5G NG-RAN Architecture

Learning objectives
Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:

• Describe NG-RAN Architecture

• Identify NG-RAN Nodes
• Explain 5G radio architecture options for cloud RAN gNB
Table of contents

NG-RAN Architecture

4
5G radio architecture options for cloud RAN gNB

9
NG-RAN Architecture
Overall Architecture

5GC AMF/UPF AMF/UPF

NG-RAN node is either:
NG NG NG
NG

NG NG
NG NG
• a gNB, providing NR user plane and control NG-RAN Xn
plane protocol terminations towards the ng-eNB ng-eNB
UE; or Xn Xn
• an ng-eNB, providing E-UTRA user plane
and control plane protocol terminations
towards the UE. gNB Xn gNB
Uu Uu
UE
UE UE
Functional split between NG-RAN and 5GC

NG-RAN 5GC

UPF
gNB or ng-eNB AMF
Mobility Anchoring

Inter Cell RRM

NAS Security PDU Handling
RB Control

Connection Mobility Control

Idle State Mobility handling SMF
Radio Admission Control
UE IP address allocation
Measurement Configuration and Provision

Dynamic Resource Allocation (Scheduler) PDU Session Control

Network Identities

The following identities are used in NG-RAN for identifying a specific network entity:

AMF Identifier • used to identify an AMF.

• used to identify NR cells globally. The NCGI is constructed from the PLMN identity the cell belongs to
NR Cell Global Identifier (NCGI) and the NR Cell Identity (NCI) of the cell.

gNB Identifier (gNB ID) • used to identify gNBs within a PLMN. The gNB ID is contained within the NCI of its cells.

• used to identify gNBs globally. The Global gNB ID is constructed from the PLMN identity the gNB
Global gNB ID belongs to and the gNB ID. The MCC and MNC are the same as included in the NCGI.

• used to identify tracking areas. The TAI is constructed from the PLMN identity the tracking area
Tracking Area identity (TAI) belongs to and the TAC (Tracking Area Code) of the Tracking Area.

Single Network Slice Selection Assistance • identifies a network slice

information (S-NSSAI)
UE Identities

For NR connected to 5GC, the following UE identities are used at cell level

• unique identification, which is used as an identifier of the RRC Connection and for
C-RNTI: scheduling

Temporary C-RNTI: • identification used for the random access procedure

• during some transient states, the UE is temporarily identified with a random value used for
Random value for contention resolution: contention resolution purposes

For NR connected to 5GC, the following UE identities are used at NG-RAN level:

I-RNTI • unique identification used to identify the UE context for RRC_INACTIVE

5G radio architecture options for
cloud RAN gNB
5G radio architecture options for cloud RAN gNB

Challenging
RF RF RF RF Radio site

Layer 1 Layer 1 Layer 1 low

Layer 2 low Layer 2 low 1 Tbps
<0.1 ms
Layer 2 high 100 Gbps
Layer 3
<1 ms
10 Gbps Layer 1 low
5 ms
10 Gbps Layer 1 high Layer 1 high
>5 ms Layer 2 high Layer 2 Layer 2
Layer 3 Layer 3 Layer 3 Edge cloud
Classical distributed High layer eCPRI CPRI
split Low layer split Baseband hotel

Transport
Functional split in the gNB

Option 2 is adopted in Release 15: RRC/PDCP located in CU

DU : Distributed Unit (at RF site), CU: Central Unit (in Central location/cloud)

Function Split between central and distributed unit

Functional split in the gNB
AMF UPF AMF UPF

NG-C NG-U NG-C NG-U

gNB gNB
Xn-C
CU-CP CU-UP
E1
RRC SDAP Central Unit
RRC SDAP PDCP-U
PDCP-C
Xn-U
PDCP
F1-C Higher layer split F1-U
RLC
DU
MAC
RLC
PHY
MAC
Distributed Unit

PHY
Open Radio Access Network Architecture

Open RAN (ORAN) Alliance

• Nokia is part of ORAN (xRAN)

• Nokia is the only vendor present in ORAN founding member networks: AT&T, CMCC,
DoCoMo, Deutsche Telekom, Orange
• ORAN will leverage the work done by NOKIA for open interfaces with DoCoMo and xRAN
Learning objectives
Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:

• describe 5G NR Protocols
• describe Network Interfaces protocols
• explain the main functions and protocol data units of each protocol layer
Table of contents

5G NR Protocols

4
Network Interfaces protocols

22
5G NR Protocols
NG and Uu user and control plane

UE NG-RAN 5GC
Protocols NAS Non Access Stratum Protocols NAS
(CM,SM..) (NAS) (CM,SM..)

