What is LTE architecture?

“The evolved architecture comprises E-UTRAN (Evolved UTRAN) on the access side and EPC
(Evolved Packet Core) on the core side.”
LTE Architecture

LTE FRAME

LTE/UMTS Layers
LTE Channels:-

Question-1: What is the difference between LTE FDD and LTE TDD?

Answer-1:The difference lies in the LTE frame structure in both the FDD and TDD versions of the
LTE. In FDD there will be pair of frequencies assigned in the downlink and uplink directions and
hence transmissions from multiple subscribes can happen at the same time but on different
frequencies. In TDD, one single frequency will be used at different time instants by multiple
subscriber terminals (UEs). Both frame versions of LTE will have 1 ms sub-frame duration and 0.5
ms slot duration.
Question-2: What is resource block in LTE?
Answer-2: Resource block is the smallest unit of resource allocation in LTE system. LTE frame is
divided based on time slots on time axis and frequency subcarrier on frequency axis. The resource
block is 180 kHz. wide in frequency and 1 slot (0.5ms)long in time.
Question-3: What are the LTE logical, transport and physical channels?

Answer-3:All these channels help LTE UE establish the connection with the eNodeB, maintain the
connection and terminate the same. Logical channels are characterized by the information that is
transferred. Transport channels are characterized by how the data are transferred over the radio
interface. Physical channel corresponds to a set of resource elements used by the physical layer.
Channels are further divided into control channel and traffic channel at logical channel stage.
Question-4: Explain the difference between Reference signal (RS) and synchronization signal (SS)
in the LTE? Also mention types of RS and SS.
Answer-4:Reference signal (RS) is used as pilot subcarrier in LTE similar to other broadband
wireless technologies such as WLAN, WIMAX etc. Synchronization signal is used as preamble
sequence in LTE for synchronization purpose. RS is used for channel estimation and tracking. SS
are of two types viz. P-SS and S-SS. P-SS is used for initial synchronization. S-SS is used
Question-5: Explain LTE cell search procedure followed by UE.
Answer-5:LTE cell search procedure is used by UE to camp onto the LTE cell i.e. eNodeB. Refer LTE
UE
Question-7: What is the advantage of using SC-FDMA in the LTE uplink?
Answer-7:The main advantage of SC-FDMA is low PAPR(power requirments) compare to OFDMA
used in LTE downlink. This increases the efficiency of power amplifier and hence increases the
battery life of UE.
Question-8: What is RSSI?
Answer-8:RSSI stands for Received Signal Strength Indication. RSSI is the total power received at
perticular point by all cells including interfearance cells in idle as well as connected/dedicated
modes.
Question-10: Explain LTE network architecture and various interfaces.

Answer-10:There are various entities forming the LTE network architecture, the main interfaces
are Uu between UE and eNB, X2 interface between eNBs and S1 interface between eNB and
EPC(Evolved Packet Core). The evolved architecture comprises E-UTRAN (Evolved UTRAN) on the
access side and EPC (Evolved Packet Core) on the core side.
Question-11: What is SRVCC?
Answer-11:SRVCC is the short form of Single-Radio Voice Call Continuity. SRVCC handover is
supported from E-UTRAN (i.e. LTE) to UTRAN/GERAN (WCDMA/GSM).
Question-12:What is the difference between LTE and LTE Advanced?
nswer-12:LTE is specified in 3GPP release 8 and release 9. LTE advanced is specified in 3GPP
release 10. The main difference between them is carrier aggregation is introduced in LTE
advanced. Number of antennas supported by MIMO has been increased to 8 in LTE advanced
Question 1. What Is Lte?
Answer :
LTE (Long Term Evolution) is initiated by 3GPPi to improve the mobile phone standard to cope with
future technology evolutions and needs.
Question 2. What Is Goal Of Lte?
Answer :
The goals for LTE include improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making
use of new spectrum and reformed spectrum opportunities, and better integration with other
open standards.
Question 3. What Speed Lte Offers?
Answer :
LTE provides downlink peak rates of at least 100Mbit/s, 50 Mbit/s in the uplink and RAN (Radio
Access Network) round-trip times of less than 10 ms. LTE advance 1000Mbs downlink and 500
Mbps in Uplink. Question 10. What Is Volga?
Answer :
VoLGA stands for "Voice over LTE via Generic Access". The VoLGA service resembles the 3GPP
Generic Access Network (GAN). GAN provides a controller node - the GAN controller (GANC) -
inserted between the IP access network (i.e., the EPS) and the 3GPP core network.

