Impact of GPRS-EDGE On RF Network Planning

Impact of GPRS/EDGE on RF network planning
DATE: 27/10/99
SUBJECT: Impact of GPRS/EDGE on RF network planning
AUTHOR: Silvia Martin-Leon (RF Systems & Capacity

Group)
TELEPHONE: +44-1793-776826
FAX: +44-1793-776867
EMAIL: smartinleon@lucent.com
Critical reviewers:
NAME EMAIL ADDRESS
1
History
Version Date Author Change Description
00.00 7/10/98 S. Martin-Leon First draft
00.01 20/10/98 S. Martin-Leon Revision
1.00 30/6/99 S. Martin-Leon EDGE added - revision
1.02 27/10/99 S. Martin-Leon Comments from some reviewers
2
Contents
1 Abstract......................................................................................................................8
2 Glossary of terms and abbreviations.......................................................................8
3 Introduction to GPRS...............................................................................................9
3.1 Logical and physical channels..............................................................................9
3.2 Coding schemes..................................................................................................10
3.3 Link adaptation (code switching).......................................................................11
3.4 Resource allocation.............................................................................................12
3.5 Mobility and resource management models.......................................................12
3.6 GPRS mobile station classes...............................................................................13
5 Impact on coverage planning.................................................................................14
6 Impact on conventional frequency planning........................................................17
9 Impact on Radio Link Control procedures..........................................................19

10.1 6.1 .....................................................................................................................20
10.2 Cell re-selection and handover..........................................................................20
10.3 Power control....................................................................................................27
10.4 Link Adaptation (Code Switching)...................................................................32
11 Impact on capacity enhancement techniques.....................................................35
11.1 Frequency hopping............................................................................................35
11.2 Directed retry and load sharing features ..........................................................37
11.3 Concentric cells.................................................................................................37
11.4 Cell splitting, hierarchical structures and dual band ........................................38
11.5 Dynamic channel allocation..............................................................................38
11.6 Adaptive antennas.............................................................................................38
12 Impact on capacity planning................................................................................38
12.1 Simple traffic model.........................................................................................40
12.2 Simple traffic mix.............................................................................................41
12.3 Other models.....................................................................................................41
12.4 Impact on overall capacity................................................................................41
13 EDGE/EGPRS.......................................................................................................42
16 Key:.........................................................................................................................42
17 Series 1 - A mix of vertical applications, telemetry and some Web/FTP users

......................................................................................................................................42

......................................................................................................................................42
19 Series 3 - Exclusive Web/FTP usage....................................................................42
3
21 It is important to note that this model does not estimate the load of control
channels and hence cannot be used to calculate how many timeslots should be
dedicated to GPRS control channels. ......................................................................42
23 The average number of timeslots per cell can be seen as Erlangs per cell.
Making the assumption that circuit switched Erlangs can be linearly added to
GPRS Erlangs (this implies they have the same traffic model: exponential
arrivals and length), and imposing a GoS requirement of 2% blocking to both
services, the capacity per cell in terms of number of circuit and packet switched
services can be calculated. ........................................................................................42
25 The following graphs show the results for systems with different allocated
bandwidths, using conventional 4/12 reuse or VIPtwo with 30% (conservative)
and 50% (maximum) fractional load (it has been considered that frequency
hopping is used in all transceivers in a cell except the BCCH one). A traffic per
speech user of 25 mErlangs has been assumed........................................................42
26 ................................................................................................................................43
28 ................................................................................................................................43
37 G..............................................................................................................................43
38.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................43
38.2 Impact on coverage planning............................................................................46
38.3 Impact on conventional frequency planning.....................................................47
38.4 Impact on radio link control procedures...........................................................48
1 Abstract......................................................................................................................8
3.2 Coding schemes..................................................................................................10

10.1 6.1 .....................................................................................................................20
10.3 Power control....................................................................................................27
4

12.3 Other models.....................................................................................................41
13 EDGE/EGPRS.......................................................................................................42
16 Key:.........................................................................................................................42

......................................................................................................................................42

......................................................................................................................................42
26 ................................................................................................................................43
28 ................................................................................................................................43
37 G..............................................................................................................................43
38.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................43
5
1 Abstract......................................................................................................................8
3.2 Coding schemes..................................................................................................10

10.1 6.1 .....................................................................................................................20
10.2.1 Mobile station controlled cell re-selection.........................................................................20
10.2.2 Network controlled cell re-selection...................................................................................23
10.3 Power control....................................................................................................27
10.3.1 Uplink power control...........................................................................................................27
10.3.2 Downlink power control......................................................................................................31
12.3 Other models.....................................................................................................41
13 EDGE/EGPRS.......................................................................................................42
16 Key:.........................................................................................................................42

......................................................................................................................................42

......................................................................................................................................42
6
26 ................................................................................................................................43
28 ................................................................................................................................43
37 G..............................................................................................................................43
38.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................43
38.1.1 Modulation and coding schemes.........................................................................................43
38.1.2 Link adaptation and incremental redundancy.....................................................................45
38.1.3 Transmission power.............................................................................................................45
38.4.1 Cell re-selection and handover............................................................................................48
38.4.2 Power control.......................................................................................................................48
38.4.3 Link adaptation (Code Switching).......................................................................................49
7
1 Abstract
This document details the foreseeable impact on RF network planning of the deployment of packet
services (GPRS and EDGE/EGPRS) on a GSM system. In particular, the document covers the
impacts on coverage planning, parameter setting, frequency planning, capacity enhancement
techniques and capacity of the system
It assumes a basic understanding of RF planning issues, in particular coverage and capacity related.
However, general sections on GPRS and EDGE have been introduced to familiarise the reader with
all the aspects of GPRS and EDGE that are being studied in the document.
The main conclusion of the document is that GPRS has been designed so that its deployment causes
the least disruption to an already established network. In particular it will not require a change in
coverage and frequency planning.
However, there is at the time of writing no practical experience in the deployment of GPRS. Hence
some issues are still open and require further study and consideration:
• New GPRS parameter settings for cell re-selection.

• Impact of the use of hierarchical networks with GPRS.
• New GPRS power control algorithms and achievable capacity gains.
• New GPRS parameter setting for the code switching algorithm.
• Impact of the use of frequency hopping and GPRS.
• GPRS radio resource planning and impact on capacity.
It is important to note that especially in the case of EDGE, standards are still under construction and
changes are expected. The information contained in this document reflects their status at the date of
writing.
2 Glossary of terms and abbreviations

AMR Adaptive Multi Rate
BCCH Broadcast Channel
BCS Block Check Sequence
BTS Base Transceiver Station
CS1-4 Coding Scheme 1 to 4
DRX Discontinuous Reception
DTX Discontinuous Transmission
EDGE Enhanced Data Rates for GPRS Evolution
GoS Grade of Service
GPRS General Packet Radio Service
HCS Hierarchical Cell Structures
HSN Hopping Sequence Number
IR Incremental Redundancy
LA Link Adaptation
LCA Local Configuration Area
MAIO Mobile Allocation Index Order
MCS1-8 Modulation and Coding scheme 1 to 8
MS Mobile Station
OMC Operations and Management Centre
PACCH Packet Associated Control Channel
PAGCH Packet Access Grant Channel
PBCCH Packet Broadcast Channel
PCCCH Packet Common Control Channel
PCU Packet Control Unit
PDTCH Packet Data Traffic Channel
PPCH Packet Paging Channel
PRACH Packet Random Access Channel
PTCH Packet Traffic Channel
RA Routing Area
8
SDCCH Slow Dedicated Control Channel

SNDCP SubNetwork Dependent Convergence Protocol
TCH Traffic Channel
TDMA Time Division Multiple Access
TS Training Sequence
USF Uplink Status Flag
VIPone Variable Interference Plan 1
VIPtwo Variable Interference Plan 2
3 Introduction to GPRS
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) tries to enlarge the limited range of existing GSM data
services. To enable support of new data applications with a convenient quality of service, the GPRS
concept foresees bit rates of around 170 kb/si that can be flexibly allocated according to actual user
demands. It uses packet switched access mechanisms that are known to give better utilisation of the
transmission medium than circuit switched ones due to the bursty nature of data communications.
3.1 Logical and physical channels
When a network operator decides to offer GPRS-based services within a cell, one or several physical
channels from the pool of available channels are reserved to packet mode transfer. Each of these so
called packet data channels (PDCH) is mapped onto one physical timeslot. According to the
requirement for flexible adaptation to different traffic conditions, allocation of PDCHs is based on
demand. This means that GPRS does not require permanently allocated PDCHs. The allocation of
capacity for GPRS can be based on the needs of the actual packet transfers. This holds for both
control channels and packet channels. If packet control channels are not available, GPRS will use the
existing GSM control channels for broadcasting, random access, paging and access grant.
GPRS logical channels can be divided in three groups according to their functions:
• Packet Broadcast Control Channel (PBCCH):
The PBCCH transmits system information to all GPRS terminals in a cell. If the PBCCH is not
allocated, the packet data specific system information is broadcast on BCCH.
• Packet Common Control Channels (PCCCH):
• The Packet Random Access Channel (PRACH) is used by MSs to initiate packet transfers or
respond to paging messages.
• The Packet Paging Channel (PPCH) is used to page an MS prior to downlink packet transfer.
• The Packet Access Grant Channel (PAGCH) is used to send resource assignment to an MS
prior to the packet transfer.
If not allocated, common signalling will be conveyed on CCCH.
• Packet Timing advance Control Channels (PTCCH):
These channels are used to derive the correct value for timing advance to be used while the
mobile station is in Packet Transfer mode (see 3.5). There are two types: PTCCH/U and
PTCCH/D.
• Packet Traffic Channels (PTCH):
• The Packet Data Traffic Channel (PDTCH) is allocated for data transfer. One MS
may use more than one PDTCH in parallel (multislot operation) for individual packet
transfers. Also up to eight different PDTCH can be multiplexed on the same physical channel
i
Achieved with CS-4, 8 timeslots and without retransmissions. Protocol overheads will reduce the
available bit rate to less than 160 kb/s.
9
(PDCH). In the uplink this is achieved thanks to the Uplink State Flag (USF) sent in the
downlink, which specifies who is allowed to transmit in the next uplink block.
• The Packet Associated Control Channel (PACCH) is used to convey signalling

information related to a given MS such as measurements, acknowledgements, power control
orders, RLC parameters … One PACCH is associated with one or several PDTCHs
concurrently assigned to one MS.
Lucent’s first GPRS release (known as GPRS BSS R1.0) will not support PCCCH channels. All
common signalling will be carried on exiting GSM CCCH. Support for PCCCH is expected in R2.0.
3.2 Coding schemes
Four different coding schemes, CS-1 to CS-4, are defined for the radio blocks carrying data
information. The following figure shows how data is encoded for CS-1, CS-2 and CS3.
10
USF BCS
Rate 1/2 convolutional coding
Puncturing
456 bits
Segmentation
and
interleaving
Normal burst Normal burst Normal burst Normal burst

114 bits 114 bits 114 bits 114 bits
Tail Information Code TS Code Information Tail

