Njhx410e - Link Budgets

Mason Communications Training: WCDMA Radio Planning Course
Module 4: Network Design

Section 4.1: Link Budgets
NJHX410E Page 1 REV E
www. masoncom. com
Mason Communications Ltd 2001
WCDMA Radio Planning Course
4 Network Design
4.1 Link Budgets
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.2
Where are We Now?
Introduction
UMTS
Overview
Access
Technologies
WCDMA
Introduction
Model
Architecture
UMTS
Standards
Mobile Radio
Channel
Narrowband
Channel
Wideband
Channel
Local Mean
Signal
Path Loss
Diversity
Design
Elements
Basic Radio
Principles
Antennas and
Feeders
Interference
Matched
Filters and
Rake Receivers
WCDMA
Physical Layer
Network
Design
Operators
Design Guides
The Planning
Process
Polygons
Site Placement
Antenna
Placement
Frequency
Planning
Forward
Capacity
Planning
Course
Overview
Conventional
Optimisation
3G
Optimisation
Radio Resource
Management
Optimisation
Course
Wash Up
Link
Budgets
Where are We Now?
The Course Map shows which section we are now on.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.3
What is in This Section?
Introduction
Classical 2G Link Budgets
UMTS Link Budget How It Differs
Summary
UMTS Uplink Link Budget
UMTS Downlink Link Budget
UMTS Link Budget Analysis
Network
Design
Operators
Design Guides
The Planning
Process
Site Placement
Antenna
Placement
Frequency
Planning
Forward
Capacity
Planning
Polygons
Link
Budgets
What is in This Section?
The Radio Planning section will concentrate upon the current industry and academic approaches in
analysing the UMTS or WCDMA Link Budget. The aim of this section is to demonstrate the issues,
and limitations in the UMTS Link Budget, when compared to conventional Link Budget analysis for
GSM or TDMA. As a result of these limitations the need for more sophisticated approaches is
introduced. The use of Static and Dynamic simulation techniques for Link Budget and Detailed Radio
Planning, using RF Planning Tools (such as Aircoms Asset), are presented in the next Section, The
Radio Planning Process.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.4
Why is this Section Important to You?
Very Important that the UMTS Link Budget is understood
The UMTS Link Budget will be used in dimensioning a
network or an area of a network
The Link Budget is the precursor to using a Network Planning
Tool
The Network Planning Tool uses the Link Budget and is
extremely dynamic in UMTS
Why is this Section Important to You?
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.5
How Will You Learn?
Discussion
Worked Examples Exercises
Demonstrations
The differences between
GSM and UMTS Link
Budgets
That the confidence of
the UMTS Link Budget is
limited when we consider
all the UMTS parameter
network interactions
The need for Simulations
to predict UMTS
network performance
How Will You Learn?
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.6
Where Are We Now?
Introduction
Summary
Network
Design
Operators
Design Guides
The Planning
Process
Site Placement
Antenna
Placement
Frequency
Planning
Forward
Capacity
Planning
Polygons
Link
Budgets
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.7
Approaches to Radio Planning
Generally there have been two key approaches to Radio Planning (i.e
GSM Planning, or more precisely TDMA Planning):
Network Dimensioning using Link Budget Analysis
Network Planning using Radio Planning Tools
UMTS Presents New Challenges for the Radio Planner and Radio
Planning Process
Conventional Approaches are limited when considering UMTS Radio
Planning
There are classically two approaches to Radio Planning.
Network Dimensioning using Spreadsheet based Link Budget analysis has been used to provide a
basic understanding of Cell Range for GSM and TDMA networks. Business Plans for country wide
networks often use the Spreadsheet Link Budget to estimate the quantity of Base Stations required to
provide Coverage and Capacity, and the sensitivities behind the Link Budget and the overall site count
estimate.
Network Planning using Radio Planning Tools offer a detailed estimate of specific coverage and
service levels over specific areas for GSM and TDMA networks. Planning tools use Terrain and
Buildings information of the specific area and aim to estimate coverage levels at a resolution at the
order of the resolution of the Terrain data (e.g. 25m resolution). This allows collections of Base
Station locations, heights, and antenna configurations to be optimised or engineered to best meet the
coverage and capacity expectations for the area.
GSM or TDMA based Radio Planning is relatively straightforward. The Link Budget and Radio
Coverage Levels are predictable, since all of the parameters which make up the GSM or TDMA
Radio Link are not dependant upon one another. In UMTS or WCDMA, there are many parameters of
the Radio Link which are inter-dependent upon one another. The classic WCDMA parameter
dependency is that of Cell Breathing, where the Cell Loading, or number of users per cell increases
the Interference Levels within that cell, which in turn reduce the potential range. These
interdependencies present new challenges to the Radio Planning process and approaches to UMTS
Planning.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.8
The Link Budget is used in dimensioning exercises, and to
understand basic coverage principles.
Link Budget equations are normally developed using Spreadsheet
formulas.
There are many different ways of presenting the same Link Budget.
A Link Budget should generally have 3 sections:
Tx Parameters Element
Rx Parameters Element
Propagation Parameters Element
The Link Budget
The Link Budget is one of the fundamental tools a Radio Planner should be familiar with. Radio Link
budgets are used in dimensioning networks, and more importantly can give valuable insight to how a
radio link might behave, in terms of Coverage Range, and Capacity.
There are many ways of presenting a Link Budget. Vendors, Operators, Standards bodies,
consultancies often present the link budget in different ways. There is no universally accepted
approach to presenting a link budget. However, a Link Budget should be made up of three elements;
Transmission, Receiver, and Propagation Parameters. We shall use a certain approach, which largely
reflects the Link Budgets shown in [1].
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.9
Link Budgets track Power levels along a transmission path
from Transmitter Output Port to Receiver Input Port
Two Distinct Links in a Duplex Communications Channel:
Mobile (transmit) to Base Station (receive) - uplink
Base Station (transmit) to Mobile (receive) - downlink
Tx Rx
Rx Tx
UPLINK
DOWNLINK
The Link Budget
Link Budgets strictly track Power Levels along a Transmission Path or Link from a Transmitters
Output Port to the Receiver Input Port. They can also be re-arranged in many ways, but normally Link
Budgets are re-arranged in a manner which provides information, such as the Maximum Acceptable
Propagation Loss, given all other Parameters. This Propagation Loss can then be used to estimate
Range, and hence estimate Coverage.
There are always two Link Budgets in a Duplex Communications Channel. A Simplex Channel (such
as TV Broadcast has one Link Budget). We often refer to these links as Uplink and Downlink. In the
US (and technically correct), theses are the Reverse and Forward Channels.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.10
Duplex Communication Link having two links are ideally
balanced in terms of their link budgets
Uplink: Low Power Mobile Transmission to High
Sensitivity Base Receiver
Downlink: High Power Base Station to Low Sensitivity
Mobile Receiver
Tx Rx
Rx Tx
UPLINK
DOWNLINK
The Link Budget
Having a Power Balanced Link is ideal in terms of Range, or Coverage. However, the Uplink and
Downlink power budgets are not reciprocal, as the Mobile Stations are limited in terms of the Power
they can Transmit, and the Mobile Stations must be made for a Mass Market and hence the Receiver
Sensitivity they can afford, can not be highly engineered. This presents a potential link imbalance,
which is counted by having a more highly engineered Base Station receiver, and hence Receiver
Sensitivity, and a higher power can be transmitted from a Base Station. Generally speaking the Uplink
often presents the limiting case.
In GSM or TDMA planning, there are a number of parameters at the RF engineers disposal to
improve the overall Link Budgets, or to attempt to balance the Link Budgets. These parameters are
discussed later in this section, but include the use of Base Station Receive Antenna Diversity, and the
use of LNAs at the Base Station Receiver.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.11
Where Are We Now?
Introduction
Summary
Network
Design
Operators
Design Guides
The Planning
Process
Site Placement
Antenna
Placement
Frequency
Planning
Forward
Capacity
Planning
Polygons
Link
Budgets
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.12
The 2G Link Budget
BTS
+30dBm
-104dBm
Tx Parameters Rx Parameters Environment Parameters
Tx
Power
Antenna
Gain
Body
Losses
Penetration
Losses
Path
Loss
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Antenna
Gain
Diversity
Gain
Feeder
Losses
Rx
Power
Tx
Power
Rx
Power
Rx
Sensitivity
Rx
Sensitivity
The three parametric elements which make up the Link Budget are shown; Transmission,
Environment, and Receiver Parameters.
The Link Budget shows the Power Received at the Base Station Receiver (Uplink) given the all the
Link Parameters. If the Log Normal Fade Margin is set to zero, then the Rx Power calculated is the
Average Rx Power received for all locations (at the same distance, and in the same Environment of
course). In other words the actual Rx power can vary above (50%) and below (50%) this Average Rx
Power, due to location variability. The shaded/blurred elements represent the Locations Variability in
a certain environment.
The Log Normal Fade Margin is added such that the Rx Power represents the Rx Power Received for
a certain percentage of locations. This might be 90% of locations. That is Rx Power represents the
minimum Rx Power expected for 90% of locations variability.
The Link Budget aims to ensure that the Rx Power (for a certain %locations, given the LN Fade
Margin), does not fall below the Minimum Rx Sensitivity, and the slide indicates the Maximum
Allowable Propagation Path Loss acceptable to maintain the Radio Link.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.13
The 2G Link Budget
BTS
+30dBm
-90dBm
Tx
Power
Antenna
Gain
Body
Losses
Penetration
Losses
Path
Loss
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Antenna
Gain
Diversity
Gain
Feeder
Losses
Rx
Power
Tx
Power
Rx
Power
Rx
Sensitivity
Rx
Sensitivity
This slide simply shows the same Power Link Budget as before, but with a smaller Path Loss. The Rx
Power in this slide represents the Rx Power exceeded for 90% of locations (assuming that a Log
Normal Fade Margin for 90% Locations is added). In this example this Rx Power (90% Locations) is
well above the minimum Rx Sensitivity Threshold.
What would happen in reality is that the Mobile Tx Power would reduce in a GSM system such that
the Rx Power (90% locations) is closer to the Rx Sensitivity Threshold, thereby conserving Battery
Power, reducing unnecessary interference (to other cells), and still maintaining the Link Budget.
If one was to imagine an animation of the above slide, the Path Loss would vary, as the distance
varied, between MS and BS. Also the instantaneous Rx power level due to location variability would
dance around (obeying a Log Normal Probability distribution the shaded red parts) which would
result in Tx Power Variations, such that the Rx Power was => Rx Sensitivity Threshold.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.14
The 2G Link Budget
The Rx Power can be calculated given Path Loss and the Link Budget
Parameters
The Max Path Loss can be calculated given the Minimum Rx
Sensitivity and Link Parameters
Tx
Power
Antenna
Gain
Body
Losses
Penetration
Losses
Path
Loss
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Antenna
Gain
Diversity
Gain
Feeder
Losses + - - - - + + -
Rx
Power =
Path
Loss
Tx
Power
Antenna
Gain
Body
Losses
Penetration
Losses
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Antenna
Gain
Diversity
Gain
Feeder
Losses
+ - - + - =
Rx
Power
- + + -
Max
Path
Loss
Tx
Power
Antenna
Gain
Body
Losses
Penetration
Losses
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Antenna
Gain
Diversity
Gain
Feeder
Losses
+ - - + - =
Rx
Sensitivity
- + + -
The Link Budget can be re-arranged such that the Maximum Allowable Path Loss can be calculated.
The first equation is that shown before in the previous examples.
The second equation is the first re-arranged to represent Path Loss.
The Third equation is the second equation, but using Rx Sensitivity = Rx Power (for 90% locations) to
determine the Maximum Path Loss.
This common re-arrangement is used to find out Maximum Path Loss, and hence Cell Range.
The Rx Sensitivity for TDMA and GSM Systems is a function of:
Noise Power Bandwidth
Receiver Noise Figure
SNR Margin above Noise+Noise Figure such that a Minimum acceptable decoded BER for
a Service (such as Coded Speech) is maintained
The SNR Margin varies for different Services, Speeds, and Environments (Typical Urban, Hilly, Bad
Urban, etc.).
Environments give rise to different Multipath Models, and hence Fading Dynamics.
The Bit/Frame Interleaving mechanisms used in GSM assist the Error Correction algorithms (by
randomising errors) in the Multipath Channel.
The Worst Case speed, Environment, and acceptable BER is usually taken resulting in the Worst Case
SNR. GSM Specifications stipulate that the Base Station Receiver should have a minimum Rx
Sensitivity of 104dBm.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.15
2G Uplink
BTS
Tx Power
Rx Sensitivity
(TU50 or
RA130)
Mobile Tx Power = 30dBm (1 Watt) variable due to manufacturer variances
Mobile Antenna Gain = 0 dBi variable due to polarisation and near-field effects
Body Loss = 4 dB variable due to orientation, body position wrt BTS
Penetration Loss = 5 dB dependent upon location (i.e building or direction of car)
LN Fade Margin = 5 dB based upon % location probability of coverage over cell area
Path Loss = ? dB The maximum path loss can be calculated to achieve % loc prob.
Base Station Antenna Gain = 18 dBi variable due to (azimuthal ) antenna pattern
Base Station Diversity Gain = 4 dB variable due to extent of multipath de-correlation
Base Station Feeder Loss = 2 dB dependent upon quality and size of feeder, and length
Base Station Splitter Loss = 2 dB dependent upon how the signal is shared between multiple TRXs
Int. Degradation margin = 3 dB with interference limited design
Rx Sensitivity = -104 dBm Function of:
(residual BER = 0.2%) noise floor in 200kHz (-120 dBm)
receiver noise figure (8 dB)
Eb/No in fading environment (8 dB)
Path Loss = 30+0+(-4)+(-5)+(-5)+18+4+(-2)+(-2)+(-3)-(-104) = 135dB
Tx
Power
Antenna
Gain
Body
Losses
Penetration
Losses
Path
Loss
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Antenna
Gain
Diversity
Gain
Feeder
Losses
In this Uplink Link Budget Example, real figures are used for a GSM/TDMA scenario.
The Slide also illustrates the variability of each Link Budget parameter.
Generally speaking parameters such as:
Tx Power
Rx Sensitivity
Antenna Gains
Feeder Losses
are very deterministic, and vary very little we dont worry too much about these.
Parameters such as:
Penetration Loss
Body Loss
Fade Margin
Diversity Gain
can be quite variable quantities, and are usually quoted as statistical limits. These can vary depending
upon specific MS-BS Orientation, diversity schemes used, etc. Penetration Loss can vary enormously
for buildings, ranging from a few dB to 25dB. This variability is seen between buildings, and the
locations variability within the buildings. Ideally the penetration margin should represent the
penetration losses experienced for a certain % of locations within all buildings, e.g. 95% rather than
an average penetration loss.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.16
2G Downlink
BTS
Tx power Rx Sensitivity
(TU50 or
RA130)
Base Station Tx Power = 40dBm (10 Watts) variable due to manufacturer variances
Base Station Combiner Loss = 4 dB dependent upon how the TRXs are shared with common antennas
Base Station Feeder Loss = 2 dB dependent upon quality and size of feeder, and length
Base Station Antenna Gain = 18 dBi variable due to (azimuthal ) antenna pattern
Path Loss = ? dB The maximum path loss can be calculated to achieve % loc prob.
LN Fade Margin = 5 dB based upon % location probability of coverage over cell area
Penetration Loss = 5 dB dependent upon location (i.e building or direction of car)
Body Loss = 4 dB variable due to orientation, body position wrt BTS
Mobile Antenna Gain = 0 dBi variable due to polarisation and near-field effects
Int. degredation margin = 3 dB with interference limited design
Rx Sensitivity = -102 dBm Function of:
(residual BER = 0.2%) noise floor in 200kHz (-120 dBm)
receiver noise figure (10 dB)
Eb/No in fading environment (8 dB)
Path Loss = 40+(-6)+18+(-5)+(-5)+(-4)+0+(-3)-(-102) = 137dB
Tx
Power
Antenna
Gain
Feeder/
Combiner
Losses
Penetration
Losses
Path
Loss
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Antenna
Gain
Body
Losses
The example shown above applies to the previous example, but for the Downlink channel.
The same variability and issues apply as discussed in the previous slide.
There is no receive diversity on the downlink for GSM/TDMA.
The Downlink can suffer a slightly greater Path Loss than the uplink channel in this example.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.17
2G Link Budget Calculation
Given Link Parameters, a maximum path loss can be calculated, in our
Uplink example this is:
Loss = 30+0+(-4)+(-5)+(-5)+18+4+(-2)+(-2)+(-3)-(-104) = 135dB
Given environment and appropriate path loss model a maximum
distance, hence cell size can be calculated to a % locations probability
For example, assume a countryside environment with in-car
penetration and maximum path loss of 135dB, then using a stochastic
model, such as Hata, we can work out the cell radius
Maximum Path Loss or Propagation Loss can be translated to a Maximum Cell Radius or Range when
applied to a suitable Empirical loss equation, such as a Hata Model.
A more exact range can be computed for all locations within a cells area if we were to use a Radio
Planning Tool. The Radio Planning tool computes the specific path loss for every point to the Base
Station. All points-BS links which fall below a the Maximum acceptable Path Loss means that
Coverage Service is available.
If a very accurate terrain/buildings model is used with the planning tool then the Locations Variability
can be resolved. In this case we would not need to consider the Log-Normal Fade Margin in the
Maximum Path Loss.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.18
2G Link Budget Calculation
100
105
110
115
120
125
130
135
140
145
150
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
H
b
= 50 m
H
m
= 1.5 m
f = 900MHz
Path Distance (km)
P
a
t
h

L
o
s
s

(
d
B
)
HATA Model Rural (Quasi-Open)
Environment
For a 135dB Path Loss, a Cell radius of ~ 9km can be
achieved with 90% Area Locations Probability, given
system parameters in example for in-car penetration in a
rural environment
Applying the previous GSM Maximum Path Loss to a Hata Empirical Equation, for Quasi-Open Rural
Environment, a Base Station height of 50m, and a MS height of 1.5m at 900MHz, we could achieve
about 9km. This means that service is available to 9km which maintains that the Rx Power is above
the minimum Rx Sensitivity Threshold for 90% Locations at the cell edge, or at 9km.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.19
2G Link Budget Sensitivity
We shall examine the effect of an additional 2dB margin on
a link budget
With previous example a path loss of 135dB corresponded to
a cell radius of 9km
Using same path loss model and system parameters, except
that the uplink now has an extra 2dB of link margin,
therefore making a maximum path loss of 137dB. What cell
radius can be achieved now?
If we were to gain an extra 2dB on the Uplink Maximum Path Loss, such that it now balances with the
Downlink Maximum Path Loss, we could examine the potential new range, using Hata. This
improvement might be achieved through improved engineering of the Uplink, by the inclusion of
LNAs and/or low loss feeder at the Base Station.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.20
We can now achieve a cell radius of ~ 10.5km
increase in cell area from 9km
2
to 10.5km
2
increase in cell area from 254km
2
to 346km
2
36% Area Increase !
100
105
110
115
120
125
130
135
140
145
150
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
H
b
= 50 m
H
m
= 1.5 m
f = 900MHz
Path Distance (km)
P
a
t
h

