LTE TDD Air Interface overheads

Slide 1

NokiaEDU
LTE TDD Air Interface Overheads
LTE Radio Planning Essentials Course

RA4120 FL16A/TL16A

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Slide 2

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Slide 5

RA4120 – Learning Elements list

Introduction & Roadmaps

LTE/EPS Overview
LTE Air Interface
Air Interface Overheads
RRM overview
LTE Link Budget
Cell Range (Coverage Planning)
Radio Capacity Planning
Nokia eNodeB LTE Solution
Initial Parameters Planning
LTE Performance Simulations

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Slide 6

Module Objectives

After completing this module, the participant will be able to:

• Calculate the TDD Physical Layer Overhead

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Slide 7

Module Contents

• Special considerations in TDD

• Downlink TDD Physical Layer Overhead calculations
• Uplink TDD Physical Layer Overhead calculations

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Slide 8

Module Contents

• Special considerations in TDD

• Downlink TDD Physical Layer Overhead calculations
• Uplink TDD Physical Layer Overhead calculations

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Slide 9

Assumptions

• For a TDD system, each overhead due to a certain factor is defined over either the
downlink or the uplink time-frequency resource.

• So the subframe configuration and the special subframe format can affect the overhead
ratio.

– In some of the following slides in this chapter, we assume a TD-LTE system working
upon 20MHz bandwidth, with frame configuration 1, and special subframe format 7.
Under these conditions, the DL transmission has a share of 54.3% = (2+10/14)/5
over the whole time resource, which also means that to reach a same throughput,
TD-LTE system has to assign more PRBs to the user, i.e., 1/0.543 times compared to
FD-LTE system does.

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Slide 10

Frame Type 2 DL/UL Configurations

UL/DL DL-to-UL Subframe number

Config. Switch-Point 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
0 5 ms DL S UL UL UL DL S UL UL UL
1 5 ms DL S UL UL DL DL S UL UL DL
2 5 ms DL S UL DL DL DL S UL DL DL
3 10 ms DL S UL UL UL DL DL DL DL DL
4 10 ms DL S UL UL DL DL DL DL DL DL
5 10 ms DL S UL DL DL DL DL DL DL DL
6 5 ms DL S UL UL UL DL S UL UL DL
DL-to-UL Configuration
– Indicates how many subframes are dedicated to DL and to UL transmission
– 7 possible configurations defined [0…6]
– RL15TD supports Configuration 1 and 2 only.
– Configuration 1 provides almost 1:1 UL-to-DL ratio
– Configuration 2 provides a 2:3 UL to DL ratio

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Slide 11

TD-LTE Overhead – Special Subframe Configurations

• This NEI Complex covers features which introduces new Special Subframe Configurations in TD-LTE RL55TD release:
- LTE1388: TDD Special Subframe Configuration 3 and 4
- LTE1467: TDD Special Subframe Configuration 9
• New Special Subframe Configurations gives higher downlink share (a bit higher DL throughput compared to existing configurations) and more
flexible choice in case of SSF in different technology co-existence network deployment

Normal CP (DL and UL) Extended CP (DL and UL)

Format [symbols] [symbols]

DwPTS GP UpPTS DwPTS GP UpPTS

0 3 10 3 8
Newly introduced Special
Subframe Configurations. Not supported
1 9 4 8 3
1
SSF #9 introduced in 3GPP 2 10 3 1 9 2
Release 11
3 11 2 10 1
4 12 1 3 7
5 3 9 8 2 2
Not9supported Configurations
6 3 9 1
available since
7 10 2 2 - - - RL05TD
RL15TD
8 Not11supported
1 - - -
9 6 6 - - -

For 5ms periodicity subframe#6 is also

a special subframe (otherwise is normal)

SUBFRAME 1

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DwPTS, GP, UpPTS

Within a radio frame, LTE TDD switches multiple times between downlink and uplink transmission and
vice versa. In the process, the different signal transit times between the base station and the various
mobile stations must be taken into consideration in order to prevent conflicts with the neighboring
subframe. The timing advance process prevents conflicts when switching from the uplink to the
downlink. Every User Entity (UE) is informed by the Enhanced Node Base (eNodeB) as to when it must
start transmitting. The greater the distance between the BS and the MS, the earlier the MS starts
transmitting. This helps ensure that all signals reach the BS in a synchronized manner. When switching
from the downlink to the uplink, a guard period (GP) is inserted between the DwPTS and the UpPTS
field. The duration of the GP depends on the signal propagation time from the eNodeB to the UE and
back as well as on the time the MS requires to switch from receiving to sending. The duration of the GP
is configured by the network based on the cell size.

