LTE Technology and Parameters

Draft Agenda

• LTE technology, very light introduction

– Lunch
• LTE in Nemo tools (Outdoor, Invex, FSR1 scanner, data cards and terminals)
• LTE parameters, theory
• LTE measurements, mobile and scanner
• Comparison of LTE network performance around the world and in Finland
HSPA + Evolution Path (Qualcomm)

16 QAM DL 64 QAM DL DC + MIMO DL

QPSK UL 16 QAM MIMO DL 64 QAM + MIMO DL
16 QAM UL DC DL DC UL
HSPA + Evolution Path (Qualcomm)
LTE Evolution (Qualcomm)
• Current LTE terminals support 100 Mbit/s downlink (DL), 50 Mbit/s uplink (UL)
throughputs
• LTE Advanced will offer over 300 Mbit/s DL and over 150 Mbit/s UL throughputs
by using wider than 20 MHz frequency allocations
LTE Mobile/Datacard Categories
LTE Mobile Categories, LTE Advanced
LTE Terminal Categories, Simplified.
 LTE/EPC (Evolved Packet Core) System Architecture
• Only packet switched components, ”RNC functions” are located in eNB
• MME (Mobility Management) is responsible for idle mode UE tracking and paging procedure,
chooses the SGW for a UE at the initial attach and at time of intra-LTE handover, does user
authentication, gives temporary identifications for users, provides the control plane function for
mobility between LTE and 2G/3G access networks
• SGW (Serving Gateway) routes and forwards user data packets
• PGW (PDN Gateway) provides connectivity from the UE to external packet data networks
• HSS (Home Subscriber Server) is a central database that contains user-related and subscription-
related information
• Hard handovers happen directly between eNBs (no Soft Handovers, like in WCDMA)
LTE FDD
E-UTRA (LTE) FDD Band Allocation
E-UTRA (LTE) TDD Band Allocation
DL: OFDMA – Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

• 15 kHz subcarrier spacing

• Subcarriers are overlapping for
maximal spectral efficiency
• Subcarriers are orthogonal: at the
center frequency of each sub-carrier,
there is a zero-crossing for other
subcarriers
• 1 symbol is spread over 1 subcarrier
(2 symbols if 2 branch MIMO)
• Multiple subcarriers are allocated for
a data transmission for a single
terminal. More subcarriers, higher
throughput.
• Subcarriers can be allocated in a
noncontinuous (DL) or continuous
(UL) manner
Key Parameters for Optimization, PRB, Physical Resource Block
• PDSCH PRBs allocated (Number of DL Physical Resource Blocks allocated)
– 1 Physical Resource Block is 0.5 ms long (6 or 7 symbols) and includes 12 subcarriers (15
kHz each). With 20MHz band, the maximum is 100 PRBs
– The shortest scheduling period is 1 ms, called as Transport Block. In 1 ms subframe, 1
transport block can be allocated per user (2 with 2 X MIMO).
– This parameter affects directly to the throughput. Values less than maximum may
indicate other users in the cell, bottleneck in the transmission network, or not enough
data to be sent (application does not need all the available bandwidth)
LTE Bandwidths versus Number of Resource Blocks
LTE Frame Structures, 3GPP TS 36.211 V8.6.0

• Frame structure 1 for FDD operation

• Frame structure 2 for TDD operation

LTE Modulation Schemes

The QPSK modulation, 2 bits per symbol

 Synchronization Signals allocation (DL)
• Synchronization signals:

• Synchronization signals are needed for mobile to

synchronize to LTE network
• Transmitted during the 1st and 11th slots within a
radio frame
• Occupy the central 62 Subcarriers (around the
central subcarrier) to facilitate the cell search
• 5 Subcarriers above and 5 Subcarriers below the
synch. signals are reserved and transmitted as
DTX
• Synchronisation signal can indicate 504 (168 x 3)
different Physical Cell ID values, which terminal is
using for cell identification purposes when doing
neighbour cell measurements
 Time

Reference Signals: OFDMA Channel Estimation

Bandwidth
• Reference signals:

• Reference signals are spread over the whole

bandwidth (red dots)
• Mobile will measure the level and quality over
the reference signals
• Reference signals can be cell or mobile specific
• Measurement BW is decided by the mobile
manufacturer
• Measurement accuracy must be maintained
 Reference Signals for RSRP and RSRQ Measurements
– Channel estimation in LTE is based on reference signals ( like CPICH functionality in
WCDMA)
– Reference signals position in time domain is fixed ( symbol 0 and 4 for type 1 frame)
whereas in frequency domain it depends on the Cell ID (symbol length is 0.5ms/7 =
0.0714ms)
– In a case, where more than one antenna is used ( e.g. MIMO) the Resource elements
allocated to reference signals on the 1st antenna is DTX on the 2nd antenna
– Reference signals are modulated to identify the cell to which they belong (PCI)

