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UTRAN: UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network.
The UTRAN consists of a set of Radio Network Subsystems connected to the
Core Network through the Iu interface.
A RNS consists of a Radio Network Controller and one or more NodeBs. A
NodeB is connected to the RNC through the Iub interface.
Inside the UTRAN, the RNCs of the RNS can be interconnected together
through the Iur. Iu(s) and Iur are logical interfaces. Iur can be conveyed over
direct physical connection between RNCs or virtual networks using any
suitable transport network.
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Layer 3 consists of one protocol, called Radio Resource Control (RRC), which
belong to the control plane. One function of RRC is to establish Signaling Radio
Bearers between the UE and the RNC to handle most of the control signals.
Messages that are not meant for the WCDMA RAN but for the CN are called
Non Access Stratum (NAS) and are transferred transparently over the WCDMA
RAN. NAS includes Mobility Management (MM), Connection Management
(CM), Session Management (SM) and Short Message Services (SMS). Access
Stratum messages are all RRC messages that are transferred between the UE
and the RNC.
Layer 2 is split into different sub layers. In the control plane, layer 2 contains
two sub layers, Radio Link Control (RLC) and Medium Access Control (MAC). In
the user plane, in addition to MAC and RLC, two additional service‐dependent
protocols exist: Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) and Broadcast
Multicast Control Protocol (BMC). The Packet Data Convergence Protocol
(PDCP) provides compression methods to improve the spectral efficiency for
services requiring IP packets to be transmitted. The Broadcast/Multicast
Control Protocol (BMC) exists also only in the user plane. BMC is designed to
adapt broadcast and multicast services, originating from the Broadcast
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domain, on the radio interface.
Layer1 support all functions required for the transmission of bit stream on the
physical medium, it is also responsible of measurements function consisting in
indicating to higher layers such as Frame Error Rate (FER), Signal to
Interference Ratio (SIR), Interference Power, Transmit Power and other
measurements. It is basically composed of “layer1 management” entity,
“transport channel” entity and “physical channel” entity.
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RRC layer:
Establishment, re‐establishment, maintenance and release of an RRC
connection between the UE and UTRAN
Establishment, reconfiguration and release of Radio Bearers.
Assignment, reconfiguration and release of radio resources for the
RRC connection: it handles the assignment of radio resources (e.g.
codes, shared channels). RRC communicates with the UE to indicate
new resources allocation when handovers are managed.
Paging/Notification: it broadcasts paging information from network to
UEs.
Broadcasting of information provided by the non‐access stratum (Core
Network) or access Stratum. This corresponds to “system information”
regularly repeated.
UE measurement reporting and control of the reporting: RRC indicates
what to measure, when and how to report.
Outer loop power control: controls setting of the target values.
Control of ciphering: provides procedures for setting of ciphering.
The RRC layer is defined in the 25.331 specification from 3GPP.
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RLC make sure the messages have correct length by either segment long
messages or add padding bits to short and also to map them on different
logical channels. Each RLC instance is configured by RRC to operate in one of
three modes: Acknowledged Mode (AM), Unacknowledged Mode (UM) and
Transparent Mode (TM). In Acknowledged Mode an Automatic Retransmission
Request (ARQ) mechanism is used for error correction.
The service the RLC layer provides in the control plane is called Signaling
Radio Bearer (SRB) and in the user plane it is called a Radio Bearer (RB).
Each RB is mapped onto one Radio Link Control (RLC) entity in the RNC.
Every RLC entity communicates with its peer entity in the UE with one or
more logical channels. The type of data that is transported defines the
logical channels.
In the MAC layer the logical channels received from the RLC layer are mapped
onto the transport channels. The transport channels are defined by "how and
with what characteristics" the data is transported:
Common transport channel: Several users use the same channel.
No UE identification is provided by L 1. There is in‐band signaling
of the UE identity.
Dedicated transport channel: For exclusive use of one user. The
physical channel inherently identifies the UE.
There are four different MAC entities: MAC‐b handles the transport
channel for broadcast channel, MAC‐c handles the transport channels for
common channels, MAC‐d all dedicated transport channels and MAC‐hs
the high speed downlink shared channel.
