Part 1

Fundamentals of 3G
1st Generation Standards JTACS
AMPS TACS (Total NMT (Japanese
(Advanced Access (Nordic Total
Mobile Communic Mobile C-450 Access
Phone ation Telephony Communic
Systems System) System) ation
System)
North UK originated Scandinavian
German Japanese
American standards standard in
standard in standard in
Standard in based on 450 MHz and
450 MHz 900 MHz
cellular band AMPS in 900 900 MHz
band Band
(800 MHz) MHz band band

FDMA — Frequency Division Multiple Access

30 KHz
30 KHz
Frequency

30 KHz
30 KHz
30 KHz
30 KHz
30 KHz
30 KHz
1st Generation Standards

IS-95
IS-136 ( D-
AMPS )
PDC (Japan) CDMA GSM
(cdmaOne)

One timeslot = 0.577 ms One TDMA frame = 8 timeslots

200 KHz

200 KHz Except IS-95 all

Frequency

200 KHz
are TDMA based

200 KHz

Time
 The Second Generation

1990’s
• 1st system to use Digital modulation
• Variety of Multiple Access strategies

• Voice and low rate circuit switched data

• Same technology allows international roaming

• Secure air interface

www.escsl.com
 UMTS Evolution / 3GPP Releases

• HSDPA (14 Mbps) • HSUPA (5.76 Mbps)

• IMS Phase 1 • IMS Phase 2
• Bearer independent
CS CN
matured GSM/GPRS CN
+ UTRAN
+ WCDMA Air Interface Release 6
up to 384 kbps (2 Mbps) Release 5 Release 5
Release 4 Release 4 Release 4
Release 99 Release 99 Release 99 Release 99

1999 2001 2002/03 2005 Year

UMTS Evolution / 3GPP Releases

HSPA + or eHSPA

Release 10
Release 9 Release 9
Release 8 Release 8 Release 8
Release 7 Release 7 Release 7 Release 7
Release 6 Release 6 Release 6 Release 6

Release 5 Release 5 Release 5 Release 5

Release 4 Release 4 Release 4 Release 4

Release 99 Release 99 Release 99 Release 99

2007 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 Year

 UMTS Architecture [1]

CN

Iu

UTRAN

Uu
UE

UTRAN UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network

CN Core Network
UE User Equipment
UMTS Architecture [2]

Core Network
Iu Iu
RNS RNS

RNC RNC
Iur
Iub Iub

Node B Node B Node B Node B

UMTS Architecture [3]

To PSTN GI
To IP Network
Gn
Core Gp
Network F Gf
Gs Other PLMN
Lu-CS
RNS
RNS
Iur
UTRAN

AUC Authentication centre
EIR Equipment Identity Register
GGSN Gateway GPRS Support Node
HLR Home Location Register
MSC Mobile Switching Centre
PLMN Public Land Mobile Network SGSN Service GPRS Support Node
RNC Radio Network Controller UTRAN (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
VLR Visitor Location Register
RNS Radio Network Subsystem
UMTS Architecture [4]
Network Nodes
1. User Equipment

• Consist of ME and USIM

• The Mobile Equipment (ME) is the radio terminal used for
radio communication over the Uu interface
• The UMTS Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) is a smartcard
that holds:
– the subscriber identity,
– performs authentication algorithms,
– stores authentication and encryption keys
– subscription information that is needed at the terminal
Core Network [1]
1. Home Location Register – HLR
• is a database located in the user’s home system that stores
the master copy of the user’s service profile
• It is created when a new user subscribes to the system, and
remains stored as long as the subscription is active
2. Mobile Switching Centre/Visitor Location Register –
MSC/VLR
• It is the switch (MSC) and database (VLR) that serves the UE in
its current location for Circuit Switched (CS) services
• MSC switches the CS transactions
• VLR holds a copy of the visiting user’s service profile and more
precise information on the UE’s location within the serving
system
Core Network [2]
3. Gateway MSC – GMSC
• It is the switch at the point where UMTS PLMN is connected
to external CS networks
• All incoming and outgoing CS connections go through GMSC

4. Serving GPRS Support Node – SGSN

• Its functionality is similar to that of MSC/VLR but is typically
used for Packet Switched (PS) services

5. Gateway GSN – GGSN

• functionality is close to that of GMSC but is in relation to PS
services
Interfaces
1. Cu interface
• This is the electrical interface between the USIM smartcard
and the ME.
• The interface follows a standard format for smartcards.
2. Uu interface
• It is the WCDMA radio interface
• The UE accesses the fixed part of the system through this
interface
3. Iu interface
• It connects UTRAN to the CN
• the open Iu interface gives UMTS operators the possibility of
acquiring UTRAN and CN from different manufacturers
Interfaces

4. Iur interface
• The open Iur interface allows soft handover between RNCs

5. Iub interface
• It connects a Node B and an RNC
• UMTS is the first commercial mobile telephony system where
the Controller–Base Station interface is standardised as a
fully open interface
Radio Access Network [1]
Radio Access Network [1]
1. Radio Network Controller
• It is responsible for control of the radio resources in its area
• One RNC can control multiple Node Bs
• Its functionality is equivalent to BSC in GSM/GPRS
• RNCs can autonomously handles handovers without involving MSCs and SGSNs
Radio Bearer
Admission Radio Resource (Outer Loop)
Set-up / Code Allocation
Control Control (RRC) Power Control
Release

Congestion (incl. S-RNS

Handover Ciphering and
Control (Packet Combining / Relocation (S-
Control Deciphering
Scheduling) Splitting) RNC/D-RNC)

Protocol ATM switching

conversion (Iu and O&M tasks
« Iub, Iur) multiplexing
 Radio Resource Management
functions of RNC
LC PS  Packet Scheduler - PS
 Resource Manager - RM
RM
 Admission Control - AC
network
AC based
functions
 Load Control - LC

PC
 Power Control - PC
HC connection  Handover Control - HC
based
functions
Radio Access Network [1]
1. Node B
• It is responsible for air interface L1 processing
• Also performs some RRM function such as inner loop power control
• It is equivalent to BTS in GSM/GPRS
• Node Bs are typically collocated with GSM BTSs
• The enigmatic term ‘Node B’ was initially adopted as a temporary term during the
standardization process, but then never changed

