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VoLTE Solution User Guide

Contents

1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................... 4
1.1 Purpose and Scope ........................................................................................................................................... 4
1.1.1 Purpose.................................................................................................................................................... 4
1.1.2 Scope....................................................................................................................................................... 4

2 Solution Overview ........................................................................................................................ 4


2.1 Scenario Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 4
2.1.1 Basic VoLTE Solution ............................................................................................................................. 5
2.1.2 Enhanced VoLTE Solution ...................................................................................................................... 8
2.1.3 VoLTE VQM Solution........................................................................................................................... 12
2.2 Benefits .......................................................................................................................................................... 12
2.3 General Solution............................................................................................................................................. 13

3 Scenario-based Solution Application Policies ...................................................................... 14


3.1 Scenario 1: Application of the Basic VoLTE Solution.................................................................................... 14
3.1.1 Feature and Function List ..................................................................................................................... 15
3.1.2 Solution Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 16
3.1.3 Parameter Configuration ....................................................................................................................... 20
3.1.4 Service-Related Parameter Optimization .............................................................................................. 26
3.1.5 Effect Evaluation Methods .................................................................................................................... 26
3.1.6 Fault Location Instruction ..................................................................................................................... 31
3.2 Scenario 2: Application of the Enhanced VoLTE Solution ............................................................................. 31
3.2.1 Feature and Function List ..................................................................................................................... 31
3.2.2 Application of Capacity Enhancement .................................................................................................. 34
3.2.3 Application of Coverage Improvement ................................................................................................. 58
3.2.4 Application of UE Power Saving .......................................................................................................... 79
3.2.5 Application of Mobility Management ................................................................................................... 81
3.2.6 Application of Large Traffic Enhancement ........................................................................................... 84
3.3 Scenario 3: Application of the VoLTE VQM Solution ................................................................................... 87
3.3.1 Feature and Function List ..................................................................................................................... 87
3.3.2 Solution Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 88
3.3.3 Parameter Configuration ....................................................................................................................... 90
3.3.4 Service-Related Parameter Optimization .............................................................................................. 94
3.3.5 Effect Evaluation Methods .................................................................................................................... 94
3.3.6 Fault Location Instruction ..................................................................................................................... 96
3.4 Large-granularity Activation and O&M Guidance ......................................................................................... 96

4 Cases ............................................................................................................................................ 101


4.1 VoLTE Deployment Cases............................................................................................................................ 101
4.1.1 Office L in Country K ......................................................................................................................... 101
4.1.2 Office P in Region H ........................................................................................................................... 101

5 Appendix - Basic Knowledge of VoLTE ............................................................................... 103


5.1 Voice Policy Selection .................................................................................................................................. 103
5.1.1 Voice Policies for UEs ........................................................................................................................ 103
5.1.2 Key Points ........................................................................................................................................... 104
5.2 Basic VoLTE Procedure................................................................................................................................ 105
5.2.1 E2E Procedure for VoLTE-to-VoLTE Calls......................................................................................... 105
5.2.2 VoLTE-to-VoLTE Call Procedure at the RAN Side ............................................................................ 106
5.2.3 Key Points ........................................................................................................................................... 106
5.3 QoS Management ......................................................................................................................................... 107
5.3.1 PCC Architecture for QoS Control ..................................................................................................... 107
5.3.2 QoS Configuration for GBR Bearers .................................................................................................. 108
5.3.3 Key Points ........................................................................................................................................... 111
5.4 Speech Codec ............................................................................................................................................... 111
5.4.1 AMR Speech Codec ............................................................................................................................ 111
5.4.2 Voice Quality Assessment Criterion .................................................................................................... 113
5.4.3 Key Points ........................................................................................................................................... 115
5.5 VoLTE AMR Coding Rate Negotiation Procedure ....................................................................................... 115

6 Reference Documents.................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.


1 Introduction
1.1 Purpose and Scope
1.1.1 Purpose
This document serves as an application guide of the VoLTE solutions. It describes feature portfolios and
end-to-end (E2E) deliverable applications of the solutions and provides guidelines for future
solution-level application and maintenance and for secondary development of service solutions for
existing LTE systems.

1.1.2 Scope
This document mainly provides guidelines for implementing the VoLTE solutions. Application guides of
related features are optional in this document.

2 Solution Overview
2.1 Scenario Analysis
Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is an IMS-based voice service on the LTE network. The IMS supports various
access and multimedia services and has become the standard architecture of EPC in the all-IP era. The
IMS-based VoLTE has been specified by 3GPP and Global System for Mobile Communications
Association (GSMA) as a standard voice solution for LTE networks.
VoLTE was first put into commercial use in South Korea in 2012. As an increasing number of UEs
support VoLTE and the IMS network is deployed, the second VoLTE deployment peak for commercial
use occurs in North America, Europe and Japan markets in 2015, and the third peak occurs in Australia,
Thailand, France, Turkey, and United Kingdom markets in 2016.

By the end of 2016, many telecom operators have released VoLTE for commercial use, and the
following provides some examples:
 Turkcell, TT, and VDF in Turkey released VoLTE for commercial use in the end of June 2016.
 SFR in France released VoLTE for commercial use in March 2016.
 True and AIS in Thailand released VoLTE for commercial use in March 2016.
 The Hong Kong branch of China Mobile released VoLTE for commercial use in September 2015.
 D2 in Germany released VoLTE for commercial use in March 2015.
 M1 in Singapore released VoLTE for commercial use in May 2015.
 LG Uplus in Korea released VoLTE for commercial use in 2014.
 PCCW in Hong Kong released VoLTE for commercial use on May 15, 2014.
 T-Mobile in the USA released VoLTE in Seattle on May 22, 2014 before AT&T.
 AT&T in the USA supports VoLTE services in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin since
May 23, 2014.
 SingTel in Singapore launched ClearVoice, the first full-function commercial VoLTE service in the
world, together with Ericsson and Samsung on May 31, 2014.
 NTT DoCoMo in Japan announced that it launched VoLTE services in the second half of June
2014.
 Verizon in the USA announced on May 21, 2014 that it will launch VoLTE in the next few months.
 M1 and StarHub in Singapore claimed that they supported VoLTE services in the second half of
2014.
 SBM in Japan claimed at the end of June 2014 that it will launch VoLTE services.
The deployment of VoLTE brings the following benefits to telecom operators:
 VoLTE improves the spectral efficiency and reduces network costs. The spectral efficiency on LTE
networks is far higher than that on traditional GSM/UMTS networks. Provided with the same
bandwidth, an LTE cell has a voice capacity more than 100% larger than a UMTS cell.
 VoLTE improves user experience. VoLTE uses high-definition broadband AMR voices, which
deliver a better auditory experience than narrowband AMR voices commonly used by GSM/UMTS
networks. The mean opinion score (MOS) for broadband AMR voices at a peak rate of 23.85 kbit/s
is 1 higher than the MOS for narrowband AMR voices at a peak rate of 12.2 kbit/s. In addition,
tests show that the call setup delay for VoLTE is reduced by more than 2/3 when compared with the
delay on GSM/UMTS networks.
Huawei classifies the VoLTE solutions as follows based on customer requirements:

2.1.1 Basic VoLTE Solution


The basic VoLTE solution provides basic VoLTE functions listed in the following table.

Function Description
Speech codec and The calling and called UEs determine the speech codec scheme. The IMS is an
traffic model optional entity in this process. A common speech codec scheme is Adaptive Multirate
(AMR). For details about the VoLTE traffic model under AMR, see VoLTE Feature
Parameter Description.
VoLTE policy During the attach procedure, the UE negotiates with the MME and determines whether
selection to select VoLTE as the voice policy. For details about VoLTE policy selection, see
VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.
Radio bearer Radio bearers with QoS class identifiers (QCIs) of 1, 2, and 5 are set up between the
management calling and called UEs to carry conversational voice, signaling, and video,
respectively. For details about radio bearer management, see VoLTE Feature
Parameter Description.
Function Description
Admission and The eNodeB performs admission and congestion control for conversational voice
congestion control (QCI = 1), signaling (QCI = 5), and video (QCI = 2). For details about admission and
congestion control, see VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.
The admission and congestion control is a basic feature and is not under license
control.
Dynamic scheduling By default, the eNodeB performs dynamic scheduling and uses power control policies
and power control that are suitable for dynamic scheduling.
The following was introduced in eRAN12.0:
● The PUSCH RSRP upper limit is independently added for voice services. It is
equal to the PUSCH RSRP upper limit for data services plus an offset. The offset
is specified by CellPcAlgo.PuschRsrpHighThdOffsetVoIP. In heavy load
scenarios, the PUSCH transmit power of UEs running voice services in the cell
center and at a medium distance from the cell center increases, and the uplink
voice performance improves as well.
● During uplink VoLTE continuous scheduling, VoLTE UEs are continuously
scheduled in the uplink during talk spurts to reduce the uplink scheduling delay,
which decreases the uplink packet delay and delay variation for VoLTE services
and improves voice quality.
The following was introduced in eRAN13.0:
If interference is severe in the downlink or the PDCCH coverage is insufficient, the
function of scheduling in downlink control information (DCI) format 1A improves
PDCCH demodulation reliability. After this function is enabled, DCI format 1A is
used for downlink grant scheduling for rank 1 transmissions or for handovers of UEs
performing QCI 1 services in TM3 mode.
For details about dynamic scheduling and power control, see VoLTE Feature
Parameter Description.
Downlink TBS-based This function is an internal optimization introduced in eRAN7.0 and is not under
MCS selection license control.
In the downlink, the eNodeB selects a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) index
and resource blocks (RBs) for voice users. If a large number of padding bytes are
required after the selection, the eNodeB remains the number of RBs unchanged and
selects a smaller MCS index to reduce the number of padding bytes. This increases the
once-off transmission success rate for voice packets and decreases the number of
retransmissions. This function applies only to downlink voice services. This is because
the data packets for voice services have a relatively small and fixed size. It is
recommended that this function be enabled (with the VoipTbsBasedMcsSelSwitch
option of the CellAlgoSwitch.DlSchSwitch parameter selected).
This function is for commercial use at office L in country K.
UL HARQ MCS This function is an internal optimization introduced in eRAN7.0 and is not under
decrease optimization license control. If the user data fails to be transmitted for the first time, hybrid
DL HARQ MCS automatic repeat request (HARQ) retransmission is required. In the last two
decrease optimization retransmissions, the eNodeB selects a smaller MCS index (more RBs) to improve the
HARQ retransmission success rate and to decrease the residual block error rate
(BLER) and packet loss rate.
This function applies to both data and voice services. It can be used as a service
optimization function that applies to sites or cells with a high voice packet loss rate.
In eRAN7.0, this function is controlled by the following reserved parameters:
Function Description
eNBCellRsvdPara:RsvdSwPara1=RsvdSwPara1_bit6-1 for UL HARQ MCS
decrease optimization
eNBCellRsvdPara:RsvdSwPara0=RsvdSwPara0_bit27-1 for DL HARQ MCS
decrease optimization
Since eRAN8.0, this function is controlled by the following parameters:
● UlLast2RetransSchOptSwitch option of the UlSchSwitch parameter for UL
HARQ MCS decrease optimization
● DlRetxTbsIndexAdjOptSwitch option of the CqiAdjAlgoSwitch parameter for
DL HARQ MCS decrease optimization
In eRAN11.0, the UlVoipRblerControlSwitch option of the
CELLULSCHALGO.UlEnhencedVoipSchSw parameter is added for UL HARQ
MCS decrease optimization. This option helps improve the uplink coverage for voice
services in heavy load scenarios, thereby improving voice quality. When the number
of UEs in RRC_CONNECTED mode in a cell is greater than 150, the eNodeB selects
a smaller MCS index for the last two retransmissions of UEs performing
retransmissions, which decreases the uplink RBLER.
In eRAN12.0, the CELLULSCHALGO.UlVoLTERetransSchStrategy parameter is
added. If the FIRST_RETRANS_EXPN_RB_SWITCH option of this parameter is
selected, a smaller MCS index (more RBs) will be selected from the first uplink
HARQ retransmission onwards which is performed by VoLTE UEs with sufficient
power. This reduces the uplink retransmission delay and uplink RBLER, improving
the voice quality.
Voice preallocation This function is an internal optimization and is not under license control. It is used on
a large scale at office L in country K, and is recommended for enabling. This function
must be used together with the uplink preallocation function.
Uplink voice preallocation is introduced to reduce the delay of voice services. When
the number of UEs in a cell exceeds 50, the eNodeB preallocates available uplink
resources to only UEs performing voice services. When the number of UEs in a cell is
less than or equal to 50, the eNodeB retains the existing uplink preallocation or uplink
smart preallocation mechanism. For details, see Scheduling Feature Parameter
Description. Uplink voice preallocation is controlled by the following parameters:
eRAN7.0: eNBCellRsvdPara: RsvdSwPara0=RsvdSwPara0_bit30-1
eRAN8.0: CellUlschAlgo: UlEnhencedVoipSchSw=UlVoipPreAllocationSwtich-1
Uplink compensation The uplink compensation scheduling is a basic function packed in eRAN8.1 and is
scheduling controlled by the UlVoipSchOptSwitch option of the
CellUlschAlgo.UlEnhencedVoipSchSw parameter. This function is supported in both
eRAN7.0 (V100R009C00SPC180) and eRAN8.0 and is controlled by the reserved
parameter eNBCellRsvdPara.RsvdSwPara1 bit20. This function is not under license
control in all these versions.
Uplink compensation scheduling is a technique in which the eNodeB identifies voice
users and, for each voice user, measures the duration in which the user is not
scheduled in the uplink. If the duration reaches a threshold, the eNodeB sends a UL
Grant to the UE to ensure that uplink voice packets can be transmitted in time. In this
way, this feature shortens the waiting time of voice packets and reduces the number of
packets discarded due to the expiry of PDCP Discard Timer.
In eRAN11.0, the UlVoipServStateEnhancedSw option of the
CELLULSCHALGO.UlEnhencedVoipSchSw parameter is added for enhanced
determination of talk spurts and silent periods. Selecting this option shortens the talk
Function Description
spurt determination delay and decreases the probability of the voice service being
falsely determined as in the silent period. This further decreases the voice packet loss
rate caused by SR missing detection and improves the voice quality. In addition, the
CELLULSCHALGO.UlCompenSchPeriodinSpurt and
CELLULSCHALGO.UlCompenSchPeriodinSilence parameters are added for
configuring the minimum interval for compensation scheduling during the talk spurt
and silent period, respectively.
It is recommended that this function be enabled in the scenario where VoLTE services
are deployed.

2.1.2 Enhanced VoLTE Solution


The enhanced VoLTE solution improves the VoLTE performance, including capacity enhancement,
coverage improvement, UE power saving, and mobility management. The following table lists the
involved features.

Classification Feature or Description


Function
Capacity Semi-persistent The eNodeB performs semi-persistent scheduling and uses suitable
enhancement scheduling and power control policies for UEs during talk spurts. This feature applies
power control only to voice services. For details about semi-persistent scheduling
(feature) and power control, see VoLTE Feature Parameter Description. The
eNodeB performs dynamic scheduling and uses suitable power
control policies for UEs at voice service setup and during silent
periods.
In eRAN11.0, downlink SPS AMC selection as well as coordination
between SPS and TTIB is optimized. SPS is short for semi-persistent
scheduling, AMC is short for adaptive modulation and coding, and
TTIB is short for transmission time interval bundling.
In eRAN11.1, SPS is optimized as follows:
● SPS in the uplink and downlink supports a period of 40 ms which
is configurable.
● SPS and DRX are decoupled in the downlink.
● HARQs reserved for SPS can be used for dynamic scheduling in
the downlink.
● Coordination between semi-persistent transmit power control
commands (TPC commands) and DRX is optimized.
In eRAN12.0, SPS is optimized as follows:
● SPS is supported for emergency calls performed by VoLTE UEs,
especially in emergency occasions, which increases the capacity
of these UEs.
● SPS supports a blacklist. For blacklisted UEs, SPS is not
performed.
When the number of concurrent online VoLTE users (indicated by
the L.Traffic.User.VoIP.Avg counter) exceeds 10 and the PDCCH
control channel elements (CCE) usage reaches 70%, you are advised
Classification Feature or Description
Function
to enable this feature.
A beta test has not been performed for this feature. A clear feature
activation policy will be provided after the beta test.
For details about the parameter controlling this feature, see VoLTE
baseline parameters.
Voice In eRAN8.1, voice characteristic awareness scheduling consists of:
characteristic ● Uplink delay-based dynamic scheduling
awareness
scheduling ● Uplink VoLTE volume estimation for dynamic scheduling
(feature) ● Independent configuration for voice inactivity timer
Uplink delay-based dynamic scheduling: When uplink dynamic
scheduling is adopted, the eNodeB determines scheduling priorities
by considering the time that data waits for scheduling. Ordering voice
services using delay-based scheduling priorities makes scheduling
more balanced, thereby improving the voice quality, especially for
cell-edge UEs using poor-quality channels. This feature increases the
number of UEs that are satisfactory with voice services when a
network is heavily loaded with voice services. For details about how
uplink delay-based dynamic scheduling works for VoLTE, see VoLTE
Feature Parameter Description.
Uplink VoLTE volume estimation for dynamic scheduling: The
eNodeB estimates the uplink VoLTE data volume based on the
VoLTE service model and uplink scheduling interval to complete the
once-off voice data scheduling, shorten the waiting time of the voice
packets, and save CCE resources. This feature can improve voice
quality when a cell is heavily loaded, the rate of missing detection of
scheduling requests (SRs) is high, or DRX is enabled. This feature
applies only to voice services (QCI of 1).
Independent configuration for voice inactivity timer: The eNodeB
can independently configure the inactivity timer for QCI of 1. For
details, see VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.
In eRAN12.1, voice-based SRI period adaption optimization is
introduced.
Voice-based SRI period adaption optimization: When this function is
enabled, the SRI period of QCI 1 services can be extended to 20 ms
and the SRI period of data services remains unchanged if the number
of voice users is less than 40 in a heavy-load cell. For details about
how voice-based SRI period adaption optimization works for
VoLTE, see VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.
In eRAN13.0, smart recovery of AMR voice frames was introduced.
Smart recovery of AMR voice frames: The eNodeB uses random bit
sequences to compensate for missing RLC segments of subflow B.
The error-tolerance voice frame can be restored for subsequent voice
decoding, providing a better decoding effect than the traditional
mechanism of discarding the entire voice frame. After this function is
enabled, the average MOS of AMR-WB voice service UEs with low
scores increases, the uplink packet loss rate of cell edge UEs (CEUs)
decreases, and the proportions of uplink VQIs being Poor and Bad
Classification Feature or Description
Function
decrease. For details about how smart recovery of AMR voice frames
works for VoLTE, see VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.
Voice-specific The uplink target initial block error rate (IBLER) can be configured
AMC (feature) separately for voice and data services so that adaptive modulation and
coding (AMC) control can be performed independently for voice
services.
RObust Header ROHC provides an efficient header compression mechanism for
Compression voice packets to reduce air interface overheads.
(ROHC) This feature applies only to voice services. For details about how
ROHC works for VoLTE, see VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description.
Capacity Load-based Dynamic scheduling and semi-persistent scheduling can be
improvement scheduling adaptively adopted based on load for UEs that newly initiate voice
(function) services.
● When load is heavy, semi-persistent scheduling will be adopted to
prevent overloaded PDCCHs which may affect voice performance
and capacity.
● When load is light, dynamic scheduling will be adopted to provide
better user experience of voice services and improve spectral
efficiency.
Active packet When dynamic scheduling is adopted, the DlVoipBundlingSwitch
bundling for option of the CellAlgoSwitch.DlSchSwitch parameter can be
downlink VoLTE selected to enable active packet bundling for downlink VoLTE
services (function) services. The eNodeB controls the probability of scheduling VoLTE
UEs, that is, bundling two voice packets for scheduling, thereby
reducing CCE resources used by downlink VoLTE UEs.
VoLTE user prior The mo-VoiceCall-v1280 information element (IE) is added to
access (feature) indicate a cause of RRC connection setup in 3GPP Release 12. Based
on the new IE, the eNodeB identifies calling users and performs
differentiated processing. On a heavy-load network, the eNodeB
optimizes preallocation, DRX, carrier aggregation (CA), flow control,
and admission control for the calling users identified during RRC
connection setup and improves user experience.
This feature applies only to voice services. For details, see VoLTE
Feature Parameter Description.
Coverage Transmission time Multiple TTIs are bound together for UEs at cell edges to transmit the
improvement interval (TTI) same data. This increases the transmission success rate and improves
bundling the cell coverage.
In eRAN11.1, the SinrThdToTrigTtib option of the
CellTtiBundlingAlgo parameter is added for configuring the SINR
threshold when TTI bundling is enabled for a UE.
In eRAN12.0, the RetxFssSchSwitch option of the
CellUlschAlgo.TtiBundlingRetxStrategy parameter is added for
optimizing the TTI bundling function for UE retransmissions.
Selecting this option allows adaptive retransmissions for UEs enabled
Classification Feature or Description
Function
with TTI bundling, decreasing the RBLER.
In eRAN12.1, the R12TtiBundlingSwitch option of the
CellTtiBundlingAlgo parameter is added for controlling TTI
bundling released in 3GPP Release 12 (referred to as R12 TTI
bundling).
In eRAN12.1, the TTIBUNDLING_ALGO_ENHANCE_SW
option of the CellTtiBundlingAlgo.TtiBundlingAlgoSw parameter is
added. Selecting this option allows UEs to inherit the TTI bundling
state from the source cell during handovers and RRC connection
reestablishments, reduces reconfiguration signaling, and avoids the
impact of re-entering the TTI bundling state on voice quality during
handovers or RRC connection reestablishments. In addition, if this
option is selected, the restriction that the MCS index must be less
than or equal to 10 is removed when UEs are in the TTI bundling
state.
This feature applies only to voice services. For details, see VoLTE
Feature Parameter Description.
ROHC The eNodeB compresses the headers of voice packets to reduce the
packet size (in bytes). This feature helps improve the voice quality at
cell edges and improve the cell coverage. This feature applies only to
voice services. For details about how ROHC works for VoLTE, see
VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.
UL radio link This feature restricts the transport block size (TBS) in UL dynamic
control (RLC) scheduling to control the number of UL RLC segments for voice
segmentation packets. This restriction improves voice quality for UEs at cell edges.
enhancement For details about this feature, see VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description.
VoLTE rate ● For UEs in or near the cell center, the speech coding rate is
control (feature) increased (such as, from 12.65 kbit/s to 23.85 kbit/s), thereby
EVS rate control increasing the MOS.
(feature) ● For UEs at the cell edge, the speech coding rate is reduced (such
as, from 23.85 kbit/s to 12.65 kbit/s), thereby reducing the call
drop rates of these UEs and improving voice quality and
coverage.
VoLTE coverage This feature increases the tolerable delay over the air interface,
enhancement decreases the uplink packet loss rate caused by congestion over the
based on extended air interface, and improves the uplink coverage for VoLTE users as
delay budget follows:
(feature) ● Optimizes the following items that the eNodeB sends to UEs with
QCI of 1:
PDCP-layer discard timer
Maximum transmission times of HARQs in the uplink
eNodeB-specific timer for reordering at the receiver in AM/UM
● Selects the optimal MCS index and estimates the number of
required RBs based on the data volume to be scheduled.
Classification Feature or Description
Function

UE power saving Discontinuous With DRX, UEs enter the sleep state when data is not transmitted,
reception (DRX) saving UE power.
In eRAN11.1, voice quality is improved as follows: relieving voice
packet loss (for UEs in DRX mode) due to status inconsistency
between the eNodeB and UEs which is caused by SR false detection;
relieving packet loss by increasing the probability that UEs enter the
active state under DRX.
For details, see DRX Feature Parameter Description.
Mobility Intra-frequency The eNodeB performs intra-frequency, inter-frequency, or inter-RAT
management handover handovers to transfer UEs performing voice services to appropriate
neighboring cells to maintain voice continuity. Handover policies for
Inter-frequency voice and data services differ.
handover
For details about how mobility management works for VoLTE, see
Inter-RAT VoLTE Feature Parameter Description and SRVCC Feature
handover Parameter Description.

2.1.3 VoLTE VQM Solution


The VoLTE voice quality monitoring (VQM) solution is used to monitor the VoLTE quality. It measures
multiple radio voice factors (such as packet loss and AMR) in real time and calculates the VoLTE
quality MOS using the voice quality indicator (VQI) algorithm.
Before eRAN11.1, the VQI algorithm separately evaluates the uplink and downlink voice quality over
the air interface of voice users.
In eRAN11.1, the new E2E VQI algorithm jointly analyzes the uplink and downlink voice quality for a
single call to evaluate the call voice quality from end to end.
In eRAN12.1, the VQI algorithm analyzes the uplink and downlink voice quality over the air interface
for users performing voice services at EVS rates.

2.2 Benefits
 Basic VoLTE Solution
The basic VoLTE solution is a simple and efficient VoLTE service deployment solution that
guarantees basic VoLTE service experience. Other enhanced functions that require the support of
UEs are not involved in this solution because UE compatibility problems may occur at the initial
phase of VoLTE service deployment.
 Enhanced VoLTE Solution
The enhanced VoLTE solution improves the VoLTE performance in terms of capacity, coverage,
UE power saving, and mobility management based on the basic VoLTE services. Some features
require UE support. UE compatibility test must be performed before you enable related features.
 VoLTE VQM Solution
The VoLTE VQM solution monitors real-time VoLTE quality on the network side to provide
reference for timely network optimization, reducing the necessity of drive tests required for
obtaining voice quality.
2.3 General Solution
The following figure shows the maturity of the VoLTE features.

For commercial use No beta Not recommended

Basic VoLTE Solution

Voice policy selection Intra-RAT voice service mobility


Dynamic scheduling (AMC)
(VoLTE/CSFB) and SRVCC
Common
Admission and congestion
PUCCH/PUSCH power control Basic parameter configurtion
control

Compensation Voice service Uplink retransmission using smaller RLC segmentation


scheduling preallocation MCS indexes and more RBs enhancement
Uplink quality Independent configuration Uplink VoLTE Enhanced uplink
Voice-specific
improvement of the PUSCH RSRP continuous retransmission using smaller
AMC
upper limit for voice users scheduling MCS indexes and more RBs

Downlink quality Downlink retransmission using smaller MCS indexes


Downlink TBS-based MCS selection
improvement and more RBs

Enhanced VoLTE Solution

Intra-RAT voice service Deep coverage


TTI bundling VoLTE rate control
Coverage mobility and SRVCC improvement for VoLTE
improvement Frequency selective schehduling for
R12 TTI bundling EVS rate control
retransmission of UEs in the TTI bundling state

Semi-persistent scheduling and Voice characteristic Load-based


ROHC
power control awareness scheduling scheduling
Capacity
improvement Downlink VoLTE packet Semi-persistent scheduling VoLTE solution for Voice-based SRI period
bundling for scheduling for emergency calls high traffic network adaption optimization

UE power
DRX
saving

VoLTE VQM Solution

Voice quality
monitoring and VQM E2E VQI EVS VQM
evaluation

The following provides the details:

 For the SRVCC feature, only SRVCC with CS only is commercialized. ZainA beta test on SRVCC
with CS+PS has been performed in Zain Saudi Arabia. However, SRVCC with CS+PS is still not
mature and has not been commercially used.
 Beta tests for ROHC and TTIB have been finished in Hong Kong. Therefore, these two features are
recommended for commercial use. However, the SPS feature is not recommended for commercial
use. If it is required at specific sites, contact the leader of the Feature Maturity Acceleration Team
Peng Hong (employee ID: 00302729).
 The DRX feature has been put into commercial use for data services. The DRX deployment
policies for voice services are as follows:
− It is recommended that the DRX feature be disabled for voice services (QCI of 1). Enabling the
DRX feature will affect the VoLTE performance, such as prolonging the waiting time of uplink
voice packets and increasing the voice packet loss rate.
− If telecom operators or UE manufacturers (for example, Apple) insist that the DRX feature be
enabled to reduce battery consumption during voice calls, the following configurations are
recommended:
1. Scenario A: If downlink semi-persistent scheduling is enabled, the following parameter
settings for voice services (QCI of 1) are recommended: LongDRXCycle = 20ms;
OnDurationTimer = 10ms; InactiveTimer = 80ms; ReTransmissionTimer = 8ms;
SupportShortDrx = uu_Disable.
2. Scenario B: If downlink semi-persistent scheduling is disabled or telecom operators accept
that downlink semi-persistent scheduling does not take effect after being enabled, the
following parameter settings for voice services (QCI of 1) are recommended: LongDRXCycle
= 40ms; OnDurationTimer = 10; InActiveTimer = 80ms; ReTransmissionTimer = 8ms;
SupportShortDrx = uu_Disable.
 The VQM and UL/DL HARQ MCS decrease optimization functions are not under license control.
They are being enabled at multiple sites in South Korea and Hong Kong.
 The uplink delay-based dynamic scheduling is a trial feature introduced in eRAN7.0 and is packed
as the voice characteristic awareness scheduling feature in eRAN8.1. This feature applies to high
traffic volume scenarios where both data and voice services are performed.
 The voice characteristic awareness scheduling and Voice Specific AMC features are newly packed
in eRAN8.1. Beta tests have been performed at site L in country K, and results show that specific
functions satisfy expectations and performance gains are specific to scenarios.
 Contact the leader of the Feature Maturity Acceleration Team Peng Hong (employee ID: 00302729)
before putting into first commercial usage of the features on live networks for which beta tests
have not been performed and R&D assurance for the first commercial usage is required as
indicated in the solution feature maturity table.

