Radio network planning

and enginering
ITU/BDT Arab Regional Workshop on
“ICT Applications for Rural Communications”

Sami Tabbane
Damascus - Syria, 27-29 July 2009

Cellular
networks
fundamentals
2

1
 Cellular network fundamentals

• Main issue: How accommodate the maximum number of

mobile subscribers with a limited resource of bad quality
and out of control? 3

4 propagation basic phenomenas

Diffraction
Diffraction

Reflection
Réflexion Réfraction
Refraction

Scattering
Diffusion

2
 3D Rayleigh environment

Cellular architecture
• Frequency reuse:
- More capacity, f1

- More coverage. ...

.. .
< ^>

f1 C ..

I1

...
.. .
< ^>

..

I2

I3

f1
...
f1
...
.. .
< ^>

..
...
. ..
< ^>

.. 6

3
 Engineering
• Problem:
How to design/tune/optimise the network to:
1. Vehiculate the maximum volume of
traffic,
2. To fullfil the QoS contraintes,
3. While minimising the investments ?

Multiple access methods

• FDMA and TDMA: Concentration of the interference on
f
some channels. Time
Timedeslot
Intervalle slot
temps ou time slot
f
fj
fi
..
.
..
.
f1
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 t
f1
Trame TDMA
t
Power/Code
Codes/Puissance

• CDMA: interference is
spread over all the channels. Temps
Time

Fréquences 8
Frequencies

4
 Cellular systems
specificities
• Subscribers mobility
management,
• Radio interface management.

Mobility management

Active mobile (dedicated mode):

 Handover
 Inactive mobile (idle mode): two
processes
 Cells selection/re-selection
 Location management (roaming).

10

5
 Handover or Handoff

... ...
...
< ^>
...
< ^>

.. ..

Station A Station B Station A Station B

Before
Avant HO
le handover After
Après HO
le handover

- Measurements,
- Criteria,
- Execution. 11

Cell Selection/Reselection
Objective: Allow a mobile select a particular
network cell in order to:
 Store the broadcast information,
 Be ready to connect to the network in case
of communication,
 Inform the network of its movements.
 Requires permanent listening of
neighbouring base stations.
12

6
 Frequency reuse (1)
Definition: frequency reuse is the use of the same
radio channels to cover different areas separated
from each-others by distances high enough so
that the co-channel interference is not too high.

Site C f
1

f I f
1 I’ 1 Site A
Site B
C
...
. ..
< ^>

..
13
Mobile

Frequency reuse (2)

Channel Channel Channel

15 6 15

SNmin = 9 dB

14

7
 Cluster
∆ f2
∆ f7
∆ f3
∆ f1
∆ f6
∆ f4
∆ f5
∆ F Cluster
r

Zone A Zone A
∆ F = ∆ f1 + ∆ f2 + ∆ f3 + ∆ f4 + ∆ f5 +∆ f6 +∆ f7

 1st case: R = 10 km with N = 7 frequencies.

 7 simultaneous communications.
 2nd case: r = 500 m
 (R/r)2 = 400 therefore 400.1 = 400 simultaneous
communications. 15

Number of cells per cluster (1)

 Given a cluster of hexagonal shape.
N: cells number per cluster,
a (A): cell area (whole cluster),
R: hexagon side. R2 a=3 3
2
Distance between two co-cells = D, Radius (side)
of the cluster (supposed hexagonal) =
(D/2)/cos(π/6) = D/ 3
2
 D  1 2
A = 3 3 2  = 3D
  cos 30° 2 2
 
16

8
 Number of cells per cluster (2)
2
Thus N =
A
and: N = D ,
a 2
3.R
(3) (2)
C1 C1

Pôle

Cluster
(4) C1 (1)
C1 C1

Cellule

(6)
(5) C1
C1

D
= 3N
R 17

Example: 4/12 and 3/9 size clusters

A1
A1
B1
A3 A2 C1
A3 A2
C1 B1
B3 B2 C2
C3
D1
C3 C2 B3 B2

D3 D2
Motif 3/9
Motif 4/12

9 cells cluster: 3 BTSs with 3 sectors per BTS,

12 cells cluster: 4 BTSs with 3 sectors per BTS,

18

9
 Reuse Partitioning

1' 2' 1' 2'

3 6 7 5
1
2 3' 4' 3' 3'
3 4'

4 1 2 4 3 6

1' 2' 1' 2' 1'

7 5 1 2 4

4' 3' 4' 3'

3 6 7 5

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 : Cellules du motif à 7 (1)

1', 2', 3', 4' : Cellules du motif à 4 (2)

19

Reuse cluster: TDMA/FDMA and

CDMA

frequency frequency

TDMA DS
DS--CDMA 20

10
 CDMA reuse cluster: multiple
access interference
Downlink

TDMA DS
DS--CDMA 21

D/R and C/I relationship

q = D/R: co-channel reuse ratio.
High q
low potential interference level.
q
co-channel interference .
D: function of KI (nbr of co-channel cells in the
first ring) and of C/I.
C C
= with C proportional to R-γ and
I KI
∑Ik I proportional to D-γ.
k =1 −γ
C 1
= R =
I K I −γ K I
∑ Dk ∑
−γ
(q k )
k =1 k =1 22

11
 The cell
Geographic area which limits are
determined by:
1. The transmitted power and the receivers
sensibility,
2. C/I ratio fixed by the system,
3. Capacity to managed the maximum
number of communications on the
allocated are with the required QoS,
4. Integration of the cell in its environment
23

Relations between cells

Cross-coverage

Service area
Co-channel interference

24

12
 1. UMTS main
procedures

25

UMTS Radio Functionalities (1)

Idle mode: PLMN selection
2. Manual mode

The UE scans all RF channels in

WCDMA and searches for the
strongest cell signal on each 2.

carrier. 1.

