UMTS / WCDMA basics tutorial & Overview

- a tutorial, or overview of the basics of UMTS, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, using WCDMA technology run under the auspices of 3GPP.

3GPP UMTS, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System is the third generation (3G) successor to the second generation GSM based cellular technologies which also include GPRS, and EDGE. Although UMTS uses a totally different air interface, the core network elements have been migrating towards the UMTS requirements with the introduction of GPRS and EDGE. In this way the transition from GSM to the 3G UMTS architecture did not require such a large instantaneous investment. UMTS uses Wideband CDMA (WCDMA or W-CDMA) to carry the radio transmissions, and often the system is referred to by the name WCDMA. It is also gaining a third name. Some are calling it 3GSM because it is a 3G migration for GSM.

3GPP UMTS, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System is the third generation (3G) successor to the second generation GSM based cellular technologies which also include GPRS, and EDGE. Although UMTS uses a totally different air interface, the core network elements have been migrating towards the UMTS requirements with the introduction of GPRS and EDGE. In this way the transition from GSM to the 3G UMTS architecture did not require such a large instantaneous investment. UMTS uses Wideband CDMA (WCDMA or W-CDMA) to carry the radio transmissions, and often the system is referred to by the name WCDMA. It is also gaining a third name. Some are calling it 3GSM because it is a 3G migration for GSM.

3GPP UMTS Specifications and Management

In order to create and manage a system as complicated as UMTS or WCDMA it is necessary to develop and maintain a large number of documents and specifications. For UMTS or WCDMA, these are now managed by a group known as 3GPP - the Third Generation Partnership Programme. This is a global co-operation between six organisational partners - ARIB, CCSA, ETSI, ATIS, TTA and TTC. The scope of 3GPP was to produce globally applicable Technical Specifications and Technical Reports for a 3rd Generation Mobile Telecommunications System. This would be based upon the GSM core networks and the radio access technologies that they support (i.e., Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) modes).

Since it was originally formed, 3GPP has also taken over responsibility for the GSM standards as well as looking at future developments including LTE (Long Term Evolution) and the 4G technology known as LTE Advanced.

UMTS Capabilities
UMTS uses Wideband CDMA - WCDMA - as the radio transmission standard. It employs a 5 MHz channel bandwidth. Using this bandwidth it has the capacity to carry over 100 simultaneous voice calls, or it is able to carry data at speeds up to 2 Mbps in its original format. However with the later enhancements of HSDPA and HSUPA (described in other articles accessible from the cellular telecommunications menu page ) included in later releases of the standard the data transmission speeds have been increased to 14.4 Mbps. Many of the ideas that were incorporated into GSM have been carried over and enhanced for UMTS. Elements such as the SIM have been transformed into a far more powerful USIM (Universal SIM). In addition to this, the network has been designed so that the enhancements employed for GPRS and EDGE can be used for UMTS. In this way the investment required is kept to a minimum. A new introduction for UMTS is that there are specifications that allow both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) modes. The first modes to be employed are FDD modes where the uplink and downlink are on different frequencies. The spacing between them is 190 MHz for Band 1 networks being currently used and rolled out. However the TDD mode where the uplink and downlink are split in time with the base stations and then the mobiles transmitting alternately on the same frequency is particularly suited to a variety of applications. Obviously where spectrum is limited and paired bands suitably spaced are not available. It also performs well where small cells are to be used. As a guard time is required between transmit and receive, this will be smaller when transit times are smaller as a result of the shorter distances being covered. A further advantage arises from the fact that it is found that far more data is carried in the downlink as a result of internet surfing, video downloads and the like. This means that it is often better to allocate more capacity to the downlink. Where paired spectrum is used this is not possible. However when a TDD system is used it is possible to alter the balance between downlink and uplink transmissions to accommodate this imbalance and thereby improve the efficiency. In this way TDD systems can be highly efficient when used in picocells for carrying Internet data. The TDD systems have not been widely deployed, but this may occur more in the future. In view of its character, it is often referred to as TD-CDMA (Time Division CDMA).

UMTS WCDMA specification summary

the UMTS WCDMA system offered a significant improvement in capability over the previous 2G services.

Parameter Data rate RF channel bandwidth Multiple access scheme Duplex schemes

Specification 2048 kbps low range 384 kbps urban and outdoor 5 MHz CDMA FDD and also TDD

UMTS / WCDMA summary

UMTS or as it is often termed, Wideband CDMA, WCDMA is being widely deployed. It offers many advantages over GSM, GPRS, and EDGE in terms of much higher data rates and greater flexibility. These basic technical abilities reflect as a much richer number of applications and features that the 3G phones can be used to perform. This not only gives the user a much more useful 'phone', but this also translates into higher revenues for the operator.

UMTS 3G History
- summary of the history of how IMT-2000 was developed and lead to 3G UMTS and CDMA2000 and overview of 3GPP releases.

With GSM being developed and deployed, the eyes of the development community started to look at the next cellular developments which would provide greater more functionality and greater levels of efficiency. The UMTS 3G history shows how these basic ideas turned into reality and changed the way in which mobile telecommunications was used. The UMTS 3G history shows that despite many set backs, UMTS was able to become established as the major 3G technology providing new standards in cellular telecommunications performance, functionality, and convenience. The 3G history shows that UMTS became the dominant 3G technology, setting the foundations for a single worldwide 4G standard in future years.

3G beginnings and IMT-2000

The International Mobile Telecommunications-2000, IMT-2000 standard is actually a family of standards for third generation (3G) wireless communications. It defines the broad outlines and

requirements for standards that can be called 3G standards. It was set in place by the International Telecommunications Union (Radio Communications section), ITU-R. In the 1980s work started on looking at, what was termed in the ITU-R the "Future Public Land Mobile Telecommunications System". However with the deployment on GSM and other 2G technologies the impetus for the development of the next generation system was not present. It was not until the early 1990s that progress was seen. A working group was set up and also the 1992 World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC'92) allocated 230 MHz of spectrum between 1885 and 2025 and 2110 and 2200 MHz. A number of organizations recognized the need for a global standard for the next generation of mobile telecommunications services. ETSI in Europe moving towards what they termed their Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, UMTS and in Japan the forerunner of the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses, ARIB undertaking a study. To enable a single standard to be adopted the ITU-R requested each regional Standards Development Organisation (SDO) to submit proposals for a Radio Transmission Technology. As a result, between 1996 and 1998 companies and regional SDOs worked towards their proposal submissions. A total of 17 different proposals were submitted. Of these eleven were for terrestrial systems and the remain six were for satellite systems. The evaluation of the proposals was completed during 1998 but during early 1999 it was necessary to gain some form of consensus. Once this was complete, by the end of 1999 the specification for the radio Transmission Technology was released by the end of 1999. Although many proposals were submitted there were several that were considerably more important than others. These included:
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UMTS / WCDMA: The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System using wideband CDMA was the successor to the highly successful GSM system that was initially deployed around Europe, but was spreading rapidly worldwide. CDMA2000: This scheme was the successor to the cdmaOne system defined under Interim Standard IS-95 which was the first system to be deployed using CDMA technology. TDS-CDMA: This was a scheme developed in China that adopted many elements of the GSM / UMTS technology but was optimised for Time Division Duplex.

