1

EDGE Overview
2
EDGE = Enhanced Data Rates for GSM (or Global) Evolution
Enhancement results from introduction of new modulation (8-PSK)
+ channel coding schemes

ECSD (Enhanced Circuit Switched Data): circuit switched channels/ services
EGPRS (Enhanced GPRS): packet switched channels/ services
New modulation triples the nominal bit rates
Update of the GSM Standard towards 3rd generation
networks/mobiles
What is EDGE?
3
EDGE and 3G
The IMT-2000 3rd
generation
requirements are
fulfilled with EDGE
technology, excluding
2 Mbit/s indoor
requirement
Operators who do not
get/want 3G-license
(UMTS/WCDMA) can
provide 3G-services
Gradual network
update with relative
low investments on
infrastructure
4
New modulation: 8-PSK
(0,0,1)
(1,0,1)
(d(3k),d(3k+1),d(3k+2))=
(0,0,0)
(0,1,0)
(0,1,1)
(1,1,1)
(1,1,0)
(1,0,0)

8-PSK (Phase Shift Keying) has
been selected as the new
modulation added in EDGE
Non-constant envelope high
requirements for linearity of the
power amplifier
Because of amplifier non-
linearities, a 2-4 dB power
decrease (back-off) is typically
needed
3 bits per symbol
Symbol rate and burst length
identical to those of GMSK

EDGE GSM
Modulation 8-PSK, 3bit/sym GMSK, 1 bit/sym
Symbol rate 270.833 ksps 270.833 ksps
Payload/burst 342 bits 114 bits
Gross rate/time slot 68.4 kbps 22.8 kbps
5
8-PSK Tx Power Reduction compared to GMSK Tx
GMSK
8PSK
Time
Envelope (amplitude)
Time
Envelope (amplitude)
Peak to Average of @

3,2 dB
Pin
Pout
Back Off= 2 dB
Compression point
6
EDGE in GSM/GPRS network
8-PSK coverage
EDGE capable TRX,
GSM compatible
GMSK coverage
A-bis
BTS
BTS
MSC
Gn
GGSN
EDGE capable
terminal,
GSM compatible
More capacity in interfaces
to support higher data usage
Gb
BSC
A
SGSN
EDGE functionality in
the network elements
7
EDGE vs GPRS
EDGE Benefits
EGPRS link level performance
EGPRS vs GPRS bitrates
Coverage comparison

8
EDGE vs GPRS
Benefits
EGPRS is the same as GPRS but with an enhanced radio interface (EDGE)

Same GPRS architecture and protocols
Same mobility management
Similar Radio Resource Management as GPRS
But...
Enhanced RLC/MAC protocol:
Longer RLC windows
Enhanced re-transmission mechanism
Incremental Redundancy
Retransmissions can be performed in different MCS from the original
Better Link performance
New requirements are needed in the Abis and Gb interfaces
Higher bitrates do not fit into Abis 16kbps channels throughputs
The Dynamic Abis Pool is a shared extra Abis resource for EGPRS
channels and TRXs
9
EGPRS link level performance
EGPRS - TU3 noFH
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
CIR [dB]
T
h
r
o
u
g
h
p
u
t

p
e
r

T
S
L

(
K
b
p
s
)
MCS1 to MCS9
No IR
IR
EGPRS - TU3 noFH
0.001
0.010
0.100
1.000
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
CIR [dB]
B
L
E
R
MCS1 to MCS-9
Link Adaptation will select the (M)CS that maximizes SE while
achieving the user QoS requirements

Link Adaptation takes into account IR
10
GPRS & EGPRS Coding Schemes
coding
scheme
modulation RLC blks /
radio blk
FEC
code rate
user bits /
20 ms
bit rate
(bps)
CS-1 1 0.45 160 8,000
CS-2 1 0.65 240 12,000
CS-3 1 0.75 288 14,400
GPRS
CS-4 1 n/a 400 20,000
MCS-1 1 0.53 176 8,800
MCS-2 1 0.66 224 11,200
MCS-3 1 0.85 296 14,800
MCS-4
GMSK
1 1.00 352 17,600
MCS-5 1 0.38 448 22,400
MCS-6 1 0.49 592 29,600
MCS-7 2 0.76 448+448 44,800
MCS-8 2 0.92 544+544 54,400
EGPRS
MCS-9
8-PSK
2 1.00 592+592 59,200
TS 03.64 Bit rate excluding RLC/MAC headers
11
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Pathloss distance [km]
D
L