3 Scenario-based Solution Application Policies


3.1 Scenario 1: Application of the Basic VoLTE Solution
The basic VoLTE solution involves the following NEs:
 UE: Supports IMS-based VoLTE.
 eNodeB: Supports bearer management and intra-system mobility management. They are supported
by default after the basic VoLTE solution is enabled. No optional feature is required.
Mobility-related parameters can be configured based on service types, but the parameter
configurations need to be verified and optimized on the live network based on voice service
characteristics. For more information about parameters, see section 3.2.5 "Application of Mobility
Management."
 EPC and IMS: Support VoLTE. For detailed capability requirements, see related documents for the
core network.
This document describes only capability requirements in the eRAN. For details about requirements on
the EPC and IMS, see the corresponding documents.
3.1.1 Feature and Function List
The following table describes the features and functions involved in the VoLTE solution.

Feature ID Feature/Function Introduced in… Reference Document


N/A Radio bearer management eRAN6.0 and earlier VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description
LBFD-002023 Admission and congestion eRAN6.0 and earlier Admission and Congestion
LBFD-002024 control Control Feature Parameter
Description
LOFD-001029
LOFD-00102901
LOFD-00101502 Dynamic scheduling and eRAN6.0 and earlier VoLTE Feature Parameter
LBFD-002016 power control Description
LBFD-002026 Power Control Feature
Parameter Description
LBFD-070105
LBFD-081101
LBFD-081105 UL Compensation eRAN8.0 (enhanced in VoLTE Feature Parameter
Scheduling eRAN11.0 and Description
incorporated in
eRAN7.0)
N/A UL and DL retransmissions eRAN7.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
using decreased MCSs Description
N/A TBS-based MCS selection eRAN7.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description
N/A Enhanced UL VoLTE eRAN11.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
RBLER control Description
N/A Downlink handover eRAN8.1 VoLTE Feature Parameter
interruption delay Description
optimization
N/A Uplink VoLTE continuous eRAN12.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
scheduling Description
N/A Independent configuration eRAN12.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
of the PUSCH RSRP upper Description
limit for voice users
N/A RB expansion for the first eRAN12.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
uplink retransmission Description
N/A Voice service scheduling in eRAN13.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
DCI format 1A Description
N/A Enhanced uplink eRAN13.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
voice-specific AMC Description
3.1.2 Solution Introduction
The basic VoLTE solution consists of the following parts:
 Speech codec and traffic model
Common VoLTE speech codec schemes are divided into AMR-NB and AMR-WB schemes,
providing narrowband and broadband voice services, respectively. The speech codec scheme of a
call is negotiated by calling and called UEs. The IMS is an optional entity in this process. When a
call is between an LTE UE and a GSM/UMTS UE or a fixed line phone, the IMS participates in the
negotiation of the speech codec scheme and rate. The eNodeB does not involve in the negotiation.
Generally, the IMS does not participate in the rate negotiation for a VoLTE-to-VoLTE call because
both the calling and called UEs support the AMR-WB scheme. In a VoLTE-to-GSM or
VoLTE-to-UMTS call where the GSM/UMTS UE does not support AMR-WB, the AMR-NB
scheme is used if the IMS does not participate in the negotiation. If the IMS participates in the
negotiation (controlled by a switch), the IMS uses the AMR-WB scheme, and the GSM/UMTS
network uses the AMR-NB scheme.
At present, UEs negotiate the rate through the invite/200 OK messages and obtain a mode set after
the negotiation. The UE manufacturers determine which rate to use. For detailed negotiation
procedure, see section 5.5 "VoLTE AMR Coding Rate Negotiation Procedure."
 VoLTE policy selection
Currently, most LTE UEs support CS fallback (CSFB). When an LTE UE is in an area where there
is no LTE network coverage or the LTE network does not provide VoLTE services, the LTE UE
falls back to GSM/UMTS network to implement voice services. Some LTE UEs already support
VoLTE. After the network supports VoLTE, the EPC can determine whether to use the VoLTE or
CSFB policy based on the UE capability when an LTE UE initiates a call. When the LTE UE
moves to the edge of the LTE coverage, the EPC determines whether to enable the UE to fall back
to the GSM/UMTS network based on the UE mobility capability, for example, whether the UE
supports single radio voice call continuity (SRVCC). In addition, VoLTE services can be disabled
in some areas, for example, in areas with specific carriers or in specific physical sites. For details
about the configurations and constraints, see section 3.2.2 "VoLTE-Prohibited Scenario" in VoLTE
Feature Parameter Description.
 Radio bearer management
From the perspective of eNodeBs, voice bearer setup includes the following procedures: RRC
connection setup and setup of radio bearers with QCIs of 5 and 1. If a video call is required, the
radio bearer (QCI of 2) setup procedure is also involved. The bearers with the QCIs of 5, 1, and 2
are used to carry IMS signaling, voice data packets, and video data packets, respectively, as shown
in the following table:

QCI Resource Type Priority Delay Packet Loss Rate Typical Services

1 GBR 2 100 ms 10-2 Voice


2 GBR 4 150 ms 10-3 Video
5 Non-GBR 1 100 ms 10-6 IMS signaling

 Admission and congestion control


The eNodeB performs admission and congestion control for voice (QCI of 1), video call (QCI of 2),
and IMS signaling (QCI of 5). During admission control, the eNodeB determines whether to allow
a new VoLTE UE to access a cell and provide related services based on the monitored physical
resource block (PRB) usage, QoS satisfaction rates of guaranteed bit rate (GBR) services, and SRS
and PUCCH resource sufficiency in the cell. In case of system congestion, the eNodeB releases the
GBR services with low priorities so that the QoS of other admitted services can be guaranteed.
 Dynamic scheduling and power control
Voice services have demanding requirements on delay. Therefore, the Huawei scheduler optimizes
the handling of voice service priorities to ensure voice service QoS. It is recommended that
dynamic scheduling be enabled in scenarios where there is no capacity limitation caused by
insufficient control channel resources. Uplink voice preallocation is introduced to reduce the delay
of voice services. When there is a large number of UEs in a cell, preallocation allows the eNodeB
to proactively send an uplink preallocation indication to the UEs. In eRAN12.0, the uplink VoLTE
continuous scheduling function is added. If the UlVoLTEContinuousSchSw option of the
CellUlschAlgo.UlEnhencedVoipSchSw parameter is selected, continuous scheduling is performed
in the uplink during talk spurts to shorten the uplink scheduling delay. This further reduces the
packet delay and delay variation of VoLTE services in the uplink, thereby improving the voice
quality.
Power control policies for voice services in dynamic scheduling are the same as those for data
services. The CellPcAlgo.PuschRsrpHighThdOffsetVoIP parameter is added in eRAN12.0 for
independently configuring the PUSCH RSRP upper limit for voice services. After the function of
independent configuration of the PUSCH RSRP upper limit is enabled, the PUSCH RSRP upper
limit for voice services increases. In heavy load scenarios, the PUSCH transmit power of UEs
running voice services in the cell center and at a medium distance from the cell center increases,
and the uplink voice performance improves as well. However, the interference on neighboring cells
also increases.
 Voice service scheduling
Voice service scheduling in DCI format 1A was introduced in eRAN13.0. If the
VoLTEDci1aSwitch option of the CellDlschAlgo.DlEnhancedVoipSchSw parameter is selected,
scheduling in DCI format 1A is used for voice service UEs. If the UEs are located at cell edges
with weak coverage or severe interference, such scheduling improves the coverage performance
for voice service UEs, decreases the probability of DTX caused by PDCCH missing detection, and
slightly reduces the downlink packet loss rate of voice services.
 Uplink compensation scheduling
Uplink compensation scheduling is a technique in which the eNodeB identifies voice users and, for
each voice user, measures the duration in which the user is not scheduled in the uplink. If the
duration reaches a threshold, the eNodeB sends a UL Grant to the UE to ensure that uplink voice
packets can be transmitted in time. In this way, this feature shortens the waiting time of voice
packets and reduces the number of packets discarded due to the expiry of PDCP Discard Timer.
This function is controlled by the UlVoipSchOptSwitch option of the
CellUlschAlgo.UlEnhencedVoipSchSw parameter in eRAN8.1.
This function is still supported in both eRAN7.0 and eRAN8.0 and is controlled by the reserved
parameter eNBCellRsvdPara.RsvdSwPara1 bit20. This function is not under license control.
Uplink compensation scheduling is enhanced in eRAN11.0 as follows:
− Added the uplink voice service state decision enhancement switch. This enhancement is
incorporated into eRAN8.1.
There is certain delay in the decision of talk spurt and silent period. Therefore, uplink voice
packet loss caused by missing SR detection occurs during the transition from silent period to
talk spurt and during initial access and incoming handovers. Shortening the determination delay
on voice service states in the uplink decreases the probability of the voice service state being
falsely identified as a silent period. In addition, taking the transient state as a talk spurt
decreases the rate of uplink voice packet loss caused by SR missing detections and improves
voice quality, especially the voice quality during initial accesses and handovers. This function is
specified by the UlVoipServStateEnhancedSw option of the
CellUlschAlgo.UlEnhencedVoipSchSw parameter.
− Added parameters indicating the minimum intervals of triggering uplink compensation
scheduling for VoLTE UEs in talk spurts and silent periods.
The CellUlschAlgo.UlCompenSchPeriodinSpurt and
CellUlschAlgo.UlCompenSchPeriodinSilence parameters specify the minimum intervals of
triggering uplink compensation scheduling for VoLTE UEs in talk spurts and silent periods,
respectively. It is recommended that the default values be used.
 UL/DL HARQ MCS decrease optimization
− UL HARQ MCS decrease optimization
If the eNodeB identifies that the number of uplink HARQ retransmissions for a UE reaches the
maximum HARQ retransmissions minus 1 and that the cell serves fewer than 150 UEs in
connected mode, the eNodeB checks whether the UEs meet the following condition:
10log10(Number of scheduled RBs allowed by uplink power/Number of RBs scheduled for
initial transmission) ≥ 2
a. If the value is greater than or equal to 2, a smaller MCS index can be used and the number
of RBs can be doubled for the UE.
b. If the value is less than 2, the UL HARQ MCS index cannot be decreased.
− DL HARQ MCS decrease optimization
If the eNodeB identifies that the number of downlink HARQ retransmissions for a UE reaches
the maximum HARQ retransmissions minus 1, the eNodeB selects another MCS index based
on real-time channel quality and determines the number of required RBs based on this MCS
index. If there are sufficient RBs, the eNodeB increases the number of RBs to decrease the DL
HARQ MCS index. If RBs are insufficient, the eNodeB does not decrease the DL HARQ MCS
index.
Note that the UL HARQ MCS decrease optimization applies only to cells with fewer than 150 UEs.
There is no such restriction on the DL HARQ MCS decrease optimization.
 TBS-based MCS selection
When dynamic scheduling is used, the MCS selection policy depends on whether the
VoipTbsBasedMcsSelSwitch option of the CellAlgoSwitch.DlSchSwitch parameter is selected.
− When this option is selected, the eNodeB checks the number of online users and IBLER and
then determines whether to apply the TBS-based MCS selection function to voice services.
HARQ retransmission and user delay are reduced if the function takes effect on voice services.
− When this option is deselected, the eNodeB determines the MCS for voice services based on
the downlink channel quality indicator (CQI) adjustment algorithm. For details about the CQI
adjustment algorithm, see Scheduling Feature Parameter Description.
For example, if AMR 23.85 kbit/s is used (a packet is transmitted every 20 ms if AMR is used),
the packet size is 105 bytes (840 bits) at the PDCP layer. In this scenario, if the UE selects
MCS26 for transmission, 2 RBs are required (the selected TBS is 1480 bits, as shown in the red
box in the following figure). Therefore, 640 bits of meaningless padding bytes are required.
After this function is enabled, the eNodeB reselects an MCS (MCS20) and retains the number
of RBs. In such a case, only 64 bits of padding bytes are required. This improves transmission
efficiency, increases initial transmission success rate for voice packets, and avoids
retransmission.
Figure 3-1 Mapping between the MCS&RB and TBS (vertical axis: MCS index; horizontal axis: number of
RBs)

 Uplink VoIP RBLER control optimization


The UlVoipRblerControlSwitch option controls uplink VoIP RBLER control optimization. If this
option is selected and UEs running VoLTE services performs uplink adaptive retransmissions,
retransmission optimization is used to decrease the voice packet loss rate caused by uplink HARQ
retransmission failures.
To improve the uplink voice quality during dynamic scheduling, eRAN12.0 is added with the
FIRST_RETRANS_EXPN_RB_SWITCH option of the
CELLULSCHALGO.UlVoLTERetransSchStrategy parameter. In scenarios with voice services
and sufficient uplink PRBs, if this option is selected in a cell, the eNodeB determines whether to
use adaptive retransmission for prioritized RBs from the first retransmission onwards based on the
transmit power of UEs performing voice services.
 Downlink handover interruption delay optimization
This optimization is controlled by the DlSchVoipDuringHoSwitch option of the
DlEnhancedVoipSchSw parameter, which is originally bit 22 of the reserved parameter
eNBCellRsvdPara.RsvdSwPara1 in eRAN8.1 and is added to eRAN11.1. If this option is selected,
the eNodeB can schedule voice services in the downlink when scheduling handover signaling,
decreasing the downlink packet delay for voice services and improving the voice service quality
during handovers, especially the voice service quality in DRX scenarios.
 Enhanced uplink voice-specific AMC
This function is controlled by the EnhancedUlVoipAmcSw option of the
CellUlschAlgo.UlEnhencedVoipSchSw parameter. Enabling this function brings the following
benefits:
− Newly admitted UEs performing voice services use adaptive learning to accelerate AMC
adjustment based on the cell-level adjustable SINR value.
− The upper threshold for power control is adjusted to ensure that power control for voice service
UEs near the cell center automatically takes effect.
− Low MCS indexes are traversed for UEs only performing voice services until the MCS index
matching the actual channel condition is selected, reducing the uplink packet loss rate and
improving call quality during initial access of UEs performing voice services.

3.1.3 Parameter Configuration

3.1.3.1 License
Admission and congestion control and uplink compensation scheduling are basic features and are
not under license control.
UL/DL HARQ MCS decrease optimization, voice preallocation, and TBS-based MCS selection are
internal optimizations and are not under license control.

3.1.3.2 UE
N/A

3.1.3.3 Configurable Parameters


MO Parameter ID Parameter Parameter Description Setting Notes
Name
ENodeBA EutranVoipSup Eutran Voip Indicates whether the The default and recommended
lgoSwitch portSwitch Support Switch VoLTE services are value is ON(On).
enabled in the E-UTRAN Set this parameter to
cell. OFF(Off) only in
VoLTE-prohibited scenarios.
In such scenarios, the related
TAC must be configured as
not supporting VoLTE on the
MME.
For details, see section 3.2.2
"VoLTE-Prohibited Scenario"
in VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description.
GlobalPro ProtocolSuppor Protocol Indicates whether the The recommended value is
cSwitch tSwitch Procedure eNodeB supports voice OFF(Off).
Support Switch mobility. If the MME supports the UE
Radio Capability Match
REQUEST and UE Radio
Capability Match RESPONSE
messages introduced in 3GPP
Release 11, it is recommended
that the
SupportS1UeCapMatchMsg
option of the
GlobalProcSwitch.ProtocolS
upportSwitch parameter be
selected on the eNodeB. By
doing this, the MME considers
the VoLTE mobility capability
of the UE during the voice
policy negotiation. In this
MO Parameter ID Parameter Parameter Description Setting Notes
Name
manner, UEs that do not
support SRVCC do not adopt
VoLTE as the voice policy,
thereby ensuring voice
continuity.
Before setting this parameter
to ON(On), an interconnection
test must be performed.
CellAlgoS DlSchSwitch-V Downlink Indicates whether the The default value is
witch oipTbsBasedM TBS-based MCS MCS index is selected OFF(Off).
csSelSwitch Selection Switch based on the TBS in The recommended value is
downlink scheduling for ON(On).
VoLTE services.
This parameter can be set to
ON(On) when VoLTE is
deployed so that the downlink
initial transmission success
rate of voice packets increases
and the voice delay is
shortened.
Note that setting this
parameter to ON(On) will
increase the CPU usage.
According to the codes, this
function takes effect only
when the number of users
meets specified requirements.
The following provides the
requirements.
● LBBPc: This function takes
effect only when a cell has
no more than 200 UEs.
● LBBPd/UBBPd: This
function takes effect only
when a cell has no more
than 400 UEs.
● BTS3202E/3203E: This
function takes effect only
when a cell has no more
than 50 UEs.
● BTS3911E: This function
takes effect only when a
cell has no more than 400
UEs.
eNBCellR eRAN7.0: UL HARQ MCS Indicates whether to This option is deselected by
svdPara RsvdSwPara1( decrease enable the UL HARQ default.
RsvdSwPara1_ optimization MCS decrease It is recommended that this
bit6) Switch optimization function. option be selected.
MO Parameter ID Parameter Parameter Description Setting Notes
Name
CellAlgoS eRAN8.x:
witch UlSchSwitch(U
lLast2RetransS
chOptSwitch)
eNBCellR eRAN7.0: TBS Index Indicates whether to This option is deselected by
svdPara RsvdSwPara0( Adjustment enable TBS index default.
RsvdSwPara0_ Optimization in adjustment optimization It is recommended that this
bit27) Downlink in downlink option be selected.
Retransmission retransmissions.
CellAlgoS eRAN8.0: Switch
witch CqiAdjAlgoSw
itch(DlRetxTbs
IndexAdjOptS
witch)
eNBCellR eRAN7.0: Uplink Voice Indicates whether to This option is deselected by
svdPara RsvdSwPara0( Preallocation enable the uplink voice default.
RsvdSwPara0_ Switch preallocation function. This function must be used
bit30) together with the uplink
CellUlsch eRAN8.0: preallocation function. It is
Algo UlEnhencedVo recommended that both
ipSchSw(UlVoi functions be enabled.
pPreAllocation
Swtich)
eNBCellR eRAN7.0/8.0: Uplink Indicates whether to This option is deselected by
svdPara RsvdSwPara1( Compensation enable the uplink default.
RsvdSwPara1_ Scheduling compensation scheduling It is recommended that this
bit20) Switch function. option be selected.
CellUlsch eRAN8.1:
Algo UlEnhencedVo
ipSchSw(UlVoi
pSchOptSwitch
)
CellUlsch eRAN11.0: Uplink voice Indicates whether to This option is deselected by
Algo UlEnhencedVo service state enable enhanced default.
ipSchSw(UlVoi decision determination of VoLTE It is recommended that this
pServStateEnha enhancement service states (either in option be selected.
ncedSw) switch talk spurts or silent
period) in the uplink. If
this option is deselected,
enhanced determination
is disabled. If this option
is selected, enhanced
determination is enabled.
Selecting this option
shortens the
determination delay on
voice service states in the
uplink, decreases the
MO Parameter ID Parameter Parameter Description Setting Notes
Name
probability of the voice
service state being falsely
determined as in the
silent period, decreases
the voice packet loss rate
caused by SR missing
detections when the
UlVoipSchOptSwitch
option is selected, and
improves the voice
quality, especially the
voice quality during
initial accesses and
handovers.
CellUlsch UlCompenSch Min UL Indicates the minimum The value INTERVAL_10 is
Algo PeriodinSpurt Compensate interval of triggering recommended for benchmark
Scheduling uplink compensation tests, the value
Period in Spurt scheduling for VoLTE INTERVAL_20 is
UEs in talk spurts when recommended for networks
UlVoipSchOptSwitch is lightly loaded with voice
selected. If this parameter services, and the value
is set to INTERVAL_ADAPTIVE is
INTERVAL_ADAPTIV recommended in other
E, the minimum interval scenarios.
of triggering uplink
compensation scheduling
for VoLTE UEs in talk
spurts is adaptively
adjusted based on the SR
period. If this parameter
is set to any other value,
the minimum interval of
triggering uplink
compensation scheduling
for VoLTE UEs in talk
spurts equals the GUI
value.
CellUlsch UlCompenSch Min UL Indicates the minimum The value INTERVAL_10 is
Algo PeriodinSilence Compensate interval of triggering recommended for benchmark
Scheduling uplink compensation tests, the value
Period in Silence scheduling for VoLTE INTERVAL_50 is
UEs in silent periods recommended for networks
when lightly loaded with voice
UlVoipSchOptSwitch is services, and the value
selected. INTERVAL_80 is
recommended in other
scenarios.
CellUlsch eRAN11.0: Uplink Enhanced Indicates whether to This option is deselected by
Algo UlEnhencedVo VoIP Schedule enable retransmission default.
ipSchSw Switch optimization on uplink It is recommended that this
MO Parameter ID Parameter Parameter Description Setting Notes
Name
(UlVoipRblerC (UlVoipRblerCo VoLTE services. If this option be selected.
ontrolSwitch) ntrolSwitch) option is deselected,
retransmission
optimization is disabled.
If this option is selected
and UEs running VoLTE
services performs uplink
adaptive retransmissions,
retransmission
optimization is used to
decrease the voice packet
loss rate caused by uplink
HARQ retransmission
failures.
CellUlsch UlEnhencedVo Uplink Enhanced Indicates whether to This option is deselected by
Algo ipSchSw VoIP Schedule enable enhanced uplink default.
(UlVoLTECont Switch scheduling for VoLTE It is recommended that this
inuousSchSw) (UlVoLTEConti services. option be deselected. The
nuousSchSw) UlVoLTEContinuousSch recommended value will be
Sw: Indicates whether to changed after the beta test.
enable continuous
scheduling for uplink
VoLTE services. The
continuous scheduling
function is enabled only
if this option is selected.
When this function is
enabled, the eNodeB
continuously schedules
VoLTE UEs during
uplink talk spurts to
reduce uplink scheduling
delay, packet delay, and
packet jitter for VoLTE
UEs and improve voice
service quality.
CellPcAlg PuschRsrpHigh PUSCH RSRP Indicates the offset of the The default value is 0.
o ThdOffsetVoIP High Threshold upper limit of PUSCH If the cell load is light or at a
Offset for VoIP RSRP used for voice medium level, the default
(VoLTE and PTT) value 0 is recommended. If the
service users relative to cell load is heavy with major
the upper limit of events held, for example, the
PUSCH RSRP used for average number of UEs in the
data service users. If this cell is greater than 400 and the
parameter is set to a value number of voice service users
in the range of 0 to 30, is 20, the value 255 is
the value of this recommended to mitigate the
parameter plus the upper impact on the performance of
limit of PUSCH RSRP voice service users in the cell
used for data service center and at a medium
users is the upper limit of
MO Parameter ID Parameter Parameter Description Setting Notes
Name
PUSCH RSRP used for distance from the cell center.
voice service users. If this
parameter is set to 255,
there is no upper limit on
the PUSCH RSRP used
for voice service users.
This parameter applies
only to LTE FDD and is
valid only if the
PuschRsrpHighThdSwi
tch option of the
UlPcAlgoSwitch
parameter, the
ACHSwitch option of
the IOptAlgoSwitch
parameter, or the
UL_COORD_PC_SWI
TCH option of the
UlCsSw parameter is
selected.
CellUlsch UlVoLTERetra UL Retrans Indicates the uplink This option is deselected by
Algo nsSchStrategy Sched Strategy retransmission scheduling default.
(FIRST_RETR for VoLTE User policy for VoLTE UEs. It is recommended that this
ANS_EXPN_R FIRST_RETRANS_EXP option be deselected. The
B_SWITCH) N_RB_SWITCH: recommended value will be
Indicates whether to changed after the beta test.
increase the number of
RBs in the scheduling for
initial uplink
retransmission for
VoLTE UEs. When this
option is selected, the
eNodeB increases this
number to reduce the
uplink retransmission
delay and RBLER for
VoLTE UEs and thereby
to improve voice service
quality. When this option
is deselected, the eNodeB
does not increase this
number.
CellDlsch DlEnhancedV Downlink The VoLTEDci1aSwitch This option is deselected by
Algo oipSchSw Enhanced Voip option determines default.
Schedule Switch whether to use scheduling It is recommended that this
in DCI format 1A for option be deselected. The
UEs performing voice recommended value will be
services. If this option is changed after the beta test.
selected, the eNodeB
sends DL grant in DCI
format 1A to UEs
MO Parameter ID Parameter Parameter Description Setting Notes
Name
performing voice services
in TM3 rank 1 mode or
during handovers,
improving coverage. If
this option is deselected,
the eNodeB sends DL
grant in default mode.
CellDlsch UlEnhencedVo Uplink Enhanced The This option is deselected by
Algo ipSchSw VoIP Schedule EnhancedUlVoipAmcS default.
Switch w option determines This function is recommended
(EnhancedUlVoi whether to enable the in inter-RAT or abrupt
pAmcSw) enhanced uplink interference scenarios.
voice-specific AMC
function. The function
takes effect only when
this option is selected.
When this function takes
effect, the eNodeB uses
enhanced AMC
adjustment and MCS
index selection for UEs
performing voice
services.

NOTE
 When the ENodeBAlgoSwitch.EutranVoipSupportSwitch parameter is set to ON(On), dedicated bearer for
services with QCI of 1 can be set up for the eNodeB. When this parameter is set to OFF(Off), dedicated bearer
for services with QCI of 1 cannot be set up for the eNodeB.
 The EutranVoipCapSwitch option of the eNodeBAlgoSwitch parameter is no longer used though the
configuration interface in this version supports delivery and synchronization of the setting of this parameter.
When deploying VoLTE services, do not configure or consider the value of the EutranVoipCapSwitch option.

3.1.4 Service-Related Parameter Optimization


The VoLTE parameters are policy parameters. Parameter optimization is not involved.

3.1.5 Effect Evaluation Methods


After the basic VoLTE solution is deployed, the voice service performance can be monitored by using
the following counters.

3.1.5.1 Voice KPIs

3.1.5.1.1 E-RAB Setup Success Rate (VoLTE)


The following table describes the counters used to monitor E-RAB setup success rates of voice services.
Counter ID Counter Name Counter Description
1526726668 L.E-RAB.AttEst.QCI.1 Number of E-RAB setup attempts initiated by UEs for services
with the QCI of 1 in a cell
1526726676 L.E-RAB.AttEst.QCI.5 Number of E-RAB setup attempts initiated by UEs for services
with the QCI of 5 in a cell
1526726669 L.E-RAB.SuccEst.QCI.1 Number of successful E-RAB setups initiated by UEs for
services with the QCI of 1 in a cell
1526726677 L.E-RAB.SuccEst.QCI.5 Number of successful E-RAB setups initiated by UEs for
services with the QCI of 5 in a cell

E-RAB (QCI 1) setup success rate = L.E-RAB.SuccEst.QCI.1/L.E-RAB.AttEst.QCI.1


E-RAB (QCI 5) setup success rate = L.E-RAB.SuccEst.QCI.5/L.E-RAB.AttEst.QCI.5

3.1.5.1.2 Call Drop Rate (VoLTE)


The following table describes the counters used to monitor call drop rates.

Counter ID Counter Name Counter Description


1526726686 L.E-RAB.AbnormRel.QCI.1 Number of abnormal releases of activated E-RABs for services
with the QCI of 1 in a cell
1526726694 L.E-RAB.AbnormRel.QCI.5 Number of abnormal releases of activated E-RABs for services
with the QCI of 5 in a cell
1526726687 L.E-RAB.NormRel.QCI.1 Number of normal E-RAB releases for services with the QCI
of 1 in a cell
1526726695 L.E-RAB.NormRel.QCI.5 Number of normal E-RAB releases for services with the QCI
of 5 in a cell

Call drop rate (QCI 1) =


L.E-RAB.AbnormRel.QCI.1/(L.E-RAB.AbnormRel.QCI.1+L.E-RAB.NormRel.QCI.1)
Call drop rate (QCI 5) =
L.E-RAB.AbnormRel.QCI.5/(L.E-RAB.AbnormRel.QCI.5+L.E-RAB.NormRel.QCI.5)
The call drop rate for voice services cannot be higher than 1%. The value of 0.5% is a common voice
call drop rate. Any commitment must be reviewed by the LTE KPI auditing committee. Different sites
may have different requirements on the VoLTE call drop rate.
The following figure shows the mapping between the packet loss rate and MOS according to the test
result in the mLAB. As shown in the figure, the packet loss rate of 0.5% equals the MOS of 3.8, and the
packet loss rate of 0.3% equals the MOS of 4.0.
Unit:%

3.1.5.1.3 Packet Loss Rate and Discard Rate


The following table describes the counters used to monitor the UL and DL packet loss rate on the Uu
interface and the DL PDCP packet discard rate for voice services.

Counter ID Counter Name Counter Description


1526727961 L.Traffic.UL.PktLoss.Loss.QCI.1 Total number of discarded uplink PDCP SDUs for
DRB services with the QCI of 1 in a cell
1526727962 L.Traffic.UL.PktLoss.Tot.QCI.1 Total number of expected uplink data packets for
DRB services with the QCI of 1 in a cell
1526727934 L.Traffic.DL.PktUuLoss.Loss.QCI.1 Total number of discarded downlink PDCP SDUs for
DRB services with the QCI of 1 in a cell over the Uu
interface
1526727935 L.Traffic.DL.PktUuLoss.Tot.QCI.1 Total number of transmitted downlink PDCP SDUs
for DRB services with the QCI of 1 in a cell over the
Uu interface
1526726833 L.PDCP.Tx.Disc.Trf.SDU.QCI.1 Number of downlink traffic SDUs discarded by the
PDCP layer for services with the QCI of 1 in a cell
1526727889 L.PDCP.Tx.TotRev.Trf.SDU.QCI.1 Number of transmitted downlink traffic PDCP SDUs
for services with the QCI of 1 in a cell

UL packet loss rate on the Uu interface for QCI 1 =


L.Traffic.UL.PktLoss.Loss.QCI.1/L.Traffic.UL.PktLoss.Tot.QCI.1
DL packet loss rate on the Uu interface for QCI 1 =
L.Traffic.DL.PktUuLoss.Loss.QCI.1/L.Traffic.DL.PktUuLoss.Tot.QCI.1
DL PDCP packet discard rate = L.PDCP.Tx.Disc.Trf.SDU.QCI.1/(L.PDCP.Tx.Disc.Trf.SDU.QCI.1 +
L.PDCP.Tx.TotRev.Trf.SDU.QCI.1)
Generally, the uplink voice packet loss rate is higher than the downlink voice packet loss rate. This is
because the uplink transmission power is restricted by the coverage condition, and therefore, is weaker
than the downlink transmission power.
According to 3GPP specifications, the uplink and downlink voice packet loss rate must be less than 1%,
respectively. The uplink and downlink voice packet loss rates must be within 0.5% (MOS: 3.8) to meet
KPI requirements, which differ between sites.

