0% found this document useful (0 votes)
2 views

Cell Broadcast Service

The Cell Broadcast Service (CBS) enables the broadcasting of short text messages within specific geographical areas called CBSAs, using the WCDMA network. It includes features such as message reception, verification, deletion, and scheduling, with a maximum capacity of 20 messages per CBSA and various operational guidelines. The service is designed to enhance user experience while managing network resources effectively, with specific dependencies and capabilities outlined for optimal performance.

Uploaded by

Antonio SAMHON
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
2 views

Cell Broadcast Service

The Cell Broadcast Service (CBS) enables the broadcasting of short text messages within specific geographical areas called CBSAs, using the WCDMA network. It includes features such as message reception, verification, deletion, and scheduling, with a maximum capacity of 20 messages per CBSA and various operational guidelines. The service is designed to enhance user experience while managing network resources effectively, with specific dependencies and capabilities outlined for optimal performance.

Uploaded by

Antonio SAMHON
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 28

31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

User Guide 126/1553-HSD 101 02/1 Uen AC21C

Cell Broadcast Service


Contents
Cell Broadcast Service Overview
Glossary of CBS Terms and Concepts
Capabilities
Dependencies of Cell Broadcast Service
Feature Operation of Cell Broadcast Service
Cell Broadcast Service Area
Reception of New CB Messages
Verification of CB Message Status
Deletion of CB Messages
CBSA Operational Status
Scheduling of BMC Messages over the Uu Interface
CTCH Admission Control
Iu-BC Transport
Iub Transport
Network Impact of Cell Broadcast Service
Parameters for Cell Broadcast Service
Performance of Cell Broadcast Service
Activate Cell Broadcast Service
FAJ 121 1326: Cell Broadcast Service
FAJ 121 1406: Cell Broadcast Service - UE Battery Consumption Improvements
Deactivate Cell Broadcast Service
Engineering Guidelines for Cell Broadcast Service
CBS Level 1 Scheduling
CBS Level 2 Scheduling
CTCH Admission Control

about:blank 1/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

1 Cell Broadcast Service Overview


CBS enables broadcasting of short text messages within defined geographical areas known as CBSAs. The messages are repeated over the air interface with frequency and
duration defined by the content provider.

Access Type: WCDMA


Feature Identity: FAJ 121 1326
Value Package Name: Public Warning
Value Package Identity: FAJ 801 0330
Node Type: RNC
Licensing: Licensed feature. One license per node.

Summary
Cell Broadcast (CB) messages are generated by the CBC and sent to WCDMA RAN through the Iu-BC interface. The CBC is an external node provided by the operator, as the
functionality is not integrated in the Ericsson Core Network (CN). The Iu-BC interface connects up to two CBC nodes in active or standby mode with one RNC. Only one CBC can
be active at a time. When a TCP connection between the RNC and one of the configured CBC exists and the RNC receives a new incoming TCP connection request from the other
configured CBC, the RNC accepts this request and disconnects the existing TCP connection.

Figure 1 CBS Overview

The Iu-BC interface is standardized by 3GPP and the protocol stack is illustrated in Figure 2.

about:blank 2/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

Figure 2 Iu-BC Protocol Stack

The Service Area Broadcast Protocol (SABP), specified in 3GPP TS 25.419, UTRAN Iu-BC Interface: Service Area Broadcast Protocol (SABP), is used to distribute CB messages
from a CBC to a number of CBSAs in the RNC. Each CBSA contains only one UTRAN cell. The lower layers of the Iu-BC interface are specified in 3GPP TS 25.414, UTRAN Iu
interface data transport and transport signalling. Both IP and ATM transport is supported in WCDMA RAN.
The CB messages received from a CBC are stored in WCDMA RAN. The BMC protocol is used on the Uu interface to schedule and broadcast corresponding BMC CBS messages in
the cell. BMC protocol is specified in 3GPP TS 25.324, Broadcast/Multicast Control (BMC).
Each BMC CBS message contains one CB message. The BMC CBS messages are sent on the Logical Channel CTCH using RLC unacknowledged mode. The CTCH is multiplexed on
a FACH transport channel carried by a Secondary CCPCH.
CB messages are received by UE in Idle mode and in the URA_PCH state. The UE monitors the CTCH during time intervals that do not conflict with the UE-specific paging
occasions on PICH.

Coordination between Two CBC Nodes


The Iu-BC interface allows configuration with two CBC nodes, with only one connected at a time. If two physical CBC nodes are configured, they constitute a single logical CBC.
Thus, they are distinguished only on transport network layer. To operate as a single logical CBC node on SABP protocol layer, the two physical CBC nodes need to be coordinated
in terms of message identity. Message identity is a combination of Information Elements Message-Identifier and New-Serial-Number. Message identity assigned by one CBC
node must not be assigned by the other CBC node to a different CB message.
CB messages are broadcast repeatedly to increase probability of reaching the UE. The UE uses message identity to distinguish the new messages from the already received
messages. When not coordinated, the two CBC nodes can use identical message identity for messages with different content. In that case, the UE considers a message received
later as identical to an already received message and does not present this message on its display.

1.1 Glossary of CBS Terms and Concepts


Explanation of basic CBS terms and concepts.

Cell Broadcast (CB) message User data as transmitted from the Cell Broadcast Center (CBC) to the UE.

Cell Broadcast Service Area A CBSA represents the smallest geographical area where CB messages can be broadcasted. One CBSA contains one UTRAN cell.
(CBSA)
Broadcast/Multicast Control BMC CBS Messages are sent from WCDMA RAN to the UE using the BMC protocol. A BMC CBS Message contains one CB message.
(BMC) CBS Message

about:blank 3/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

CTCH occasion A radio frame on the Secondary CCPCH where CTCH data can be sent.

