Atoll 3.4.1 5G NR

5G NR Features
Atoll 3.4.1
Confidential – Do not share without prior permission

Training Programme
1. 5G NR Concepts
2. 5G NR Planning Overview
3. Modelling a 5G NR Network
4. 5G NR Predictions
5. Carrier Aggregation
6. Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS)
7. Neighbours Allocation
8. Automatic Resource Allocation
9. 3D Beamforming
10. FD-MIMO
Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 2

5G NR Concepts
Overview
Deployment
Spectrum
Numerology
Frame Structure
Synchronisation and Initial Access

Overview
Why 5G?

Mobile Connectivity Expansion
New evolutionary ecosystem to incorporate multiple complementary technologies

Low latency critical services: connected cars, health monitoring, smart grids
High throughput services: Virtual Reality, Ultra HD Video streaming

Key Technology Advances in 5G NR
Numerology & Waveform Frame Structure Initial Access & Mobility
mmWave Beam Management 3D Beamforming Channel Coding

ITU IMT-2021 Requirements and Beyond

From LTE to 5G NR Phase 1
Some terminologies
LTE eNB : Capable of connecting to EPC (current LTE core network)
eLTE eNB: Evolution of LTE eNB capable of connectivity to EPC and NextGen Core
gNB: Equivalent of eNB in 5G NR

Deployment Phases/Scenarios
Non-standalone (NSA) Standalone (SA)

Spectrum
Low frequencies → Coverage
High frequencies → Capacity

Availability of contiguous chunks for large carriers
Allow for small antenna form factors enabling beamforming and massive MIMO

Frequency Ranges
FR1: 450 MHz – 6000 MHz

Supported carrier widths: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 MHz
Supported subcarrier spacing (SCS): 15, 30, 60 kHz
FR2: 24250 MHz – 52600 MHz

Supported carrier widths: 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 MHz
Supported subcarrier spacing (SCS): 60, 120, 240 kHz

Bandwidth Parts (BWP)
Virtual subdivisions of carriers

Groups of contiguous resource blocks
Each BWP has it’s own numerology
(subcarrier spacing, cyclic prefix, slot structure)
Multiple bandwidth parts per carrier

Up to 4 DL and UL bandwidth part configurations
Only one is active in DL and UL at a given time for R15 UEs
Added flexibility in resource allocation per service type
Allow UEs with RF units operating in limited bandwidths to connect to cells using large carriers:
UE operating at 20MHz max can connect to a BWP within a 400MHz carrier
Can be dynamically activated/deactivated

Bandwidth Part Use Cases

Resource Blocks
Frame: 10ms
Subframe: 1ms
Slot
Scheduling unit
(instead of subframe in LTE)
Variable duration depending
on used subcarrier spacing
14 OFDM symbols
12 OFDM symbols with
extended CP*
*just for sub-carrier spacing of 60kHz

Flexible Slot Structure
A slot can be:

All downlink
All uplink
Mixed
Static, semi-static, or dynamic
Asymmetric for heavy DL or UL
Slot aggregation possible

Numerology
Numerologies help adapt the radio to diverse

spectrum, deployments, and services
Numerologies are formed by scaling the baseline

subcarrier spacing (SCS)
15 kHz x 2μ , where μ = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, [5, …]
Number of OFDM Number of Slots per Number of Slots per

Subcarrier Spacing (µ)
Symbols per Slot Subframe Frame
0 14 1 10
15 kHz 1 ms 1 slot x 1 ms = 1 ms 10 ms
1 14 2 20
30 kHz 500 µs 2 slots x 500 µs = 1 ms 10 ms
2 14 4 40
60 kHz (normal CP) 250 µs 4 slots x 250 µs = 1 ms 10 ms
2 12 4 40
60 kHz (extended CP) 250 µs 4 slots x 250 µs = 1 ms 10 ms
3 14 8 80
120 kHz 125 µs 8 slots x 125 µs = 1 ms 10 ms
4 14 16 160
240 kHz 62.5 µs 16 slots x 62.5 µs = 1 ms 10 ms

Numerology Multiplexing

Synchronisation uses PSS, SSS, and PBCH called SS/PBCH blocks
SS/PBCH blocks: 4 OFDM symbols and 20 PRBs
PSS
PBCH
PBCH SSS PBCH
PBCH
PSS: Used for beam training, tiling, and frequency synchronization
SSS: Used for beam training, tiling, and frequency synchronization
PBCH: Contains system information block with essential information for initial access

SS/PBCH Blocks Resource Allocation
239
192
182
20 RB Subcarrier
bandwidth number
56
47
PSS
SSS 0
PBCH
0 1 2 3
PBCH - DMRS
OFDM symbol number
Set to 0

SS/PBCH Blocks Resource Allocation
LTE vs 5G NR periodicity
Time domain and frequency domain position is fixed in any case.
10ms 10ms 10ms 10ms 10ms 10ms 10ms 10ms

Freq
LTE
Time domain and frequency domain position can vary depending on subcarrier spacing and various other
higher layer parameter.
Freq
NR
Legend:
Sync Signal (PSS, SSS)
PBCH

SS/PBCH Blocks Resource Allocation Frame Structure
Subcarrier Spacing OFDM Symbols 𝐿𝑀𝐴𝑋 = 4
n = 0,1
30 kHz (µ=1) {2,8} + 14n
s= 2, 8, 16, 22
20 RB
Subframe
0 1 2 3
Slot 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
OFDM Symbol
1 ms
Subcarrier Spacing OFDM Symbols 𝐿𝑀𝐴𝑋 = 8

n = 0,1
30 kHz (µ=1) {4,8,16,20} + 28n
s= 4, 8, 16, 20, 32, 36, 44, 48
20 RB
Subframe 0 1 2 3
Slot 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
OFDM Symbol
1 ms

SS/PBCH Blocks Resource Allocation Conditions
Subcarrier Spacing OFDM Symbols f <= 3 GHz 3 GHz < f <= 6 GHz f > 6 GHz
n = 0,1 n = 0,1,2,3
15 kHz (µ=0) {2,8} + 14 n s = 2, 8, 16, 22 s = 2, 8, 16, 22, 30, 36, 44, 50
(Lmax = 4) (Lmax = 8)
n=0 n = 0,1
30 kHz (µ=1) {4,8,16,20}+28n s = 4, 8, 16, 20 s = 4, 8, 16, 20, 32, 36, 44, 48
(Lmax = 4) (Lmax = 8)
n = 0,1 n = 0,1,2,3
30 kHz (µ=1) {2,8} + 14 n s = 2, 8, 16, 22 s = 2, 8, 16, 22, 30, 36, 44, 50
(Lmax = 4) (Lmax = 8)
n=0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15,
16, 17, 18
s = 4, 8, 16, 20, 32, 36, 44, 48, 60, 64, 72,
76, 88, 92, 100, 104, 144, 148, 156, 160,
172, 176, 184, 188, 200, 204, 212, 216,
120 kHz (µ=3) {4,8,16,20} + 28n 228, 232, 240, 244, 284, 288, 296, 300,
312, 316, 324, 328, 340, 344, 352, 356,
368, 372, 380, 384, 424, 428, 436, 440,
452, 456, 464, 468, 480, 484, 492, 496,
508, 512, 520, 524
(Lmax = 64)
n=0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8
s = 8, 12, 16, 20, 32, 36, 40, 44, 64, 68,
72, 76, 88, 92, 96, 100, 120, 124, 128,
132, 144, 148, 152, 156, 176, 180, 184,
240 kHz (µ=4) {8, 12, 16, 20, 32, 188, 200, 204, 208, 212, 288, 292, 296,
36, 40, 44} + 56n 300, 312, 316, 320, 324, 344, 348, 352,
356, 368, 372, 376, 380, 400, 404, 408,
412, 424, 428, 432, 436, 456, 460, 464,
468, 480, 484, 488, 492
(Lmax = 64)

