System Information Block Type 1

Direction: E-UTRAN => UE Signalling Radio Bearer: N/A RLC Mode: TM Logical Channel: BCCH Transport Channel: DL-SCH SystemInformationBlockType1 (SIB1) contains information relevant when evaluating if a UE is allowed to access a cell. Also, it supplies the UE with the scheduling of other system information. SIBs other than SIB1 are carried in SystemInformation (SI) messages and mapping of SIBs to SI messages is flexibly configurable by schedulingInfoList included in SIB1 SIB1 uses a fixed schedule with a periodicity of 80ms and repetitions made within 80ms. The first transmission of SIB1 is scheduled in subframe #5 of radio frames for which the SFNmod8 = 0, and repetitions are scheduled in subframe #5 of all other radio frames for which SFNmod2 = 0 SIB1 contains cell access related information (e.g. a PLMN identity list, tracking area code, cell identity, etc.), information for cell selection (e.g. minimum required Rx level in the cell and offset), p-Max, frequency band indicator, scheduling information, TDD configuration, SI-window length and system information value tag etc... Upon receiving the SIB1 message the UE shall check the IE freqBandIndicator. The UE shall consider the cell as barred if the frequency band indicated in the freqBandIndicator is not part of the frequency bands supported by the UE Some of the IEs in SystemInformationBlockType1 message:

PLMN-IdentityList: List of PLMN identities. The first listed PLMN-Identity is the primary PLMN TrackingAreaCode: A trackingAreaCode that is common for all the PLMNs listed Cellidentity: Identity of the cell CellBarred: 'barred means the cell is barred IntraFreqReselection: Used to control cell reselection to intra-frequency cells when the highest ranked cell is barred, or treated as barred by the UE CSG-Indication: If this IE is set to TRUE the UE is only allowed to access the cell if the CSG identity matches an entry in the CSG whitelist that the UE has stored p-Max: Maximum power value applicable for the cell. If this IE is absent, then the UE applies the maximum power according to the UE capability freqBandIndicator: Operating frequency band of the cell as defined in TS 36.101 [Table 5.5-1]. si-Periodicity: Periodicity of the SI-message in radio frames, such that rf8 denotes 8 radio frames, rf16 denotes 16 radio frames, and so on sib-MappingInfo: List of the SIBs mapped to this SystemInformation message. There is no mapping information of SIB2; it is always present in the first SystemInformation message listed in the schedulingInfoList list. si-WindowLength: Common SI scheduling window for all SIs. Unit in milliseconds, where ms1 denotes 1 millisecond, ms2 denotes 2 milliseconds and so on systemInfoValueTag: Common for all SIBs other than MIB, SIB1, SIB10, SIB11 and SIB12. Change of MIB and SIB1 is detected by acquisition of the corresponding message csg-Identity: Identity of the Closed Subscriber Group within the primary PLMN the cell belongs to. This field is present in a CSG cell ims-EmergencySupport: Indicates whether the cell supports IMS emergency bearer services for UEs in limited service mode. If absent, IMS emergency call is not supported by the network in the cell for UEs in limited service mode

System Information Block Type 2

Direction: E-UTRAN => UE Signalling Radio Bearer: N/A RLC Mode: TM Logical Channel: BCCH Transport Channel: DL-SCH SystemInformationBlockType2 (SIB2) contains radio resource configuration information that is common for all UEs. It contains access barring information, radio resource configuration of common and shared channels, timers and constants which are used by UEs, uplink power control information etc. SIB2 is not specifically included in the scheduling information in SIB1 but it is always mapped to the SI message that corresponds to the first entry in the list of SI messages in schedulingInfoList in SIB1 SIB2 also gives information about the uplink carrier frequency and the uplink channel bandwidth in terms of number of Resource Blocks Some of the IEs in SystemInformationBlockType2: UL-CarrierFreq: If this IE is absent (for FDD), the UL-Carrier Frequency value should be determined from the default TX-RX frequency separation defined in TS 36.101 [Table 5.7.3-1]. For TDD, this parameter is absent and it is equal to the downlink frequency UL-Bandwidth: Transmission bandwidth configuration, NRB, in uplink. The value n6 corresponds to 6 resource blocks, n15 to 15 resource blocks and so on. If this parameter is absent for FDD then the uplink bandwidth is equal to the downlink

