Handling Handovers in W-CDMA

Handling Handovers in W-CDMA
The handover is a process by which the radio access network changes the radio transmitters, radio
access modes, or radio systems that are used to provide the bearer services to the UE, while
maintaining a defined QoS.
Handovers from one cell to another are required in several situations. The most common situation is
when the UE moves from one base station coverage area to another. The UE may move between
stations within the same radio system or into another system. The W-CDMA standard supports
handovers to any GSM or time division duplex (TDD) network frequency bands that meet the
specifications.
The multi-standard UE may change its frequency or radio access mode, during a handover to a
different cell. The UE may need a handover if its requested service level exceeds the current cell
capacity. If a target cell cannot support the combination of bearer services (voice, data, multimedia,
etc) that are provided by the current serving cell, some, or all, of the bearer services may be handed
over to another cell.
Within the W-CDMA system, handovers are "soft" in order to minimize the interference on
neighboring cells and to allow the use of identical carrier frequencies (intra-frequency handovers). In
a soft handover, the UE transmits and receives the same signal from both cells simultaneously to
make the transition as seamless as possible. Handovers are more complex when a multi-standard
UE moves between cells with different carrier frequencies or to a different network, such as GSM
("Inter-frequency Handovers"). Both types of handover are managed with an assist from the UE
mobile unit.
The multi-standard UE continuously monitors for the presence of cells with other frequencies and
radio access systems that it supports. When the network senses the need for a handover, the BTS
measures some system parameters and commands the UE to measure other parameters and report
the results. Key parameters include carrier frequency, system type, traffic volume and QoS levels.
Working in the Compressed Mode
When a handover is needed, the BTS directs the UE to operate in a compressed mode. The
compressed mode is a method of turning off transmissions for a portion of the 10-ms frame to create
gaps that allow time for the UE and BTS to make a prescribed set of measurements. Compressedmode operation can be achieved by decreasing the spreading factor, removing bits from the data
("puncturing"), or using higher level scheduling to allocate fewer timeslots for user traffic.
In compressed frames, the transmission gap slots are not used for data transmission and the
instantaneous transmit power is increased in those slots to maintain quality (BER, FER, etc.) during
the periods of reduced processing gain (Figure 1). The value of power increment depends on the
transmission time reduction method.
Figure 1: Example of compressed mode transmission (3GPP TS25.215 V3.11.0). 1

Compressed frames can be set to occur periodically (as in Figure 2 below) or on demand. The rate
and type of compressed frames is variable and depends on the environment and the measurement
requirements.
Separate compressed mode signals must be defined for uplink and downlink paths as well as for
each mode, radio access technology and frequency band supported by the UE. In typical
applications, uplink data rates in compressed mode are set by higher protocol layers to twice the
normal rate, downlink data rates to twice, or more.
Figure 2 shows examples of a compressed-mode frame structure for uplink operations. Figure 3
illustrates two types of downlink frame structures that differ in the location of the TPC bits. Type A
would be used to provide the maximum transmission gap for measurements; Type B optimizes
power.
Figure 2: Example of a compressed mode frame structure for an uplink (3GPP TS25.212 V3.10.0)
Figure 3: Two examples of compressed mode frame structures for downlink (3GPP TS25.212
V3.10.0) 1
In the compressed mode, a transmission gap pattern sequence is requested by higher-layer BTS
protocols and the parameters are passed along to the UE by the BTS. The UE conducts only one set
of measurements for each transmission gap pattern sequence.Figure 4 illustrates a compressedmode sequence of alternating transmission gap patterns while Table 1 lists the parameters that are
used to define the sequence.
Figure 4: Example of a compressed mode transmission gap pattern (3GPP TS25.215 V3.11.0)
The First Two Measurement Dimensions

The UE and BTS measure the Layer 1 protocol to determine and report the status of intra-frequency,
inter-frequency, inter-system handovers, traffic volume, and QoS levels. First, the BTS transmits a
"measurement control message" to the UE including the measurement ID and type of measurement
to initiate.
When the reporting is complete, the UE sends a "measurement reporting message" to the BTS with
the measurement ID and the results. The measurement control message is broadcast in idle mode
within the system Information. When the UE monitors cells at other frequencies, modes, and radio
access technologies, the BTS must direct the specific measurement needed to fulfill the requested
handover. In W-CDMA, the Layer 1 measurements are reported to higher layers of the protocol. In
GSM, the measurements are reported only to the GSM terminal.
Table 2 lists some of the measurements made by the UE and the BTS during compressed mode.
Error conditions that arise during compressed mode measurements and handovers can be brief and
unpredictable. To be certain of catching these intermittent problems, power levels, frequency and
modulation information must be monitored before, during and after they occur. Data must be
captured seamlessly in order to preserve the signal characteristics and reveal the error sources. In
depth analysis of error conditions often requires the correlation of signal states in the frequency,
time, modulation, and code domains.
The real-time spectrum analyzer employs advanced digital signal processing technology to acquire
long seamless records of complex signals and display analysis results without the need for external
data processing. For example, the analyzer can be set to acquire a full 10 seconds of signal in a 5
MHz span and analyze the results in multiple display formats. Time and frequency data are recorded
simultaneously, revealing even brief, intermittent changes and when they occurred within the long
records.
The Third Dimension
To compliment the time and frequency measurements, designers can start analyzing the
performance of W-CDMA handoffs in the code domain. To do this, designers should turn to
spectogram and codogram measurements.
A spectrogram provides a display of frequency vs. time vs. power density. This measurements
shows how well the UE performed at different frequencies during handovers. In the spectogram
shown in Figure 5, the vertical axis represents time and the horizontal axis represents frequency
while the colors represent frequency and power density.
Figure 5: Diagram of a typical spectogram measurements.

The codogram is a 3D display of the orthogonal variable spreading factor (OVSF) or channelization
code vs. time slot vs. code power. In the codogram shown in Figure 6, the vertical axis is the time
slot and the horizontal axis is OVSF while code power is represented by color.
Figure 6: Diagram of a typical codogram measurement.

With spectrogram and codogram measurements, more data is captured and no data is missed. Each
measurement shows a seamless history of information.
Wrap Up
The compressed mode handover performance of W-CDMA radio system UE and BTS transceivers
and networks is complex and should be evaluated simultaneously in the frequency, time, modulation
and code domains. The real-time spectrum analyzer can capture intermittent signals in long
seamless records and provide measurement results that are correlated in multiple domains.
Powerful 3D displays provide clear insight into the system quality and/or potential sources of errors.
References
1. 3GPP TS25.212 V3.11.0 Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network Multiplexing
and Channel Coding (FDD) (Release 1999).
2. 3GPP TS25.215 V3.10.0 Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Physical
layerMeasurements (FDD) (Release 1999) .

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Figure 1: Example of compressed mode transmission (3GPP TS25.215 V3.11.0). 1

The First Two Measurement Dimensions

Figure 5: Diagram of a typical spectogram measurements.

Figure 6: Diagram of a typical codogram measurement.

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