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Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
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2G-3G Interworking
May 30, 2008
Document Type
2G-3G Interworking
DRAFT 0.43
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2G-3G Interworking
May 30, 20087
Revision History
Issue
Number
Date of Issue
0.1
30.05.2008
Draft version
0.2
30.06.2008
Minor corrections
0.3
07.11.2008
0.4
02.12.2008
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3
Authors
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Department
COO RA GERD SA Network Engineering PL
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Table of Contents
21.
Introduction...........................................................................7
32.
42.1
52.1.1
62.1.2
72.1.2.1
82.1.2.2
92.1.3
102.1.4
112.2
122.2.1
132.2.2
143.
153.1
163.2
173.2.1
183.2.2
193.3
203.3.1
213.3.2
223.3.3
233.3.4
243.3.5
253.4
263.4.1
273.4.2
283.4.3
293.4.3.1
303.4.3.2
313.4.3.3
323.4.4
334.
344.1
354.2
364.2.1
374.2.2
384.2.2.1
394.2.2.2
404.2.2.3
414.2.3
424.2.4
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Introduction.................................................................................................30
Description of 2G->3G handover (2G Nokia; 3G Nokia).............................30
Typical handover.........................................................................................30
IMSI-based handover..................................................................................33
Description of 2G->3G handover (2G Siemens; 3G Nokia)........................33
Different handover types.............................................................................33
Forced and imperative handovers...............................................................37
Power budget handover..............................................................................37
Handover due to sufficient UMTS coverage................................................38
Additional corrections related to power capability of the mobile.................39
Description of 3G->2G handover (Nokia)....................................................39
Coverage/quality inter-system handover.....................................................41
Immediate IMSI handover...........................................................................43
Service and load based inter-system handover..........................................43
Introduction.................................................................................................43
Load-based handover.................................................................................45
Service based handover.............................................................................46
Neighbor cell list and Compressed Mode measurements...........................47
Introduction.................................................................................................51
Guidelines...................................................................................................51
General remarks..........................................................................................51
3G hotspot deployment...............................................................................54
Distinction between different cell types.......................................................54
Parameterization.........................................................................................55
Proposal of settings.....................................................................................56
2G-3G One-to-one deployment 3G network low loaded..........................59
2G-3G One-to-one deployment 3G network highly loaded......................60
15.
Summary............................................................................62
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References
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[1]
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[2]
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[3]
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[4]
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[5]
3GPP GP-040585
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[6]
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[7]
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[8]
A. Szulc, Database Planning Rules, Cell selection and reselection, UMR 6.0, Siemens 2007
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[9]
Nokia WCDMA RAN, Rel. RAS 06, System Library, v.2, WCDMA RAN Parameter Dictionary
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[10]
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[11]
[12]
[13]
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[14]
Mikka Kleemola, Pekka Ranta, Janne Sipil, Jarkko Itkonen, ISHO Radio Network Planning
Guide, Nokia, ver. 1.2.1, September 2006
[15]
[16]
3GPP GP-032029
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[17]
Fabio Domenico Piana, Lidia Iannetti, Massimo Stefano Toffetti, Angelo Rappelli, FS 94466,
Feature Sheet Packet Handover, ver. 1.0, 20 March 2007
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[18]
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[19]
Grzegorz Lehmann, Network Controlled Cell Reselection from GSM/GPRS to UMTS due to
sufficient UMTS coverage, ver. 2.4, April 2006
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[20]
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[21]
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[22]
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[23]
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[24]
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[25]
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[26]
T. Risnen, Load Aware ISHO Admission, System Feature Specification, ver. 1.1.0,
February 2008
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[27]
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[28]
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[29]
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[30]
F. Reymond, Handover Control, Nokia Learning Content, ver. 1.2, April 2007
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32
[31]
Sobrero Cristina, FRQ 96452, Introduction of limited Inter RAT NACC functionality, ver. 0.3,
September 2007
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[32]
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[33]
R. Aalto, P. Mella, T. Nurmi, Handover Control, System Feature Specification, RAS06, ver.
2.1.1
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[34]
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[35]
Geethika K., Inter-System Handover Cancellation, EFS, ver. 5.0, May 2008
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[36]
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[37]
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[38]
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Description,
Nokia
Release RAS06,
System
[39]
[40]
H. Schaeffer, FRS490, Handover (Circuit Switched) from GSM to UMTS, September 2001
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Introduction
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The aim of this document is to provide with the detailed description of available features
related to 2G-3G interworking that are implemented on 2G as well as 3G side. Moreover,
the guidelines on parameterization of these features are presented in order to help with a
proper planning of co-operation between GSM/GPRS and UMTS networks.
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Please note that it is the very first version of the 2G-3G interworking guidelines. Due to
this fact it could not be guaranteed that the provided information is fully consistent.
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The document was generally based on ex-Siemens BR10.0/10.01 and ex-Nokia BSS13
and RAS06 releases. However, some remarks related to the subsequent releases are
placed as well. The document will be updated according to the new network features and
functionalities. The last version covers now BR11, BSS14 and RU10 releases.
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12.
22.1
32.1.1
Substantial parameters
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Nokia parameter
FDD_Qmin
FDM
FDDQMI
FDD_Qmin
GFDM
GFDDQMI
FDDQmin_Offset
FDMO
FDDQMIO
FDDQmin_Offset
GFDDQMIO
FDD_Qoffset
FDD
FDDQO
FDD_GPRS_Qoffse
t
GFDD
FDDGQO
FDD_RSCPmin
FDR
FDDRSCPMI
FDD_RSCPmin
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Siemens
parameter
GFDDRSCPMI
Qsearch_I
QSRI
QSRHI
Qsearch_P
QSRP
QSRHPRI
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3GPP name
Qqualmin
Nokia parameter
QqualMin
AdjsQqualMin
AdjiQqualMin
Qrxlevmin
AdjgQrxlevMin
AdjiQrxlevMin
AdjsQrxlevMin
UE_TXPWR_MAX_RACH
AdjgTxPwrMaxRACH
Sintrasearch
Sintrasearch
Sintersearch
Sintersearch
SsearchHCS
SsearchHCS
SsearchRAT1 - SsearchRATk
Ssearch_RAT
SHCS,RATm
SHCS_RAT
Slimit,SearchRATm
Slimit_searchRAT
Cell_selection_and_reselec
tion_quality_measure
CellSelQualMeas1
Qhyst1s
Qhyst1
Qhyst2s
Qhyst2
Qoffset1s,n
AdjgQoffset1
AdjiQoffset1
AdjsQoffset1
Qoffset2s,n
AdjiQoffset1
AdjsQoffset1
Treselections
Treselection
Use of HCS
UseOfHCS
Temporary_offset1
AdjgTempOffset1
AdjiTempOffset1
AdjsTempOffset1
Temporary_offset2
AdjiTempOffset2
AdjsTempOffset2
PENALTY_TIME
AdjgPenaltyTime
AdjiPenaltyTime
AdjsPenaltyTime
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Currently thisThis value wais fixed to CPICH Ec/No in the Nokia 3G releases up to and including
RAS06. The parameter with the help of which it is possible to choose between CPICH RSCP and
Ec/No as a reselection criterion Itwas is introducedplanned to be changed in RU10.
