3G UMTS / WCDMA Network Architecture

- the 3G UMTS / WCDMA network architecture including the User Equipment -

UE -, the Radio Network Subsystem, and the Core Network.

UMTS Tutorial Includes

The UMTS 3G architecture is required to provide a greater level of performance to that of the
original GSM network. However as many networks had migrated through the use of GPRS and
EDGE, they already had the ability to carry data. Accordingly many of the elements required for
the WCDMA / UMTS network architecture were seen as a migration. This considerably reduced
the cost of implementing the UMTS network as many elements were in place or needed
upgrading.

With one of the major aims of UMTS being to be able to carry data, the UMTS network
architecture was designed to enable a considerable improvement in data performance over that
provided for GSM.

3G UMTS network constituents

The UMTS network architecture can be divided into three main elements:

1. User Equipment (UE):   The User Equipment or UE is the name given to what was
previous termed the mobile, or cellphone. The new name was chosen because the
considerably greater functionality that the UE could have. It could also be anything
between a mobile phone used for talking to a data terminal attached to a computer with
no voice capability.
2. Radio Network Subsystem (RNS):   The RNS also known as the UMTS Radio Access
Network, UTRAN, is the equivalent of the previous Base Station Subsystem or BSS in
GSM. It provides and manages the air interface fort he overall network.
3. Core Network:   The core network provides all the central processing and management
for the system. It is the equivalent of the GSM Network Switching Subsystem or NSS.

The core network is then the overall entity that interfaces to external networks including the
public phone network and other cellular telecommunications networks.
 UMTS Network Architecture Overview

User Equipment, UE
The USER Equipment or UE is a major element of the overall 3G UMTS network architecture. It
forms the final interface with the user. In view of the far greater number of applications and
facilities that it can perform, the decision was made to call it a user equipment rather than a
mobile. However it is essentially the handset (in the broadest terminology), although having
access to much higher speed data communications, it can be much more versatile, containing
many more applications. It consists of a variety of different elements including RF circuitry,
processing, antenna, battery, etc.

There are a number of elements within the UE that can be described separately:

 UE RF circuitry:   The RF areas handle all elements of the signal, both for the receiver
and for the transmitter. One of the major challenges for the RF power amplifier was to
reduce the power consumption. The form of modulation used for W-CDMA requires the
use of a linear amplifier. These inherently take more current than non linear amplifiers
which can be used for the form of modulation used on GSM. Accordingly to maintain
battery life, measures were introduced into many of the designs to ensure the optimum
efficiency.
 Baseband processing:   The base-band signal processing consists mainly of digital
circuitry. This is considerably more complicated than that used in phones for previous
generations. Again this has been optimised to reduce the current consumption as far as
possible.
 Battery:   While current consumption has been minimised as far as possible within the
circuitry of the phone, there has been an increase in current drain on the battery. With
 users expecting the same lifetime between charging batteries as experienced on the
previous generation phones, this has necessitated the use of new and improved battery
technology. Now Lithium Ion (Li-ion) batteries are used. These phones to remain small
and relatively light while still retaining or even improving the overall life between
charges.
 Universal Subscriber Identity Module, USIM:   The UE also contains a SIM card,
although in the case of UMTS it is termed a USIM (Universal Subscriber Identity
Module). This is a more advanced version of the SIM card used in GSM and other
systems, but embodies the same types of information. It contains the International Mobile
Subscriber Identity number (IMSI) as well as the Mobile Station International ISDN
Number (MSISDN). Other information that the USIM holds includes the preferred
language to enable the correct language information to be displayed, especially when
roaming, and a list of preferred and prohibited Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMN).

The USIM also contains a short message storage area that allows messages to stay with
the user even when the phone is changed. Similarly "phone book" numbers and call
information of the numbers of incoming and outgoing calls are stored.

The UE can take a variety of forms, although the most common format is still a version of a
"mobile phone" although having many data capabilities. Other broadband dongles are also being
widely used.

3G UMTS Radio Network Subsystem

This is the section of the 3G UMTS / WCDMA network that interfaces to both the UE and the
core network. The overall radio access network, i.e. collectively all the Radio Network
Subsystem is known as the UTRAN UMTS Radio Access Network.

The radio network subsystem is also known as the UMTS Radio Access Network or UTRAN.

3G UMTS Core Network

The 3G UMTS core network architecture is a migration of that used for GSM with further
elements overlaid to enable the additional functionality demanded by UMTS.

