1.

Explain Ec/Io and RSCP; on what channel are they

measured on?
Ec/Io = energy of carrier over all noise. RSCP = Receive Signal Code Power. In FDD
mode (what we normally deal with) they are measured on the CPICH (pilot). Bonus if
they know that Io is the sum of all interference: thermal/background noise + interferers
+ own cell and is wideband. Bonus if they understand that RSCP is actually measured
AFTER de-spreading (i.e. narrowband)

2. What does channelization codes do and function?

Channelization codes are used for spreading and de-spreading of the signals, they also
create
the
"channels"
making
it
possible
to
distinguish
between
users/connections/channels. Bonus if they know that they have an associated
Spreading Factor and are allocated depending on the bandwidth required by the
service.

3. What does the scrambling code do and function?

Scrambling Code makes it possible for the UE to distinguish the transmissions from
different cells/NodeBs. Bonus if he knows there are 512 primary scrambling codes and
that are broken up to 64 groups of 8 codes each.

4. Explain the concept of Cell Breathing. How is the

accounted for in the link Budget?
Io or No (the interference part of Ec/Io and Eb/No) increase as the traffic on the
network increases since everyone is using the same frequency. Therefore as Io or No
increases the UE or BTS needs to use more power to maintain the same Eb/No or Ec/Io.
When the power required is more than the maximum power allowed, the connection
cannot be made. Users at the cell edge are usually the first to lose service; hence the
service area of a cell shrinks. As traffic decreases, the reverse happens and the service
area increases. They should say that it is accounted for in the Noise Rise Margin found
in the Link Budget.

5. Explain the different Handover types in UMTS

Soft(er) Handover: connected to more than one cell on the same frequency, softer
occurs when 2 cells in the active set belong to same Node-B; Intra-frequency Hard
Handover: Occurs when Ue moves from one cell in one RNC to a cell in another RNC
and the RNCs do not have an Iur link between each other; Inter-Frequency Hard

Handover: when UE changes from one frequency to another frequency (usually due to
traffic layer management or Quality reasons);Inter-technology (iRAT) Hard
Handover: Handover from UMTS to GSM (v.v.) usually at the edge of UMTS service
area but also due to quality reasons.

6. What is an active set, monitor set and detected set?

Active Set: the set of cells with which the UE is currently connected/communicating
with; Drive test usually show them as SC or Pilots but they are actually
cells; Monitored Set: Cells that the UE has detected and is monitoring and are known
to the network, they either don't meet the criteria or the active set is full; Detected
Set - Cells that the UE has detected but are not known to the network as yet (missing
neighbor likely).

7. What is the major difference in link budgets between

UMTS and GSM/TDMA?
In UMTS you generally have a link budget for each service (voice, data, video etc), in
GSM you usually only use 1 for voice. Each service has a different Eb/No target. In
UMTS you have to consider the target traffic load you will have and add a noise-rise
margin, in GSM you may have a slight interference margin but not normally related to
traffic. In UMTS some services (like voice) will show up as uplink limited but other
services (like HSDPA, 384kbps service) will show as downlink limited. In UMTS you
usually have to consider that all users use the same power from the BTS therefore the
more number of users the lower the maximum power available per user (maximum
power per connection) which is a starting point in the link budget.

8. In the Link Budget, what is a Shadow Fade Margin for and

what factors does it depend on?
The shadow fade margin is dependent on the target percentage area coverage, the
propagation model, and the standard deviation of the lognormal shadowing (usually the
same as the model's standard deviation if the fast fading effects are removed). The
Shadow Fade Margin is a added margin placed in the link budget such that a
guaranteed level of service can be offered "in the worst case".

9. What is the typical maximum active set size and what

needs to be considered when setting this?

3 to 4 cells, the larger the active set size the more likely it is that Iub link efficiency is
reduced (more than one resource for a single connection due to SHO)

10.
What are typically the requirements (criteria) for
a cell to be added/removed/replaced to/from/in the
active set?
For addition (Event 1a), candidate cell needs to have an Ec/Io value that is within a
T_ADD threshold of the primary/reference (usually the best) cell for a specify time
hysteresis. For removal (event 1b), cell needs to have Ec/Io lower than T_DROP
margin for a specific time hysteresis. For replacement (event 1c), cell needs to have
an Ec/Io better than the worst cell in the active set by the T_REPLACE and for a specific
time hysteresis.

11.

What would you define as a pilot polluter?

Many definitions: A cell that has high signal strength at a location but is not part of the
active set. A cell that, meets the criteria for addition into the Active Set but cannot
enter because the active set is full.