0 symbols 6 0 symbols 6
12 subcarriers

subcarriers
Antenna 1 Antenna 2
Multiple Antenna Access Schemes, MIMO Modes
MIMO Modes
 LTE Transmission Modes for Mobile
• Single-Antenna transmission, no MIMO (Mode 1)
• Transmit diversity using SFBC (Space Frequency Block Coding) (Mode 2)
– Every antenna transmits the same data symbol at given time, but with different stream. 6-7 dB gain due to
2X TX power and 2X receiving antennas + SNR is improved by maximum ratio combining in the receiver.
No throughput gain
• MIMO: Open-loop spatial multiplexing, no UE feedback required (Mode 3)
– Throughput is doubled or quadrapuled (2x2 or 4x4 MIMO) in theory. Based on predefined precoding
settings. Used in high velocities, when the UE feedback may deteriorate.
• MIMO: Closed-loop spatial multiplexing, UE feedback required (Mode 4)
– Throughput is doubled or quadrapuled (2x2 or 4x4 MIMO) in theory. UE gives feedback on the optimum
precoding to the base station
•Mode 2

•Mode 3,4
Additional Release-9 MIMO Modes
Decision Matrix for Main MIMO Modes
LTE MIMO Measurement, Reference Signal Timing (Agilent)

• When TX0 is sending Reference Signal, TX1 is not transmitting. When TX1 is
sending Reference Signal, TX0 is not transmitting.
• Thus, Reference Signal measurements (Power, Quality) can be done by a single
receiver
• For real 2x2 MIMO measurements, a dual receiver with a MIMO antenna are
required.
 LTE MIMO Measurement with R&S TSMW and OD 6.4
• R&S TSMW can do a real MIMO measurement for 2 MIMO branches (requires a
special MIMO antenna)
• Narrow (1.25 MHz) and wide band (20 MHz) measurements possible
 LTE MIMO Measurement with R&S TSMW and OD 6.4
• R&S TSMW provides the rank and the condition number information to Nemo
Outdoor
• The rank of the channel matrix is an indicator of how many data streams can be
spatially multiplexed on the MIMO channel.
– If the rank of the channel matrix is at least 2, then the MIMO channel is essentially capable
of spatial multiplexing. The quality of the spatial multiplexing capability is then additionally
quantified by the channel matrix condition number.
• Condition number (CN) and rank are logged for each cell separately and contain
scanning results per physical resource block (about 1 scan/s)
– Low condition number represents good conditions for MIMO. But the full MIMO
performance also depends on the SINR of the signal.
– To understand throughput issues, both values need to be considered. Getting the CN and
the SINR brings a better understanding of the whole LTE-MIMO channel.
– In practice, a channel matrix having a logarithmic condition number of 20log(%(H)) < 10 dB
is clearly suitable for spatial multiplexing.
• Interference, fading, multipath, antenna correlation and noise can be the reasons to
degrade MIMO performance.
Rank and Condition Number (CN), Outdoor View
• Rank and Condition Number can be shown per each Channel, PCI and PRB (1 result
every 2s/PCI)
RSRP and RSRQ per Antenna Port Combinations, Outdoor View

• RSRP and RSRQ can be show per each TX-RX antenna combination
CINR per Antenna Port Combinations, Outdoor View

• CINR can be shown per each TX-RX antenna combination

LTE, Number of MIMO Branches (Rank), Mobile

• PDSCH/PUSCH Rank (PDSCH and PUSCH)

– Indicates the number of MIMO layers (antennas) used for transmission in DL and UL
Uplink Power Control in LTE

• While there is no feedback from the eNodeB (no UL power control commands) the
UE performs open loop power control based on path loss measurements, system
parameters and RRC signalling. This is important for the start of the data transfer.
• Started the data transfer, the UE receives the power control commands from the
eNodeB and corrects the power spectral density.
• Downlink Power control is not defined for LTE, but various data/user allocation
methods instead
 Channel Quality Index (CQI) Mapping Table, 3GPP TS 36.213

• Mobile reports Channel Quality Index to the network

• CQI is an indicator of downlink channel quality. Mobile
estimates with which modulation and transport block
size it woud be able to receive data with an acceptable
BLER (10%) in the next Resource Block.
• If SINR is good, then higher order modulation and
coding schemes (MCS) can be used which implies more
bits per symbol are sent and higher throughputs are
achieved.
• If SINR is poor, then lower order MCS (i.e. QPSK) should
be used which implies fewer bits per modulated symbol
are sent and although the achieved throughputs are
lower the communication is more robust because it has
higher tolerance against interference.
• 3GPP has defined a mapping table between CQI and
modulation/transport block size (amount of data bits to
be sent)
• BTS orders which MCS has to be used in UL and DL
 UL and DL Data Scheduling and Link Adaptation Process