3.1.5.1.4 Voice Quality


Voice quality in both the uplink and downlink can be monitored using counters related to VQI and E2E
VQI. For more information about the counters, see section 3.3.5 "Effect Evaluation Methods." The
following table lists some examples.

Counter ID Counter Name Counter Description


1526728411 L.Voice.VQI.UL.Excellent.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is
Excellent
1526728416 L.Voice.VQI.DL.Excellent.Times Number of times downlink voice quality is
Excellent
1526732687 L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Excellent.Times Number of times uplink voice quality of
AMR-WB services is Excellent
1526732692 L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.DL.Excellent.Times Number of times downlink voice quality of
AMR-WB services is Excellent
1526728412 L.Voice.VQI.UL.Good.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is Good
1526728417 L.Voice.VQI.DL.Good.Times Number of times downlink voice quality is
Good
1526732688 L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Good.Times Number of times uplink voice quality of
AMR-WB services is Good
1526732693 L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.DL.Good.Times Number of times downlink voice quality of
AMR-WB services is Good
1526728413 L.Voice.VQI.UL.Accept.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is
Accept
1526728418 L.Voice.VQI.DL.Accept.Times Number of times downlink voice quality is
Accept
1526732689 L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Accept.Times Number of times uplink voice quality of
AMR-WB services is Accept
1526732694 L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.DL.Accept.Times Number of times downlink voice quality of
AMR-WB services is Accept
1526728414 L.Voice.VQI.UL.Poor.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is Poor
1526728419 L.Voice.VQI.DL.Poor.Times Number of times downlink voice quality is
Poor
1526732690 L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Poor.Times Number of times uplink voice quality of
AMR-WB services is Poor
1526732695 L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.DL.Poor.Times Number of times downlink voice quality of
AMR-WB services is Poor
1526732890 L.Voice.NormRel.UL.LowQuality Number of normal voice call releases in the
Counter ID Counter Name Counter Description
cell (poor uplink voice quality)
1526732891 L.Voice.NormRel.DL.LowQuality Number of normal voice call releases in the
cell (poor downlink voice quality)
1526728415 L.Voice.VQI.UL.Bad.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is Bad
1526728420 L.Voice.VQI.DL.Bad.Times Number of times downlink voice quality is
Bad
1526732691 L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Bad.Times Number of times uplink voice quality of
AMR-WB services is Bad
1526732696 L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.DL.Bad.Times Number of times downlink voice quality of
AMR-WB services is Bad
1526732892 L.Voice.UL.Silent.Num Number of times that a UE experiences
uplink voice mute in the cell
1526732893 L.Voice.DL.Silent.Num Number of times that a UE experiences
downlink voice mute in the cell

3.1.5.1.5 Number of UEs Performing Voice Services


The following table describes the counters used to monitor the number of UEs performing voice
services.

Counter ID Counter Name Counter Description


1526728456 L.Traffic.ActiveUser.DL.QCI.1 Number of activated UEs with the QCI of 1 in the
downlink buffer
1526728446 L.Traffic.ActiveUser.UL.QCI.1 Number of activated UEs with the QCI of 1 in the
uplink buffer
1526730601 L.Traffic.ActiveUser.DL.QCI.1.Max Maximum number of activated UEs with the QCI of 1
in the downlink buffer
1526730611 L.Traffic.ActiveUser.UL.QCI.1.Max Maximum number of activated UEs with the QCI of 1
in the uplink buffer

3.1.5.1.6 Number of PRBs Used by Voice Services


The following table describes the counters used to monitor the average number of PRBs used by voice
services.

Counter ID Counter Name Counter Description

1526730883 L.ChMeas.PRB.DL.DrbUsed.Avg.VoIP Average number of PRBs used by DRBs on the


PDSCH for downlink VoIP services
1526730884 L.ChMeas.PRB.UL.DrbUsed.Avg.VoIP Average number of PRBs used by DRBs on the
Counter ID Counter Name Counter Description
PUSCH for uplink VoIP services

3.1.5.1.7 Throughput
The following table describes the counters used to monitor the total and maximum UL/DL traffic
volumes, based on which you can calculate the average and maximum UL/DL throughput for voice
services.

Counter ID Counter Name Counter Description


1526726776 L.Thrp.bits.UL.QCI.1 Uplink traffic volume for PDCP PDUs of services with the
QCI of 1 in a cell
1526726803 L.Thrp.bits.DL.QCI.1 Downlink traffic volume for PDCP SDUs of services with the
QCI of 1 in a cell
1526727045 L.Thrp.bits.UL.QCI.1.Max Maximum uplink traffic volume for PDCP PDUs of services
with the QCI of 1 in a cell
1526727055 L.Thrp.bits.DL.QCI.1.Max Maximum downlink traffic volume for PDCP SDUs of
services with the QCI of 1 in a cell
1526726804 L.Thrp.Time.DL.QCI.1 Transmit duration of downlink PDCP SDUs for services with
the QCI of 1 in a cell
1526726777 L.Thrp.Time.UL.QCI.1 Receive duration of uplink PDCP PDUs for services with the
QCI of 1 in a cell

Average UL throughput for QCI 1 = L.Thrp.bits.UL.QCI.1/L.Thrp.Time.UL.QCI.1


Average DL throughput for QCI 1 = L.Thrp.bits.DL.QCI.1/L.Thrp.Time.DL.QCI.1
Maximum UL throughput for QCI 1 = L.Thrp.bits.UL.QCI.1.Max/L.Thrp.Time.UL.QCI.1
Maximum DL throughput for QCI 1 = L.Thrp.bits.DL.QCI.1.Max/L.Thrp.Time.DL.QCI.1

3.1.6 Fault Location Instruction


For details about maintenance, see X Solutions for VoLTE.

3.2 Scenario 2: Application of the Enhanced VoLTE Solution


3.2.1 Feature and Function List
Solution Feature ID Feature/Function Introduced Reference Document
in…
Capacity LOFD-001016 VoIP Semi-persistent eRAN6.0 and VoLTE Feature Parameter
improve Scheduling earlier Description
ment Power Control for SPS
Solution Feature ID Feature/Function Introduced Reference Document
in…

LOFD-081229 Voice Characteristic eRAN8.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter


Awareness Scheduling Description
LOFD-001017 ROHC eRAN6.0 and ROHC Feature Parameter
earlier Description
LBFD-081106 Voice-Specific AMC eRAN8.1 VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description
N/A Load-based scheduling eRAN11.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description
N/A Downlink VoLTE packet eRAN11.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
bundling for scheduling Description
N/A Downlink SPS MCS eRAN11.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
optimization Description
N/A Enhanced coordination eRAN11.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
between SPS and TTIB in Description
the uplink
N/A Configurable SPS period of eRAN11.1 VoLTE Feature Parameter
40 ms in both the uplink and Description
downlink
N/A Downlink SPS and long eRAN11.1 VoLTE Feature Parameter
DRX cycle decoupling Description
N/A Coordination between eRAN11.1 VoLTE Feature Parameter
HARQ processes reserved Description
for SPS and dynamic
scheduling in the downlink
N/A Enhanced coordination eRAN11.1 VoLTE Feature Parameter
between semi-persistent Description
power control commands
and DRX
N/A SPS for emergency calls eRAN12.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description
Emergency Call Feature
Parameter Description
N/A SPS blacklist eRAN12.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description
N/A Voice-based SRI period eRAN12.1 Physical Channel Resource
adaption optimization Management Feature
Parameter Description
VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description
N/A Smart recovery of AMR eRAN13.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
voice frames Description
Solution Feature ID Feature/Function Introduced Reference Document
in…

LOFD-121202 VoLTE User Prior Access eRAN12.1 VoLTE Feature Parameter


Description
Coverage LOFD-001048 TTI Bundling eRAN6.0 and VoLTE Feature Parameter
improve earlier Description
ment
LOFD-001017 ROHC eRAN6.0 and ROHC Feature Parameter
earlier Description
N/A Uplink RLC segmentation eRAN7.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
enhancement Description
LOFD-111207 VoLTE Rate Control eRAN11.1 VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description
N/A Frequency selective eRAN12.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
scheduling for Description
retransmissions of UEs in
TTI bundling states
LOFD-120204 VoLTE Coverage eRAN12.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
Enhancement Based on Description
Extended Delay Budget
LEOFD-12120 EVS Rate Control eRAN12.1 VoLTE Feature Parameter
2 Description
N/A R12 TTI bundling eRAN12.1 VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description
N/A Enabling UEs to inherit the eRAN12.1 VoLTE Feature Parameter
TTI bundling state from the Description
source cell during handovers
and RRC connection
reestablishments, and
removing the restriction that
the MCS index must be less
than or equal to 10
UE LBFD-002017 DRX eRAN6.0 and DRX and Signaling Control
power earlier Feature Parameter
saving Description
Mobility LBFD-002018 Coverage Based eRAN6.0 and Intra-RAT Mobility
01 Intra-frequency Handover earlier Management in Connected
Mode Feature Parameter
Description
LBFD-002018 Coverage Based eRAN6.0 and Intra-RAT Mobility
02 Inter-frequency Handover earlier Management in Connected
Mode Feature Parameter
Description
Solution Feature ID Feature/Function Introduced Reference Document
in…
LBFD-002018 Service Based eRAN6.0 and Intra-RAT Mobility
05 Inter-frequency Handover earlier Management in Connected
Mode Feature Parameter
Description
LBFD-002018 Distance Based eRAN6.0 and Intra-RAT Mobility
04 Inter-frequency Handover earlier Management in Connected
Mode Feature Parameter
Description
N/A UL-quality-based eRAN6.0 and Intra-RAT Mobility
inter-frequency handover earlier Management in Connected
Mode Feature Parameter
Description
N/A Frequency-priority-based eRAN6.0 and Intra-RAT Mobility
inter-frequency handover earlier Management in Connected
Mode Feature Parameter
Description
LOFD-001019 Coverage-based inter-RAT eRAN6.0 and Inter-RAT Mobility
LOFD-001020 handover earlier Management in Connected
Mode Feature Parameter
Description
LOFD-001043 Service-based inter-RAT eRAN6.0 and Inter-RAT Mobility
LOFD-001046 handover earlier Management in Connected
Mode Feature Parameter
Description
LOFD-001072 Distance-based inter-RAT eRAN6.0 and Inter-RAT Mobility
LOFD-001073 handover earlier Management in Connected
Mode Feature Parameter
Description
N/A UL-quality-based inter-RAT eRAN6.0 and Inter-RAT Mobility
handover earlier Management in Connected
Mode Feature Parameter
Description
Heavy N/A Preferential access for voice eRAN11.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
traffic service Description
handling
N/A PUSCH RB reservation eRAN11.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description

3.2.2 Application of Capacity Enhancement


Capacity can be improved in two ways. One is to increase the number of users. The other is to improve
the voice quality while keeping the number of users unchanged. The following features are involved in
capacity expansion:
 Semi-persistent scheduling and power control
 Voice characteristic awareness scheduling, including uplink delay-based dynamic scheduling and
uplink VoLTE volume estimation for dynamic scheduling.
 ROHC
 Voice-Specific AMC
The following items are optimized in eRAN11.0:
 Load-based scheduling (DS and SPS adaptation)
 Downlink VoLTE packet bundling
 Downlink SPS MCS optimization
 Uplink SPS and TTIB collaboration optimization
SPS is optimized as follows in eRAN11.1:
 SPS in the uplink and downlink supports a period of 40 ms which is configurable.
 The SPS period and long DRX cycle are decoupled in the downlink.
 HARQs reserved for SPS can be used for dynamic scheduling in the downlink.
 Coordination between semi-persistent TPC commands and DRX is optimized.
SPS is further optimized as follows in eRAN12.0:
 The function of SPS-based emergency calls is added to increase the capacity of UEs in emergency
occasions.
 The SPS blacklist function is added to prevent voice quality of UEs that do not support SPS from
deteriorating.
The following items are introduced or optimized in eRAN12.1:
 Voice-based SRI period adaption optimization
 VoLTE User Prior Access
The following enhanced function was introduced in eRAN13.0:
 Smart recovery of AMR voice frames

3.2.2.1 Solution Introduction

3.2.2.1.1 Downlink VoLTE Packet Bundling


When dynamic scheduling is used, you can select the DlVoipBundlingSwitch option of the
CellAlgoSwitch.DlSchSwitch parameter to enable packet bundling for downlink VoLTE services. The
eNodeB bundles two voice packets to schedule the packets to reduce the number of CCE resources used
by downlink VoLTE UEs.

3.2.2.1.2 Semi-persistent Scheduling and Power Control


Semi-persistent scheduling applies to periodic small-packet services. It helps reduce physical downlink
control channel (PDCCH) overheads. Currently, semi-persistent scheduling applies only to the talk
spurts of the VoLTE services carried on the bearer with the QCI of 1. Dynamic scheduling is used in
scenarios of high-speed railway, 1.4 MHz system bandwidth, hybrid services, and emergency calls. In
the high-speed railway scenario, semi-persistent scheduling must be disabled manually. In scenarios of
1.4 MHz system bandwidth, hybrid services, and emergency calls, the eNodeB automatically disables
the semi-persistent scheduling feature even when the switch for this feature is turned on. The VoLTE
service states can be divided into talk spurts and silent period, which are determined by the PDCP layer
based on the size of the data packet (the size of an SID frame is much less than that of a voice packet).
SID is short for Silence Insertion Descriptor. When the SpsSchSwitch option is selected and the UE
supports semi-persistent scheduling, semi-persistent scheduling is activated during talk spurts. During
silent periods, semi-persistently allocated resources are released. Then, when a VoLTE service transits
from a silent period to talk spurts, semi-persistent scheduling is reactivated.
When enabling semi-persistent scheduling, the eNodeB notifies the UE of the semi-persistently
allocated resources through the PDCCH. During semi-persistent scheduling periodic scheduling, the
eNodeB does not need to indicate the allocated resources through the PDCCH. The ACK code channel
for semi-persistent scheduling is configured statically through upper-layer signaling because there is no
PDCCH indication.
For DL semi-persistent scheduling, after semi-persistent scheduling is activated, the eNodeB checks
whether the MCS allocated in semi-persistent scheduling matches the current channel status. If the MCS
does not match the current channel status, the eNodeB activates semi-persistent scheduling again.
The MCS selection policy for downlink SPS reactivation is optimized in eRAN11.0. There are two
scenarios:
 If the periodically measured IBLER is greater than the
CellDlschAlgo.DlSpsMcsDecreaseIblerThd parameter value, the eNodeB lowers the MCS and
activates semi-persistent scheduling again.
 If the periodically measured IBLER is lower than 5%, the eNodeB increases the MCS and
activates downlink semi-persistent scheduling again. The DlSpsMcsIncreaseSwitch option of the
CellAlgoSwitch.CqiAdjAlgoSwitch parameter specifies whether to enable MCS index increase for
semi-persistent scheduling.
According to 3GPP TS 36.321 and 3GPP TS 36.331, the eNodeB reserves HARQ processes for
enabling downlink semi-persistent scheduling for UEs. In eRAN11.1, reserved HARQ processes can be
used for dynamic scheduling to increase the number of HARQ processes that can be used for data
services before downlink semi-persistent scheduling is activated. Such a function is controlled by the
DlSpsRevHarqUseSwitch option of the CellDlschAlgo.DlEnhancedVoipSchSw parameter.
eRAN11.1 introduces the DlSpsDrxDecouplingSwitch option of the
CellDlschAlgo.DlEnhancedVoipSchSw parameter to manage the relationship between the SPS periods
and long DRX cycles.
 When this option is deselected, the value of the DrxParaGroup.LongDrxCycle parameter must be
less than or equal to that of the CellDlschAlgo.DlSpsInterval parameter so that the eNodeB can
activate downlink semi-persistent scheduling.
 When this option is selected, there is no restriction on the values of the
DrxParaGroup.LongDrxCycle and CellDlschAlgo.DlSpsInterval parameters for the eNodeB to
activate downlink semi-persistent scheduling. In this scenario, initial transmission on the PDSCH
under semi-persistent scheduling can be performed in the DRX sleep time. If a UE does not receive
semi-persistent scheduling data on the PDSCH in the DRX sleep time, the voice packet loss rate
will be increased in the downlink.
In uplink semi-persistent scheduling, the eNodeB notifies the UE of the semi-persistently allocated
resources through the DCI format 0 indication from the PDCCH. During periodic scheduling, the UE
sends data periodically on the configured semi-persistent scheduling resources. In downlink
semi-persistent scheduling, the eNodeB notifies the UE of the semi-persistently allocated resources
through the DCI format 1A indication from the PDCCH. During periodic scheduling, the eNodeB
sends data periodically and the UE receives data periodically on the configured semi-persistent
scheduling resources.
The cooperation between uplink semi-persistent scheduling and TTI bundling is optimized in eRAN11.0.
When both uplink semi-persistent scheduling and TTI bundling are enabled for a UE, it is recommended
that the UlSpsTtibRestraintSwitch option of the CellUlschAlgo.UlEnhencedVoipSchSw parameter be
selected to ensure the voice quality. By doing this, uplink dynamic scheduling applies to the UE
entering TTI bundling mode. Uplink semi-persistent scheduling applies to the UE only when the
channel quality is favorable, the voice packet size is small, and voice packets do not require RLC
segmentation.
In eRAN11.1, the SpsAndDrxOptSwitch option is added to the UlEnhancedVoipSchSw parameter to
increase the uplink SPS activation success rate.
 If this option is deselected, semi-persistent TPC commands can be issued during the DRX sleep
time.
 If this option is selected, semi-persistent TPC commands can be issued only during the DRX On
Duration time but not during the DRX sleep time.
The period of semi-persistent scheduling is carried in an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message
which is sent from the eNodeB to UE. In eRAN11.1, the periods for uplink and downlink
semi-persistent scheduling can be specified by the CellUlschAlgo.UlSpsInterval and
CellUlschAlgo.DlSpsInterval parameters, respectively. The shorter the semi-persistent scheduling
period, the smaller the scheduling delay of voice packets on the eNodeB, and the better voice quality of
VoLTE UEs. In LTE FDD, semi-persistent scheduling cannot be adaptively configured. If either of the
two parameters is set to ADAPTIVE, the period that actually takes effect is 20 ms.
In eRAN12.0, the CellAlgoSwitch.EmcSpsSchSwitch parameter is added to enable SPS for emergency
UEs. If a cell supports VoLTE emergency calls and uplink/downlink SPS is activated, the emergency
UEs can also activate uplink/downlink SPS so that the cell supports as many emergency UEs as possible
in emergency occasions, which saves PDCCH resources.
In eRAN12.0, a UE blacklist can be configured so that the eNodeB can disable SPS for the specified
types of UEs. The following table describes the switch controlling this function.

SPS_SWITCH_OFF Description
(UeCompat.BlkLstCtrlSwitch)

Deselected SPS takes effect on the specified type of UE.


Selected SPS does not take effect on the specified type of UE.

After semi-persistent scheduling is enabled for VoLTE, the semi-persistent power on the PUSCH and
PDSCH can be adjusted by switches so that best voice performance can be achieved.
Deployment scenario: This feature applies to the scenario where the CCE usage of a cell exceeds 70%
and the number of concurrent online VoLTE users is greater than 10.
Deployment constraints
 It is recommended that an interoperability test (IoT) be performed in the lab before the deployment.
This is because the semi-persistent scheduling feature requires the support of UEs.
 Both the uplink semi-persistent scheduling feature and the uplink semi-persistent power control
feature must be enabled. Otherwise, the voice MOS will decrease.
 The downlink semi-persistent power control feature must be disabled before the downlink
semi-persistent scheduling is enabled. For detailed reasons, see VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description.
 If the DlSpsDrxDecouplingSwitch option is deselected, DRX is enabled for voice services, and
the long DRX cycle is greater than or equal to 20 ms in a cell, the downlink semi-persistent
scheduling feature cannot be activated even when the downlink semi-persistent scheduling switch
is turned on. Uplink semi-persistent scheduling is not under such a constraint.
This is because some UE chips (for example, Intel and Nvidia chips) cannot receive data through
the PDSCH during the silent period of DRX. In the uplink, UE can send data through the PUSCH
in the silent period of DRX, as specified by 3GPP specifications.
Negative impact
 As specified in 3GPP specifications, the largest MCS index that can be used by semi-persistent
scheduling is 15. If a large number of voice users are in the cell center, the number of RBs will
decrease, which affects the throughput of data services in the cell.
 Semi-persistent scheduling uses a fixed MCS and a fixed number of RBs, leading to poor link
adaptation performance. When the channel changes, the links cannot timely respond to the change,
which causes voice quality fluctuation. This is why emergency calls do not use semi-persistent
scheduling.
 After downlink semi-persistent scheduling is enabled and voice services are set up, the eNodeB
reserves HARQ processes for downlink semi-persistent scheduling. Before the next initial
transmission in semi-persistent scheduling, the HARQ processes for downlink semi-persistent
scheduling may not be released. As a result, periodic data for semi-persistent scheduling cannot be
sent. The HARQ processes are reserved to avoid such situation. If the DlSpsRevHarqUseSwitch
option of the CellDlschAlgo.DlEnhancedVoipSchSw parameter is deselected, the HARQ
processes reserved for downlink semi-persistent scheduling cannot be used for dynamic scheduling
for other service types of the UE, such as data services. In combined services where voice and data
services coexist, the HARQ processes that can be used by data services therefore decrease.
Compared with the scenario where dynamic scheduling is used by both voice and data services, the
use of downlink semi-persistent scheduling for voice services affects the throughput of data
services, when the volume of the data services is large (such as when the full buffer service is
performed). When there are multiple users or a small amount of data volume, the impact of
reserving HARQ processes is small because the scheduling chances for UEs are discretely
distributed or only a few HARQ processes are required for data services. Uplink semi-persistent
scheduling uses non-adaptive HARQ retransmission, and therefore, is under no such restriction.
eRAN11.0 optimizes DS and SPS adaptive scheduling which can now be performed based on load. The
following table describes dynamic scheduling and semi-persistent scheduling for voice services.

Table 3-1 Comparison between dynamic scheduling and semi-persistent scheduling

Scheduling Mode Response to Channel Highest MCS PDCCH Resource


Status Changes Consumption

Dynamic scheduling Fast 28 High


Semi-persistent scheduling Slow 15 Low

With load-based scheduling, dynamic scheduling and semi-persistent scheduling can be adaptively
adopted based on load for UEs that newly initiate voice services.
 When load is heavy, semi-persistent scheduling will be adopted to prevent overloaded PDCCHs
which may affect voice performance and capacity.
 When load is light, dynamic scheduling will be adopted to provide better user experience of voice
services and improve spectral efficiency.
Uplink and downlink load-based scheduling can be enabled using the following switches:
 For uplink load-based scheduling: UlVoIPLoadBasedSchSwitch of the
CellUlSchAlgo.UlEnhencedVoipSchSw parameter
 For downlink load-based scheduling: DlVoIPLoadBasedSchSwitch of the
CellDlSchAlgo.DlEnhancedVoipSchSw parameter

3.2.2.1.3 Voice Characteristic Awareness Scheduling


Voice characteristic awareness scheduling is a new feature introduced in eRAN8.1 and is under
independent license control. This feature consists of uplink delay-based dynamic scheduling and uplink
VoLTE volume estimation for dynamic scheduling.
In eRAN12.1, voice-based SRI period adaption optimization is introduced.
UL Delay-based Dynamic Scheduling
Voice characteristic awareness scheduling is a new feature introduced in eRAN8.1 and is under
independent license control. This feature consists of uplink delay-based dynamic scheduling, uplink
VoLTE volume estimation for dynamic scheduling, and independent configuration for voice inactivity
timer.
Sorting scheduling priorities based on delay for voice services brings balanced scheduling sequence.
This helps improve voice quality. Especially, voice quality improves for UEs far from center with poor
channel quality. This feature increases the user satisfaction rate of UEs performing voice services in
scenarios where voice service load is high.
Deployment scenario: This feature applies to the scenario where traffic volume is large and VoLTE is
deployed.
Deployment constraints: None
Negative impact: The gains are not obvious when this feature is deployed in a scenario without large
traffic volume. Uplink delay-based dynamic scheduling can be used in heavy traffic scenarios to
improve voice quality in weak-coverage areas. However, this function prolongs the SR-based
scheduling delay by 0 ms to 20 ms, which has the following impact:
 Prolongs processing time such as E-RAB setup time, RRC connection setup time, ping delay,
idle-to-active delay, and attach delay.
 Slightly decreases cell traffic volume and throughput.
Uplink VoLTE Volume Estimation for Dynamic Scheduling
The eNodeB can obtain the accurate downlink traffic volume but cannot obtain the accurate uplink
traffic volume. Therefore, uplink VoLTE volume estimation for dynamic scheduling is introduced to
allow the eNodeB to perform the uplink traffic volume estimation based on the VoLTE model and
uplink scheduling intervals:
 During talk spurts, the eNodeB estimates the number of voice packets in the UE buffer based on
the interval between the previous uplink schedule and the current time and then calculates the
uplink traffic volume for scheduling based on the sizes of voice packets.
 During silent periods, the eNodeB takes the size of a voice packet as the uplink VoLTE volume for
dynamic scheduling.
Uplink VoLTE volume estimation for dynamic scheduling makes the calculation of uplink voice traffic
volume more accurate and therefore shortens voice packet delays caused by an excessively small voice
traffic volume calculation result. This feature can improve voice quality when a cell is heavily loaded,
the rate of missing detection of SRs is high, or DRX is enabled.
Deployment scenario: This feature applies to the scenario where VoLTE is deployed.
Deployment constraints: None
Negative impact: Uplink VoLTE volume estimation for dynamic scheduling can shorten voice service
delays, reduce the uplink packet loss rate, and improve voice quality when a cell is heavily loaded, the
rate of missing detection of SRs is high, or DRX is enabled. However, this feature increases the
consumption of RBs and CCEs. When there are many voice users, this function also reduces cell traffic
volume and throughput.
Independent Configuration for Voice Inactivity Timer
The voice inactivity timer is independently configured to prevent a call from failing if the call is
released by the eNodeB after the UE inactivity timer expires on the calling party because the called
party does not answer the call.
In dynamic DRX scenarios where QCI of 1 is not set up for UEs, the
RrcConnStateTimer.UeInactivityTimerDynDrx parameter specifies the UE inactivity timer length.
When QCI of 1 is set up for UEs, the RrcConnStateTimer.UeInactTimerDynDrxQci1 parameter
specifies the UE inactivity timer length. The default and recommended values of the two timers are
large, which will not cause the previous call setup failures.
In other scenarios, independently configuring an inactivity timer for UEs performing voice services
helps the UEs to distinguish voice and non-voice scenarios. Specifically, the inactivity timer length is
independently configured so that the previous negative impact can be avoided. The
RrcConnStateTimer.UeInactiveTimerQci1 parameter takes effect if the
CellAlgoSwitch.UEInactiveTimerQCI1Switch parameter is set to ON. Otherwise, it does not take
effect. It is recommended that the value of the RrcConnStateTimer.UeInactiveTimerQci1 parameter
be greater than the active connection release timer length when the called party of the core network does
not respond.
Voice-based SRI period adaption optimization
When the SriPeriodOptForVoipSW option of the CellPucchAlgo.SriAlgoSwitch parameter is selected,
the SRI period of QCI 1 services can be extended to 20 ms and the SRI period of data services remains
unchanged if the number of voice users is less than 40 in a heavy-load cell. The shorter SRI period of
voice services improves the uplink packet loss rate of voice users. However, when a large number of
voice users exist, the uplink throughput of data users slightly decreases.

NOTE
For details about the adaptive SRI period function, see Physical Channel Resource Management Feature Parameter
Description.