In view of the different ways in which data may be carried, the UMTS core network may be split
into two different areas:

 Circuit switched elements:   These elements are primarily based on the GSM network
entities and carry data in a circuit switched manner, i.e. a permanent channel for the
duration of the call.
 Packet switched elements:   These network entities are designed to carry packet data.
This enables much higher network usage as the capacity can be shared and data is carried
as packets which are routed according to their destination.
Some network elements, particularly those that are associated with registration are shared by
both domains and operate in the same way that they did with GSM.

UMTS Core Network

Circuit switched elements

The circuit switched elements of the UMTS core network architecture include the following
network entities:

 Mobile switching centre (MSC):   This is essentially the same as that within GSM, and it
manages the circuit switched calls under way.
 Gateway MSC (GMSC):   This is effectively the interface to the external networks.

Packet switched elements

The packet switched elements of the 3G UMTS core network architecture include the following
network entities:

 Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN):   As the name implies, this entity was first
developed when GPRS was introduced, and its use has been carried over into the UMTS
network architecture. The SGSN provides a number of functions within the UMTS
network architecture.
o Mobility management   When a UE attaches to the Packet Switched domain of the
UMTS Core Network, the SGSN generates MM information based on the
mobile's current location.
o Session management:   The SGSN manages the data sessions providing the
required quality of service and also managing what are termed the PDP (Packet
data Protocol) contexts, i.e. the pipes over which the data is sent.
 o Interaction with other areas of the network:   The SGSN is able to manage its
elements within the network only by communicating with other areas of the
network, e.g. MSC and other circuit switched areas.
o Billing:   The SGSN is also responsible billing. It achieves this by monitoring the
flow of user data across the GPRS network. CDRs (Call Detail Records) are
generated by the SGSN before being transferred to the charging entities (Charging
Gateway Function, CGF).
 Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN):   Like the SGSN, this entity was also first
introduced into the GPRS network. The Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) is the
central element within the UMTS packet switched network. It handles inter-working
between the UMTS packet switched network and external packet switched networks, and
can be considered as a very sophisticated router. In operation, when the GGSN receives
data addressed to a specific user, it checks if the user is active and then forwards the data
to the SGSN serving the particular UE.

Shared elements
The shared elements of the 3G UMTS core network architecture include the following network
entities:

 Home location register (HLR):   This database contains all the administrative
information about each subscriber along with their last known location. In this way, the
UMTS network is able to route calls to the relevant RNC / Node B. When a user switches
on their UE, it registers with the network and from this it is possible to determine which
Node B it communicates with so that incoming calls can be routed appropriately. Even
when the UE is not active (but switched on) it re-registers periodically to ensure that the
network (HLR) is aware of its latest position with their current or last known location on
the network.
 Equipment identity register (EIR):   The EIR is the entity that decides whether a given
UE equipment may be allowed onto the network. Each UE equipment has a number
known as the International Mobile Equipment Identity. This number, as mentioned
above, is installed in the equipment and is checked by the network during registration.
 Authentication centre (AuC) :   The AuC is a protected database that contains the secret
key also contained in the user's USIM card.

UMTS frequency bands background

As the use of 3G UMTS has grown, so too has the requirement for frequency allocations.
Initially bands in the region of 1885 - 2025 and 2110 - 2200 MHz were set aside.

These frequency bands were originally set aside at the World Administrative radio Conference in
1992, to enable use on a worldwide basis by administrations wishing to implement International
Mobile Telecommunications-2000, IMT-2000.

As the requirement for additional spectrum grew with the increased use of 3G UMTS, more
allocations were set aside.
Although not all bands are available in all countries, all bands are managed on an international
basis. In this way roaming is possible.

3G UMTS bandwidth
UMTS uses wideband CDMA as the radio transport mechanism and the UMTS channels are
spaced by 5 MHz.

The UMTS signal bandwidth is normally considered to be 5 MHz but this figure includes the
0.58 MHz guard bands either side.

Therefore when the two guard bands, one either side, are excluded this leaves and effective
signal bandwidth of 3.84 MHz within the flat response area of the signal for the transmission
itself.

It is also necessary to consider the roll-off factor for the signal of 0.22. This roll-off factor is
determined by the Root Raised Cosine filter specified by 3GPP. This means that the total signal
bandwidth increasing the skirts is 4.68 MHz.

It is also worth noting that the bandwidth used for the TD-SCDMA variant of 3G UMTS used in
China is 1.6 MHz.

