Overview

Course name: Fundamentals of 3G – Basics of WCDMA for UMTS

Duration: 1 Day

Requirements: Fundamentals of wireless communication.

Overview: The evolution of cellular technologies from offering only voice services to enabling mobile data services took a major milestone after the introduction of Third Generation (3G) networks. The purpose of the course is the address the fundamentals of new technogies and system changes that were introduced in Universal Mobile Technology Technology System (UMTS) or 3G networks.

Objective: After the course the trainees will have general level understanding on first releases of 3G systems including WCDMA radio access technology and UMTS/UTRAN architecture and functionalities.

Schedule and content

(excluding coffee and lunch breaks)

INTRODUCTION

Warm-up and goals of the course (15 mins)
Trainer, company and trainee introduction, discussions related to constraints, challenges and how those could be addressed. Contents and objectives for the course.

WCDMA technology overview (20 mins)
Principles of the technique, background (evolution path), frequency allocations

Standardization (10 mins)

Market and technology situation (10 mins)
Amount subscribers, commercial networks, operators, download times with different techniques, market share.

ARCHITECTURE

Network elements (30-45 mins)
Overall descriptions of the functionalities for user devices, base stations (NodeB), Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) and Core Network (CN).

Protocols & Layers (20-30 mins)
Control plane, User plane, PHY, MAC, RLC, RRC.

Channels (1 hour)
Channel types (logical, transport, physical) and their purposes.

INTERACTIONS

UE-NodeB interface – related actions and responsibilities (1,5 hours)
(W)CDMA principles, codes, spreading, scrambling, processing gain. Power control: closed loop, open loop, inner loop, outer loop. Measurements: RSCP, RSSI, Ec/No.

NodeB-RNC interface – related actions and responsibilities (45 mins)
Mobility: handover modes (soft, softer, hard), handover types (intra-site, inter-site, inter-RAT compressed mode). Radio Resource Management (RRM): Scheduling, admission control, load control, handover control.

RNC-RNC interface – related actions and responsibilities (10 mins)
Serving-RNC versus Drift-RNC (mobility management, data flow management)

WRAP UP

Practical performance (15 mins)
Coverage areas, penetration levels, data rates, VoIP performance

Recap (10-15 mins)
Architecture (elements, layers), (W)CDMA principle, power control, mobility

Future (5 mins)
Technology roadmap

Feedback (10 mins)