AMR Voice Quality Improvement Based On PLVA (RAN15.0 - 02)

WCDMA RAN
AMR Voice Quality Improvement

Based on PLVA Feature Parameter
Description
Issue 02
Date 2014-11-08
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.

Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 2015. All rights reserved.
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and other Huawei trademarks are trademarks of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
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Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

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Email: support@huawei.com
Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential i

Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
WCDMA RAN
AMR Voice Quality Improvement Based on PLVA Feature
Parameter Description Contents
Contents
1 About This Document..................................................................................................................1

1.1 Scope..............................................................................................................................................................................1
1.2 Intended Audience..........................................................................................................................................................1
1.3 Change History...............................................................................................................................................................1
1.4 Differences Between Base Station Types.......................................................................................................................2
2 Overview.........................................................................................................................................4
3 Technical Description...................................................................................................................5
3.1 AMR Speech Encoding and Decoding...........................................................................................................................5
3.2 AMR Speech Decoding Using the Viterbi Algorithm....................................................................................................6
3.3 AMR Speech Decoding Using the PLVA......................................................................................................................7
4 Related Features.............................................................................................................................9
5 Network Impact...........................................................................................................................10
6 Engineering Guidelines.............................................................................................................11
6.1 When to Use AMR Voice Quality Improvement Based on PLVA..............................................................................11
6.2 Planning........................................................................................................................................................................11
6.2.1 RF Planning...............................................................................................................................................................11
6.2.2 Network Planning......................................................................................................................................................11
6.2.3 Hardware Planning....................................................................................................................................................11
6.3 Deployment..................................................................................................................................................................11
6.3.1 Requirements.............................................................................................................................................................12
6.3.2 Activation..................................................................................................................................................................13
6.3.3 Activation Observation..............................................................................................................................................14
6.3.4 Deactivation...............................................................................................................................................................14
6.4 Performance Monitoring...............................................................................................................................................14
6.5 Parameter Optimization................................................................................................................................................15
6.6 Troubleshooting............................................................................................................................................................15
7 Parameters.....................................................................................................................................16
8 Counters........................................................................................................................................17
9 Glossary.........................................................................................................................................18
Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential ii

WCDMA RAN
Parameter Description Contents
10 Reference Documents...............................................................................................................19
Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential iii

WCDMA RAN
Parameter Description 1 About This Document
1 About This Document
1.1 Scope
This document describes WRFD-140201 AMR Voice Quality Improvement Based on PLVA,
including its technical principles, related features, network impact, and engineering guidelines.
This document applies to the following NE types.
NE Type NE Model
RNC BSC6900, BSC6910
NodeB Macro 3900 series macro base stations: BTS3900, BTS3900A,

BTS3900L, BTS3900AL, DBS3900, BTS3900C
3800 series macro base stations: DBS3800, BTS3812E,
BTS3812AE
Micro BTS3803E, BTS3902E
LampSite DBS3900 LampSite
1.2 Intended Audience

This document is intended for personnel who:
l Need to understand the features described herein

l Work with Huawei products
1.3 Change History

This section provides information about the changes in different document versions. There are
two types of changes, which are defined as follows:
Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 1

WCDMA RAN
l Feature change
Changes in features of a specific product version
l Editorial change
Changes in wording or addition of information that was not described in the earlier version
RAN15.0 02 (2014-11-08)
This issue includes the following changes.
Change Type Change Description Parameter Change
Feature change Added the dependency on the None

UBBPd board in hardware
dependencies.
Editorial change None None
RAN15.0 01 (2013-04-28)
This issue does not include any changes.
RAN15.0 Draft A (2013-01-30)

Compared with issue 02 (2012-07-20) for RAN14.0, Draft A (2013-01-30) of RAN15.0 includes
the following changes.
Change Type Change Description Parameter Change
Feature change None None
Editorial change Optimized engineering None

guidelines. For details, see
chapter 6 Engineering
Guidelines.
1.4 Differences Between Base Station Types

