WO - NAST3010 - E01 - 0 UMTS Handover Control P51

UMTS Handover Control
Contents
1 Function Introduction................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Soft/Softer Handover.........................................................................................................................2
1.2 Inter-Frequency Hard Handover........................................................................................................2
1.3 Inter-RAT Mobility............................................................................................................................3
1.4 Inter-RNC Handover with Iur Support..............................................................................................4
1.5 Coverage Based Handover................................................................................................................4
1.6 Compressed Mode.............................................................................................................................5
1.7 Neighboring Cells Priorities..............................................................................................................5
1.8 SRNS Relocation...............................................................................................................................5
2 Compressed Mode Strategy.......................................................................................................................7
3 Intra-Frequency Handover Strategy........................................................................................................9
3.1 Intra-Frequency Measurement...........................................................................................................9
3.1.1 Introduction to Intra-Frequency Measurement.......................................................................9
3.1.2 Neighboring Cells Configuration.........................................................................................10
3.2 Intra-Frequency Handover Decision...............................................................................................12
3.2.1 Event 1A-Triggered Handover.............................................................................................12
3.2.2 Event 1B-Triggered Handover.............................................................................................13
3.2.3 Event 1C-Triggered Handover.............................................................................................14
3.2.4 Event 1D-Triggered Handover.............................................................................................15
3.2.5 CIO Configuration Strategy..................................................................................................16
3.2.6 Time-To-Trigger Mechanism Used to Control Event Report...............................................16
3.3 Intra-Frequency Handover Procedure.............................................................................................17
3.3.1 Inter-RNC Soft Handover (Add a Radio Link).....................................................................17
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3.3.2 Inter-RNC Soft Handover (Delete a Radio Link).................................................................18
3.3.3 Inter-RNC Soft Handover (Swap a Radio Link)...................................................................19
3.3.4 Intra-RNC Hard handover....................................................................................................20
3.3.5 Inter-RNC Hard Handover Through lur Interface................................................................21
3.3.6 Inter-RNC Hard Handover Without lur Interface.................................................................22
4 Inter-Frequency Handover Strategy.......................................................................................................23
4.1 Inter-Frequency Measurement.........................................................................................................23
4.1.1 Introduction to Inter-Frequency Measurement.....................................................................24
4.1.2 Inter-Frequency Measurement Control Method...................................................................26
4.2 Downlink Coverage Based Inter-Frequency Handover...................................................................29
5 SRNS Relocation......................................................................................................................................31
5.1 Relocation Triggered by Soft Handover..........................................................................................32
5.2 Relocation Triggered by Hard Handover.........................................................................................34
6 Inter-RAT Handover Policy.....................................................................................................................37
6.1 Inter-RAT Measurement..................................................................................................................37
6.1.1 Overview of Inter-RAT Measurement..................................................................................38
6.2 Inter-RAT Handover Based on Downlink Coverage.......................................................................41
6.3 Inter-RAT Handover Process...........................................................................................................42
6.3.1 CS Service Handover from 3G System to 2G System..........................................................42
6.3.2 PS Service Reselection in 3G to 2G Handover.....................................................................45
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1 Function Introduction
The cell handover strategy is required in UMTS to implement the mobility

management of RRC connection due to the mobility of UE. It is also required to
balance traffic among cells to lower traffic in heavily-loaded cell. The service
connection must not be interrupted and QoS must be met during handover.
In the process of handover:
 The handover in which a UE retains radio connection with the original cell while
establishing radio connection in a new cell is referred to as soft handover.
 During soft handover, if the new and original cells are located under the same
NodeB, this type of handover is referred to as softer handover.
 If UE needs to disconnect link with the original cell before setting up a link
(synchronization) with the new cell (that is, new and original links do not co-exist
in UE), this type of handover is referred to as hard handover.
A interruption will occur to UE transmitting and receiving at the time of hard handover.
Therefore, the hard handover may affect the QoS.
The handover may also be further classified into intra-frequency handover, inter-
frequency handover and Inter-RAT handover based on different cell frequency
features/access technologies before and after handover. A UE in a connection mode can
only receive the service data of single frequency, but the soft handover/softer handover
requires the UE to retain radio link with several cells concurrently, so soft/softer
handover must be intra-frequency handover. But the handover between cells in the
same frequency may not necessarily be soft/softer handover, and it may be hard
handover. The inter-frequency/Inter-RAT handover is hard handover without fail
because of the change of carrier frequency/frequency band. Generally a UE has only
one set of receiver/transmitter, so the compressed mode is necessary for inter-
frequency/Inter-RAT measurement. The following table lists the correspondence
between handover and compressed modes.
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Table 1 Correspondence between handover and compressed modes
Softer Hard Require compression or not

Soft handover
handover handover
Intra-frequency Y Y Y N
Inter-frequency N N Y Y
Inter-RAT N N Y Y
The handover generally involves three steps: measurement, handover decision and
handover implementation. The measurement is the prerequisite for handover, the
handover decision is the core of handover and the handover implementation is the
process of implementing the handover decision.
1.1 Soft/Softer Handover

In a soft handover, a UE maintains several radio links with different NodeBs, while in a
softer handover, a UE concurrently maintains radio link with several cells in a NodeB,
and these several cells are also known as macro diversity.
The soft/softer handover can only occur in intra-frequency cells. Compared with the
hard handover, the soft/softer handover features are as follows:
 The soft and softer handovers are seamless handovers and no service will be
interrupted during handover.
 Macro diversity gain: When a UE maintains radio links with several cells, the
receiver may enhance the accuracy of data receiving and link receiving quality
and lower the transmit power of all links by combining the signal receiving results
of several links.
 The best cell where UE is registered may establish a radio connection with the UE
in time so as to lower the transmit power of UE.
In view of the above features, the soft and softer handovers will be taken in intra-
frequency handover in general.
1.2 Inter-Frequency Hard Handover

Inter-frequency hard handover means a UE in connecting state hands over from a cell
on a frequency of UTRAN to another cell on another frequency.
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Chapter 6 Inter-RAT Handover Policy
The factors triggering inter-frequency hard handover include radio quality, load, and
moving speed of UE.
Inter-frequency hard handover triggered by radio quality: Initiate inter-frequency

measurement when the quality of frequency where UE is currently located worsens,
and handover UE to the frequency with better quality based on inter-frequency
measurement results.
For non-double-receiver terminals in UMTS, the compressed mode must be initiated

for inter-frequency measurement. The initiation of compressed mode has some impact
on the performance of both system and UE,.Therefore, compressed mode must be
initiated only when necessary (for example, when the quality of current serving carrier
frequency worsens).
1.3 Inter-RAT Mobility