3 bits 57 bits 1 bit 26 bits 1 bit 57 bits 3 bits
Normal GSM burst
CS-1 is the same coding scheme as specified for SDCCH. It consists of a half rate convolutional code
for forward error correction and a 40 bit FIRE code for BCS (Block Check Sequence). CS-2 and CS3
are punctured versions of the same half rate convolutional code. CS-4 has no forward error correcting
capabilities.
The stealing bits are used to indicate the actual code scheme (shown in the figure as “Code”).
The details of the codes are shown in the table below:
Scheme Code rate USF Pre-coded Radio Block excl. BCS Tail Coded Punctured Air int.
USF USF and BCS bits rate Kb/s
bits
CS-1 1/2 3 3 181 40 4 456 0 9.05
CS-2 ≈ 2/3 3 6 268 16 4 588 132 13.4
CS-3 ≈ 3/4 3 6 312 16 4 676 220 15.6
CS-4 1 3 12 428 16 - 456 - 21.4
Signalling information can only use CS-1.
Lucent GPRS R1.0 will only offer CS-1and CS-2. The introduction of higher coding schemes is still
under study.
3.3 Link adaptation (code switching)
Higher level coding schemes are more sensitive to noise and interference. Therefore, they can be
used with less probability. An adaptive selection of the coding scheme to be used has to be provided
in order to take advantage of the increased efficiency of higher coding schemes. The selection of the
11
most appropriate coding scheme for coming transmissions, according to the estimated link quality, is
called Link Adaptation or Code Switching.
Link Adaptation in GPRS presents the following problems:
• Radio block retransmissions have to be done on the same coding scheme. In the
case the radio conditions deteriorate quickly, this could mean to loss of the connection
because the coding scheme previously selected can be not good enough to correct all the
errors. The system will react by breaking the connection if the number of retransmissions
reaches a certain limit.
• Before switching all the pending acknowledgements have to be received. This

makes the code switching procedure slow and useless in the case of short transmissions.
• As it will be seen later GPRS available measurements are not the optimum.
Code switching between CS-1 and CS-2 will be introduced in GPRS R1.0. The algorithm used will
be described in section 10.4.
3.4 Resource allocation
GPRS has been specified such that it will provide a very flexible multiplexing of resources to
different mobile stations on the same time slot. The basic solution, called dynamic allocation,
multiplexes the uplink resources on a block basis, using the Uplink State Flag (USF) to determine
which of up to 8 mobile stations shall transmit on the next block. For the downlink, the temporary
flow indicator (TFI) within each block controls the multiplexing, also on a block basis.
For the uplink, additional options are included: extended dynamic allocation, where the multiplexing
is made on a four block basis, and fixed assignment, where the multiplexing is predefined in the
assignment for a certain time (up to 88 blocks). Since these options work with units of more blocks,
they are less flexible in terms of fast adaptation to the traffic with different priority.
In GPRS R1.0 only dynamic allocation will be supported.
3.5 Mobility and resource management models
Because GPRS is a packet service, no

IDLE continuous physical circuits are allocated
to mobiles.
Before a mobile station is able to send

GPRSAttach GPRSDetach
data, it has to attach to a GPRS. With this
attachment procedure a logical link context
is established.
During the GPRS session, the location of

STANDBYtimer
expiry
READY an MS is tracked according to the three-
state model shown in the accompanying
figure. While the mobile station informs
about every cell change when in Ready
READYtimer expiry
or PDUtransmission state, location information is updated in
ForcetoSTANDBY
standby state only if the Routing Area (RA)
is changed. This Routing Area is a subset
of the GSM Location Area.
STANDBY
MMState Model of MS
12
In terms of resource management (allocation of transmission resources) on the air interface the
mobile and the base station can be on two different operating modes:
• Packet Idle mode: no transmission resources are allocated to the connection. The
mobile station listens to the paging sub-channel.
• Packet Transfer mode: the mobile station is allocated a radio resource on one or
more physical channels (time slots). Transfer of data is possible.
The following table shows the correspondence between radio resource states and mobility
management states:
Radio Resource BSS Packet Measurement No state No state

Transfer mode report
reception
Radio Resource MS Packet Packet Idle mode Packet idle mode

Transfer mode
Mobility Management Ready Standby

NSS and MS
In Packet Idle mode the mobile station can perform discontinuous reception (DRX), where the paging
channels are subdivided in sub-channels, and mobile stations restrict their monitoring of paging
messages to their own sub-channel. In this way they increase significantly the lifetime of their
battery, at the expense of a small increase in delay for the setting up of incoming connections.
3.6 GPRS mobile station classes
Three GPRS MS classes are identified:
• Class A:
The mobile user can make and/or receive calls on the two services simultaneously subject to the
QoS requirements.
• Class B:
Simultaneous traffic shall not be supported. The mobile user can make and/or receive calls on
either of the two services sequentially but not simultaneously. The selection of the appropriate
service is performed automatically, i.e. an active GPRS virtual connection is put on hold, if the
user accepts an incoming circuit switched call or establishes an outgoing circuit switched call.
• Class C:
Alternate use only. If both services (GPRS and Circuit Switched) are supported then a Class C
MS can make and/or receive calls only from the manually or default selected service, i.e., either
GPRS or Circuit Switched service.
Additionally, mobile stations can also be classified according to their multi-slot capability, which can
be up to 8 timeslots in the uplink and in the downlink.
In Lucent GPRS R1.0 the maximum configuration supported is 2 timeslots in the uplink and 4 in the
downlink. In R2.0 the capability will be enhanced to support 4 timeslots in the uplink and 8 in the
downlink.
3.7
13
3.8
3.9
4.1
5 Impact on coverage planning

The following table shows the reference sensitivity (input signal level at reference performance: 10%
block error rate) of GPRS channels (GSM 05.05):
14
GSM 900
Type of Propagation conditions
channel static TU50 TU50 RA250 HT100
(no FH) (ideal FH) (no FH) (no FH)
PDTCH/CS-1 dBm -104(x) -104 -104(x) -104(x) -103
PDTCH/CS-2 dBm -104(x) -100 -101 -101 -99
PDTCH/CS-3 dBm -104(x) -98 -99 -98 -96
PDTCH/CS-4 dBm -101 -90 -90 * *
USF/CS-1 dBm -104(x) -103 -104(x) -104(x) -104
USF/CS-2 to 4 dBm -104(x) -104(x) -104(x) -104(x) -104
PRACH/11 bits dBm -104(x) -104 -104 -103 -103
PRACH/8 bits dBm -104(x) -104 -104 -103 -103
DCS 1 800
channel static TU50 TU50 RA130 HT100
PDTCH/CS-1 dBm -104(x) -104 -104 -104(x) -103
PDTCH/CS-2 dBm -104(x) -100 -100 -101 -99
PDTCH/CS-3 dBm -104(x) -98 -98 -98 -94
PDTCH/CS-4 dBm -101 -88 -88 * *
USF/CS-1 dBm -104(x) -104 (x)
-104 (x)
-104(x) -104
USF/CS-2 to 4 dBm -104(x) -104(x) -104(x) -104(x) -104
PRACH/11 bits dBm -104(x) -104 -104 -103 -103
PRACH/8 bits dBm -104(x) -104 -104 -103 -103
NOTE 1:The specification for PDTCH/CS-1 applies also for PACCH, PBCCH, PAGCH, PPCH,
PTCCH/D, PNCH.
NOTE 2:Ideal FH case assumes perfect decorrelation between bursts. This case may only be
tested if such a decorrelation is ensured in the test. For TU50 (ideal FH), sufficient
decorrelation may be achieved with 4 frequencies spaced over 5 MHz.
NOTE 3: PDTCH/CS-4 can not meet the reference performance for some propagation conditions
(*).
NOTE 4 : The complete conformance should not be restricted to the logical channels and channel
models identified with (x)
In a GSM900 TU50 environment without frequency hopping, the minimum reference sensitivity level
for CS-1 is -103 dBm, which corresponds to USF/CS-1.
The reference sensitivity level for circuit services for a normal BTS, which is -104 dBm.
There is, therefore, a 1 dB difference between the reference sensitivity values needed for circuit and
packet switched services, when using at least CS-1 in the latter.
An already existing GSM900 network offering circuit switched services would have typically been
planned for 95% area coverage with minimum sensitivity of -104 dBm. In such a network the area
coverage for a minimum sensitivity value of -103 dBm would be 2-3% lower, assuming a combined
slow fading deviation of 7.0 dBii.
This result does not restrict the use of the rest of coding schemes in a dynamic way.
It has to be pointed out, though, that the comparison between these values is a little misleading. For
circuit services one sensitivity value is given and then its performance calculated for the different
propagation environments.
For packet services, the performance is fixed: BLER=10% and then the necessary input signal level
calculated for the different propagation environments. Values for the same propagation environment
ii
These results assume the uplink is the limiting link.
15
and relative equal performance should have been compared, but, since they were not available, the
ones provided by the standard have been used.
Also, one characteristic of non-transparent radio link protocols, like the ones used in GPRS, is that a
low radio link quality only results in lower bit rate for the user. Hence low signal level for a user does
no result in a dropped call as for speech, but in a temporary decrease of user bit rateiii.
In reality receiving equipment generally improve reference sensitivity values. In the case of Lucent
macro BTS, a sensitivity value of -108 dBm is quoted for circuit switched channels in a GSM900
TU50 environment. Simulations have shown an improvement of 4 dB in the required signal levels of
all the coding schemes at reference performance. This gives a minimum sensitivity value for GPRS
of –107 dB.
The following tables show in more detail the results of the simulations:
GSM 900
Differences of the simulation results compared with the GSM rec. 05.05
concerning reference sensitivity performance (10% FER)
propagation conditions
Type of channel static TU50 TU50 RA130 HT100
PDTCH/CS-1 >8 3.17 3.83 4.0 2.3
PDTCH/CS-2 7.05 4.63 3.92 3.8 2.3
PDTCH/CS-3 5.62 4.37 3.48 3.4 0.7
PDTCH/CS-4 4.03 3.93 3.73 * *
PRACH/11bit >7 4.08 4.08 5.3 3.9
PRACH/8 bit >7 4.8 4.8 6.0 4.8
Differences to GSM 05.05 in [dB]
+ sign = better then GSM 05.05
- sign = worse then GSM 05.05
(*) PDTCH/CS-4 can not meet the reference performance for some propagation conditions.
Noise floor for simulation: -115dBm within 200kHz bandwith
DCS 1800
Differences of the simulation results for the BTS2000 compared with the GSM rec.
05.05
concerning reference sensitivity performance (10% FER)
propagation conditions
Type of channel static TU50 TU50 RA130 HT100
PDTCH/CS-1 >8 3.44 3.82 4.08 1.98
PDTCH/CS-2 7.05 4.68 4.88 3.75 1.4
PDTCH/CS-3 5.62 4.28 4.35 2.9 -0.2
PDTCH/CS-4 4.03 4.64 4.85 * *
PRACH/11bit >7 4.08 4.08 6.0 3.7
PRACH/8 bit >7 4.8 4.8 6.2 4.6
iii
Up to a certain limit because the number of retransmissions is limited.
16
Differences to GSM 05.05 in [dB]

