MobileNet Services Inc.

Superior Engineering Solutions

LTE Overview and

Optimization
Kashif Hussain
4/26/14
Agenda

 LTE Overview
 Background
 Architecture
 Air Interface
 Call Flows and Handovers
 LTE Optimization
 Network and RF Optimization Processes
 LT RF Optimization Objects
 Troubleshooting
 Handover success rate
 Throughput

3/23/15 2
Mobile Communication Standard
Timeline

3/23/15 3
3GPP Evolution

3/23/15 4
Requirements and Target for LTE
Technology

3/23/15 5
UMTS vs. LTE

3/23/15 6
EPS (Evolved Packet System)

3/23/15 7
LTE Bandwidths - Frequency domain

› The smallest bandwidth for

deployment is 6 Resource Blocks
– 1,08 MHz + guard band = 1.4 MHz
› The largest bandwidth for
deployment is 100 Resource
Blocks
– 18 MHz + guard band = 20 MHz

Channel Bandwidth [MHz] 1.4 3 5 10 15 20

FDD/ FDD/ FDD/ FDD/
Duplexing Scheme FDD FDD
TDD TDD TDD TDD
# RB’s 6 15 25 50 75 100
Transmission
Bandwidth # SC’s 72 180 300 600 900 1200
configuration
MHz 1.08 2.7 4.5 9.0 13.5 18.0

MHz 0.32 0.3 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0

Guardband
% 23% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10%

3/23/15 8
Flexible Spectrum Migration Strategy
w/CDMA
10MHz License

LTE 1st Carrier - 5MHz LTE 2nd2nd Carrier

LTE
Carrier
Expand to 3MHz
1.4MHz

Optional
LTE Optional
LTE 1st CDMA
LTE 1 5MHz Carrier
st
3rd CDMA
2011 2nd CDMA
2012 Carrier
2010 Carrier Carrier 2009

 Efficient use of the entire spectrum

 CDMA carrier can remain for roaming business
 LTE provides flexible spectrum migration path for CDMA operators
3/23/15 9
3GPP Frequency Bands

* Most used bands world wide

3/23/15 10
UE Capability

3/23/15 11
Agenda

 LTE Overview
 Background
 Architecture
 Air Interface
 Call Flows and Handovers
 LTE Optimization
 Network and RF Optimization Processes
 LT RF Optimization Objects
 Troubleshooting
 Handover success rate
 Throughput

3/23/15 12
Architecture Section Scope

Scope
› Evolved Packet System Architecture
› Control and user plane protocols
› General Protocol model and Protocol interactions

Objectives
› Describe the Evolved Packet System
Architecture.
› List the Control and user plane protocols
› Explain the General Protocol model and Protocol
interactions
› Describe the various traffic cases in EPS
3/23/15 13
 3GPP LTE and SAE & Work Items

Result
Specification Group Work Item

TSG RAN LTE

EUTRAN Specifications
(36 series)
LTE: Long Term Evolution
EUTRAN: Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network

Result
Specification Group Work Item

TSG SA SAE
EPC Specifications
(From Rel 8 onwards)
SAE: System Architecture Evolution
EPC: Evolved Packet Core
3/23/15 14
 Evolved Packet System Architecture

HSS
S6a SAE
EPC MME MME (System Architecture
(Evolved P/S-GW P/S-GW Evolution)
Packet Core)

EPS S1
(Evolved Packet System)

E-UTRAN
X2
LTE
eNB eNB (Long Term Evolution)
X2
X2

eNB

Uu
UE

3/23/15 15
 ”1 liner” functions of each node

 UE = User Equipment. The terminal.

 eNodeB – evolved NodeB. Provide Wireless access to the UE. All connection: CallP,
handover, resource management.
 MME – Mobility Management Entity. Local subscription-related data for each UE (like
VLR). Tracks UE location in idle mode for paging purposes. Signalling interface between
eNB/S-GW/HSS.
 S-GW – Serving Gateway. In charge of user data traffic coming from the UEs. Interfaces
and switches the User Plane side of the eNodeBs (like PCF).
 PDN GW – Packet Data Network Gateway. Assigns IP address and is anchor point to
interconnect external IP networks (like PDSN).
 HSS – Home Subscriber Server. User data repository for UEs accessing over the LTE-RAN
(like HLR).
 PCRF – Policy and Charging Rules Function. Contains policy control decision and flow-
based charging control functionalities.

3/23/15 16
 LTE/EPC Architecture
PCRF
•Provides Service Data
Flow gating
•Set QoS for each Service
Data Flow
•Define Charging for each Service
Data Flow
HSS
IMS
• Maintain and provide subscription
•Enables Bearer QoS Control
•Correlation between Application
data
• User Identification handling External
HSS and Bearer charging
•Notification of bearer events to
• Access Authorisation IP networks Rx
application function
• Provide Keys for Authentication LTE •Bearer bindings towards Serv-GW
and Encryption PCRF
• User Registration management for PMIP based S5
• Maintain knowledge of used PDNSGiGW
LTE
Gx
LTE PDN GW part
S6a
• External IP point of interconnect
• IP address allocation
PDN GW • Packet routing & forwarding
• Lawful intercept
• Policy enforcement
S5/S8
• In home or visited network
S11
MME Serv GW S GW part
• In visited network in case of roaming
S10
• Intra-LTE mobility anchor
LTE
• Packet routing & forwarding
MME • Lawful intercept
S1-MME
• Authentication LTE S1-U
• LTE idle mode DL buffering
• NAS signalling • Charging per UE, PDN and QCI
• GW selection • Bearer bindings for PMIP S5/S8
• Roaming (S6a to home HSS)
• Bearer management
• Idle mode tracking
• Paging
• Inter-MME and IRAT mobility eNB
• NAS Ciphering and Integrity
protection X2 eNodeB LTE
• Cell resource management
• Broadcast information
• MME selection
• Transfer of transparent NAS signalling
• Routing of user data towards the S-GW
• Intra-LTE handover, inter-MME pool handover
initiation, inter-RAT handover initiation
• QoS realization
• Security
3/23/15 17
EPS Protocol Categories
L3 Signalling
• Non Access Stratum (NAS)
Communication between UE and MME
• Radio Resource Control (RRC)
Communication between UE and eNodeB
• S1 Application Protocol (S1AP)
Communication between eNodeB and MME
• X2 Application Protocol (X2AP)
Communication between eNodeB and eNodeB
• GPRS Tunneling Protocol Control (GTP-C)
- Communication between MME and SGW
- Communication between SGW and PGW
- Communication between MME and MME
L2 Transport
• Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP)
- Ciphering and integrity protection for RRC messages
- IP header compression/decompression for user plane
• Radio Link Control (RLC)
- Transfer of RRC messages and user data using:
* Acknowledged Mode (AM)
* Transparent Mode (TM) or
* Unacknowledged Mode (UM)
- Error Correction (ARQ)
• Medium Access Control (MAC)
- Error Correction (HARQ)
- Transfer of RRC messages and user data using:
- Priority handling (scheduling)
- Transport Format selection
• GPRS Tunneling Protocol User (GTP-U)
Transfers data between GPRS tunneling endpoints
3/23/15 18
General Protocol Model

 For each layer the payload is called SDU (Service Data Unit)
 For each layer SDU+Protocol Header is called PDU (Packet Data Unit)
 Layer n PDU = Layer n+1 SDU
 E.g. A PDCP PDU = RLC SDU and RLC PDU = RLC Header+RLC SDU

Header Payload Layer n

Layer n SDU

Layer n PDU
Layer
Header Payload n+1

Layer n+1 SDU

Layer n+1 PDU 3/23/15 19

EPS Bearer service & Signaling Connection

RBS MME S/P-GW

UE

EPS Bearer Service (S1-UP)

Data Radio
Bearer

Signalling
Radio Bearer
NAS Signalling Connection
3/23/15 20
 UE Protocol Stack

Session Mobility NAS

NAS Management Management Security
Application

System Info Cell Paging Connected

Aquisition Selection Reception Mode
Mobility IP
RRC RB Measurement
RRC AS Security
Connection Managementv Reporting

Integrity/ Header
Control/Report SAPs

Ciphering Compression
PDCP

TM AM
UM
RLC

HARQ
HARQ
RA
RAControl
Control
Control
MAC Control
L2

Physical Layer
3/23/15 21
 IP packet IP packet

Protocol User #i User #j

Interaction EPS bearers

PDCP PDCP
#i Header Compr. Header Compr.

