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Basic Principles of WCDMA System

Copyright 2004 Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

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Basic Principles of WCDMA System

Index

Index
Chapter 1 WCDMA System Overview ............................................................
1.1 Development of Mobile Communications .............................................
1.1.1 Standardization Organizations...................................................
1.1.2 3G Evolution Policies ................................................................
1.2 Types and Differences of 3G Systems.................................................
1.2.1 Origin of the Multiple Systems ...................................................
1.2.2 RTT Technical Proposal ............................................................
1.2.3 Technical Merge........................................................................
1.2.4 Comparison Among the Three Major Technical Systems ...........
1.3 3G Frequency Spectrum......................................................................
Chapter 2 WCDMA Services...........................................................................
2.1 Overview.............................................................................................
2.1.1 Categories of 3G Services.........................................................
2.1.2 Features of 3G Services............................................................
2.2 Details of Typical 3G Services .............................................................
2.2.1 CAMEL Phase 3 Intelligent Service ...........................................
2.2.2 Location Services......................................................................
2.2.3 Multimedia Service....................................................................
2.2.4 Other Typical Services ..............................................................
2.3 Brief Introduction to the Implementation of Typical 3G Services ...........
2.3.1 CAMEL Phase 3 Intelligent Service ...........................................
2.3.2 LCS...........................................................................................
2.3.3 MMS Service.............................................................................
Chapter 3 WCDMA System Structure ............................................................
3.1 Overview.............................................................................................
3.1.1 Composition of the UMTS Network System ...............................
3.2 Basic Structure of UTRAN ...................................................................
3.2.1 System Interfaces .....................................................................
3.2.2 Basic Protocol Structure of UTRAN Interfaces ...........................
3.2.3 Functions Implemented by UTRAN............................................
3.2.4 RNC (Radio Network Controller)................................................
3.2.5 Node B......................................................................................
3.3 Basic Structure of the Core Network ....................................................
3.3.1 Structure and Interfaces of the R99 Network..............................
3.3.2 Structure and Interface of the R4 Network .................................
3.3.3 Structure and Interface of the R5 Network .................................
Chapter 4 Key Technology of WCDMA..........................................................
4.1 RAKE Receiver ...................................................................................
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4.2 CDMA RF and IF Designing Principles ................................................


4.2.1 CDMA RF and IF Architecture ...................................................
4.2.2 CDMA RF Designing Performance and Considerations .............
4.2.3 Digital IF Technology.................................................................
4.3 Diversity Reception Principle ...............................................................
4.4 Channel Coding...................................................................................
4.4.1 Convolution Code......................................................................
4.4.2 Turbo Code...............................................................................
4.5 Multi-User Detection Technology .........................................................
Chapter 5 WCDMA Radio Interface Technology ...........................................
5.1 Overview of the WCDMA Radio Interface ............................................
5.1.1 Protocol Structure of Radio Interfaces .......................................
5.1.2 Spreading Spectrum and Scrambling.........................................
5.2 Logical Channel...................................................................................
5.3 Transport Channel...............................................................................
5.3.1 Types of Transport Channels.....................................................
5.3.2 Dedicated Transport Channel ....................................................
5.3.3 Common Transport Channel .....................................................
5.3.4 Indicator....................................................................................
5.3.5 Mapping from the Logical Channel to the Transport Channel .....
5.4 Physical Channel.................................................................................
5.4.1 Relevant Concepts of the Physical Channel...............................
5.4.2 Architecture of the Uplink Physical Channel...............................
5.4.3 Structure of the Downlink Physical Channel...............................
5.4.4 Mapping from the Transport Channels and Physical Channels...
5.4.5 Spreading and Modulation of Physical Channels .......................
5.5 Physical layer Procedures ...................................................................
5.5.1 Synchronous Procedure ............................................................
5.5.2 Paging Procedure .....................................................................
5.5.3 Random Access Procedure .......................................................
5.5.4 Access Procedure of the CPCH.................................................
5.5.5 Downlink Transmit Diversity ......................................................
Chapter 6 Basic Signaling Procedures..........................................................
6.1 Overview.............................................................................................
6.1.1 Types of Signaling Procedures ..................................................
6.1.2 General Introduction..................................................................
6.2 UE State and Paging Procedure ..........................................................
6.2.1 UE State ...................................................................................
6.2.2 Paging Procedure .....................................................................
6.3 UE in the Idle Mode.............................................................................
6.3.1 Overview...................................................................................
6.3.2 PLMN Selection and Reselection...............................................
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Index

6.3.3 Cell Selection and Reselection ..................................................


6.3.4 Location Registration.................................................................
6.4 Radio Resource Management Procedures...........................................
6.4.1 RRC Connection Setup Procedure ............................................
6.4.2 Signaling Setup Procedure ........................................................
6.4.3 RAB Establishment Procedure ..................................................
6.4.4 Call Release Procedure.............................................................
6.4.5 Handover Procedure .................................................................
6.4.6 SRNS Relocation ......................................................................
6.5 CS Domain Mobility Management Procedures .....................................
6.5.1 Location Update ........................................................................
6.5.2 Detachment...............................................................................
6.5.3 Identification..............................................................................
6.5.4 Purge ........................................................................................
6.5.5 Authentication Procedure ..........................................................
6.5.6 Secure Mode Control ................................................................
6.5.7 TMSI Reallocation.....................................................................
6.5.8 Combined Location Update .......................................................
6.6 PS Domain Mobility Management Procedures .....................................
6.6.1 MM Function Overview..............................................................
6.6.2 Mobility Management State .......................................................
6.6.3 Association Between SGSN and MSC/VLR ...............................
6.6.4 Combined GPRS/IMSI Attach Procedure...................................
6.6.5 Detach Procedures....................................................................
6.6.6 Security Procedure (Authentication & Ciphering) .......................
6.6.7 Location Management (Routing Area Update) ...........................
6.6.8 Service Request........................................................................
6.7 Call Control .........................................................................................
6.7.1 Mobile-originated Call Setup......................................................
6.7.2 Mobile-terminated Call Setup.....................................................
6.7.3 RAB Procedure .........................................................................
6.7.4 Paging Procedure .....................................................................
6.7.5 Call Release Procedure.............................................................
6.8 PS Domain Session Management Procedures.....................................
6.8.1 Basic Concepts of Session Management...................................
6.8.2 PDP Context Activation .............................................................
6.8.3 PDP Context Modification..........................................................
6.8.4 PDP Context Deactivation .........................................................
6.8.5 Reservation Procedure and RAB Reestablishment ....................
Chapter 7 Radio Network Planning for WCDMA ...........................................
7.1 Overview.............................................................................................
7.2 3G Network Planning Procedure..........................................................
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7.3 3G Radio Network Antenna .................................................................


7.3.1 Introduction ...............................................................................
7.3.2 3G Network Structure................................................................
7.3.3 3G Radio Network Typical Antennas .........................................
7.3.4 3G Smart Antenna (SA).............................................................
7.4 3G Handover Design ...........................................................................
7.4.1 Introduction ...............................................................................
7.4.2 Measurement Procedures .........................................................
7.4.3 Co-frequency Handover ............................................................
7.4.4 Handover between WCDMA System and GSM System .............
7.4.5 Inter-frequency Handover in WCDMA........................................
7.4.6 Handover Design ......................................................................
7.5 WCDMA Power Control Planning ........................................................
7.5.1 Introduction ...............................................................................
7.5.2 Principles of Power Control Implementation...............................
7.5.3 Planning of the Power Control Parameters ................................
7.6 WCDMA Radio Network Structure and Resource Planning ..................
7.6.1 Basic Network Structure ............................................................
7.6.2 Hierarchical Network Structure ..................................................
7.6.3 Mobility Management ................................................................
7.6.4 Factors Affecting the Network Structure.....................................
7.6.5 Radio Resource Planning..........................................................
7.7 3G Network Capacity Estimation .........................................................
7.7.1 Introduction ...............................................................................
7.7.2 Downlink Orthogonal Code........................................................
7.7.3 Link Budget ...............................................................................
7.7.4 Capacity and Coverage Analysis ...............................................
7.7.5 Soft Capacity.............................................................................
7.7.6 Planning Conclusion..................................................................
Chapter 8 WCDMA Network Management System........................................
8.1 Overview.............................................................................................
8.2 NMS Basic Principle............................................................................
8.2.1 Introduction to the TMN .............................................................
8.2.2 Introduction to the TOM Model ..................................................
8.2.3 Introduction to the WCDMA NMS ..............................................
8.3 Introduction to the Service Features of the 3G NMS ............................
8.3.1 Performance Management ........................................................
8.3.2 Roaming Agreement Management ............................................
8.3.3 Fraud Management ...................................................................
8.3.4 Configuration Management .......................................................
8.3.5 Fault Management ....................................................................
8.3.6 Accounting Management...........................................................
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8.3.7 Software Management ..............................................................


8.3.8 Security Management................................................................
8.3.9 QoS Management .....................................................................
8.4 Introduction to Common NMS Interfaces .............................................
8.4.1 Reference Models for Common NMS interfaces ........................
8.4.2 Common NMS Interfaces ..........................................................
Chapter 9 WCDMA Billing System .................................................................
9.1 WCDMA CS Domain Billing Principles.................................................
9.1.1 WCDMA CS Domain Billing Architecture ...................................
9.1.2 Billing Data Generated by MSC/MSC Server .............................
9.2 Billing Principles of WCDMA PS Domain .............................................
9.2.1 WCDMA PS Domain Billing System Architecture .......................
9.2.2 Billing Data Generated by GSN .................................................
9.2.3 CGF ..........................................................................................
9.2.4 Billing Center.............................................................................
9.2.5 GTP' Protocol............................................................................
Chapter 10 Huawei WCDMA Network Solution .............................................
10.1 Overview of WCDMA Evolution .........................................................
10.1.1 Overview of Standard Evolution...............................................
10.1.2 Network Construction Solutions...............................................
10.2 Total Network Solution.......................................................................
10.2.1 CS Domain Construction Solution............................................
10.2.2 PS Domain Construction Solution............................................
10.2.3 NMS Solution ..........................................................................
10.2.4 Signaling Network Solution......................................................
10.3 Internetworking Solution ....................................................................
10.3.1 Numbering Plan ......................................................................
10.3.2 Gateway Exchange Solution....................................................
10.3.3 Echo Canceller (EC) Configuration Solution.............................
10.3.4 Routing Mode..........................................................................
10.3.5 R4 Interworking .......................................................................

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Basic Principles of WCDMA System

WCDMA System Overview

Chapter 1 WCDMA System Overview


1.1 Development of Mobile Communications
Up till now the modern mobile communication has experienced two generations and
evolved into the third generation that is ongoing with pre-commercialization. Many
manufacturers have already carried out their commercial trials in Europe and Asia.
The first generation is the analog cellular mobile communication network in the time
period from the middle of 1970s to the middle of 1980s. The most important
breakthrough in this period is the concept of cellular networks put forward by the Bell
Labs in the 1970s, as compared to the former mobile communication systems. The
cellular network system is based on cells to implement frequency reuse and thus
greatly enhances the system capacity.
The typical examples of the first generation mobile communication systems are the
AMPS system and the later enhanced TACS of USA, the NMT and the NTT. The AMPS
(Advanced Mobile Phone System) uses the 800 MHz band of the analog cellular
transmission system and it is widely applied in North America, South America and
some Circum-Pacific countries. The TACS (Total Access Communication System) uses
the 900 MHz band and includes two versions: ETACS (Enhanced TACS) in Europe and
NTACS (Narrowband TACS) in Japan. It is widely applied in Britain, Japan and some
Asian countries.
The main feature of the first generation mobile communication systems is that they use
the frequency reuse technology, adopt analog modulation for voice signals and provide
an analog subscriber channel every other 30 kHz/25 kHz. However, their defects are
also obvious:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

Low utilization of the frequency spectrum


Limited types of services
No high-speed data services
Poor confidentiality and high vulnerability to interception and number
embezzlement
High equipment cost
Large volume and big weight

To solve these fundamental technical defects of the analog systems, the digital mobile
communication technologies emerged and the second generation mobile
communication systems represented by GSM and IS-95 came into being in the middle
of 1980s. The typical examples of the second generation cellular mobile
communication systems are the DAMPS of USA, the IS-95 and the European GSM
system.
The GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is originated from Europe.
Designed as the TDMA standard for mobile digital cellular communications, it supports
the 64 kbps data rate and can interconnect with the ISDN. It uses the 900 MHz band
while the DCS1800 system uses the 1800 MHz band. The GSM system uses the FDD
and TDMA modes and each carrier supports eight channels with the signal bandwidth
of 200 kHz.
The DAMPS (Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System) is also called the IS-54 (North
America Digital Cellular System). Using the 800 MHz bandwidth, it is the earlier of the
two North America digital cellular standards and specifies the use of the TDMA mode.
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WCDMA System Overview

The IS-95 standard is another digital cellular standard of North America. Using the 800
MHz or 1900 MHz band, it specifies the use of the CDMA mode and has already
become the first choice among the technologies of American PCS (Personal
Communication System) networks.
Since the 2G mobile communication systems focus on the transmission of voice and
low-speed data services, the 2.5G mobile communication systems emerged in 1996 to
address the medium-rate data transmission needs. These systems include GPRS and
IS-95B.
The CDMA system has a very large capacity that is equivalent to ten or even twenty
times that of the analog systems. It also has good compatibility with the analog systems.
Currently some countries and regions such as USA, Korea and Hong Kong have put
the CDMA system into operation to provide services for subscribers. As the
narrowband CDMA technologies come into maturity at a time later than the GSM
technologies, their application far lags behind the GSM ones and currently they have
only found large-scale commercial applications in North America, Korea and China.
The major services of mobile communications are currently still voice services and
low-speed data services. With the development of networks, data and multimedia
communications have also witnessed rapid development; therefore, the target of the
3G mobile communication is to implement broadband multimedia communication.
The 3G mobile communication systems are a kind of communication system that can
provide multiple kinds of high quality multimedia services and implement global
seamless coverage and global roaming. They are compatible with the fixed networks
and can implement any kind of communication at any time and any place with portable
terminals.
Put forward in 1985 by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union), the 3G mobile
communication system was called the FPLMTS (Future Public Land Mobile
Telecommunication System) and was later renamed as IMT-2000 (International Mobile
Telecommunication-2000). The major systems include WCDMA, cdma2000 and
UWC-136. On November 5, 1999, the 18th conference of ITU-R TG8/1 passed the
Recommended Specification of Radio Interfaces of IMT-2000 and the TD-SCDMA
technologies put forward by China were incorporated into the IMT-2000 CDMA TDD
part of the technical specification. This showed that the work of the TG8/1 in formulating
the technical specifications of radio interfaces in 3G mobile communication systems
had basically come into an end and the development and application of the 3G mobile
communication systems would enter a new and essential phase.

1.1.1 Standardization Organizations


The standardization of 3G mobile communication systems are in fact pushed forward
and implemented by two standardization organizations: 3GPP (3rd Generation Partner
Project) and 3GPP2.
Established in December 1998, the 3GPP is composed of the European ETSI, the
Japanese ARIB, the Korean TTA and the American T1. It adopts the WCDMA
technologies of Europe and Japan to construct a new radio access network and
smoothly evolves a core switching network from the existing GSM mobile switching
network to provide more diversified services. The UTRA (Universal Terrestrial Radio
Access) is used as the radio interface standard.
In January 1999, the 3GPP2 composed of the American TIA, the Japanese ARIB and
the Korean TTA also formally came into being. The cdma2000 and UWC-136
technologies are applied for radio access and the cdma2000 technologies adopt the
Qualcomm patents to a large extent. ANSI/IS-41 is used for the core network.
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WCDMA System Overview

One formal member of the above two standardization organizations is the China
Wireless Telecommunications Standard Group (CWTS) and two Chinese companies
(Huawei and Datang) are two independent members of the 3GPP organization.

1.1.2 3G Evolution Policies


In general, the evolution policies formulated by 3GPP and 3GPP2 are progressive. This
has the following benefits:
l
l

Guaranteeing the existing investment and operators benefits


Facilitating the smooth transition of the existing technologies

From the perspective of development, the process of evolution from the existing 2G
mobile communication systems to the IMT-2000 is a vital issue. It relates to the reuse of
the existing networks (the construction of new networks should not be the optimal
solution) and the development of multiple 2G digital network systems towards the same
standard.

1. Policies of evolution from GSM to WCDMA


The policies of evolution from GSM to WCDMA should be as follows: The present GSM
HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data at the rates from 14.4 kbps to 64 kbps)
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service at the rate of 144 kbps) Smooth seamless
evolution from the network service coverage ultimately to IMT-2000 WCDMA (DS).
1)

HSCSD: High Speed Circuit Switched Data

HSCSD is a feature to allocate multiple full-rate voice channels to the HSCSD structure.
Its purpose is to provide the mixture of multiple services at different air interface
subscriber rates with the single physical layer structure. Its benefits lie in the higher
data rates (up to 64 kbps; the maximum data rate depends on the manufacturers) and
the use of the existing GSM data technologies by slightly modifying the GSM system.

GPRS: General Packet Radio Service


The major benefits of GPRS are as follows:
l
Standard radio packet switching Internet/Intranet access applicable to all the
places of GSM coverage
l
Variable peak data rate that ranges from several bits per second to 171.2 kbps
(the maximum data rate depends on the manufacturers)
l
Charging by the actual data volume: This charging method enables the
subscribers to pay the cost of the actual data volume transmitted while remaining
online all the days
l
Support for the existing services and new application services
l
Packetization over the radio interfaces to optimize the sharing of radio resources
l
Packet switching technology to optimize the sharing of network resources
l
Capability of extension to the future radio protocols
Based on the existing GSM part, the packet switching GPRS network architecture has
the new network function part:
3) WCDMA: Wideband Code Division Multi Access
The WCDMA has become a new mature technology aiming at the UMTS/IMT-2000. It
can satisfy all the requirements listed by the ITU to provide very effective high-speed
data services and high quality voice and image services. In the process of evolution
from GSM to WCDMA, only the core network part is smoothly evolved. As the change
of the air interface is revolutionary, so is the evolution of the radio access network part.
2)

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2. Policies of evolution from IS-95 to cdma2000


After the IS-95A (at the rates of 9.6/14.4 kbps) is evolved to the IS-95B (at the rate of
115.2 kbps) and ultimately to cdma2000 1X, the system can provide higher capacity
and a higher data rate (144kbps) and can support the burst mode as well as adding
new supplemental channels. The cdma2000 1X EV with enhanced technologies can
provide higher performances.
The IS-95B is different from the IS-95A in that multiple channels can be bound in the
IS-95B system. These two are basically the same in essence can they can coexist in
the same carrier. In contrast, the cdma2000 1X has greater improvements and its
system equipment can support 1X terminals and IS-95A/B terminals simultaneously.
Therefore, these three systems (IS-95A/IS-95B/1X) can coexist in the same carrier. For
the cdma2000 system, the gradual replacement method can be applied in the transition
from 2G systems to 3G systems. In other words, one carrier of the 2G systems can be
compressed to become a 3G carrier to provide the services of medium and higher rates
to the subscribers. As the 3G systems have more and more subscribers, the number of
carriers used in the 2G systems can be gradually reduced while more carriers can be
added to the 3G systems. Through this kind of smooth upgrading, the network
operators can not only provide various latest serves to the subscribers but also well
protect the investment of the existing equipment.
In the process of evolution to the 3G systems, the evolution of such wireless equipment
as BTS and BSC deserves special attention. The protection of operators investment
has been fully taken into account in the formulation of the cdma2000 standard and
many radio indices of the 3G systems are the same as in the 2G systems. From the
point of view of the BTS, the radio parts such as antenna, RF filters and power
amplifiers are all reusable while the baseband signal processing part needs to be
replaced.
There are currently two branches in the evolution to the cdma2000 1X EV: 1) The
cdma2000 1X EV-DO that only supports data services; and 2) the cdma2000 1X EV-DV
that supports both data services and voice services. For the cdma2000 1X EV-DO that
only supports data services, the HDR put forward by Qualcomm has been determined;
while for the cdma2000 1X EV-DV that supports both data services and voice services,
there are several proposals at present (one of them is the LAS-CDMA technology
submitted by China) and these are presently in the process of review.

3. Policies of evolution from DAMPS to UWC-136


The first step of evolution from IS-136 (DAMPS) to UWC-136 is to implement the
GPRS-136 and the second step is to implement UWC-136 (Universal Wireless
Communications). The EDGE-based technologies have been decided for UWCC and
TIA TR-45.3, this means that the GPRS network architecture will be used to support the
136+ high-speed data transmission. The GPRS-136 is the official name of the 136+
packet switched data service and its high-layer protocols (L3 protocols and above) are
fully the same as those of the GPRS system, considering the economical aspect of the
implementation. It provides the same capacity as the GPRS of GSM and its subscribers
can have access to two forms of data networks: IP and X.25. Its major purpose is to
reduce the technical difference between TIA/EIA-136 and GSM GPRS so that the
subscribers can roam between GPRS-136 and GSM GPRS networks. One of the
policies for the American TIA to develop the 3G systems is to implement convergence
of the 3G systems with the GSM system that also uses the TDMA access mode. This is
quite beneficial for the economics of global roaming and products and it also
implements the coordination protocol between UWCC and ETSI. Whats more
important, it enables the TDMA to player a more important role in the 3G systems.
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WCDMA System Overview

1.2 Types and Differences of 3G Systems


1.2.1 Origin of the Multiple Systems
Currently the 3G research work of ITU is mainly undertaken by 3GPP and 3GPP2. The
goal of ITU in terms of 3G is to establish the ITM-2000 family and implement global
roaming between different 3G systems.
Family concept
1)

Network part

In one intermediate meeting of ITU-T SG11 in March 1997, the ITM-2000 Family
Concept put forward in Europe was passed. This concept was based on the existing
networks and involved at least two major standards: GSM MAP and IS-41.
2)

Radio interface part

In the ITU-R TG8/1 meeting in September 1997, the discussion on the radio interface
family concept started. In a special meeting of TG8/1 in January 1998, the concept of
suite was put forward and applied and this put the family concept out of use. This
means that there may be more than one radio interface standard but the concept of
more than one standard is not yet accepted, rather, these different standards are
expected to ultimately form a unified standard.
The following two factors have caused various technical differences:
1)

Relationship with 2G

The network part must be compatible with 2G, that is, the 3G networks are gradually
evolved from the 2G networks. There are two major 2G core networks: GSM MAP and
IS-41.
Radio interfaces: The American IS-95 CDMA and IS-136 TDMA operators emphasize
on the backward compatibility (evolutional) while the European GSM and Japanese
PDC operators emphasize on the backward incompatibility of the radio interface
(revolutionary).
The correspondence between the core networks and the radio interfaces is shown in
Figure 1-1 below:

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Core networks

WCDMA System Overview

2G/3G access networks


IS-136
UWC-136

IS-41 core network

IS-95 CDMA
cdma2000

GSM core network

GSM
W-CDMA
TD-SCDMA

PDC core network

PDC

Figure 1-1 Correspondence between the core network and the radio access network interface
3)

The important role of frequency spectrum on technical selection

In terms of frequency spectrum, the key issue is that the ITM-2000 frequencies
allocated by ITU have already been applied to the PCS service in USA. Because the
USA requires the sharing of frequency spectrum with 2G systems, the backward
compatibility of the radio interfaces is especially emphasized and technically the USA
requires gradual evolution. In contrast, most of the other countries have new IMT-2000
frequency bands that feature very large flexibility. Whats more, the intellectual property
rights play a very significant role, for example, Qualcomm has its own patent
declaration. Competition is also a major factor to contribute to the technical differences.

1.2.2 RTT Technical Proposal


The eighth research group of ITU-R, i.e. the TG8/1 Task Group is responsible for
promoting the assessment and merge of IMT-2000 Radio Transmission Technology
(RTT). Up till September 1998, there have been up to 16 RTT proposals including the
MSS (Mobile Satellite Service). They all come from 16 RTT assessment groups of
IMT-2000 and are listed as follows:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
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UTRA WCDMA (Europe)


DECT (Europe)
cdma2000 (USA)
UWC-136 (USA)
WIMS WCDMA (USA)
WCDMA/NA (USA)
WCDMA (Japan)
TD-SCDMA (China)
Global CDMA (Synchronous, Korea)
Global CDMA (Asynchronous, Korea)
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11)
12)
13)
14)
15)
16)

WCDMA System Overview

LEO satellite system SAT-CDMA


ESA wideband satellite system SW-CDMA
CDMA/TDMA hybrid bandwidth satellite system SW-CTDMA
ICO RTT
INMARSAT satellite system Horizons
Iridium LLC satellite system INX

Among these proposals, the first ten are RTT proposals for the IMT-2000 terrestrial
system and the last six reflect the efforts of incorporating the MSS (Mobile Satellite
Service) into the IMT-2000.
These proposals reflect the concern of many countries as to the future mode of
IMT-2000 and their basic wishes to exercise effective influence. However, as viewed
from the market basis, backward compatibility and overall features, the UTRA WCDMA
of ETSI and the cdma2000 of USA are the most competitive; therefore, the key to the
merge of RTT lies in the progress of effectively merging these two proposals.

1.2.3 Technical Merge


IMT-2000 includes both the Terrestrial Mobile Service (TMS) and the Mobile Satellite
Service (MSS). The suggestion of one globally uniform and better-merged 3G mobile
communication standard is conducive to whether operators, manufacturers,
subscribers and policy planning & management bodies, so it is warmly welcomed by all
countries in the world.
As far the sixteen RTT candidate schemes are concerned, the ultimate result of
merging terrestrial mobile communications will bring the biggest competitiveness to the
WCDMA (DS) of ETSI and the cdma2000 of USA TIA in terms of the FDD mode; while
for the TDD mode, the TD-CDMA put forward by ETSI UTRA and the D-SCDMA put
forward by China CATT will be the major objects of further integration. At the end of
March 1999, Ericsson and Qualcomm reached a series of agreements on the IPR and
this act cleared way the obstacles from intellectual property rights for promoting a
global CDMA standard. At the end of May 1999, the Operator Harmonization Group
(OHG) composed of 31 global major operators and 11 major manufacturers put forward
a merge proposal of the IMT-2000. This proposal played a positive role in promoting the
unification of the major parameters (chip rate, pilot structure, core network protocol
based on GSM-MAP and ANSI-41). All the participants unanimously agreed that the
chip rate should be 3.84Mcps for FDD-DS-CDMA and 3.6864Mcps for FDD-MC-CDMA,
which is also called FDD-cdma2000-(MC). In June 1999, the 17th meeting of TG8/1
was held in Beijing. In this meeting, a framework agreement was reached on
Recommendations Rec, IMT and RSPC of the technical specifications of radio
interfaces. 3GPP, 3GPP2 and the Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) were
encouraged to support the above OHG proposal and TG8/1 Task Group was appointed
to carry out more detailed work of the MSS proposal.
The 18th meeting of ITU TG8/1 was held in Helsinki, Finland in November 1999, and
the Recommended Specification of Radio Interfaces of IMT-2000 was adopted. This
meant that the TG8/1's work in formulating the technical specifications of radio
interfaces in the 3G mobile communication systems had basically come to an end and
the development and application of 3G mobile communication systems would enter the
essential phase. TD-SCDMA, WCDMA and cdma2000 were determined as the
ultimate three technical systems.

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1.2.4 Comparison Among the Three Major Technical Systems


1. WCDMA
Formulated by the European standardization organization 3GPP, WCDMA is widely
supported by the global standardization organizations, equipment manufacturers,
component suppliers and operators. It will become one of the mainstream future 3G
systems.
The core network evolves on the basis of and can thus be compatible with the existing
GSM/GPRS networks.
It can be based on the TDM, ATM and IP technologies to evolve towards the all-IP
network architecture.
Logically, the core network comprises two parts: The circuit domain and the packet
domain to complete the circuit-switched services and the packet-switched services
respectively.
Based on the ATM technology, the UTRAN uniformly processes voice and packet
services and evolves towards the IP network architecture.
MAP and GPRS tunneling technologies are the core of the mobility management
mechanism in the WCDMA system.
The air interface adopts the WCDMA technologies with the signal bandwidth of 5 MHz
and the chip rate of 3.84 Mcps. It uses the AMR voice encoding scheme and supports
the synchronous/asynchronous Node B operation mode. Besides, the following modes
are applied in the WCDMA system: Uplink/downlink closed loop power control plus
outer loop power control; open loop (STTD & TSTD) and closed loop (FBTD) transmit
diversity; pilot-assisted coherent demodulation; convolutional coding and Turbo coding;
QPSK modulation in both the uplink and the downlink.

2. cdma2000 system
The cdma2000 system is a 3G standard put forward on the basis of the IS-95 standard.
Its standardization work is currently undertaken by 3GPP2.
Circuit Switched (CS) domain: Adapted from the 2G IS95 CDMA network, the circuit
domain has introduced a service platform based on the WIN infrastructure.
Packet Switched (PS) domain: A packet network based on the Mobile IP technology.
Radio Access Network (RAN): Based on the ATM switch platform, it provides abundant
adaptation layer interfaces.
The air interface adopts the cdma2000 technologies and is compatible with the IS95.
The signal bandwidth is N1.25MHz (N = 1, 3, 6, 9, 12) and the chip rate is
N1.2288Mcps. It uses the 8K/13K QCELP or 8K EVRC voice coding mode and its
BTS needs to run in the GPS/GLONESS synchronous mode. The following modes are
applied in the cdma2000 system: Uplink/downlink closed loop power control plus outer
loop power control; OTD and STS transmit diversion in the forward direction to improve
the anti-fading capacity of channels and the signal quality of the forward channels;
pilot-assisted coherent modulation in the reverse direction to improve the demodulation
performance; convolutional coding and Turbo coding; BPSK in the uplink and QPSK in
the downlink.

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3. TD-SCDMA system
The TD-SCDMA standard is put forward by the Chinese Wireless Telecommunication
Standard (CWTS) Group and now it has been merged into the specifications related to
the WCDMA-TDD of 3GPP.
The core network evolves on the basis of and can thus be compatible with the existing
GSM/GPRS networks.
It can be based on the TDM, ATM and IP technologies to evolve towards the all-IP
network architecture.
Logically, the core network comprises two parts: The circuit domain and the packet
domain to complete the circuit-switched services and the packet-switched services
respectively.
Based on the ATM technology, the UTRAN uniformly processes voice and packet
services and evolves towards the IP network architecture.
MAP and GPRS tunneling technologies are the core of the mobility management
mechanism in the WCDMA system.
The air interface adopts the TD-SCDMA mode.
The TD-SCDMA features 3S: Smart antenna, Synchronous CDMA and Software radio.
The key technologies used in TD-SCDMA include Intelligent Antenna + Joint Detection,
Multi-slot CDMA + DS-CDMA, Synchronous CDMA, Channel Coding/Decoding and
Interleaving (the same as in 3GPP) and Baton Handover.
A comparison of the above three systems is given in the table below.
Table 1-1 Comparison among the three major technical systems
System

WCDMA

cdma2000

TD-SCDMA

Using countries

Europe and Japan

USA and Korea

China

Inheritance from

GSM

Narrowband CDMA

GSM

Synchronous mode

Asynchronous/synchronous

Synchronous

Synchronous

Chip rate

3.84Mcps

N1.2288Mcps

1.28Mcps

Signal bandwidth

5MHz

N1.25MHz

1.6MHz

Air interface

WCDMA

cdma2000 compatible with IS-95

TD-SCDMA

Core network

GSM MAP

ANSI-41

GSM MAP

1.3 3G Frequency Spectrum


ITU has allocated 230 MHz frequency for the 3G mobile communication system
IMT-2000: 1885 MHz ~ 2025MHz in the uplink and 2110v~ 2200 MHz in the downlink.
Of them, the frequency range of 1980 MHz ~ 2010 MHz (uplink) and that of 2170 MHz
~ 2200 MHz (downlink) are used for mobile satellite services. As the uplink and the
downlink bands are asymmetrical, the use of dual-frequency FDD mode or the
single-frequency TDD mode may be considered. This plan was passed in WRC92 and
new additional bands were approved on the basis of the WRC-92 in the WRC2000
conference in the year 2000: 806 MHz ~ 960 MHz, 1710 MHz ~ 1885 MHz and 2500
MHz ~ 2690 MHz, as shown in Figure 1-2 below.

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800

850

900

950

ITU identifications IMT 2000


Europe

China
Japan,
Korea (w/o PHS)

GSM

Cellular

PDC

GSM

WCDMA System Overview


1000

1700

1750

1800 1850

1900

DECT

PHS

2050

2100

2150

2200 2250

IMT 2000 MSS

IMT 2000 MSS

IMT 2000 MSS

IMT 2000

GSM 1800, PCS

2000

MSS

IMT 2000

IMT 2000
GSM 1800

1950

MSS

IMT 2000 MSS

IMT 2000MSS

IMT 2000MSS

PCS

North America

Cellular

A D B EF C

A D B EF C

MSS

Reserve

MSS

New IMT-2000 terrestrial bands


Previous IMT-2000 terrestrial bands

Figure 1-2 Frequency spectrum allocation of WRC-2000


The European Union (EU) also attached great importance to 3G mobile communication
systems and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) started the
research work of 3G mobile communication standardization as early as over ten years
ago and it established a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) Forum
that was composed of operators, equipment manufacturers and telecommunication
management organizations. In 1995, the technical proposal for frequency spectrum
division was submitted formally to the ITU.
In Europe, the allocation of frequency spectrum is as follows: 1900 MHz ~ 1980MHz,
2010 MHz ~ 2025MHz and 2110 MHz ~ 2170MHz, totaling 155 MHz.
The situation in North America is rather complex, as shown in Figure 1-2. The 1850
MHz ~ 1990 MHz band among the 3G low bands has already allocated for PCS use
and it has been divided into two 15 MHz and two 5 MHz bands. Since the PCS service
has already occupied the frequency spectrum of IMT-2000, the uplink band of the
adjusted IMT-2000 even needs to be shared together with the downlink band of PCS.
This kind of arrange is not suitable for the high-transmit and low-receive configurations
of ordinary base stations.
In Japan, the frequency band of 1893.5 MHz ~ 1919.6 MHz has already been allocated
for PHS use and the 3G bands totaling 135 MHz (2 60 MHz + 15 MHz) are still
available: 1920 MHz ~ 1980MHz, 2110 MHz ~ 2170 MHz, 2010 MHz ~ 2025 MHz). At
present, Japan is endeavoring to clear the conflicts with the frequencies for 3G mobile
communications.
Korea has the same allocated frequency as in ITU Recommendations, i.e., 170 MHz.
The WCDMA FDD mode uses the following frequency spectrum (bands other than
those specified by 3GPP may also be used): Uplink 1920 MHz ~ 1980 MHz and
downlink 2110 MHz ~ 2170 MHz. Each carrier frequency has the 5M band and the
duplex spacing is 190 MHz. In America, the used frequency spectrum is 1850 MHz ~
1910 MHz in the uplink and 1930 MHz ~ 1990 MHz in the downlink and the duplex
spacing is 80 MHz.
The frequency spectrum used by the WCDMA TDD mode (including the high bit rates
and the low bit rates) is as follows (bands other than those specified by 3GPP may also
be used):
1)
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2)

America: Uplink 1850 MHz ~ 1910 MHz and downlink 1930 MHz ~ 1990 MHz.

3)

America: 1910 MHz ~ 1930 MHz in both the uplink and the downlink

In special cases (such as the boundary area of two countries), the TDD mode and the
FDD mode may coexist in the same frequency band and 3GPP TSG RAN WG4 is
currently researching this situation.
There is only the FDD mode in the cdma2000 system and currently there are a total of
seven band classes, of which Band Class 6 is the 1920 MHz ~1980 MHz/2110 MHz ~
2180 MHz band stipulated in IMT-2000.
In China, according to the present radio frequency division, mobile services, fixed
services and spatial services are using the 1700 MHz ~ 2300 MHz band, which is
currently serving plenty of microwave communication systems and a certain number of
wireless location devices. In December 1996, the State Radio Regulatory Committee of
P. R. China re-planned and adjusted some terrestrial radio service frequencies of 2
GHz to adapt to the needs of cellular mobile communication development and radio
access. However, the frequency spectrum still conflicts with the 3G mobile
communication systems, that is, the 1.9 MHz band for public cellular mobile
communications and the radio access band have both taken up some of the IMT-2000
bands.
Therefore, the 3G mobile communication systems have to share the limited frequency
resources with the existing radio communication systems. With the development of
technologies and services, the planning and adjustment of IMT-2000 bands must be
well done to stimulate the operators, scientific research organizations/institutions,
manufacturers and other bodies to actively develop the 3G mobile communication
systems, so as to meet both the short-term and the long-term frequency spectrum
needs in China mobile communication development.
The occupation of the IMT-2000 frequency spectrum in China is illustrated in the
following figure.
1850

1900

ITU

1950

IMT 2000
1885 MHz

1880 MHz
TDD

2050

2100

MSS

2150

2200

2250

IMT 2000 MSS


2025 M Hz

1920 M Hz

China

2000

2170 M Hz

2110 M Hz

2010 M Hz
1980 MHz

FDD

MSS
MSS TDD

MSS

FDD

2170 MHz

1850

1900

1950

2000

2050

2100

2150

2200

2250

Figure 1-3 Occupation of the IMT-2000 frequency spectrum in China


The bands allocated for IMT-2000 in China are listed below:
1)
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FDD mode: 1920 MHz ~ 1980MHz/2110 MHz ~ 2170 MHz


TDD mode: 1880 MHz ~ 1920 MHz/2010 MHz ~ 2025 MHz
2)

Supplementary operating bands

FDD mode: 1755 MHz ~ 1785 MHz/1850 MHz ~ 1880 MHz


TDD mode: 2300 MHz ~ 2400 MHz, shared together with the wireless location services;
both are major services and the sharing standard is to be specially formulated.
3)

Operating band for satellite mobile communication systems

1980 MHz ~ 2010 MHz/2170 MHz ~ 2200 MHz.

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Basic Principles of WCDMA System

WCDMA Services

Chapter 2 WCDMA Services


2.1 Overview
Compatible with abundant services and applications of GSM and GPRS, the WCDMA
system has an open integrated service platform to provide a wide prospect for various
3G services. This chapter introduces the categories and features of 3G services, and
presents several typical types of services and their implementation methods, so that
the readers may gain a general understanding of 3G services.

2.1.1 Categories of 3G Services


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Basic telecom services, including voice service, emergency call service and SMS.
Supplementary services, the same as the supplementary services defined in
GSM.
Bearer services, including circuit bearer service and packet bearer service.
Intelligent service, an intelligent network service based on CAMEL mechanism
inherited from the GSM system.
Location services, services related to location information, such as charging by
area, mobile yellow page and emergency locating.
Multimedia services, including circuit real-time multimedia service, packet
real-time multimedia service and non real-time store-and-transfer multimedia
message service.

The above services are roughly classified. Actually these services may overlap. For
example, charging by area is not only a location service, but also an intelligent service.

2.1.2 Features of 3G Services


3G (WCDMA) services are inherited from 2G (GSM) services. In a new architecture,
new service capabilities are generated, and more service types are available. Service
characteristics vary greatly, so each service features differently. Generally, there are
features as follows:
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The real-time services such as voice service generally have the QoS requirement.
Compatible backward with all the services provided by GSM.
The concept of multimedia service is introduced.

2.2 Details of Typical 3G Services


2.2.1 CAMEL Phase 3 Intelligent Service
CAMEL Phase 2 is implemented in GSM, mainly providing the prepaid service. CAMEL
Phase 3 needs to be implemented in UMTS. Phase 2 supports services such as CS,
USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data), SS (Supplementary Service) and
CF (Call Forwarding). On this base, Phase 3 has added support for GPRS, SMS, MM
and LCS (optional).
Service category:
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WCDMA Services

CAMEL control service of basic circuit switch calls: It implements authentication


and accounting of voice calls.
CAMEL control service of GPRS: It implements authentication and accounting of
GPRS bearers.
CAMEL control service of SMS: It implements authentication, accounting and
transfer of SMS.
CAMEL control service of USSD.
CAMEL control service of mobility management.
CAMEL control service of location information.

2.2.2 Location Services


It is widely accepted in the industry that the LCS has a promising market and
commercial prospect. LCS has been commercialized in GSM and GPRS networks in
China and other countries. In the 3G field, because of improvement of location
precision and application of the open system structure, LCS is very attractive. It may
become one of the main killer services in 3G. There are the following types of LCS:
l

Public security service

In the United States, October 1, 2001 started the provisioning of the Enhanced
Emergency Services. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) stipulated that
wireless operators should provide an estimated value of longitude and latitude of the
caller. The precision should be within 125 meters (67% of the estimated value) or lower
than the result by root mean square. Mainly driven by national laws, this kind of service
is provided by operators for the public interest. It is available without users application.
To operators, it is a non-profitable service but can promote operators image. And this
service is an inevitable development result of mobile communication technologies.
Besides emergency calls, there is also vehicle rescues: If a vehicle is broken on the
road, a fault locating automatic report is available. If there is an accident, the detection
device will detect it and auto report the related information such as location of the
accident.
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Location Based Charging

Specific user charging: Some location areas (LAs) can be set as discount areas. In
these LAs, calling and answering will be discounted.
Close location charging: If the caller and the called are in the same LA or close LAs,
they will get a discount.
Specific area charging: If one or both of the caller and called are in a specific location,
such as shopping area, a discount will be given. It is to encourage the user to enter this
area.
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Enhanced Call Routing (ECR)

The ECR enables users calls to be routed to the nearest service point according to the
location. The user can implement corresponding tasks with specific access numbers.
For example, the user can input 427 to have access to the nearest gas station. This
service is available for chain companies, such as Caltex and KFC. The companies can
apply for specific access numbers or preferential access number that will be preferred
for access among the counterparts (such as gas stations). To bank services, the user
can get the latest bank information or ATM information through ECR.
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WCDMA Services

Location
Server
Location Server

Radio network
Return the subscriber
location information
Get the subscriber
location information

Query

The nearby restaurant

SP Web
Web Server
Server
PORTAL
PORTAL

The information about the nearby


restaurant is returned and it can be in the
form of graphics or text

Figure 2-1 Location Based Information Services


Figure 2-1 shows the location-based information service that enables the user to get
the specific location-based information. Following are examples of service applications:
City sightseeing: Providing direction navigation between touring sites, or indicating
touring sites nearby, and finding the nearest hotel, bank, airport, bus station or
relaxation place.
Location-based content broadcast: It can deliver messages to users in a specific area.
It is mainly used in advertisement services, for example, delivering advertisements to
users in or near a shopping center to attract customers. It can also filter users. For
example, the administration of a port can deliver dispatch messages to the staff within
the port area. In addition, activities schedules can also be delivered to tourists in the
sightseeing area.
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Mobile yellow page

Mobile yellow page is similar to ECR. It provides contact information of the nearest
service point according to users needs. For example, the customer can input an entry
restaurant or more conditions such as Chinese food and within 3 kilometers to
search. The output result can be phone numbers or addresses.
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Network Enhancing Services

This service is still yet to be defined. At present lawful interception service is available.
Lawful interception is the ability to intercept Content of Communication (CC) and
Intercept Related Information (IRI) of an MS by the 3G system for Law Enforcement
Agency (LEA). The mobile target can be local subscribers, or subscribers roaming from
other 3G systems, or roaming subscribers that can use the 3G system from other
mobile networks, such as GSM subscribers.

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2.2.3 Multimedia Service


In 3G, distributed multimedia service is the first to be developed. With a little bandwidth,
voice service is the first to be developed, especially with the wide use of
high-compression-ratio MP3. The first application of video service is unidirectional
video application based on low bit rate and small image MPEG4 mode, such as
real-time advertising service, or movie clips.
Details of service types:
l
l

Circuit real-time multimedia service: The implementation of multimedia service in


the circuit domain mainly uses H.324/M protocol.
Packet real-time multimedia service

Multimedia service in the packet domain is mainly implemented via the SIP protocol.
The major applications include 384 Kbps Video On Demand (VOD) and mobile
teleconference. An example of VOD service is illustrated in Figure 2-2.
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Non real-time multimedia message service

This service is called MMS (Multimedia Message Service), a natural development of


SMS. Technically speaking, SMS delivers text format messages through signaling, only
able to deliver or receive text-only messages with a capacity of a little bit more than one
hundred bytes. MMS, with rich service supporting capabilities, can deliver
multi-functional message containing text, images, video, audio and data.
Application
server

WWW
server

Intranet

DB

Router
TMS 2402
Quidway
TMS 2402
Quidway

Platform

RAS server

Portal
WAP GW

WS

WS

GGSN
Huawei OSS
GPRS/ WCDMA
WIN- CDMA
Still one hour before
boarding, so I can see a
movie with my 3G MS

Figure 2-2 Example of VOD service

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2.2.4 Other Typical Services


1. PUSH Service
PUSH service is kind of push technology. It means the network side (mainly the web
sites) initially pushes messages to subscribers, such as weather broadcast, stock
information, news, adverting service, traffic information and other customized
messages.
To the research and discussion of PUSH service, 3GPP proposes series of
implementation schemes. These schemes include: PUSH service implemented by
using network-initiated PDP context activation process; PUSH service implemented by
using network-initiated PDP context activation process triggered by DNS query; PUSH
service implemented by using SMS; PUSH service implemented by using on line for
ever, PUSH service implemented based on the SIP protocol, and PUSH service using
the HTTP protocol.
2. PORTAL service
PORTAL service is a kind of service based on PUSH service.
When the user accesses the Internet, the network will push portal pages. To the
network operators, they can get advertising fees from the pages. To the subscribers,
they can access the Internet in a foolproof way, and get public information such as
weather, traffic and stock for free.
To enhance this service, mobile subscribers can click the page to select each ISP, or
access an enterprise network without fussy inputs.

2.3 Brief Introduction to the Implementation of Typical 3G


Services
2.3.1 CAMEL Phase 3 Intelligent Service
To introduce the intelligent network into the mobile communication system, the
European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) defined CAMEL in Gsm
Phase 2+ in 1997 to provide subscribers with service consistency unrelated to the
specific service network. The CAMEL feature is not a supplementary service but a
network feature. Even the subscriber is not in the HPLMN (Home public land mobile
network), the CAMEL feature can be a means of helping network operators provide the
subscriber with the specific service.
The network structure of CAMEL Phase3 is shown in Figure 2-3. Several function
entities are added into the GSM network: GsmSSF (Service Switching Function),
GsmSRF (Specialized Resource Function) and GsmSCF (Service Control Function).
CAP Phase3 protocol interface is employed between GsmSCF and GsmSSF, and
between GsmSCF and GsmSRF. While an internal protocol interface is used between
MSC and GsmSRF, the others use MAP Phase3 interfaces.
The equipment designed specially for GsmSCF implementation is called the SCP, for
GsmSSF implementation the SSP, and for GsmSRF implementation the IP.

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Home Network

WCDMA Services

HLR

MAP

gsmSCF

MAP

CAP

GMSC

Roaming leg

MS

MSC

MAP
MO call - Outgoing leg
(or Forwarding leg)

Forwarded leg
Interrogating Network

gsmSSF

VLR

gsmSSF
Incoming line

CAP

MAP

CAP

gsmSRF

Visited Network

Home/Interrogating/Visited Network

Figure 2-3 Network structure of CAMEL Phase3


CAMEL mainly embodies the separation of switching and services. The fundamental
idea is as follows: The switch only implements the basic call connection function, but
the control of all intelligent services is implemented by another network layer, i.e., the
intelligent network. Of them, the Service Switching Function (SSF) implements the
switching function, reports various events during the call to the Service Control
Function (SCF) and possibly suspends the call, waiting for further instruction of SCF.
The triggering points of these events are called the Detection Points (DPs). SCF
implements the service logic control function. The essential of the CAMEL mechanism
is a control mechanism between SCF and SSF.

2.3.2 LCS
Figure 2-4 shows the network structure of LCS implementation. Here, when
MSC/SGSN supports LCS, new interfaces to various network entities are added: The
Lg interface between MSC/SGSN and GMLC, the Lh interface between GMLC and
HLR, and the Lc interface between GMLC and gsmSCF.

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LMU
Type A

WCDMA Services

CBC
Note 1)

Uu

3GSGSN

IuBC

HLR

Lh
Node B

UE

Iub SRNC
(SMLC
functionality)

(LMU
Type B)

Iur
Node B Iub
(LMU
Type B)

RNC

Iu

3GLg
MSC/VLR

Lg

Le
Gateway
MLC

External
LCS client

Lc

Gateway
MLC
gsmSCF
Other PLMN

Figure 2-4 Network structure of LCS


The functions of the LCS system are described as follows:
l

LCS Client

LCS Client is the source of sending location requests, and uses the location result to
implement related services based on location. There are four kinds of clients according
to the LCS Client functions.
1)
2)

3)
4)
l

Value-added LCS Clients - Using LCS to support various value-added services,


they may include UEs or no specific UEs.
PLMN operator LCS Clients - Using LCS to enhance or support some tasks
related to O&M, such as supplementary service, IN related service, bearer service
and telecommunication service.
Emergency services LCS Clients - Using LCS enhance the support of emergency
calls from the subscribers.
Lawful Interception LCS Clients - Using LCS to implement various legal requests
and acceptance services.
GMLC (Gateway Mobile Location Center)

GMLC is a gateway device in the network connecting to the external LCS Client. After
getting related location request messages through the Le interface, it is responsible for
HLR addressing, and delivering the location requests to the SGSN through the Lg
interface. GMLC is also responsible for delivering related location results to related
LCS Clients, or convents the results into local coordinate information upon request.
l

MSC/SGSN/VLR

MSC/SGSN/VLR mainly implements the coding/decoding of related location


information, version negotiation and processing of related signaling protocol
information. In addition, it provides interface functions of related signaling tracing,
maintenance and management. MSC/SGSN/VLR needs to implement the main
processing and control of location procedure, and user privacy protection, and provides
charging information according to the processing.
l

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HLR stores the subscription data related to LCS, and provides the MSC number of the
located subscriber.
l

Target UE

The Target UE (also referred as MS) is a target mobile phone located. The network
needs to locate the current or last location of the mobile subscriber according to the
location request. Generally, the target MS is the object to be located. But for MO-LR
(Mobile Originated-Location Request), the target MS is the MS that initiates the location
request.
l

RNC

In 3G networks, RNC implements the specific locating testing and calculation in LCS
implementation.

LCS client

RNC
SGSN/SGSN Server

Le

GMLC

Lh
RNC

Lg

HLR

MSC/MSC Server

Figure 2-5 Example of LCS procedure


The external client requests the location information of a target UE/MS from GMLC (or
non real-time location information request).
1)
2)
3)

4)

5)
6)

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GMLC checks the ID of the client and the requested service, and then gets UE/MS
identification from the request information.
GMLC delivers a message to HLR/HSS to query the address of SGSN or
MSC/MSC Server. Upon receipt of the needed address, GMLC will deliver a
location request to SGSN.
If GMLC belongs to another PLMN, SGSN needs to check whether the LCS
request is allowed. Then SGSN will check whether the request can be initiated
according to the subscription information of the target UE/MS. If any item fails,
SGSN will directly return a failure response. If the check is passed, the SGSN then
delivers a location request to RAN.
If RAN stores location information that meets the requirements of SGSN, it returns
a location report to SGSN. Otherwise, RAN needs to initiate a special location
processing message with the used location method. RAN returns a location
information report that SGSN has estimated.
SGSN returns the estimated location information and acquisition time to GMLC.
GMLC returns the location information to the LCS Client. GMLC records the LCS
Client CDR and the CDR of SGSN inter-network cooperation.
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2.3.3 MMS Service


MMS can run in different types of networks. The terminals can be used in 2G and 3G
networks. The MMS Environment (MMSE) includes all necessary service units, such as
transfer, storage and notification functions. These service units can be in one network,
or in different networks. Figure 2-6 illustrates the structure of the MMS system.

