Flexible Channel Bandwidth

Feature Description

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Copyright

© Ericsson AB 2017-2020. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be

reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Disclaimer

The contents of this document are subject to revision without notice due to
continued progress in methodology, design and manufacturing. Ericsson shall
have no liability for any error or damage of any kind resulting from the use of this
document.

Trademark List

All trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
These are shown in the document Trademark Information.

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 Contents

Contents

1 Flexible Channel Bandwidth Overview 1

2 Dependencies of Flexible Channel Bandwidth 2

3 Feature Operation of Flexible Channel Bandwidth 4

4 Network Impact of Flexible Channel Bandwidth 8

5 Parameters 10

6 Performance 18

7 Activate Basic Feature 19

8 Engineering Guidelines 20
8.1 Enable Flexible Channel Bandwidth 20
8.2 Disable Flexible Channel Bandwidth 22

Appendix A: Feature Change History 24

Appendix A.a: 19.Q4: Control Channels and Reference Signals Muting in
PRBs 24
Appendix A.b: 20.Q2: Shared Carrier Interference Management with
Frequency-Selective Scheduling 25
Appendix A.c: 20.Q3: TDD Support for Shared Carrier Interference
Management with Frequency-Selective Scheduling 26

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Flexible Channel Bandwidth

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1 Flexible Channel Bandwidth Overview

Access Type: LTE

Feature Identity: FAJ 121 4756
Value Package Name: LTE Base Package
Value Package Identity: FAJ 801 0400
Node Type: Baseband Radio Node
DU Radio Node
Licensing: Basic feature. No license is required.

Summary
The feature makes the channel bandwidth flexible by blocking PRBs on the
edges of the channel bandwidth from being used. By reducing the spectrum
occupied by LTE, more spectrum becomes available for other technologies, for
example GSM.

In uplink, UEs are not scheduled on PUSCH in PRBs that are blocked and PUCCH
is not allocated in PRBs that are blocked, if the PUCCH Overdimensioning feature
is used.

In downlink, UEs will not be scheduled on PDSCH in PRBs that are blocked.
Control channels and reference signals can be transmitted in blocked PRBs, but
can also be muted.

Note: According to 3GPP specifications, the control channels and the reference
signals are distributed over the whole channel bandwidth. Since 3GPP
specifications do not explain how to handle the control channels and
reference signals being muted, it is not expected by the UE.

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 Flexible Channel Bandwidth
2 Dependencies of Flexible Channel
Bandwidth
The Flexible Channel Bandwidth feature has dependencies with Cat-M
related features.
Feature Dependencies
Feature
PUCCH Overdimensioning (FAJ 121 0883)
Enhanced PDCCH Link Adaptation (FAJ 121 3051)
Adjustable CRS Power (FAJ 121 3049)
Air Interface Load Generator (FAJ 121 0855)
Ericsson Lean Carrier (FAJ 121 4471)
LTE Broadcast (FAJ 121 3021)
NB-IoT Access (Part of M-IoT RAN on LTE Base
Package, FAJ 801 1000)
Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling (FAJ 121
2053)
Uplink Frequency-Selective Scheduling (FAJ 121
1799)
Evolved Uplink Frequency-Selective Scheduling
(FAJ 121 4966)
Category M Access (FAJ 121 4658)
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Relationship Description
Related The PUCCH Overdimensioning feature removes
PUCCH from the blocked PRBs.
In uplink, UEs are not scheduled on PUSCH in PRBs
that are blocked.
Related The Enhanced PDCCH Link Adaptation feature is
used together with the Flexible Channel Bandwidth
feature to obtain good performance.
Related The Adjustable CRS Power feature reduces the CRS
power to reduce the interference caused by CRSs in
the blocked PRBs.
Related The Air Interface Load Generator feature can be
used together with Flexible Channel Bandwidth,
but the feature generates load on blocked PRBs.
Related The Ericsson Lean Carrier feature reduces the
interference caused by CRSs in the blocked PRBs.
Related The LTE Broadcast feature can be used together
with Flexible Channel Bandwidth, but LTE
Broadcast traffic is transmitted on blocked PRBs.
Related NB-IoT in-band deployment can be used together
with Flexible Channel Bandwidth. NB-IoT in-band
PRB configuration does not impact Flexible
Channel Bandwidth configuration principle, and
NB-IoT is allowed to be configured on blocked
PRBs or non-blocked PRBs in both downlink and
uplink.
Related The mutual operation of the features allows for LTE
interference management.
Note:
If the Control Channels and Reference Signals
Muting in PRBs enhancement for the Flexible
Channel Bandwidth feature is activated, the
Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature
and control channel muting is not supported.
Related The mutual operation of the features allows for LTE
interference management. In such cases, the use of
SRS is recommended.
Note: The Uplink Frequency-Selective
Scheduling feature can use SRS
transmittable on blocked PRBs.
Related The mutual operation of the features allows for LTE
interference management.
Conflicting In uplink, the Flexible Channel Bandwidth feature
allows the blocking of PRBs for Category M. To keep
the uplink peak rate unaffected, the following
conditions have to be met during PRACH allocation:
 Feature Relationship Description
— On 5-MHz cells, at least four PRBs have to
remain unblocked on one Narrowband.