Access Stratum

Radio protocols Radio protocols NG protocols NG protocols

Radio
NG
(Uu)

The radio interface protocols are defined in 3GPP TS 38.2xx and TS 38.3xx. The NG interface protocols are defined in 3GPP TS 38.41x.
User Plane Protocol Stack

Overall Radio Protocol Architecture

UE gNB

SDAP SDAP
• New Service Data Adaptation Protocol
supports per packet QoS PDCP PDCP
• Processing friendly to support extremely
Layer 2
high bit rates
• Supports very low latency transmissions RLC RLC
and efficient power saving techniques
• Full 5G radio protocol specifications in June MAC MAC
2018 for standalone 5G operation
• In December 2017 version only parts Layer 1 PHY PHY
necessary for the “early drop”

User plane protocol stack

User Plane Protocol Stack

QoS flows QoS flows

SDAP QoS flow handling QoS flow handling SDAP QoS flow handling

Radio bearers Radio bearers

ROHC ROHC ROHC ROHC ROHC ROHC

PDCP PDCP
Security Security Security Security Security Security

RLC channels RLC channels

Layer 2 RLC Segm. ARQ Segm. ARQ Segm. ARQ Segm. ARQ RLC Segm. ARQ Segm. ARQ

Logical channels Logical channels

Scheduling/Priority Handling Scheduling

MAC Multiplexing UE1 Multiplexing UEn MAC Multiplexing UE1

HARQ HARQ HARQ

Transport channels Transport channels

Downlink Layer 2 Structure Uplink Layer 2 Structure

Comp. refers to header compression and segm. to segmentation
Control Plane Protocol Stack

Two additional protocols used in control plane UE gNB AMF

are:
NAS NAS
Layer 3
RRC RRC

PDCP PDCP
• Radio Resource Control (RRC) – system
information broadcast, connection and mobility
control in RAN, measurement handling, RLC RLC
configuration of ‚lower’ protocol parameters Layer 2
• Non-Access Stratum (NAS) – connection and MAC MAC
mobility control between UE and Next Generation
Core (NGC)
Layer 1 PHY PHY

Control plane protocol stack

 L2 Data Flow and PDU/SDU definitions

n n+1 m

SDAP RB2 RB

H SDAP SDU H SDAP SDU H SDAP SDU

PDCP H PDCP SDU H PDCP SDU H PDCP SDU

RLC H RLC SDU H RLC SDU H SDU Segment H SDU Segment

MAC H MAC SDU H MAC SDU H MAC SDU H MAC SDU

MAC PDU – Transport Block H depicts the headers and subheaders.

General rules:

• PDU of a layer = SDU of this layer + this layer’s header, e.g. PDCP PDU = PDCP SDU + header
• Upper layer’s PDU becomes a lower layer’s SDU, e.g. RLC PDU becomes MAC SDU
Service Data Adaptation Protocol
UE/NG-RAN NG-RAN/UE

QoS flow QoS flow

Transmitting Receiving
SDAP SDAP entity SDAP entity

Mapping of QoS flow to a DRB Removing SDAP header

• Service Data Adaptation Protocol
• Specified in 37.324
• New layer to interface with 5GC SDAP header is SDAP header is
configured not configured
• handles QoS flows and their mapping on Reflecting QoS flow to DRB
data radio bearers as well as reflective mapping
QoS for which an SDAP header is added
• RQI: Reflective QoS indicator, telling the UE
to update the mapping rules Adding SDAP header SDAP header SDAP header
• QFI: QoS flow indicator is configured is not
• one SDAP entity is configured per PDU configured

session (as seen from 5GC)

Radio Interface (Uu)

Packet Data Convergence Protocol
UE/NG-RAN NG-RAN/UE

PDCP Transmitting Receiving

PDCP entity PDCP entity
• Packet Data Convergence Protocol
• Specified in 38.323 Transmission buffer: Sequence Header Compression
• Responsible for: numbering
Packets associated
• Header compression Header Compression to a PDCP SDU
• Security operations (Ciphering and Integrity
Packets associated
protection.

associated to a

associated to a
to a PDCP SDU Reception buffer:

Packets not

Packets not
PDCP SDU

PDCP SDU
• Guarantees in-order delivery without duplicates Reordering
Duplicte discarding
Integrity Protection

