Type 1 Resource Allocation in LTE

Abstract:

In LTE, the PDCCH channel conveys all allocation for downlink and the uplink in the
subframes. To help manage the overhead in conveying the allocation message, a type
field is also included in the PDCCH message. In this blog, we shall look at Type 1
resource allocation and the motivation behind the use of this mode. We shall present a
few concrete examples to bring out the many facets of this allocation mode.

Type field in PDCCH:

In LTE, the type field in a PDCCH message can take on one of three values; 0,1, or 2,
respectively. Type 0 groups the Resource Blocks (RBs) into groups called as Resource
Block Groups (RBGs) whose size can vary with the total number of RBs available. All
allocations are in terms of RBGs and is usually conveyed using a bitmap with the
number of bits being equal to the number of RBGs. For example, in the 20 MHz case,
the number of RBs is 100, the number of RBGs is 25 and thus 25 bits are used to
convey the allocation in a PDCCH message. Clearly, the advantage of this method is
the reduction in the number of bits used in the bitmap as compared to the case when a
bit per RB is used. Typically, consecutive RBGs are assigned for a user and the
granularity of the allocation is limited to the size of the RBG.

Type 1 allocation was proposed to address the issues of granularity and frequency
diversity which were lacking in the type 0 allocations. In Type 1, the same RBG idea is
followed as in Type 0, however, individual RBs inside the RBGs need not be grouped
together and assigned to a single user. In addition to the bitmap, 2 extra bits are used to
convey the allocation. These extra bits point to the subsets within the RBGs and a bit
shift indicator is also used to choose different RBs from the RBGs into a single
allocation. Thus, Type 1 allocation can help achieve frequency diversity with the same
size of bitmap as in the Type 0 allocation. We shall explain the workings in Type 1
allocation using 2 examples; one for the 5MHz bandwidth and the other for the 10 MHz
bandwidth.-

In Type 1 allocation Individual physical RBs (PRBs) can be allocated but this should be
within a RBG subset. The resource allocation header using Type 1 contains following
fields.

Type 1 Resource Allocation Example

Scenario 1 : Bandwidth = 5 MHz

The size of RBG that is applicable has been obtained from the table below which is
given in 3GPP TS 36.213 section 7.1.6.1 table 7.1.6.1-1

Total # of RBGs and RBG Subsets in 5 MHz BW

Number of bits required for ‘Resource allocation header’:

How to allocate RBGs in RBG set ?

A RBG subset k, 0 <=k <P ,consists of every Pth RBG starting from RBG k.(Ex. If P=2,
every 2nd RBG in RBG subset 0 with starting RBG 0)
# of PRBs in a selected RBG subset is function of (k,P and NRBDL ) (Ref :3GPP
36.213 section 7.1.6.2)

#. of PRBs in subset k = NRBRBGsubset (k) =

In 5MHz BW, NRBDL = 25 and P = 2 therefore M = floor ((NRBDL-1)/P)mod P = 0

Significance of shift in the bit map

The addressable PRB numbers of a selected RBG subset start from an offset Δshift (k),
to the smallest PRB number within the selected RBG subset, which is mapped to the
MSB of the bitmap. The offset is in terms of the number of PRBs and is done within the
selected RBG subset. The shift is used to utilize the unused PRBs in the subset

If shift bit = 0 then offset for subset k is Δshift (k) = 0

If shift bit =1, then the offset for subset k is Δshift (k) =NRBRBGsubset (k) – C

For the above example (BW-5 MHz), C= 11, NRBRBGsubset(k) =13 for subset0 and 12 for
subset 1
PRB numbers in each subset

PRB numbers in a subset 0 (k =0) and subset 1(k=1) is given by

nPRBsubset = ( floor((i + Δshift (k)) /P))*P2 + (k*P) + (i + Δshift (k))mod P

where i = 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

Case 1 : for shift bit=0

Δshift (k) = 0 , so PRB numbers in subset 0 (k=0)and subset 1(k=1) is

The above table lists the 11 PRBs usable in each subset for this bit shift. The table
below shows the RBGs used in obtaining the PRBs for each subset.

Case 2 : for shift bit=1

Δshift (k) = 2 for k =0 and Δshift (k) = 1 for k =1

PRB numbers in subset 0 (k=0)and subset 1(k=1) is

The above table lists the various PRBs that can be used in the 2 subsets for this bit-
shift. It has differences from the earlier table and together they are able to utilize the
complete set of 25 PRBs possible for the 5 MHz case. The table below also highlights
the difference from the earlier bit-shift as we notice a clear difference in the RBGs used
in this case as compared to the earlier case.

Thus it can be seen that type1 offers 2 features which is different from type 0. Consider
the entries in the 2 tables which list the PRBs in a subset and the corresponding 11 bits
in the bit-map. In the case of type 0, 2 consecutive PRBs will be grouped together for
the 5 MHz case. However for type1 it can be seen that for the 4 different cases, the 11
PRBs in the 2 columns of the 2 tables are spread out over the frequency band. Thus,
freedom in choosing the number of PRBs at a granularity of 1 PRB is available along
with the frequency diversity that can be obtained if a larger number of PRBs are
planned to be chosen. The frequency diversity advantage becomes more enhanced
when wider bandwidth examples (10/20 MHz, for instance) is considered as each of the
subsets now span a much larger bandwidth.

Type 1 Resource Allocation Procedure

Scenario 1: Bandwidth = 10 MHz

* Ref: 3GPP TS 36.213 section 7.1.6.1 table 7.1.6.1-1

Total # of RBGs and RBG Subsets in 10 Mhz BW

Number of bits required for ‘Resource allocation header’:

How to allocate RBGs in RBG set?

A RBG subset k, 0 <=k <P , consists of every Pth RBG starting from RBG k.(Ex. If P=3,
every 3rd RBG in RBG subset 0 with starting RBG 0)
# of PRBs in a selected RBG subset is function of (k,P and NRBDL )

# of PRBs in RBG subset = NRBRBGsubset (k) =

In 10MHz BW, , NRBDL = 50 and P = 3 therefore M = floor((NRBDL-1)/P)mod P = 1

If shift bit = 0 then offset for subset k is Δshift (k) = 0

If shift bit =1 then offset for subset k is Δshift (k) =NRBRBGsubset (k) – C

PRB numbers in each subset

PRB numbers in a subset 0 (k =0), subset 1(k=1) and subset 2(k=2) is given by

nPRBsubset =( floor((i + Δshift (k)) /P))*P2 + (k*P) + (i + Δshift (k))mod P

where i = 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13

Case 1 : for shift bit=0

Δshift (k) = 0 , so PRB numbers in subset 0 (k=0)and subset 1(k=1) is

Case 2 : for shift bit=1

Δshift (k) = 4 for k =0 , Δshift (k) = 3 for k =1 and Δshift (k) = 1

PRB numbers in subset 0 (k=0), subset 1(k=1) and subset 2 are

Summary:

Type 1 allocation in LTE offers flexibility in choosing the PRBs at a granularity of a

single PRB. In addition, using the same number of bits for resource allocation as in
Type 0 considerable frequency diversity can be obtained in the allocation. Thus, type 1
can resource allocation can be useful for certain small allocations which need to
leverage frequency diversity.