L
o
s
s

(
d
B
)
HATA Model Rural (Quasi-Open)
Environment
2dB
A 2dB improvement on the Uplink can give a new range of 10.5km, which means an improvement of
36% in service area.
This is quite surprising, and demonstrates the sensitivity of the Link Budget with respect to estimation
of quantities of sites. This is only 2dB. When we consider that parameters such as Penetration Margin,
Body Losses, and diversity Gain have variability over many dBs we can begin to understand the
difficulty, or the limitations in the confidence a Spreadsheet Link Budget approach to site count
estimation gives.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.21
When considering network build an extra couple of dBs in a
link margin can have significant effect on site numbers and
ultimately cost of network!
Rural (Quasi-Open) Suburban
Urban
Urban Indoor
Cell Area Coverage increase due to extra 2dB Link margin
The key message for ensuring that a network gets the most out of the Link Budget, is to engineer the
Links such that extra Path Loss can be tolerated. This can result in fewer sites for coverage.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.22
URBAN
0dB + 2dB
SUBURBAN
0dB + 2dB
RURAL
0dB + 2dB
Cell
Radius (km
2
)
Effective Cell
Area (km
2
)
Area to be
Covered (km
2
)
No. of Cell
Sites
Relative Cost
per Cell Site (k)
Network Build
Costs(M)
0.84 0.95 1.35 1.53 6.74 7.62
1.84 2.34 4.73 6.12 118.2 153
1,500 1,500 6,000 6,000 100,000 100,000
815 641 1268 980 846 653
300 324 300 324 200 208
245 208 380 318 169 136
168M lower Network Build Costs for +2dB link margin (1997)
This slide shows a simple demonstration of how the Link Budget can improve Network Costs. The
example applies to GSM, and is purely for illustrative purposes only. The same argument would apply
to UMTS, in that extra coverage can be achieved through Link Budget improvement. Alternatively, in
UMTS this Link Budget improvement can be traded for extra capacity. This will be demonstrated
later in this section. Also see p167 in Reference [1].
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.23
2G Link Budget Optimisation
The need to balance uplink and downlink budgets
Uplink budget usually the limiting case
Uplink can benefit from additional budget over downlink
through:
Minimise Feeder Losses
Base Station Receive Diversity Gain
Higher Base Station Receive Sensitivity
Use of Head Amplification and LNAs
We have shown that Link Budget improvement can be used to improve the Network Build
requirement. Generally speaking, the Uplink is the limiting case for GSM/TDMA systems. In UMTS
this is also generally the case, but the Link Imbalance can vary much more due to cell loading,
Asymmetric loading, and the level of WCDMA Interference from other cells and Mobiles connected
to other cells. We shall show this later in this section.
The Uplink can be improved through various methods. Four methods are discussed in the following
slides, and relate to Uplink Link Budget improvement through:
The use of low loss feeder at the Base Station
The use of Base Station Receive Diversity Reception
The use of better Base Station sensitivities (better Noise Figures)
The use of Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs) at the Base Station Receiver
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.24
2G Link Budget Optimisation - Feeder Losses
Feeder Losses can be minimised through use of:
Short Feeder Runs
Minimum number of connectors
Use of high quality and thick feeder cable
FEEDER LOSS AT 960 MHz
7.51 dB/100m 4.2 dB/100m 3.1 dB/100m
1
1
2
"dia "dia 7
8
"dia 1
4
The slide shows examples of Feeder loss at 960MHz, I.e for GSM. The feeder losses at
1900/2100MHz would be even greater, and more reason to choose a High Quality, Thick Feeder
Cable. Such cable could only be used on Tower or Macro type base stations, and probably not on
Micro Base Stations. Micro Base Stations can incorporate the Transceiver(s) directly behind an
Antenna, rather than Antenna-Feeder-Transceiver arrangement. In this case, of course the Feeder run
losses are negligible.
Connectors inherently introduce losses, through two mechanisms
Contact losses the fact that conductivity across two surfaces is not as good as
continuous cable
Reflection losses impedance mismatches result in power reflections and hence
reduced power transfer
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.25
2G Link Budget Optimisation Diversity Gain
Diversity Combining on Uplink path can give extra link margin
Relies on sufficiently separated receive antennas at Base Station
such that the transmission channels from mobile to each antenna are
de-correlated in terms of fast fading
Fast Fading Signal at
Antenna 1
Fast Fading Signal at
Antenna 2
Diversity Combined
Signal
D
Base Station Receive Diversity is often called Micro Diversity, since the difference in signals is due to
microscopic fading, or fast fading phase differences, which occur over a number of wavelengths.
Diversity attempts to increase the median signal strength at the receiver, by the reducing the
probability of deep fades. Section x.x.x discusses the theory, practice, and benefits offered by
Diversity in much more detail.
Diversity Gain is not really an Active Gain product, but is the difference between:
Power Level at Receiver for a Certain BER with Diversity
Power level at Receiver for same BER without Diversity
The BER is usually the minimum acceptable BER for a certain Multipath Channel (e.g. TU50). The
diversity gain represents the equivalent dB improvement had there not been any Diversity.
Diversity Gain will therefore vary depending upon BER, Multipath Channel, and Separation of
receive antennas.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.26
2G Link Budget Optimisation BS Specification
GSM Specification was put together
in 1980s
Radio Receiver Technology can now
offer Base Station Receiver
Sensitivities below -110dBm
Nortel claim -117dBm
Equipment maturity and supplier
issues must be considered
GSM Specification
Rx Sensitivity = -104dBm
Rx Sensitivity = -108dBm
1991
2001
GSM Vendors have recognised the importance of increasing the Link Budget. As a result there has
been huge investment in attempting to better the fundamental Receiver Sensitivity. This improvement
is by improving the Noise Figure of the receivers.
When GSM Specifications were first released the Base Station Receiver Sensitivity (for a certain
BER, and Multipath channel) was 104dBm. Vendors have steadily improved on this, at almost 1dB a
year, and now below 110dBm is common.
There is a fundamental limit to this improvement. Assuming a Noise Figure of 0dB, and a Gaussian
Channel, then the fundamental Receiver Sensitivity might be
Rx Sensitivity = 10Log10(kTB) + Noise Figure (dB) + Eb/No (BER=10
-3
)
Rx Sensitivity = 10Log10(1.38x10
-23
x 290 x 200x10
6
) + 0dB + 5dB
= -121dBm + 0dB + 5dB
= -116dBm
Where Eb/No = 5dB represents the decoded Bit Error Rate for a Gaussian Channel (estimate).
When Nortel claim 117dBm, they are claiming the fundamental figure, in Gaussian Channel, and
possibly lower Noise Temperature.
This value is academic since it assumes no additional Noise introduced by the Receiver, and it
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.27
2G Link Budget Optimisation MHA/LNAs
Receiver amplification provided at antenna
Receiver front-end stage is situated directly at antenna
Effect is though whole receiver at antenna therefore removing
any feeder losses
Improvement is in overall receive system Noise Figure
Feeder
Antenna
Head
BS Rx
Feeder
Antenna
Head +
LNA
BS Rx
If we remove the Feeder losses by situating the Base Station receiver directly at the Antenna, we
improve the link as discussed earlier, e.g. the micro base station receiver. However, it can be
impractical to do this for Macro or Tower Base Stations, as we would have to mount all the equipment
at say 20m on a head frame, This presents some challenges for maintenance, access, and reliability.
A Receiver is usually made up of various Amplification stages, as discussed in section x.x.x. If we
move some of the amplification stages, or at least the first stage to the antenna, we can achieve a
similar improvement in the link by essentially removing the feeder losses, whilst maintaining a
practical deployment solution.
Depending upon the Active Gain(s) of the first amplification stages, we afford improvement in the
link budget. This is shown through the Cascade Equation.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.28
NF
1
NF
2
NF
n
G
1
G
2
G
3
NF NF
NF
G
NF
G G
NF
G G G
SYS
n
n
+

+

+ +

1
2
1
3
1 2 1 2 1
1 1 1
...
...
Cascade Equation
NF
SYS
- Overall Noise Figure of Receiving System
NF
x
- Noise Figure for each Receiver stage/element
G
x
- Gain of each Receiver stage/element
NF and G input as Linear quantities, not logarithmic (dBs)
The slide illustrates a number of amplification stages as might be expected in a Receiver. The Overall
Noise Figure (in linear terms) for a Receiver (NF
SYS
)is shown in the slide, and is a composite sum of
Gains and individual Noise Figures of the stages as shown. We can represent the Feeder in this
diagram as having less than unity Gain, and a Noise Figure equal to its attenuation. So a 3dB Feeder
Loss would have a Gain of 0.5, and a NF of 2.
The next two slides present an example of calculating the overall Noise Figure assuming no head
amplification and with head amplification, to demonstrate the improvement in the overall Noise
Figure and hence the link budget.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.29
NF
1
=3dB
NF
1
= 2
NF
2
=6dB
NF
2
=4
G
1
=-3dB
G
1
=0.5
NF NF
NF
G
NF
G G
SYS +

+

1
2
1
3
1 2
1 1
Attenuator
Amplifier
NF
3
=6dB
NF
3
=4
G
2
=10dB
G
2
=10
G
3
=10dB
G
3
=10
NFSYS +

+

2
4 1
0 5
4 1
0510 . . .
NF SYS + + 2 6 0 6 8 6 . . 9. 34dB
The example shows a conventional Receiver Deployment, with Antenna-Feeder-Receiver
arrangement. In this example the Receiver has an effective Noise Figure of 9.34dB.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.30
NF
2
=3dB
NF
2
= 2
NF
1
=6dB
NF
1
=4
G
2
=-3dB
G
2
=0.5
NF NF
NF
G
NF
G G
SYS +

+

1
2
1
3
1 2
1 1
Attenuator
Amplifier
NF
3
=6dB
NF
3
=4
G
1
=10dB
G
1
=10
G
3
=10dB
G
3
=10
NFSYS +

+

4
2 1
10
4 1
0510 . .
NF SYS + + 4 0 1 0 6 4 7 . . . 6. 72dB
2.6dB increase in Link
Margin over feeder
then amplifier
cascade
The example shows a Receiver Deployment with Head Amplification, with Antenna-LNA-Feeder-rest
of Receiver arrangement. In this example the Receiver has an effective Noise Figure of 6.72dB, a
2.6dB increase in Link Budget.
If we moved all the receiver, i.e. all of the amplification stages to the antenna, an improvement of 3dB
(=Feeder Losses) would be seen. The example above demonstrates also that the first amplification
stage has the largest influence on overall Noise Figure. Because of this, the first amplifier stage is
often the best engineered, in terms of reducing its Noise Figure, and the use of Low Noise Amplifiers
(LNAs) are typically used.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.31
Where Are We Now?
Introduction
Summary
Network
Design
Operators
Design Guides
The Planning
Process
Site Placement
Antenna
Placement
Frequency
Planning
Forward
Capacity
Planning
Polygons
Link
Budgets
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.32
UMTS Radio Planning - Differences
In TDMA, the Noise (or Interference)
Level with which a Mobile or Base Station
must operate remains essentially Constant.
In TDMA, there is no real concept of a
variable Processing Gain.
In WCDMA, the Interference Level varies
due to Loading of the Cell, which in turn
affects Maximum Path Loss, and hence
coverage.
In WCDMA, there are many Services, which
have different Datarates, which give rise to
different Processing Gains.
There are key differences between WCDMA and TDMA/FDMA link budge ts
When we move from our GSM or TDMA Link Budget to UMTS we need to consider a number of
new, and variable Link Budget Parameters. The slide shows the key differences in GSM and UMTS
Link Budget Parameters.
In GSM/TDMA systems the design is Interference Limited, that is Cell Frequencies, and Time Slots
are re-used, such that a predictable, and reasonably steady state of Interference is present. The idea of
introducing an Interference Margin in the GSM Link budget (shown earlier) represents the fact that
the wanted signal in the Link Budget competes against Noise and Interference. In WCDMA or UMTS
however, the Interference levels vary much more widely since the same downlink Carrier Frequency
is re-used in every cell and the same uplink frequency by every mobile. As a result the Interference
levels in an Uplink Link Budget, for example will vary with the number of active mobiles, both in the
home cell (Intracell interference) and the number of active mobiles and their positions in other cells
(Intercell interference).
In WCDMA/UMTS many different services can be supported which demand/consume different Data
Rates, Latency, and Throughput. These result in different DS-CDMA Processing Gains, as well as
adding different Interference Levels to the Cell. These different datarates give rise to different link
budgets, and hence range. In GSM/TDMA, there is essentially a limited subset of services, i.e. EFR
Voice, Data (14.4kbps), and some GPRS data rates where error correction coding is traded for extra
datarate capacity at the expense of Receiver Sensitivity.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.33
UMTS Radio Planning - Differences
In TDMA, the Service is normally always
voice, which dictates a certain Eb/No, and
hence Rx Sensitivity, based upon a worst
case Environment, and minimum acceptable
BER is a Constant (e.g. 104dBm for GSM).
In TDMA, there is Hard Handover which
has no influence on the Radio Link Budget.
In TDMA, there is simple slow Power
Control, which preserves Battery Life, and
ensures that the MS-BS Average
Interference power is kept in order.
Rx Sensitivity is a function of Eb/No, which
is dependent upon actual service type,
datarate, speed, Multipath environment,
diversity schemes and RAKE Receiver
Algorithms
In WCDMA, soft handover is possible, which
gives rise to Macro-Diversity Gains against
Log Normal Fading
WCDMA requires that all MS Powers
received at the BS are equal. To achieve this
WCDMA employs fast power control to
counter Rayleigh fading. A Fast Power
Control Margin (or Headroom is needed for
Mobiles at the Cell Edge)
There are key differences between WCDMA and TDMA/FDMA link budge ts
In GSM/TDMA a certain Bit Energy to Noise Power Density (Eb/No) is required for a certain BER
for say EFR Voice in a certain Multipath channel, which leads to a certain reference Receiver
Sensitivity. Eb/No varies with Service, and Multipath Channel. This might be a decoded EFR voice
stream at 10
-3
BER, in Bad Urban 50km/h. Normally in GSM 104dBm is used as the reference
sensitivity. In UMTS Eb/No also varies as above, but is also variable with datarate, data service (10
-6
might be needed for data), specific RAKE Receiver Scheme (no. of RAKE Fingers), and effect of Fast
Fading Power Control, which also varies with speed. This leads to a much wider spectrum of Eb/No
values relating to different environments, and services.
In GSM/TDMA there is only Hard Handover which has no influence on the Link Budget. In
UMTS/WCDMA soft handover is possible, which can afford a Macro Diversity Gain against Log
Normal Fading, over the non-soft handover case. Macro diversity reduces the influence of fading
(good for reducing stress on Error Correction/Interleaving), and allows a higher median received
signal.
Fast Fading Power Control is available in UMTS for both Uplink and Downlink. This allows the
Eb/No to be effectively reduced in a Multipath environment. However, at the cell edge the Mobile is
Power limited, and will not be able to fully negate deep fades in the channel. As a result the Eb/No at
the cell edge deteriorates. In order for the Link Budget to be consistent a Fast Fading Margin (or
Power Control Headroom) is added to represent this limitation.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.34
Where Are We Now?
Introduction
Summary
Network
Design
Operators
Design Guides
The Planning
Process
Site Placement
Antenna
Placement
Frequency
Planning
Forward
Capacity
Planning
Polygons
Link
Budgets
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.35
BTS
Tx
Power
Antenna
Gain
Body
Losses
Penetration
Losses
Path
Loss
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Antenna
Gain
Diversity
Gain
Feeder
Losses
Rx
Power
Tx
Power
Antenna
Gain
Body
Losses
Penetration
Losses
Path
Loss
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Antenna
Gain
Diversity
Gain
Feeder
Losses
Processing
Gain
InterCell
Int.
IntraCell
Int.
Eb/No
Target
Rx
Sensitivity
Rx
Sensitivity
Rx
Power
BTS
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Soft
Handover
Gain
Fast Fade
Margin
If we refer back to our depiction of the Link Budget, the additional UMTS Parameters can be thought
of as influencing the Rx Sensitivity as shown.
The actual Rx Power remains the same. This can not change of course.
1. The variable Intercell and Intracell Interference quantities add to the Noise Power and limit the Rx
Sensitivity.
2. The Processing Gain (Service Dependant) influences the equivalent Rx Sensitivity.
3. The Eb/No (Dependant upon Service, Datarate, Speed, and Multipath Channel) will influence the
equivalent Rx Sensitivity.
4. The Soft Handover Gain will reduce the Log Normal Fade Margin needed, or can be thought of in
the Link Budget as Log-Normal Fade Margin (without Soft Handover) + Soft Handover Gain. Since
the Link Budget is often used to find the Maximum Range, this must be considered (assuming a
continuum of cells).
5. The Fast Fading Margin represents the limit in Power Control for Mobiles at the Cell Edge. It
represents the deterioration in Eb/No due to not being able to adequately follow the fast fading
because of Power Limiting. Since the Link Budget is often used to find the Maximum Range, this
must be considered. The Fast Fading Margin can be considered as reducing the effective Rx
Sensitivity, or included as part of the overall Fade Margin (i.e. with Log Normal Fade Margin, and
Soft Handover Gain).
The Link Budget becomes dynamic, changing every time:
A Mobile user moves within the cell (the Interference to other cells will change)
A Mobile user in another cell moves (the Interference to the home cell will change)
A Mobile user becomes admitted/handed-off/removed to/from the home cell
A Mobile user becomes admitted/handed-off/removed to/from other cells
A Mobile user changes datarate (say for VBR Service Type)
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.36
+21dBm
-110dBm
Tx
Power
Rx
Power
Rx
Sensitivity
Tx
Power
Antenna
Gain
Body
Losses
Penetration
Losses
Path
Loss
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Antenna
Gain
Diversity
Gain
Feeder
Losses
Processing
Gain
InterCell
Int.
IntraCell
Int.
Eb/No
Target
Rx
Sensitivity
Rx
Power
BTS
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Soft
Handover
Gain
Fast Fade
Margin
This slide simply shows the same Power Link Budget as before, but with a smaller Path Loss. The Rx
Power in this slide represents the Rx Power exceeded for 90% of locations (assuming that a Log
Normal Fade Margin for 90% Locations is added). In this example this Rx Power (90% Locations) is
well above the minimum Rx Sensitivity Threshold.
What would happen in reality is that the Mobile Tx Power would reduce in a GSM system such that
the Rx Power (90% locations) is closer to the Rx Sensitivity Threshold, thereby conserving Battery
Power, reducing unnecessary interference (to other cells), and still maintaining the Link Budget.
If one was to imagine an animation of the above slide, the Path Loss would vary, as the distance
varied, between MS and BS. Also the instantaneous Rx power level due to location variability would
dance around (obeying a Log Normal Probability distribution the shaded red parts) which would
result in Tx Power Variations, such that the Rx Power was => Rx Sensitivity Threshold.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.37
Max
Path
Loss
Tx
Power
Antenna
Gain
Body
Losses
Penetration
Losses
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Antenna
Gain
Diversity
Gain
Feeder
Losses
+ - - + - =
Rx
Sensitivity
- + + -
Processing
Gain
InterCell
Int.
IntraCell
Int.
Eb/No
Target
Thermal
Noise
Power
Noise
Figure + + + - +
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Soft
Handover
Gain
-
Eb/No
Target
Fast
Fade
Margin
-
Similar to the GSM/TDMA Link Budget, the UMTS Link Budget can be re-arranging such that the
Maximum Path Loss can be calculated. We have to pay particular attention to the variable UMTS
parameters if we are to estimate Maximum Path Loss.
The key variables are:
Intracell Interference
Intercell Interference
Processing Gain
Eb/No
Fast Fading Margin.
We shall briefly look at each of these UMTS specific Link Budget variables.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.38
UMTS Uplink Link Budget InterCell Interference
Max
Path
Loss
Tx
Power
Antenna
Gain
Body
Losses
Penetration
Losses
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Antenna
Gain
Diversity
Gain
Feeder
Losses + - - + - =
Rx
Sensitivity- + + -
Processing
Gain
InterCell
Int.
IntraCell
Int.
Eb/No
Target
Thermal
Noise
Power
Noise
Figure + + + - +
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Soft
Handover
Gain
-
Eb/No
Target
Fast
Fade
Margin
-

P
j
.PL
j
Intercell Interference =
j = mobiles in other cells, PL = Path Loss, P = Power
The Intercell Interference experienced is the Sum of the received powers (at the Cell Base Station)
from all Mobiles in all other cells. This is dependant upon many factors, which include:
Position (and hence distance of Mobile to Cell) and Powers of other Mobiles in other cells
Quantity and service rates of other Mobiles in other cells
Cell Antenna Downtilt
Base Station Cell Sectorisation
Macro or Micro cell (if micro then there may not be any Intercell Interference)
It will be shown that the Intercell Interference has a significant effect on the usable available Capacity
in the cell, dictated by what is called the Pole Capacity. It will be shown for example that a Micro
Cell with one Transceiver can have twice as much capacity as a Macro Cell with one Transceiver. A
Micro cell has no, or little Intercell Interference as they are normally deployed in isolation, or within
confined spaces, allowing isolation from adjacent cell Interference. The Macro Cell will normally be
in a sea of Interference from its neighbouring cells.
If we use downtilt, cell sectorisation, or careful site positioning we can minimise the Intercell
Interference experienced in the Macro Cell case. For example we would not want the situation where
high traffic demand is along the boundary of two cells (e.g. Football Ground). In this case there would
be many mobiles on high power communicating with say Cell1, this would also present a very high
Intercell Interference to Cell2 since the mobiles on Cell1 are at there nearest point to Cell2.
This prompts the question of should we use 4-sector sites or 3-sector sites?. A 4-sector site will
offer more capacity per Base Station, and possibly more other-cell isolation, but most existing sites
are geared up for 3-sector deployments and head frames. Discussion Point.
We shall look at Intercell Interference later and demonstrate that we experience at the Home Cell an
effective Noise Rise per Interfering Subscriber in other cells. This Noise Rise influences the
Intercell Interference, but not the Intracell Interference when we consider a design.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.39
UMTS Uplink Link Budget InterCell Interference
Max
Path
Loss
Tx
Power
Antenna
Gain
Body
Losses
Penetration
Losses
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Antenna
Gain
Diversity
Gain
Feeder
Losses + - - + - =
Rx
Sensitivity- + + -
Processing
Gain
InterCell
Int.
IntraCell
Int.
Eb/No
Target
Thermal
Noise
Power
Noise
Figure + + + - +
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Soft
Handover
Gain
-
Eb/No
Target
Fast
Fade
Margin
-

P
j
.PL
j
Intracell Interference =
j = mobiles in own cell, PL = Path Loss, P = Power
The Intracell Interference experienced is the the Sum of the received powers at the Base Station cell
from all mobiles within the cell. As the number of mobiles increases, or the capacity loading on the
cell increases, the Intracell Interference increases. From this statement the rate of increase would
appear gradual (first order) in nature, but as more mobiles are added each mobile has to increase its
power to overcome the increased noise rise at the Base Station cell, which in turns adds more
Interference. This produces a second order rate of increase, such that a theoretical infinite Interference
is reached this is termed the Pole Capacity.
It is normal to impose a hard limit on the number of mobiles, or more precisely a hard limit on the cell
capacity, to avoid Intracell Interference rising above a certain level. This allows the range and
capacity of the cell to become more deterministic. A Cell Load of 50% means 50% of Pole Capacity,
results in an Intracell Interference of 3dB. A Cell Load of 75%, results in an Intracell Interference of
6dB. This Interference reduces Link Budget margin, and Path Loss, and hence potential range.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.40
UMTS Uplink Link Budget Processing Gain
A
B
A
B
Mobile 1
Mobile 2
Rx 1
Rx 2
In the UMTS Link Budget Processing Gain represents the effective improvement in power from a
wanted Signal carrying information (which has been produced by multiplying the information with a
Pseudo-Noise Scrambling code running at 3.84Mcps) to the resulting signal power of the signal
produced through decoding or decorrelation (i.e. multiplying again by the same Scrambling
sequence).
The decoding or correlation process produces a narrowband Baseband signal at the datarate of the
DPDCH Channel, from the Wideband original signal. What is happening is a process of trading
Bandwidth (Wide in the original signal, to low in the decoded signal) for Power (Low in the original
signal, High in the decoded Signal). There exists a Power-Bandwidth Conservation (rather like
conservation of Momentum in Physics), and the Processing Gain is always equal to {Chip
Rate/Information Rate}, where the Chip Rate > Information or Data Rate.
Processing Gain will vary depending upon Information Bandwidth (Service Datarate), For UMTS the
following Processing Gains are available:
Strictly speaking the WCDMA Processing Gain is equal to (Chip Rate/Channel datarate) and not
(Chip Rate/User Information Rate), since it is the DPDCH Physical Channel which receives WCDMA
spreading. In fact we use the (Chip Rate/User Information Rate) to loosely define overall Processing
Gain since there is effective gain from Channel Coding, and Interleaving. Different services may
have different coding, interleaving, etc. and therefore their Processing Gains may be different for the
same User datarate. This is taken care of in the fact Target Eb/No values vary between service types.
Service Information Rate Chip Rate
Linear Log
8kbps (Voice) 3.84Mcps =3840/8 480 26.8dB
12.2kbps (Voice) 3.84Mcps =3840/12.2 314 25.0dB
64kbps (LCD Data) 3.84Mcps =3840/64 60 17.8dB
144kbps (LCD Data) 3.84Mcps =3840/144 26.7 14.2dB
384kbps (LCD Data) 3.84Mcps =3840/384 10 10.0dB
2Mbps(LCD Data) 3.84Mcps =3840/2000 1.92 2.8dB
Processing Gain in Rx
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.41
UMTS Uplink Link Budget Eb/No
W = 3.84MHz
Eb
No
R x Eb
R x No
R bps 1 Hz
Linear Scaled Graphs
Frequency Domain
Noise Power = PSD x Bandwidth = 10
-13
Watts
Wanted Signal Power = PSD x Bandwidth = 10
-14
Watts
Despread
Signal
Power
=
10
-14
W
Despread
Noise
Power
=
1.7.10
-15
W
P
o
w
e
r

