03 - LTE Dimensioning Guidelines - Indoor Link Budget - FDD - Ed1.1 - Internal

INTERNAL
LTE Dimensioning Guidelines Indoor Link

Budget
July 2010

< LTE DIMENSIONING GUIDELINES INDOOR LINK BUDGET> <JUL.2010>

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary
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Copyright 2010 by Alcatel-Lucent. All Rights Reserved.
About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) provides solutions that enable service
providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, to deliver voice, data and video
communication services to end-users. As a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband
networking, IP technologies, applications, and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-
end solutions that enable compelling communications services for people at home, at work
and on the move. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet.
Notice
The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. At the
time of publication, it reflects the latest information on Alcatel-Lucents offer, however,
our policy of continuing development may result in improvement or change to the
specifications described.
Trademarks
Alcatel, Lucent Technologies, Alcatel-Lucent and the Alcatel-Lucent logo are trademarks of
Alcatel-Lucent. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Alcatel-
Lucent assumes no responsibility for inaccuracies contained herein.

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History
Changes Date Author
Ed 1.0 1
st
Release (based on LTE Dimensioning Guidelines
Outdoor Link Budget - Ed2.6)
Apr 2010 Keith Butterworth
Ed 1.1 Updated to align with LTE Dimensioning Guidelines -
Outdoor Link Budget - Ed2.7
July 2010 Keith Butterworth

Reviewed by ARFCC (Advanced RF Competence Centre)

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CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 8
2 UPLINK LINK BUDGET........................................................................................... 10
2.1 UPLINK LINK BUDGET PARAMETERS ...............................................................................11
2.1.1 UE Characteristics ...................................................................................12
2.1.2 Indoor Distribution Solutions.......................................................................12
2.1.3 eNode-B Receiver Sensitivity.......................................................................13
2.1.4 Noise Figure...........................................................................................13
2.1.5 SINR Performances ...................................................................................13
2.1.5.1 Multipath Channel........................................................................................ 13
2.1.5.2 Number Resource Blocks & Modulation & Coding Scheme.......................................... 14
2.1.5.3 Hybrid Automatic Repeat request (HARQ)............................................................ 15
2.1.5.4 Selection of Optimal MCS Index & N
RB
................................................................. 16
2.1.5.5 Typical SINR Performances .............................................................................. 19
2.1.6 Handling of VoIP on the Uplink ....................................................................20
2.1.6.1 VoIP and TTI Bundling.................................................................................... 21
2.1.6.2 VoIP and RLC Segmentation............................................................................. 21
2.1.7 Uplink Explicit Diversity Gains.....................................................................22
2.1.8 Interference Margin .................................................................................23
2.1.9 Shadowing Margin....................................................................................25
2.1.10 Handoff Gain / Best Server Selection Gain ......................................................26
2.1.11 Frequency Selective Scheduling (FSS) Gain ......................................................28
2.1.12 Macro Diversity Gain ................................................................................29
2.2 FINAL MAPL AND CELL RANGE...................................................................................30
2.2.1 Propagation Model ...................................................................................30
2.3 UPLINK BUDGET EXAMPLE ........................................................................................31
2.4 UPLINK COMMON CONTROL CHANNEL CONSIDERATIONS ...........................................................32
2.4.1 Attach Procedure ....................................................................................32
3 DOWNLINK LINK BUDGET ...................................................................................... 35
3.1 DOWNLINK BUDGET PARAMETERS.................................................................................36
3.1.1 SINR.....................................................................................................36
3.1.2 RSRQ....................................................................................................38
3.1.3 Geometry..............................................................................................39
3.1.4 Downlink SINR Performances .......................................................................42
3.1.4.1 Multipath Channel........................................................................................ 43
3.1.4.2 Number Resource Blocks & Modulation & Coding Scheme.......................................... 43
3.1.4.3 Hybrid Automatic Repeat request (HARQ)............................................................ 43
3.1.4.4 Selection of the Optimal MCS Index ................................................................... 44
3.1.4.5 Downlink Explicit Diversity Gains ...................................................................... 45
3.1.4.6 Spatial Multiplexing / MIMO Gain...................................................................... 46
3.1.5 Resource Element Distribution ....................................................................47
3.1.6 Energy Per Resource Element (EPRE) .............................................................48
3.1.7 Shadowing Margin & Handoff Gain................................................................49
3.2 DOWNLINK BUDGET EXAMPLE.....................................................................................50
4 SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 52


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this series of dimensioning guidelines is to describe details of Alcatel-
Lucents dimensioning rules for the LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) air interface and
eNode-B modem hardware.
A first step of the network design process consists of determining the number of sites
required and deployment feasibility according to the following information:
Site density of any legacy network deployments,
Frequency band(s) used by the legacy system(s), if applicable
Frequency band(s) used by the LTE system,
Bandwidth available for LTE (1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 20 MHz),
Requirements in terms of LTE data rates at cell edge (e.g. uplink data edge to be
guaranteed, best effort data, VoIP coverage requirements, etc.).
This initial number of sites is then typically refined by means of a Radio Network Planning
(RNP) study, taking into account site locations, accurate terrain databases and calibrated
propagation models. The figure below illustrates key inputs and outputs of the Alcatel-
Lucent eNode-B dimensioning process:
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Coverage Inputs
Area to be covered
Targeted service at cell edge
Indoor penetration level
Traffic Inputs
Number of subscribers
Traffic profile per subscriber
Network Information
Incumbent network info
LTE Frequency
LTE Maximum bandwidth
eNodeB Configuration
LTE Bandwidth
MIMO Scheme, Output Power
Coverage Outputs
Cell Range
Legacy Site Reuse
Number of Sites
+ Traffic Inputs
Link Budget
RF Planning
Air Interface
Capacity
Analysis
Traffic Model
Modem
Dimensioning
Traffic Model
Modem
Dimensioning
Optional Requirements
Peak Throughput per Site
eNodeB configuration
Number of modems
Modem configuration
- No. connection tokens
- UL & DL Throughput tokens
Coverage Inputs
Area to be covered
Traffic Inputs
Number of subscribers
Traffic profile per subscriber
Network Information
LTE Frequency
eNodeB Configuration
LTE Bandwidth
MIMO Scheme, Output Power
Coverage Outputs
Cell Range
Legacy Site Reuse
Number of Sites
+ Traffic Inputs
Link Budget
RF Planning
Air Interface
Capacity
Analysis
Traffic Model
Modem
Dimensioning
Traffic Model
Modem
Dimensioning
eNodeB configuration
Number of modems
Modem configuration
- No. connection tokens
- UL & DL Throughput tokens
Optional Requirements
Peak Throughput per Site

Figure 1: Alcatel-Lucent Dimensioning Process
As implied in the figure, Alcatel-Lucents process relies on advanced dimensioning rules for
Link Budget Analysis, Air Interface Capacity Analysis, eNode-B Modem Dimensioning, and
Multi-service traffic modeling. The dimensioning process takes into account product
release functionalities and will be updated regularly to follow product evolutions.
As background to further discussion of this process, a qualitative overview of dimensioning
challenges regarding the FDD radio interface and multi-service traffic mix is provided.

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Internal: These rules are implemented in the dedicated LTE tools used by Network
Designers: Alcatel-Lucent LTE Link Budget for link budget analysis, 9955 and ACCO for
radio network planning studies and LTE eNode-B Dimensioning Tool for air interface
capacity and modem dimensioning.

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References
[1] Jakes W.C., Microwave Mobile Communications, IEEE Press, 1994
[2] K.M Rege, S. Nanda, C.F. Weaver, W.C. Peng, Analysis of Fade Margins for Soft
and Hard Handoffs, PIMRC, 1996
[3] K.M Rege, S. Nanda, C.F. Weaver, W.C. Peng, Fade margins for soft and hard
handoffs, Wireless Networks 2, 1996


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1 INTRODUCTION
This document forms one part of a series of network dimensioning guidelines, as detailed in
Table 1.
Table 1: Design Topics Covered in the LTE Dimensioning Guidelines Package
Design Topic Document
Deployment Strategy LTE Dimensioning Guidelines - Deployment Strategy
Radio Features LTE Dimensioning Guidelines Radio Features
Outdoor Link Budget LTE Dimensioning Guidelines Outdoor Link Budget
Indoor Link Budget LTE Dimensioning Guidelines Indoor Link Budget
Peak Throughput LTE Dimensioning Guidelines Peak Throughput
Radio Network Planning LTE Dimensioning Guidelines RNP
Air Interface Capacity LTE Dimensioning Guidelines Air Interface Capacity
eNode-B Dimensioning LTE Dimensioning Guidelines Modem
Token & Licensing Dimensioning LTE Dimensioning Guidelines Token & Licensing
S1/X2 Dimensioning LTE Dimensioning Guidelines S1 & X2
Frequency Reuse Considerations LTE Dimensioning Guidelines Frequency Reuse
Diversity & MIMO LTE Dimensioning Guidelines Diversity & MIMO
Traffic Power Control LTE Dimensioning Guidelines Power Control
Traffic Aggregation Modeling LTE Dimensioning Guidelines Traffic Aggregation Modeling

The purpose of this document is to detail the formulation of Alcatel-Lucents LTE link
budget for dedicated indoor deployments.
Link budgets are used by Alcatel-Lucent primarily to derive the expected LTE performances
at cell edge on the uplink and compare them with legacy systems in the case of an overlay
of an existing network. This enables the estimation of the viability of reusing existing
distributed antenna systems (additional constraints such as space for hardware
deployment, etc, have to be considered on top of this) and/or the required number of
radiating points for a Greenfield deployment.
Figure 2 illustrates the main inputs and outputs for an LTE link budget coverage analysis.

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Coverage Inputs
Area to be covered
Network Information
LTE Frequency
Coverage Outputs
Cell Range
Legacy Site Reuse
Number of Sites
Link Budget
RF Planning

Figure 2: Link Budget Coverage Analysis Inputs/Outputs
Key factors influencing the link budget analysis include the frequency band for LTE
operation, the cell edge performance requirements.

2 UPLINK LINK BUDGET
On the uplink, a cell is generally dimensioned by its coverage, the maximum cell range at
which a mobile station is received with enough quality by the base station.
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cel l r adi us
MAPL
Requi r ed
Recei ved Si gnal
Max UE
tr ansmi t Power

Figure 3: Uplink Link Budget Concept
The signal threshold at which a signal is received with enough quality is called the eNode-B
receive sensitivity. This sensitivity figure will depend upon the:
Data rate targeted at cell edge,
Target quality / HARQ operating point (such as Block Error Rate (BLER), maximum
number of retransmissions),
Radio environment conditions (multipath channel, mobile speed),
eNode-B receiver characteristics (Noise Figure).
As for 2G and 3G systems, the uplink link budget involves the calculation of the Maximum
Allowable Propagation Loss (or Pathloss), denoted as the MAPL, that can be sustained over
the link between a mobile at cell edge and the eNode-B, while meeting the required
sensitivity level at the eNode-B. As for 2G/3G systems, the uplink link budget calculations
consider all the relevant gains and losses encountered on the link between the mobile and
the eNode-B.
The uplink link budget is formulated such that one service (UL_Guar_Serv) is targeted at
the cell edge, while for more limiting service rates, link budgets are formulated under the
assumption they are not guaranteed at cell edge but at a reduced coverage footprint, as is
illustrated in Figure 4).