HCS_PRIO
AdjgHCSpriority
AdjiHCSpriority
AdjsHCSpriority
Qhcs
AdjgHCSthreshold
AdjiHCSthreshold
AdjsHCSthreshold
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3GPP name
Nokia parameter
Qhyst1s,FACH
QHyst1FACH
Qhyst2s,FACH
QHyst2FACH
Qhyst1s,PCH
QHyst1PCH
Qhyst2s,PCH
QHyst2sPCH
Treselections,PCH
TreselectionPCH
Treselections,FACH
TreselectionFACH
InterRATScaleTresele
non-HCS_TCRmax
NonHCSTcrMax
non-HCS_NCR
NonHCSNcr
non-HCS_TCRmaxHyst
NonHCSTcrMaxHyst
SpeedScaleTresel
Nokia parameter
Sintrasearch
SintrasearchConn
Sintersearch
SintersearchConn
SsearchHCS
SsearchHCSConn
SsearchRAT1 - SsearchRATk
Ssearch_RATConn
SHCS,RATm
SHCS_RATConn
Slimit,SearchRATm
Slimit_searchRATConn
Use of HCS
UseOfHCS
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22.1.2
32.1.2.1
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Figure 1. Usage of Qsearch_I parameter [14]
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its measured RSCP value exceeds the value of received signal level averaged for the
serving cell and all of the suitable non-serving GSM cells by the value of
FDD_Qoffset,
its measured Ec/No value is equal or greater than the value FDD_Qmin
FDD_Qmin_Offset,
The third condition was originally not included in the 3GPP specifications. It was however
added in order to better cope with the situation where too weak RSCP value for a high
Ec/No value leads to the switching back the UE to the GSM network right after cell
reselection from GSM to UTRAN (so called ping-pong effect)(please also compare with
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section 2.1.3)[2]. This undesired effect leads to several seconds of service outage due to
e.g. LA/RA update per every inter-system cell reselection procedure.
FDD_RSCP_threshold is equal to FDD_RSCPmin min((P_MAX 21 dBm), 3 dB)
where P_MAX is maximum RF power of the UE in FDD mode. Most of the UEs have
power capability of either 21 dBm or 24 dBm (please e.g. refer to [13] for Nokia devices).
FDD_RSCPmin is either transmitted in the cell or, if it is not broadcast, FDD_RSCPmin =
Qrxlevmin + Pcompensation + 10 dB. The benefit of the usage of FDD_RSCP_min could
be especially visible in the low traffic conditions where high Ec/No is not necessarily
correlated with the sufficient level of RSCP.
282.1.2.2
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UE controlled cell reselection from 3G to 2G is more complex than GSM to UTRAN cell
reselection since this process is handled with the help of many more parameters. Prior to
actual cell reselection, appropriate measurements should be performed [4]. This part is
presented on the figure below. Following assumptions were made during creation of this
diagram:
In non-HCS part high mobility state is not covered (non-HCS_T CRmax, non-HCS_NCR
and non-HCS_TCRmaxhyst parameters),
For the definition of the suitability criteria please refer to page 22.
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Following assumptions were made during creation of diagrams presented in Figure 7 and
Figure 8:
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102.1.3
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Two important values could be measured by the UE in order to assess the performance
of the 3G cell namely CPICH Ec/No and CPICH RSCP. The former one refers to the ratio
between the power of the pilot channel and the total received power at the antenna
connector i.e. quality level of the signal and the latter one refers directly to the power of
the pilot channel (i.e. power measured at the code of the primary CPICH) i.e. signal level
[2]. Please notice that if 3G intra-frequency handover is taken into account there is no
influence of choice between these two parameters on the handover performance since
they are strictly correlated with each other thanks to the fact that total received power
within the channel bandwidth (i.e. RSSI) is the same for all cells within this bandwidth.
This is however not the case in inter-frequency handover and inter-RAT handover.
372.1.4
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Parameters that are grouped according to the appropriate phase are presented in the
table below. It was assumed that SHCS,RATm is not signalled in the cell.
GSM to UMTS
UMTS to GSM
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Measurements
Checking the condition:
CPICH RSCP > FDD_RSCPmin min((P_MAX
21 dBm), 3 dB)
CPICH Ec/No FDD_Qmin FDD_Qmin_Offset
Ranking phase:
For all 2G cells: CPICH RSCP > RLA +
FDD_Qoffset
If more than one cell satisfies this condition, cell with
the greatest CPICH RSCP is chosen.
Table 4. Cell reselection parameters - both directions
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Figure 5. 3G-2G-3G Cell reselection
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Quality and signal strength related parameters at both sides should be set in parallel in
order to avoid so called ping-pong effect i.e. changing the serving network too often.
However, the approach the aim of which is to seriously decrease occurrences of this
phenomenon could not be based on the e.g. hysteresis loop. The reason is related to the
2G signal strength part. Taking into account the set of the parameters presented in Table
1 and dependencies between them Qrxlevmin 1 should be set to the higher value than
Qsearch_I (assuming that Qsearch_I is related to the limit of averaged signal level below
which UE has to start measurements of 3G cells). Possible trade-off between Qrxlevmin
and Qsearch_I could look e.g. as follows: Qrxlevmin is equal to -90 dBm while Qsearch_I
is equal to the value below -94 dBm 2. It would seriously reduce ping-pong effect in the
network indeed but simultaneously it would lead to the unacceptable drawbacks:
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too high value of Qrxlevmin (UE could not reselect to the 2G cell even if it was
necessary),
too low value of Qsearch_I (measurements of 3G cell would start too late).
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This parameter refers to the limit related to the GSM neighbour cell (i.e. AdjgQrxlevMin
in the Nokia nomenclature).
It was assumed that Pcompensation factor is equal to 0.
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Please note that the 3GPP default value of this parameter was changed from -101 dBm
to -102 dBm in 3GPP 45.008 ver. 5.19.0 issued in June 2005 [18]
FDD_Qmin_Offset was implemented in Nokia BSS13 together with FDD_RSCPmin.
Pre-BSS13 releases do not support these parameters.
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These values could be directly compared with each other since they all refer to quality of
the signal (please compare with diagram presented in Figure 2).
Similarly to the quality dependencies, following approach could be applied to limits
related to signal strength.
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It is not possible to set 7 dB due to the limitations related to possible values of FDD_Qoffset.
It is not possible to set 1 dB due to the limitations related to possible values of FDD_Qoffset.
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Please note that if there are no cells that are suitable for the Nserv consecutive DRX
cycles i.e. that do not satisfy the suitability conditions:
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where:
Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas Qrxlevmin Pcompensation and
Squal = Qqualmeas Qqualmin.
UE performs search for every neighbouring cells defined in the system information. In
such a case additional limitations (like S intrasearch, Sintersearch or SsearchRAT) are not applied.
During this process the UE could reselect to the GSM cell [10].
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Recommended value for minimum required quality level in the cell (Qqualmin) is -18 dB.
It is a reasonable tradeoff between necessity of assuring minimum cell quality and in
parallel avoiding setting this value too high which might lead to coverage loss [7]. The
same value could be set for minimum required quality level in the neighbouring cell (both
intra- and inter-frequency case: Nokia parameters AdjsQqualMin and AdjiQqualMin
respectively).
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The influence of ping-pong effect could be partially reduced with the help of proper
settings connected with the quality aspects 1. The first and foremost condition looks as
follows: FDD_Qmin (assuming that FDD_Qmin_Offset is equal to 0 dB since the latter
parameter could be set by default to 0dB) should be greater than S searchRAT + Qqualmin. In
this way, it is assured that there will be no immediate cell reselection from 2G to 3G after
successful reselection from UTRAN to GSM. If FDD_Qmin is set to aforementioned -12
dB, SsearchRAT should be lower than 6 dB in order to satisfy this condition. 4 dB is in such a
case a reasonable value since UE starts inter-RAT measurements if quality of 3G cell
drops below -14 dB. Please note that if FDD_Qmin was set to a higher value, the
condition related to dependency between FDD_Qmin and S searchRAT would be satisfied as
well.
According to the 3GPP standards both CPICH RSCP and CPICH Ec/No could be chosen
as the quality measure (Cell_selection_and_reselection_quality_measure IE [28]).
Nevertheless in the Nokia approach value of this information element is fixed to CPICH
Ec/No. The usage of RSCP possible alternatively was introduced in the RU10 edition of
Nokia UTRAN release. It will improve the cell reselection performance in the low traffic
areas where Ec/No may remain at the satisfactory level even if CPICH RSCP is very low.
