SRA L

Low Capacity Digital

Radio System
General
Introduction
In most countries the large
introduction of mobile and
personal telephony and new
concepts in the access network
are greatly increasing the market
of low capacity radios operating
in the RF bands starting from 7
up to the millimeter wave bands
of 38 and also 55 GHz. In
particular GSM and then DCS and
RLL (Radio in the Local Loop)
technologies (DECT, CDMA, etc.),
together with access and
subscriber distribution network
require, for the connection among
equipment, very agile and flexible
radio links.
The combination of several
factors (quick provision and high
reliability of the service, very
short hop lengths and urban
environment) has been changing
the requirements that a radio
system must satisfy in terms of
flexibility, performance,
management and frequency
bands used.
Siemens, in order to meet the
market demand, has developed a
new family of low capacity digital
radios, the SRA L, with a system
concept applicable to frequency
bands ranging from 7 to 55 GHz
with a capacity of 2/2x2, 4x2 and
8x2 Mbit/s. This large frequency
coverage is necessary to satisfy
different network configurations
and different propagation
conditions.
SRA L Indoor Equipment
Thanks to the experience recently
matured with the latest
generations of SDH high and
medium capacity radios, one of
the main targets for SRA L is to
reduce dimensions and delivery
time. This objective is achieved
basing the design on the full
digital concept and on state-of-
the-art technologies in RF
electronics and VLSI components
at baseband level and exploiting
as much commonality as possible
among the different system
configurations and RF bands.
The technology employed allows
the radio system to have the
indoor unit completely frequency-
independent and to be, on the
whole, capacity-independent,
being possible to change the bit
rate transmitted by means of
simple software commands.
The flexibility of the system is
furtherly increased thanks to the
possibility to set, via simple
software commands, the
operating radio frequency,
transmitter and receiver side, the
output power, the configuration
of the radio system (unprotected,
protected, add/drop repeater, ...)
and so on.
In order to keep the complexity of
the RF amplifier low, considering
also the frequency bands
involved, a modulation particularly
strong against non linearity has
been chosen: CPM - Continuous
Phase Modulation.
The main characteristics of the
system in order to satisfy the
new market requirements can be
summed up as follows:
■ Flexibility, obtained by:
• large frequency coverage
(RF bands from 7 up to
38 GHz with possibility to
expand the family to the
RF bands from 7 up to
55 GHz) using the same
indoor unit
• maximum frequency
tunability within the selected
RF band
• software controlled
operating RF setting
• software controlled system
capacity without any
hardware change
• software controlled output
power setting
• flexible system structure
(unprotected/protected,
terminal/repeater)
■ Ease of installation, obtained
by indoor and outdoor units
which are small in size and
light in weight and the use of a
single coaxial cable for their
interconnection. Moreover, the
outdoor unit is directly
connected to the rear of the
antenna support by means of a
standard RF interface without
any waveguide and fixed to it
by means of four retaining
latches. The antenna itself is
fixed to the pole by means of
an appropriate mounting
structure

■ Very low power consumption Management of SRA L from a PC

thanks to the use of state-of-
the-art technologies in RF
electronics and of VLSI
components at baseband level
which also results in a better
system reliability
■ No fan use, very important to
greatly improve the reliability of
the system (a version with a
protected fan is available for
enlarged temperature range
applications)
■ Built-in advanced management
facilities, with possibility of
remote management from a
Network PC or the Siemens
Network Management
Systems (NMS)
■ Improved quality and
performance monitoring (as per
ITU-T Recc. G.826) with
respect to the previous LCDR
generations
■ Management integration inside
Siemens SDH Network
Management System EM-OS
■ Mechanical and electrical
integration inside Siemens
mobile network BTS’s outdoor
shelters
■ Mechanical and electrical
integration inside Siemens
DECTlink (the Siemens
RLL equipment based on DECT
technology) and CDMAlink (the
Siemens RLL equipment based
on CDMA technology) RBC’s
(Radio Base Station Controller)
outdoor shelters
■ Management integration inside
Siemens Network
Management System for
access network including RLL
network elements Access/
Integrator.
RF Channel Arrangements
The SRA L digital radio system is
presently intended to operate in
the 7, 8, 10,5, 13, 15, 18, 23, 26
and 38 GHz frequency bands,
with a channel spacing of 3.5, 7
Frequency bands (GHz)
7.1-7.9
8.2-8.5
10.5-10.7
12,75 - 13,25
14.4-15.35
17.7-19.7
21.2-23.6
24.5-26.5
37.0-39.5
and 14 MHz for 2/2x2, 4x2 and
8x2 Mbit/s capacity respectively.
Thanks to the high spectrum
efficiency of the CPM format
chosen, it is possible to fulfill the
relevant ETSI masks even
transmitting a high gross bit rate
(nearly 5, 10 and 20 Mbit/s for the
2x2, 4x2 and 8x2 Mbit/s capacity
respectively).
In the table below the detailed
frequency bands of the SRA L
digital radio system are reported
together with the relevant ITU-R
Recommendations.
Furthermore, the system concept
and the technologies adopted
allows to cover the full range of
RF bands from 7 up to 55 GHz
with very few hardware changes
of RF modules.
ITU-R
385
386
747
497
636
595
637
748
749
Applications

