LTE Base Station

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Field Description
Transmitter type Set the transmitter type to Intra-network (Server
and interferer).
If you want to consider the transmitter only as an
interferer, set the type to Inter-network
(Interferer only).
No coverage for an interferer only transmitter will
be calculated for coverage predictions and it will
not serve any mobile in Monte Carlo simulations.
Transmission/Reception Under Transmission/Reception, you can see the
total losses and the noise figure of the transmitter.
Atoll calculates losses and noise according to the
characteristics of the equipment assigned to the
transmitter.
Equipment can be assigned using the Equipment
Specifications dialogue which appears when you
click the Equipment button
Equipment Specifications The equipment you select and the gains and
losses you define are used to initialize total
transmitter losses in the uplink and downlink:

- TMA: You can select a tower-mounted

amplifier (TMA) from the list..

- Feeder: You can select a feeder cable from

the list..
 - Transmitter equipment: You can select
transmitter equipment from the Transmitter
list.

- Feeder length: You can enter the feeder

length at transmission and reception.

- Miscellaneous losses: You can enter

miscellaneous losses at transmission and
reception. The value you enter must be
positive.

Cell Description
Name By default, Atoll names the cell after its
transmitter, adding a suffix in parentheses. If you
change transmitter name, Atoll does not update
the cell name. You can enter a name for the cell,
but for the sake of consistency, it is better to let
Atoll assign a name. If you want to change the way
Atoll names cells, see the Administrator Manual.
Layer The number of the coverage layer to which the cell
belongs. This value is automatically assigned when
you create a new cell, but you can modify it
afterwards. The layer is used during calculations to
select the serving cell. For more information on
the cell layer selection options,
Frequency band The cells frequency band from the frequency band
list.

Channel number: The number of the channel from the list of

available channels.
Channel allocation status: The status of the current channel allocated to
the cell:

- Not allocated: The current channel has

neither been allocated automatically nor
manually. The AFP considers that a Not
 allocated channel is modifiable without cost.

- Allocated: The current channel has been

allocated automatically or manually. The AFP
considers that an Allocated channel is
modifiable but only if absolutely necessary.

- Locked: The current channel has been

allocated automatically or manually. The AFP
considers that a Locked channel is not
modifiable.
Physical cell ID The physical cell ID of the cell. It is an integer
value from 0 to 503. The physical cell IDs are
defined in the 3GPP specifications. There are
504 unique physical-layer cell identities. The
physical cell IDs are grouped into 168 unique
cell ID groups (called SSS IDs in Atoll), with
each group containing 3 unique identities
(called PSS IDs in Atoll). An SSS ID is thus
uniquely defined by a number from 0 to 167,
and a PSS ID is defined by a number from 0 to
2. Each cells reference signals transmit a
pseudo-random sequence corresponding to
the physical cell ID of the cell.

Physical cell IDs also indicate the subcarriers

being used for reference signal transmission in
the downlink. Reference signal hopping, or v-
shifting, is the calculation of the index of the
subcarrier being used for reference signal
resource elements. The v-shifting index is
calculared as (PCI)Mod 6 for single-antenna
transmitters and as (PCI)Mod 3 for multi-
antenna transmitters.

PSS ID: The PSS ID corresponding to the current physical cell ID. This value is determined
automatically from the physical cell ID.

SSS ID: The SSS ID corresponding to the current physical cell ID. This value is determined
automatically from the physical cell ID.

Physical cell ID status: The status of the physical cell ID currently assigned to the cell:
- Not allocated: The current physical cell ID has neither been allocated automatically nor
manually. The AFP considers that a Not allocated physical cell ID is modifiable without cost.

- Allocated: The current physical cell ID has been allocated automatically or manually. The AFP
considers that an Allocated physical cell ID is modifiable but only if absolutely necessary.

- Locked: The current physical cell ID has been allocated automatically or manually. The AFP
considers that a Locked physical cell ID is not modifiable.

Physical cell ID domain: The physical cell ID domain to which the allocated physical cell ID
belongs. This and the reuse distance are used by the AFP for physical cell ID allocation.

