UTRAN

UTRAN

U101 UMTS Network Systems Overview 1

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Contents and Session Aims

•UTRAN
•RNS, RNC and Node-B • This session aims to explain the
roles and procedures behind
•Handover in UMTS UTRAN
! To describe in detail the entities
•Admission Control comprising the UTRAN
•Load Control ! To examine the role of UTRAN in
Soft Handover
•Radio Resource
! To look at Call Admission,
Management Congestion control and Radio
Resource Management Algorithms
•Transmit Diversity
! To look at how the air interface is
•Cell Search and affected by power control
Synchronisation algorithms
•Power Control

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UTRAN
• UTRAN is the UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
• For any network UTRAN consists of:
! One or more RNSs with their associated RNCs, Node Bs and Cells
• The functions of UTRAN (as described above) are:
! System access control
! Security and privacy
! Handover
! Radio resource management and control

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Radio Network Subsystem (RNS)

• A Radio Network Subsystem Iu
consists of:
! A single RNC Iur
RNC
! One or more Node B’s
! Cells belonging to Node B’s
• The UMTS equivalent of the GSM
BSS Node B Node B

Cell Cell
Cell Cell Cell Cell

Uu

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Radio Network Controller (RNC)

• Responsible for the use and
integrity of the radio resources Iu
within the RNS
Iur
• Responsible for the handover RNC
decisions that require signalling to
the UE
Node Node
• Provides a combining/splitting B B
function to support macro diversity
between different Node Bs Cell Cell

Cell Cell Cell Cell

Uu

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Node B
• Logical node responsible for radio
transmission / reception in one or Iu
more cells to/from the UE
Iur
• Dual mode Node B can support RNC
FDD and TDD mode
• Not necessarily a single site Node Node
according to the standards B B
! Most current implementations use
a single site Cell Cell

Cell Cell Cell Cell

Uu

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Cell
• A cell is an area of radio coverage
serviced by one or more carriers Iu
Iur
RNC

Node Node
B B
Cell Cell

Cell Cell Cell Cell

Uu

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UTRAN Security and privacy

• Use of temporary identifier
• Encryption for radio channel
• Decryption for radio channel

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Use of Temporary Identifier

• There are a number of different types of equipment and user
identifiers used by UMTS
• They have been taken directly from GSM to provide some
backwards compatibility
! International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)
! Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI)
! Temporary Logical Link Identity (TLLI)
! Mobile Station ISDN (MSISDN)
! International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI)

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IMSI and TMSI

• IMSI is a unique 15 digit identifier • The TMSI is used to add a level of
for each user and serves as the security to the Subscriber Identity
primary identifier • The TMSI is 32 bits long
• It consists of: • It may be allocated by either an
! Mobile Country Code (MCC), 3 MSC/VLR or an SGSN
digits
! If it is allocated by an SGSN it is
! Mobile Network Code (MNC), 2/3 known as a P-TMSI
digits
! It is only valid within the network
! Mobile Subscriber Identity Number domain that it has been awarded
(MSIN), 9/10 digits by and both types may be
simultaneously allocated
MCC MNC MSIN
3 bits 2/3 bits 9/10 bits

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UTRAN Handover
• Radio environment survey
• Handover decision
• Macro diversity control
• Handover control
• Handover execution
• Handover completion
• SRNS relocation
• Inter-system handover

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Handover in UMTS
• There are three basic types of handover
! Intra frequency handovers
" Handovers between 2 UMTS carriers at the same frequency
" These can be soft handovers
! Inter frequency handovers
" Handovers between 2 UMTS carriers at different frequencies
" These are hard handovers
! Inter system handovers
" Handovers between UMTS and GSM carriers
" These are hard handovers

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Handover Sets in UMTS

• Active Set
! Cells forming a soft handover connection to the mobile
• Candidate Set
! Cells not presently used in soft handover but who qualify for soft
handover
• Neighbour Set
! Those cells which are continuously monitored but do not yet qualify for
the Candidate Set

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Handover Decisions in UMTS

Active set = 1 =2 =2
Pilot Ec/Io Cell A Cell A and Cell B Cell A and Cell C

Window_DROP
Window_ADD

Window_REPLACE

Direction of Travel

Add Time Delay Replace Time Delay Drop Time Delay

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Macrodiversity between Cells on the Same

Node B Iu
• If an active set consists of two
connections to cells parented to Iur
the same Node B then the RNC
combining of the two channels
occurs at the Node B
• This is known as a softer
handover Node B Node B
• This has no transmission
implication if cells are collocated.
Cell Cell
Cell Cell Cell Cell

