W-CDMA UA07 R99 Radio Principles PDF

Welcome to this e-learning training about the R99 Radio Principles.
Please note that at any time during the training, you can access the acronym list by clicking on the
Attachments button at the top right of the window.
All Rights Reserved © Alcatel-Lucent 2010

This presentation is divided into 4 parts. Part 1 is an introduction part where I will give you general
information about the UTRAN system. Part 2 focuses on the basic and key principles of WCDMA. Part 3 aims
at presenting to you in detail the different scenarios existing in UTRAN. We‟ll end with part 4 that
identifies the multi broadcast multicast system implemented in UA07.

Our goal in this training is to provide you with an overview of the general radio principles of R99.

The first section describes the UTRAN System.

At the end of this section, you will be able to draw the basic and key protocols used on the different
interfaces of UTRAN network. Part 3 identifies in detail the radio channels divided in several types of
channels like logical, transport and physical channels. Part 4 is a description of the radio channels. We‟ll
end with part 5 by reviewing the UTRAN radio Protocols.

Let„s start off by locating the logical architecture of the UMTS newtork.

The UMTS Network is divided in 3 parts.
The first part is the Access Network. In a mobile radio system such as GSM or UMTS, the objective of a radio
access network is to convey information over the air interface between a Mobile Phone and the Core
Network. As the access network of the UMTS, the UTRAN is responsible for the transfer of information over
the air interface between the Core Network and the User Equipment using terrestrial items of equipment. It
is composed of several Radio Network Subsystems (or RNS).
The second part is the Core Network. The Core Network manages the communication and enables to
connect to another phone of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) via the Circuit Core Network,
or to Internet via the Packet Core Network. Therefore, the UTRAN is interconnected with the Circuit-
Switched domain and the Packet-Switched domain respectively via the Iu-CS and Iu-PS interfaces. Access
Network domain plus the Core Network domain constitute the Infrastructure domain.
The third part, is the external Networks with the different PSTN and PDN Network.
All those domains have been defined precisely by the 3GPP standard in order to allow full compatibility
between manufacturers.

We have seen that the UMTS Core Network is composed of 2 separated domains: the Circuit Switched
domain (or CS domain) and the Packet Switched domain (or PS domain) which reuse the infrastructure of
GSM and GPRS respectively.
The Core Network is independent of the Access Network. The specificity of the access network due to
mobile system should be transparent to the core network, which may potentially use any access
technique. The radio specificity of the access network is hidden to the core network. UE radio mobility is
fully controlled by UTRAN.

A Radio Network Subsystem (or RNS) contains one Radio Network Controller and at least one Node-B.
The RNC takes a more important place in UTRAN than the BSC in the GSM BSS. Indeed, the RNC can
perform soft handover, while in GSM there is no connection between BSCs and only hard handover can be
applied. Generally, the RNC is in charge of Radio resource management, the call management for the
users, the connection to the Core Network and the radio mobility management.
The RNC can take 3 roles. 2 roles with regards to the mobile (Serving RNC with which the mobile starts
the RRC connection, Drift RNC with which the mobile is currently connected during soft handover) and
one role with regards to Node B (Controlling RNC which is controlling Node B resources). At a given time,
the CRNC is then either the SRNC or DRNC.

Node b has more
function in HSPA
To report the
measurments
A Node-B is also more complex than the GSM BTS, because it handles softer handover. The main role of
the Node-B is to convert the Radio signal received from the antennas into a digital signal on the E1 link
of the Iub.

Let‟s move on to the Network protocols.

There are different Iu Protocols. Firstly, the Radio Access Network Application Protocol (or RANAP) is
implemented on the IuCS and IuPS interfaces. Secondly, the Radio Network Sub-system Application
Protocol (also called RNSAP) is the protocol used by two RNCs to communicate together on the Iur.
Thirdly, the Node B Application Protocol (or NBAP) is the signaling protocol used on the Iub. Then, ALCAP
is a generic name for the signaling protocols of the Transport Network Control Plane used to
establish/release Data Bearers. It makes establishment/release of Data Bearers on request of the
Application Protocol.
The other protocols are the Radio Protocols used between the UE and the RNC. On this Uu Interface, we
use the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol, the Radio Link Control or RLC protocol and the Medium
Access Control or MAC protocol.
Finally, the Non Access Stratum, or NAS, refers to higher layers (from 3 to 7). Entities of this part will
exchange teleservices and bearer services.

In UA05 release, the Alcatel-Lucent UTRAN supported ATM only on the Iub interface. The UA06 release introduces
support for a hybrid transport (IP & ATM) Iub interface through a software upgrade and the addition of two (1+1)
4ptGigE Cards on the RNC and xCCM board on the Node B. In UA07, it‟s also possible to support a native IP Iub with
IP only NodeB.
We still support ATM NodeB and Hybrid NodeB so we can see 3 different types of NodeB.
The scope of IP Transport in UTRAN is intended to replace the ATM transport network (AAL2/ATM or AAL5/ATM) by an
IP transport network to reduce the transmission cost.
The radio network layer remains unchanged in the control plane (RANAP, RNSAP, NBAP), except that the transport
layer information provided in NBAP/RNSAP/RANAP is changed, and in the user plane (Iu / Iur / Iub UP Frame
Protocols). ALCAP disappears in the transport network control plane.
After the introduction in UA06 of an hybrid ATM / IP transport on Iub (iBTS only) and a pure IP transport on Iu-PS, it
is added in UA07:
· Full IP transport on Iub: the existing ATM interface is removed and all the traffic (User Plane and Control Plane) is
transported over an IP/Ethernet interface
· IP transport on Iu-CS: between the RNC and the MSC, and between the RNC and the MGW in NGN architecture
· IP transport on Iur: between two RNC
· Pure IP transport on Itf-R and Itf-B : the OMC can be connected only to the IP backbone
· IP transport on Iu-BC: between the RNC and the CBC
Moreover, a full mixity between ATM and IP transport is supported in UA07:
· A mix of ATM Nodes B, Hybrid Nodes B and Full IP Nodes B are supported on the same RNC
· A mix of ATM and IP is supported on Iu/Iur : Iu-PS over IP / Iu-CS over ATM or some Iurs over ATM and other Iurs
over IP
· A mix of ATM and IP is supported on Iu-CS/Iu-PS in case of Iu-Flex
· The OMC can be connected either to the ATM backbone (via an IP over ATM access node) or to the IP backbone,
· The O&M flow from RNC to OMC can be “In band” or “Out of Band” (using an Ethernet port of a dedicated card).
Note that the Iu-PC interface is not supported over IP in UA07 as the Standalone AssistedGPS SMLC (SAS) is integrated
in the RNC in UA07 (see FRS 34123). That means that Iu-PC over ATM is still supported on a mix ATM/IP RNC but
integrated SMLC server is needed in case of a Full IP RNC.
Hybrid Iub means support of hybrid ATM / IP transport on Iub interface:
On the one hand, ATM is used for control plane (NBAP, ALCAP), Node B O&M and R99 user plane. ATM
also carries HSDPA streaming and Signaling Radio Bearer on HSPA.
On the other hand, IP is used for HSDPA and HSUPA user plane traffic with interactive/background traffic
class.
In UA06, VLANs are introduced in the RNC to separate, at ethernet level, different flows on the same
physical Gigabit Ethernet Port: one VLAN is dedicated to Iub user plane.
In UA07, VLAN is introduced in the iBTS. QoS differentiation is ensured by DiffServ at IP level and,
optionally, by Priority Bits at Ethernet level.
Hybrid Iub is supported only on iBTS equipped with xCCM but not on iBTS equipped with iCCM, on one
BTS, and on micro or pico Node B.

Native IP Iub means support of IP transport only on Iub interface both for Control Plane, User Plane and
Node B O&M flows. ATM is no more used.
The Control Plane consists in NBAP signaling messages only, as ALCAP is not needed anymore. The User
Plane consists in different traffic types having different QoS requirements.
The Node B O&M flows may go directly from OMC to Node B.
These different data flows (control, user, O&M) may be separated by using different IP addresses and
also by different VLANs on RNC side and on Node B side.
At Ethernet level, VLANs can be used to separate different flows (User Plane, Control Plane, O&M flows)
on the same physical Ethernet Port.
For synchronization, the Node B needs an interface with an external PTP server.

This feature provides support for synchronization of all IP NodeB implementation by introducing packet
synchronization based on IEEE1588v2, GPS synchronization and E1/T1 synchronization.
Before UA07.1, a BTS provided only E1/T1 or E3/T3 or STM1/OC-3 connectivity and therefore used the
corresponding line timing to extract an 8-kHz signal being used for OMA supervision.
In UA07.1 the native IP IuB feature is introduced, which allows the operator to carry all IuB traffic over
Ethernet transport. With the introduction of this feature BTS systems supporting Ethernet backhaul won‟t
have E1/T1 or E3/T3 or STM1/OC-3 connectivity. Consequently, no 8-kHz signal can be derived anymore
from the network clock. To recover an 8-kHz signal with sufficient accuracy for OMA supervision, the IEEE
1588v2 Precision Timing Protocol (PTP) is implemented in the BTS to synchronize to a PTP time server,
thereby allowing an 8-kHz signal to be generated into the BTS.

RNCs may be connected to the ATM backbone or to the IP backbone or to both. However, on Iur, Control
and User plane stacks must be both either IP or ATM. Mix and match of ATM Control and IP User plane or
vice versa are not possible.
At IP level, DiffServ is used for QoS differentiation.
At Ethernet level, VLANs can be used to separate different flows (in the User Plane and in the Control
Plane) on a single VR associated with a physical Gigabit Ethernet Port.

In UA06, the RNC can be connected to the SGSN through the CN IP backbone and, optionally, it can be
connected to the GGSN using a direct GTP tunnel for the User Plane without any impact on RNC side nor
on configuration since the SGSN is responsible for providing the User Plane address of the GGSN by
Control Plane signaling.
On Iu-PS, a mix of ATM transport and IP transport is supported, even in the same pool in case of Iu
flexibility configuration. However, the Control Plane and User plane stacks must be either IP or ATM. Mix
and match of ATM Control Plane and IP User plane or vice versa are not possible.

In a mixed ATM / IP UTRAN, each network element may be connected either to the ATM backbone or to
the IP backbone.
RNCs may be connected to the ATM backbone or to the IP backbone or to both.
MSC/MGW may be either connected on the ATM backbone or on the IP backbone, even in the same pool
in case of Iu Flexibility configuration.
On Iu-CS, Control and User plane stacks must be both either IP or ATM. Mix and match of ATM Control and
IP User plane or vice versa aren‟t possible.

