NSN White paper

February 2014

Nokia Solutions and Networks

Smart Scheduler

CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2.

Smart Scheduler Features and Benefits

3. Smart Scheduler wit Explicit Multi-Cell

Coordination

10

3.1 Distributed RAN with X2+ and

non-ideal backhaul

10

3.2 Distributed RAN with slow centralized 11

scheduling and non-ideal backhaul

3.3 Centralized RAN (C-RAN)

3.4

4.

Enhanced Inter-Cell Interference

Control (eICIC) with co-channel
small cells

Further Evolution of LTE Scheduling

11
12

14

5. Summary

15

6. Abbreviations

15

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1. Introduction
As of January 2014, Long Term Evolution (LTE) has been successfully
deployed by more than 250 operators, with more than 200 million
customers enjoying high mobile broadband data rates. LTE in FDD and
TDD mode (TD-LTE) is designed for a so-called frequency reuse of one
where all the cells use the same frequency. Reuse of one provides the
highest network efficiency and enables high data rates close to the
base station.
The challenge with reuse of one is the high inter-cell interference
when the terminal (User Equipment UE) is located between two cells.
The data rate over the cell area is illustrated in Figure 1. Boosting the
cell edge performance is the main motivation of Smart Scheduler.
Smart Scheduler can also enhance the average data rates and system
capacity by considering signal fading and interference in packet
scheduling decisions. Smart Scheduler algorithms, benefits, impact on
the network architecture and further evolution are discussed in this
white paper. If not otherwise explicitly stated, all statements are valid
for both LTE (in FDD mode) as well as for TD-LTE.

Frequency f1

Cell A
Data
rate

High data rate

close to BTS

Frequency f1

UE

Cell B

Low data rate

at cell edge

Fig. 1. Frequency reuse of one creates high inter-cell interference

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2. Smart Scheduler features

and benefits
LTE radio technology is highly standardized by 3GPP but only with
regard to the interfaces the network algorithms including link
adaptation, power control and packet scheduling are not standardized.
Therefore, there can be differences in network performance due to
the different algorithms being used by different vendors. The most
relevant features and benefits are described in this section. Packet
scheduling can use different input information for resource allocation
and for interference coordination:
Channel Quality Information (CQI) from UE to BTS for downlink
scheduling.
Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) measurements and interference
measurements in the frequency domain for uplink scheduling.
Load and other information exchange over the X2 interface
between base stations. X2 interface in Release 8 allows some
exchange of information between the base stations, but further
extensions will be discussed in 3GPP and can also be added
proprietarily.
Quality of Service (QoS) parameters from the packet core network
These different input information options are illustrated in Figure 2.

QoS

QoS
Gateway
Coordination over X2+

Channel quality
information (CQI)
Cell A

UE

Cell B

Fig. 2. Input information for coordinating the resource usage

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Smart Scheduler can utilize the different input values to optimize

packet scheduling and link adaptation. LTE allows considerable
freedom to define allocations in the time, frequency and power
domains. A number of different features are required for the different
use cases. The same features are utilized both in Frequency Division
Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) based LTE. The Smart
Scheduler utilizes the following main features:
Frequency Selective Scheduling (FSS) improves performance in
the case of frequency selective fading and fractional inter-cell
interference. FSS consists of Channel Aware Scheduling (CAS) and
Interference Aware Scheduling (IAS). The field measurements show
+30% gains for the cell edge data rates.
Interference shaping further improves the efficiency of the intercell interference avoidance by FSS. When the cell loading is low,
the number and set of physical resource blocks is adapted only
slowly according to traffic fluctuations. This approach makes it
more efficient for the adjacent highly loaded cells to avoid intercell interference based on UE CQI reporting. Studies show gains
exceeding 100%.
Q
 oS differentiation improves cell edge performance by allocating
more resources for users in weak channel conditions. QoS can be
utilized to maintain the data rate, for example for video streaming
services. Further flexibility is obtained by using operator specific
QoS Class Identifier (QCI) values. The minimum guaranteed cell
edge data rate can be obtained also by Nominal Bit Rate (NBR)
which works even without guaranteed bit rate QoS classes. Cell
edge prioritization has only a minor impact on the cell aggregate
throughput capacity, in typical case 30% cell edge throughput
improvement can be obtained at the cost of 5% cell throughput
capacity. The capacity measured in number of satisfied subscribers
is still higher.
Interference aware uplink power control considers the adjacent
cells when allocating the uplink transmission power. The feature
minimizes inter-cell interference and helps to boost uplink
data rates.
Intra-frequency load balancing helps when the load in the adjacent
cells is not balanced. The idea is to modify handover parameters
based on the information exchange of the X2 interface. If there
are double the users in the adjacent cell, the intra-frequency load
balancing can improve the cell edge data rate by 30%.

