Interview Question & Answer For 3G / WCDMA / UMTS

1) What are the RRC states?

a. Cell DCH
b. Cell FACH
c. Cell PCH
d. URA PCH
2) Describe different RRC States?
a. Cell DCH:
When UE is switched ON, it assumes the CELL_DCH State by default.
It exists when UE really requires UL/DL dedicated resource.
UE is characterized at cell level according to its current Active set.
Logical channels DCCH+DTCH are mapped to transport channel DCH.
E.g. Voice call(CS), Video telephony(CS+PS)
b. Cell FACH:
This happens when,
(1) UE doesnt require continuous circuit connection with NW, but DL packets will work.
(2) UE is forced to release the NW resources to decrease the congestion problems (flipflop between DCH and FACH).
(3) Eventual location updates to support CELL_PCH and URA_PCH states (flip-flop
between FACH and PCH).
E.g. Call on hold(CS), File downloading(PS)
No dedicated UL/DL is provided. However, UE will keep monitoring to DL common transport
channel FACH continuously and receives packet data meant for UE itself.
When UL transmission is required, it uses RACH for 1-2 frames or CPCH for few more frames,
depending on common access procedures; still UL transmission will be discontinuous.
UE is known on cell level, but this time its based on the last cell update it made.
c. Cell PCH:
This happens when UE doesnt require an active connection (common/dedicated). But still
needs to be connected, as its expecting a NW initiated or terminated call(CS or PS) in
future.
So, no UL transmission is allowed. Selects a PCH(based on algo.) and keep monitoring
(receiving) it in discontinuous mode(DRX).
Can commute only into CELL_FACH state. (Not true. Global reserved para 48 bit 8 controls
this.)
E.g. No outgoing call or data receive for long time
UE is still identified on cell level, but now in the cell where UE made its last update, when it
was in CELL_FACH state.
At regular time interval, UE would have to move in CELL_FACH state to update the location
area. If UE is traveling, this update will become frequent because of changing cells.
In some cases UE can have the transition from CELL_DCH to CELL_PCH, but not vice versa;
it has to go via CELL_FACH.
d. URA PCH:
This can be considered as a general case of CELL_PCH state. Because all the characteristics
are same except one.
That is, UE is known on URA(UTRAN Registration Area) level rather than cell level. It listens
to PCH(and updates URA when required).
If UE is traveling continuously from one cell to another. It would have to transit multiple time
to CELL_FACH state for location update. By assigning URA_PCH state, this condition is
avoided, since 1 URA contains one or more cells and vice versa.

3) In which conditions UE will be in Cell FACH state?

This happens when,
UE doesnt require continuous circuit connection with NW, but DL packets will work.
UE is forced to release the NW resources to decrease the congestion problems (flip-flop
between DCH and FACH).
Eventual location updates to support CELL_PCH and URA_PCH states (flip-flop between
FACH and PCH).
E.g. Call on hold(CS), File downloading(PS)
4) What is the difference between Cell PCH and URA PCH state?
UE is known on URA(UTRAN Registration Area) level rather than cell level
If UE is traveling continuously from one cell to another. It would have to transit multiple times
to CELL_FACH state for location update. By assigning URA_PCH state, this condition is
avoided, since 1 URA contains one or more cells and vice versa
5) What is U-RNTI?
URNTI is a 32bit identity.
SRNC identifier + SRNTI makes URNTI
6) Describe the CELL search procedure?
The Cell Search procedure can be summarised into the following steps:
a. Cell Selection: Determine the cell whose received carrier power is the strongest
b. Slot Synchronisation: the UE reads the P-SCH of the strongest carrier and feeds the
received signal through a matched filter (that is matched to the Primary Synchronisation
Code). The slot timing is detected via detection of peaks in the output of the matched filter.
c. Frame Synchronisation and Scrambling Code Group Identification: the UE reads
the S-SCH of the strongest carrier, and correlates the received signal with all the possible 64
Secondary Synchronisation Codes. The output that gives maximum correlation gives the
group of the Primary Scrambling Code used in the cell. This process also gives the frame
timing since the Secondary Synchronisation Code is different for each slot and the group
tells the mapping between slots and SSCs.
d. Scrambling Code Identification: The UE attempts then to read the P-CPICH so as to
+extract the Primary Scrambling Code used in the cell. The P-CPICH is always scrambled by
the Primary Scrambling Code of the cell and is spread a factor 256 and an OVSF whose
index is zero. Since the Primary Scrambling Codes are grouped into 64 groups of 8
Scrambling Codes and the S-SCH has given the Scrambling Code group only 8 possibilities
remain. So the P-CPICH is unscrambled separately with every possible Scrambling Code (8)
in the group and only one output will produce correct results and the Primary Scrambling
Code of the cell is determined.
e. Read Broadcast Information: Since the P-CCPCH is always scrambled by the Primary
Scrambling Code of the cell (which has now been determined) and is always spread using
SF=256 with OVSF index=1, The UE can read the P-CCPCH without any problem. The PCCPCH carries the BCH where system information blocks are broadcast throughout the
entire cell. The UE can acquire at this stage various information (e.g. Spreading Factors,
OVSF indexes and Scrambling Codes used in other downlink channels, important
parameters for PRACH transmission, Measurement Parameters, Transport Formats etc.)
and can then decode other downlink channels, initiate a PRACH procedure, performs some
specific measurements etc.
7) Radio bearer configuration mappings?
Signalling radio bearer RB0 shall be used for all messages sent on the CCCH (UL: RLC-TM,
DL: RLC-UM).

 Signalling radio bearer RB1 shall be used for all messages sent on the DCCH, when using RLC
unacknowledged mode (RLC-UM).
Signalling radio bearer RB2 shall be used for all messages sent on the DCCH, when using RLC
acknowledged mode (RLC-AM), except for the RRC messages carrying higher layer (NAS)
signalling.
Signalling radio bearer RB3 and optionally Signalling radio bearer RB4 shall be used for the
RRC messages carrying higher layer (NAS) signalling and sent on the DCCH in RLC
acknowledged mode (RLC-AM).
Additionally, RBs whose identities shall be set between 5 and 32 may be used as signalling
radio bearer for the RRC messages on the DCCH sent in RLC transparent mode (RLC-TM).
8) What are the types of hand over?
Here are following categories of handover (also referred to as handoff):
Hard HandoverHard handover means that all the old radio links in the UE are removed
before the new radio links are established. Hard handover can be seamless or non-seamless.
Seamless hard handover means that the handover is not perceptible to the user. In practice
a handover that requires a change of the carrier frequency (inter-frequency handover) is
always performed as hard handover.
Soft Handover
Soft handover means that the radio links are added and removed in a way that the UE
always keeps at least one radio link to the UTRAN. Soft handover is performed by means of
macro diversity, which refers to the condition that several radio links are active at the same
time. Normally soft handover can be used when cells operated on the same frequency are
changed.
Softer handoverSofter handover is a special case of soft handover where the radio links that
are added and removed belong to the same Node B (i.e. the site of co-located base stations
from which several sector-cells are served. In softer handover, macro diversity with
maximum ratio combining can be performed in the Node B, whereas generally in soft
handover on the downlink, macro diversity with selection combining is applied.
Generally we can distinguish between intra-cell handover and inter-cell handover. For UMTS
the following types of handover are specified:
Handover 3G -3G (i.e. between UMTS and other 3G systems)
FDD soft/softer handover
FDD inter-frequency hard handover
FDD/TDD handover (change of cell)
TDD/FDD handover (change of cell)
TDD/TDD handover
Handover 3G - 2G (e.g. handover to GSM)
Handover 2G - 3G (e.g. handover from GSM)
The most obvious cause for performing a handover is that due to its movement a user can be
served in another cell more efficiently (like less power emission, less interference). It may
however also be performed for other reasons such as system load control.
9) What are types of measurements?
Intra-frequency measurements: measurements on downlink physical channels at the
same frequency as the active set. A measurement object corresponds to one cell.
Inter-frequency measurements: measurements on downlink physical channels at
frequencies that differ from the frequency of the active set and on downlink physical
channels in the active set. A measurement object corresponds to one cell.

