LTE Mobility

MOBILITY

Event A3 - Neighbor becomes amount offset better than

serving.

Event A2 - Serving becomes worse than absolute threshold

Events for IRAT HO

Cell Selection Criterion

The cell selection criterion (the S criterion) is based on the measured Reference Signal Received
Power (RSRP) level in the cell, normalized with respect to the minimum required receive signal level
in the cell and certain compensations.
The cell selection criterion is fulfilled if:
Srxlev > 0
where:
Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas - (Qrxlevmin + Qrxlevminoffset) - Pcompensation
The UE obtains the Srxlev value using the following measurements and parameter values:
Qrxlevmeas -Measured RSRP value in the cell (dBm)
Qrxlevmin - Required minimum RSRP level in the cell (dBm)
Qrxlevminoffset - Offset to Qrxlevmin taken into account in the Srxlev evaluation as a result of a
periodic search for a higher priority PLMN (not provided in the current release of the LTE Basic).
Value 1000 means the parameter is not included in system information Default value: 0 (dBm)
Pcompensation - Compensation [max (PEMAX - PUMAX, 0)] if the maximum power according to the
UE capability
(PUMAX) is less than the maximum UE power to be used in the cell (PEMAX).
Parameter Description
EUtranCellFDD qRxLevMin (-120 dbm) -Required minimum RSRP level in the E-UTRA cell.
EUtranCellFDD pMaxServingCell (1000 )- - Maximum UE power to be used in the cell. If absent, the
UE applies the maximum power according to UE capability.

Measurements Performed by UE
The UE in idle mode measures the RSRP level of the E-UTRA cells on the current frequency. These
measurements are performed in the camped normally and camped on any cell states, depending
on parameters broadcast in system information. The results from these measurements are used in
the cell reselection evaluation process.
The amount of measurements the UE performs may impact UE battery performance. A trade-off
between cell reselection and UE battery performance is required when setting configuration
parameter values to control these
measurements.
Measurements on intra-frequency cells are performed if
SServingCell Sintrasearch
If SServingCell > SIntrasearch, the UE does not need to perform these measurements.
Parameter Description
EUtranCellFDD systemInformationBlock3 sIntraSearch (62)
- Threshold for intra-frequency
measurements. Corresponds to parameter Sintrasearch in the document 3GPP TS 36.304.
EUtranCellFDD systemInformationBlock3 sNonIntraSearch (10 / 4) - Threshold for inter-frequency
and inter-RAT measurements on frequencies of equal or lower priority.
EUtranCellFDD systemInformationBlock3 threshServingLow (10) - Threshold for the signal strength
of the serving cell, below which the UE performs cell reselection towards a lower priority interfrequency or inter-RAT frequency.

Parameters for Intra-Frequency Cell Reselection

When camped on an E-UTRA cell, the UE performs a ranking of neighboring E-UTRA cells on the
same frequency, taking into account the cells satisfying the cell selection criteria The cell ranking is
based on the RSRP measurement quantities of the serving cell (Qmeas,s) and the neighboring cells
(Qmeas,n).
The UE applies the cell ranking criterion Rs on the serving cell, and the cell ranking criterion Rn on
the intra-frequency cells:
Rs = Qmeas,s + Qhyst
Rn = Qmeas,n
When a neighboring cell is ranked as better than the serving cell (that is, Rn > Rs) during a time
interval TreselectionEUTRA, the UE performs a cell reselection to the better-ranked cell.
Parameter Description
EUtranCellFDD systemInformationBlock3 qHyst (4 db) -Cell reselection parameter that defines the
hysteresis value in the intra-frequency cell ranking criteria.
EUtranFreqRelation tReselectionEutra (2 sec) - Cell reselection timer value for an E-UTRA frequency.
qRxLevMin -(neighboring cells) Required RSRP level in the intra-frequency neighboring cells.
EUtranFreqRelation pMax (23)- Maximum UE power to be used in neighboring cells on the E-UTRA
frequency. If absent, the UE applies the maximum UE power for the UE power class.

Priority-Based Cell Reselection

A cell reselection priority is configured for the E-UTRA frequency of the serving cell.
cellReselectionPriority
- Absolute cell reselection priority for the E-UTRA frequency.
The cellReselectionPriority parameter can be configured but is useful only when there are interfrequency carriers and/or inter-RAT frequencies defined in system information.