Ciphering Deciphering

E-UTRAN Radio
MAC Bearers
RLC RLC
#i
Payload selection
Segmentation, ARQ Concatenation, ARQ

Logical Channels
Priority handling,
payload selection MAC
MAC multiplexing MAC demultiplexing
Retransmission
control
HybridARQ
Hybrid ARQ HybridARQ
Hybrid ARQ

Redundancy
Transport

version
PHY Channels PHY
Coding + RM Coding + RM
Coding Decoding
MAC scheduler

Modulation
scheme Data modulation Data modulation
Modulation Demodulation
Antenna and
resource
assignment Antenna and Antenna and
Antenna and Antenna and
resrouce mapping resrouce mapping
resource mapping resource demapping

Physical Channels

eNodeB UE
3/23/15 22
UE – MME Control Plane

NAS NAS
Relay
RRC S1-AP
RRC S1- AP
PDCP PDCP SCTP SCTP

RLC RLC IP IP
MAC MAC L2 L2

L1 L1 L1 L1

UE eNodeB MME
Uu
S1-MME

3/23/15 23
UE – Packet Data NW
Gateway User Plane

Application

IP IP

Relay Relay
PDCP GTP-U
PDCP GTP-U GTP-U GTP-U

RLC RLC UDP/IP UDP/IP UDP/IP UDP/IP

MAC MAC L2 L2 L2 L2

L1 L1 L1 L1 L1 L1

Uu S1-U S5/S8 SGi

UE eNodeB Serving GW PDN GW

3/23/15 24
Summary of Core LTE Network

3/23/15 25
Agenda

 LTE Overview
 Background
 Architecture
 Air Interface
 Call Flows and Handovers
 LTE Optimization
 Network and RF Optimization Processes
 LT RF Optimization Objects
 Troubleshooting
 Handover success rate
 Throughput

3/23/15 26
OFDMA

 LTE uses OFDMA(Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Access)

 OFDMA divides the wideband frequency channel into orthogonal Narrowband
sub channels, avoiding the need for guard-bands, making it highly spectrum
efficient
 The spacing between the subcarriers in OFDMA is such that they can be
perfectly separated at the receiver.

3/23/15 27
OFDMA Continued….

3/23/15 28
SC-FDMA
 SC-FDMA is a new hybrid transmission scheme combining the low PAR single
carrier methods of current systems with the frequency allocation flexibility
and long symbol time of OFDMA
 SC-FDMA is sometimes referred to as Discrete Fourier Transform Spread
OFDM = DFT-SOFDM

3/23/15 29
Comparing OFDM and SC-FDMA
QPSK example using N=4 subcarriers

3/23/15 30
Why SC-FDMA

3/23/15 31
High PAPR

3/23/15 32
LTE Air interface – Summary

 OFDM radio access technique is used in downlink

 SC-FDMA in uplink
 Orthogonal properties in uplink as well as in downlink
 Own cell interference is low
 Adaptive modulation: QPSK, 16QAM or 64QAM
 MIMO technology in downlink
20 MHz, 2x2 MIMO
 Supports both FDD and TDD (only FDD is covered here)
 Transmission modes
SIMO 1x2

eNodeB UE
Stream 1 ’

Rx Diversity
 ’
TxDiv 2x2 ’ 
eNodeB Stream 1 UE  
 ’ 
Rx Diversity

MIMO 2x2 Signal
Stream 1 
eNodeB Stream 2 UE Interference
MIMO

Network design that maximizes both coverage and SINR is required

3/23/15 33
LTE Throughput Calculation

 1 slot = 0.5ms = 1 symbol

 1 sub frame = 2 slots= 1 ms = 1 TT1
 1 RB (12 sub carriers) has 1 subframe
=14 slots , therefore =12x14= 168
symbols
 1 radio frame = 10 sub frames
 1 radio frame = 1680 symbols
 @10 MHz = 100 RB (resource block)
 Therefore @ 10 MHz , 1 Radio frame
=168000 symbols= 16800000 = 16.8Msps
 @64QAM each symbols carries 6
bits/symbol ; 16.8M x 6 = 100.8Mbps
 With 2x2 = 201.6 Mbps

3/23/15 34
FDD Radio Frame

3/23/15 35
TDD Radio Frame

3/23/15 36
3 Types of OTA Messages

 SIB = System Information Block

 Broadcast overhead information
 Monitored in both idle and traffic modes (like EvDO)
 Strictly speaking, SIBs are also part of RRC
 RRC = Radio Resource Control
 Between UE and eNB
 Anything to do with the radio link itself (connection setup and
teardown, measurements and handover)
 Spec 36.331
 NAS = Non Access Stratum
 Between UE and MME
 Anything to do with establishing the context (Attach i.e. registration,
IP address) or mobility at the network granularity (Tracking Area)
 Encapsulated in RRC (either piggy-back on RRC or use “Information
Transfer” if no RRC message is due)
 Spec 24.301
3/23/15 37
Terminology

 CQI = Channel Quality Indicator

 Range 1 (worst) to 15 (best), conveys SINR to the eNB, just like DRC in EvDO
 Not to be confused with “QCI” which relates to QoS prioritisation (DSCP) within the network
 MCS = Modulation Coding Scheme
 Range 0 to 31
 Index from 0 to 28 for first time transmissions
 Although index 28 not available if the maximum broadcast channel size is used
 Each MCS consists of a modulation type (QPSK, 16QAM or 64QAM) and coding protection
level, the combination of which decides the number of user payload bits for that scheme
 Roughly 13:1 (MCS 1) error correction to 1.1:1 (MCS 28)
 HARQ re-TX index 29, 30, 31 for 1st repeat, 2nd repeat, 3rd repeat.
 RB = Resource Block
 In the OFDM “matrix”, 1 RB is 0.5mS long x 180kHz wide
 Scheduling Block
 In the OFDM “matrix”, 1 scheduling block is 1mS long x 180kHz wide
 Minimum amount that UE will be allocated

3/23/15 38
Terminology Cont…

 TTI = Transmission Time Interval = 1mS

 Represents one scheduling interval
 The minimum time a given user will be scheduled for
 HARQ = Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest
 Physical layer retransmissions
 The target BLER is intended to be achieved after a given number of HARQ
transmissions, unlike target PER in EvDO which is fixed at 1% and then HARQ has
the potential to improve on that
 BLER = Block Error Rate
 Default target is 10%
 RLC = Radio Link Control (equivalent of RLP in EvDO)
 Acknowledged Mode (AM) RLC cleans up the 10% BLER before passing the data to
higher layers
 Can also be run in “passthrough” modes (TM=Transparent Mode and
UM=Unacknowledged Mode) e.g. for streaming video where we don’t want to wait
for re-transmissions. TM reserved for any signalling that happens before actual RLC
config has been negotiated.

3/23/15 39
Terminology Cont…

 RSSI = Received Signal Strength Indicator

 Total received power of all Reference Signals as measured by the UE over all cells
visible in the signal bandwidth
 RSRP = Reference Signal Received Power
 The average power of just the Reference Signals of the serving cell
 This is the basis for intra LTE handover in our system
 Usually 10 to 20dB below RSSI, depending on how many cells are influencing RSSI
 RSRQ = Reference Signal Received Quality
 RSRQ is defined as the ratio: N×RSRP/(E -UTRA carrier RSSI) where N is the
number of Resource Blocks of the E-UTRA carrier RSSI measurement bandwidth

3/23/15 40
ISI (Inter Symbol Interference)

3/23/15 41
Inter Symbol Interference

 Delay Spread is 1-
2µs in urban/Sub-
urban environment
 Delay spread is
20µs in hilly
environment
 If Symbol duration
< Delay spread ≥ISI
 LTE symbol ≈ 71.4
µs, with a CP of ≈
4.7 µs.
 For hilly we can use
a CP of 16.7 µs

