2

3
Table shows the definitions for the identifiers used for the addressing for PLMNs and
MMEs.
Mobile country code(MCC) is a 3 digit code, assigned by international telecom union
to identify a country in a mobile communication.
Mobile network code(MNC) is a 2 to 3 digit code, assigned by national authority.
Public land mobile network identity (PLMN Id) consists of MCC and MNC. It is used
for unique identification of a PLMN.
International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) consists of PLMN id and Mobile
subscriber identification number(MSIN). It is unique identification of mobile (LTE)
subscriber and not more than 15 digits.
MME temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (M-TMSI) is unique within MME and
assigned by the operator. It is of 32 bits.
SAE Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (S-TMSI) consists of MME code and M-
TMSI and is used to locally identify a UE in short within a MME group (Unique within
a MME Pool).It is of 40 bits.
Globally Unique MME Identity(GUMMEI) consists of PLMN id, MME group id and
MME code. It is used to identify a MME uniquely in global and is not more than 48
bits.
Globally Unique Temporary UE Identity (GUTI) consists of GUMMEI and M-TMSI. It is
used to identify a UE between the UE and the MME on behalf of IMSI for security
reason and is not more than 80 bits.

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Tracking area identity(TAI) is globally unique and consists of PLMN id and tracking
area code(TAC) where TAC is of 16 bits and it is used to indicate which Tracking Area
the eNB belongs and it is unique within a PLMN. It is similar to location area identity
(LAI) in GSM.

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The EPS Mobility Management (EMM) states describe the mobility management
states that result from the NAS mobility management procedures such as Attach and
Tracking Area Update procedures.
The EPS mobility management states are EMM-DEREGISTERED and EMM-
REGISTERED, as shown in the figure.

The UE enters the EMM-REGISTERED state by a successful registration procedure

which is either an Attach procedure or a Tracking Area Update procedure.
And once a UE is detached from the network then it comes down to EMM-
deregistered state.

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The EPS Connection Management (ECM) states describe the signaling connectivity
between the UE and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). EPS connection management
states are ECM-IDLE and ECM-CONNECTED.
This signaling connection consists of two parts:
• RRC connection
• UE-associated signaling connection across the S1_MME called UE-associated logical
S1-connection.

ECM-IDLE:
 In this state there is no NAS signalling connection between the UE and the network
and there is no context for the UE held in the E-UTRAN.
 The location of the UE is known to within the accuracy of a tracking area
 Mobility is managed by tracking area updates.

ECM-CONNECTED:
•In this state there is a signalling connection between the UE and the MME which is
provided in the form of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection between the UE
and the E-UTRAN and an S1 connection for the UE between the E-UTRAN and the
MME.
•The location of the UE is known to within the accuracy of a cell.
•Mobility is managed by handovers.

RRC-IDLE:
• No signalling connection between the UE and the E-UTRAN.
• I.e.: PLMN Selection.
• UE Receives system information and listens for Paging. 9
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Dedicated bearer can be subdivided into Non-GBR and GBR types.
GBR provides guaranteed bit rate and is associated with parameters like GBR and
MBR
- GBR: The minimum guaranteed bit rate per EPS bearer. Specified independently for
uplink and downlink
- MBR: The maximum guaranteed bit rate per EPS bearer. Specified independently for
uplink and downlink

On the other hand, Non-GBR bearer does not provide guaranteed bit rate and has
parameter like A- AMBR and UE- AMBR

- A-AMBR: APN Aggregate maximum bit rate is the maximum allowed total non-GBR
throughput to specific APN. It is specified interdependently for uplink an downlink
- UE -AMBR: UE Aggregate maximum bit rate is the maximum allowed total non-GBR
throughput among all APN to a specific UE

As you can see, the default bearer can only be non-GBR type. Some other important
terms associated with each bearer type are discussed below:

- ARP: Allocation and retention priority is basically used for deciding whether new
bearer modification or establishment request should be accepted considering the
current resource situation.
- TFT: Traffic flow template is always associated with dedicated bearer and while
default bearer may or may not have TFT. As mentioned earlier, dedicated bearer 15
 EPS bearer
An EPS bearer is the logical combination of one or more service data flows (SDFs).
EPS bearers are used to
provide differentiated QoS for services.
When a UE is connected to a PDN, an EPS bearer is set up. Throughout the PDN
connection procedure, the
bearer is retained. The bearer provides a permanent connection to the PDN. This
EPS bearer is called the
default bearer. All the other EPS bearers to the PDN are called dedicated bearers .

 QoS class identifier (QCI)

QCI is a scalar that is used as a reference to a specific packet forwarding behavior
(such as packet loss rate or
delay) to be provided to a service data flow (SDF).
• Defines packet forwarding treatment at each node, e.g., queuing thresholds,
scheduling weight, admission control priority, etc. Packet forwarding behavior is
predefined by QCI-related parameters configured on an access network node
such as an eNodeB.
• Bearers with QCI 1 to 4 are guaranteed bit rate (GBR) bearers, while bearers
with QCI 5 to 9 are non-GBR bearers.