— On 10-, 15-, and 20-MHz cells, at least six

PRBs have to remain unblocked on one
Narrowband.

In downlink, if the Flexible Channel Bandwidth

ICIC - Autonomous Resource Allocation (FAJ 121
1074)
Enhancements are activated (if the
EUtranCellFDD.dlCchAndRefSigBlockActive or
EUtranCellTDD.dlCchAndRefSigBlockActive
attribute is set to true), the feature does not work
properly with Cat-M. This is because of the muting
of control channels in essential PRBs.
Conflicting Features cannot be used together. The feature is
deactivated by setting the following attributes to
false:

— EUtranCellFDD.dlInterferenceManageme
ntActive

— EUtranCellFDD.ulInterferenceManageme
ntActive

— EUtranCellTDD.dlInterferenceManageme
ntActive

— EUtranCellTDD.ulInterferenceManageme
ntActive

Hardware
No special hardware requirement for this feature.

Limitations
No limitations for this feature.

Network Requirements
No network requirements for this feature.

System Functions
Function Description
Capacity Blocking PRBs reduce the capacity in both downlink and uplink.
Throughput Blocking PRBs reduce the throughput in both downlink and uplink.

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 Flexible Channel Bandwidth

3 Feature Operation of Flexible Channel

Bandwidth

The feature uses parameters to provide room for other technologies besides
LTE by blocking PRBs in the channel bandwidth.

The feature reduces the channel bandwidth by not using PRBs on the edges of an
LTE channel to make room for other technologies, like GSM. It is recommended
that the same PRBs on both uplink and downlink are blocked. The feature
supports asymmetric blocking of PRBs between uplink and downlink. PRBs can
be blocked only on the low edge or the high edge or on both edges of the channel.

The feature cannot guarantee to fulfill the requirements in 3GPP TS 36.104: Base
Station (BS) radio transmission and reception for the reduced bandwidth. The
requirements are fulfilled for the configured channel bandwidth which is one of
the following:

— Channel Bandwidth 5 MHz

— Channel Bandwidth 10 MHz

— Channel Bandwidth 15 MHz

— Channel Bandwidth 20 MHz

Flexible Channel Bandwidth functionality and A-MPR can fulfill some of the
additional spectrum emission requirements according to 3GPP TS 36.101, User
Equipment (UE) radio transmission and reception. Refer to PUCCH
Overdimensioning.

Figure 1 explains how the feature changes the channel bandwidth by blocking
the use of PRBs.

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 Feature Operation of Flexible Channel Bandwidth

Channel Bandwidth

Occupied Bandwidth without Flexible

Channel Bandwidth.
90% of Channel Bandwidth

Occupied Bandwidth with Flexible

Channel Bandwidth

PRB n-3
PRB n-2
PRB n-1
PRB 0
PRB 1
PRB 2
PRB 3

PRB n
...

Frequency MHz
Number of Blocked PRBs Number of Blocked PRBs
on Low Edge of the on High Edge of the
Channel Bandwidth Channel Bandwidth

L00012687A

Figure 1 Example of PRB blocking

The parameters EUtranCellFDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion and

EUtranCellTDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion control the total number
of PDSCH scheduling PRBs. The parameters
EUtranCellFDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart and
EUtranCellTDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart control the number of the
PRBs not scheduling PDSCH on the low edge of the channel.