NB: The GSM evolution, EDGE also complied to the IMT-2000 definition for a 3G standard, although it was more commonly referred to as a 2.75G standard. Of the main IMT-2000 systems, history has shown that UMTS has became the most widely deployed of the 3G systems. It offered global roaming as well as being designed to enable more applications than many of its competitors. Also as it followed on from GSM, it had a very wide base on which to build.

3GPP and 3GPP2 history

In 1998 the various SDOs interested in UMTS banded together to form the 3rd Generation Partnership Programme, 3GPP by signing the 3rd Generation Partnership Project Agreement. Historically, the scope of 3GPP was to produce technical specifications and reports for a 3G system based on evolved GSM core networks, and the resulting radio access technology, i.e. both FDD and TDD versions of UMTS. The work on the UMTS standard progressed rapidly and the first release, known as Release 99 took place in 1999. Further releases have appeared periodically since then to incorporate additional changes and additions to the standards including High Speed Packet Downlink Access - HSDPA, High Speed Packet Uplink Access - HSUPA and Long Term Evolution - LTE. The success of 3GPP subsequently lead to the organisation taking on the maintenance and development the GSM, GPRS and EDGE technical specifications and reports. Ore recently it has undertaken the development of the 3G LTE and LTE Advanced technical specifications and reports. A similar organisation, known as the 3rd Generation Partnership Programme 2, 3GPP2, was set up to develop and manage the standards and reports for the CDMA2000 cellular telecommunications system.

3GPP release dates and contents

The first release for the 3GPP standard took place in 1999. Since then a number of further releases have taken place, each introducing changes to correct problems, but more importantly adding further functionality. These 3GPP releases are summarised below:

3GPP Release Release date 3GPP Release 1999 99 3GPP Release 2001 4 3GPP Release 2002 5

Summary First release of the UMTS standard This release added features including an all-IP core network. It was originally referred to as Release 2000 This 3GPP release introduced the IP Multimedia Subsystem, IMS and High Speed Packet Downlink Access, HSDPA

3GPP Release

Release date

Summary This release of the standard integrated the operation of UMTS with wireless LAN networks and added enhancements to IMS (including Push to talk over Cellular), Generic Access Network, GAN, and it added High Speed Packet Uplink Access, HSUPA. This Release of the 3GPP standard detailed improvements to QoS for applications such as VoIP. The release also detailed upgrades for High Speed Packet Access Evolution, HSPA+, as well as changes for EDGE Evolution and it also provided interfaces to enable operation with Near Field Communication, NFC technology. 3GPP Release 8 provided the details for the LTE System Architecture Evolution, SAE, an all-IP network architecture providing the capacity and low latency required for LTE and future evolutions. This added further enhancements to the SAE as well as allowing for WiMax and LTE/UMTS interoperability. This release of the 3GPP standard detailed the 4G LTE Advanced technology.

3GPP Release 2004 6

3GPP Release 2007 7

3GPP Release 2008 8 3GPP Release End 2009 9 3GPP Estimated Release 2010 10

Note: Pre-Release 98 releases refer to pre 3G, i.e. GSM, GPRS, EDGE standards.

3G spectrum auctions
One of the main disasters that took place within the telecommunications industry was the sale of spectrum for the 3G licences within Europe. With operators moving towards the development and ultimate deployment of the forthcoming 3G services cellular telecommunications operators within Europe 3G spectrum auctions were set up at the beginning of 2000. Although a similar 3G spectrum auction had been abandoned previously in the USA because it was felt the costs were too high for the operators to bear, nevertheless Europe still went ahead. However the European governments, in particular the UK and Germany looked at the sale as an opportunity for levying a windfall tax. The 3G spectrum auction was offered on a sealed bid basis. Knowing that in order to continue their operations, the cellular operators would need to secure a licence for the 3G spectrum, this forced the prices very high bids. Accordingly the network operators took risks and also incurred high levels of debt. In the UK a total of British pounds, GBP 22.5 billion was raised and around GBP 30 billion in Germany.

This meant that the operators were saddled with huge debts that would take many years to pay off even assuming that 3G was a great success. On top of the crippling debts incurred for the spectrum, network operators also had to invest in the 3G infrastructure and its deployment. As a result the network operators were very keen to see 3G developments speeded up so that they could start to see a return on their investment and the interest charges they were paying. However the delays in the development of 3G handsets proved to be a major hurdle. Subsequent auctions in other areas of the world met with much lower bids. Network operators could not afford the amounts they paid for spectrum in Europe. In particular those auctions in Australia and New Zealand raised much smaller amounts. Other countries used other more tenable business models. For example in Hong Kong a profit sharing approach was adopted. This avoided the huge up-front costs of the auctions elsewhere.

UMTS 3G deployments history

With the success of GSM building, and reaching the 1 billion subscriber mark, the first deployments of UMTS started. One of the holding factors in some of the deployments was the fact that few handsets were available. Using CDMA technology as well as having many new features, developers had experienced difficulty in matching the handset requirements and functionality to the IC technology that was available. Battery consumption was one major resulting issue. As a result, many operators had to delay their deployments. Some milestones were achieved to show that progress was being made:
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1998 - September 1998 The first call was completed in DoCoMo's trial network at the Nokia R&D establishment near Tokyo, Japan. 1999 - February Nokia successfully it has tested what was claimed to be the first WCDMA call through the public switched telephone network in the world at the Nokia test network in Finland using a WCDMA terminal, WCDMA base station subsystem and Nokia GSM Mobile with switching centres connected to the PSTN. 2001 - April Ericsson and Vodafone UK claimed to have made the world's first WCDMA voice call over commercial network 2001 - June NTT DoCoMo launched a trial 3G service.

With the development milestones showing significant progress, the first deployments started. These were slow at first, but the momentum soon started to increase:
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2001 - October NTT DoCoMo launched the first commercial WCDMA 3G mobile network. 2001 - December The first commercial European network was opened for business by Telenor, although no handsets were available immediately.

2003 - March On 3rd March 2003, (03-03-03), the UK operator 3 launched the first 3G service in the UK.

Summary of UMTS 3G History

Since the first ideas of 3G services offering much higher data rate transfers providing the ability to run many new applications, many developments have been made and the 3G UMTS services have become well established. As the 3G history shows, many ideas have fallen by the wayside, but through it all the technology has evolved and become firmly established. Applications such as mobile messaging, mobile broadband and some video services are well established, and users have grown to rely on them. Additionally the number of 3GPP releases shows that the 3G UMTS standards are developing to keep pace with the needs of users with the UMTS 3G history showing a constant evolution from 3G to 4G wideband services.

UMTS / WCDMA Network Architecture

- the UMTS / WCDMA network architecture including the User Equipment - UE -, the Radio Network Subsystem, and the Core Network.

The UMTS network architecture is required to provide a greater level of performance to that of the original GSM network. However as many networks had migrated through the use of GPRS and EDGE, they already had the ability to carry data. Accordingly many of the elements required for the WCDMA / UMTS network architecture were seen as a migration. This considerably reduced the cost of implementing the UMTS network as many elements were in place or needed upgrading. With one of the major aims of UMTS being to be able to carry data, the UMTS network architecture was designed to enable a considerable improvement in data performance over that provided for GSM.

