3.

UMTS
• UMTS: Universal Mobile Telephone System
• 3G standard in Europe
• Key requirements for UMTS:
– Small, low-cost pocket terminals
– World-wide roaming
– A single system for residential, office, cellular and
satellite environments
– High-speed data(vehicular 144kbps, pedestrian 384kbps,
indoor 2Mbps)
1
• UMTS addresses these requirements through:
– New services, including mobile multimedia and a
virtual home environment, so that consumers
experience the same services anywhere
– More spectrum with a new air interface
– Evolution from and interworking with 2G systems,
which is a key need to allow current GSM operators to
protect their infrastructure investments during the
upgrade of their networks to support UMTS
– A new commercial model to increase competition and
the range of services available
– Advanced networking capabilities with the PSTNs,
packet-based and advanced internet-based networks
2
Fig 3.1: Evolving GSM into UMTS
3
 4
Fig 3.2: UMTS standard
• A guide to the acronyms:
– BSC/RNC: Base station Controller/Radio Node controller– a
unit which controls a number of base stations
– BTS: Base Transciever Station or base stations
– CAMEL: a standard to provide IN services within GSM
networks
– GGSN: Gateway GPRS Support Node– the point of
interconnection between the GSM and external packet networks
– HLR: Home Location Register
– NMC: Network Management Center
– PDN: Packet Data Network
– PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network
– TIPHon: The standard for voice transmission over IP
– VoIP: Voice over IP
5
 3.1 Services
• More than only voice communication
• The key to market growth:
– enable third parties to provide information and services
to the users of the system
• Therefore, in UMTS, operator will provide a ‘pipe’
which subscribers can use to access a wide range of
information and services.
• Fig 3.3 is an example of a personalized daily
newspaper delivered electronically to a user’s
communication device.
6
 Subscriber Content
database provider

content e.g
Subscription & service newspaper
profile management

Subscriber Service billing

provider Value added
billing
service provider
User data accounting
management Information
usage
service e.g Reuters
usage

Network operator

Fig 3.3: The service provider role within UMTS 7

• To enjoy the service, we can follow the steps below:
– (1) the user access a specialized service provider, e.g, Reuters,
responsible for assembling the user-specific content.
– (2)Reuters passes the information required directly to the
network operator who forwards it to the user’s mobile, but
passes billing information to the primary service provider who
collates this information to issue the user with a single bill.
– (3)The primary service service provider maintains the user’s
database of attributes so that secondary providers can access it
as appropriate to provide personalized services.
• It is an enhancement of the current GSM model whereby
operators are often service providers and users can only
access services if they have been made available by the
operator.
8
• Other examples:
– Special interest group subscriptions
– Brand and loyalty-based service provision, etc
• Utility will be increased by the concept of a ‘soft’
terminal, allowing consumers to choose a handset’s
‘look and feel’, with specialized service providers
offering solutions extending the handset’s operation
and functionality.
• This is similar to the IT service industry where
simple functionality extensions, for example
integrated file compression tools, can be purchased
from the Internet to improve operations of a desktop
computer.
9
• Significant service changes from GSM:
– GSM: voice-centric with data a secondary consideration
– UMTS: data-centric with multimedia applications being of
primary importance
• With the growth in electronic content and applications,
the usage of a mobile as an integral part of daily life
will be commonplace.
• This in itself will create new opportunities for service
providers.
• Consumers will purchase communication services from
a wide variety of sources, with affinity branding and
loyalty schemes being commonplace.
– e.g: a high street chain store may offer a loyalty card, e-
commerce smart card and telecommunication services 10
 3.2 Technical issues
• UMTS uses a wideband CDMA technology compared
to GSM’s narrowband TDMA.
• Fig 3.4 shows the comparison of the architectures of
2G and 3G networks.
• It is envisaged that future networks will look much
more like the internet with no single switch at the
center.
• The broadband networks will consist of
interconnected packet switches and routers and
interfaces to the ‘outside world’ and will probably be
based on the Internet IP protocol.
• In Fig3.4, all devices connect to broadband network.11
 Legacy
networks
PSTN

