Peak L1 throughput

Peak L1 throughput values confirm Flexi System Module as compliant with 3GPP Release 8.
Refer to the tables below fot the maximum Transport Block Sizes, which can be set for
2x2MIMO (dual-stream transmission) with all available frequency resources.
Table:
DL peak L1 throughput
Release and max supported MCS
5 MHz 10 MHz
15 MHz 20 MHz
index
RL10 (MCS28)
37
75
--150
RL20 (MCS28)
110
RL30 (MCS28)
RL40 (MCS28)
RL15TD (MCS28)
--- 40.3 (2DL:2UL) --82.3 (2DL:2UL)
54.99
112.47
(3DL:1 UL)
RL25TD (MCS28)
(3DL:1UL)
Table:
UL peak L1 throughput
Release and max supported MCS index 5
10 MHz
15
20 MHz
MHz
MHz
RL10 (MCS20)
10.68
21.38
--43.82
RL20 (MCS20)
32.86
RL30 (MCS24)
13.54
27.38
40.58
55.06
RL40 (MCS24)
RL15TD (MCS20)
--8.6 (2DL:2UL)
17.5 (2DL:2UL)
4.3 (3DL:1UL)
8.8 (3DL:1UL)
RL25TD (MCS24)
--- 10.95 (2DL:2UL)
22.02 (2DL:2UL)
5.48 (3DL:1UL)
11.01 (3DL:1UL)
UL peak L1 throughput (PUSCH only; limited by PUCCH,
Table:
PRACH)
Release and max supported 5 MHz
10 MHz
15 MHz 20 MHz
MCS index
RL10 (MCS20)
8.5
19.1
--43.82
(20 PRBs)
(45 PRBs)
RL20 (MCS20)
20.6
30.6
(48 PRBs)
(72 PRBs)
RL30 (MCS24)
10.7
25.7
39.2
51.0
(20
PBRs)
(48
PBRs)
(72
PBRs)
(96
PBRs)
RL40 (MCS24)
RL15TD (MCS20)
--7.9 (2DL:2UL)
--16.1 (2DL:2UL)
3.8 (3DL:1UL)
8.0 (3DL:1UL)
RL25TD (MCS24)
9.8 (2DL:2UL)
20.2 (2DL:2UL)
4.7 (3DL:1UL)
10 (3DL:1UL)
3GPP Release 8 specifies QPSK, 16QAM and 64QAM for PUSCH. In RL30/RL25TD there
is no support for 64QAM transmission however it is possible to extend MCS range for
16QAM from MCS index 20 to 24. Flexi Rel.2 and Rel.3 are fully capable of handling the
largest possible Transport Blocks. It means that the HW architecture (processing power of
DSP boards) does not limit peak data rates.

UE PER CELL

FSMF+FBBA
(3 sectors per site)
FSMF+FBBA
(6 sectors per site)
FSMF
(3 sectors per site)
FSMF
(6 sectors per site)
FSME
(3 sectors per site)
FSME
(6 sectors per site)
FSMD
(2 sectors per site)
FSMD
(6 sectors per site)

users per cell

1,4 MHz
3 MHz
-

5 MHz
480

10 MHz
600

15 MHz
1030

20MHz
1200

480

600

720

840

40

120

480

600

720

840

420

420

480

600

720

840

420

420

480

600

720

840

420

420

FLEXI systems

RF module
Flexi 3-sector RF Module 2600
Flexi 3-sector RF Module 800EU
Flexi 3-sector RF Module 2100
Flexi 3- sector RF Module1.7/2.1
Flexi RRH 2Tx 800EU
Flexi 3-sector RF Module 1800
Flexi 3-sector RF Module 1600
Flexi RRH 2Tx 1800
Flexi 3-sector for upper 700 MHz
Flexi 3-sector for 800 MHz (Japan)
Flexi RRH for 2600 MHz
Flexi RRH for 2100 MHz
Flexi RRH 2TX 1.7/2.1
Flexi 3-sector RF Module for 1900 MHz
Flexi 3RF Radio Module 1800 MHz, 90W
Flexi Lite BTS 750 MHz (whole eNB)
Flexi RF Module 6TX 2600
Flexi RF Module 6TX 800
Flexi RF Module 6TX 700