S
p
e
c
t
r
a
l

d
e
n
s
i
t
y

(
W
/
H
z
)

=

E
n
e
r
g
y

(
J
)
RF SNR = 0.1 = -10dB
Despread SNR =
RF SNR x W/R =
0.1 x 3.84/0.64 =
6 = 7.8dB
Eb/No = 7.8dB
Energy
(in 1Hz)
A Bit of Theory First - Eb/No is one of those terms which can be confusing! In UMTS we
use Ec/No and Eb/No. They are related to one another as Eb/No = Ec/No x Spreading
Factor.
The Energy in a User Information Bit (Eb) comes from the summing or Integration of the
Energies in every chip (Ec) during a bit duration through the de-spreading process in the
receiver. If we use the same Scrambling code in the receivers de-spreading process as used
in the spreading process in transmission we achieve voltage Integration on the received
signal. Noise power on the other hand is de-correlated, and in fact averages, when we sum
the chips. The voltage of the wanted signal is integrated and the noise component averages
which produces integration of Energy. The probability that a bit will be received in Error is
a function of the Energy in the Bit (Joules) and the Average Noise Energy (or Noise Power
Spectral Density in W/Hz = Joules). We have a probability since actual Noise Power (even
after integration) can vary around an average value, which follows Gaussian statistics in
general. The greater the ratio of Bit Energy to Noise Energy (Eb/No) the lower
probability that the Bit will be received in Error.
The bits in this case are the User Information Bits. In UMTS these bits undergo channel
coding with Error correction coding schemes, and as a result the Eb/No for the channel
(coded) bits can be lower than the Eb/No for the User Information bits at the expense of
reduced datarate, since channel coding adds redundancy. Generally speaking for low User
Bit error probabilities, channel coding can offer a better User Bit error probability for the
same user datarate as the uncoded channel case.
Therefore if we have a slow bit rate we have many chips per bit and hence can achieve a
higher Eb than for a higher user datarate. Hence we can state that Eb = Ec x Spreading
Factor. Alternatively we can achieve the same Eb for different user bitrates by varying Ec.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.42
Eb/No is a parameter to define
the Energy per User Information
Bit divided by the Noise Power
Spectral Density.
There are Waterfall curves to
characterise the trade-off
between Eb/No against Bit Error
Rate (BER) for different
Modulation Schemes.
SNR against BER (a more tangible
quantity) can be derived from
SNR = Eb/No x Bit Rate/Noise
Bandwidth.
Eb/No is a notional quantity it
can not be directly measured.
Eb/No is theoretically
independent of datarate
Probability of Bit Error (or BER) for QPSK Modulation and
Coherent Detection at Receiver
1.00E-17
1.00E-16
1.00E-15
1.00E-14
1.00E-13
1.00E-12
1.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.00E-09
1.00E-08
1.00E-07
1.00E-06
1.00E-05
1.00E-04
1.00E-03
1.00E-02
1.00E-01
1.00E+00
-5 0 5 10 15 20
Eb/No
P
b

(
B
E
R
)
Eb/No is defined as the (Energy per User Information Bit) divided by (Noise Power Spectral Density),
required to yield a specified bit error probability. Different user services require different BER or Bit
Error Probabilities. Voice may require 10
-3
BER, MPEG2 Video 10
-4
, and FTP Data Transfer 10
-6
.
Ec/No is the same for a single Chip.
In order to send more information (bits) without increasing the Bandwidth, Baseband information
streams are split into groups of say 2,3, or 4 bits and these groups are sent as different modulation
states over the radio channel. Each group of bits is a Symbol. Different modulation states are different
Amplitude and/or Phases of the RF Signal, which can be differentiated at the Receiver. QPSK can
represent 4 changes in phase, 64QAM can represent 64 changes in Phase and Amplitude. The rate of
change of this Modulation state, represents the Symbol Rate, which dictates the RF Bandwidth
Occupancy. E.g. an RF Signal changing Phase and/or Amplitude at 3.84Million times per second will
occupy about 3.84MHz. In UMTS we dont modulate User Information bits in this way but modulate
Chips. A number of chips of course represents a User Bit depending upon the Spreading Factor used.
If we consider a QPSK modulation with state changes (or Symbol Rate) at 1MSymbols/sec. As each
Modulation State can represent two bits (or one complex bit), we effectively have a channel bitrate
throughput of 2Mbps. Why dont we send more chips for every Modulation State, and get a higher
user bit rate throughput? Well we could, we would need say 8-PSK modulation to increase our
information throughput twofold. We now have less differentiating space between phase states, and
there is an increased risk in decoding the wrong phase state at the receiver (I.e. increase in BER). In
order to combat this we need to increase the S/N ratio. This is the fundamental trade-off of
Information Rate against S/N (related through Shannons Theorem). We would need a whole family
of graphs to represent Bit Error Rate against SNR for all bitrates. To avoid this we use the notional
parameter of Eb/No, where we assign a notional Energy for each bit, although bits are physically
transferred in blocks of 2 as a complex bit.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.43
The Eb/No Waterfall curves
shown previously assumes a
Gaussian Radio Channel. That
is Perturbations of the Signal
(due to Noise or Fading) follow
Gaussian Statistics.
We can generate these
Waterfall Curves from
Simulation (Eye Diagrams, and
Constellation Diagrams).
Diagram shows the
Constellation Diagram for
QPSK Signal with SNR=11dB
(Eb/No = 8dB). This gives us a
BER of about 0.0002 (1 Bit
Error in 5000).
Demonstration
Signal
Voltage
Noise
Voltage
Example of non-WCDMA QPSK Modulated Waveform Constellation.
SNR = 11dB
Eb/No = 8dB
2 bits/symbol
This is not a UMTS/WCDMA Waveform
Eb/No are therefore strictly independent of Datarate, and hence there are Waterfall Curves to
Characterise the BER against Eb/No used to represent the performance at all information datarates.
We can convert between Eb/No and the more familiar SNR (S/N) for UMTS through the following
equation:
Where;
B = Bandwidth (Hz). I.e. 3.84MHz
W = Chip Rate (cps). I.e. 3.84Mcps
R = User Information Datarate (bps), e.g. 8kbps, 12.2kbps, 64kbps, 144kbps, etc.
To help illustrate why and how errors occur in a digital modulated channel we can use the ideas of a
Constellation Diagram. The Constellation diagram is a useful tool to represent the symbol decision
states for say in QPSK Modulation. Each symbol representing bits of 00, 01, 10, and 11. The distance
from the Origin represents the Signal Strength, and the Angle represents the Phase. Alternatively the
Amplitude and Phase are shown as I and Q on the Constellation Diagram, as shown above. The
addition of Noise or Channel Fading will add another vector (Noise Power) which has Random
(Rectangular Distribution) Phase and Random (Gaussian Distributed) Amplitude.
Given enough Noise Power the a QPSK Modulated Symbol may end up nearer another QPSK state,
and be incorrectly decoded, that is we get a Symbol Error or Bit Error(s).
B
R
N
E
N
S
o
b

R
W
N
E
N
E
o
c
o
b

NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.44
Diagram shows the Temporal
Eye Diagram for QPSK Signal
with SNR=11dB (Eb/No = 8dB).
This gives us a BER of about
0.0002 (1 Bit Error in 5000).
The Four Colours correspond
to the 4 phase states as
shown in the Constellation
Diagram.
-1.50
-1.00
-0.50
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
0
0
.4
0
.8
1
.2
1
.6
2
2
.4
2
.8
3
.2
3
.6
4
4
.4
4
.8
5
.2
5
.6
6
6
.4
Likewise the Eye Diagram can be used to help illustrate the concept of Symbol Errors, or
Bit Errors for a Signal in Noise.
The above images represent the symbol decision boundaries for a QPSK modulated signal
perturbed by Noise which obeys Gaussian Statistics. This means that the received signal is
simply the Original Transmitted QPSK signal is added to Noise (Voltage Terms). This
represents the case when we have a signal at a receiver and the power of the signal is only a
few dBs higher than the Thermal Noise Power the signal is competing with. The above
diagrams illustrate the case when we have a SNR of 8dB. Given the statistics of Noise there
exists a (albeit a low) probability that the Noise Voltage will be high, which will perturb the
QPSK signal such that a symbol is incorrectly decoded and a but error(s) results. The above
constellation represents about 11dB SNR and corresponds to a BER of 0.0002.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.45
Rayleigh Fading Radio Channel
has significant impact upon
BER performance.
Since Fast Fading goes
through deep fades which are
in fact Phase Reversals this
can flip a Symbols State.
Fast Fading always
experiences Phase Reversals,
regardless of SNR, or Eb/No.
This results in the signal
always experiencing some
errors, which are irreducible.
1.00E-17
1.00E-16
1.00E-15
1.00E-14
1.00E-13
1.00E-12
1.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.00E-09
1.00E-08
1.00E-07
1.00E-06
1.00E-05
1.00E-04
1.00E-03
1.00E-02
1.00E-01
1.00E+00
-5 0 5 10 15 20
Eb/No
P
b

(
B
E
R
)
Rayleigh Channel: Severely degraded BER
Gaussian Channel: Normal Eb/No vs. BER
Not all Transmission Channels are Gaussian. Cables, Waveguides, and Satellite-Earth
Radio links are very much Gaussian and the Waterfall Curves for BER against Eb/No
apply. However, in the mobile communications world we have a Rayleigh or Fast Fading
Transmission Channel. We dont just have perturbations in Signal Strength around an
Average Signal Power, but also rapid Phase reversals of the composite signal due to the
Multi-path channel.
To help imagine the mechanism of the Fast Fading channel on the QPSK Constellation
diagram we wouldnt see small clouds of decoded constellation points around 4 phase
states. We would see the four clouds but also lots of decoded constellation points around
the origin, as the instantaneous signal has undergone a deep fade, and hence phase reversal.
As datarate slows down we can imagine a Symbol may be at one Phase State (say 45
o
) on
the constellation diagram, then a deep fade occurs and appears at 215
o
, before the next
information symbol comes along! The decoder wouldnt know what t he Symbol should be.
Therefore one would have a family of curves to represent different datarates. Eb/No is then
no longer independent of datarate, and we could now use SNR.
As a Fast Fading signal always encounters phase reversal (transitions through or near the
origin), increasing the SNR (or Eb/No) will not significantly improve BER. It can be shown
that for a Fast Fading Signal, and certain datarate there exists an Irreducible BER figure.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.46
Eb/No Waterfall Curves can
be improved by introducing
Error Correction Schemes at
the expense of reduced
throughput.
The effect of adding Error
Correction (part of the
Channel Coding) is to
introduce a Knee in the
Waterfall Curve such that
beyond a certain Eb/No
Errors can not be corrected
and the information collapses.
1.00E-17
1.00E-16
1.00E-15
1.00E-14
1.00E-13
1.00E-12
1.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.00E-09
1.00E-08
1.00E-07
1.00E-06
1.00E-05
1.00E-04
1.00E-03
1.00E-02
1.00E-01
1.00E+00
-5 0 5 10 15 20
Eb/No
P
b

(
B
E
R
)
Rayleigh Channel
BER Without
Error Correction
Gaussian Channel
BER Without
Error Correction
Gaussian Channel
BER With
Error Correction
Rayleigh Channel
BER With
Error Correction
In most communication systems the Information is normally protected with various Error
Correction schemes. The introduction of Error Correction Coding will in effect add
redundancy of information, and reduce the overall throughput given a constant bit rate
channel. However, the Error correction schemes will be able to correct a certain percentage
of randomly occurring errors.
The raw Channel still encounters errors (as per the usual Waterfall Curves), but the
Information or decoded channel will appear errorless due to error correction and
information restoration.
If we add Error Correction coding the decoded channel Waterfall curve becomes more of
a two stage curve: the lower part representing complete recovery of information for Bit
Errors, up to a certain Channel Bit Error Rate, and the upper portion representing rapid
deterioration of information since there are too many errors to try and correct.
In the Fast Fading Channel we saw the Waterfall curve for Eb/No against BER reach a
point where there is Irreducible Bit Error rate performance. As long as these errors are
randomised and can be handled by Error Correction Routines then we can achieve a similar
decoded channel Waterfall curve as above.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.47
Typical Uplink and Downlink Eb/No
Values are shown left.
Eb/No varies with:
Up/Down Link
Datarate
Channel Type (and Speed)
QoS for Service
Fast Fading Power Control
Limits
Micro-diversity schemes
(such as Spatially separated
antennas)
Eb/No values are determined
through experiment or
simulations.
Mobility Pedestrian Mobility Pedestrian Mobility Pedestrian
8k Voice 4.4 3.3 4.4 3.3 5.0 3.7
LCD64 2.7 1.1 3.2 1.1 2.9 2.4
LCD144 1.7 0.5 1.7 0.5 2.2 0.5
LCD384 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.4 3.0 2.2
UDD64 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.4 3.0 1.2
UDD144 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.7 2.2 1.5
UDD384 0.9 -0.4 0.9 -0.4 1.6 -0.2
Base Station
Eb/No
Urban Suburban Rural
Source: Nortel Networks
8k Voice 4.4 3.3 4.4 3.3 5.0 3.7
LCD64 2.7 1.1 3.2 1.1 2.9 2.4
LCD144 1.7 0.5 1.7 0.5 2.2 0.5
LCD384 1.7 0.4 1.7 0.4 2.2 1.2
UDD64 1.7 0.4 1.7 0.4 2.2 0.7
UDD144 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.7 2.1 1.5
UDD384 0.6 -0.7 0.6 -0.7 1.2 -0.5
Rural
Mobile Eb/No
Urban Suburban
Eb/No values are shown above for different Datarates, Services, and Speeds for the Uplink
and Downlink.
Eb/No values can only be realistically derived from simulations or trials A theoretical
approach would be too complex. In the UMTS system the Receivers are constantly taking
measurements of BER, and adjusting the Target Eb/No such that the Service Quality (or a
certain minimum BER) is maintained. One can imagine the Target Eb/No varying as the
mobile terminal movement speeds up/down, encounters interference from another cell(s),
or changes datarate (for a variable bit rate service).
A lower Eb/No can be achieved when the mobile can effectively compensate for the Fast
Fading Radio Channel (shown in the next few slides). However, the Eb/No Target will also
ramp up as the Maximum Power is reached on the Mobile Terminal. As the Mobile reaches
Full Power, it can not effectively compensate for Fast Fading. This results in the need for a
higher Eb/No at the Cell Edge.
LCD = Low Constrained Delay data (low latency, high QoS, such as Voice, ISDN, or
Video streaming type services)
UDD = Unconstrained Delay Data (variable latency, variable QoS, such as FTP, Web
Access, email, and other non time critical services)
LCD and UDD are terms used to generally describe the Service Container. All Services can
be mapped to UDD and LCD together with QoS Targets, BER, FER, mi nimum bandwidth,
maximum bandwidth, latency, throughput, etc. Different QoS, BER, and FERs can be
designed through use of coding, interleaving, etc.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.48
Generally Speaking Eb/No is
higher for:
Delay intolerant services
Lower Datarate Services
Higher Mobile Speeds
Higher Power Delay
Spread Environment
Circuit Switched (LCD)
services over the same
datarate Packet
Switched (UDD) services
The Uplink (only for
Packet services)
8k Voice 4.4 3.3 4.4 3.3 5.0 3.7
LCD64 2.7 1.1 3.2 1.1 2.9 2.4
LCD144 1.7 0.5 1.7 0.5 2.2 0.5
LCD384 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.4 3.0 2.2
UDD64 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.4 3.0 1.2
UDD144 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.7 2.2 1.5
UDD384 0.9 -0.4 0.9 -0.4 1.6 -0.2
Base Station
Eb/No
Source: Nortel Networks
8k Voice 4.4 3.3 4.4 3.3 5.0 3.7
LCD64 2.7 1.1 3.2 1.1 2.9 2.4
LCD144 1.7 0.5 1.7 0.5 2.2 0.5
LCD384 1.7 0.4 1.7 0.4 2.2 1.2
UDD64 1.7 0.4 1.7 0.4 2.2 0.7
UDD144 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.7 2.1 1.5
UDD384 0.6 -0.7 0.6 -0.7 1.2 -0.5
Rural
Mobile Eb/No
Urban Suburban
The same Eb/No values are shown above for different Datarates, Services, and Speeds for
the Uplink and Downlink. Why do we get variability in Eb/No values. The general rules are
shown in the slide and are discussed in the next few slides.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.49
Delay Intolerant Services
require a higher Eb/No than a
similar more delay tolerant
QoS service. Assuming all
other factors are the same.
Not many service examples
but could be Voice compared
to Voice Messaging Service.
Not shown on table but the
above applies for 64kbps
being more delay tolerant than
8kbps Voice (assuming they
also had the same QoS BER)
8k Voice 4.4 3.3 4.4 3.3 5.0 3.7
LCD64 2.7 1.1 3.2 1.1 2.9 2.4
LCD144 1.7 0.5 1.7 0.5 2.2 0.5
LCD384 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.4 3.0 2.2
UDD64 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.4 3.0 1.2
UDD144 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.7 2.2 1.5
UDD384 0.9 -0.4 0.9 -0.4 1.6 -0.2
Base Station
Eb/No
1.00E-17
1.00E-16
1.00E-15
1.00E-14
1.00E-13
1.00E-12
1.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.00E-09
1.00E-08
1.00E-07
1.00E-06
1.00E-05
1.00E-04
1.00E-03
1.00E-02
1.00E-01
1.00E+00
-5 0 5 10 15 20
Eb/No
Pb (BER)
BER With
Error Correction and
80ms Interleaving
BER With
Error Correction and
20ms Interleaving
Eb/No = 5dB
BER = 10
-3
Eb/No = 3.5dB
BER = 10
-3
Delay intolerant services such as Conversational Voice require a higher Eb/No over a
more delay tolerant, similar datarate and QoS target service. This is because services such
as Conversational Voice can only receive a 20ms interleaving depth of data during
Physical Layer, Transport Sub-Layer processing. In fact Conversational Voice always
uses a 20ms interleaving depth. Higher interleaving depths mean greater randomisation of
bit errors and hence better Error Coding performance at the expense of greater processing
delays. A Service such as a non-conversational Voice Messaging service, or Audio
Streaming Radio Service could in principle use a deeper interleaving depth and benefit
from a lower Eb/No.
The Eb/No table does not show this but the values ringed could in principle represent a
Voice service and a 64kbps service, where the 64kbps service has the same QoS BER
target, and use a deeper interleaving depth. A 64kbps LCD service could be used to
transport an Audio Streaming service. The lower graph illustrates the Eb/No vs. BER
performance for two services, one Conversational Voice, and the other Non-
Conversational Voice where the latter uses a deeper interleaving depth. The graph is
purely illustrative and the curves are not based upon any real simulations or measurements.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.50
Lower Datarate Services
generally require a higher
Eb/No than a similar delay
tolerance, and QoS service.
Assuming all other factors are
the same.
Service examples include say
FTP using different datarates.
384kbps LCD requires higher
Eb/No than 144kbps. During
Transport Formatting
puncturing is used to rate
match the 384kbps service,
whereas repetition is used for
144kbps service.
8k Voice 4.4 3.3 4.4 3.3 5.0 3.7
LCD64 2.7 1.1 3.2 1.1 2.9 2.4
LCD144 1.7 0.5 1.7 0.5 2.2 0.5
LCD384 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.4 3.0 2.2
UDD64 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.4 3.0 1.2
UDD144 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.7 2.2 1.5
UDD384 0.9 -0.4 0.9 -0.4 1.6 -0.2
Base Station
Eb/No
1.00E-17
1.00E-16
1.00E-15
1.00E-14
1.00E-13
1.00E-12
1.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.00E-09
1.00E-08
1.00E-07
1.00E-06
1.00E-05
1.00E-04
1.00E-03
1.00E-02
1.00E-01
1.00E+00
-5 0 5 10 15 20
Eb/No
P
b

(
B
E
R
)
BER with coding
gain due to 64kbps
information rate
Eb/No = 3dB
BER = 10
-4
Eb/No = 2dB
BER = 10
-4
BER with greater coding
gain due to 144kbps
information rate
Lower datarate services such as 64kbps LCD require a higher Eb/No than similar QoS
higher datarate services (such as 144kbps LCD). This is because higher datarate services
carry more bits per Transmission Time Interval (TTI) during Physical Layer, Transport
Sub-Layer processing and as such the Error Coding can perform better when applied on a
greater bit length. There can be differences, e.g. the 384kbps uplink LCD service in the
above table needs a slightly higher Eb/No than 144kbps uplink LCD service. This is
because the Reference Physical Channels for the above tables correspond to the
Reference Transport Formats detailed in Module 3, section 3.5 (WCDMA Physical
Layer, and in 3GPP TS25.101) where puncturing is applied to the 384kbps channel during
rate matching whereas repetition is applied to the 144kbps uplink channel.
The Eb/No shows this with typical values ringed and could represent two similar services at
different datarates. The lower graph illustrates the Eb/No vs. BER performance for two
services, one FTP at 64kbps, and the other FTP at 144kbps where the latter benefits
from more efficient error correction perfromance. The graph is purely illustrative and the
curves are not based upon any real simulations or measurements.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.51
Services at higher mobile
speeds require a higher Eb/No
than a the same service at a
lower speed.
Service examples include say
any two services at two
different mobile speeds.
Fast Power Control provides
some equalisation of a Fading
Channel seen at the Base
Station. A fading channel can
be equalised when at low
mobile speeds. Less
equalisation occurs at higher
speeds.
8k Voice 4.4 3.3 4.4 3.3 5.0 3.7
LCD64 2.7 1.1 3.2 1.1 2.9 2.4
LCD144 1.7 0.5 1.7 0.5 2.2 0.5
LCD384 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.4 3.0 2.2
UDD64 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.4 3.0 1.2
UDD144 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.7 2.2 1.5
UDD384 0.9 -0.4 0.9 -0.4 1.6 -0.2
Base Station
Eb/No
1.00E-17
1.00E-16
1.00E-15
1.00E-14
1.00E-13
1.00E-12
1.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.00E-09
1.00E-08
1.00E-07
1.00E-06
1.00E-05
1.00E-04
1.00E-03
1.00E-02
1.00E-01
1.00E+00
-5 0 5 10 15 20
Eb/No
P
b