5G NR Half-Frame (5ms) Structure Example
Subcarrier Spacing Carrier Bandwidth OFDM Symbols 𝐿𝑀𝐴𝑋 = 4

n = 0,1
30 kHz (µ=1) 40 MHz {2,8} + 14n
s= 2, 8, 16, 22
5ms Half-Frame
1272 PSS
1200
SSS
PBCH
960 PDCCH/PDSCH
Subcarriers
720
480
240
20 Resource Blocks
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
OFDM symbols

PSS, SSS, and PBCH are the only always-on signals in NR

They are transmitted over 5ms windows with a given periodicity
Freq
NR
5ms
20 RB
Beam selection
Signal 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Signal
Level Level
UE1 UE2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Beams Beams
UE1 UE2

Two-Stage Beam Management
1st stage beam alignment: wide-beam 2nd stage beam alignment: narrow-beam
Based on measurement on SS block, or Based on measurement on ‘narrow-beam’
‘wide-beam’ Channel State Information CSI-RS (UE-specific)
Reference Signal (CSI-RS) Support high rate communication
Support robust communication (e.g. Data Channel)
(e.g. Control Channel) Beam switching in network controlled &
UE autonomous beam selection in Idle dynamic
Mode

Initial Access – Beam Sweeping
SS/PBCH blocks within a 20ms period are transmitted using wide beams (4, 8, or 64) that sweep
across the cell’s coverage

Physical Channels and Signals
Downlink physical signals Uplink physical signals

Primary synchronisation signal (PSS) Demodulation reference signals (DMRS)
Secondary synchronisation signal (SSS) Phase tracking reference signals (PTRS)
Demodulation reference signals (DMRS) Sounding reference signals (SRS)
Channel state information reference signals
(CSIRS)
Uplink channels
Phase tracking reference signals (PTRS)
Physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)
• Accompanied by PUCCH DMRS
Downlink channels Physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)
Physical broadcast channel (PBCH) • Accompanied by PUSCH DMRS
• Accompanied by PBCH DMRS Physical random access channel (PRACH)
Physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)
• Accompanied by PDCCH DMRS
Physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)
• Accompanied by PDSCH DMRS

Training Programme
1. 5G NR Concepts
9. 3D Beamforming
10. FD-MIMO

5G NR Planning Overview
5G NR Features Supported in Atoll
5G NR Planning Workflow in Atoll

Radio access technology modelling

mmWave and sub-6 GHz TDD, FDD, SUL, and SDL frequency bands
Carrier widths from 5 to 800 MHz
Numerologies: 15, 30, 60, 120, 240 kHz
Self-contained slot formats
Network modelling
Multi-layer network deployments
Standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA)
deployments
Intra- and inter-band carrier aggregation
Cross-technology aggregation
Dual connectivity (e.g., 5G NR + LTE)
Advanced 3D Beamforming and FD-MIMO modelling
Multi-vendor UE and radio equipment modelling

Prediction plots
Cell and beam acquisition plots
Cell and network coverage analyses
Intra- and inter-technology interference analyses
Downlink and uplink service areas
Network service areas
Downlink and uplink throughputs
Automatic cell planning (ACP)

Site selection
Coverage and capacity optimisation
Automatic frequency planning (AFP)

PCI planning
PRACH RSI planning

5G NR Planning Workflow in Atoll
Open an existing project or
5G NR
5G NR Non- create a new one (from
Standalone
Standalone Network scratch or based on a LTE
Network
network)
Network configuration
Upgrade to Network configuration
-Upgrade LTE to LTE + 5G NR
5G NR Data Automatic Cell Planning - Add network elements
- Add network elements
Model Add-In - Change parameters
- Change parameters
Generic predictions
(Best server, signal level)
Automatic or manual neighbour allocation
Automatic or manual Physical Cell ID and PRACH Root Sequence Index planning
Traffic maps
Monte-Carlo User-defined
And/or
simulations values
Cell load
Subscriber lists
conditions
Frequency plan Signal quality and throughput Prediction study

analysis predictions reports

Training Programme
1. 5G NR Concepts
9. 3D Beamforming
10. FD-MIMO

Modelling a 5G NR Network
Global Settings
Frequency bands and carriers definition
Radio Parameters
Sites
Transmitters
Cells
Multi-layer Networks (HetNets)

HetNets Configuration
Coverage Expansion

Global Settings
Frequency bands and carries definition

Atoll can model multi-band networks within the same project
2 duplexing methods available: FDD and TDD
Bandwidths from 5 to 800 MHz supported

Radio Parameters Overview (1/2)
Sites
Characterized by their X (longitude) and Y (latitude) coordinates
Transmitters
Activity
Antenna configuration (model, height, azimuth, mechanical/electrical tilts...)
Presented in the
Beamforming Model “General Features”
Number of Transmission/Reception Antennas course
Equipment (Transmitter, TMA, Feeders)

UL and DL losses / UL noise figure
Propagation (model, radius and resolution)
Frequency Band

Radio Parameters Overview (2/2)
Cells
Carrier
Layer
Cell Type
Physical Cell ID
Power definition of DL channels
Specific parameters
Min. SS-RSRP for 5G NR technology
Numerology
DL and UL traffic loads
Diversity support (MIMO)
Beam Usages DL/UL
DL/UL Ratio
PRACH RSI

Transmitter Parameters
Antenna configuration and losses Propagation settings
Transmitter parameters parameters
DL and UL
total losses,
UL noise figure
Antenna
configuration

Cell Parameters
Main parameters
Cell activity
• Only active cells are considered in predictions
Carrier
Physical Cell ID
• PSS/SSS ID automatically computed
Powers and energy offsets

• Computed from SSS EPRE*
Min. SS-RSRP
• Used as a cell coverage limit
Load conditions
• DL traffic load (%)
• UL noise rise due to surrounding mobiles (dB)
• DL/UL Beam Usage (%)
*SSS EPRE: Secondary Synchronization Signal Energy Per Resource Element

Cell Parameters
Main parameters
Automatic resource allocation parameters
• Allocation status
• Physical Cell ID
• PRACH RSI

Cell Parameters
Main parameters
Layer
• Similar to layers in LTE
• Used to model HetNets
Numerology configuration
• Numerology for Control Channels (SS/PBCH)
• Numerology for Traffic Channels
Flexible Slot Configuration

• TDD DL OFDM Symbols (%)*
MIMO configuration
• Diversity support DL/UL:
• Transmit diversity
• SU-MIMO
• MU-MIMO
• Number of MU-MIMO users
*For Uplink = 100% - %DL Symbols

What is HetNets?
HetNets, or Heterogeneous Networks, are comprised of traditional large macrocells and smaller
cells like:
• Microcells (< 5W)
• Picocells (< 1W)
• Femtocells (~ 200mW)
HetNets provide two basic benefits to operators:

• Increase capacity in hotspots as traffic is not uniformly distributed
• Improve coverage in places where macro coverage is not adequate