Speed-Dependent Scaling of Cell Reselection Criteria

The speed-dependent scaling of cell reselection criteria is used to influence the cell reselection
criteria for fast moving UE. It helps the UE to respond more quickly to cell changes when moving at
high speed. A UE may enter three different mobility states:
Normal
Medium
High mobility
The usual TreselectionEUTRA and Qhyst parameters are used in the normal mobility state for the
evaluation of cell reselection criteria.
In the medium and high mobility states, the UE applies a scaling factor, decreasing the value of the
TreselectionEUTRA parameter. In that way, the evaluation period of cell reselection criteria is
reduced.
In addition, a negative offset is added to the Qhyst hysteresis value in the cell ranking criteria. It
lowers the threshold for the reselection of intra-frequency cells. A sliding time window is used. The
parameter TCRmax determines the duration of the sliding time window. The parameters NCR_M
(medium mobility) and NCR_H (high mobility) determine the number of cell reselections the UE
performs within the sliding time window
to enter the medium and high mobility states. Once in the medium or high mobility state, the UE
re-enters the normal mobility state when the number of cell reselections during the sliding time
window (TCRmax) stays below the parameter NCR_M and NCR_H values during a period equal to
the additional time period. The parameter TCRmaxHyst determines the duration of the additional

Parameters to Set Entry Criteria for Mobility States

EUtranCellFDD tEvaluation (240 Sec)- Duration for the evaluation of the entering criteria to the
mobility states. Corresponds to 3GPP parameter TCRmax.
EUtranCellFDD tHystNormal (240 Sec) - Additional duration for the evaluation of the reentering
criteria to the normal mobility state. Corresponds to 3GPP parameter TCRmaxHyst.
EUtranCellFDD nCellChangeMedium (16) - Number of cell changes to enter the medium mobility
state. Corresponds to 3GPP parameter NCR_M.
EUtranCellFDD nCellChangeHigh (16) - Number of cell changes to enter the high mobility
state.Corresponds to 3GPP parameter NCR_H.
Parameters to Set Speed-Dependent Scaling of Intra-Frequency Cell Reselection Criteria :
EUtranCellFDD qHystSfMedium (0 dB) - Reduction of the Qhyst parameter applied in medium
mobility
state. Corresponds to 3GPP parameter sf-Medium of Speed dependent ScalingFactor for Qhyst.
EUtranCellFDD qHystSfHigh (0 dB) - Reduction of the Qhyst parameter applied in high mobility
state. Corresponds to 3GPP parameter sf-High of Speed dependent ScalingFactor for Qhyst.
EUtranFreqRelation tReselectionEutraSfMedium (100) -Scaling of the TreselectionEUTRA parameter
in medium mobility state. The attribute t-ReselectionEUTRA is multiplied with this factor if the UE is
in medium mobility state Corresponds to 3GPP parameter sf-Medium of Speed dependent
ScalingFactor for TreselectionEUTRA. Value mapping:
25 = 0.25
50 = 0.5
75 = 0.75
100 = 1.0
Unit:1%
Resolution:25
EUtranFreqRelation tReselectionEutraSfHigh (100) Scaling of the TreselectionEUTRA parameter in
high mobility
state. Corresponds to 3GPP parameter sf-High of Speed dependent ScalingFactor for
TreselectionEUTRA.

LTE-UMTS Interworking
idle and active mode

AGENDA

Idle Mode Reselection from LTE to WCDMA

Idle Mode Reselection from WCDMA to LTE
Connected Mode from LTE to UMTS
Optimization Discussion
OSS Configuration

(SIB3 / SIB6)
(SIB19)

Overview
UE Triggered: LTE UMTS

Idle Mode

Reselection

LTE to UMTS Reselection

UMTS to LTE Reselection

Network Triggered: LTE UMTS

Connected Mode

Session Continuity

Blind
Blind session
continuity
redirection based
on A2 event.

L11

Measured
Measured session
continuity
redirection based
on A2/B2 event.

