GSM

NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

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Engineering Instructions on
NODE B of 3G Mobile Network
msZ xZr Document No.

EI/GSM/NODE B/10-11/ 60

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13

GR No. GR/UTR-01/01 JUNE 2005

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Telecom Quality Assurance circle, Bangalore

AlqSi Approved by

The CGM, TQA circle, Bangalore

eU MUl M SlM Date of Issue

31-03-2011

Written by

B G VENKATRAM (QA Circle)

Expert Comments

SUDHIR BELLUBBI (Karnataka Circle)

Restricted use by BSNL Employees only

All efforts have been made to incorporate all relevant up to date information available, any discrepancies
or need for addition or deletion is felt necessarily may please be intimated to this office for further
improvement,on E-Mail Id cgmtqa_ei@ bsnl.co.in (or) [email protected]

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Office of Chief General Manager

Telecom Quality Assurance circle
II Floor, Sanchar Complex,
th
BSNL-WMS Compound, 9 Main,
th
Jayanagar 5 Block, Bangalore - 560 041
Tel: 91 80 26533100 Fax: 91 80
26530681
Visit us at www.qa.bsnl.co.in

DISCLAIMER: FOR INTERNAL CIRCULATION AMONG BSNL EMPLOYEES AS A GUIDELINE FOR

INSTRUCTIONAL PURPOSE.

GSM

NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

CONTENTS
Description
Scope
Introduction
Functions of Node B
Differences between GSM BTS & Node B
Key Components
Features
3G Services supported
Macro Node B configurations
Node B specifications
Types
IP Connectivity to Node B
Transformation to eNode B
Precautions during installation
Tests
FAQs
Feedback Contact person
Abbreviations
References

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NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

Scope of the document

This Engineering Instructions document on Node B will help in understanding
the basic concept of the Node B, a Network element of UMTS Network, its features and
functionalities. The Question and Answer section is prepared for the users benefit.
General
GR of Node B
The Node B is covered in the TEC GR specification for the Universal Mobile
Telecommunication System Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) No.GR/UTR01/01 JUNE 2005.
Introduction
Node B is the name of network entity of UMTS Network, equivalent to the
BTS in GSM Network. UMTS Network provides simultaneous Voice and Data
capabilities.
The basic Core Network architecture for UMTS is based on GSM network with
GPRS. All equipment has to be modified for UMTS operation and services. The UTRAN
provides the air interface access method for User Equipment. Base Station is referred
as Node-B and control equipment for Node-B's is called Radio Network Controller
(RNC).
Node B is the ATM termination point. Node B connects with the mobile
handsets via the WCDMA Uu (Um in 2G) radio interface and with the RNC via the Iub
in Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) based interface. In contrast with GSM base
stations, Node B uses WCDMA/TD-SCDMA as the air interface technology.
Each Node B is identified within the UTRAN by a unique Node B ID. Node B
supports up to six sectors (BTS supports 3 sectors). Each cell is a specific radio
coverage area and is identified by a unique Cell ID, which is broadcasted across the
entire cell area.
Types of Node B
There are two types of Node B. They are FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) and TDD
(Time Division Duplex). FDD uses paired frequency bands for uplink and downlink
data transmission and it is used for wider coverage area (micro and macro). TDD uses
common frequency band for both directions and adjusts time domain portion assigned
for uplink and downlink dynamically. It is used for hot spots.
A Node B can serve several cells, also called sectors, depending on the configuration
and type of antenna. Common configuration include omni cell (360), 3 sectors
(3x120) or 6 sectors (3 sectors 120 wide overlapping with 3 sectors of different
frequency).

GSM

NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

Six Sector Node B

Increasing the coverage area

The UTRAN will support six, sectored sites, which could maximize coverage and capacity of
UMTS sites. The basic principle is that by using six narrow beam antennas, the coverage area of
a cell will be extended due to the increased forward gain, and the capacity will be double that of
a three-sectored cell. The use of six sectors can lead to an increase in the coverage area that is
served by multiple cells (i.e. the soft handover region), depending on the local propagation
conditions and the antenna pattern. The two figures show the overlap between the antenna
patterns. This does not match the soft handover regions, but is shows, how the overlap can
increase, given certain antenna beamwidths.