Heterogeneous network deployment

Atoll 5G NR fully supports multi-layer networks
• Different layers with different priorities
• Considered to determine the best serving cell ( they are not used in simulation)
• The definition of layers can be based on the operating frequencies
• Each cell must be mapped to a layer
• You can also assign supported layers to different services and terminals
Layers management
You can define network layers with corresponding:
• Priorities
• Supported mobile speeds

Layers management
Principle of the cell selection margins
• Due to the wide difference of power levels between macro and pico/femtocells, most of the UEs will get
associated to the macrocells resulting in a load imbalance throughout the network
• To counterbalance this effect, and thus enhance the system performance, an offset is to be added to the actual
SS-RSRP value from the pico/femtocells (range expansion) during the cell selection process
• Cell range expansion concept modelled by cell selection margins in Atoll
Area where the picocell is

received with a higher power
than the macrocell

Can be defined in the transmitter properties dialogue

Cell Layer parameter [Cells tab]
Cell Selection Threshold (CST) is used to adjust

the Min SS-RSRP threshold of cells belonging to
different priority layers
The CIO is used in order to rank the potential

servers for best serving cell selection in
connected mode
The Handover Margin is used for selecting the

best server and for avoiding the ping-pong
effect* between cells.
Handover ping-pong*: base stations bounce the link with the mobile back and forth between cells.

Compatibility between services, terminals and network layers

Managed in the services and terminals properties

Best Server Identification
Best Server determination

(1) Filter the potentials serving cells based on
• Cell, service and terminal compatibility with the selected layer
• Layer’s maximum speed ≤ Mobility Type’s speed (Layers table and Mobility Type table)
• UECell distance ≤ PRACH maximum cell range
• SS-RSRP > min SS-RSRP (Cell table)
(2) Identify the initial serving cell

• On each pixel, Atoll selects the serving cells corresponding to the highest priority layer
• Atoll verifies if these servers respect a SS-RSRP level > min SS-RSRP + Cell Selection threshold
• If they do, the server with the maximum SS-RSRP level will be considered as initial serving cell
(3) Atoll calculates the best server criterion (BSc) for the initial serving cell and the other potential
serving cells
• Initial serving cell: BSc = SS-RSRP + Handover Margin + CIO
• Other serving cells: BSc = SS-RSRP + CIO
(4) The server with the highest best server criterion (BSc) will be considered as best server (for all
potential serving cells from all layers)

Use case : 3 Macro site 3300 MHz + 2 Small Cells 26500 MHz
5G NR Cell Table
Mobility Types

Step 1 : Atoll filters potential serving cells

Use case inputs:
• In Cells Table, minimum SS-RSRP = -140 dBm
• For Pedestrian Mobility Type, average speed 3 km/h
• Broadcast Service: All layers allowed
• 5G Smartphone Terminal: All layers allowed
SS-RSRP Layer Max

Cell Name Layer
Level (dbm) Speed
Small_Cell_1 -103 Small Cell 50
Macro Site_1_2 -99 Macro Layer 120
Potential serving cells
respecting conditions
Small_Cell_2 -118 Small Cell 50

Step 2 : Identify the initial serving cell

Atoll selects the serving cells corresponding to the highest priority layer from the potential serving
cells and verifies if these servers respect a SS-RSRP level > min SS-RSRP + Cell Selection threshold
If the servers respect this minimum condition, Atoll selects the server with the highest SS-RSRP level
and consider it as the initial serving cell
The Small_Cell_1 is the initial serving cell in this use case
SS-RSRP Cell Selection Minimum level Layer Priority

Cell Name Layer
Level (dbm) Threshold targeted (Lowest 0)
Small_Cell_1 -103 20 -120 Small Cell 1
Macro Site_1_2 -99 0 -140 Macro Layer 0
Small_Cell_2 -118 20 -120 Small Cell 1
Highest priority layer selection

Step 3 : Atoll calculates the best server criterion (BSC) for the initial serving cell and the
other potential serving cells
Initial serving cell: BSC = SS-RSRP + Handover Margin + CIO
Other serving cells: BSC = SS-RSRP + CIO
SS-RSRP Handover Cell Individual

Cell Name BSc (dB)
Level (dbm) Margin (dB) offset (dB)
Small_Cell_1 -103 4 4 -95
Macro Site_1_2 -99 4 0 -99
Macro Site_2_3 -105 4 0 -105
Macro Site_3_3 -98 4 0 -98
Small_Cell_2 -118 4 4 -114
Handover Margin applied for the CIO applied for all serving
cell candidate only cells.

Step 4: Atoll considers the cell with the highest BSc as the best server: Small_Cell_1
Small cell range expansion: The Small

cell maintains connection with the UE
outside its best signal area.
The expansion is impacted by the CIO
and the Handover Margin.
The serving cell with the highest SS-RSRP level is not necessarily
the best server. The selection is based on the BSc calculation.

Range expansion analysis: 5G NR specific predictions are impacted by the new best server
algorithm
Impact on a Downlink Coverage displaying the SS-RSRP level per best server area
SS-RSRP level without considering layers SS-RSRP level considering layers
The handover margin and the CIO impact the SS-RSRP level shown per pixel. The best server area is
changed so the SS-RSRP level is automatically changed

Best server selection algorithm
Potential serving
cells based on Rank the different Atoll analyses the
•Service/Terminal servers based on Cell Individual Best Server
compatibility
•Layer’s priority Offset and identified
•Minimum SS-RSRP level
•Maximum level Handover Margin
•Mobility type vs layer
considering CST*
max speed
•PRACH max cell range
CTS*: Cell Selection Threshold

Training Programme
1. 5G NR Concepts
9. 3D Beamforming
10. FD-MIMO

5G NR Predictions
Introduction
Parameters used in Predictions
Prediction Settings
Fast Link Adaptation Modelling
Coverage Prediction Examples
Point Analysis Studies

Introduction
Coverage predictions
• RSRP Level: SS or CSI Reference Signal Received Power for one RE
• Signal Level: SSS, PBCH, PDCCH, PDSCH, and PUSCH Signal Level
• C/N Level: SSS, PBCH, PDCCH, PDSCH, and PUSCH Signal to Noise Ratio
• Best Beam: Best Broadcast, Refinement, or Service Beam for each pixel
Quality predictions
• C/(I+N): Control channels or Traffic channels Signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio
• Total Noise: Control channels or Traffic channels Total Noise
• BER and BLER: Bit Error Rate and Block Error Rate calculation
• Beam Usage (%): Downlink and Uplink Service Beam Usage
Service Areas predictions

• Bearers
• Modulation
Capacity predictions
• Channel throughput, Cell capacity, and throughput per User
• Peak, Application, and Effective Throughput
• Spectral Efficiency: Downlink and Uplink throughput (bps) per Hertz calculation

Introduction
Principle of 5G NR studies based on traffic

Study calculated for:
• Given load conditions:
• UL noise rise (dB)
Cell load
• DL traffic load (%)
UL
• A non-interfering user with:

• A service
Cell load
• Broadband Terminal
DL
5G NR
• A mobility prediction
• Fixed,
• Pedestrian,
• 50 Km/h...
Mobility Service
• A terminal type
• Smartphone,
• Rooftop terminal...