The UE displays those PLMNs Strongest cell

f1
Power Spectrum Magnitu de (dB)

PLMN A
80 f2 PLMN B
60
3.
that are allowed as well as those
40

20

0 • PLMN D
-20

-40
PLMN E
0. 2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
Frequen cy x 107
•

that are not allowed based on the fn

strongest signal cell on each

frequency.
The user can select a PLMN
manually from the list
26

13
 UMTS Radio Functionalities (2)
Idle mode: search process
P-CCPCH

(PSC + SSC + BCH)

Initiate Cell Synchronization

UE monitors Primary SCH code, detects peak in matched filter output

Slot Synchronization Determined ------>

UE monitors Secondary SCH code, detects SCG and frame start time offset
Frame Synchronization and Code Group Determined ------>
UE determines Scrambling Code by correlating all possible codes in group
Scrambling Code Determined ------>

UE monitors and decodes BCH data

BCH data, Super-frame synchronization determined ------>
UE adjusts transmit timing to match timing of BS + 1.5 Chips

Cell Synchronization complete

27
Idle mode behavior: Cell search procedure

UMTS Radio Functionalities (3)

Cell selection process

Squal = Qqualmeas- qQualMin > 0

Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas – qRxLevMin – Pcompensation > 0

Where Pcompensation = max(maxTxPowerul – P;0)

 qQualmin: sent in the broadcast information and indicates the

minimum required quality value. The UE measures the received
quality, “Qqualmeas”; on the CPICH (CPICH Ec/N0) and
calculates Squal.
 qRxLevMin: sent in the system information and indicates the
minimum required signal strength. The UE measures the received
signal Code Power (CPICH RSCP) and obtains Srxlev
28

14
 UMTS Radio Functionalities (4)
Cell selection process

 maxTxPowerful: the maximum transmission power during

random access on the RACH. Value sent in the system
information.
 P: the UE maximum output power according to its class
• qQualmin
CPICH • qRxLevMin
• Qqualmeas • maxPowerul
• Qrxlevmeas P-CCPCH

Idle mode behavior: Cell selection process 29

UMTS Radio Functionalities (5)

Cell reselection process

In order to always camp on the best cell the UE performs the cell
reselection procedure in the following cases:
 When the cell on which it is camping is no longer suitable.
 When the UE, in “camped normally” state, has found a better
neighboring cell than the cell on which it is camping.
 When the UE is in limited service state on an acceptable cell.
When the UE triggers a cell reselection evaluation process, it
performs ranking of cells that fulfill the following criteria:

S q u a l > 0 (o n ly W C D M A c e lls )

S rx le v > 0 30

15
 UMTS Radio Functionalities (6)
Cell reselection process
Cells are ranked according to the R criteria:

R(serving) =Qmeas(s) + qHyst(s)

R(neighbor) = Qmeas(n) - qoffset(s,n)

Qmeas is the quality value of the received signal.

Qmeas may be derived from the averaged CPICH Ec/No or
CPICH RSCP for WCDMA cells.
Qmeas uses the averaged received signal level for GSM cells.
CPICH RSCP is always used as a measurement quantity when
WCDMA cells are compared with GSM cells. 31

UMTS Radio Functionalities (7)

Cell reselection process

Quality

qHyst(s) Qmeas(n)

R(n)

qoffset(s) R(s)

Qmeas(s)

treSelection time

Cell reselection

Idle mode behavior: Cell reselection procedure

32

16
 UMTS Radio Functionalities (8)
Cell reselection process
 Cell reselection criteria are used for intra-frequency, inter-frequency
and inter-RAT cells.
 Decision on when measurements on intra-frequencies should be
performed is made using the parameter sIntraSearch in relation to
Squal.
If Squal > sIntraSearch the UE does not need to perform
intrafrequency measurements.

If Squal ≤ sIntraSearch the UE performs intrafrequency

measurements.

If the sIntraSearch is not sent to the serving cell, the UE

performs intrafrequency measurements.
33

UMTS Radio Functionalities (9)

Cell reselection process

The decision on when measurements on GSM frequencies should

be performed is made using the parameter sRATSearch.

If Squal > sRATSearch the UE does not need to perform

measurements on GSM cells.

If Squal ≤ sRATSearch the UE performs measurements on

GSM cells.

If sRATSearch is not sent for the serving cell, the UE performs

measurements on GSM cells.

34

17
UMTS Radio Functionalities (10)
Cell reselection process
The UE is also supposed to be able to measure on inter-
frequency cells. The decision on when measurements on inter-
frequencies should be performed is made using the parameter
sInterSearch in relation to Squal.

If Squal > sInterSearch the UE does not need to perform

interfrequency measurements.

If Squal ≤ sInterSearch the UE performs interfrequency

measurements.