Name
FRHA
FRMA
FRGP
FRIE
FRMB
FXEA
FRNA
FHEA
FRBB
FXCA
FRHB
FRGQ
FRIF
FXFA
FXEB
LTE1072
FRHC, FRHF
FRMC
FRPA, FRPB

Release
RL09
RL10
RL10
RL10
RL10
RL20
RL20
RL20
RL30
RL30
RL30
RL30
RL40
RL40
RL40
RL40
RL50
RL50
RL50

RF module
Flexi RF Module 3TX 2100
Flexi RF Module 3TX 900
Flexi 3-sector RF Module 2100 MHz
Flexi RRH 2600 MHz
Flexi RRH 1800 MHz

Name
FRGS, FRGT
FXDA, FXDB
FXDA
FRHD, FRHE
FRED

Release
RL50
RL50
RL50
RL50
RL50

HW LIMITS

FSME
Table:

Max. number of connected users per cell

5 MHz
10 MHz
200
400

20 MHz
800

RL10 max. number of connected users

Max. number of connected users per cell
5 MHz
10 MHz
20 MHz
FSME
200
400
800
NSN LTE Release RL20:
Table:
RL20 max. number of connected users
Max. number of connected users per cell
5 MHz
10 MHz
15 MHz
20 MHz
FSME
480
600
720
840
NSN LTE Release RL30:
Table:
RL30 max. number of connected users
Max. number of connected users per cell
5 MHz
10 MHz
15 MHz
20 MHz
FSME (3 sectors per site)
480
600
720
840
FSME (6 sectors per site)
420
420
----FSMD (2 sectors per site)
480
600
720
840
FSMD (3 sectors per site)
420
420
----NSN LTE Release RL40:
Table:
RL40 max. number of connected users
Max. number of connected users per cell
5 MHz
10 MHz
15 MHz
20 MHz
FSMF (3 sectors per site)
480
600
720
840
FSMF (6 sectors per site)
420
420
----FSME (3 sectors per site)
480
600
720
840
FSME (6 sectors per site)
420
420
-----

Table:

RL40 max. number of connected users

Max. number of connected users per cell
480
600
720
420
420
---

FSMD (2 sectors per site)

840
FSMD (3 sectors per site)
--NSN LTE Release RL50:
Table:
RL50 max. number of connected users
Max. number of connected users per cell
1,4 MHz 3 MHz 5 MHz 10 MHz 15 MHz 20 MHz
FSMF+FBBA
----480
600
1030
1200
(3 sectors per site)
FSMF+FBBA
----480
600
720
840
(6 sectors per site)
FSMF
40
120
480
600
720
840
(3 sectors per site)
FSMF
----420
420
----(6 sectors per site)
FSME
----480
600
720
840
(3 sectors per site)
FSME
----420
420
----(6 sectors per site)
FSMD
----480
600
720
840
(2 sectors per site)
FSMD
----420
420
----(3 sectors per site)
For RL10/RL20 the tables above reflect the Flexi System Module design assuming 3-sector
deployment however they clearly exceed the maximum number of active UEs which would
be reasonably configured for user admission control. The reason is that as long as DRX is not
supported, such high maximum number of active UEs would consume far too many UL
resources for PUCCH (for scheduling request, CQI, HARQ ACK etc.). Typical values for
admission control would therefore be ~80...120. counts.
Realistic number of connected users per cell from the admission control point of view is
listed below:
Table:
Typical numbers for active UEs per cell for Admission control
Max. number of connected users per cell
5 MHz
10 MHz
15 MHz
20 MHz
FSME (RL10)
80
100
--120
FSME (RL20)
80
100
110
120
RL10/RL20 targets at supporting very large numbers of connected users as this is expected to
be required after a few years of operation, but not required in typical deployments with
limited numbers of users. As the support of very large numbers of active UEs would require a
substantial share of the overall system bandwidth to be dedicated to PUCCH, the maximum
recommended numbers of active UEs is significantly lower to allow for best possible data
capacity and user experience while well matching the offered amount of active UEs. The
PUCCH capacity requirement will be significantly lower with features like DRX and out-ofsync UE handling in subsequent releases. This is not relevant for RL30 and higher releases.
Note that all UEs in RRC_connected with a DRB established are considered as active even if
they have no data to transmit. Active UEs are kept in the active state for immediate access to

PDSCH and PUSCH resources and occupy control channel resources as well as processing
resources in the eNB. This active user definition matches well the "always-on" smartphone
with applications triggering constant background activity like heartbeats even when the user
is not actively operating the device. Transition to RRC_idle is typically triggered by an
incativity timer which may never expire in the always-on smartphone case.
The default or user-specific traffic model provides the number of users per cell area.
Depending on the subscriber profile (subscriber service agreement, traffic demand, mobility
characteristic, terminal type), a different number of connected users will be considered as a
percentage of the total amount of users. The more detailed traffic model is provided, the
better estimation can be made. Traffic model provides the parameter Share of Active
Subscribers [%] standing for the amount of subscribers being active during the busy hour.

