCH resources (m) are needed for Formats1.x and Formats 2.x
• ROUNDUP (PUCCH resources/ 2) =number of PRBs per subframe allocated to PUSCH
Parameter Overview
Basic Parameter Object Structure (1/2)
Basic Parameter Object Structure (2/2)
LNBTS Root object – QCI, AM RLC, PDCP configuration

LNCEL Cell, Common channel, RRM,C- and U- Plane configuration

LNMME S1 Interface configuration

LNADJ Global eNB Id of neighbouring eNB

LNADJL Neighbour cell information

LNADJW Neighbouring WCDMA BTS cell

LNHOW HO to WCDMA parameters – per WCDMA frequency

REDRT Redirection target Parameters

IAFIM Intra Frequency Idle Mode Parameters

IRFIM Inter Frequency Idle Mode Parameters

GFIM GERAN Idle Mode Parameters

CDFIM CDMA200 Idle Mode Parameters

UFFIM UTRAN FDD Frequency Idle Mode Parameters

Idle and Mobility Parameter
Idle Parameter
General Layering Strategy
Cell Selection (S-Criterion)
Cell Re-Selection Process Overview
Cell Re-Selection Process - Measurement
Cell Re-Selection (R-Criterion) – InterFrequency (1/3)
Cell Re-Selection (R-Criterion) - InterFrequency (2/3)
Cell Re-Selection (R-Criterion) - InterFrequency (3/3)
Cell Re-Selection (R-Criterion) - InterRAT (1/2)
Cell Re-Selection (R-Criterion) - InterRAT (2/2)
Mobility Parameter
HO Process Overview
Measurement Activation (1/3)
Measurement Activation (2/3)
Measurement Activation (3/3)
Measurement De-Activation – for Inter-frequency and Inter Rat
Event Based Handover (1/3)
Event Based Handover (2/3)
Event Based Handover (3/3)
LTE Mobility Offsets (1/2)
LTE Mobility Offsets (2/2)
LTE Site Health & Stability Check
BTS Status & Alarms Check
Using BTS Site Browser
BTS Status and
STATUS
Alarms can also
be checked from
NetAct using “BTS
Site Browser”.

ALARM
MONITOR
BTS Status & Alarms Check
Using BTS Site Manager
BTS Status and
Alarms can also
be checked by
logging into the
STATUS site using “BTS
Site Manager”.

ACTIVE
ALARMS
Common Alarms (1)

7651 BASE STATION OPERATION DEGRADED

S1 SCTP Path Failure
Check the connection to MME using IP connectivity test from BTS Site Manager.
GTPU Path Failure
Check the connection to S-GW using IP connecitivity test from BTS Site Manager.
Failure in Optical RP3 Interface
Check the optical cables connection between System Module and RF Module.

7654 CELL OPERATION DEGRADED

RF Module Failure
Check/ replace the RF Module.

7655 CELL NOTIFICATION

TX Failure in MIMO
Faulty Tx in RF module. Check/replace the RF Module or change dlMimoMode to “Single Tx” to clear the alarm.
Common Alarms (2)

7657 BASE STATION CONNECTIVITY DEGRADED

Transport Layer Connection Failure in X2 Interface
Check the connection to adjacent BTS using IP connectivity test from BTS Site Manager .
Transport Layer Connection Failure in S1 Interface
Check the connection to MME using IP connectivity test from BTS Site Manager.
LOS/LOF on unit $U, Interface $IF
Check the Transmission Module or the connection to the far end node.
Synchronisation Lost
Check the connection to the synchronization source.

7652 BASE STATION NOTIFICATION

BTS Reference Clock Missing
Check the connection to the synchonization source.
LTE Drive Test & Analysis
Drive Test Output

The following problems can be detected from drive test.

Overshooting.

Pilot Pollution.

Missing Neighbour.

Un-optimized Parameters.
Pilot Pollution
What is Pilot Pollution ?

Less than 3 - 5 dB different RSRP among PCIs are considered as potential interfering PCIs.

How to detect ?

Based on drive test log.

Check serving PCI versus Top 4 PCIs.

Less than 3 - 5 dB different RSRP among PCIs are considered as potential interfering PCIs.