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 Multi-cell scheduling can reduce the power levels (muting or related

variants) in adjacent cells to minimize the interference. The multicell scheduling coordinates resource allocation between multiple
cells in time and in frequency, using a selection of users and power
levels in multiple cells to combine the benefits of frequencyselective scheduling and spectral efficiency gain due to reduced
interference. The coordination happens between the sectors
of one base station, or over the X2 interface between the base
stations. Multi-cell scheduling can improve cell edge performance
by 20%. Multi-cell scheduling requires inter base station time
synchronization. TD-LTE base stations need to be synchronized
while the synchronization of LTE FDD base stations is not mandatory
and is typically not used by operators for FDD deployments. Note
also that the reference signals are overlapping in adjacent cells in
a synchronized network. Therefore, UEs should preferably support
cancellation of common reference signals for better performance.
The Smart Scheduler use cases, features and gains are shown in Figure
3 and Figure 4. Figure 4 shows the gains of the individual scheduling
functionalities when used jointly. More gain can be obtained in HetNet
scenarios with eICIC.
Use case

Feature
Lower
gain

Fractional inter-cell interference

Multi-cell scheduling

Unbalanced loading between cells

Intra- and inter-frequency load balancing

HetNet

Fig. 3. Smart Scheduler use cases

and solutions

eICIC

Minimum cell edge rate required

QoS differentation and nominal bit rate

Fractional inter-cell interference

FSS including Interference Aware

Scheduling (IAS) and Channel Aware
Scheduling (CAS)

Frequency selective fading

Highest
gain

Baseline scheduler

120%

Multi-cell scheduling
Intra-frequency load balancing

100%

Nominal bit rate and QoS

Fig. 4. Smart Scheduler downlink

data rate gains with non-ideal
backhaul

Frequency selective scheduling

80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Cell edge

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Average

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Lets now analyze Frequency Selective Scheduling (FSS) the most

important part of the Smart Scheduler. The multipath propagation in
the mobile environment makes the fading frequency selective. The
typical coherence bandwidth of the macro cell channel is 1-2 MHz,
therefore, there are faded and non-faded frequencies within one LTE
carrier. LTE radio uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access
(OFDMA) in the downlink and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple
Access (SC-FDMA) in the uplink. Therefore, FSS allows use of those
parts of the carrier (called Physical Resource Blocks) not faded for the
transmission. The concept is illustrated in Figure 5. Information about
channel fading can be obtained from UE CQI reports in downlink and
from Sounding Reference Symbols (SRS) in uplink.
Carrier bandwith
Resource block

Transmit on those resource blocks that are not faded

Frequency

Fig. 5. Frequency Selective Scheduling to minimize fading impact

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FSS can also be applied to avoid inter-cell interference. An example

is shown in Figure 6 where the interfering cell is partially loaded. The
UE is connected to the target cell but receives strong interference
from the adjacent interfering cell. The UE reports sub-banded CQI
values in the frequency domain to the target cell. Low CQI values are
reported on those sub-bands where the interfering cell has on-going
transmission while high CQI values are reported in other sub-bands.
The target cell with FSS tends to allocate those downlink physical
resources blocks to the UE where the interference is lowest. The
other resource blocks in the target cell can be allocated to other UEs
that do not receive interference from the adjacent cell. Benefits of
FSS include:
E
 ffective inter-cell interference coordination without the need for
explicit inter-BTS coordination
Utilization of UE CQI reports for interference mitigation and without
the need for coordination signaling between the base stations
Improved cell edge data rates as well as total cell capacity.