Fig. UMTS Architecture

GSM

NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

Functions of Node B
Traditionally, the Node Bs have minimum functionality, and are controlled
by an RNC (Radio Network Controller).
The

functions of Node-B are:

Air interface Transmission / Reception
Modulation / Demodulation
CDMA Physical Channel coding
Micro Diversity
Error Handling
Closed loop power control

However, this is changing with the emergence of High Speed Downlink Packet
Access (HSDPA), where some logic (e.g. retransmission) is handled on the Node B for
lower response times.
Differences between GSM BTS and Node B of UMTS
Parameter
Controller
Frequency
use

Cell Radius

Cell Size

Power
Interfaces
Sectors

GSM BTS
BTSs are controlled by BSC
2G, GSM cells are assigned with
multiple frequencies (f1 - f6)
which have corresponding Radio
Base Stations (BTSs). The group
of frequencies can be reused in
other cells, provided that the
same frequencies are not reused
in adjacent neighboring cells as
that would cause Co-channel
Interference.
As GSM operates at lower
frequencies 900MHz, the cell
radius is larger, and the path
loss is frequency dependant.
The cells' size is almost
constant. This requires a lesser
number of BTSs.
Power requirements on BTSs
and user equipment (UE) are
higher.
On E1 Links between BTS and
BSC
Supports three sectors

Node B
Node Bs are controlled by RNC
The utilization of WCDMA technology
allows cells belonging to the same or
different Node Bs and even controlled by
different RNC to overlap and still use the
same frequency (in fact, the whole
network can be implemented with just
one frequency pair).

As WCDMA operates at higher frequencies

2100MHz, the cell radius is smaller, and
the path loss is frequency dependant.
The cells' size is not constant (a
phenomenon known as "cell breathing").
This requires a larger number of Node Bs
and thus careful planning in 3G (UMTS)
networks.
Power requirements on Node Bs and user
equipment (UE) are comparatively much
lower.
On 8 E1 Links/STM-1 Link between Node
B and RNC and also IP port.
Supports up to six sectors

GSM

NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

Macro Node B Indoor

Macro Node B Outdoor

Micro Node B

Pico
Node B

Key Components of Node B

A completely setup Node B contains a cabinet, an antenna mast and actual antenna.
The Cabinet contains the equipment for transmitting and receiving radio signals
(transceivers) and equipment for encrypting and decrypting communications with the
Base Station Controller (BSC). What you can see by the side of a road or in a city center
is just an antenna. However, the tendency nowadays is to camouflage the antenna
(paint it the color of the building or put it into an RF-transparent enclosure). Smaller
indoor solutions may have a built-in antenna on the cabinet door).
Features of Node B

Scalable capacity
High Power MCPA
Pooled base band capacity with minimum 128 Channel elements
HSDPA Hardware readiness
Receiver diversity
MHA/TMA support
Support of Outdoor version without the need of external airconditioning and shelter

3G Services supported by Node B

Node B supports simultaneous use of Voice/Video Telephony, High-speed
Mobile Internet, and UMS 3G services. Unified Messaging System (UMS) is the
integration of different electronic messaging and communications media (E-mail, SMS,

GSM

NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

Fax, voicemail, video messaging, etc.) technologies into a single interface, accessible
from a variety of different devices.
Macro Node B Configurations
i. OMNI one carrier
ii. 3 Sector, with 1 Carrier per sector upgradable to 2 carriers per sector
iii. 4 - 6 Sector, with 1 carrier per sector upgradable to 2 carriers per sector
Node B Specifications
Frequency Range
FDD mode air interface to 3GPP compliant Downlink frequency band: as
allocated WPC/DoT for UMTS services in India including the following:
i. Downlink: 2110 MHz - 2170 MHz; Uplink: 1920MHz - 1980 MHz
Total UMTS Bandwidth: 60 MHz, 5 MHz Channel Bandwidth
The frequency bands of GSM are:
i. Downlink: 935 MHz - 960 MHz; Uplink: 890MHz - 915 MHz
ii. Downlink: 1805 MHz - 1880 MHz; Uplink: 1710MHz - 1785 MHz
Total GSM Bandwidth: 25 MHz, 124 Channels, 200 KHz Channel
Bandwidth
Receiver Sensitivity
Minimum requirement of Receiver Sensitivity, measured at the antenna port of
Node B top:
Sensitivity of Node B without diversity
-123 dBm
Sensitivity of Node B with 2 ways RX diversity -125 dBm
Transmit RF Specifications
MCPA with Minimum Output power per sector: 43dBm measured at antenna
port at Node B top
Backhaul
i. The System support up to 8 Els
ii. The
system
support
integrated
radio/ STM-l

transmission

interface

to

DMW

IP Connectivity to Node B
Eventually IP/MPLS will become the transport technology. The interface at the
Node B is E1, which is aggregated to Ethernet and transported to RNC via IP/MPLS
network.