MCS

CQI
MCS

Copyright by Teletopix
CP (Cyclic Prefix)

• Cyclic Prefix (quard period) decreases influence of Inter symbol interference and
intercarrier interference
• Copy of the signal tail is inserted at the beginning of each OFDM symbol
• Consecutive symbols are overlapping in the receiver due to multipath propagation
• CP length is chosen so that overlapping does not exceed it. CP length is 4 to 56
times the length of (assumed) delay spread = 4.7 µs to 16.7 µs
• CP is dropped at the receiver  inter-symbol interference minimized
Cyclic Prefix Length within RB (Resource Block)

• Normal CP Length TCP

– TCP = 160 x Ts (Symbol 0) = 5.2 µs
– TCP = 144 x Ts (Symbols 1 ... 6) = 4.7 µs
• Extended CP Length for large cell
– TCPe = 512 x Ts (Symbols 0 ... 5) = 16.7 µs
• CP for MBMS Call
– TCPlow = 1024 x Ts (Symbols 3) = 66.7 µs
• RACH has different CP lengths, depending on
RACH type

• Ts = 1/(2048 x Δf), where Δf = sub carrier’s

bandwidth (15 kHz or 7.5 kHz)
 Automatic Neighbour Relation (ANR)
• According to 3GPP specifications, the
purpose of the Automatic Neighbour
Relation (ANR) functionality is to
relieve the operator from the burden
of manually managing Neighbor
Relations (NRs).
• The ANR function resides in the eNB
and manages the conceptual
Neighbour Relation Table (NRT).
• The Neighbour Detection Function
finds new neighbours and adds them
to the NRT. ANR also contains the
Neighbour Removal Function which
removes outdated NRs.
• The Neighbour Detection Function and
the Neighbour Removal Function are
implementation specific.
UE Based ANR Function
ANR Support in Nemo Outdoor

• The purpose of the Automatic Neighbor Relation (ANR) functionality is to help

manage neighbor relations of eNBs. When a UE detects an unknown PCI, it reports
the Eutran Cell Global ID (ECGI) of the unknown cell to the network. Based on the
reported ECGI information, the network creates neighbor relation to the new cell.
• ANR information is decoded and shown in the user interface of Nemo Outdoor
and also logged to file whenever
– the network sends a CGI reporting command to the UE (cellForWhichToReportCGI) and
– when the UE reports neighbor cells (measResultNeighCells) to the network.
• Information is logged to the Automatic neighbor relation information event
including ANR type, channel number, PCI, Cell ID, TAC, MCC, and MNC.
Notifications and statistics can be shown for ANR events as well.
LTE Bearer Types
LTE Bearer Types
CSFB and Volte Roadmap
CSFB and Volte Roadmap

• The first operators have used circuit switched fallback (CSFB) to launch voice on
LTE smartphones. Trials started during Q2 2011 and by Q2 2012 launched live
• CSFB networks in commercial service in 10 countries in North America, Europe and
Asia-Pacific during 2011, and a large number of operators were planning to launch
services during 2012.
• CSFB does not use LTE access or IMS for voice calls, but the mobile phone "falls
back" from LTE access to legacy GSM, CDMA or WCDMA networks to perform a
voice call, and the phone resumes the LTE data access when the voice call is hung
up.
• The availability of commercial VoLTE devices depends on operator demand and
handset vendor launch plans. Several mobile chipset vendors were planning to
have VoLTE capabilities available in their platform products during second half
2012.
• Samsung S3 is Volte capable and supported by Nemo Outdoor
Volte Implementation (Ericsson)

• Volte requires support from mobile, eNode-B, LTE core NW and IMS
Volte Implementation

• The mobile communication standard Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is optimized for

data transfer and designed as a packet switched all-IP system only; it does not
include any circuit switched domain currently used for regular voice and SMS
services.
• With voice over LTE (GSMA VoLTE IR.92 specification, based on global 3GPP
standards) as a basis, consumers will be able to use telecom grade voice, video
calling and other new richer communication services on LTE smartphones.
• In order for voice to run over an LTE network, an IMS (IP Multimedia System) core
network needs to provide the telephony service over IP. MMTel (Multi Media
Telephony, deployed on the IMS core) is the solution that provides the telephony
service (and presence, video calling, chat, etc.) in both LTE and fixed networks. The
LTE radio access network and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) also need to support
VoLTE, which can be achieved by software upgrades.
• These services use a regular mobile phone number (MSISDN, Mobile Subscriber
Integrated Services Digital Network-Number)
• With VoLTE, both voice and LTE data services can be used simultaneously on LTE
smartphones.
Volte Specification

• A number of telecom industry leaders jointly developed a technical profile (the