+ sign = better then GSM 05.05
- sign = worse then GSM 05.05
noise floor for simulation: -115dBm within 200kHz bandwith
If higher peak data rates than those offered by CS-1 were to be offered all over the network, i.e.
higher coding schemes were to be used all over the network, the appropriate sensitivity values would
need to be enforced at the cell edge. In capacity limited networks, where there is a certain degree of
cell splitting, it is possible that the higher signal strength allows for these codes. However,
interference limitations need also be taken into account, as it will be described in the next section.
A complexity of 14 MIPS can be considered as well suited for mobiles and a complexity of 26 MIPS
is still moderate to be implemented in a BTS.
In order to translate from Eb/No to sensitivity values, the following formula can be used:
Ss = Eb/No + NF –1
6 Impact on conventional frequency planning
8
The following table show the interference ratio at reference performance for a normal BTS (GSM
05.05):
17
GSM 900
channel TU3 TU3 TU50 TU50 RA250
(no FH) (ideal FH) (no FH) (ideal FH) (no FH)
PDTCH/CS-1 dB 13 9 10 9 9
PDTCH/CS-2 dB 15 13 14 13 13
PDTCH/CS-3 dB 16 15 16 15 16
PDTCH/CS-4 dB 19 23 23 23 *
USF/CS-1 dB 16 9 10 9 9
USF/CS-2 to 4 dB 15 8 9 8 7
PRACH/11 bits dB 8 8 8 8 10
DCS 1 800
channel TU1,5 TU1,5 TU50 TU50 RA130
(no FH) (ideal FH) (no FH) (ideal FH) (no FH)
PDTCH/CS-1 dB 13 9 9 9 9
PDTCH/CS-2 dB 15 13 13 13 13
PDTCH/CS-3 dB 16 15 16 16 16
PDTCH/CS-4 dB 19 23 25 25 *
USF/CS-1 dB 16 9 9 9 9
USF/CS-2 to 4 dB 15 8 8 8 7
NOTE 1:The specification for PDTCH/CS-1 applies also for PACCH, PBCCH, PAGCH, PPCH,
PTCCH/D, PNCH.
NOTE 2:Ideal FH case assumes perfect decorrelation between bursts. This case may only be
tested if such a decorrelation is ensured in the test. For TU50 (ideal FH), sufficient
decorrelation may be achieved with 4 frequencies spaced over 5 MHz. The TU3 (ideal
FH) and TU1.5 (ideal FH), sufficient decorrelation cannot easily be achieved. These
performance requirements are given for information purposes and need not be tested.
NOTE 3: PDTCH/CS-4 can not meet the reference performance for some propagation conditions
(*).
As it can be seen, in a GSM900 TU50 propagation environment without frequency hopping, the
interference ratio at reference performance for CS-1 is 10 dB. This value increases for the more
efficient coding schemes: 14dB for CS-2, 16 dB for CS-3, 23 dB for CS-4. These results take into
account multipath propagation effects by means of a 2 dB implementation margin.
The reference interference ratio for circuit switched channels is 9 dB (co-channel interference).
As the standard deviation of the mean signal level is estimated to be 7 dB in a dense urban, a shadow
margin of 7 dB is required to ensure that the outage probability is better or equal to 10%. Taking into
account the 2 dB implementation margin the reference interference ratio assumes, a C/I of 15 dB is
required at the edge of the cell to give the required GPRS CS-1 grade of service.
In GSM, conventional frequency planning, based on regular reuse patterns, typically uses a 4/12
reuse. This reuse, for an inverse 3.5 exponent law, realises a mean C/I ratio at the cell edge of ~18
dB.
It can be seen that a 4/12 reuse pattern is sufficient when at least CS-1 is supported and the rest of the
coding schemes are only used when the interference situation of the particular communication is
good enough, i.e. when there is dynamic coding scheme allocation.
18
If an operator wants to offer higher data rates all over its network, it would have to move to a looser
reuse. For example, a 7/21 reuse allows CS-3 to be used all over the network, which at reference
performance offers approximately 50% more throughput than CS-1 with a 4/12 reuse.
On the other side, the use information retransmission procedures allows GPRS to support tighter
reuses (1/3), even if reference performance cannot be achieved at the cell edge. The maximum
throughput available per user will decrease but the spectrum efficiency (throughput/spectrum) does
not. This supports the on-going trend towards tighter frequency reuse in GSM.
The following figure shows the maximum throughput available to the users depending on the reuse
pattern (ideal link adaptation based on compromise threshold values has been used – see section
10.4).
In reality, regular reuse patterns are not normally used because of the irregularities of the network.
Frequency planning procedures are generally based on interference and separation matrixes, i.e.
matrixes that define the probability of the interference being higher than a certain value and the
separation between frequencies assigned to different base stations.
Following these procedures, the 1 dB difference between the reference interference ratio for circuit
and packet channels could have a impact in the achievable average reuse in the network. However, as
it was pointed out in the previous section, the comparison between the values given for circuit and
packet channels is not direct. C/I threshold values normally used by operators are also conservative.
The conclusion is that it is expected that the initial introduction of GPRS on a network will have no
major impact on conventional frequency planning. Different approaches will only be needed when
there is demand for high bandwidth data services.
9 Impact on Radio Link Control procedures
9.1
19
10
The radio link control procedures for GPRS are different to the ones for circuit switched services.
This is mainly because there is no continuous two-way connection to allow the network to have
complete control over them. More information about the procedures can be found in GSM 05.08.
10.1 6.1
10.2 Cell re-selection and handover
In GPRS there is no handover as it is normally known in GSM. There are only the so-called cell
selection and re-selection procedures.
In idle mode these procedures are the same as for circuit switched services and they use the same set
of parameters.
In GPRS connected mode, which corresponds to Ready and Standby states (see section 3.5), GPRS
cell re-selection is implemented, instead of handovers. The only exception are class A mobile stations
while in dedicated mode of a circuit switched connection, in which case the cell is determined by the
network according to the handover procedures. When the circuit switched connection is released, the
mobile station resumes cell re-selection.
In Ready state the GPRS cell re-selection can be controlled by the mobile station or by the network.
This is indicated by the parameter NETWORK_CONTROL_ORDER. This parameter is broadcast on
the PBCCH, or BCCH if the former does not exist. It can also be sent to individual mobile station
using a Packet Measurement Order message on a PCCCH or PACCH. This message overrides the
parameters sent on the BCCH/PBCCH.
The meaning of the different parameter values of NETWORK_CONTROL_ORDER is specified as

follows:
NC0 Normal MS control

The MS shall perform autonomous cell re-selection
NC1 MS control with measurement reports

The MS shall send measurement reports to the network
The MS shall perform autonomous cell re-selection
NC2 Network control

The MS shall send measurement reports to the network
The MS shall not perform autonomous cell re-selection
RESET The MS shall return to the broadcast parameters. Only sent on PCCCH or PACCH
In Standby, GPRS cell re-selection can only be controlled by the mobile station.
Only mobile station controlled cell re-selection will be implemented in Lucent GPRS R1.0 and R2.0.
Measurement reports will also not be supported. For this reason, parameter
NETWORK_CONTROL_ORDER is always set to NC0.
10.2.1 Mobile station controlled cell re-selection
Mobile station controlled cell re-selection means that the mobile station autonomously performs the
cell re-selection. The algorithm for cell re-selection depends on whether the PBCCH exists or not,
20
and whether the GPRS cell re-selection parameters are provided to mobile stations in a Packet
Measurement Order message:
• PBCCH does not exist and Packet Measurement Order messages are not supported
This is the case of Lucent GPRS R1.0.
When no PBCCH is present the mobile station controlled cell re-selection follows the same
algorithm as in idle mode.
The mobile station continuously monitors all BCCH carriers indicated by the BA(BCCH) list,
which is broadcast on the BCCH, and the BCCH carrier of the serving cell, updating the list of
the 6 strongest non-serving carriers. For the serving cell and the list of non-serving cells the
mobile evaluates the path loss criterion parameter C1 and the reselection criterion C2.
In Packet Idle mode, at least one measurement sample on each BCCH carrier is taken for each
paging block monitored by the mobile station according to its current DRX mode and its paging
group. In Packet Transfer mode, at least one measurement sample is taken on at least one of the
BCCH carriers in every TDMA frame.
The mobile station performs cell re-selection if the pathloss criterion (C1) of the current cell falls
below zero for a period of 5 seconds, or the calculated value of C2 for a non-serving cell exceeds
the value of C2 for the serving cell for a period of 5 seconds.
The mobile station selects as new cell the cell with the highest C2.
Within a Routing Area, the mobile station will use hysteresis when re-selecting a cell while in
Ready state (it resembles the handover margin). This hysteresis, CELL_RESELECTION
HYSTERESIS, is applied to the C2 parameter of the non-serving cells.
If the new cell is in a different Routing Area to the serving cell, then the mobile station will
apply a hysteresis, independent of whether the mobile station is in Ready or Standby state. This
hysteresis is given by the parameter CELL_RESELECTION_HYSTERESIS and it is applied to
the C2 criterion of the cells in a different Routing Area.
Additionally, a 5 dB hysteresis to the C2 of non-serving cells is applied if a cell re-selection has

occurred in the previous 15 seconds.
In this case, the assignment of mobiles to the correct cell will depend on the proper setting of the
parameters governing the C1 and C2 criteria: RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN, MS_TXPWR_MAX,
CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET, TEMPORARY_OFFSET, PENALTY_TIME and
CELL_RESELECTION_HYSTERESIS.
The C1 criteria will implement a form of mandatory cell re-selection based on signal strength
and the C2 a form of power budget where the parameter CELL_RESELECTION_HYSTERESIS
could behave as the handover margin, preventing ping-pong effects.
In the case of dual band operation, CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET can be used to overcome the
additional path loss in the 1800 band and even to favour this band.
Parameters CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET, TEMPORARY_OFFSET and PENALTY_TIME of

the C2 criteria can also be used to implement a hierarchical structure, encouraging “slow”
mobiles to select a lower layer cell and “fast” mobiles an upper layer cell. By setting a large
value for TEMPORARY_OFFSET for lower layer cells, mobiles can be directed to re-select an
upper layer cell, putting any lower layer cells in the strongest server list at a disadvantage until
the mobile can be considered slow moving. Once this has been achieved, i.e. PENALTY_TIME
has expired, the TEMPORARY_OFFSET is removed, the C2 value for lower cells has to become
more favourable so that lower layer cells are re-selected. This is done by setting the
CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET accordingly.
More information about how to set this parameters can be found in the Dual Band and
Hierarchical Cell Structures Engineering Guidelines.
21
• PBCCH exits or the Packet Measurement Order message is supported
The mobile station continuously monitors all BCCH carriers indicated by the BA(GPRS) list and
the BCCH carrier of the serving cell, updating the list of the 6 strongest non-serving carriers.
Othe mobile station verifies the BSIC of the BCCH carriers and only the cells with the same
BSIC as broadcast together with the BA(GPRS) are considered for cell re-selection.
The BA(GPRS) list is broadcast on PBCCH. If PBCCH does not exist, BA(GPRS) is equal to
BA(BCCH). The parameter NC_FREQUENCY_LIST may also be sent individually to a mobile
station through a Packet Measurement Order message. This list adds/deletes frequencies to the
BA(GPRS). For added frequencies, the corresponding cell re-selection parameters are included.
If the PBCCH does not exist, the NC_FREQUENCY_LIST contains the GPRS cell re-selection
parameters of all the BA(GPRS).
In Packet Idle mode, at least one measurement sample on each BCCH carrier is taken for each
paging block monitored by the mobile station according to its current DRX mode and its paging
group. In Packet Transfer mode, at least one measurement sample is taken on at least one of the
BCCH carriers in every TDMA frame.
For the serving cell and the list of non-serving cell the mobile evaluates the pathloss criterion
parameter C1, and the new C31 and C32 parameters.
The C1 criterion is the same as for GSM idle mode, except that parameters
GPRS_RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN and GPRS_MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH, broadcast on the
PBCCH, are used instead of RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN and MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH.
Additionally no POWER_OFFSET is used.
C31 is the “signal strength threshold criterion parameter” for hierarchical cell structures (HCS)
which is used to determine whether prioritised hierarchical cell re-selection shall apply. It is
defined as:
C31(s) = Averaged Received Level(s) - HCS_THR(s) (serving cell)

C31(n) = Averaged Received Level(n) - HCS_THR(n) - TO(n)*L(n) (neighbour cell)
where
HCS_THR is the signal threshold for applying HCS re-selection
TO(n) = TEMPORARY_OFFSET(n) * H(PENALTY_TIME(n) - T(n))
L(n) = 0 if PRIORITY_CLASS(n) = PRIORITY_CLASS(s)
1 if PRIORITY_CLASS(n) ≠ PRIORITY_CLASS(s)
H(x) = 0 for x< 0
1 for x ≥ 0
C32 is an improvement of C2. It applies an individual offset and hysteresis value to each pair of
cells, as well as the same temporary offsets as for C2. Additional hysteresis values apply for a
cell re-selection that requires cell or routing area update.
C32 is also known as the cell ranking criterion parameter. It is used to select cells among those
with the same priority and is defined as:
C32(s) = C1(s) (serving cell)