Count PCIs less than 5 dB RSRP different.

Count 3 ~ 4 PCIs should be considered for antenna optimization.
Pilot Pollution
DL Radio Quality

Possible problems :
• Reduction of SINR
• Increase of DL interference from other cells
• Frequent handover

Lower SINR area is matched

together with multiple PCIs area
Pilot Pollution
UL Radio Quality

In area with low RSRP, UL Power Headroom is limited.

Pilot Pollution
Counted PCIs

Pollution RSRP

There are 4 ~ 6 PCIs with less than 3 dB different of

RSRP.
Pilot Pollution
After Antenna Downtilting

After antenna downtilting, SINR is improving.

Pilot Pollution
After Antenna Downtilting

The number of Handover attempts has been reduced which is indicating more clear dominant areas after antenna
downtilting.
Pilot Pollution
After Antenna Tilting

SINR improvement is around 2 dB.

Pilot Pollution
After Antenna Tilting
Missing Neighbour

How to detect ?

Perform drive test (PING test should be enough).

Consider measurement reports without Handover command as missing neighbours.

Monitor Handover performance from drive test and KPIs.

Monitor other KPIs (such as CSSR, Drop Rate, Early Handover, Late Handover, etc.).
Missing Neighbour
Measurement Reports without Handover Command

Serving Missing
PCI Neighbour PCI
A lot of Measurement 501 449
Reports but no
Handover Command

Source Target Target eNB

eNB ID eNB ID c-plane ip
address
501 449 10.48.7.182

UE is reporting to the Create

serving cell (PCI 501) a LNADJ
neighbour cell (PCI 449)
with stronger signal.
LTE KPI & Performance Analysis
 KPI Formula
KPI Name KPI ID Formula
Cell Availability LTE_5750a 100*sum(SAMPLES_CELL_AVAIL)/sum(DENOM_CELL_AVAIL)

100*sum([SIGN_CONN_ESTAB_COMP]) / sum([SIGN_CONN_ESTAB_ATT_MO_S]+
[SIGN_CONN_ESTAB_ATT_MT]+ [SIGN_CONN_ESTAB_ATT_MO_D]+
RRC Setup Success Ratio LTE_5218c
[SIGN_CONN_ESTAB_ATT_OTHERS] +
[SIGN_CONN_ESTAB_ATT_EMG])

E-RAB Setup Success Ratio LTE_5017a 100*(EPS_BEARER_SETUP_COMPLETIONS) / (EPS_BEARER_SETUP_ATTEMPTS)

100*sum(ENB_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_RNL + ENB_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_TNL +
ENB_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_OTH) / sum(EPC_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_NORM +
EPC_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_DETACH + EPC_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_RNL +
E-RAB Drop Ratio LTE_5025b
EPC_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_OTH + ENB_EPSBEAR_REL_REQ_RNL_REDIR +
ENB_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_NORM + ENB_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_RNL +
ENB_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_TNL + ENB_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_OTH)

Intra eNB HO Success Ratio,

LTE_5043a 100*(SUCC_INTRA_ENB_HO) / (INTRA_ENB_HO_PREP)
Total
Inter eNB HO Success Ratio,
LTE_5058b 100*(SUCC_INTER_ENB_HO) / (INTER_ENB_HO_PREP)
Total
Reports & KPI
Cell Availability
RSLTE000
System Program RRC Setup
(Cell Level)
Success Rate
RSLTE004
Network Access – Service E-RAB Setup
Access and RRC
Success Rate
RSLTE037
Service Retainability E-RAB DropRate

RSLTE005
HO Analysis Intra-eNB HO
Success Rate
RSLTE031
Neighbour HO Analysis
Inter-eNB HO
RSLTE024 Success Rate
RSSI for PUSCH

PCI Confusion
RSLTE025
SINR for PUSCH
Uplink Interference
RSLTE019
Power Radio Quality
OSS Statistics

RSLTE000-System
Program.XLS
PCI Planning Review Mod3 Violation

Site Info :
Site location & type
Antenna azimuth
PCI

PCI 318 & PCI 321 have the same

mod3 i.e. 0.

