VFN 745p Introduction To HSPA HSPA+ Optimization v1.0c CE

INTRODUCTION TO
HSPA/HSPA+
OPTIMIZATION
UMTS/HSPA+ CURRICULUM
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
WCDMA Performance Optimization ............................................................................................................... 1
WCDMA Optimization Principles and KPIs ..................................................................................................... 3
Chapter 2
RF Coverage and Neighbor List Tuning ....................................................................................................... 11
RF Measurements ......................................................................................................................................... 13
Coverage Optimization .................................................................................................................................. 17
Pilot Pollution ................................................................................................................................................. 22
Neighbor Lists ................................................................................................................................................ 27
Chapter 3
Access Performance ..................................................................................................................................... 41
Random Access Process and Parameters ................................................................................................... 45
Access Failure Scenarios .............................................................................................................................. 54
Additional Charts............................................................................................................................................ 59
Chapter 4
Dropped Calls and Call Quality ..................................................................................................................... 61
Dropped Call Causes ..................................................................................................................................... 65
Uplink and Downlink Synch ........................................................................................................................... 67
Dropped Call Scenarios ................................................................................................................................. 74
Additional Charts............................................................................................................................................ 83
VFN_745p Version 1.0c i

Table of Contents
Chapter 5
Inter-Frequency and Inter-RAT Performance ............................................................................................... 87
Idle-Mode Cell Reselection ............................................................................................................................ 89
IFHO and Inter-RAT Connected Mode Operations ....................................................................................... 99
IFHO and IRAT Triggers ................................................................................................................................ 104
Chapter 6
R99 Data and HSDPA Performance ...........................................................................................................115
Packet Call Establishment .......................................................................................................................... 117
Packet Data KPIs ......................................................................................................................................... 119
RAB and State Switching ............................................................................................................................. 122
HSDPA Operations ....................................................................................................................................... 127
Code and Power Management ................................................................................................................... 133
CQI ................................................................................................................................................................ 138
HSDPA Performance ................................................................................................................................... 144
Chapter 7
HSUPA and HSPA+ Performance ...............................................................................................................151
Uplink Interference Management ............................................................................................................... 153
HSUPA Operations ....................................................................................................................................... 156
HSUPA Performance .................................................................................................................................... 166
HSPA+ Features for Throughput Enhancements ....................................................................................... 170
HSPA+ Features for Reduction in Latency and UE Power ........................................................................ 178
ii
Table of Contents
Acronyms .....................................................................................................................................................187
References...................................................................................................................................................193
iii
1 | WCDMA Performance Optimization
Chapter 1:
WCDMA Performance
Optimization
Award Solutions Proprietary
1
Objectives
After completing this module, you will be able to:
• Explain the goals of optimization
• Sketch the basic optimization process
• Identify key voice and packet data KPIs
2
WCDMA Optimization
Principles and KPIs
3
Optimization Goals
Minimize
Latency Maximize Data
Maximize Voice Throughput
Quality
Minimize Maximize
Dropped Calls System Capacity
Maximize RF
Minimize Access
Capacity
Failures
Maximize Revenue Potential

The process of RF engineering and optimization has • System Capacity: The capacity of the system may be
multiple benefits, to both operators and subscribers: constrained at several points in the network, including
available downlink power, available codes, overhead
• Access Performance: Reducing access failures allows
channel capacity, and the capabilities of the network
more calls to be set up successfully, which translates
and transmission equipment. The traffic presented to
to both increased customer satisfaction and increased
the system must be taken into account when
minutes of use (MOU) on the system.
determining and optimizing the capabilities of the
• Dropped Calls: Similarly, dropped calls negatively radio network.
impact MOU and customer satisfaction. Call drops are
• RF Capacity: Also termed spectral efficiency, this is
typically affected by coverage and the amount of
the chief goal of the optimization effort. By increasing
dedicated resources used by the call.
RF capacity without adversely impacting the other
• Voice Quality: The quality of a mobile voice areas listed above, more users can be given better
conversation is inherently limited by the voice codec service.
being used. However, managing the amount of
The bottom line is to increase the potential of the radio
dedicated resources in order minimize errors over the
network to generate revenue for the service provider,
air can maximize the potential voice quality.
while balancing the performance of each of these areas.
• Packet Data Throughput and Latency: Packet data
performance differs from voice in that the typical
events that adversely affect voice users (i.e. access
failures and drops) have relatively little effect on most
data applications. However, these events do reduce
average throughput and increase latency.
4
WCDMA Optimization at a Glance
Define Criteria
• Priorities – capacity Measurements
or quality? • Scanner Logs
• System Limits – RF or • Voice: Short/Long Calls
capital • Data: Small/Large Files
• Define KPIs • System Logs
• Set KPI Targets
1.Coverage and Neighbor Revise Optimization

List Optimization Parameters and repeat
2.Parameter Optimization
Measure Voice Measure Data

Performance Performance
Before embarking on an optimization effort, the network should be changed at any time in order to resolve a
priorities must be defined. problem, in order to minimize the “ripple effect”, but this
is not always practical.
• Is this a new network and quality is paramount?’ OR
Is this a mature network and quality must be
compromised to support capacity?
• How much capital is available to overcome network
issues?
An optimization program starts off with identifying the key
KPIs to be monitored. Target values for these KPIs are set
to meet the required performance. Measurements can
then be made to track these KPIs. When a KPI falls out of
the “good” range, action must be taken to identify and
address the underlying cause through an optimization
process. Optimization is the most challenging aspect of
the entire process. While some issues identified during
the measurement stage may be obvious, others may
require a detailed investigation and analysis to determine
the root cause. The scope and scale of the solution may
also vary widely, ranging from simply adjusting a
parameter value, to reconfiguring entire portions of the
radio network. Ideally, only one aspect of the system
5
WCDMA Optimization at a Glance

(Continued)
Define Criteria
• Priorities – capacity Measurements
or quality? • Scanner Logs
• System Limits – RF or • Voice: Short/Long Calls
capital • Data: Small/Large Files
• Define KPIs • System Logs
• Set KPI Targets
1.Coverage and Neighbor Revise Optimization

List Optimization Parameters and repeat
2.Parameter Optimization
Measure Voice Measure Data

Performance Performance
Let’s discuss the factors that are the foundation to between the two networks is inevitable and the borders
optimizing performance in a WCDMA network. These must be optimized.
include:
In a system as complex as a mobile wireless network,
• Coverage system performance is a very dynamic thing: subscribers
move through the network, environmental conditions
• Neighbor Lists
change, and any adjustments usually have side effects.
Both of these items can have positive or negative RF optimization is an ongoing, iterative process that never
implications on all areas of WCDMA performance. That ends.
being said, we should always begin our process by
optimizing the coverage and neighbor list of the area of
interest. In this manner, we can achieve the most “bang
for our buck”. Once a network’s coverage and neighbor
list has be optimized, the parametric optimization phase
can begin. We first outline the approach to measuring and
improving each of these factors, then move into per-KPI
optimization. An iterative process of measuring, modifying,
analyzing each KPI is required.
Another aspect of WCDMA systems that should be
considered in the management and optimization of
WCDMA networks is inter-RAT mobility. Since WCDMA
networks coexist with GSM/GPRS networks and often may
not cover 100% of the area covered by GSM, mobility
6
Voice KPIs
Retainability
• Call drop rate Quality
• Handoff failure rate • Delay
• Jitter
• Call Setup Time
Resource Usage
Accessibility • Sectors per user
• Setup failure rate • Channel elements per user
• Paging success rate • Blocking rate
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can vary widely, receiving voice packets over the air (which correlates
depending on what information is available from the directly to what the user hears), while the call setup
equipment and on what is important to the operator. time assesses how long it takes the system to connect
Nonetheless, they tend to fall into a few broad categories. the user and begin a conversation.
For circuit voice services, the most commonly used KPIs
• Resource Usage: Although subscribers rarely have any
are:
visibility into the resources they use in their calls, it is
• Accessibility: The ability of a subscriber to get access of vital importance to the operator, since a lack of
to the network to make or receive a call. Setup failures resources means fewer users (and less revenue) and
track how often a user tried to set up a call, but was may require a significant investment in new
unable to do so, while paging success indicates how equipment. Tracking sectors and channel elements
often a subscriber in the area could be reached. per user allows the operator to assess how efficiently
they are serving their subscribers while the blocking
• Retainability: The ability of a subscriber involved in a
rate indicates how many users are adversely impacted
voice call to stay up and running. Call drops are the
by a lack of resources.
most visible (and annoying) aspect of retainability,
while handoff failures indicate problems in
maintaining connections as the user moves through
the network.
• Quality: Although every subscriber can easily evaluate
the quality of their phone call, it’s more challenging to
measure quality statistically. The block error rate
indicates how successful the system is in sending and
7
Packet Data KPIs

Throughput
• Physical Layer throughput
• Application throughput
Scheduling
• DTX/DRX rates
• Traffic Levels
Quality
Resource Usage •Block Error Rate
• Allocated power • Latency
• Codes per user
In addition to Accessibility and Retainability
For packet data applications, the key metrics are a bit transmission rates associated with packet data
different, since the things that adversely affect voice calls require more resources (power and codes). A small
may not have the same impact on data users. number of data users can easily consume all of the
resources in a cell, completely blocking other users
• Throughput: For the majority of data applications,
(voice and data).
throughput is the primary concern; the faster a web
page is downloaded, or the quicker an e-mail is • Scheduling: Related to resource usage, the data
retrieved, the happier the subscriber is. Throughput is scheduling functions can have a dramatic impact on
often tracked at two levels: application throughput overall performance. In particular, the high-speed data
(which is what the user experiences) and physical solutions in UMTS, HSDPA and HSUPA, share the
layer throughput (which is what actually happens over resources among all of the active users. The scheduler
the radio link). in the Node B must ensure that each user gets his fair
share; excessive discontinuous transmission or
• Delay: The other key factor for data is delay: how long
reception (DTX or DRX) of data means that the user
its takes a packet to be delivered. Most common
will experience lower average throughput and higher
applications (like web browsing, file transfer and e-
average delay. High levels of data traffic may require
mail) are delay-insensitive: an extra few milliseconds
additional radio channels and/or cells in order to
make no discernable difference to the result. Real-
handle the load.
time services like Voice over IP (VoIP), however are
impacted, if there is too much latency and jitter
(variations in delay).
• Resource Usage: Resources are arguably a greater
concern for data than voice, since the higher
8
Summary
• Well-defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) drive the optimization
process.
– Accessibility, Retainability, Quality and Resource Usage are needed
for voice.
– Accessibility, Retainability, Throughput, Delay and Resource Usage
are needed for packet data.
• Optimization is an iterative process.
– KPI targets identify problem areas that require attention.
– Analysis and troubleshooting determine the root cause (or causes)
of the problem.
– Optimization finds the best approach to address the issue
(parameter changes, hardware upgrades, RF coverage adjustments,
etc.).
– KPIs are monitored after the change to ensure that the targets are
now achieved.
9
Review Questions
1. What is the purpose of network optimization?
2. What are the key metrics to be monitored to measure
performance of packet data applications?
3. Which of the key KPIs are affected when users’ experience
delay in call setup?
4. Which of the key KPIs are affected when users’ experience
more call drops in the network?
5. State True or False. Coverage and Neighbor lists are the
foundation to optimizing performance in a WCDMA
network.
10
2 | RF Coverage and Neighbor List Tuning
Chapter 2:
RF Coverage and
Neighbor List Tuning
11
Objectives
• Define the key RF-related measurements
• Explain the coverage optimization process
• Describe pilot pollution and the techniques to fix
it
• Explain the importance of optimizing neighbor
lists and its impact on the composite neighbor
list
• Detail the interpretation of key coverage plots
12
RF Measurements
13
RF Measurements
Term Alias Definition Note

The ratio of the energy per information
Often defined as energy vs.
bit to the power spectral density of
Eb/No Eb/Nt thermal noise. “No” in Eb/No is different
noise and interference after
despreading (Eb/Nt)
from “No” in Ec/No
The ratio of the energy per chip in the
Ec/Io is a more accurate term
Ec/No Ec/Io downlink pilot to the power spectral
for this
density of all received signals
Received Signal Code Power, the energy
RSCP Ec per chip in the downlink pilot (averaged
over 512 chips)
Received Total Wideband Power, the
RTWP RSSI total received signal power in the system Usually applies to the uplink
bandwidth
The ratio of energy in the pilot bits to the C/I generally applies to the
SIR C/I power spectral density of interference traffic channel rather than the
and noise after the despreading process pilot
In order to optimally manage the RF resources, the radio

link must be measured and monitored continuously.
Depending on the specific radio technology involved,
some specific types of measurements are more
meaningful than others. In the case of a UMTS Wideband
CDMA (WCDMA) channel, Ec/No and RSCP are the two
measurements most commonly used.
14
Eb/No vs. Ec/No
Eb/No Ec/No
•Eb: strength of desired •Ec: RSCP of the common
signal - variable pilot channel - fixed
•No: strength of interfering •No: RSSI of the entire
signals channel
•Has benefits of Power •No benefits of power
Control, Soft Handover, control, Soft Handover,
CDMA Processing Gain CDMA Processing Gain
•Provides a measure of •Provides a measure of
signal quality relative path loss
Ec/No ≠ Eb/No
Although Ec/No is often interpreted as a measure of • No is the received strength of any interference that
channel quality, in reality, it means something quite affects the desired signal (Eb), and does not include
different. the desired signal itself
• Ec is the power (RSCP) of the common pilot channel, The ratio of these two values indicates how strong the
which is typically 10% or less of the total channel desired signal is, relative to its interferers.
power, has no power control applied to it and is not
impacted by any soft handover activity
• No is the power (RSSI) of the entire 5 MHz channel,
including the pilot (Ec), all other channels in the cell,
and all external interferers
The ratio of these two values reflects the relative strength
of the pilot, which correlates to path loss, not channel
quality. Comparing Ec/No measurements is useful for
determining handover events, but a low Ec/No does not
necessarily mean that the user is experiencing poor
performance.
Eb/No (or SIR), on the other hand, correlates well with the
overall quality of the signal:
• Eb is the received signal strength of the desired
signal i.e. a traffic channel with power control plus
any additional improvement through Soft Handover
15
Eb/No vs. Ec/No

Eb
Eb/No SHO occurs

Eb/No
No
A B
Ec No
Ec/No
A Ec/No B
Note : The two No above are different

Assume the mobile is listening to a channel on cell A.

When it is close to A, C (the desired signal) is high and I
(the interference) is low, resulting in a high C/I ratio. As
the mobile moves towards cell B, C drops and I increases,
and the C/I ratio decreases. The overall quality of the
channel degrades accordingly.
Conversely, when the mobile is close to A, Ec is fairly low,
since it represents a fraction of the total transmission
from A, while No is high, since it measures all of A’s
transmissions, plus whatever is heard from B; at this
point, Ec/No is a relatively low number. As the mobile
heads towards B, both Ec and No decrease, since the
mobile is moving away from the transmitter. Ec/No
remains fairly constant throughout, until the signal for B
becomes dominant. At this point, Ec/No begins to
decrease significantly. Only at this point does the quality
of the channel degrade significantly.
16
Coverage Optimization
17
WCDMA Coverage Definition
Cell coverage is defined as the ability to

close the uplink.
• “Link closure” in WCDMA means that the

uplink is “in-sync.”
• Downlink coverage “limits” are artificial
• CPICH-Ec/No is not a coverage metric.
A WCDMA cell’s coverage is defined to be the area over Downlink CPICH-Ec/No is not valid for evaluating cell
which the uplink can be closed, where “closed” means coverage. CPICH-Ec/No says nothing about the likelihood
that uplink synchronization can be maintained. The uplink of closing the uplink. Also, even in the context of downlink
“in-sync” or “out-of-sync” status is determined by the closure, the CPICH is not power controlled, whereas the
uplink pilot bits strength Ec/No as measured by the BTS. downlink DPDCH is. Finally, Ec/No does not change
Since the pilot bits are transmitted on the DPCCH – not linearly with path loss, which any coverage metric must.
the DPDCH – the sync status, and therefore cell coverage,
are not strictly related to bearer data rate.
Downlink limits to cell coverage are artificial, i.e., the
result of parameters, not physics. All UTRAN products are
equipped with parameterized limits on the amount of
power that can be allocated to a given downlink radio
bearer. These parameters exist for capacity reasons, not
coverage reasons. If these parameters did not exist, or if
they were set at their maximum values, then the downlink
could be closed at any point in the system where the
uplink is closable. Thus, from the physics perspective, cell
coverage is strictly uplink-limited.
18
WCDMA Coverage Optimization
Balance Create the

overall “right”
Minimize
service coverage at
interference
quality with each
cell capacity location
Since WCDMA utilizes N=1 frequency reuse, inter-cell

interference is an ever present issue. System
performance and overall service quality are directly
related to the degree to which interference can be
controlled. However, some cell overlap is desirable to
ensure the reliability of soft handoff between cells, and to
accommodate UL cell breathing due to loading.
Unfortunately, cell overlap increases the amount of soft
handoff present in the system. The more soft handoff the
more network resources (RF power, OVSF codes, channel
elements, Iub capacity) are consumed. So the trick is
getting just the right coverage – not too much, not too
little.
19
What is the “Right” Coverage?

For the uplink: •The path loss to the closest cell
No coverage must be less than the maximum
gaps allowable path loss
For the downlink: •Each location served by one cell

Clearly dominant that is overwhelmingly stronger
servers than all others
Resist the “the more signal, the better” mentality.
When tuning coverage, it is important to create the right similar to the above could ensue.
coverage at the right location. The right coverage includes:
“The more signal, the better” is not a good coverage
• Elimination of coverage gaps: As coverage is tuned, it strategy in any cellular technology, but it can be
is important not to open coverage holes. devastating in WCDMA. Resist adopting such a strategy.
• Minimization of pilot pollution: Although definitions
vary, pilot pollution can be described generally as the
state in which many pilots are received at a location
at very roughly the same strength. For the purposes
of this course, we usually use the following definition:
A point at which there are three or more additional
servers received within 5 dB of the strongest server is
deemed to be polluted. Pilot pollution can result in
excessive handoff, reduced cell capacity, increased
access failures, and dropped calls.
• Creation of clearly-dominant servers: Even when an
area does not satisfy the clinical definition of pilot
pollution, it could suffer from poor server dominance,
in which the best server changes rapidly from location
to location. This situation will be minimized by
ensuring that the best server clearly dominates all
other servers. Otherwise, performance problems
20
What Limits the Coverage?

For the downlink:
For the uplink:
Maximum downlink
Maximum UE transmit
power allocated to the
power
DL DPCCH
UE
UE Node B
Again, Ec/No is not related to coverage.

Downlink coverage is limited by the maximum amount of

power that can be applied to the downlink DPCCH. This is
usually parameterized by UTRAN vendors, albeit indirectly,
through per-RAB combination maximum transmitted code
channel power limits and downlink DPCCH power offset
parameters.
Uplink power is distributed to the DPCCH and DPDCH
according to the BetaC and BetaD parameters,
respectively. These parameters, which are, for practical
purposes, fixed for each TFC, along with the UE’s peak
output power capability determine the uplink coverage
limit.
Ec/No is in no way related to the ability to close either the
uplink or the downlink. The main purpose of Ec/No is to
provide the UE with an indication of which cell is the best
server and which cells will be included in the active set.
Simply, relative Ec/No will determine which cell is selected
for call origination and which cells will be involved in soft
handoff.
21
Pilot Pollution
22
Pilot Pollution
Why do we care about How do we search for
pilot pollution? pilot pollution?
Access failures, poor Definition: Three or more
quality, drops additional pilots within 5 dB of
strongest
Resource usage: power, Example:
codes, channel elements
• Best server CPICH Ec/No: -6 dB
• Pollution threshold: -6 – 5 = -11
dB
• Second, third, and fourth pilots
at -6.5, -7.5, and -9 dB
• The area is considered polluted
The concept of pilot pollution has created a lot of industry

buzz; most engineers realize that pollution is “bad.” But it
is important to keep in mind the reasons why pollution is
bad.
The classic definition of pilot pollution is a situation in
which the received power (RSSI) is high, but Ec/No of the
best server is low (generally this is the definition of
interference). This definition has evolved over time into a
more quantifiable one, namely, a situation in which three
or more additional pilots are received within 5 dB of the
strongest pilot.
23
Typical Pilot Pollution Scenarios

Dense Urban (high cell density)
Suburban (larger cell footprint, less clutter)
Troublesome Topography (boomer sites)
UE
Pilot pollution can happen all throughout a network.

Dense urban areas (where coverage tends to be good)
tend to have more sites in close proximity, so there is
opportunity for under-optimized sites to show up in
unintended areas.
In suburban areas, cells tend to be farther apart (larger
footprint), and there is less tall clutter, which can result in
overshooting signals.
Certain geographical topographies can prove conducive to
pollution, in particular the “bowl” deployments, where a
city is in a valley, and a perimeter ring of hills have sites.
These sites have line-of-sight paths to areas they are not
intended to cover, often resulting in pollution.
24
Coverage Optimization Tasks
Ensure maximum path

loss requirements have
been met.
Identify polluted areas
and control the worst
offenders.
Ensure sectors dominate
their designed service
area and don’t appear
elsewhere.
Seek out unexplainable
interference.
A number of approaches to the coverage optimization A best server Ec/No plot might be useful in identifying
problem exist. One methodical way is as follows: polluted and/or poor dominance areas that haven’t
otherwise been revealed through the above tasks.
1. The first task is to confirm that minimum uplink
However, note that the task when inspecting an Ec/No
coverage levels have been met. We do this by
plot is not to ensure that Ec/No is above an arbitrary
ensuring that the best server RSCP is above a certain
threshold, but to search out areas of dramatic, relative
threshold, as determined by the uplink link budget.
drops in Ec/No that are indicative of excessive
2. The next task is to inspect the coverage of each cell interference. However, one must be careful when utilizing
by inspecting the best server Selected Cell (SC) plot. Ec/No plots. A cell serving users with either dedicated or
This can expose instances of over-propagation and HS channels will effect Ec/No values.
poor server dominance.
A natural side-effect of this process is a reduction in soft
3. Next, a pollution plot can come in handy. This plot handoff, which, in turn, will result in increased capacity of
indicates the presence, degree of severity, and the radio network.
perpetrators of pilot pollution so that geographic
areas can be targeted for optimization.
4. Next, a relative rank plot can be useful. A relative
rank plot is a per-cell plot that indicates the areas
where the SC is best server, second-best server, third-
best, and so on. This plot provides tremendous
insight into how well a cell dominates its indented
service area, and how badly it propagates out of its
intended footprint.
25
Coverage Optimization Tool Kit
• Tilts
Use RF • Azimuth changes
engineering • Antenna height
to correct • Antenna type
coverage
• New site
issues
• Disable cell
Correcting coverage issues is achieved by utilizing good • Disable Cell: Although this sounds counter-productive,
old-fashioned RF engineering. The tools available include in extreme cases, disabling a site may improve
the following: system performance. If an enabled site is duplicating
the coverage of another site, and the net capacity
• Antenna Tilts: This includes both mechanical and
gain is less than or equal to zero, disabling a site
electrical. Tilts can be used to correct over
should be considered. However, this assumes all
propagation, or coverage holes.
other avenues of RF optimization have been
• Azimuth Changes: A standard 0-120-240 azimuth considered.
configuration can result in multiple RF coverage
issues in a WCDMA network. Antenna azimuth
changes may alleviate RF coverage issues.
• Antenna Height: Although construction and lease
issues may make this option prohibitive, excessive
antenna height is a typical source of pollution.
• Antenna Type: The beamwidth and gain of antennas
will obviously impact RF coverage. This option may be
limited in some cases due to cost, or antenna sharing
requirements.
• New Site: In areas of limited coverage, or lack of
dominance, the best option may be a new site.
26
Neighbor Lists
27
Creating the Neighbor List

What is a Neighbor List (NL) derived from?
Geographical 2G Legacy RF Predictions Automatic

Cell Proximity Data Tools Neighbor
Relationship
In the event of an
Monte Carlo
overlay, the 2G Part of Self
simulation can be
Neighbors are legacy neighbor Organizing
used to select the
chosen based on lists are used to Network
best neighbors
their proximity highlight
based on a approach.
first. neighbors not in
simulated RF
close proximity to
environment.
the serving cell.
The original neighbor list is created based on three better the results.
different inputs:
A combination of all three methods described above is
Geography: Initially, the geographical location of other typically sufficient input to create an initial neighbor list for
cells, relative to the a cell in question, is used to generate a cell. Once the cell is operational, the neighbor list can
its neighbor list. Normally, those cells within close be further refined with drive test data and actual network
proximity of a given cell are selected first. This obviously data collected via the OSS system.
includes co-located Node B cells. Since this method is
ineffective at identifying strong and distant cells, it cannot
be relied upon alone and must therefore be used in The alternative is to use Automatic Neighbor Relation
conjunction with other sources of data when planning a (ANR) tools to automatically detect the suitable neighbors.
new cell’s neighbor list.
2G Legacy Data: If a Neighbor List (NL) exists for an
overlaid 2G cellular system, the 2G NL could be used as
the initial 3G NL. This saves time, effort and money but is
only effective if a one-to-one overlay deployment is being
carried out.
RF Prediction Tools: RF simulation tools permit the
assessment of the RF environment by means of a Monte
Carlo simulation that provides information on the best
neighbors for each cell in the network. The more accurate
the assumptions and the data used in the simulation, the
28
UMTS Pilot Sets