Spreading Scrambling Channel Coding Interleaving Modulation

Micro-diversity
Fast Power Measurement ATM
Combining (in
Control reports to RNC transmission
Softer HO)
3GPP Rel-4 Network Architecture
MSC GMSC
Server Server

The 3GPP R4 introduces separation of connection, its control, and services for CN CS domain.
• Media Gateway (MGW): an element for maintaining the connection and performing switching function when required.
• MSC server: an element controlling MGW.
 RABs

UMTS - Hierarchy of Bearers

UMTS

TE MT UTRAN CN Iu CN TE
edge Gateway
node

End-to-End Service

TE/MT Local UMTS Bearer Service External Bearer

Bearer Service Service

Radio Access Bearer Service CN Bearer

Service

Radio Bearer Iu Bearer Backbone

Service Service Bearer Service

UTRA Physical Bearer

RAB FDD/TDD Service
Service

3GPP TS 23.107, QoS Concept and Architecture

Multi-Access Radio Techniques

UMTS is designed to work in both TDD and FDD mode

But FDD option has been preferred by majority of 3G operators

Multiple Access Approaches
Frequency Time Spread Code
Division Division Spectrum Division
Multiple Multiple Multiple Multiple
Access Access Access Access

Multiple
Transmitters

User N
User 2

User 3
User 1
and
User 2

User 3
User 1

Multiple Data
Channels

Frequency Time Frequency

Each User has a unique Each User has a unique Each Transmitter has a unique
frequency time slot spreading code

(1 voice channel per user) Each Data Channel has a unique Each Data Channel has a unique
position within the time slot orthogonal code

All users transmit at the Several users share the Many users share the same
same time same frequency frequency and time

IS-136, GSM, PDC IS-95, cdma2000, WCDMA

AMPS, NMT, TACS
UMTS Core Band ( or 2.1 GHz Band or Band I )
TDD FDD TDD FDD
DECT UMTS MSS UMTS UMTS MSS
1880 1900 1920 1980 2010 2025 2110 2170 2200

TDD Bands : FDD Bands :

_ _ _ _ _ _ to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ MHz Uplink : _ _ _ _ _ to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ MHz

& &

_ _ _ _ _ _ to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ MHz Downlink: _ _ _ _ _ _ to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ MHz

Wideband CDMA Specifications
Multiple access
• Wide band CDMA

Transmission
mode
• FDD

Chip rate • 3.84 Mcps

Carrier spacing • 5 MHz

Frame size • 10 ms

Spreading
technique
• Variable-spreading factor

Channel Coding • ½ & 1/3 rate convolutional coding and 1/3 Turbo Coding

Modulation • QPSK (DL ) and BPSK (UL)

Main Parameters [1]

• WCDMA is a wideband Direct-Sequence Code Division Multiple Access

(DS-CDMA) system

• user information bits are spread over a wide bandwidth by multiplying the
user data with quasi-random bits (called chips)

• to support very high bit rates (up to 2 Mbps), the use of a variable
spreading factor and multi-code connections is supported

• The chip rate of 3.84 Mcps leads to a carrier bandwidth of approximately

5 MHz
Main Parameters [2]
t Bandwidth 5MHz Bandwidth 5MHz

Uplink Downlink

f UMTS-TDD
Separation 190MHz (Time Division Duplex)
t
Bandwidth 5MHz
Downlink

Guard
Period Uplink

f
 • Preparing the Data
Overview of the UMTS Air Interface (Uu) and Signaling for
the UMTS Air
Interface
The user data is coded,
depending on the
The specifications SMS
SMS application
define the UE actions

1 Signalling Data
Different channels carry
Channel Coding different information

2 Channels

Radio Framing Data is coded, framed,

spread and channelised
Spreading &
3 Channelisation
The signal is now
Scrambling
scrambled

The signal is modulated

on a frequency to
4 Modulation represent binary values
The UE uses a special
receiver to RAKE through RAKE Tx
the air interface Air interface

5
Error Correction Code Parameter
Transport Channel Coding Scheme Coding Rate
Type

BCH
1/2
PCH Convolutional code
RACH

1/3, 1/2
DCH,
FACH Turbo coding 1/3
Channel coding, rate matching
• 1/2 and 1/3 rate convolutional channel coding and
turbo coding will be implemented.
• Rate matching is used to "fit" the data bit rate so that it
corresponds to the pre-defined fixed bit rates of the
air interface. Also puncturing can be used.

Baseband data (n kb/s) - Convolutional coding Rate

3.84 Mcps
- Interleaving Matching

1.- 3015 ksps

kb/s
2. 30 ksps
- 60 kb/s
3. 60 ksps
- 120 kb/s
4. 120 ksps
- 240 kb/s
5. 240 ksps
- 480 kb/s
6. 480 ksps
- 960 kb/s
7. 960 ksps
WCDMA frame structure
Slot # 0 Slot # 1 Slot# i Slot #14

1 radio frame : Tf = 10 ms

31 © 2005 Nokia
 Variable Bit Rate

Power

Frequency

5MHz High bit rate user

Users Separated by
Codes

Time

Low bit rate user

 Channelisation and scrambling
Channelisation CodeScrambling Code

Data
Bit rate Chip rate Chip rate

Data (Baseband, Channel Coded & Rate-Matched)

Data is Spread...

ch,4,0=(1,1, 1, 1)
ch,2,0 = (1,1)
ch,4,1 = (1,1,-1,-1) …by a certain factor. The channelisation code
ch,1,0= (1)
ch,4,2 = (1,-1,1,-1)
is selected based upon how much the data is
ch,2,1 = (1,-1) spread
ch,4,3 = (1,-1,-1,1)

SF = 1 SF = 2 SF = 4

Downlink Example
Spread and Combined with Channelisation Code

33 © 2005 Nokia
Page 22
Spreading Principles
Spreading and Despreading [1]

User 1
1

2
1&2&3

User 2 2 1 &3

Users transmit
their spread
spectrum signals Output of user 2’s
simultaneously receiver