12.
How would you find such cells from a planning
tool and from a drive test tool?
Ignoring low signal conditions, if the best cell RSCP is greater than say -85dBm and
there are cells not in the active set but are strong enough to be in the active set then
they are candidate for pilot polluters. Looking at cells that have a high noise rise, high
amount of traffic compared to surrounding cells, may also indicate a pilot polluter, Any
location where, high Signal strength for the (Active Set Size + 1) best pilot (like the 4th
best pilot if AS size is 3). In DTT, areas with poor Ec/Io but good RSCP, in the monitored
set contain a cell with a good Ec/Io but cannot enter the AS because it is full, Areas
where scanner shows a strong signal for a far away cell.

13.
What would the call flow be for a Mobile
Originated Call (major RRC messages)?
RRC Connect Request -> RRC Connection Setup -> RRC Setup Complete -> (SETUP,
authentication encryption, TMSI reallocation etc) -> CALL PROCEEDING-> Radio Bearer
Setup -> Radio Bearer Setup Complete -> ALERT -> CONNECT -> CONNECT ACK
->DISCONNECT -> RELEASE.

14.
What are the general triggers for an iRAT
handover?
Ec/Io of best cell below a certain threshold (usually around -16 to -18 dB) or RSCP of
best cell below a certain threshold (usually around -100 dBm).

15.
What is compressed mode, what is its function,
and what impact does it have on the network?
Compressed mode is when the mobile goes into a slotted transmit mode whereby it
opens up an idle period (transmission gap) where it can monitor another carrier or
technology (GSM). The impact is that to maintain the same bitrates, it halves the SF,
and therefore increases power level causing higher interference to the network, If, the
SF cannot be halved then the bit rate of the bearer decreases. If they seem
knowledgably, ask them if they know what messages and events trigger and configure
compressed mode on/off. 2D event for on, 2F for off. Messages would for configuration
would
be
RADIO
BEARER
RECONFIGURATION,
TRANSPORT
CHANNEL
RECONFIGFURATION or PHYSICAL CHANNEL RECONFIGURATION.

16.
Name the 4 RRC Connected Modes (states) and
describe the characteristics of each.
Cell-DCH: UE has been allocated a dedicated physical channel in uplink and downlink.
Cell-FACH: UE listens to RACH channel (DL) and is allocated a FACH channel (UL).
Small amounts of UL/DL data can be transfers in this state. The RNC tracks the UE
down to the cell level and cell reselections are possible with the CELL UPDATE message.
Cell-PCH: UE monitors (using discontinuous reception) a PCH channel (PCH) indicated
by the PICH channel. The RNC tracks the UE down to the cell level and cell reselections
are possible with the CELL UPDATE message. No data can be transferred in the UL in
this state.
URA-PCH: UE monitors (using discontinuous reception) a PCH channel (PCH) indicated
by the PICH channel. The RNC tracks the UE down to the URA level.

17.
If a UE is on a data call (CELL-DCH state) and
there is in no activity for awhile what would you expect to
see occur?
UE should go from CELL-DCH to CELL-FACH then if still no activity to either CELL-PCH or
URA-PCH (via CELL-FACH). If they talk about inactivity timers and mention that the
state goes from CELL-DCH straight to CELL-PCH or URA-PCH that is also possible. Bonus
they say they would see RADIO BEARER RECONFIGURATION messages when the states
are changing.

18.
In Release '99, how does the network manage the
throughput on the Radio Interface for a user/connection?
This question is a little harder to ask, so you may need to work it differently a few
times. Perhaps leading questions could be: What parameter/configuration does the
network change on the air interface What you are trying to hear from the candidate is
that the network assigns a radio bearer with a channelization code with a spreading
factor that matches the requested service maximum bit rate.

19.
What is the typical/most common bit rate that a
voice call uses?
They should say 12.2kbps but may be different if they start talking about AMR and the
different rates then the know more. Prod them to see if they know the Spreading Factor
(SF) used for the radio bearer, should be 128.

20.
Depending on the RF conditions, what can the
network do to manage call quality?
AMR - for good conditions use codec will low redundancy/overhead; for poor conditions
use codec with lower bit rate requirement but higher overhead, stronger coding and
more redundancy.

21.
In HSDPA, how does the network manage the
throughput on the Radio Interface for a user/ connection?
Modulation (16QAM, QPSK etc), Coding (convolution coding, fire codes etc), number of
codes allocated and scheduling (it's a shared resource)

22.
Explain Inner and Outer loop power control and
who controls them.
If they start talking about Open and Closed Loop PC, tell them you want Inner/Outer
Closed Loop PC. Inner loop power control is performed by the NodeB to set the transmit
power of the UE and BTS to compensate for signal variations due to fading or path loss
to maintain the set SIR (occurs up to 1500 times per sec). Outer loop power control is
performed by the RNC to set the target SIR based on the required BER/BLER for the
requested services (occurs up to 100 times per sec).

23.

In what cases is Open Loop Power Control used?

1)

Idle to Cell-DCH state, when a connection is setup. When UE goes into soft handover,
ACTIVE SET UPDATE where the new Radio Link initial power settings use open loop PC.

