Wireless and Cellular Communication (18EC81)

Wireless and Cellular

Communication
(18EC81)
Question Bank

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 Wireless and Cellular Communication (18EC81)

Wireless and Cellular Communication (18EC81)

Question Bank

Module - 1
1. Discuss the delay spread and coherence bandwidth with relevant expressions.
Sol:
Delay Spread and Coherence bandwidth
 Delay spread is the amount of time that elapses between the first arriving path and
the last arriving path.
 It can be found by inspecting A(Δτ,0).
 A(Δτ) is referred to as Multipath Intensity Profile or Power Delay Profile.
 The average delay spread is defined as

 The rms delay spread is defined as

 A general thumb rule is

 Coherence Bandwidth is the frequency domain dual of the channel delay spread.
 The coherence bandwidth gives a rough measure for the maximum separation
between frequency f1 and f2 where the channel frequency response is correlated.

 The coherence bandwidth is given by

2. Explain the following in brief:

a. Angular Spread and Coherence Distance
b. Doppler Spread and Coherence Time
Sol:
a) Angular Spread and Coherence Distance
 Angular spread of a channel refers to the statistical distribution of the angle of the
arriving energy.

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 It is denoted as .
 A large implies that channel energy is coming from many directions and this
results in more statistical diversity in channel.
 A small implies that the received channel energy is more focused and this results
in less statistical diversity.
 The dual of angular speed is coherence distance.
 A coherence distance of d means that any physical positions separated by d have an
essentially uncorrelated received signal amplitude and phase.
 An approximate rule of thumb is .
 For Rayleigh Fading, .

b) Doppler Spread and Coherence Time

 The Doppler power spectrum is caused by motion between transmitter and receiver.
 The Doppler power spectrum is the Fourier Transform of i.e.

 The Doppler Spread is given by .

 The Coherence Time is period of time over which channel is significantly correlated.

 The Coherence Time is given by .

3. Explain Ground Reflection (2- Ray Model) with relevant diagrams and necessary
equations.
Sol:
Ground Reflection (2-Ray Model)
 The 2-ray ground reflection model is a useful propagation model that is based on
geometric optics and considers both the direct path and a ground reflected propagation
path between transmitter and receiver.
 This model has been found to be reasonably accurate for predicting the large-scale signal
strength over distances of several kilometres for mobile radio systems that use tall towers
(heights which exceed 50 m), as well as for line-of-sight microcell channels in urban
environments.

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 In most mobile communication systems, the maximum T-R separation distance is at most
only a few tens of kilometres, and the earth may be assumed to be flat.
 The total received E-field, ETOT, is then a result of the direct line-of-sight component,
ELOS, and the ground reflected component, Eg.

 ht is the height of the transmitter and hr is the height of the receiver.

 If E0 is the free space E-field (in units of V/m) at a reference distance d0 from the
transmitter, then for d> d0, the free space propagating E-field is given by

where |E(d, t)| = E0d0/d represents the envelope of the E-field at d meters from the
transmitter.
 Two propagating waves arrive at the receiver: the direct wave that travels a distance d’;
and the reflected wave that travels a distance d”.
 The E-field due to the line-of-sight component at the receiver can be expressed as

and the E-field for the ground reflected wave, which has a propagation distance of d", can
be expressed as

 According to laws of reflection in dielectrics

, and
where Γ is the reflection coefficient for ground.

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 For small values of θi(i.e., grazing incidence), the reflected wave is equal in magnitude
and 180° out of phase with the incident wave.
 The resultant E-field, assuming perfect ground reflection (i.e., Γ = -1 and Et = 0) is the
vector sum of ELOS and Eg, and the resultant total E-field envelope is given by |ETOT|=
|ELOS + Eg|
 The electric field ETOT(d, t) can be expressed as

Using the method of images, the path difference, Δ, between the line-of-sight and the ground
reflected paths can be expressed as

 When the T-R separation distance d is very large compared to ht +hr, the equation can be
simplified using a Taylor series approximation as
 Once the path difference is known, the phase difference θΔ between the two E-field
components and the time delay τd between the arrival of the two components can be
easily computed using the following relations
and
 It should be noted that as d becomes large, the difference between the distances d' and d”
becomes very small, and the amplitudes of ELOS and Eg are virtually identical and differ
only in phase i.e.,
 If the received E-field is evaluated at some time, say at t = d”/c,

where d is the distance over a flat earth between the bases of the transmitter and receiver
antennas.

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 The electric field (at the receiver) at a distance d from the transmitter can be written as
Or

 Using trigonometric identities,

 Whenever , which occurs when < 0.3 radian, which implies
.
 Thus, as long as d satisfies, the received electric field can be approximated as

where k is a constant related to E0, the antenna heights, and the wavelength.
 The power received at d is related to the square of the electric field. Therefore, the
received power at a distance d from the transmitter can be expressed as
 At large distances (d>> ) the received power falls off with distance raised to the fourth
power, or at a rate of 40 dB/decade.
 At large values of d, the received power and path loss become independent of frequency.
 The path loss for the 2-ray model (with antenna gains) can be expressed in dB as

 At small distances, the total Efield is computed by

 If , then
where the ground appears in the first Fresnel zone between the transmitter and receiver.

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4. If a transmitter produces 50 watts of power, express the transmit power in units of

(a) dBm, and (b) dBW. If 50 watts is applied to a unity gain antenna with a 900 MHz
carrier frequency, find the received power in dBm at a free space distance of 100 m
from the antenna. What is Pr (10 km)? Assume unity gain for the receiver antenna.
Sol:
Given:
 Transmitter power, Pt = 50 W
 Carrier frequency, fc = 900 MHz
(a) Transmitter power, Pt (dBm) = 10 log [Pt (W) / (1mW)]
= l0 log[50 x 103] = 47.0 dBm
(b) Transmitter power, Pt (dBW) = 10 log [Pt (W) / (1W)]
= l0 log[50] = 17.0 dBW
The received power
= 3.5 x 10-6 W = 3.5 x 10-3mW

Pr(dBm) = 10 log[Pr(W) / (1mW) = 10 log (3.5 x 10-3 ) = -24.5dBm

Given d0 = 100 m and d = 10km
Therefore, the received power at 10 km can be expressed in terms of dBm as
= -24.5dBm -40dBm = - 64.5dBm

5. Compute the diffraction loss for the three cases shown. Assume λ=1/3m, d1=1km,
d2=1km, and (a) h=25m, (b) h=0 (c) h=-25m. For each of these cases, identify the
Fresnel zone within which the tip of the obstruction lies.
Sol:
Given:
λ=1/3m, d1=1km, d2=1km
(a) h = 25m
 The Fresnel diffraction parameter is obtained as
= 2.74

 Using the numerical approximation equation, the diffraction loss is

= 21.7dB.

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 The path length difference between the direct and diffracted rays is given as
= 0.625m

 To find the Fresnel zone in which the tip of the obstruction lies we need to compute n
which satisfies the relation Δ= nλ /2.
 For λ = 1/3m, and a = 0.625 m, we obtain
= 3.75
 Therefore, the tip of the obstruction completely blocks the first three Fresnel zones.

(b) h = 0
 Therefore, the Fresnel diffraction parameter v = 0.
 Using the numerical approximation equation, the diffraction loss is
= 6dB.
 For this case, since h = 0, we have Δ = 0, and the tip of the obstruction lies in the middle
of the first Fresnel zone.

(c) h = -25
 Using equation, the Fresnel diffraction parameter is obtained as -2.74.
 Using the numerical approximation equation, the diffraction loss is 0dB.
 Since the absolute value of the height h, is the same as part (a), the excess path length Δ
and hence n will also be the same.
 It should be noted that although the tip of the obstruction completely blocks the first three
Fresnel zones, the diffraction losses are negligible, since the obstruction is below the line
of sight (h is negative).

6. Given the following geometry, determine

(a) the loss due to knife-edge diffraction
(b) the height of the obstacle required to induce 6dB diffraction loss.
Assume f = 900MHz.

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Sol:
The wavelength = 1/3 m
Redraw the geometry by subtracting the height of the smallest structure.

= 0.2865○
= 2.15○
= 2.434○ = 0.0424rad
 The Fresnel diffraction parameter is obtained as
= 4.24

 From Figure, the diffraction loss is equal to 25.5dB.

 Using the numerical approximation equation, the diffraction loss is
= 25.5dB.

b) From Figure, for 6 dB diffraction loss, v = 0.

 The obstruction height h may be found using similar triangles (β = -γ) as shown below.

 It follows that (h/2000) = (25/12000), thus h = 4.16 m.

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7. Explain the Cellular concept.

Sol:
 In cellular systems, the service area is subdivided into smaller geographic areascalled
cells that are each served by their own base station.
 Hexagon shape is used to represent a cell since hexagonal is the closest shape to circle in
geometry.
 Group of cells form a cluster.
 Cells which are adjacent to one another either within the cluster or in between 2 clusters
form adjacent cells.
 Cells which share the same radio channel or reuse the same frequency are called
cochannel cells.
 The distance between the 2 cochannel cells is called Frequency Reuse distance.
 Frequency Reuse Factor ‘f’ is the inverse of cluster size ‘N’ where cluster size is the
number of cells in a cluster given by N = i2 +ij + j2 .
 Cochannel Reuse ratio is the ratio of distance to the centre of the nearest cochannel cell
to the radius of the cell and is denoted by ‘Z’.

D 3
 Z  3N  .
R f

 Frequency Reuse Distance is therefore given by D  R 3N .

 If the number of interfering cells is NI, the SIR of mobile station is given by

 The received SIR for the worst case is given by

wherei denotes the shadowing from the ith base station.

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8. Explain the three basic propagation mechanisms.

Sol:
 Reflection
 Diffraction
 Scattering
 Reflection occurs when a propagating electromagnetic wave impinges upon an object
which has very large dimensions when compared to the wavelength of the propagating
wave. Reflections occur from the surface of the earth and from buildings and walls.
 Diffraction occurs when the radio path between the transmitter and receiver is obstructed
by a surface that has sharp irregularities (edges).
 The secondary waves resulting from the obstructing surface are present throughout the
space and even behind the obstacle, giving rise to a bending of waves around the obstacle,
even when a line-of-sight path does not exist between transmitter and receiver.
 Scattering occurs when the medium through which the wave travels consists of objects
with dimensions that are small compared to the wavelength, and where the number of
obstacles per unit volume is large.
 Scattered waves are produced by rough surfaces, small objects, or by other irregularities
in the channel.

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Module - 2
1. List the various GSM services.
Sol:
 The service offered over the GSM network was classified into two categories:
Tele Services and Bearer Services.
 In addition, there are Supplementary Services that can be added to the Tele Services.

Relationship of Tele Services and Bearer Services to the GSM System

 Teleservices provide standard voice communication between two end users and additional
communication between two end user applications according to some standard protocol.
 Bearer services provide the user with the ability to transmit data between user network
interfaces.
 Supplementary services are the services that enhance or support a tele service provided by
the network.
Phase 1 GSM Services

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Phase 2 GSM Services

2. With a neat GSM network architecture, explain the Network Switching System
(NSS).
Sol:
The major GSM subsystems are the Network Switching System (NSS), the Base Station
System (BSS), and the Mobile Station (MS).