Circuit
Operations Operations
switch gateway
center center

BSC broadband UMTS

BSC
network server

BS BS
BS BS

Fig 3.4: Evolution to broadband switching

12
• In UMTS, the functions required to control the
mobile network will be server based and the
switching functions will be performed by the
underlying broadband network.
• The core platforms are built upon a common
hardware and software architecture allowing
functions to be distributed as required.
• The key benefits of the new architecture:
– Reduced network capital costs (packet routers)
– Reduced network running costs (compressed form)
– Higher quality, especially for voice calls(tandem-free
operation and transcoding only where required)
– Greater flexibility to introduce new services and to
handle multimedia traffic 13
• Fig.3.5 shows the infrastructure for UMTS.
• Some indications of the migration path to be followed
by operators who wish to move from 2G to 3G
networks:
– Adding a packet-switching network to the existing MSC.
• Packet switching services(the GPRS) introduced in GSM
• Over time, the packet switching network will become the main
switching function.
• The packet backbone can be compatible with 2G.
– Circuit Gateway is located at the edge of the network and
is responsible for adapting the internal voice and data
formats of the UMTS system to the external circuit-
oriented PSTN.
14
 Service
Provider Service PSTN PDN TIPHon
management

HLR, SLR Circuit GGSN packet

GMSC gateway gateway
CAMEL server
Broadband
SIM server UMTS
Network server
NMC
Application BSC/RNC
server server
In-building
Dual
Corporate system GSM UMTS
mode
BTS BTS BTS
BTS

Fig.3.5: The infrastructure for UMTS 15

– GGSN Packet Gateway:
• acts as the way to external packet data networks.
• Likely to become the interface to new packet-oriented fixed networks
for voice transport such as TIPHON, the emerging voice-over-IP
standard
– UMTS server:
• incorporates the call progressing and mobility of the MSC and GPRS
switching system.
• Support an intelligent network interface enabling supplementary
services to be implemented externally
– BSC/RNC server:
• provides similar functionality to 2G
• incorporates the ‘selector function’ required to manage the W-CDMA
soft handover process
– HLR server:
• provides a platform for enhanced services supporting both IN functions
provided by the CAMEL standards and client/server techniques.
16
• This platform will be a core element enabling the service provider role.
 3.3 Air interface
• WCDMA and TD/CDMA:
– Proposals for the UMTS air interface: W-CDMA,
OFDMA(orthogonal frequency division multiple
access), wideband TDMA, TD/CDMA(TDMA with
spreading), etc.
– Combination of WCDMA and TD/CDMA could be
used, WCDMA for paired spectrum bands and
TD/CDMA for the unpaired spectrum
– WCDMA will be the dominant air interface since there
is more paired spectrum than unpaired.

17
• Wideband:
– Chip rate: 4.096Mbps enabling each carrier to fit within
a 5MHz bandwidth.
– Most operators will be awarded either 2*15MHz or
2*20MHz, which enables 3 or 4 carriers in total.
– The same frequency will be reused in each sector of each
cell.
– However, in the case of microcells, separate carrier
frequencies will normally need to be used with one being
used for the microcells and a separate frequency used for
the macrocells due to the very different power levels that
will be used in these two environments.
– Soft handover will also be supported.
18
• Users will be able to access a number of different
channels depending on the data rate at which they
wish to transmit.
– Most transmissions will be narrowband, utilizing around
10kbps although users have the possibility transmit at
data rates of up to 2Mbps.
– In a typical mobile environment, the average capacity of
a single carrier will be around 600kbps, allowing 60 or
more simultaneous low data rate calls but very few higher
data rate calls.
– Data rates of 2Mbps will result in high levels of
interference transmitted to neighboring cells unless they
take place within in-building picocells.
19
 3.4 UTRA system architecture
• The radio interface independent functions, essentially
call control and mobility management are outside the
scope of UTRA and handled by core network.
• UTRA(UTRAN): UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access
Network, shown in Fig3.6
– consists of one or more radio network subsystems (RNSs),
which in turn consist of base stations(Node B) and RNCs:
• A node B may serve one or multiple cells.
– Mobile stations are termed user equipments (UEs)and in
practice are likely to be multimode to enable handover
between the FDD and TDD modes and, prior to complete
UMTS geographical coverage, GSM as well 20
Fig3.6 UTRAN system architecture