bandwidth. For TDD this parameter is absent and it is equal to the downlink bandwidth defaultPagingCycle: Default paging cycle value rf32 corresponds to 32 radio frames, rf64 corresponds to 64 radio frames and so on modificationPeriodCoeff: Actual modification period, expressed in number of radio frames= modificationPeriodCoeff * defaultPagingCycle.The value n2 corresponds to value 2, n4 corresponds to value 4, and so on p-Max: Maximum power to be used in the target cell. If this IE is absent then the UE applies the maximum power according to the UE capability UL-CyclicPrefixLength: The value len1 corresponds to normal cyclic prefix and len2 corresponds to extended cyclic prefix RadioResourceConfigCommonSIB: The IE RadioResourceConfigCommonSIB is used to specify common radio resource configurations e.g., the random access parameters and the static physical layer parameters

Attach Request
The UE includes ATTACH REQUEST (initial-NAS) message within RRC CONNECTION SETUP COMPLETE message. The IE dedicatedInfoNAS in RRC CONNECTION SETUP COMPLETE includes this initial-NAS message The IEs (some of them are explained below) in ATTACH REQUEST message include EPS attach type, EPS mobile identity, UE network capability, ESM message container, Old P-TMSI signature, Additional GUTI, Last visited registered TAI, DRX parameter, Old location area identification, Additional update type, Voice domain preference and UE's usage setting etc The IE EPS Attach Type indicates the purpose of the attach procedure. The value can be EPS attach (to attach for EPS services only) or combined EPS/IMSI attach (to attach for both EPS and non-EPS services) or EPS emergency attach (to attach for emergency bearer services) The IE EPS Mobile Identity can be GUTI, IMSI or IMEI. The UE shall include GUTI if it holds a valid GUTI (either native GUTI or mapped GUTI). If there is no valid GUTI available, the UE shall include the IMSI as EPS Mobile Identity IE. If the UE is attaching for emergency bearer services and does not hold a valid GUTI, P-TMSI or IMSI as described above, the IMEI shall be included in the EPS mobile identity IE The purpose of the ESM message container IE is to enable piggybacked transfer of an ESM message within an EMM message (This may contain IEs for example, EPS bearer identity, procedure transaction identity, PDN connectivity request, PDN type, Request type, ESM information transfer flag, EIT (ESM information transfer), Protocol Configuration Options (Configuration Protocol, DNS Server Address Request etc..) The IE Additional Update Type provides additional information about the type of request for a combined attach procedure. Bit1 value 0 means that there is no additional information and 1 means that SMS only

Voice domain preference and UE's usage setting IE shall be included if the UE supports CS fallback and SMS over SGs, or if the UE is configured to support IMS voice, but does not support 1xCS fallback. This IE provides the network with the UE's usage setting and the voice domain preference for E-UTRAN. Refer to 3GPP TS 24.008, section 10.5.5.28 for detailed information The IE Last Visited Registered TAI shall be included if the UE holds a valid last visited registered Tracking Area Identity (TAI)
Reference: 3GPP TS 24.301 and 3GPP TS 24.008

Attach Request
The UE includes ATTACH REQUEST (initial-NAS) message within RRC CONNECTION SETUP COMPLETE message. The IE dedicatedInfoNAS in RRC CONNECTION SETUP COMPLETE includes this initial-NAS message The IEs (some of them are explained below) in ATTACH REQUEST message include EPS attach type, EPS mobile identity, UE network capability, ESM message container, Old P-TMSI signature, Additional GUTI, Last visited registered TAI, DRX parameter, Old location area identification, Additional update type, Voice domain preference and UE's usage setting etc The IE EPS Attach Type indicates the purpose of the attach procedure. The value can be EPS attach (to attach for EPS services only) or combined EPS/IMSI attach (to attach for both EPS and non-EPS services) or EPS emergency attach (to attach for emergency bearer services) The IE EPS Mobile Identity can be GUTI, IMSI or IMEI. The UE shall include GUTI if it holds a valid GUTI (either native GUTI or mapped GUTI). If there is no valid GUTI

