Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service, MBMS

By Narendra Neeraj at September 20, 2015 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments

Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service, MBMS

A new service introduced in 3GPP Release 6 specifications is Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS).
There are two high level modes of operation in MBMS, as given

1. Broadcast mode, which allows sending audio and video. The already existing Cell Broadcast Service (CBS) is
intended for messaging only. The broadcast mode is expected to be a service without charging and there are no
specific activation requirements for this mode.

2. Multicast mode allows sending multimedia data for the end users that are part of a multicast subscription group.
End users need to monitor service announcements regarding service availability, and then they can join the
currently active service. From the network point of view, the same content can be provided in a point-to-point
fashion if there are not enough users to justify the high power transmission. A typical example in 3GPP has been
the sport results service where, for example, ice hockey results would be available as well as video clips of the key
events in different games of the day. Charging is expected to be applied for the multicast mode.

From the radio point of view, MBMS is considered an application independent way to deliver the MBMS User
Services, which are intended to deliver to multiple users simultaneously. The MBMS User Services can be classified
into three groups as follows

1. Streaming services, where a basic example is audio and video stream;

2. File downloads services;

3. Carousel service, which can be considered as a combination of streaming and file download. In this kind of
service, an end user may have an application which is provided data repetitively and updates are then broadcast
when there are changes in the content.

For MBMS User Services, an operator controls the distribution of the data. Unlike CBS, the end user needs first to
join the service and only users that have joined the service can see the content. The charging can then be based on
the subscription or based on the keys which enable an end user to access the data. The MBMS content can be
created by the operator itself or by a third party and, as such, all the details of what an MBMS service should look
like will not be specified by 3GPP, but left for operators and service providers. One possible MBMS high level
architecture is shown in Figure, where the IP multicast network refers here to any server providing MBMS content
over the Internet.
 Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PoC)
By Narendra Neeraj at September 20, 2015 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments
Push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) service is instant in the sense that the voice connection is established by simply
pushing a single button and the receiving user hears the speech without even having to answer the call. While
ordinary voice is bi-directional, the PoC service is a one directional service. The basic PoC application may hence be
described as a walkie-talkie application over the packet switched domain of the cellular network. In addition to the
basic voice communication functionality, the PoC application provides the end user with complementary features
like, for example:

 Ad hoc and predefined communication groups;

 Access control so that a user may define who is allowed to make calls to him/her;

 ‘Do-not-disturb’ in case immediate reception of audio is not desirable.

With ordinary voice calls a bi-directional communication channel is reserved between the end users throughout
the duration of the call. In PoC, the channel is only set up to transfer a short speech burst from one to possibly
multiple users. Once this speech burst has been transferred, the packet switched communication channel can be
released. This difference is highlighted in Figure.
 The speech packets are in the PoC solution carried from the sending mobile station to the server by the
OPRS/UMTS network. The server then forwards the packets to the receiving mobile stations. In the case of a one-
to-many connection, the server multiplies the packets to all the receiving mobile stations. This is illustrated in
Figure The PoC service is independent of the underlying radio access network.

Differences between WCDMA and Second

Generation Air Interfaces
By Narendra Neeraj at September 20, 2015 Labels: GSM, WCDMA 0 comments
Main differences between the third and second generation air interfaces are described. GSM and IS-95 (the
standard for cdmaOne systems) are the second generation air interfaces considered here. Other second
generation air interfaces are PDC in Japan and US-TDMA mainly in the Americas; these are based on TDMA (time
division multiple access) and have more similarities with GSM than with IS-95. The second generation systems
were built mainly to provide speech services in macro cells. To understand the background to the differences
between second and third generation systems, we need to look at the new requirements of the third generation
systems which are listed below:

 Bit rates up to 2 Mbps;

 Variable bit rate to offer bandwidth on demand;

 Multiplexing of services with different quality requirements on a single connection, e.g. speech, video and packet
data;

 Delay requirements from delay-sensitive real time traffic to flexible best-effort packet data;

 Quality requirements from 10 % frame error rate to 10_6 bit error rate;

 Co-existence of second and third generation systems and inter-system handovers for coverage enhancements and
load balancing;

 Support of asymmetric uplink and downlink traffic, e.g. web browsing causes more loading to downlink than to
uplink;
 High spectrum efficiency;

 Co-existence of FDD and TDD modes.

GSM also covers services and core network aspects, and this GSM platform will be used together with the WCDMA air
interface: see the next section regarding core networks.

