DRIVE TEST

El Drive Test es un examen efectuado en las redes celulares, independientemente de su tecnologa

(GSM, CDMA, UMTS, LTE, etc ...). Medios para recoger datos sobre la circulacin de vehculos. Su
variacin tambin ha definido de prueba de paseo intuitivo, o caminar para recoger datos para las
reas de inters.
El anlisis de una Drive Test son fundamentales para el trabajo de cualquier profesional en el campo
de las TI y Telecomunicaciones que comprende dos fases: la implantacin de la recogida y el anlisis
de los datos recogidos.
Elementos de drive test
Un PC porttil o hardware similar.
Software instalado de monitoreo
FIGURA 1 Sofware Genex Probe y RF Signal Truck

Fuente: Elaboracin Propia

Clave de seguridad o Dongle
Por lo menos un telfono mvil
Un GPS
Scanner

INDICADORES DE RED (KPI)

En nuestro caso, se llama KPI, a los indicadores de funcionamiento de nuestra red celular, los
principales: RSCP, IC/IO, DSPDA, HSUPA, Pilot Pollution Rate, cada de llamadas, handover, etc.
Si uno (o varios) de estos indicadores son malos, algunos problema real que est sucediendo - y
algunas medidas deben ser tomadas.
A pesar de que son valores tpicos de los KPI, no hay un valor ptimo. Eso es porque son muy
especficos para cada red en particular.

CPICH, RSCP, RSSI , Ec/No

-CPICH (Common Pilot Channel): contine el scrambling codigo de la celda.
-RSCP (Received Signal Code Power): es el nivel de potencia del CPICH (dBm)

FIGURA 2 RSCP Sofware Genex Probe

Fuente: Elaboracin Propia

-RSSI (Received Signal Strenght Indication): es el nivel de potencia sobre toda la portadora de 5 MHz
incluyendo todas las componentes recibidas, de la misma celda y de las adyacentes en la misma
frecuencia
-Ec/No (Energy chip on the Noise spectral density): la energa por chip recibida dividida por la
densidad de potencia de ruido.

Reference Signals Received Power is a measurement of the received power level in an LTE cell
network. The average power is measurement of the power received from a single reference signal.
https://www.laroccasolutions.com/78-rsrp-and-rsrq-measurement-in-lte/