Active Set Monitored Set Detected Set
•A1 • M1 •D1
•A2 • M2 •D2
•… •… •…
•A6 •M32 •Dn
• The Detected Set is

• The Monitored Set is
• The Active Set is comprised of any
an operator-defined
comprised of a set of cells the UE sees
set of cells (max. 32)
cells (max. 6) the UE is and reports to the
the RNC instructs the
actively using for voice RNC, but are not in
UE to measure and
or data reception the current Active or
report to the UTRAN
– Signals are combined
– Reported neighbors
Monitored Sets
in the UE using a – These are missing
may or may not be
Maximum Ratio neighbors and
added to the Active
Combiner (MRC) ideally set is empty
Set by the RNC
The Active Set is the group of cells that have allocated measured value meets the Soft Handover (SHO) addition
dedicated resources to a UE, while it is in the CELL_DCH or replacement criteria, then a Measurement Report
state. All cells in the Active Set transmit a dedicated radio indicating this is sent to the RNC.
link in the downlink to the UE, as well as attempt to
Finally, the Detected Set is comprised of any pilots the UE
receive uplink data broadcast by the UE. The UE may or
measures, that are not in the current Active or Monitored
may not allocate RAKE receiver resources (i.e., a RAKE
Sets, yet meet the criteria to be added to the Active Set.
finger) to all Active Set radio links at all times. The
Detected Set reporting by the UE is optional and is
instantaneous assignment of a RAKE finger to a specific
enabled by the RNC. This type of data can be utilized to
cell’s radio link, or its multipath, is determined by the
help identify missing neighbors.
RAKE’s Searcher Finger algorithm and is based on current
RF conditions. However, it is important to note that the
Searcher Finger can quickly allocate RAKE receiver
resources to an unused Active Set radio link if RF
conditions change.
A cell’s Monitored Set is typically referred to as its
neighbor list. This is the list of cells that are potential
candidates to be added to the UE’s Active Set, due to
geographical location or RF signal strength. The Monitored
Set is sent to the UE via Measurement Control messages
and is updated every time there is a change in the Active
Set. The UE’s Searcher Finger periodically measures the
pilot strength of the cells in the Monitored Set. If this
29
Composite Neighbor List
As the UE takes an active call through a WCDMA network, so that the strongest cell or reference pilot’s neighbors
the RNC or UTRAN is responsible for ensuring that the UE are added to the CNL first, then the second-strongest
is equipped with a suitable neighbor list that can ensure Active Set members neighbors, and so-on. This is based
good call or data performance through the entire duration on the knowledge of the UTRAN and the strength of each
of the call or data session. When there is only a single cell Active Set member, provided by the UE in the most recent
in the Active Set, the Monitored Set is obviously the Measurement Report message received. Of course, the
neighbor set of that specific cell. However, when multiple UTRAN considers duplicate neighbors amongst the various
cells are in the active set, there must be a mechanism for neighbor lists before constructing the CNL.
the RNC to create a Monitored Set that is derived from the
individual neighbor lists of the Active Set cells. This
blended neighbor list is the Composite Neighbor List
(CNL). It is also important to understand how this
combining is performed and that it can vary from
infrastructure vendor to vendor since it is the result of a
proprietary vendor algorithm. This could result in two
vendors potentially performing slightly differently in the
same RF environment and given the same initial neighbor
sets to combine.
3GPP does not specify how to construct the CNL, so
algorithms can vary between vendors. Most algorithms
take into consideration the strength of the donor cell (the
cell providing the neighbor list or the Active Set member),
30
RF Coverage Control
• Neighbors are either chosen based on proximity to one another

and by RF propagation characteristics OR by using Automatic
Neighbor Relation tools.
– RF coverage control is vital to minimize neighbors and ensure distant
sites do not carry traffic unnecessarily
It is important to understand that the neighbor list in system data that can be used to reevaluate the initial
WCDMA systems should be a direct reflection of the RF neighbor lists and begin optimizing these as we will
environment. Unlike GSM networks, neighbors cannot be discuss in the next slide.
added based on geography only. Given the nature of
As stated earlier poor RF control situations or boomer cells
mobile wireless environments each sector’s neighbor list
are the primary source of duplicate SCs occurring in CNLs,
must be tuned to accurately reflect the network RF
resulting in negative performance impacts to the system if
conditions. Which could result in neighbor candidates
not caught and excluded by the RF engineer and/or
being assigned from several tiers away. In these
infrastructure vendor CNL algorithm. These unwanted
instances it is the RF engineers responsibility to try and
and sometimes unavoidable RF control issues make the
modify these RF conditions so that unwanted neighbors
task of scrambling code planning very challenging and
are significantly reduced in number and preferably
time consuming. For this reason many of the latest RF
eliminated wherever possible. However, until this can be
simulation tools now have the ability to also help define
done the engineer must take care to include these
the network SC plan. The advantage of this is that these
boomers in the relevant sectors neighbor lists and
tools can quickly and exhaustively analyze all possible CNL
perform the analysis required to ensure that any resulting
scenarios based on the proposed SC plan and either
composite neighbor lists will not result in any situations
eliminate or identify any situations at risk of causing a
where multiple neighbor cells are using the same SC.
duplicate SC condition in the CNL. A task that if done
So what this means is the initial neighbor lists for a manually would have most RF engineers wishing that they
system design may be longer than desired. This should could go back to frequency planning. What is important to
help to avoid any missing neighbor issues near term and note however is that most of these tools cannot account
as the system matures the engineers will have time to for unique situations such as in-buildings, tunnels or at
properly address any poor RF control issues and collect high elevations in or near dense urban environments.
31
RF Coverage Control (continued)
So this is why it is also important that the infrastructure

vendors implement safeguards capable of detecting
duplicate SC conditions and flagging these to the operator
as well as temporarily use some intelligence to remove
one or more of the offending cells from the resulting CNL.
This will make the operator aware of the problem and
hopefully buy them some time to address the issue and
implement an SC re-tune if RF coverage changes cannot
fully rectify the situation. It is also critical that the RF
engineers perform routine tuning of the propagation
models using actual network data imported into the
simulator tools as part of an effort to improves the tools
ability to accurately predict RF coverage and to help avoid
performance issues down the road as a result of say an
SC plan generated by a poorly tuned propagation model.
32
Balancing Long vs. Short NLs

Shift bias from
Long NLs (LNL) can be
Long to Short NLs constructed quickly and will help
to avoid missing neighbor issues
but are very inefficient.
Short NLs (SNL) are more

efficient but require time and
historical system data to
construct, and ensure no impacts
to performance.
The best balance is to start with

LNLs and use system data to
prioritize and minimize neighbors
to create a bias for SNLs wherever
possible.
Although NLs can contain as many as 32 members, their result of the NL size reductions. Thus, creating issues the
length should strike a balance that ensures complete RNC or UTRAN will be incapable of correcting since the
coverage of all valid neighbors and minimal length to missing neighbor SCs are no longer included in the
improve the NL search speed and efficiency. The longer Monitored or Active Sets, as they may have been in a
the neighbor list, the less frequently each neighbor can be previous truncated CNL case. There is a delicate balance
searched. This can be problematic in dense urban, small between ensuring the NL is long enough to include all
cell radius, or high-mobility environments where pilots can valid neighbors, while simultaneously ensuring the NL is
change frequently due to rapidly changing RF conditions. short enough and prioritized correctly to minimize search
This can result in situations where active and neighboring times. Either of these situations could result in a sudden
pilot signal strengths change rapidly between successive drop in signal quality or degradation in call quality that
searches of the pilots, and, if the priority and length of the could have been avoided with properly optimized NLs. This
neighbor lists is incorrect, there is a chance that call also assumes that the RF environment has been well-
quality may degrade quicker than the neighbor and Active optimized to minimize or avoid creating any pilot pollution
Set members can be detected and promoted or demoted or non-dominant server conditions throughout the
accordingly. In addition, the longer the neighbor list, the network, as this is a prerequisite to almost any
higher the risk of causing a truncated CNL situation. optimization of a WCDMA network.
Short NLs are preferred since they help optimize search
times, reduce the chance of excluding neighbors in the
CNL and minimize or, preferably, eliminate any
dependence on the Detected Set. The caveat, however, is
that making NLs too short will only serve to create poor RF
conditions where missing neighbor issues could exist as a
33
Neighbor List Tuning
Inputs Tasks
• OSS logs • Ensure all important neighbors

• Scanner logs are added
• Mobile logs – best finger data • Ensure all unused neighbors
• ANR measurements are deleted
• Ensure correct neighbor priority
sequence
• [This is a UTRAN vendor
dependant item since CNL
construction algorithms are
proprietary and may not
require Monitored Set entries
be prioritized]
NL tuning can be based on network wide scanner drive antenna heights, azimuths, downtilts or types, or
test data. However, this is not typically a very good increased SHO leg support to help reduce or compensate
representation of the actual subscriber usage and for pilot pollution issues causing a lack of dominant
therefore cannot identify all of the significant RF servers in areas of the network identified by this data.
interference issues. So in addition to drive test data, and One way to use this Measurement Data to automatically
potentially in place of it long term, neighbor list tuning develop the neighbor list is through “Automatic neighbor
must also be done using data collected at the RNC/OSS or relation (ANR)” tools.
via third party tools that capture a broader range of
network requirements drive tests cannot account for.
The UTRAN should be capable of supporting the logging or
recording of reports containing the content of the
Measurement Report messages from the UEs. This data
is invaluable for neighbor list tuning since it is based on
actual UE measurement reports and therefore is
considerably more representative of real subscriber usage
and traffic patterns throughout the network. By
accumulating an historical database of this information
the operator will now have the vital data needed to
optimize their NLs as well as identify potential areas of the
network where interference may exist due to RF control
issues. This data can then be used by the RF engineers to
propose changes such as the addition of new cells, modify
34
General Neighbor List Rules
Co-Node B • Co-Node B cells or adjacent sectors must

be mutual neighbors
Cells rule
•If X is the neighbor of Y, then Y must be the

Reciprocity rule neighbor of X
•Exceptions do exist for this rule
•Host SC must be unique from all its neighbors

Scrambling Code •No two neighbors can share the same SC
(SC)-related rules •Neighbors of neighbors cannot use the same
SC
In addition, there are other rules that must be observed Additional rules for neighbor planning related to actual SC
while creating and tuning a neighbor list: used must also be considered, including the following:
• The co-sited cells or adjacent sectors of a single site • No neighbor can use the same SC as the host cell SC.
must always be added as neighbors to each other,
• No two neighbors in the same individual neighbor set
regardless of whether they appear in scanner logs or
can use the same SC.
not.
• No two neighbors of a CNL can use the same SC.
• The reciprocity rule should be observed but may have
exceptions, so be cautious with this rule. If X is added This last rule pertaining to the assignment of SCs is why
as a neighbor of Y due to scanner logs, then Y should careful attention must be paid to any neighbor candidate
be added as a neighbor of X. that may be included in a serving cell neighbor list that is
more that two tiers away from the serving cell. This is also
― A possible exception here could be if X is a
why the reciprocity rule may not always be appropriate.
distant cell that propagates over Y and is a valid
When combining neighbor lists from distant cells, the risk
neighbor to Y but Y is not a valid neighbor of X
of having a duplicate SC condition becomes higher and SC
since it does not have the same RF propagation
planning becomes much more difficult.
concerns and cannot be seen as having a UE
camp or originating a call in Y’s coverage area. If
this can be confirmed, then Y should not be
included in X’s neighbor list. Now, to be safe
when initially deploying a new network or site, it
is probably wise to use the reciprocity rule until
better data is available to make such decisions.
35
Impacts of Incorrect NLs

Access failures
•Attempted access on the wrong SC
Poor voice quality /low data

throughput
•Increase in downlink BLER
Dropped calls
Increased UL Interference
•Other cell dropped calls
•Reduced capacity
Incorrect neighbor lists are one of the major issues faced 3. Dropped Call Rate: When the interference of a
in performance optimization of WCDMA networks. missing neighbor gets high enough that power control
Neighbor list issues are often found to be the source of or can no longer compensate for it, a call drop will
a contributing factor to negative impacts on: typically result.
1. Access Success Rate: The UE unable to select to the 4. UL Interference: Since a missing neighbor is not part
correct best server due to aliasing or a missing of the UE’s Active Set, it will not be able to power
neighbor. As a result, the UE is not attempting to control that UE. This will result in the RTWP of the
access the best server and may not be able to missing neighbor cell to increase. This, in turn,
overcome the path loss to the this cell, or overcome requires all UEs in that cell to increase their power to
the interference from cell the UE should have been compensate, which contributes to the overall UL
accessing. interference level to increase. The end result being an
overall reduction in the system capacity and
2. Voice Quality or Data Throughput: A strong missing
throughput performance.
neighbor prevented from being added to the Active
Set becomes a source of destructive co-channel Thus, a simple missing neighbor can result in a cascading
interference for a UE already in a call or data session. domino effect that potentially may be seen as an overall
If the interference is strong enough, it could result in system or cluster performance issue. The problem with
causing a dropped call, but, at a minimum, it will likely this is that now the missing neighbor, or root cause of the
cause the voice quality or data throughput to problem, is being masked from easy detection. This could
degrade, or dedicated power resources to increase. prevent a timely, cost-effective solution from being
identified.
36
Impacts of Incorrect NLs (continued)

Access failures
•Attempted access on the wrong SC
Poor voice quality /low data

throughput
•Increase in downlink BLER
Dropped calls
Increased UL Interference
•Other cell dropped calls
•Reduced capacity
Issues such as this have created a demand for software

developers and/or system engineers to begin researching
and developing better and simpler methods of tackling the
issues associated with neighbor list tuning, which
continues to grow today. The demand for “automated
neighbor list planning tools” equates nicely to the demand
that drove the development of “automatic frequency
planning tools” when FDD systems began to grow at a rate
that conventional planning methods could not address.
The key action here is proper neighbor list tuning. Since, if
the initial neighbor list plan has inherent flaws designed
into it, drive testing and network-based statistics will be
utilized to continuously tune a cell’s neighbor list.
37
Summary
• WCDMA cell coverage is uplink-limited, however, most
problems are a result of the downlink coverage.
• Coverage optimization is mostly about controlling downlink
(over-) propagation:
– Minimizing pollution, and
– Maximizing server dominance
• Good RF control and thorough NL validation are the keys to
ensuring a proper NL design.
• NLs must be complete first, then optimized for efficiency
and performance.
• Historical system usage data is the key to achieving an
optimal NL design and ensuring long-term maintenance.
38
Review Questions
1. Which of the RF measurements is used by the UE to
trigger handover events?
2. Which of the RF measurements is used to measure signal
quality in WCDMA network?
3. What is meant by “Right Coverage” ?
4. What is pilot pollution? What is the impact of it on
network performance?
5. What are the inputs considered while creating initial
neighbor list for a cell?
6. How incorrect neighbor list tuning impacts on network
performance?
39
40
3 | Access Performance
Chapter 3:
Access Performance
41
Objectives
• Explain the call setup process
• Describe the random access procedure
• Analyze the parameters that affect access
performance
• Define access success and failure
• Explain the modes of failure for access
• Describe the methods of resolving access issues
42
WCDMA Access Performance

• Maximize the access success rate
Objectives • Minimize call setup time
• Minimize uplink interference (secondary)
• System statistics (mature network)

Inputs • Mobile Drive Test data – short calls
(Greenfield)
• Characterize failures
Tasks • Identify performance impacting
parameters
As with other radio network technologies, the objectives

for WCDMA access performance are to reliably set up calls
as quickly as possible. Since there is a single frequency
shared by all users, estimation of the initial UE transmit
power must be optimized in order to minimize the impact
to other users in the system.
The task of the performance and optimization engineer is
to identify the causes for WCDMA access failures and
identify an action plan to resolve them.
43
2 Stages of Call Setup

1 - RRC • RACH Procedure
Connection • Assignment to a Dedicated Channel (DCH) for
carrying Signaling Radio Bearers(SRBs)
Setup
Call Setup (Accessibility Phase)

• Radio Access Bearer Setup to carry speech (AMR
2 - RAB 12.2/5.9 kbps) on the above DCH
Setup • NAS Signaling - Alerting, Connect, Connect ACK
Retainability Phase
Call • Release the Dedicated Resources

Completion
There are two distinct stages of call setup one should First, the UE is assigned an appropriate Radio Access
consider when studying WCDMA access performance – Bearer to carry the service being setup. In our examples,
also referred to as the Accessibility Phase: this service is speech using the AMR vocoder. Second is
the NAS signaling [Alerting, Connect, Connect Ack] to
• RRC Connection Setup
finish the call setup.
• Radio Access Bearer (RAB) Setup
Retainability Phase starts after the successful setup of the
In the first stage, the UE is taken from idle mode, through RAB i.e. completion of Accessibility Phase. Any call failures
the random access process to assignment of an RRC in the Retainability Phase are referred to as dropped calls
connection to establish 4 Signaling Radio Bearers i.e. calls complete through an abnormal release.
(SRBs)for AS ands NAS signaling. For the examples and
case studies in this module, it is assumed that the UE is
placed in Cell_DCH state at the close of this stage of the
call setup. Referring to the earlier call flow diagram, the
first stage begins with RRC Connection Request and ends
with the UE sending an RRC Connection Setup Complete.
At this point, the UE is on the dedicated physical channel
and has been assigned 4 SRBs to carry out the remainder
of the call setup.
In the second stage of the call setup, beyond
authentication and security, there are two key steps that
take place.
44
Random Access
Process and
Parameters
45
RACH Overview
• Minimize the chance of collision with
other UEs trying to access the network
• Provide enough coverage to insure that
Goals the RACH can be sent from all coverage
areas of the cell
• Minimize transmitted power to reduce
interference to all other UEs
• Instead of sending the whole message,

send a test or preamble
• Wait for answer from the Node B
Approach • If no answer from the Node B, increase
the power
• Try and try until you succeed or time out
We now take a more detailed look at the first stage of call The goal, then, of this process is to minimize the chance
setup: the random access process. The UE starts the call of collision and minimize the initial UE transmit power so
setup in the idle mode. As with all WCDMA operations, the that interference to other UEs is reduced. Both of these
UE must first establish an RRC Connection before any goals are in place to increase the reliability of the process
service can be initiated. and to shorten the call setup time.
The UE utilizes the uplink Random Access Channel (RACH)
to begin this process. There are several facts that must be
understood when looking at the goals of the RACH
process:
• The uplink PRACH/RACH is a shared medium that
may encounter contention during multiple users’
access attempts;
• All UEs transmit on the same uplink WCDMA channel
and therefore interfere with each other; and
• Each UE must estimate the amount of power to use
on the access attempt since no feedback from the
Node B exists as it does on a dedicated channel.
46
RACH Procedure
Power powerOffsetPpm
powerRampStep (UL-CCCH) Sent by UE

RRC after AICH
Connection ACK received
Request
Time
Preamble Preamble Preamble N = preambleRetransMax
1 2 3 (Max number of preamble Txs allowed)
One Preamble Cycle, repeat mMax times
One RRC RACH attempt, repeat N300 times

• Initial UE Transmit Power = primaryCPICHpower – CPICH_RSCP +
UL_interference + constantValueCprach
• Initial UE Tx Power determined prior to each preamble cycle
• Number of Preamble Cycles dictated by mMax
• Power for RRC Connection Request based on last preamble power +
powerOffsetPpm Award Solutions Proprietary
When an Idle UE requires an RRC connection, the UE’s If an Acknowledgement (ACK) to this preamble is received
RRC Layer will initiate the RRC Connection procedure, on the Acquisition Indication Channel (AICH), the UE will
indicating a message needs to be sent on the RACH. In transmit the RRC Connection Request message. The
order to minimize uplink interference, and reduce power used to transmit the RRC message is determined
potential collisions with other UEs accessing the RACH, by adding the value powerOffsetPpm to power used by the
this procedure utilizes open-loop power control. The UE, last transmitted preamble.
prior to sending the RRC Connection Request, determines
However, if the transmitted preamble does not receive an
the initial transmit power through parameters broadcast
acknowledgement by the AICH channel, a second
via System Information messages, and measurements of
preamble will be sent with its power increased by the
that target cell’s pilot channel. The initial UE transmit
parameter powerRampStep. This process will continue
power is derived from the open-loop power control
until either an AICH acknowledgement is received, the
equation: Initial UE Transmit Power = primaryCPICHpower
maximum UE transmit power it reached, or the maximum
– CPICH_RSCP + UL_interference + constantValueCprach
number of transmitted preamble limit –
This equation estimates the minimum power required to preambleRetransMax - has be reached. At this point, one
close the uplink for the RRC Connection Request preamble cycle has be completed.
message. This is based on downlink path loss
After a random backoff time, the MAC Layer repeats this
(primaryCPICHpower – CPICH_RSCP), the uplink noise that
entire preamble cycle for a total of mMax cycles, thus
must be overcome (UL_interference), and the processing
completing one RRC RACH attempt.
gain due to spreading for the RRC message
(constantValueCprach). Once transmit power is If necessary, the RRC Layer will try a total of N300 times
determined, the UE’s Physical Layer will transmit a to have a successful RACH attempt, with T300 delay
preamble at this calculated power. between tries.
47
RACH Parameters
System
SIB 1 – NAS and Information
UE Timers SIB 7 - RTWP
UL Interference
N300 SIB 5 – Common
T300 Physical Channels
• Available Signatures
• Available Sub-channels
• primaryCPICH-TX-Power
• constantValueCprach
• powerRampStep
• powerOffsetPpm
• preambleRetransMax
• mMax
The parameters utilized by the UE Random Access

Procedure are read from transmitted message blocks
called System Information Blocks (SIBs). The UE reads
these messages while it is in the idle mode. The Random
Access parameters and their respective SIBs are as
follows:
SIB 1:
• N300 is an RRC-level parameters that defines how
many times the UE’s RRC Layer will repeat an
unsuccessful RRC RACH attempt. Note the total
number of RRC RACH attempts will be equal to N300
+ 1.
• T300 is an RRC-level parameter that defines the time
delay between repeated RRC RACH attempts.
48
RACH Parameters (Continued)

System
SIB 1 – NAS and Information
UE Timers SIB 7 - RTWP
UL Interference
N300 SIB 5 – Common
T300 Physical Channels
• Available Signatures
• Available Sub-channels
• primaryCPICH-TX-Power
• constantValueCprach
• powerRampStep
• powerOffsetPpm
• preambleRetransMax
• mMax
SIB 5 processing gain of the PRACH channel, due to

spreading.
• Available Signatures indicates which of the cell’s 16
preamble signatures are available for use by the UE. • preambleRetransmax is a Physical Layer parameter
The UE randomly selects an available preamble that defines the maximum number of preambles that
signature during the random access procedure. can be sent per preamble cycle.
• Available Sub-channels defines which of the cell’s 12 • mMax is a MAC Layer parameter that defines how
sub-channels are available for use by the UE. The UE many preamble cycles are allowed per RRC RACH.
randomly selects an available sub-channel during the
SIB 7
random access procedure. Sub-channels map to
specific PRACH access slots. • UL Interference is used by the open-loop power
control equation to overcome the uplink interference
• powerOffsetPpm is a Physical Layer parameter that
(RTWP) of the cell.
defines the additional power that is added to the AICH
acknowledged preamble power, when the RRC
message is transmitted.
• primaryCPICH-TX-Power is used by the open-loop
power control equation to determine the uplink path
loss that must be overcome.
• constantValueCprach is used by the open-loop power
control equation to provide an offset to the equations
results. This offset is used to account for the uplink
49
RACH Performance Strategy

Random Access Strategy
• Eliminate Failed RRC cases (no AICH) when UE does not reach max
transmit power (constantValueCprach, powerOffsetP0, and
preambleRetransMax)
• Get to power quickly (powerRampStep)
• Initial RRC Connection Request > last transmitted preamble
(powerOffsetPpm)
• Revisit when network becomes loaded
Random Access Parameters

• Preamble_Initial_Power = Primary CPICH TX power – CPICH_RSCP +
UL interference + ConstantValueCprach
Given that the RACH channel is contention-based,

sufficient attempts should be configured so that the
attempt does not fail for this reason. Secondly, the full
capabilities of the UE should be utilized to achieve
success. Specifically, configuration should allow the UE to
reach its maximum allowed transmit power so that the
attempt does not fall short. Finally, the call setup time
should be considered in this process, so the number of
attempts and the power steps should be configured such
that the overall setup time is minimized.
This strategy is defined so that access success is achieved
without great consideration for uplink interference. As the
network matures and the amount of traffic on the system
increases, the uplink interference levels and uplink
performance should be monitored to determine if the
access parameter set is having an adverse impact on the
performance of the system.
50
Improving RACH Success

How to Increase Dynamic
UE Dynamic Range
Range of the Preamble?
24dBm
• constantValueCprach?
– No - Noise Rise
Required
Transmit • powerRampStep?
Power – No - Noise Rise
Preamble
Dynamic
• preambleRetransMax?
UE Range Open PC
Equation – YES - If AICH received, the
-50dBm Result
remaining preambles are not
sent
Increase Dynamic Range of

Preamble
The dynamic range of a UE is defined by its minimum and To mitigate this problem, three possible parameter
maximum transmit power. The minimum is specified by changes are discussed:
3GPP to be -50 dBm, while the maximum is operator-
1. Increase the value of contantValueCprach (e.g., from -
specified and typically set to 24 dBm. Therefore, the
27 to -15 dB). While this option will solve the problem
dynamic range for a UE’s transmit power is typically 74
discussed, it is not recommended. By grossly
dB. On the other hand, the dynamic range of the random
offsetting the initial preamble transmit power, the
access procedure is defined by the product of the
result will be excessive system noise rise in most RF
preamble step size (powerRampStep) and the max
conditions.
number of preambles (preambleRetranMax). For example,
if powerRampStep = 2 dB, and preambleRetransMax = 2. Increasing the step size of the Preamble
15, the preamble dynamic range will be equal to 28 dB. (powerRampStep). While this option will increase the
This is far less than that of the UE’s dynamic range. preamble dynamic range, it will also result in
Therefore, it is imperative that the initial preamble increased preamble overshoot. Preamble overshoot is
transmit power, defined by the open-loop power control defined as the amount of power the preamble
equation, is reasonably accurate. exceeds the required transmit power. Because the
average preamble overshoot is equal to half the step
However, in very good RF conditions, it has been observed
size, increasing the step size would contribute to
that the initial preamble transmit power can be
increased interference in the cell.
underestimated. As illustrated in this slide, this can result
in all of the preambles being transmitted without obtaining
the required transmit power required to reach the Node B.
51
Improving RACH Success (continued)

How to Increase Dynamic
UE Dynamic Range
Range of the Preamble?
24dBm
• constantValueCprach?
– No - Noise Rise
Required
Transmit • powerRampStep?
Power – No - Noise Rise
Preamble
Dynamic
• preambleRetransMax?
UE Range Open PC
Equation – YES - If AICH received, the
-50dBm Result
remaining preambles are not
sent
Increase Dynamic Range of

Preamble
3. Increase the number of steps (preambleRetransMax).