Link Budget in WCDMA / UMTS

By Narendra Neeraj at April 23, 2015 Labels: UMTS, WCDMA 0 comments
Link budget planning is part of the network planning process, which helps to dimension the required
coverage, capacity and quality of service requirement in the network. UMTS WCDMA macro cell
coverage is uplink limited, because mobiles power level is limited to (voice terminal 125mW). Downlink
direction limits the available capacity of the cell, as BTS transmission power (typically 20-40W) has to be
divided to all users. In a network environment both coverage and capacity are interlinked by interference.
So by improving one side of the equation would decrease the other side. System is loosely balanced by
design. The object of the link budget design is to calculate maximum cell size under given criteria:

Type of service (data type and speed)

Type of environment (terrain, building penetration)
Behavior and type of mobile (speed, max power level)
System configuration (BTS antennas, BTS power, cable losses, handover gain)
Required coverage probability

What is HARQ and explain cell breathing.

By Narendra Neeraj at April 23, 2015 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments
Hybrid automatic repeat-request(HARQ):Data and voice blocks are transmitted in 10 ms time-
intervals called frames. At each frame and for each transmission the SIR is evaluated and used to derive
the Block Error Rate (BLER). Each block is then considered correct or erroneous
according to a random experiment based on the BLER. For the packet switched traffic only, an ideal ARQ
procedure is adopted, i.e., the transmitted block is kept in the transmitting queue in
case of error and is cancelled otherwise

Cell breathing is the constant change of the range of the geographical area covered by a cellular
telephone transmitter based on the amount of traffic currently using that transmitter. When a cell becomes
heavily loaded, it shrinks.

How many codes are required to get 7.2Mbps in

HSDPA?
By Narendra Neeraj at April 23, 2015 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments
5 codes and qpsk= 1.8mbps;
5 codes and 16 qam= 3.6 mbps;
10 codes and 16 qam= 7.2 mbps;
15 codes and 16 qam= 14.4;
15 codes and 64 qam= 21.1mbps;
15 codes and 16 qam(mimo)=28mbps;
16 codes and 64 qam(mimo)=42.2mbps

WCDMA System message

By Narendra Neeraj at April 23, 2015 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments
SIB1 : NAS Information. UE Timers and counters to be used in RRC Idle & Connected State,
SIB2: List of URA Identities
SIB3: Parameters for Cell Selection and Reselection
SIB4: Same as SIB3 but used in Connected State
SIB5: Configuration parameters of common physical channels in a cell. PCH and PICH Info (CPCH)
SIB6: Configuration of Common and Shared physical channel
SIB7: Contains fast changing UL interface params and dynamic. As this is changes often so controlled by
timer
SIB8: Used in FDD . Static CPCH info of cell. Used in Connected mode only
SIB9: CPCH info. As it changed often, controlled by timers connected mode only.
SIB10 : DRAC Procedure, used when CELL_DCH controlled by timer
SIB11 : Measurement control information to be used in CELL
SIB12: Same as SIB11 but used in connected mode only
SIB13: For ANSI-41 . It also has 4 associated SIBS 13.1 to 13.4. Reference to subblocks. Used when
System is ANSI-41.
SIB14: Parameters for common and dedicated physical DPCH UL outer loop power control info for TDD
SIB15: Assistance info for UE positioning. Used to reduce signaling by position. 15.1 to 15.5 sub sibs.
SIB16: Predefined channel conf. used while hand over. Radio Bearer transport channel, physical channel
parameter to be stored by UE in idle/connected mode. Several occurrences but UE does not bother.
SIB17: Shared channel info for TDD only
SIB18: PLMN Identities of neighboring cells. Used in Shared Access N/w with the cell reselection process

WCDMA Capacity Management Parameter

By Narendra Neeraj at April 08, 2015 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments
compModeAdm: Absolute admission limit for the number of radio links in compressed mode in a cell.
dlCodeAdm: Parameter that defines in percentage the absolute admission limit for DL code usage
pwrAdm: Parameter that defines in percentage the absolute admission limit for DL power utilization.
sf8Adm: Defines the absolute admission limit for the number of RLs with SF=8 (PS384) in DL.
sf16Adm: Defines the absolute admission limit for the number of RLs with SF=16 (PS128 RAB) in DL.
sf32Adm: Defines the absolute admission limit for the number of RLs with SF=32 (PS64) in DL.
sf4AdmUl: Absolute admission limit for the number of RLs with SF=4 in UL (PS384/HS)
sf8AdmUl: Defines the absolute admission limit for the number of RLs with SF=8 in UL.

sf16AdmUL: Parameter that defines absolute admission limit for the number of RLs with SF=16 in UL.