Message Store

MMS User Agent


MMS Server

2G Mobile
Network
MMSE

MMS Relay

User DB
(Profile/ hlr )

Mailbox

Internet/IP
Network

3G Mobile
Network
A

Mobile
Network

Wired Email Client

B
MMS User Agent
Roaming MMS User Agent

Figure 2-6 MMS system structure


NMS User Agent: As the MMS functional part of the user terminal equipment, it must be
able to support the MMS capability.
MMS Server: As the core part, it receives, notifies, dispatches, sends and forwards the
multimedia messages. Equivalent to a control center, it dispatches different services. In
one MMSE there may be multiple MMS Servers, e.g. MMS Server, E-Mail Server, SMS
Server and FAX Server.
MMS Relay: Acting as a bridge between the MMS User Agent and the MMS Server, it
eliminates the difference between different servers and between different networks.
MMS User DB: Composed of the MMS Subscription Database, the MMS Profile
Database and the HLR, it enables users to flexibly customize services as they wish.
In terms of physical entities, the MMS Server, the MMS Relay and the MMS User DB
can be integrated to form a Multimedia Messaging Service Center (MMSC). In this way,
the MMSC exists as an independent entity and can be directly superimposed on the
existing GPRS network.
In practice, different manufacturers may adopt different networking modes based on
their own comprehension of the protocols. Next we will introduce a WAP-based
networking mode in the GPRS network. In this mode, the WAP gateway is added
between the MMSC and the wireless network to implement the interconnection
between these two. Figure 2-7 lists the implementation flow of the multimedia
messaging service.

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SMTP

IP network

Email
Server
Arrow 1
MMSC

WAP GW

GGSN
1
GPRS backbone network

SGSN1

SGSN2
SMSC

BTS1

BTS2
BSC1

BSC2
MSC/VLR/HLR

Figure 2-7 MMS service flow


1)
2)
3)
4)

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The MS activates the MMS service and sends a message to the MMSC via BTS,
BSC, SGSN, GGSN and WAP Gateway in turn.
The MMSC distributes the message according to the terminal type and sends a
short message notification to the MS via the SMSC if the type of terminal is an MS.
Upon receipt of the notification, the called accesses the MMSC via the GPRS
network and the WAP Gateway, so as to distribute the MMS short message.
If the subscriber does not get the message within the specified time limit, the
MMSC forwards the message to the mailbox system.

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WCDMA System Structure

Chapter 3 WCDMA System Structure


3.1 Overview
The UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) is the third generation
mobile telecommunication system by using the WCDMA air interface technology,
usually called the WCDMA telecommunication system. It adopts a structure similar to
the second generation mobile telecommunication system, including the RAN (Radio
Access Network) and the CN (Core Network). The RAN is used to process all the
radio-related functions, while the CN is used to process all voice calls and data
connections within the UMTS system, and implements the function of external network
switching and routing. Logically, the CN is divided into the CS (Circuit Switched)
Domain and the PS (Packet Switched) Domain. UTRAN, CN and UE (User Equipment)
together constitute the whole UMTS system, the structure of which is shown in Figure
3-1.

UE

AN

3G CN
3G CS
MSCVLRGMSCgsmSSF

UTRAN

External network
PSTN

Service application
domain
HLR, SCP

3G PS

Internet

SGSN,GGSN

Figure 3-1 UMTS system structure


From the point of view of the 3GPP R99 standard, the UE and the UTRAN (UMTS
Terrestrial Radio Access Network) are composed of new protocols, and the design is
based on WCDMA radio technologies. However, the CN adopts the definition of
GSM/GPRS, so it not only can implement smooth transition of the network, but also can
implement global roaming at the initial phase of 3G network construction.

3.1.1 Composition of the UMTS Network System


The composition of the UMTS network is shown in Figure 3-2.

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Uu

lu
Node B
RNC

USIM

Node B
lub

Cu
ME

MSC/
VLR

lur

GMSC

PLMN PSTN
ISDN,etc

GGSN

INTERNET

HLR

Node B
RNC

SGSN

Node B

UE

UTRAN

CN

External Networks

Figure 3-2 Composition of the UMTS network system


As shown Figure 3-2, the UMTS network system includes the following parts:
1. UE (User Equipment)
As the user terminal equipment, the UE exchanges data with network equipment
through the Uu interface, and provides such kinds of services within CS and PS
domains as common voice, data communication, mobile multi-media and Internet
application (For example, E-mail, WWW browse and FTP).
UE includes the two parts below:
l
l

ME (Mobile Equipment): Providing application and services.


USIM (UMTS Subscriber Module): Providing subscriber identification.

2. UTRAN (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network)


UTRAN is divided into Node B and RNC (Radio Network Controller).
l

Node B

Node B is the base station of the WCDMA system (i.e. radio transceiver), and it
interconnects with RNC via the standard Iub interface and processes the physical layer
protocols of the Uu interface. Its main functions include spreading/de-spreading,
modulation/demodulation, channel coding/decoding, and conversion between
baseband signals and RF signals.
l

RNC (Radio Network Controller)

RNC (Radio Network Controller) implements such functions as connection


establishment and release, handover, macro diversity and the management and
control of radio resources. The details are given as follows:
1)
2)
3)

Provides the system information broadcast and system access control functions
Provides such mobility management functions as handover and RNC transition
Provides radio resource management and control functions such as macro
diversity combination, power control and radio bearer allocation

3. CN (Core Network)
CN (Core Network) is responsible for connecting other networks as well as
communicating and managing UEs. The core network equipment of different protocol
versions in the WCDMA system differ. Generally, the R99 core network is divided into
the CS domain and the PS domain. The R4 core network is the same as the R99 core
network, but in the R4 core network, the MSC function of R99 CS is implemented by the
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two separate entities: MSC Server and MGW. The R5 core network is the same as the
R4 core network except that R5 has been added with an IP multi-media domain.
The R99 core network has the following function entities:
1)

MSC/VLR

MSC/VLR is a functional node of the CS domain in the WCDMA core network. It


connects with UTRAN via the Iu-CS interface, with external networks (such as PSTN
and ISDN) via the PSTN/ISDN interface, with HLR/AUC via the C/D interface, with
MSC/VLR, GMSC or SMC via the E interface, with SCP via the CAP interface, and with
SGSN via the Gs interface. Its main functions are call control, mobility management,
authentication and ciphering of the CS domain.
2)

GMSC

GMSC is the gateway node between the CS domain of the WCDMA mobile network
and external networks, and it is an optional functional node. It connects with external
networks (PSTN, ISDN and other PLMN) through the PSTN/ISDN interface, connects
with HLR through the C interface and connects with SCP through the CAP interface. It
implements the routing function of incoming calls in the VMSC function and
inter-network settlement function of such external networks as fixed networks.
3)

SGSN

SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) is a functional node of the PS domain in the
WCDMA core network. It connects with UTRAN through the Iu-PS interface, with
GGSN through the Gn/Gp interface, with HLR/AUC through the Gr interface, with
MSC/VLR through the Gs interface, with SCP through the CAP interface, with SMC
through the Gd interface, with CG through the Ga interface and with SGSN interface
through the Gn/Gp interface. And its main functions are route forwarding, mobility
management, authentication and ciphering of the PS domain.
4)

GGSN

GGSN (Gateway GPRS Supporting Node) is a functional node of the PS domain in the
WCDMA core network. It connects with SGSN through the Gn/Gp interface and with
external data networks (Internet/Intranet) through the Gi interface. It provides the
routing and encapsulation of data packets between the WCDMA mobile network and
the external data networks. Its major functions are to provide interfaces to external IP
packet networks. It needs to provide the gateway function for UE to access external
packet networks. From the point of view of external networks, GGSN looks as if it were
a router of all user IP networks in the addressable WCDMA mobile network, and it
needs to exchange routing information with external networks.
5)

HLR

HLR (Home Location Register) is a functional node shared by the CS and PS domains
in the WCDMA core network. It connects with MSC/VLR or GMSC through the C
interface, with SGSN through the Gr interface, and with GGSN through the Gc interface.
And its main functions are to store subscription information for subscribers, support
new services and provide the enhanced authentication function.

3.2 Basic Structure of UTRAN


The structure of UTRAN is shown in Figure 3-3:
UTRAN includes one or several Radio Network Subsystems (RNSs). A RNS is
composed of one RNC and one or several Node Bs. The Iu interface is used between
RNC and CN while the Iub interface is adopted between RNC and Node B. Within
UTRAN, RNCs connect with one another through the Iur interface. The Iur interface
can connect RNCs via the direct physical connections among them or connect them
through the transport network. RNC is used to allocate and control the radio resources
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of the connected or related Node B. However, Node B serves to convert the data flows
between the Iub interface and the Uu interface, and at the same time, it also
participates in part of radio resource management.

CN

CS

PS

Iu

Iu

RNS

RNS
Iur

RNC
Iub
Node B

RNC

Iub

Iub

Node B

Node B

Iub
Node B

Figure 3-3 UTRAN structure

3.2.1 System Interfaces


UTRAN has the following main interfaces:
1. Cu interface
The Cu interface is the electrical interface between the USIM card and ME, and it
adopts the standard interface.
2. Uu interface
The Uu interface is the radio interface of WCDMA. UE accesses the fixed network of
the UMTS system through the Uu interface, so we can say the Uu interface is the most
important open interface in the UMTS system.
3. Iur interface
The Iur interface is the interface connecting RNCs. It is specific to the UMTS system for
mobility management of UEs in RAN. For example, when different RNCs perform soft
handover, all UE data are transmitted from the working RNC to the candidate RNC
through the open standard Iur interface.
4. Iub interface
The Iub interface is an open standard interface connecting Node B and RNC. It allows
RNC to connect to NodeB from another equipment manufacturer.

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5. Iu interface
The Iu interface is the interface between UTRAN and CN. Similar to the A interface and
the Gb interface in the GSM system, it is also an open standard interface. It allows
different vendors UTRAN and CN to connect together, and can be divided into the
Iu-CS interface and the Iu-PS interface.

3.2.2 Basic Protocol Structure of UTRAN Interfaces


The protocol structure of UTRAN interfaces is designed according to a universal
protocol model. The principle of design is that logically the layer and the plane should
be independent. If necessary, you can modify a part of the protocol structure without
modifying other parts, as shown in Figure 3-4.

Radio
Network
Layer

Control Plane

User Plane

Application
Protocol

Data
Stream(s)

Transport
Network
Layer

Transport Network
User Plane

Transport Network
Control Plane

Transport Network
User Plane

ALCAP(s)
Signalling
Bearer(s)

Signalling
Bearer(s)

Data
Bearer(s)

Physical Layer

Figure 3-4 Universal protocol model of UTRAN interfaces


Horizontally, the protocol structure contains the radio network layer and the transport
network layer. All protocols related to UTRAN are contained in the radio network layer.
The transport network layer is the standard transmission technique adopted by UTRAN,
and it has nothing to do with the specific functions of UTRAN.
Vertically, it contains the control plane and the user plane.
The control plane contains application protocols (RANAP in the Iu interface, RNSAP in
the Iur interface and NBAP in the Iub interface) and signaling bearers to transmit these
application protocols. Application protocols are used to build the bearers to UEs (For
example, radio access bearer in the Iu interface, radio links in the Iur and Iub
interfaces). These signaling bearers of these application protocols can be the same as
or can differ from those of the Access Link Control Application Protocol (ALCAP), and
they are established through O&M.

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The user plane contains data flows and data bearers to carry these data flows. All
information (such as voice and data) received or sent by UEs is transmitted through the
user plane. The transport network control plane is located between the control plane
and the user plane, and it is just in the transport layer, so it does not contain any
information about the radio network control plane. It contains ALCAP and the signaling
bearer required by ALCAP. ALCAP establishes the transport bearer for the user plane.
By adopting the transport network control plane, the application protocol
implementation of the radio network plane can be independent from the technique
selected for the data bearer of the user plane.
In the transport network, the transport bearer of the data plane in the user plane is built
in such a way: Application protocols in the control plane conduct signaling processing
first, which triggers the establishment of data bearer in the data plane through ALCAP.
However, not all types of data bearers should be established through ALCAP. Without
signaling processing of ALCAP, the transport network control plane is not needed, so
the pre-configured data bearer should be used instead. The signaling bearer of ALCAP
can be the same as or can differ from that of the application protocol. Usually, the
ALCAP signaling bearer is established through O&M operations.
The data bearer of the user plane and the signaling bearer of the application protocol
both belong to the user plane of the transport network. In real-time operations, the data
bearer of the transport network user plane is controlled directly by the transport network
control plane. However, the control operation required for establishing the signaling
bearer of the application protocol belongs to O&M operations.
In conclusion, UTRAN obeys the following principles:
1)
2)
3)
4)

The signaling plane is separated from the data plane.


UTRAN/CN functions are separate from the transport layer, that is, the radio
network layer does not depend on the specific transmission technique.
Macro diversity (FDD Only) is processed totally by UTRAN.
The mobility management of RRC connections is processed totally by UTRAN.

3.2.3 Functions Implemented by UTRAN


1)
l
l
l

2)
l
l

3)
l
l

4)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l

5)
6)
7)
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Functions related to overall system access control


Admission control
Congestion control
system information broadcast
Functions related to security and confidentiality
Encryption/decryption of radio channels
Protection of message integrity
Functions related to mobility
Handover
SRNS relocation
Functions related to radio resource management and control
Radio resource configuration and operation
Radio environment survey
Macro diversity control (FDD)
Connection and release of radio bearers (RB control)
Allocation and cancellation of radio bearers
Dynamic channel allocation (TDD)
Radio protocol function
RF power control
RF power setting
Timing advance setting (TDD)
Radio channel coding
Radio channel decoding
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8) Channel coding control


9) Initial (random) access detection and processing
10) CN distribution of NAS messages

3.2.4 RNC (Radio Network Controller)


RNC is used to control the radio resources of UTRAN. Usually, it connects with the CS
domain (MSC), the PS domain (SGSN) and the broadcast domain (BC, not indicated in
the figure) through the Iu interface. The RRC protocol between UE and UTRAN
terminates here. Logically, RNC corresponds to the Base Station Controller (BSC) in
the GSM network.
The RNC used to control Node B is called the Controlling Radio Network Controller
(CRNC) of Node B, which is responsible for managing the radio resources of the cell
under its control.
If more than one RNS is used to connect a UE with UTRAN, all the relevant RNSs can
be divided into the following types:
l

Serving RNS (SRNS): Managing the radio connection between UE and UTRAN, It
corresponds to the termination point of this UEs Iu interface (Uu interface). All
basic radio resource management is implemented by SRNC in SRNS, for example,
mapping the radio access bearer parameters to the parameters of transport
channels, cell handover and open loop power control. A UE connected with
UTRAN should have one and only one SRNC.
Drift RNS (DRNS): Any RNS except the SRNS used by UE is called the DRNS. Its
corresponding RNC is DRNC. A subscriber can have none, one or several
DRNSs.

Usually, the actual RNC contains all functions of CRNC, SRNC and DRNC.

3.2.5 Node B
Node B is the base station (i.e. radio transceiver) of the WCDMA system, and it
interconnects with RNC through the standard Iub interface to process the physical layer
protocols of the Uu interface. Its main functions include: Spreading/de-spreading,
modulation/demodulation, channel coding/decoding, and conversion between
baseband signals and RF signals. Meanwhile, it implements such radio resource
management functions as inner loop power control. Logically, it corresponds to the
Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in the GSM network.

3.3 Basic Structure of the Core Network


Logically, CN is divided into the circuit switched domain (CS domain), the packet
switched domain (PS domain) and the broadcast domain (BC domain). The CS domain
equipment provides circuit service for subscribers, or provides the entities for related
signaling connections. Specifically, it covers the following entities: MSC, GMSC, VLR
and IWF. The PS domain provides packet data services for subscribers, including the
following specific entities: SGSN and GGSN. Other equipment, for example, HLR (or
HSS), AuC and EIR are shared by the CS domain and the PS domain.
The overall structure of the WCDMA network is defined in 3GPP TS 23.002.Now, there
are the following three versions:
l
l

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R99 3GPP TS 23.002


R4 3GPP TS 23.002
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l

WCDMA System Structure

R5 3GPP TS 23.002

& Note:
R means Release.
3GPP began to formulate 3G specifications at the end of 1998 and beginning of 1999.
As scheduled, the R99 version would be completed at the end of 1999, but in fact it was
not completed until March, 2000. After R99, the version was no longer named by the
year. At the same time, the functions of R2000 are implemented by the following two
phases: R4 and R5. In principle, the R99 specification is a subset of the R4
specification set. If R99 is added with new features, it will be upgraded to R4. Similarly,
the R4 specification set is a subset of the R5 specification set. If R4 is added with new
features, it will be upgraded to R5.
For the above three versions, the specific equipment of the PS domain does not
change, but only their protocols are upgraded and optimized. The CS domain and GSM
network of the R99 version do not fundamentally change. In the R4 network, MSC as
the CS domain of the CN is divided into the MSC Server and the MGW, at the same
time, a SGW is added, and HLR can be replaced by HSS (not explicitly specified in the
specification). In the R5 network, the end-to-end VOIP is supported and the core
network adopts plentiful new function entities, which have thus changed the original call
procedures. With IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem), the network can use HSS instead of
HLR.

3.3.1 Structure and Interfaces of the R99 Network


To guarantee the investment benefits of operators, the design of R99 network structure
has considered fully the 2G/3G compatibility, so as to support the smooth transition of
GSM/GPRS/3G. Therefore, the CS domain and the PS domain are parallel in the
network. The R99 core network includes the equipment such as MSC/VLR, IWF,
SGSN, GGSN, HLR/AuC and EIR. To support 3G services, the corresponding
interface protocols are added to some equipment and the original interface protocols
are improved.
Figure 3-5 shows the basic network structure of PLMN (including the CS domain and
the PS domain). All function entities in the figure can be regarded as independent
physical devices.

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Gi

PSTN

GMSC

GGSN

AuC
C

Gc

HLR
PSTN

VLR

Gf
Gs

MSC

Gr

EIR
F

Gn

PSTN

VLR

Gp

SGSN

MSC
E

CN
A

Gb

IuPS

IuCS

RNS

BSS

Iur

BSC

RNC

Abis

BTS

RNC

Iubis

BTS

Node B

Node B

cell

Um

Uu
ME
SIM-ME i/f

or

SIM

Cu

USIM
MS

Bold lines indicate the interfaces to support user services while slim lines indicate the interfaces to support signaling

Figure 3-5 Structure of the R99 network


In R99, the function entities of the CS domain include MSC, VLR and others. According
to the different connection modes, an operator can set MSC as GMSC, SM-GMSC or
SM-IWMSC. To implement internetworking, IWF (usually working with MSC) is
configured in the system.
Besides the above function entities, the specific function entities of the PS domain
include SGSN and GGSN to provide packet data services for subscribers. HLR, AuC
and EIR are the common devices shared by the CS domain and the PS domain.
The main function entities of R99 include:
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1)

WCDMA System Structure

Mobile Switching Center (MSC)

MSC is specific to the CS domain to connect the radio systems (including BSS and
RNS) and the fixed network. It implements all functions of CS calls, for example,
controlling call proceeding, managing the communication services of MS within this
network or other networks (PSTN/ISDN/PSPDN and other mobile networks), and
providing charging information.
2)

Visitor Location Register (VLR)

VLR is also specific to the CS domain. It stores the information of the registered
subscribers that enter the control area, so as to provide necessary data of call
connection of mobile subscribers. When an MS roams to a new VLR area, this VLR will
initiate the location registration procedure to HLR and get the necessary subscriber
data; however, when the MS leaves this control area, the subscriber data should be
deleted. Therefore, VLR can be regarded as a dynamic database.
A VLR can manage several MSCs, but usually in implementation, MSC and VLR are
combined.
3)

Home Location Register (HLR)

HLR is a device shared by the CS domain and the PS domain, responsible for
managing the database system of mobile subscribers. PLMN can contain one or more
HLRs, and the detailed configuration mode is determined by subscriber quantity,
system capacity and network structure. All mobile subscriber data of the home location
area, for example, identity flags, location information and subscribed services, are
stored in the HLR.
When a subscriber roams, HLR receives the new location information and requests the
previous VLR to delete all data of the subscriber. When a subscriber is called, HLR will
provide the routing information.
4)

Authentication Center (AuC)

AuC is a device shared by the CS domain and the PS domain to store the entity of
subscriber authentication algorithm and ciphering key. AuC sends authentication and
ciphering data to VLR, MSC and SGSN through HLR, to ensure the legality and
security of communication. Each AuC associates with the corresponding HLR, and it
communicates with others only through this HLR. Usually, AuC and HLR are combined
in the same physical entity.
5)

Equipment Identification Register (EIR)

EIR is a device shared by the CS domain and the PS domain. It stores the International
Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of mobile devices used by the system. The mobile
devices are divided into three levels: white, gray and black, and they are stored in the
corresponding lists respectively. Nowadays, the EIR is not yet used in China.
A minimized EIR can only contain the smallest white list (the device is in the white
level).
6)

Gateway MSC (GMSC)

SMSC is the specific device of CS domain. GMSC, As the interface between the
system and other public communication networks, has the function of querying location
information. When an MS is called, if the network cannot be sure to which HLR the
subscriber belongs, it should query the HLR through GMSC, and then forwards the call
to the current registered MSC of the MS.
Specifically, operators can decide which MSCs (e.g. part of MSCs or all MSCs) can be
taken as GMSCs,.
7)

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SGSN is a piece of equipment specific to the PS domain, and it provides the connection
between CN and BSS/RNS of the radio access system. In CN, SGSN and
GGSN/GMSC/HLR/EIR/SCP have the corresponding interfaces. SGSN implements
the mobility management and session management of packet data services. It
manages the mobile and communication services of each MS within the mobile
network, and provides the charging information.
8)

Gateway GPRS Supporting Node (GGSN)

GGSN is also a piece of equipment specific to the PS domain. As the interface between
the mobile communication system and other public data networks, it has the function of
querying location information. When an MS is called, first the data is transmitted to
GGSN, then GGSN queries the current location information from HLR and forwards the
call to the current registered SGSN. GGSN also provides the charging interface.
The interface protocols of the R99 core network are shown in Table 3-1.
Table 3-1 Interface names and meanings of the R99 core network
Interface name

Connection entity

Signaling and protocol

A
Iu-CS
B

MSC-BSC
MSC-RNS
MSC-VLR

BSSAP
RANAP

C
D
E
F
G
Gs
H

MSC-HLR
VLR-HLR
MSC-MSC
MSC-EIR
VLR-VLR
MSC-SGSN
HLR-AuC

MAP
MAP
MAP
MAP
MAP
BSSAP+

MSC-PSTN/ISDN/PSPDN

TUP/ISUP

GSN-CG
SGSN-BSC
GGSN-HLR
SGSN-SMS-GMSC/IWMSC
SGSN-SCP
SGSN-EIR
GGSN-PDN
GSN-GSN (Inter PLMN)
GSN-GSN (Intra PLMN)
SGSN-HLR
SGSN-RNC

GTP'
BSSGP
MAP
MAP
CAP
MAP
TCP/IP
GTP
GTP
MAP
RANAP

Ga
Gb
Gc
Gd
Ge
Gf
Gi
Gp
Gn
Gr
Iu-PS

3.3.2 Structure and Interface of the R4 Network


Figure 3-6 shows the basic network structure of the PLMN in R4 version. All function
entities in the figure can be regarded as independent physical devices. The standards
of Nb, Mc and Nc interfaces are included in 23.205 and 29 series of technical
specifications.
In actual application, some functions may be combined into the same physical entity,
such as MSC/VLR and HLR/AuC, to make some interfaces become internal interfaces.

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WCDMA System Structure


Gi

PSTN

PSTN PSTN

CSMGW

Mc

GMSC
server

GGSN

Gc

HLR

Nc

PSTN

AuC

Nb

G
E

MSC server

VLR

Gn

Gr

EIR

VLR

Gf
Gs

Gp

SGSN

MSC server

Nc

Mc

Mc

CN

CS-MGW

CS-MGW
Nb
A

Gb

IuPS

IuCS

RNS

BSS

Iur

BSC

RNC

Abis

BTS

RNC

Iub

BTS

Node B

Node B

cell

Um

Uu

ME
SIM-ME i/f

SIM

or

Cu

USIM
MS

Bold lines indicate the interfaces to support user services while slim lines indicate the interfaces to support signaling

Figure 3-6 Structure of the R4 network

& Note:
(G) MSC Server and MGW can be integrated into a single physical entity - (G) MSC.
In R4 version, the function entities (SGSN and GGSN) of the PS domain remain
unchanged and so do the external interfaces. The function entities of the CS domain
still contain the following devices: MSC, VLR, HLR, AuC, EIR and so on, and the
interrelation between them does not change yet. To meet the development requirement
of all-IP networks, the entities of the CS domain in R4 version have the following
changes:
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1.

When necessary, the MSC can be divided into two different entities: MSC Server
(for processing signaling only) and Circuit Switched Media Gateway (CS-MGW for
processing subscriber data) to implement the MSC function together. The
corresponding GMSC is also divided into GMSC Server and CS-MGW.

1)

MSC Server

The MSC Server is composed of the call control module and the mobility control
module to process calls of the CS domain. It terminates and converts the user-network
signaling into the network-network signaling. It can also contain VLR to process service
data of mobile subscribers and the related CAMEL data.
The MSC Server can control part of call status about the connection control module of
the CS-MGW media channel through interfaces
2)

Circuit Switched Media Gateway (CS-MGW)

CS-MGW is the transmission termination point of PSTN/PLMN, and it connects with


CN and UTRAN through the Iu interface. It may be the termination point of either the
bearer channel from the CS network or the media flow from the packet network (such
as RTP flow in IP networks). On the Iu interface, CS-MGW can support media
conversion, bearer control and payload processing (for example, multi-media digital
signal codec, echo cancellation and conference bridge), and also can support different
Iu options of CS services (based on AAL2/ATM or RTP/UDP/IP).
CS-MGW:
l
l
l

Connecting with MSC server and GMSC server to control resources


Owning and using such resources as echo canceller
Can be equipped with a multimedia digital signal codec

CS-MGW may have necessary resources to support UMTS/GSM transport media.


Furthermore, it can require the H.248 tailor to support multimedia digital signal codec
and framing protocol.
The bearer control module and payload processing capability of CS-MGW can be used
to support such mobility functions as SRNS reallocation/handover and location
services. Nowadays, it is expected that the H.248 standard mechanism can be used to
support these functions.
3)

GMSC Server

The GMSC Server is composed of the call control module and the mobility control
module of GMSC.
2.

HLR can be updated to become a Home Subscriber Server (HSS). For details,
please refer to the R5 network introduction.

3.

In R4, a new entity has been added: Signaling Gateway (SGW)

There are two kinds of singalling transport methods: TDM based tradictional SS7 and
IP based siganlling transport network SIGTRAN.
A siganlling gateway is needed to convert the transport layer protocol (i.e. between
Sigtran SCTP/IP and SS7 MTP) when two equipments communicate using different
signalling transport method. The SGW does not interpret the application layer (e.g.
MAP, CAP, BICC, ISUP) messages but may have to interpret the underlying SCCP or
SCTP layer to ensure proper routing of the signaling.
In R4 networks, some interface protocols are also added, as shown in Table 3-2.

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WCDMA System Structure

Table 3-2 Names and meanings of external interfaces in R4 CN


Interface name

Signaling and protocol

A
Iu-CS
B

MSC-BSC
MSC-RNS
MSC-VLR

BSSAP
RANAP

C
D
E
F
G
Gs
H

MSC-HLR
VLR-HLR
MSC-MSC
MSC-EIR
VLR-VLR
MSC-SGSN
HLR-AuC
MSC-PSTN/ISDN/PSPDN
SGSN-CG
SGSN-BSC
GGSN-HLR
SGSN-SM-GMSC/IWMSC
SGSN-SCP
SGSN-EIR
GGSN-PDN
GSN-GSN (Inter PLMN)
GSN-GSN (Intra PLMN)
SGSN-HLR
SGSN-RNC
(G) MSC Server-CS-MGW
MSC Server-GMSC Server
CS-MGW-CS-MGW
HSS-R-SGW

MAP
MAP
MAP
MAP
MAP
BSSAP+

Ga
Gb
Gc
Gd
Ge
Gf
Gi
Gp
Gn
Gr
Iu-PS
Mc
Nc
Nb
Mh

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Connection entity

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TUP/ISUP
GTP'
BSSGP
MAP
MAP
CAP
MAP
TCP/IP
GTP
GTP
MAP
RANAP
H.248
BICC/ ISUP/TUP

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3.3.3 Structure and Interface of the R5 Network


Alternative
Access
Network

Legacy mobile
signaling
Network

Applications &
Services *)
SCP
Mh

SGSN

GGSN

Mw

Ms

CAP
Gn

Other PLMN

Gp

CSCF

Um

Iu-ps'

TE
R

GGSN

Iu

T-SGW *)
Mc

Gi

Gn

UTRAN

MT

MGCF

Gi

Gc

SGSN

Iu

Gi

MRF
Gf

ERAN

MT
R

Mg

Mr

Gi

EIR
TE

Mm

Cx

HSS *)
Gr

Multimedia
IP Networks

CSCF

R-SGW

Iu 2

PSTN/
Legacy/External

MGW

MGW

Uu

Nb
Mc

Mc

Iu = Iucs (RTP, AAL2)

Nc
MSC server

Iu = Iu(RANAP)

GMSC server

T-SGW *)

MAP
MAP
Applications
& Services *)

Signalling Interface
Signalling and Data Transfer Interface

Mh
HSS *)

R-SGW *)
*) those elements are duplicated for figure
layout purpose only, they belong to the same
logical element in the reference model

Bold lines indicate the interfaces to support user services while slim lines indicate the interfaces to support signaling

Figure 3-7 Structure of the R5 network

& Note:
(G)MSC Server and MGW can be integrated into a single physical entity (G)MSC.
The structure and interface format of R5 version networks is basically the same as that
of R4 networks. However, there are still some differences: In R5, when PLMN includes
the IM subsystem, HLR will be replaced by HSS. Furthermore, the A and Iu-CS
interfaces are supported simultaneously between BSS, CS-MSC/MSC-Server, and the
Gb and Iu-PS interfaces are supported between BSC and SGSN.
For simplicity, R5 interface protocols will not be described here.
Figure 3-8 shows the basic network structure of the IMS in R5 version, where the
function entities and Interfaces of the IMS domain are indicated. All function entities in
the figure can be regarded as independent physical devices. For detail description
please refer to R5 23.002 specification.

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Basic Principles of WCDMA System

WCDMA System Structure

IP Multimedia Networks

Legacy mobile
signalling Networks

PSTN
Mb

Mb

PSTN

BGCF

CSCF
Mm

PSTN

Mk

Mk
Mw

Mj

C, D,
Gc, Gr

BGCF
Mi
Cx

IMSMGCF
MGW Mn

Mr

Mb

MRFP

MRFC

PDF

Mb

Mb

SLF

Dx

Mw

P-CSCF
UE
Gm

Mp
Mb

HSS

CSCF

Mg

Go

IM Subsystem

Bold lines indicate the interfaces to support user services while slim lines indicate the interfaces to support signaling

Figure 3-8 Structure of the R5 IMS network

& Note:
The Gm interface between CSCF and UE is also an interface of the IM subsystem. But due to the layout, it
is not indicated in the Figure.
The following function entities are added to R5:
1. Home Subscriber Server (HSS)
With the IM subsystem, the network should use HSS instead of HLR.
HSS is the main database of mobile subscribers in the network and stores the related
service information to support the call/session processing by the network entities. For
example, through authentication, authorization, name/address resolution and location
dependency, HSS supports the call control server to implement smoothly such
procedures as roaming/routing.
Similar to HLR, HSS should maintain and manage such subscriber-related information
as subscriber identity, address, security, location and subscription services. Based on
this information, HSS can support the CC/SM entity of different control systems (CS
domain control system, PS domain control system and IM control system). Its basic
structure and interfaces are shown in Figure 3-9.

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Basic Principles of WCDMA System

WCDMA System Structure

HSS

Subscription
information

MSC Server GMSC Server

Location
information

Gr

SGSN

Gc

Cx

GGSN

CSCF

Figure 3-9 Basic structure and interface of HSS


HSS can integrate different kinds of information to enhance the service support of
application and service domain from the core network, as well as shielding different
types of network structures from the upper layer. It supports the following functions:
Subscriber control function requested by the IM subsystem, related HLR function
subset requested by the PS domain and HLR function of the CS domain (in case that
subscribers are allowed to access the CS domain, or roam to the traditional networks)
2. Call Status Control Function (CSCF)
CSCF has the following forms: Proxy CSCF (P-CSCF), Serving CSCF(S-CSCF) or
Interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF):
P-CSCF: Serves as the first access point of UE in the IM sub-system.
S-CSCF: Processes the session status in the network.
I-CSCF: Mainly process the route related SIP call request, just like the GMSC function
in CS domain.
The Policy Decision Function (PDF) is a logical entity of the P-CSCF. If the PDF is
implemented in a separate physical node, the interface between the PDF and the
P-CSCF is not standardised.

3. Media Gateway Control Function (MGCF)


l
l
l
l
l

Controlling part of calling status of the connection control module in the IMS-MGW
media channel
Communicating with CSCF
Selecting CSCF according to the call routing numbers from traditional networks
Converting the call control protocols between ISUP and the IM subsystem
Receiving out-band information and forwarding it to CSCF/IMS-MGW

4. IP Multimedia Subsystem-Media Gateway (IMS-MGW)


A IMS-MGW may terminate bearer channels from a switched circuit network and media
streams from a packet network (e.g., RTP streams in an IP network). The IMS-MGW
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Basic Principles of WCDMA System

WCDMA System Structure

may support media conversion, bearer control and payload processing (e.g. codec,
echo canceller, conference bridge),.
IMS-MGW implements the following functions:
l
l
l

Interacts with the MGCF for resource control.


Owns and handles resources such as echo cancellers etc.
May need to have codecs.

The IMS-MGW will be provisioned with the necessary resources for supporting
UMTS/GSM transport media. Further tailoring (i.e. packages) of the H.248 may be
required to support additional codecs and framing protocols, etc.
5. Multimedia Resource Function Controller (MRFC)
The MRFC:
l
l
l

Controls the media stream resources in the MRFP.


Interprets information coming from an AS and S-CSCF (e.g session identifier) and
control MRFP accordingly.
Generates CDRs .

6. Multimedia Resource Function Processor (MRFP)


The MRFP:
l
l
l
l
l

Controls bearers on the Mb reference point.


Provides resources to be controlled by the MRFC.
Mixes incoming media streams (e.g. for multiple parties).
Sources media streams (for multimedia announcements).
Processes media streams (e.g. audio transcoding, media analysis).

7. Subscription Locator Function (SLF)


The SLF:
l

Is queried by the I-CSCF during the Registration and Session Setup to get the
name of the HSS containing the required subscriber specific data. Furthermore
the SLF is also queried by the S-CSCF during the Registration.
Is accessed via the Dx interface

The SLF is not required in a single HSS environment. An example for a single HSS
environment is a server farm architecture.
8. Breakout Gateway Control Function (BGCF)
The Breakout Gateway control function (BGCF) selects the network in which PSTN/CS
Domain breakout is to occur. If the BGCF determines that the breakout is to occur in the
same network in which the BGCF is located within, then the BGCF shall select a MGCF
which will be responsible for the interworking with the PSTN/CS Domain. If the break
out is in another network, the BGCF will forward this session signalling to another
BGCF in the selected network.
The functions performed by the BGCF are:
l
l

2004-08-24

Receives request from S-CSCF to select appropriate PSTN/CS Domain break out
point for the session
Select the network in which the interworking with the PSTN/CS Domain is to occur.
If the interworking is in another network, then the BGCF will forward the SIP
signalling to the BGCF of that network. If the interworking is in another network
and network hiding is required by the operator, the BGCF will forward the SIP
signaling via an I-CSCF(THIG) toward the BGCF of the other network.
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Basic Principles of WCDMA System


l

WCDMA System Structure

Select the MGCF in the network in which the interworking with PSTN/CS Domain
is to occur and forward the SIP signalling to that MGCF. This may not apply if the
interworking is a different network.
Generation of CDRs.

The BGCF may make use of information received from other protocols, or may make
use of administrative information, when making the choice of which network the
interworking shall occur.

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Basic Principles of WCDMA System

Key Technology of WCDMA

Chapter 4 Key Technology of WCDMA


This chapter introduces the principles of every part in a WCDMA transceiver, including
the principle and structure of RAKE receiver, radio frequency (RF) and intermediate
frequency (IF) processing technology, channel codec technology and multi-user
detection technology.

Source

source coder

channel coder

Modulator

Channel

Destination

source encoder

channel encoder

Demodulator

Figure 4-1 Block Diagram of Digital Communication System

Figure 4-1 shows a digital communication system in a common sense, where a


WCDMA transceiver is installed. Channel codec is Convolutional code or Turbo code.
Modem adopts the technology of CDMA direct spread spectrum communication.
Channel coding varies with application data, that is, AMR adaptive multi-rate code for
voice, and ITU Rec. H.324 series protocols for image and multimedia services.

4.1 RAKE Receiver


In CDMA spread spectrum system, channel bandwidth is far larger than channel
flattened fading bandwidth. This is different from traditional modulating technology
which requires balancing algorithm to eliminate the inter-symbol interference. CDMA
spread spectrum codes should be highly auto-correlative. In that case, delay spread in
radio channels can be taken as signal retransfer. If the delay between multi-path
signals exceeds the length of one chip, the CDMA receiver will take them as
non-correlative noise without balancing again.
Due to the fact that available information was included in multi-path signals,, CDMA
receiver can combine multi-path signals to improve signal noise ratio (S/N) of receive
signals. The function of RAKE receiver is to receive signals in multiple paths through
several related detectors and combine them together.. As shown in Figure 4-2, it is a
RAKE receiver, which is a typical diversity receiver specially designed for CDMA
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Key Technology of WCDMA

system. The theory behind is that multi-path signals can be taken as irrelevant ones
when the transporting delay exceeds one chip period.
Baseband
input signal

I
Correlator
with DLL

Local
spread
code

Phase
rotation

Delay
balance

Channel
estimation

Q
Combination
and addition

Path 1
Path 2
Path 3
Time value (path location)
Delay estimation

Figure 4-2 Block Diagram of RAKE Receiver

A correlator with DLL is a demodulating correlator with phase-locked loop of early-late


gate. The early-late gate and demodulating correlator differ from each other by 1/2 (or
1/4) chip respectively. Subtracting the related output of early-late gate can be used for
adjusting code phase. The performance of delay loop depends on loop bandwidth.
Owning to fast fading and noise in the channel, there are great differences between the
actual received phases of various paths and the phases of original transmitted signals.
Therefore, the phases should be rotated before combination based on the results of
channel estimation. Channel estimation in the actual CDMA system is performed based
on pilot symbols in the transmission signals. Depending on sequential pilot signals in
the transmission signals, there are two ways of phase prediction, one is based on
sequential pilot and the other is based on decision feedback technology, as shown in
Figure 4-3 and Figure 4-4.
Baseband I/Q signal

Correlator
(Pilot channel)

Predicted phase and


amplitude results
LPF

I/Q signal

Figure 4-3 Channel Estimation Based on Sequential Pilot Signals

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Basic Principles of WCDMA System

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Baseband I/Q signal

Data symbol

Correlator
DMUX

Symbol
judging

LPF
Pilot symbol interpolation

LPF

Predicted phase and


amplitude results
I/Q signal

Figure 4-4 Channel Estimation Based on Interrupted Pilot Condition Using Decision Feedback
Technology

LPF is a low pass filter, filtering the noise in channel estimation output, whose
bandwidth is generally higher than the channel fading rate. When using interrupted pilot,
we should adopt interpolation technology to perform channel estimation in the interval
of pilot. When using decision feedback technology, we should first decide the data
symbols in the channel, and then take the decided results as apriori information (similar
to pilot) to perform complete channel estimation, and accordingly obtain good channel
estimation results through low pass filtering. The shortcoming of this way is low
accuracy of channel estimation and big decoding delay in case of serious noise, due to
non-linear and non-causal prediction technology.
The function of delay estimation is to obtain signal energy distribution in different time
delay locations through matched filter (as shown in Figure 4-5), recognize multi-path
locations with high energy and distribute their time value to different receive paths of
RAKE receiver. The measuring precision of the matched filter can be up to 1/4 ~ 1/2
chip, but the interval in different receive paths of RAKE receiver is one chip. In the
actual implementation, if the speed of updating delay estimation is very fast (such as
once scores of ms), the phase-locked loop of early-late gate is not necessary.
Local spreading codes and scrambling codes

N-1

Serial input
sampling data
N

N-1

Figure 4-5 Basic Structure of Matched Filter


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The major part used for delay estimation is matched filter, whose function is to correlate
the input data and local codes of different phases and accordingly obtain correlation
energy of different codes and phases. If the sampling data input in serial are the same
as the phases of local spread spectrum code and scrambled code, the correlation
energy is the greatest, with a maximum in the output end of the filter. Depending on
correlation energy, the delay estimator can obtain multi-path arrival time value.
From the perspective of implementation, there are chip level processing and symbol
level processing for the RAKE receiver. For chip level processing, correlator, local code
generator and matched filter are included, while for symbol level processing, channel
estimation, phase rotating and combination are included. Generally, chip level
processing can be implemented with ASIC component, while symbol level processing
can be implemented with DSP. Although the implementation and functions of RAKE
receiver of a mobile station are different from those of a base station, the principles are
just the same.
For several receiver antennas with diversity reception, we can process multiple paths
received by several receiver antennas in the above way. RAKE receiver can receive not
only multiple paths of the same antenna but also multiple paths of different antennas. In
terms of RAKE receiving, the two diversities do not vary essentially. However, the
processing of base-band would get more complex as the data of multiple antennas
requires dividing control processing.

4.2 CDMA RF and IF Designing Principles


4.2.1 CDMA RF and IF Architecture
Rx filter
Lower converter
Duplexer

IF demix filter

ADC

I
Digital lower
Q
converter

Power amplifier

Baseband processor

RF AGC
Local
oscillator
Tx filter

Local
oscillator

IF smooth filter
RF AGC

DAC

Data
I/O

I
Digital upper
Q
converter

Upper converter

Figure 4-6 Block Diagram of CDMA RF and IF Principles

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Figure 4-6 is a block diagram of CDMA RF and IF principles. For the RF part, it is a
traditional analog structure where valid signals are translated into IF signals. The
downlink channel of RF part mainly consists of automatic gain control (RF AGC),
receive filter (Rx filter) and down-converter. The uplink channel of the RF part mainly
consists of automatic gain control (RF AGC), secondary up-converter, wideband linear
power amplifier and RF transmit filter. The IF part consists of the de-aliasing filter, the
down-converter and the ADC for downlink processing, and the IF, a smoothing filter, the
up-converter and the DAC for uplink processing. Regarding WCDMA digital
down-converter, its bandwidth of output base-band signal is larger than that of the IF
signal by 10%, therefore, called wideband signal, it is different from the general GSM
signal and the first generation signal.

4.2.2 CDMA RF Designing Performance and Considerations


As mentioned above, CDMA signal is wideband signal. Therefore, the RF part must be
designed to be suitable for wideband low-power spectrum density signal. CDMAs large
dynamic range, high peak factor (due to linear modulating and multi-code transmission),
and precise high-speed power control loop are great challenges to the linearity and
efficiency of power amplifier.
CDMA makes very high requirements for the linearity and efficiency of the RF front end.
Linearity is demanded for strict output spectrum mask and, at the same time, the great
fluctuation of output signal envelope. To ensure the power amplifier is efficient enough,
we should keep its operating level around 1 dB point.
To make the mobile station more compact and power-efficient, one-step direct
conversion should be implemented from baseband to RF or from RF to baseband at
both the transmit end and the receive end. Such technology is difficult in that the
frequency mixer must be completely linear to avoid any possible intermodulation
product between two adjacent channels. In addition, input isolation of the frequency
mixer must be good enough to avoid DC due to self-mixing.
The performances of AGC and LNA in RF part are crucial as well. In WCDMA designing,
the noise index of AGC should be around 80dB, while that of LNA should be lower than
4dB, because it decides the overall noise index of the receiver.
Analog RF components cause great RF index changes and individual diversity. We
should emulate the total receiver performance loss caused by each RF component in
the worst case, so that a group of stable RF designing parameters can be obtained.
Moreover, according to the latest designing scheme, the number of analog components
should be made as small as possible, which makes it necessary to move ADC and
DAC closer to RF part. However, when considering the present signal processing
capability of the component, the digital IF technology is a commonly used for designing.
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4.2.3 Digital IF Technology


The sampling law shows that, if we perform equal-interval sampling at interval of 1/2fH
second for the continuous time signal m(t), with a frequency band limited at (0,fH) Hz,
m(t) can be definitely determined according to the sampling result.
In this case, 2fH is called Nyquist frequency.
Typically, a modern receiver is structured such that analog-digit conversion and
sampling are performed by the IF component. The specific process is: IF signal M()
with the bandwidth of B undergoes IF sampling with fs 2B(1 +/n), to get the resulting
signal MS(), which further becomes the quantized and sampled low IF signal M'S()
after passing the low pass filter H(). The final signal has the same frequency spectrum
as that of the original one.
It can be seen from the above process that IF sampling can be done with a frequency
lower than the highest valve of signal frequency as long as the frequency meet the
specified conditions. In the meantime, frequency conversion can be achieved through
IF sampling, that is, converting the signal to a lower IF, and multiplying the common
frequencies in the numeric field, and the base-band diversities I and Q can be deduced.

4.3 Diversity Reception Principle


Radio channel is a random time-specific channel, whose fading feature will reduce the
performance of the communication system. There are several measures to avoid
fading, such as channel coding/decoding technology, anti-fading receive technology or
spread spectrum technology. Diversity reception technology is considered as an
effective and economical anti-fading technology.
As we all know, the signal received in radio channel is an combination of multi-path
components arriving at the receiver. If the signals of different paths obtained at the
receive end at the same time can be combined into the whole receive signal properly,
the effect of fading will be reduced. That is how diversity is designed. Literally, the
meaning of diversity is to obtain compound signals separately and then combine them.
The signals, if statistically independent, can be combined such that the performance of
the system can be improved greatly.
Those received signals, completely or almost independent of each other, can be
obtained by the following receiving means: different paths, different frequencies,
different angles and different polarizations.
1)

Space Diversity: set several antennas upon the receive end or the transmit end,
and leave enough space (generally exceeding 10 signal wavelength) between
each two antennas to ensure the signals sent/received in each antenna are
mutually independent. Figure 4-7 is an example of dual-antenna transmit diversity

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to improve receive signals. Thanks to dual-antenna transmit diversity, the


independent receive paths obtained by the receiver are increased and accordingly
combination effect is gained:
Data flow 1

Antenna 1

Restored data flow


Path 1

Data flow
Transmitting

diversity

processing
Path 2

Antenna 2
Data flow 2

Figure 4-7 Orthogonal Transmit Diversity Principle

The principle of orthogonal transmit diversity is shown in Figure 4-7. The two antennas
transmit different data: antenna 1 transmits the data in even location while antenna 2
transmits the data in odd location. Owing to the irrelevant transmit data, the data
arriving at receiver antenna via different antenna paths have corresponding diversity,
and accordingly the power of data transmission can be reduced. In the meantime, the
reliability of data transmission is greatly improved due to lower bit rate of single antenna
transmit data. Therefore, transmit diversity can increase the data transmission speed of
the system.
2)

Polarization Diversity: receive horizontal polarized wave and perpendicular


polarized wave respectively.

Time Diversity: Another way of diversity is to combine irrelevant signals transmitted


asynchronously. Frequency Diversity: The same information is transmitted with several
different carrier frequencies. If frequency difference interval of each carrier frequency is
so large that it exceeds channel relevant bandwidth, the signals transmitted with carrier
frequencies are irrelevant of each other. Angle Diversity: Signals are not related
because antennal beams point to different direction. For example, set several
irradiators on the microwave antenna to generate little-related beams. The diversities
can be combined in practice because they are not mutually repulsive.
We can adopt different ways to combine diversity signals:
1)

Selective Combination (SC): Select the signal with the best S/N from several
discrete ones as the receive signal.

2)

Equal Gain Combination (EGC): Combine several discrete signals by the same
branch gain and take the combined signal as the receive signal.

3)

Maximum Ratio Combination (MRC): Control each combined branch gain to make
them in proportion to the S/N of the existing branch, and then combine them to get
receive signal.

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The above ways are different between the diversity gains in improving the combined
S/N. Generally, diversity reception is effective to improve the effect of radio channel
reception.
(dB) Improvement (r)

12

10

Max ratio combination

Equal-gain combination

Optimal choice

0
1

10

Diversity number k

Figure 4-8 Comparison of different combinations

Figure 4-8 shows the improvement of receiving effects of different combinations. As the
diversity number K increases, the improvement of SC is not ideal, while that of EGC
and MRC is better, whose difference is only about 1 dB.

4.4 Channel Coding


Channel coding is adding some extra codes to a digital sequence M by definite rules so
that irregular information sequence M becomes a regular digital sequence Y (code
sequence). That is to say, in code sequence, every code of information sequence is
related to extra code. At the receiving end, the channel encoder encodes with this
prescient coding rules, or verifies that the received digital sequence R conforms to the
set rule to find out errors in R and then corrects them. That is the basic idea of channel
coding, namely, verifying and correcting the errors during transmission based on
correlativity.
Generally, digital sequence M is transmitted with K codes as a group. We call the one
with K-code block an information code block. Channel encoder adds some extra codes
to each information code block by definite rules, and so the code block with n-code is
constituted. Such n codes are mutually related, that is, the extra n-k codes are called
the supervising codes of this code block. In terms of information transmission,
supervising codes are redundant, as it carries no information. However, such
redundancy gives the codes some error detection and correction capability, so the
reliability of transmission is increased and error rate is reduced. On the other hand, if
we require the speed of information transmission to remain constant, after supervising
codes are added, the duration of each code in the code block should be reduced. For a
binary code, pulse width should be also reduced. If the normalized width of each code
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pulse is 1 before coding, it should be k/n after coding, so channel bandwidth should be
spread by n/k times. In this case, bandwidth redundancy substitutes for reliability of
channel transmission. If the speed of information transmission is allowed to be slower,
the duration of each code after coding can remain the same. In this case, bandwidth
redundancy substitutes for reliability of channel transmission.
As shown in Table 4-1, there are great gaps between coding gains from different coding
methods and the ideal coding gain (up to Shannon limit).
Table 4-1 BPSK or QPSK Coding Gain
Coding Gain
(dB@BER = 10-3)

Coding Adopted
Ideal Coding
Cascaded Code (RS and Convolution
Code Viterbi Coding)
Convolution Code Sequence Coding (Soft
Decision)
Cascaded Code (RS and Group Code)
Convolution Code Viterbi Coding
Convolution Code Sequence Coding
(Hard Decision)
Group Code (Hard Decision)
Convolution Code Threshold Coding

Coding Gain
(dB@BER = 10-5)

Data Speed

11.2

13.6

6.5 ~ 7.5

8.5 ~ 9.5

moderate

6.0 ~ 7.0

8.0 ~ 9.0

moderate

4.5 ~ 5.5
4.0 ~ 5.5

6.5 ~ 7.5
5.0 ~ 6.5

Very High
High

4.0 ~ 5.0

6.0 ~ 7.0

High

3.0 ~ 4.0
1.5 ~ 3.0

4.5 ~ 5.5
2.5 ~ 4.0

High
Very High

It is observed that, for the same modulating, coding gains vary with different coding
schemes. The coding schemes we usually adopt are convolution code, Reed-Solomon
code, BCH code and Turbo code, etc. Convolution code is used for voice and
low-speed signaling in WCDMA, while Turbo code is used for data encoding.

4.4.1 Convolution Code


The n codes generated by the convolution coder during any definite time is dependent
on K information bits during this period and the number of information bits during the
former N-1 period of time. At this moment, supervising code monitors the information
during the N period of time when the number of codes nN is called constraint length.
The decoding schemes of convolution code are as follows: threshold decoding, hard
decision Viterbi decoding and soft decision Viterbi decoding. Among these decoding
schemes, the best one is soft decision Viterbi decoding, which is usually adopted.
Compared with hard decision Viterbi decoding, it is not much more complex, but its
performance is better by 1.5 ~ 2 dB.