(
B
E
R
)
Eb/No = 6dB
BER = 10
-3
Eb/No = 5dB
BER = 10
-3
Voice at 3km/h
Voice at 50km/h
Mobiles at low speeds can effectively combat the fast fading channel through fast power
control. As a result the channel appears Gaussian at the receiver and Equalisation (at least
in terms of power fluctuation) is achieved. A mobile travelling at a higher speed will not be
able to combat the fading channel as efficiently and the channel appears more Rayleigh at
the Base Station receiver. This is discussed in more detail a few slides ahead.
The Eb/No shows this with typical values ringed and could represent two similar services at
different mobile speeds. The lower graph illustrates the Eb/No vs. BER performance for
two voice services, one with a mobile travelling at 3km/h and the other with a mobile
travelling at 50km/h where the latter benefits from more efficient Fast Power Control and
equalisation of the fading channel. The graph is purely illustrative and the curves are not
based upon any real simulations or measurements.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.52
Services in Higher Power Delay
Spread Environments require a
higher Eb/No than a the same
service in a less dispersive
channel.
Service examples include say any
two services in two different
Multipath environments.
In a less dispersive channel less
chip energy is spread in time.
Although the Rake Receiver
recovers energy for each chip
spread in time, any chip energy
spread over over chip periods
introduces inefficiencies.
8k Voice 4.4 3.3 4.4 3.3 5.0 3.7
LCD64 2.7 1.1 3.2 1.1 2.9 2.4
LCD144 1.7 0.5 1.7 0.5 2.2 0.5
LCD384 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.4 3.0 2.2
UDD64 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.4 3.0 1.2
UDD144 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.7 2.2 1.5
UDD384 0.9 -0.4 0.9 -0.4 1.6 -0.2
Base Station
Eb/No
1.00E-17
1.00E-16
1.00E-15
1.00E-14
1.00E-13
1.00E-12
1.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.00E-09
1.00E-08
1.00E-07
1.00E-06
1.00E-05
1.00E-04
1.00E-03
1.00E-02
1.00E-01
1.00E+00
-5 0 5 10 15 20
Eb/No
P
b

(
B
E
R
)
Eb/No = 6dB
BER = 10
-3
Eb/No = 5dB
BER = 10
-3
Voice in Sub-urban
Voice in Rural
The greater the time dispersion of the channel the more energy per chip is spread over other
chip periods (the Wideband Channel). Using a Rake receiver with a number of fingers
aligned at delayed received energy peaks attempts to recover the total energy per chip.
However, not all energy will be recovered due to the finite number of Rake Receiver
fingers. Also, any single finger and hence delayed chip sequence will in principle have a
low cross-correlation with other users chip sequences, but not zero cross correlation, from
the properties of the Scrambling codes used by each user in the Uplink. As a result chip
sequence energy recovery in a Rake Receiver finger will never be perfect. If all the energy
of each chip of a users chip sequence falls within one chip peri od we do not need to use
Rake Receiver fingers, and as a result better receiver performance can be achieved or
alternatively seen as an improvement in Eb/No. The actual values of Eb/No in different
Multipath environments will be a function of the Rake Receiver performance and in
particular the number of Rake Receiver fingers. The Rake Receiver and number of fingers
is not specified by the 3GPP specifications and is left to the vendor to engineer. Refer also
to section 3.2 (Rake Receiver and Matched Filters) of the Course notes for further
information.
The Eb/No table shows this with typical environments leading to different dispersive
characters ringed and could represent two similar services in different environments. The
lower graph illustrates the Eb/No vs. BER performance for two voice services, one in a
Rural environment and the other in a Sub-urban environment where the latter environment
benefits from less dispersion, and hence an improved Eb/No figure. The graph is purely
illustrative and the curves are not based upon any real simulations or measurements.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.53
Circuit switched services require
a higher Eb/No than a the same
datarate Packet Switched service.
I.e. much higher delay tolerant
services can have a lower Eb/No.
Service examples include Video
Streaming using Circuit Switched
delivery and FTP using Packet
Switched delivery.
Services which need to maintain a
certain delay need to be Circuit
Switched. A Packet Switched
Service can fundamentally have a
much lower BER and rely upon
packet retransmissions when
Frame Errors are received.
8k Voice 4.4 3.3 4.4 3.3 5.0 3.7
LCD64 2.7 1.1 3.2 1.1 2.9 2.4
LCD144 1.7 0.5 1.7 0.5 2.2 0.5
LCD384 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.4 3.0 2.2
UDD64 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.4 3.0 1.2
UDD144 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.7 2.2 1.5
UDD384 0.9 -0.4 0.9 -0.4 1.6 -0.2
Base Station
Eb/No
1.00E-17
1.00E-16
1.00E-15
1.00E-14
1.00E-13
1.00E-12
1.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.00E-09
1.00E-08
1.00E-07
1.00E-06
1.00E-05
1.00E-04
1.00E-03
1.00E-02
1.00E-01
1.00E+00
-5 0 5 10 15 20
Eb/No
P
b

(
B
E
R
)
Eb/No = 1dB
BER = 10
-3 64kbps UDD
Eb/No =3 dB
BER = 10
-4 64kbps LCD
Services which are totally delay tolerant or Unconstrained Delayed Data (UDD) services
can effectively trade delay tolerance for lower Eb/No and ultimately more capacity. We
will show later how we can achieve more capacity from a cell serving only UDD service
customers than a cell serving only LCD service customers. UDD Services can take
advantage of a lower Eb/No and as a result suffer a lower BER. When Radio Frames are
received in error a Re-transmission of a Packet can be sent using the Radio Link Control
(RLC) protocol in the WCDMA Air Interface (see section 3.5 of the course WCDMA Air
Interface). The re-transmissions take time of course. Too many re-transmission, perhaps
from a too high BER results in reduced user throughput and hence user perception of
datarate. Their exists an optimum BER such that capacity of the cell is maximised. This is
usually around 10% BER, so we can have a very low Eb/No and only suffer a re -
transmission overhead of about 10%. Re-transmissions do not and can not guarantee QoS in
the same sense a Circuit Switched Service with a low BER can. Therefore services such as
email, ftp, and even web browsing could use UDD delivery and make efficient use of the
radio resources.
The Eb/No table shows two operating points of LCD and UDD services at
64kbps/144kbps/384kbps. The Eb/No vs. BER curve below the table is the same for two
64kbps services, one UDD, and one LCD at 64kbps and implies that the same Transport
Formatting is applied during Physical Layer Sub-Processing (I.e. same error correction
coding and interleaving, etc.). The graph illustrates the Eb/No vs. BER performance for two
64kbps services, where the UDD service has a target BER and corresponding Eb/No which
is lower than the LCD service. The graph is purely illustrative and the curves are not based
upon any real simulations or measurements.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.54
In the UMTS Link Budget we use Processing Gain as (Chip Rate/User
datarate). This loosely defines the Gain from WCDMA Processing or
Integration Gain, Channel Coding Gain, delay tolerance trade-off Gain, and
Interleaving Gains.
Different Coding schemes, Interleaving schemes, different Rake Receiver
performances, different mobile speeds could all be translated into the
following parameters for a Link Budget:
Coding Gain
Interleaving Gain
Rake Receiver Gain
Fast Power Control Gain
Delay trade-off Gains
We do not use such individual gains as the Link Budget would become more
complex. Instead we use the loose definition of Processing Gain as above and
variations in actual Gain due to environment, channel coding, etc. are taken into
account in the Target Eb/No value.
The Link Budget uses the idea of Processing Gain for a certain user Information rate, where
the Processing Gain is equal to (Chip Rate/Information Rate).
We demonstrated earlier in the WCDMA Air Interface section, section 3.5 of the course
that a User Uplink Service of 64kbps actually utilises a 240kbps Uplink DPDCH Physical
Channel. This is because user data is channel coded using error correction codes and rate
matching for example during Transport Format Sub-Layer processing in the WCDMA Air-
Interface. In this case a 64kbps User Datarate is mapped to a 240kbps Channel datarate. In
theory the true WCDMA Processing Gain due to spreading should only be apparent on
the datarate which is actually spread, I.e. the 240kbps giving a Processing Gain of 3840/240
= 16 = 12dB. Recall that WCDMA Processing Gain comes about through the fact we carry
out an Integration process over 16 chips in this case. That is the chip sequence which is the
result of multiplying the received multi-user signal by the wanted scrambling code.
Integration occurs over each channel bit period giving us a signal with 16x higher energy.
In the Link Budget we use the term Processing Gain to loosely mean Gain due to all
processing elements, including WCDMA processing Gain, Coding Gain, Gain we get from
interleaving, Rake receiver Gain, etc. The Link Budget defines t he Processing Gain to be
(Chip rate/Information Rate) which is static for a particular user datarate and therefore
strictly incorrect, as we do not account for Gain variations due to Rake Receiver
performance in different environments, or the gain associated wi th different interleaving
schemes for example. Instead the UMTS link budget uses the same Processing Gain
equation and varies Eb/No to take account of the real Gains associated with each processing
stage. This allows a simplification in the Link Budget to be made. Rather than calculating
Coding Gains, Rake Receiver Gains,etc for each service, environment, etc, which would
make the Link Budget very complex, we simply use the above definition of Processing
Gain and a variable Eb/No.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.55
UMTS Uplink Link Budget Fast Fading Margin
Four reasons to have Fast
Power Control:
All Users received
equally and makes most
efficient use of WCDMA
resource
Preserves Battery Life
Minimises Intercell
Interference
Provides Fast Power
Gain. Eb/No is improved.
dB Improvement depends upon
QoS or Ref. BER, Error
Correction Scheme, datarate,
and ability to compensate Fast
Fading.
1.00E-17
1.00E-16
1.00E-15
1.00E-14
1.00E-13
1.00E-12
1.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.00E-09
1.00E-08
1.00E-07
1.00E-06
1.00E-05
1.00E-04
1.00E-03
1.00E-02
1.00E-01
1.00E+00
-5 0 5 10 15 20
Eb/No
P
b
(
B
E
R
)
Rayleigh Channel
BER With
Error Correction Gaussian Channel
BER With
Error Correction
Improvement in Eb/No
from Fast Fading to
Gaussian Channel
Example Probability of Bit Error (or BER) for QPSK Modulation an d
Coherent Detection at Receiver using Error Correction & Interleaving
Fast Fading allows all mobiles communicating with a Cell to have equally received powers
at the Base Station Cell receiver. This is good for WCDMA as all communication channels
are treat equally. That is no single user dominates, and hence more users can be admitted.
Fast Fading Power Control on Uplink and Downlink attempts to smooth out the fast fading
character of the radio channel, by ramping up power when in a fade, and backing off power
when channel is in antifade. The result is a relatively constant power received at the
Receiver, regardless of radio channel fading.
Fast Power Control also ensures that just enough Power is transmitted from the mobile to
make the link, thereby maximising the Battery Life of terminals, and reducing potential
Intercell Interference to a minimum.
The main reason however for Fast Power Control is that we Equalise the fast fading or
Rayleigh character of the Radio Channel and obtain an improvement in Eb/No. We
effectively get an Eb/No for the Gaussian Channel case through Fast Power Control. This is
shown on the Graph as an example, assuming we have some Error Correction schemes in
place also. We can never achieve perfect channel power equalisation, since there will
always be some processing Delays in estimating the channel and responding to it (or
estimation errors if predictive methods are used), and the resolution of Tx power Steps
(normally 1dB steps are assumed).
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.56
Here are some values taken from
WCDMA for UMTS.
Required Eb/No Values for:
ITU Pedestrian A 3km/h
ITU vehicular A 3 km/h
ITU vehicular A 50 km/h
With and Without Fast Fading
Power Control. 1dB Steps for Fast
Power Control.
Assumes that Mobile Power is not
limited by any Max Power Output.
Voice 8kbps with FER=1% and
10ms interleaving. 2-Path Receiver
Diversity at BS.
Multipath Channel
Without Fast
Power Control
With Fast
Power Control
Gain from Fast
Power Control
ITU Pedestrian A 3km/h 11.3dB 5.5dB 5.8dB
ITU Vehicular 3 km/h 8.5dB 6.7dB 1.8dB
ITU Vehicular 50 km/h 6.8dB 7.3dB -0.5dB
Uplink Eb/No Values with and without
Fast Power Control
WCDMA for UMTS, P.189
Radio Channel Fading profile
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.20
Fast Power Control
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.20
With Fast fading Power Control we can effectively Equalize the fading character of the
Radio Channel so that the Receiver sees a Gaussian like radio Channel. A QPSK
modulated signal in a Gaussian Channel will have a better BER performance for the same
SNR or Eb/No. Alternatively, the Gaussian Channel can have a lower Eb/No to achieve the
same BER as a Fast Fading Channel. The improvement in Eb/No is called the Fast Power
Control Gain.
Fast Power Control gives better Gain or improvement,
for Low mobile speeds rather than high mobile speeds
for those cases where only a little Multipath diversity is available, as in ITU
Pedestrian A Channel.
At higher speeds the Fast Power Control is less efficient in compensating the fading
character of the radio channel. We would need to have faster Power Control.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.57
Similar example to WCDMA for
UMTS Page 201.
As we approach the Cell Edge,
Path Loss increases
Fast Power Control becomes
Power Limited
Unable to compensate for Fading
Channel Errors introduced
Target Eb/No increases to
maintain QoS
Difference between Cell Edge and
Not Cell Edge Eb/No represents
Fast Fading Margin (or Fast
Fading Power Control Gain)
Fast Power Cont r ol
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.20
d
B
m
PathLoss
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.20
d
B
Target Eb/ No
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.20
d
B
Recei ved Qual i t y - Fr ame Er r or s
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.20
F
r
a
m
e
E
r
r
o
r
s
Fast
Fading
Margin
However, when we analyse a Link Budget we are normally interested in maximum range,
which means maximum Transmit Power, which means that the Fast Po wer Control
becomes ineffective, and we do not have any Fast Power Control Gain.
When carrying out a Link Budget analysis with UMTS we therefore need to either:
Use an Eb/No figure for the service, channel type, and datarate assuming no fast
power control, or
Use an Eb/No figure for the service, channel type, and datarate assuming fast
power control and subtract a Fast Fading Margin
We normally use the second definition, as this avoids extra fami lies of Eb/No figures. The
Fast Fading Margin is roughly equivalent to the Fast Fading Gain achieved by Fast Power
Control when the Transmitter has no power limits.
Again, as stated earlier, as the mobile reaches the cell edge and becomes limited in Power,
and becomes less effective in terms of Fast Power Control Gain, we would see the Target
Eb/No rise. This is shown on the slide, and what the Fast Fading Margin would be in this
case.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.58
1.00E-17
1.00E-16
1.00E-15
1.00E-14
1.00E-13
1.00E-12
1.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.00E-09
1.00E-08
1.00E-07
1.00E-06
1.00E-05
1.00E-04
1.00E-03
1.00E-02
1.00E-01
1.00E+00
-5 0 5 10 15 20
Eb/No
P
b
(
B
E
R
)
Target Eb/No
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.20
d
B
Fast
Fading
Margin
Low Eb/No
High Eb/No
Gaussian Like Channel
BER With
Error Correction
from Fast Fading to
Gaussian Channel
Rayleigh Channel
BER With
Error Correction
The two charts represent the same parameter of Fast Fading margin, or Fast power control
Gain. The Yellow areas represent the fact the Fast Power Control is able to compensate for
the fading channel and make it more Gaussian Like. The Red areas represent where Fast
Power Control becomes limited, and therefore requires extra link margin to maintain the
same BER or QoS, since the Channel has Fast Fading/Rayleigh Character.
If we have receiver diversity, such as spatial diversity at the Base Station Antennas we can
effectively reduce the Fast Fading. This would bring the Green Curve in a little towards the
yellow curve (or more Gaussian Like channel). This would result in a smaller increase in
Target Eb/No as the Mobile moves toward the cell edge, and hence the need to consider a
smaller Fast Fading margin.
We can normally expect the Fast Fading Margin to be a few dBs i n practice.
Again, as with Eb/No values, the Fast Fading Margin can only be determined through
experiment and simulations.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.59
UMTS Uplink Link Budget Example
12.2 kbps voice service (120 km/h, in-car)
Transmitter (mobile)
Max. mobile transmission power [W] 0.125
As above in dBm 21.0 a
Mobile antenna gain [dBi] 0.0 b
Body Loss [dB] 3.0 c
Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) [dBm] 18.0 d = a + b -c
Receiver (base station)
Thermal noise density [dBm/Hz] -174.0 e
Base station receiver noise figure [dB] 5.0 f
Receiver noise density [dBm/Hz] -169.0 g = e + f
Receiver noise power [dBm] -103.2 h = g + 10Log10(3840000)
Interference margin [dB] 3.0 i
Receiver interference power [dBm] -103.2 j = 10Log10(10^((h+I)/10)-10^(h/10))
Total effective noise + interference [dBm] -100.1 k = 10Log10(10^(h/10)+10^(j/10))
Processing gain [dB] 25.0 l = 10Log10(3840/12.2)
Required Eb/No [dB] 5.0 m
Receiver Sensitivity [dBm] -120.1 n = m - l + k
Base station antenna gain [dBi] 18.0 o
Cable loss in the base station [dB] 2.0 p
Fast fading margin [dB] 0.0 q
Max. path loss [dB] 154.1 r = d - n + o - p - q
Coverage probability [%] 95.0
Log normal fading constant [dB] 7.0
Propagation model exponent 3.5
Log normal fading margin [dB] 7.3 s
Soft handover gain [dB], multi-cell 3.0 t
In-car loss [dB] 8.0 u
Allowed propagation loss for cell range [dB] 141.8 v = r - s + t - u
Ref: WCDMA for UMTS, Page 157
We shall now attempt to carry out a Link Budget analysis.
The slide illustrates the same example used in WCDMA for UMTS, P.157.
In this example, a 12.2kbps Voice Service is assumed travelling at 120km/h.
We assume the following:
-A 3dB Intracell Interference Rise (which comes about through a Cell Loading of
50%)
-No Intercell Interference Rise is considered
-Being a Voice Service we can expect Soft Handover, and hence a Gain, we have
assumed 3dB Gain for this.
-The Processing Gain is calculated as 25dB This is a little academic since in
reality we have to choose a particular Spreading Factor from the OVSF Tree. We
would choose a SF of 128 on the Uplink, which gives us 30kbps Channel Rate, or
about 15kbps maximum information rate (assuming a rate error coding scheme).
This results in a Processing Gain of 10.Log
10
(3840/30) = 10.Log
10
(128) = 21.1dB.
-Eb/No Target of 5dB which results in a certain BER or FER.
-Fast Fading Margin of 0dB since the Fast Fading is ineffective at 120km/h.
Although we do not add a margin, the Eb/No above will be worse than for slow
moving mobiles.
All other parameters should be self-evident. The method of calculating the Maximum
Propagation Loss is consistent with that presented earlier in this sub-section.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.60
UMTS Uplink Link Budget Example
Ref: WCDMA for UMTS, Page 158
144 kbps real time data (3km/h, indoor)
Transmitter (mobile)
Max. mobile transmission power [W] 0.25
As above in dBm 24.0 a
Mobile antenna gain [dBi] 2.0 b
Body Loss [dB] 0.0 c
Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) [dBm] 26.0 d = a + b -c
Receiver (base station)
Thermal noise density [dBm/Hz] -174.0 e
Base station receiver noise figure [dB] 5.0 f
Receiver noise density [dBm/Hz] -169.0 g = e + f
Receiver noise power [dBm] -103.2 h = g + 10Log10(3840000)
Interference margin [dB] 3.0 i
Receiver interference power [dBm] -103.2 j = 10Log10(10^((h+I)/10)-10^(h/10))
Total effective noise + interference [dBm] -100.1 k = 10Log10(10^(h/10)+10^(j/10))
Processing gain [dB] 14.3 l = 10Log10(3840/144)
Required Eb/No [dB] 1.5 m
Receiver Sensitivity [dBm] -112.9 n = m - l + k
Base station antenna gain [dBi] 18.0 o
Cable loss in the base station [dB] 2.0 p
Fast fading margin [dB] 4.0 q
Max. path loss [dB] 150.9 r = d - n + o - p - q
Coverage probability [%] 80.0
Log normal fading constant [dB] 12.0
Propagation model exponent 3.5
Log normal fading margin [dB] 4.2 s
Soft handover gain [dB], multi-cell 2.0 t
Indoor loss [dB] 15.0 u
Allowed propagation loss for cell range [dB] 133.7 v = r - s + t - u
Another Link Budget from WCDMA for UMTS is presented (page 158). In this example
we have a 144kbps Real Time data service (LCD144) at 3km/h.
We have assumed the following differences:
-A 3dB Intracell Interference Rise (which comes about through a Cell Loading of
50%)
-Higher Tx Power since the terminal is used away from the head/body
-No Body losses for the reason above
-Eb/No Target of 1.5dB Fast Fading Power Control is effective at this speed
(3km/h) and we get a low Eb/No target
-Fast Fading margin of 4dB (i.e. we expect the Eb/No target to ri se by 4dB as the
Mobile moves to the cell edge, given Diversity scheme, coding scheme, etc.)
-There are different environmental parameters, such as Coverage Probability and
Log Normal Fading Margin
We can show various other uplink link budgets for other services, environments, cell
loadings, etc. in a similar manner.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.61
UMTS Downlink Link Budget Difference to Uplink
The Downlink Link Budget Dilemma!
Downlink Range is highly dependent upon all the Mobiles Positions
and their individual Power Consumptions from the Base Station
Uplink
Range
Downlink
Range
Uplink
Range
Downlink
Range
The downlink link budget is often not shown in text books, vendor reports, etc. Why is this?
In the Downlink we share the available power of the Base Station (say 20W) amongst all
the users of the cell. Depending upon the services, and locations of all those users we
consume Power at the Base Station in different amounts. If all t he users were at the edge of
the cell, or at least at a significant distance we may need the full 20W to be able to maintain
the downlinks to all the users. This would mean that the cell range for the next user to enter
the cell may only be a 100m or so. If all the users were very near the cell centre we may
only need a couple of Watts to be able to maintain the downlinks to all the users. This might
mean the next user entering the cell could consume up to 18W and have a range of a few
kms.
Now, when we calculate the downlink we normally wish to find out the maximum cell
range, as with the uplink link budget. In the downlink case we do not know the available
power at the Base Station for another user. This Available Power is {20W (P
i
)} where
P
i
is the Power consumed at the Base Station to maintain a link wi th user i. But as we dont
know the positions of the mobile users we dont know what the P
i
s are. This is the
Downlink Problem.
In the Uplink each user has his own Power Amplifier and therefore the Uplink is not Power
Limited in the same way. In the Uplink we can estimate the cell range for a given Cell
Loading and Service mix.
We shall revisit the Downlink link budget later.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.62
UMTS Uplink Link Budget Uplink Load factor
Uplink Load Factor
Often after Cell Range has
been calculated the Cell
Capacity is estimated.
The Frequency Re-use of
WCDMA system is 1:1, and is
typically interference limited
which affects both Range and
Capacity through the Cell
Loading.
The theoretical spectral
efficiency of a WCDMA cell
can be calculated from the
load equation whose derivation
is shown on the following
slides.
Firstly lets define some key Variables;
I
hc
= Intracell Interference Interference seen from Home Cell users
I
oc
= Intercell Interference Interference seen from Other Cells users
P
N
= Thermal Noise seen by Base Station
i = I
oc
/ (I
hc
+ P
N
)
I
total
= Total Interference = (I
hc
+ I
oc
+ P
N
)
(E
b
/N
o
)
j
= Energy per user bit/Noise Power Spectral Density of user j
R
j
= Bit Rate of user j
j
= Activity Rate of user j
P
j
= Received Power of User j at Base Station
W = Chip Rate (=3,840,000 cps)
(E
b
/N
o
)
1
P
1