RF Optimization Processes
By Andrew Morgan at October 10, 2014 Labels: GSM, LTE, WCDMA

Network Optimization process involves the following activities:

 FIRST SET THE CRITERION (GOAL) OF OPTIMIZATION PROCESS

o BASELINE & TARGET KPI’s.
o DELIVERABLES
 CONDUCTING A BASELINE PHYSICAL AUDIT
 REMOVING ALL SERVICE AFFECTING ALARMS
 IDENTIFYING POOR COVERAGE AREAS
 IDENTIFYING CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS & OVERUTILIZED CELLS
  VARIOUS KPIs with Root-Cause-Analysis of problems.
o Frequency Plan (BCCH & TCH)
o Neighbor plan
 CONDUCTING A GSM SYSTEM PARAMETERS AUDIT
 Deliverables of an Optimization activity:
o Baseline Drive test comparison with post implementation results.
o Statistical comparison of baseline & improved network.
o Parameter Audit report.
o Physical parameter inconsistencies.
o Frequency & neighbor plan inconsistencies
o Recommendations for
 Coverage
 Capacity
 Physical Optimization
 Location Area Optimization.

WCMDA Paging
By Narendra Neeraj at September 13, 2014 Labels: UMTS, WCDMA 0 comments
Paging process in WCMDA or HSDPA system is called WCMDA Paging. The Paging Channel (PCH) is a
downlink transport channel. The PCH is always transmitted over the entire cell. The transmission of the
PCH is associated with the transmission of physical-layer generated Paging Indicators, to support efficient
sleep-mode procedures.

Paging Channel selection

System information Block Type 5 (SIB 5) defines common channels to be employed in Idle mode. The
UE may use Discontinuous Reception (DRX) in idle mode in order to reduce power consumption. When
DRX is used the UE needs only to monitor one Page Indicator, PI, in one Paging Occasion per DRX cycle.

The Paging Indicator Channel (PICH) is a fixed rate (SF=256) physical channel used to carry the paging
indicators.

Paging Procedure:

Basically two types of Paging Procedures in WCMDA Paging.

1) Idle Mode Paging

2) Dedicated Mode Paging

Idle mode paging is used when UE is in idle mode so we can say UE is in Cell PCH or URA PCH.PAGING
TYPE 1 message on an appropriate paging occasion on the PCCH.

UE dedicated paging procedure is used to transmit dedicated paging information to one UE in connected
mode in CELL_DCH or CELL_FACH state. PAGING TYPE 2 message on the DCCH using AM RLC.
WCDMA Question for Interview
By Narendra Neeraj at September 06, 2014 Labels: Interview, WCDMA 2 comments
1. What is the WCDMA technology?
2. What is the different between WCDMA & GSM?
3. What is the different between CDMA & WCDMA?
4. What is architecture & Interface of WCDMA?
5. What are the channel concepts of WCDMA Network?
6. What are the Logical, transport & physical channel in WCDMA?
7. What is the channel mapping in WCDMA?
8. What is the cell search procedure?
9. What are the RRC and what are the RRC states?
10. What is location registration?
11. What is the admission control & congestion control?
12. What is the power control?
13. UE TX Power
14. What are the types of handover?
15. What is Handover procedure?
16. What are the handover Parameter?
17. When Events 2A, 2B, 2C & 2E occur?
18. When Event 1A-1F events occur?
19. What are theSIR, RSCP, RSSIand EC/NO?
20. What is the CPICH?
21. What is the channelization and scrambling code?
22. What is the code tree?
23. What is the spreading factor?
24. What is the cell breathing?
25. What is the Pilot Pollution?
26. What are the near far effects?
27. What are the noise rise effects?
28. What is compressed mode?
29. What is the processing Gain?
30. What is the Pole capacity?
31. What are Rake receiver and WCDMA reception issue?
32. What is the different between CELL_PCH & URA_PCH?
33. What are the types of measurement?
34. What is the paging? What are types of paging and why paging is required?
35. What is the cell update procedure and what are the various cell update cause?
36. What is active set?
37. What is virtual active set?
38. What is the monitoring & detected cell set?
39. What are the various types of RNC?
40. What is the channel concept and channel mapping in WCDMA Network?
41. What is the SIB?
42. What are the idle mode and cell search parameter?
43. What are the admission control & congestion control parameter
Thanks to read Article and Best of luck for your interview.

WCDMA RAN ( Radio Access Network)

By Narendra Neeraj at June 28, 2014 Labels: RAN, WCDMA
WCDMA RAN

WCDMA RAN is a part of the 3rd generation (3G) mobile system, and comprises:
 OSS-RC
 RNC
 RANAG
 RBS
WCDMA RAN has interfaces towards the Core Network (CN), and towards the external Network
Management Systems (NMS).
WCDMA RAN provides Radio Access Bearers (RAB) between the CN and the subscriber's User Equipment
(UE) for speech, data, and multimedia services.