The MAC layer selects the appropriate Transport Format for each Transport
Channel depending on the instantaneous source rate. The physical layer
offers services to the MAC layer via transport channels. Finally the
transport channels are mapped onto the physical layer. These are
distinguished by RF frequency, channelization code, scrambling code and
modulation. In other words these channels perform the actual
transmission of data bits.
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In terms of protocol layer, the WCDMA radio interface has three types of
channels: physical channel, transport channel and logical channel.
Logical channel: Carrying user services directly. According to the types of the
carried services, it is divided into two types: control channel and service
channel.
Transport channel: It is the interface between radio interface layer 2 and layer
1, and it is the service provided for MAC layer by the physical layer. According
to whether the information transported is dedicated information for a user or
common information for all users, it is divided into dedicated channel and
common channel.
Physical channel: It is the ultimate embodiment of all kinds of information
when they are transmitted on radio interface. Each channel which uses
dedicated carrier frequency, code (spreading code and scramble) and carrier
phase (I or Q) can be regarded as a physical channel.
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As in GSM, UMTS uses the concept of logical channels.
A logical channel is characterized by the type of information that is
transferred.
As in GSM, logical channels can be divided into two groups: control channels
for control plane information and traffic channel for user plane information.
The traffic channels are:
Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH): a point‐to‐point bi‐directional
channel, that transmits dedicated user information between a UE and
the network. That information can be speech, circuit switched data or
packet switched data. The payload bits on this channel come from a
higher layer application (the AMR codec for example). Control bits can
be added by the RLC (protocol information) in case of a non
transparent transfer. The MAC sub‐layer will also add a header to the
RLC PDU.
Common Traffic Channel (CTCH): a point‐to‐multipoint downlink
channel for transfer of dedicated user information for all or a group of
specified UEs. This channel is used to broadcast BMC messages. These
messages can either be cell broadcast data from higher layers or
schedule messages for support of Discontinuous Reception (DRX) of
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cell broadcast data at the UE. Cell broadcast messages are services
offered by the operator, like indication of weather, traffic, location or
rate information.
Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH): a downlink channel that broadcast
all system information types (except only type 14 that is only used in
TDD) For example Sys Info type 3 gives the cell identity. UEs decode Sys
Info on the BCH except when in Cell_DCH mode. In that case, They can
decode Sys Info type 10 on the FACH and other important signaling Is
sent on a DCCH.
Paging Control Channel (PCCH): a downlink channel that transfers
Paging information. It is used to reach a UE (or several UEs) in idle
mode or in Connected mode (Cell_PCH or URA_PCH state), the paging
type 1 message is sent on the PCCH. When a UE receives a page on the
PCCH in connected mode it shall enter Cell_FACH state and make cell
update procedure.
Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH): a point‐to‐point bi‐directional
channel that transmit dedicated control information between a UE and
the network. This channel is used for dedicated signaling after a RRC
connection has been done. For example, it is used for inter‐frequency
handover procedure, for dedicated paging, for the active set update
procedure and for the control and report of measurements.
Common Control Channel (CCCH): a bi‐directional channel for
transmitting control information between network and UEs. It is used
to send messages related to RRC connection, cell update and URA
update. This channel is a bit like the DCCH, but will be used when the
UE has not yet been identified by the network (or by the new cell). For
example, it is used to send the RRC connection request message, which
is the first message sent by the UE to get into connected mode. The
network will respond on the same channel, and will send him its
temporary identities (cell and UTRAN identities). After these initial
messages, the DCCH will be used.
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In order to carry logical channels, several transport channels are defined. They
are:
Broadcast Channel (BCH): a downlink channel used for broadcast of
system information into the entire cell.
Paging Channel (PCH): a downlink channel used for broadcast of
control information into the entire cell, such as paging.
Random Access Channel (RACH): a contention based uplink channel
used for initial access or for transmission of relatively small amounts of
data (non real‐time dedicated control or traffic data).
Forward Access Channel (FACH): a common downlink channel used for
dedicated signaling (answer to a RACH typically), or for transmission of
relatively small amounts of data.
Dedicated Channel (DCH): a channel dedicated to one UE used in
uplink or downlink.