User 3
3

Narrow-band Spread Spectrum

data signals signals
 Code Usage
Dedicated User
Channel

In the Uplink (UE 

BTS), the user's data
and signalling
information is
separated by
Channelisation Codes
In the Downlink
(BTSUE), cells are
seperated by
signalling In the Downlink (BTS  Scrambling Codes
data UE), user connections are In the Uplink
separated by
(UE  BTS), terminals
Channelisation Codes are separated by
Scrambling Codes
channelization Codes
(Also called Walsh codes or spreading codes)

Downlink: Channelization Codes used to distinguish data (and control)

channels coming from each cell

CC3, CC4
CC1, CC2

CC5, CC6, CC7

Uplink: Channelization Codes used to distinguish data (and control)

channels coming from each UE

CC1, CC2
CC1 , CC2, CC3

CC1, CC2, CC3, CC4

channelization Code tree

Cch,4,0 =1111
Cch,2,0 =11

Cch,4,1 =1100

Cch,1,0 =1

Cch,4,2 =1010

Cch,4,3 =1001

Cch,2,1 =10

SF = 1 SF = 2 SF = 4 o o o o o o
channelization Codes
• Adapts user bit-rate to code length
• In reality, multipath, small timing errors diminish
the usable code space
1
Chip Rate = 3.840 Mcps

1-1 11

1-11-1 1-1-11 11-1-1 1111

1-11-1-11- 1-11-11-11- 1-1-11-111- 1-1-111-1- 11-1-1-1- 11-1-111-1- 1111-1-1-1- 11111111

11 1 1 11 111 1 1
480 kb/s 480 kb/s 480 kb/s 480 kb/s 480 kb/s 480 kb/s 480 kb/s 480 kb/s

Example: 8 users; one 8-bit code per user

Scrambling Codes
Downlink: Scrambling Code used to distinguish each cell (assigned by
operator – SC planning)

Uplink: Scrambling Code used to distinguish each UE (assigned by

network)
Cell “1” transmits using SC1

SC1 SC1

SC3 SC4

Cell “2” transmits using SC2

SC2 SC2

SC5 SC6
 Downlink Scrambling Codes
• Downlink Scrambling Codes
– Each Cell is assigned one and only one Primary Scrambling Code (of 512)
– Secondary Scrambling Codes may be used over part of a cell, or for other data
channels

8192 Downlink Scrambling Codes

Each code is 38,400 chips of a 218 - 1 (262,143 chip) Gold Sequence

Code Group #1 Code Group #64

Primary SC0 Primary SC7 Primary SC504 Primary SC511

Secondary Secondary Secondary Secondary

Scrambling Scrambling Scrambling Scrambling
Codes Codes Codes Codes

(15) (15) (15) (15)

 Spreading and Despreading [2]
Symbol
1
Data
-1
Chip Spreading
1
Spreading code -1
1
Spread Signal -1
=Data * Code

Despreading
Spreading code 1
-1

1
Data -1
=Spread signal * Code
 Spreading and Despreading [3]
Desired Signal
Desired Spread Signal 1
-1
Spreading code 1
-1
Data after
1
Despreading -1
8
Data after Integration
-8
Other user’s Data
Other Spread signal

Other signal after 1

despreading -1
8
Other signal after -8
Integration
RAKE receiver

• In WCDMA, the terminal employs a RAKE receiver to handle Multipath

propagation. The RAKE consists of receivers), adjustable-by-system delay
functionality, code generator, and gain and phase tuning equipment. One
Multipath component that the RAKE recognizes is called a finger. Typically,
RAKE is able to handle several fingers. One of these fingers receives the
signal from the Uu interface and tries to open it with the code used for the
connection.

• The second finger receives the same signal from the Uu interface, and the
code used for this connection is inserted to the receiver after a short,
adjustable delay. When the signal is demodulated and regenerated, the
outcomes of the fingers can be summed together.
 CDMA Rake Receiver
• Each RAKE finger tracks a different multipath component
– Sliding correlator used to obtain a correlation peak for each multipath
component
– Also used to track other cells during soft handover
• Searcher finger is used to measure other cells (for handover)
Buffer/delay
Channel
Correlators
C Sum of individual multipath
Finger #1 components:
O
- maximum ratio
M - strongest select
Finger #2 - equal gain
B
I
Finger #3
N
E
Finger #N
R
Power measurements
of neighbouring BS
Searcher Finger
• Simplified Block Diagram of the RAKE Receiver
 cos c t
Modulation
Complex- Re(S)
valued Split real
chip S &
sequence Image
from Parts Im(S)
spreading
operations

 sin c t
Logical, Transport & Physical Channels
Logical, Transport & Physical Channels
Definition of Channels

The MAC sub-layer is responsible for

mapping logical channels onto transport channels.
The physical layer is responsible for
mapping transport channels onto physical channels.
 Logical Channels in UL and DL
DL UL
Abbr. Channel’s Name Abbr. Channel’s Name

1 BCCH Broadcast Control Channel

2 PCCH Paging Control Channel

3 CCCH Common Control Channel 1 CCCH Common Control Channel

4 DCCH Dedicated Control Channel 2 DCCH Dedicated Control Channel

5 DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel 3 DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel

6 CTCH Common Traffic Channel

Mapping of Transport Channels onto Phy. Channels
Transport DCH RACH
Channels

Physical DPCCH
channels DPDCH PRACH

Transport BCH FACH PCH DCH

Channels

Physical P-SCH S-SCH S-CCPCH AICH PICH

channels CPICH P-CCPCH DPDCH
Transport Channels [2]

Dedicated Transport Channel

1. DCH – Dedicated Channel

• Downlink/uplink Transport channel
• A point-to-point channel allocated to a specific user
• Carries information intended for the given user including data
and higher layer control information
• Characterised by features such as
– fast power control
– fast data rate change on a frame-by-frame basis
– possibility of transmission to a certain part of the cell
Transport Channels [3]