The parameters EUtranCellFDD.dlCchAndRefSigBlockActive and

EUtranCellTDD.dlCchAndRefSigBlockActive control the muting of blocked
PRBs, that is, the following:
— PDCCH

— PCFICH

— PCHICH

— CRS

— CSI-RS

— PRS

In addition, the parameters EUtranCellFDD.dlCchAndRefSigBoost and

EUtranCellTDD.dlCchAndRefSigBoost control the power boost for non-blocked
PRBs in the channel, when the following are muted:
— PDCCH

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 Flexible Channel Bandwidth

— PCFICH

— PCHICH

— CRS

— CSI-RS

— PRS

The parameters EUtranCellFDD.ulFrequencyAllocationProportion and

EUtranCellTDD.ulFrequencyAllocationProportion control the total number
of PUSCH scheduling PRBs. The parameter
EUtranCellFDD.ulConfigurableFrequencyStart and
EUtranCellTDD.ulConfigurableFrequencyStart control the number of the
PRBs not scheduling PUSCH on the low edge of the channel.

The parameters EUtranCellFDD.pucchOverdimensioning and

EUtranCellTDD.pucchOverdimensioning ensure that PUCCH is allocated on
PRBs within the wanted channel bandwidth. Use PUCCH Overdimensioning,

In uplink, this means that no spectrum is used by LTE on the blocked PRBs if
PUCCH Overdimensioning is used and Sounding Reference Signal is disabled.

In downlink, the whole frequency spectrum is used by LTE for control channels
and reference signals, according to 3GPP specifications. Because of that, the UE
expects control channels and reference signals to be available on the whole
channel bandwidth. If control channels and reference signals are muted in the
blocked PRBs, the behavior of an individual UE is unspecified, and the
performance (for example downlink throughput) depends on the UE vendor. For
more information on how to minimize the interference from the downlink
channels outside the wanted channel bandwidth, see Engineering Guidelines on
page 20.

PCI planning can control PCFICH and PHICH mapping on PRBs inside the
wanted channel bandwidth.

Note: The following can be muted on blocked PRBs:

— PDCCH

— PCFICH

— PCHICH

— CRS

— CSI-RS

— PRS

See Engineering Guidelines on page 20 for more information.

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 Feature Operation of Flexible Channel Bandwidth

The feature allows for LTE interference management. The operation of the
feature is aligned with frequency-selective scheduling algorithms to decrease
interference. Flexible Channel Bandwidth does not block control signals like SRS.
Control signals can still use the blocked PRBs.

Flexible Channel Bandwidth enables wideband SRS configuration with the

following features:
— Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

— Uplink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

— Evolved Uplink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

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 Flexible Channel Bandwidth

4 Network Impact of Flexible Channel

Bandwidth

The feature impacts the network capacity and the reference signals.

Capacity and Performance

Throughput and capacity can be reduced since the feature reduces the spectrum
used by the channel. By enabling this feature and using 256-QAM, downlink
throughput is halved.

Positioning with Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) can be negatively

affected since the Positioning Reference Signals are transmitted on the complete
bandwidth.

Note: Evaluate the UE performance in a laboratory environment with

activated (and deactivated) FCB enhancements, as performance can
depend on the UE type.

Interfaces
No impact is expected from this feature.

Other Network Elements

No impact is expected from this feature.

Control Channels and Reference Signals Impact

CRS Occupies a fixed number of REs in every PRB, including
blocked PRBs.

CSI-RS Occupies a fixed number of REs in every PRB, including

blocked PRBs. Requires UE Release 10+.

PRS Occupies a fixed number of REs in every PRB, including

blocked PRBs. Requires UE Release 9+.

PCFICH One of four REGs can fall into a blocked PRB range,
depending on the cell PCI.

PHICH One of three REGs can fall into blocked PRB range,
depending on the cell PCI.

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 Network Impact of Flexible Channel Bandwidth

PDCCH On average, the fraction of REGs falling into blocked PRB

range is proportional with the fraction of blocked PRBs.

UE-specific and common search space together with a

block interleaver that distributes each PDCCH CCE in time
and frequency makes it difficult to avoid any REG from
falling into the blocked PRB range.