Inter-RAT mobility refers to the mobility management conducted when a UE switches
from one UMTS to another one. Here it only applies to the mobility management for
UE to switch from UTRAN to GERAN (the mobility management from GERAN to
UTRAN belongs to the strategy of GERAN).
This function requires UE to support both UMTS and GSM, Moreover, the GSM also
needs to offer related functions to support Inter-RAT handover. The functions required
by UMTS are described below.
UMTS-to-GSM handover supports the following services:
 Conversational services
 Videophone service fallback to ordinary voice service. (3GPP R6)
 PS transferred to GPRS/GERAN
For UMTS-to-GSM handover involving CS and PS RAB combination, the system first
switches CS service to GERAN first, and then RNC releases the PS on lu interface
upon receiving the context request message from CN.The UE activates the PS service
on GERAN upon the release of CS service.
In UMTS:
 UTRAN-to-GERAN mobility of CS service in connected mode is implemented

through CS service handover procedure
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 UTRAN-to-GERAN mobility of PS service in CELL_DCH state is implemented

through cell reselection procedure (PS service handover) triggered on the network
side
 UTRAN-to-GERAN mobility of PS service in CELL_FACH /URA_PCH state is

implemented through cell reselection procedure triggered by UE
 Load-based UTRAN-to-GERAN handover of PS service in CELL_FACH state is

implemented through cell reselection procedure triggered on the network side
 Inter-system mobility in connected mode must be accompanied by inter-system

relocation

for Inter-RAT measurement. Initiation of compressed mode has some impact on the
performance of both system and UE.Therefore, compressed mode must be initiated
only when necessary (for example, when the quality of current serving carrier
frequency worsens).
1.4 Inter-RNC Handover with Iur Support

The feature supports maintaining communication continuity in the case of a UE in
CELL_DCH state moving among inter-RNC cells. Iur interface is configured between
different RNCs to support that a UE maintains the original connection with the CN
when handing over in the coverage areas of different RNCs. There is no need to trigger
the SRNS relocation, so as to reduce the effects of SRNS relocation on service quality.
1.5 Coverage Based Handover

The feature supports utilizing the measurement report to judge the quality of radio link
and thus to perform handover to guarantee the service quality of the user in the case of
changing network coverage condition.
RNC supports controlling the UE to perform the intra-frequency, the inter-frequency

and the inter-RAT measurement and judges the radio link quality according to the
measurement resultof event triggerred report to trigger various handovers: soft/softer
handover, intra-frquency hard handover, inter-frequency hard handover and inter-RAT
handover. RNC also supports configuating different handover parameters for different
services.
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1.6 Compressed Mode

for Inter-RAT/inter-frequency measurement. The use of compressed mode means some
timeslots are specially used for inter-frequency/Inter-RAT measurement instead of data
transmission during transmitting and receiving.
1.7 Neighboring Cells Priorities

The feature supports configuring different priorities for different cells in adjacent cell
list. It makes a UE hand over to an adjacent cell of high priority at a higher success rate
to improve the handover performance of the system.
1.8 SRNS Relocation

This feature supports that a UE in the CELL_DCH state transfers service to a new
RNC when moving among adjacent RNC cells. When there is not Iur interface between
RNCs, SRNS relocation can maintain continuous service. When there is Iur interface
between RNCs, SRNS relocation triggered timely can reduce the transmission resource
consumption at the Iur interface.
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2 Compressed Mode Strategy

for Inter-RAT/inter-frequency measurement. The use of compressed mode means some
timeslots are specially used for inter-frequency/Inter-RAT measurement instead of data
transmission during transmitting and receiving. There are the following two ways to
generate compressed mode frames:
1. Halving of Spreading Factor (SF)
By halving the SF, the bandwidth can be increased so that some timeslots in one radio
frame can be specially assigned for inter-frequency/Inter-RAT measurement and some
can be specially assigned for data transmission. This transmission strategy is generally
used in services which raise high requirements for delay and assurance of minimum
data rate, for example, CS- and S-type PS data services.
2. Higher Layer Scheduling
The higher layer scheduling is in nature a strategy in which the higher layer adjusts and
controls the data transmission rate. Some timeslots in a radio frame can be specially
assigned for inter-frequency/Inter-RAT measurement and some can be specially
assigned for data transmission while the bandwidth remains unchanged. This strategy is
generally used for non-realtime services with low requirements for delay, for example,
I/B-type PS data services.
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3 Intra-Frequency Handover Strategy
Intra-frequency handover refers to the handover performed between cells under the
same frequency of UTRAN. The intra-frequency handover can be triggered based on
Ec/N0 or RSCP measurement through the parameter IntraMeasQuan.Intra-frequency
handover is measurement-based handover. Intra-frequency measurement contains
active set measurement, monitored set measurement and detected set measurement.
The active set refers to the collection of cells retaining radio connection with UE.
The monitored set refers to the collection of cells retaining no radio connection with
UE but requiring measurement by sending the intra-frequency measurement control
message to UE.
The detected set refers to the collection of intra-frequency cells except cells in the
active set and monitored set.
3.1 Intra-Frequency Measurement

When conducting intra-frequency measurement, the UE needs to implement layer 3
filter for the measurement results to avoid measurement fluctuation and then make
event decision and report by using filtered values. The layer 3 filter formula is as
follows:
F n=(1−a)⋅F n−1 +a⋅M n
Where,
Fn-1 refers to the result of last filter.
Fn refers to the result of current measurement filter.
Mn refers to current measurement result.
a = 1/2(k/2) refers to the filter coefficient calculated based on the filter factor K
(FilterCoeff (Intra)).
3.1.1 Introduction to Intra-Frequency Measurement
Intra-frquency measurement means to perform measurement on intra-frequency cells.
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Only event-based method of reporting measurement result is supported, and parameter
SofthoMthd is invalid. The event-based report method means the UE judges whether
intra-frequency events are met based on the quality measurement result of cell
PCPICH.If so, it reports intra-frequency events (including such information as event
ID, and target cell) to the RNC.
A series of intra-frequency measurement events are defined in 3GPP as the judgment

and trigger criteria for intra-frequency handover.
Event 1A: A Primary CPICH enters the Reporting Range. It can be used for adding cell
to the active set.
Event 1B: A Primary CPICH leaves the Reporting Range. It can be used for deleting
cell from the active set.
Event 1C: A Non-active Primary CPICH becomes better than an active Primary
CPICH. It can be used for replacing the cell with bad quality in the active set.
Event 1D: The best cell changes. It can be used for soft/softer handover, intra-
frequency hard handover and inter-frequency load balance.
3.1.2 Neighboring Cells Configuration
In neighboring cells configuration, adjacent cell list used for reselection in non-
CELL_DCH state and that used for handover in CELL_DCH state can be configured
separately. In handover, target cells are chosed by neighboring cells configuration state
(StateMode). When UE in macro diversity state, the neighboring cell list is the union of
neighboring cell list of each cell active set, then the number of intra-frequency
neighboring cells may exceed 32 which is the maximum number regulated by protocol.
If the number of intra-frequency neighboring cells exceeds 32, it needs to delete some
cells to ensure that there are only 32 intra-frequency neighboring cells. With minimal
impact on UE in active set, these dropped cells are those with poorer signal quality or
remoter geographical location. So each intra-frequency neighboring cell is configured
with a priority.
3.1.2.1 Cell Priority Configuration
The OMCR configuration parameter MeasPrio(utranRelation) is used to define the

priority of adjacent cells and includes three values (0: High priority; 1: Medium
priority; 2: Low priority). The specific value of MeasPrio(utranRelation) must be set by
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the network planning engineer based on existing network situation (for example,
adjacent cell quality and geographical location of adjacent cell). Figure 1 shows the cell
priority configuration based on the geographical location of adjacent cells. Take the
configuration of cells adjacent to the innermost gray cell as an example: there are three
layers of adjacent cells surrounding the gray cell, and they are differentiated from one
another with yellow (0: Top priority), blue (1: Medium priority) and red (2: Low
priority).
Figure 1 Cell priority configuration
3.1.2.2 Strategy for adjacent cells exceeding 32
As stipulated in the protocol, the maximum number of adjacent cells is 32 (including