This is the best option as it will increase the preamble
dynamic range, while minimizing the potential for
increased noise rise. Because the UE stops sending
preambles when it receives an AICH
acknowledgement, it is not required to send all the
preambles defined by preambleRetransMax.
Therefore, the UE will only utilize this increased
number of preambles when RF conditions require it.
Under typical RF conditions, the max number of
preambles defined by preambleRetransMax will never
be reached.
52
Lack of Evidence
Why
won’t my
Great news,
Our network
call go
indicates no through?
failures. Random Access
Failures
Network access issues are among the most problematic to

debug, because they are often characterized by an
absence of information. Due to the failure in the Random
Access Procedure, the UE may never be heard by the cell.
Therefore, no counter is available to log this condition (the
Node B doesn’t know it didn’t hear something).
Many maladies that affect access performance also affect
other performance indicators (dropped calls, throughput),
so fixing those first (they sometimes have more obvious
clues) sometimes alleviates the access problems as well.
53
Access Failure
Scenarios
54
Access Failure Examples

• Inability to establish an RRC connection
– RACH process failure
– UE uplink Tx power limit
– Open-loop power control parameters
• DCH drops prior to call establishment
– No dominant server
– Configuration issues (e.g., neighbor list)
– Interference
– CN issue
Given the two stages of call setup, several possible causes

for failure emerge. During the first stage, the RRC
Connection Setup process could fail simply due to the UE
transmit power being insufficient to close the uplink.
Collisions and an insufficient number of attempts could
result in failures as well. The role of the downlink must
also be considered when looking at the access
performance. The AICH power level can affect the
reliability of the UE’s reception of ACKs. Interference
levels on the downlink can cause failures to receive either
the AICH or the FACH (S-CCPCH).
In the second stage of call setup, access failures, while on
the DCH, could be the result of a variety of factors such as
high interference, no dominant server, or neighbor list
issues. During the initial stages of call setup, the UE is
highly susceptible to interference. This is because the UE
cannot be immediately set up in soft handover.
55
What Should We Look For?

• Accessing the network
– RACH results – are we near any limits?
• UE transmit power (coverage, RTWP)
• Cell selection (NL issue)
• Random access parameters
– RRC setup statistics
• Admission control
• Core network issues
• UTRAN issues
– Admission control (RAB failures)
– RF environment
• After the DCH is set up…………it’s just a Dropped Call
In order to troubleshoot and optimize accessibility issues, synchronization, a drop will occur. If this drop occurs
it is critical that the engineer understands where issues before the defined KPI threshold for a successful access
may arise as the call is set up. (e.g., Radio Bearer Setup Complete), it may be pegged as
an access failure. Regardless, the RF engineer must be
During random access, it is imperative that the UE has the
able to recognize this type of access failure as a drop, and
ability to close the uplink. This may not be possible due to
treat it as such.
RF conditions (e.g., lack of coverage), or excessive UL
noise impairing the target cell. In addition, access issues
are likely to occur if the UE is not accessing the correct
cell. Incorrect neighbor lists, pilot pollution, and
overshooting cells can lead to the UE being camped on
the wrong cell.
Once an RRC connection is established, and the UE
continues the call setup process, core network issues and
resource contention may prevent the call from being set
up. These sort of issues are typically easy to identify with
counters and network traces.
Finally, good RF coverage and a well-tuned neighbor list
will improve the likelihood of a successful call setup. Once
the UE has established a dedicated channel, it can use
soft handover and power control to mitigate interference.
However, if both the UE and network cannot maintain
56
Summary
• Access process is divided into two stages:
– RRC connection setup and
– Call completion on DCH.
• A variety of factors can affect access performance
including:
– Random access,
– Admission control,
– Core network issues, and
– Uplink and downlink coverage (interference, incorrect
neighbor lists).
• Recognize the difference between an access failure and a
drop.
57
Review Questions
1. If network statistics data show RRC connection setup
success rate as 100 percent and RAB setup success rate
as 92 percent, which of the KPIs are affected by this?
2. What RACH parameters you prefer to change to increase
preamble dynamic range?
3. What could be the impact if you set N300 counter
(maximum number of retransmissions of RRC Connection
Request message) to maximum value?
4. What could be the reasons for DCH drops prior to call
establishment?
58
Additional Charts
59
Using Network Statistics

Level 1 KPI Indicates Cell Trend indicates
Accessibility Issue Accessibility Issue
Identify Cell
Alarms Level 2 CN Network Tools

e.g., Issue Counters Issues - NL Tool
- Cell Traces
- Network Analyzer
Admission Parameter RF
Issues Issues Issues NL Issue
Drive Test
Network statistics are of great help when optimizing

access in mature networks. When a cell has been
identified as having access-related problems, cell
hardware and CN issues should be investigated. If these
are ruled out, Level 2 engineering counters, as well as
other network tools, can be used to determine the root of
the problem. When RF issues are detected, a drive test
and further RF optimization may be required.
60
4 | Dropped Calls and Call Quality
Chapter 4:
Dropped Calls
and Call Quality
61
Objectives
After completing this module, you will be able
to:
• Understand factors that can cause dropped calls
• Illustrate the modes of failure and outline the
methods of resolving dropped calls
• Summarize the value of the Layer 3 UE
Measurement Reports from RRC messages
• Describe DL BLER for voice calls
62
WCDMA Dropped Call Performance
• Maximize call retention

Objectives • Balance resource utilization with
retainability
• System statistics (mature network)

Inputs • Mobile Drive Test data – long calls
(Greenfield)
• Characterize failures
Tasks • Identify performance-impacting
parameters and actions to resolve drops
Similar to the goals of access performance in which

setting up a call reliably is the objective, the goal here is to
keep the established call on the air. The secondary goal of
managing call drops is to do so while minimizing the cost
to network resources. This cost to network resources is
defined in terms of downlink power allocation and OVSF
code allocation. As with many aspects of WCDMA
performance, the final decisions include tradeoffs
between call quality and reliability and the competing
need to conserve network capacity.
Particularly in new deployments, determining the root
cause of dropped calls typically requires drive testing with
long calls and performing root cause analysis of each
individual failure. On more mature (loaded) networks, OSS
logs can provide a wealth of information identifying (or at
minimum providing clues to) the root causes.
63
OSS Stat Analysis

• Comprehensive range of tools available from both
vendors and third parties.
– Performance Counters
– Key Parameter Indicators (KPIs)
– Call Failures analysis and event reporting
• These tools are capable (to varying
degrees) of being used to analyze
and identify the dropped call
causes being discussed in the
remainder of this chapter.
Until relatively recently, only per-sector counters were

available to help diagnose dropped calls. Today, from
both equipment vendors and 3rd party providers, there are
a number of tools which allow for a much more robust
analysis to take place. Individual counters and
comprehensive KPIs provide a wealth of information on
performance issues.
Per-call statistics give a wealth of information regarding
what was happening to the call prior to the drop event.
High-runner element failures can identify if particular
nodes in the network (be it NodeB, antenna, or UE,
amongst others) are more prone to failure. And also, (to
varying degrees) failures are now being geo-located, so
that seemingly disparate events may have some
correlation to a specific place (be it an intersection, mall or
elsewhere).
These tools generally use OSS customer data, and as such
have a high statistical significance, and have the added
benefit of being both quicker and cheaper than drive
testing.
64
Dropped Call Causes
65
Causes of Drop Calls

• From the user point of view, a dropped call is more annoying
than a blocked call.
– Voice Drops: Easily perceptible by user
– Data Drops: Generally hidden from user
• Several factors can cause a drop call:
– Interference
• Incorrect Neighbor Configuration and Pilot Pollution
– Coverage
• Max Power (UL and DL)
– Soft Handover Restricted
• Fades and Obstructions
• Lack of Resources in Target Cell
• Each of these factors result in loss of synchronization.
– Every vendor has a proprietary method of declaring loss of synch
It is generally understood that users are more aggravated

by dropping an existing call than by having a new call fail
to connect. And among drops, a voice-call drop is
significantly more annoying than a data-call drop. With
data calls, the ability to re-establish automatically, and
continue the data transfer usually happens without any
knowledge of the user. This chapter focuses on voice
drops. Data performance will be discussed in much
greater detail in subsequent chapters.
There are multiple causes for a call to drop (discussed in
this chapter), but they all share a common end: the loss of
synchronization between the UE and Node B impacting
either or both uplink and downlink connections. The
algorithm for the declaration of loss of synchronization is
vendor specific.
66
Uplink and Downlink

Synch
67
Downlink BLER
• Quality Target set for
– Signaling Radio Bearer
– Each of the 3 AMR 12.2 Transport Channels
• BLER Reports from UE
– Signaling Radio Bearer
– First (A-bits) of the 3 speech Transport Channels
0.1*QualityTarget = LOG10(DesiredBLER)
If 2% is desired, Configure -17

10(-1.7) = 0.02 BLER Capacity
The downlink BLER target is signaled to the UE for the

purpose of outer loop power control. Each of the
configured DCHs has a BLER target. Note that the UE
must track the outer loop to the lowest or most stringent
BLER target. The slide shows the conversion from signaled
value to the equivalent percentage value.
Ultimately, retainability can be affected by the BLER
target. Setting a lower than needed BLER target will
allocate more power to a radio link, thus improving the
quality, and the likelihood of retaining the call. However,
setting a BLER target too aggressively (too low) will result
in reduced capacity. The engineer needs to balance
retainability and quality with network capacity.
68
Loss of Synchronization
• Dropped Calls
– At the physical layer, a dropped call is due to one
of two things
• Loss of UL Synchronization of all active set links
– Node B informs RNC which then starts the process of
removing radio links
• Loss of DL Synchronization
– UE releases the radio links and starts cell reselection
process and inform RNC of the failure
Ultimately, a dropped call is the result of the lost Understanding these mechanisms of a dropped call will
synchronization of physical frames in either the uplink or aid the engineer in quickly identifying if a drop was caused
downlink. by an uplink or downlink issue.
In the case of the former, the Node B monitors the
synchronization status of the UL radio link, and
communicates this status to the RNC. If all the radio links
in the active set lose synchronization, the RNC will initiate
a IU Release Request with the core network, which will
lead to a network initiated release of the call.
In the case of downlink synchronization, the UE monitors
the downlink physical frame’s synchronization status. In
the cases of the a UE in soft handover, all radio links are
combined in the rake receiver. Therefore, the
synchronization status of the combined downlink radio
frames are monitored. If synchronization is lost, the UE
will release the call and start cell reselection process.
Once the UE has reselected successfully to a cell, it will
notify the network of the release with a “Cell Update”
message indicating a “radio link failure.”
69
UL RL Synchronization - I
• Radio Link Failure Indication
– The Node B checks the synchronization status of every 10 ms frame
– If N_OUTSYNC_IND consecutive “out of synch” indications are
received, timer T_RLFAILURE is started
– If N_INSYNC_IND consecutive “in synch” indications are received,
before T_RLFAILURE has expired, the timer is reset and the RL
remains in the in synch state
– If the timer expires, the Node B will put the RL in the “out-of-synch”
state and send a Radio Link Failure Indication message to the RNC
via the NBAP.
UL Frames Frame 1 Frame 2 Frame 3 Frame 4 Frame N
    
The Node B monitors the synchronization status of every

10 msec frame. If N_OUTSYNC_IND consecutive out-of-
sync frames are detected, timer T_RLFAILURE is started.
While this timer is counting, the Node B continues to
monitor the synchronization status of the received frames.
If N_INSYNC_IND consecutive in-sync frames are
detected, timer T_RLFAILURE is reset. However, if the
timer expires, the Node B will put the radio link in the “out-
of-synch” state and send the RNC a Radio Link Failure
Indication message.
Note that N_OUTSYNC_IND, N_INSYNC_IND, and
T_RLFAILURE are 3GPP terms (ref. TS 25.214) and may
differ from the names used by the UTRAN vendor.
70
UL RL Synchronization - II
• Radio Link Failure
– When the RNC receives a Radio Link Failure Indication
message, a timer will be started to allow for RL
resynchronization
• If Active Set > 1
– If timer expires, RNC may use Active Set Update to delete RL
• If Active Set = 1
– If timer expires, RNC sends an Iu Release Request message to the
CN and the call is released
• Radio Link Restore
– If the RNC receives a Radio Link Restore Indication
before the timer has expired, the RL will not be deleted.
• The Node B sends a Radio Link Restore Indication when
N_InSync_Ind consecutive “in synch” indications are received
after the RL has been put into the “out of synch” state
If the RNC receives a Radio Link Failure Indication

message, a timer will be started to allow for RL
resynchronization. The length of this timer may differ
based on the number of radio links in the active set (this is
vendor-specific). If the active set is greater than one, and
the timer expires, the RNC will release the out-of-sync
radio link via an Active Set Update message. However, if
the active set is equal to one (or all other links have
already been released due to sync issues), and the timer
expires, the RNC will send an Iu Release Request
message to the CN and the call released.
This synchronization process does allow for
resynchronization of the radio link. After the Node B sends
the Radio Link Failure Indication message, it continues to
monitor the synchronization state of the radio link. If
N_INSYNC_IND consecutive in-sync frames are detected,
the Node B will put the radio link in the “in-synch” state
and send the RNC a Radio Link Restore Indication
message. If this message is received by the RNC before
the RNC timer expires, the timer will be reset and the
resynchronized radio link will not be released.
71
DL RL Synchronization
• DL Radio Link Failure
– The UE RRC confirms DL RL Synch of every 10-ms frame of the
DPCCH
– If N313 consecutive “out of synch” indications are received, timer
T313 is started
– If N315 consecutive “in synch” indications are received, before
timer T313 has expired, the timer is reset and the RL remains in the
in synch state
– If T313 expires prior to receiving N315 consecutive “in synch”
indications, a Radio Link Failure will have occurred.
– When an RL failure occurs:
• Clear the dedicated physical channel configuration
• Send cell update with cause “radio link failure”
DL Frames Frame 1 Frame 2 Frame 3 Frame 4 Frame N
    
The UE monitors the synchronization status of every 10

msec frame. If N313 consecutive out-of-sync frames are
detected, timer T313 is started. While this timer is
counting, the UE continues to monitor the synchronization
status of the received frames. If N315 consecutive in-sync
frames are detected, timer T313 is reset. However, if the
timer expires, a radio link failure will have occurred and
the UE will release the call.
Once the UE has selected/reselected successfully to a
cell, it will notify the network of the release with a Cell
Update message indicating a “radio link failure.”
72
The Measurement Report is your friend!
• The RRC Layer 3 Measurement Report is one

of the most useful tools for investigating
dropped calls.
Measurement Reports provide

useful RF information:
− Event1a/b/c/d reports
− Event 2d & 2f reports
− Event 1e & 1f reports
− BLER reports
− UE Power Headroom reports
− UE synchronization reports
The “Measurement Report”

Detective!
The Measurement Report message contains the view of

the RF conditions as reported by the UE. This information
is invaluable to RF Engineers debugging dropped call
issues. A view of surrounding sites as well as the relative
quality of each signal can help paint a clearer picture of
the issues facing the UE. Whether this data is analyzed
from a drive-test collection (small sample size, but lots of
other corroborating evidence), or taken from OSS stats
over a longer period of time (huge sample size), both
methods can indicate conditions which led to the dropped
call.
73
Dropped Call
Scenarios
74
Call Drop Causes
Interference
• Incorrect Coverage
Neighbor
Configuration • Max Power
Soft Handover
• Pilot Pollution (UL and DL) Restricted
• Fades
• Obstructions
Typically, a dropped call is due to the fact that maximum

power was allocated, and it was not enough to overcome
the path loss, or interference, to maintain synchronization.
Interference can be the result of pilot pollution and
missing neighbors. Obviously, lack of coverage will result
in a synchronization issue, both in the uplink and
downlink. Finally, conservative soft handover parameters
may result in dropped calls.
75
Interference Drops - I
Incorrect Neighbor Configurations:
Cell 3
Cell 1 Cell 2
Cell 2 is not in the NL

of Cell 1 or Cell 3, and
thus is an interferer.
Incorrect (missing) neighbor configurations are a common

ailment, particularly since neighbor lists are one of the
most frequently modified configuration settings. Simple
oversights (forgetting to add a known neighbor) or
statistical anomalies (having a site out of service during
the data-collection period) can be common causes. Since
the missing Scrambling Code is not in the monitored set, it
is not able to be added to the active set. And, equally
troublesome, since the detected set is not scanned by the
UE as frequently, it may not even be reported to the
network before the call dies.
Another flavor of neighbor-related drops is IRAT. The target
cell may be misconfigured, or the handoff location my
occur in an area where the target serves the call even
worse than the previous source cell.
76
Interference Drops - II
Pilot Pollution:
Pilot pollution drops have essentially the same signature

as a plain interference drop, except that the ultimate
solution is not to simply add in the “missing” neighbor
(although, that may work as a temporary measure), but
rather to remove the excess signals from the offended
area. This has two potential benefits. First, it reduces the
interference in the area. Second, it frees up the power
from the “polluting” site to better serve areas that it was
intended to cover.
77
Coverage Drops
Max power allocated:
UE inside
building
Far away UE
High Path Loss

due to Distance
High Path Loss due to
Penetration
Coverage drops are found at both edge-of network areas

where the RF signal has significantly faded and in interior
areas where the signal does not propagate well. In each
case, the BLER target may not be achievable due to railing
on the upper limits of power (either in the uplink or the
downlink). The BLER continues to increase, and the radio
link eventually fails.
78
Soft Handover Failures - I

• Parameters set to reduce Soft Handover
(SHO) opportunities
Cell 2
Cell 1
The UE is served by Cell 1, and
would benefit from SHO with Cell
2, but the network won’t allow it
In an effort to increase capacity by reducing Soft Handover

(SHO), it is possible that parameters may be set such that
it is unreasonably difficult for new cells to enter into the
active set (e.g. setting the e1a parameters too
aggressively for SHO to occur). Doing so may hamper the
UE from using needed signals, particularly in a rapidly
changing RF environment.
One method of parameter-induced failure, the intentional
restriction of the size of the active set, is often
encountered because it has a side benefit of increasing
capacity by freeing up resources on the sites which are
disallowed for active set entry. Now however, the network
is hamstrung from allowing the UE to constructively use
these links in times of need.
79
Soft Handover Failures - II

• Slow Handover – the inability to add a
member to the active set quickly enough
Cell 2 Coverage of
Cell 2
Neighbor Cell 2 quickly becomes

dominant and can result in drop
because of slow SHO or the
interference from cell 2 is too high
for cell 1 to successfully send the
command for SHO to the UE
Cell 1
A special case of soft handover failure is “Slow Handover.”

This is not generally a phenomenon associated with
intentionally setting the parameters to reduce handover,
but rather a symptom of RF propagation in a cluttered
environment. Usually observed in dense urban situations,
for example when a user turns his car at a busy downtown
intersection. A site (which is in the neighbor list of the
serving sector) suddenly appears, at a high strength
(whereas it was practically invisible before). Until the
network allows this “interferer” into the active set, it has
the potential to kill the call. Because the handover
doesn’t happen fast enough, it is known as a “slow
handover”.
80
Summary
• RF-related drops are due to interference, which
results in loss of either UL synchronization or
DL synchronization.
• Loss of UL or DL synchronization can result in
the inability to exchange L3 messages including
active set updates, radio bearer
reconfigurations, etc.
• Interference may be caused by RF coverage
holes (excessive path loss), pilot pollution
and/or missing neighbors.
81
Review Questions
1. What are the possible reasons for call drop?
2. What is meant by ”Missing Neighbor?” How does this
impact call drop rate?
3. How do soft handover parameter settings impact the call
drop rate?
82
Additional Charts
83
Using Network Statistics

Level 1 KPI Indicates Cell Trend indicates Dropped
Dropped Call Issue Call Issue
Identify Cell
Alarms Level 2 CN Network Tools

e.g., Issue Counters Issues - NL Tool
- Cell Traces
- Network Analyzer
Admission Parameter RF
• Neighbor List
Issues Issues Issues NL Issue Tuning
• Coverage Constraints • IRAT
• Capacity • Neighbor List
• Pilot Pollution configuration
Congestion Tuning
• Broken/Weathered • Slow SHO
• Coverage • IRAT Drive Test
Constraints configuration antenna
• Specific UE performance
Network statistics are of great help when optimizing drops

in mature networks. When a cell has been identified as
having drop related problems, cell hardware and CN
issues should be investigated. If these are ruled out,
Level 2 Engineering counters, as well as other network
tools can be to determine the root of the problem. When
RF issues are detected, a drive test and further RF
optimization may be required.
84
Putting it all Together

Use OSS tools to observe the various dropped call
causes through the lenses of different dimensions.
Understanding the various modes of failure is only part of

the solution. The evolution of tools (both via the
infrastructure vendor, and via 3rd parties) has also allowed
for dimensioning these failures in a number of different
ways. Looking at the causes (for example) in terms of the
total number affected subscribers is often illustrative. If
only a handful of subscribers are affected, the method of
correction may be vastly different than if the failures are
evenly distributed throughout the customer base. If (for
example) the failures are clustered in time, then the
method of correction may be different than if they were
spread out evenly.
In general, it is no longer merely a matter of counting
failures per Node B, but using the data-mining techniques
available to better pinpoint trends in the data.
85
86
5 | Inter-Frequency and Inter-RAT Performance
Chapter 5:
Inter-Frequency
and Inter-RAT
Performance
87
Objectives
• Describe the different scenarios, parameters and
setting options associated with idle-mode
reselection
• Analyze the configurations, triggers and parameters
used for inter-frequency and inter-RAT connected-
mode handovers
• Illustrate the options, benefits and concerns for
inter-frequency and inter-RAT UE device
measurements
• Define the signaling messages used to execute and
analyze the performance of IFHO and IRAT
handovers Award Solutions Proprietary
88
Idle-Mode Cell
Reselection
89
General Reselection Process

 Meet minimum CPICH criteria
Camped
 No need to measure neighbors
Normally
 CPICH of serving cell drops below

minimum threshold; multiple thresholds
When to Start
Measure
are defined for intra-freq, inter-freq and
Taking Measurements Neighbor iRAT cell measurements
Cell  Measure neighbor types
Reselect  Rank neighbors that meet minimum

criteria
When to Reselect To New
 Reselect to best ranked neighbor cell
Cell
The general three-step reselection process is basically the

same for intra, inter, or IRAT reselection.
1. An Idle mode UE camped on a UMTS cell is not
required to measure neighbors if its CPICH signal
strength meets a minimum configurable threshold.
2. If the CPICH of the serving cell drops below this
configurable threshold, the UE begins measuring
neighbor cells. Multiple thresholds are defined for
when to start measuring intra-frequency cells, inter-
frequency cells and GSM (iRAT) cells.
3. Rank all target neighbor cells that meet a minimum
criteria (typically better signal strength that the
serving cell). The UE will reselect to the best ranked
cell.
90
Initiating Reselection
Measurements (CPICH Ec/No)
WCDMA f1 and f2
CPICH Ec/No (dB)
Measurements
-8 dB
Sintrasearch=10 dB
-10 dB
Sintersearch=8 dB
-14 dB
SsearchRAT=4 dB
Qqualmin = -18 dB
t (sec)
WCDMA WCDMA and GSM WCDMA