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Range
UL_Guar_Serv
128kbps
256kbps
512kbps
UL Rates

Figure 4: Rationale behind the Uplink LKB Formulation
2.1 Uplink Link Budget Parameters
The power, C
j(UL)
, received at the eNode-B from a mobile (UE) located at cell edge
transmitting with its maximal power, P
MaxTX_PUSCH
, is given by:
( ) ( )
( )
dB dB dB
dB dB dB dB dBm
sity MacroDiver Rx Rx
Body ) Service(UL n Propagatio Tx Tx H MaxTX_PUSC
dBm
j(UL)
Gain Loss Gain
Loss R Losses Loss Gain P C
+ +
+ =
MaxTX
P

where

dBm
PUSCH _
is the maximum transmit power of the UE (see section 2.1.1),
Gain
Tx
and Loss
Tx
, the gains and losses at the transmitter side such as UE antenna
gain,
Gain
Rx
and Loss
Rx
represent the gains and losses at the receiver side such as the
eNode-B antenna gain and the feeder losses between the eNode-B and the antenna,
Loss
Body
is the body losses induced by the user, typically 3dB body losses are
considered for voice services and 0 dB for data services (handset position is far
from the head when using data services),
Gain
MacroDiversity
is the gain considered for solutions that are comprised of multiple
distributed antennas connected to the same sector, i.e. this is a combining gain
(see Section 2.1.12),
For the assumed indoor propagation model (see section 2.2.1), the propagation
losses can be expressed according to the cell range, Losses
Propagation
:
) .log(R K K Losses
) Service(UL 2 1 n Propagatio
dB
+ = .
To ensure reliable coverage, the received power at the eNode-B should be higher than the
eNode-B receiver sensitivity:
dB dB dB dB dBm
FSS HO Shadowing IoT dBm j(UL)
Gain Gain Margin Margin y Sensitivit C + + >
where
Margin
Shadowing
is a margin that compensates for the slow variability in mean path
loss about that predicted using the indoor propagation model (see section 2.1.9)
Gain
HO
is a handoff gain or best server selection gain that models the benefits due
to the ability to reselect to the best available serving site at any given location (see
section 2.1.10)

Gain
FSS
is a frequency selective scheduling gain that is due to the ability of the
scheduler to select best frequency blocks per UE depending on their channel
conditions
For each service to be offered by the operator, this relationship allows computation of the
maximum propagation losses that can be afforded by a mobile located at the cell edge,
that is to say the Maximum Allowable Path Loss (MAPL):
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dB dB dB
dB dB
dB dB dB dB dB dBm
sity MacroDiver FSS HO
Shadowing IoT dBm
Body Rx Rx Tx Tx H MaxTX_PUSC
dB
j(UL)
Gain Gain Gain
Margin Margin y Sensitivit
Loss oss L Gain oss L Gain P MAPL
+ + +

= + +

2.1.1 UE Characteristics
The maximum transmit power of an LTE UE, P
MaxTX_PUSCH
, depends on the power class of the
UE. Currently, only one power class is defined in 3GPP TS 36.101:
a 23dBm output power is considered with a 0 dBi antenna gain.
Internal: This is the case in the TS 36.101 version of March 2010. Only one class defined
(Class 3) with 23dBm output power (with 2dB tolerance, but we should not account for
such a tolerance to define the UE output power).
2.1.2 Indoor Distribution Solutions
There is a wide range of possible solutions for deploying dedicated indoor coverage to a
particular indoor environment, these include:
Passive: Solutions where a relatively high power eNode-B is used to drive a passive
distribution network of coaxial cable, splitters, couplers and antennas.
Hybrid: Solutions that are a cross between Passive and Active solutions where
remote radio heads are used to drive small passive distributed antenna systems
Active: Solutions where a low power eNode-B is used to drive a filly active
distribution network consisting of, for example, optical fiber fed remote radio
modules that are directly connected to antennas.
Distributed: Solutions that are comprised of multiple low power eNode-Bs that are
distributed across the coverage area, for example, Pico eNode-Bs, Femto eNode-
Bs, etc.
The key factors associated with the above solutions that impact the LTE indoor link budget
are as follows:
Table 2: Key Link Budget Factors Influenced by Indoor Solution Type
Passive Hybrid Active Distributed
Feeder Losses High Low Negligible Negligible
eNode-B Noise Figure No Impact Negligible Moderate Moderate
Downlink Output Power High Power Medium Power Low Power Low Power
SINR Performances No Impact No Impact No Impact Minimal Impact


2.1.3 eNode-B Receiver Sensitivity
The sensitivity level can be derived from SINR figures calculated or measured for some
given radio channel conditions (multipath channel, mobile speed) and quality target (e.g.
10
-2
BLER):
( )
RB RB(UL) th eNode_B 10 PUSCH_dB dBm
.W .N .N F Log 10 SINR y Sensitivit + =
where:
SINR
PUSCH_dB
is the signal to interference ratio per Resource Block, required to reach
a given PUSCH data rate and quality of service,
F
eNode-B
.N
th
.N
RB(UL)
.W
RB
is the total thermal noise level seen at the eNode-B receiver
within the required bandwidth to reach the given data rate, where:
F
eNode-B
is the noise figure of the eNode-B receiver after accounting for any impact
due to an active distributed antenna system (using Friss formula, see section 2.1.4),
N
th
is the thermal noise density (-174dBm/Hz),
N
RB(UL)
is the number of resource blocks (RB) required to reach a given data rate it
can be deduced from link level simulations selecting the best combination (e.g. the
one that requires lowest SNR or lowest number of RB to maximize the capacity),
W
RB
is the bandwidth used by one LTE Resource Block. One Resource Block is
composed of 12 subcarriers, each of a 15kHz bandwidth so W
RB
is equal to 180kHz.
2.1.4 Noise Figure
The Noise Figure of the eNode-B is supplier dependent. Typical Noise Figures of an eNode-B
range from 2.5 to 3dB, depending upon the product variant.
If an active distribution solution (see Section 2.1.2) is used for an indoor deployment then
the effective noise figure of the distribution solution plus the eNode-B must be computed.
As with any active element inserted in the reception chain of an eNode-B, the impact of
active elements on the link budget can be assessed by means of the Friis formula.
Module _ Active
B eNode
Module _ Active overall
g
1 n
n n

+ =

with
10
NF
element
element
10 n = and
10
G
element
element
10 g = ,
The typical active elements characteristics, NF
Active_element
and G
Active_Element
are dependent
upon the specific active distribution solution that is deployed.
2.1.5 SINR Performances
The SINR figures are derived from link level simulations or better from equipment
measurements (lab or on-field measurements). They depend on the eNode-B equipment
performance, radio conditions (multipath fading profile, mobile speed), receive diversity
configuration for the indoor solution (see section 2.1.2, 1 branch for most distributed
antenna systems, 2 branch for distributed solutions and exceptionally 4 branches), targeted
data rate and quality of service.
2.1.5.1 Multipath Channel
For link budget analysis, the most typical UE speed and multipath profiles are considered
according to the type of environment (e.g. dense urban, rural, etc).
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In terms of multipath channel, the indoor environment is considered to be well
approximated by the ITU Vehicular multipath profile, with mobiles moving at 3km/h for
indoor environments.
Choosing one multipath channel for a given environment is a modeling assumption. In
reality, in a cell, various multipath conditions exist. A better representation would be to
consider a mix of multipath channel models (even though there is no one unique mix to
represent a typical indoor environment that has been agreed across the radio community).
However for a coverage assessment, the worst case model should be considered. The ITU
VehA multipath channel model (2 equivalent main paths) is correspondingly a good
compromise for a reasonable, worse case, link budget analysis.
For LTE some evolved multipath channel models have been defined such as EVA5Hz or
EPA5Hz. These are an extension of the VehA and PedA models used in UMTS to make them
more suitable for the wider bandwidths encountered with LTE, e.g. >5MHz. Main difference
lies in the definition of a doppler frequency instead of a speed, making the model useable
for different frequency bands. All SINR performances used in Alcatel-Lucent indoor link
budgets are for EVehA3 channel models.
For the purposes of the link budget the underlying assumption is that the UE is at the cell
edge and the main driver is to maximize the coverage.
2.1.5.2 Number Resource Blocks & Modulation & Coding Scheme
For a given target data rate the required target SINR depends upon (see Figure 5 for some
definitions of the LTE channel structure):
Number Resource Blocks, N
RB

Modulation & Coding Scheme Index (MCS)
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t
f
one
OFDM
symbol
one Subcarrier
subframe
Physical Resource Block (RB)
= 14 OFDM Symbols x 12
Subcarrier
This is the minimum unit of
allocation in LTE
15 kHz
RB
Slot (0.5 ms)
Subframe (1 ms)
Slot (0.5 ms)

Figure 5: LTE Channel Structure - Some Definitions
The Modulation & Coding Scheme Index (MCS) determines the Modulation Order which in
turn determines the Transport Block Size (TBS) Index to be used (see Table 3).

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Table 3: Extract from the Modulation and TBS index table for PUSCH (from 36.213)
MCS Index, I
MCS
Modulation Order, Q
M
TBS Index, I
TBS

0 QPSK 0
1 QPSK 1
2 QPSK 2
3 QPSK 3

For a given MCS Index the Transport Block Size (TBS) is given by Table 4 for different
numbers of resource blocks
Table 4: Extract from the Transport Block size table (from 36.213)
I
TBS
N
RB
= 1 N
RB
= 2 N
RB
= 3 N
RB
= 4 N
RB
=
0 16 32 56 88
1 24 56 88 144
2 32 72 144 176
3 40 104 176 208
4 56 120 208 256
5 72 144 224 328
6 328 176 256 392

For example, for an MCS Index = 2 and N
RB
= 3 the corresponding TBS = 144 bits.
2.1.5.3 Hybrid Automatic Repeat request (HARQ)
A key characteristic of the LTE air interface is the utilization of HARQ, a combination of
ARQ and channel coding which provides greater robustness against fast fading; these
schemes include incremental redundancy, whereby the code rate is progressively reduced
by transmitting additional parity information with each retransmission.
In LTE, asynchronous adaptive HARQ is used for the downlink, and synchronous HARQ for
the uplink. In the uplink, the retransmissions may be either adaptive or non-adaptive,
depending on whether new signaling of the transmission attributes is provided.
In an adaptive HARQ scheme, transmission attributes such as the modulation and coding
scheme, and transmission resource allocation in the frequency domain, can be changed at
each retransmission in response to variations in the radio channel conditions. In a non-
adaptive HARQ scheme, the retransmissions are performed without explicit signaling of new
transmission attributes either by using the same transmission attributes as those of the
previous transmission, or by changing the attributes according to a predefined rule.
Accordingly, adaptive schemes bring more scheduling gain at the expense of increased
signaling overheads.
There are multiple HARQ operating points that can be utilized for an LTE system:
Either, a lower initial BLER with a correspondingly fewer overall number of HARQ
transmissions, resulting in a higher SINR requirement with reduced latency and
better spectral efficiency (e.g. 10% iBLER target for the 1st HARQ transmission)

Or, a higher initial BLER with a correspondingly greater overall number of HARQ
transmissions resulting in a lower SINR requirement with an increased latency and
poorer spectral efficiency (e.g. 1% pBLER target after up to 4 HARQ transmissions
iBLER ~50-70%).
The former operating point is currently recommended by Alcatel-Lucent, this corresponds
to a 10% iBLER target for the 1st HARQ transmission.
Internal: Ideally the later operating point is considered at cell edge locations (for which we
perform the link budget) where the objective is to tradeoff spectral efficiency and latency
for an improved SINR and receiver sensitivity. Whereas in locations that are not link budget
constrained, e.g. closer to the eNode-B, the former HARQ operating point is more
appropriate. The current Alcatel-Lucent implementation considers only a 10% iBLER,
eventually a different operating point is likely to be supported, maybe even a dynamic
operating point.
2.1.5.4 Selection of Optimal MCS Index & N
RB