SRA L is a completely new ■ Emergency and temporary ■ Fast growing networks, in

generation of low capacity SHF
and millimetre wave radios, the
features of which make them
ideal to meet the requirements in
mobile and personal telephony
infrastructures and in the outer
layer of a telecommunication
network.
links to be started in record particular access networks like
time. This asset is essential to the ones owned by new
provide temporary connections private operators in newly
or to replace failed deregulated markets where the
transmission equipment quickest and cheapest way to
get up and running is via digital
microwave radio

The main applications foreseen

for the SRA L digital radio system
are the following: STM-1 Switch

■ BTS interconnections in cellular

PSTN/ISDN

and future microcellular and MSC

picocellular mobile and 21x2 Mbit/s

personal communication
networks; the amount of small
cells, mainly in urban areas,
puts the problem of a very high 4/8x2 Mbit/s 4/8x2 Mbit/s 4x2 Mbit/s

number of short links that only 2 Mbit/s

very flexible and easy BSC BSC

2 Mbit/s

installation radios in millimetric 4/8x2 Mbit/s 4/8x2 Mbit/s 2x2 Mbit/s

BTS BTS BTS BTS
bands, for path clearance,
increased frequency reuse and BTS
ease of installation, can
overcome (Fig. 1) 4/8x2 Mbit/s 2 Mbit/s

BTS BTS BTS BTS

■ Network elements
interconnections for the new
Radio into the Local Loop (RLL)
applications and technologies Figure 1 SRA L - Mobile and Personal Communication Networks Application
(DECT, CDMA, etc.), which are
also very promising for new
private access network
operators (Fig. 2).

■ Point-to-point links in access RBS

RBS
RBS
RBS
and subscriber distribution RBS RBS
RBC RBC
networks for the construction RBS RBS

of very short links of a few RBS RBS

kilometers in remote areas or RBS

RBS
RBC RBC

RBS
RBS

areas with access difficulties RBS RBS

(e.g. across a river) 4/8 x 2 Mbit/s

non redundant

■ Corporate networks
interconnection; SRA L is very
well suited to the construction RBS
RBS
RBS
RBS

of inter-PABX links and inter- RBS

RBS
RBC RBC RBS
RBS
LAN networks when used in RBS RBS
conjunction with bridges and RBS RBC RBC RBS

routers. These applications can RBS RBS

be implemented in many RBS RBS

different contexts over 16 x V5.1

RDU RDU
16 x V5.1

transmission distances ranging RBS Radio Base Station

Switch

from a few hundred meters RBC Radio Base Station Controller

RDU Radio Distribution Unit
between two buildings to
several kilometers between
two sites Figure 2 SRA L - RLL Networks Application (example)
Technology

The system design is based on

the use of the most advanced
technologies and a big effort has
been made to transfer complexity
from analog to digital hardware in
order to take advantage of
customised integration (ASICs)
and to improve reliability.

The nature of this technology

results in RF electronics small in
size, light in weight, low in power
consumption and high in
reliability. Besides, the high level
of integration and the reduced
number of interconnections
between modules together with
the choice of a Continuous Phase
Modulation (CPM) scheme
improves mechanical resistance
to the shocks and vibrations that
are inevitable in outdoor
installation environments and
results in better stability and
immunity to phase hits and
microphony.

