5G Air Interface Resources Introduction

3rd Sep 2019

5G NR air interface
Numerology : refers to subcarrier spacing (SCS) in New Radio (NR) and related parameters, such as the symbol length
and cyclic prefix (CP) length.

Time CP Basic scheduling unit

domain Symbol
resources Slot Subframe Frame
length
1 slot = 14 symbols 1 subframe = 1 ms 1 frame = 10 ms

SCS
Numerology

One or more BWPs can be

1 RB = 12 subcarriers 1 RBG = 2 to 16 RBs 1 BWP = Multiple RBs/RBGs configured in one carrier.
Frequency
domain RB RBG Bandwidth part Carrier
resources (BWP)

Existed in LTE Existed in LTE

Added in NR
Unchanged in NR Modified in NR
Time Domain
Time Domain Res. Scheduling units

In the time domain, slot is a basic scheduling unit for data channels. The concepts of radio frames and subframes are the same as those in LTE.

Radio frame Inherited from LTE and has a

fixed value of 10 ms

... Inherited from LTE and has a

Subframe Subframe Subframe
fixed value of 1 ms

Slot Slot ... Slot Minimum unit for data scheduling

Symbol Symbol Symbol ... Symbol

Basic unit for modulation

Sampling Sampling Sampling

point point
... point Basic time unit at the physical layer
Time Domain Res.
 Frame length: 10 ms
– SFN range: 0 to 1023
 Subframe length: 1 ms
Scheduling units

Frame structure architecture:
 Example: SCS = 30 kHz/120 kHz
1 frame = 10 ms = 10 subframes = 20 slots

SCS = 30 kHz
– Subframe index per system frame: 0 to 9
1 subframe = 1 ms = 2 slots
 Slot length: 14 symbols
Slot Configuration (NCP)
SCS 1 slot = 0.5 ms = 14 symbols
(kHz) Number of Number of Number of Slots
Symbols/Slot Slots/Subframe /Frame
1 frame = 10 ms = 10 subframes = 80 slots
15 14 1 10
30 14 2 20
60 14 4 40

SCS = 120 kHz

120 14 8 80 1 subframe = 1 ms = 8 slots
240 14 16 160
480 14 32 320

Slot Configuration (ECP) 1 slot = 0.125 ms = 14 symbols

60 12 4 40

The lengths of a radio frame and a subframe in NR are consistent with those in LTE. The number of slots in each subframe is
determined by the subcarrier width.
Time Domain Res. Scheduling units Period

SCS = 15 kHz
 Symbol = CP + Data T_slot = 1 ms (14 symbols)

 SCS vs CP length/symbol length/slot length CP data …

– Length of OFDM symbols in data: T_data = 1/SCS
– CP length: T_cp = 144/2048 x T_data T_symbol
– Symbol length (data+CP): T_symbol = T_data +T_cp T_slot = 0.5 ms (14 symbols)
–

SCS = 30 kHz
Slot length: T_slot = 1 / 2^(µ)

Parameter/Numerology (µ) 0 1 2 3 4
…
SCS (kHz):
15 30 60 120 240
SCS = 15 x 2^(µ)
T_symbol
OFDM Symbol Duration (µs):
66.67 33.33 16.67 8.33 4.17 T_slot = 0.125 ms (14 symbols)
T_data = 1/SCS
CP Duration (µs):
4.69 2.34 1.17 0.59 0.29

SCS = 120 kHz

T_cp = 144/2048 x T_data
OFDM Symbol Including CP (µs):
T_symbol = T_data + T_cp
71.35 35.68 17.84 8.92 4.46 …
Slot Length (ms):
1 0.5 0.25 0.125 0.0625
T_slot = 1/2^(µ)

T_symbol
Time Domain Res. CP

 Multipath latency extension

– The width extension of the received signal pulse caused by multipath is the
difference between the maximum transmission latency and the minimum
transmission latency. The latency extension varies with the environment, terrain,
and clutter, and does not have an absolute mapping relationship with the cell
radius.

 Impact
– Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI) is generated, which severely affects the
transmission quality of digital signals.
– Inter-Channel Interference (ICI) is generated. The orthogonality of the subcarriers
in the OFDM system is damaged, which affects the demodulation on the receive
side.