 Allocation/retention priority (ARP)

ARP provides input to the network decision about whether a bearer establishment
or modification request
should be accepted or rejected in case of resource limitation. After a bearer is set 16
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3GPP has defined a number of QCIs, each of which is used for bearers with a specific
priority and attributes. For VoLTE terminals, the recommended default QCIs are as
follows:
 QCI 5 for IMS signalling bearers

 QCI 1 for voice media bearers

 QCI 2 for video media bearers

The E2E QoS control process is as follows:

1. The P-CSCF in an IMS domain sends QCI information to the PCRF over the Rx
interface.

2. The PCRF generates a QoS rule based on service QoS parameters and
subscription information and delivers the rule to the P-GW over the Gx
interface. The QoS rule defines the key QoS parameters QCI, ARP, GBR, and
MBR.

3. Based on the QoS rule, the P-GW instructs the serving gateway (S-GW), mobility
management entity (MME), and eNodeB to set up an evolved packet system
(EPS) bearer.
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3GPP TS 23.401
1. The UE detects a change to a new TA by discovering that its current TAI is not in the
list of TAIs that the UE registered with the network.
2. The UE initiates the TAU procedure by sending a TAU Request (old GUTI, last visited
TAI, active flag, EPS bearer status) message together with an indication of the
Selected Network to the eNodeB. The old GUTI shall be included. The last visited TAI
shall be included in order to help the MME produce a good list of TAIs for any
subsequent TAU Accept message. Select ed Network indicates the network that is
selected. Active flag is a request by UE to activate the radio and S1 bearers for all the
active EPS Bearers by the TAU procedure when the UE is in ECM-IDLE state. The EPS
bearer status that
indicates each EPS bearer that is active in the UE.
3. The eNodeB derives the MME from the GUTI and from the indicated Selected
Network. If that MME is not associated with that eNodeB,the eNodeB selects an
MME on "MME Selection Function". The eNodeB forwards the TAU Request message
together with an indication of the E-UTRAN Area Identity, a
globally unique E-UTRAN ID, of the cell from where it received the message and with
the Selected Network to the new MME.
4. The new MME sends a Context Request (old GUTI) message to the old MME to
retrieve user information. The new MME derives the old MME from the GUTI. If the
new MME indicates that it has authenticated the UE or if the old MME correctly
validates the UE, then the old MME starts a timer.
5. The old MME responds with a Context Response (MME context (e.g. IMSI,
Authentication Quintets, bearer contexts, Serving GW signalling Address and TEID(s))
message. The PDN GW Address and TEID(s) is part of the Bearer Context. If the UE is
not known in the old MME, the old MME responds 23
11. The Serving GW updates its bearer context. This allows the Serving GW to route
bearer PDUs to the PDN GW when received from eNodeB.
The Serving GW returns a Create Bearer Response (MME Context ID, Serving GW
address and TEID for user plane, Serving GW Context ID) message to the new MME.
12. The new MME sends an Update Location (MME Identity, IMSI) message to the
HSS.
13. The HSS sends the message Cancel Location (IMSI, Cancellation Type) to the old
MME with Cancellation Type set to Update Procedure.
14. If the timer started in step 4 is not running, the old MME removes the MM
context. Otherwise, the contexts are removed when the timer expires. It also ensures
that the MM context is kept in the old MME for the case the UE nitiates another TAU
procedure before completing the ongoing TAU procedure to the new SGSN. The old
MME acknowledges with the message Cancel Location Ack (IMSI).
15. The HSS sends Insert Subscriber Data (IMSI, Subscription Data) to the new MME.
The new MME validates the UE's presence in the (new) TA. If due to regional
subscription restrictions or access restrictions the UE is not allowed to be attached in
the TA, the MME rejects the Tracking Area Update
Request with an appropriate cause to the UE, and may return an Insert Subscriber
Data Ack (IMSI, MME Area Restricted) message to the HSS. If all checks are
successful, the MME constructs an MM context for the UE and returns an Insert
Subscriber Data Ack (IMSI) message to the HSS.
16. The HSS acknowledges the Update Location message by sending an Update
Location Ack to the new MME. If
the Update Location is rejected by the HSS, the new MME rejects the Attach Request
from the UE with an appropriate cause.
17. When the old MME removes the MM context, the old MME deletes the EPS 24
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Lossless
- Downlink Packets are forwarded from the source cell to the target
cell.
Network Controlled
-Target cell is selected by the network, not by the UE
-Handover control in E-UTRAN (not in packet core)
UE-assisted
-Measurements are collected by the UE and reported to the network.
Late path switch
- Only once the handover is successful, the packet core is involved.