Deployment scenario: This feature applies to the scenario where VoLTE is deployed.
Deployment constraints: None
Negative impact: Independent configuration for voice inactivity timer has the following impacts on
networks after being enabled:
 If the value of the RrcConnStateTimer.UeInactiveTimerQci1 parameter is smaller than that of
the RrcConnStateTimer.UeInactiveTimer parameter, the online duration of voice service UEs
becomes shorter, and the voice service drop rate decreases when there is no data transmission in
the uplink or downlink during the waiting for the callee to answer the call.
 If the value of the RrcConnStateTimer.UeInactiveTimerQci1 parameter is greater than that of the
RrcConnStateTimer.UeInactiveTimer parameter, the online duration of voice service UEs
becomes longer, the number of RRC connection requests decreases, the number of normal releases
decreases, and the voice service drop rate increases.
Smart recovery of AMR voice frames
This function was introduced in eRAN13.0 and is controlled by the AmrVoiceFrameSmartCoverySw
option of the CellUlschAlgo.UlEnhencedVoipSchSw parameter. After this option is selected, the
average MOS of AMR-WB voice service UEs with low scores increases, the uplink packet loss rate of
CEUs decreases, and the proportions of uplink VQIs being Poor and Bad decrease. This function does
not produce any negative gains.
Deployment scenario: VoLTE is deployed, and there are AMR-WB voice service UEs on the network.
Deployment constraints: None
Negative impact: None

3.2.2.1.4 Voice-Specific AMC


Voice-Specific AMC aims to reduce uplink VoLTE packet losses and delays. The eNodeB sets an uplink
target IBLER for voice users not in the TTI bundling state by configuring the
CellUlschAlgo.SinrAdjTargetIblerforVoLTE parameter. The default value is 10%. This parameter can
be configured based on scenarios because the optimal uplink target IBLER may vary from scenario to
scenario. The eNodeB adjusts signal to interference plus noise ratios (SINRs) for voice users to be
dynamically scheduled in the uplink based on the configured uplink target IBLER and then
preliminarily selects MCSs for the users.
If the SinrAdjTargetIblerforVoLTE parameter is set to a small value, a small MCS index is selected
for uplink voice services. For voice users in the cell center, the uplink QCI of 1 packet loss rate may
slightly decrease and the voice quality almost remains unchanged. For voice users not in the cell center,
the number of uplink RLC segments increases, the uplink QCI of 1 packet loss rate may increase, and
voice quality becomes worse. If the SinrAdjTargetIblerforVoLTE parameter is set to a large value, a
large MCS index is selected for uplink voice services. For voice users not at the cell edge, the uplink
QCI of 1 packet loss rate may increase and voice quality becomes worse. For voice users at the cell
edge, the number of uplink RLC segments decreases, the uplink QCI of 1 packet loss rate may slightly
decease, and voice quality improves.
This feature may also affect the cell traffic volume and throughput as well as the throughput of UEs
using data services. If the SinrAdjTargetIblerforVoLTE parameter is set to a small value, a small
MCS index is selected for uplink voice services, and the consumption of RBs increases. If there are a
large number of voice users, the cell traffic volume and throughput decrease.
Deployment scenario: This feature applies to the scenario where VoLTE is deployed.
Deployment constraints: None. It is recommended that this feature be used together with UL RLC
segmentation enhancement feature.
Negative impact: This feature affects voice quality.

3.2.2.1.5 ROHC
ROHC provides an efficient header compression mechanism for data packets. It is specially designed
for the radio links with high bit error rates (BERs) and with a long round trip time (RTT). ROHC helps
reduce header overhead, lower the packet loss rate, shorten the response time, and therefore helps
improve network performance.
ROHC is an extensible framework consisting of different profiles for data streams compliant with
different protocols. Profiles define the compression modes for streams with different types of protocol
headers. The profile ID identifies a profile. If the profile ID is 0x0000, the headers are not compressed.
The following table describes the mapping between the profile IDs and protocols. VoLTE services use
profiles 0x0001 and 0x0002.

Profile ID Protocol
0x0001 RTP/UDP/IP
Profile ID Protocol
0x0002 UDP/IP
0x0003 ESP/IP
0x0004 IP

The ROHC function entity in an LTE system is contained in the PDCP entity at the user plane of the UE
and eNodeB, which is used only for compressing and decompressing headers of packets on the user
plane. For DL services, the compressor is on the eNodeB side and the decompressor is on the UE side.
For UL services, the compressor is on the UE side and the decompressor is on the eNodeB side. The
compressor and the decompressor operate in three states and modes. In radio environments of different
qualities, the states and operating modes can be switched to ensure normal decompression of
compressed packets.
The compressor operates in three states, which are Initialization and Refresh (IR), First Order (FO), and
Second Order (SO). The volume of information carried by compressed data packets varies according to
the state in which the data packets are compressed. The IR state ranks the lowest. The compressor is in
this state when the static part of the context on the decompressor side is not established yet or the
decompression fails due to invalidity of the static part on the decompressor side. In this state, only
uncompressed data packets are sent. When the compressor detects some irregularities in the dynamic
fields of the context, the compressor enters the FO state and sends the compressed packets. The SO state
is the optimal compression state. In this state, the compressor sends the data packets with the maximum
compression rate. In most cases, the compressor is in this state. The compressor starts in the lowest
compression state (IR) and switches gradually to higher compression states (from FO to SO).
The decompressor operates in three states, which are No Context, Static Context, and Full Context. The
decompressor starts in the No Context state, in which the context is not established yet or unavailable on
the decompressor side. The decompressor enters the Static Context state when it finds that the dynamic
fields in context identifier (CID) are invalid. The decompressor enters the Full Context state after a
complete context is established. In this state, the decompressor can decompress the data packets with
the maximum compression ratio. The decompressor can switch to different states. The following figure
shows the state transition of the decompressor.

ROHC operates in three modes, which are Unidirectional Mode (U-Mode for short), Bi-directional
Optimistic Mode (O-Mode for short), and Bi-Directional Reliable Mode (R-Mode for short). The
reliability of these modes and resources used for transmitting feedback are different.
The initial operating mode of the compressor must be U-Mode, which then gradually switches to
O-Mode or R-Mode. The operating mode transition is determined by the decompressor. When the
eNodeB is the compressor, the UE works as the decompressor and instructs the eNodeB to change the
operating mode. When the eNodeB is the decompressor, it instructs the UE to change the operating
mode based on the configured parameter.
ROHC features high header compression efficiency. For example, it can compress a packet header into a
minimum of one byte. ROHC effectively reduces the size of VoLTE packets and the required RBs when
the eNodeB schedules VoLTE services. The common compression efficiency is 15%.
Deployment scenario: This feature applies to the scenario where VoLTE is deployed.
Deployment constraints: ROHC requires the support of UEs. If UEs do not support ROHC, this
function will not take effect.
Negative impact
 UE compatibility issues may occur. The standards compliance between the UEs and eNodeB may
be different. This feature requires the support of UEs.
 The average CPU usage increases after ROHC is enabled. The average CPU usage positively
correlates to the number of ROHC users. According to the test result, the average CPU usage
increases by 5% if there are 400 ROHC users. The average CPU usage increases by less than 1% if
there are less than 100 ROHC users.

3.2.2.1.6 Load-based Scheduling


This section describes how the load-based scheduling works in VoLTE. For voice services, there are two
scheduling modes, which are compared in the following table.

Scheduling Mode Response to Channel Highest MCS Index PDCCH Resource


Condition Changes Consumption

Dynamic scheduling Fast 28 Large


Semi-persistent Slow 15 Small
scheduling

For newly originated voice services, load-based scheduling allows the eNodeB to adaptively select
dynamic or semi-persistent scheduling based on service load in both uplink and downlink.
 When the load is high, the eNodeB applies semi-persistent scheduling to avoid PDCCH overload
and the impact on voice quality and capacity.
 When the load is low, the eNodeB applies dynamic scheduling to provide better experience on
voice services and improve spectral efficiency.
The load is determined based on the number of users scheduled in each TTI.
Deployment scenario: It is recommended that an IoT be performed. This is because the ROHC feature
requires the support of UEs.
Deployment constraints: This feature applies to the scenario where VoLTE is deployed and
semi-persistent scheduling is enabled.
Negative impact: None
3.2.2.1.7 VoLTE User Prior Access
The VoLTE mobile originated (MO) service preferential access function on a heavy-load network is
controlled by the VoLTEMoPrefSwitch option of the CellAlgoSwitch.VoLTESwitch parameter.
The eNodeB identifies a VoLTE calling user based on the cause value contained in the RRC Connection
Request message.
After identifying a VoLTE calling user, the eNodeB performs the following optimization to increase the
call setup success rate and improve VoLTE user experience:
 Preallocation
The eNodeB performs preallocation after the Msg4 transmission regardless of the threshold of the
user number for preallocation activation.
 DRX
The DRX feature does not take effect on the default bearer of an identified voice user. This
eliminates the impact of sleep time on the SIP message carried on the QCI 5 bearer and increases
scheduling chances of the SIP message. The DRX feature does not take effect until the QCI 1
bearer is set up.
 Admission and congestion control
The eNodeB increases the ARP of an identified VoLTE user. In this way, the VoLTE user can
preempt the resources of low-ARP users when the user number specification is limited.
 CA
The eNodeB reduces the probability of performing CA on identified VoLTE users.
 Flow control
The eNodeB prioritizes identified VoLTE users in flow control for the Initial Access Request
Control messages.
Preallocation, DRX, CA, and flow control are optimized by default. Optimization on admission and
congestion control is controlled by the CellRacThd.VolteArpOverride parameter.
Deployment scenario: This feature applies to the scenario where VoLTE is deployed and the cell
capacity in terms of the number of users is limited.
Deployment constraints: There are VoLTE UEs that support 3GPP Release 12 on the network.
Essentially, the RRC Connection Request Message sent by the UEs can contain the
mo-VoiceCall-v1280 cause value.
Negative impact: If the cell capacity in terms of the number of users is limited, the identified VoLTE
UEs can preempt the resources of low-ARP UEs, increasing the call drop rate of low-ARP UEs whose
resources are preempted by VoLTE UEs. Preallocation may increase the uplink RB resource usage on
the PUSCH.
Related features: See the "Related Features" chapter in VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.

3.2.2.2 Parameter Configuration

3.2.2.2.1 License
The following table lists the optional features.

Feature ID Feature Name License Control Item NE Sales Unit


LOFD-001016 VoIP Semi-persistent VoIP Semi-persistent eNodeB per RRC
Scheduling Scheduling connected user
LOFD-001017 RObust Header RObust Header Compression eNodeB per RRC
Compression (ROHC) (ROHC) (FDD) connected user
LOFD-081229 Voice Characteristic Voice Characteristic Awareness eNodeB per cell
Awareness Scheduling Scheduling (FDD)
LOFD-081230 Voice-Specific AMC Voice-Specific AMC (FDD) eNodeB per cell
LOFD-121202 VoLTE User Prior VoLTE User Prior eNodeB per Cell
Access Access(FDD)

Basic feature: LBFD-081105 Voice-Specific AMC is a basic feature and is not under license control.

3.2.2.2.2 UE
UEs require semi-persistent scheduling and ROHC capabilities.

3.2.2.2.3 Configurable Parameters


Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
DL schedule DlSchSwitch(Dl Indicates whether to enable Off
switch VoipBundlingSw active packet bundling for Currently, there is little VoLTE
itch) downlink VoLTE services. If this traffic on the live network. The
option is selected, active packet PDCCH resources are not restricted
bundling is enabled for downlink to VoLTE. The advice for setting
VoLTE services. If this option is this switch will be refreshed when
deselected, active packet follow-up traffic increases.
bundling is disabled for downlink
VoLTE services. If this option is
selected, PDCCH resources can
be saved for downlink data
services or uplink services,
thereby increasing the VoLTE
capacity for VoLTE services or
improving the throughput of data
services in mixed service
scenarios. However, the delay in
VoLTE voice packet scheduling
will increase and MOSs may
decrease. You are advised to
deselect this option if you prefer
VoLTE performance and do not
expect MOS reduction.
Uplink CellAlgoSwitch. The A beta test is being performed for
schedule switch UlSchSwitch SpsSchSwitch(SpsSchSwitch) the semi-persistent scheduling
option in this parameter indicates feature. The recommended value
whether to enable semi-persistent will be changed after the beta test.
scheduling during talk spurts of
VoLTE services. If this option is
selected, semi-persistent
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
scheduling is applied during talk
spurts of VoLTE services.
DL schedule CellAlgoSwitch. The A beta test is being performed for
switch DlSchSwitch SpsSchSwitch(SpsSchSwitch) the semi-persistent scheduling
option in this parameter indicates feature. The recommended value
whether to enable semi-persistent will be changed after the beta test.
scheduling during talk spurts of
VoLTE services. If this option is
selected, semi-persistent
scheduling is applied during talk
spurts of VoLTE services.
Uplink power CellAlgoSwitch. The CloseLoopSpsSwitch option A beta test is being performed for
control UlPcAlgoSwitch in this parameter indicates the semi-persistent scheduling
algorithm whether to enable closed-loop feature. The recommended value
switch power control for the PUSCH in will be changed after the beta test.
semi-persistent scheduling mode. Closed-loop power control for the
If this option is selected, PUSCH in semi-persistent
closed-loop power control is scheduling mode guarantees the
enabled for the PUSCH in service quality of VoLTE users.
semi-persistent scheduling mode. You are advised to select this
option when uplink semi-persistent
scheduling is enabled to achieve
better VoLTE service performance.
You are advised to deselect this
option when uplink semi-persistent
scheduling is disabled.
If the uplink power control
algorithm switch is turned on for a
cell where both dynamic scheduling
and semi-persistent scheduling are
enabled, you are advised to select
both the CloseLoopSpsSwitch and
InnerLoopPuschSwitch options.
Downlink CellAlgoSwitch. The PdschSpsPcSwitch option Off
power control DlPcAlgoSwitch in this parameter indicates the Currently, the benefits of this
algorithm switch for power control during feature are limited. You are advised
switch semi-persistent scheduling on the to deselect this option. Fixed power
PDSCH. If this option selected, is used for the PDSCH channel in
power control is applied during semi-persistent scheduling.
semi-persistent scheduling on the
PDSCH.
Semi-persistent CellUlschAlgo.Sp Indicates the threshold for the The recommended value is 2.
resource sRelThd number of consecutive
implicit release zero-payload packets received by
threshold the eNodeB. After receiving
consecutive zero-payload packets
of a number that is equal to the
value of this parameter, the
eNodeB performs implicit release
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
of semi-persistent resources.
Uplink CellUlschAlgo.Ul Indicates whether to enable You are advised to turn on this
Delay-based DelaySchStrategy delay-based dynamic scheduling switch in big event scenarios (for
Scheduling prioritization for VoLTE example, the new year's eve and
Strategy services. If this parameter is set Japan firework festival).
to NO_DELAYSCH,
delay-based dynamic scheduling
prioritization for VoLTE services
is disabled. If this parameter is
set to VOIP_DELAYSCH,
delay-based dynamic scheduling
prioritization for VoLTE services
is enabled. Scheduling priorities
are dynamically adjusted based
on VoLTE packet delays during
uplink dynamic scheduling,
thereby increasing the MOS and
system capacity for VoLTE
services when the cell is heavily
loaded with VoLTE services.
Uplink VoLTE UlVoLTEDataSiz Indicates whether to enable the You are advised to select this
Volume eEstSwitch estimation of traffic volume option when VoLTE is deployed. A
Estimation for option of the dynamically scheduled for beta test must be performed before
Dynamic CellUlschAlgo.Ul VoLTE services in the uplink. selecting this option. A beta test is
Scheduling EnhancedVoipSc planned for this feature at office L
Switch hSw parameter in country K.
Voice-Specific CellUlschAlgo.Si Indicates the target IBLER in the This feature is new in eRAN8.1. A
AMC Switch nrAdjTargetIblerf SINR calibration algorithm used beta test is planned at office L in
orVoLTE for dynamic scheduling of voice country K. The recommendation
users in non-TTI-bundling mode. will be provided after the beta test.
ROHC switch PdcpRohcPara.R Indicates whether to enable You are advised to turn on this
ohcSwitch ROHC on the eNodeB. switch after ROHC passes the beta
test.
ROHC Highest PdcpRohcPara.Hi Indicates the highest mode of The recommended value is
mode ghestMode ROHC configured on the O_MODE(Bi-directional
eNodeB. Optimistic Mode). The following
provides the reasons.
[Compression efficiency]
O_MODE provides higher
compression efficiency and higher
compression performance than
U_MODE.
[Resource overheads] R_MODE
results in greater feedback
overheads and higher resource
consumption than O_MODE.
Residual BLER/Link quality:
O_MODE provides a lower
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
RBLER than R_MODE. The
ROHC header of type R-0 does not
contain the cyclic redundancy
check (CRC) bit, and damaged
headers may be delivered.
Note: R-0 type packets refer to the
type of compression packets that
use R-Mode and the R-Mode enters
a stable state.
Robustness: O-Mode has the same
robustness as R-Mode. On LTE
networks, a scheduling period is 1
ms, and a voice packet receiving
interval is 20 ms. In this situation, a
damaged context can be fixed
rapidly if context decompression
fails.
CPU usage: O-Mode has the same
CPU usage as R-Mode.
UE compatibility: According to the
test for telecom operator D in
country D in 2014, compatibility
issues occur when ROHC operates
in R-Mode on Sony Xperia Z2,
leading to frame loss.
U-Mode is not recommended
because it has the least effect when
the channel quality fluctuates.
Compression PdcpRohcPara.Pr Indicates the compression profile Profile0x0001-1&Profile0x0002-1
profiles ofiles supported by the eNodeB. &Profile0x0003-0&Profile0x0004-
0;
Profile 1 is used to compress
RTP/UDP/IP headers.
Profile 2 is used to compress
UDP/IP headers.
Profile 3 is used to compress
ESP/IP headers.
Profile 4 is used to compress IP
headers.
Profile 1 and Profile 2 are
recommended on live networks
because the commercial UEs do not
support Profile 3 and Profile 4.
Adaptive UlVoIPLoadBase Indicates whether to enable A beta test is being performed for
selection of dSchSwitch adaptive selection of scheduling the semi-persistent scheduling
VoIP modes for VoLTE UEs based on feature. The recommended value
scheduling the cell load. Two scheduling will be changed after the beta test.
mode based on modes are provided: dynamic
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
the cell load in scheduling and semi-persistent
the uplink scheduling. If this option is
deselected, adaptive selection of
dynamic and semi-persistent
scheduling cannot be performed
for VoLTE UEs based on the cell
load. If this option is selected,
dynamic and semi-persistent
scheduling can be adaptively
selected for VoLTE UEs based
on the cell load.
Adaptive DlVoIPLoadBase Indicates whether to enable A beta test is being performed for
selection of dSchSwitch adaptive selection of scheduling the semi-persistent scheduling
VoIP modes for VoLTE UEs based on feature. The recommended value
scheduling the cell load. Two scheduling will be changed after the beta test.
mode based on modes are provided: dynamic
the cell load in scheduling and semi-persistent
the downlink scheduling. If this option is
deselected, adaptive selection of
dynamic and semi-persistent
scheduling cannot be performed
for VoLTE UEs based on the cell
load. If this option is selected,
dynamic and semi-persistent
scheduling can be adaptively
selected for VoLTE UEs based
on the cell load.
DL SPS MCS DlSpsMcsDecrea Indicates the IBLER threshold A beta test is being performed for
Decrease seIblerThd for lowering the MCS index and the semi-persistent scheduling
IBLER reactivating downlink feature. The recommended value
Threshold semi-persistent scheduling. If the will be changed after the beta test.
IBLER is greater than or equal to
the specified threshold in the
measurement period, the MCS
index is lowered, and
semi-persistent scheduling is
reactivated.
MCS index DlSpsMcsIncreas Indicates whether to enable MCS A beta test is being performed for
increase eSwitch index increase for SPS. If this the semi-persistent scheduling
threshold for option is selected, MCS index feature. The recommended value
downlink SPS increase is enabled for SPS. If will be changed after the beta test.
this option is deselected, MCS
index increase is disabled for
SPS. Turning on this switch can
reduce the number of RBs for
SPS and improve cell
performance when the RB
resource is limited but may
decrease the VoLTE MOS.
Turning off this switch may
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
increase the number of RBs for
SPS but increase the VoLTE
MOS.
Uplink UlSpsTtibRestrai Indicates whether to enable A beta test is being performed for
semi-persistent ntSwitch uplink semi-persistent scheduling the semi-persistent scheduling
scheduling based on TTI bundling. If this feature. The recommended value
based on TTI option is deselected, this function will be changed after the beta test.
bundling is disabled. If this option and the
SpsSchSwitch and
TtiBundlingSwitch options are
selected, uplink semi-persistent
scheduling based on TTI
bundling is adopted only when
the voice packets are small
enough and channel quality is
good enough, or uplink dynamic
scheduling is adopted to improve
the voice quality of scheduling
based on TTI bundling if the
voice packets are not small and
channel quality is not good. This
parameter applies only to LTE
FDD.
Using HARQ DlSpsRevHarqUs Indicates whether HARQ Off
feedback eSwitch feedback resources reserved for If downlink SPS is enabled, it is
resources semi-persistent scheduling can be recommended that this option be
reserved for used by dynamic scheduling. selected.
semi-persistent HARQ feedback resources
scheduling for reserved for semi-persistent
dynamic scheduling can be used by
scheduling in dynamic scheduling only when
the downlink this option is selected.
DlSpsRevHarqUseSwitch: If
this option is selected, HARQ
feedback resources reserved for
semi-persistent scheduling can be
used by dynamic scheduling, cell
throughput increases, delay of
VoLTE packet transmission
slightly increases, and MOS of
VoLTE services may decrease
when all of the following
conditions are met: (1) A UE has
set up two bearers with one
bearer supporting VoLTE
services and the other bearer
supporting data services; (2) The
amount of data volume on the
bearer is sufficient; (3)
Semi-persistent scheduling
applies to the bearer supporting
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
VoLTE services. Selecting this
option has no impact on network
performance if the first condition
described above is not met.
Deselecting this option has no
impact on network performance.
Semi-persistent SpsAndDrxOptS Indicates whether to enable Off
and DRX witch optimization of cooperation It is recommended that this option
cooperation between semi-persistent be selected when both SPS and
optimization scheduling and DRX. If this DRX are enabled.
option is deselected,
semi-persistent TPC commands
can be issued during the DRX
sleep time. If this option is
selected, semi-persistent TPC
commands can be issued only
during the DRX On Duration
time but not during the DRX
sleep time. Deselecting this
option may cause UE failures in
receiving uplink TPC commands.
As a result, the packet loss rate
increases, and voice service
quality deteriorates for uplink
cell-edge UEs with
semi-persistent scheduling
applied. Selecting this option
causes the packet loss rate to
reduce and voice service quality
to improve uplink cell-edge for
UEs with semi-persistent
scheduling applied.
Downlink DlSpsInterval Indicates the downlink The default value is ms20(20ms). If
Semi-persistent semi-persistent scheduling this parameter is set to
Scheduling interval. This parameter provides ms20(20ms), voice services have
Interval three values. If this parameter is the shortest scheduling delay. If this
set to ms20(20ms) or parameter is set to ms40(40ms), the
ms40(40ms), a fixed interval of number of UEs supporting
20 or 40 ms is used. If this semi-persistent scheduling
parameter is set to ADAPTIVE, increases while the scheduling
the eNodeB adaptively uses the delay for voice services also
interval of 20 or 40 ms. Value increases, which probably reduces
ADAPTIVE takes effect only for the MOS value of voice services.
TDD eNodeBs. If this parameter
is set to ADAPTIVE for FDD
eNodeBs, the interval of 20 ms
will take effect.
Uplink UlSpsInterval Indicates the uplink See above.
Semi-persistent semi-persistent scheduling
Scheduling interval. This parameter provides
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
Interval three values. If this parameter is
set to ms20(20ms) or
ms40(40ms), a fixed interval of
20 or 40 ms is used. If this
parameter is set to ADAPTIVE,
the eNodeB adaptively uses the
interval of 20 or 40 ms. Value
ADAPTIVE takes effect only for
TDD eNodeBs. If this parameter
is set to ADAPTIVE for FDD
eNodeBs, the interval of 20 ms
will take effect.
Downlink DlSpsDrxDecoup Indicates whether the long DRX If this option is selected,
semi-persistent lingSwitch cycle configuration is considered compatibility performance with
scheduling and during the configuration and UEs is poor. The downlink packet
DRX activation of downlink loss rate increases, and the MOS
decoupling semi-persistent scheduling. If this decreases for UEs that do not
option is deselected, the long receive semi-persistent scheduling
DRX cycle configuration is data during the DRX sleep time. If
considered during the this option is deselected,
configuration and activation of compatibility performance with
downlink semi-persistent UEs is good. Downlink
scheduling, and downlink semi-persistent scheduling cannot
semi-persistent scheduling cannot be activated when the downlink
be configured or activated when semi-persistent scheduling period is
the downlink semi-persistent not an integral multiple of the long
scheduling period is not an DRX cycle, and PDCCH resources
integral multiple of the long cannot be saved as a result.
DRX cycle. If this option is
selected, the long DRX cycle
configuration is not considered
during the configuration and
activation of downlink
semi-persistent scheduling.
UE Inactive UeInactTimerDy Indicates the length of the UE It is recommended that this
Timer for QCI1 nDrxQci1 inactivity timer for UEs that enter parameter be set to a value greater
Dynamic DRX the DRX state and perform than the active connection release
services with a QCI of 1 when timer length when the called party
dynamic DRX is enabled. If the of the core network does not
eNodeB detects that such a UE respond.
has consecutively neither
received nor sent data for a
duration longer than that
specified by the timer, the
eNodeB releases the UE. This
parameter takes effect only for
UEs that access the network after
the parameter is set. A smaller
value of this parameter results in
earlier RRC connection releases
for UEs without performing
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
services with a QCI of 1, more
frequent UE-initiated RRC
connection setup requests, and
better KPIs such as the service
drop rate due to more normal
RRC connection releases. A
larger value of this parameter
results in later RRC connection
releases for UEs without
performing services with a QCI
of 1, longer online duration in
which radio resources are
occupied, and worse KPIs such
as the service drop rate due to
fewer normal RRC connection
releases.
UE Inactive UEInactiveTimer Indicates whether the It is recommended that this switch
Timer for QCI1 QCI1Switch UeInactiveTimerQci1 parameter be turned on before the
Switch takes effect. If this switch is UeInactiveTimerQci1 parameter is
turned on, UeInactiveTimerQci1 configured in VoLTE scenarios.
takes effect; when there are QCI
1 services, the UE inactivity
timer length is specified by
UeInactiveTimerQci1. If this
switch is turned off,
UeInactiveTimerQci1 does not
take effect, and the UE inactivity
timer length is specified by
UeInactiveTimer. If this switch
is turned on and the
UeInactiveTimerQci1 parameter
value is less than the
UeInactiveTimer parameter
value, the online time of VoLTE
UEs becomes shorter, thereby
increasing the number of RRC
connection setup requests and the
number of normal RRC
connection releases and
decreasing the VoLTE service
drop rate. If this switch is turned
on and the
UeInactiveTimerQci1 parameter
value is greater than the
UeInactiveTimer parameter
value, the online time of VoLTE
UEs becomes longer, thereby
decreasing the number of RRC
connection setup requests and the
number of normal RRC
connection releases and
increasing the VoLTE service
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
drop rate. If this switch is turned
off, the UEInactiveTimerQCI1
parameter does not take effect. If
the UeInactiveTimer parameter
is set to a small value, there is a
high probability that a calling UE
is released when the called UE
does not answer the call and the
UE inactivity timer expires.
Then, the released UE reselects a
VoLTE-incapable cell, causing a
call failure.
Ue Inactive UeInactiveTimer Indicates the length of the UE Default value: 20
Timer for Qci1 Qci1 inactivity timer for UEs that are It is recommended that this
running services of QCI 1. If the parameter be set to a value greater
eNodeB detects that a UE has than the active connection release
neither received nor sent data for timer length when the called party
a duration exceeding the value of of the core network does not
this parameter, the eNodeB respond.
releases the RRC connection for
the UE. If this parameter is set to
0, the UE inactivity timer is not
used. This timer takes effect
during the setup of bearers with a
QCI of 1. During a handover or
RRC connection reestablishment
to a new cell, the eNodeB
determines whether the timer
takes effect based on whether the
UE is running services with a
QCI of 1. If it does, the timer
takes effect; otherwise, the timer
does not take effect.
EMC CellAlgoSwitch. Indicates whether to use This parameter is set to OFF by
Semi-Persistent EmcSpsSchSwitc semi-persistent scheduling during default.
Scheduling h talk spurts of emergency calls. If It is recommended that this
Switch this parameter is set to OFF, parameter be set to ON for VoLTE
dynamic scheduling is used. If emergency calls on networks where
this parameter is set to ON and SPS has been activated.
the SpsSchSwitch option of the
UlSchSwitch parameter is
selected, uplink semi-persistent
scheduling is used for an
emergency call if the emergency
call meets the conditions for
activating uplink semi-persistent
scheduling. If this parameter is
set to ON and the SpsSchSwitch
option of the DlSchSwitch
parameter is selected, downlink
semi-persistent scheduling is
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
used for an emergency call if the
emergency call meets the
conditions for activating
downlink semi-persistent
scheduling. The use of
semi-persistent scheduling
reduces PDCCH resource
consumption.
Black List UeCompat.BlkLst The SPS_SWITCH_OFF option It is recommended that this option
Control Switch CtrlSwitch indicates that SPS is disabled on be set to No by default.
abnormal UEs. It is recommended that this option
be set to Yes when there are
abnormal UEs. That is, SPS is
disabled on such types of UEs.
SRI Algorithm CellPucchAlgo.Sr The SriPeriodOptForVoipSW It is recommended that this option
Switch iAlgoSwitch option indicates whether to be selected in big events (for
enable voice-based SRI period example, the new year's eve and
adaption optimization. If this Japan firework festival).
option is selected, the eNodeB
preferentially allocates a short
SRI period for VoLTE users,
thereby improving user
experience of VoLTE users. This
option takes effect only when
SRIPERIODADAPTIVE is set
to QCIADAPTIVE and
SriReCfgInd is set to FALSE.
This option applies only to FDD.
If this option is deselected, the
function of voice-based SRI
period adaption optimization
does not take effect.
Uplink CellUlschAlgo.Ul The This option is deselected by default.
Enhanced VoIP EnhencedVoipSc AmrVoiceFrameSmartCoveryS You are advised to enable this
Schedule hSw w option determines whether to function for AMR-WB UEs far
Switch enable smart recovery of AMR away from the cell center or UEs
voice frames. You are advised to enabled with ROHC.
enable this function if ROHC has
been enabled.
VoLTE Switch CellAlgoSwitch. The VoLTEMoPrefSwitch It is recommended that this option
VoLTESwitch option indicates whether to be selected when the user number
perform preferential processing specifications are limited, the user
for UEs that originate VoLTE number is restricted by the license,
services. If this option is or flow control takes effect.
deselected, the eNodeB does not
perform preferential processing
for these UEs. If this option is
selected, the eNodeB optimizes
procedures such as admission,
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
scheduling, and flow control for
these UEs to increase the VoLTE
service setup success rate.
VoLTE UE CellRacThd.Volte Indicates the target value to It is recommended that the ARP of
ARP Override ArpOverride which the ARP in an initial voice users be modified according
context setup request for bearer to the default value on the EPC.
setup is to be changed for a UE
with an RRC connection setup
cause of mo-VoiceCall-v1280.
The change will occur when the
cell capacity in terms of the
number of UEs is limited and the
MME-delivered ARP is greater
than the value of this parameter.
If this parameter is set to 0, the
ARP will not be changed.