Please note that increasing the S searchRAT to the next possible value to the aforementioned
one (6 dB instead of 4 dB) would violate the condition related to FDD_Qmin. Hence it is
not recommended to increase it even if there are low traffic conditions in the cell.
Sintrasearch should be of the order of 10 12 dB i.e. the measurements of intra-frequency
neighbours will start if the quality of the serving 3G cell drops below -8 -6 dB. The
higher the value of Sintrasearch is, the sooner the measurements are started.
Possible purposes of using Qoffset and Qhyst parameters in the cell reselection process
are:
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removal of differences between measured CPICH RSCP value and GSM signal
strength in order to compare these values directly.
It should be noticed that although both CPICH RSCP (for UMTS) and received level
average (for GSM) refer to the received signal strength they could not be compared
directly due to the different character of air interfaces related to both access networks.
Usually for the given value of signal strength (denominated in dB) better radio conditions
are related to CPICH RSCP. The difference between values that reflect the similar
reception conditions for CPICH RSCP and GSM RLA is of the order of a few dB. It is not
possible to provide with the exact value since this one has to be calculated on the basis
As it was presented earlier, it is not feasible to prevent from the ping-pong effect with the help
of 3G signal power related thresholds since in reality Qrxlevmin could not be set to the higher
value than Qsearch_I.
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of actual measurements (e.g. BLER) in the given area. Nevertheless, rough estimation of
this difference could be provided. Two crucial factors should be taken into account:
difference related to transmitted power and influence of free space attenuation.
Appropriate calculation for typical setting is presented in the table below.
GSM
900
43 dBm
GSM
1800
43 dBm
UMTS
2100
43 dBm
UMTS
2100
33 dBm
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-10
Nominal Tx Power
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Total relative difference (diff TxPower + diffFreeSpaceAtt) have to be included in the Qoffset 1,GSM e.g.
in case of CPICH RSCP 43 dBm (typical value), Qoffset1,GSM should be equal to 1 for
GSM 1800 cell while for GSM 900 cell it should be set to 7 in order to assure fair
comparison between signal strength measurements for GSM and UMTS cells.
Additionally, suggested initial hysteresis value (which covers both Qoffset and Qhyst
related offsets) should be of the order of 3 dB 1 [1] in order to avoid ping-pong effect and
assure some way of stickiness to the serving cell. It has to be taken into account during
provision of Qhyst1 together with Qoffset1 s,GSM and Qoffset1s,UMTS values.
In order to prioritize UMTS over GSM cell the higher Qoffset 1,GSM value than the one
calculated with the help of aforementioned dependencies should be set whereas if the
aim of the optimization process is to purely expand the border of the 3G cell without
taking GSM/WCDMA relations into consideration, Q hyst1 value should be increased
instead.
Concerning Treselection value, it is directly connected with the hysteresis set according
to the rules presented above. If the hysteresis value is sufficiently high, the Treselection
could be even set to zero since influence of the possible fluctuations of the signal will be
diminished with the help of the hysteresis threshold. Simultaneously, decreasing the
hysteresis should lead to the increasing of the Treselection value. Moreover, higher
Treselection value is beneficial from the battery consumption point of view since battery
is being drained faster in case of significant number of inter-RAT reselections [7] and the
standby time is reduced. Please note that additional scaling factors related only to inter1
Or the closest value if e.g. granularity of 1 dB could not be used during the parameter tuning.
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102.2
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152.2.1
Ex-Nokia approach
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NC1, where MS informs the network about the measurements and performs the
reselection process itself,
NC2, where MS informs the network about the measurements and the reselection
process is done by the network,
Nokia solution supports only NC0 and NC2 mode. Concerning network controlled
reselection mode (NC2) two sub-modes could be distinguished in this approach namely:
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pure NC2 mode, where NC2 is broadcast in the network i.e. this mode is applicable
for all UEs within the serving area,
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The later sub-mode is applicable only for the UEs that are in Packet Transfer Mode
unless Inter-System NCCR is enabled.
UE is commanded to perform the inter-system cell reselection with the help of Packet
Cell Change Order sent from the network. Different modes of Inter-System NCCR could
be applied:
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Service based IS-NCCR could be applied only if SGSN supports this feature i.e. Service
UTRAN CCO (Cell Change Order) IE could be provided in DL-UNITDATA message
according to certain subscriber priorities handled by the CN.
In the current ex-Nokia implementation it is possible to report only the Ec/No values of
FDD cells (3GPP FDD_REP_QUANT parameter is always set to 1). Taking into account
aforementioned criteria, the most important parameter from the performance point of
view is FQT (ISNCCR FDD quality threshold) that provides the information about
minimum quality requirement related to the 3G cell that has to be satisfied in case of ISNCCR.
Although recommended minimum quality requirement for the 3G cell in the 3G network is
-18 dB, FQT value should be higher in order to assure that there will be no coming back
to 2G cell right after reselection to 3G cell due to some fluctuations of the UMTS signal
and moreover that service performance related to ongoing data transmission will be
preserved. Since the aim of coverage-based IS-NCCR is to perform this reselection as
soon as possible in order to move PS traffic to 3G network, the following
recommendation related to FQT could be made:
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12.2.2
Ex-Siemens approach
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Concerning the supported network modes, three modes (as defined by 3GPP, please
compare with [3]) are supported. However, usage of NC1 mode is seriously limited only to
the situation where NCCR is not employed and NACC is active. Even in this case, NC0
mode is broadcast and PMOs with NC1 are dedicated only to the Rel. 4 or greater
terminals if it is allowed by the NACC-NCO parameter.
ISNCCR in the ex-Siemens solution is based only on the 3G coverage and it is performed
if sufficient UMTS coverage is available. No service differentiation is applied to the exSiemens solution. If NCCR is enabled NC0 is always broadcast but PMO with NC2 is
sent to the selected UEs. This approach was adopted in order to assure that only UEs in
Packet Transfer Mode are commanded to enter the NC2 mode since in the ex-Siemens
approach NCCR1 (and ISNCCR) is not foreseen for the UEs in Packet Idle Mode.
Moreover, in the ex-Siemens solution there is a speed-sensitive version of this algorithm
where UEs in high mobility state are better handled since the handover to the UMTS
microcell is delayed in this case.
Two important parameters were specified for the IS-NCCR namely:
13
12
One of the main goals of introducing ISNCCR feature is to reduce GERAN PS traffic and
provide better quality of PS connection [19]. That is why this cell reselection should be
performed as soon as possible (however, simultaneously service quality has to be
assured). Similarly to ex-Nokia FQT, following recommendation could be made:
25
26
27
28
29
11
The value (CPICH RSCP or CPICH Ec/No) associated with the FDD cell the UE is
commanded to report depends on the FDD_REP_QUANT parameter.
30
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2G/3G Interworking
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With the help of TBNCU (TimerBackNcUmts) it is possible to prevent from the pingpong effect. Until this timer expires, cell reselection to UMTS is not allowed. It should be
emphasized that this timer starts not only after cell reselection from UMTS cell but from
GSM cell as well since the BSC is not aware of source cell during network controlled cell
reselection.
With the help of FDDREPTH2 threshold it is possible to define the threshold for nonreported value (i.e. RSCP in case of Ec/No reported or Ec/No in case of RSCP reported)
1
If however the UE does not respond with the Packet Measurement Report in a predefined period,
the UE is commanded to enter NC0 mode.
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8
below which the particular 3G cell is not reported. It could be prevented this way e.g.
from reselection to the not suitable 3G cell (with low level of the measured RSCP value)
even if reported Ec/No is above the reselection threshold.
9
10
11
12
Moreover, in BR10.01 functionality with the help of which it is possible to force the
HSDPA-capable UE to perform the cell reselection to I-HSPA cell after the CS call release
was implemented (thanks to insertion of the I-HSPA cells only in the Cell selection
indicator after release of all TCH and SDCCH IE in the Channel Release message).