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For the UE, the following measurements are to be performed inside the LTE system:
• Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), which for a particular cell is the average of
the power measured (and the average between receiver branches) of the resource
elements that contain cell-specific reference signals.
• Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) is the ratio of the RSRP and the E-UTRA
Carrier Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), for the reference signals.
• E-UTRA RSSI, which is the total received wideband power on a given frequency.
Thus it includes the noise ‘from the whole universe’ on the particular frequency,
whether that is from interfering cells or any other noise source.

eNB measurements
•Non standardized ( which is vendor specific):

List of detected preambles: The eNB shall report a list of detected PRACH preambles
to higher layers. Higher layer utilize this info for the RACH procedure
Transport BLER(Block error rate): The ACK/ NACKs for each transmission of the HARQ
process are reported to the MAC. Based on these ACK/NACKs the higher layers
compute the BLER for radio resource management(RRM) issues.
Timing Advance(TA): The eNB needs to measure the initial timing advance (TA) of the
uplink channels based on the RACH preamble
Average RSSI: Measured in UL by eNB. It can be used as a level indicator for the UL
power control. The RSSI measurements are all UE related and shall be separately
performed for ( TTI intervals)
·>UL data allocation (PUSCH)
·>UL control channel (PUCCH)
>Sounding reference signal (SRS)
The eNodeB sends Measurement control messages to the UE giving reporting
thresholds. The UE identifies others cell ids from synchronization signals and
measures other cells’ signal strength based on their RS. When the reporting threshold
condition is fulfilled, the UE sends handover measurement reports to the serving
eNodeB.
CQI Measurements
The most important part of channel information feedback is the Channel Quality
Indicator (CQI).
The CQI provides the eNodeB information about the link adaptation parameters the
UE can support at the time.
The CQI is defined as a table containing 16 entries with Modulation and Coding
Schemes (MCSs).

The UE reports back to the eNodeB the highest CQI index corresponding to the MCS
and TBS (transport block size) for which the estimated received DL transport block
BLER shall not exceed 10%. The CQI operation has a high degree of similarity with
HSDPA CQI use. Note that there are many more possibilities for MCS and TBS size
values than only those 15 indicated by the CQI feedback.
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The detailed signaling messages during the handover procedure are described in this section.
The procedure is divided into three parts: handover preparation , handover execution and handover
completion.
In handover preparation, 6 steps are followed:
1 The source eNodeB configures the UE measurement procedures with a MEASUREMENT CONTROL message. The
message defines the measurement reporting thresholds.
2 When the target cell fulfills the reporting threshold, the UE sends a MEASUREMENT REPORT to the eNodeB. The
typical reporting is event triggered where the UE sends measurements only when the reporting threshold has
been fulfilled. It is also possible to configure periodic reporting.
3 The source eNodeB makes the handover decision based on the UE report. For intra-frequency handovers, the
UE needs to be connected to the cell with the lowest path loss and the network has practically no freedom in
deciding the handover target. For inter-frequency and inter-RAT handovers, the eNodeB can also take the load
and service information into account. The operator may want to balance the loading between frequencies and
may want to push certain services to certain frequency layers or systems.
4 The source eNodeB sends a HANDOVER REQUEST to the target eNodeB.
5 The target eNodeB performs the admission control. For intra-frequency handovers the network has little
freedom in blocking the new connection since the UE transmission will anyway cause the uplink interference to
the target cell even if the UE does not have the connection to the target cell. Actually, the uplink interference can
be minimized by allowing the UE to connect to the cell with lowest path loss. If there are simply no resources in
the target cell, the network may need to release the connection to avoid excessive interference.
6 The target eNodeB sends the HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE to the source eNodeB. The target eNodeB is
now ready to receive the incoming handover.

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In handover execution, above 7 to 11 steps are being followed:
7 The source eNodeB sends the HANDOVER COMMAND to the UE. The source
eNodeB starts forwarding the downlink packets to the target eNodeB.
8 The source eNodeB sends the status information to the target eNodeB indicating
the packets that were acknowledged by the UE. The target eNodeB starts buffering
the forwarded packets.
9 The UE makes the final synchronization to target eNodeB and accesses the cell via a
RACH procedure. The pre-synchronization is already obtained during the cell
identification process.
10 The target eNodeB gives the uplink allocation and timing advance information to
the UE.
11 The UE sends HANDOVER CONFIRM to the target eNodeB. The target eNodeB can
now begin to send data to the UE.

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In handover completion , above 12 to 18 steps are being followed:
12 The target eNodeB sends a PATH SWITCH message to the MME to inform it that the UE
has changed cell.
13 The MME sends a USER PLANE UPDATE REQUEST message to the Serving Gateway.
14 The Serving Gateway switches the downlink data path to the target eNodeB.
15 The Serving Gateway sends a USER PLANE UPDATE RESPONSE message to the MME.
16 The MME confirms the PATH SWITCH message with the PATH SWITCH ACK message.
17 The target eNodeB sends RELEASE RESOURCE to the source eNodeB, which allows the
source eNodeB to release the resources.
18 The source eNodeB can release radio and control plane related resources associated with
the UE context.

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