GSMA VoLTE IR.92 specification) during 2009, using the existing 3GPP-standards,
for providing voice and SMS over an all-IP LTE network. In February 2010, GSMA
adopted this initiative and is now driving it further within the telecom industry. In
January 2012, GSMA published another new specification, profiling video calling
over LTE (GSMA IR.94).
• However the architecture used for VoLTE can be used to deliver high-quality
communication services over any packet switched access capable of securing the
necessary quality of service (QoS).
• Recent profiling for using the same services and service control for HSPA has been
done in GSMA (IR.58), and the architecture is also applicable for packet accesses
like EVDO, EDGE, WiFi, xDSL, cable etc. In addition, handover mechanisms for
service continuity to circuit switched access are specified with SRVCC (handover of
ongoing voice call from LTE to GSM/WCDMA/CDMA) and ICS (IMS centralized
services).
CS Fallback and Volte Support in Nemo Outdoor

• Support for LTE CS fallback events and statistics. The following statistics are
logged:
– CS fallback voice call attempts
– CS fallback voice call attempt failures
– CS fallback voice call attempt failures (system failure)
– CS fallback voice call connects (MOC/ MTC)
– CS fallback voice call attempt success rate
– CS fallback voice call setup time (MOC/ MTC)
• CS fallback calls received (MTC calls)

• Nemo OD supports Volte capable terminal, Samsung S3 LTE.

– No NW currently available for Volte testing
CS Fallback Support in Nemo Outdoor, Signaling
Nemo
Nemo Tools Portfolio, LTE Supported Devices
Autonomous

Nemo Analyze Standalone Analysis and Optimization

• Visualization of all NW and
application level diagnostics
on map and various graphs
• Fully customizable, multi-
Nemo FSR1
page, synchronised UI

Nemo Analyze Enterprise

Troubleshooting
Nemo Handy • Quickly found NW and
•Database
application level
Server •Nemo Analyze client SW
problems from large data
sets
• Drill-down to full details
Nemo Analyze Snapshot • Root-cause analysis
Nemo Invex •Web server

Benchmarking
• Automatic benchmarking of QoS
•Web access and NW KPIs between
Nemo Outdoor operators, technologies,
terminals, and areas.

Reporting
• Statistical reporting on NW
and application level KPIs.
LTE Terminal Support in Nemo Outdoor
• LG L1000 USB data card (2100/2600), LG L2000 (G7, G13 and G17, LG G7 verified
with dual configuration)
• LG VL600 (700, Band 13), LG LD611 (850, Band 5)
• Qualcomm LTE chipsets (MDM9200/ MDM9600) for FDD and TDD
– Huawei E398 (800/1800/2100/2600, bands 1, 3, 7, 20)
– Huawei E392u-12, 21, 22, 92 (800/900/1800/2100/2300/2600)
– LG P930 (700, 2100 AWS, Android)
– ZTE 820 D/T (FDD and TDD), MF880 (800, 2600)
– Pantech UML290 (700, Band 13)
– Sierra Wireless 313, 320 (700, 1800 bands), 330 (2100AWS, 2600)
– Bandrich FDD/TDD-LTE Terminals
– Samsung Galaxy SII LTE, S3 LTE
– Nokia 7410, 7510 (FDD and TDD)
– Samsung Droid Charge SCH-i51 (Samsung chip, Android 800/1800/2600)
• Altair, Nokia 7210 (TD LTE)

• LTE bands: 2100MHz(B1)/1900 MHz (B2)/1800 MHz (B3)/AWS(B4)/850MHz (B5)/2600 MHz (B7)/ 700 MHz (Band 13)/700
MHz (B17)/EDD800 MHz (B20)/ 2500 MHz (B38)/ 2300 MHz (B40)
 LTE Scanner Support in Nemo Outdoor

• Supported LTE scanners in Nemo Outdoor:

– Nemo FSR1 scanner
– PcTel EX LTE scanners (all FDD bands)
– PcTel EX Mini 2100 AWS, 1600 Band (24)
– PcTel MX LTE scanner (new bands 38-41)
– R&S TSMW LTE scanner (all FDD and TDD bands)
• Wideband scanning mode in OD 6.3
• MIMO measurements in OD 6.4
 NEMO FSR1
Modular Digital Scanning Receiver

MULTI-TECHNOLOGY:
• LTE, WCDMA, GSM, CDMA/EVDO

FIELD UPGRADEABLE
• New bands -> Add down converter
• New technology -> Firmware/license
update

ADVANCED, FLEXIBLE CALIBRATION

• No downtime due to calibration MULTI-BAND
• Calibration check at power-up • Up to eight bands in a single receiver

•January 10, 2013

LTE SUPPORT – NEMO OUTDOOR WITH NEMO FSR1
SCANNER
• Different frequency options available from 700MHz up
to 2.6GHz

• High speed scanning and sensitivity for accurate

measurements

• Full-scale scanning measurements supported

– RSSI measurements
– Top-N scanning for synchronization and reference signals
(quality, power and CINR)
– Spectrum analysis measurement

• LTE FDD support

̶ 700- A/ B/ C/ D, 850, 900, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2100
AWS and 2600 (E-UTRA bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10,
12, 13, 14, 17, 19, 36)

• LTE TDD support

– Currently support for E-UTRA bands 36 (1930-1990
MHz), 38 (2570-2620MHz) and 2.3 GHz.