Ciphering Integrity Verification

Main differences with LTE
• Allows integrity protection to be configured for the data Add PDCP header Deciphering
radio bearers (DRBs) as well
• always-on re-ordering window Routing/Duplication Remove PDCP header
• only 2 PDCP SN (12 and 18 bits)
• support for duplication over two RLC legs
• in-order delivery can be turned off

Radio Interface (Uu)

Radio Link Control
QoS flows

SDAP QoS flow handling QoS flow handling

Radio bearers
RLC
ROHC ROHC ROHC ROHC

• PDCP
Radio Link Control
• Specified in 38.322 Security Security Security Security
• Takes care of error correction and segmentation.
• The RLC sublayer supports 3 transmission modes: RLC channels
• Transparent Mode (TM)
RLC Segm. ARQ Segm. ARQ Segm. ARQ Segm. ARQ
• Unacknowledged Mode (UM)
• Acknowledged Mode (AM) Logical channels

Scheduling/Priority Handling

Main differences with LTE

MAC Multiplexing UE1 Multiplexing UEn
• no concatenation in TX
• no re-ordering in RX
• no SN for complete SDUs for RLC UM HARQ HARQ
• offset-based segmentation always
Transport channels
Radio Link Control

UE/GNB Radio interface (Uu) GNB/UE

TM-RLC TM-RLC
channel channel
Transparent Mode (TM)

Transmitting Receiving
1. Transparent Mode (TM), used for: TM-RLC entity TM-RLC entity
• SRB0 (control information transfer
before RRC connection is established)
• Paging Transmission buffer
• broadcast system information
2. Unacknowledged Mode (UM)
3. Acknowledged Mode (AM)

BCCH/PCCH/CCCH BCCH/PCCH/CCCH

Transparent Mode mode data PDU Model of Transparent Mode mode entity
Radio Link Control UE/GNB GNB/UE
Radio interface (Uu)
UM-RLC channel UM-RLC channel

Unacknowledged Mode (UM) :

Generate RLC header and store in
SDU reassembly
transmission buffer
1. Transparent Mode (TM):
2. Unacknowledged Mode (UM) used for: Transmitting Receiving
UM-RLC entity UM-RLC entity
DRBs (user data transfer), for which lossless
Segmentation
transmission is not required/applicable, e.g. live TV Modify RLC header
Remove RLC header
broadcast, low latency data, voice, applications based on
UDP
3. Acknowledged Mode (AM)
Add RLC header Reception buffer

DTCH DTCH
Example of Unacknowledged Mode Data PDU Model of an unacknowledged mode entity
Radio Link Control
AM-RLC channel

Three transmission modes:

SDU reassembly
Generate RLC header and RLC control
store in transmission
1. Transparent Mode (TM): buffer
2. Unacknowledged Mode (UM) :
Remove RLC header
3. Acknowledged Mode (AM) used for:
• SRBs other than SRB0 (control information transfer
Segmentation Retransmission
after RRC connection is established)
Modify RLC header buffer
• DRBs for which lossless data transmissions should
Reception buffer
be ensured (i.e. reliability more important than
latency), e.g. TCP based applications (web
browsing, FTP), most Internet applications
Adding RLC header
Routing

DTCH/DCCH DTCH/DCCH

Example of Acknowledged Mode Data PDU Model of an acknowledged mode entity

Radio Link Control

Segmentation:
RLC SDU n n+1

• Segmentation only occurs in RLC when needed (e.g. for …

the last RLC SDU included into MAC PDU)
• In consequence, the content of RLC PDU can be:
• 1 complete SDU; or
• 1 segment of SDU.

• For RLC UM, SN is assigned in this scenario only to RLC

PDUs of RLC SDU #n (because they are segmented) RLC header RLC header RLC header
• For RLC AM, SN is assigned to each PDU for ARQ
purposes
RLC PDU
 Radio Link Control

ARQ – Automatic Repeat Request : HARQ – Automatic Repeat Request :

• Provides error correction functionality based on
retransmissions of the same packet following NACK and ACK
indications
• In NR ARQ is executed on RLC layer and is slower than HARQ
• Combines ARQ with Forward Error Correction (FEC) functions,
re-sent packet does not necessarily have to be exactly the
same
• In NR HARQ provides fast retransmissions on PHY layer and
is controlled by MAC