L12

Inter-working
scenario/Priority
LTE devices are to camp on LTE network
Downward mobility from LTE layer to
existing UMTS network is directed towards
the intended carrier based on DL UARFCN
priority (usually on best coverage)
Mobility between UMTS frequencies can be
based on existing neighbor strategies

Movement between UMTS and

LTE
System Information Blocks (SIBs) are used to
broadcast parameters for Idle-Mode Cell
Reselection

LTE SIB3 contains parameters for evaluating serving LTE cells

LTE SIB6 contains parameters for evaluating non-serving UMTS
cells
UMTS SIB19 contains information for LTE

Basic Principle for Idle Mode

Search for higher priority layer

Reselect if new (LTE) is above a threshold

Search for lower priority layer:

Reselect if serving (LTE) is below a threshold
& New (UMTS) is above a threshold

At release from connected mode, specific priority

information may be sent to the UE

UE Triggered: LTE UMTS

Idle Mode

Reselection

Reselection
UE in idle mode
(UE triggered)

Cell reselection, LTE to

UMTS

1. Measurement of UMTS cells begins when LTE RSRP falls below

sNonIntraSearch+qRxLevMin

2. LTE unsuitable when LTE RSRP falls below

threshServingLow+qRxLevMin

3 UMTS suitable when UMTS CPICH RSCP is above

theshXLow+qRxLevMin

4. Reselection occurs when LTE remains unsuitable AND UMTS remains suitable for
the duration t-ReselectionUTRA

Cell reselection, LTE to

UMTS
2 sec
10+(-120)
0+(-119)=
-119

10+(-120)
-120

-119
dBm

Current:
Reselection from LTE -110 dBm to UMTS -119 dBm
To Change:
Reselection from LTE -112 dBm to UMTS -119 dBm
SNonIntraSearch change to 8
threshServingLow change to 8

SIB3 Where to get values

OSS

Transmitted every 320 ms Parameters must be configured

Contains cell re-selection information common for intra-frequency, interfrequency and/ or inter-RAT cell re-selection mainly for the serving cell.

TEMS
Discovery

SIB6 Where to get values

Transmitted every 640 ms - must be mapped.

Contains cell re-selection information common for cell re-selection towards
UMTS.
1

SIB6 Parameters Description

Cell reselection, UMTS to

LTE

1.

More regular measurement (every 6.4 secs) of LTE cells begins when WCDMA rxlev falls
below sPrioritySearch1 (note that a UE camping on WCDMA will still measure periodically
on LTE anyway. 3GPP requirement: 60 secs)

2. LTE suitable than qRxLevMin + threshHigh

3. Reselection occurs when LTE remains suitable for time t-ReselectionEUTRA

Cell reselection, UMTS to lte

2 sec

16+(-119)=
-103

16+(-120)=
-104

Current:
Reselection from UMTS to LTE -104 dBm
To Change:
Reselection from UMTS to LTE -106 dBm
threshHigh change to 14

-120
dBm

SIB19 Where to get values

Contains cell re-selection information common for cell re-selection towards LTE
UMTS Priority (07, 7 is highest)
LTE EUTRA Frequency (8 max)
LTE Priority
Minimum required Rx level for
reselection, used as reference. 2db
increments so
-60 = -120dBm
Cell reselection occurs when LTE
cell Srxlev > this value for
duration treSelection (SIB3). 2dB
increments.
qRxLevMin + threshHigh =
-120 + 16 = -104dBm
Srxlev limit in UMTS below which UE
may perform reselection to LOWER
priority RAT
Not used here.
Allows UE to alert subscriber that
LTE coverage is detected

Connected Mode

CONNECTED MODE
A1/A2/A3/A5/B2 functionality

Purpose:

Allows the UE to make measurements on neighbors and report measurement to eNB for
handover/redirection.

Event based triggering

Event A2 - Serving becomes worse than threshold

UE perceives bad coverage
Event A3 Neighbor becomes offset better than the serving cell
IntraLTE handover (eNB to eNB)
Event A5 Serving cell becomes worse than threshold1 and neighbor becomes better than threshold2
Interfrequency LTE redirection or handover
Event B2 - Serving becomes worse than threshold1 and inter RAT neighbour becomes better than threshold2
IRAT Redirection (LTE to 3G/2G)
Event A1 - Serving becomes better than threshold, stop measurements
UE enters good coverage

UE

eNB
RRC CONN RECONFIGURATION (Event A2, A3)
RRC CONN RECONFIGURATION COMPLETE
MEASUREMENT REPORT(Event A3)

MEASURE

MEASUREMENT REPORT(Event A2)

RRC CONN RECONFIGURATION (Event A1/A5/B2)

MEASURE

RRC CONN RECONFIGURATION COMPLETE

MEASUREMENT REPORT(Event A5/B2)
RRC CONNECTION RELEASE(REDIRECT INFO)

Network Triggered: LTE UMTS

Connected
Mode

IRAT/ Session Continuity

Blind

IRAT REDIRECTION

Measured

Measured IF
Blind IRAT handover
based on A2 event. handover based
on A2/B2 event.