3.2.2.3 Service-Related Parameter Optimization


The VoLTE parameters are policy parameters. Parameter optimization is not involved.

3.2.2.4 Effect Evaluation Methods


The following table describes the counters used to observe the running status of the semi-persistent
scheduling feature. There is no counter used to monitor the SPS power control feature. For detailed
observation methods, see VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.

Counter Name Counter Description


L.Sps.UL.SchNum Number of uplink semi-persistent scheduling times in a cell
L.Sps.DL.SchNum Number of downlink semi-persistent scheduling times in a cell
L.Sps.UL.ErrNum Number of failed uplink semi-persistent scheduling transmissions in a cell
L.Sps.DL.ErrNum Number of failed downlink semi-persistent scheduling transmissions in a cell

The following table describes the counters used to observe the running status of the ROHC feature.

Counter Name Counter Description

L.Traffic.User.RoHC.Max Maximum number of UEs on which ROHC takes effect in a


cell
L.Traffic.User.RoHC.Avg Average number of UEs on which ROHC takes effect in a
cell
L.PDCP.DL.RoHC.HdrCompRatio Compression rate of headers of all downlink PDCP SDUs
after the ROHC
Counter Name Counter Description
L.PDCP.DL.RoHC.PktCompRatio Compression rate of all downlink PDCP SDUs (including
headers and payloads) after the ROHC
L.PDCP.UL.RoHC.HdrCompRatio Compression rate of headers of all uplink PDCP SDUs
L.PDCP.UL.RoHC.PktCompRatio Compression rate of all uplink PDCP SDUs (including
headers and payloads) after the ROHC
L.PDCP.UL.RoHC.FailDecompRatio Decompression failure rate of all uplink PDCP SDUs after
the ROHC

The following table describes the counters used to observe the running status of the VoLTE MO service
preferential access function. For detailed observation methods, see VoLTE Feature Parameter
Description.

Counter Name Counter Description

L.RRC.ConnReq.Att.MoVoiceCall Number of RRC connection setup attempts with a cause value


mo-VoiceCall-v1280
L.RRC.ConnReq.Succ.MoVoiceCall Number of successful RRC connection setups with a cause
value mo-VoiceCall-v1280

The following table describes counters used to observe the running status of smart recovery of AMR
voice frames. For detailed observation methods, see VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.

Counter Name Counter Description


L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Excellent.Ti Number of times uplink voice quality of AMR-WB
mes services is Excellent
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Good.Time Number of times uplink voice quality of AMR-WB
s services is Good
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Accept.Tim Number of times uplink voice quality of AMR-WB
es services is Accept
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Poor.Times Number of times uplink voice quality of AMR-WB
services is Poor
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Bad.Times Number of times uplink voice quality of AMR-WB
services is Bad
L.Traffic.UL.FarUE.PktLoss.Loss.QCI. Number of lost uplink PDCP SDUs of QCI-1 services
1 carried on DRBs for UEs far away from the cell center in a
cell
L.Traffic.UL.FarUE.PktLoss.Tot.QCI.1 Number of expected to-be-received uplink PDCP SDUs of
QCI-1 services carried on DRBs for UEs far away from
the cell center in a cell
3.2.2.5 Fault Location Instruction
None

3.2.3 Application of Coverage Improvement


Coverage improvement applies to the scenario of weak coverage at the cell edges and in-depth coverage
at the cell center. The following features can be used to improve the voice quality in this scenario.
 TTI bundling
TTI bundling enables a data block to be transmitted in consecutive TTIs, reducing the BLER over
the Uu interface. TTI bundling improves the cell coverage at the cost of deteriorated capacity.
 ROHC
ROHC reduces the size of the transmitted data block to improve the transmission efficiency over
the Uu interface and cell coverage at the cell edges.
 UL RLC segmentation enhancement
UL RLC segmentation enhancement controls the number of UL RLC segments. This feature avoids
the voice packet loss caused by long delay and slow scheduling if there are a large number of RLC
segments in case of poor channel quality.
 VoLTE Rate Control/EVS Rate Control
Uplink quality–based voice rate control:
VoLTE rate control adjusts the AMR-NB/AMR-WB/EVS-SWB rate for uplink voice services
based on channel quality and voice quality in the uplink.
− When the uplink channel quality and voice quality are favorable, a high voice coding rate is
used to further improve voice quality.
− When the uplink channel quality and voice quality are poor, a low voice coding rate is used to
reduce the uplink packet loss rate and improve uplink voice coverage.
Load-based voice rate control:
Rate control is triggered for AMR-NB/AMR-WB and EVS-SWB (Header-Full with CMR)
services based on cell uplink load and the RLC segmentation status of voice services.
− When air interface resource consumption in the uplink of a cell reaches the high load threshold
and voice services are segmented at the RLC layer, the eNodeB reduces the data rates of voice
service UEs to relieve their usage of cell RBs and CCEs, thereby increasing the number of
voice service UEs in the cell and the cell uplink traffic volume.
 Frequency selective scheduling for retransmissions of UEs in TTI bundling states
Frequency selective scheduling is performed on retransmissions of UEs in TTI bundling states, that
is, adaptive retransmissions. In this scenario, frequency selective scheduling gains are produced,
and uplink voice quality improves.
 Enhanced TTI bundling
UEs can exit the TTI bundling state after the bearers (for VoLTE/PTT/video services) that benefit
from TTI bundling are removed. UEs can inherit the TTI bundling state from the source cell during
handovers and RRC connection reestablishments. The restriction that the MCS index must be less
than or equal to 10 is removed.
 R12 TTI bundling
There is no restriction for R12 TTI bundling on the number of PRBs, improving the flexibility of
resource allocation for TTI bundling. R12 TTI bundling supports e-HARQ-Pattern. The HARQ
RTT is reduced from 16 TTIs to 12 TTIs. The number of simultaneous HARQ processes is three
instead of four.
 VoLTE Coverage Enhancement Based on Extended Delay Budget
This feature increases the tolerable delay over the air interface, decreases the uplink packet loss
rate caused by congestion over the air interface, and improves the uplink coverage for VoLTE users
as follows:
− Optimizes the following items that the eNodeB sends to UEs with QCI of 1:
PDCP-layer discard timer
Maximum transmission times of HARQs in the uplink
eNodeB-specific timer for reordering at the receiver in AM/UM
− Selects the optimal MCS index and estimates the number of required RBs based on the data
volume to be scheduled.

3.2.3.1 Solution Introduction

3.2.3.1.1 TTI Bundling


The CellUlschAlgo.TtiBundlingTriggerStrategy parameter was introduced in eRAN8.1.
 When the TtiBundlingTriggerStrategy parameter is set to SERVICE_VOIP(SERVICE_VOIP),
TTI bundling applies only to VoLTE services. Under this parameter setting, the conditions for
entering the TTI bundling state are as follows:
− The TtiBundlingSwitch option of the eNodeB is selected.
− The UE supports the TTI bundling feature.
− The UE has only one dedicated bearer with a QCI of 1 and stays in the talk spurts state. In
addition, the UE does not have data to transmit on the default bearer.
− The UE uplink power is limited and the number of PRBs is less than or equal to 3.
− The measured SINR is less than the target SINR for multiple consecutive times. The number of
consecutive times is specified by the CellUlschAlgo.StatisticNumThdForTtibTrig parameter.
If all these conditions are met, the eNodeB sends the UE an RRC Connection Reconfiguration
message, instructing the UE to enter the TTI bundling state.
 When the TtiBundlingTriggerStrategy parameter is set to
SERVICE_MULTIAPP(SERVICE_MULTIAPP), TTI bundling can apply only to VoLTE
services or a combination of VoLTE and data services. Under this parameter setting, the conditions
for entering the TTI bundling state are as follows:
− The TtiBundlingSwitch option of the eNodeB is selected.
− The UE supports the TTI bundling feature.
− The UE has a dedicated bearer with a QCI of 1.
− The UE uplink power is limited and the number of PRBs is less than or equal to 3.
− The measured SINR is less than the target SINR for multiple consecutive times. The number of
consecutive times is specified by the CellUlschAlgo.StatisticNumThdForTtibTrig parameter.
If all these conditions are met, the eNodeB sends the UE an RRC Connection Reconfiguration
message, instructing the UE to enter the TTI bundling state.
The processing in versions earlier than eRAN8.1 is the same as that when the
TtiBundlingTriggerStrategy parameter is set to SERVICE_VOIP(SERVICE_VOIP) in eRAN8.1.
After the UE enters the TTI bundling state, the eNodeB determines the number of PRBs and selects
MCS based on channel quality and the amount of data to be transmitted. Then, the eNodeB starts data
block transmission. The UE transmits identical data and performs HARQ retransmission within four
consecutive TTIs in a bundle. The retransmission operates in synchronous non-adaptive mode. The
HARQ retransmission interval is changed from 8 TTIs (Normal HARQ RTT) to 16 TTIs (Bundle
HARQ RTT). Assume that TTI N is the last TTI in a TTI bundle. Then, the eNodeB sends
acknowledgment (ACK) or negative acknowledgment (NACK) at TTI N+4 in the downlink. Based on
the received ACK or NACK, the UE determines whether retransmission is required. If required, the UE
retransmits the data in TTI N+13 through TTI N+16 in the uplink. When the UE is in the TTI bundling
state, the maximum number of uplink HARQ retransmissions is specified by the
CellUlschAlgo.TtiBundlingHarqMaxTxNum parameter.

In the TTI bundling state, the number of RLC segments of a voice packet cannot be greater than the
value specified by the CellUlschAlgo.TtiBundlingRlcMaxSegNum parameter.

When the measured SINR is greater than the sum of the CellTtiBundlingAlgo.SinrThdToTrigTtib and
CellUlschAlgo.HystToExitTtiBundling parameter values for multiple consecutive times, the eNodeB
instructs the UE to exit the TTI bundling state through an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message.
The number of consecutive times is specified by the StatisticNumThdForTtibExit parameter.
The eNodeB does not instruct the UE to exit the TTI bundling state even when the UE has data to
transmit on the default bearer, needs to set up a new dedicated bearer, or stops the voice service (QCI 1).
The eNodeB instructs the UE to exit the TTI bundling state only when the UE meets the exit conditions,
experiences handover or service drop, or needs to reestablish a new connection.
eRAN11.1 introduces the CellTtiBundlingAlgo.SinrThdToTrigTtib parameter to configure the SINR
threshold when TTI bundling is enabled for a UE. If this parameter is set to 255, the SINR threshold
will be dynamically calculated.
In eRAN12.0, the CellUlschAlgo.TtiBundlingRetxStrategy parameter is added. If the
RetxFssSchSwitch option of this parameter is selected, frequency selective scheduling can be
performed on retransmissions of UEs in TTI bundling states, that is, adaptive retransmissions. In this
scenario, frequency selective scheduling gains are produced, and uplink voice quality improves.
In eRAN12.1, during a handover or RRC connection reestablishment, the UE inherits the TTI bundling
state from the source cell. Essentially, if a UE is in the TTI bundling state before a handover or RRC
connection reestablishment, the UE enters the TTI bundling state after the handover or RRC connection
reestablishment without another TTI bundling determination. In this way, reconfiguration signaling
reduces and the impact of re-entering the TTI bundling state on voice quality is avoided during
handovers or RRC connection reestablishments.
eRAN12.1 supports R12 TTI Bundling. When TTI bundling is enabled, the modulation scheme must be
QPSK but there is no restriction on the PRB resource allocation size, increasing the flexibility of
resource allocation for TTI bundling. The new HARQ feedback time sequence and the number of
simultaneous uplink HARQ processes is changed from four to three.

This feature applies only to uplink voice services.


Deployment scenario: This feature applies to the scenario where VoLTE is deployed.
Deployment constraints: TTI Bundling requires the support of UEs. If UEs do not support TTI
Bundling, TTI Bundling will not take effect.
Negative impact: UE compatibility issues may occur. The standards compliance between the UEs and
eNodeB may be different. This feature requires the support of UEs.
Related features: See the "Related Features" chapter in VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.

3.2.3.1.2 ROHC
ROHC compresses the RTP, UDP, and IP headers in voice packets to reduce the size of the entire voice
packets. This lowers the requirements on cell-edge data rate, and therefore improves cell coverage. In
addition, ROHC reduces the number of voice packet segments to reduce header overheads and increases
the once-off transmission success rate for voice packets, which improves cell coverage for voice
services.
For details about the principles, see the ROHC-related information in section 3.2.2 "Application of
Capacity Enhancement."

3.2.3.1.3 UL RLC Segmentation Enhancement


The number of UL RLC segments depends on the TBS assigned by UL scheduler. A smaller TBS
indicates a larger number of UL RLC segments. When the channel quality is poor and UL power is
insufficient, a small TBS results in a large number of UL RLC segments, which cause the following
problems:
 Long delay in voice packet transmission
 Voice packet loss (because voice packets in the UE buffer are not scheduled until the packet
discard timer expires)
 Large overheads of RLC and MAC headers
 Large consumption of control channel elements (CCEs) and RBs by UL dynamic scheduling of
VoLTE service
UL RLC segmentation enhancement restricts the TBS in UL dynamic scheduling to control the number
of UL RLC segments for voice packets. This restriction improves voice quality when channel quality is
poor. This feature works as follows:
 When the number of UL RLC segments is less than or equal to a specific threshold, this feature
does not take effect.
 When the number of UL RLC segments is greater than the threshold, this feature takes effect.
Based on the voice packet size and the configured maximum number of RLC segments, a
minimum TBS is guaranteed in UL dynamic scheduling so that the number of UL RLC segments
decreases to this maximum number.
This feature applies only to voice services of UEs not in the TTI bundling state.
Deployment scenario: This feature applies to the scenario where VoLTE is deployed.
Deployment constraints: None
Negative impact: If all UEs support TTI bundling, this feature does not take effect and there are no
gains. The feature deployment does not affect voice services.
Mutually exclusive features: See VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.

3.2.3.1.4 VoLTE Rate Control/EVS Rate Control


Uplink quality–based voice rate control:
The eNodeB determines whether to adjust the voice coding rate for a UE based on channel quality and
voice quality in the uplink. If the rate needs to be adjusted, either the eNodeB or SBC can adjust the rate.
Voice rate adjustment is controlled by the CellAlgoSwitch.UlAmrcMode parameter.
 If this parameter is set to ULAMRC_ENB_CONTROL, the eNodeB adjusts the AMR rate of the
UE.
 If this parameter is set to ULAMRC_SBC_CONTROL, the eNodeB requests the SBC, through
RTCP, to adjust the AMR rate of the UE. If IMS signaling is encrypted, the eNodeB cannot obtain
the rate set supported by the UE. In this situation, the SBC can be used to perform voice rate
control.
 If this parameter is set to ULEVSC_ENB_CONTROL, the eNodeB adjusts the EVS-SWB rate of
the UE.
 If this parameter is set to ADAPTIVE_ENB_CONTROL, the eNodeB adaptively adjusts the
AMR or EVS-SWB rate of the UE.
This feature supports the following voice rates:
 12.2 kbit/s, 7.4 kbit/s, and 4.75 kbit/s for AMR-NB services
 23.85 kbit/s, 12.65 kbit/s, and 6.6 kbit/s for AMR-WB services
 24.4 kbit/s, 13.2 kbit/s, and 9.6 kbit/s for EVS-SWB services
Both rates in each AMR group can be allocated to a UE. AMR groups are controlled by the following
parameters: VoiceAmrControl.VoiceAmrCtrlParaGroupId, VoiceAmrControl.HighAmrCodingMode,
and VoiceAmrControl.LowAmrCodingMode.
After AMR or EVS rate control is enabled:
 The voice coding rate increases if the following conditions are both met:
− The TBS of the UE is greater than TbsUpTh.
− The uplink packet loss rate for QCI 1 services is less than
VoiceAmrControl.PlrThdForIncreasingAmr for two consecutive times.
If the UlAmrcExceedingInitialSw option of the CellAlgoSwitch.AmrcAlgoSwitch parameter is
selected, the increased coding rate can exceed the initial coding rate of this call. Otherwise, the
increased coding rate cannot exceed the initial coding rate of this call.
 The voice coding rate will be decreased if the following conditions are both met:
− The TBS of the UE is less than TbsDownTh.
− The uplink packet loss rate for QCI 1 services is greater than
VoiceAmrControl.PlrThdForDecreasingAmr for two consecutive times.
NOTE
TbsUpTh and TbsDownTh are automatically calculated based on VoiceAmrControl.RsnThdForIncreasingAmr
and VoiceAmrControl.RsnThdForDecreasingAmr, respectively.
The VoLTE Rate Control feature supports rate adjustment within one voice scheme, and does not support rate
adjustment between two voice schemes. For example, this feature supports rate adjustment within AMR-NB
services or within AMR-WB services, not between AMR-NB and AMR-WB services.
For the EVS scheme, if the channel aware mode (CAM) is used, the UE voice coding rate must be 24.4 kbit/s or
13.2 kbit/s.
In MOCN scenarios, VoLTE/EVS Rate Control (LTE FDD) allows different operators to use different policies,
meeting operators' differentiated service requirements. The following figure shows an example.

Load-based voice rate control:


Rate control is triggered for AMR-NB/AMR-WB and EVS-SWB (Header-Full with CMR) services
based on cell uplink load and the RLC segmentation status of voice services. This function is
controlled by the VolteLoadAmrcSw option of the CellAlgoSwitch.AmrcAlgoSwitch parameter. When
this function is enabled, the eNodeB reduces the data rates of voice service UEs when air interface
resource consumption in the uplink of a cell reaches the high load threshold and voice services use
segmentation at the RLC layer.
AMR or EVS rate control does not take effect in the following scenarios:
 The voice coding format is not AMR-NB, AMR-WB, or EVS-SWB Header-Full (with CMR).
 RTP packets are encrypted.
 The number of rates in both the rate set supported by UEs and the configured rate set is less than or
equal to 1.
 If another network node is performing rate adjustment, the
CellUlSchAlgo.RateCtrlCmrProcessStrategy parameter controls whether this feature takes effect
as follows:
− The value BASIC_STRATEGY indicates that the eNodeB does not perform rate adjustment.
− The value ADAPTIVE_STRATEGY indicates that the eNodeB can perform rate adjustment
only when the target rate provided by the eNodeB is lower than that provided by the other node.
 If the eNodeB performs AMR rate adjustment, IMS signaling (IPsec with the null algorithm is not
involved) is encrypted, or SIP messages for voice services cannot be parsed:
− When UlAmrCheckSw is selected in the CellAlgoSwitch.AmrcAlgoSwitch parameter, the
VoLTE Rate Control feature does not take effect.
− When UlAmrCheckSw is deselected in the CellAlgoSwitch.AmrcAlgoSwitch parameter and
the eNodeB cannot obtain the negotiation rate set of the UE: If the UE supports the rate
indicated by the eNodeB, the eNodeB performs rate adjustment for the UE. If the UE does not
support the rate indicated by the eNodeB, the eNodeB does not perform rate adjustment for the
UE. If the target rate cannot apply to the current session, one-way audio may occur due to UE
incompatibility.
 If the eNodeB performs EVS rate adjustment, IMS signaling (IPsec with the null algorithm is not
involved) is encrypted, or SIP messages for voice services cannot be parsed, the rate adjustment
fails.
 If UEs do not respond to rate adjustment requests, the rate adjustment fails. The following lists two
examples:
− If a UE has not responded to a rate adjustment request before the number of uplink voice
packets received by the eNodeB exceeds the value of
CellUlschAlgo.RateCtrlRspDecisionThld, rate adjustment fails.
− If bit rates in the rate adjustment range configured on the GUI are of different levels from those
in a UE-supported rate set and the UE does not support cross-level rate adjustment
(mode-change-neighbor=1 in a SIP message), rate adjustment fails.
 In multi-ACK scenarios, the rate set information parsed upon the first ACK is different from that
parsed upon later ACK messages.
This feature applies to scenarios where uplink coverage is limited (in suburban or rural areas, or when
outdoor sites cover indoor areas).
Details are as follows:
 There are a certain number of UEs performing voice services.
L.Traffic.User.VoIP.Avg/L.Traffic.User.Avg > 5%
(You can increase the number of cells or extend the measurement time to prevent fluctuation
caused by few samples.)
 The percentage of packets from CEUs reaches a specified threshold.
L.Traffic.UL.FarUE.PktLoss.Tot.QCI.1/L.Traffic.UL.PktLoss.Tot.QCI.1 > 5%
 The uplink voice packet loss rate of CEUs exceeds a specified threshold.
L.Traffic.UL.FarUE.PktLoss.Loss.QCI.1/L.Traffic.UL.FarUE.PktLoss.Tot.QCI.1 > Packet loss
rate threshold for reducing data rates
(For example, if the threshold is 2%, the packet loss rate must be greater than 2%.)
Deployment scenario: This feature applies to the scenario where VoLTE is deployed.
Deployment constraints: This feature is not recommended for high-speed or ultra high-speed cells.
Negative impact: If the voice coding rate of a majority of voice services is increased, more PDCCH
CCE and PRB resources will be consumed, which may slightly reduce the throughput and data rate of
data services and increase the transmission delay.
Mutually exclusive features: See VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.
3.2.3.1.5 VoLTE Coverage Enhancement Based on Extended Delay Budget
This feature increases the tolerable delay over the air interface, decreases the uplink packet loss rate
caused by congestion over the air interface, and improves the uplink coverage for VoLTE users as
follows:
 Optimizes the following items that the eNodeB sends to UEs with QCI of 1:
− PDCP-layer discard timer
− Maximum transmission times of HARQs in the uplink
− eNodeB-specific timer for reordering at the receiver in AM/UM
 Selects the optimal MCS index and estimates the number of required RBs based on the data
volume to be scheduled.
This feature is controlled by the UlVoipCrosslayerOptSwitch option of the
CELLULSCHALGO.UlEnhencedVoipSchSw parameter.
The following table lists the parameter settings when GlobalProcSwitch.LcgProfile is set to
LCG_PROFILE_0 or LCG_PROFILE_2 after this feature is enabled. No manual parameter setting
adjustment is required after the feature is enabled. In addition to parameter optimization, the eNodeB
optimizes the selection of the MCS and the estimation of the number of required RBs based on the data
volume to be scheduled, which decreases the air-interface call drop rate and improves uplink voice
quality.

Parameter Value (When Bearers for Value (After Bearers for


QCI 1 Are Set Up) QCI 1 Are Deleted)
PDCP-layer discard timer MAX(150 ms, RlcPdcpParaGroup.Discar
RlcPdcpParaGroup.Discard dTimer
Timer)
Maximum transmission times of HARQs in 8 CellUlschAlgo.UlHarqMax
the uplink (in the non-TTI bundling state) TxNum
Maximum transmission times of HARQs in MAX(N24, CellUlschAlgo.TtiBundling
the uplink (in the TTI bundling state) CellUlschAlgo.TtiBundlingH HarqMaxTxNum
arqMaxTxNum)
eNodeB-specific timer for reordering at the The values of these two RlcPdcpParaGroup.ENode
receiver in AM for each bearer parameters vary depending on BAmReorderingTimer
the maximum transmission
eNodeB-specific timer for reordering at the times of HARQs in the uplink. RlcPdcpParaGroup.ENode
receiver in UM for each bearer For details, see Table 3-2 and BUmReorderingTimer
Table 3-3.

Table 3-2 Value of eNodeB-specific timer for reordering at the receiver in AM/UM for each bearer in the
non-TTI bundling state

Maximum Transmission Times eNodeB-specific Timer for Reordering at the Receiver in


of HARQs in the Uplink AM/UM for Each Bearer

8 60 ms
Table 3-3 Value of eNodeB-specific timer for reordering at the receiver in AM/UM for each bearer in the
TTI bundling state.

Maximum Transmission Times eNodeB-specific Timer for Reordering at the Receiver in


of HARQs in the Uplink AM/UM for Each Bearer

N24 80 ms
N28 95 ms

This feature applies to scenarios where uplink coverage is limited (in suburban or rural areas, or when
outdoor sites cover indoor areas).
Details are as follows:
 There are a certain number of UEs performing voice services.
L.Traffic.User.VoIP.Avg/L.Traffic.User.Avg > 5%
 The percentage of packets from CEUs reaches a specified threshold.
L.Traffic.UL.FarUE.PktLoss.Tot.QCI.1/L.Traffic.UL.PktLoss.Tot.QCI.1 > 5%
 The uplink voice packet loss rate of CEUs exceeds a specified threshold.
L.Traffic.UL.FarUE.PktLoss.Loss.QCI.1/L.Traffic.UL.FarUE.PktLoss.Tot.QCI.1 > 2%
Deployment scenario: This feature applies to the scenario where VoLTE is deployed.
Deployment constraints: None
Negative impact: This feature increases the uplink scheduling delay over the air interface for voice
packets to achieve specific gains, which increases the E2E delay of voice packets as a result.
Related features: See the "Related Features" chapter in VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.