C32(n) = C1(n) + GPRS_RESELECT_OFFSET(n) - TO(n) * (1-L(n)) (neighbour
cell)
where
TO(n) = TEMPORARY_OFFSET(n) * H(PENALTY_TIME(n) - T(n))
L(n) = 0 if PRIORITY_CLASS(n) = PRIORITY_CLASS(s)
1 if PRIORITY_CLASS(n) ≠ PRIORITY_CLASS(s)
H(x) = 0 for x< 0
1 for x ≥ 0
22
The mobile station performs cell re-selection if the pathloss criterion (C1) of the current cell falls
below zero for a period of 5 seconds, or non-serving cell is evaluated to be better than the
serving cell for a period of 5 seconds.
The mobile station will select the best cell, which is the one that has the highest C32 value
among those that have the highest priority class among those that fulfil the criterion C31≥ 0. The
priority classes may correspond to different HCS layers. They may also be used for other
purposes.
If no cell fulfils the criterion C31≥ 0, the best cell is the one having the highest C32 value among
all cells.
If the parameter C32_QUAL is set, positive GPRS_RESELECT_OFFSET values are only

applied to the neighbour cell with the highest Averaged Receive Level value of those cells for
which C32 is compared.
Within a Routing Area, the mobile station will use hysteresis when re-selecting a cell while in
Ready state (it resembles the handover margin). This hysteresis is applied to the C32 criteria. As
an option, the network operator may decide to use this hysteresis for the C31 criteria. The value
of the hysteresis is given by the parameter GPRS_CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS.
If the new cell is in a different Routing Area to the serving cell, then the mobile station will
apply a hysteresis, independent of whether the mobile station is in Ready or Standby state. This
hysteresis is given by the parameter RA_RESELECTION_HYSTERESIS.
Additionally, a 5 dB hysteresis to the C32 of non-serving cells is applied if a cell re-selection has
occurred in the previous 15 seconds.
The C31 and C32 criteria are very similar to C2 except that they include prioritisation of cells
and uses parameter GPRS_RESELECT_OFFSET for each of the non-serving cells. The
prioritisation of cells allows a greater flexibility in defining hierarchical structures with more
than two layers, and proper dual band behaviour.
The main means to accomplish hierarchical cell structures is the use of PRIORITY_CLASS,
TEMPORARY_OFFSET and PENALTY_TIME. An ‘umbrella’ cell would be given a low
PRIORITY_CLASS. A ‘micro’ cell would be given a high PRIORITY_CLASS and also a
TEMPORARY_OFFSET with an associated PENALTY_TIME to keep fast moving mobile
stations away. Also, the threshold for when a cell should be considered is set with the parameter
HCS_THR.
C31 and C32 parameters (or C1 and C2) are evaluated by the mobile station every 5 seconds. This
means that cell re-selection can only take place every 5 seconds.
From a network point of view, mobile station controlled cell re-selection is the simplest option, but in
some situations is not the best in terms of quality and spectrum efficiency. This is because it is only
based on the downlink, i.e. it assumes a high correlation between the downlink and the uplink, which
in some situations (heavily shadowed areas) might not be the case.
Also, no quality based re-selection and intra-cell handover will be available in this mode of
operation. This implies that the only way the system would have to react against interference
problems is by either changing the coding scheme, or by retransmission of badly sent frames. This
could impact the efficiency of the system.
10.2.2 Network controlled cell re-selection
23
Network controlled cell re-selection means that the network can order an individual mobile station in
READY state to perform cell re-selection to a cell appointed by the network, overriding the mobile
station originated cell selection.
The network command (Cell Change Order) can be sent both in Packet Idle and Packet Transfer
mode. It should normally rely on the measurement reports sent by the mobile station.
A mobile station is ordered to send measurement results when NETWORK_CONTROL_ORDER is

NC1 or NC2. In this case the mobile station continuously monitors all carriers in BA(GPRS) or as
indicated by the parameter NC_FREQUENCY_LIST and the BCCH carrier of the serving cell.
In Packet Idle mode, at least one measurement sample on each BCCH carrier is taken for each paging
block monitored by the mobile station according to its current DRX mode and its paging group. In
Packet Transfer mode, at least one measurement sample is taken on at least one of the BCCH carriers
in every TDMA frame.
The time interval between measurement reports is given by the parameters

NC_REPORTING_PERIOD_I and NC_REPORTING_PERIOD_T, for mobiles in Packet Idle and
Packet Transfer mode respectively. They can take values of 0.48, 0.96, 1.92, …, 61.44.
The measurement reports include the following information:
• Average RXLEV in reporting period of serving cell.

;
• In Packet Idle mode, the average interference signal level for the serving cell measured on
the monitored PCCCH if a valid value is available. The average is calculated using a running
filter with forgetting factor 1/NAVG_I.
;
• Average RXLEV in reporting period for the non-serving cells. Carriers are only reported if
they are among the 6 strongest carriers and BSIC is successfully decoded and equal to the
BSIC of the list.
T
1.
2.
his mode of operation allows the implementation of cell re-selection algorithms similar to the ones
available for handover in circuit switched services. These algorithms would take into account the
measurements reported by the mobile stations, and the ones performed by the base station.
The effectiveness and speed of reaction of the algorithms will depend on how often measurements
are reported. Studies are required to find the best value for parameters NC_REPORTING_PERIOD_I
and NC_REPORTING_PERIOD_T so that there are enough number of measurements without
overloading the air interface and/or the PCU.
Quality cell re-selection could be implemented by taking into account the interference measurements.
Even though they will probably be a better estimate than the RXQUAL measurements present in
circuit switched connections, the impact of interference diversity when deploying frequency hopping
needs to be addressed.
The following table summarises the parameters required for GPRS cell re-selection.
24
(*) These parameters for the serving cell occur also on BCCH.
(**) These parameters occur also on BCCH if PBCCH does not exist.
25
((s) and (n) denote serving cell and non-serving cell respectively)
Parameter name Description Range Bits Channel
BA(GPRS) BCCH Allocation for GPRS re-selection - - PBCCH D/L
Note: If PBCCH does not exist,
BA(GPRS) = BA(BCCH)
BSIC(s+n) Base station Identification Code 0-63 6 PBCCH D/L
for carriers in BA(GPRS) and the serving
BCCH carrier
BA_GIND Sequence number of BA(GPRS) 0/1 1 PBCCH D/L
MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH Maximum transmit power 0-31 5 BCCH D/L
POWER OFFSET(s) Power offset for DCS 1800. 0-3 2 BCCH D/L
Not required for PBCCH
RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN Minimum received level at the MS required 0-63 6 BCCH D/L
for access to the system.
GPRS_MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH(s+n) The maximum TX power level an MS may 0-31 5 PBCCH D/L
use when accessing the system
GPRS_RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN(s+n) Minimum received signal level at the MS 0-63 6 PBCCH D/L
required for access to the system.
GPRS_RESELECT_OFFSET Applies an offset and hysteresis to the C32 0-31 5 PBCCH D/L
(n) re-selection criterion.
-52, -48,..., -12, -10,..., 12, 16, ...,48 dB
PRIORITY_CLASS (s+n) The HCS priority for the cells 0-7 3 PBCCH D/L
HCS_THR(s+n) HCS signal level threshold 0-31 5 PBCCH D/L
-110, -108,..., -48 dBm
GPRS_TEMPORARY_OFFSET(n) Applies a negative offset to C32 for the 0-7 3 PBCCH D/L
duration of PENALTY_TIME.
0, 10,..., 60 dB, infinity
GPRS_PENALTY_TIME(n) Gives the duration for which the temporary 0-31 5 PBCCH D/L
offset is applied.
10, 20,..., 320 seconds
GPRS_CELL_RESELECT_ Additional hysteresis applied in Ready state 0-7 3 PBCCH D/L
HYSTERESIS for cells in the same RA.
0, 2,..., 14 dB
RA_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS Additional hysteresis applied for cells in 0-7 3 PBCCH D/L
different RAs.
0, 2,..., 14 dB
CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS Additional hysteresis applied for cells in 0-7 3 BCCH D/L
different RAs if PCCCH does not exist.
C32_QUAL Flag indicating an exception rule for 1/0 1 BBCCH D/L
GPRS_RESELECT_OFFSET
C31_HYST Flag indicating if hysteresis shall be applied 1/0 1 PBCCH D/L
to C31.
NETWORK_CONTROL_ORDER Controls cell re-selection and measurement 0-3 2 PBCCH D/L
reporting (**)
PCCCH D/L
PACCH D/L
NC_FREQUENCY_LIST Frequency list for cell re-selection - - PCCCH D/L
measurement reporting PACCH D/L
NC_REPORTING_PERIOD_I Time period for measurement reporting 0-7 3 PBCCH D/L
NC_REPORTING_PERIOD_T 0.48, 0.96, 1.92, ..., 61.44 seconds PCCCH D/L
PACCH D/L
The cell reselection procedure in GPRS is very slow, because it involves closing and creating a new
connection. This implies a lot of signalling and in many cases information needs to be re-sent.
Durations of more than 5 seconds are expected. This is the reason why GPRS is not suited for real
time applications. Also the standards do not contemplate inter SGSN cell re-selection.
Note: There is an open issue in the deployment of GPRS in an already existing hierarchical network.
Even if the PBCCH is supported it will not always be active, because if the demand for packet
services is low there is no need for it. However, in the cases the PBCCH is not active BA(GPRS) is
equal to BA(BCCH).
26
Initially an operator will only deploy GPRS in the macrocells for efficiency reasons. However, in a
hierarchical network, a cell, regardless of whether it is macro or micro, has neighbour cells which are
both macro and micro. A GPRS mobile will hence camp sometimes in a macro and some other times
in a micro and there is nowhere in the standards that says that the GPRS mobile should re-select a
cell where GPRS is active.
If this problem is not solved in standards it will mean that macrocells will only be able to have
macrocell neighbours broadcast on the BCCH and the system will need to relay on a different
neighbour list sent to circuit switched mobiles when they are connected (BA(SDCCH)).
10.3 Power control
GPRS supports power control in order to improve the spectrum efficiency and to reduce the power
consumption in the MS.
10.3.1 Uplink power control
In the uplink, the mobile station calculates the power value to be used on each channel as:
PCH = min(Γ0 - ΓCH - α * (C + 48), PMAX),
where
ΓCH is an MS and channel specific power control parameter, sent to
the MS in any resource assignment parameter. Further, the
network can, at any time during a packet transfer, send new ΓCH
values to the mobile station on the downlink PACCHiv.
Γ0 = 39 dBm for GSM900
= 36 dBm for DCS1800
α is a system parameter, broadcast on BCCH/PBCCH. Optionally, mobile station and channel
specific values can be sent to the mobile station together with the
ΓCH.
C is the normalised received signal level at the mobile station as
defined below.
PMAX is the maximum allowed output power in the cell =
GPRS_MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH if PBCCH exists
MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH otherwise. POWER_OFFSET will be
added to the later in the case of class 3 DCS1800 mobiles
• Packet Idle mode
When the mobile is not transmitting or receiving data (Packet Idle mode) C is measured on the
PCCCH or, if PCCCH is not available, the BCCH. The mobile station measures the received
The ΓCH values are transferred to the MS in the Packet Assignment command, the Ack/Nack
iv
messages or in Power Control commands.