Table:

Flexi Multiradio 10 System Module outdoor air interface peak

throughput
FSMF
36

Capacity
GSM/EDGE
[transceivers]
WCDMA
528
[channel elements]
HSDPA
756
[Mbps]
HSUPA
115
[Mbps]
LTE DL
450
[Mbps]
LTE UL
150
[Mbps]
LTE BW/cell
20
[MHz]
LTE cells
3
[cell count]
MIMO (HSPA/LTE) yes

Table:
Capacity

Flexi Multiradio 10 System Module Indoor air interface peak

throughput
FSIH

Flexi Multiradio 10 System Module Indoor air interface peak

throughput
N/A

Table:

GSM/EDGE
[transceivers]
WCDMA
N/A
[channel elements]
HSDPA
N/A
[Mbps]
HSUPA
N/A
[Mbps]
LTE DL
440
[Mbps]
LTE UL
108
[Mbps]
LTE BW/cell
20
[MHz]
LTE cells
4
[cell count]
MIMO
yes
Single FSIH or FBIH module supports the following configurations:

3 cells @ 20 MHz 8TX and 8RX, or

3 cells @ 20 MHz 4TX and 4RX, or

4 cells @ 20 MHz 2TX and 2RX

Table:
Capacity
GSM/EDGE
[transceivers]
WCDMA
[channel elements]
HSDPA
[Mbps]
HSUPA
[Mbps]
LTE DL
[Mbps]
LTE UL
[Mbps]
LTE BW/cell
[MHz]

Capacity extension sub-module air interface peak throughput

FBBA
FBBC
FBIH
N/A
N/A
N/A
576

N/A

N/A

756

N/A

N/A

157

N/A

N/A

450

450

440

150

150

108

20

20

20

Table:
Capacity extension sub-module air interface peak throughput
LTE cells
3
3
4
[cell count]
MIMO (HSPA/LTE) yes
yes
yes
The GSM/EDGE capacity is measured as the number of transceivers. The WCDMA capacity
is measured as the number of Channel Elements, while the HSPA capacity is measured as
megabits per second. WCDMA traffic dimensioning principles are described in other
documents (see Plan and Dimension category in the library). HSPA users and data might have
an impact on the number of AMR calls.
Additionally, LTE has a bandwidth and cell count limitation. For more information, see
Feature Descriptions and Instructions in LTE Operating Documentation library.
For more information, see Flexi Multiradio Base Station and Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Station
Optional Items Description.

Maximum bit rate in UL and DL

The Maximum Bitrate Selector (mbrSelector) parameter offers maximum flexibility in setting
the maximum bit rate in UL and DL direction according to requirements from bearer
management, mobility management, UL AMC, DL AMC, UL packet scheduler, DL packet
scheduler and MIMO mode control.
The Maximum Bitrate Selector (mbrSelector) parameter has the following settings:

mbrSelector = ueCapability (0)

The maximum bit rate in UL and DL direction is specified by the throughput and
MIMO capabilities of the UE included in the UE_RADIO_CAPABILITES structure
provided by bearer management/mobility management.
The maximum bit rate in UL and DL direction corresponds to the physical layer
parameters for the UE category specified in Table 4.1-1 and Table 4.1-2 of 3GPP
TS36.306.
Example: UE of category 3
o Maximum DL bit rate: 102.048 Mb
o Maximum UL bit rate: 51.024 Maps

mbrSelector = OaM (1)

The maximum bit rate in UL and DL direction are specified by the minimum out of:
o the throughput and MIMO capabilities of the UE
o the Maximum Bitrate Downlink (maxBitrateDl) and Maximum Bitrate Uplink
(maxBitrateUl) parameters

Example: UE of category 3
o maxBitRateDl = 120 Mbps
o maxBitRateUl = 20 Mbps
o Maximum DL bit rate: 102.048 Mbp (lower value coming from UE category)
o Maximum UL bit rate: 51.024 Mbps (lower value coming from the operatorconfigurable parameters)