4.4.2 Turbo Code


We are striving to approach Shannon limit in coding field, where Turbo code is an
innovation milestone. Grid code is close to Shannon limit in case of bandwidth-limited
channels, while Turbo code is especially applicable to bandwidth-unlimited channels,
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such as deep space communication and satellite communication. Theory emulation


shows that, in the AWGN channel with 0.7dB Eb/N0, Turbo code with 1/2 code rate has
bit error rate of 10-5.
Two or more basic coders are cascaded in parallel via one or more interweavers, and
so Turbo code is constituted as shown in Figure 4-9. Turbo code is based on the
correction of the algorithm and structure of the traditional cascade code. The positive
feedback of iterative decoding is cancelled thanks to the introduction of
internal-interweaver. The algorithm of Turbo iterative decoding involves SOVA (soft
output Viterbi algorithm) and MAP (maximum posterior probability algorithm) and so on.
Thanks to each iterative performance of MAP algorithm excels Viterbi algorithm,
iterative decoding of MAP algorithm can get more coding gains.

Convolution encoder 1
Interleafer
Convolution encoder 2

Holing multiplexing

Input m t

Output y t

Figure 4-9 Turbo Coder

4.5 Multi-User Detection Technology


Multi-user detection (MUD) technology can improve the system performance and
increase the system capacity by canceling the inter-cell interference. In addition, MUD
technology can effectively release the near/far effect in direct sequence spread
spectrum CDMA system.
As the channels are non-orthogonal and different users spread spectrum codes are
non-orthogonal, there is mutual interference between users. MUD is to cancel the
mutual interference between multi users. Generally speaking, for uplink MUD, only the
inter-cell interference can be canceled, while the intra-cell interference is difficult to
cancel due to lack of necessary information (such as the detailed information of users in
adjacent cells). For downlink MUD, only the interference in common channel (such as
pilot frequency and broadcast channel) can be canceled.
The system model of MUD can be shown in Figure 4-10: each user transmits data bit

b1 , b2,, bN , frequency is spread by spread spectrum code word via non-orthogonal


fading channel in the space, and noise n(t) is added, then the user signals received at
the receive end is correlated to synchronous spread spectrum code word and the
correlation is composed of multiplier and integral cleaner. The interference between

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users is removed with MUD algorithm from the de-spread result, thus obtaining the

b
estimated value of users signal b1 , b2,, N .
It is observed from the following figure that the performance of MUD depends on
synchronized spread spectrum code word tracing of the correlator, detection
performance of each user signal, relative energy and the accuracy of channel
estimation.
b1

b1

Spreading
code word 1

b1

b1

Spreading
code word 2

b1

Spreading code word 1

b1

b1

Spreading code word 2

b1

bk

b1

Spreading
code word k

Integral
cleaner

b1

b1
b 2

b1
b k

Integral
cleaner
Spreading code word k

b1
b1

b1
Multi-user detection algorithm

b2

Integral
cleaner

Noise n(t)

b1

b1

Figure 4-10 System Model of MUD Technology

According to the uplink MUD, only the intra-cell interference can be canceled. Provided
that the inter-cell interference energy was f times of the intra-cell interference energy,
the capacity in the cell would increase by (1+f)/f without intra-cell interference.
According to the rule that the transmit power attenuates linearly by 4 powers of distance,
the inter-cell interference is 55% of intra-cell interference. Therefore, MUD would
ideally reduce 2.8 times of interference. However in practice, the validity of MUD is
below 100%. The validity of MUD depends on the detection methods, traditional
receiver estimation accuracy and intra-cell user service model. For example, if there
are some high-speed data users in the cell, MUD is adopted to cancel the interference
power caused by these high-speed data users, which obviously can be more effective
to increase system capacity.
But the shortcoming of it is that noise would be increased and demodulation signal
would be greatly delayed. Decorrelator is shown in Figure 4-11.
Interference cancellation is to estimate interference from different users and multiple
paths and then cancel the interference from the receive signals. Serial interference
cancellation (SIC) is to gradually cancel the interference caused by the biggest user,
while parallel interference cancellation (PIC) is to simultaneously cancel the
interference cause by other users.

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S1

H 1(t)

Match filter

S2

H 2(t)

Match filter

SK

R -1

Match filter

H K (t)

Multipath
delay
estimation

R=

Soft judging

Channel
decoder

Soft judging

Channel
decoder

Soft judging

Channel
decoder

Correlation
calculation

[ ]
1

r 1

Figure 4-11 Decorrelator

PIC is, for each user, to cancel signal energy caused by other users at every level of
interference cancellation and demodulate it. The interference caused by other users
can be basically canceled after 3 ~ 5 times of such interference cancellation. Note that
at every level of interference cancellation, not all signal energy caused by other users
can be canceled. We just multiply it by a relatively small coefficient to avoid the growing
error in the traditional receive detection. The advantage of PIC is that it can easily
implement multi-user interference cancellation and the delay of it is better than that of
SIC.
As far as WCDMA uplink MUD is concerned, the present ideal technology is PIC,
because it demands just 3 to 5 times of resources traditional receiver demands, and the
data path delay is also small.
As far as WCDMA downlink MUD is concerned, it focuses on canceling the interference
of downlink common pilot channel, shared channel and broadcast channel and the
interference of common channels in a co-frequency adjacent base station.

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Chapter 5 WCDMA Radio Interface Technology


In the WCDMA system, the mobile UE connects with the fixed system network through
a radio channel on the radio interface. Called Uu interface, this interface is one of the
most important interfaces in the WCDMA system. The radio interface technology is the
core one in the WCDMA system, which shows the core technologies and main
differences of all kinds of 3G mobile communication systems.
By learning the WCDMA radio interface, we can understand the operating principle
between the UE and the WCDMA network systems and get known to the
communication procedures. Learning this chapter is also the precondition of the
WCDMA radio network planning.

5.1 Overview of the WCDMA Radio Interface


5.1.1 Protocol Structure of Radio Interfaces
Figure 5-1 shows the protocol structure of UTRAN radio interfaces related to the
physical layer. From the perspective of protocol structure, the WCDMA radio interface
is composed of the following three layers: Physical layer, medium access control layer
and radio resource control layer. In terms of protocol layer, the WCDMA radio interface
has three channels: Physical channel, transport channel and logical channel.

Layer 2

Control/measure

Layer 3
Radio Resource Control (RRC)
Logical channel
Medium Access Control (MAC)
Transport channel
Layer 1

Physical layer

Physical channel

Figure 5-1 Physical Structure of Radio Interfaces


The circles among different layers/sub-layers in the Figure are Service Access Points
(SAPs).
The physical layer provides data transmission services required by the upper layer.
These services are accessed by using the transport channel through MAC sub-layer.

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The physical layer provides services for the MAC layer through a transport channel,
while the proprieties of transmission data determine what kind of transport channel
should be used and how to transmit. The MAC layer provides the RRC layer with
services through a logical channel, while the proprieties of the transmitted data
determine the type of the logical channel. In the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer,
the logical channel is mapped as a transport channel. MAC layer should select proper
Transport Format (TF) for each transport channel, according to the transient source
rate of logical channels. The selection of transmission format relates tightly to the
transport format combination set of each connection (defined by receiver control
module).
RRC layer also provides services for upper layers (non-access stratums) through
Service Access Points (SAPs). The SAPs are used by the upper layer protocol and the
RANAP of the Iu interface respectively on the UE side and the UTRAN side. All
signaling of upper layers (including mobility management, calling control and
conversation management) are compressed into RRC messages, and then are sent
on radio interfaces.
The RRC layer configures such protocol entities of lower layers as physical channels,
transport channels and logical channels by using the control interfaces between it and
lower layer protocols. The RRC layer also uses control interfaces to control commands
in real-time, for example, it requires the lower layers to perform specific measurement,
and asks them to use the same interfaces to report measurement interfaces and error
information.
Logical channel: Carrying user services directly. According to the types of the carried
services, it falls into two types: Control channel and service channel.
Transport channel: It is the interface of radio interface layer 2 and physical layer, and
is the service provided for MAC layer by the physical layer. According to whether the
information transported is dedicated information for a user or common information for
all users, it is divided into dedicated channel and common channel.
Physical channel: It is the ultimate embodiment of all kinds of information when they
are transmitted on radio interfaces. Each kind of channel which uses dedicated carrier
frequency, code (spreading code and scramble) and carrier phase (I or Q) can be
regarded as a dedicated channel.
At the transmitting end, the data flows from MAC and upper layers are transmitted in
radio interfaces, reused and mapped by channel coding, transport channel and
physical channel, spread and modulated by physical channel, and then formed the
data flows of radio interfaces to be transported on the radio interfaces. At the receiving
end, it is a reverse process.
This chapter gives a brief introduction to logical channels and transport channels, and
focuses on the process of physical channels and layers. By learning the process of

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physical channels and layers, we can deeply understand the operating principle of
WCDMA radio interfaces, and get known to the WCDMA network planning.

5.1.2 Spreading Spectrum and Scrambling


On radio interfaces, after source coding and channel coding, the data flow continues to
spread spectrum, scramble and modulate.

Figure 5-2 Relation between Spreading Spectrum and Scrambling Code


The code word used for spreading spectrum is called channelization code, for which
OVSF (Orthogonal Variable Spreading Factor) code is used. The code word used for
scrambling is called scramble, which adopts GOLD sequence.

1. Spreading spectrum and channelization code


Channelization code is used to distinguish the transmission from the same source,
that is, different physical channels of the same terminal between the downlink
connection and upper-link one of a sector. The spread spectrum/channelization of
UTRAN is based on orthogonal variable spreading factor (OVSF) technology.
OVSF can change the spreading factor and keep the orthogonality between different
spreading codes with various lengths. Code words can be selected from the code tree
shown below. If one connection uses variable spreading factors, it can use correctly
the code tree for dispreading according to the minimum spreading factor. Therefore,
just select the channelization codes from the branch of the code tree directed by the
minimum spreading factor code.

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Figure 5-3 Structure of channelization code tree

2. Scramble
Scramble is used to separate the terminals or BSs, and it is used after spreading
spectrum, so it does not change the bandwidth of signals but only separate the signals
from different sources. After scrambling, the problem that several transmitters use the
same code word spreading spectrum is solved. Figure 5-2 shows the relation between
spreading spectrum and channelization chip rate in UTRA. After the spread spectrum
of channelization code, it already reaches chip rate, so the scrambling code does not
affect the symbol rate.
The table below summarizes the functions and features of the scrambling codes and
channelization codes.

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Table 5-1 Functions and Features of the Scrambling Codes and Channelization Codes.
Channelization code

Scrambling code

Uplinks: Distinguish physical data


Purpose

(DPDCH) and control channels (DPCCH).

Uplinks: Distinguish terminals

Down links: Distinguish the down links of

Down links: Distinguish cells

different users in the same cell.


Uplinks: 10 ms = 38400 chips or =66.7 us = 256
Length

4~256 chips (1.0-66.7 us)


The down links contain 512 chips

chips
For advanced BS receipt, option 2 can be
selected.
Down links: 10 ms = 38400 chips

Quantity of
code words
Code cluster
Spreading
spectrum

Quantity of code words under a


scrambling word is equal to that of
spreading factors

Uplinks: Several million


Down links: 512

OVSF (Orthogonal Variable Spreading

Long 10 ms code: Gold code

Factor)

Short code: Extended S (2) code cluster

Yes, transport bandwidth is added.

No, transport bandwidth is not affected.

5.2 Logical Channel


For the types of logical channels, please see Figure 5-4:

Figure 5-4 Types of logical channels

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1. Control channel
The following control channels are only used to transmit the information of control
plane:
Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH): Downlink channel used to broadcast system
messages.
Paging Control Channel (PCCH): Downlink channel used to send paging messages.
Common Control Channel (CCCH): Bidirectional channel used to send control
messages between the network and UE. This channel is mapped to RACH/FACH
transport channel. Identifiers of long UTRAN UE (U-RNTI, including SRNC) are
required in this channel, which ensures the uplink messages to be sent to the correct
SRNC.
Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH): Bidirectional channel used to send control
messages between the network and UE. This channel is allocated by the network to
the point-to-point dedicated channel of the UE when RRC is built.

2. Traffic channel
The following traffic channels are only used to transmit the information of user plane:
Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH): Bidirectional point-to-point channel dedicated for
one UE and used to transport user information.
Common Traffic Channel (CTCH): Point-to-point down link used to transport the
dedicated user information for all or a group of UEs.

5.3 Transport Channel


5.3.1 Types of Transport Channels
A transport channel is used at the physical layer to provide services for the upper layer.
It defines the mode and features of data transmission on air interfaces.
It is divided into two types: Dedicated channel and common channel. The main
difference between them is: Resources in the common channel are shared by all users
or a group of users within a neighborhood, while resources in the dedicated channel
are defined by the dedicated code on specific frequency, and they are used only for
individual users.

5.3.2 Dedicated Transport Channel


Only one kind of dedicated transport channel exists, that is, Dedicated Channel (DCH).
The Dedicated Channel (DCH) is an uplink or downlink channel. In the whole or part of
the neighborhood, DCH uses beam-forming antenna to transmit.

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5.3.3 Common Transport Channel


Totally, there are the following six transport channels: BCH, FACH, PCH, RACH,
CPCH and DSCH.
l

BCH (Broadcast Channel): It is a downlink transport channel, which is used to


broadcast the dedicated information in the system or in a cell. The BCH always
transmits in the whole cell, and it has a separate transport format.

FACH (Forward Access Channel): it is a downlink transport channel. In the whole


or part of the cell, FACH uses beam-forming antenna to transmit.

PCH (Paging Channel): It is a downlink transport channel, which always transmits


in the whole cell. The transmission of the PCH associates with that of page
indication generated by the physical layer so as to support the effective dormant
mode program.

RACH (Random Access Channel): it is an uplink transport channel. It always


receives information in the whole cell. It features collision and adventure, using
open loop power control.

CPCH (Common Packet Channel): it is an uplink transport channel, and it


associates with the dedicated channel of a downlink. This dedicated channel is
used to provide CPCH power control of the uplink and CPCH control commands
(such as emergency).It features initial collision and adventure, using open loop
power control.

DSCH (Downlink Shared Channel): it is a downlink transport channel shared by


some UEs, associating with one or more DCHs. In the whole or part of the cell,
DSCH uses beam-forming antenna to transmit.

5.3.4 Indicator
The WCDMA protocol defines a series of indicators for the transport channel. In fact,
an indicator is a fast lower-layer signaling entity. It does not occupy any entity block but
is implemented directly in the physical layer by the physical channel.
There are the following related indicators: Acquisition Indication (AI), Access Preamble
Indication (API), Channel Assignment Indication (CAI), Collision Detection Indication
(CDI), Paging Indication (PI) and Status Indication (SI). Indicators can be either binary
or ternary. Their mapping to the indicator channel is determined by the physical
channel. The physical channel used to transmit indicators is called Indicator Channel
(ICH).

5.3.5 Mapping from the Logical Channel to the Transport Channel


The transport channel serves the logical channel. From Figure 5-5, we can see the
mapping relation between the logical channel and the transport channel.

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Figure 5-5 Mapping between the logical channel and the transport channel

5.4 Physical Channel


5.4.1 Relevant Concepts of the Physical Channel
The physical channel is defined by a specific carrier frequency, scramble,
channelization code (optional), time bucket from beginning to end (there is time
duration) and the corresponding phase of the uplink. The duration is defined by the
beginning and end time, measured by using the integer times of chip.
Radio frame: It is a processing frame containing 15 timeslots. The length of a radio
frame is 38400 chips.
Timeslot: It is a unit composed of some bit fields, 2560 chips in length.
The default duration of a physical channel lasts from the beginning hour to end hour.
The non-consecutive physical channels will be noted clearly.
The transport channel (more abstract high-layer than the physical layer) can be
mapped to the physical layer. For the physical layer, it maps the data from a Coded
Composite Transport Channel (CCTrCH) to the physical channel. Besides the data, it
also maps channel control commands and physical signaling.
Like the physical channel, the physical signaling is also an entity based on air features,
but no transport channel or indicator is mapped to physical signaling. The physical
signaling can support the functions of the physical channel.

5.4.2 Architecture of the Uplink Physical Channel


The uplink physical channel is divided into two types: Uplink dedicated physical
channel and uplink common physical channel.
The uplink dedicated physical channel is divided into uplink Dedicated Physical Data
Channel (uplink DPDCH) and uplink common physical channel.
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The uplink common physical channel is divided into Physical Random Access Channel
(PRACH) and Physical Common Packet Channel (PCPCH).

1. DPDCH/DPCCH
Figure 5-6 shows the frame structure of the uplink dedicated physical channel. Each
frame is 10 ms long, divided into 15 timeslots. And each timeslot is 2560 chips long,
and corresponds to a power control period.
The DPDCH is a dedicated transport channel. There may be zero, one or more
DPDCHs in a radio link.

Figure 5-6 Channel architecture of the DPCH


The Dedicated Physical Control Channel (DPCCH) includes the following: The known
pilot bits used to support channel estimation for the relevant detection, Transmit Power
Control (TPC), FeedBack Information (FBI) and an optional Transport Format
Combination Indicator (TFCI). There is only one DPCCH in each radio link.
The parameter k in Figure 5-6 determines the number of bits of each uplink
DPDCH/DPCCH. It relates to the Spreading Factor (SF) of the physical channel. 1
SF=256/2k The SF of the DPDCH ranges from 256 to 4. The SF of the uplink DPCCH
is always 256, that is, there are 10 bits for each uplink DPCCH timeslot.

2. PRACH
The physical random access channel is used to transport RACH.
The transmission of the RACH is based on the timeslot ALOHA mode with fast
acquisition indication. The UE may begin to transport in a time offset defined in
advance, indicated as access timeslots. Every two frames have 15 access timeslots,
at an interval of 5120 chips. Figure 5-7 shows the quantity of the access timeslots and
the interval between them. The information about the availability of the access timeslot
in the current cell is provided by the high-layer information.
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Figure 5-7 The access timeslot quantity and interval of the RACHs
The structure of the random access transmission is shown in Figure 5-8. It includes
one or more 4096-chip preambles and a 10-ms or 20-ms message part.

Figure 5-8 Structure of the random access transmission


l

Preambles for the RACH

The preamble of the random access transmission is 4096 chips long, and it is 256
times repetition of a signature with the length of 16 chips. Totally, there are 16 different
signatures.
l

RACH message part

Figure 5-9 shows the structure of the random access messages. The 10-ms message
is divided into 15 timeslots, with Tslot=2560 chips. Each timeslot contains two parts:
One is the data part, where the RACH transport channel is mapped; the other is
control part, which is used to transport the control information of layer 1.The data part
and control part are transmitted concurrently. A 10-ms message is composed of one
radio frame, while a 20-ms message is of two 10-ms radio frames. The length of the
message part is determined by the signatures and/or timeslot, which is configured by
the high layer.
The data part contains 10*2k bits, where k = 0, 1, 2, 3.For the message data part, they
correspond respectively to 256, 128, 64 and 32 spreading factors.

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The control part includes eight known pilot bits used to support the channel estimation
for the relevant detection and two TFCI bits, which corresponds to 256 spreading
factors for the message control part. In the random access message, the total of TFCI
bits is 15*2=30 bits. The value of TFCI corresponds to a specific transport format of
the current random access information. In case that the PRACH is 20 ms long, the
TFCI will repeat in the second radio frame.

Figure 5-9 Structure of the random access message

3. PCPCH
The Physical Common Packet Channel (PCPCH) is used to transport CPCH.
l

The transmission of the CPCH

The transmission of the CPCH is based on the DSMA-CD (Digital Sense Multiple
Access-Collision Detection) mode with fast acquisition indication. The UE may begin
to transport at the predefined time offset corresponding to the frame border of the BCH
received by the current cell. The timing and structure of the access timeslot is the
same as that of the RACH. The structure of the CPCH random access transmission is
shown in Figure 5-10.The CPCH random access transmission includes the following
parts: One or more 4096-chip-long Access Preambles (APs), one 4096-chip-long
Collision Detection Preamble (CD-P), one 0-timeslot-long or 8-timeslot-long DPCCH
Power Control Preamble (PC-P) and one variable Nx10 ms message.

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Figure 5-10 Structure of the CPCH random access transmission


l

Access preambles of the CPCH

Like the RACH preamble part, the feature sequence of the RACH are used here, but
fewer than the RACH preambles. You can select a scramble from different code
segments of the Gold code which consists of the RACH preamble scrambles, and you
can also use the same scramble if the signature is shared.
l

Collision detection preamble part of the CPCH

Like the RACH preamble part, the CPCH collision detection preamble part uses the
feature sequence of the RACH. You can select a scramble from different code
segments of the Gold code which consists of RACH and CPCH preamble scrambles.
l

Power control preambles of the CPCH

The Preamble part of power control is called Power Control Preamble (PC-P) of the
CPCH. The length of the power control preamble (Lpc-preamble) is a high-layer parameter,
and can have zero or eight timeslots.
l

CPCH messages

Figure 5-11 shows the frame structure of the uplink common physical channel. Each
frame is 10 ms long, divided into 15 timeslots. And T slot = 2560 chips, equal to a power
control period.

Figure 5-11 The frame structure of uplink PCPCH data and control part
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The data part contains 10*2k bits. Here, k = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, which corresponds


respectively to 256, 128, 64, 32, 16, 8 and 4.
Each message contains N_Max_frames 10 ms frames at most.N_Max_frames is a
high layer parameter. Each 10 ms frame is divided into 15 timeslots, with Tslot=2560
chips. And each timeslot contains two parts: The data part used to transport high-layer
information and the control part of the layer 1 control information. The data part and
control part are transmitted concurrently.
The spreading factor of the CPCH message control part is 256.
The Dedicated Physical Control Channel (DPCCH) includes the following: The known
pilot bits used to support channel estimate for the relevant detection, Transmit Power
Control (TPC), FeedBack Information (FBI) and an optional Transport Format
Combination Indicator (TFCI).

5.4.3 Structure of the Downlink Physical Channel


1. DPCH
Only one kind of downlink dedicated physical channel exists, that is, downlink
Dedicated Physical Channel (downlink DPCH).
Within a downlink DPCH, the dedicated data is generated at layer 2 or higher layer (i.e.
DCH) and is transmitted by time multiplexing together with the control information
(including the known pilot bits, TPC instruction and an optional TFCI) generated by
layer 1.Therefore, the downlink DPCH can be regarded as a time multiplexer between
the downlink DPDCH and DPCCH.
Figure 5-12 shows the frame structure of the downlink DPCH. Each frame is 10 ms
long, divided into 15 timeslots. And Tslot=2560 chips, corresponding to a power control
period.

Figure 5-12 Frame Structure of the Downlink DPCH

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The parameter k in Figure 5-12 determines the total number of bits in each uplink
DPCH timeslot. It relates to the Spreading Factor (SF) of the physical channel, that is,
1 SF = 512/2k So, the SF ranges from 512 to 4.
There are the following two kinds of downlink DPCHs: One is TCFI included (i.e.
services occurred simultaneously), and the other one is TFCI excluded (i.e. fixed rate
services).

2. The DL-DCCH of CPCH


The spreading factor of the DL-DPCCH (message control part) is 512. Figure 5-13
shows the frame structure of the DL-DPCCH of the CPCH.

Figure 5-13 Frame structure of the downlink DPCCH of the CPCH


The DL-DPCCH of the CPCH is composed of known pilot bits, TFCI, TPC commands
and CPCH Control Command (CCC). The CPCH control command is used to support
CPCH signaling. There are two types of CPCH control commands: Layer 1 control
command (message start indication) and high-layer control command (i.e. emergency
abort command).

3. CPICH
The CPICH is a downlink physical channel with fixed rate (30 kbps, SF=256), used to
transport the predefined bit/symbol sequence. Figure 5-14 shows the frame structure
of the CPICH.

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Figure 5-14 Frame structure of the CPICH


When the transmit diversity () is used in any downlink channel of a cell, the two
antennas will use the same channelization code and scramble to transmit CPICH. In
this case, for antenna 1 and 2, the predefined symbol sequences are different, as
shown in Figure 5-15. Without the transmit diversity, the symbol sequence of antenna
1 in the figure will be used.
A n te nn a 1

A n te nn a 2

-A -A A

A A

A A

A A

A A

A -A -A A

A A

A -A A -A -A A

slo t # 1 4

A A

A A

A -A -A A

A A

A A

A -A -A A

slo t # 0

Fra m e # i

F ra m e B o u nd a ry

A A

A -A -A
slo t #1

F ra m e # i+ 1

Figure 5-15 Modulation mode used for the CPICH (with A = 1+j)
There are two types of CPICH: Primary and secondary CPICH. They have different
purposes in the physical characteristics.
l

Primary Common Pilot Channel (P-CPICH)


The Primary Common Pilot Channel (P-CPICH) has the following characteristics:
-

The same channelization code always used

Primary scrambles used

Only one CPICH in each cell

Broadcasting in the whole cell

The primary CPICH is the phase reference for the following downlink channels: SCH,
primary CCPCH, AICH and PICH. It is also the default phase reference for other
downlink physical channels.
l

Secondary Common Pilot Channel (S-CPICH)


The Secondary

Common Pilot

Channel (S-CPICH)

has the following

characteristics:
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Any channelization code with SF = 256 can be used

Primary or auxiliary scrambles may be used

Zero, one or more secondary CPICHs may exist in every cell

Transmission allowed in the whole or part of the cell

The secondary CPICH may be the reference for the secondary CCPCH and
downlink DPCH. In this case, the high-layer signaling will notify the UE.

4. P-CCPCH
The CCPCH is a downlink physical channel with fixed rate (30 kbps, SF=256), used for
BCH transportation.
Figure 5-16 shows the frame structure of the P-CCPCH. Compared with the downlink
DPCH, it does not have TPC commands, TFCI or pilot bits. Within the first 156 chips of
each timeslot, the P-CCPCH does not transmit. However, in this period, the primary
and secondary SCHs transmit.

Figure 5-16 Frame structure of the P-CCPCH


When diversity antennas are used in the UTRAN and open loop diversities are used to
transmit P-CCPCH, the data part of the P-CCPCH is encoded via STTD. Except #14,
the last two bits of an even timeslot are performed STTD coding together with the first
data bits of the next timeslot. The last two bits of the timeslot #14 are not performed
STTD coding, but are transmitted from the two antennas with the same power, as
shown in Figure 5-17. The high-layer signaling determines whether the P-CCPCH is
performed STTD coding. Furthermore, by modulating the SCH, the high-layer
signaling also points out whether the STTD codes exist on the P-CCPCH. During the
period of power-on and handoff between cells, the UE can ensure whether the STTD
codes exist on the P-CCPCH by receiving the high-layer message, demodulating the
SCH or through the combination of the above two methods.

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Figure 5-17 STTD codes of the P-CCPCH data symbols

5. S-CCPCH
Secondary CCPCH is used to transmit FACH and PCH. There are two kinds of
S-CCPCHs: TECI included and TFCI excluded. Whether the TFCI is transmitted is
determined by the UTRAN. Therefore, it is mandatory for all UEs to support the TFCI
using. The possible rate set is the same as that of the downlink DPCH. Please see
Figure 5-18 for the frame structure of the S-CCPCH.

Figure 5-18 Frame structure of the S-CCPCH


The parameter k in Figure 5-18 determines the total number of bits in each downlink
CCPCH timeslot. It relates to the Spreading Factor (SF) of the physical channel,
SF=256/2k.So, the SF ranges from 256 to 4.
The FACH and PCH can map the same or different S-CCPCHs. If they map the same
S-CCPCH, they can map the same frame. The main difference between the CCPCH
and a downlink dedicated physical channel is that the CCPCH is not controlled by
inner loop power. And the main difference between the P-CCPCH and the S-CCPCH
is: The P-CCPCH has a pre-defined fixed rate, while the S-CCPCH can support a
variable rate by containing TFCI. Furthermore, the P-CCPCH can transmit
consecutively in the whole cell, however, the S-CCPCH can use the same method as

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that of the DCH to transmit in narrow beams (only valid for the S-CCPCH of the
transport FACH).

6. SCH
The Supplemental Channel (SCH) is a downlink channel used for cell search. It
contains two channels: Primary SCH and Secondary SCH. The 10 ms radio frame of
the primary and secondary SCHs is divided into 15 timeslots, each 2560 chips in
length. Figure 5-19 shows the structure of the SCH radio frame.

Figure 5-19 Structure of the Synchronization Channel (SCH)


The primary SCH includes a 256-chip-long modulation code and a Primary
Synchronization Code (PSC), which is indicated with Cp in Figure 5-19, and
transmitted once every timeslot. The PSCs of each cell in the system are the same.
The secondary SCH transmits repeatedly one 256-chip-long modulation code with 15
series and one SSC together with the Primary SCH. In Figure 18, the SSC is indicated
with csi,k, of which i = 0, 1,, 63 is the serial number of the scramble group, and k = 0,
1, 2,,14 is the timeslot number. Each SSC is a code selected from 16 different
256-chip-long codes. The sequence of the secondary SCH indicates which code
group the uplink scramble belongs to.
When the transmit diversity is used, the TSTD method will be adopted.

7. PDSCH
The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) is used to transport the Downlink
Shared Channel (DSCH).
One PDSCH corresponds to a root PDSCH channelization code or a channelization
code under it. The PDSCH is allocated within a radio frame, on the basis of a signal
UE. Within a radio frame, the UTRAN can allocate different PDSCHs to different UEs
under the same PDSCH root channelization code, on the basis of code multiplexing.
Within the same radio frame, multiple parallel PDSCHs with the same spreading factor
can be allocated to a signal UE. This is a special example of multi-code transport. The
frames of all PDSCHs under the same PDSCH root channelization code are
synchronous.
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Within different radio frames, the PDSCHs allocated to the same UE can have
different spreading factors.
The structure of the PDSCH frame and timeslot is shown in Figure 5-20.

Figure 5-20 Frame structure of the PDSCH


For radio frames, each PDSCH always associates with a downlink DPCH. The
PDSCH need have neither the same spreading factor as the associated DPCH, nor
frame alignment.
The DPCCH part of the associated DPCH transmits all information related to layer 1,
that is, the PDSCH does not carry any layer 1 information. To notify the UE that there
are data to be decoded on the DSCH, two possible signaling methods, or the TFCI
field or the high-layer signaling carried by the associated DPCH will be used.
If the signaling method based on the TFCI is used, the TFCI will inform the UE of the
PDSCH channelization code as well as of the transient PDSCH-related transport
format parameters.
In other cases, information will be given by the high-layer signaling.

8. PICH
The Paging Indicator Channel (PICH) is a physical channel with fixed rate (SF=256),
used to transport paging indicators (PIs). The PICH always associates with a
S-CCPCH which is the mapping of a PCH transport channel.
Figure 5-21 shows the frame structure of the PICH.A PICH frame is 10 ms long,
including 300 bits (b0, b1, , b299).Of which, there are 288 bits (b0, b1, , b287) used to
transport the paging indicator. The left 12 bits are not used, which are reserved for the
future.

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Figure 5-21 Structure of the PICH

9. AICH
The Acquisition Indication Channel (AICH) is a physical channel used to transport the
acquisition indicators (AIs). The AIs correspond to the signatures on the PRACH.
Figure 5-22 shows the structure of the AICH. The AICH consists of 15 consecutive AS
sequences, each 5120 chips in length. Each timeslot is composed of two parts: One is
Access Indication (AI) consisting of 32 real value symbols (a0, , a31); the other is the
free part of the consecutive 1024 bits, which is not the formal composition of the AICH.
The non-transmit part of the timeslot is reserved for the future CSICH or other physical
channels.
The spreading factor of the AICH channelization code is 256.
The phase reference of the AICH is the P-CPICH.

Figure 5-22 Frame structure of the AICH

10. AP-AICH
The Access Preamble Acquisition Indication Channel (AP-AICH) is a physical channel
with a fixed rate (SF = 256) used to transport the API of the CPCH. The API
corresponds to the AP signature transmitted by the UE.
The AP-AICH and the AICH can use the same or different channelization codes. The
phase reference of the AP-AICH is the P-CPICH. Figure 5-23 shows the structure of
the AP-AICH. The AP-AICH uses a 4096-chip-long part to transmit the API, followed
by a 1024-chip-long free part which is not the formal composition of the AP-AICH. And
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this free part of the timeslot is reserved for the future CSICH or other physical
channels.
The spreading factor of the AP-AICH channelization code is 256.

Figure 5-23 Structure of the AP-AICH

11. CD/CA-ICH
Collision Detection/Channel Assignment Indication Channel (CD/CA-ICH) is a physical
channel with a fixed rate (SF = 256). When the CA is inactive, it is used to transport the
CDI, or when the CA is active, it is used to transport the CDI/CAI. Figure 5-24 shows
the structure of the CD/CA-ICH. The CD/CA-ICH and the AP-AICH can use the same
or different channelization codes.
The CD/CA-ICH uses a 4096-chip-long part to transmit the CDI/CAI, followed by a
1024-chip-long free part which is reserved for the CSICH or other physical channels.
The spreading factor of the CD/CA-ICH channelization code is 256.

Figure 5-24 Structure of the CD/CA-ICH

12. CSICH
The CPCH Status Indication Channel (CSICH) is a physical channel with a fixed rate
(SF=256), used to transport the CPCH status information.
The CSICH always associates with a physical channel used to transmit the AP-AICH
of the CPCH, and uses the same channelization code and scrambling code as this
channel. Figure 5-25 shows the frame structure of the CSICH. The CSICH consists of
15 consecutive ASs, each 40 bits in length. Each timeslot is composed of two parts:
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One is a 4096-chip-long free point, the other is Status Indication (SI) consisting of 8
bits (b8i,.b8i+7), of which i is the access timeslot number. The CSICH uses the same
modulation as the PICH. And its phase reference is also the P-CPICH.

Figure 5-25 Structure of the CPCH Status Indication Channel (CSICH)

5.4.4 Mapping from the Transport Channels and Physical Channels


In the UTRAN, the data generated by the high layer is air transmitted by a transport
channel of the different physical channels in the mapping physical layer. Therefore, the
physical layer is required to have a variable rate-supported transport channel for
providing broadband services, and at the same time, several services can be
multiplexed to the same connection in it.
A physical channel together with one or more physical data channels constitutes a
Coded Composite Transport Channel (CCTrCH). In a given connection, there may be
more CCTrCHs, but only one physical control channel.
The mapping relation between transport channels and physical channels is shown in
Figure 5-26.

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Figure 5-26 Mapping relation between transport channels and physical channels

5.4.5 Spreading and Modulation of Physical Channels


1. Spreading of the uplink channels
When spreading spectrum is applied in the physical channel, it includes the following
two operations: The first is channelization operation. Each data symbol is converted
into some chips, so the bandwidth of the signaling is enhanced. The number of chips
converted from the data symbols is called spreading factor. The second is scramble
operation. In this operation, scrambles are added to the spreading signals. In
channelization operation, the data symbol of I and Q channels respectively multiply by
the orthogonal spreading factor. And in scramble operation, the signals of I and Q
channels multiply by the scrambles of the complex value. Here, I and Q represent the
real part and imaginary part.

1)

DPCH

Figure 5-27 shows the spreading spectrum principle of the uplink DPCCH and DPDCH.
The binary DPCCH and DPDCH used for spreading spectrum are indicated via real
sequence, that is, the binary 0 is mapped as the real +1, and the binary 1 is mapped
as the real -1.The DPCCH spreads to the dedicated chip rate via the channelization
code cc, and the nth DPCCH (DPDCHn) spreads to the dedicated chip rate via the
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channelization code cd,n. One DPCCH can transmit simultaneously together with six
parallel DPDCHs.

Figure 5-27 Spreading spectrum of the uplink DPCCH and DPDCH


After channelization, the spreading signals of the real value are performed
emphasized processing. The DPCCH is processed via the gain factor
DPDCH via

d.

c,

and

After emphasized processing, the power distribution rate of the

DPCCH and DPDCH can be adjusted.

2)
l

PRACH
Preambles for the PRACH

The PRACH preambles include the code of the multiplex value.


l

PRACH messages

Figure 5-28 describes the principle of spreading spectrum and scrambling of the
PRACH messages, which include data part and control part. The binary data and
control part used for spreading spectrum are indicated via real sequence, that is, the
binary 0 is mapped as the real +1, and the binary 1 is mapped as the real -1.The
control part spreads to the dedicated chip rate via the channelization code cc, while the
data part spreads to the dedicated chip rate via the channelization code cd.
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The data part of a


PRACH message
The control part of a
PRACH message

Figure 5-28 Spreading spectrum of the PRACH messages


After channelization, the spreading signals of the real value are performed
emphasized processing. The data part is processed via the gain factor
control part via

d,

and the

c.

After emphasized processing, the code streams of the I and Q channels become those
of the complex value. And then, the signals of this complex are scrambled via Sr-msg,n
code. The 10 ms scrambles correspond to the messages part of the 10 ms radio frame,
e.g. the first scramble corresponds to the starting part of radio frame messages.

3)
l

PCPCH
Preambles for the PCPCH

The PCPCH preambles include the code of the multiplex value.


l

PCPCH messages

Figure 5-29 describes the principle of spreading spectrum of the PRACH messages,
which is the same as that of the PRACH messages.

The data part of a


PCPCH message

The control part of a


PCPCH message

Figure 5-29 Spreading spectrum of the PCPCH messages

2. Modulation of the uplink channel


The chip rate of the modulation code is Mcps.
In the uplink, the chip sequences of the complex value generated by spreading are
modulated in QPSK mode, as shown in Figure 5-30.
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Separate the real


part from the
imaginary part

Chip sequence of
complex values
generated by
spreading spectrum

Pulse
formed
Pulse
formed

Figure 5-30 Uplink modulation

3. Spreading spectrum of the downlink channels


Figure 5-31 describes the spreading spectrum for all downlink physical channels
except the SCH, e.g. the P-CCPCH, S-CCPCH, CPICH, AICH, PICH, PDSCH and
downlink DPCH. The physical channel without spreading spectrum includes a
sequence of a real value symbol. The symbols of all the channels except the AICH
may have the following values: +1, -1 and 0, of which 0 represents DTX
(Discontinuous Transmission).
Each pair of symbols are divided into I channel and Q channel after the serial-parallel
conversion. The rule for division is that the symbols with even numbers are allocated
to the I channel and those with odd numbers are allocated to the Q channel. After
spreading spectrum, phase justification and additional aggregation, the I and Q
channels of a real value become the sequence of a complex value. This sequence is
scrambled by the scrambling code Sdl,n of the complex value.

All downlink physical


channels except the SCH

Figure 5-31 Spreading spectrum for all downlink physical channels except the SCH
Figure 5-31 describes how the different downlinks combine. The signals of the
complex value after spreading spectrum (the arrow S in Figure 5-32) are emphasized
via the emphasized factor G. The complex P-SCH and S-SCH are emphasized
respectively by Gp and Gs. All the downlink physical channels are combined together
through complex emphasis.

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Figure 5-32 Spreading and Modulation of the SCH and P-CCPCH

4. Modulation of the downlink channels


The chip rate of the modulation code is 3.84 Mcps.
In the downlink, the chips of the complex value generated by spreading are modulated
in QPSK mode, as shown in Figure 5-33.

Separate the
real part from
the imaginary
part

Chip sequence of
complex values
generated by spreading
spectrum

Pulse
formed
Pulse
formed

Figure 5-33 Modulation of the downlink channels

5.5 Physical layer Procedures


5.5.1 Synchronous Procedure
1. Cell search
During the cell search, the UE searches a cell and determines the downlink scrambles
are synchronous with the frames of the common channel. Generally, it has the
following three steps:
Step 1: Timeslot synchronization
At this step, the UE uses the primary synchronization code of the SCH to get the
timeslot synchronization of this cell. Typically, it uses a matched filter to match the
primary synchronization code which is common for all cells. The timeslot timing of this
cell can be got from the wave peak value output by the detection matched filter.
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Step 2: Frame synchronization and code set identification


At this step, the UE uses the secondary synchronization code of the SCH to get the
timeslot synchronization, and identifies the cell set found at the first step, which is
implemented by correlating the signals received and all possible secondary
synchronization code sequences, and identifying the maximum correlation value. The
periodical shift of the sequence is unique, so if the code set is the same as the frame
synchronization, it can be confirmed.
Step 3: Scramble identification
At this step, the UE finds the definite primary scramble used by the cell. The primary
scramble is got by correlating all codes in the identified code set on the CPICH
through symbols. After identifying the primary scramble, the primary CCPCH can be
detected, so the specific BCH information of the system and cell can be read.
If the UE has received some related information about the scrambles, step 2 and 3 can
be simplified.

2. Common channel synchronization


The radio frame timing of all common physical channels can be confirmed after the cell
search. During the cell search, the radio frame timing of the P-CCPCH can be got, and
then the timing for these channels can be confirmed, according to the related timing
relation between the P-CCPCH and other common physical channels.

3. Dedicated channel synchronization


After synchronizing the common channels, during the establishment of services and
other correlations, the UE can synchronize uplink and downlink dedicated channels,
according to the corresponding protocol specification.

5.5.2 Paging Procedure


After registering a network, the UE is allocated to a paging group. If there is paging
information sent to any UE belonging to this paging group, the Paging Indicator (PI)
will appear periodically in the Paging Indicator Channel (PICH).
After detecting the PI, the UE will decode the next PCH frame transmitted in the
S-CCPCH to check whether there is paging information sent to it. When the PI
receiving indication judgment is less reliable, the UE is also required to decode the
PCH. The paging intervals are shown in Figure 5-34.

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Paging indication

Paging messages

Figure 5-34 Relationship between the PICH and PCH


The less the PI appears, the less the UE is waken from the hibernating mode, and the
longer the battery lives. Obviously, the compromising solution lies on the time
corresponding to the call from the network. However, increased PI intervals can not
infinitely extend the service life of batteries, so in free mode, the UE still has other
tasks for processing.

5.5.3 Random Access Procedure


During the random access procedure of the CDMA system, the near-far effect should
be suppressed, because the power required for sending is unknown in the initialization
transmission. The transmit power, set by using the principle of open loop power control
and according to the absolute power got by measuring the received power, fluctuates
greatly. The RACH of UTRAN has the following operation procedures:
l

The UE decodes the BCH so as to find the usable RACH sub-channels and
scrambles as well as signatures.

The UE selects a RACH sub-channel randomly from the usable access group as
well as a signature from the usable signatures.

The UE measures the downlink power level, and sets initial power level for the
uplink RACH.Sending the selected signature in the access preamble

The UE decodes the AICH, views the transmit power of the enhanced preamble
for the 1dB times step length provided by the base station. The preamble will be
resent in the next access timeslot.

After detecting the AICH of the base station, the UE begins to send 10 ms or 20
ms messages transmitted by the RACH.

The RACH procedures are shown in Figure 5-35. The UE keeps sending the preamble
until it receives the confirmation of the AICH, then sends the messages.

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AICH
RACH

PACH
Preamble

AICH
Preamble

PRACH
message

Figure 5-35 Power change of the PRACH preamble and transmission of the messages
When the RACH transmits data, spreading factors and data rates are variable
between frames, which is indicated by the TFCI of the PRACH control part.Usable
spreading factors range from 256 to 32, therefore, a signal frame in the RACH may
have 1200 signaling symbols, which can be mapped as 600 or 400 bits according to
the channel codes.For the maximum bit, its reachable coverage area is smaller than
that transmitted with the minimum rate, especially when the RACH does not use
macro diversity in the dedicated channel.

5.5.4 Access Procedure of the CPCH


The operation of the uplink Common Packet Channel (CPCH) is similar to that of the
RACH, but they differ in the CPCH and the first layer Collision Detection (CD) which is
similar to the preamble symbol structure of the PRACH.

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CD/CA-ICH

AP-AICH

CPCH

CPCH preamble

AP-ICH

CPCH-CD

CPCH CAI

CPCH message

Figure 5-36 Access procedure of the CPCH


To reduce collision and interference, the CPCH Status Indication Channel (CSICH) is
added in the new protocol version for the CPCH. The CSICH is an independent
channel of the BS for transmission, which has indicator bits to indicate different CPCH
status. When all the CSICH are occupied, it avoids unnecessary access attempt so
that the throughput of the CPCH is enhanced. Only when the CSICH indicates that
free CPCH part is available, can the UE send random access preambles on the uplink
CPCH.
l

Before the UE detects the AICH, operations of the CPCH are the same as those
of the RACH, as shown in Figure 5-36.

After that, the UR sends another feature sequence Collision Detection (CD)
preamble with the same power level. This feature sequence is chosen randomly
from the given feature sequence set.

Then, the BS will send the same feature sequence in the CD Indication Channel
(CD-ICH) to respond to the UE. In this way, the collision probability of the first
layer can be reduced.

After receiving the correct response from the BS on the CD Indication Channel
(CD-ICH), the UE will transmit the CPCH messages, which may last several
frames.

The CPCH Channel Assignment Indication channel (CPCH-CAI) is an option of


the system. It indicates the UE to use the unoccupied CPCHs in the form of
channel assignment. CA messages and collision detection messages are sent in
parallel.

Why is the CPCH required to use the collision detection mechanism, while not
required in the RACH?
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First, the long-time transmission requires the collision detection mechanism of the
physical layer. During the RACH procedure, only one RACH message may be lost due
to collision, however, during the CPCH procedure, an undetected collision may cause
several frames lost as well as extra interference.
Secondly, the fast power control of the CPCH helps reduce the interference caused by
data transfer, at the same time, it also emphasizes the importance of adding collision
detection mechanism into the CPCH. If a UE adjusts the power via the power control
command used for other UEs, and sends the data within several frames, it will cause
serious interference in the cell, and more serious during the high rate data
transmission.
Before the transmission of CPCH messages, there is a segment of length-optional
power control preamble for choosing. To quicken the convergence speed of power
control, the power control preambles of eight timeslots use 2dB step length.
The CPCH must restrict the maximum duration for transmission, because the CPCH
does not support soft handoff and compressed mode for measuring within the
frequency and the system. Too long transmission may cause call dropping and strong
interference. The UTRAN set maximum CPCH transmission during service
negotiation.

5.5.5 Downlink Transmit Diversity


1. Space Time Transmit Diversity (STTD) based on space and time block codes
The downlink open loop transmit diversity adopts the Space Time Transmit Diversity
(STTD) based on the space and time block codes. In the UTRAN, STTD codes are
optional, but the supporting for the STTD on the UE is mandatory.
STTD codes are used in four consecutive channel bit blocks. The diagram of the
general STTD encoder for the channel bits b0, b1, b2, b3 is shown in Figure 5-37.
Channel encoding, rate matching and interleaving are performed in the non-diversity
mode.

Figure 5-37 Diagram of the general modules for STTD encoder

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2. Time Switched Transmit Diversity (TSTD) used for the SCH


The TSTD can be used for the SCH. In the UTRAN, the TSTD used for the SCH is
optional. But on the UE, supporting for the TSTD is mandatory.
Figure 5-38 shows the structure of the SCH by using TSTD. In even-number timeslots,
both the PSC and the SSC transmit on antenna 1, while in odd-number timeslots, both
of them transmit on antenna 2.

Figure 5-38 Structure of the SCH by using TSTD.

3. Closed loop transmit diversity


The general structure of the transmitter supporting DPCH closed loop transmit
diversity is shown in Figure 5-39. Channel encoding, interleaving and spreading
spectrum are the same as those of non-diversity mode. The compound signals after
spreading are sent to two transmitter antennas, and are weighted by the specific
weighting factors w1 and w2 of the antennas. Weighting factors are determined by the
UE, and are notified of the transceiver in the UTRAN cell by using D bits of the FBI
field in the downlink DPCCH.
The key of a closed loop transmit diversity is calculation of the weighting factors, and it
is divided into the following two modes, according to different calculation methods of
weighting factors:
l

Mode 1 uses phase justification: The dedicated pilot symbols (orthogonal) used
by the two antennas to transmit DPCCH are different.

Mode 2 uses phase/amplitude justification: The dedicated pilot symbol used by


the two antennas to transmit DPCCH are the same.

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Figure 5-39 General structure of the downlink transmitter supporting DPCH closed loop transmit
diversity
Table 5-2 summarizes possible modes of open and closed loop transmit diversity
applied in different types of downlink physical channels. The STTD and closed loop
mode are forbidden to be used in the same physical channel at the same time. What is
more, if any downlink physical channel uses a transmit diversity, the P-CCPCH and
the SCH will also use it.
Furthermore, the mode of a transmit diversity used on the PDSCH frame must be the
same as that used on the associated DPCH. Within the duration of the PDSCH frame
and a timeslot before this PDSCH frame, the mode (open or closed loop) of a transmit
diversity used the associated DPCH cannot be changed. However, it is allowed to
convert closed loop mode 1 into closed loop mode 2, or vice versa.
The under the modes of downlink physical channels indicates the mode can be
used, and the indicates it cannot.
Table 5-2 Types of physical channels and modes of transmit diversities
Types of physical channels

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Open loop transmit diversities

Closed loop transmit diversity

TSTD

STTD

P-CCPCH

SCH

S-CCPCH

DPCH

PICH

PDSCH

AICH

CSICH

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Basic Principles of WCDMA System

Basic Signaling Procedures

Chapter 6 Basic Signaling Procedures


6.1 Overview
6.1.1 Types of Signaling Procedures
There are various signaling procedures in the WCDMA system. In the protocol stack
plane, there are signaling procedures in the access stratum and the non-access
stratum; and in the network architecture plane, there are signaling procedures in the
CS domain and the PS domain.
The signaling procedures in the access stratum and the non-access stratum are
classified from the angle of the protocol stack. In the protocol stack, the RRC and
RANAP layers and the protocol layers below them are called the access stratum, and
the protocol layers MM, SM, CC and SMS above them are called the non-access
stratum. Simply speaking, the access stratum signaling procedures refer to the
procedures in which the radio access stratum equipment such as RNC and Node B
shall participate. The non-access stratum signaling procedures refer to the procedures
in which only UE and CN participate. The RNC and Node B in the radio access network
do not participate in these procedures. That is, the access stratum signaling makes
preparation for the signaling exchange of the non-access stratum. Through the
signaling exchange of the access stratum, signaling paths are set up between UE and
CN, so that the UE and the CN can enter the non-access stratum signaling procedures.
The access stratum procedures comprise PLMN selection, cell selection and radio
resource management procedures. The radio resource management procedures are
the procedures in the RRC layer. They consist of RRC connection setup procedure,
UE-CN signaling setup procedure, RAB setup procedure, call release procedure,
handover procedure and SRNS relocation procedure. Among them, the handover
procedure and the SRNS relocation procedure involve two cases: Inter-RNC, and
inter-SGSN/MSC. In that case, the SGSN/MSC needs to participate in the procedures.
Therefore, in the protocol stack plane, the access stratum procedures are bottom layer
procedures that provide bottom layer bearer for the upper layer signaling procedures.
The non-access stratum procedures consist of CS mobility management, CS call
control, PS mobility management, and PS session management.

6.1.2 General Introduction


The following gives a simple description of the basic signaling procedures.
First is the service procedure from the UE switch-on, service proceeding to UE
switch-off in the case the subscriber does not move.

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MO Service Flow
Non Access Strat um : MM/SM/CC/SMS
AS : RANAP

AS :RRC

CN

UTRAN
Swit ch on

AS : P LMN Selection , Cell Selection , RRC Connection Setup , Iu Connection Setup


MM P rocedures of NAS : Attach , Security Functions , Location Management;

Start Service : Call Control P rocedures of CS , Section Management P rocedures of P S , set up the service bearer
Finish Service : Call Control P rocedures of CS , Section Manage ment Procedures of P S, release the service bearer
Swit ch off

MM P rocedures of NAS : Detach ( include the IMSI Detach, GP RS Detach )

AS : RRC Connection Release

Iu Connection Release

Figure 6-1 Calling procedure


1)

2)

3)

4)
5)

6)

The UE is switched on and first enters the signaling exchange of the access
stratum. First the UE selects a PLMN (the network of a certain operator) and a cell,
and camps on an appropriate cell. Then it sets up the RRC connection, and the
signaling connection of the Iu interface. By now, a signaling path has been set up
between the UE and the CN for the non-access stratum signaling procedures
through these access stratum signaling procedures.
Then the non-access stratum mobility management procedure starts between the
UE and the CN. The subscriber attach procedure will be executed, which includes
minor procedures such as authentication, ciphering. The location update
procedure will be executed when the subscriber in idle state change the location.
After passing the procedures such as authentication, the UE enters the
service-related procedures of the non-access stratum, which includes the CS call
connection procedure and the PS session management procedure. These
procedures establish the service bearer for service proceeding. After that, the
subscriber can start to make a call or access the Internet.
When the subscriber ends the service, the CS call connection procedure or the PS
session management procedure will be executed to release the service bearer..
If the subscriber powers off the UE at this time, the UE and the CN will use the
non-access stratum mobility management procedure to detach from the CS
domain or the PS domain.
When the non-access stratum signaling exchange ends, the system will use the
access stratum signaling procedures to clear the previously setup lu signaling
connection and the RRC signaling connection.