Common Transport Channels

1. BCH – Broadcast Channel

• It is a downlink channel
• Used to broadcast system and cell-specific information over the
entire cell
• The terminal cannot register to the cell without the possibility
of decoding the broadcast channel
– transmit with relatively high power
– low and fixed data rate
Transport Channels [4]

2. FACH – Forward Access Channel

• It is a downlink channel
• Used to carry control information to a mobile station when
the system knows the location cell of the mobile station
• May also carry short user packets

3. PCH - Paging Channel

• It is a downlink channel
• Used to carry control information to a mobile station when
the system does not know the location cell of the mobile
station
• It is used to inform the mobile station of incoming calls
Transport Channels [5]
4. RACH – Random Access Channel
• It is an uplink channel
• Used to carry control information
• It is used for initiating a call (initial access to the serving BS)
• It may also carry short user packets
• must be heard from the whole desired cell coverage area
Uplink Physical Channels [1]
Uplink Physical channels

Dedicated Physical Channels Common Physical Channels

Physical Random Access

Channel
(PRACH)

Dedicated Physical Control Dedicated Physical Data

Channel Channels
(Uplink DPCCH)) (Uplink DPDCH)
 PRACH

Common Uplink Physical Channel [1]

1. PRACH - Physical Random Access Channel

• It is used to carry RACH
• Its transmission is based on Slotted ALOHA approach with
fast acquisition indication
• A UE can start the transmission at a number of well-defined
time-slots called access slots
• Consist of one or several preambles of length 4096 chips and
a message of length 10 or 20 ms
 PRACH
Common Uplink Physical Channel [2]

Radio frame: 10ms Radio frame: 10ms

5120 Chips

#0 #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14

Access Slot #0 Random Access Transmission

Access Slot #1 Random Access Transmission

Access Slot #7 Random Access Transmission

Access Slot #8 Random Access Transmission

Access Slot #14

RACH access slot numbers and their spacing
 PRACH

Common Uplink Physical Channel [3]

Pj Message Part
P0 P1

4096 chips
N *10 msec (N  1,2)

Access Preamble

Control Part

Data Part

Structure of the random access transmission

 DPDCH
&
Uplink Physical Channels [2] DPCCH

Dedicated Uplink Physical Channel

1. DPDCH - Dedicated Physical Data Channel
• Used to carry dedicated data i.e. the dedicated transport channel (DCH)
• There may be zero, one, or several uplink DPDCHs

2. DPCCH – Dedicated Physical Control Channel

• Used to carry control information consists of:
– pilot bits to support channel estimation
– transmit power-control (TPC) commands
– feedback information (FBI)
– an optional transport-format combination indicator (TFCI)
• One DPCCH and up to six parallel DPDCHs can be transmitted
simultaneously ONE
 DPDCH
Uplink Physical Channels [3] &
DPCCH

Slot #0 Slot #1 Slot # i Slot #14

1 Radio Frame: Tf= 10ms

K determines the number of bits per uplink DPDCH/DPCCH slot

spreading factor SF:
SF = 256/2k
DPDCH spreading factor may thus range from 256 down to 4
 DPDCH
&
Uplink Physical Channels [4] DPCCH
 DPDCH
&
Uplink Channelization Codes DPCCH
 Spreading for uplink DPCCH and DPDCH

Slong, n or Sshort,n
I
DPDCH

I+jQ

Q
DPCCH

DPDCH– Cch,SF,k (k = SF/4)

j
DPCCH – Cch,256,0
Downlink Physical Channels [1]

Dedicated Physical Channel (Downlink DPCH)

A time multiplex of a downlink DPDCH and a downlink DPCCH Common Physical Channels

Common Pilot Channel Synchronisation

(CPICH) Primary Common Control Channel Page Indication
Physical Channel (P-SCH & S-SCH ) Channel
(P-CCPCH) (PICH)

Secondary Common Control

Physical Channel Acquisition Indication
(S-CCPCH) Channel
(AICH)
 Downlink Physical Channels [2]

Dedicated Downlink Physical Channels

1. DPCH - Dedicated Physical Channel
• Time multiplexing of the DPDCH and DPCCH is used in the downlink.
• spreading factor SF:
SF = 512/2k
• In the downlink the spreading factors range from 4 to 512, with some
restrictions on the use of spreading factor 512 in the case of soft
handover.
• The downlink DPDCH consists of QPSK symbols. Each symbol consists of
two bits while in the case of uplink the DPDCH consists of BPSK symbol
(one symbol corresponds to one bit).
Downlink Physical Channels [3]

DPCCH DPDCH DPCCH DPDCH DPCCH

TFCI Data TPC Data 2 Pilot

NTFCI bits Ndata1 bits NTpc bits Ndata 2 bits Npilot bits

Slot #0 Slot #1 Slot #i Slot #14

1 Radio Frame Tf= 10ms

Frame structure for downlink DPCH

Downlink Physical Channels [5]

SF Channel Bit Rate Channel Bit Rate

( ksps) (kbps)
256 15 30
128 30 60
64 60 120
32 120 240
16 240 480
8 480 960
4 960 1920
Common Downlink Physical Channels [1]
1. CPICH - Common Pilot Channel
• It is a fixed rate channel carries a pre-defined bit/symbol sequence
• Aids in channel estimation to the terminal
Pre-defined symbol sequence

Tslot = 2560 chips, 20 bits = 10 symbols

Slot # 0 Slot # 1 Slot# i Slot #14

1 radio frame : Tf = 10 ms
Primary CPICH
Same channelization code always used
Scrambled using primary scrambling code
One per cell
Broadcast over entire cell
Common Downlink Physical Channels [3]
2. P-CCPCH - Primary Common Control Physical Channel
• Used to carry BCH
• SF=256
• P-CCPCH is not transmitted during first 256 chips
256 chips
(Tx OFF) Data 18 Bits