3/23/15 42
Resource Definition

3/23/15 43
Resource Block

3/23/15 44
 LTE Radio Access – Downlink

12 sub-carriers
180 kHz
Two Resource Blocks
1 sub-carrier
15 KHz

One Resource Element

On
es
ubf
ram
e =1
ms
TT
I =1
One Scheduling Block 4O
FD
Ms
ym
bol
s

frequency

1 radio frame = 10 subframes

3/23/15 45
Scheduling Block

One
Scheduling
Block Two RBs
0.5ms
0.5ms

1 ms
180 kHz

3/23/15 46
Scheduling in DL & UL

User 1
User 2
User 3

User 1
User 2
User 3

3/23/15 47
Prioritization in DL & UL

eNodeB eNodeB
Buffer Buffer

Scheduler Multiplexing Scheduler

Modulation, coding

Status
UE UE
Modulation, coding

Priority handling Multiplexing

Buffer Buffer

Downlink Uplink

3/23/15 48
DL Scheduling Mechanism

DL scheduler
Da
ta
Re
s ou
rc ea
llo
ca
CQ tio
I re n
po
Re rt
fe ren
ce
s ig
na
ls

eNodeB

UE

3/23/15 49
UL Scheduling Mechanism

Ch
an
ne
UL scheduler l so
un
d in
g,
D RS
Daata
Bu ta
ffe
r st a
tus
Re rep
s ou ort
rc ea
Sc
he ss
du ign
lin me
g Re nt
qu
es
t

eNodeB

UE

3/23/15 50
UL Scheduling Allocation

Without Time Spread Allocation User 1

User 2
User 3

With Time Spread Allocation User 1

User 2
User 3

3/23/15 51
Semi-persistent Scheduling

High signaling overhead

Limit load for regular arrival rate sources

Potential HARQ retransmissions (dynamic scheduling)

Semi-persistent transmission resources for first

attempts

3/23/15 52
Reference Signals and Channel
Estimation

3/23/15 53
Reference Signals and Channel
Estimation

3/23/15 54
Synchronization and Cell Search

3/23/15 55
 Channel Mapping

Downlink Uplink
Key channels in
red

PCCH MTCH MCCH BCCH DTCH DCCH CCCH DTCH DCCH CCCH
Logical Channels
“type of information”
MIB SIB (traffic/control)

PCH MCH BCH DL-SCH UL-SCH RACH

Transport Channels
“how and with what
characteristics”
(common/shared/mc/bc)
-Sched TF DL
-Sched grant UL -CQI
PDCCH -Pwr Ctrl cmd -ACK/NACK
info -HARQ info ACK/NACK -Sched req. Physical Channels
“bits, symbols, modulation,
PMCH PBCH PDSCH PCFICH PDCCH PHICH PUCCH PUSCH PRACH radio frames etc”

-meas for DL sched -meas

for mobility -half frame sync -frame sync -measurements for UL
-coherent demod -cell id -coherent demod scheduling
-cell id group Physical Signals
“only L1 info”
RS P-SCH S-SCH RS SRS

3/23/15 56
Layer 1 DL Phy Control Channel

3/23/15 57
Layer 1 Uplink Phy Control Channel

3/23/15 58
 PDCCH**

 Physical Downlink Control Channel

 Carries Downlink scheduling assignments
 PDSCH resource indication
 Transport format
 Hybrid-ARQ information
 Transport block size
 MIMO-related control information
 PUCCH power control commands
 Carries Uplink scheduling grants
 PUSCH resource indication
 Transport format
 Hybrid-ARQ related information
 PUSCH power control commands

3/23/15 59
 PUCCH**

 Physical Uplink Control Channel

 Carries uplink control information
 Never transmitted simultaneously with PUSCH data
 PUCCH conveys control information including
 Channel quality indication (CQI)
 ACK/NACK
 HARQ
 Uplink scheduling requests
 PUCCH transmission is frequency hopped at the slot boundary

3/23/15 60
Modulation Schemes

3/23/15 61
 CQI-to-SINR Mapping

CQI-to-SINR Mapping Table

3/23/15 62
 System Information
SIB Channel List

SIB1 Access related parameters (e.g. Whether UE is permitted to camp on the cell)
Scheduling details for other SIB’s
Cell Identity – unique identity (28 bits)
SIB2 Common and shared channel information (access barring information, random access,
physical layer parameters)
SIB3 Cell reselection information
SIB4 Intra frequency LTE neighbors - non standard configurations

SIB5 Inter frequency LTE neighbors

SIB6 IRAT cell reselection to UTRAN

SIB7 IRAT cell reselection to GSM

SIB8 IRAT cell reselection to CDMA2000

SIB9 Home eNode B information

SIB10 ETWS Primary Notification

SIB11 ETWS Secondary Notification

3/23/15 63
LTE
Initial Cell Access Steps

Initial access procedure for LTE has three steps

 Cell Search
 Detecting cell reference symbols

 System Information Detection

 Receiving information about the cell and it’s neighbors

 Random Access
 Accessing the cell to Tx and Rx data

Detect
Power Initial cell System Random Tx and Rx
on search Information Access User data

3/23/15 64
MIB, SIB1, SIB2 and 3 examples

 Note how SIBs 2 and 3 are bundled in one System Information

message

C:\Us ers \emakend\

Documents \My Guides \LTE_

3/23/15 65
 Protocol states and mobility

MME Handover

TAU
message

eNB
Tracking Area (TA)
UE position known on Cell level in ECM: EPC Connection Management
UE pos known on TA level in MME eNodeB EMM: EPC Mobility Management
RRC: Radio Resource Management
Detach, Attach reject, TAU
reject

Signaling
connection
establishment

UE position
not known
in network
ECM-IDLE ECM-CONNECTED
RRC_IDLE RRC_IDLE RRC_CONNECTED

PLMN selection
Signaling
EMM- connection EMM-REGISTERED
DEREGISTERED release

Attach accept, TAU

accept

3/23/15 66
Attach

 Equivalent to the combined steps of getting a session and PPP (IP address)
in EvDO
 On the data dongles, this is triggered by “Connecting” using the “dialler”
software that comes with the card
 E.G LG Connection Manager

3/23/15 67
Sample Attach in LLDM (LG’s tool)

Some NAS piggy-backed

with RRC
(RRC_ConnectionRequest in
this case)

NAS sent in
InformationTransfer

3/23/15 68
3/23/15 69
Idle Mobility and Paging

 Once attached, UE may now move from cell to cell in idle mode according to the Cell
Reselection thresholds conveyed in SIB3
 If the UE encounters a new TAC (Tracking Area Code), it will send a TAU (Tracking Area
Update) to notify the MME of its new location.
 Cf. paging zone in 1x
 There is also a timer based update (based on timer T3412 which is in turn based on
parameter S1_MobileReachableTimer)
 If MME has not heard from UE for S1_ImplicitDetachTimer, it will implicitly detach it with notifying
 An example paging scheme could be:
 Last visited eNB: 1 attempts
 Last visited TA: 1 attempts
 TAI List: 2 attempts
 Where TAI List can be setup as currentAndLastTai i.e. the last visited and the one before
 UEs only wake up on a DRX Cycle (parameter defaultPagingCycle, like SCI) and monitor
specific PO (Paging Offset) according to a formula that includes their IMSI to seed the
calculation.
 A Paging Indicator Channel is used (like Quick Paging in 1xRTT)
 DRX in Connected Mode arrives in L11B (allows battery saving)

3/23/15 70
Page Message Example
 Day 11421 00:23:52.045 [00] 0xB0C0 LTE RRC OTA Packet -- PCCH
 Pkt Version = 1
 RRC Release Number.Major.minor = 8.7.0
 Radio Bearer ID = 0, Physical Cell ID = 383
 Freq = 5230
 SysFrameNum = 732, SubFrameNum = 9
 PDU Number = PCCH Message, Msg Length = 9
 Interpreted PDU:
 value PCCH-Message ::=
 {
 message c1 : paging :
 {
 pagingRecordList
 {
 {
 ue-Identity s-TMSI :
 {
 mmec '10101001'B,
 m-TMSI '11110000 00011011 01001011 11100100'B
 },
 cn-Domain ps
 }
 }
 }
3/23/15 71
 }
 Connection Setup: RACH Process
Random Access “Preambles” sent to:
 Establish UL timing
 First step of requesting access to the network
UE eNB MME
 No message content at this step
RA Preamble Assignment 0
Initial power based on:

CFRA
Random Access Preamble
 Ref Signal power (in SIB) 1

 Allows pathloss calc Random Access Response 2

CBRA
Scheduled Transmission
 Target UL power at eNB 3 RRC Connect Request
HARQ
L2/L3 Message

Power ramping, similar to 1x/DO, is used when a RA Contention Resolution 4

HARQ
burst fails (i.e. no RA Response to RA Preamble)
L2/L3 Message
 SIB2 has datafill for power step, number of steps RRC Connect Response Response

etc.
Will hear the RACH steps referred to as “Message Connection Request not
in initial “probe” (unlike
1”, “Message 2” etc. DO/1x)

 Message 3 carries the RRC Connection Request

3/23/15 72
LTE Random Access
Application of CBRA and CFRA

RA Scenario CBRA CFRA

 Random Access procedures takes two
distinct forms Initial access from ×
RRC_IDLE
 CBRA ( Applicable to all 5 events
Initial access after radio link ×
 CFRA (applicable to only handover failure
and DL data arrival) Handover requiring random × ×
access procedure
 Normal DL/UL transmission can only
take place after RA procedures. DL data arrival – Requiring × ×
UL resync
UL data arrival – Requiring ×
UL resync

3/23/15 73
 Connection Setup: RRC
› {
{ › message c1 : rrcConnectionSetup :
 message c1 : rrcConnectionRequest : › {
› rrc-TransactionIdentifier 0,
 { › criticalExtensions c1 : rrcConnectionSetup-r8 :
 criticalExtensions rrcConnectionRequest- › {
r8 : › radioResourceConfigDedicated
›
 { {
› srb-ToAddModList
 ue-Identity s-TMSI : › {
 { › {
› srb-Identity 1,
 mmec '00000010'B, › rlc-Config explicitValue : am :
 m-TMSI '11110000 00000000 › {
00111010 01110001'B › ul-AM-RLC
 }, › {
Connection Setup mainly
› t-PollRetransmit ms45,
 establishmentCause mo-Data, No way to know who this › pollPDU pInfinity, defines a signalling radio
 spare '0'B subscriber is from this msg › pollByte kBinfinity, bearer and some CCH
 } alone (since TMSI) › maxRetxThreshold t32 config
 }

 }
› },
› { › dl-AM-RLC
› message c1 : rrcConnectionSetupComplete : › {
› t-Reordering ms35,
› {
› t-StatusProhibit ms0
› rrc-TransactionIdentifier 0, › }
› criticalExtensions c1 : rrcConnectionSetupComplete-r8 : › },
› { › logicalChannelConfig explicitValue :
› selectedPLMN-Identity 1, › {
Encapsulated NAS msg
› ul-SpecificParameters
› registeredMME
› {
› { › priority 1,
› mmegi '10000000 00000010'B, › prioritisedBitRate infinity,
› mmec '00000010'B › bucketSizeDuration ms50,
› }, › logicalChannelGroup 0
› }
› dedicatedInfoNAS
› }
'17CC8ECC68060748000BF6030246800202 ...'H
› }
› } › },
› } › mac-MainConfig explicitValue :
› } › {
› ul-SCH-Config
› {
› maxHARQ-Tx n4, 3/23/15 74
› periodicBSR-Timer sf5,
Connection Setup Cont…

 Full connection setup:

 Reconfiguration step defines measurements and actual traffic bearer

C:\Us ers \emakend\

Documents \My Guides \LTE_

3/23/15 75
Neighbour Identity and Neighbour Lists
 Neighbours are identified over the air by a PCI = Physical Cell Identifier
 Range 0 to 503
 No equivalent of pilot increment required i.e. all 504 are available for use, although there are
some recommendations for PCI planning to speed up the search process
 They are not based on timing offsets so no equivalent of PN aliasing
 The Reference Signals carry this information
 Internally to the eNB there is a neighbour list where they are mapped to a full cell
identifier (to resolve PCI re-use)
 UEs can search all possible PCIs very quickly so:
 Neighbour lists are not required to be broadcast over the air!
 i.e. SIB 4 is optional (and was not used in Bell trial)
 In fact we want UEs to search and report on all PCIs to support Automatic Neighbour Relations
(ANR) feature (see later slides on ANR)
 Beware the usage of the term “Cell”. In 3GPP a Cell is a Sector so one Site normally has 3
Cells per frequency
 So Physical Cell Identifier does define right down to the sector level (1 site has 3 PCIs)

3/23/15 76
 MOSHELL Nbr List DUmp
 HAMe011405541
 =================
   832  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405541,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011410721
  833  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405541,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011413302
  834  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405541,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011407832
  835  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405541,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011409712
  836  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405541,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011409761
  837  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405541,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011406622
  838  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405541,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011410722
  839  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405541,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011405542
  840  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405541,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011409762
  841  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405541,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011409713
  842  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405541,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011409711
  843  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405541,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011405543
  844  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405541,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011407831
  
 HAMe011405542
 ==============
 880  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405542,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011405543
  881  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405542,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011409762
  882  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405542,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011405541
  883  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405542,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011409712
  884  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405542,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011413302
  885  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405542,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011409761
  886  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405542,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011410722
  887  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405542,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011409711
  888  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405542,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011413303
  889  ENodeBFunction=1,EUtranCellFDD=HAMe011405542,EUtranFreqRelation=1,EUtranCellRelation=HAMe011410721

3/23/15 77
Intra-LTE Mobility Solution
3 Types of Intra-LTE Handover

Evolved Packet Core

MME S-GW

S1 S1 S1

S1 handover

RBS
X2

X2 handover
Intra RBS
handover

3/23/15 78
 Intra-LTE Handover
X2 Handover Preparation

UE measures
RSRP &
RSRQ

3/23/15 79
 X2 Handover Execution & Completion

Data Forwarding
Lower Outage Time

~20 ms service
interruption

Source eNode B
Maintains UE context
info for short time

3/23/15 80
 Intra-Freq (Intra-LTE) Handoffs

 No soft handoff
 UEs searching all PCIs
 Measurements are reported to eNB based on “Events”
 Our intra-freq handover uses event a3:
 Start reporting when neigh > serving by X dB for timeToTrigger
 Stop reporting when neigh < serving by Y dB for timeToTrigger (normally doesn’t happen since handover already
occurred)
 X and Y determined by the combination of Offset and Hysteresis parameters
 Pay attention to Meas-Id (ANR vs HO)
 RSRP = Reference Signal Received Power
 The average power of just the Reference Signals of the serving cell
 This is the basis for intra LTE handover in our system
 Usually 10 to 20dB below RSSI, depending on how many cells are influencing RSSI
 RSRQ = Reference Signal Received Quality
 Some debate on how this should be measured and not clear how UEs are doing it!
 Not used for handover
 eNBs negotiate the handover between themselves
 Can be over X2 or via S1 interfaces
 Only as a last step is the MME truly involved when it is informed that the data path needs to switch to the target eNB
 UE goes through a full RACH process to acquire target cell
 Special “Contention Free” process is reserved for this
3/23/15 81
LTE Handover – PARAMETERS**
 Parameters
 A3offset The offset value for EventA3.
 triggerQuantityA3 The quantity that triggers the EventA3 (RRSP or
RSRQ)
 hysteresisA3 The hysteresis value for EventA3.
 timeToTriggerA3 The time the EventA3 criterion has to be fulfilled
before the first measurement report is sent.
 reportQuantityA3 The quantities to include in the measurement
report.
 reportIntervalA3 The interval for event triggered periodic
measurement reports.
 reportAmountA3 Indicates the number of reports to send when
EventA3 is triggered.

3/23/15 82
 Sample Measurement config
 Extracted from: rrcConnectionReconfiguration
 reportConfigToAddModList
 {
 {
 reportConfigId 1,
 reportConfig reportConfigEUTRA :
 {
 triggerType event : a3Offset: set to
0 for Bell trial
 {
 eventId eventA3 :
 {
 a3-Offset 0, A3 hysteresis: 8
 reportOnLeave FALSE = 4dB
 },
 hysteresis 8,
 timeToTrigger ms40
A3
timeToTrigger
 }, 40mS
 triggerQuantity rsrp,
 reportQuantity both,
Other reporting
 maxReportCells 4,
criteria
 reportInterval ms480,
 reportAmount infinity
 }
 },

3/23/15 83
 Sample Measurement Report
 ================================================================================

2010/11/11 11:08:00.840 0xB469 RRC message 3(ASN.1) (Not Verified Yet..........