Load Conditions
Load conditions, defined in the cells properties

Traffic load (DL) (%)
UL noise rise (dB)
Values taken into consideration in

predictions for each cell

Service Properties
Service: parameters used in predictions

Highest/lowest modulations in UL and DL
Highest/lowest coding rate in UL and DL
Body loss
Application throughput parameters

Mobility Properties
Mobility: parameters used in predictions

Mapping between mobility and thresholds in bearer and quality indicator determination (as radio
conditions depend on user speed)
Mapping
Reception equipment properties

Terminal Properties
Terminal: parameters used in predictions

Min/max terminal power Min/max terminal power + noise figure + losses
Gain and losses

Noise figure
Antenna settings (incl. MIMO support)
Carrier aggregation settings
Carrier aggregation parameters
Support of
MIMO
Number of antenna ports in UL and DL in case of MIMO support

Fast Link Adaptation Modelling
Atoll determines, on each pixel, the highest bearer that each user can obtain
After the layer determination, connection to the best server in terms of RS level or SS-RSRP
Bearer chosen according to the radio conditions (PDSCH and PUSCH CINR levels)
Process: prediction done via look-up tables
Radio conditions
Best server area
estimation Throughput &
SS-RSRP determination
(PDSCH and Bearer selection Quality
evaluation (limited by min.
PUSCH CINR predictions
SS-RSRP)
calculation)

Interference Estimation
Atoll calculates PDSCH and PUSCH CINR according to:

The victim traffic (PUSCH or PDSCH) power [C]
The sum of interfering signals [I], affected by:
• The interfering signals’ EIRP (power + gains - losses) weighted by traffic loads (in DL) and Beam Usage DL
• The path loss from the interferers to the victim
• The shadowing effect and the indoor losses (optional)
• The interference reduction factor applied to interfering base stations transmitting on adjacent channels
(adjacent channel suppression factor)
• The interference reduction due to static ICIC (optional)

Prediction Examples (General Studies)
Coverage by SS-RSRP level

(based on SS-RSRP levels)
Coverage by transmitter
(based on SS-RSRP levels)

Prediction Examples (Dedicated Studies)
Coverage by PDSCH CINR
Coverage by PDSCH level

Peak RLC Throughput (DL)
Coverage by bearer DL

Peak RLC Throughput (UL)
Coverage by PUSCH CINR

Point Analysis Tool: Reception
Radio reception diagnosis at a given point Synchronization

signals, PBCH,
PDSCH and
PUSCH
Choice of RAT Choice of UL/DL load conditions: availability
taken into if (cells table) is selected → analysis based on DL load and UL Selection of the value to be
(or not)
consideration noise rise from cells table displayed (SS-RSRP, SSS, PDSCH)
Definition of the user (layer Cell bar graphs (best server on top)
or channel, terminal, service,
mobility)
Analysis details on
reference signals,
PDSCH and PUSCH

Point Analysis Tool: Interference
Radio interference diagnosis at a given point
Choice of UL/DL load conditions:

Choice of RAT if (cells table) is selected → analysis based on DL load and UL Serving cell
taken into noise rise from cells table (C)
consideration Selection of the value to be displayed
(SSS, PBCH, PDCCH, PDSCH)
Total level of
interference
(I + N)
Definition of the user (layer
or channel, terminal, service,
mobility)
List of interfering cells

Training Programme
1. 5G NR Concepts
9. 3D Beamforming
10. FD-MIMO

Carrier Aggregation
Definition
Carrier Aggregation (CA) increases the
channel bandwidth by combining multiple RF
carriers
• Each individual RF carrier is known as a
Component Carrier (CC)
Up to 16 CCs can be aggregated to reach a

maximum of 1 GHz
Carriers can use different numerologies
Carrier Aggregation is applicable to both DL

and UL, and both FDD and TDD
3 general types of Carrier Aggregation

scenario have been defined by 3GPP
• Intra-band contiguous
• Intra-band non-contiguous
• Inter-band

Carrier Aggregation
Carrier Aggregation categorises cells as:

Primary Cell
• The cell upon which the UE performs initial connection establishment
• Each connection has a single primary cell
• The primary cell can be changed during the handover procedure
• Used to generate inputs during security procedures
• Used to define NAS mobility information (e.g. Tracking Area Identity)
Secondary Cell
• A cell which has been configured to provide additional radio resources after connection establishment
• Each connection can have multiple secondary cells
Serving Cell
• Both primary and secondary cells
are categorised as serving cells
• There is one HARQ entity per
serving cell at the UE
• The different serving cells may
have different coverage

Carrier Aggregation
Primary and Secondary cells are

modelled in Atoll via the parameter
“Cell Type”
A cell can be configured to be a 5GNR
P-Cell (Primary Cell) and a 5GNR S-Cell
(Secondary Cell).
Cell type cannot be left empty.

Carrier Aggregation
5G NR terminals in Atoll
Carrier Aggregation support is
defined at the terminal level
• You must define the maximum
number of Secondary Cells
supported in DL and UL
• The number of UL Secondary
Cells must be less than or equal
to the number of DL Secondary
Cells
• Setting the maximum number
of Secondary Cells to 0 means
that the terminal does not
support Carrier Aggregation

Carrier Aggregation
Improvements in predictions for Carrier Aggregation

You can carry out coverage predictions for different serving cells
• Main (P-Cell cells)
• Nth S-Cell
You can also perform aggregated throughput predictions including all serving cells, or even some of
them
Throughput prediction Coverage prediction

Carrier Aggregation
Example: Coverage by throughput

Intra-band contiguous Carrier Aggregation
• Co-located cells with similar coverage
• Channel width = 50 + 50 MHz
• MIMO 128 X 128 (FD MIMO)
Without Carrier Aggregation With Carrier Aggregation

Carrier Aggregation
Improvements in the Point Analysis Tool for Carrier Aggregation
Serving Cells (P-Cell and S-Cell)
Aggregated throughput

Carrier Aggregation
Carrier Aggregation modes

Intra gNB Carrier aggregation
• If no CA group defined, this mode will be activated by default:
Serving Cells (P-Cell and S-Cell)
Aggregated
throughput

Carrier Aggregation

Carrier Aggregation groups (inter/intra technology)
• Create a CA group in order to activate this option in Atoll: Serving Cells (P-Cell and S-Cell)
Aggregated
throughput

Carrier Aggregation
Carrier Aggregation modes Carrier Aggregation

Groups

Carrier Aggregation

Multi-gNB Carrier Aggregation
• This mode will be activated with an ini option: Serving Cells (P-Cell and S-Cell)
[5G NR]
CAWithinENB = 0
Aggregated
throughput

Training Programme
1. 5G NR Concepts
9. 3D Beamforming
10. FD-MIMO

Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS)
Introduction
Dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) is the process of sharing a bandwidth between a 5G NR cell and an LTE
cell in an automatically adjusted manner
The amount of bandwidth allocated to either radio access technology depends on the amount of traffic
corresponding to each RAT
DSS is a means to reuse LTE spectrum for 5G NR deployments in the sub-6 GHz frequency range
DSS enables a much smoother transition from LTE to 5G NR than a spectrum re-farming process would
allow
The “dynamic” in dynamic spectrum sharing comes from the fact that eNB/gNB schedulers are able to
perform radio resource allocation (RRM) between LTE and 5G NR cells based on several dynamically
varying parameters such as amounts of traffic, cell loads, quality of service (QoS), etc.