Only measure Measurements Measurements Measurements
camped-on cell
When to Start Taking Measurements
Under good RF conditions, it is not necessary for the UE to • SsearchRAT: 4 dB

be constantly measuring neighbor cells. However, as RF
When the CPICH Ec/No of the serving cell drops below -8
conditions deteriorate, the UE must begin measuring
dB (Qqualmin + Sintrasearch), the UE will begin measuring intra-
neighbors as potential reselection candidates.
frequency neighbors. If the CPICH Ec/No continues to drop
In most networks, there are three options available for below -10 dB (Qqualmin + Sintersearch), the UE also begins to
reselection. Two of these options involve intra- or inter- measure any inter-frequency neighbors. It is important to
frequency reselections within UMTS, while the third option note that, under this condition, the UE will continue to
is a UMTS-to-GSM reselection. measure intra-frequency neighbors. Finally, if the CPICH
Ec/No drops below -14 dB (Qqualmin + SsearchRAT), the UE
The parameters Sintrasearch, Sintersearch, and SsearchRAT are
begins measuring GSM neighbors.
offsets that define the thresholds at which measurements
will begin for intra, inter, and IRAT neighbors, respectively. If the Ec/No of the current pilot returns to -14 dB or better
These thresholds are set relative to the value Qqualmin, and prior to a reselection occurring, the UE will cease
are provided to the UE via the BCH in System Information measuring GSM neighbor candidates. Similarly, if the
Block (SIB) 3 or 4. signal strength continues to improve, inter and intra
neighbor measurements will end once their respective
As an example, the slide illustrates the reselection
thresholds are exceeded.
measurement thresholds based on the following
parametric values: It is important to note that if the parameter Sintrasearch is not
sent in SIB 3 or 4, the UE will continuously measure for
• Qqualmin: -18 dB
intra-frequency neighbors. The same is true for the
• Sintrasearch: 10 dB parameters Sintersearch and SsearchRAT.
• Sintersearch: 8 dB
91
Initiating Reselection
Measurements (CPICH RSCP)
CPICH RSCP (dBm)
SsearchHCS = 6 dBm
-109 dBm
-111 dBm
SHCS-RAT = 4 dBm
Qrxlevmin = -115 dBm t (sec)
WCDMA F2 WCDMA F2 and GSM WCDMA F2

Only measure Measurements Measurements Measurements
camped-on cell
The CPICH RSCP triggers for beginning neighbor cell If the CPICH RSCP drops further to below -111 dBm
measurements are similar to the Ec/No case, with one (Qrxlevmin + SHCS-RAT), the UE also begins to measure any
exception: intra-frequency measurements can not be GSM neighbors. If the RSCP of the current serving cell
triggered by RSCP, only Ec/No. Since comparing the Ec/No climbs above -111 dBm prior to a reselection occurring,
of two intra -frequency cells is exactly the same as the UE will stop measuring GSM neighbor candidates.
comparing their RSCPs, there is no need for an extra Furthermore, if the RSCP improves to a value better than -
trigger. 109 dBm, inter-frequency measurements will cease as
well.
The parameters SsearchHCS and SHCS-RAT are offsets that
define the thresholds at which the UE will begin measuring Note that the HCS search parameters are only supported
inter and IRAT neighbors respectively, relative to the value on release 5 devices or later. Prior to this, only CPICH
Qrxlevmin. Ec/No could be used to trigger cell reselections.
As an example, the slide illustrates these thresholds base
on the following parametric values:
• Qrxlevmin: -115 dBm
• SsearchHCS: 6 dBm
• SHCS-RAT: 4 dBm
As the CPICH RSCP of the serving cell drops below -109
dBm (Qrxlevmin + SsearchHCS), the UE will begin measuring
inter-frequency neighbors. This is true even if the serving
cell’s CPICH Ec/No is greater than Qqualmin + Sintersearch.
92
Inter-Freq Reselection
(F1 to F2 Example)
F2 CPICH Ec/No
(dB) F1 CPICH Ec/No
Treselection Qoffset2sn = 7 dB
Treselection
Qhys2s = 2 dB
Reselection to F2 Reselection to F2 t (sec)

If Qoffset2sn = 0 dB, If Qoffset2sn = 7dB,
Qhyst2sn = 2 dB Qhyst2sn= 2 dB
When to Reselect
Once neighbor measurements have begun, the target cell have a unique value for each neighbor relation. In this
must be ranked higher than the serving cell for a period manner, Qoffset can be used to bias reselection for a
of Treselection. The UE computes the ranking of the serving specific serving cell or neighbor relation. On the other
cell “s” as hand, Qhyst is simply a hysteresis value added to the
serving cell’s CPICH signal level. Qhyst is broadcast in SIB
Rs = Qmeas,s + Qhysts
3/4 and the same value is added to the CPICH signal level
The UE computes the ranking of the neighbor cell “n” as for all neighbor evaluations.
Rn = Qmeas,n − Qoffset ,s,n The network actually provides two sets of values. Qhyst1s
If multiple neighbor cells are ranked higher than the and Qoffset1sn are used for reselection based on CPICH
serving cell, the highest ranked cell will be selected. Since RSCP, while Qhyst2s and Qoffset2sn are used for reselection
the ranking of the serving and neighbor cells are based on based on CPICH Ec/No. If Qoffset is not broadcast in the
the parameters Qhyst and Qoffset, the value for these SIB, then a default value of 0 will be sued. In addition, if
parameters may be used to tune reselection for intra, Qhyst2s is not broadcast, the value of Qhyst1s is used.
inter, and IRAT target cells.
In the case of intra-frequency or inter-frequency, the Effectively the short message from this chart is:
CPICH signal level of the measured neighbor cell must
When the Ec/No of the target cell is better than the Ec/No
exceed the serving cell by (Qhyst + Qoffset) for a period of
of the camped-on cell by (Qhyst2s+Qoffset2sn) dB for at
Treselection. If these criteria is met, the UE performs a cell
least Treselection seconds, UE reselects to the target cell.
reselection operation and camps on the new cell.
Although it may appear that Qhyst and Qoffset serve the
same purpose, Qoffset is broadcast in SIB 11/12 and may
93
Inter-RAT Reselection
(UMTS to GSM Example)
Target GSM Cell RSSI
(dBm) WCDMA CPICH RSCP
Treselection Qoffset1sn = 7 dB
Treselection
Qhyst1s = 2 dB
Reselection to GSM Reselection to GSM t (sec)

If Qoffset1sn = 0 dB, If Qoffset1sn = 7dB,
Qhyst1s = 2 dB Qhyst1s = 2 dB
When to Reselect
Effectively the short message from this chart is:

When the RSSI of the target GSM cell is better than the
RSCP of the camped-on cell by (Qhyst1s+Qoffset1sn) dB
for at least Treselection seconds, UE reselects to the
target GSM cell.
94
Inter-Frequency Reselection
Cluster (Hot Spot) Overlay
Idle Mode f1B f1B f2A
Reselection:
Sintersearch 8 dB 8 dB 8 dB
Qhyst1 2 dB 2 dB 2 dB
Treselection 1 second 1 second 1 second
Neighbor List F2A F1A F1B
Qoffsets1,s,n 3 dB 2 dB 1 dB
f2 A
UEB
HSPA and R99
UEA f1 B f1 A
HSPA and R99 HSPA and R99
This slide illustrates how Qoffset1sn can be used to manage UEA would eventually perform an intra-frequency
reselection between inter-frequency cells. In this example, reselection to f1A based on a Qoffset1sn of 2 dB.
f2A is a second frequency cell, co-located with f1A. The
• Scenario 2: UEB moves, in idle mode, on f2A toward
coverage of the second carrier cell f2A is greater than its
the coverage area of cell B, supporting only carrier f1.
co-located cell f1A. This would be typical in a non-
UEB will now transition from a multi-carrier cell to a
contiguous second-carrier deployment of capacity, or
single-carrier cell. In order to ensure that UEB quickly
coverage sites. Since the second carrier cell is exposed to
reselects to f1B before its serving cell f2A becomes
less intra-frequency interference (both UL and DL), its
unusable, the parameter Qoffset1sn is set to a lower
coverage relative to f1A may be greater.
value of 1 dB. This configuration ensures that UEB is
Because of this difference in coverage, a reselection camped on a cell that has the RF coverage to support
strategy between f1 and f2 must be employed. In this a call if required. This is especially true if reselection
example, the value of Qoffset1sn is tuned per cell to achieve is based on Ec/No, which may inaccurately measure
the desired effect. A number of reselection scenarios are quality at the edge of f2A.
possible in this environment:
• Scenario 1: UEA moves, in idle mode, on f1B toward
the coverage area of cell A, supporting carriers f1 and
f2. UEA will now transition from a single-carrier cell to
a multi-carrier cell. In order to prevent UEA from
reselecting to f2A prematurely, the parameter Qoffset1sn
is set to a higher value of 3 dB. Alternatively,
reselection from f1B to f2A can be totally prevented by
simply omitting f2A as a neighbor of f1B. In this case,
95
GSM to UMTS
RSSI (dBm)
Qsearch_I
Qsearch_I = 7, Always
Search for 3G Cells
t (sec)
GSM WCDMA and GSM GSM
Measurements Measurements Measurements
While in GSM mode, the UE monitors the system Excerpt from 3GPP TS 45.008 regarding parameter
information to determine if UMTS cells exist and whether Qsearch_I:
they should be measured. The parameter Qsearch_I
Search for 3G cells if signal level is below (0 … 7) or above
specifies when to begin measuring UMTS neighbors. If the
(8 … 15) threshold
signal of the serving GSM cell drops below Qsearch_I (e.g.
-98 dBm for level 0), then the UE will begin searching for 0 = - 98 dBm, 1 = - 94 dBm, … ,
UMTS neighbor candidates. If the signal of the serving 6 = - 74 dBm, 7 = infinity (always)
GSM cell becomes equal to or better than Qsearch_I prior
to a reselection, the UE will stop measuring UMTS 8 = - 78 dBm, 9 = - 74 dBm, … ,
candidates. 14 = - 54 dBm, 15 = infinity (never).
Note that a value of Qsearch_I = 7 indicates that the UE Default value = infinity (never).
shall always search for a UMTS candidate, while the
default value of Qsearch_I (15) indicates that the UE shall
never search for a UMTS candidate. The Qsearch_I
parameter is transmitted in GSM System Information Type
2quater.
96
GSM to UMTS
(dBm) GSM RSSI
5 Seconds UMTS CPICH RSCP
FDD_Qoffset
Reselection to UMTS t (sec)
When to Reselect
The UE will perform a cell reselection from GSM to a UMTS reselection: 0 = - infinity (always select a cell if
neighbor cell if the following three criteria are met for a acceptable), 1 = -28 dB, 2 = -24 dB, … , 15 = 28 dB.
period of 5 seconds: Default value = 0 dB.
1. The RSCP of the measured UMTS cell exceeds that of Excerpt from 3GPP TS 45.008 regarding parameter
the GSM serving cell (and all suitable GSM neighbors) FDD_Qmin: A minimum threshold for Ec/No for UTRAN
by FDD_Qoffset, and FDD cell reselection, 0= -20dB, 1= -6dB, 2= -18dB, 3= -
8dB, 4= -16dB, 5= -10dB, 6= -14dB, 7= -12dB. Default
2. The UMTS cell’s measured Ec/No is greater than or
value= -12dB.
equal to the value (FDD_Qmin - FDD_Qmin_Offset),
and Excerpt from 3GPP TS 45.008 regarding parameter
FDD_Qmin_Qoffset: Applies an offset to FDD_Qmin value,
3. The UMTS cell’s measured RSCP value is equal to or
0 = 0 dB, 1 = 2 dB, 2 = 4 dB, 3 = 6 dB, 4 = 8 dB, 5 = 10
greater than FDD_RSCP_threshold, where
dB, 6 = 12 dB, 7 = 14 dB. Default value = 0 dB.
FDD_RSCP_threshold is equal to:
Excerpt from 3GPP TS 45.008 regarding parameter
• FDD_RSCPmin – min((P_MAX – 21 dBm), 3 dB) if
FDD_RSCPmin: A minimum threshold of RSCP for UTRAN
FDD_RSCPmin is broadcast on the serving cell,
FDD cell reselection, 0 = -114 dBm, 1 = -112 dBm, 2 = -
otherwise
110 dBm, 3 = -108 dBm, 4 = -106 dBm, 5 = -104 dBm, 6
• Qrxlevmin + Pcompensation + 10 dB, if these = -102 dBm, 7 = -100 dBm, 8 = -98 dBm, 9 = -96 dBm,
parameters are available, otherwise 10 = -94 dBm, 11 = -92 dBm, 12 = -90 dBm, 13 = -88
• the default value of FDD_RSCPmin dBm, 14 = -86 dBm, 15 = -84 dBm. Default value = -102
dBm.
Excerpt from 3GPP TS 45.008 regarding parameter
FDD_Qoffset: Applies an offset to RLA_C for cell
97
Review Questions
1. Name the parameters used by the UE to calculate the
threshold to begin inter-frequency neighbor measurement.
2. What are the parameters used by the UE to compute
serving cell rank?
3. What could be the impact on idle mode UE behavior if
Qhysts parameter is set to high value?
4. What are the parameters/measurements used by the UE
to reselect GSM cell?
5. State True or False. Qoffset is broadcast in SIB 11/12 and
may have a unique value for each neighbor cell.
98
IFHO and Inter-RAT

Connected Mode
Operations
99
Connected Mode - I
IRAT/IF Handover Stages
Monitor/Trigger
Measurements
Define NL
Measurements
Report
Measurements
Handover
Execution
In addition to optimizing idle-mode reselection, the next 3. Once the UE detects a candidate that meets the
phase of ensuring an optimally performing network is to minimum reporting criteria, this is reported to the
understand the procedures and methods used while in network.
the connected mode. Handover is used in cellular mobile
4. The network evaluates the measurement results from
systems to maintain connections as UEs move between
the UE, and confirms that resources are available in
the coverage areas of different cells. To facilitate the
the target cell. If this evaluation is successful, the
handover process, the network uses the UE to monitor the
target cell is prepared to receive the hard handover
signal strengths of both serving cells and potential
and the handover command is sent to the UE. At this
handover candidates.
point, the UE executes the hard handover.
Inter-frequency and inter-RAT handover typically involves
four stages:
1. The handover process begins with a monitoring stage
where the mobile measures the current signal
strength of the serving cell. If the signal strength of
the serving cell drops below a predefined threshold,
the UE will inform the network.
2. At this point, the UE is provided a list of either inter-
frequency or inter-RAT target cells with the
appropriate reporting criteria, and is configured to
make out-of-band measurements.
100
Connected Mode - II
UMTS DPCH Mobility Challenge
• COMPRESSED MODE (CM) – the mechanism by which the UE and the
UTRAN negotiate the time that must be taken away from data being
transmitted and received over the DPCH to permit tuning to a different
frequency or radio access technology for signal measurements
DPDCH DPCCH DPDCH DPCCH
Data 1 TPC TFCI Data 2 Pilot

UMTS DL DPCH DL DPCH
T = 2560 chips = 0.666.. ms
Frame Structure
Radio frame Slot 0 Slot 1 Slot i Slot 14
10 msec
UL DPCCH Pilot TFCI FBI TPC
UL DPCH
UL DPDCH Data bits UMTS UL DPCH
T = 2560 chips = 0.666.. ms Frame Structure
Radio frame Slot 0 Slot 1 Slot i Slot 14
10 msec
The UMTS DPCH has a number of challenges it must UMTS versus GSM with inter-frequency or inter-RAT
overcome in order to support mobility management, measurements is that (as the figure shows) the Dedicated
including: Physical Channel (DPCH) design does not support any
reserved bandwidth in the uplink or downlink to support
1. Since each neighboring cell in a UMTS system is
the time required to make these measurements. As a
typically operating on the same frequency as the
result, either the UE must be designed with two
serving cell, (or cells, in the case of soft handover),
independent receivers to support these measurements, or
the UE must perform intra-frequency measurements
a mechanism is required that enables a single-receiver UE
while still sending and receiving data on the Physical
to momentarily leave its serving carrier and take
Layer RF interface.
measurements.
2. As UMTS networks mature, additional carriers are
UMTS has adopted Compressed Mode (CM) as the means
needed to address capacity demands in high traffic
by which a more cost-effective single-receiver UMTS UE
areas. However, these new carriers may not be
could support the need for inter-frequency and IRAT
deployed everywhere, and may not be in the same
measurements. The compressed mode procedures are
frequency band, since not all areas require the
coordinated at the Physical Layer by the Node B and UE,
additional capacity or have the bandwidth for multiple
and are controlled via RRC signaling.
carriers.
3. UMTS must continue to support its legacy technology,
GSM.
In all of these cases, the UTRAN must be able to direct the
UE to tune to a different UMTS frequency or transition to
another Radio Access Technology (RAT). The challenge for
101
Connected Mode - III

Compressed Mode Procedure
•Forced “break” in transmission and reception (three slots) for performing
measurements, etc. Transmission gap (a few slots)
Increased
Power
Downlink
10 ms frame
•Increased transmit power during this period to keep quality (FER, BLER,
BER…) unaffected due to reduced processing gain
Transmission More Power
Increased
gap (a few slots)
Power
Uplink
10 ms frame
The general principle of the compressed mode is to allow

a “break” in the mobile’s current processing of frames, in
order to permit other activities (such as inter-frequency
measurements) to occur. Since quality targets (such as
BLER and voice quality) do not change during compressed
mode, the UE must compensate for the reduced
processing gain by temporarily increasing its output
power.
102
Compressed Mode Methods

• In general, compressed mode is enabled on both the
uplink and downlink.
• Uplink and downlink compressed mode gaps are
configured to occur at the same time.
• Methods:
a) Transmit the same data in less time: go from SF to SF/2
b) Don’t send data when the UE is taking a measurement
(Higher Layer Scheduling, or HLS)
Uplink and downlink compressed mode operations can be 2. Another option is to simply adjust the rate of
configured separately and independently of each other; information from the upper layer, as long as the QoS
however, most implementations enable uplink and constraints imposed by the connection are met. This
downlink compressed mode at the same time. The is referred to as Higher Layer Scheduling (HLS) and is
measurement gaps are always set to occur at the same preferred for non-delay-sensitive services, such as
time in both directions. interactive packet-switched data.
There are two methods of implementing compressed The choice of which scheme to use depends on the radio
mode, to allow time for measurements without network load, the UE’s capabilities, the spreading factor in
interrupting the active voice or data session: use, and the type of service.
1. The first method reduces the spreading factor from
SF to SF/2, thereby reducing the time needed to send
data in frame by 50 percent. Since fewer small SF
codes are defined, this method may not be usable in
every case; for example, if the UE is already using an
SF 8 code, an SF 4 code may not be available for
compressed mode operation.
103
IFHO and IRAT Triggers
104
Compressed Mode Triggers

T T
CPICH RSCP or Ec/No
(Hyst/2)
event 1e or 2f
event 1f or 2d
(Hyst/2)
Time
H: Hysteresis
T: Time-to-trigger event 1f or 2d Triggered event 1e or 2f triggered
There are several reporting events that can be used to In addition, events 6a, 6b and 6d may also be used to
start and stop compressed mode measurements, manage the compressed mode. These are triggered when
depending on the specific implementation of the RNC. In the UE transmit power exceeds a threshold, falls below a
particular, events 1f and 2d indicate that the current cell threshold, or reaches maximum power, respectively.
has fallen below a minimum acceptable level, while 1e
Which specific event reports are used to trigger
and 2f indicate that the cell has recovered. The Threshold,
compressed mode for a UE will depend on the vendors’
Hysteresis and Time-To-Trigger (T) parameter
implementation of their hard handover algorithms.
configurations are delivered to the UE via Measurement
However, it is important to understand that all 3GPP-
Control messages. The actual measurements may be
compliant devices must be capable of using any of these
based on CPICH RSCP, CPICH Ec/No, or both, depending
event reports in a UMTS network.
on the information in the Measurement Control message.
If the measurement drops below the (Threshold –
Hysteresis/2) level for the specified T interval, a
Measurement Report indicating that the corresponding
event (1f or 2d) has occurred will be sent to the RNC. This
will typically result in compressed mode being triggered.
If the measurement becomes equal to or better than
(Threshold + Hysteresis/2) for T, a (1e or 2f)
Measurement Report will be sent to the RNC resulting in
the compressed mode operation being canceled.
105
IFHO Call Flow (Event 2b)
UE Node B RNC CN
Includes UE capabilities
RRC Connection Setup Complete (e.g., IRAT, freq, CM, etc.)
Measurement Control e1f or e2d (Ec/No) thresholds
Measurement Control e1f or e2d (RSCP) thresholds
UE reports event has occurred

Measurement Report
Physical channel reconfigured
Physical Channel Reconfiguration to support CM measurements
Measurement Control IFHO NL and e2b threshold
sent
Measurement Report
UE reports e2b has occurred
Physical Channel Reconfiguration Physical channel reconfigured

to new frequency
The high-level call flow of a typical inter-frequency The event 2b thresholds define the minimum signal
handover is illustrated here. The first step in IFHO is the strength for both the serving cell and target neighbor cell
communication of the UE’s capabilities to the RNC. This required to initiate an IFHO.
includes, among other things, supported frequencies and
At this point, the UE begins evaluating IFHO neighbor cells.
the UE’s compressed-mode capability.
If a neighbor candidate meets the target cell event 2b
Assuming that the UE is capable of handling IFHO (or criteria, and the current cell is below the serving cell event
IRAT), it will be sent the event 2d and 2f parameters via a 2b criteria, the UE will send a Measurement Report to the
Measurement Control message. The UE uses these RNC indicating that event 2b has occurred.
parameters as reporting criteria while monitoring the
Upon receipt of an event 2d Measurement Report, the
signal strength of the serving UMTS cell. If the signal
RNC will confirm resource availability in the target cell and
strength of the serving cell drops below a threshold
configure a DCH in the target cell for the hard handover. At
(defined by the e1f or e2d parameters), a Measurement
this point, the RNC sends the UE a Physical Channel
Report indicating the event will be sent to the RNC.
Reconfiguration message instructing it to handover to the
After receiving the Measurement Report, the RNC will inter-frequency neighbor. The UE confirms a successful
send the UE a Physical Channel Reconfiguration message hard handover with a Physical Channel Reconfiguration
with compressed-mode-related parameters. After the UE Complete message.
has confirmed this message, it will be sent a
Measurement Control message containing a list of the
inter-frequency neighbors, the event 2b thresholds, and
instructions on when to activate the compressed mode.
106
Inter-Freq Reporting Event 2b

Measurement
Quality T
Serving Cell RSCP or Ec/No
Inter-Freq Neighbor
Thresh Used
Frequency
(H2b/2)
(H2b/2)
Thresh Non-Used
Frequency
H: Hysteresis Time
event 2b Triggered
T: Time-to-trigger
If the UMTS cell is configured to support IFHO, the If both cells simultaneously meet this criteria for the
Measurement Control message following the CM Physical defined Time-to-Trigger, a Measurement Report is sent to
Channel Reconfiguration procedure may contain the IFHO the RNC indicating an event 2b has occurred, identifying
Neighbor candidates (UARFCN, SC, etc.), and the event 2b the candidate cell that satisfied the non-used frequency
parameters. The event 2b parameters include Threshold event criteria.
Used Frequency (current UMTS cell), Threshold Non-Used
Frequency (target UMTS cell), Hysteresis, and Time-to-
Trigger (T).
Event 2b is triggered when the two following conditions
occur, for the defined T.
1. The UMTS serving cell’s Measurement Quantity
(CPICH RSCP or CPICH Ec/No) drops below the
threshold defined by (Threshold Used Frequency –
Hysteresis/2), and
2. the IFHO candidate pilot is greater than the threshold
defined by (Threshold Non-Used Frequency +
Hysteresis/2).
107
IFHO Call Flow (Periodical)
UE Node B RNC CN
Includes UE capabilities
RRC Connection Setup Complete (e.g., IRAT, freq, CM, etc.)
Measurement Control e1f or e2d (RSCP) thresholds

Radio Bearer Setup CM TGPS config. at RB setup
Measurement Report UE reports event has occurred
Measurement Control IFHO NL and periodical

reporting setup
Measurement Report
Measurement Report UE periodically reports
neighbor measurements
Measurement Report
RNC selects a target cell and
Radio Bearer Reconfiguration reconfigures the RB to the
new frequency
Some vendor implementations use Periodical Reporting,

as opposed to Event Reporting (e2b), to trigger IFHO. This
option is illustrated here.
Whether periodical or event reporting is used, the call flow
up to the reporting of the event is the same. After
receiving the Measurement Report, the RNC will send the
UE a Measurement Control message containing a list of
the inter-frequency neighbors, as well as parameters
related to periodical reporting.
At this point, the UE begins evaluating IFHO neighbor cells
and periodically reports neighbor measurement results to
the RNC. If a reported neighbor candidate meets the RNCs
IFHO criteria, the RNC will confirm resource availability in
the target cell and configure a DCH in the target cell for
the hard handover. At this point, the RNC sends the UE a
Radio Bearer Reconfiguration message instructing it to
handover to the inter-frequency neighbor. The UE confirms
a successful hard handover with a Radio Bearer
Reconfiguration Complete message.
108
IRAT Call Flow (Event 3a)
UE Node B RNC CN
Includes UE capabilities (e.g.,
RRC Connection Setup Complete IRAT, freq, CM, etc.)
Measurement Control e1f or e2d(Ec/No) thresholds
Same as IFHO
Measurement Control
e1f or e2d (RSCP) thresholds