UARFCN channel numbers

UMTS carrier frequencies are designated by a UTRA Absolute Radio Frequency Channel
Number, UARFCN. The UARFCN is used to define channel numbers in an easy and
unambiguous fashion.

The UARFCN can be easily calculated from the following equation or formula:

The UARFCN is only able to represent channels that are centred on a multiple of 200 kHz and
these do not always align with licensing in North America. Accordingly 3GPP added several
special values for the common North American channels.

3G UMTS frequency bands - FDD

As FDD, frequency division duplex requires bands for uplink and downlink, the bands for FDD
are different to those required for TDD time division duplex.

The main UMTS / WCDMA frequency bands for FDD operation are summarised below:
 3G UMTS Frequency Bands - FDD

Band Number Band Common Name UL Frequencies DL Frequencues

1 2100 IMT 1920 - 1980 2120 - 2170

2 1900 PCS A-F 1850 - 1910 1930 - 1990

3 1800 DCS 1710 - 1785 1805 - 1880

4 1700 AWS A-F 1710 - 1755 2110 - 2155

5 850 CLR 824 - 849 869 - 894

6 800 830 - 840 875 - 885

7 2600 IMT-E 2500 - 2570 2620 - 2690

8 900 E-GSM 880 - 915 925 - 960

9 1700 1749.9 - 1784.9 1844.9 - 1879.9

10 1700 EAWS A-G 1710 - 1770 2110 - 2170

11 1500 LPDC 1427.9 - 1447.9 1475.9 - 1495.9

12 700 LSMH 699 - 716 729 - 746

13 700 USMH C 777 - 787 746 - 756

14 700 USMH D 788 - 798 758 - 768

19 800 832.4 - 842.6 877.4 - 887.6

20 800 EUDD 832 - 862 791 - 821

21 1500 UPDC 1447.9 - 1462.9 1495 - 1510.9

22 3500 3410 - 3490 3510 - 3590

25 1900 EPCS A-G 1850 - 1915 1930 - 1995

26 850 ECLR 814 - 849 859 - 894

Frequency bands 15, 16, 17, 18, 23 and 24 are now reserved frequency bands.

3G UMTS frequency bands - TDD

The main UMTS frequency bands for TDD operation are summarised below.
 3G UMTS Frequency Bands - TDD

Band Reference Band Name Frequencies

A Lower IMT 1900 - 1920

A Upper IMT 2010 - 2025

B Lower PCS 1850 - 1910

B Upper PCS 1930 - 1990

C PCS duplex gap 1910 - 1930

D IMT-E 2570 - 2620

E 2300 - 2400

F 1880 - 1920

It is also noted that several of the UMTS frequency bands overlap or share similar frequencies.
This is because the allocations are different in different areas, and each frequency band definition
is given a new band number for that particular band.

UMTS modulation schemes

There are several considerations that were taken into account when making the choice for the
overall format for the UMTS WCDMA modulation formats. Some of the considerations were:

 It is necessary to ensure that the data is carried efficiently over the available spectrum,
and therefore maximum use is made of the available spectrum, and hence the capacity of
the system is maximised.
 The modulation scheme should be chosen to ensure that the efficiency of the RF power
amplifier in the handset or UE is made as high as possible. By enabling the power
amplifier to be maximised, less battery power is consumed for the same transmitted
power. As battery power is of particular importance to users, this is a key requirement.
 The modulation format should be chosen to avoid the audio interference caused to many
nearby electronics equipment resulting from the pulsed transmission format used on
many 2G systems such as GSM

As the uplink and downlink have different requirements, the exact format for the modulation
format used on either direction is slightly different.

UMTS modulation schemes for both uplink and downlink, although somewhat different are both
based around phase shift keying formats. This provides many advantages over other schemes that
could be used in terms of spectral efficiency and other requirements.
Note on PSK:

Phase shift Keying, PSK is a form of modulation used particularly for data transmissions. If
offers an effective way of transmitting data. By altering the number of different phase states
which can be adopted, the data speeds that can be achieved within a given channel can be
increased, but at the cost of lower resilience to noise an interference.

Click on the link for a PSK tutorial

Downlink modulation
The UMTS modulation format for the downlink is more straightforward than that used in the
uplink. The downlink uses quadrature phase shift keying, QPSK.