source cell). When the UE is in the macro diversity state, the total number of intra-
frequency adjacent cells in the macro diversity may be in excess of 32, so some
strategies are required to control the number within 32, including:
 Priority combination strategy
If a cell is adjacent to several cells in the active set, that is, the priority levels
configured for this cell may vary, then combine the priority levels of this cell and
taking the highest priority as the priority of the cell.
 Sorting strategy
If the total number of adjacent cells in the active set is 32, the system prioritizes them
in descending order of priority and places the cells in excess of 32 in adjacent cell
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reserve list which can buffer at most 64 truncated intra-frequency cells.
The priority levels of adjacent cells in intra-frequency adjacent cell list will be updated
whenever Event 1A/1B/1C/1D is triggered. If Event 1B is triggered and the number of
adjacent cells is less than 32, the system selects cells from reserve list in descending
order of priority and places them in the intra-frequency adjacent cell list. The number
of cells that can be selected: min (32 – Number of existing cells in intra-frequency
adjacent cell list, Number of cells in reserve list).
3.2 Intra-Frequency Handover Decision
3.2.1 Event 1A-Triggered Handover
Event 1A means the quality of certain cell outside the active set ameliorates. Upon
receiving Event 1A, the RNC adds corresponding target cell into the active set to
enhance the gain of macro diversity. When the cell meets the conditions in the
following formula, the UE reports Event 1A to the RNC.
(∑ )
NA
10⋅LogMNew +CIO New ≥W⋅10⋅Log M i +( 1−W )⋅10⋅LogMBest −( R1a − H 1a /2 )

i=1
The meanings of all parameters are described as follows:
R1a: Refers to the reporting range of Event 1A. It is used to control the extent of
difficulty in adding a cell into the active set (RptRange
[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT]).
H1a: Refers to the reporting hysteresis of Event 1A. It is used to control the extent of
difficulty in adding a cell into the active set (Hysteresis[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT]
(Intra)).
MNew: Refers to measurement of the to-be-evaluated cell outside the active set.
CIONew: Refers to offset of cell outside active set in relation to other cells
(CellIndivOffset (utranRelation)).
Mi: Refers to the mean measurement value of other cells except the best cell in active
set.
NA: Refers to the number of other cells except the best cell in active set.
MBest: Refers to the measurement of the best cell in the active set.
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W: Refers to the weight proportion (W[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT]) of the best cell

to the rest cells in the active set in evaluation standards.
As can be calculated from the above formula, you can increase the probability of
triggering Event 1A by either increasing R1a (Event 1A meets the reporting range
conditions) or decreasing H1a (Decision hysteresis range.Otherwise, you can reduce the
probability of triggering Event 1A.
Event 1A supports period-based report, that is, once Event 1A meets the reporting
range of quality standards, the UE will report Event 1A periodically
(EvtRptInterval[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT]) until this event does not meet
reporting conditions or the reporting times reach the maximum allowed times
(EvtRptAmount[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT]).
There is restriction on the number of radio links in active set, so Event 1A will not be
reported once the number of cells in the active set reaches certain threshold
(RptDeactThr[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT]).
3.2.2 Event 1B-Triggered Handover
Event 1B indicates the quality deterioration of certain cell in the active set. Upon
receiving the Event 1B, the RNC may delete the cell from the active set. When the cell
meets the conditions in the following formula, the UE reports Event 1B to the RNC.
(∑ )
NA
10⋅LogMOld + CIO Old≤W⋅10⋅Log M i +( 1−W )⋅10⋅LogM Best −( R1b + H 1b /2 )

i =1
R1b: Refers to the reporting range of Event 1B. It is used to control the extent of
difficulty in dropping a cell from the active set (RptRange
[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT]).
H1b Refers to the reporting hysteresis of Event 1B. It is used to control the extent of
difficulty in dropping a cell from the active set
(Hysteresis[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT] (Intra)).
MOld: Refers to measurement of the to-be-evaluated cell in the active set.
CIOOld: Refers to offset of cell in active set in relation to other cells (CellIndivOffset
(utranCell)).
Mi: Refers to the mean measurement value of other cells except the best cell in active
set.
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NA: Refers to the number of other cells except the best cell in active set.
MBest: Refers to the measurement of the best cell in the active set.
W: Refers to the weight proportion (W[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT]) of the best cell

to the rest cells in the active set in evaluation standards.
As can be calculated from the above formula, you can decrease the probability of
triggering Event 1B by either increasing R1b (Event 1B meets the reporting range
conditions) or decreasing H1b (Decision hysteresis range). Otherwise, you can increase
the probability of triggering Event 1B.
3.2.3 Event 1C-Triggered Handover
Event 1C indicates the quality of a cell in non-active set is better than that of a cell in
certain active set. Upon receiving Event 1C, the RNC may replace the cell in the active
set with a cell in non-active set to obtain better gain of macro diversity. When the cell
meets the conditions in the following formula, the UE reports Event 1C to the RNC.
10⋅LogMNew +CIONew ≥10⋅LogMInAS +CIOInAS+ H 1c /2
H1c Refers to the reporting hysteresis of Event 1C. It is used to control the extent of
difficulty in replacing a cell in the active set (Hysteresis[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT]
(Intra)).
MNew: Refers to measurement of the to-be-evaluated cell outside the active set.
MInAS: Refers to the cell with poorest quality in the active set.
CIONew: Refers to offset of the to-be-evaluated cell outside the active set in relation to
other cells (CellIndivOffset (utranRelation)).
CIOInAS: Refers to offset of cell with poorest quality in active set in relation to other
cells (CellIndivOffset (utranCell)).
triggering Event 1C by increasing H1c (decision hysteresis range); otherwise, you can
increase the probability of triggering Event 1C.
Event 1C supports period-based report, that is, once Event 1C meets the reporting
range of quality standards, the UE will report Event 1C periodically
(EvtRptInterval[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT]) until this event does not meet
reporting conditions or the reporting times reach the maximum allowed times
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(EvtRptAmount[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT]).
To ensure the gain of macro diversity, the report of Event 1C is only allowed when the
number of cells in the active set reaches certain threshold
(RplcActThr[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT]).
3.2.4 Event 1D-Triggered Handover
Event 1D indicates the quality of certain cell within or outside current active set is
better than the best cell in current active set, that is, the best cell changes in the active
set. The following can be triggered upon the receipt of Event 1D:
 Add a cell into the active set (the cell outside the active set reports Event 1D and
the number of links in the active set does not reach the maximum).
 Replace the cell with bad quality in active set (the cell outside the active set
reports Event 1D but the number of links in the active set reaches the maximum).
 The serving cell changes (for HS-DSCH/E-DCH).
When the cell meets the conditions in the following formula, the UE reports Event 1D
to the RNC.
10⋅LogMNotBest +CIONotBest ≥10⋅LogM Best +CIOBest + H 1d /2
MNotBest: Refers to the measurement of the to-be-evaluated cell within or outside the
active set.
CIONotBest: Refers to the offset of the to-be-evaluated cell within the active set
(CellIndivOffset (utranCell)) or outside the active set (CellIndivOffset (utranRelation))
in relation to other cells.
CIOBest: Refers to offset of the to-be-evaluated cell in the active set in relation to other
cells (CellIndivOffset (utranCell)).
MBest: Refers to the measurement of the to-be-evaluated cell in the active set.
H1d: Refers to Event 1D report hysteresis (Hysteresis[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT]