A full multirate processing in the

range 4:1 was the most
challenging task in implementing
a number of functions like
multiplexing, add/dropping, signal
framing, signal coding, Forward
Error Correction, Tx/Rx signal
shaping, modulation and
demodulation processes. Thus, a
full multirate capability has been
obtained by a fully programmable
baseband/modemodulation
hardware and an extensive use of
Digital Signal Processing (DSP).
A particular Continuous Phase
Modulation (CPM) format,
obtained by properly shaping the
pulses to be modulated to meet
the ETSI masks for emitted
spectral power density even with
very high gross bit rates, has
been adopted. This, thanks to its
high immunity to non-linearities,
allows carrier frequency
multiplication and high efficiency
non linear saturated power
amplifiers, so allowing reduced
mechanical dimensions and lower
power consumption.
SRA L Outdoor Unit
The choice of a differential
demodulation associated with
Viterbi decoding makes the SRA L
system particularly resistant to
frequency short term instability,
frequency jumps and RF oscillator
phase noise, so improving its
robustness against mechanical
shocks, vibrations and
temperature changes.
The reduced needed transmitter
output back-off and the use of
Viterbi decoding gives to SRA L
an advantage of system gain in
the order of 3 dB in respect to
usual shaped QPSK (4-QAM)
solutions with coherent
demodulation.
At RF level a Modulation Transfer
Loop (MTL) is adopted to directly
transpose to RF the modulated
signal while the final stage
amplifier is realized with chip-and-
wire technology up to 23 GHz
and with MMIC technology over
26 GHz.
The Tx output power control is
operated, on a 24 dB range,
through a linear RF attenuator
with associated feedback control.
A dual UHF synthesizer is used
for frequency control and setting,
so that the system is as much as
possible independent from the
Tx/Rx frequency spacing.
The technology used and the
outdoor unit architecture chosen
allow to include all the
RF- dependent parts of the
system in one single block in the
microwave section so reducing
developing time for new RF
bands and delivery time of the
equipment.
Outstanding features
The key features of the system
are:
■ Performance improvement
through advanced technology
solutions
■ Forward Error Correction (FEC)
The equipment includes a Reed
Solomon error’s corrector (FEC)
with a correction capability of up
to 5 errored bytes per frame.
This improves the system gain
of SRA L
■ RF independent Indoor Unit
Any indoor unit can be used with
any outdoor unit since they are
separately produced and tested in
factory.
Figure 3 SRA L - (1+1) Configuration on 2 Antennas
■ Large RF bands coverage
The SRA L equipment is
presently intended to operate in
the 7, 8, 10.5, 13, 15, 18, 23, 26
and 38 GHz RF bands, but a
complete frequency coverage
from 7 to 55 GHz can be very
easily obtained by changing only
few RF modules into the ODU.
■ Wide frequency coverage of
RF units and synthesizer
(minimum a whole sub-band)
■ System configuration-
independent mechanical
arrangement
All system configurations
available make use of the same
blocks (hardware) and the
configuration change is
performed via software.
The following configurations are
available using the same 2 19"
rack units high indoor shelf only
with software commands and
using a number of radio transport
module cards (the BB-modem
cards) and ODU’s equivalent to
the needed transceivers:
• (1+0)
• 2x(1+0)
• through repeater
• add/drop repeater
• (1+1) hot stand-by on 1 or
2 antennas (space diversity
option)
• (1+1) frequency diversity on
2 antennas (space diversity)
■ Software controlled capacity
upgrading (from 2 up to
8x2 Mbit/s)
The indoor unit of the equipment
adopts a baseband structure
permitting the software setting,
from the Local or Network PC or
from the management system, of
the transport capacity while the
same outdoor unit is adopted for
all the capacities foreseen.
The effective maximum capacity
available by using a particular
indoor unit is then fixed via
software and is managed by
means of licence fees. Four types
of licences are foreseen:
• 2 Mbit/s fixed capacity
• up to 2x2 Mbit/s programmable
capacity
• up to 4x2 Mbit/s programmable
capacity
• up to 8x2 Mbit/s programmable
capacity
■ Maximum software controlled
in-field frequency tunability

The in-field tunability of SRA L is

only limited by the RF filters
bandwidth limitation necessary to
obtain the requested Tx/Rx
isolation

■ Software controlled output

power setting (24 dB range)

This feature is useful to decrease

transmitted power when the
radio is used for very short hop
lengths so reducing interferences
towards other links and improving
the nodal efficiency and the
flexibility of the system. Besides,
better frequency re-use can be
obtained.

■ Mechanical compactness

The SRA L radio system indoor

unit is arranged in a 2 19" rack
units high shelf, where indoor
electronics for two (1+0)
unprotected systems, also in add/
drop repeater configuration, or
one (1+1) hot stand-by or
frequency diversity protected
system can be housed.
Besides, mechanically compact
and light outdoor unit provides
ease of handling for equipment
set-up and commissioning. Two
of these identical ODU’s are used
for the (1+1) protected or 2x(1+0)
configuration.
The antenna diameters foreseen
for integrated installation with the
ODU are 30, 60 and/or 120 cm
depending on the RF band.
Figure 4 SRA L - (1+1) Configuration on 1 Antenna
■ Easy and quick installation
Besides the reduced mechanical
dimensions and weights of IDU
and ODU, the installation of the
SRA L radio system is made very
easy and quick thanks to the
adoption of a front access only
IDU (front/rear access can be
offered on request), the adoption
of a single coaxial cable for the
connection between IDU and
ODU and of a very easy and quick
mounting of the outdoor case on
the antenna support by means of
four retaining latches avoiding the
use of any waveguide.
The protected configuration is
obtained using either a dual
antenna mechanical structure
with each ODU connected to the
correspondent antenna in the
same way as per the single
configuration (see Fig. 3) or
connecting the two ODU’s to a
single antenna by means of a RF
coupler (hot stand-by) (see Fig. 4).
In both cases the ODU’s are
connected to the antenna support
itself without using any
waveguide.
■ Low power consumption
The use of state-of-the-art RF
technologies in the microwave
part and of VLSI circuits at
baseband level has proved
remarkably important in reducing
power consumption, in increasing
the system reliability and in
avoiding the use of any fan in the
IDU.
■ No fan use in the IDU (for
normal temperature range)
■ Built-in advanced management
facilities.
A suitable network element
concept and an optimized
embedded software architecture
have been selected to allow both
a stand alone radio management
(Local and Network Remote PC)
and a radio management fully
integrated with the Siemens
Network Management Systems
(NMS). From these all the
software selectable parameters
of the SRA L system (like
capacity, RF channel, system
configuration, output power, etc.)
can be set and checked while a
complete fault management and
performance monitoring, as per
G.826 standard, can be
performed locally (Local PC) or
remotely (Network PC or NMS).