The O&M topologies supported with Native IP Node B, i.e. the possible paths for the O&M Node B flow
(itfb) and for the RNC O&M flow (itfr) are different.
The supported topologies are the result of the combinations of the following rules:
First, the telecom flow of a Native IP Node B is always getting in the RNC on an Ethernet port of the
GigaBit Ethernet card.
Secondly, the O&M flow of a Native IP Node B (itfb) can either not go through the RNC or get in the RNC
on an Ethernet port of the GigaBit Ethernet card.
Then, the O&M flow between the RNC and the OMC can either get in the RNC via the Ethernet port of the
CP card, or get in the RNC on an Ethernet port of the GigaBit Ethernet card but also get in the RNC via a
STM-1/OC3 port of the STM-1/OC-3 card (in case of ATM connection). On OMC-R side, a mix of the
previous case per RNS is possible.
Finally, an OMC can be connected to an ATM backbone (via a POC) for Itf-r and itf-b, an IP backbone for
Itf-r and itf-b, i.e. the O&M does not go through ATM but by Ethernet, a mix of the two previous cases
per RNS.
The RNC is the bridge from IP/ATM/STM-1/OC-3 to IP/GE ONLY for the O&M itfb flow.
Another transport node can also provide this ATM-to-IP bridge role.

Let‟s now review the protocol stacks.

USER DATA,
1 user data
(signaling or
data)
The same general protocol model, which is illustrated here is applied for all Iu interfaces. When we look
at the model we can wonder what the purpose of the separation between the Radio Network Layer and
the Transport Network Layer is. Moreover, we can wonder why ALCAP is necessary.

app protocoll in sending control data from node
b to RNC or vice versa for users
ATM
IP
For IP transport of the Iub user plane over Ethernet, there are several 3GPP requirements, in TS 25426.
First, UDP over IP shall be supported as the transport for DCH data streams on Iub.
Then, the transport bearer is identified by the UDP port number and an IP address.
Moreover, the source and destination IP addresses exchanged via the Radio Network Layer on the Iur/Iub
interface shall use the NSAP structure.
Finally, IP Differentiated Services code point marking shall be supported. The mapping between traffic
categories and Diffserv code points shall be configurable by O&M. The UDP port number and IP address
which are the bearer identifiers are exchanged between RNC and Node B at each Radio Link Setup via
NBAP signaling messages. The DSCP is determined by the RNC and given to the Node B at each Radio Link
Setup via NBAP signaling messages.
For IP transport of the Iub Control plane over Ethernet, there are other 3GPP requirements, in TS 25432.
First, SCTP over IP shall be supported as the transport for NBAP signaling bearer on Iub Interface.
Then, the checksum method specified in RFC 3309 shall be used instead of the method specified in RFC
2960.
Each signaling bearer between the RNC and Node B shall also correspond to one single SCTP stream in UL
and one single SCTP stream in DL direction, both streams belonging to the same SCTP association.
IP Differentiated Services code point marking shall be supported. The DiffServ Code Point may be
determined from the application parameters.
An RNC equipped with the SCTP stack option shall initiate the INIT procedure for establishing association.
This is new in Release 7.
Finally, Multi-homing is not required.

The Iur interface enables the exchange of signaling information between two RNCs. The Radio Network
Subsystem Application Protocol or RNSAP performs radio link management, physical channel
reconfiguration, relocation execution, measurement on dedicated resources and paging. RNCs may be
connected to the ATM backbone or to the IP backbone or to both. An Iur link between any pair of RNCs
may be either full ATM or full IP. It must not have both an ATM connection and an IP link at the same
time. When an RNC is connected to an ATM backbone, the SCCP is used to support signaling messages
between two RNCs. The signaling bearers in the Radio Network Control Plane for Iur are MTP3b/SSCF-
NNI/SSCOP/AAL5 over ATM.
For IP transport of the Iur User Plane, the transport bearer is identified by the UDP port number and the
IP address (source UDP port number, destination UDP port number, source IP address, destination IP
address). The source and destination IP addresses and the associated UDP port numbers are exchanged
via RNSAP and shall use the NSAP structure.
For the Iur control plane, the MTP3 User Application (or M3UA) performs a role similar to that of MTP3 in
SS7 signaling. That is, it transports messages from MTP3 users (SCCP or ISUP) to remote MTP3 users. The
difference between M3UA and MTP3 is that instead of transporting messages over SS7 networks, M3UA
transports messages over an IP network using the services of SCTP.

The Iu-PS interface is an open interface between the RNC and the SGSN for the packet domain.
The Radio Access Network Application Protocol or RANAP performs RAB management, relocation of an
SRNC, transport of NAS signaling messages, paging, security mode control and location reporting.
ATM and IP stacks for Iu-PS are supported. On this interface, the SCCP supports transport of RANAP
messages used by the Control Plane. SCCP performs connectionless and connection-oriented procedures
to support the RANAP. In the ATM stack, the MTP3-B forwards the messages and manages the signaling
link connection.
SAAL-NNI is Signaling ATM Adaptation Layer and is sub-divided in the SSCF, the SSCOP and AAL5. The
AAL5/ATM used to transport IP packets across the Iu interface towards the packet-switched domain is no
longer supported.
The IP stack is sub-divided into the M3UA and the SCTP to transport the signaling on the IP network.
UDP/IP is used for the User Plane. In this release, only IPv4 is supported. Dynamic management of GTP
tunnel is ensured by the user plane towards the PS domain.
The transport bearer is identified by the GTP TEID and the IP address (source GTP TEID, destination GTP
TEID, source IP address, destination IP address).
The IP addresses and GTP TEID are exchanged between RNC and SGSN by using the RANAP protocol.
There may be one or several IP addresses in the RNC and in the CN.

The Iu-CS interface is an open interface between the RNC and the MSC for the Circuit Domain.
On this interface, the SCCP supports transport of RANAP messages used by the Control Plane.
RANAP performs RAB management, relocation of an SRNC, transport of NAS signaling messages, paging,
security mode control and location reporting.
SCCP performs connectionless and connection-oriented procedures to support the RANAP.
The protocol structures supported for Iu-CS interface are ATM and IP.
In the ATM stack, MTP3-B forwards the messages and manages the signaling link connection.
As for Iu-PS, SAAL-NNI is sub-divided in SSCF, SSCOP and AAL5.
The User Plane uses the stack AAL2/ATM.
The physical layer is the OC-3/STM-1 interface.
The Transport Network Layer has an own Control Plane to manage AAL2 connections.

The Real time Protocol or RTP provides end-to-end network transport functions suitable for applications
transmitting real-time data, such as audio, video or simulation data, over multicast or unicast network
services.
The data transport is augmented by a control protocol (the RTCP) to allow monitoring of the data
delivery in a manner scalable to large multicast networks, and to provide minimal control and
identification functionality. RTP and RTCP are designed to be independent of the underlying transport
and network layers.
The header structure of RTP includes payload type,sequence number, timestamp and the synchronization
source.

Now, let me present to you the Radio Channels.

A Radio Bearer is the service provided by a protocol entity (i.e. the RLC protocol) for transfer of data
between UE and UTRAN.
Radio bearers are the highest level of bearer services exchanged between UTRAN and UE.
Radio bearers are mapped successively on logical channels, transport channels and physical channels
(corresponding to the Radio Physical Bearer Service on the figure).

The RAB is composed of the Radio bearer and the Iu bearer. For each service, a RAB is provided to the
user. There are four classes of traffic: conversational, streaming, interactive and background. The RAB
provides confidential transport of signaling and user data between UE and CN with the appropriate QoS
depending on the service required. A user can have several RABs in case several services are required for
this user.

The radio protocols are responsible for exchanges of signaling and user data between the UE and the
UTRAN over the Uu interface:
The User plane protocols are the protocols implementing the actual RAB service. It means carrying user
data through the access stratum.
The Control plane protocols are the protocols for controlling the radio access bearers and the connection
between the UE and the network from different aspects including requesting the service, controlling
different transmission resources, handover & streamlining etc. Moreover, a mechanism for transparent
transfer of NAS messages is included.
The Radio Protocols are independent of the applied transport layer technology that may be changed in
the future while the Radio Protocols remain intact. The main part of radio protocols are located in the
RNC (and in the UE). The Node-B is mainly a relay between UE and RNC.

The signaling Radio Bearers, SRB, can carry layer 3 signaling (RRC connection establishment), NAS
signaling (location update). There can be up to 4 SRBs per RRC connection. One UE has one RRC
connection when connected to the UTRAN.
One RAB can be divided into RAB sub-flows. Each sub-flow is mapped on one user plane RB. Please note
that Radio Access Bearers are only provided in the user plane.
What is an RRC connection?

When the UE needs to exchange any information with the network, it must first establish a signaling link
with the UTRAN: it is made through a procedure with the RRC protocol and it is called “RRC connection
establishment”.
During this procedure, the UE will send an initial access request on CCCH to establish a signaling link
which will be carried on a DCCH.
A given UE can have either zero or one RRC connection.

There are 3 categories of channel: logical channel, transport channel and physical channel.
The logical channels are divided into Control channels for the transfer of control plane information like
the Broadcast Control Channel, the Paging Control Channel, the Common Control Channel, the MBMS
Control Channel, the MBMS Scheduling Channel and the Dedicated Control Channel.
The traffic channels are the Dedicated Traffic Channel, the Common Traffic Channel and the MBMS
Traffic Channel. They are used for the transfer of user plane information.

Each logical channel has a specific role.
The BCCH is a downlink channel used for system control broadcast information.
The PCCH is a downlink channel used for paging information.
The CCCH is a downlink and uplink channel used for control information.
The DCCH is downlink and uplink channel used for control information when UE has a RRC connection.
The MCCH is downlink channel which carries control plane information between network and UEs.
The MSCH is downlink channel which carries transmission schedule between network and UEs.
The DTCH is downlink and uplink channel used for traffic information dedicated to one UE.
The CTCH is a downlink channel used for traffic information to all or group of UEs.
The MTCH is downlink channel which carries user plane traffic.

The transport channels provide a flexible pattern to exchange data between UTRAN and the UE at a
variable bit rate for the multimedia services.
The logical channels are mapped on the transport channels by the MAC protocols.
By this way, the data is processed according to the QoS required before sending it to the Node B by the
Iub.

A transport channel is defined by a Transport Format (TF) which may change every Time Transmission
Interval (TTI).
The TF is made up of a Transport Block Set. The Transport Block size and the number of Transport Block
inside the set are dynamical parameters.
The TTI is a static parameter and is set typically at 10, 20 or 40 ms.