Solution: Change PCI 321 to 322 and

PCI 322 to 321.
Root Sequence Index (RSI) Planning Review RSI Collision

Site Info :
Site location & type
Antenna azimuth
Root Sequence Index

Root Sequence Index 100 collisions.

Solution :
Change Root Sequence Index of
LNCEL 394 from 100 to 230.
 External UL Interference
E-RAB Drop Rate [%] RRC Setup Success Rate [%]

0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
1.20
1.40
1.60
1.80
2.00

100.00
60.00

65.00

70.00

75.00

80.00

85.00

90.00

95.00
06.06.2012
06.06.2012
06.07.2012
06.07.2012

RNL, EPC init (M8006C8)

TNL, eNB init (M8006C14)
E-RAB Drop Rate (LTE_5025b)

RRC CSSR (LTE_5218c)

06.08.2012
06.08.2012

06.09.2012
06.09.2012

06.10.2012
06.10.2012

06.11.2012
06.11.2012

06.12.2012
06.12.2012

RRC Timer Expiry (LTE_5229b)

06.13.2012

OTH, EPC init (M8006C9)

OTH, eNB init (M8006C13)
RNL, eNB init (M8006C12)
06.13.2012

06.14.2012 06.14.2012

06.15.2012 06.15.2012

06.16.2012 06.16.2012

06.17.2012 06.17.2012

06.18.2012 06.18.2012
0

0.00

5.00

10.00

15.00

20.00

25.00
1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

E-RAB Drop Count per Cause RRC Timer Expiry [%]

-130
-120
-110
-100
-90
-80
-70
-60
-50
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
06.18.2012 00:00:00
-Possible external interference.

-Very high Max. PUSCH RSSI i.e. > -40 dBm.

-Low SINR.

06.18.2012 03:00:00
06.18.2012 06:00:00
06.18.2012 09:00:00
06.18.2012 12:00:00
06.18.2012 15:00:00
06.18.2012 18:00:00
06.18.2012 21:00:00
06.19.2012 00:00:00
06.19.2012 03:00:00
Avg. RSSI for PUSCH
06.19.2012 06:00:00
06.19.2012 09:00:00
06.19.2012 12:00:00
06.19.2012 15:00:00
06.19.2012 18:00:00
06.19.2012 21:00:00
06.20.2012 00:00:00
06.20.2012 03:00:00
06.20.2012 06:00:00
06.20.2012 09:00:00
Low SINR

06.20.2012 12:00:00
06.20.2012 15:00:00
06.20.2012 18:00:00
06.20.2012 21:00:00
Max. RSSI for PUSCH

06.21.2012 00:00:00
06.21.2012 03:00:00
06.21.2012 06:00:00
06.21.2012 09:00:00
06.21.2012 12:00:00
06.21.2012 15:00:00
06.21.2012 18:00:00
06.21.2012 21:00:00
06.22.2012 00:00:00
06.22.2012 03:00:00
06.22.2012 06:00:00
06.22.2012 09:00:00
06.22.2012 12:00:00
06.22.2012 15:00:00
06.22.2012 18:00:00
Avg. SINR for PUSCH

06.22.2012 21:00:00
High RSSI

06.23.2012 00:00:00
06.23.2012 03:00:00
06.23.2012 06:00:00
06.23.2012 09:00:00
06.23.2012 12:00:00
06.23.2012 15:00:00
06.23.2012 18:00:00
06.23.2012 21:00:00
06.24.2012 00:00:00
06.24.2012 03:00:00
06.24.2012 06:00:00
06.24.2012 09:00:00
06.24.2012 12:00:00
06.24.2012 15:00:00
06.24.2012 18:00:00
06.24.2012 21:00:00
-20

-15

-10

-5

10

15

20

25

30
External UL Interference

• Interference wave happens frequently

causing PRACH failure.
• CSSR and Call Drop are impacted.
• Handover toward LNCEL 64652 are also
impacted.