For each targeted uplink data rate there will be an optimal combination of N
RB
and MCS
Index that will maximize the receiver sensitivity for the relevant HARQ operating point.
Figure 6 provides an example of the selection of the optimal MCS and number of RB, N
RB
,
for a given target effective data rate. This plot illustrates for the full range of possible MCS
indices the corresponding required N
RB
and the resultant eNode-B receiver sensitivity.
-120.0 dBm
-115.0 dBm
-110.0 dBm
-105.0 dBm
-100.0 dBm
-95.0 dBm
-90.0 dBm
MCS 0 MCS 5 MCS 10 MCS 15 MCS 20 MCS 25 MCS 30
o
d
e
-
B

R
x

S
e
n
s
i
t
i
v
i
t
y
1 RB
2 RB
3 RB
4 RB
5 RB
6 RB
7 RB
R
e
q
u
i
r
e
d

#

R
B

f
o
r

S
e
r
v
i
c
e
MCS 2 provides the optimal
tradeoff between Rx. Sens
and N
RB
required
e
N

Figure 6: Selection of Optimal MCS and N
RB
for a target rate of 128kbps with 10% iBLER,
EVehA3
From Figure 6 it can be seen that MCS 2 with 3 RBs is optimal, as this provides the best
receiver sensitivity while minimizing utilization of RBs. Table 5 provides a comparison
between the 10% iBLER operating point performance with that for a 1% pBLER operating
point, for the same 128kbps target effective data rate:
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Table 5: Example of Different HARQ Operating Points (128kbps)

1% pBLER
(high initial BLER)
10% iBLER
(low initial BLER)
MCS Index MCS 8 MCS 2
N
RB
3 RB 3 RB
TBS Size 392 bits 144 bits
Effective Coding Rate 0.556 0.242
Average #HARQ Transmissions 3.06 1.13
Post HARQ Throughput 128 kbps 128 kbps
Required SINR -3.0 dB -0.3 dB
Receiver Sensitivity -117.2 dBm -114.5 dBm

Note: The 1% pBLER HARQ operating point (1% BLER after 4 HARQ Tx) corresponds to an
iBLER (BLER for the 1
st
HARQ transmission) much greater than 10%.
It can be seen from the example summarized in Table 5, that the same required data rate
can be achieved with different combinations of N
RB
, MCS Index and number of HARQ
transmissions. The receiver sensitivity comparison below highlights the different coverage
for the same targeted data rate due to the different HARQ operating points:
( )
RB RB(UL)
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th eNode_B 10 PUSCH_dB dBm
.W .N .N F 10log SINR y Sensitivit + =
Sensitivity
1% BLER after 4 HARQ Tx
= -3.0 + 10xlog
10
( 2.5dBxN
th
x3RBx180kHz ) = -117.2dBm
Sensitivity
= -0.3 + 10xlog
10
( 2.5dBxN
th
While the two solutions utilize the same number of resource blocks, the trade-off between
the two is in the number HARQ transmissions versus the receiver sensitivity. While the
utilization of more HARQ transmissions enhances the receive sensitivity it also requires the
same air interface resources for a longer period of time (more transmission time intervals).
Note that the difference between the receiver sensitivities in Table 5 is due only to the
difference in the required SINR (as the N
RB
is equal).
Figure 7 shows an identical analysis to that presented in Figure 6 with the exception that
here an effective data rate of 512kbps is targeted.

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-115.0 dBm
-110.0 dBm
-105.0 dBm
-100.0 dBm
-95.0 dBm
-90.0 dBm
MCS 0 MCS 5 MCS 10 MCS 15 MCS 20 MCS 25 MCS 30
e
N
o
d
e
-
B

R
x

S
e
n
s
i
t
i
v
i
t
y
1 RB
6 RB
11 RB
16 RB
21 RB
26 RB
R
e
q
u
i
r
e
d

#

R
B

f
o
r

S
e
r
v
i
c
e
MCS 4 provides the optimal
tradeoff between Rx. Sens
and N
RB
required

Figure 7: Selection of Optimal MCS and N
RB
for a target rate of 512kbps with 10% iBLER,
EVehA3
From Figure 7 it can be seen that now MCS 4 with 9 RBs is optimal as this provides the best
receiver sensitivity while minimizing utilization of RBs.
Table 6 provides a comparison between the 10% iBLER operating point performance with
that for a 1% pBLER operating point, for the same 512kbps target effective data rate:
Table 6: Example of Different HARQ Operating Points (512kbps)

1% pBLER
(high initial BLER)
10% iBLER
(low initial BLER)
MCS Index MCS 10 MCS 4
N
RB
10 RB 9 RB
TBS Size 1736 bits 632 bits
Effective Coding Rate 0.676 0.286
Average #HARQ Transmissions 3.39 1.23
Post HARQ Throughput 512 kbps 512 kbps
Required SINR -3.1 dB 0.6 dB
Receiver Sensitivity -112.1 dB -108.8 dB

Making the same comparison of the receiver sensitivity:
( )
RB RB(UL)

th eNode_B 10 PUSCH_dB dBm
.W .N .N F 10log SINR y Sensitivit + =
Sensitivity
= -3.1 + 10xlog
10
( 2.5dBxN
th
x10RBx180kHz ) = -112.1dBm
Sensitivity
= 0.6 + 10xlog
10
( 2.5dBxN
th
Here the difference between the receiver sensitivities is due to the combination of the
differences in the required SINR and in the required bandwidth (dictated by the number of
resource blocks, N
RB
). Thus it is important when comparing the required SINR for two
services to consider also the required number of resource blocks.

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2.1.5.5 Typical SINR Performances
Based on link level simulations, for a HARQ operating point that targets 1% pBLER, the
optimal combination of N
RB
, MCS Index and the corresponding SINR target for the typical
data rates considered in Alcatel-Lucent uplink link budgets are summarized in Table 7 (for
EVehA3 and EVehA50 channel conditions with 2-way Rx Diversity).
Table 7: Typical Rates Considered in Uplink Link Budget (for EVehA3 channel conditions
@ 2.6GHz with 2.5dB Noise Figure, 1% post HARQ BLER)
Post HARQ Peak Tput 8 kbps 64 kbps 128 kbps 256 kbps 512 kbps 1000 kbps 2000 kbps
MCS Index MCS 0 MCS 6 MCS 8 MCS 10 MCS 10 MCS 10 MCS 10
Modulation QPSK QPSK QPSK QPSK QPSK QPSK QPSK
N
RB(UL)
1 RB 2 RB 3 RB 5 RB 10 RB 20 RB 40 RB
HARQ Operating Point 1% pBLER 1% pBLER 1% pBLER 1% pBLER 1% pBLER 1% pBLER 1% pBLER
TBS Size 16 bits 176 bits 392 bits 872 bits 1736 bits 3496 bits 6968 bits
Effective Coding Rate 0.242 0.424 0.556 0.697 0.676 0.671 0.667
Average # HARQ Tx 2.00 2.75 3.06 3.41 3.39 3.50 3.48
SINR Target (EVehA3) -3.4 dB -3.6 dB -3.0 dB -2.4 dB -3.1 dB -2.9 dB -3.3 dB
Rx Sensitivity (EVehA3) -122.3 dBm -119.6 dBm -117.2 dBm -114.4 dBm -112.1 dBm -108.8 dBm -106.2 dBm

Internal: If quoting SINR performances to customers the 10% iBLER figures (Table 8) should
be presented (as they are more representative of current product characteristics) in
preference to the 1% pBLER figures (Table 7).
The above SINR figures have been derived from link level simulations which assume ideal
scheduling and link adaptation, the reality in the field will not be as good. To compensate
for such ideal assumptions, there are currently two key elements to the margins
incorporated into in the SINR performances used in uplink budgets today:
Implementation Margin: to account for the assumptions implicit in the link level
simulations used to derive the SINR performances
o Currently considered to be ~1dB
o No variability is assumed for different environments or UE mobility
conditions
o Will be tuned based on SINR measurements (not yet performed)
ACK/NACK Margin: to account for the puncturing of ACK/NACK onto the PUSCH
o A 1dB margin is applied for VoIP services and 0.5dB for higher data
throughputs
The SINR performances quoted in Table 7 and subsequently in Table 8 account for the above
mentioned implementation and ACK/NACK margins.
Table 8 summarizes the same for a 10% iBLER HARQ operating point.

Table 8: Typical Rates Considered in Uplink Link Budget (for EVehA3 channel conditions
@ 2.6GHz with 2.5dB Noise Figure, 10% iBLER)
Post HARQ Peak Tput 8 kbps 64 kbps 128 kbps 256 kbps 512 kbps 1000 kbps 2000 kbps
MCS Index MCS 0 MCS 5 MCS 2 MCS 5 MCS 4 MCS 4 MCS 4
Modulation QPSK QPSK QPSK QPSK QPSK QPSK QPSK
N
RB(UL)
1 RB 1 RB 3 RB 4 RB 9 RB 16 RB 32 RB
HARQ Operating Point 10% iBLER 10% iBLER 10% iBLER 10% iBLER 10% iBLER 10% iBLER 10% iBLER
TBS Size 16 bits 72 bits 144 bits 328 bits 632 bits 1128 bits 2280 bits
Effective Coding Rate 0.242 0.455 0.242 0.356 0.286 0.278 0.276
Average # HARQ Tx 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1
SINR Target (EVehA3) -1.7 dB 2.4 dB -0.3 dB 2.1 dB 0.6 dB -0.5 dB -1.1 dB
Rx Sensitivity (EVehA3) -120.7 dBm -116.5 dBm -114.5 dBm -110.8 dBm -108.8 dBm -107.4 dBm -105.0 dBm

Figure 8 illustrates the receiver sensitivity figures quoted in Table 8 for a 10% iBLER and
EVehA3 channel conditions.
-125 dBm
-120 dBm
-115 dBm
-110 dBm
-105 dBm
-100 dBm
-95 dBm
-90 dBm
-85 dBm
-80 dBm
V
o
I
P

A
M
R

1
2
.
2
(
T
T
I

B
u
n
d
l
i
n
g
)
P
S

8
P
S

3
2
P
S

6
4
P
S

1
2
8
P
S

2
5
6
P
S

3
8
4
P
S

5
1
2
P
S

7
6
8
P
S

1
0
0
0
P
S

2
0
0
0
P
S

5
7
0
0
P
S

1
0
0
0
0
P
S

2
0
0
0
0
e
N
o
d
e
-
B

R
e
c
e
i
v
e
r

S
e
n
s
i
t
i
v
i
t
y
EVehA50
EVehA3

Figure 8: Receiver Sensitivity for Typical Rates Considered in Uplink Link Budget (for
EVehA3 channel conditions @ 2.6GHz with 2.5dB Noise Figure, 10% iBLER)
2.1.6 Handling of VoIP on the Uplink
For VoIP, various approaches (L2 segmentation and TTI bundling) were discussed at 3GPP to
offer good coverage performances of VoIP (see Figure 9). TTI bundling was adopted in 3GPP
Rel8 (36.321).
With TTI bundling, as opposed to RLC Segmentation, larger transport blocks are used.
Relying on incremental redundancy, HARQ Transmissions are performed in consecutive TTIs
without waiting for HARQ feedback. The HARQ receiver accumulates the received energy of
all transmissions and responds with HARQ feedback only once after the entire bundle has
been received and evaluated.