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Now we will begin to discuss the physical channel. Physical channel is the most
important and complex channel, and a physical channel is defined by a specific
carrier frequency, code and relative phase. In CDMA system, the different code
(scrambling code or spreading code) can distinguish the channel. Most
channels consist of radio frames and time slots, and each radio frame consists
of 15 time slots. There are two types of physical channel: UL and DL.
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The different physical channels are:
Synchronization Channel (SCH): used for cell search procedure. There
is the primary and the secondary SCHs.
Common Control Physical Channel (CCPCH): used to carry common
control information such as the scrambling code used in DL (there is a
primary CCPCH and additional secondary CCPCH).
Common Pilot Channels (P‐CPICH and S‐CPICH): used for coherent
detection of common channels. They indicate the phase reference.
Dedicated Physical Data Channel (DPDCH): used to carry dedicated
data coming from layer 2 and above (coming from DCH).
Dedicated Physical Control Channel (DPCCH): used to carry dedicated
control information generated in layer 1 (such as pilot, TPC and TFCI
bits).
Page Indicator Channel (PICH): carries indication to inform the UE that
paging information is available on the S‐CCPCH.
Acquisition Indicator Channel (AICH): it is used to inform a UE that the
network has received its access request.
High Speed Physical Downlink Shared Channel (HS‐PDSCH): it is used
to carry subscribers BE service data (mapping on HSDPA) coming from
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layer 2.
High Speed Shared Control Channel (HS‐SCCH): it is used to carry
control message to HS‐PDSCH such as modulation scheme, UE ID etc.
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The different physical channels are:
EDCH Absolute Grant Channel(E‐AGCH): Carries absolute grant
determined by the scheduler
EDCH Relative Grant Channel (E‐RGCH): Carries relative grant
determined by the scheduler
EDCH HARQ Indicator Channel (E‐HICH): Carries HARQ ACK/NACK
indicator for E‐DCH
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Dedicated Physical Data Channel (DPDCH): used to carry dedicated data
coming from layer 2 and above (coming from DCH).
Dedicated Physical Control Channel (DPCCH): used to carry dedicated control
information generated in layer 1 (such as pilot, TPC and TFCI bits).
Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH): used to carry random access
information when a UE wants to access the network.
High Speed Dedicated Physical Control Channel (HS‐DPCCH): it is used to
carry feedback message to HS‐PDSCH such CQI,ACK/NACK.
Enhanced Dedicated Physical Control Channel (E‐DPDCH): Carries E‐DCH
Enhanced Dedicated Physical Data Channel (E‐DPCCH): Carries control signal
for E‐DPDCH
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When a UE is turned on, the first thing it does is to scan the UMTS spectrum
and find a UMTS cell. After that, it has to find the primary scrambling code
used by that cell in order to be able to decode the BCCH (for system
information). This is done with the help of the Synchronization Channel.
Each cell of a NodeB has its own SCH timing, so that there is no overlapping.
The SCH is a pure downlink physical channel broadcasted over the entire cell.
It is transmitted unscrambled during the first 256 chips of each time slot, in
time multiplex with the P‐CCPCH. It is the only channel that is not spread over
the entire radio frame. The SCH provides the primary scrambling code group
(one out of 64 groups), as well as the radio frame and time slot
synchronization.
The SCH consists of two sub‐channels, the primary and secondary SCH. These
sub‐channels are sent in parallel using code division during the first 256 chips
of each time slot. P‐SCH always transmits primary synchronization code. S‐SCH
transmits secondary synchronization codes.
The primary synchronization code is repeated at the beginning of each time
slot. The same code is used by all the cells and enables the mobiles to detect
the existence of the UMTS cell and to synchronize itself on the time slot
boundaries. This is normally done with a single matched filter or any similar
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device. The slot timing of the cell is obtained by detecting peaks in the matched
filter output.
This is the first step of the cell search procedure. The second step is done using
the secondary synchronization channel.
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The S‐SCH also consists of a code, the Secondary Synchronization Code (SSC)
that indicates which of the 64 scrambling code groups the cell’s downlink
scrambling code belongs to. 16 different SSCs are defined. Each SSC is a 256
chip long sequence.