Feature Support by Macro, Micro, and LampSite Base Stations
Feature Descripti Supported by Supporte Supported by Micro LampSit

ID on Controller(Y/N/NA) d by (Y/N/NA) e
Macro
BSC690 BSC691 (Y/N/ BTS380 BTS390
0 0 NA) 3E 2E

WCDMA RAN
WRFD- AMR Y Y Y Y Y Y
140201 Voice
Quality
Improve
ment
Based on
PLVA
NOTE
Y indicates that a feature is supported; N indicates that a feature is not supported; NA indicates that an NE is
not involved, that is, a feature does not require the support of the NE.
The features described in this document are implemented in the same way on macro, micro, and
LampSite base stations.

WCDMA RAN
Parameter Description 2 Overview
2 Overview
Adaptive Multi-rate(AMR) audio codec is a patented speech coding scheme adopted by the
3GPP as the standard codec for UMTS. Channel encoding for AMR voice services uses
convolutional codes. In RAN14.0, Huawei introduces the Parallel List Viterbi Algorithm
(PLVA) to decode convolutional codes. The PLVA outperforms the Viterbi algorithm used by
most vendors and previous Huawei products, and it improves the voice service quality without
affecting power control or compromising system capacity. The feature introduces more
robustness to the voice service which is more noticeable in poor radio condition.
AMR Voice Quality Improvement Based on PLVA does not depend on any other feature and
can be used with any other feature.

WCDMA RAN
Parameter Description 3 Technical Description
3 Technical Description
3.1 AMR Speech Encoding and Decoding

At the UMTS physical layer, convolutional codes are used to perform channel encoding for
AMR voice services and power control is used to ensure AMR voice quality. Figure 3-1 shows
channel encoding and power control for UMTS AMR voice services in the uplink.
Figure 3-1 Channel encoding and power control for UMTS AMR voice services in the uplink
As shown in Figure 3-1, the UE uses convolutional codes to encode AMR voice data and sends
the encoded data to the NodeB. The NodeB decodes the received data and performs a cyclic
redundancy check (CRC) on the decoded data. The NodeB then sends the decoded data and a
CRC indicator (CRCI) to the RNC. The RNC calculates the block error rate (BLER) for outer-
loop power control based on all the CRCIs received. The RNC also sends the decoded data and
the CRCI to the Core Network (CN) for AMR voice data decoding (source decoding).

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NOTE
The RNC calculates the BLER for outer-loop power control based on the ratio of CRCIs indicating CRC
failures to all CRCIs.
AMR voice services include narrowband and wideband AMR voice services. There are three
classes of narrowband AMR voice services: A, B, and C. There are two classes of wideband
AMR voice services: A and B. The Viterbi algorithm and PLVA apply to both narrowband and
wideband AMR voice services. The following description is based on narrowband AMR voice
services. Of the three classes of narrowband AMR voice services, class A is of high importance
and includes a 12-bit number used for CRC. The other classes are of low importance and CRC
is not performed on them. 3.1 AMR Speech Encoding and Decoding shows the separate
channel encoding for classes A, B, and C of narrowband AMR services.
Figure 3-2 Channel encoding for classes A, B, and C of narrowband AMR services
3.2 AMR Speech Decoding Using the Viterbi Algorithm

The Viterbi algorithm is adopted by most vendors to decode convolutional codes. Figure 3-3
shows the working mechanism of the Viterbi algorithm.
Figure 3-3 Working mechanism of the Viterbi algorithm
The Viterbi algorithm selects the optimal path based on the maximum likelihood theory and
exports the data decoded on the optimal path. If the data decoded on the optimal path fails the
CRC, the AMR speech codec discards the data. As a result, voice quality deteriorates.
Figure 3-4 shows the narrowband AMR speech decoding using the Viterbi algorithm.

