12eR017 Handover Parameters (Part 1 of3)- Laura - Expert Opinion - LTE University Expert Opinion Short LTE articles and opinions by our team of Subject Experts (SMEs) Handover Parameters (Part 1 of 3) [Bw 2ren20ne7em 4 ‘There are three ways of optimizing handovers In LTE: a) Via the modification of the parameters aSoffset and hysteresisa3 b) By changing the parameter timetotriggereventa3 ©) Via the modification of the parameter filtercoefficient for event a3, ‘These sot of blogs will dealt with parameter setting for Periodic Reporting of Event A3 only. The intention is to deal with each of the cases mentioned above, one at a time. Hence, this blog will concentrate in case a). Definitions: Event A3 is defined as a triggering event when a neighbour cell becomes an offset better than the serving cell. The UE creates a measurement report, populates the triggering details and sends the message to the serving cell. The parameters that define the trigger include: + aBoffset: This parameter can be found in 3GPP 36.331. It configures the RRC IE a3-Offset included in the IE reportConfigEUTRA in the MeasurementConfiguration IE. The value sent over the RRC interface is twice the value configured, that is, the UE has to divide the received value by 2.The role of the offset in Event A3 is to make the serving cell look better than its current measurement in comparison to the neighbor, + Hysteresisa3: The role of the hysteresis in Event A3 is to make the measured neighbor look worse than measured to ensure itis really stronger before the UE decides to send a measurement report to initiate a handover. + timetoTriggera3: The role of tt in Event A3 is to avoid a ping-pong effect. + CollindividualoffsetEutran: This parameter is applied individually to each neighbor cell with load management Purposes. The higher the value allocated to a neighbor cell, the “more attractive” it will be. This parameter can only be used if the neighbor list is broadcast in SIB4 or in an RRC connection reconfiguration. hitptteuniversity.comiget_trainediexpert_opinion /blauroorigozalarchive!2012/02/22Ihandover-parameters-pat-1-0f3.spx 1812eR017 Handover Parameters (Part 1 of3)- Laura - Expert Opinion - LTE University fem Trigger Quantity = RSRP (dBm) [ition an) Leaving A: Soak Neighbor Cell RSRP Sets t(sec) Based on the picture above, event A3 will tigger when: RSRP(targel) > RSRS(Serving) +a3offset + hysteresisa’ — cellindividualoffsetEutran And this condition is valid for timetotriggera3, Al the expiration of timetotriggera3, if the UE does not receive an RRC connection reconfiguration message (handover command) from the eNodeB, then it will start a timer called reportingintervala3, At the expiration of this timer, if the conditions for event A3 are stil met and the eNodeB has not responded, then another measurement report will be sent to the eNodeB. This process will continue until the eNodeB responds or until a number of measurement reports given by the parameter reportingamount have been sent. Examples’ The table below assumes that cellindividualoffsetEutran is not used and shows when the eventaSoftset is triggered and when the UE ceases sending measurement reports, ers eee ee eee neg coger De Ue eS ed ease 2 0 >2dB >2dB 1 1 >2dB >0dB 0 2 >2dB >-2dB 3 0 >3dB >3dB 3 + >4dB >2dB 4 1 >4dB >3dB As it can be seen from the table, eventaS triggers at a3offset+hysteresisa3 However!!! After the first measurement result, subsequent measurement results can be sent if the RSRP of the neighbor cells only a3offset-hysterisisa3 dB stronger! Hence, weaker neighbors could be reported in the measurements sent by the UE (this case is very rare but it exists in real systems). ‘Therefore, itis recommended to follow the optimization rules: .a3 if we want UE to handover to cells with an RSRP al least equal a) a3offset should always be larger than hysteres to the RSRP value of its serving cell hitptteuniversity.comiget_trainediexpert_opinion /blauroorigozalarchive!2012/02/22Inandover-parameters-pat-1-0f3.,aspx 21812eR017 Handover Parameters (Part 1 of3)- Laura - Expert Opinion - LTE University ) Ensuring aSoffset > hysteresisa3 avoids ping-pongs ) The higher the value of a3offset+hysteresisa3 the more we drag the calls to neighboring cells, This is very useful where we have coverage holes (not a one to one deployment scenario on top of 3G cells) d) The smaller the value of a3offset+hysteresisa3 the faster we release the calls to neighboring cells. This is useful in those scenarios where a large number of LTE cells exists in a given geographical area ) The higher the value of a3offset+hysteresisa3 the more difficult we make it for calls do handover to other cells Remember, eventa triggers at aSoffset+hysteresisa3. Subsequent message reports are sent when the RSRP of the neighbor cell is a3offset-hysterasisa3 (See figure below). DIFFERENCE (Target RSRP and Serving cell RSRP) First Measurement reportsent a, offset (— hstes a2 offset hysta, 40ms *imetorigger) In our next blog, we will discuss the parameter timetotriggera3, which is another tool for optimizing handovers in LTE. hitptteuniversity.comiget_trainediexpert_opinion /blauroorigozalarchive!2012/02/22Inandover-parameters-pat-1-0F-3.spx