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 Flexible Channel Bandwidth

5 Parameters

Feature Configuration Parameters

This feature introduces no new parameters, but it uses the following existing
parameter from other features:

— EUtranCellFDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion

— EUtranCellTDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion

— EUtranCellFDD.ulFrequencyAllocationProportion

— EUtranCellTDD.ulFrequencyAllocationProportion

— EUtranCellFDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart

— EUtranCellTDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart

— EUtranCellFDD.ulConfigurableFrequencyStart

— EUtranCellTDD.ulConfigurableFrequencyStart

— EUtranCellFDD.dlCchAndRefSigBlockActive

— EUtranCellTDD.dlCchAndRefSigBlockActive

— EUtranCellFDD.dlCchAndRefSigBoost

— EUtranCellTDD.dlCchAndRefSigBoost

— EUtranCellFDD.pucchOverdimensioning and
EUtranCellFDD.pucchOverdimensioning

Note: Only if PUCCH Overdimensioning is active.

It is recommended to use PUCCH Overdimensioning. The parameters

EUtranCellFDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion and
EUtranCellTDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion, and
EUtranCellFDD.ulFrequencyAllocationProportion and
EUtranCellTDD.ulFrequencyAllocationProportion control the number of
blocked PRBs in downlink and uplink. It is recommended to block the same
number of PRBs in downlink and uplink. Table 1 and Table 2 show which values
to choose depending on the number of PRBs that are blocked and the configured
channel bandwidth of the carrier.

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 Parameters

Table 1 Configure the Total Number of Blocked PRBs in Downlink (PDSCH)

Total Number dlFrequencyAllocationProportion
of Blocked
PRBs in Channel Channel Channel Channel
Downlink Bandwidth 5 Bandwidth 10 Bandwidth 15 Bandwidth 20
(PDSCH) MHz MHz MHz MHz

0 100 100 100 100

1 96 98 99 99
2 92 96 98 98
3 88 94 97 97
4 84 92 95 96
5 80 90 94 95
6 76 88 93 94
7 72 86 91 93
8 68 84 90 92
9 64 82 89 91
10 60 80 87 90
11 - 78 86 89
12 - 76 85 88
13 - 74 83 87
14 - 72 82 86
15 - 70 81 85
16 - 68 79 84
17 - 66 78 83
18 - 64 77 82
19 - 62 75 81
20 - 60 74 80

Table 2 Configure the Total Number of Blocked PRBs in Uplink (PUSCH)

Total Number ulFrequencyAllocationProportion
of Blocked
PRBs in Channel Channel Channel Channel
Uplink Bandwidth 5 Bandwidth 10 Bandwidth 15 Bandwidth 20
(PUSCH) MHz MHz MHz MHz

0 100 100 100 100

1 96 98 99 99
2 92 96 98 98

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 Flexible Channel Bandwidth

Total Number ulFrequencyAllocationProportion

of Blocked
PRBs in Channel Channel Channel Channel
Uplink Bandwidth 5 Bandwidth 10 Bandwidth 15 Bandwidth 20
(PUSCH) MHz MHz MHz MHz

3 88 94 97 97
4 84 92 95 96
5 80 90 94 95
6 76 88 93 94
7 72 86 91 93
8 68 84 90 92
9 64 82 89 91
10 60 80 87 90
11 - 78 86 89
12 - 76 85 88
13 - 74 83 87
14 - 72 82 86
15 - 70 81 85
16 - 68 79 84
17 - 66 78 83
18 - 64 76 82
19 - 62 75 81
20 - 60 74 80

The parameters EUtranCellFDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart and

EUtranCellTDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart, and
EUtranCellFDD.ulConfigurableFrequencyStart and
EUtranCellTDD.ulConfigurableFrequencyStart control the number of
blocked PRBs that are on the low edge of the channel bandwidth. It is
recommended that the same number of PRBs are blocked on the low edge of the
channel bandwidth in both downlink and uplink. The number of blocked PRBs on
the low edge of the channel bandwidth must be equal or smaller than the total
number of blocked PRBs controlled by
EUtranCellFDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion and
EUtranCellTDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion, and
EUtranCellFDD.ulFrequencyAllocationProportion and
EUtranCellTDD.ulFrequencyAllocationProportion.