13
It should be noticed that customer-specific CR for BR8.0 [20] was implemented in order
to introduce Load Based NCCR to 3G network in the Siemens system (i.e. IS-NCCR
could be triggered only if certain load threshold is exceeded).
According to CR for BR9.0 [34] Cell selection indicator after release of all TCH and
SDCCH IE in the Channel Release message contains only 3G FDD cells.
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13.
23.1
Introduction
3
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63.2
73.2.1
Typical handover
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In the Nokia approach ISHO handovers were performed first and foremost:
-
This distinction is reasonable since in the real networks, GSM coverage is available
nearly everywhere while for UMTS coverage it is not the case. Hence the handover from
2G to 3G is performed usually if 2G and 3G coverage areas are overlapping [11] and it
should be performed mainly due to better service performance (service-based
handovers) or better load balancing (load-based handovers). The principle of load-based
handover is to off-load GSM network while in the service based handover service
priorities received from the core network via A-interface are taken into account in order to
fully meet the service requirements. Crucial parameters from the 2G to 3G ISHO point of
view are as follows:
-
minimum traffic load for speech call (LTSC) that determines the threshold above
which load-based handover to the WCDMA cell could be performed 1,
minimum CPICH Ec/Io level (MET) that refers to the minimum quality condition of the
3G cell that has to be met during ISHO as such,
minimum CPICH Ec/Io level (DET) that refers to the minimum quality condition of the
3G cell that has to be met during Inter-System Direct Access.
Service
indicator
11
12
13
should be direct
accessed or handed
over to the WCDMA
should
not
be shall not be direct
direct accessed or accessed or handed
handed over to the over to the WCDMA
Please note that Inter-system Direct Access Load Threshold (IDLT) was removed in the Nokia
BSS12 release.
RAN
WCDMA RAN or
Load value
2G cell load > LTSC
service
indicators
are not in use
Inter-system direct
access is performed
if CPICH Ec/Io of 3G
cell is above DET or
Inter-system
handover
is
performed if CPICH
Ec/Io of 3G cell is
above MET
RAN
Inter-system direct
access is performed
if CPICH Ec/Io of 3G
cell is above DET or
Inter-system
Neither inter-system
handover
is handover nor interperformed if CPICH system direct access
Ec/Io of 3G cell is is performed
above MET
Neither inter-system
handover nor intersystem
direct
access is performed
Neither inter-system
handover nor intersystem direct access
is performed
Inter-system
handover
is
performed if CPICH
Ec/Io of 3G cell is
above MET
1
2
3
4
5
6
MET threshold should be set with careful in order to not only assure appropriate radio
conditions related to the candidate 3G cell but prevent from the ping-pong effect as well
(i.e. handover from 3G back to 2G right after handover from GSM to UMTS 1). That is why
MET should be set to the higher value than HHoEcNoThreshold value 2. Offset of the
order of 2-3 dB is a reasonable value.
7
8
9
10
Concerning the Ec/Io threshold for the inter-system direct access it should be set to the
higher value than MET since if the inter-system direct access feature is enabled its
condition is tried prior to checking the condition related to inter-system handover [23].
Moreover, in case of unsuccessful direct access to 3G network the call is cleared.
11
12
13
14
15
The handover from 2G to 3G network after successful handover from the 3G to GSM
network is not possible during hardcoded period of 30 s 3. Handover attempt to the given
3G cell after the unsuccessful handover attempt to this cell is not possible during the
UMIU period. Moreover, in the Nokia system there are additional penalties: cell based
5
6
However, please note that prior to triggering off inter-system handover to 2G due to CPICH
Ec/No (or CPICH RSCP), threshold has to be exceeded for all cells in the active set.
3
The reason for such a limitation is the assumption that if such a handover occurs, 3G network is
overloaded.
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penalty after unsuccessful handovers from GSM to 3G and service area based penalty
after successful handovers from 3G to GSM.
Additionally, it could be noticed that FDD_REPORTING_THRESHOLD_2 (FRT2
implemented in Nokia BSS13) will be used in a similar manner to the one defined for the
cell reselection (please refer to 2.2.1).
It is also possible to disable the handover for CS voice calls to 3G with the help of setting
QSRC (3GPP Qsearch_C) parameter (that is responsible for handling the threshold
related to the serving BCCH carrier below/above which the searching for 3G cells starts)
to the value NEVER.
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333.2.2
IMSI-based handover
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37
38
The aim of the IMSI-based handover is to control access of the visiting subscribers to the
own network. With the help of Authorised Networks 1 (ANE) and Service Groups 2 (SG)
conception it is possible to force the BSC to perform handovers only to certain cells. It is
based on IMSI of the subscriber3. If IMSI-based inter-system handover is enabled, the
handover to WCDMA cell which belong to ANE the SG of the subscriber is linked to, is
11
12
13
14
SG all subscribers of the particular operator identified with the same PLMN identifier (obtained
from IMSI), SG is linked to ANE and that is why limited neighbor cell list is used for this SG
1
2
initiated as soon as possible i.e. quality of this WCDMA cell is above MET (load condition
is not checked). For details about IMSI-base handover feature please refer to [22].
33.3
43.3.1
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43
2
3
if a mobile subscriber belongs to a Subscriber Group (SG) and its IMSI can be
recognized, handover to the appropriate 3G (or 2G) network could be made,
MS could be commanded to measure only specified PLMN cells (with the help of
channel specific system information).
If PLMN identifier of the subscriber is not known (or not linked to any of SGs) ANE related to the
so called anonymous users could be used
HANDOVER
TYPE
Forced due to
preemption
Sorting Criteria of
3G cells
RXLEVMINC
UMECNO
USECNO
Quality UL/DL
Level UL/DL
USRSCP
Forced (Service
Based Directed
Retry)
N/A
Distance
Sufficient UMTS
Coverage
11
RSCP: USRSCP,
MSTXPMAXUMTS
Ec/No: USECNO,
MSTXPMAXUMTS
N/A
RSCP:
reported
Forced (Inter-System
Directed Retry)
RSCP:
Ec/No: PLNC; if the same: Ec/No RSCP: PLNC; if the same: power budget criteria HCS enabled
PLNC, if
3G-related parameters
connected with
handover trigger
initiation
Minimum
Threshold for
3G cell
HCS disabled
HANDOVER PHASE
2G sublist(s) vs. 3G
sublist priority
2G/3G Interworking
May 30, 2008
CPICH Ec/No
CPICH RSCP
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ToUmtsTrafficHoHighThr,
ToUmtsAbisTrafficHoHigh
Thr
non-HCS:
MSTXPMAXUMTS,
HOM/DTMHOM,
HOMSOFF, HOMDOFF,
HOMDTIME,
MICROCELL
HCS: MSTXPMAXUMTS,
HOM, HOMSOFF,
HOMDOFF, HOMDTIME,
MICROCELL,
PLNC/PPLNC/DTMPL
N/A
Power Budget
non-HCS:
MSTXPMAXUMTS,
HOM/DTMHOM, UADJ
HCS: MSTXPMAXUMTS,
HOM, UADJ,
PLNC/DTMPL
Load (BR11)
RSCP: USRSCP,
MSTXPMAXUMTS,
HOMDTIME,
MICROCELL
Ec/No: USECNO,
MSTXPMACUMTS,
HOMDTIME,
MICROCELL
RXLEVMINC
Sufficient UMTS
Coverage - Speed
sensitive version
RSCP
Ec/No: reported Ec/No
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3
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5
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8
Apart from the forced handovers (that are triggered by BSC) other handover types are
presented in the table above in the order of their priority during their evaluation in BTS.
Distinction between common and speed sensitive version is not taken into account during
this prioritization since only one type of the algorithm could be active in the same time for
the particular neighbor cell (according to the setting of MICROCELL parameter 1). Please
note that different inter-system handover types could be enabled and disabled separately
with the help of the flags presented in the table below.