27
signal level of each paging block monitored by the mobile station according to its current DRX
mode.
The normalised C value for each radio block is calculated:
Cblock n = SSblock n + Pb
where
SSblock n is the mean of the received signal level of the four normal bursts that compose the
block
Pb is the BTS output power reduction (relative to the output power used on BCCH) used on
the channel on which the measurements are performed. For PCCCH, Pb is
broadcast on PBCCH. If frequency hopping is being used on the associated
physical channel, Pb is reduced by 25% for each burst in the block which is
received on the BCCH frequency. For BCCH, Pb =0 (not broadcast)
Finally, the Cblock n values are filtered with a running average filter:
Cn = (1-a) ∗ Cn-1 + a ∗ Cblock n
where a is the forgetting factor: a = 1/MIN(n, MAX(5, TAVG_W/TDRX)
TDRX = DRX period for the MS
TAVG_W is broadcast on PBCCH or, if PBCCH does not exist, on BCCH. BS_PA_MFRMS is
broadcast on BCCH. SPLIT_PG_CYCLE is defined at GPRS attach
n is the iteration index
The signal level filter period TAVG_W should ideally be tuned to the RF environment in each cell:
- At large values of TAVG_W ,a mobile station can make accurate estimates of the received
signal strength at the expense of slow adaptation of the estimate to variations in received
signal strength. Larger values of TAVG_W are suitable in suburban and rural environments,
where received signal strength is slowly varying. Received signal strength measurements in
suburban-rural environments are strongly correlated over distances on the order of 1 km or
more.
- At small values of TAVG_W, the received signal strength estimate can quickly respond to
changes in received signal strength. The quick response time has a downside: since fewer
samples are used in the averaging process, the received power estimate is less accurate. Low
values of TAVG_W are suitable in urban environments, where received signal strength
fluctuates. Received signal strength measurements in urban environments may only be
strongly correlated over distances on the order of 100 m. Roughly speaking, the
characteristics of the airlink change dramatically on the order of every 100 m.
When a mobile station is in DRX mode, it will take at least one signal strength measurement on
each BCCH carrier indicated in the BA(GPRS) list every time it monitors a paging block. When
the mobile station is listening to a CCCH (no PBCCH available), the mobile is receiving a
paging block one every 0.47-2.12 seconds (TDRX), depending on the value selected for DRX
(BS_PA_MFRMS parameter). In the worst case, (when BA_PA_MFRMS = 9), the mobile
station makes only one BCCH carrier measurement every 2.12 seconds.
In an urban cell, at an average speed of 36 kmph, a mobile station crosses 100m – the urban
airlink’s correlation distance, in roughly 10 seconds. If one signal strength measurement is made
every 2.12 seconds (worst case), 10 seconds is roughly enough time for the mobile to make 5
received signal strength measurements. In this environment, these 5, highly correlated
measurements should be used to estimate the received signal strength. Hence, a filter period of
5*2.12 (approx. 10) seconds – 45 multiframes – is a reasonable filter period. This filter period is
attained at TAVG_W = 16.
In a suburban-rural cell, at an average speed of 100 kph, a mobile station crosses 1 km – the
suburban-rural airlink’s correlation distance, - in 36 seconds. A filter period of 17*2.12 (approx.
28
36) seconds – 153 multiframes – is a reasonable filter period. This filter period is attained at
TAVG_W = 19-20.
The OMC default parameter value for TAVG_W is 16 (urban environment).
• Packet Transfer mode
If the mobile is transmitting or receiving (Packet Transfer mode

), the mobile station uses the same received signal level measurements on the BCCH carrier of
the serving cell as made for cell reselection. The measurements are filtered with a running
average filter:
Cn = (1-b) ∗ Cn-1 + b ∗ SS n
where SSn is the received signal level of the measurement samples
b is the forgetting factor: b = 1/(6*TAVG_T)
If indicated by the parameter PC_MEAS_CHAN, the mobile station instead measures the
received signal level of each radio block on one of the PDCH monitored by the mobile station
for PACCH. For each downlink radio block Cblock n is derived (if PBCCH does not exist, Pb = 0).
Finally, the Cblock n values are filtered with a running average filter:
Cn = (1-c) ∗ Cn-1 + c ∗ Cblock n,
where c is the forgetting factor: c = 1/(12*TAVG_T)
This method is suitable in the case where BCCH is in another frequency band than the used
PDCHs. It requires that constant output power is used on all downlink PDCH blocks.
Because in Packet Transfer mode the mobile station makes at least 6 signal strength
measurements of the serving cell’s BCCH every multiframe (25 measurements per second), a
shorter filter period can be used without causing too much degradation in the accuracy of the
estimate. A filter period of 2 seconds (9 multiframes) captures 50 measurements. This
corresponds to TAVG_T = 12, and it is the default value that can be changed via the OMC.
The current Cn value is used to update the power control formula each time a new Cn value is
obtained or whenever the MS applies new ΓCH or α values.
When the mobile station receives new ΓCH or α values, it will use them to update P CH according to the
equation 2 radio blocks after the end of the last timeslot of the message block containing the new
values.
The mobile station uses the same output power on all four bursts within one radio block.
When accessing a cell on the PRACH or RACH (random access) and before receiving the first power
control parameters during packet transfer on PDCH, the mobile station uses the output power defined
by PMAX.
The GPRS power control formula is a flexible tool that can be used for different power control
algorithms (note that the constants Γ0 and 48 are included only for optimising the coding of ΓCH), open
loop and closed loop.
Lucent GPRS R1.0 supports only open loop power control. Support for closed loop is scheduled for
R2.0.
29
10.3.1.1 Open loop power control
In an open loop power control algorithm the output power is based on the received signal level
measured by the mobile station C, assuming the same pathloss in uplink and downlink.
Different types of open loop power control algorithms can be implemented using the GPRS power
control formula. The first one and most common is the pathloss compensation algorithm where the
transmission power changes as the pathloss changes. If in the GPRS power control formula C is
substituted by PBTS-L the result can be expressed as PMS=constant+ α*L, which is the formula that
corresponds to a pathloss compensation algorithm.
A full pathloss compensation algorithm aims to achieve a constant receive signal level at the base
station. It can be achieved by setting α = 1 and ΓCH = Γ0 - PBTS - SSb – 48, where SSb is the required
constant received signal level in the uplink
Simulation studies have shown that partial pathloss compensation algorithms (α ∈ (0,1)) are more
efficient in terms of interference reduction, especially the case of α = 0.5.
Quality based power control, which also tries to compensate the change in interference levels, is also
possible with the GPRS power control formula.
An example of a quality based power control algorithm is P n+1 = Pref - α (C/In - Pn), which can also be
written as Pn+1 = Pref + α (In + L). This algorithm can be implemented using the GPRS power control
formula by substituting C for PBTS-L, and setting ΓCH to Pref + α (PBTS + IBTS), where IBTS is the
interference level measured at the BTS.
Lucent GPRS R1.0 only supports the full pathloss compensation option (α is hard coded and set to 1).
The target signal level SSb si configurable via the OMC. The system then calculates the appropriate
ΓCH parameter.
Currently there is also no interference level measurement capability for GPRS in the base station.
There exists the possibility of adding the Idle Channel Measurement functionality of the circuit
switched system to GPRS. However, the precision of the C/I measurements is too low, as the
interference is only classified within 5 classes with boundaries –106, -101, -95, -90, -62 dBm, and
only the boundary value is signalled to the BSS. This is why quality based open loop power control
has not yet been implemented.
It is important to note that in GPRS higher or lower signal levels or quality mean higher or lower
throughput. Hence the optimisation of the power control parameters, for example the set up of SS b in
the case of full pathloss compensation, remains a complex problem which depends on the coding
schemes available and the interaction between the code switching and the power control algorithms.
More studies are required to solve this problem.
In general, an open loop algorithm is the simplest uplink power control option, but in some situations
is not the best in terms of quality and spectrum efficiency. This is because it is based on an estimate
of the downlink path loss and therefore only suitable in areas where the downlink and the uplink
path-loss show a high correlation. However, it is especially useful in the beginning of a packet
transmission, when there are not enough signal level measurements in the uplink.
10.3.1.2
10.3.1.3 Closed loop power control
A pure closed loop is achieved by setting α = 0 and setting ΓCH to the required value.
With this method the output power is commanded by the network based on received signal level
measurements made in the BTS in a similar way as for a circuit switched connection. Power control
commands are sent when required in order to achieve the target received signal level.
30
Both pathloss and quality based algorithms are possible. The closed loop power control algorithm to
be implemented in Lucent GPRS R2.0 is still under study.
10.3.2 Downlink power control
In the downlink, the base station has to use constant power on the PDCH timeslots with PCCCH
functionality, which may be lower than the power used on the BCCH. The power reduction (Pb) used
on the PCCCH, relative to the output power used on the BCCH, is broadcast on the PBCCH.
On PTCCH/D, the base station has to use the same output power as for the PBCCH, or BCCH if
PBCCH does not exist.
For synchronisation purposes, the network also ensures that each mobile station in Packet Transfer
mode in uplink or downlink receives at least one block every 78 TDMA frames with sufficient
power, by transmitting the block at maximum power.
If the operator wants to limit as much as possible the interference produced by the constant
transmission power of PCCCH channels, if downlink power control is used, PCCCH channels should
be allocated where possible on the BCCH frequency.
On the rest of the timeslots, downlink power control may be used. The base station will transmit the
same output power on all four bursts within a radio block except for bursts transmitted on the BCCH
carrier.
The procedure is based on the measurements from the mobile stations. The measurements (known as
Channel Quality Report) include the following information:
• C value, which is running average of the received signal strength, with forgetting factor 1/
(6*T AVG_T) when transmitting (Packet Transfer mode), and 1/(T AVG_W/TDRX) when not
transmitting (Packet Idle Mode)
• SIGN_VAR, which is an average of the variance of the received signal level
• Interference signal level of serving cell, which is averaged using a running average filter
with forgetting factor 1/NAVG_I .;The interference levels are measured on the same carrier as the
assigned PDCH in packet transfer mode or on the carriers indicated by the
INT_MEAS_CHANNEL_LIST in packet idle mode. If INT_MEAS_CHANNEL_LIST does
not exist, the mobile station is not required to perform any interference measurements
• RXQUAL value, which is a running average of the received signal quality with forgetting
factor 1/NAVG_I, measured on successfully decoded blocks intended for that mobile station
Two methods of downlink power control exist. Power control mode A can be used for any resource
allocation method (see 3.4). Power control mode B can only be used for fixed allocation. The method
used is determined by the BTS_PWR_CTRL_MODE sent to the mobile station in the assignment
command. An additional parameter is used in both modes: P0 is defined as a power reduction relative
to BCCH and it is also included in the assignment message.
In power control mode A, the base station limits its output power on blocks addressed to a particular
mobile station to levels between PBCCH - P0 dB and PBCCH -P0 dB - 10 dB, where PBCCH is the power
used to transmit the BCCH. The output power has to be enough for the mobile for which the data is
intended as well as the mobiles for which the USF is intended.
In power control mode B, the full base station output range can be used. However, the base station
output power much comply with the following rules:
- The initial output power is PBCCH – P0 dB
31
- The same power is used on all blocks addressed to a particular multislot mobile
station within a TDMA frame
- The output power cannot change faster than on power control step every 60 ms
- When the network changes the base station output power from level X to level Y
for a particular mobile station, the network has to transmit at least one block at each base
station power output level between X and Y on at least one of the PDCHs allocated to this
mobile station
- The output power must be sufficient for the mobile station for which the data is
intended (the USF is not used for fixed allocation)
- The output power on the timeslot immediately preceding each burst of a block
addressed to one mobile station and belonging to the same multislot allocation, must not
exceed the output power of that block by more than 10 dB
Mode A downlink power control will be implemented in Lucent GPRS R2.0. Until then, the setting
of the NAVG_I parameter, which is broadcast on the BCCH/PBCCH, is irrelevant, since interference
measurements are not used.
The following table summarises the parameters required for GPRS power control:
Parameter name Description Range Bits Channel

