Power Control

Power Control types

Power control

Uplink Downlink

Open Loop Closed Loop

Initial Power Closed loop
Power Power
settings Power control
Control Control
 Setting Of DL common Channel Power
Channel Name Parameter Name in Default Power Meaning Physical NBAP Message
NBAP/RRC Message Setting Layer CH

CPICH Primary CPICH Tx PA Power – 10 30dBm PCPICH Cell Setup

power (RRC-SIB5)

BCH BCH Power (NBAP) -31 -3.1dB PCCPCH Cell Setup

AICH AICH Power offset -6 -0.6dB AICH COMMON TRANSPORT CHANNEL SETUP REQUEST
(RRC-SIB5)

FACH (control) Max FACH Power 18 1.8dB SCCPCH COMMON TRANSPORT CHANNEL SETUP REQUEST
(NBAP)

FACH (Traffic) Max FACH Power 15 1.5dB SCCPCH COMMON TRANSPORT CHANNEL SETUP REQUEST
(NBAP)

PCH PCH Power (NBAP) -4 -0.4dB SCCPCH COMMON TRANSPORT CHANNEL SETUP REQUEST

PICH PICH Power offset -7 -0.7dB PICH COMMON TRANSPORT CHANNEL SETUP REQUEST
(RRC-SIB5)

P-SCH Primary SCH Power -18 -1.8dB SCH Cell Setup

(NBAP)

S-SCH Secondary SCH Power -35 -3.5dB SCH Cell Setup

(NBAP)
Different types of Open Loop Power Control
 RACH preamble Power setting
• Preamble_Initial_Power = Primary CPICH TX power – CPICH_RSCP +
UL interference (RSSI) + Constant Value
• Constant value , Primary CPICH Tx Power and RTWP are sent to the UE through
BCCH(SIB5 & SIB7)

SIB 5 SIB 7

Now the UE can transmit the Preamble using P_PRACH calculated Value
Power Ramping

Parameter Range Default Description

Power Ramp Step 1 to 8 3 3dB

Power offset Pp-m -5to10 -4 -4dB

1 to 64 8 8 step
Preamble Retrans Max

Mmax 1 to 32 4 4 trials
 RACH Message Power
RACH Data Slot (0.666 mSec)
Random Access Message (10, 20, 40, or 80 bits per slot) I
RACH Message Slot (0.666 mSec)
Pilot (8 bits) TFCI (2 bits) Q
Control Part Power = P_PRACH+ PowerOffsetPpm

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
1 Frame = 15 slots = 10 mSec

The RACH message can be configured to be 10 or 20 ms long.

The RACH message is sent on the I-branch while the layer 1 signaling is sent on
the Q-branch. The control part uses SF 256 and consists of eight known pilot
bits to support channel estimation for coherent detection, and two TFCI bits.
The RACH message uses SF 64.
 RACH Message Power
Control Power/ Data Power = 20 log (βc/βd)
gainFactorBetaC: is standard gain factor related to control part
gainFactorBetaD: is standard gain factor related to data part
This 2 parameters will be different according to the type of carried
information(Signaling or Data)
Gain Factor Range Default

βc/(Control) 0 to 15 11

βd(Control) 0 to 15 15

βc/(Data) 0 to 15 10

βd(Data) 0 to 15 15
 RACH Message Power

Control Case:
Data part power = control Part Power + 2.7

Data Case:
Data part power = control part power + 3.5
 Dedicated Channel Power Control(1)
• Dedicated channels consist of the DPCH in the uplink and the in the downlink.
• Uplink DPCHs consist of the uplink DPCCH and the uplink DPDCH, and they use different
OVSF codes.
• Downlink DPCHs consist of the downlink DPCCH and DPDCH, and they use the same OVSF
code by time division multiplexing
• Dedicated channel power control methods are open loop power control, inner loop power
control, and outer loop power control.
• Open loop power control provides initial power of channels.
• Inner loop power control adjusts channel power by comparing the SIR of the received signal
with the SIR target(Fast).
• Outer loop power control adjusts the SIR target by comparing the BLER target and the BLER
of the received DCH(By Checking the CRCs). (Slow)
 Dedicated Channel Power Control(2)
Signal to Interference Ratio, is defined as:
• (RSCP/ISCP)×SF. Measurement shall be performed on the DPCCH of a Radio Link Set.
• In compressed mode the SIR shall not be measured in the transmission gap.
• The reference point for the SIR measurements shall be the Rx antenna connector.
where:
• RSCP = Received Signal Code Power, unbiased measurement of the received power on one
code.
• ISCP (~RTWP)= Interference Signal Code Power, the interference on the received signal.
• SF= The spreading factor used on the DPCCH.