Question 11. What Is Cs Fallback In Lte?

Answer :
LTE technology supports packet based services only, however 3GPP does specifies fallback for
circuit switched services as well. LTE reuses CS infrastructure when the UE is served by E
UTRAN.
Question 18. What Is Son & How Does It Work In Lte?

Answer :

Self-configuring, self-optimizing wireless networksmobile networks are evolving towards 4G LTE

networks, introduction of self configuring and self optimizing mechanisms is needed to minimize
operational efforts. A self optimizing function would increase network performance and quality
reacting to dynamic processes in the network.

Question 26. What Is Carrier Aggregation In Lte-advanced?

Answer :
To meet LTE-Advanced requirements, support of wider transmission bandwidths is required than
the 20 MHz bandwidth specified in 3GPP Release 8/9. The preferred solution to this is carrier
aggregation.

It is of the most distinct features of 4G LTE-Advanced. Carrier aggregation allows expansion of

effective bandwidth delivered to a user terminal through concurrent utilization of radio resources
across multiple carriers. Multiple component carriers are aggregated to form a larger overall
transmission bandwidth.
Question 27. What Is Relay Node And How Does Relaying Works In Lte-advanced?
Answer :
The Relay Nodes are low power eNodeBs that provide enhanced coverage and capacity at cell
edges. One of the main benefits of relaying is to provide extended LTE coverage in targeted areas
at low cost.
The Relay Node is connected to the Donor eNB (DeNB) via radio interface, Un, a modified version
of E-UTRAN air interface Uu. Donor eNB also srves its own UE as usual, in addition to sharing its
radio resources for Relay Nodes.

Question 44. What Is The Function Of Lte Physical Broadcast Channel I.e. Pbch?
Answer :
After initial cell synchronization is completed, UE reads MIB (Master information block) on PBCH
(Physical channel). Broadcast channel is referred as BCH at transport level and BCCH at logical
level.

What is physical cell ID?

The cell identity is used to identify the cell. The physical cell identity has a range of 0 to 503 and it
is used to scramble the data to help the mobile separate information from the different
transmitters.he PCI value is created from two components - PSS and SSS. The PSS, Primary
Synchronization Signal, has the value 0, 1, or 2. The SSS, Secondary Synchronization Signal, can
have a value between 0 and 167. The PCI value is [(3x SSS)+(PSS)], resulting in a value between 0
and 503. With only these 504 values, 3 different color group and 167 code groups. Color group
per sector and code group per site.

Question 1. What Are The Bandwidths Used For Lte Deployment?

Answer
1.4 MHz
3 MHz
5 MHz
10 MHz
15 MHz
20 MHz

Quetion 2. What Is Subcarrier Bandwidth In Lte?

Answer :
15 kHz
Question 3. What Maximum Lte Throughput Can Be Achieved In The Field?
Answer :
upto 70Mbps on TDD network with 20 MHz bandwidth channel.
Question 4. How Many States A Ue Can Have?
Answer :
There are 2 UE stats i.e. UE Idle and UE Connect.
UE can either be on Connected or on Idle state at a time.
Question 5. What Is Difference Between Ho , Redirection, Cell Selection And Re-selection?
Answer :
Handover (HO): UE moves from one eNB to target eNB while keeping its connected state. LTE
Services will be uninterrupted.In handover procedure, target cell would be prepared and UE will
latch on target cell based on the configuration sent by source enodeb to UE.
Redirection: UE changes its state from connected to Idle mode during Redirection. LTE Service will
be interrupted. For example, During CS Fallback, the UE is redirected from LTE RRC_CONNECTED
mode to (2G/3G) idle mode).
Cell Selection: It allows a UE to search and camp on a suitable cell. Cell selection occurs during
Initial cell selection (when UE switches ON), Stored information cell selection (uses stored cell info
to identify appropriate cell), and Cell selection when leaving RRC connected mode (When UE
move from RRC CONNECTED to RRC IDLE mode)
Cell Reselection: Its Idle mode procedure and happens from idle mode to idle mode. Reselection
can occue on cell within same RAT (Intra-RAT) or different RAT(Inter-RAT).

Handover Types in LTE:

Intra-LTE Handover: Source and target cells are part of the same LTE network.
Handover using X2 Interface
Handover using S1 Interface
Inter-LTE Handover: Handover happens towards other LTE nodes. (Inter-MME and Inter-SGW
Inter-MME Handover
Inter-MME/SGW Handover
Inter-RAT Handover: Handover between different radio technologies. For example handover from
LTE to WCDMA.

