UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network

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UTRAN architecture UTRAN en.png
UTRAN architecture

UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) is a collective term for the network and equipment that connects mobile handsets to the public telephone network or the Internet. It contains the base stations, which are called Node B's and Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) [1] which make up the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access network. [2] This communications network, commonly referred to as 3G (for 3rd Generation Wireless Mobile Communication Technology), can carry many traffic types from real-time Circuit Switched to IP based Packet Switched. The UTRAN allows connectivity between the UE (user equipment) and the core network.

The RNC provides control functionalities for one or more Node Bs. A Node B and an RNC can be the same device, although typical implementations have a separate RNC that is located in a central office serving multiple Node Bs. Despite the fact that they do not have to be physically separated, there is a logical interface between them known as the Iub. The RNC and its corresponding Node Bs are called the Radio Network Subsystem (RNS). There can be more than one RNS present in a UTRAN.

There are four interfaces connecting the UTRAN internally or externally to other functional entities: Iu, Uu, Iub and Iur. [3] The Iu interface is an external interface that connects the RNC to the Core Network (CN). The Uu is also external, connecting Node B with the User Equipment (UE). The Iub is an internal interface connecting the RNC with Node B. And at last, there is the Iur interface, which is an internal interface most of the time but can exceptionally be an external interface too for some network architectures. The Iur connects two RNCs with each other.

See also

Related Research Articles

The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP, UMTS is a component of the International Telecommunication Union IMT-2000 standard set and compares with the CDMA2000 standard set for networks based on the competing cdmaOne technology. UMTS uses wideband code-division multiple access (W-CDMA) radio access technology to offer greater spectral efficiency and bandwidth to mobile network operators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3GPP</span> Mobile telecommunications standards body

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is an umbrella term for a number of standards organizations which develop protocols for mobile telecommunications. Its best known work is the development and maintenance of:

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The GPRS core network is the central part of the general packet radio service (GPRS) which allows 2G, 3G and WCDMA mobile networks to transmit Internet Protocol (IP) packets to external networks such as the Internet. The GPRS system is an integrated part of the GSM network switching subsystem.

The Radio Network Controller (RNC) is a governing element in the UMTS radio access network (UTRAN) and is responsible for controlling the Node Bs that are connected to it. The RNC carries out radio resource management, some of the mobility management functions and is the point where encryption is done before user data is sent to and from the mobile. The RNC connects to the Circuit Switched Core Network through Media Gateway (MGW) and to the SGSN in the Packet Switched Core Network.

In telecommunications networks, RANAP is a protocol specified by 3GPP in TS 25.413 and used in UMTS for signaling between the Core Network, which can be a MSC or SGSN, and the UTRAN. RANAP is carried over Iu-interface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Node B</span> Base transceiver stations that serve 3G-enabled user equipment specifically

Node B is the telecommunications node for mobile communication networks, namely those that adhere to the UMTS standard. The Node B provides the connection between mobile phones (UEs) and the wider telephone network. UMTS is the dominating 3G standard.

Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (MBMS) is a point-to-multipoint interface specification for existing 3GPP cellular networks, which is designed to provide efficient delivery of broadcast and multicast services, both within a cell as well as within the core network. For broadcast transmission across multiple cells, it defines transmission via single-frequency network configurations. The specification is referred to as Evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (eMBMS) when transmissions are delivered through an LTE network. eMBMS is also known as LTE Broadcast.

RNSAP is a 3GPP signalling protocol responsible for communications between RNCs Radio Network Controllers defined in 3GPP specification TS 25.423. It is carried on the lur interface and provides functionality needed for soft handovers and SRNS relocation. It defines signalling between RNCs, including SRNC and DRNC.

 SRNC | DRNC  | IUR |  RNSAP | RNSAP  | | |

A radio access network (RAN) is part of a mobile telecommunication system implementing a radio access technology (RAT). Conceptually, it resides between a device such as a mobile phone, a computer, or any remotely controlled machine and provides connection with its core network (CN). Depending on the standard, mobile phones and other wireless connected devices are varyingly known as user equipment (UE), terminal equipment, mobile station (MS), etc. RAN functionality is typically provided by a silicon chip residing in both the core network as well as the user equipment. See the following diagram:

 CN  / ⧵  / ⧵  RAN RAN  / ⧵ / ⧵ UE UE UE UE 
<span class="mw-page-title-main">E-UTRA</span> 3GPP interface

E-UTRA is the air interface of 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) upgrade path for mobile networks. It is an acronym for Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access, also known as the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access in early drafts of the 3GPP LTE specification. E-UTRAN is the combination of E-UTRA, user equipment (UE), and a Node B.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Femtocell</span> Small, low-power cellular base station

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telecom infrastructure sharing</span>

Due to economy of scale property of telecommunication industry, sharing of telecom infrastructure among telecom service providers is becoming the requirement and process of business in the telecom industry where competitors are becoming partners in order to lower their increasing investments. The degree and method of infrastructure sharing can vary in each country depending on regulatory and competitive climate.

System Architecture Evolution (SAE) is the core network architecture of mobile communications protocol group 3GPP's LTE wireless communication standard.

A Home Node B, or HNB, is the 3GPP's term for a 3G femtocell or Small Cell.

The Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO) is the mobile equivalent of a PSTN Central Office. The MTSO contains the switching equipment or Mobile Switching Center (MSC) for routing mobile phone calls. It also contains the equipment for controlling the cell sites that are connected to the MSC.

ATM Adaptation Layer 2 (AAL2) is an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) adaptation layer, used primarily in telecommunications; for example, it is used for the Iu interfaces in the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, and is also used for transporting digital voice. The standard specifications related to AAL2 are ITU standards I.363.2 and I366.1.

HNBAP is a control protocol found in Home Node B networks on the Iu-h interface.

The UMTS channels are communication channels used by third generation (3G) wireless Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) networks. UMTS channels can be divided into three levels:

eNodeB Mobile phone network element

E-UTRAN Node B, also known as Evolved Node B, is the element in E-UTRA of LTE that is the evolution of the element Node B in UTRA of UMTS. It is the hardware that is connected to the mobile phone network that communicates directly wirelessly with mobile handsets (UEs), like a base transceiver station (BTS) in GSM networks.

References

  1. "3G Tutorial, UMTS overview". www.umtsworld.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  2. "KeysightdCX". support.keysight.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  3. UTRAN overall description (Release 11) by 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network, December 2012