GSM

NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

The simplified IP network topology provides a higher degree of stability and

availability. Improved and accelerated maintenance and fault isolation will be visible.

Fig. IP connectivity to Node B

Transformation of Node B to eNode B
The transformation from 2G GSM BTS to 3G UMTS Node B to 4G LTE eNode B
has made the Base Station from passive network element to active network element.
3G Node B

4G eNode B

SAE/LTE
MME
SAE-GW
Core
RAN
S1

S1

X2

eNB

eNB

The new base station is more complicated than the Node B in

WCDMA/HSPA radio access networks, and is consequently called eNB (Enhanced
Node B).

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NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

SAE architecture is the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), also known as SAE Core.
The EPC will serve as equivalent of GPRS networks (via the Mobility
Management Entity, Serving Gateway and PDN Gateway subcomponents).
Precautions during installation
The AC power distribution shall be adequately protected using surge arrestors,
contactors, circuit breakers etc. which shall ensure protection of the Node-B in case of
external fluctuations and surges.
The outdoor enclosure shall be supported with an External Battery Backup that
shall ensure 8-Hour backup in case of power failure.
The rectifiers housed in the Node B Outdoor enclosure shall support the
external batteries Bank, and also be equipped with Low Voltage Disconnect (LVD)
contactors.
Instructions including Tests like QM 333 etc.
The Environmental test conditions as per QM-333 of BSNL are:
Indoor Node B
- Category A
Outdoor Node B
- Category D along with conformance to IP 56
FAQs
1.

How planning for Node Bs is done?

The planning for Node B is derived from air interface capacity and coverage
calculations. Hardware configuration is vendor specific, but here is a general list of
things that need to be considered when planning Node Bs:

Call mix of expected traffic

Type of Node Bs (Outdoor / Indoor)
Amount of low capacity Node Bs
Required redundancies (e.g. 2N, N+1)
Required Receiver diversities
Number of carriers per sector
Number of sectors per Node B
Number of users
Voice and data traffic to be carried
Node B software features
Required Node B optional features
Requirements for special antenna systems
Requirements for power and transmission systems

GSM
2.

NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

What are the factors for optimization in Node B ?

The main important aspects of optimization are coverage and capacity. Many issues
that are resolved by optimization are cell breathing, near and far problem, around the
corner problem, hand over, pilot pollution and incomplete neighbour list. Depending
on specific network requirements, optimization helps in to maximise its coverage vice
capacity during the early stage green field network and increase capacity in dense
urban areas. These factors help in reducing call drops, origination failures and
termination failures.
3.

What is Soft Handover?

A soft handover is one in which the channel in the source cell is retained
and used for a while in parallel with the channel in the target cell. Soft handovers
may involve using connections to more than two cells, e.g. connections to three, four
or more cells can be maintained by one phone at the same time.
4.

What is Hard Handover?

A hard handover is one in which the channel in the source cell is released
and only then the channel in the target cell is engaged. Hard handovers are
intended to be instantaneous in order to minimize the disruption to the call. A hard
handover is perceived by network engineers as an event during the call.
5.

What is the difference between GSM and UMTS handover?

A big difference between a TDMA-based GSM system and a CDMA-based UMTS

system is how the phone deals with handing off from one cell site to another. In
TDMA-based systems the phone must wholeheartedly switch from one channel to
another in order to switch towers. There are no halfway measures here, its all or
nothing. As a result, all TDMA-based GSM phones suffer from slight (but rather
annoying) interruptions in the audio stream whenever a handoff occurs, and if one
doesnt occur in a timely fashion, the user can experience rather devastating
degradation of the call quality.
In a CDMA-based system all callers and all cell sites operate on the same
frequency. The calls are separated by the magic of encoding differences that can be
sorted out by the receiver. For this reason handoffs can be achieved without using an
all-or-nothing approach. A phone can gently shift from one tower to the next by
selectively receiving the data stream from multiple sites simultaneous. Subsequently
handoffs are not audible.
However, there is a price to be paid for this approach. In order to CDMA to
function correctly, each and every phone on the network must be operating just a hair
above the noise floor. To prevent them from occasionally falling through the noise
floor, rapid corrections in transmit power must be made. The concept works
exceptionally well in practice, but occasional bouts of frame errors do occur, and so
while CDMA doesnt have the interruptions from handoffs, it does offer its own unique

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NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

type of audio problems. However, the overall effect on a conversation is markedly less
annoying in a CDMA system than in the current TDMA system employed by GSM.
6.