Quetion 8. Difference Between X2 And S1 Hand Over?

Answer :
X2 Hand Over:
HO occurs when source and target eNBs are served within the same MME pool. The procedures
relies on the presence of X2 interface between Source and Target eNB,
S1 Hand Over:
S1 handover is when If two eNodeBs are not connected with same MME or the X2 interfaces are
not defined between eNB or when X2 procedure fails(due to unreachability/Error response etc).

Question 9. What Is The Difference Between Erlang And Gos?

Answer :
Both Erlang and GoS are used in telephone exchange for measurement of calls such as calls
dropped, calls passed etc
8. What is CS Fallback in LTE?
Answer : LTE is packet based technology only, So for voice it uses existing CS inftrastructure.
Whenever a LTE user on a LTE network makes or receives a call, the network will redirect the user
toward 3G or 2G network (configurable per operator strategy).

10. Difference between OFDM and OFDMA

Answer : OFDM : A frequency and time multplxed symbol, OFDMA : multiple access technique in
which individual users are assigned subsets of available subcarriers within one OFDM symbol and
hence multiple users can access the link at the same time.

14. What is VoLGA?

VoLGA stands for “Voice over LTE via Generic Access”. The VoLGA service resembles the 3GPP
Generic Access Network (GAN). GAN provides a controller node – the GAN controller (GANC) –
inserted between the IP access network (i.e., the EPS) and the 3GPP core network.
The GAN provides an overlay access between the terminal and the CS core without requiring
specific enhancements or support in the network it traverses. This provides a terminal with a
‘virtual’ connection to the core network already deployed by an operator. The terminal and
network thus reuse most of the existing mechanisms, deployment and operational aspects.

What is eNodeB Capacity?

eNodeB Capacity
Peak Bit Rate(Mbps)=bit per Hz x N subcarriers x N symbol per subframe in 1ms
Bandwidth (MHz) Modulation
QPSK 16 QAM 64 QAM
1.4 2.016 Mbps 4.032 Mbps 6.048 Mbps
3 5.04 Mbps 10.08 Mbps 15.12 Mbps
5 8.4 Mbps 16.8 Mbps 25.2 Mbps
10 16.8 Mbps 33.6 Mbps 50.4 Mbps
15 25.2 Mbps 50.4 Mbps 75.6 Mbps
20 33.6 Mbps 67.2 Mbps 100.8 Mbps

What is the difference between WiMAX system and LTE system?

Answer: WiMAX and LTE both are used for providing broadband internet access services.
WiMAX fall back to non-cellular technologies such as WLAN.LTE fall back to
cellular technologies such as GSM, UMTS etc. In wimax both uplink and downlink use symmetric
modulation schemes such as OFDM or OFDMA.
In LTE downlink uses OFDMA and uplink uses SC-FDMA....

What is Difference between MIB and SIB?

MIB and SIB are two types of System Information (SI) that is broadcasted in the serving are of
particular cell. Master information Block (MIB): is a static part of SI and
contain information like number of antennas, system bandwidth,PHICH configuration, transmitted
power and scheduling information . System Information Block (SIB): is a dynamic part of
SI. It carry relevant information for the UE, which helps UE to access a cell, perform cell re-
selection, information related to INTRA-frequency, INTER-frequency and INTER-RAT cell selections

What RBS Hardware does Ericsson use for LTE Technology?

RBS 6000 series

What is considered a good RSRP and RSRQ threshold, good for LTE radio conditions?
RSRP = >-95 dBm (Planning with -113 dBm) RSRQ=<-7db
What latency (RTT) have you experienced while pinging with 32 bytes?
40-200ms
UMTS Architecture

UMTS Channels

UMTS FRAME STRUECTURE

What are the RRC operation modes?

Idle mode and connected mode.
What are the RRC states?
There are 4 RRC States: Cell_DCH, Cell_FACH, URA_PCH and Cell_PCH. URA = UTRAN Registration Area.

Question 15. What Is Active Set?

Answer :

Active Set is defined as the set of Node-Bs the UE is simultaneously connected.

Question 16. What Is Monitor Set And Detected Set Cells?

Answer :

Cells, which are not included in the active set, but are included in the CELL_INFO_LIST belong to the
Monitored Set.
Cells detected by the UE, which are neither in the CELL_INFO_LIST nor in the active set belong to the
Detected Set.

Question 17. What Are The Various Types Of Rnc?

Answer :
Serving RNC
Drift RNC
Controlling RNC

Question 10. What Is Paging? Why Paging Is Required?