Flag
EUHO
EUIMPHO
EUSDCHO
EUSCHO
EUBCHO
enableToUmtsTraf
ficLoadServiceBa
sedHo
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11
12
13
14
15
16
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18
19
20
21
22
23
24
11
12
13
Moreover, apart from MICROCELL parameter additional flag (DPBGTHO) is responsible for
enabling/disabling speed-sensitive power budget 2G-2G and 2G-3G handover.
If FDDREPQTY = Ec/No:
FDDREPTH2 = RXLEVMINC
1
23.3.2
3
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5
6
7
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10
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15
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18
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22
23
24
25
Triggers for forced and imperative handovers are out of scope of this document since
they are purely related either to radio conditions related to the serving 2G cell or they are
triggered externally by the BSC (for the details please refer to e.g. [23]). 3G cells are
included in the target cell list if:
-
at the top of the target cell list if Service Handover IE is equal to Handover to either
UTRAN or cdma2000 should be performed,
at the bottom of the target cell list if Service Handover IE is equal to Handover to
either UTRAN or cdma2000 should not be performed.
The network the cell belongs to is not taken into account during Target Cell List
generation if Service Handover IE was not set and RSCP was reported (unless the BR11
Intersystem Handover Improvements feature (Traffic Load in Service based Handovers)
is used where not setting the Service Handover IE leads to the inter-system handover
handling the same as in case of Service Handover IE set to Handover to either UTRAN
or cdma2000 should not be performed.
Within 3G sublist 3G cells are ranked according to power budget criteria (for details
please see section 3.3.1 and [23]) if RSCP is reported or according to Ec/No if this value
is reported. If HCS is applied cells are firstly ranked according to PLNC.
In order to prevent from ping-pong effect thresholds related to 2G-3G handover should
be set to the higher level than appropriate thresholds responsible for triggering 3G-2G
handover.
26
27
28
29
30
313.3.3
32
33
34
35
36
37
Power budget inter-system handover is triggered if the power budget of the neighbor 3G
cell (i.e. difference between DL level of this neighbor 3G cell and serving 2G cell
including influence of power control) exceeds defined earlier handover margin.
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DTMHOM handover margin for 3G cell that replace HOM if DTM Power Budget
Handover is applied1,
UADJ adjustment that is added to reported CPICH RSCP value of 3G cell (this total
is then treated as DL level).
343.3.4
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
Handover due to sufficient UMTS coverage (if enabled with the help of EUSCHO
parameter) is triggered as soon as 3G coverage is available i.e.:
11
12
13
The cells are sorted according to the reported value (i.e. CPICH RSCP or CPICH Ec/No)
unless HCS is enabled since in this case priority of the 3G cell (PLNC parameter) takes
precedence over reported value. Due to the character of handover, 2G cells are not
included in the target cell list. Microcells are excluded from the target cell list during
1
2
3
4
5
penalty time related to speed sensitive version of the algorithm defined with the help of
HOMDTIME parameter.
Similarly to the conditions presented in section 3.2, in order to prevent from ping-pong
effect thresholds related to 2G-3G handover should be set to the higher level than
appropriate thresholds responsible for triggering 3G-2G handover.
6
7
8
9
10
11
Up to BR11 release, the handover due to sufficient UMTS coverage could be triggered in
order to support service based handover (Service Handover IE set to Handover to either
UTRAN or cdma2000 should be performed) even if generally handover due to sufficient
UMTS coverage is disabled. From BR11 onwards, if Traffic load in Service Based
Handover feature ([38]) is switched on, it is no longer possible.
123.3.5
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
For the sake of simplicity in the handover-related deliberations in this section it was
assumed that so called correction term is not applied to RXLEVMINC, UMECNO,
USRSCP or USECNO. However, it should be noticed that if maximum allowed transmit
power in neighbor cell (MSTXPMAXUMTS) is greater than power capability of the mobile
appropriate correction should be applied i.e. given threshold for CPICH RSCP or CPICH
Ec/No has to be increased by the difference between MSTXPMAXUMTS and power
capability of the UE.
223.4
23
24
25
26
27
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32
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34
35
36
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38
39
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In this section both handover and network initiated cell reselection are referred as
handover.
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the UE and the network. Please note that in the current network implementation, unless
UE is equipped with dual receiver, UEs in CELL_FACH state are not allowed to perform
inter-system cell reselections due to the fact that particular UE stays in this state for a
relatively short period (less than 10 seconds) 1.
313.4.1
32
33
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Following eight different types of inter-system handovers were introduced in the Nokia
3G system2:
-
Load-based handover,
Service-based handover.
First five handover reasons are referred as coverage/quality ones and are presented in
section 3.4.1. Immediate IMSI handover is described in section 3.4.2 while service and
load based inter-system handover is described in section 3.4.3.
In case of CS+PS multi service there is a specific parameter defined namely
IuPSrelWait3G2GMultiServ with the help of which it is possible to define timer related to
the PS connection release after switching to 2G if RAU procedure was not performed to
the CN. Until expiration of this timer Iu-PS connection is not released.
Currently, it is not possible to perform the handover directly from HSPA to 2G
intermediate switching to DCH is necessary. It is planned to make the direct handover
possible in RU20 [15]. However, in the present implementation, separate inter-frequency
as well as inter-RAT handover set of parameters could be defined for HSDPA UEs [15].
With the help of hidden parameters AMRDirRe and AMRDirReCell parameters it is
possible to enable the possibility of Directed Retry of AMR call during the call setup to
2G cell if there is congestion in the 3G cell. Please note that it is a so called blind
handover no measurements take place during this procedure. Directed Retry is RAS06
On Top feature with some extensions (with respect to counters) targeted for RU10.
Planned to be changed in Nokia 3G RU20 [15][Focal Point] together with support of interfrequency and inter-system mobility for UEs in CELL_FACH state.
2Family
1
2
3
4
5
6
CS, NRT PS, RT PS)1. Please note that AMR here refers to CS voice while CS refers to
CS data services. Concerning CS data services the appropriate setting could not
modified on-line and such a handover is by default forbidden.
(1)
UL DCH
quality
UE Tx Power
Filter Coefficient
GsmUETxPwrFilterCoeff
DL DPCH
Power
GsmDLTxPwrThrXXX
CPICH RSCP
CICH Ec/No
Period
Time Hysteresis
GsmUETxPwrTimeHyst
Nokia: RLMeasRepPeriod
3GPP:
DedicatedMeasReportPerio
d
DediMeasRepPeriodCSdata
DediMeasRepPeriodPSdata
HHoRscpThreshold
HHoRscpTimeHysteresis
HHoEcNoThreshold
HHoEcNoTimeHysteresis
Cancel Time
UL DCH
quality
UE Tx Power
DL DPCH
Power
CPICH RSCP
HHoRscpCancel
HHoRscpCancelTime
CICH Ec/No
HHoEcNoCancel
HHoEcNoCancelTime
Maximum DL Bitrate
HHoMaxAllowedBitrateDL
HHoMaxAllowedBitrateDL
HHoMaxAllowedBitrateDL
8
9
10
11
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14
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16
17
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19
20
21
XXX stands for the type of service (AMR, CS, NrtPS for NRT PS, RtPS for RT PS) since
different values could be assigned for different services.
Moreover parameters like HHoRscpThreshold, HHoRscpCancel, HHoEcNoThreshold,
HHoEcNoCancel with related timers and filter coefficients could be defined for RT and
NRT services separately.
Following RT services exist in the system:
-
CS voice,
HHoRscpFilterCoefficien
t
EcNoFilterCoefficient
Trigger cancel
threshold
(2)
Trigger threshold
ULQualDetRepThreshol
d
GsmUETxPwrXXX
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Threshold related to cancelling the trigger should be set to lower value than appropriate
threshold responsible for triggering the handover.