■ Improved quality and

performance monitoring (as per
ITU-T G.826)

■ Local and remote baseband SRA L Outdoor equipment for add/drop repeater configuration
loopbacks (at 2 Mbit/s level)

■ Mechanical integration into

Siemens BTS outdoor shelters

Two different outdoor ■ Mechanical integration into

configurations are foreseen for
the BTS’s of the new Siemens
generation of mobile network
equipment, the SBS (Siemens
Base Station). One of these,
called BS 61, is able to house six
GSM or DCS transceivers and the
other, called BS 21, two
transceivers.
Siemens Dectlink Radio Base
Station Controller (RBC)
outdoor shelter
This allows Siemens to be in the
position to offer a compact, easy
to install and affordable solution
for Radio in the Local Loop
applications.

Inside the BS 61 outdoor shelter ■ Management integration inside

room for six 19" rack units IDU
equipment has been left empty,
while room for two 19" rack units
IDU equipment is present inside
the BS 21 outdoor shelter.
So three standard IDU’s
(corresponding to a maximum of
six transceivers) can be
integrated into the BS 61 outdoor
shelter and one IDU (two
transceivers) in the BS 21 one. In
this way the overall system cost
can be significantly reduced
Siemens SDH Network
Management System EM-OS
■ Management integration inside
Siemens Network
Management System for
access network including RLL
network elements Access/
Integrator
■ Software downloading.
System Building Blocks

The engineering of the SRA L
digital radio system is
characterized by the high
operating frequency. For this
reason, in order to minimize the
feeder loss and the installation
time, an indoor/outdoor split
configuration has been chosen.
The indoor part, consisting of the
baseband and IF units, is
connected by means of one (two)
single IF coaxial cable to one
(two) very compact outdoor
transceiver integrated with the
antenna (see Fig 5).
Taking into account the network
applications foreseen for the
equipment and the RF bands
adopted, the following system
configurations are made available,
using the same indoor shelf and
the same indoor blocks (the
number of radio transport
modules fit in the shelf is equal to
the number of transceivers):
• single terminal
• dual terminal
• through repeater (unprotected)
• add/drop repeater (unprotected)
• hot stand-by protected terminal
• frequency diversity protected terminal
All the above mentioned
configurations use the same
mechanical structure with regards
to the indoor equipment and the
change of configuration is
performed via software (one radio
transport module is added to pass
from (1+0) to (1+1) or 2x(1+0) or
repeater configuration).
With regards to the outdoor unit a
single compact mechanical
structure is foreseen for the
single terminal configuration and
two of these identical mechanical
structures for the other
configurations.
In case of unprotected
configurations the ODU is directly
connected to the rear of the
antenna support by means of a
standard RF connector and fixed
to it by means of four retaining
latches without using any
waveguide. The remote mounting
(1+0)
2x(1+0)
(1+1) (on 1 or 2 antennas)
(1+1) (on 2 antennas)
of the ODU separated from the
antenna, useful for example
when an antenna bigger than the
standard one is used for very long
hops, can be obtained thanks to
the use of a kit for the mounting
of the ODU to the pole and of a
standard waveguide.
For the protected configurations
two solutions are available, the
first using the same standard
ODU/antenna mechanical
arrangement used in the
unprotected configuration with
the two ODUs directly connected
to the rear of two different
antennas (normally used with
30 cm diameter antennas) (see
Fig. 3), and the second one using
a kit composed of a RF coupler
and the supporting hardware for
the connection of the 2 ODUs to
a single antenna (normally used
with 60 and 120 cm diameter
antennas) (see Fig. 4). In both
cases the ODUs are connected to
the antenna support itself (and no
waveguide is needed). The first
mounting structure allows to
have no additional RF losses with
respect to the unprotected
configuration and the same ease
of installation, while the second

64 kbit/s
bus structured RS 485 Qx/Q3 PLO
(optional)
F Outdoor
(local PC)
Unit

coax cable (max length 400m)

2/2x2/4x2/8x2 Mbit/s Tx 320 MHz, FSK 6.5 MHz, V DC

Indoor Rx 70 MHz, FSK 5.5 MHz

64 kbit/s V.11
Unit
EOW (optional) Outdoor
Unit
- radio transport module (up to 2) PLO
(BB / Modem unit) - transmitter
- controller - receiver
- tributary interface - ODU slave controller
- EOW (optional) - IF diplexer
- Q-Adapter - RF diplexer
- BB hitless switch - dual synthesizer
- Tx VCO
- Rx VCO
- RF switch
- power supply unit

