(Initial) Cell Selection Process

There exist two cell selection procedures:

Initial Cell Selection

The UE has to find a suitable cell of the PLMN, which was selected by the NAS.
To do so, the mobile phone scans all radio frequency carriers of UTRA. Hereby,
the UE focuses its cell search to the strongest cell on each carriers. As soon as
the mobile phone has found a suitable cell, it selects it. In contrast to the cell
selection procedure stored information cell selection, this procedure does not
require knowledge in advance, which of the scanned radio frequency bands holds
UTRA carriers.
Stored Information Cell Selection
To speed up the cell selection process for instance, when the UE is switched on
again information about UTRA carriers, even cell parameters such as cell
scrambling codes can be stored in the UE. The UE uses this information to find a
suitable cell of the PLMN, which was selected by the NAS. If the cell selection
based on stored information in the UE fails e.g. the selected PLMN cannot be
found the UE continues the cell selection process based on the Initial Cell
Selection procedure.

Both for Initial Cell Selection and Stored Information Cell Selection, a cell is only
suitable for the UE to camp on, if it fulfils the cell selection criterion S:
Srxlev > 0 AND Squal > 0 in the FDD mode
 Cell Selection When Leaving the RRC Connected Mode
The subscriber just has terminated a call, i.e. the UE was in the RRC connected
mode, dropping back into the RRC idle mode. Which cell is then a candidate cell
for the UE to camp on?
Candidate cells are the ones, the UE was connected immediately before call
termination. But these cells must be suitable cells. If non of these cells is suitable
or fulfils the criterion S - , the UE starts the Stored Information Cell Selection
procedure.
There is a difference, when the UE returns to the RRC idle mode after an
emergency call on any PLMN. Here, candidate cells to be selected to camp on are
cells, to which the UE was connected to immediately before it terminated the
emergency calls. These cells have to be only acceptable cells. But if non of these
cells is acceptable, the UE has to start look for acceptable cells, while it is in the
internal state Any cell selection.
 Cell Reselection procedure

There are 3 main parameters which control the Intra-frequency Cell

Reselection:
1. Cell reselection triggering time (WCEL): Treselection (default value = 2 sec)
2. Cell reselection hysteresis 2 (WCEL): Qhyst2 (default value = 2dB)
3. Cell Re-selection Quality Offset 2 (ADJS): AdjsQoffset2 (default value = 0dB)

The cell reselection applies when the measured Ec/No of the SC in active
set is greater or equal to Squal Sintrasearch = -18 + 10 = -8 dB
The UE starts measuring the neighbors cell and it will reselect to another
cell if:
(Ec/No+ AdjsQoffset2)other > (Ec/No + Qhyst2)own
for at least Treselection (2 sec)
as long as (Ec/No)other > AdjsQqualMin (-18 dB)