The Network Elements (NEs) RNC, RANAG, and RBS provide and manage the data links between WCDMA
RAN and the UE. The links between the NEs in WCDMA RAN carry the user data within WCDMA RAN.
These physical links are also used to carry O&M data. See figure for an overview of WCDMA RAN.
 Fading
By Narendra Neeraj at April 22, 2014 Labels: GSM, WCDMA 0 comments

FADING in Telecomunication
• The communication between the base station and mobile station in mobile systems is mostly non-LOS.
• The LOS path between the transmitter and the receiver is affected by terrain and obstructed by
buildings and other objects.
• The mobile station is also moving in different directions at different speeds.
• The RF signal from the transmitter is scattered by reflection and diffraction and reaches the receiver
through many non-LOS paths.
This non-LOS path causes long-term and short term fluctuations in the form of log-normal fading and
rayleigh and rician fading, which degrades the performance of the RF channel

LONG TERM FADING

• Terrain configuration & man made environment causes long-term fading.
• Due to various shadowing and terrain effects the signal level measured on a circle around base station
shows some random fluctuations around the mean value of received signal strength.
• The long-term fades in signal strength, r, caused by the terrain configuration and man made
environments form a log-normal distribution, i.e the mean received signal strength, r, varies log-
normally in dB if the signal strength is measured over a distance of at least 40.
• Experimentally it has been determined that the standard deviation, , of the mean received signal
strength, r, lies between 8 to 12 dB with the higher  generally found in large urban areas.

RAYLEIGH FADING
• This phenomenon is due to multipath propagation of the signal.
• The Rayleigh fading is applicable to obstructed propagation paths.
• All the signals are NLOS signals and there is no dominant direct path.
• Signals from all paths have comparable signal strengths.
• The instantaneous received power seen by a moving antenna becomes a random variable depending on
the location of the antenna.
 RICEAN FADING
• This phenomenon is due to multipath propagation of the signal.
• In this case there is a partially scattered field.
• One dominant signal.
• Others are weaker.

DOPPLERS SHIFT
• Dopplers shift is the shift in frequency due to the motion of mobile from the actual carrier frequency.
• Consider a mobile moving at a constant velocity v along a path segment having a length d between
points X and Y while it receives signal from a remote source S.
• The Change in frequency due to dopplers shift is given by
fd = (v/) * cos()
• It can be seen from the above equation that if the mobile is moving towards the direction of arrival of
wave the dopplers shift is positive I.e. the apparent received frequency is increased. .
Inter-RAT Handover ( IRAT Handover)
By Narendra Neeraj at April 22, 2014 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments

The 2G/3G inter-RAT handover involves the handover from GSM to UMTS and the handover from UMTS
to GSM. The handover is controlled mainly by the network. For MSs in dedicated mode, inter-RAT
handovers can be performed, including the emergency handover, better cell handover, inter-RAT load
handover, and inter-RAT service handover.

Inter-RAT Handover from UMTS to GSM

MSs in dedicated mode can be handed over from a UMTS cell to a GSM cell. The handover decision and
handover procedure are controlled by the RNC. The BSS considers the incoming handover from UMTS to
GSM as a common inter-BSC handover.
The parameter Inter-RAT In BSC Handover Enable determines whether inter-RAT handover from UMTS
to GSM is enabled. If Inter-RAT In BSC Handover Enable is set to No, the BSS rejects all the requests
for the handover from UMTS to GSM.

Inter-RAT Handover from GSM to UMTS

The parameter Inter-RAT In BSC Handover Enable determines whether the inter-RAT handover from
GSM to UMTS is enabled. If Inter-RAT In BSC Handover Enable is set toNO(No), the BSS rejects all the
requests for the handover from GSM to UMTS and does not select a UMTS cell as the target cell.

In dedicated mode, an MS obtains the list of neighboring UMTS cells and other information from the
Measurement Information. Then, the MS reports the measurement result to the BSS through the
measurement report. After receiving the measurement result, the BSS determines whether to initiate
the inter-RAT handover from GSM to UMTS based on the measurement result and the handover
algorithm.

HSDPA
By Narendra Neeraj at April 18, 2014 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments
High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is an enhanced 3G (third-generation) mobile
telephony communications protocol in the High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) family, also dubbed 3.5G,
3G+, or Turbo 3G, which allows networks based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications
System (UMTS) to have higher data-transfer speeds and capacity. As of 2013 HSDPA deployments can
support down-link speeds of up to 42.3 Mbit/s. HSPA+ offers further speed increases, providing speeds
of up to 337.5 Mbit/s with Release 11 of the 3GPP standards

Capacity
• It is the maximum throughput that the RBS can deliver to one cell. The capacity is shared by all
HSDPA users.

System Capacity
• It is the average capacity per cell for a cluster of cells. For system capacity calculation it is assumed
that the load is homogenously distributed and HSDPA is deployed in all cells.
Dedicated Channel Traffic
• DCH traffic is defined as the traffic carried by dedicated transport channels such as speech, PS or CS
radio bearers i.e. on channels other than HSDPA.