Answer :
Paging: This procedure is used to transmit paging information to selected UEs in idle mode,

UMTS Interview Question and Answers

1)UMTS Modulation Technique: Uplink vs. Downlink modulation: Downlink uses QPSK Uplink uses Dual
BPSK
2)Range of Spreading Factors:
Downlink : 4 to 512 Uplink: 4 to 256
3)There are several Event in 3G
Event 1A:UTRAN will add the new cell in the UE's active cell list and will send an ACTIVE SET UPDATE
message. Event 1B:UTRAN will send ACTIVE SET UPDATE message to remove the cell from UE's active
set. Event 1C:UTRAN will send ACTIVE SET UPDATE message that will remove one or more cells and will
add one or more cells. The only restriction for 1C is that there should be atleast one radio link that is
not affected by the procedure.
What is difference RRC & RAB?
RRC is in layer3 and RAB is in between UE and CN. RRC is part of control plane and RAB of user Plane.

What is a typical NodeB sensitivity level?

The service and load determines the NodeB sensitivity; in general, in a no-load condition, the
sensitivity is between -115dBm to -125dBm. For Ericsson, the NodeB sensitivity level is calculated at
around: CS12.2: -124 dBm ,PS-64: -119 dBm, PS-128: -115 dBm, PS-384: -115 dBm

What is a typical UE sensitivity level?

The service and load determines the UE sensitivity; in general, in no-load condition, the sensitivity is
between -105dBm and -120dBm.
What is a typical NodeB maximum output power?
The maximum NodeB output power is usually 20W or 40W, that is, 43dBm or 46dBm.
What is UE maximum transmit power in your link budget?
21dBm.
What is a typical antenna gain?
The antenna gain depends on antenna model; in link budget we use around 17dBi.
What is a typical maximum path loss?
The maximum path loss is dependent on the service and vendor recommendations; typically it is in
between 135 to 140dB for urban areas and between 150 to 160dB for rural areas.
What is difference between dBi and dBd?
dBi is the gain in dB from isotropic source; dBd is the gain from a dipole source. dBd + 2.15 = dBi.
What is 0dBm?
0dBm = 1 milli-watt.

How does TMA work?

A TMA reduces system noise, improves uplink sensitivity and leads to longer UE battery life.
Sensitivity is the minimum input power needed to get a suitable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the
output of the receiver. It is determined by receiver noise figure, thermo noise power and required SNR.
Thermo noise power is determined by bandwidth and temperature, SNR is determined by modulation
technique, therefore the only variable is noise figure

What are the pros and cons (advantages and disadvantages) of TMA?
On the upside, a TMA reduces system noise, improves uplink sensitivity and leads to longer UE battery
life. On the downside, TMA imposes an additional insertion loss (typically 0.5dB) on the downlink and
increases site installation and maintenance complexity.
What is typical TMA gain?
TMA typically has a 12 dB gain;

What is UMTS chip rate?

Ans : 3.84MHz.
What is processing gain?
Processing gain is the ratio of chip rate over data bit rate, usually represented in decibel (dB) scale. For
example, with 3.84MHz chip rate and 12.2k data rate, the processing gain is:
PG= 10 * log (3,840,000 / 12,200) = 25dB
What is Eb/No?

By definition Eb/No is energy bit over noise density,

Why is Eb/No requirement lower for PS than for CS?

PS has a better error correction capability and can utilize retransmission, therefore it can afford to a
lower Eb/No. CS is real-time and cannot tolerate delay so it needs a higher Eb/No to maintain a
stronger RF link
What is Ec/Io?
Ec/Io is the ratio of the energy per chip in CPICH to the total received power density (including CPICH
itself)

Sometimes we say Ec/Io and sometimes we say Ec/No, are they different?
Io = own cell interference + surrounding cell interference + noise density No = surrounding cell
interference + noise density That is, Io is the total received power density including CPICH of its own
cell, No is the total received power density excluding CPICH of its own cell. Technically Ec/Io should be
the correct measurement but, due to equipment capability, Ec/No is actually measured. In UMTS,
Ec/No and Ec/Io are often used interchangeably.
What is RSCP?
RSCP stands for Received Signal Code Power
–
the energy per chip in CPICH averaged over 512 chips.
What is SIR?
SIR is the Signal-to-Interference Ratio
–
the ratio of the energy in dedicated physical control channel bits to the power density of interference
and noise after dispreading.
What is the loading factor in your design?
The designed loading typically is 50%; however, sometimes a carrier may want to design up to 75%
load.