Blind:
Triggered by the serving ENB based on serving cell threshold (A2
event)

Measured:
Triggered by the serving ENB based on serving cell threshold (A2
event) and B2 Event

Event A2 (LTE Redirection)

serving cell becomes worse than threshold
RSRP / RSRQ

sMeasure
(based on
RSRP
only)

a2ThresholdRsrpPrim
Or
a2ThresholdRsrqPrim

S Start

measuring
E serving cell
End measuring
serving cell

Cell
AS

1. Measurement of serving LTE cell

begins when LTE RSRP falls
below sMeasure
E

HysteresisA2Prim

HysteresisA2Prim
Leave
Event A2

Enter
Event A2

Filtering can be
applied
to measurements
before
Reports timeToTriggerA2Prim
are sent to
the RBS

2. UE enters event A2 when

RSRP < a2thresholdRsrpPrim
HysteresisA2Prim

3. 1st Measurement report after

entering event A2 is sent by
the UE to eNB after a duration
timeToTriggerA2Prim

Measurement Reports
reportIntervalA2Prim

reportAmountA2Prim
Time
(0 = continual during event)

4. After 1st measurement report is

sent, UE sends measurement
reports till it either leaves event
A2, redirects to UMTS or drops
every reportIntervalA2Prim
5. UE is released and redirected to
UMTS.
6. UE leaves event A2 when
RSRP > a2thresholdRsrpPrim +
HysteresisA2Prim

Event A2 (LTE Redirection)

sMeasure: 0 - Disabled
a2ThresholdRsrpPrim: -110dBm, to change:
-112dBm
HysteresisA2Prim: 1dBm
timeToTriggerA2Prim: 640ms
reportIntervalA2Prim: 480ms
filterCoefficientEUtraRsrp: 9

RSRP / RSRQ

Cell A

sMeasure
(based on
RSRP only)

1dBm

HysteresisA2Prim

110dB
m
-19.5

1dBm

HysteresisA2Prim

a2ThresholdRsrpPrim
Or
a2ThresholdRsrqPrim

(-110)-1=
-111
9

S Start measuring

serving cell
End measuring
E
serving cell

Leave
Event A2

Enter
Event A2

Filtering can be applied

to measurements before
Reports are sent to the
RBS

480ms

(-110)+1=
-109

Measurement Reports
reportIntervalA2Prim

640ms

timeToTriggerA2Prim

reportAmountA2Prim
(0 = continual during event)

Time

RRCConnectionReconfiguration Parameters

Parameters sent by the serving RBS to the UE.

The bad coverage evaluation parameters that are contained in the RRCConnectionReconfiguration are
shown in table 1
RSRP is used in the handover evaluation process.

Table 1

Session Continuity Paramters in OSS

Optimization Discussion

Why Optimize?
Some scenarios:
- Move user to UMTS earlier to improve customer throughput
experience
- IRAT is currently a Blind HO (release and redirect). Optimization
required if there are drops in LTE -> UMTS transition
- Situations of terrain limitation where UE experiences sudden loss of
LTE coverage (need to HO to UMTS quicker for success)
- Site has good KPIs and in good coverage but high IRAT Rate.
Optimize to keep user on LTE longer.

Parameters for optimization

1. a2ThresholdRsrpPrim as a first option. Current typical used values: -110/112
2. filterCoefficientEUtraRsrp may be used in terrain challenged areas. Gold
standard = 9. Values of 4 have been used based on pre-launch trial results.

1. a2ThresholdRsrpPrim reduce IRAT drops

UE triggers A2 but no rel and
redirect msg seen.
Try changing parameter -112 to
-110 to trigger Irat earlier and
reduce drops during redirect.
A2 event NOT
followed by a rel
redirected succ
event

A2 events followed
by drop and
reselection to
UMTS

a2ThresholdRsrpPri
m setting found in
rrcConnReconfig

2. filterCoefficientEUtraRsrp terrain
challenged
poor coverage areA in hilly terrain with missing
LTE sites.
UE travels around a bend and quickly loses LTE
coverage. Not enough time to successfully IRAT to
UMTS and call drops.

Filter coefficient info

filter
coefficient
(k)

% old
measurement

% new
measurement

79

21.02

11

85.13

14.87

50

50

Filter coefficient values (k) used in pre-launch trial: 9,11,4.

This value allows UE to give various weighting to past measurements
compared to new measurements. The higher the FC used, the more
weighting given to previous measurements which smooths out the
measurement values and helps to counteract fast fading and sudden
fluctuations in received signal.
Changing FC from 9 (gold standard) to 4 gives more weighting to new
measurements which could help with faster IRAT.

