Ec/Io = energy of carrier over all noise. RSCP = Receive Signal Code Power.

In FDD mode (what

Explain Ec/Io and RSCP; on what channel are we normally deal with) they are measured on the CPICH (pilot). Bonus if they know that Io is the
1 they measured on? sum of all interference: thermal/bg noise + interferers + own cell and is wideband. Bonus if they
understand that RSCP is actually measured AFTER despreading (i.e. narrowband)

Channelization codes are used for spreading and despreading of the signals, they also create the
What does channelization codes do and "channels" making it possible to distinguish between users/connections/channels. Bonus if they
2 function? know that they have an associated Spreading Factor and are allocated depending on the
bandwidth required by the service.

Scrambling Code makes it possible for the UE to distinguish the transmissions from different
What does the scrambling code do and
3 cells/NodeBs. Bonus if he knows there are 512 primary scrambling codes and that the are
function? broken up to 64 groups of 8 codes each.

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
Explain the concept of Cell Breathing. How is BTS needs to use more power to maintain the same Eb/No or Ec/Io. When the power required is
4 more than the maximum power allowed, the connection cannot be made. Users at the cell edge
the accounted for in the link Budget? 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.

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
5 Explain the different Handover types in UMTS 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.
 Active Set: the set of cells with which the UE is currently connected/communicating with;
DriveTT usually show them as SC or Pilots but they are actually cells; Monitored Set: Cells that
What is an active set, monitor set and
6 the UE has detected and is monitoring and are known to the network, they either don't meet
detected set? 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).

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
What is the major difference in link budgets slight interference margin but not normally related to traffic. In UMTS some services (like voice)
7 between UMTS and GSM/TDMA? 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.

The shadow fade margin is dependent on the target percentage area coverage, the propagation
In the Link Budget, what is a Shadow Fade model, and the standard deviation of the lognormal shadowing (usually the same as the model's
8 Margin for and what factors does it depend standard deviation if the fast fading effects are removed). The Shadow Fade Margin is a nadded
on? margin placed in the link budget such that a guarenteed level of service can be offered "in the
worst case"

What is the typical maximum active set size 3 to 4 cells, the larger the active set size the more likely it is that Iub link efficiency is reduced
9 and what needs to be consider when setting (more than one resource for a single connection due to SHO)
this?

What is typically the requirements (criteria)
10 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.

Many definitions: A cell that has a high signal strength at a location but is not part of the active
11 What would you define as a pilot polluter? set. A cell that meets the criteria for addition into the Active Set but can not enter because the
active set is full.

How would you find such cells from a
12
planning tool and from a drive test tool?
What would the call flow be for a Mobile
13
Originated Call (major RRC messages)?
What are the general triggers for an iRAT
14 handover?
What is compressed mode, what is it's
15 function, and what impact does it have on
the network?
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.
RRC Connect Request -> RRC Connection Setup -> RRC Setup Complete -> (SETUP, authentication
encyrption, TMSI reallocation etc) -> CALL PROCEEDING-> Radio Bearer Setup -> Radio Bearer
Setup Complete -> ALERT -> CONNECT -> CONNECT ACK ->DISCONNECT -> RELEASE.
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)
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 bitrate, it halves the SF, and therefore increases power level
causing higher interference to the network. If the SF cannot be halved then the bitrate of the
bearer decreases. If they seem knowledable, 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.
 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
Name the 4 RRC Connected Modes (states) reselections are possible with the CELL UPDATE message.
16 and describe the characteristics of each. 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 transfered 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.

If a UE is on a data call (CELL-DCH state) and UE should go from CELL-DCH to CELL-FACH then if still no activity to either CELL-PCH or URA-PCH
(via CELL-FACH). If they talk about inactivity timers and mention that the state goes from CELL-
17 there is in no activity for awhile what would DCH straight to CELL-PCH or URA-PCH, that is also possible. Bonus they say they would see
you expect to see occur? RADIO BEARER RECONFIGURATION messages when the states are changing.