Give a simple definition of pole capacity?

The uplink noise increases with the loading exponentially. When the uplink noise approaches infinity
then no more users can be added to a cell
–
and the cell loading is close to 100% and has reached its
“pole capacity”
How many types of handovers are there in UMTS?
Soft handover, softer handover, inter-frequency handover, inter-RAT handover, inter-RAT cell change
(UE moving out of UMTS coverage into GSM/GPRS/EGDGE coverage).

What is soft handover and softer handover?

§ Soft handover: when a UE is connected to cells owned by different NodeB. § Softer handover: when a
UE is connected to cells owned by the same NodeB.

Why is there “soft handover gain”?

Soft handover gain comes from the following: § Macro diversity gain over slow fading. § Micro diversity
gain over fast fading. § Downlink load sharing over multiple RF links. By maintaining multiple links each
link could transmit at a lower power, resulting in lower interference therefore a gain.

Brief describe the advantages and disadvantages of soft handover?

Advantages:
§ Overcome fading through macro diversity. § Reduced Node B power which in turn decreases
interference and increases capacity. § Reduced UE power (up 4dB), decreasing interference and
increasing battery life.
Disadvantages:
§ UE using several radio links requires more channelization codes, and more resources on the Iub and
Iur interfaces
.

What are fast fading and slow fading?

Fast fading is also called multi-path fading, as a result of multi-path propagation. When multi-path
signals arriving at a UE, the constructive and destructive phases create a variation in signal strength.
Slow fading is also called shadowing. When a UE moves away from a cell the signal strength drops
down slowly.
What is a typical CPICH power?
CPICH power typically takes about 10% of the total NodeB power. For a 20W (43dBm) NodeB, CPICH is
around 2W (33dBm)
How much is your HSDPA (max) link power?
HSDPA link power is typically 4 to 5dB below the maximum NodeB maximum output power. For
example, for 43dBm maximum NodeB power the HSDPA link power is 39dBm

Consider downlink only, what are the major components in calculating maximum path loss, starting
from NodeB?
§ NodeB CPICH transmit power. § Jumper and feeder connector loss. § Antenna gain. § Over-the-air
loss. § Building / vehicle penetration loss. § Body loss. § Etc

What is maximum path-loss?

The maximum path-loss is how much signal is allowed to drop from a transmitter to a receiver and
maintains as good signal.
What is channelization code?
Channelization codes are orthogonal codes used to spread the signal and hence provides channel
separation, that is, channelization codes are used to separate channels from a cell
How many channelization codes are available?
The number of channelization codes available is dependent on the length of code. In the uplink the
length is defined as between 4 and 256. In the downlink the length is defined as between 4 and 512.

What is scrambling code? How many scrambling codes there are?

Scrambling codes are used to separate cells and UEs from each other, that is, each cell or UE should
have a unique scrambling code. There are 512 scrambling codes on the downlink and millions on the
uplink.

What is scrambling “code group”?

The 512 scrambling codes are divided into 64 code groups
–
each code group has 8 scrambling codes.

What is “noise rise”?

For every new user added to the service, additional noise is added to the network. That is, each new
user causes a “noise rise”.

What is “pilot pollution”?

Simply speaking, when the number of strong cells exceeds the active set size, there is “pilot pollution”
in the area. Typically the active set size is 3, so if there are more than 3 strong cells then there is pilot
pollution.

What is the active set size on your network?

Ans : 3.
How many fingers does a UE rake receiver have?
Ans : 4
PSC : The PSC is a set of 512 scrambling codes used to, well, scramble downlink transmissions so the UE can distinguish signals
What is “cell breathing” and why?
The cell coverage shrinks as the loading increases, this is called cell breathing
What is the impact of higher data rate on coverage?
Higher data rate has lower processing gain and therefore a NodeB needs to transmit more power to
meet the required Eb/No; this means the coverage is smaller for higher data rate.
What is OVSF?
Ans : Orthogonal Variable Spreading Factor.
How many OVSF code spaces are available?
§ Total OVSF codes = 256.

How many scrambling code groups are there for downlink?

There are 64 code groups, each group has 8 scrambling codes. 512 total
Are scrambling codes orthogonal?
Ans : No, scrambling codes are not orthogonal since they are not synchronized at each receiver. They
are pseudo random sequences of codes.

What are coverage thresholds in your UMTS design and why?