24.
Explain the concept of a Monte Carlo Simulation
for UMTS Design
This is a simulator that randomly distributes terminals/users geographically onto the
network and then checks the link budget for each terminal/connection to see if they can
successfully connect or not. The simulator modifies parameters such has UE Tx Power,
BTS Tx Power, requested bearer (in the case that multiple bearers could support the
same service) when checking if a connection can be made. In every snapshot the
simulator runs through the list of terminals/connections and attempts to make them all
connect successfully, it starts a new snapshot when the number of successful
connections converges. The process then starts on a new snapshot.

25.
In pre-launch optimization, how are missing
neighbors usually detected?
Usually you use a scanner and compare the best pilots in Ec/Io from the scanner
against that of the active set and monitored set from an active UE. If there is a stronger
pilot from a nearby cell that appears on the scanner but not on the UE, there is a
possible missing neighbor. One would then verify that the neighbor appears in defined
neighbor list from the OSS.

26.

What is the CQI in HSDPA?

CQI is the channel Quality Indicator, Which is calculated on the Basis of RF informant,
and the code allocation is done on the basis of CQI.

27.

What is the HARQ?

This is the Hybrid Automatic repeat request Technique for the retransmission of the lost
frame which is used by the HSDPA. That helps to recover the lost frame by two partially
lost frames.

28.

What is MIMO Antenna System?

This is the multiple inputs multiple output antenna technique system which improves
the n/w throughput over the air interface.

29.

What are the different RABs in R99?

cs-12.2 for speech,cs-64 for video calls ,ps-16 ps-64 ps 128 ps-384 for data services.

30.

What is TTI in WCDMA how it impact?

It is the transmission time interval for sending one frame for WCDMA it is 10ms.

31.

How many PSC in WCDMA?

0-511, Total 512

32.

What is the Processing Gain?

Ratio of chip rate to bit rate, lower bit rate services will offer higher processing gain

33.

What is the Power Control?

Power control is the mechanism of maintaining minimal power level with acceptable
QOS for each service

34.

What should be the idle CPICH power?

10% of the Total Power

35.

What is rake receiver?

A rake receiver is a radio receiver designed to counter the effects of multipath fading. It
does this by using several "sub-receivers" called fingers, that is, several correlators
each assigned to a different multipath component. Each finger independently decodes a
single multipath component; at a later stage the contribution of all fingers are
combined in order to make the most use of the different transmission characteristics of
each transmission path.

36.
What kinds of services are available with
WCDMA?
Conversational, Background, Streaming, Interactive.

37.

Which modulation schemes are used in WCDMA?

QPSK. HPSK, BPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM

38.

What is interleaving?

Interleaving is the technique used to distribute the data so as to make the error
correction accurate at the receiver end.

39.
What is threshold for adding and deleting a cell
from Active Set?
For addition 3 dB and for deletion 6dB

40.
What are the types of location & routing is
registration update?
1.

IMSI attach / detach. 2. Normal LA & RA updating. 3. Periodic LA & RA updating

41.
Which timer is involved for periodic LA & RA
update?
Timer t3212 is involved and is contained in SIB1.

42.

What is the Difference between Ec/No and Ec/Io?

Ec/No- Interference caused by combination of the Non-orthogonality of Codes, thermal

noise & all other noises present in the Channel. Ec/Io- Interference caused by only due
to non-orthogonality of codes in the channel.

43.
What are the no. of scrambling codes used in UL
and DL?
Scrambling codes in uplink- 2^24-1. Scrambling codes in Downlink- 2^18-1= 8192.

44.
What are the types of compressed mode
techniques used in 3G?
Three Types- 1. Puncturing. 2. SF/2. 3.Higher Layer Scheduling.

45.

What are MM Procedures?

MM common procedures: 1. TMSI reallocation procedure. 2. authentication procedure.

3. Identification procedure. 4. MM Information Procedure. 5. Abort Procedure. 6.
Normal Location Update. 7. Periodic Location update. 8. Imsi attaches.

46.

What is URA and URA_PCH state?

URA or UTRAN Registration Area is a collection of cells that are used for fast moving
UE's in connected mode when they are not transferring any data. In this case the UE is
in CELL_PCH state. Every time a fast moving UE in CELL_PCH state changes the cell, a
CELL UPDATE needs to be performed to let the UTRAN know of the new position of the
UE. This is done because in the connected mode (CELL_PCH), UE is known at cell level
rather than UTRAN level as in IDLE state. If too many CELL UPDATES are performed, it
defeats the purpose of UE being in CELL_PCH. Hence in this case the UE is put in
URA_PCH state. Now the UE will perform CELL UPDATE only when the URA is changed
for a UE. The drawback is that when UE needs to be paged the paging area is now
extended to many cells belonging to the URA.
Also Note that the CELL_PCH state is actually a subset of the URA_PCH state. It is
possible to define overlapping URAs to be used in the URA_PCH state. Thus, the UTRAN
operator could define that each cell is a separate URA in addition to other larger URAs.
Then the operator could assign small one-cell URAs for slow-moving mobiles, and larger
URAs for mobiles with greater mobility. The small URAs could nicely perform the task of
the CELL_PCH state. However, it has been decided to keep these states separate.
The URAs can be overlapping or even hierarchical. The same cell may belong to several
different URAs, and the UEs in that cell may have been registered to different URAs.
SIB 2 contains a list of URA identities indicating which URAs this cell belongs to. This
arrangement is done to further reduce the amount of location update signaling because
now the UEs moving back and forth in the boundary area of two URAs do not have to
update their URA location information if the boundary cells do belong to both URAs.