CBS schedule period A CBS schedule period consists of a number of consecutive CTCH occasions scheduled on S-CCPCH.

BMC Schedule Message BMC Schedule Messages are sent from WCDMA RAN to the UE using the BMC protocol. A BMC Schedule Message contains information
about the BMC messages (BMC Schedule Messages and BMC CBS Messages) to be broadcast in the next CBS schedule period.

CBS status memory The CBS status memory is a list of CB Status Contexts. A CB Status Context contains information to identify message (including version),
Service Area Identifier (SAI), and number of times the message is broadcast.

1.2 Capabilities
A maximum of 20 CB messages, or a total payload of 2.5 KB, can be stored for each CBSA in the RNC. New CB messages are rejected by the RNC if the memory limit is exceeded
as a result of a new SABP Write-Replace procedure, see Reception of New CB Messages.

The maximum number of CBSAs is 65535 for PLMN and 6120 for Evo Controller 8200/RNC and 7038 for EvoC 8300. The size of the Cell Broadcast Service status memory is
46080 CB status contexts.

The size of incoming SABP messages is limited to 51000 octets. This is large enough to cover a SABP WRITE-REPLACE message containing 6120 CBSAs for Evo Controller
8200/RNC or 7038 for EvoC 8300. If the size exceeds 51000 octets, the message is not decoded and WCDMA RAN responds by sending a SABP ERROR INDICATION to a CBC
and closes the socket between RNC and CBC.

To prevent from module CPU overload, CBS flow control mechanism allows RNC to handle specific number of WRITE-REPLACE messages during 1 second period. Described
below limits are introduced with this functionality:

– RNC can handle not more than 20 messages in total including maximum of 2 large WRITE-REPLACE messages. Message is marked as large, if it contains from 6 to max
allowed number of SAIs in WRITE-REPLACE message.

– RNC can handle 9 164 SAIs in all WRITE-REPLACE messages in every 1 second measuring period.

The FAJ 121 1406: Cell Broadcast Service - UE Battery Consumption Improvements feature is activated on the EPB.

about:blank 4/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

2 Dependencies of Cell Broadcast Service


The CBS feature has two related features.

Table 1 Feature Dependencies

Feature Relationship Description


Cell Broadcast Service - UE Battery Consumption Improvements
feature is an enhancement of the basic CBS functionality introduced
by the Cell Broadcast Service. It improves UE standby time in idle
mode and state URA_PCH by introducing support for Level 2
Scheduling, that is, definition of CBS schedule periods and broadcast
Cell Broadcast Service - UE Battery Consumption Improvements (FAJ of BMC Schedule Messages as described in CBS Level 2 Scheduling.
Related
121 1406)
Note: CBS - Ue Battery Improvement and CBS Event-triggered
Broadcast features are not supported in parallel. When
activating the CBS Event-triggered Broadcast, deactivate the
CBS - Ue Battery Improvement first. For more details, refer to
CBS Event-triggered Broadcast.

This feature introduces new functionality to decrease the amount of


CBS Event-Triggered Broadcast (FAJ 121 1555) Related
energy consumed from the UE battery for the purposes of CBS.

Hardware
No special hardware requirement is expected for this feature.

Limitations
No Known limitations.

Network Requirements
No network requirement is expected for this feature.

about:blank 5/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

3 Feature Operation of Cell Broadcast Service


The following sections give technical details of CBS features.

3.1 Cell Broadcast Service Area


The CBS feature includes the area concept CBSA which represents the smallest geographical area where a CB message is broadcasted. The CBSA is only used towards the CBC
node and it contains one UTRAN cell.

The SAI for a CBSA is defined as:

PLMN id + Location Area Code (LAC) + CB Service Area Code (SAC)

The CB SAC is configured in the RNC and the value is set by the cell parameter cellBroadcastSac. For PLMN id and LAC the already configured values for the cell are used.

Each SAI value must be unique throughout the network. Using the same SAI in different cells can cause broadcasting of CB messages in the wrong area.

If the cellBroadcastSac parameter is set to “undefined”, no CB messages are broadcast in the cell.

3.2 Reception of New CB Messages


Broadcast of a new CB message or replacement of an old CB message is initiated by a CBC with SABP message WRITE-REPLACE. In addition to the actual CB payload, the SABP
WRITE-REPLACE message contains the following information:
Message Identity and Serial The Message Identity and the 12 left-most bits of the Serial Number uniquely identifies a CB message within a CBSA.
Number
Old Serial Number This information is optional and only included in the SABP WRITE-REPLACE message if an already stored CB message needs replacement to a
given Message Identity.

Data Coding Scheme This information is transferred transparently to the UE.

Service Areas (SAs) List List of CBSAs where the CB message is to be broadcast.

Repetition Period Information about how often the CB message is to be broadcast.

Number of Broadcasts Information about how many times the CB message is to be broadcast. The broadcast can be either finite or infinite.
Requested
Category This information indicates the priority of the CB message.
Figure 3 illustrates the steps performed in WCDMA RAN at reception of a SABP WRITE-REPLACE message.
about:blank 6/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

Figure 3 WRITE-REPLACE

Steps
1. At reception of the SABP WRITE-REPLACE message, the RNC checks if the following criteria are met:

– The feature Cell Broadcast Service is activated.

– All SAs included in the SABP WRITE-REPLACE message are defined as CBSAs in the RNC.

– The WCDMA cells contained in the requested CBSAs are operational.

– The new CB message can be stored in the RNC without exceeding the memory limitations specified in Capabilities.

– If the CTCH admission control algorithm specified in CTCH Admission Control is activated, the RNC checks if enough capacity is available on CTCH to schedule the new CB
message over the air interface.