α Power control parameter 0-10 4 PBCCH D/L
0,0.1,...,1 (**)
Pb Power reduction used by BTS on PBCCH 0-15 4 PBCCH D/L
blocks, relatively to the output power used
on BCCH
0, -2,..., -20 dB
PC_MEAS_CHAN Flag that indicates whether the downlink 0/1 1 PBCCH D/L
measurements for power control shall be (**)
made on BCCH or PDCH.
TAVG_W Signal strength filter period for power control 0-25 5 PBCCH D/L
in packet idle mode (**)
2(k/2)/ 6 multiframes, k = 0,1,..., 25
TAVG_T Signal strength filter period for power control 0-25 5 PBCCH D/L
in packet transfer mode (**)
2(k/2)/ 6 multiframes, k = 0,1,..., 25
NAVG_I Interference signal strength filter constant for 0-15 4 PBCCH D/L
power control (**)
2(k/2), k = 0,1,..., 15
INT_MEAS_CHANNEL_LIST Channel list for interference measurements - - PBCCH D/L
in packet idle mode (**)
NETWORK_CONTROL_ORDER Controls cell re-selection and measurement 0-3 2 PBCCH D/L
reporting PACCH D/L
10.4 Link Adaptation (Code Switching)
10.4.1
In order to provide LA a Link Quality Control (LQC) mechanism (algorithm) is required. This
mechanism should be able to take decisions on which modulation/coding scheme is the most
32
appropriate to use under the existing channel conditions and therefore it provides a switching method
between the alternative modulation/coding schemes.
The theoretically optimum LA algorithm would select the coding scheme that maximises the
throughput of the connection.
There are a few schemes proposed for LA in GPRS. The simplest approach is to define static
thresholds (switching points) in terms of C/I ratios or BER estimations. The major drawback of this
approach is that it is very difficult to define switching points in terms of C/I or BER since their
selection depends on a variety of parameters that are not a priori known to the system. These are the
propagation environment, the speed of the mobile stations, the use or not of frequency hopping, to
name a few.
The following figure shows the results of simulations performed for different propagation
environments: TU3 and TU50 with FH. It can be seen how the optimum switching points in terms of
throughput vary with the propagation environment.
It also varies with the traffic model:
The following table shows for each of the propagation environments the derived switching points in
terms of C/I, BER and RXQUAL. It can be seen that none of the parameters offer optimum switching
points that are independent of the environment.
33
Propagation Profile Switching Points C/I in dB BER RXQUAL

TU3 no FH CS1/CS2 5.47 11.82 % RXQUAL_6
TU3 FH CS1/CS2 8.27 6.3 % RXQUAL_5
TU3 FH CS2/CS3 17.43 0.59 % RXQUAL_2
TU3 FH CS3/CS4 24.96 0.034 % RXQUAL_0
TU50 FH CS1/CS2 8.69 5.7 % RXQUAL_5
TU50 FH CS2/CS3 17.10 0.84 % RXQUAL_3
TU50 FH CS3/CS4 TBD
Therefore, a particular selection of C/I or BER v switching points based on specific radio propagation
parameters does not necessarily lead to good system performance when these parameters change
(which is very common in radio environments). Hence, there is always a performance compromise
involved when this simplistic LA approach is adopted. A set of compromise thresholds in terms of
C/I could be (7,14,23) dB.
The use of parameter SIG_VAR has also been proposed as a measure of the type of channel.
However, this is only valid in a coverage limited environment, since SIG_VAR only measures the
received signal, No indication can be obtained of the interference conditions, in particular in the
presence of random frequency hopping.
Another possibility is to use BLER (BLock Error Rate) estimates to switch coding schemes. This is
the approach initially chosen by Lucent in R1.0, where Code Switching between CS-1 and CS-2 is
implemented. The algorithm may be described as follows:
- Transmissions are always started in CS-1. In this way, signalling information,

which is generally transmitted at the end of the connection, is more likely to be transmitted
using the more robust coding scheme
- A code switch to CS-2 is executed only if there are at least MIN_BLOCKS are left
for transmission
- If CS-1 is currently used and the number of not correctly received blocks in
N_BLOCKS_CS2 blocks is lower than BLOCK_THRES_CS2, the use of CS-2 will be
commanded
- If CS-2 is currently used and the number of not correctly received blocks in
N_BLOCKS_CS1 blocks is higher than N_BLOCKS_THRES_CS1, the use of CS-1 will be
commanded
Parameters MIN_BLOCKS, N_BLOCKS_CS2, BLOCK_THRES_CS2, N_BLOCKS_CS1 and

N_BLOCKS_THRES_CS1 are configurable via the LCA (Local Configuration Area) of the PCU
(Packet Control Unit).
A good choice of parameters (N_BLOCKS_CS2, BLOCK_THRES_CS2) and (N_BLOCKS_CS1,

N_BLOCKS_THRES_CS1) should enable quick switching between CS-1 and CS-2 as the channel
condition changes; in other words, N_BLOCKS_CS2 and N_BLOCKS_CS1 should be small.
Additionally, it should select CS-1 (with high probability) at low C/I, and CS-2 (with high
probability) at high C/I. Furthermore, the variance of the delay should be small. This implies that
v
BER values denote bit error rates after the equaliser and before the channel decoder.
34
N_BLOCKS_CS2 and N_BLOCKS_CS1 should be large. On the other hand, if N_BLOCKS_CS1 is

large, for small data lengths, the system will never switch to CS-2 even if the channel conditions are
very good. Hence a trade-off needs to be achieved when choosing this values.
This switching scheme is stable in the sense that the change from one coding scheme to the other
does not enter an oscillation cycle due to its inherent hysteresis. Investigation is still undergoing
regarding parameter setting.
10.4.2
10.4.3
11 Impact on capacity enhancement techniques
11.1 Frequency hopping
Frequency hopping is also allowed in packet channels. Thanks to the frequency and interference
diversity properties, the frequency reuse can be tightened without affecting the throughput, as it
happens with circuit services. However, various aspects differentiate circuit and packet services that
may have an impact on the behaviour of them with frequency hopping:
• The interleaving depth for packet channels is only four, instead of the eight of speech channels.
This means that the maximum gains from frequency and interference diversity should be less in
the case of packet channels, but it can be achieved with less hopping frequencies.
• Different coding schemes show different behaviour. In particular, CS-4 will not show any gain
with frequency hopping because it has no redundancy to correct errored bits. This effect can be
seen in the following link level and system level simulations:
35
This implies that with frequency hopping, under high interference conditions the system will
perform better. However it will perform worse under low interference and the maximum data
rates available will be lower.
It is important to stress that frequency hopping will only affect the maximum data rates
available. Link adaptation and backward error correction procedures ensure that the system still
performs correctly.
In the initial GPRS releases, with only CS-1 and CS-2 available, this issue is not of concern.
When CS-3 and CS-4 become available, the suitability of using frequency hopping with packet
services will depend on the traffic mix between circuit and packet. While circuit switched
services remain predominant, frequency hopping will be efficient even though the maximum
available data rates for packet switched services will be lower. This situation will need to be
revisited when the demand for high-speed packet switched services surpasses that of circuit
switched.
• DTX is not available. Channel utilisations of 80%-100% are expected with packet data,
depending on the delay requirements of the services offered. This contrasts the utilisations of
approximately 50% achieved with circuit switched speech thanks to the use of DTX
This will impact the maximum achievable fractional loads to be used in conjunction with very
tight frequency reuses such as 1/3 and 1/1. The problem is not the interference that the highly
utilised packet timeslots place on other packet timeslots, because link adaptation and backward
error correction capabilities will enable the system to adapt to the more interfered situation.
However, packet timeslots will interfere also circuit switched timeslots carrying speech, which
requires a minimum quality level and hence the interference levels need to be above a certain
threshold.
The following table shows the impact of the number of packet timeslots, at an utilisation of
100%, in the maximum achievable fractional load (defined as no. of TRXs/no. of hopping
frequencies) for a 1/3 reuse:
No. packet time slots No. TRXs/

per TRX no. frequencies
0 50%
1 42%
2 36%
3 32%
36
4 29%
5 26%
6 24%
7 22%
8 20%
In fact it can be seen that from 3 packet timeslots per TRX onwards it is more efficient to plan
the system for a 3/9 reuse that can allow 100% utilisation without quality degradation.
One way to overcome this problem is to design packet timeslots for maximum utilisation of 50%.
This solution is only effective when the packet data traffic is low, since the system’s data
throughput is considerably reduced.
The conclusion is that while circuit switched services are predominant frequency hopping will remain
efficient. This situation will need to be revisited when the demand for packet switched services
surpasses that of circuit switched.
It is however advisable to start introducing packet timeslots on the BCCH TRX, which has generally
been planned for a looser reuse that does not take advantage of frequency hopping.
GPRS imposes one restriction on frequency planning with frequency hopping. Because a mobile
station is not capable of frequency hopping from one timeslot to the other within the same TDMA
frame, if multi-slot operation is allowed, the frequency for timeslots used by the MS has to stay
constant during a single TDMA frame. This implies that all GPRS PDCHs on a TRX must use the
same hopping frequencies, hopping sequence number (HSN) and MAIO.
11.2 Directed retry and load sharing features
These techniques could be implemented in packet connections and the same benefits are expected as
when used in circuit connections: an increased use of available channels and a decrease of congestion
in the network when the traffic distribution is irregular.
However, because this techniques are based on network load and the mobile has no information about
it, they require the deployment of network controlled cell re-selection.
11.3 Concentric cells
In GSM concentric cells can be implemented by using two or one BCCH.
In the first, each concentric area is a cell on its own, and therefore, has a BCCH. Handover between
areas is implemented using normal handover algorithms and appropriately setting the threshold
parameters. With GPRS, this will involve setting up cell re-selection parameters.
In the second, the concentric areas form only one cell, and therefore, there is only one BCCH,
allocated to the most external area. Specific handover algorithms are required to place mobiles in the
most appropriate concentric area. For GPRS, it implies using network controlled cell re-selection.
Regardless of the method used, since interference requirements for CS-1 are similar to that of circuit
services, there should be no necessity to modify signal or interference threshold values between
concentric areas. This means that GPRS should have no impact in the gains achieved by concentric
cells if only CS-1 is used.
Dynamic coding scheme allocation will also result in a form of concentric cells with different coding
schemes instead of reuse patterns.
It is possible to implement both concentric cells and dynamic coding scheme allocation at the same
time. There are two alternatives. The first one consists on allocating GPRS timeslots only to the outer
37
area, and implementing concentric cells only on circuit switched timeslots. In the second alternative,
GPRS timeslots are allocated in all concentric areas, setting GPRS cell re-selection parameters
accordingly. The suitability of this last alternative in terms of capacity gains and system complexity
needs to be studied.
11.4 Cell splitting, hierarchical structures and dual band
These techniques can be used with GPRS and they can still be planned using speech requirements
since, as it was mentioned in the previous sections, signal level and interference requirements for CS-
1 are very similar.
In the case of hierarchical structures and dual band, GPRS cell re-selection parameters will need to
be properly set up, as it was already mentioned in section 10.2.
For more complex traffic handling abilities to balance traffic load among layers or bands, network
controlled cell re-selection will be required.
11.5 Dynamic channel allocation
DCA is a concept that applies to frequencies in a cell, in which some timeslots might have been
assigned for packet services. As it happened with concentric cells, no impact is foreseen in the reuses
and capacity gains achieved because of the similarity in requirements.
11.6 Adaptive antennas
In its present implementation GPRS does not work well with adaptive antennas because of GPRS
capability to share a timeslot between users, which implies that all of them need to be able to decode
the USF (Uplink State Flag). Work is ongoing to introduce the necessary changes in the standards.
12 Impact on capacity planning