(Intra)).
triggering Event 1D by increasing H1d (decision hysteresis range); otherwise, you can
increase the probability of triggering Event 1D.
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3.2.5 CIO Configuration Strategy
The CIO (Cell individual offsets) defined by 3GPP is used to control the difficulty of
event triggering . And the tendency of handover can be also controlled by CIO in actual
scenario.
The CIO principals of target cell are described as follows.
 If there is neighboring relationship between target cell and best cell , the CIO is
chose from the best cell (utranRelation, externalGsmCell). If there is not any
neighboring relationship between target cell and best cell, the CIO is the minimum
of absolute values chose from the cells(utranRelation, externalGsmCell) in active
set. If there is not any neighboring relationship between target cell and cells in
active set, the CIO is set to zero.
 If target cell is the best cell, the CIO is chose from the serving cell (utranCell).
 If the best cell changes, RNC will inform UEs to update CIO.
3.2.6 Time-To-Trigger Mechanism Used to Control Event Report
If a to-be-evaluated cell meets the reporting range or threshold of certain event, the
condition must be met within a period of time
(TrigTime[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT] (Intra)) before the reporting of this event to
avoid intra-frequency event misreport due to the fluctuation of radio quality. Take
Event 1A as an example, suppose a cell meets the reporting range, the UE only reports
Event 1A only if the cell quality meets this reporting range condition within
TrigTime[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT] (Intra), as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 Time-To-Trigger mechanism
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3.3 Intra-Frequency Handover Procedure
3.3.1 Inter-RNC Soft Handover (Add a Radio Link)
Figure 3 Intra-RNC soft handover (Add a radio link)
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3.3.2 Inter-RNC Soft Handover (Delete a Radio Link)
Figure 4 Intra-RNC soft handover (Delete a radio link)
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3.3.3 Inter-RNC Soft Handover (Swap a Radio Link)
Figure 5 Intra-RNC soft handover (Swap a radio link)
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3.3.4 Intra-RNC Hard handover
Figure 6 Intra-RNC hard handover procedure
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3.3.5 Inter-RNC Hard Handover Through lur Interface
Figure 7 Inter-RNC hard handover through lur interface
If the cells belong to different RNCs are adjacent and lur interface is available, the
SRNC performs inter-RNC hard handoff. The SRNC relocation is triggered after hard
handover.
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3.3.6 Inter-RNC Hard Handover Without lur Interface
Figure 8 Inter-RNC hard handover without lur interface
If inter-frequency cells between RNCs are adjacent and lur interface is unavailable, the
hard-handover-triggered SRNS relocation is performed. The procedure is as follows:
The SRNC sets up radio link at DRNC through the lu interface relocation, and then
reconfig UE to the cell of DRNC through relocation. Upon receiving the
reconfigureation response message from the UE, the DRNC informs the CN to
complete relocation and changes into SRNC. The CN then releases the resources of UE
at the original SRNC through lu interface release command.
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4 Inter-Frequency Handover Strategy
The inter-frequency handover is a feature in which the UE hands over from one
frequency of UTRAN to another one. It can either be handover based on inter-
frequency measurement, or blind handover based on ShareCover(Overlap or Covers).
The measurement-based handover cannot trigger the blind handover based on shared
coverage. The blind handover between cells with shared coverage can only be triggered
by such functions as load control and load balance.
The prerequisite for measurement-based inter-frequency handover is that UE performs

quality measurement of non-used frequency. For inter-frequency measurement in
CELL_DCH state, UE needs to initiate compressed mode unless it has double-receiver.
The compressed mode has a great impact on both the resource utilization (for example,
downlink power and uplink interference) and UE (for example, the transmit power and
battery consumption), so inter-frequency measurement is only initiated when the radio
quality of current serving carrier is poor, which can be evaluated through four
measurement quantities: Uplink BLER, UE uplink transmit power, transmit power of
downlink and inter-frequency measurement (quality measurement performed by UE for
PCPICH). Upon receiving the inter-frequency measurement results from UE, the RNC
makes a decision about inter-frequency handover, and hands over UE to the target
frequency and cell carried in the measurement results.
4.1 Inter-Frequency Measurement

When conducting inter-frequency measurement, the UE needs to implement layer 3
filter for the measurement results to avoid measurement fluctuation and then make
event decision and report by using filtered values.
Carrier evaluation standards for inter-frequency measurement:
( )
NA j
Q frequencyj=10⋅LogMfrequency j =W j⋅10⋅Log ∑ Mi j +( 1−W j )⋅10⋅LogM Best j

i=1
Where,
Qfrequency j: Refers to (Virtual) active set quality of carrier j, that is, the measurement
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result of carrier j (dB for Ec/No; dBm for RSCP).
Mfrequency j: Refers to the physical measurement value (ratio for Ec/No; mW for RSCP)
of the (Virtual) active set of carrier j.
Mi j: Refers to the physical measurement value of cell i of carrier j.
NA j: Refers to the number of cells (excluding best cell) in the (Virtual) active set of
carrier j.
MBest j: Refers to the measurement result of the best cell in the (Virtual) active set of
carrier j.
Wj: Refers to the weight (WNoUsed[MAX_INTER_MEAS_EVENT] or

Wused[MAX_INTER_MEAS_EVENT]) of the best cell in the (Virtual) active set of carrier j
during carrier measurement.
4.1.1 Introduction to Inter-Frequency Measurement
The inter-frequency measurement contains radio quality measurement of both working

carrier frequency and non-working carrier frequency. It can be performed based on
either Ec/N0 or RSCP or both of them measurement quantity, which is based on the
parameter NonIntraMeasQuan. Only event-based method of reporting measurement
result is supported, and parameter InterHoMth is invalid.The event-based report means
the UE judges whether inter-frequency events are met based on the quality
measurement result of non-working carrier frequency PCPICH. If so, it reports inter-
frequency events (including such information as event ID, and target cell) to the RNC.
A series of inter-frequency measurement events are defined in 3GPP as the judgment

and trigger criteria for inter-frequency handover.
The inter-frequency handover events are described as follows:
Event 2A: The best carrier frequency changes.
Q NotBest ≥QBest + H 2a /2
Where,
QNotBest: Refers to the measurement result of current non-best carrier frequency.
QBest : Refers to the measurement result of current best carrier frequency.
H2a : Refers to handover decision hysteresis parameter
24
(Hysteresis[MAX_INTER_MEAS_EVENT] (Inter)) of Event 2A.
Event 2B: The quality of working carrier frequency is lower than a threshold and that
of non-working carrier frequency is higher than a threshold.
QNon used≥T Non used 2b +H 2b /2 QUsed ≤T Used 2b−H 2b /2
Where,
QNon used: Refers to the measurement result of current non-working carrier frequency.
TNon used 2b: Refers to the absolute threshold

(ThreshNoUsedFreq[MAX_INTER_MEAS_EVENT]) of good quality of non-working
carrier frequency in Event 2B decision.
H2b : Refers to handover decision hysteresis parameter

(Hysteresis[MAX_INTER_MEAS_EVENT] (Inter)) of Event 2B.
QUsed: Refers to the measurement result of current working carrier frequency.
TUsed 2b: Refers to the absolute threshold

(ThreshUsedFreq[MAX_INTER_MEAS_EVENT]) of poor quality of working carrier
frequency in Event 2B decision.
Event 2C: The quality of non-working carrier frequency is higher than a threshold.
QNon used≥T Non used 2c +H 2c /2