UMTS network constituents

The UMTS network architecture can be divided into three main elements: 1. User Equipment (UE): The User Equipment or UE is the name given to what was previous termed the mobile, or cellphone. The new name was chosne because the considerably greater functionality that the UE could have. It could also be anything between a mobile phone used for talking to a data terminal attached to a computer with no voice capability. 2. Radio Network Subsystem (RNS): The RNS is the equivalent of the previous Base Station Subsystem or BSS in GSM. It provides and manages the air interface fort he overall network.

3. Core Network: The core network provides all the central processing and management for the system. It is the equivalent of the GSM Network Switching Subsystem or NSS. The core network is then the overall entity that interfaces to external networks including the public phone network and other cellular telecommunications networks.

UMTS Network Architecture Overview

User Equipment, UE
The USER Equipment or UE is a major element of the overall UMTS network architecture. It forms the final interface with the user. In view of the far greater number of applications and facilities that it can perform, the decision was made to call it a user equipment rather than a mobile. However it is essentially the handset (in the broadest terminology), although having access to much higher speed data communications, it can be much more versatile, containing many more applications. It consists of a variety of different elements including RF circuitry, processing, antenna, battery, etc. There are a number of elements within the UE that can be described separately:
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UE RF circuitry: The RF areas handle all elements of the signal, both for the receiver and for the transmitter. One of the major challenges for the RF power amplifier was to reduce the power consumption. The form of modulation used for W-CDMA requires the use of a linear amplifier. These inherently take more current than non linear amplifiers which can be used for the form of modulation used on GSM. Accordingly to maintain

battery life, measures were introduced into many of the designs to ensure the optimum efficiency. Baseband processing: The base-band signal processing consists mainly of digital circuitry. This is considerably more complicated than that used in phones for previous generations. Again this has been optimised to reduce the current consumption as far as possible. Battery: While current consumption has been minimised as far as possible within the circuitry of the phone, there has been an increase in current drain on the battery. With users expecting the same lifetime between charging batteries as experienced on the previous generation phones, this has necessitated the use of new and improved battery technology. Now Lithium Ion (Li-ion) batteries are used. These phones to remain small and relatively light while still retaining or even improving the overall life between charges. Universal Subscriber Identity Module, USIM: The UE also contains a SIM card, although in the case of UMTS it is termed a USIM (Universal Subscriber Identity Module). This is a more advanced version of the SIM card used in GSM and other systems, but embodies the same types of information. It contains the International Mobile Subscriber Identity number (IMSI) as well as the Mobile Station International ISDN Number (MSISDN). Other information that the USIM holds includes the preferred language to enable the correct language information to be displayed, especially when roaming, and a list of preferred and prohibited Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMN). The USIM also contains a short message storage area that allows messages to stay with the user even when the phone is changed. Similarly "phone book" numbers and call information of the numbers of incoming and outgoing calls are stored.

The UE can take a variety of forms, although the most common format is still a version of a "mobile phone" although having many data capabilities. Other broadband dongles are also being widely used.

UMTS Radio Network Subsystem

This is the section of the UMTS / WCDMA network that interfaces to both the UE and the core network. The overall radio access network, i.e. collectively all the Radio Network Subsystem is known as the UTRAN UMTS Radio Access Network. The Radio Network Subsystem comprises two main components:
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Radio Network Controller, RNC: This element of the radio network subsystem controls the Node Bs that are connected to it. The RNC undertakes the radio resource management and some of the mobility management functions, although not all. It is also the point at which the data encryption / decryption is performed to protect the user data from eavesdropping.

Node B: Node B is the term used within UMTS to denote the base station transceiver. It contains the transmitter and receiver to communicate with the UEs within the cell.

In order to facilitate effective handover between Node Bs under the control of different RNCs, the RNC not only communicates with the Core Network, but also with neighbouring RNCs.

UMTS Radio Network Subsystem Architecture

UMTS Core Network

The UMTS core network architecture is a migration of that used for GSM with further elements overlaid to enable the additional functionality demanded by UMTS. In view of the different ways in which data may be carried, the UMTS core network may be split into two different areas:
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Circuit switched elements: These elements are primarily based on the GSM network entities and carry data in a circuit switched manner, i.e. a permanent channel for the duration of the call. Packet switched elements: These network entities are designed to carry packet data. This enables much higher network usage as the capacity can be shared and data is carried as packets which are routed according to their destination.

Some network elements, particularly those that are associated with registration are shared by both domains and operate in the same way that they did with GSM.

UMTS Core Network Circuit switched elements The circuit switched elements of the UMTS core network architecture include the following network entities:
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Mobile switching centre (MSC): This is essentially the same as that within GSM, and it manages the circuit switched calls under way. Gateway MSC (GMSC): This is effectively the interface to the external networks.

Packet switched elements The packet switched elements of the UMTS core network architecture include the following network entities:
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Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN): As the name implies, this entity was first developed when GPRS was introduced, and its use has been carried over into the UMTS network architecture. The SGSN provides a number of functions within the UMTS network architecture. o Mobility management When a UE attaches to the Packet Switched domain of the UMTS Core Network, the SGSN generates MM information based on the mobile's current location. o Session management: The SGSN manages the data sessions providing the required quality of service and also managing what are termed the PDP (Packet data Protocol) contexts, i.e. the pipes over which the data is sent. o Interaction with other areas of the network: The SGSN is able to manage its elements within the network only by communicating with other areas of the network, e.g. MSC and other circuit switched areas.

Billing: The SGSN is also responsible billing. It achieves this by monitoring the flow of user data across the GPRS network. CDRs (Call Detail Records) are generated by the SGSN before being transferred to the charging entities (Charging Gateway Function, CGF). Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN): Like the SGSN, this entity was also first introduced into the GPRS network. The Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) is the central element within the UMTS packet switched network. It handles inter-working between the UMTS packet switched network and external packet switched networks, and can be considered as a very sophisticated router. In operation, when the GGSN receives data addressed to a specific user, it checks if the user is active and then forwards the data to the SGSN serving the particular UE.
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Shared elements The shared elements of the UMTS core network architecture include the following network entities:
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Home location register (HLR): This database contains all the administrative information about each subscriber along with their last known location. In this way, the UMTS network is able to route calls to the relevant RNC / Node B. When a user switches on their UE, it registers with the network and from this it is possible to determine which Node B it communicates with so that incoming calls can be routed appropriately. Even when the UE is not active (but switched on) it re-registers periodically to ensure that the network (HLR) is aware of its latest position with their current or last known location on the network. Equipment identity register (EIR): The EIR is the entity that decides whether a given UE equipment may be allowed onto the network. Each UE equipment has a number known as the International Mobile Equipment Identity. This number, as mentioned above, is installed in the equipment and is checked by the network during registration. Authentication centre (AuC) : The AuC is a protected database that contains the secret key also contained in the user's USIM card.

Summary
The UMTS network architecture is considerably more complicated than any previous core network architectures. It offers considerably greater levels of functionality and the UMTS network has to handle both circuit switched and packet data.

UMTS / WCDMA radio air interface

- the air interface, frequencies and power control used within UMTS or Wideband CDMA, WCDMA, cellular telecommunications system

Physical layer within UMTS / WCDMA is totally different to that employed by GSM. It employs a spread spectrum transmission in the form of CDMA rather than the TDMA transmissions used for GSM. Additionally it currently uses different frequencies to those allocated for GSM.

