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LTEThroughputcalculation

LTEThroughputCalculation
Tags:LTE,LTEBasics
ByadmininLTEonJuly26,2015.

ThroughputCalculationforLTETDDandFDDSystems
Introduction:
ManyofusmighthaveheardaboutLTEspeakthroughputi.e.300Mbps,buthowmanyofus
knowhowwecalculatethat?Thispaperprovidestheinformation,howthisnumberis
calculated?Andassumptionsbehind?Inthispaper,authorshaveexplainedthecalculationsof
theoreticalthroughputforboththeLTEFDDandTDDsystems.
OverviewofLTEPhysicalLayar:
LTEPhysicallayerdealswithparameterslikefrequency,bandwidth,Modulation,cyclic
prefix,codingratewhichplaysimportanceincalculationofthethroughput.
LTEsystemusesOFDMAasaccesstechnologyindownlinktoincreasethespectral
efficiencyandSCFDMAinuplinkduetolowPeaktoAveragePowerratio(PAPR)
advantage.
LTEsupportsbothTDDandFDDduplexing,flexiblebandwidthi.e.1.4,3,5,10,15,20MHz
andmodulationschemesQPSK,16QAM,64QAM.
Laterwewilldiscussthesignificanceofeachparameter.
LTEBasicTerminology:
TherearesomebasicterminologiesofLTEsystemthatshouldbeknowntobetterunderstand
thethroughputcalculation.Theseareexplainedbelow:
ResourceElementTheREisthesmallestunitoftransmissionresourceinLTE,inboth
uplinkanddownlink.AnREconsistsof1subcarrierinthefrequencydomainfordurationof1
OrthogonalFrequencyDivisionMultiplexing(OFDM)orSingleCarrierFrequencyDivision
Multiplexing(SCFDM)symbolinthetimedomain.
SubcarrierSpacingItisthespacebetweentheindividualsubcarriers,inLTEitis15KHz.
Thereisnofrequencyguardbandbetweenthesesubcarrierfrequencies,ratheraguardPeriod
calledaCyclicPrefix(CP)isusedinthetimedomaintohelppreventMultipathInterSymbol
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Interference(ISI)betweensubcarriers.
CyclicPrefixAsetofsampleswhichareduplicatedfromtheendofatransmittedsymbol
andappendedcyclicallytothebeginningofthesymbol.Thiscanformatypeofguardinterval
toabsorbInterSymbolInterference(ISI).Thecyclicconstructionpreservesorthogonalityofthe
subcarriersinanOFDMtransmission.
Timeslot0.5mstimeperiodofLTEframecorrespondingto7OFDMsymbols(and7CPs)
whenNormalCP=5usecisused(thestandardcase).AndLTE6OFDMsymbols(and6CPs)
whentheExtendedCP=17usecisused.

CombiningtheaboveinformationwecannowdefineaResourceBlock.
ResourceBlockAunitoftransmissionresourceconsistingof12subcarriersinthefrequency
domainand1timeslot(0.5ms)inthetimedomain.So12subcarriersx7symbols=84
ResourceElement(withNormalCP)makesaResourceBlock.IFextendedCPisusedthere
are72Resourceelements(RE).Since12OFDMsubcarriersareusedinaRB,thebandwidth
ofaResourceBlockis180KHz.
LTESubframeorTTItwoslotsi.e.1msintime.
LTEFrame10msor10subframesor20slots.
RelationshipbetweenResourceBlockandBandwidth:
Bandwidthdirectlyaffectsthethroughput.DifferentBWshavedifferentnumberofRBs.

HereisthecalculationhowtofindoutthenumbersofsubmarinersandResourceBlocks.10%
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oftotalbandwidthisassumedtobeusedforguardband.Though10%guardbandassumption
isnotvalidfor1.4MHzbandwidth.
Letstakeanexampleof20MHz.
10%of20MHzis2MHz,usedasguardband,thuseffectivebandwidthwillbe18MHz.
Numberofsubcarriers=18MHz/15KHz=1200
NumberofResourceBlocks=18MHz/180KHz=100
Samecalculationscanbedonewithotherbandwidthstocalculatethenumberofsubcarriers
andResourceBlocks.Sameisshownbelow:

MultiplexingandBandwidth:
LTEsupportsbothtypesofmultiplexingFDDaswellasTDD.
FDDspectrumisalsocalledpairedspectrum,itmeanswhenwesayFDD20MHz,ithasapair
of20MHzBandwidthi.e.20MHzforDownlinkand20MHzforUplink.
TDDspectrumiscalledUnpaireditmeanswhenwesayTDD20MHz,ithasonly20MHz
whichisusedforbothDownlinkandUplink.
ThisMultiplexingtechniquedirectlyaffectsthroughputasinFDDwhichhassymmetric
bandwidthsobothUplinkandDownlinkhavesamethroughput,butinTDDthebandwidthis
asymmetricandsamebandwidthissharedbyUplinkandDownlinkontimesharingbasisso
thetotalthroughputisalsosharedaccordingly.
Choiceofmultiplexingdependsonthebanddefined.The700MHzbandusedinUSisFDD
and2300MHzbandinIndiaisTDD.
ModulationandCodingRate:
AsperRelease8(R8)LTEsupportsmodulationslikeQPSK,16QAMand64QAMinDownlink
andQPSK,16QAMinUplink.EachofModulationhasitsbitscarryingcapacitypersymbol.One
QPSKsymbolcancarry2bits,one16QAMsymbolcancarry4bitsand64QAMsymbolcan
carry6bits.Thisisshownbelowwithconstellationdiagram:

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Alongmodulationthereistermcalledcodingrate.Codingratedescribestheefficiencyof
particularmodulationscheme.Forexample,ifwesay16QAMwithcodingrateof0.5,itmeans
thismodulationhas50%ofefficiencyi.e.as16QAMcancarry4bitsbutwithcodingrateof0.5,
itcancarry2informationbitsandrestofthe2bitsforredundancyofinformation.LTEuses
differentcodingratewithQPSK,16QAMand64QAM.ThecombinationofModulationand
CodingrateiscalledModulationCodingScheme(MCS).BelowfigureshowsMCSindexand
ModulationOrderwhichdescribesthetypeofmodulation(2forQPSK,4for16QAMand6for
64QAM).
LTEsupports0to28MCSinDownlinkand0to22MCSinUplinkasperR8.

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UECategories:
ThecategoryofUEspecifiestheabilityoftheDeviceintermsofDL/ULthroughputs,Antenna
SupportinDL/UL,TBSsizesupportedinDL/ULandModulationsupports.
Thebelowtableshowsthe8categoriesofUE,existingUEcategories15areforrelease8
and9andUEcategories68areforrelease10LTEAdvance.
CommercialUEsthatwehavetodayaremostlyofCategory3(Cat3)whichhave2receive
chainsand1transmitchain.Cat3UEdoesnotsupport64QAMinuplink.TheMaxTBsize
supportedinDLis75376bitsandinUplink51024bits.ThisTBsizelimitsthethroughputatUE
endwhiledonothavesuchlimitationateNodeBside.
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Maximumthroughputwithmaximumbandwidth:
Foranysystemthroughputiscalculatedassymbolspersecond.Furtheritisconvertedintobits
perseconddependingonthehowmanybitsasymbolcancarry.InLTEfor20MHz,thereare
100ResourceBlocksandeachResourceblockhave12x7x2=168Symbolspermsincaseof
NormalCP.Sothereare16800Symbolspermsor16800000Symbolspersecondor16.8
Msps.Ifmodulationusedis64QAM(6bitspersymbol)thenthroughputwillbe
16.86=100.8Mbpsforasinglechain.
ForaLTEsystemwith44MIMO(4T4R)thethroughputwillbefourtimesofsinglechain
throughput.i.e.403.2Mbps.Manysimulationsandstudiesshowthatthereis25%ofoverhead
usedforControllingandsignalling.Sotheeffectivethroughputwillbe300Mbps.The300Mbps
numberisfordownlinkandnotvalidforuplink.InuplinkwehaveonlyonetransmitchainatUE
end.Sowith20MHzwecangetMaximumof100.8Mbpsascalculationshownabove.After
considering25%ofoverheadweget75Mbpsinuplink.Thisisthewayhowwegetthenumber
ofthroughput300MbpsforDownlinkand75MbpsforUplinkshowneverywhere.

Useof3GPPspecification36.213forThroughputcalculation:

In3GPPspecification36.213EUTRAPhysicalLayer,table7.1.7.11showsthemapping
betweenMCS(ModulationandCodingScheme)indexandTBS(TransportBlockSize)index.
ThehighestMCSindex28(64QAMwiththeleastcoding),whichismappedtoTBSindex26
asshownbelow.

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Table7.1.7.2.11showsthetransportblocksize.Thistableindicatesthenumberofbitsthat
canbetransmittedinasubframe/TTI(TransmitTimeInterval)w.r.tbandwidth(numberof
RBs).TheTransportBlocksizegiveninthistableisafterconsideringthecontrollingoverhead.

Byusingthesetwotablesthenumberofdatabitscanbecalculated,withthecombinationof
MCSIndexandNumberofResourceBlocks.Forexample,with100RBsandMCSindexof28,
theTBSis75376.Assume44MIMO,thepeakdataratewillbe75376x4=301.5Mbps.
DLandULThroughputcalculationforLTEFDD
TheFDDsystemhasapairedspectrum,samebandwidthforDownlinkaswellasforUplink.
20MHzFDDsystemhave20MHzforDownlinkand20MHzforUplink.
Forthroughputcalculation,suppose:
Bandwidth20MHz
MultiplexingschemeFDD
UEcategoryCat.3
ModulationsupportedasperCat3TBSindex26forDL(75376for100RBs)and21for
UL(51024for100RBs)
Sothethroughputcanbecalculatedbyasimpleformula:
Throughput=NumberofChainsxTBsize
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SoDLthroughput=2x75376=150.752Mbps
ULthroughput=1x51024=51.024Mbps
Aswehave2receivechainsandonetransmitschain.