UL:
 SIR = RSCP/RTWP X SF = RSCP - RTWP + 10 logSF
 RSCP = RTWP + SIR - 10 logSF
DL:
 SIR = RSCP/RTWP X (SF/2) = RSCP - RTWP + 10 log(SF/2)
 RSCP = RTWP + SIR + 10 log(2/SF)
 Dedicated Channel Power Control (3)
Radio Link Setup: When a dedicated radio link is established, from a common channel the
following power control actions are taken:
• Set initial DL power.
• Set power limits, set DL maximum power and DL minimum power(Capacity Issue).
• Set initial UL power.
• Set initial UL SIR target, initial UL SIR target is a configurable parameter defined according to the
minimum Spreading Factor (SF) of the UL Dedicated Physical Data Channel (DPDCH).
• Start UL Outer Loop Power Control (OLPC).
• Start DL inner loop power control.
• Start UL inner loop power control.
RAB Establishment: When a RAB is added to the existing connection, the following actions
related to Power Control are taken:
• Set power limits, set DL maximum power and DL minimum power(Capacity Issue).
• DL inner loop power control is already running and no changes are made as a result of the addition of the
service. Any requirements for increased power is handled through the regular downlink power updates
ordered through the TPC commands sent on the UL Dedicated Physical Control Channel (DPCCH).
• Set initial UL SIR target, initial UL SIR target is a configurable parameter defined according to the
minimum SF of the UL DPDCH.
• Start UL OLPC.
• UL inner loop power control is already running, and no changes of the UL DPCCH power are made as a
result of the addition of the service. Any requirements for increased power are handled through the
regular UL Power updates ordered through the TPC commands sent on the DL DPCCH.
 Dedicated Channel Power Control(4)

Soft Handover: When a radio link is added to the active set, the following actions related to Power Control
are taken:
• Set initial DL power.
• Set power limits, set DL maximum transmitted code power and DL minimum transmitted code
power(Capacity Issue).
• Start power balancing.
• Upon radio link addition, no power control actions are initially needed for the UL, since the UE is already
power controlled by the existing radio links. As soon as the added radio link obtains UL synchronization,
the RBS issues power control commands based on the SIR estimates for UL inner loop power control.
• In case of softer handover, the instantaneous power level is copied from the existing to the new radio link.
• When a radio link is removed from the active set, no power control actions are taken, except for stopping
power balancing when the soft handover ends.
Power Balancing: Power balancing, also known as power drift prevention, ensures that the ratio between
the DL power of each radio link and the corresponding PCPICH power is the same for every cell in the active set
Compressed Mode: When the UE enters compressed mode, DL&UL power control are affected
 Initial Setting of DL_DPDCH

Ec/No_PCPICH :is received in the RRC CONNECTION REQUEST

message. This is optional so if the measurement is not available,
the ‘ecNoPcpichDefault’parameter value is used.
dlInitSirTarget :is the required initial SIRtarget for the downlink
DPDCH. It is a configurable parameter. This value depends also on
service requirements
SFDL_DPDCH: is the Spreading Factor for the downlink DPDCH.
cBackOff: is a parameter configurable by the operator. The
purpose is to back off the Open Loop Power Control estimate
to a conservative starting point. Normally set to zero.
 Initial Setting of DL_DPCCH

DPDCH DPCCH DPDCH DPCCH

Data 1 TPC TFCI Data 2 Pilot

Example Values
PO1 0dB
PO2 3dB
PO3 3dB
• High pO3 setting (3dB) gives better downlink channel estimation performance by having
more energy on DL pilot field in the field tests.
• Also high pO2 setting (3dB) is to have more energy on TPC field to have better performance in
inner loop power control.
 Setting of initial UL_DPCCH power