January 10, 2013

Nemo Invex for Voice and Data Benchmarking
• Nemo Outdoor software user interface (laptop) and device handlers
• Measurement platform holds up to 20 measurement terminals or 10 data cards
– 10 Universal Interface Cards (UIC)
– Each UIC card supports 2 test devices (1 data & 1 voice or 2 voice) of any technology
• Integrated power supply with internal battery back up
• UIC’s are connected
via Gigabit Ethernet
• Integrated mounting/
power for FSR1 scanner
• Integrated GPS
• Voltage 12 VDC
• Current: 10 – 15 A
• Cooling fans
• RoHS, CE certified
• Shock and vibration qualified (MIL-STD-810, Method 516.4, procedures I, IV, VI. MIL-STD-810E, Method
514.4, categories 1 and 10.)

• W x H x D: 40 x 18 x 45 cm
VoIP Testing over PS Data (LTE)
• VoIP call testing from mobile to
mobile over packet data (e.g. LTE),
or from mobile to SIP server
• SIP registration server is required
to be able to register the VoIP
calls to the network (V4.16)
• Statistics:
– Normal call statistics
– Number of lost packets
– Number of discarded packets
– Transfer Delay
– Jitter
– Etc.
Nemo Outdoor 6.30 Features

• POLQA Voice Quality Algorithm with VoIP (Optional)

– Supported with SIP VoiP calls (not Skype)
– VoIP testing can be done with any PS data supporting device without any
additional hardware e.g. soundcards
• Voice Quality Echo parameter with Nemo Invex
– Optional Advanced ECHO OEM library provided by Opticom
– Possible to measure echo from audio with both PESQ and POLQA algorithms
– Echo measurements are not supported with commercial sound cards e.g. Terratec
DMX6 Fire or Maya44
– Audio quality echo annoyance: Acceptable, Unacceptable and Sidetone
• USSD testing
– USSD is used e.g. for mobile payment applications, prepaid balance queries etc.
– USSD message testing can be done in Nemo Outdoor in both manually or
automatically using script files
Nemo Outdoor 6.30 Features

• Enhanced video streaming testing (Youtube)

– VLC media player replaced Real Player based
implementation
– In addition to RTSP links, user can stream e.g. Youtube
videos using HTTP links
– With HTTP testing, statistical information can be collected
e.g. number of data attempts, failed data connections, data
drops, succesful data transfers, throughputs, stream state
etc.
LTE Support in Nemo Outdoor 6.4

• Terminals
– Samsung Galaxy S III 2G/ 3G/4G SGH-i747 (Qualcomm chip, 700/1700/2100)
– Option Beemo LTE USB modem (800/900/1800/2600)
– Huawei U5200/ Huawei U8820
– ZTE MF821
– LG Viper 4G LTE LS840 (Sprint 700)
• Chipsets
– HiSilicon chipset (moved to OD 7.0)
– Renesas chipset
– Nvidia chipset

• Nemo FSR1 Scanner features

• Broadcast channel message decoding
• Wideband reference signal measurement using 10/20 MHz bandwidth
• LTE MIMO decoding
• MIMO DC 1.8/ 2.6GHz
• UL measurements with a dedicated DC

– LTE MIMO support for R&S TSMW

Nemo Outdoor 6.40 Test Devices

• Samsung Galaxy S III 2G/ 3G(GT-i9300, Exynos)

– Exynos 4212 Quad
– WCDMA 850/ 900/ 1900/ 2100
– HSDPA Cat. 14 (21Mbps)/ HSUPA Cat. 6 (5.76Mbps)
– Quad band GSM

• Samsung Galaxy S III 2G/ 3G/4G (SGH-i747,Qualcomm)

– Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960
– LTE 700/ 1700/ 2100
– WCDMA 850/ 1900/ 2100
– Quad band GSM

• Option Beemo LTE USB modem

– LTE Quad-band (800/900/1800/2600 MHz)
– Download: 100 Mbps (Category 3)
– Upload: 50 Mbps (Category 3)
– 2 × 2 MIMO antenna
– DC- HSPA+ Dual-band (900/2100 MHz)
– HSDPA: 42 Mbps (Category 24)
– HSUPA: 5.76 Mbps (Category 6)
– GSM/ GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

• Huawei U5200/ Huawei U8820 (Qchat)