Identical packet New packet Identical or different RV New packet

P1 P1 P2 P1A P1B P2A

TX TX
Re

Re
tra

tra
Er

Er
K

K
K

K
ns

ns
ro

ro
NA

NA
AC

AC
m

m
r

r
iss

iss
io

io
n

n
P1 P1 P2 P1A P1B P2A
RX RX
P1A
Combining (CC,IR)
 Upper layers
Medium Access Control PCCH BCCH CCCH DCCH DTCH MAC-control

MAC main functions

Logical channel Prioritization (UL only)
• Medium Access Control
• Specified in 38.321
• multiplexes logical channels, performs
HARQ, handles CA as well as managing
scheduling (De)-Multiplexing
Control

Main differences with LTE Random Accesss

HARQ Control

• Multiple MAC SDUs from the same

logical channel without concatenation in RLC
• Sub-headers interlaced with MAC SDUs
• Support for multiple numerologies

PCH BCH DL-SCH UL-SCH RACH

Lower layer
Radio Resource Control

RRC
• Radio Resource Control UE gNB AMF
• Specified in 3GPP TS 38.331
• Enables the message exchange over Uu interface (gNB  UE)
• Defines associated procedures NAS NAS
• Responsible for:
• system information broadcast, RRC RRC
• connection establishment
• connection control
PDCP PDCP
• mobility and measurements

RLC RLC
Main differences with LTE
MAC MAC
• On demand system information
• RRC Inactive State
• Beam handling PHY PHY
Radio Resource Control

RRC Inactive State E-UTRA Handover NR

RRC_CONNECTED RRC_CONNECTED

• State introduced in NR for power saving FFS/Connection

purposes and latency reduction State introduced in NR inactivation
• latency reduction (compared to IDLE) is for power saving
achieved by keeping UE context in RAN purposes and latency
• Measurement requirements are relaxed reduction NR
compared to CONNECTED mode RRC_INACTIVE
• DRX cycle is similar to IDLE → power saving for Connection Reselection Connection
the UE establishment/release
• From 5GC point of view UE remains in establishment/release
CONNECTED state FFS

Reselection NR
E-UTRA
RRC_IDLE RRC_IDLE
Radio Resource Control

System Information Handling

UE gNB
• Minimum SI and Other SI:
• Minimum SI is periodically broadcast and comprises:
• basic information required for initial access Minimum System Information
• and information for acquiring any other SI
broadcast periodically or provisioned on-demand Always present and broadcast periodically
• Other SI : encompasses:
• everything not broadcast in the Minimum SI
• and may either be broadcast, or provisioned in a Other System Information
dedicated manner, either triggered by the
network or upon request from the UE. optionally present and broadcast periodically

On-demand other System Information

broadcast or dedicated signaling

Network Interfaces protocols
NG Interface

NG-U NG-C
User Plane PDUs NG-AP

NG-C provides the following functions:

GTP-U • NG interface management;
• UE context management;
NG-U provides non-guaranteed UDP SCTP • UE mobility management;
delivery of user plane PDUs between • Transport of NAS messages;
the NG-RAN node and the UPF. IP IP • Paging;
• PDU Session Management;
Data Link Layer Data Link Layer
• Configuration Transfer;
Physical Layer Physical Layer • Warning Message Transmission.

NG-U Protocol Stack NG-C Protocol Stack

Xn Interface

Xn-U Xn-C
User Plane PDUs Xn-AP

GTP-U
The Xn-C interface supports the
Xn-U provides non-guaranteed delivery following functions:
of user plane PDUs and supports the UDP SCTP
following functions: • Xn interface management;
• Data forwarding; IP IP • UE mobility management, including
context transfer and RAN paging:
• Flow control.
Data Link Layer Data Link Layer • Dual connectivity.

Physical Layer Physical Layer

Xn-U Protocol Stack Xn-C Protocol Stack

Learning objectives
Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:

• Describe 5G Spectrum
• Identify 5G NR Operating frequency bands
• Explain Supplementary Uplink
• List supported NR carrier bandwidths
• discuss spectrum sharing mechanisms and flexible spectrum use
Table of contents

5G Spectrum

4
5G NR Operating frequency bands

8
Supplementary Uplink

11
Channel bandwidths

13
Spectrum sharing and flexible spectrum use

19
5G Spectrum
 Different spectrum for different use cases

Spectrum Peak
Bands Coverage Bandwidth Use Cases
range Data rates

• 600 MHz (n71)

FDD • Deep indoor coverage for e.g. MTC
Low band • 700 MHz (n28) • Deep indoor
Cell range

