Automatic Scrambling code planning

in atoll

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to

Identify SC conflicts in a mature UMTS network.
Provide a method for planning Primary scrambling codes
with the use of Atoll.

SC planning

The Steps involved in planning SC in Atoll are

1. Import of already defined Scrambling codes ( On Air sites)
2. Resolving SC conflicts for On Air sites.
3. Automatic SC Planning
4. Exporting SC data from Atoll

Import of already defined SC Data

Before import of existing SC data into Atoll below need to
be taken care of
The cell name of all the existing sites must match what
is configured in Atoll
Create a text file (*.txt or *.csv) with the following
information
Name
Primary Scrambling Code
where Name is the cell name as shown in the example below

Import of already defined SC contd..

Open the Cells table:
Select the Data tab of the Explorer window.
Right-click the Transmitters folder. The context menu appears.
Select Cells > Open Table
Right-click on the top left corner of the cells table and select
import.
Point to the text file with the existing PSC and import into the cells
Table.
The existing PSC are now imported into the Atoll project

erifying if Issues Exist with Existing PSC Plan 1

The Atoll Scrambling Code Interference Zones analysis should be
used identify areas associated with Co-PSC issues. The analysis
identifies the following:
Areas where a conflict occurs (neighbor list and overlap criteria
not being met)
Produces a report on the cells with a conflict

From the prediction study, generate a

report which will show all the cells with a
conflict. Please note that the load
conditions must have been previously
established (preferably through Monte
Carlo simulations).

Note: Generate the Scrambling Code Interference zone analysis for one carrier at a time.

erifying if Issues Exist with Existing PSC Plan 2

The Atoll Primary Scrambling Code Audit utility should be used to
verify issues associated with co-PSC assignments within the neighbor
list and second order neighbors of the imported and updated neighbor
lists.
Pre-requisite: Neighbor Lists and Existing PSC Plan should have been
imported into the project
Right-Click on Transmitters -> Cells -> Primary Scrambling Code ->
Audit to bring up the utility
Enable the Neighbors and Second Order Neighbors boxes as shown
below

Upon click OK, a report is generated with all the cells with co-PSC
Neighbor relation violations that needs to be corrected.

Primary Scrambling Code Allocation

During SC planning strategy we may reserve
Some SC for micro cells as shown by example.
Code Group 63 is reserved for micro cells
(504, 505, 506, 507, 508, 509, 510, 511)
All the remaining primary scrambling codes
from
code groups 0 62 can be used for the
Macro sites

Reserved for Micro cells

eating Code Domains to Reserve Primary Scrambling Code (1)

Atoll provides a mechanism for reserving codes that should not be used
during the automatic primary scrambling assignment. This is
accomplished through the creation of a code domain. The domain must
be created and assigned to the cells in the cells table before using the
automatic primary scrambling code planning.
Open the Domains table:
a. Select the Data tab of the Explorer window.
b. Right-click the Transmitters folder. The context menu appears.
c. Select Cells > Primary Scrambling Codes > Domains

At this point, the Domains table will open. Under the Name field,
create a domain
Click Properties of the domain and then enter the SCs to be excluded
for automatic allocation.

Automatic Scrambling Code Allocation - Cells Table PreConfiguration

Prior to using the automatic scrambling code allocation tool in Atoll, the
Scrambling Code Domain and the desired SC Reuse Distance should be
entered in the cells table for each of the cells.
Open the cells table
On the Scrambling Code Domain, select the domain created for all
the cells
Enter 25,000 as the desired SC reuse distance (m) for all the cells
This forces the primary scrambling code assigned during the planning to
only be re-used after 25,000 meters EXCEPT THERE ARE MORE THAN 512
CELLS WITHIN THE 25,000
METER RADIUS OF THE CELL
Note: The Re-used distance is used just to maximize the distance
between codes once the neighbor lists and overlap conditions have
already been achieved. Depending on the network condition and
propagation environment, the re-use distance may be adjusted
downward or upwards.

utomatic Scrambling Code Allocation - Cost Function

Before running the automatic scrambling code allocation tool in Atoll,
the cost function must be set as shown below:
Right-Click on Transmitters -> Cells -> Primary Scrambling Code ->
Constraint Costs
Enter the weights as shown in the constraints cost dialogue box
(higher weights for 1st and 2nd order neighbors)

Automatic Scrambling Code Allocation

The automatic scrambling code allocation algorithm in Atoll should
be used for scrambling code planning.
The pre-requisite for using the algorithm is that a neighbor list
exists in the project.
The neighbor list approach is used to avoid scrambling code
interference

Launching the Automatic

Allocation will bring up
the configuration screen
for the generation of the
scrambling code as shown
on the next slide.

Automatic Scrambling Code Allocation cont..

Use the settings shown below to set up the automatic allocation of the
scrambling codes. By using these settings and the pre-defined neighbor
relationships, all scrambling code conflicts are avoided.

Automatic Scrambling Code Allocation :Run & Commit

After completing the setup, the automatic scrambling code
allocation algorithm should be run and the results committed to the
UMTS project. This will result in the cells table being populated with
the scrambling codes.

Note: When more than one UMTS carrier exists , primary scrambling codes can be allocated identically to the cells of the same face
for all the carriers.

Automatic Scrambling Code Allocation Cells Table

The cells table with the populated scrambling codes will look like the
example below.
Open the Cells table:
a. Select the Data tab of the Explorer window.
b. Right-click the Transmitters folder. The context menu appears.
c. Select Cells > Open Table
The Scrambling Code Plan can then be exported from this table
for network implementation.