LTE Physical Cell ID

Introduction :

Long Term Evolution is one part of the 4G technology which targets the radio network
Evolution. LTE is specified from Release 8 and 3GPP release 13 is available now days.
The goal of LTE is to speed up the network and increase the capacity. The features of
LTE technology is high data rates (DL > 100Mbps and UL > 50 Mbps). Spectral
efficiency (1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15MHz, 20 MHz) make LTE robust.

Every eNodeB have its own PCI (Physical Cell ID). According to 3GPP guidelines
there are 504 PCIs available for the network. Below PPT demonstrates the concept
how we can assign a robust PCI to network. And also describe the effect on network if
the wrong PCI is assigned to eNodeB.
 PCI(Physical Cell Id) :
The Physical Cell Identity (PCI), or Layer 1 identity, is an essential configuration
parameter of a radio cell. It identifies the cell in “cell search” and “mobility” functions
such as cell reselection and handover. The PCI is also used to determine the location of
the resource elements containing the PCFICH and PHICH channels
The PCI is combination of two synchronization signals.
1. PSS ( primary synchronization signals, PCI- ID )
2. SSS ( Secondary synchronization signals , PCI- group)

PSS is Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) is present in subframe 0 and 5 (OFDM symbol 6)
and mapped on 72 subcarriers in the middle of the band. The PSS is 3 sequence number (0, 1 and
2) Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) is present in subframe 0 and 5 (OFDM symbol 5)
and also mapped on 72 subcarriers in the middle of the band as shown in figure 1.The SSS is 168
sequence number (0 to 167).
PCI is combination of PSS and SSS. The 168 Physical-Layer Cell-Identity groups with 3
Physical-Layer Identities per group makes 168  3 = 504 Physical-Layer Cell Identities
(PCI).
Mathematically: PCI = PSS + 3*SSS

So for LTE network we have PCI 0 (PSS = 0, SSS = 0) to PCI 503 (PSS =2, SSS = 167).
 SYNCHRONIZATION Signals
• Both the FDD and TDD versions of LTE broadcast Synchronization Signal in the
downlink direction:
1.Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS)
2. Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS)
• Synchronization Signals are broadcast twice within every 10 ms radio frame .
• The UE uses the Synchronization Signals to:
 achieve radio frame, subframe, slot and symbol synchronization in the time domain
 identify the center of the channel bandwidth in the frequency domain
 deduce the Physical layer Cell Identity (PCI)
• Detecting the Synchronization Signals is a prerequisite to measuring the cell specific
Reference Signals and decoding the Master Information Block (MIB) on the Physical
Broadcast Channel (PBCH)
 PRIMARY SYNCHRONIZATION
SIGNAL
• The Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) is broadcast twice during every radio frame
and both transmissions are identical
• In the case of FDD:
 the PSS is broadcast using the central 62 subcarriers belonging to the
last symbol of time slots 0 and 10
• In the case of TDD
the PSS is broadcast using the central 62 subcarriers belonging to the third
symbol of time slot 2 (subframe 1) and the third symbol of time slot
12 (subframe 6)
 subframe 1 is always a special subframe so the PSS is sent as part of the
Downlink Pilot Time Slot (DwPTS) .
 subframe 6, may or may not be a special subframe, depending upon the
uplink- downlink subframe configuration. It is a special subframe for
configurations 0, 1, 2 and 6. Otherwise it is a normal downlink subframe
• The PSS is used to:
achieve subframe, slot and symbol synchronization in the time domain
identify the center of the channel bandwidth in the frequency domain
deduce a pointer towards 1 of 3 Physical layer Cell Identities (PCI)
• PCI are organized into 168 groups of 3 so the Primary Synchronization
Signal identifies the position of the PCI within the group but does
not identify the group itself
• The PSS cannot be used to achieve radio frame synchronization because both
transmissions within the radio frame are identical and equally spaced in time
 SECONDARY SYNCHRONIZATION
SIGNAL
• The Secondary Synchronisation Signal (SSS) is broadcast twice within every radio
frame. The two transmissions of the SSS are different so the UE can detect
which s the first and which is the second
• In the case of FDD:
the SSS is broadcast using the central 62 subcarriers belonging to the
second to last symbol of time slots 0 and 10
• In the case of TDD
the SSS is broadcast using the central 62 subcarriers belonging to the last
symbol of time slot 1 (subframe 0) and the last symbol of time
slot 11 (subframe 5)
both time slots 1 and 11 are always within normal downlink subframes
of time slot 2 (subframe 1) and the third symbol of time slot 12 (subframe 6)
• The SSS is used to:
 achieve radio frame synchronisation
deduce a pointer towards 1 of 168 Physical layer Cell Identity
(PCI) groups.
allows the PCI to be deduced when combined with the pointer from the
PSS
FDD Synchronisation Signals within time slots 0 to 9 of a 3 MHz channel
bandwidth
• The 5 Resource Elements above and below the Synchronisation Signals are
not used for transmission. They represent periods of Discontinuous
Transmission (DTX). These are present for both FDD and TDD
• The set of Resource Elements allocated to the Synchronisation Signals is
independent of the channel bandwidth. The UE does not require
any knowledge of the channel bandwidth prior to detecting the
Synchronisation Signals. The downlink channel bandwidth is
subsequently read from the Master Information Block (MIB) on the Physical
Broadcast Channel (PBCH) .
• Figure Below illustrates the timing of the PSS and SSS for FDD. This example assumes the
normal cyclic prefix because there are 7 symbols within each time slot. The extended cyclic
prefix follows a similar pattern except there are only 6 symbols within the
time slot (the SSS and PSS remain within the last two symbols of the time slot)
• Figure Below illustrates the timing of the PSS and SSS for TDD. The example assumes the
normal
cyclic prefix, uplink-downlink subframe configuration 0 and special subframe
configuration 0. The extended cyclic prefix follows a similar pattern except there are
only 6 symbols within the time slot (the SSS remains within the last symbol of time
slots 1 and 11, while the PSS remains within the
third symbol of time slots 2 and 12)