WCDMA RAN
Figure 3-4 Narrowband AMR speech decoding using the Viterbi algorithm
As shown in Figure 3-4, the three AMR voice classes are separately decoded by the Viterbi
decoder, and the CRC is performed only on the decoded data of class A. The CRCI is used as a
reference for outer loop power control (OLPC) and is also sent as a bad frame indication (BFI)
to the AMR speech codec on the CN. If a BFI indicates that a speech frame is erroneous, the
AMR speech codec on the CN discards the speech frame to prevent noise.
3.3 AMR Speech Decoding Using the PLVA

Huawei PLVA is an enhanced CRC-assisted Viterbi algorithm. Figure 3-5 shows the working
mechanism of the PLVA.
Figure 3-5 Working mechanism of the PLVA
Instead of selecting only the most optimal path, the PLVA selects the top N optimal paths and
performs CRC on the data decoded on these paths. The PLVA only exports data that passes the
CRC. If the data decoded on these paths fails the CRC, the PLVA exports the data decoded on
the optimal path, which is the same path selected by the Viterbi algorithm. The PLVA
outperforms the Viterbi algorithm because it chooses the data decoded on multiple paths, which
include the optimal one selected by the Viterbi algorithm. Therefore, when the data decoded by
the Viterbi algorithm is correct, the data decoded by the PLVA is also correct. However, when
the data decoded by the PLVA is correct, the data decoded by the Viterbi algorithm is not
necessarily correct because there are occasions when the data decoded on the optimal path is
incorrect whereas the data decoded on other paths selected by the PLVA is correct. In simulations

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where the PLVA selects four paths, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is 0.2 to 0.8 dB better than
that produced by the Viterbi algorithm.
Figure 3-6 shows the narrowband AMR speech decoding using the PLVA.
Figure 3-6 Narrowband AMR speech decoding using the PLVA
As shown in Figure 3-6, CRC is performed on the AMR voice data of class A and therefore the
data can be decoded using the PLVA. The mean opinion score (MOS) of class A AMR voice
data is improved by reducing the BLER. CRC is not performed on classes B and C AMR voice
data and therefore classes B and C AMR voice data can only be decoded by using the Viterbi
algorithm. The PLVA exports and sends the decoded data, Viterbi CRCI, and PLVA CRCI to
the RNC. The Viterbi CRCI is used for OLPC. The PLVA CRCI serves as the BFI, indicating
whether a speech frame is erroneous.
The Viterbi CRCI is used for OLPC and the PLVA CRCI serves as the BFI. This dual-CRCI
mechanism does not affect power control. Note that this feature decreases the uplink BLER and
improves the MOS of AMR voice service by using PLVA, it has no impact on the downlink.

WCDMA RAN
Parameter Description 4 Related Features
4 Related Features
Prerequisite Features
None
Mutually Exclusive Features

None
Impacted Features
None

WCDMA RAN
Parameter Description 5 Network Impact
5 Network Impact
System Capacity
No impact.
Network Performance
This feature improves the MOS of AMR voice services, especially the MOS of AMR voice
services in weak coverage areas.

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Parameter Description 6 Engineering Guidelines
6 Engineering Guidelines
6.1 When to Use AMR Voice Quality Improvement Based

on PLVA
This feature can improve the AMR voice quality in the uplink, so it can be applied in any scenario
that meets the deployment requirements. For details about deployment requirements, see section
6.3.1 Requirements.
6.2 Planning
6.2.1 RF Planning
RF planning is not required.
6.2.2 Network Planning

Network planning is not required.
6.2.3 Hardware Planning

This feature sets the following requirements on NodeB hardware:
l The BTS3812E, BTS3812A and BTS3812AE must be configured with the EULPd board.
l The DBS3800 must be configured with the EBBCd board.
l The 3900 series base station must be configured with the WBBPd,WBBPf or UBBPd board.
NOTE
When the board is inserted together with other types of baseband boards, AMR services cannot obtain the
PLVA gain if the AMR services are set up on other types of baseband boards.
6.3 Deployment