1
R
1
The Uplink Load factor is a very important metric in WCDMA or UMTS. In UMTS the
precise Range and Capacity of a Cell or Base Site can not be given. The Range and
Capacity can vary and will vary dependent upon the Intracell and Intercell Interference
experienced by the cell. Intracell and Intercell Interference in turn are dependent upon the
number and location of mobiles. Therefore as mobiles enter, leave, and move around the
cell (and neighbouring cells) the Range and Capacity of the cell will vary. The Uplink Load
Factor is used to help illustrate this trade-off or relationship between Capacity and
Coverage.
The Uplink Load factor is dependent upon the number of mobiles using the Cell, their
datarates, and Eb/No targets. We shall go through the Uplink Load Equation in detail,
similar to that presented in WCDMA for UMTS, Page 160. In our derivation, we use both
Intracell and Intercell Interference explicitly, as opposed to using a Total Interference as in
WCDMA for UMTS.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.63
( )
j total
j
j j
j O b
P I
P
R
W
N E
( )
total
j j j O b
j
I
R N E
W
P

+
1
1
We first define Eb/No as;
Where I
total
is the total received wideband Power from all users in the home cell, plus all users in other cells, and
Thermal Noise in the Base Station. I
total
= (I
hc
+ I
oc
+ P
N
)
Rearranging the above Equation gives;
We now define P
j
= L
j
.(I
hc,
+ P
N
) which expresses the Power Received from user j as a function of the Intracell
Interference caused by the process of Cell Loading, I
hc
, and the the individual Cell Load contribution from user j.
If we also define;
( )
signal) own (excl. Power received Total
user from Power Received
user of Gain Processing
j
j N E
j O b

N hc
oc
P I
I
i
+

ce interferen cell own
ce interferen cell other
You may recall that the first equation shown is based upon the Eb/No relationship with
SNR, Bit Rate, and Chip Rate. That is Eb/No = W/R x SNR. Where W/R is the Processing
Gain. These relationships were shown earlier in this section.
The activity rate is where UMTS can use Discontinuous Transmission (DTX). For example,
speech usually is Discontinuous, and therefore DTX can be used to preserve Battery Life,
and keep transmissions to a minimum (thereby reducing overall system interference and
allowing, say packet data to be sent in the DTX periods, etc.).
We can express the received power from user j, as shown above. The Power received from
user j is then expressed as a function of that user js specific contribution to Cell Loading
and the total Interference that all users Cell Loading produces, i.e. Intracell Interference,
I
hc
. (plus Thermal Noise, P
N
).
We also define the Other Cell to Own Cell Interference, i, as shown.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.64
The Total received Interference, I
total
, excluding Thermal Noise P
N
can be expressed as the Sum of Powers
Received from all Musers in the home Cell as;
) ( ) (
N hc
M
j
j oc N N hc oc
P I L I P P I I + + + +

We can express;
( )
N hc oc
P I i I +
Using our definition of P
j
= L
j
.(I
hc,
+ P
N
) then we obtain the individual Load Factor, L
j
through the following derivation:
( )
( )
N oc hc
j j j O b
j
P I I
R N E
W
P + +

+
1
1
( )
( )
N N hc hc
j j j O b
j
P P I i I
R N E
W
P + + +

+
) (
1
1
( )
( )
( )
N hc
j j j O b
j
P I
R N E
W
i P +

+
+
1
1
1
( )
j j j O b
j
R N E
W
i L

+
+
1
1
) 1 (
The Cell Loading generated by user j, L
j
can then be expressed as a function of i
(Intercell Interference/Intracell Interference), W (Chip rate), Eb/No, (Activity Rate), and
R (Bit Rate).
The total Interference, I
total
, excluding thermal Noise, P
N
, can be written as shown.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.65
The Noise Rise seen by a Base Station is defined as the ratio of Total received wideband Power to the Thermal
Noise Power, as;

+
+ +
+ +

M
j
j
M
j
j
N hc
N
N hc oc
N
total
L
i
L
i P I
P
P I I
P
I
NoiseRise
1
) 1 (
1
) 1 ( ) ( ) (
Which can be expressed as;
M
j
j
N hc
N
L
P I
P
) (
1
Where we define
UL
as the sum of all individual user load factors or the whole Uplink Load Factor;
M
j
j UL
L
1
) ( ) (
N hc
M
j
j oc N N hc oc
P I L I P P I I + + + +

) ( ) ( ) ( ) (
N hc
M
j
j N hc N N hc N hc
P I L i P I P P I i P I + + + + + +

N
N hc
M
j
j
P
P I
L
) (
1
1 +
The total Interference, I

total
, excluding thermal Noise, P
N
, can be written as shown, and
developed such that we express
Total Received Interference (Less Intercell Interference) over
Thermal Noise as a function of User Load Factors.
This metric can illustrate the Noise Rise experienced (not including Intercell Interference)
as a function of User Load Factors. However, what would be more useful is to express the
True Noise Rise in the Cell as a function of User Load Factors. That is to include Intercell
Interference also.
The True Noise Rise is derived as a function of User Load Factors and i.
As the Uplink Load Factor approaches 1, the corresponding Noise rise approaches Infinity,
and the system is said to have reached Pole Capacity.
We finally define that the Sum of Load Factors is termed the Uplink Load Factor of the
Cell.
NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.66
Uplink Load Factor Used to predict the Noise Rise above
Thermal Noise due to Intracell and Intercell Interference.
i is a function of Environment (Urban, Rural) and Cell
Isolation (Macro, Micro), Antenna Pattern, Site
Sectorisation, and Antenna downtilt.
When
UL
approaches 1, the corresponding Noise Rise in the Home Cell approaches infinity and the system has reached
Pole Capacity.
The Uplink Load Factor can then be written as;
( )
,
_

+
+
M
j
j j j O b
UL
R N E
W
i
1
1
1
) 1 (
) 1 ( 10 (dB) Rise Noise

10 UL
Log
Finally, we can state that the Noise Rise (in dB terms) is equal to:
The Uplink Load Factor of the cell can then be written explicitly as shown in the slide.
The load equation predicts the amount of Noise Rise over Thermal Noise due to
Interference. The Noise Rise is equal to 10.Log
10
(1
UL
).
The other cell to home cell interference ratio, i is a function of cell environment or cell
isolation. For example, a Macro Rural cell may see a lot more Intercell Interference than
say an Urban Micro cell. Also, i is a function of antenna pattern, and sectorisation. The
more sectors a Base Station has the more Intercell Interference will exist, but of course the
more capacity per Base Site will be achieved.
If Antenna Patterns overlap between sectors we provide Good Handover Areas, and
resilient Coverage, but tend to increase the Intercell Interference, and hence i. If we have
little overlap between sectors we increase Capacity two fold by minimising Handover
areas (and hence consuming 2 or more links) and reducing the Intercell Interference.
If we downtilt antennas we can also improve on the Intercell Interference without
impacting the Coverage resilience significantly, as used in most Cellular Systems.
NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.67
If all M users in Cell were using the same type of service,
then Eb/No, Activity Rate, and Bit Rate would be the same.
In this case we can state that the Uplink Load Factor,
UL
can be expressed as:
) 1 ( i
W
R
N
E
M
o
b
UL
+
Quite High Intercell Interference
Limited Capacity
Good Handover Regions - resilient
Lower Intercell Interference
Higher Capacity
Poorer Handover Regions less resilient
Higher Intercell Interference
Higher Capacity (But not 2x)
Good Handover Regions - resilient
'
,
_
+
M
j
j
j
j
o
b
UL
W
R
N
E
i ) 1 (
We can state the above equation when all users are using the same type of service, and
hence have the same Eb/No, Activity Factor, and Bit Rate. The equation is also an
approximation since we also assume that W/{(Eb/No).R.}>>1, as shown in WCDMA for
UMTS, page 162.
By using this equation we can generate a number of curves to help illustrate the relationship
between Noise Rise and Cell Capacity for different Intercell Interference conditions. Such
curves are shown on the next slide.
The images illustrate the effect of Antenna Sectorisation, and Beamwidth on Intercell
Interference and hence Cell Capacity, as discussed in the previous slide.
NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.68
Question 1
Calculate a Cells Uplink Capacity
given the following:
Max Noise Rise = 3dB
All Voice Users AMR Speech
at 8kbps
Vehicular environment at
3km/h meaning that
Eb/No = 6dB
Chip Rate = 3.84Mcps
Activity Factor = 0.67
i = 0.5
No Soft handover activity
All mobiles within FPC
dynamics
What Capacity
(Mbps) ?
Question 1.
The above question illustrates how we might typically use the Uplink Load Factor and its
equation. The student can make his/her notes below.
NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.69
Question 2
Calculate a Cells Uplink Capacity
given the following:
Max Noise Rise = 3dB
All Packet Data services at
144kbps
Indoor environment at
0km/h meaning that
Eb/No = 0.5dB
Chip Rate = 3.84Mcps
Activity Factor = 1
i = 0.2
No Soft handover activity
All mobiles within FPC
dynamics
What Capacity
(Mbps) ?
Question 2.
The above question illustrates how we might typically use the Uplink Load Factor and its
equation. The student can make his/her notes below.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.70
UMTS Uplink Link Budget Uplink Noise Rise
The above slide and the next few slides help illustrate the concept of Uplink Intra-cell
Noise Rise.
The slide shows a single omni-directional UMTS cell with one user connected. The mobile
user is using a 384kbps circuit switched (LCD) service. The blue and red circles indicate
the maximum Downlink and Uplink cell radii, respectively for a 64kbps LCD service. That
is if a user enters the cell that user could be connected at 64kbps within the red circle for
Uplink.
The Uplink Load for the above is 17% which comes from the Load Factor equation for user
j as shown previously, as:
We can calculate L
1
, given the following:
There is no Intercell Interference (i=0),
Service Eb/No = 3dB (=2)
Activity factor, = 1,
Datarate, R = 384kbps
Chip Rate, W = 3840kbps
( )
j j j O b
j
R N E
W
i L

+
+
1
1
) 1 (
( )
17 . 0
1 384 2
3840
1
1
1

+
L
NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.71
If we now add another 384kbps service user with the same activity factor, service Eb/No
QoS target, etc. as shown, we increase the cell loading to around 34%, based upon the
following equation, as shown previously:
The corresponding Noise Rise, is given by: NR = -10.Log
10
(1-
UL
), which in the above
case results in 1.8dB Noise Rise, and hence the Maximum Uplink Radius shrinks for
64kbps LCD user as shown.
The graph on the right hand side illustrates the received power from each mobile user
within the cell at the Base Station. This graph shows linear power on the y-axis above a
static Thermal Noise Floor for each active mobile user in the cell. As a second user enters
the cell the power from the first mobile user must increase, given by the following equation,
as shown previously: P
j
= L
j
.(I
hc,
+ P
N
). That is the Power received from user j (or user 1 in
our example) increases as I
hc
increases. This leads to a second order effect in terms of
Noise Rise and hence why we observe the Noise Rise approach infi nity.
34 . 0 17 . 0 17 . 0
2 1
1
+ +
L L L
M
j
j UL

NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.72
If we now add another mobile at 144kbps with the same activity factor, service Eb/No QoS
target, etc. as for the two 384kbps users already connected to the cell, as shown, we
increase the cell loading to around 41%, based upon the following equation, as shown
previously:
10
(1-
UL
static Thermal Noise Floor for each active mobile user in the cell. As a third user enters the
cell the power from the first two mobile users must increase, given by the following
equation, as shown previously: P
j
= L
j
.(I
hc,
+ P
N
). That is the Power received from user j (1
and 2) increases as I
hc
increases. This leads to a second order effect in terms of Noise Rise
and hence why we observe the Noise Rise approach infinity.
41 . 0 07 . 0 17 . 0 17 . 0
2 1
1
+ + +
L L L
M
j
j UL

NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.73
QoS target, etc. as for the other users already connected to the cell, as shown, we increase
the cell loading to around 48%, based upon the following equation, as shown previously:
10
(1-
UL
static Thermal Noise Floor for each active mobile user in the cell. As a fourth user enters
the cell the power from the first two mobile users must increase, given by the following
j
= L
j
.(I
hc,
+ P
N
). That is the Power received from user j
(1,2, and 3) increases as I
hc
increases. This leads to a second order effect in terms of Noise
Rise and hence why we observe the Noise Rise approach infinity.
This situation approximately illustrates what a 50% loaded cell might look like. In this
example we are supporting a cell capacity of 384kbps + 384kbps + 144kbps + 144kbps =
1056kbps.
48 . 0 07 . 0 07 . 0 17 . 0 17 . 0
2 1
1
+ + + +
L L L
M
j
j UL

NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.74
the cell loading to around 55%, based upon the following equation, as shown previously:
10
(1-
UL
j
= L
j
.(I
hc,
+ P
N
(1,2,3 and 4) increases as I
hc
increases. This leads to a second order effect in terms of Noise
Rise and hence why we observe the Noise Rise approach infinity.
example we are supporting a cell capacity of 384kbps + 384kbps + 144kbps + 144kbps +
144kbps = 1200kbps.
55 . 0 07 . 0 07 . 0 07 . 0 17 . 0 17 . 0
2 1
1
+ + + + +
L L L
M
j
j UL

NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.75
the cell loading to around 62%, based upon the previously shown load equations
10
(1-
UL
j
= L
j
.(I
hc,
+ P
N
(1,2,3,4 and 5) increases as I
hc
144kbps + 144kbps = 1344kbps.
NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.76
the cell loading to around 70%, based upon the previously shown load equations
10
(1-
UL
j
= L
j
.(I
hc,
+ P
N
(1,2,3,4,5 and 6) increases as I
hc
144kbps + 144kbps + 144kbps = 1488kbps.
NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.77
If we now add another user, this time at 64kbps service with the same activity factor,
service Eb/No QoS target, etc. as for the other users already connected to the cell, as
shown, we increase the cell loading to around 73%, based upon the previously shown load
equations
10
(1-
UL
j
= L
j
.(I
hc,
+ P
N
(1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7) increases as I
hc
144kbps + 144kbps + 144kbps + 64kbps = 1552kbps.
NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.78
Finally if we now add another user, also at 64kbps service with the same activity factor,
service Eb/No QoS target, etc. as for the other users already connected to the cell, as
shown, we increase the cell loading to around 77%, based upon the previously shown load
equations
10
(1-
UL
j
= L
j
.(I
hc,
+ P
N
(1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8) increases as I
hc
increases. This leads to a second order effect in terms
of Noise Rise and hence why we observe the Noise Rise approach i nfinity.
144kbps + 144kbps + 144kbps + 64kbps + 64kbps = 1616kbps.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.79
UMTS Uplink Link Budget Coverage/Capacity
Uplink Noise Rise as a function of
data throughput (similar to
WCDMA for UMTS, page 163).
Assumes:
Eb/No = 1.5dB
i = 10% to 90%
LCD144 Users
50% Cell Load = 3dB Intracell
Interference Rise
Intercell Interference limits Pole
Capacity (by adding Interference)
Intracell Interference limits
range (by adding dBs to the Link)
Uplink Noise Rise as function of Uplink data Throughput and
Intercell Interference
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Throughput (kbps)
N
o
i
s
e

R
i
s
e

(
d
B
)
10%
25%
50%
75%
90%
i
If we use the Uplink Load Equation shown on the previous slide and apply some real
numbers we obtain the above Capacity vs. Noise Rise Curves for different Intercell
Interference.
The key messages here are:
Intercell Interference limits the Pole Capacity, and hence the effective Capacity of
a Cell
Intracell Interference adds Noise Rise to the Cell, and limits the available Link
Budget, which in turn limits Range
We also show a demonstration at this point of how we achieve these curves using a small
Excel Spreadsheet Program in order to explore further the relationship between Load and
Range.
The i = 75% curve may represent a Macro Cell which might have quite high Intercell
Interference as it needs to serve a large area and can see many other cells users, together
with the fact the Macro cell needs to be quite resilient in terms of Coverage, and hence may
also use a relatively large overlap between sectors.
The i = 25% curve may represent a Micro Cell which might have quite low Intercell
Interference as it may be fairly well isolated (from other Micro Cell sites using the same
frequency). It may also use an Omni-directional antenna and hence have no overlap
between other sectors.
This demonstrates why a Macro Cell may have less capacity than a Micro Cell.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.80
UMTS Uplink Link Budget Coverage/Capacity
Uplink Range as a function of data
throughput (similar to WCDMA
for UMTS, page 166).
Assumes:
Eb/No = 1.5dB
i = 10% to 90%
LCD144 Users
Interference Rise
Intercell Interference limits Pole
Capacity (by adding Interference)
Intracell Interference limits
range (by adding dBs to the Link)
UMTS Uplink Cell Range vs. Cell Capacity
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Cell Throughput/Capacity (bps)
R
a
n
g
e