If the sInterSearch is not sent for the serving cell, the UE

performs interfrequency measurements.
35

UMTS Radio Functionalities (11)

Idle mode: Paging
When the UE is in Idle mode, two different physical channels are
used in order to deliver proper information from the WCDMA
RAN to the UE: the PICH and the S-CCPCH (carries the PCH).
The PICH is used to indicate to the UE when it should read the S-
CCPCH and the PCH is used to carry the RRC message “paging
type 1”, which contains the actual paging information

τPICH = 2ms = 3 TS

PICH • • • Frame with •••

PI Indicator

S-CCPCH • • • Associated •••

S-CCPCH frame
36

18
 UMTS Radio Functionalities (12)
System information
The System Information elements are broadcast in System
Information Blocks (SIBs). A SIB groups together System
Information elements related to the same kind of activity controls.
Different types of SIB exist, and each type contains a specific
collection of information.
A Master Information Block (MIB) gives reference to a number of
SIBs.
Master
Information
Block

System System System

Information Information Information
Block 1 Block 2 Block 3

37
Idle mode behavior: system information grouping

UMTS Radio Functionalities (13)

System information

Contents MIB SIB1 SIB3 SIB5 SIB7 SIB11 SIB12

PLMN Identity x

Cell selection and

reselection parameters x x

Paging parameters x
Measurement
management x x
Cell and common
channel configuration x
Timers and counters in
Idle mode x
Power Control on
common channel x

Location and routing

updating x

Idle mode behavior: system information details 38

19
 RRM algorithms implementation

UE Node B RNC
- Power control - Packet scheduling
- Admission control
- Quality measurements - Load control
- Load control
- Measurement report - Fast power control
- HO control
- Rate adaptation
- Outer loop power
- H-ARQ, MIMO control

39

UMTS Radio Functionalities (14)

Handover

4 types of HO:
Soft handover: between 2 (or more) cells in two
different sites
Softer handover: between 2 cells belonging to same site
Inter-frequency handover: between 2 WCDMA
frequencies
IRAT handover: GSM  UMTS or UMTS  GSM

40

20
 UMTS Radio Functionalities (15)
Soft Handover
Decrease BLER = Increase the end user perceived throughput:
Rp = (1-BLER)*R

Good block SRNC CN

Block in error

41

UMTS Radio Functionalities (16)

Softer Handover

RBS

Sector 2

Sector 1

Handover: softer handover

42

21
 UMTS Radio Functionalities (17)
Softer Handover process

Content Description

Measurement type Intra-frequency, inter-frequency or IRAT HO

Measurement Identity number To reference measurement reports in UL

Measurement command Setup, modify or release

Measurement objects Measured cells (GSM + UMTS)

Measurement quantity CPICH RSCP or Ec/N0

The triggering for measurement report (event
Measurement reporting criteria
1a ….)
Measurement reporting mode Use acknowledge or unacknowledged mode

43

UMTS Radio Functionalities (18)

Softer Handover process
From the UE point of view, the WCDMA cells are divided into Active,
Monitored, and Detected Sets.
i. The Active Set: The radio links involved in the handover
ii. The Monitored Set: The neighbors of the Active Set cells, are
explicitly measured for handover (can contain both intra-frequency
and GSM neighboring cells).
iii. The Detected Set: The UE is also required to detect intra-frequency
cells that are not in the Active or Monitored Sets
 The active set size is configured by operator using
“maxActiveSet” parameter (from 2  4 cells) 44

22
UMTS Radio Functionalities (19)
Softer Handover process

Measurement
quantity

P_CPICH best cell

reportingRange1b
reportingRange1a

P_CPICH 2

time
Reporting Reporting
event 1a event 1b

Soft HO procedure: Add / remove of radio link

45

UMTS Radio Functionalities (20)

Softer Handover process
Measurement
quantity

P_CPICH 1

P_CPICH 2

P_CPICH 3

hysteresis1c/2

P_CPICH 4

time
Reporting
event 1c

Soft HO procedure: replace of radio link 46

23
UMTS Radio Functionalities (21)
Softer Handover process
Measurement
quantity

P_CPICH 1

P_CPICH 2 hysteresis1d/2

P_CPICH 3

time
Reporting
event 1d

Soft HO procedure: change of the best cell 47

UMTS Radio Functionalities (22)

IRAT Handover

Measurement
Quantity
(Ec/No and RSSI)
Stop measurement on
UMTS Cell GSM cells

hysteresis2f/2
usedFreqTresh2f
usedFreqTresh2d
hysteresis2d/2 hysteresis2d/2
hysteresis3a/2
gsmTresh3a
utranTresh3a
hysteresis3a/2
GSM Cell
Reporting Reporting Reporting Reporting
event 2d event 2f event 2d event 3a

Start measurement on Perform HO to GSM

GSM cells cell

IRAT handover: thresholds and hysteresis 48

24
UMTS Radio Functionalities (23)
Compressed mode

Normal frame (SF =16) Compressed frame (SF = 8) Normal frame (SF=16)

Gap of 7 slots
1…………1 1 2 3 4 12 13 14 15 1………..15
5

UE performs measurement on other frequencies

(IF or IRAT handover) RBS Total
38 dbm 41 dbm power 38 dbm

RNC CPU
60 % 65 % load 60 %

Lost codes = 16 codes of SF = 256

IRAT handover: compressed mode algorithm

49

UMTS Radio Functionalities (24)

IRAT Handover process
UE RBS RNC MSC BSS

Measurement report

Evaluation of MR

Compressed mode control

Measurement control

Measurement report

Evaluation of MR Relocation required

GSM: HO request
Relocation command
Handover from UTRAN command GSM: HO ack

GSM: HO access + HO complete

GSM: HO complete
Iu connection release

RRC release

50

25
 UMTS Radio Functionalities (25)
IRAT HO Cell Change

IRAT HO: from WCDMA to GSM (CS mode)