What is a Transmission Time Interval? The TTI is equal to the periodicity at which a Transport Block Set is
transferred by the physical layer on the radio interface. It is always a multiple of the minimum
interleaving period (e.g. 10ms, the length of one Radio Frame). The MAC delivers one Transport Block Set
to the physical layer every TTI.
What does the TFS provide? The selection at each TTI of a number of transport block among the allowed
list provides the required flexibility for the variable traffic and allows one to manage the priority.

Let„s take an example. Take a sheet of paper to write the answers to the questions displayed on the
slide. When you have finished, click the Answer button to check if your answers are correct.

The transport channels are divided into the common channels and the dedicated channels. The common
channels are divided between all or a group of UEs in a cell. They require in-band identification of the
UEs when addressing particular UEs. It is reserved for a single UE only. In-band identification is not
necessary. A given UE is identified by the physical channel (code and frequency in FDD mode).

The BCH is a downlink transport channel used to carry BCCH. It is transmitted with high power to reach
all the users and low fixed bit rate so that all terminals can decode the data rate whatever its ability:
only one Transport Format because there is no need for flexibility (fixed bit rate)
The PCH is a downlink transport channel used to carry PCCH. It is transmitted over the entire cell. Only
two transport channels can not carry user information: BCH and PCH.
The FACH is a downlink transport channel that is used to carry control information or short users
packets. The FACH is transmitted over the entire cell or over only a part of the cell using beam-forming
antennas. Beam-forming is also called “Inherent addressing of users”: it is the possibility of transmission
to a certain part of the cell.The FACH uses open loop power control (slow power control).
The RACH is an uplink transport channel that is used to carry control information from the mobile
especially at the initial access. It may also carry short user packets. The RACH is always received from
the entire cell and is characterized by a limited size data field, a collision risk and by the use of open
loop power control (slow power control).
When a UE sends information on the RACH, it will receive information on FACH.
RACH and FACH are mainly used to carry signaling (e.g. at the initial access), but they can also carry
small amounts of data.
DSCH and CPCH seem to be symmetrical, but DSCH is a downlink transport channel shared by several UEs
to carry dedicated control or user information, so that different user data are synchronized with each
other (the information on whether the UE should receive the DSCH or not is conveyed on the associated
DCH). The CPCH is a uplink transport channel used to carry long user data packets and control packets,
so that different user data can not be synchronized (the mobile phones are not synchronized). It may
cause big problem of collisions! DSCH and CPCH always have an associated DCH to provide power control.
The DCH is a downlink or uplink transport channel that is used to carry user or control information. It is
different from GSM where TCH carries user data (e.g. speech frames) and ACCH carries higher layer
signaling (e.g. HO commands). User data and signaling are therefore treated in the same way from the
physical layer (although set of parameters may be different between data and signaling). A wide range of
Transport Format Set permits to be very flexible concerning the bit rate or the interleaving...Fast Power
Control and soft Handover are only applied on this transport channel.

CI
In this slide, you can see the possible mapping between logical and transport channels.
The BCCH, the CCCH, the MSCH, the MCCH, the DCCH, the CTCH and the MTCH can be mapped on the
FACH.
The BCCH can also be mapped on the BCH and the CCCH can be mapped on the RACH.
The PCCH can be mapped on the PCH.

NOT used
Here you can see that the DCCH and the DTCH can be mapped on the RACH, on the FACH, on the DSCH,
on the CPCH or on the DCH.
Except for BCH and PCH, each type of transport channel can be used for the transfer of either control or
traffic logical channels.

On a cell, all the physical channels are sent on the same frequency and at the same time.
It is due to the radio technology, the WCDMA, really different from TDMA and FDMA that are used with
the GSM.
Here the physical channels are separated by codes. We will see this point in the next chapter.
There are several kinds of physical channels : There are dedicated or common channels associated with
transport channel for UTRAN and Core Network signaling or user traffic channel. There are also shared
channels not associated with transport Channel for the physical signaling.

not mapped to
transport channel
Here, you can see that the downlink channels not associated with transport channels. The CPICH is used
as the reference for the estimation of the radio condition and measurements in the active cell. The PICH
is used for the paging message and the MICH is used for MBMS. The AICH is used to send
acknowledgement or non acknowledgement in the access process on the PRACH. Finally the P-SCH and
the S-SCH are used for synchronization.
The channels associated with transport channels are divided into two groups. The dedicated channels are
the DPDCH and DPCCH used in downlink and uplink to transport the control and user information on the
DCH.
The common physical channel are the PRACH which can support an RACH in uplink, the PDSCH which can
support a DSCH in downlink and the PCPCH which can support a CPCH in uplink. Finally, the P-CCPCH is
used to support a BCH as the S-CCPCH supports a PCH and one or several FACH. The P-CCPCH and the S-
CCPCH are downlink channels.

ue monitor on them
periodiclly
Some common transport channels are multiplexed on the same physical channels, such as the FACH and
the PCH on the S-CCPCH.
Following the same principles, several dedicated channels belonging to the same user are mapped on one
physical channel, the DPDCH. The DPCCH is its control channel at the physical level.

modulation QPSK
There are less channels in uplink. For the physical channels, there are the dedicated channels (DPDCH)
and the common channels (PRACH).
The PCPCH is not implemented in the Alcatel-Lucent Solution.
the transport
channel of CPCH
is removed from
standard

After channel coding, each transport block is split into radio frames of 10 ms.
The bit rate may be changed for each frame.
Each radio frame is also split into 15 time slots.
But all time slots belong to the same user (this slot structure has nothing to do with the TDMA structure
in GSM).
All time slots of a same TDMA frame have the same bit rate.
Fast power control may be performed for each time slot (1500 Hz).
The number of chips for one bit M is equivalent to the spreading factor. It can easily be computed with
knowledge of N. In fact, the spreading factor must be equal to 4, 8, 16 up to 256.
Consequently, it may be necessary to add some padding bits to match the adequate value of spreading
factor (this is a rate matching).

Let„s continue with the radio protocols.

NAS signaling or ...
The radio protocols are responsible for exchanges of signaling and user data between the UE and the
UTRAN over the Uu interface.
The radio protocols are layered into the RRC, the RLC and the MAC located in the RNC* and UE, and the
physical layer (on the air interface) located in the Node-B and UE.
Two additional service-dependent protocols exist in the user plane in the layer 2: these are the PDCP and
the BMC protocols.
Each layer provides services to upper layers at Service Access Points on a peer-to-peer communication
basis. The Service Access points are marked with circles. A service is defined by a set of service
primitives.
The Radio Interface Protocol Architecture is described in 3GPP 25.301. (*except for a part of protocol
used for BCH which is terminated in the Node-B)

RRC is a protocol that belongs to the control plane.
RRC is in charge of call management which consists of the RRC connection establishment/release (initial
access). RRC also performs radio Bearer establishment, release and reconfiguration (in the control plane
and in the user plane) and the Transport and Physical Channels reconfiguration. Another function of the
RRC protocol is the radio mobility management in the soft and hard Handover procedures, in the Cell and
URA update, in the paging procedure and the measurements control (on UTRAN side) and reporting (on
UE side). The RRC protocol has also a role in the Outer Loop Power Control to manage the radio channel
ciphering and deciphering and to control locally the configuration of the lower layers (RLC, MAC, etc.)
through Control SAP. These Control services do not require peer-to-peer communication. One or more
sub-layers can be bypassed.

The Packet Data Convergence Protocol is used in the user plane to transfer PDU, only for services from
the PS domain. It contains compression methods. In R99, only a header compression method is mentioned
(RFC2507).
Why is header compression valuable?

A combined RTP/UDP/IP headers is at least 60 bytes for IPv6, when the IP voice service header can be
about 20 bytes or less.
The Broadcast/Multicast Services is used in the user plane to adapt broadcast and multicast services from
NAS on the radio interface.
In R99, the only service using this protocol is SMS Cell Broadcast Service (directly taken from GSM).

There is no difference between RLC instances in the Control and User planes. There is a single RLC
connection per Radio Bearer.
RLC protocol has several main functions.
The RLC protocol has a role in the connection Establishment/Release which can be in 3 different
configuration modes. The first mode is the data transfer Transparent Mode. It means without adding any
protocol information. The second mode is the data transfer unacknowledged mode. It means without
guaranteeing delivery to the peer entity (but it can detect transmission errors). The third mode is the
data transfer acknowledged mode which means with guaranteeing delivery to the peer entity. The AM
mode provides a reliable link for error detection and recovery, in-sequence delivery, duplicate
detection, flow Control and ARQ mechanisms.
The RLC protocol is also responsible for transmission/Reception buffer, for segmentation and reassembly
(to adjust the radio bearer size to the actual set of transport formats), and for mapping between Radio
Bearers and Logical Channels (one to one). Finally, another function of the RLC protocol is the ciphering
for non-transparent RLC data (if not performed in MAC), using the UEA1, Kasumi algorithm specified in
R99. Encryption is performed in accordance with TS 33.102 (radio interface), 25.413, 25.331 (RRC
signaling messages) and supports the settings of integrity with CN (CS-domain/PS-domain).

MAC belongs to both the control and user planes.
The MAC protocol performs several main functions such as the data transfer (MAC provides
unacknowledged data transfer without segmentation), the multiplexing of logical channels (possible only
if they require the same QoS) and the mapping between Logical Channels and Transport Channels. The
MAC protocol is also responsible for the selection of the appropriate Transport Format for each Transport
Channel depending on instantaneous source rate, the reporting of monitoring to RRC and the Ciphering
for RLC transparent data (if not performed in RLC). Finally, the MAC protocol manages the priority
handling/Scheduling according to priorities given by upper layers (between data flows of one UE or
between different UEs). Priority Handling and Scheduling are done through Transport Format
Combination (TFC) selection.

The physical layer also belongs to both the control and user planes.
The main functions of the Physical layer are the multiplexing/de-multiplexing of transport channels on a
Coded Composite Transport Channel (CCTrCH) even if the transport channels require different QoS, the
mapping of CCTrCH on physical channels, the spreading/de-spreading and modulation/demodulation of
physical channels and the RF processing (3 GPP 25.10x). The physical layer also performs the frequency
and time (chip, bit, slot, frame) synchronization, the measurements and indication to higher layers (e.g.
FER, SIR, interference power, transmit power, etc.) and the macro-diversity distribution/combining and
soft handover execution. The open loop and Inner loop power control are performed at physical level.

After the UTRAN system description, let‟s now take an interest at the WCDMA system.

