Cell selection/reselection

Graham Whyley – Technical Master

Trainer

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 Webinar 8- Cell selection/reselection
Cell selection/reselection
 Cell Reselection on the Same LTE Frequency
 S-Criteria (3GPP Release 8)
 S-Criteria (3GPP Release 9, onwards)
 System Information Block 1
 Ranking-INTRA-Frequency
 Cell Reselection to a Different LTE Frequency
 frequency priority
 3G to LTE Cell Reselection
 SIB19

2
 Cell selection/reselection

In cellular networks, when a mobile (IDLE) Cell selection/reselection

moves from cell to cell and performs cell 3G LTE
selection/reselection
IDLE
SIB-
Parameters
for cell
selection
In LTE network, a UE measures two LTE
parameters on reference signal: GSM

UE makes the decision

• RSRP (Reference Signal Received
Power)
This is the minimum Quality/Power to
join my cell
• RSRQ (Reference Signal Received
Quality) I need to select
Parameters sent in SIB’s
a cell

You can make large cells or

small cells using these This is the minimum Quality/Power to
join my cell
parameters Parameters sent in SIB’s

3
Handover Handover
RRC CONNECTION RECONFIGURATION
Serving cell
MME
In handover, it has to measure the signal
strength/quality of the neighbour cells & Measurement
Report A5
send a report to the network.

neighbouring cell

HANDOVER
REQUEST
neighbour cell X2

Measurement Report

4
RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power)
Antenna 1

Without MIMO

5
 UE measurements
In LTE network, a UE measures two parameters on reference signal:

• RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power)

• RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality)

Which Cell?

Cell selection/reselection
•Qrxlevmin used for cell Qrxlevmin
selection in 3GPP release 8 Qrxlevmin
•Minimum required RX level IDLE
SIB1/3
in the cell (dBm) Qrxlevmin
Parameters for cell
selection
Qrxlevmin
•Qrxlevmin and Qqualmin
used for cell selection from Qrxlevmin
3GPP release 9
•Minimum required quality Intra Freq Cell Reselection
level in the cell (dB)
6
 Reference Signal Receive Power

RSRP (Reference Signal

Receive Power) is the Antenna 1
average power of

Without MIMO

12 sub-carriers
Resource Elements (RE)
that carry cell specific
Reference Signals (RS)
over the entire
1 ms
bandwidth, so RSRP is
only measured in the
symbols carrying RS Reference Signals occupy
8 out of 168
symbols(14x12)
7
 Reference Signal Receive Power

RSRP (Reference Signal Receive Power) is the average power of Resource

Elements (RE) that carry cell specific Reference Signals (RS) over the entire
bandwidth, so RSRP is only measured in the symbols carrying RS
Reference signals similar to CPICH in
Antenna 1
WCDMA (Ec/Io)

Without MIMO

12 sub-carriers
Reference signals are distributed in
both the time and frequency domains

Used for cell search, channel estimation

and neighbour cell monitoring

Reference signals reduce the maximum 1 ms

achievable user plane bit rate by
Reference Signals occupy
occupying a subset of the resource
8 out of 168 symbols
block symbol locations

RSRP measures signal power from a specific sector while excluding noise and
interference from other sectors 8
 Sub
channel

RSRP (Reference Signal Receive Power)

is the average power of Resource
Elements (RE) that carry cell specific
Reference Signals (RS) over the entire
bandwidth, so RSRP is only measured in
the symbols carrying Reference Signals

In 20Mhz you have 100PRB

9
Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)

10
 Received Signal Strength Indicator

RSSI is effectively a measurement of all of the power contained in the

applicable spectrum (1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 20MHz).

This could be signals, control channels, data channels, adjacent cell power,
background noise, everything.

RSSI varies with LTE downlink bandwidth

Bandwidth 1.4 3 5 10 15 20
(MHz)

# of RBs 6 15 25 50 75 100

Subcarriers 72 180 300 600 900 1200

11
Received Signal Strength Indicator

Point of interest
12
 Reference Signal Receive Quality

RSRP provides information about signal strength and RSSI helps in

determining interference and noise information.

This is the reason, RSRQ (Reference Signal Receive Quality)

measurement and calculation is based on both RSRP and RSSI

RSRQ is defined
as the ratio
N×RSRP / (E-
UTRA carrier
RSSI)

13
 Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ)

LOADED
UNLOADED
RSRQ affected by cell loads.