By now, the service procedure from UE switch-on, service proceeding to UE switch-off


ends in the case that the subscriber does not move. As shown in the above, the service
procedure is completed through the coordination of the signaling procedures of both
the access stratum and the non-access stratum. The access stratum signaling
procedures provide signaling bearers for the non-access stratum signaling procedures.
The following is a called service procedure.

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MT Service Flow
Non Access Strat um : MM/SM/CC/SMS
AS : RANAP

AS : RRC

CN

UTRAN
IDLE St ate:

NAS: P aging P rocedure initiated by CN


AS : RRC Connection Setup

Iu Connection Setup

MM P rocedures of NAS : Security Functions;

Start Service : Call Control P rocedures of CS , or Section Management P rocedures of P S, set up the service bearer
Finish Service : Call Control P rocedures of CS , or S ection Management P rocedures of PS, release the service bearer
IDLE St ate:

ASRRC Connection Release

Iu Connection Release

Figure 6-2 Called procedure


1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

The UE of the subscriber is in the idle state. Now it is paged from the network side.
If there is no available signaling connection between UE and CN, the UE, the RNC
and the CN will enter the access stratum signaling procedures, and set up the
RRC connection and the Iu interface signaling connection.
The authentication and ciphering procedures of mobility management may be
executed.
The service bearer is established through the CS call connection procedure and
the PS session management procedure for service proceeding.
After the service ends, the related service bearer is cleared.
The signaling connections of the access stratum, including the Iu interface
signaling connection and the RRC connection are released.

The above two procedures describe the service proceeding in the case that the
subscriber does not move. The description is simple. Detailed descriptions of the
procedures are given in the subsequent chapters.
Due to the mobility feature of mobile communications, there are a number of
procedures related to mobility processing. For example, if a subscriber changes his/her
location when he/she does not handle any service, mobility management procedures
such as location update will be executed. And if the subscriber changes his/her location
while handling the service, procedures such as handover and SRNS relocation will be
executed.

6.2 UE State and Paging Procedure


6.2.1 UE State
The UE may operate in one of two basic modes: Idle mode and connected mode. After
being switched on, the UE operates in the idle mode and is identified by a non-access
stratum identification such as IMSI, TMSI or P-TMSI. The UTRAN does not save the
information of the UE operating in the idle mode. It can only page all the UEs in a cell or
all the UEs at one paging time slot.
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After establishing an RRC connection, the UE shifts from the idle mode to the
connected mode: CELL_FACH or CELL_DCH state. The connected mode of UE is also
called the RRC state of UE. It reflects the level of the UE connection and the transport
channel that can be used by the UE. When the RRC connection is released, the UE
shifts from the connected mode to the idle mode.

Figure 6-3 Operating modes of the UE


In the connected mode, the UE has altogether four states:
1. CELL_DCH state
The CELL_DCH state features the following:
l
l
l

A dedicated physical channel is allocated to the UE in both the uplink and the
downlink.
RNC knows the cell where the UE camps on according the current active set of the
UE.
The UE can use the dedicated transport channels, downlink/uplink shared
transport channels or the combination of these transport channels.

The UE enters the CELL_DCH state in one of the following two ways:
1)
2)

In the idle mode, the UE sets up the RRC connection on the dedicated channel,
thus shifting from the idle mode to the CELL_DCH state.
In the CELL_FACH state, the UE uses the common transport channel and then is
converted to the dedicated transport channel, thus shifting from the CELL_FACH
state to the CELL_DCH state.

2. CELL_FACH state
The CELL_FACH state features the following:
l

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No dedicated transport channel is allocated to the UE.


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l
l

Basic Signaling Procedures

The UE continuously monitors a downlink FACH channel.


A default uplink common channel (for example, RACH) or an uplink shared
transport channel is allocated to the UE for the UE to use at any time during the
access procedure.
The cell-level location of the UE is known by the UTRAN, specifically, the cell
reported during the last cell update initiated by UE.

The UE performs the following operations in the CELL_FACH state:


l
l
l
l
l

Monitors an FACH.
Monitors the BCH channel of the current serving cell to decode the system
messages.
Initiates a cell update procedure when the cell becomes another UTRA cell.
Uses the C-RNTI allocated in the current cell as the UE identification on the
common transport channel unless a new cell is selected.
Transmits uplink control signaling and small data packets on the RACH.

In the CELL_FACH state, if the data service is not activated in a certain time period, the
UE will enter the CELL_PCH state so as to save the power. In addition, if neither the UE
nor the network side has the data transport requirement after the UE temporarily exits
the CELL_PCH state and executes the cell update, the UE will return to the CELL_PCH
state.
3. CELL_PCH state
The CELL_PCH state features the following:
l
l
l

No dedicated channel is allocated to the UE.


The DRX (discontinuous reception) technology is adopted for the UE to monitor
the information transmitted on the PCH channel at a specific paging time slot.
No uplink activity is allowed.

The cell-level location of the UE is known by the UTRAN, specifically, the cell reported
during the last cell update initiated by the UE in the CELL_FACH state.
The UE performs the following operations in the CELL_PCH state:
Monitors the paging time slot based on the DRX period and receives the paging
messages transmitted on the PCH.
Monitors the BCH channel of the current serving cell to decode the system messages.
Initiates the cell update procedure when the cell changes.
The DCCH logical channel cannot be used in this state. To initiate any activity, the
network needs to send a paging request via the PCCH logical channel of the cell where
the UE is.
The UE shifts to the CELL_FACH state in one of the following two ways: By paging from
the UTRAN and by any uplink access.
4. URA_PCH state
The URA_PCH state features the following:
l
l
l
l

No dedicated channel is allocated to the UE.


The DRX technology is adopted for the UE to monitor the information transmitted
on the PCH channel at a specific paging time slot.
No uplink activity is allowed.
The URA-level location of the UE is known by the UTRAN, specifically, the URA
reported during the last URA update initiated by the UE in the CELL_FACH state.

The UE performs the following operations in the URA_PCH state:


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l
l
l

Basic Signaling Procedures

Monitors the paging time slot based on the DRX period and receives the paging
messages transmitted on the PCH.
Monitors the BCH channel of the current serving cell to decode the system
messages.
Initiates the URA update procedure when the URA changes.

The DCCH logical channel cannot be used in this state. To initiate any activity, the
network needs to send a paging request via the PCCH logical channel of the URA
where the UE is.
No resource is allocated for data transport in the URA_PCH state. Therefore, if the UE
has the data transport requirement, it needs to first shift to the CELL_FACH state.

6.2.2 Paging Procedure


Different from fixed communications, the location of the communication terminal in
mobile communications is not fixed. To establish a call, the CN sends a paging
message to the UTRAN via the Iu interface, and the UTRAN forwards the message to
the UE through the paging procedure on the Uu interface, so that the UE being paged
initiates the signaling connection setup procedure with the CN.
When receiving the paging message from a certain CN domain (CS or PS domain), the
UTRAN first needs to decide whether the UE has established a signaling connection
with another CN domain. If the UE has not established any signaling connection, the
UTRAN can only learn the current service area where the UE is and will send the
paging message (PAGING TYPE 1 message) to the UE via the paging control channel.
If the UE has already established a signaling connection, the UTRAN can learn the
channel where the UE is currently active when the UE is in the CELL_DCH or
CELL_FACH state and will send the paging message (PAGING TYPE 2 message) to
the UE via the dedicated control channel. In this sense, the paging falls into the
following two types based on the UE mode and state:
1) Paging a UE in the idle mode or the PCH state
In this paging type, the PCCH (Paging Control Channel) is used to send paging
messages to the UE in the idle mode or in the CELL_PCH or URA_PCH state to page it.
This paging type has the following functions:
l
l
l

To establish a call or a signaling connection, the upper layer at the network side
initiates the paging procedure.
To transit the UE state from CELL_PCH or URA_PCH to CELL_FACH, the
UTRAN initiates the paging to trigger the UE state transition.
When the system message changes, the UTRAN initiates the paging of the UE in
the idle mode or in the CELL_PCH or URA_PCH state so as to trigger the UE to
read the updated system information.

UTRAN

UE
PAGING TYPE 1

Figure 6-4 Paging a UE in the idle mode or the PCH state

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The UTRAN initiates the paging procedure by sending a PAGING TYPE 1 message at
a proper paging time slot via the PCCH. This paging moment is related to the IMSI of
the UE. The UTRAN may page a UE at several paging time slots to let the UE correctly
receive the paging message.
2)

Paging a UE in the CELL_DCH or CELL_FACH state

In this paging type, the dedicated paging message is sent to a UE in the CELL_DCH or
CELL_FACH state.

UTRAN

UE
PAGING TYPE 2

Figure 6-5 Paging a UE in the CELL_DCH or CELL_FACH state


For a UE in the CELL_DCH or CELL_FACH state of the connected mode, the UTRAN
initiates the paging procedure by sending a PAGING TYPE 2 message via the DCCH
(Dedicated Control CHannel). This paging type is also called the dedicated paging
procedure.

6.3 UE in the Idle Mode


6.3.1 Overview
After being switched on or when roaming, the UE needs to find the network and
establish contact with the network in the first place. It can get the network services only
in this way. Therefore, activities of the UE in the idle mode are essential to the UE. This
section describes the procedure for the UE to find the network and establish contact
with the network.
In the UE idle mode, this process falls into PLMN selection and reselection, cell
selection and reselection, and location registration, whose relationship is shown in the
following figure:

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User selection
of PLMN

Indication
to user

Automatic/
Manual selection

PLMN Selection
and Reselection
Location
Registration
response

PLMNs
available

PLMN
selected
NAS Control

Cell Selection
and Reselection
Radio measurements

Registration
Area
changes
CM requests

Location
Registration

Figure 6-6 UE in the idle mode


After being switched on, the UE shall first select a PLMN, and then select a cell
belonging to this PLMN. When finding such a cell, the UE can learn the information of
the neighboring cells via the system message (broadcast). Thus, it can select the cell
with the best signal quality from all these cells to camp on. Then the UE initiates the
location registration procedure (attach or location update). After that, the UE camps on
the cell. The residence of the UE has four functions as follows:
l
l
l
l

The UE can receive the system messages broadcast by the PLMN.


The UE can initiate the random access procedure in the cell.
The UE can receive the paging from the network.
The UE can receive the cell broadcast service.

After the UE camps on the cell and its registration succeeds, the signal strengths of the
current cell and the neighboring cells keep changing as the UE moves. Therefore, the
UE needs to select the most suitable cell. This is the cell reselection procedure. The
most suitable cell may not be the cell with the best signal quality currently. For example,
the UE is at the border of a cell, and moves between two cells that belong to different
LAs or RAs. In this case, the UE keeps initiating the location update, thus wasting the
network resources and the UEs energy. Therefore, the reselection of a cell from all the
cells shall follow a certain rule that is detailed later.
When finding out that the cell selected during the cell reselection belongs to another LA
or RA, the UE shall initiate the location update procedure so that the network can get
the latest location information of the UE. It detects the change of the LA or RA via the
SIB1 in the system broadcast message.
If the location registration or update fails, for example, the network rejects the UE, or
the UE is outside the coverage of the current PLMN, the UE can conduct the PLMN
reselection to select another available PLMN.

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6.3.2 PLMN Selection and Reselection


The purpose of PLMN selection and reselection is to select the best PLMN available
(that is, the PLMN that can provide normal services). To achieve this purpose, the UE
will maintain a PLMN list that is sorted by priority, and search the PLMNs from high
priority to low priority, thus finding the PLMN with the highest priority. In addition, there
are two modes of PLMN selection and reselection: Automatic and manual. Simply, the
automatic PLMN selection is the process in which the UE automatically selects a PLMN
by the PLMN priority, while the manual PLMN selection is the process in which all the
currently available PLMNs are presented to the subscriber for the subscriber to select
one of them.

6.3.3 Cell Selection and Reselection


The UE needs to select the cell after selecting the PLMN. It should select the cell with
the best signal quality that belongs to the PLMN.
First, if some information related to the PLMN, such as frequency and scramble, is
stored in the UE, the UE will use the information to conduct cell search (stored
information cell selection). In this way the UE can find the network quickly. In most
cases, the UE is switched off and on again in the same location, for example, UE
switch-off at night and switch-on in the morning. Therefore, such information is stored in
the SIM card or the non-volatile memory of the UE.
1. Cell selection
The cell selection procedure is as follows:
1)

Search for a cell

The cell search aims to find a cell, although the cell may not belong to the selected
PLMN. The cell search procedure is as follows (it is certain that a frequency should be
locked in the first place):
The UE synchronizes the slot via the primary SCH. After that, it shall synchronize the
frame. The frame synchronization is implemented by using the synchronization code of
the secondary SCH. This procedure also determines the scramble group of the cell.
Then the UE finds the scramble with the maximum result value by associating each
scramble in the scramble group with the CPICH. Thus the primary scramble is
determined.
It is obvious that if the UE has already known some information of the cell, such as the
frequency or even the primary scramble, the above procedure can be greatly speeded
up.
2)

Read broadcast channel

The UE obtains the scramble of PCCPCH in Step 1) above. The PCCPCH channel
code is already known and is unique in the entire UTRAN. The UE now can read the
information in the broadcast channel.
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After reading the MIB, the UE can decide whether the PLMN currently found is the
desired PLMN, since the MIB has the PLMN identity field. If yes, the UE will find
the other SIBs and get their contents based on the scheduling information of the
other SIBs in the MIB. If not, the UE has to search for the next frequency and start
the procedure over again (starting from the cell search).
If the current PLMN is the PLMN to be found by the UE, then the UE reads SIB3
and gets Cell selection and re-selection info. It calculates whether the cell
residence standard is satisfied with the acquired information. If the standard is
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Basic Signaling Procedures

satisfied, then the UE considers the cell as a suitable cell. It then camps on the cell,
reads other necessary system information, and then initiates the location
registration procedure.
If the above conditions are not satisfied, the UE then reads SIB11 and obtains the
neighboring cell information. Then it can calculate and decide whether the neighboring
cell satisfies the cell selection and residence standards.
When finding any neighboring cell satisfying the cell residence standard, the UE will
camp on the cell, read the other necessary system information, and then initiate the
location registration procedure.
If it does not find a cell satisfying the cell residence standard, it will consider that there is
no PLMN coverage, and proceed with the PLMN selection and reselection procedure.
2. Cell reselection
In the idle mode, the UE needs to monitor the signal quality of the current cell and the
neighboring cell so as to select the best cell to provide the service. This is the cell
reselection procedure. If the cell reselection condition is satisfied within the
Treselection time, the UE will select the cell, camp on the cell, and read its broadcast
message. By now, the cell reselection ends.
3. Cell selection after the UE leaves the connected mode
When transiting from the connected mode to the idle mode, the UE needs to conduct
the cell selection to find a suitable cell. This selection procedure is the same as the
common cell selection procedure. The only difference is that the cell selected at this
time is cell used in the connected mode. If a suitable cell cannot be found from these
cells, the stored information cell selection mode should be adopted.

6.3.4 Location Registration


For these procedures, see MM and GMM procedures.

6.4 Radio Resource Management Procedures


6.4.1 RRC Connection Setup Procedure
In the idle mode, when the non-access layer of the UE requests to establish a signaling
connection, the UE will initiate the RRC connection procedure. Each UE has up to one
RRC connection only.
When the SRNC receives the RRC CONNECTION REQUEST message from the UE,
its RRM (Radio Resource Management) module decides whether to accept or reject
the RRC connection request based on specific algorithm. If it accepts the request, it will
then decide whether to establish a dedicated channel or a common channel. The RRC
connection setup procedure differs with the channel used for the RRC connection
establishment.

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1. RRC connection established on a dedicated channel

UE

SRNC

NodeB
1. RRC CONNECTION REQUEST

3. RL SESETUP REQUEST

2. Allocate
RNT1, L1 and
L2 parameters

4. RL SETUP RESPONSE

5. ALCAP establishment and synchronization


6. RRC CONNECTION SETUP
7. RRC CONNECTION SETUP COMPLETE

Figure 6-7 RRC connection established on the dedicated channel


Description:
1) The UE sends an RRC Connection Request message via the uplink CCCH to
request to establish an RRC connection.
2) Based on the RRC connection request cause and the system resource state, the
SRNC decides to establish the connection on the dedicated channel, and
allocates the RNTI and L1 and L2 resources.
3) The SRNC sends a Radio Link Setup Request message to Node B, requesting
the Node B to allocate specific radio link resources required by the RRC
connection.
4) After successfully preparing the resources, the Node B responds to the SRNC with
the Radio Link Setup Response message.
5) The SRNC initiates the establishment of Iub user plane transport bearer with the
ALCAP protocol and completes the synchronization between the RNC and the
Node B.
6) The SRNC sends an RRC Connection Setup message to the UE in the downlink
CCCH.
7) The UE sends an RRC Connection Setup Complete message to the SRNC in
the uplink DCCH.
By now, the RRC connection setup procedure ends.
2. RRC connection established on a common channel
When the RRC connection is set up on a common channel, since the cell common
resources already established are used, it is unnecessary to set up radio link and user
plane data transport bearer. The rest procedure is similar to that when the RRC
connection is set up in a dedicated channel.

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Basic Signaling Procedures

6.4.2 Signaling Setup Procedure


After the RRC connection between the UE and the UTRAN is successfully set up, the
UE sets up a signaling connection with the CN via the RNC for NAS information
exchange between the UE and the CN, such as authentication, service request and
connection setup. This is also called the NAS signaling setup procedure.
For the RNC, the signaling exchanged between the UE and the CN is a direct transfer
message. After receiving the first direct transfer message, that is, the Initial Direct
Transfer message, the RNC sets up a signaling connection with the CN on the SCCP.
The procedure is shown in the following figure:

SRNC

UE

CN

1.RRCINITIAL DIRECT TRANSFER


2.RANAP: INITIAL UE MESSAGE(CR)
3.SCCPCC (Success)
3.SCCPCC (Failure)

Figure 6-8 Signaling setup procedure


The specific procedure is given as follows:
1)
2)

3)

4)

After the RRC connection is established, the UE sends the Initial Direct Transfer
message to the RNC via the RRC connection. This message carries the NAS
information content sent to the CN by the UE.
After receiving the Initial Direct Transfer message from the UE, the RNC sends the
SCCP Connection Request (CR) message to the CN via the Iu interface. The
message content is the Initial UE Message sent from the RNC to the CN, and
carries the message content sent from the UE to the CN.
If the CN is ready to accept the connection request, then it returns the SCCP
Connection Confirm (CC) message to the RNC. The SCCP connection is
successfully set up. The RNC receives the message and confirms the signaling
connection setup success.
If the CN cannot accept the connection request, then it returns the SCCP
Connection Reject (CJ) message to the RNC. The SCCP connection setup fails.
The RNC receives the message and confirms the signaling connection setup
failure. Then it initiates the RRC release procedure.

After the signaling connection is successfully set up, the message sent by the UE to the
CN is forwarded to the RNC via the Uplink Direct Transfer message, and the RNC
converts it into the Direct Transfer message to send to the CN. The message sent by
the CN to the UE is forwarded to the RNC via the Direct Transfer message, and the
RNC converts it into the Downlink Direct Transfer to send to the UE.

6.4.3 RAB Establishment Procedure


The RAB refers to the user plane bearer that is used to transfer voice, data and
multimedia services between the UE and the CN. The UE needs to complete the RRC
connection establishment before setting up the RAB.
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The RAB setup is initiated by the CN and executed by the UTRAN. The basic
procedure is as follows:
l
l
l
l
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First the CN sends the RAB assignment request message to the UTRAN,
requesting the UTRAN to establish the RAB.
The SRNC in the UTRAN initiates the establishment of the data transport bearer
between the Iu interface and the Iub interface (Iur interface).
The SRNC sends the RB setup request to the UE.
After completing the RB establishment, the UE responds to the SRNC with the RB
setup complete message.
The SRNC responds to the CN with the RAB assignment response message and
the RAB setup procedure ends.

When the RAB is successfully established, a basic call is set up and the UE enters the
conversation process.
The RAB setup procedure falls into the following three cases based on the radio
resource utilization (the radio resource states when the RRC connection is set up and
when the RAB is set up):
1)
2)
3)

DCH-DCH: The RRC uses the DCH, while the RAB prepares to use the DCH.
RACH/FACH-RACH/FACH: The RRC uses the CCH, while the RAB prepares to
use the CCH.
RACH/FACH-DCH: The RRC uses the CCH, while the RAB prepares to use the
DCH.

Detailed description of the RAB setup procedure is given as follows:


1. DCH-DCH
When the current RRC state of the UE is the DCH (Dedicated CHannel), the assigned
RAB can only be set up on the DCH. According to the RL (radio link) reconfiguration,
the RAB setup procedure falls into two cases: Synchronous RL (DCH-DCH)
reconfiguration and asynchronous RL (DCH-DCH) reconfiguration. Their difference lies
in whether the Node B and the UE can use the new configuration parameters
immediately after receiving the configuration message from the SRNC.
l

1)

In the synchronous case, after receiving the configuration message from the
SRNC, the Node B and the UE cannot use the new configuration parameters
immediately. Instead, they obtain the synchronization time specified by the SRNC
from the message, and use the new configuration parameters at the
synchronization time.
In the asynchronous case, after receiving the configuration message from the
SRNC, the Node B and the UE immediately use the new configuration
parameters.
Synchronous RL reconfiguration

In the DCH-DCH synchronization case, synchronous reconfiguration of RL is required


among the SRNC, the Node B and the UE.
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After receiving the RL reconfiguration message from the SRNC, the Node B
cannot use the new configuration parameters immediately. Instead, they prepare
the corresponding radio resources, and wait for the reconfiguration commit
message from the SRNC so as to get the synchronization time specified by the
SRNC from the message.
After receiving the configuration message from the SRNC, the UE cannot use the
new configuration parameters immediately. Instead, it gets the synchronization
time specified by the SRNC from the message.
The Node B and the UE use the new configuration parameters at the same time in
the synchronization time specified by the SRNC.

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The following is the DCH-DCH synchronous RL reconfiguration in the RAB setup


procedure.

UE

NodeB

SRNC

CN

1. RANAP: RAB ASSIGNMENT REQUEST


2. ALCAP establishment

3. RL RECONFIG PRE
4. RL RECONFIG READY
5.ALCAP establishment and synchronization

6. RL RECONFIG COMMIT
7. RRC: RB SETUP
8. RRC: RB SETUP COMPLETE

9. RANAP: RAB ASSIGNMENT RESPONSE

Figure 6-9 RAB setup procedure (DCH-DCH, synchronous)


Description:

2)

The CN sends the RANAP RAB (Radio Access Bearer) Assignment Request
message to the UTRAN to initiate the RAB setup request.
After receiving the RAB setup request, the SRNC maps the QoS parameter of the
RAB as the AAL2 link feature parameter and the radio resource feature parameter.
The ALCAP of the Iu interface initiates the user plane transport bearer setup
procedure of the Iu interface based on the AAL2 link feature parameter (only for
setuping RAB of Iu-CS interface user plane).
The SRNC sends the NBAP Radio Link Reconfiguration Prepare message to its
subordinate Node B, requesting it to prepare to add one (or more) DCH for RAB
bearer on the existing radio link.
The Node B allocates the corresponding resources, and sends the Radio Link
Reconfiguration Ready message to its home SRNC, notifying it that the radio link
reconfiguration is ready.
The ALCAP of the Iub interface in the SRNC initiates the user plane transport
bearer setup procedure of the Iub interface. The Node B and the SRNC establish
synchronization with each other by exchanging the uplink and downlink
synchronization frames of the DCH frame protocol.
The SRNC sends the Radio Link Reconfiguration Commit message to its
subordinate Node B.
The SRNC sends the RRC Radio Bearer Setup message to the UE.
After executing the RB setup, the UE sends the Radio Bearer Setup Complete
message to the SRNC.
After receiving the Radio Bearer Setup Complete message, the SRNC responds
to the CN with the Radio Access Bearer Assignment Response message. The
RAB setup procedure ends.
Asynchronous RL reconfiguration

In the DCH-DCH asynchronous case, synchronous RL reconfiguration is not required


among the SRNC, the Node B and the UE: After receiving the configuration message
from the SRNC, the Node B and the UE immediately use the new configuration
parameters.
The following is the DCH-DCH asynchronous RL reconfiguration in the RAB setup
procedure.

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Basic Principles of WCDMA System

UE

NodeB

Basic Signaling Procedures

SRNC

CN

1. RANAP: RAB ASSIGNMENT REQUEST


2. ALCAP establishment

3. RL RECONFIG REQ
4. RL RECONFIG RESP
5. ALCAP establishment and synchronization

6. RRC: RB SETUP
7. RRC: RB SETUP COMPLETE
8. RANAP: RAB ASSIGNMENT RESPONSE

Figure 6-10 RAB setup procedure (DCH-DCH, asynchronous)


Description:

The CN sends the RANAP RAB (Radio Access Bearer) Assignment Request
message to the UTRAN to initiate the RAB setup request.
After receiving the RAB setup request, the SRNC maps the QoS parameter of the
RAB as the AAL2 link feature parameter and the radio resource feature parameter.
The ALCAP of the Iu interface initiates the user plane transport bearer setup
procedure of the Iu interface based on the AAL2 link feature parameter.
In the asynchronous case, synchronization is not required for the radio
reconfiguration. The SRNC sends the NBAP Radio Link Reconfiguration Request
message to its subordinate Node B, requesting it to set up a new DCH on the
existing radio link.
After receiving the Radio Link Reconfiguration Request message, the Node B
allocates the corresponding resources, and sends the Radio Link Reconfiguration
Response message to its home SRNC, notifying it that the radio link
reconfiguration is complete.
The ALCAP of the Iub interface in the SRNC initiates the user plane transport
bearer setup procedure of the Iub interface. The Node B and the SRNC establish
synchronization with each other by exchanging the uplink and downlink
synchronization frames of the DCH frame protocol.
The SRNC sends the RRC Radio Bearer Setup message to the UE.
After executing the RB setup, the UE sends the Radio Bearer Setup Complete
message to the SRNC.
After receiving the Radio Bearer Setup Complete message, the SRNC responds
to the CN with the Radio Access Bearer Assignment Response message. The
RAB setup procedure ends.

6.4.4 Call Release Procedure


The call release procedure is the RRC connection release procedure. The RRC
connection release procedure falls into two types: UE-initiated release and CN-initiated
release. The difference between the two release types lies in who sends the call
release request message of the upper layer first, though the final resource release is
initiated by the CN.
After deciding to release a call, the CN sends the IU RELEASE COMMAND message
to the SRNC. The SRNC takes the following steps after receiving the release
command:
1)
2)
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Returns the IU RELEASE COMPLETE message to the CN.


Initiates the release of the user plane transport bearer of the Iu interface.
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3)

Basic Signaling Procedures

Releases the RRC connection.

The RRC release is to release the signaling link and all the radio bearers between the
UE and the UTRAN. Based on the resources seized by the RRC connection, the RRC
release can be further divided into two types: Release of the RRC connection
established on a dedicated channel, and release of the RRC connection established on
a common channel.
1. Release of the RRC connection established on a dedicated channel

UE

NodeB

SRNC

1. RRC: RRC CONNECTION RELEASE


2. RRC: RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE
3. RL DELETION
4. RL DELETION RESPONSE
5. ALCAP release

Figure 6-11 Release of the RRC connection established on a dedicated channel


Description:
1) The RNC sends the RRC Connection Release message to the UE.
2) The UE returns the RRC Connection Release Complete message to the RNC.
3) The RNC sends the Radio Link Deletion message to the Node B to delete the
radio link resources in the Node B.
4) After releasing its related resources, the Node B returns the Radio Link Deletion
Response message to the RNC.
5) The RNC initiates the ALCAP release of the user plane transport bearer of the Iu
interface.
In the end, the RNC initiates the local L2 resource release again. By now, the RRC
connection release procedure ends.
2. Release of the RRC connection established on a common channel
During the release of the RRC connection established on a common channel, since the
cell common resources are used, it is only necessary to release the UE directly instead
of releasing the Node B resources and the data transport bearer.

6.4.5 Handover Procedure


The handover procedure is a characteristic distinguishing the mobile communication
from the fixed communication. When the cell or the mode (FDD or TDD) used by the
UE changes, we say the UE performs the handover. The WCDMA system supports the
following types of handover: Soft handover, hard handover, forward handover, and
inter-system handover. The soft handover and the hard handover are initiated by the
network side, the forward handover is initiated by the UE, and the inter-system
handover can be initiated by both the network side and the UE. The causes of the
handover include UE movement, resource optimization configuration, and manual
interference, etc.
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1. Soft handover
In the WCDMA system, since the intra-frequency exists among neighboring cells, the
UE can communicate with the network via multiple radio links, and can select one with
good signal quality by comparison when these radio links are merged, thus optimizing
the communication quality. The soft handover can be conducted only in the FDD mode.
The soft handover falls into the following cases according to the locations of the cells.
The first case is the soft handover among difference cells of the Node B. In this case,
the radio links can be merged within the Node B or the SRNC. If they are merged within
the Node B, it is called softer handover. The second case is the soft handover among
different Node Bs within the same RNC and among different RNCs.
An important issue during the soft handover is the merge of multiple radio links. In the
WCDMA system, the MACRO DIVERSITY technology is adopted for the merge of the
radio links, that is, the system compares the data from different radio links based on
certain standards (such as BER), and selects the data with better quality to send to the
upper layer.
The following are some key concepts about the neighboring cell in the soft handover:
1)
2)

3)

Active set: The set of cells currently used by the UE. The execution result of the
soft handover indicates the increase or decrease of the cells in the active set.
Observation set: The set of cells that are not in the active set but are being
observed by the UE based on the neighboring cell information from the UTRAN.
The UE measures the cells in the observation set. When the measurement results
satisfy certain conditions, the cells may be added to the active set. Therefore, the
observation set sometimes is also called the candidate set.
Detected set: The set of cells that have been detected by the UE but do not belong
to the active set or the observation set. The UTRAN can request the UE to report
the measurement result of the detected set. Since the cells in the detected set are
not listed in the neighboring cell list, this set is also called the unlisted set.

The soft handover procedure comprises the following steps:


1)

2)
3)
4)
5)

Based on the measurement control information from the RNC, the UE measures
the intra-frequency neighboring cells, and reports the measurement result to the
RNC after processing.
The RNC compares the reported measurement result with the set threshold to
decide the cells to be added and deleted.
If some cells are to be added, the RNC notifies the Node B to get ready.
The RNC notifies the UE to add and/or delete cells via the active set update
message.
After the UE successfully update the active set, if the cells are deleted, the Node B
will be notified to release the corresponding resources.

The original communication is not affected during the soft handover procedure so that
smooth handover from a cell to another can be successfully completed.
2. Hard handover
In the case the neighboring cells are inter-frequency cells, hard handover instead of
soft handover can be conducted. In the hard handover procedure, the communication
with the previous cells is interrupted first, and then is connected with new cells.
Therefore, the soft handover performance is not as good as soft handover. Generally,
the hard handover is considered only when the soft handover cannot be conducted.
The target cell of hard handover may not be measured. It is applicable for the hard
handover in emergency, but it has a high failure ratio. In the common hard handover, it
is necessary to measure the target cell. However, the UE is generally configured with
only one decoder, it cannot decode signals of two frequencies simultaneously.
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Therefore, to enable the UE to conduct inter-frequency measurement, the compressed


mode technology is introduced into the WCDMA system.

One frame
(10 ms)

Idle period available for


inter-frequency measurements

Figure 6-12 Operating mechanism of the compressed mode


The basic operating mechanism of the compressed mode technology is: When sending
some frames (the data sent per 10ms is a frame), the Node B speeds up to send the
data that are previously sent in 10ms in less than 10ms, so that the UE can use the time
saved to conduct inter-frequency measurement. The mode and time for increasing the
transmit rate is controlled by the RNC.
Similar to soft handover, the hard handover falls into the following types based on the
location relationship between the source cell and the target cell.
1)
2)
3)
4)

Hard handover between FDD and TDD in the same cell.


Hard handover among cells in a Node B.
Hard handover among cells in different Node Bs in the same RNC.
Hard handover among cells in different RNCs.

Generally, when hard handover occurs between different RNCs, both RNCs have the
Iur interface. Otherwise, the hand handover should be completed via relocation.
There are 5 signaling procedures at the Uu interface to complete the hard handover:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Physical channel reconfiguration.


Transport channel reconfiguration.
Radio bear setup.
Radio bear release.
Radio bear reconfiguration.

The following figure gives the hard handover signaling procedure of cells in different
Node Bs by taking the physical channel reconfiguration as an example

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Target NodeB

UE

Old NodeB

SRNC

1. RADIO LINK SETUP REQUEST


2. RADIO LINK SETUP RESPONSE

3. ALCAP establishment
4. PHYSICAL CHANNEL RECONFIGURATION
5. RADIO LINK
FAILURE INDICATION
6. PHYSICAL CHANNEL RECONFIGURATION COMPLETE
7. RADIO LINK
DELETION REQUEST
8. RADIO LINK
DELETION RESPONSE

9. ALCAP release

Figure 6-13 Hard handover procedure


Description:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

6)

7)
8)
9)

The SRNC sends the Radio Link Setup Request message to the Node B where
the target cell is, requesting the Node B to establish a radio link.
The Node B where the target cell is sends the Radio Link Setup Response
message to the SRNC, indicating the radio link is successfully established.
The SRNC adopts the ALCAP protocol to set up the Iub interface transport bearer
between the SRNC and the target Node B, and synchronizes the FP.
The SRNC sends the Physical Channel Reconfiguration message carrying the
target cell information to the UE via the downlink DCCH.
After the UE hands over from the source cell to the target cell, the Node B of the
source cell detects the radio link communication failure and then sends the Radio
Link Failure Indication message to the SRNC, indicating the radio link failure.
After successfully handing over to the target cell, the UE sends the Physical
Channel Reconfiguration Complete message to the SRNC via the DCCH,
notifying the SRNC that the physical cannel reconfiguration is complete.
The SRNC sends the Radio Link Deletion Request message to the Node B where
the source cell is, requesting the Node B to delete the radio link of the source cell.
The Node B where the source cell is deletes the radio link resources, and then
responds to the SRNC with the Radio Link Deletion Response message.
The SRNC adopts the ALCAP protocol to release the Iub interface transport
bearer of the SRNC and the Node B where the source cell is.

3. Forward handover
Forward handover is a part of the RRC connection mobility management. The forward
handover consists of cell update and URA update. It is used to timely update the
UE-related information at the UTRAN side when the UE location changes. It can also
be used to monitor the RRC connection, switch the RRC connection state, and report
errors and forward information. For both the cell update and the URA update, the
update procedure is initiated by the UE.
1)

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Cell update

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The UE in the CELL_FACH, CELL_PCH or URA_PCH can initiate the cell update
procedure. There are different cell update causes and cell update procedures for
different connection states.
l

In the case the cell update cause is periodical cell update, and the UTRAN side
does not allocate CRNTI or URNTI to the UE, the procedure is as follows:

UE

UTRAN
1. CELL

UPDATE

2. CELL UPDATE CONFIRM

Figure 6-14 Cell update procedure


The specific procedure is given as follows:

2)

The UE sends the CELL UPDATE message to the UTRAN via the CCCH.
After processing the CELL UPDATE message received from the UE, the UTRAN
sends the CELL UPDATE CONFIRM message to the UE. The cell update ends at
the UTRAN side, and it ends at the UE side after the UE receives the CELL
UPDATE CONFIRM message.
Physical channel reconfiguration will accompany the procedure in the following
two cases: 1) The cell update cause is there is uplink data transport or response to
paging, the UTRAN side does not allocate CRNTI or URNTI to the UE or indicate
the related physical channel information, and the TFS/TFCS saved in the UE is the
same as that in the PRACH/SCCPCH broadcasted by the system message; 2)
The cell update cause is there are uplink data, or response to paging, or cell
reselection, the UTRAN side allocates CRNTI or URNTI to the UE but does not
indicate the related physical channel information, and the TFS/TFCS saved in the
UE is the same as that in the PRACH/SCCPCH broadcasted by the system
message.
Transport channel reconfiguration will accompany the procedure in the following
two cases: 1) The cell update cause is there is uplink data transport or response to
paging, the UTRAN side does not allocate CRNTI or URNTI to the UE or indicate
the related physical channel information, and the TFS/TFCS saved in the UE
differs from that in the PRACH/SCCPCH broadcasted by the system message; 2)
The cell update cause is there are uplink data, or response to paging, or cell
reselection, the UTRAN side allocates CRNTI or URNTI to the UE but does not
indicate the related physical channel information, and the TFS/TFCS saved in the
UE differs from that in the PRACH/SCCPCH broadcasted by the system message.
In the case the cell update cause is periodical update, the UTRAN side allocate
CRNTI or URNTI to the UE but does not indicate the related physical channel
information, the UE will update its identification, that is, the RNTI reallocation will
accompany the procedure.
URA update

The purpose of the URA update procedure is that the UE in the URA_PCH state uses
the current URA to update the UTRAN after the URA reselection. This procedure can
also be used to monitor the RRC connection when there is no URA reselection. Several
different URA IDs can be broadcast in a cell, and different UEs in a cell can belong to
different URAs. There is one and only one valid URA when the UE is in the URA_PCH
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state. When the UE is in the URA_PCH state, if the URA assigned to the UE is not in the
URA ID list broadcast in the cell, the UE will initiate the URA update procedure. Or, if the
UE is in the service area but T306 expires, the UE will also initiate the URA update
procedure.
l

In the case the UTRAN does not allocate a new CRNTI or URNTI to the UE during
the URA update procedure, the procedure is as follows:

UE

UTRAN

1. URA UPDATE

2. URA UPDATE CONFIRM

Figure 6-15 URA update procedure (no new CRNTI or URNTI allocated)
The specific procedure is given as follows:

The UE sends the URA UPDATE message to the UTRAN via the CCCH.
After processing the URA UPDATE message received from the UE, the UTRAN
sends the URA UPDATE CONFIRM message to the UE and ends the URA
update at its end. The URA update procedure ends at the UE side after the UE
receives the URA UPDATE CONFIRM message.
During the URA update procedure, if the UTRAN allocates a new CRNTI or URNTI
to the UE, then there is the RNTI REALLOCATION COMPLETE message sent by
the UE to the UTRAN in the procedure.

4. Inter-system handover
The WCDMA system supports UE handover between the UTRAN and the existing
systems (such as the GSM/GPRS). The inter-system handover falls into two cases:
Handover under network control (such as the GSM) and cell reselection of the UE
(such as GPRS), both of which are further divided into handover-to UTRAN and
handover-from UTRAN cases. The following details the inter-system handover
procedure by taking the handover-to UTRAN under the network control as an example
only. It only covers the signaling in the UTRAN.
l

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CN

UTRAN

UE

1.RELOCATION REQUEST
2. RELOCATION REQUEST
ACKNOWLEDGE
3. HANDOVER TO UTRAN
COMPLETE

Figure 6-16 Handover-to UTRAN procedure


The specific procedure is given as follows:
1)
2)
3)

The CN notifies the UTRAN that a UE is to be handed over to it via the Relocation
Request message.
After getting the resources ready, the UTRAN sends the Relocation Request
Acknowledge message to the CN. This message carries the Handover To UTRAN
Command message that is to be forwarded to the UE by the peer system.
After successfully handed over to the UTRAN, the UE sends the Handover To
UTRAN Complete message to the UTRAN.

6.4.6 SRNS Relocation


The RNC relocation refers to that the SRNC of the UE changes from one RNC to
another RNC. It is divided into two cases based on the UE location at the time of
relocation: Static relocation and associated relocation, or in other words, UE Not
Involved and UE Involved.
1. Static relocation
The precondition for the static relocation is that the UE accesses the network from one
and only one DRNC. Since the relocation procedure does not require the UEs
participation, it is also called the UE Not Involved relocation. The following is an
example of two radio links. After the relocation, the original DRNC becomes the SRNC,
the Iur interface connection is released, and the Iu interface migrates, as shown in the
following figure:
CN

CN
SRNC

Old SRNC

DRNC

NODEB
CELL

NODEB

NODEB
CELL

CELL

CELL

SRNC

CELL

NODEB
CELL

CELL

CELL

UE

UE

Figure 6-17 Static relocation procedure


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There are two CN domains in the WCDMA system. When the relocation occurs, if the
UE has connections with both of the CN domains, then the domains must be migrated
at the same time.
2. Associated relocation
Associated relocation refers to that the UE accesses the target RNC from the SRNC via
hard handover, and the Iu interface changes at the same time. Since the relocation
procedure requires the UEs participation, it is also called the UE Involved relocation.
The connection change is shown in the following figure:
CN

CN

SRNC

Target RNC

NODEB

NODEB

CELL

CELL

CELL

CELL

Old SRNC

SRNC

NODEB
CELL

CELL

NODEB
CELL

CELL

UE

UE

Figure 6-18 Associated relocation procedure


The 5 signaling procedures that can complete the hard handover can be used to
complete the associated relocation.

6.5 CS Domain Mobility Management Procedures


6.5.1 Location Update
The location update procedure is completed through logical coordination between
entities such as HLR and MSC/VLR. The HLR stores the current location information of
each mobile subscriber and all the subscriber data; the VLR stores the subscriber data
of the subscribers roaming to the location area under its control; and the MSC
processes the location registration procedure of each mobile subscriber, has dialog
with the mobile subscribers and exchanges information with HLR and VLR.
The location update procedure includes location registration, periodic location
registration and subscriber data deletion.
1. Location registration
It is to execute the Update Location operation of MAP. Different types of location
registration can be distinguished through the Update Location Type parameter in the
Update Location Request message.
The following condition can trigger the normal location registration procedure of a
mobile subscriber:

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When the UE is switched on or the mobile subscriber roams to cause the change of his
location. The Update Location Type indicates IMSI Attach in the case of UE switch-on
while Normal Updating in the case of subscriber roaming.
The UE compares the LAI in the broadcast message it has received with the LAI stored
in itself. If these two LAIs are the same, the UE will initiate the IMSI Attach procedure;
otherwise it will initiate the Normal Updating operation.
2. Periodic location registration
It is to execute the Update Location operation of MAP and the Update Location Type
parameter in the Update Location Request message indicates Periodic Updating.
Through periodic location registration (location update), the PLMN can keep track of
the current state of each mobile subscriber, especially those subscribers that have no
operation for a long period of time. The location update period and the protection time
can be set and adjusted by the PLMN operator according to the specific traffic and
subscriber habits.
3. Subscriber data deletion
It is to execute the Cancel Location operation of MAP.
Through subscriber data deletion, subscriber records can be deleted from the VLR and
the cases include the subscriber data deletion caused by subscriber roaming, that
caused by no subscriber operation for a long period of time and the deletion of the
invalid subscriber data by system administrators.
The purpose of subscriber data deletion is to enable the HLR to delete the old
subscriber information in the VLR at the time of location update or enable the
independent location deletion triggered by subscriber data modification and allow
operating staff to delete the subscriber location information.
The following figure depicts a typical location update flow that basically comprises the
above three procedures.

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Figure 6-19 Location update flow


1)
A.

B.

2)

3)

4)

The MSC/VLR receives the location update request initiated by the subscriber with
TMSI. If the TMSI is not known:
If the carried old location information indicates the location area of an adjacent
VLR, the MSC/VLR will initiate the procedure for getting the identification from
PVLR. For details, refer to the SEND IDENTIFICATION procedure indicated in the
above figure.
If the old location area is one of a non-adjacent VLR or the request for identification
from PVLR fails, the MSC/VLR will initiate a procedure (not indicated in the above
figure) to request the UE to provide the IMSI. For details, refer to the subsequent
sections.
If it is the first time for the subscriber to register its location in the current VLR, a
location update request will be initiated to the HLR. Otherwise, the LOCATION
UPDATING ACCEPT procedure will follow directly.
If the HLR finds that the MSC/VLR number involved in subscriber roaming has
changed upon receipt of the location update request from MSC/VLR, it will initiate
the CANCEL LOCATION procedure to PVLR so as to delete the subscriber
information in PVLR.
If the roaming request is rejected, the HLR will directly initiate a location update
response with the reject information to the MSC/VLR; otherwise it will insert
subscriber data to the MSC/VLR before deciding to accept or reject the location
update request according to the result of subscriber data insertion.

6.5.2 Detachment
The detachment procedure is the procedure of IMSI Detach initiated by the UE upon
switch-off, after which the MSC/VLR will set the subscriber state to IMSI detached. It
should be noted that this procedure will not be notified to the HLR. This is different from
the Purge procedure, because the HLR contains no Detach/Attach state indicator bit for
the subscriber but the Purge procedure involves this indicator bit. For details, refer to
the subsequent Purge operation descriptions.

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If the subscriber is called, the HLR will request for a roaming number from VLR through
the Provide Roaming Number procedure. Since the subscriber is detached, the Provide
Roaming Number procedure will fail with the cause value of Absent Subscriber
returned and the calling MSC will play the subscriber switch-off announcement to the
calling UE according to this cause value.
The detachment procedure is shown in the following figure.

Figure 6-20 Switch-off procedure


For some models of UEs, the Detach procedure may also be initiated if the UE is
switched off during the conversation.

6.5.3 Identification
The identification procedure takes place at the Iu interface so that the network can
provide IMEI or IMSI information to the UE. The Identity procedure is executed for
subscriber identification.
There are two types of Identity procedures:
l

When the VLR does not contain any IMEI of the UE, one Identity procedure will be
forced for execution and the network will initiate a request for the IMEI to the UE
through the Identity Request message while the UE will provide the IMEI to the
network through the Identity Response message.

The typical cases are the first location update of the UE, the invalidity of subscriber
IMEI stored in the VLR (note that this will not affect the subscribers since presently IMEI
authentication is not yet applied).
l

When the TMSI is unidentifiable during location update, one Identity procedure will
also be forced for execution and the network will initiate a request for the IMSI to
the UE through the Identity Request message while the UE will provide the IMSI to
the network through the Identity Response message.

The typical cases include subscriber roaming and the areas without using the TMSI.

Figure 6-21 IDENTITY procedure

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6.5.4 Purge
The Purge procedure refers to the VLR-initiated purge MS procedure, that is, the Purge
UE procedure in MAP. It is used for the VLR to report its subscriber deletion operation
to the HLR. Different from the IMSI Detach procedure described in the previous section,
the Purge UE procedure should be notified to the HLR, so that the HLR will set the UE
Purge Flag of this UE upon receipt of the Purge UE message to indicate that the
subscriber data have been purged from the VLR.
If the subscriber is called, the HLR will query the UE Purge Flag when the calling UE
queries the HLR in the Send Routing Information procedure. Since the UE Purge Flag
has been set, the HLR will return the cause value of Absent Subscriber to the MSC and
the calling MSC will play the subscriber switch-off announcement to the calling UE
according to this cause value. This procedure does not involve the Provide Roaming
Number operation from the HLR to the VLR.

Figure 6-22 PURGE procedure

6.5.5 Authentication Procedure


A successful authentication procedure can be expressed by a flow chart, as shown in
the following figure.

Figure 6-23 Authentication success


The authentication procedure is initiated by the network to check if the UE is allowed to
access the network, provide the random number array in the authentication quintuple
for the UE to calculate the Ciphering Key (CK), allow the UE to calculate the Integrity
Key (IK) for consistency check between the UE and the network, as well as providing
the UEs authentication of the network.
Compared with the GSM authentication procedure, the 3G authentication procedure
has the additional consistency check function and the function of the UE to authenticate
the network. All these functions contribute to the enhanced 3G security features.

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Before the network initiates the authentication procedure and if the VLR does not
contain any authentication quintuple, the procedure of requesting an authentication set
from the HLR will be initiated to wait for the return of the authentication quintuple. The
authentication quintuple contains such information as RAND, XRES, AUTN, CK and IK.
After detecting the presence of the authentication quintuple, the network will send an
authentication request message, which contains the RAND and AUTN information of a
certain quintuple. Upon receipt of this message, the UE will have its USIM card check
the AUTN, that is, the UE will authenticate the network. If the network is accepted, the
USIM card will use the RAND to calculate the CK, the IK and the RES. If the USIM card
determines that the authentication succeeds, the RES will be returned in the
authentication response message.
Upon receipt of the authentication response message, the network will compare the
RES in this message with the XRES in the authentication quintuple stored in the VLR
database to verify if the authentication is successful or not. If the authentication is
successful, the subsequent procedures will normally continue; otherwise the exception
handling procedure will be initiated to release the connection between the network and
the UE as well as the occupied network and radio resources.
After the successful authentication, the UE will store the CK and the IK in its USIM card.
In some cases, the UE will report authentication failure upon receipt of the
authentication request message. There are two typical causes of authentication failure:
When authenticating the network, the UE will check the AUTN parameter in the
authentication request message sent from the network. If the MAC information is
incorrect, the UE will report the authentication failure information with the cause value
being MAC Failure.

Figure 6-24 Authentication failure (cause value: MAC Failure)


At this time, the network will decide if to initiate the Identity procedure according to the
subscriber identity reported by the UE. If the current identity is TMSI or P-TMSI, it will
initiate the Identity procedure and request the UE to report the IMSI information before
re-initiating the authentication procedure.
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Another cause of authentication failure is that the UE detects the SQN error in the
AUTN message with the cause value being Synch failure.

Figure 6-25 Authentication failure (cause value: Synch failure)


At this time, the VLR at the network side will delete all the authentication quintuples and
initiate the procedure of synchronization to the HLR to request the HLR to re-insert the
authentication quintuple before the re-authentication procedure is started.

6.5.6 Secure Mode Control


The secure mode control procedure is used by the network to send ciphering
information to the RAN. In this process, the core network will negotiate with the RAN on
the ciphering algorithm for the UE so that the UE can use this ciphering algorithm in the
subsequent service transfer procedure and shall try the best to use this ciphering
algorithm after the UE handover, that is, the relevant parameters for ciphering will be
sent to the handover destination RNC.

Figure 6-26 Secure mode control

6.5.7 TMSI Reallocation


A TMSI (Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity) is a series of digits (4 bytes) temporarily
assigned to a subscriber. It is managed by the MSC/VLR, assigned to a subscriber
when the subscriber is registered for the first time in a location area and deleted when
the subscriber leaves this location area. It is used to uniquely identify the MS in a
location area and is transmitted on the radio channels in place of IMSI to prevent any
third party from intercepting the signals over the radio channels and/or tracking the
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mobile subscriber. Therefore, the basic purpose of TMSI is to enhance the security of
the MS.
The correspondence between TMSIs and IMSIs is stored in the VLR that manages the
current visited location area of the MS, and the new TMSI is also stored in the SIM card
of the MS. We can see that the TMSI is stored in both the VLR and the SIM card.
The TMSI reallocation procedure may take place during subscriber location update, call
setup and supplementary service procedures. It can be implemented by selecting the
execution of the TMSI reallocation procedure in the MAP functional procedures of
MSC.
The TMSI reallocation procedure during location update is integrated with the location
update accept. The flow chart is shown in the following figure:

Figure 6-27 TMSI reallocation during location update

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& Note:
Among the mobility management procedures, the procedures of authentication, security mode control and
TMSI reallocation are optional and network operators may decide whether to activate or provision them.
For example, this is implemented by the MAP functional procedure configuration parameters in the
MSC9800.