RSRP and RSRQ Measurement in LTE

RSRP and RSRQ are key measures of signal level and quality for modern LTE networks. In cellular
networks, when a mobile moves from cell to cell and performs cell selection/reselection and
handover, it has to measure the signal strength/quality of the neighbor cells.
In LTE network, a UE measures two parameters on reference signal: RSRP (Reference Signal Received
Power) and RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality).
In LTE network, a UE measures two parameters on reference signal:
RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator:The carrier RSSI (Receive Strength Signal Indicator)
measures the average total received power observed only in OFDM symbols containing reference
symbols for antenna port 0 (i.e., OFDM symbol 0 & 4 in a slot) in the measurement bandwidth over
N resource blocks.
The total received power of the carrier RSSI includes the power from co-channel serving & non-
serving cells, adjacent channel interference, thermal noise, etc. Total measured over 12-subcarriers
including RS from Serving Cell, Traffic in the Serving Cell
RSRP Reference Signal Received Power: RSRP is a RSSI type of measurement, as follows there are
some definition of it and some details as well.
It is the power of the LTE Reference Signals spread over the full bandwidth and narrowband.
A minimum of -20 dB SINR (of the S-Synch channel) is needed to detect RSRP/RSRQ
RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality: Quality considering also RSSI and the number of used
Resource Blocks (N) RSRQ = (N * RSRP) / RSSI measured over the same bandwidth. RSRQ is a C/I type
of measurement and it indicates the quality of the received reference signal. The RSRQ measurement
provides additional information when RSRP is not sufficient to make a reliable handover or cell
reselection decision.
In the procedure of handover, the LTE specification provides the flexibility of using RSRP, RSRQ, or
both.
It must to be measured over the same bandwidth:
Narrowband N = 62 Sub Carriers (6 Resource Blocks)
Wideband N = full bandwidth (up to 100 Resource Blocks / 20 MHz)
RSRP 3GPP Definition
Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), is defined as the linear average over the
power contributions (in [W]) of the resource elements that carry cell-specific reference signals within
the considered measurement frequency bandwidth.
For RSRP determination the cell-specific reference signals R0 according TS 36.211 [3] shall be used. If
the UE can reliably detect that R1 is available it may use R1 in addition to R0 to determine RSRP.
The reference point for the RSRP shall be the antenna connector of the UE.
Or, even better, Reference Signal Received Quality is defined as the ratio NRSRP/(E-UTRA carrier
RSSI), where N is the number of RBs of the E-UTRA carrier RSSI measurement bandwidth. The
measurements in the numerator and denominator shall be made over the same set of resource
blocks.
If receiver diversity is in use by the UE, the reported value shall not be lower than the corresponding
RSRP of any of the individual diversity branches.
Applicable for: RRC_IDLE intra-frequency, RRC_IDLE inter-frequency, RRC_CONNECTED intra-
frequency, RRC_CONNECTED inter-frequency
Note1: The number of resource elements within the considered measurement frequency bandwidth
and within the measurement period that are used by the UE to determine RSRP is left up to the UE
implementation with the limitation that corresponding measurement accuracy requirements have to
be fulfilled.
Note 2: The power per resource element is determined from the energy received during the useful
part of the symbol, excluding the CP.
RSRP
In other words RSRP (Reference Signal Receive Power) is the average power of Resource Elements
(RE) that carry cell specific Reference Signals (RS) over the entire bandwidth, so RSRP is only
measured in the symbols carrying RS.
RSRP is the average received power of a single RS resource element.
UE measures the power of multiple resource elements used to transfer the reference signal but then
takes an average of them rather than summing them.
Reporting range -44-140 dBm
RSRP does a better job of measuring signal power from a specific sector while potentially excluding
noise and interference from other sectors.
RSRP levels for usable signal typically range from about -75 dBm close in to an LTE cell site to -120
dBm at the edge of LTE coverage.
RSRP mapping 3GPP TS 36.133 V8.9.0 (2010-03)
 The reporting range of RSRP is defined from -140
dBm to 44 dBm with 1 dB resolution.
The mapping of measured quantity is defined in the table.

RSRQ 3GPP DefinitionReference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) is defined as the ratio NRSRP/(E-
UTRA carrier RSSI), where N is the number of RBs of the E-UTRA carrier RSSI measurement
bandwidth. The measurements in the numerator and denominator shall be made over the same set
of resource blocks.
E-UTRA Carrier Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), comprises the linear average of the total
received power (in [W]) observed only in OFDM symbols containing reference symbols for antenna
port 0, in the measurement bandwidth, over N number of resource blocks by the UE from all sources,
including co-channel serving and non-serving cells, adjacent channel interference, thermal noise etc.
The reference point for the RSRQ shall be the antenna connector of the UE. If receiver diversity is in
use by the UE, the reported value shall not be lower than the corresponding RSRQ of any of the
individual diversity branches.
Applicable for: RRC_CONNECTED intra-frequency, RRC_CONNECTED inter-frequency
RSRQ
In formula:
RSRQ = N x RSRP / RSSI

N is the number of Physical Resource Blocks

(PRBs) over which the RSSI is measured, typically equal to system bandwidth
RSSI is pure wide band power measurement, including intracell power, interference and noise
The reporting range of RSRQ is defined from -3-19.5dB

Reference Signals recap: OFDMA Channel Estimation

In simple terms the Reference Signal (RS) is mapped to Resource Elements (RE). This mapping
follows a specific pattern (see to below).
So at any point in time the UE will measure all the REs that carry the RS and average the
measurements to obtain an RSRP reading.
Channel estimation in LTE is based on reference signals (like CPICH functionality in WCDMA)
Reference signals position in time domain is fixed (0 and 4 for Type 1 Frame) whereas in frequency
domain it depends on the Cell ID
In case more than one antenna is used (e.g. MIMO) the Resource elements allocated to reference
signals on one antenna are DTX on the other antennas
Reference signals are modulated to identify the cell to which they belong.
RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) is a parameter which provides information about total
received wide-band power (measure in all symbols) including all interference and thermal noise.
RSSI is not reported to eNodeB by UE. It can simply be computed from RSRQ and RSRP that are,
instead, reported by UE.
RSSI = wideband power = noise + serving cell power + interference power
So, without noise and interference, we have that 100% DL PRB activity: RSSI=12*N*RSRP
Where:
RSRP is the received power of 1 RE (3GPP definition) average of power levels received across all
Reference Signal symbols within the considered measurement frequency bandwidth
RSSI is measured over the entire bandwidth
N: number of RBs across the RSSI is measured and depends on the BW
Based on the above, under full load and high:
SNR: RSRP (dBm)= RSSI (dBm) -10*log (12*N)