– WCDMA 900/ 2100
– HSDPA 7.2Mbps/ 2Mbps
– Quad band GSM

• LG Viper 4G LTE LS840

– LTE 700 (Sprint)
LTE Terminals for Nemo Handy-A V1.3

• HTC Thunderbolt (LTE 700, CDMA EvDO revA)

• HTC Velocity 4G (LTE 1800, WCDMA 850/2100, GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900)
• Samsung Galaxy LTE Tab 8.9 (GSM Quadband, WCDMA 900/2100, LTE
800/1800/2600)
• HTC Rezound (Verizon) (GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, CDMA 800 / 1900,
CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, WCDMA/HSPA 900 / 2100, LTE 700
• Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket i727 (AT&T) (GSM Quadband, HSPA 850 / 1900 /
2100, LTE 700 / 1700 / 2100)
 •65
Handy-A Terminals V1.4
• HTC One S
– Released with Handy v1.30
– WCDMA/HSPA 900/2100
– GSM 850/900/1800/1900

• Samsung Galaxy S II 4G GT-I9210-T (Telstra)

– Available 07/2012
– WCDMA/HSPA 850/2100
– GSM 850/900/1800/1900
– LTE 1800/2600 (E-UTRA bands 3, 7)

• HTC One XL
– Available September 2012
– GSM 850/900/1800/1900
– WCDMA/HSPA 850/900/1900/2100
– LTE 1800/2600 (E-UTRA bands 3, 7)

• HTC EVO 4G LTE (Sprint)

– Embedded Sprint SIM card
– LTE 1900 (E-UTRA 2, 25)
– CDMA 800/1900

• Samsung Galaxy S III (AT&T/Verizon/Sprint)

– US bands
• Samsung Galaxy Note LTE
– US, Europe and Asia bands
LTE Roadmap for Nemo Autonomous
Wanderer-A 1.10

• LTE measurement support

• New terminal:
– Samsung Galaxy SII LTE i9210
• GSM 850/900/1800/1900
• WCDMA 900/2100
• LTE 800/1800/2600 (E-UTRA bands 20, 3, 7)
• Real time status/location report
– Wanderer unit sends report periodically
– Report contains location information and status of the unit
• Ready Nov 2012
LTE Measurements

• Coverage measurements (RSRP, TX Power...)

• Quality measurements (RSRQ, SNR, BLER, CQI...)
• Application quality measurements
– FTP UL/DL (throughput, etc.)
– IPERF UL/DL (throughput, etc.)
– HTTP testing
– Ping/ Ping Trace Route (round trip time)
– Video streaming quality (MOS, dropped packets, etc.)
– Email (SMTP, POP3) testing
– External application testing
– VoIP testing
 Key Parameters for LTE Optimization
• RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power, Range: Range: −140 – 0, Unit: dBm)
– Linear average of the power contributions of the resource elements that carry cell-specific reference
signals within the considered measurement frequency. 3GPP TS 36.214 sub clause 5.1.1.
– Measured by terminal for every detected cell (incl. Serving cell) and reported to the network. Can be
used for handover decisions. Analog to RSCP in WCDMA
– Indicates the coverage of the measured cell
• RSSI (Carrier Received Signal Strength Indicator, Unit: dBm)
– Comprises the linear average of the total received power (in [W]) observed only in OFDM symbols
containing reference symbols for antenna port 0, in the measurement bandwidth, over N number of
resource blocks by the UE from all sources, including co-channel serving and non-serving cells, adjacent
channel interference, thermal noise etc.
• RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality, Range: −30 – 0, Unit: dB)
– Ratio N * RSRP / E-UTRAN carrier RSSI, where N is the number of resource blocks of the E-UTRAN carrier
RSSI measurement bandwidth. The measurements in the numerator and denominator are made over the
same set of resource blocks. 3GPP TS 36.214 sub clause 5.1.3.
– Measured by terminal and reported to the network. Can be used for handover decisions. Analog to Ec/No
in WCDMA
– Indicates the quality of the measured cell
• SNR/CINR (Signal to Noise Ratio, Unit: dB, Range: −20 – +40, Unit: dB)
– Measured per antenna port and an average SNR is also available.
– RS CINR [dB] is a ratio between the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and the interference and
noise from the same reference signal set.
– In normal conditions, SNR from different antenna ports should follow each other, fluctuation caused by
multipath fading only. Continous bias between the distinct SNR values may indicate damaged antenna
port
RSRP Measurement Accuracy Requirement of a LTE Terminal,
3GPP TS 36.521
RSRQ Measurement Accuracy Requirement, 3GPP TS 36.521
Nemo FSR1 Scanner, LTE Measurements