The number of blocked PRBs that are not on the low edge of the channel
bandwidth are blocked PRBs on the high edge of the channel bandwidth. Table 3
and Table 4 show which values to choose depending on the blocked PRBs that
are on the low end of the channel bandwidth.

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 Parameters

For downlink, the number of blocked PRBs can only be a multiple of the Resource
Block Group size. The Resource Block Group with the highest index has one fewer
PRB for the 5, 10, and 15 MHz channel bandwidths. The total number of blocked
PRBs in Table 1 must match the available number of blocked PRBs on the low
edge (Table 3) and on the high edge (Table 5). If these numbers do not match,
unexpected PRBs on the high edge can be blocked. For example, four PRBs on
the low edge and three PRBs on the high edge in downlink are blocked in the 15
MHz carrier. In total 7 PRBs must be blocked and attributes
EUtranCellFDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion and
EUtranCellTDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion must be set to 91.

For uplink, any number of blocking PRB configurations is available both on the
low and the high edge of the carrier.

If NB-IoT in-band deployment is configured on non-blocked PRBs, perform the

following action. The total number of blocked PRBs in downlink must be
increased with the number of downlink PRBs that is borrowed by NB-IoT, but not
used by NB-IoT. This means, in downlink, when calculating the total number of
blocked PRBs, it includes:
— PRBs blocked on the low edge

— PRBs blocked on the high edge

— PRBs borrowed for NB-IoT, but not used by NB-IoT

For uplink this is not valid.

For example, four PRBs on the low edge and four PRBs on the high edge in both
uplink and downlink are blocked on the 20 MHz carrier. In this case the NB-IoT
anchor PRB is configured on 9 PRBs, and in total 11 PRBs must be blocked in
downlink. Thus three PRBs are borrowed by NB-IoT, but not used by NB-IoT in
20 MHz. The attributes EUtranCellFDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion
and EUtranCellTDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion must be set to 89,
and EUtranCellFDD.ulFrequencyAllocationProportion and
EUtranCellTDD.ulFrequencyAllocationProportion to 92.

Table 3 Configure the Number of Blocked PRBs in Downlink (PDSCH) on Low

Edge on the Carrier
Number of dlConfigurableFrequencyStart
Blocked PRBs
in Downlink Channel Channel Channel Channel
(PDSCH) on Bandwidth 5 Bandwidth 10 Bandwidth 15 Bandwidth 20
Low Edge on MHz MHz MHz MHz
the Carrier
0 0 0 0 0
1 not available not available not available not available
2 10 not available not available not available
3 not available 7 not available not available

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 Flexible Channel Bandwidth

Number of dlConfigurableFrequencyStart
Blocked PRBs
in Downlink Channel Channel Channel Channel
(PDSCH) on Bandwidth 5 Bandwidth 10 Bandwidth 15 Bandwidth 20
Low Edge on MHz MHz MHz MHz
the Carrier
4 18 not available 6 4
5 not available not available not available not available
6 26 13 not available not available
7 not available not available not available not available
8 34 not available 11 8
9 - 19 not available not available
- not available not available not available
11 - not available not available not available
12 - 25 17 12
13 - not available not available not available
14 - not available not available not available
15 - 31 not available not available
16 - not available 22 16
17 - not available not available not available
18 - 37 not available not available
19 - not available not available not available
20 - not available 27 20

Table 4 Configure the Number of Blocked PRBs in Uplink (PUSCH) on Low

Edge on the Carrier
Number of ulConfigurableFrequencyStart
Blocked PRBs
in Uplink Channel Channel Channel Channel
(PUSCH) on Bandwidth 5 Bandwidth 10 Bandwidth 15 Bandwidth 20
Low Edge on MHz MHz MHz MHz
the Carrier
0 0 0 0 0
1 6 3 2 2
2 10 5 3 3
3 14 7 5 4
4 18 9 6 5
5 22 11 7 6