 Inter-RAT measurements: measurements on downlink physical channels belonging to

another radio access technology than UTRAN, e.g. GSM. A measurement object corresponds
to one cell.
Traffic volume measurements: measurements on uplink traffic volume. A measurement
object corresponds to one cell.
Quality measurements: Measurements of downlink quality parameters, e.g. downlink
transport block error rate. A measurement object corresponds to one transport channel in
case of BLER. A measurement object corresponds to one timeslot in case of SIR (TDD only).
UE-internal measurements: Measurements of UE transmission power and UE received
signal level.
UE positioning measurements: Measurements of UE position.
10) What is paging? Why paging is required?
Paging: This procedure is used to transmit paging information to selected UEs in idle
mode, CELL_PCH or URA_PCH state using the paging control channel (PCCH).
Paging can be initiated :
Upper layers in the network may request paging, to e.g. establish a signaling connection.
UTRAN may initiate paging for UEs in CELL_PCH or URA_PCH state to trigger a cell update
procedure.
UTRAN may initiate paging for UEs in idle mode, CELL_PCH and URA_PCH state to trigger
reading of updated system information.
UTRAN may also initiate paging for UEs in CELL_PCH and URA_PCH state to release the
RRC connection.
11) Type of Paging?
Paging Type 1
Paging Type 2(UE dedicated paging)
12) When dedicated paging is used?
a. This procedure is used to transmit dedicated paging information to one UE in connected
mode in CELL_DCH , CELL_FACH or CELL_PCH (FDD only) state. Upper layers in the
network may request initiation of paging.
b. For a UE in CELL_DCH, CELL_FACH or CELL_PCH (FDD only) state, UTRAN initiates the
procedure by transmitting a PAGING TYPE 2 message on the DCCH using AM RLC. When
not stated otherwise elsewhere, the UTRAN may initiate the UE dedicated paging procedure
also when another RRC procedure is ongoing, and in that case the state of the latter
procedure shall not be affected.
c. UTRAN should set the IE "Paging cause" to the cause for paging received from upper layers.
If no cause for paging is received from upper layers, UTRAN should set the value
"Terminating cause unknown".
13) In what situation UE goes to CELL PCH and URA PCH states?
a. Cell PCH:
This happens when UE doesnt require an active Connection(common/dedicated). But still
needs to be connected, as its expecting a NW initiated or terminated call(CS or PS) in future
b. URA PCH:
In Cell PCH UE is still identified on cell level, but now in the cell where UE made its last
update, when it was in CELL_FACH state.At regular time interval, UE would have to move
in CELL_FACH state to update the location area. If UE is traveling, this update will become
frequent because of changing cells. If UE is traveling continuously from one cell to another.
It would have to transit multiple time to CELL_FACH state for location update. By
assigning URA_PCH state, this condition is avoided, since 1 URA contains one or more cells
and vice versa

14) What is Cell Update Procedure? What are various Cell Update causes?
Uplink data transmission:
For FDD, if the variable H_RNTI is not set, and for TDD:
if the UE is in URA_PCH or CELL_PCH state; and
if the UE has uplink RLC data PDU or uplink RLC control PDU on RB1 or upwards to
transmit:
perform cell update using the cause "uplink data transmission".
Paging response:
if the criteria for performing cell update with the cause specified above. are not met; and
if the UE in URA_PCH or CELL_PCH state, receives a PAGING TYPE 1 .message fulfilling
the conditions for initiating a cell update procedure.
perform cell update using the cause "paging response".
Radio link failure:
if none of the criteria for performing cell update with the causes specified above in the
current subclause is met:
if the UE is in CELL_DCH state and the criteria for radio link failure are ,or
if the transmission of the UE CAPABILITY INFORMATION message fails.
perform cell update using the cause "radio link failure".
MBMS ptp RB request:
if none of the criteria for performing cell update with the causes specified above in the
current subclause is met; and
if the UE is in URA_PCH, Cell_PCH or Cell_FACH state; and
if the UE should perform cell update for MBMS ptp radio bearer request,
perform cell update using the cause "MBMS ptp RB request".
Re-entering service area:
if none of the criteria for performing cell update with the causes specified above in the
current subclause is met; and
if the UE is in CELL_FACH or CELL_PCH state; and
2> if the UE has been out of service area and re-enters service area before T307 or T317
expires:
3> perform cell update using the cause "re-entering service area".
RLC unrecoverable error:
if none of the criteria for performing cell update with the causes specified above in the
current subclause is met; and
if the UE detects RLC unrecoverable error [16] in an AM RLC entity:
perform cell update using the cause "RLC unrecoverable error".
Cell reselection:
if none of the criteria for performing cell update with the causes specified above in the
current subclause is met:
if the UE is in CELL_FACH or CELL_PCH state and the UE performs cell re-selection; or
if the UE is in CELL_FACH state and the variable C_RNTI is empty:
perform cell update using the cause "cell reselection".
Periodical cell update:
if none of the criteria for performing cell update with the causes specified above in the
current subclause is met; and
if the UE is in CELL_FACH or CELL_PCH state; and
if the timer T305 expires; and
if the criteria for "in service area" and

if periodic updating has been configured by T305 in the IE "UE Timers and constants in
connected mode" set to any other value than "infinity":
perform cell update using the cause "periodical cell update".
MBMS reception:
if none of the criteria for performing cell update with the causes specified above in the
current subclause is met; and
if the UE is in URA_PCH, Cell_PCH or Cell_FACH state; and
if the UE should perform cell update for MBMS counting ,
perform cell update using the cause "MBMS reception".
15) What is Active set?
Active Set is defined as the set of Node-Bs the UE is simultaneously connected to (i.e., the
UTRA cells currently assigning a downlink DPCH to the UE constitute the active set).
16) What is Monitor set and detected set Cells?
a. Cells, which are not included in the active set, but are included in the CELL_INFO_LIST
belong to the Monitored Set.
b. Cells detected by the UE, which are neither in the CELL_INFO_LIST nor in the active set
belong to the Detected Set. Reporting of measurements of the detected set is only
applicable to intra-frequency measurements made by UEs in CELL_DCH state.
17) What are the various types of RNC?
a. Serving RNC
b. Drift RNC
c. Controlling RNC
18) What is the use and difference between CRNC, Drift RNC and SRNC?
RNC from which the UE is currently getting Served or connected to is called SRNC or
Serving RNC.
During a soft handover procedure the RNC UE is moving to, is called Drift RNC.
The RNC which controls the movement of UE from Serving RNC to the Drift RNC is called
Controlling RNC.
19) What is initial direct transfer message? What is the use?
The initial direct transfer procedure is used in the uplink to establish a signaling connection.
It is also used to carry an initial upper layer (NAS) message over the radio interface.
20) What is security mode command? Why it is used?
Security mode command is a RRC Message,
The purpose of this procedure :
To trigger the start of ciphering or to command the restart of the ciphering with a new
ciphering configuration, for the radio bearers of one CN domain and for all signalling radio
bearers.
It is also used to start integrity protection or to modify the integrity protection configuration
for all signalling radio bearers
21) What is CCTrCH?
A Coded Composite Transport Channel is the result of combining (multiplexing) several
Transport Channels of the same type; i.e.: we can have a CCTrCh made up of one or several
DCHs, a CCTrCh made up of DSCHs. One exception is that we can have one or several
FACHs multiplexed with a PCH on the same CCTrCh.
A better notation would be for example:
CCTrCh4DCH: A CCTrCh consisting of 4 DCHs
CCTrCh3FACH: A CCTrCh consisting of 3 FACHs
CCTrChPCH,2FACH: A CCTrCh consisting of the PCH and 2 FACHs
22) What is compressed mode?

Higher layers can request a UE to monitor cells on other frequencies (FDD, TDD), or other
systems (GSM). This implies that the UE has to perform measurements, on the other
frequencies/systems and thus higher layers command the UE to enter Compressed Mode.
The UTRAN need to send to the UE all the parameters for the Compressed Mode.
Compression Methods:
When in Compressed Mode the information normally transmitted during a 10 ms frame is
compressed in time sothat gaps of adequate length are created. To achieve this one of three
mechanisms
Puncturing
This method is NOT applicable to downlink.
Spread Factor Reduction
Actually halving the Spread Factor. So with this method if SF is used in non-compressed
frames then SF/2 is used in the compressed frames.
Higher Layer Scheduling
Higher Layers set restrictions so that only a subset of allowed TFCs are used in
Compressed Mode.
Compressed Mode Parameter:
TGSN (Transmission Gap Starting Slot Number): A transmission gap pattern begins in a
radio frame, called firstradio frame of the transmission gap pattern, containing at least one
transmission gap slot. TGSN is the slot numberof the first transmission gap slot within the
first radio frame of the transmission gap pattern;
TGL1 (Transmission Gap Length 1): Duration of the first transmission gap within the
transmission gap pattern, expressed in number of slots;
TGL2 (Transmission Gap Length 2): Duration of the second transmission gap within the
transmission gap pattern, expressed in number of slots. If this parameter is not explicitly set
by higher layers, then TGL2 =TGL1;
TGD (Transmission Gap Start Distance): Duration between the starting slots of two
consecutive transmission gaps within a transmission gap pattern, expressed in number of
slots. The resulting position of the second transmission gap within its radio frame(s) shall
comply with the limitations of TS 25.101 (Ref [2]). If this parameter is not set by higher
layers, then there is only one transmission gap in the transmission gap pattern;
TGPL1 (Transmission Gap Pattern Length): Duration of transmission gap pattern 1;
TGPL2 (Transmission Gap Pattern Length): Duration of transmission gap pattern 2. If
this parameter is not explicitly set by higher layers, then TGPL2 = TGPL1.
The following two parameters (integers) control the transmission gap pattern sequence start
and repetition:
TGPRC (Transmission Gap Pattern Repetition Count): Number of transmission gap
patterns within the transmission gap pattern sequence; From Figure 10 it seems TGPRC is
even, therefore the number of slots in TG Sequence is: 0.5*TGPRC (TGPL1+TGPL2)
TGCFN (Transmission Gap Connection Frame Number): CFN of the first radio frame of
the first pattern 1 within the transmission gap pattern sequence.
23) What is FACH measurement occasion?
GAPs in S-CCPCH to perform measurement on Different Frequencies or Interrat resection.
24) MIB/SB/SIB details?
MIB: The Scheduling of MIB is Static.
25) Why we perform Channelisation or spreading before scrambling?
Before sending a data we need to identify the channel to send the data. A particular
Channelisation code is the identity for the channel.