This section is divided into 8 parts. Part 1 aims at presenting to you the historical context. Then, part 2
presents the WCDMA making analogy. Part 3 focuses on the modulation and part 4 presents the CDMA
principle. Part 5 identifies the different soft handover followed by the part 6 which describes in detail
the rake receiver. Then, part 7 studies the power control mechanism. We‟ll conclude this section with
part 8 by analyzing the capacity, the coverage and the quality in the network.

Let„s start off with a presentation of the historical context.

In the Early 70‟s, CDMA is developed for military field for its great qualities of privacy thanks to the low
probability interception and the interference rejection. Later in 1996, the CDMA was launched on the
United States market. With this system called IS-95 or CDMA one, Qualcomm has reached 50 million
subscribers worldwide. Finally, in 2000, IMT-2000 has selected the 3 CDMA radio interfaces: WCDMA, TD-
CDMA and CDMA 2000.

CDMA is a very attractive system thanks to the spectrum efficiency with the transmission capacity per
spectrum unit (bandwidth), i.e. kbit/MHz.
This must not be confused with the traffic capacity. The spectrum efficiency in UMTS is higher than in
GSM (25x200kHz carriers in GSM offering 335 kbps while a 5 MHz UMTS carrier offers 400 kbps). It is also
suitable for all types of services, circuit or packet, and for multi-services. It enhances privacy with his
interference rejection. We can also say that it is linked with progress in signal processing field.
According to the CDMA Development, if we factor in densification (frequency reuse pattern), the UMTS
traffic capacity is dramatically increased by a factor of between 8 to 10 compared to analog system and
between 4 to 5 times compared to a GSM system.
The only disadvantages are the complexity of the configuration and management of this system and also
the instability in case of congestion.

The 3GPP is the organization in charge of the standardization of the UMTS.
It is made up of standardization organization (ETSI in Europe, T1 in USA, ARIB in Japan or CTWS in China,
etc.), member of manufacturers and operators.
In UMTS, various frequencies are allocated. In UMTS FDD, we use the frequency Division Duplex, it means
from 2110 to 2170 MHz in downlink and from 1920 to 1980 MHz in uplink.

Let‟s analyze the analogy between WCDMA and a restaurant.

In this slide, you can see several equivalences. You can consider the restaurant room as being a cell, the
table as a UE and the language as the code.
Here the important point is that all the UEs send and receive at the same time and at the same
frequency. The WCDMA is really different because with the GSM, the UEs are separated by the time (TS
of TDMA) and the frequency. Here the UEs are separated with codes applied on the signals.
Another important point is that for someone the conversation on a neighbor table is considered as being
some noise. It is the same principle with the WCDMA. For a user, the other UE generates some noise.
Here, the neighbor conversation are interference.

Let‟s analyze the downlink side. In the restaurant, the steward wants to ask every table who has ordered
a cake. If some people speak too loud, the table at the back of the room can‟t hear the question. It is
the same case, if there are too many users in the room. In the cell, it is the same principle. If there are
too many UEs in the cell or if some UEs use too much power, the interference level for a UE far from the
Node B is too high to allow the UE decode the message.
As a result, we can deduce that the power control and the Control admission are very important!

Let‟s now look at the Uplink side. In the restaurant, a steward can understand all the conversations if he
knows all the languages. But if on a table, close to him, someone speak to loud, the steward can‟t
understand people on the other tables. It is the same problem if there are too many people. It is too
noisy to able to understand a conversation far from him. With the WCDMA, there is the same problem.
That means if the cell is too load, the interference level at the Node B is too high to be able to decode
the weakest signal.
Again, we can deduce that the power control and the Control admission are very important!

Let‟s now review the spread spectrum modulation.

The letter „A‟ represents the signal to transmit over the radio interface.
At the transmitter, the height (i.e. the power) of „A‟ is spread, while a color (i.e. a code) is added to „A‟
to identify the message.
At the receiver, „A‟ can be retrieved with knowledge of the code, even if the power of the received
signal is below the power of noise due to the radio channel.

At the transmitter, the signal is multiplied by a code which spreads the signal over a wide bandwidth
while decreasing the power (per unit of spectrum).
At the receiver, it is possible to retrieve the wanted signal by multiplying the received signal by the same
code: you get a peak of correlation, while the noise level due to the radio channel remains the same,
because this is not correlated with the code. But as the interference level is too high, it is not possible to
decode any message.
What is the interference level? The interference level is the power received on the UMTS bandwidth
used. These interferences are made up of the background noise, the messages of the other users, and
the traffic in the neighboring cells.
Because all the users on a cell use the same bandwidth at the same time, and the users on the other
cells too, the decoding and so the error ratio depend on the interference level.

The narrowband data signal is multiplied bit per bit by a code sequence: it is known as “chipping”.
The chip rate of this code sequence is fixed and much higher than the bit rate of the data signal: it
produces a wideband signal, also called spread signal.
At the receiver, the same code sequence in phase should be used to retrieve the original data signal.
Code synchronization between the transmitter and the receiver is crucial for de-spreading the wideband
signal successfully.

The code is applied on each bit of the user data. The Spreading Factor, called SF, is the length of this
code. It is the number of chips per bit (=chip rate/bit rate). The chip rate is linked with the CDMA carrier
bandwidth and has a constant value of 3.84 Mcps. It is quite easy to match the bit rate of the signal with
the CDMA chip rate just by choosing the adequate spreading factor. The higher the spreading factor, the
more redundancy you add in the signal and the lower the probability of bit error by transmitting the
signal. It is also traduced by the processing gain that we will see later.
Concerning the code synchronization, it is difficult to acquire and to maintain the synchronization of the
locally generated code signal and the received signal. Indeed synchronization has to be kept within a
fraction of the chip time.

The chip rate is fixed at 3.84 Mchip/s. So if the SF is divided by 2, the data rate is multiplied by 2! For
example, here the SF is 4 and no more 8, so the signal is transmitted 2 times faster than previously.
The Spreading Factor available are 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 in uplink, plus 512 in downlink for signaling
at very low bit rate.

When an error occurs at the reception, the determination of the bit value is less trivial. It is based on the
area of the received signal.
Here there are 6 area units over 8.

If you need a high data rate (for video downloading for example), you will use a small SF. You will have
more errors on your message. So if you want to keep the same error ratio, you will use more power to
transmit your message.
Another way to understand this relation is with the redundancy.

If the SF is small, 4 for example, the useful bit, 0 or 1, is sent just 4 times. The data rate is high.
If the SF is higher, 64 for example, the useful bit is sent 64 times. The data rate is smaller.
So if an error occurs, it is more significant if the SF is 4 than if the SF is 64.
The determination of the bit value is based on the area of the received signal. Here there are 2 area
units over 4.

Here, there are a received signal and two orthogonal codes. If we apply these codes, we will then be
able to determine which code has been used to spread the signal. Let‟s see it. Click the Answer button.

As you can see, Code 2 is used to spread the signal.

MAX POWER recieved at
nodeB side
all spreaded signals
power after
sppreding
spreaded power
Several pieces of information are important to analyze the signal. First, the RSSI is the total received
wideband (UTRA carrier RSSI) power over 5Mhz including thermal noise.
It is estimating the uplink interference at the Node B, and by difference with the thermal noise, the rise
due to traffic and external interference.
Second, ISCP represent interference on the received signal although the RSCP is an unbiaised power
measurement on the received signal on one channelization code.
Then, the energy bit Eb is the energy per useful bit. Finally, the Processing gain is the power gain after
despreading.

Depending on the service, more or less errors are allowed. UTRAN computes the error ratio and then sets
the SIR required for the service. The SIR is a function of the spreading factor and the RSCP.
What are the modifications on the diagram if the number of users increases?
What are the modifications on the diagram if the SF decreases?

Click the Answer button to see the answers.

Let‟s go down into more details and see the CDMA principles.

The rainbows cells mean that the whole bandwidth (5 MHz) is reused in each cell. That‟s why we can
have inter-cell interference. The cell orthogonality is achieved by codes.
In GSM, there is also intra-cell interference when there are 2 or more TRXs in the same cell. But it is a
small problem as each TRX runs on a different frequency.
In CDMA, as the entire bandwidth is used by each user at the same time, the intra-cell interference is an
important problem. The user orthogonality is also achieved by codes.

All the users transmit on the same 5 MHz carrier at the same time and interfere with each other.
At the receiver, the users can be separated by means of (quasi-)orthogonal codes.
Quasi-orthogonal: it is not necessary to have primary colors at the receiver to separate the users. Red
and orange for example can also be distinguished.
Orthogonality between the codes is impossible to maintain after transfer over the radio interface (multi-
path on DL, UEs not synchronized on UL).

If a user transmits with a very high power, it will be impossible for the receiver to decode the wanted
signal in spite of the use of quasi-orthogonal codes.
CDMA is unstable by nature. For example, one user may jam a whole cell by transmitting with too high
power and also too many users in one cell would have the same effect. That‟s why it requires accurate
power and congestion control.
A CDMA resource has 2 dimensions: the codes and the power. Obviously the power is the limiting factor.
The better we can control the power usage, the more capacity (users) we can allocate.

Spreading consists of two steps.
First, the channelization code (also called spreading code) transforms every data symbol into a number
of chips, thus increasing the bandwidth of the signal. The narrowband signal is spread into a wideband
signal with a chip rate of 3.84 Mchips/s. The system must choose the adequate spreading factor to match
the bit rate of the narrowband signal. The spreading factor is directly linked with the length of the
channelization code.
For the second step, the scrambling code does not affect the signal bandwidth: it is only a chip-by-chip
operation. The scrambling code is cell-specific on the downlink and terminal-specific on the uplink. Only
one DL scrambling code should be used within a cell.
Another scrambling code may be introduced in one cell if necessary (for example, shortage of
channelization code), but orthogonality between users will be degraded.

The channelization codes are OVSF (Orthogonal Variable Spreading Factor) codes. Their length is equal
to the spreading factor of the signal from 4 to 256 chips: they can match variable bit rates on a frame-
by-frame basis. The orthogonality enables to separate physical channels from the same terminal in
uplink and to different users within one cell in downlink.
The channelization codes can be defined in a code tree, which is shared by several users. If one code is
used by a physical channel, the codes of underlying branches may not be used. The number of codes is
consequently variable: the minimum is 4 codes of length 4, the maximum is 256 codes of length 256. The
channelization code (and consequently the spreading factor) may change on a frame-by-frame basis.
The codes within each cell are managed by the RNC. There is no need to coordinate code tree resource
between different base stations or terminals. There is usually one code tree per cell. If two code trees
are used, it is necessary to use the secondary scrambling code.

Now, we can examine the different types of Handover.