Uu

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Macrodiversity between Node

I
B’s
u

• If an active set consists of two Iur

connections to cells parented RNC
to different Node Bs then the
combining of the two channels
occurs at the RNC
• This is known as a soft Node B Node B
handover
• This doubles the transmission Cell Cell
‘cost’ of the call
Cell Cell Cell Cell

Uu

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Macrodiversity between RNSs

Iu Iu
Serving RNS Iur
RNC RNC
Drift RNS

Node B Node B Node B Node B

Uu

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Macrodiversity between RNSs

• SRNS provides link between the Core Network and the UE
• SRNS also provides the selection function for the different
channels
• DRNS relays frames to SRNS through Iur
• As the UE moves then some diversity paths may be dropped
and others established
• When the DRNS has more paths than the SRNS the two can
exchange function
! Reduces traffic on Iur

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Site Selection Diversity Transmit Power
Control
• Site selection diversity transmit power control (SSDT) is an
optional macro diversity method in soft handover mode.
• The UE selects one of the cells from its active set to be
‘primary’, all other cells are classed as ‘non primary’.
• The main objective is to only transmit data on the downlink from
the primary cell
! Reducing the interference caused by multiple transmissions in a soft
handover mode.
• A second objective is to achieve fast site selection without
network intervention
! Maintaining the advantage of the soft handover.

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SSDT
Non-Primary Cell Primary Cell
• Each cell is assigned a temporary
identification (ID) and UE
periodically informs the primary cell
ID to the connecting cells.
• The non-primary cells selected by
UE switch off the transmission
power for the downlink data. UE

• The primary cell ID is delivered by

UE to the active cells via uplink FBI
field
Control
• The cell with the highest CPICH
RSCP is the primary cell. Data

Non-Primary Cell

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 UTRAN

Hierarchical Cell structures

• Cell Layers in UMTS work on a ‘per carrier’ basis

Microcell/Macrocell Scenario Hotspot Scenario

Frequency 1 Frequency 2 Frequencies 1 & 2

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Hierarchical Cell Structures

• Typically operators will be awarded
2 or 3 carriers Macro FDD
• If they are awarded 3 carriers it is
then possible to implement HCS by
! Using 2 paired carriers for the Micro FDD
macrocell layer
! Using 1 paired carrier for the
microcell layer
TDD
! Using any unpaired spectrum Picro
allocated for the picocell layer
using TDD mode Carrier 1
Carrier 2
Carrier 3
Carrier 4

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Inter Frequency Measurements at the UE

• GSM: Discontinuous transmission
! Room for measurements required for Mobile Assisted Hand Off
Uplink TX TX

Downlink RX RX

Idle time for measurements

• UMTS FDD: Continuous transmission

! No idle time for measurements required for MAHO

Uplink TX TX TX TX TX TX TX TX TX TX TX TX TX TX

Downlink RX RX RX RX RX RX RX RX RX RX RX RX RX RX

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 UTRAN

Compressed Mode
• In Compressed Mode a Transmission Gap is created
• This allows inter-frequency and inter-system measurements
• Probably only required for inter-frequency handover and inter-
mode handover to GSM1800
! GSM900 dual mode terminals will probably have separate receivers

Spanning
two frames
One Frame,
10ms

Spanning a
single frame

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Compressed Mode
• The Transmission Gap is created
by not transmitting for a number of
slots
• Other slots in the frame impacted
are then forced to transmit at a
higher bit rate, a lower spreading
factor and a higher power to
maintain the user bit rate
• It is possible to have gaps of 3, 4,
7, 10 and 14 slots 1 2 4 5 10 11 12 13 14 0 2 3 4 5
12 13 14 0 3 1 6 7

! It is only possible to have gaps of

10 or 14 slots by using two frames
4 slot gap

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Radio Environment Survey

• Received Signal Code Power
! The received code power of the pilot
• Received Signal Strength Indicator
! The total in-band signal strength of the carrier
• Ec/Io can be derived from these two items

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UTRAN System Access Control

• Admission control
• Congestion control
• System information broadcasting

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Admission Control
• If loading is allowed to increase excessively then the coverage
area of the cell reduces below that planned - Admission Control
aims to avoid this
• Admission Control functionality is located at the RNC to take
the impact on multiple cells into account
• The Admission Control algorithm estimates the impact of
adding an additional bearer on both uplink and downlink
! Only if both ‘pass’ is the call admitted
• There are two broad categories of algorithm
! Wideband Power Based Admission Control algorithms
! Throughput based Admission Control algorithms

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Wideband Power Based Admission Control

• Uplink Algorithm:
Itotal_old +∆Itotal > Ithreshold
Interference
Ithreshold

Max Planned Noise Rise

∆Itotal
Itotal_old

∆L load

• Downlink Algorithm:
Ptotal_old +∆Ptotal > Pthreshold

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Throughput Based Admission Control

