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3.

2 Algorithm

3.2.1 General

MS Power Control is performed for TCHs as well as for SDCCHs.

During a call, the BTS measures the uplink signal strength and quality. These
measurements are then added to the Measurement Report and sent to the BSC in the
Measurement Result message where they are used for calculation of the new MS output
power.

The measurements from the Measurement Result that are used in the MS Power Control
algorithm are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Measurements Used in the MS Power Control Algorithm

Data description Source


signal strength uplink full set (1)
BTS
signal strength uplink subset (1)
BTS
quality uplink full set (1)
BTS
quality uplink subset (1)
BTS
power level used by MS MS
DTX used by MS or not MS

The minimum time period between two consecutive power orders is controlled by
parameter REGINTUL. REGINTUL can not be shorter than one SACCH period (480 ms).
The MS is able to change its output power every 13th TDMA frame. This equals 8 times
every SACCH period. Each change is in units of 2 dB steps. This means that the
maximum change is 8*2 dB = 16 dB during one SACCH period.

The MS Power Control algorithm consists of three stages:

1. Preparation of input data

A decision is taken about which set of measurements (full set or subset (1)
) to
use. Signal strength and quality are compensated for power control.

2. Filtering of measurements

Measurements are filtered in exponetial non-linear filters in order to eliminate


variations of temporary disturbances.

3. Calculation of power order

Two power regulations are calculated according to the algorithm using two
different parameter settings. The one with the maximum value (minimum
attenuation) is chosen. A number of constraints (according to hardware
limitations and parameter settings) are applied to the chosen power order.

(1) The BTS performs signal strength and signal quality measurements on the uplink.
Measurements are made on the full set of frames (full set), as well as on the subset of
frames where there is always traffic (subset). Which of the sets that will be used depends
on whether the MS has used DTX or not, during the measurement period (see also
Reference [4]). When EMR is supported the signal strength measurements from serving
cell and the quality (MEAN_BEP) measurements are valid throughout the whole
measurement periods and thus not divided in full set and subset.

3.2.2 Preparation of Input Data

In the measurement report, the MS sends information about whether DTX has been used
or not during the measurement period (Reference [4]). This information is used by the
BSC to decide which set of uplink measurements to use, the full set or the subset.

When a handover is made from a cell where uplink DTX is activated, the MS will initially
continue to use DTX in the new cell. Thus, the subset of measurements are used in the
new cell during a certain time by the MS Power Control algorithm, even if the new cell do
not use DTX. This time is set by parameter DTXFUL. Note that the impact of this
parameter is minor. For SDCCHs, full set measurements are always used.

To be able to use the desired quality QDESUL and the measured rxqual in the
calculations, both must be converted to C/I expressed in dB according to Table 2.

Table 2 Table with Relations Due to Non-Linear Rxqual to C/I Mapping.


QDESUL [dtqu] 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
rxqual 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C/I [dB] 23 19 17 15 13 11 8 4

QDESUL defines a desired value for rxqual that the regulation will aim for in the
regulation process and is given in dtqu (deci-transformed quality units). The difference
between dtqu and rxqual is a factor of ten. If QDESUL is not equal to the values given in
the Table 2, linear interpolation is used to realize C/I.

When using EMR, the quality (MEAN_BEP) measurements are converted into dtqu (deci-
transformed quality units). As MEAN_BEP provides better granularity than rxqual, an
extended value range of 0–76 dtqu is then used.

Example of QDESUL interpolation:

If QDESUL = 35 then C/I = 15 + (13 – 15) * 0.5 = 14 dB

QDESUL expressed in C/I is called QDESUL_dB which is the value used in the
calculations.

The measured signal strength SSM is compesated for power control according to eq. 1.

SS_COMP = SSM + (min (MSTXPWR, MSPWRMAX) – PWR_U) (1)

where SS_COMP is the signal strength compensated for down regulation, PWR_U is the
output power used by the MS during the measurement period, MSTXPWR is the
maximum allowed power level for the MS in the current subcell and MSPWRMAX is the
maximum output power according to the power class (see Section 3.2.5).
If a Measurement Result is missing, the power regulation is inhibited for that connection.
At the same time the REGINTUL counting is suspended. When a Measurement Result is
received again, power regulation and REGINTUL counting are resumed.

In case of missing signal strength values in the Measurement Report, the exponential
signal strength filter will not be updated, i.e. the current signal strength filter is held until
the next value is received.

In case of missing quality values in the Measurement Report, the exponential quality
filter will be fed with the worst possible value, i.e missing quality value will be interpreted
as rxqual = 7.

If the information about the latest MS power level used is missing in the Measurement
Result, the latest calculated power order is used.