As the UEs are separated by codes, they send and receive data at the same time and on the same
frequency. One frequency is used in a set of adjacent cells, so the soft handover is possible. A UE is in
case of Soft Handover when it is linked to several cells at the same time.
So, in downlink, the UE receives several times the same data and combine them to increase the quality.
In Uplink, a Node B can receive the same message from several cells and combine them to increase the
quality.
As the quality of the signal is increased after the reception, it is possible to use less power. That allows
to save the interference level. If this interference level is too high, it is not possible to decode the data.
Consequently, the call is drop.

As illustrated here, a UE is in case of Softer Handover when it is linked to several cells of the same NodeB
at the same time.

A UE can be in case of intra-RNC Soft Handover if it is linked to cells belonging to the same Serving RNC .
Moreover, a UE can be in case of Inter-RNC soft handover when it is linked to cells of different RNCs at
the same time. The recombination will be done in the serving RNC, the other RNC is the Drift RNC.

In UL, the serving RNC collects information from the Drift RNC and from its own Node-B and performs the
selection of the signal on a best frame quality basis. In DL, the serving RNC duplicates Iu-information to
the Drift RNC and to its own Node-B. The recombination of the signal is performed by the UE. There may
be only one Serving RNC per UE.
The Drift RNC performs the routing of information from/to the Serving RNC. There may be up to 4 Drift
RNCs per UE.

When the UE leaves all the cells belonging to the serving RNC, a procedure of SRNC relocation update is
performed. The Drift RNC becomes the SRNC.

In Downlink, we use one Scrambling Code per cell and one Channelization Code per radio link to avoid
having the same code sequence on 2 radio links.
Inversely in Uplink, we use one Scrambling Code per UE and one Channelization Code per service (per
physical channel).
To conclude, the UE sends one signal which can be received by several cells and the UE receives several
signals.

After the study of soft handover, let„s see the rake receiver.

In a CDMA system, there is a single carrier which contains all user signals. Decoding of all these signals by
one receiver is only a question of signal processing capacity.
A Rake receiver can decode several signals simultaneously in the so-called “fingers” and combine them
in order to improve the quality of the signal or to get several services at the same time.
A Rake receiver is implemented in mobile phones and in base stations.

“A single carrier”: in fact each operator may use several carriers of 5MHz each (2 in Germany, 3 in
France).
The rake receiver can only be used with signals on the same carrier.

As a first approach, we can say: One service, one code!
We will see later that it is also possible to multiplex several services on the same code!
Indeed, on a dedicated physical channel (which is identified by its spreading code) a user can multiplex
several services as long as the total bit rate of the services does not exceed the bit rate of the physical
channel.

Soft handover is possible, because the two mobile stations use the same frequency band. The mobile
phone needs only one transmission chain to decode the two signals simultaneously.

Natural obstacles such as buildings or hills cause reflections, diffractions and scattering and consequently
multipath propagation.
The delay dispersion depends on the environment and is typically of 1 µs for 300m in urban areas and of
20 µs for 6000 m in hilly areas. The delay dispersion should be compared to the chip duration 0,26 µs (78
m) of the CDMA system.
If the delay dispersion is greater than the chip duration, the multipath components of the signal can be
separated by a Rake Receiver.
In this case, CDMA can take advantage of multipath propagation.
Multi-path propagation usually reduces the quality of the signal. But, in most cases, a Rake Receiver can
take advantage of multi-path to improve the quality of the signal because the dispersion is often greater
than the chip duration.

Let‟s now move on the Power control mechanism.

In UTRA/FDD, the power control is a key functionality: the users using simultaneously the same
frequency band interfere with each other. Indeed, it is the main problem, if the interference level is too
high, it is not possible to decode the signal.
The transmit power must be dynamically adapted in order to enable to reach the quality of service,
compensate fading occurrences, avoid interfering with other users (and thus decreasing the system
capacity).
Two main power control algorithms can be distinguished: on the one hand, the Open-loop power control
(in UL only) and on the other hand, the Closed-loop power control (in UL and DL).

There are several kinds of Power control. On the physical channels which are not associated with
transport channels, the power is fixed and set by the operator.
Then, for the physical channels which are not associated with transport channels, the power control of
the dedicated channels is performed in the Closed & Open Loop power control. Finally, for the common
channel, if the power is not fixed and set by the operator, the power control is also managed in the
Closed & Open Loop power control.

The Open Loop Power Control is used to set the initial transmit power when the UE requests an RRC
Connection. It is also used when the UE sends the first dedicated radio frame. Finally, open loop power
control also applies when the Node B sends the first dedicated radio frame.
The Open loop power control consists for the mobile station of making a rough estimate of path loss by
means of a Downlink beacon signal and adding the interference level of the Node-B and a constant value.
It‟s far too inaccurate and only used to provide a coarse initial power setting of the mobile station at the
beginning of a connection.

SIR target
calcualted, and
compared by SIR
esstimated
everyRB has BLer target
Bler estemated > 1500 comand per s

from BLER target,
ERROR is high,
((need to increase
power))
UE increase
ppower
The closed loop power control is composed of two other loops: the Inner Loop (or Fast Loop Power
Control) between the UE and the NodeB and the Outer Loop between the NodeB and the RNC.
SIRest<SIRtarfet
In theNodeB
inner loop, the Node-B controls the power of the UE (and vice versa) by performing a SIR
incrased
estimation and by generating TPC command {+1(power up), -1 (power down), 0} for each time slot of
SIR target
the radio frame. The step size DTPC is under the control of the UTRAN (value = 1 dB or 2 dB). The UE shall
adjust the transmit power of the uplink DPCCH with a step of DDPCCH (in dB) which is given by DDPCCH =
DTPC TPC_cmd. The command rate of 1500Hz is faster than any significant change of path loss.
In the outer loop, the RNC controls parameters of the SIR estimation (outer loop) and sets the initial SIR
target, defined by the operator and modifies it according to the error measurement reports. The big
issue is to meet constantly the required quality: no worse and also no better, because it would be a
waste of capacity. The outer loop management is handled by the Controlling RNC because a soft HO may
be performed. The frequency of the outer loop is 10-100 Hz typically.

bler Nb of error blocks per seconds
The Node-B controls the power of the UE (and vice versa) by performing a SIR estimation (inner loop)
and by generating TPC command for each time slot of the radio frame.
The RNC controls parameters of the SIR estimation (outer loop) and set the initial SIR target, defined by
the operator and modify it according to the error measurement reports.
Let‟s assume a user using a service.

The initial SIR target is 3dB. The error ratio required is 0.01.
Several error ratio reports are between 0.002 and 0.007.
How does the SIR target evolve?
What is the impact on the user or on the system if the estimated SIR is too high or too low?

Finally, let„s see the capacity, coverage and quality principles.

If you want to increase the quality in uplink, you need to decrease the error ratio at the Node B level,
which means increasing the SIR at the Node B level. That‟s why the UEs use more power.
Other consequences if the power increases are that the uplink Interference level increases and so the
cell size decreases with the capacity of the cell.
To conclude, we can say that coverage, capacity and quality are linked and a compromise needs to be
done.

To solve this problem, several improvement ways exist.
First, the Adaptative Multi-Rate speech Codec enables to switch to a lower bit rate if the mobile is
moving out of the cell coverage area: it is a trade-off between quality and coverage. It offers 8 AMR
modes between 4,75 kbps and 12,2 kbps. It is capable of switching its bit rate every 20 ms upon
command of the RNC.
Then, the Multipath diversity consists of combining the different paths of a signal (due to reflections,
diffractions or scattering) by using a Rake Receiver.
Multipath diversity is very efficient with WCDMA.
Another possibility is the Soft or softer handover. In this case, the transmission from the mobile is
received by two or more base stations.
With the Receive antenna diversity, the base station collects the signal on two uncorrelated branches. It
can be obtained by space or polarization diversity.
Finally, the base stations algorithm is an accuracy of SIR estimation in power control process.

What are the typical values of the quality, the coverage and the capacity?
The quality is measured with the Block Error Ratio (BLER). You can see in this table some examples
according to different services.
The Coverage depends on the environment: For example if we have a coverage of about 300 meters in a
dense Urban Cell, we will have about 1 km in a SubUrban Cell and 3km in a rural Cell.
The capacity also depends on the radio environment (rural, suburban, indoor), the terminal speeds, the
distribution of the terminals and the load of the cell: trade-off capacity/coverage (breathing cells). Due
to all these parameters, it is harder than in GSM to give a typical value of the capacity of a cell.

Now, let me take you through the UTRAN Scenarios.

This section is divided into 6 parts. Part 1 is a small introduction to the different UTRAN scenarios. Then,
part 2 aims at presenting to you the radio Channels mapping. Next, part 3 presents the Service request.
After that, part 4 focuses on the Rab establishment. Then, part 5 presents the Mobility Management in
Connected Mode. We‟ll end with part 6 by practising exercise to make sure that you have reached the
training objectives

Let‟s start off by presenting the UTRAN scenarios.

In the first part, we are going to see how a UE, after it has just switched on, can be able to request a
service and to answer to a paging message.
So the first step is to retrieve information about the system. Thanks to this system information, the UE is
able to attach its IMSI and to update its location to the Core Network.
After that, the UE can monitor a channel to answer to a paging message or can request itself a service.

When a UE requests a service, the UTRAN must check if it has enough resources to establish new
dedicated channels.
When a UE requests a service, the Core Network will ask the UTRAN to assign a RAB with some
characteristics related to data to be allocated (for example the maximum bit rate), to QoS and to mobile
priority. The UTRAN must check if it has enough resources to establish new dedicated channels.
We will also see how the data are mapped on the physical channels.

The UTRAN must provide the transfer of the data at the requested QoS to a moving user. So different
kinds of handover have been defined.
In case of Soft Handover, the UE can be linked to several cells using the same frequency.
We talk about inter-FDD carrier Hard Handover and interRAT HandOver between the 3G and the 2G
networks if the user loses the 3G coverage.

Let‟s move on to the Radio Channels Mapping.

This slide shows the possible mapping between logical, transport and physical channels in downlink.
The dedicated logical channels (DTCH and DCCH) can be mapped on the dedicated transport channels
(DCH and DSCH) or on the FACH.
The dedicated transport channel DCH is mapped on the physical channels DPDCH and on the DPCCH
multiplexed by time. The dedicated transport channel DSCH is mapped on the physical channel PDSCH.
The common logical channels (CTCH and CCCH) are mapped on the FACH. The PCCH is mapped on the
PCH and the BCCH on the BCH. The physical channels FACH and PCH are mapped on the S-CCPCH and the
BCH is mapped on the P-CCPCH.