Hence we use Channelisation code to select the channel and then scramble it so as to send
the identity of the UE over the channel
26) When TMSI , P- TMSI , IMSI , IMEI used?
TMSI (GSM-MAP): The TMSI (GSM-MAP) shall be chosen if available. The IE "LAI" in the IE
"Initial UE identity" shall also be present when TMSI (GSM-MAP) is used, for making it
unique.
P-TMSI (GSM-MAP): The P-TMSI (GSM-MAP) shall be chosen if available and no TMSI
(GSM-MAP) is available. The IE "RAI" in the IE "Initial UE identity" shall in this case also
be present when P-TMSI (GSM-MAP) is used, for making it unique.
IMSI (GSM-MAP): The IMSI (GSM-MAP) shall be chosen if available and no TMSI (GSMMAP) or P-TMSI is available.
IMEI: The IMEI shall be chosen when none of the above three conditions are fulfilled.
27) What is Auto attached?

Auto
Attac
h
When
Power
On

Enabled

Disabled

If
MNO I
It will perform a combined
Attach
If NMOII
It will do a LAU and Attach.

PS
Call

Same RRC connection can be

used for the PS call.

If UE is Location updated i.e.

SIM LAI is same as Cell LAI
Then it will do nothing.
If UE is not Location updated
i.e.
SIM LAI differs from the Cell
LAI then UE will perform
Location Area Update
Will do a PS attach then the
PS call.

28) Why we do a Combined Attach?

If the network operates in Network Mode Of Operation I i.e. NMO I and GPRS MS that
operates in Mode A or Mode B will do a simultaneous IMSI attach for GPRS and non GPRS
services and shall use the Combined GPRS attach, combined and periodic routing area
updating procedures instead of the corresponding MM specific procedures IMSI attach and
normal and periodic Location area updating.
29) When UE triggers Event 3A Measurement Report?
Event 3A:The Estimated Quality of currently used UTRAN frequency is below a certain
threshold and the estimated quality of the other system is above a certain threshold.
30) How many transport channels will be configured when a CSV and a PSD call is
simultaneously going on?
Five transport channels will be configured.
1 for 4 SRBs
3 for CSV
1 for PSD
31) When event 2A, 2B, 2C,2E occurs?
Event 2a: Change of best frequency

Event 2b: The estimated quality of the currently used frequency is below a certain
threshold and the estimated quailty of a non-used frequency is above a certain threshold.
Event 2c: The estimated quality of a non-used frequency is above a certain threshold
Event 2d: The estimated quality of the currently used frequency is below a certain
threshold
Event 2e: The estimated quality of a non-used frequency is below a certain threshold
32) When event 1A 1F Event occurs?
event 1A: A Primary CPICH enters the reporting range
event 1B: A primary CPICH leaves the reporting range
event 1C: A non-active primary CPICH becomes better than an active primary CPICH
event 1D: Change of best cell
event 1E: A Primary CPICH becomes better than an absolute threshold
event 1F: A Primary CPICH becomes worse than an absolute threshold
33) Where CK and IK gets generated?
In RRC CK and IK gets generated.
34) Where CK and IK gets stored?
In USIM CK and IK will get stored.
35) Where the Security procedure will start?
Security Procedure will start in RRC but Ciphering will start for AM and UM data security
procedure will start at RLC layer. And for TM mode security procedure start at MAC layer.
36) What are the mandatory SIBs which UE has to read before
camping?
SIB 1, 3,5,7,11
37) What are the important RACH parameters and which SIB contains this information?
SIB 7/5
38) Which SIB contains S criteria information?
SIB 3

1. Explain Ec/Io and RSCP; on what channel are they

measured on?
Ec/Io = energy of carrier over all noise. RSCP = Receive Signal Code Power. In FDD
mode (what we normally deal with) they are measured on the CPICH (pilot). Bonus if
they know that Io is the sum of all interference: thermal/background noise + interferers
+ own cell and is wideband. Bonus if they understand that RSCP is actually measured
AFTER de-spreading (i.e. narrowband)

2. What does channelization codes do and function?

Channelization codes are used for spreading and de-spreading of the signals, they also
create
the
"channels"
making
it
possible
to
distinguish
between

users/connections/channels. Bonus if they know that they have an associated

Spreading Factor and are allocated depending on the bandwidth required by the
service.

3. What does the scrambling code do and function?

Scrambling Code makes it possible for the UE to distinguish the transmissions from
different cells/NodeBs. Bonus if he knows there are 512 primary scrambling codes and
that are broken up to 64 groups of 8 codes each.

4. Explain the concept of Cell Breathing. How is it accounted

for in the link Budget?
Io or No (the interference part of Ec/Io and Eb/No) increase as the traffic on the
network increases since everyone is using the same frequency. Therefore as Io or No
increases the UE or BTS needs to use more power to maintain the same Eb/No or Ec/Io.
When the power required is more than the maximum power allowed, the connection
cannot be made. Users at the cell edge are usually the first to lose service; hence the
service area of a cell shrinks. As traffic decreases, the reverse happens and the service
area increases. They should say that it is accounted for in the Noise Rise Margin found
in the Link Budget.

5. Explain the different Handover types in UMTS

Soft(er) Handover: connected to more than one cell on the same frequency, softer
occurs when 2 cells in the active set belong to same Node-B; Intra-frequency Hard
Handover: Occurs when Ue moves from one cell in one RNC to a cell in another RNC
and the RNCs do not have an Iur link between each other; Inter-Frequency Hard
Handover: when UE changes from one frequency to another frequency (usually due to
traffic layer management or Quality reasons);Inter-technology (iRAT) Hard
Handover: Handover from UMTS to GSM (v.v.) usually at the edge of UMTS service
area but also due to quality reasons.

6. What is an active set, monitor set and detected set?

Active Set: the set of cells with which the UE is currently connected/communicating
with; Drive test usually show them as SC or Pilots but they are actually
cells; Monitored Set: Cells that the UE has detected and is monitoring and are known
to the network, they either don't meet the criteria or the active set is full; Detected
Set - Cells that the UE has detected but are not known to the network as yet (missing
neighbor likely).

7. What is the major difference in link budgets between

UMTS and GSM/TDMA?
In UMTS you generally have a link budget for each service (voice, data, video etc), in
GSM you usually only use 1 for voice. Each service has a different Eb/No target. In
UMTS you have to consider the target traffic load you will have and add a noise-rise
margin, in GSM you may have a slight interference margin but not normally related to
traffic. In UMTS some services (like voice) will show up as uplink limited but other
services (like HSDPA, 384kbps service) will show as downlink limited. In UMTS you
usually have to consider that all users use the same power from the BTS therefore the
more number of users the lower the maximum power available per user (maximum
power per connection) which is a starting point in the link budget.

8. In the Link Budget, what is a Shadow Fade Margin for and

what factors does it depend on?
The shadow fade margin is dependent on the target percentage area coverage, the
propagation model, and the standard deviation of the lognormal shadowing (usually the
same as the model's standard deviation if the fast fading effects are removed). The
Shadow Fade Margin is a added margin placed in the link budget such that a
guaranteed level of service can be offered "in the worst case".

9. What is the typical maximum active set size and what

needs to be considered when setting this?
3 to 4 cells, the larger the active set size the more likely it is that Iub link efficiency is
reduced (more than one resource for a single connection due to SHO)

10.
What are typically the requirements (criteria) for
a cell to be added/removed/replaced to/from/in the
active set?
For addition (Event 1a), candidate cell needs to have an Ec/Io value that is within a
T_ADD threshold of the primary/reference (usually the best) cell for a specify time
hysteresis. For removal (event 1b), cell needs to have Ec/Io lower than T_DROP
margin for a specific time hysteresis. For replacement (event 1c), cell needs to have
an Ec/Io better than the worst cell in the active set by the T_REPLACE and for a specific
time hysteresis.

11.

What would you define as a pilot polluter?

Many definitions: A cell that has high signal strength at a location but is not part of the
active set. A cell that, meets the criteria for addition into the Active Set but cannot
enter because the active set is full.

12.
How would you find such cells from a planning
tool and from a drive test tool?
Ignoring low signal conditions, if the best cell RSCP is greater than say -85dBm and
there are cells not in the active set but are strong enough to be in the active set then
they are candidate for pilot polluters. Looking at cells that have a high noise rise, high
amount of traffic compared to surrounding cells, may also indicate a pilot polluter, Any
location where, high Signal strength for the (Active Set Size + 1) best pilot (like the 4th
best pilot if AS size is 3). In DTT, areas with poor Ec/Io but good RSCP, in the monitored
set contain a cell with a good Ec/Io but cannot enter the AS because it is full, Areas
where scanner shows a strong signal for a far away cell.

13.
What would the call flow be for a Mobile
Originated Call (major RRC messages)?
RRC Connect Request -> RRC Connection Setup -> RRC Setup Complete -> (SETUP,
authentication encryption, TMSI reallocation etc) -> CALL PROCEEDING-> Radio Bearer
Setup -> Radio Bearer Setup Complete -> ALERT -> CONNECT -> CONNECT ACK
->DISCONNECT -> RELEASE.

