WHITE PAPER

High Speed Uplink Packet Access

Enabling Responsive Multimedia

Table of Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................... 3
Abstract ........................................................................................... 3
HSUPA Responsive Multimedia: Enhancing the
Symmetry of High Speed Mobile Communications .................... 4
HSUPA The Principles................................................................... 5
HSUPA at a Glance .......................................................................... 6
HSUPA and Higher-Order Modulation Schemes ............................ 6
HSUPA Node B Based Scheduling .................................................. 7
HSUPA Soft Handover .................................................................... 9
Implications for Mobile Devices .................................................... 10
Considerations for Network Efciency .......................................... 10
Network Considerations for HSUPA Responsive Multimedia .... 10
HSUPA Capacity Improvements Macro-cell ............................... 11
HSUPA Capacity Hotspot Scenario ............................................. 11
Comparison of Typical Data Rates for Hot-Spot Scenario ............. 11
Summary ....................................................................................... 12
Glossary ......................................................................................... 12

WHITE PAPER: High Speed Uplink Packet Access

Introduction
This white-paper outlines the main principles
and benets of High Speed Uplink Packet
Access and the implications for both
end-users and service providers.

Abstract
Release 6 of 3GPP Standards introduces High Speed
Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) or Responsive
Multimedia.
This signicant step in the development of mobile
telecommunications may not be as immediately
noticeable to the end-user as High Speed Downlink
Packet Access (HSDPA) was. However, it nonetheless provides signicant benets that become
evident when running some key applications. For
end-users it means signicantly faster uplink
data rates while the Service Provider gains from
improved air interface efciency.
All enhancements that improve the all important
end-user experience should lead to increased
customer satisfaction and thus opportunities for
increasing Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).
HSxPA (the combination of HSDPA and HSUPA)
will facilitate new service delivery capabilities, such
as voice over IP (VoIP), massive multiplayer online
role-playing gaming (MMORPG, where HSUPA and

WHITE PAPER: High Speed Uplink Packet Access

full conversational Quality of Service (QoS) in the

packet domain become pre-requisites), mobile
web-cam and video conferencing. While many
existing services like le sharing, VPN access,
MMS and E-mail plus attachment synchronization
will become much more usable, again increasing
the likelihood of end-user uptake. Moreover, the
advent of HSUPA is coincidental with the signicant
increase in the usage of Web 2.0 type applications
such as YouTube. It may be that HSUPA becomes
a vehicle to delivering content to this domain.
Finally HSUPA allows end-users to effectively
become the content provider. This will appeal to
enterprise users and consumers alike, further
increasing the demand and appeal for high-speed
mobile data services.
Motorolas HSxPA solution supports HSUPA in two
phases. Phase 1 available from Q107 delivers data
rates of up to 1.46Mbps and Phase 2, available from
Q108 enables data rates of up to the theoretical
maximum of 5.76Mbps.

Motorolas rst public demonstration of HSUPA

was at 3GSM 2006, when data rates of over
4Mbps were achieved

HSUPA Responsive Multimedia:

Enhancing the Symmetry of High Speed
Mobile Communications
HSDPA has fast become a reality. The number of
commercial HSDPA networks has grown both rapidly
and signicantly and it appears that the majority,
if not all, UMTS service providers will upgrade to
HSDPA1. The general industry expectation is that
HSDPA will deliver on its promise of true mobile
broadband.

end-users in the cell. For a single active end-user

in reasonably good channel conditions, then up to
1Mbps could be expected, and for a single end-user
in very good channel conditions, up to 2Mbps might
be achievable]

Before the introduction of HSDPA, the UMTS

maximum 384kbps downlink limited the end-user
experience rendering many applications ill-matched
for mobile use. Moreover UMTS consumes signicant
resource in the air interface due to inherent in efciencies
in modulation scheme and retransmissions. From the
outset Motorolas UMTS solutions were software
upgradable to HSDPA and amongst the rst vendors
to deliver a full 15 code capability (up to 14.4Mbps2
data rate [this rate is modulation bits, excluding L1
channel coding overhead. The maximum rate at the
MAC layer is 13.96Mbps]).