47.

Which channel contains Layer 1 information?

DPCCH, Layer-1 contains information regarding Power control, Spreading-De-spreading,

Multiplexing-De-multiplexing, Scrambling.

48.

Which Channel Contains Layer 3 Information?

DPDCH

49.

What are the main KPI's?

Accessibility, Retainability, Intra Frequency HOSR, Intra Frequency HOSR, IRAT HOSR

50.
Which parameter decides the preference between
IFHO & IRAT HO
Handover type

51.

UE goes to compress mode after which events?

Compress mode starts at events 2d (RSCP or EC/No base) & 6d (Tx power base)

52.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What are the idle mode tasks of UE?

PLMN selection & reselection,
Cell selection & reselection,
LA & RA registration,
Paging procedure,
Reading System information

53.

Explain the cell selection criteria?

Squal = Qqualmeas - qQualMin > 0,

Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas - qRxLevMin - Pcompensation > 0,
where ,Pcompensation = max (maxTXpowerUL - P ;0 ),
qQualMin - Minimum
required quality value and is sent in SIB3 for serving cell and SIB 11 for adjacent cell,
qRxLevMin - Minimum required signal strength and is sent in SIB3 for serving cell and
SIB 11 for adjacent cell, maxTXpowerUL - Maximum transmission power during
random access on the RACH and is sent in SIB3, P - UE maximum output power
according to its class
December 31, 2013 by TheBeeliever Leave a comment

UMTS interview questions:

1) What are the RRC states?
a. Cell DCH
b. Cell FACH
c. Cell PCH
d. URA PCH
2) Describe different RRC States?

a. Cell DCH:
When UE is switched ON, it assumes the CELL_DCH State by default.
It exists when UE really requires UL/DL dedicated resource.
UE is characterized at cell level according to its current Active set.
Logical channels DCCH+DTCH are mapped to transport channel DCH.
E.g. Voice call(CS), Video telephony(CS+PS)
b. Cell FACH:
This happens when,
(1) UE doesnt require continuous circuit connection with n/w, but DL packets will
work.
(2) UE is forced to release the n/w resources to decrease the congestion
problems (flip-flop between DCH and FACH).
(3) Eventual location updates to support CELL_PCH and URA_PCH states (flip-flop
between FACH and PCH).
E.g. Call on hold(CS), File downloading(PS)
No dedicated UL/DL is provided. However, UE will keep monitoring to DL
common transport channel FACH continuously and receives packet data meant
for UE itself.
When UL transmission is required, it uses RACH for 1-2 frames or CPCH for few
more frames, depending on common access procedures; still UL transmission
will be discontinuous.
UE is known on cell level, but this time its based on the last cell update it
made.
c. Cell PCH:
This happens when UE doesnt require an active
connection(common/dedicated). But still needs to be connected, as its
expecting a n/w initiated or terminated call(CS or PS) in future.
So, no UL transmission is allowed. Selects a PCH(based on algo.) and keep
monitoring (receiving) it in discontinuous mode(DRX).
Can commute only into CELL_FACH state.
E.g. No outgoing call or data receive for long time
UE is still identified on cell level, but now in the cell where UE made its last
update, when it was in CELL_FACH state.

 At regular time interval, UE would have to move in CELL_FACH state to update

the location area. If UE is traveling, this update will become frequent because of
changing cells.
In some cases UE can have the transition from CELL_DCH to CELL_PCH, but not
vice versa; it has to go via CELL_FACH.
d. URA PCH:
This can be considered as a general case of CELL_PCH state. Because all the
characteristics are same except one.
That is, UE is known on URA(UTRAN Registration Area) level rather than cell
level. It listens to PCH(and updates URA when required).
If UE is traveling continuously from one cell to another. It would have to transit
multiple time to CELL_FACH state for location update. By assigning URA_PCH
state, this condition is avoided, since 1 URA contains one or more cells and vice
versa.
3) In which conditions UE will be in Cell FACH state?
This happens when,
UE doesnt require continuous circuit connection with n/w, but DL packets will
work.
UE is forced to release the n/w resources to decrease the congestion problems
(flip-flop between DCH and FACH).
Eventual location updates to support CELL_PCH and URA_PCH states (flip-flop
between FACH and PCH).
E.g. Call on hold(CS), File downloading(PS)
4) What is the difference between Cell PCH and URA PCH state?
UE is known on URA(UTRAN Registration Area) level rather than cell level
If UE is traveling continuously from one cell to another. It would have to transit
multiple time to CELL_FACH state for location update. By assigning URA_PCH
state, this condition is avoided, since 1 URA contains one or more cells and vice
versa
5) What is U-RNTI?
URNTI is a 32bit identity.
SRNC identifier + SRNTI makes URNTI
6) Describe the CELL search procedure?
The Cell Search procedure can be summarised into the following steps:

a. Cell Selection: Determine the cell whose received carrier power is the
strongest
b. Slot Synchronisation: the UE reads the P-SCH of the strongest carrier and
feeds the received signal through a matched filter (that is matched to the
Primary Synchronisation Code). The slot timing is detected via detection of
peaks in the output of the matched filter.
c. Frame Synchronisation and Scrambling Code Group Identification: the
UE reads the S-SCH of the strongest carrier, and correlates the received signal
with all the possible 64 Secondary Synchronisation Codes. The output that gives
maximum correlation gives the group of the Primary Scrambling Code used in
the cell. This process also gives the frame timing since the Secondary
Synchronisation Code is different for each slot and the group tells the mapping
between slots and SSCs.
d. Scrambling Code Identification: The UE attempts then to read the P-CPICH
so as to extract the Primary Scrambling Code used in the cell. The P-CPICH is
always scrambled by the Primary Scrambling Code of the cell and is spread a
factor 256 and an OVSF whose index is zero. Since the Primary Scrambling
Codes are grouped into 64 groups of 8 Scrambling Codes and the S-SCH has
given the Scrambling Code group only 8 possibilities remain. So the P-CPICH is
unscrambled separately withevery possible Scrambling Code (8) in the group
and only one output will produce correct results and the Primary Scrambling
Code of the cell is determined.
e. Read Broadcast Information: Since the P-CCPCH is always scrambled by
the Primary Scrambling Code of the cell (which has now been determined) and is
always spread using SF=256 with OVSF index=1, The UE can read the P-CCPCH
without any problem. The P-CCPCH carries the BCH where system information
blocks are broadcast throughout the entire cell. The UE can acquire at this stage
various information (e.g. Spreading Factors, OVSF indexes and Scrambling Codes
used in other downlink channels, important
parameters for PRACH transmission, Measurement Parameters, Transport
Formats etc.) and can then decodeother downlink channels, initiate a PRACH
procedure, performs some specific measurements etc.
7) Radio bearer configuration mappings?
Signalling radio bearer RB0 shall be used for all messages sent on the CCCH
(UL: RLC-TM, DL: RLC-UM).

 Signalling radio bearer RB1 shall be used for all messages sent on the DCCH,
when using RLC unacknowledged mode (RLC-UM).
Signalling radio bearer RB2 shall be used for all messages sent on the DCCH,
when using RLC acknowledged mode (RLC-AM), except for the RRC messages
carrying higher layer (NAS) signalling.
Signalling radio bearer RB3 and optionally Signalling radio bearer RB4 shall be
used for the RRC messages carrying higher layer (NAS) signalling and sent on
the DCCH in RLC acknowledged mode (RLC-AM).
Additionally, RBs whose identities shall be set between 5 and 32 may be used
as signalling radio bearer for the RRC messages on the DCCH sent in RLC
transparent mode (RLC-TM).
8) What are the types of hand over?
Here are following categories of handover (also referred to as handoff):
Hard HandoverHard handover means that all the old radio links in the UE are
removed before the new radio links are established. Hard handover can be
seamless or non-seamless. Seamless hard handover means that the handover is
not perceptible to the user. In practice a handover that requires a change of the
carrier frequency (inter-frequency handover) is always performed as hard
handover.
Soft Handover
Soft handover means that the radio links are added and removed in a way that
the UE always keeps at least one radio link to the UTRAN. Soft handover is
performed by means of macro diversity, which refers to the condition that
several radio links are active at the same time. Normally soft handover can be
used when cells operated on the same frequency are changed.
Softer handoverSofter handover is a special case of soft handover where the
radio links that are added and removed belong to the same Node B (i.e. the site
of co-located base stations from which several sector-cells are served. In softer
handover, macro diversity with maximum ratio combining can be performed in
the Node B, whereas generally in soft handover on the downlink, macro diversity
with selection combining is applied.
Generally we can distinguish between intra-cell handover and inter-cell
handover. For UMTS the following types of handover are specified:
Handover 3G -3G (i.e. between UMTS and other 3G systems)
FDD soft/softer handover