6.5.8 Combined Location Update


When both the location area and the routing area of a UE have changed, the combined
location update procedure will be initiated and the location update procedure will be
initiated simultaneously in the PS domain and the CS domain. The CS domain at the
network side is connected via the Gs interface with the PS domain (when the CS
domain and the CS domain of the core network are separated in the networking, the
following descriptions will use the MSC to represent the CS domain while the SGSN to
represent the PS domain). The Gs interface adopts the BSSAP+ protocol in the SS7
signaling system and enables the CS domain and the PS domain to mutually update
the MS location information stored in the databases, so as to reduce the air interface
signaling and help the MSC page the Class B MS ongoing with the GPRS service.
The following figure shows a typical combined location update procedure.

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Figure 6-28 Combined location update


1)
2)

3)
4)
5)

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Upon receipt of the RA update request from the MS, the SGSN may initiate the
location update procedure to the HLR when necessary.
If the Gs interface has been configured between the SGSN and the MSC/VLR, the
SGNS will initiate the combined location update procedure to the MSC/VLR;
otherwise the RA Update Accept message will be directly sent.
Upon receipt of the location update request from the SGSN, the MSC/VLR
updates the MS location and stores the relevant data.
Upon receipt of the Location Update Accept message from the HLR, the
MSC/VLR sends it via the Gs interface to the SGSN.
Upon receipt of the Location Update Accept message from the MSC/VLR, the
SGSN sets the relevant data and sends the Routing Area Update Accept message.
If the TMSI reallocation procedure has been executed, the SGSN will send the
TMSI Reallocation Complete message received from the MS to the MSC/VLR to
finish the combined location update procedure.

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6.6 PS Domain Mobility Management Procedures


6.6.1 MM Function Overview
The major role of Mobility Management (MM) is to track the current location of a
subscriber in the home PLMN or other PLMNs. For instance, if a subscriber wants to
log in to the GPRS network, the Attach procedure (which is a basic procedure of MM)
must be executed first, so as to register his related information in the core network. The
MM, SM (Session Management) and SMS (Short Message Services) together form the
connection layer of the 3GPP protocols. Among them, MM is located above the RANAP
layer to provide signaling transport for SM and SMS in the UMTS. The other functions
of MM also include the subscriber detachment, security, routing area update and
location update procedures.
1. Terminologies
l

GMM/PMM

GMM: GPRS Mobility Management (different from CMM Circuit Mobility Management)
PMM: Packet Mobility Management
Here we can simply regard the GMM as mobility management in the GSM system and
the PMM as mobility management in the UMTS system. This document focuses on the
PS domain MM features of the UMTS system.
l

RANAP

RANAP (Radio Access Network Application Part) encapsulates and transports


higher-layer signaling, processes the signaling between the 3G-SGSN and the UTRAN,
and manages the GTP connections at the Iu interface.
l

MM CONTEXT

The MM Context includes subscriber data and the authentication set.


The position of GMM in the protocol stack is illustrated in the following figure.
GMM /
SM / SMS

GMM /
SM / SMS

Relay
RRC

RRC

RANAP

RANAP

RLC

RLC

SCCP

SCCP

MAC

MAC

Signalling
Bearer

Signalling
Bearer

L1

L1

AAL5

AAL5

ATM
Uu

MS

ATM
Iu-Ps

RNS

3G SGSN

Figure 6-29 Control plane protocols at the MS side and the network side of the PS domain in the UMTS

6.6.2 Mobility Management State


The PMM states in the UMTS include PMM-DETACHED, PMM-IDLE and
PMM-CONNECTED.
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l

Basic Signaling Procedures

PMM DETACHED State

In this state, the MS does not communicate with the 3G-SGSN and there is no valid
location or routing information. The MS is unreachable and the MS location is unknown.
l

PMM IDLE State

In this state, the MS location is known but the MS is idle.


l

PMM CONNECTED State

In this state, the MS location is known and the PS signaling connection has been
established.
The specific state transitions of PMM are depicted in the following figure, where we can
see that the SM may be in the active or inactive state when the PMM is in the connected
or idle state, that is, the MM state is only related to the MM state of GPRS and it has
nothing to do with the PDP Context state or quantity.
Note: In the case of errors, the MS state may be not synchronous with the network state
and their synchronization can be achieved through the routing area update procedure.

Figure 6-30 PMM state transitions of the UMTS

6.6.3 Association Between SGSN and MSC/VLR


The Gs interface is specified between the SGSN and MSC/VLR in the UMTS. Their
association is established through the following procedures:
l
l
l

Combined GPRS/IMSI Attach/Detach procedure


IMSI-attached GPRS Attach procedure
GPRS-attached IMSI Attach procedure (combined RA update)

After the Gs interface association has been established, the system can implement the
following procedures now:
1)

CS Paging:

The MSC/VLR can send the CS paging information via the SGSN to a subscriber in the
combined attachment procedure.
2)

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The MSC/VLR will request the SGSN to notify the activity information of the MS to itself
and it will set the NGAF (Non-GPRS Alert Flag) so that the SGSN MM will notify the
subscriber activity once detected to the MSC/VLR and the NGAF will be cleared then.
3)

MS Information Procedure

When the MSC/VLR needs the subscriber identity and location information, it may
obtain such information via the Gs interface from the local SGSN or it may send a
request for such information via the SGSN to get the needed information.
4)

MM Information Procedure

The MSC/VLR may send the network information via the SGSN to a subscriber and the
SGSN will pass on the information.

6.6.4 Combined GPRS/IMSI Attach Procedure


MS

UTRAN

new SGSN

old SGSN

GGSN

EIR

new
MSC/VLR

HLR

old
MSC/VLR

1. Attach Request
2. Identification Request
2. Identification Response
3. Identity Request
3. Identity Response
4. Authentication
5. IMEI Check
6a. Update Location
6b. Cancel Location
6c. Cancel Location Ack
6d. Insert Subscriber Data
6e. Insert Subscriber Data Ack
6f. Update Location Ack
7a. Location Update Request
7b. Update Location
7c. Cancel Location
7d. Cancel Location Ack
7e. Insert Subscriber Data
7f. Insert Subscriber Data Ack
7g. Update Location Ack
7h. Location Update Accept
C1
8. Attach Accept
9. Attach Complete
10. TMSI Reallocation Complete

Figure 6-31 Attach procedure


Note: The C1 as indicated in the above figure is a CAMEL point where intelligent
services can be triggered or performed. In the subsequent flow charts such points as
C1, C2 and C3 are all CAMEL points.
1)
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The MS sends an Attach Request message to initiate the Attach procedure. The
Attach Request message contains such parameters as IMSI or P-TMSI and old
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2)

3)

4)

5)
6)

Basic Signaling Procedures

RAI, Attach Type, old P-TMSI Signature and Follow On Request. If the subscriber
has no legal P-TMSI, the message will carry an IMSI; or if the subscriber has a
legal P-TMSI, it should then carry the P-TMSI and the matched RAI or even the
P-TMSI signature, if any. The Attach Type parameter indicates what kind of Attach
procedure is requested by the MS: GPRS Attach, Combined Attach or
IMSI-attached GPRS Attach. The SGNS may decide whether to release the
packet service signaling connection of the MS upon end of the Attach procedure
according to the Follow On Request indication.
If the MS uses P-TMSI for attachment and the SGSN has been changed since the
last attachment, the new SGSN should send an Identification Request to the old
SGSN and this request should carry the P-TMSI of the MS, the corresponding RAI
and the old P-TMSI signature, if any. The old SGSN should then respond with the
Identification Response message that carries the subscribers IMSI and
authentication set. If the MS is unknown to the old SGSN, the old SGSN shall
return a response message with the related cause value; and if the P-TMSI of the
MS does not match the signature, the old SGSN should return another response
message along with the corresponding cause value.
If the MS is unknown to the old SGSN, the new SGSN should initiate an Identity
Request to the MS with the identity type indicating IMSI and the MS should then
report its own IMSI to the SGSN.
If the MM Context of the MS does not exist in the network, the authentication
procedure is then needed. If P-TMSI reallocation is needed and the network
supports ciphering, the ciphering mode should also be set in this step.
The IMEI check as defined in the identity check procedure takes place. This
function is currently not implemented.
If the SGSN number has changed since the last detachment or if it is the first time
of the MS to attach to the network, the SGSN should notify the HLR of such. The
specific procedure is given as follows:

The SGSN sends an Update Location message (with the SGSN number, SGSN
address and IMSI) to the HLR; the HLR sends the Cancel Location message (with the
IMSI and the Cancel Type) to the old SGSN and sets the Cancel Type to Update
Procedure; the old SGSN acknowledges the Cancel Location received from the HLR
with the Cancel Location Ack message (with the IMSI); the HLR sends the Insert
Subscriber Data message (with the IMSI and GPRS subscriber data) to the new SGSN;
the new SGSN acknowledges the presence of the MS in the new routing area, and the
SGSN should reject the attachment request of the MS with the appropriate cause value
and it may return the Insert Subscriber Data Ack message to the HLR if the subscriber
data do not allow the MS to attach to this routing area. If the subscriber data check fails
due to other causes, the SGSN should reject the attachment request of the MS with the
appropriate cause value and should also return the Insert Subscriber Data Ack
message to the HLR (together with the IMSI and the cause value). If all the subscriber
data have passed the check, the SGSN will construct an MM Context for the subscriber
and at the same time return the Insert Subscriber Data Ack message (together with the
IMSI in it) to the HLR. After deleting the old MM Context and inserting the new one, the
HLR sends the Update Location Ack message to the SGSN to acknowledge the
Update Location message from the SGSN. If the Update Location request is rejected
by the HLR, the SGSN will carry the appropriate cause value to reject the attachment
request of the MS.
7)

8)
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If the Attach Type discussed in Step 1 indicates the IMSI-attached GPRS Attach or
Combined Attach, the VLR should be updated, provided that the Gs interface has
been configured. The VLR number can be exported from the routing area
information, that is, the Location Update procedure may start after the first Insert
Subscriber Data message is received from the HLR. As a result, the subscriber will
be flagged as GPRS Attached in the VLR.
The SGSN selects the Radio Priority SMS and sends the Attach Accept message
(with the P-TMSI, VLR number, TMSI, P-TMSI signature and Radio Priority SMS)
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to the MS. If another P-TMSI is reallocated, it should also be carried in this


message.
9) If the P-TMSI or TMSI has changed, the MS should send an Attach Complete
message to the SGSN to acknowledge the new TMSI.
10) If the TMSI has changed, the SGSN will send the TMSI Reallocation Complete
message to the VLR to acknowledge the reallocated TMSI.
If the attachment request cannot be accepted, the SGSN should return the Attach
Reject message (together with the IMSI and the Cause) to the MS.

6.6.5 Detach Procedures


The Detach procedure may be MS-initiated, SGSN-initiated and HLR-initiated. This
section only describes the first two detachment procedures.
1. MS-initiated detachment
MS

BSS/UTRAN

SGSN

GGSN

MSC/VLR

1. Detach Request
2. Delete PDP Context Request
2. Delete PDP Context Response
3. IMSI Detach Indication
4. GPRS Detach Indication
C1
5. Detach Accept
6. PS Signalling Connection Release

Figure 6-32 MS-initiated detachment


1)

2)

3)
4)

2004-08-24

The MS sends the Detach Request message (with Detach Type, P-TMSI, P-TMSI
Signature and Switch Off) to the SGSN to initiate the detachment procedure. The
Detach Type parameter indicates what kind of detachment procedure is to be
performed: GPRS Detach, IMSI Detach or Combined Detach. The Switch Off
parameter indicates whether the Attach procedure is triggered by the MS
switch-off. The Detach Request message carries the P-TMSI and P-TMSI
signature (to check the legality of the detachment message) of the MS. If the
signature of the MS is illegal or not carried, the SGSN should initiate the
authentication procedure.
In the case of GPRS Detach, the deactivation of the active PDP Context that exists
in the GGSN and belongs to the subscriber is implemented when the SGSN sends
the Delete PDP Context Request message (with the TEID) to the GGSN. The
GGSN should acknowledge it with the Delete PDP Context Response message.
In the case of IMSI Detach, the SGSN should send the IMSI Detach Indication
message to the VLR.
If the subscriber needs to keep IMSI-attached while GPRS-detached, the SGSN
should send the GPRS Detach Indication message to the VLR. The VLR removes
its association with the SGSN and no longer initiates the Paging or Location
Update procedure via the SGSN.
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6)

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If the Detach procedure is initiated due to other reasons than MS switch-off, the
SGSN should return the Detach Accept message to the MS.
If the MS initiates the GPRS Detach procedure, the SGSN will release the PS
domain signaling connection.

2. SGSN-initiated detachment
MS

BSS/UTRAN

SGSN

GGSN

MSC/VLR

C1
1. Detach Request
2. Delete PDP Context Request
2. Delete PDP Context Response
3. GPRS Detach Indication
4. Detach Accept
5. PS Signalling Connection Release

Figure 6-33 SGSN-initiated detachment


1)

2)

3)

4)
5)

The SGSN notifies via the Detach Request message (with the Detach Type
parameter) that the MS has been detached. The Detach Type parameter indicates
whether the MS requests for re-attachment and re-activation of the original active
PDP Context before the detachment procedure. If yes, the Attach procedure will
be initiated upon completion of the Detach procedure.
The SGSN notifies the GGSN of the Delete PDP Context Request message (with
the TEID carried), so as to request the GGSN to deactivate the active PDP
Context of the MS. The GGSN should acknowledge it with the Delete PDP Context
Response message.
In the case of combined attachment, the SGSN should send the GPRS Detach
Indication message (with the MS IMSI) to notify the VLR of such. The VLR
removes its association with the SGSN and no longer conducts paging and
location updating via the SGSN.
The MS may, upon receipt of the Detach Request from the SGSN, send the
Detach Accept message at any time to the SGSN.
Upon receipt of the Detach Accept message from the MS, the SGSN will release
the PS signaling connection if the Detach Type does not indicate the reattachment
request of the MS.

6.6.6 Security Procedure (Authentication & Ciphering)


MS

BSS/UTRAN

SGSN

HLR

1. Send Authentication Info


1. Send Authentication Info Ack
2. Authentication and Ciphering Request
2. Authentication and Ciphering Response

Figure 6-34 Authentication and ciphering


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1)

2)

3)

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If the SGSN does not contain any old UMTS authentication quintuple, it will send a
Send Authentication Info message (with IMSI). Upon receipt of this message, the
HLR/AUC shall respond with the Send Authentication Info Ack message that
includes the sequentially arranged quintuples. Each quintuple contains such
information as RAND, XRES, AUTN, CK and IK. For the generation of such a
quintuple, refer to 3G TS 33.102.
During the authentication of the UMTS subscriber, the SGSN will select the next
quintuple and carry the RAND and AUTN parameters of this quintuple in the
Authentication and Ciphering Request message before sending the message to
the MS. The SGSN will also select a CKSN and carries it in this message.
Upon receipt of this message, the MS will have its USIM card authenticate the
AUTN. If the AUTN is accepted, the MS will calculate the signed RES of the RAND
according to the 3G TS 33.102 protocol. If the USIM card determines that the
authentication succeeds, the MS will return the Authentication and Ciphering
Response message (RES) to the SGSN. Meanwhile, the USIM card of the MS will
also calculate the CK and IK. These keys will be stored together with the CKSN
until the CKSN is updated at the next authentication.

If the USIM card determines that the authentication fails (e.g. authentication
synchronization error), the MS will return the Authentication and Ciphering Failure
message to the SGSN.

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6.6.7 Location Management (Routing Area Update)


MS

new
3G-SGSN

UTRAN

old
3G-SGSN

GGSN

new
MSC/VLR

HLR

old
MSC/VLR

1. Routeing Area Update Request


2. SGSN Context Request
2. SGSN Context Response
3. Security Functions
4. SGSN Context Ack
C1
5. Update PDP Context Request
5. Update PDP Context Response
6. Update Location
7. Cancel Location
7. Cancel Location Ack
8. Insert Subscriber Data
8. Insert Subscriber Data Ack
9. Update Location Ack
10. Location Update Request
11a. Update Location
11b. Cancel Location
11c. Cancel Location Ack
11d. Insert Subscriber Data
11e. Insert Subscriber Data Ack
11f. Update Location Ack
12. Location Update Accept
C2
13. Routeing Area Update Accept
C3
14. Routeing Area Update Complete
15. TMSI Reallocation Complete

Figure 6-35 Routing area update


1)

The RRC connection must be established first if there is no existing RRC


connection. The MS sends the Routing Area Update Request message (with such
parameters as P-TMSI, Old RAI, Old P-TMSI Signature, Routing Area Update
Type and Follow On Request) to the new SGSN. If the MS has signaling or data to
be uploaded, the Follow On Request should be set. As an implementation option,
the SGSN may decide whether to release the Iu connection upon end of the
routing area update procedure according to the Follow On Request flag. The
Routing Area Update Type parameter should indicate the following:

Routing area update, provided that the procedure is caused by routing area changes;
Periodic routing area update, provided that the procedure is caused by expiry of the
periodic routing area update timer;
Combined routing area update, provided that the MS is IMSI attached and the location
area update needs to be operated in the network operation mode I;
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Combined routing area update with IMSI attach, provided that the MS wants the IMSI
Attach procedure to take place in the network operation mode I;
The Serving RNC (SRNC) should add the RAI (including the routing area code and the
location area code) of the subscriber location to the front of the Routing Area Update
Request message before forwarding it to the SGSN.
2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

2004-08-24

In the case of inter-SGSN routing area update and provided that the MS is in the
PMM-IDLE state, the new SGSN will send the SGSN Context Request message
(with the old P-TMSI, old RAI and old P-TMSI signature of the MS) to the old
SGSN, so as to get the MM Context and the PDP Context of the MS. The old
SGSN shall check the P-TMSI and signature of the MS and turn the appropriate
cause value in the case of mismatch. In that case, the new SGSN will initiate the
security procedure. If the MS passes authentication of the security procedure, the
new SGSN should send the SGSN Context Request message (with the IMSI, old
RAI and the MS authenticated flag) to the old SGSN. The MS authenticated flag
indicates that the new SGSN has authenticated the MS. If the signature of the MS
is legal or the new SGSN has successfully authenticated the MS, the old SGSN
will return the SGSN Context Response message (with such parameters as
Cause, IMSI, MM Context and PDP Context). If the MS is unknown to the old
SGSN, the old SGSN should return the appropriate cause value and will start the
timer.
The security procedure may take place here. If the authentication fails, the routing
area update request will be rejected and the new SGSN should send the Reject
Indication to the old SGSN. The old SGSN should continue as if it had never
received the SGSN Context Request message.
In the case of inter-SGSN routing area update, the new SGSN should send the
SGSN Context Ack message to the old SGSN. The old SGSN marks the
MSC/VLR association and the information in the GGSN and HLR as illegal in its
SGSN Context. If the MS initiates the routing area update to the old SGSN again
before the ongoing routing area update procedure is complete, the update of
MSC/VLR, GGSN and HLR will be triggered.
In the case of inter-SGSN routing area update and provided that the MS is in the
PMM-IDLE state, the new SGSN shall send the Modify PDP Context Request
message (with the new SGSN address and the negotiated QoS and TEID
information) to the relevant GGSN. The GGSN shall update its PDP Context and
return the Modify PDP Context Response message (with TEID) to the SGSN.
In the case of inter-SGSN routing area update, the SGSN shall send the Update
Location message (with the SGSN number, SGSN address and IMSI) to the HLR,
so as to notify the HLR of the SGSN change.
In the case of inter-SGSN routing area update, the HLR shall send the Cancel
Location message (with the IMSI and the Cancel Type parameters) to the old
SGSN and the Cancel Type will be set to Update Procedure. The old SGSN shall
return the Cancel Location Ack message (with the IMSI) to the HLR for
acknowledgement.
In the case of inter-SGSN routing area update, the HLR will send the Insert
Subscriber Data message (with the IMSI and GPRS subscriber data) to the new
SGSN. The new SGSN acknowledges the presence of the MS in the new routing
area, and it should reject the attachment request of the MS with the appropriate
cause value and may return the Insert Subscriber Data Ack message to the HLR if
the subscriber data do not allow the MS to attach to this routing area. If the
subscriber data check fails due to other causes, the SGSN should reject the
attachment request of the MS with the appropriate cause value and should also
return the Insert Subscriber Data Ack message to the HLR (together with the IMSI
and the cause value). If all the subscriber data have passed the check, the SGSN
will construct an MM Context for the subscriber and at the same time return the
Insert Subscriber Data Ack message (together with the IMSI in it) to the HLR.
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9)
10)

11)

12)

13)

14)
15)

Basic Signaling Procedures

In the case of inter-SGSN routing area update, the HLR will, after deleting the old
MM Context and inserting the new one, send the Update Location Ack message to
the SGSN to acknowledge the Update Location message from the SGSN.
If the Routing Area Update Type indicates the Combined Routing Area Update
with IMSI Attach or if the location area changes, the association between the
SGSN and the VLR must be established. The new SGSN sends the Location
Update Request message (with the new RAI, IMSI, SGSN number and Routing
Area Update Type) to the VLR. If the Routing Area Update Type indicates the
Combined Routing Area Update with IMSI Attach, the Location Area Update Type
should indicate the IMSI Attach. Otherwise, it should indicate the normal location
area update. The VLR number is obtained after the SGSN is queried with the RAI.
At Step 8 described above, that is, upon receipt of the first Insert Subscriber Data
message from the HLR, the SGSN may start the Location Update procedure now.
The VLR creates or updates its association with the SGSN by storing the SGSN
number.
If the subscriber data in the VLR are marked as unacknowledged by the HLR, the
new VLR will notify this to the HLR. And the HLR will delete the old VLR data and
insert the subscriber data to the new VLR.
The new VLR allocates a new TMSI and returns the Location Update Accept (with
the VLR number and TMSI) to the SGSN. If the VLR does not change, the TMSI
allocation here is optional.
The new SGSN acknowledges the presence of the MS in the new routing area. If
the subscriber data do not allow the MS to attach to this routing area or the
subscriber data check fails, the SGSN should reject the attachment request of the
MS with the appropriate cause value. If all the subscriber data have passed the
check, the SGSN shall construct an MM Context for the MS. The new SGSN will
return the Routing Area Update Accept message (with the P-TMSI, VLRTMSI and
P-TMSI signature) to the MS.
The MS sends the Attach Complete message to the SGSN to acknowledge the
new TMSI.
If the TMSI has changed, the SGSN will send the TMSI Reallocation Complete
message to the VLR to acknowledge the reallocated TMSI.

If the attachment request cannot be accepted, the SGSN should return the Attach
Reject message (together with the IMSI and the Cause) to the MS.
Note: Steps 11, 12 and 15 will not take place unless Step 10 takes place.

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6.6.8 Service Request


1. MS-initiated service request
MS

SGSN

RNC

HLR

GGSN

1. RRC Connection Reques t


1. RRC Connection Setup
2. Service Reques t
3. Security Functions
4. Service Accept

4. Radio Access Bearer Ass ignment


Reques t
5. Radio Bearer Setup
6. Radio Bearer Setup
Complete
6. Radio Access Bearer Ass ignment
Response
7. SGSN-Initiated PDP Context Modification
8. Uplink PDU

Figure 6-36 MS-initiated service request


1)
2)

The MS establishes the RRC connection first if there is no existing CS channel.


The MS sends the Service Request message (with P-TMSI, PAI, CKSN and
Service Type) to the SGSN. The Service Type parameter defines the required
service. It is either data or signaling. At this time, the SGSN may initiate an
authentication procedure.

If the Service Type parameter indicates data, the signaling connection between the MS
and the SGSN will be established and resources will be reserved simultaneously for the
active PDP Context.
If the Service Type parameter indicates signaling, the signaling connection for
transmitting upper-layer signaling between the MS and the SGSN will be established.
3)
4)

5)
6)

2004-08-24

If the MS initiates a service request in the PMM-IDLE state, the SGSN will initiate
the security procedure.
If the network is in the PMM-CONNECTED state and the Service Type indicates
data, the SGSN will return a Service Accept message to the MS to accept the
service request; if the Service Type indicates data, the SGSN will send a Radio
Access Bearer Assignment Request message that carries NSAPIRAB ID(s),
TEID(s), QoS Profile(s) and SGSN IP Address(es) to re-establish the RAB to each
active PDP Context.
The RNC indicates to the MS that the new RAB has been established (together
with the RAB ID).
The SRNC sends a Radio Access Bearer Assignment Response that carries RAB
ID(s), TEID(s), QoS Profile(s) and RNC IP Address(es). The GTP tunnel has
already been established over the Iu interface. If the RNC returns the Radio
Access Bearer Assignment Response message and the cause value indicates the
required QoS cannot be provided (Requested Maximum Bit Rate not Available),
the SGSN will send another Radio Access Bearer Assignment Request message
that carries a different QoS. The number of retries and the new QoS value are
implementation-dependent.

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7)
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For the modified QoS in each RAB re-establishment, the SGSN will initiate a PDP
Context modification procedure to notify the MS and the GGSN of the new
negotiated QoS.
The MS sends an uplink PDU.

The Service Accept message does not mean that the RAB(s) reestablishment is
successful.
Whatever Service Type, the network will return a Service Reject message with the
appropriate cause value to the MS if the service request cannot be accepted.
When the Service Type indicates data and if the SGSN fails to reestablish the RAB(s),
the SGSN will initiate a PDP Context modification procedure or deactivates the PDP
Context. The specific conditions depend on the QoS negotiation.
2. Network-initiated service request
MS

RNC

SGSN

HLR

GGSN

1. Downlink PDU
2. Paging
2. Paging
3. RRC Connection Request
3. RRC Connection Setup

4. Service Request
5. Security Functions

6. Radio Bearer Setup

6. Radio Bearer Setup


Complete

6. Radio Access Bearer Assignment


Request

6. Radio Access Bearer Assignment


Response

7. SGSN-Initiated PDP Context Modification Procedure


8. Downlink PDU

Figure 6-37 Network-initiated service request


1)
2)
3)
4)

5)
6)

2004-08-24

The SGSN receives the downlink PDP PDU from the MS in the PMM-IDLE state.
The SGSN sends a paging message to the RNC and the RNC sends the paging
message to page the MS.
The MS establishes the RRC connection first if there is no existing CS channel.
The MS sends the Service Request message (with P-TMSI, PAI, CKSN and
Service Type) to the SGSN. The Service Type is set as the paging response. At
this time, the SGSN may initiate an authentication procedure. The SGSN knows
whether the downlink PDU needs RAB reestablishment.
The SGSN specifies the ciphering mode.
The SRNC sends a Radio Access Bearer Assignment Request that carries RAB
ID(s), TEID(s), QoS Profile(s) and SGSN IP Address(es) to the RNC if the
resource reestablishment is needed for the PDP Context. The RNC sends the
Radio Bearer Setup message that carries the RAB ID(s) to the MS. In return, the
MS sends the Radio Bearer Setup Complete message to the RNC. The RNC
sends the Radio Access Bearer Assignment Response message that carries RAB
ID(s), TEID(s) and RNC IP Address(es) to the SGSN, indicating that the GTP
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8)

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tunnel has been established on the Iu interface and the RAB between the RNC
and the MS has also been established. If the cause value carried in the Radio
Access Bearer Assignment Response message returned by the RNC indicates
that the required QoS is not available (Requested Maximum Bit Rate not
Available), the SGSN will send the new Radio Access Bearer Assignment
Request message that carries a different QoS. The number of retries and the new
QoS parameter are related to the product implementation.
For the modified QoS in each RAB re-establishment, the SGSN will initiate a PDP
Context modification procedure to notify the MS and the GGSN of the new QoS.
The SGSN sends a downlink PDU.

If the Service Type is set as paging response, the MS will regard the service request as
having been successfully received by the SGSN upon receipt of the Secure Mode
Control message from the RRC.
If the SGSN fails to reestablish the RAB(s), it will initiate a PDP Context modification
procedure.

6.7 Call Control


6.7.1 Mobile-originated Call Setup
To initiate a call, the UE needs to establish communication with the network via radio
interface signaling and send a message that contains the called subscriber number, i.e.
the SETUP message on the Iu interface. The CN will establish a communication
channel to the UE and use the obtained called party UERN to create an IAM/IAI
message before sending the message to the called party. Note that the IAM/IAI
message is not involved in the intra-office calls and it only exists on the E interface.

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Figure 6-38 Mobile-originated call setup procedure


1)

The UE sends a CHANNEL REQUEST message to the network over the random
access channel.
2) The network responds with an IMMEDIATE ASSIGNMENT message so that the
UE can occupy the specified dedicated channel.
3) The UE sends a CM SERVICE REQUEST message to the CN.
4) The network initiates the authentication and ciphering procedures.
5) After sending the SECURITY MODE COMPLETE message, the UE sends the
SETUP message to the CN to initiate the call setup procedure.
6) The CN responds with a CALL PROCEEDING message.
7) In the case of immediate assignment, a communication channel must be assigned
to the UE before the CN initiates the call setup procedure to the fixed network.
8) When the called party rings, the network must send an ALERTING message to the
calling UE upon receipt of the ALERTING message from the called party.
Meanwhile, it also needs to send a ringback tone to the calling party.
9) When the called party answers, it will send a CONNECT message to the network
and the network will forward this message to the calling party.
10) When the calling UE returns a CONNECT ACKNOWLEDGE message, the call
setup procedure is complete.

6.7.2 Mobile-terminated Call Setup


A mobile-terminated call procedure is executed when the mobile subscriber is called.
And the call setup procedure is initiated by the network.
If the incoming call is allowed for setup after CN receives the IAM/IAI message or gets
the MSRN from within the local office, the CN must page the UE via radio interface
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signaling. When the UE responds with the PAGING RESPONSE message, the CN will
establish a communication channel to the UE upon receipt of this message.

Figure 6-39 Mobile-terminated call setup procedure


1)

2)

3)

4)
5)

6)

7)
8)
2004-08-24

The CN sends a PAGING message to the RNS and the RNS broadcasts this
PAGING message over the paging channel. For details, refer to the paging
procedure described in Section 6.6.4.
The called UE detects this paging and sends a channel request to the RNS. The
RNS returns an immediate assignment command to indicate the UE to use the
specified signaling channel.
The UE sends a PAGING RESPONSE message on the signaling channel. Upon
receipt of the PAGING RESPONSE message from the UE, the CN initiates the
authentication and ciphering procedures (these two security procedures are
optional and can be configured through the MAP function procedure).
The CN sends a SETUP message to the RNS. The SETUP message carries the
bearer capability of the call and the calling number.
Upon receipt of the SETUP message from the RNS, the UE returns a CALL
CONFIRMED message. If the negotiated bearer capability parameter changes,
the CALL CONFIRMED message shall carry the bearer capability information.
Upon receipt of the CALL CONFIRMED message from the RNS, the CN sends an
RAB ASSIGNMENT REQ message to the RNS to request for radio channel
assignment while the RNS sends an assignment message to the UE so as to
switch the UE to a specified communication channel. After the UE is switched to
the specified communication channel, it sends the RB ASSIGNMENT
COMPLETE message to the RNS.
The RNS sends a RAB ASSIGNMENT RESPONSE message to the CN.
The UE sends an ALERTING message to indicate that the called subscriber
should ring now.
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9)

When the called party answers, the called UE sends a CONNECT message via
the RNS to the CN.
10) The CN returns a CONNECT ACKNOWLEDGE message to the UE to end the call
setup procedure.

6.7.3 RAB Procedure


1. RAB management
It is defined that the RAB (Radio Access Bearer) shall be established between the UE
and the CN. Different RABs are used for the different subscriber data, CN service
capabilities and QoS requirements in the service request of the UE.
The RAB ID is related to the NAS binding information. For example, the RAB ID in the
RANAP layer of the CS domain is numerically the same as the SI in the CC sublayer.
The SI is allocated by the UE and the CN corresponds with the SIs to the RAB IDs one
by one during the allocation of RAB IDs. In the point of view of a UE, the RAB ID is
global in terms of RB (Radio Bearer) and Iu bearer and one RAB ID corresponds to a
unique connection instance in the user plane (an Iu UP instance).
The CN controls the establishment, modification and release of RABs. It initiates the
establishment, modification and release procedures of RABs, while the UTRAN
executes the establishment, modification and release procedures of RABs. It is one
function of the UTRAN to initiate the RAB release request (this function is triggered
when the UTRAN cannot maintain the RAB with the UE).
During RAB establishment, the CN maps the RABs to the Uu interface bearers while
the UTRAN maps the RABs to the Uu interface transport bearers and the Iu interface
transport bearers.
If the AAL2 bearer is to be used in the CS domain, the UTRAN will initiate the setup and
release of AAL2 connections.
The priority of RABs are determined by the CN according to the subscription and QoS
information. The CN specifies the priority, preempt capability and queuing feature of an
RAB during the RAB establishment and modification messages. The UTRAN executes
the RAB queuing and resource preemption.
2. RAB access control
Upon receipt of an RAB establishment or modification request (the RAB QoS is
mapped via the BC IE according to the R99 CS specification), the CS verifies if the
subscriber is allowed to use the RAB in the request parameter. If yes, the CN will accept
the request; otherwise it will reject the request.
When the UTRAN receives an RAB establishment or modification request from the CN,
the admission control entity will judge if the request should be accepted or rejected
according to the current radio resource conditions.

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3. RAB establishment, release and modification procedures

CN

RNC
RAB ASSIGNMENT
REQUEST
RAB ASSIGNMENT
RESPONSE
.
.
.

* it can be several responses

Figure 6-40 RAB assignment procedure at the Iu interface


The purpose of the RAB Assignment procedure is to modify and/or release the
established RAB, and/or establish a new RAB. The procedure is connection-oriented.
The CN first sends an RAB Assignment Request message to the RNC and the CN then
starts the timer TRABAssgt. In an RAB Assignment Request message, the CN may
request the UTRAN to establish/modify/release one or several RABs. The message
contains the following information:
The list of RABs to be established or modified, along with the bearer feature;
The list of RABs to be released.
The RAB ID is unique in each Iu connection. If the message received by the RNC
includes an existing RAB ID, the RNC will regard that the RAB is to be modified (except
release).
The RNC will receive RAB release messages at any time and will always respond. If
the RNC receives a message to release an RAB while it is establishing or modifying this
RAB, it will stop the RAB configuration procedure, release all resources related to this
RAB and return a response.
Upon receipt of the message, the UTRAN will execute the requested RAB configuration
and then send an RAB Assignment Response message to the CN to report the result of
request. One RAB Assignment Response message may contain the information of one
or more RABs as follows:
The RABs that have been successfully established, modified or released;
The RABs that fail to be established, modified or released;
The RABs in queuing.
If no RABs are queued, the CN will strop the timer TRABAssgt and then the RAB
Assignment procedure will end on the UTRAN side.
When the RABs to be established or modified are queued, the UTRAN will start the
timer TQUEUING that specifies the maximum queuing time before establishment and
modification of the RABs and will monitor all the queued RABs. The queued RABs may
have the following results:
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Establishment or modification success;


Establishment or modification failure;
Failure due to expiry of the TQUEUING timer.
In the first RAB Assignment Response message, the UTRAN reports the state of all the
RABs involved in the RAB ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message. The UTRAN then
reports the state of the queued RABs in the following RAB Assignment Response
message, except the RABs with TQUEUING expiry. When knowing that the
modification or establishment of all the queued RABs has succeeded or failed, the
UTRAN stops the timer TQUEUING and the RAB Assignment procedure ends at the
CN and the UTRAN simultaneously.
When the CN receives a response indicating that the RABs are queued, it hopes that
the UTRAN can provide the result of RABs queuing before expiry of the timer
TRABAssgt; otherwise, it will regard that the RAB Assignment procedure has ended
and the configuration of those RABs not reported has failed.
Upon expiry of the timer TQUEUING, all the queued RABs in the UTRAN will end the
procedure of queuing and the UTRAN will use an RAB Assignment Response
message to report the states of all the queued RABs. At the same time, the whole
procedure is stopped on the CN side.
4. RAB establishment procedure
The following figure depicts the procedure of RAB establishment via UTRAN between
the CN and the UE.

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Serving
RNC

Node B
Serving RNS

UE

RANAP

CN
1. RAB Assignment Request

RANAP

[Establishment]
Select L1, L2 and Iu Data
Transport Bearer parameters
2. ALCAP Iu Data
Transport Bearer Setup
Not required towards PS domain
2.1 Establish Request
Q.aal2
Q.aal2
NBAP

Radio Link Reconfiguration Prepare


[DCH Addition]

NBAP

Radio Link Reconfiguration Ready

2.1 Establish Confirm

Q.aal2
Q.aal2

NBAP

NBAP

ALCAP Iub Data Transport Bearer Setup

DCH-FP

Downlink Synchronisation

DCH-FP

DCH-FP

Uplink Synchronisation

DCH-FP

NBAP

Radio Link econfiguration Commit NBAP

3 DCCH: Radio Bearer Setup

RRC

RRC

Apply new transport format set


DCCH

RRC

: Radio BearerSetup Complete

RRC
RANAP 4. RAB Assignment Response RANAP
5. Initialization
Iu UP
Iu UP
(RFCI, 0..N + sub- flow size information)

Figure 6-41 RAB establishment (DCH-DCH synchronous establishment procedure)


The above example shows the procedure of establishing an RAB (DCH) in the DCH
RRC state after the RRC connection has been established.
l

Time

In the CS domain, upon receipt of a service request from the UE (Caller SETUP, called
CALL CONFIRM and CONNECT messages, etc.), the CN sends an RAB Assignment
Request message to indicate that a new AS bearer channel is needed to bear the NAS
subscriber data and thus initiates the procedure of bearer channel establishment.
l

1)

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Procedure
The CN decides what kind of RABs are to be used according to the subscriber
data, CN service capability and QoS requirements in the service request of the UE.
It sends an RANAP message, i.e. the Radio Access Bearer Assignment Request
(Setup) message, to request the RAB establishment. In the message, the RAB ID
is filled with the SI value. The key parameters of the CS domain include the RAB
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2)

Basic Signaling Procedures

parameter, the user plane mode, the ATM address of the local user plane and the
IU BINDING ID.
The Serving RNC uses the ALCAP protocol to initialize the Iu interface data
transport bearer establishment.

In the case of using the AAL2 bearer in the CS domain (this procedure is not needed in
the case of the PS domain), the SUGR parameter will be used in the AAL2 connection
establishment request message to transparently transmit the BINDING ID to the CN, so
as to complete the binding between the RABs and the data transport bearers. This
request message also contains the following key parameters:
Peer ATM address, path ID, Channel ID (CID), path feature and channel feature.
3)

4)

5)

After the Serving RNC reconfigures the radio links with such equipment as Node B
and completes the uplink-downlink synchronization, it uses an RRC message (i.e.
Radio Access Bearer Setup) to carry the subflow and subflow combination
parameters among the RAB parameters as well as the RAB ID before sending the
message to the UE.
Upon receipt of the success acknowledgement RRC message (i.e. Radio Bearer
Setup Complete) from the UE and the establishment success information of the
ALCAP procedure, the Serving RNC acknowledges the RAB establishment
success to the CN. It sends an RANAP message (Radio Bearer Assignment
Response) to the CN.
If the user plane is in the support mode, the UTRAN initializes the Iu interface user
plane via the Initialization message after the result is reported.

& Note:
The procedures of interaction with the Drift RNC and the Drift Node B are not indicated in the above figure.
For the RACH/FACH DCH, RACH/FACH - RACH/FACH and PS domain
non-synchronous modes, the procedures are similar.

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5. RAB release procedure


Node B
Serving RNS

UE

Serving
RNC
RANAP

CN
1 RAB Assignment Request
[Release]

RANAP 2. RAB Assignment Response

RANAP
RANAP

3. ALCAP Iu Data Transport Bearer Release


not required towards PS domain
Q.aal2
Q.aal2

3.1 Release Request


3.2 Release Confirm

Q.aal2
Q.aal2

NBAP Radio Link Reconfiguration Prepare NBAP


[DCH Deletion]
NBAP Radio Link Reconfiguration Ready

NBAP

Radio Link Reconfiguration Commit

DCCH : Radio Bearer Release

RRC

NBAP

NBAP
RRC

Apply new
transport format set
DCCH
DCCH : Radio Bearer Release Complete

RRC

RRC

Iub Data Transport Bearer Release


ALCAP

Figure 6-42 RAB release (DCH-DCH synchronous release procedure)


l

Trigger time

This procedure is initiated in the CS domain when all the transactions over the RAB in
the CC layer end or the RNC requests to release the RAB.
l

1)

2)
3)

4)

5)

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Procedure
The CN sends an RANAP message, i.e. Radio Access Bearer Assignment
Request (Release), to initiate the RAB release procedure together with the RAB ID
specified.
The Serving RNC acknowledges the request message with another RANAP
message, i.e. Radio Access Bearer Assignment Response.
The Serving RNC uses the ALCAP protocol. In the case of the AAL2 bearer, it
uses the AAL2 release message to initiate the release procedure of the Iu data
transport bearer between itself and the CN (this procedure is not needed in the PS
domain).
The Serving RNC sends an RRC message (Radio Bearer Release) to the UE to
initiate the bearer release procedure after releasing the link with such equipment
as Node B.
The Serving RNC receives the acknowledgement RRC message (Radio Bearer
Release Complete) from the UE and the whole release procedure thus ends.

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6. RAB modification procedure


Serving
RNC

Node B
Serving RNS

UE

CN

Request
RANAP 1. RAB Assignment
RANAP
[Modify]
2. Select L1, L2 and Iu Data
Transport Bearer parameters
e.g. for Radio Bearer
reconfiguration.)
3. ALCAP Iu Data
Transport Bearer Modify
(

Q.aal2
Q.aal2

NBAP

Radio Link Reconfiguration Prepare

NBAP

Radio Link Reconfiguration Ready

ALCAP

NBAP

3.2

Modify Request
Modify Confirm

Q.aal2
Q.aal2

NBAP
NBAP

Iub Data Transport Bearer Modify

Radio Link econfiguration Commit NBAP

4 Radio Bearer Reconfiguration (DCCH

RRC

3.1

RRC

Actualizing Radio Bearer modification (e.g. Apply new transport format set)
5 Radio Bearer Reconfiguration Complete

RRC

DCCH

RRC
RANAP 6 RAB Assignment Response

RANAP

7. Initialization
Iu UP
Iu UP
(RFCI, 0..N + sub- flow size information)

Figure 6-43 RAB modification (DCH-DCH synchronous modification procedure)


l

Trigger condition

When the UE is handed over or the UE rate changes, the CN reconfigures the traffic
channel to support the service attribute change.
l

1)

2)
3)
4)

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Procedure
The CN sends an RANAP message, i.e. the Radio Access Bearer Assignment
Request (Modify), to request the RAB modification. The request message
contains the RAB ID that indicates which RAB is to be modified and such key
parameters of the CS domain as RAB parameters.
The Serving RNC selects which parameters are to be modified and which
programs are to be initiated.
The SRNC uses the ALCAP protocol to modify the channel characteristics of the
Iu interface data transport bearers.
Upon successful modification procedure of the Iu interface transport control plane,
the Serving RNC modifies the radio links together with such equipment as Node B.
It then sends the subflow and subflow combination parameters among the RAB
parameters as well as RAB ID in the RRC message (Radio Bearer
Reconfiguration) to the UE.
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5, 6) Upon receipt of the success acknowledgement RRC message (i.e. Radio Bearer
Setup Complete) from the UE, the Serving RNC acknowledges the RAB
modification success to the CN. It sends an RANAP message (Radio Bearer
Assignment Response) to the CN.
7) If the user plane is in the support mode, the UTRAN initializes the Iu interface user
plane via the Initialization message after the result is reported.

6.7.4 Paging Procedure


The paging procedure is a procedure of paging initiated from the CN to the called party.
When the CN needs to set up a connection with the called subscriber, it first needs to
find the called subscriber via the paging procedure. The purpose of the paging
procedure is just to enable the CN to page the called subscriber. The paging procedure
is set up via connectionless signaling.
The CN sends the PAGING message to the called subscriber to initiate the paging
procedure. The PAGING message should contain sufficient information so that the
RNC can find the called subscriber. If the called subscriber is unreachable in one
paging, the CN will repeat the paging procedure via the Iu interface. Generally, the
number of paging retries and the paging interval can be controlled by the CN.

CN

RNC
PAGING

Figure 6-44 Successful paging procedure

1. Paging procedure
After the call request information from the caller is processed by the CN, the paging
procedure starts if the called subscriber information has been successfully obtained.
The CN needs to know the location area information of the called subscriber and get
the sufficient paging information parameters before it can initiate the paging procedure
to the called subscriber.
If the CN does not get the location area information of the called subscriber, it needs to
send the PAGING message through the broadcast procedure to all the RNCs under its
control.
The CN sends the PAGING message via the RANAP interface, which processes the
PAGING message from the CN. The PAGING message includes such parameters as
whether the paging request comes from the CS domain or the PS domain, what reason
caused the paging and the specific location area information of the called subscriber.
The RANAP sends the PAGING message to the RNC where the location area of the
called subscriber resides.
When the PAGING message reaches the RNC, the RNC analyzes the parameters of
the PAGING message to get the location area information of the called subscriber and
then transmits via PCCH the PAGING information to the UE in that location area. If the
called UE detects the PAGING message from the RNC, it starts to execute the NAS
signaling procedure.

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If the paging is successful, the CN will get the paging response message; otherwise the
CN needs to repeat sending the PAGING message via the Iu interface.
2. Paging procedure of the UE in the RRC idle state
When the RRC is idle, the UE may receive paging from the CS or PS domain. Because
the UE is now in the idle state, the CN can learn the Location Area Identification (LAI)
information of the UE. The paging will be sent via this location area and the LA in this
example crosses two RNCs.

Figure 6-45 Paging procedure of the UE in the RRC idle state


1)

2)
3)

The CN initiates the paging information and sends it after passing two RNCs to the
called UE. At this time it can be see from the Iu interface that two PAGING
messages are continuously send by the CN, they carry the same LAI, except that
the DPCs are the two RNCs.
Cell 1 initiates the paging procedure via the Paging Type 1 message.
Cell 2 initiates the paging procedure via the Paging Type 1 message.

The PAGING message reaches RNC1 and RNC2 via RANAP, and the two RNCs
transmit the PAGING message to the UE in the specified location area over the PCCH.
If the called UE detects the PAGING message from RNC1 or RNC2, it then starts
executing the NAS signaling procedure.
3. Paging procedure of the UE in the RRC connected state
When the RRC is in the connected state, the paging procedure of the UE may fall into
two cases: The CS domain or the PS domain of the CN. Due to the independency of
mobility management, there are two possible solutions:
1)
2)

The UTRAN coordinates the paging request over the existing RRC connection;
The UE coordinates the paging request over the existing RRC connection.

The following example shows the paging procedure of the UE in the RRC connected
state (CELL_DCH and CELL_FACH), where the UTRAN coordinates the paging
request over the DCCH in the RRC connected state.

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Basic Signaling Procedures

Figure 6-46 Paging procedure of the UE in the RRC connected state (CELL_DCH and CELL_FACH)
1)
2)

The CN sends the PAGING message via RANAP to UE to page the UE.
The Serving RNC sends the Paging Type 2 to the RRC (UE).

& Note:
Paging Type 1 is sent over the PCCH when the UE is idle while Paging Type 2 is sent over the DCCH
when the UE is in the RRC connected state. The typical case is that the UE uses the Paging Type 2 to
send the PAGING message of the CS domain in the PS service procedure. However, the Paging Type is
controlled by the RNC and the CN does not need to know it.

6.7.5 Call Release Procedure


When the mobile subscriber ends the conversation, the calling party or the called
onhook message shall be notified to the network side to initiate the call release
procedure. The network releases the call by terminating the CS connection between
the PLMNs or between the PLMN and other networks.

Figure 6-47 Successful mobile-originated call release


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Basic Principles of WCDMA System

1)
2)
3)

4)

Basic Signaling Procedures

After the MS hooks on, it sends a DISCONNECT message to the network to


initiate the call clearing procedure. The release cause in the message is Normal
Call Clearing.
Upon receipt of the DISCONNECT message, the network sends a RELEASE
message to the MS.
The MS sends a RELEASE COMPLETE message to the network. If the
communication channel is no longer needed, the channel release procedure will
be executed.
If the call is the only one over the entire Iu connection, the Iu connection shall be
released. The CN sends an IU RELEASE COMMAND message to the RNS to
request for releasing the Iu connection.

6.8 PS Domain Session Management Procedures


6.8.1 Basic Concepts of Session Management
1. SM function overview
The purpose of SM is to set up, modify and release the PS domain bearer. As a major
component of the Connection Management layer in the 3GPP protocol, the SM is
located between the Mobility Management plane and the user plane, and uses the
connectionless data transfer service provided by the GMM sublayer to provide
connection management service to the upper layer, i.e., the user plane. It is used to set
up, modify and release the tunnel between the SGSN and the GGSN on one hand, and
to control the setup, modification and release of the Radio Access Bearer between the
SGSN and the RNC/MS on the other hand.
2. Terminologies
1)

PDP CONTEXT/PDP ADDRESS

The PDP context saves all tunnel forwarding information of the user plane, including
user plane IP address of RNC/GGSN, tunnel identifier and QoS.
Each piece of GPRS subscription data comprises one or more PDP addresses, each
PDP address comprises one or more PDP Context descriptions of MS, SGSN and
GGSN, and each PDP Context can exist in one of two states: Inactive and active. The
state transition chart is shown in the following figure. The PDP state indicates whether
the data with the PDP address can be transferred. Inactive sessions do not contain
routing information and cannot complete data transfer. All the PDP Contexts of the
subscriber are associated with his/her MM Context.

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INACTIVE

Deactivate PDP Context


or
MM state change to IDLE
or PMM-DETACHED

Activate PDP
Context

ACTIVE

Figure 6-48 PDP state machine model


2)

NSAPI

The NSAPI is used in the MS to identify a PDP service access point, and in the
SGSN/GGSN to identify a session. Its value is the RAB ID used by the access layer to
identify the subscriber RAB.
3)

APN resolution

The APN (Access Point Name) is of the standard domain name format. It comprises
two parts: Network Identity (NI) and Operator Identity (OI). It is used in the GGSN to
identify the ISP of a specific external network and a service, and in the SGSN to get the
GGSN address corresponding to it via the DNS resolution.
4)

QoS negotiation

While setting up a packet transport route, the SM must specify the QoS to be satisfied
by the route. During the SM process, the MS, RNC, SGSN and GGSN conduct QoS
negotiation to keep the consistency of the QoSs they provide. The QoS negotiation
algorithm is to get the minimum from the maximum QoS that can be provided by the
subscribed QoS and SGSN and the QoS satisfied by other nodes.
3. Position of SM in the protocol stack
GMM /
SM / SMS

GMM /
SM / SMS

Relay
RRC

RRC

RANAP

RANAP

RLC

RLC

SCCP

SCCP

MAC

MAC

Signalling
Bearer

Signalling
Bearer

L1

L1

AAL5

AAL5

ATM
Uu

MS

ATM
Iu-Ps

RNS

3G SGSN

Figure 6-49 UMTS MS-SGSN control plane protocol

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Basic Signaling Procedures

4. SM-related functional entities


1)

RAB management

RABM (RAB Management) is used to establish, modify, release and reestablish the
RAB.
The RAB consists of two parts: The GTP tunnel between the RNC and the SGSN, and
the Radio Bearer between the RNC and the MS. RAB ID uniquely identifies an RAB of
the subscriber.
The RAB establishment, modification, release and reestablishment are completed via
the RAB ASSIGNMENT procedure.

MS

RNC

SGSN
1. RAB Assignment Request

2. RRC:
Establish/Release/Modify
Radio Bearers
3. RAB Assignment Response
.
.
.

* it can be several responses

Figure 6-50 RAB management procedure


Description:

The SGSN sends the RAB Assignment Request (SGSN ADDR, TEIDs, and QoS)
to the RNC, requesting it to establish, modify or release the RAB(s). It can specify
the RAB radio priority and whether preemption and queuing are allowed in the
assignment parameters.
RNC establishes, modifies or releases the radio bearer.
The RNC sends the RAB Assignment Response message to the SGSN. If the
assignment fails due to the QoS, then the QoS requirement should be lowered and
the assignment request should be resent.