IRAT CC: IRAT Cell Change is from WCDMA to GPRS (PS mode)
The only difference is that in IRAT HO, the RRC connection remains
between UE and WCDMA RAN (also Iu connection) until receiving
a successful HO message from BSS (to RNC)
In case of a HO failure (WCDMA  GSM) UE may return to
WCDMA system.
However, in IRATCC, the Iu connection (also RRC) would be
released since the send of “Cell change order message “ from SRNC
(include GSM cell details)
 UE will not be ever connected to WCDMA system
51

UMTS Radio Functionalities (26)

IRAT Handover process
UE RBS RNC MSC BSS

Measurement report

Evaluation of MR

Compressed mode control

Measurement control

Measurement report

Evaluation of MR

Cell change order from WCDMA RAN

GSM RA update
Stop DL transmission Iu release command

RRC release
Iu release complete
52

26
 UMTS Radio Functionalities (27)
IRAT CC GPRS  UMTS

Algorithm for IRATCC to WCDMA controlled by the network via

parameters FDDQMIN and FDDQOFF
Measurement
Quantity

CPICH RSCP
CPICH Ec/No

FDDQOFF

FDDQMIN

5 seconds GSM RLA

CPICH Ec/No IRATCC to t

> FDDQMIN CPICH RSCP > WCDMA
GSM RLA+ FDDQOFF

53
IRAT Cell Change: GPRS to WCDMA

UMTS Radio Functionalities (28)

IRAT CC GPRS  UMTS
o FDDQMIN is the minimum quality of a WCDMA cell for cell
reselection.
It provides a sufficient quality of the candidate WCDMA cell.
o FDDQOFF is the key parameter to control the behavior of the
IRATCC.
It defines an offset between signal quality of WCDMA and GSM
cells.

CPICH E c /N o > FDDQMIN

&
CPICH RSCP > RLA (serving +neighboring GSM cells) + FDDQOFF
(period time of 5 seconds)

RLA (Received Level Average): average of the received signal levels

measured in dBm for all monitored GSM frequencies in the BA list 54

27
 UMTS Radio Functionalities (29)
IRAT HO GSM  UMTS
o Percentage of idle TCH in the serving cell ≤ ISHOLEV
o CPICH Ec/No > MRSL
WCDMA Cell
measurement

Filtering

Urgency condition

B T S T T T T
Basic ranking
% idle TS: 1/6 ≈ 16, 7%
Inter System Handover
algorithm Traffic load Radio Network functions
evaluations
ISHOLEV = 20 %

% idle TS Ec/No Organizing the list

≤ ISHOLEV > MRSL Add WCDMA cell
to candidate list
Sending the list

Allocation reply

55
IRAT Handover: GSM to WCDMA

UMTS Radio Functionalities (30)

Power Control

RBS
1: Ensure that Eb>Ebmin
2: Modify Ebmin to ensure that BLER < BLERmax RNC
UE Power control frequency = 1500 per second (at each TS)
56
Power Control: Inner & Outer loop power control

28
 UMTS Radio Functionalities (31)
Admission Control
Admission control: controls system load to maintain a sufficient
resources for urgent requirements and an acceptable service quality
for connected users .
It’s based on following inputs:
 Downlink transmit carrier power
 Air-interface Speech Equivalent (ASE) usage in uplink and
downlink
 Spreading Factor usage
 Code tree usage
 Number of Compressed Mode radio links
57

UMTS Radio Functionalities (32)

Admission Control
ASE of a radio link = relative value, defined as the air-
interface load relative to a speech radio link (12.2kbps,
50% activity).
A radio link with an ASE of 3 in DL, is expected to
generate as much interference in downlink as 3 speech
radio links in the cell.
General method of estimating ASE value for a specific
service:
(maxrate radio link) (activity factor radio link)
ASE = ⋅
(maxrate radio link speech) (activity factor speech)
58

29
 UMTS Radio Functionalities (33)
Admission Control

Admission control: ASE for different RABs

ASE value for AMR: not equal to one due to the control
signaling (3.4 kbps) which contributes with 0.6 ASE
59

UMTS Radio Functionalities (34)

Admission Control
 DL transmit carrier power: to keep sufficient power for UE’s in
CM or experiencing a poor service quality due to fading
 SF usage: Provides details about the number of codes of a certain
length that are in use. Limit the number of users of a certain SF.
 Code tree usage: Provides a measure for code tree usage in the
downlink. Monitoring of this dedicated resource based on the
tracking of the fraction on the downlink code tree in use
 Compressed mode radio links: Indication of the processor load
that the Compressed mode radio links causes in the RBS. Important
due to hardware limitations in the RBS
60

30
 UMTS Radio Functionalities (35)
Admission Control
Resource request IsIsadmission
admissionblocked
blocked
byCongestion
by CongestionControl?
Control? Yes, then block

No, then
accept No

Yes, Checkififthe
Check therequested
requested++ Checkififthe
Check therequested
requested Yes,
estimated##compressed
estimated compressedmode
modeRL
RL DLPwr
DL Pwr++estimated
estimatedPwr
Pwr then
then
>> >>
block compModeAdm pwrAdm
block
compModeAdm pwrAdm