Reuse distance: The minimum reuse distance after which the channel or physical cell ID
assigned to this cell can be assigned to another cell by the AFP.

For more information on the AFP, see "Configuring Network Parameters Using the AFP".

Max power (dBm): The cells maximum transmission power. You can enter or modify this
value if the RS EPRE option under the Advanced options on the Global Parameters tab of the
LTE Network Settings folders Properties dialogue is set to any of the following:

- Calculated (equal distribution of unused EPRE)

- Calculated (with boost): This option corresponds to a 3 dB boost in the RS EPRE with 2
transmission antenna ports and 6 dB boost with 4 ports.

- Calculated (without boost)

- Independent of max power

The transmission powers corresponding to different channels are calculated using Max power,
the energy per resource element offsets defined for the SS, PBCH, PDSCH, and PDCCH, and the
number of resource elements corresponding to each channel, all of which are also calculated by
Atoll.

Max power is calculated by Atoll from the user-defined RS EPRE value if the RS EPRE option in
the Global Parameters of the LTE Network Settings folder is set to User-defined.

RS EPRE (dBm): The reference signal energy per resource element. You can enter or modify
this value if the RS EPRE option under the Advanced options on the Global Parameters tab of
the LTE Network Settings folders Properties dialogue is set to User-defined or Independent of
max power.
This value is calculated by Atoll from the user-defined max power value if the RS EPRE option
under the Advanced options on the Global Parameters tab of the LTE Network Settings folders
Properties dialogue is set to any of the following:

- Calculated (equal distribution of unused EPRE)

- Calculated (with boost): This option corresponds to a 3 dB boost in the RS EPRE with 2
transmission antenna ports and 6 dB boost with 4 ports.

- Calculated (without boost)

For more information, see "The Global Network Settings".

SS EPRE Offset/RS (dB): The difference in the energy of a resource element belonging to the
synchronisation signals with respect to the energy of a reference signal resource element. This
value is used to calculate the transmission power corresponding to the primary and secondary
synchronisation signals (PSS, SSS).

PBCH EPRE Offset/RS (dB): The difference in the energy of a resource element belonging to
the PBCH with respect to the energy of a reference signal resource element. This value is used
to calculate the transmission power corresponding to the physical broadcast channel (PBCH).

PDCCH EPRE Offset/RS (dB): The difference in the energy of a resource element belonging to
the PDCCH with respect to the energy of a reference signal resource element. This value is used
to calculate the transmission power corresponding to the physical downlink control channel
(PDCCH).

PDSCH EPRE Offset/RS (dB): The difference in the energy of a resource element belonging to
the PDSCH with respect to the energy of a reference signal resource element. This value is used
to calculate the transmission power corresponding to the physical downlink shared channel
(PDSCH).

Atoll first calculates the energy per resource element corresponding to the reference signal
resource elements, the SS, PBCH, PDSCH, and PDCCH. Once the energies available for each of
these resource element types are known, they are converted into transmission powers for
further calculations. In the offset fields above, you have to enter the offsets, i.e., the difference
in the energy levels, for one resource element of each type. For example, if a resource element
belonging to the SS has 3 dB less energy than a resource element of the downlink reference
signals, you should enter -3 dB in the SS EPRE Offset. Atoll will then calculate the actual
transmission power of the SS, i.e., all the resource elements of the SS, from this offset and the
number of SS resource elements per frame.

Instantaneous RS power (dBm): The instantaneous reference signal transmission power

calculated from the maximum power or RS EPRE and the EPRE offsets.
 Instantaneous SS power (dBm): The instantaneous SS transmission power calculated from
the maximum power or RS EPRE and the EPRE offsets.

Instantaneous PBCH power (dBm): The instantaneous PBCH transmission power calculated
from the maximum power or RS EPRE and the EPRE offsets.

Average PDCCH power (dBm): The average PDCCH transmission power calculated from the
maximum power or RS EPRE and the EPRE offsets.

Average PDSCH power (dBm): The average PDSCH transmission power calculated from the
maximum power or RS EPRE and the EPRE offsets.