Here you can see the possible mapping between logical, transport and physical channels in uplink.
In uplink, the dedicated logical channels (DTCH and DCCH) can be mapped on the DCH, the RACH and on
the CPCH.
The DCH can be mapped on the CCTrCH mapped on the physical channel DPDCH and DPCCH. But the
transport channel RACH is mapped on the physical channel PRACH. Finally the CPCH is mapped on the
PCPCH.

Now, let‟s see the service request mechanism.

A. Collecting system
information,
1. syncronization,
2. syc timeslote primary,
3. sync frame secondry sode,
4. start to decode the
Broadcast channel to decode
the SYS INF, SIB
B. Select the NBR and
C. RRC connection and start
to make IMSI attachment,
MIB
Just after the switch is on, the UE can decode only the P-SCH and S-SCH if it is on a covered area. The UE
synchronize itself at the slot on the P-SCH and at the frame level on the S-SCH and retrieves a group of 8
Scrambling codes. Then, the UE tests the 8 scrambling codes on the CPICH to find the SC of the cell.
Next, to read the system information, the UE decodes the BCH channel. Finally, the UE selects the best
cell.

The SCH is time-multiplexed with the P-CCPCH (which carries the BCH) and consists of 2 sub-channels
(the P-SCH and the S-SCH).
Now, you can see the cell search procedure (also called synchronization procedure).
The first step is the slot synchronization. In all the cell of any PLMN, the P-SCH is made up of a unique &
same primary code sequence of 256 chips repeated at each Time Slot Occurrence. This is typically done
with a single matched filter (or any similar device) to the primary synchronization code which is common
to all cells. The slot timing of the cell can be obtained by detecting peaks in the matched filter output.
The UE uses it to acquire the slot synchronization to a cell.
The second step is the frame synchronization and code-group identification. The Secondary SCH (S-SCH)
contains a sequence of 15 codes which identifies the Code Group of the Downlink Scrambling Code (DL
SC) of the cell. It is made up of 15 repetitions of a secondary code sequence of 256 chips (one per Time
Slot) transmitted in perfect synchronization with the P-SCH code sequences. The UTRAN uses 64 distinct
secondary synchronization code sequences (reused in distant cells of the UTRAN). Each secondary code
sequence corresponds to a unique group of 8 possible Primary Scrambling codes
The UE uses it to acquire the frame synchronization to a cell and to identify the Code Group of the DL
SC.
Finally, the third step is the scrambling code identification. The UE determines the (primary) scrambling
code used by the found cell through symbol-by-symbol correlation over the pilot CPICH with all codes
within the Code Group identified in step 2 (8 possibilities). Afterwards the P-CCPCH can be detected and
the system- and cell-specific BCH information can be read.

The Common Pilot Channel, CPICH, is the pilot channel which carries a pre-defined symbol sequence at
a fixed rate. Th CPICH is characterized by its channelization code which is always the same for the P-
CPICH. Moreover, the P-CPICH is scrambled by the primary scrambling code. Next, there is one and only
one P-CPICH per cell. Finally, the P-CPICH is broadcast over the entire cell.
It is a reference to aid the channel estimation at the terminal (time or phase reference), to perform
handover measurements and cell selection/reselection (power reference).
The UE tests the 8 DL SCs of the Group Code. The DL SC used to retrieve the pre-define sequence is the
DL SC of the cell.

It define the
location of the SIBs
in the after Blocks
after MIB block
The broadcast system information may come from the CN, RNC or Node-B. It contains static parameters
such as the Cell identity and the supported PLMN types. It also contains dynamic parameters such as the
UL interference level. It is arranged in System Information Blocks also called SIBs, which group together
elements of the same nature.

The broadcast system information can be carried on a BCH which is transmitted permanently over the
entire cell.
The broadcast system information is made up of 128 periodic radio frames. So its period is 1280 ms.
There are a Master SIB or MIB and several SIBs organized by domain.
Thanks to this channel, the UE is able to retrieve information allowing the request of an RRC connection
like the Channelization code used on the uplink common channel.

The Primary CCPCH carries the BCH, which provides system- and cell-specific information (for example, a
set of uplink scrambling codes)
The P-CCPCH is a 30-kbps fixed rate DL physical channel, which provides a timing reference for all
physical channels (directly for DL, indirectly for UL).
CCPCH is scrambled under the Primary Scrambling code.
The P-CCPCH is time multiplexed with the SCH which is transmitted during the first 256 chips. P-CCPCH
timing is identical to that of SCH and CPICH.
The Secondary CCPCH, which is used to carry FACH and PCH information, is scrambled under the Primary
scrambling code as well.

Now, the UE can read the BCH of one cell. But this cell is not necessarily the best because the SCH has
been chosen randomly.
The UE compares the cells to be camped on the best one. There are 2 criteria.
The first one is the QRxLev, from the CPICH RSCP, to estimate the reception level. The second one is the
Qqual, from the CPICH Ec/No, to estimate the quality of reception. It takes in account the interference
level.
When a UE is not connected, as illustrated here, and is moving, it has to reselect regularly the best cell
for itself. To protect some cells, it is possible to facilitate or not the selection of one cell.

Why has the UE to be RRC connected?
If the UE is switched on, it has selected a cell. But if the UE is in idle mode, the UTRAN doesn‟t know
anything about this UE and the UE has neither a UTRAN identifier nor a Scrambling and Channelization
code. So, the UE can‟t exchange any data with the UTRAN.
To be known by the UTRAN and to use dedicated radio resources, the UE has to be RRC connected.
After, the UE can attach its IMSI or update its location to the Core Network and request a service.

Just after the switch on, the UE has to attach its IMSI. Thanks to this procedure, the Core Network knows
the UE is on the network and where it is located at the Location or routing area level. To attach its IMSI
and update its location, the UE has to be in connected mode. So it has to request an RRC Connection.
The “Just after switch on” process contains the Cell selection (including cell search procedure), the
PLMN selection and the attachment procedure.
The UE must enter the connected mode to transmit signaling or traffic data to the network.
To make the link with the 2G network, we can now answer 2 questions.
What is the relationship with the states of the mobile phone in GSM?
In fact, the two GSM states, idle mode and connected mode, are similar to the idle mode and cell_DCH
state in UMTS.
What is the relationship with the states of the mobile phone in GPRS?
There is no correspondence between the idle, standby and ready states in GPRS and the states in UMTS.
Indeed, there is no notion of connection on GPRS.

Signaling and traffic data dedicated to the UE can be carried on DCH or on RACH/FACH.
The initial state of the UE is determined by the DCCH established during RRC connection establishment.
If the DCCH is mapped on a DCH, the UE is in cell_DCH state. If the DCCH is mapped on RACH/FACH, the
UE is in cell_FACH state.
The UE can move from one state to another during the time of the RRC connection. The transitions
between states are always triggered by UTRAN signaling and based on traffic volume measurements and
network load.

Cell_PCH and URA_PCH states are needed for non real time services to optimize usage of codes and
battery consumption. It would not be efficient to allocate permanently a DCH which would be used a
very low percentage of time (Web application for example).
In Cell_PCH state, there is no transmission of signaling and traffic data dedicated to the UE (no DCCH and
no DTCH). But the RRC connection is still active and UE location is performed at a cell level. A DCCH (and
possibly a DTCH) can be reestablished very quickly (this procedure is initiated by sending a paging signal
PCH) .
The URA_PCH state is very similar to the cell_PCH state. But the UTRAN keeps the location of the UE at
the UTRAN Registration Area level (which corresponds to a set of UMTS cells).
What is the difference between idle mode, Cell_PCH and URA_PCH states?
In idle mode, the location of the UE is not known by the UTRAN, but only by the CN at a Location Area
(LA) or Routing Area (RA) level and sets of cells larger than URA.
The paging message PCH must then be sent in an LA or in an RA when the UE is in idle mode. Inversely, it
only needs to be sent in a cell in Cell_PCH state or in an URA when the UE is in URA_PCH state.
Consequently, the paging procedure is much faster.

Firstly, the UE initiates the setup of an RRC connection. Secondly, the RNC decides which transport
channel to set up (RACH/FACH or DCH) and allocates the Radio Network Temporary Identity and radio
resources for this RRC connection. Thirdly, a new radio link must be set up. This is done via a signaling
procedure between the RNC and Node-B which is managed by the NBAP protocol. Then, Logical,
transport and physical channel configuration are sent to the UE. Finally, the RRC Connection Setup
Complete message is sent on RACH in case of RRC connection on RACH/FACH (cell_FACH state) or on DCH
in case of RRC connection on DCH (cell_DCH state).

For the initial access, the UE has to use a common uplink channel called the Physical Random Access
Channel.
Every UE uses this channel to request a connection. If 2 UEs request a connection at the time, there is
collision. So the UTRAN receives nothing.
To avoid that, the UE sends a first message called preamble until it receives a response on a downlink
channel called Acquisition Indicator channel or AICH.
After the response on the AICH, the UE sends its message (the request) on the PRACH.

The first preamble is sent with the power P.
The UE resends a preamble until it receives a response on the AICH.
At each time, it increases the power of the preamble by the Power Offset or PO parameter.
The UTRAN can‟t receive its preamble if the power is not enough high or if there is a collision with
another user.
In the message part, there is the RRC connection request.

In the selected PLMN, the UE selects the best cell according to radio criteria and initiates the
attachment procedure on the selected cell.
During the attachment procedure (called IMSI attach for the CS domain and GPRS attach for the PS
domain), the UE indicates its presence to the PLMN I order to use services. This procedure contains the
authentication procedure, the storage of subscriber data from the HLR in the VLR (or in the SGSN for the
PS domain) and the allocation of the TMSI (P-TMSI for the PS domain).
The result of the procedure is notified to the UE. If it is successful, the UE can access services but if it
fails, the UE can only perform emergency calls.
When the UE has selected a cell, it has to declared its identity and its location (LA & RA) to the Core
Network.
So, it requests an RRC connection to send information about its situation to the Core Network.
The parameters are mainly the LA (=Location Area = Set of cells for the CSCN), the RA (RA = Routinf Area
= Set of cells for the PSCN) and its IMSI.

When camping on a cell, the terminal must register its LA and/or its RA. But when the terminal moves
across the network, it must update its LA (RA) which is stored in the VLR (SGSN) in the Core Network. LA
(RA) Update is performed periodically or when entering a new LA (RA).
LA and RA are managed in an independent way, but an RA must always be included into one LA (it must
not be divided into several LAs).
LA update is performed by the NAS layer MM (Mobility Management) located in UE and in MSC but RA
update is performed by NAS layer GMM (GPRS Mobility Management) located in UE and in SGSN.
In the Core Network, the location information is stored on different databases:

The Home Location Register (HLR) stores the master copy of user‟s service profile, which consists of
information on allowed services, forbidden roaming areas for example. The user‟s service profile is also
created when a new user subscribes to the system. The HLR also stores the serving system (MSC/VLR
and/or SGSN) where the terminal is located.
The Visitor Location Register (VLR) serves the terminal in its current location for CS services and holds a
copy of the visiting user‟s service profile. It stores the Location Area where the terminal is located.
The Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) serves the terminal in its current location for PS services and
holds a copy of the visiting user‟s service profile. It stores the Routing Area where the terminal is
located.

