By Jim Bryant

Bryant Solutions, Inc.

+1.925.968.9265
[email protected]
www.bryantsolutions.com
RF Engineering & Training Services
Bryant Solutions

Evaluating the System Uplink

Between RTWP/RSSI Reference Points
for an Ericsson UMTS 1900 System
Date: June 2012
Document Number: 1801-00201-EN
Expanding Expanding on Expectations
C
a
s
e

S
t
u
d
y

Dual TMA
UMTS System
Diplexer
Feeder
Filter Unit Radio Unit
Antenna
RTWP Reference Point
RSSI Reference Point
Antenna System Loss (ULAttenuation)
LNATMA LNAFU
Net UL Gain
INTRODUCTION
This case study examines the uplink (UL) path between the Receive Total Wideband Power (RTWP)
and Receive Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) reference points for an Ericsson UMTS 1900 system with
a tower mounted amplifier (TMA). Existing system UL parameters are used to determine if the actual
RTWP (RTWP
ACT
) is equal to the system calculated RTWP (RTWP
CALC
) using the measured RSSI.
Uplink parameters will be changed (as necessary) to ensure the calculated RTWP value is accurate.
Impact on mobiles, system performance and site statistics will be considered.


ANALYSIS OF EXISTING PARAMETERS AND THEIR IMPACT
The diagram of the SUT below illustrates the RSSI/RTWP reference points and loss/gain definitions.

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Dual TMA
Antenna
RTWP Reference Point
UMTS System
Diplexer
Filter Unit Radio Unit
RSSI Reference Point
Feeder
LNA
TMA
LNA
FU

Net UL Gain
Antenna System Loss (ULAttenuation)



The following UL parameters are defined for the SUT:
ULGain: 12 dB (Set by User)
ULAttentuation: 3.5 dB (Set by User)
Filter Unit Gain (FU_Gain): Automatically Set by System to Achieve Net UL Gain Below.
Net UL Gain: Defined by System Manufacturer for Carrier.

For the SUT, ULGain represents the gain for the low noise amplifier (LNA) in the TMA, and
ULAttenuation should represent the defined system loss and additional external system gains between
the RTWP reference point and the input to the UMTS system. Based on the ULGain and ULAttenuation
settings, the UMTS system will automatically attempt to set the gain of the LNA in the filter unit (FU) to
achieve a pre-defined net UL gain between the RTWP and RSSI reference points.

The first step is to verify the parameter ULAttenuation accurately reflects the actual system loss. A
system loss of 6.7 dB was calculated for the SUT using the following:
Connections: 7 * 0.07 dB 0.50 dB
Feeder: 1.13 dB/100 *330 = 3.7 dB (Based on an antenna height of 300)
Jumpers: 3.25 dB/100 * 30 1 dB (Based on 10 jumpers)
Filters: ~1.5 dB

The system can now be analyzed. To do this, an arbitrary value of -104 dBm will be selected for
RTWP
ACT
. Based on RTWP
ACT
, RSSI can be calculated using the actual system losses and gains. The
system then uses the measured RSSI value to calculate RTWP
CALC
. The actual and calculated RTWP
should be equal.

RTWP
ACT
RSSI Calculation
RSSI = RTWP
ACT
+ LNA
TMA
- SysLoss + LNA
FU

= -104 dBm + 12 dB 6.7 dB + LNA
FU
= -98.7 dBm + LNA
FU


RSSI RTWP
CALC
Calculation
RTWP
CALC
= RSSI - LNA
FU
+ ULAttenuation - ULGain
= (-98.7 dBm + LNA
FU
) - LNA
FU
+ 3.5 dB - 12 dB = -107.2 dBm


Therefore RTWP
ACT
> RTWP
CALC
.


IMPACT OF AN IMBALANCED UPLINK
The proof below shows that having RTWP
ACT
> RTWP
CALC
causes mobiles to initially power up too low.
Though it is desirable to have a mobile initially power up low, this should be achieved with the
parameter constantValueCprach, while having RTWP
ACT
equal to RTWP
CALC.
In addition, the reported
RTWP will always be 3 dB lower than it should be, potentially masking problems.


L_PCPICH
BASE STATION
RTWP
CPICH
constantValueCprach
MOBILE
RSCP
P_PRACH



CPICH - L_PCPICH = RSCP
P_PRACH - L_PCPICH = RTWP + constantValueCprach

Therefore P_PRACH = RTWP + constantValueCprach + CPICH - RSCP

Givens: CPICH = +33 dBm
RSCP = -90 dBm
constantValueCprach = -22 dB

If RTWP = -104 dBm then P_PRACH = -104 dBm - 22 dB + 33 dBm - (-90 dBm) = -3 dBm
If RTWP = -107 dBm then P_PRACH = -107 dBm - 22 dB + 33 dBm - (-90 dBm) = -6 dBm


RTWP
ACT
= RTWP
CALC

The goal is to achieve a net uplink gain where RTWP
ACT
is equal to RTWP
CALC
. This can be obtained by
changing the parameter ULAttenuation to reflect the actual system loss of 6.7 dB as shown below.

RTWP
CALC
= -98.7 dBm + 6.7 dB - 12 dB = -104.0 dBm

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CONCLUSION
The uplink path between the RTWP and RSSI reference points for an Ericsson UMTS 1900 system
was analyzed. The goal was to verify whether the actual RTWP (RTWP
ACT
) was equaled to the RTWP
calculated by the system (RTWP
CALC
). For the system analyzed in this case study, RTWP
ACT
was
greater than RTWP
CALC
, which could cause a mobiles initial power level (P_PRACH) to be too low;
however, in this case, there will more than likely be no measureable impact to network performance
given only one or two power steps are required for the site to hear the mobile; however, this would also
depend on the setting for the parameter constanValueCprach. This scenario will cause RTWP to be
inaccurately reported by 3 dB, which could mask interference issues.

In general, a mobiles initial power level will be impacted as follows:

RTWP
ACT
= RTWP
CALC
:
o Best scenario.
o Minimum number of preambles given constantValueCprach set properly.
RTWP
ACT
> RTWP
CALC
:
o P_PRACH may be too low.
o May require too many preamble steps.
o Reported RTWP inaccurate.
RTWP
ACT
< RTWP
CALC
:
o P_PRACH will be high.
o Mobiles may need to ratchet down power.
o Could cause runaway situation during a special event.
o Reported RTWP inaccurate.


A Receive Antenna Interface Tray (RXAIT) or Remote Radio Unit (RRU) can be compensated for in the
ULAttenuation parameter, which is why it is sometimes a negative number. In addition, the RTWP
reference point will change when a system does not have a TMA.

Overall, it is important to ensure the calculated and actual RTWP values are equal.


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services designed to drive higher Quality of Service and increased revenue for our clients in the
Telecommunications Industry. Our company also designs and develops proprietary systems to
augment its training courses in solidifying the learning experience. These proprietary systems simulate
various real world conditions and problems students will encounter on the job.

Since 2002, Bryant Solutions has focused on developing training courses for wireless carriers, tower
contractors, local government agencies and the military. For more information visit
www.bryantsolutions.com.