Where,
TNon used 2c: Refers to the absolute threshold

carrier frequency in Event 2C decision.
H2c: Refers to handover decision hysteresis parameter

(Hysteresis[MAX_INTER_MEAS_EVENT] (Inter)) of Event 2C.
Event 2D: The quality of working carrier frequency is lower than a threshold.
QUsed ≤T Used 2d−H 2d /2

Where,
25
TUsed 2d: Refers to the absolute threshold

frequency in Event 2D decision.
H2d: Refers to handover decision hysteresis parameter

(Hysteresis[MAX_INTER_MEAS_EVENT] (Inter)) of Event 2D.
Event 2E: The quality of non-working carrier frequency is lower than a threshold.
QNon used≤T Non used 2e −H 2e /2
Where,
TNon used 2e: Refers to the absolute threshold

carrier frequency in Event 2E decision.
H2e: Refers to handover decision hysteresis parameter

(Hysteresis[MAX_INTER_MEAS_EVENT] ) of Event 2E.
Event 2F: The quality of working carrier frequency is higher than a threshold.
QUsed ≥T Used 2f +H 2f /2
Where,
TUsed 2f: Refers to the absolute threshold

frequency in Event 2F decision.
H2f: Refers to handover decision hysteresis parameter

(Hysteresis[MAX_INTER_MEAS_EVENT] (Inter)) of Event 2F.
If a carrier frequency meets the reporting range or threshold of certain event, the
condition must be met within a period of time (TrigTime(Iner)) before the reporting of
this event to avoid inter-frequency event misreport due to the fluctuation of radio
quality.
4.1.2 Inter-Frequency Measurement Control Method
Among all inter-frequency measurement events, Event 2D and Event 2F only involve
26
measurement of working carrier frequencies, so the compressed mode is not required

during measurement and extra overhead will not be brought about to both UE and
RNC. The compressed mode can be enabled and disabled based on the definition of
2D/2F. If there is any inter-frequency/Inter-RAT adjacent cell that has no
ShareCover(Overlap or Covers) relation with current cell during service setup, the
RNC will configure Event 2D, Event 2F and intra-frequency events to the UE. The
following measurement setup, modification and deletion apply to other inter-frequency
measurement events except Event 2D and Event 2F.
In neighboring cells configuration, adjacent cell list used for reselection in non-
(StateMode). When UE in macro diversity state, the neighboring cell list is the union of
neighboring cell list of each cell active set, then the number of inter-frequency
If the number of inter-frequency neighboring cells exceeds 32, it needs to delete some
cells to ensure that there are only 32 inter-frequency neighboring cells. With minimal
impact on UE in active set, these dropped cells are those with poorer signal quality or
remoter geographical location. So each inter-frequency neighboring cell is configured
with a priority.
4.1.3.1 Cell priority configuration
The OMCR configuration parameter MeasPrio(utranRelation) is used to define the

priority of adjacent cells and includes three values (0: High priority; 1: Medium
priority; 2: Low priority). The specific value of MeasPrio(utranRelation) must be set by
the network planning engineer based on existing network situation (for example,
adjacent cell quality and geographical location of adjacent cell). Figure shows the cell
priority configuration based on the geographical location of adjacent cells. Take the
configuration of cells adjacent to the innermost gray cell as an example: there are three
layers of adjacent cells surrounding the gray cell, and they are differentiated from one
another with yellow (0: Top priority), blue (1: Medium priority) and red (2: Low
priority).
27
Figure 9 Cell priority configuration
4.1.3.2 Strategy for adjacent cells exceeding 32
As specified in the protocol, the maximum number of inter-frequency adjacent cells is

32. When the UE is in the macro diversity state, the total number of inter-frequency
adjacent cells in the macro diversity may be in excess of 32, so some strategies are
required to control the number within 32, including:
 Priority combination strategy
If a cell is adjacent to several inter-frequency cells in the active set, that is, the priority
levels configured for this cell may vary, then combine the priority levels of this cell,
and the highest priority level prevails.
 Sorting strategy
If the total number of inter-frequency adjacent cells in the active set is 32, the system
prioritizes them in descending order of priority and places the cells in excess of 32 in
inter-frequency adjacent cell reserve list which can buffer at most 8 truncated inter-
frequency cells.
The priority levels of adjacent cells in inter-frequency adjacent cell list will be updated
whenever Event 1A/1B/1C/1D is triggered. If Event 1B is triggered and the number of
inter-frequency adjacent cells is less than 32, the system selects cells from reserve list
in descending order of priority and places them in the inter-frequency adjacent cell list.
The number of cells that can be selected: min (32 – Number of existing cells in inter-
28
frequency adjacent cell list, Number of cells in reserve list).
4.2 Downlink Coverage Based Inter-Frequency Handover

Downlink coverage adopts Events 2D and 2F as a criterion to evaluate the quality of
current working carrier frequency signals. For details on handling strategies of Events
2D and 2F, see “Handling of Inter-Frequency Events”.
A coupling relationship exists among the coverage based handover, uplink BLER based
handover, uplink transmit power based handover, downlink transmit power based
handover, and moving speed based handover. For details on enabling/disabling of
compressed mode and inter-frequency measurement setup/release, see “Inter-
Frequency Handover Strategy--> Coupling Handling of Different Handovers”.
29
5 SRNS Relocation
SRNS relocation can be categorized into relocation UE not involved (soft handover
triggered) and relocation UE involved (hard handover triggered) according that
whether UE is involved.
 Relocation UE not involved
It is soft handover relocation namely, and UE can use radio resource in DRNC and
connect with CN through SRNC. The trigger condition is :
 There is an Iur interface between RNCs
 The switch of relocation UE not involved is open. It is differentiated by CS

service and PS service, RncFeatSwitch bit10 is for CS service and
RncFeatSwitch bit11 for PS service.
 When all radio links are handed over to DRNC, timer is activated
(CsReDelayTimer and PsReDelayTImer are configured according to CS
service and PS service respectively, the timer of CS service is considered for
multi-RAB service) and relocation is performed when the corresponding timer
is overtime.
 Relocation UE involved
Namely it is hard handover relocation. The trigger condition is :
 The switch of relocation UE involved RncFeatSwitch bit0 is open
 The special relocation handling of CS+PS service
If UE has CS and PS Service simultaneously and DRNC of network vendor doesn't

support PS relocation, the PS service will be released before SRNC relocation with
hard handover when the parameter RncFeatSwitch bit4 is set to “1”, the CS service will
begin relocation as soon as PS is released. As a result, the CS call will be kept, and the
PS will reestablished by UE automatically.
31
5.1 Relocation Triggered by Soft Handover
Figure 10 Relocation triggered by soft handover
Procedure description:
1. Upon detecting that all links already exist in a DRNC, the SRNC initiates the
relocation procedure and sends a “Relocation Required” message to the CN. If the
SRNC connects with CS and PS domains, it needs to send the “Relocation
Required” message to CS and PS domains. When SRNC sends the Relocation
Required message, it shall start the timer Trelocprep. Upon reception of the
Relocation Command message, SRNC shall stop the timer and terminate the
Relocation Preparation procedure. If there is no response from the CN to the
Relocation Required message before expiry of timer Trelocprep, SRNC shall
cancel the Relocation Preparation procedure by initiating the Relocation Cancel
procedure with the Cause “Trelocprep expiry”.
2. The CN sends a “Relocation Request” message to the DRNC, carrying “RAB