14.
What are the general triggers for an iRAT
handover?
Ec/Io of best cell below a certain threshold (usually around -16 to -18 dB) or RSCP of
best cell below a certain threshold (usually around -100 dBm).

15.
What is compressed mode, what is its function,
and what impact does it have on the network?
Compressed mode is when the mobile goes into a slotted transmit mode whereby it
opens up an idle period (transmission gap) where it can monitor another carrier or
technology (GSM). The impact is that to maintain the same bitrates, it halves the SF,
and therefore increases power level causing higher interference to the network, If, the
SF cannot be halved then the bit rate of the bearer decreases. If they seem
knowledgably, ask them if they know what messages and events trigger and configure
compressed mode on/off. 2D event for on, 2F for off. Messages would for configuration
would
be
RADIO
BEARER
RECONFIGURATION,
TRANSPORT
CHANNEL
RECONFIGFURATION or PHYSICAL CHANNEL RECONFIGURATION.

16.
Name the 4 RRC Connected Modes (states) and
describe the characteristics of each.
Cell-DCH: UE has been allocated a dedicated physical channel in uplink and downlink.
Cell-FACH: UE listens to FACH channel (DL) and is allocated a RACH channel (UL).
Small amounts of UL/DL data can be transfers in this state. The RNC tracks the UE
down to the cell level and cell reselections are possible with the CELL UPDATE message.
Cell-PCH: UE monitors (using discontinuous reception) a PCH channel (PCH) indicated
by the PICH channel. The RNC tracks the UE down to the cell level and cell reselections
are possible with the CELL UPDATE message. No data can be transferred in the UL in
this state.
URA-PCH: UE monitors (using discontinuous reception) a PCH channel (PCH) indicated
by the PICH channel. The RNC tracks the UE down to the URA level.

17.
If a UE is on a data call (CELL-DCH state) and
there is in no activity for awhile what would you expect to
see occur?
UE should go from CELL-DCH to CELL-FACH then if still no activity to either CELL-PCH or
URA-PCH (via CELL-FACH). If they talk about inactivity timers and mention that the
state goes from CELL-DCH straight to CELL-PCH or URA-PCH that is also possible. Bonus
they say they would see RADIO BEARER RECONFIGURATION messages when the states
are changing.

18.
In Release '99, how does the network manage the
throughput on the Radio Interface for a user/connection?
This question is a little harder to ask, so you may need to work it differently a few
times. Perhaps leading questions could be: What parameter/configuration does the
network change on the air interface What you are trying to hear from the candidate is
that the network assigns a radio bearer with a channelization code with a spreading
factor that matches the requested service maximum bit rate.

19.
What is the typical/most common bit rate that a
voice call uses?
They should say 12.2kbps but may be different if they start talking about AMR and the
different rates then the know more. Prod them to see if they know the Spreading Factor
(SF) used for the radio bearer, should be 128.

20.
Depending on the RF conditions, what can the
network do to manage call quality?
AMR - for good conditions use codec will low redundancy/overhead; for poor conditions
use codec with lower bit rate requirement but higher overhead, stronger coding and
more redundancy.

21.
In HSDPA, how does the network manage the
throughput on the Radio Interface for a user/ connection?
Modulation (16QAM, QPSK etc), Coding (convolution coding, fire codes etc), number of
codes allocated and scheduling (it's a shared resource)

22.
Explain Inner and Outer loop power control and
who controls them.
If they start talking about Open and Closed Loop PC, tell them you want Inner/Outer
Closed Loop PC. Inner loop power control is performed by the NodeB to set the transmit
power of the UE and BTS to compensate for signal variations due to fading or path loss
to maintain the set SIR (occurs up to 1500 times per sec). Outer loop power control is
performed by the RNC to set the target SIR based on the required BER/BLER for the
requested services (occurs up to 100 times per sec).

23.
1)

In what cases is Open Loop Power Control used?

Idle to Cell-DCH state, when a connection is setup. When UE goes into soft handover,
ACTIVE SET UPDATE where the new Radio Link initial power settings use open loop PC.

24.
Explain the concept of a Monte Carlo Simulation
for UMTS Design
This is a simulator that randomly distributes terminals/users geographically onto the
network and then checks the link budget for each terminal/connection to see if they can
successfully connect or not. The simulator modifies parameters such has UE Tx Power,
BTS Tx Power, requested bearer (in the case that multiple bearers could support the
same service) when checking if a connection can be made. In every snapshot the
simulator runs through the list of terminals/connections and attempts to make them all
connect successfully, it starts a new snapshot when the number of successful
connections converges. The process then starts on a new snapshot.

25.
In pre-launch optimization, how are missing
neighbors usually detected?
Usually you use a scanner and compare the best pilots in Ec/Io from the scanner
against that of the active set and monitored set from an active UE. If there is a stronger
pilot from a nearby cell that appears on the scanner but not on the UE, there is a
possible missing neighbor. One would then verify that the neighbor appears in defined
neighbor list from the OSS.

26.

What is the CQI in HSDPA?

CQI is the channel Quality Indicator, Which is calculated on the Basis of RF informant,
and the code allocation is done on the basis of CQI.

27.

What is the HARQ?

This is the Hybrid Automatic repeat request Technique for the retransmission of the lost
frame which is used by the HSDPA. That helps to recover the lost frame by two partially
lost frames.

28.

What is MIMO Antenna System?

This is the multiple inputs multiple output antenna technique system which improves
the NW throughput over the air interface.

29.

What are the different RABs in R99?

cs-12.2 for speech,cs-64 for video calls ,ps-16 ps-64 ps 128 ps-384 for data services.

30.

What is TTI in WCDMA how it impact?

It is the transmission time interval for sending one frame for WCDMA it is 10ms.

31.

How many PSC in WCDMA?

0-511, Total 512

32.

What is the Processing Gain?

Ratio of chip rate to bit rate, lower bit rate services will offer higher processing gain

33.

What is the Power Control?

Power control is the mechanism of maintaining minimal power level with acceptable
QOS for each service

34.

What should be the idle CPICH power?

10% of the Total Power

35.

What is rake receiver?

A rake receiver is a radio receiver designed to counter the effects of multipath fading. It
does this by using several "sub-receivers" called fingers, that is, several correlators
each assigned to a different multipath component. Each finger independently decodes a
single multipath component; at a later stage the contribution of all fingers are
combined in order to make the most use of the different transmission characteristics of
each transmission path.

36.
What kinds of services are available with
WCDMA?
Conversational, Background, Streaming, Interactive.

37.

Which modulation schemes are used in WCDMA?

QPSK. HPSK, BPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM

38.

What is interleaving?

Interleaving is the technique used to distribute the data so as to make the error
correction accurate at the receiver end.

39.
What is threshold for adding and deleting a cell
from Active Set?
For addition 3 dB and for deletion 6dB

40.
What are the types of location & routing is
registration update?
1.

IMSI attach / detach. 2. Normal LA & RA updating. 3. Periodic LA & RA updating

41.
Which timer is involved for periodic LA & RA
update?
Timer t3212 is involved and is contained in SIB1.

42.

What is the Difference between Ec/No and Ec/Io?

Ec/No- Interference caused by combination of the Non-orthogonality of Codes, thermal

noise & all other noises present in the Channel. Ec/Io- Interference caused by only due
to non-orthogonality of codes in the channel.

43.
What are the no. of scrambling codes used in UL
and DL?
Scrambling codes in uplink- 2^24-1. Scrambling codes in Downlink- 2^18-1= 8192.

44.
What are the types of compressed mode
techniques used in 3G?
Three Types- 1. Puncturing. 2. SF/2. 3.Higher Layer Scheduling.

45.

What are MM Procedures?

MM common procedures: 1. TMSI reallocation procedure. 2. authentication procedure.

3. Identification procedure. 4. MM Information Procedure. 5. Abort Procedure. 6.
Normal Location Update. 7. Periodic Location update. 8. Imsi attaches.

46.

What is URA and URA_PCH state?

URA or UTRAN Registration Area is a collection of cells that are used for fast moving
UE's in connected mode when they are not transferring any data. In this case the UE is
in CELL_PCH state. Every time a fast moving UE in CELL_PCH state changes the cell, a
CELL UPDATE needs to be performed to let the UTRAN know of the new position of the
UE. This is done because in the connected mode (CELL_PCH), UE is known at cell level
rather than UTRAN level as in IDLE state. If too many CELL UPDATES are performed, it
defeats the purpose of UE being in CELL_PCH. Hence in this case the UE is put in
URA_PCH state. Now the UE will perform CELL UPDATE only when the URA is changed
for a UE. The drawback is that when UE needs to be paged the paging area is now
extended to many cells belonging to the URA.