4
5
6
7
8
Priority handover
Inter-system handover
Inter-frequency handover
Inter-frequency handover
(inter-system
handover
not allowed)
no information
Inter-frequency handover
10
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11
1
2
or if its PLMN identifier is the same as PLMN identifier of the subscriber) are provided in
the neighbor cell list.
33.4.2
4
5
6
7
8
9
The restrictions related to creating the neighbor list if immediate IMSI handover is
enabled is the same as for aforementioned common IMSI-based inter-system handover.
However, if immediate IMSI handover to GSM is switched on inter-system handover is
triggered if RNC cannot add an intra-frequency cell into the active set because the PLMN
identifier of the cell does not fulfill the requirement of home/authorised/active set PLMNs.
For Nokia 3G: In order to enable immediate IMSI inter-system handover apart from
setting IMSIbasedGsmHo to IMMEDIATE:
IMSIbasedSHO = ALLOWED
10
11
123.4.3
133.4.3.1
Introduction
14
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22
23
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32
33
34
35
36
The target of the service and load based handovers is to make the load balancing
between different 3G layers and frequencies and 2G network efficient. It is possible to
enable/disable service or load based handover for eight different types of services
(conversational: CS speech, CS transparent data, PS RT data, PS speech; streaming:
CS non-transparent data, PS RT data; interactive: PS NRT data; background: PS NRT
data) separately1 (following values could be used: none, load, service, service and load).
Moreover, apart from the service priorities that are sent from the core network (Iu service
priority information) it is possible to set RNC-based service priority per each different type
of service (following values could be used: GSM, WCDMA, WCDMA macro cell, WCDMA
micro cell, Not defined). These priorities are stored in the appropriate profiles 2.
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Please note that certain CN limitations may be applied e.g. in Nokia SGSN (R3) the
service information is always set to Handover to GSM should not be performed while in
e.g. MSC (M13) preferred RAT could be defined for speech, CS data >32 kbit/s, CS data
< 32 kbit/s.
Service priorities used in the Iu interface has higher priority than the ones stored in RNC
that are used only in order to complement them (by means of defining appropriate 3G
layer) or instead of them if Iu service priorities are not available. One of the reasonable
approaches could be based on setting the RNC priority to GSM at least for CS
Conversational Speech (unless 3G network is low loaded) and not defined for other
services.
If the 3G system becomes more mature and hence more loaded setting the preferred
network to 2G for low and medium-rate NRT data could be taken into account as well. On
the contrary, usually DCH allocations for NRT data are expected to be rather short and
1
SLHOProfileBackgroundPSNRTData, SLHOProfileConvCSSpeech,
SLHOProfileConvCSTData, SLHOProfileConvPSRTData, SLHOProfilePSSpeech,
SLHOProfileStreamCSNTData, SLHOProfilePSRTData,
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handing over such a connection to 2G will not be beneficial. That is why usage of
service/load based handovers for NRT services is generally justified only in case of
longer DCH allocations [15].
Additionally, please note that non-transparent CS data could be downgraded during 3G2G handover (and upgraded back in case 2G-3G handover) in contrast to transparent CS
data that cannot be downgraded [24] (please note however that by default such a CS
data handovers are forbidden).
In two following sections only load and service based inter-system handovers are
presented. These handovers (more precisely handover (for CS or CS/PS domain) or
network controlled cell reselection for PS domain) are performed only for UEs in
CELL_DCH. With the help of SLHOCmAllowedNRT parameter it is possible to set
whether compressed mode is allowed for inter-RAT measurements for non-real time
connections or not. Please note that if compressed mode is not allowed and additionally
if according to UE capability inter-RAT measurements using dual-receiver is not possible
IS-NCCR to 2G is not performed. Similarly to GsmMinHoInterval (please compare with
section 3.4.4), GsmMinSLHO interval prevents from ping-pong effect i.e. handover back
to GSM if previous handover from GSM (related to the particular RRC connection) was
service or load-based. This parameter was introduced in order to make this interval
longer than the one defined with the help of GsmMinHoInterval. Moreover it is possible to
switch off completely such a handover back to GSM if this parameter is set to 0.
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25
Number of UE that are chosen for the load and service based inter-RAT handovers is
limited. RRC connections to be handed over are chosen according to the specific
algorithm (for details please refer to [24]). Only connections that are not in their preferred
network or layer1 could be selected. Intra-WCDMA load and service based handovers
(together with WCDMA layer management process) are not covered in this document.
263.4.3.2
Load-based handover
27
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29
Reasons for the load based handover together with the appropriate thresholds that has
to be exceeded in order to trigger the handover are presented in the table below. For
details concerning the calculations please see [24].
Triggers
11
12
13
Thresholds
LHOPwrOffsetUL
LHOCapaReqRejRateUL
LHOResRateSC
LHOHardBlockingRatio
LHOPwrOffsetDL
LHOCapaReqRejRateDL
Connections that are already in the preferred layer, but at least one equal target [24] is available,
could be chosen for the load based handover as well.
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9
10
With the help of LHONumbUEInterRAT parameter that defines maximum number of UEs
that are simultaneously in a load-based inter-RAT handover it is possible to switch off
inter-system load-based handover (LHONumberUEInterRAT is equal to 0) in the
particular cell.
If load based handover is allowed for the particular type of service and one of the
aforementioned load based handover conditions is satisfied inter-system handover to
GSM is performed:
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in the second phase (if not enough connections were selected in the first phase):
in the third phase (if not enough connections were selected in the first and second
phase):
o
Load of the cell is monitored constantly. Load of the target 2G cell is not checked
before the handover execution (in contrast to the load of target 3G cell). In the current
system if handover1 of any type fails service/load based handovers/cell reselections to
the GSM cell are not performed until AdjgPenaltyTimeNCHO timer expires.
In Siemens 2G network (with BR11 feature Intersystem Handover improvements
implemented) non-imperative inter-system handover from 3G is accepted only if both
thresholds FromUmtsTrafficHoLowThr and FromUmtsAbisTrafficHoLowThr are not
exceeded.
According to [38]:
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363.4.3.3
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If service based handover is allowed for the particular type of service inter-system
handover to GSM is performed:
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sufficient number of inter-RAT neighbors from the performance perspective (in order
to assure that inter-system handover and inter-system cell reselection will be handled
properly even in e.g. high load conditions) and
time needed to make the measurements that leads to minimizing the neighbor cell
list1
downlink DPCH Tx Power decreases below the certain threshold (defined with the
help of new DL_DPCH_TXPWR_CANCEL_OFFSET parameter, for the explanations
please see below),
there is an update of the active set (cell added or cell replacement event 1A or 1C
respectively).
In this way, the CS/PS connection will retain longer in 3G. It is expected that number of
inter-system handover cancellations will be of the order of approximately one fourth of
the current number of inter-system handovers [35].
Following parameters were incorporated in the system due to the implementation of the
Inter-System Handover Cancellation feature:
Parameter
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2G/3G Interworking
May 30, 2008
Default value
Similar issue applies to 2G network if e.g. multiple SI2quater messages are required in order to
send the 3G neighbour cell list and there is a delay with such an extensive neighbour cell list [14].
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ISHOCancellation
disabled
ISHOClcauseCPICHEcN
o
disabled
ISHOClcauseCPICHrscp
disabled
ISHOClcauseTxPwrUL
disabled
ISHOClcauseTxPwrDL
disabled
DLDPCHTxPwrClOffset
-3 dB
MaxNumISHOClPerAS
Maximum
number
of
ISHO
Cancellations allowed for a given
UE per AS (Active Set).