There is one specific SSC transmitted in each time slot, giving us a sequence of
15 SSCs. There is a total of 64 different sequences of 15 SSCs, corresponding to
the 64 primary scrambling code groups. These 64 sequences are constructed
so that one sequence is different from any other one, and different from any
rotated version of any sequence. The UE correlates the received signal with
the 16 SSCs and identifies the maximum correlation value.
The S‐SCH provides the information required to find the frame boundaries and
the downlink scrambling code group (one out of 64 groups). The scrambling
code (one out of 8) can be determined afterwards by decoding the P‐CPICH.
The mobile will then be able to decode the BCH.
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The Common Pilot Channel (CPICH) is a pure physical control channel
broadcasted over the entire cell. It is not linked to any transport channel. It
consists of a sequence of known bits that are transmitted in parallel with the
primary and secondary CCPCH.
The PCPICH is used by the mobile to determine which of the 8 possible
primary scrambling codes is used by the cell, and to provide the phase
reference for common channels.
Finding the primary scrambling code is done during the cell search procedure
through a symbol‐by‐symbol correlation with all the codes within the code
group. After the primary scrambling code has been identified, the UE can
decode system information on the P‐CCPCH.
The P‐CPICH is the phase reference for the SCH, P‐CCPCH, AICH and PICH. It is
broadcasted over the entire cell. The channelization code used to spread the
P‐CPICH is always Cch,256,0 (all ones). Thus, the P‐CPICH is a fixed rate
channel. Also, it is always scrambled with the primary scrambling code of the
cell.
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The Primary Common Control Physical Channel (P‐CCPCH) is a fixed rate
(SF=256) downlink physical channel used to carry the BCH transport channel.
It is broadcasted continuously over the entire cell like the P‐CPICH.
The figure above shows the frame structure of the P‐CCPCH. The frame
structure is special because it does not contain any layer 1 control bits. The
PCCPCH only has one fix predefined transport format combination, and the
only bits transmitted are data bits from the BCH transport channel. It is
important to note that the P‐CCPCH is not transmitted during the first 256
chips of the slot. In fact, another physical channel (SCH) is transmitted during
that period of time. Thus, the SCH and the P‐CCPCH are time multiplexed on
every time slot.
Channelization code Cch,256,1 is always used to spread the P‐CCPCH.
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The Page Indicator Channel (PICH) is a fixed rate (30kbps, SF=256) physical
channel used by the NodeB to inform a UE (or a group of UEs) that a paging
information will soon be transmitted on the PCH. Thus, the mobile only
decodes the S‐CCPCH when it is informed to do so by the PICH. This enables to
do other processing and to save the mobiles’ battery.
The PICH carries Paging Indicators (PI), which are user specific and calculated
by higher layers. It is always associated with the S‐CCPCH to which the PCH is
mapped.
The frame structure of the PICH is illustrated above. It is 10 ms long, and
always contains 300 bits (SF=256). 288 of these bits are used to carry paging
indicators, while the remaining 12 are not formally part of the PICH and shall
not be transmitted. That part of the frame (last 12 bits) is reserved for possible
future use.
In order not to waste radio resources, several PIs are multiplexed in time on
the PICH. Depending on the configuration of the cell, 18, 36, 72 or 144 paging
indicators can be multiplexed on one PICH radio frame. Thus, the number of
bits reserved for each PI depends of the number of PIs per radio frame. For
example, if there is 72 PIs in one radio frame, there will be 4 (288/72)
consecutive bits for each PI. These bits are all identical. If the PI in a certain
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frame is “1”, it is an indication that the UE associated with that PI should read
the corresponding frame of the S‐CCPCH.
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The Secondary Common Control Physical Channel (S‐CCPCH) is used to carry
the FACH and PCH transport channels. Unlike the P‐CCPCH, it is not
broadcasted continuously. It is only transmitted when there is a PCH or FACH
information to transmit. At the mobile side, the mobile only decodes the
SCCPCH when it expects a useful message on the PCH or FACH.
A UE will expect a message on the PCH after indication from the PICH (page
indicator channel), and it will expect a message on the FACH after it has
transmitted something on the RACH.