If the cells transmitter has smart antenna equipment assigned to it, the transmission powers of

the cell increase by (in dB), where n is the number of antenna elements of the smart
antenna. This gain in transmission powers is referred to as the AAS power combining gain.

Min RSRP (dBm): The minimum RSRP required for a user to be connected to the cell. The
RSRP is compared with this threshold to determine whether or not a user is within the cells
coverage or not.

Reception equipment: You can select the cells reception equipment from the reception
equipment list. For more information, see "Defining LTE Reception Equipment".

Scheduler: The scheduler used by the cell for bearer selection and resource allocation. You
can select the scheduler from the list of schedulers available in the Schedulers table. For more
information see "Defining LTE Schedulers".

Max number of users: The maximum number of simultaneous connected users supported by
the cell.

No. of users (DL): The number of users connected to the cell in the downlink. This can be
user-defined or an output of Monte Carlo simulations.

No. of users (UL): The number of users connected to the cell in the uplink. This can be user-
defined or an output of Monte Carlo simulations.

TDD frame configuration: The frame configuration used by the cell when the cells frequency
band is TDD. If the networks switching point periodicity is set to "Half Frame", you can select a
frame configuration of type DSUUU-DSUUU, DSUUD-DSUUD, DSUDD-DSUDD, or DSUUU-
DSUUD. If the networks switching point periodicity is set to "Frame", you can select a frame
configuration of type DSUUU-DDDDD, DSUUD-DDDDD, or DSUDD-DDDDD. For more
information on TDD switching point periodicity, see "The Global Network Settings".
 Diversity support (DL): The type of antenna diversity technique (transmit diversity, SU-MIMO,
AMS, or AAS) supported by the cell in downlink. You cannot select more than one type of
MIMO technique (transmit diversity, SU-MIMO, or AMS) at a time.

Diversity support (UL): The type of antenna diversity technique (none, receive diversity, SU-
MIMO, AMS, or MU-MIMO) supported by the cell in uplink.

Specific calculations are performed (and gains applied) for terminals supporting AAS and MIMO.

AMS & MU-MIMO threshold (dB): For AMS, it is the reference signal C/N or C/(I+N)
threshold, according to the option set in the Advanced parameters ("The Global Network
Settings"), for switching from SU-MIMO to Transmit or receive diversity. For MU-MIMO, it is the
minimum required reference signal CNR for using MU-MIMO. For more information on
Adaptive MIMO switching, see "Multiple Input Multiple Output Systems".

MU-MIMO capacity gain (UL): The uplink capacity gain due to multi-user (collaborative)
MIMO. This can be user-defined or an output of Monte Carlo simulations. In uplink throughput
coverage predictions, the cell capacity will be multiplied by this gain on pixels where MU-MIMO
is used.

Fractional power control factor: This factor is used for path loss compensation when
performing fractional power control on the uplink. For example, if this factor is set to 0.8, only
80% of the actual path loss will be considered when estimating the received power. Therefore,
the received power from any mobile on the uplink will be estimated to be higher than it would
actually be (using 100% of the path loss), which will be interpreted by the mobile as a need to

reduce its transmission power. This factor is represented by in 3GPP specifications. This
factor represents the influence of the serving cell on the fractional power of any mobile.

Max PUSCH C/(I+N) (dB): This value is used for power control on the uplink. The difference
between the Max PUSCH C/(I+N) and the uplink noise rise of the cell corresponds to the
nominal PUSCH power for the cell. The nominal PUSCH power is a cell-specific parameter from
which a limit on the uplink transmission powers of mobiles in the cell can be extracted. This

factor is represented by in 3GPP specifications. Max PUSCH C/(I+N) is updated during

uplink noise rise control in Monte Carlo simulations based on the maximum noise rise
constraints of the neighbouring cells.

Interference coordination support: The type of inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC)

technique supported by the cell. You can select Static DL or Static UL. With ICIC, a cell uses a
third of the channel bandwidth in its ICIC part of the frame. Which third of the channel
bandwidth is used by the cell depends on its PSS ID. Therefore, fractional frequency planning
can be performed by the AFP by allocating physical cell IDs. For more information, see
"Planning Physical Cell IDs".
 ICIC configuration: The inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC) configuration used by the
cell in downlink and uplink. ICIC configuration defines the numbers of frequency blocks
available in the ICIC parts of the frames when the cell supports Static DL or Static UL inter-cell
interference coordination. For more information, see "Defining ICIC Configurations".