~100 Mbps 2x10 MHz • Supplementary UL eMBB coverage

< 3 GHz • 900 MHz SUL(n81) • >1 km
or UL only • Coverage layer for MBB
• 1800 MHz SUL(n80)

• 5G eMBB coverage on LTE grid

• 3.3-3.8 GHz (n78) • Same grid as
Mid-band TDD • Major launches are expected in this
• 3.3-4.2 GHz (n77) LTE1800 ~1 Gbps
3 – 6 GHz <100 MHz spectrum range (JPN, KRN, CHN, EUR)
• 4.4-5.0 GHz (n79) • ~1 km
• UL challenge
Data rate

• Extreme data rates for e.g. VR in local

High-band • 26 GHz (n257) • Hot spots TDD
areas like stadiums
>24 GHz • 28 GHz (n258) • Line of sight ~10 Gbps <1 GHz
• Used in US due to lack of 3-6 GHz
<52.6 • 39 GHz (n260) • 100 m
• Used also in KOR Olympics trial
Main 5G spectrum options in different markets globally

<1GHz 3GHz 4GHz 5GHz 24-28GHz 37-40GHz 64-71GHz

37-37.6GHz
600MHz (2x35MHz) 2.5GHz (LTE B41) 3.5GHz (150MHz) 5.9–7.1GHz 27.5-28.35GHz 37.6-40GHz 64-71GHz

37-37.6GHz
600MHz (2x35MHz) 3.5GHz (150MHz) 5.9–7.1GHz 27.5-28.35GHz 37.6-40GHz 64-71GHz

700MHz 3.4–3.8GHz 5.9–6.4GHz 24.5-27.5GHz

3.4–3.8GHz 26GHz, 28GHz

3.4–3.7GHz 26GHz, 28GHz

3.46 –3.8GHz 26GHz

3.6–3.8GHz

3.3 –3.6GHz 4.8 –5GHz 24.5-27.5GHz 37.5-42.5GHz

New 5G band
3.4–3.7GHz 26.5-29.5GHz
Licensed
Unlicensed / shared 3.6–4.2GHz 4.4–4.9GHz 27.5-29.5GHz

Existing band
3.4–3.7GHz 28GHz 39GHz
Spectrum availability

Standards
roadmap 3GPP 5G Phase 1 3GPP 5G Phase 2 3GPP 5G Rel 17 Optimized standard
completing full
Mobile Broadband, Massive IoT
Low latency & high Shared and un- 5G vision
Pre-standard
reliability licensed spectrum
industry specs Future-X-like new core
NSA (*) SA (*)

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Industry Pre-standards First standard based Standards-based

roadmap 5G start 5G deployments 5G mass rollout

Spectrum US 28, 39 GHz Korea Japan Korea EU US < 6 GHz Global

usage 28 GHz
EU/CN
4.5 GHz 3.5 GHz 700MHz 600MHz
26GHz 2.5GHz
availability
> 24 GHz
3.5 GHz
*) NSA: Non standalone; SA: Standalone … functional freeze …protocol (ASN.1) freeze
5G NR Operating frequency bands
Definition of frequency ranges

Frequency range designation

FR1 FR2
450 MHz – 6000 MHz 24250 MHz – 52600 MHz

400 MHz 3 GHz 6 GHz 10 GHz 30 GHz 90 GHz

cmWave mmWave
 continuous coverage, high mobility and reliability higher capacity and massive throughput 

Cell size Macro Small Ultra small

Coverage Capacity
5G NR Operating bands

Band Uplink Downlink Duplex Band Uplink Downlink Duplex

n1 1920 – 1980 MHz 2110 – 2170 MHz FDD n70 1695 – 1710 MHz 1995– 2020 MHz FDD
n2 1850 – 1910 MHz 1930 – 1990 MHz FDD n71 663 – 698 MHz 617 – 652 MHz FDD
n3 1710 – 1785 MHz 1805 – 1880 MHz FDD n74 1427 –1470 MHz 1475 – 1518 MHz FDD
n5 824 – 849 MHz 869 – 894MHz FDD n75 N/A 1432 – 1517 MHz SDL
n7 2500 – 2570 MHz 2620 – 2690 MHz FDD n76 N/A 1427 – 1432 MHz SDL
n8 880 – 915 MHz 925 – 960 MHz FDD n77 3.3 – 4.2 GHz 3.3 – 4.2 GHz TDD
FR1 n20 832 – 862 MHz 791– 821MHz FDD FR1 n78 3.3 – 3.8 GHz 3.3 – 3.8 GHz TDD
n28 703 – 748 MHz 758 – 803 MHz FDD n79 4.4 – 5.0 GHz 4.4 – 5.0 GHz TDD
n38 2570 – 2620 MHz 2570 – 2620 MHz TDD n80 1710 – 1785 MHz N/A SUL
n41 2496 – 2690 MHz 2496 – 2690 MHz TDD n81 880 – 915 MHz N/A SUL
n50 1432 – 1517 MHz 1432 – 1517 MHz TDD n82 832 – 862 MHz N/A SUL
n51 1427 – 1432 MHz 1427 – 1432 MHz TDD n83 703 – 748 MHz N/A SUL
n66 1710 – 1780 MHz 2110 – 2200 MHz FDD n84 1920 – 1980 MHz N/A SUL