Figure 5 SRA L - System Architecture

one is advisable when a lower
environmental impact is needed.
When an antenna different from
the SRA L standard one, for
example a bigger one for very
long hops, is used, a kit for the
mounting of the two ODUs and
the RF coupler to the pole and a
standard waveguide are used.
In Fig. 5 the location of the
subunits composing the SRA L
digital radio system is shown
together with the available
external interfaces and the
communication service channel
between indoor and outdoor parts
(FSK signals) necessary for alarm,
status and configuration data
transmission.
Indoor Unit
In Fig. 6 a block diagram of the
indoor part of the equipment is
reported.
Each block represented in this
diagram corresponds to a single
card housed in a 2 19" units high
shelf assembly, also compatible
with a 600x300 mm ETSI
standard rack (see Fig. 7).
The multirate capability is
obtained by a fully programmable
baseband/modem hardware
implemented into the radio
ODU
Tx Transport
Rx Modem
EOW
(opt.)
Figure 6 SRA L - Indoor Unit Block Diagram
Radio Transport Module
Radio Transport Module
Q-Adapter EOW
(opt.) (opt.)
Figure 7 SRA L - Indoor Unit Equipment Layout
transport module card. One or
two of these cards can be fit into
the indoor assembly so that the
IDU, common to all RF bands,
has been implemented with a
flexible and modular structure,
able to be set in different system
configurations:
■ (1+0) or 2x(1+0) configuration,
to be adopted for unprotected
point-to-point links or star
networks
■ add/drop or through repeater
for ring (multidrop) networks
■ (1+1) configuration with
frequency diversity or hot
stand-by protection
The radio transport module card
performs all the baseband
processing, modemodulation
functions, IF conversions, the
cable multiplexing and protection
and the management of
up to 8x2 Mbit/s
Module Tributary
Baseband Interface
Q-Adapter
(opt.)
Q interface
Available Configurations (same IDU)
Controller - (1+0)
A
U - 2x(1+0)
l - (1+1) hot stand-by
n
a Tributary - (1+1) frequency diversity
i - space diversity option (HSB and F.D.)
r Interface
t - unprotected through repeater
m (75 or 120 ohm)
- unprotected add/drop repeater
telemetry channel. Furthermore
this card houses an hitless switch
working on the aggregate signal
to offer protection against
multipath fadings (considerable in
the RF bands from 7 up to 18
GHz) in the frequency and space
diversity configuration with an
error-free switching.
Furthermore, the hardware
protection of the radio transport
module card itself against
breakdown is performed by
means of a switch operating at
2 Mbit/s level.
The tributary interface card (one
for each IDU) is used for
impedance adaptation of the
2 Mbit/s interfaces and their
protection against lightning
pulses.
The controller card is in charge of
internal supervision and protocol
handling towards local and
IDU
ODU
Transport Module Tx
Baseband Modem Rx
Alarm
Controller
Unit
local PC
64 kbit/s RS 485
 Tx
MTL xN
AGC
320 MHz

