LTE Handovers
Purnendu_prakash.singh@alcatel-lucent.
com
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1. LTE Mobility Overview
2. X2 Handover
3. S1 Handover
4. Intra eNodeB Handover
5. Inter Frequency Handover
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LTE Mobility
LTE Mobility can be divided into “Intra-LTE mobility” and “Inter-RAT mobility”. It can be
further divided into RRC Connected and RRC Idle mode mobility. IRAT HO is one type
of inter RAT mobility in RRC Connected mode while cell reselection is referred to as
RRC Idle mode mobility.
In RRC Idle UE performs PLMN selection, RAT/frequency selection and cell
selection/reselection.
RRC connected mode consist of both evaluation and execution.
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UE States & Mobility
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Intra LTE Handovers
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Handover Process
Measurement
UE monitors the RSRP of the serving cell. When the serving cell RSRP drops
below a defined threshold (sMeasure), the user equipment begins RSRP and/or
RSRQ measurements on the surrounding cells.
Triggering
UE sends a measurement report when one or several intra-frequency cells are
measured to be better than the current serving cell.
Evaluation
Serving eNB selects target cell for handover based on the measurement reports.
Preparation
Target eNB allocates resources for the UE.
Execution
Serving eNB sends information received about the target cell to the user
equipment.
Completion
Serving eNB releases resources assigned for the UE after confirmation of a
successful handover.
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Handover Events
The criteria for E-UTRA measurements are A1, A2, A3, A4 and A5.
Event A1: Serving becomes better than absolute threshold.
Event A2: Serving becomes worse than absolute threshold.
Event A3: Neighbor becomes amount of offset better than serving.
Event A4: Neighbor becomes better than absolute threshold.
Event A5: Serving becomes worse than absolute threshold 1 and Neighbor becomes
better than another absolute threshold 2.
For inter-RAT measurement, B1 and B2 are used.
Event B1: Neighbor becomes better than absolute threshold.
Event B2: Serving becomes worse than absolute threshold 1 and Neighbor becomes
better than another absolute threshold 2.
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X2 Handover
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X2 Handover
The intra-EUTRAN HO in RRC Connected state is UE assisted NW controlled HO,
with HO preparation signaling in EUTRAN. The X2 handover is performed without
EPC involvement, i.e. preparation messages are directly exchanged between the
eNodeB.
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X2-Handover Preparation
Source eNB receives UE HO request sent from source eNB to HO command is sent to the UE
measurement reports target eNB
HO decision is made and target eNB Target eNB performs admission RRCConnectionReconfiguration
is selected by the source eNB control and accepts the HO request including the mobilityControlInfo
HO Ack sent to source eNB from Data forwarding initiated towards
target eNB the target eNB
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X2-Handover Execution & Completion
UE accesses the target eNB and Target eNB requests EPC to switch the Path is switched
confirms the HO RACH procedure data path Source eNB finishes forwarding
is initiated RRC Connection eNB → MME : path switch request packets
ReconfigurationComplete is sent. MME → S-GW : modify bearer request once completed UE context
S-GW → MME : modify bearer response can be
MME → eNB : path switch request ACK cleared and resources freed
Target eNB notifies the source eNB that HO is completed
UE resources can be released
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Intra MME Inter EnodeB Handover (X2 Interface)
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RRC Connection Reconfiguration for Measurement
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Measurement Report
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RRC Connection Reconfiguration with Mobility Info
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EDAT Layer 3 Messages: X2 Handover
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S1 Handover
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S1 Handover
S1 Handover imply relocation of MME or S-GW. Signaling is done via EPC when X2 is non
existent between source eNodeB and target eNodeB.
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Inter MME Inter EnodeB Handover (S1 Interface)
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Intra eNodeB Handover
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Intra eNodeB Handover
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Inter Frequency Handover
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Inter Frequency Handover
Handover between two cells with different LTE frequency (earfcn). Inter-Frequency Handover is a licensed
feature providing the mechanism for a connected UE to perform handover to a cell using another LTE-
frequency than the serving cell. The inter-frequency handover mechanism is started only after the RBS has
received an A2 event measurement. When an A2 event is fulfilled, it is first checked if a blind handover is
allowed. A blind handover is performed without ordering the UE to perform inter-frequency measurements.
Two events are triggered:
A2 Event: Serving becomes worse than threshold
A5 Event: serving becomes worse than threshold1 and neighbor becomes better than threshold2
Two Inter-Frequency Handover preparation methods:
Blind inter-frequency handover: eNodeB configures event A2 based on UE report. after A2
measurement report from UE, RBS identifies coverage of selected cell, and start a Blind IFHO
handover process, if prerequisites are followed.
Measurement based inter-frequency handover: If no cell available for blind handover, A5
measurement will be assigned on the UE, UE starts measurements on reported cells and triggers A5
event. Once UE triggers the event, RBS will start IFHO if prerequisites are followed.
If none of above procedures is successful, UE will be released and redirected to the A5 event selected cell
according to Inter-Frequency Session Continuity feature configuration.
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Inter Frequency Handover
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Inter-Frequency Handover
Three IFHO execution methods:
IFHO Release with redirect : Using “Coverage Triggered Inter-Frequency Session
Continuity feature”, where UE in RRC_CONNECTED mode is released and redirected
towards a different LTE frequency when the UE measures poor coverage in the
current LTE frequency. The redirection is controlled by the network and triggered by
UE measurement reports of the serving LTE cell.
IFHO Inter-eNodeB using X2 : if X2 Termpoint has been created between source and
target cell
IFHO Inter-eNodeB using S1 ; if the Eutrancellrelation is created but not the X2
interface between source and target cell.
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Inter-Frequency Blind Handover
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Inter-Frequency Handover (Event A5)
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EDAT Layer 3 Messages: Inter-Frequency HO
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RRC Connection Reconfiguration for IFHO
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RRC Connection Reconfiguration for IFHO
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RRC Connection Reconfiguration for IFHO
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Measurement Report for event A5 (IFHO)
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Thank You