GSM Network Architecture

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Network Switching System

The wireless cellular Network Switching System (NSS) provides the necessary interface for
the connection of the wireless network to other networks [i.e., the PSTN and other wireless
PLMNs]. Additionally, it provides support for the mobility of the GSM subscriber within the
GSM network. The switching system maintains databases that are used to store information
about the system’s subscribers and facilitate the connection of a mobile to the system as long
as it has connection privileges. The GSM switching systems was designed to communicate
with the PSTN through ISDN protocols. The basic components of the Network Switching
System include at least one Mobile Service Switching Centre (MSC), a Gateway MSC, the
Visitor and Home Location Registers, the Equipment Identity Register, and the
Authentication Centre. In addition to these basic components, the switching system may also
have a flexible numbering register and an interworking location register to provide more
system functionality. To handle Short Message Service (SMS) the wireless switching system
will need to have an SMS gateway MSC (SMS-GMSC) and an SMS Inter Working MSC
(SMS-IWMSC). The implantation of General Packet Radio Service [GPRS] for high-speed
data transmission and reception requires the use of two additional switching system elements:
a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) and a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN).
The MSC, in conjunction with several of the databases listed previously, performs the
necessary telephony switching functions required to route incoming mobile-terminated
telephone calls to the correct cell site and connect mobile-originated calls to the correct
network [i.e., PSTN or PLMN]. The MSC Communicates with the PSTN and others MSCs
using the SS7 protocol. The MSC is connected to the PSTN is commonly referred to as the
Gateway MSC (GMSC). Additionally, the MSC is instrumental in the supervision and
administration of mobility and connection management and authentication and encryption.
The GSM network switching system databases provide the wireless network with the
necessary information to facilitate subscriber mobility. The Visitor Location Register (VLR)
is a temporary database used to hold information about mobile subscriber with the coverage
area of a particular MSC. The temporary subscriber information contained in the VLR allows
the MSC to provide service to the visiting mobile subscriber. Commonly, the MSC will be
integrated with the VLR to create a combined MSC/VLR and hence reduce system signaling
operations. For security reasons the VLR will assign a Temporary Mobile Subscriber
Identification (TMSI) to the visiting MS so as to avoid using the IMSI over the air interface.
The Home Location Register (HLR) database contains information about the subscriber’s
account.

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Commonly stored information will include such items as the MSISDN and IMSI numbers
and type of services that have been subscribed to. Also included in the HLR database will be
dynamic data such as the subscriber’s current location (i.e., VLR address) and presently
activated services. The HLR together with VLR and the MSC provide support for the
connection and mobility management of mobile station either in their home location area or
roaming within the GSM system. The Authentication Center (AUC) and the Equipment
Identity Register(EIR) in conjunction with the MSC/VLR and HLR provide additional GSM
network security and help facilitate international roaming within the GSM network. The
Flexible Numbering Register (FNR) is used by the GSM system to provide number
portability to a subscriber. With this feature a subscriber may change GSM operators and still
maintain the same MSISDN number. The network switching system will use the FNR to
redirect messages sent by a GMSC toward a particular HLR to the correct HLR. The
Interworking Location Register (ILR) is used to allow intersystem roaming. In the United
States, this operation supports roaming between the legacy AMPS system and GSM 1900
system.

3. Explain the GSM signaling model.

Sol:
The MS communicates with the MSC to provide system connection, mobility, and radio
resource management by sending messages back and forth over the air interface from the MS
to the BTS and the BSC, and between the BSC and the MSC. The figure indicates the various
protocols that are used between the different GSM interfaces and at the different OSI layer
levels. Additionally, the MSC communicates with the various networks that it is connected to
(PSTN, PLMN, etc.) by using the various protocols shown in the figure.

GSM Signaling Model

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Signaling between the MSC, BSS and MS in a GSM System

Um Interface
The layer 2 protocol used on the Um interface is LAPDm, a modified version of the ISDN
protocol LAPD. The major different between LAPD and LAPDm protocol are the following:
for LAPDm to error detection is employed since it has been built into Layer 1 signaling and
LAPDm messages are segmented into shorter message than LAPD to be compatible with the
TDMA frame length used in GSM.

Abis Interface
The Abis interface exists between the BSC and the BTS. The layer 2 protocol used on the
Abis interface is LAPD. At that Layer 3 level, most messages just passed through the BTS
transparently. However, there are some radio resource management messages that are closely
linked to the system radio hardware that must be handled by the BTS. The BTS management
(BTSM) entities manage these messages. An example of this type of radio resource message
involves encryption. The ciphering message sends the cipher key, k c to the BTS and then the
BTS sends the ciphering mode command of the MS.

A Interface
The A interface exists between the BSC and the MSC. Signaling over the A interface is done
according to Base Station Signaling Application Part [BSSAP] using the network service part
of SS7. In the MSC, in the direction of the MS, Layer 3 is subdivided into three parts: Radio
Resource Management (RR), Mobility Management (MM), and Connection Management
[CM]. As mentioned, the protocol used to transfer the CM and MM messages is BBSAP.
The BBSAP protocol has two subparts: Direct Transfer Application Part [DTAP] and Base
Station System Management Application Part (BSSAMP). DTAP is used to send CM and
MM messages between the MSC and the MS transparently through the BSS. BSSAMP is
used to send messages between the MSC and the BSC.

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Ater Interface
The Ater interface only exists in GSM systems that have separate units for the Transcoder
Controller and BSC (this is typical of some vendors’ GSM equipment). Signaling between
the BSC and the TRC is performed by the use of BSC/TRC Application Part (BTAP)
protocol over the Ater interface. The figure indicates how BSSAP signaling is sent
transparently through the TRC node.

Signaling over the GSM Ater Interface

MSC Interface
The GSM signaling model shows two protocol stacks within MSC node. The protocol stack
on the left-hand side is associated with the A interface and has been discussed earlier. The
right-hand protocol stack corresponds to the MSC network interfaces to VLR, HLR, GMSC
and the PSTN or other PLMNs. Within the network interface stack are the following
protocols; MTP, SCCP, TCAP, MAP, and ISUP/TUP. Message Transfer Part (MTP) is used
to transport messages and for routing and addressing. MTP corresponds to OSI Layers 1,2,
and parts of 3. Signaling Connection Control Part (SCCP) adds to SS7 signaling to provide
for more extensive addressing and routing. Together, MTP and SCCP form the network
service part (NSP) and corresponds to Layers 1-3 in the OSI model. Transfer Capabilities
Application Part (TCAP) and Mobile Application Part (MAP) are Layer 7 protocols. TCAP
provides services based on connectionless network services. MAP is a protocol specifically
designed for mobile communications, it is used for the signaling between databases (HLR,
VLR, EIR, AUC, etc,) and is further designated as MAP-n. ISDN-User Part (ISDN-UP) and
Temporary User Part (TUP)are used from layer-3 up to layer-7 and are used between the
MSC and the ISDN/PSTN for call setup and supervision.

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4. Explain the various control channels used in GSM.

Sol:
The signaling and control channels consist of three channel sub-categories: broadcast
channels, common control channels, and dedicated control channels.
1) Broadcast Channels
The GSM cellular system uses Broadcast Channels (BCHs) to provide information to the
mobile station about various system parameters and also information about the Location Area
Identity (LAI). The three types of BCHs are broadcast control channel, frequency
correction channel, and synchronization channel. Using the information transmitted over
these three BCHs, the MS can tune to a particular Base Transceiver System (BTS) and
synchronize its timing with the frame structure and timing in that cell. Each time the MS
attaches to a new BTS it must listen to these three BCHs.At present, the timing of different
GSM cells is not synchronized. However, there several emerging technologies that may be
adopted in the near future that may after this fact. The use of Single-Antenna Interference
Cancellation (SAIC) algorithms so increase GSM system capacity is being investigated by
the GSM industry. This noise cancellation technique is enhanced for synchronous networks.
Eventually GSM cells may all be aligned to some master clock like the Global Positioning
System (GPS).

a) Broadcast Control Channel

The Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH) contains information that is needed by the MS
concerning the cell that it is attached to in order for the MS to be able to start making or
receiving calls, or to start roaming. The type of information broadcast on the BCCH includes
that LAI, the maximum output power allowed in the cell, and the BCCH carrier frequencies
for the neigh boring cells. This last information is used by the MS to allow it to monitor the
neigh boring cells in anticipation of a possible handover operation that might be needed as
the MS moves about. The BCCH is only transmitted on the downlink from BTS to MS.

b) Frequency Correction Channel

The Frequency Correction Channel (FCCH) transmits bursts of zeros (this is an unmodulated
carrier signal) to the MS. This signaling is done for two reasons: the MS can use this signal to
synchronize itself to the correct frequency and the MS can verify that this is the BCCH
carrier. The FCCH is only broadcast on the downlink.

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c) Synchronization Channel
The Synchronization Channel (SCH) is used to transmit the required information for the MS
to synchronize itself with the timing within a particular cell. By listening to the SCH, the MS
can learn about the frame number in this cell and about the BSIC of the BTS it is attached to.
The BSIC can only be decoded if the BTS belongs to the GSM network. SCH is only
transmitted in the downlink direction.

2) Common Control Channels

The Common Control Channel (CCCHs) provide paging messages to the MS and a means by
which the mobile can request a signaling channel that it can use to contact the network. The
three CCCHs are the paging channel, random access channel, and the access grant
channel.

a) Paging Channel
The Paging Channel (PCH) is used by the system to send paging messages to the mobiles
attached to the cell. The MS listen to the PCH at certain time intervals to learn if the network
wants to make contact with it. The mobile will be paged whenever the network has an
incoming call ready for the mobile or some type of message (e.g., short message or
multimedia message) to deliver to the mobile. The information transmitted on the PCH will
consist of a paging message and the mobile’s identity number (e.g., ISMI or TMSI). The
PCH is transmitted in the downlink direction only.

b) Random Access Channel

The Random Access Channel (RACH) is used by the mobile to respond to a paging message.
If the mobile receive a page on the PCH, it will reply on the RACH with a request for a
signaling channel. The RACH can also be used by the mobile if it wants to set up a mobile-
originated call. The RACH is only transmitted in the uplink direction. For this last operation,
the RACH also plays an important role in the determination of the required timing advance
needed by the MS and the subsequent assignment of this parameter to the mobile by the
network.
The format of the signal sent on the RACH provides enough information to the wireless
network (i.e., the BSC) to allow it to calculate the distance of the mobile from the BTS. This
measured time delay is these translated into a Timing Advance (TA) that is sent to the MS.

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The use of a TA allows any mobile within the cell to transmit information that will arrive at
the BTS in correct synchronization with the start of the TDMA frame. In the GSM system,
the structure of the RACH signal allows for a maximum cell radius of 35 km except when
extended range cells are defined by the system.

c) Access Grant Channel

The Access Grant Channel (AGCH) is used by the network to assign a signaling channel to
the MS. After the mobile requests a signaling channel over the RACH the network will assign
a channel to the mobile by transmitting this information over the AGCH. The AGCH is only
transmitted in the downlink direction.

3) Dedicated Control Channels

The last group of broadcast channels is known as the Dedicated Control Channels (DCCHs).
These dedicated channels are used for specific call setup, handover, measurement, and short
message delivery functions. The four DCCHs are the Stand-Alone Dedicated Control
Channel (SDCCH), the Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH), the Fast Associated
Control Channel (FACCH), and the Cell Broadcast Channel (CBCH).

a) Stand Alone Dedicated Control Channel

Both the Mobile Station and the BTS switch over to the network assigned Stand-Alone
Dedicated Control Channel (SDCCH) that is assigned over the Access Grant Channel in
response to the mobile’s request that has been transmitted over the Random Access Channel.
The call setup procedure is performed on the SDCCH. The SDCCH is transmitted in both the
uplink and downlink directions. When the call setup procedure is complete, both the mobile
and the BTS switch to a pre assigned available Traffic Channel.

b) Slow Associated Control Channel

The Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH) is used to transmit information about
measurement made by the MS or instructions from the BTS about the mobile’s parameters of
operations. In the uplink direction the mobile sends measurements of the received signal
strength from its own BTS and those of neigh boring BTSs. In the downlink direction, the
MS receives information from the BTS about the mobile’s output power level and the Timing
Advance that the mobile needs to use. The SACCH is transmitted in both the uplink and
downlink directions over the same physical channels as the SDCCH or the TCH.