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RLC Segmentation 4ms TTI Bundling

Figure 9: RLC Segmentation and 4ms TTI Bundling Operating Modes
2.1.6.1 VoIP and TTI Bundling
No segmentation of VoIP packets required
Enhances link budget compared to transmission of a single packet by supporting
more HARQ transmissions in short time period
Not supported in initial UEs and product
Otherwise known as VoIP with QoS
The VoIP packet size for an AMR 12.2 VoIP codec, after accounting for RLC, MAC and CRC
overheads, is ~328 bits. The VoIP codec generates such packets with ~20ms periodicity.
With 4ms TTI bundling each 328 bit VoIP packet is sent in 4 consecutive TTIs with 4
different redundancy variants (think of this as doing 4 HARQ transmissions in successive
TTIs). These four transmissions can be sent up to a maximum of 4 times and on average 2
times.
For each TTI, MCS Index 6 is utilized with a single RB. This yields a TBS (Transport Block
Size) of 328 bits (MCS 6 & 1 RB is a special combination created especially for VoIP
services). The average effective air interface rate for active transmission for an AMR 12.2
VoIP service over the air interface is 328 bits / 4 successive TTIs / 2 average transmissions =
41 kbps, with the maximum of 4 transmissions this drops to 20.5kbps. However, if we
average the codec payload of 328 bits over the 20ms periodicity, the average throughput is
328 bits / 20ms = 16.4 kbps. Table 9 summarizes the VoIP with TTI bundling performance
characteristics that are considered in UL budgets:
Table 9: VoIP with TTI Bundling (1% pBLER target)
AMR 12.2
Nominal Codec Rate 12.2kbps
VoIP Packet Size (with overheads) 328 bits
MCS / N
RB
/ SINR (EVehA3)
Rx Sensitivity
MCS 6 / 1 RB / -3.7 dB
-122.7 dBm

2.1.6.2 VoIP and RLC Segmentation
Segments VoIP packets into multiple smaller segments
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Enhances link budget compared to transmission of a single packet as the smaller
segments result in a more favorable required MCS and N
RB

Substantially higher overheads in terms of required grants and signaling
Otherwise known as Over the Top best effort VoIP
Very poor link budget without substantial levels of segmentation
There are a wide range of possible VoIP codecs that could be used for such solutions, e.g.
G711 (64kbps) and G729 (8kbps), in fact it is possible to use RLC segmentation with an AMR
12.2 VoIP codec. Table 10 provides a summary of the performance characteristics that are
considered in UL budgets:
Table 10: Over the Top Best Effort VoIP (assuming IPv4, 10% iBLER target)
G711 Codec G729 Codec
Nominal Codec Rate 64kbps 8kbps
VoIP Packet Size (no oveheads) 160 Bytes 20 Bytes
VoIP Packet Size (with oveheads) 1664 bits 536 bits
8 way segmentation 250 bits 109 bits
MCS / N
RB
/ SINR (EVehA3)
Rx Sensitivity
MCS 4 / 4 RB / 1.8dB
-111.1 dBm
MCS 8 / 1 RB / 5.4dB
-113.6dBm

Comparing the receiver sensitivity figures in Table 9 and Table 10, the link budget benefits
attributable to TTI bundling combined with more HARQ transmissions are immediately
apparent.
2.1.7 Uplink Explicit Diversity Gains
The SINR performance figures considered by Alcatel-Lucent in uplink and downlink budgets
are based on link level simulations that already account for the corresponding transmit and
receive diversity gains. For the uplink the default assumption is 1x2 receive diversity
(2RxDiv), the gain associated with 2RxDiv is accounted for directly in the SINR figures.
Note: Most indoor distribution solutions (see section 2.1.2) are unlikely to support 2 RF
paths, as such the SINR performances in such cases must be offset to account for the lack
of receive diversity at the eNode-B. Table 11 summarizes the impact on the SINR figures
considered with different numbers of UL receive paths:
Table 11: SINR Impact Due to UL Receive Diversity
UL Rx Diversity Scheme SINR Impact
1 RxDiv -2.5 dB
2 RxDiv 0.0 dB
4 RxDiv 2.5 dB

For example, to account for 1x4 receive diversity (4RxDiv) on the uplink an additional 2.5dB
gain is considered on the (2RxDiv) SINR figures from link level simulations.

2.1.8 Interference Margin
Generally, sensitivity figures are derived considering only thermal noise. However, in a link
budget analysis, the real interference, I
j(UL)
, should be considered and not only the thermal
noise. This means that the received power, C
j(UL)
, should satisfy the following condition:
dB dBm
ce Interferen dBm j(UL)
Margin y Sensitivit C + >
where
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|
|
.
|
\
| +
=
W N
W N I
10log Margin
th
th j(UL)
ce Interferen
dB

The Margin
Interference
is the interference rise over that of thermal noise due to inter-cell
interference. N
th
is the thermal noise (-174 dBm/Hz) and W is the used PRB bandwidth (Hz).
Note that the assessment of the interference margin is totally different from the classical
relationship between uplink cell load and noise rise considered in CDMA and WCDMA
systems. I
j(UL)
is the interference due to adjacent cells utilizing the same PRB at the same
time. Note that this interference could also be considered to comprise of external
interference from other systems such as MediaFLO or DTC Channel 51.
LTE resources are divided into resource blocks (set of OFDM symbols and frequencies). The
interference per resource block will depend on the probability that resource blocks of same
frequency are simultaneously used in the surrounding cells. However, LTE system is likely to
be deployed with a frequency reuse of 1. The interference on a given resource block can
therefore be high.
Assessing the interference level enables the derivation of the interference margin to be
accounted for in link budgets used for coverage (cell range) evaluation. In CDMA or WCDMA
systems, the interference margin was derived from power control equations, these
equations established a linkage between the number of users transmitting in the cell (or
the cell load) to the interference margin (or noise rise). In LTE some specific power control
schemes are defined with some flexibility in the definition of the parameters offering
various power control strategies to be adopted and consequently impacting the
interference margin, IoT, to be considered in link budget analyses.
A typical IoT target considered in LTE link budgets is 3dB. Such an IoT target will have a
corresponding loading for adjacent cells for the cell range computed using the link budget
formulation presented in this document.
The average IoT is dependent upon the cell edge data rate (SINR) that is targeted by UEs in
adjacent cells.
Higher cell edge SINR targeted by UEs in adjacent cells Higher average IoT
Larger cell sizes Lower cell edge rates can be achieved by UEs in adjacent cells
Lower average IoT (e.g. NGMN Case 3)
Smaller cell sizes Higher cell edge rates can be achieved by UEs in adjacent cells
Higher average IoT (e.g. NGMN Case 1)
An example from some macro cellular system level simulations performed under NGMN
Case 3 conditions (a coverage/link budget limited scenario) is presented in Figure 10
(assuming 100% resource block loading, 10 UEs per sector, full buffer simulations, 10MHz
bandwidth).

0 kbps
1000 kbps
2000 kbps
3000 kbps
4000 kbps
5000 kbps
6000 kbps
7000 kbps
1.0 dB 1.5 dB 2.0 dB 2.5 dB 3.0 dB 3.5 dB
IoT
C
e
l
l

T
h
r
o
u
g
h
p
u
t

Figure 10: NGMN Case 3 Coverage limited scenario, 100% resource block loading,
10 UEs per sector, full buffer simulations
Figure 10 illustrates the impact of allowing a different average IoT on the spectral
efficiency of the uplink. It can be seen that for this particular scenario the optimal IoT is
between 2.5 and 3dB. Such scenarios are more typical of deployments that are more
coverage rather than interference limited which is typical of the cases commonly
considered in link budget analyses.
A further example performed under NGMN Case 1 conditions (an interference/capacity
limited scenario) is presented in Figure 11 (assuming 100% resource block loading, 10 UEs
per sector, full buffer simulations, 10MHz bandwidth).
0 kbps
1000 kbps
2000 kbps
3000 kbps
4000 kbps
5000 kbps
6000 kbps
7000 kbps
8000 kbps
9000 kbps
10000 kbps
0 dB 5 dB 10 dB 15 dB 20 dB
IoT
C
e
l
l

T
h
r
o
u
g
h
p
u
t

Figure 11: NGMN Case 1 Interference/capacity limited scenario, 100% resource block
loading, 10 UEs per sector, full buffer simulations
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Figure 11 illustrates the impact of allowing a different average IoT on the spectral
efficiency of the uplink. It can be seen that for this particular scenario the optimal IoT is
greater than 5dB. However, in this case the link budget is not constraining and thus from a
link budget perspective there is no issue with tolerating a higher IoT.
Note that while the simulations indicate there are gains to be had at IoTs of up to 15dB or
more, operating points greater ~5.5dB are not currently recommended by Alcatel-Lucent.
2.1.9 Shadowing Margin
From the previous section, the link budget should satisfy the following equation:
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dB dBm
ce Interferen dBm j(UL)
Margin y Sensitivit C + >
This equation should be satisfied from a statistical point of view with a given probability,
P
cov
, (coverage probability) within the cell. Typically, the received power should be better
than the sensitivity over more than 95% of the cell area:
( )
cov ce Interferen dBm j(UL)
P Margin y Sensitivit C Proba
dB dBm
> + >
Generally, a target of 95% cell coverage is considered in dense urban, urban and suburban
environments, while 90% is considered in rural environments, but this is dictated by the
operators coverage quality objectives.
The received power from a mobile within the cell will depend upon the shadowing
conditions due to obstacles between the UE and the base station antennas. These slow
shadowing variations (in dB) can be represented as a Gaussian random variable with a zero-
mean and a standard deviation that is dependent upon the environment (typically between
5 to 10 dB).
Due to the Gaussian properties of the shadowing, a margin called the shadowing margin
can be computed and incorporated in the link budget calculations to consider the coverage
probability requirement, either probability at cell edge or over the cell. The following
formulas are used to derive the shadowing margins according to the specified coverage
probability:
|
|
.
|
\
|
=
2
Margin
erfc
2
1
1 P
dB
Shadowing
border cell cov

( )
(
(
)
`
|
.
|
\
| +
+ + =
+
b
ab 1
erf 1 e a erf 1
2
1
P
2
b
2ab 1
area cell cov

Where

2
Margin
a =
( )
Shadowing

2 10 ln
b =
K
2

K
2
is the propagation model coefficient.
More details on the way these equations are derived can be found in [1].
Table 12 summarizes some typical shadowing margins for a typical path loss slope, K
2
=35:

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Table 12: Example of Shadowing Margins
Shadowing Standard
Deviation
Cell Area
Coverage
Probability
Cell Edge
Coverage
Probability
Shadowing
Margin
95% 87.7% 11.7 dB
10 dB
90% 77.7% 7.7 dB
95% 86.2% 8.7 dB
8 dB
90% 75.1% 5.4 dB
95% 84.9% 7.2 dB
7 dB
90% 73.3% 4.3 dB
95% 83.9% 5.9 dB
6 dB
90% 70.9% 3.3 dB