This question is a little harder to ask, so you may need to work it differently a few times. Perhaps
In Release '99, how does the network leading questions could be: What parameter/configuration does the network change on the air
18 manage the throughput on the Radio interface What you are trying to hear from the candidate is that the network assigns a radio
Interface for a user/connection? bearer with a channelization code with a spreading factor that matches the requested service
maximum bit rate.

They should say 12.2kbps but may be different if they start talking about AMR and the different
What is the typical/most common bitrate
19 rates then the know more. Prod them to see if they know the Spreading Factor (SF) used for the
that a voice call uses? radio bearer, should be 128.

AMR - for good conditions use codec will low redundancy/overhead; for poor conditions use
Depending on the RF conditions, what can
20 codec with lower bit rate requirement but higher overhead, stronger coding and more
the network do to manage call quality? redundancy.

In HSDPA, how does the network manage the Modulation (16QAM, QPSK etc), Coding (convolution coding, fire codes etc), number of codes
21 throughput on the Radio Interface for a user/ allocated and scheduling (it's a shared resource)
connection?
 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
Explain Inner and Outer loop power control UE and BTS to compensate for signal variations due to fading or pathloss to maintain the set SIR
22 and who controls them. (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).

In what cases is Open Loop Power Control 1) Idle to Cell-DCH state, when a connection is setup. When UE goes into soft handover, ACTIVE
23 used? SET UPDATE where the new Radio Link initial power settings use open loop PC.

Explain the concept of a Monte Carlo
24 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.

Usually you use a scanner and compare the best pilots in Ec/Io from the scanner against that of
In pre-launch optimization, how are missing the active set and monitored set from an active UE. If there is a stonger pilot from a nearby cell
25 neighbors usually detected? that appears on the scanner but not on the UE, there is a possible missing neighbor. One would
then verify that the neighbor appears in defined neighbor list from the OSS.

CQI is the channel Quality Indicator, Which is calculated on the Basis of RF invoirment, and the
26 What is the CQI in HSDPA? and code allocation is done on the basis of CQI.

This is the Hybrid Automatic repeat request Technique for the retransmission of the lost frame
27 What is the HARQ? which is used by the HSDPA. Which help to recover the lost frame by two partially lost frame.

this is the multiple input multiple output antenna technique system which improves the n/w
28 What is MIMO Antenna System? throughput over the air interface
29 What are the different RABs in R99? cs-12.2 for speech,cs-64 for video calls ,ps-16 ps-64 ps 128 ps-384 for data services
30 What is TTI in WCDMA How it impact? it is the transmission time interval for sending one frame for WCDMA it is 10ms
31 How many PSC in WCDMA? 0-511, Total 512
32 What is the Processing Gain? ratio of chip rate to bit rate , lower bit rate services will offer higher processing gain
 power control is the mechanism of maintaining minimal power level with acceptable QOS for
33 What is the Power Control? each service
34 what should be the idle CPICH power ? 10% of the Total Power

A rake receiver is a radio receiver designed to counter the effects of multipath fading. It does this
by using several "sub-receivers" called fingers, that is, several correlators each assigned to a
35 What is rake receiver? different multipath component. Each finger independently decodes a single multipath
component; at a later stage the contribution of all fingers are combined in order to make the
most use of the different transmission characteristics of each transmission path

What kind of services are available with

36 conversational, background, streaming, interactive
WCDMA?
Which modulation schemes are used in
37 QPSK. HPSK, BPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM
WCDMA?
Interleaving is the technique used to distribute the data so as to make the error correction
38 What is interleaving? accurate at the reciever end.
What is threshold for adding and deleting a
39 For addition 3 dB and for deletion 6dB
cell from Active Set?

40 What are theregistration

types of location & routing are 1. IMSI attach / detatch 2. Normal LA & RA updating 3. Periodic LA & RA updating
update?