UMTS Uplink and Downlink

When looking at the radio air interface and its associated properties, it is necessary to define the directions in which the transmissions are occurring. Being a full duplex system, i.e. transmitting simultaneously in both directions, it is necessary to be able to define which direction is which.
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Uplink; This may also sometimes be known as the reverse link, and it is the link from the User Equipment (UE) to the Node B or base station. Downlink; This may also sometimes be known as the forward link, and it is the link from the Node B or base station to the User Equipment (UE).

The terms Uplink and Downlink are the terms that are used with UMTS, and especially within Europe. The terms forward link and reverse link are more commonly used with the CDMA2000 technologies and also within North America.

Uplink and downlink transmission directions

UMTS frequencies
There are currently six bands that are specified for use for UMTS / WCDMA although operation on other frequencies is not precluded. However much of the focus for UMTS is currently on frequency allocations around 2 GHz. At the World Administrative radio Conference in 1992, the bands 1885 - 2025 and 2110 - 2200 MHz were set aside for use on a world wide basis by

administrations wishing to implement International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT2000). The aim was that allocating spectrum on a world wide basis would facilitate easy roaming for UMTS / WCDMA users. Within these bands the portions have been reserved for different uses:
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1920-1980 and 2110-2170 MHz Frequency Division Duplex (FDD, W-CDMA) Paired uplink and downlink, channel spacing is 5 MHz and raster is 200 kHz. An Operator needs 3 - 4 channels (2x15 MHz or 2x20 MHz) to be able to build a high-speed, high-capacity network. 1900-1920 and 2010-2025 MHz Time Division Duplex (TDD, TD/CDMA) Unpaired, channel spacing is 5 MHz and raster is 200 kHz. Transmit and receive transmissions are not separated in frequency. 1980-2010 and 2170-2200 MHz Satellite uplink and downlink.

UMTS carrier frequencies are designated by a UTRA Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (UARFCN). This can be calculated from: UARFCN = 5 x (frequency in MHz) UMTS uses wideband CDMA as the radio transport mechanism. The UMTS channels are spaced by 5 MHz.

Synchronisation
The level of synchronisation required for the WCDMA system to operate is provided from the Primary Synchronisation Channel (P-SCH) and the Secondary Synchronisation Channel (SSCH). These channels are treated in a different manner to the normal channels and as a result they are not spread using the OVSFs and PN codes. Instead they are spread using synchronisation codes. There are two types that are used. The first is called the primary code and is used on the P-SCH, and the second is named a secondary code and is used on the S-SCH. The primary code is the same for all cells and is a 256 chip sequence that is transmitted during the first 256 chips of each time slot. This allows the UE to synchronise with the base station for the time slot. Once the UE has gained time slot synchronisation it only knows the start and stop of the time slot, but it does not know information about the particular time slot, or the frame. This is gained using the secondary synchronisation codes. There is a total of sixteen different secondary synchronisation codes. One code is sent at the beginning of the time slot, i.e. the first 256 chips. It consists of 15 synchronisation codes and there are 64 different scrambling code groups. When received, the UE is able to determine before

which synchronisation code the overall frame begins. In this way the UE is able to gain complete synchronisation. The scrambling codes in the S-SCH also enable the UE to identify which scrambling code is being used and hence it can identify the base station. The scrambling codes are divided into 64 code groups, each having eight codes. This means that after achieving frame synchronisation, the UE only has a choice of one in eight codes and it can therefore try to decode the CPICH channel. Once it has achieved this it is able to read the BCH information and achieve better timing and it is able to monitor the P-CCPCH.

UMTS power control

As with any CDMA system it is essential that the base station receives all the UEs at approximately the same power level. If not, the UEs that are further away will be lower in strength than those closer to the node B and they will not be heard. This effect is often referred to as the near-far effect. To overcome this the node B instructs those stations closer in, to reduce their transmitted power, and those further away to increase theirs. In this way all stations will be received at approximately the same strength. It is also important for node Bs to control their power levels effectively. As the signals transmitted by the different node Bs are not orthogonal to one another it is possible that signals from different ones will interfere. Accordingly their power is also kept to the minimum required by the UEs being served. To achieve the power control there are two techniques that are employed: open loop; and closed loop. Open loop techniques are used during the initial access before communication between the UE and node B has been fully established. It simply operates by making a measurement of the received signal strength and thereby estimating the transmitter power required. As the transmit and receive frequencies are different, the path losses in either direction will be different and therefore this method cannot be any more than a good estimate. Once the UE has accessed the system and is in communication with the node B, closed loop techniques are used. A measurement of the signal strength is taken in each time slot. As a result of this a power control bit is sent requesting the power to be stepped up or down. This process is undertaken on both the up and downlinks. The fact that only one bit is assigned to power control means that the power will be continually changing. Once it has reached approximately the right level then it would step up and then down by one level. In practice the position of the mobile would change, or the path would change as a result of other movements and this would cause the signal level to move, so the continual change is not a problem.

UMTS CDMA technology

- tutorial, or overview of the basics of CDMA, code division multiple access scheme used within UMTS, or Wideband CDMA, WCDMA.

The use of CDMA, code division multiple access, in the form of Wideband CDMA, WCDMA for use with the 3G UMTS telecommunications system marked a distinct change in the type of technology used for the multiple access scheme for a telecommunications system. However it offered many advantages for both users and operators and as a result, it has provided many benefits. The use of CDMA for UMTS and other cellular formats was made possible by the fact that semiconductor technology had moved forward sufficiently. At the time the first cellular technologies were introduced sufficient processing power could be provided to enable the coding and decoding of CDMA to be accomplished within a mobile handset. CDMA as a form of multiple access scheme was first used on the cdmaOne system that was first deployed in the USA in 1995, and has successors that were marketed under the CDMA2000 banner. The use of a CDMA based technology for UMTS represented a further step forward in the use of CDMA.

CDMA for UMTS

The choice of CDMA for use with the third generation, 3G UMTS telecommunications system arose from a variety of technical reasons. It offers significant advantages over the schemes used in the previous 2G systems that were predominantly TDMA based schemes. The main benefits of the use of CDMA as a multiple access scheme are:
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Improved spectral efficiency: The use of CDMA as the multiple access technology, combined with the QPSK modulation format used provides significant improvements in terms of the spectral efficiency. Figures for the performance improvements gained vary considerably dependent upon the conditions, but the scheme gives some significant benefits. Some calculated estimates give figures as high as three or four times that of technologies such as GSM, although in reality the benefits may be a bit less. Adjacent cells may use the same channel frequency: As a result of the way in which spread spectrum signals such as CDMA operate. Improved handover: Within CDMA it is possible to do what is termed a "soft handover" where the UE communicates with two base stations at the same time. This significantly improves handover reliability. Enhanced security: The use of spread spectrum and the multiple spreading codes for CDMA significantly reduces the possibility of eavesdropping, although within GSM eavesdropping of the transmitted signal was not the problem it was for the original analogue systems where anyone with a scanner radio receiver could listen to telephone conversations.