(
k
m
)
10%
25%
50%
75%
90%
i
The above graph simply shows the relationship between Capacity or Throughput and Cell
Range for different Intercell Interference conditions. The Graph corresponds to the Graph
on the previous slide.
The Path Loss equation assumes certain environmental parameters in the Link Budget, such
as:
Penetration Loss = 15dB
Area Locations Probability = 97%
Urban Environment
These are relatively stringent environmental parameters and hence the relatively small cell
ranges produced.
NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.81
UMTS Fast Power Control
Why do we have Fast Power Control?
We apply Fast Power Control on Uplink
and Downlink as it provides system Gain
If we didnt have Fast Power Control we
would have an instantaneously varying
Eb/No value which dictates a varying
BER
We would ride up and down the yellow
curve
Rayleigh Fading has deep fades we
would have a severe average BER
This riding up and down is equivalent to
the Green Curve
1.00E-17
1.00E-16
1.00E-15
1.00E-14
1.00E-13
1.00E-12
1.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.00E-09
1.00E-08
1.00E-07
1.00E-06
1.00E-05
1.00E-04
1.00E-03
1.00E-02
1.00E-01
1.00E+00
-5 0 5 10 15 20
Eb/No
P
b
(
B
E
R
)
Gaussian Like Channel
BER With
Error Correction
from Fast Fading to
Gaussian Channel
On the next few slides we discuss in more detail the UMTS Fast Power Control. We
introduced the need for a Fast Power Control Headroom in a Link Budget calculation
earlier. The Fast Power Control in UMTS is used to combat fading and provide a lower
Eb/No target than without Fast Power Control. In other words Fast Power Control can
introduce Gain in the Link.
Consider the case where we do not have Fast Power Control. We mi ght be receiving a
signal whose received average Eb/No is say 6dB. At 6dB this might give us a 10-4 BER as
shown on the BER vs. Eb/No curve. Given the channel is fading wi th Rayleigh statistics
this means that instantaneously the Eb/No value might vary between say +10dB and 15dB.
Given also the statistics of a Rayleigh Fading channel, we would find that the received
Eb/No might be above 6dB for 37% of the time and below 6dB for 63% of the time
(approx). When we have low Eb/No values we have severe errors. We would be riding up
and down the Yellow Curve in the slide. The nature of the BER vs. Eb/No trade off would
be such that the resultant average BER in a fading channel would be much worse than 10-4,
although the average Eb/No = 6dB. The equivalent BER vs. average Eb/No curve for the
Rayleigh fading channel case is shown in Green on the graph. This curve would suggest
that at an Average Eb/No of 6dB we would have a BER of 0.05 (1 in 20 Bits). The Green
Curve also suggests that to achieve 10-4 BER we would have to achieve an average Eb/No
of 9dB. These curves are merely illustrative and have not been taken from real results,
using real channel fading, and using real error correction codes, interleaving, etc. The
curves simply illustrate the relativity and direction of the situation.
If we could remove the fading, particularly the deep fades we could have the situation
where we equalise the fading in the channel and have a BER vs. Eb/No character like the
yellow curve. We can through Fast Power Control. We attempt to keep the Eb/No at 6dB
through Fast Power Control.
NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.82
Required Eb/No values with and without Fast Power Control
dB
Slow Power
Control Only
Fast power
Control (1.5KHz)
Gain From Fast
Power Control
ITU Pedestrian A 3km/h 11.3 5.5 5.8
ITU Vehicular A 3km/h 8.5 6.7 1.8
ITU Vehicular A 50km/h 6.8 7.3 -0.5
1.00E-17
1.00E-16
1.00E-15
1.00E-14
1.00E-13
1.00E-12
1.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.00E-09
1.00E-08
1.00E-07
1.00E-06
1.00E-05
1.00E-04
1.00E-03
1.00E-02
1.00E-01
1.00E+00
-5 0 5 10 15 20
Eb/No
P
b
(
B
E
R
)
BER Curve with
Fast Power Control
(Gaussian Channel Like)
BER Curve without
Fast Power Control
(Rayleigh Channel Like)
Equivalent Gain from
Fast Power Control
Required Tx Powers with and without Fast Power Control
dB
Slow Power
Control Only
Fast power
Control (1.5KHz)
Gain From Fast
Power Control
ITU Pedestrian A 3km/h 11.3 7.7 3.6
ITU Vehicular A 3km/h 8.5 7.5 1
ITU Vehicular A 50km/h 6.8 7.6 -0.8
To further illustrate the Gain in using Fast Power Control we show the Table used in
WCDMA for UMTS, Page 189. These are the Eb/No values needed to achieve the
required FER (1%) for a 8kbps Speech Service, using 10ms interleaving, with and without
Fast Power Control. Two-branch Receive Diversity is assumed (such as Antenna
Diversity). ITU Pedestrian and ITU Vehicular Multi-path channel models are used to
represent the fading channel character. Fast Power Control is applied at 1500 times per
second.
It is evident that we need an average Eb/No value of 11.3dB when we have no Fast Power
Control to maintain the required BER/FER, whereas we only need an Eb/No of 5.5dB with
Fast Power Control for the ITU Pedestrian A (3km/h) channel model. We achieve a Gain of
5.8dB for this situation. We obtain Gain in the ITU Vehicular A Model at 3km/h, and
actually create a negative gain at 50km/h. At high speeds the Fast Power Control becomes
ineffective as the Fast Power Control can not keep up with the very Fast Fading
experienced at speed.
The second table is also from WCDMA for UMTS Page 189 and represents the (Relative,
as in it is in dB and not dBm) Average Required Transmission Powers with and without
Fast Power Control. The Tx Power for the no-Fast Power Control will be the same as the
Eb/No value. With Fast Power Control the average Tx Power is reduced primarily because
of the reduced Eb/No target (for the 3km/h cases). However, due to the statistics of the Fast
Power Control we in fact produce a higher Average Tx power than suggested by the
reduced Eb/No value. This in effect produces an additional Noise Rise in the system which
we need to consider.
NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.83
Radio Channel Fading profile
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.20
Fast Power Control
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.20
This Distribution has a Different Average Value
Average Power Rise ~ 2-5dB
due to Fast Power Control
The Average Power Rise depends upon:
dynamic range of Tx Power
Maximum Tx Power
Degree of Fading
0 0
.
1
0
.
2
0
.
3
0
.
4
0
.
5
0
.
6
0
0
.
1
0
.
2
0
.
3
0
.
4
0
.
5
0
.
6
Local Mean = 0dBm
Channel Propagation Loss
Mobile Station Power
+
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.20
=
Received Power
Equalised Channel Gaussian Like
This slide illustrates the Fast Power Control and the associated Average Power Increase of
the Transmitter (in this example, the Mobile Station).
The Channel Fades with a Rayleigh Character as shown in the top graph. The PDF of the
channel is also shown to the right in Red. The Average Power Value of this Channel has
been normalised to 0dB. We can show this as Propagation Loss with an average power loss
over time of 0dB.
The Mobile will vary its Fast Power Control to counter the fading channel and its power-
time profile is shown in the second graph (Blue). The PDF of the Tx power is also shown to
the right in Blue. The mobile Tx power is assumed to have a Max Tx power of 21dBm and
the PDF is truncated at 21dBm as shown. If we apply statistical analysis to this Tx Power
profile we will find that the Average Tx power over time is something like 2-5dBm,
depending upon where the 21dBm truncation happens on the PDF, and diversity schemes
used to counter fading depths.
At any instant in time the Sum of the Propagation Loss (Channel) and the Tx Power will
equal 0dBm. There will be some residual errors due to the fact Fast Power Control can only
be changed in quantised steps (1dB or 0.5dB), and there is always delays and errors in
channel estimation. The resulting received power at the receiver is shown in the bottom
graph in Yellow. The residual errors and background noise should make the received signal
appear Gaussian Like. Although the instantaneous received power is 0dBm, the Average Tx
Power over time is always above 0dBm. This seems at first quite bizarre, but if we carry out
the analysis to find the average power this is the case.
Discussion point - (its because we are adding dBs we need to consider it in linear terms).
NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.84
The Average Power Rise
caused by Fast Power Control
needs to be considered in
network level calculations.
It can be demonstrated that
the average power rise raises
the average interference at a
Home Base Station.
The power rise doesnt raise
the average Interference to
the Home BS from the MSs
connected to the Home BS.
The power rise does raise the
average Interference to the
Home BS from the MSs
connected to other BSs.
ydB Power Rise needs to be considered from this MS when
determining Intercell Interference to the Centre BS
xdB Power Rise needs to be considered from this MS when
determining Intercell Interference to the Centre BS
Power Rises from the
MSs connected to the
Centre BS do not need
to be considered when
dimensioning the range
of the Centre BS
The Average Tx Power Rise caused by the Fast Fading Channel needs to be carefully
considered when carrying out network level simulations and dimensioning.
The received power from all MSs connected to a Home BS should be reasonably constant,
given Fast Power Control on the Uplink. However, the received power at a Home BS is in
fact the received power from the Home Base Stations MSs and power received from
Other Base Station MSs. The Other Base Station MSs will be varying their Tx Power
Control to equalise their fading channels and will be uncorrelated with the Home Base
Station. As such the Home Base Station will see these Other BS MS Tx Powers with an
Average Tx Power Rise. Therefore the Home Base Station must consider the Power Rise
only from MSs connected to Other Base Stations.
Useful Reference Source for further information: Modelling the Impact of the Fast Power
Control on the WCDMA Uplink by Kari Sipil et al, IEEE VTC1999, pp.1266-1270.
NJHX410E.PPT
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4.1.85
Fast Power
Control OFF
Maximum Speed
Average
Received Eb/No
Average
Received Eb/No
Average Power
Rise
3km/h 13.1 4.9 2.1
10km/h 11.5 5.7 2
20km/h 9.7 6 1.6
50km/h 7.9 6 0.8
140km/h 6.5 6.3 0.2
Fast Power Control ON
Theoretical Average MS Tx Power Rise as a
function of diversity, relative difference of Rx
Branch powers for MS at 3km/h
Simulated Average MS Tx Power Rise as a function
of Speed for Rx Diversity with 12.5dB Branch
Power Difference
Source: WCDMA for UMTS
Source: IEEE
For completeness another set of results for Fast Power Control are discussed. These results
are taken from Modelling the Impact of the Fast Power Control on the WCDMA Uplink
by Kari Sipil et al, IEEE VTC1999, pp.1266-1270. The results are also discussed in
WCDMA for UMTS, page 192-193.
In this paper a simulation was carried out to investigate the effect of Fast Power Control on
the WCDMA Cell Range and Capacity. The simulation used:
8kbps voice subscribers
2-channel Rayleigh Mobile Radio Channel with 12.5dB difference between paths
(ITU Pedestrian A Channel)
Antenna Spatial Diversity assumed
Ideal RAKE Receiver Characteristics
Variable MS Speeds
10,000 Snapshots or iterations for slowest speed (3,000 for other speeds)
Realistic Power Control +/ - 1dB Steps and 1 frame delay
The table illustrates the Average required Eb/No for the service with and without Fast
Power Control at various speeds. In this example we see that there is always Fast Power
Control Gain. The table also shows the average Power Rise due to the Tx power following
the Fast Fading channel.
At higher MS speeds there is little power rise since the Fast Power Control cannot
compensate for the channel fading. The Figure on the right depicts the Theoretical Power
Rise for a 3km/h MS as a function of Diversity in ITU Pedestrian A Channel.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.86
) 1 ( i
W
R
N
E
M
o
b
UL
+
,
_
+

W
R
N
E
i
M
o
b
UL
) 1 (
1
If we recall, for all services equal (I.e. all Voice), we

can express the Uplink Load Factor as a function of the
number of service subscribers, M, the Service Eb/No,
service activity ratio, and Other to Own Cell
Interference Ratio, i
This can be re-arranged as;
If we assume that:
Eb/No = values in previous slide table
n = 0.67
R = 8kbps
W = 3.84Mcps
i = 0.55 x average Tx Power Rise in previous
slide table
(remember to use linear quantities!)
Fast Power
Control OFF
Fast Power
Control ON
Maximum Speed
Capacity at 75%
Load (No. of
Connections
without FPC)
Capacity at 75%
Load (No. of
Connections
with FPC)
3km/h 13 91
10km/h 20 77
20km/h 32 75
50km/h 52 81
140km/h 76 79
The real benefit in having Fast Power Control in reducing Eb/No requirements is not just a
range improvement, but a significant capacity improvement.
In this slide we demonstrate this through a worked example.
If we firstly recall the Uplink Load factor equation derived earlier for All Services the
same, and re-arrange this in terms of Number of Users and apply the assumptions for
values listed in the slide we generate the Cell Capacities as shown in the Table. The Graph
below the table simply illustrates the Capacity Improvement .
Excel Worksheet Demonstration Here also!
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.87
Where Are We Now?
Introduction
Summary
Network
Design
Operators
Design Guides
The Planning
Process
Site Placement
Antenna
Placement
Frequency
Planning
Forward
Capacity
Planning
Polygons
Link
Budgets
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.88
Uplink
Range
Downlink
Range Uplink
Range
Downlink
Range
Uplink
Range
Downlink
Range
Uplink
Range
Downlink
Range
1 2
3 4
We quickly looked at the Downlink Range Dilemma in a previous slide. The above
sequence attempts to further illustrate what the Range on the Downlink might be.
1. Five Users are connected to the Base Station Cell (Omni Cell). They generate Uplink
Intracell Interference and hence a Noise Rise, which dictates a certain Maximum Path
Loss, and hence Range for the next mobile to enter the cell. On the downlink the Base
Station has 20W, and allocates just enough power to each Mobile to maintain each link.
As all the mobiles are quite close, very little Downlink Power is consumed. We might
have 18W left over which could, in theory be allocated to the next Mobile. This 18W
dictates the maximum Downlink Range.
2. Another mobile enters the cell. This mobile adds additional Cell Load, and hence the
Potential Uplink Range is reduced slightly. At the same time, the mobile consumes
some downlink power from the Base Station. As this new mobile is a reasonable
distance from the Base Station, the Base Station has to allocate this new user quite a bit
of Power. We might have now only 10W left over which could, in theory be allocated
to the next Mobile. This 10W now dictates the maximum Downlink range.
3. Another mobile enters the cell. This mobile shrinks the Uplink Range, and Shrinks the
Downlink range in the same way as the previous mobile, as this mobile is again a fair
way from the Base Station. We might only have say 5W left on the Downlink which
will dictate the Maximum Range.
4. Another mobile enters the cell. This mobile shrinks the Uplink Range as with the
previous mobiles. However, this mobile is quite close to the base station and only
requires a small power on its Downlink. This hardly affects the Maximum Range.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.89
Max
Path
Loss
Tx
Power
Antenna
Gain
Body
Losses
Penetr-
ation
Losses
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Antenna
Gain
Diversity
Gain
Feeder
Losses + - - + - =
Rx
Sensitivity- + + -
Processing
Gain
InterCell
Int.
IntraCell
Int.
Eb/No
Target
Thermal
Noise
Power
Noise
Figure
+ + + - +
Log
Normal
Fade
Margin
Soft
Handover
Gain
-
Eb/No
Target
Fast
Fade
Margin
-
Base
Station
Max.
Power
Power
Consumed
In Common
Channels
Power
Consumed
For
Handovers
Power
Consumed
By Other
Users
- - -
Other
Users
Uplinks
Other
Users
Locations
The previous slide provided a description of how the Downlink range might vary, and it
illustrated the dependence upon User positions within the cell. This slide simply shows
the Link Budget as shown before with the Uplink. The Rx Sensitivity being dependent
upon Intercell and Intracell Interference (I.e. the interference geometry), Processing
Gain, Eb/No Target, etc.
With the Downlink there are further variables to consider.
1. In the red boxes, the Intercell Interference is a function of a particular users
position within the cell I.e. its position relative to other Base Station cells. A
user will see more Intercell Interference when it moves away from its own cell
centre and nearer to a neighbouring cell.
2. The Intracell Interference is a function of the time dispersion characteristics of
the Radio Channel. The greater the time dispersion the less Ort hogonal all
the other channels appear which results in degraded Orthogonalit y for the
wanted user channel on the downlink, or simply all other channel s produce
more interference than with a non-disperse channel. Time dispersion character
can change over a few 10s of metres, and therefore the Intracell Interference a
user sees varies with position also.
3. The Tx Power available on the Downlink for a particular user is dependent
upon the available Base Station Power, which is itself a function of the
Maximum Base Station power and the power already consumed by other users
downlinks. This is a function of the other user Uplinks. One can see the high
interdependency between all users within a cell for the Downlink. In short, the
available power for a particular user is dependent upon the current loading of
the cell, and positions of other users, as described in the previous slide.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.90
Downlink Range is dependent upon:
Usual Link Parameters (Losses, Gains, etc.)
Intracell Interference (from other user channels on base site)
Intercell Interference (from other base sites)
Available Downlink Power, which depends upon
Current Power Consumption, which depends upon
The number of mobiles
Their Eb/No Downlink Targets
Their Datarates
Their Activity Factors
Their locations (distances from Base Site)
etc, etc.
These three variables described in the notes on the previous slide help illustrate the
enormous dependency of the Downlink Link Budget upon the location of the user and of
other users in the cell. This is why Downlink Link Budget analysis is not shown in simple
spreadsheet formulae, as the transparency offered by Spreadsheets would disappear. The
only way in which the Downlink can be successfully modelled is through simulation. To
date this has been the approach to study the Downlink.
We in fact end up in a Paradox situation even with simulations. For example, if we allocate
User 1 a certain Downlink Power (no problem as there is initiall y 20W available), then
allocate User 2 a certain Downlink Power. Now as User 2 has come into the system, we
need to recalculate Intra and Inter cell interferences to User 1, and this may dictate a
revised downlink power. We keep doing this until we have exhausted Power at the Base
Station. There may be other users close to the cell but cant be connected due to there being
no Power left to support another Downlink Connection. The Paradox is how do we manage
user admission to the cell? Which users get precedence for connections, etc. As users move
around the Interference and Downlink Power allocations constantl y vary, there may be
situations where a link has to be dropped, but again which one should be sacrificed in order
to maintain every other link. Such problems are addressed in the Radio Resource
Management at the RNC. Connections will be admitted, dropped, handed off, suspended,
service datarates cranked down, and data buffered based upon various RRM algorithms.
We shall visit these later.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.91
We can not show the Downlink
as a Spreadsheet Link Budget.
We need to know all mobile
positions to be able to model
the downlink.
We can use some assumptions,
like assuming that all mobiles
are at the cell edge, or are
somehow equally distributed.
Even with such assumptions
the Link Budget becomes a
complex task.
Note that WCDMA for
UMTS does not present the
Downlink Link Budget.
Uplink
Range
Downlink
Range
Equal Distribution
Uplink
Range
Downlink
Range
Edge Distribution
In order to illustrate the difficultly in the downlink link budget analysis we show two
scenarios of Users connected to a cell. In both images we have the same number of users,
using the same service, datarate, having the same activity factor, and for arguments sake
experiencing the same Intercell and Intracell Interference.
We could assume for the Downlink Link Budget we have all users at the Cell Edge This
gives a Pessimistic Result since this consumes most Power from the Base Station, and
would indicate a Downlink range which is too small. This could be used to indicate the
absolute worst case.
We could assume for the Downlink Link Budget we have all users distributed evenly across
the Cell This would give a better or more confident result. But as users move around the
Interference geometry will change and as users move around users will depart from the
evenly distribution case, thereby limiting the confidence of such an assumption.
We would have to test all combinations of user distribution, numbers of users, and all
expected Intracell and Intercell Interferences in order to picture the extent of what the
Downlink Range might be. This supports the need to carry out simulations in order to
understand the Downlink Range.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.92
UMTS Downlink Link Budget Intracell Interference
In the Downlink the Intracell Interference is different.
The Uplink is Asynchronous
In the Uplink the Air Interface uses the OVSF Tree to
allocate different datarates for a particular user, and
therefore datarate can change on a frame by frame basis.
In the Uplink the Air Interface uses the Scrambling codes to
separate different uses in the same Cell.
Scrambling codes are of equal length and have good cross-
correlation properties (time shifted versions have low cross-
correlation values).
As Uplink is Asynchronous we will receive time shifted
versions of the Scrambling Codes due to unsynchronised
access, and dispersion in the radio channel.
In the Uplink we preserve Orthogonality between users due to
the properties of the Scrambling code. We do not have to
consider Interference due to degraded Orthogonality.
When we talk about Intracell Interference on the Downlink it is the Interference seen by a
particular user due to the fact the Base Station Cell also transmits everyone elses Downlink
channels. It is the same as Intracell Interference on the Uplink, where the Base Station
receiver sees all the other users Uplinks. Channels and hence users are logically separated
by Codes. As long as these codes maintain good Orthogonality between one another this
results in just the usual cell WCDMA Noise Rise, as shown in the Uplink Load Factor
analysis.
However, in the Downlink we will show that Orthogonality is not preserved as it is in the
uplink and we need to consider an additional Intracell Interference component in the form
of Multiple Access Interference or Code Interference.
In this slide we present the Uplink properties, the codes the Uplink uses to separate users,
and manage variable datarates. The Uplink is Asynchronous, where users can communicate
with the Base Station in a random fashion. As different users are WCDMA Separated using
Scrambling codes, which have good/low cross-correlation properties then receiving time
shifted versions of another users scrambling code is not a problem, and we preserve the full
processing Gain of the wanted user. Time shifted versions of other user scrambling
codes/channels arise due to the unsynchronised nature of the uplink, and due to energy
dispersion in the radio channel due to reflections.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.93
UMTS Downlink Link Budget Intracell Interference
In the Downlink the Intracell Interference is different.
The Downlink is Synchronous
In the Downlink there is only one OVSF Tree and the Air
Interface uses the OVSF Tree to separate different users in
the same Cell.
In the Downlink the Air Interface uses rate adaptation and
discontinuous transmission to cater for different datarates
for a particular user.
In the Downlink the Air Interface uses the Scrambling Codes
to separate different Cells in the network.
OVSF codes are have poor cross-correlation properties (time
shifted versions have high cross-correlation values).
Orthogonality is only preserved when not time shifted, and
hence the need for the Downlink to be Synchronised.
Dispersion in the Radio Channel can cause Energy to be time
shifted and hence degrade Orthogonality between different
users channels on the Downlink.
In the uplink we needed codes to differentiate between different datarates of a users service,
and different users in the same cell. As there are millions of Scrambling codes we do not
need differentiation of users in different cells. In the Downlink we need to differentiate
between different datarates of a users service, different users in the same cell, and between
different cells. In effect the downlink needs to provide a further differentiation.
In the Downlink the Base Station Transmitter has only one OVSF Tree. To provide
differentiation between different users in the Cell, each user is allocated an OVSF code
from the OVSF Tree, based upon the users expected service datarate. Variation in datarate
can be achieved using rate adaptation, code puncturing, and discontinuous transmission.
The Downlink Multiplexes between different Base Station Cells are achieved by the
Scrambling Code. There are 512 of these for Cell isolation or Downlink planning, which
makes the task of Code Planning (c.f. Frequency or Colour code planning in GSM) a
straightforward task. The use of a common code across the cell is needed for cell
identification purposes such as in the management of a Handover.
The key difference between Uplink and Downlink is that Scrambling Codes are used on the
Uplink, and OVSF Codes are used on the Downlink, to separate different users. Scrambling
Codes have good cross-correlation properties (and are suited to asynchronous access, and
robust in dispersive channels). OVSF Codes have poor cross-correlation properties, at the
expense of their variable nature (and are suited to synchronous access, and are not robust in
dispersive channels). Therefore, if there is any Energy Dispersion in the radio channel on
the Downlink this can manifest itself as creating additional Intracell Interference in the
form of degraded Orthogonality or Multiple Access Interference.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.94
UMTS Downlink Link Budget Load Factor
Through a similar process the Downlink Load Factor,
DL
can be derived and
the Downlink Load Factor can be written as;
) 1 ( 10 (dB) Rise Noise
10 DL
Log
As with the Uplink Load Equation, we can state that the Noise Rise (in dB terms) is equal to:
( ) [ ]
'
,
_
+
M
j
j
j
j
o
b
j j DL
W
R
N
E
i 1
The form of the Downlink Load Equation is similar to the Uplink Load Equation shown earlier. The key differences lie
in the new parameters:
i
j
= Ratio of Other Cell to Own Cell Power, received by User j. This is dependent upon position of user j.
j
= Orthogonality of user j. This is dependent upon local Multipath channel for user j.
We have introduced and described the Intracell Interference in t he previous slides. We have
the usual Noise Rise due to the number of users in a cell (as we saw for the Uplink Load
Factor), and also the additional Intracell Interference in the form of degraded Orthogonality
between users on the Downlink. In this slide we present the Downlink Load Equation, I.e.
the equation which can be used in a Link Budget (or simulation) to predict the available
link budget for a User.
Although the Downlink Load Equation looks very similar to the Uplink Load Equation, and
is used to estimate the Noise Rise over Thermal for the Cell, the Downlink Load Equation
includes the Orthogonality factor, , and the equation is also highly dependent upon
Locations of users, and the Interference Geometry as a whole. This is illustrated in the fact
that the parameters i
j
, and
j
are highly dependent upon location (shadowing, distance from
base site, etc.). As a result the Downlink Load Factor will vary as that cells users move
around in the Cell. Also, as different cells have their users move around, the Downlink
Power from those other Cells will vary, and influence i
j
in the Downlink Load Equation.
In the Uplink case, variability is expected also with the Uplink Load Factor. The Uplink
Load Factor was not dependent upon its own cells users movement, but rather with other
cells users movements through i, the Other Cell to Own Cell Interference factor.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.95
User 1
Might see certain Intercell Interference
from this position and result in certain i
1
(Yellow Lines)
Might see certain Intracell Interference
from this position and result in certain
1
(From all other channels on home Cell)
This results in a certain Noise Rise for
user 1s position and dictate a certain
maximum Link Range based upon available
Downlink Power
User 2
Might see certain Intercell Interference
from this position and result in certain i
2
(Yellow Lines)
Might see certain Intracell Interference
from this position and result in certain
2
(From all other channels on home Cell)
This results in a certain Noise Rise for
user 2s position and dictate a certain
maximum Link Range based upon available
Downlink Power
New User
Will see different Intercell Interference
From different positions and result in
different i
new
Will see different Intracell Interference
from different positions and result in
different
new
This results in a different Noise Rises for
different New user positions and dictates
different Maximum Link Range based upon
available Downlink Power
What we might see is not a Circle of Maximum
Coverage, but more of a complex polygon which
Changes shape as users move around!
Uplink
Ranges
Downlink
Range
This slides attempts to illustrate the description in the previous slide the fact that the
Downlink Load Equation varies with user position.
If we look at User 1 in the first image, we can calculate its Other Cell to Own Cell
Interference, i
j
by summing the received power from other Base Station cells, and dividing
it by the received power from the home Cell. This is location dependent of course. Also,
User 1 will have a particular propagation channel to/from the Base Station. The degree of
channel energy time dispersion will result in a particular Orthogonality factor,
j
. If we do
the same for User 2 as shown in the second image, and so on we then effectively can
calculate the Downlink Load Factor.
Now, if we consider the entry of a New User to the Cell, we might want to know the
Maximum Range a new user has, given the current status of the Cell and its Users. If we
look at every pixel and calculate the i
j
and
j
at every Pixel and include these in the
Downlink Load Equation we will notice that the Downlink Load Equation will change from
Pixel to Pixel. Given the available Power at the Base Station (i .e. 20W subtract Powers
already allocated to current users), what might be revealed is a Downlink Range Locus
having a non-circular shape, but more of a complex Polygon, as shown in the Third Image.
The Downlink Range shown in Blue in the third image is purely for illustration. What we
would expect, is say, blue pixels across the image changing colour from Downlink
Available to Downlink Not Available, perhaps with more Blue Pixels near the Cell, and
non-blue pixels farther away from the cell. As users move around we would see the pixels
change colour also, or at least the Polygon shape Wobble around.
This Downlink Coverage Plot depiction is of course assuming a Fl at Terrain and a simple
Hata Model for example. When we add Terrain perturbations, it becomes increasing
difficult even to guess what the Downlink available coverage would look like. As more
users are added, or removed, or datarates changed the situation becomes even more difficult
to characterise. This is why it is so difficult to say what the Coverage Range is for a
UMTS Site.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.96
In WCDMA for UMTS the average Downlink Load Factor is presented, based upon using average values for the
Orthogonality factors, aj, and Other Cell to Own Cell Powers, ij. This results in a modified equation as:
( ) [ ]