LTE Scanning Parameters

-Reference Signal Measurements
•For each sector:
•Channel number, Physical Cell ID (PCI), Cyclic Prefix (CP)
• RSRP, RSRQ and CINR
•MIB decoding: BW info
•MAX 32 carriers
-Synchronization Channel Measurements
•P-SCH and S-SCH measurements for Power, Quality and CINR
•Spectrum analysis
•Multiple frequency bands can be scanned simultaneously
•User defines start-stop frequency or middle freq. + BW
Nemo FSR1, Example of Reference Channel Measurements
R&S TSMW LTE MIMO Measurements
•RSRP, RSRQ and CINR per TX/RX antenna ports can be measured
•If there is a problem in TX or RX antenna port, the defect can be easily pinpointed
R&S TSMW LTE MIMO Measurements
•Condition number and Rank per each Resource Block can be measured (per channel and PCI)
•The quality of MIMO measurement over a whole BW can be illustrated
 Nemo Outdoor- Mobile Measurements, Serving Cell

• Serving Cell Measurements:

– Band, Channel, CID, PCI (Physical
Cell ID)
– MCC, MNC, Tracking area code
(TAC), similar to RAC in
WCDMA/GPRS
– DL Bandwidth
– RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI
Nemo Outdoor- Mobile Measurements, Neighbour Cell

• Neighbour Cell
Measurements
including:
– Power and quality
information for
detected and listed
cells
– Band, Ch, PCI, Cell
name (requires BTS
file)
 Signalling, Attach – PDP Context Activation

• Signalling Information
including:
– RRC and layer 3
messages with full
decoding functionality
Nemo Outdoor- Mobile Measurements, RACH

• RACH Information including:

– RACH initial TX power
– Number of preambles
– Preamble step size
– RACH reason
– RACH success
– RACH type
LTE Connection Modes

• There are only 2 connection modes in LTE:

– RRC Idle
– RRC Connected
 •81
SIB Messages in LTE

SIB 9 Home eNodeB name

SIB 10, 11 Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS) information
SIB 12 Commercial Mobile Alerting System (CMAS) information

•January 10, 2013

LTE Measurement Events

• Event A1: Serving becomes better than threshold

• Event A2: Serving becomes worse than threshold
• Event A3: Neighbour becomes amount of offset better than serving
• Event A4: Neighbour becomes better than absolute threshold
• Event A5: Serving becomes worse than absolute threshold1 and inter RAT
neighbour becomes better than threshold2
• Event B1: Inter-RAT NB becomes better than threshold
• Event B2: Serving becomes worse than th1 and Inter-RAT NB becomes better than
th2

• The events are fully described in 3GPP TS 36.331, chapter 5.5.

LTE Measurement Events, Measurement Trigger Point

• When RSRP of serving cell becomes worse than a threshold (S-measure, defined
and reported by NW), then the mobile starts neighbour cell measurements
LTE Measurement Events, Mobility Trigger Points

• Time to trigger parameter can get different values depending on the mobile speed
LTE Measurement Events, Event A1
LTE Measurement Events, Event A2
LTE Measurement Events, Event A3
LTE Measurement Events, Event A4
LTE Measurement Events, Event A5
LTE Measurement Events, Event B1
LTE Measurement Events, Event B2
LTE Handover

• Possible system related handovers

are:
– Intra LTE handover
– WCDMA <-> LTE HO
– GSM <-> LTE HO
– TD-SCDMA/CDMA <-> LTE HO
• Typical handover types:
– Better cell HO (Intra-LTE)
– Coverage HO (Inter-System)
• Measurement trigger types:
– Event triggered
– Continuous reporting
• Parameters to measure:
– RSRP
– RSRQ
 Nemo Outdoor- LTE Handover (HO) Events •93

• In handover sheet, all the successful and failed handovers can be seen. Handovers and HO failures
can also be plotted on graphs / map, if needed.
• 2 HO failures can be identified in below sheet. HO from PCI 236 to PCI 360 has failed 2 times.

•January 10, 2013

Key Parameters for Optimization, Physical Layer

Downlink
• PDSCH throughput (Physical layer downlink throughput, total and per code word, kbps)
• Requested throughput (kbps)
– Computational throughput based on the transport block sizes indicated by the wideband CQI values,
taking into account also requested MIMO rate. This is the downlink PDSCH throughput, the mobile is
requesting with CQI report
– Requested throughput much higher than the real measured one may indicate that there is other
users sharing the radio resources of the cell, or other bottleneck in the network, that prevents the
mobile from getting the maximum achievable throughput
• PDSCH BLER (Physical layer downlink Block Error Rate, %)
– When operating in the dynamic range of the link adaptation, average BLER should be higher than 0,
typically 10-20%, in order to achieve the gain of HARQ retransmission scheme

Uplink
• PUSCH throughput (Physical layer uplink throughput)
• PUSCH TX power (Physical layer uplink TX Power, dBm)
– High values indicate lack of uplink coverage
 Nemo Outdoor- Example LTE Views