 FDD inter-frequency hard handover

FDD/TDD handover (change of cell)
TDD/FDD handover (change of cell)
TDD/TDD handover
Handover 3G 2G (e.g. handover to GSM)
Handover 2G 3G (e.g. handover from GSM)
The most obvious cause for performing a handover is that due to its movement
a user can be served in another cell more efficiently (like less power emission,
less interference). It may however also be performed for other reasons such as
system load control.
9) What are types of measurements?
Intra-frequency measurements: measurements on downlink physical
channels at the same frequency as the active set. A measurement object
corresponds to one cell.
Inter-frequency measurements: measurements on downlink physical
channels at frequencies that differ from the frequency of the active set and on
downlink physical channels in the active set. A measurement object corresponds
to one cell.
Inter-RAT measurements: measurements on downlink physical channels
belonging to another radio access technology than UTRAN, e.g. GSM. A
measurement object corresponds to one cell.
Traffic volume measurements: measurements on uplink traffic volume. A
measurement object corresponds to one cell.
Quality measurements: Measurements of downlink quality parameters, e.g.
downlink transport block error rate. A measurement object corresponds to one
transport channel in case of BLER. A measurement object corresponds to one
timeslot in case of SIR (TDD only).
UE-internal measurements: Measurements of UE transmission power and
UE received signal level.
UE positioning measurements: Measurements of UE position.
10) What is paging? Why paging is required?
Paging: This procedure is used to transmit paging information to selected UEs
in idle mode, CELL_PCH or URA_PCH state using the paging control channel
(PCCH).
Paging can be initiated :

 Upper layers in the network may request paging, to e.g. establish a signaling
connection.
UTRAN may initiate paging for UEs in CELL_PCH or URA_PCH state to trigger a
cell update procedure.
UTRAN may initiate paging for UEs in idle mode, CELL_PCH and URA_PCH state
to trigger reading of updated system information.
UTRAN may also initiate paging for UEs in CELL_PCH and URA_PCH state to
release the RRC connection.
11) Type of Paging?
Paging Type 1
Paging Type 2(UE dedicated paging)
12) When dedicated paging is used?
a. This procedure is used to transmit dedicated paging information to one UE in
connected mode in CELL_DCH , CELL_FACH or CELL_PCH (FDD only) state. Upper
layers in the network may request initiation of paging.
b. For a UE in CELL_DCH, CELL_FACH or CELL_PCH (FDD only) state, UTRAN
initiates the procedure by transmitting a PAGING TYPE 2 message on the DCCH
using AM RLC. When not stated otherwise elsewhere, the UTRAN may initiate
the UE dedicated paging procedure also when another RRC procedure is
ongoing, and in that case the state of the latter procedure shall not be affected.
c. UTRAN should set the IE Paging cause to the cause for paging received from
upper layers. If no cause for paging is received from upper layers, UTRAN should
set the value Terminating cause unknown.
13) In what situation UE goes to CELL PCH and URA PCH states?
a. Cell PCH:
This happens when UE doesnt require an active
Connection(common/dedicated). But still needs to be connected, as its
expecting a n/w initiated or terminated call(CS or PS) in future
b. URA PCH:
In Cell PCH UE is still identified on cell level, but now in the cell where UE made
its last update, when it was in CELL_FACH state.At regular time interval, UE
would have to move in CELL_FACH state to update the location area. If UE is
traveling, this update will become frequent because of changing cells. If UE is
traveling continuously from one cell to another. It would have to transit multiple

time to CELL_FACH state for location update. By assigning URA_PCH state, this
condition is avoided, since 1 URA contains one or more cells and vice versa
14) What is Cell Update Procedure? What are various Cell Update causes?
Uplink data transmission:
For FDD, if the variable H_RNTI is not set, and for TDD:
if the UE is in URA_PCH or CELL_PCH state; and
if the UE has uplink RLC data PDU or uplink RLC control PDU on RB1 or upwards
to transmit:
perform cell update using the cause uplink data transmission.
Paging response:
if the criteria for performing cell update with the cause specified above. are not
met; and
if the UE in URA_PCH or CELL_PCH state, receives a PAGING TYPE 1 .message
fulfilling the conditions for initiating a cell update procedure.
perform cell update using the cause paging response.
Radio link failure:
if none of the criteria for performing cell update with the causes specified above
in the current subclause is met:
if the UE is in CELL_DCH state and the criteria for radio link failure are ,or
if the transmission of the UE CAPABILITY INFORMATION message fails.
perform cell update using the cause radio link failure.
MBMS ptp RB request:
if none of the criteria for performing cell update with the causes specified above
in the current subclause is met; and
if the UE is in URA_PCH, Cell_PCH or Cell_FACH state; and
if the UE should perform cell update for MBMS ptp radio bearer request,
perform cell update using the cause MBMS ptp RB request.
Re-entering service area:
if none of the criteria for performing cell update with the causes specified above
in the current subclause is met; and
if the UE is in CELL_FACH or CELL_PCH state; and
2> if the UE has been out of service area and re-enters service area before
T307 or T317 expires:
3> perform cell update using the cause re-entering service area.
RLC unrecoverable error:

if none of the criteria for performing cell update with the causes specified above
in the current subclause is met; and
if the UE detects RLC unrecoverable error [16] in an AM RLC entity:
perform cell update using the cause RLC unrecoverable error.
Cell reselection:
if none of the criteria for performing cell update with the causes specified above
in the current subclause is met:
if the UE is in CELL_FACH or CELL_PCH state and the UE performs cell reselection; or
if the UE is in CELL_FACH state and the variable C_RNTI is empty:
perform cell update using the cause cell reselection.
Periodical cell update:
if none of the criteria for performing cell update with the causes specified above
in the current subclause is met; and
if the UE is in CELL_FACH or CELL_PCH state; and
if the timer T305 expires; and
if the criteria for in service area and
if periodic updating has been configured by T305 in the IE UE Timers and
constants in connected mode set to any other value than infinity:
perform cell update using the cause periodical cell update.
MBMS reception:
if none of the criteria for performing cell update with the causes specified above
in the current subclause is met; and
if the UE is in URA_PCH, Cell_PCH or Cell_FACH state; and
if the UE should perform cell update for MBMS counting ,
perform cell update using the cause MBMS reception.
15) What is Active set?
Active Set is defined as the set of Node-Bs the UE is simultaneously connected
to (i.e., the UTRA cells currently assigning a downlink DPCH to the UE constitute
the active set).
16) What is Monitor set and detected set Cells?
a. Cells, which are not included in the active set, but are included in the
CELL_INFO_LIST belong to the Monitored Set.
b. Cells detected by the UE, which are neither in the CELL_INFO_LIST nor in the
active set belong to the Detected Set. Reporting of measurements of the

detected set is only applicable to intra-frequency measurements made by UEs in

CELL_DCH state.
17) What are the various types of RNC?
a. Serving RNC
b. Drift RNC
c. Controlling RNC
18) What is the use and difference between CRNC, Drift RNC and SRNC?
RNC from which the UE is currently getting Served or connected to is called
SRNC or Serving RNC.
During a soft handover procedure the RNC UE is moving to, is called Drift RNC.
The RNC which controls the movement of UE from Serving RNC to the Drift RNC
is called Controlling RNC.
19) What is initial direct transfer message? What is the use?
The initial direct transfer procedure is used in the uplink to establish a signaling
connection. It is also used to carry an initial upper layer (NAS) message over the
radio interface.
20) What is security mode command? Why it is used?
Security mode command is a RRC Message,
The purpose of this procedure :
To trigger the start of ciphering or to command the restart of the ciphering with
a new ciphering configuration, for the radio bearers of one CN domain and for all
signalling radio bearers.
It is also used to start integrity protection or to modify the integrity protection
configuration for all signalling radio bearers
21) What is CCTrCH?
A Coded Composite Transport Channel is the result of combining (multiplexing)
several Transport Channels of the same type; i.e.: we can have a CCTrCh made
up of one or several DCHs, a CCTrCh made up of DSCHs. One exception is that
we can have one or several FACHs multiplexed with a PCH on the same CCTrCh.
A better notation would be for example:
CCTrCh4DCH: A CCTrCh consisting of 4 DCHs
CCTrCh3FACH: A CCTrCh consisting of 3 FACHs
CCTrChPCH,2FACH: A CCTrCh consisting of the PCH and 2 FACHs
22) What is compressed mode?

Higher layers can request a UE to monitor cells on other frequencies (FDD, TDD),
or other systems (GSM). This implies that the UE has to perform measurements,
on the other frequencies/systems and thus higher layers command the UE to
enter Compressed Mode. The UTRAN need to send to the UE all the parameters
for the Compressed Mode.
Compression Methods:
When in Compressed Mode the information normally transmitted during a 10 ms
frame is compressed in time sothat gaps of adequate length are created. To
achieve this one of three mechanisms
Puncturing
This method is NOT applicable to downlink.
Spread Factor Reduction
Actually halving the Spread Factor. So with this method if SF is used in noncompressed frames then SF/2 is used in the compressed frames.
Higher Layer Scheduling
Higher Layers set restrictions so that only a subset of allowed TFCs are used in
Compressed Mode.
Compressed Mode Parameter:
TGSN (Transmission Gap Starting Slot Number): A transmission gap pattern
begins in a radio frame, called firstradio frame of the transmission gap pattern,
containing at least one transmission gap slot. TGSN is the slot numberof the first
transmission gap slot within the first radio frame of the transmission gap
pattern;
TGL1 (Transmission Gap Length 1): Duration of the first transmission gap
within the transmission gap pattern, expressed in number of slots;
TGL2 (Transmission Gap Length 2): Duration of the second transmission gap
within the transmission gap pattern, expressed in number of slots. If this
parameter is not explicitly set by higher layers, then TGL2 =TGL1;
TGD (Transmission Gap Start Distance): Duration between the starting slots of
two consecutive transmission gaps within a transmission gap pattern, expressed
in number of slots. The resulting position of the second transmission gap within
its radio frame(s) shall comply with the limitations of TS 25.101 (Ref [2]). If this
parameter is not set by higher layers, then there is only one transmission gap in
the transmission gap pattern;