If all checks are successful, the RNC accepts the new CB message and responds with SABP WRITE-REPLACE COMPLETE.
If any of the checks fail, the RNC responds with SABP WRITE-REPLACE FAILURE. The new CB message is rejected in a subset or all the SAs listed in the SABP WRITE-
REPLACE message. In the unsuccessful case, the SABP WRITE-REPLACE FAILURE message contains a list of SAs where the new CB message is not accepted.

2. For each CBSA, in which the new CB message is accepted, the following steps are performed:

about:blank 7/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service
– If the cell contained in the CBSA is enabled, the new CB message is stored. If the SABP WRITE-REPLACE message contains an Old Serial Number, the previously stored CB
message is replaced with the new information. Broadcast of the old CB message is stopped.

– The new CB message is broadcasted on CTCH using the BMC protocol. The BMC CBS messages are broadcasted with the repetition period requested by the CBC. For each
occurrence, each time a BMC CBS message is sent to the buffer where it is segmented and scheduled for transmission on CTCH, the counter
pmNoAttScheduledBmcCbsMsgs is stepped.
If the amount of data generated by the BMC layer is higher than the available CTCH capacity, a congestion situation can occur. In such case, BMC CBS messages are
discarded in the RNC after they are sent to the scheduling buffer. If a BMC CBS message is discarded because of congestion, the cell counter
pmNoDiscardedBmcCbsMsgs is stepped.

3. This step is optional and performed only when feature CBS Event-triggered Broadcast is activated and no other CB messages are active in the cell. SIB5 is updated with CTCH
configuration information, refer to Idle Mode and Common Channel Behavior and broadcast of the new CB message is delayed T ms, refer to CBS Event-triggered Broadcast.

4. The CB message is cleared when it is repeated the number of times requested by the CBC. For infinite broadcast, the CB message is repeated until it is deleted by the CBC, see
Deletion of CB Messages.

3.3 Verification of CB Message Status


CBC can request information on how many times a specific version of a CBS message, identified by a Message ID and a Serial Number, has been sent to a particular SA for
broadcast.

The RNC counts the number of repetitions for every ongoing CBS message that is sent in each SA. When broadcast of a particular version of CBS message is completed or
interrupted in a particular SA, the number of times the CBS message is broadcasted in the SA is stored in CBS status memory for further Message Status Queries. CBC requests
message status with SABP message MESSAGE STATUS QUERY. The message contains the following information:

Message Identity and Old Serial Number The Message Identity and Old Serial Number identifies a specific version of CB message within a CBSA.

SAs List The list of CBSAs where the status of CB message is checked.

Whenever the number of completed broadcasts of CBS message is requested for each SA in the message status query, the RNC returns the following data:

– If broadcast of the version of CBS message is ongoing in a particular SA, the RNC returns the number of times the message is sent.

– If broadcast is finished or interrupted, the RNC returns the number of broadcasts fetched from CBS status memory.

– If the number of broadcasts is not found in CBS status memory, but another version of this CBS message is ongoing or found in CBS status memory, the RNC considers the
number of broadcasts as unknown.

– If none of the above occurs, the RNC treats message status query as failed in the SA and places this SA in the Failure List.

If at least one SA is placed in Failure List, the RNC responds with SABP MESSAGE STATUS QUERY FAILURE. The message contains Message Identifier, Old Serial Number,
Failure List, and if applicable, Service Area Successful List with number of broadcasts completed in each SA. When Failure List is empty, the RNC responds with SABP MESSAGE
STATUS QUERY COMPLETE message containing Message Identifier, Old Serial Number, and Service Area Successful List.

about:blank 8/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

3.4 Deletion of CB Messages


An active CB message can be deleted by request from the CBC using one of the SABP procedures KILL or RESET.

The KILL procedure is used to stop broadcast of one CB message in one or several CBSAs.

The RESET procedure is used to stop broadcast of all CB messages stored in one or several CBSAs. Both procedures are supported in WCDMA RAN.

If a CBSA becomes non-operational, the broadcast is stopped in that cell and all stored CB messages are cleared.

3.5 CBSA Operational Status


The RNC informs the CBC, over the Iu-BC interface, when the operational status of a CBSA is changed. For example, when a cell becomes enabled or disabled or when the CBS
feature is activated or deactivated.

When a cell becomes enabled, when a new CBSA is defined, or when the feature Cell Broadcast Service is activated, the RNC indicates to the CBC that new CBSAs are
operational by sending the SABP RESTART message.

When a cell becomes disabled, when a CBSA is undefined, or when the feature Cell Broadcast Service is deactivated, the RNC indicates to the CBC that existing CBSAs are non-
operational by sending the SABP FAILURE message.

According to rncTcpConnectionMethod parameter of IuBcLink MO, the RNC can establish a new TCP connection towards the CBC or reuse the existing one to send the
SABP RESTART or SABP FAILURE messages.

The rncTcpConnectionMethod parameter can be set to the following values:

– NEW_CONNECTION, so the RNC always establishes a new TCP connection. The RNC connects to the latest used CBC. The cbcIpAddressLatest parameter stores
information about the latest used CBC IP address.

– REUSE_CONNECTION, so if a TCP connection exists, the RNC reuses the existing TCP connection. Otherwise, the RNC establishes a new TCP connection. The RNC
connects to the latest used CBC.

– NO_NEW_CONNECTION, so if a TCP connection exists, the RNC reuses the existing TCP connection. Otherwise, the RNC does not send the SABP RESTART or SABP
FAILURE message.

The messages are only sent when the CBSA operational status changes. The update frequency is limited to a maximum of one SABP RESTART or one SABP FAILURE message,
or both, is sent to the CBC every 30 seconds.