The FACH and the PCH can be mapped on the same or on separate SCCPCHs. If
they are mapped on the same S‐CCPCH, TFCI bits have to be sent to support
multiple transport formats.
The figure above shows the frame structure of the S‐CCPCH. There are 18
different slot formats determining the exact number of data, pilot and TFCI
bits. The data bits correspond to the PCH and/or FACH bits coming from the
transport sub‐layer. Pilot bit are typically used when beam forming techniques
are used.
The SF ranges from 4 to 256. The channelization code is assigned by the RRC
layer as is the scrambling code, and they are fixed during the communication.
They are sent on the BCCH so that every UE can decode the channel.
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As said before, FACH can be used to carry user data. The difference with the
dedicated channel is that it cannot use fast power control, nor soft handover.
The advantage is that it is a fast access channel.
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The Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) is used by the UE to access the
network and to carry small data packets. It carries the RACH transport channel.
The PRACH is an open loop power control channel, with contention resolution
mechanisms (ALOHA approach) to enable a random access from several users.
The PRACH is composed of two different parts: the preamble part and the
message part that carries the RACH message. The preamble is an identifier
which consists of 256 repetitions of a 16 chip long signature (total of 4096
chips). There are 16 possible signatures, basically, the UE randomly selects one
of the 16 possible preambles and transmits it at increasing power until it gets
a response from the network (on the AICH). That preamble is scrambled
before being sent. That is a sign that the power level is high enough and that
the UE is authorized to transmit, which it will do after acknowledgment from
the network. If the UE doesn’t get a response from the network, it has to
select a new signature to transmit.
The message part is 10 or 20 ms long (split into 15 or 30 time slots) and is
made of the RACH data and the layer 1 control information.
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The data and control bits of the message part are processed in parallel. The SF
of the data part can be 32, 64, 128 or 256 while the SF of the control part is
always 256. The control part consists of 8 pilot bits for channel estimation and
2 TFCI bits to indicate the transport format of the RACH (transport channel),
for a total of 10 bits per slot.
The OVSF codes to use (one for RACH data and one for control) depend on the
signature that was used for the preamble.
for signatures s=0 to s=15: OVSFcontrol= Cch,256,m, where m=16s + 15;
OVSFdata= Cch,SF,m, where m=SF*s/16.
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The PRACH transmission is based on the access frame structure. The access
frame is access of 15 access slots and lasts 20 ms (2 radio frames).
To avoid too many collisions and to limit interference, a UE must wait at least 3
or 4 access slots between two consecutive preambles.
The PRACH resources (access slots and preamble signatures) can be divided
between different Access Service Classes (ASC) in order to provide different
priorities of RACH usage. The ASC number ranges from 0 (highest priority) to 7
(lowest priority).
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The Acquisition Indicator Channel (AICH) is a common downlink channel used
to control the uplink random accesses. It carries the Acquisition Indicators (AI),
each corresponding to a signature on the PRACH (uplink). When the NodeB
receives the random access from a mobile, it sends back the signature of the
mobile to grant its access. If the NodeB receives multiple signatures, it can
sent all these signatures back by adding the together. At reception, the UE can
apply its signature to check if the NodeB sent an acknowledgement (taking
advantage of the orthogonality of the signatures).
The AICH consists of a burst of data transmitted regularly every access slot
frame. One access slot frame is formed of 15 access slots, and lasts 2 radio
frames (20 ms). Each access slot consists of two parts, an acquisition indicator
part of 32 real‐valued symbols and a long part during which nothing is
transmitted to avoid overlapping due to propagation delays.
The SF used is always 256 and the OVSF code used by the cell is indicated in
system information type 5.
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There are two kinds of uplink dedicated physical channels, the Dedicated
Physical Data Channel (DPDCH) and the Dedicated Physical Control Channel
(DPCCH). The DPDCH is used to carry the DCH transport channel. The DPCCH is
used to carry the physical sub‐layer control bits.
Each DPCCH time slot consists of Pilot, TFCI, FBI & TPC:
Pilot is used to help demodulation
TFCI: transport format combination indicator
FBI: used for the FBTD. (feedback TX diversity)
TPC: used to transport power control command.