 TGPL1 (Transmission Gap Pattern Length): Duration of transmission gap

pattern 1;
TGPL2 (Transmission Gap Pattern Length): Duration of transmission gap
pattern 2. If this parameter is not explicitly set by higher layers, then TGPL2 =
TGPL1.
The following two parameters (integers) control the transmission gap pattern
sequence start and repetition:
TGPRC (Transmission Gap Pattern Repetition Count): Number of transmission
gap patterns within the transmission gap pattern sequence; From Figure 10 it
seems TGPRC is even, therefore the number of slots in TG Sequence is:
0.5*TGPRC (TGPL1+TGPL2)
TGCFN (Transmission Gap Connection Frame Number): CFN of the first radio
frame of the first pattern 1 within the transmission gap pattern sequence.
23) What is FACH measurement occasion?
GAPs in S-CCPCH to perform measurement on Different Frequencies or Interrat
resection.
24) MIB/SB/SIB details?
MIB: The Scheduling of MIB is Static.
25) Why we perform Channelisation or spreading before scrambling?
Before sending a data we need to identify the channel to send the data. A
particular Channelisation code is the identity for the channel.
Hence we use Channelisation code to select the channel and then scramble it so
as to send the identity of the UE over the channel
26) When TMSI , P- TMSI , IMSI , IMEI used?
TMSI (GSM-MAP): The TMSI (GSM-MAP) shall be chosen if available. The IE LAI
in the IE Initial UE identity shall also be present when TMSI (GSM-MAP) is used,
for making it unique.
P-TMSI (GSM-MAP): The P-TMSI (GSM-MAP) shall be chosen if available and no
TMSI (GSM-MAP) is available. The IE RAI in the IE Initial UE identity shall in
this case also be present when P-TMSI (GSM-MAP) is used, for making it unique.
IMSI (GSM-MAP): The IMSI (GSM-MAP) shall be chosen if available and no TMSI
(GSM-MAP) or P-TMSI is available.
IMEI: The IMEI shall be chosen when none of the above three conditions are
fulfilled.
27) What is Auto attached?

Auto
Atta
ch

Enabled

Disabled

Whe
n
Pow
er
On

If
MNO I
It will perform a combined
Attach
If NMOII
It will do a LAU and
Attach.

If UE is Location
updated i.e. SIM LAI is
same as Cell LAI
Then it will do nothing.
If UE is not Location
updated i.e.
SIM LAI differs from
the Cell LAI then UE
will perform Location
Area Update

PS
Call

Same RRC connection can

be used for the PS call.

Will do a PS attach
then the PS call.

28) Why we do a Combined Attach?

If the network operates in Network Mode Of Operation I i.e. NMO I and GPRS MS
that operates in Mode A or Mode B will do a simultaneous IMSI attach for GPRS
and non GPRS services and shall use the Combined GPRS attach, combined and
periodic routing area updating procedures instead of the corresponding MM
specific procedures IMSI attach and normal and periodic Location area updating.
29) When UE triggers Event 3A Measurement Report?
Event 3A:The Estimated Quality of currently used UTRAN frequency is below a
certain threshold and the estimated quality of the other system is above a
certain threshold.
30) How many transport channels will be configured when a CSV and a PSD call
is simultaneously going on?
Five transport channels will be configured.
1 for 4 SRBs
3 for CSV
1 for PSD
31) When event 2A, 2B, 2C,2E occurs?
Event 2a: Change of best frequency
Event 2b: The estimated quality of the currently used frequency is below a
certain threshold and the estimated quailty of a non-used frequency is above a
certain threshold.

Event 2c: The estimated quality of a non-used frequency is above a certain

threshold
Event 2d: The estimated quality of the currently used frequency is below a
certain threshold
Event 2e: The estimated quality of a non-used frequency is below a certain
threshold
32) When event 1A 1F Event occurs?
event 1A: A Primary CPICH enters the reporting range
event 1B: A primary CPICH leaves the reporting range
event 1C: A non-active primary CPICH becomes better than an active primary
CPICH
event 1D: Change of best cell
event 1E: A Primary CPICH becomes better than an absolute threshold
event 1F: A Primary CPICH becomes worse than an absolute threshold
33) Where CK and IK gets generated?
In RRC CK and IK gets generated.
34) Where CK and IK gets stored?
In USIM CK and IK will get stored.
35) Where the Security procedure will start?
Security Procedure will start in RRC but Ciphering will start for AM and UM data
security procedure will start at RLC layer. And for TM mode security procedure
start at MAC layer.
36) What are the mandatory SIBs which UE has to read before
campign
campaign?