Also Note that the CELL_PCH state is actually a subset of the URA_PCH state. It is
possible to define overlapping URAs to be used in the URA_PCH state. Thus, the UTRAN
operator could define that each cell is a separate URA in addition to other larger URAs.
Then the operator could assign small one-cell URAs for slow-moving mobiles, and larger
URAs for mobiles with greater mobility. The small URAs could nicely perform the task of
the CELL_PCH state. However, it has been decided to keep these states separate.
The URAs can be overlapping or even hierarchical. The same cell may belong to several
different URAs, and the UEs in that cell may have been registered to different URAs.
SIB 2 contains a list of URA identities indicating which URAs this cell belongs to. This
arrangement is done to further reduce the amount of location update signaling because
now the UEs moving back and forth in the boundary area of two URAs do not have to
update their URA location information if the boundary cells do belong to both URAs.

47.

Which channel contains Layer 1 information?

DPCCH, Layer-1 contains information regarding Power control, Spreading-De-spreading,

Multiplexing-De-multiplexing, Scrambling.

48.

Which Channel Contains Layer 3 Information?

DPDCH

49.

What are the main KPI's?

Accessibility, Retainability, Intra Frequency HOSR, Intra Frequency HOSR, IRAT HOSR

50.
Which parameter decides the preference between
IFHO & IRAT HO
Handover type

51.

UE goes to compress mode after which events?

Compress mode starts at events 2d (RSCP or EC/No base) & 6d (Tx power base)

52.

What are the idle mode tasks of UE?

1. PLMN selection & reselection,

2. Cell selection & reselection,

3. LA & RA registration,
4. Paging procedure,
5. Reading System information

53.

Explain the cell selection criteria?

Squal = Qqualmeas - qQualMin > 0,

Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas - qRxLevMin - Pcompensation > 0,
where ,Pcompensation = max (maxTXpowerUL - P ;0 ),
qQualMin - Minimum
required quality value and is sent in SIB3 for serving cell and SIB 11 for adjacent cell,
qRxLevMin - Minimum required signal strength and is sent in SIB3 for serving cell and
SIB 11 for adjacent cell, maxTXpowerUL - Maximum transmission power during
random access on the RACH and is sent in SIB3, P - UE maximum output power
according to its class

Umts Interview Questions

1. What are the optimization tools you use?

Drive test, analysis, others?
2. Are System Information Blocks (SIB) transmitted all the time?
No, system information block is multiplexed with synchronization channel. Synchronization
channel occupies the first time slot (TS) and SIB occupies the other 9 time slots.
3. How does UE camp (synchronize) to a NodeB?
1. UE uses the primary synchronization channel (P-SCH) for slot alignment (TS
synchronization).
2. After aligning to NodeB time slot, UE then uses secondary synchronization channel (SSCH) to obtain frame synchronization and scrambling code group identification.

3. UE then uses scrambling code ID to obtain CPICH, thus camping to a NodeB.

4. What could be the cause of soft handover failure?

UE issue.
Resource unavailable at target NodeB.
Inadequate SHO threshold defined.
Etc.
5. What are the three sets in handover?
The 3 sets in handover are:
Active set the list of cells which are in soft handover with UE.
Monitored set the list of cells not in active set but RNC has told UE to monitor.
Detected set list of cells detected by the UE but not configured in the neighbor list.
6. What are the major differences between GSM and UMTS handover decision?
GSM:
Time-based mobile measures of RxLev and RxQual mobile sends measurement report
every SACH period (480ms).
BSC instructs mobile to handover based on these reports.
UMTS:
Event-triggered reporting UE sends a measurement report only on certain event triggers.
UE plays more part in the handover decision.
7. What are the events 1a, 1b, 1c, etc.?
e1a a Primary CPICH enters the reporting range, i.e. add a cell to active set.
e1b a primary CPICH leaves the reporting range, i.e. removed a cell from active set.
e1c a non-active primary CPICH becomes better than an active primary CPICH, i.e.
replace a cell.
e1d: change of best cell.
e1e: a Primary CPICH becomes better than an absolute threshold.
e1f: a Primary CPICH becomes worse than an absolute threshold.
8. What are event 2a-2d and 3a-3d?
Events 2a-2d are for inter-frequency handover measurements and events 3a-3d are for
IRAT handover measurements.
e3a: the UMTS cell quality has moved below a threshold and a GSM cell quality had moved
above a threshold.
e3b: the GSM cell quality has moved below a threshold.
e3c: the GSM cell quality has moved above a threshold.
e3d: there was a change in the order of best GSM cell list.

9. What may happen when theres a missing neighbor or an incorrect neighbor?

Access failure and handover failure: may attempt to access to a wrong scrambling code.
Dropped call: UE not aware of a strong scrambling code, strong interference.
Poor data throughput.
Poor voice quality.
Etc.
10. What can we try to improve when access failure is high?
When access failure is high we can try the following to improve RACH performance:
Increase maximum UE transmit power allowed: Max_allowed_UL_TX_Power.
Increase power quickly: power_Offset_P0.
Increase number of preambles sent in a given preamble cycle: preamble_Retrans_Max.
Increase the number of preamble cycles: max_Preamble_Cycle.
Increase number of RRC Connection Request retries: N300.
11. What are the conditions you typically set to trigger IRAT handover?
RSCP and Ec/Io are used to trigger IRAT handover:
RSCP ? -100dBm.
Ec/Io ? -16dBm.
12. What are the typical KPIs you use to measure a network and what criteria?
Access failure rate (? 2%).
Call setup time (CS: over 95% of the time < 6-second for mobile-to-PSTN, 9-second for
mobile-mobile. PS: over 95% of the time < 5-second).
Dropped call rate (? 2%).
BLER: over 95% of the blocks ? 2%.
Average DL/UL throughput for PSD: 210kbps for loaded, 240kbps for unloaded.
13. What is the typical UE transmit power?
Varies most of the time below 0dBm.
14. Have your used Ericsson TEMS? If so:
Do you know how to create command sequence?
What are the call sequences you typically have? CS long call, CS short call, PSD call, etc.
What are the typical commands you have for CS and PS call?
Do you regularly stop and restart a new log file? Why and when to stop and start a new file?
How do you stop a log file? Stop command sequence first, wait and make sure all
equipment are in idle mode before stop logging.

15. Did you work on neighbor prioritization?

16. What is the typical event sequence of IRAT Handover from 3G to 2G
Event 2d entering into compressed mode measurement of 2G candidates Event 3a
Verification of 2G resources Handover from UTRAN Command from 3G RNC to UE
17. What are the possible causes for an IRAT Failure?
Missing 2G relations
Non availability of 2G Resources
Poor 2G Coverage
Missing 3G Relations
18. What is Paging Success Ratio? What is the typical PSR that you have seen in a
UMTS network?
PSR Paging Responses to the Paging Attempts
About 90%
19. What are the possible causes for a lower PSR?
Non-continuous RF Coverage UE going in and out of coverage area frequently
Very High Periodic Location Update Timer Keeping UEs in VLR long time after it moved
out of coverage
Lower Paging Channel Power
Access Channel Parameter Issues
Delayed Location Update when crossing the LA / CN Boundaries
20. What are the possible causes for a Drop Call on a UMTS network?
Poor Coverage (DL / UL)
Pilot Pollution / Pilot Spillover
Missing Neighbor
SC Collisions
Delayed Handovers
No resource availability (Congestion) for Hand in
Loss of Synchronization
Fast Fading
Delayed IRAT Triggers
Hardware Issues
External Interference
21. A UE is served by 2 or 3 SC in AS. It is identifying a SC from 3rd tier, Stronger and
meets the criteria for Event1a or Event1c. But SHO did not happen because of
missing neighbor relations? How do you optimize this issue?
Study the Pilot spillover from the 3rd Tier SC and control its coverage

Even after controlling the coverage, if the spillover is there, Add the neighbor.
22. A UE is served by 2 SC in AS, a SC is coming in to Monitored Set and Event1a is
triggered. But UE is not receiving Active Set Update from NodeB and the call drops.
What could be possible causes for this drop?
Delayed Handover
Loss of Synchronization
Fast Fading
Pilot Pollution / Spillover issues
23. What is Hard Handover in UMTS? When will it happen?
Hard Handover in UMTS is a break before make type Handover
It can happen in the inter RNC boundaries where there is no Iur link.
24. What is the typical Call Setup Time for a 3G UE to 3G UE Call? What are the
possible RF related causes for a delayed CST in this type of call?
6 to 9 seconds
Multiple RRC Attempts (UE is on poor coverage need more than Access Attempt)
Delayed Page Responses
High Load on Paging and/or Access Channel
Paging / Access Parameters
25. What is Soft Handover Overhead? What is the typical value in UMTS network?
Soft Handover Overhead is calculated in two ways. 1) Average Active Set Size Total
Traffic / Primary Traffic. 2) Secondary / Total Traffic
Typical Values are like 1.7 (Avg Active Set Size) or 35% (Secondary / Total )
26. What will happen to the Soft Handover Overhead when you apply OCNS on the
network? And Why?
With OCNS, the interference (load) increases. This leads to reduction in Ec/Io of a Pilot,
which reduces the pilot spillovers. Reduction in Pilot Spillover will reduce the Soft Handover
Overhead.
27. What are the possible causes for an Access Failure in UMTS?
Missing Neighbors
Poor Coverage
Pilot Pollution / Spillover
Poor Cell Reselection
Core Network Issues
Non availability of resources. Admission Control denies
Hardware Issues
Improper RACH Parameters