Note on CDMA:

CDMA, Code Division Multiple Access, is a multiple access scheme used by many 3G cellular technologies, and other forms of wireless technology. It uses a process called Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum where spreading codes are used to spread a signal out over a given bandwidth and then reconstituting the data in the receiver by using the same spreading code. By supplying different spreading codes to different users, several users are able to utilises the same frequency without mutual interference. Click on the link for a CDMA tutorial

UMTS CDMA format

The data to be transmitted is encoded using a spreading code particular to a given user. In this way only the desired recipient is able to correlate and decode the signal, all other signals appearing as noise. This allows the physical RF channel to be used by several users simultaneously. The data of a CDMA signal is multiplied with a chip or spreading code to increase the bandwidth of the signal. For WCDMA, each physical channel is spread with a unique and variable spreading sequence. The overall degree of spreading varies to enable the final signal to fill the required channel bandwidth. As the input data rate may vary from one application to the next, so the degree of spreading needs to be varied accordingly. For the downlink the transmitted symbol rate is 3.84 M symbols per second. As the form of modulation used is QPSK this enables two bits of information to be transmitted for every symbol, thereby enabling a maximum data rate of twice the symbol rate or 7.68 Mbps. Therefore if the actual rate of the data to be transmitted is 15 kbps then a spreading factor of 512 is required to bring the signal up to the required chip rate for transmission in the required bandwidth. If the data to be carried has a higher data rate then a lower spreading rate is required to balance this out. It is worth remembering that altering the chip rate does alter the processing gain of the overall system and this needs to be accommodated in the signal processing as well. Higher spreading factors are more easily correlated by the receiver and therefore a lower transmit power can be used for the same symbol error rate. The codes required to spread the signal must be orthogonal if they are to enable multiple users and channels to operate without mutual interference. The codes used in W-CDMA are Orthogonal Variable Spreading Factor (OVSF) codes, and they must remain synchronous to operate. As it is not possible to retain exact synchronisation for this, a second set of scrambling codes is used to ensure that interference does not result. This scrambling code is a pseudo random number (PN) code. Thus there are two stages of spreading. The first using the OSVF

code and the second using a scrambling PN code. These codes are used to provide different levels of separation. The OVSF spreading codes are used to identify the user services in the uplink and user channels in the downlink whereas the PN code is used to identify the individual node B or UE. On the uplink there is a choice of millions of different PN codes. These are processed to include a masked individual code to identify the UE. As a result there are more than sufficient codes to accommodate the number of different UEs likely to access a network. For the downlink a short code is used. There are a total of 512 different codes that can be used, one of which will be assigned to each node B.

Summary
The form of CDMA used within UMTS Wideband CDMA is quite different tot hat sued in the cdmaOne / IS95 and CDMA2000 CDMA formats. It uses different spreading codes and other techniques to ensure that the full orthogonality is retained. In addition to this the bandwidth of the signal is much wider, 5MHz instead of 1.25 MHz. Also the use of Wideband CDMA for UMTS has brought benefits for the user in terms of improved reliability for handover, and also increased bandwidth for many data applications enabling many new applications to be used.

UMTS / WCDMA modulation

- tutorial, or overview of the basics of the UMTS, WCDMA modulation formats or schemes used

The modulation schemes used within the CDMA signal format have been chosen to optimise the performance of the overall UMTS, WCDMA system. One major driver that influenced the choice of the UMTS modulation formats was experience gained from 2G systems. By using a careful choice of modulation scheme it has been possible to overcome the problems experienced in 2G. However there many other requirements that need to be met in addition to this.

UMTS modulation schemes

There are several considerations that were taken into account when making the choice for the overall format for the UMTS WCDMA modulation formats. Some of the considerations were:
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It is necessary to ensure that the data is carried efficiently over the available spectrum, and therefore maximum use is made of the available spectrum, and hence the capacity of the system is maximised.

The modulation scheme should be chosen to ensure that the efficiency of the RF power amplifier in the handset or UE is made as high as possible. By enabling the power amplifier to be maximised, less battery power is consumed for the same transmitted power. As battery power is of particular importance to users, this is a key requirement. The modulation format should be chosen to avoid the audio interference caused to many nearby electronics equipment resulting from the pulsed transmission format used on many 2G systems such as GSM

As the uplink and downlink have different requirements, the exact format for the modulation format used on either direction is slightly different. UMTS modulation schemes for both uplink and downlink, although somewhat different are both based around phase shift keying formats. This provides many advantages over other schemes that could be used in terms of spectral efficiency and other requirements.

Note on PSK:

Phase shift Keying, PSK is a form of modulation used particularly for data transmissions. If offers an effective way of transmitting data. By altering the number of different phase states which can be adopted, the data speeds that can be achieved within a given channel can be increased, but at the cost of lower resilience to noise an interference. Click on the link for a PSK tutorial

Downlink modulation
The UMTS modulation format for the downlink is more straightforward than that used in the uplink. The downlink uses quadrature phase shift keying, QPSK. The QPSK modulation used in the downlink is used with time-multiplexed control and data streams. While time multiplexing would be a problem in the uplink, where the transmission in this format would give rise to interference in local audio systems, this is not relevant for the downlink where the NodeB is sufficiently remote from any local audio related equipment to ensure that interference is not a problem.

Uplink modulation

However the uplink uses two separate channels so that the cycling of the transmitter on and off does not cause interference on the audio lines, a problem that was experienced on GSM. The dual channels (dual channel phase shift keying) are achieved by applying the coded user data to the I or In-phase input to the DQPSK modulator, and control data which has been encoded using a different code to the Q or quadrature input to the modulator.

Summary
While some compromises have been made to the UMTS modulation schemes for uplink and downlink, the overall performance provides an effective solution to meet the requirements for the overall UMTS cellular system.

UMTS / WCDMA channels

- tutorial, or overview of the basics of UMTS / WCDMA logical, physical and transport channels.

The data carried by the UMTS / WCDMA transmissions is organised into frames, slots and channels. In this way all the payload data as well as the control data can be carried in an efficient manner. UMTS uses CDMA techniques (as WCDMA) as its multiple access technology, but it additionally uses time division techniques with a slot and frame structure to provide the full channel structure. A channel is divided into 10 ms frames, each of which has fifteen time slots each of 666 microseconds length. On the downlink the time is further subdivided so that the time slots contain fields that contain either user data or control messages. On the uplink dual channel modulation is used so that both data and control are transmitted simultaneously. Here the control elements contain a pilot signal, Transport Format Combination Identifier (TFCI), FeedBack Information (FBI) and Transmission Power Control (TPC). The channels carried are categorised into three: logical, transport and physical channels. The logical channels define the way in which the data will be transferred, the transport channel along with the logical channel again defines the way in which the data is transferred, the physical channel carries the payload data and govern the physical characteristics of the signal. The channels are organised such that the logical channels are related to what is transported, whereas the physical layer transport channels deal with how, and with what characteristics. The MAC layer provides data transfer services on logical channels. A set of logical channel types is defined for different kinds of data transfer services.

Logical Channels:
Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH), (downlink). This channel broadcasts information to UEs relevant to the cell, such as radio channels of neighbouring cells, etc. Paging Control Channel (PCCH), (downlink). This channel is associated with the PICH and is used for paging messages and notification information. Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH), (up and downlinks) This channel is used to carry dedicated control information in both directions. Common Control Channel (CCCH), (up and downlinks). This bi-directional channel is used to transfer control information. Shared Channel Control Channel (SHCCH), (bi-directional). This channel is bi-directional and only found in the TDD form of WCDMA / UMTS, where it is used to transport shared channel control information. Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH), (up and downlinks). This is a bidirectional channel used to carry user data or traffic. Common Traffic Channel (CTCH), (downlink) A unidirectional channel used to transfer dedicated user information to a group of UEs.