Prerequisites
In order to enable DSS modelling in Atoll 3.4.1, you must add the following fields in the 5G NR cells table

Prerequisites
In order to enable DSS modelling in Atoll 3.4.1, you must add the following fields in the 5G NR cells table

Settings
Frequency bands and carriers
• DSS cells must use carriers of bandwidths compatible with both LTE and 5G NR: 5, 10, 15, or 20 MHz
• DSS cells must be assigned either the same carrier or carriers that use the same downlink centre frequency and total
width, belonging to either the same or different frequency bands
• LTE and 5G NR cells can be assigned to the same or different transmitters

Settings
DSS Cell pairs
• Paired DSS cells must use the same carrier
• It is possible to activate DSS for each 5G NR cell, and either select the paired LTE DSS cell or let Atoll find the paired cell
by leaving this parameter empty
▪ Atoll will look for a co-channel LTE cell on the same transmitter as the 5G NR cell. If it finds more than one cochannel LTE cells on
the same transmitter as the 5G NR cell, it will select the first one alphabetically

Settings
Cell Capacities and Overheads
• It’s possible to model the time-average effect of DSS on cell capacities
▪ LTE and 5G NR cells serve 4G and 5G traffic respectively, their average cell loads at different instances (busy hour, worst busy hour,
daily average, etc.) can be obtained from the network and input to Atoll
• The average cell loads depict the quantities of 4G and 5G traffic observed within the service areas of the cells that can
be used to define the maximum cell capacities of the paired DSS LTE and 5G NR cells
• Similarly, any overheads caused by DSS, e.g., LTE control channels excluded from useful 5G NR PDSCH and 5G NR
control channels excluded from useful LTE PDSCH, can be excluded from the cell capacities

Analysis
In order to analyse your DSS deployment, it’s possible to use :
• LTE-specific or 5G NR-specific coverage predictions and select Inter-RAT interference from the opposite radio access
technology (Ex : capacity coverage predictions will be based on the cell capacities defined per cell using the display by
cell capacities)
• The Point Analysis tool
• Monte Carlo simulations

Result examples for LTE
Without DSS
With DSS

Result examples for 5G NR
Without DSS
With DSS

Training Programme
1. 5G NR Concepts
9. 3D Beamforming
10. FD-MIMO

Neighbour Allocation
Detailed information about neighbours allocation is available in Atoll_3.4.1_Neighbours.pdf

Training Programme
1. 5G NR Concepts
9. 3D Beamforming
10. FD-MIMO

Automatic Resource Allocation
Automatic Physical Cell ID planning

AFP overview
Automatic resource allocation process
Interference matrix calculation
Physical Cell ID overview
PCI allocation process
Running the automatic resource allocation
PCI allocation examples
Automatic PRACH Root Sequences

PRACH channel
PRACH RSI Planning Theory
Automatic PRACH RSI Planning

AFP Overview (1/2)
Prerequisite: AFP license
Goal: Optimize resource allocation (PCI or PRACH RSIs) following the user-defined constraints
• To avoid collisions (PCI)
• To avoid PRACH root sequence index collisions (PRACH RSIs)
Tool based on an iterative cost-based algorithm

The algorithm starts with the current frequency plan (used as initial state)
Different frequency plans are then evaluated and a cost is calculated for each of them
The best frequency allocation plan is the one with the lowest global cost

AFP Overview (2/2)
The cost is calculated thanks to:

Interference matrices
• Probabilities of interference in co- and adjacent channel cases
• A probability is calculated for each case and for each interfered-interfering cell pair
Distance relation
• Avoid frequency reuse between cells for which the inter-site distance is lower than a “min. reuse distance”
• Taking into account distance and cells’ azimuth
Neighbours
• Taking into account neighbours importance (can be calculated by Atoll)

Automatic Resource Allocation Process
Define radio parameters at cells level

• Resource PCI/Channel/PRACH-RSI allocation
• Allocation status: not allocated or locked
• Minimum reuse distance (optional)
Import / calculate a neighbour plan
Import / calculate an interference matrix
Run the automatic resource allocation tool
Analyse results and Commit

Interference Matrix Calculation (1/2)
Interference matrix definition

For each cell pair, interference probability for co and adjacent channel cases
Probabilities of interference are stated as the ratio between:

• The interfered area within the best server area of the victim
• Best server area of the victim
Serving Area
TX_B
Interfering
TX_A Transmitter
Victim Transmitter
Area where TX_B is interfering TX_A

 Interference probability = 50%
 In other words, 50% of TX_A’s serving area is interfered by TX_B
C C
Co-channel interference occurs when:  Min (Reference Signal)
(I  MQ ) + N N

Interference Matrix Calculation (2/2)

Physical Cell ID Overview
Physical Cell ID definition

Cell search and identification is based on Physical Cell IDs
• Optimised allocation needed to avoid unnecessary problems
in cell recognition and selection
1008 Physical Cell IDs defined by 3GPP
Physical Cell ID grouped into:

• 336 unique Cell ID groups (SSS IDs in Atoll, from 0 to 335)
• Each group containing 3 unique identities (PSS IDs in Atoll, from 0 to 2)
When Physical Cell ID is known, cell is recognized by mobile based on the received reference signal
Channel estimation performed on SS signals

Physical Cell ID Allocation Process
PCI allocation to cells

Main requirement
• Avoid PCI collision and confusion
• Not allocate the same PCI to nearby cells
• To avoid problems in cell search and selection PCI B
PCI A
PCI A PCI A
PCI B
PCI collision PCI confusion
Secondary requirements
• Different PSS ID at nearby cells
• Preferably the same SSS ID at co-site cells (especially in the case of 3-sector sites)
• May facilitate neighbour cell identification
• May help in measurements and handover procedures

Running the Automatic Resource Allocation (1/6)


Possibility to allocate Physical Cell IDs or PRACH Root
Sequences
Allocation constraints
Run the calculation


Possibility to allocate channels, Physical Cell IDs or
PRACH Root Sequences
Run the calculation

During the optimisation, you can monitor the reduction of the total cost

You can compare the distribution histograms of the initial and current allocation plans

Once Atoll has finished allocating Physical Cell IDs, the proposed allocation plan is
available on the Results tab
The proposed PCI plan can be assigned automatically to the cells of the network if you click
Commit

Find on Map Tool Overview
You can visualise Cell Identifiers on the map

Possibility to find cells which are assigned a given:
• Physical cell ID
• PSS ID
• SSS ID
• PRACH RSI
Way to use this tool

Create and calculate a coverage by transmitter with a colour
display by transmitter
Open the “Find on map” l available in the “tools” menu

• or use [Ctrl+F],
• or directly in the toolbar

PSS ID Search
PSS ID reuse on the map
Colours given to transmitters according

to PSS ID value

PCI Allocation Audit (1/2)
You can check if your constraints are satisfied by the current allocation by performing an audit
Respect of a minimum reuse distance
Respect of neighbourhood constraints (two neighbour cells must have a different PCI)
Respect of PSS/SSS ID allocation strategy

PCI Allocation Audit (2/2)
Audit results
The exclamation mark icon ( ) means that the collision may or may not be a problem depending on your
network design rules and selected strategies.
On the other hand, the cross icon ( ) implies an error.