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c) Fast Associated Control Channel

The Fast Associated Control Channel (FACCH) is used to facilities the handover operation in
a GSM system. If handover is required, the necessary handover signaling information is
transmitted instead of a 20-ms segment of speech over the TCH. This operation is known as
“stealing mode” since the allotted for the voice conversation is stolen from the system for a
short period. The subscriber is usually not aware of this loss of speech since the speech coder
in the mobile simply repeats the last received voice block during this process.

d) Cell Broadcast Channel

The Cell Broadcast Channel (CBCH) is used to deliver short message service in the downlink
direction. It uses the same Physical Channel as the SDCCH.

5. Explain the various logical channels used in GSM.

Sol:
The logical channels may carry either subscriber traffic or signaling and control information
to facilitate subscriber mobility. Presently, there are three types of Traffic Channels (TCHs).
The full-rate Traffic Channel (TCH/F or Bm) carriers one conversation by using one timeslot.
The transmitted voice signal is encoded at a 13-kbps rate but is sent with additional overhead
bits. This information plus additional channel overhead bits yields a final channel data rate of
22.8 kbps. The full-rate traffic channel may also carry data at rates of 14.4, 9.6, 4.8 and 2.4
kbps. With additional overhead bits, the total data rate for TCH/H becomes 11.4 kbps.
Therefore, two conversations or a conversation and a data transfer or two data transfer may
be transmitted over one channel at the same time. Enhanced Full-Rate (EFR) traffic encodes
voice at a 12.2-kbps rate and like TCH/F adds overhead bits to yield a 22.8 kbps channel data
rate. The EFR channel may also transmit data at the TCH/F rates.

6. Explain the various GSM Identities

Sol:
 The MS has a Mobile Station ISDN Number (MSISDN) that uniquely identifies a
mobile telephone subscription in the PSTN numbering plan.
 It is therefore a dial able number and is linked to one HLR.
 The International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) is a unique identity allocated to
each subscriber by the wireless service operator and stored in the subscribers SIM.
 All network-related subscriber information is linked to the IMSI.

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 Besides being stored in the subscribers SIM, the IMSI number is also stored in the HLR
and VLR databases.
 The Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) number is used by the GSM
network to protect the subscriber’s privacy over the air interface.
 The wireless network assigns a TMSI to the MS, and the TMSI number only has local
significance within the particular MS/VLR coverage area during MS attachment.
 The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number and the International
Mobile Equipment Identity and Software Version (IMEISV) number are used by the
GSM network for equipment identification and to uniquely identity an MS as a piece of
equipment.

7. Explain GSM call setup using the MSRN

Sol:
 In step #1, the GMSC receives a signaling message, “initial address message,” from the
PSTN about the incoming call for a particular MSISDN number.
 In step #2, the GMSC sends a signaling message, “send routing information,” to the HLR
where the subscriber data for the particular MSISDN is stored.
 In step #3, the HLR uses MSISDN to find the subscriber data in the database. The VLR
address that corresponds to the subscriber location and the IMSI for the subscriber is
retrieved from the HLR database in this step.
 In step #4, the HLR sends a “provide roaming number” message to the MSC/VLR using
the VLR address as the destination and the IMSI to identify the mobile subscriber.
 In step #5, the VLR asks the MSC to seize an idle MSRN (this corresponds to a signaling
path) from its available pool of numbers and to also associate it with the IMSI number
received from the HLR.
 In step #6, the MSC/VLR sends the MSRN back to the HLR.
 In step #7, the HLR sends the MSRN back to the GMSC.
 In step #8, the GMSC uses the MSRN to route the call to the correct MSC. Now the
serving MSC receives a signaling message, “initial address message,” for the incoming
call identified by the MSRN value.
 The MSC analyzes the incoming digits and associates them with the IMSI that
corresponds to the subscriber.
 The MSRN number is released and made available for other calls.

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 The IMSI is used by the MSC for final establishment of the call.
 MSRN=CC + NDC +SN
where CC = Country Code
NDC = National Destination Code
SN = Subscriber Number (This is the number of the serving MSC)

GSM call setup using the MSRN

8. List out the ten operations in call setup in GSM system. Explain in detail ciphering
mode setting and IMEI check.
Sol:
The ten operations in call setup in GSM system are:
 Interrogation (only for a mobile-terminating call)
 Radio resource connection establishment
 Service request
 Ciphering mode setting
 IMEI number check
 TMSI allocation
 Call initiation
 Assignment of a traffic channel
 User alerting signaling
 Call accepted signaling

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Ciphering Mode Setting

 If the authentication process is successful, the next step in the call setup process is
initiated. The process of ciphering mode setting is shown in Figure.
 The MSC/VLR sends the ciphering mode command to the BSC. This is a BSSMAP
message that contains the value of Kc. This value in forwarded to the BTS within an
encryption command message. The BTS stores the value of K c and sends a nonciphered
ciphering mode command message to the MS.
 The MS inserts Kc and the TDMA Frame number into another authentication algorithm
(A5). This creates a ciphering sequence that is added to the message that is to be sent.
This ciphering mode complete message is sent to the BTS upon receipts and correct
deciphering of this message sends it transparently to the MSC via a data indication frame
from BTS and BSC.
 The Ciphering Key Sequence Number (CKSN) is used by the GSM system to reduce the
number of steps required for call setup. Recall that the value of CKSN has been stored in
the SIM card. If the MS makes another calls without first detaching and reattaching to the
network, the service request message from the MS to the MSC will include the CKSN.
 The system checks to see if the CKSN value is stored with the MS’s IMSI in the VLR. If
so, the MS may start ciphering immediately without first performing authentication.
Obviously, this will ease the network signaling load. This process of selective
authentication can be controlled by exchange properties set in the MSC/VLR by the
system operator.

GSM Ciphering Mode Setting operations

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IMEI Check
 Again, the exchanges properties set in the MSC/VLR determine whether an IMEI check
is performed. If the IMEI number is to be checked, the MSC/VLR sends an identify
request message to the MS as shown by Figure.
 As shown by the Figure, this mobility management message and the MS identify
response message are sent transparently between BTS and BSC. The value of IMEI sent
by the mobile is checked against the equipment identity register (EIR) database.
 The EIR can return three status mode for the MS back to the network. The MS can be
“white listed” and allowed to use the network, the MS can be “black listed” and not
allowed to use the network, or the MS can be “grey listed.” It is then up to the network
operator to decide if the MS can use the network or not.

GSM IMEI checks

9. Explain Interrogation and Radio Resource operations with a neat flow diagram.
Sol:
Interrogation Phase
Figure graphically illustrates the interrogation phase in a timeline/flowchart form.
 The various operations and signaling occurring between the different nodes of the GSM
network. For the interrogation operation, one notes that the Initial Address Message
(IAM) comes from outside the GSM network using ISUP/TUP protocols.
 In some vendors’ systems, the GMSC can send a request to the Flexible Numbering
Register (FNR) system node before being sent to the HLR. Also, for security reasons, the
subscriber data can be simultaneously stored and updated in two HLRs.

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 This built-in system redundancy assures successful operation in all but the most
catastrophic disasters. In one final note final note about this operation, one observes that
in the last operation performed, the two GSM system nodes (the MSC/VLR and the
GMSC) use a non-MAP protocol to communicate with each other (i.e., the IAM
message).

GSM Interrogation Phase of call setup

Radio Resource Connection Establishment

 Figure shows a graphic of the radio resource connection establishment process.

GSM Radio Resource Connection Establishments

 The MSC/VLR initiates the call setup process by sending a layer 3 paging message to the
appropriate BSC. The paging message will contain the subscriber’s IMSI number so that
the BSC can calculate the correct paging group to use. Recall that the MS can be paged in
all the cells of a particular location area or even globally in all the cells of a MSC/VLR
serving area.

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 In most cases, the LAI is provided by the MSC to the BSC. The BSC receives the paging
message and typically translates the LAI to a Cell Global Identity (CGI) number if this
information was not provided in the paging message.
 The BSC sends the paging command message to the appropriate BTSs. This message will
contain to following information the IMSI or TMSI, the paging group, and the channel
number.
 The channel will contain enough information to indicate the channel type and the timeslot
number. For this case channel type is a downlink Common Control Channel (CCCH)
(i.e., a Paging Channel [PCH]).
 For the GSM system, the Paging Group is determined by the subscriber’s IMSI and other
information defined in the BSC.
 When the MS has received the system information and knows its paging group, it will
calculate when the paging group will be broadcast and thereafter will only listen for pages
during the time they are expected be sent.
 Finally, the BTS sends a paging message to the MS. this message is sent on the PCH.
there are different types of paging requests possible depending upon the use of IMSI or
TMSI.
 The MS responds to the paging request message by sending a channel request message to
the BTS. the message is transmitted on the Random Access Channel(RACH)and contains
information about the type request to set the priority if the system is experiencing heavy
call volume and the radio resources are low. When the BTS detects an access burst, it
sends a channel required message to the BSC.
 The BSC examines the information contained within the channel required message and
determines whether the MS is within the allowed range of the cell.
 The BSC determines what channel to use and sends a channel activation message to the
BTS.
 Figure 5 shows the detailed steps required for radio resource connection establishment.
 Figure 6 indicates that there are two possible modes of system operation The BTS
activities this channel and then sends a channel activation acknowledge message back to
the BSC. The BSC then sends and immediate assignment command message back to the
BTS that include an immediate assign message for the MS.

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 This immediate assign message is sent by the BTS to the MS over the Access Grant
Channel (AGCH) and instructs the MS to switch to the allocated signalling channel and
contains the channel description information element.
 If the information sent back to the MS from the original access burst agrees with the
values stored by the MS, the mobile enters a new phase to be described next.
 The GSM specifications allow for a modification of the just described procedure. If need
be, the BSC may send an immediate assignment on TCH command to the MS. This
allows the call setup signalling to be performed directly over the TCH. When the call
setup procedure is complete, a channel mode modify command message can have used to
initiate a procedure that will return the TCH to the traffic mode. This strategy might be
employed if there is congestion on the available system SDCCHs.

Detailed Messaging during GSM Radio Resource Connection Establishment

10. Explain in detail the GSM Authentication mode operation.

Sol:
Authentication
 The authentication process in shown in Figure. Depending upon the exchange properties
stored in the MSC/VLR, as set up by the GSM operator, authentication is either activated
or not activated. If authentication is activated, an authentication request message is sent
transparently to the MS.

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 The message containing a 128- bit Random number (RAND) and the Ciphering Key
Sequence Number (CKSN) is sent to the MS over the Stand-alone Dedicated Control
Channel (SDCCH) from the BTS.
 The MS stores the CKSN and then calculates the value of a signed response (SRES) by
using the RAND, the value of k1 (the subscriber authentication key that is stored in the
SIM card), and Kc in several authentication algorithms (known as A3 and A8). The value
of SRES is returned to the MSC/VLR as a transparent authentication response message.
 Between the BSC and the BTS a data request frame and a data indication frame are used
to pass the layer 3 message as shown. A timer is set in the MSC/VLR when the first
authentication request message is sent.
 If the timer expires, the request is set again. If the timer expires a second time, the radio
resources (the channel) are released.
 If authentication is unsuccessful, the GSM system may initiate a procedure to identify the
MS. Depending upon the results of this procedure the MS may be barred from the system
or sent a message indicating that the “IMSI is unknown in VLR” or “PLMN not allowed.”

GSM Authentication operations

11. Explain GSM Intra-BSC Handover.

Sol:
Intra-BSC Handover
 The Intra-BSC handover is shown graphically in Figure. In this case the handover is
going to occur between two cells that are both controlled by the same BSC. During an
ongoing call, the MS makes measurement of the received signal strength (RSS) of its own
traffic channel (TCH) and the RSS of the neighboring cells.