3.2.3.2 Parameter Configuration

3.2.3.2.1 License
Feature ID Feature Name License Control Item NE Sales Unit
LOFD-001048 TTI Bundling TTI Bundling (FDD) eNodeB per cell
LOFD-001017 RObust Header RObust Header Compression eNodeB per RRC
Compression (ROHC) (ROHC) (FDD) connected user
LOFD-111207 VoLTE Rate Control VoLTE Rate Control (FDD) eNodeB per cell
LOFD-120204 VoLTE Coverage VoLTE Coverage eNodeB per cell
Enhancement Based on Enhancement Based on
Extended Delay Budget Extended Delay Budget(FDD)
LEOFD-121202 EVS Rate Control EVS Rate Control(FDD) eNodeB per Cell

3.2.3.2.2 UE
UEs support the TTI bundling and ROHC capabilities.
3.2.3.2.3 Configurable Parameters
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
Uplink CellAlgoSwitch.UlSchSwit The TtiBundlingSwitch The recommendation will be
schedule switch ch option in this parameter provided after the beta test.
indicates whether to enable Before the beta test, you are
TTI bundling. advised to deselect this option.
Max Number CellUlschAlgo.UlVoipRlc Indicates whether to apply ● If this parameter is set to 0,
of UL RLC MaxSegNum upper limit control on the upper limit control on
Segments for service data unit (SDU) SDU segmentation at the
VoIP segmentation at the RLC RLC layer is disabled in
layer in the uplink for the uplink for VoLTE
VoLTE services scheduled services scheduled in
in non-TTI bundling mode non-TTI bundling mode.
and the maximum SDU
● If this parameter is set to a
segments at the RLC layer.
non-zero value X, upper
limit control on SDU
segmentation at the RLC
layer is enabled and a
maximum of X SDU
segments that can be
divided for VoLTE
services in uplink dynamic
scheduling in non-TTI
bundling mode.
The recommended value is 20.
TTI Bundling CellUlschAlgo.TtiBundlin Indicates the TTI bundling The default value is
Trigger gTriggerStrategy triggering policy. SERVICE_VOIP(SERVICE
Strategy ● If TTI bundling applies to _VOIP). Set this parameter to
SERVICE_MULTIAPP(SER
only VoLTE services, set
VICE_MULTIAPP) only
this parameter to
when telecom operators
SERVICE_VOIP(SER
require that the TTI bundling
VICE_VOIP).
apply to only VoLTE service
● If TTI bundling applies to and a combination of VoLTE
only VoLTE service and and data services.
a combination of VoLTE
and data services, set this
parameter to
SERVICE_MULTIAPP
(SERVICE_MULTIAP
P).
Statistic Num CellUlschAlgo.StatisticNu Indicates a threshold number You are advised to set this
Threshold for mThdForTtibTrig of consecutive times that the parameter to the default value
TTIB Trigger measured SINR is less than 10.
the target SINR. When the
actual number reaches this
threshold number, the
eNodeB instructs the UE to
enter the TTI bundling state.
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
Statistic Num CellUlschAlgo.StatisticNu Indicates a threshold number You are advised to set this
Threshold for mThdForTtibExit of consecutive times that the parameter to the default value
TTIB Exit measured SINR is greater 10.
than the sum of the
CellTtiBundlingAlgo.SinrT
hdToTrigTtib and
CellUlschAlgo.HystToExitT
tiBundling parameter values.
When the actual number
reaches this threshold
number, the eNodeB
instructs the UE to exit the
TTI bundling state.
Hysteresis to CellUlschAlgo.HystToExit Indicates an SINR threshold You are advised to set this
Exit TTI TtiBundling for exiting the TTI bundling parameter to the default value
Bundling state. This threshold is equal 5dB.
to the sum of the SINR
threshold for entering the
TTI bundling state and the
CellUlschAlgo.HystToExitT
tiBundling parameter value.
TTIB Max CellUlschAlgo.TtiBundlin Indicates the maximum You are advised to set this
Number of gRlcMaxSegNum number of RLC segments for parameter to the default value
RLC Segments UEs in the TTI bundling 4.
state.
TTIB Max CellUlschAlgo.TtiBundlin Indicates the maximum You are advised to set this
Number of gHarqMaxTxNum number of HARQ parameter to the default value
HARQ transmission times for UEs 16.
Transmissions in the TTI bundling state. Note that the value of this
parameter must be an integer
multiple of 4.
SINR SinrThdToTrigTtib Indicates the configuration You are advised to set this
Threshold To policy and value of the SINR parameter to the default value
Trigger TTI threshold when TTI bundling 255.
Bundling is enabled for a UE. If this
parameter is set to 255, the
SINR threshold
configuration policy is
"dynamic calculation",
indicating that the SINR
threshold is dynamically
calculated based on the voice
packet size and channel
quality. If this parameter is
set to a value other than 255,
the SINR threshold
configuration policy is
"manual configuration",
indicating that the SINR
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
threshold is manually
configured on the GUI. This
parameter applies only to
LTE FDD.
Uplink Rate CellAlgoSwitch.UlAmrcM Indicates the uplink voice You are advised to determine
Control Mode ode rate control mode of a cell. whether to enable AMR or
● If this parameter is set to EVS rate control and whether
to use the eNodeB or SBC for
ULRATECTRL_OFF,
AMR or EVS rate control
uplink voice AMR
based on live network
control does not take
conditions.
effect.
● If this parameter is set to
ULAMRC_ENB_CON
TROL, the eNodeB
executes uplink voice
AMR control (AMR-NB
and AMR-WB).
● If this parameter is set to
ULAMRC_SBC_CONT
ROL, the eNodeB
triggers the SBC on the
EPC to execute uplink
voice AMR control
(AMR-NB and
AMR-WB). The SBC
must be a Huawei SBC
supporting uplink voice
AMR control.
● If this parameter is set to
ULEVSC_ENB_CONT
ROL, the eNodeB
adjusts the uplink
EVS-SWB rate for
VoLTE services.
● If this parameter is set to
ADAPTIVE_ENB_CO
NTROL, the eNodeB
adaptively adjusts the
uplink AMR or EVS rate
for VoLTE services.
Uplink Rate CellOp.UlAmrcMode Indicates the uplink voice You are advised to configure
Control Mode rate control mode for an this parameter based on
operator. cell-level uplink rate control
● If this parameter is set to settings and operators'
policies.
INVALID, it is
considered that this
parameter has not been
configured.
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
● If this parameter is set to
ULRATECTRL_OFF,
Rate control features are
disabled.
● If this parameter is set to
ULAMRC_ENB_CON
TROL, the eNodeB
adjusts the uplink
AMR-NB/AMR-WB rate
for voice services.
● If this parameter is set to
ULAMRC_SBC_CONT
ROL, the eNodeB
triggers the SBC on the
EPC to adjust the uplink
AMR-NB/AMR-WB rate
for voice services. The
SBC must be a Huawei
SBC that supports AMR
Rate Control.
● If this parameter is set to
ULEVSC_ENB_CONT
ROL, the eNodeB
adjusts the uplink EVS
rate for voice services.
● If this parameter is set to
ADAPTIVE_ENB_CO
NTROL, the eNodeB
adaptively adjusts the
uplink AMR or EVS rate
for voice services.
Black List UeCompatOpt. UL_AMRC_SWITCH_OF If abnormal UEs do not
Control Switch BlkLstCtrlSwitch F: Indicates whether to support AMR rate adjustment
disable uplink AMRC for or IOT tests have detected
defective UEs. Uplink AMR or EVS rate adjustment
AMRC is disabled for exceptions, you are advised to
defective UEs only if this disable AMR rate adjustment
option is selected. for this type of UEs.
UL_EVSC_SWITCH_OFF
: Indicates whether to disable
uplink EVSC for defective
UEs. Uplink EVSC is
disabled for defective UEs
only if this option is selected.
White List UeCompatOpt. UL_AMRC_SWITCH_ON You are advised to select this
Control Switch WhiteLstCtrlSwitch : Indicates whether to enable option for whitelisted UEs.
the function of uplink
AMRC for specified UEs.
This function is enabled only
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
if this option is selected.
UL_EVSC_SWITCH_ON:
Indicates whether to enable
the function of uplink EVSC
for specified UEs. This
function is enabled only if
this option is selected.
Rate Control CellAlgoSwitch.AmrcAlgo UlAmrcExceedingInitialSw You are advised to select this
Algorithm Switch : option to obtain better voice
Switch ● If this option is selected, quality by allowing the
increased coding rate to
the increased coding rate
exceed the initial coding rate
can exceed the initial
of this call.
coding rate of this call.
If PDCCH resources are
● If this option is
insufficient, you are advised to
deselected, the increased deselect this option.
coding rate cannot exceed
the initial coding rate of To prevent a data rate that a
this call. UE does not support after
adjustment by considering UE
UlEvsExceedingInitialSw: compatibility, you are advised
● If this option is selected, to select the UlAmrCheckSw
the adjusted coding rate option.
can exceed the initial If the voice traffic model on
coding rate of this call. the live network needs to be
● If this option is evaluated and distribution
changes in voice coding
deselected, the adjusted
modes need to be observed,
coding rate cannot exceed
you are advised to select the
the initial coding rate of
VoiceCodingModeMeasSw
this call.
option.
UlAmrCheckSw: If network capacity is
● If this option is selected, insufficient or a large number
the uplink AMR speech of UEs perform voice service,
coding rate cannot be you are advised to select the
adjusted before the VoLTELoadAmrcSw option.
eNodeB obtains the rate In other scenarios, you are
set information about this advised not to select this
session. option.
● If this option is
deselected, the uplink
AMR speech coding rate
can be adjusted before the
eNodeB obtains the rate
set information about this
session.
It is recommended that this
option be selected.
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
VoiceCodingModeMeasSw:
● If this option is selected,
the eNodeB measures
counters related to voice
coding mode distribution.
● If this option is
deselected, the eNodeB
does not measure the
counters.
VoLTELoadAmrcSw
● If this option is selected,
voice-load-based
AMRC/EVS rate control
is enabled.
● If this option is
deselected,
voice-load-based
AMRC/EVS rate control
is disabled.
High Rate VoiceAmrControl. Indicates the high rate You are advised to configure
Coding Mode HighAmrCodingMode coding mode for the this parameter as required, and
corresponding parameter the default value is
group ID. This parameter is recommended.
used to configure the high
rate coding mode for the
corresponding parameter
group ID.
Low Rate VoiceAmrControl. Indicates the low rate coding You are advised to configure
Coding Mode LowAmrCodingMode mode for the corresponding this parameter as required, and
parameter group ID. This the default value is
parameter is used to recommended.
configure the low rate coding
mode for the corresponding
parameter group ID.
Packet Loss VoiceAmrControl. Indicates the threshold of the You are advised to set this
Rate Thd for PlrThdForDecreasingAmr packet loss rate for reducing parameter to the default value.
Decreasing the data rate of uplink voice
services when a specified
parameter group ID is used.
If the uplink QCI 1 packet
loss rate is greater than the
threshold and the TBS meets
the rate reduction conditions,
rate reduction is triggered.
Packet Loss VoiceAmrControl. Indicates the threshold of the You are advised to set this
Rate Thd for PlrThdForIncreasingAmr packet loss rate for parameter to the default value.
increasing the data rate of
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
Increasing uplink voice services when a
specified parameter group ID
is used. If the uplink QCI 1
packet loss rate is less than
the threshold and the TBS
meets the rate increase
conditions, the rate
increases.
RLC Segment VoiceAmrControl. Indicates the threshold of the You are advised to set this
Num Thd for RsnThdForDecreasingAmr number of RLC segments for parameter to the default value.
Decreasing reducing the data rate of
uplink voice services when a
specified parameter group ID
is used. This parameter is
used to calculate the TBS
threshold for reducing the
data rate of uplink voice
services. If this parameter is
set to 0, only the uplink QCI
1 packet loss rate is used to
determine whether to reduce
the data rate of uplink voice
services, not the number of
RLC segments.
RLC Segment VoiceAmrControl. Indicates the threshold of the You are advised to set this
Num Thd for RsnThdForIncreasingAmr number of RLC segments for parameter to the default value.
Increasing increasing the data rate of
uplink voice services when a
specified parameter group ID
is used. This parameter is
used to calculate the TBS
threshold for increasing the
data rate of uplink voice
services.
UL RB Usage CellRacThd.UlRbThdforV Indicates the threshold of You are advised to set this
Thld for olteLoadAmrc uplink RB usage for parameter to the default value.
VoLTE Load voice-load-based rate control
Rate Control when the
VoLTELoadAmrcSw
option of the
CellAlgoSwitch.AmrcAlgoS
witch parameter is selected.
CCE Usage CellRacThd.CceThdforVol Indicates the threshold of You are advised to set this
Thld for teLoadAmrc CCE usage for parameter to the default value.
VoLTE Load voice-load-based rate control
Rate Control when the
VoLTELoadAmrcSw
option of the
CellAlgoSwitch.AmrcAlgoS
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
witch parameter is selected.
AMRC CellUlSchAlgo.AmrcDecre Indicates the period during You are advised to set this
Decreasing asingPeriod which the eNodeB parameter to the default value.
Period determines whether to
perform AMRC-based rate
reduction. During this
period, if the uplink QCI 1
packet loss rate and the TBS
meet the conditions for
AMRC-based rate reduction,
the eNodeB triggers
AMRC-based rate reduction.
Rate Control CellUlSchAlgo.RateCtrlC Indicates whether the local You are advised to set this
CMR Process mrProcessStrategy end performs rate adjustment parameter to the default value.
Strategy when the eNodeB detects
that other NEs perform rate
adjustment.
● When this parameter is
set to
BASIC_STRATEGY,
the local end does not
perform rate adjustment
if the eNodeB detects that
other NEs perform rate
adjustment.
● When this parameter is
set to
ADAPTIVE_STRATEG
Y, the local end performs
rate adjustment if the
eNodeB detects that other
NEs perform rate
adjustment. However, the
target adjusted rate must
be lower than or equal to
the expected adjusted rate
of other NEs.
Rate Control CellUlschAlgo.RateCtrlRs Indicates the threshold for You are advised to set this
Response pDecisionThld determining whether a UE parameter to the default value.
Decision has responded to a rate
Threshold adjustment request. The
eNodeB determines whether
a UE has successfully
responded to a rate
adjustment request if the UE
responds before the number
of uplink voice packets
received by the eNodeB
exceeds this threshold.
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
TTI Bundling CellUlschAlgo.TtiBundlin RetxFssSchSwitch: Indicates This option is deselected by
UE gRetxStrategy whether to apply frequency default.
Retransmission selective scheduling to You are advised to select this
Strategy inter-bundle retransmissions option in cells where TTI
for UEs in the TTI bundling bundling is enabled to improve
state. When this option is uplink voice quality.
deselected, frequency
selective scheduling does not
take effect for
retransmissions. When this
option is selected, the
eNodeB determines whether
to apply frequency selective
scheduling to
retransmissions for UEs in
the TTI bundling state based
on the frequency selective
status.
R12 TTI CellTtiBundlingAlgo.R12T Indicates whether to enable The default and recommended
Bundling tiBundlingSwitch R12 TTI bundling. If this value is OFF(Off).
Switch parameter is set to ON, R12
TTI bundling works for UEs
that support this function. If
this parameter is set to OFF,
R12 TTI bundling cannot
take effect on these UEs.
This parameter applies only
to LTE FDD.
R12 TTI R12TtiBHarqMaxTxNum Indicates the maximum The default and recommended
Bundling number of uplink HARQ value is n20(20).
HARQ Max transmissions in the TTI
Trans Num bundling state from a UE
capable of R12 TTI
bundling. For details, see
3GPP TS 36.331. This
parameter applies only to
LTE FDD.
SINR SinrThdToTrigR12TtiB Indicates the SINR threshold The default and recommended
Threshold To used to trigger R12 TTI value is 3.
Trigger R12 bundling for UEs capable of
TTI Bundling R12 TTI bundling. This
parameter applies only to
LTE FDD.
TTI Bundling CellTtiBundlingAlgo.TtiB TTIBUNDLING_ALGO_E This option is deselected by
Algorithm undlingAlgoSw NHANCE_SW: If this default.
Switch option is selected, UEs You are advised to deselect
inherit the TTI bundling state this option.
from the source cell during
handovers and RRC
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
connection reestablishments,
and the restriction that the
MCS index must be less than
or equal to 10 is removed.
Delta Offset DeltaOffsetAckIndexForTt Indicates the index mapped The default value is 9.
Acknowledge iB to the MCS offset for The recommended value is 11
Index for TTI acknowledgments (ACKs) when TTI bundling is enabled.
Bundling transmitted with data on
PUSCH. When this
parameter is set to a reserved
value, UEs initiate RRC
connection reestablishments
or fail to access the network.
This parameter applies only
to UEs in the TTI bundling
state. This parameter applies
only to LTE FDD and LTE
TDD.
Uplink CELLULSCHALGO.UlEn UlVoipCrosslayerOptSwitch This option is deselected by
Enhanced VoIP hencedVoipSchSw : When this option is default.
Schedule selected, the configurations You are advised to select this
Switch of the following parameters option when the uplink
sent from the eNodeB to coverage is limited to improve
VoLTE UEs using QCI 1 are uplink voice quality.
invalid: DiscardTimer,
UlHarqMaxTxNum,
TtiBundlingHarqMaxTxN
um,
ENodeBAmReorderingTim
er, and
ENodeBUmReorderingTim
er. The actual values of these
parameters are determined
by the eNodeB. Then, based
on the traffic volume to be
scheduled for VoLTE
services, the eNodeB selects
an optimal MCS, and
allocates an optimal number
of RBs to such services. In
this way, the uplink VoIP
packet loss rate decreases,
and the voice quality
improves.
Max Number CellUlSchAlgo. Indicates whether to enable The recommended value is 23
of UL RLC UlVoipRlcMaxSegNum upper limit control on when
Segments for service data unit (SDU) UlVoipCrosslayerOptSwitch
VoIP segmentation at the radio is selected and 20 when
link control (RLC) layer in UlVoipCrosslayerOptSwitch
the uplink for VoLTE is deselected.
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
services scheduled in
non-TTI bundling mode and
the maximum SDU segments
at the RLC layer.
If this parameter is set to 0,
the upper limit control on
SDU segmentation at the
RLC layer is disabled in the
uplink for VoLTE services
scheduled in non-TTI
bundling mode.
If this parameter is set to a
non-zero value X, upper limit
control on SDU
segmentation at the RLC
layer is enabled and an SDU
can be divided into a
maximum of X segments for
VoLTE services in uplink
dynamic scheduling in
non-TTI bundling mode.
TTIB Max CellUlSchAlgo. Indicates the maximum The recommended value is 5
Number of TtiBundlingRlcMaxSegNu number of RLC segments in when
RLC Segments m the uplink when UEs are in UlVoipCrosslayerOptSwitch
the TTI bundling state. is selected and 4 when
UlVoipCrosslayerOptSwitch
is deselected.

3.2.3.3 Service-Related Parameter Optimization


 The ROHC parameters are policy parameters. Parameter optimization is not involved.
 According to the preceding table, the VoLTE Rate Control feature enables either the eNodeB or
SBC to be used for rate control and has different trigger conditions. Specifically, the rate is easy to
be reduced with smaller PlrThdForDecreasingAmr and RsnThdForDecreasingAmr; the rate is
difficult to be increased with smaller PlrThdForIncreasingAmr and RsnThdForIncreasingAmr.
 In eRAN12.0, the VoLTE Coverage Enhancement Based on Extended Delay Budget feature is
added. When the UlVoipCrosslayerOptSwitch option is selected, the
CellUlSchAlgo.UlVoipRlcMaxSegNum and CellUlSchAlgo.TtiBundlingRlcMaxSegNum
parameters need to be manually configured by frontline personnel according to the recommended
values.

3.2.3.4 Effect Evaluation Methods


The following table describes the counters used to observe the running status of the TTI bundling
feature.
Counter Name Counter Description
L.Traffic.User.TtiBundling.Avg Average number of UEs on which TTI bundling takes effect in a cell
L.Signal.Num.TtiBundling.Enter Number of messages sent for instructing UEs to enter TTI bundling
mode
L.Signal.Num.TtiBundling.Exit Number of messages sent for instructing UEs to exit TTI bundling mode
L.Traffic.User.R12TtiBundling.Avg Average number of UEs on which R12 TTI bundling takes effect in a
cell

The following table describes the counters used to observe the running status of the ROHC feature.

Counter Name Counter Description


L.Traffic.User.RoHC.Max Maximum number of UEs on which ROHC takes effect in a cell
L.Traffic.User.RoHC.Avg Average number of UEs on which ROHC takes effect in a cell
L.PDCP.DL.RoHC.HdrCompRatio Compression rate of headers of all downlink PDCP SDUs after the
ROHC
L.PDCP.DL.RoHC.PktCompRatio Compression rate of all downlink PDCP SDUs (including headers and
payloads) after the ROHC
L.PDCP.UL.RoHC.HdrCompRatio Compression rate of headers of all uplink PDCP SDUs
L.PDCP.UL.RoHC.PktCompRatio Compression rate of all uplink PDCP SDUs (including headers and
payloads) after the ROHC
L.PDCP.UL.RoHC.FailDecompRatio Decompression failure rate of all uplink PDCP SDUs after the ROHC

There is no counter used to monitor the UL RLC segmentation enhancement feature. For detailed
observation methods, see VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.
The following table describes the counters used to observe the running status of the VoLTE Rate Control
feature.

Counter Name Counter Description


L.Voice.UL.AMRNB.Increase.Times Number of times the uplink AMR-NB speech coding rate increases
L.Voice.UL.AMRWB.Increase.Times Number of times the uplink AMR-WB speech coding rate increases
L.Voice.UL.AMRNB.Decrease.Times Number of times the uplink AMR-NB speech coding rate decreases
L.Voice.UL.AMRWB.Decrease.Times Number of times the uplink AMR-WB speech coding rate decreases
L.Voice.UL.EVSSWB.Increase.Times Number of times the uplink EVS-SWB speech coding rate increases
L.Voice.UL.EVSSWB.Decrease.Times Number of times the uplink EVS-SWB speech coding rate decreases
L.Voice.VQI.UL.Excellent.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is Excellent
L.Voice.VQI.UL.Good.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is Good
Counter Name Counter Description
L.Voice.VQI.UL.Accept.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is Accept
L.Voice.VQI.UL.Poor.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is Poor
L.Voice.VQI.UL.Bad.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is Bad

There is no counter used to monitor the VoLTE Coverage Enhancement Based on Extended Delay
Budget feature. For detailed observation methods, see VoLTE Feature Parameter Description.

3.2.3.5 Fault Location Instruction


None

3.2.4 Application of UE Power Saving


With the enrichment of applications and the development of smart UEs on LTE networks, the battery
life and operating time have become an important user experience. Therefore, the UE power
consumption is fully considered during LTE protocol formulation and DRX is introduced to 3GPP
specifications. When DRX is enabled, UEs enter sleep time when no data is transmitted, saving UE
power.

3.2.4.1 Solution Introduction


In DRX mode, a UE enters the active state to receive downlink data and signaling only in a specified
time segment and enters the sleep state to stop receiving downlink data and signaling in other time
segments. This decreases UE power consumption. In DRX mode, a DRX cycle consists of active time
and sleep time, which correspond to the active state and sleep state, respectively. In non-DRX mode, the
receiver of the UE is always turned on and the UE always stays in the active state.
DRX typically applies to services with consecutive small packets that are transmitted periodically, for
example, voice services. Voice services do not support short DRX cycles when semi-persistent
scheduling is used. When services with different QCIs are running on a UE, the DRX parameters
associated with QCI of 1 take effect on this UE.

Compared with continuous reception, DRX provides the following benefits:


 Reduces power consumption and prolongs the battery life of UEs. In DRX mode, a UE does not
need to continuously monitor the PDCCH. Therefore, the UE can shut down its RF receiver and
other communication modules.
 Enables UEs to perform ANR measurement during the sleep time in DRX.
The DRX mode is divided into three phases:
 DRX entry phase
After the UE accesses the network, the eNodeB determines whether the UE meets the conditions
for entering DRX mode. If the conditions are met, the eNodeB sends the UE an RRC Connection
Reconfiguration message with the DRX-Configuration information element (IE) set to setup. The
UE then enters DRX mode based on the parameters in the DRX-Configuration IE.
 DRX execution phase
After the UE enters DRX mode, the eNodeB instructs the UE to switch between active and sleep
states as well as between long and short DRX cycles based on network conditions and parameter
settings.
 DRX exit phase
The eNodeB determines whether the UE meets the conditions for exiting DRX mode. If the
conditions are met, the eNodeB sends the UE an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message with
the DRX-Configuration IE set to release. After the UE receives the message, it immediately clears
all the DRX parameters stored locally and exits DRX mode.
For detailed mechanism for determining the three phases, see DRX and Signaling Control Feature
Parameter Description.
As specified in 3GPP TS 23.203 and section A.2.1.4 in TS 36.814, the delay budget for QCI of 1 over
the Uu interface is about 50 ms to 80 ms, and the transmission period of voice packets is 20 ms.
Therefore, the DRX cycle can only be set to 20 ms or 40 ms after the retransmission time is reserved. In
such a case, it is pointless to configure a short DRX cycle for voice services. You are advised to disable
short DRX cycle for QCI of 1 during DRX parameter configuration. For UEs in RRC connected mode
that use VoLTE after the voice policy negotiation, the bearer with a QCI of 5 functions as a default
bearer and will exist (like the default bearer for data services) regardless of whether a bearer with a QCI
of 1 is set up or not. You are advised to set the DRX parameters for bearers with a QCI of 5 to the same
values as those for the default bearer used in a data service. In addition, a longer DRX cycle leads to a
larger delay in the setup of voice services (QCI of 1). To ensure fast access of VoLTE calls, you are
advised to set the long DRX cycle for bearers with a QCI of 5 to a value less than or equal to 320 ms.
eRAN11.1 introduces the CellDrxPara.DrxStateDuringUlHarqRetx parameter. Setting this parameter
to DRX_ACTIVE_FOR_VOICE(DRX_ACTIVE_FOR_VOICE) increases the scheduling changes
for voice service UEs in DRX mode and relieves packet loss caused by untimely scheduling. According
to 3GPP TS 36.321, the DRX active state is retained during an uplink HARQ retransmission period
corresponding to UE's initial transmission on the PUSCH for which an ACK message is received.

3.2.4.2 Parameter Configuration

3.2.4.2.1 License
N/A

3.2.4.2.2 UE
N/A

3.2.4.2.3 Configurable Parameters


The parameters of the DRX feature are complex and are described separately in DRX and Signaling
Control Feature Parameter Description.
The DRX deployment policies for voice services are as follows:
 It is recommended that the DRX feature be disabled for voice services (QCI of 1). Enabling the
DRX feature will affect the VoLTE performance, such as prolonging the waiting time of uplink
voice packets and increasing the voice packet loss rate.
 If telecom operators or UE manufacturers (for example, Apple) insist that the DRX feature be
enabled, the following configurations are recommended:
− Scenario A: If downlink semi-persistent scheduling is enabled, the following parameter settings
for voice services (QCI of 1) are recommended: LongDRXCycle = 20ms; OnDurationTimer =
10ms; InactiveTimer = 80ms; ReTransmissionTimer = 8ms; SupportShortDrx = uu_Disable.
− Scenario B: If downlink semi-persistent scheduling is disabled or telecom operators accept that
downlink semi-persistent scheduling does not take effect after being enabled, the following
parameter settings for voice services (QCI of 1) are recommended: LongDRXCycle = 40ms;
OnDurationTimer = 10; InActiveTimer = 80ms; ReTransmissionTimer = 8ms; SupportShortDrx
= uu_Disable.

3.2.4.3 Service-Related Parameter Optimization


None

3.2.4.4 Effect Evaluation Methods


For details, see DRX and Signaling Control Feature Parameter Description.

3.2.4.5 Fault Location Instruction


If a UE cannot work in DRX mode after accessing the network, you can locate the causes by referring to
DRX and Signaling Control Feature Parameter Description.

3.2.5 Application of Mobility Management


This section describes intra-frequency handover, inter-frequency handover, and inter-RAT handover.
The handover mechanism of voice services is similar to that of data services. However, certain handover
parameters can be configured according to the QCI. When services with different QCIs are carried by a
UE, the handover parameters of the bearer with the highest priority are used as the handover parameters
of the UE. It is recommended that coverage-based intra-RAT and inter-RAT handovers for voice
services be turned on by default to ensure the continuity of voice services.

3.2.5.1 Solution Introduction


The following table lists different types of handovers involved in the VoLTE mobility.

Handover Type Sub-Category Setting Notes


Intra-frequency Coverage-based Enable this feature.
handover intra-frequency handover
Inter-frequency Coverage-based Enable this feature.
handover inter-frequency handover
Service-based Disable this feature. The service-based inter-frequency
inter-frequency handover handover cannot bring gains to voice services. In addition,
it increases the number of inter-frequency handover times,
increasing call drop risks.
Handover Type Sub-Category Setting Notes
The coverage-based inter-frequency handover where the
target frequency is selected based on the QCI is
recommended. Low frequencies are preferentially selected
for voice services.
Distance-based Disable this feature. A beta test has not been performed for
inter-frequency handover this feature. It is not used on live networks.
UL-quality-based Disable this feature. A beta test has not been performed for
inter-frequency handover this feature. It is not used on live networks.
Frequency-priority-based Enable this feature based on specific scenarios. Enable this
inter-frequency handover feature in the scenario where low frequencies are
preferentially selected for voice services during a
coverage-based inter-frequency handover.
Inter-RAT Coverage-based inter-RAT Enable this feature. SRVCC will be used for voice services
handover handover after this feature is enabled.
Service-based inter-RAT Disable this feature because it does not bring gains.
handover
Distance-based inter-RAT Disable this feature. A beta test has not been performed for
handover this feature. It is not used on live networks.
UL-quality-based Disable this feature. A beta test has not been performed for
inter-RAT handover this feature. It is not used on live networks.

3.2.5.2 Parameter Configuration

3.2.5.2.1 License
Feature ID Feature Name License Control Item NE Sales Unit
LOFD-001019 PS Inter-RAT Mobility PS Inter-RAT Mobility eNodeB per RRC
between E-UTRAN and between E-UTRAN and connected user
UTRAN UTRAN
LOFD-001043 Service based inter-RAT Service based inter-RAT eNodeB per RRC
handover to UTRAN handover to UTRAN connected user
LOFD-001072 Distance based Inter-RAT Distance based Inter-RAT eNodeB per RRC
handover to UTRAN handover to UTRAN connected user
LOFD-001078 E-UTRAN to UTRAN E-UTRAN to UTRAN eNodeB per RRC
CS/PS Steering CS/PS Steering connected user
LOFD-001022 SRVCC to UTRAN SRVCC to UTRAN eNodeB per RRC
connected user
LOFD-001087 SRVCC Flexible Steering SRVCC Flexible Steering eNodeB per RRC
to UTRAN to UTRAN connected user
LOFD-001023 SRVCC to GERAN SRVCC to GERAN eNodeB per RRC
Feature ID Feature Name License Control Item NE Sales Unit
connected user

3.2.5.2.2 UE
Inter-RAT handover requires that UEs support inter-RAT measurement and handover capabilities.

3.2.5.2.3 Configurable Parameters


For details about intra-frequency and inter-frequency handover parameters, see Intra-RAT Mobility
Management in Connected Mode Feature Parameter Description. For details about inter-RAT handover
parameters, see Inter-RAT Mobility Management in Connected Mode Feature Parameter Description.
The handover procedures of voice services are similar to those of data services, irrespective of whether
intra-frequency handovers, inter-frequency handovers, or inter-RAT handovers are performed. However,
certain handover parameters can be configured based on QCI values. When services with different QCIs
are carried by a UE, the handover parameters of the bearer with the highest priority are used as the
handover parameters of the UE. The QCI priority is specified by the
CellStandardQci.QciPriorityForHo parameter. A smaller value of this parameter indicates a higher
priority. If the QCI priority configurations (indicated by the CellStandardQci.QciPriorityForHo
parameter) are the same, the eNodeB selects handover parameters for the UE depending on the QCI
priority configurations in 3GPP specifications. Handover parameters with the highest priority are used
as the handover parameters of the UE. For details, see section 6.1.7 "Standardized QoS characteristics"
in 3GPP TS 23.203 V10.3.0.
VoLTE is generally deployed on existing LTE networks, which are data networks. Mobility parameters
on existing LTE networks have been optimized constantly and can satisfy the KPI requirements of data
services. The QoS requirements differ for voice and data services. It is recommended that
inter-frequency or inter-RAT mobility parameters separately configured for voice and data services. For
data services, the inter-frequency or inter-RAT mobility parameters optimized on the existing network
are recommended. For voice services, the default inter-frequency or inter-RAT mobility parameters are
recommended. The preceding recommendations minimize the impact on the KPIs of data services in
future network optimization on VoLTE services. For intra-frequency handover, relative thresholds are
used and can be separately configured for voice and data services. However, separate configurations are
not recommended.
Similar to the default bearer for data services, the signaling bearer with a QCI of 5 for a VoLTE service
always exists as long as the UE is in RRC_CONNECTED mode. Therefore, mobility parameters for
QCI of 5 can be set to the same values as those for the default bearer used in a data service.
For SRVCC-related policies or parameters, see SingleRAN10.1 GUL Interoperability Solution User
Guide.

3.2.5.3 Service-Related Parameter Optimization


For details, see VoLTE baseline parameters and X Solutions for VoLTE.