Every time RNC has to send the SABP RESTART or the SABP FAILURE message, it is sent to the latest used CBC. A node cold restart is the only exception. In that case, the SABP
RESTART or the SABP FAILURE message is always sent to the first CBC configured in IuBcLink MO by cbcIpAddress parameter.

3.6 Scheduling of BMC Messages over the Uu Interface

about:blank 9/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service
Broadcast of BMC data over the Uu interface is controlled by the following two scheduling schemes:

– CBS Level 1 Scheduling

– CBS Level 2 Scheduling (DRX mode)

Level 1 Scheduling is the basic scheduling scheme, provided by Cell Broadcast Service. This scheduling is used as either a standalone scheduling scheme or it is combined with
the Level 2 Scheduling, provided by Cell Broadcast Service - UE battery consumption improvements.

The different scheduling schemes are further described in the following sections.

3.6.1 CBS Level 1 Scheduling


CBS Level 1 Scheduling introduces support for CTCH occasions on S-CCPCH and enables broadcast of BMC CBS Messages over the Uu interface.

The Logical Channel CTCH is multiplexed on FACH1, carried by the existing S-CCPCH used for 32 kbps Interactive PS RB and SRBs. The CTCH is scheduled on S-CCPCH during
predefined CTCH occasions. The CTCH occasions are fixed on the SFN cycle 0...4095 and thus repeated cyclically.

CTCH occasions are defined as the radio frames in which the following equation is true:

SFN = K + m × N, m = 0, 1, 2, ... M (3GPP TS 25.331, Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol).

K is the offset to the first CTCH occasion on the SFN cycle. The value is hard-coded to 0.

N is the period of CTCH occasions on S-CCPCH. The value is set by the parameter ctchOccasionPeriod.

M is the maximum value that fulfills the equation K + M × N ≤ 4095 (Max SFN).

Figure 4 Scheduling of CTCH Occasions on Secondary CCPCH

Note: The Transmission Time Interval (TTI) for FACH1 is 10 ms, meaning each CTCH occasion corresponds to one TTI on FACH1. The parameters K and N are signalled to the
UE in system information SIB5.

3.6.2 CBS Level 2 Scheduling


CBS Level 2 Scheduling introduces support for CBS schedule periods and transmission of BMC Schedule Messages on CTCH.

about:blank 10/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service
A CBS schedule period consists of P consecutive CTCH occasions scheduled on S-CCPCH. P is set by the parameter cbsSchedulePeriodLength.

The CTCH occasion period N is, the time between two consecutive CTCH occasions within a CBS schedule period This period is controlled by the Level 1 Scheduling described in
CBS Level 1 Scheduling. Thus, the length of a CBS Schedule period is defined as (P × N ÷ 100) seconds.

Figure 5 Example of CBS Level 2 Scheduling Using P=8.

The length of a CBS schedule period is fixed and the periods are repeated on S-CCPCH every P-CTCH occasion. A BMC Schedule Message is sent in the beginning of each CBS
schedule period. It contains information about the messages to be scheduled in the next coming period. The BMC Schedule message sent in period x lists the BMC messages to
be scheduled on CTCH in period x+1. Based on this information, the UE knows beforehand when there is a need to listen to S-CCPCH. Only if a CTCH occasion contains a BMC
Schedule Message or a new BMC CBS Message, the UE is required to listen to S-CCPCH. For all other CTCH occasions, the UE can remain idle.

3.7 CTCH Admission Control


The CTCH admission control algorithm checks if enough capacity is available on CTCH before a new SABP WRITE-REPLACE message is accepted. The algorithm is turned on
and off by the parameter ctchAdmCtrl.

The principles of the algorithm are illustrated in Figure 6.

about:blank 11/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

Figure 6 CTCH Admission Control Algorithm

The concepts used by the algorithm are further explained as follows:

Total CTCH The total CTCH capacity is the number of BMC payload bits that are transmitted on CTCH every second. The value is calculated based on the CTCH occasion
capacity period configured in the cell. The CTCH occasion period is set by the parameter ctchOccasionPeriod.

BMC Schedule The CTCH capacity allocated for transmission of BMC Schedule messages. The value is calculated based on the CBS Schedule period length and the CTCH
message occasion period configured in the cell. The CBS schedule period length is set by parameter cbsSchedulePeriodLength and the CTCH occasion period is set
capacity by parameter ctchOccasionPeriod. If FAJ 121 1406 is not activated, the BMC Schedule message capacity is set to 0.

CTCH Margin A margin given in % of (Total CTCH capacity - BMC Schedule message capacity). The margin is set by the parameter ctchAdmMargin and is used if tuning
the algorithm is necessary, for example by introducing a lower admission level.

Admission level The admission level used by the algorithm when CBS Level 1 Scheduling is applied. For example, when no BMC Schedule messages are transmitted on CTCH
(A1) (FAJ 121 1406 is deactivated).

Admission level The admission level used by the algorithm when CBS Level 2 Scheduling is applied. For example, when BMC Schedule messages are transmitted on CTCH
(A2) (FAJ 121 1406 is activated).

Used capacity This is the average CTCH capacity, given in the number of BMC payload bits for each second, that is needed to transmit the already stored BMC CBS messages
(B) and the new BMC CBS message requested in SABP WRITE-REPLACE. The value is calculated based on the size and the repetition period of the BMC CBS
messages.

The admission check is successful if the used capacity in the cell, including the new BMC CBS message, is below the admission level.

about:blank 12/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

3.8 Iu-BC Transport


This section describes the Iu-BC transport.

3.8.1 Network Aspects


This section discusses the network aspects.

3.8.1.1 Overview

The following configurations allow for the communication with CBC:

– IP host shared with Operation and Maintenance (O&M), IP over Ethernet transport (Evo Controller 8200/RNC).