External Interference
28. (FOR ERICSSON EXPERIENCED) What is RTWP? What is the significance of it?
Received Total Wide-band Power
It gives the Total Uplink Power (Interference) level received at NodeB
29. (FOR ERICSSON EXPERIENCED) What is the System Reference Point at which all
the Power Levels are measured in Ericsson NodeB?
System Ref Point for E/// NodeB is at the output of TMA (Between TMA and Antenna)
30. What are the typical values for reportingrange1a and reportingrange1b?
3 dB and 5 dB respectively.
31. What will be the impact when you change reportingrange1a from 3 to 4 dB and
timetotrigger1a 100 to 320 ms, without changing any other parameters?
Reduction in number of Event1a
Delayed Event1a trigger
Reduction in Average Active Set Size
Delay in Event1a could increase DL interference, which could lead to a drop call or increase
in Average Power Per User (reduction in cell capacity)
32. What is Admission Control?
Admission Control is an algorithm which controls the Resource Allocation for a new call and
additional resource allocation for an existing call. Incase, if a cell is heavily a loaded and
enough resources in terms of power, codes or CEs are not available, admission control
denies permission for the additional resource requirement.
33. What is Congestion Control?
Congestion Control monitors the dynamic utilization of specific cell resources and insures
that overload conditions do not occur. If overload conditions do occur, Congestion Control
will immediately restrict Admission Control from granting additional resources. In addition,
Congestion Control will attempt to resolve the congestion by either down switching, or
terminating existing users. Once the congestion is corrected, the congestion resolution
actions will cease, and Admission Control will be enabled.

What does the acronym UMTS stand for?

Universal Mobile Telephone System.
What is UMTS?
UMTS is one of the Third Generation (3G) mobile systems being developed within

the ITU's IMT-2000 framework. It is a realisation of a new generation of broadband

multi-media mobile telecommunications technology. The coverage area of service
provision is to be world wide in the form of FLMTS (Future Land Mobile
Telecommunications Services and now called IMT2000). The coverage will be
provided by a combination of cell sizes ranging from 'in building' Pico Cells to Global
Cells provided by satellite, giving service to the remote regions of the world. The
UMTS is not a replacement of 2nd generation technologies (e.g. GSM, DCS1800,
CDMA, DECT etc.), which will continue to evolve to their full potential.
What are the different types of 3G networks?
ITU Recommendation ITU-R M.1457 specifies five types of 3G radio interfaces:
IMT-2000 CDMA Direct Spread, also known as UTRA FDD including WCDMA in
Japan,ARIB / DoCoMo recommendation. UMTS is developed by 3GPP.
IMT-2000 CDMA Multi-carrier, also known as Cdma2000 (3X) developed by 3GPP2. IMT2000 CDMA2000 includes 1X components, like cdma2000 1X EV-DO.
IMT-2000 CDMA TDD, also known as UTRA TDD and TD-SCDMA. TD-SCDMA is
developed in China and supported by TD-SCDMA Forum
IMT-2000 TDMA Single Carrier, also known as UWC-136 (Edge) supported by UWCC
IMT-2000 DECT supported by DECT Forum.
For more information about 3G air interfaces, download ITU "What is IMT-2000"
presentation(2.5Mb!). Note that page 3 does not classify CDMA2000 1X as 3G, but page 6 does.
Some 2.5G systems (GSM GPRS, IS- 95B and CDMA2000 1X (?)) will be able to deliver 3G
services, so it will be difficult for users to see the difference.
What are the different types of 3G core networks?
The IMT-2000 family of 3G systems includes three types of Core Network technology:
GSM based (using Mobile Application Part (MAP) protocols on top of SS7 protocols for
signalling)
ANSI-41 based (IS-634 protocols for signalling)
Internet Protocol based (in future, to be specified)

What is the difference between cdma2000 and UMTS?

Cdma2000 and UMTS were developed separately and are 2 separate ITU approved 3G
standards. Cdma2000 1xRTT, cdma2000 1xEV-DO (EVolution, Data Only) and future cdma2000
3x were developed to be backward compatible with cdmaOne. Both 1x types have the same
bandwidth, chip rate and it can be used in any existing cdmaOne frequency band and network.
Backward compatibility was a requirement for successful deployment for USA market. It is easy
to implement because operators do not need new frequencies. [more about cdma2000]
UMTS was developed mainly for countries with GSM networks, because these countries have
agreed to free new frequency ranges for UMTS networks. Because it is a new technology and in
a new frequency band, whole new radio access network has to be build. The advantage is that
new frequency range gives plenty of new capacity for operators. 3GPP is overseeing the standard
development and has wisely kept the core network as close to GSM core network as possible.
UMTS phones are not meant to be backward compatible with GSM systems. (but subscriptions
(=SIM card) can be, and dual mode phone will solve the compatibility problems, hopefully).
UMTS also has 2 flavors FDD (will be implemented first) and TDD.
Some harmonisation has been done between systems (like chip rate and pilot issues)
What are 1G, 2G, 2.5G, 3G and 4G?
Technically generations are defined:
1G networks (NMT, C-Nets, AMPS, TACS) are considered to be the first analog cellular
systems, which started early 1980s. There were radio telephone systems even before that.
2G networks (GSM, cdmaOne, DAMPS) are the first digital cellular systems launched early
1990s.
2.5G networks (GPRS, cdma2000 1x) are the enhanced versions of 2G networks with data
rates up to about 144kbit/s.
3G networks (UMTS FDD and TDD, cdma2000 1x EVDO, cdma2000 3x, TD-SCDMA,
Arib WCDMA, EDGE, IMT-2000 DECT) are the latest cellular networks that have data rates
384kbit/s and more.
4G is mainly a marketing buzzword at the moment. Some basic 4G research is being done,
but no frequencies have been allocated. The Forth Generation could be ready for implementation
around 2012.
What have been the major milestones in 3G development and specification?
Here is a list of major 3G development milestones.

What are all the different international organisations doing?

European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is working in Europe to develop
technical standards for UMTS. 3rd-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a co-operation
between international standards bodies will make UMTS and third generation mobile telephony
technical specifications. The founding members are: ARIB and TTC of Japan, ETSI of Europe,
T1 (ANSI) of the U.S. and TTA of Korea. The work of these organisations will be announced
globally by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). ITU coordinate world-wide
spectrum and IMT2000 standardisation, harmonises regional regulatory policies and is a
foundation and framework for 3G convergence across regions and technologies. UMTS Forum
represents the opinions and views of the telecommunication industry and operators and GSM
Associates is a mobile operator organisation. European Radiocommunications Committee (ECR)
in European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administration (CEPT) handles
European radio frequency related issues. European Union (EU) harmonises its 15 members
UMTS implementation.
How is UMTS different from current second generation networks?
- Higher speech quality that current networks - Addition to speech traffic UMTS, together with
advanced data and information services, will be a multimedia network.
- UMTS is above 2G mobile systems for its potential to support 2Mbit/s data rates.
- UMTS is a real global system, comprising both terrestrial and satellite components.
- Consistent service environment even when roaming via "Virtual Home Environment" (VHE). A
person roaming from his network to other UMTS operators, user will experience a consistent set
of services thus "feeling" on his home network, independent of the location or access mode
(satellite or terrestrial)
Why is WCDMA called "Wideband"?
3G WCDMA systems have 5MHz bandwidth (one direction). 5MHz is neither wide nor narrow;
it is just the bandwidth. New 3G WCDMA systems have wider bandwidth than existing 2G cdma
systems (cdmaOne 1.25MHz), that's why the "Wide". There are commercial cdma systems with
20MHz bandwidth.
Are GSM/GPRS networks compatible with UMTS networks?
UMTS networks can be operated with GSM/GPRS networks. Systems use different frequency
bands, so BTSs and mobiles will (should) not interfere with each other. Some vendors claim their
core network (MSC/HLR/SGSN ect) and BSC/RNC are UMTS compatible, but most operators
will prefer to build a totally separate/independent UMTS network. Some of the latest GSM BTSs
can also have UMTS radio parts and share the same rack.
UMTS specification is design so that there is maximum compatibility between GSM and UMTS

systems. Late 2002 there will also be dual/multi band phones that can be used in GSM and
UMTS networks. Eventually phones will be able to do handovers between networks.
Is there a transition period between UMTS and the present system?
There will probably not be a "transition" period in that sense, because GSM systems will keep on
operating at least next ten years. (some old 1G networks are still running round the world). Only
limitations for operators are the GSM license terms and customer preferences. UMTS networks
will just be added to mobile landscape.
My GSM operator did not get a 3G license. What is going on?
Several GSM operators (like in UK, Sweden, Denmark and France) failed / did not want / missed
initially to get an UMTS license, but do not count them out yet. Existing operators have great
assets like customer base, image, retail network, BTS site locations, transmission system etc.,
which help them to make deals with 3G license holders. Hutchison 3G in UK and Telia with Tele
2 in Sweden are good examples.
What is the 3G status in the USA?
Some operators have taken the path cdmaOne - cdma2000 1x - cdma2000 1x EV-DO cdma2000 3x some D-AMPD - EDGE and some have chosen a GSM1900 - EDGE ( - possible
UMTS) route. New cellular frequencies allocations have been postponed, so operators will have
to use their existing frequencies, which naturally limits the available capacity. Read more about
the USA 3G situation.
What is the 3G status in the China?
China has been testing the TD-SCDMA 3G system. License allocation and possible adaptation of
other 3G technologies are still open. Read more about the China's 3G situation.
What is the "Beauty Contest" when 3G licenses are issued? ... and Why?
Beauty Contest means that the government asks all applicants to provide a plan how to build a
network and manage their future 3G business. A plan typically includes things like: How many
new jobs are created, what kind of services will be available and when, how much domestic
products are used, how will less developed areas (rural areas) benefit from this, what kind of
financial plan is in place to guarantee the success and avoid bankrupts etc. So government wants
to decide what is best for the country, not who is willing to pay most. (In USA and Australia
some highest bidding operators have gone bankrupt and government has to pay unemployment
etc payments and it is also embarrassing for the government).