The QPSK modulation used in the downlink is used with time-multiplexed control and data
streams. While time multiplexing would be a problem in the uplink, where the transmission in
this format would give rise to interference in local audio systems, this is not relevant for the
downlink where the NodeB is sufficiently remote from any local audio related equipment to
ensure that interference is not a problem.

Uplink modulation
However the uplink uses two separate channels so that the cycling of the transmitter on and off
does not cause interference on the audio lines, a problem that was experienced on GSM. The
dual channels (dual channel phase shift keying) are achieved by applying the coded user data to
the I or In-phase input to the DQPSK modulator, and control data which has been encoded using
a different code to the Q or quadrature input to the modulator.

UMTS WCDMA Handover: hard soft, softer,

inter-RAT
- There are several different types of 3G UMTS handover that are available:
hard handover, soft handover, softer handover and inter-RAT handover.

UMTS / WCDMA Tutorial Includes

Handover or handoff is as important for UMTS as any other form of cellular telecommunications
system. As with any other cellular telecommunications system it is essential that UMTS
handover is performed seamlessly so that the user is not aware of any change. Any failures
within the UMTS handover (or UMTS handoff) procedure will lead to dropped calls which will
in turn result in user dissatisfaction and ultimately it may lead to users changing networks,
thereby increasing the churn rate.

It is worth noting that the two terms UMTS handover and UMTS handoff have the same
meaning. UMTS handover tends is the terminology that tends to be used within Europe, whereas
UMTS handoff is more likely to be used within North America.

UMTS handover types

Within UMTS it is possible to define a number of different types of UMTS handover or handoff.
With the advent of generic CDMA technology, new possibilities for effecting more reliable
forms of handover became possible, and as a result one of a variety of different forms of
handover are available depending upon the different circumstances.

For purely inter W-CDMA technology, there are three basic types of handover:

 Hard handover:   This form of handover is essentially the same as that used for 2G
networks where one link is broken and another established.
 Soft handover:   This form of handover is a more gradual and the UE communicates
simultaneously with more than one Node B or base station during the handover process.
 Softer handover:   Not a full form of UMTS handover, but the UE communicates with
more than one sector managed by the same NodeB.
 UMTS GSM inter RAT handover:   This form of handover occurs when mobiles have to
change between Radio Access Technologies.

Each of the different types of handover is used on different occasions dependent upon the
conditions. Further details of each type of UMTS handover are given in the individual sections
below.

UMTS hard handover

The name hard handover indicates that there is a "hard" change during the handover process. For
hard handover the radio links are broken and then re-established. Although hard handover should
appear seamless to the user, there is always the possibility that a short break in the connection
may be noticed by the user.

The basic methodology behind a hard handover is relatively straightforward. There are a number
of basic stages of a hard handover:

1. The network decides a handover is required dependent upon the signal strengths of the
existing link, and the strengths of broadcast channels of adjacent cells.
 2. The link between the existing NodeB and the UE is broken.
3. A new link is established between the new NodeB and the UE.

Although this is a simplification of the process, it is basically what happens. The major problem
is that any difficulties in re-establishing the link will cause the handover to fail and the call or
connection to be dropped.

UMTS hard handovers may be used in a number of instances:

 When moving from one cell to an adjacent cell that may be on a different frequency.
 When implementing a mode change, e.g. from FDD to TDD mode, for example.
 When moving from one cell to another where there is no capacity on the existing channel,
and a change to a new frequency is required.

One of the issues facing UMTS hard handovers was also experienced in GSM. When usage
levels are high, the capacity of a particular cell that a UE is trying to enter may be insufficient to
support a new user. To overcome this, it may be necessary to reserve some capacity for new
users. This may be achieved by spreading the loading wherever possible - for example UEs that
can receive a sufficiently strong signal from a neighbouring cell may be transferred out as the
original cell nears its capacity level.

3G UMTS soft handover

Soft handover is a form of handover that was enabled by the introduction of CDMA. Soft
handover occurs when a UE is in the overlapping coverage area of two cells. Links to the two
base stations can be established simultaneously and in this way the UE can communicate with
two base stations. By having more than one link active during the handover process, this
provides a more reliable and seamless way in which to perform handover.

In view of the fact that soft handover uses several simultaneous links, it means that the adjacent
cells must be operating on the same frequency or channel as UEs do not have multiple
transmitters and receivers that would be necessary if they were on different frequencies.

When the UE and NodeB undertake a soft handover, the UE receives signals from the two
NodeBs and combines them using the RAKE receiver capability available in the signal
processing of the UE.