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On the figure above, we can see the DPDCH and DPCCH time slot
constitution. The parameter k determines the number of symbols per slot. It
is related to the spreading factor (SF) of the DPDCH by this simple equation:
SF=256/2k. The DPDCH SF ranges from 4 to 256. The SF for the uplink DPCCH
is always 256, which gives us 10 bits per slot. The exact number of pilot, TFCI,
TPC and FBI bits is configured by higher layers. This configuration is chosen
from 12 possible slot formats. It is important to note that symbols are
transmitted during all slots for the DPDCH
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The uplink DPDCH and DPCCH are I/Q code multiplexed. But the downlink
DPDCH and DPCCH is time multiplexed. This is main difference.
Basically, there are two types of downlink DPCH. They are distinguished by the
use or non use of the TFCI field. TFCI bits are not used for fixed rate services or
when the TFC doesn’t change.
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We have known that the uplink DPDCH and DPCCH are I/Q code multiplexed.
But the downlink DPDCH and DPCCH is time multiplexed. This is main
difference. The parameter k in the figure above determines the total number
of bits per time slot. It is related to the SF, which ranges from 4 to 512. The
chips of one slot is also 2560.
Downlink physical channels are used to carry user specific information like
speech, data or signaling, as well as layer 1 control bits. Like it was mentioned
before, the payload from the DPDCH and the control bits from the DPCCH are
time multiplexed on every time slot. The figure above shows how these two
channels are multiplexed. There is only one DPCCH in downlink for one user.
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HS‐PDSCH is a downlink physical channel that carries user data and layer 2
overhead bits mapped from the transport channel: HS‐DSCH.
The user data and layer 2 overhead bits from HS‐DSCH is mapped onto one or
several HS‐PDSCH and transferred in 2ms sub‐frame using one or several
channelization code with fixed SF=16.
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HS‐SCCH uses a SF=128 and has q time structure based on a sub‐frame of
length 2 ms, i.e. the same length as the HS‐DSCH TTI. The timing of HSSCCH
starts two slot prior to the start of the HS‐PDSCH sub‐frame.
The following information is carried on the HS‐SCCH (7 items)
Modulation scheme(1bit) QPSK or 16QAM
Channelization code set (7bits)
Transport block size ( 6bits)
HARQ process number (3bits)
Redundancy version (3bits)
New Data Indicator (1bit)
UE identity (16 bits)
In each 2 ms interval corresponding to one HS‐DSCH TTI , one HS‐SCCH carries
physical‐layer signaling to a single UE. As there should be a possibility for HS‐
DSCH transmission to multiple users in parallel (code multiplex), multiplex HS‐
SCCH may be needed in a cell. The specification allows for up to four HS‐SCCHs
as seen from a UE point of view .i.e. UE must be able to decode four HS‐SCCH.
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The uplink HS‐DPCCH consists of:
Acknowledgements for HARQ
Channel Quality Indicator (CQI)
As the HS‐DPCCH uses SF=256, there are a total of 30 channel bits per 2 ms
sub frame (3 time slot). The HS‐DPCCH information is divided in such a way
that the HARQ acknowledgement is transmitted in the first slot of the sub‐
frame while the channel quality indication is transmitted in the rest slot.
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The E‐DPDCH carries data in the uplink. The spreading factor of the EDPDCH
varies from SF256 to SF2 depending on the data transmission rate. A
maximum of four E‐DPDCHs can be used for parallel transmission. The SF of
two E‐DPDCHs is SF2, and the SF of the other two E‐DPDCHs is SF4.
The E‐DPCCH carries control information related to data transmission in the
uplink. The control information consists of the E‐DCH transport format
combination indicator (E‐TFCI), retransmission sequence number (RSN), and
happy bit. The SF of the E‐DPCCH is fixed to 256. WCDMA Air Interface Physical
Layer.
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The downlink E‐AGCH and E‐RGCH carry the HSUPA scheduling control
information.
The E‐AGCH is a shared channel, which carries the maximum E‐DPDCH to
DPCCH power ratio, that is, absolute grants. The SF of the E‐AGCH is fixed to
256.