DPCCH_Initial_Power = DPCCH_Power_Offset - CPICH_RSCP

DPCCH_power_offset := PCPICHPower + Uplink interference + DefaultConstantValue
Sent to UE by RBS in RRC connection setup Message

DefaultConstantValue = ulInitSirTarget- 10 log (SF_DPCCH) + cPO

ulInitSirTarget: i s the initial value for the UL SIR target, defined according to the minimum SF of the UL
Dedicated Physical Data Channel (DPDCH).
cPO: is a parameter to set the UL DPCCH power offset to a conservative level to avoid excessive UL
interference.
 P_DPDCH power calculation

• Uplink DPDCH/DPCCH
Dedicated Physical Data Channel (DPDCH) Slot (0.666 mSec)
Coded Data, 10 x 2^k bits, k=0…6 (10 to 640 bits) I
Dedicated Physical Control Channel (DPCCH) Slot (0.666 mSec)
Pilot TFCI FBI TPC Q

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
1 Frame = 15 slots = 10 mSec

Radio DPCCH gain DPDCH DPDCH power

Bearer Factor gain factor
DPCCH power/ DPDCH power = Bc/Bd
Signaling 11 15 DPCCH power +2.7
DPCCH power – DPDCH power= 20 log (Bc/Bd)
Speech 11 15 DPCCH power + 2.7
DPDCH power = DPCCH power- 20log(Bc/Bd)
CS 64 8 15 DPCCH power + 5.46
Bc: DPCCH gain factor
PS 64/64 8 15 DPCCH power + 5.46
Bd: DPDCH gain factor
PS 64/384 8 15 DPCCH power + 5.46
 Outer Loop Power control

• The outer loop power control algorithm performed for DL in the UE and for the UL in the RNC
• The Main idea behind the outer loop power control is to set proper SIR target to meet the RAB
specific BLER target for UL and DL configured on the RNC.
• Required SIR depends on
1. UE speed
2. Changes in the propagation conditions
3. Available multipath diversity
4. UE power control dynamics (close to peak power)
5. SHO branches (Macro Diversity Combining)
• SIR is constantly adjusted in order to maintain a constant QUALITY, usually defined as a certain BLER
target of the transport channel
• SIR target value should be between Upper and Lower limits.
• UL outer loop power control could be either jump regulator or constant step regulator
 Step Regulator

Idea of step regulator is as following :

• The SIR target should increased by a defined Step when one NG CRC have been
Received
• And decreased by a defined step if certain number of good CRC is received.
 Jump Regulator(1)
• The jump regulator increases the UL SIR target by a configurable increment Step, expressed
in dB, whenever a transport block is erroneously received.
• When a block is correctly received, the UL SIR target is decreased by a fraction of the Step
parameter. This fraction, denoted UP_DOWN_STEP_RATIO, depends on the BLER target.
• If several transport blocks are received in one Transmission Time Interval (TTI), the change in
the UL SIR target will be based on the accumulated change individually caused by each of the
transport blocks. To reduce the variations of the UL SIR target, the change of UL SIR target is
always scaled by the number of transport blocks received in the corresponding TTI, as
described by the following Formula:
SIRtarget_new = SIRtarget + Step [-X/(Z*UP_DOWN_STEP_RATIO)+Y/Z]

• Step is the configurable parameter that defines the size of SIR target
increment.
• Z is the total number of received transport blocks in the TTI.
• X is the number of transport blocks that have a CRC=OK.
• Y is the number of transport blocks that have a CRC=NG.
 Jump Regulator(2)

• Another algorithm for calculating the change of SIR Target is based on BLER estimation

SIR Target ( n  1)  SIR Target ( n)   dB 

Where:
  step _ size * ( BLER _ estimation  BLER_targe t )
And:
n_of_nok_C RCs
BLER_estim ation 
total_n_of _TBls