Please note that (if other criteria for the ISHO cancellation is satisfied e.g. enabling of the
ISHO Cancellation feature as such, enabling of the ISHO Cancellation due to DL DPCH
Tx Power) the ISHO is cancelled due to DL DPCH Tx Power if the following equation is
satisfied:
DL_CODE_PWR PowerOffsetDLdpcchPilot < CPICH_POWER +
MAX_DL_DPCH_TXPWR + DL_DPCH_THRESHOLD +
DL_DPCH_TXPWR_CANCEL_OFFSET
where:
-
PowerOffsetDLdpcchPilot is the power offset for the pilot fields of the DPCCH (it is a
relative value with respect to the DPDCH power),
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AdjgMinRxLevNCHO is the defined threshold for sufficient RSSI of the target GSM cell,
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15
AdjgTxPwrMaxTCH is the maximum power the UE could use in the particular GSM cell,
P_Max is the maximum power of the UE.
Ranking is based on the cell priority (parameter: AdjgPriorityCoverage). Only if the priority
of the given cells is the same, the actual signal level is taken into account in the ranking
phase.
In case of CS services (and in case of PS services if more than one neighboring GSM
cell has the same BCCH frequency) measurement state is triggered once again and
BSIC of the target cell is verified.
Two Compressed Mode methods were standardized by 3GPP: Spreading Factor
Reduction by 2 and Higher Layer Scheduling. In the Nokia system [24]:
-
second method is used for PS interactive, PS background and related multi services
(if all services are either PS interactive or PS background).
The first method prevents from delays related to the transmission but simultaneously it is
more power consuming. It has to be noticed that Compressed Mode affects coverage
(especially in UL direction), capacity as well as quality of UMTS system [30] due to the
fact that:
-
more power is needed in order to send the same amount of (RT) data (since these
data has to be sent in a shorter time comparing with the situation where Compressed
Mode is not used),
Compressed frames may be lost if power control parameters are not set correctly.
Concerning the length of the gap2 it has to chosen carefully in order to find the best
trade-off between finishing the 2G measurements quickly (longer CM gaps) and limiting
the transmitted power (shorter CM gaps)[6].
Typical value related to the increasing of Eb/No due to CM is of the order of 1.5 dB.
Taking into aforementioned disadvantages the CM should be triggered only if
necessary and number of UEs in CM in Nokia system is limited (MaxNumberUECmHO,
MaxNumberUECmSLHO parameters for the critical and service/load based handovers
respectively). Moreover, total received interference level/total transmitted power is
checked in the RNC prior to switching on the Compressed Mode.
If the second method is introduced, there is no need for additional power resources at the
cost of the interruption related to the (NRT) data transmission. There is no influence on
the coverage.
Moreover, specific interworking-related parameter was introduced namely:
GsmMinHoInterval that defines the minimum interval where handover to 2G network is
not allowed after successful handover of the particular connection from GSM to 3G
With the exception of CS conversational + interactive/background 256 kbps where higher layer
scheduling is used.
2
1
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3
network. This parameter could, to the certain extent, prevent from the ping-pong effect.
However, too long time could lead to undesired restriction of 3G-2G handover. The
default value of this parameter (10 s) is a reasonable value.
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24.1
Introduction
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194.2
Guidelines
204.2.1
General remarks
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32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
Some indications related to proper settings of different radio parameters were placed in
section 2 and 3. However, the process of tuning the parameters is complex one and
depends on many other input factors. The aim of this section is to summarize the most
important guidelines that have to be taken into account during parameterization of 2G-3G
interworking in real implementations.
11
hotspot,
one-to-one.
One-to-one overlay deployment refers to the situation where both 3G and 2G coverage
cover entire network. In case of hotspot deployment it is not the case i.e. it is assumed
that 3G signal is available only in some parts of the network (especially in areas where
subscriber density and the traffic volume is high). In most cases it could be assumed that
2G coverage is good enough in all cases. That is why distinction between different
approaches related to 2G-3G interworking will be driven by 3G network.
Furthermore, one-to-one deployment could be divided into two types:
-
3G low loaded,
3G highly loaded
depending on the amount of traffic that should be served in the particular area.
In case of hotspot deployment three types of cells could be distinguished according to
their location in relation to 3G network coverage.
One of the most important issue during optimization of the parameters is to assure that
impact of ping-pong effect will be diminished i.e. the number of handovers/cell
reselections related to particular connection that occur in a short timeframe will be
seriously limited. This goal could be achieved not only with the help of proper settings of
thresholds that assure hysteresis-like alignment between 2G and 3G parameters but with
the help of timers that prevent from undesired network behavior (please refer to sections
3.2.1 and 3.4.4) as well as appropriate definition of neighbors relationships (please refer
to section 3.4.4). Ping-pong effect increases the amount of signaling, CM measurements
(on the 3G side) and could eventually lead even to call drop. Concerning CM
measurements as such it should be parameterized in such a way that CM measurements
are started only if it is necessary to perform 3G inter-system handover (i.e. it has to be
assured that they are not triggered too early). However, simultaneously it is not
recommended to trigger CM measurements too late since call may be dropped before
inter-system handover is performed. In Nokia 3G system these restrictions are already
taken into account to a certain extent due to the specific 3G-2G handover implementation
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(please see section 3.4)1. During 3G parameterization process it has to be assured that
difference between thresholds responsible for triggering and canceling measurements is
not too small. Difference of 3 dB is recommended one.
Another important fact during planning of 2G-3G interworking is proper alignment of idle
mode and connected mode parameters. Please note that in 2G network inter-system
handover parameters are responsible for handling UEs with ongoing CS data/voice
connection2 while cell reselection parameters refer to other UEs (engaged in PS only
transmission or not engaged in any transmission at all). This cell reselection process
could be autonomous one or network controlled. In 3G network the situation is different.
In CELL_DCH state inter-system handover is performed for CS attached UEs while
network-controlled inter-system cell reselection is performed for PS attached UEs. In
other states UE-controlled cell reselection process could be performed.
The aforementioned relationships are presented in the figure below [32]:
14
Figure 9. State transitions - 2G-3G interworking [32]
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20
Due to these relationships 2G cell reselection parameters, apart from being aligned with
3G cell reselection parameters, have to be aligned with 3G handover parameters as well
(PS connections in CELL_DCH are governed in 3G system by handover rules). Following
rules could be applied in order to prevent from the ping-pong effect:
Introduction of PS handover (currently target for ex-Siemens BR11, ex-Nokia RU20) will change
the status.
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234.2.2
3G hotspot deployment
244.2.2.1
25
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27
In case of hotspot deployment ([1][25]) three main types of cells according to their
neighboring relationships could be identified:
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inner cell,
One may think that in some cases it may be beneficial to make the 3G PS coverage larger than
3G CS coverage e.g. with the help of appropriate setting of reselection parameters in comparison
with handover parameters. Nevertheless, in CELL_DCH state handover parameters are valid for
both PS and CS domain.
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transit cell,
Concerning differentiation between these two kinds of cells and outer cell due to end of
3G coverage following relationships exist [32]:
-
for outer cell due to end of 3G coverage there is high CPICH Ec/No for given CPICH
RSCP (low level of interference at 3G boundary),
for outer cell due to coverage hole there is low Ec/No for given CPICH RSCP (high
level of interference),
for outer cell due to outdoor/indoor transition there is medium Ec/No for given CPICH
RSCP (since there is medium level of interference).
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Figure 10. Different types of 3G cells
34.2.2.2
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11
Parameterization
Mobility support (i.e. assuring both call/data transfer continuity and service continuity if
UE is not engaged in the call/data transfer) is the most important aspect of proper
planning of 2G-3G interworking in the hotspot deployment especially in the outer cells
(and to a certain extent in the transit cells) while in inner cells proper load balancing is
the main goal to be achieved.
Moreover, in some situations it is reasonable to prevent from 3G-2G handovers for
services that could not be handled in 2G network or for services where expected traffic
channel (DCH) allocations are expected to be too short (e.g. PS non-real time) to justify
the usage of inter-system feature. Service-based version of the IS-NCCR is the
recommended one.