'
,
_
+
M
j
j
j
j
o
b
DL
W
R
N
E
i 1
( ) [ ] +
W
R
N
E
M i
o
b
DL
1
If all Musers in the Cell were using the same type of service, then Eb/No, Activity Rate, and Bit Rate would be the same.
In this case we can state that the Average Downlink Load Factor,
DL
can be expressed as:
Uplink
Ranges
Downlink
Range
Image illustrates what the Downlink Range might be given a Cell Averaged
Orthogonality factor, , and Averaged Other Cell/Own Cell Interference ratio, I
across all M users in the cell.
In an attempt to bring some Empirical metrics for the Downlink, we can make some (quite
sweeping) assumptions. We can assume an Average Orthogonality Factor for the Cell,
avg
,
and an Average Other Cell to Own Cell Interference factor for the whole Cell, i
avg
. By
doing this we can get an Average Downlink Load Factor.
If we then apply such averaging of the Orthogonality Factors and Other Cell to Own Cell
Interference factors, we can reveal a Circular description for the Maximum Downlink
Range, as shown in the Image. What we are saying here of course is that the Circle will not
change size or Wobble around as the users move around within t he Cell. The Circle will
change size of course as users enter, leave and change datarate within the cell, as would the
Uplink Range.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.97
Downlink Noise Rise as a Function of Downlink Data Throughput and
i for avg = 0.6 (ITU Vehicular A Channel)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Throughput (kbps)
N
o
i
s
e
R
i
s
e
(
d
B
)
10%
25%
50%
75%
90%
UMTS Downlink Link Budget Coverage/Capacity
Downlink Noise Rise as a function of
data throughput.
Assumes:
Eb/No = 5.5dB
User Average i = 10% to 90%
LCD144 Users
User Average = 0.6 and 0.9
Interference Rise
Intercell Interference (from i
avg
) and
Intracell Orthogonality (from
avg
)
limits Pole Capacity (by adding
Interference)
Intracell Interference (additional
throughput) limits range (by adding
Noise Rise dBs to the Link)
Average i
Downlink Noise Rise as a Function of Downlink Data Throughput and
i for avg = 0.9 (ITU Pedestrian A Channel)
0.00
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
14.00
16.00
18.00
20.00
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Throughput (kbps)
N
o
i
s
e
R
i
s
e
(
d
B
)
10%
25%
50%
75%
90%
Average i
If we use the Downlink Load Equation shown on the previous slide and apply some real
numbers we obtain the above Capacity vs. Noise Rise Curves for different Average
Othercell/Owncell Interference ratios, i
avg
, for Average Cell Orthogonality,
avg
= 0.6,
and
avg
= 0.9, which roughly correspond to all users being Vehicular, and Pedestrian,
respectively.
The key messages here are:
avg
) and Intracell Orthogonality (from
avg
) limits the
Pole Capacity, and hence the effective Capacity of a Cell
Intracell Interference (from additional users, or greater throughput) adds Noise
Rise to the Cell, and limits the available Link Budget, which in turn limits Range
We also show a demonstration at this point of how we achieve these curves using a small
Excel Spreadsheet Program in order to explore further the relationship between Load and
Range, and their dependency upon i
avg
and
avg
.
The i
avg
= 75% curve may represent a Macro Cell which might have quite high Intercell
Interference as it needs to serve a large area and users can see many other base station
cells, together with the fact the Macro cell needs to be quite resilient in terms of Coverage,
and hence may also use a relatively large overlap between sectors.
The i
avg
= 25% curve may represent a Micro Cell which might have quite low Intercell
Interference as it may be fairly well isolated (from other Micro Cell sites using the same
frequency). It may also use an Omni-directional antenna and hence have no overlap
between other sectors.
This demonstrates why a Macro Cell may have less capacity than a Micro Cell, as shown in
the corresponding slides for the Uplink.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.98
Downlink Range as a function of data
throughput.
Assumes:
BS Power = 20W
Eb/No = 5.5dB
User Average i = 10% to 90%
LCD144 Users
User Average = 0.6 and 0.9
Interference Rise
avg
) and
Intracell Orthogonality (from
avg
)
limits Pole Capacity (by adding
Interference)
Intracell Interference (additional
throughput) limits range (by adding
Noise Rise dBs to the Link)
UMTS Downlink Range as a function of Capacity and Average User i
for
a v g = 0.6 (ITU Vehicular Channel A)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Throughput (kbps)
R
a
n
g
e

(
k
m
)
10%
25%
50%
75%
90%
UMTS Downlink Range as a function of Capacity and Average User i
for
a v g = 0.9 (ITU Pedestrian Channel A)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Throughput (kbps)
R
a
n
g
e

(
k
m
)
10%
25%
50%
75%
90%
Average i
Average i
The above graph simply shows the relationship between Capacity (or Throughput) and Cell
Range for different Average Othercell/Owncell Interference ratios, i
avg
, for Average Cell
Orthogonality,
avg
= 0.6, and
avg
= 0.9, which roughly correspond to all users being
Vehicular, and Pedestrian, respectively.
The Graphs corresponds to the Graphs on the previous slide.
The Coverage/Capacity graphs also make assumptions on the distribution of users across
the cell, and hence a particular set of Downlink Powers allocated to the users in the cell.
The Path Loss equation assumes certain environmental parameters in the Link Budget, such
as:
Penetration Loss = 15dB
Area Locations Probability = 97%
Urban Environment
These are relatively stringent environmental parameters and hence the relatively small cell
ranges produced.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.99
Uplink and Downlink range as a
function of capacity, or throughput,
are shown together.
The Graphs are based upon the
example shown in WCDMA for
UMTS page 166.
LCD144 Services
Uplink:
Eb/No = 1.5dB
i = 0.65
Downlink:
Eb/No = 5.5dB
i
avg
= 0.8

avg
= 0.6
UMTS Uplink and Downlink Range as a function of Uplink and Downlink
Capacity
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
0 500 1000 1500
Load (kbps)
C
e
l
l
R
a
d
i
u
s
(
k
m
)
Capacity
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
0 500 1000 1500
Load (kbps)
C
e
l
l
R
a
d
i
u
s
(
k
m
)
Downlink Coverage/Capacity values for
combinations of User Positions, and Cell Loading
I.e. due to User Movement and Loading
Uplink Coverage/Capacity values for
combinations of Cell Loading.
Downlink
Uplink
We can place both Uplink and Downlink Capacity/Coverage curves onto the same graph.
The top graph illustrates that for Cell Loading below about 650kbps the Cell is Uplink
range limited. We could support of course asymmetric services (I.e. more downlink
capacity) to balance the links and make efficient use of the Downlink.
The Top graph corresponds to that shown in WCDMA for UMTS page 166, and are
based upon the key parameters shown in the slide.
The bottom graph attempts to illustrate the movement in the curves due to loading of the
cell (number of users) and the movement of users within the Cell. The latter point applies to
the Downlink. As explained in the previous slide the Downlink Curve represents a certain
current user distribution across the cell and as a consequence there will exist different
distribution of powers to users as users move around, and hence different link budgets
become available for new users. E.g. if all current users were close to the cell then a large
power may be available for the next user resulting in a large range, representing a point in
the blue shaded portion near the top for a particular cell load. One could imagine that there
exists a probability distribution in the blue shaded portion, corresponding to the probability
of certain user distributions.
The red line on the Uplink Load Curve represents how the Uplink characteristics would
change with different numbers of users in the cell. This Red line would also have width
representing the degree of Intercell Interference experienced due to movement and numbers
of other users connected to other cells. This is not shown on the graph.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.100
In WCDMA/UMTS there
exists a whole range of
possible Capacity and
Coverage combinations, based
upon Service Mixes, user
speeds, Interference
Geometry, User Positions,
Channel Multipath, etc, etc.
In contrast with GSM there
exists essentially one
Capacity/Coverage point, and
is not dependent upon user
locations, Service mix, user
speeds, etc.
Capacity
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
0 500 1000 1500
Load (kbps)
C
e
l
l
R
a
d
i
u
s
(
k
m
)
GSM Uplink and Downlink Range as a function of Uplink and Downlink
Capacity
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
0 500 1000 1500
Load (kbps)
C
e
l
l
R
a
d
i
u
s
(
k
m
)
Downlink
Uplink
Downlink
Uplink
We have demonstrated that a whole spectrum of Cell Range/Capacity combinations exist
for UMTS. We often get asked as Engineers by Marketing departments, business modelling
staff a number of seemingly simple questions such as:
What is the Range of a UMTS Cell?
What is the Capacity of a UMTS Cell?
Just give me an average figure?
The answers to these are largely unknown. Vendors have carried out estimates,
Governments have asked experts to carry out estimates, and Operators have carried out
estimates, each producing quite widely varying results. In the UK Site Count Estimates for
UMTS have ranged from 8,000 sites to 40,000 for a single operator! The true value (or
realistic/achievable) value may lie somewhere around 15,000-20,000 sites???? Only
recently, have we had some confidence in site count estimation, which has been derived
from very complex simulation tools. Such tools are introduced in the next section, The
Radio Planning Process.
In contrast to GSM, the Sensitivities of the Base Station and Mobile were non-varying
quantities. This led us to being very confident as to the Range of a GSM Cell, given a
particular environment (Urban, Rural, etc.). Likewise GSM had 7/8 Timeslots per
Transceiver and led us to being very confident as to the Capacity of a GSM Cell, given the
amount of spectrum available, and re-use factor (e.g. 4:3, or 3:3, etc.). The lower graph
illustrates the Range/Capacity for GSM, given 5MHz and 3:3 re-use in an Urban
environment.
So when we (Engineers) are asked the above Questions we can confidentially answer
How Long is a Piece of String?
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.101
Where Are We Now?
Introduction
Summary
Network
Design
Operators
Design Guides
The Planning
Process
Site Placement
Antenna
Placement
Frequency
Planning
Forward
Capacity
Planning
Polygons
Link
Budgets
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.102
UMTS Link Budgets Soft(er) Handover
Handover Area where Downlink
Pilot Power is within xdB of
each other and within Range
Large Handover Area = Good
Resilience for MS at cell edge, given
that Cell can breathe, but lower
capacity
Small Handover Area = Poor
Resilience for MS at cell edge, given
that Cell can breathe, but higher
capacity
75%
Load Range
75%
Load Range
Until now we have considered the UMTS Link Budget in terms of a single cell. The Range
calculations shown are correct using the UMTS Link Budget equations. We have also
shown the Capacity of a UMTS Cell using the Uplink and Downlink Load Equations, and
demonstrated the trade-off between Coverage and Capacity by regulation of Interference,
both Intracell and Intercell.
UMTS is a cellular system and as a result needs to be able to perform Handovers (or
Handoffs), termed HOs between Cells. UMTS has three main flavours of Handover:
Hard Handover (HO between Carriers of the Same Cell, or to other Cells)
Soft Handover (HO between Cells using the same Carrier)
Softer Handover (HO between Sectors of the same BS using the same Carrier)
There also exists an Inter-system Handover (GSM to/from UMTS) and Softest Handover
(Uplink Code re-allocation when another subscriber is using the same scrambling code
close-by this is very unlikely given 2
24
codes to choose from).
Soft Handover has an impact on Capacity, not Range. The Handover area is usually defined
as that area where the Downlink Pilot Powers from two or more cells are within xdB
(typically 6dB, but variable in UMTS) of one another and are of course above the minimum
range threshold. This is illustrated in the slide.
Two different Soft Handover situations are shown. One illustrating a large handover region,
and One illustrating a small handover region. As a cell breathes we get different SHO areas,
but we are primarily interested in the area when the cells are loaded to their design
maximum, such as 50% or 75% of pole capacity.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.103
( ) [ ]

'
,
_
+
M
j
j
j
j
o
b
DL
W
R
N
E
i 1
( ) [ ] +
W
R
N
E
M i
o
b
DL
1
From the previous slides we showed that the
Downlink Load Factor Equation was, for M
users:
Which could be re-arranged, assuming all
services were the same, as:
Given that some links will be in SHO, that is
supporting connections in other cells, the real
capacity of a Cell should be based upon M users,
where M is in fact the number of links, and the
capacity of the cell = M-SHO Overhead. Where,
SHO Overhead is the number of links
supporting SHO to other cells. The SHO is
approximately equal to the number of SHOs/2
for a two cell SHO.
Although the Centre cell is say at its maximum loading of say 75%, it has 5
connections of say 144kbps LCD users. The Downlink Load Equation would suggest
that the cell has a capacity of 144 x 5 = 0.72Mbps. In fact the cell is supporting 3
SHO connections with other cells. We could say that on average 1.5 connections
are used to support other cells which make the Centre Cell Capacity = 0.72Mbps
1.5x144kbps = 0.5Mbps
Soft Handover
Areas
Soft Handover has an impact on Cell Capacity. This is because a number of connections in
a cell will be supporting Soft Handover. The Slide illustrates an example scenario and what
the resulting cell capacity would be. In fact, as subscribers move around and move in and
out of soft handover areas the cell capacity will change, even t hough the actual cell loading
may remain at a design maximum of 75%.
The introduction of Soft Handover further blurs the meaning of cell capacity, given the
already dynamic variation with respect to Intracell interference, Intercell interference
(Uplink and Downlink), and Orthogonality factors (for Downlink only).
In UMTS the radio network planner can choose the what the handover parameters are. This
may be 6dB or 3dB for example, depending whether capacity or coverage resilience,
respectively, is more important perhaps. Furthermore, give that cells overlap, and will
overlap different amounts for different services, we will have a complex situation of SHO
connections and areas.
An observation of such SHO behaviour suggests that siting of Base Stations at the centres
of subscriber populations minimises the risk of loading connecti ons as SHO connections,
and hence allows more capacity per cell to be achieved on average. This is one of the
simple design rules that should be adopted to ensure best use of the available radio
resources.
The only real way we can gauge the coverage and capacity of a network, and individual
cells, given the dynamic nature of the link budget is through simulation. We discuss
approaches to UMTS Simulation in the next section, The Radio Pl anning Process.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.104
Some Link Level simulator results
for analysing Soft Handover Gains
in Uplink and Downlink based upon
IEEE Paper.
Various Mobile Speeds were
studied (3, 10, 20, 50, and
140km/h) for ITU Vehicular and
ITU Pedestrian Channels.
Also, the Fast Power Control
Headroom for Mobiles at the Cell
Edge were studied when in Soft
Handover
User bit Rate 8kbps
DPDCH
Spreading Factor 128 (32kbps)
Coding block in bits 80
CRC bits 16
Tail bits 8
Channel Coding Conv Code (1,3,9)
Rate Matching Repetition 312->320
Interleaving Depth 10ms
DPCCH
Spreading Factor 256 (16kbps)
Pilot bits in slot 6
Power bits in slot 2
Power control bits in slot 2
Rate Information bits in slot 2
Power Difference (DPCCH-DPDCH) -3dB
Fast Power Control step size 1dB
Power Control Rate 1.6kHz
Power Control Dynamic Range 70dB
DPDCH
DPCCH
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 15/16 Uplink DCH
2560 Chips
NB: This Simulator based upon original 4.096Mcps UTRA proposal
In the next few slides we present the results of a Link Level Si mulator to analyse the Soft
Handover Gains achieved for a two Base Station scenario for vari ous Mobile Station
Speeds, for ITU Pedestrian and Vehicular Channels, and for when we have full Transmit
Power Control (TPC) dynamics, and for when we have real Transmit Power Control
dynamics.
More information can be found in Soft Handover Gains in a Fast Power Controlled
WCDMA Uplink, IEEE VTC99, pp. 1594-1598. This paper is a logical development of
the paper discussed previously in this section on Fast Power Control; Modelling the
Impact of Fast Power Control on the WCDMA Uplink, IEEE VTC99, pp. 1266-1270.
In all simulations the Target BER was 10
-3
. For the 3km/h analysis 5000 frames were
simulated, and 3000 frames for all other speeds.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.105
SHO Gains in Transmitted Power for ITU Pedestrian A Channel
0 3 6 10 Single Link
Speed
(km/h)
Transmitted
Eb/No (dB)
3 km/h 2.7 1.4 0.6 0.1 7.0
10 km/h 2.7 1.7 1.0 0.1 7.7
20 km/h 2.4 1.2 0.5 0.1 7.5
50 km/h 1.7 0.7 0.2 0.0 6.8
140 km/h 1.3 0.1 0.1 0.0 6.5
Level difference between SHO Links (dB)
SHO Gain in Received Power (dB)
SHO Gains in Received Power for ITU Pedestrian A Channel
Speed
(km/h)
Received
Eb/No (dB)
3 km/h 1.6 0.7 0.3 0.1 4.9
10 km/h 1.6 1.0 0.5 0.0 5.7
20 km/h 1.7 0.8 0.3 0.0 6.0
50 km/h 1.4 0.5 0.2 0.0 6.0
140 km/h 1.3 0.1 0.1 0.0 6.3
Downlink SHO Gains for 2-BS SHO for ITU Pedestrian A Channel
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
0 2 4 6 8 10
dB difference between SHO Links
S
H
O
G
a
i
n
o
v
e
r
s
i
n
g
l
e
l
i
n
k
c
a
s
e
3 km/h
10 km/h
20 km/h
50 km/h
140 km/h
Uplink SHO Gains for 2-BS SHO for ITU Pedestrian A Channel
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
0 2 4 6 8 10
S
H
O
G
a
i
n
o
v
e
r
s
i
n
g
l
e
l
i
n
k
c
a
s
e
3 km/h
10 km/h
20 km/h
50 km/h
140 km/h
Difference in Tx and Rx Eb/No =
Fast Power Control Average Power Rise
Full Transmit Power Control Dynamics
The tables and graphs in this slide illustrate the SHO Gain (over the single link case)
achieved for different speeds in the ITU Pedestrian A Channel. In each table the single link
(I.e. no SHO) Eb/No is also shown. The Transmitted Eb/Io is the Average Transmitted Eb
over Received Io, and differs for Downlink (MS Received) and Uplink (MS Transmitted)
because of Average Tx Power Rise caused by Fast Power Control, as discussed earlier in
this section. This means that the MS Tx average Power was (7.0-4.9)=2.1dB higher than the
case where we dont have a fading channel, for 3km/h case. Recall that this Average Tx
Power rise only needs to be considered as additional Interference to Base Stations in other
Cells, and not in the Home Cell.
For these results the Mobile was not operating at a maximum power and therefore Fast
Power Control had full freedom. This represents the case where we would have a dense cell
network, and the true cell edge is never reached since the high density of sites are needed to
cater for capacity demand.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.106
Downlink SHO Gains for 2-BS SHO for ITU Vehicular A Channel
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
0 2 4 6 8 10
S
H
O
G
a
i
n
o
v
e
r
s
i
n
g
l
e
l
i
n
k
c
a
s
e
3 km/h
10 km/h
20 km/h
50 km/h
140 km/h
SHO Gains in Received Power for ITU Vehicular A Channel
Speed
(km/h)
Received
Eb/No (dB)
3 km/h 1.1 0.3 0.1 0.0 6.0
10 km/h 1.2 0.4 0.2 0.0 6.3
20 km/h 0.7 0.2 0.1 0.0 6.1
50 km/h 0.8 0.1 0.0 0.0 6.2
140 km/h 1.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 6.6
SHO Gains in Transmitted Power for ITU Vehicular A Channel
Speed
(km/h)
Received
Eb/No (dB)
3 km/h 1.3 0.4 0.1 0.0 6.4
10 km/h 1.6 0.6 0.2 0.1 7.0
20 km/h 1.0 0.3 0.1 0.1 6.6
50 km/h 1.2 0.4 0.0 0.0 6.7
140 km/h 1.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 6.7
Downlink SHO Gains for 2-BS SHO for ITU Vehicular A Channel
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
0 2 4 6 8 10
S
H
O
G
a
i
n
o
v
e
r
s
i
n
g
l
e
l
i
n
k
c
a
s
e
3 km/h
10 km/h
20 km/h
50 km/h
140 km/h
Difference in Tx and Rx Eb/No =
Fast Power Control Average Power Rise
Limited Transmit Power Control Dynamics
The tables and graphs in this slide illustrate the SHO Gain (over the single link case)
achieved for different speeds in the ITU Vehicular A Channel. In each table the single link
(I.e. no SHO) Eb/No is also shown. The Transmitted Eb/Io is the Average Transmitted Eb
over Received Io, and differs for Downlink (MS Received) and Uplink (MS Transmitted)
because of Average Tx Power Rise caused by Fast Power Control, as discussed earlier in
this section. This means that the MS Tx average Power was (6.4-6.0)=0.4dB higher than the
case where we dont have a fading channel, for 3km/h case. Recall that this Average Tx
Power rise only needs to be considered as additional Interference to Base Stations in other
Cells, and not in the Home Cell.
The Average Tx Power Rise is lower than it is with the Pedestrian Channel, because the
Pedestrian Channel has less Multipath diversity.
For these results the Mobile was operating at a maximum power and therefore Fast Power
Control did not had full freedom. This represents the case where we would have a low
density cell network, and the true cell edge is often reached.
For both Pedestrian and Vehicular Channels the SHO Gain diminishes with higher BS link
power differences, as would be expected. This demonstrates at least the range of SHO
margins that might be considered to program the Radio Resource Management.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.107
0 3 6 10
Single Link Case:
Fast Power Control
OFF
Single Link Case:
Fast Power Control
ON
Maximum
Speed
Average Received
Eb/No (without FPC)
Average Received
Eb/No (with FPC)
3km/h 8.5 10.2 11.4 12.4 13.1 4.9
10km/h 7.0 8.5 10.4 11.1 11.5 5.7
20km/h 6.4 8.0 9.1 9.7 9.7 6
50km/h 5.4 7.0 7.8 7.9 7.9 6
140km/h 5.2 6.0 6.4 6.5 6.5 6.3
Average Received Eb/No (without FPC)
Required Fast Power Control Headroom for Link Budget
in SHO and Single Link for Pedestrian A Channel
0 3 6 10
Maximum
Speed
single Link (dB)
3km/h 3.6 5.3 6.5 7.5 8.2
10km/h 1.3 2.8 4.7 5.4 5.8
20km/h 0.4 2.0 3.1 3.7 3.7
50km/h -0.6 1.0 1.8 1.9 1.9
140km/h -1.1 -0.3 0.1 0.2 0.2
in SHO (dB)
minus
The previous couple of slides summarised the results of Effective SHO Gains as a function
of speed and channel type when we had full Mobile Tx Power Control dynamics. That is
the Mobile was not transmitting at its full power.
In this slide we consider the case where the Mobile is at the edge of the cell and hence is
transmitting on Full Power. As a result we lose Tx Fast Power Control, and hence we lose
Fast Power Control Gain, where this means we have a higher target Eb/No. The top table
illustrates this in the latter two columns and are from the previous discussions on Fast
Power Control when we considered the single Link (I.e. no SHO) case.
We understand that when a Mobile is in SHO the degree and depth of fading is reduced
through Macro-diversity, and as a result we will receive a benefit or Gain over the non-
SHO case. We can work out the effective SHO Gain for Mobiles at the Cell Edge (Tx on
Full Power) and use this in the Link Budget equations discussed much earlier in this
section, or work out the Required Fast Power Control Headroom Margin for the Link
Budget, which will be reduced from the single link case. We can apply either, but not both
to the Link Budget, as they are the same effect described in different terms.
The second table in this slide shows the Required Fast Power Control Headroom for a
Link Budget calculation (Uplink) when the Mobile is in SHO and for the non-SHO or
single link case. The Fast Power Control Headroom for the single link case is simply the
difference in Eb/No with and without Fast Power Control. For a 3km/h mobile in Pedestrian
A channel using 8kbps Voice, and other parameters used in this simulation this is 13.1dB
4.9dB = 8.2dB.
The Fast Power Control Headroom for the SHO case is equal to the difference in Eb/No
for SHO (without Fast Power Control) and Eb/No for the single link case (with Fast Power
Control).
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.108
Effective SHO Gain in Fast Power Control
Headroom for Pedestrain A Channel
0 3 6 10
Maximum
Speed
3km/h 4.6 2.9 1.7 0.7
10km/h 4.5 3.0 1.1 0.4
20km/h 3.3 1.7 0.6 0.0
50km/h 2.5 0.9 0.1 0.0
140km/h 1.3 0.5 0.1 0.0
Effective SHO Gain in Fast Power
Control Headroom (dB)
0 3 6 10
Single Link Case:
Fast Power Control
OFF
Single Link Case:
Fast Power Control
ON
Maximum
Speed
Average Received
Eb/No (without FPC)
Average Received
Eb/No (with FPC)
3km/h 8.5 10.2 11.4 12.4 13.1 4.9
10km/h 7.0 8.5 10.4 11.1 11.5 5.7
20km/h 6.4 8.0 9.1 9.7 9.7 6
50km/h 5.4 7.0 7.8 7.9 7.9 6
140km/h 5.2 6.0 6.4 6.5 6.5 6.3
Average Received Eb/No (without FPC)
minus
Effective SHO Gain in Fast Power Control Headroom (dB)
for Pedestrian A Channel as function of Speed
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
0 2 4 6 8 10
dB Difference between SHO Links
E
f
f
e
c
t
i
v
e