available, the UE shall include the IMSI as EPS Mobile Identity IE. If the UE is attaching for emergency bearer services and does not hold a valid GUTI, P-TMSI or IMSI as described above, the IMEI shall be included in the EPS mobile identity IE The purpose of the ESM message container IE is to enable piggybacked transfer of an ESM message within an EMM message (This may contain IEs for example, EPS bearer identity, procedure transaction identity, PDN connectivity request, PDN type, Request type, ESM information transfer flag, EIT (ESM information transfer), Protocol Configuration Options (Configuration Protocol, DNS Server Address Request etc..) The IE Additional Update Type provides additional information about the type of request for a combined attach procedure. Bit1 value 0 means that there is no additional information and 1 means that SMS only Voice domain preference and UE's usage setting IE shall be included if the UE supports CS fallback and SMS over SGs, or if the UE is configured to support IMS voice, but does not support 1xCS fallback. This IE provides the network with the UE's usage setting and the voice domain preference for E-UTRAN. Refer to 3GPP TS 24.008, section 10.5.5.28 for detailed information The IE Last Visited Registered TAI shall be included if the UE holds a valid last visited registered Tracking Area Identity (TAI)
Reference: 3GPP TS 24.301 and 3GPP TS 24.008

Example: Attach Request Message

Attach Accept

The ATTACH ACCEPT message is sent by the network to the UE to indicate that the corresponding ATTACH REQUEST has been accepted. Typically, the ATTACH ACCEPT message is piggy-backed on RRC CONNECTION RECONFIGURATION message The result of the EPS attach is indicated in the IE EPS Attach Result. The result can be either EPS only or combined EPS/IMSI attach. The result "combined EPS/IMSI attach" indicates that the attach request for EPS and non-EPS services, or for EPS services and "SMS only" have been successful. The result "EPS only" indicates that the attach request for EPS services (only) has been successful but attach for non-EPS services or "SMS only" (if requested by the UE in the ATTACH REQUEST) has failed When the default bearer is activated as part of the attach procedure, the MME shall send the ACTIVATE DEFAULT EPS BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST message together with ATTACH ACCEPT message. The IE ESM Message Container is used for this purpose. The network may also initiate the activation of dedicated bearers towards the UE by invoking the dedicated EPS bearer context activation procedure The GUTI Reallocation may be part of the attach procedure. If the ATTACH REQUEST message includes the IMSI or IMEI, or if the MME considers the GUTI provided by the UE is invalid, or if the GUTI provided by the UE was assigned by another MME, the MME shall allocate a new GUTI to the UE. The MME shall include in the ATTACH ACCEPT message the new assigned GUTI together with the assigned TAI list The IE TAI List indicates a list of tracking areas for which the UE doesn't need to perform a tracking area updating procedure when entered one of these TAs (in the list). The TAIs in a TAI list assigned by an MME to a UE belongs to the same MME area The MME includes EMM Cause IE when IMSI attach for non-EPS services is not successful during a combined EPS/IMSI attach procedure

The purpose of the EPS network feature support IE is to indicate whether certain features are supported by the network. It can indicate the following features whether supported or not: IMS voice over PS session indicator (IMS VoPS), Emergency bearer services indicator (EMC BS), Location services indicator in EPC (EPC-LCS), Location services indicator in CS (CS-LCS), Support of EXTENDED SERVICE REQUEST for packet services (ESRPS) The purpose of the Additional update result IE is to provide additional information about the result of a combined attach procedure. 00-no additional information; 01-CS Fallback not preferred; 10-SMS only; 11-reserved
Reference: 3GPP TS 24.301

Example: ATTACH ACCEPT Message

Attach Reject

If the UE initiated ATTACH REQUEST cannot be accepted by the network, the MME shall send an ATTACH REJECT message to the UE including an appropriate EMM cause value If the attach procedure fails due to a Default EPS bearer Setup Failure or an ESM procedure failure or operator determined barring is applied on Default EPS Bearer Context Activation during attach procedure, the MME shall combine the ATTACH REJECT message with a PDN CONNECTIVITY REJECT message contained in the ESM Message Container IE. In this case the EMM Cause value in the ATTACH REJECT message shall be set to #19 "ESM failure" If the attach request is rejected due to NAS level congestion control, the network shall set the EMM cause value to #22 "congestion" and optionally assigns a back-off timer T3346
Reference: 3GPP TS 24.301

Example: ATTACH REJECT Message

Authentication Failure

In an EPS authentication challenge, the UE shall check the authenticity of the core network by means of the AUTN parameter received in the AUTHENTICATION REQUEST message. This enables the UE to detect a false network. The UE shall send AUTHENTICATION FAILURE message to indicate the EPS authentication failure