41 Which timer is involved for periodic LA & RA Timer t3212 is involved and is contained in SIB1
update and in which
Ec/No- Interference caused by combination of the Non-Orthogonality of Codes, thermal noise &
What is the Difference Between Ec/No and
42 all other noises present in the Channel. Ec/Io- Interference caused by only due to non-
Ec/Io? orthogonality of codes in the channel.

43 What are the no. UL

of Scrambling codes used in
and DL?
What are the types of compressed mode
44
techniques used in 3G?
45 What are MM Procedures?
Scrambling codes in uplink- 2^24-1. Scrambling codes in Downlink- 2^18-1= 8192.
Three Types- 1. Puncturing 2. SF/2 3. Higher Layer Scheduling.
MM common procedures: 1. TMSI reallocation procedure. 2.authentication procedure. 3.
Identification procedure. 4. MM Information Procedure. 5. Abort Procedure. 6. Normal Location
Update. 7. Periodic Location update. 8. Imsi attach.
 URA or UTRAN Registration Area is a colection of cells that are used for fast moving UE's in
Connected mode when they are not transferring any data. In this case the UE is in CELL_PCH
state. Everytime a fast moving UE in CELL_PCH state changes the cell, a CELL UPDATE needs to
be performed to let the UTRAN know of the new position of the UE. This is done because in the
connected mode (CELL_PCH), UE is known at cell level rather than UTRAN level as in IDLE state.
If too many CELL UPDATES are performed, it defeats the purpose of UE being in CELL_PCH.
Hence in this case the UE is put in URA_PCH state. Now the UE will perform CELL UPDATE only
when the URA is changed for a UE. The drawback is that when UE needs to be paged the paging
area is now extended to many cells belonging to the URA.
Also Note that the CELL_PCH state is actually a subset of the URA_PCH state. It is possible to
define overlapping URAs to be used in the URA_PCH state. Thus, the UTRAN operator could
define that each cell is a separate URA in addition to other larger URAs. Then the operator could
46 What is URA and URA_PCH state? assign small one-cell URAs for slow-moving mobiles, and larger URAs for mobiles with greater
mobility. The small URAs could nicely perform the task of the CELL_PCH state. However, it has
been decided to keep these states separate.
The URAs can be overlapping or even hierarchical. The same cell may belong to several different
URAs, and the UEs in that cell may have been registered to different URAs. SIB 2 contains a list of
URA identities indicating which URAs this cell belongs to. This arrangement is done to further
reduce the amount of location update signaling because now the UEs moving back and forth in
the boundary area of two URAs do not have to update their URA location information if the
boundary cells do belong to both URAs.

DPCCH, Layer-1 contains information regarding Power control, Spreading-Despreading,

47 Which channel contains Layer 1 information Multiplexing-Demultiplexing, Scrambling

48 Which Channel Contains Layer 3 Information DPDCH

49 What are the main KPI's Accessibility, Retainability, Intra Frequency HOSR, Intra Frequency HOSR, IRAT HOSR
Which parameter decides the preference
50 Handovertype
between IFHO & IRAT HO
UE goes to compress mode after which
51 Compress mode starts at events 2d (RSCP or EC/No base) & 6d (Tx power base)
events
1. PLMN selection & reselection, 2.Cell selection & reselection,
52 What are the idle mode tasks of UE? 3. LA & RA registration, 4. Paging procedure,
5. Reading System information
 Squal = Qqualmeas - qQualMin > 0, Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas - qRxLevMin - Pcompensation > 0,
where ,Pcompensation = max (maxTXpowerUL - P ;0 ), qQualMin - Minimum required
quality value and is sent in SIB3 for serving cell and SIB 11 for adjacent cell, qRxLevMin -
53 Explain the cell selection criteria? Minimum required signal strength and is sent in SIB3 for serving cell and SIB 11 for adjacent cell,
maxTXpowerUL - Maximum transmission power during random access on the RACH and is sent
in SIB3, P - UE maximum output power according to its class