So we have:
RSRQ = RSRP / (RSSI/N)
N = Number of PRBs (Physical Resource Blocks)
RSSI = noise + serving cell power + interference power during RS symbol
So we have that RSRQ depends on serving cell power and the number of Tx antennas
Impact of serving cell power to RSRQ:
Example for noise limited case (no interference): If all resource elements are active and are
transmitted with equal power, then
RSRQ = N / 12N = -10.8 dB for 1Tx
RSRQ = N / 20N = -13 dB for 2Tx taking DTX into account
(because RSRP is measured over 1 resource element and RSSI per resource block is measured over
12 resource elements).
Remember that RSSI is only measured at those symbol times during which RS REs are transmitted
We do not have to take into the count DTx!!!
So, when there is no traffic, and assuming only the reference symbols are transmitted (there are 2 of
them within the same symbol of a resource block) from a single Tx antenna then the RSSI is
generated by only the 2 reference symbols so the result becomes
RSRQ = N / 2N = -3 dB for 1Tx
RSRQ = -6dB for 2Tx
SINR DefinitionSINR is the reference value used in the system simulation and can be defined:

Wide band SINR

SINR for a specific subcarriers (or for a specific resource elements)
SINR = S/(I+N), all measured over the same bandwidth
SNR vs. RSRP
RSRP is measured for a single subcarrier, noisepower for 15KHz= -125.2dBm
Noise figure = 7 dB
Temperature = 290 K
Assumption: RSRP doesnt contain noise power

RSRQ .- Es un parmetro que ofrece informacin acerca de la potencia total recibida teniendo en
cuenta interferencia y ruido trmico. El resultado de RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality) se
define como la relacin N RSRP / RSSI, donde N es el nmero de RB's del ancho de banda de
medida del resultado RSSI.

If your smart phone has to write its autobiography. The first thing your phone will describe is the
amount of measurements it continues to read all the time. These measurement signals are the life
blood of your phone , so that you can use it for the purposes you want be it to call someone ,
email, WatsApp etc.

How a UE communicates ? : Measurements and Signals

Among various measurements, the three most important ones are :

RSRP
RSRQ
RSSI.
All these are derived from Reference signals.
Reference signals are equivalent to what Pilot signals do in UMTS.

RSRP Reference Signal Received Power

RSRP is the water and wine for a UE, from the moment a UE is powered-on to the point it goes into
idle mode. RSRP measurements will be used by the UE at all times.

If analogy helps RSRP is the equivalent tof the UMTS CPICH Received Signal Code Power (RSCP).

What is the usage of RSRP?

RSRP measurements are used for
Cell selection
Cell reselection
Handover
Mobility measurements
Estimate the Path Loss for power control calculations

How it is calculated?
RSRP is the average power received from a single cell specific Reference Signal Resource Element
The average RSRP is taken in linear units
Power measurement is based upon the energy received during the useful part of the OFDMA symbol
and excludes the energy of the cyclic prefix.
Reference point for RSRP measurement is the antenna connector of the UE

Please note, that RSRP can be based upon the cell specific Reference signal transmitted by only the
first antenna port or RSRP can be based upon the cell specific reference signal transmitted by first
and second antenna ports

RSRP Measurement Reporting:

When RSRP value is reported back, its not that UE send the actual measurement right away. No , No,
No.
In fact, a mapping is applied to RSRP measurements prior to including them within RRC messages.
The range of RSRP measurements is defined from -140 dBm to -44 dBm with one dB resolution,
while the reporting range is an integer value between 0 and 97.

Mapping between reported and measured RSRP values

What is the maximum RSPR value which can be reported?