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 In step#1, the MS sends a measurement report about the RSS levels to the BTS at a rate
of about two times per second. The BTS also makes measurements of the TCH uplink
signal strength and adds these to the measurement report from the MS.
 In step#2, the combined report is forwarded to the BSC. The BSC uses a locating function
to determine the necessity of handing over the call to another cell because of either poor
quality or low signal strength in the cell that the MS is attached to.
 In step #3, if handover is deemed necessary, the BSC sends a command to the BTS in the
new cell to activate a TCH.
 In step #4, when the new BTS acknowledges the activation of the new TCH, the BSC
sends a message to the MS via the old BTS with information about the new TCH (i.e.,
frequency, timeslot, and mobile output power).
 In step #5, the mobile tunes to the new TCH and sends, short handover access bursts on
the appropriate FACCH. At this time, the MS does not use anything advance.
 In step #6, when the BTS detects the handover access bursts, it sends timing advance
information to the MS over the FACCH. The BTS also sends a handover detection
message to the BSC. The BSC reconfigures the group switch to deliver the traffic to the
new BTS.
 In step #7, the MS sends a handover complete message to the BSC.
 In step #8, the BSC sends a message to the old BTS to deactivate the old TCH and its
associated signalling channel (SACCH).in the intra-BSC handover the MSC is not
involved with the operations. The BSC would handover send a record of the handover to
the MSC for the generation of system statistics.

GSM Intra-BSC handover

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12. Explain GSM Inter–BSC Handover.

Sol:
Inter–BSC Handover
In the Inter-BSC handover the mobile has moved to a cell that is an different location area
and therefore has a different BSC. Figure 23 shows this situation. Again, the serving BSC
decides that the cell must be handed over to a new cell that belongs to a new BSC.
 In step #1, the serving BSC sends a handover required message to the MSC with the
identity of the new cell.
 In step #2, the MSC determines the serving BSC for the new cell and sends a handover
request to the new BSC.
 In step #3, the new BSC sends an order to the new BTS to activate a TCH.
 In step #4, when the new BTS activates the TCH, the BSC sends channel information
(i.e.., frequency, timeslot, MS output power) and a handover references to the MSC.
 In step #5, the MSC passes the channel information to the old BSC.
 In step #6, the MS is instructed to change to the new TCH and it also gets the handover
reference information contained in a handover command message.
 In step #7, the MS tunes to the new TCH and sends handover access bursts containing
the handover reference on the new FACCH.
 In step #8, the new BTS detects the handover access bursts and sends timing advance
information to the MS on the FACCH.
 In step #9, the new BTS sends a handover detection message to the new BSC. The new
BSC sends a message to the MSC informing if of the handover. The MSC changes the
traffic path through the group switch in order to send it to the new BSC.
 In step #10, when the MS receives the timing advance information it sends a handover
complete message to the BSC.
 In step #11, the new BSC sends a handover complete message to the old BSC via the
MSC.
 In step #12, the old TCH and SACCH are deactivated by the old BTS. The MS gets
information about the new cell on the SACCH associated with the new TCH. If the cell is
in a new location area, the MS performs a normal location updating after the call has been
released.

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Figure23: GSM Inter-BSC Handover

1) Handover request is sent by serving BSC to MSC.

2) Handover request is sent by MSC to new BSC (B).
3) BSC B sends activation order to BTS 1B.
4) BSC B sends handover information to MSC.
5) MSC sends handover information to BSC A.
6) BSC A sends MS new TCH information.
7) MS sends handover access burst to new BTS (1B).
8) Timing advance information is sent to the MS.
9) BTS 1B sends handover detection message to BSC B.
10) MS sends handover complete message to BSC B.
11) BSC B sends handover complete message to the old BSC (A).
12) Old BSC (A) sends channel deactivation message to old BTS (1A).

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13. Explain GSM Inter-MSC Handover.

Sol:
Inter-MSC Handover
 Another possible handover that can occur is when the BSC decides that a handover
should occur and the new cell belongs to another MSC. This type of handover is known
as an Inter-MSC and is shown by Figure 24.

Figure24: GSM inter- MSC Handover

1) Handover request is sent by serving BSC (A1) to MSC A.

2) MSC A requests assistance from MSC B.
3) MSC B provides MSC A with handover number and sends new BSC (B1) a handover
request.
4) New BSC (B1) sends handover activation order to new BTS (1B1).
5) BSC sends handover information to new MSC.
6) Handover information is send to old MSC.
7) A signaling/traffic link is setup between the two MSCs.
8) Handover message is sent to MS.
9) MS sends handover access burst to new BTS.
10) New BTS sends timing advance information to MS.

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11) Old MSC is sent handover detected message.

12) MS sends handover complete message to new BSC.
BSC sends handover complete message to the old BSC.
Old BSC sends channel deactivation message to old BTS (IAI).
 Step #1, has the BSC sending a handover required message to the serving MSC as was
the case for the inter-BSC handover.
 In step #2, the serving MSC asks the new MSC for help.
 In step #3, the new MSC allocates a “handover number” in order to reroute the call to the
new MSC. Also, a handover request is sent to the BSC.
 In step #4, the new BSC sends a command to the new BTS to activate an idle TCH.
 In step #5, the new MSC receives the information about the new TCH and handover
reference.
 In step #6, the TCH description and the handover reference is passed on to the old MSC
with the handover number.
 In step #7, a signaling/traffic link is setup of from the serving MSC to the new MSC.
 In step #8, a handover command message is sent to the MS with the necessary
information about channel and timeslot to be used in the new cell and the handover
reference to use in the handover access burst.
 In step #9, the MS tunes to the new TCH and sends handover access bursts on the
FACCH.
 In step #10, the new BTS detects the handover access bursts and then sends timing
advance information to the MS on the FACCH.
 In step #11, the old MSC is informed about the handover access bursts (this info comes
from the new BSC and MSC).
 In step #12, a handover complete massage is sent from the MS. The new BSC and MSC
inform the old MSC. The old MSC informs the old BSC and the old BSC sends a
message to the old BTS to release the old TCH. In this procedure the old MSC maintains
control of the call until is cleared. In this process, the old MSC is called the anchor MSC.
 Since the call entered a new location area, the MS is required to perform a location
updating as soon as the call is released. During this operation, the HLR is updated as to
the whereabouts of the MS. Also, the HLR will send a cancel location message to the old
VLR telling it to delete all stored information about the MS (again, this operation is
known as a VLR purge).

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Module – 3
1. Explain Network Nodes in CDMA 2000 wireless system, with neat diagram.
Sol:
 The details of the Network nodes found in a cdma2000 Wireless System is shown in
Figure.

Details of the Network nodes found in a cdma2000Wireless System

Mobile-Services Switching Centre and Visitor Location Register

 The CDMA Mobile-Services Switching Center (MSC) serves as the interface between the
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the Base Station Subsystem (BSS).
 MSC performs the functions necessary for the establishment of calls to and from the
system’s mobile subscribers.
 MSC, in conjunction with other network system elements, provide the functionality
needed to permit subscriber mobility ad roaming.
 Few operations include subscriber registration and authentication, location updating
functions, call handoffs, and call routing for roaming subscribers.
 The Visitor Location Register (VLR) functions is collocated with the MSC.
 Its function is to provide a database containing temporary information about registered
subscribers that may needed by the MSC in the performance of call control operations
and the provisioning of subscriber services for the mobiles currently registered in the
VLR service area.

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Interworking Function
 In the early CDMA systems, the Inter Working Function(IWF) node is the only gateway
between the wireless network and the Packet Data Network (PDN).
 It provides a direct connection to the PDN for packet data calls.
 It also supports circuit-switched data calls by providing internal modems for connections
to dial-up Internet Service Providers (ISPs). These circuit switched data calls are routed to
the PSTN through the MSC.
 Later, IWF typically uses Ethernet for the signaling between itself and the MSC and for
the exchange of packet data between itself and the PDN.
 In CDMA2000, the IWFs packet data transfer function is augmented by the Packet Core
Network (PCN) element.

Mobile Positioning System(MPS)

 A location system that determines the geographic position of a mobile subscriber.
 This Mobile Positioning System (MPS) is based on the Global Positioning System (GPS)
and used for emergency services.
 The ability to locate the caller is known as Enhanced 911 or E911.
 Other used of this system are “location-based services” or location-specific marketing
tools.
 For Phase 1 of the wireless E911 program, the cellular system must be able to tell a
location Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) the location of the cellular antenna that is
handling the emergency call.
 For Phase 2 implementation, the MPS uses a form of mobile-assisted GPS and
triangulation to determine the latitude and longitude of the mobile.

Unified Messaging/Voice Mail Service (UM/VMS)

 This node integrates e-mail and voice mail access.
 This node provides messaging waiting indication using Short Message Service (SMS) and
multiple message retrieval modes including the use of Dual Tone Multi Frequency
(DTMF) or either a Web or Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browser.
 This node connects to the PDN and the MSC.

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HLR/AC
 Home Location Register (HLR) and Authentication Center (AC) are typically collocated
in CDMA2000 systems.
 The HLR holds subscriber information in a database format that is used by the system to
manage the Subscriber Device (SD) activity.
 It includes the SD Electronic Serial Number (ESN), details of subscriber’s service plan,
any service restrictions (no overseas access) and identification of the MSC where the
mobile was last registered.
 The AC provides a secure database for the authentication of mobile subscribers when
they first register with the system and during call origination and termination.
 The AC uses Shared Secret Data (SSD) for authentication calculations.
 Both the AC and SD calculate SSD based on the authentication key or A-key, the ESN,
and a random number provided by the AC and broadcast to the SD.
 The A-key is stored in the SD and also at the AC and never transmitted over the air.
 The AC or MSC/VLR compares the values calculated by the AC and the SD to determine
the mobile’s status with the system.

PPCS and Other Nodes

 The Pre-Paid Calling Service (PPCS) node provides a prepaid calling service using the
subscriber’s home location area MSC.
 This node provides MSC with information about the subscriber’s allocated minutes and
provides the subscriber with account balance information.
 Also associated with a prepaid administration computer system that provides the
necessary database to store subscriber information and update it as needed.
 The Pre-Paid Administration System (PPAS) provides the subscriber account balance
information to the PPCS system.
 The MSC sends information about subscriber time used to PPAS for account updating.

Base Station Subsystem (BSS)

 The BSS consists of one Base Station Controller (BSC) and all the Radio Base Stations
(RBSs) controlled by the BSC.
 BSS provides the mobile subscriber with an interface to the circuit switched core network
through the MSC and an interface to the Pubic Data Network (PDN) through the Packet
Core Network (PCN).

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 There can be more than one BSS in a cdma2000 system.

 The combination of all the CDMA BSSs and radio network management system that
oversees their operation is known as the CDMA Radio Access Network or C-RAN.

Base Station Controller (BSC)

 BSC is the interface between the MSC, Packet Core Network (PCN), other BSSs in the
same system and all radio base stations that it controls.
 Provides routing of data packets between the PCN and the RBSs, radio resource
allocation (setting up and tearing down of both BSC and RBS call resources).
 Also provides system timing and synchronization, system power control, all handoff
procedures and processing of both voice and data as required.

Radio Base Station (RBS)

 RBS provides the interface between the BSC and the subscriber devices via the common
air interface.
 Its functions include CDMA encoding and decoding of the subscriber traffic and system
overhead channels and the CDMA radio links to and from the subscribers.
 Typical RBS contains an integrated GPS antenna and receiver that is used to provide
system timing and frequency references, a computer-based control system that monitors
and manages the operations of the RBS and provides alarm indications as needed,
 Also contains communication links for the transmission of both system signals and
subscriber traffic between itself and the BSC, and power supplies and environmental
control units as needed.

PLMN Subnetwork
 A cdma2000 Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) provides mobile wireless
communication services to subscribers and typically consists of several functional
subnetworks.
 These subnetworks are known as the Circuit Core Network (CCN), the Packet Core
Network (PCN), the Service Node Network (SNN) and the CDMA Radio Access
Network (C-RAN).
 The cdma2000 PLMN subscriber has access to the PSTN and the PDN through these
subnetworks.
 These subnetworks facilitates the management of the system.