Automatic PRACH RSI
PRACH channel
Automatic PRACH RSI Planning

PRACH Channel
The Physical Random Access CHannel (PRACH) is used to transmit the random access
preamble used to initiate the random access procedure. This channel allows UEs to achieve
uplink time synchronisation
Duration depends on the preamble format
Sequence Length L = 839 for preamble formats 0 to 2 => 6 RB CYCLIC GUARD

Sequence Length L = 839 for preamble formats 3 => 24 RB SEQUENCE
Sequence Length L = 139 for preamble formats AX, BX and CX => 12 RB PREFIX TIME
Sub-carrier spacing 1.25 kHz for formats 0 to 2

Sub-carrier spacing 5 kHz for format 3
Sub-carrier spacing 15*2µ where µ ∈ {0, 1 2, 3}
for formats AX, BX and CX
Contention-free random Access Procedure
PRACH resources are multiplexed with PUSCH and PUCCH

PRACH Channel
Differences in the time domain of different preamble formats include different CP length,
Sequence Length, GP length and number of repetitions

PRACH Channel
Different sections of the network can be planned with different preamble formats if the
cell range varies from one area to another

Purpose: Determine different preamble sequences to allow multiple UE using the same
frequency and time domain resources to simultaneously connect to a gNB. Each sequence
is generated by cyclic shifting one or several root sequence index (RSI).
Preamble sequences are CAZAC* codes generated using the Zadoff-Chu method
Each cell has 64 preamble sequences
838 RSI are available for FDD (format 0 to 3) and 138 for TDD (format AX, BX and CX).
Depending on the PRACH format (or cell size), a different quantity of RSI is required per cell.
15 km
RSI 10-19 4 km
RSI 0-2
Suburban-Rural Cell Urban Cell

10 RSI required per cell 3 RSI required per cell
* CAZAC: Constant Amplitude Zero Autocorrelation

The root sequence index values allocated to each cell should ensure that neighbouring cells
have different sets of root sequences
A maximum RSI re-use can be implemented when a minimum number of RSI is used
For the urban case, 3 RSI are necessary per cell. 838 different RSI are available, so 838/3  279 cells
can be allocated before reuse
For the rural case, 10 RSI are used per cell  838/10  83 cells can be allocated before reuse
Suburban-Rural Cell Urban Cell

10 RSI required per cell 3 RSI required per cell

Atoll will allow the user to directly enter the number of required root sequence per cell.
This approach provides the most flexibility in case of different equipment and propagation
environments imply additional delays and margins which impact the calculation of the quantity of
required root sequence per cell.
The mapping tables show values calculated for ideal conditions, i.e., no delay spread and perfect
equipment. There are shown for information only .
3GPP parameters used for the PRACH RSI allocation are described in the following table
Parameter Range Description

PRACH Configuration Index 0 to 63 Determines the preamble format, version and density
Determines the size of the cyclic shift and the number
Zero Correlation Zone 0 to 15 of preamble sequence that can be generated from each
root sequence
High Speed Flag True/False Reduce Doppler effect at very high speed (> 200 km/h)
Preamble sequence generated form root sequence
Root Sequence Index 0 to 837
index
Determines the PRACH preambles position in the
PRACH Frequency Offset 0 to 94
frequency domain

Mapping table details (Long Sequence - FDD)

839: 𝑅𝑆𝐼 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑅𝑆𝐼 = 𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 (Number of 𝐶𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑆ℎ𝑖𝑓𝑡s)
64 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑅𝑆𝐼 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙 = 𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑝 ( )
Preamble Sequences per Root Sequence
Use case 1: Cell range 10 km

Maximum cell range configuration 12364 m => Number of Cyclic Shifts = 93
Quantity of preamble sequences generated from each RSI = Rounddown (839 / 93) = 9
Number of required RSI per cell = Roundup (64/9) = 8. 3GPP parameters used for the PRACH RSI allocation are
described in the following table
Use case 2: Cell range 25 km

Number of required RSI per cell = Roundup (64/2) = 32.
Mapping of cell size to required number of PRACH RSIs.

Use Case 1
Use Case 2

Mapping table details (Short Sequence - TDD)

139: 𝑅𝑆𝐼 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑅𝑆𝐼 = 𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 (Number of 𝐶𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑆ℎ𝑖𝑓𝑡s)
64 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑅𝑆𝐼 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙 = 𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑝 ( )
Preamble Sequences per Root Sequence
Use case: Urban Cell – Cell range 700m

Number of required RSI per cell = Roundup (64/7) = 10. 3GPP parameters used for the PRACH RSI allocation
are described in the following table
Mapping of cell size to required number of PRACH RSIs
Use Case

Automatic PRACH RSI Planning (1/6)

Resource selection Initial cost calculation before planning
Cell parameters
Run the calculation

Specify PRACH RSI resources to be used for the allocation

Once Atoll has finished allocating PRACH RSIs, the proposed allocation plan is available on
the Results tab
The proposed PRACH RSI plan can be assigned automatically to the cells of the network if you click
Commit

A quantity of 10 PRACH RSIs has been automatically allocated per cell because of the cell
table configuration

You can check if your constraints are satisfied by the current allocation by performing an
audit
Respect of a minimum reuse distance
Respect of neighbourhood constraints (two neighbour cells must have different PRACH RSIs)
Interference matrix consideration

Training Programme
1. 5G NR Concepts
9. 3D Beamforming
10. FD-MIMO

3D Beamforming
Introduction
3D Beamforming Advantages
3D Beamforming Antenna Hardware
3D Beamforming Antenna Software
3D Beamforming Physical Array
3D Beamforming Logical Array
3D Beamforming Antenna Configuration
Beam Usage

Introduction (1/4)
5G NR Radio Wave Propagation on High Frequencies

High free space path loss and additional losses (vegetation/foliage loss, Atmospheric attenuation…)
High propagation loss in NLOS scenarios
Narrow Fresnel Ellipsoid

Introduction (2/4)
Beamforming in horizontal and vertical planes
Enabler for massive MIMO: Co-scheduling of users served through different beams
Codebook-based beamforming
Selection of the most optimum beam from a list of pre-defined beams
Low computational complexity
Adaptive non-codebook beamforming

Dynamic calculation of the ideal beam
Computationally intensive

Introduction (3/4)
Antenna Element Sizes

If the frequency increase, the antenna elements’ effective size decreases
2x2 Antenna Array
𝐿∝ 𝜆
𝐿∝ 𝜆

Introduction (4/4)
3D Beamforming / Massive MIMO Antennas
8x8 Antenna Array for 28GHz 16x16 Antenna Array for 60GHz

3D Beamforming Advantages (1/2)
Improved Gain
By combining different radiating elements to point to the same target, the energy is focused and the
resulting gain is improved
Interference Reduction
The communication with each user is made through a narrow beam, this avoid receiving interference
from different sources and also avoid sending interference to other users.
Conventional Antenna Beamforming Antenna
Wasted Energy Beams focused towards the user:

and Interference more efficient energy use,
to others users improved gain, and
less Interference

3D Beamforming Advantages (2/2)
Increased Channel Capacity

Theoretical limit to transmit without error: 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑙 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑊. 𝑙𝑜𝑔2 (1 + SNR) , (bits/s)
By increasing the available Bandwidth (W) for each user and improving the Signal Noise Rate (SNR), the
communication channel capacity is improved
Wide Coverage Area

Covering a range of different azimuths (Horizontal Plane) and tilts (Vertical Plane) the 3D Beamforming
antenna can support users located in a wide 3D area

3D Beamforming Antenna Hardware
Physical antenna: Entire physical antenna panel
Antenna element: One radiating element within the antenna

panel
Physical antenna ports: Connection ports to antenna elements

One physical port per antenna element, or
Multiple antenna elements multiplexed on a fewer number of
physical ports
Antenna definition requires the knowledge of the following