Despite the limitations related to 3G system it is generally recommended to prioritize
camping on 3G cell (FDD_Qoffset set to always or at least 3G cells is prioritized by
means of proper tuning FDD_Qoffset value). Following reasons contribute to this
recommendation:
-
there is limited risk of overloaded in 3G system (esp. at the relatively early stage of
3G deployment),
1
2
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5
6
7
84.2.2.3
Proposal of settings
Please however note that setting FDD_Qoffset to always leads to higher battery drain in
the user equipment [30].
It might be beneficial to force 3G system to hand over AMR calls to 2G network in order
to free 3G resources for data traffic (at least for outer and transit cells) if simultaneously
appropriate counterpart service priorities could be used in the 2G network.
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In this section five different set of parameters related to basic inter-system handover and
cell reselection parameters are presented. Since the division is related to different 3G cell
type (please refer to section 4.2.2.1) assigning the set of parameters to particular 2G cell
could be only rough and may be based e.g. on the assignment of the closest 3G cell(s) to
the given cell type.
2
3
4
5
-11
-10
-8
(0)
(0)
-102
-12
-11
-9
-13
-12
-10
MET [dB]
MET [dB] (pre-BSS13)
DET [dB]
FR [dB]
FRT [dB]
FRT2 [dB]
TRANSITION 3G CELL
2G Nokia
2G -> 3G
HANDOVER
Parameters12
INNER 3G CELL
-12
-11
-9
-11.5
-10.5
-8.5
Following parameters are valid only for (Packet) Enhanced Measurement Report: FR, FRT,
FDDREPTH
2
Only effective values are shown (not necessary the equivalent values that are placed in the
parameter database).
3G Nokia
3G -> 2G
2G Siemens
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UMECNO [dB]
RXLEVMINC [dBm]
FDDREPO [dB]
FDDREPTH (case Ec/No reported) [dB]
FDDREPTH2 (case Ec/No reported) [dBm]
FDDREPTH (case RSCP reported) [dBm]
FDDREPTH2 (case RSCP reported) [dB]
USECNO [dB]
USRSCP [dBm]
(RT) HHoEcNoThreshold [dB]
(RT) HHoEcNoCancel [dB]
(RT) HHoRscpThreshold [dBm]
(RT) HHoRscpCancel [dBm]
(NRT) HHoEcNoThreshold [dB]
(NRT) HHoEcNoCancel [dB]
(NRT) HHoRscpThreshold [dBm]
(NRT) HHoRscpCancel [dBm]
-13
-12
-13
-13
-12
-12
-15
-12
-109
-106
-16
-13
-112
-109
-14
-11
-107
-104
-15
-12
-110
-107
-11
-102
(0)
(0)
-102
(0)
-11
-11
-102
-13
-10
-105
-102
-14
-11
-108
-105
-12
-11.5
-12
-12
-11.5
-11.5
-14
-11
-105
-102
-15
-12
-108
-105
-13
-10
-105
-102
-14
-11
-108
-105
Table 12. Exemplary settings of 2G-3G handover parameters per different type of 3G cell
11
12
13
14
15
2G Nokia
2G -> 3G
CELL
RESELECTION
FDM [dB]
FDMO [dB]
FDR [dBm]
FDD [dB]
QSRI [dB]
-10
-10
2
2
-102
ALWAYS
ALWAYS
Following parameters are valid only for (Packet) Enhanced Measurement Report: FR, FRT,
FDDREPTH
2
Only effective values are shown (not necessary the equivalent values that are placed in the
parameter database).
TRANSITION 3G CELL
Parameters12
INNER 3G CELL
-10
2
1
2
3G Nokia
3G -> 2G
2G Siemens
-10.5
-11.5
-10
2
-11.5
Table 13. Exemplary settings of 2G-3G cell reselection parameters per different type of 3G
cell
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Additionally, if in the 2G cells only GPRS is available (no support for EDGE) in some
cases it may be beneficial to set the interworking parameters more aggressively in order
to perform the cell reselection for PS services from 3G to 2G later (i.e. UE stays in
WCDMA longer) than in case of EGPRS 2G neighboring cells. As in all situations related
to the interworking issue, parameter tuning has to be performed case-by-case.
114.2.3
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Generally, similar settings to ones recommended for inner cells in hot-spot deployment
are applicable.
The table above is valid for Siemens BR10/Nokia BSS13/Nokia RAS06. For the purpose
of information the differences between proposed values for pre-BSS13 and BSS13
releases are shown for MET and FQT.
If UMTS deployment is mature load balancing and traffic type distribution play significant
role in planning of 2G-3G interworking while mobility support does not play as important
role as in hotspot deployment. Moreover, it could be reasonable to prioritize UMTS by
means of introduction coverage-based cell reselections/handovers from 2G to 3G
network as soon as UMTS coverage is available.
-11.5
-111
-101
-18
10
4
4
10
10
4
7
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0
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194.2.4
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
Generally, settings recommended for inner cells in hot-spot deployment are applicable
as well. However, due to the fact that 3G network is highly loaded in this scenario load
based handover plays significant role in both directions assuming that 2G network is
highly loaded too. In this case, the best solution would be a handover policy that is based
on actual data related to load of particular 2G or 3G cell in order to direct the traffic to
low-loaded cells and off-load the highly loaded cells (please e.g. refer to not implemented
BSS feature documentation [26])..Without such a feature, the reasonable solution could
be based on the introduction of service based handovers (in 3G as well as 2G network)
and force AMR calls to 2G network. Service-based version of IS-NCCR (from 2G to 3G) is
recommended.
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13
14
15
Service
Load/service handover
Preferred
network2
Conversational CS speech
Load&Service
2G
Conversational CS transparent
data
Load&Service
3G
Conversational PS speech
Load
3G
Please note that it will affect inter-system direct access process as well.
The distinction was made only between 2G and 3G. Service based handovers could be
performed to e.g. WCDMA macro layer or WCDMA micro layer. The 3G policy with respect to
these handovers is out of the scope of this document.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Conversational PS RT data
Load
3G
Streaming CS non-transparent
data
Service
3G
Streaming PS RT data
Service
3G
None
None
Table 14. Exemplary settings of service/load based handovers highly loaded 3G network
scenario
Assuming that highly loaded scenario refers to the situation where 3G implementation is
mature one some of the deliberations related to forced camping on 3G cell presented in
section 4.2.2.2 are no longer applicable. In order to balance traffic between 2G and 3G
network one may think about introduction of fair policy of camping that is based on
quality criteria (please refer to section 2.1.4) instead of applying of settings that lead to
camping on 3G cell if only it is available. Moreover, if GSM is preferred network for voice
calls, it is beneficial to camp on 2G cell since call setup time will be then lower. On the
contrary, such a policy could restrict from the possibility of the usage of some 3G
services. Currently default WCDMA camping is commonly used by the operators [27].
Taking into account this contradiction, clear recommendation in this case could not be
given.
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2G/3G Interworking
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Summary
Various aspects of 2G-3G interworking were shown in this document. As it was presented
the proper setting of both cell reselection as well as handover parameters is not a trivial
task since many factors have to be taken into account during such a parameterization in
order to assure the optimal network performance. Moreover, it was presented that default
network values for the crucial parameters have to be tuned under certain network
conditions and it should be expected that different values would be optimal in various
types of cells according to the division provided in the document. As it was pointed out
the actual settings have to be tuned case-by-case.
Abbreviations
3GPP
AMR
BCCH
CCO
CM
Compressed Mode
CN
Core Network
CPICH
CS
DCH
DPCH
DTM
EDGE
EMR
FDD
GPRS
GSM
HCS
IMSI
ISHO
Inter-System Handover
IS-NCCR
LA
NACC
NCCR
NRT
Non-Real Time
PACCH
PBCCH
PCCCH
PLMN
PS
Packet Switched
RA
Routing Area
RAT
RNC
RSSI
RT
SGSN
UE
UMTS
Real Time
Service GPRS Support Node
User Equipment
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
161/61
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
UTRAN
11
2G/3G Interworking
May 30, 2008