ICIC delta path loss threshold (dB): The maximum difference between the path loss of the
second best server and the path loss of the best server to be considered at cell edge. Cell edge
mobiles are served by the ICIC part of the LTE frame, i.e., the part of the frame that uses a
fraction of the channel bandwidth.

Max traffic load (DL) (%): The downlink traffic load not to be exceeded. This limit can be
taken into account during Monte Carlo simulations. If the cell traffic load is limited by this value,
the cell will not be allowed to have a downlink traffic load greater than this maximum.

Traffic load (DL) (%): The downlink traffic load percentage. This can be user-defined or an
output of Monte Carlo simulations.

ICIC ratio (DL) (%): You can set the percentage of the total downlink traffic load that
corresponds to the ICIC part of the frame. For example, if the downlink traffic load is 80%, and
you set the ICIC ratio to 50%, it means that 40% of the downlink traffic load is on the ICIC part
of the frame while the other 40% is on the non-ICIC part. This can be user-defined or an output
of Monte Carlo simulations.

Max traffic load (UL) (%): The uplink traffic load not to be exceeded. This limit can be taken
into account during Monte Carlo simulations. If the cell traffic load is limited by this value, the
cell will not be allowed to have an uplink traffic load greater than this maximum.

Traffic load (UL) (%): The uplink traffic load percentage. This can be user-defined or an output
of Monte Carlo simulations.

UL noise rise (dB): The uplink noise rise in dB. This can be user-defined or an output of Monte
Carlo simulations. This is the global value of uplink noise rise including the inter-technology
uplink noise rise.

ICIC UL noise rise (dB): The uplink noise rise of the part of the LTE frame that uses a fraction
of the channel bandwidth. This noise rise is only used when the ICIC support for the cell
includes Static UL. This can be user-defined or an output of Monte Carlo simulations.

Max UL noise rise (dB): The upper limit on both uplink noise rise values, i.e., the UL noise rise
and the ICIC UL noise rise. It is used for uplink noise rise control during Monte Carlo
simulations. This parameter represents the maximum interference that a cell can tolerate on
the uplink.
 Angular distributions of interference (AAS): The Monte Carlo simulation results generated
for transmitters using a smart antenna. These results are the angular distributions of the
downlink traffic power spectral density.

AAS usage (DL) (%): The total downlink traffic load that corresponds to the traffic loads of the
users supported by the smart antenna. For example, if the downlink traffic load is 80%, and you
set the AAS usage to 50%, it means that 40% downlink traffic load is supported by the smart
antenna equipment while the other 40% is supported by the main antenna. AAS usage is
calculated during Monte Carlo simulations, and cannot be modified manually because the AAS
usage values correspond to the angular distributions of interference.

Inter-technology UL noise rise: This noise rise represents the interference created by mobiles
and base stations of an external network on this cell on the uplink. This noise rise will be taken
into account in all uplink interference-based calculations involving this cell in Monte Carlo
simulations. It is not used in predictions where Atoll calculates the uplink total interference
from the uplink noise rise which includes inter-technology uplink interference. For more
information on inter-technology interference, see "Modelling Inter-technology Interference".

Inter-technology DL noise rise: This noise rise represents the interference created by mobiles
of an external network on the mobiles served by this cell on the downlink. This noise rise will be
taken into account in all downlink interference-based calculations involving this cell. For more
information on inter-technology interference, see "Modelling Inter-technology Interference".

Max number of intra-technology neighbours: The maximum number of LTE neighbours that
the cell can have.

Max number of inter-technology neighbours: The maximum number of other technology

neighbours that the cell can have.

Neighbours: You can access a dialogue in which you can set both intra-technology and inter-

technology neighbours by clicking the Browse button ( ). For information on defining

neighbours, see "Planning Neighbours".