T
h
r
o
u
g
h
p
u
t

p
e
r

T
S
L

[
K
b
p
s
]
EGPRS
GPRS CS1-2
GPRS CS1-4
Path loss [dB]
120.8 132.1 138.8 143.5 147.1 150.1 152.6 154.8 156.7 158.4 160.0
EGPRS coverage compared with GPRS
L= 40(1-4x10
-3
h
b
)Log
10
(R) -18Log
10
(h
b
) + 21Log
10
(f) + 80 dB.
Relationship between path-loss and distance given by Okumura-Hata based-formula:
Average
gain: 3.6
Average
gain: 2.3
Es/No=8.3 dB
Es/No=42.3 dB
12
EDGE description
Modulation & Coding Schemes
EGPRS Channel Coding
EGPRS MCS families
Segmentation and ARQ
Retransmission mechanisms
13
EGPRS Coding Schemes

Portion of data and coding varies in different coding schemes




the more coding the more errors can be corrected in the radio interface

data coding
Radio interface block (1392 bits in 8-PSK)
Scheme
Modulatio
n
Raw
data in
block
(bits)
Raw
data in
block
(octets) Family
Data rate
(kbit/s)
MCS-9 8-PSK 2x592 2x74 A 59.2
MCS-8 8-PSK 2x544 2x68 A 54.4
MCS-7 8-PSK 2x448 2x56 B 44.8
MCS-6 8-PSK 592 74 A 29.6
MCS-5 8-PSK 448 56 B 22.4
MCS-4 GMSK 352 44 C 17.6
MCS-3 GMSK 296 37 A 14.8
MCS-2 GMSK 224 28 B 11.2
MCS-1 GMSK 176 22 C 8.8
PCU
BTS
EGPRS
14
EGPRS Modulation and Coding Schemes
EGPRS has nine basic
coding schemes, MCS-1...9.
In general, a higher coding
scheme has higher coding
rate, and consequently higher
peak throughput, but it also
tolerates less noise or
interference.
The figure shows throughput
vs. C/I of EGPRS coding
schemes in TU50iFH, without
incremental redundancy.
The basic unit of transmission
is radio block (= 4 bursts = 20
ms on average), which
contains one or two RLC
blocks.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
MCS-1
MCS-2
MCS-3
MCS-4
MCS-5
MCS-6
MCS-7
MCS-8
MCS-9
15
EGPRS Channel Coding
EGPRS channel coding consists
of separate data and header
coding, as shown in the figure
for MCS-9 downlink.
Coding of data part:
Data part includes user
data, two bits from RLC header, BCS
(block check sequence)
and tail bits.
Coded using 1/3 convolutional code.
Punctured with a selectable puncturing
scheme (P1, P2 or P3).
Two separate data parts for MCS-7...9.
Header part:
Includes RLC/MAC header information
and information on the coding of the
data part (like used puncturing
scheme).
Convolutional coding + puncturing.

USF
encoded USF P2 P3
P1 P2 P3
puncturing puncturing
puncturing
1st burst 2nd burst 3rd burst 4th burst
1/3 tailbiting
convolutional coding
block
coding
P1
header FBI+E data 2 BCS tail
1/3 convolutional
coding
FBI+E data 1 BCS tail
1/3 convolutional
coding
mother code
mother code
protected
header
16
EGPRS MCS families
37 octets 37 octets 37 octets 37 octets
MCS-3
MCS-6
Family A
MCS-9
28 octets 28 octets 28 octets 28 octets
MCS-2
MCS-5
MCS-7
Family B
22 octets 22 octets
MCS-1
MCS-4
Family C
34 +3 octets 34 +3 octets
MCS-3
MCS-6
Family A
padding
MCS-8
34 octets 34 octets 34 octets 34 octets
The MCSs are divided into different families A,B and
C.
Each family has a different basic unit of payload: 37
(and 34), 28 and 22 octets respectively.
Different code rates within a family are achieved by
transmitting a different number of payload units
within one Radio Block.
For families A and B, 1 or 2 or 4 payload units are
transmitted, for family C, only 1 or 2 payload units
are transmitted
When 4 payload units are transmitted (MCS 7, MSC-
8 and MCS-9), these are splitted into two separate
RLC blocks (with separate sequence BSN numbers
and BCS, Block Check Sequences)
The blocks are interleaved over two bursts only,
for MCS-8 and MCS-9.
For MCS-7 the blocks are interleaved over four
bursts
17
EGPRS Dynamic Abis
GSM/GPRS Abis description
New EGPRS requirements for Abis
Dynamic Abis description
Dynamic Abis pool management, features and limitations
18
The GSM/GPRS Abis Interface (1/3)
The Abis interface is situated between the BSC and the Base Station sites
The Abis interface is also used for GPRS services.
In a traditional GSM/GPRS system, each TRX channel is mapped statically to Abis
PCM timeslots