Tslot = 2560 chips, 20 bits

Slot # 0 Slot # 1 Slot# i Slot #14

1 radio frame : Tf = 10 ms
Frame structure for Primary Common Control Physical Channel
Common Downlink Physical Channels [4]
3. S-CCPCH - Secondary Common Control Physical Channel
• Used to carry FACH and PCH
• SF = 256/2K
• FACH and PCH can be mapped to same secondary CCPCH
• Primary CCPCH has fixed pre-defined rate while secondary CCPCH has
variable rate
• Primary CCPCH is continuously transmitted over entire cell while
secondary CCPCH is only transmitted only when there is data available
4. P-SCH Primary Synchronisation Channel
– Carries a unique code (Primary Synchronization Code PSC) which is used in all
UMTS cells around the world.
5. S-SCH Secondary Synchronization Channel
– Carries a “sequence of 15 secondary synchronization codes which depends on the
Scrambling Code Group of the cell.
Common Downlink Physical Channels [6]

6. AICH – Acquisition Indicator Channel

• Used to carry Acquisition Indicators (AI) in response to PRACH Preamble

7. PICH – Page Indicator Channel

• Used to carry Page Indicator (PI)
• PICH is always associated with a S-CCPCH to which PCH is mapped
 Cell Search and Initial Access

The initial Cell Search is carried out in three steps:

Step 1: Slot synchronisation - using the primary synchronisation channel.

Step 2: Frame synchronisation and code-group identification using the

secondary synchronisation channel.

Step 3: Scrambling-code identification-identified through symbol-by-

symbol correlation over the primary CCPCH with all the scrambling
codes within the code group.
 Structure of Primary and Secondary
Synchronisation Channels (SCH)

Slot #0 Slot #1 Slot #14

Primary acp
SCH acp acp

Secondary acsi,0 acsi,1 acsi,14

SCH 256 Chips

2560 chips

One 10 ms SCH radio frame

cp Primary Synchronisation Code ( It is the same for every cell in the system)

cs i,k Secondary Synchronisation Codes ( Where i=0,1….63 is the number of the scrambling
code group, and k= 0,1,…14 is the slot number. Each code is chosen from a set of
16 different codes of length 256).
 Downlink primary scrambling codes
Scrambling Code Scrambling Code --------------- Scrambling Code
Group 0 Group 1 •----- Group 63
•SC 0 •SC 8 •---- •SC 504
•---- •---- •---- •----
•SC7 •SC 15 •SC 511

Find Out the SC group #

Only 64 possibilities Using S-SCH

Fast Cell
Search
Find the Exact SC of cell

Only 8 Possibilities Using P-CPICH

 Initial Cell Search
scrambling slot number
code group
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

group 00 1 1 2 8 9 10 15 8 10 16 2 7 15 7 16
group 01 1 1 5 16 7 3 14 16 3 10 5 12 14 12 10
group 02 1 2 1 15 5 5 12 16 6 11 2 16 11 15 12
group 03 1 2 3 1 8 6 5 2 5 8 4 4 6 3 7
group 04 1 2 16 6 6 11 15 5 12 1 15 12 16 11 2
group 05 1 3 4 7 4 1 5 5 3 6 2 8 7 6 8

group 62 9 11 12 15 12 9 13 13 11 14 10 16 15 14 16
group 63 9 12 10 15 13 14 9 14 15 11 11 13 12 16 10

I monitor the
S-SCH
11 15 5
Power Control
 Power Control [1]
3. Open loop power control
The open loop power control is used to adjusts the transmit
power of the Physical Random Access Channel.
Power Control [2]
Downlink Power control
1. Inner loop power control
The downlink inner loop power control adjusts the base station
transmit power in order to keep the received downlink SIR at a
given SIR target.

2. Outer loop
The outer loop adjusts the SIR target used by the inner loop
power control. The SIR target is independently adjusted for each
connection based on the estimated quality of the connection.
Typically a combination of estimated bit error rate and frame
error rate is used for the quality estimate.
Power Control [3]
Uplink Power control
1. Inner loop power control
The uplink inner loop power control adjusts the MS transmit
in order to keep the received uplink SIR at a given SIR target.
Keep Received Power
Level P1 and P2 Equal
P1

Power Control
P2 Commands to the
mobiles
RNC UE1

UE2
Power Control [4]
Power Control [5]

2. Outer loop
The outer loop adjusts the SIR target used by the inner loop power
control. The SIR target is independently adjusted for each connection
based on the estimated quality of the connection.

Frame
Reliability info
RNC SIR target
SIR Target
Adjustments
Commands

Outer Loop Power

UE
Control Mobile
Time
If quality<target. BS Fast Power Control stand still
Increase SIR Target If SIR < SIR Target. Send *Power
Up* Command
Mobility & Handover
Handovers [1]

•Soft
1. Intra-frequency HO •Softer
•Hard

2. Inter-frequency HO •Hard

•Hard
3. Inter System HO
 Handover Types
Soft Handover
• In DCH mode, MS has concurrent traffic connections with two BS’s

Softer Handover
• Similar to Soft Handover, but between two sectors of the same cell

Inter-Radio Access Technology (IRAT) Handover

• CS Handover from a WCDMA system to another system
• Traffic and Control Channels are Disconnected and must be Reconnected (hard handover)

Inter-frequency Handover (IFHO)

• When the MS must change WCDMA carrier frequency during the Handover
• Traffic and Control Channels are Disconnected and must be Reconnected (hard handover)

Inter-RAT Cell Change

• Manages PS UE mobility between cells using WCDMA RAN and cells using GSM/GPRS

Cell Reselection
• Manages UE mobility between WCDMA cells with same frequency, different frequency and between WCDMA cells
and GSM/GPRS cells, when the UE is in idle mode or CELL_FACH state
 WCDMA Handover Scenarios

Core Network
Iu Iu

RNS RNS
Iur
RNC RNC

UTRAN  Iub
Iub Iub Iub

Node B Node B Node B Node B

Inter-Node Inter-RNS Intra-Node

(Soft) (Soft with Iur; (Softer)
Hard with no Iur)
 Handover

Soft Handover Key Points

• When fast power control is used, soft handover is

essential
– Allows MS to operate in most conservative power
control mode
• Soft handover provides performance benefits
– “Seamless” coverage at cell fringes
– Handover may be less noticeable to the user
• Soft handover also degrades system capacity
– Uses redundant physical layer resources from adjacent
or overlapping cells
 Handover