Measurement Report
Physical channel reconfigured
Physical Channel Reconfiguration to support CM measurements
Measurement Control IRAT NL and e3a threshold

sent
Measurement Report UE reports e3a has occurred
UE signaled to handover to
Handover From UTRAN Command
GSM
The high-level call flow of a typical IRAT handover is shown handover. At this point, the RNC sends the UE a Handover
here. The initial steps of this process, up to the initial From UTRAN Command instructing it to handover to the
Physical Channel Reconfiguration for compressed mode, GSM neighbor. The RNC confirms a successful hard
are the same as the IFHO case. In both cases, event 1f or handover via CN signaling between the 2G and 3G
2d is used to trigger compressed mode. networks.
After the UE has confirmed the Physical Channel
Reconfiguration message, it will be sent a Measurement
Control message containing a list of the IRAT neighbors,
the event 3a thresholds, and instructions on when to
activate compressed mode. The event 3a thresholds
define the minimum signal strength for both the serving
cell and the target GSM cell required to initiate an IRAT.
At this point, the UE begins evaluating IRAT neighbor cells.
If a neighbor candidate meets the target cell event 3a
criteria, and the current cell is below the serving cell event
3a criteria, the UE will send a Measurement Report to the
RNC indicating that event 3a has occurred.
Upon receipt of an event 3a Measurement Report, the
RNC will initiate Core Network (CN) signaling that will
confirm resource availability in the target GSM cell and
configure a traffic channel in the target cell for the hard
109
Inter-RAT Reporting Event 3a

Measurement T
Quality Pilot RSCP or Ec/No
GSM BCCH
UMTS event 3a
(H3a/2)
GSM event 3a
H: Hysteresis Time
event 3a Triggered
T: Time-to-trigger
A UMTS cell will typically be configured to support IRAT or Assuming the BSIC verification of the GSM candidate is
IFHO. Once a UE has reported an event 1f or 2d, and the successful, a Measurement Report message is sent to the
radio bearer has reconfigured to support the compressed RNC indicating an event 3a has occurred, identifying the
mode, a Measurement Control message is sent to the UE. candidate GSM neighbor that has satisfied that part of the
It is at this point that an IRAT handover will differ from an event criteria.
inter-frequency handover. This example shows the IRAT
case.
The Measurement Control message contains the GSM
neighbor candidates (ARFCN, BCCH, and BSIC) and the
event 3a parameters. The event 3a parameters consist of
Threshold Own System (UMTS), Threshold Other System
(GSM), Hysteresis, and Time-to-Trigger (T).
Event 3a is triggered when the two following conditions
occur, for the defined T:
1. The UMTS serving cell’s Measurement Quantity
(CPICH RSCP or CPICH Ec/No) drops below the
threshold defined by (UMTS 3a Threshold –
Hysteresis/2), and
2. The GSM candidate BCCH is greater than the GSM 3a
Threshold.
110
IRAT Call Flow (Periodical)
UE Node B RNC CN
Includes UE capabilities (e.g.,
RRC Connection Setup Complete IRAT, freq, CM, etc.)
Same as IFHO
Measurement Control
e1f or e2d (RSCP) thresholds
Radio Bearer Setup CM TGPS config. at RB setup

Measurement Report
GSM neighbor list and
Measurement Control periodical reporting setup
Measurement Report
UE periodically reports
Measurement Report neighbor measurements
Measurement Report RNC selects a target cell and
Handover From UTRAN Command instructs UE to handover to
GSM
Some vendor implementations use Periodical Reporting,

as opposed to Event Reporting (e3a), to trigger IRAT. This
option is illustrated here.
Whether periodical or event reporting is used, the call flow
up to the reporting of event 1f or 2d is the same. After
receiving the Measurement Report, the RNC will send the
UE a Measurement Control message containing a list of
the IRAT neighbors (BCCH and BSIC), as well as
parameters related to periodical reporting.
At this point, the UE begins evaluating GSM neighbor cells
and begins periodically reporting neighbor measurement
results to the RNC. If a reported neighbor candidate meets
the RNC’s IRAT criteria, the RNC will initiate Core Network
(CN) signaling that will confirm resource availability in the
target GSM cell and configure a traffic channel in the
target cell for the hard handover. At this point, the RNC
sends the UE a Handover From UTRAN Command
instructing it to handover to the GSM neighbor. The RNC
confirms a successful hard handover via CN signaling
between the 2G and 3G networks.
111
Performance Logs and Statistics

•This is required to troubleshoot log file and
Understand the call network statistics
flow: •Where in the call flow do specific counters
peg?
Quick CM trigger •Premature reselection?

after call setup:
Event 1f/2d triggers: •Does distribution make sense?

Ec/No vs. RSCP •Premature trigger of Compressed Mode?
Time spent in the •Are the parameters correct?

compressed mode?
•Prior to handover command: 2G resource or
IRAT failure, what data fill issue?
counters are pegged? •After handover command: RF conditions too
bad, delayed IRAT?
Suggestions for assessing IFHO performance are provided

here - identifying some of the metrics, analyses, and other
factors an engineer may need to consider when trouble-
shooting and optimizing inter-frequency operations.
112
Summary
• The key drivers for IFHO and IRAT mobility include:
• Coverage (ensuring access to services throughout the
network) and
• Load Sharing (balancing traffic across the available
resources).
• Well-tuned reselection parameters are required to
ensure the UE is always camping on the correct cell.
• Hard handover triggers must strike a balance between:
– Preventing premature IRAT and IFHO (which impacts
system capacity and throughput), and
– Excessively delaying IRAT and IFHO (which may result in
dropped calls).
113
Review Questions
1. Compressed mode procedure is used when the UE is in
_____________ mode.
2. The purpose of using the compressed mode procedure is
to____________________.
3. Which of the parameters are used by the UE to trigger
event 2d (start compressed mode measurement)?
4. What could be the impact on network performance if the
‘Time to Trigger’ value is set to high to delay IRAT and
IFHO?
114
6 | R99 Data and HSDPA Performance
Chapter 6:
R99 Data and HSDPA
Performance
115
Objectives
• Recall the key aspects of R99 PS data and
HSDPA that enable it to deliver improved
downlink throughput
• Describe the channel switching mechanism for
resource optimization
• Understand the different approaches to
downlink power and OVSF code management
• Explain how CQI is derived, and its uses in
assessing and optimizing HSDPA performance
• Outline key factors that influence HSDPA
throughput
116
Packet Call
Establishment
117
UE-Initiated Packet Call Flow

1. Establish Radio
Signaling Connection
3. Establish Iu-PS Signaling
2. Attach Connection
4. Authentication
3G-SGSN
UTRAN
5. PDP Context Activation
UE
6a. Establish Radio Bearer

6b. Establish Iu-PS Bearer
Information Exchange
Radio Bearer Iu-PS Bearer
Here is a summary of the messaging required to set up a and Security mechanisms needed to ensure a secure
packet session in UMTS. This flow is conceptually similar communication. Authentication is optional while
to the circuit-switched flow; that is one of the fundamental security is mandatory.
advantages of a common Iu interface to the core network
5 In this step, the mobile supplies the packet session
and also a single RRC connection. Although the transport
information. In GPRS as well in UMTS, unless
layer functions and application packets change, it is
ciphering is established, none of the call related
essentially the same flow as the CS call. Detailed steps
information is sent over the air. This also sends the
are outlined in subsequent slides.
QoS requested by the mobile.
The first step in ANY messaging or service is the
6a-b In this step, several key stages of the call occur. The
establishment of an RRC connection. This is needed for
Radio Access Bearer Assignment message contains
the first service (CS or PS) that is invoking a service. There
all the Quality of Service (QoS) specific information
is only one RRC connection regardless of the domains
needed for the UTRAN to complete the packet
where the UE is connected . In this flow, the mobile
session. The UTRAN works with the Node B and the
requests an RRC connection to start a packet session.
mobile to ensure that this service is provided. Once
2-3 Once the RRC connection has been established, a completed, a positive response is sent that indicates
Service request for the packet session is sent. This is success in establishing a Radio Access Bearer, which
sent as a Direct Transfer message (which is routed is a combination of Radio Bearer and Iu-PS bearer.
through the SRNC) to the 3G-SGSN. This also
The packet session continues to completion after this
establishes the initial Iu-PS connection to the 3G-
point.
SGSN.
These summarized steps are expanded to illustrate the
4 This step is a summarized view of the Authentication
details involved in call establishment.
118
Packet Data KPIs
119
PS-Specific Metrics
User
Throughput
Delay
Throughput Cell
Efficiency Throughput
Throughput is the primary metric for R99 packet data

operations, since it measures how long particular tasks
(Web browsing, email retrieval, file transfer) take, on
average. User throughput reflects what an individual
subscriber experiences, while cell throughput looks at the
aggregate data capacity of the entire cell.
RABs configured for data service have a maximum
throughput (usually 64 kbps, 128 kbps or 384 kbps), but
keeping the pipeline full can be challenging, due to
limitations in the UE, the network, or the application itself.
Throughput efficiency measures how well the allocated
channel is being used over time.
Delay is generally not a key concern for R99 data
application, since most data services are delay-insensitive.
However, excessive delay slows down the rate at which
packets are sent and received, which results in lower
average throughput.
Note that access failures and drops are less of an issue
for packet-switched applications, since the system will
automatically recover from these types of errors, without
the user’s input and often without the user’s knowledge.
120
Throughput Factors
Available Network
codes resources
Available
power Traffic
levels
RAB rate
Application
Data
behavior
Packet data throughput can be limited by a wide variety of like Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which are
factors. First and foremost, the RAB configuration sets the designed to improve end-to-end packet reliability, will slow
upper bound for throughput over the air: a 64 kbps RAB down the application when faced with transmission errors
will not be able to support a 100 kbps service. over the air interface. In these cases, the user will
experience a relatively low average throughput, even
Since the resources (codes and power) available on the
though there is nothing wrong with the network.
downlink are shared among all active users (both voice
and data), the user may be prevented from attaining a
higher data rate, due to code or power blocking. In
addition, the UE itself may not have enough power to drive
a higher speed link, especially as it moves away from the
cell.
Other factors may also adversely affect the maximum data
rate a user can achieve. Network limitations (such as Iub
capacity) may throttle the rate at which packets arrive at
the cell, while peaks of voice or data traffic may lead to
resource blocking.
Finally, the effects of the application itself should not be
forgotten. Many common applications (particularly those
involving Wireless Application Protocol, or WAP, servers)
simply do not generate very much data, even if the radio
link could sustain a higher rate. Also, certain IP protocols
121
RAB and State

Switching
122
Throughput Efficiency
Throughput efficiency can be thought of as the
percentage that the RAB “pipe” is filled.
Wasted capacity
Efficient usage
Larger pipes consume more of the available code space

and use more power than smaller pipes. If the application
is unable to fill the pipe, then the resources are being
wasted. The measure of how “full” the allocated RAB is on
average is called throughput efficiency. In most cases,
efficiency is low simply because the application is not
generating enough data to fill the RAB; however, Iub
capacity or TCP throttling may be limiting the amount of
data that is available to send over the air. If the UE’s data
traffic does not fill its assigned “pipe,” then the RAB
resource is being wasted. The same amount of traffic can
be carried by a smaller pipe more efficiently, freeing up
the larger resource (both power and codes) for other
users.
123
Dynamic Rate Switching
Low throughput
efficiency High traffic
levels
Low throughput High traffic

efficiency levels
High traffic
Low throughput levels
efficiency
In many systems, the RAB characteristics can be changed

dynamically in order to use the available uplink and
downlink channels as efficiently as possible. For example,
if the traffic on a given RAB exceeds a configured
threshold (say, 90 percent), that can trigger a change to
the next higher data rate. Conversely, if the traffic falls
below another threshold (50 percent, for example), the
RAB is reconfigured to the next lower rate. This approach
ensures that the UE is not wasting resources (power and
codes) that can be better used elsewhere. Uplink and
downlink rates can be changed independently.
Several factors should be considered before switching
RAB rates. BLER targets remain the same regardless of
the data rate, so switching rates will result in changing the
corresponding power levels. In particular, switching to a
higher data rate means more power will be required, and
checks must be made to ensure that enough power is
available for the new RAB. In addition, higher data rates
require shorter OVSF codes, which may not be available in
busy cells.
124
RRC States
RRC_Connected
URA_PCH Cell_PCH
Cell_DCH Cell_FACH
RRC_Idle
Radio Resource Control (RRC) is responsible for managing The UE will transition between the states as required,
all UEs being served by a particular RNC. From RRC’s ensuring that it uses only those resources appropriate to
perspective, a UE is either in the RRC_Idle state, in which its current activity. A UE can send or receive data only
case the RNC has no idea where the UE is and has no when it is in the Cell_DCH or Cell_FACH state.
means of talking to it, or it is in the RRC_Connected state,
and a signaling path exists between the RNC and the UE.
When the UE is first powered on, it starts in the RRC_Idle
state, and attempts to locate a network where it can
receive service. Once it finds a suitable cell, it registers
with the network, and enters the RRC_Connected state.
If the UE is not involved in an active voice or data session,
then the network merely tracks its location for paging
purposes, either to a UMTS Routing Area (URA) level, or
down to a specific cell. In this case, the UE is said to be in
the URA_PCH or CELL_PCH state, respectively.
If the UE starts a voice or data call, it is typically assigned
dedicated radio resources to support the service, and
moves to the CELL_DCH state. Under certain
circumstances, such as when the service does not require
a very high data rate, the UE may be moved to a low-
speed shared channel, in the CELL_FACH state.
125
Review Questions
1. What are the components of the Radio Access Bearer
(RAB) in UMTS?
2. List the key PS specific metrics.
3. List the factors which limit packet data throughput in
UMTS.
4. What is throughput efficiency?
5. How does dynamic RAB switching help with better
throughput efficiency?
126
HSDPA Operations
127
Key Differences – R99 and HSDPA

QoS
3
Key
WCDMA
Parameters
In R99, Throughput is fixed; power is then varied to ensure

QoS (BLER) is met.
In HSDPA, power is fixed (per 2 msec sub-frame),

throughput (transport block size) is varied to meet QoS.
QoS (BLER), Throughput and Power are three key

parameters which determine the performance of WCDMA
systems.
In Release 99 data delivery configurations, throughput is
fixed based on the fixed assignment of a OVSF code (each
code defines a maximum throughput), while output power
is varied ( based on Fast Power Control described in
Chapter 1) to meet the set BLER.
In HSDPA, the management of these three parameters is
based on 2 msec increments. During any one 2 msec
increment, the output power level is fixed and based on
the reported CQI value, the Node B Scheduler varies the
transport data block size to meet the set BLER. If the
reported CQI is high, a higher transport block size is used.
128
HSDPA vs. R99 Data Delivery

HSDPA adopts a shared channel
approach vs. the R99 dedicated
channel method for delivering
high-speed packet data services
Serving HS Cell
HS-SCCH
HS-DPCCH
HS-PDSCH
Node B Node B
UL DPCH UL DPCH
DL DPCH DL DPCH
HSDPA is an evolution of UMTS R99. Hence, HSDPA condition information on a continuous basis from all
supports all the UMTS R99 configurations without any the mobiles vying for access to the HS-DSCH. Each UE
restrictions, and also introduces new channels specifically will measure and determine the C/I value of each
designed to support high-speed packet data services. active set pilot and report the C/I of the best sector.
These channels are: Since HSDPA systems support the Hybrid ARQ (HARQ)
scheme, the transmitter (Node B) transmits some of
• High Speed – Downlink Shared Channel (HS-DSCH):
the turbo-encoded symbols first and waits for a
HS-DSCH is a new channel designed to carry high-
Physical Layer acknowledgement from the receiver
speed packet data traffic. Each cell may support one
(UE). If the response is a NACK, the base station
or more HS-DSCHs. The HS-DSCH channel is shared
continues to send additional symbols. If the response
across all users requesting HSDPA-specific high-
is an ACK, the base station stops sending the
speed packet data services. Sharing of the HS-DSCH
remaining symbols and continues with the next
is accomplished by using a combination of Time-
packet. The mobile sends these ACK/NACK
Division Multiplexing (TDM) and Code-Division
commands along with the current CQI on the HS-
Multiplexing (CDM) across multiple users.
DPCCH.
• High Speed - Shared Control Channel (HS-SCCH): HS-
Unlike R99 channels, the new HSDPA channels do not
SCCH is the control channel associated with the HS-
support soft handover. The HSDPA-specific channels are
DSCH. HS-SCCH conveys the HS-DSCH allocation
set up on a single “Serving HS Cell.” If the UE measures a
information, including the user identity, the number of
better candidate that meets the criteria defined by the
spreading factors used, and the modulation scheme
UTRAN (Measurement Control Message), a Measurement
to the UE.
Report will be sent and HS channels will be reconfigured
• High Speed - Dedicated Physical Control Channel (HS- on a new serving HS cell.
DPCCH): The HSDPA system gathers current radio
129
HSDPA Transmission Process

Run the
UE 1 1 Channel Quality (HS-DPCCH) Scheduling
Algorithm
UE 2 1 Channel Quality (HS-DPCCH) 2
UE 3 1 Channel Quality (HS-DPCCH)

Scheduler
High-Speed Data Transmission (HS-DSCH)

3
Supporting Control Information (HS-SCCH)
UE 1  10101010101010101
Node B
UE 1 4 ACK/NAK (HS-DPCCH)
Let’s discuss how the HSDPA High-Speed Downlink Hence, the scheduling algorithm and the assignment
Shared Channel (HS-DSCH) operates at a 10,000 foot approach will differ from one implementation to
level. Multiple UEs may be assigned to the HS-DSCH by another but will typically follow a proportional fair
the RNC since it is a shared channel. HS-DSCH operations share or round robin algorithm approach.
is summarized in the following four-step procedure:
3. The third step is the data transmission to the
1. The first step in the HS-DSCH operation sequence is selected user. When the scheduler selects a user, it
the Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) reporting by all the uses the CQI value reported by the UE and the data
UEs assigned to the HS-DSCH. Each UE on the HS- buffer waiting for transmission to decide the data rate
DSCH measures its radio conditions and provides the and modulation scheme for the transmission. The
Node B with an accurate idea of the current receiving Node B uses the selected configuration to send the
condition. The Node B gathers the CQI reports from data over the air.
all the UEs before proceeding to the next step. The
4. The UE receives the data and verifies the checksum.
UEs may report the CQI value once every 2
If the transmission was received properly, the UE will
milliseconds.
transmit an ACK to the Node B. If the transmitted
2. The second step is the execution of the scheduler at information was received with errors, the UE will send
the Node B to determine which user’s data should be an NACK to the Node B. This step involves the HARQ
transmitted next. The standards do not specify how aspect of HSDPA.
the scheduling algorithm must be implemented so
These steps are repeated continuously to support the HS-
this will vary between manufacturers.
DSCH effectively.
130
UE Categories for HSDPA – Rel 5

Maximum number Minimum Maximum number of bits of an Total number
HS-DSCH
of HS-DSCH codes inter-TTI HS-DSCH transport block of soft
category
received interval received within an HS-DSCH TTI channel bits
Category 1 5 3 7298 (1.2 Mbps) 19200

Category 2 5 3 7298 (1.2 Mbps) 28800
Category 3 5 2 7298 (1.8 Mbps) 28800
Category 4 5 2 7298 (1.8 Mbps) 38400
Category 5 5 1 7298 (3.6 Mbps) 57600
Category 6 5 1 7298 (3.6 Mbps) 67200
Category 7 10 1 14411 (7.2 Mbps) 115200
Category 8 10 1 14411 (7.2 Mbps) 134400
Category 9 15 1 20251 (10.1 Mbps) 172800
Category 10 15 1 27952 (14 Mbps) 172800
Category 11 5 2 3630 (0.9 Mbps) 14400
Category 12 5 1 3630 (1.8 Mbps) 28800
Note: UE categories 11 and 12 support QPSK only.

The HSDPA UE is a very complicated piece of equipment. • Minimum inter-TTI Interval - This is the maximum
The HSDPA specification has been designed to support reception frequency of 2 ms frames the UE can
various capabilities or categories of UEs. In the initial support. For example, a category 1 UE has a
release of HSDPA, it is understandable that the minimum inter-TTI interval of 3. This means that the
capabilities of the UE are limited to allow UE developers UE can only receive a transmission of data (i.e. a
an opportunity to learn from any initial deployment issues. transport block) from the Node B every 3rd 2 ms
The UE must be capable of communicating its capabilities frame. Whereas a category 6 UE, with an inter-TTI
to the UTRAN so the Node B will know how much data the interval of 1, can receive data every 2 ms frame. The
UE is capable of supporting. 3GPP specifications refer to lower the minimum inter-TTI interval, the higher the
this as the “Category” of the UE. A UE’s category defines potential data rate.
the maximum number of HS-DSCHs supported, the
• Maximum number of bits of an HS-DSCH transport
minimum number of TTI intervals a UE must wait before
block received within an HS-DSCH TTI” - This is the
receiving another data transmission from a cell, the
maximum transport block size that can be
maximum transport block size the UE can support and if it
transmitted to a UE, in a 2 ms frame. The higher the
can support 16QAM or QPSK only.
maximum transport block size the higher the
Here are the definitions of the capabilities listed in the maximum data rate the UE can support.
3GPP chart outlining these for the various UE’s HS-DSCH
• Total number of soft channel bits - This is the raw
categories:
buffer size that the UE must have to be able to
• Maximum number of HS-DSCH codes received - The support Hybrid ARQ (i.e. buffer incoming
first criteria specifies the maximum number of transmissions and retransmissions).
simultaneous 16 bit OVSF codes the UE can support
on the HS-DSCH.
131
Key Aspects of HSDPA

HSDPA uses a fixed SF=16, with no power control
or SHO on the downlink shared channel
A four-step process is used for efficient

transmission of packet data
Both TDM and CDM can be used
The HARQ process increases reliability and

efficiency by using incremental redundancy
Rate control is achieved by adaptive modulation

(QPSK vs. 16QAM) and TB size is based on channel
conditions (CQI)
A 2-ms TTI is used (compared to 10 ms in R99)
This slide summarizes the key points of the HSDPA

design, highlighting the main differences between HSDPA
and R99 packet data operations.
132
Code and Power

Management
133
Power Management in HSDPA

Transmit • Only one Node B transmits on the high speed channel
Power
• Power assigned from a single cell only
TTI
Max 2ms
TDM/CDM Packet
U3 Data Channel Unused power for R99
U1 U2
U4 can be used for HSDPA
DOWNLINK
R99 Voice and Data users
Available Power
Overhead Channels
Time
The Node B is provisioned to support a certain transmit needs to work with the downlink power management
power, say 20 to 40 Watts. A portion of this power is then philosophy of R99 and efficiently utilize the remaining
allocated to the control and overhead channels such as power to support high-speed data services. So, HSDPA
the Pilot, Forward Access Channel (FACH), Paging Channel utilizes any remaining HPA power for the TTI of 2 ms then
(PCH), etc. The remaining power is then dynamically adjusts modulation and coding based on the available
allocated among all the active users to support the HPA power for the next TTI period as shown in the figure.
forward traffic channels. Users at the cell edge typically By doing this, the HSDPA system is able to co-exist with
require higher power allocations due to the inferior RF multiple R99 voice users while providing high-speed data
channel conditions being experienced. Where users near services by utilizing the leftover HPA power.
the cell with a line of site to the antennas typically require
In other words, HSDPA adopts the philosophy of allocating
a much smaller power allocation to support their forward
the remaining HPA power to a user one TTI (2 ms) at a
traffic channels. Since voice traffic roughly uses a
time, and then adjusting the data rate based on the
constant data rate, link adaptation is more effectively
reported channel conditions and available HPA power for
achieved by adjusting the transmit power. This is also
the next TTI.
referred to as “fixed rate variable power,” where a cell
varies the transmit power while maintaining a fixed
throughput to the user regardless of where the user is
located in the cells coverage area.
As depicted in the figure, the available transmit power is
not fully utilized at all times in an R99 system. And, since
HSDPA systems are designed to support both voice and
high-speed data users simultaneously, the HSDPA traffic
134
Power Management:
Reserved Power for HSDPA
Max DL Power
Reserved (e.g. soft handover)
HPA Power
(power controlled channels) Reserved for