21
 – The UTRA permits, under certain conditions, the use of
multiple radio links across multiple cells in support of a
single UTRA-UE connection (termed soft handover).
• Fig 3.7 shows a simplified version of the protocols
running between a UE and the UTRA.
– Transport channels carry control plane or user plane data
between the UE and RNC, mapping onto physical channels
on the air(Uu) interface(allocated by the radio resource
control (RRC) layer) and ATM AAL2 (ATM Adaptation
Layer type 2) connections over the Iub interface.
– An important point: on the network side the MAC layer and
radio link control (RLC) layer reside in the RNC, which is
where most of the UTRA intelligence is concentrated.
– The Frame Protocol(FP) is responsible for the relaying of
transport channels between the UE and the RNC via the 22
Node B.
Fig 3.7: A simplified version of the protocols
running between a UE and the UTRA 23
• This protocol stack is common to both FDD and TDD
modes with only minor differences required, for
example, to support macrodiversity in the FDD mode
and timing advance for the TDD mode.
• Fig.3.8 show the radio resource control protocols
within UTRA.
– NBAP: Node B Application Part, runs over the Iub interface,
responsible for the allocation and control of radio resources,
e.g. carrier frequencies and spreading codes (and timeslots in
TDD mode), to Node Bs.
– RNSAP: Radio Network Subsystem Application Part, over
the Iur interface, responsible for co-ordination of radio
resources between Node Bs in neighboring RNCs, i.e. in
support of links across the Iur interface during soft handover.
– RANAP: Radio Access Network Application Part, over the 24 Iu
interface to support signaling across the Iu interface.
Fig.3.8: The radio resource control protocols within UTRA. 25
• Original UTRA concepts:
– Comprises an FDD and TDD component to support
efficiently the different UMTS needs for symmetrical
and asymmetrical services;
– Initially, the UTRA depends mainly on FDD.
– The original TD/CDMA concept has been adapted to
TDD including the harmonization of parameters
between TDD and FDD with respect to the
development of economically feasible terminals.
– Key parameters of the UTRA concept are presented in
Table 3.1.

26
 Table 3.1 UTRAN key parameters
FDD TDD
Multiple access W-CDMA TD-CDMA
scheme
Carrier spacing 5MHz
Chip rate 4.096Mcps
Spreading factor range 4-256 1-16
No. of power control 16
groups/time slots
Modulation QPSK
Pulse shaping Root raised cosine, roll-off=0.22
Frame length 10ms
Timeslots per frame 16
27
• UTRA FDD
– In both uplink and downlink spreading with a variable
spreading factor from 4 to 256 is applied depending on the
data rate and service
– different frame structure in uplink and downlink.
• In the uplink, data(DPDCH-dedicated physical data channel) and
control channels(DPCCH- dedicated physical control channel) are
I/Q multiplexed(QPSK modulated).
• whereas in the downlink data and control channels(DPCH-dedicated
physical channel) are time multiplexed.
• For e.g., handover measurements the super frame length is defined
as 720ms=6*120ms as an integer multiple of the corresponding GSM
super frame for backward compatibility reasons.
– The slots correspond to power control groups.

28
Fig 3.9 Frame structure for FDD uplink 29
Fig 3.10 Frame structure for FDD downlink 30
• The connection dedicated pilot symbols for channel estimation,
and allowing coherent detection in both links, give an important
advantage for the application of adaptive antennas in the downlink
compared to cell specific common pilot codes.
– These pilot symbols are provided with each user signal, and thus in
the same antenna beam as the user data.
– In the uplink pilot symbols are used for coherent detection.
• Different coding schemes are under investigation depending on the
BER and delay requirements for different services.
– Convolutional codes with rate 1/3 and ½ and constraint length 9 are
applied for services with BER requirements in the order of 10-3.
– For services with higher BER requirements in the order of 10-6 and
less stringent delay requirements convolutional coding in
concatenation with outer RS coding plus outer interleaving is used.
– Turbo codes are currently under investigation for higher data rate
and high quality services.
– To maintain sufficient flexibility, additional service specific coding
is foreseen.
31
 • For each service, coding and interleaving is applied; the
resulting data stream is rate matched and multiplexed on the
carrier.
– UTRA FDD supports intra-frequency handover, inter-
frequency handover and inter-system handover.
• intra-frequency handover: dedicated circuit switched channels
use soft handover, dedicated packet data channels can use soft
or hard handover and the common channels use hard handover
• inter-frequency handover: the mobile measurements on other
frequencies are performed in slotted mode downlink
transmission or with a dual receiver.
• inter-system handover: needed between UTRA and at least
GSM. This is a hard handover procedure.