The coverage thresholds are based on UE sensitivity, fading and penetration loss. Assuming UE
sensitivity of -110dBm, fade margin of 5dB: § Outdoor: -110dBm sensitivity + 5dB fade margin =
-105dBm. § In-vehicle: -110dBm + 5dB + 8dB in-vehicle penetration loss = -97dBm. § In-building:
-110dBm + 5dB + 15dB in-building penetration loss = -90dBm

What is the Ec/Io target in your design?

The Ec/Io target typically is between -12 to -14dB. However, if a network is designed for data then the
Ec/Io target could go higher to around -10dB because server dominance is more critical for a data
network

What are the conditions you typically set to trigger IRAT handover?
RSCP and Ec/Io are used to trigger IRAT handover: §
RSCP ≤
-100dBm. §
Ec/Io ≤
-16dBm.

What are the typical KPIs you use to measure a network and what criteria?
§ Access
failure rate (≤ 2%).
§ Call setup time (CS: over 95% of the time < 6-second for mobile-to-PSTN, 9-second for mobile-
mobile. PS: over 95% of the time < 5-second). §
Dropped call rate (≤ 2%).
§
BLER: over 95% of the blocks ≤ 2%.
§ Average DL/UL throughput for PSD: 210kbps for loaded, 240kbps for unloaded.

What are the possible causes for a Drop Call on a UMTS network?
§ Poor Coverage (DL / UL) § Pilot Pollution / Pilot Spillover § Missing Neighbor § SC Collisions § Delayed
Handovers § No resource availability (Congestion) for Hand in § Loss of Synchronization § Fast Fading §
Delayed IRAT Triggers § Hardware Issues § External Interference

What is Hard Handover in UMTS? When will it happen?

§ Hard Handover in UMTS is a break before make type Handover It can happen in the inter RNC
boundaries where there is no Iur link.
Hard Handover:- When mobile(in Call) switches to a new sector/Cell which is on different frequency ,
then it performs hard Handover. It is basically an inter-frequency handover. SOft Handover:- When
mobile ( in Call) switches to a new sector/cell which is on the same frequency then it is called a soft
handover.

What is Admission Control?

§ Admission Control is an algorithm which controls the Resource Allocation for a new call and
additional resource allocation for an existing call. Incase, if a cell is heavily a loaded and enough
resources in terms of power, codes or CEs are not available, admission control denies permission for
the additional resource requirement.
What is Congestion Control?
§ Congestion Control monitors the dynamic utilization of specific cell resources and insures that
overload conditions do not occur. If overload conditions do occur, Congestion Control will immediately
restrict Admission Control from granting additional resources. In addition, Congestion Control will
attempt to resolve the congestion by either down switching, or terminating existing users. Once the

congestion is corrected, the congestion resolution actions will cease, and Admission Control will be
enabled.

ARQ (Automatic Repeat Request), which is used in UMTS, a package received in error will be discarded
and a retransmission will be requested. If the retransmission is also erroneous, another retransmission
will be requested. Using HARQ, an erroneous package will be stored at the receiver and a
retransmission will be
requested. Even if the retransmission is faulty, the receiver attempts to combine the two erroneous
packages to reproduce the original package

What are the main technologies used for HSDPA?

1)Link adaptation (AMC) 2)Fast Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), and 3)Shorter Transmission
Time Interval (TTI)
What is Link Adaption?
HSDPA uses link adaptation, which means the way of transmission is changed according to the quality
of the channel conditions. If a user is in favourable conditions, for example close to the nearest
antenna tower, this user will be assigned a high data rate. When the user moves into worse channel
conditions, for example far away from the antenna tower, the transmission parameters will be changed
accordingly and thus the data rate will be decreased.
What is Latency in HSDPA?
RF Optimization UMTS,HSDPA Latency is the time a packet needs to travel from sender to receiver.
While UMTS typically features an end-to-end latency of approximately 200ms, HSDPA manages to
lower the delay times in transmission to around 100ms.
What is benefit of shorter TTI in HSDPA?
1)After every TTI the resources can be redistributed among the users. Therefore, the resource usage is
more efficient. 2)each UE reports about the channel quality after every TTI by sending the CQI. 3)CQI is
sent after the very short period of time of 2 ms, it is possible to effectively perform link adaptation
even in rapidly changing conditions.
Introduction to HSDPA
High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is also known as High-Speed Downlink Protocol Access.
HSDPA is a protocol for mobile telephones. It is a third-generation (3G) High-Speed Packet Access
technology designed to speed up network capacity and data transmission rate of cellular phones.
HSDPA is associated with various Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) networks.
These include the Global System for Mobile (GSM) Communications. Currently, HSDPA can support
speeds ranging from 1.8 Mbps to 14.4 Mbps. While this is not very fast compared to various wired
networks, it is a major milestone considering the speed available to cellular technology. Although
HSDPA is mostly identified with its downlink speeds, it also has the ability to greatly expand transfer
capacity. HSDPA networks can transfer up to 30 GB of data monthly and as much as 300 minutes of
cellular television viewing and 1000 minutes of talk time.
Current HSDPA Technology
At present, there are 100 HSDPA-capable networks operating in 54 countries worldwide. A large
number of these networks offer 3.6 Mbps downlink speeds. However, more networks are beginning to
switch to faster 7.2 Mbps downlink speeds. Only a number of networks presently offer a full 14.4 Mbps
speed HSDPA competes with a rival format, the Evolution Data Optimized (EVDO) provided by Code
Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cellular providers
ns so the UE can distinguish signals from different cells.
GSM Architecture