Fractional load
in adjacent cell

UE reports
subband CQI

Frequency selective
scheduling

Frequency

CQI 1 (low)
CQI 2 (high)
CQI 3 (high)
CQI 4 (low)
CQI 5 (low)
CQI 6 (high)
CQI 7 (high)
CQI 8 (high)

Interfering cell

No transmission

UE A

Transmission to UE A

Target cell

Transmission to other UEs

Transmission in adjacent cell

Fig. 6. Frequency Selective Scheduling (FSS) to minimize

inter-cell interference

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As part of the Smart Scheduler concept, the underlying link adaptation

function is critical for the success of features such as FSS. The quality
of reporting from each active terminal is always monitored and
compensation is constantly conducted in order to improve the value
of the scheduler decisions. With such methods, NSN has in numerous
commercial LTE networks shown the practical value of FSS. An example
field measurement result with 10 MHz bandwidth is shown in Figure 7.

Cell capacity

3.5

35

3.0

30

2.5

25

2.0

20

Mbps

Mbps

Cell edge throughput

1.5

15

1.0

10

0.5

0.0

0
FSS off

FSS on

Fig. 7. Field measurements with

FSS in downlink
FSS off

FSS on

Interference shaping further improves the efficiency of the inter-cell

interference avoidance by FSS. Interference shaping is illustrated in
Figure 8. When the cell loading is low, the number and set of physical
resource blocks is adapted only slowly according to traffic fluctuations.
This approach makes it more efficient for the adjacent high loaded
cells to avoid inter-cell interference based on UE CQI reporting. The
studies show major gains for the cell edge data rates in those cases
where the loading is unbalanced between the cells: the gains can
exceed 100%. High gains can be achieved in the distributed solution
with cleverer scheduling without any fast signaling over the X2
connection and without any centralized network element.

Low loaded cell: Only slow changes in

frequency domains

Page 9

High loaded cell: Robust inter-cell

interference avoidance based on CQI reports

Fig. 8. Interference
shaping for more efficient
interference avoidance
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3. Smart Scheduler with explicit

multi-cell coordination
Further performance improvements can be obtained by coordinating
resource allocation in adjacent base stations. The network architecture
options for supporting multi-cell scheduling are shown in Figure 9.

a) Distributed RAN with X2+ and

non-ideal backhaul
X2+
eNB#1
Coordinated
scheduling
(inter-eNB)
Fast local
scheduling

eNB#1
Coordinated
scheduling
(inter-eNB)
Fast local
scheduling

b) Distributed RAN with slow

centralized scheduling and
non-ideal backhaul
Coordinated scheduling

c) Centralized RAN with fast

centralized scheduling
and dark ber connection
Super-eNB (baseband pool)
Common packet scheduling

X3
eNB#1
...
Fast local
scheduling

eNB#N
Fast local
scheduling

Direct ber with multi-Gbps

...

Fig. 9. Network architecture options for explicit multi-cell scheduling

3.1 Distributed RAN with X2 and

non-ideal backhaul
Todays LTE architecture (99% of deployments) is shown in Figure 9a
using non-ideal backhaul with microwave radio, IP connected fiber or
copper based transport. The multi-cell scheduling needs to coordinate
the resource usage in adjacent base stations over non-ideal backhaul
while still fully utilizing FSS gains in fast scheduling. The coordination
between cells of different base stations will utilize the X2 interface.
Each scheduler that requests coordination from its neighboring
base stations to aid a user at the cell edge can still take into account
FSS gains for that user, thus FSS gains can be fully preserved while
adding the gains from multi-cell coordination. The evolution from
fully distributed architecture to multi-cell coordination over X2 is
a straightforward software upgrade no new network elements
or interfaces are needed. Note that fast local coordination can be
implemented between the cells in one base station without any interbase station coordination.