If the UE is in idle mode, the UTRAN doesn‟t know it and can just forward the paging message coming
from the Core Network to all the cells belonging to the Location or Routing Area.
The UE periodically monitors a channel to check if it is paged or not. If the UE is connected, the Core
Network knows the Serving RNC of the UE and sends the paging message just to this RNC. The RNC knows
that the UE uses the dedicated or common channel to send the paging message.

If the UE is in connected mode, it is then using a service (such as a voice call or web-browsing). The Core
Network knows the situation of the UE and mainly its Serving RNC. The CN contacts directly the Serving
RNC. The RNC doesn‟t use the PCCH and the PCH but the channel used for the UE, dedicated or common,
according to the status of the UE.
The UE is in cell_FACH or in cell_DCH states. First, the CN initiates the paging of a UE to the Serving
RNC. The RNC sends the Paging Type 2 message (on DCCH) using the existing RRC connection.

When the UE is in idle mode, the UTRAN doesn‟t know where it is located and the Core Network knows
its location at the LA or RA level. The UTRAN uses the PCCH and the PCH radio channels. If the UE is in
idle mode, the CN firstly initiates the paging of a UE over an LA spanning, for example, two RNCs. Please
note that in the PS domain, it is an RA spanning.
Secondly, the RNCs send a paging message to the UE with Paging Type 1 on PCCH/PCH.
A similar procedure applies to the UE in cell_PCH or URA_PCH state.

The UE doesn‟t watch the S-CCPCH. It watches the Page Indicator Channel or PICH at regular and defined
interval and looks for its Paging Indicator or PI.
The PI is based on the IMSI. Several UEs can have the same PI.
When the UE finds its PI on the PICH, it watches the S-CCPCH to check if it is for it and what is the cause.
Then it requests on RRC connection to have a RAB.

It is now time to see how a RAB is established.

According to the previous part “WCDMA in UMTS”, if the interference level at the Node B level is too
high, the Node B can‟t decode all the signals. The size of the cell decreases. The interferences are due
to several causes. The first cause is the radio environment and the load of the adjacent cells. The second
cause is when there are too many users on the cells.
Another cause is that some users use too much power, but the power control manages this problem.
Finally, the UTRAN has to check if there is enough UL radio resources.
If the Radio access control has not been passed, the call can‟t be established for CS services.
For PS services, the UTRAN may try to assign a radio bearer with a lower bit rate. There are different
levels of bit rates that can be used on a given requested RAB. The Node B tries to assign first the highest,
and then goes to the lower rates, as long as the RAC rejects the Radio Link Reconfiguration.

3 questions before adding a new user: Is there enough UL radio resource?
Is there sufficient DL radio resource and sufficient processing resources?
To see if there is sufficient UL Radio Resource, we analyze the Rx RAC. We compare the UL interference
level and the estimated new user contribution to a predefined threshold.
(If UL interference level + estimated new user contribution < threshold Then Rx RAC ok)
To see if there is sufficient DL Radio Resource, we analyze the Tx RAC. We compare the Total DL Tx
Power and the estimated new user contribution to a predefined threshold.
(If Total DL Tx Power + estimated new user contribution < threshold Then Tx RAC ok)
There is a parameter managing the processing resource, which is the Processing RAC. To determine the
value of this parameter, 3 main points are checked: the channelization codes, the DSP (in BBs) load and
the number of user and radio links limited respectively to 64 users and 90 RLs.

We have seen how a UE, after the switch on, can collect system information, update its location, request
a RRC Connection and a service, can be paged and how UTRAN allows it to use services. Now, let’s see
how is established the RAB?

Here, you can see the RAB establishment process. The UE is RRC connected and has requested a service.
Can the UE send user information (e.g voice call) just after Radio Access Bearer establishment?
The answer is YES. At the end of this signaling procedure, a RAB has been assigned to the UE to carry
user information. The RAB is mapped on the RB which has been set up. The RB is mapped on a Dedicated
traffic channel that is RACH/FACH or DCH.

This procedure is used in many RRC procedures.
In this procedure, a radio link is set up by the RNC on the Node-B side using the NBAP protocol (a similar
task is performed on the UE side using the RRC protocol). A terrestrial link (AAL2 bearer) is set up on the
Iub interface using the ALCAP protocol.

Now, let„s briefly turn towards the mobility management in connected mode.

The RNC manages the Active Set and builds the Monitoring Set.
The Monitoring Set is built from the information of topology and design in the RNC.
The Active Set is managed from the event sent by the UE to the RNC.
The maximum number of cells in the monitoring set is 32.

The maximum number of cells in the active set is set from the Office Data, between 3 and 6.
The monitored set is built for each UE by the RNC from the neighboring list. The RNC selects the best
cells in this list for the monitored cells.

There are 3 events for the soft handover. The value measured is the CPICH Ec/No.
The event 1a is triggered when the CPICH Ec/No of a monitored cell is above a certain threshold.
If the event is fulfilled, the cell is added in the active set.
The event 1b is triggered when the CPICH Ec/No of an active cell is below a certain threshold.
If the event is fulfilled, the cell is removed from the active set.
The event 1c is triggered when the active set has reached its maximum size and the CPICH Ec/No of a
monitored cell is better than a cell belonging to the active set.
If the event is fulfilled, the candidate cell replaces the cell in the active set.

Most of the UEs are not dual receivers. And they need to perform measurements on other frequencies.
So UTRAN has to free a time window so that the UEs perform these measurements on other FDD
frequencies or on GSM frequencies.
The main method is to divide the SF of certain frame by 2, so it divides the length of the frame by 2.
The compressed mode method is done by puncturing: the rate matching is applied for creating a
transmission gap in one or two frames (not in UL) and by reducing the SF by 2. So Compressed frames can
be obtained by higher layer scheduling. Higher layers then set restrictions so that only a subset of the
allowed TFCs are used in a compressed frame. The maximum number of bits that will be delivered to the
physical layer during the compressed radio frame is then known and a transmission gap can be
generated.

There are 3 events to watch the UMTS cell with other FDD frequencies.
The event 2d_cm is triggered when the quality of the current frequency is below a certain quality. The
compressed mode is launched.
The event 2b is triggered when the quality of the current frequency is below a certain threshold and the
quality on another frequency is above a certain threshold.
The event 2f is triggered when the quality of the current frequency is above a certain threshold. The
compressed mode is deactivated.

2 causes can trigger a hard HO toward the GSM system: it can be because of bad radio conditions or it
can be due to the service requested.
The event 2d_cm is triggered when the quality on the current frequency is below a certain quality. The
compressed mode is launched.
The event 3a is triggered when the quality on the current FDD frequency is below a certain threshold and
the quality on the GSM is above another threshold.
The event 3c is triggered when the service requested can be managed by the GSM, the voice typically.

To conclude this training, let me explain to you the MBMS principles.

This section is divided into 3 parts. Part 1 aims at presenting to you the MBMS Introduction. Then, part 2
presents the MBMS news functionalities. Finally, part 3 focuses on the MBMS features in UA7.1.

Let„s start off with an introduction to MBMS.

MBMS is a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service . It is a 3GPP Release 6 feature.
Enhanced MBMS allows operators to broadcast Multimedia content such as text, images, audio or videoto
all mobiles in any cell(s) of the UMTS network. There are two modes of operation: the Broadcast mode
(point-to-multipoint) and the Multicast mode (point-to-multipoint or point-to-point). In MBMS, the Data is
transmitted from one single source to multiple terminals in a broadcast service area. In this case, we
have an optimization of Iub resources. We support MBMS on Iub over IP and the use of IP multicast in case
of native IP Iub is expected later than UA07.
In terms of Customer Benefits, we can say that we use an efficient delivery method to many users.
Compared to CBS, MBMS-broadcast allows high data rates and multimedia services. Moreover, it is
possible for UEs to receive this data in any state. For the operators, this means additional data revenue
streams (e.g. Mobile TV and advertising). This also means improved subscriber loyalty. Moreover, the
Transport bearer sharing unloads the transport network.

The boundary of the MBMS Bearer Service is the Gmb and Gi reference points that respectively
provide access to the control plane and the bearer plane.
The Signaling between GGSN and BM-SC is exchanged at the Gmb reference point. This represents the
network side boundary of the MBMS Bearer Service from a control plane perspective. This includes user
specific Gmb signaling and MBMS bearer service-specific signaling.
The BM-SC initiates the deactivation of a user specific MBMS bearer service when the MBMS user
service is terminated.
BM-SC functions for different MBMS bearer services may be provided by different physical network
elements. Further, MBMS bearer service specific and user specific signaling for the same MBMS bearer
service may also be provided by different physical network elements. To allow this distribution of BM-SC
functions, the Gmb protocol must support the use of proxies to correctly route the different signaling
interactions in a manner which is transparent to the GGSN.

Let„s see the MBMS new functionalities.

With MBMS, new channels appear like the MBMS Point-To-Multipoint scheduling channel which carries
transmission schedule between network and UEs. This channel is mapped over a separate FACH. It shares
SCCPCH with MTCH and is used for DTX.
Another channel is the MBMS PTM Control Channel which carries control plane information between
network and UEs. It is mapped over a separate FACH, i.e. not sharing with other logical channels and it
can share SCCPCH.
Then, the MBMS PTM Traffic Channel carries the user plane traffic. It is mapped to one FACH transport
channel. The TCTF field in the MAC header is always used and one MTCH is configured for each MBMS
service.
Finally, the MBMS Notification Indication Channel is the new physical channel which is used to indicate
MBMS information availability on MCCH.
A new Mac-m layer also appears with new functionality like handling of the mapping of MTCH, PCCH to
the appropriate FACH, and Scheduling/Buffering/Priority handling of MBMS transmissions. This function is
located at RNC.

Here you can see that one MAC entity will be used for each cell.

Let„s move on to the MBMS features in UA07.1

The MBMS Service Area is the area in which a specific MBMS session is made available.
The MBMS RAB establishment involves the establishment of a number of radio bearers for MTCH (one per
cell). The service content is broadcast within a set of cells „MBMS service area‟.
The operator can define the MBMS Service Areas in a flexible way. The service area can be as small as
one cell, and one cell can belong to up to 8 service areas.