SETUP” message.
3. After the RAB of DRNC is established successfully, the DRNC sends “Relocation
Request Ack” message to the CN.
4. The CN sends “Relocation Command” message to the SRNC requiring the SRNC
32
to start relocation. Upon reception of the Relocation Command message, SRNC

shall stop the timer Trelocprep, start the timer Trelocoverall and terminate the
Relocation Preparation procedure. If the Iu Release procedure is not initiated
towards SRNC from CN before expirty of Trelocoverall, SRNC shall initiate the
Iu Release Request procedure towards CN with cause “Trelocoverall expiry”.
5. The SRNC sends “Relocation Commit” message to the DRNC through the lur
interface.
6. The DRNC sends “Relocation Detect” message to the CN and is converted into a
new SRNC through role exchange.
7. The new SRNC sends “UTRAN Mobility Information” message to UE to relocate

U-RNTI.
8. Upon relocating U-RNTI, the UE sends a “UTRAN Mobility Information

Confirm” message to the new SRNC.
9. The new SRNC sends “Relocation Complete” message to inform the CN of the
successful relocation.
10. Upon receiving the message from the new SRNC, CN sends “Iu Release
Command” message to the original SRNC to release all the resources in the
original SRNC.
11. Upon releasing the lu resource, original SRNC sends “Iu Release Complete”
message to the CN.There may be some exceptional procedures during relocation.
12. Relocation failure caused by “UTRAN Mobility Information” message

transmission failure
The DRNC fails to initiate the “UTRAN Mobility Information Configuration”

procedure due to procedure timeout or the UE failure in returning UTRAN mobility
message. In such a case, the DRNC does not send a “Relocation Complete” message to
the CN, and after the CN relocation timer times out, the CN initiates a “Iu Release
Command” message to release the resources on the DRNC side.
33
5.2 Relocation Triggered by Hard Handover
Figure 11 Relocation triggered by hard handover
1. The SRNC initiates a “Relocation Required” message to the CN.
2. Upon receiving the message, the CN sends “Relocation Request” message to the
DRNC. When SRNC sends the Relocation Required message, it shall start the
timer Trelocprep. Upon reception of the Relocation Command message, SRNC
shall stop the timer and terminate the Relocation Preparation procedure. If there is
no response from the CN to the Relocation Required message before expiry of
timer Trelocprep, SRNC shall cancel the Relocation Preparation procedure by
initiating the Relocation Cancel procedure with the Cause “Trelocprep expiry”.
3. After the bearer on lu interface and the radio link are established, the DRNC
returns “Relocation Request Ack” message to inform the CN that the DRNC is
ready.
4. The CN sends “Relocation Command” message to the SRNC requiring the SRNC
to start relocation.
5. The SRNC sends “Physical Channel Reconfiguration” message to the UE,

requiring UE to perform hard handover. Upon reception of the Relocation
Command message, SRNC shall stop the timer Trelocprep, start the timer
Trelocoverall and terminate the Relocation Preparation procedure. If the Iu
Release procedure is not initiated towards SRNC from CN before expirty of
34
Trelocoverall, SRNC shall initiate the Iu Release Request procedure towards CN

with cause “Trelocoverall expiry”.
6. The DRNC initiates “UE Detect” message to imply that the DRNC already detects
UE.
7. Upon detecting the UE, the DRNC sends “Relocation Detect” message to CN, and
then DRNC is converted into a new SRNC through role exchange.
8. The UE returns “Physical Channel Reconfiguration Complete” message to inform

the new SRNC of successful hard handover.
9. Upon receiving the message, the new SRNC sends “Relocation Complete”
message to CN.
10. Upon receiving the message from the new SRNC, the CN sends “Iu Release
Command” message to the original SRNC to release all the resources in the
original SRNC.
11. Upon releasing the lu resource, the original SRNC sends “Iu Release Complete”
message to the CN.There may be some exceptional procedures during relocation.
12. Relocation failure caused by radio bearer (RB) reconfiguration failure
Upon receiving the RB reconfiguration failure message, the SRNC will send a
relocation cancellation message to the CN and the CN release the resources on the
DRNC side through the lu release procedure.
35
6 Inter-RAT Handover Policy
Inter-RAT handover means that an UE switches from one radio access system to
another, and specifically, from a UTRAN access system to a GERAN system. (If an UE
switches from a GERAN system to a UTRAN system, the GERAN system policy is
used.) Inter-RAT handover can be measurement-based handover between systems or
blind handover based on GsmShareCover(Overlap or Covers).
The prerequisite of measured-based Inter-RAT handover is that the UE measures the

quality of the Inter-RAT neighboring cells. In UMTS system, for Inter-RAT
measurement in CELL_DCH state, the UE must enable compressed mode for Inter-
RAT measurement unless it has dual receivers. In addition, regarding the influences of
the compressed mode on the system and UE, Inter-RAT measurement is enabled only
when the current UTRAN system has poor radio quality. The radio quality of the
current UTRAN system can be measured by four indicators, namely, uplink BLER,
uplink transmit power of the UE, downlink transmit power, and inter-frequency
measurement (quality measurement on the PCPICH by the UE). When receiving Inter-
RAT measurement result reported by the UE, the RNC makes Inter-RAT handover
decision and switches the UE to the target cell of the GERAN system specified in the
measurement result.
6.1 Inter-RAT Measurement

To avoid measurement fluctuation, the UE must perform layer 3 filter on the
measurement result, and then use the filtered value for event decision and reporting.
(∑ )
NA
Q UTRAN =10⋅LogM UTRAN=W⋅10⋅Log M i +(1−W )⋅10⋅LogM Best

i=1
Where:
QUTRAN indicates the measurement result of the currently used UTRAN frequency (dB
for Ec/No; dBm for RSCP).
MUTRAN indicates the measured physical value of the currently used UTRAN frequency
(ratio for Ec/No; mV for RSCP).
37
Mi indicates the measured physical value of cell I in the current active set.
NA indicates the number of the cells (excluding best cells) in an active set.
MBest indicates the measurement result of the best cells in an active set.
W indicates the weight of the best cells in an active set in the frequency quality
evaluation of the currently used UTRAN.
6.1.1 Overview of Inter-RAT Measurement
Inter-RAT measurement is to measure the Inter-RAT cells. In the case of Inter-RAT

measurement, the measured quantity of the UTRAN network can be triggered based on
the measured quantity of Ec/N0 or RSCP. The specific parameter used is controlled by
the NonIntraMeasQuan parameter. The measured quantity of Inter-RAT measurement
depends on the systems to be measured. For the GERAN, the measured quantity is
RSSI. At present, Inter-RAT measurement supports only the handover modes reported
through events. The IntRatHoMth parameter is invalid.
3GPP defies a series of Inter-RAT measurement events. An UE reports the

corresponding events when defined conditions are met.
3A: The currently used UTRAN carrier quality is lower than a threshold, and the
quality of other radio systems is higher than a threshold. It is used for decision of Inter-
RAT handover.
QUsed ≤T Used −H 3a /2 and M Other RAT +CIO Other RAT ≥T Other RAT +H 3a /2
Where:
QUsed indicates the estimated quality of the used frequency of the UTRAN.
TUsed indicates the absolute threshold (Thresh[MAX_RAT_MEAS_EVENT]) of the

currently used frequency difference.
H3a is the hysteresis parameter (Hysteresis[MAX_RAT_MEAS_EVENT] (Rat)) for 3A

event decision.
MOther RAT is the quality measurement result of other systems.
CIOOther RAT is the quality offset of other system cells (CellIndivOffset(gsmRelation).
TOther RAT is the absolute threshold of other systems