• Physical Channel Information

including:
– PDSCH throughput
– PDSCH BLER information
– PUSCH throughput
– PUSCH TX power
Key Parameters for Optimization, MAC and Upper Layer
Throughputs / BLER
• MAC downlink/uplink throughputs
• MAC downlink/uplink residual BLER (%)
– Residual BLER after all HARQ retransmissions should be 0%. Higher values indicate that the radio
link is about to drop.
• MAC downlink/uplink 1st, 2nd and 3rd retransmission rates
• PDCP downlink/uplink throughputs
• RLC layer downlink/uplink throughputs
• Application layer throughputs
CQI, Link Adaptation, PRB Views

• Link Adaptation Information

including:
– CQI information
– Packet link adaptation
information downlink and
uplink, like Modulation, Coding
scheme and Rank (number of
MIMO branches)
– Number of Physical Resource
Blocks (PRB) information
CQI, Channel Quality Information

• Like shown in earlier slide, Subband and Wideband CQI values can be shown per
codeword
• As a new measurement, CQI can be shown per codeword and per subband
 Nemo Outdoor- Example LTE Views

• LTE L1 Problems
– Quick and easy way
for troubleshooting
purposes
– User can make own
custom windows and
filters for particular
parameters
– E.g. BLER > 10% or
RSRP < -105 dBm
VoIP Testing, Parameter Views

• VoiP parameters can be shown, e.g. RTP Jitter and PER

• Predefined views for SIP registration
• SIP messages can be shown and decoded
• VoIP call statistics
Nemo Analyze – Example LTE Reports
Nemo Analyze – Benchmarking Network Clusters
 LTE Coverage/Quality, RSRQ

• Signal Quality (RSRQ) can be shown on a map in a similar way to signal coverage (RSRP).
• The red route coloring corresponds to weak quality areas on a map. The percentage on the
color legend shows the time of experiencing of a certain quality. It can be changed in the
options to reflect number of samples, or distance as well.
• The range of the route coloring can be naturally modified by the user.

•January 10, 2013

 LTE, Application Throughput
• Application
throughput plot gives
an idea of an
achievable
throughput in
different areas of the
NW.
• Red and black color
illustrate the areas of
low throughput
• Low throughput can
be caused by high
traffic congestion in
air or transmission,
server problems, bad
coverage or bad
quality of the NW
Nemo Analyze, Troubleshooting Example

• Problematic areas can

be shown automatically
on a map
• E.g. Dropped PDP
connections, PDP
activation failures, low
coverage areas, high
BLER areas, etc.
Nemo Analyze, Google Map Support

• Parameters and
events can be shown
on Live map or on
Google map
Google Map View

• The results can be shown on Google Map 3D view, or on Street View as well
LTE Excel report template

• LTE report template made directly with MS Excel

• Statistics and map plots from RF and application layer
key performance metrics are included
• Layout of the report can be changed like from any
Excel document.
• New KPIs can be added easily, and the existing ones
can be modified
Nemo Analyze – KPI Modification and Creation by Using KPI Workbench
Measurement Accuracy Comparison between Datacards
SNR versus RSRP - LG2000 versus Sierra 313
RSRP versus Throughput

• It can be noticed, that when signal level goes below -90 dBm, variation in data
throughput gets higher, and average throughput starts to go down
LTE Coverage Simulations, ECE

• When 4 Mbit/s DL throughput,

minimum signal level of -99 dBm is
required for an acceptable data
transmission

• If 20 Mbit/s throughput can be

achieved o.5 km distance from BTS,
only 2 Mbit/s can be achieved 1.5 km
from the BTS
LTE Quality/Throughput Comparisons
between Operators around the World
-sample testing

India Australia Finland Sweden USA

LTE Mode TD FDD FDD FDD FDD
Bandwidth [MHz] 20 10 20 20 10
RSRP AVE [dBm] -95.1 -81.5 -78.1 -88.1 -89.4
RSRP 90% -112.3 -92.5 -96.4 -105 -112.2
RSRQ AVE [dBm] -6.9 -5.81 -10.3 -6.6 -8.7
RSRQ 90% -10.8 -9.3 -12.4 -19.5 -14.6
Appl. Throughp. [Mbit/s] 3.1 11.1 51.4 36.5 6.5
PDSCH Throughp. [Mbit/s] 0.8 4.6 49.2 34.4 3.6
Finnish LTE/Language Lesson

• HSPA+: 7.5 Mbit/s

• HSPA+ DC: 14-16 Mbit/s
• LTE DL: 25-65 Mbit/s
• LTE UL: 12.5 – 18 Mbit/s •LTE DL •LTE UL
Latency (Ping) Test Results from Mobile Networks in Finland

• Ping tests have been performed

throughwhole Finland and over
multiple operator’s networks
• LTE offers the fastest latency time of
22 ms, 10X faster than in WCDMA
network
Thank You! More Questions?