As explained in the post AUTHENTICATION REQUEST, the AUTN parameter is formed by SQN, AK, AMF, and MAC. There could be 3 possible causes for the authentication failure as explained below:

a) MAC code failure: If the UE finds that the MAC code supplied by the core network in the AUTN
parameter is invalid, then the UE shall send an AUTHENTICATION FAILURE message to the network, with the EMM cause #20 "MAC failure". The network may initiate an identification procedure to obtain the IMSI from the UE or may also decides to terminate the authentication procedure

b) Non-EPS authentication unacceptable: If the UE finds that the "separation bit" in the AMF field of
AUTN supplied by the core network is 0, then the UE shall send an AUTHENTICATION FAILURE message to the network, with the EMM cause #26 "non-EPS authentication unacceptable". The network may initiate an identification procedure to obtain the IMSI from the UE or may also decides to terminate the authentication procedure

c) SQN failure: If the UE finds that the SQN (supplied by the core network in the AUTN parameter) is
out of range, then the UE shall send an AUTHENTICATION FAILURE message to the network, with the EMM cause #21 "synch failure". In this message, the UE should also include a resynchronization token AUTS provided by the USIM. By using this AUTS the network starts resynchronization procedure. The re-synchronization procedure requires the MME to delete all unused authentication vectors for that IMSI and obtain new vectors from the HSS. Once the resynchronization is complete, the network shall initiate a new authentication procedure. Upon receipt of two consecutive AUTHENTICATION FAILURE messages from the UE with EMM cause #21 "synch failure", the network may terminate the authentication procedure by sending an AUTHENTICATION REJECT message

The only important IE in the AUTHENTICATION FAILURE message is authentication failure parameter which is sent if and only if the EMM cause is #21 "synch failure". It shall include the response to the authentication challenge from the USIM, which is made up of the AUTS parameter
Reference: 3GPP TS 24.301

Example1: AUTHENTICATION FAILURE Synch failure

Example2: AUTHENTICATION FAILURE MAC failure

Paging
Direction: E-UTRAN => UE Signalling Radio Bearer: N/A RLC Mode: TM Logical Channel: PCCH Transport Channel: PCH E-UTRAN initiates the paging procedure by transmitting a PAGING message at the UE's paging occasion as specified in TS 36.304. E-UTRAN may address multiple UEs within a PAGING message by including one PagingRecord for each UE In LTE, there is only one type of PAGING where as in the case of 3G-system, Paging Type1 and Paging Type2 are defined The PAGING message may be used to inform UEs in RRC_IDLE and RRC_CONNECTED about a system information change. If the UE receives a PAGING message including the systemInfoModification IE, it knows that the system information will change at the next modification period boundary. The UE, if the systemInfoModification is included, should re-acquire the required system information using the system information acquisition procedure The PAGING message may also be used to inform ETWS (Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System) capable UEs in RRC_IDLE and UEs in RRC_CONNECTED about presence of an ETWS primary notification and/or ETWS secondary notification. An ETWS capable UE should re-acquire SIB10/SIB11 immediately if the etws-Indication is included in the PAGING message The PAGING message may also be used to inform CMAS (Commercial Mobile Alert System) capable UEs in RRC_IDLE and UEs in RRC_CONNECTED about presence of

one or more CMAS notifications. A CMAS capable UE should re-acquire SIB12 immediately if the cmas-Indication is included in the PAGING message The UE in RRC_IDLE validates each of the PagingRecord, if any, included in the PAGING message. If the ue-Identity included in the PagingRecord matches one of the UE identities allocated by upper layers, the ue-Identity and the cn-Domain are forwarded to the upper layers IEs in PAGING message: CN-Domain: Indicates the origin of paging (ps or cs) UE-Identity: Provides the NAS identity of the UE that is being paged ( S-TMSI or IMSI) SystemInfoModification: If present, this IE indicates a BCCH modification other than SIB10, SIB11 and SIB12 etws-Indication: If present, this IE indicates an ETWS primary notification and/or ETWS secondary notification cmas-Indication: If present, this IE indicates a CMAS notification Example1: PAGING message with only one paging record

Example2: PAGING message with notification of BCCH modification