RBS Load
• It is the percentage of the maximum available RBS power that is used in the downlink.

Power Margin
• Power margin saves a part of the RBS power to cater for power variations, due to the dynamic UE
behavior when users move and experience varying channels conditions.
• For HSDPA it is assumed that no power margin is needed and RBS may use 100% of the available
power in a system with HSDPA.

Shared Channel Transmission

• Shared channel transmission means that a set of radio resources are dynamically shared among
multiple users.
• The sharing is done in time and code domain

Fast Radio Dependent Scheduling

• Scheduling is the function that determines which UE to transmit to at a given time instant.
• Three scheduling algorithms are implemented.
1. Proportional Fair Scheduling
2. Round Robin Scheduling
3. Maximum Channel Quality Indicator
Proportional Fair Scheduling
• The algorithm uses information about fading peaks to prioritize users with good radio conditions
• It also takes delay into account promoting users that have not been given any data for a long time
Round Robin Scheduling
• The algorithm gives every user same amount of radio resources (TTI).
• The algorithm is fair for all users from a resource point of view but bit rate varies.

Max CQI (Channel Quality Indicator)

• UE sends CQI in the UL to aid rate adaptation and scheduling
• The algorithm maximizes system throughput by prioritizing users with good radio channels
• The CQI report estimates the number of bits that can be transmitted to the UE using a certain
assumed power with a block error rate of 10%

High-order Modulation
• HS-DSCH uses 16 QAM if the UE category permit.
• This allows twice as high data rates to be transmitted as compared to QPSK
2 ms TTI
• Transmission Time Interval for HSDPA is short when compared to R99
• It is 2 ms for HS-DSCH for R99 it is 10-40 ms

Fast Link Adaptation

• As opposed to R99 RBs, HS-DSCH is transmitted with constant power within the TTI.
• Transmission rate is controlled by adaptive channel coding.
• Data rate depends on radio conditions (CQI)
Fast Hybrid ARQ with soft combining
• In hybrid automatic repeat request scheme, the received blocks that cannot be decoded are buffered
and soft combined with later received transmissions of same information bits. Hybrid ARQ protocol
terminates in Node B which means short RTT (typically 12 ms

HSDPA Power
• The RBS power available for HSDPA is determined dynamically, depending on R99 power usage
• At least 25% of the average power can be used for HSDPA

HSDPA Channel Structure

New Physical and Transport channels are introduced in HSDPA:

Transport Channel
• High Speed Downlink Shared Channel (HS-DSCH)

Physical Channels
• High Speed Physical Downlink Shared Channel (HS-PDSCH)
• High Speed Shared Control Channels (HS-SCCH)
• High Speed Dedicated Physical Control Channel (HS-DPCH)
• Associated Dedicated Channel (A-DCH)

PAGING IN WCDMA
By Narendra Neeraj at April 18, 2014 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments

Paging is initiated upon request from the CN or triggered in UTRAN. It is used to notify
the UE of different events.
In WCDMA RAN P4 these are:
• UE terminating service request for PS or CS services (CN initiated). CN initiated
paging is applicable to UEs in idle mode.
• UTRAN initiated broadcast to inform UEs when System Information is modified.
UTRAN initiated paging is used whenever System Information (e.g. information about
cell selection/ reselection, addition/replacement of neighbors, handover etc.) has
been updated. The paging message has the following characteristics:
• Type of paging message: Paging Type 1 or Paging Type 2
• UE identity used in the message (IMSI, TMSI, P-TMSI)
• The physical radio channels and type of resource required
• The area in which the page will be broadcasted (LA or globally)

The paging record varies in length depending on whether it includes the UE identity
in terms of IMSI, TMSI, or P-TMSI. A PCH frame can carry one “Paging Type 1” message
of 10 ms and may contain between 3-5 paging records, depending on whether the
paging uses IMSI or TMSI/P-TMSI.
When the UE mode is Cell_FACH or Cell_DCH common or dedicated physical channels
are already in use and the paging message “Paging Type 2” will be used. For paging,
the capacities of the FACH and the RACH are assumed to be enough, but there is a
risk of congestion in the PCH due to heavy paging load. Therefore, the probability of
congestion in the PCH must be calculated in order to dimension the LA/RA. If the
operator wants to check the paging success rate, this should be done on MSC level.
Notice that even if a UE does not response to a paging in a certain Location Area, a
second paging might be sent throughout the whole MSC area (depending on
configuration) and UE can be finally reached. For this reason the most reliable
indicator for paging is the one obtained at MSC level.

WCDMA KPI HUAWEI

By Narendra Neeraj at April 18, 2014 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments

The KPI can be divided into following classes, and the counters related to the KPI should be well defined
in the PM system of the RNC.