• This calculation is completed every TTI. This limits the resolution of the BLER estimation. For example,
the speech service includes a single CRC per TTI and so the BLER estimate is either 0 % or 100 %.
• If the BLER target is 1 % then the SIRTarget is increased by the step size * 0.99 or decreased by the step
size * 0.01, i.e. the SIR target tends to increase more rapidly than it decreases
• Data services have multiple CRC per TTI and can achieve a greater BLER estimate resolution
 Down link inner loop power control

DPDCH/DPCCH (pilot + Data +TFCI +TPC + Data)

MS measure SIR of the pilot Data then compare it with

Target value

DPCCH (Pilot + TFCI + TPC)

DPDCH

TPC_Command = (UP) or (Down)

• The UE maintains the QoS by sending Transmit Power Control (TPC) commands in every slot (that is,
1,500 times per second), requesting a power adjustment.
• As soon as the RBS receives power control commands (TPC bits), it starts regulating the downlink
power of the radio link according to these commands, increasing or decreasing the power by ΔTPC.
 Down link inner loop power control
UE WCDMA BTS RBS shall adjust the current downlink power P(k-1) [dB] to
DL DPCCH + DPDCHs
a new power P(k) [dB] according to the following formula:

Measure received SIR on DL DPCCH P(k) = P(k - 1) + PTPC(k)

Compare measured SIR with SIR target

PTPC(k) is the k:th power adjustment due to the inner loop
value received from DL outer loop PC power control

Measured SIR < SIR target --> TPC command is "1"

Measured SIR=>SIR target --> TPC command is "0"

Send TPC command on UL DPCCH

RBS sets the power on DL DPCCH and

DL DPDCH following way:
TPC command = "1" --> increase power by 1 dB
TPC command = "0" --> decrease power by 1 dB

Changed power on DL DPCCH + DPDCHs

 Power Balancing& Soft Handover(1)
• The transmit power of the added radio link is set at a calculated initial power Based on CPICH Ec/No of
the new RL from UE
• Power imbalance exists already at the beginning of the SHO, theoretically equal to the Addition
window after Event 1A.
• During a period of soft handover with DL inner loop power control. Each RBS in the active set listen to
the same sequence of TPC commands from the UE. Received TPC commands, however, may be
affected by different errors, due to the different radio propagation conditions experienced by each of
the soft handover links. Consequently, the transmitted power at different RBSs will start to drift,
eventually leading to uncoordinated links. Power balancing prevents this power drift problem by using
a modified type of power control during soft handover.
 Power Balancing& Soft Handover(2)
• Once the radio connection has entered soft handover, a single reference power is allocated to every
RBS in the active set. The DL power used by each radio link is periodically Corrected by a step that is
proportional to the difference between the reference power and the power used in DPCH. This will
result in the convergence of RBSs power level and prevent the power drift.
• Implemented in RNC and RBS, power balancing works in conjunction with inner loop power control.
The RNC calculates a reference power based on the transmitted code power measured in each radio
link “received in the NBAP: DEDICATED MEASUREMENT REPORT”, and periodically sends it to the
RBSs. Each RBS involved in soft handover makes synchronized adjustments of the downlink power of
the radio links according to the received reference powers. These adjustments are superimposed on
the power changes due to downlink inner loop power control.
• RNC activates/de-activates power balancing in BTSs with NBAP: POWER CONTROL REQUEST
message

The DL power at time instant k:

P(k) = P(k-1) + PTPC(k) + Pbal(k)

Adjustment period: Vendor specific,Eg

• Fixed at 8 Frames
• Configurable parameter(1..256) Frame
 Compressed Mode
• In compressed mode, idle periods (transmission gaps) are inserted in some of the radio
frames, during which the UE can temporarily tune to other frequencies, such as a GSM
cell, and there perform necessary measurements. Other functions, such as IRAT handover
or inter-frequency handover, trigger the compressed mode.

• The gap required for the measurements is obtained by using the following methods:
1. Higher Layer Scheduling (HLS) This method is used for Non-Real Time (NRT) services
only. The amount of data scheduled to be transmitted during compressed frames is
reduced by higher layers, so that it can fit in the decreased number of available slots.
2. Lower SF (SF/2) The SF is reduced by a factor of 2 during the compressed frame. The
increased bit rate allows to transmit and receive all data during the slots outside the
transmission gap.