WCDMA With and Without SHO

UE responding to BS1 UE responding to BS2

power control bits power control bits

BS1 Receive Power Target

time

BS2 Receive Power Target

time

Trouble zone: Prior to Hard Handover,

the MS causes excessive interference to BS2
 Handover

Measurement Handling

Measurement
Report with EVENT RNC
Measurement
Handling
Measurement
Control
• List of cells to measure on
Message
• Measurement criteria

• Active set (SHO)

• Monitored set (cells measured by UE but which does
not belong to active set (Intra/Inter frequency and
Inter-RAT frequencies)
 Handover

Measurement Reporting
f1 f1 f2

1. Measure
2. Filter
3. Apply quality offsets to cells individualOffset
4. Compare with measurement criterion
5. Send measurement report with EVENT (if occurred)
 Handover

WCDMA Soft Handover Process

Monitor Neighbor BS Pilots Add Destination BS Drop Originating BS

• One finger of the RAKE receiver is constantly scanning

neighboring Pilot Channels.
• When a neighboring Pilot Channel reaches the t_add
threshold, the new BS is added to the active set
• When the original Base Station reaches the t_drop
threshold, originating Base Station is dropped from the
active set
 Handover

Soft Handover Add/Drop/Replace

• Soft Handover Measurement and Decision

EC / N 0 t t t

Cell 1

T_REPLACE

T_DROP
T_ADD

Cell 2

Cell 3

time
Replace Cell 1
Cell 1 Add Cell 2 Drop Cell 3
with Cell 3
Connected
 Handover

Event 1a, Primary CPICH enters Reporting Range

Event cause:
Radio Link addition /
replacement due to
measurements related to best
cell in Active Set

reportingRange1a
hysteresis1a
timeToTrigger1a

Event 1a and 1b

UE sends Measurement Report message for EVENT 1a and the cell is added to AS. If AS is full
maxActiveSet, the cell will replace the worst cell in the current AS, provided the reported cell
has better quality
 Handover

Event 1b, Primary CPICH leaves Reporting Range

Event cause:
Radio Link removal from due to
measurements related to best cell
in Active Set

reportingRange1b
hysteresis1b
timeToTrigger1b

Event 1a and 1b

UE sends Measurement Report message for EVENT 1b and the cell is removed from the AS
(one cell is always kept in AS to maintain connection).
 Handover

Event 1c, non-active Primary CPICH becomes better

than active Primary CPICH

Event cause:
Radio Link substitution due to
measurements related to least
good cell in AS while the AS is full

hysteresis1c
timeToTrigger1c

Event 1c

UE sends Measurement Report message for EVENT 1c and the cell replaces the least good cell
in the AS.
 Handover

Event 1d, Change of Best Cell

Event cause:
ANY cell (AS or monitored)
becomes better than the current
best cell in the AS.

hysteresis1d
timeToTrigger1d

Event 1d

UE sends Measurement Report message for EVENT 1d. If the cell already belongs to AS, no
action is taken by RNC. Else, the cell will be added to the AS, and if the AS is full, the least
good cell will be replaced.
 Handover

Signaling Flow in SHO

” Measurement Control” (BCCH/DCCH)
SRNC
Perform
Measurement

UE Evaluation
” Measurement Report” (DCCH)

RNC
Evaluation

Execution
”Active Set Update” (DCCH) Radio Link
Radio Link Add/Removal/Replace
Add/Removal/Replace
”Active Set Update Complete” (DCCH)
Radio Link
Add/Removal/Replace

RNC
Evaluation
”Measurement Control” (DCCH)
 Handover

Compressed Mode
• The physical channel is reconfigured to create transmission and
reception gaps.
• UE then tunes to other frequencies (GSM) to conduct measurements
• Signaling required to prepare for the measurements
– Additional UE and network processing load
• Recommendation:
– Minimise time in compressed mode
– Avoid going in and out of compressed mode

Data compression can be accomplished by:

Decreasing the
Higher layer
Spreading Factor by Puncturing bits
scheduling
2:1
• Increases Data Rate • weakens FEC coding • Reduces available
so bits get through timeslots for user
twice as fast! traffic
 Compressed Mode

Idle period available for

interfrequency measurement
Instantaneous
Rate/Power

Tf

Normal transmission Slotted transmission

Downlink slotted transmission
Compressed Mode

• Using slotted downlink transmission mode, a single-receiver

mobile station can carry out measurements on other
frequencies without affecting its normal data flow.

• The information normally transmitted during a 10ms frame is

compressed in time, either by code puncturing or by reducing
the spreading factor by a factor of 2.

• As a result, an idle time period of 5ms is created within each

frame. During this time, the MS receiver is idle and can be
used for inter-frequency measurements.
Compressed Mode (for IFHO and ISHO)
HO Triggering Thresholds set in RNC

Event Triggered HO
reasons fulfilled in RNC
Steps during
RNC commands selected UE(s) to start
IF/IS measurements
Inter Frequency Handover
Measurements are done in
Compressed Mode (CM)
and
Inter-system Handovers
UE reports best UMTS cells
(Ec/Io; RSCP) to RNC
UE reports best GSM cells (RSSI) to RNC

BSIC verification for GSM cells

Both IFHO and ISHO

RNC makes HO decision and

Only in ISHO
commands UE to target cellv
High Speed Downlink Packet Access
(HSDPA)
Introduction
• In order to meet the increasing demand for high data-rate
multimedia services, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project
(3GPP) has released a new high-speed data transfer feature
named High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA).

• It offers peak data rates of up to 14 Mbps, resulting in a better

end-user experience for downlink data applications, with
shorter connection and response times.