HSDPA HS-DSCH &
HS-SCCH
Overhead (CPICH, PCCPCH, . . .)
Time
Downlink power management becomes an even greater managed without any changes. However, since this
concern in HSDPA. The new downlink channels, the High method reserves a certain amount of the total HPA power
Speed – Downlink Shared Channel (HS-DSCH) and the for HSDPA, this power is no longer available for R99
associated High Speed Shared Control Channel (HS-SCCH) channels and services when there are no users on the HS-
are not fast power controlled like the previous traffic DSCH. This means that during peak traffic periods for
channels. Moreover, since the HS-DSCH and HS-SCCH are voice there is a risk of users being blocked from service
shared among users, the power applied to these channels due to a lack of downlink power resources in the Node B,
should be sufficient to reach the mobiles even at the which is typically not an acceptable option to operators.
periphery of the cells. The HSDPA specifications do not Similarly, since the amount of power allocated for the HS-
address this issue and leave it as an implementation DSCH is fixed in this scenario, any unused power
choice. As a result, the downlink power management resources available from the R99 pool cannot be taken
varies from one manufacturer to another leading to advantage of by HSDPA users.
product differentiators. There are many ways of
implementing the forward power distribution. Three of the
more common approaches are discussed on the following
slides.
The first approach deals with the HS-DSCH and HS-SCCH
power similar to the downlink overhead channels in UMTS
R99 configuration. The HS-DSCH and HS-SCCH channels
are assigned a reserved portion of the total HPA power of
the Node B cell. This method is very simple to implement
and permits the UMTS R99 channels and services to be
135
OVSF Code Tree

C 8,0 C 16,0
C 4,0 = (1, 1, 1, 1)
C 8,1
C 2,0 = (1, 1)
C 4,1 = (1, 1,-1,-1)

C 8,2 H
C 1,0 = (1)
C 8,3 S
C 8,4 D
C 4,2 = (1,-1, 1,-1) P
C 8,5
C 2,1 = (1,-1) A
C 8,6
C 4,3 = (1,-1,-1, 1)
C 8,7
SF = 1 SF = 2 SF = 4 SF = 8 SF = 32 …
SF =16
15 codes with SF=16 are available for HSDPA

In a UMTS R99 system, the downlink channels are length of the Spreading Factor codes could be quite short
identified by a unique Orthogonal Variable Spreading (down to 4 bits) on Dedicated Physical Channels (DPCH).
Factor (OVSF) code as shown in the Spreading Factor tree Thus, the co-existence of voice users and packet data
illustration. The Spreading Factor codes vary in length users, both based on DPCH and HSDPA packet data
from 4 bits to 512 bits. The Spreading Factor codes are channels, poses important challenges in OVSF code
generated as shown. Out of these Spreading Factor codes, management.
certain codes are reserved for overhead channels such as
the Pilot channel or the channel that broadcasts the
System Information Blocks for the cell. The total number
of OVSF codes at a given SF is the same as the SF. For
example, there are eight OVSF codes at SF=8. The HSDPA
system uses a fixed OVSF of 16. There are a maximum of
16 OVSF codes at SF=16. At the most, only 15 OVSF
codes at SF=16 are available for use with HSDPA.
Theoretically, these 15 codes can be assigned to a single
user during a TTI, or they can be shared among multiple
users during the TTI. The voice and HSDPA data users
share the same OVSF code tree.
Since HSDPA supports both voice and high-speed packet
data users, OVSF code management becomes very
critical. Spreading factors for voice users are typically of
128 bits in length. However, for R99 data users, the
136
R99/HSDPA Code Requirements

P-CCPCH
X CPICH
X PICH
R99 Codes X AICH
HSDPA Codes X
R99 DL Signaling Codes S-CCPCH X
X
X
HS-SCCH X
X X
DPCH
SF16 X DPCH
X DPCH
X DPCH
Assumes: X DPCH
1 HS-SCCH SF32 X DPCH
Multiple User X DPCH
DPCH for signaling SF64 X DPCH
SF128 SF256
Note: For every eight R99 Voice users, an SF 16
code will be taken away from HSDPA applications.
3GPP specifications show that HSDPA is capable of You can see how fast the table starts to fill up. So if
supporting up to 15 SF=16 OVSF codes, because the first HSDPA is capable of supporting up to 15 SF16 codes, this
16 bit OVSF code C16,0 is reserved for R99 common may not be possible if the number of users in the HSDPA
channels. pool is high. Also if there are other R99 users, then even
fewer SF 16 codes will be available for HSDPA
Now lets add the HSDPA channels needed to support
applications. Actually for every 8 R99 voice users, an SF
multiple HSDPA users on the assumption that these users
16 code is used up.
are only doing data services (no voice). Two new downlink
channels are needed to be support one HSDPA user in the
downlink. The first is the common HS-SCCH (High Speed
– Shared Control Channel) which requires a 128 bit OVSF
code to be assigned. The second is a dedicated channel
(DPCH) per UE for carrying the RRC signaling since HSDPA
cannot carry signaling in Rel 5 configuration. For this
DPCH a 256 bit OVSF code is required. HS-SCCH is a
shared channel but a DPCH is required for every UE in the
HSDPA pool. Additional HS-SCCH channels will also be
required to support TDM configuration i.e. supporting
multiple UEs per TTI – one shared HS-SCCH required for
every UE per TTI.
137
CQI
138
User Throughput: CQI

• Downlink signal strength (RSCP) is a key factor
used in the determination of CQI.
• Maximizing the signal level while minimizing
interference increases the CQI, and thus the
potential throughput.
– Independent of the scheduler or parameters
• Maximizing subscriber throughput directly
translates to maximizing aggregate cell
throughput and spectral efficiency.
The Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) transmitted by the UE

is primarily a function of signal strength (RSCP, or PCPICH)
versus the surrounding noise or interference levels. The
radio configuration (modulation scheme, transport block
size, etc.) determined by the Node B scheduler, to use the
available RF resources for a given UE at any given time, is
dependent on the reported CQI and the scheduler’s ability
to know the actual available resources (i.e., power and
codes). Simply put, CQI is an estimate of a UE’s current
downlink RF conditions.
Depending on the vendor implementation, some
schedulers will schedule UEs transmitting higher CQIs
more frequently than UEs transmitting lower CQI values.
The intent here is that the higher the CQI, the higher the
throughput potential. Thus, the optimization engineer’s
objective is to maximize the signal quality and minimize
noise throughout the HSDPA service area. In other words,
“the better the RF conditions the better the data
throughput performance.” Everything considered, the
single biggest factor benefitting or impacting high-speed
data performance is how well the network has been
designed to reduce and manage RF interference.
139
CQI Fundamentals
Target BLER CQI Mapping:
≤ 10% TFRC Report
CQI
CQI Mapping Table: Consists of:
CQI value  TFRC (TB Size, Modulation,
# of HS-PDSCHs)
∆: Ref Power : Measurement
Adjustment Power Offset
Power Reduction Offset to PCPICH to

(∆=0 unless est. TB size bias assumed PHS-PDSCH
exceeds UE capability)
PHS-PDSCH = PCPICH+ +∆

 is measurement power offset (specified in ½ dB
steps) sent in the Radio Bearer Setup message
∆ is the Reference power adjustment based on UE
category in the CQI Tables (TS 25.214)
The Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) is calculated by the calculation process yields higher order CQI values
UE, based on an assumed power of the HS-PDSCH (PHS- that correspond to the maximum transport block size
PDSCH) and the reception quality of the CPICH. This of a given UE category. CQI values that map to
assumed power is derived by the UE using the following negative ∆ values simply indicated that a given
equation: transport block size can be decoded with even less
PHS-PDSCH
PHS-PDSCH = PCPICH +  + ∆, where:
The CQI is reported to the serving HS cell. The Node B
1.  is the Measurement Power offset sent in the Radio
uses the CQI mapping table (see next chart) as well as
Bearer Setup message indicating a positive or
other inputs (e.g. resource availability, buffer occupancy)
negative offset that should be applied to the
to determine the maximum size transport block, number
measured CPICH. In this manner the operator has
of codes, and type of modulation that will result in the
some parametric control over the UE’s assumption of
transport block being successfully decoded with no more
PHS-PDSCH. In future vendor implementations, gamma
than a 10% Block Error Rate (BLER). Because the Node
could be dynamically modified based on average HS
B’s available power for the HS-PDSCH is typically very
power availability in the Node B. The range of
dynamic, the UE can only assume what the PHS-PDSCH will
parameter is (-6 ... 13 dB, in 0.5 dB steps).
be at a given TTI.
2. ∆ is the Reference Power Adjustment, also called the
power reduction factor, which is mapped in the CQI
tables (TS 25.214) based on UE category and
reported CQI value. The purpose of this variable is to
de-rate the assumed PHS-PDSCH when calculating a CQI
value. This becomes necessary when the CQI
140
CQI Mapping Table

Number of Reference power adjustment 
CQI value Transport Block Size Modulation
HS-PDSCH
0 N/A Out of range
1 137 1 QPSK 0
2 173 1 QPSK UE categories
0 7 and 8
3 233 1 QPSK 0
4 317 1 QPSK 0
5 377 1 QPSK 0
6 461 1 QPSK 0
7 650 2 QPSK 0
8 792 2 QPSK 0
9 931 2 QPSK 0
10 1262 3 QPSK 0
11 1483 3 QPSK 0
12 1742 3 QPSK 0
13 2279 4 QPSK 0
14 2583 4 QPSK HS-PDSCH power
0
15 3319 5 QPSK can be reduced at
0
16 3565 5 16QAM 0
17 4189 5 16QAM the highest CQI
0
18 4664 5 16QAM 0
19 5287 5 16QAM 0
values (Δ > 0)
20 5887 5 16QAM 0
21 6554 5 16QAM 0
22 7168 5 16QAM 0
23 9719 7 16QAM 0
24 11418 8 16QAM 0
25 14411 10 16QAM 0
26 14411 10 16QAM -1
27 14411 10 16QAM -2
28 14411 10 16QAM -3
29 14411 10 16QAM -4
30 14411 10 16QAM -5
Using a vendor-proprietary algorithm, the UE estimates the dB more power at its disposal and determine that a 3300
DL RF channel conditions or CQI and reports this to the bit transport block can be sent using five codes and QPSK.
Node B, where it is cross-referenced with the CQI mapping Alternatively, the scheduler may only have one 16-bit
table to determine the TFRC or the largest transport block OVSF code available so it decides that a 400-bit transport
the UE could decode (based on the specified number of block can be sent using one code and QPSK.
OVSF codes and modulation type) at a less than 10-
It is important to note that the CQI report is only as reliable
percent BLER. However, it is important to note that this
as the chipset vendor’s RF receiver design and the
information is only used as a reference by the Node B
algorithm used to estimate the CQI value. This is why
scheduler. The scheduler not only knows CQI reported by
some network vendors implement additional features that
the UE, it also knows the actual available PHS-PDSCH. Based
can effectively offset the reported CQI. For example, if a
on this knowledge, the current code availability and the
UE is found to consistently over-estimate its CQI value,
other HS user requirements, the scheduler now has the
resulting in a BLER higher than 10 percent, then the
flexibility to schedule the actual transport block larger, or
scheduler may use this offset to correct future CQI reports
smaller than the size corresponding to the received CQI.
it receives from this UE type so data transmitted to the UE
For example, the UE, based on the current PCPICH is capable of being decoded consistently at the expected
measurement, determines the assumed PHS-PDSCH, then BLER or better.
uses this to estimate its CQI to be 12. The Node B then
receives this CQI and, according to the CQI mapping table
for a category 7 or 8 UE, determines the UE should be
able to decode a 1742 bit transport block sent on the HS-
PDSCH using three OVSF codes and QPSK, at better than
a 10-percent BLER. However, the scheduler may have 3
141
CQI Mapping Table (continued)

Number of Reference power adjustment 
CQI value Transport Block Size Modulation
HS-PDSCH
0 N/A Out of range
1 137 1 QPSK 0
2 173 1 QPSK UE categories
0 7 and 8
3 233 1 QPSK 0
4 317 1 QPSK 0
5 377 1 QPSK 0
6 461 1 QPSK 0
7 650 2 QPSK 0
8 792 2 QPSK 0
9 931 2 QPSK 0
10 1262 3 QPSK 0
11 1483 3 QPSK 0
12 1742 3 QPSK 0
13 2279 4 QPSK 0
14 2583 4 QPSK HS-PDSCH power
0
15 3319 5 QPSK can be reduced at
0
16 3565 5 16QAM 0
17 4189 5 16QAM the highest CQI
0
18 4664 5 16QAM 0
19 5287 5 16QAM 0
values (Δ > 0)
20 5887 5 16QAM 0
21 6554 5 16QAM 0
22 7168 5 16QAM 0
23 9719 7 16QAM 0
24 11418 8 16QAM 0
25 14411 10 16QAM 0
26 14411 10 16QAM -1
27 14411 10 16QAM -2
28 14411 10 16QAM -3
29 14411 10 16QAM -4
30 14411 10 16QAM -5
This slide illustrates the CQI mapping for category 7 and 8

UEs, extracted from Table 7B, 3GPP TS 25.214.
Note that at the CQI level of 26, the transport block size
the UE can support is less than the transport block size
the estimated channel quality is capable of supporting,
and the table now indicates the reference power
adjustment or power reduction factor that can be used in
the calculation of the assumed PHS-PDSCH.
These tables in the 3GPP specifications also help to show
how the CQI value varies across UE categories in terms of
maximum throughput supported and the conditions
required to decode the predicted transport blocks.
142
Review Questions
1. How many HS-SCCHs are needs to be configured to
schedule two users in 2ms TTI ?
2. In HSDPA, how does the reporting of the CQI (Channel
Quality Indicator) help with achieving higher data rates?
3. How is HSDPA different from R99 packet data operation?
4. State True or False.
1. In HSDPA, the power for the transmission of the High
Speed Downlink Shared Channel is fixed.
2. There is no Soft Handover support in HSDPA.
143
HSDPA Performance
144
RF Coverage Optimization
Good RF coverage control is essential for optimal
performance
• Site location, antenna type, height, azimuth and downtilt have a
greater impact on HSDPA
• Ensure a dominant server exists for good pilot pollution control
Neighbor lists must be prioritized correctly

• Fast recognition of the best server is critical for maximizing
throughput
Unnecessary use of the compressed mode will
degrade overall throughput performance
All cellular technologies perform at their best with careful An additional unwanted side-effect of poorly-optimized
RF coverage control. This is particularly true for CDMA- neighbor lists is the possibility of entering the Compressed
based technologies like WCDMA, and even more true for Mode (CM) in the core of the HSDPA service area as a
“C/I-critical” technologies such as HSDPA. Careful result of reaching the CM Ec/No or RSCP trigger
selection of cell site parameters – site location, antenna conditions.
height, antenna type, antenna azimuth, and antenna
downtilt – result in marked improvements in throughput.
Specifically, server dominance (a strong “C”) should be
emphasized, as well as the minimization of pilot pollution
(a strong “I”). Pilot pollution is commonly defined as four
or more servers at a given location, all of which are within
a few dB (typically around 5 dB) of each other in strength.
Whereas WCDMA systems, which utilize soft handoff, can
be somewhat forgiving of pilot pollution, single-server
technologies like HSDPA cannot reach their full
throughput potential in the presence of rampant pilot
pollution.
Neighbor list optimization goes hand-in-hand with
coverage optimization. Having clear server dominance and
little pilot pollution is useless unless the UE is informed of
the correct neighboring servers through optimized
neighbor lists.
145
Channel Reliability
Channel reliability impacts throughput
HS-DPCCH Block HS-SCCH HS-DSCH

Error Rate (BLER) Reliability Reliability
The UE must reliably
The eNB must decode Ensure the number of
decode scheduling
the CQI/ACK/NACK attempts to transfer a
orders in order to
reliably given packet is low
receive its packets
After calculating or estimating the appropriate CQI, and

receiving a packet on the HS-PDSCH, the UE must still
report these results to the cell in a timely manner. This
fast feedback mechanism is the method by which the TTI
has been reduced from 10 ms to 2 ms, and how HSDPA’s
high speeds are achieved. So it is critical that these
reports are received reliably at the cell. Otherwise, the UE
will not be scheduled and throughput will drop to zero.
On the downlink, the cell indicates that it’s the UE’s “turn”
to use the HS-PDSCH by signaling the UE on the HS-SCCH.
If the UE cannot decode this message, it will fail to receive
the intended data, despite having been scheduled on the
HS-PDSCH, thus necessitating packet retransmission and
loss of throughput. This is a particularly challenging
problem since the UE cannot distinguish between a failed
decoding of the HS-DSCH occurring or not having been
scheduled by the cell in the first place.
Finally, the Block Error Rate (BLER) on the HS-PDSCH
impacts throughput as the higher the BLER the more
retransmissions required. More retransmissions mean
that proportionately less new data can be transmitted to
the UE.
146
System Parameter Optimization

Cell reselection and handoff parameters
• Ec/No versus RSCP triggering
• Ensuring compressed mode minimized
HS-DPCCH power offset and repetition factor
• Reliable transmission of CQI and ACK/NACK to cell
HS-SCCH power offset

• Or power allocation if not power controlled
HS-DSCH power and code allowance

• Percentage of leftover power and codes
There are numerous UTRAN parameters related to HSDPA DPCCH, the less power there is for the other uplink
throughput performance, though most of them are “set- channels, and the closer the UE must be to the cell site.
and-forget” in nature. Once these parameters are
Instead of increasing the amount of power applied to the
optimized, they will likely not be re-optimized on an
CQI and ACK/NACK messages, repetition can be used. A
ongoing basis. Further, the majority of the cell sites in a
message transmitted twice requires (ostensibly) half the
network will use identical values for these parameter
amount of power per transmission; however, there are
settings.
drawbacks. In the case of CQI, as the repetition factor is
e1a and e1b govern the typical Active Set size, and increased, the UE is less able to respond to rapidly
HSDPA UEs will use the same parameters as R99 UEs. changing channel conditions. This, in turn, could impact
There is some flexibility in setting e1d which, again, throughput in two ways - through a loss of throughput
causes the UE to issue a measurement report indicating a opportunity (in case of rapidly improving conditions), and
change in the best server. Since e1d includes a through a loss of actual throughput due to HS-DSCH errors
hysteresis, higher values make the UE more resistant to (in cases of rapidly degrading conditions). Repetition of
relocating its serving HS-DSCH, thus reducing the amount the ACK/NACK messages causes a proportionate
of HS-DSCH ping pong. At the same time, throughput will reduction in throughput since the cell has to wait longer to
be impacted, since higher values also result in the UE receive the ACK/NACK before deciding to send a new
being served by a less-than-optimal cell more of the time. packet or to retransmit the current packet.
The CQI, ACK and NACK channel gains and repetition With most deployments, the HS-DSCH is permitted to
factors govern the reliability of the HS-DPCCH. A highly- consume most or all of the remaining power and code
reliable HS-DPCCH is critical to maximizing throughput, but channels after the R99 users/channels are served.
the drawback to over-powering the HS-DPCCH is reduced Obviously, any restriction on the power and code
uplink coverage. The more power applied to the HS- resources available to HSDPA will reduce throughput.
147
Cell Throughput
Cell loading (R99 traffic) limits HSDPA
peak throughput performance per cell
•Balance of RF power and code channel sharing
Node B MAC-hs scheduler

implementation varies between vendors
•Proportional fairness vs. Round Robin options
Optimization of either of these has

limited benefits
•Spectrum required to move R99 traffic load
•Scheduler parameters are very limited today and
not consistent between vendors
Thus far we have considered only the throughput of

individual users. However, cell throughput is also a useful
performance metric. HSDPA performance – including cell
throughput – is constrained by the amount of resources
available after all necessary R99 overhead channels are
accommodated and R99 users are served. This is largely
out of control of the optimization engineer.
In fact, other than ensuring a sufficient supply of physical
resources at the site – RF power, channel elements, and
Iub transmission capacity – there is little that can be done
to optimize cell throughput, at least not without additional
product development. Although, some base station
implementations may have a limited set of user-
optimizeable parameters, such as a selection of
scheduling algorithms, or a few tunable scheduler
parameters.
148
Summary
• Best effort is the approach taken for non-real-time R99
data; nevertheless, by channel/rate switching, we can
optimize resources available for other service types (e.g.,
voice/HSPA).
• HSDPA performance relies on the leftover power availability
at the Node B.
• CQI, BLER and cell change frequency are some important
HSDPA metrics that can be used for optimization.
• Handsets are complicated. Numerous UE categories limit
HSDPA data rates, potentially impacting subscriber
expectations.
• Backhaul is very expensive and HSDPA throughput is easily
limited by Iub capacity.
• When possible, HSDPA should be the preferred mode for
data transmission regardless of required data rate.
149
Review Questions
1. How does incorrect neighbor list configuration affect
HSDPA throughput performance?
2. List the system parameters which affect downlink
throughput performance.
3. How does poor coverage affect HSDPA throughput?
4. How does the best server PSC plot help in analyzing
HSDPA throughput performance?
150
7 | HSUPA and HSPA+ Performance
Chapter 7:
HSUPA and HSPA+
Performance
151
Objectives
• Explain the key aspects of HSUPA that enable it to
deliver improved uplink throughput
• Understand the code assignments for HSUPA
• Identify the parameters utilized in the diagnosis and
optimization of HSUPA performance
• Describe how HSPA+ improves performance in terms of
data rates, capacity and battery life
• Explain new UE categories and their characteristics
defined in HSPA+
152
Uplink Interference
Management
153
UL Interference Management
Load
RoT Threshold
Available for E-DCH
Noise from R99 channels
Noise from other cell UEs
Thermal Noise
Each UE adds to the noise level. The noise level must be Time
managed so that it stays below a threshold.
When a UE transmits, it adds to the total uplink support high speed packet data services in the uplink.
interference. Unlike the downlink, the uplink cannot rely Uplink interference management is therefore the most
on orthoganality between users to reduce interference. important factor to consider when optimizing HSUPA to
This means that UEs transmitting on dedicated channels provide enhanced data performance in the uplink. HSUPA
in the serving cell and all of the users transmitting on the has been designed in such a way that it has the ability to
E-DCH channels are contributing to the overall manage the available power margin very efficiently so as
interference levels. In addition, the UEs currently to maximize the data throughput supported in the uplink.
transmitting information on channels in any of the This is also accomplished without sacrificing channel
surrounding cells also contribute to the interference levels quality to existing users already assigned dedicated
seen by the Node B. resources, i.e., R99 voice & data users.
As a result, an acceptable threshold limit needs to be set;
this threshold will also define the capacity or throughput
the cell is capable of supporting. This limit is called the
Rise over Thermal (RoT) threshold. It represents the
amount of interference that can be added to the uplink
frequency above the thermal noise level before the
interference becomes too high to decode any uplink
information.
As was seen in HSDPA in the downlink, the goal of HSUPA
is to share the remaining power margin after accounting
for the various contributing sources to noise levels, and
use this to allocate dedicated channels (E-DCH) to
154
UL Interference Management (continued)

Load
RoT Threshold
Available for E-DCH
Noise from R99 channels
Noise from other cell UEs
Thermal Noise
Each UE adds to the noise level. The noise level must be Time
managed so that it stays below a threshold.
HSUPA uses fast power control and soft handover to can simply make one common grant to all users during
control reverse link interference levels, very similar to the absolute grant process and then use relative grants as
R99. In order to enhance throughput and reduce latency, a means of fine tuning resource assignments to each
HSUPA also introduces a new uplink scheduling capability users current needs. Conversely, 3GPP supports the ability
in the Node B, as well as support for HARQ in the uplink. to make grants that can be tailored by QoS requirements,
Similar to the downlink scheduler HSDPA introduced in the both between users (inter-user QoS) and within the same
Node B, the uplink scheduler is responsible for device (intra-user QoS).
determining the code and power requirements a UE will
Since service-based QoS is not widely used today by
be given when an uplink high speed packet data service
wireless broadband service providers, it is unlikely that
request is received. Unlike R99, where the Node B was
any of the current vendor implementations will use the
just a relay between the RNC and UE, the Node B now has
inter- or intra-user QoS approach. Instead, the focus here
added intelligence to support the enhanced data
will be on the configuration and optimization of the
throughput requirements needed by both HSUPA and
absolute and relative grant procedures, in order to
HSDPA.
maximize data throughput per cell in the uplink, as well as
The HSUPA uplink scheduler algorithm is not defined by maintaining a good user experience.
the 3GPP specifications; it is left to the vendors to decide
how this function is implemented in their network
infrastructure. The uplink scheduler is a proprietary
performance differentiator between network vendors.
What the standard does provide is flexibility to make to
make uplink resource allocation as simple or complex as
the vendor chooses or the operator demands. The Node B
155
HSUPA Operations
156
Summary: HSDPA vs. HSUPA

Function HSDPA HSUPA
No soft handover for HSDPA Soft handover similar to R99 on
Soft Handover
channels on downlink uplink
UE transmission grants are given

Best cell allocates resources and by best cell and other active set
Scheduling
controls transmission members may throttle the rates
down
No power control for HSDPA Power control for all uplink
Power Control
channels on downlink channels similar to R99
True sharing of all radio resources