Check points - Mobility

Handover failure

No dominant server
Interference between neighbors
Licensing issues

Handover preparation failure

- Due to parameter imbalances
- Feature disabled (ANR, IntraLteHO, InterFrequencyHO, Irat...)

Handover execution failure

- Due to existing overload in the eNodeB
- Due to marginal RF

Degrading RF conditions

Different propagation environments in source and target

Coverage holes

Due to large cell areas

Identifying potential over shooters

Radio link Monitoring

Supervision of UE in RRC connected mode

INTRA-LTE MOBILITY

RRC_CONNECTED mode mobility

In LTE, network controlled UE assisted handovers with context transfer between eNBs are used to
support UE mobility. An intra- LTE handover can be executed either via the X2 or via the S1 interface.

Intra-LTE HO (within one MME pool).

Inter MME handover

Intra LTE Handover (within one MME-pool).

If the target RBS is unable to accept the handover attempt then it will send
the HANDOVER PREPARATION FAILURE message to the serving RBS. When
this occurs the serving RBS reevaluates the handover candidate list and
attempts to set up the handover to the next best candidate RBS.
If no suitable handover candidate cell exists then the call continues on the
serving cell.
By default, user equipment in the LTE network detect suitable neighbor
cells without the assistance of a list of neighbor cells sent by the serving
RBS. User equipment are expected to blindly detect suitable handover
candidates and the subsequent handover evaluation is undertaken using
generic offset values. The exception to this occurs when specific handover
offset values are defined between neighboring cells by the network
operator. When specific cell offset relationships exist, this information is
sent to the user equipment in RRCConnectionReconfiguration messages by
the RBS.
The RRCConnectionReconfiguration message can also contain a list of cells
for which handover is not allowed.

Mobility
HO success Rate (Intra) %= 100 * ( pmHoPrepSuccLteIntraF / pmHoPrepAttLteIntraF) *
(pmHoExeSuccLteIntraF / pmHoExeAttLteIntraF)
Two types of HO :Intra-frequency LTE S1 Handover (HO) and Intra-Frequency LTE X2
HO .
IRAT RATE % = 100 * (pmUeCtxtRelSCCdma + pmUeCtxtRelSCGsm + pmUeCtxtRelSCWcdma) /
pmUeCtxtEstabSucc
The total number of Initial
Context Setup Establishment
successes.

The number of Session

continuity RRC Connection
Release with redirect to UTRA
FDD

ITK Report View

Incoming Handover Failure

Handover Pairs

The number of Incoming

Handover Preparation Failure
messages sent by the target
eNB due to lack of license for
handover

The number of Handover

Preparation Failure messages
sent by the target eNB due to
license for connected users
being exceeded.

Stepped at reception of
traffic measurement report
indicating a better cell due
to Event A3,

Sample Case Study

are worst cell having high IRAT

rate at

IRAT Rate Reduces significantly after trail

IRAT Rate

a2ThresholdRsrpPrim changed from -110 to -112 dbm

Case 2 .HO Preparation Failures: Disabled termpointtoMME

BEFORE

AFTER

Case 3 . Overshooting Case

There is only one way relation

from ILL04322_7H_1_D to
ILL0286_7A_1 and all executions
are failed .
Need to set "isHOAllowed &
isRemovedallowed"=false
Between relation
ILL04322_7H_1_D -> 310410210286-15

MAL02247_7B_1 Worst HO Success Rate

Worst EUTRAN relations

Problem at Execution stage not in Preparation phase

Target Cell MAL02261_7C_1 is not declared

on air and has very High UL RSSI . Most of
the HO drops with this cell.

Source Cell

MAL02261 is not on air

MAL02027_7A_1 Worst HO Success Rate

Worst EUTRAN relations

Source MAL02027_7A_1 is
overshooting and Added faraway
neighbors through ANR. Attempts from
MAL02027_7A_1 to MAL02171_7A_1 is
very high comparatively to others.

Source Cell
Observation: It is found that
actual E tilt is not equal with
Planned data.

Target cells

case 1.HO Preparation failures : Due to Disabled feature

DXL00221
DXL20221
DXL23162
DXL03162
DXL00567
DXL20567
DXL03040
DXL23040
DXL23002
DXL03002
HO Prep failures occurred to DXL23040 as the
IntraLTEHandover feature had been disabled