 Solution: CP for reduced ISI and ICI

– Guard intervals reduce ISI. A guard interval is inserted between OFDM symbols,
where the length (Tg) of the guard interval is generally greater than the maximum
latency extension over the radio channel.
– CP is inserted in the guard interval to reduce ICI. Replicating a sampling point
following each OFDM symbol to the front of the OFDM symbol. This ensures that
the number of waveform periods included in a latency copy of the OFDM symbol
is an integer in an FFT period, which guarantees subcarrier orthogonality.
Time Domain Res. CP

 Key factors that determine the CP length  CP length for different SCS values:
– Multipath latency extension: The larger the multipath latency extension,
– If normal CP (NCP) is used, the CP of the first symbol
the longer the CP.
present every 0.5 ms is longer than that of other symbols.
– OFDM symbol length: Given the same OFDM symbol length, a longer
CP indicates a larger system overhead. 512  2   extended cyclic prefix
 NR CP design principle  
N CP ,l  144  2    16 normal cyclic prefix, l  0 or l  7  2 
– Same overhead as that in LTE 144  2  
– Aligned symbols between different SCS values and the reference  normal cyclic prefix, l  0 and l  7  2 
numerology (15 kHz)
Tcp  Ncp  Tc

Parameter SCS CP
µ (kHz) (µs)
1 1 0 15 NCP: 5.2 µs for l = 0 or 7; 4.69 µs for others
1 30 NCP: 2.86 µs for l = 0 or 14; 2.34 µs for others
NCP: 1.69 µs for l = 0 or 28; 1.17 µs for others
2 60
Extended CP (ECP): 4.17 µs
3 120 NCP: 1.11 µs for l = 0 or 56; 0.59 µs for others
0 12 3 1
4 240 NCP: 0.81 µs for l = 0 or 112; 0.29 µs for others

The CP length in NR is designed in line with the same principles as LTE. Overheads are the same between NR and LTE.
Aligned symbols are ensured between different SCS values and the SCS of 15 kHz.
Time Domain Res. UL/DL Slot Configuration :

 Slot structure (section 4.3.2 of 3GPP TS 38.211)  Compared with LTE, NR has the following slot format features:
– Downlink, denoted as D, for downlink transmission – Flexibility: symbol-level uplink/downlink adaptation in NR and
– Flexible, denoted as X, for uplink or downlink Subframe-level in LTE
transmission, GP, or reserved. – Diversity: More slots are supported in the NR system to cope
– Uplink, denoted as U, for uplink transmission with more scenarios and service types.
 Main slot types  Examples of application scenarios of different slots:
– Case 1: DL-only slot
Slot Type Application Scenario Example
– Case 2: UL-only slot
Case 1 DL-heavy transmission
– Case 3: flexible-only slot
– Case 4: mixed slot (at least one downlink slot Case 2 UL-heavy transmission
and/or one uplink slot) 1. Forward compatibility: Resources are reserved for future services.
Case 3
2. Adaptive adjustment of uplink and downlink resources: such as dynamic TDD
D U X
Case 4-1 1. Forward compatibility: Resources are reserved for future services.
Case 1: DL-only slot Case 2: UL-only slot Case 3: flexible-only slot 2. Flexible data transmission start and end locations: such as unlicensed
Case 4-2 frequency bands and dynamic TDD
D X X U
Case 4-3 Downlink self-contained transmission
Case 4-1 Case 4-2
Case 4-4 Uplink self-contained transmission
D XU DX U D XU D XU
Case 4-5 Mini-slot (seven symbols) for URLLC services
Case 4-3 Case 4-4 Case 4-5

The number of uplink and downlink symbols in a slot can be flexibly configured. In Release 15, a mini-slot contains 2, 4, or 7 symbols for data
scheduling in a short latency or a high frequency band scenario.
 Time Domain Res. UL/DL Slot Configuration :
Slot Format indicates how each of symbols within a single slot is used. It defines which symbols are used for uplink and which
symbols are used for downlink within a specific slot. In LTE TDD, if a subframe (equivalent to a Slot in NR) is configured for DL
or UL, all of the symbols within the Subframe should be used as DL or UL. But in NR, the symbols within a slot can be
configured in various ways as follows.
Time Domain Res. Mini Slots

Release 15 supports mini-slots with the length of 2, 4, or 7 symbols, which can be applied in short latency and mm
Wave scenarios.

 Mini-slot: fewer than 14 symbols in the time domain

 Basic scheduling units are classified into the following types:

– Slot-based: The basic scheduling unit is slot, and the time-domain length is 14 symbols.
– Non-slot-based: The basic scheduling unit is mini-slot. In Release 15, the time-domain length is 2, 4, or 7
symbols.

 Application scenario
– Short-latency scenario: reduces the scheduling waiting latency and transmission latency.
– Unlicensed frequency band: Data can be transmitted immediately after listen before talk (LBT).
– mmWave scenario: TDM is applied for different UEs in a slot.
Time Domain Res. Why SCS
• Background
– Service types supported by NR: eMBB, URLLC, mMTC, etc. • Numerologies defined in 3GPP Release 15 (TS 38.211)
– Frequency bands supported by NR: C-band, mmWave, etc. with SCS identified by the parameter µ.