Because the overall length of the special subframe remains constant and the GP length varies based
on cell size, the lengths of the DwPTS and UpPTS also have to be adjusted. Nine different special
subframe configurations are provided for LTE TDD as shown. While the GP separates between the UL
and the DL, the other special fields are used for data transmission. The DwPTS field carries
synchronization and user data as well as the downlink control channel for transmitting scheduling and
control information. The UpPTS field can be used for transmitting the physical random access channel
(PRACH) and the sounding reference signal (SRS) to avoid using the uplink subframes and limiting UE
traffic.

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Slide 12

Contributors to Downlink Overhead

• The PDSCH is the physical channel used to carry the user plane in downlink.
• Any other channel is used for signaling and steals capacity from the PDSCH
and must be consider as overhead.
• The overhead contributors in downlink are:
- Synchronization signals
- Reference signals
- Positioning reference signals (OTDOA feature)
- PDCCH (together with PCFICH & PHICH)
- PBCCH

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Slide 13

Module Contents

• Special considerations in TDD

• Downlink TDD Physical Layer Overhead calculations
• Uplink TDD Physical Layer Overhead calculations

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Slide 14

Sync Signals and Frame Type 2 - TDD

P-SS
Subframe 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

S S
D U l
l
w p o
o
f1 t
P G P
T P T
t
1
1 1
S S

Slot 1 Slot 11
Symbol 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Symbol 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Subcarriers
Occupied

S S
- - 62
DC DC
S S Subcarriers
S S

S-SS

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Slide 15

System Overhead

Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS)

– For TDD mode, the PSS is mapped into the special subframe, making it be included in
the Special Subframe overhead thus it is 0%

Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS)

– Occupies 144 Resource Elements per frame (20 timeslots) I.e. (62 subcarriers +10
DTx) x 2 times/frame

– SSS Overhead= 100 * 144/ (84*20*100*0,543)=0,1578%=0,16%

Remember, the assumed bandwidth is 20 MHz for all percentages.

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Slide 16

System DL Overhead - DL Reference Signals (1/2)

Cell Specific RS:

• Used for: DL channel measurements and channel estimation for
coherent demodulation at the UE.
• In Time is fixed: in ALL DOWNLINK（except DwPTS）subframes,
2 or 4 positions per Time slot (Symbol 0 & Symbol 4).
• In Frequency: 1 reference symbol to every 3rd or 6th subcarrier .
In one RB (resource block = 12 subcarriers): every 3rd subcarrier.
• Exact position dependent on Cell ID

UE-specific RS:
• supported for single-antenna-port transmission of PDSCH and are
transmitted on antenna port 5
• The UE is informed by higher layers whether the UE-specific
reference signal is present and is a valid reference for PDSCH R5 R5
demodulation or not
• UE-specific reference signals are transmitted only on the resource R5 R5
blocks upon which the corresponding PDSCH is mapped
R5 R5

R5 R5

R5 R5

R5 R5
l 0 l 6 l 0 l 6
even-numbered slots odd-numbered slots

Antenna port 5

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Slide 17

System DL Overhead - DL Reference Signals (2/2)

The amount of DL Reference Signal is higher for BF because of additional UE-dedicated Reference Signal,
as there are 6 UE specific RSREs in each RB.

BF does not impact frame structure or the resource mapping of PHY data and control channels.

CP RE Per RB Reference Signal

Normal 84 Antenna #RSRE/PRB
Extended 72 1Tx-1Rx 4
1Tx-2Rx 4
2Tx-2Rx 8
8Tx-2Rx (BF) 14(=8Cell_RSRE+6UE_RSRE)

Example

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Slide 18

OTDOA Overhead
• In OTDOA, PRS (positioning reference signals) in the DL are introduced.
• Transmission of PRS reduces the available resource elements for DL traffic.
• Additional overhead due to PRS can be less than 0.1% and up to 2% depending on configuration.
• With default configuration for TDD
• PRS OH = ((PRS BW / SysBW)* #of DL frames per repetition * PRS TTI repetition) / %DL
–For TDD 20 MHz, frame conf 1, OVERHEAD = (100/100 * 1 * 1/160) / 0.4 =1.56%
–For TDD 20 MHz, frame conf 2, OVERHEAD = (100/100 * 1 *1/160) / 0.6 = 1.042%

PRS Bandwidth PRS signaling overhead

[PRB] FDD TDD (DL-to-UL TDD (DL-to-UL
Configuration 1) Configuration 2
6 0,038% 0,094% 0,063%
15 0,094% 0,234% 0,156%
25 0,156% 0,391% 0,260%
50 0,313% 0,781% 0,521%
75 0,469% 1,172% 0,781%
100 0,625% 1,563% 1,042%

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Slide 19

System DL Overhead - (PCFICH + PHICH + PDCCH)

Three control channel occupy the first 1 or 2 or3 symbol of each downlink subframe.
PCFICH on "Symbol 0" indicates PDCCH occupation for this sub-frame, where PHICH is located
inside.