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Circuit Core Network

 The Circuit Core Network (CCN) provides the switching functions necessary to complete
calls to and from the mobile subscriber to the PSTN.
 The major network element in the CCN is the MSC.
 It is primarily concerned with the completion of voice calls between the subscriber and
the PSTN.
 The MSC is basically an extension of the PSTN that services the various cells and the
associated radio base stations within the cells.
 MSC provides circuit switching and provides feature like call charging, subscriber
roaming support and maintenance of subscriber databases.

CDMA Radio Access Network

 The CDMA Radio Access Network (C-RAN) provides the interface between the wireless
cellular subscriber and the Circuit Core Network (CCN).
 The CCN consists of the MSC and other system components involved with connections
to the PSTN for all circuit-switched voice and data calls.
 The C-RAN consists of multiple Base Station Subsystems (BSSs) and some form of
Radio Network Management (RNM) system.
 The RNM system provides Operation and the Management (O & M) support for multiple
BSSs.

Packet Core Network

 The Packet Core Network (PCN) provides a standard interface for wireless packet-
switched data service between the C-RAN and the Public Data Network (PDN).
 The PCN provides the necessary links to various IP networks to and from the C-RAN.
 The PCN consists of three main hardware nodes: Authentication, Authorization and
Accounting (AAA) server, the Home Agent (HA) and the Packet Data Serving Node
(PDSN).

2. Explain the basic spectrum spreading operation in CDMA.

Sol:
 The cdmaOne and cdma2000 cellular systems are based on Code Division Multiple
Access (CDMA) technology.
 This is attained using a spread spectrum encoding technique.

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 For this Walsh spreading codes are used for channel encoding.
 Walsh code consists of a binary combination of sixty-four 0s and 1s and all these are
orthogonal to one another.
 This creates 64 distinct communication channels that can all exist in the same frequency
spectrum.
 All other Walsh encoded signals will appear as broadband noise to the CDMA receiver
except for the unique signal that was created with the same Walsh code as the one the
receiver uses for demodulation.

The Basic Spread Spectrum Operation

 Figure shows the basic principle of an 8-bit Walsh orthogonal spreading code to create
distinct signal.
 Spreading code increases the number of bits sent in the same time interval as the original
digital signal, so increases the overall signal bandwidth.
 Two types of Pseudorandom Noise (PN) codes are used by the system, short and long PN
codes.

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3. Explain with block diagram the generation of CDMA forward traffic control with
power control channel for 14.4 kbps traffic.
Sol:
 The CDMA Forward Traffic Channels carry the actual user information.
 The digitally encoded voice or data can be transmitted at several different data rates.
 Rate Set 1(RS1) supports 9.6kbps maximum and slower rates of 4.8, 2.4, 1.2kbps.
 Rate Set 2(RS2) supports 14.4, 7.2, 3.6, 1.8kbps.
 All the CDMA system’s unused Walsh codes may be used to generate forward traffic
channels.
 The Traffic Channels are further scrambled with both the short PN sequence codes and
the long PN sequence codes before transmission.
 Power control information is transmitted to the mobile stations within the cell over the
Traffic Channels as shown in Figure.
 This information is used to set the output power of the mobile on the reverse link and is
multiplexed with the scrambled voice bits at the rate of 800bps or 1 bit every 1.25msec.

Generation of the CDMA forward Traffic/Power Channel for 14.4kbps Traffic

4. Describe the generation of the CDMA pilot channel signal with a neat figure.
Sol:
 The CDMA Pilot channel is used to provide a reference signal for all the SDs within a
cell.

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 Figure shows the generation of the Pilot channel signal.

 The all-0s Walsh code is used for the initial signal spreading on a sequence of all 0s.
 This results in a sequence of all zeros that are further spread using the short PN spreading
sequences resulting in a sequence of 0s and 1s.
 The I and the Q signals drive a quadrature modulator.
 The resulting Pilot signal is an unmodulated spread spectrum signal.
 The short PN spreading code is used to identify the base station and the Pilot signal is
transmitted at a fixed output power usually 4-6dB stronger than any other channel.
 This is used as phase reference for coherent demodulation of all other channels and serves
as reference for signal power comparisons.

Generation of the CDMA Pilot Channel Signal

5. Explain the generation of CDMA paging channel.

Sol:
 Used to page the SDs when there is a mobile-terminated call and to send control
messages to the SDs wen call setup is taking place.
 Figure shows the generation of a Paging control channel message.
 Walsh codes are used for this purpose.
 The Paging channel undergoes an additional scrambling operation using the long PN
spreading code sequence.
 The long PN code is generated by a 42-bit linear feedback shift register that gives a
sequence of length.

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 This message also goes through a convolutional encoding process symbol repetition and
block interleaving before being scrambled by a slower version of the long PN code.

Generation of the CDMA Paging Channel Signal

6. Draw and explain CDMA synchronization channel signal.

Sol:
 Used by the system to provide initial time synchronization.
 Figure shows the generation of the synchronization channel signal.
 Walsh code (thirty-two 0s followed by thirty-two 1s) is used to spread the
synchronization channel message.
 The same short PN spreading code with the same offset is used to further spread the
signal.
 The initial channel message has a data rate of 1200bps.
 The sync messages undergo convolutional encoding, symbol repetition and finally block
interleaving.
 This process increases the data rate to 4.8kbps.
 The sync message includes the system and network identification codes, identification of
paging channel data rates, the offset value of the short PN spreading code and the state of
the long PN spreading code.

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Generation of the CDMA Synchronization Channel Signal

7. Explain the generation of the CDMA Reverse Access Channel.

Sol:
 The CDMA access channels are used by the mobile to answer pages and to transmit
control information for call setup and tear down.
 Figure shows the access channel processing for CDMA systems.
 An access message at 4.8kbps undergoes the familiar convolutional encoding, symbol
repetition and block interleaving that raises the data rate to 28.8kbps.
 The orthogonal modulation subsystem processes the signal by encoding every 6 bits into
a 64-bit Walsh code. This process raises the signal rate to 307.2kcps (chips per second).
 Next, the long PN code spreads the signal by a factor of 4 that yields a chip rate of
1.2288mcps.

Generation of the CDMA Reverse Access Channel

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 The signal is further scrambled by the short PN sequence codes.

 Next, the CDMA signal is applied to an RF quadrature modulator subsystem.
 The Offset QPSK (OQPSK) is the modulation used to produce the final UHF passband
signal.
 A delay block of one-half of a PN chip (406.9ns) used in the Q-path to implement the
OQPSK modulation.
 This modulation allows for a more power efficient and linear implementation by the
subscriber device’s RF electronics.

8. Explain the CDMA mobile originated timeline.

Sol:
 To originate a call, the mobile sends a system access message on the Access Channel and
the monitors the Paging Channel for a response from the system.
 If the access is successful, a Forward Traffic Channel is assigned, and a base station
receiver is assigned for the Reverse Traffic Channel long PN code.
 The base station sends a paging channel message to the mobile with the Walsh code
information and Reverse Channel assignment.
 The mobile configures itself and begins decoding null traffic that the base station has
started to transmit over the Forward Traffic Channel.
 Mobile starts to transmit preamble over the Reverse Traffic Channel.
 The base station uses the forward traffic channel to acknowledge the preamble and the
mobile responds by starting to send traffic.
 Figure shows the steps in timeline chart.
 During the call, there are constant power control operations taking place and if the mobile
is moving about, handoffs may occur between different base stations.

CDMA Mobile Originated Call Timeline

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9. Describe in detail, the process of soft handoff in CDMA.

Sol:
 A soft handoff occurs when the mobile is able to communicate simultaneously with
several new cells or a new sector of the current cell over a Forward Traffic Channel
(FTC) while still maintaining communications over the FTC of the current cell or sector.
 The mobile station can only perform a soft handoff while in the traffic state to a new cell
or sector that has the same frequency carrier.
 The use of soft handoff is associated with the near-far problem and power control
mechanism.
 If the mobile moves away from a base station and continually increases its output power
to compensate for the signal attenuation encountered at the greater distance, it will cause
interference to mobiles in neighboring cells and raise the level of background noise in its
own cell or sector.
 To overcome this problem and to make sure that the mobile is connected to the base
station with the greatest RSS, a strategy for soft handoffs has been designed.
 The optimal CDMA system operation will occur when each mobile is connected to the
nearest base station (the base station with a strongest signal) and is transmitting with a
lowest output power necessary for proper operation.
 A carefully implemented soft handover process can enhance system performance by
increasing call quality, improving coverage and increasing capacity.
 The three types of soft handoffs defined are:
 Softer handoff
 Soft handoff
 Soft Softer handoff
 Figure depicts the three types of soft handoffs.
 The first type is known as Softer handoff because the handoff is between two sectors of
the same cell.
 The Soft handoff occurs between two different cells.
 Soft-Softer handoff can occur when the motion of mobile gives it a handoff choice
between two sectors of the same cell and a sector from the adjacent cell.

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Three Types of Soft CDMA Handoff

 In all CDMA handoff procedures, a number of base stations and their pilot channels are
involved.
 In a soft handoff, more than one cell simultaneously supports the mobile’s call.
 In softer handoff, more than one sector of a cell simultaneously supports the mobile’s
call.

10. Explain the different types of hard handoffs supported by CDMA systems.
Sol:
 Hard handoff is an intercarrier handoff.
 This causes the radio link to be abruptly interrupted for a short period while the base and
mobile station switch from one carrier frequency to another.
 The two basic types of intercarrier handoffs are:
 A hand-down is a hard handover between two different carriers within the same cell.
 A handover is a hard handoff between two different carriers in two different cells.
 The circumstances for hard handoff can be due to the particular coverage area
implementation of a service provider or the less frequent case of existence of two service
providers in adjacent areas.
 The first case is known as pocketed implementation, a service provider might use a
second CDMA carrier in individual or noncontiguous cells to provide additional capacity
during system growth or for local high-traffic hot spots.

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 The Figure shows Hard CDMA Handoffs due to Inter carrier Handoff.
 A mobile that is using the second carrier and exiting the pocket of second-carrier cells
must be handed off to the common carrier to continue the call.
 To perform this; first hand-down the call to the common carrier before the mobile leaves
the pocketed area.
 Then a soft handoff can be performed as the mobile moves across the border from the
pocketed area into the surrounding service area.

Hard CDMA Handoffs due to Inter carrier Handoff

 Typically, this hand-down occurs at the border cells (sectors) of the pocketed area.
 Border cells must be identified and configured to operate in a slightly different fashion
than non-border cells (sectors).
 Careful examination of cell geometry and local traffic routes can aid in the selection of a
border cell (sector).
 When a mobile enters a border sector, it is instructed by the base station to issue frequent
pilot-strength measurement messages.
 This allows the sector to closely monitor the mobile’s status.
 If the pilot report indicates that the sector’s pilot has dropped below a certain threshold
level, the base station directs the mobile to hand down to the first carrier.
 The value of the threshold in this process forces this hand-down to occur before the
mobile has reached the edge of the sector.
 This process allows sufficient time for the normal soft handoff to occur as the mobile
exists at the border sector.

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 This works well for a large pocket with a well-defined border cells.
 This process does not work well where insufficient first-carrier capacity is available to
accommodate the required hand-down as might be the case for an isolated cell with a
second carrier.
 The solution is to expand the second carrier pocket so that it has sufficient first-carrier
capacity to handle normal first-carrier traffic and hand-downs.
 In case where a second carrier is added to a cell to facilitate hand-downs instead of
providing normal traffic relief, the term transition cell is used instead of border cell.
 The area around the original isolated cell is known as the transition zone and hand-down
is only allowed in the transition zone providing relief for the heavily loaded original cell.
 There is possibility of disjoint systems where distinct CDMA carriers exist in different
regions due to issues like availability of appropriate spectrum.
 Figure shows Hard CDMA Handoffs due to Disjointed Regions.
 The most common method used to provide handoff between the two regions is to
implement a border area that supports the use of both carrier frequencies and is
configured to provide hand-downs or to execute a hard handoff from one carrier to the
other as the mobile crosses the border between the two regions.
 The first scenario works well for a clearly defined border area with a predictable flow of
traffic.