M: Number of co-polar or cross-polar elements in a column
N: Number of co-polar or cross-polar elements in a row
P: Co-polar or cross-polar configuration
λV: Vertical inter-element spacing in multiples of λ
λH: Horizontal inter-element spacing in multiples of λ
The radiation pattern of any one of the antenna elements
(all antenna elements usually have the same physical characteristics)

3D Beamforming Antenna Software
Antenna pattern: Radiation pattern measured in an anechoic chamber

Different signals* applied to any antenna (called conditions) produce different patterns
Logical antenna ports: Interface or mapping between logical channels (e.g., reference signals)
and signals transmitted through antenna elements
Beamforming: The process of applying different signals to different antenna elements in order
to create antenna patterns favouring a given direction over the rest of radiation space
Note that beamforming is the name of the act of radiation, it is not the name of a mathematical
modelling method
Beamforming can be adaptive: all possible combinations of signal frequencies, phases, and amplitudes
Beamforming can be codebook-based: pre-defined list of signal frequencies, phases and amplitudes
Irrespective of how a radiation pattern is generated, “beamforming” is the term that should be
employed
*frequencies, phases, amplitudes

3D Beamforming Physical Array
Physical construction
Physical array of antenna elements containing (M rows, N columns, P polarizations)
The antenna element is a single radiating element of polarization p, in a row m, and column n
The numbers of ports(transceivers) is a factor of the number of total elements
Physical Array: (4,4,2)

P: 2 polarizations
Antenna element -45°
M: 4 rows Antenna element +45°
N: 4 columns

3D Beamforming Logical Array (1/3)
Logical Array Co-Polar

Defines the relation between the antenna elements and the transceivers, each transceiver will feed a set
of antenna elements
16 logical ports
8 logical ports Logical Array: (4,4,1)
Logical Array: (1,4,1)
Physical Array: (8,4,1) Physical Array: (8,4,1) Physical Array: (8,4,1)
Sub-Array
Sub-Array
Sub-Array

Logical Array Cross-Polar

Defines the relation between the antenna elements and the transceivers, each transceiver will feed a set
of antenna elements
32 logical ports
Logical Array: (1,4,2)
Physical Array: (8,4,2) Physical Array: (8,4,2) Physical Array: (8,4,2)
Sub-Array
Sub-Array
Sub-Array

Logical Arrays Sub-Arrays Beamforming
Physical Array 3db
3db
Max Beam Gain Max Beam Gain

3D Beamforming Antenna Configuration (1/6)
General Parameters
Name
Physical Parameters
• Maximum and Minimum Frequency
• λV: Vertical inter-element spacing
• λH: Horizontal inter-element spacing
• M: Number of elements in a column
• N: Number of elements in a row
• Number of Transmission and Reception Ports
• Co-polar or Cross-polar configuration

Beam Generator (1/2)

Tool for generate beams to a 3D Beamforming Antenna

Beam Generator (2/2)

Select if the beams will
Select the radiation be for Service,
pattern of a single Refinement, Broadcast,
element or All
Configure the Logical

If enabled, Atoll will calculate Array Size
automatically how many
beams can be generated
without significant overlap Azimuth Start, End, and Step: A
between each other correspondent beam will be
generated for each azimuth in
this range*
Tilt Start, End, and step: (e.g.: -45°,-35°,…, 35°, 45°)
A correspondent beam will be
generate for each Tilt in this
range*
(e.g.: -5°,-3°,…, +3°, +5°)
Create and Commit the
beams to the 3D
Beamforming Antenna
Model
*Just if the option “Automatic” is disabled

Broadcast Beams
The Broadcast beams

are used for broadcast
the SS-PBCH in a wide
coverage area for all
potential users

Refinement Beams
Refinement Beams are

used for CSI estimation
during the initial access
process

Service Beams
The Service beams are

used to send traffic
data and traffic control
signals

Beam Usage (1/2)
Beam Usage Calculation

Beam Usage calculated
based on percentage of
covered area
Beam Usage calculated

based on percentage of
covered users of a
given Traffic Map

Beam Usage (2/2)
Beam Usage Results
Beam Usage calculated based on

5G NR: Downlink Coverage - Best Beam Traffic
percentage of covered area

Training Programme
1. 5G NR Concepts
9. 3D Beamforming
10. FD-MIMO

FD-MIMO
Introduction
MIMO Techniques Overview
Dynamic MIMO Switching
What is FD-MIMO?
FD-MIMO Quality Improvements
FD-MIMO Configuration
FD-MIMO Analysis

Introduction (1/2)
Shannon’s formula
Theoretical limit to transmit without error: 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑙 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑊. 𝑙𝑜𝑔2 (1 + SNR) , (bits/s)
How to increase the channel capacity ?

Increase the bandwidth (W )
Improve the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR )
Limitation of SISO* systems to reach very high data rates
Why MIMO ?
The usage of multiple antennas improves dramatically the channel capacity without additional
bandwidth or transmit power
Expected benefits with MIMO

• Higher throughput
• Better coverage
*SISO: Single Input Single Output

Introduction (2/2)
General concept of MIMO

Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) configurations benefit from multiple antenna elements at
the transmitter and multiple antenna elements at the receiver
Terminology
Similar terminology is used for Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO), Multiple Input Single Output
(MISO), and Single Input Single Output (SISO)
4x2 MIMO
1x4 SIMO
Propagation
channel Propagation
channel
4x1 MISO SISO
Propagation Propagation
channel channel

MIMO Techniques Overview
Four different MIMO techniques can be listed
Transmit diversity
• Aims to improve the signal quality by sending several times the same data stream
• Usually used in areas with bad CINR conditions
Single-User MIMO (or SU-MIMO, also referred to as Spatial Multiplexing)

• Aims to improve the signal throughput by transmitting simultaneously (i.e. using the same
set of time/frequency resources) multiple data streams to a single user
• Usually used in areas with good CINR conditions
Beamforming
• Aims to improve both signal quality and throughput by focusing the signal energy towards
the receiver
Multi-User MIMO (or MU-MIMO)

• Aims to improve the system capacity by sending simultaneously different data streams to
different users

Dynamic MIMO mode (1/3)
Definition
Atoll can dynamically switch between different MIMO techniques depending on the radio condition
Different option can be implemented:
• TX DIV  SU-MIMO, TX DIV  MU-MIMO, TX DIV  MU-MIMO  SU-MIMO
Good radio conditions Bad radio conditions

-> Use of SU-MIMO -> Use of Tx/Rx diversity
-> Better throughput -> Better CINR
Transition area between SU-MIMO and Tx/Rx diversity

-> Determined by the SU-MIMO threshold (see next slide)
• In this example, Atoll can automatically switch from SU-MIMO to Tx/Rx diversity as the radio conditions
deteriorate
Advantages
Improves the throughput for users situated near the transmitter
Increases the signal quality for cell edge users

The SU-MIMO threshold is the parameter used to switch from SU-MIMO to Tx/Rx diversity
It can be defined in the reception equipment properties
• Default Cell Equipment (for UL calculations)
• Default UE Equipment (for DL calculations)
It is expressed in dB and refers to the Reference Signal or the PDSCH/PUSCH quality
The SU-MIMO threshold depends on the user

mobility

You can choose the criterion the SU-MIMO threshold will be based upon in the LTE global
settings
Reference Signal C/N or C/(I+N)
PDSCH or PUSCH C/(I+N)

What is FD-MIMO?
What is FD-MIMO?
FD-MIMO stands for Full Dimension MIMO
FD-MIMO is MU-MIMO (user co-scheduling) combined with 3D beamforming and SU-MIMO
Implemented initially in LTE-A Pro
Number of BS antennas: around 64 to 128