Band Uplink Downlink Duplex These frequency bands will be supported, in accordance with spectrum
requirements defined by Report ITU-R M.2411-0.
n257 26.5 –29.5 GHz 26.5 –29.5 GHz TDD

FR2 n258 24.25 – 27.5 GHz 24.25 – 27.5 GHz TDD

Introduction of other ITU-R IMT identified bands are not precluded in
n260 37–40 GHz 37–40 GHz TDD the future.
NR Channel bandwidths
Channel bandwidth and transmission bandwidth configuration
Channel Bandwidth (MHz)

Transmission Bandwidth Configuration NRB [RB]

Transmission Bandwidth
Channel Edge

Channel Edge
[RB]

Resource Block
Active Resource Blocks

Guardband
(can be asymmetric)

Definition of channel bandwidth and transmission bandwidth configuration for one NR channel
Supported NR channel bandwidths

Supported NR carrier bandwidths and Transmission bandwidth configuration:

5 MHz 10 MHz 15 MHz 20 MHz 25 MHz 30 MHz 40 MHz 50 MHz 60 MHz 80 MHz 100 MHz
SCS
(kHz)
25 52 79 106 133 [160] 216 270 N/A N/A N/A
15
FR1 4.500 kHz 9.360 kHz 14.22 MHz 19.08 MHz 23.94 MHz [28.8] 38.88 MHz 48.60 MHz N.A N.A N.A
11 24 38 51 65 [78] 106 133 162 217 273
30
3.960 kHz 8.640 kHz 13.68 MHz 18.36 MHz 23.40 MHz [28.08] 38.16 MHz 47.88 MHz 58.32 MHz 78.12 MHz 98.28 MHz
N/A 11 18 24 31 [38] 51 65 79 107 135
60
N.A 7.920 kHz 12.96 MHz 17.28 MHz 22.32 MHz [27.36] 36.72 MHz 46.80 MHz 56.88 MHz 77.04 MHz 97.20

50 MHz 100 MHz 200 MHz 400 MHz

SCS Supported NR carrier bandwidths:
(kHz) • Frequency range 1: below 6 GHz:
FR2 66 132 264 N.A • 5, 10,15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100 MHz
60 47.52 MHz 95.04 MHz 190.08 MHz N/A • Frequency range 2: Above 24.25 GHz
32 66 132 264 • 50, 100, 200, 400 MHz
120 • 800 MHz contiguous allocation supported with 2x400 MHz aggregation
46.08 MHz 95.04 MHz 190.08 MHz 380.16 MHz
Supported channel bandwidth for each operating band

NR Channel bandwidths (MHz) and SCS per operating band in FR1 NR Channel bandwidths (MHz) and SCS per operating band in FR1

NR Band SCS 5 10 15 20 25 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 NR Band SCS 5 10 15 20 25 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

15 Yes Yes Yes Yes 15 Yes Yes Yes Yes

n1, n2, n7, n38, n66 30 Yes Yes Yes Yes
30 Yes Yes Yes
n74, n75, n84 60 Yes Yes Yes Yes
60 Yes Yes Yes
15 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
15 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
n70 30 Yes Yes Yes Yes
n3, n80 30 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
60 Yes Yes Yes Yes
60 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
15 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
n5, n8, n20, n28, 15 Yes Yes Yes Yes
n77, n78 30 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
n71, n81, n82, 30 Yes Yes Yes
n83 60 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
60 15 Yes Yes
15 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes n79 30 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
n41 30 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 60 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
60 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes NR Channel bandwidths (MHz) and SCS per operating band in FR2
15 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes NR Band SCS 50 100 200 400
n50 30 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 60 Yes Yes Yes
n257
60 Yes Yes Yes 120 Yes Yes Yes Yes
60 Yes Yes Yes
15 Yes n258
120 Yes Yes Yes Yes
n51, n75 30 60 Yes Yes Yes
n260
60 120 Yes Yes Yes Yes
NR-ARFCN