The relative increase in end-user data rate is dependent

on the applications run, that is, applications that are
sensitive to both latency and bandwidth such as
video conferencing and MMORPG will be improved
most by HSUPA. Similarly, Voice over IP (VoIP)
capacity and web browsing (latency sensitive but
lower bandwidth requirement) will also be improved.

Now, with increasing numbers of inter-active and

person to person multi-media services appearing,
there is a clear requirement for high data rates in
both downlink and uplink. HSUPA is the incremental
complement of HSDPA delivering signicantly
improved data rates from the mobile back into
the network with a theoretical peak data rate of
5.76Mbps and likely end-user data rates in the range
300bps to 2Mbps3. [This depends on number of

The techniques used in HSUPA provide increased

uplink spectral efciency compared to R99 UMTS;
nominally doubling sector throughput and delivering
signicant increases in end-user data rates.

Whereas sending large email attachments, picture

messaging and MP3 (large bandwidth requirements
but relatively delay tolerant) will not benet from
HSUPA to the same extent end-user will still
experience signicant improvement in raw speed.
Most vendors will offer HSUPA offerings in two
phases; Phase 1 enabling data rates up to 1.46Mbps
and in Phase 2, the theoretical maximum 5.76Mbps.
Industry indications are that HSUPA capability will
be deployed from late 2006 onwards while the rst
commercial mobile devices becoming available
during 2007.

1. Source: www.gsacom.com
2. Assumes availability/use of a device/handset capable of receiving such transmissions
3. Usual caveats regarding likely end-user data rates apply

WHITE PAPER: High Speed Uplink Packet Access

HSUPA Improves Uplink Performance

(compared to R99 UMTS):
Higher throughput/data rates
Higher capacity
Reduced latency

HSUPA The Principles

HSUPA, like its counterpart HSDPA, introduces new
techniques compared to the R99 UMTS specications;
the following sections provide an insight into some
of these techniques and the principles of this very
important development in mobile communications.
1. RNC allocates resource per cell and sets Node B
maximum received power according to noise rise/
level allowed to avoid interfering with neighboring
Node B
2. Mobile device requests resources and reports
buffer status and power availability.
3. Serving Node B allocates resource to the mobile
device and sets the maximum transmit power
output level of the mobile device. Fast relative
grants make small modications to this level
each Transmission Time Intervals (TTI)
4. Mobile device decides what power level to transmit
at depending on the data rate, service desired and
allocated resources, while it continues to request
use of the reserve power (from maximum power)
dependent on how much data to transmit, priority
of data and QoS of services or user
5. Non-serving Node B(s) that are in active set
receive the uplink transmissions and send relative
grants to mobile device to prevent deafening;
that is the mobile device is quieted by the
other Node Bs and reduces its transmit power
output accordingly.

Figure 1 The principles of HSUPA

WHITE PAPER: High Speed Uplink Packet Access

UMTS DCH (R99)

HSDPA DCH (R5)

HSUPA E-DCH (R6)

Dedicated

Shared

Dedicated

Variable

Fixed (SF=16)

Variable

No

Yes

Yes

80/4020/10

10/2

Yes

No

Yes

Possible

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

Scheduling Algorithms

RNC

Node B

Node B

Power Control

Yes

Yes

Yes

Channel Type
Spreading Factor
Physical (Layer 1) HARQ
Transmission Time Interval (ms)
Soft Handover
Multi-code Transmission
Adaptive Modulation