Iub transport efficiency is also ensured over several cells of the same Node: a single flow is used on a
shared Transport bearer if the same content is sent to multiple cells of the same Node B.
The Transport bearer sharing improvement applies only for PTM transmission, using an FACH transport
channel. It concerns only the MBMS traffic channel and not the MBMS control channel. MBMS over a single
FACH is supported in UA07.1. It is activated per Iub with the OAM parameter
IsTransportBearerSharingForMBMSSupported.
Without this improvement, the MBMS RAB establishment involves the establishment of several MTCH
flows per Node B (one MTCH flow per cell). With this improvement, the MBMS RAB involves the
establishment of only one MTCH flow for multiple cells in one Node B, or more precisely of one FACH
DATA frame for MTCH per Node B, (instead of one FACH data frame for MTCH per cell). It thus enables to
improve the Iub bandwidth efficiency. There is a restriction in iCEM and xCEM. Indeed, the number of
cells that can share a TB is inferior or equal to 3, and all those cells have to be handled by the same BBU
(i.e. those cells are in the same LCG or Local Cell Group). So for a (6sector 2carrier) BTS configuration,
we would need 4 MBMS Broadcast Groups, each having a separate TB, so 4TBs in total.
In case of a native IP Iub, all traffic, including the MBMS PTM traffic is carried on IP/Ethernet in RNC and
in Node B. The default DSCP used for MBMS PTM are configurable in the RNC. Configured values have to
be consistent with the global IP QoS strategy on Iub. The default DSCP used for MBMS PTM Streaming and
MBMS PTM Background are different.

To sum up, the MBMS Broadcast main target is Mobile TV application for Session running for
long/unlimited time and with a high number of users interested in the service.
MBMS Broadcast can be supported on any carrier(s), and can be dedicated or mixed with other services.
The Mobility is supported in any mobile state, Idle, Cell-FACH, URA/Cell-PCH, and Cell-DCH state. 64,
128, and 256 kbps data rates can be supported depending on the traffic class.
MBMS traffic may be transmitted in parallel to other services and the Iub is optimized when the same
content is sent to multiple cells of the same Node B. Trunking allows to convey on the same flow: thus,
instead of one FACH data frame per cell, only one FACH data frame is sent to a Node B.

Page 1
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Page 2
A
A interface between BSC and MSC
AAL2 ATM Adaptation Layer 2
AAL5 ATM Adaptation Layer 5
A-GPS Assisted Global Positioning System
AICH Acquisition Indicator Channel
ALCAP Access Link Control Application Part
AM Acknowledged Mode
AMR Adaptative Multi Rate
ANSI American National Standards Institute (USA)
ANSI-41 American National Standard ANSI/TIA/EIA-41
ARIB Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (Japan)
AS Access Stratum
AT&T American Telephony & Telegraph
ATIS Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions
ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
B
BCCH Broadcast Control Channel
BCH Broadcast Channel
BGCF Breakout Gateway Control Function
BICC Bearer Independent Call Control
BLER Block Error Ratio
BSC Base Station Controller
BSS Base Station Subsystem
BTS Base Transceiver Station
C
CAPEX Capital Expenditure
CBC Cell Broadcast Center
CC Call Control
CCCH Common Control Channel
CCM Core Control Module
CCTrCH Coded Composite Transport Channel
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
CPICH Common Pilot Channel
CN Core Network
CPCH Common Packet Channel
CPU Central Processing Unit
CRNC Controlling RNC
CS Coding Scheme
CS Circuit Switching
CSCF Call Session Control Function
CSCN Circuit Switched Core Network
CTCH Common Traffic Channel
CWTS China Wireless Telecommunications Standard Group
D
DBm decibel referenced to a milliwatt
DCCH Dedicated Control Channel
DCH Dedicated Channel
Diffserv Differentiated Services
DL Downlink
DPCCH Dediated Physical Control Channel
DPDCH Dedicated Physical Data Channel
DRNC Drift RNC
DSCP Differentiated Services Code Point
DSCH Downlink Shared Channel
DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel
Page 3
E
EDGE Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution
EGPRS Enhanced GPRS
EIA Electronic Industries Alliance
ETSI European Telecommunications Standard Institute
Eb Energy per useful bit
F
FACH Forward Access Channel
FDD Frequency Division Duplex
FDMA Frequency Division Multiple Access
G
Gb BSS-SGSN interface
Gc HLR-GGSN interface
GERAN GSM EDGE Radio Access Network
GGSN Gateway GPRS Support Node
GHz Giga Hertz
Gi GGSN-PDN interface
GMM GPRS Mobility Management
GMSC Gateway MSC
Gn intra-GSS interface
GPRS General Packet Radio Service
GPS Global Positioning System
Gr HLR-SGSN interface
Gs MSC-SGSN interface
GSM Global System for Mobile communications
GTP GPRS Tuneling Protocol
GTP-U GTP for transfer of user data in separated tunnels for each PDP context
H
HLR Home Location Register
HO Handover
HSDPA High-Speed Downlink Packet Access
HS-DSCH High-Speed Downlink Shared Channel
HSPA High-Speed Packet Access
HSS Home Subscriber Service
HSUPA High-Speed Uplink Packet Access
Hz Hertz
I
I-CSCF Interrogating CSCF
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IETF Internet Engineering Task Force
IMSI International Mobile Subscriber Identity
IN Intelligent Network
IP Internet Protocol
ISCP Interference Signal Code Power
ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network
ISM Industrial Scientific Medicine
ISUP ISDN User Part
ITU International Telecommunications Unit
Iu interface between UTRAN and Core Network
Iub interface between node B and RNC
Iub-FP Iub Frame Protocol
Iu-CS interface between RNC and MSC
Iu-PS interface between RNC and SGSN
Iur interface between RNC and RNC
Iur-FP Iur Frame Protocol
Iu-UP Iu interface User Plane
Page 4
K
KB KiloByte
Kbps kilobits per second
L
LA Location Area
LAI Location Area Identity
LCG Local Cell Group
M
M3UA MTP3 User Application
MAC Medium Access Contol
MAC-m Media Access Control - MBMS
MAP Mobile Application Part
Mbps Megabits per second
MB MegaByte
MB Megabits per second
MBMS Multimedia Boradcast Multicast Service
MCCH MBMS Control Channel
Mcps Megachips per second
MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme
ME Mobile Equipment
MGCF Media Gateway Control Function
MGW Media Gateway
MHz Mega Hertz
MIB Master Information Block
MICH MBMS Indication Channel
MM Mobility Management
MSC Mobile services Switching Center
MSCH MBMS Scheduling Channel
MSS Mobile Satellite System
MT Mobile Terminal
MTCH MBMS Traffic Channel
MTP Message Transfer Part
mW milliWatt
N
NAS Non-Access Stratum
NBAP Node B Application Part
NNI Network-Node Interface
NSS Network Subsystem
O
OC Optical Channel
OMC Operation and Maintenance Center
OS Operating System
OVSF Orthogonal Variable Spreading Factor
P
PC Personal Computer
PCCH Paging Control Channel
P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Channel
PCPCH Physical Common Packet Channel
P-CSCF Proxy CSCF
PCH Paging Channel
PCU Packet Control Unit
PDC Personal Digital Cellular
PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol
Page 5
PDN Packet Data Network
PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel
PG Processing Gain
PICH Page Indicator Channel
PLMN Public Land Mobile Network
PO Power Offset
POC Point Of Concentration
POTS Plain Old Telephone Service
PRACH Physical Random Access Channel
P-SCH Primary Synchronization Channel
PS Packet Switching
PSCN Packet Switched Core Network
PSE Personal Service Environment
PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network
PTMSI Packet Temporay Mobile Subscriber Identity
PTP Precision Timing Protocol
Q
QoS Quality of Service
R
RA Routing Area
RB Radio Bearer
RAB Radio Access Bearer
RACH Random Access Channel
RAI Routing Area Identity
RAN Radio Access Network
RANAP RAN Application Part
RLC Radio Link Control
RNC Radio Network Controller
RNL Radio Network Layer
RNS Radio Network Subsystem
RNSAP RNS Application Part
RRC Radio Resource Control
RSCP Received Signal Code Power
RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator
RTCP Real Time Control Protocol
RTP Real-Time Transport Protocol
Rx Reception
S
SAAL
SAP Service Access Point
SAS Standalone Assisted GPS SMLC
SAT SIM Application Toolkit
SCCP Signaling Connection Control Part
S-CCPCH Secondary Common Control Channel
SCS Service Capability Server
S-CSCF Serving CSCF
SCTP Stream Control Transmission Protocol
SDU Service Data Unit
SF Spreading Factor
SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node
SIB System Information Broadcast
SIG Special Interest Group
SIM Subscriber Identity Module
SIP Session Initiation Protocol
Page 6
S
SIR Signal on Interference Ratio
SMS Short Message Service
SRB Signaling Radio Bearer
SRNC Serving RNC
SRNS Serving Radio Network Subsystem
SS7 Signaling System no.7
SSCF Signaling Connection Control Function
SSCOP Service Specific Connection Oriented Protocol
S-SCH Secondary Synchronization Channel
STM-1 Synchronous Transport Module level 1
T
T1 Standard Committee T1 Telecommunications
TD-CDMA Time Division and Code Division Multiple Access
TDD Time Division Duplex
TDMA Time Division Multiple Access
TE Terminal Equipment
TF Transport Format
TFC Transport Format Combination
TFS Transport Format Set
TIA Telecommunications Industry Association (USA)
TM Transparent Mode
TMN Telecommunications Management Network
TMSI Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity
TR Technical Report
TRX Transmitter Receiver
TS Technical Specification
TS Time Slot
TTA Telecommunications Technology Association (Korea)
TTC Telecommunications Technology Committee (Japan)
TTI Time Transmission Interval
Tx Transmission
U
UDP User Datagram Protocol
UE User Equipment
UL UpLink
Um interface between MS and BSS
UM Unacknowledged Mode
UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
UNI User-Node Interface
USAT UMTS SIM Application Toolkit
USIM UMTS Subscriber Identity Module
UTRA UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access
UTRAN UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
V
VHE Virtual Home Environment
VLAN Virtual LAN
VLR Visitor Location Register
VMSC Visited MSC
VoIP Voice over IP
VR Virtual Router
W
W Watt
WAP Wireless Application Part
WCDMA Wireless CDMA
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Welcome to this e-learning training about the R99 Radio Principles.

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What is an RRC connection?

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Why is header compression valuable?

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RLC protocol has several main functions.

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