Transport Channels:
Dedicated Transport Channel (DCH), (up and downlink). This is used to transfer data to a particular UE. Each UE has its own DCH in each direction. Broadcast Channel (BCH), (downlink). This channel broadcasts information to the UEs in the cell to enable them to identify the network and the cell. Forward Access Channel (FACH),(down link). This is channel carries data or information to the UEs that are registered on the system. There may be more than one FACH per cell as they may carry packet data. Paging Channel (PCH) (downlink). This channel carries messages that alert the UE to incoming calls, SMS messages, data sessions or required maintenance such as re-registration. Random Access Channel (RACH), (uplink). This channel carries requests for service from UEs trying to access the system

Uplink Common Packet Channel (CPCH), (uplink). This channel provides additional capability beyond that of the RACH and for fast power control. Downlink Shared Channel (DSCH) (downlink).This channel can be shared by several users and is used for data that is "bursty" in nature such as that obtained from web browsing etc.

Physical Channels:
Primary Common Control Physical Channel (PCCPCH) (downlink). This channel continuously broadcasts system identification and access control information. Secondary Common Control Physical Channel (SCCPCH) (downlink) This channel carries the Forward Access Channel (FACH) providing control information, and the Paging Channel (PACH) with messages for UEs that are registered on the network. Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) (uplink). This channel enables the UE to transmit random access bursts in an attempt to access a network. Dedicated Physical Data Channel (DPDCH) (up and downlink). This channel is used to transfer user data. Dedicated Physical Control Channel (DPCCH) (up and downlink). This channel carries control information to and from the UE. In both directions the channel carries pilot bits and the Transport Format Combination Identifier (TFCI). The downlink channel also includes the Transmit Power Control and FeedBack Information (FBI) bits. Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) (downlink). This channel shares control information to UEs within the coverage area of the node B. Physical Common Packet Channel (PCPCH). This channel is specifically intended to carry packet data. In operation the UE monitors the system to check if it is busy, and if not it then transmits a brief access burst. This is retransmitted if no acknowledgement is gained with a slight increase in power each time. Once the node B acknowledges the request, the data is transmitted on the channel. Synchronisation Channel (SCH) The synchronisation channel is used in allowing UEs to synchronise with the network. Common Pilot Channel (CPICH) This channel is transmitted by every node B so that the UEs are able estimate the timing for signal demodulation. Additionally they can be used as a beacon for the UE to determine the best cell with which to communicate.

Acquisition Indicator Channel (AICH) The AICH is used to inform a UE about the Data Channel (DCH) it can use to communicate with the node B. This channel assignment occurs as a result of a successful random access service request from the UE. Paging Indication Channel (PICH) This channel provides the information to the UE to be able to operate its sleep mode to conserve its battery when listening on the Paging Channel (PCH). As the UE needs to know when to monitor the PCH, data is provided on the PICH to assign a UE a paging repetition ratio to enable it to determine how often it needs to 'wake up' and listen to the PCH. CPCH Status Indication Channel (CSICH) This channel, which only appears in the downlink carries the status of the CPCH and may also be used to carry some intermittent, or "bursty" data. It works in a similar fashion to PICH. Collision Detection/Channel Assignment Indication Channel (CD/CA-ICH) This channel, present in the downlink is used to indicate whether the channel assignment is active or inactive to the UE.

UMTS TDD / TD WCDMA

- a summary or tutorial about the basics of UMTS TDD, the time division duplex cellular technology sometimes called TD WCDMA, part of the UMTS 3G system.

UMTS TDD (Universal mobile telecommunications system - time division duplex) is a growing cellular technology. Although UMTS TDD or TD WCDMA is not as widely deployed as the more popular UMTS FDD which is being deployed for the 3G mobile phone systems, UMTS TDD is nevertheless being widely used and providing a viable service for many applications. In particular it is being used to provide mobile broadband data services, and other applications may include its use in providing mobile TV applications. In this way, UMTS is a growing cellular technology which will be far more widely used in the years to come

TDD - time division duplex

A communications system requires that communication is possible in both directions: to and from the base station to the remote station. There are a number of ways in which this can be achieved. The most obvious is to transmit on one frequency and receive on another. The frequency difference between the two transmissions being such that the two signals do not interfere. This is known as frequency division duplex (FDD) and it is one of the most commonly used schemes, and it is used by most cellular schemes. It is also possible to use a single frequency and rather than using different frequency allocations, use different time allocations. If the transmission times are split into slots, then transmissions in

one direction take place in one time slot, and those in the other direction take place in another. It is this scheme that is known as time division duplex, TDD, and it is used for UMTS-TDD.

Note on TDD and FDD duplex schemes:

In order for radio communications systems to be able to communicate in both directions it is necessary to have what is termed a duplex scheme. A duplex scheme provides a way of organizing the transmitter and receiver so that they can transmit and receive. There are several methods that can be adopted. For applications including wireless and cellular telecommunications, where it is required that the transmitter and receiver are able to operate simultaneously, two schemes are in use. One known as FDD or frequency division duplex uses two channels, one for transmit and the other for receiver. Another scheme known as TDD, time division duplex uses one frequency, but allocates different time slots for transmission and reception. Click on the link for more information on TDD FDD duplex schemes

When using a TDD system, there are a number of characteristics that are pertinent for TDD systems. These characteristics need to be accommodated when developing or using TDD systems.
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Utilisation of unpaired bands: Typically there is more traffic in the downlink (network to the mobile) than in the uplink (mobile to network). Accordingly the operator is able to allocate more time to the downlink transmission than the uplink. This is not possible with the paired spectrum required for FDD systems where it is not possible to re-allocate the use of the different bands. As a result of this, it is possible to make very efficient use of the available spectrum. Discontinuous transmission: In any TDD system it is necessary to switch between transit and receive. This takes a certain amount of time. Not only does it take time for the mobile and the base station to change between transmit and receive in terms of ramping up or down the power, along with the settling of any transients. In addition to this the time is required between transmit and receive to accommodate the transmission time between the mobile and the base station. As a result a guard band is required. Uplink / downlink interference: As both uplink and downlink share the same channel there can be interference between the two transmission directions. To overcome this, base stations are synchronised to ensure that they do not transmit when an adjacent base station is receiving, otherwise the better siting and possible higher power level will cause interference. Equivalent conditions for uplink and downlink: As both uplink and downlink use the same channel, they are subject to the same propagation conditions. With FDD systems using different frequencies for the uplink and downlink there are significant differences. By using the same frequency fading conditions can be counteracted more effectively.

UMTS TDD / FDD comparison

While UMTS TDD and UMTS FDD are both specified in the same standard and share very many properties, there are naturally some differences.

Parameter

UMTS TDD CDMA FDD 5 MHz

UMTS FDD

Multiple access method TDMA, CDMA Duplex method Channel spacing Carrier chip rate Time slot structure Frame length (ms) Multirate concept TDD 5 MHz[1] 3.84 Mcps 15 / 14 slots / frame 10 Multicode, multislot and OVSF[2] (1) traffic bursts (2) random access burst (3) synchronisation burst Coherent based on midamble

3.84 Mcps 15 slots / frame 10 Multicode, and OVSF[2]

Burst types

N/A

Detection

Coherent based on pilot symbols

Dedicated channel power control

Uplink: open loop 100 Hz or Fast closed loop 1500 Hz 200 Hz rate Downlink: closed loop max 800 rate Hz rate 1 .. 16 4 .. 512

Spreading factors

Notes [1] for TD-SCDMA the channel spacing is 1.6 MHz [2] OVSF = Orthogonal variable Spreading Factor

UMTS TDD within 3GPP

All the standards for UMTS 3G systems have been defined under the auspices of 3GPP - the third generation partnership project. The standards not only define the FDD systems, but also the TDD system. In these specifications, it was the original intent of UMTS that the TDD spectrum would be used to provide high data rates in selected areas forming what could be termed 3G hot zones.