Comparison between UMTS and LTE

The following table provides a high level comparison between UMTS and LTE. This
table compares the two technologies as defined by 3GPP.
Table:
Summative comparison between UMTS and LTE
UMTS
LTE
Channel Bandwidth
5, 10 MHz (with 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 MHz
dual cell)
Multiple Access Scheme
WCDMA
OFDMA (DL), SC-FDMA (UL)
Frequency Re-use Pattern
Re-use of 1
Re-use of 1
Uplink Modulation Schemes
BPSK, 4PAM
QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM
Downlink Modulation Schemes
QPSK, 16QAM, QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM
64QAM
Uplink MIMO
None
None
Downlink MIMO
2x2
2x2, 4x4
Peak Uplink Throughput in 10 MHz, 23 Mbps
28 Mbps (dependant upon control
16QAM, coding rate 1
channel assumptions)
Peak Downlink Throughput in 10
84 Mbps
~86 Mbps (dependant upon control
MHz with 2x2 MIMO, 64QAM,
channel assumptions)
coding rate 1
Peak Uplink Throughput
23 Mbps (10 MHz 85.5 Mbps (20 MHz, coding rate 1,
channel)
64QAM)
Peak Downlink Throughput
84 Mbps (10 MHz 325 Mbps (20 MHz, coding rate 1,
channel)
64QAM, 4x4 MIMO)
Minimum Round Trip Time
< 30 ms
< 10 ms
Soft Handover Support
DCH and E-DCH, None
not HS-DSCH
Adaptive Modulation
Yes (HSDPA,
Yes
HSUPA)
L1 re-transmissions
Yes (HSDPA,
Yes
HSUPA)
BTS based Scheduling
Time/Codes
Time/Subcarriers
(HSDPA, HSUPA)
Fast Power Control
DCH and E-DCH, None
not HS-DSCH
Core Network Domains
CS, PS
PS

Table:
Summative comparison between UMTS and LTE
Flat Architecture
No (includes RNC) Yes (excludes RNC)
Neighbour Planning Required
Yes
No
Scrambling Code Planning Required Yes
No
Physical Layer Cell Identity
No
Yes
Planning Required
The capability of UMTS is evolving throughout the various releases of the 3GPP
specifications. For example, the use of either 64QAM or MIMO is introduced within
the release 7 version of the specifications. The use of both 64QAM and MIMO is
introduced within the release 8 version of the specifications. Historically, UMTS has
been limited to a 5 MHz channel bandwidth whereas the release 8 version of the
specifications introduces the pairing of two 5 MHz channels to effectively provide a
10 MHz channel band-width. This is limited to HSDPA within the release 8 version of
the specifications but is extended to HSUPA in the release 9 version. This evolution of
the UMTS specifications allows UMTS to remain competitive with LTE although
LTE has the fundamental key advantages of a potential 20 MHz channel bandwidth
and a flat architecture. Furthermore, LTE does not experience intracell interference
compare to UMTS or HSPA system, which results in better spectral efficiency.

LTE1089: Downlink carrier aggregation - 20 MHz

Carrier Aggregation functionality (as introduced in RL50 LTE 1089) is the flagship RL50
feature that brings into life LTE Advanced concept. It provides means to aggregate two
downlink carriers configured on two overlapped cells that operate in two separate bands. This
feature will be activated for the UEs that have such CA capability on board that matches with
bands where CA operates in the network.
Improving the user perceived throughput (both peak and instantaneous) is the primary design
target of this feature. The level of potential gains in this respect depends on many factors like:
network load and resultant resource occupancy and interference level, overlapping of the
sectors to be aggregated, ratio of Carrier Aggregation users and also network
parameterization. It is worth to notice that there are certain means to assure some CA gains
also in the highly loaded scenarios - however, at the cost of the throughput perceived by nonCA UEs.
Feature provides also gains with respect to load balancing between cells - such balance could
be smoothly achieved with co-operative schedulers working in RL50 without involving interfrequency handovers (either load balancing or better cell ones).
As far as network dimensioning is concerned three major areas should be considered:

influence of Carrier Aggregation related load on the cell capacity

baseband load in case of Carrier Aggregation

link budget calculations for the UE with two carriers

Cell capacity improvement was out of primary focus during feature specification and
potential gains in this area will come rather as a "side effect". These gains will come from the
improved scheduling flexibility especially for the traffic with highly bursty nature. Note
however that even without CA the DL scheduler is already dealing with resource allocation in
highly efficient manner.
Figure:
Carrier aggregation cell capacity requirement