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 Parameters

Number of ulConfigurableFrequencyStart
Blocked PRBs
in Uplink Channel Channel Channel Channel
(PUSCH) on Bandwidth 5 Bandwidth 10 Bandwidth 15 Bandwidth 20
Low Edge on MHz MHz MHz MHz
the Carrier
6 26 13 9 7
7 30 15 10 8
8 34 17 11 9
9 - 19 13 10
10 - 21 14 11
11 - 23 15 12
12 - 25 17 13
13 - 27 18 14
14 - 29 19 15
15 - 31 21 16
16 - 33 22 17
17 - 35 23 18
18 - 37 25 19
19 - 39 26 20
20 - 41 28 21

The parameters EUtranCellFDD.pucchOverdimensioning and

EUtranCellTDD.pucchOverdimensioning move the PUCCH that are on the
edges of the channel bandwidth, away from the blocked PRBs. The parameter
specifies the number of PRBs on each edge of the channel bandwidth which is
not used for PUCCH. It is recommended that the value is equal or greater than
both the number of blocked PRBs on the low edge and the number of blocked
PRBs on the high edge of the channel bandwidth.

For example: Parameter settings in a cell with channel bandwidth 15 MHz where
four PRBs are blocked on the low edge and seven PRBs are blocked on the high
edge. In total, 11 PRBs are blocked that corresponds to value 86 for
EUtranCellFDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion and
EUtranCellTDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion, and
EUtranCellFDD.ulFrequencyAllocationProportion and
EUtranCellTDD.ulFrequencyAllocationProportion. Four PRBs are blocked
on the low edge that corresponds to value 6 for
EUtranCellFDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart and
EUtranCellTDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart, and
EUtranCellFDD.ulConfigurableFrequencyStart and
EUtranCellTDD.ulConfigurableFrequencyStart.
EUtranCellFDD.pucchOverdimensioning and

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 Flexible Channel Bandwidth

EUtranCellTDD.pucchOverdimensioning are set to seven or higher, since seven

PRBs are blocked on the high edge of the channel bandwidth.

Table 5 Configure the Number of Blocked PRBs in Downlink (PDSCH) on High

Edge on the Carrier
Number of Available Configuration
Blocked PRBs
Channel Channel Channel Channel
in Downlink
Bandwidth 5 Bandwidth 10 Bandwidth 15 Bandwidth 20
(PDSCH) on
MHz MHz MHz MHz
High Edge on
the Carrier
0 available available available available
1 available not available not available not available
2 not available available not available not available
3 available not available available not available
4 not available not available not available available
5 available available not available not available
6 not available not available not available not available
7 available not available available not available
8 not available available not available available
9 - not available not available not available
10 - not available not available not available
11 - available available not available
12 - not available not available available
13 - not available not available not available
14 - available not available not available
15 - not available available not available
16 - not available not available available
17 - available not available not available
18 - not available not available not available
19 - not available available not available
20 - available not available available

Affected Parameters
The downlink and uplink interference management has to be disabled.

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Table 6 Affected Parameters
Parameter
EUtranCellFDD.dlInterferenceManagementActive
EUtranCellTDD.ulConfigurableFrequencyStart
EUtranCellFDD.ulInterferenceManagementActive
EUtranCellFDD.ulInterferenceManagementActive
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Parameters
Description
The downlink interference management is disabled
by setting parameter to false for FDD.
The downlink interference management is disabled
by setting parameter to false for TDD.
The uplink interference management is disabled by
setting parameter to false for FDD.
The downlink interference management is disabled
by setting parameter to false for TDD.
17
 Flexible Channel Bandwidth

6 Performance

KPIs
The feature impacts Cell downlink and uplink throughput and it can impact UE
downlink and uplink throughput.

Counters
This feature has no directly associated counters.

Events
This feature has no associated events.

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 Activate Basic Feature

7 Activate Basic Feature

This is a basic feature. It does not require manual activation and cannot be
deactivated.

While optional features need to be activated, basic features are activated

automatically during node integration. They also do not have a software license
key associated, which means that they have no entries in the LKF that is installed
on the node.

It is possible that some functions of basic features need to be enabled or

configured manually.