Alarms
& To/From
Commands µP
EOW

From/To DUAL
RX
IDU FSK UHF
Diplexer µP VCO
MODEM SYNTH

xN
To/From
µP
LO

70 MHz RxAGC
& LNA
IF Filtering

Figure 8 SRA L - Outdoor Unit Block Diagram

remote management interfaces, Outdoor Unit is digitally processed within the

while the alarm card is used to
have a parallel alarm interface.
The equipment can also include
the following two units as
options:
■ The Q-Adapter card, to be
installed in the gateway
network element restituting a
Qx/Q3 (or a QD2) interface
towards the network
management system.
■ The EOW card that allows
building up a service channel
network adopting DTMF
signalling (selective calling).
The same EOW card can be
used during the installation
phase for telephone
connections between the IDU
and the ODU (where a portable
local operator must be used) of
both ends of a link and during
the normal operation for
connections among all the
radios of the network (selective
calling facility by means of
DTMF signalling).
Several requirements have been
taken into account during the
design of the external transceiver:
high compactness and simplicity,
frequency agility over at least half
a sub-band (~ 500 MHz) and
electronic tunability, low power
consumption.
In Fig. 8 a simplified block
diagram of the ODU with the
main IF/RF system functions is
shown.
The complete frequency
coverage from 7 to 38 GHz is
obtained by changing only few
modules into the ODU, being the
different RF bands obtained
through RF frequency
multiplication.
Within the particular frequency
band a typical half-band tunability
is obtained through independent
Tx/Rx synthesized VCOs
associated with a modulation
transfer loop to directly transpose
to RF the modulated signal which
IDU. The RF filters are of the
maximum bandwidth allowed for
the chosen RF band and Tx/Rx
spacing to maximize in-field
tunability.
Signalling interfaces to/from IDU,
including the complete setting of
RF parameters (Tx/Rx frequency,
Tx power, multiplication factor, IF
selectivity), is managed, through
an ODU on-board microprocessor,
by the IDU controller card.
A complete system setting in
terms of configuration and
frequency capacity, in addition to
the above mentioned RF
parameters, is also operated by
the controller card in a local (Local
PC) or remote (Network PC or
NMS) mode.
Management
Referring to the major
applications intended for this new
LCDR family, a suitable Network
Element (NE) concept and an
optimized embedded software
architecture have been selected
to allow both a stand alone radio
management (Local and Network
PC) and a radio management
fully integrated within the existing
Telecommunication Management
Networks (TMN) and Network
Management Systems (NMS) by
Siemens (in particular EM-OS for
transport networks and Access/
Integrator for access networks).
This NE architecture, sketched in
Fig. 9, is based on a single
controller exchanging messages
with all the other system units
(S-interface to/from the outdoor
unit and all the indoor cards) with
a Master/Slave structure.
S-ODU 1/2
NMS channel
RS 232C
Controller
Routing
RS 485
Q-Adapter
Qx / Q3
S-Int
Alarm/FAN
S-Int
Trib-Int
S-Int
IDU
Figure 9 SRA L - Internal Management Architecture
The information stored and
processed by the controller are
made available externally to the
network operator through the
following interfaces:
a) RS232 interface toward a local
PC
b) Bus structured RS485 interface
used for connection (“daisy
chain”) of different SRA L
systems located in the same
site, that is typical for star, ring
or multidrop connections. An
embedded 64 kbit/s channel in
the radio frame overhead (the
NMS channel) provides the link
towards the Gateway Network
Element (GNE) of TMN
ODU-Int ASIC
S-IDU
S-Int
FSK Modem
Radio
Transport
Module
EEPROM
(black-plane)
EOW
S-Int
c) Qx/Q3 (for EM-OS) or QD2 (for
Access/Integrator) interface, by
means of an optional card
called Q-Adapter, necessary in
the Gateway Network Element
for the connection with the
radio element manager located
either on the EM-OS (Qx/Q3
interface) or on the Access/
Integrator (QD2 interface)
NMS.
In the last case the Q-Adapter
card acts as a protocol converter
from the Qx/Q3 or QD2 interface
towards the internal SRA L
protocol carried on the embedded
64 kbit/s NMS channel and
available on the RS485 interface.
The routing of the management
information inside the SRA L
network is obtained by means of
a TCP-IP protocol directly
integrated within the radio
controller.
FSK Modem µP
RF Cable
ODU
When it is not possible to directly
connect either the NMS channel
(RS485) interface to another
SRA L system because these are
not co-located, but connected by
means of a transmission media
like optical fibre or the Q-Interface
to the TMN Q-Interface for the
same reason, a 64 kbit/s signal
add-drop facility is available to use
a slot of a 2 Mbit/s traffic signal.
In this case, the network
management system channel or
the Q protocol can be inserted in
an empty time slot of the
payload.
A Local PC can be connected to
the SRA L system via a RS232-C
serial interface and used to set
and control the local radio chosing
the configuration of the system
and showing local, remote and
link alarms and status. The same
software package and the same
PC can be used for the
management of a complete
SRA L network (Network PC)
using the RS485 bus interface for
SRA L
RS485
L
A
SR
SRA L
Figure 10 SRA L - Management by a Network PC
the connection among different
systems in the same site, the
embedded 64 kbit/s NMS channel
for the connection of remote
sites and optionally the add/drop
facility of the NMS channel inside
the 2 Mbit/s payload for the
connection between two
systems connected by means of
a different media. Using the PC a
continuous supervision of the
whole SRA L network with
automatic alarm reporting and
complete network block
representation is available.
Fig. 10 shows an example of a
radio network management from
a network PC with the details of
the management
interconnections.
The same SRA L network can
also be connected to the TMN of
an SDH network through a
Qx/Q3 interface made available
in the Gateway Network
Element by means of the
Q-Adapter card (Fig. 11).
NMS channel
SRA L
SRA L
NMS channel
2 Mbit/s G.703
64 kbit/s
SRA L add/drop
LT
The integration of the SRA L
element manager inside the
Element Manager Operating
System EM-OS used for the
network element management of
the Siemens SDH network
elements gives the big
advantage, thanks to the use of
the Q-Adapter facility, of having
an integrated solution for the
management of a whole SDH
network and the PDH links from it
obtained by using the SRA L
equipment (Fig. 11). This
advantage is also increased taking
in mind that EM-OS can also
perform the network control layer
facilities in case of networks not
using cross-connects.
These two possibilities of remote
network management of a SRA L
network become even more
interesting in the case of mobile
networks. In fact in this case the
SRA L equipment is used in the
last layer of the network (for
BTSs interconnection) while for
the connection of BSCs to MSCs
SRA L
RS485
2 Mbit/s G.703
SRA L
LT
 EM-OS

Ethernet Qx/Q3

MCF Q-A GNE

SRA L RS485
GNE
64 kbit/s
NE add/drop
NE SRA L NE NE NE NE
SRA L SRA L LT LT SRA L SRA L

NE G.703 G.703
NE

SDH Network
NE
MCF
NE NE
SRA L SRA L

Qx / Q3

Q-A GNE
SRA L
NE NE
SRA L SRA L

NE
SRA L

NE NE
SRA L SRA L

Figure 11 SRA L - Management of SRA L Equipment in Conjunction with SDH

and among MSCs or from MSCs
to PSTN/ISDN higher capacities
are used then making SDH
network a must (Fig. 12).
When at the starting of the
mobile network, the radio
infrastructure is used only for the
BTSs interconnection (SRA L)
confiding on leased lines for the
other network layers the Network
PC is the best, quickest and
cheapest way to start the service.
The EM-OS is introduced only
when the increasing number of
the customers suggests the
In this case the access to the For what concerns the features
TMN can be obtained with the available via software ,the high
architecture of Fig. 13, where the degree of digitalisation employed
case of use of the SRA L radio allows setting up most of the
with the Siemens DECTlink configurable parameters through
equipment for Radio in the Local software commands. The main
Loop is shown. embedded software
functionalities can be
summarised as follows:
EM-OS
Ethernet Qx/Q3