 LOG_CH_TYPE = 1 (0x01)
 LENGTH = 8 (0x0008)
 SIG_MSG = 08 19 A4 88 00 49 A8 88
 ================================================================================
 Channel Type = UL_DCCH, Message Length = 8
 Interpreted PDU:
value UL-DCCH-Message ::=
{
 message c1 : measurementReport :
 {
 criticalExtensions c1 : measurementReport-r8 :
 {
 measResults
 {
 measId 1,
 measResultServCell
 { Current Cell
 rsrpResult 36, (PCI not given)
 rsrqResult 34
 },
 measResultNeighCells measResultListEUTRA :
 {
 {
 physCellId 18,
 measResult
 {
 rsrpResult 40,
 rsrqResult 34
 } Neighbour
 }
 }
Cell PCI18
 }
 }
 }
}

Neighbour Cell is
4dB stronger (rrsp 3/23/15 84
40 vs 36)
 Sample Measurement Reports for ANR
 {
› {
 message c1 : measurementReport :
› message c1 : measurementReport : MeasId 1
 { › { does trigger
› criticalExtensions c1 : measurementReport-r8 :
 criticalExtensions c1 : measurementReport- handover
› {
r8 : MeasId 20 is
› measResults
purely for ANR › {
 {
and does not
 measResults trigger handover › measId 1,
› measResultServCell
 { › {
› rsrpResult 34,
 measId 20, › rsrqResult 34
› },
 measResultServCell
› measResultNeighCells measResultListEUTRA :
 { › {
› {
 rsrpResult 32, › physCellId 24,
› measResult
 rsrqResult 34
› {
 }, › rsrpResult 40,
› rsrqResult 34
 measResultNeighCells › }
measResultListEUTRA : › }
› }
 {
› }
 { › }
› }
 physCellId 24, › }
 measResult

 {

 rsrpResult 37,

 rsrqResult 34

 }

 }

 }

 }

 } 3/23/15 85
 }
Handover Diagram

3/23/15 86
Event A3: Entry and leave criteria

3/23/15 87
Sample Handover Messages

 Note how rrcConnectionReconfiguration used here (as well as

connection setup)

C:\Us ers \emakend\

Documents \My Guides \LTE_

3/23/15 88
3/23/15 89
Dormancy Timer

 Return to idle is controlled by the dormancy timer:

 tInactivityTimer
 Remember there are no physical resources (like CEs, Mac Index)
reserved so less penalty than in EvDO for hanging on to a connection
 Default value 61 secs (!) but Vz using 10 secs
 Having said that, beware there are limits on the number of connected
users (R&D constraint)
 Improving over the future releases
 E/// view (200 per DUL in L11 but projected at 3000 in L13)

3/23/15 90
Call Drop Rules: eNB side

 On the eNB, there are 2 cases that will lead to Call Drop declaration:
 1. RLC failure
 This occurs when maximum retransmission has occurred at RLC level (ARQ).
 Parameters in eNB:
 MO: SignalingRadioBearer/DataRadioBearer
 Attributes: dlMaxRetxThreshold/ulMaxRetxThreshold

 2. L1 Sync lost (Time Alignment)

 When UL Timing loses sync
 Parameters in eNB:
 MO: MacConfiguration
 Attribute: tTimeAlignmentTimer

3/23/15 91
Call Drop Rules: UE side

 As defined in 3GPP specs

 Not known if UEs have any proprietary rules
 36.133 defines Qout and Qin which are signal quality levels at which the UE judges the
PDCCH is lost/re-acquired respectively
 36.213 then describes how these thresholds are used to provide notification of in/out of
sync to higher layers
 Finally 36.331 describes how timer T310 and counters N310 and N311 are applied. In
summary:
 If N310 consecutive “out of sync” received, start timer T310
 If N311 consecutive “in sync” received, stop T310
 If T310 expires, declare call drop
 Default settings are:
 t310 ms2000
 n310 n20
 n311 n1
 See attached 3GPP specification sections for more details:

Micros oft Word

Document

3/23/15 92
SIB3 and 8 Examples

› sib3 :  sib8 :

 {

› {  searchWindowSize 10,

› cellReselectionInfoCommon parametersHRPD


 {

› {  preRegistrationInfoHRPD

 {

› q-Hyst dB4  preRegistrationAllowed FALSE

› },  },

 cellReselectionParametersHRPD

› cellReselectionServingFreqInfo  {

›
 bandClassList

{  {

› s-NonIntraSearch 0,  {

 bandClass bc1,

› threshServingLow 31,  cellReselectionPriority 2,

› cellReselectionPriority 7
 threshX-High 16,

 threshX-Low 14

› },  }

 },

› intraFreqCellReselectionInfo  neighCellList

› { {


 {

› q-RxLevMin -60,  bandClass bc1,

 neighCellsPerFreqList

› s-IntraSearch 31,  {

› allowedMeasBandwidth mbw6, 


{

arfcn 775,

› presenceAntennaPort1 FALSE,  physCellIdList

›
 {

neighCellConfig '01'B,  284

› t-ReselectionEUTRA 2  }

 }

› }  }

› }
 }

 },

 t-ReselectionCDMA2000 5

 }

 }

 }

3/23/15 93
Agenda

 LTE Overview
 Background
 Architecture
 Air Interface
 Call Flows and Handovers
 LTE Optimization
 Network and RF Optimization Processes
 LT RF Optimization Objects
 Troubleshooting
 Handover success rate
 Throughput

3/23/15 94
Network Optimization Flowchart

New site
on air RF optimization

Service test and

Single site parameter optimization
verification

Are KPI
requirements met?
No
Are clusters
ready? Yes
No Yes

End

Page
95
3/23/15 95
Network Optimization Process

 Single site verification

 Validate that no alarms are present
 Validate antenna azimuth, tilt and height are per RF design
 Review and validate sweep and PIM test reports
 All parameters are correctly configured (Vendor Golden parameters)
 NeighborList (PCI), Power parameters, Handover parameters.

 Execute functional call test on each site

 RF optimization
 RF (or cluster) optimization starts after all sites in a planned area are installed and verified.
 RF optimization aims to make sure that RF environment is at its best
 Interference minimized

 Dominant server

 Neighbor relations are correct

 Coverage holes are identified and eliminated

 Objective is to meet desired KPIs ( accessibility, Retainability, Handover Success

Rate and throughput)
Page
96
3/23/15 96
RF Optimization Flowchart

Page
97
3/23/15 97
Preparations for RF Optimization

Checklist
1. Network plan, network structure diagram, site distribution, site
information, and engineering parameters
2. Drive test results (such as service drop points and handover failure
points) in the current area
3. Reference signal received power (RSRP) coverage plot
4. Signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) distribution plot
5. Measured handover success rates and related KPIs.
6. Areas to be optimized can be determined by comparing the
distribution of RSRPs, SINRs, and handover success rates with the
optimization baseline.

Page
98
3/23/15 98
 Network Optimization Methods

Tilt Adjustment Azimuth Adjustment

Power Adjustment Network

Reselection and
Optimization Handover
Parameter Adjustment

Antenna Height Feature Configuration

RF optimization involves adjustment of azimuths, tilts, antenna height, eNodeB transmit

power, feature algorithms, and performance parameters. Optimization methods in different
standards are similar, but each standard has its own measurement definition.

Page
99
3/23/15 99
Agenda

 LTE Overview
 Background
 Architecture
 Air Interface
 Call Flows and Handovers
 LTE Optimization
 Network and RF Optimization Processes
 LT RF Optimization Objects
 Troubleshooting
 Handover success rate
 Throughput

3/23/15 10
0
LTE RF Optimization Objects and Target Baseline

What are
differences
between LTE and
3G optimization?

SINR

LTE
optimization How are
RSRP objects these
counters
Text defined?

Handover
success rate

3/23/15 10
Page 101 1
RSRP

Reference signal received power (RSRP), is determined for a

considered cell as the linear average over the power
3GPP contributions (in [W]) of the resource elements that carry cell-
definition specific reference signals within the considered measurement
frequency bandwidth.