– Moving speed supported by NR: up to 500 km/h Parameter

SCS CP
µ
• Requirements for SCS vary with service types, 0 15 kHz Normal
1 30 kHz Normal
frequency bands, and moving speeds. 2 60 kHz Normal, extended
– URLLC service (short latency): large SCS 3 120 kHz Normal
4 240 kHz Normal
– Low frequency band (wide coverage): small SCS
*(LTE supports only 15 kHz SCS.)
– High frequency band (large bandwidth, phase noise): large
• Available SCS for data channels and synchronization
SCS
channels in 3GPP Release 15
– Ultra high speed mobility: large SCS Parameter Supported for Data Supported for Sync
SCS
• NR SCS design principle µ (PDSCH, PUSCH etc) (PSS, SSS, PBCH)
0 15 kHz Yes Yes
– NR supports a series of SCS values. 1 30 kHz Yes Yes
2 60 kHz Yes No
3 120 kHz Yes Yes
4 240 kHz No Yes
Time Domain Res. Why SCS

• Impact of SCS on coverage, latency, mobility, and phase noise

• Coexistence of different SCS values and FDM
– Coverage: The smaller the SCS, the longer the symbol length/CP, and the
– The eMBB and URLLC data channels use different SCS
better the coverage.
values and coexist through FDM.
– Mobility: The larger the SCS, the smaller the impact of Doppler shift, and
the better the performance.
– Latency: The larger the SCS, the shorter the symbol length/latency.
– Phase noise: The larger the SCS, the smaller the impact of phase noise,
and the better the performance.
• SCS application suggestions for different frequency bands
(eMBB service data channel):

– The PBCH and PDSCH/PUSCH use different SCS values

and coexist through FDM.

SCS (kHz) 15 30 60 120 240

good bad
Coverage
bad good
3.5 GHz Mobility
bad good
Latency
Time Domain Res. Physical Channels SCS

Channel SCS Defined in 3GPP Release 15

Sub-6 GHz: 15/30 kHz

SS/PBCH
Above-6 GHz: 120/240 kHz

Sub-6 GHz: 15/30 kHz

RMSI, Msg2/4 (PDSCH)
Above-6 GHz: 60/120 kHz
Initial access

Long PRACH: SCS = {1.25 5} kHz

Msg1 (PRACH), Msg3 (PUSCH)
Short PRACH: SCS = {15, 30, 60, 120} kHz, where: sub-6 GHz: 15/30
kHz, above-6 GHz: 60/120 kHz

Sub-1 GHz: 15/30 kHz

PDSCH/PDCCH/CSI-RS 1 GHz to 6 GHz: 15/30/60 kHz
Above-6 GHz: 60/120 kHz
RRC connected mode
Sub-1 GHz: 15/30 kHz
PUSCH/PUCCH/SRS 1 GHz to 6 GHz: 15/30/60 kHz
Above-6 GHz: 60/120 kHz
Freq Domain
Freq Domain Res. SCS per Numerology
Freq Domain Res. Zain Lic BW
Freq Domain Res. RB
One subframe

 Resource Grid (RG)

– Physical-layer resource group, which is defined separately for ,
subframe
Nsymb OFDM symbols
the uplink and downlink (RGs are defined for each max, RB
k  NRB,
x Nsc 1
numerology).
– Frequency domain: available RB resources within the
transmission bandwidth 𝑁RB
– Time domain: 1 subframe

N scRB subcarriers

block N scRB subcarriers

 Resource Block (RB)
– Basic scheduling unit for data channel resource allocation in
the frequency domain Resource Element
Resource element

Resource Grid N RB

– (k , l )

Resource Block
Frequency domain: 12 consecutive subcarriers
– Time Domain : 14 Symboles.

Resource
 Resource Element (RE)
– Minimum granularity of physical-layer resources
– Frequency domain: 1 subcarrier
– Time domain: 1 OFDM symbol k 0
l 0 l  14  2   1

In NR, an RB corresponds to 12 subcarriers (same as LTE) in the frequency domain. The frequency-domain width is
related to SCS and is calculated using 2µ x 180 kHz.
Freq Domain Res. Scheduling Units

 Basic scheduling unit for data channels:  Basic scheduling unit for control
PRB/RBG channels: CCE
– Physical RB (PRB): Indicates the physical resource block in the – RE Group (REG): basic unit for control channel
BWP. resource allocation
– Frequency domain: 1 REG = 1 PRB (12 subcarriers)
– Frequency domain: 12 subcarriers
– Time domain: 1 OFDM symbol
– Resource Block Group (RBG): a set of physical resource blocks
– Control Channel Element (CCE): basic scheduling unit
– Frequency domain: The size depends on the number of RBs for control channel resource allocation
in the BWP. – Frequency domain: 1 CCE = 6 REGs = 6 PRBs
BWP Size (RBs)
RBG Size – CCE aggregation level: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16
Config 1 Config 2
1–36 2 4
37–72 4 8
73–144 8 16 REG DMRS
145–275 16 16
4 RBs CCE
DMRS
PRB
RB RB0 RB1 RB2 RB3 RB4 RB5 RB6 RB7 RB8 RB9 RB10 RB11 RB12 …