One of the significant influences on the baseband capacity is in the area of maximum amount
of active users (so RRC connected UEs with DRB established): still 420 users per cell could
be active (like in non-CA case with 6 cells), however, maximum 50 out of them can have this
cell configured as a primary one. Additionally, maximum other 50 UEs can have this cell
configured as a secondary one.
This means that at maximum 50*6 = 300 users could be configured with Carrier Aggregation
- in such a case the total number of active users per eNB is equal to 6*(420-50) = 2220. The
concept is shown in the following figure.
Link Budget is calculated taking into account achievable DL/UL throughput for the single UE
at certain distance/pathloss from the serving eNB. Considering the fact that the CA UE
receives the data from two carriers the maximum allowable pathloss, for which the DL
service requirements are still satisfied, will be increased. However, note that cause Carrier
Aggregation is introduced solely in the downlink direction, the overall DL/UL budget would
not benefit from CA activation once the service is UL limited.
Figure:
Carrier aggregation cell capacity requirement

LTE1332: Downlink carrier aggregation - 40 MHz management data

For information on alarm, counter, key performance indicator, and parameter documents, see
Reference documentation.
Alarms
There are no alarms related to this feature.
Measurements and counters
c85109623.xml#c85109623/table_icc_gmq_4n lists existing counters for this feature.
Table:
Related existing counters
Counter ID Counter name
Measurement
M8001C494 Average number of DL carrier aggregated capable
LTE Cell Load
UEs
M8001C495 Average number of UEs with a configured Scell
LTE Cell Load
M8001C496 Average number of UEs with an activated Scell
LTE Cell Load
M8011C67 Number of SCell configuration attempts
LTE Cell Resource
M8011C68 Number of successful SCell configurations
LTE Cell Resource
M8012C151 PCell RLC data volume in DL via SCell
LTE Cell Throughput
Key performance indicators
c85109623.xml#c85109623/table_otr_g4q_4n lists the existing key performance indicators
related to this feature.
Table:
Related existing key performance indicators
KPI ID
KPI name
LTE_5318a E-UTRAN Average CA Capable UEs in DL
LTE_5319a E-UTRAN Average UEs with a Configured SCell in DL
LTE_5320a E-UTRAN Average UEs with an Activated SCell in DL
LTE_5321a E-UTRAN Penetration of the CA Capable UEs into the Network
LTE_5323a E-UTRAN SCell Configuration Success Ratio
LTE_5323a E-UTRAN RLC PDU Volume DL via Scell
Parameters
Table: New parameters lists parameters introduced with this feature.
Table:
New parameters
Full name
Abbreviated name
Managed
Structure
object
Uplink power control
uplinkPCCommonr10 LNCEL
common rel10 add-ons
UL power offset for PUCCH deltaFPucchF1bCSr10 LNCEL
uplinkPCCommonr10
format 1bCS
UL power offset for PUCCH deltaFPucchF3r10
LNCEL
uplinkPCCommonr10
format 3
Table: Related existing parameters lists existing parameters related to this feature.
Table:
Related existing parameters
Full name
Abbreviated name
Managed object

Table:
Local cell resource ID of cell to be
aggregated
Activation of downlink carrier aggregation
EARFCN downlink
Cell sector id
Sched Carrier Aggr fairness control factor
SCell activation cycle period
Max number Carrier Aggr configured UEs
double carrier
Min UE-AMBR downlink for carrier
aggregation
SCell activation method
Disable PDCCH outer loop link adaptation
in SCell
SCell and PCell ambiguous HARQ feedback
usage
SCell deactivation timer eNB
Carrier aggregation relation identifier

Related existing parameters

lcrId
CAREL
actDLCAggr
earfcnDL
sectorId
caSchedFairFact
sCellActivationCyclePeriod
maxNumCaConfUeDc

LNBTS
LNCEL
LCELL
CAREL
LNBTS
LNCEL

caMinDlAmbr

LNBTS

sCellActivationMethod
disableSCellPDCCHOlLa

LNBTS
CAREL

sCellpCellHARQFdbkUsage LNBTS
sCellDeactivationTimereNB LNBTS
caRelId
CAREL