– Separate IP host, dedicated to communication with CBC, IP over Ethernet transport (Evo Controller 8200/RNC and EvoC 8300).

For IP case without dedicated IP host, Iu-BC traffic is carried over IP/Ethernet to the CBC node from the RNC, using O&M IP termination, see Figure 7.

Figure 7 Iu-BC Using IP Transport

For IP case with dedicated IP host, Iu-BC traffic is carried over IP/Ethernet to the CBC node from the RNC, using separate IP address, see Figure 8.

about:blank 13/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

Figure 8 Iu-BC Using IP Transport, Dedicated IP Host

In configuration without dedicated IP host, the RNC has a single IP address used both for O&M and for Iu-BC link. This IP address is reachable over redundant IP over Ethernet
links, and it is configured in MO EthernetLink.

In configuration with dedicated IP host, the RNC has a separate IP address dedicated to communication with the CBC. This IP address is configured in
IpAccessHostEt::ipAddress referred in attribute IuBcLink::ipTerminationRef.

When initiating TCP sessions towards the RNC, the CBC uses RNC IP address, either address shared with O&M or dedicated address.

When the RNC initiates TCP sessions towards the CBC, it uses the latest used CBC IP address as the destination IP address, see CBSA Operational Status.

As the source address, in the IP case RNC uses the O&M IP address or IP address of dedicated IP host. For more details, see IP Infrastructure for O&M.

When the Iu-BC interface is using O&M IP address (no dedicated host), the following applies:

– QoS has to be considered as the Iu-BC traffic competes for bandwidth with the O&M traffic.

– Iu-BC interface and traffic have the same level of network security as O&M traffic and as provided by the O&M IP network.

– The CBC node has to be connected to the O&M IP network.

– The O&M IP network must allow the TCP port for SABP (TCP port number 3452) and Iu-BC traffic shares bandwidth with the O&M traffic.

Configuration of separate, dedicated IP host for Iu-BC link, preferably in separate subnet and VLAN, is recommended. Such configuration has the following advantages:

– Iu-BC traffic is separated from O&M traffic

– QoS settings for Iu-BC traffic are separated from QoS settings for O&M

3.8.1.2 Quality of Service

about:blank 14/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service
QoS characteristics depend on the direction of traffic and the choice of IP host as follows:

– Traffic originating in CBC

QoS is managed by CBC node using Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) settings (if supported by CBC node).

– Traffic originating in RNC, O&M IP host used.

QoS characteristics are the same as for O&M traffic. The QoS characteristics currently recommended for O&M traffic are assumed to be acceptable for Iu-BC traffic. The
operator can choose to implement an O&M IP network with a higher QoS level.

– Traffic originating in RNC, dedicated IP host is used.

QoS characteristics are controlled by parameter cbsDscp, independently from DSCP for O&M.

3.8.1.3 Dimensioning

The dimensioning of the O&M IP network takes into account the Iu-BC traffic. The Iu-BC traffic volume is expected to be low and the impact on the dimensioning is small.

The Iu-BC capacity demand is calculated by the following formula:

CIu-BC = Msglength × numMsgs ÷ second

Msglength is the length of the SABP message.

Where numMsgs/second is the number of SABP messages sent over the Iu-BC interface for each second.

3.8.1.4 Security

Consider IP network security when adding Iu-BC traffic to the O&M IP network. This network has many access points compared to the networks for user traffic and is potentially
exposed to greater security threats.

To improve security, turn on the filter for IP source address validation in the RNC. Set the parameter sourceIpAddressValidation to TRUE. This filter disallows connections
from IP source addresses not configured for the CBC.

The filter can be removed, if establishing connections from more than two IP addresses is necessary.

Note: If the filter is not used, the security level for the entire O&M IP network needs improvement.

3.8.2 IuBcLink Configuration


To enable CBS, the IuBcLink MO must be created and configured in the RNC.

The following configuration options for IuBcLink are possible:


about:blank 15/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service
Evo Controller 8200/RNC:

– Configuration without dedicated IP host, see Table 2

– Configuration with dedicated IP host, see Table 3

EvoC 8300:

– Configuration with dedicated IP host, see Table 3

The configuration is selected by setting the value of parameter ipTerminationRef. Non-empty value of this parameter means configuration with dedicated IP host.

Table 2 Iu-BC Configuration without Dedicated IP Host

MO:<Type> = <Name> <attribute> = <value> Comment


administrativeState = UNLOCKED UNLOCKED activates CBS
cbcIpAddress = [0..15] IP address of the CBC according to IP address plan
cbcIpAddress2 = [0..15] IP address of the additional CBC according to IP address plan
IuBcLink=1 rncTcpConnectionMethod = 1 The parameter is set to 1 by default. 1 is for REUSE_CONNECTION
sourceIpAddressValidation = TRUE It is recommended to set the parameter to TRUE
ipTerminationRef = [empty] Dedicated IP host is not used
spare [0] = 0 Parallel SABP procedures on the same TCP connection are allowed.

Table 3 Iu-BC Configuration with Dedicated IP Host

MO:<Type> = <Name> <attribute> = <value> Comment


administrativeState = UNLOCKED UNLOCKED activates CBS
cbcIpAddress = [0..15] IP address of the CBC according to IP address plan
cbcIpAddress2 = [0..15] IP address of the additional CBC according to IP address plan
rncTcpConnectionMethod = 1 The parameter is set to 1 by default.
IuBcLink=1
sourceIpAddressValidation = TRUE It is recommended to set the parameter to TRUE
ipTerminationRef = [IpAccessHostEt MO instance] Use reference to ipAccessHostEt MO.
cbsDscp = 18 DSCP for traffic from RNC to CBC.
spare [0] = 0 Parallel SABP procedures on the same TCP connection are allowed.