 RSRPs near a cell, in the middle of a cell, and at the

edge of a cell are determined based on the distribution
of signals on the entire network.
 Generally, the RSRP near a cell is -85 dBm, the RSRP in the
middle of a cell is -95 dBm, and the RSRP at the edge of a
cell is -105 dBm.

 Currently, the minimum RSRP for UEs to camp on a cell

is -120 dBm.

 Empirical RSRP at the edge of a cell:

 The RSRP is greater than -110 dBm in 99% areas at the TD-
LTE site in Norway.

 The RSRP is greater than -110 dBm in 98.09% areas in the

Huayang field in Chengdu.

3/23/15 10
Page 102 2
SINR

The SINR is not specifically defined in 3GPP specifications.

UEs typically use SINR to calculate the CQI (Channel Quality
Indicator) and it report to the network.

SINR = S/(I + N)
 S: indicates the power of measured usable signals. Reference
signals (RS) and physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs)
are mainly involved.
 I: indicates the power of measured signals or channel
interference signals from other cells in the current system and
from inter-RAT cells.
 N: indicates background noise, which is related to
measurement bandwidths and receiver noise coefficients.

Empirical SINR at the edge of a cell:

The SINR is greater than -3 dB in 99% areas in Norway.

The SINR is greater than -3 dB in 99.25% areas in the Huayang

field in Chengdu.

3/23/15 10
Page 103 3
Handover Success Rate

According to the signaling process in 3GPP TS 36.331,

 eNodeB statistics
(1) Handover success rate = Number of handovers/Number of handover attempts
x 100%
(2) Number of handover attempts: indicates the number of eNodeB-transmitted
RRCConnectionReconfiguration messages for handovers.
(3) Number of handovers: indicates the number of eNodeB-received
RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete messages for handovers.

Handover success rate

 The handover success rate is greater than 97% at the TD-LTE site in Norway.
 The handover success rate is 100% in the Huayang field in Chengdu.

3/23/15 10
Page 104 4
 DL Power Adjustment
Subcarriers share the transmit power of an eNodeB, and therefore the transmit power of each
subcarrier depends on the configured system bandwidth (such as 5 MHz and 10 MHz). A larger
Definitions in bandwidth will result in lower power of each subcarrier. LTE uses PA and PB parameters to adjust

3GPP power.

specifications ρA: indicates the ratio of the data subcarrier power of OFDM symbols excluding pilot symbols to
the pilot subcarrier power.
ρB: indicates the ratio of the data subcarrier power of OFDM symbols including pilot symbols to
the pilot subcarrier power.
 Cell specific reference signals (RS) are embedded into the overall signal bandwidth.
 RS are the highest powered component within the DL signal.
 The power level of the reference signal is signaled within system information to the device, it is cell-
specific, and is in the range of -60 to +50 dBm per 15 kHz.
 It is a requirement that the LTE base station transmits all reference signals with constant power over
the entire bandwidth.
 The power of all other signal components (synchronization signals, PBCH, PCFICH, PDCCH,
PDSCH and PHICH) is set relative to this value.
 There are OFDM symbols that do contain RE carrying RS and there are that don’t, the power
implications differ in those cases.
 The relative PDSCH power for those symbols is given by two different parameters p A and p B.

3/23/15 10
5
DL Power Adjustment

 For the majority of cases p A corresponds to

the parameter PA, that is signaled via higher
layers. Only for some special cases, like
transmit diversity with four antennas or
Multi-user MIMO, p A is computed differently.
PA is device specific, comes as part of the
RRCConnectionSetup message, and can
take one out of eight different values
 PB is related to the cell-specific RS power
and can not be changed dynamically. It can
take one out of four integer values.
Depending on the number of used transmit
antennas (1, 2 or 4) each value corresponds
to a certain ratio and thus power offset.
 LTE networks that are currently deployed
worldwide are supporting 2x2 MIMO. Let’s
assume PB = 3. In that case the RE carrying
data in that OFDM symbol where RS are
present, are transmitted with an additional
offset of 3 dB compared to symbols without
RS [Ref.3]. For only one transmit antenna
(SISO) PB = 3 translates to -3.98 dB.

3/23/15 10
6
Why is DL Power Adjustment necessary?

 The overall goal is to have a constant power for all OFDM symbols to
avoid power variations at the receiver (UE).
 With less PDSCH power given by PB the boost of reference signals is
compensated, compared to OFDM symbols that do not contain
reference signals.
 The PDSCH power depends always on the allocation, i.e. the number
of allocated Resource Blocks (RB).
 Allocation can change from subframe to subframe, thus PA can also
change on a 1 millisecond basis. While incorporating PAand PB it is
ensured that the overall OFDM symbol power remains constant, even
when the PDSCH allocation is changed.

3/23/15 10
7
 Classification of Coverage Problems (RSRP is
mainly involved)

Weak coverage and Imbalance between Lack of a

Cross coverage
coverage holes uplink and downlink dominant cell

Each cell on a
The actual coverage network must
must be consistent Uplink and downlink have a dominant
Continuous with the planned one losses must be coverage area to
coverage must be to prevent service balanced to resolve prevent frequent
ensured. drops caused by uplink and downlink reselections or
isolated islands coverage problems. handovers caused
during handovers. by signal
changes.

Page
108
3/23/15 10
8
Factors Affecting Coverage

1 2
Downlink: Uplink:
•Equivalent isotropic •eNodeB receiver sensitivity
radiated power (EIRP) •Antenna diversity gain
•Total transmit power •UE transmit power
•Combining loss •Propagation loss of uplink
•Path loss (PL)
radio signals
•Frequency band •Impact of tower-mounted
•Distance between a receive
amplifiers (TMAs) on uplink
point and an eNodeB
•Scenarios (urban and
suburban areas) and terrains
(plains, mountains, and hills)
of electric wave propagation
•Antenna gain
•Antenna height
•Antenna parameters
(antenna pattern)
•Antenna tilt
•Antenna azimuth

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Weak Coverage and Coverage Holes

The signal quality in cells is poorer than the optimization baseline in an area. As a result,
Weak UEs cannot be registered with the network or accessed services cannot meet QoS
coverag requirements.
e

If there is no network coverage or coverage levels are excessively low in an area, the area is
called a weak coverage area. The receive level of a UE is less than its minimum access level
(RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN) because downlink receive levels in a weak coverage area are
Coverage holes unstable. In this situation, the UE is disconnected from the network. After entering a weak
coverage area, UEs in connected mode cannot be handed over to a high-level cell, and even
service drops occur because of low levels and signal quality.

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 Resolving Weak Coverage Problems

Analyze geographical Deploy new eNodeBs if Use RRUs, indoor

environments and check the
receive levels of adjacent
eNodeBs.
Analyze the EIRP of each
sector based on parameter
configurations and ensure
EIRPs can reach maximum
values if possible.
Increase pilot power.
Adjust antenna azimuths and
tilts, increase antenna height,
and use high-gain antennas.
coverage hole problems
cannot be resolved by
adjusting antennas.
Increase coverage by
adjacent eNodeBs to achieve
large coverage overlapping
between two eNodeBs and
ensure a moderate handover
area.
Note: Increasing coverage
may lead to co-channel and
adjacent-channel
interference.
distribution systems, leaky
feeders, and directional
antennas to resolve the
problem with blind spots in
elevator shafts, tunnels,
underground garages or
basements, and high
buildings.
Analyze the impact of
scenarios and terrains on
coverage.

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 Case: Searching for a Weak Coverage Area by Using
a Scanner or Performing Drive Tests on UEs

Perform drive tests in zero-

load environments to obtain
the distribution of signals on
test routes. Then, find a weak
coverage area based on the
distribution, as shown in the
figure.
Adjust RF parameters of the
eNodeB covering the area.
Weak
coverage
area

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 Lack of a Dominant Cell

In an area without a dominant cell, the receive level of the serving cell is similar to the receive
levels of its neighboring cells and the receive levels of downlink signals between different cells are
close to cell reselection thresholds. Receive levels in an area without a dominant cell are also

Lack of a unsatisfactory. The SINR of the serving cell becomes unstable because of frequency reuse, and
even receive quality becomes unsatisfactory. In this situation, a dominant cell is frequently
dominant
reselected and changed in idle mode. As a result, frequent handovers or service drops occur on
cell
UEs in connected mode because of poor signal quality. An area without a dominant cell can also
be regarded as a weak coverage area.