Table 1 - HSUPA Characteristics compared to R99 UMTS and HSDPA

HSUPA
delivers a
theoretical
peak data
rate to
5.76Mbps

HSUPA at a Glance
As the text unfolds we will discover some of
principles of HSUPA and how its realization differs
from R99 UMTS and HSDPA; the Table above
summarizes these characteristics.
HSUPA and Higher-Order Modulation Schemes
To increase downlink throughput without increasing
bandwidth, higher-order modulation schemes have
been implemented; for instance HSDPA employs
16QAM in order to achieve data rates of up to its
theoretical maximum.
A characteristic, and drawback, of these modulation
schemes is a non-constant amplitude envelope,
giving a higher peak to average ratio, and increased
number of possible modulation symbols, making
them more susceptible to noise and interference.
Higher peak-to-average signal ratios mean that the
mobile device output stage must operate over a
wider dynamic range; these designs are inherently
less efcient. To overcome these issues HSUPA
uses BPSK or QPSK modulation (used in HSDPA up
to 3.6Mbps), which exhibit lower peak to average
signal ratios than 16QAM.
The mobile devices transmit capabilities are ultimately
governed by their efciency and limited battery
capacity. The use of BPSK/QPSK with its lower peakto-average signal ratio permits more efcient output
stage design that in turn reduces demands on the
mobile device. However in order to reach the highest
data rates multi-code transmission is required which
can degrade peak to average ratio. The resulting
trade off between efciency and the End-user
experience is a theoretical 5.76Mbps peak data rate.

WHITE PAPER: High Speed Uplink Packet Access

With the restriction on the maximum uplink data rate

imposed by BPSK/QPSK, advanced link adaptation
techniques must be implemented to achieve
increased data rates. These adaptive techniques
include spreading factors of 2 or 4, multiple codes
(1, 2 or 4) and an initial Transmission Time Interval of
10ms (supporting Best Effort and streaming). HSUPA
phase 2 delivers a reduction in TTI to 2ms and is
required to enable >1 transmission and so realize the
benet of HARQ within the latency required by VoIP.
The HARQ adjusts the amount of error correction
appropriate to prevailing load and channel conditions
while reducing re-transmission delays and system
latency thereby increasing system capabilities.
Quality of Service (QoS) must be taken into account
considering the data priority and trafc class, e.g.
appropriately setting the maximum number of HARQ
transmissions (to minimize latency) and the priority
within the scheduler. Motorolas HSUPA solution
supports this from phase 1.
The non-scheduled mode (where the mobile device
does not need to wait to be scheduled to transmit
certain classes of data) may be used to minimize
latency, e.g., for VoIP. Motorolas HSUPA solution
supports the non-scheduled mode from phase 2.
HSUPA introduces additional overhead channels in
both uplink and downlink. In the uplink, the potential
impact on maximum cell range due to this overhead
is mitigated by the gain associated with HSUPA
HARQ with the resultant coverage being similar to
R99 UMTS.

HSUPA
Introduces
a New
Transport
Channel

It is important that power control of the HSUPA

control channels is implemented in the downlink
to minimize overhead, as power used for these
channels will limit HSDPA power and degrade its
performance. This key feature is supported by
Motorolas solution from HSUPA phase 1.
The bursty nature of uplink packet requirements,
(even more so than in HSDPA) means that the use
of Dedicated Channels (DCH) would be inefcient
in terms of spectrum and cost. As a result HSUPA
introduces a new uplink transport channel, the
Enhanced Dedicated Channel (E-DCH) to ensure
that transmissions are managed effectively.
The E-DCH is the uplink channel that carries control
and data information, comprising of the following
sub-channels:
E-DPCCH E-DCH Dedicated Physical Control
Channel is a legacy R99 UMTS channel and carries
the pilot and power control channel information
E-DPDCH - E-DCH Dedicated Physical Data
Channel; carries the data load.
HSUPA Node B Based Scheduling
The mechanism of communicating the control
information between network and mobile device
is specied in 3GPP standards; however the
scheduling of multiple end-users while minimizing
the control signaling and associated delays is specic
to the equipment vendor. Therefore selection of
equipment with the most advanced scheduling
algorithms must be a primary consideration, as
a poor solution will likely result in excessive
interference within the cell, consequential cell
overload conditions and loss of trafc.