2.1.10 Handoff Gain / Best Server Selection Gain
Unlike UMTS/WCDMA or CDMA, there is no soft-handoff functionality for LTE. Therefore, no
soft-handoff gain should be considered for LTE.
However it would be too pessimistic to only consider the shadowing margin computed with
one cell as in section 2.1.9: a mobile at the cell edge can still handover to or originate a
call on a neighboring cell with more favorable shadowing, i.e. a lower path loss.
Some models have been derived to compute such a hard handoff gain, taking into account
handoff hysteresis thresholds and connection delays [2] [3]. Such a model collapses to that
of soft-handoff computations when the handoff threshold and the connection delays are
equal to zero. It is also important to note that while this is referred to in the link budget as
a handoff gain it could equally well be referenced as a best server selection gain.
Note that this hard handoff gain can be considered for any system without soft handoff. So
this is the case for GSM. Note that the handoff gain for LTE should be somewhere in
between that which may be considered for GSM and that for a soft handoff scenario for
WCDMA or CDMA.
A shadowing margin, which is partially mitigated by the handoff gain, is only considered in
the link budget due to uncertainties in the estimation of the path loss and cell range. As
the uncertainty in the prediction of the path loss is reduced (a reduction in the standard
deviation of shadowing) the shadowing margin and handoff gain will also be reduced. If
there are no uncertainties in the estimation of the path loss and the corresponding cell
range, there will be no need to consider any shadowing margin or handoff gain.
Internal: However we are not used to considering such a gain in GSM. It is highly
recommended to consider such a hard handoff gain, above all to have favorable link budget
comparison with CDMA or WCDMA, both of which consider a soft handoff gain in their link
budgets.
Table 14 provides some examples of the shadowing margin and handoff gain for different
coverage probability targets and shadowing standard deviations. This example is based on
the assumptions listed in Table 13:

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Table 13: Assumptions for Hard Handoff Gain Computations
Antenna Height 30 m
K2 Propagation Model 35.2
Shadowing Correlation 0.5
Hysteresis 3 dB
HO sampling time 20 msec
# of samples to decide HO 4 samples
Correlation distance 50 m

Note that the assumptions in Table 13 for the Hysteresis and HO sampling time are
relatively conservative so as to ensure that the handoff gains considered in the LKB are
evaluated with a reasonable degree of confidence.
Table 14: Example of Hard Handoff Gain
Shadowing
Standard
Deviation
Cell Area
Coverage
Probability
Cell Edge
Coverage
Probability
Shadowing
Margin
Soft
Handoff
Gain
Handoff
Gain
6 dB 90% 71% 3.3 dB 2.7 dB 2.3 dB
6 dB 95% 84% 5.9 dB 2.8 dB 2.5 dB
7 dB 90% 73% 4.3 dB 3.1 dB 2.8 dB
7 dB 95% 85% 7.2 dB 3.4 dB 3.1 dB
8 dB 90% 75% 5.4 dB 3.6 dB 3.4 dB
8 dB 95% 86% 8.7 dB 3.9 dB 3.6 dB
10 dB 90% 78% 7.7 dB 4.7 dB 4.4 dB
10 dB 95% 88% 11.7 dB 5.0 dB 4.8 dB

Based on these results, a 3.6dB handoff gain can be assumed for typical indoor deployment
conditions (95% area reliability, 8dB shadowing standard deviation and 3km/h). If the indoor
solution (see section 2.1.2) consists of a distributed antenna system with minimal
overlapping coverage with adjacent cells then a 0dB gain is considered.
Note that the full handoff gain is only applicable for UEs located at the cell edge. In the
uplink link budget we consider one service (data rate) that is guaranteed at the cell edge,
the more demanding services are supported in a subset of the coverage area. Consequently,
the other services will not take benefit of the full handoff gain. Figure 12 illustrates the
handoff gains computed for UE locations between the eNode-B and the cell edge. Note that
this is an example for the same assumption as shown in Table 13 for a shadowing standard
deviation of 8dB and 95% coverage reliability.

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0.0 dB
0.5 dB
1.0 dB
1.5 dB
2.0 dB
2.5 dB
3.0 dB
3.5 dB
4.0 dB
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
% of Cell Range
H
a
n
d
o
f
f

G
a
i
n

Figure 12: Handoff Gains for UE Locations between the eNode-B and the Cell Edge
2.1.11 Frequency Selective Scheduling (FSS) Gain
There are a number of ways the LTE system can manage the potentially considerably
frequency selective channel:
Schedule the best groups of RBs (Resource Blocks) to individual UEs according to
the channel conditions for specific UEs (frequency selective scheduling)
Make no specific consideration to the frequency selectivity
o Frequency non-selective scheduling
o A variant upon this is to randomly hop frequencies (RBs) for retransmissions
and/or successive TTIs
For frequency selective scheduling, consider as an example, an uplink where an eNode-B is
serving 3 contending UEs. For each UE, the eNode-B has knowledge of the quality of the
radio channel (by means of the uplink SRS) and as such can form quality metrics for each
individual RB for each UE on the UL. Based on these quality metrics the scheduler can
formulate which resource block or group of resource blocks is most advantageous to
allocate to each of the contending UEs on the uplink. This process is highlighted Figure 13.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
UE1
UE2
UE3
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
PRB Index
P
r
i
o
r
i
t
y

M
e
t
r
i
c

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Pr ior ity
Metr ic
PRB Index
UE 1
UE 2
UE 3
Figure 13: Per UE quality metrics for each RB and the consolidated priority metric
for each RB

By allocation of the RB groupings according to the right hand diagram in Figure 13 it is
possible to ensure that each UE is more likely to get allocated individual resource blocks
that have more favorable channel conditions, thus resulting in enhanced link budget
performances. This can be thought of a type of interference co-ordination scheme,
whereby it is possible for the system to avoid interference by appropriate resource block
allocation. A similar principle also applies on the downlink.
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One alternative to such a frequency selective scheduling approach is to consider only an
average of the channel qualities across the entire band for each UE, see Figure 14.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
UE 1
UE 2
UE 3
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Priority
Metric
Resource Unit Index
UE 1
UE 2
UE 3

Figure 14: Frequency Non-Selective Scheduling
With such an approach the scheduler losses the ability to differentiate the best RB or group
of RBs depending on the channel quality of individual resource blocks. Thus as a
consequence the system can not take benefit of the corresponding link budget benefits.
The gains attributable to frequency selective scheduling are dependent upon the channel
model and the HARQ operating point. The gains can be estimated by means of system level
simulations performed both with and without consideration of frequency selective
scheduling. The difference in cell edge performances dictates the link budget gain that can
be attributed to frequency selective scheduling.
Table 15 summarizes the frequency selective scheduling gains, derived from simulations,
for two HARQ operating points and three different channel models.
Table 15: Frequency Selective Scheduling Gains
Channel Model
1% pBLER
(high initial BLER)
10% iBLER
(low initial BLER)
VehA3 0.5 dB 1.8 dB

Consider as an example from Table 15:
10% iBLER HARQ operating point, VehA3 channel conditions
FSS Gain = 1.8dB
This means the throughput with FSS is 50% greater than the case without FSS
2.1.12 Macro Diversity Gain
As detailed in Section 2.1, a macro diversity combining gain considered for indoor
distribution solutions that are comprised of multiple distributed antennas connected to the
same sector. In such cases it is assumed that there is a degree of overlapping coverage

between adjacent antennas connected to the same sector and as such there is a statistical
gain that helps partially mitigate the shadowing margin.
The default macro diversity combining gain for such deployment scenarios is 2.0dB.
2.2 Final MAPL and Cell Range
The final uplink link budget equations become:
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( )
( )
dB dB dB
dB dB dB dB dBm
sity MacroDiver Rx Rx
Body n Propagatio Tx Tx H MaxTX_PUSC
dBm
j(UL)
Gain Loss Gain
ss Lo Losses Loss Gain P C
+ +
= +

And
dB dB dB dB dBm
FSS HO Shadowing IoT dBm j(UL)
Gain Gain Margin Margin y Sensitivit C + + >
For each service to be offered by the operator, this relationship allows computation of the
maximum propagation losses that can be afforded by a mobile located at the cell edge,
that is to say the Maximum Allowable Path Loss (MAPL):
dB dB dB
dB dB
dB dB dB dB dB dBm
sity MacroDiver FSS HO
Shadowing IoT dBm
Body Rx Rx Tx Tx H MaxTX_PUSC
dB
j(UL)
Gain Gain Gain
Margin Margin y Sensitivit
Loss oss L Gain oss L Gain P MAPL
+ + +

= + +

Transmit Power
Reference
Sensitivity
Losses
and Margins
Gains
= MAPL
Interference
cell radius
Maxi mum Al l owabl e
Pathl oss
Refer ence Sensi ti vi ty
Max UE transmit Power
I nter f er ence mar gi n
extr a cel l i nter fer ence
Gai ns - Losses- Mar gi ns

Figure 15: Uplink Link Budget Elements
Considering the most demanding service for which contiguous coverage is to be offered, the
following can be used to determine the maximum allowable cell range for deployment of
the system:
( ) ( )
) Service(UL 10 2(UL) 1(UL)
dB
j(UL) (UL)dB
R Log K K MAPL Min MAPL + = =
2.2.1 Propagation Model
K
1
and K
2
characterize the propagation model. For Indoor coverage, the following
propagation models are used:

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Table 16: Default Alcatel-Lucent Indoor Propagation Models
Environment Description K
1
K
2

Open Parking Garage, Convention Center 36 - 8.55 x Log
10
( H
b
)
Moderately Open Warehouse, Airport, Manufacturing 40 - 8.55 x Log
10
( H
b
)
Mildly Dense
Retail, Office Space w/ approx 80%
cubes/20% hard-walled offices
44 - 8.55 x Log
10
( H
b
)
Moderately Dense
Office Space w/ approx 50%
cubes/50% hard-walled offices
48 - 8.55 x Log
10
( H
b
)
Dense
Hospital, Office Space w/ approx
20% cubes/80% hard-walled offices
20 x Log
10
(
4.t.F
MHz
/300 )
52 - 8.55 x Log
10
( H
b
)

F
MHz
represents the operating frequency in MHz. H
b
is the height of the indoor antenna in
meters.
Indoor propagation is notoriously difficult to estimate. A very simple statistical model such
as this model should not be relied upon for accurate estimates of indoor cell range. Rather
more accurate indoor propagation modeling tools or ideally field measurements should be
used to validate the achievable cell range.
2.3 Uplink Budget Example
Table 17 presents an example of the uplink budget analysis for a moderately dense indoor
environment for a range of services.
The key objective of the air interface coverage analysis is to formulate a link budget
from which the per-service MAPLs and the corresponding cell ranges can be computed
(see the rows in red in Table 17).