By charging high license fee government imposes an indirect tax which mobile uses have to bear
by paying more for making calls. By giving "free" licenses government can create a good
environment for technology start up companies, because operator has more money to invest and
less up-front fees.
Which network vendors can build a turn key 3G network?
No network vendor can supply all equipment and components to the full a 3G network, but quite
a few can be a main contractor to build a turn-key 3G network. Normally network vendors can
bring in partners like service and applications providers, hand set manufactures, civil work and
acquisition companies etc.
Current short list of main vendors for turn-key UMTS networks:
Alcatel
Ericsson
Lucent
Motorola
Nokia
Nortel
Siemens/NEC
Current short list of main vendors for turn-key cdma2000 networks:
Ericsson
LG Electronics
Lucent
Motorola
Nortel
Samsung
Who much does 3G network cost to build?

Good source of information is to contract announcements and annual reports. Those usually tell
how much money an operator will spend on infrastructure. In every country each carrier has to
spend around same amount of money to build a same size 3G network, so if you see one of the
operator's spending figures, all other operators use similar sums of money per subscriber.
Sometimes spending figures include services (planning, logistics, commissioning, integration,
testing etc.), but almost never civil works on base station sites. Press reports claim that operators
in Europe have spend around 650 euro per 3G subscriber for infrastructure + planning services +
site civil works, this figure should drop to around 400 euros within couple of years.
Infrastructure cost are only small part of total network related cost and operators also have
license fees, financing fees, cost of running the organisation, sales and marketing costs etc.
[More]
I am doing a 3G report about XXX, where can I get even more info?
After you can have checked:
UMTS World web site
Where can I find additional reliable 3G information about ... ? answers
3GPP web site
Search Engines
You can try other information sources:
3G / GSM operators web sites, press releases, annual report (see how they spend their
money), CEOs comments etc.
National Office of Telecommunication (or other government organisation) information
services (or web pages)
Your company's offices round the world and especially competitive intelligent department
Your university's library or their contacts or even local library
Get books, seminar reports and visit other 3G related web sites
IEEE has VTS, that might help you to find technical documents.
Search UMTS Forum and ITU sites
If you still did not find, email: info@umtsworld.com after reading the Contract us page. No
guarantees, but we will try to help.

Tell me about UMTS / 3G electromagnetic radiation safety.

First thing is to get your hands on to the latest government EMR (electromagnetic radiation)
standard. Check you government web site. [Links]
Your government pages should have more information and contact information where to order a
booklet that gives guidelines at least of:
What is the safety zone round the mobile and transmission antennas.
How the combined radiation field values is calculated from different antennas on a same
rooftop.
Local guidelines how antenna should be placed.
Power levels of indoor antennas.
How all EMR calculations are done.
Local city councils might also have their own additional guidelines, check those.
Governments usually do not state exact values what is safe and what is not safe, for legal
reasons. EU countries normally issue "guidelines" that are bit tougher than EU standards. In
USA FDA has a clear statement: "Thus, the available science does not allow us to conclude that
mobile phones are absolutely safe, or that they are unsafe. However, the available scientific
evidence does not [emphasis FDA's] demonstrate any adverse health effects associated with the
use of mobile phones." See: FDA Mobile Phones page
In most countries operators are required by law to calculate these safety zones. Ask your mobile
operator if they can provide safety calculations.
According to recent news articles there have been over 700 studies related to EMR without a
final conclusion, so don't hold your breath to get a final answer in a near future. People always
forget that mobile antennas radiate about 40W power, but TV and radio towers use kilowatts of
power and even a hair drier generates a nice EMR field from 1000W like a kitchen microwave
oven.
WCDMA transmitter spread the 20-40W power over 5MHz, while GSM 40W transmitter uses
200kHz band, but GSM BTS need more radios to serve an area. Both systems use similar types
of antennas, so EMR levels are similar. Both BTSs normally use power control to minimize the
used power.
EMR Resources:
WHO

 WHO fact sheet

EMR Network
Report
FDA Mobile Phones page
FAQ
Another FAQ
FCC Guidelines
ARRL resources
CWTI resources
Example download site from Australia
Google Search

I want to buy a 3G / UMTS book. Which one should I buy?

See our book selection page. But before you buy, you should study a bit 3G / UMTS. Read our
technology section. Then download 3GPP specifications content page and select the first
specifications of each series like XX.001, XX.002 or XX.Y01, for example:
23.002 Network Architecture
25.401 UTRAN Overall Description
45.001 Physical Layer on the Radio Path (General Description)
Once you know the basics well enough, you can buy the book that has the right technical level
for you. You will also notice how some of the books have copied most of the content from the
3GPP specks. If you read a book from our list, please send us a 20-50 word opinion/description
of it, and will add that to the books page. If you find a 3G related book that is not on the list,
email: info@umtsworld.com.
Where can I find additional reliable 3G information about ... ?
Best thing is to read the 3G specifications. It is actually easier to read than you might think.
From 3GPP page http://www.3gpp.org/specs/titles-numbers.htm you can see specifications titles

and versions. For example if you want to know about USIM, following titles can be seen:
21.111 USIM and IC card requirements
22.038 USIM/SIM Application Toolkit (USAT/SAT); Service description; Stage 1
22.112 USIM toolkit interpreter; Stage 1
31.102 Characteristics of the USIM Application
31.111 USIM Application Toolkit (USAT)
31.121 UICC-terminal interface; USIM application test specification
31.122 USIM conformance test specification
31.900 SIM/USIM internal and external interworking aspects
You need to FTP them for example from ftp://ftp.3gpp.org/specs/latest/ . You can also type that
to IE5.0 or later or use FTP program. If you use IE5.0 select File - Copy to Folder from the top
menu to copy file so your computer.
Follow the folders and then for example:
ftp://ftp.3gpp.org/specs/latest/Rel-5/21_series/ has the latest 21.111 specifications. (Jun 2002)
The Second best thing is to search Google, but then again the Internet is full of misinformation.
Google Search

Search WWW

Search UMTS World

Where can I find details of UMTS call set up procedure?

Download 3GPP specification:
TS 25.331 Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification
TS 25.304 UE Procedures in Idle Mode and Procedures for Cell
Reselection in Connected Mode Those documents have all the details.
Click the thumbnail on the right for more detail
Tell me about WLAN and 3G interoperability.
Vendor as busy showing their WLAN-3G capabilities, roaming and network handovers are the
hot topics. Lucent Technologies announced demonstration of 3G high-speed mobile data and
voice capabilities, Nokia shows the WLAN implementation and British Telecom has
announcedthe WLAN hot spot implementation.

3GPP specs show two related docs:

22.234 (reserved for future WLAN I/w stage 1), not available yet and
22.934 Feasibility study on 3GPP system to Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)
interworking
You can download 22.934 from: ftp://ftp.3gpp.org/specs/Latest-drafts/
Earlier FAQ Answer gives you some help how to download those
Other place to look technical data is IEEE 802.11 Group and search for "3G" etc.
You can find documents like:
http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/11/Minutes/Cons_Minutes_Mar-2002.pdf
and search for 3G in that document and you see the current status.
WLAN Resources:
80211 Planet
Will the future 3G handsets be compatible with 2G systems and PCs?
Some of the 3G mobiles will be dualband UMTS/GSM handsets (available late 2002?) and will
be able to perform UMTS-GSM handovers. Current GSM phones will not work in 3G networks.
Several SIM card manufacturers now offer cards compatible with 2G and 3G
systems. Cellular3G, for example, will offer PCMCIA W-CDMA 3G-modem cards for PCs.
3G cdma2000 phones will be backward compatible and will work in cdmaOne
networks.Airprime, for example, offers CDMA2000 1xEV-DO PC cards for 3G networks.
How many Base Stations are needed for an UMTS network?
There are several factors:
- Required coverage areas according to a license agreement (link budget will determine the cell
spacing)
- Required capacity according to license agreement and initial customer and operator demands.
- Amount of frequencies carries have. (More frequencies, less interference, longer cell spacing)
- Ability to get BTS site locations. (Normally co-location requirements with used 2G sites)
- Financing available for network build.
- Economical factor to build sites.
- Design opinions and experience of companies and people bidding for the design job and
eventually implementing the plan.
- And probably in a long run the capacity, service, and coverage requirement from customers.
Rollout will be very similar to 2G network rollouts. First phase of rollouts in UK size market will