In the EvoC 8200/RNC and EvoC 8300 configuration with dedicated IP host, observe the following:

– It is mandatory to create new IpInterface MO (or MOs) dedicated to Iu-BC link. This means using separate subnet, dedicated to RNC-CBC communication.

about:blank 16/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service
– The IpInterface MO(s) must be configured on main processor: Slot=x,PlugInUnit=y,ExchangeTerminalIp=z,GigaBitEthernet=v,IpInterface=...

• For Evo Controller 8200/RNC, use the main processor of the EPB_C2 board in slots 4 and 26

• For EvoC 8300 use the main processor of the EPB_C1 board in slots 3 and 25

– It is recommended to use two IpInterface MOs grouped under IpInterfaceGroup MO. This configuration provides board redundancy.

– It is mandatory to create new MO of type IpAccessHostEt, reserved only by IuBcLink MO.

Configuration of CBC node(s) requires IP address of the RNC. The IP address that is referred in CBC depends on RNC configuration as follows:

– In configuration without dedicated IP host, the node IP address of the RNC, configured in MO EthernetLink, is used in CBC. Refer to IP Infrastructure for O&M.

– In EvoC 8200/RNC and EvoC 8300 configuration with dedicated IP host, the RNC IP address is the value of attribute ipAddress of MO IpAccessHostEt referred in
attribute ipTerminationRef of MO IuBcLink.

3.8.2.1 Evo Controller 8200/RNC: Add Dedicated IP Host for Iu-BC Link

Create a dedicated IP host for Iu-BC Link to facilitate the Cell Broadcast Service.

Prerequisites
RNC-CBC communication over O&M link is configured.

Steps
1. Create an instance of the Vlan MO.

2. Add the newly created Vlan MO to the Vlan list in the vlanRef attribute of the EthernetSwitchModulePort MOs. See IP Transport Network Configuration for more
information.

3. Create an instance of the IpInterface MO, or create two instances of the IpInterface MO and one instance of the IpInterfaceGroup MO, referencing the two
IpInterface MOs.
For redundancy reasons, use two IpInterface MOs grouped under IpInterfaceGroup MO. See IP Transport Network Configuration for more information.

4. Create an instance of the IpAccessHostEt MO. Set the ipInterfaceMoRef attribute to IpInterface or IpInterfaceGroup from Step 3. Set the ipAddress attribute
to the new IP address intended for IP host.

5. Lock the IuBcLink MO.

6. Set the value of the ipTerminationRef attribute of the IuBcLink MO to the reference of IpAccessHostEt from Step 4.

7. Change the RNC IP address in CBCs.

Note: The description of this procedure is out of the scope of this document. Refer to appropriate documentation from CBC provider.

about:blank 17/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service
8. Unlock the IuBcLink MO.

Note: Cell Broadcast Service is not operational between locking and unlocking of IuBcLink MO.

3.8.2.2 EvoC 8300: Add and Configure Dedicated IP Host for IuBcLink

Create a dedicated IP host for Iu-BC Link to facilitate the Cell Broadcast Service.

Steps
1. Create and configure an instance of the Vlan MO under EthernetSwitchFabric=1 parent MO.
a. Set the vlanId attribute according to the subnet plan for RNC-CBC communication.

b. Set the vlanType attribute to 3, that is EXTENDED_INTERNAL_IP_TRANSPORT.

Note: Refer to Initial IP Configuration and IP Transport Network Configuration for more information on how to create Vlan on EvoC 8300.

2. Create two IpInterface MOs on the EPB_C1 main processors:


a. For the EPB_C1 in slot 3: Equipment=1,Subrack=MS,Slot=3,PlugInUnit=1,ExchangeTerminalIp=1,GigaBitEthernet=1,IpInterface=<IP address>

b. For the EPB_C1 in slot 25: Equipment=1,Subrack=MS,Slot=25,PlugInUnit=1,ExchangeTerminalIp=1,GigaBitEthernet=1,IpInterface=<IP


address>
3. Create the IpInterfaceGroup MO, referencing the two IpInterface MOs from Step 2.

4. Create the IpAccessHostEt MO


a. Set the ipInterfaceMoRef attribute to reference the IpInterfaceGroup MO from Step 3.

b. Set the ipAddress attribute to the new IP address of the IP host.

5. Create the IuBcLink MO:


a. Set the ipTerminationRef attribute to reference the IpAccessHostEt MO from Step 4.

b. Set the cbcIpAddress attribute to the IP address of the CBC node.

Note: EvoC 8300 does not allow the IuBcLink MO to be created with empty ipTerminationRef attribute.

6. If unlocked, lock the newly created IuBcLink MO.

7. Change the RNC IP address in CBCs

Note: Changing RNC IP in CBC is outside the scope of this instruction. Please refer to the appropriate documentation from the CBC provider.

8. Unlock the IuBcLink MO.

about:blank 18/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

After This Task


Verify the operational state of the CBS. Ensure that no active alarms are present.

3.9 Iub Transport


The new logical channel CTCH is carried over the existing transport bearer established for FACH1.

about:blank 19/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

4 Network Impact of Cell Broadcast Service


The CBS feature provides the broadcast of BMC CBS Messages on CTCH and the basic functionality for CBS.

Capacity and Performance


Cell Broadcast Service feature provides the broadcast of BMC CBS Messages on CTCH using the Level 1 Scheduling as described in CBS Level 1 Scheduling.

Interfaces
Cell Broadcast Service feature provides the basic functionality for CBS, including support for the Iu-BC interface.

Other Network Elements


No feature specific information is identified.

about:blank 20/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

5 Parameters for Cell Broadcast Service


The CBS feature has eleven parameters that the operator configures to control the CBS features in WCDMA RAN.