• HSDPA improves the use of streaming applications and Web

browsing applications.
Key Features

HSDPA can be seen as an extension of the

DSCH with new features such as:

Adaptive
Short physical
Modulation and Fast Hybrid-ARQ Fast scheduling Fixed SF =16
layer frames
Coding (AMC)
HSDPA Operation
New Channel Structure
1. HS-DSCH – High Speed Downlink Shared Channel

• It is the primary radio bearer

• HS-DSCH can be shared between users in the time domain
• Transmission Time Interval consists of three time slots (2ms)
to shorten round trip delays
• Constant spreading factor of 16
• Maximum of 15 parallel codes allocated
2. HS-SCCH – High Speed Shared Control Channel
• Carry download signaling information in the downlink direction
• Transmitted before each scheduled TTI
• Has a duration of 3 time slots
• Multiple HS-SCCH can be configured to support parallel HS-DSCH
transmissions
• A UE can be allocated a maximum of 4 HS-SCCH

Channelization Modulation
UE-ID (H-RNTI)
Code Set Scheme

Redundancy HARQ Process

TB Size
Version Indicator
 Downlink DCH (DPCCH/DPDCH)

1 Slot
HS-SCCH

HS-DSCH
Part 1 Part 2

Codes
to receive
1 Slot
Figure : HS-SCCH and HS-DSCH timing relationship
3. HS-DPCCH – High Speed Dedicated Physical Control
Channel

• Carry ACK/NACK information and link quality information in

the uplink direction
• This information is used by Node B scheduler to determine
the destination terminal and transmission data rates to be
used
• Consist of two parts: CQI (N) ACK
• Part I: ACK/NACK transmission
• Part II: Downlink Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) to indicate;
– estimated transport block size
– modulation type
– number of parallel codes
Summary of HSDPA Channels

HS-DPCCH: CQI

HS-SCCH: DL Transfer Information

HS-DSCH: Data Transfer

UE
HS-DPCCH: ACK / NACK

Figure: HSDPA Channel operation

 Adaptive
Modulation and
Adaptive Modulation and Coding Coding (AMC)

• Continuously optimizing
– the code rate
– modulation scheme
16 QAM QPSK
– number of codes employed
– transmit power
• QPSK and 16 QAM
• Code rates: ¼ to ¾
• Based on channel quality reported on CQI
• Users experiencing favorable channel conditions will be allocated higher
data rates
• A single user can receive up to 10.8 Mbps peak data rates
• Maximum data rate specified in HSDPA is 14.4 Mbps
 Adaptive
Modulation and
Adaptive Modulation and Coding Coding (AMC)

Modulation coding Data rate Data rate Data rate

rate (1 code) (5 codes) (15 codes)

QPSK 1/4 120kbps 600kbps 1.8Mbps

QPSK 1/2 240kbps 1.2Mbps 3.6Mbps

QPSK 3/4 360kbps 1.8Mbps 5.4Mbps

16QAM 1/2 480kbps 2.4Mbps 7.2Mbps

16QAM 3/4 720kbps 3.6Mbps 10.8Mbps

 Hybrid ARQ Fast Hybrid-ARQ

Advantage: improve transferring reliability F

Disadvantage: lower utilization in bad E H
channel state A Combine FEC and ARQ, each
C sending packet includes error
Advantage: good performance in A R detection bit and error correction bit
lower Bit Error Rate (BER)
R Q
Disadvantage: bad performance in
high BER Q
Send Receive Send Receive
Packet A Packet A

Discard Reserve
Resend
Error packet A Resend data
whole packet
Error packet A

Lower efficiency Packet A

Packet A
Longer time delay missing data

Higher efficiency Packet A

Shorter time delay missing
Packet A data

Packet B Packet B Soft

combination
HARQ phase I HARQ phase II, III
（Resending is in RNC，R99） （Resending is in Node B, HSDPA）
Hybrid ARQ Fast Hybrid-ARQ

• Hybrid Automatic Repeat request

• Stop and Wait (SAW) protocol
• HARQ allows the UE to request retransmission
• HARQ is implemented at MAC-hs (Media Access Control high
speed) terminated at Node B
• With HARQ UE does not discard the erroneous energy
• UE stores it and later combines with retransmission (Soft
Combining)
Chase Combining Incremental Redundancy

• Retransmitting same • Different redundancy

information information can be send during
re-transmission
 Fast scheduling

Fast Packet Scheduling (1)

• the scheduler is located at the Node B as opposed to the RNC

• this enables the scheduler to quickly track the UE channel condition and
adapt the data rate allocation accordingly
• Several algorithms can be used for the scheduler such as:

1. Round Robin (RR)

• a first-in first-out approach
• provides a high degree of fairness
• users can be served even when they are experiencing weak signal
lowering the overall system throughput
Fast Packet Scheduling (2) Fast scheduling

2. Maximum Carrier to Interference (C/I)

• schedules users with the highest C/I during the current TTI
• highest system throughput
• no effort to maintain any kind of fairness

3. Proportional Fair
• Good trade-off between RR and maximum C/I
• schedules users according to the ratio between their
instantaneous achievable data rate and their average served
data rate
 Physical Layer Procedures
STEP I: Scheduler at Node B evaluates for different users:
– the channel conditions
– Pending data in buffer
– Time elapsed since last served
– Pending retransmissions
STEP II: Once a terminal is selected, Node B checks for:
– The available codes
– Type of modulation can be used
– Terminal capability limitations
STEP III: Node B starts to transmit HS-SCCH two slots before HS-DSCH TTI
STEP IV: MS monitors HS-SCCH and decodes Part I and Part II of HS-SCCH
STEP V: MS then use this buffered information to decode HS-DSCH
STEP VI: Upon detecting this combined data, MS send ACK/NACK in the
uplink direction depending on the CRC results
Uplink transmission
HS-DPCCH (ACK / NACK + Feedback )

Downlink transmission
HS-SCCH CRC result
HS-SCCH

HS-DSCH N Slots
7.5 slots (approx)