No No

Yes, Checkififthe
Check therequested
requested Checkififthe
therequested
requested
Check
then codeusage
code usage++estimated
estimatedcode
codeusage
usage ASEUL
UL++estimated
estimatedASE
ASEUL UL Yes,
ASE
block >> >> then
dLCodeAdm
dLCodeAdm aseUlAdm block
aseUlAdm
No Only checked if
No
BE-service requests
Yes, Check if the requested
Check if the requested Checkififthe
Check therequested
requested
DLSF
DL SF++ estimated
estimatedDLDLSFSF ASEDL
ASE DL++estimated
estimatedDLDLASE
ASE Yes,
then then
>> No >>
block sfXAdm** aseDlAdm block
sfXAdm aseDlAdm
* X = 8 or X = 32
61
Admission control workflow

UMTS Radio Functionalities (36)

Congestion Control
Main goal of the Congestion Control function = provide the ability to
solve overload situations.
Overloads occur due to a natural process caused by fluctuations in the
downlink power. Factors like fading, inter-cell interference, and
variations in the traffic on individual connections can cause these
fluctuations.
Congestion Control is triggered only in the case of (near) overload in
a cell
Congestion control based on 3 consecutive steps:
1. Restricts admission
2. Delay packet transmission, by reducing the packet bit rate
3. If this does not solve the congested situation, it releases radio links
until congestion ceases 62

31
UMTS Radio Functionalities (39)
Congestion Control
Start
releaseAseDl
DL Power

Start
releaseAseDl
pwrOffset
pwrAdm +
pwrAdmOffset Stopp
releaseAseDl
200ms
= tmCongAction

75ms 100ms 100ms

< pwrHyst = pwrHyst = pwrHyst

Congestion Congestion Time

solved

Congestion control handling 63

UMTS Radio Functionalities (40)

Congestion Control
Core Network

Iu Iu
SRNC
&
DRNC
SRNC
Iur

over Iu: over Iur:

1. Best Effort users in HO
Best Effort users 2. Best Effort users in HO
Best Effort users
3. CS users in HO
CS users 4. CS users in HO
CS users
5. Speech users in HO
Speech users 6. Speech users in HO
Speech users

Congestion control: ASE release order 64

32
 2. UMTS
CHANNELS

65

Codes, physical and logical channels (1)

2 spreading codes used in UMTS:

– Channelisation codes: derived from the OVSF
(Orthogonal Variable Spreading Factor) tree. Vary
the spreading factor to keep codes orthogonality.
In the same cell: OVSF codes can not be all used
together.
– Scrambling codes: each cell has its own code.
Allow to differentiate neighboring cells. Chosen
among 512 (reuse pattern = 512). For the mobiles:
224 different codes. Random allocation.
66

33
 Codes, physical and logical channels (2)
Transport channels:
- Dedicated channel: DCH (Dedicated Channel) UL DL.
- Physical channels: 6 different types.
Transport channels Link Fonction
BCH (Broadcast Control Channel) DL Information broadcast
FACH (Forward Channel) DL Control information
PCH (Paging Channel) DL Paging
RACH (Random Access Channel) UL Access
CPCH (Common Packet Channel) UL Data packets
DSCH (Downlink Shared Channel) DL Dedicated control data
67

Codes, physical and logical channels (3)

Node B shares its power among all active connections
Power splitted among:
- Common control channels (10 to 20% of the total power, usually 2
W for CPICH for a total power of 20 W, that is a factor of 10 dB),
- User traffic channels.
Soft handover requires additional power.

BCCH
…
Sync.

User 3 Paging

User 2 User 1
68

34
 Parameters and constraints
• Parameters:
– CDMA technology with new engineering
rules,
– Deployment strategy with existing 2G and
2,5 G networks.
• Radio constraints:
– Services segmentation and related QoS,
– Coverage/services tradeoff.

69

CDMA planning principles

• Issues:
- Band shared among all active connections  Separation
between Radio planning – Dimensioning not possible,
- Coverage and capacity are linked together,
- The capacity depends on the traffic distribution and the
base stations location.
CDMA advantages:
- no a-priori limitation of the capacity as in TDMA

Soft capacity,
- capacity allocation done according to C/I (bandwidth
allocation if SIRmin ≤ SIR).
70

35
 WCDMA systems specificities (1)
• Main features and constraints:
− Node B power: shared among the N connected mobiles,
− Noise maximum power: 10 dB,
− Transmission power: between 6 and 10 dB,
− Transmission power on each level: depends on propagation
conditions and activated service,
− Mobiles distribution in the cell: if the mobiles are close to the
Node B, capacity can be up to 10 times that of when the mobile
are far from the Node B,
− Cell breathing: access management achieved by call admission
control based on the noise rise and load control,
− Power control is fundamental for the UL: outer loop to adjust
the target power according to the BER estimation and fast power
control against fast fading. Fast power control
continuous
transmission on the radio interface, packet transmission at layer 2.
71

WCDMA systems specificities (2)

Relation between power and service bitrate
Pr
Voice service Power transmitted by
the Node B
Power
Pe
level of the Pr
signals Email service
received by
the mobiles
Pr
Video service

72

36
3. UMTS networks
planning process

73

UMTS planning process

Multiservice
offered traffic

Traffic analysis

Required channel number for the

considered configuration

WCDMA link budget

Maximum cell range

Number of carriers per cell

Cell number
74

37
 Nominal Planning
 Based on the result of network dimension, preliminary design
present Information of theoretical sites including following:
 Site coordinates.