Table 4 Parameters

Parameter Type Description


UtranCell::cellBroadcastSac Introduced
UtranCell::ctchOccasionPeriod Introduced
RncFunction::ctchAdmCtrl Introduced
UtranCell::ctchAdmMargin Introduced
UtranCell::cbsSchedulePeriodLength Introduced
IuBcLink::cbcIpAddress Introduced
See MOM description.
IuBcLink::cbcIpAddress2 Introduced
IuBcLink::rncTcpConnectionMethod Introduced
IuBcLink::sourceIpAddressValidation Introduced
IuBcLink::ipTerminationRef Introduced
IuBcLink::cbsDscp Introduced
iuBcLink::spare Introduced

about:blank 21/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

6 Performance of Cell Broadcast Service


The CBS feature associated with seven counters and one event.

KPIs
This feature has no associated Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Counters

– pmNoAttOutTcpConn

– pmNoReceivedSabpMsgs

– pmNoRejectedTcpConnections

– pmNoSentSabpMsgs

– pmNoSuccOutTcpConn

– pmNoAttScheduledBmcCbsMsgs

– pmNoDiscardedBmcCbsMsgs

Events
Cell Broadcast Service feature uses Service Area Broadcast Protocol (SABP).
For more information about SABP events, refer to General Performance Event Handling RNC.

about:blank 22/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

7 Activate Cell Broadcast Service


This section describes activation of the CBS features.

7.1 FAJ 121 1326: Cell Broadcast Service


The CBS feature is activated by the license key installation and the appropriate parameter configuration.

Prerequisites
Activate and install the license key CXC 403 0043 for Cell Broadcast Service in the RNC. For more information about license, refer to Licenses and Hardware Activation Codes in
Ericsson Software Model.

Steps
1. The feature activates by RNS when the featureState attribute, for designation cellBroadcastService, is set to ACTIVATED in the RncFeature.

2. Configure the Iu-BC link as described in IuBcLink Configuration.

3. Make sure that the cells in which CB messages are to be broadcast are enabled and that a CBSA is defined for each cell, see Cell Broadcast Service Area.

4. Activate the CTCH admission control algorithm by setting the parameter ctchAdmCtrl to TRUE.

Results
As soon as step 1 and 3 are performed, the CTCH configuration is included in system information, SIB5. The UE starts monitoring the CTCH occasions on S-CCPCH in cells where
a CBSA is defined.
No CB messages can be broadcast in the cells before the Iu-BC link is configured.
Once all steps 1, 2, and 3 are performed, the RNC informs the CBC about the SAs that are operational by sending a SABP RESTART message. The SABP RESTART message
contains a list of all defined CBSAs within the RNC. The message is sent to the recently used CBC. If the parameter rncTcpConnectionMethod is set to
NO_NEW_CONNECTION value and a TCP connection does not exist, the RNC does not send the SABP RESTART message.

7.2 FAJ 121 1406: Cell Broadcast Service - UE Battery Consumption Improvements
The Cell Broadcast Service - UE Battery Consumption Improvements feature is activated by the license key installation and the appropriate parameter configuration.

Prerequisites

– Activate and install the license key CXC 403 0043 for Cell Broadcast Service in the RNC.

about:blank 23/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service
– Activate and install the license key CXC 403 0070 for Cell Broadcast Service - UE battery consumption improvements in RNC.
For more information about license, refer to Licenses and Hardware Activation Codes in Ericsson Software Model.

Steps
1. Activate feature Cell Broadcast Service as described in FAJ 121 1326: Cell Broadcast Service.

2. The feature activates by RNS when the featureState attribute, for designation CbsReducedUeBatteryConsumption, is set to ACTIVATED in the RncFeature.

about:blank 24/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

8 Deactivate Cell Broadcast Service


The CBS feature is deactivated by setting the attribute RncFeature::featureState to DEACTIVATED.

Prerequisites
This feature has no prerequisites for deactivating.

Steps

1. The feature is deactivated when the featureState attribute, for designation CbsReducedUeBatteryConsumption, is set to DEACTIVATED in the RncFeature.

about:blank 25/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service

9 Engineering Guidelines for Cell Broadcast Service


This section provides engineering guidelines.

9.1 CBS Level 1 Scheduling


The CTCH shares existing S-CCPCH resources used for SRB signaling and PS Interactive data on FACH. Transmission of BMC messages has the highest priority in the RNC during
a CTCH occasion. Thus, the parameter ctchOccasionPeriod can be used to control the maximum bandwidth of the CTCH channel that varies from 0.12 kbps
(ctchOccasionPeriod = 256) up to 30.4 kbps (ctchOccasionPeriod = 1).

If there are no BMC messages to transmit in a CTCH occasion, the TTI is used by the RNC to send other FACH1 or FACH2 data.

Note: If the CTCH occasions are scheduled frequently and the CBS load is high in the cell, the transmission of SRB signaling and PS interactive data on FACH1 and FACH2 can
be delayed.

When the Level 2 Scheduling is not applied, UE in idle mode and state URA_PCH listens to every CTCH occasion scheduled on S-CCPCH, even if it does not contain any CTCH
data. If the CTCH occasions are scheduled frequently on S-CCPCH, it affects the UE battery consumption in idle mode and URA_PCH state. Thus, the setting of the parameter
ctchOccasionPeriod is a trade-off between maximum CTCH bandwidth and UE standby time.

If a CTCH occasion conflicts with a paging occasion, the UE prioritizes paging before reading CTCH. The paging occasions are calculated based on the IMSI and the DRX cycle
length coefficient. Different DRX cycle length coefficients can be configured for UE in idle mode and in state URA_PCH. For more information, refer to Idle Mode and Common
Channel Behavior.