14
 Reference Signal Receive Quality
Bandwidth 1.4 3 5 10 15 20
(MHz)
# of RBs 6 15 25 50 75 100

Subcarrier 72 180 300 600 900 1200

s

Point of interest
RSRQ = n x RSRP/RSSI

RSRQ = 10 log 25 + (-102.77 –(- 82 .71)

=13.97 + (-20.06)
=-6.09

15
Initial Access Procedure

16
 Cell Search Procedures

Random
Cell Search Read SIB’s Cell Selection
access

There are two different types of synchronization procedures. The first one is when
the UE is not connected to LTE cell and wants to access LTE network. This
happens when the UE is switched on or when the reception is restored after being
in an area with no connection.

The second type of synchronization procedure happens when

the UE is already connected to LTE cell and detects a new cell.
This means the UE will prepare for a handover to a new cell
and will report this to the old cell.
• (P-SCH): for cell search and identification

Both these procedures use two types of

synchronization signals, that is the primary
synchronization signal (PSS) and the • S-SCH): for cell search and identification
secondary synchronization signal (SSS)
which are broadcasted in each cell. Physical Cell layer ident
17
Physical Cell identification and Global Cell ID identification

Physical Layer Cell ID (PCI)

C-RNTI
 The sequence to generate the Reference Signal
depends upon the PCI
 Limited to 504 values so not unique
 Careful assignment needed because a UE shall
never receive the same value from 2 different cells

18
 Read SIB’s

Random
Cell Search Read SIB’s Cell Selection
access

UE reads Channel Bandwidth

the MIB After a UE has selected a
PLMNi (public land mobile
UE reads Scheduling Information network), the UE performs the
the SIB 1 Value Tag cell selection procedure where
the UE searches for a suitable
SIB2, SIB3, SIB4, SIB5, cell.
UE reads
SIB6, SIB7, SIB8, SIB9,
the SIB
SIB10, SIB11, SIB12, SIB13

19
 Cell Selection

Random
Cell Search Read SIB’s Cell Selection
access

The UE shall measure the RSRP level of

the serving cell and evaluate the cell
selection criterion S for the serving cell
Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas – Qrxlevmin
All parameters except for Qrxlevmeas are
provided via system information. The
measured value
Qrxlevmeas is the measured value of the
cell’s reference signal received power Srxlev > 0
(RSRP) expressed in dBm.

The Qrxlevmin is the minimum required receive power level (dBm) in the cell and is
signaled as Q-RxLevMin by higher layers as part of the System Information Block
Type 1 (SIB Type 1)

20
 Example
SIB -70

Srxlev > 0

Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas – Qrxlevmin

Srxlev = -80 – Qrxlevmin

Srxlev = -80 – (-70)

= -10

21
 Qrxlevminoffset

Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas – (Qrxlevmin + Qrxlevminoffset)

Squal = Qqualmeas – (Qqualmin + Qqualminoffset)

The signalled values Qrxlevminoffset and Qqualminoffset are only applied when a cell
is evaluated for cell selection as a result of a periodic search for a higher
priority PLMN while camped normally in a VPLMN. During this periodic search
for higher priority PLMN the UE may check the S criteria of a cell using
parameter values stored from a different cell of this higher priority PLMN

22
 Cell Reselection on the Same LTE Frequency

Intra-frequency cells are LTE neighbour cells on the

same frequency as the serving cell, but with a different
PCI
PC=1 PCI=20 PCI=50
2I

23
 Cell Reselection Measurements (3GPP Release 8)
Intra-Frequency
• Parameters are provided by the serving cell Sintrasearch PCI=50
• If,
servingcell
Sservingcell > Sintrasearch

the UE may choose not to perform intra-frequency measurements

• If the condition above is not satisfied, or if Sintrasearch is not broadcast then the
UE completes intra-frequency measurements

• Where Sservingcell is the Srxlev value of the serving cell

In this equation, SIntraSearch is a threshold that the serving

cell advertises as part of SIB 3.
SIB 3(Qrxlevmin, Sintrasearch)
Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas – Qrxlevmin

Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas ( -80) – (-50)Qrxlevmin

=-30
Srxlev > 0 AND Squal > 0 24
 Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas – (Qrxlevmin)
Example-SIB 3
In this equation, SIntraSearch is a
threshold that the serving cell advertises as
part of SIB 3.