What is WCDMA?

W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), UMTS-FDD, UTRA-FDD, or

IMT-2000 CDMA Direct Spread is an air interface standard found in 3G mobile
telecommunications networks. It utilizes the DS-CDMA channel access method and
the FDD duplexing method to achieve higher speeds and support more users
compared to most time division multiple access (TDMA) schemes used today.
While not an evolutionary upgrade on the airside, it uses the same core network
as the 2G GSM networks deployed worldwide, allowing dual-mode operation along
with GSM/EDGE; a feat it shares with other members of the UMTS family.
7.

What is the difference between UMTS and HSDPA?

High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is an enhanced 3G (third

generation) mobile telephony communications protocol in the High-Speed Packet
Access (HSPA) family, also dubbed 3.5G, 3G+ or turbo 3G, which allows networks
based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) to have higher data
transfer speeds and capacity. Current HSDPA deployments support down-link speeds
of 1.8, 3.6, 7.2 and 14.4 Megabits/s.
8.

What is HSPA+?

HSPA+, also known as Evolved High-Speed Packet Access is a wireless

broadband standard defined in 3GPP release 7 and above. HSPA+ provides HSPA data
rates up to 84 Megabits per second (Mbit/s) on the downlink and 22 Mbit/s on the
uplink through the use of a multiple-antenna technique known as MIMO (for
multiple-input and multiple-output) and higher order modulation (64QAM).
9.

What are the factors affect the 14.4 Mbps data rate?

Factors that reduce the practical maximum data rate are:

UE Capability/Category
Number of Codes
Inter-TTI Interval

Interval between consecutive assignments

Depends on UE capability

Allowed values are 1, 2, and 3

Retransmissions
NAK sent 5 ms after block received
Minimum retransmit time is 10 ms
Can be identical or different redundancy version
ACK/NAK Repetition

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NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

UE can be configured to repeat up to 4 times.

Disallows certain sub-frames for data transmission

10.

What is the difference between GSM Um and UTRAN Uu interface?

The Um interface is the air interface for the GSM mobile telephone standard. It
is the interface between the Mobile Station (MS) and the Base Transceiver Station
(BTS). It is called Um because it is the mobile analog to the U interface of ISDN. The
Um interface channels are:

Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH)

Frequency Correction Channel(FCCH)
Synchronisation Channel (SCH)
Cell Broadcast Channel (CBCH)
Paging Channel (PCH)
Access Grant Channel (AGCH)
Random Access Channel (RACH)
Standalone Dedicated Control Channel (SDCCH)
Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH)
Fast Associated Channel (FACCH)

The Uu interface is the air interface for the UMTS mobile telephone standard. It
is the interface between the Mobile Station (MS) and the Node B. The Uu interface
channels are:
Primary Common Control Physical Channel (PCCPCH), mapped to BCH
Secondary Common Control Physical Channel (SCCPCH), mapped to FACH,
PCH
Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), mapped to RACH
Dedicated Physical Data Channel (DPDCH), mapped to DCH
Dedicated Physical Control Channel (DPCCH), mapped to DCH
Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), mapped to DSCH
Physical Common Packet Channel (PCPCH), mapped to CPCH
Synchronisation Channel (SCH)
Common Pilot Channel (CPICH)
Acquisition Indicator Channel (AICH)
Paging Indication Channel (PICH)
CPCH Status Indication Channel (CSICH)
Collision Detection/Channel Assignment Indication Channel (CD/CA-ICH)
11.

What is a RRU and what are its advantages?