Table 17: Typical PUSCH link budgets for a RRH feeding a Passive Distribution Solution
in a Moderately Dense Environment at 700MHz (128kbps guaranteed at cell edge)

The cell ranges computed above are for an Alcatel-Lucent indoor propagation model (see
section 2.2.1) for an 8m indoor antenna height, a 1.5m UE antenna height. Where
PL=K
1
+K
2
xlog
10
(d
m
), K
1
=30.3 and K
2
=40.3.
Internal: The default ALU indoor link budget can be found on the intranet: Alcatel-Lucent
LTE-FDD Link Budget.
Based on the services to be guaranteed at cell edge the limiting Maximum Acceptable Path
Loss (MAPL) can be derived.
2.4 Uplink Common Control Channel Considerations
The main common channel consideration that should be assessed for an LTE network design
is the Attach Procedure.
2.4.1 Attach Procedure
Figure 16 illustrates the procedure that the UE must go through to Attach to an LTE
network. From a link budget perspective the limiting message from messages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
15 and 16 (that involve the air interface) must be considered to assess any link budget
constraints.
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eNB UE MME
RACH Preamble (1)
Grant and TA (2)
RRC Connection Request (3)
RRC Connection Setup (4)
RRC Connection Setup Complete (5)
SGW PGW
Attach request (6)
Authentication (optional)/ security (7-8)
Create Default Bearer
Request (9)
CDB Request
(10)
Attach accepted
(13)
Create Default Bearer Response
(12)
CDB Response
(11)
RRC Connection reconfiguration
(14)
RRC Connection reconfiguration complete
(15)
Attach complete
(16)
No MME Relocation
1
st
UL bearer packet
Update Bearer Request (20)
Update Bearer Response (21)
1
st
DL bearer packet

eNB UE MME
RACH Preamble (1)
Grant and TA (2)
RRC Connection Request (3)
RRC Connection Setup (4)
RRC Connection Setup Complete (5)
SGW PGW
Attach request (6)
Authentication (optional)/ security (7-8)
Create Default Bearer
Request (9)
CDB Request
(10)
Attach accepted
(13)
Create Default Bearer Response
(12)
CDB Response
(11)
RRC Connection reconfiguration
(14)
RRC Connection reconfiguration complete
(15)
Attach complete
(16)
No MME Relocation
1
st
UL bearer packet
Update Bearer Request (20)
Update Bearer Response (21)
1
st
DL bearer packet

Figure 16: LTE Attach Procedure
The limiting message of the attach procedure over the air interface is message 3 (RRC
Connection Request). This message utilizes 2 resource blocks with MCS 3, delivering an
average effective data rate of 20.8 kbps after 5 HARQ transmissions. The SINR requirements
for this message is -4.4 dB (including margins), based on link level simulation studies.
Figure 17 summarizes an uplink budget formulated for a moderately dense indoor
environment in the 700MHz band. This link budget compares the Attach link budget with
VoIP, 8, 32 and 64kbps services.
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Figure 17: LTE Link Budget for Message 3 of the LTE Attach Procedure (compared with
VoIP, 8, 32 and 64kbps services
It can be seen from Figure 17 that the Attach link budget is only slightly more limiting than
an 8kbps cell edge service, the difference is considered to be insignificant.
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3 DOWNLINK LINK BUDGET
For typical eNode-B output powers and deployment scenarios with the classical UE output
power class of 23dBm, link budgets should remain uplink limited. The downlink cell edge
performances depend primarily upon the scheduler parameters (e.g. tuning of the fairness
of the proportional fair scheduler algorithm) or the available bandwidth (e.g. 10MHz vs
5MHz).
For the downlink, link budgets need to be carefully tuned with system level simulations to
well assess the interference margin that is location dependent. The preferred approach by
Alcatel-Lucent is to perform system level simulations to well assess the downlink
performances with or without MIMO. Alcatel-Lucent extensively contributed to such system-
level performances assessment at 3GPP and in the NGMN initiative.
In addition to system level simulations it is the preferred practice of Alcatel-Lucent to rely
upon Radio Network Planning (RNP) analysis.
However, it is possible to formulate a reasonably meaningful downlink budget. The
approach preferred by Alcatel-Lucent is as follows:
Downlink cell range is defined by the uplink cell edge service link budget, i.e. the
same cell ranges as those considered for the uplink are also considered for the
downlink. On the uplink the objective was to compute the cell range for a target
data rate, on the downlink the objective is to compute the data rate for a known
cell range.
Downlink throughputs computed for coverage reliabilities associated with each
corresponding uplink service
Geometry distributions (see section 3.1.3) are used to determine the cell edge SINR
for the PDSCH, from which an estimate of the downlink cell edge throughput can be
made
Figure 18 illustrates the downlink link budget approach utilized by Alcatel-Lucent. Section 0
described the methodology used to compute the cell range for different uplink services.
Some examples of such services and their relative cell ranges are illustrated in blue in
Figure 18. Also shown in Figure 18 are the downlink data rate estimates, illustrated in
purple, corresponding to the various uplink data rates.

Range
UL_Guar_Serv
128kbps (3RB) - guaranteed at cell edge
256kbps (4RB)
512kbps (9RB)
UL Rates
DL Rates
6281kbps (50RB)
8834kbps (50RB)
2033kbps (50RB)

Figure 18: Rationale behind the Downlink LKB Formulation
The example shown in Figure 18 is for a moderately dense indoor environment, indoor 0dBi
omni UE configuration, cell range fixed for uplink 128kbps, 100% adjacent cell downlink
resource block loading, no TMA. This example illustrates the concept behind downlink link
budget approach that is described in this section.
Note: The diagram shown in Figure 18 is not to scale and does not include all rates.
3.1 Downlink Budget Parameters
3.1.1 SINR
The measure of quality used on the downlink is the SINR. It is important to note that no
consistent standards or industry defined measure of SINR exists, that is a completely
unambiguous and can be used as a concise reference measure of downlink signal quality in
the field.
For example, the SINR can be quantified both with and without inclusion of a combining
gain at the UE (the default for Alcatel-Lucent is to incorporate such a combining gain).
While Alcatel-Lucent link level performances are quantified in terms of the SINR, the
reference to be used, measured and validated in the field is the RSRQ (see section 3.1.2),
which is unambiguously defined.
Unlike the uplink the downlink SINR performances are dependent on the UE location, i.e.
the signal to interference plus noise ratio for the PDSCH channel, SINR
PDSCH
, is dependent on
the user location. Thus for a given UE location, SINR
PDSCH
, for a number of transmit paths,
Path
DL
, is given by:
(DL) j(DL)
DL ) j_PDSCH(DL
PDSCH
N I
Paths C
INR S
+
=

The worst performances will be experienced when the UE is at cell edge far from the
eNode-B. The relationship between the SINR
PDSCH
, and downlink throughput is discussed in
more detail in section 3.1.4.
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C
j_PDSCH(DL)
is the PDSCH power received at the UE located at the uplink service cell range,
R
Service(UL)
, per Resource Element (RE) from the UEs serving eNode-B, that is transmitting
with its maximal power and is given by:
PDSCH
dBm
j_RS(DL)
dBm
) j_PDSCH(DL
Offset C C + =
( ) ( )
( )
dB dB dB dB dB
dB dB dB dB
HO Shadowing sity MacroDiver Rx Rx
Body ) UL ( Service n Propagatio Tx Tx RS
dBm
j_RS(DL)
Gain Margin Gain Loss Gain
Loss R Losses Loss Gain EPRE C
+ + +
= +

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where
EPRE
RS
is the Energy Per Resource Element for the reference symbol (see Section
3.1.6)
Offset
PDSCH
is the margin by which PDSCH REs are offset in power from the EPRE
RS

Gain
Tx
and Loss
Tx
, represent the gains and losses at the transmitter side such as the
eNode-B antenna gain and the feeder losses between the eNode-B and the antenna,
Gain
Rx
and Loss
Rx
, the gains and losses at the receiver side such as UE antenna gain,
Loss
Body
is the body loss induced by the users proximity to the UE, typically 3dB
body losses are considered for voice services and 0 dB for data services (handset
position is far from the head when using data services),
The downlink MAPL, MAPL
(DL)dB
, that corresponds to an uplink service cell range,
R
Service(UL)
(as computed in section 2.2), is dependent upon the propagation model
differences (K
1(DL)
& K
2(DL)
) due to the frequency duplex difference between uplink
and downlink,
Gain
MacroDiversity
is the gain considered for solutions that are comprised of multiple
distributed antennas connected to the same sector, i.e. this is a combining gain
(see Section 2.1.12),
Margin
Shadowing
is a margin that compensates for the slow variability in mean path
loss about that predicted using the propagation model, e.g. Hata (see section 3.1.7)
Gain
HO
is a handoff gain or best server selection gain that models the benefits due
to the ability to reselect to the best available serving site at any given location (see
section 3.1.7)
( )
) Service(UL 2(DL) 1(DL) n Propagatio
R log K K Losses
dB
= + .
I
j(DL)
, is the average received interfering power at the UE from all adjacent cells per RE.
Averaging is based upon the average number of RE allocated to the various interfering
channels (see Section 3.1.5 for details of the RE distribution).
( ( ) )
SINR _ Shad Percentile DL j_RS(DL) DL
Avg
) j_Other(DL
Avg
) j_PDSCH(DL
dBm
j(DL)
in arg M Geometry - Paths C Loading C C I
Avg
+ = +

where
I
j_PDSCH(DL)
is the average interference contribution due to REs allocated to PDSCH
channels and is given by:
( )
TTI _ Total
TTI _ PDSCH
PDSCH
dBm
j_RS(DL)
Avg
) j_PDSCH(DL
RE
RE
Offset C C + = ,
I
j_RS(DL)
is the average interference contribution due to REs allocated to RSs and is
given by (Note: The 3rd and 4th antennas, if present, only transmit the RS on half
the number of REs as the 1st two antennas):
( )
TTI _ Total
TTI _ RS
DL j_RS(DL) j_RS(DL)
RE
RE
1 Else 75 . 0 Then , 4 Paths If C C
Avg
= = ,

I
j_Other(DL)
is the average interference contribution due to REs allocated to PDCCH,
PCFICH, PHICH and P/S-SCH, PBCH channels and is given by (Note: it is assumed
that the interference due to PDCCH from adjacent cells will be reduced with
reduced loading):
( )
TTI _ Total
TTI _ Other
PDCCH j_RS(DL)
Avg
) j_Other(DL
RE
RE
Offset C C + = ,
Loading
DL
is the assumed average resource blocking loading of adjacent cells on the
downlink.
Geometry
Reliability
, represents the downlink geometry that corresponds to the UL cell
range, R
Service(UL)
(discussed in more detailed in section 3.1.3),
Margin
Shad_SINR
is the shadowing margin applied to the SINR distribution to account
for the fact that the desired and interfering signals are not perfectly correlated
with each other (see section 3.1.7)
The thermal noise for N
RB
resource blocks is given by:
( )
SC 10 UE th dBm ) DL (
W Log 10 F N N + + =
where
N
th
is the thermal noise density (-174dBm/Hz),
F
UE
is the noise figure of the UE receiver (8dB by default),
W
SC
is the bandwidth used by one subcarrier, each of a 15kHz bandwidth.
3.1.2 RSRQ
While, SINR
PDSCH
, is a meaningful measure of the cell edge quality (see section 3.1.1), this is
not a measure that is standardized by 3GPP and as such is somewhat open to interpretation
when it comes to measurement in the field, i.e. whether a power combining gain is
accounted for in the computation of SINR. The standardized measure of the downlink
quality is RSRQ (Reference Symbol Receive Quality) and is given by:
Total RB 10 ) Service(UL
RSSI ) N ( log 10 SRP R RSRQ + =
where
RSRP is the Reference Signal Received Power at the UE from its serving cell and is
given by C
j_RS(DL)
(see above)
N
RB
is the maximum number of RBs for the consider carrier bandwidth
RSSI
Total
is the total received power at the UE from its serving cell and all adjacent
cells across the entire bandwidth and is given by:
( ) RB # s SubCarrier N I SSI R RSSI
RB ) DL ( ) DL ( j Cell _ Own Total
+ + =
SubCarriers
RB
is the number of sub carries per RB, this is defined by the standards
to be 12 sub-carriers per RB
RSSI
Own_Cell
is the average power received at the UE from its serving cell per RE. The
averaging is based upon the average number of RE allocated to the various
interfering channels (see Section 3.1.5 for details of the RE distribution) and is
given by:
( ) ( )
SINR _ Shad Percentile DL j_RS(DL) DL ) j_Other(DL ) j_PDSCH(DL Own_Cell
in arg M Geometry - Paths C Loading C C RSSI
Avg Avg Avg
+ + =

Note: RSRQ is dependent upon the number of downlink transmit paths, Paths
DL
.
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3.1.3 Geometry
The geometry at a specific UE location is defined as the ratio between the total power
received from the eNode-B serving that location and the total power received from all
adjacent eNode-Bs, under the assumption that all eNode-Bs are transmitting at the same
power.