If the QoS changes during RAB reestablishment, the SGSN-initiated PDP Context
Modification procedure will be executed to notify the QoS to both the MS and the
GGSN.
2)

Tunnel management

The major task of tunnel management is to establish a GTP tunnel between the SGSN
and the GGSN. Tunnel management includes tunnel establishment, modification and
deletion as well as the network-initiated PDP Context activation procedure.
The SM implements session management through the PDP Context activation,
modification and deactivation procedures. The PDP Context activation procedure is to
establish the packet transport routes of the user plane; the PDP Context modification
procedure is to modify the QoS and TFT of the active PDP Context, as well as modify
the tunneling route between the SGSN and the GGSN in the case of RAU changes; the
PDP Context deactivation procedure is to release the active PDP Context.
After the RNC initiates the RAB or Iu release procedure, the SGSN may keep these
active PDP Contexts but not deactivate them. When the subscriber initiates the
SERVICE REQUEST procedure for RAB reestablishment, the data transport
procedure can be recovered immediately.
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6.8.2 PDP Context Activation


The PDP Context activation includes the MS-initiated and the network-initiated PDP
Context activation procedures as well as the secondary activation procedure. This
section only describes the MS-initiated PDP Context activation procedure.

1. MS-initiated PDP Context activation


MS

UTRAN

3G-SGSN

3G-GGSN

1. Activate PDP Context Request


C1
3. Radio Access Bearer Setup
4. Invoke Trace
5. Create PDP Context Request
5. Create PDP Context Response
C2
7. Activate PDP Context Accept

Figure 6-51 MS-initiated PDP Context activation


1)

2)
3)

4)

2004-08-24

The MS sends the Activate PDP Context Request (with NSAPI, TI, PDP Type,
PDP Address, Access Point Name and QoS Requested) to the SGSN. The PDP
Address indicates the dynamic or static address. If it indicates dynamic address, it
is set to null.
The RAB assignment procedure is executed.
The SGSN uses the PDP Type (optional), PDP Address (optional), Access Point
Name (optional) and PDP Context subscriber data to verify the validity of the
Activate PDP Context Request message.
The SGSN assigns a TEID to the PDP Context. If the dynamic address is to be
used, the SGSN requests the GGSN to allocate a dynamic address. The SGSN
selects an APN according to a certain algorithm and then sends the request to
establish a PDP Context to the GGSN.
The GGSN allocates a dynamic address for the PDP Context, as well as the
charging ID and negotiated QoS. If the MS requests that an IP address be
allocated for the external network part, the address will be set to 0.0.0.0. Later
after the external network is allocated with an IP address, the GGSN-initiated PDP
Context modification procedure will then be executed.
Upon receipt of the Create PDP Context Response message (with NSAPI, PDP
ADDR, GGSN ADDR, TEID and QoS) from the GGSN, the SGSN sends the
address and OoS information via the Activate PDP Context Accept message to
the MS.

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2. The improvement of MS-initiated PDP Context activation procedure in the later


version.
In the early R99 version, if the GGSN has downgraded the QoS in the activation
procedure, it wont notify this to the RNC. So the resource occupied on the two sides of
the SGSN will be inconsistent and the resources at the air interface may be even much
more than the resources allocated in the core network, thus causing the waste of air
interface resources. In the later version (later R99/R4/R5/R6), the activation procedure
was optimized. The SGSN first interacts with the GGSN to establish a GTP tunnel and
then an RAB. After then, an optional PDP Context Modification procedure may be
executed to synchronize the resources on the two sides of the SGSN, if the QoS is
downgraded during the RAB establishment procedure.
MS

UTRAN

3G-SGSN

3G-GGSN

1. Activate PDP Context Request


C1
4. Create PDP Context Request
4. Create PDP Context Response
5. Radio Access Bearer Setup
6. Invoke Trace
8. Update PDP Context Request
8. Update PDP Context Response
C2
9. Activate PDP Context Accept

Figure 6-52 MS-initiated PDP Context activation (later version)

6.8.3 PDP Context Modification


The PDP Context modification procedures include the MS-initiated, SGSN-initiated and
the GGSN-initiated PDP Context modification procedures, as well as the
SGSN-initiated PDP Context modification procedure due to RAB/Iu release. This
section only describes the MS-initiated and SGSN-initiated ones. The modification
parameters include QoS Negotiated, Radio Priority, Packet Flow Id, PDP Address (in
case of the GGSN-initiated modification procedure) and TFT (in the case of
MS-initiated modification procedure).

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Basic Signaling Procedures

1. SGSN-initiated PDP Context modification


MS

UTRAN

SGSN

GGSN

1. Update PDP Context Request


2. Update PDP Context Response
3. Modify PDP Context Request
4. Modify PDP Context Accept
C1
5. Radio Access Bearer Modification
6. Invoke Trace

Figure 6-53 SGSN-initiated PDP Context modification procedure


1)
2)
3)

4)
5)
6)

The SGSN sends the Update PDP Context Request (with TEID, NSAPI, QoS
Negotiated, Trace Reference, Trace Type, Trigger Id and OMC Identity) to the
GGSN for QoS negotiation.
The GGSN conducts the QoS negotiation and sends the Update PDP Context
Response (with TEID, QoS Negotiated and Cause) to the SGSN.
The SGSN selects the Radio Priority and Packet Flow Id according to the QoS. It
then sends to MS the Modify PDP Context Request (with TI, QoS Negotiated,
Radio Priority and Packet Flow Id).
The MS accepts the QoS by sending to the SGSN the Modify PDP Context Accept
message or rejects the QoS by initiating the PDP Context deactivation procedure.
The RAB assignment procedure is executed to modify the RAB.
If BSS tracing is to be started, the Invoke Trace message (with Trace Reference,
Trace Type, Trigger Id and OMC Identity) will be sent.

2. MS-initiated PDP Context modification


MS

UTRAN

SGSN

GGSN

1. Modify PDP Context Request


2. Update PDP Context Request
3. Update PDP Context Response
4. Radio Access Bearer Modification
5. Modify PDP Context Accept
C1

Figure 6-54 MS-initiated PDP Context modification procedure


The purpose of the MS-initiated PDP Context modification procedure is to change the
QoS or TFT of the PDP Context.
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1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Basic Signaling Procedures

The MS sends the Modify PDP Context Request message (with TI, QoS
Requested and TFT) to the SGSN, so as to request for changing the PDP Context.
The SGSN sends the Update PDP Context Request (with TEID, NSAPI, QoS
Negotiated, Trace Reference, Trace Type, Trigger Id and OMC Identity) to the
GGSN for QoS negotiation.
The GGSN conducts the QoS negotiation and sends the Update PDP Context
Response (TEID, QoS Negotiated and Cause) to the SGSN.
The RAB assignment procedure is executed to modify the RAB.
The SGSN sends the Modify PDP Context Accept message to the MS.

6.8.4 PDP Context Deactivation


The PDP Context deactivation procedures include the MS-initiated, SGSN-initiated and
GGSN-initiated PDP Context modification procedures. This section only describes the
MS-initiated and the SGSN-initiated ones.
1. MS-initiated PDP Context deactivation
MS

UTRAN

3G-SGSN

3G-GGSN

1. Deactivate PDP Context Request


C1
3. Delete PDP Context Request
3. Delete PDP Context Response
4. Deactivate PDP Context Accept
5. Radio Access Bearer Release

Figure 6-55 MS-initiated PDP Context deactivation procedure


1)

2)

3)
4)
5)

The MS sends the Deactivate PDP Context Request message (with TI and
Teardown Ind) to the SGSN, where Teardown Ind indicates whether to deactivate
the PDP Context and specifies the active PDP Context for the TI shared address.
The SGSN receives the deactivation request from the MS and sends the Delete
PDP Context Request message (TEID, NSAPI and Teardown Ind) to the GGSN to
delete the GGSN PDP Context.
The GGSN sends the Delete PDP Context Response message (with TEID) to the
SGSN.
Upon receipt of the Delete PDP Context Response message, the SGSN sends the
Deactivate PDP Context Accept message to the MS.
The SGSN invokes the RAB assignment procedure to release the RAB.

2. SGSN-initiated PDP Context deactivation


The SGSN-initiated deactivation procedure is often triggered by the MM release or
various exceptions such as PDP Context inconsistency between the MS, the SGSN
and the GGSN, or RAB reestablishment failure or resource shortage.

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MS

UTRAN

Basic Signaling Procedures

SGSN

GGSN

C1
1. Delete PDP Context Request
1. Delete PDP Context Response
2. Deactivate PDP Context Request
2. Deactivate PDP Context Accept
3. Radio Access Bearer Release

Figure 6-56 SGSN-initiated PDP Context deactivation


1)

2)
3)

4)
5)

The SGSN sends the Delete PDP Context Request message (with TEID, NSAPI
and Teardown Ind) to the GGSN, where Teardown Ind indicates whether to
deactivate the PDP Context and specifies the active PDP Context for the TI
shared address.
The GGSN sends the Delete PDP Context Response message (with TEID) to the
SGSN.
Upon receipt of the Delete PDP Context Response message from the GGSN, the
SGSN sends the Deactivate PDP Context Request message to the MS to delete
the MS PDP Context. If the PDP Context deactivation procedure is triggered by
DETACH, this Deactivate PDP Context Request message will not be sent.
The SGSN receives the Deactivate PDP Context Accept message from the MS.
The SGSN initiates the RAB assignment procedure to release the RAB.

6.8.5 Reservation Procedure and RAB Reestablishment


When the RNC initiates the RAB release and Iu release procedures, the PDP Context
may not be released, rather, the PDP Context will be reserved without any change for
RAB reestablishment in the later Service Request procedure.
1. MS-initiated service request for RAB reestablishment
When the MS has the uplink data transport needs while the PDP Context is active but
the RAB does not exist, the MS will initiate the Service Request procedure to
reestablish the RAB for the active PDP Context. The procedure is shown in the
following figure.

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MS

RNC

Basic Signaling Procedures


SGSN

HLR

GGSN

1. RRC Connection Request


1. RRC Connection Setup
2. Service Request
3. Security Functions
4. Service Accept

4. Radio Access Bearer Assignm ent


Request
5. Radio Bearer Setup
6. Radio Bearer Setup
Com plete
6. Radio Access Bearer Assignm ent
Response
7. SGSN-Initiated PDP Context Modification
8. Uplink PDU

Figure 6-57 MS-initiated service request for RAB reestablishment


1)
2)

3)
4)
5)

6)

The RRC connection must be established first if there is no existing RRC


connection.
The MS sends the Service Request message (with P-TMSI, PAI, CKSN and
Service Type) to the SGSN. In the message, the Service Type parameter
indicates data.
The security procedure is executed.
The SGSN sends the Service Accept message to the MS, so as to reestablish the
RAB for each active PDP Context of the subscriber with RAB released.
If the QoS changes during RAB reestablishment, the SGSN-initiated PDP Context
Modification procedure will be executed to notify the QoS to both the MS and the
GGSN.
The MS transmits the uplink data.

2. SGSN-initiated service request for RAB reestablishment


When the SGSN receives the downlink signaling or data packet and finds that the
subscriber is in the PMM-IDLE state, it needs to initiate the paging procedure. Upon
receipt of the paging message, the MS sends the Service Request message with the
Service Type indicating Paging Response. If the Service Request procedure is
caused because the SGSN receives a data packet, the RAB Assignment procedure will
be invoked to reestablish the RAB.

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MS

Basic Signaling Procedures

RNC

SGSN

HLR

GGSN

1. Downlink PDU
2. Paging
2. Paging
3. RRC Connection Request
3. RRC Connection Setup

4. Service Request
5. Security Functions

6. Radio Bearer Setup

6. Radio Bearer Setup


Complete

6. Radio Access Bearer Assignment


Request

6. Radio Access Bearer Assignment


Response

7. SGSN-Initiated PDP Context Modification Procedure


8. Downlink PDU

Figure 6-58 SGSN-initiated service request for RAB reestablishment

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Chapter 7 Radio Network Planning for WCDMA


7.1 Overview
With the emergence of 3G mobile communication technology, the construction of the
UMTS network will bring a profound evolution, which makes higher requirements for
network planning. At present, the public is greatly interested in this new technology.
The construction of 3G mobile communication network is in the ascendant. This new
mobile communication technology is different from the traditional GSM network
planning in terms of essence. Worldwide people are developing new planning tool and
algorithm and designing new work flow.
Comparison between UMTS network planning and GSM network planning:
1. GSM network planning
The GSM network planning is based on radio wave propagation analysis. According to
the transmitting power and antenna configuration of BTS, its coverage area is
calculated. Normally, only the downlink coverage area is calculated, so the GSM
technology does not take uplink coverage area into consideration. The next step is
performed by network planning engineers to analyze the required cell capacity.
According to the calculated cell area, the traffic of cells can be estimated with the help
of electronic map, and then the required channel numbers are calculated through traffic
models (such as Erlang-B or Erlang-C). Next, it is the frequency distribution for BTSs,
and the same frequency can only be reused among enough-distanced cells, to avoid
interference.
To expand the network in the future, the network planning engineer just needs to
distribute new channels to the corresponding cells. As long as there is appropriate
frequency in the overall frequency planning and the expansion does not exceed the
maximum capacity of the BTS, the network does not require other adjustments.
Otherwise, new BTSs or sectors should be added, and new frequency calculation and
channel distribution are required.
2. UTMS network planning
Compared with the GSM network planning, the UMTS network planning features the
following differences:
Cell breathing:
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The CDMA network is totally different from the GSM network. Since channels and users
are not separated for consideration, there is tight relation between coverage and
capacity. The cell with more traffic has less coverage area. In the CDMA network, more
traffic means more interferences. This kind of effect of dynamic change of cell area is
called as cell breathing. This can be illustrated through the following visual example.
In a birthday party of a friend, many guests come. More people taking will cause it is
harder to hear the voice of opposite party clearly. If in the beginning, you can talk with a
friend at another end of the room, you can not hear what he is saying at all when the
room is very noisy. It indicates that the cell radius of talking area is shortened. The
UMTS network planning engineer faces a network changing dynamically.
In UMTS network planning, the network expandability should be taken into
consideration first of all. The network planning engineer can not simply add frequency
to the related cell as planning GSM network. In the beginning of network planning, a
determined traffic signal redundancy should be taken into consideration, and this
redundancy will be used as compensation to the interference caused by increased
traffic. This shows that, from the very beginning, it is required to construct the network
with smaller cells or more NodeBs, resulting in higher investment cost. If the traffic
signal surplus is too small, there is only one way: adding NodeBs when expanding.
The network planning engineer should notice the above issues, because enhancing
transmitting power simply can not reduce the receiving signal deterioration caused by
traffic incensement. Enhancing transmitting power can only improve the receiving
signal of a cell but will add interference to the adjacent cells. As a result, the whole
network communication quality will be influenced.
To enhance transmitting power, the valid range or capacity (for the CDMA network, they
are homonymous) of the CDMA cell is limited. When the UMTS network transmitting
power is doubled, the cell capacity is increased by 10%. The enhanced transmitting
power raises the valid range of cell, but to satisfy the requirements of remote mobile
subscribers, it is necessary to enhance transmitting power by multiple times, which will
influence the talking quality of other mobile subscribers. Lets return to the above party
example. You can enhance your voice to continue the conversation with the friend at
another end of the room, but at the same time, other guests also raise voice to talk with
others. As a result, the whole room is submerged in noise.
The corresponding relationship between transmitting power and cell capacity is gradual.
Since the UMTS cell load is subject to saturate, the UMTS network planning engineer
must reduce the full-load ratio. The detailed parameters depend on different services
and how much the network carrier would like to risk. Usually, the full-load factor is
preset as 60% in network design. Here, the cell breathing effect is used. The adjacent
cells can mutually compensate load, called as soft load. Due to cost, the network
capacity can not be increased on a large scale. The mathematical demonstration on the
UMTS service with large scale data transmission shows that, as data transmission
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volume increases, it is more possible for a service cell to borrow capacity from the
adjacent cells. This result is satisfied.
Near-far effect:
Another typical issue of the CDMA network is near-far effect. Since all the subscribers
in the same cell share the same frequency, it is important that each subscriber in the
whole system transmits signal at the minimum power. Lets return to the above party
example. If someone is shouting in the room, the conversation among all the other
guests will be influenced. In the CDMA network, this problem can be solved through
power control. For example, the UMTS network uses closed loop power control at
frequency 1500 Hz. For GSM network, however, the power control works at 2 Hz and is
for uplink only.
This kind of fast power control mechanism has been implemented in the UMTS
hardware. But the network planning engineer will face the other case of this problem.
When a subscriber is far away from the NodeB, he needs a majority of transmitting
power, resulting in power shortage for other subscribers. This means that the cell
capacity is related to the actual subscriber geographical distribution. When subscriber
density is rather large, statistics average value can be used to solve this problem.
When subscriber quantity is small, it is necessary to perform dynamic analysis to the
network through simulations.
Uplink and downlink:
The UMTS network traffic is asymmetrical, that is, the data transmission quantity in the
network uplink differs from that in downlink. The network planning engineer should
calculate values in two directions and then combine them together properly. In this way,
the network planning work will be very complicated. Uplink is a typical limit factor for the
valid coverage range of UMTS cell, or we can say that uplink is coverage-limited and
downlink is capacity-limited. The transmitting power in uplink is provided by UE and the
one in downlink is provided by NodeB.
The above problems also occur in the existing CDMA network. For the UMTS network,
these problems are more complicated. The UMTS network can satisfy different
services with different requirements in communication quality and traffic at the same
time, including simple voice service and packet service up to 2Mbps.
Integrated services:
In fact, the UMTS network should satisfy requirements of different services at the same
time. So, the network planning engineer should take different services into
consideration. For the service with low communication quality requirement, the UMTS
cell has rather large coverage. For the service with high communication quality
requirement, the cell has very small coverage. So, in the actual work, the network
planning engineer should not just consider UMTS cell radius, because different
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services correspond to different cell radiuses. If the minimum cell radius, that is, the
service with highest communication quality requirement, is used as the standard for
network planning, the network establishment cost will be very high and it is not realistic.
The UMTS network planning engineer should start from the cell radius of middle-class
service. As a result, the actual valid range of the cell can only satisfy the requirement of
high-class service partially. At present, many network planning software companies
have started to develop valid algorithms for this kind of new UMTS network integrated
service.
Other differences:
Compared with GSM network, the UMTS network features other differences. The GSM
network solves capacity problem with sector partition method. The cell with too much
traffic is divided into multiple sectors, and antennas are added correspondingly. This
method is also used for the UMTS network, but its effect is not enough. The change of
cell coverage will cause the near-far effect mentioned above, and overlapped sectors
will interfere mutually because they use the same frequency.
The declination angle (mechanical or electronic) of antenna plays an important role in
the UMTS network. It can reduce the interference among adjacent cells and raise cell
capacity implicitly. In the actual application, large declination angle can be chosen to
solve this problem.
In the WCDMA system, multi-path propagation is not a negative factor but an ideal
result, because receiver can combine the signal with delay of at least 1 Chip (the UMTS
network chip transmission rate is 3.84 Mcps, that is, 1 Chip=0.26 microsecond, equal to
78 meters) into valid signal.
In addition, the UMTS network also uses the soft handover. In this case, a mobile
subscriber can connect to several cells. This method solves network signal fluctuation,
but raises network traffic. The traditional Erlang model is not applicable any more.
Compared with 2G traditional GSM network, the UMTS network features many
differences. Especially, the UMTS network can run asynchronously, which causes
non-orthogonality of transmission channel. Lets return to the party example again.
Even if the perfect planning can be made theoretically, that is, planning the person to
talk in the certain time, it is impossible to reach that ideal goal factually, because the
watches of all the guests can not be synchronous exactly.
Through the above analysis, we can clearly see that the UMTS network planning needs
more cost, compared with the current mobile communication network planning. The
UMTS network planning is rather complicated, because many system parameters are
closely related to each other and should be calculated at the same time. In the current
mobile communication network, however, these parameters are calculated separately.

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7.2 3G Network Planning Procedure


Compared with the second generation mobile communication, it is difficult to forecast
different service models in the third generation system network owing to introduction of
several kinds of high bit rate services. As for radio network planning, in any case, it is
required to calculate the link budget, capacity and number of NodeBs, estimate the
coverage of base station and design the parameters. In addition, it is required to design
the whole network, calculate the number of channel units, capacity of transmit lines,
RNCs, MSCs and other units in a base station.
In network planning, performance measurements (such as dropped call rate and GOS)
should be introduced to measure the network performance. High-bit rate services are
provided at the cell area where base stations are covered equably, while low-bit rate
services are provided to the edge of cell. The coverage can be designed as continuous
coverage or hotspot coverage. You should estimate coverage of base station carefully
according to different services and different implemented policies. Radio network
planning can be divided into the following phases:
l

Preparation Phase

1)

Confirming Coverage Object

2)

Confirming Capacity Object

3)

Confirming Coverage Policy

Estimation Phase

1)

Estimating Cell Service Amount

2)

Estimating Cell Capacity

3)

Estimating Coverage Area

4)

Calculating Capacity and Link budget

Design and Adjustment Phase

5)

Wireless Coverage Optimization Adjustment

6)

Control Channel Power Design

7)

Pilot Design

8)

Soft Handover Parameter Design

9)

PN Offset Handover

After the above phases, you get to know the radio network features and confirm control
channel allocation and design handover parameters, and then you may analyze the
coverage of base station in detail. As for some cell, inter-cell interference vs. total
interference ratio is unique. During the process of planning, you can continually take an
analysis to the network and evaluate the interference ratio to estimate the coverage in
different cells. Such iterative process may be repeated until the convergence of
coverage is achieved. Design tools can be adopted to realize the process automation
and in the meantime detect leaks in the coverage. Usually, the coverage in 3G network
service is not equable, which would lower network performance. On the one hand, the
interference in the service-intensive area gets more, resulting in low quality. On the
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other hand, it is not necessary to get high quality, for it will result in a waste of resources.
System effectiveness can be improved with the method of self-adapting controlling cell
radius, antenna direction and uplink received power threshold. Cell radius can be
varied with pilot power adjustment. If signal-interference ratio (SIR) is higher than the
required value, cell radius can be increased. If not, cell radius can be decreased. The
uplink/downlink cell radius can be balanced by increasing/decreasing uplink received
power threshold. In the configuration of separate sectors, the communication quality of
the base station can be balanced by changing central angle of each sector.

7.3 3G Radio Network Antenna


7.3.1 Introduction
In 3G system (including WCDMA and cdma2000), which is as a new generation mobile
communication system, multi-access mode has changed from TDMA/FDMA to
CDMA/FDMA. However, as far as the wireless signal is concerned, its still facing the
difficulties in making use of frequency resources efficiently and decreasing network
interferences and transforming electrical signals with the utmost of efficiency.
A antenna is a communication system bridge between a user terminal and a base
station control equipment, widely applying to cellular mobile communication system. As
the communication technology is developing, antennas will be on progress
consequentially. The mobile communication system in the seventies adopted
omnidirectional antennas or angle reflector antennas, for the reason that a few carriers
and base stations can meet the demands of few users in a mobile communication
system of a city. As the economy goes forward, the amount of mobile terminals, whose
demands can not be met by the old base stations, is boosting so rapidly. Especially as
the development of digital cellular technology goes, new antennas are required to be
configured to improve the multi-path fading, site assignment and multi-channel network
in metropolis.
Plate type antennas are widely applying to 2G digital cellular system thanks to the
features of low section, light framework, easy setting and good electrical specifications.
From the middle 80s to the late 90s, vertical polarization (VP) antennas are usually
adopted. A cell is usually divided into 3 sectors, each of which demands 3 antennas, so
9 antennas should be set in a cell. However, too many antennas will result in many
problems, such as high setting cost. In addition, the optimum diversity reception gains
are unable to be achieved with diversity reception antennas set, saying nothing of that
the antennas are unable to be set in some base stations. In that case, the technology of
dual polarized antennas emerges as the times require.

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In 3G phase, as the wireless technology grows and the signal detection varies, the
cellular network should be adjusted and optimized, which demands new base station
antennas, such as self-adapting control antenna and intellectualized antenna.

7.3.2 3G Network Structure


3G system, a board-band CDMA system, inherits the features of narrowband CDMA
system in the aspect of network structure. Thanks to code division multiple access,
frequency reuse is not a big problem any longer. The network interference sources
from itself, related to the amount of calling users at the same time. In a metropolis,
three-sector base stations are commonly configured. In suburb, town and road,
three-sector base stations or omni-directional base stations are configured as required
and in arterial traffic, two-sector base stations are commonly configured, as shown in
Figure 7-1.

Section
Sectioncell
cell

Omnidirectional
cell cell
Omnidirectional

Figure 7-1 3G Network Structure

For 3G (WCDMA), the channels per carrier are decided together by OVSF code and
scrambling code, so capacity of the channels per carrier is great. You should set the
number of the carriers and traffic channels in each base station based on the
requirements of practical traffic distribution in engineering design.
When implementing multi-carrier, you should pay attention to the followings in
designing radio network:
1)

Optimize hard handover to minimize the possibility of call drops.

2)

Avoid isolated multi-carrier base station and implement multi-carrier in central


cells to avoid hard handover.

3)

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7.3.3 3G Radio Network Typical Antennas


You have several options to choose 3G typical antenna base on the following
principles:
1)

Properly choosing half-power beam width and gain of antenna based on the
number of base station sectors, traffic density and coverage requirements.

2)

Adopting duplexer to save antenna locations.

3)

Adopting dual polarization antennas in the dense urban areas.

The adjustment of antenna direction is the same as that in 2G engineering. The main
lobe direction and angle of tilt of the directional antennas should be properly adjusted to
the traffic distribution and communication quality requirements. When setting antennas,
you should note that the isolation between antennas should meet the requirements of
horizontal and vertical isolation to avoid interference. The setting height of antenna is
up to the coverage. Therefore, it should be properly considered according to the
coverage, interference, isolation and future development requirements.
The antennas used in 3G network are similar to those used in 2G network, whose
requirements are as follows:
Sector antenna gain: 13-16 dBd
Omnidirectional antenna gain: 9-10 dBd
Sector antenna half-power beam width: 60-65 degrees or 90 degrees
Omnidirectional antenna deviation in roundness: < +/- 1 dB
Voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR): <1.5
Impedance: 50 ohm (unbalanced type)
Maximum input: >500W
Antenna diversity: Space diversity or polarization diversity is taken as standard
configurations.

7.3.4 3G Smart Antenna (SA)


1. Principles of SA
By adopting SDMA that signals differ in the direction of transmission path, SA reduces
the effects of time delay spread, Rayleigh fading, multi-path, channel interference,
distinguishes the signals from the same frequency and timeslot, and combines with
other multiple access technologies to maximize the use of frequency spectrum
resources.
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The SA in base stations is a kind of array antenna comprising multiple antenna cells. By
adjusting the weight scope and phase of each signal and changing array pattern, it can
cancel interferences and increase S/N. In addition, it can measure a users direction so
that a beam is directed to the user.

.......
...
W11

W12

W1N

Wm1

.....
Wm2

Wmn

USERm

USER1
Figure 7-2 SA Pattern

From the Figure 7-2, it can be shown that the array antenna is composed of N antenna
units, each of which has a corresponding weigher, totaling M groups of weighers and
forming beams in M directions. M indicates the number of users, which can be greater
than the number of antenna units. The dimension of array antenna and the number of
antenna units decide the maximum gain and the minimum beam width, which means
that the dimension of array antenna and antenna gain should keep balance with the
antenna side lobe performance. By adjusting the signal phase and amplitude received
from each antenna, SA combines them to a desired beam. This is called beam forming,
which can form all kinds of beams, such as scanning beam, multi-beam, shaped beam
and the beam with zero position controlled. According to the pattern, there are two
types of SA: self-adapting pattern and shaped pattern.
The key technology of SA is to identify the signal angle of arrival (AOA) and the
implement of digit-shaped. The algorithms to identify the signal AOA are MUSIC
algorithm, ESPRIT algorithm, maximum likelihood algorithm, etc. The implementation
of digit-shaped is to choose the optimum weight coefficient to get the optimum beam.
For self-adapting algorithm, the first step is to set rules, which commonly are maximum
likelihood, maximum S/N, minimum mean square error (MMSE), minimum square error.
You should choose one of them according to the specific conditions. Beam forming SA
pattern is shown in the Figure 7-3.

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Figure 7-3 Beam Forming SA Principle Pattern

2. Applications of SA in 3G
The application example of SA in 2G network indicates that SA can efficiently prevent
from interference. According to the 3G criteria, the SA application is required to improve
the network capacity and performance, and take the technical factors, such as
converged beam, self-adapting beam forming and beam handover, into
consideration.
Converged beam is applied to special areas, aiming at enlarging coverage and
increasing capacity. Such beam does not associate with a user, nor does it trace mobile
users in the coverage. However, by increasing link scope and converging beams, it can
reduce transmission power of mobile users and according increase capacity. If mobile
user enters the area with great transmission attenuation, the converged beam will point
to the mobile user and rest on him. If a mobile user enters the area with good coverage
which converged beams become unnecessary, the mobile user will be in the charge of
common pilot channel.
Self-adapting beam forming, applying to downlink, is in favor of link budget for
individual user and a group of users to improve the system performance. In poor
transmission conditions, such as cell edge (basement), the coverage is required to be
spread to users with an aim to improve link scope.
Beam handover system can switch users between narrow beams to form narrow
sectors without handover loss. Because the capacity in 3G system increases as the
number of sectors increases, four 30-degree beams coverage can substitute one
120-degree one, resulting in increasing capacity by 2 to 4 times. Users are switched
between beams without the requirement of any special auxiliary channel.
There are several options to apply SA in 3G. Beam handover SA is an option in starting
phase. In network design, SA can reduce the external network interference (such as
one frequency interference, adjacent frequency interference and other-system

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interference) and the internal network interference as well. The order of magnitude
depends on the amount of beams.

7.4 3G Handover Design


7.4.1 Introduction
As the mobile station (MS) gets out of the service cell and goes into another service cell,
the link between the former base station and the MS will be substituted for the link
between the new base station and the MS.
Handover, in mobility management, is mostly performed by RRC layer protocol in 3G.
1. Protocol state
The UE state can be classified into IDLE state and CONNECTED state. The IDLE state
can be classified into UTRAN IDLE, GPRS IDLE and GSM IDLE, three of which has
CONNECTED state. The UTRAN CONNECTED state can be classified into four states:
URA-PCH, CELL-PCH, CELL-FACH and CELL-DCH. Handover, generally speaking, is
that UE is transferred from one communication connection to another one in the
CONNECTED state. In this text, handover refers to that UE in CELL-DCH state, unless
otherwise specified.
2. Handover Classification
According to the setup and release of radio link between MS and network, handover
can be classified into softer handover, soft handover and hard handover.
Soft handover refers to that a MS begins to connect with a new base station, the
communication between the mobile station and the former base station is still on. Soft
handover is only applying to the CDMA cells with the same frequency.
The difference between soft handover and softer handover is, softer handover is
performed in the same NodeB where the maximum gain ratio combination of diversity
signals are implemented, while soft handover is performed between two NodeBs,
diversity signals selective combination in RNC.
Hard handover consists of intra-frequency handover, inter-frequency handover and
inter-system handover. Note that soft handover refers to the intra-frequency handover,
but not all intra-frequency handovers are soft handovers. If the target cell and the
former cell have the intra-frequency but belong to different RNC, and there is no Iur
interface between RNCs, the intra-frequency hard handover will occur. Besides, the
internal code handover in the same cell is also hard handover.

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Inter-system hard handover consists of the handover between FDD mode and TDD
mode, the handover between WCDMA system and GSM system in R99, and the
handover between WCDMA and cdma2000 in R2000.
The startup compress mode is required to measure inter-frequency and inter-system
for inter-frequency hard handover and inter-system hard handover.
According to the purpose, handover can be classified into edge handover, urgent
handover at poor quality, urgent handover at quick level decrease, interference
handover, velocity sensitivity handover, charge handover, layered/leveled handover,
etc.
The typical process of handover is measurement control measurement report
handover decision handover implementation new measurement control.
In the phase of measurement control, the network informs UE of the measurement
parameters through the sent measurement control message. In the phase of
measurement report, the measurement report message is sent to the network by UE. In
the phase of handover decision, the network makes a handover decision according to
the measurement report. In the phase of handover implementation, UE and the
network go along the signalling procedure and make a response to signalling.

7.4.2 Measurement Procedures


In WCDMA system, there are intra-frequency measurements, inter-frequency
measurements,

inter-RAT measurements,

traffic

volume measurements

and

UE-internal measurements.
The same type of measurements may be adopted in different functions or processes of
UTRAN, such as cell reselection, handover and power control. The UE shall support a
number of measurements running in parallel. The UE shall also support that each
measurement is controlled and reported independently of every other measurement.
Cells that the UE is monitoring (e.g. for handover measurements) are grouped in the
UE into three different categories:
1.Cells, which belong to the active set. User information is sent from all these cells.
The cells in the active set are involved in soft handover or softer handover.
2.Cells, which are not included in the active set, but are monitored according to a
neighbour list assigned by the UTRAN belong to the monitored set.
3.Cells detected by the UE, which are neither included in the active set nor in the
monitored set belong to the detected set. Reporting of measurements of the detected
set is only required for intra-frequency measurements made by UEs in CELL_DCH
state.
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In IDLE mode, the UE shall perform measurements according to the measurement


control information included in System Information Block Type 11 on BCCH. In
CELL-FACH, CELL-PCH or URA-PCH state, the UE shall perform measurements
according to the measurement control information included in System Information
Block Type 12 on BCCH, while in CELL-DCH state, according to the measurement
control information transmitted by UTRAN.
The measurement results will pass two smoothness processing. The first processing is
on the physical layer, with an aim to filter fast fading and report the measurement
results from physical layer to higher layer; The second processing is done before event
evaluation, when the higher layer takes weighted average on the measurement results
reported from the physical layer, based on the time, to confirm the coefficient of filter.
1. UE Measurement
l

P-CCPCH RSCP

RSCP, Received Signal Code Power, is a measured received power of a code from
P-CCPCH in TDD cell. The reference point of RSCP is the antenna connector at UE.
l

SIR

S/N is defined as (RSCP/ISCP) (SF/2).Measuring SIR should be in DPCCH after the


combination of wireless link. The reference point of SIR is the antenna connector at UE.
Where:
RSCP, Received Signal Code Power, is a received power of pilot bit in a code.
ISCP, Interference Signal Code Power, is a received signal interference measured in
pilot bits. Only non-orthogonality of the interference is concerned in measurement.
SF=Spreading Factor.
l

P-CPICH RSCP

Received Signal Code Power is a code power measured in P-CPICH. The reference
point of RSCP is the antenna connector at UE. If transmission diversity is adopted in ,
the received code power from each antenna should be measured separately, then
added, and sequentially be the power of the whole received codes in P-CPICH.
l

UTRA carrier RSSI

RSSI = Received Signal Strength Indicator, a broadband received power within relative
channel width. The measurement will be taken at the downlink of UTRAN. The
reference point of RSSI is the antenna connector at UE.
l

GSM carrier RSSI

RSSI = Received Signal Strength Indicator, a broadband received power within relative
channel width. The measurement will be taken at the BCCH carrier of GSM. The
reference point of RSSI is antenna connector at UE.
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l

CPICH Ec/No

Ec/No refers to ratio of the received energy of each code to noise power density in a
channel. Ec/No has something in common with RSCP/RSSI. The measurement will be
taken at basic CPICH. The reference point of Ec/No is the antenna connector at UE. If
basic CPICH adopts transmission diversity, the received energy of each code (Ec) from
each antenna should be measured separately. The value of adding the received energy
of each code on basic CPICH will be Ec.
l

BLER of transmission channel c

It refers to the evaluation of Block Error Rate (BLER) of transmission channel. The
evaluation of BLER is based on CRC of each transmission block after the combination
of wireless link. Only the transmission channel with CRC requires the evaluation of
BLER. In the connection mode, BLER can be measured in any transmission channel.
In the idle mode, the BLER on the transmission channel PCH should firstly be
measured if BLER needs measuring.
l

UE transmitting power

It refers to the transmitting power of the whole UE at a carrier. The reference point of
UE transmitting power is the antenna connector at UE.
l

In UE, in addition to the measurements above mentioned, there are the


measurements in the aspects of time and order, which would not be described
here.

2. RNC Measurement
l

RSSI

RSSI, Received Signal Strength Indicator, refers to a broadband received power within
UTRAN uplink carrier channel bandwidth at the access point of UTRAN. The reference
point of RSSI measurement is the antenna connector.
l

SIR

S/N is defined as (RSCP/ISCP)SF. Its measurement should be taken in DPCCH after


the combination of wireless link at Node B. In the compression code, SIR should not be
measured at transmitting interval. The reference point of SIR measurement is the
antenna connector.
Where:
RSCP, Received Signal Code Power, refers to a received power in a code.
ISCP, Interference Signal Code Power, refers to a received signal interference. Only
non-orthogonality

of

interference

is

concerned

in

measurement.

SF refers to the spreading factor used in DPCCH.


l

SIRerror

SIRerror = SIR SIRtarget_ave, where:


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SIR refers to the SIR measured at UTRAN in dB.


SIRtarget_ave = refers to the average value of SIRtarget during a period of time. This period
of time is the same as that when counting the average value of SIRerror. The average
value of SIRtarget is arithmetic average, SIRtarget_ave in dB.
l

Transmitting carrier power

The transmitting carrier power is the ratio (0100%) of the whole transmitting power to
the maximum transmitting power, where the whole transmitting power [W] is related to
the average power [W] of a carrier at an access point of UTRAN. The maximum
transmitting power is related to the average transmitting power [W] of a carrier at an
access point of UTRAN under the condition that each cell is on the maximum
power .The measurement may be taken at any transmitting carrier from the access
point of UTRAN .The reference point of measuring transmitting carrier frequency is the
antenna connector. The carrier frequency of each branch should be measured in case
of transmitting diversity.
l

transmitting code power

Transmitting code power goes under the condition of given carrier, given scrambling
and channel code. You can take measurements at DPCCH of any specific wireless link
from the access point of UTRAN, to show the pilot bit power at DPCCH. All time slots
should be involved in the measurement of transmitting power in the compression mode.
For example, the time slot of transmitting interval should be involved. The reference
point of measuring transmit code power is the antenna connector. The transmitting
code power [W] of each branch should be measured and added in case of transmitting
diversity.
l

BER of transmission channel

BER of transmission channel is to evaluate the mean bit error rate of DPDCH data after
the combination of wireless link. The BER of transmission channel (TrCH) is as a result
of measuring the puncture bits of channel coding input terminal at Node B. The
evaluation of transmission channel BER may be reported at the end of each TTI at
TrCH. The reported transmission channel BER should be a BER evaluation at the latest
TTI of the current TrCH. Only the BER of transmission channel through channel coding
are needed to be reported.
l

BER of physical channel

BER of physical channel is to evaluate the mean bit error rate of DPCCH data after the
combination of wireless link at Node B. BER of physical channel may be reported at the
end of each TTI of all sent transmission channels. The reported BER of physical
channel should be a mean BER evaluation at the latest TTI of each transmission
channel.
l

Other measurements: round trip time, transmission time delay, leading accesses,
etc.

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7.4.3 Co-frequency Handover


The WCDMA handover algorithm is briefed as follows. WCDMA soft handover
algorithm adopts Ec/Io of pilot CPICH to be a measurement value of handover, which is
reported to RNC through three-layer signaling.
The following terms are used for describing handover:
Active set: The cells in active set are connected to MS in the form of soft handover.
Neighboring set/Monitoring set: They both list the cells which are measured by MS
continually, but the pilot Ec/Io in these cells are not mature enough to enter active set.
WCDMA handover algorithm
WCDMA soft handover algorithm is briefed as shown in Figure 7-4:

Figure 7-4 WCDMA soft handover algorithm scheme common mechanism


If during the period of T, pilot _Ec/Io> optimum pilot _Ec/Io reports range hysteresis
event 1A, and active set is not full, the cell enters active set, which is called event 1A or
wireless link addition.
If during the period of T, pilot _Ec/Io> optimum pilot _Ec/Io reports range hysteresis
event 1B, the cell will be deleted from active set, which is called event 1B or wireless
link deletion.
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If during the period of T, active set is full, optimum alternate pilot _Ec/Io> former worst
pilot _Ec/Io + _Ec/Io + hysteresis event 1C, the strongest alternate cell (the strongest
cell in monitoring set) will substitute for the weakest cell in active set. Such event is
called event 1C or the combination of wireless link addition and deletion. Supposing
there are at most two cells in active set as shown in Figure 5-20.
Where:
Reporting range indicates a threshold value of soft handover;
Hysteresis event 1A indicates adding hysteresis;
Hysteresis event 1B indicates removing hysteresis;
Hysteresis event 1C indicates replacing hysteresis;
T indicates trigger time;
Optimum pilot _Ec/Io indicates the highest value of cell measurement in active set;
Former worst pilot _Ec/Io indicates the highest value of cell measurement in active set;
Optimum alternate pilot _Ec/Io indicates the highest value of cell measurement in
monitor set;
Pilot _Ec/Io is a measured and filtered value.

7.4.4 Handover between WCDMA System and GSM System


The WCDMA criteria and GSM criteria support the bidirectional handover between
WCDMA and GSM. As a result of coverage and load balancing, such handovers are
used. In the early WCDMA configuration, it is necessary to hand off to GSM system for
continuous coverage, and the handover from GSM to WCDMA can be used to reduce
the load in GSM cell. Due to load, the bidirectional handover is significant as the service
of WCDMA network grows. The inter-system handover is triggered by source
RNC/BSC. From the point view of received system, the inter-system handover is
similar to the inter-RNC handover or the inter-BSC handover.
1. Compression mode
If WCDMA adopts a way of continuous sending and receiving, but no WCDMA signal
gap is generated, MS can not take inter-system measurement through one receiver. In
this regard, the compression mode is significant for the inter-frequency measurements
and the inter-system measurements.
The introduction of compression mode is to take alien frequency measurement or
alien-system measurement at FDD. The reason for that is a set of transceiver can only
work on a group of transceiver frequency at the same time. If you want to measure the
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signals with other frequencies, you should power off the transceiver and hand off the
frequency to target frequency for measurement. To ensure the normal transmission of
downlink signals, the former signals should be transmitted during the transmission time
left, which is called downlink compression mode. As the measurement frequency is
close to the uplink transmitting frequency, to ensure good measurement, the uplink
signal transmit should be stopped at the same time, which is called uplink compression
mode.
The compression mode is shown in the following figure.

One frame
(10 ms)

Transmission gap available for


inter-frequency measurements

Figure 7-5 Compression Mode Diagrammatic Sketch

Fast power control can not be used during the period of compression mode gap, so
some interleaved gain will be lost; In this regard, during the compression frame, higher
Eb/No is demanded to decrease capacity. The process of typical inter-system handover
is as follows:
The inter-system handover trigger is implemented at RNC, for example MS is out of
WCDMA coverage range;
RNC commands MS to begin with the inter-system measurements in compression
mode;
RNC chooses the target GSM cell based on the MS measurements;
RNC sends a handover command to MS.
The handover from GSM system to WCDMA system sources from the BSC of GSM.
Due to discrete transmission and receiving, the compression mode is not required for
the measurement value of WCDMA from GSM.

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7.4.5 Inter-frequency Handover in WCDMA


Most of UMTS operators have 2 ~ 3 available FDD carrier, where: one frequency is
enough to operate, while the other ones will be used to meet the demands of increasing
capacity. We can adopt two different ways on how to use the frequencies: For the site
with high capacities, several frequencies can be used at the same site, or, different
frequencies can be used in macro-cell layer and micro-cell layer. These schemes
should be supported for the inter-frequency handover at WCDMA carrier.
The same as the inter-system handover, inter-frequency handover requires the
compression mode measurement.

7.4.6 Handover Design


The soft handover design consists of the configuration of the soft handover-related
parameters and the control of soft handover rate. As WCDMA adopts soft
handover-related threshold, it ensures a relatively stable configuration of the
parameters such as the threshold. But the control of the handover rate is identical with
IS-95, which is about 30% to 40%, because too much soft handover will not only
increase the cost on the radio resources, but also reduce the capacity of the down link
when the soft handover is increased to a certain degree.
On the down links, the system interference will be increased along with the increase of
the soft handover link. In case that the system interference exceeds the diversity gain of
the soft handover, the soft handover will bring no benefit to the system capacity. In this
regards, a well-prepared design is demanded before performing the soft handover in
WCDMA. We can keep the soft handover rate in a suitable range by providing enough
diversity in the up/down link.
Parameters with regard to the network performance:
Reporting Range: It is used to set the events 1a and 1b, namely the parameter R in
formulas 1a-1 and 1a-2, 1b-1 and 1b-2. The bigger the R value is, the wider the soft
handover area is. That is because the bigger the R value is, the easier it is to access
ACTIVE SET.
W, which is used to calculate the cell quality of the active set is the value adopted for
different cells. You will use it when you calculate the formulas 1a-1, 1a-2, 1b-1 and1b-2.
Hystersis: The magnetic hysteresis value in the event report. Like in GSM, the purpose
of introducing this value is to avoid the Ping-pong effect as possible. If the value is set
too big will result in that the handover may occur difficultly, but if it is set too small, the
Ping-pong effect may not be avoided.

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Reporting deactivation threshold: The maximum number of cells in the active set when
the event is effective, is less than the maximum number of cells in the active set by 1. It
is actually used to confirm the maximum number of cells in the active set (only for 1A
event). If the value is set too big, the system interference may exceed the diversity gain
of the soft handover, otherwise. If it is set too small, it may fail to fully use the diversity
gain of soft handover.
Reporting activation threshold: The minimum cell number of the active set when the
event is effective (only for 1C event).
Time to trigger: Try to avoid the impact of fast fading. If this value is too big, the
handover may be delayed while if it is too small, the handover may occur frequently.
Amount of reporting: The maximum amount of reporting after the event report changes
to the cycle report. It is often used together with the Reporting interval.
Reporting interval: Reporting cycle after the event report changes to the cycle report. It
is used together with the amount of reporting. In using it, we should try to avoid
over-adding the signaling flow.
Reporting Cell Status: It is used to indicate the cell composition principle of the
measured result, including the maximum number of reporting cells and the attributes of
the reporting cell.

7.5 WCDMA Power Control Planning


7.5.1 Introduction
In the WCDMA system, radio resource management includes power management,
mobility management, load management, channel allocation and reconfiguration, and
AMR mode control. Of which, the power management is a link of great importance.
Power is the ultimate radio resource of the WCDMA system, so the only method to
make fully use of the radio resources is to strictly control the use of power.
In terms of power management, the QoS of a subscriber can be improved by increasing
the transmit power of the subscriber; however, such improvement may result in
deteriorating other subscribers receiving quality due to the self-interference feature of
the CDMA system. WCDMA adopts the broadband spreading technology with all
signals sharing the same spectrum and the signal energy of each MS is allocated within
the frequency band, thus for other MSs it is a kind of wideband noise. Therefore, the
use of power in the CDMA system is conflicting.
In addition, there are such effects as shadow, multi-path fading and remote loss in the
radio environment. The position of a cellular MS in the cell is random and changes
frequently, so the path loss will fluctuate greatly, especially in the multi-cell DS/CDMA
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system, where all the cells adopt the same frequency. Theoretically, the address codes
allocated by different subscribers are orthogonal, but in fact it is hard to guarantee them,
thus causing mutual interference among the channels and serious near-far effect and
corner effect. Near-far effect occurs in the uplink. If all the subscribers in the cell
transmit signals to the BS with the same power, then the signals of the MS near the BS
are strong while the signals of the MS far from the BS are weak. In such a case, the
weak signals will be masked by the strong signals. Corner effect occurs in the downlink.
When the MS is at the corner of the cell, the interference will be twice more than that in
the vicinity of the cell. When the interference is severe, the communication quality of
the MS will be lowered promptly.
Therefore, on the basis of ensuring QoS for subscribers, how to effectively control
power, how to reduce the transmit power as much as possible, and how to reduce the
system interference and increase the system capacity are the key to WCDMA
technologies. The WCDMA system has such functions as forward power control (i.e.
control of the BS transmit power) and reverse power control (i.e. control of the MS
transmit power}, of which the reverse power control is especially important, because
with it, the system capacity and communication quality may be ensured and the fading
and near-far effect may be avoided to a great extent.

7.5.2 Principles of Power Control Implementation


1. Features of fast power control
The mode of power control implementation in the WCDMA system is greatly different
from that in the GSM system. Fast power control is a very important concept integrated
in the WCDMA system.
The radio propagation environment is severe. In the typical cellular mobile
communication environment, the transmitting signals between the BS and the MS
usually reach respective receivers after many times of reflections, dispersions and
refractions. In this way, it is easy to cause multi-path fading of the signal. Fast fading will
cause great impact on the receiving quality of the slow mobile receiver. In the GSM
system, the MS reports the measurement result every 480 ms, and the frequency of the
power control does not exceed twice per second. Therefore, for the GSM system, the
multi-path fading is counteracted through frequency hopping. For the WCDMA system,
in the uplink the DPCCH will divide a 10 ms radio frame into 15 timeslots, each of which
includes a power control command (TPC_cmd).As the speed of power control is higher
than that of fast fading, the receiving quality of the slow MS is effectively ensured.
In other words, the fast power control brings some gain to the slow MS by avoiding fast
fading. Table 7-1 gives a comparison of the required Eb/Io values and required relevant

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transmit power changes for the slow and fast power control in the case of three different
motion conditions.
Table 7-1 Changes of slow and fast power control in the case of three different conditions
Required Eb/Io

Slow power control

Fast power control


(1500 Hz)

Gain of fast power


control

11.3dB
8.5dB
6.8dB

5.5dB
6.7dB
7.3dB

5.8dB
1.8dB
-0.5dB

ITU Pedestrian A 3Km/h


ITU Vehicular A 3Km/h
ITU Vehicular A 50Km/h

Another two advantages of fast power control are that it can quickly adjust the power of
the MS to avoid far-near affect to a great extent and the fast adjustment of the power
reduces the interference to other cells and MSs.
2. Power control implementation
In the WCDMA system, power control may be divided into inner loop power control and
outer loop power control.
The inner loop power control is to converge the received SIR to the target SIR by
controlling the transmit power of physical channels. In the WCDMA system, relevant
power adjustment commands are sent out by estimating the received Eb/No (ratio of bit
energy to interference power spectrum density). There is certain mapping relationship
between Eb/No and SIR. For instance, for the 12.2 kbps voice service, the typical value
of Eb/No is 5.0 dB. If the chip rate is 3.84 Mcps, the processing gain will be 10 log10
(3.84M/12.2k) = 25 dB. So, the SIR is -20 dB (= 5 dB-25 dB), that is, the
Carrier-to-Interference Ratio (C/I) is more than 20 dB.
The outer loop control mechanism is to dynamically adjust the SIR target value of the
inner loop control, so as to ensure that the communication quality always meets the
requirements (i.e. the specified FER/BLER/BER value).The outer loop control is
conducted in the RNC. The radio channels are complex, so the power control based
only on the SIR value cannot reflect the real quality of the links. For instance, based on
the same FER, the requirements of static subscribers, low speed subscribers (3 km/H)
and high speed subscribers (50 km/H) for SIR are different. The communication quality
is finally measured with FER/BLER/BER, so it is necessary to dynamically adjust the
SIR target value according to the actual FER/BLER value.
The inner power control may be subdivided into open loop power control and closed
loop power control. The former aims to providing the estimates of the initial transmit
power. It estimates the path loss and the interference level according to the
measurement result, so as to calculate the process of initial transmit power. In the
WCDMA system, the open loop power control is adopted in both the uplink and
downlink.