Uplink transmission gets dedicated
Shared Channel (power and codes) across multiple
resources through grants
users
Additional (shared) channels for
Associated Additional channels on uplink for
sending grants from serving and
Resources CQI reports and HARQ responses
non-serving cells
While HSUPA and HSDPA both deal with high-speed can do to best use its resources. Every mobile
packet access, there are some fundamental differences reports its current channel receiving conditions
between the two. for its best cell (also referred to as the serving
cell). Only the best cell for a UE will schedule and
1. Soft Handover:
transmit data to it. Other nearby cells may be
a. HSDPA tries to use the available power impacted; however, the impact does not affect
effectively by allocating it for high-speed DL transmissions, since the reported CQI is
downlink data transmissions. These decisions based on current conditions.
are made every 2 milliseconds. Since the
b. In HSUPA, the best cell (a.k.a., the serving cell)
available power varies from cell to cell, HSDPA
will allocate serving grants, indicating how much
does not use soft handover.
power the UE can use for uplink E-DCH
b. HSUPA supports soft handover for uplink transmissions. The serving cell makes its
transmissions. When a UE transmits, energy is decision solely based on its measured uplink
sent in all directions. In other words, if a UE is interference levels; however, the UE’s
transmitting energy, it will impact the UL transmission impacts all other cells in its vicinity.
interference levels in all the cells in its vicinity. Hence, HSUPA maintains the active set for a UE
Therefore, it is better to keep the UE in soft on the E-DCH and allows the non-serving cells in
handover and retain the ability to control the UE its active set to be able to adjust the total uplink
transmit power from all nearby cells. power used by a UE. In other words, non-serving
2. Scheduling: cells can send an “SOS” to the UE and tell it to
reduce its power (and therefore uplink
a. HSDPA scheduling is based on what each cell interference).
157
Summary: HSDPA vs. HSUPA (continued)

Function HSDPA HSUPA
No soft handover for HSDPA Soft handover similar to R99 on
Soft Handover
channels on downlink uplink
UE transmission grants are given

Best cell allocates resources and by best cell and other active set
Scheduling
controls transmission members may throttle the rates
down
No power control for HSDPA Power control for all uplink
Power Control
channels on downlink channels similar to R99
True sharing of all radio resources

Uplink transmission gets dedicated
Shared Channel (power and codes) across multiple
resources through grants
users
Additional (shared) channels for
Associated Additional channels on uplink for
sending grants from serving and
Resources CQI reports and HARQ responses
non-serving cells
3. Power Control: 5. Associated Resources:

a. HSDPA does not use power control on the a. HSDPA needs associated resources on the
downlink since the allocations are short (2 ms) uplink. For example, an uplink channel (HS-
and discontinuous by nature. The network DPCCH) is added to enable CQI reporting and
determines the power levels to use through other Hybrid ARQ ACK/NACK transmissions.
means.
b. HSUPA needs resources on the downlink to
b. HSUPA transmissions are like any other uplink support its operations. Since code and power
transmission and use power control procedures may limit the downlink capacity and
similar to R99 dedicated channels. performance, the new channels added for
HSUPA are optimized to minimize used code and
4. Shared Channel:
power on the downlink. Associated channels
a. HSDPA implementation uses the downlink introduced on the downlink are the E-AGCH, E-
resources in a truly shared manner. At any time, RGCH and E-HICH.
code and power resources unused by R99
services are allocated to HSDPA users by the
scheduler. These resources are reclaimed and
may be used for different users in every
scheduling interval (2 ms).
b. HSUPA tries to manage the uplink interference.
However, the code space is not shared and is not
a limitation.
158
HSUPA-Related Channels
Noise Control
Scheduling
Non-serving E-AGCH/E-RGCH
Cell C1 Scheduling/Noise Control
E-DPDCH / E-DPCCH
UE
Noise High-Speed Data and Signaling
Control Serving
E-HICH Cell C3
ACK/NACK
E-DCH Active Set = {C1, C2, C3}

Non-serving E-DCH Serving Cell = C3
Cell C2
This diagram captures the role of different channels 4. When the E-DCH active set cells receive data, the
involved in HSUPA. In this example, the Enhanced Hybrid ARQ process at each cell transmits an ACK or
Dedicated Channel (E-DCH) has an active set consisting of a NACK on the E-DCH HARQ Indicator Channel (E-
three cells from three different Node Bs. The serving E- HICH), indicating the success of the packet
DCH cell is identified by the RNC as part of the radio link transmission. Note that the E-HICH and E-RGCH are
setup process through RRC signaling; cells that are not assigned the same channelization code. The E-
part of the serving cell’s Node B are referred to as the RGCH/E-HICH can also be shared by many UEs in a
non-serving E-DCH radio link set. given cell.
The HSUPA channels are processed by the UE as follows:
1. The UE receives Absolute Grant information from the
E-DCH serving cell on the E-DCH Absolute Grant
Channel (E-AGCH). The E-AGCH may be shared by
multiple UEs in a given cell.
2. The UE also receives Relative Grants (i.e., corrections)
from the serving and non-serving E-DCH radio link set
on the E-DCH Relative Grant Channel (E-RGCH).
3. The UE transmits the E-DCH transport channel data
on the uplink using the E-DCH Dedicated Physical
Data Channel (E-DPDCH), and associated control
information is sent on the E-DCH Dedicated Physical
Control Channel (E-DPCCH).
159
HSUPA Transmission
1 Scheduling Request
Run the Scheduling
Algorithm
3 Granting allowed resources
Scheduler
High-Speed Data +
4
Associated signaling Node B
5 Ack/Nack
3
4
5
...
The HSUPA process can be described in five basic steps. transmits an ACK to the UE. If the transmitted
Note that the duration of time between the first and last information was received with errors, the Node B
step is on the order of 10 ms or so. sends a NACK to the UE.
1. The UE makes a scheduling request. These steps are repeated continuously to support the
high-speed data process effectively and efficiently.
2. The serving Node B scheduler receives the scheduling
requests from all of the UEs it managed. The
scheduler’s primary function is to determine the
amount of power to allocate to each UE; the
standards do not specify a specific scheduling
algorithm.
3. Resources are granted to the selected users. When
the scheduler selects a set of users, it uses the uplink
channel quality and the data bandwidth requests
from the UE to decide the resource allocation. The
Node B signals the resource allowances over the air
to the UEs.
4. The UE sends the data to the Node B, along with the
associated control information.
5. The Node B verifies the checksum of the data. If the
transmission was received properly, the Node B
160
Typical E-DCH Setup Sequence

Stage 2: E-DCH setup
Stage 1: RRC
through Radio Bearer
connection setup
Setup
Sets up Signaling Radio

Bearers (SRBs) Remove UL DCH
UE will be in Cell_DCH Add E-DCH for SRB and

state after RRC setup traffic on uplink
Dedicated uplink and Add HS-DSCH or modify

downlink radio resources DCH for DL traffic
assigned to transport SRB
information
The E-DCH setup sequence is very similar to a typical R99

data session setup; however, there are some key
differences in the details. The most commonly used
implementation establishes the E-DCH in two stages:
1. RRC Connection Setup: When a data-oriented session
is first established, Radio Resource Control (RRC) is
set up with R99 dedicated channels, resulting in the
UE going into the Cell_DCH state. The radio bearer is
configured solely to carry Signaling Radio Bearers
(SRBs) at this time.
2. E-DCH Setup: When the E-DCH is set up to support
HSUPA, the uplink DCH for the SRBs is removed. The
E-DCH is allocated and the SRBs are mapped to
specific a MAC-d flow. The actual traffic data flows
may be mapped to other MAC-d flows. The associated
downlink and uplink channels (E-AGCH, E-RGCH, E-
DPCCH, etc.) are assigned to the UE at this time as
well.
161
HSUPA UE Categories
Maximum Number Minimum Maximum
UE HSUPA Supported E-
of Codes Code Data
Category DCH TTIs
Transmitted Size Rate
Category 1 1 SF4 0.7 10 ms only
Category 2 2 SF4 1.4 10 and 2 ms
HSUPA UE categories are defined in 3GPP TS 25.306,

Table 5.1a, and the maximum data rates per UE category
are in Table 5.2.2.5. It is worth noting that the maximum
data rates specified in Table 5.2.2.5 for UE categories 4
and 6 are based on a TTI of 2 ms, while the maximum
data rates for the remaining UE categories are based on a
10-ms TTI.
Although a category 2 UE supports a 2-ms TTI, the
maximum throughput is based on its performance using a
10-ms TTI, since this is slightly higher than the throughput
performance using a 2-ms TTI. This is why the maximum
data rate of an HSUPA category 2 UE is equivalent to that
of a category 3 UE, since both are based on a 10-ms TTI.
UEs with different levels of complexity and capabilities are
defined in order to permit device vendors some flexibility
in deployment and potential cost savings. For HSUPA, the
odd category devices only support a 10-ms TTI, whereas
the even category devices support both 10-ms and 2-ms
TTIs. The table above illustrates the other key differences
between these various HSUPA UE categories.
162
HARQ Processing at UE
Nack Ack Active Set (UE1) =

{C1, C2, C3}
C1 C3
Serving
UE1 Cell
If one cell sends an ACK,
the packet is successful
Nack
Next packet is sent

with RSN = 0
C2
Hybrid ARQ processing in HSUPA is fundamentally A single ACK is enough for the UE to consider the
different from the HSDPA case, since the transmission is corresponding transmission as a success and move on
one-to-many in HSUPA as opposed to one-to-one in with the transmission of the remaining subpackets. From
HSDPA. This introduces a number of challenges to the the network’s point of view, the cells that did not positively
network and the UE in high-speed uplink operations. acknowledge the packet initially expect a retransmission,
since they do not know whether the packet was received
During a call, the UE is constantly updated with the list of
correctly by the other members of the E-DCH active set.
cells that it will be communicating with for the E-DCH. This
However, the MAC-e layer at the Node B is indirectly
list defines the E-DCH active set for the UE, which may be
informed about the status of the previously transmitted
a subset of the normal active set of the R99 traffic. After
subpacket, since the UE indicates the transmission of a
the mobile transmits its payload in a TTI, it knows when
new subpacket by resetting the retransmission sequence
and how to expect the feedback information for that
number (RSN) to zero. Now, the Node Bs that had earlier
particular packet since the HARQ process is strictly
“NACKed” the previous packet know that a new subpacket
synchronous in HSUPA.
is being received, which allows them to reset their own
Since the information is received by the cells in the active MAC-e buffers.
set at the same time (within the propagation delay time,
which is negligible), each cell transmits its feedback
information (ACK or NACK) simultaneously, based on
whether the received block was decoded successfully. At
this point, the UE must decode these messages on the
corresponding E-HICH channels of each cell and
determine their value.
163
Codes for R99, HSDPA and HSUPA

CPICH
X P-CCPCH
X PICH
R99 Codes
X AICH
HSDPA Codes X
HSUPA Codes S-CCPCH X
R99 DL Signaling Codes X
X HS-SCCH X
X X
E-AGCH
SF16 X DPCH
X
E-RGCH/ X
X E-HICH X
DPCH
Minimum HSUPA channels SF32 X DPCH
required in a cell: X DPCH
• 1 E-RGCH/E-HICH SF64 X DPCH
• 1 E-AGCH SF128
SF256
The minimum requirement for a cell that is configured to UE is required for signaling. In Release 7, an option to
support HSUPA is an E-RGCH, an E-HICH, and an E-AGCH. support signaling on HSDPA is available. If this is
implemented, then DPCCH per UE would be required for
The E-RGCH and E-HICH share one 128-bit code, and the
power control; however, with the need to conserve codes,
E-RGCH/E-HICH will themselves be shared by multiple
a new Fractional Dedicated Physical Channel has been
users, through the use of signature sequences (up to 20
defined in R7 to support power control for up to 10 UEs.
users per code). Thus multiple E-RGCH and E-HICH
channels may be required based on expected maximum
HSUPA capacity
In addition, one E-AGCH must be deployed in the cell,
which requires a 256-bit code. This channel is also shared
by all of the UEs in the cell, but signature sequences are
not used; instead, the assigned E-RNTIs are used to
differentiate grants to different UEs.
Support for HSDPA requires additional channels to be

configured, which use additional codes.
The High-Speed Shared Control Control (HS-SCCH) uses a
128-bit code, while a downlink Dedicated Physical
Channel (DPCH) is needed to support downlink signaling
and uplink power control. Normally, a downlink DPCH per
164
Review Questions
1. Which of the following capabilities /features is NOT utilized
in HSUPA?
1. Power Control
2. Soft Handover
3. Adaptive Modulation
4. Variable spreading factor
2. List the sources of interference within the uplink of a cell
in a high-speed system.
3. Name the channel that the UE uses to send high-speed
data to the Node B in HSUPA.
4. What is meant by ‘Grant’ in HSUPA?
5. In HSUPA, which of the approach is adopted by the Serving
Cell and Non-Serving Cells to manage Grants for a UE?
165
HSUPA Performance
166
HSUPA Throughput Optimization

• UE limitations
– UE category
– Maximum transmit power
• Traffic levels and interference
– R99 traffic
– Rise-over-Thermal (RoT) thresholds
– Other HSUPA UE’s
– Hybrid ARQ success/failure
• Absolute and relative grants
HSUPA throughput is affected by a wide variety of factors,

some related to the RF environment, some not.
The UE itself is a key limiting factor - its category
determines its theoretical peak data rate (up to 5.76
Mbps), while its maximum power output may limit what it
is capable of doing at the edge of the cell.
Uplink load and traffic levels can cap the maximum rate
that can be achieved in HSUPA. As more and more of the
uplink resource are consumed by R99 (voice and low-
speed data) traffic, less is available for use by HSUPA. The
UE will be affected not only by traffic in the serving Node
B, but can be throttled by any cell in its active set. In
addition, if the UE is having trouble getting the packets
successfully delivered to the network (indicated by high
HARQ NACK rates), this may be an indication of excessive
interference on the uplink.
The Node B scheduling algorithm (and the corresponding
parameters) will affect the behavior of HSUPA UEs. A
conservative algorithm (providing small initial grants) will
limit the peak rates that a UE can achieve.
167
HSUPA Performance Statistics

• Uplink Interference Metrics
– Total RoT noise increase per cell
– Per cell RoT noise due to same cell traffic
– Per Cell RoT noise due to non-E-DCH interference
• Estimate noise floor, trend HSUPA interference bandwidth (UL capacity)
• Availability of E-DCH
– Per cell E-DCH access denied due to UL interference levels
– E-DCH grant reduced due to UL interference levels per cell
– Per cell E-DCH access denied due to Iub congestion
– E-DCH grant reduced due to Iub congestion per cell
• Quality of HSUPA service
– Track average number of simultaneous E-DCH users per cell
– HARQ ACK rate per cell
– HARQ NACK rate per cell
– Percentage of time Happy Bit per cell
These are examples of performance metrics an operator

would like to have with respect to HSUPA service. The first
category of uplink interference measurements are of
particular relevance, since HSUPA performance relies
entirely on the available RoT margin before signaling
cannot be decoded in the UL. E-DCH blocking or grant
reductions is another good metric to use to assess either
backhaul or uplink noise issues at a cell level. Tracking of
simultaneous users, ACK/NACK rates and Happy Bit rates
can also help provide an indication of the perceived QoS.
If the number of simultaneous users suddenly decreases,
or if users are experiencing higher than average NACK
rates or lower than average Happy Bit percentages, then
this may indicate a need for capacity growth or possible
unwanted sources of interference in the specific area.
168
Review Questions
1. In the HSUPA serving PSC plot, if the UE only receives
“hold” indications from the surrounding cells in a
significant portion of time, what do you understand by
this?
2. In Hybrid ARQ NACK plot, if the NACK rate is 80 percent in
significant portion of time, what does this indicate?
3. How is the UE itself a key limiting factor for low uplink
throughput?
169
HSPA+ Features for

Throughput
Enhancements
170
HSPA+ Key Features

Throughput Enhancement
Release 9
Release 7 Release 8
Dual Band Dual
Cell HSDPA
Higher Order Dual cell HSDPA
Modulation (HOM) Dual Cell HSDPA Dual Cell HSUPA
64 QAM (DL),
Dual Cell HSDPA
16 QAM (UL)
MIMO with 64 with MIMO
QAM
MIMO
Improved Layer 2 Release 10
Improved Layer 2 (UL)
(DL) 4 Carrier HSDPA
Improved Layer 2 (DL)
The objective of HSPA+ (3GPP R7, R8 and R9) is to helps to enhance peak throughput to 42 Mbps.
enhance HSPA performance in terms of spectrum
Improved Layer 2 (DL and UL): 3GPP R7 and R8 have
efficiency, peak data rate and latency. Key features that
done certain modification to Layer 2 (RLC/MAC) to
help to enhance throughput are briefly described below.
support higher data rates. From 3GPP R7 and R8, RLC
64 QAM in DL and 16 QAM in UL.: With 64 QAM, the supports flexible RLC PDU size in both directions instead
network pushes more data bits to the user and therefore of a fixed size like legacy HSPA. New MAC entities MAC-
increases the downlink data rate with no change in ehs (R7) and MACi/is (R8) are introduced to support
bandwidth. In HSPA+, rate control of the high speed flexible RLC PDU size.
channel is done primarily through changing the
Dual cell HSDPA and MIMO: 3GPP Release 8 introduced a
modulation and/or coding scheme. 3GPP R7 allows the
new feature called Dual Cell HSDPA to enhance user peak
UE to use 16 QAM on E-DCH (Enhanced Dedicated
throughput up to 42Mbps in downlink. Dual cell operation
Channel) in the uplink and therefore HSPA+ R7 can
is characterized as simultaneous reception of two High
achieve uplink peak data rates of 11.5 Mbps.
Speed – Downlink Share Channel (HS-DSCH) transport
MIMO and 64 QAM: Multiple Input Multiple Output channels on two different carriers. Two carriers must be
(MIMO) means the use of multiple antennas at the adjacent and should belong to same Node B. However two
transmitter and receiver side. Independent data streams, cells should not use MIMO to serve UEs configured for
using the same time-frequency resource, are sent over dual cell operation. 3GPP Release 9 allows the use of
different antennas. This provides multiplexing gain and MIMO with dual cell HSDPA and hence helps to increase
increases system capacity and data rates. MIMO allows peak throughput up to 84 Mbps.
downlink peak data rate of 28 Mbps with 16 QAM.
However, 3GPP R7 does not support MIMO with 64 QAM.
3GPP R8 allows support of 64 QAM with MIMO and hence
171
HSPA+ Key Features (continued)

Throughput Enhancement
Release 9
Release 7 Release 8
Dual Band Dual
Cell HSDPA
Higher Order Dual cell HSDPA
Modulation (HOM) Dual cell HSDPA Dual Cell HSUPA
64 QAM (DL),
Dual Cell HSDPA
16 QAM (UL)
MIMO with 64 with MIMO
QAM
MIMO
Improved Layer 2 Release 10
Improved Layer 2 (UL)
(DL) 4 Carrier HSDPA
Improved Layer 2 (DL)
Dual Band Dual Cell HSDPA: Dual Band Dual Cell feature
in 3GPP HSPA+ R9 enhancement allows simultaneous
reception of two HS-DSCH transport channel which are
carried over different frequencies from different frequency
bands. However these two carriers should be from the
same Node B.
Dual Cell HSUPA: In 3GPP Release 9, a new feature called
Dual Cell HSUPA or Dual Cell E-DCH was introduced to
enhance user uplink peak throughput to a maximum of 23
Mbps. In Dual Cell E-DCH operation, the UE is configured
with two uplink frequencies and two downlink frequencies.
For Dual Cell HSUPA, the UE must be configured with Dual
Cell HSDPA on a single frequency band.
Four Carrier HSDPA: In 3GPP Release 10, several features
have been combined and expanded to utilize four carriers
in the downlink. These can be in separate bands or in one.
The carriers in the same band are adjacent, or contiguous.
When four carriers, 64 QAM modulation, and 2 x 2 MIMO
are all utilized, peak data speeds of 168 Mbps can be
achieved on the downlink.
172
Higher Order Modulation

Primary Benefit: Higher Throughput (or Spectral Efficiency)
I hear you very well

Ok, I can
talk faster 16QAM
HSPA Node B
I hear you very well!

Ok, I can
talk faster 64QAM
HSPA + Node B
UL: 16QAM now available instead of just QPSK
Node B selects an appropriate modulation scheme for the

DL based on the current channel conditions.
In HSPA+, rate control of the high-speed channel is done

primarily through changing the modulation and/or coding
scheme. The spreading factor remains constant, but the
transport block size may vary, too. This technique is
referred to as Adaptive Modulation and Coding (AMC).
Since HSPA+ uses very fast Layer 1 feedback, it is
possible to effectively combat fast fading, i.e. rapid
variation in the channel condition. If the UE supports it,
Higher Order Modulation known as 64QAM may be used
when channel conditions allow it. Different levels of coding
can be applied as well, depending on the reported
channel conditions and the amount of successfully
transmitted packets.
AMC is most effective when combined with channel
dependent fast scheduling.
173
Multiple Input Multiple Output

Primary Benefit: Higher Throughput (or Spectral Efficiency)
Multiple Data Streams Higher Data

to Different Antennas Rate
R7
e c a – MOD
Space-Time f ed c b a
f ed c b a
Receiver
f d b – MOD
Multiple-antenna techniques are being considered in all

next generation systems to increase capacity or to provide
spatial diversity. The technologies being considered are
Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), both Spatial
Multiplexing and Space–Time Coding, and beamforming.
The term MIMO refers to a system having multiple input
signals and multiple output signals to exploit diversity
gains.
R7 supports spatial multiplexed MIMO systems, which
increases spectral efficiency by exploiting the fact that
fading in the wireless channel depends on the
propagation path between the transmitter and the
receiver. It affects two paths differently at a given time
instantly. Independent data streams, using the same time-
frequency resource, are sent over different antennas. This
provides multiplexing gain and increases system capacity
and data rates.
174
HSPA+ Improved Layer 2

Pre HSPA+ HSPA+
Fixed RLC PDU size Flexible RLC PDU size
Peak data rate increases only at physical layer RLC peak data rate enhancement
RNC
Flexible RLC
PDU size UE Flexible RLC
HSPA+
PDU size
PDCP Node B RRC
RLC MAC-ehs RLC
MAC-ehs MAC-i MAC-is
MAC-i/is PHY
PHY
• MAC–ehs can perform • MAC–is does macro
• MAC–i/MAC-is can MAC segmentation diversity selection in
perform MAC • Supports flexible RLC case of soft handover
segmentation PDU size and performs MAC
• Supports flexible RLC • MAC–i issues reassembly
PDU size scheduling grants
Prior to HSPA+, RLC protocol supported only fixed RLC • Since the RLC packet size is increased, the number
PDU size. Therefore, the use of MIMO, HOM or dual cell in of packets to be processed is clearly reduced and
HSPA+ will help to increase peak data rate only at the unnecessary segmentation operations also can be
Physical Layer. However, the peak data rate at the RLC avoided.
Layer is limited by the fixed RLC PDU size.
In HSPA+, three new MAC entities MC-ehs and MAC-i/-is
Layer 2 enhancements (includes both RLC and MAC) are defined.
become necessary to support the high data rates. To
MAC-ehs and MAC –i entities allow the support of flexible
enhance peak data rates even at the RLC level, the RLC
RLC PDU sizes as well as MAC segmentation/reassembly.
has been enhanced to support a flexible RLC PDU size.
The MAC-ehs at Node B in downlink and MAC-i at the UE
When the flexible RLC PDU size is configured by higher
in uplink perform the necessary segmentation of MAC-ehs
layers, the data PDU size is selected according to the
and MAC-i SDUs respectively. In addition, these two
payload size. Flexible RLC PDU size is only supported
entities handle multiple streams from Dual Cell and/or
when mapped on the HS-DSCH or E-DCH.
MIMO configurations and handle the common transport
The flexible RLC offers the following benefits: for Enhanced Cell_FACH.
• The relative RLC overhead is reduced due to Like MAC-es in HSUPA, MAC-is at the SRNC combines
increased packet size. The effective application data packets received from different Node Bs to perform
throughput is thereby increased due to reduced maximum ratio combining when the UE is in soft
overhead. handover. Also, as with MAC-e in HSUPA, MAC-i at Node B
issues scheduling grants to UEs.
• Large RLC block sizes lead to higher data rates.
175
DC-HSDPA and Dual Band DC-HSDPA

Dual Cell HSDPA (DC-HSDPA)
Serving cell Serving
fDL1 HS-SCCH and HS-DSCH HS-DSCH cell fDL1
Secondary Serving cell Secondary Serving

fDL2 HS-SCCH and HS-DSCH HS-DSCH cell fDL2
UE HSPA+ Node B
Serving cell and Secondary cell
Two cells belong to the same node and
f1 HS- DPCCH
are on adjacent frequencies
Dual Band DC-HSDPA