Figure 19: Signals Contributing to the Downlink Geometry (serving site is solid
green and adjacent sites are dashed maroon color)
The geometry at a given UE location is given by:
=
All
Site Adjacent
Site Serving
Power Rx
Power Rx
Geometry
Consequently the geometry is influenced by the parameters such as the relative positioning
of adjacent sites, degree of overlapping coverage, variability of the propagation
environment and directivity of eNode-B and UE antennas.
The geometry distributions considered in the link budget are based upon the geometry
distributions computed with the 9955 Radio Network Planning (RNP) tool, for a range of LTE
trial network deployments, across a number of markets. These geometry distributions are
considered to be representative of the typical geometries that are expected in a well
optimized LTE deployment.
Note: The downlink geometries do not account for lognormal shadowing as such an
additional shadowing margin must be applied to SINR and RSRQ computations (see section
3.1.7)
A significant factor influencing the geometry distribution is the directivity and placement of
the UE antenna. While the majority of LTE deployments are focused on a typical cellular
mobility deployment model there is also interest in considering fixed wireless deployment
scenarios where it is not uncommon to consider a directional non-zero gain UE antenna that
can be roof mounted and directed at the best serving site.
Figure 20 provides some examples of the geometry distributions used in the downlink
budget for omni directional as well as direction UE antenna configurations.
Internal: Currently the indoor link budget uses a geometry distribution for a typical macro
cellular deployment, clearly this is a gross approximation that will be rectified in the future
with indoor deployment specific geometry distributions.
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0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
-5 dB 0 dB 5 dB 10 dB 15 dB 20 dB 25 dB 30 dB 35 dB 40 dB
Geometry
Indoor - 0 dBi - Omni
Outdoor - 4 dBi - Direc.

Figure 20: Geometry Distributions Considered in Link Budget (for Different UE Antenna
Configurations)
In the computation of the Cell Edge SINR (as mentioned in section 3.1.1), the average
received interfering power, I
j(DL)
, at the UE from all adjacent cells per RE is given by:
( ) ( )
SINR _ Shad Percentile DL j_RS(DL) DL
Avg
) j_Other(DL
Avg
) j_PDSCH(DL
dBm
j(DL)
in arg M Geometry - Paths C Loading C C I
Avg
+ + =

The percentile of the geometry distribution shown in Figure 20 is approximated to be
dependent upon the targeted coverage reliability, P
Cov
, and the percentage of the overall
coverage area for which the downlink service is to be guaranteed.
2
e(UL) eed_Servic UL_Guarant
2
(UL) UL_Service
Cov
R
R
P Percentile =
Where R
UL_Service(UL)
is the cell range for the uplink service for which the equivalent downlink
data rate is being computed and R
UL_Guaranteed_Service(UL)
is the uplink service that is guaranteed
at the cell edge on the uplink. See the example in Figure 21 (based on the uplink budget
summarized in Table 17) where R
UL_Guaranteed_Service(UL)
= 64m is for a 128kbps cell edge service
and the Percentile is computed for the UL cell range, R
UL_Service(UL)
= 52m, that corresponds
to an uplink 256kbps service.
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Range
UL_Guar_Serv(UL)
= 64m
128kbps (3RB) - guaranteed at cell edge
256kbps (4RB)
UL Rates
DL Rates
6281kbps (50RB)
2033kbps (50RB)
Range
UL_Serv(UL)
= 52m

Figure 21: Example of Geometry Percentile Computation for 256kbps UL Cell Range
within a 128kbps Coverage Footprint
In this example the cell area reliability is 95%. Thus the percentiles can be calculated as
follows:
For 128kbps uplink cell range, 95% x 0.64
2
/ 0.64
2
= 95%
For 256kbps uplink cell range, 95% x 0.52
2
/ 0.64
2
= 62%
Referring to Figure 22, estimates of the corresponding geometries can be read off the chart
for these two uplink cell ranges, i.e. percentiles of 95% and 62% yield Geometry
Percentile

values of -2.2 & 4.1dB, respectively, for a 0dBi omni UE configuration.
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0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
-5 dB 0 dB 5 dB 10 dB 15 dB 20 dB 25 dB 30 dB 35 dB 40 dB
Geometry
Indoor - 0 dBi - Omni
95% Geometry %ile
-2.2dB
62% Geometry %ile
4.1dB

Figure 22: Example of Geometry Distributions
3.1.4 Downlink SINR Performances
The downlink SINR figures, like those for the uplink (see section 2.1.5), are derived from
link level simulations or from equipment measurements (lab or field measurements). They
depend on the UE performance, radio conditions (multipath fading profile, mobile speed),
antenna scheme (TxDiv/SFBC, spatial multiplexing, closed loop rank 1, etc), targeted data
rate and the quality of service. Figure 23 illustrates a sample set of link level simulation
results for the full set of MCS Indices for a wide range of SINR conditions.

0 kbps
2000 kbps
4000 kbps
6000 kbps
8000 kbps
10000 kbps
12000 kbps
14000 kbps
16000 kbps
-15 dB -10 dB -5 dB 0 dB 5 dB 10 dB 15 dB 20 dB 25 dB 30 dB
SINR
T
h
r
o
u
g
h
p
u
t
MCS 0 MCS 1 MCS 2 MCS 3

Figure 23: Example of link level simulations results for downlink, N
RB
=25, 10MHz
Bandwidth (TxDiv / SFBC)
3.1.4.1 Multipath Channel
The equivalent channel model to that considered on the uplink (see section 2.1.5.1) is also
assumed on the downlink, i.e. EVehA 3km/h.
3.1.4.2 Number Resource Blocks & Modulation & Coding Scheme
For the uplink, the focus was to determine the required SINR for a given target data rate
(see section 2.1.5.4). For the downlink, the reverse is performed, the data rate that is
achievable for a given SINR value is determined. However, the same principles apply.
For a given SINR and Number of Resource Blocks, N
RB
, there will be an optimal Modulation &
Coding Scheme Index (MCS) that maximizes the data rate while also satisfying the targeted
HARQ operating point.
The same process is used for determining the Transport Block Size (TBS) that corresponds to
a given combination of N
RB
and MCS Index (as described in section 2.1.5.2, with the
exception that the PDSCH version of the MCS to TBS index mapping is used instead of the
PUSCH version shown in Table 3).
3.1.4.3 Hybrid Automatic Repeat request (HARQ)
As mentioned in section 2.1.5.3, asynchronous adaptive HARQ is used for the downlink
where transmission attributes such as the modulation and coding scheme, and transmission
resource allocation in the frequency domain, can be changed at each retransmission in
response to variations in the radio channel conditions.
Like the uplink there are multiple HARQ operating points that can be utilized (with the
corresponding tradeoffs), the current recommended operating point for the downlink is a
10% iBLER.
Figure 24 illustrates the average effective L2 post HARQ frame averaged throughput versus
the BLER for the 1
st
HARQ transmission for MCS index 27.
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0 kbps
2000 kbps
4000 kbps
6000 kbps
8000 kbps
10000 kbps
12000 kbps
14000 kbps
16000 kbps
13 dB 15 dB 17 dB 19 dB 21 dB 23 dB 25 dB
SINR
T
h
r
o
u
g
h
p
u
t
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
B
L
E
R
Throughput
BLER
10 % BLER
1
9
.
9

d
B

S
I
N
R
13.3 Mbps Throughput
0 kbps
2000 kbps
4000 kbps
6000 kbps
8000 kbps
10000 kbps
12000 kbps
14000 kbps
16000 kbps
13 dB 15 dB 17 dB 19 dB 21 dB 23 dB 25 dB
SINR
T
h
r
o
u
g
h
p
u
t
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
B
L
E
R
Throughput
BLER
10 % BLER
1
9
.
9

d
B

S
I
N
R
13.3 Mbps Throughput

Figure 24: Throughput mapping for 19.9dB SINR, respecting 10% iBLER HARQ operating
point for 25 RB, MCS Index 27, TxDiv / SFBC and 5MHz Bandwidth
For the recommended 10% iBLER HARQ operating point it can be seen that an SINR
PDSCH
=
19.9dB is required which corresponds to a throughput of 13.3Mbps.
This is an example for MCS index 27, the same can be done for the full range of MCS indices
resulting in the plot shown in Figure 25 in Section 3.1.4.4.
3.1.4.4 Selection of the Optimal MCS Index
In order to select the optimal MCS index for the SINR
PDSCH
conditions at a specific UE
location. First the same process to that identified in Figure 24 must be performed for the
full range of MCS indices. Figure 25 illustrates for a range of SINR
PDSCH
values the
corresponding optimal MCS indices and post HARQ average effective frame throughputs for
a 10% iBLER HARQ operating point.

0 kbps
5000 kbps
10000 kbps
15000 kbps
20000 kbps
25000 kbps
30000 kbps
35000 kbps
40000 kbps
-10 dB -5 dB 0 dB 5 dB 10 dB 15 dB 20 dB 25 dB
SINR
T
h
r
o
u
g
h
p
u
t
MCS 0
MCS 5
MCS 10
MCS 15
MCS 20
MCS 25
MCS 30
Throughput
MCS Index
1
0
d
B
S
I
N
R
13 Mbps
MCS 16
0 kbps
5000 kbps
10000 kbps
15000 kbps
20000 kbps
25000 kbps
30000 kbps
35000 kbps
40000 kbps
-10 dB -5 dB 0 dB 5 dB 10 dB 15 dB 20 dB 25 dB
SINR
T
h
r
o
u
g
h
p
u
t
MCS 0
MCS 5
MCS 10
MCS 15
MCS 20
MCS 25
MCS 30
Throughput
MCS Index
1
0
d
B
S
I
N
R
13 Mbps
MCS 16

Figure 25: Optimal MCS Index Selection for a 10dB cell edge SINR, 25 RB, 5MHz
Bandwidth, TxDiv / SFBC
Assuming a specific UE location the cell edge SINR can be computed (see section 3.1.1),
SINR
PDSCH
, the next step is to select the optimal MCS index for such conditions. As an
example here it is assumed that for the considered UE location the SINR
PDSCH
is computed to
be 10dB.
Referring to Figure 25 it can be seen that the optimal MCS Index = 16 and the corresponding
post HARQ throughput is 13Mbps for SINR
PDSCH
= 10dB.
Note: This relationship has been derived based on TxDiv / SFBC link level performances. On
top of these performances there will be additional gains in very good channel conditions,
due to spatial multiplexing / Rank 2 MIMO (this is discussed in more detail in section
3.1.4.6).
3.1.4.5 Downlink Explicit Diversity Gains
The default SINR performances considered in the Alcatel-Lucent downlink budgets are for a
2x2 Tx Diversity / SFBC configuration, these performances account for SFBC pre-coding
gains and a 2RxDiv gain at the UE.
The choice to base the link budget on TxDiv / SFBC link level performances was been made
as the channel conditions typical of the cell edge are not generally conducive to effective
utilization of Spatial Multiplexing.
However, when in very good SINR conditions, a spatial multiplexing is applied in the
downlink budget. This gain is applied on top of the 2x2 TxDiv/SFBC performances (see
section 3.1.4.6).
Note: An additional over the air power combining gain is also considered on the downlink,
e.g. a 3dB gain is applied in the downlink budget for Paths
DL
2 to account for the fact that
the same REs are transmitted on each transmit path (with the exception of the RS).
Note: Most indoor distribution solutions (see section 2.1.2) are unlikely to support 2 RF
paths, as such the SINR performances in such cases must be offset to account for the lack
of receive diversity at the eNode-B depending on the number of transmit paths, as detailed
in Table 18:
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Table 18: Approximation for Impact of <> 2 Transmit Paths
Downlink Transmit Paths, Path
DL
SINR Impact
1 path -1.0 dB
2 paths 0.0 dB
4 paths 1.0 dB