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In the WCDMA-FDD system, the fast fading conditions in the uplink and downlink are
absolutely irrelevant because the frequency spacing between the uplink and the
downlink is large. Therefore, the path loss estimates obtained through the open loop
power control according to the downlink signals are inaccurate for the uplink. The
method to solve this problem is to introduce the fast closed loop power control
mechanism.
The closed loop power control mechanism is to rapidly adjust the power in the
uplink/downlink during the communication period, thus making the link quality
converged to the target SIR. Two algorithms may be adopted for the closed loop uplink
power control in 3GPP protocol. In the two algorithms, the step length of the uplink
power control is 1 dB or 2 dB. In the DPCCH, the step adjustment of the power control
is dpcch = tpc*TPC_cmd.TPC_cmd is the synthesized TPC command from different
algorithms. The power of DPDCH is set according to the power offset between the
DPDCH and the DPCCH.
Differences between the two modes are: The open loop is not closed. It estimates the
downlink interference according to the uplink interference, or estimates the uplink
interference according to the downlink interference. In comparison, the closed loop is a
closed feedback loop. The initial transmit power of the open loop power control is set by
the RNC (uplink) or the UE (downlink), while the closed loop power control is completed
by Node B with RNC only giving the target SIR value of the inner loop power control.
Transmitting signal
Receiving signal
Receiving signal
parameter (P or SIR)
estimation

Power control
instruction insertion

Generate power control


instruction according to
a certain algorithm

Via
transmission
channel

Via
transmission
link

Receiving signal
demodulation
Power control
instruction abstraction
WE generation
Adjust transmitting power
according to a certain algorithm

Receiving signal
Transmitting signal

Figure 7-6 Basic structure of the closed loop power control mechanism

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3. SSDT (Site Selection Diversity Transmission)


In the soft handover, there are two or more BSs in the downlink transmitting signals to
an UE simultaneously, which occupies additional system resources (transmit power),
causing additional interference and reducing the forward capacity. Therefore, careful
selection of the power control algorithm during the soft handover is important to
improve the system capacity. Another algorithm of the power control in the soft
handover is SSDT (site selection diversity transmission), according to which, the BS
with minimum path loss will transmit signals, while other BSs will only receive signals of
the uplink and transmit DPCCH. In this way, the total transmit power and additional
interference may be reduced. SSDT is an optional macro diversity method in the
software handover mode.
The specific SSDT implementation method is as follows: Firstly, the UE selects a cell
from ACTIVE SET as the PRIMARY CELL, and all other cells fall into the NON
PRIMARY CELL. SSDT is to transmit signals from the PRIMARY CELL in the downlink,
so as to reduce the interference resulted from the multi-channel transmission in the soft
handover mode. Secondly, it is required to implement the site address selection
promptly if there is no network intervention, so as to maintain the advantages of the soft
handover. To select PRIMARY CELL, a temporary identity code should be allocated to
each cell. Then, the UE will notify other cells in ACTIVE SET of the identity code of
PRIMARY CELL on a regular basis. NON PRIMARY CELL selected by the UE will turn
off the transmit power, and the identity code of PRIMARY CELL will be transmitted via
the uplink FBI domain of the uplink. The SSDT activation, stopping and ID code
allocation are implemented by the upper signaling.
SSDT is initiated by the network according to ACTIVE SET of the soft handover. Once it
is determined to adopt SSDT, the network will notify the cell and the UE of the message
that SSDT is activated in the period of current soft handover. Otherwise, TPC will still
operate in the usual mode, that is, each cell controls the transmit power according to
the TPC instruction of the uplink. The allocation of temporary identity code should be
implemented by the network and notified to all the cells in ACTIVE SET and the UE for
site address selection.
The UE measures the Received Signal Code Power of Common Pilot Channels (RSCP
of CPICHs) transmitted by the cells within ACTIVE SET on a regular basis to select the
PRIMARY CELL. The cell with highest RSCP of CPICHs is the PRIMARY CELL.

7.5.3 Planning of the Power Control Parameters


In the 3G system, the design criteria of the network planning is based on the SIR
optimization and the activity set management. How to set proper RSCP of CPICHs, SIR
target value of various services and handover area (changes to the activity set scope),
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and how to determine the coverage and quality of each service area are the mandatory
tasks of the network planning.
In the WCDMA system, the inner loop power control is implemented by NODE-B. The
inner loop power control makes convergence to the target SIR, which is determined by
the outer loop power control. Therefore, the power control parameters planning is
mainly reflected by the outer loop parameters planning. With the research to and
experiment on the relevant parameter settings of the outer loop power control, the outer
loop power control can satisfy the requirements for the control accuracy and the control
speed.
Specific parameters involving the outer loop power control are as follows:
l

Time factor of BLER report: The target BLER value divided by the time factor is the
pieces N to be measured;

BLER measurement report parameters;

Maximum pieces to be observed: This parameter is used to control the upper limit
of the pieces N to be measured;

SIR-converged lagging value: Check the SIR lagging value (one of measurement
report parameters) converged by SIR;

Control parameters of the SIR measurement report: SIR measures the filter factor
used by the SIRerr;

Uplink outer loop power control parameters: SIR variation range, SIR adjustment
factor, SIR target value falling step length, SIR maximum falling step length;

Uplink soft capacity control parameters: voice quality level and corresponding
BLER values;;

Default CPICH power downlink power balancing parameters: Trigger/Stop the


threshold of DPB process, adjustment period and proportion of the downlink
power balancing

Downlink outer loop power control parameters: Trigger and stop the thresholds of
downlink outer loop power control;

Inner loop power control parameters: Initial SIR value, adjustment step length,
algorithm mode selection;

The above parameters are provided by OM, and there is a close link among them.

7.6 WCDMA Radio Network Structure and Resource Planning


7.6.1 Basic Network Structure
1. Network structure
The basic network structure of WCDMA has been described in the prior chapter. It is
divided into core network and access network. This chapter introduces the structure
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features of UTRAN and some key technologies and network parameters affecting the
radio network structure from the perspective of network planning.
Types of areas and the relationships among them
1)

Types of areas include:

Location Areas;

Routing Areas;

UTRAN Registration Areas;

Cell Areas.

2)

Relationships among the areas are shown as Figure 7-7:

3G_MSC/3G_SGSN

RNC

RNC

LA/RA
Node B

URA
CA

Figure 7-7 Relationships among the areas

The classification of location areas and routing areas in the WCDMA system is similar
to that in the GSM and GRPS systems.
2. Cell structure
The Node B of Huawei WCDMA system supports omnidirectional, 31, 32, 34, 61, 62
and 64 (combined cabinet) cell configurations. The cell structure of WCDMA is similar
to that of GSM with different titles. Cell is similar to the BS in the GSM, while
SECTOR is equal to the cell in the GSM system.
For instance: What are 3*1, 3*2, 3*4, 6*1, 6*2 and 6*4?
The first digit is the number of sectors supported by each cell; the second digit is the
number of carrier frequencies supported by each sector. 3*1 means the BS supports 3
sectors, each of which has one carrier frequency; 6*4 means the BS supports 6 sectors,
each of which has 4 carrier frequencies.
The cell structure planning is to evenly provide high bit rate within the cell area, or the
data rate of the cell boundary may be lower than that of the area near the BS, thus the
cell area will be larger.
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The number of cells is calculated according to the capacity and the link budget. A
network may be coverage-limited or capacity-limited. Capacity limited means the
maximum cell radius cannot support the total traffic flow. Then, the number of cells may
be calculated according to the number of subscribers supported by the cell per sq.km.
Coverage limited means there is enough capacity in the cell to support all the traffic flow.
Then, the number of required BSs may be calculated according to the maximum cell
area.
3. Hierarchical structure of the air interface
According to the protocol, the air interface may functionally form a hierarchical structure.
From bottom to top, they are physical layer, link layer and network layer. The physical
layer fulfills the coding, modulation and spread spectrum of the physical channel. The
link layer may be subdivided into two sub-layers: Medium Access Control (MAC) and
Link Access Control (LAC).The former determines the resources provided by the
physical layer, while the latter completes the establishment, maintenance and release
of the logic link connection. The network layer includes such functions as call control,
mobility management and radio resource management.
4. Channel allocation and reconfiguration
The channel allocation includes the following types:
Connection-oriented channel configuration: Fundamental Channel Configuration
(FRC) and Dynamic Channel Reconfiguration (DCCC)
Cell-oriented channel configuration: Cell code resource allocation, cell channel
resource allocation and uplink scramble allocation
Of which:
Fundamental channel configuration: Allocate the channel types and bandwidth
according to the service request; and configure the parameters of each layer of the
channel according to the QoS.
Dynamic channel configuration: During the communication, dynamically change the
channel configurations according to current service status, including the channel types
and the parameters of each layer of the channel
Cell channel resource allocation: Common channel is the resource in the cell, including
RACH, FACH, DSCH and CPCH.
Cell code resource management: Cell downlink code resource allocation policy and
code resource maintenance.

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Uplink scramble allocation: The uplink scramble includes the scramble reserved for the
common channels RACH and CPCH, and the scramble allocated to the UE with
dedicated channel.
If RRC is connected or RAB sets up the request, the fundamental channel configuration
entity determines the channel type according to the service type and rate requirements,
and configures parameters of each layer of the channel according to the QoS. It makes
a request to the call admission control entity for admission control according to the
channel configuration parameter (QoS).If it is permitted, then go ahead; or the process
of the channel setup is failed.
The dedicated channel is used to allocate the uplink scrambles; while the cell code
resource maintenance entity is used to allocate the downlink channel code. The
common channel is used to allocate the common channel parameters.
If the channel is set up successfully, the dynamic channel configuration entity will
monitor the traffic flow for the specific service, and make dynamic adjustment to the
channel parameters.
The cell channel resources are allocated according to the current cell service and the
load conditions, so as to adjust the resource configuration of the cell common channel
and optimize the system performances. The cell code resource management entity is
used to maintain the cell code resources.

7.6.2 Hierarchical Network Structure


1. Basic concept of the hierarchical network structure
Similar to the GSM system, the cell may be divided into macro cell (umbellate cell),
micro cell and pico cell according to the features and scope of the cell services. The
macro cell, micro cell and pico cell form a hierarchical network structure (HCS).
The third generation mobile communication system should be able to support the
services with wide coverage in various radio operation environments. The cell type
varies with the requirements: Continuous coverage should be ensured for the large cell,
while the small cell needs high spectral efficiency and capacity. The cell with small
coverage is used to the terminal with low mobility and high capacity, while the cell with
large coverage is used to the terminal with high mobility and low capacity. In addition,
cells should be able to operate on other cells of different types. The coverage area of
micro cell is hundreds meters, while the coverage area of macro is one or just over one
kilometers. In the rural area, it can provide the micro cell with continuous coverage and
the fast mobile subscribers with services. The pico cell covers an indoor scope with the
radius of several meters. The satellite cell provides global continuous coverage. The
traffic should be based on the minimum available cell.
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There are two methods to design multi-layer cell in the CDMA system: Different
hierarchical cells operating on the same band, or different hierarchical cells operating
on the different bands. The multi-layer structure also can be applied to the
multi-operator environment.
2. Micro cell and macro cell with the same frequency
The frequency reusability factor is 1. The processing gain of the system enables
subscribers to bear the interference from the cells of different layers. The intra-layer
interference is controlled by the power control, while the inter-layer interference is
controlled by the spatial isolation. Generally, the attenuation of the micro cell is larger
than that of the macro cell, because its antenna is lower. Soft handover can offset the
attenuation valley of the boundary of micro cell.
3. Micro cell and macro cell with different frequencies
It is easy to manage when the cells of different layers adopt different frequencies,
because there is no interference among the layers. The disadvantage of this method is
that it needs large spectrum. At least 15 MHz bandwidth is required if the WCDMA
system is divided into three layers. The impact on the total spectral efficiency from the
non-linear power amplifier depends on the neighboring channel interference and the
link performance deterioration. The increase of the neighboring channel interference
will reduce the spectral efficiency.
Although different carrier frequencies are adopted in the multi-layer cells, interference
will occur between neighboring channel carriers if the capacity is high.
4. Antennas selection and parameters setting of the hierarchical network
Similar to the GSM system, the traffic of the hierarchical network should be deployed as
much as possible to the cell with minimum coverage area; that is, the macro cell is used
to satisfy the requirements of the system for wide coverage, while the micro cell and the
pico cell are used to absorb the traffic and the data traffic.
For this purpose, as to the engineering parameters setting, the antenna and the
transmit power of the macro cell are high; while the antenna and the transmit power of
the micro cell are low; as to the software parameters setting, it is easier for the MS to
access the micro cell and the pico cell. Most of the data traffic is convergent in the pico
cell, so higher QoS of the pico cell should be ensured for higher service rate.

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7.6.3 Mobility Management


1. Cell selection and re-selection
1)

MS status

According to the protocol, five statuses are available for the MS (UE): IDLE,
CELL_DCH, CELL_FACH, CELL_PCH and URA_PCH.
In the CELL_DCH status, the cell-crossing is judged by the measurement report, and
the location is updated by the handover process.
In the CELL_FACH and CELL_PCH statuses, the cell-crossing is judged by the UE cell
reselection, and the location is updated by CELL UPDATE.
In the URA_PCH status, the cell-crossing is judged by the UE URA, and the location is
updated by URA UPDATE.
2)

Mobility management policy in the IDLE status

When the UE starts up, it will carry out PLMN selection, cell selection and location
registration.
Upon the completion of the cell selection, the cell re-selection will be carried out. If a
new cell is selected to stay, the location registration will be carried out for the new
location area entry.
If access and immediate cell evaluation are required, then initiate the access in the
optimized cell.
If the MS is in the CELL_DCH status, the UE crosses the cell through the handover
flow.
3)

Potential subscriber control

The stay cell selection by the MS is determined by adjusting the parameters of the cell
reselection, so as to adjust the cell load direction and achieve the load self-adaptive
adjustment.
2. Random access procedure
Random access procedure is a process: A MS requests the access system, then the
network responses and allocates a service channel to the MS. The random access is
carried out when the MS begins to transmit power; or when synchronization loss for
some reasons occurs; or when message packets should be transmitted. The random
access is fulfilled after following steps are completed: 1) synchronization between the
code and frame; 2) search for the cell parameters, such as the random access code; 3)
evaluation of the downlink path loss and random access to the initial power level.

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The optimal criterion for the random access procedure is the process rate and the low
transmission power. The requirement for the random access procedure speed is
determined by the requirement for the initial synchronization time. The number of
access channels is depending on the involved access load. In addition, it also will be
affected by the information transmitted in the random access status. Too high
transmission power will reduce the capacity of the CDMA system, and the transmit
power in the random access status cannot be controlled by the fast closed loop power
control, so it is most important to make the total transmit power in the random access
status minimum. If the initial transmission power is lowest, there is a long time for the
access attempt. On the other hand, the high transmission power in the initial access will
cause interference to other subscribers during the fast synchronization. The least
information that needs to be transmitted in the random access attempt is the identity
numbers of the MSs of some types. A kind of typical random access information
includes the pre-field, the synchronization and the data. The data should include at
least the MS identity number, while the pre-field is the unmodulated wideband spread
spectrum signal.
3. Call Admission Control
Call Admission Control is a part of the load management.
The call admission control algorithm is used to accept new calls as many as possible
on the basis of ensuring the existing QoS. Its principle is: Current Status of the Cell
Resources + Service Request YES/NO.
The current status of the cell resources is depending on the uplink interference and the
downlink load; while the requested service is depending on the QoS.
4. SNRS migration
The structure shown in the left figure may occur for some reasons, such as the
handover, cell update, URA update, RRC reconnection and direct retry. To save Iur
interface resource and reduce the time delay, it is required to migrate the Iu interface as
shown in Figure 7-8, that is, SNRS migration. The SNRS migration may effectively
reduce the traffic of the Iur interface and improve the adaptability of the system.
CN

CN

Iu

Iu
Iu r
SR N S

RNS

DRNS

SR N S

c e ll

Figure 7-8 SNRS migration


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7.6.4 Factors Affecting the Network Structure


1. Universal antenna and smart antenna (narrow-beam antenna)
Smart antenna is widely used in the WCDMA system. In some relevant articles, it is
also called self-adaptive antenna or narrow-beam antenna.
The smart antenna adopts the concept of SDMA, monitoring and extracting the space
information of every subscriber via the self-adaptive array antenna. It separates the
signals of different directions without any interference according to the differences of
the antenna array in the incident signal direction. In fact, it makes the communication
resources are no longer restricted by the time domain, the frequency domain and the
code domain, and extended to the space domain.
The advantages of the smart antenna are: The result of antenna beam forming is equal
to increase the gains of the antenna; the antenna beam forming algorithm may take the
multi-path transmission into consideration, avoiding the multi-path communication from
affecting the digital wireless communication system with the performance enhanced;
the antenna beam forming greatly reduces the multiple access interference. In this way,
the communication capacity can be expanded in multiple. It also can improve the
channel multiplexing rate of the communication system and the BS coverage area, and
solve the increasingly serious interference problems (like common channel and
multi-path fading). In addition, it can optimize the network structure.
2. The transmission models of GSM, CDMA and WCDMA and the affects of radio
transmission on the system structure
From the perspective of signal transmission, in the same frequency band range, the
signals of the GSM, CDMA and WCDMA transmitted in the space have the same
features, including the path loss, the slow and fast fading from the transmitter to the
receiver.
However, the transmission bandwidth in the WCDMA reaches 5M or more, so the
multi-path fading performance is powerful. Its signal frequency band is far larger than
the relevant bandwidth of the channel. The multi-path components may be separated,
making fully use of the multi-path diversity receiving technology.
3. Parameters
The network planning structure is realized by setting proper network engineering
parameters and the network functional parameters. Different antenna gains, antenna
heights, antenna types, network connection parameters, power control parameters,
handover parameters and service rates are set for the cells of different layers of the
hierarchical network.
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4. Power control
The power control plays an important role in the CDMA network performance and the
network capacity.
5. Coverage
The maximum cell coverage is determined by the link budget. Besides the data rate
and the Eb/N performance, such specific factors as the cable loss, the antenna gain
and the receiver noise should be calculated. In addition, the affects of the soft handover
gain and asymmetric traffic should be taken into consideration. Different service
coverage area has different service rate requirements. The design basis of the
hierarchical network is as follows:
Outdoor in the rural: Terminal speed 250 kmph, 144 Kpbs at least, 384 Kpbs optimal
Outdoor in the urban or suburb: Terminal speed 150 Kmph, 384 Kpbs at least, 512
Kpbs optimal
Indoor or outdoor with a small area: Terminal speed 10 Km, 2 Mbps at least.
Real-time fixed time delay: BER--, time delay 20-300 ms.
Non-real time variable time delay: BER--, time delay 150 ms.
Erl/km2 may be adopted for in a geometrical area. The data traffic may be Mbps/km2.
The BS adopts multi-subscriber detection technology to provide a favorable coverage
and lower the transmit power of the MS. The increase of the data rate will reduce the
coverage area of the uplink. It differs from the narrowband system.

7.6.5 Radio Resource Planning


1. WCDMA frequency resource
The W-CDMA spectral efficiency is related to the link performance. According to the
theoretical analysis and the emulation, the uplink capacity is 2 to 2.5 times of the
downlink capacity. Besides the antenna diversity in the BS, the uplink adopts the
multi-subscriber signal detection technology, which provides almost two times capacity
than the common receiver. In the downlink, two BSs transmit to the same MS the
signals, which are not orthogonal, but only cause multi-path diversity. For the spectral
efficiency, the bandwidth of 15- to 20-MHz is required for each cell to support an
effective 2-Mbps subscriber.

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2. Relationship between the resource planning and the network structure


The WCDMA carrier interval is 200 KHz, ranging from 4.2 MHz to 5.4 MHz. The carrier
intervals are adopted according to the interference to obtain proper protection for the
neighboring channels. The bandwidth of 15 MHz may be divided for the use of three
cells. The interval between different operators may be longer to avoid interference
among them.

7.7 3G Network Capacity Estimation


7.7.1 Introduction
In the WCDMA system, the capacity of the uplink is lower that of the downlink, because
the BS has better receiving technologies than the MS, such as the antenna diversity
and multi-subscriber detection. In the UMTS, the downlink capacity is considered more
important than the uplink capacity because the asymmetrical traffic is closely related to
download services. In the 3G, more consideration is given to the downlink capacity. The
factors causing the differences between the capacity uplink and the downlink capacity
are the orthogonal code and the BS transmit diversity. WCDMA system adopts long
extended code to distinguish cells in the downlink and subscribers in the uplink.

7.7.2 Downlink Orthogonal Code


The downlink orthogonal code will affect the capacity, so it is considered to adopt
irregular short code, which is orthogonal in the case of one path. Part of the
orthogonality will disappear in case of multi-path, causing mutual interference among
the subscribers in the cell. In the GSM system, there is no mutual interference in the
same cell, because the time domain is orthogonal.

7.7.3 Link Budget


To estimate the maximum area of the cell, it is required to carry out RLB ( Radio link
budget) calculation. In the RLB, it is necessary to consider such factors as antenna
gain, cable loss, diversity gain and fading margin. The RLB calculation result is the
maximum allowed transmission path loss, based on which the cell radius and the
number of required sites may be obtained. Compared with the TDMA-based radio
access system (like the GSM system), the WCDMA system has some special problems
in the link budget, including interference margin, fast fading margin, transmit power
increasing and soft handover gain.

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7.7.4 Capacity and Coverage Analysis


If the maximum allowable path loss of a cell is known, it is easy to calculate the
coverage area of the cell with the known transmission model. If the coverage area of
the cell is known, it is required to select such sites as the channel elements, sector and
carrier frequency and site density (cell radius) to configure, so as to satisfy the traffic
requirements. The cell radius is also closely related to the number of access
subscribers. Therefore, the coverage is correlative with the capacity, and the network
operator should know the subscriber distribution and the growth trend, because it will
directly affect the coverage. The network should be configured properly to meet the
traffic requirements and reduce the network cost as much as possible. The number of
carrier frequencies, number of sectors, cell load, number of subscribers and cell radius
will affect the final result.

7.7.5 Soft Capacity


The number of required cells may be calculated with the available spectrum,
subscribers amount forecast and traffic density information. The traffic density is
indicated by erl. The calculation is conditional on the given congestion. If the
congestion is caused by the hardware, then the result may be obtained in Table B. If the
maximum capacity is caused by the interference, then the capacity is defined as soft
capacity. For the system with soft capacity restriction, it cannot be calculated with
Ireland Table. The total channel capacity is larger than the average number of the
channels of each cell. The neighboring cells share a part of interference, so more traffic
may be processed if the congestions are the same. If the interference from the
neighboring cell is less, there will be more available channels in the middle cell as
shown in Figure 7-9.
Small

Even load

Small

Small

Huge load
Small

Small

Small

Figure 7-9 Interference sharing in the WCDMA

If the cell has few channels, that is, there are high bit rate real-time subscribers, then
the average load should be reduced to ensure low congestion. With the reduction of
average load, there is additional capacity to be provided to the neighboring cell for use.
This part of capacity is borrowed from the neighboring cell, so the interference sharing
provides soft capacity. It is important for the high bit rate real-time subscribers to
connect as shown in the figure.
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The soft capacity depends on the transmission environment (i.e. network planning).
The value of is of great importance, and determined by the equipment radio resource
management algorithm.
In the WVDMA system, all subscribers share the interference source in the space
channel, so the analysis cannot be conducted separately. The mutual affects among
subscribers result in the changes of transmit power, which in turn cause further
changes and repeating mutual affects. Forecast processing repeats unless it is stable.
In the WCDMA system, the uplink/downlink fast power control, soft handover/softer
handover and orthogonal downlink channels will affect its performance. Unlike the
GSM, the BS sensitivity is depending on the number of subscribers and the rate of
subscribers. It is constant in the GSM.
The interference planning and capacity planning are even more important in the 3G.

7.7.6 Planning Conclusion


The WCDMA cell capacity (at full load) is inversely proportional to the cell coverage
radius. Under certain I/C, reducing the cell radius can improve the cell capacity.
Essentially, it is to offset the cell capacity loss caused by the system noise. Reducing
the cell capacity can increase the coverage radius. Of course, the coverage area
should be subject to the radio coverage conditions. In the cell planning, it is required to
determine proper coverage radius to meet the cell capacity requirements.
The cell coverage requirements for the capacity in the urban and rural are different. In
the urban, there are many hot areas and the unit area traffic demand is high. In such a
case, to solve the capacity problem is a main task. Whereas, in the rural area, the traffic
demand is low and the main task is to solve the coverage problem. The CDMA system
features soft capacity and can satisfy this requirement.
The unit area capacity may be improved by the cell splitting and multi-sector. Such
improvement may be realized easier in the CDMA cell, which dynamically changes the
cell coverage by controlling the pilot transmit power.

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WCDMA Network
Management System

Chapter 8 WCDMA Network Management System


8.1 Overview
The concept of WCDMA Network Management System (NMS) construction is based
on the TMN management framework, and later integrates the TOM theory presented by
TMF. The building of 3G NMS is generally based on the 3GPP 32 series protocols. The
following are some common NMS-related protocols:
32101-311 protocol: Describes the basic principles and requirements of 3G
telecommunication management;
32102-311 protocol: Describes the 3G management framework;
32104-311 protocol: Describes the 3G performance management;
32105-311 protocol: Describes the 3G billing;
32106-301 protocol: Describes the 3G configuration management;
32111-301 protocol: Describes the 3G fault management;
33102-340 protocol: Describes the 3G security management (security framework);
33103-320 protocol: Describes the 3G security management (security guide);
According to the TMN management framework, the WCDMA NMS may be divided into
the following layers: network element (NE) management layer, network management
(NM) layer, service management layer and business management layer. The network
management trends toward an overall multi-management-layer solution that addresses
network management, the service management and the enterprise management.
No matter whether the solution considers the network management on a whole or by
the management layer, our top priority is to pinpoint the management functions of each
management layer, the information model and the standardization of the up/down
inter-working interfaces, and gradually shift our research focus to upper layers. The
upward shift of our focus will change the research mode. Generally, the TMN
management framework is designed in a bottom-up manner, so a very stable suite of
specifications is available for TMN at the NE management layer and the NM layer.
On upper management layers, the NMS enables operators and end users to carry out
customized management. Network management is far more than simple network
equipment maintenance and operation. In a broad sense, it also includes the network
optimization, planning and decision management, service support management,
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customer service center and customer relationship management (CRM) under new
business models.
This document introduces the basic knowledge of TMN and the basic concept of TOM,
as well as the main service features of 3G NMS. As the NE device management and
the networking model are crucial during early 3G network construction, this document
also discusses the ideas for NMS construction on the equipment management layer.

8.2 NMS Basic Principle


8.2.1 Introduction to the TMN
1. Basic Concepts of the TMN
TMN is the abbreviation of Telecommunication Manager Network. The TMN supports
the

management

of

telecommunication

networks

and

services

by

transmitting/storing/processing information.
The TMN can manage various types of telecommunication networks and the network
elements such as analog/digital network, the public network/private network, the
switching system/transmission system, the telecommunication software, the network
logic resources (like the circuit/route/service) and auxiliary supporting systems (like the
power system and the air-conditioning system).
The TMN is the telecommunication network management standard presented by ITU-T.
As a part of the telecommunication supporting network, TMN is separate from the
telecommunication service in principle.
2. Basic Model and Features of the TMN
1)

Introduction to the TMN architecture

The TMN consists of multiple layers with each layer corresponding to a different
management mode. The basic model of the TMN is shown as the figure below:

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BML

SM L
NM L
EM L

NEF

Figure 8-1 Chart of the TMN Architecture


NEF: Network Element Function
EML: Element Manager Layer
NML: Network Manager Layer
SML: Service Manager Layer
BML: Business Manager Layer

According to the figure above, the TMN consists of different management layers,
interconnected via an interface. The TMN is a bottom-up network system with products
as the core. The layers are described as follows:
l

Business Management Layer

Providing support for service-oriented decision functions, such as report statistics and
performance trend analysis.
l

Service Management Layer

Providing the customer-oriented management functions to manage the services


offered to the customer and to collect the accounting information and the feedback
information of the network service quality.
l

Network Management Layer

Providing network-oriented operation and management, such as network traffic


monitoring and fault monitoring.
l

Network Element Management Layer

Delivering equipment-oriented operation and maintenance.


l

Network Element Function

As the basis of the TMN O&M system, the OM system at the NE side provides NE
operation and maintenance, and upper interfaces with the TMN.
2)

Features of the TMN Architecture

Built from bottom up with products as the core;

Based on interoperation between devices with the ultimate objective of unified


management over the equipment of different vendors;

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Defines corresponding interface and information model;

Focuses on the NEF-EML-NML relationship, giving priority to OMS (operation &


maintenance system) support in terms of service, while the SML and the BML in
the model are not addressed.

8.2.2 Introduction to the TOM Model


In 3GPP, the description of the NMS is based on the TMN model of ITU-T as well as
ideas of the TOM model presented by TMF. Especially in versions higher than 3GPP
(R5), it comes even closer to the TOM model. The following is about the model.
TOM (Telecom Operations Map) is a new generation of the NMS model put forward by
the TMF (Telecommunication Management Forum), which is a non-profitable
organization committed to providing leading, strategic and practical solutions to
improve the communication service management and operation quality. In addition, it
develops the programmed market-based solutions to address the major problems
arising in connection with OSS integration and business procedure automation. It has
384 members from large companies, organizations and associations, including service
providers, software solution suppliers, computer/network equipment suppliers and
customers using communication services.
Simply speaking, the TOM involves such vertical processes as service implementation,
service assurance and service billing as well as one cross-carrier process. Horizontally,
it also includes such layers as care, service development & operation, and network
development & operation. The customer care layer includes five parts: sales, order
processing, troubleshooting, customer QoS management and bill payment (i.e. billing).
The layer for service development and operation also comprises five parts: service
planning and development, service configuration, service problem management,
service QoS management and rating/discounting. The layer for network development
and operation consists of another five parts: network planning and development,
network provisioning, network inventory management, network maintenance &
restoration and network data management.
Architecture of the TOM is as follows:

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Customer
I
N
F
O
R
M
A
T
I
O
N

Customer Interface Management Processes

Fulfillment
Sale s

Assurance
Proble m
Handling

Order Handling

C ustomer QoS
Mana gment

Billing
Invoicing and
Collections

Customer Care Processes

Service
Plan ning and
Development

Service
Problem
Management

Service
Configuration

Service Quality
Mana gment

S
Y
S
T
E
M
S

Rating and
Discounting

M
A
N
A
G
E
M
E
N
T

Service Development and Operations Processes

Network
Plan ning and
Development

Network
Inventor y
Management

Networ k
Provisioning

Ne twork
Mainteneance &
Restoration

Network Data
Ma nagement

Network and Systems Management Processes

P
R
O
C
E
S
S
E
S

Network Element Management Processes


Physica l Netw ork and Information
Technology
GB910-V2 .0

Figure 8-2 Architecture of the TOM

In the WCDMA NMS, the O&M layer relies heavily on the building of the TMN
O&M network system (NMF-EMS-NMS), while the accounting management, the
business forecast and the network service provision are based on the TOM
model.

8.2.3 Introduction to the WCDMA NMS


1. Goals of the WCDMA NMS
l

To manage the equipment of different vendors, including the management system


itself;

To simplify the UMTS network management;

To support the communication between the UMTS NE and the UMTS OS or


between the UMTS OSs via the standard interfaces;

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To reduce the cost of the UMTS network management;

To provide the capability of flexible and fast service configuration;

To provide comprehensive fault management capability;

To simplify the operation and maintenance with local or remote O&M functions;
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l

WCDMA Network
Management System

To allow for the exchange of the network management and the accounting
information between the network manager and the service provider, and the
exchange of information with different networks, including other UMTS networks
and non-UMTS networks;

To support and control the growth of resources, and with scalability, to satisfy the
requirements of smooth expansion according to the development of network
services;

To provide a security management mechanism based on the whole UMTS NMS;

To provide flexible billing and accounting management, and to support the


account settlement between the UMTS and the non-UMTS networks;

To provide transaction notification; for example, the change in the property of an


NE may cause some changes to this NE or other NEs. These changes are
one-time changes and should be reported as events;

To provide the capability of restoring the UMTS system.

2. Introduction to the 3G NMS architecture


With a good operation support system, the operator can fully understand the operation
status of the network equipment and the network service quality, and deploy the
services efficiently, thus improving its operation and maintenance efficiency and
service quality as well as the competitiveness.
Based on the TMN and TOM architectures, the WCDMA NMS provides relevant NMS
frameworks.
The basic framework of the NMS described in 3GPP is shown as the figure below. The
UMTS Operation System in the figure also adopts a hierarchical structure (LA, logic
layer architecture), which may be considered an equivalent to the equipment system at
the EML/NML layer of the TMN framework. The Enterprise systems is the information
system used in the communications system, which has no direct or substantial
connection with communication services. It includes the call center, the fraud detection
and prevention system and the billing system.

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wU
ithin
t he
p era
S yste
mn
o f aA
MT
S OO
rgtio
a ns
n is
a tio

O rg a n is a tio n B

E n te rp ris e
S y s te m s

2
sa m e r ole

LLA

othe r ro le

U M T S O p e ra tio n s
S y s te m

O p e ra tio n s
S y s te m

1
NE1

NE2
NEn

NE3

N e tw o rk
E le m e n ts

Figure 8-3 Architecture of WCDMA NMS

Interface 1: The interface between the NE and the OS. Generally, it means the interface
between the NE and the EML. If the NE itself provides a network management interface,
it also refers to the interface between the EML and the NML.
Interface 2: The interface between the OS and the Enterprise system. It may be
considered as the interface between the OS layer and the service provisioning system,
similar to the interface between the NML layer and the upper layers in TMN.
Interface 3: It means the interface between OSs. It may be the OS interface between
the UMTS networks, or the interface between a UMTS network and a non-UMTS
network, such as the PSTN or other networks;
Interface 4: It indicates the interface among the layers of an OS, similar to the interface
between the EML and the NML.
According to the figure above, the 3G NMS is designed to provide a complete, open
and scalable operation support system to support the UMTS network and develop
services.

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3. Comparisons between the 3G NMS and the 2G NMS


The NM functions of a traditional 2G mobile network are based on the TMN network
management framework, and focused on the service functions of the equipment O&M
layers. In the main, it provides management functions in five areas as defined by ITU:
l

Performance Management

Fault Management

Configuration Management

Accounting Management

Security Management

As a network management product, it must provide centralized operation and


maintenance based on the network-wide equipment, so the NMS generally needs to
provide such functions as centralized topology management and centralized operation
& maintenance. These are the basic functions of the OMS of the 2G NMS.
According to the management objectives of the 3G NMS above, there is no substantial
difference between the 3G NMS and the 2G NMS. In terms of architecture and service
functions, the 3G NMS adheres to the characteristics of the 2G NMS. However, the
WCDMA network is more complex than the 2G network. Below are some differences
between the 2G NMS and the 3G NMS.
1)

The architecture of the 3G NMS is more reasonable than that of the 2G NMS

The 2G NMS is designed based on the idea of TMN network management, so the
operation and maintenance layer (O&M layer) is fairly perfect. However, it is deficient in
the entire operation layer (OSS layer), where services are not well integrated.
The 3G NMS is intended to deliver an integrated operation network based on
numerous management theories such as TMN and TOM, combining the features such
as network maintenance, management, service deployment and operation, to develop
an integrated support system solution.
2)

More openness between networks

In the 2G NMS, the standards of the interfaces between the NE and the EMS, between
the EMS and the NMS, and among different networks vary largely, making it difficult to
develop an integrated O&M network system. As a result, it is difficult for operators to
keep fully informed about the NMS operation status and deploy services quickly by
establishing an unified O&M network system given multiple equipment vendors,
different standards and complex structures.
The 3G NMS pays more attention to interface standardization and normalization,
guiding the standardization of the interfaces between the NE and the EMS, or between
the EMS and the NMS, and between the O&M layer and the OSS layer, to develop an
integrated O&M solution.

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In addition, the sharing of information among UMTS networks, or between a UMTS


network and a non-UMTS network is also addressed in the 3G NMS. All this relies on
interface standardization.
3)

Wide application and recommendation of the CORBA technology

In the 3G NMS construction, it is strongly recommended to adopt a CORBA


technology-based architecture with an object-based description of the network
structure, to shape a unified O&M idea. It is also recommended to take the CORBA
interface standard as the standard for NMS interface on the layers of the O&M network
system for the normalization of the interfaces.
In addition, the CORBA technology brings a distributed network structure in real sense,
making it easier for future network expansion and service development.
4)

More perfect service features

In addition to the 2G NMS feature, the 3G NMS provides more service features such as
network-wide software management, OoS management and location management.
The details will be described in the introduction below.
4. The 3G NMS serves to manage a diversity of service areas through different layers
Overall management over the operation of 3G services calls for a large amount of
complicated systems engineering. Its features include:
l

Multiple managed network layers, each of which has a variety of devices, and
these devices may be provided by different vendors;

The business mode of the 3G service is much more complicated than that of the
traditional voice service, involving varied services and service providers and
multi-vendors;

The network structure and the equipment type varies with the network system, and
even the same kind equipment in different systems calls for different services;

Different vendors use different technologies on their equipment, for example,


some vendors adopt the ATM technology, while some adopt the IP technology;

The wireless service itself has some complex features, such as cell management,
roaming management and mobility management. All these features make the 3G
service management intricate;

Each network equipment layer of the 3G service environment comprises five parts:
access equipment (i.e. mobile phone/terminal), wireless access network, core
network, service release network and content & service. To fully support the 3G
service operation, we need to manage these devices;

Thus, the 3G NMS manages various service areas through different layers as shown in
the figure below:

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Customer

Life cycle
management

Customer management

Supply
chain

Service development and operation management


Service control
platform

Product

Network and system


management
NE management

Application
platform

Open
platform

Circuit
domain

IP network

Access
network

Packet
domain

Access
platform

Figure 8-4 Structure of NMS layers

In addition, mobile network management must attain the objectives of greater customer
satisfaction but lower cost:
l

- Providing highly-personalized communication service

- The growth of individual subscribers exceeding that of enterprise subscribers

- Segregating the roles of service provider and network operators between the
home environment and the service network entity.

- One-stop charging for all services

8.3 Introduction to the Service Features of the 3G NMS


The service features of the 3G NMS include:

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Performance management

Roaming management

Fraud management

Position management

Fault management

Security management

Software management

Configuration management
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l

Accounting management

Order management

Quality of Service (QoS) management

User equipment management

WCDMA Network
Management System

8.3.1 Performance Management


Throughout the life cycle of the 3G network, both the logic and the physical
configurations must be more or less modified to optimize network resources. All these
modifications are made through network configuration and network engineering.
Many routine maintenance activities and future network planning of the 3G network
require basic decision data, that is, network load and qualify of service. To generate
such data, it is required to measure the performance of the NEs that make up the
network, and then transfer these data to the external operation support system for
further analysis.
3GPPs performance management function area is intended to measure the cross-3G
network performance (i.e. ranging from the access layer to the service provisioning
layer) and collect the performance measurement data. It defines the management of
the measurement plan for the element manager system, the generation of the NE
measurement results and the transfer of results to one or more operation support
systems. Below are the objectives:
l

To define a standard measurement set

To define universal management technologies for measurement maintenance &


management and result accumulation;

To define the method of batch transfer of the measurement results on the


management interfaces;

For details, please refer to 3GPP TS32.104.

8.3.2 Roaming Agreement Management


In order for subscribers to use the services provided by a non-home service provider, a
roaming agreement/contract should be reached between the home service provider
and the non-home service provider. The roaming agreement can either be an
agreement between two operators (known as bilateral agreement), or a clearing
house (known as multilateral agreement). Under the roaming agreement, the home
service provider is the customer, while the non-home service provider acts as the
supplier.
Regardless of whether a bilateral or multilateral roaming agreement, it must at least set
out the following terms:
l

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Tariff/price
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l

Interconnection between signaling and service

Bill interchange format and plan

Troubleshooting

WCDMA Network
Management System

The roaming agreement will affect many aspects of the network and the operation
management infrastructure, like the follows such as service implementation, service
assurance and service charging in the operation system.

8.3.3 Fraud Management


Frauds as well as measures to detect and guard against these frauds are not unusual
for any network. However, mobile and roaming services together make the fraud
detection and prevention even more complex and urgent. Things would become even
worse when the mobile service provider does not know how to locate the fraudulent
customer during roaming. The roamer is not a customer of the service provider, so the
service provider has no information enough to check whether a fraud exists.
On the other hand, the service provider could hardly control the roamers activities,
such as credit card overdraft and service suspension. In such a situation, the customer
can commit a fraud on the network of another service provider, that is, the home service
provider has to count on the fraud detection level of the roaming service provider. This
means, to a great extent, neither the home service provider nor the roaming service
provider can control the subscriber properly.
Typical fraud management over the mobile network provides at least the following
functions:
l

To classify the subscribers according to the level of fraud risk, which is based on
demographic statistics and credit information;

To revise the risk level according to the utilization and the payment (in real time or
near real time);

To detect and sample the frauds in real time or near real time;

To take measures to suspend the service, even when the customer is roaming on
a network other than the home network;

For visiting customers (the roamer), the roaming service provider may consult the
home network provider or the international knowledge base to assess the potential
fraud, so as to decide whether to allow the roamer to access the network.

The fraud management service addresses the following three areas: fraud detection,
fraud termination and fraud prevention.

8.3.4 Configuration Management


A real 3G network consists of various devices of different suppliers, and the operator
should manage these network devices properly to guarantee QoS (quality of service)
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the customers has expected. The most important thing is the standardization of 3G
system configuration management, so that the networks of multiple providers can more
or less operate properly and effectively.
1. Requirements of the 3G network configuration management:
l

To enable operators to make configurations as fast and accurately as they could,


so as to avoid long-time wait and complex configuration;

To ensure the configurations will not cause any adverse impact on the NEs that
need no configuration.

To provide a mechanism to prevent the configurations from affecting the


communication-related services.

To provide a mechanism to avoid data inconsistency, e.g. record the revision


reason or restore the updated data.

In brief, these principles involve security, data validity and consistency as well as
resource maintenance.
2. For configuration management, the system is expected to provide the following
capabilities for the operator:
The management system provides the following capabilities through its service
components:
-Modify system , change the network to meet the operators requirements
l

Create NE/network resource;

Delete NE/network resource;

Modify NE or network resource;

- Monitor the system, obtain an overview of current software, equipment and data;
l

Information inquiry;

Information reporting;

Control over the response/reporting;

8.3.5 Fault Management


The fault management comprises a series of (sub-) processes such as fault detection,
fault location, fault reporting, fault correction and fixing. These (sub-) processes are
distributed on different management layers, but most procedures (like fault detection,
fault location, fault correct and fault fixing) are mainly located on the NE and the NE
management layer so that the network equipment is capable of self-healing.
Logically, the network data management function is about how to collect and use the
performance and service data. When the NE gets faulty, the fault management feature

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of the NE management layer is the leading responder, while the network and the
system management layer makes a preventive response.

8.3.6 Accounting Management


The 3GPP billing data mainly describes the following:
l

Planning and formatting bills of the 3G core network (circuit packet switching and
IP multimedia) node and the service node (multimedia short message service).
Please refer to [14].

For call state data generation, billing event and other service requirements, please
refer to 3GPP TS 22.115.

CDR format and file transfer mechanism formally described in ASN.1 language.

For the specific billing requirements of each 3G area, please refer to 3GPP TS 22.115
and TS 32.105.For the specific billing data of each area, please refer to 3GPP TS
32.205, TS 32.215, TS 32.225 and TS 32.235.

8.3.7 Software Management


In the 3G network, the software management covers host software management
processes and software fault management. The host software management processes
consist of software request, receiving, installation, monitoring, documentation,
database update and feedback to the supplier. The sub-process is also applicable to
the whole software release and the installation of patches for defective software of the
NE/element manager system. The software fault management focuses on the
monitoring and troubleshooting of network faults resulting from software failure.
1. Host software management process
It refers to the management of new software and patch release. It is very important to
ensure high QoS of the network without interrupting existing services during new
software integration on the network. The main steps of this process are:
l

Delivery of the software by the supplier

To deliver the software to the NE/element manager system for local storage

To verify the validity of the software to ensure the software is not misused

To activate the software

To verify the validity of the software to ensure the software can run properly

To accept or reject (in the case of changes to software of previous versions) the
software according to the verification result

2. Software fault management


The software fault management involves the following steps:
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- To check software fault/failure on the network


- To analyze the problems, to determine the root cause of software failure and the
necessary corrective measures. The measures that may be taken include:
l

To roll back to previous version through loading or activation

To load and activate correct software

To restart current software

8.3.8 Security Management


Similar to the 2G network, the security management feature of the 3G network is also to
guard the system against malicious attacks, in order to ensure stable network operation.
Generally, the network security is ensured by an ideal authentication mechanism. This
function is in fact the application of the service layer or the application layer.
It should be noted that the 3G network trends towards full-IP network, so the IP security
assurance mechanism is even more important for the security of 3G network. Generally,
the O&M IP network is considered unsafe due to its scale, complexity, limited physical
security and the possibility of remote access through dialup or Internet. Thus, the only
way out for security is to logically isolate the O&M IP network from the Internet. Largely,
the IP infrastructure is secured with basic IP features, such as the address mechanism,
DNS, DHCP, BOOTP and the firewall. These features mainly serve to protect the
network layer.

8.3.9 QoS Management


In the 2.5G/3G network, the QoS management mainly provides two functions: QoS
policy provisioning and QoS policy monitoring. The QoS policy provisioning refers to
the process of configuring and maintaining the selected NE according to the QoS policy
generated on the basis of the SLAs and the observed network performance. The QoS
policy monitoring is the process of collecting the QoS performance statistics and the
alarm data. The collected performance data is used to generate the analysis report,
based on which the network will be changed or upgraded.
In the 2.5G/3G network, the network domains must interact to achieve end-to-end
service quality for end user applications. To achieve the QoS required by a network
operator, all the NEs from various network infrastructure suppliers should be configured
in the same way, adding to the complexity of interaction. NEs must be configured with
many QoS functions, such as admission controller, policy manager, shaper, queue
manager and scheduler. To configure these heterogeneous networks to provide
expected QoS, the operator needs a management solution satisfying the following
high-level requirements:
l

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Automation of management tasks


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l

Centralized management to reduce the types of management interfaces

Abstracting and simplifying the management data

End-to-end network provisioning

Consistent and unified provisioning over all NEs

To allow interoperation between the NE and the OSS, a standard-based solution


is needed

Scalability of the solution for large networks


NML
QoS Policy Provisioning

= Policy Repository

Network
Management
Layer
Itf-N

Domain
Policy Server
EML
(e.g.
Access)
QoS
Policy
Provisioning

Element
Management
Layer

Itf Po
Policy Decision Point
Network
Element
Layer

Policy Decision Point

Go

Go

Policy Enforcement
Point

Policy Enforcement
Point

COPS & Diffserv PIB


MIB
Diffserv MIB

Figure 8-5 Structure of the Qos Management

1. QoS policy provisioning on the NML layer


The QoS policy provisioning on the NML layer serves to provide network-level
operation support for network-wide policy management points. It includes the following
functions:
l

To be the user interface for the network policy maintenance

To be the master network policy base to store all the network policies of all
domains

Capability to assign policy data to the EML policy server

To detect global policy conflicts

The policy base adopts the LDAP-based directory to store the policy information.
2. QoS policy provisioning on the EML layer
The QoS policy provisioning on the EML layer provides NE management function for
the policy management point of the network domain. A domain refers to a network
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section that contains devices used to implement logic-related functions. Among


network domains are the access network, the core network and the transmission
network.
QoS policy provisioning on the EML layer provides the following functions:
l

To be the optional user interface for the policy maintenance of the EML layer

To be the particular policy base of the EML layer

To assign the policy data to the policy decision point

To detect local policy conflicts

It is clear that the optional EML-level user interface for policy maintenance is necessary
on the small networks without network-level policy provisioning support system.
It should be noted that the EML-level policy base includes the policy used in this
domain, as well as the general network policy across domains.
3. Policy Decision Point (PDP) and Policy Enforcement Point (PEP)
The Policy Decision Point (PDP) is the point to determine the policy of the policy
enforcement point under the networks control. So, the PEP is a function in the network
node, while the PDP may be an independent functional entity that resides in a
standalone policy server (like the application server). The PDP will make decisions
according to the policy information in the policy base.
The Policy Enforcement Point (PEP) is the functional part of the network element that
implements the policies defined in the policy management system. It includes the
following functions:
l

To store the data related to the local policy

To enforce the policy according to the network conditional command

To support the policy mechanism of differential services

At the beginning, the PED will request the PED of its parent node to download all the
policy data necessary for the operation.
4. QoS monitoring
In the 2.5G/3G network, the QoS monitoring functionality is intended to collect/process
such data as performance statistics, utilization data and QoS-related faults. For
end-to-end QoS monitoring, the QoS monitoring process should be included in the NE,
the network element management layer and the network management layer. Alarms
and performance data are collected at the NE layer, while the convergence, reporting
and analysis of alarm data and performance data are performed at the network element
management layer and the network management layer.
The process of QoS monitoring provides the following functions:
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l

To manage QoS fault information from NEs

To query QoS performance data from NEs

To collect and process utilization data

To analyze the key QoS parameters to generate a QoS report

To audit/analyze the collected QoS parameters by comparing them with the


expected values.

In fact, the above service features required in the 3G NMS may not be provided at a
specific service layer. To deliver a specific service feature, several layers or even
various networks must work together, share information and invoke services among
one another, to develop an integrated solution. The principle of 3G network
construction is to build an open, multi-layer and highly scalable network with an
integrated architecture.

8.4 Introduction to Common NMS Interfaces


8.4.1 Reference Models for Common NMS interfaces
Generally, the interfaces between the NE and the OS within a UMTS network include:
l

The interface between the NE and the NE management layer;

The interface between the NE management layer and the network management
layer;

The Interface between different NMSs;

A reference model for common 3G NMS interfaces is shown as the figure below:
The NMS interface Itf-N may be the interface between NM and EM or between the NM
and the NE.

EM

NM

Itf-N

NE

Notification IRP
Basic CM IRP
Alarm IRP
Performance IRP

Figure 8-6 Network Managing NEs through the Equipment Management Layer

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NM

NE

Itf-N

Notification IRP
Basic CM IRP
Alarm IRP
Performance IRP

Figure 8-7 Network Directly Managing NEs

As NM equipment of EML layer, iManager M2000 provides interfaces with the NE and
the upper NMS. The interface with the NE may be called southern interface, which is
usually an internal MML interface. The interface with the upper NMS may be called
northern interface, which is usually a standard interface or an interface negotiated with
the upper NMS (the third-party NMS). Among the common NMS interfaces are the
CORBA interface and the core database interface.

8.4.2 Common NMS Interfaces


1. CORBA interface
1)

Introduction to the CORBA

The Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) is a solution proposed by


the Object Management Group to meet the ever increasing demands for the
collaboration capability of software and hardware. With ORB, the customer may easily
use the server object methodology, no matter whether the servers are located on the
same computer or accessed via a network. ORB captures and invokes, and then finds
out an object to deliver the request. Then, it transfers parameters and methods and
finally returns the result. When ORB is used, a protocol is defined using the application
interface, which is implemented by the Interface Definition Language (IDL).Customers
neither know where the object is nor what language is used for its implementation, nor
the OS and anything else irrelevant to the object interface.
2)

Importance of the CORBA interface

At present, the telecom NMS tends to embrace integrated technologies. As one of the
leading NMS technologies, TMN gives a good idea for the construction of integrated
NMS. However, TMN does not go into detail when it comes to how to construct a
management system and how to provide interoperability among the management
systems. Luckily, CORBA has now become a mature distributed object-oriented
technology. Given the open telecom market environment, CORBA is tailor-made for
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WCDMA Network
Management System

fast service construction and the effective management of resources and services. In
the field of NMS, to integrate the TMN with the CORBA technology is the most ideal
solution up to date to building a comprehensive NMS.
Now, both the International Standardization Organization (ISO) and the International
and Regional standardization Organization have treated the CORBA interface as an
important interface in the filed of telecom NMS.ITU-T takes the CORBA interface as a
way to provide general Q interfaces. The interfaces defined by TMF are basically
CORBA interfaces. The 3G interfaces defined by 3GPP are mostly CORBA interfaces
together with CMIP interfaces. Thus, the CORBA interface may be considered a leader
in the field of telecom NMS.
2. Core Database Interface (Core DB)
The Core Database Interface means that the visited party (like M2000 system) makes
known the structure and fields of related database in the system, allowing a third-party
vendor to visit and access the database directly.
Such interface mode is widely applied to interconnection with the upper NMS.
Third-party vendors usually develop application programs for access according to the
open database. Generally, write operation is not allowed to. The method features fast
interconnection and easy interface negotiation. Its disadvantage is the security problem
with the released undertaking high risks.
Before the CORBA interface standard is fully operational, open core database is also
common for interconnection with the upper NMS.