Coverage KPIs
UL Interference Cell Ratio
Soft Handover Ratio

Accessibility KPIs
IU Paging Success Ratio
Radio Access Success Ratio
RRC Setup Success Ratio (other)
RRC Setup Success Ratio (service)
AMR RAB Setup Success Ratio
VP RAB Setup Success Ratio
CS RAB Setup Success Ratio
PS RAB Setup Success Ratio
HSDPA RAB Setup Success Ratio
HSUPA RAB Setup Success Ratio

Retainability KPIs
CS Service Drop Ratio
AMR Call Drop Ratio
VP Call Drop Ratio
AMR Traffic Drop Ratio
VP Traffic Drop Ratio
PS Service Drop Ratio
HSDPA Service Drop Ratio
HSUPA Service Drop Ratio

Mobility KPIs
Soft Handover Success Ratio
Softer Handover Success Ratio
HS-DSCH Service Cell Change Success Ratio with SHO (HSDPA to HSDPA)
Channel Handover Success Ratio (HSDPA to DCH)
Channel Handover Success Ratio (DCH to HSDPA)
Intra-frequency Hard Handover Success Ratio
Intra-frequency Hard Handover Success Ratio (HSDPA to HSDPA)
Inter-frequency Hard Handover Success Ratio
Inter-frequency Hard Handover Success Ratio (HSDPA to HSDPA)
CS Inter-RAT Handover Success Ratio (WCDMA to GSM)
PS Inter-RAT Handover Success Ratio (WCDMA to GPRS)
PS Inter-RAT Handover Success Ratio (GPRS to WCDMA)
HSDPA Inter-RAT Handover Success Ratio (WCDMA to GPRS)
SRNC Relocation Success Ratio
TRNC Relocation Success Ratio
E-DCH Soft Handover Success Ratio
E-DCH Service Cell Change Success Ratio with SHO (HSUPA to HSUPA)
E-DCH Service Cell Change Success Ratio with Inter-HHO (HSUPA to HSUPA)
E-DCH to DCH Handover Success Ratio (Intra Cell)
DCH to E-DCH Handover Success Ratio (Intra Cell)
E-DCH to DCH Handover Success Ratio (with Inter HHO)
HSUPA Inter-RAT Handover Success Ratio (UTRAN to GPRS)

Service Integrity KPIs

PS Service UL Average Throughput
PS Service DL Average Throughput
Service UL Average BLER
DL RLC Average Retransmission Ratio
HSDPA RLC Throughput
HSUPA RLC Throughput

Availability KPIs
Worst Cell Ratio
IU Paging Congestion Ratio
Admission Refused Ratio
Congested Cell Ratio
Unserviceable Cell Ratio
Average CPU Load
IUB Bandwidth Utilizing Ratio

Traffic KPIs
CS Equivalent Erlang
PS UL Throughput
PS DL Throughput
UL Traffic of Typical Radio Bearers
DL Traffic of Typical Radio Bearers
HSDPA Mean UE Number
HSDPA RLC Traffic Volume
HSUPA Mean UE Number
HSUPA RLC Traffic Volume
UL Traffic Volume of QoS Classes

DL Traffic Volume of QoS Classes

SPREADING in WCDMA
By Narendra Neeraj at April 18, 2014 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments

WCDMA applies a two-layered code structure consisting of a orthogonal spreading codes and pseudo-
random scrambling codes. Spreading is performed using channelization codes, which transforms every
data symbol into a number of chips, thus increasing the bandwidth of the signal. Orthogonality
between the different spreading
factors can be achieved by the tree-structured orthogonal codes. Scrambling is used for cell separation
in the downlink and user separation in the uplink.

Uplink Spreading
In the uplink, either short or long spreading (scrambling) codes are used. The short codes are used to
ease the implementation of advanced multiuser receiver techniques; otherwise, long spreading codes
can be used. Short codes are S(2) codes of length 256 and long codes are Gold sequences of length 241,
but the latter are truncated to form a cycle of a 10-ms frame. IQ/code multiplexing used in the uplink
leads to parallel transmission of two channels, and therefore, attention must be paid to modulated
signal constellation and
related peak-to-average power ratio (crest factor). the transmitter power amplifier efficiency remains
the
same as for QPSK transmission in general.