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6.3.1 Requirements
l Operating environment and hardware requirements
– This feature depends on NodeB hardware. For details, see 6.2.3 Hardware Planning.
– The uplink resource group of the cell must contain a baseband board that supports this
feature. To check whether such a baseband board is contained, perform the following
steps:
For the V200R015 NodeB, run the LST ULOCELL command to check for UL
Baseband Equipment ID to obtain the uplink resource group of the cell;
For the V100R015 NodeB, run the LST LOCELL command to check for UL BB
Resource Group No. to obtain the uplink resource group of the cell.
For the V200R015 NodeB, run the LST BASEBANDEQM command to check for
Baseband Equipment ID, Cabinet No., Subrack No., and Slot No. to obtain the
information about the target baseband board;
For the V100R015 NodeB, run the LST ULGROUP command to check for UL BB
Resource Group No., Cabinet No. of UL Process Unit, Subrack No. of UL Process
Unit, and Slot No. of UL Process Unit to obtain the information about the target
baseband board.
Verify that the baseband board meets the requirements specified in section 6.2.3
Hardware Planning.
l Dependencies on other Features
None
l License
For details about how to activate the license, see License Management Feature Parameter
Description.

WCDMA RAN
Feature Feature License License Lic NE License Sal

ID Name Control Control ens Allocati es
Item Name e on for Un
Co Multipl it
ntr e
ol Operato
Ite rs
m
Na
me
on
U2
000
GU
I
WRFD-1 AMR LQW9A AMR AM NodeB Method 2 Per

40201 Voice VQIBP01 Voice R cell
Quality Quality Voi
Improve Improve ce
ment ment Qua
Based on Based on lity
PLVA PLVA Imp
(per Cell) rov
eme
nt
Bas
ed
on
PL
VA
If RAN Sharing is enabled, the licensed value is allocated among the primary and secondary
operators according to the value of the "License Allocation for Multiple Operators
parameter".
Method 2: some license control items, such as UL CE Num, can be allocated through both
the common group and private groups. In this case, the licensed values specified by the
private group are preferentially used, and the licensed value specified by the common group
is used on a first-come, first-served basis. For the NodeB license allocation among multiple
operators, see License Management Feature Parameter Description.
l Other NEs as well as for network equipment and transmission devices from other vendors
None
6.3.2 Activation
After the license is activated, this feature has been activated.

WCDMA RAN
6.3.3 Activation Observation

The VS.PLVA.User counter informs operators of the number of UEs using this feature. If the
value of VS.PLVA.User counter is not 0, this feature is effective.
6.3.4 Deactivation
This feature can be disabled after the license for this feature has been deactivated.
6.4 Performance Monitoring

The gain produced by this feature is reflected by a noticeable increase in the MOS. Take 12.2
kbit/s AMR voice services as an example. In the uplink simulations, if the BLER is 1%, the
MOS is increased by about 0.08; if the BLER is greater than 10%, the MOS is increased by
about 0.35. (The BLER increase is generally caused by UE power limitation, fast channel change,
or strong interference.) In addition, the MOS increase is generally the same under different
channel fading conditions.
Figure 6-1 describes the MOS comparison for AMR 12.2k voice (Simulation Result in the
uplink).
Figure 6-1 MOS comparison for AMR 12.2k voice (simulation result in the uplink)
The MOS gain produced by this feature needs to be tested using the MOS test instrument. End-
to-end MOS tests can be performed for this feature. However, this feature provides uplink gains.
In this case, the test is recommended only for the uplink MOS.
Fixed-point test in the lab and drive test are available, which are described as follows:
l Fixed-point test in the lab
To conduct a fixed-point test in the lab, perform the following steps:
1. Deactivate this feature and calculate the MOS.