probably be 1000 base station in urban areas. Within 5 year about site count will increase to 5000
sites and eventually up to 10000 sites depending how successful the business is.
How to calculate a WCDMA link budget?
To calculate it you need to know:
- Type of service (data type and speed)
- Type of environment (terrain, building penetration)
- Behaviour and type of mobiles (speed, max power level)
- System configuration (BTS antennas, BTS power, cable losses, handover gain)
- Required coverage probability
Please see an example on Link Budget page
.
What are the UMTS frequencies and channel spacing?
1900-1920 and 2010-2025 MHz Time Division Duplex (TDD, TD/CDMA) Unpaired, channel
spacing is 5 MHz and raster is 200 kHz. Tx and Rx are not separated in frequency
1920-1980 and 2110-2170 MHz Frequency Division Duplex (FDD, W-CDMA) Paired uplink
and downlink, channel spacing is 5 MHz and raster is 200 kHz. An Operator needs 3 - 4 channels
(2x15 or 2x20 MHz) to be able to build a high-speed, high-capacity network.
1980-2010 and 2170-2200 MHz Satellite uplink and downlink
What are the UMTS air interface logical channels?
Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH)
Paging Control Channel (PCCH)
Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH)
Common Control Channel (CCCH)
Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH)
Common Traffic Channel (CTCH)
For complete listing of logical, transport and physical channels including directions and mapping
see UMTS Channels page
What are the UMTS data rates of the services?
2.048Mb/s for pico-cell (and micro-cell) applications.
384kb/s for medium size cells. (micro and small macro cells)
144kb/s and 64kb/s for large cell applications. (Large macro cells)
14.4kb/s for continuous low speed data applications in very large cells.
12.2kb/s for speech (4.75kb/s - 12.2kb/s)
9.6kb/s globally (satellite)

How does UMTS paging work?

First, get the latest 3GPP specifications 25-211, 25-304 and 25-331
Note:
PI = Paging Indicator (value calculated by higher layers)
Pq = Paging Indicator (indicator set by physical layer)
25-304 Chapter 8 shows how Paging Occasion and PI is calculated:
Paging Occasion = {(IMSI div K) mod (DRX cycle length div PBP)} * PBP + n * DRX cycle
length + Frame Offset Where n = 0,1,2 as long as SFN is below its maximum value.
PI = DRX Index mod Np

Where DRX Index = IMSI div 8192

'In FDD mode, Np = (18,36,72,144) is the number of Page Indicators per frame, and is given in IE "Number of PI
per frame", part of system information in FDD mode.'

25-211 (FDD) Chapter 5.3.3.10 shows how Pq is calculated for channel mapping, the structure of
paging indicator channel and the mapping of paging indicators Pq to PICH bits.
25-331 is also worth reading.
Which modulation scheme is being used in UMTS?
UMTS WCDMA modulation is Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) with Root-raised cosine
pulse shaping filters (roll off = 0.22)
Read more about UMTS technical details from our UMTS WCDMA page
Where can I find information about MAC and RLC protocols?
Download and read 3GPP documents about RLC/MAC, start with 25 series. Documents also
show message mapping to channels:
25.321 Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification
25.322 Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol specification
44.060 General Packet Radio Service (GPRS); Mobile Station (MS) - Base Station System
(BSS) interface; Radio Link Control/ Medium Access Control (RLC/MAC) protocol
Earlier FAQ Answer gives you some help how to download those

How is data compression done in UMTS?

Video and music compression will be done in application level. 3G phone (and network
application servers) will have programs (or you will be downloading them) that records and
displays video or music. Those programs have build-in data compression features. Good
examples are MP3 and other music programs. MP3 codec includes data compression and most
current music player understands it. For image and video there are several standards including
JPEG, MPEG-4, H.263, Microsoft media player etc. available.
From 3GPP 26.234 7.4 Video:
ITU-T Recommendation H.263 [22] profile 0 level 10 shall be supported. This is the mandatory
video decoder for the PSS. In addition, PSS should support:
- H.263 [23] Profile 3 Level 10 decoder;
- MPEG-4 Visual Simple Profile Level 0 decoder, [24] and [25].
These two video decoders are optional to implement.
NOTE: ITU-T Recommendation H.263 [22] baseline has been mandated to ensure that videoenabled PSS support a minimum baseline video capability and interoperability can be guaranteed
(an H.263 [22] baseline bit stream can be decoded by both H.263 [22] and MPEG-4 decoders). It
also provides a simple upgrade path for mandating more advanced decoders in the future (from
both the ITU-T and ISO MPEG).

Read more about video coding:

ftp://ftp.3gpp.org/specs/latest/Rel-4/26_series/26111-400.zip
ftp://ftp.3gpp.org/specs/latest/Rel-4/26_series/26911-400.zip
ftp://ftp.3gpp.org/specs/latest/Rel-4/26_series/26911-400.zip
ftp://ftp.3gpp.org/specs/latest/Rel-4/26_series/26233-400.zip
ftp://ftp.3gpp.org/specs/latest/Rel-4/26_series/26234-400.zip
Consider downloading the latest releases 5 (March2002) or release 6 (not yet frozen) files.

Is there any interface from UMTS core network to other mobile networks?
UMTS specifications do not have any special interface planned for other mobile networks, but
all telephone networks can be connected to UMTS core network with standard S7 (or other)
signalling system using E1s or T1s. Than enables voice calls to be made to all other telephone
networks. If other networks support additional services like "call forwarding", "calling line

identity", fax, slow-speed data ect, technically that is possible to implement this between
networks.
All telephone networks are designed to work with each other and UMTS networks will use
standard interfaces towards all other networks. S7 and IP (internet protocol) will be the most
commonly used interfaces standard, but all UMTS vendors can offer tens of different countryspecific interface protocols if required.

What will be a 3G Killer Application?

Most people have their own view what the 3G Killer Application(s) will be. Some say that there
will not be a single application, but a palette of services. Most likely there will not be only a
single application that becomes very popular and at the same time makes a lot of money to the
operator. Email, voice(!), messaging, music/video streaming are popular bets for money making
applications. If you look any reports about 3G services, m-commerce and location based services
are predicted to become very popular. Maybe the pricing will decide what will be a popular
service.
Old phrase is "The easiest way to predict the future is to invent it" will apply here. Operators and
application providers have an opportunity to create their own killer applications.

What are the UMTS Mobile Multimedia services?

UMTS Forum's Market Aspects Group has identified seven common lifestyle attributes for
mobile multimedia applications. Here is a list of possible type of services that will be available in
3G networks:
Fun: WWW, video, post card, snapshots, text, picture and multimedia messaging, datacast,
personalisation applications (ring tone, screen saver, desk top), jukebox, virtual companion /
pet ...
Work: Rich call with image and data stream, IP telephony, B2B ordering and logistics,
information exchange, personal information manager, dairy, scheduler, note pad, 2-way video
conferencing, directory services, travel assistance, work group, telepresence, FTP, instant
voicemail, colour fax ...
Media: Push newspaper and magazines, advertising, classified ...
Shopping: E-commerce, e-cash, e-wallet, credit card, telebanking, automatic transaction,
auction, micro-billing shopping ...
Entertainment: News, stock market, sports, games, lottery, gambling, music, video, concerts,
adult content ...

Education: Online libraries, search engines, remote attendance, field research ...
Peace of Mind: Remote surveillance, location tracking, emergency use ...
Health: Telemedicine, remote diagnose and heath monitoring ...
Automation: Home automation, traffic telematics, machine-machine communication (telemetry)
...
Travel: location sensitive information and guidance, e-tour, location awareness, time tables, eticketing ...
Add-on: TV, radio, PC, access to remote computer, MP3 player, camera, video camera, watch,
pager, GPS, remote control unit ...
More about 3G applications

Can UMTS mobile location be tracked?

The wideband nature of the UTRA/FDD facilitates the high resolution in position location. The
duration of one chip (3.84Mcps) correspond to approximately 78 meters in propagation distance.
If the delay estimation operates on the accuracy of samples/chip then the achievable maximum
accuracy is approximately 20 meters. There are other inaccuracies that will cause degradation to
the positioning but 20 meters can be considered as best possible positioning performance. UMTS
specifies that it will provide location information for mobiles to an accuracy of 50m. With GPS
assistance, maybe even 10 meter accuracy is possible.

When are the UMTS networks in service?

Japan and Korea has 3G services running and in December 2001 two UMTS networks have been
launched, but UMTS mobiles will arrive 3Q/2002. Quite a few UMTS networks will be launched
in early 2003 in Europe.
See the list all live UMTS networks

Will 2G / 2.5G phones be able to use all UMTS' applications?

GSM (or other 2G) phones will not be able to use all features, because of data speed, build in
memory and applications, display technology etc. Application providers and operators are very
unlikely to try to implement complex feature to GSM, money is going to UMTS services. GPRS
phone users will be able to use most of the UMTS services; probably only location based and
very high rate data services cannot be implemented. But all this it depends on if operators want
to implement those. All basic services like voice and messaging will flow between all systems.

Which level of UMTS standard will the network be launched in 2002?

All vendors have different software schedules and development status is a big secret. Now it
looks like top vendors will probably have 3GPP Release 4 (with July 2001 correction) level
software by the late 2002 launch date. (Some vendors were considering launching with '99
release in 2002)