• Uplink Algorithm

ηUL+∆L > ηUL_threshold

• Downlink Algorithm
ηDL+∆L > ηDL_threshold

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Congestion (Load) Control

• Admission control should ensure that the system is not
overloaded
• If it is then congestion control returns the system back to the
targeted load
• Possible actions include
! Downlink fast load control (deny downlink power up commands)
! Uplink fast load control (reduce uplink Eb/No target)
! Reduce packet data traffic throughput
! Handover to another WCDMA carrier
! Handover to GSM
! Decrease bit rates for real time users (e.g. AMR bit rates)
! Drop calls in a controlled fashion

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UTRAN Radio Resource Management

• Radio bearer set up and release
• Reservation and release of physical radio channels
• Allocation and release of physical radio channels
• Allocation of downlink channelisation codes
• Packet data transfer over radio function
• Radio channel coding and control
• Initial access detection and call handling
• Power control

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Packet Data Transfer

• Packet Access is controlled in UMTS by a Packet Scheduler
(PS)
• The tasks of the PS are to:
! Divide the available air interface capacity between packet users
! Decide which transport channels to use for each users packet data
! Monitor the packet allocations and the system load
• The PS is typically located at the RNC

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Common Transport channels for packet
data
• The Common Transport channels that
can be used for packet access are: Bitrate
! RACH
! FACH
• Low setup time

User 5

User 7
User 4

User 6
User 2

User 3
User 1
• Link level performance worse than that
of dedicated channels due to lack of
closed loop power control and soft
handover
• Most Suitable for small individual Time
packets Time based packet scheduling
! SMS is the mechanism employed
! Text only email when using the common and
shared channels
! Web Page request

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Dedicated Transport channels for packet
data
• Slow setup time
Bitrate
• Link level performance better than
that of common channels due to
fast closed loop power control and User 5
ability to use soft handover User 4
• Most Suitable for medium or large User 3
amounts of data User 2
User 1

Time
Code/Transmit based packet
scheduling is the mechanism
employed when using the
dedicated channels

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Shared Transport channels for packet data

• The shared Transport channels that can be used for packet
access are
! DSCH
! CPCH
• Targetted at bursty packet data
• Share a code amongst many users
• Can use fast power control
• Cannot use soft handover
• Suitable for medium amounts of data

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Packet scheduling in UMTS

• In reality the packet scheduler
users a combination of time and Bitrate
code based packet scheduling
• The packet scheduler will work with

User 5

User 7
User 4

User 6
User 2

User 3
User 1
the admission control algorithm to
achieve the target load at a cell User E
User D
User C
User B
User A
Load Time
Target Load Free
Capacity

Non Controllable Real Time Load

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Downlink Multiplexing and Channel Coding
Chain
Insertion of DTX Insertion of DTX
CRC Attachment Indication (fixed indication (With Flexible
Positions only)
Positions only)

Transport Block Physical Channel

First Interleaving
Concatenation/ Code
Block Segmentation (20, 40 or 80ms) Segmentation

Second
Radio Frame
Channel Coding Interleaving
Segmentation
(10ms)
Other
Transport
Channels Transport Channel Physical Channel
Rate Matching Multiplexing Mapping

DPDCH DPDCH DPDCH

#1 #2 #n

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Uplink Multiplexing and Channel Coding
Chain
CRC Attachment First Interleaving
(20, 40 or 80ms)

Transport Block Physical Channel

Radio Frame
Concatenation/ Code
Block Segmentation Segmentation Segmentation

Second
Channel Coding Rate Matching Interleaving
(10ms)
Other
Transport
Channels Physical Channel
Radio Frame Transport Channel
Equalisation Multiplexing Mapping

DPDCH DPDCH DPDCH

#1 #2 #n

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CRC Attachment
• The Cyclic Redundancy Check is used to detect errors in the
transport blocks at the receiving end
• There are five lengths of CRC that can be inserted
! 0, 8, 12, 16 and 24 bits
• The more bits the CRC contains the lower the probability of
undetected error

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Code Block Concatenation/Segmentation

• The received transport block is either concatenated to other
transport blocks or segmented to allow it to fit into an
appropriate block size for the channel coding scheme chosen
• It is typically better to concatenate as:
! It reduces the encoder tail bits overhead
! It can improve the performance of channel coding to have larger block
sizes
• However over a certain limit segmentation is required to limit
complexity

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Channel Coding
• In UTRA two channel coding method are used
! 1/2 and 1/3 rate convolutional coding
! 1/3 turbo coding
" 8 state Parallel Concatenated Convolutional Code

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Interleaving
• Two different levels of interleaving are used:
! Inter Frame interleaving
" When the delay budget allows more than 10ms of interleaving
" It is possible to have interleaving over 20, 40 and 80ms time periods
! Intra Frame Interleaving
" Over a 10ms time period