Abis
BSC
SGSN BTS
Um Gb
PCU
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New Requirements for EGPRS
In the air interface, higher rates are achieved through the use 8-PSK. Achievable
transmission rates are in the order of 59.2 Kbit/s per Radio Timeslot (RTSL)
Higher data rates dont fit in 16 kbit/s A-bis channels
32, 48, 64 or 80 kbit/s Abis links are needed
Fixed Abis allocation of such links would be expensive and would lack flexibility
The Dynamic Abis Pool is a shared extra Abis resource for EGPRS channels and
TRXs
The Dynamic Abis functionality allocates Abis transmission capacity to cells when
needed instead of reserving full fixed transmission link per TRX
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Dynamic Abis (1/3)
PCU frame types
PCU data frame
Used when TRX not in EDGE
mode
Only able to carry CS1 and CS2
PCU master data frame
Used when TRX is in EDGE mode
Carries CS1 or MCS1 on its own
and CS2-4 and MCS2-9 with the
help of slave frame(s)
Includes pointers to the slave
frames
PCU slave data frame
Carries additional data that does
not fit in PCU master data frames

MCS-1 M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
S
S
S
CS-4
CS-3
CS-2
CS-1
MCS-2
MCS-3
MCS-4
MCS-5
MCS-6
MCS-7
MCS-8
MCS-9
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
M
M
M
M
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
CS-2
CS-1
D
D
non-EDGE TRX
EDGE TRX
D
M
S
PCU data frame
PCU master data frame
PCU slave data frame
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
retrans M
21
Dynamic Abis (2/3)
Fixed channels and EDAP
For each GPRS radio timeslot on each
EDGE TRX, one fixed 16-kbps channel
is allocated on the Abis for the transfer
of PCU master data frames
PCU slave data frames are allocated in
a common pool, the EDAP (EDGE
Dynamic Abis Pool)
We are still going to make a static
allocation of 16 kbit/s per TCH, (used for
voice or data)
In a PSD call, this sub-TSL is called a
master Abis channel, and if required, the
system can allocate up to 4 extra slave
Abis sub-TSLs for same master from
dynamic pool
TS Bits used in timeslots
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Master
Slave
Reserved
Dynamic Abis Pool
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Dynamic Abis (3/3)
Dynamic Abis pointers
Each downlink PCU master data frame
includes a pointer to downlink slave
frames on the same block period, and a
pointer to uplink slave frames on the
next block period