LTETDDanditsFramestructure
Beforestartingthroughputcalculation,letsbecomefamiliarwithLTETDD.Asstatedearlier,
TDDisunpairedspectrum.WehavetousesamebandwidthforDLandULontimesharing
basis.Supposeifwehave20MHzspectrum,wehavetousethis20MHzbandwidthforboth
DLandUL.LTETDDframestructureisshownbelow.TheTDframeconsistsofDownlink
subframe,UplinkandSpecialsubframe.

TherearesevenpossibleconfigurationsforLTETDDframeasshownbelow.HereDis
downlink,SforSpecialsubframeandUforUplink.Asshown5msperiodicityframehavetwo
Ssubframeand10milisecframeshaveonlyoneSsubframe.Specialsubframehas9
differentconfigurations.AspecialsubframeisdividedintoDwPTS,GPandUpPTSdepending
uponthenumberofsymbols.

SelectionofTDDconfigurationisonoperatorschoiceandservicemodel.Iftheservicemodel
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isheavilydownloadingbased,operatormayuseTDDconfig2orTDDconfig5andifservice
modelisheavilyuploadingbased,operatormayuseTDDconfig0orTDDconfig6.Ifservice
modelissymmetric(50:50)oralmostsamefordownloadandupload,operatormayuseTDD
config1orTDDconfig3.

DLandULThroughputcalculationsforLTETDD
TDDsystemthroughputcalculationsaresomewhatcomplexascomparedtoFDDsystemas
samespectrumisusedbyuplink,downlinkandfortheguardperiod(Usedfortransitionfrom
downlinktouplink).
Forthroughputcalculation,suppose:
Bandwidth20MHz
MultiplexingSchemeTDD
TDDConfiguration2(D6,S2andU2)
SpecialSubframeconfiguration7(DwPTS10,GP2andUpPTS2)
UEcategoryCat.3
ModulationsupportedasperCat3TBSindex26forDL(75376for100RBs)and21for
UL(51024for100RBs)
ThroughputinTDDcanbecalculatedbyfollowingformula
DLThroughput=NumberofChainsxTBsizex(ContributionbyDLSubframe+
ContributionbyDwPTSinSSF)
ULThroughput=NumberofChainsxTBsizex(ContributionbyULSubframe+
ContributionbyUpPTSinSSF)

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TBsizeforDLis75376andforULitis51024forcategory3UE
Letscalculatethroughputfortheaboveassumptions:
DLthroughput=2x75376x[(0.6+0.2x(10/14)],Here0.6or60%contributionisby6DL
subframeand[0.2(10/14)]factorcontributionbySpecialsubframecomestwicewhose10
symbolsoutof14arefordownlink.
SoDLthroughput=2x75376x(0.742857)=111.9872Mbps~112Mbps.
InsamemannerULthroughputwillbeULthroughput=1x51024x[(0.2+0.2x(2/14)]
Here0.2or20%contributionisby2ULsubframeand[0.2x(2/14)]factorcontributionby
Specialsubframecomestwicewhose2symbolsoutof14areforuplink.
SoULthroughput=1x51024x(0.228571)=11.66263~12Mbps.
Conclusion:
Inthispaper,wediscussedaboutLTEsystemthroughputcalculationforbothTDDandFDD
system.
3GPPLTEtechnologysupportbothTDDandFDDmultiplexing.Thepaperdescribesallthe
factorswhichaffectthethroughputlikeBandwidth,Modulation,UEcategoryandmulplexing.It
alsodescribeshowwegetthroughput300MbpsinDLand75MbpsinULandwhatare
assumptionstakentocalculatethesame.

Thethroughputcalculationsshowninthispaperistheoreticalandlimitedbytheassumptions
takentocalculateforcalculation.

References:
1. 3GPPstandard36.211,EvolvedUniversalTerrestrialRadioAccess(EUTRA)Physical
ChannelsandModulation
2. 3GPPstandard36.212,EvolvedUniversalTerrestrialRadioAccess(EUTRA)
MultiplexingandChannelCoding
3. 3GPPstandard36.213,EvolvedUniversalTerrestrialRadioAccess(EUTRA)Physical
LayerProcedures
4. 3GPPstandard36.300,EvolvedUniversalTerrestrialRadioAccess(EUTRA)and
EvolvedUniversalTerrestrialRadioAccessNetwork(EUTRAN)OverallDescription
5. LTE,TheUMTSlongTermsEvolution:FromTheorytoPractice
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