The capacity of a network which offers only circuit switched services can be calculated using the
well know Erlang-B formula. This formula assumes that the time between new call arrivals in the
system follows a Poisson distribution and so does the call holding time. Given the objective GoS.,
measured as the blocking probability (typically 2%), and the maximum number of frequencies that
can be assigned to each base stations the maximum offered traffic in Erlangs/cell can be calculated.
If the average traffic generated per user is known, this value can be translated into number of users
per cell.
However, the capacity of networks offering circuit AND packet switched services is not so easily
calculated. There are a number of reasons for it:
• There is no well known analytical model to dimension the packet traffic channels,
as it happens with circuit traffic channels that carry speech services because:
• Multiple different packet services can be offered. Users of each service

behave differently.
• For each of the services, there is no widely accepted model of user

behaviour, in terms of traffic generated and its distribution: packet length and
packet inter-arrival times.
• The signalling overhead placed on the traffic channels can be high. It also
depends on a number of factors, such as:
– Packet lengths
– No. transactions per session
– No. of sessions per busy hour
38
– Mobility of the users
The following drawing shows the relation between sessions and transactions:
Mobile SGSN
GPRS Attach
Mobile in GMM Ready State
PDP Context
Mobile in GMM Standby State Activation
Transaction
GPRS Session
Transaction
GPRS Detach
PDP Context
De-activation
• The blocking rate is not a good measure of the GoS., because of the
existence of queuing, retransmissions, service precedence, … GoS. should
probably be defined as the probability to be served within a reasonable amount
of time for the end user, being that time different depending on the type of user.
• There will be two types of timeslots: TCH only, and shared TCH/PDCH, which in
Lucent GPRS R1.0 are dynamically allocated according to demand. There is also no
model to dimension shared resources.
• The load on control channels (RACH, PRACH, PCH, PPCH, AGCH, PAGCH) can
be much higher, especially as the number of data users grows. Therefore its
dimensioning will need a more careful approach than the one normally followed for
signalling channels of GSM circuit services.
To ease the capacity planning procedure a number of assumptions need to be made:
• Average user data rates are used (no dimensioning for peak data rates). This is
reasonable since the first versions of the system will only offer best effort.
• No dynamic allocation of timeslots, i.e. timeslots will be considered as allocated

either to circuit or to packet services.
• For delay constraint services (like telemetry or lightweight client-server

applications) timeslots can be dimensioned for a maximum utilisation of 80%, to keep
delay within marginsvi.
• For non delay constraint services (like bulk data transfer applications, e-mail, www)
timeslots can be dimensioned for a maximum utilisation of 100%, because delay is not an
issue.
vi
This and the value on the next bullet point do not take into account possible peak loads (overload).
If the dimensioning needs to take them into account the maximum utilisation should be lowered,
typically by 20%.
39
The steps to be taken in order to calculate the capacity in terms of timeslots required to serve a
certain number of users depend on the traffic data available. The following sections show two
possible examples.
In the dimensioning process, the limitations of the equipment also need to be taken into account. For
Lucent GPRS R1.0 the following limits apply:
• Maximum number of PDCHs per cell: 8

• Maximum number of TRXs with PDCHs per cell: 1
• Maximum number of installed PDCHs per BCF: 1440
• Maximum number of simultaneous GPRS users transmitting data per BCF: 93
12.1 Simple traffic model
In this case the traffic generated per user is simply characterised by the data sent per user on the busy
hour (in bits or kbits). The steps to calculate the number of packet timeslots required are as follows:
1. Calculation of the capacity per timeslot
The capacity per timeslot depends on the coding scheme used. The coding scheme depends on
the link adaptation procedure, coverage and interference in the network, and the distribution of
mobiles. Because of this, only the average capacity per timeslot can be calculated as:
Average data rate/timeslot = % CS-1 users x CS-1 data rate + % CS-2 users x CS-2 data rate +
…
In Lucent GPRS R1.0 and R2.0, only CS-1 and CS-2 are used.
As said, the distribution of users in according to the coding scheme depends on many factors,
such as user distributions, coverage and interference in the network, signalling load (signalling is
generally more protected and uses CS-1), link adaptation algorithm, … . In the case of Lucent’s
implementation, it was seen in section 10.4.1 that it depends on the packet length.
It can be said that a well-planned network will achieve a balance (50% CS-1 / 50% CS-2)
between CS-1 and CS-2 usage.
The data rates of each of the coding schemes in the formula above correspond to the data rates
without the overhead of the radio link control and medium access procedures. The following
table shows the values for each of the coding schemes:
Coding Scheme Radio Interface Rate Data transmission rate

CS-1 9.05 kbit/s 8 kbit/s
CS-3 15.6 kbit/s 14.4 kbit/s
2. Calculation of the data rates offered to the air interface
The data rates offered to the air interface are the data rates generated by the subscribers of that
cell augmented by the signalling load:
Data rates offered to the air interface =

no. of GPRS subscribers x data per subscriber on the busy hour x signalling load /3600
As it was mentioned before, the signalling load depends on many factors such as the packet
length, the packet distribution (number of transactions per session), the mobility, etc …
Without any additional information it is impossible to calculate the signalling load. As a rule of
thumb a value of 35% can be assumed.
3. Calculation of the number of timeslots required for packet services

40
To calculate the number of timeslots required it is only required to divide the data rates offered
to the air interface (calculated in point 12.1) by the capacity per timeslot (calculated in point
12.1).
12.2 Simple traffic mix
In this case the traffic model identifies a mix different subscriber profile. For example:
Parameter / busy hour Corporate Private Specialist

subscriber subscriber subscriber
Av. no of sessions 1.5 1 4
Av. data per session 300 kbits 100 kbits 5 kbit
Av. data per busy hour 450 kbits 100 kbits 20 kbits
Av. signalling 20% 35% 50%
overhead
where corporate subscribers typically require services such as e-mail, database access, www, …,
private subscribers require the same services but lower usage, and specialist subscribers are thoes
which require services such as telemetry and credit card transactions.
The calculation of the required number of timeslots for packet services follows the same steps as in
section 12.1. The only difference appears in the calculation of the data rates offered to the air
interface.
First the subscriber mix, i.e. the percentage of users that belong to each of the profiles, needs to be
known. The data rates can then be calculated as:
Data rates offered to the air interface = no. of GPRS subscribers x

[% subscribers type 1 x data rate of type 1 + % subscribers type 2 x data rate of type 2 + …]
where the data rate of each of the subscriber types is calculated using the formula:
Data rates offered to the air interface = data per subscriber on the busy hour x signalling load /3600
12.3 Other models
More elaborated models try to model more accurately the signalling load. One of such models can be
found in the document GPRS Engineering Guidelines vii.
12.4 Impact on overall capacity
The impact of packet services on the overall capacity of the network will very much depend on the
current status of the network and the expected demand of packet services.
Initially the demand is expected to be low. In some cases, especially in some areas of the network,
there will be enough spare capacity in existing TRXs to accommodate the new traffic. In other areas,
though, new TRXs will need to be added with the consequent impact on the frequency plan.
When the demand starts rising, especially in areas of the network where the reuse has already been
tightened to the limit, the operator will need to start considering the introduction of new base
stations, by means of cell splitting or microcell networks.
It is expected that with the advent of EGPRS for packet and AMR for voice, the strain of packet
services on the existing capacity will be largely reduced.
vii
For more information about it, contact Wolfgang Flesch.
41
13 EDGE/EGPRS
14
15
16 Key:
17 Series 1 - A mix of vertical applications, telemetry and some

Web/FTP users
18 Series 2 - A mix of vertical applications, telemetry and some

Web/FTP users
19 Series 3 - Exclusive Web/FTP usage
20
21 It is important to note that this model does not estimate the

load of control channels and hence cannot be used to
calculate how many timeslots should be dedicated to GPRS
control channels.
22
23 The average number of timeslots per cell can be seen as

Erlangs per cell. Making the assumption that circuit
switched Erlangs can be linearly added to GPRS Erlangs
(this implies they have the same traffic model: exponential
arrivals and length), and imposing a GoS requirement of 2%
blocking to both servicesviii, the capacity per cell in terms of
number of circuit and packet switched services can be
calculated.
24
25 The following graphs show the results for systems with