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 Flexible Channel Bandwidth

8 Engineering Guidelines

PDCCH and Reference Signals Outside the Wanted Channel Bandwidth

The PDCCH and Cell specific Reference Signals in blocked PRBs outside the
wanted channel bandwidth are transmitted and can interfere adjacent channels.
The feature Ericsson Lean Carrier can reduce the transmission of Reference
Signals. The feature Adjustable CRS power can reduce the power of the CRSs and
reduced the interference of adjacent channels. On muted PRBs, it is possible to
mute the following to reduce adjacent channel interferences:
— PDCCH

— PCFICH

— PCHICH

— CRS

— CSI-RS

— PRS

Note: Power Boost functionality can still be used with these control channels
and reference signals muted.

Avoid PCFICH and PHICH on PRBs Outside the Wanted Channel Bandwidth
Avoid PCFICH and PHICH on PRBs that are blocked. By choosing PCI value,
PCFICH and PHICH mapping can be disabled on blocked PRBs. An LTE resource
grid tool can investigate which PCI values can be used in a specific configuration.

For a 5MHz channel bandwidth with normal PHICH duration, two PHICH groups
and PCI = 10, four PRBs low edge and one PRB on high edge can be blocked
without blocking PRBs with PCFICH and PHICH.

The more PRBs that are blocked the fewer of the 504 available PCI values can be
used without mapping a PCFICH or PHICH on blocked PRBs.

8.1 Enable Flexible Channel Bandwidth

The feature can be enabled by setting parameters to the necessary values.

Steps

1. Lock the EUtranCellFDD MO or EUtranCellTDD MO instance for the cell

where the feature is activated.

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 Engineering Guidelines

2. Disable Interference Management by setting

dlInterferenceManagementActive and
ulInterferenceManagementActive to false.

3. Set dlFrequencyAllocationProportion and

ulFrequencyAllocationProportion to a value corresponding to the total
number of PRBs that are blocked on both edges of the channel.

4. Set dlConfigurableFrequencyStart and

ulConfigurableFrequencyStart to values corresponding to the number of
PRBs that are blocked on the low edges of the channel.

5. Set dlCchAndRefSigBlockActive to true to mute the following on blocked

PRBs:
— PDCCH

— PCFICH

— PCHICH

— CRS

— CSI-RS

— PRS

6. Set dlCchAndRefSigBoost to true to use power boosting on remaining non-

blocked PRBs.

7. Set pucchOverdimensioning to a value equal of higher than the number of

blocked PRBs on both the high edge and low edge of the LTE carrier.

8. Unlock the MO instance chosen in Step 1.

Example 1
In this example, the following conditions are represented:
— Five PRBs are blocked in an FDD cell with channel bandwidth 10 MHz.

— Three PRBs are on the low edge, and two PRBs are on the high edge.

— Power Boost is active and the following are muted on blocked PRBs:

• PDCCH

• PCFICH

• PCHICH

• CRS

• CSI-RS

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 Flexible Channel Bandwidth

• PRS

Since the highest number of blocked PRBs on one side is three, the
pucchOverdimensioning parameter has to be set to three or higher.

1. The EUtranCellFDD.administrativeState attribute is set to locked.

2. The EUtranCellFDD.dlInterferenceManagementActive attribute is set to

false and the EUtranCellFDD.ulInterferenceManagementActive
attribute is set to false.

3. The EUtranCellFDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion attribute is set

to 90 and the EUtranCellFDD.ulFrequencyAllocationProportion
attribute is set to 90.

4. The EUtranCellFDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart attribute is set to 7

and the EUtranCellFDD.ulConfigurableFrequencyStart attribute is set
to 7.

5. The EUtranCellFDD.dlCchAndRefSigBlockActive attribute is set to true.

6. The EUtranCellFDD.dlCchAndRefSigBoost attribute is set to true.

7. The EUtranCellFDD.pucchOverdimensioningattribute is set to 3.

8. The EUtranCellFDD.administrativeState attribute is set to unlocked.

8.2 Disable Flexible Channel Bandwidth

Steps

1. Lock the EUtranCellFDD MO or EUtranCellTDD MO instance for the cell

where the feature is disabled.

2. Set dlFrequencyAllocationProportion and

ulFrequencyAllocationProportion to a 100.

3. Set dlConfigurableFrequencyStart and

ulConfigurableFrequencyStart to 0.