 Engineering parameters such as Antenna height, azimuths and tilts.

 Radio parameters such as scrambling code ,transmit power of

different channels , etc.

75

WCDMA simulation
• Simulation
– Unlike GSM network, in CDMA coverage and capacity are too inter-
related to be predicted accurately. Monte Carlo simulation is used to
evaluate the performance of a radio network.

– Monte Carlo is a static simulation

During Monte Carlo simulation, the performance of the network is analyzed over
various instances in time (snapshot), where UEs are in statistically determined
places with the given traffic model. The ability of each terminal to make its
connection to the network is calculated through an iterative process.

38
 Simulation flow-
flow-chart
Pilot YES
RNP Input & Setup Run Pilot Level
Equipment network Field OK? Traffic model
configuration Design Strength & forecast
Prediction
NO

Scrambling code
Run
Neighborhood
planning criteria allocation criteria UMTS
NO
Traffic
simulation
Neighbors YES Performance
Output Requirements Make predictions
planning& Fulfilled?
parameters Scrambling code (Services)
allocation

77

Simulation output
• Simulation output：
– Pilot coverage (Ec, Ec/Io) in the
target areas
– Best server plot
– Coverage probability distribution of
each service
– Access failure distribution and
statistic of each service
– Continuous coverage areas of each
service
– Cell load distribution of downlink
and uplink
– Pilot pollution distribution
– Soft handover areas statistic of each
service

39
 Site Survey
• For each theoretical site, a physical site will be acquired in this phase
through following steps:
Define search areas
A3rd
Identify candidate sites
D1st
Site ranking
C2nd B - Unsuitable
Site acquisition
 A suitable physical site
 Give adequate radio coverage.
 Have connectivity into the transmission network.
 Be politically acceptable to the local community.
 Have power nearby, good access and a co-operative owner. 79

Verification by system simulation

• It is an iterative process to
verify the final design until all
the requirements are fulfilled

Coverage prediction

Are requirements
Fulfilled?

RNP
Planning
results

Traffic distribution System simulation

80

40
 4. CDMA link
budget

81

UL dimensioning
Lpmax = PUE – SRBS – BIUL - Bpc - BLNF - LBL - LBPL - LJ + Ga

BIUL = 10*Log ( 1 ) QUL = M ((for 1 cell) / Mpole

1 - QUL

M
 QUL = M / (3 *N *Mpole)  N1 = Capacity
3* Mpole * QUL

Lpmax = a + b*log(R) S (total area )

 N2 = Coverage
Sc (cell area) = 9/8√3 * R2 Sc (cell area)

82

41
 DL dimensioning
Lpmax = Ptot – SUE – BIDL - Bpc - BLNF - LBL - LBPL - LJ + Ga

Lsa = Lpmax + Bpc + BLNF +LBL + LBPL + LJ - Ga 1

 Lsa = Ptot – SUE – BIDL 2

P +H* 3 4 ?
3
Ptot = LCCH
sa 1 - QDL 2
1
Ptot
BIDL = 1 + K * 4
Lsa

83

Link budget

 First dimensioning realized according to

the coverage: compute cell size for the
most constraining services.
- Uplink: MAPL, cell size determination,
- Downlink: Link budget balancing to
determine the BS power. BS power shared
by all the channels (common and traffic).

84

42
 Node B transmission power

- 37 dBm (5 W): low capacity and extended

coverage,
- 40 dBm (10 W): good coverage and medium
capacity,
- 43 dBm (20 W): good coverage and large
capacity per carrier,
- 46 dBm (40 W): large capacity and wide
coverage.

85

Power classes

EIRP (dBm)
Node B
Macro Micro Pico UE
[40, 43] [30, 43] [20, 43] [10, 33]

86

43
 Link Budget parameters (1)
Load factor and noise rise
• Noise rise level of noise increase due to the increase
of the load in the cell.
Noise rise is related to the load factor which measures
the load of each link (uplink or downlink).
 Noise rise is important if the capacity and this the load
authorized in the cell is important (then reduced cell
size).
Urban areas: large noise rise,
 Rural areas: reduced noise rise.
87

Link Budget parameters (2)

The more the noise rise, the smaller the cell radius but
the higher the potential traffic carried in the cell.
 Noise Rise = Traffic Margin.

Wideband interference Coverage

Uplink channel loading and
Narrowband interference Downlink channel interference capacity
Noise

Noise Rise

Capacity 88

44
 UL/DL link budget
Lp (dB) = Pt (dBm) + Gt (dBi) – Pr (dBm) + Gr (dBi)
= EIRP (dBm) – Pr (dBm) + Gr (dBi)
EIRP depends on the UL or DL.
Uplink (UL) Downlink (DL)
EIRP (dBm) = EIRP (dBm) =
PTx (dBm) – Lu (dB) + Gt (dBi) PTx (dBm) – Lc (dB) + Gt (dBi)
PTx: transmission power, PTx: transmission power,
Gt: antenna gain, Gt: antenna gain,
Lu: body loss (voice: [3, 10], Lc: feeder losses.
data: [0, 3]).