Hard CDMA Handoffs due to Disjointed Regions

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 If a mobile might be expected to turn around within the border area and return to the
region it had previously left, a more complex border area must be created to prevent the
possibility of thrashing (extremely undesirable) between the two carriers.
 This requires the identification of border cells that facilitate the handover from one carrier
to the other.
 These border cells are configured to make frequent pilot-strength measurements and use a
threshold value that will cause a handover from the host (current) cell to the target
(future) cell in the vicinity of the border between the two cells.

11. Explain CDMA Network and System Architecture.

Sol:
 The initial CDMA (IS-95) reference architecture developed by TR-45/46 is as shown in
the Figure below:

Initial CDMA (IS-95) Reference Architecture

 The new CDMA2000 reference architecture is shown in Figure 3.4 and it includes more
additional network access interfaces. These interfaces are mainly concerned with
evolving structure of CDMA2000 toward an all-IP core network.
 Messaging between CDMA system network element is through the use of protocols
similar to SS7.
 TIA/EIA-634-B is an open interface standard that deals with signaling between the MSC
and BSC over the A interface.
 TIA/EIA-41-D describes the protocols used between the other core network elements
(MSC, VLR, HLR, AC, etc).

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Module - 4
1. Explain the advantages of OFDM for LTE.
Sol:
Advantages of OFDM
a) Elegant Solution to Multipath Interference
 Any residual Inter Symbol Interference (ISI) can be eliminated by using guard intervals
between OFDM symbols that are larger than the expected multipath delay.
b) Reduced Computational Complexity
 The Computational Complexity of OFDM is O(BlogBT m) where B is the bandwidth and
Tm is the delay spread.
c) Graceful degradation of performance under excess delay
 The Performance of OFDM system degrades gracefully as the delay spread exceeds the
value designed for.
d) Exploitation of frequency diversity
 OFDM facilitates coding and interleaving across sub carriers in the frequency domain
which can provide robustness against burst errors.
e) Enables efficient multi access scheme
 OFDM can be used as a multi access schemeby partitioning different sub carriers among
multiple users which I referred to as OFDMA and is exploited in LTE.
f) Robust against narrowband interference
 OFDM is relatively robust against narrowband interference since such interference affects
only a fraction of sub carriers.
g) Suitable for coherent demodulation
 It is relatively easy to do pilot based channel estimation in OFDM systems, which renders
them suitable for coherent demodulation schemes that are more power efficient.
h) Facilitates use of MIMO
 OFDM converts a frequency selective broadband channel into several narrowband flat
fading channels where MIMO models and techniques work well to improve the system
capacity.
i) Efficient support of broadcast services
 By synchronizing base stations to timing errors well within OFDM guard interval, it is
possible to operate an OFDM network as a Single Frequency Network (SFN).

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 It allows broadcast signals from different cells to combine over the air to significantly
enhance the received signal power, thereby enhancing higher data broadcast
transmissions for a given transmit power.

2. Explain flat LTE SAE architecture.

Sol:
IP based flat network architecture/ flat LTE SAE architecture
 3GPP Release 6 architecture has 4 network elements in the data path: the base station or
Node-B, Radio Network Controller (RNC), Serving GPRS Service Node (SGSN) and
Gateway GPRS Service Node (GGSN).
 Release 7 introduced a direct tunnel option from the RNC to GGSN which eliminated
SGSN from the data path.
 LTE has only 2 network elements in the data path: the enhanced Node-B (eNode-B) and
System Architecture Evolution Gate Way (SAE-GW).
 LTE merges the base station and Radio Network Controller functionality into single unit.
 The control path includes a functional entity called Mobility Management Entity (MME)
which provides control plane functions related to subscriber, mobility and session
management.
 The MME and SAE-GW could be collocated in a single entity called access Gate Way
(a-GW).
 All services including voice are supported on IP packet network using IP protocols.
 Due to backward compatibility of LTE, GPRS tunnelling protocol and Packet Data
Convergence Protocol still exist.

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3. Write the block diagram of end to end architecture of EPC supporting current and
legacy Radio Access Networks and discuss the elements of EPC.
Sol:
LTE network architecture/Evolved Packet Core architecture
 EPC is designed to provide a high capacity, all IP, reduced latency, flat architecture and
supports new Radio Access Networks such as LTE.
 EPC provide interworking with legacy 2G GERAN and 3G UTRAN networks connected
via SGSN.
 EPC provides functions such as access control, packet routing and transfer, mobility
management, security, radio resource management and network management.

 The EPC includes 4 new elements: Serving Gate Way (SGW), Packet Data Network
(PDN) Gate Way (PGW), mobility Management Entity (MME) and Policy Charging
Rules Function (PRCF).
i) Serving Gate Way (SGW)
 It terminates the interface towards the 3GPP radio access networks (RAN)
 It acts as a demarcation point between the RAN and Core network and management user
plane mobility.
 It serves as mobility anchor when terminals move across areas served by different node-
B elements in E-UTRAN- as well as acrossother3GPPradio networks such as GERAN
and UTRAN.

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 SGW does downlink packet buffering and initiation of network triggered service request
procedures.
 Other function include packet routing and forwarding transport level packet marking in
the uplink and downlink support for per user and inter operator charging.
ii) Packet Data Network Gate Way (PGW)
 It acts as the termination point of the EPC toward other Packet Data Networks (PDN)
such as the internet private IP network or the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network
providing end user services.
 It serves as an anchor point for sessions toward external PDN and provides functions such
as user IP address allocation, routing, policy enforcement, packet filtering and charging
support.
iii) Mobility Management Entity (MME)
 It performs Signaling and Control functions to manage user terminal access to network
connections, assignment of network resources, mobility management functions such as
idle mode location tracking, paging, roaming and handover.
 It provides security functions such as providing temporary identities for user terminals,
interacting with Home Subscriber Server (HSS) for authentication and negotiation of
ciphering and integrity protection algorithms.
iv) Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF)
 It is a concatenation of Policy Decision Function (PDF) and Charing Rules Function
(CRF).
 It interfaces with the PDN Gate Way and supports service data flow detection, policy
enforcement and flow based charging.

4. Consider a channel where the maximum delay spread has been determined to be
τ = 2μsec. What is the minimum and maximum data rate loss due to the cyclic
prefix? What is the minimum theoretical loss if a shorter cyclic prefix could be
used?
Sol:
 The normal Cyclic Prefix (CP) length / Guard Time T g = 144 * Ts ≈ 4.7μsec which is
clearly longer than delay spread τ = 2μsec and so sufficient for this channel.
 Since CP length is fixed, least overhead (rate loss) will be incurred for the longest block
size and most overhead (rate loss) would be incurred for the shortest block size.

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 With maximum block size Lmax= 2048 sub carriers, and block size L=128 sub carriers:
 CP length = v = 144 *Ts = 144 * L / Lmax = 144 * 128 / 2048 = 9 data symbols.
 Rate Loss factor = L / (L+v) = 128 / (128 + 9) = 128 / 137 = 0.934 ≈ 93% and hence
a rate loss of less than 7%.
 With maximum block size Lmax = 2048 sub carriers, and block size L=2048 sub carriers:
 CP length = v = 144 * Ts = 144 * L / Lmax = 144 * 2048 / 2048 = 144 data symbols.
 Rate Loss factor = L / (L + v) = 2048 / (2048 + 144) = 2048 / 2192 = 0.934 ≈ 93%
and hence a rate loss of less than 7%.

 If the Cyclic Prefix was even shorter, the rate loss would be less.
 For block size L = 128 sub carriers, with Tg = 4.7μsec, there are 9data symbols.
 With τ = 2μsec = Tg, there are (2μsec * 9) / 4.7μsec = 3.82 ≈ 4 data symbols = v
 Rate Loss factor = L / (L + v) = 128 / (128 + 4) = 128 / 132 = 0.969 ≈ 97% and
hence a rate loss of less than 3%.
 For block size L = 2048 sub carriers, with Tg = 4.7μsec, there are 144 data symbols.
 With τ = 2μsec = Tg, there are (2μsec * 144) / 4.7μsec = 61.27 ≈ 62 data symbols = v
 Rate Loss factor = L / (L + v) = 2048 / (2048 + 62) = 2048 / 2110 = 0.970 ≈ 97%
and hence a rate loss of less than 3%.

5. Explain OFDM in LTE.

Sol:

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 The L independent QAM symbols (the vector X) act as input and are treated as separate
sub carriers.
 These L data bearing symbols are created from a bit stream by a symbol mapper and
serial to parallel converter (S/P).
 The L-point IFFT then creates a time domain L vector x that is cyclic extended to have
length L(1+G) where G is fractional overhead.
 The longer vector is then parallel to serial (P/S) converted into a wide digital signal that
can be amplitude modulated with a single radio at a carrier frequency of .
 The raw data rate of LTE system is .

6. With a neat block diagram, explain OFDM communication system. Also mention the
need of Timing and Frequency Synchronization.
Sol:

 A wideband signal of Bandwidth B is broken into L narrowband signals (sub carriers)

each of bandwidth B/L.
 In order to use a single wideband radio instead of L independent narrowband radios, the
sub carriers are created digitally using an IFFT operation.
 In order for the IFFT/FFT to decompose the ISI channel into orthogonal sub carriers, a
cyclic prefix of length v must be appended after the IFFT operation. The resulting L+v
symbols are then sent in serial through the wideband channel.
 At the receiver, cyclic prefix is discarded, and the L received symbols are demodulated
using an FFT operation which results in L data symbols each of the form
for sub carrier l.
 Each sub carrier can then be equalized via an FEQ by simply dividing by the complex
channel gain for that carrier. This results in .

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Timing and Frequency Synchronization

 The timing offset of the symbol and the optimal timing instants needs to be determined
which is referred to as Timing Synchronization.
 The receiver must align its carrier frequency as closely as possible with the transmitted
carrier frequency which is referred to as Frequency Synchronization.
 The primary and secondary sync signals occupy the 31 tones on either side of the DC sub
carrier in the 5th and 6th OFDM symbols respectively, of the 0th and 10th slots in every
radio frame.
 The 5 adjacent tones on top and bottom of sync signals are not used so 62 tones are used
or a total of 62*15kHz = 930kHz ≈ 1MHz bandwidth.
 Timing Synchronization offset is 0.1/ Bs = 0.1μsec which is less than cyclic prefix length
of 0.5μsec.

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7. With the help of neat diagrams, explain how the timing and frequency
synchronization is performed by the receiver to demodulate an OFDM signal.
Sol:
a) Timing Synchronization
 Since the time window is T=1μs and a rectangular window is used, the frequency
response of each sub carrier becomes a sinc function with zero crossings every 1/T =
1MHz.
 This can be confirmed by using Fourier Transform

where .
 If the timing window is slid to left or right, a unique phase change will be introduced to
each of the sub carriers.
 In the frequency domain, if the carrier frequency synchronization is perfect, the receiver
samples at the peak of each sub carrier where the desired sub carrier amplitude is
maximized and ICI is zero.
 In the case, the perfect timing synchronization is not maintained, it is still possible to
tolerate a timing offset of τ sec without any degradation in performance as long as
.
 As long as , the timing offset simply results in a phase shift per sub
carrier of which is fixed for all sub carriers.
 The acceptable range of τ is referred to as timing synchronization margin.
 The SNR loss is approximated as .
 The SNR decreases quadratically within the timing offset.
 Longer OFDM symbols are increasing immune from timing offset.
 Since , timing synchronization errors are not that critical as long as induced
phase change is corrected.
b) Frequency Synchronization
 As long as the frequency offset , there is no interference between the sub carriers.
 Frequency offset ≈ .
 The matched filter receiver corresponding to sub carrier l can be simply expressed for the
case of rectangular windows as where .
 Since LTs is the duration of the data portion of the OFDM symbol, .

