Some Question Answer of 3G

1.

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 CELLPCH 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.

2. 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.

3. In what cases is Open Loop Power Control used?

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.

4. 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).

5. 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)

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. What is compressed mode, what is it's 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 bit rate, 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.

11. 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).

12. 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 can not enter
because the active set is full.

13. What is 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.

14. What is the typical maximum active set size and what needs to be considering 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).

15. 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".

16. 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.

17. 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.
Areas with 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
contains 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.

18. 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.

19. 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).

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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 the are broken up to 64 groups of 8 codes each.

23. What does channelization codes do and function?

Channelization codes are used for spreading and dispreading 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.