3.2.3 Filtering of Measurements

The filtering for both signal strength and quality is done with exponential non-linear
filters. SS FILTERED in eq. 2 is the filtered signal strength compensated for down regulation,
i.e. the signal strength that would have been received by the BTS if no power control was
used. SS FILTERED is defined as:

SSFILTERED(k) = b * SS_COMP(k) + a * SSFILTERED(k-1) (2)

where a and b (b = 1 - a) represent the filter coefficients, SS_COMP is the signal


strength compensated for down regulation and k is a sequence number. Coefficient a is
given by the length of the exponential filter (see Section 6). Each filter length (L)
corresponds to a certain value of a, and L is determined in the following way:

if SS_COMP(k) < SS FILTERED (k-1)


then L = SSLENUL
else L = SSLENUL * UPDWNRATIO / 100 (3)

where L is rounded upwards to SACCH periods. When the length exceeds 30 SACCH
periods, the length is set to 30.

To enable calculating and sending the power order immediately after assignment or
handover, the filter is initiated with SS FILTERED (k-1) = SSDESUL. This leads to that the
regulation starts immediately after the first valid Measurement report.

Quality filtering is performed in the same way as for signal strength i.e. with exponential
non-linear filters. The filtering is done according to eq. 4.

Q FILTERED (k) = b * Q_COMP(k) + a * Q FILTERED (k-1) (4)

where Q FILTERED is the filtered quality compensated for down regulation, i.e. the estimated
C/I (in dB) that would have been received by the BTS if no power control was used.
Q_COMP is the compensated quality part according to eq. 5.

Q_COMP = RXQUAL_dB + (min(MSTXPWR, MSPWRMAX) – PWR_U) (5)

where RXQUAL_dB is the measured rxqual transformed to C/I (in dB) according to
Section 3.2.2, PWR_U is the output power used by the MS during the measurement
period, MSTXPWR is the maximum allowed power level for the MS in the current subcell
and MSPWRMAX is the maximum output power according to the power class (see Section
3.2.5).

The coefficient a in eq. 4 above is given by the length of the exponential filter (see
Section 6) in the same way as for the signal strength case, only that this time L is
determined in the following way:

if Q_COMP(k) < Q FILTERED (k-1)


then L = QLENUL
else L = QLENUL * UPDWNRATIO / 100 (6)

where L is rounded upwards to SACCH periods.

To enable calculating and sending the power order immediately after assignment or
handover, the quality filter is initiated with Q FILTERED (k-1) =QDESUL_dB.

3.2.4 Calculation of Power Order

The calculation of the power order is made in three steps:

1. The two basic power regulations are calculated.


2. Certain constraints are applied.
3. The output data is finally converted to power order units before it is
transmitted to the MS.

The actual information sent to the MS is the power control level, PWR_CL, according to
Section 3.2.6.

The basic power regulations (pu1 and pu2) are given by the following expression:

pui = αi * (SSDESUL –SSFILTERED) + &bgr;i * (QDESUL_dB – QFILTERED) (7)


i = 1, 2

where the parameters αi and &bgr;i are defined as follows:

α1 = LCOMPUL/ 100 (pathloss compensation) (8)


&bgr;1 = QCOMPUL/ 100 (quality compensation) (9)
α2 = 0.3 (pathloss compensation) (10)
&bgr;2 = 0.4 (quality compensation) (11)

The parameters αi and &bgr;i control the compensation of pathloss and quality. The
parameters α1 and &bgr;1 can be set by means of LCOMPUL and QCOMPUL while
parameters α2 and &bgr;2 are fixed. These value have been optimised to get the
regulation towards the noise floor fast without jeopardising the quality. The setting of α2
and &bgr;2 is however not critical since these parameters merely serve as a limitation for
regulation close to the noise floor (see Section 3.5)

The pu1 and pu2 are calculated simultaneously (eq. 7) and the one with the highest value
(minimum down regulation) is used.

pu = max(pu1, pu2) (12)


The calculated power regulation will be rounded towards the nearest lower even integer
according to:

puint = int(pu / 2) * 2

If the power regulation (puint) is greater than or equal to zero, then the unconstrained
power order will be:

PWR_O = MSTXPWR (13)

else the unconstrained power order will be:

PWR_O = MSTXPWR +puint (14)

3.2.5 Power Order Constraints

Dynamic power range limitation is applied if the unconstrained power order is outside the
dynamic range. The constraints are the following.

 Dual Transfer Mode

If Dual Transfer Mode (DTM) is used, the difference in down regulation


between the DTM services can not be more than 10 dB as defined in
Reference [12]. See the Reference [3].