WHITE PAPER: High Speed Uplink Packet Access

Similarly, ensuring that each mobile device receives

the uplink bandwidth it requires while ensuring that
the cell does not become overloaded is of great
importance; to those ends efcient management
of the air interface is required.
HSUPA is similar to HSDPA in the fact that the
scheduling takes place at the Node B. However it is
different to HSDPA in that for HSUPA it operates on
a request-grant principle (for HSDPA the mobile does
not need to request since the data is being sent from
the Node B to the mobile). In a request-grant mode
the mobile devices request permission to send data
and the scheduler decides when and how many mobile
devices can transmit and at what power/data rate.
In order for this to work, the serving Node B must
know whether the mobiles in the cell have data to
transmit and what the transmit power availability
is at the mobiles. There are a number of ways of
achieving this; the rst requires that each mobile
device periodically informs the Node B of its data
buffer status and transmit power headroom.This
Scheduling Information (SI) as it is known, indicates
the priority and amount of data in the buffer waiting
to be transmitted and transmit power headroom.
However the SI contains large amounts of information,
which not only requires encoding but also presents
an additional signaling overhead, both of which
reduce network efciency.
As a result, a second preferred method allows the
mobile device to simply send a single bit of information,
the Happy Bit, to the Node B indicating whether or
not it has been allocated sufcient resources for it to
transmit its data. The Happy Bit is transmitted with
each TTI allowing the Node B to rapidly optimize its
allocation of uplink resources.

1 - Maximum uplink data rate is dependent on channel quality

2 - Grant depends on channel conditions, cell load, service
mix etc.
3 - Absolute Grant issued in response to increased cell load
and channel quality [power down]
4 - Grant is insufcient for mobile device transmit requirements
and so mobile device sends unhappy bit
5 - Serving Node B issues a new and increased Relative
Grant with improving channel conditions [power up]
6 - Mobile device sends data and indicates that it is happy
with grant
7 - Relative Grant issued in response to reduced channel
quality [power down]
8 - Mobile device data buffer status no longer requires higher
data rate and Node B issues reduced Relative Grant
[power down]
Figure 2 - Uplink and Downlink Data and Control Signaling for HSUPA

Knowing the amount of data each mobile device

wishes to send and the power availability is only part
of the requirement; the Node B must also inform the
mobile device of its bandwidth allocation. To do this
the Node B issues each mobile device a transmission
grant that species the maximum transmit power
that it may use to send data until the next grant is
issued.
There are two types of grant issued in HSUPA;
Absolute Grants dene the precise characteristics
of the mobile devices resource allocation. Absolute
Grants are used relatively infrequently as they contain
a relatively large amount of information with a
corresponding large downlink signaling overhead.
Relative Grants specify changes to a previous
grant enabling optimization of resource allocation to
each mobile device; this type of grant has a much
lower signalling overhead.

Figure 3 Mobile Device Scheduling

The serving Node B scheduler uses
combinations of transmit [output power]
capability, data buffer status, priority of
the data waiting to be transmitted and
the Happy Bit to set the mobile devices
transmit power levels. The aim is to
maintain the perceived noise rise at or
below the level allocated by the RNC.

WHITE PAPER: High Speed Uplink Packet Access

The downlink signalling overhead associated with

these grants may be reduced by sending the same
grant to multiple end-users by sharing the Absolute
or Relative Grant channels.
Note that the grants actually control the power ration
between E-DPDCH and E-DPCCH. The power ratio
between E-DPCCH and DPCCH is xed and the
DPCCH power is varied with power control in the
same way as R99 UMTS. Therefore the power used
for HSUPA data transmission is a function of both
the assigned grants and the power control.

Figure 4 - Typical soft handover scenario

HSUPA Soft Handover

Another signicant and important difference between
HSUPA and HSDPA is the use of soft and softer
handovers for the uplink channels. Soft handover
allows a mobile device to both receive and transmit
data to multiple Node Bs; this provides benets at
cell edge where signal quality may be poor.

The control of the mobile devices transmit output

power in soft/softer handover on the E-DCH differs
from the DCH in R99 UMTS. The serving Node B
now sends both Power-up and Power-down
commands however all other Node Bs in the
active-set participating in the handover can only
issue Power-Down commands, which take
precedence over power-up commands.