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Resolving Problems with Lack of a
Dominant Cell

 Determine cells covering an  Adjust engineering

area without a dominant parameters of a cell that
cell during network can optimally cover the area
planning, and adjust as required.

antenna tilts and azimuths

to increase coverage by a
cell with strong signals and …

decrease coverage of other

cells with weak signals.

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Case: Searching for an Area
Without a Dominant Cell
 Symptom
UEs frequently perform cell reselections
or handovers between identical cells.
 Analysis
Analysis can be based on signaling
procedures and PCI distribution.
According to PCI distribution shown in the
figure, PCIs alternate in two or more
colors if there is no dominant cell.
 Solution
According to the coverage plan, cell 337
is a dominant cell covering the area and
cell 49 also has strong signals. To ensure
handovers between cells 337 and 49 at Lack of a
crossroads, increase tilts in cell 49. dominant
cell

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5
Cross Coverage / Overshoot

Cross coverage means that the coverage scope of an eNodeB exceeds the planned one and
generates discontinuous dominant areas in the coverage scope of other eNodeBs. For example, if
the height of a site is much higher than the average height of surrounding buildings, its transmit
signals propagate far along hills or roads and form dominant coverage in the coverage scope of
other eNodeBs. This is an “island” phenomenon. If a call is connected to an island that is far away
Cross from an eNodeB but is still served by the eNodeB, and cells around the island are not configured
coverage as neighboring cells of the current cell when cell handover parameters are configured, call drops
may occur immediately once UEs leave the island. If neighboring cells are configured but the
island is excessively small, call drops may also occur because UEs are not promptly handed over.
In addition, cross coverage occurs on two sides of a bay because a short distance between the
two sides. Therefore, eNodeBs on two sides of a bay must be specifically designed.

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 Resolving Cross Coverage Problems
 Adjust antenna azimuths
properly so that the direction
of the main lobe slightly
obliques from the direction
of a street. This reduces
excessively far coverage by
electric waves because of
reflection from buildings on
two sides of the street.
 Adjust antenna tilts or  Decrease the antenna
replace antennas with large- height for a high site.
tilt antennas while ensuring  Decrease transmit power of
proper antenna azimuths. Tilt carriers when cell
adjustment is the most performance is not affected.
effective approach to control
coverage. Tilts are classified
into electrical tilts and …
mechanical tilts. Electrical
tilts are preferentially
adjusted if possible.
Page
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Case: Cross Coverage Caused by
Improper Tilt Settings
 Symptom
As shown in the upper right figure, cross
coverage occurs in a cell whose PCI is
288. Therefore, the cell interferes with
other cells, which increases the
probability of service drops.

 Analysis
The most possible cause for cross
coverage is excessively antenna height
or improper tilt settings. According to a
check on the current engineering
parameter settings, the tilt is set to an
excessively small value. Therefore, it is
recommended that the tilt be increased.

 Solution
Adjust the tilt of cell 288 from 3 to 6. As
shown in the lower right figure, cross
coverage of cell 288 is significantly
reduced after the tilt is adjusted.
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 Case: Inverse Connections Involved in the
Antenna System

 Symptom
The RSRPs of cells 0 is > than Cell 1 in front
cell 1
 Analysis
After installation and commissioning are
complete, the RSRP in the direction of the
main lobe in cell 1 is low.
Result from drive shows cell 1 antenna is
pointing in the wrong direction. Cell 0 is
filling up the hole.
 Solution
Adjust antennas properly.

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9
Imbalance Between Uplink and
Downlink
When UE transmit power is less than eNodeB transmit power, UEs in idle mode may receive
eNodeB signals and successfully register in cells. However, the eNodeB cannot receive uplink
signals because of limited power when UEs perform random access or upload data. In this
Imbalance situation, the uplink coverage distance is less than the downlink coverage distance. Imbalance

between between uplink and downlink involves limited uplink or downlink coverage. In limited uplink
coverage, UE transmit power reaches its maximum but still cannot meet the requirement for uplink
uplink and BLERs. In limited downlink coverage, the downlink DCH transmit code power reaches its maximum
downlink but still cannot meet the requirement for the downlink BLER. Imbalance between uplink and
downlink leads to service drops. The most common cause is limited uplink coverage.

Downlink coverage area

Uplink coverage area

coverage area

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Resolving Problems with Imbalance
Between Uplink and Downlink
 If no performance data is available for RF
optimization, trace a single user in the
OMC equipment room to obtain uplink
measurement reports on the Uu
interface, and then analyze the
measurement reports and drive test files.
 If performance data is available, check
each carrier in each cell for imbalance
between uplink and downlink based on
uplink and downlink balance
measurements.
 If uplink interference leads to imbalance
between uplink and downlink, monitor
eNodeB alarms to check for interference.
 Check whether equipment works properly
and whether alarms are generated if
imbalance between uplink and downlink is
caused by other factors, for example, uplink
and downlink gains of repeaters and trunk
… set incorrectly, the antenna
amplifiers are
system for receive diversity is faulty when
reception and transmission are separated,
or power amplifiers are faulty. If equipment
works properly or alarms are generated,
take measures such as replacement,
isolation, and adjustment.
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Agenda

 LTE Overview
 Background
 Architecture
 Air Interface
 Call Flows and Handovers
 LTE Optimization
 Network and RF Optimization Processes
 LT RF Optimization Objects
 Troubleshooting
 Handover success rate
 Throughput

3/23/15 12
2
 Signal Quality (SINR is mainly
involved)
⑤ Antenna
azimuths
⑥ Antenna tilts
③ Site
selection

X
④ Antenna
② Cell layout height

① Frequency
plan

R pr oblems
f anal yzing SIN
o
Process

Page
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Resolving Signal Quality Issues

Optimizing
Optimizing Change and optimize frequencies based on drive test and performance
frequencies
frequencies measurement data.

Adjustingthe
the Adjust antenna azimuths and tilts to change the distribution of signals in an
Adjusting
interfered area by increasing the level of a dominant sector and decreasing
antennasystem
antenna system
levels of other sectors.

Addingdominant
Adding dominant
Increase power of a cell and decrease power of other cells to form a dominant
coverage
coverage cell.

Decrease RS power to reduce coverage if the antenna pattern is distorted because of a large
Adjustingpower
Adjusting power antenna tilt.
Power adjustment and antenna system adjustment can be used together.

3/23/15 12
4
Case: Adjusting Antenna Azimuths and
Tilts to Reduce Interference
 Symptom
Cross coverage occurs at sites 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, and co-channel interference occurs
in many areas.
 Analysis
According to the analysis of engineering parameters and drive test data, cell density is large in
coverage areas. Coverage by each cell can be reduced by adjusting antenna azimuths and tilts.
 Solution
Change the tilt in cell 28 from 2 degrees to 4 degrees so that the direction points to a
demonstration route. Change the tilt in cell 33 from 3 degrees to 6 degrees so that the direction
points to the Wanke Pavilion. Change the tilt in cells 50 and 51 from 3 degrees to 6 degrees so
that the direction points to the Communication Pavilion. Decrease the transmit power in cell 33 by
3 dB to reduce its interference to overhead footpaths near China Pavilion.

Poor signal
quality before
optimization

SINR before optimization in Puxi Page

SINR after optimization in Puxi
125
3/23/15 12
5
 Case: Changing PCIs of Intra-frequency

Cells to Reduce Interference
Symptom

Near Japan Pavilion, UEs access a cell whose PCI is 3 and SINRs are low. UEs are about 200 m away from the
eNodeB. This problem may be caused by co-channel interference.

 Analysis

This problem is not caused by co-channel interference because no neighboring cell has the same frequency as the
current cell. Cell 6 interferes with cell 3. SINRs increase after cell 6 is disabled. In theory, staggered PCIs can
reduce interference.

 Solution

Change PCI 6 to PCI 8. Test results show that SINRs increase by about 10 dB.

SINR when cell 6 is enabled SINR when cell 6 is disabled SINR when PCI 6 is changed to PCI 8

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6
Case: Handover Failure Caused by
Severe Interference
 Symptom

During a test, handovers from PCI 281 to PCI 279 fail.