Note: To avoid that the same UE misses all CTCH occasions, ensure that the ctchOccasionPeriod is not set to a multiple of the DRX cycle length. Changing the attribute
ctchOccasionPeriod affects any ongoing traffic in the cell. Whenever its value is set, the cell is disabled automatically and then enabled again.

9.2 CBS Level 2 Scheduling


The Level 2 Scheduling introduces a DRX mode for CTCH reception that enables reduced power consumption in the UE when the CBS is activated in WCDMA RAN. Based on the
schedule information, the UE knows beforehand when there is a need to read CTCH. Only if a CTCH occasion contains a BMC Schedule Message or a new BMC CBS Message, is
the UE required to listen to S-CCPCH. For all other CTCH occasions, the UE can remain idle.

Since a BMC Schedule Message is transmitted once every CBS schedule period, the length of the period, defined as:

(cbsSchedulePeriodLength × ctchOccasionPeriod ÷ 100) seconds

Controls how often the UE must read S-CCPCH. The size of a BMC Schedule Message is variable and the message is transmitted in several CTCH occasions. The size depends on
the setting of the parameter cbsSchedulePeriodLength and the amount of user data scheduled in the period. When the schedule period contains no or only a few messages,
the BMC Schedule message typically takes {1, 1, 2, 3, 4} CTCH occasions for cbsSchedulePeriodLength = {8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.

about:blank 26/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service
The Level 2 Scheduling increases the time to delivery of the new cell broadcast messages. A delay from reception of SABP WRITE-REPLACE in the RNC persists until the BMC
CBS Message is transmitted on CTCH the first time. The schedule information associated with the BMC CBS Message is sent in a CBS schedule period before the one containing
the actual user data. The time to delivery is typically between two and three CBS schedule periods.

To get an optimal setting of the parameters, consider ctchOccasionPeriod and cbsSchedulePeriodLength, the time to delivery requirement, and the UE battery
consumption. Use the highest possible value of ctchOccasionPeriod and then adjust the parameter cbsSchedulePeriodLength to get an acceptable delay for the first
transmission of the BMC CBS Message.

For example, if the time to delivery requirement is 2 minutes, the settings of ctchOccasionPeriod = 255 and cbsSchedulePeriodLength = 16 are recommended. With this
setting, the CBS contribution to UE battery consumption is theoretically reduced 16 times compared to the case where only Level 1 Scheduling is applied. A time to delivery
requirement of 16 minutes theoretically reduces the UE battery consumption 32 times using the setting of ctchOccasionPeriod = 255 and cbsSchedulePeriodLength =
128.

All segments of a BMC CBS Message have to be transmitted within the same schedule period. That means that the lower values of the parameter cbsSchedulePeriodLength
are not used to broadcast of long BMC CBS messages. If the size of the message is larger than 3-pages, set the cbsSchedulePeriodLength parameter to a value larger than
or equal to 16. If the size of the message is larger than 6-pages, use a setting of 32 or higher. For messages larger than 13-pages, a setting of 64 or higher is recommended. If the
schedule period is too short, the BMC CBS message is discarded in the RNC and the counter pmNoDiscardedBmcCbsMsgs is stepped.

Note: Setting cbsSchedulePeriodLength = 256 is not valid according to 3GPP and is not used. Changing the attributes cbsSchedulePeriodLength and
ctchOccasionPeriod affects any ongoing traffic in the cell. Whenever their values are set, the cell is disabled automatically and then enabled again.

9.3 CTCH Admission Control


The admission control algorithm compares the available CTCH capacity, in BMC payload bits for each second, with the used capacity allocated for the currently stored BMC CBS
messages that are broadcast in the cell. If the algorithm is activated, a new SABP WRITE-REPLACE message is not accepted if there is a risk that BMC CBS messages are
discarded by the RNC due to CTCH congestion.

The admission level is adjusted by introducing a margin set by parameter ctchAdmMargin. The margin is specified as a percentage of the total CTCH capacity minus the
capacity reserved for transmission of BMC Schedule messages.

To optimize the use of available CTCH resources, the margin is set. The number of rejected SABP WRITE-REPLACE messages is kept to a minimum without discarding any BMC
CBS messages because of CTCH congestion. The number of discarded BMC messages is observed by the counter pmNoDiscardedBmcCbsMsgs.

For Level 2 Scheduling, it is not allowed to transmit segments of the same BMC CBS message in different CBS Schedule periods. This results in empty CTCH occasions at the end
of a period where no BMC data can be scheduled. In practice, the available CTCH capacity is less than the total CTCH capacity calculated by the algorithm. To compensate for
possible CTCH fragmentation, use a margin larger than 0% when FAJ 121 1406 is activated. If only Level 1 Scheduling applied (FAJ 121 1406 is deactivated), use a margin of
0%.

The algorithm calculates the used CTCH capacity based on the size and the repetition period of the BMC CBS messages, as requested by the CBC through SABP WRITE-
REPLACE. The number of broadcasts for each message is not considered. This can give a misleading result if a message is only broadcast a few times with a low repetition period.
For example, if FAJ 121 1406 is deactivated and the ctchOccasionPeriod is set to 150, the algorithm rejects a new BMC CBS message. The size is 90 bytes, a repetition
period is 3 seconds long, and the number of broadcasts is 2, even if this example does not cause a congestion situation on CTCH.

about:blank 27/28
31/03/2025 17:12 Cell Broadcast Service
Legal | © Ericsson AB 2017, 2020, 2023, 2024
Copyright © Ericsson AB 2017, 2020, 2023, 2024. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the
copyright owner.

Disclaimer The contents of this document are subject to revision without notice due to continued progress in methodology, design and manufacturing. Ericsson shall have no
liability for any error or damage of any kind resulting from the use of this document.

Trademarks All trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners. These are shown in the document Trademark Information.

about:blank 28/28

You might also like