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 An interfering sub carrier m can be written as

 If the signal is demodulated with a fractional frequency offset of ,, then

.

 The ICI between sub carriers l and l+m using a matched filter is simply the inner product
between them given as

 and .
 The total average ICI energy per symbol on sub carrier l is given as

 is constant that depends on various assumptions and is the average symbol energy.
 The SNR loss induced by frequency offset is given by

 SNR decreases quadratically with the frequency offset.

 SNR decreases quadratically with the number of sub carriers.
 The loss in SNR is also proportional to SNR itself.

8. Explain Peak to Average Ratio (PAR) in OFDM.

Sol:
 OFDM signals have high PAR since in time domain, a multi carrier signal is the sum of
many narrow band signals.
 High PAR reduces efficiency and hence increases cost of RF power amplifier.

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 When a high peak signal is transmitted through a nonlinear device such as a High Power
Amplifier (HPA) or Digital to Analog Converter (DAC), it generates out of band energy
(spectral regrowth) and in band distortion (constellation tilting and scattering) which
cause degradation and affect the system performance.
 The nonlinear behavior of HPA can be characterized by AM/AM and AM/PM responses.
 To avoid undesirable nonlinear effects, a waveform with high peak power must be
transmitted in the linear region of HPA by decreasing the average power of input signal
which is called Input Back Off (IBO) and results in a proportional Output Back Off
(OBO).
 High Back Off reduces the power efficiency of HPA and limits the battery life for mobile
applications.
 The input back off is defined as

where is the saturation power and is the average input power.

 The power efficiency of an HPA can be increased by reducing the PAR of transmitted
signal.
 The efficiency of class A amplifier is halved when the input PAR is doubled or the
operating point (average power) is halved.
 It is desirable to have average and peak values to be as close as possible in order to
maximize the efficiency of power amplifier.
 A high PAR requires high resolution for both the transmitter’s digital to analog convertor
and receiver’s analog to digital convertor since the dynamic range of signal is
proportional to PAR.
 High resolution D/A and A/D conversions plays an additional complexity, cost and power
burden on system.

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9. Compare OFDM transmitter and receiver with SC-FDE transmitter and receiver
with block diagram.
Sol:
 Similar to OFDM, SC-FDE maintains 3 benefits:
a) Low complexity even for severe multipath channels.
b) Excellent BER performance.
c) Decoupling of ISI from other types of interference.
 The only difference between OFDM and SC-FDE system is that the IFFT is moved to the
end of the receive chain rather than operating at the transmitter, to create a multi carrier
waveform.
 The transmitted signal is simply a sequence of QAM symbols which have low PAR on
the order of 4-5dB depending on constellation size.
 Because of the application of cyclic prefix, the received signal appears to be circularly
convolved i.e. .

 Therefore, .

 SC-FDE has a lower complexity transmitter and higher complexity receiver compared to
OFDM.
 While OFDM has high PAR and more subjected to clipping and cause spectral dispersion,
SC-FDE has low PAR and nominally more dispersive spectrum compared to OFDM.
 In a cellular system like LTE, uplink utilizes SC-FDE whereas downlink utilizes OFDM.

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Module - 5
1. Write the block diagram of OFDMA downlink transmitter and explain the principle
of operation.
Sol:
 K users share the L sub carriers with each user being allocated Mk sub carriers.
 ∑kMk =L and each sub carrier has only one user assigned to it.
 At each receiver, the user cares only about its Mk sub carriers, but still has to apply an L-
point FFT to the received digital waveform in order to extract the desired subset of sub
carriers.
 An OFDMA downlink receiver must demodulate the entire waveform which wastes
power but digital separation of users is simple.

2. Explain SC-FDMA uplink transmitter with a neat figure.

Sol:
 The user’s Mk complex symbols are pre-processed with an FFT of size Mk.
 Mk is related to number of resource blocks allocated to the user k for its uplink
transmission.
 The time domain complex symbols are referred to as x[n].
 The FFT operation creates frequency domain version of the signal X[m] = FFT(x[n]) so
that when the L point IFFT is applied later, the time domain outputs of the IFFT
correspond to an over sampled and phase shifted version of the original time domain
signal x[n].
 x[n] is oversampled by a factor of L/M and experiences a phase shift that depends on
which inputs to the IFFT are used.

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3. Explain OFDMA Design considerations.

Sol:
1) Resource Allocation in Cellular Systems
 A unique frequency hopping pattern for each base station is used to randomize to the
other cell interference, an approach popularized by the Flarion (now part of Qualcomm)
scheme called FLASH-OFDM.
 Although this scheme reduces the probability of a worst-case interference scenario, under
a high-system load the interference levels can still rapidly approach untenable levels and
the probability of collision can grow large.
 If each base station is unaware of the exact conditions in the other cells, and no
cooperation among neighboring base stations is allowed, the subcarrier and power
allocation follows the theory of non-cooperative games and typically results in a Nash
equilibrium, where no user can benefit by unilaterally deviating from their current
allocation.
 Better performance can be obtained if there is some cooperation between the base
stations.
 There could be a master scheduler for all the base stations that knew the channels in each
and every base station and made multi-cell resource allocation schedules accordingly.
 This would be prohibitively complex, though, due to
 Transferring large amounts of real-time information to and from this centralized
scheduler.
 The computational difficulties involved in processing this quantity of information to
determine a globally optimal or near-optimal resource allocation.
 Simpler approaches are just neighboring base stations could share simple information to
make sure they do not assign the same subcarriers to vulnerable users.

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2) Fractional Frequency Reuse in Cellular Systems

 OFDMA-based systems are more vulnerable to inter-cell interference, which especially
degrades the performance of users at the cell edge.
 Fractional Frequency Reuse (FFR) is one such strategy that partitions a cell into several
regions and applies different frequency reuse factors in each region.
 The inter-cell interference can be significantly reduced since FFR increases the spatial
distance between neighboring interferers.
 Two main types of FFR deployments are
 Strict FFR
 Soft Frequency Reuse (SFR)
 In a Strict FFR system, users in the interior of the cells universally share a common sub-
band of frequencies, while the cell edge users’ bandwidth is partitioned based on a reuse
factor of N, requiring a total of N + 1 sub-bands.
 It is termed “strict” because interior users do not share any spectrum with edge users,
which reduces interference for both interior users and edge cell users.
 Soft Frequency Reuse employs a similar partitioning strategy as Strict FFR, with the
exception that interior users can share the same bandwidth as edge users in adjacent cells.
 As a result, cell interior users typically transmit at lower power levels than the cell-edge
users in order to reduce interference to neighboring cells.
 While SFR is more bandwidth efficient than Strict FFR, it allows more interference to
both cell interior and edge users.
 One benefit of SFR is the ability to balance the performance gains experienced under
Static FFR while more efficiently utilizing all of the available RBs in every cell.
 One practical method to determine user classifications is for each cell to use the average
received SINR of its users, which is usually a good indicator of the distance of the user
from its base station.
 The base station then classifies users with average SINR less than a pre-determined
threshold as edge users, while users with average SINR greater than the threshold are
classified as interior users.

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3) Multiuser Diversity vs. Frequency and Spatial Diversity

 The total diversity gain will be less than the sum of the diversity gains from the individual
techniques.
 The combined effect of multiuser and spatial diversity for five different configurations of
2×1 MIMO systems: single antenna (SISO), opportunistic beamforming, Alamouti
STBCs, and transmit beamforming with limited feedback (1-bit CSI) and perfect CSI is
shown in the figure.
 For a single user, the SISO and opportunistic BF are the least effective, since
opportunistic BF requires multiuser diversity to get a performance gain over SISO.
 Alamouti codes increase performance, in particular reducing the probability of a very low
SINR from occurring.
 The CSI-endowed techniques do the best; notably the perfect CSI case is always 3 dB
better than Alamouti codes regardless of the number of users.

4. Compare different OFDMA Rate Adaptive Resource Allocation Schemes.

Sol:

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5. Explain the LTE Radio Interface Protocols.

Sol:
LTE radio interface is designed based on a layered protocol stack, which can be divided into
control plane and user plane protocol stacks.

The LTE Radio Interface Protocol Stack

The packet flow in the User Plane

1. Radio Resource Control (RRC)
 It performs the control plane functions including paging, maintenance and release of an
RRC connection-security handling-mobility management, and QoS management.
2. Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP)
 Performs IP packet header compression and decompression based on the Robust Header
Compression (ROHC) protocol, ciphering of data and signaling, and integrity protection
for signaling.
 There is only one PDCP entity at the eNode-B and the UE per bearer.

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3. Radio Link Control (RLC)

 It includes segmentation and concatenation of data units, error correction through the
Automatic Repeat reQuest (ARQ) protocol, and in-sequence delivery of packets to the
higher layers. It operates in three modes:
a) The Transparent Mode (TM): The TM mode is the simplest one, without RLC header
addition, data segmentation, or concatenation, and it is used for specific purposes such as
random access.
b) The Unacknowledged Mode (UM): The UM mode allows the detection of packet loss
and provides packet reordering and reassembly, but does not require retransmission of the
missing protocol data units (PDUs).
c) The Acknowledged Mode (AM): The AM mode is the most complex one, and it is
configured to request retransmission of the missing PDUs in addition to the features
supported by the UM mode.
 There is only one RLC entity at the eNode-B and the UE per bearer.
4. Medium Access Control (MAC)
 It includes ECC through the Hybrid-ARQ (H-ARQ) mechanism.
 Mapping between logical channels and transport channels.
 Multiplexing/Demultiplexing of RLC PDUs on to transport blocks.
 Priority handling between logical channels of one UE.
 Priority handling between UEs by means of dynamic scheduling.
 Responsible for transport format selection of scheduled UEs, which includes selection of
modulation format, code rate, MIMO rank, and power level.
 There is only one MAC entity at the eNode-B and one MAC entity at the UE.

6. Explain the transport channels in LTE.

Sol:
 Tells How to Transmit.
 The transport channels are used by the PHY to offer services to the MAC.
 A transport channel is basically characterized by how and with what characteristics data
is transferred over the radio interface, that is, the channel coding scheme, the
modulation scheme, and antenna mapping.

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 Categorized as
a) Downlink Transport Channels
b) Uplink Transport Channels
a) Downlink Transport Channels
i) Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH)
 Used for transmitting the downlink data, including both control and traffic data,
and thus it is associated with both logical control and logical traffic channels.
 Supports H-ARQ, dynamic link adaption, dynamic and semi-persistent resource
allocation, UE discontinuous reception, and multicast/broadcast transmission.
 The concept of shared channel transmission originates from HSDPA, which uses
the High-Speed Downlink Shared Channel (HS-DSCH) to multiplex traffic and
control information among different UEs. By sharing the radio resource among
different UEs the DL-SCH is able to maximize the throughput by allocating the
resources to the optimum UEs.
ii) Broadcast Channel (BCH)
 A downlink channel associated with the BCCH logical channel and is used to
broadcast system information over the entire coverage area of the cell. It has a fixed
transport format defined by the specifications.
iii) Multicast Channel (MCH)
 Associated with MCCH and MTCH logical channels for the multicast/broadcast
service.
 Supports Multicast/Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) transmission,
which transmits the same information on the same radio resource from multiple
synchronized base stations to multiple UEs.
iv) Paging Channel (PCH)
 Associated with the PCCH logical channel.
 It is mapped to dynamically allocated physical resources, and is required for
broadcast over the entire cell coverage area.
 It is transmitted on the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), and supports
UE discontinuous reception.

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b) Uplink Transport Channels

i) Uplink Shared Channel (UL-SCH):
 The uplink counterpart of the DL-SCH. It can be associated to CCCH, DCCH and
DTCH logical channels. It supports H-ARQ, dynamic link adaption, and dynamic
and semi-persistent resource allocation.
ii) Random Access Channel (RACH):
 A specific transport channel that is not mapped to any logical channel. It transmits
relatively small amounts of data for initial access or, in the case of RRC, state
changes.