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WCDMA Billing System

Chapter 9 WCDMA Billing System


In a telecomm operating network, as subscribers are offered service, service billing is
accompanied. Essentially, as a measure of the network resources used by subscribers,
billing is classified into Circuit Switched (CS) domain billing and Packet Service (PS)
domain billing. CS domain adopts circuit switching, so call duration becomes the
primary factor of billing. PS domain data works in packet transmission, so traffic is the
primary factor of billing, but time is not excluded. This chapter mainly introduces the
billing principles of CS domain and PS domain, including the billing architecture of
Huawei core network, bill generation mechanism and processing course.

9.1 WCDMA CS Domain Billing Principles


9.1.1 WCDMA CS Domain Billing Architecture
The billing system of WCDMA system CS domain is consistent with that of GSM
system, that is, the billing data are both generated by MSC/MSC Server and directly
transported to billing center. Therefore, in view of the architecture, the billing system of
CS domain consists of billing module of MSC/MSC Server and billing center. Between
the billing module and billing center, bill data are transported with FTP/FTAM file
transporting protocol.
Because no specific interface parameter is prescribed for MSC/MSC Server billing
module in the protocol, the interface between MSC/MSC Server host system and billing
module is an internal interface, and the implementation of the billing module is also
diversified. As an example, the implementation of billing module in Huawei MSC/MSC
Server is described below.

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Server
MSC/MSC
MSC/

WCDMA Billing System

Host system

Bill service console

Internal interface

LAN

FTP/FTAM transmission
protocol
Heartbeat
network cable
Highly-reliable
system design Active server
Disk array

Standby ROUTER
server
IP network

BAU
Large-capacity
storage capability

Billing center
3

Figure 9-1 WCDMA CS domain billing architecture


MSC/MSC Server billing system mainly consists of host modules and Bill
Administration Unit (BAU). Figure 9-1 shows the CS domain billing architecture.
Host system: The bill information is generated from the host system, and firstly buffered
in the bill pool of host. The original bills in the bill pool are, in the form of packet,
continuously transported to BAU with TCP/IP.
Bill Administration Unit (BAU): BAU, the processing core of MSC/MSC Server billing
system, is a dual-system hot backup system. Connected to the host through local area
network (LAN) and to billing center through wide area network (WAN), BAU provides
FTP/FTAM interface for billing center to support Server/Client in FTP and Responder in
FTAM, to transport bills to billing center.
BAU functions: After saving the original bills received from the host system, it carries
out sorting and format conversion for the original bills to generate the final bill. BAU
saves the final bill and transports it to billing center. Specifically:
l

Saving original bills: After receiving the bill packets from the host, unpacking and
validating the packets, BAU saves the received original bills in hard disk, then
sends confirmation message to the host and makes the corresponding log record,
and finally carries out sorting and format conversion for the original bills.
Sorting bills: It means classifying bills according to a domain, to process them in
different flows and save them in different physical paths. All data domains in bills
can be used as the criterion for sorting.
Bill format conversion: The format conversion on BAU involves choosing bill
domain, changing the two-digit chronology into four-digit chronology, and
converting into specified text format.
Saving final bill: After sorting and format conversion on the original bills, BAU
saves the final bills in different directories according to their classification.

Billing center: Collecting and processing final CDRs, and generating final subscriber
bills based on tariffs.
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9.1.2 Billing Data Generated by MSC/MSC Server


1. Bill type
MSC/MSC Server can be used as VMSC, TMSC, GMSC and SSP. Different calls may
have different bill types. The major bill types are as follows:
l
l
l
l
l
l

l
l
l
l

Mobile calling bill: A bill generated when a local mobile subscriber initiates a call.
Mobile called bill: A bill generated when a local mobile subscriber is called.
Roaming bill: A bill generated when a subscriber of another office calls a local
subscriber.
Gateway office outgoing bill: A bill generated when a local subscriber calls a
subscriber of another network.
Tandem bill: A bill generated when the caller and called are not local subscribers
and this office is a TMSC.
Substituting bill: When a non-prepaid subscriber calls prepaid subscriber and it is
an OVERLAY networking, SSP will replace the originating MSC to generate this
bill to charge the non-prepaid calling subscriber.
Forwarding bill: A bill generated when a local subscriber is called and the call is
forwarded.
Call attempt bill: A bill generated when a call is not successful.
SM bill: A bill generated when an SM is originated/terminated.
Special service bill: A bill generated when special service call or special service
emergency call is involved.

2. Bill format
The bill format that MSC/MSC SERVER BAU provides for billing center complies with
Mobile Phone Billing Standard Pre-processing Bill Format. BAU can provide billing
center with bills in binary or text format as required.
A bill mainly consists of the following information:
l
l
l
l

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WCDMA/GSM/PLMN resource utilization (such as MSC number and


incoming/outgoing trunk group number)
Basic service utilization (in accordance with source, destination, call date, call time,
call duration, and bearer service)
Supplementary services utilization (such as call forwarding)
Subscriber related numbers (such as MSISDN, IMSI and MSRN)

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9.2 Billing Principles of WCDMA PS Domain


9.2.1 WCDMA PS Domain Billing System Architecture

D a ta N e tw o rk
( In t e r n e t )

In t e r -P L M N
N e tw o r k
Gp

Gi

P S D o m a in
GGSN
G -C D R

CDR
CDR

Ga
Gn

CGF

SCF
Ga

CAP

CDR

M -C D R
S -C D R
S -S M O -C D R
S - S M T -C D R

SGSN

IuP S

Gb

RNS

BSS

BSC
BTS

B il l i n g
S y s te m

RNC
BTS

Node B

Um

N ode B

Uu
MS

Figure 9-2 PS domain billing system architecture


Figure 9-2 shows the PS domain billing architecture. Billing system of PS domain
consists of three parts: SGSN/GGSN billing module, CG and billing center. There is a
standard Ga interface with GTP protocol between SGSN/GGSN and CG. Between CG
and billing center, bill data are transported with FTP/FTAM file transporting protocol.
The functions of each part are described as follows:
SGSN and GGSN: Generating billing data.
CGF:
l
l
l

Collecting the billing data of SGSN and GGSN.


Saving for a long time and executing some pre-processing work, such as
integrating and sorting.
Transporting the collected billing data to the billing center.

Billing System (billing center) : Processing billing data and generating final bill.
Note: In Ga interface, the billing data is called CDR. CDR that is Call Detail Record.

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9.2.2 Billing Data Generated by GSN


1. Billing data
There are 5 types of CDRs generated in 3G billing:
l

l
l
l
l

M-CDR: Generated by SGSN, used for recording billing information of mobility


management for mobile phone. It can be configured whether to generate this bill
or not, not required normally.
S-SMO-CDR: Generated by SGSN, used for recording billing information of SM
origination.
S-SMT-CDR: Generated by SGSN, used for recording billing information of SM
termination.
S-CDR: Generated by SGSN.
G-CDR: Generated by GGSN.

As for the same PDP course, there are 2 types of CDRs generated, S-CDR and G-CDR.
Billing center usually calculates the final charge according to G-CDR, while S-CDR is
mainly used for statistics.
CDR generated in SGSN and GGSN mainly records the following information:
l
l
l
l
l
l

Radio resource utilization


Duration
GPRS resource utilization
Originator and terminator
External data network utilization
Mobile terminal location.

2. Integration of partial CDRs


One PDP context may be corresponding to multiple partial CDRs, which are generated
because of:
l
l
l

Data amount limitation


Time limitation
Changed billing condition (such as tariff change).

Because in the bill finally sent to subscriber, there is only one bill in one PDP context, all
partial CDRs in one PDP context must be integrated. Integration of partial CDRs is
carried out in 2 steps: The integration in the first step is carried out by CGF. This can
reduce the requirement of bandwidth between CGF and billing center and alleviate the
processing operation of billing center. For this reason or that, the integration in this step
may be incomplete. The second step is carried out by billing center, where those CDRs
that are not integrated completely in CGF will be integrated, resulting in final CDRs.
As for each PDP context, GGSN generates one exclusive C-ID. According to
C-ID+GGSN address, it is possible to know whether two partial CDRs belong to the
same PDP context.
As for G-CDR, all partial CDRs with the same C-ID+GGSN address must be integrated.
As for S-CDR, all partial CDRs with the same C-ID+GGSN address and +SGSN
address must be integrated.

9.2.3 CGF
CGF offers a mechanism to send the billing information generated by GGSN and
SGSN to designated billing center. CGF is an abstract functional concept, and CG is a
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specific implementation of CGF. The specific implementation of CG differs with


manufacturers.
CGF must offer the following functions:
l
l
l

Collecting CDR from SGSN and GGSN


Providing long-time reliable storage of CDR
Transporting CDR to billing center.

In addition, to reduce the transmission amount between CGF and billing center, CGF
should provide some integration function of partial CDRs to minimize the amount of
CDRs transmitted to billing center, thus lightening the bandwidth requirement for the
billing center.
CGF must offer high degree of reliability and redundancy. One GSN should be
corresponding to multiple CGFs in different levels of priority. When CGF in higher
priority can not process the communication with GSN, GSN will redirect it to CGF in
lower priority.

9.2.4 Billing Center


Billing center has the following main functions:
l
l
l
l

Collecting the CDRs on CGF


Figuring out charge according to bill
Fully Integrating CDRs
Proofreading bills.

9.2.5 GTP' Protocol


GTP' protocol is a communication protocol between GSN and CGF and between
different CGFs. It is an application layer protocol. The bottom protocol stack adopts
UDP/TCP and IP, as shown below.
GTP'

GTP'

UDP

UDP

IP

IP

L2

L2

L1

L1
Ga

GSN/CGF

CGF

Figure 9-3 GTP Protocol


The major functions of GTP' protocol are as follows:
l
l
l
l
l

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Transporting CDRs from GSN to CGF


Redirecting CDRs to another CGF
Detecting the communication failure between CGF and GSN
Recommending another available CGF to GSN in case of failure in one CGF
Preventing duplicate CDRs.

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Huawei WCDMA Network Solution

Chapter 10 Huawei WCDMA Network Solution


This chapter begins with the evolution of different versions of the WCDMA system to
enable readers to have an overall understanding of the WCDMA system, followed by
an introduction to Huaweis WCDMA total network solution from the perspective of
specific network construction.

10.1 Overview of WCDMA Evolution


10.1.1 Overview of Standard Evolution
The WCDMA technology has gone through R99/R4/R5/R6 stages since it comes into
being. The R99 protocol was functionally frozen in March 2000(December 1999 in
3GPP official document) and almost became mature after two years of improvement.
The R4 protocol was functionally frozen in March 2001. The R5 protocol was
functionally frozen in March 2002 (with some functions frozen in June), and the R6
protocol is estimated to finalize its functions in December 2004.
3 GPP R6
3 GPP R5

3 GPP R4
3 GPP R99
The core network
inherits the network
system of GSM/GPRS
and uses the TDM
networking mode.

2000/03

The protocol is
further improved with
WLAN in it.

IMS domain is added to


support the end-to-end
VoIP.

The bearer and control


of the CS domain are
separated; support
TDM/ATM/IP
networking

Function-finalized
time point
2001/03

2002/03

Under planning

Figure 10-1 Development trend of 3G protocols

Compared with GSM and GPRS networks, the most significant change of the WCDMA
system is the change of the radio network. In the WCDMA network, the Radio Access
Network (RAN) is used to replace the Base Station Subsystem (BSS).

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The WCDMA core network in the R99 version can be regarded as a combination of
GSM and GPRS core networks in terms of networking, namely, the R99 core network is
classified into the Circuit Switched (CS) domain and the Packet Switched (PS) domain.
The architectures of the CS domain and the GSM core network are basically the same,
so are the architectures of the PS domain and the GPRS core network.
In contrast to the R99 version, the biggest change of the R4 core network is that the
network element function of MSC in the CS domain of the R99 core network is fulfilled
by the MSC Server and MGW in the R4 version, where the MSC Server processes the
signaling while the MGW processes the voice. There is no change in PS domain. For
details, refer to the architecture description in Chapter 3.
The core network using the R4 protocol has two networking modes: TDM and IP. When
the TDM mode is adopted, the R4 network planning and construction are identical with
that of R99 to a large degree. For example, in constructing tandem and signaling
networks, many considerations are just the same. When the IP mode is adopted, the
R4 network planning and construction are largely different from that of R99.
In contrast to the R4 version, an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) domain is added in the
R5 core network, together with the corresponding equipment and interfaces, but there
is nearly no change in the network structure of CS and PS domains. Meanwhile, some
equipment functions are upgraded due to the enhancement of the network functions.
Alternative
Access
Network

Legacy mobile
signaling
Network

Applications &
Services *)
SCP
Mh

SGSN

GGSN

Mw

CAP
Gn

Other PLMN

Gp

CSCF

Um

Iu-ps'

GGSN

Iu
TE

T-SGW *)
Mc

Gi

Gn

UTRAN

MT
R

Gi
MGCF

Gi

Gc

SGSN
Iu

Mg

MRF
Gf

ERAN

MT
R

Mr

Gi

EIR
TE

Mm

Cx

HSS *)
Gr

Multimedia
IP Networks

CSCF

R-SGW
Ms

MGW

MGW

Uu
Iu 2

Mc

Iu 1 = Iucs (RTP, AAL2)

Mc
Nc

MSC server

Iu 2 = Iu(R ANAP)

PSTN/
Legacy/External

Nb

GMSC server

T-SGW *)

MAP
MAP
Applications
& Services *)

Signalling Interface
Signalling and Data Transfer Interface

Mh
HSS *)

R-SGW *)
*) those elements are duplicated for figure
layout purpose only, they belong to the same
logical element in the reference model

Figure 10-2 Networking of the R5 network

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The IMS domain is overlaid with the original PS/CS domain. It is used to control the
subscribers services. Subscribers can use all kinds of access techniques of the PS/CS
domain to access the IMS domain. In the future, new services based on the 3GPP R5
IMS domain will have nothing to do with the access techniques that subscribers adopt.
At that time, no matter what technique is adopted, the service needs to be developed
only once by the service developers.
The IMS domain adopts SIP as the basic session protocol. As the SIP is used to unify
the session model of voice/data services, the IMS domain provides more flexible and
simple support to multimedia services.
It also provides abundant service development interfaces. Operators can even provide
open session messages to the trusted service providers. Therefore, the services will
become even more open and flexible.

10.1.2 Network Construction Solutions


It becomes a persisting issue for operators and equipment providers to construct a
WCDMA network with powerful functions and stable performance and also to consider
the factors ranging from engineering technical difficulties, capital investment and the
network compatibility to evolution.
1. WCDMA network construction
For operators, there are two solutions to building a WCSDMA network: Upgrading the
old one and establishing a new one.
As to new mobile operators, they will usually choose to establish a new WCDMA
network. For GSM and GPRS operators, they need to consider issues such as the
network compatibility and roaming. However, gradually they will also choose to
establish a new one. The following is a comparison between these two solutions.
Solution 1: Upgrading from GSM to the WCDMA R99 network:
This solution will turn the 2G GSM network into a network with 2G/3G coexistence by
upgrading MSC, HLR and GMSC of the GSM network into 3G MSC, 3G HLR, 3G
GMSC.
Requirements:
l

The upgraded MSC should support access of WCDMA and GSM radio network
equipment at the same time.

The MSC should support the lu interface based on ATM and the A interface based
on TDM.

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Support AMR voice, H.324M multimedia calls and TC equipment upgrading.

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Support double authentication via GSM/WCDMA, 3G MAP, internal handover and


compatibility.

Support CAMEL3 VAS and the open capability of MSC OSA.

Support the integration of 2G/3G charging systems.

Advantages of the upgrade solution:


l

Minimize inter-MSC handover at the initial stage.

Disadvantages of the upgrade solution:


l

Have a big impact on the stability of the existing GSM network.

Require a heavy workload and increase difficulties in the compatibility test.

Cause the decrease of the existing network capacity, since 3G services are even
more complex and demand better processing capability.

Affect the service provisioning and cause difficulties in smooth evolution,


especially the provisioning of NGN technology, IN service and the third-party
applications.

Require high costs of upgrading and large investment. The 3G MSC adopts the
highly-advanced technical platform with large volume and high integration. Its
construction cost is lower than that of the 2G MSC; therefore, it would be not
worthwhile to upgrade the small-capacity 2G MSC.

The upgrading of the original charging system will have a big impact on the
network operation. The interworking and compatibility of multiple manufacturers
and nationwide roaming need to be verified.

This solution will give a full-scale evaluation to the problems such as the impact on the
stability of the existing network, the continuity of service capabilities, service
processing capacity, capacity, level of integration and whether the seamless transition
of GSM-R99-R4-R5-R6 is available after the upgrading. It is hard to know whether the
traditional architecture of 2G switches meets the above requirements, therefore, it is
also impossible to know the investment utilization rate of the original GSM equipment.
Solution 2: Establishing a new WCDMA network
This solution is to establish a new 3G MSC and a new 3G RAN based on the original
GSM network. The GSM and WCDMA networks will coexist in a certain period of time
with service interoperability and the WCDMA network will gradually replace the GSM
network.
Requirements for the core network equipment:
l

Establish a new WCDMA RAN and a new MSC to support CAMEL2, 3 IN service
and the access of 2G/3G networks simultaneously.

The existing SGSN and GGSN have relatively small traffic and can be upgrade
into 3G equipment. They should be compatible with GPRS access and
applications and support CAMEL3 IN services.

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For the WCDMA HLR, both solutions (upgrading the old one and building a new
one) are available. As there are few HLRs, the upgrading is quite easy.

The backbone and core networks of TMSC and GMSC should be shared. GMSC
upgrading can be disregarded at the initial stage but later they may support 3G
MAP and CAP protocols and the trigger of 3G IN services.

The signaling network equipment LSTP/HSTP of 2G SS7 should be shared.

The 2G MSC should stop capacity expansion and BSS should be connected to the
new 3G MSC.

Advantages of the solution for building a new WCDMA network:


l

As a new network, it is easier for the entire network to plan the resources and
configurations uniformly in order to have a clear network architecture.

With large capacity and less offices, it can simplify the network architecture to
facilitate centralized maintenance and management.

The test becomes more convenient and comprehensive.

Have a small impact on the existing network during the implementation.

Disadvantages of the solution for building a new WCDMA network:


l

There may be coordination problems with the handover between 2G and 3G


systems. If the manufacturers of the existing network do not set obstacles
deliberately, it is easy to solve this problem.

2. Evolution from R99 to R4


Evolving from the R99 network to the R4 network, you need replace the MSC NE of
R99 with the MSC Server and MGW of R4 from the perspective of the protocol layer.
However, in terms of the specific implementation, the construction solution of the R99
network at the initial stage is closely related with the amount of investment needed for
evolution and the difficulty of upgrading.
1)

Solution 1: Upgrading the R99 network to the R4 network

If the MSC NE of the R99 network has already taken into account the idea of
processing the signaling and voice separately (that is, the MSC based on the design
philosophy of separating bearer from control is adopted to build the R99 network), the
evolution will be very easy no matter upgrading from R99 to the R4 of TDM networking,
or even to the R4 of IP networking and only the equipment needs to be upgraded.
Requirements:
l

The original R99 should be capable of separating bearer from control to facilitate
the transition to the R4 architecture.

The upgraded equipment should support all the signaling interfaces of the R4
network.

Following is a comparison between the advantages and disadvantages of this solution:

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Huawei WCDMA Network Solution

Advantages: It is easy to upgrade the network. You need only upgrade the original
equipment instead of purchasing any MSC Server or MGW. It is also easy to
upgrade the ATM/IP-based network. The most important thing is that it brings very
big flexibility to the construction and planning of the network.

Disadvantages: The R99 network at the initial stage should meet higher
requirements. The R99 network upgraded directly from the GSM network probably
will not meet these requirements. In this regard, you have to establish a new MSC
Server and MGW.

2)

Solution 2: Establishing a new R4 network

If the MSC of the R99 network fails to take into account the idea of processing the
signaling and voice separately at the later stage (or if this R99 network is upgraded
directly from the GSM network), probably the bearer and control modules cannot be
well separated. In that case, the evolution from R99 to R4 cannot be completed through
upgrading the MSC, or we can say it is not worthwhile. In this regard, we have to
purchase additional MSC Server and MGW.
Following is a comparison between the advantages and disadvantages of this solution:
l

Advantages: The new network has powerful functions and is capable of smooth
transition to the later all-IP networking as well as R5.

Disadvantages: It is required to establish a new network, which makes the cost


higher than the upgrade solution.

To summarize, it is a continuous evolution process from GSM to R99 and then from
R99 to R4 in terms of the whole version evolution. During the WCDMA network
construction at the earlier stage, if the solution to upgrading the GSM network to the
R99 network is adopted, you need rebuild the MSC Server and MGW NE in upgrading
from R99 to R4. However, if you establish new R99 network with the MSC that is able to
separate bearer from control, the cost at the initial stage may be higher than that of the
upgrade solution, but it is conducive to the later smooth transition to R4 and R5.
Therefore, the comprehensive investment efficiency of the solution for establishing a
new R4 network will be much higher.
3. Evolution from R4 to R5
In R5, an IMS domain is added. The logic block diagram of the IMS domain is shown in
Figure 10-3, where the Go interface is interconnected with the GGSN while the Mb
interface is used for the external network to access the IMS domain.

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IP Multimedia Networks

Legacy mobile
signalling Networks

PSTN
Mb

Mb

PSTN

BGCF

CSCF
Mm

PSTN

Mk

Mk
Mw

Mj

C, D,
Gc, Gr

BGCF
Mi
Cx

IMMGW

MGCF
Mc

Mr

Mb

MRFP

MRFC

PCF

Mb

Mb

SLF

Dx

Mw

P-CSCF
UE
Gm

Mp
Mb

HSS

CSCF

Mg

Go

IM Subsystem

Figure 10-3 Logic blocks of the IMS domain

The functional and logic entities of the IMS include BGCF, CSCF, MGCF, IM-MGW,
MRFC, MRFP, HSS and SLF. Some logic entities can be evolved from the R4 function
entities while others must be added.
Therefore, it is better to establish new equipment of the IMS domain for evolution from
R4 to R5 and upgrade the functions of the equipment in the original CS and PS
domains.

10.2 Total Network Solution


Lots of factors should be considered in the WCDMA network construction. For example,
the operators should carefully consider the following issues: The investment of
construction capitals, the utilization of the existing network resources, the planning of
the networking form, the smoothness of network upgrading, the implementation
difficulty etc.., as described below.

10.2.1 CS Domain Construction Solution


The construction of the CS domain in the core network is always the focus no matter
you upgrade the GSM network to the WCDMA network or upgrade the versions of
different protocols in the WCDMA network. Presented below is about the solution of
establishing a new WCDMA CS domain network.
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The network resources of the current operators are abundant: TDM networks, IP
networks and ATM networks. The bearer used for networking is decided by the
condition of the specific bearer resources.
1. Solution 1: Building the CS network in the R99 protocol mode
When this solution is adopted, the original TDM transmission network can still be used
for transmission of the R99 CS domain. As for the gateway and toll tandem equipment,
you can upgrade the original GW or establish WCDMA equipment through stacking.
The advantages and disadvantages of the two modes are already given in the previous
chapter.
With the R99 construction solution, we can make the best of the resources such as
transmission resources, gateway office and tandem office, the good compatibility with
the original network equipment can be well guaranteed, and voice services can be
provided with good QoS. Therefore, this solution is an economical and quick method to
introduce the 3G systems.
2. Solution 2: Building the CS network in the R4 protocol mode
In building the CS domain through the R4 network which separates MGW from the
MSC Server, you can use ATM/IP in the internal core network for transmission and use
the GMSC for the conversion of voice codec as well as the conversion of ATM/IP to
TDM.
The advantages of building the network through R4 are given as follows:
l

It makes networking very flexible. You can configure the network capacity flexibly
through MGW according to the local traffic and conduct centralized management
and configuration through the MSC Server.

It helps evolve to the future packet-based network. It is also helpful to save the
bandwidth for transmission.

With Trfo technology, the voice quality is improved and the voice codec equipment
can be saved.

The disadvantages of building the network through R4 are as follows:


l

It is not easy to reuse the original PSTN equipment, because the ATM/IP
technology is also used in the transmission of the signaling and it is difficult to use
the original signaling network. We need the signaling gateway to interwork with
PSTN.

With the separate architecture, we need to take the interworking between the MSC
Server and MGW into consideration. However, the test of the compatibility may
lead to the delay of the network construction.

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3. Solution 3: Building the R99 network through R4 (with bearer and control separated)
In building the CS domain through the MGW and MSC Server of R4, the MGW and
MSC SERVER are located in the same place when it comes to the construction; and
the MSC Server accesses the MGW via the LAN.Other characteristics are the same as
that of the R99 network. Therefore, solution 3 has the same advantages and
disadvantages as solution 1.
Compared with solution 1, the major advantage of solution 3 is that it facilitates the
transition to the R4 architecture as these facilities have been equipped with ATM/IP
interfaces and the signaling processing capability for the R4 networking. A gradual
transition is available through replacing boards or adding the corresponding MGW to
enable the transition from the R99 to the R4.
Huawei provides products based on the CS domain of all kinds of protocol versions,
including the MSC products based on R99 architecture and the R99 MSC products
based on the architecture of separate bearer and control as well as the MSC Server
and MGW products of R4. The versions used to build WCDMA networks vary with the
construction solution of the operators.

10.2.2 PS Domain Construction Solution


The construction of the PS domain comprises two aspects: 1) the construction of NEs
such as SGSN, GGSN, CG, and DNS; 2) the construction of the GPRS backbone
network, namely the construction of the WCDMA PS domain backbone network.
1. Construction of the WCDMA backbone network
There are several construction methods for the WCDMA backbone network:
l

By using the existing IP network.

By using the existing ATM network.

By using the private line network.

By using the above methods for hybrid networking according to the local
conditions.

Please note that if we use the existing IP network to build the backbone network, we
need VPN and firewall for security, while if we use ATM, the firewall is unnecessary.
Normally in the PS domain of the WCDMA system, we can use the PVC of ATM or IP
for bearing on the Gn interface.
l

As for the provincial Gn interface, if we use the ATM network, it is enough to


achieve high security without adding a firewall at the Gn interface, while if we use
the IP network, the cost is relatively low but extra methods are needed to ensure
the security, such as a firewall and IPSec encryption.

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As for the interconnection with external networks, the IP mode is always needed.
However, for the interconnection with the GPRS backbone network, a firewall
must be set.

2. Construction of NEs in the PS domain


The NE form of the PS domain and the basic functions are just the same no matter it is
the GPRS network, or the R99/R4/R5 network of WCDMA.
As to new operators of WCDMA, they should establish a new WCDMA PS domain
network.
As to the operators of the existing GPRS network, there are two solutions for building
the PS domain NEs.
Solution 1: Upgrading the existing GPRS network to the WCDMA network:
As the difference between the GPRS network and the WCDMA PS domain network lies
in their access networks, the SGSN-related interface modules need to change their Gb
interface into the lu-PS interface.
Requirements:
l

SGSN should support the access of the original BSS and the new RAN at the
same time.

SGSN, GGSN and CG should support the relevant procedures and services of
GPRS and WCDMA.

It is required to support the integrated billing of GPRS and WCDMA.

Advantages:
l

It is not difficult for upgrading. You can save part of your investment.

The original equipment has been tested on the network, so it enjoys higher
stability as compared with the new equipment.

The existing packet network architecture can be maintained to keep the overall
stability of the existing network.

It has little impact on the facilities in the original equipment room. We need not
reconsider building any new equipment room or placing the facilities.

Disadvantages:
l

Upgrading the old one may impact the existing network.

Service availability after the upgrading varies with the original GPRS platform.

In fact, the difficulty of implementing this solution and the upgrading smoothness
depend on the building ability of the GPRS network equipment. If the original GPRS NE
is developed on the basis of the GPRS protocol without considering the subsequent
transition to WCDMA, it will be very difficult to upgrade the GPRS NEs, especially to
upgrade it smoothly. You can do nothing but establish a new suite of WCDMA PS
domain equipment. On the contrary, if the original GPRS NEs have powerful functions
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with good foresight and universal architecture, it can be upgraded smoothly and save a
lot of investment.
Solution 2: Establishing a new WCDMA packet network
If the original GPRS network cannot be upgraded smoothly, or it is not worthwhile to
upgrade it, the operators can choose to establish a new WCDMA packet network.
The new WCDMA network can coexist with the original GPRS network at the initial
stage, but it shall gradually switch the GPRS subscribers to the WCDMA packet
network.
The disadvantage of this solution is that investment is needed in building the new
equipment. It does not allow us to utilize the original equipment, and we still have to
consider building new equipment rooms and placing these equipment.

10.2.3 NMS Solution


1. Huawei WCDMA NMS solution
Huawei WCDMA NMS is able to operate, maintain and manage equipment flexibly
through combining the centralized management and maintenance system iManager
M2000 and the LMT. Huawei iManager M2000 products are NMS products in the EML,
which forms a double maintenance and management system with the LMT of each
product, namely, single-point maintenance and centralized maintenance.
iManager M2000 can provide standard CORBA interfaces or directly open the core
database to the upper layer. It helps form a multi-level OMS-oriented NMS solution
after it is connected to the NML layer NMS of the third party. This solution is used to
meet the NMS requirements in the NEF, EML and NML layers, while the management
of the SMT and BMT layers required by the 3G NMS is implemented under the help of
the OSS, as shown in the following figure.

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Figure 10-4 Network hierarchy of iManager M2000

2. Characteristics of Huawei WCDMA NMS


With iManager M2000 as the core, Huawei can provide a whole suite of solutions
based on the O&M network hierarchy to the applications. Its characteristics are shown
in the following figure.

Figure 10-5 Huawei O&M network construction


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1)

Huawei WCDMA Network Solution

Dimensional and layered O&M network architecture

M2000 is capable of centralized management and maintenance of WCDMA NEs,


including MSC, RNC, SGSN, GGSN, CG, HLR and Node B, so as to manage them at a
single terminal. Users can define the subnets according to their own needs and classify
the NEs based on the different subnets. For example, they can classify the RAN side
and CN to conduct layered management in the same NMS.
M2000 also provides northbound CORBA interfaces to the upper NMS in order to
communicate with them and carry out layered management of the network, so that
different layers of the NMS meet different demands.
All WCDMA NEs also provide LMT software for themselves. When W2000 is not
available, the software can still operate and maintain these NEs.
2)

Comprehensive maintenance and management functions to meet different O&M


requirements

M2000 integrate the LMT system of each NE. It allows us to maintain all the NEs
through directly calling the LMT system of each NE on the topo.
M2000 provides centralized management for the entire network, including integrated
fault, integrated performance, and integrated configuration to pulse-diagnose the
running status of equipment in the entire network.
M2000

provides

comprehensive

security

management

mechanism.

The

maintenance of NEs can be verified by two-level authority, i.e., the user logs in to the
M2000 client as a M2000 user to operate and maintain the NEs after passing the
authentication of the BAM.
The M2000 system also provides mature anti-virus protection policies.
3)

Characteristic NMS functions

The M2000 system can also integrate some tools for the purpose of such as network
optimization, network planning and reporting to perform some special functions.
It provides the remote maintenance method based on a combination of dialing and
Internet to maintain all the NEs remotely.
With the M2000 system as a core, we can provide a mature O&M solution to the entire
WCDMA network, so as to meet the requirements of different users.
3. Application of NMS construction in 3G networks
In general, the NMS construction comes after the network construction. It mainly
connects all the products through computer networks for operation, maintenance and
management.

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Figure 10-6 Networking of the WCDMA O&M network

The above figure shows the construction of the O&M system in the WCDMA system
networks, including the access and management of the CS domain and PS domain
equipment on the CN side, and the centralized maintenance and management of the
RAN equipment.
From the above figure, we know that iManager M2000 follows the TCP/IP to access
and manage all the NEs. It accesses the OM unit of each NE directly, such as BAM.
The O&M network and each service network are isolated and use different IP
addresses and network segments.
The iManager M2000 connects with the upper-level NMS through the network, using
the agreed protocol such as CORBA and open database interfaces for communication.

10.2.4 Signaling Network Solution


1. R99 signaling network solution
1)

Principles for signaling network construction

High reliability of the equipment to ensure high security of the signaling network.

Supporting dual backup of the network without single point failure to ensure high
security of the signaling network.

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Powerful processing capability to adapt to the expansion of network scale and the
growth of services.

Low delay to ensure the service connection speed.

Even load distribution to evenly plan the flow of load on the signaling network.

The load of the trunk signaling is light, and if each site has a direct signaling link, there
will be too many signaling links; therefore, in most regions the signaling link is available
only for the interconnection between the TMSC and the STP equipment, while the
interaction between the TMSC and other sites is completed via the STP.
Generally, the dual-net dual-plane networking mode is adopted for the signaling
network to ensure high security of the signaling network. STP equipment should have
powerful processing capability to adapt to the network scale expansion and the service
growth. It also should have low delay to ensure the service connection speed. In
addition, the signaling links in the 3G mobile networks need to be organized carefully to
avoid too many signaling transfer points. At present, the networking modes of the fixed
and mobile signaling networks are the same. A direct signaling link should be set
between two SPs with a large information volume, especially between the MSC/VLR
and the local HLR when the transmission condition permits. There are two SCCP
addressing modes: GT and DPC addressing modes. The GT addressing mode is
adopted for inter-province networks while the DPC + SSN addressing mode for
intra-province networks. In this way, the work amount of GT translation of the STP
equipment can be greatly reduced.
2)

Difference between the mobile signaling network and the fixed signaling network

The hierarchical signaling network is suitable for the fixed signaling network. At present,
for the fixed signaling network a pairs of independent HSTPs are generally set in the
provincial capital to form a dual-plane mesh network. For each of the local networks, a
pair of LSTPs are available to transfer the PSTN signaling and the intelligent network
information. An important application of the LSTP is to complete the inter-office
conversion from mesh signaling network to hierarchical signaling network, which
greatly reduces the amount of direct signaling links and improves the reliability.
However, the mobile network features high capacity of local SPs, few SP sites and
large signaling flow between local SPs, so it is better to adopt direct links between SPs,
and in that case the signaling link convergence functionality of STP is not applicable to
the mobile network, rather, the signaling networking of mesh topology is recommended
for the local mobile network.
If the STP network of PSTN directly serves as the mobile signaling network, it
functionally makes no difference except the following issues:
l

The mobile communication system use the GT addressing mode largely and the
processing of GT code is in the SCCP layer, so the STP network of PSTN need to
be upgraded if not support SCCP function.

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The signaling of the local mobile network usually adopts direct links and the
signaling to other local networks should pass the STP. However, the LSTP of the
current PSTN is only used to transfer the signaling of the local network, thus all the
signaling information to the LSTP should be transferred from the HSTP, which
increases the load of the HSTP (that is, it has to transfer both the domestic
roaming signaling and the intra-area signaling).

There exist multiple intra-area signaling transfers, which causes time delay of the
connection and affects the QoS to some extent.

3)

Signaling network construction solution

Two networking solutions are available for the mobile signaling network:
Solution 1: The mobile equipment of each local network is only connected with the
LSTP, which is used to transfer the intra-province signaling and hand over the
inter-province signaling to the HSTP.
Advantages of solution 1 are simple structure and easy capacity expansion. Its
disadvantage is also obvious: The inter-province signaling passes LSTP and this
increases the load of the LSTP and the time-delay of inter-province roaming and call
signaling processing.
Solution 2: The mobile equipment of each local network is connected with both the
LSTP and the HSTP. The mobile equipment of the local networks recognize the
intra-province signaling and the inter-province signaling to forward the signaling to
different STPs for processing.
The advantage of solution 2 is that it reduces the load of LSTP and the signaling
processing delay. Its disadvantage is that the capacity expansion is not convenient.
With the increase of the network nodes, the utilization of the signaling links to the HSTP
will be inefficient to some extent.
To fully capitalize on the existing HSTP resources and create new LSTPs to transfer
the inter-province signaling, solution 1 with minimum changes may be adopted for
networking.
4)

Introducing high speed signaling links to the mobile network

At present, the SS7 network of the TDM-based mobile network aims to providing
transmission bandwidth and reliability for the signaling network and further improving
the signaling network management functions. From the perspective of network
development, the capability of 3G signaling networks is much greater than that of GSM.
That is, with the expansion of the signaling network capacity and scale, and the
improvement of the signaling network reliability, the signaling protocol needs to be
upgraded further, so as to enrich the services provided to the subscribers.
At present, the SS7 mobile signaling network generally adopts 64Kbit/s signaling links.
Restricted by the SS7 protocol, the maximum signaling bandwidth between the nodes
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of the mobile signaling network is only 1024K (64K16), which cannot satisfy the
requirements for the signaling bandwidth between the MSC and the HLR. The mobile
signaling network needs to adopt 2Mbit/s high speed signaling links as soon as
possible to increase the bandwidth between the nodes.
To further improve the network reliability, the transmission paths of the signaling
network should be dispersed as much as possible and the signaling network
management functions should be enhanced.
2. R4 signaling network construction
In the 3G R4 stage, the bearer of call-independent signaling can only be the
TDM-based SS7. It may be upgraded to the optional IP-based SIGTRAN or still adopt
the TDM-based SS7. According to the 3GPP specifications, the SCCP/TCAP-based
MAP/CAP signaling must adopt the M3UA/SCTP SIGTRAN bearer mode, and M3UA
provides the upper SCCP with the primitive interface completely equal to the MTP3
protocol, so no matter the 3G R4 signaling bearer is TDM/SS7 or IP/SIGTAN, it is
required to construct a hierarchical private roaming signaling network with network
layer signaling transfer capability, that is, the STP network as shown in the following
figure:
Other PLMN SS7
signaling network or
toll signaling network

IP-based STP signaling


network. All pieces of STP
equipment have SCCP and
M3UA transfer capability ; STP
may be served as SG

Other PLMN

IP bearer network

Figure 10-7 R4 signaling network construction

If the hierarchical structure matches and the TMSC server processing delay is enough,
the IP STP equipment may be integrated with the TMSC server equipment physically,
so as to effectively reduce the networking investment of the operators.
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10.3 Internetworking Solution


For the interworking with other networks, the first thing to consider is the service
interworking. Presently, the services provided by the operators include fixed telephone
service, IP access service, IP toll service and mobile phone service. In addition, the
multimedia video phone service may be a key service of the 3G networks, for which the
interworking should be considered.
For the interworking with other networks, the second thing to consider is the allocation
of key resources to services, which affects the QoS. For the voice communication, it is
required to consider the proper configuration of EC resources while preventing other
services from wasting the EC resources.
For the interworking with other networks, it is required to consider the security and
reliability of the whole network. It is better for the gateway exchange construction to
follow the principles of large capacity and paired construction.
For the interworking with other networks, it is better to access the nearby network to
affectively avoid the alternative routes of the mobile subscribers. The remote network
may also be accessed for this purpose, which is useful for the charging settlement and
the full utilization of EC functions.

10.3.1 Numbering Plan


Now, the numbering plans adopted by the mobile communication include the network
numbering plan and the PSTN numbering plan.
The net numbering plan is the numbering plan adopted in current China mobile
communication system. Both China Mobile and China Unicom adopt this kind of
numbering plan. No further description is given for the network numbering plan in this
document.
The PSTN numbering plan is to number the mobile subscribers and equipment with the
original PSTN coding scheme. The plan is consistent with the PSTN as to the dialing
scheme with a short number and easy availability of the number.
Advantages of the PSTN numbering plan:
l

The types of the numbers are the same, so such original equipment of PSTN as
the tandem exchange and the toll exchange may be still adopted by only adding
relevant data configurations.

Compared with the network numbering plan, its number length is shorter for the
convenience of dialing by fixed subscribers.

However, the following problems may occur in this kind of numbering plan:
l

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After the separation of North Telecom and South Telecom, this plan may obtain
different number resources from different regions, or be different from the dialing
habits of subscribers. It is not certain whether subscribers can accept such a plan.

The situation of severe competitions among the operators in the China domestic
communication market comes into being. The operators build their independent
networks, which interconnect via gateway exchanges. The adoption of the PSTN
numbering plan will greatly increase the data configuration pressure of some gateway
exchanges, such as the international incoming calls or the international roaming.
With MAP routing analysis and call routing analysis, the adoption of the net numbering
plan is helpful for the network selection with simple data configurations. It is better to
adopt this numbering plan for the call among some international gateway exchanges or
some operators, while the PSTN numbering plan is useful to select the geographical
position of the call or MAP signaling routes.

10.3.2 Gateway Exchange Solution


1. Requirements for gateway exchange construction
1)

Have such features as large-capacity trunks, powerful signaling processing


capacity and abundant voice resources, thus satisfying the development trend and
construction requirements of the gateway exchange for large capacity & few
offices.

2)

Have a variety of interfaces (at least E1 interfaces available) to support diverse


services and access modes; and provide ISP with the PRI interface to adapt to the
fast development of the Internet.

3)

Have echo cancellation function to reduce the echo resulting from the
two-wire/four-wire transformation between mobile calls and fixed calls with the
relevant echo canceller configured in the gateway exchange.

4)

Have the built-in SDH to provide the 155M interfaces for implementing the
centralized traffic, few office directions and large trunk groups in the gateway
exchange, so as to reduce the networking cost, the utilization area of equipment
room and the system power consumption.

5)

Have the ability to analyze the calling number of the incoming trunk.

6)

Support flexible networking: For the local network without LSTP or enough LSTP
capacity, the gateway exchange may be served also as LSTP; for the mobile
network providing abundant services, it is required to support 2M signaling or
multi-signaling point technology to satisfy the high capacity requirement of the
signaling links; For the exchange with over 4096 circuits in a single office direction,
the switching equipment must support multi-signaling point technologies.

7)

Have the SSP/IP function, the CAMEL and upgrading capabilities for the
convenience of CAP capability expansion according to the service requirements.

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2. Gateway exchange construction solution


The networking of the GMSC is very simple. The GMSC is usually the external
interface exchange of an operator. For the outgoing calls, it is to transfer the voice
channels out directly; for the incoming calls, it needs to inquire the MSRN of the called,
and then connect the call according to the MSRN. At the early stage of construction,
generally the GMSC is also served as the VMSC. With the increase of VMSCs,
independent GMSC construction gradually begins (if there are more than three VMSCs)
to reduce alternative voice channels between these VMSCs.
For the former mobile operators, construction of the mobile gateway exchange is to
build new ones and upgrade old gateway exchanges. It is required to consider the
networking setting problems of the gateway exchange, that is, the planning of the
gateway exchange.
For the operators that own fixed networks, the following solutions are available for the
construction of their mobile gateway exchange:
1)

Solution 1: The fixed gateway exchange is integrated with the mobile GMSC by
upgrading the fixed network gateway exchange

Operator B

Operator A

Gateway
exchange

Gateway
exchange

Gateway
exchange

Operator C
PSTN

Operator C
3G network

Figure 10-8 Position of the upgraded fixed network gateway exchange (fixed/3G integrated gateway
exchange)

The following functional upgrading should be carried out for the fixed gateway
exchange:

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Increase MAP functional modules for route enquiry.

Increase EC functional modules.

Increase the functions of CAMEL3 SSPs.

Increase relevant billing functions.

Enhance the number analysis function.


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If only partial upgrading can be achieved for the current fixed gateway exchange, some
local networks should be set separately and some may be integrated. For the office that
can be upgraded, it is also necessary to check the current traffic load of the gateway
exchange. If the traffic load is heavy, the switch should be checked to find whether
capacity expansion can solve the load problem. For this reason, the following
requirements should be satisfied before carrying out the upgrading:
l

The current traffic load is light.

The current traffic load is heavy but it may be solved through capacity expansion.

The equipment vendors ensure the exchange can be upgraded smoothly.

Advantages of the solution:


l

The GW and GMSC integration is in accordance with the network construction


trend of large capacity and few offices. Especially at the early stage of networking,
the existing resources of the fixed gateway exchange are utilized to carry out
efficient networking, thus shortening the construction cycle and reducing the
construction cost.

Disadvantages of the solution:


l

It requires to upgrade the fixed gateway exchange, which may affect the existing
network.

Part of the gateway exchange cannot be upgraded, which makes the networking
structure unclear.

2)

Solution 2: Build a new 3G mobile gateway exchange for the fixed network

This solution is to build a new 3G mobile gateway exchange separated from the fixed
gateway exchange, as shown in the figure below:

Operator A
Gateway
exchange

Gateway
exchange

Operator C
PSTN

Operator B
Gateway
exchange

Gateway
exchange

Operator C
3G network

Figure 10-9 Position of the new 3G mobile gateway exchange

Advantages of the solution:

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There is no change to the old gateway exchange, no risks from the upgrading, and
no impact on the existing fixed network from the traffic load.

The networking structure is clear, which is helpful for future network optimization
and upgrading.

It is helpful for the integrated operators to carry out independent operation


management and independent accounting of the mobile and fixed networks.

The EC allocation and utilization is clear, which is helpful to reduce the EC costs.

Disadvantages of the solution:


l

At the early stage of construction, it causes the trunk waste; and compared with
the integrated gateway exchange solution, it increases the constructions costs
and operation costs of the office and its auxiliary equipment.

Although the integrated operators have fixed telephone networks, they treat their
mobile phone networks the same as those of other mobile operators with two GWs
passed, which increases the links of the call and affects the network quality.

Generally, independent accounting is required for each internal network of the


integrated operators. At present, the interconnection and accounting of the internal
networks are carried out by building their respective gateway exchanges. Thus, each
private network needs its own independent gateway exchange, which results in
repeated investment and does no good to the unified internal accounting.

10.3.3 Echo Canceller (EC) Configuration Solution


The EC configuration is critical for the interconnection between the 3G mobile network
and the PSTN. The EC has the automatic detection function to detect the modern
signals and can disable the EC function automatically, so it will not affect the data
service functions. However, the equipment cost is fairly high. To configure EC
resources where unnecessary will increase the costs of network construction.
EC should be configured as near as possible to the fixed telephone. Generally, the EC
can cancel 64 ms echo of the toll calls within about 6500 km. Echo problems occur if
the distance is more than this figure.
1. Access mode of the EC
MSC provides two types of echo cancellers: Embedded echo canceller and
independent echo canceller.
The embedded echo canceller is based on the concept of exclusive use of resources,
that is, one trunk circuit exclusively occupies one echo canceller. When the E1 signals
access the MSC, the signal echo cancellation function is implemented.
The independent echo canceller is based on the concept of resources sharing. All the
echo cancellers are placed in the ECPOOL (Echo Cancellation Resources Pool). The
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echo canceller is occupied upon request and then released after use for reoccupation
by other connections. The number of independent echo cancellers may be configured
flexibly according to the traffic and the number of trunk equipment generating the echo
to maximize the resources sharing.
From the perspective of system resources occupation, the ECPOOL should occupy the
interface frame slot. For the call connection that requires echo cancellation, if an
independent echo canceller is adopted, then four switching timeslots will be occupied in
the central switching network: One is connected to the incoming E1 timeslot, one to the
outgoing E1 timeslot, and the other two to the echo canceller as shown in the following
figure. And if an embedded echo canceller is adopted, then the connection is the same
as the common call connection with only two switching timeslots occupied: One is
connected to the incoming E1 timeslot, and the other to the outgoing E1 timeslot shown
in the following figure. That is, the independent echo canceller realizes the global
sharing of echo cancellation resources by occupying more system resources than the
embedded echo canceller. In particular, the EC is usually configured on the GMSC
equipment with great capacity. The shared EC will greatly reduce the number of E1s
that can access the GMSC.

RNS

TC

TDM

NET

EC

TDM

PSTN

Occupation of the network resources when the independent echo canceller is adopted

ECP

RNS

TC

TDM

TDM

PSTN

NET

Occupation of the network resources when the embedded echo canceller is adopted

Figure 10-10 Occupation of the EC resources in two cases

Although the embedded EC can save the switching resources, sometimes the ECs are
wasted. For example, the data services (including dial-up access and multimedia calls)
are converted with IWF equipment and need no EC to cancel echo any more. In such a
case, EC will not affect these services, but it is a waste of the EC processing resources.
The embedded EC is suitable for the GSM network, in which there are few such
services and little waste of EC resources.

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In the other case, PSTN calls the mobile subscriber and then forwards the call to
another PSTN subscriber, thus forming an end-to-end PSTN-to-PSTN call and causing
a waste of the embedded EC resources.
The adoption of ECPOOL may cause a waste of EC resources, because the TUP
protocol and ISUP protocol on the network do not support the EC processing. In this
way, the GMSC with ECPOOL resources does not know whether the exchanges in the
call route have applied for EC. Incorrect judgment will cause excessive or insufficient
EC resources to be requested, thus lowering the communication quality.
2. Configuration of data service channels
The data service, multimedia service and fax service need no EC equipment. PSTN
calls the mobile network, and the call is forwarded to the PSTN again without passing
the EC equipment. When interconnecting with the PSTN, the data service and the
voice service may have their respective trunk groups or office directions, with one for
speech call and one for data service or multimedia service. This requires that the
GMSC should have the ability to select different routes for the data service and the
voice service.
Office
direction 2

Office
direction 1

Voice direction

PSTN

Data direction

Integrated GMSC

Office
direction

Voice trunk group

PSTN

Data trunk group

Integrated GMSC

Figure 10-11 Data and voice service channels

If the data or multimedia traffic is not large, then data services and voice services may
not be separated. In the current GSM network, they are usually not separated.
However, the 3G multimedia service is considered as a key service with wide
application, so it may be separated to some extent.

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10.3.4 Routing Mode


The routing mode is considered generally from the perspective of the caller.
1. Access to the nearby network is recommended for internal calls of the operator
Considering the fact of internal calls and all revenues to the same operator, technically
the mode of accessing the nearby network is recommended.
The advantage of this mode is that it may effectively reduce the alternative routes of the
mobile services. Its disadvantage is that it does no good to the fully play of the EC
function when the mobile network calls the toll fixed network.
2. Access to the remote network is recommended for the calls among operators (a
subscriber of the local network calls a subscriber of other networks)
In this mode, the toll service adopts its own toll network, thus achieving the maximum
benefits during internetwork settlement.

10.3.5 R4 Interworking
The 3G R4 network is characterized by the separation of the MSC server from the
MGW and the use of ATM/IP as the transmission bearer. Just like R99, the R4 network
needs the interworking of the bearer connections and the conversion of the user plane
media stream formats, as well as the echo control and the interworking of control layer
protocols. As to the service interworking mode, R99 and R4 are almost the same.
On the whole, the interaction between the 3G R4 core network and the PSTN is
completed via the ISUP signaling and trunk signaling. Just like the traditional core
network, 3G R4 should be configured with a dedicated gateway exchange to fulfill the
interworking requirements as described above, so as to simplify the internetwork
interactive connections and reduce the number of interactive points for the
convenience of internetwork settlement and interworking resources management.
Based on the architecture of separating the 3G R4 core network bearer from control, it
is clear that the GMSC server undertakes the signaling interworking in the application
layer of the control plane. The signaling bearer interworking is completed by the
independent signaling gateway SG equipment or GMSC server, while the interworking
function between the bearer connection and the multimedia layer depends on the
MGW equipment.
In the traditional mobile network and the PSTN interworking model, the interworking
between the signaling control plane and the bearer plane is implemented by the
centralized GMSC with large capacity. In the 3G R4 model where bearer is separate
from control, the same MSC server with large capacity may control several MGWs, so
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the interworking may be more flexible according to the MGW capability and the
peripheral networking conditions, for instance, the independent gateway MSC server or
the integrated MSC server (that combines the local exchange and gateway exchange
functions) controls the interworking between the multiple local MGWs that provide TDM
interfaces and the local PSTN network.

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