GSM Channels

uestion -7. Explain the difference between TDMA, FDMA and CDMA?
Answer -7. TDMA,FDMA and CDMA are access techniques to utilize time,frequency and code respectively. TDMA means Time
Division Multiple Access,FDMA means Frequency Division Multiple Access and CDMA means Code Division Multiple Access.
GSM uses both TDMA and FDMA. FDMA comes by dividing the frequency band say 890 to 915 and 935 to 960 MHz bands into
sub-carriers of 200 KHz bandwidth each.
Question -13. Explain FDM, TDM and OFDM.
Answer -13. FDM stands for Frequency Division Multiplexing. TDM stands for Time Division Multiplexing and OFDM means
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing. This all are resource multiplexing techniques for utilizing the scared resource(time
and frequency) efficiently. FDM makes use of frequency,TDM time and OFDM also frequency resource.
GSM (Global System for Mobile communications)

Question 3. What Is The Maximum Data Rate Supported By A Gsm System?

Answer :
The maximum data rate supported by a GSM system is 9.6 kbps.
However there are extensions to GSM standard to improve throughput.
GPRS is one of the extended GSM service.
The extended standards of GSM allows theoretical data rates on the order of 114 Kbit/s, but with throughput closer to
40Kbit/s in practice.

Question 8. What Is The Mean Of Power Control In Gsm Technology?

Answer :
Power control is the intelligent selection of transmit power in a communication system for achieving best performance within
the system.
•The performance is depend on context and there are chances to include optimizing metrics like link data rate, network
capacity, geographic coverage and range.
•A higher transmit power translates into a higher signal power at the receiver.
•The bit error rate will be reduces at the receiver of a digital communication link, by having higher signal-to-noise ratio.

Question 9. What Do You Mean By Arfcn In Gsm Technology?

Answer :

•Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number, a code to specify a pair of physical radio carriers and channels within the
spectrum that is allocated for cellular mobile communications.
•ARFCN is used for transmitting and receiving on the UM Interface, one to uplink signal and one to downlink signal.
•ARFCN's bandwidth is 270.833 kHz; channel spacing is 200 kHz in a given GSM band.
•The uplink-downlink spacing is generally 45 / 50 MHz.
Question 15. What Is Erlangs In Gsm Technology?
Answer :
•Total traffic volume per hour / 3600 seconds is described by erlang

Question 27. Do You Know What Is Frequency Re-use?

Answer :
•Frequency Reuse is one of the techniques for improving capacity and spectral efficiency
•Commercial wireless systems are based on Frequency Reuse, that involves the partitioning of an RF radiation area into cell
segments.
•A frequency that is far enough away from the frequency in the bordering segment is used by one segment of the cell.
•Similar frequency is used at least two cells apart from each other.
Question 44. What Is The Main Difference Between Gsm And Cdma?
Answer :
The main difference between GSM and CDMA is: In GSM, the entire frequency band is not available to the end-user, while in
CDMA the entire frequency band is available to the end-user. So, the Frequency Re-use factor is 1 in CDMA.
GSM Works as follows:The entire frequency band is divided into chunks and each such chunk is divided into timeslots and each
such
portion is made available to a user.
CDMA Works as follows:The entire frequency band is available to the user. So, in order to differentiate, the transmission from
each user
is "spread" or coded using an unique code given to individual user. At the receiving end, the spread information is decoded.

Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) is a method of transmitting radio signals by rapidly switching a carrier among man
frequency channels, using a pseudorandom sequence known to both transmitter and receiver.
WHY DO WE NEED FREQUECY HOPPING ?
1) FREQUECY RESUSE AND TO AVOID CO-CHANNEL INTERFERENCE
2) INCREASES THE CHANNEL CAPACITY OF LIMITED GSM CHANNELS
3) DECREASES MULTIPATH INTERFERENCE OF RADIO SIGNAL.

What is type of modulation used in GSM?

Answer . GMSK stands for Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying.
Question 0- : What is Link Budget
Answer 0-: A link budget is an accounting of all of the gains and losses from the transmitter,
through the medium (free space, cable, waveguide, fiber, etc.) to the receiver. A simple
link budget equation looks like this:

Received Power (dB) = Transmitted Power (dB) + Gains (dB) − Losses (dB)

Question -1:What is the Return loss and VSWR? How are they related, pls. explain?

Answer -1: Both return loss and VSWR is used as a measure of reflection of E-M waves over
coaxial cable or RF cable or microstrip line. It gives how much power is reflected and how
much power is absorbed at various points specially at terminating and source points and at
places of impedance discontinuities. Return Loss in (dB) = 20*Log10((ZL-Z0)/(ZL+Z0)) VSWR
ranges from 1 to infinity. VSWR of 1 is ideal , more the value shows hoe bad the reciver and
transmitter impediance mismatch
Question -2: What is 1dB compression point and 3rd order intercept point? What is the
relation between both?
Answer -2: Both 1dB compression and 3rd order intercept points are used as performance
measure of RF amplifier, RF mixer etc. It provides the limit of linear region and point from
where device will move to saturation or nonlinear region.
Q; Diplexer vs Duplexer.

A : Diplexer : allows two different frequency band to share a common communication

channel. It consists of two filters (Low Pass, High Pass or Band Pass) at different frequencies
connected to a single antenna. Duplexer : allows the transmitter and receiver to use a single
antenna, while operating at the same/similar frequencies. It is a device that allows two-way
communication over a single channel by isolating the receiver from transmitter while
transmitting a pulse and isolating the transmitter from receiver while receiving a pulse,
allowing them to share the same antenna. It can be thought of as a circulator
Question -3: Why is the isolator placed at the output of the amplifier?
Answer -3: RF Isolator allows signal to flow only in one direction and hence prevent any
reflection going into the amplifier from output port. Hence it prevents damage to the
amplifier device,
Question -4:What is carrier to interference ratio(C/I) and how it is related to SNR?
Answer -4: C/I refer to ratio of carrier power to the interference power. SNR refer to ratio of
signal power to the noise power. C/I apply to modulated waveform while SNR applies to the
unmodulated waveform,
Question -5: What is G/T of the antenna?
Answer -5: G/T is referred as figure of merit of the RF antenna. G stands for Antenna gain and
T stands for Antenna noise temperature. More the value better it is.
Question -6: Explain difference between RF circulator and isolator.

Answer -6: RF circulator is a 3 port device and isolator is a 2 port device. Both allow signal to
flow in any one direction and prevents signal going into the other direction as per design. RF
circulator being having 3 ports, there are two main types clockwise and anticlockwise.
Question -7: Explain the transmission mode for EM waves in microstrip line. Also explain
types of microstrip line.
Answer -7: Quasi TEM mode is used in a microstrip line. In a normal TEM mode, E-field and
H-field are perpendicular to each other and also perpendicular to the direction of
propagation.
Question -8: What is the difference between harmonics and spurious? When these signals
are generated in RF circuit?

Answer -8: Harmonic and spurious frequencies are generated when RF mixer and amplifier
devices are operating in nonlinear region due to distortion. Integer multiple of input
frequency is referred as harmonics. Non integer multiple of input frequency is referred as
spurious.
Question -9: What is image frequency rejection in RF transceiver? What is the difference
between homodyne and heterodyne architecture in RF Receiver?
Answer -9: The pair of frequencies which produce the same output at the output of the RF
receiver are referred as images of each other. Homodyne and heterodyne are the two main
architectures used in RF receiver.
Question -10: What is the relation between dBm, dBW and Watt?
Answer -10: All these are units of power measurement , dBm refers to decibel related to 1
milliwatt, dBW refers to decibel related to 1 watt, WATT is the unit of power.

Question 12. Explain Multipath Fading.?

Answer :
The variation of received signal strength over time is referred as fading. When the signal
traverse from transmit end to receive end, it will have many reflections from buildings and
walls till it reaches receive end. This results into multipath fading.
What is Bit Error Rate and how it is calculated?
BER is the ratio of received erroneous bits to
the total number of bits transmitted.