NR-ARFCN parameters for the global frequency raster:

Frequency range [MHz] ΔFGlobal [kHz] FREF-Offs [MHz] NREF-Offs Range of NREF
0 – 3000 5 0 0 0 – 599999
3000 – 24250 15 3000 600000 600000 – 2016666
24250 – 100000 60 24250.08 2016667 2016667 – 3279165

FREF = FREF-Offs + ΔFGlobal (NREF – NREF-Offs)

For SUL bands :

FREF,SUL = FREF + ΔSUL, ΔSUL = 0 kHz or 7.5 kHz. Where ΔSUL is signaled by the network.

NR-ARFCN: NR Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number

Spectrum sharing and flexible
spectrum use
Spectrum sharing and flexible spectrum use

NR-LTE co-existence Multiple component carriers can be

• Support the efficient coexistence between NR and LTE aggregated to achieve up to 6.4 GHz of
operating in the same licensed frequency band transmission bandwidth

bandwidth part operation: BWP flexible spectrum resource allocation

Table of contents

NR Frame structure

4
Slot and Mini-Slot

7
Slot patterns

13
NR Frame structure
Frame structure

1 Radio Frame (10ms)

HALF FRAME HALF FRAME
SubFrame (SubF)
 1ms 

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1 Slot/SubF µ=0
Each frame is divided into two equally-sized half-frames of 5 subframes each. with half-frame 0
consisting of subframes 0 – 4 and half-frame 1 consisting of subframes 5 – 9

2 Slot/SubF µ=1 Each subframe consists of an OFDM sub-carrier spacing dependent number of slots. Each slot consists of
14 OFDM symbols

15 kHz SCS: •1 ms slot, 1 slot per sub-frame

4 Slot/SubF µ=2


 30 kHz SCS: •0.5 ms slot, 2 slots per sub-frame

f 8 Slot/SubF µ=3
•0.25 ms slot, 4 slots per sub-frame
60 kHz SCS:

120 kHz SCS: •0.125 ms slot, 8 slots per sub-frame

16 Slot/SubF µ=4
240 kHz SCS: •0.0625 ms slot (only used for synchronization, not for data)
Slot and Mini-Slot

1ms Sub-Frame
Frame • 10 ms
15
Slot (14 symbols)
kHz
1ms (1 slot per sub-frame)
Sub-frame • 1ms Reference period
30
Slot (14 symbols)
kHz
• Slot based scheduling 0.5 ms (2 slots per sub-frame)
• 14 OFDM symbols
Slot • One possible scheduling unit 60
kHz
Slot (14 symbols)
• Slot duration scales with the
0.25ms (4 slots per sub-frame)
subcarrier spacing = 1ms/2µ
120
Slot
kHz
0.125ms (8 slots per sub-frame)
• Non-slot based scheduling
Mini-Slot • 7, 4 or 2 OFDM symbols 240
• Minimum scheduling unit kHz
0.0625ms (only used for synchronization, not for data)
Slot and Mini-Slot
Slot Structure

 1 Slot = ms 

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
T = 
14 OFDM symbols using CP

Symbol (symb) duration for NR (and LTE as reference):

Mini-slot
Slot
Symb
SCS (14 7 4 2
duration CP
(kHz) symb) symb symb symb
(µs)
(µs) (µs) (µs) (µs)

NR
& 15 66.67 4.76 1000 500 286 143
LTE

30 33.33 2.38 500 250 143 71

NR 60 16.67 1.19 250 125 71 36

120 8.33 0.59 125 63 36 18

Mini-Slot

NR supports short (down to 2 symbol)

allocations, minimizing queuing and 1ms = 2 aggregated 14-symbol slots with SCS = 30 kHz
transmission latency
Slot 0 Slot 1
mini-slot
Enables low latency (also TDD with use
of self-contained sub-frame)

PDCCH for eMBB UE DMRS for eMBB UE eMBB data

Allows multiplexing of MBB and URLLC
use case
PDCCH for URLLC UE URLLC data

Mini-slot can over-write a longer URLLC :Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications

allocation (punctured scheduling)
2, 4 & 7 symbol mini slots defined in 3GPP Release 15
Slot formats