• In compressed frames, the transmission of DL DPDCH and DPCCH stops during

transmission gaps. DL inner loop power control is not active during the transmission gap.
• The purpose of Power Control in downlink Compressed mode is to recover as fast as
possible a SIR close to the target SIR after each transmission gap, in order to avoid block
errors during and after the compressed frames.
• To achieve this, an increased power is applied in the Downlink Power Control and an
increased SIR target is also applied in the Downlink Power control algorithm in the UE by
RRC signaling.
 Downlink power control in compressed mode

In every slot during Compressed mode except during downlink transmission gaps, the WCDMA RAN
estimates the kith TPC command and adjusts the current downlink power P(k-1) [dB] to a new power
P(k) [dB], according to the following formula:
P(K)= P(K-1) + PTPC(K) + Pbal(K) + Psir (K) dBm
PTPC(K):is the kith power variation due to the Inner Loop Power Control. If the RBS received an ‘up’
TPC command from the UE this will be +ΔTPC and - ΔTPC if the command is ‘down’. ΔTPC is normally 1
dB but is changed to 2 dB during the 7-slot recover period after a transmission gap.
PSIR(k): is the k-th power adjustment due to the DL SIR target variation

PSIR(K) = 4dB PSIR(K) = 3.5dB

TPC(K) = 1 dB TPC(K) = 2 dB
13 14 15 1 2 3 4 12 13 14 15 1 2 3 4 14 15

Transmission Gap

Recovery Period 7 slots

after the Gap
 Up Link inner loop power control

DPDCH/DPCCH (pilot + Data +TFCI +TPC + Data)

TPC_Command = (UP) or (Down)

DPCCH (Pilot + TFCI + TPC)

RBS measure
DPDCH SIR_UL_RLS of the pilot
Data then compare it
with Target value

• As soon as the RBS starts transmitting the DL DPCCH, it begins to send TPC commands to the UE in
each slot. The UE responds by slowly increasing power until UL synchronization is reached.
Immediately, the RBS starts estimating the SIR on the DPCCH.
• The TPC commands are derived according to the following scheme:
1. If estimated SIR ≥ target SIR, the RBS sends a down command.
2. If estimated SIR < target SIR, the RBS sends an up command.
• In case of soft handover if TPC commands from all RBSs in the active set are up commands, UE
increases the DPCCH power by 1 dB. Otherwise, if at least one TPC command is a down command, it
decreases the DPCCH power by 1 dB.
 UL Power control during compressed mode

Power Control in UL compressed mode aims at recovering to the SIR target as quickly as
possible after each transmission gap, in order to avoid block errors during and after the
compressed frames. To achieve this recovery, the UL inner loop power control increases the
SIR target.
10 mSec Frames (15 slots)

Normal Operation
11 12 13 14 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Compressed-Mode; single-frame method

11 12 13 14 15 1 2 3 4 12 13 14 15

Transmission Gap

Compressed period used for IRAT measurements and BSIC decoding and confirmation
 SIR_target in CM
increased to compensate for the interruption in the Power Control due to transmission gaps, as well as
for differences in the number of pilot bits in the UL DPCCH

SIR_target + 1dB

SIR_target + 0.5dB

SIR_target

13 14 15 1 2 3 4 12 13 14 15 1 2 3 4 14 15

Transmission Gap
 TPC command in CM

Compressed and non-compressed frames in the UL DPCCH can have a different number of
pilots per slot. The total number of transmitted slots in compressed frames is decreased, but
the TFCI word must still be sent using the same number of bits as in a non-compressed
frames. To accomplish this, some of the pilot bits are replaced with TFCI bits. The total pilot
energy per slot should nevertheless be maintained, implying that an additional ΔPILOT
remains to be added to the transmitted UL power: pilot = 10 log (Npilot,prev/Npilot,curr)
This delta is superimposed over the normal closed loop power delta:
DPCCH= TPC X TPC+ Pilot

UE power showing effect of Δ PILOT

Δ PILOT =+ x Δ PILOT =- x
13 14 15 1 2 3 4 Transmission Gap 12 13 14 15 14 15

TPC = 1 dB TPC = 2 dB TPC = 1 dB

Recovery Period 7 slots after the Gap