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The E‐RGCH is a dedicated channel, which is used to indicate relative grants
and increase or decrease the maximum E‐DPDCH to DPCCH power ratio. The
SF of the E‐RGCH is fixed to 128.
To implement the HARQ function, the E‐HICH is introduced in the downlink.
The EHICH carries retransmission requests from the NodeB. The SF of the E‐
HICH is fixed to 128.
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This page indicates how the mapping can be done between logical, transport
and physical channels. Not all physical channels are represented because not
all physical channels correspond to a transport channel.
The mapping between logical channels and transport channels is done by the
MAC sub‐layer.
Different connections can be made between logical and transport channels:
BCCH is connected to BCH and may also be connected to FACH;
DTCH can be connected to either RACH and FACH, to RACH and DSCH,
to DCH and DSCH, to a DCH or a CPCH;
CTCH is connected to FACH;
DCCH can be connected to either RACH and FACH, to RACH and DSCH,
to DCH and DSCH, to a DCH or a CPCH;
PCCH is connected to PCH;
CCCH is connected to RACH and FACH.
These connections depend on the type of information on the logical channels.
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The purpose of the Cell Search Procedure is to give the UE the possibility of
finding a cell and of determining the downlink scrambling code and frame
synchronization of that cell. This is typically performed in 3 steps:
PSCH (Slot synchronization): The UE uses the SCH’s primary
synchronization code to acquire slot synchronization to a cell. The
primary synchronization code is used by the UE to detect the existence
of a cell and to synchronize the mobile on the TS boundaries. This is
typically done with a single filter (or any similar device) matched to the
primary synchronization code which is common to all cells. The slot
timing of the cell can be obtained by detecting peaks in the matched
filter output.
SSCH (Frame synchronization and code‐group identification): The
secondary synchronization codes provide the information required to
find the frame boundaries and the group number. Each group number
corresponds to a unique set of 8 primary scrambling codes. The frame
boundary and the group number are provided indirectly by selecting a
suite of 15 secondary codes. 16 secondary codes have been defined
C1, C2, ….C16. 64 possible suites have been defined, each suite
corresponds to one of the 64 groups. Each suite of secondary codes is
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composed of 15 secondary codes (chosen in the set of 16), each of
which will be transmitted in one time slot. When the received codes
matches one of the possible suites, the UE has both determined the
frame boundary and the group number.
PCPICH (Scrambling‐code identification): The UE determines the exact
primary scrambling code used by the found cell. The primary scrambling
code is typically identified through symbol‐by‐symbol correlation over
the PCPICH with all the codes within the code group identified in the
second can be read.
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Physical random access procedure
1. Derive the available uplink access slots, in the next full access slot set,
for the set of available RACH sub‐channels within the given ASC.
Randomly select one access slot among the ones previously
determined. If there is no access slot available in the selected set,
randomly select one uplink access slot corresponding to the set of
available RACH subchannels within the given ASC from the next access
slot set. The random function shall be such that each of the allowed
selections is chosen with equal probability;
2. Randomly select a signature from the set of available signatures
within the given ASC;
3. Set the Preamble Retransmission counter to Preamble_Retrans_Max;
4. Set the parameter Commanded Preamble Power to
Preamble_Initial_Power;
5. Transmit a preamble using the selected uplink access slot, signature,
and preamble transmission power;
6. If no posi ve or nega ve acquisi on indicator (AI ≠+1 nor –1)
corresponding to the selected signature is detected in the downlink
access slot corresponding to the selected uplink access slot:
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A. Select the next available access slot in the set of available RACH
sub‐channels within the given ASC;
B. select a signature;
C. Increase the Commanded Preamble Power;
D. Decrease the Preamble Retransmission Counter by one. If the
Preamble Retransmission Counter > 0 then repeat from step 6.
Otherwise exit the physical random access procedure.
7. If a negative acquisition indicator corresponding to the selected
signature is detected in the downlink access slot corresponding to the
selected uplink access slot, exit the physical random access procedure
Signature;
8. If a positive acquisition indicator corresponding to the selected
signature is detected , Transmit the random access message three or
four uplink access slots after the uplink access slot of the last
transmitted preamble;
9. exit the physical random access procedure.
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