4. Set dlCchAndRefSigBlockActiveto false in order to transmit the following

(on blocked PRBs):
— PDCCH

— PCFICH

— PCHICH

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 Engineering Guidelines

— CRS

— CSI-RS

— PRS

5. Set dlCchAndRefSigBoost to false in order to switch off Power Boost for

the remaining non-blocked PRBs, when the following are muted:
— PDCCH

— PCFICH

— PCHICH

— CRS

— CSI-RS

— PRS

6. Set pucchOverdimensioning to any supported value, the default is 0.

7. Unlock the MO instance that was locked in Step 1.

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 Flexible Channel Bandwidth

Appendix A: Feature Change History

This section lists changes that affected this feature and the impact it had on
the network.

Appendix A.a: 19.Q4: Control Channels and Reference Signals Muting in PRBs
Feature Name: Flexible Channel Bandwidth
Feature Identity: FAJ 121 4756
Value Package Name: LTE Base Package
Value Package Identity: FAJ 801 0400
Node Type: Baseband Radio Node
DU Radio Node
Access Type: LTE

This feature enhancement reduces the interference in downlink on other

overlapping RATs by muting control channels and reference signals on blocked
PRBs.

Capacity and Performance

Some noise is noticeable in the sub-bands where there are muted PRBs, as the
feature enhancement does not change the bandpass filter in the radio (for the
original bandwidth). Downlink throughput is reduced, and high-order
modulation, especially 256-QAM is hard to achieve.

Operation
The feature enhancement introduces the following parameters for the
EUtranCellFDD and EUtranCellTDD MOs:

— dlCchAndRefSigBlockActive

— dlCchAndRefSigBoost

Interfaces
No impact.

Hardware
No special hardware requirements.

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 Feature Change History

Other Network Elements

No impact.

Appendix A.b: 20.Q2: Shared Carrier Interference Management with Frequency-Selective

Scheduling
In FDD, interoperability between Flexible Channel Bandwidth and
Frequency-Selective Scheduling is enabled to support LTE interference
management. Interoperability is supported between the PDSCH and PUSCH
PRB blocking functionality of Flexible Channel Bandwidth and Frequency-
Selective Scheduling in the downlink and the uplink.

Feature Name: Flexible Channel Bandwidth

Feature Identity: FAJ 121 4756
Value Package Name: LTE Base Package
Value Package Identity: FAJ 801 0400
Node Type: Baseband Radio Node
Access Type: LTE

Coping with Inter-RAT interference in LTE is included in the scope of this

enhancement. In addition, Flexible Channel Bandwidth does not block control
signals like SRS. Control signals can still use the blocked PRBs. However,
interoperability is not supported between the following deployments:
— The CRS Muting and Power Boosting functionality of Flexible Channel
Bandwidth and Frequency Selective Scheduling

— Flexible Channel Bandwidth and Frequency Selective Scheduling in TDD

Benefits
In FDD, Flexible Channel Bandwidth is interoperable with the following features:
— Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

— Uplink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

— Evolved Uplink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

The mutual interaction of the features allows for better interference management
within the LTE cell and on the cell edge.

Capacity and Performance

The enhancement can improve uplink and downlink throughput.

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 Flexible Channel Bandwidth

Operation
Interoperability between Flexible Channel Bandwidth and frequency-selective
scheduling allows for the increased applicability of frequency-selective
scheduling algorithms. Wideband SRS is used in FDD cells when required.

Interfaces
No impact.

Hardware
No special hardware requirements.

Other Network Elements

No impact.

Appendix A.c: 20.Q3: TDD Support for Shared Carrier Interference Management with
Frequency-Selective Scheduling
In TDD, interoperability between Flexible Channel Bandwidth and
Frequency-Selective Scheduling is enabled to support LTE interference
management.

Feature Name: Flexible Channel Bandwidth

Feature Identity: FAJ 121 4756
Value Package Name: LTE Base Package
Value Package Identity: FAJ 801 0400
Node Type: Baseband Radio Node
Access Type: LTE

Benefits
In TDD, Flexible Channel Bandwidth is interoperable with the following features:

— Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

— Uplink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

— Evolved Uplink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

The mutual interaction of the features allows for better interference management
within the LTE cell and on the cell edge.

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 Feature Change History

Capacity and Performance

The enhancement can improve uplink and downlink throughput.

Operation
No impact.

Interfaces
No impact.

Hardware
No special hardware requirements.

Other Network Elements

No impact.

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