(ThreshSys[MAX_RAT_MEAS_EVENT]).l
38
3C: The quality of other radio systems is higher than a threshold. It can be used for
Inter-RAT handover decision.
M Other RAT +CIO Other RAT ≥T Other RAT + H 3c /2
Where:
MOther RAT is the quality measurement result of other systems.
CIOOther RAT is the quality offset of other system cells (CellIndivOffset(gsmRelation).
TOther RAT is the absolute threshold of other systems

(ThreshSys[MAX_RAT_MEAS_EVENT]).
H3c is the hysteresis parameter (Hysteresis[MAX_RAT_MEAS_EVENT] (Rat)) for 3C

event decision.
During Inter-RAT event decision, the carrier must keep meeting the reporting scope or
threshold of an event for a certain period of time
(TrigTime[MAX_RAT_MEAS_EVENT] (Rat)) before it can be reported as this event. In
this way, improper reporting of Inter-RAT events resulted from carrier quality
fluctuation can be avoided.
In neighboring cells configuration, neighboring cell list used for reselection in non-
(GsmStateMode). When UE in macro diversity state, the neighboring cell list is the
union of neighboring cell list of each cell active set, then the number of inter-RAT
If the number of inter-RAT neighboring cells exceeds 32, it needs to delete some cells
to ensure that there are only 32 inter-RAT neighboring cells. With minimal impact on
UE in active set, these dropped cells are those with poorer signal quality or remoter
geographical location. So each inter-RAT neighboring cell is configured with a priority.
6.1.2.1 Priority Settings of Cells
The MeasPrio(gsmRelation) parameter is used to define the priority of an Inter-RAT

neighboring cell. The value can be 0 (high), 1 (medium), or 2 (low). The value can be
determined by network planning engineers according to existing network situations,
such as the quality and geographic location of the Inter-RAT neighboring cell. Figure
39
shows the priority settings of Inter-RAT neighboring cells based on geographic

locations. Assume that the gray cell in the center is the source cell. It has three layers of
Inter-RAT neighboring cells, marked respectively in yellow, blue, and red. The Inter-
RAT neighboring cells in yellow have the highest priority level, namely, 0. Those in
blue have the secondary highest priority level, namely, 1. Those in red have the lowest
priority level, namely, 2.
Figure 12 Priority settings of cells
6.1.2.2 Deletion policy in the case of more than 32 neighboring cells
Related standards stipulate that the maximum number of Inter-RAT neighboring cells is
32. When an UE is in macro diversity state, the number of unions of Inter-RAT
neighboring cells of multiple cells in the macro diversity may exceed this limit.
Therefore, a specific policy is needed to delete neighboring cells. The policy involves
combination, selection, and deletion of the neighboring cells with the same priority.
 Priority combination
If a cell is a common neighboring cell of multiple cells in the active set, it may be
configured with different priority levels in different cells. In this case, the multiple
priority levels of this cell must be combined, using the highest priority level as the
priority of this cell.
 Neighboring cell list update and deletion in the case of more than 32 neighboring
cells
40
If the Inter-RAT neighboring cell list of an active list contains more than 32 cells, the
cells are sorted in descending order based on priority. The first 32 cells remain
unchanged, and all other cells are put into the reserved Inter-RAT neighboring cell list
which can buffer at most 8 truncated inter-RAT cells.
Each time when the 1A, 1B, 1C, or 1D event is triggered, the priority levels of the
neighboring cells in the Inter-RAT neighboring cell list are updated. If there are less
than 32 cells in the Inter-RAT neighboring cell list after the 1B event is triggered, the
cells with the highest priority in the reserved Inter-RAT neighboring cell list are put
into the Inter-RAT neighboring cell list. The number of the cells from the reserved
Inter-RAT neighboring cell list equals: min(32 – number of existing cells in the Inter-
RAT neighboring cell list).
6.2 Inter-RAT Handover Based on Downlink Coverage

Downlink coverage uses 2D and 2F events as the criterions for evaluating the signal
quality of the current frequency. The RNC transmits the 2D ad 2F event configuration
to the UE when the service is set up. If the UE reports a 2D event, that is, the current
carrier is in poor signal quality, and no inter-frequency neighboring cells exist, or the
UE reports a 2E event after inter-frequency measurement is started (that is, the signal
quality of the measured inter-frequency neighboring cell is also poor), the RNC tries to
initiate Inter-RAT blind handover first if Inter-RAT neighboring cells
withGsmShareCover (Overlap or Covers) exist. If Inter-RAT neighboring cells exist
but have no GsmShareCover (Overlap or Covers) relation, or blind handover fails, the
RNC needs to configure and start Inter-RAT measurement 3A or 3C event to the UE,
and then performs the corresponding decision process for Inter-RAT handover
according to the 3A, or 3C event subsequently reported by the UE.
41
6.3 Inter-RAT Handover Process
6.3.1 CS Service Handover from 3G System to 2G System
Figure 13 3G to 2G CS service handover
42
Figure 14 3G to 2G CS service handover procedure via IUR-G
When the network vendor of the UTRAN and GSM equipments are ZTE, 3G to 2G CS
service handover can be handled via IUR-G which adds the procedure, which is the
part of CN procedure before, between RNC and BSC to reserve resources in advance.
1. Upon receiving the measurement report of the UE, RNC decides to handover to
43
GSM cell.
2. RNC sends ENHANCED RELOCATION RESOURCE REQUEST message to

BSC requiring resources for the UE.
3. Upon receiving the message, BSC reserves resources in advance for the UE and
sends ENHANCED RELOCATION RESOURCE RESPONSE message to RNC.
4. Upon receiving the message, the RNC sends RELOCATION REQUIRED

message to CN and sends HANDOVER FROM UTRAN COMMAND to the UE
requiring the UE to hard handover.
5. Described in step 4.
6. Upon receiving the message RELOCATION REQUIRED, the CN sends

HANDOVER REQUEST message to BSC.
7. After the resources be established, the BSC sends HANDOVER REQUEST ACK
message to CN.
8. Upon receiving the message HANDOVER REQUEST ACK, the CN sends

RELOCATION COMMAND message to RNC.
9. Upon receiving the message RELOCATION COMMAND, the RNC sends

RELOCATION COMMIT message to BSC.
10. Upon receiving the message HANDOVER ACCESS from UE, if BSC has already
received the message RELOCATION COMMIT from CN, the BSC will send
HANDOVER DETECT to CN. Otherwise, the BSC will not send HANDOVER
DETECT to CN until receive the message RELOCATION COMMIT from CN.
11. Described in step 4.
12. The UE returns “HANDOVER COMPLETE” to BSC to inform the BSC that the
handover is finished.
13. After receiving HANDOVER COMPLETE from UE, the BSC sends
HANDOVER COMPLETE message to CN.
14. Upon receiving the message HANDOVER COMPLETE”, the CN sends “IU
RELEASE COMMAND message to RNC to release all the Iu resources.
15. Upon releasing the lu resource, the RNC returns IU RELEASE COMPLETE to
CN.
44
6.3.2 PS Service Reselection in 3G to 2G Handover
If UE doesn’t support inter-RAT PS service handover or adjacent BSC doesn’t support