Sservingcell > Sintrasearch

Sintrasearch

Sintrasearch No need to
measure
neighbour
cells
actual value = signalled value  2 = 62 dB

UE measures when Qrxlevmeas <

-68 dBm
Qrxlevmin + 62, i.e. -130 + 62 = -68 dBm
Qrxlevmin + Sintrasearch
(-65 x2) + (31x2)
25
 Carriers with the same priority
Now consider carriers with the same priority as the current one. The mobile
starts measuring these if the following condition is satisfied:
Srxlev ≤ SNonIntraSearch
• Where Sservingcell is the Srxlev value of the serving cell
actual value =
SNonIntraSearch is a threshold that the signalled value  2 = 2
base station advertises in SIB 3, while
Srxlev depends on the serving cell’s
RSRP as before.
SNonIntraSearch
Sintrasearch

No need to
measure
intrasearch neighbour cells if
same priority

-68 dBm
-130 +2 = -128 dBm 26
 System Information Block 3

• Carriers with the same priority

• Parameters used to trigger cell
reselection measurements are
broadcast in SIB3

SNonIntraSearch
Sintrasearch

No need to
measure
neighbour cells if
same priority

actual value = signalled value  2 = 62 dB

UE measures when Qrxlevmeas <
-128 dBm -68 dBm Qrxlevmin + 62, i.e. -130 + 62 = -68 dBm
actual value = signalled value  2 = 2 dB
UE measures when Qrxlevmeas <
Qrxlevmin + 2, i.e. -130 + 2 = -128 dBm
27
 LTE neighbour list

Unlike in earlier systems, the mobile can find neighbouring LTE cells by itself:

The basestation does not have to advertise an LTE neighbour list as part of its
system information.
This brings three benefits.

1.The network operator can configure the radio access network more easily in
LTE than before.

2. There is no risk of a mobile missing nearby cells due to errors in the neighbour
list.

3. It is easier for an operator to introduce home base stations, which the user can
install in locations that are unknown to the surrounding macrocell network.

However, the base station can still identify individual neighbouring cells in SIB 4
using their physical cell identities if required

28
 SIB4: Cell-reselection parameters for
Neighbouring INTRA-Frequency
Contains neighbouring cell related information relevant
only for intra-frequency cell re-selection
includes cells with specific re-selection parameters as well
as blacklisted cells
All the contents of SIB4 are optional because UE's
can automatically detect and complete neighbour
INTRA_frequency cells

SIB 4 PCI=50

intra-frequency neighbour list

PCI=40 29
 Ranking-INTRA-Frequency
Srxlev > 0 AND Squal > 0
serving cell neighbour

Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas – Qrxlevmin Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas – Qrxlevmin Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas – Qrxlevmin

= -70 – (-75) = -80 – (-90) = -70 – (-60)
= +5 = +10 Here, Rs and Rn are= the-10 ranking scores
of
the serving cell and one of its neighbours.
Qhyst is a hysteresis parameter that the
base station advertises in SIB 3, which
discourages the mobile from bouncing
back and forth between cells as the signal
The UE must Rank levels fluctuate
Rs = Qmeas, s + Qhyst Rn = Qmeas, n − Qoffset, s, n

Qoffset, s, n is an optional cell-specific offset, which the serving cell can advertise in
SIB 4 to encourage or discourage the mobile to or from individual neighbours.
30
 Cell ranking
Rs = Qmeas,s + Qhysts (for the serving Rn > Rs =>“cell reselection“
cell)

Qmeas,n
Rn
RSRP (dBM)

Qmeas,s
Qhysts

Rs
Qoffsets,n

Treselection
the time interval value Treselection,
whose value ranges between 0 and
31 seconds
31
 Cell Reselection to a Different LTE Frequency

UE always have to measure frequecies

and RAT with higher priority

32
 Cell Reselection to a Different LTE Frequency

Priority 0 indicate the lowest priority Set

LTE priority
F2 0-7

Always need to
measure neighbour
cells if higher
priority
F3
F1 LTE
SIB 3

LTE
SIB 5

33
 SIB 3
It also specifies a priority for the
serving frequency as part of SIB 3

priority from 0 to 7, where 7 is the

highest priority.

serving frequency
Priority 1

SIB 3

SIB 5

serving cell advertises the other

carriers as part of SIB 5.
SIB 5 contains information for
interfrequency cell reselection.
34
 SIB 5
If the network is using more than one LTE carrier frequency, then the
serving cell advertises the other carriers as part of SIB 5.