FD-MIMO Quality Improvements (1/2)
CINR improvement with the FD-MIMO technique

Let’s consider for instance the CINRPDSCH
CINRPDSCH (MIMO) = CINRPDSCH (No MIMO) + Diversity Gains (SU-MIMO + MU-MIMO) + Additional Diversity Gain (DL)

FD-MIMO Quality Improvements (2/2)
Throughput improvement with the FD-MIMO technique

Let’s consider for instance the DL peak RLC Allocated Bandwidth Throughput
Peak Th.(MIMO) = Peak Th.(No MIMO) x [ 1+ SU-MIMO Gain Factor x (Max SU-MIMO Gain– 1) ] x MU-MIMO Capacity Gain

FD-MIMO Configuration (1/2)
Transmitters and User Terminal Configurations

Transmitters Configuration User Terminal Configuration
Radio equipment
defining MIMO
diversity and
throughput gains
Set the appropriate

number of
Antennas* Set ‘MIMO Support’
to ‘Yes’
Set the appropriate

number of
Antennas
*FD-MIMO needs more than 8 antennas at transmitter level

FD-MIMO Configuration (2/2)
Cells Configurations
In ‘Diversity Support’
select ‘SU-MIMO’
and ‘MU-MIMO’
For Downlink studies

set the number of
MU-MIMO users*
*It can be also an output of a Monte-Carlo simulation

FD-MIMO Analysis (1/2)
Coverage of Downlink Capacity

FD-MIMO
5G NR: Downlink Capacity

Peak RLC Allocated Bandwidth Throughput (DL) (kbps) >=700,000
Configuration Peak RLC Allocated Bandwidth Throughput (DL) (kbps) >=650,000
• FD-MIMO Peak RLC Allocated Bandwidth Throughput (DL) (kbps) >=600,000
• 50MHz
• Nb of Tx Antenna Ports = 64 Peak RLC Allocated Bandwidth Throughput (DL) (kbps) >=450,000
• Nb of Rx Antenna Ports = 4 Peak RLC Allocated Bandwidth Throughput (DL) (kbps) >=400,000
• Nb of MU-MIMO users = 32
Peak RLC Allocated Bandwidth Throughput (DL) (kbps) >=0

FD-MIMO Analysis (2/2)
Point Analysis Tool

Appendix

5G NR throughput formulas
Downlink Peak RLC channel Throughput

𝑷𝑫𝑺𝑪𝑯 𝑹𝑬 𝑨𝑽𝑨𝑰𝑳𝑨𝑩𝑳𝑬∗𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚
𝑷𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝑹𝑳𝑪 𝑻𝒉𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒌𝒃𝒑𝒔 =
𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒔
• Number of Resource Elements available for PDSCH
• Bearer Efficiency : Number of bits per symbol * Coding rate
• Frame duration : 10 ms
Downlink Effective RLC channel throughput

𝑬𝒇𝒇 𝑹𝑳𝑪 𝑻𝒉𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒌𝒃𝒑𝒔 = 𝑷𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝑹𝑳𝑪 𝑻𝒉𝒑𝒖𝒕 ∗ (𝟏 − 𝑩𝑳𝑬𝑹)
• BLER: Downlink block error rate read from the graphs available in 4G/5G Network Settings / Reception Equipment

Downlink Application channel throughput

𝑺𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓
𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒌𝒃𝒑𝒔 = 𝑬𝒇𝒇 𝑹𝑳𝑪 𝑻𝒉𝒑𝒖𝒕 ∗ − 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒔𝒆𝒕
𝟏𝟎𝟎
• Throughput scaling factor defined in the properties of the service used by the pixel (Traffic parameters / Services)
• Throughput offset defined in the properties of the service used by the pixel (Traffic parameters / Services)
Downlink peak RLC cell capacity

𝑷𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒌𝒃𝒑𝒔 = 𝑷𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝑹𝑳𝑪 𝑻𝒉𝒑𝒖𝒕 ∗ 𝑻. 𝑳.𝑴𝑨𝑿
• T.L.: Maximum Downlink Traffic Load
Downlink effective RLC cell capacity

𝑬𝒇𝒇 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒌𝒃𝒑𝒔 = 𝑷𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 ∗ (𝟏 − 𝑩𝑳𝑬𝑹)
• BLER: Downlink block error rate read from the graphs available in 4G/5G Network Settings / Reception Equipment
• Peak Cell Capacity: Downlink Peak RLC Cell capacity (kbps)

Downlink Application cell capacity

𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 (𝒌𝒃𝒑𝒔) = 𝑬𝒇𝒇 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 ∗ (𝑺𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓)/𝟏𝟎𝟎 − 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒔𝒆𝒕
• Throughput scaling factor defined in the properties of the service used by the pixel (Traffic parameters / Services)
• Throughput offset defined in the properties of the service used by the pixel (Traffic parameters / Services)
Downlink peak RLC throughput per user

𝑷𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝑹𝑳𝑪 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚
𝑷𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝑹𝑳𝑪 𝑻𝒉𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒃𝒑𝒔 =
𝑵𝑫𝑳 𝑼𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒔
• N DL users: Number of users connected to the cell in downlink
Downlink effective RLC throughput per user

𝑬𝒇𝒇 𝑹𝑳𝑪 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚
𝑬𝒇𝒇 𝑹𝑳𝑪 𝑻𝒉𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒃𝒑𝒔 =
• N DL users: Number of users connected to the cell in downlink

Downlink application throughput per user

𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚
𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒃𝒑𝒔 =
• NDL users: Number of users connected to the cell in downlink

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5G NR Features

Confidential – Do not share without prior permission

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 2

Synchronisation and Initial Access

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 3

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 4

New evolutionary ecosystem to incorporate multiple complementary technologies

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 5

Numerology & Waveform Frame Structure Initial Access & Mobility

mmWave Beam Management 3D Beamforming Channel Coding

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 6

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Non-standalone (NSA) Standalone (SA)

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 9

Low frequencies → Coverage

High frequencies → Capacity

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 10

FR1: 450 MHz – 6000 MHz

FR2: 24250 MHz – 52600 MHz

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 11

Virtual subdivisions of carriers

Multiple bandwidth parts per carrier

Added flexibility in resource allocation per service type

Can be dynamically activated/deactivated

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 12

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*just for sub-carrier spacing of 60kHz

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 14

A slot can be:

Slot aggregation possible

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 15

Numerologies help adapt the radio to diverse

Numerologies are formed by scaling the baseline

15 kHz x 2μ , where μ = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, [5, …]

Number of OFDM Number of Slots per Number of Slots per

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 16

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 17

Synchronisation uses PSS, SSS, and PBCH called SS/PBCH blocks

SS/PBCH blocks: 4 OFDM symbols and 20 PRBs

PSS: Used for beam training, tiling, and frequency synchronization

SSS: Used for beam training, tiling, and frequency synchronization

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 18

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 19

10ms 10ms 10ms 10ms 10ms 10ms 10ms 10ms

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Subcarrier Spacing OFDM Symbols 𝐿𝑀𝐴𝑋 = 8

Confidential – © Forsk 2018 | 21

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 22

Subcarrier Spacing Carrier Bandwidth OFDM Symbols 𝐿𝑀𝐴𝑋 = 4

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 23

PSS, SSS, and PBCH are the only always-on signals in NR

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 24

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 25

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Downlink physical signals Uplink physical signals

Confidential – © Forsk 2021 | 27

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