different allocated bandwidths, using conventional 4/12
reuse or VIPtwo with 30% (conservative) and 50%
(maximum) fractional load (it has been considered that
frequency hopping is used in all transceivers in a cell
except the BCCH one). A traffic per speech user of 25
mErlangs has been assumed.
viii
42
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37 G
38
38.1 Introduction
Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) is a proposal for the evolution of existing TDMA
radio cellular systems in order to support higher transmission data rates and increase the capacity of
these networks. The application of EDGE is not restricted only to GSM cellular networks (EGPRS
for packet data, ECSD for circuit data), but it has also been accepted for the evolution of IS-136
systems by UWCC (Universal Wireless Communication Consortium).
EDGE uses the same GSM carrier bandwidth and time slot structure. The system modifications, e.g.
control signalling structure, are also very small. This means that signalling channels remain the same
and signalling procedures only change to accommodate the new higher data rates that can be used in
the traffic channels.
38.1.1 Modulation and coding schemes
Enhanced data rates are achieved by introducing a higher-level modulation format: 8-PSK (8- Phase
Shift Keying). With the introduction of this modulation scheme EDGE systems can offer bit rates up
to approximately three times higher than standard GSM/GPRS/IS-136 systems.
Eight different modulation and coding schemes, MCS-1 to MCS-8, are defined for the EGPRS radio
Blocks (4 bursts - 20 ms).
43
The modulation and coding schemes have been grouped in three families. All modulation and coding
schemes belonging to the same family code within one radio black data that are multiple of a basic
value, as can be seen in the following picture:
MCS-3
Family A 37 octets 37 octets 37 octets 37 octets
MCS-6
MCS-8
MCS-2
Family B 28 octets 28 octets 28 octets 28 octets
MCS-5
MCS-7
MCS-1
Family C 22 octets 22 octets
MCS-4
The details of the modulation and coding schemes are shown in the table below:
Scheme Code rate Header Modulation RLC blocks Raw Data Family BCS Tail HCS Data rate
Code rate per Radio within one payload kb/s
Block Radio
(20ms) Block
MCS-8 1.0 0.35 2 2x592 A 2x12 2x6 59.2
MCS-7 0.76 0.35 2 2x448 B 44.8
8PSK
MCS-6 0.49 1/3 1 592 A 29.6
MCS-5 0.37 1/3 1 448 B 22.4
MCS-4 1.0 1/2 1 352 C 12 6 8 17.6
MCS-3 0.80 1/2 1 296 A 14.8
GMSK
MCS-2 0.66 1/2 1 224 B 11.2
MCS-1 0.53 1/2 1 176 C 8.8
The following two figures show how data is encoded for MCS-1 and MCS-8:
3 bits 36 bits 196 bits
USF RLC/MAC CRC FBI E Data = 22 octets = 176 bits BCS TB
Rate 1/3 convolutional coding
12 bits 108 bits 588 bits
puncturing
puncturing
SB = 8 12 bits 72 bits 372 bits 372 bits
P1 P2
464 bits
44
USF RLC/MAC CRC FBI E Data = 592 bits BCS TB FBI E Data = 592 bits BCS TB
Rate 1/3 convolutional coding Rate 1/3 convolutional coding
puncturing puncturing puncturing
SB = 4 36 bits 128 bits 612 bits 612 bits 612 bits 612 bits 612 bits 612 bits
P1 P2 P3 P1 P2 P3
1392 bits
38.1.2 Link adaptation and incremental redundancy
In order to adapt the transmission bit-rate to the quality of the link EGPRS supports both a pure Link
Adaptation mode and a combined Link Adaptation and Incremental Redundancy mode.
As was said in section 3.3, a Link Adaptation (LA) scheme regularly estimates the link quality and
consequently selects the most appropriate modulation and coding scheme for coming transmissions.
In EGPRS, switching between coding schemes belonging to the same family allows the possibility of
radio block retransmissions done using the new coding schemes. This increases the efficiency of Link
Adaptation when compared to standard GPRS.
In an Incremental Redundancy (IR) scheme, information is first sent with very little coding, yielding
a high bit rate if decoding is immediately successful. If decoding fails, additional coded bits
(redundancy) are sent until decoding succeeds. The more coding that has to be sent, the less the
resulting bit rate.
The advantage of IR schemes is that, if only one modulation scheme is used, no link quality
measurements are needed. However, one single modulation scheme is not optimal over the entire link
quality range. Hence a combined LA and IR scheme has been defined.
In the combined LA and IR scheme, the initial code rate may be selected based on link quality
measurements. IR operation is then enabled by puncturing a different set of bits for retransmissions
(P1-P3 in the previous figures). Thanks to IR it is not necessary to obtain accurate measurements of
the quality of the transmission link to be efficient. The quality of the link can be over-estimated. IR
would then adapt to exactly match the link quality.
In order to support IR operation also in the GMSK modes of EGPRS, these modes are not equal to
standard GPRS. Despite the somewhat lower peak rates, this approach is expected to yield better
performance than standard GPRS.
38.1.3 Transmission power
Due to the linearity of the 8-PSK modulation, it will – at least initially – be difficult to design power
amplifiers that operate with the same average output power for 8-PSK and GMSK. A certain Average
Power Decrease (APD) approximately corresponding to the peak to average ratio for 8-PSK can be
expected, both for mobile and base stations.
45
In such case, the usage of EDGE on BCCH carrier timeslots would be prohibited by the old GSM
standards (constant transmission power of all channels using the BCCH frequency). This would not
be beneficial for widespread EDGE deployment, considering that only one carrier per cell is often
used in low subscriber density areas.
For this reason the GSM standards have been modified to allow EDGE modulated timeslots on the
BCCH carrier, which may use a mean power level that is lower than the power level used for GMSK
modulated time slots. This will impact the performance of cell selection and re-selection, power
control and in general radio link control algorithms, as it will be seen in the corresponding section.
Initial tests have been performed on the maximum output power with the Power Amplifier of Lucent
next generation BTS (current BTS equipment is not expected to support EDGE modulated time
slots). They have shown that the 40 W 900 MHz version will introduce the expected 3.2 dB power
reduction (peak to average ration of 8-PSK) thanks to the usage of LDMOS technology, which has
good linearity properties.
However in the 1800 version, for which LDMOS technology is still not available, the tests indicate
that it will be able to provide 13 W average which relates to a 26 W peak. In this case the APD is
expected to be around 13W/40W or 4.9 dB. This result was obtained without pre-distortion
algorithm. With it, the APD should improve but not much.
To overcome the effects of the APD Lucent is studying the possibility of using Active Antennas.
In the case of the mobile stations, initial results show that their APD will be around 6 dB (statement
from Ericsson during ETSI EDGE sessions).
38.2 Impact on coverage planning
Reference sensitivity values for the different EGPRS modulation and coding schemes are still under
study within standards.
Lucent BTS Advanced Development team has done simulations for MCS-5 using two equalisers with
different complexities. The results can be seen in the following table:
Eb/No values in dB for a BLER of 10%, MCS-5
Equaliser type Static TU3 TU50 RA250 HT100 EQ50
ideal FH no FH no FH no FH no FH
EQU14 4 8.5 9.5 7.5 10 11
EQU26 3 7 8 7 9 10
In order to translate from Eb/No to sensitivity values, the following formula can be used:
Ss = Eb/No + NF –119.6 dBm +4.77 dB +IM
Where:
NF = the noise figure ≈ 3 dB (state of the art)
IM = Implementation Margin ≈ 2 dB
These results are still very preliminary and the conclusions that follow can only be seen as
qualitative.
If we compare the sensitivity value for TU50 no FH and the low complexity equaliser (≈ -100.33
dBm) with the reference sensitivity values of GPRS (GSM 05.05) we see that EGPRS offers higher
data rates for the same received signal level. GPRS CS-2 has a reference sensitivity of –100 dBm
under the same propagation conditions.
The APD will though affect the data rates available in the network, since the received signal level for
8-PSK modulation schemes will be APD dB lower. The comparison is still favourable to EGPRS:
GPRS CS-4 has a reference sensitivity of –88 dBm (>-100.33 + 3.2) and offers lower data rates than
MCS-5.
46
The increased gross bit rate offered by 8-PSK modulation makes it too complex to use an optimal
equaliser structure. Instead, sub-optimal equaliser designs have to be considered. This implies that
EDGE will likely report a slight degradation at high speed. EDGE services are however intended to
be used primarily by quasi-stationary users in small cells. In the rare cases of high-speed mobiles, the
user can be switched over to GMSK modulation to experience GSM robustness by the means of Link
Adaptation.
No results on the new GMSK coding schemes are at this time available. However, they are expected
to show similar performance to the GPRS coding schemes. The conclusion regarding coverage is thus
that existing GSM sites provide sufficient coverage also for EGPRS, provided that the network
operator accepts GMSK coding scheme’s bit rates at the cell borders.
As in the case of GPRS, if the higher peak data rates of 8-PSK coding schemes were to be offered all
over the network,, the appropriate sensitivity values would need to be enforced. In capacity limited
networks, where there is a certain degree of cell splitting, it is possible that the higher signal strength
allows for these codes. However, interference limitations need also be taken into account, as it will
be described in the next section.
38.3 Impact on conventional frequency planning
Reference interference protection ratios for the different EGPRS modulation and coding schemes are
still under study within standards.
Lucent BTS Advanced Development team has done simulations for MCS-5 using two equalisers with
different complexities. The results can be seen in the following table:
C/I values in dB for a BLER of 10%, MCS-5
Equaliser type TU3 TU50 RA250
ideal FH no FH no FH
EQU14 11.5 13 11
EQU26 11 12 11
These results are still very preliminary and the conclusions that follow can only be seen as
qualitative.
If we compare the interference protection ratio for TU50 no FH and the low complexity equaliser
with the reference protection ratio of GPRS (GSM 05.05) we see that EGPRS offers higher data rates
for the same signal to noise level. GPRS CS-2 has a reference protection ratio of 14 dB under the
same propagation conditions.
The APD will though affect the data rates available in the network, since the received signal level for
8-PSK modulation schemes will be APD dB lower and this will affect the C/I when the interferer
uses GSMK modulation. The comparison is still favourable to EGPRS: GPRS CS-4 has a reference
protection ratio of 23 dB (> 13 + 6) and offers lower data rates than MCS-5.
No results on the new GMSK coding schemes are at this time available. However, they are expected
to show similar performance to the GPRS coding schemes. The conclusion regarding frequency
planning is thus that existing frequency plans will be good for EGPRS, provided that the network
operator accepts GMSK coding scheme’s bit rates at the cell borders.
As in the case of GPRS, if the higher peak data rates of 8-PSK coding schemes were to be offered all
over the network, the appropriate protection ratios would need to be enforced.
47
38.4 Impact on radio link control procedures
38.4.1 Cell re-selection and handover
EGPRS support of cell selection and re-selection will be more or less identical to GPRS.
However, if the operator decides to allow EDGE modulated time slots on the BCCH carrier in certain
cells, the performance of cell selection, re-selection and handover will degrade:
• In certain areas between cells, where the overlap is small, there is a potential risk of
coverage loss due to the reduced output power on the BCCH carrier.
• A certain percent of mobiles will make different cell selections with EDGE active
on the BCCH carrier than without.
• Unnecessary cell reselections (and associated signalling) due to varying EDGE load
involving cells from different Location Areas (worse case being when the EDGE load
goes from zero to a maximum in one cell while simultaneously going from maximum to
zero in the neighbour cell).
These effects, although small, can be combated e.g. by limiting the number of simultaneously
allowed EDGE timeslots on the BCCH carrier and, in some cases, by adjusting certain network
parameters:
• The coverage loss problem may be combated by adjusting the parameter

RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN. If its value is lowered, the risk of an MSs measuring a
negative C1 is decreased and a connection with a BTS may in many cases still be
established using GMSK. This statement is valid only for MSs that have lost coverage
due to lower power of EDGE slots, and not necessarily for other MSs that would have
coverage problems anyway.
• The impacts on inter Location Area cell reselection may in practice be completely
suppressed by choosing the value of the CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS parameter
carefully.
38.4.2 Power control
EGPRS support for power control will be more or less identical to GPRS. The task of the network
operator will be again parameter setting. However, since EDGE users benefit from much higher C/I
ratios than standard GSM users, the parameters for EGPRS power control are likely to be different.
If the operator decides to allow EDGE modulated time slots on the BCCH carrier in certain cells, the
performance of the open loop power control will be slightly degraded, if the measurements are
performed on the BCCH. This is because in some cases the derived C will be such that the mobile
“underestimates” the received power by approximately the value of the APD and, consequently,
transmits at a higher value than it should. This happens when the mobile measures on a timeslot
aligned with a timeslot using 8-PSK.
The performance of closed loop power control and normal GSM power control can also degrade if
they are based on received signal level measurements.
The degradation, although small and dependent on the APD value, can be limited by restricting the
amount of slots that are simultaneously transmitting EDGE 8-PSK.
If the PCCCH exists, and EDGE timeslots are allowed on it, the performance degradation in packet
mode may be lessened by adjusting the power reduction, Pb, on PCCCH depending on its value
relative to the EDGE APD.
48
38.4.3 Link adaptation (Code Switching)
In EGPRS LA mode, the same problematic arises as in GPRS. However, the fact that EGPRS is still
undergoing standardisation means that new measurements can be introduced that are able to
characterise the channel and hence solve the problem of the lack of optimum C/I or BER switching
points for any type of environment.
In mixed LA and IR mode, the initial code selection (LA) is only required to make a coarse
adaptation to the channel because the Incremental Redundancy will ensure that if a block gets lost
redundancy is sent on demand. Hence EGPRS with GMSK modes will allow more throughput than
GPRS if the channel is varying quickly.
49

Impact of GPRS-EDGE On RF Network Planning

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Impact of GPRS-EDGE On RF Network Planning

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Impact of GPRS/EDGE on RF network planning

SUBJECT: Impact of GPRS/EDGE on RF network planning

AUTHOR: Silvia Martin-Leon (RF Systems & Capacity

2 Glossary of terms and abbreviations.......................................................................8

6 Impact on conventional frequency planning........................................................17

9 Impact on Radio Link Control procedures..........................................................19

17 Series 1 - A mix of vertical applications, telemetry and some Web/FTP users

18 Series 2 - A mix of vertical applications, telemetry and some Web/FTP users

19 Series 3 - Exclusive Web/FTP usage....................................................................42

2 Glossary of terms and abbreviations.......................................................................8

6 Impact on conventional frequency planning........................................................17

9 Impact on Radio Link Control procedures..........................................................19

11.1 Frequency hopping............................................................................................35

17 Series 1 - A mix of vertical applications, telemetry and some Web/FTP users

18 Series 2 - A mix of vertical applications, telemetry and some Web/FTP users

19 Series 3 - Exclusive Web/FTP usage....................................................................42

2 Glossary of terms and abbreviations.......................................................................8

6 Impact on conventional frequency planning........................................................17

9 Impact on Radio Link Control procedures..........................................................19

17 Series 1 - A mix of vertical applications, telemetry and some Web/FTP users

18 Series 2 - A mix of vertical applications, telemetry and some Web/FTP users

19 Series 3 - Exclusive Web/FTP usage....................................................................42

• New GPRS parameter settings for cell re-selection.

2 Glossary of terms and abbreviations

SDCCH Slow Dedicated Control Channel

3.1 Logical and physical channels

• Packet Broadcast Control Channel (PBCCH):

• Packet Common Control Channels (PCCCH):

If not allocated, common signalling will be conveyed on CCCH.

• Packet Timing advance Control Channels (PTCCH):

• Packet Traffic Channels (PTCH):

• The Packet Associated Control Channel (PACCH) is used to convey signalling

3.2 Coding schemes

Rate 1/2 convolutional coding

Normal burst Normal burst Normal burst Normal burst

Tail Information Code TS Code Information Tail

The details of the codes are shown in the table below:

Signalling information can only use CS-1.

3.3 Link adaptation (code switching)

Link Adaptation in GPRS presents the following problems:

• Before switching all the pending acknowledgements have to be received. This

3.4 Resource allocation

In GPRS R1.0 only dynamic allocation will be supported.

3.5 Mobility and resource management models

Because GPRS is a packet service, no

Before a mobile station is able to send

During the GPRS session, the location of

Radio Resource BSS Packet Measurement No state No state

Radio Resource MS Packet Packet Idle mode Packet idle mode

Mobility Management Ready Standby

3.6 GPRS mobile station classes

Three GPRS MS classes are identified:

5 Impact on coverage planning

Differences to GSM 05.05 in [dB]

6 Impact on conventional frequency planning

9 Impact on Radio Link Control procedures

10.2 Cell re-selection and handover

The meaning of the different parameter values of NETWORK_CONTROL_ORDER is specified as

NC0 Normal MS control

NC1 MS control with measurement reports

NC2 Network control

10.2.1 Mobile station controlled cell re-selection

This is the case of Lucent GPRS R1.0.