When a mobile device transmits it causes interference

within its own cell and neighboring cells. Moreover,
at the cell edge, the mobile generally has to transmit
at an even higher power to compensate for its relative
distance from its serving Node B and in doing so
increases interference.

Figure 4 shows a typical soft handover scenario.

The serving cell manages the uplink data requests
from each of the mobile devices within its cell and
allocating appropriate grants.

HSUPA soft handover allows non-serving Node

Bs to decode uplink data from mobile devices in
neighboring cells and reduces the mobile devices
need to transmit at high output power with the
resultant reduction in associated interference.
This allows effective management of both the
uplink air interface and resource allocation without
interaction with the RNC while maintaining the
ability to rapidly adapt to changes in both cell load
and interference levels.

By contrast, the adjacent non-serving Node B has a

high trafc load and consequently issues a Relative
Grant (3) in order to quieten the mobile device.

WHITE PAPER: High Speed Uplink Packet Access

In the example; based on the status of the Happy Bit

(1) the serving Node B issues an Absolute Grant (2),
as the serving Node B is lightly loaded the mobile
device is allocated a large grant.

HSUPA Device
Category

Minimum Spreading
Factor

Maximum Data
Rate (Mbps)

SF4

0.7296

SF4

1.4592

SF4

1.4592

SF2

2/2.9185

SF2

SF2

2/5.76

Table 2 - Categories of mobile device with HSUPA capability have been dened in a manner similar to that for HSDPA

HSUPA
improves
the
end-user
experience
meaning
that they
may now
become a
content
provider

Implications for Mobile Devices

Supporting high data rates and short TTI presents
various constraints on mobile device design. More
powerful processing and faster chipsets allied to
increased storage capabilities become pre-requisites
to handle the increasing amounts of data. With
TTIs of 2ms, the mobile device must now react
even faster to retransmission requests and control
signaling from the network.
Six handset classes have been dened supporting
different data rates and TTI capability, as shown in
Table 2.
Considerations for Network Efciency
Maximizing network performance and efciency is
vital for service provider success. There are many
ways networks accomplish this, but assigning the
limited resources appropriately is a major factor and
is achieved by correct operation of the Absolute and
Relative Grants.
Additionally, the use of Proportional Fair scheduling
algorithms, which favour mobile devices in good
channel conditions maximizes resource usage, (i.e.
ensuring resource is allocated to mobile devices that
can use it rather than those that cannot) increases
network efciency still further. Proportional fair
scheduling is based on the instantaneous information
sent by the mobile device (data buffer status, power
margin etc.) and its specication (category etc.).
The relationship between Node B scheduling, overload trigger thresholds (that cause Power-Down
commands to be issued) and RNC admission/
congestion trigger thresholds must be addressed
as both manage the same uplink resource.

10

WHITE PAPER: High Speed Uplink Packet Access

State switching, the ability to keep end-users in the

Active state is as important in HSUPA as it is in
HSDPA. This ability remains unchanged in Motorolas
HSUPA solution as a means of minimizing latency and
maximizing the end-user experience. The Continuous
Connectivity feature, to be introduced in 3GPP Release
7 will reduce the overheads associated with maintaining mobile devices in the active state still further,
making it possible to maintain end-users in the active
state for longer without impacting system efciency.
Network Considerations for HSUPA
Responsive Multimedia
Like any network upgrade, the move to HSUPA must
be considered carefully. Most UMTS networks are
upgradable to HSDPA via software; this is borne out
by the large number and rapid escalation in commercial
networks around the world. Motorolas solution
enables both 15 codes HSDPA and HSUPA through
an easy software upgrade.
Irrespective of vendor, backhaul requirements must
now be carefully considered as networks move ever
increasing volumes of data as HSxPA places increased
loading on the backhaul network compared to UMTS.
Fundamentally the backhaul must be able to support
the increased air-interface capacity; standard 2Mbps
backhaul links (E1) and existing network topologies
may prove insufcient to effectively deliver the
combined demands of HSDPA and HSUPA.
As the data in the network increases so consideration
must also be given to the other network elements, in
particular the RNC and GSN complex.