operator to build up also the other PSTN-ISDN

part of the transmission network. nx2 Mbit/s

In this way the big advantages of SDH

NE
SDH in terms of protection (ring
NE
architectures), performance MSC
NE
monitoring, traffic provisioning 63x2 Mbit/s
nx2 Mbit/s

and TMN can be introduced MSC

saving the previous investments SDH ADM

and resulting in a cheaper and

STM - 1 Ring
better in performancing network. ADM ADM

ADM
In case of use of the SRA L 21x2 Mbit/s

equipment in conjunction with 21x2 Mbit/s

21x2 Mbit/s BSC
4x2 Mbit/s
Siemens access network BSC SRA-L
SRA-L BSC Q-Ad
elements another version of the Q-Ad BTS SRA-L
2 Mbit/s
BTS
2x2 Mbit/s
SRA-L
Q-Adapter card providing a QD2 4/8x2 Mbit/s SRA-L
Q-Ad 2 Mbit/s BTS
2 Mbit/s BTS
interface for connection to the BTS
BTS
SRA-L BTS
SRA-L 2 Mbit/s

Siemens access network BTS SRA-L

SRA-L
BTS SRA-L
BTS
SRA-L
management system, the SRA-L
BTS SRA-L

Access/Integrator, is used. BTS

SRA-L

SRA-L

Figure 12 SRA L Management of the Transmission Equipment associated to a Mobile Network

 4x2 Mbit/s
4x2 Mbit/s

RBC
4x2 Mbit/s SRA-L
RBC
SRA-L
RDU RDU
4x2 Mbit/s SRA-L SRA-L
Q-Ad QD2 Q-Ad QD2

4x2 Mbit/s 4x2 Mbit/s

RBC QD2
SRA-L

RBC Conc. Conc.

SRA-L

QD2

RBS Radio Base Station Conc.

RBC Radio Base Station Controller
RDU Radio Distribution Unit
QD2

Access / Integrator

Figure 13 SRA L - Management of an Access Network (RLL Application)

■ Configuration management ■ Fault management, including

alarm monitoring and
It is possible to change the equipment status, loopbacks
transported capacity, to set the activation and other facilities
equipment configuration and to
define several operating ■ Performance monitoring
parameters:
• G.826 parameters
• system configuration (single, calculation and display
hot stand-by, add/drop
repeater, ..) • BER

• system capacity • IDU and ODU internal

temperature
• operating channel (Tx and Rx
RF) ■ Measurements
• RF channel plan • received signal level
• RF output power • transmitted power
• equipment options (with/ ■ Security management
without Q-Adapter, with/
without EOW, ...) • access control via
• BB and RF switches passwords
(protected configuration) • different user classes
• link ID
■ Inventory data
• system address (NMS and
EOW) • factory

• 64 kbit/s drop/insert • user

activation/deactivation and
64 kbit/s time slot selection ■ Software downloading

• output alarms assignment • local

• remote.
Technical data

General
Configurations (1+0)
2x(1+0)
(1+1) hot stand-by (1 or 2 antennas)
(1+1) frequency diversity (2 antennas)
through repeater
add/drop repeater

Traffic capacity (2)/2x2/4x2/8x2 Mbit/s

Frequency bands 7/8/13/15/18/23/26/38 GHz

Frequency range
• 7 GHz 7.1-7.9 GHz
• 8 GHz 8.2-8.5 GHz
• 10,5 10.5-10.7 GHz
• 13 GHz 12,75-13,25 GHz
• 15 GHz 14.4-15.35 GHz
• 18 GHz 17.7-19.7 GHz
• 23 GHz 21.2-23.6 GHz
• 26 GHz 24.5-26.5 GHz
• 38 GHz 37.0-39.5 GHz

Tx/Rx channel spacing

• 7 GHz 154/161/245 MHz
• 8 GHz 126MHz
• 10,5 GHz 91 MHz
• 13 GHz 266 MHz
• 15 GHz 336/420/490/644/714/728 MHz
• 18 GHz 340/1010 MHz
• 23 GHz 1008/1232 MHz
• 26 GHz 1008 MHz
• 38 GHz 1260 MHz
(other shifters available on request)

Co-polar RF channel spacing

• 2/2x2 Mbit/s 3.5 MHz
• 4x2 Mbit/s 7 MHz
• 8x2 Mbit/s 14 MHz

In-field tunability range depending on frequency band

and Tx/Rx channel spacing
Synthesizer step size 250 kHz
RF stability ± 3 ppm

Transceiver
Output power
• 7/8 GHz 24 dBm
• 10,5 GHz 20 dBm
• 13 GHz 20 dBm
• 15 GHz 20 dBm
• 18 GHz 18 dBm
• 23/26 GHz 18 dBm
• 38 GHz 17 dBm