Source Target
HO Attempt HO Success Rate
LNBTS name LNCEL name LNBTS name LNCEL name
NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA0 61 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 9961 83.09
NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA0 62 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 9703 79.72
NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA0 63 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 2 100
NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA0 65 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 2 50
NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA1 384 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 7458 60.78
NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA1 385 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 544 95.59
NL_BSbujeonrotaryB4 5252 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 872 96.79
NL_BSbujeonrotaryB4 5254 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 11 100
NL_BSseomyontaehwaA0 70 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 22873 97.7
NL_BSseomyontaehwaA0 71 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 11014 91.39
NL_BSseomyontaehwaA0 72 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 3726 99.44
NL_BSseomyontaehwaA0 75 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 101 99.01
NL_BSseomyontaehwaA1 410 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 2 50
NL_BSseomyontaehwaA1 412 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 13 92.31
NL_BSseomyontaehwaA1 413 NL_BSbujeondoseokwanA2 64652 5 40
LNADJ Management

Addition of LNADJ needs to be added by NetAct in bi-directional way.

Number of LNADJ needs to be managed and monitored.

Deletion of LNADJ needs to be checked in both direction :

• No outgoing handover attempt
• No incoming handover attempt
Wrong LNADJ

Wrong neighbour configured.

Correction :
LNADJ Deletion : 131618  132234
LNADJ Addition : 131618  131110

Irwan Radius / 07.03.2013

 Parameter Optimization
RRC Setup Failures
The reason for the BTS not receiving the RRC Connection Setup Complete can be as follows:

DL – UE does not hear the contention resolution or RRC Connection Setup message

53% of analysed
RRC setup
failures are due
to DL problems
Parameter Optimization
RRC Setup Failures
Check List Summary
INPUT PROBLEM ACTION EFFECT

Coverage Analysis/
Overshooting Antenna Downtilting
RRC Setup Success Rate
Drive Test
Pilot Pollution Parameter
Recommendation RACH Success Rate
Un-optimized
Parameter Adding Missing
E-RAB Drop Rate
Neighbour
Missing Neighbour
Consistency Check HO Success Rate
Parameter
Inconsistency
Parameter PCI Re-assignment S1 HO Trigger 0
Dump PCI Mod3 Violation
Root Sequence Index Throughput
Root Sequence Index Re-assignment
Collision
Unknown Problems
PCI Confusion
OSS External Noise
Statistics Clean-up
Uplink Interference
Appendix
LTE Throughput
• Maximum Peak Layer 1 Rates to one user according to 3GPP specifications and UE capability
Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS)
3GPP TS 36.213 specifies tables to:
• link the MCS Index to a Modulation Order (modulation type) and TBS Index
• link the TBS Index to a Transport Block Size (TBS) for a specific number of Physical Resource Blocks (PRB)
Only a subset of the complete table (3GPP TS 36.213 specifies 110 columns)

Modulation Order
2 ≡ QPSK
4 ≡ 16QAM
6 ≡ 64QAM

High MCS
corresponds to
high throughput
RSRP and RSRQ
RSRP: 3GPP RSRP Definition:
• RSRP is the power of a single resource element. Reference signal received power (RSRP), is defined as the
• UE measures the power of multiple resource elements used to linear average over the power contributions (in [W]) of the
transfer the reference signal but then takes an average of them resource elements that carry cell-specific reference signals
rather than summing them.
within the considered measurement frequency bandwidth.
• Reporting range -44…-140 dBm
3GPP RSRQ Definition:
RSRQ: Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) is defined as the
• RSRQ = RSRP / (RSSI/N) ratio N×RSRP/(E-UTRA carrier RSSI), where N is the number
– N is the number of resource blocks over which the RSSI is of RBs of the E-UTRA carrier RSSI measurement bandwidth.
measured The measurements in the numerator and denominator shall
– RSSI is wide band power, including intracell power, be made over the same set of resource blocks.
interference and noise. E-UTRA Carrier Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI),
• Reporting range -3…-19.5dB comprises the linear average of the total received power (in
[W]) observed only in OFDM symbols containing reference
symbols for antenna port 0, in the measurement bandwidth,
over N number of resource blocks by the UE from all sources,
including co-channel serving and non-serving cells, adjacent
channel interference, thermal noise etc.
LTE Network – Re use existing frequency band 1800
LTE Network – Re use existing frequency band 900
LTE – GSM RF Sharing