Serving cell
fDL1 HS-SCCH and HS-DSCH Serving HS-DSCH
cell Frequency
Secondary Serving cell Band ‘A’ fDL1
fDL2 HS-SCCH and HS-DSCH Secondary Serving
UE HS-DSCH cell
Serving cell and Secondary cell Frequency Band ‘B’ fDL2
fUL1 HS- DPCCH
HSPA+ Node B
Dual Cell HSDPA (DC-HSDPA) 2. The two cells must operate in the same frequency
band.
3GPP Release 8 introduced a new feature called Dual Cell
HSDPA to enhance user peak throughput up to 42 Mbps. 3. The two cells have the option to use MIMO in Rel 9
Dual cell operation is characterized as simultaneous (see next chart).
reception of two HS-DSCH transport channels on two
Dual Band Dual Cell HSDPA (Dual Band DC-HSDPA)
different carriers. One of the carriers is called the primary
or anchor carrier at the serving cell and another carrier is DC-HSDPA was introduced in 3GPP Release 8 with
called the secondary or supplementary carrier in the restrictions that two carriers should be from the same
secondary serving cell. In the uplink, the UE shall use only frequency band and must be adjacent. This could be an
the primary carrier to send feedback information on single issue in areas where an operator has spectrum on two
HS-DPCCH for both HS-DSCH transport channels. different bands and they do not have 10 MHz available for
UMTS on either band. The Dual Band Dual Cell feature in
The dual cell HSDPA feature aids to fulfill the desire for
3GPP HSPA+ Rel 9 enhancement allows simultaneous
better and more consistent user throughput across the
reception of two HS-DSCH transport channels which are
cells in particular, when radio conditions are such that
carried over different frequencies from different frequency
existing techniques like MIMO cannot be used.
bands. However these two carriers should be from the
However, there are some restrictions when deploying this same Node B. There is no option for MIMO with Dual Band
feature. These restrictions are discussed below for Rel-8. DC-HSDPA.
1. Both serving and secondary servings cells should On the uplink, HSUPA operates using a single cell in Rel
belong to the same Node B and should be on 7/8. There is an option to use Dual Cell HSUPA in Rel 9
adjacent carriers. (see next chart).
176
DC-HSDPA with MIMO and DC-HSUPA

Serving cell
DC - HSDPA with MIMO fDL1 HS-SCCH and HS-DSCH
Antenna 1
Antenna 2
Secondary Serving cell
• MIMO configured with fDL2HS-SCCH and HS-DSCH
dual cell HSDPA Antenna 1
• Single HS-DPCCH carries UE
Antenna 2
ACK/NACK,CQI and PCI HSPA+ Node B
related to two HS-DSCH Serving cell and Secondary cell
transport channels fUL1 HS- DPCCH
Primary E-DCH feedback

DC – HSUPA fDL1
Secondary E-DCH feedback
• Requires adjacent fDL2
frequencies
E-DCH on Primary carrier
• Requires serving and fUL1
secondary serving cells UE
E-DCH on Secondary carrier HSPA+
fUL2 Node B
DC-HSDPA with MIMO Dual Cell E-DCH operation has the following
characteristics:
As seen in the earlier section, 3GPP R8 supports both the
dual cell HSDPA and MIMO features to enhance peak user • It supports only 2ms TTI.
throughput but with the restriction that MIMO cannot be
• In the uplink, the UE shall use each activated uplink
used for a dual cell configured UE. With 3GPP R9, a new
frequency for E-DPDCH, E-DPCCH and DPCCH
feature called Dual Cell HSDPA with MIMO was
transmission. HS-DPCCH is transmitted only on the
introduced. It allows a dual cell configured UE to work with
primary carrier.
MIMO. With this feature, theoretical peak user throughput
is increased to 84 Mbps. MIMO can only be configured • In the downlink, E-AGCH, E-RGCH and E-HICH are
with adjacent dual cell operation. In the uplink, only one transmitted on a corresponding frequency configured
channelization code is used for HS-DPCCH to carry to the uplink frequency.
feedback information ACK/NACK, CQI, PCI related to two
HS-DSCH transport channels.
Dual Cell HSUPA
In 3GPP release 9, a new feature called Dual Cell HSUPA
or Dual Cell E-DCH was introduced to enhance user uplink
peak throughput to a maximum of 23 Mbps. In Dual Cell
E-DCH operation, the UE is configured with two uplink
frequencies and two downlink frequencies. For dual cell
HSUPA, the UE must be configured with Dual Cell HSDPA
on a single frequency band.
177
HSPA+ Features for

Reduction in Latency
and UE Power
178
HSPA+ Key CPC Features

Reduction in Latency/UE Power Consumption
Release 7 Release 8
DTX/DRX Enhanced Cell_FACH

(UL)
Enhanced Cell_FACH ( DL)
Direct Tunnel Arch. Improved Layer 2 (DL)
CPC – Continuous Packet Connectivity

Key features that help to enhance UE battery life and HSPA+ allows usage of HSPA resources in Cell_FACH,
reduce latency are briefly described below. URA_PCH and Cell_PCH state along with Cell_DCH state.
CPC – DTX: In HSPA R6 networks, the uplink DPCCH is Direct Tunnel Architecture: Another way to improve HSPA
transmitted continuously, even if there is no transmission performance is through a flatter architecture. The one
activity on the Enhanced Dedicated Channel (E-DCH) or tunnel solution allows the user plane to bypass the SGSN.
HS-DPCCH. This increases uplink channel overhead. In The advantage of the one tunnel solution is that there are
HSPA+, if there is no uplink data transmission on the E- fewer network elements (only two elements) in the user
DCH or HS-DPCCH, uplink DPCCH is not transmitted plane. It can efficiently support VoIP services at reduced
continuously. It is transmitted with a known activity latency.
pattern defined per UE.
CPC-DRX: Prior to HSPA+, the UE was required to monitor
the HS-SCCH continuously to decode HS-DSCH
information. This leads to increased HS-SCCH overhead
and UE battery consumption. In HSPA+, the network can
limit the number of subframes where the UE has to
monitor the HS-SCCH. It not only reduces the power
consumption, but also reduces interference in the cell and
consequently higher capacity can be achieved.
Enhanced Cell_FACH (DL and UL): In legacy HSPA
operation, HSPA resources are available only in the
cell_DCH state. Enhanced Cell_FACH state feature in
179
Discontinuous Reception of HS-SCCH

UE monitors
HS-SCCH for limited
subframes
• Reduces downlink control

channel overhead HSPA+
• Reduces interference Node B
UE
• Low UE battery consumption
The High Speed Shared Control Channel (HS-SCCH) is the

control channel associated with the HS-DSCH. The HS-
SCCH transmits the HS-DSCH allocation information
including user identification, codes allocated and the
modulation scheme of the current burst. In HSPA
technology (Rel-5/6), the UE is supposed to monitor the
HS-SCCH continuously to decode HS-DSCH information.
This leads to increased HS-SCCH overhead and UE battery
consumption.
This scheme is fundamentally changed in HSPA+ by the
DRX in the downlink. In HSPA+, the network can limit the
number of subframes where the UE has to monitor the
HS-SCCH. It not only reduces the power consumption, but
also there is less interference and consequently higher
capacity can be achieved.
180
Enhanced Cell_FACH State

Primary Benefit:
• Increase in available downlink and uplink peak data rates in Cell_FACH state
• Reduce latency in the IDLE mode, Cell_FACH,Cell_PCH and URA_PCH state
• Reduce state transition delay from Cell_FACH,Cell_PCH and URC_PCH state to
Cell_DCH state
HSPA HSPA+
Cell_DCH
Need to release Possible to keep

bearers bearers established
in the absence even in the absence
of data activity Cell_FACH of data activity
• Possible in
Possible to use
Not
Not possible
possible HSPA+ services
HSPA channels
to use
in HSPA
HSPA Cell_PCH/ • HSPA channel
channels
services URA_PCH enhancement
In legacy HSPA operation (Rel-5/6), HSPA resources are

available only in cell_DCH state. The Enhanced Cell_FACH
state feature in HSPA+ allows the usage of HSPA
resources in Cell_FACH, URA_PCH and Cell_PCH state
along with Cell_DCH state.
The performance benefits offered by enhanced Cell_FACH
state are:
• The FACH data rates can be increased beyond 1
Mbps due to immediate access without latency of
channel allocation.
• Seamless transition from Cell_FACH to Cell_DCH can
be possible because the physical channel is not
changed.
181
UE Categories (Release 7)
HS-DSCH Maximum Minimum Highest Order
Maximum Support
UE Number of Inter-TTI Modulation
TBS (bits) for MIMO
Category OVSF Codes Interval Scheme
13 15 1 35280 64QAM No
14 15 1 42192 64QAM No
15 15 1 23370 16QAM Yes
16 15 1 27952 16QAM Yes
35280 64QAM No
17 15 1
23370 16QAM Yes
42192 64QAM No
18 15 1
27952 16QAM Yes
Maximum Minimum Highest Order

E-DCH Maximum TBS for
Number of Spreading Modulation
Category (10ms, 2ms) TTI
Codes Factor Scheme
7 4 2 (20000, 22996) 16QAM
Recall that there are 12 HSDPA UE categories and 6 This is the highest data rate supported by HSPA+ in
HSUPA UE categories from the Physical Layer perspective. Release 7. For the UE category 18, when 64QAM (and not
A UE category is associated with capabilities of the UE’s (2x2) MIMO) is used, the peak data rate is 42192 bits/2
Physical Layer. HSPA+ increases the total number of ms= 21 Mbps. In cases of enhanced HSUPA, a category 7
HSDPA categories to 18 by introducing six new UE UE supports 16QAM for the UL E-DCH transmission,
categories. It adds one more HSUPA category, bringing the allowing a Transport Block of 22996 bits to be sent in a 2-
HSUPA categories to 7. The HSDPA UE category specifies ms TTI. This gives the highest HSPA+ rate of 22996 bits/2
the maximum number of OVSF codes (at SF=15) the UE ms = 11.5 Mbps in the uplink.
can process, the gap between two successive HS-DSCH
transmissions (1 meaning a gap of 0 TTIs), the maximum
size of one transport block, the highest-order modulation
scheme the UE can handle on the HS-DSCH, and an
indication of whether the UE supports (2x2) MIMO or not.
Release 7 HSPA+ either allows 64QAM or (2x2) MIMO but
not both at the same time for a given UE during a TTI of 2
ms. Consider the enhanced HSDPA category 18. When
(2x2) MIMO is supported, the maximum transport block
size is 27952 bits (which is the same as the case of
normal HSDPA UE category 10). Since a (2x2) MIMO
enables transmission of two such blocks, a total of 27952
*2 = 55904 Bits are transmitted in the 2-ms TTI. This
leads to the peak data rate of 55904 bits/2 ms = 28
Mbps.
182
UE Categories (R8 and R9)

R8 - HS-DSCH UE Categories support all 15 OVSF codes at SF=16 and the minimum inter-TTI
interval of 2 ms
MIMO + 64 QAM Dual Cell + 16 QAM Dual Cell + 64 QAM
Category TBS (Bits) Category TBS(Bits) Category TBS(Bits)
19 35280 21 23370 23 35280
20 42192 22 27952 24 42192
R9 - HS-DSCH UE Categories support all 15 OVSF codes at SF=16 and the minimum inter-TTI
interval of 2 ms
Dual Cell + MIMO + 16 QAM Dual Cell + MIMO + 64 QAM
Category TBS (Bits) Category TBS(Bits)
25 23370 27 35280
26 27952 28 42192
E-DCH UE Categories support minimum SF=2, minimum inter-TTI interval = 2 ms and maximum
of 4 codes for each E-DCH transport transmission
Category TBS (bits) Highest modulation scheme ( Dual Cell)
8 11484 QPSK
9 22996 16 QAM
TBS – Maximum no. of bits of HS-DSCH TB received per TTI
Dual Cell - 2 HS-DSCH i.e., 2 TBS / TTI ; Dual Cell +MIMO - 2 TBS/HS-
DSCH, i.e., 4 TBS / TTI Award Solutions Proprietary
The table summarizes the characteristics of the new UE

categories defined in Release 8 and Release 9. The total
number of UE categories for the basic/enhanced HSDPA
operation is now 28. All of these new UE categories, 19 to
28, support all 15 OVSF codes at SF=16 and the
minimum inter-TTI interval of 2 ms. One category differs
from another in its support for the maximum transport
block size (TBS), the maximum number of soft channel
bits, support for certain modulation schemes with/without
MIMO, and support for certain modulation schemes
with/without dual cell operation.
In addition to the HS-DSCH category, Release 9 adds two
more HSUPA category to support dual cell in uplink and
making a total of nine HSUPA categories. Category 8 only
handles QPSK with Dual Cell. Category 9 handles both
QPSK and 16 QAM with Dual Cell.
183
Summary
• HSUPA takes advantage of the unused interference budget on the
uplink to allow UEs to transmit at a higher data rate.
• Uplink throughput can be limited by many factors, including: UE
capabilities, total uplink traffic and interference levels, system
parameters, and network resource limitations (e.g., backhaul capacity).
• HSPA+ key features help to enhance throughput and reduce latency/UE
power consumption
DL UL
R7 64 QAM, MIMO (2x2), Improved Layer
2 , Enhanced Cell_ FACH, DTX/DRX
Direct Tunnel Architecture
R8 MIMO + 64 QAM, DC-HSDPA Layer 2 enhancements,
Enhanced Cell_FACH
R9 Dual Band Dual Cell, DC-HSDPA + DC-HSUPA
MIMO
.
184
Review Questions
1. Name the key HSPA+ features that help to improve
throughput.
2. Name the key HSPA+ features that help to reduce latency.
3. State True of False. The eNB requires twice the power for
MIMO operation compared to without MIMO. What
benefits are obtained if CPC-DTX feature is enabled in the
network?
4. State True or False. Layer 2 enhancement helps to
improve application throughput.
185
186
Acronyms
16QAM 16-phase Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

1xEV-DO 1x Evolution for Data Optimized
2G Second Generation Wireless Systems
3G Third Generation Wireless Systems
3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project
ACK Acknowledge or Acknowledgement
AICH Acquisition Indication Channel
AM Acknowledged Mode
AMR Adaptive Multi-Rate
ARFCN Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number
ARQ Automatic Repeat reQuest
ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
AWGN Average White Gaussian Noise
BCCH Broadcast Control Channel
BCH Broadcast Channel
BER Bit Error Rate
BLER Block Error Rate
BSC Base Station Controller
BSIC Base Station Identification Code
BSS Base Station Subsystem
BSSMAP Base Station System Mobile Application Part
BTS Base Transceiver Station
C/I Carrier-to-Interference ratio
CC Control Channel
CC Convolutional Coding
CCCH Common Control Channel
CCS Channelization and Code Set
CCTrCH Coded Composite Transport Channel
CDF Cumulative Distribution Function
CDM Code Division Multiplexing
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
CM Compressed Mode
CN Core Network
CNL Composite Neighbor List
CPC Continuous Packet Connectivity
CPICH Common Pilot Channel
CQI Channel Quality Indicator
CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check
CS Circuit-Switched
CS-CN Circuit Switched Core Network
CTCH Common Traffic Channel
187
Acronyms
dB Decibel
dBm Decibel per Milliwatt
DCCH Dedicated Control Channel
DCH Dedicated Channel
DL Downlink
DPCCH Dedicated Physical Control Channel
DPCH Dedicated Physical Channel
DPDCH Dedicated Physical Data Channel
DRX Discontinuous Reception
DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel
DTX Discontinuous Transmission
E-AGCH E-DCH Absolute Grant Channel
Eb/No Energy per Bit over Noise
Eb/Nt Energy per Bit over Noise and Interference
Ec/Io Energy per Chip over Interface
Ec/No Energy per Chip over Noise
E-DCH Enhanced Dedicated Channel
EDGE Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution
E-DPCCH Enhanced Dedicated Physical Control Channel
E-DPDCH Enhanced Dedicated Physical Data Channel
E-HICH E-DCH Hybrid ARQ Acknowledgement Indicator Channel
E-RGCH E-DCH Relative Grant Channel
E-RNTI E-DCH Radio Network Temporary Identifier
E-TFCI E-DCH Transport Format Combination Indicator
FACH Forward Access Channel
FBI Feedback Information
FBI Final Block Indicator
FCC Federal Communications Commission
FDD Frequency Division Duplex
F-DPCH Fractional Dedicated Physical Channel
FER Frame Error Rate
FTP File Transfer Protocol
GANSS Galileo and Additional Navigation Satellite Systems
GGSN Gateway GPRS Support Node
GMM GPRS Mobility Management
GPRS General Packet Radio Service
GPS Global Positioning System
GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
HAP Hybrid ARQ Process
HARQ Hybrid ARQ
HCS Header Check Sum
188
Acronyms
HCS Header Check Sequence

HLS Higher Layer Scheduling
HO Handover
HOM Higher Order Modulation
HPA High Power Amplifier
HS High Speed
HS-DCCH High Speed Dedicated Control Channel
HSDPA High Speed Downlink Packet Access
HS-DPCCH High Speed - Dedicated Physical Control Channel
HS-DSCH High-Speed Downlink Shared Channel
HSPA High Speed Packet Access
HSPA+ High Speed Packet Access Evolved
HS-PDSCH High Speed Physical Downlink Shared Channel
HS-SCCH High Speed - Shared Control Channel
HSUPA High Speed Uplink Packet Access
IF Inter-Frequency
IFHO Inter-Frequency Handover
IP Internet Protocol
IRAT Inter Radio Access Technology
Iu-CS Iu Circuit Switched
Iu-PS Iu Packet Switched
KPI Key Performance Indicator
L3 Layer 3 (network layer)
MAC Medium Access Control
MAC-d Medium Access Control Dedicated
MAC-e Message Authentication Code EUL
MAP Mobile Application Part
MGW Media Gateway
MHz Megahertz
MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output
MOD Modulate
MRC Maximum Ratio Combiner
MS Modulation Scheme
MSC Mobile Switching Center
MSC-S Mobile Switching Center Server
NACK Negative Acknowledgement
NAS Non-Access Stratum
NBAP Node B Application Part
NL Neighbor List
NSA Neighbor Search Algorithm
Nt Notification (SAP)
189
Acronyms
OSS Operations Support System

OVSF Orthogonal Variable Spreading Factor
PA Paging Agent
PC Power Control
PCCH Packet Common Control Channel
PCCH Paging Control Channel
P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical Channel
PCH Paging Channel
P-CPICH Primary Common Pilot Channel
PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol
PDF Probability Distribution Function
PDP Packet Data Protocol
PDU Protocol Data Unit
PHY Physical Layer
PICH Paging Indication Channel
PLMN Public Land Mobile Network
PRACH Physical Random Access Channel
PS Packet-Switched
P-SCH Primary Synchronization Channel
PS-CN Packet Switched Core Network
QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
QoS Quality of Service
QPSK Quadrature Phase Shift Keying
R99 Release 99
RAB Radio Access Bearer
RACH Random Access Channel
RAN Radio Access Network
RANAP Radio Access Network Application Part
RAT Radio Access Technology
RB Radio Bearer
RB Resource Block
RF Radio Frequency
RL Reverse Link
RLC Radio Link Control
RLS Radio Link Set
RNC Radio Network Controller
RNS Radio Network Subsystem
RNTI Radio Network Temporary ID
RoT Rise Over Thermal
RR Receiver Report
RRC Radio Resource Control
190
Acronyms
RSCP Received Signal Code Power

RSN Retransmission Sequence Number
RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator
RTWP Received Total Wideband Power
RV Redundancy Version
SC Selected Cell
SC Single Carrier
SCCH Supplemental Code Channel
S-CCPCH Secondary Common Control Physical Channel
SF Spreading Factor
SFN Same Frequency Network
SFN System Frame Number
SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node
SHO Soft Handover
SIB System Information Block
SINR Signal-to-Interference Plus Noise Ratio
SIR Signal-to-Interference Ratio
SONET Synchronous Optical Network
SRB Signaling Radio Bearer
SRNC Serving Radio Network Controller
SRNS Serving RNS
S-SCH Secondary Synchronization Channel
SU-MIMO Single-User MIMO
TB Transport Block
TBS Transport Block Size
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
TDM Time Division Multiplex(ing)
TFC Transport Format Combination
TFCI Transport Format Combination Indicator
TFRC Transport Format Resource Combination
TFS Transport Format Set
TGL Transmission Gap Length
TGPS Transmission Gap Period Sequence
TGSN Transmission Gap Starting Slot Number
TPC Transmit Power Control
TS Technical Specification
TTT Time to Trigger
UARFCN UTRAN Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number
UE User Equipment
UL Uplink
UM Unacknowledged Mode
191
Acronyms
UMB Ultra Mobile Broadband

UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
URA UMTS Routing Area
UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network or UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol
WAP Wireless Application Protocol
WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
192
References
Standards
1. 3GPP TS 23.009: “Handover Procedures”
2. 3GPP TS 23.018: “Basic Call Handling – Technical realisation”
3. 3GPP TS 23.022: “Functions related to Mobile Station (MS) in idle mode”
4. 3GPP TS 23.101: “General UMTS Architecture”
5. 3GPP TS 23.110: “UMTS Access Stratum; Services and Functions”
6. 3GPP TS 23.121: “Architecture Requirements for release 99”
7. 3GPP TS 23.920: “Evolution of GSM Platform towards UMTS”
8. 3GPP TS 23.925: “UMTS Core network based ATM transport”
9. 3GPP TS 23.930: “Iu Principles”
10. 3GPP TS 25.201: “Physical Layer – General Description”
11. 3GPP TS 25.211: “Physical channels and mapping of transport channels onto physical channels”
12. 3GPP TS 25.212: “Multiplexing and channel coding (FDD)”
13. 3GPP TS 25.213: “Spreading and Modulation (FDD)”
14. 3GPP TS 25.214: “FDD; physical layer procedures”
15. 3GPP TS 25.231: “Physical layer measurements”
16. 3GPP TS 25.301: “Radio Interface Protocol Architecture”
17. 3GPP TS 25.302: “Services provided by the physical layer ”
18. 3GPP TS 25.303: “UE functions and inter-layer procedures in connected mode”
19. 3GPP TS 25.304: “UE procedures in Idle Mode”
20. 3GPP TS 25.321: “Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocol Specification”
21. 3GPP TS 25.322: “Radio Link Control (RLC) Protocol Specification”
22. 3GPP TS 25.331: “Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol Specification”
23. 3GPP TS 25.401: “UTRAN Overall Description”
24. 3GPP TS 25.410: “UTRAN Iu Interface : General Aspects and Principles”
25. 3GPP TS 25.413: “UTRAN Iu Interface RANAP signaling”
26. 3GPP TS 25.420: “UTRAN Iur Interface: General Aspects and Principles”
27. 3GPP TS 25.430: “UTRAN Iub Interface: General Aspects and Principles”
28. 3GPP TS 25.433: “UTRAN Iub interface NBAP signaling”
29. 3GPP TS 25.434: “UTRAN Iub interface data transport & transport signaling for CCH data streams”
30. 3GPP TS 25.832: “Manifestations of Handover and SRNS relocation”
31. 3GPP TS 25.922: “RRM Strategies”
32. 3GPP TS 25.931: “UTRAN Functions, examples on signaling procedures”
33. 3GPP TS 25.832: “Manifestations of Handover and SRNS relocation”
193

VFN 745p Introduction To HSPA HSPA+ Optimization v1.0c CE

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INTRODUCTION TO

© 2014 Award Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Our areas of expertise include: VIRTUAL TRAINING: Award Solutions embraces

Award Solutions, Inc. www.awardsolutions.com +1.972.664.0727 v14.1

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(e) eLearning Course

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WCDMA Performance Optimization ............................................................................................................... 1

WCDMA Optimization Principles and KPIs ..................................................................................................... 3

RF Coverage and Neighbor List Tuning ....................................................................................................... 11

Coverage Optimization .................................................................................................................................. 17

Pilot Pollution ................................................................................................................................................. 22

Neighbor Lists ................................................................................................................................................ 27

Access Performance ..................................................................................................................................... 41

Random Access Process and Parameters ................................................................................................... 45

Access Failure Scenarios .............................................................................................................................. 54

Dropped Calls and Call Quality ..................................................................................................................... 61

Dropped Call Causes ..................................................................................................................................... 65

Uplink and Downlink Synch ........................................................................................................................... 67

Dropped Call Scenarios ................................................................................................................................. 74

VFN_745p Version 1.0c i

Inter-Frequency and Inter-RAT Performance ............................................................................................... 87

Idle-Mode Cell Reselection ............................................................................................................................ 89

IFHO and Inter-RAT Connected Mode Operations ....................................................................................... 99

IFHO and IRAT Triggers ................................................................................................................................ 104

R99 Data and HSDPA Performance ...........................................................................................................115

Packet Call Establishment .......................................................................................................................... 117

Packet Data KPIs ......................................................................................................................................... 119

RAB and State Switching ............................................................................................................................. 122

HSDPA Operations ....................................................................................................................................... 127

Code and Power Management ................................................................................................................... 133

CQI ................................................................................................................................................................ 138

HSDPA Performance ................................................................................................................................... 144

HSUPA and HSPA+ Performance ...............................................................................................................151

Uplink Interference Management ............................................................................................................... 153

HSUPA Operations ....................................................................................................................................... 156

HSUPA Performance .................................................................................................................................... 166

HSPA+ Features for Throughput Enhancements ....................................................................................... 170

HSPA+ Features for Reduction in Latency and UE Power ........................................................................ 178

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Maximize Revenue Potential

WCDMA Optimization at a Glance

1.Coverage and Neighbor Revise Optimization

Measure Voice Measure Data

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WCDMA Optimization at a Glance

1.Coverage and Neighbor Revise Optimization

Measure Voice Measure Data

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Packet Data KPIs

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Term Alias Definition Note

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In order to optimally manage the RF resources, the radio

Eb/No vs. Ec/No