UMTS TDD details

UMTS TDD uses many of the same basic parameters as UMTS FDD. The same 5 MHz channel bandwidths are used. UMTS TDD also uses direct sequence spread spectrum and different users and what can be termed "logical channels" are separated using different spreading codes. Only when the receiver uses the same code in the correlation process, is the data recovered. In WCDMA all other logical channels using different spreading codes appear as noise on the channel and ultimately limit the capacity of the system. In UMTS TDD, a scheme known as multi user detection (MUD) is employed in the receiver and improves the removal of the interfering codes, allowing higher data rates and capacity. In addition to the separation of users by using different logical channels as a result of the different spreading codes, further separation between users may be provided by allocating different time slots. There are 15 time slots in UMTS TDD. Of these, three are used for overhead such as signalling, etc and this leaves twelve time slots for user traffic. In each timeslot there can be 16 codes. Capacity is allocated to users on demand, using a two dimensional matrix of timeslots and codes. In order for UMTS TDD to achieve the best overall performance, the transport format, i.e. the modulation and forward error correction can be altered for each user. The schemes are chosen by the network, and will depend on the signal characteristics in both directions. Higher order forms of modulation enable higher data speeds to be accommodated, but they are less resilient to noise and interference, and this means that the higher data rate modulation schemes are only used when signal strengths are high. Additionally the levels of forward error correction can be changed. When errors are likely, i.e. when signal strengths are low or interference levels are high, Similarly higher levels of forward error correction are needed under low require additional data to be sent and this slows the payload transfer rate. Thus it is possible to achieve much higher data transfer rates when signals are strong and interference levels are low.

Spectrum allocations for UMTS TDD

Standard allocations of radio spectrum have been made for 3G telecommunications systems in most countries around the globe. In Europe and many other areas spectrum has been allocated for UMTS FDD between 1920MHz to 1980MHz and 2110MHz to 2170MHz. For UMTS TDD spectrum is primarily located between 1900MHz and 1920MHz and between 2010MHz and 2025MHz. In addition to this there are some other allocations around 3 GHz.

UMTS TDD performance

UMTS TDD is able to support high peak data rates. Release 5 of the UMTS standard provides HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access). The scheme allows the use of a higher order modulation scheme called 16-QAM (16 point quadrature amplitude modulation), which enables peak rates of 10 Mbps per sector in commercial deployments. The next release increases the modulation to 64-QAM, and introduces intercell interference cancellation (called Generalized MUD) and MIMO (multiple in, multiple out). In combination, these increase the peak rate to 31 Mbps per sector.

Future
UMTS TDD or TD WCDMA, while not as widely deployed as UMTS FDD nevertheless offers significant advantages for a number of applications. While currently being used for mobile broadband, this cellular technology is also being considered for use with providing mobile TV services, and in addition to this there are many other data applications for which this cellular technology could be used in a field where new methods of transport are always being sought.

3G TD-SCDMA Tutorial
- overview or tutorial of the basics of TD-SCDMA, the 3G UMTS TDD system that has been widely deployed in China.

TD-SCDMA is an additional TDD version of UMTS. Devised in China, the system provides a number of advantages in several applications. TD-SCDMA has been adopted as a 3G standard by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and it is part of the 3GPP UMTS system being defined in the 3GPP standards. Much of the initial work for the system was undertaken by the China Academy of Telecommunications Technology (CATT). Apart from the advantages of the basoc TDD approach, TD-SCDMA is able to support IP services, and it has been designed to incorporate new technologies such as joint detection, adaptive antennas, and dynamic channel allocation

While similar in many was to UMTS TDD, TD-SCDMA is has a number of differences and handsets for the two systems would not be compatible unless the capability for both systems was specifically built in to them.

TD-SCDMA basics
One of the key elements of TD-SCDMA is the fact that it uses a TDD, Time Division Duplex approach. As seen with UMTS TDD this has advantages in a number of areas, enabling the balance to be changed between uplink and downlink to accommodate the different levels of data transfer. It also has advantages in terms of using unpaired spectrum, spectrum efficiency for certain loads and it does not require expensive diplexers in the handsets to enable simultaneous transmission on the uplink and downlink, although transmit / receive switching times must be accommodated and can reduce the efficiency of the system.

Note on TDD and FDD duplex schemes:

In order for radio communications systems to be able to communicate in both directions it is necessary to have what is termed a duplex scheme. A duplex scheme provides a way of organizing the transmitter and receiver so that they can transmit and receive. There are several methods that can be adopted. For applications including wireless and cellular telecommunications, where it is required that the transmitter and receiver are able to operate simultaneously, two schemes are in use. One known as FDD or frequency division duplex uses two channels, one for transmit and the other for receiver. Another scheme known as TDD, time division duplex uses one frequency, but allocates different time slots for transmission and reception. Click on the link for more information on TDD FDD duplex schemes

As a further advantage, TD-SCDMA uses the same RAN as that used for UMTS. In this way it is possible to run TD-SCDMA alongside UMTS, and thereby simplifying multi-system designs. Although UMTS (W-CDMA) and cdma2000 are widely recognized as 3G cellular standards, TD-SCDMA is equally valid. In fact it has been adopted as the low chip rate (LCR) version of the 3GPP TDD standard.

TD-SDCMA specification overview

The TD-SCDMA standard provides many advantages. As already mentioned it has many similarities to W-CDMA, although a summary of the basic features and specification is given below:
Characteristic Bandwidth Chip rate per carrier Spectrum spreading mode Modulation Channel coding Interleaving 1.6 MHz 1.28 Mcps DS SF=1/2/4/8/16 QPSK Convolutional codes: R=1/2,1/3 Turbo implemented 10/20/40/80 ms Super frame 720ms,Radio frame 10ms Subframe 5 ms 1/2 chip 48 25Erl./MHz 1.971Mbps Figure

Frame structure

Uplink synchronisation Number of voice channels per carrier Spectrum Efficiency Total transmission rate provided by each carrier

Summary
While TD-SCDMA is not a contender to compete with W-CDMA it is being used widely in China, being a "home developed" system there. Its deployment has also meant that the LTE system specifications and standards have been developed to accommodate TDD variants that can be an evolution for TD-SCDMA.

UMTS WCDMA handover or handoff

- tutorial, overview of the basics of handover or handoff within UMTS detailing hard handover, soft handover, softer handover and inter-RAT UMTS GSM handover.

Handover or handoff is as important for UMTS as any other form of cellular telecommunications system. As with any other cellular telecommunications system it is essential that UMTS handover is performed seamlessly so that the user is not aware of any change. Any failures within the UMTS handover (or UMTS handoff) procedure will lead to dropped calls which will in turn result in user dissatisfaction and ultimately it may lead to users changing networks, thereby increasing the churn rate. It is worth noting that the two terms UMTS handover and UMTS handoff have the same meaning. UMTS handover tends is the terminology that tends to be used within Europe, whereas UMTS handoff is more likely to be used within North America.