Symbol number in a slot

Format
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
0 D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
1 U U U U U U U U U U U U U U
There are a 56 different slot formats defined, 2 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
3 D D D D D D D D D D D D D X
depending on UL/DL symbols ratio 4 D D D D D D D D D D D D X X
5 D D D D D D D D D D D X X X
6 D D D D D D D D D D X X X X
7 D D D D D D D D D X X X X X
8 X X X X X X X X X X X X X U
9 X X X X X X X X X X X X U U
10 X U U U U U U U U U U U U U
 Refer to Table 4.3.2-3 in

3GPP TS 38.211

Dynamic selection of the slot format will allow 21 D D D X X X X X X X X X X U
22 D X X X X X X X X X X X U U
flexible TDD scheduling operation, 50
51
D
D
D
X
X
X
X
U
U
U
U
U
U D
U D
D
X
X
X
X
U
U
U
U
U
U
U
where UL/DL ratio could be adjusted to current traffic 52 D X X X X X U D X X X X X U
needs 53 D D X X X X U D D X X X X U
54 X X X X X X X D D D D D D D
55 D D X X X U U U D D D D D D
56 – 255 Reserved
Exercise

Fill in the table below

Number of OFDM symbols per slot, slots per frame, and slots per subframe for normal cyclic prefix
µ Number of OFDM symbols per slot Number of slots per frame Number of slots per subframe

Number of OFDM symbols per slot, slots per frame, and slots per subframe for extended cyclic prefix
2
Exercise - Solution

Number of OFDM symbols per slot, slots per frame, and slots per subframe for normal cyclic prefix

µ Number of OFDM symbols per slot Number of slots per frame Number of slots per subframe

0 14 10 1

1 14 20 2

2 14 40 4

3 14 80 8

4 14 160 16

Number of OFDM symbols per slot, slots per frame, and slots per subframe for extended cyclic prefix

2 12 40 4
Slot patterns
Slot patterns

Slots are put in a sequence of slot patterns

Slot patterns can have different length and structure depending on:
Numerology UL/DL ratio SS burst set periodicity PRACH periodicity Number of beams

Examples for frequencies below 6GHz, 8 beams configured, PRACH config 0 and different DL:UL ratios
SlotPatternLength = 40slots
Slot number 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39

9:1 ratio
DL slot
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39

8:2 ratio
• Slot patterns can have different length and structure depending on: UL slot
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
7:3 ratio SSB slot

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
PRACH
5:5 ratio slot

1 frame (10ms) 1 frame (10ms)

Slot patterns

Below are slot pattern examples for FR2, 32 beams configured (analog beamforming on), PRACH config 1 and different DL:UL ratios:

SlotPatternLength = 320slots
9:1 ratio

8:2 ratio

7:3 ratio

5:5 ratio

1 frame (10ms)
Downlink slot

SSB slots for frequencies above 6 GHz are using 2 slots with 240kHz SCS (each Uplink slot
numerology µ = 4 (240kHz Subcarrier spacing), to containing 2 beams info.) can
SSB slot
squeeze 32 SS Blocks containing information about 32 fit into one 120kHz SCS slot,
beams into smaller number of 120kHz SCS slots therefore 32 beams can be PRACH slot
send within 8 120kHz slots
(1ms)
Slot patterns

TDD slot pattern: case dynamic slot pattern

Slot n Slot n+1 Slot n+2 Slot n+3 Slot n+4

PDCCH PDSCH PUCCH PUSCH

Flexible TDD and slot structure

• Each OFDM symbol can be dynamically assigned for downlink or uplink transmission
• By reading the DL and the UL grant contained in PDCCH channels,
• the UEs dynamically acquire (part of) the slot configuration
Slot patterns

TDD slot pattern: case semi-static slot pattern

 DL-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity  

 nrOfDownlinkSlots   nrOfUplinkSlots 

… …

1 Slot nrOfDownlinkSymbols nrOfUplinkSymbols

Broadcast in system information
(optional)
• Common to all cells of a cluster
• Up to 2 different patterns can
be concatenated within the
periodicity
Used by UEs for power
consumption optimization
• UEs don’t have to monitor the
signal during UL pattern
Meant for less DL/UL switch
point (similar to TDD-LTE)
• Guard Period of several
symbols can be used with
reasonable overhead
Slot pattern can be over-written
by dedicated slot pattern using
GC-PDCCH