 Analysis

Cell 281 is a source cell and is interfered by cells 279 and 178. Delivered handover commands always
fail and cannot be received correctly by UEs. Cell 279 is a target cell for handover, and its coverage is
not adjusted preferentially because the signal strength in the handover area can ensure signal quality
after handovers. Therefore, cell 178 must be adjusted to reduce its interference to cell 281.

 Solution

Adjust antenna tilts to decrease coverage by cell 178.

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Agenda

 LTE Overview
 Background
 Architecture
 Air Interface
 Call Flows and Handovers
 LTE Optimization
 Network and RF Optimization Processes
 LT RF Optimization Objects
 Troubleshooting
 Handover success rate
 Throughput

3/23/15 12
8
Analysis of Handover Success Rate Problems

Neighboring cell optimization must be performed to ensure that UEs in idle or

connected mode can promptly perform reselection to or be handed over to
optimal serving cells. This helps achieve continuous coverage. In addition,
problems with delay, ping-pong, and non-logical handovers can be resolved by
optimizing coverage, interference, and handover parameters.

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Handover Problem Analysis
 Checking handover validity

Obtain source and target cells using drive test software and then check whether handovers are performed
between two cells that are geographically far using Mapinfo.

 Checking interference
Check interference in both source and target cells because handover failures may be caused by uplink or
downlink interference.

 Checking coverage

Check source and target cells for cross coverage, imbalance between uplink and downlink, and carrier-level
receive quality and level.

 Check contents

Check handovers based on RSRPs measured in UE drive tests.

1. Verify that RSRPs in the expected source and target cells are maximum.
2. Verify that the absolute RSRPs in the source and target cells are reasonable at a handover point. In
other words, handovers are not allowed if signal quality is excessively poor. Specific RSRPs are
determined based on the entire RSRPs on a network.

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 Case: Service Drops Caused by Missing
Neighboring Cell Configuration
 Symptom

As shown in the upper right figure, a UE

sends multiple measurement reports
but is not handed over, which may be
caused by missing neighboring cell
configuration.

 Analysis

According to measurement reports, the

UE sends an A3 report of cell 64.
However, the
RRCConnectionReconfiguration
message in the lower right figure
shows that the current cell is cell 278
(the first cell) and cell 64 is not
included in the message. This
indicates that cells 278 and 64 are not
configured as neighboring cells.
Neighboring cell configuration on live
networks can be checked for further
confirmation.
 Solution
Configure cells 278 and 64 as
neighboring cells. Page
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DL Throughput troubleshooting

3/23/15 13
2
Low throughput causes in DL LTE

 Step 1: Identify Cell with Low DL throughput

 Step 2: Identify DL interference
 Low CQI cells
 Low CQI may be due to interference
 Check for Interfering source
 Step 3 :Validate BLER values
 Run BLER report in the identified cells, BLER≤10 is acceptable, Otherwise
poor RF environment
 Improve RF environment.

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Throughput Troubleshooting

3/23/15 13
4
 Summary
RF optimization involves adjustment of neighboring cell lists and engineering parameters.

Most coverage and interference problems can be resolved by taking the following measures (sorted in descending
order by priority):

 Adjusting antenna tilts

 Adjusting antenna azimuths

 Adjusting antenna height

 Adjusting antenna position

 Adjusting antenna types

 Adding TMAs

 Adjusting site position

 Adding sites or RRUs

This document describes what are involved in the RF optimization phase of network optimization. RF optimization
focuses on improvement of signal distribution and provides a good radio signal environment for subsequent
service parameter optimization. RF optimization mainly use drive tests, which can be supplemented by other tests.
RF optimization focuses on coverage and handover problems, which can be supplemented by other problems. RF
optimization aims to resolve handover, service drop, access, and interference problems caused by these
problems. Engineering parameters and neighboring cell lists are adjusted in the RF optimization phase, while cell
parameters are adjusted in the parameter optimization phase.

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5
Backup

3/23/15 13
6
LTE identifiers overview**

3/23/15 13
7
Synchronization and Cell Search

3/23/15 13
8
Channel Mapping

3/23/15 13
9
 Multi-antenna transmission
Potential benefits

Directivity Spatial multiplexing Diversity

Antenna/Beamforming gain Data rate multiplication Reduce fading

Example Example Example

P
S-

Channel knowledge (average/instant)

Transmit signal in the Transmit several signals in Transmit signal in
best direction different directions all directions

3/23/15 14
0
 LTE transmission modes
positioning of some of the modes

Directivity Spatial multiplexing Diversity

Antenna/Beamforming gain Data rate multiplication Reduce fading
TM2 Transmit diversity

TM3 Open loop spatial multiplexing

TM4 Closed loop spatial multiplexing

TM7 single layer with

proprietary pre-
coding

TM8 dual layer with proprietary pre-coding

3/23/15 14
1
LTE Antenna Configurations (dl)
3GPP TS 36.213 3GPP TS 36.213 Max Ericsson configurations – Examples Typical TX antenna Note 1: Use only
Transmissions modes Transmission schemes rank configuration when the number of
Rx antennas are
Mode 1 - Single-antenna port 0 1 Single transmit antenna I important, e.g.,
“Single-antenna port” 1x2 single transmit antenna (see Note 1) when specifying
simulation
Mode 2 - Transmit diversity 1 2-antenna transmit diversity X conditions.
“Transmit diversity” 2x2 transmit diversity (see Note 1)
Note 2: NxM: N =
4-antenna transmit diversity X X #TX antennas, M =
4x2 transmit diversity (see Note 1) #RX antennas.

Mode 3 - Transmit diversity 2 2x2 open-loop spatial multiplexing X Note 3: ”Max rank”
“Open-loop spatial - Large delay CDD = maximum number
multiplexing” 4x2 open-loop spatial multiplexing X X of parallel data
streams.
4 4x4 open-loop spatial multiplexing
Note 4: Which
Mode 4 - Transmit diversity 2 2x2 closed-loop spatial multiplexing X Transmission
“Closed-loop spatial scheme to be used
- Closed-loop spatial is described in Table
multiplexing” multiplexing 4x2 closed-loop spatial multiplexing X X
7.1-5 in 3GPP TS
4 4x4 closed-loop spatial multiplexing 36.213.

2 4x2 beamformed closed-loop spatial multiplexing XX

1 2-antenna closed-loop beamforming II

4-antenna closed-loop beamforming IIII

Mode 5 - Transmit diversity 1 2-antenna multi-user MIMO ( X) or II
“Multi-user MIMO” - Multi-user MIMO
4-antenna multi-user MIMO (X X) or XX or I I I I
Mode 6 - Transmit diversity 1 2-antenna closed-loop beamforming II
”Single layer closed-loop - Single layer closed-loop
spatial multiplexing” spatial multiplexing 4-antenna closed-loop beamforming IIII

Mode 7 - Transmit diversity 1 4-antenna beamforming IIII

”Single-layer beamforming” - Single antenna port 0
- Single antenna port 5 8-antenna beamforming IIIIIIII

Mode 8 - Transmit diversity 2 Dual-layer 4-antenna beamforming XX

“Dual-layer beamforming” - Single antenna port 0
- Dual layer port 7 and 8 Dual-layer 8-antenna beamforming XXXX
- Single antenna port 7 or 8

3/23/15 14
2
LTE transmission modes
Downlink multiple antenna transmission modes

Rel-8  TM2 Transmit diversity

 TM3 Open loop spatial multiplexing 1, 2 or 4 antenna ports
 TM4 Closed loop spatial multiplexing with cell-specific
reference signals
 TM5 Codebook based MU-MIMO (CRS)
 TM6 Rank-1 closed loop spatial multiplexing
 TM7 Single layer transmission

UE-specific
reference
Rel-9
signals
 TM8 Dual layer transmission for
demodulation
+CSI reference
Rel-10 signals for
enhanced
 TM9 Up-to-8 layer transmission
feedback
3/23/15 14
3
Best Transmission Mode
BAsed on Antenna SETUP
TM1 (single antenna)

TM3 (un-correlated antennas)

TM4 (correlated antennas)

TM3 (un-correlated antennas)

TM3 (un-correlated antennas)

TM4 (correlated antennas)

TM9, TM8, TM3/TM7 for UEs not supporting TM8

3/23/15 14
4