UMTS handover types

Within UMTS it is possible to define a number of different types of UMTS handover or handoff. With the advent of generic CDMA technology, new possibilities for effecting more reliable forms of handover became possible, and as a result one of a variety of different forms of handover are available depending upon the different circumstances. For purely inter W-CDMA technology, there are three basic types of handover:
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Hard handover: This form of handover is essentially the same as that used for 2G networks where one link is broken and another established. Soft handover: This form of handover is a more gradual and the UE communicates simultaneously with more than one Node B or base station during the handover process. Softer handover: Not a full form of UMTS handover, but the UE communicates with more than one sector managed by the same NodeB. UMTS GSM inter RAT handover: This form of handover occurs when mobiles have to change between Radio Access Technologies.

Each of the different types of handover is used on different occasions dependent upon the conditions. Further details of each type of UMTS handover are given in the individual sections below.

UMTS hard handover

The name hard handover indicates that there is a "hard" change during the handover process. For hard handover the radio links are broken and then re-established. Although hard handover should appear seamless to the user, there is always the possibility that a short break in the connection may be noticed by the user. The basic methodology behind a hard handover is relatively straightforward. There are a number of basic stages of a hard handover: 1. The network decides a handover is required dependent upon the signal strengths of the existing link, and the strengths of broadcast channels of adjacent cells. 2. The link between the existing NodeB and the UE is broken. 3. A new link is established between the new NodeB and the UE. Although this is a simplification of the process, it is basically what happens. The major problem is that any difficulties in re-establishing the link will cause the handover to fail and the call or connection to be dropped. UMTS hard handovers may be used in a number of instances:
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When moving from one cell to an adjacent cell that may be on a different frequency. When implementing a mode change, e.g. from FDD to TDD mode, for example. When moving from one cell to another where there is no capacity on the existing channel, and a change to a new frequency is required.

One of the issues facing UMTS hard handovers was also experienced in GSM. When usage levels are high, the capacity of a particular cell that a UE is trying to enter may be insufficient to support a new user. To overcome this, it may be necessary to reserve some capacity for new users. This may be achieved by spreading the loading wherever possible - for example UEs that can receive a sufficiently strong signal from a neighbouring cell may be transferred out as the original cell nears its capacity level.

UMTS soft handover

Soft handover is a form of handover that was enabled by the introduction of CDMA. Soft handover occurs when a UE is in the overlapping coverage area of two cells. Links to the two base stations can be established simultaneously and in this way the UE can communicate with two base stations. By having more than one link active during the handover process, this provides a more reliable and seamless way in which to perform handover. In view of the fact that soft handover uses several simultaneous links, it means that the adjacent cells must be operating on the same frequency or channel as UEs do not have multiple transmitters and receivers that would be necessary if they were on different frequencies.

When the UE and NodeB undertake a soft handover, the UE receives signals from the two NodeBs and combines them using the RAKE receiver capability available in the signal processing of the UE. In the uplink the situation is more complicated as the signal combining cannot be accomplished in the NodeB as more than one NodeB is involved. Instead, combining is accomplished on a frame by frame basis. The best frames are selected after each interleaving period. The selection is accomplished by using the outer loop power control algorithm which measures the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the received uplink signals. This information is then used to select the best quality frame. Once the soft handover has been completed, the links to the old NodeB are dropped and the UE continues to communicate with the new NodeB. As can be imagined, soft handover uses a higher degree of the network resources than a normal link, or even a hard handover. However this is compensated by the improved reliability and performance of the handover process. However with around 5 to 10% of handovers falling into this category, network operators need to account for it.

Note on the RAKE receiver: A RAKE receiver is a form of radio receiver that has been made feasible in many areas by the use of digital signal processing, DSP. It is often used to overcome the effects of multipath propagation. It achieves this by using several sub-receivers known as "fingers" which are given a particular multipath component. Each finger then processes its component and decodes it. The resultant outputs from the fingers are then combined to provide the maximum contribution from each path. In this way rake receivers and multipath propagation can be used to improve the signal to noise performance.

UMTS softer handover

A form of handover referred to as softer handover is really a special form of soft handover. It is a form of soft handover that occurs when the new radio links that are added are from the same NodeB. This occurs when several sectors may be served from the same NodeB, thereby simplifying the combining as it can be achieved within the NodeB and not require linking further back into the network. UMTS softer handover is only possible when a UE can hear the signals from two sectors served by the same NodeB. This may occur as a result of the sectors overlapping, or more commonly as a result of multipath propagation resulting from reflections from buildings, etc.

In the uplink, the signals received by the NodeB, the signals from the two sectors can be routed to the same RAKE receiver and then combined to provide an enhanced signal. In the downlink, it is a little more complicated because the different sectors of the NodeB use different scrambling codes. To overcome this, different fingers of the RAKE receiver apply the appropriate de-spreading or de-scrambling codes to the received signals. Once this has been done, they can be combined as before. In view of the fact that a single transmitter is used within the UE, only one power control loop is active. This may not be optimal for all instances but it simplifies the hardware and general operation.

Inter-RAT / Intersystem UMTS / GSM handover

In many instances it is necessary for the UMTS radio access network to handover to the 2G GSM network. These handovers are given a variety of names including Inter-RAT handover as they are handing over between different forms of Radio Access Technology, Intersystem Handover, and UMTS / GSM Handover. These handovers may be required for one of a variety of reasons including:
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Limited UMTS coverage UMTS network busy whereas spare capacity is available on GSM network

The most common form of intersystem or inter-RAT handover is between UMTS and GSM. There are two different types of inter-RAT handover:
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UMTS to GSM handover: There are two further divisions of this category of handover: Compressed mode handover: Using compressed mode handover the UE uses the gaps in transmission that occur to analyse the reception of local GSM base stations. The UE uses the neighbour list provided by the UMTS network to monitor and select a suitable candidate base station. Having selected a suitable base station the handover takes place, but without any time synchronisation having occurred. o Blind handover: This form of handover occurs when the base station hands off the UE by passing it the details of the new cell to the UE without linking to it and setting the timing, etc of the mobile for the new cell. In this mode, the network selects what it believes to be the optimum GSM based station. The UE first locates the broadcast channel of the new cell, gains timing synchronisation and then carries out non-synchronised intercell handover. Handover from GSM to UMTS : This form of handover is supported within GSM and a "neighbour list" was established to enable this occur easily. As the GSM / 2G network is normally more extensive than the 3G network, this type of handover does not normally occur when the UE leaves a coverage area and must quickly find a new base station to
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maintain contact. The handover from GSM to UMTS occurs to provide an improvement in performance and can normally take place only when the conditions are right. The neighbour list will inform the UE when this may happen.

UMTS handover methodology

The decisions about handover are generally handled by the RNC. It continually monitors information regarding the signals being received by both the UE and NodeB and when a particular link has fallen below a given level and another better radio channel is available, it initiates a handover. As part of this monitoring process, the UE measures the Received Signal Code Power (RSCP) and Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and the information is then returned to the node B and hence to the RNC on the uplink control channel.

Summary
It is essential that handover is performed seamlessly and the user does not notice and breaks or worse still experiences and lost calls. The methods available for UMTS handover or handoff provide additional means that enable more reliable handovers to be achieved. This improvement in performance is able to retain customer satisfaction and keep levels of churn as low as possible.