3.2.5.4 Effect Evaluation Methods


For details about intra-frequency and inter-frequency handover parameters, see Intra-RAT Mobility
Management in Connected Mode Feature Parameter Description. For details about inter-RAT handover
parameters, see Inter-RAT Mobility Management in Connected Mode Feature Parameter Description.
3.2.5.5 Fault Location Instruction
None

3.2.6 Application of Large Traffic Enhancement

3.2.6.1 Solution Introduction

3.2.6.1.1 Preferential Access for Voice Service


With this feature, the eNodeB identifies VoLTE voice service UEs and reserves user number resources
for these UEs. When the number of online UEs in a cell exceeds the difference between the maximum
number of UEs served by a cell and the reserved number of VoLTE UEs, the eNodeB releases data
service UEs or transfers these UEs to inter-frequency or inter-RAT cells through redirection. This
ensures the access of VoLTE voice service UEs.
The VoltePrefAdmissionSwitch option of the CellAlgoSwitch.RacAlgoSwitch parameter specifies
whether to preferentially admit VoLTE services. The CellRacThd.VolteReservedNumber parameter
specifies the reserved number of VoLTE UEs that can be preferentially admitted.
System Capacity
After the preferential access for voice service function is enabled, more VoLTE UEs can preferentially
access the network using reserved resources, thereby improving cell capacity for VoLTE UEs.
Data service UEs cannot use reserved UE number resources. If no follow-up VoLTE UEs access the
network, reserved resources may be wasted, thereby reducing the system capacity.
Network Performance
The network impact of enabling the preferential access for voice service function is as follows:
 The number of online VoLTE UEs increases.
 The number of online data services, intra-RAT handover success rate, and call drop rate are
affected.
− A smaller value of the CellRacThd.VolteReservedNumber parameter indicates a smaller
proportion of VoLTE UEs that can be admitted to a cell. When the reserved resources are
exhausted, VoLTE UEs cannot preferentially access the network. This has slight impact on the
number of online data services, intra-RAT handover success rate, and call drop rate.
− A larger value of the CellRacThd.VolteReservedNumber parameter results in the opposite
effects. The number of online data service UEs decreases. The intra-RAT handover success rate
and call drop rate increase. When there is a large number of VoLTE UEs at the same time, cell
throughput decreases.

3.2.6.1.2 Uplink PUSCH RB Reservation for Voice UEs


With this function, certain RBs can be reserved at the specified position for voice service UEs on the
PUSCH. Voice service UEs preferentially use reserved RB resources. If the reserved RB resources are
exhausted, voice service UEs can use non-reserved RB resources. Non-voice-service UEs cannot use
reserved RB resources.
The UlVoipRbRsvSwitch option of the CellAlgoSwitch.UlSchExtSwitch parameter specifies whether
to reserve PUSCH RBs for voice service UEs in the uplink. The CellUlschAlgo.UlVoipRsvRbStart
parameter specifies the start position of the reserved RB for voice service UEs, and the
CellUlschAlgo.UlVoipRsvRbNum parameter specifies the number of reserved RBs.
3.2.6.2 Parameter Configuration

3.2.6.2.1 License
 VoLTE User Prior Access

Feature ID Feature Name Description NE Sales Unit

LOFD-121202 VoLTE User Prior VoLTE User Prior eNodeB per Cell
Access Access

 Uplink PUSCH RB Reservation for Voice UEs: N/A

3.2.6.2.2 Configurable Parameters


Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
RAC CELLALGOSWIT The You are advised to deselect this option.
algorithm CH.RacAlgoSwitc VoltePrefAdmissionSwitc
switch h h option of this parameter
determines whether to
enable preferential access of
VoLTE services.
VoLTE CellRacThd.Volte This parameter specifies the If the parameter value is 0, the reserved
Reserved ReservedNumber reserved number of VoLTE number of VoLTE UEs is 0, meaning that
Number UEs that can be preferential access of VoLTE services does
preferentially admitted. not take effect.
If the parameter value is X (non-zero value)
and is smaller than the maximum number
of UEs served by a cell, preferential access
of VoLTE services takes effect. If the value
is greater than or equal to the maximum
number of UEs served by a cell,
preferential access of VoLTE services does
not take effect.
VoLTE CellRacThd.Volte This parameter specifies a If the parameter value is 0, the timer length
Preferential PrefAdmissionTim timer used for determining is 0, meaning that preferential access of
Admission er whether a user is a VoLTE VoLTE services does not take effect.
Timer user. If the parameter value is X (non-zero
value), the timer length is X, meaning that
preferential access of VoLTE services
takes effect.
This parameter is set based on the delay
between VoLTE UE context setup and QCI
1 bearer setup. If the delay is small, you are
advised to set this parameter to a relatively
small value.
The recommended value is 5s.
Parameter Parameter ID Description Setting Notes
Name
Uplink CellAlgoSwitch.Ul The UlVoipRbRsvSwitch You are advised to deselect this option.
Schedule SchExtSwitch option determines whether
Extended to reserve PUSCH RBs for
Switch UEs running voice services
in the uplink.
Uplink CellUlschAlgo.Ul This parameter specifies the You are advised to set this parameter to 0.
VoIP VoipRsvRbStart start position of the reserved
Reserved RB for UEs running voice
RB Start services in the uplink.
Uplink CellUlschAlgo.Ul This parameter specifies the You are advised to set this parameter to 5.
VoIP VoipRsvRbNum number of RBs reserved for
Reserved UEs running voice services
RB Number in the uplink.

3.2.6.3 Service-Related Parameter Optimization


For details, see VoLTE baseline parameters and X Solutions for VoLTE.

3.2.6.4 Effect Evaluation Methods

3.2.6.4.1 Preferential Access for Voice Service


Counter ID Counter Name Counter Description
1526739725 L.VoiceUser.VoIPPref.Succ Number of successful preferential accesses performed by
voice service UEs
1526739726 L.HHO.Prep.FailIn.AdmitFail. Number of preparation failures of incoming
VoIPPref intra-duplex-mode handovers triggered by voice service
preferential access
1526739727 L.HHO.InterFddTdd.Prep.Fail Number of preparation failures of incoming
In.AdmitFail.VoIPPref inter-duplex-mode handovers triggered by voice service
preferential access
1526739728 L.RRC.ReEstFail.VoIPPref Number of RRC reestablishment failures caused by voice
service preferential access
1526739730 L.UECNTX.Rel.eNodeB.VoIP Number of UE context releases triggered by the eNodeB due
Pref.PreEmpSucc to successful resource preemption caused by voice service
preferential access
1526739731 L.UECNTX.Rel.eNodeB.VoIP Number of UE context releases triggered by the eNodeB due
Pref.Fail to voice service preferential access failures
3.2.6.4.2 Uplink PUSCH RB Reservation for Voice UEs
Observe the counters related to the average interference and noise, that is, the
L.UL.Interference.Avg.PRB0 through L.UL.Interference.Avg.PRB99 counters. Uplink PUSCH RB
reservation for voice UEs takes effect if the average interference and noise within the reserved RBs is
extremely lower than that outside the reserved RBs.
UL packet loss rate on the Uu interface for QCI 1 =
L.Traffic.UL.PktLoss.Loss.QCI.1/L.Traffic.UL.PktLoss.Tot.QCI.1
The packet loss rate decreases.

3.2.6.5 Fault Location Instruction


None

3.3 Scenario 3: Application of the VoLTE VQM Solution


VQM is mainly used for network monitoring, network optimization, VIP guarantee, and user complaint
handling. VQM also reduces DTs required for obtaining information about network voice quality. For
example, if the proportion of VQIs (Accept, Poor, and Bad) exceeds 1%, it is considered that network
voice quality needs to be optimized. VQM applies only to the following speech codec schemes:
adaptive multirate narrowband (AMR-NB), adaptive multirate wideband (AMR-WB), EVS Wideband
(EVS-WB) (5.9 kbit/s to 24.4 kbit/s), and EVS Superwideband (EVS-SWB) (9.6 kbit/s to 24.4 kbit/s).
The VQM solution is introduced since eRAN6.0. However, it cannot be commercialized because of the
following problems:
 The voice quality assessment models are inconsistent in the uplink and downlink. The VQI model
is used in the uplink, and the E-Model is used in the downlink. As a result, there is no unified
assessment standard.
 Voice quality cannot be assessed because the speech coding rates cannot be differentiated. As a
result, the assessment result using the VQI model varies greatly with the MOS result.
Therefore, the VQM algorithm cannot be used in eRAN6.0 or eRAN7.0. Since eRAN8.0, the preceding
problems have been solved. The VQM solution can be used only after it passes the beta test. A beta test
is now being performed at office L in country K.
Since eRAN8.0, the VQI model is used for voice quality assessment in the uplink and downlink. In
addition, the AMR rates can be identified. Different fitting coefficients are selected based on the AMR
rates and the accuracy of the voice quality assessment result approaches that of the assessment results
generated by third-party instruments.
The implementation in eRAN8.1 and eRAN11.0 is the same as that in eRAN8.0.
eRAN11.1 introduces E2E VQI to evaluate voice quality of users from end to end.
eRAN12.1 introduces EVS VQI to evaluate voice quality for different EVS rates.

3.3.1 Feature and Function List


Feature ID Feature/Function Introduced in… Reference Document
N/A VQM eRAN6.0 VoLTE Feature Parameter Description
N/A E2E VQI eRAN11.1 VoLTE Feature Parameter Description
N/A EVS VQM eRAN12.1 VoLTE Feature Parameter Description
Feature ID Feature/Function Introduced in… Reference Document
LOFD-001017 ROHC eRAN6.0 ROHC Feature Parameter Description

3.3.2 Solution Introduction


In the VoLTE VQM solution, voice quality-affecting factors (such as the packet loss rate over the air
interface and voice coding rate) are measured, and the VQI is calculated using a formula. The value
range of the VQI is 0 to 5, which corresponds to the MOS values 0 to 5, respectively.

MOS Listening Degradation Category Scale Listening Effort Scale


Quality Scale

5 Excellent Degradation is inaudible Complete relaxation possible; no effort


required
4 Good Degradation is audible, but not Attention necessary; no appreciable
annoying effort required
3 Accept Degradation is slightly annoying Moderate effort required
2 Poor Degradation is annoying Considerable effort required
1 Bad Degradation is very annoying No meaning understood with any
feasible effort

VQM including EVS VQM is controlled by the ENodeBAlgoSwitch.VQMAlgoSwitch parameter,


which is set to VQM_ALGO_SWITCH_OFF by default. When this parameter is set to
VQM_ALGO_SWITCH_AMR_ON, the algorithm applies to AMR speech codec schemes. When this
parameter is set to VQM_ALGO_SWITCH_ADAPTIVE_ON, the algorithm applies to AMR and
EVS speech codec schemes. VQM is not recommended in scenarios where both AMR and non-AMR
speech codec solutions are used.
E2E VQI is controlled by the EnodebAlgoSwitch.VQMAlgoSwitch and
EnodebAlgoSwitch.E2EVQIAlgoSwitch parameters. E2E VQIs are calculated only when
EnodebAlgoSwitch.VQMAlgoSwitch is set to VQM_ALGO_SWITCH_AMR_ON or
VQM_ALGO_SWITCH_ADAPTIVE_ON and EnodebAlgoSwitch.E2EVQIAlgoSwitch is set to
ON. E2E VQI has the same principle as VQI, but differs from VQI in packet loss rate measurement.
VQI measures only the packet loss rate over the air interface in uplink and downlink. E2E VQI
measures voice quality from the calling party to called party from end to end, and the packet loss rate
measurement covers the air interface in the uplink for the calling party, transmission network, CN, and
the air interface for the called party.
With the VQI solution, the eNodeB detects the VoLTE packet loss rate over the Uu interface and other
counters and inputs the uplink and downlink packet loss rates into the model separately. Then, the VQI
calculation module separately calculates the uplink and downlink voice quality over the Uu interface.

VQI  A * PLR m  B * Delta  Const


where
 PLR: The uplink or downlink voice packet loss rate at the Packet Data Convergence Protocol
(PDCP) layer is detected in each measurement period (2.5s). PLR corresponds to BER or BLER.
 Delta: It is the difference between the packet loss rate and the MOS. Delta is related to the packet
loss rate and AMR-WB/AMR-NB.
 A/B/m: They are fitting coefficients. Different AMR source rates map different fitting coefficients.
Therefore, the eNodeB must differentiate different AMR rates. Currently, the AMR source rate
does not change during a call.
 Const: It is the VQI upper limit. Different AMR source rates map different upper limits.
According to the preceding formula, the VQI concerns only the packet loss rate. During the
measurement of the packet loss rate, uplink delay jitter and delay budget (indicated by PDCP Discard
Timer) over the Uu interface are considered. However, E2E delay is not considered.
In eRAN8.0, a maximum of 40 voice users can be sampled concurrently for VQI calculation. That is,
VQIs from a maximum of 40 VoLTE users can be used as an input for cell-level voice quality
assessment. The reasons are as follows:
 The VQM algorithm requires that the eNodeB decompose packets for AMR rate identification. The
eNodeB also needs to measure the arrival interval of each packet (due to the impact of the delay
jitter) and calculate PLR every 2.5s. These calculations increase the CPU load.
 According to the CS traffic model on the live UMTS network, a cell with the heaviest load has a
maximum of 40 to 50 users. Therefore, the current specification can meet the requirement.
In the implementation, the eNodeB performs user selection every 2.5s and preferentially selects voice
users who have not been sampled in the previous 2.5s. If the number of voice users in a cell exceeds 40,
the eNodeB samples different users in different measurement periods.
eRAN11.1 enables all voice users in a cell for VQI calculation at one time, rather than 40 users
supported in earlier versions. If CPU usage for a cell exceeds the threshold, VQI calculation supports 40
users again.
After the VQI calculation, the cell-level voice quality is indicated by related performance counters. The
eNodeB also records user-level packet loss information in CHRs for user-level performance monitoring.
The eNodeB can also monitor the voice quality of VIP users. After a VIP user trace task is started, the
eNodeB periodically calculates the voice quality of VIP users within the entire VoLTE sessions and
records the voice quality in CHRs.
The VQM solution only supports the packet loss rate calculation over the Uu interface. Unlike the MOS
calculated by the third-party instruments, the VQM solution does not support the E2E packet loss rate
calculation.
The VQM solution calculates the VQI based on the packet loss rate. The VQI is different from the
PDCP voice packet loss rate. The VQI indicates the distribution of the voice quality within the range of
[Bad, Poor, Accept, Good, Excellent] within a measurement period. The PDCP voice packet loss rate is
only a specific value indicating the packet loss condition within a measurement period and has a larger
granularity.
After the VQM solution is enabled, the CPU usage will increase. The following shows the test results:
 In eRAN8.0, a machine user equipment (MUE) is used to simulate 300 VoLTE users with a coding
rate of 23.85 kbit/s on the LBBPc board. After the VQM solution is enabled, the CPU usage
increases by 0.2% on average.
 In eRAN8.0, simulate a scenario where there are 1200 VoLTE users served by six cells each of
which has a rate of 20 Mbit/s on the LBBPd3 board. After the VQM solution is enabled, the
average and maximum CPU usage increase reaches 1% and 2%, respectively.

3.3.3 Parameter Configuration

3.3.3.1 License
None

3.3.3.2 UE
N/A

3.3.3.3 Configurable Parameters


MO Parameter ID Parameter Name Parameter Description Setting Notes
ENodeBA VQMAlgoSwitc Voice quality Indicates whether to This switch is disabled by
lgoSwitch h monitoring algo enable the voice quality default. Whether this
switch monitoring algorithm. switch is recommended for
When this parameter is enabling will be provided
set to after the beta test for VQM.
VQM_ALGO_SWITC
H_OFF, the algorithm is
disabled. When this
MO Parameter ID Parameter Name Parameter Description Setting Notes
parameter is set to
VQM_ALGO_SWITC
H_AMR_ON, the
algorithm applies to
AMR speech codec
schemes. When this
parameter is set to
VQM_ALGO_SWITC
H_ADAPTIVE_ON, the
algorithm applies to
AMR and EVS speech
codec schemes.
GUI Value Range:
VQM_ALGO_SWITCH_
OFF(VQM_ALGO_SWI
TCH_OFF),
VQM_ALGO_SWITCH_
AMR_ON(VQM_ALGO
_SWITCH_AMR_ON),
VQM_ALGO_SWITCH_
ADAPTIVE_ON(VQM_
ALGO_SWITCH_ADAP
TIVE_ON)
VQMAlgo ULDelayJitter UL Delay Jitter Indicates the maximum Each UE has a jitter buffer
UL voice packet delay to eliminate the jitter of
variation allowed on the received voice packets. If
Uu interface. If the actual the jitter of a received
delay variation of a UL voice packet exceeds the
voice packet exceeds this upper limit allowed by the
limit, this packet is jitter buffer, the UE
regarded as lost during discards the voice packet
the evaluation VQI. The even if the voice packet is
delay variation is correct.
measured at the eNodeB The UL Delay Jitter
PDCP layer. parameter is introduced in
the VQM algorithm to
estimate the packet loss
condition on UEs. Based
on the communications
between the eNodeB and
Huawei UEs, the default
value 100ms is a common
delay jitter, and therefore,
is recommended. The DL
Delay Jitter is not
considered because it
cannot be measured by the
eNodeB.
When VQMAlgoSwitch is
set to
VQM_ALGO_SWITCH_
AMR_ON or
MO Parameter ID Parameter Name Parameter Description Setting Notes
VQM_ALGO_SWITCH_
ADAPTIVE_ON, a larger
value of the UL Delay
Jitter parameter leads to a
higher percentage of
good-quality uplink voice
packets and a lower
percentage of poor-quality
uplink voice packets. This
parameter takes effect only
on users with voice
services.
EnodebAl E2EVQIAlgoSwi E2E VQI Indicates whether E2E It is recommended that this
goSwitch tch Algorithm Switch VQI evaluation takes switch be turned on in
effect when the AMR coding scenarios.
VQMAlgoSwitch
parameter is set to
VQM_ALGO_SWITC
H_AMR_ON or
VQM_ALGO_SWITC
H_ADAPTIVE_ON. If
the VQMAlgoSwitch
parameter is set to
VQM_ALGO_SWITC
H_AMR_ON or
VQM_ALGO_SWITC
H_ADAPTIVE_ON and
this parameter is set to
ON, E2E VQI evaluation
is enabled. Otherwise,
E2E VQI evaluation is
disabled.
VQMAL VQMAlgoPeriod VQM Algorithm Indicates the VQM This parameter can be
GO Period evaluation period. During configured as required, and
VQM-based voice quality the default value is
evaluation, voice quality recommended.
scores are periodically
evaluated and exported.
VQMAL VqiExcellentThd VQI Excellent Indicates the VQI This parameter can be
GO Threshold threshold above which configured as required, and
the voice quality is the default value is
considered as excellent. If recommended.
the VQI evaluation value
is greater than this
threshold, the voice
quality is considered as
excellent.
Value range: 0 to 5
Step: 0.01
VQMAL VQIGoodThd VQI Good Indicates the VQI This parameter can be
MO Parameter ID Parameter Name Parameter Description Setting Notes
GO Threshold threshold above which configured as required, and
the voice quality is the default value is
considered as good. If the recommended.
VQI evaluation value is
greater than the
VqiGoodThd parameter
value and less than or
equal to the
VqiExcellentThd
parameter value, the
voice quality is
considered as good. If the
VQI evaluation value is
less than or equal to the
VqiGoodThd parameter
value and greater than the
VqiPoorThd parameter
value, the voice quality is
considered as accepted.
Value range: 0 to 5
Step: 0.01
VQMAL VqiPoorThd VQI Poor Indicates the VQI This parameter can be
GO Threshold threshold above which configured as required, and
the voice quality is the default value is
considered as poor. If the recommended.
VQI evaluation value is
greater than the
VqiBadThd parameter
value and less than or
equal to the VqiPoorThd
parameter value, the
voice quality is
considered as poor. If the
VQI evaluation value is
less than or equal to the
VqiGoodThd parameter
value and greater than the
VqiPoorThd parameter
value, the voice quality is
considered as accepted.
Value range: 0 to 5
Step: 0.01
VQMAL VqiBadThd VQI Bad Indicates the VQI This parameter can be
GO Threshold threshold above which configured as required, and
the voice quality is the default value is
considered as bad. If the recommended.
VQI evaluation value is
less than or equal to this
threshold, the voice
quality is considered as
MO Parameter ID Parameter Name Parameter Description Setting Notes
bad.
Value range: 0 to 5
Step: 0.01

3.3.4 Service-Related Parameter Optimization


Parameter optimization is not involved in the UL Delay Jitter parameter.

3.3.5 Effect Evaluation Methods


The following table describes the counters used to evaluate the voice quality of a cell.

Counter Name Counter Description


L.Voice.VQI.UL.Excellent.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is Excellent
L.Voice.VQI.UL.Good.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is Good
L.Voice.VQI.UL.Accept.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is Accept
L.Voice.VQI.UL.Poor.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is Poor
L.Voice.VQI.UL.Bad.Times Number of times uplink voice quality is Bad
L.Voice.VQI.DL.Excellent.Times Number of times downlink voice quality is Excellent
L.Voice.VQI.DL.Good.Times Number of times downlink voice quality is Good
L.Voice.VQI.DL.Accept.Times Number of times downlink voice quality is Accept
L.Voice.VQI.DL.Poor.Times Number of times downlink voice quality is Poor
L.Voice.VQI.DL.Bad.Times Number of times downlink voice quality is Bad
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Excellent.Times Number of times uplink voice quality of AMR-WB services is
Excellent
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Good.Times Number of times uplink voice quality of AMR-WB services is
Good
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Accept.Times Number of times uplink voice quality of AMR-WB services is
Accept
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Poor.Times Number of times uplink voice quality of AMR-WB services is
Poor
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.Bad.Times Number of times uplink voice quality of AMR-WB services is
Bad
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.DL.Excellent.Times Number of times downlink voice quality of AMR-WB services
is Excellent
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.DL.Good.Times Number of times downlink voice quality of AMR-WB services
is Good
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.DL.Accept.Times Number of times downlink voice quality of AMR-WB services
Counter Name Counter Description
is Accept
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.DL.Poor.Times Number of times downlink voice quality of AMR-WB services
is Poor
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.DL.Bad.Times Number of times downlink voice quality of AMR-WB services
is Bad
L.Voice.E2EVQI.Excellent.Times Number of times E2E VQIs are Excellent
L.Voice.E2EVQI.Good.Times Number of times E2E VQIs are Good
L.Voice.E2EVQI.Accept.Times Number of times E2E VQIs are Accept
L.Voice.E2EVQI.Poor.Times Number of times E2E VQIs are Poor
L.Voice.E2EVQI.Bad.Times Number of times E2E VQIs are Bad
Number of times E2E VQIs of AMR-WB services are
L.Voice.E2EVQI.AMRWB.Excellent.Times
Excellent
L.Voice.E2EVQI.AMRWB.Good.Times Number of times E2E VQIs of AMR-WB services are Good
L.Voice.E2EVQI.AMRWB.Accept.Times Number of times E2E VQIs of AMR-WB services are Accept
L.Voice.E2EVQI.AMRWB.Poor.Times Number of times E2E VQIs of AMR-WB services are Poor
L.Voice.E2EVQI.AMRWB.Bad.Times Number of times E2E VQIs of AMR-WB services are Bad
L.Voice.E2EVQI.TotalValue Total value of E2E VQIs
L.Voice.E2EVQI.AMRWB.TotalValue Total value of E2E VQIs of AMR-WB services
L.Voice.VQI.UL.TotalValue Total value of uplink VQIs
L.Voice.VQI.DL.TotalValue Total value of downlink VQIs
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.UL.TotalValue Total value of uplink VQIs of AMR-WB services
L.Voice.VQI.AMRWB.DL.TotalValue Total value of downlink VQIs of AMR-WB services
L.Voice.VQI.EVS.UL.Excellent.Times Number of times the uplink VQI of EVS is Excellent
L.Voice.VQI.EVS.UL.Good.Times Number of times the uplink VQI of EVS is Good
L.Voice.VQI.EVS.UL.Accept.Times Number of times the uplink VQI of EVS is Accept
L.Voice.VQI.EVS.UL.Poor.Times Number of times the uplink VQI of EVS is Poor
L.Voice.VQI.EVS.UL.Bad.Times Number of times the uplink VQI of EVS is Bad
L.Voice.VQI.EVS.DL.Excellent.Times Number of times the downlink VQI of EVS is Excellent
L.Voice.VQI.EVS.DL.Good.Times Number of times the downlink VQI of EVS is Good
L.Voice.VQI.EVS.DL.Accept.Times Number of times the downlink VQI of EVS is Accept
L.Voice.VQI.EVS.DL.Poor.Times Number of times the downlink VQI of EVS is Poor
L.Voice.VQI.EVS.DL.Bad.Times Number of times the downlink VQI of EVS is Bad
L.Voice.VQI.EVS.UL.TotalValue Total value of uplink VQIs of EVS
Counter Name Counter Description
L.Voice.VQI.EVS.DL.TotalValue Total value of downlink VQIs of EVS

3.3.6 Fault Location Instruction


A beta test is now being performed for the VQM solution at office L in country K. VQM-related fault
location is not involved.
If the values of preceding Bad-related counters are not 0 after the VQM solution is enabled, locate the
fault by referring to the packet loss rate section in X Solutions for VoLTE.

3.4 Large-granularity Activation and O&M Guidance


Large-granularity O&M provides the following benefits:
 Encapsulates features with similar functions or services, which maximizes feature gains and
increases feature activation efficiency.
 Enables parameter checks for related features, which ensure accurate parameter adjustment for the
features and prevents impact on inventory configurations.
 Provides recommended parameter templates specific to application scenarios of the features, which
can be imported and allow for automatic parameter configurations in batches.
The following table describes three scenarios for VoLTE services.

Scenario ID Scenario Name Scenario Description


0 Coverage VoLTE solution
1 Capacity VoLTE solution
2 Quality VoLTE solution

Details are as follows:


 When the scenario ID is 0, coverage needs to be improved.
 When the scenario ID is 1, capacity needs to be improved.
 When the scenario ID is 2, quality needs to be improved using the features in the basic VoLTE
solution and features related to coverage improvement in the enhanced VoLTE solution.
The following table describes recommended features and related parameter settings for different
scenarios.

