3G Handover

15 April 2005
Introduction & Definition of Terms:

3G Handover

A distinction is fundamentally drawn between two handover types:

Intra-system handovers are carried out within a UMTS system.
A distinction is drawn between
- Intra-frequency handovers (same WCDMA carriers)
- Inter-frequency handovers (different WCDMA carriers), currently not used

Inter-system handovers are carried out between systems having different
access technologies (e.g. 2G -> 3G and vice versa) or different
access modes (UTRA FDD -> UTRA TDD and vice versa).
UTRA TDD is not yet used.

Handover Types

Hard handover (HHO): Before a data/voice transmission takes place over the new connection,
all resources for the previous connection are released.

Soft handover (SHO) and softer handover (Softer HO):
During the SHO the mobile station is connected simultaneously to two or more cells
of various base stations of the same RNC (intra-RNC SHO) or different RNCs (inter-RNC SHO).

Softer HO there is a multiple connection to two or more cells of the same base station.

Active Set and Neighbor Set

Active set: This group includes all cells with which the mobile station is
currently in a soft/softer handover connection.

Neighbor set (also monitored set): This group consists of the cells which
are continuously observed (measured) by the mobile station but currently
do not belong to active sets.
P CPICH 1
P CPICH 2
P CPICH 3
Field strength
P-CPICH
Reporting
event 1B
Reporting
event 1A
Time
Reporting
range(1)
Cell_Ind._Offset
for P CPICH 3
A
B
C
Handover Example:
Reporting Event A: C-PICH enters Reporting Range
Reporting Event B: C-PICH leaves Reporting Range
Reporting Range(1): SHO_Window(1) SHO_Window_Hysteresis(1)
The 3G - 3G Neighborhood Calculation

In Pegaplan, the neighborhoods are calculated in a pixel-based manner.
At each pixel, the <n> cells having the greatest field strength
are taken into account.

In order to determine a 3G-3G neighborhood, two criteria are checked:

Using the S-criterion, for each of the <n> cells a check is made
as to whether a minimum received level is present at the relevant pixel.

For the cells which meet the S-criterion, the Soft handover criterion is used
to check whether the received level lies within the SHO window (Active Set)
of the best server.

0 0 MAX P j RACH MAX TXPWR UE Max
OFFSET min Qrxlev j min Qrxlev j E j S
c rxlev


} , _ ) ( _ _ _ {
} _ ) ( { ) ( ) (
S-criterion

Ec(j): Calculated received level of the potential. neighbor(j) at the pixel

Qrxlev min(j): Minimum received level of the pot. neighbour(j)

Qrxlev min_OFFSET: Pegasos-specific control parameter.

UE_TXPWR_MAX_RACH(j): Max. permitted UE transmission power on
the RACH

P_Max: Maximum UE transmission power in the 3G network

UMTS Neighborhood Planning
5.1.4.2 The Soft Handover Criterion







Ec(1): Calculated received level of the best server at the relevant pixel

SHO_Window(1): SHO window of the best server

SHO_Window_Hysteresis(1): SHO window hysteresis of the best server

SHO_Window_Offset: Pegasos-specific control parameter

Cell_Individual_Offset(1->i): Directed offset between best server and the
potential neighbor(i).


) (
)} 1 ( _ _ _ _
) 1 ( _ _ ) 1 ( _ { ) 1 (
i E
i Offset Individual Cell OFFSET Window SHO
Hysteresis Window SHO Window SHO E
c
c

Example: Checking of the Soft Handover Criterion:

The SHO criterion is considered starting from the best server (BS1).

Ec(1)-{SHO_Window-SHO_Hyst(1)+SHO_Window_OFFSET+Cell_Ind_OFFSET<Ec(j)

BS1->BS2:
-76dBm { +5dB +0dB +0dB +3dB } < -77dBm
-84dBm < -77dBm

BS1->BS3:
-76dBm { +5dB +0dB +0dB +3dB } < -86dBm
-84dBm > -86dBm

For the relation BS1->BS2, the SHO criterion has been met, BS2 is added to the
active set (Reporting Event 1A).
For the relation BS1->BS3, the SHO criterion has not been met, BS3 is removed
from the active set (Reporting Event 1B) or not added.
The 3G > 2G Neighborhood Calculation (Inter-RAT)


In order to determine a 3G -> 2G neighborhood, two criteria are checked:

Using the S-criterion, for the strongest 2G cell per layer a check is made as to
whether a minimum received level is present at the relevant pixel.

For the cells which meet the S-criterion, the ranking criterion is used to
check whether the received level of the strongest 2G cell is higher than the 3G
received level of the 3G server.

If both criteria are met, a corresponding neighborhood relation is entered
(initially as unsymmetrical) in the neighborhood list.
UMTS Neighborhood Planning
The S-criterion

Srxlev(j)=RXLEV DL(j)-{Qrxlev_min(j)
-Max{MS TXPWR MAX(j)-P Max,0}>0

RXLEV DL(j): Calculated received level of the potential 2G neighbor

Qrxlevmin(j): Minimum received level of the pot. 2G neighbor


MS TXPWR MAX(j): Maximum permitted MS transmission power in the 2G cell


P Max: Maximum MS transmission power in the 2G network

The Ranking Criterion

The ranking criterion R is calculated separately for the potential 2G
neighbors and for the 3G best server.

R
2G
(j) = RXLEV DL(j) Qoffset(j)
R
3G
(i) = E
c
(i) + Qhyst(i)

RXLEV DL(j): Calculated received level of the pot. 2G neighbor

Qoffset(j): Cell-specific offset


E
c
(i): Calculated received level of the 3G best server


Qhyst(i): Cell-specific hysteresis

In the following step, the R
2G
(j) values of all 2G layers and the R
3G
(i)
value are listed in accordance with their size (ranking). A check is made as
to whether the greatest R
2G
(j) satisfies the following condition:

R
2G
(j) > R
3G
(i)

If the condition is satisfied, the 2G cell(j) is entered in the neighborhood list of
the 3G cell(i).
3G Cell planning in Pegaplan
Flowchart:
3G Neighbour Planning in Pegaplan
Import files needed
Step 1: Import the 2G and 3G site data
File
Import
Step 2: Merge the two imported files
File
Network
Merge Network
Step 3: Double check that you have the right parameter settings
Option
Parameter
Handover
Layers to select
Detail level
Step 4: Select correct layers and detail level
Step 5: Perform pathloss calculation
Step 6: Calculate neighbours
Step 7: Viewing and Editing resulting neighbours
Hierarchy Window
Themes
Network
Neighbour relations
(Right click on Display)
Step 8: Review HO neighbours
Step 9: Export Neighbour list
File
Export
Thank you for your attention