The traditional architecture of the radio infrastructure for cellular systems is

based on complete, stand-alone Base Stations, usually realized as fully indoor
equipment, connected on one side to the aerial elements (typically represented by a

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GSM

NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

single TX antenna plus two receive antennas to realize RX diversity), and on the other
side to the traffic network.
A Remote Radio Units (RRU), also called Remote Radio Heads (RRH), which
is placed on the Tower, near Antenna itself, is a single unit in which only the RF frontend functionalities are implemented. It is connected to the remaining baseband
processing part Base Band Unit (BBU), which is placed indoor, through a bidirectional
link.
It greatly reduces the carriers requirement for site resources and their
investment and meanwhile improves the effect of coverage. In addition, it reduces
feeder line loss and supports the cell merge of different RF units, so it can be used in
special situations where traditional technology cannot solve problems, for example,
the coverage of high-speed railway and ultra-long distance.
The LTE architecture
The main philosophy behind LTE is minimizing the number of nodes. Therefore
the developers opted for single node architecture. The new base station is more
complicated than the Node B in WCDMA/HSPA radio access networks, and is
consequently called eNB (Enhanced Node B). The eNBs have necessary
functionalities for LTE radio access network including the functions related to radio
resource management.
Contrary to the WCDMA/HSPA UTRAN, the LTE UTRAN only has one node
type: eNodeB. Thus, there is no equivalent node to and RNC for LTE. The eNodeB
has inherited most of the RNC functionality and hence more complicated than
the NodeB. The eNodeB is incharge of single cell RRM decisions, handover
decisions, scheduling of users in both uplink and downlink in its cells.
The eNodeB is connected to the core network using the S1 interface. The S1
interface is a similar interface as the Iu interface. There is also an interface similar to
the Iur interface of WCDMA/HSPA, the X2 interface, which connects any eNodeB in
the network with any other eNodeB. The X2 in terface is mainly used to support
active-mode mobility.

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NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

Fig. LTE Architecture

The LTE specification uses the term Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN). In LTE,
functionally the eNB (e-Node B) acts as Layer-2 bridge between UE and EPC. It is
responsible for the Radio Resource Management (RRM) and in addition has important
role in Mobility Management.
Feedback Contact Person and website address
Sri. B. G. Venktram,
DE(TSE-S), O/o CGM QA,
Jayanagar, Bangalore 41
Phone: 080 26535100, 26961019
Fax: 080 26530681
Mobile: 09448451311
Email: [email protected]
QA Website www.qa.bsnl.co.in
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
2G
3G
ATM
BTS
CAMEL
CSE
DMW
E1
EPC
E-UTRAN
eNB
FDD
GGSN
GMSC
GR
GSM
HLR
HSDPA
HSPA
HSS
IP 56
LTE
LVD
MCPA
MHA
MME
MSC
OSA

Second Generation Wireless Telephone Technology

Third Generation Wireless Telephone Technology
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Base Transceiver Station
Customised Applications for Mobile Network Enhanced Logic
CAMEL Service Environment
Digital Microwave
E-carrier level 1, wire technology with 2 Mbit/s data rate
Evolved Packet Core
Evolved UTRAN
e Node B, Enhanced Node B
Frequency Division Duplexing
Gateway GPRS Support Node
Gateway Mobile Service Switching Centre
Generic Requirement
Global System for Mobile communication
Home Location Register
High Speed Downlink Packet Access
High Speed Packet Access
Home Subscriber Server
IEC International Protection Rating for Outdoor Equipment Enclosure
Long Term Evolution
Low Voltage Disconnect
Multi Carrier Power Amplifier
Mast Head Amplifier
Mobility Management Entity
Mobile Switching Centre
Open Service Architecture

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NODE B OF 3G MOBILE NETWORK

PDN-GW
- Packet Data Network Gateway
QM
- Quality Manual
RAN
- Radio Access Network
RF
- Radio Frequency
RNC
- Radio Network Controller
RNS
- Radio Network Subsystem
RRH
- Remote Radio Heads
RRM
- Radio Resource Management
RRU
- Remote Radio Unit
SAE
- System Architecture Evolution
SGSN
- Serving GPRS Support Node
STM-1 - Synchronous Transfer Module Level-1 of bit rate 155.52 Mbits/s
TD-SCDMA - Time Division - Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access
TEC
- Telecommunication Engineering Centre
TMA
- Tower Mounted Amplifier
UE
- User Equipment
UMS
- Unified Messaging System
UMTS
- Universal Mobile Telecommunication System
UTRAN
- UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
Um/Um
- Radio interface between the mobile and Radio Access Network
VLR
- Visitor Location Register
WCDMA
- Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
Sources (References)
TEC GR of UTRAN No.GR/UTR-01/01 JUNE 2005
www.en.wikipedia.org
www.3gpp.org
www.3g.co.uk
www.full-speed.org
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/index.jspa
www.ti.com
3G Evolution: HSPA and LTE for Mobile Broadband by Erik Dahlman

****End of Document****

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