Feature Scenario Operation MO Parameter ID Default Recommended


ID ID Value Value
LOFD-0 0 ADD/MOD PDCPROHC RohcSwitch OFF ON
01017 PARA
LOFD-0 0 ADD/MOD PDCPROHC HighestMode O_MODE O_MODE
01017 PARA
LOFD-0 0 ADD/MOD PDCPROHC Profiles Profile0x0001 Profile0x0001-1&
Feature Scenario Operation MO Parameter ID Default Recommended
ID ID Value Value
01017 PARA -1&Profile0x0 Profile0x0002-1&
002-1&Profile Profile0x0003-0&
0x0003-1&Pr Profile0x0004-0;
ofile0x0004-1
;
LOFD-0 0 ADD/MOD CellAlgoSwit UlSchSwitch.T OFF ON
01048 ch tiBundlingSwit
ch
LOFD-0 0 ADD/MOD CellUlschAlg TtiBundlingTri SERVICE_V SERVICE_MULT
01048 o ggerStrategy OIP IAPP
LOFD-0 0 ADD/MOD CellUlschAlg StatisticNumTh N10_TTIB_E N10_TTIB_ENTE
01048 o dForTtibTrig NTER(10) R(10)
LOFD-0 0 ADD/MOD CellUlschAlg StatisticNumTh N20_TTIB_E N20_TTIB_EXIT(
01048 o dForTtibExit XIT(20) 20)
LOFD-0 0 ADD/MOD CellUlschAlg HystToExitTti 5 5
01048 o Bundling
LOFD-0 0 ADD/MOD CellUlschAlg TtiBundlingRlc 4 4
01048 o MaxSegNum
LOFD-0 0 ADD/MOD CellUlschAlg TtiBundlingHar n16(16) n16(16)
01048 o qMaxTxNum
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD CELLALGO UlAmrcMode ULRATECT ULAMRC_ENB_
11207 SWITCH RL_OFF CONTROL
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD CellAlgoSwit AmrcAlgoSwit OFF ON
11207 ch ch.UlAmrcExc
eedingInitialSw
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD CellAlgoSwit AmrcAlgoSwit OFF ON
11207 ch ch.UlAmrChec
kSw
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD CellAlgoSwit AmrcAlgoSwit OFF ON
11207 ch ch.VoiceCodin
gModeMeasSw
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD UeCompatOp BlkLstCtrlSwit OFF OFF
11207 t and ch.UL_AMRC
UeCompat _SWITCH_OF
F
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD UeCompatOp WhiteLstCtrlS OFF OFF
11207 t and witch.UL_AM
UeCompat RC_SWITCH_
ON
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo VoiceAmrCtrlP None 0
11207 ntrol araGroupId
Feature Scenario Operation MO Parameter ID Default Recommended
ID ID Value Value
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo HighAmrCodin None AMR_WB_23_85
11207 ntrol gMode kbps
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo LowAmrCodin None AMR_WB_12_65
11207 ntrol gMode kbps
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo PlrThdForDecr None 6
11207 ntrol easingAmr
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo PlrThdForIncre None 2
11207 ntrol asingAmr
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo RsnThdForDec None 14
11207 ntrol reasingAmr
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo RsnThdForIncr None 5
11207 ntrol easingAmr
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo VoiceAmrCtrlP None 1
11207 ntrol araGroupId
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo HighAmrCodin None AMR_WB_12_65
11207 ntrol gMode kbps
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo LowAmrCodin None AMR_WB_6_6kb
11207 ntrol gMode ps
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo PlrThdForDecr None 16
11207 ntrol easingAmr
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo PlrThdForIncre None 2
11207 ntrol asingAmr
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo RsnThdForDec None 14
11207 ntrol reasingAmr
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo RsnThdForIncr None 5
11207 ntrol easingAmr
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD CellUlSchAlg AmrcDecreasin 5 5
11207 o gPeriod
LOFD-1 0/2 ADD/MOD CellUlSchAlg RateCtrlCmrPr BASIC_STR BASIC_STRATE
11207 o ocessStrategy ATEGY GY
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD CELLALGO UlAmrcMode ULRATECT ULEVSC_ENB_C
121202 SWITCH RL_OFF ONTROL
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD CellAlgoSwit AmrcAlgoSwit OFF ON
121202 ch ch.UlEvsExcee
dingInitialSw
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD UeCompatOp BlkLstCtrlSwit OFF OFF
121202 t and ch.UL_EVSC_
UeCompat SWITCH_OFF
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD UeCompatOp WhiteLstCtrlS OFF OFF
Feature Scenario Operation MO Parameter ID Default Recommended
ID ID Value Value
121202 t and witch.UL_EVS
UeCompat C_SWITCH_O
N
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo VoiceAmrCtrlP None 0
121202 ntrol araGroupId
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo HighAmrCodin None EVS_SWB_24_4k
121202 ntrol gMode bps
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo LowAmrCodin None EVS_SWB_13_2k
121202 ntrol gMode bps
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo PlrThdForDecr None 6
121202 ntrol easingAmr
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo PlrThdForIncre None 2
121202 ntrol asingAmr
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo RsnThdForDec None 14
121202 ntrol reasingAmr
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo RsnThdForIncr None 5
121202 ntrol easingAmr
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo VoiceAmrCtrlP None 1
121202 ntrol araGroupId
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo HighAmrCodin None EVS_SWB_13_2k
121202 ntrol gMode bps
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo LowAmrCodin None EVS_SWB_9_6kb
121202 ntrol gMode ps
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo PlrThdForDecr None 16
121202 ntrol easingAmr
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo PlrThdForIncre None 2
121202 ntrol asingAmr
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo RsnThdForDec None 14
121202 ntrol reasingAmr
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD VoiceAmrCo RsnThdForIncr None 5
121202 ntrol easingAmr
LEOFD- 0/2 ADD/MOD CellUlSchAlg RateCtrlCmrPr BASIC_STR BASIC_STRATE
121202 o ocessStrategy ATEGY GY
LOFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CellUlschAlg UlDelaySchStr NO_DELAY VOIP_DELAYSC
81229 o ategy SCH H
LOFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CellUlschAlg UlEnhencedVo OFF ON
81229 o ipSchSw.UlVo
LTEDataSizeE
stSwitch
Feature Scenario Operation MO Parameter ID Default Recommended
ID ID Value Value
LOFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CellAlgoSwit UEInactiveTim OFF ON
81229 ch erQCI1Switch
LOFD-0 1 ADD/MOD RRCCONNS UeInactiveTim 20 20
81229 TATETIMER erQci1
LBFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CellUlschAlg UlEnhencedVo OFF ON
81104 o ipSchSw.UlVoi
pSchOptSwitch
LBFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CellUlschAlg UlEnhencedVo OFF ON
81104 o ipSchSw.UlVoi
pServStateEnha
ncedSw
LBFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CellUlschAlg CellUlschAlgo. INTERVAL_ INTERVAL_20
81104 o UlCompenSch ADAPTIVE
PeriodinSpurt
LBFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CellUlschAlg CellUlschAlgo. INTERVAL_ INTERVAL_160
81104 o UlCompenSch 160
PeriodinSilence
LOFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CELLALGO UlSchSwitch.S OFF OFF
01016 SWITCH psSchSwitch
LOFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CELLALGO DlSchSwitch.S OFF OFF
01016 SWITCH psSchSwitch
LOFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CELLALGO UlPcAlgoSwitc OFF ON
01016 SWITCH h.CloseLoopSp
sSwitch
LOFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CELLALGO DlPcAlgoSwitc OFF OFF
01016 SWITCH h.PdschSpsPcS
witch
LOFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CELLALGO CqiAdjAlgoSw OFF ON
01016 SWITCH itch.DlSpsMcsI
ncreaseSwitch
LOFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CellDlschAlg DlSpsMcsDecr 40 20
01016 o easeIblerThd
LOFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CellUlschAlg UlEnhencedVo OFF OFF
01016 o ipSchSw.UlVoI
PLoadBasedSc
hSwitch
LOFD-0 1 ADD/MOD CellDlschAlg DlEnhencedVo OFF OFF
01016 o ipSchSw.DlVoI
PLoadBasedSc
hSwitch
4 Cases
4.1 VoLTE Deployment Cases
4.1.1 Office L in Country K

4.1.1.1 Service Model


VoLTE Service Model
Site type Macro and micro eNodeBs
eNodeB (Huawei: eRAN8.0)
Device EPC: E///
IMS core: E///
Frequency band 850 MHz + 2100 MHz + 2600 MHz
Speech coding rate 23.85 kbit/s
QCI 1 (voice) + QCI 2 (video) + QCI 5 (SIP signaling) + QCI 6 (default bearer for
Bearer
data services)
Video Yes
SRVCC None
Enhancement None
UE LG G2/G3; Samsung Galaxy S4/S5; Samsung Galaxy Note4

4.1.1.2 Acceptance Test Result


VoLTE Huawei Vendor E Vendor N Vendor S
Setup Success Rate 99.87% 99.7% 99.7% 99.6%
Call Drop Rate ~0 1% 1% 0
Idle Setup Up time (s) 2.06 2.84 2.9 3
HO Successful Rate 100% 100% 99.7% 100%
HO Interruption time (ms) 43.2 47.4 59.9 69.7

4.1.2 Office P in Region H

4.1.2.1 Service Model


VoLTE Service Model
Site type Macro eNodeBs and RAN sharing
Device eNodeB (Huawei: eRAN7.0/eRAN8.0)
VoLTE Service Model
EPC: Huawei
IMS core: Huawei
Frequency band 1800 MHz + 2600 MHz
Speech coding rate 12.65 kbit/s
Bearer QCI 1 (voice) + QCI 5 (SIP signaling) + QCI 9 (default bearer for data services)
Video QCI 2
SRVCC Yes (LTE-to-UMTS SRVCC)
Enhancement None
UE Samsung Galaxy S4/S5

4.1.2.2 Acceptance Test Result


 MOS
RSRP PESQ Delay (ms) SNIR or Ec/No
23.05 12.65 12.65 12.65 23.05 12.65 12.65 12.65 23.05 12.65 12.65 12.65
K K K K K K K K K K K K
L2L L2L L2U U2U L2L L2L L2U U2U L2L L2L L2U U2U
-80 4.20 4.07 3.88 3.58 129 119 226 266 25 25 22 -6
dBm
-90 4.20 4.05 3.89 3.49 123 121 220 253 16 15 15 -9
dBm
-100 4.20 4.07 3.89 2.89 115 123 236 257 8 8 5 -20
dBm
-110 3.36 4.00 1.07 1.41 149 123 429 664 -5 -2 -5 -22
dBm
-120 2.26 3.62 238 143 -5 2 -10
dBm

NOTE
VoLTE MOS is affected by SINR. When SINR is less than -3 dB, the MOS decreases significantly. Transcoder Free
Operation (TrFO) is not enabled on the UMTS network at office P. Therefore, the MOS is relatively low. In the
preceding table, L2L refers to an LTE-to-LTE call and L2U refers to an LTE-to-UMTS call.
 Access delay
RSRP 23.05K 12.65K 23.05K 12.65K 12.65K 12.65K 12.65K
LTE-LTE LTE-LTE LTE-LTE LTE-LTE LTE-3G LTE-3G 3G-3G
(CONNECT) (CONNECT) (IDLE) (IDLE) CONNECT IDLE
-80 dBm 632 643 1651 1669 3914 3925 5786
-90 dBm 636 641 1653 1663 3906 4049 5938
-100 dBm 638 675 1681 1677 3931 4233 6020
-110 dBm 676 714 1821 1736 3974 4295 6034
-120 dBm 825 785 2168 2413 4962 7454 11038

NOTE
The call setup delay is similar in an LTE-to-LTE call where different speech coding rates are used. If the radio
coverage is weak, data packets are more likely to be retransmitted and the call setup delay may increase. The call
setup delay for UEs in idle mode may fluctuate due to the impact from the paging period (1.28s).

5 Appendix - Basic Knowledge of VoLTE


5.1 Voice Policy Selection
5.1.1 Voice Policies for UEs
After being powered on, a UE that supports CSFB and VoLTE negotiates the voice policy with the
MME through the attach and TAU procedures based on the UE capability and the configurations on the
MME. The eNodeB does not participate in the negotiation.
As specified in 3GPP TS 23.221, a UE can be set by telecom operators as follows:
 CS Voice only, IMS PS Voice only, prefer CS Voice with IMS PS Voice as secondary, or prefer
IMS PS Voice with CS Voice as secondary
 Voice centric or Data centric
The following takes the configuration "prefer IMS PS Voice with CS Voice as secondary" as an example.
This configuration will become commonly used in the future.
UE is set to IMS
voice preferred,
CS voice
secondary

UE initiates EPS Fail or Success with “SMS only”


attach procedure indication or Success with
(non combined) “CSFB Not Preferred” indication

UE checks for IMS UE performs


UE checks for
voice supported Not combined TAU for
voice centric or
Indication from supported CSFB as in TS
data centric setting
Network 23.272 Voice centric

Success with no “SMS-only”


Supported TAU performed and no “CSFB Data centric
Not Preferred” indication

UE uses IMS UE stays in current UE reselects to


UE uses CSFB
Voice RAT other RAT

 Result 1: If the MME supports IMS voice, the UE uses VoLTE.


 Result 2: If the MME does not support IMS voice, the UE initiates a combined TAU for CSFB
procedure. If the TAU procedure is successful and the MME supports CSFB, the UE uses CSFB.
 Result 3: If the MME does not support IMS voice, the UE initiates a combined TAU for CSFB
procedure. If the TAU procedure failed or the MME only supports SMS, the UE checks whether it
is voice centric or data centric. If the UE is data centric, it stays in the E-UTRAN.
 Result 4: If the MME does not support IMS voice, the UE initiates a combined TAU for CSFB
procedure. If the TAU procedure failed or the MME only supports SMS, the UE checks whether it
is voice centric or data centric. If the UE is voice centric, it reselects the GERAN or UTRAN.
For the test results of the settings CS Voice only, IMS PS Voice only, and prefer CS Voice with IMS PS
Voice as secondary, see section "Annex A" in 3GPP TS 23.221.

5.1.2 Key Points


 The voice policy a UE uses after being powered on is negotiated by the UE and MME. The
eNodeB does not participate in the negotiation.
 According to 3GPP specifications, a UE can choose between CS voice and IMS PS voice. This can
be configured on the engineering samples by using serial port commands. However, the
configuration is generally made by telecom operators in advance and is not perceptible or
configurable for common users.
5.2 Basic VoLTE Procedure
5.2.1 E2E Procedure for VoLTE-to-VoLTE Calls

Step 1 An LTE UE initiates a call.


Step 2 The MMTel AS processes the mobile originated (MO) call service.
Step 3 After the MO call service is processed, the MMTel AS routes the callback to the S-CSCF. The S-CSCF
queries the ENUM and routes the call to the called UE.
Step 4 At the mobile terminated (MT) side, the call is routed to the I-CSCF providing services to the called UE.
The I-CSCF sends a paging request to the S-CSCF.
Step 5 The S-CSCF instructs the SCC AS to perform T-ADS query and selects an LTE network for the called
UE.
Step 6 The S-CSCF sends the paging request to the called UE through the P-CSCF.
Step 7 The bearer is set up.
----End

5.2.2 VoLTE-to-VoLTE Call Procedure at the RAN Side

From the perspective of the eNodeB, a VoLTE-to-VoLTE call setup procedure is divided into RRC
connection setup over the air interface and the setup of bearers with QCIs of 1 and 5.

5.2.3 Key Points


 In commercial deployment, it is recommended that the IMS use an independent access point name
(APN). That is, the UE adopts the dual-APN mode. The bearer with a QCI of 5 functions as a
default bearer for the voice service and is used for SIP signaling transmission. The bearer with a
QCI of 6, 8, or 9 functions as the default bearer for the data service. The user plane of the voice
service is carried on the dedicated bearer with a QCI of 1. For a video call, the voice service is
carried on the bearer with a QCI of 1 and the image service is carried on the bearer with a QCI of
2.
 The default bearer with a QCI of 5 for a VoLTE service always exists as long as the UE is in
RRC_CONNECTED mode even when the UE only performs data services, such as web browsing.
The bearers with QCIs 1, 5, and 9 are set up for voice services. The bearers with QCIs 5 and 9 are
set up for data-only services. The bearers with QCIs 1, 2, 5, and 9 are set up for video call services.
 The speech codec negotiation is performed at the application layer and is not perceivable by the
eNodeB. The speech coding rate is negotiated between the calling and called UEs through SIP
signaling. The SBC can participate in the speech codec control, but it is not recommended. The
codec between the VoLTE and CS domain is negotiated by the UE and MSC server.
 The VoLTE call setup procedure involves negotiations through SIP signaling at the application
layer. The SIP signaling is carried on the bearer with a QCI of 5 and is not perceivable by the
eNodeB.

5.3 QoS Management


5.3.1 PCC Architecture for QoS Control
Huawei VoLTE solution uses the Policy and Charging Control (PCC) architecture for QoS control. The
PCC architecture provides E2E QoS guarantee so that different transmission requirements (including
bandwidths, priorities, delays, and throughput) can be met for different service types and user levels
(such as VIP users) and the network resources can be properly utilized. In this manner, the service data
can be assigned the required QoS during the transmission on the network.
E2E voice quality assurance requires an E2E voice signaling and bearer channel that involves the UE,
RAN, and EPC.

QoS control is performed on the dedicated VoLTE bearer based on the dynamic PCC rule. The
following shows the QoS control procedure.
Step 1 The IMS (P-CSCF) sends the QCI information to the PCRF over the Rx interface.
Step 2 The PCRF generates QoS rules based on the QoS parameters for VoLTE and the user subscription
information. Then, the PCRF sends the QoS rules to the P-GW over the Gx interface. The key QoS
parameters include QCI, allocation/retention priority (ARP), GBR, and maximum bit rate (MBR).
Step 3 The P-GW instructs the S-GW, MME, eNodeB to set up bearers in the EPS based on the QoS rules sent
from the PCRF. Different services are carried on bearers with different QCIs according to the QoS
requirement, as shown in the following table (specified in 3GPP TS 23.203).

QCI Resource Priority Packet Packet Example Service


Type Delay Loss Rate
1 GBR 2 100 ms 10-2 VoLTE
2 4 150 ms 10-3 Conference call, Conversational video (live
streaming)
3 3 50 ms 10-3 Real-time gaming, real-time industry
monitoring
4 5 300 ms 10-6 Non-Conversational video (buffered streaming)
5 Non-GBR 1 100 ms 10-6 IMS Signaling
6 6 300 ms 10-6 Video (Buffered Streaming)
7 7 100 ms 10-3 Voice, Video (Live Streaming) Interactive
Gaming
8 8 300 ms 10-6 E-mail, MSN, chat, www, p2p file sharing
9 9 300 ms 10-6

----End

5.3.2 QoS Configuration for GBR Bearers


The eNodeB receives the network-assigned QoS parameters for bearers with a QCI of 1. Generally,
telecom operators expect that some recommended values can be provided. For details, see 3GPP TS
26.114. The following provides some references based on scenarios.
 For voice calls with AMR-NB 12.2 kbit/s and IPv4, the recommended configuration is
MBR=GBR=31 kbit/s.
 For voice calls with AMR-WB 23.85 kbit/s and IPv4, the recommended configuration is
MBR=GBR=44 kbit/s.
 For video calls with 384 kbit/s and IPv4, the recommended configuration is MBR=GBR=432
kbit/s.
For other scenarios, see section E1 in 3GPP TS 26.114.

5.3.3 Key Points


 The GBR parameter of the bearer with a QCI of 1 is assigned by the network side. It uses either the
value configured on the PCRF or the rate applied by the UE.
 The eNodeB guarantees the QoS (including scheduling priority, delay, and packet loss rate) of the
bearer with a QCI of 1 according to the PCC architecture specified in 3GPP specifications.
 VoLTE and OTT differ greatly in bearers. Generally, VoLTE uses GBR bearers with QCIs of 1 and
2, and OTT uses non-GBR bearers with QCIs of 6, 8, and 9. If congestion occurs, the QoS of
non-GBR bearers cannot be guaranteed.

5.4 Speech Codec


5.4.1 AMR Speech Codec
AMR is recommended as a speech codec scheme according to 3GPP specifications. The following
figure shows the VoLTE traffic model under AMR.

The VoLTE service states can be divided into talk spurts and silent period
 Talk spurts occur when the user is talking. In this state, voice packets are transmitted at an interval
of 20 ms, and the packet size is determined by the speech coding rate.
 Silent periods occur when the user is listening. In this state, an SID frame is sent at an interval of
160 ms to improve user experience.
AMR is classified into AMR-WB and AMR-NB. AMR is widely used in the GERAN and UTRAN and
is also applicable to VoLTE. AMR-WB is a new speech codec introduced in 3GPP Release 5. AMR-WB
requires that voices are sampled at a rate of 16 kHz. According to the Nyquist sampling theorem, the
sampling rate must be greater than or equal to twice of the maximum frequency of the sampled signal.
Otherwise, the original signal cannot be restored. If a sampling rate of 16 kHz is used, the voice signal
whose frequency is less than 8 kHz can be restored.
The following lists the common sampling rate in the digital audio field:
 8,000 Hz: Sampling rate for phone calls, which is sufficient for human voices.
 11,025 Hz/22,050 Hz: Sampling rates for radio broadcasting.
 32,000 Hz: Sampling rates for miniDV digital video, camcorder, and digital audio tape (DAT) in
LP mode.
 44,100 Hz: Sampling rate for audio CD, MPEG-1 audios (including VCD, SVCD, and MP3).
 47,250 Hz: Sampling rate for the world's first commercial PCM recorder developed by Nippon
Columbia (Denon).
 48,000 Hz: Sampling rate for the digital voice of miniDV, digital TV, DVD, DAT, movie and
professional audio.
 50,000 Hz: Sampling rate for the world' first commercial digital recorder jointly developed by 3M
and Soundstream in the late 1970s.
 50,400 Hz: Sampling rate for Mitsubishi X-80 digital recorder.
 96,000 Hz/192,000 Hz: Sampling rates for DVD-Audio and the audio tracks of some LPCM DVDs,
BD-ROMs (Blu-ray Discs), and high definition DVDs (HD-DVDs).
 2.8224 MHz: Sampling rate for the 1-digit sigma-delta modulation procedure of Direct Stream
Digital jointly developed by SACD, Sony and Philips.
Generally, the sampling rate of the audio cards is 44.1 kHz. That is, the audios are sampled 44,100 times
per second. The phone-call-level voice quality is obtained by using a sampling rate of 11 kHz.
Broadcast-level voice quality is obtained by using a sampling rate of 22 kHz. CD-level voice quality is
obtained by using a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz. A larger sampling rate indicates better voice quality and
greater disk (or CD) space usage. The size of a song with CD-level voice quality is about 45 MB.
AMR-WB is a broadband speech codec scheme using a sampling rate of 16 kHz. Generally, the quality
of the obtained audio reaches the amplitude broadcast level. The new-generation speech codec scheme
Enhanced Voice Services (EVS) will further increase the sampling rate. The voice quality will also
further improve. The EVS is under discussion in 3GPP Release 12 and is expected to be standardized in
2015.
AMR-WB has nine coding rates in addition to the SID frames. The following table lists the voice
quality of these coding rates obtained based on the ITU-T P.863 assessment criteria.

Coding 23.85 23.05 19.85 18.25 15.85 14.25 12.65 8.85 6.6 SID
Rate
(kbit/s)

MOS 4.14 4.12 4.1 4.08 4.04 4.00 3.90 3.54 3.14 \

When AMR-WB was introduced in 3GPP Release 5, only five of the preceding speech coding rates are
recommended to prevent an excessive number of speech coding rates from being used. The following
table lists the combination of these rates (mode set) recommended in 3GPP TS26.103.

23.85 15.85 12.65 8.85 6.6 SID


Mode set 0/1 - - Y Y Y Y
Mode set 2/3 - Y Y Y Y Y
Mode set 4/5 Y - Y Y Y Y

5.4.2 Voice Quality Assessment Criterion


According to the definition in ITU-T P.800.1, the voice quality assessing methods can be categorized
into subjective determination, objective determination, and parameter-based estimation and
measurement.
 Subjective determination (ITU-T P.800): MOS is a commonly accepted subjective voice quality
measurement method. Voice quality MOS is obtained based on the listening result of experts.
 Objective determination (PESQ ITU-T P.862): Perceptual evaluation of speech quality (PESQ) is
the most popular objective voice quality measurement method and is widely used by telecom
operators. Costly dedicated equipment is used for the assessment. Therefore, this method requires a
lot of manpower and material resources.
 Parameter-based estimation and measurement: The voice quality score is obtained based on the
parameters defined based on the major factors affecting the voice quality. These parameters are
dedicatedly designed for the telecom operators to maintain and optimize their networks. The
E-Model is recommended in ITU-T G.107. Different vendors also have developed related
algorithms, such as Ericsson service quality improvement (SQI) and Huawei VQI algorithms.
At present, the objective determination is the most commonly used method. Voice quality is assessed
using third-party test instruments. The assessing criterion has evolved from PESQ to POLQA (as
specified in ITU-T P.863 released in February 2011).

POLQA supports a wider sampling scope and can assess the voice quality of AMR-WB more accurately.
This following figure shows the comparison result between POLQA and PESQ. The MOS results are
different for the same voice sample using different assessment criteria. For example, the MOS of a voice
sample assessed based on the PESQ criterion is 4.2. The MOS of the same voice sample assessed based
on the POLQA criterion is 3.6.

5.4.3 Key Points


 The HD AMR-WB is recommended for VoLTE by default. The coding rate (12.65 kbit/s or 23.85
kbit/s) is selected based on the requirements of telecom operators. Generally, the MOS of 23.85
kbit/s is 0.2 to 0.3 greater than that of 12.65 kbit/s. However, the capacity and coverage of the
former may be slightly less and poorer than the latter if semi-persistent scheduling is used. If
dynamic scheduling is used, there are few differences between the two coding rates in capacity and
coverage.
 POLQA (as specified in ITU-T P.863) is recommended for the objective determination for VoLTE
AMR-WB voices. If both AMR-WB and AMR-NB voices are assessed, POLQA needs to be
adopted. This is because PESQ (as specified in ITU-T P.862.1) only covers the sampling scope of
AMR-NB voices, and the assessment results for AMR-WB and AMR-NB voices are similar in
ideal situations. POLQA can accurately reflect the differences between AMR-WB and AMR-NB
voices.

5.5 VoLTE AMR Coding Rate Negotiation Procedure


The codec in a voice call is negotiated before the bearer with a QCI of 1 is set up. The calling and called
UEs only negotiate the mode set that can be used. The coding rate in the mode set to be used depends on
the mechanism adopted by the UE manufacturers. Generally, the largest coding rate is selected for
VoLTE (for example, on LG, Samsung, and Huawei UEs). iPhone 6 permanently uses 12.65 kbit/s. This
coding rate is transmission rate, and the receiving rate is determined by the peer UE. Therefore, the
uplink and downlink coding rates can be different for a UE.
During the negotiation, the calling UE sends an Offer message containing the mode set it supports (for
example, AMR-WB full rate or AMR-NB full rate). The Offer message is forwarded to the IMS. The
called UE can only generate a mode set, in which the coding rates are supported by both the calling and
called UEs.

In the preceding figure:


1. The calling UE supports AMR-WB full rate and AMR-NB full rate. The called UE supports
AMR-WB mode-set=0,1,2. The negotiated mode set is AMR-WB mode-set=0,1,2.
2. Transcoder (TC) is not used in the call.
The following figure shows the coding rate negotiation procedure. The INVITE message is the same as
the Offer message in the preceding figure. Similarly, the 200 OK message is the same as the Answer
message in the preceding figure.
BSC MSC_O MSC_T HLR BSC

SRI

Bearer Establishment
On The Caller Side

INVITE

Paging

Bearer Establishment
100 On The Callee Side

183

PRACK

200
Alerting
180

PRACK

200

Alerting
Connect

200

Connect

Connect Ack

Ack

Connect Ack

During The Call

Step 2 Outgoing route data is obtained from the SRI at the MSC_T side and bearers are set up at the MSC_O
side.
Step 3 The MSC_O sends an INVITE message to the MSC_T. The following shows the format of the INVITE
message.
 Request line: Includes the request type, the Tel uniform resource identifier (URI) of the called UE
("user=phone" indicates that the URI is in the MSISDN format), transmission protocol (SCTP),
and the SIP version.
 Message head
− Via: Indicates the path where the request passes through. In this example, the INVITE message
is generated by the MSC_O. Therefore, the IP address included in this line is that of the
MSC_O. Branch indicates a request transaction ID.
− Route: Indicates that the next hop IP address. In this example, the next hop IP address is that of
the MSC_T.
− Call-ID: Indicates a SIP cal. Call-ID is unique globally. A multimedia session may contain
multiple SIP calls with multiple Call-IDs.
− From: Indicates the source of the message. In this example, the source is the MSC_O.
− To: Indicates the destination of the message. In this example, the destination is MSC_T.
− Cseq: Indicates the sequence number of the message. The initial number is 1, and the sequence
number increases in an ascending order for subsequent messages. The sequence number does
not increase if a message is retransmitted. INVITE indicates the message type.
− Max-Forwards: Indicates the maximum number of times the message can be forwarded by an
agent or gateway during the transmission. This number decreases by one each time the message
is forwarded.
− Contact: Indicates the URI of the message sender. The URI can be an SIP URI or an SIPS URI.
It must be in the same format (SIP URI or SIPS URI) as the Request URI or the URI in the
route header field. The Contact field enables the called UE to send requests (such as BYE
message) directly to the IP address where the INVITE message is sent. In this way, the requests
do not need to be transmitted through a few agents based on the Via field.
− Allow: Indicates the request type supported by the server.
− Supported: Indicates the extended request type supported by the server.
− Session-Expires: Indicates the session update interval. It is negotiated between the MSC_O and
MSC_T sides. After the negotiation, the MSC_O sends a RE-INVITE or UPDATE message to
the MSC_T at the negotiated interval during a session to detect the session status of the
MSC_T.
− Content-Length/Content-Type: Indicates the length and type of the message body.
 Message body
The message bodies included in the message body are as follows:
− SDP
The Session Description Protocol (SDP) message body uses UIF-8 for coding and is used for
media negotiation. The SDP message body is in the format of text. Information elements (IEs)
included in the SDP message body are as follows:
1. m indicates the media name and transmission address. It is in the format of <Media
name><Port><Transport>. The media name can be audio, video, and data. The "136" field
indicates the number of the port that transmits the media stream. RTP/AVP indicates the
transmission protocol. And the other numbers indicate the payload format of the media stream.
2. a indicates the attribute and is in the format of <Attribute>:<Value>. An SDP has one or
more attribute descriptions.
3. The calling and called UEs preferentially use the mode set in the first m line.
"modeset=0,2,5,7" indicates a mode set with four coding rates. These coding rates are
supported by both the calling and called UEs. The coding rate to be used depends on the
mechanism adopted by the UE manufacturers.
− ISUP
If an SIP message contains an ISDN User Part (ISUP) message, it encapsulates the ISUP
message in hexadecimal format in the message body of the INVITE message so that the ISUP
message is transmitted over an SIP network without any loss.

You can run the Show ISUP Body command to query the contents in the ISUP message
encapsulated in the INVITE message.
Step 4 After receiving the INVITE message, the MSC_T authenticates the message. If the authentication is
successful, the MSC_T initiates the paging and bearer setup procedures.
Step 5 During the paging and bearer setup procedures, the MSC_T sends a 100 Trying message to the MSC_O,
indicating that the MSC_T is processing the INVITE message.
Step 6 The MSC_T starts to process the INVITE message and monitors the processing progress for
constructing a 183 Session Progress message. The 183 Session Progress message is a part of the media
negotiation between the MSC_O and MSC_T sides. The SIP media negotiation information cannot be
contained in temporary and unreliable messages. However, with 100rel extension to SIP, the UAC
sends the PRACK message (which will be responded with a 200 For Prack message) after receiving a
temporary response from the UAS.
Reliable 183 Session Progress messages must contain the Require and Response Sequence(RSeq)
header fields.

Step 7 After receiving the 183 Session Progress message, the MSC_O that supports 100rel extension to SIP
responds with a PRACK message. Then, the MSC_T responds with a 200 For PRACK message to
complete the media negotiation. If the media need to be changed, the MSC_O sends an UPDATE
message to update the media negotiation information.
Step 8 After the assignment is completed on the MSC_T side and the called UE rings, the MSC_T sends a 180
Ringing message to the MSC_O. CSeq: 1 INVITE indicates the response to the initial INVITE message.
Reliable 180 Ringing messages must contain the Require and Response Sequence(RSeq) header fields.

Subscriber-free is contained in the ISUP message, indicating that the called UE is released.
Step 9 After receiving the 180 Ringing message, the MSC_O sends an Alert message to the calling UE and a
PRACK message containing "Cseq:3 PRACK" to the MSC_T. The MSC_T responds with a 200 For
PRACK message. The 1XX procedure using the 100rel mechanism is completed.
Step 10 After the called UE is off-hook, it sends a Connect message to the MSC_T. The MSC_T completes the
processing of the INVITE message and then sends a 200 OK message to the MSC_O.

Step 11 After the MSC_T receives an ACK message, the call setup procedure is complete and the calling and
called parties can communicate.
----End

When a VoLTE UE calls a GSM, UMTS, or VoBB MS/UE, the SBC/IM-MGW needs to participate in
the transcoding because the existing GSM, UMTS, or VoBB MS/UEs do not support
AMR-WB/AMR-NB (they only support GSM single-rate codec).

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