7. Explain the hierarchical channel structure of LTE.

Sol:
 3 different channel types defined in LTE—logical channels, transport channels and
physical channels, each associated with a Service Access Point (SAP) between different
layers.
 These channels are used by the lower layers of the protocol stack to provide services to
the higher layers.
 Logical channels provide services at the SAP between MAC and RLC layers.
 Transport channels provide services at the SAP between MAC and PHY layers.
 Physical channels are the actual implementation of transport channels over the radio
interface.

The Radio Interface Protocol Architecture and the SAP between different layers

 The channels defined in LTE follow a similar hierarchical structure to UTRA/HSPA.

 In LTE, the transport and logical channel structures are much more simplified and fewer
in number compared to UTRA/HSPA.

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 LTE is based entirely on shared and broadcast channels and contains no dedicated
channels carrying data to specific UEs. This improves the efficiency of the radio interface
and can support dynamic resource allocation between different UEs depending on their
traffic/QoS requirements and their respective channel conditions.
1. Logical Channels
 Tell What to Transmit
 Logical channels are used by the MAC to provide services to the RLC.
 Each logical channel is defined based on the type of information it carries.
 In LTE, there are two categories of logical channels depending on the service they
provide:
a) Logical Control Channels
b) Logical Traffic Channels
 The Logical Control Channels are used to transfer control plane (system
configuration and management) information.
i) Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH)
ii) Multicast Control Channel (MCCH)
iii) Paging Control Channel (PCCH)
iv) Common Control Channel (CCCH)
v) Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH)
 The Logical Traffic Channels are used to transfer user plane information.
i) Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH)
ii) Multicast Traffic Channel (MTCH)

2. Transport Channels
 Tells How to Transmit.
 The transport channels are used by the PHY to offer services to the MAC.
 A transport channel is basically characterized by how and with what characteristics
data is transferred over the radio interface, that is, the channel coding scheme, the
modulation scheme, and antenna mapping.
 Categorized as
a) Downlink Transport Channels
b) Uplink Transport Channels

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 Downlink Transport Channels are classified as

i) Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH)
ii) Broadcast Channel (BCH)
iii) Multicast Channel (MCH)
iv) Paging Channel (PCH)
 Uplink Transport Channels are classified as
i) Uplink Shared Channel (UL-SCH)
ii) Random Access Channel (RACH)

3. Physical Channels
 It is Actual Transmission.
 Each physical channel corresponds to a set of resource elements in the time-frequency
grid that carry information from higher layers. The basic entities that make a physical
channel are resource elements and resource blocks.
 Categorized as
a) Downlink Physical Channels
b) Uplink Physical Channels
 Downlink Physical Channels are classified as
i) Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)
ii) Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)
iii) Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH)
iv) Physical Multicast Channel (PMCH)
v) Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator Channel (PHICH)
vi) Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH)
 Uplink Physical Channels are classified as
i) Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)
ii) Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)
iii) Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH)

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8. Discuss the Broadcast channels and multicast channels.

Sol:
a) Broadcast Channels
i) Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH)
 A downlink common channel used to broadcast system control information to the
mobile terminals in the cell, including downlink system bandwidth, antenna
configuration, and reference signal power.
 Due to the large amount of information carried on the BCCH, it is mapped to two
different transport channels: the Broadcast Channel (BCH) and the Downlink
Shared Channel (DL-SCH).
ii) Broadcast Channel (BCH)
 A downlink channel associated with the BCCH logical channel and is used to
broadcast system information over the entire coverage area of the cell. It has a
fixed transport format defined by the specifications.
iii) Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH): It corresponds to the BCH transport channel
and carries system information.
b) Multicast Channels
i) Multicast Control Channel (MCCH)
 A point-to-multipoint downlink channel used for transmitting control information
to UEs in cell.
 It is only used by UEs that receive multicast/broadcast services.
ii) Multicast Channel (MCH)
 Associated with MCCH and MTCH logical channels for the multicast/broadcast
service.
 Supports Multicast/Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) transmission,
which transmits the same information on the same radio resource from multiple
synchronized base stations to multiple UEs.
iii) Physical Multicast Channel (PMCH): It carrier’s multicast/broadcast information
for the MBMS service.

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9. Write the Frame Structure Type 2 and explain the various fields applicable to TDD
mode.
Sol:
 It is applicable to the TDD mode.
 Each radio frame of frame structure type 2 is of length Tf = 30720 · Ts = 10 ms,
which consists of two half-frames of length 5 ms each.
 Each half-frame is divided into five subframes with 1 ms duration.
 There are special subframes, which consist of three fields: Downlink Pilot TimeSlot
(DwPTS), Guard Period (GP), and Uplink Pilot TimeSlot (UpPTS).
 These fields are already defined in TD-SCDMA and are maintained in the LTE TDD
mode to provide sufficiently large guard periods for the equipment to switch between
transmission and reception.

Frame Structure Type 2

 The DwPTS field: This is the downlink part of the special subframe, and can be regarded
as an ordinary but shorter downlink subframe for downlink data transmission. Its length
can be varied from 3 up to 12 OFDM symbols.
 The UpPTS field: This is the uplink part of the special subframe, and has a short
duration with one or two OFDM symbols. It can be used for transmission of uplink
sounding reference signals and random access preambles.
 The GP field: The remaining symbols in the special subframe that have not been
allocated to DwPTS or UpPTS are allocated to the GP field, which is used to provide the
guard period for the Downlink-to-Uplink and the Uplink-to-Downlink switch.

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10. Write the structure of Downlink Resource Grid and explain the types of resource
allocation.
Sol:
 The physical resource in the Downlink in each slot is described by a time-frequency grid,
called a Resource Grid.

The structure of the Downlink Resource Grid

Physical Resource Block Parameters for the Downlink

type 0 resource allocations

 Several consecutive PRBs constitute a Resource Block Group (RBG), and the resource
allocation is done in units of RBGs.
 A bitmap indicating the RBG is sufficient to carry the resource assignment.
 The allocated RBGs to a certain UE do not need to be adjacent to each other, which
provides frequency diversity.
 The RBG size P, that is, the number of PRBs in each RBG, depends on the bandwidth.
 An example of type 0 resource allocation is shown, where P = 4 and RBGs 0, 3, 4, ..., are
allocated to a particular UE.

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Resource Allocation RBG size vs Downlink System Bandwidth

Example of resource allocation type 0 and type 1, where RBG size P=4

type 1 resource allocations

 All the RBGs are grouped into a number of RBG subsets, and certain PRBs inside a
selected RBG subset are allocated to the UE.
 There are a total of P RBG subsets, where P is the RBG size.
 An RBG subset p, where 0 ≤ p < P, consists of every Pth RBG starting from RBG p.
 The resource assignment information consists of three fields:
 The first field indicates the selected RBG subset.
 The second field indicates whether an offset is applied.
 The third field contains the bitmap indicating PRBs inside the selected RBG subset. T
 The resource allocation is more flexible and is able to provide higher frequency diversity,
but it also requires a larger overhead.
 An example of type 1 resource allocation is shown, where P = 4 and the RBG subset 0 is
selected for the given UE.

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 In type 2 resource allocations that are defined for the DCI format 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D,
PRBs are not directly allocated. Instead, VRBs are allocated, which are then mapped onto
PRBs. A VRB is of the same size as a PRB.
 There are two types of VRBs:
a) VRBs of the localized type b) VRBs of the distributed type.
 For each type of VRB, a pair of VRBs over two slots in a subframe are assigned together
with a single VRB number, nVRB. VRBs of the localized type are mapped directly to
Physical Resource Blocks such that the VRB number nVRB corresponds to the PRB
number nPRB = nVRB.
 For resource allocations of type 2, the resource assignment information indicates a set of
contiguously allocated localized VRBs or distributed VRBs. A one-bit flag indicates
whether localized VRBs or distributed VRBs are assigned.

11. Explain in detail the design principles of LTE.

Sol:
 LTE is designed as a completely new standard and it is not built on the previous versions
of 3GPP standards.
a) Network Architecture
 Support packet-switched traffic with support for various QoS.
 Previous generations of networks such as UMTS/HSPA and 1xRTT/EvDO also
support packet-switched traffic but this was achieved by subsequent add-ons to the
initial version of the standards.
 For example, HSPA, which is a packet-switched protocol (packet-switched over the
air), was built on top of the Release 99 UMTS network and as a result carried some of
the unnecessary burdens of a circuit-switched network.
 Supports packet switching for high data rate services from the start.
 The LTE radio access network, E-UTRAN, was designed to have the minimum
number of interfaces (i.e., the minimum number of network elements) while still
being able to provide efficient packet-switched transport for traffic belonging to all
the QoS classes such as conversational, streaming, real-time, non-real-time, and
background classes.

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b) Data Rate and Latency

 Downlink and uplink peak data rates for LTE are 100Mbps and 50Mbps respectively,
when operating at the 20MHz Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) channel size.
 The user-plane latency is defined in terms of the time it takes to transmit a small IP
packet from the UE to the edge node of the radio access network or vice versa
measured on the IP layer.
 The target for one-way latency in the user plane is 5ms in an unloaded network, that
is, if only a single UE is present in the cell.
 For the control-plane latency, the transition time from a sleep-out state to an active
state is less than 100ms, while the transition time between an inactive state and an
active state should be less than 50ms.
c) Performance Requirements
The target performance requirements for LTE are specified in terms of spectrum
efficiency, mobility and coverage, and they are in general expressed relative to the 3GPP
Release 6 HSPA.
i) Spectrum Efficiency
 The average downlink user data rate and spectrum efficiency target is 3-4 times
that of the baseline HSDPA network.
 Similarly, in the uplink the average user data rate and spectrum efficiency target is
2-3 times that of the baseline HSUPA network.
 The cell edge throughput, measured as the 5thpercentile throughput, should be 2-3
times that of the baseline HSDPA and HSUPA.
ii) MBMS Service
 LTE provide enhanced support for the Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast
Service (MBMS) compared to UTRA operation.
iii) Mobility
 Support hand-off/mobility at different terminal speeds.
 Maximum performance is expected for the lower terminal speeds of 0 to 15 km/hr
with minor degradation in performance at higher mobile speeds up to 120 km/hr.
 Sustain a connection for terminal speeds up to 350 km/hr but with significant
degradation in the system performance.
iv) Coverage
 For the cell coverage, the above performance targets should be met up to 5 km.

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 For cell ranges up to 30 km, a slight degradation of the user throughput is

tolerated and a more significant degradation for spectrum efficiency is acceptable,
but the mobility requirements should be met.
 Cell ranges up to 100 km should not be precluded by the specifications.
d) Radio Resource Management
 Include various aspects such as enhanced support for end-to-end QoS, efficient
support for transmission of higher layers, and support for load sharing/balancing
and policy management/enforcement across different radio access technologies.
e) Deployment Scenario and Co-existence with 3G
 At a high level, LTE shall support the following two deployment scenarios:
i) Standalone deployment scenario, where the operator deploys LTE either with no
previous network deployed in the area or with no requirement for interworking
with the existing UTRAN/GERAN (GSM EDGE radio access network) networks.
ii) Integrating with existing UTRAN and/or GERAN deployment scenario,
where the operator already has either a UTRAN and/or a GERAN network
deployed with full or partial coverage in the same geographical area.
f) Flexibility of Spectrum and Deployment
 Service providers in different geographical regions often have different spectrums in
terms of the carrier frequency and total available bandwidth.
 LTE was designed to have a scalable bandwidth from 1.4MHz to 20MHz.
 In order to accommodate flexible duplexing options, LTE was designed to operate in
both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) modes.
g) Interoperability with 3G and 2G Networks
 Multimode LTE terminals, which support UTRAN and/or GERAN operation, should
be able to support measurement of handover from and to, both 3GPP UTRAN and
3GPP GERAN systems with acceptable terminal complexity and network
performance.

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