The maximum reportable RSRP is based upon the -25 dBm maximum input power for a UE as
specified by 3GPP.
1.4 MHz channel bandwidth has 72 Resource Elements in the frequency domain. RSRP is based upon
the power of a single resource element so the maximum RSPR equals

-25 10xLOG (72) = -44 dBm

What is the minimum RSPR value which can be reported?

The minimum reportable value is based on the assumptions:
-a maximum path loss of 152 dB,
-a transmit power of 43 dBm
-a 5 MHz channel bandwidth (25*12 = 300 subcarriers)

The above assumptions lead to a minimum RSRP of

43-152-10xLOG (300) = -134 dBm.

Note: An addition of 6 dB has been subtracted to provide some margin

Typical field values for RSRP range from -75 dBm close to site to -120 dBm at the edge of LTE
coverage

RSSI Reference Signal Strength Indicator

The RSSI is calculated as a linear average of the total power measured across OFDMA symbols which
contain Reference Symbols transmitted from the first antenna port (if MIMO is not used). E.g.,
OFDM symbols 0 and 4 in a slot , in the measurement bandwidth over N resource blocks.
The total received power of the carrier RSSI includes the power from :
co-channel serving cells
non-serving cells
adjacent channel interference
thermal noise etc.
Total measured over 12 sub-carriers including reference signals from serving cell and traffic in the
serving cell.
RSSI provides information about total received wideband power including all interference and
thermal noise

Simply we can write it as :

RSSI = wideband power = noise + serving cell power + interference power
RSSI is a more traditional metric which has been used in other technologies such as GSM and
CDMA1X etc.

RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality

In order to get more details about Channel quality and whole bandwidth. A better metric to measure
is Reference signal received quality. RSRQ is a C/I type of measurement and it indicates the quality of
the received reference signal. The RSRQ measurement provides additional information when RSRP
is not sufficient to make a reliable handover or cell reselection decision.
RSRQ is the equivalent of UMTS CPICH Ec/Io .
Usage of RSRQ
RSRQ measurements are also used for
Cell selection
Cell reselection
Handover
Mobility measurements

How it is computed?

Mathematically RSRP is defined as:

RSRQ = RSRP / (RSSI/N)

Where:
N = # of resource Blocks over which the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) is measured.
Measurement can be done on Narrowband or Wideband:
Narrowband N = 62 sub carriers (6 Resource Blocks)
Wideband N = Full bandwidth (up to 100 Resource Blocks or 20 MHz)

Reference Point:

The reference point for RSRQ measurement is the antenna connector of the UE.

RSRQ Measurement Reporting:

Just like RSRP measurement reporting. Similarly, RSRQ measurements are not transmitted straight
away instead a mapping is applied to RSRQ measurements.
The measurement of RSRQ is defined from -3 to -19.5 dB
Whereas the reporting range for RSRQ measurements have an integer value between 0 and 34.

Mapping between reported and measured RSRQ values

Maximum Reporting Value

The maximum reportable RSRQ is based upon the assumption that only the cell specific Reference
Signal Resource Elements are occupied, in other words no traffic is transferred.
As there are 2 cell specific reference signal resource elements per OFDMA symbol so the calculation
becomes:

RSRQ = RSRP / (RSSI / N) = RSRP / (2 x RSRP x N/ N) = 0.5 = -3 dB

During handover, operators can configure paramete for UE to do measurement of RSRP alone or
RSRQ or both.
In this way, it can help UE to make better decisions for mobility measurements.

SUMMARY

In a nutshell it can be concluded, that RSRP provides information about signal strength , while RSSI
helps in determining interference and noise information. Therefore, this is why RSRQ (QUALITY)
measurement and calculation is based on both RSRP and RSSI.

Difference between PSC in 3G and PCI in LTE?

They are similar, and they serve similar purposes. The PSC is a set of 512 scrambling codes used to,
well, scramble downlink transmissions so the UE can distinguish signals from different cells. The PCI
is a set of 504 IDs (derived from 3 primary synch sequences and 168 secondary sequences) used to
scramble certain downlink transmissions so the UE can distinguish signals from different cells. Think
of them as slightly different implementations serving a similar need and function.