Warning: the SINR impact detailed in Table 18 is a very rough approximation to the
expected performances with 1 and 4 transmit paths. To ensure higher confidence in the link
budget results requires consideration of dedicated link level results for those
configurations.
3.1.4.6 Spatial Multiplexing / MIMO Gain
As outlined in section 3.1.4.5, the underlying link level performances used to select the
optimal MCS Index and the corresponding throughput for a given number of resource blocks
are for a TxDiv / SFBC configuration. In very good channel conditions (channel rank >1 and
high SINR) an additional spatial multiplexing gain on top of the underlying link level
simulation performances is applied.
Such a gain is based upon a comparison of the TxDiv / SFBC link level performances with
the link level performances for a Rank2 spatial multiplexing configuration.
Figure 26 illustrates a summary of the gain computed from such a comparison for two
different antenna correlation assumptions (low and high) as well as two different channel
conditions (VehA3 and VehA50km/h):
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
2.2
10 dB 15 dB 20 dB 25 dB 30 dB 35 dB 40 dB 45 dB
SINR
R
a
n
k

2

S
p
a
t
i
a
l

M
u
l
t
i
p
l
e
x
i
n
g

G
a
i
n VehA 3km/h - Low
VehA 3km/h - Med
VehA 50km/h - Low
VehA 50km/h - Med

Figure 26: Gains Associated with Spatial Multiplexing (MIMO Rank 2)
Note: The antenna correlation that best represents what has been seen in the field to date
is best represented by the medium correlation assumptions.
Internal: The above note is for outdoor deployments. Indoor measurements are not yet
available to better refine this assumption for typical indoor deployments.
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From Figure 26 it can be seen that spatial multiplexing gains become significant beyond an
SINR
PDSCH
= 15dB (the spatial multiplexing switch point) and progressively increase with
increasing SINR
PDSCH
. The precise gain attributable to spatial multiplexing is dependent upon
the SINR, the antenna correlation and the channel model.
As an example, consider an SINR
PDSCH
= 35dB, medium antenna correlation and VehA3
channel conditions. Referring to Figure 26 the estimated spatial multiplexing gain is slightly
less than 1.8. If we the TxDiv / SFBC link level performances indicated a 30,440kbps
throughput for 50RB and a 10MHz bandwidth then the final throughput after accounting for
the spatial multiplexing gain would be 30,440kbps x 1.78 = 54,174kbps.
Note: One thing that is not possible to compute from a link budget analysis is whether the
channel can support rank 2 transmissions. The best that can be done is to
assume/approximate that with a high SINR there is a reasonable probability that the
channel rank will also be sufficiently good. For example, high SINR is most commonly
observed close to the serving eNode-B and so is higher channel rank.
3.1.5 Resource Element Distribution
Computation of the downlink SINR and RSRQ detailed in sections 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 is
dependent upon the average resource element allocation to the various downlink channels.
An example of the RE distribution for 2 transmit paths, Control Format Indicator (CFI) = 3,
and 10MHz bandwidth is summarized in Table 19.
Table 19: Example Average RE Distribution Across the 14 OFDM Symbols of a Single TTI
(2 Transmit Paths, CFI=3, 10MHz Bandwidth)
Type of RE
OFDM
Symbol RE
RS
1
RE
P-SCH
RE
S-SCH
RE
PBCH
4
RE
PDCCH
RE
PCFICH
RE
PHICH
RE
PDSCH_A
RE
PDSCH_B
RE
Unused
6

Sym 0 100 RE 0 RE 0 RE 0 RE 300 RE
5
16 RE 84 RE 0 RE 0 RE 100 RE
Sym 1 0 RE 0 RE 0 RE 0 RE 600 RE 0 RE 0 RE 0 RE 0 RE 0 RE
Sym 5 0 RE 0 RE 25 RE
3
0 RE 0 RE 0 RE 0 RE 0 RE 571 RE 4 RE
Sym 6 0 RE 25 RE
2
0 RE 0 RE 0 RE 0 RE 0 RE 0 RE 571 RE 4 RE

Notes:
1
Two RE allocated per Resource Block (RB) for OFDM symbols 0, 4, 7 and 11
2
P-SCH is always located in the last OFDM symbol of the 1st and 11th slots of each radio
frame for the center 6 RB's (figures averaged across 1 radio frame)

3
S-SCH is always located in the last OFDM symbol of the 2nd and 12th slots of each radio
frame for the center 6 RB's (figures averaged across 1 radio frame)
4
For the centre 6 RB's (72 subcarriers) of the 2nd slot of each radio frame the non-RS RE
are used for the PBCH (figures averaged across 1 radio frame)
5
PDCCH RE after accounting for RS, PCFICH and PHICH REs
6
There remains some unused RE due primarily to RE reserved for RS transmission on the 2
nd

transmit path and also some RE reserved around the SCH RE
A summary of the average number of Resource Elements (REs) that are transmitted per TTI
for 1, 2 and 4 transmit paths is presented in Table 20. This is based on equivalent analyses
to that presented in Table 19. The averaging is performed over one radio frame (10msec).

Table 20: Average Number of RE Transmitted per TTI per Transmit Path
1 Tx Path 2 Tx Paths 4 Tx Paths
RE
Total_TTI
8390 RE 7990 RE 7790 RE
RE
PDSCH_TTI
6216 RE 5916 RE 5816 RE
RE
RS_TTI
400 RE 400 RE 400 RE
RE
Other_TTI
1774 RE 1674 RE 1574 RE
RE
PDCCH_TTI
1600 RE 1500 RE 1400 RE
RE
SCH_BCH_TTI
74 RE 74 RE 74 RE
RE
PCFICH_PHICH_TTI
100 RE 100 RE 100 RE
3.1.6 Energy Per Resource Element (EPRE)
The Energy Per Resource Element (EPRE) is the transmitted energy associated with a single
resource element. This parameter is dictated by the overall output power setting for the
eNode-B, the carrier bandwidth and the product variant.
For each product variant the following set of information is defined (as summarized in
Table 21):
Power
Ref
the reference downlink eNode-B transmit power per transmit path
BW
Ref
Reference bandwidth
EPRE
RS(Ref)
the EPRE
RS
for the corresponding reference power and bandwidth
Table 21: Product EPRE Reference
Hardware Power
Ref
BW
Ref
EPRE
RS(Ref)

RRH40 30 W 10 MHz 17.0 dBm
TRDU40 40 W 10 MHz 18.0 dBm

As it is possible to use the same power amplifier with a different power setting, Power
Current

and different bandwidth, BW
Current
, in such cases the EPRE
RS
is given by:
|
|
.
|
\
|
+
|
|
.
|
\
|
=
Current
f Re
10
Current
f Re
10 ) f (Re RS RS
BE
BW
Log 10
Power
Power
Log 10 EPRE EPRE
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For example, consider for Power
Current
= 40W and BW
Current
= 20MHz. The ERPE
RS
for RRH40
hardware is given by:
dBm 2 . 15
MHz 20
MHz 10
Log 10
W 40
W 30
Log 10 dBm 17 EPRE
10 10 RS
= |
.
|
\
|
+ |
.
|
\
|
=
Table 22 summarizes the power offsets from the EPRE
RS
power setting for channels other
than the RS:
Table 22: Power Offsets from EPRE
RS

RE Type Power Offset from EPRE
RS

Offset
PDSCH
0.0 dB
Offset
PDCCH
1.0 dB
Offset
SCH/BCH
0.0 dB
3.1.7 Shadowing Margin & Handoff Gain
For the downlink the same assumptions are considered to hold true, for reasons of
reciprocity, when computing the received signal level at the UE, as they do on the uplink
when computing the received signal level at the eNode-B. Thus the same relationships and
rationale to those presented in section 2.1.9 (shadowing margin) and section 2.1.10
(handoff gain) are assumed to be equally applicable on the downlink.
The only exception arises when considering the SINR and RSRQ on the downlink. For such
computations the above mentioned shadowing margin and handoff gains are applied equally
to both the desired and interfering signals and thus the net effect is only to bring the signal
closer to the noise floor. In reality the desired and interfering signals are not perfectly
correlated with each another.
To account for such non-ideal correlation an approximation is applied in the downlink link
budget to account for an additional shadowing margin on the SINR and the RSRQ. The
shadowing standard deviation considered for the SINR shadowing margin is determined by
the standard deviation considered for the given environment. Table 23 summarizes the
mapping from the environment shadowing standard deviation to that considered for the
computing the SINR shadowing margin.
Table 23: Mapping from Environment Shadowing Standard Deviation to the Shadowing
Standard Deviation Used for Computing SINR Shadowing Margin
Environment
Shadowing Std. Dev.
DL SINR
Shadowing Std.
Dev.
6 dB 0 dB
7 dB 1 dB
8 dB 2 dB

44The same method as detailed in section 2.1.9 is used to compute the SINR shadowing
margin based on the SINR shadowing standard deviations presented in Table 23.
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Note: Close agreement has been observed when comparing field measured SINR and RSRQ
distributions with predicted SINR and RSRQ distributions that account for a shadowing
margin based on the standard deviations presented in Table 23.
3.2 Downlink Budget Example
Table 24 presents some example of the entire downlink budget analysis for a dense indoor
environment for a range of services. Note that this is the downlink link budget that
corresponds to the uplink budget presented in Table 17.
The key objective of the downlink link budget analysis is to formulate estimates of the
data rate expectations for the cell ranges of some nominal uplink data rates (see the
rows in red in Table 24).
Table 24: Typical PDSCH link budget for a RRH feeding a Passive Distribution Solution in
a Moderately Dense Environment at 700MHz (uplink 128kbps guaranteed at cell edge)

It is important to note that the downlink data rate estimates presented in the last row of
Table 24 are achievable with 95% coverage reliability over the downlink cell ranges
indicated in the row titled UL Service Cell Range. Note also that the same data rates are
achieved over the entire coverage area (70m cell range) with reduced reliabilities for the
higher data rates.
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Internal: The default ALU link budget can be found on the intranet: Alcatel-Lucent LTE-
FDD Link Budget.

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4 SUMMARY
This document has introduced the detailed formulation of Alcatel-Lucents LTE link budget
for indoor deployments for both the uplink and the downlink.
LTE coverage is not considered to be limited by the downlink for typical eNode-B output
powers and deployment scenarios. Link budgets should remain uplink limited and as such
link budgets are used by Alcatel-Lucent primarily to derive the expected LTE performances
at the cell edge on the uplink and compare them with legacy systems in the case of an
overlay of an existing network and/or the required number of radiating points for a
Greenfield deployment. In the case of overlay deployments, this allows for the estimation
of the viability of reuse of existing distributed antenna systems (additional constraints such
as space for hardware deployment, etc, have to be considered on top of this).
The downlink link budgets that have been detailed here are indicative of what rates are
achievable within the corresponding uplink service coverage areas. It is important to
understand that downlink cell edge performances are strongly dependent upon scheduler
parameters (e.g. tuning of the fairness of the proportional fair scheduler algorithm) or the
available bandwidth (e.g. 10MHz vs 5MHz)
Downlink performances in the link budget are based only on long term average PDSCH SINR
values and do not account for dynamic channel variations that can be addressed with
frequency selective scheduling functionalities
Better estimates of downlink performances can be achieved by means of system level
simulations and/or Radio Network Planning (RNP) analysis.
END OF DOCUMENT

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