In the uplink the situation is more complicated as the signal combining cannot be accomplished
in the NodeB as more than one NodeB is involved. Instead, combining is accomplished on a
frame by frame basis. The best frames are selected after each interleaving period. The selection
is accomplished by using the outer loop power control algorithm which measures the signal to
noise ratio (SNR) of the received uplink signals. This information is then used to select the best
quality frame.

Once the soft handover has been completed, the links to the old NodeB are dropped and the UE
continues to communicate with the new NodeB.
As can be imagined, soft handover uses a higher degree of the network resources than a normal
link, or even a hard handover. However this is compensated by the improved reliability and
performance of the handover process. However with around 5 to 10% of handovers falling into
this category, network operators need to account for it.

Note on the RAKE receiver

A RAKE receiver is a form of radio receiver that has been made feasible in many areas by the
use of digital signal processing, DSP. It is often used to overcome the effects of multipath
propagation. It achieves this by using several sub-receivers known as "fingers" which are given a
particular multipath component. Each finger then processes its component and decodes it. The
resultant outputs from the fingers are then combined to provide the maximum contribution from
each path. In this way rake receivers and multipath propagation can be used to improve the
signal to noise performance.

3G UMTS softer handover

A form of handover referred to as softer handover is really a special form of soft handover. It is a
form of soft handover that occurs when the new radio links that are added are from the same
NodeB. This occurs when several sectors may be served from the same NodeB, thereby
simplifying the combining as it can be achieved within the NodeB and not require linking further
back into the network.

UMTS softer handover is only possible when a UE can hear the signals from two sectors served
by the same NodeB. This may occur as a result of the sectors overlapping, or more commonly as
a result of multipath propagation resulting from reflections from buildings, etc.

In the uplink, the signals received by the NodeB, the signals from the two sectors can be routed
to the same RAKE receiver and then combined to provide an enhanced signal.

In the downlink, it is a little more complicated because the different sectors of the NodeB use
different scrambling codes. To overcome this, different fingers of the RAKE receiver apply the
appropriate de-spreading or de-scrambling codes to the received signals. Once this has been
done, they can be combined as before.

In view of the fact that a single transmitter is used within the UE, only one power control loop is
active. This may not be optimal for all instances but it simplifies the hardware and general
operation.

Inter-RAT / Intersystem or iRAT handover

In many instances it is necessary for the UMTS radio access network to handover to the 2G
GSM network. These handovers are given a variety of names including Inter-RAT handover as
they are handing over between different forms of Radio Access Technology, Intersystem
Handover, and UMTS / GSM Handover. These handovers may be required for one of a variety
of reasons including:

 Limited UMTS coverage

 UMTS network busy whereas spare capacity is available on GSM network

The most common form of intersystem or inter-RAT handover is between UMTS and GSM.
There are two different types of inter-RAT handover or iRAT handover:

 UMTS to GSM handover:   There are two further divisions of this category of handover:

o Compressed mode handover:   Using compressed mode handover the UE uses the
gaps in transmission that occur to analyse the reception of local GSM base
stations. The UE uses the neighbour list provided by the UMTS network to
monitor and select a suitable candidate base station. Having selected a suitable
base station the handover takes place, but without any time synchronisation
having occurred.
o Blind handover:   This form of handover occurs when the base station hands off
the UE by passing it the details of the new cell to the UE without linking to it and
setting the timing, etc of the mobile for the new cell. In this mode, the network
selects what it believes to be the optimum GSM based station. The UE first
locates the broadcast channel of the new cell, gains timing synchronisation and
then carries out non-synchronised intercell handover.
 Handover from GSM to UMTS :   This form of handover is supported within GSM and a
"neighbour list" was established to enable this occur easily. As the GSM / 2G network is
normally more extensive than the 3G network, this type of handover does not normally
occur when the UE leaves a coverage area and must quickly find a new base station to
maintain contact. The handover from GSM to UMTS occurs to provide an improvement
in performance and can normally take place only when the conditions are right. The
neighbour list will inform the UE when this may happen.

UMTS handover methodology

The decisions about handover are generally handled by the RNC. It continually monitors
information regarding the signals being received by both the UE and NodeB and when a
particular link has fallen below a given level and another better radio channel is available, it
initiates a handover. As part of this monitoring process, the UE measures the Received Signal
Code Power (RSCP) and Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and the information is then
returned to the node B and hence to the RNC on the uplink control channel.