Downlink Spreading
In the downlink, the same orthogonal channelization codes are used as in the uplink. For scrambling,
Gold codes of length 218 are used, but they are truncated to form a cycle of a 10-ms frame (i.e.,
384,000 chips). To form a complex-valued code, the same truncated code is used with different time
shifts in I and Q channels. It is possible to generate 218-1 scrambling codes, but only 8191 of them are
used. Each cell is allocated one primary scrambling code. In order to reduce the cell search time, the
primary scrambling codes are divided into 512 sets. Thus, the mobile station needs to search at
maximum 512 10-ms-long codes. In addition to primary scrambling codes, there are 15 secondary
scrambling code sets. Secondary scrambling codes are used when one set of orthogonal
channelization codes is not enough. This can be the case when adaptive antennas are used in
the downlink. It should be noted that use of the secondary scrambling code destroys the orthogonality
between code channels.
 PROTOCOL ARCHITECTURE WCDMA
By Narendra Neeraj at April 18, 2014 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments
shows the air interface protocol architecture. The protocol architecture is similar to the current ITU-R
protocol architecture, ITU-R M.1035. The air interface is layered into three protocol layers:
 The physical layer (layer 1, L1);
 The data link layer (layer 2, L2);
 Network layer (layer 3, L3).
The physical layer interfaces the medium access control (MAC) sublayer of layer 2 and the radio
resource control (RRC) layer of layer 3. The physical layer offers different transport channels to MAC. A
transport channel is characterized by how the information is transferred over the radio interface.
Transport channels are channel coded and then mapped to the physical channels specified in the
physical layer. MAC offers
different logical channels to the radio link control (RLC) sublayer of layer 2. A logical channel is
characterized by the type of information transferred. Layer 2 is split into following sublayers: MAC,
RLC, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) and broadcast/multicast control (BMC). Layer 3 and RLC
are divided into control and user planes. PDCP and BMC exist in the user plane only. In the
control plane, layer 3 is partitioned into sublayers where the lowest sublayer, denoted as
RRC, interfaces with layer 2. The RLC sublayer provides ARQ functionality closely coupled with the
radio transmission technique used.

Noise Rise
By Narendra Neeraj at April 17, 2014 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments
What is “noise rise”? What does a higher noise rise mean in terms of network loading?
 For every new user added to the service, additional noise is added to the network. That is, each new
user causes a “noise rise”. In theory, the “noise rise” is defined as the ratio of total received wideband
power to the noise power. Higher “noise rise” value implies more users are allowed on the network, and
each user has
to transmit higher power to overcome the higher noise level. This means smaller path loss can be
tolerated and the cell radius is reduced. To summarize, a higher noise rise means higher capacity and
smaller footprint, a lower noise rise means smaller capacity and bigger footprint.

Cell breathing
By Andrew Morgan at April 02, 2014 Labels: WCDMA

The cell coverage shrinks as the loading increases, this is called cell breathing.
In the uplink, as more and more UE are served by a cell, each UE needs to transmit higher power to
compensate for the uplink noise rise. As a consequence, the UE with weaker link (UE at greater distance)
may not have enough power to reach the NodeB – therefore coverage shrinkage.

In the downlink, the NodeB also needs to transmit higher power as more UE are being served. As a
consequence UE with weaker link (greater distance) may not be reachable by the NodeB.

Pilot Pollution
By Andrew Morgan at April 02, 2014 Labels: WCDMA

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. Definition of “strong cell”: pilots within the handover window size from the strongest cell. Typical
handover window size is between 4 to 6dB. For example, if there are more than 2 cells (besides the
strongest cell) within 4dB of the strongest cell then there is pilot pollution.

Cell Search Procedure in WCDMA

By Andrew Morgan at April 02, 2014 Labels: WCDMA
Cell Search procecess in WCDMA would be described as follows (For the detailed understanding, I would
recommend you to study each of the physical channels involved in the following description).

i) Every cell is tranmitting its scrambling code(Primary Scrambling Code) via CPICH.
ii) UE detect the cell power, primary scrambling code and some addition info for compensating
demodulation process
iii) UE detect P-SCH (Primary Synchronization Code) and figure out slot boundary (start and end of each
slot)
iv) UE detect S-SCH (Primary Synchronization Code) and figure out frame bounday (start and end of
each frame)
v) UE detect P-CCPCH and decode MIB. Through this MIB, UE can figure out SFN.
 3G KPI (Key Performance Indicators)
By Andrew Morgan at September 26, 2013 Labels: KPI, WCDMA 0 comments

Key Performance Indicators

- RRC success rate

- RRC success rate PS
- RRC success rate CS

- RAB Success Rate Voice

- RAB Success Rate Video (CS64)
- RAB Success Rate Packet
- RAB Success Rate HSDPA
- RAB Success Rate EUL

- Soft HOSR non Iur

- Softer HOSR non Iur
- Soft Softer HOSR Iur
- IRAT-HOSR
- IRAT-HOSR CS
- IRAT-HOSR PS

What are the possible causes for a Drop Call on a

UMTS network?
By Andrew Morgan at September 26, 2013 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments

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 are the possible causes for an Access Failure in

UMTS?
By Andrew Morgan at September 26, 2013 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments

What are the possible causes for an Access Failure in UMTS?