 VAMOS

When using VAMOS there will be two bursts received in the BTS at the same
time, one from each mobile in a VAMOS pair. The BTS will not be able to
decode the weaker burst if the two bursts are received with too big difference
in power. The power control algorithm aims for the two bursts to be within 10
dB, see further Reference [11].

 Power step size limitation

Since the largest possible change of the power level of the MS is 16 dB during
one SACCH period, this value is the maximum ordered power change at any
regulation event. This is valid for up as well as down regulation.

 MS power range limitation

Independently of the calculated power order, it is the MS power class that


determines the highest and lowest possible transmit power levels of the MS.

The MS power capability depends on the MS power class. The power class is given by the
MS in the call set-up procedure. In Table 3 the lowest power levels according to 3GPP
Technical Specification 45.005, Reference [14], are shown.

Table 3 The Lowest Power Level for Different System Types and for Different Revision Levels.
GSM 800 GSM 900 GSM 1800 GSM 1900
Phase 1, Class 1 - 13 dBm 10 dBm 10 dBm
Phase 1, Class 2 - 13 dBm 4 dBm 4 dBm
Phase 2, All classes 5 dBm 5 dBm 0 dBm 0 dBm

The upper limit, MSPWRMAX is set by the MS power class. If the class is not available the
MS is assumed to be of power class 1.

The true regulation interval depends on the constraints mentioned above, and extends
from the maximum allowed power MSTXPWR down to the lowest level. Note that
MSTXPWR may be less than the maximum output power (MSPWRMAX) according to the
MS power class.

3.2.6 Conversion of Output Data

The power order (in dBm) has to be converted to a power control level, PWR_CL
according to 3GPP Technical Specification 45.005, Reference [14], before it can be
transmitted to the MS.

3.2.7 Regulation Procedure

When a TCH is set up the initial power is always set to maximum (the configured output
power) except for when the channel is set up as a Second Mobile, creating a VAMOS pair.
In such cases the output power is selected so the received signal strength in the BTS
from the Second Mobile will be the same as the received signal strength from the First
Mobile.

Regulation always starts after the first valid Measurement Report (see Section 3.2.3).
and if the channel was set up either using maximum power or with the feature "Reduced
Power Level After Handover" activated, the signal strength and quality filters are also
initialized with values from this measurement report instead of SSDESULand QDESUL to
avoid an instant up regulation. The response time for up regulation is controlled by the
parameter QLENUL and SSLENUL. QLENUL determines the response time on high
interference and SSLENUL on signal strength drops. The value of QLENUL and
SSLENUL corresponds to a 90 % rise time of the exponential filters.

The response time for down regulation is determined by the expressions QLENUL *
UPDWNRATIO/100 and SSLENUL * UPDWNRATIO/100 where UPDWNRATIO is the
ratio between up- and down regulation speed. This results in a quick up regulation and a
smooth down regulation.

UPDWNRATIO is a BSC exchange property.

When a power order is sent it takes REGINTUL SACCH periods before the next power
order can be sent. If this power order differs from the previous one, it is sent. If it does
not differ from the previous one, a new order is calculated every SACCH period until a
different power order is obtained. Then that power order is sent, and REGINTUL SACCH
periods must elapse before a new power order can be sent again.

3.2.8 Multislot Configuration

If the TCH channel is a part of a channel combination, it can be either a main, bi-
directional or a uni-directional channel.

If the channel is a main channel in a multislot configuration, the difference between the
computed power order and the previous power order must exceed a hysteresis (2 dB)
before a new power order is sent.
MS power regulation on bi-directional channels is done independently of the other
channels.

In a multislot configuration only the main channel is affected by the handover power
boost, see Section 3.3. See further Reference [2].

3.2.9 Enhanced Measurement Reporting (EMR)

When Enhanced Measurement Reporting is used, the algorithm uses MEAN_BEP (Bit Error
Probability) when available as algorithm input on quality instead of rxqual.

Since MEAN_BEP is using 5 bits instead of 3, it provides better granularity than rxqual,
especially at poor radio conditions. The quality (MEAN_BEP) measurements are converted
into dtqu (deci-transformed quality units). As MEAN_BEP provides better granularity than
rxqual, an extended value range of 0–76 dtqu is then used. This enables increased
performance of the power control algorithm, particularly in low C/I environments.

The basic MS Power Control algorithm is not changed when using EMR. However, the
granularity of the quality input is increased since MEAN_BEP is reported.

Given that the feature EMR is used and that MEAN_BEP is available for the uplink,
increased performance of the MS Power Control algorithm is enabled even for mobiles
that are not capable of supporting the EMR DL message (defined in the 3GPP Technical
Specification 44.018, Reference [13]).

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