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3.2 Distributed RAN with slow centralized

scheduling and non-ideal backhaul
Another architecture alternative is shown in Figure 9b with a new
centralized network element for coordinating the distributed schedulers.
A new interface between base stations and the centralized scheduler is
required. Involving an additional interface and information exchange to
an additional entity has a negative impact on the responsiveness of this
architecture. The distributed base stations still run the fast scheduling
while the centralized element can only set scheduling limitations to
minimize the interference. The performance gain of the centralized
element is similar to the coordination over the X2 interface.
Coordinated multi-cell scheduling and muting over non-ideal backhaul
was studied in 3GPP under the title Enhanced Coordinated Multipoint
(eCoMP) during 2013. The conclusion taken in December 2013 was that
the gains for inter-site macro-macro scenario are below 5% in the best
case over intra-site and less if the backhaul latency increases (several
tens of ms). The further focus of eCoMP will be in the HetNet scenarios
between macro cells and small cells.

3.3 Centralized RAN (C-RAN)

The final multi-cell architecture shown in Figure 9c is centralized
scheduling in the baseband pool. This is the architecture for a network
with ideal transport. The baseband pool requires a low latency direct
dark fiber connection between the RF heads and the baseband pool.
The baseband pool is also referred to as Centralized Radio Access
Network (C-RAN).
C-RAN is like a super-sized base station. C-RAN enables the most
advanced multi-cell coordination because all the functionalities are in
the same location: link adaptation, power control, fast FSS and multi-cell
coordination. C-RAN architecture also enables Joint Transmission and
Joint Reception Coordinated Multipoint (CoMP) between different sites
while intra-site CoMP can be implemented also in the distributed
RAN architecture.
CoMP functionality is defined in 3GPP Release 11 but uplink CoMP can
be implemented also with legacy Release 8 UEs while the downlink CoMP
requires Release 11 UEs. Uplink CoMP gives more gain, while downlink
CoMP gains are limited. An excellent use case for C-RAN is to boost
capacity in stadiums and other mass event locations. These events
tend to be uplink limited because many people want to send pictures
from the event. The UE transmission is received by a single cell in the
traditional solution while the same UE transmission can be received
by multiple cells and combined in the baseband module. The inter-cell
interference turns into a constructive signal. The solution is illustrated in
Figure 10. The installation of fiber between baseband modules and RF is
relatively simple in these event areas.
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NSN Flexi Multiradio base station enables CoMP by providing fast

interconnections between the baseband modules. NSN C-RAN has
been validated in commercial networks in large stadiums and the
practical gains exceed 100%.

Fig. 10. Centralized RAN for boosting mass event capacity

3.4 Enhanced Inter-Cell Interference Control

(eICIC) with co-channel small cells
Small cells are an attractive solution for boosting hot spot capacity
and coverage. The interference management needs to be considered
when the small cells are deployed on the same frequency as the
macro cells.
3GPP Release 10 brings a solution for managing the interference
in the time domain. The solution is called enhanced Inter-Cell
Interference Coordination (eICIC) and is shown in Figure 11. The macro
cell leaves some empty sub-frames called Almost Blank Subframes
(ABS). During these sub-frames, the small cell can serve UEs that
would otherwise receive too much co-channel interference from the
macro cell.