2. Under the same conditions, reactivate this feature and calculate the MOS in the same way.

WCDMA RAN
The MOS gain is obtained by the average value calculated in step 2 minus that calculated in step
1. The MOS gain is about 0.2.
l Drive test
To conduct a drive test in the lab, perform the following steps:
1. Determine a test route, deactivate this feature, and calculate the MOS.
2. Under the same conditions, reactivate this feature and calculate the MOS in the same route.
The MOS gain is obtained by the average value calculated in step 2 minus that calculated in step
1. The MOS gain is over 0.1.
NOTE
In a drive test, the BLER fluctuates significantly. Therefore, the MOS gain obtained in a drive test is
different from that obtained in a fixed-point test in the lab.
6.5 Parameter Optimization

Parameter optimization is not required.
6.6 Troubleshooting
None.

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Parameter Description 7 Parameters
7 Parameters
There are no specific parameters associated with this feature.

WCDMA RAN
Parameter Description 8 Counters
8 Counters
Table 8-1 Counter description
Counter ID Counter Name Counter NE Feature ID Feature Name

Description
50332258 VS.PLVA.User Numbers of plva NodeB Multi-mode: AMR Voice

user in one cell None Quality
GSM: None Improvement
Based on PLVA
UMTS:
WRFD-140201
LTE: None

WCDMA RAN
Parameter Description 9 Glossary
9 Glossary
For the acronyms, abbreviations, terms, and definitions, see Glossary.

WCDMA RAN
Parameter Description 10 Reference Documents
10 Reference Documents
1. 3GPP TS 25.101, "User Equipment (UE) radio transmission and reception (FDD)"
2. 3GPP TS 25.212, "Channel Coding and Multiplexing"
3. 3GPP TS 26.090, "AMR Speech Codec; Speech transcoding," December 2009
4. License Management Feature Parameter Description


AMR Voice Quality Improvement Based On PLVA (RAN15.0 - 02)

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WCDMA RAN

AMR Voice Quality Improvement

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.

Trademarks and Permissions

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential i

1 About This Document..................................................................................................................1

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential ii

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential iii

1 About This Document

This document applies to the following NE types.

RNC BSC6900, BSC6910

NodeB Macro 3900 series macro base stations: BTS3900, BTS3900A,

Micro BTS3803E, BTS3902E

LampSite DBS3900 LampSite

1.2 Intended Audience

l Need to understand the features described herein

1.3 Change History

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 1

Change Type Change Description Parameter Change

Feature change Added the dependency on the None

Editorial change None None

RAN15.0 Draft A (2013-01-30)

Change Type Change Description Parameter Change

Feature change None None

Editorial change Optimized engineering None

1.4 Differences Between Base Station Types

Feature Descripti Supported by Supporte Supported by Micro LampSit

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 2

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 3

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 4

3.1 AMR Speech Encoding and Decoding

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 5

3.2 AMR Speech Decoding Using the Viterbi Algorithm

Figure 3-3 Working mechanism of the Viterbi algorithm

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 6

3.3 AMR Speech Decoding Using the PLVA

Figure 3-5 Working mechanism of the PLVA

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 7

Figure 3-6 Narrowband AMR speech decoding using the PLVA

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 8

Mutually Exclusive Features

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 9

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 10

6.1 When to Use AMR Voice Quality Improvement Based

6.2.2 Network Planning

6.2.3 Hardware Planning

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 11

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 12

Feature Feature License License Lic NE License Sal

WRFD-1 AMR LQW9A AMR AM NodeB Method 2 Per

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 13

6.3.3 Activation Observation

6.4 Performance Monitoring

l Fixed-point test in the lab

To conduct a fixed-point test in the lab, perform the following steps:

1. Deactivate this feature and calculate the MOS.

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 14

To conduct a drive test in the lab, perform the following steps:

6.5 Parameter Optimization

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 15

There are no specific parameters associated with this feature.

Issue 02 (2014-11-08) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential 16