(assuming: 2 Tx Antenna, 3 PDCCH

symbols per subframe)

DL Control Channel overhead

= 100* ((#CCH_Symbol x 12 - #RSRE_on_Symbol0) x (#DL_SF + #SSF) / (10SFx14x12)) ÷ 0.543

See examples below (assuming subframe configuration =1, SFF format = 7):
= 100*((3*12 – 4)*(4+2) / (10*14*12)) ÷ 0.543= 21.05%

# Symbols of (PCFICH + PHICH + PDCCH)

1 2 3
Ant. SIXO 11.8% 14.47% 22.37%
Config. MIXO (2Tx) 5.26% 13.16% 21.05%

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Slide 20

System DL Overhead - PBCH

PBCH is a mandatory reservation for all LTE as it provides specific information to the UE allowing the UE to
determine the Bandwidth of the entire LTE Frame, what Transmission modes are used and other key
parameters.

PBCH appears once per radio frame, occupying 72×4 REs where there are 2 or 4 RSRE per PRB already
counted as overhead in a previous page.

one radio frame = 10 ms

72 subcarriers

Repetition Pattern of PBCH = 40 ms

– For example, for a 20MHz system with 2X2_MIMO:

PBCH overhead in DL = (72×4 - 6×4) / [(14×10)×1200] ÷ 0.543 = 0.29%

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Slide 21

Module Contents

• Special considerations in TDD

• Downlink TDD Physical Layer Overhead calculations
• Uplink TDD Physical Layer Overhead calculations

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Slide 22

Contributors to Uplink Overhead

• The PUSCH is the physical channel used to carry the user plane in uplink.
• Any other channel is used for signaling and steals capacity from the PUSCH
and must be consider as overhead.
• The overhead contributors in uplink are:
- Sounding Reference Signal ( SRS) & Demodulation Reference Signal (DRS)
- PRACH
- PUCCH
- Uplink Control Information - UCI ( PUSCH is also used to transmit L2 signaling)

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Slide 23

TD-LTE Overhead – Sounding Reference Signals

Subframe 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Special

f1 (DL)

Slot 2
Slot 3

Symbol 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
0 1

S Although SRS is mandatory for BF

o mode, it does not impact the
Subcarriers
Occupied

u overhead calculation (0%) because

n it is sent in UpPTS which cannot be
DC allocated for PUSCH
d
i
n
g

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Slide 24

System UL Overhead --- Demodulation RS

Demodulation Reference Signal associated with PUSCH

• It is sent within the 4 th time domain RE of each RB occupied by the

PUSCH (Always on symbol 3 of each slot for normal CP) 0 1 2 D 4 5 6 0 1 2 D 4 5 6
D D
• Occupies all RBs not used by the PUCCH. D D
• Overhead = Time_OH x Freq_OH = 1/7 x #PUSCH/BW D D
D D
• For example, in a system of 1.4 MHz Bandwidth, if the PUCCH
D D
occupies 1 RB per Slot. Then the overhead generated by the Ref.
D D
Signal is (5 × 12)/(6 × 84) = 11.9% for non MIMO operation.
D D
D D
D D
D D
D D

Demodulation Reference Signal associated with PUCCH

• It does not impact the overhead calculation (0%) because PUCCH occupied resources as a whole will be
counted as overhead. (see next pages.)

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Slide 25

TD-LTE Overhead – PRACH Preamble Format 4

Subframe 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Special

f1 (DL)

Slot 2 Slot 3
Symbol 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Format 4
PRACH
6 PRB
Subcarriers
Occupied

DC

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Slide 26

System UL Overhead - PRACH

• PRACH uses 6 Resource Blocks in the frequency domain.
• The location of those resource blocks allocated by parameters. If format 4 is applied, overhead is 0%
because the UpPTS as a whole is counted as overhead.
• PRACH overhead is calculated as: 6RBs * RACH Density / [(#RB per TTI)* 10 (TTIs per frame)] ÷ 40%(UL
time ratio)
– RACH density: how often are RACH resources reserved per 10 ms frame i.e. for RACH density: 1
(RACH resource reserved once per frame)

Channel Overhead
BW
1.4MHz (6x1)/(6x10x40%) = 25%
3MHz (6x1)/(15x10x40%) = 10%
5MHz (6x1)/(25x10x40%) = 6%
10MHz ((6x1)/(50x10x40%) = 3%
15MHz (6x1)/(75x10x40%) = 2%
20MHz (6x1)/(100x10x40%) =
1.5%

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Slide 27

System UL Overhead - PUCCH

• Ratio between the number of RBs used for PUCCH and the total number of RBs in frequency domain
per TTI

BW PUCCH RB/slot Overhead

1.4 MHz 1 1 / 6 = 16.67 %

3 MHz 2 2 / 15 = 13.33 %
5 MHz 2 2 / 25 = 8 %
10 MHz 4 4 / 50 = 8 %
15 MHz 6 6 / 75 = 8 %
20 MHz 8 8 / 100 = 8%

PUSH UCI: Aperiodic CQI reports and ACK/NACK

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Slide 28

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