89

Link Budget parameters (3)

Noise rise versus number of subscribers per cell
12
10
Noise Rise (dB)

8
6
4
2
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Number
Nombreofd'abonnés
subscribers per cell
/ cellule
90

45
 Planning/Dimensioning of the
cell for the UL
Traffic assumptions
R

Code/channel number required for the maximum estimated traffic

Noise rise value (statistical approach based on a mix traffic)

Link budget computation (Uplink)

MAPL computation

R’: Maximum radius of the cell determined with a propagation model

- If R’ > R and Noise Rise < Max(Noise Rise) => New iteration with R’’> R
- Otherwise, add capacity (new carrier or new station) and repeat with new configuration
91

DL analysis (1)
(a) Area of radius R.
(b) Traffic models
Mean potential traffic in the area.
(c) Estimated traffic
Compute the number of required
channels.
(d) For each user, estimate the required power for each link.
(e) Distribution of users in the cell and soft handover or not

compute BS power transmission.
(f) Link budget established to determine the MAPL in the
cell.
(g) The process repeats in (a) until BS power value is lower
or equal to its maximum power.
92

46
 DL analysis (2)
Steps:
− BS total power = summ of the powers of all the
established links taking into account the mobiles
sensitivities and propagation losses (estimated with a
propagation model). Additional power for control
channels. If no BS power is above its maximum
power, no link is deleted and the CIR value is
computed for each mobile.
− After determination of total BS power: distribution
of the power among the various channels (pilot
channel, synchronisation channel, traffic channel).
Simulations stop: Most used criterium: power
fluctuations.
93

UL power budget (example for 144 kb/s data service)

Value Formula
Transmitter
P: MS Tx Power (dBm) 23
MAG: MS Tx Antenna Gain (dBi) 0
BL: Body Loss (dB) 3
PIRE: MS EIRP (dBm) 20 EIRP= P+MAG-BL
Receiver
FM: Fade Margin (dB) 5,4 FM = 0,675*SD (RC=90%, SD=8dB)
IM: Interference Margin (dB) 3 IM = 10log(1/1-loading)
PL: Pathloss (dB) 0 Dense Urban = 20 dB
BAG: BTS Antenna Gain (dBi) 16
BCL: BTS Cable Loss (dB) 3
SHG: Soft HO Gain (dB) 2
TM: Total Margin (dB) -6,6 TM=FM+IM+PL-BAG+BCL-SHG
S: BTS Rx Sensitivity (dBm) -115
UL_PL: UpLink Path Loss (dB) 141,6 UP_PL = EIRP-TM-S 94

47
 DL link budget
Value Formula
Transmitter
P: BTS Tx Power (dBm) 29 Power allocated to the pilot channel
BAG: BTS Tx Antenna Gain (dBi) 16
BCL: BTS Cable Loss (dB) 3
PIRE: BTS EIRP (dBm) 42 PIRE = P+BAG-BCL
Receiver
FM: Fade Margin (dB) 5,4 FM = 0,675*SD (RC=90%, SD=8dB)
IM: Interference Margin (dB) 3 IM = 10log(1/1-loading)
PL: penetration loss (dB) 0 Dense urban = 20 dB
MAG: MS Antenna Gain (dBi) 0
SHG: Soft HO Gain (dB) 2
TM: Total Margin (dB) 9,4 TM=FM+IM+PL-MAG+BL-SHG
S: MS Rx Sensitivity (dBm) -110
DL_PL: DownLink Path Loss (dB) 142,6 UP_PL = PIRE-TM-S
95

5. Load factor and

noise rise

96

48
 Pole capacity

Uplink: Mpole

Uplink limited capacity: uplink Mpole values

97

Noise rise

Uplink: Noise Rise

Uplink interference degrade the RBS sensitivity with a
margin of BIUL ,calculated as following

M1 M2 Mn
Where Q is the system load: Q = + +
Mpole Mpole Mpole

M1,…. Mn are the number of users on services 1 … n

98

49
 Uplink: Noise Rise
RBS Sensitivity

100 %

System load (Q)

99

Downlink: Mpole

γ: Downlink C/I target

ε: C/I compensation term for fast fading
α: Non orthogonality factor
n : Typical size set
AS

b: Number of active links

κ: Fraction of user in soft/softer handover
G Soft HO gain
SHO:

G : DTX gain
DTX 100

50
 Downlink: Mpole

Downlink limited capacity: Downlink Mpole values

101

Load factor on the UL (1)

η =∑ 1 u .(1+i.N / ζ )
k s
k
1+ W
ρ k .R k
W: chip rate (3,84 Mchip/second),
ρi: Eb/N0 (QoS) required for service i (or for the corresponding
service of user j),
i = inter-cell interference/ inner-cell interference. i depends on the
environment, the type of the cell (i = 55 % in case of
omnidirectional cells) and the type antenna,
Rj: user j rate, depends on the used service,
uj: user j activity factor at physical layer level (67 % for voice and
100 % for data),
Ns: number of sectors,
ζ: sectorization gain.
102

51
 Load factor on the UL (2)
N
nUL =(1+i)∑ 1 .u j
j =1
1+ W
 E b 
.R j
 N0j

W: chip rate (3,84 Mchip/second),

Rj: j user bitrate, depends on the service,
uj: user j activity factor at physical layer level (67 % for
voice and 100 % for data),
N: number of subscribers in each cell.
The higher the load, the lower the radius.

