RNTI(Radio Network Temporary Identities) are used as UE identities within the UT

RAN and in signalling messages between UE and UTRAN.

RNTI is used , so that UE original identity can be hide , so that no one can det
ect the UE , but as a identity UE can also send IMSI or IMEI , in which we try t
o avoid sending the IMEI number to the network, except in the case , when UE doe
s not have the SIM or it is not properly camped to a cell and user wants to make
the Emergency call .
These RNTI are,
SRNC RNTI (S-RNTI)
Drift RNC RNTI(D-RNTI)
Cell RNTI(C-RNTI)
UTRAN RNTI(U-RNTI)
Now let us explore briefly all these RNTI,
S-RNTI is allocated in association with RRC connection setup by the SRNC to whic
h the UE has the RRC connection, so that both can identify each other.
D-RNTI is allocated by a DRNC in association with context establishment and is u
sed to handle the UE connection and context over the Iur interface.
C-RNTI is allocated when the UE accesses a new cell , so that we can say that it
identifies the UE when UE is in common channels ( when UE is in cell FACH), i.e
. with in a cell. By this CRNC and UE communicate each other.(in most cases CRNC
and SRNC are incorporated in a single RNC )
But, now the most important RNTI comes into the picture, and its the URNTI, it i
dentifies the UE , uniquely within UTRAN. URNTI is used as a UE identifier for t
he first cell access , and it generated by the combination of SRNC identity and
SRNTI. It is an unique one in UTRAN.
Apart from them , we also have E-RNTI and H-RNTI , used in HSUPA and HSDPA respe
ctively, which also have the same use as the above ones.
we will explore all these more in a later post.