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DTX Indication for Fixed and Flexible
Positions
• The use of fixed positions means Fixed Positions: A and
B Full Rate
that a given transport channel
always occupies the same TFCI TrCH A TPC TrCH B Pilot
positions when multiplexed with
Fixed Positions: B Full
others Rate and A 1/3 Rate
! If there is no data DTX indication
TFCI A DTX TPC TrCH B Pilot
symbols are inserted
Flexible Positions
• The use of flexible positions means Positions: A Full Rate
that bits unused by one service can and B 1/3 Rate
be used by another TFCI TrCH A TPC A B Pilot

Fixed Positions: A 1/3

Rate and B 2/3 Rate

TFCI A B DTX TPC TrCH B Pilot

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Downlink Transmit Diversity

• UMTS explicitly allow the use of transmit diversity from the base station
• However it is not possible to simply transmit simultaneously form two close
antennas as this would cause an interference pattern - the following
methods negate this issue

Transmit Diversity Description

Method
TSTD Time Switched Transmit antenna
Diversity (open loop)
STTD Space Time block coding Transmit
antenna Diversity (open loop)
Closed Loop Mode 1 Different Orthogonal Pilots
Closed Loop Mode 2 Same Pilot

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Channels Using Downlink Transmit
Diversity
Physical channel Open loop mode Closed
type loop
TSTD STTD Mode
P-CCPCH – X –
SCH X – –
S-CCPCH – X –
DPCH – X X
PICH – X –
PDSCH – X X
AICH – X –
CSICH – X –

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Time Switched Transmit antenna Diversity
(TSTD)
• Even numbered slots transmitted on Antenna 1, odd numbered slots on Antenna 2

Slot #0 Slot #1 Slot #2 Slot #14

P-SCH P-SCH P-SCH

Antenna 1
S-SCH S-SCH S-SCH

P-SCH
Antenna 2

S-SCH

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Space Time block coding Transmit antenna
Diversity (STTD)
• STTD encoding is optional in UTRAN. STTD support is mandatory at the UE
• Channel coding, rate matching and interleaving is done as in the non-
diversity mode.
• STTD encoding is applied on blocks of 4 consecutive channel bits
• The bit bi is real valued {0} for DTX bits and {1, -1} for all other channel bits.

b0 b1 b2 b3 Antenna 1

b0 b1 b2 b3

-b2 b3 b0 -b1 Antenna 2

Channel bits

STTD encoded channel bits

for antenna 1 and antenna 2.

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Closed Loop Mode

• Channel coding, interleaving and spreading are done as in non-
diversity mode
• The spread complex valued signal is fed to both TX antenna
branches, and weighted with antenna specific weight factors w1
and w2
• The weight factors are complex valued signals in general.
• The weight factors are determined by the UE, and signalled
using the D-bits of the FBI field of uplink DPCCH.

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Closed Loop Mode

CPICH1 Ant1
w1
Tx
Spread/scramble
∑

DPCCH
DPCH Ant2
DPDCH
Tx
∑
w2 CPICH2

Rx
w1 w2

Weight Generation Rx

Determine FBI message

from Uplink DPCCH

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Cell Search and Synchronisation

• In UMTS base stations are not tightly synchronised (µs-level) to a common
reference, e.g. GPS
• Makes for easier deployment, e.g. in indoor environments
! All cells transmit different scrambling codes plus common
synchronisation code
• UE searches for primary synchronisation code with matched filter
! Synchronises to new cell and acquires time slot clock
• UE decodes secondary synchronisation code
! Identification of new cell
! Radio frame synchronisation
• Can now find cell’s scrambling code from the CPICH to decode the Primary
CCPCH

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Power Control
• Two Levels of Power Control
! Outer Loop
" The RNC sets the target Eb/No based upon the BER of the received data
! Inner loop
" Open loop based upon estimating the path loss from the pilot
" Fast closed loop Power control on both the uplink and the downlink
– Based upon TPC bits
– 2 algorithms
» Every received bit causes an adjustment in transmit power, either up or down
» A set of commands is sent starting with a sequence of 4 0’s. Only if all 5 command
the bits indicate up is the power increased, all the bits down is the power decreased.
Otherwise power remains the same

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Power Control in Soft Handover

• In Soft Handover multiple power control measurements might
be received
• In this case a simple rule is used
! If any command says power down, then power down
! If all commands say power up, then power up

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Questions
• What is the difference between load control and congestion
control?
• How does handover for UMTS differ from that in cdmaOne?
• If we are continuously receiving data, how do we take
measurements for MAHO?

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Session Summary
• In this session we have discussed the major elements and
procedures for UTRAN
• In the next session we are going to look at the Core Network

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