Cell breathing.
103

Noise Rise
• Noise Rise = - 10log10(1 – nul).
• Value used as interference margin in the calculation
of the link budget. Increases with transmission
bitrate and the number of communications.
Capacity of the system defined by the pole capacity.
Corresponds to the case where nul reaches1.
Pole capacity never reached as it assumes infinite
mobile transmission powers.
In practice: Maximum WCDMA cell load between
40 and 70 %.
Example: Load between 20 and 50 %  noise rise =
2 dB.
104

52
 Downlink: Noise Rise

Downlink interference degrade the UE sensitivity

with a margin of BIDL ,calculated as following ;

Where

 Lsa = Lpmax + Bpc + BLNF + LBL + LBPL + Lj – Ga

 Nt: thermal noise power density (-174 dbm/Hz)
 Nf: Noise figure

105

Cell breathing
Q = Qmax = 60 %

Q = 0 % (no traffic)
RBS

Cell breathing phenomena

106

53
 Cell breathing phenomena

Case 1: 10 users Case 2: 20 users

-10 < C/I < -5 dB -15 < C/I < -10 dB

-15 < C/I < -50 dB cells

107

Capacity, cell radius and noise rise

Cell load
Cha rge de = 20% of= the
la cellule 20 % de
maximum capacity
la capac ité ma xi mu m

R
Niveau d’interférence
Interference level = y= ydB
dB

RRetand R’:les
R’ sont cell
rayons des
radiuses
cellu inles
les dans thedeux
2 load Noise Rise = 2 dB
situations
conditions de charge

Cell load = 50% of the

Cha rge de la cellule = 50 % de
maximum
la capac ité macapacity
xi mu m

R’
R
R
Interference level = y =+y 2+ dB
Niveau d’interférence 2 dB 108

54
 Load factor on the DL
 Eb 
 N 
N 
ndl= ∑ u j. W
j =1
0 j
[(1−a j)+i j]
Rj
• aj: DL signal orthogonality factor. < 1
because of multipaths. Value between 0.4
and 0.9. 0.6 for a vehicle and 0.9 for a
pedestrian.
• i j: outer-cell interference/inner-cell
interference at user j location. 109

Fast fading margin and

impact on coverage
Fast power control
increase mobile power to
compensate Rayleigh fading.
Power margin at the mobile level.
Power margin MS = Fast fading margin.
Mobile speed
Fast fading characteristics and
Rayleign fading duration.
High speed  PC is not fast enough to increase the
power on time  no need of fast fading margin.
Fast fading margin taken into account only for slow
mobiles.
Consequence: limited coverage for slow mobiles. 110

55
 6. Coverage and
services

111

Coverage and services (1)

Link budget Service throughput
 Relation between coverage and service throughput

Yellow = 12.2 kbps – Orange = 64 kbps - Red= 384 kbps 112

56
 Coverage and services (2)

113
Blue = 144 kbps – Red = 384 kbps

Traffic location and BS capacity

...
...
...
...
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< ^> ...

..
.. ...
< ^>

..

...
...
... ...
< ^> ...
< ^>

.. ...
< ^>
..
..

...
...
...
< ^>
...
< ^>

.. ...
..
...
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..

114

57
 Benefits for locating the sites close to hot spots
− Minimises the power on downlink channels;
− Reduction in the number of mobiles in soft
handover and increase in the BS average
capacity;
− Reduction of the interference on the uplink;
− Increase of BS capacity: terminals close to the
BS require less power and thus minimise the DL
interference. Furthermore, mobiles connected to
neighbour base stations de base being far from
current one, inter-cell interference is low, and
thus increasing the capacity of the neighbour BS
on the UL. 115

Coverage/capacity versus distance (1)

− High bitrates = high power,
− High transmission bitrates only available close
to the base station.

116

58
Coverage/capacity versus distance (2)

117

HSDPA capacity limits

118

59
 Conclusions
UMTS planning process is complex due to:
• CDMA technology (planning + dimensionning
linked, cell breathing, intra + extra cell
interference, …)
• Multimedia services (many QoS, various capacity
constraints for the coverage, the power, …).
Deploying UMTS/HSPA in rural areas requires an
estimation of the traffic in order to suitably plan
the network. Having been assigned the 900 MHz
band (or any other lower frequency band) will
allow minimize the cost of the infrastructure. 119

Glossaire
• SCH: Synchronisation Channel,
• CPICH: Common Pilot Channel,
• P-CCPCH: Primary Common Control
Physical Channel,
• S-CCPCH: Secondary CCPCH,
• PICH: Paging Indication Channel
• PRACH: Physical Random Access Channel,
• AICH: Acquisition Indication Channel,
• BCH: Broadcast Channel,
• PCH: Paging Channel,
• FACH: Forward Access Channel,
• RACH: Random Access Channel,
• DPDCH: Dedicated Physical Data Channel,
• DPCCH: Dedicated Physical Control
Channel,
• PDSCH: Physical Downlink Shared Channel,
• PCPCH: Physical Common Packet Channel,
• AP-AICH: CPCH Access Preamble
Acquisition Indicator Channel,
• DCH: Dedicated Channel,
• DSCH: Downlink Shared Channel,
• CPCH: Common Packet Channel,
• CSICH: CPCH Status Indicator Channel,
• TSTD: Time-Switched Transmit Diversity,
• PSC: Primary Synchronisation Channel,
• SSC: Secondary Synchronisation Channel,
• TDD: Time Division Duplex,
• FDD: Frequency Division Duplex,
• TrCH: Transport Channel,
• TTI: Transmission Time Interval,
• UMTS: Universal Mobile
Telecommunications Systems,
• MBS: Mobile Broadband Systems.
120

60