PS service handover, handover of PS domain from the UTRAN to the GSM can be
classified into the following cases:
 The UE actively initiates the PS service reselection. The UE selects a GPRS cell
to dwell through the cell reselection process, sets up a connection with the target
cell, and then initiates route area update. This case applies to an UE in
CELL_FACH or URA_PCH state.
UE Serving CN
RNC
1. Cell Reselection
triggered
2. Iu Release Command
RANAP RANAP
2. Iu Release Complete
RANAP RANAP
Figure 15 PS service reselection initiated by an UE in the case of 3G to 2G handover
 The RNC actively initiates PS service reselection. The RNC decides to switch the
UE to another RAT cell according to handover decision results. This case applies
to an UE in CELL_DCH or CELL_FACH state. The RNC sends a handover
command CELL CHANGE ORDER FROM UTRAN to the UE. After receiving
the command, the UE sets up a connection with the target cell, and then initiates
route area update.
45
Figure 16 PS service reselection initiated by the RNC in the case of 3G to 2G handover
1. Upon detection of a trigger, SRNC initiates the handover to GSM/BSS by sending

the RRC message Cell Change Order from UTRAN to the UE, and starts the timer
TWaitContextReq. Upon reception of the SRNS Context Request message, SRNC
shall stop the timer. If TWaitContextReq expires, SRNC starts the timer
TWaitDataFwd.
2. The UE reselects to the target GPRS cell and establishes the radio connection to
the GSM/BSS.
3. The UE initiates the GPRS Routing Area Update procedure by sending the GMM
message Routing Area Update Request to the SGSN.
46
4. The SGSN sends the RANAP message SRNS Context Request to the SRNC
listing the PS RABs for which context transfer shall be performed.
5. SRNC responds to the SGNS with the RANAP message SRNS Context Response
containing the context information of all referenced PS RABs whose transfer is
successful and starts the timer TWaitDataFwd. Upon reception of the SRNS Data
Forward Command message, SRNC shall stop the timer. If TWaitDataFwd
expires, SRNC starts the timer TWaitRelCmd.
6. The SGSN asks the SRNC to forward its buffered data back to the SGSN by
sending the RANAP message SRNS Data Forward Command, and starts the timer
Tdatafwd and TWaitRelCmd. If Tdatafwd expires, SRNC releases the resource
used to forward buffered data. Upon reception of the IU RELEASE COMMAND
message, SRNC shall stop the timer TWaitDataFwd. If TWaitDataFwd expires,
SRNC releases IU conncetion.For each PS RAB indicated by the SRNS Data
Forward Command, the SRNC starts duplicating and tunnelling the buffered data
back to the SGSN.
7. The SGSN sends the RANAP message Iu Release Command to initiate the release
of the Iu connection with UTRAN.
8. At the expiration of the RNC data forwarding timer (i.e. TDATAfwd), the SRNC
sends the RANP message Iu Release Complete message to the SGSN.
9. The SGSN validates the UE’s presence in the new RA by sending the GMM
message Routing Area Update Accept to the UE. The message may contain a new
P-TMSI that the network assigns to the UE.
10. The UE acknowledges the assignment of a new P-TMSI by sending the GMM
message Routing Area Update Complete to the UE.
47

WO - NAST3010 - E01 - 0 UMTS Handover Control P51

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UMTS Handover Control

1.1 Soft/Softer Handover.........................................................................................................................2

1.2 Inter-Frequency Hard Handover........................................................................................................2

1.3 Inter-RAT Mobility............................................................................................................................3

1.4 Inter-RNC Handover with Iur Support..............................................................................................4

1.5 Coverage Based Handover................................................................................................................4

1.6 Compressed Mode.............................................................................................................................5

1.7 Neighboring Cells Priorities..............................................................................................................5

1.8 SRNS Relocation...............................................................................................................................5

2 Compressed Mode Strategy.......................................................................................................................7

3 Intra-Frequency Handover Strategy........................................................................................................9

3.1 Intra-Frequency Measurement...........................................................................................................9

3.1.1 Introduction to Intra-Frequency Measurement.......................................................................9

3.1.2 Neighboring Cells Configuration.........................................................................................10

3.2 Intra-Frequency Handover Decision...............................................................................................12

3.2.1 Event 1A-Triggered Handover.............................................................................................12

3.2.2 Event 1B-Triggered Handover.............................................................................................13

3.2.3 Event 1C-Triggered Handover.............................................................................................14

3.2.4 Event 1D-Triggered Handover.............................................................................................15

3.2.5 CIO Configuration Strategy..................................................................................................16

3.2.6 Time-To-Trigger Mechanism Used to Control Event Report...............................................16

3.3 Intra-Frequency Handover Procedure.............................................................................................17

3.3.1 Inter-RNC Soft Handover (Add a Radio Link).....................................................................17

3.3.3 Inter-RNC Soft Handover (Swap a Radio Link)...................................................................19

3.3.4 Intra-RNC Hard handover....................................................................................................20

3.3.5 Inter-RNC Hard Handover Through lur Interface................................................................21

3.3.6 Inter-RNC Hard Handover Without lur Interface.................................................................22

4 Inter-Frequency Handover Strategy.......................................................................................................23

4.1 Inter-Frequency Measurement.........................................................................................................23

4.1.1 Introduction to Inter-Frequency Measurement.....................................................................24

4.1.2 Inter-Frequency Measurement Control Method...................................................................26

4.1.3 Neighboring Cells Configuration.........................................................................................27

4.2 Downlink Coverage Based Inter-Frequency Handover...................................................................29

5.1 Relocation Triggered by Soft Handover..........................................................................................32

5.2 Relocation Triggered by Hard Handover.........................................................................................34

6 Inter-RAT Handover Policy.....................................................................................................................37

6.1 Inter-RAT Measurement..................................................................................................................37

6.1.1 Overview of Inter-RAT Measurement..................................................................................38

6.1.2 Neighboring Cells Configuration.........................................................................................39

6.2 Inter-RAT Handover Based on Downlink Coverage.......................................................................41

6.3 Inter-RAT Handover Process...........................................................................................................42

6.3.1 CS Service Handover from 3G System to 2G System..........................................................42

6.3.2 PS Service Reselection in 3G to 2G Handover.....................................................................45

The cell handover strategy is required in UMTS to implement the mobility

In the process of handover:

Softer Hard Require compression or not

1.1 Soft/Softer Handover

1.2 Inter-Frequency Hard Handover

Inter-frequency hard handover triggered by radio quality: Initiate inter-frequency

For non-double-receiver terminals in UMTS, the compressed mode must be initiated

1.3 Inter-RAT Mobility

UMTS-to-GSM handover supports the following services:

 Videophone service fallback to ordinary voice service. (3GPP R6)

 UTRAN-to-GERAN mobility of CS service in connected mode is implemented

 UTRAN-to-GERAN mobility of PS service in CELL_DCH state is implemented

 UTRAN-to-GERAN mobility of PS service in CELL_FACH /URA_PCH state is

 Load-based UTRAN-to-GERAN handover of PS service in CELL_FACH state is

 Inter-system mobility in connected mode must be accompanied by inter-system

For non-double-receiver terminals in UMTS, the compressed mode must be initiated

1.4 Inter-RNC Handover with Iur Support

1.5 Coverage Based Handover

RNC supports controlling the UE to perform the intra-frequency, the inter-frequency

1.6 Compressed Mode