Output power setting range

• 7/8/10.5/13/15/18/23 24 dB
• 26/38 GHz 20 dB

BER = 10-6 threshold 2x2 Mbit/s 4x2 Mbit/s 8x2 Mbit/s

• 7/8/10,5/13 GHz -90.5 dBm -87.5 dBm -84.5 dBm
• 15 GHz -90 dBm -87 dBm -84 dBm
• 18 GHz -89.5 dBm -86.5 dBm -83.5 dBm
• 23 GHz -89 dBm -86 dBm -83 dBm
• 26 GHz -88.5 dBm -85.5 dBm -82.5 dBm
• 38 GHz -85.5 dBm -82.5 dBm -79.5 dBm
 BER = 10-3 threshold 2x2 Mbit/s 4x2 Mbit/s 8x2 Mbit/s
• 7/8/10,5/13 GHz -92.5 dBm -89.5 dBm -86.5 dBm
• 15 GHz -92 dBm -89 dBm -86 dBm
• 18 GHz -91.5 dBm -88.5 dBm -85.5 dBm
• 23 GHz -91 dBm -88 dBm -85 dBm
• 26 GHz -90.5 dBm -87.5 dBm -84.5 dBm
• 38 GHz -87.5 dBm -84.5 dBm -81.5 dBm

System gain (BER=10-6) 2x2 Mbit/s 4x2 Mbit/s 8x2 Mbit/s

• 7/8 GHz 114.5 dB 111.5 dB 108.5 dB
• 10,5/13 GHz 110.5 dB 107.5 dB 104.5 dB
• 15 GHz 110 dB 107 dB 104 dB
• 18 GHz 107.5 dB 104.5 dB 101.5 dB
• 23 GHz 107 dB 104 dB 101 dB
• 26 GHz 106.5 dB 103,5 dB 100.5 dB
• 38 GHz 102.5 dB 99.5 dB 96.5 dB

System gain (BER=10-3) 2x2 Mbit/s 4x2 Mbit/s 8x2 Mbit/s

• 7/8 GHz 116.5 dB 113.5 dB 110.5 dB
• 10,5/13 GHz 112.5 dB 109.5 dB 106.5 dB
• 15 GHz 112 dB 109 dB 106 dB
• 18 GHz 109.5 dB 106.5 dB 103.5 dB
• 23 GHz 109 dB 106 dB 103 dB
• 26 GHz 108.5 dB 105.5 dB 102.5 dB
• 38 GHz 104.5 dB 101.5 dB 98.5 dB

Maximum Rx input level

• for BER=10-10 -20 dBm
• damage-free operation -10 dBm

Background BER ≥10-11

Noise figure (typical)

• 7/8 GHz 5 dB
• 13 GHz 5 dB
• 15 GHz 5 dB
• 18 GHz 6 dB
• 23 GHz 7 dB
• 26 GHz 6.5 dB
• 38 GHz 9.5 dB

Spectral power density in accordance with the relevant recommendations

Spurious emissions in accordance with the relevant recommendations

Modemodulator
Modulation Continuous Phase Modulation

Demodulation differential with Viterbi Decoding

Tx intermediate frequency 320 MHz

First Rx intermediate frequency 1310 MHz

Final Rx intermediate frequency 70 MHz

Baseband Interfaces
2 Mbit/s ITU-T G.703
Impedance 75 Ω unbalanced or
120 Ω balanced
Auxiliary Capacity

User service channel 1x64 kbit/s

V.11 contradirectional or codirectional

Engineering Orderwire 1x64 kbit/s (DTMF)

(optional card)

Network Management Systems channel 1x64 kbit/s

(internal)

Power Supply

Nominal voltage -48/-60 VDC

Tolerance ± 20%

Power Consumption (from battery)

1+0 (IDU+ODU) 40 W

Environmental Operating Conditions

The equipment meets the environmental conditions standardized in ETSI prETS 300 019.

Indoor unit
• normal temperature range 10 to +50°C
• extended temperature range -10 to +60°C

Outdoor unit
• normal temperature range -33 to +60°C
• extended temperature range -50 to +60°C

Mechanical Dimensions

Indoor Unit 2 U (19")

Outdoor Unit 238x238x120 mm (hxwxd)
Software Features

System type setting (1+0)/2x(1+0)

add/drop repeater
(1+1) hot stand-by
(1+1) frequency diversity

System parameter setting operating channel (Tx and Rx)

RF channel plan
RF output power
capacity (2x2, 4x2, 8x2 Mbit/s)
system address (EOW and NMS)
link ID

Fault management alarm monitoring

equipment status
loopbacks activation

Performance monitoring BER

G.826

Measurements received field

transmitted power
IDU and ODU internal temperature

Security password protection

user classes definition

Inventory data user data

factory data

Software downloading local

remote

Italtel spa
International sales offices
A Stet and Siemens Company 20093 Cologno Monzese (MI) - Italy
Viale Europa, 46
Fax (++39.2) 2536135
Released by Italtel Communications Department - C7.1.1752/2000
Figures and data contained in this document are for
reference only and must be specifically confirmed in
writing, before they become applicable to any particular
order or contract. The company reserves the right to
make alteration or amendments to the detailed
specification at its discretion.