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The benefit of eICIC comes when several small cells can benefit from
macro cell empty subframes. eICIC performance is further boosted in
Release 11 by using UE interference cancellation for the minimization
of inter-cell interference, which is known as further enhanced ICIC
(feICIC). Optimized eICIC requires that the number of ABS frames and
the handover parameters are adjusted dynamically according to the
instantaneous traffic conditions and UE locations. The semi-static
solution is a slow approach for modifying the feICIC parameters over
several seconds. The fast feICIC adaptation uses quick adaptation for
the number of ABS sub-frames to reallocate resources between macro
cells and small cells depending on the instantaneous requirements.
NSNs unique algorithm is based on the fast adaptation of ABSblanking and cell range extension for maximum benefit from small
cell deployments. The throughput gains are shown in Figure
12: dynamic eICIC can nearly double the user throughputs in
heterogeneous networks.
= Sub-frame with normal transmission
= Almost blank sub-frame (ABS)
Sub-frame (1
ms)
Macro

Pico

Pico cell can serve also such UEs that

receive stronger macro cell signal

Pico cell can reuse same frequency

as macro when UE is closer to pico

Fig. 11. Time domain interference management with enhanced ICIC

Semi-static
felCIC
70%

Fast
felCIC
90%

Baseline
w/o felCIC:
0%

Fig. 12. Throughput gain from enhanced ICIC

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4. Further evolution of LTE scheduling

3GPP is working with Inter-site carrier aggregation in Release 12.
The feature allows the UE to receive data simultaneously from the
macro cell and from the small cell. The two cells do not need any fiber
backhaul, although wireless backhaul with some delay is fine. The X2
interface is used between the macro cell and small cell for scheduler
coordination. The macro cell and the small cell can share the same
frequency or the small cell can use a dedicated frequency. The feature
is illustrated in Figure 11.
Inter-site carrier aggregation uses Dual Connectivity where the UE has
simultaneous radio connection to both macro and to small cell. That
brings benefits in terms of reliable mobility.
3GPP is also working on a solution where UEs can cancel the inter-cell
interference by obtaining assistance information from the network.
This feature is called Network Assisted Interference Cancellation and
Suppression (NAICS) and it is part of Release 12. If UEs can cancel
interference, it may be more efficient to use all resources in cochannel cells instead of muting resources. The multi-cell scheduling
and muting algorithms need to be designed in such a flexible way that
they can benefit from the future advanced UE capabilities.

Inter-site Carrier Aggregation

and Dual Connectivity

Fig. 13. Inter-site carrier aggregation in Release 12

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5. Summary
While LTE has been highly standardized by 3GPP, the network
algorithms including packet scheduling are not standardized. The
packet scheduling in LTE has the freedom to control the resource
allocation in the time and in the frequency domain.
Smart Scheduler can push cell edge data rates by more than 100% in
the presence of inter-cell interference compared to baseline wideband
scheduling, and improve the cell capacity by more than +20%. The
main component of Smart Scheduler is frequency selective scheduling
that avoids the fading and interference in the frequency domain
combined with Quality of Service differentiation and intra-frequency
load balancing. NSNs innovation Interference Shaping increases the
cell edge throughput further by up to 100% when the cell loading is
unbalanced.
Additional cell edge gains can be obtained by multi-cell scheduling.
Multi-cell scheduling is a simple software upgrade to distributed base
stations. Scheduling information is shared between base stations
over the X2 interface. The detailed standardization of multi-cell
coordination is considered in 3GPP Release 12.
The most advanced multi-cell coordination can be obtained with
baseband pooling in Centralized RAN. The baseband pool deployment
assumes direct fiber connection between baseband and RF sites.
Centralized RAN provides the biggest benefits in uplink capacity, which
is most useful in high capacity events. The efficiency of small cell
deployment can be boosted by using dynamic eICIC configuration to
manage the interference between macro cells and small cells.

6. Abbreviations
3GPP
BTS
CoMP
CQI
C-RAN
eCoMP
eICIC
FDD
FSS
LTE
OFDMA
QoS
RRH
SC-FDMA
SRS
UE

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Third Generation Partnership Project

Base Station
Coordinated Multipoint
Channel Quality Information
Centralized Radio Access Network
Enhanced CoMP
Enhanced Inter-Cell Interference Coordination
Frequency Division Duplex
Frequency Selective Scheduling
Long Term Evolution
Orthogonal Frequency Division M
Quality of Service
Remote Radio Head
Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access
Sounding Reference Symbols
User Equipment

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