• In the case of TDD, the SSS and PSS are not in adjacent symbols. The first two symbols
within time slots 2 and 12 are left available for the PCFICH, PHICH and PDCCH
• Synchronisation Signals represent an overhead which reduces the number of Resource El
elments available for user plane data
PSS & SSS Summary
LTE root sequence
index(RSI)
 Random access procedure
• Main purpose:
o To allow a UE to obtain access to the network
o To obtain UL time synchronization
• First step in the random access procedure is transmission of a random access
preamble from the UE
• Preamble is transmitted upon the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH):
o Six resource blocks (1.08 MHz) in frequency domain
o 1 ms in time domain (Format 0), 2 ms (Format 1)

1 to 15 KM

Format 0
100 s 800 s

15 to 100 KM
Format 1 (long CP)
680 s 800 s
 RACH Definition
• It is typically used for random access transmissions and the transport of
control information such as to register the terminal to the network after
power-up, to perform an location update after moving from one location
area to another, or to initiate a call by setting up a connection from the User
Equipment (UE) to the Node-B.
 Overview
• The total number of RACH preambles available in LTE is 64. These preambles are shared
among users for initial access and handover. Access to LTE systems can be classified based on
the reservation or not of preambles for access. When users have a reserved signature to access
the system, they are said to be using Contention Free Random Access (CFRA). On the
contrary, when users don't have a reserved signature for access they are said to use Contention
Based Random Access. CFRA is typically used during handover.  A number of the 64
preambles are normally reserved for handover only.
• The 64 preambles are not implicitly communicated to the UEs by the eNodeB but rather, the UE
is informed about the process of how to generate them via parameters broadcast in SIB2. These
parameters are:
 PRACH PARAMETERS
• a)     RootConfigurationIndex
• In LTE, there are 838 root Zadoff-Chu sequences available for preambles. The length of each root sequence
is 839. RootConfigurationIndex, informs the UE via SIB2 which sequence is to be used.
• b)    ZeroCorrelationZoneConfig.
• One root sequence can generate several preambles by cyclic shift. One or more root sequences are needed to
generate all preambles in a cell. The UE starts with the broadcasted root index and applies cyclic shifts to
generate preambles. ZeroCorrelationZoneConfig points to a table where the cyclic shift is obtained from.
• The smaller the cyclic shift, the more preambles can be generated from a root sequence. Hence, the number
of sequences needed to generate the 64 preambles in a given cell is:

•                         # of rows = ceiling (64 / (integer (sequence length/cyclic shift)))

For example, if the rootsequence index is 300 and the cyclic shift is 119, then, the number of rows
needed to generate the 64 preambles in a cell is:
# of rows = ceiling(64 /(integer(839/119))) = 10
This means, that if we allocated rootsequenceindex 300 to cell X, then cell Y must have
rootsequenceindex 310 and cell Y must have rootsequenceindex 320 as shown in the picture below.
RSI and Cell Radius
Cell Radius = 15 KM
# of RSI = 10
Default for Rootsequence index= 384
For the particular cell:-
384, 385,…….,394 will be used.

Hence, Neighboring cells should differ

by atleast 10.

Results in a reuse of 839 /10 ~ 80

Based on 3GPP 36.211

•
Root sequence index (RSI) planning
The random access procedure in LTE uplink begins when UE transmits a preamble
to the eNB.

• Now, with a LOCKED cell RANGE, the Root Sequence Index (RSI) needs to be
planned.

• The specific preamble is selected randomly by UE from a pre-defined set of 64

Zadoff-Chu sequences.