Figure: Terminal timing with respect to one HARQ process

HSDPA device categories
CQI Table (for category 1 to 6)
Transport Number of Reference power NIR XRV
CQI value Modulation
Block Size HS-PDSCH adjustment 
0 N/A Out of range
1 137 1 QPSK 0 9600 0
2 173 1 QPSK 0
3 233 1 QPSK 0
4 317 1 QPSK 0
5 377 1 QPSK 0
6 461 1 QPSK 0
7 650 2 QPSK 0
8 792 2 QPSK 0
9 931 2 QPSK 0
10 1262 3 QPSK 0
11 1483 3 QPSK 0
12 1742 3 QPSK 0
13 2279 4 QPSK 0
14 2583 4 QPSK 0
15 3319 5 QPSK 0
16 3565 5 16-QAM 0
17 4189 5 16-QAM 0
18 4664 5 16-QAM 0
19 5287 5 16-QAM 0
20 5887 5 16-QAM 0
21 6554 5 16-QAM 0
22 7168 5 16-QAM 0
23 7168 5 16-QAM -1
24 7168 5 16-QAM -2
25 7168 5 16-QAM -3
26 7168 5 16-QAM -4
27 7168 5 16-QAM -5
28 7168 5 16-QAM -6
29 7168 5 16-QAM -7
30 7168 5 16-QAM -8
CQI Table (for category 11 & 12)
Transport Block Number of Reference power NIR XRV
CQI value Modulation
Size HS-PDSCH adjustment 
0 N/A Out of range
1 137 1 QPSK 0 4800 0
2 173 1 QPSK 0
3 233 1 QPSK 0
4 317 1 QPSK 0
5 377 1 QPSK 0
6 461 1 QPSK 0
7 650 2 QPSK 0
8 792 2 QPSK 0
9 931 2 QPSK 0
10 1262 3 QPSK 0
11 1483 3 QPSK 0
12 1742 3 QPSK 0
13 2279 4 QPSK 0
14 2583 4 QPSK 0
15 3319 5 QPSK 0
16 3319 5 QPSK -1
17 3319 5 QPSK -2
18 3319 5 QPSK -3
19 3319 5 QPSK -4
20 3319 5 QPSK -5
21 3319 5 QPSK -6
22 3319 5 QPSK -7
23 3319 5 QPSK -8
24 3319 5 QPSK -9
25 3319 5 QPSK -10
26 3319 5 QPSK -11
27 3319 5 QPSK -12
28 3319 5 QPSK -13
29 3319 5 QPSK -14
30 3319 5 QPSK -15
HSDPA Protocols
Mobility

• UTRAN determines the serving HS-DSCH cell for an HSDPA-capable

UE
• A new measurement event is defined
• measurement basically reports the best serving HS-DSCH cell to the
serving RNC based on a measurement of the P-CPICH Ec/I0
• serving RNC sends a synchronised radio link reconfiguration prepare
message to the Node B
• At a specified time index, the source cell stops transmitting to the
user
• MAC-hs packet scheduler in the target cell is thereafter allowed to
control transmission to the user
• PDUs for the user are moved from the MAC-hs in the source cell to
the MAC-hs in the target cell during the HS-DSCH handover
High Speed Uplink Packet Access
(HSUPA)
Key Features

• Fast HARQ terminated at Node B

• Fast Node B based uplink scheduling

• Higher order modulation

Fast Hybrid ARQ
• Fast HARQ is to allow the Node B to ask for the UE to retransmit the uplink packet if it
was not received correctly
• One Node B received a packet correctly but other didn’t.
• Due to limited UE power the UE may not be able to transmit at the same data rate
incase of retransmission

Uplink E-DCH
Rel ‘99 Uplink DCH
Correctly Received
RNC Packet
RNC
Combining of Packets
RLC ACK/NACK
Packet Node B Retransmission

Node B
Packet

Retransmission L1 ACK/NACK

UE UE
Fast Packet Scheduling
• The uplink scheduling is Node B based
• Node B gives UE a set of data rates based on uplink load measurements

Rel ‘99 Uplink DCH Uplink E-DCH

RNC
RNC
Traffic volume TFC
measurement Control Data
transmission
Node B
Node B
Scheduling info

Data Scheduling
transmission Assignment

UE UE
HSUPA device categories
Physical Channels
1. E-DPDCH – Enhanced Dedicated Physical Data Channel
• used to carry the E-DCH user data
• There may be zero, 1, 2 or 4 E-DPDCH on each radio link
• SF = 256 , 128, 64 , 32 , 16 , 8 , 4, 2

2. E-DPCCH – Enhanced Dedicated Physical Control Channel

• used to transmit control information associated with the E-
DCH
• There is at most one E-DPCCH on each radio link
• E-DPDCH and E-DPCCH are always transmitted
simultaneously
E-DPDCH Data Ndata bits

Tslot = 2560 chips, Ndata = 10*2k bits (k = 0...7)

E-DPCCH 10 Bits

Tslot = 2560 chips

Data Slot #0 Slot #1 Slot #2 Slot # i Slot #14

1 Sub frame = 2 ms
Control
Message part Radio Frame TRACH Tf = 10ms

E-DPDCH Frame Structure

3. E-RGCH – E-DCH Relative Grant Channel
• It is a fixed rate (SF=128) dedicated downlink physical channel
• Indicates to the UE whether to increase, decrease or keep unchanged the
transmit power level of the E-DCH
• UP , DOWN or HOLD commands

4. E-HICH - E-DCH Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel

• It is a fixed rate (SF=128) dedicated downlink physical channel
• carry the uplink E-DCH hybrid ARQ acknowledgement indicator

5. E-AGCH - E–DCH Absolute Grant Channel

• It is a fixed rate (30 kbps, SF=256) downlink physical channel
• Provides an absolute power level above the level for the DPDCH
(associated with a DCH) that the UE should adopt
 E-HICH HARQ
E-RGCH, E-AGCH Uplink Scheduling

E-DPCCH C-Plane

UE E-DPDCH U-Plane

Figure: New physical channels introduced by HSUPA

HSUPA Protocols
Comparing HSDPA and HSUPA
Feature HSDPA HSUPA
Peak Data Rate 14.4 Mbps 5.6 Mbps
Modulation Scheme (s) QPSK, 16QAM QPSK

TTI 2ms 2ms (optional) / 10ms

Transport Channel Type Shared Dedicated

Adaptive Modulation and Coding Yes No

(AMC)

HARQ HARQ with incremental HARQ with incremental

redundancy; Feedback in HS- redundancy; Feedback in dedicated
DPCCH physical channel
( E-HICH)

Packet Scheduling Downlink Scheduling Uplink Scheduling

(for capacity allocation) (for power control )

Soft Handover Support ( U-Plane) No Yes

(in the Downlink