 Missing Neighbors
 Poor Coverage
 Pilot Pollution / Spillover
 Poor Cell Reselection
 Core Network Issues
 Non – availability of resources. Admission Control denies
 Hardware Issues
 Improper RACH Parameters
 External Interference

3G Basic Parameter
By Andrew Morgan at September 26, 2013 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments
Basic Parameters of WCDMA

Frequency Band : 2100 MHz

1920-1980MHz (UL) &2110-2170 MHz (DL)
Duplex Space : 190 MHz
Channel bandwidth : 5 MHz
Coding Spacing : 200 KHz (RASTER)
UARFCN Range : 10562-10838 (Total ARFCN – 276)
Duplex mode : FDD and TDD
Downlink RF channel structure : Direct spread
Chip rate& Chips : 3.84 Mcps& It is pulse of spreading spectrum n
It’s in rectangular shape of +1 & -1
Frame length : 10 ms (38400 chips) = 15Slots, & 1slot = 2650chips
Superframe : A Superframe has a duration of 720ms and consists
Of 72 radio frames. The super frame boundaries are
Defined by the System Frame Number (SFN)
Spreading modulation : Balanced QPSK (downlink)
Dual-channel QPSK (uplink)
Complex spreading circuit
Data modulation : QPSK (downlink) & BPSK (uplink)
Channel coding : Convolution (Voice) and turbo (data) codes
nt detection : User dedicated time multiplexed pilot (DL and UL),
 Common pilot in the downlink
Channel multiplexing in downlink
Channel multiplexing in uplink
I&Q multiplexing for data and control channel
Spreading factors
Power control
Power control period
Power control step size
Power control range
Handover
: Data and control channels time multiplexed
: Control and pilot channel time multiplexed
: 4–256 (uplink), 4–512 (uplink)
: Open and fast closed loop (1.6 kHz)
: 1500Hz
: 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2db
: Soft HO, softer HO, Inter frequency and IRAT HO

SIR, Ec/Io, RTWP, RSCP, and Eb/No in WCDMA

By Andrew Morgan at July 10, 2013 Labels: WCDMA 1 comments

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 RSCP?
RSCP stands for Received Signal Code Power – the energy per chip in CPICH averaged over 512 chips.
What is Eb/No?
By definition Eb/No is energy bit over noise density, i.e. is the ratio of the energy per information bit
to the power spectral density (of interference and noise) after dispreading.
Eb/No = Processing Gain + SIR
For example, if Eb/No is 5dB and processing gain is 25dB then the SIR should be -20dB or better.
What are the Eb/No targets in your design?
The Eb/No targets are dependent on the service:
 on the uplink, typically CS is 5 to 6dB and PS is 3 to 4dB – PS is about 2dB lower.

 on the downlink, typically CS has 6 to 7dB and PS is 5 to 6dB – PS is about 1dB lower.

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 RTWP? What is the significance of it?

 Received Total Wide-band Power

 It gives the Total Uplink Power (Interference) level received at NodeB

WCDMA Handover Parameter

By Andrew Morgan at July 10, 2013 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments

Handover Parameter

maxActiveSet: Maximum number of cells allowed in the Active Set.

IndividualOffset:
Offset value which can be assigned to each cell. It is added to the measurement quantity before the UE
evaluates whether or not an event has occurred. It can either be positive or negative value.
measQuantity1:
Defines the measurement quantity for intra-frequency reporting evaluation. Default is Ec/No.
hsQualityEstimate:
Indicates whether Ec/No or RSCP should be used for indicating "best cell" for HS-DSCH Cell Change.
Default is RSCP.
reportingRange1a:
Relative threshold referred to the CPICH of the best cell in the Active Set used as evaluation criteria
for event 1a (a primary CPICH enters the reporting range).
reportingRange1b:
Relative threshold referred to CPICH of the best cell in the Active Set used as evaluation criteria for
event 1b (a primary CPICH leaves the reporting range).
reportingInterval1a:
Time between periodic reports at event-triggered periodic reporting for event 1a
timeToTrigger1a:
If event 1a condition is fulfilled during at least a time greater than or equal to timeToTrigger1a
milliseconds, then event 1a occurs.
timeToTrigger2dEcno:
If event 2d condition is fulfilled during at least a time greater than or equal to timeToTrigger2dEcno
milliseconds, then event 2d occurs

What are the events 1a, 1b, 1c, etc.?

By Andrew Morgan at July 10, 2013 Labels: WCDMA 0 comments

 e1a – a Primary CPICH enters the reporting range, i.e. add a cell to active set.

 e1b – a primary CPICH leaves the reporting range, i.e. removed a cell from active set.

 e1c – a non-active primary CPICH becomes better than an active primary CPICH, i.e. replace a cell.

 e1d: change of best cell.

 e1e: a Primary CPICH becomes better than an absolute threshold.

 e1f: a Primary CPICH becomes worse than an absolute threshold.