• To avoid call setup anomalies, each cell (within a reuse distance) has its own unique
set of 64 preambles, and the information of the specific set to use in the cell is
broadcasted on BCCH.
Root sequence allocation
Illustration
Cell radius = 15km
# ROOT Seq. = 10
{0,2….9} PRACH config=12

{20,21,…29} 10,11…19}
{60}
{80}

{70}
{30}

{50} {40}

To reduce signaling load, only the index

of the first root sequence used in the cell
and the PRACH configuration index (12)
is transmitted on BCCH.
 How is Root Sequence used by UE?
“UE randomly selects one out of 64 preamble sequences which constructed from the
set of 10 root sequence indexes. That means all 10 root sequences are potentially
used by UE with equal probability (and it's UE dependent as well.)  Regardless of
cell's effective cell range and/or UE position, all 10 root sequence indexes should
not conflict between neighboring cells when cell range is set to 15km.”
 Preliminary Sequence before Random
access
• SIB 1 Carries Sequencing information of all SIBs
• SIB 2 carries
o Common Channel Information
o Random Access Channel Information
o Random Access Preamble Info
o HARQ info
• After Sib2 reception UE configures the Random Access Channel and Common
shared channel and starts uplink synchronization using Random Access Procedure.
o The UE randomly selects an RA preamble sequence from the set of root
sequences available in the cell, and transmits it on an RA channel.
 RSI summary
• The RA process is part of the basic LTE system functions.

• The Random Access feature is automatically activated when a cell is unlocked.

• The first root sequence number for RACH preamble generation in each cell is specified by
setting the rachRootSequence parameter.

• It is recommended that you set the rachRootSequence parameter so that it differs by at least 10
and at most 827 for any pair of neighboring cells

o The point to notice here is that root sequence indices of cells must not overlap within the reuse
distance.
o To reduce signaling load, only the index of the first root sequence used in the cell and the PRACH
configuration index is transmitted on BCCH.
o If root sequences used in neighboring cells overlap, the transmitted preamble may be detected in
multiple cells.
• The drawback are the "ghost" preambles which consequently result in unnecessary PDCCH and
PUSCH resource reservation in those cells that whose random access responses the UE chooses
to neglect.
Pci/rsi planning tool
• The Design Tool can been used for PCI and RSI planning of green field as well
as existing networks.

• The tool has been designed using VB.net + SQL integrated platform.

• By default uses internal Ericsson server to create a Database, which makes it

secure.

• The Tool can be integrated with RTC Tool portal and would be accessible by
any user with a registered Signal on the portal.

• User friendly GUI.

• The Tool has been integrated with MAP Info for the visualization using Map
View.
Tool front end

Select RTC/NE Server, some times its By Default Selected.

When remote Server Access is needed Check Regional Remote Server .
If Data File for Input is placed on Some Different Server need to select Data File
From Server.
 VARIOUS plans
› PCI/RSI Planning option
› Sector-Choice
• Green Field Plan
• New Site PCI Plan
• Existing Network Re-planning Plan
• Check Conflict * Resolve Conflict

› Information of the selected plan.

PCI Planning Tab is selected for PCI Related Assignment’s ,with Selecting PCI(3
sector) for 3 Sectors Site and Similarly for 6 sectors Site Select ‘PCI(6 Sector)’ in
our Network .
 Tool interface
Database grid

› Database Name

› No of PCI reserved
› PCI Spacing

› Database file path

If Any PCI is kept Reserved ,Should be Mentioned Here.

PCI Spacing is required For Green Field Planning or New Site Planning.
Tool interface(2)

Click on this Button to start assigning PCI

Export result in Excel format.

Export result on Mapinfo.

Now Browse your Data Input Sheet with Help of ‘LOAD’ Button , Pop-Up
Window will be displayed on Data Uploaded.
On Receiveing message , ‘Analyze’ button is pressed to Start Analysis
Tool Input

On Installing PCI Tool to your Machine a Folder in Drive C named ‘EricssonTools’ will be
formed .
A sample Excel Sheet would be Extracted from path :C:\Ericssontools\PCI_PLANNER\
Sample\Desktop: preferably named as ‘demo_Database_G_3sec’.
Do not make Changes with Columns Headings, Update data in Sheet and Run it with
LOAD Button.
Tool output

No PCI is
repeated
below 3 tiers

When Analysis is Done By Tool A Message will Pop Up .Showing The

Desired path and Excel Name.
 No. of cells with pci re-usE v/s Re-use tier

No. of Cells Per tier

180
160
sll 140
e 120
C 100
f
o 80
. No. of Cells
o 60
N
40
20
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Tiers

No PCI is repeated
below 3 tiers

• Average distance of PCI re-use is 60.6 km

• Average no. of cells per PCI is 2.5
Avg. PCI Re-use distance v/s PCI

• Average distance of PCI re-use is 60.6 km

Root sequence index (rsi) concept

RACH (Random Access Channel) signal bandwidth:

Each standard RACH burst occupies one 1msec subframe. Extended
cell range can be provided by using more than one subframe for each
preamble burst.
RA attempts from multiple UEs can be simultaneously detected by the
eNodeB. It is possible for the eNodeB to schedule UL-SCH and a
PRACH on the same RB.
Each cell has a pool of up to are 64 random access preambles; a
number of these are reserved for CFRA and the remainder are
available for selection by UEs attempting RA. The preambles are
based on Zadoff-Chu sequences of which there are a total of 838
possible preamble sequences. The UE randomly selects a preamble to
use based on the available pool (max of 64 per cell). Assignment
criteria is as shown in figure
RSI Output on map
Avg. RSI Re-use distance v/s RSI
No. of cells with RSi re-usE v/s RSI
THANKYOU