M M
S S S
S S S S
downlink PCM
frames during
one block period
uplink PCM
frames during
next block period
23
Transmission Requirements for EGPRS MCS
Abis PCM allocation (fixed + pool)
Coding Scheme Bit rate (bps)
CS-1 8,000
CS-2 12,000
CS-3 14,400
CS-4 20,000
MCS-1 8,800
MCS-2 11,200
MCS-3 14,800
MCS-4 17,600
MCS-5 22,400
MCS-6 29,600
MCS-7 44,800
MCS-8 54,400
MCS-9 59,200
Slave Groups
CS-2 requires one Abis slave channel when the GPRS TBF is in EGPRS territory
24
Incremental Redundancy
Incremental Redundancy description
Incremental Redundancy performance
Incremental Redundancy gains
25
Incremental Redundancy (1)
IR is a physical layer performance enhancement for the acknowledged RLC mode
of EGPRS
The basis for Incremental Redundancy (IR) is in the selective-reject-ARQ protocol of
the RLC layer. The ARQ protocol takes care of requesting and retransmitting
incorrectly received blocks
By using the Backward Error Correction (BEC) procedures the selective
retransmission of unsuccessfully delivered RLC/MAC blocks is obtained
IR improves the reception of retransmissions by combining the information in the
original transmission (which failed) with the received additional information, thereby
increasing the probability of correct reception
The most important standardised feature of Incremental Redundancy is that MS has
mandatory IR combining in its receiver. IR has also been taken into account in the
design of the coding schemes and block formats
Incremental Redundancy is suported by NOKIA. IR is set by default in NOKIA
configuration
26
Incremental Redundancy (2)
The figure shows an example of IR transmission and combining with different
puncturing schemes for different transmission. The shown case corresponds to MCS-
4 or MCS-9, where the basic code rate is 1/1.
original data
1/3 coded data
1st xmission
2nd xmission
3rd xmission
1st decoding attempt
2nd decoding attempt
3rd decoding attempt
r = 1/3
r = 1/2
r = 1/1
r = 1/1
r = 1/1
r = 1/1
27
Link Adaptation
Link Adaptation introduction
Link Adaptation algorithm
Bit Error Probability (Mean_BEP, CV_BEP)
Link Adaptation Procedure
28
Introduction
In GSM Specification, there is full support for Bit Error Probability (BEP) based Link Adaptation
(LA) algorithm
MS reports both mean and (normalized) standard deviation (std) of BEP values for the
received radio blocks
Although mean BEP is clearly a dominant quantity in the selection procedure, std
BEP is found to be relevant for the strong coded MCSs
MS reports the network also if it has run out of IR memory
The LA algorithm is based on these reports
The task of the LA algorithm is to select the optimal MCS for each radio condition to maximize
channel throughput
To maintain good throughput the goal for the LA algorithm is to adapt to situations where
signal strength compared to interference level is changing within time
LA adapts to path loss and shadowing but not fast fading This corresponds to the "ideal LA"
curves in link level simulations
Incremental Redundancy (IR) is better suited to compensate for fast fading
EGPRS LA is implemented in the Packet Control Unit (PCU)
29
Resource Allocation Management
Multiple MS and Uplink Transmission
Multiple MS and Downlink Transmission
Radio Resource Operating Modes
EGPRS Territory Method
EGPRS Downgrades and Upgrades
30
Resource Allocation management from PCU
Multiple Mobiles and Uplink Transmission
USF = 1
USF = 2
USF = 3
USF = 3

MSs
BTS
RLC Data Block
Mobile transmissions controlled by USF (Uplink State Flag) sent on DL
Mobile with correct USF will transmit in following block
31
Resource Allocation management from PCU
Multiple Mobiles and Downlink Transmission
TFI2
TFI5
TFI3
TFI2
MSs
BTS
TFI value included in RLC block header - indicates with which TBF the
RLC block is associated
RLC Data Block

32
Resource Allocation management from PCU
(E)GPRS territory method
RRM features optimally manage between circuit-switched and packet-
switched services
TRX 1
Packet-switched Territory
TRX 2
BCCH TCH TCH TCH TCH TCH TCH
TCH TCH P-TCH /
TCH
P-TCH /
TCH
P-TCH P-TCH
Circuit-switched Territory

Signalling

Circuit-switched

Default (E)GPRS
Capacity


dedicated (E)GPRS
(never filled with speech services)
P-TCH /
TCH
P-TCH /
TCH
PBCCH
Additional (E)GPRS
capacity
can be used for speech
Territory Border moves DYNAMICALLY based on CSW traffic load
33
Resource Allocation management from PCU
Territory Upgrades and Downgrades
The need for additional GPRS channels is checked when a new TBF is established
or an existing TBF is terminated.
The PCU will request additional channels,
if a GPRS territory contains less channels than could be allocated to a mobile
according to its multislot class
or if the average number of TBFs per TSL is more than 1.5 after the allocation of
the new TBF (average TBF/TSL>1.5).
These additional channels will be requested only if all GPRS default channels
are already in the GPRS territory.
The number of additional channels the PCU will request is the greater of the
following two numbers:
The number of additional channels needed in the allocation according to the
MS's multislot class (this criterion is used only when the GPRS territory contains
fewer channels than the MS is capable of using), and
The number of additional channels needed for the average number of allocated
TBFs per TSL to be 1(average TBF/TSL=1).