Link level studies for High Speed Uplink Packet Access

Following the creation of the 3GPP Release 5 specifications, related to High Speed Downlink Packet Access, work was started to also enhance the performance of Uplink dedicated transport channels. This new concept is termed High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) and is based on the utilization of fast hybrid ARQ terminated at the Node B, fast Node B based packet scheduling. As a consequence of the implementation of these techniques, a cell coverage gain (0.5 – 1 dB) and a cell capacity gain (20 – 50%) are obtained, together with an increase of the experienced UE bit rate, when compared to Release 99 values. This project is aimed at obtaining valuable link level experience related to HSUPA operation. Topics being addressed include the generation and verification of AVI tables to be used for system level simulations, the evaluation of the impact of soft handover on link performance, the assessment of the impact of varying the HSUPA-related beta factors (E-DPDCH and E-DPCCH) on link performance and the evaluation of the link level impact of RRM algorithms such as the outer loop power control algorithm considering simultaneous utilization of DCH and EDCH channels.