SIB5 includes neighbour cell list, carrier frequency, cell reselection

priority, threshold used by the UE when reselecting a higher/lower priority
frequency than the current serving frequency etc. It also contains a list of
blacklisted inter-frequency neighbouring cells

The serving cell does, however, associate each carrier frequency with a
priority from 0 to 7, where 7 is the highest priority.

cellReselectionPriority defines the Abolute priority of the frequency layer

The network can use these priorities to encourage or discourage the mobile to
or from individual carriers, a feature that is particularly useful in layered
networks, as microcells are usually on a different carrier frequency from
macrocells and usually require a higher priority.
35
 Higher priority
SIB5 includes neighbour
priority for the serving
cell list, carrier
frequency as part of SIB 3
frequency, cell
reselection priority

Priority 7

Measure
New cell’s RSRP

SIB 3 Priority 1 frequency 2

SIB 5

serving frequency 1
Priority 1
SIB 5 contains information for
interfrequency cell reselection. 36
 Higher priority

Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas – (Qrxlevmin)

What is the Srxlev?

Priority 7
Measure
New cell’s RSRP
Qrxlevmeas

SIB 3 Priority 1 frequency 2

SIB 5

serving frequency 1
Priority 1
SIB 5 contains information for
interfrequency cell reselection. 37
 SIB 5
The SystemInformationBlockType5 (SIB5)
contains neighbor cell related information
for inter-frequency cell-reselection i.e. the
information about neighbor E-UTRA
frequencies

SIB5 includes neighbour cell list, carrier

frequency, cell reselection priority,
threshold used by the UE when reselecting
a higher/lower priority frequency than the
current serving frequency etc. It also
contains a list of blacklisted inter-frequency
neighbouring cells

38
 Example of Srxlev

Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas – (Qrxlevmin)

= -50 –(-130)

= +80

Srxlev > 0 AND Squal > 0

Minimum signal strength

(actual value = signalled value
 2)

39
From UMTS to LTE

40
 From UMTS to LTE LTE
P7
Priority from 0 to 7, where 7 is the highest
priority

SIB 19 UMTS
P4
Must do the S &
R equation

s-SearchRAT 1
s-Intrasearch

No need to measure
neighbour cells if same
priority
-116 + 2 = -114 -116 + 20 = -96
41
 WCDMA: priority based cell reselection

serving cell

Priority 7
Priority 1 LTE

UMTS.

SIB 19

serving cell

42
Questions

43
 Questions
1. If the network is using more than one LTE carrier frequency, then the
serving cell advertises the other carriers as part of SIB 5.

TRUE
FALSE

The SystemInformationBlockType5 (SIB5)

contains neighbor cell related information
for inter-frequency cell-reselection i.e. the
information about neighbor E-UTRA
frequencies

44
 Questions
2. What is contained in SIB19
a. Utran pirority
b. Eutran pirority
c. Earfcn
d. qrxLevMinEUTRA
e. All above
f. A & b

45
 Questions

3. SIB 1 specifies a priority for the serving frequency.

TRUE
FALSE

SIB3

46
 Questions

3. SIB 3 specifies a priority for the serving frequency.

TRUE
FALSE

Priority 7
Measure
New cell’s RSRP
Qrxlevmeas

SIB 3 Priority 1 frequency 2

SIB 5

serving frequency 1
Priority 1
SIB 5 contains information for
interfrequency cell reselection. 47
 Questions
4. Priority from 0 to 10, where 0 is the highest priority.
.

TRUE
FALSE

Priority from 0 to 7, where 7 is the highest

priority.

48
 Questions

5. The basestation does not have to advertise an LTE neighbour list as part
of its system information. However, the base station can still identify
individual neighbouring cells in SIB 4 using their physical cell identities if
required.
TRUE
FALSE

All the contents of SIB4 are optional because UE's can

automatically detect and complete neighbour INTRA_frequency
cells

49
 In Closing
 Thank you for attending

50