32
• UTRA TDD
– based on TD/CDMA, combination of TDMA and CDMA
– Each time slot comprises several (in maximum 16)
orthogonal spreading codes.
• Different user bit rates are supported by code and/or time slot
pooling.
• Up to eight users can share up to 16 spreading codes.
• Due to the small number of spreading codes per time slot, this
approach enables multiuser detection or join detection with today’s
technology to mitigate the intracell interference.
• Therefore, the requirements on power control accuracy are relaxed.
– Due to the TDMA component, interference avoidance
algorithms by means of DCA(dynamic channel
allocation) can be applied for both coordinated operation.
33
– The basic structure of UTRA TDD is similar to FDD with
a frame length of 10ms and 16 time slots.
• These time slots are used for an additional TDMA component in
the multiple access scheme.
• Fig 3.11 shows the frame structure including the spreading codes
within each time slot. The super frame length is also chosen as
720ms.
– For downlink signaling:
• up to two time slots are allocated.
• They are also applied to power control and handover
measurements in the downlink.
– For uplink:
• The common control channel is the Random Access
Channel(RACH).
34
Fig 3.11 TDD frame structure 35
– Between uplink and downlink:
• the ratio of asymmetry traffic can be selected between
DL:UL=15/1 to 1/7.
• several switching points are supported to enable a higher
power control update rate than on frame basis.
– Joint detection is facilitated by a special training
sequence for joint channel estimation.
• The midambles of different active users in the same time
slot are time-shifted versions of one single periodic basic
code.
• Therefore, the joint channel estimation of the channel
impulse response of different users can be achieved by a
single cyclic correlator.
• The different user specific channel impulse responses are
obtained sequentially in time at the correlator output.
36
– For multiplexing and coding, similar to UTRA FDD
• for real time services FEC and for non real rime services a
combination of ARQ and FEC are used.
• Data are QPSK modulated.
• spread by orthogonal spreading codes with length between 1 and
16 and the same modulation scheme as for FDD.
• Raised cosine pulse shaping is applied
– Frame-synchronized network
• due to the same carrier frequency in uplink and downlink
• to control interference for coordinated operation.
– Flexibility for asymmetrical switching points and their
alignment with adjacent cells depends on
• the distribution of users in the coverage area
• the load in the network
• the availability of time slots for DCA to escape from close mobile
to mobile interference in the time domain.
37
 3.5 Operators’ position
• It is the operators who are currently facing the most
difficult decisions since they need to place a price
on the UMTS licenses about to be rewarded.
– too high a price: -- >a significant loss of profit over the
coming years;
– too low a price: -- >losing the license in what may
become the primary mobile radio technology in the
coming 5 or 10 years.
• Operators face a range of choices with UMTS
depending on whether they are existing GSM
operators or new operators deploying their first
network. 38
• For existing operators, possible strategies could include:
– Capacity enhancement only: only deployed in areas with
insufficient GSM (unlikely)
– Islands of coverage: in the main cities and along the main
commuter routes, providing a similar sort of coverage to that
in the early years of cellular.
– Complete coverage: equivalent coverage to GSM (costly)
• New operators:
– Go it alone (a high risk strategy)
– Team with a GSM operator
• General expectation: most UMTS licenses will be awarded to
existing operators, probably in a consortium, including media
and other interested companies
39
• With a range of assumptions, it is possible to build a
business case:
– Expenditure side: costs will fall over time with
economies of scale and as components increase in
capability
– Revenue side:
• Services: packet data transmission, email, Internet access and
multimedia
• Modeling for these services can be made and actual prices will not
be able to differ too much
• Payback might extend over five to seven years
depending on the speed if new users and the usage
and tariff actually experienced.
• Once payback has been achieved, UMTS appears to
offer an excellent revenue stream. 40