DMRS
RBG RBG0 RBG1 RBG2 …

In the frequency domain, the PRB or an RBG is a basic scheduling unit for data channels, and the CCE is a basic scheduling unit for
control channels.
Freq Domain Res. Channel BW

 Channel bandwidth
– Channel bandwidth supported by the FR1 frequency
band (450 MHz to 6000 MHz): 5 MHz (minimum),
100 MHz (maximum)
– Channel bandwidth supported by the FR2 frequency
band (24 GHz to 52 GHz): 50 MHz (minimum), 400
MHz (maximum).
 Maximum transmission bandwidth
(maximum number of available RBs)
– Determined by the channel bandwidth and data
channel SCS.
– Defined on the gNodeB side and UE side separately.
Active RBs
For details about the protocol-configuration of the
UE side, see the figure on the right. Guard band
 Guard bandwidth
– With F-OFDM, the guard bandwidth decreases to
about 2% in NR (corresponding to 30 kHz SCS, 100
MHz channel bandwidth).

Compared with the guard bandwidth (10%) in LTE, NR uses F-OFDM to reduce the guard bandwidth to about 2%.
Freq Domain Res. RB Calculation

Count of Max PRB = (Licensed BW – min Guard BW ) / ( RB BW )

Minimum Guard BW for each BW and SCS

Example : BW=90 MHZ SCS=30KHZ

N RB = ( (90 * 1000) – 2 * 885 ) / ( 30 * 12 ) = 245 RB.
Freq Domain Res. Why BWP
• In LTE , max BW is 20 MHZ , so it is easy for all devices to support this BW.
• In 5G NR , max BW of FR1 is 100 MHZ and FR2 is 400 MHZ , so cheaper devices may not want to support this
large BW , and device doesn’t need to monitor the whole BW for power consumption reduction.
• BWP allows device receiver to adapt bandwidth to reduce the device energy consumption.
• Small BW is used for monitoring control channels and receiving low data rate while dynamically using a
wideband receiver when needed high data rate.
• Rel15 only supports single active BWP but this will change in future releases.

LTE

NR FR1

NR FR2
Freq Domain Res. BWP Applications :

 Definition and characteristics

– The Bandwidth Part (BWP) is introduced in NR. It is a set of contiguous bandwidth resources configured by the gNodeB for UEs to
achieve flexible transmission bandwidth configuration on the gNodeB side and UE side. Each BWP corresponds to a specific numerology.
– BWP is specific to UEs (BWP configurations vary with UEs). UEs do not need to know the transmission bandwidth on the gNodeB side
but only needs to support the configured BWP bandwidth.

 Application scenarios
– Scenario#1: UEs with a small bandwidth access a large-bandwidth network.
– Scenario#2: UEs switch between small and large BWPs to save battery power.
– Scenario#3: The numerology is unique for each BWP and service-specific.
BWP 1

#1 #2
BWP

BWP 2
BWP Bandwidth

Carrier Bandwidth Carrier Bandwidth

#3
Numerology 1 Numerology 2
BWP1 BWP 2

Carrier Bandwidth
Freq Domain Res. BWP Types:

 BWP types
– Initial BWP: configured in the initial access phase. Signals and channels are transmitted in the initial BWP during initial access.
– Dedicated BWP: configured for UEs in RRC_CONNECTED mode. A maximum of four dedicated BWPs can be configured for a UE.
– Active BWP: one of the dedicated BWPs activated by a UE in RRC_CONNECTED mode. According to Release 15, a UE in
RRC_CONNECTED mode can have only one active BWP at a given time.
– Default BWP: It is one of the dedicated BWPs and is indicated by RRC signaling. After the BWP inactivity timer expires, the UE in
RRC_CONNECTED mode switches to the default BWP.

Random Access Procedure RRC Connected Procedure

PDCCH indicating downlink assignment
Default
Default UE2 BWP inactivity
timer
UE1 UE2
UE1 UE2 Dedicated Dedicated UE2 switches to the default
BWPs BWPs BWP.
Active
Active
Switch
Initial BWP
default
Carrier Bandwidth
UE1 Active BWP UE2 Active BWP UE1 Active BWP UE2 Active BWP
Carrier Bandwidth Carrier Bandwidth
RB Time & Freq
THANK YOU Thank You
Husam Zaki