HSUPA Capacity
Improvements Macro-cell
In macro environments average
HSUPA sector throughputs in
the order of 1Mbps and enduser throughputs in the range of
50 to 200kbps may be achieved,
dependent on cell load.

HSUPA Capacity
Hotspot Scenario
In HSUPA phase 2, the lower TTI
(2ms) improves up-fade scheduling
and HARQ efciency; as a result
the higher peak data rates improve
the sector and end-user throughput signicantly.
Average sector throughput is
increased to over 2Mbps while
average end-user throughput is
likely to be in the range of 50 to
300kbps dependent on cell load.
Individual mobiles in good channel
conditions may experience data
rates signicantly higher than
this average.

Comparison of Typical Data

Rates for Hot-Spot Scenario
Comparison of typical end-user
data rates for hot-spot scenario
clearly shows the benecial
affect of reducing the TTI.

11

WHITE PAPER: High Speed Uplink Packet Access

Summary
The introduction of HSUPA in Release 6 of the 3GPP
standards allows end-users to take advantage of
faster uplinks with lower latency. This improves the
efciency of the link and its effective throughput
without introducing a new modulation scheme. In
doing so, this allows the introduction of new services
and applications while improving existing ones.
Equally important, it simplies network planning and
reduces the cost per-bit delivered, increasing Service
Providers cost competitiveness.
It is important however to set realistic expectations
at the outset. Although HSUPA offers theoretical
peak data rates of 5.76Mbps, the average throughputs per cell are likely to be in the order of 1 to 2Mbps
dependent on application mix and deployment scenario
(macro- versus pico-cells etc).

The enhanced data rate capabilities of HSUPA enable

end-users to effectively become the content provider,
this is likely to increase the appeal and thus uptake
of HSxPA high-speed mobile data services amongst
both enterprise users and end-users.
The rst commercial mobile devices will support up
to 1.46Mbps (HSUPA Category 2). Motorolas UMTS/
HSxPA solution already supports HSUPA and even
higher data rates will be supported in phase 2; this
capability is likely to benet hot-spot and Enterprise
users in particular.
With HSDPA now widely adopted and HSUPA
about to become a commercial reality, mobile
data communications is about to enter into a new
dimension. Motorola remains at the forefront of
3GPP technological development. For further details
of Motorolas market leading and exciting HSxPA
solutions please contact your sales representative.

Glossary
16QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

MMORPG Massive Multiplayer On-line Role-playing Gaming

3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

MMS Multi-media Services

ARPU Average Revenue Per User

ms milli-second

BPSK Binary Phase-Shift Keying

MP3 MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3

DCH Dedicated CHannel

NRTSV Near Real-Time Streaming Video

E-DCH Enhanced Dedicated CHannel

QoS Quality of Service

E-DPCCH Dedicated Physical Control CHannel

QPSK Quadrature Phase-Shift Keying

E-DPDCH Dedicated Physical Data CHannel

R5 UMTS Release 5

FTP File Transfer Protocol

R6 UMTS Release 6

GSN Gateway Serving Node

R7 UMTS Release 6

HARQ Hybrid Acknowledge Repeat reQuest

R99 UMTS Release 99

HSDPA High Speed Downlink Packet Access

RNC Radio Network Controller

HSUPA High Speed Uplink Packet Access

SF Spreading Factor

HSxPA The combination of HSDPA and HSUPA

SI Scheduling Information

IP Internet Protocol

TTI - Transmission Time Interval

Kbps kilo-bits per second

UE User Equipment

L1 Layer 1

UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

MAC Media Access Control

VoIP Voice over IP

Mbps Megabits per second

VPN Virtual Private Network

Motorola, Inc.

www.motorola.com

Th
is made regarding the capacity, performance or suitability of any product.
MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Ofce. Canopy is a trademark of Motorola, Inc.
All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.
Motorola, Inc. 2007
0107networksgms