S
H
O

G
a
i
n

i
n

F
a
s
t

P
o
w
e
r

C
o
n
t
r
o
l

H
e
a
d
r
o
o
m

(
d
B
)
3km/h
10km/h
20km/h
50km/h
140km/h
Alternatively we can show the equivalent SHO Gain in Fast PowerControl for Mobiles at
the Cell Edge (or transmitting at full power). This can be used instead of adjustment of the
single link Fast Power Control Headroom in the Link Budget. We state that the SHO
Gain in Fast Power Control is equal to the difference in Eb/No for the Single Link case
(without Fast Power Control) and the Eb/No for the SHO case (without Fast Power
Control).
The tables in this slide show how the Effective or Equivalent SHO Gain in Fast Power
Control Headroom is calculated for Mobiles in SHO transmitting at full power in
Pedestrian A channel at various speeds. The Graph is the graphical interpretation of the
second Table.
Remember that in the Link Budget when we consider Mobiles at the Cell Edge we use
either:
1. Fast power Control Headroom for the SHO situation OR
2. Keep the single link Fast Power Control Headroom value and apply a SHO
Gain in Fast Power Control Headroom
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.109
Soft Handover is Very Important in WCDMA/UMTS
Soft Handover can, when used carefully provide Capacity and
Coverage Improvement. Soft Handover provides:
Macrodiversity combining and equivalent SHO Gain which
improves Link Budget and hence Range. This is seen in the
reduction in Fast power Control Headroom for Mobiles at
the Cell Edge.
A reduction in Fast Power Control variation which leads to
a reduction in Average Tx Power Rise, which lowers
Interference to other cells, and hence improves Capacity
Too much Handover area may negate any capacity Benefit
Too much Handover margin may negate any capacity Benefit
SHO is important and it has a two fold effect:
1. It improves the Link Budget and hence range
2. It reduces the Fast Power Control Variation which leads to a reduction in the
average Tx Power Rise which minimises Intercell Interference, and hence
increases capacity
On the other hand SHO consumes capacity at twice the rate since it supports other links in
other cells and other cells support links within the home cell. The trade off between
obtaining a capacity/coverage improvement and a capacity reduction can be a sensitive
function. We wish to avoid too much physical Area of SHO and too much SHO margin
(e.g. 10dB) as these may result in a negative capacity benefit. We may wish to use the
following Guidelines:
1. For Capacity limited cells a small quantity of SHO may result in the optimised capacity.
2. For Coverage limited cells a larger quantity of SHO may result in the optimised range.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.110
UMTS Link Budgets Analysis
Some Further Network Simulation results presented in the
next few Slides
Based upon the Nokia UMTS Simulation Platform as
described in WCDMA for UMTS
We shall look at the impact on the Network Design of:
Antenna Downtilt
Antenna Sectorisation
Mast Head Amplifiers
The next few slides presents some results from Real Simulations, based upon a Paper
entitled:
The Impact of the Radio Network Planning and Site Configuration on the WCDMA
Network Capacity and Quality of Service
Jaana laiho-Steffens, Achim Wacker, Pauli Aikio, Nokia Networks.
This is referenced in WCDMA for UMTS.
All the simulations were carried out on a UMTS/WCDMA Simulation Tool developed
using Matlab.
Some of the Radio Planning Parameters studied were:
Antenna Tilt
Antenna Sectorisation
Use of Mast Head Amplifiers
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.111
Various Parameters were used in
setting up the simulation.
13.5km
2
of Tokyo
10 Sites, 50m Height
20W Base Station Power
15dB Penetration Losses
Log Normal Standard
Deviation = 12dB
Channel Profile = ITU
Vehicular 3km/h
Average User Orthogonality,
avg
= 0.5
Soft Handover Addition
Window = 4dB
Source: IEEE
For complete information regarding the simulation results please refer to the Paper.
The Impact of the Radio Network Planning and Site Configuration on the WCDMA
Network Capacity and Quality of Service
Jaana laiho-Steffens, Achim Wacker, Pauli Aikio, Nokia Networks.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.112
Example plot for
determining coverage
shown
Best Server prediction
based upon minimum MS
Tx Power on Uplink
MS at 3km/h
Service = 64kbps LCD
Antenna Downtilts = 10
o
10 Base Stations, 6
Sectors/BS = 60 Cells
Source: IEEE
The plot in this slide was produced through a Radio Planning Simulation tool developed by
Nokia. The specific simulation process is described in the next section, and is based upon
the convergence of one Network Condition Snapshot of a particular subscriber
distribution (as shown in the previous slides) across the area t o arrive at expected Coverage
and Capacity predictions. The slide shows what the Coverage might look like given the
network parameters, simulation assumptions and subscriber distri butions used. The plot
shows a best server prediction based upon the minimum Mobile Station Tx Power (I.e.
Uplink Best Serving Cells).
A Coverage figure of 82.87% is given. Had we used significantly different subscriber
distributions we may have found that we find different SHO conditions, and cell loadings
exist and may result in a different figure. This Coverage dependence on Subscriber
locations is important and is discussed further in the next section. A figure of 80% or so
may be reasonable for a 64kbps service. We might expect voice to be more like 95%, and
LCD 144kbps service more like 70%.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.113
UMTS Link Budgets Analysis Antenna Tilts
With Antenna Downtilt, one would
expect the Intercell Interference
to be better contained, at the
expense of reducing Coverage
Quality.
The Table shows the results
obtained for four types of
Antenna.
The graph homes in on the tri -
sectored antenna.
i decreases with Tilt Angle
No. of Users increase with
Tilt Angle
Coverage increases then
decreases with Antenna Tilt
Antenna Tilt
Other/Own Cell
Interference
Ratio, i
Served
Users
Soft
Handover
Overhead
8kbps 64kbps 144kbps
0
o
0.79 239 28% 70% 32% 40%
0
o
0.88 575 40% 86% 59% 62%
4
o
0.75 624 39% 91% 71% 72%
7
o
0.59 697 36% 92% 76% 76%
10
o
0.37 856 30% 90% 75% 74%
14
o
0.38 787 32% 81% 62% 61%
0
o
1.09 604 41% 92% 70% 71%
4
o
0.94 707 30% 95% 81% 81%
7
o
0.72 833 26% 96% 84% 83%
10
o
0.47 959 21% 94% 82% 81%
14
o
0.50 886 26% 86% 69% 68%
0
o
1.15 880 48% 93% 76% 76%
4
o
1.03 946 49% 96% 83% 83%
7
o
0.88 1037 45% 96% 85% 84%
10
o
0.73 1054 41% 95% 83% 82%
14
o
0.58 930 33% 86% 70% 69%
UL Coverage Probability
3-Sectored, 65
o
4-Sectored, 65
o
6-Sectored, 65
o
Omni
Uplink i and Cell capacity as a Function of Antenna Tilt
for 3-Sectored 65
o
antennas
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Antenna Tilt
N
u
m
b
e
r

o
f

U
s
e
r
s

(
C
a
p
a
c
i
t
y
)
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80
0.90
1.00
O
t
h
e
r

C
e
l
l
/
O
w
n

C
e
l
l

I
n
t
e
r
f
e
r
e
n
c
e
,

i
Served Users
Other/Own Cell Interference Ratio, i
It is clear from these simulations that increasing Antenna Downtilt provides better Other
Cell to Own Cell Interference on the Uplink (This would also apply on the Downlink). As a
result we lower the Uplink (and Downlink) Load Factors, and provide a higher pole
capacity, or capacity for a certain Noise Rise, and allow more users to be supported. We
notice that for this simulation that an Optimum Antenna Tilt Angle lies around about 7
degrees.
As we increase Antenna Tilt we notice that (for all antennas, except the 6-sectored case)
that the Uplink Coverage probability increases then decreases, whilst the soft Handover
Overhead decreases then increases. We expect soft handover to decrease with antenna tilt
as any two overlapping cells will have less area where their potential coverages are within
4dB of each other (I.e. Handover Admission Window). As a result there will be less
handover activity, and hence more capacity available. This fact also supports why we see
more users being supported with increasing antenna tilt. Coverage is a little more complex,
as Antenna tilt increases one would expect that coverage reliability decreases, but as the
Other Cell to Own Cell Interference ratio decreases there is more link budget available,
and hence we achieve better range. The Coverage eventually reaches an optimum then
decreases beyond a certain tilt angle when it is suggested that the fall off rate of the
antenna is greater than the benefit gained through improving Ot her Cell to Own Cell
Interference. It is noted in the paper that due to antenna radiation pattern variations, side
lobes, and nulls (both in elevation and azimuth) there could be some variations in i and
coverage probability as a function of tilt angle.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.114
UMTS Link Budgets Analysis Antenna Tilts
Low Antenna Tilt Angle
Large Area of +/-3dB Coverage Area = Large Handover Area
More Connections in Soft Handover = Less Overall Capacity
High Other Cell to Own Cell Interference = less Coverage
High Other Cell to Own Cell Interference = less Coverage
Less resilient in terms of Coverage
High Antenna Tilt Angle
Smaller Area of +/-3dB Coverage Area Small Handover Area
Less Connections in Soft Handover More Overall Capacity
Lower Other Cell to Own Cell Interference = More Coverage
Lower Other Cell to Own Cell Interference = More Capacity
More Resilient in terms of Coverage
This slide simply attempts to illustrate the effect of Cell Overlap between Cells with
Increasing Antenna Downtilt, and supports the discussion in the previous slide.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.115
UMTS Link Budgets Analysis MHA
Low Noise Masthead Amplifier
on Uplink.
Antenna Tilt = 7
o
MS Power = 27dBm
Increase in Number of UL
Users with MHA
Decrease in Number of DL
Users with MHA
Increase in UL Coverage
Probability with MHA
MHA
Other/Own Cell
Interference
Ratio, i
Served
Users in
UL
Served
users in
DL
no MHA 0.60 1038 807 93% 78% 78%
with MHA 0.61 1064 746 95% 82% 82%
no MHA 0.73 1089 884 96% 86% 85%
with MHA 0.73 1107 846 98% 89% 89%
no MHA 0.88 1124 1052 97% 87% 86%
with MHA 0.90 1132 1021 98% 90% 90%
3-Sectored, 65
o
4-Sectored, 65
o
6-Sectored, 65
o
Feeder
Antenna
Head
BS Rx
Feeder
Antenna
Head +
LNA
BS Rx
Without MHA With MHA
In all antenna sectorisation cases the inclusion of the MHA increased UL Capacity, simply
due to the increased sensitivity. We can achieve more link budget in the Uplink which
means we can suffer a higher Noise Rise due to additional load or users. Also, Coverage
probability is increased with MHA, which is again due to the increased link budget. What
we have in effect is an increase in range and capacity, but this could be just range or
capacity (depends upon user density).
However, a decrease in the Downlink Capacity was seen. This may be due to the fact that
there is more Soft Handover Region, and hence consumes more Powe r from the limited
Base Station Power resource. To counter this one would have to reduce Soft Handover area,
through say extra downtilt, and/or antenna Beamwidth.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.116
UMTS Link Budgets Analysis Antenna Beamwidth
MHA in use, No Downtilt, MS
Tx Power = 24dBm Max.
Higher Sectorisation, More
Capacity per site achieved.
Narrower Beamwidth results
in lower Other Cell to Own
Cell Interference.
Narrow Beamwidth results in
more Capacity and Reduction
in Soft Handover Overhead
Coverage Probability has an
Optimum value.
Antenna
Beamwidth
Other/Own Cell
Interference
Ratio, i
Served
Users
Soft
Handover
Overhead
360
o
0.79 240 28% 70% 32% 40%
120
o
1.33 441 39% 85% 50% 59%
90
o
1.19 461 35% 87% 55% 62%
65
o
0.88 575 34% 86% 59% 62%
120
o
1.72 489 54% 90% 62% 68%
90
o
1.49 510 51% 92% 67% 72%
65
o
1.09 604 41% 92% 70% 71%
33
o
0.92 691 40% 88% 65% 64%
120
o
2.18 593 64% 95% 75% 79%
90
o
1.97 627 59% 96% 80% 82%
65
o
1.43 758 55% 96% 80% 81%
33
o
1.15 880 48% 93% 76% 76%
6-Sectored
Omni
3-Sectored
4-Sectored
Uplink Coverage probability and Users Served as a Function
of Antenna Sectorisation and Beamwidth
84%
86%
88%
90%
92%
94%
96%
98%
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
No. of Users
C
o
v
e
r
a
g
e
P
r
o
b
a
b
i
l
i
t
y
(
8
K
b
p
s
)
3-Sectored 120deg
3-Sectored 90deg
3-Sectored 65deg
4-Sectored 120deg
4-Sectored 90deg
4-Sectored 65deg
6-Sectored 120deg
6-Sectored 90deg
6-Sectored 65deg
6-Sectored 33deg
4-Sectored 33deg
3-sectors
4-sectors
6-sectors
90o
120o
65o
120o
120o
90o
65o
65o
90o
33o
33o
The results for varying Antenna Sectorisation and Beamwidth reveal that the higher the site
sectorisation, the greater the Capacity of the site, as would be expected. The narrower the
Antenna Beamwidth, the lower the Other Cell to Own Cell Interfe rence experienced.
This is also expected as there exists less overlap between sectors and hence the less
influence of Other Cell Interference. The lower overlap also generates lower Soft Handover
Overhead.
However, as we reduce Antenna Beamwidth we reduce the Coverage Probability. We
effectively start to introduce gaps at a distance due to narrow Beamwidth antennas, and we
lose coverage resilience. There exists an optimum range of Beamwidths for each
sectorisation case.
This analysis, together with Downtilt analysis, and the MHA prove to show that the choice
of Antennas in a UMTS network has an enormous impact upon Interference, Soft Handover
Overhead, and Coverage Probability. These metrics are closely coupled in WCDMA, and
careful choices of Antennas, and Antenna deployment designs need to be considered.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.117
UMTS Link Budgets Analysis Antenna Beamwidth
120
o
90
o
65
o
Three Sectored Site Case:
Other to Own Int., i = 1.33
Served Users = 441
Soft Handover Overhead = 39%
UL Coverage Prob. (8K) = 85%
Served Users = 461
Served Users = 575
This slide further illustrates the results obtained from the antenna Beamwidth study
presented in the previous slides.
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.118
Where Are We Now?
Introduction
Summary
Network
Design
Operators
Design Guides
The Planning
Process
Site Placement
Antenna
Placement
Frequency
Planning
Forward
Capacity
Planning
Polygons
Link
Budgets
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.119
Summary
In this section on Link Budgets you have learnt
Recap on 2G Link Budgets
Differences between 2G and 3G Link Budgets
The Limitations of the Link Budget, particularly on the
Downlink
Appreciate that Coverage and Capacity are coupled
through Interference
The UMTS Link Budget is totally Dynamic and difficult
to Empiricalise
This section is important to you because
Planning Tools model the Dynamic behaviour of the
UMTS link budget
NJHX410E.PPT
Link Budgets
4.1.120
The End of Link Budgets
Introduction Network
Design
Design
Elements
Basic Radio
Principles
Mobile Radio
Channel
Optimisation
Narrowband
Channel
Wideband
Channel
Local Mean
Signal
Path Loss
Diversity
Link
Budgets
UMTS
Overview
Access
Technologies
Model
Architecture
UMTS
Standards
WCDMA
Introduction
Operators
Design Guides
The Planning
Process
Polygons
Site Placement
Antenna
Placement
Frequency
Planning
Forward
Capacity
Planning
Course
Overview
Radio Resource
Management
Antennas and
Feeders
WCDMA
Physical Layer
Interference
Matched
Filters and
Rake Receivers
Conventional
Optimisation
Course
Wash Up
3G
Optimisation
Any More
Questions?
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Mason Communications Training: WCDMA Radio Planning Course

Module 4: Network Design

The total Interference, I

) 1 ( 10 (dB) Rise Noise

Mason Communications Training: WCDMA Radio Planning Course

Mason Communications Training: WCDMA Radio Planning Course

Mason Communications Training: WCDMA Radio Planning Course

Mason Communications Training: WCDMA Radio Planning Course

If we recall, for all services equal (I.e. all Voice), we

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