Interference Cancellation

Issue
Date

01
06 April 2013

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGI ES CO., LTD.

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About This Document

Overview
This document provides an overview of the interference cancellation (IC) feature. It also describes the functions of the IC
feature and How to configure this Feature.
The inherent self-interference in a WCDMA system has a serious impact on system capacity and coverage range. The
parallel interference cancellation (PIC) methods, including Control Channel Parallel Interference Cancellation (CCPIC) and
HSUPA UL Parallel interference cancellation (E-DPDCH PIC), are introduced to eliminate interference signals on the DPCCH
and E-DPDCH. PIC helps achieve higher signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) in demodulation and further improve uplink
capacity of the UMTS system. In addition, E-DPDCH PIC implements inter-board IC and intra-board IC. In this way, other
boards benefit from the IC technique. IC is a multi-user detection technique.

Document Version
Prepared by
Reviewed by

Alaa Eldin Ahmed

(00741338)

Date
Date

06 April 2013

Interference Cancellation
Overview
The CDMA system is also a self-interference system. Its capacity and performance are affected by interference from other
subscribers, known as multiple access interference (MAI). In addition, the far-near effect problem still exists. That is, as the
distances from subscribers to base stations increase and the signals fade, strong signals may suppress weak signals. As a
result, the subscribers with relatively weak signals cannot be detected properly.
The Multi-user Detection (MUD) technique provides associated detection methods for subscribers or reduces interference
from received signals to eliminate MAI and inter-code interference. This technique effectively combats the far-near effect,
greatly improves system performance, and increases capacity of the CDMA system.
IC is one of the MUD techniques
Multi-User Detection Technique:

In the scenario of single user, the noise for the user includes background noise, Inter-symbol interference (ISI), and
exterior interference (including neighboring cell).
In the scenario of multiple users, interference between users should be considered as noise too. This type of inter ference
is called Multiple User Interference (MUI) or Multiple Address Interference (MAI).
A traditional detection technique uses a matched filter to dispreads the received signals and is followed by an information
bit decision. A common receiver does not perform combined signal processing because it does not consider the MAI from
other subscribers. That is, it does not use transmission information from other subscribers.
Compared with the common detection technique, the multi-user detection (MUD) technique uses signal information from
all subscribers that have generated MAI to detect signals of a single subscriber. The MUD technique improves the anti interference capability of the system, solves the near-far effect problem, efficiently uses the spectrum resource in the
uplink (UL), and also increases system capacity.

Noise
Type
NO

Description

ISI

Inter-symbol interference (ISI) is a form of distortion of a signal in which one symbol interferes with
subsequent symbols. This is an unwanted phenomenon as the previous symbols have similar effect as
noise, making the communication less reliable. ISI is usually caused by multipath propagation or the
inherent non-linear frequency response of a channel causing successive symbols to "blur" together. The
presence of ISI in the system introduces errors in the decision device at the receiver output. Therefore, in
the design of the transmitting and receiving filters, the objective is to minimize the effects of ISI, and
thereby deliver the digital data to its destination with the smallest error rate possible. Ways to fight
inter-symbol interference include adaptive equalization and error correcting codes.

MAI

MAI is caused by multiple access technology. Scrambling codes are used to distinguish UEs in the uplink.

Background noise

Scrambling codes are not orthogonal. Therefore, the users interfere with each other in the uplink and
cause Multiple Access Interference (MAI).
When SF is large and subscriber number is small, the MAI is approximate to Gaussian white noise and has
little impact on performance. However, when SF is small or subscriber number is large, the MAI cannot be
taken as Gaussian white noise and affects performance greatly.

Classification of Multi-User Detection Technique:

The MUD technique can be classified into optimal MUD and suboptimal MUD.
- Optimal MUD is implemented by using a matched filter and the Viterbi algorithm to detect the transmit sequence with
the maximum posterior probability for the received signals. This technique is also called maximum likelihood sequence
(MLS) detection. The Viterbi algorithm has excellent performance. The MLS detection uses the amplitude and phase of the
received signals, which are obtained through estimation. The computational complexity of the estimation increases
exponentially with the number of users and therefore the optimal MUD actually cannot be implemented in reality.
- Suboptimal MUD is classified into two types: linear MUD and non-linear MUD. The IC technique is one of the non-linear
MUD techniques. It estimates the MAI produced by different subscribers, through decision and reconstruction, and then
eliminates part of or all interference from the received signals. The interference canceller (IC) need not include the
calculation of correlated matrix. It can be expanded without increasing the calculation complexity. In addition, the
interference canceller can improve the reception performance of low-power signals. Therefore, the IC technique is often
preferred in a third-generation (3G) communications system.
-The basic idea of IC is to estimate the MAI in the received signals through decision and reconstruction and then to
eliminate part of or all interference before the decision. The main IC methods are as follows:
Parallel

interference cancellation (PIC)

PIC performs decision and reconstruction on signals of multiple subscribers simultaneously to reduce the impact of MAI
between subscribers. Currently, the IC method used in Huawei products is PIC.
Successive

interference cancellation (SIC)

SIC performs decision and reconstruction on signals of a single subscriber at each level and then eliminates interference
from the received signals to reduce the impact of MAI on other subscribers at lower levels. Generally, th e operations by
levels are performed in descending order of power of received signals. That is, the SIC operation is performed on
subscribers in sequence from strong power to low power. Therefore, subscribers with lower power benefit most from
the method.

Parallel Interference Cancellation:

Based on different scenarios, Huawei provides the following PIC methods:
Control channel parallel
HSUPA

interference cancellation (CCPIC)

UL interference cancellation (E-DPDCH PIC)

Both CCPIC and E-DPDCH PIC are license-controlled and therefore require license activation on the NodeB side before
use.

Basic Data Flow of Parallel Interference Cancellation:

The IC technique includes the following operations:

1. One-time demodulation or data regeneration: After the NodeB receives the antenna data (data of all subscribers), it
demodulates the data of each subscriber and then modulates the data to obtain the modulated data of each subscriber,
that is, regenerating subscriber data.

2. IC: The regenerated data is sent to the IC module .

3. NodeB demodulation: The NodeB demodulates the data after IC.

Interference Cancellation Objects:

The HSUPA function of the WCDMA system provides a new UL transport channel, called E-DCH. In contrast to HSDPA,
HSUPA uses dedicated channels rather than shared channels. Each UE is assigned a dedicated E-DCH, which is
independent from the DCH and channels of other UEs. At the same time, HSUPA uses various new physical channels .
The E-DPDCH is a physical channel used for the UE to transmit bits (E-DCH processing results) to the NodeB. Subscriber
data is carried on this channel. With the increase of the HSUPA rate, the UL interference increases.
The IC technique is developed to eliminate interference signals on the two types of channels. CCPIC is used to eliminate
interference signals on the DPCCH. E-DPDCH PIC is used to eliminate interference signals on the E-DPDCH.
Figure below show Physical channels required for HSUPA when the R99 DCH is used i n the DL

1-Control Channel Parallel Interference Cancellation:

Control Channel Parallel Interference Cancellation (CCPIC) is used to eliminate interference signals on the DPCCH.
Each subscriber has a control channel that is the major source for the interference, especially for low -rate and lowactivity services. CCPIC is a simplified MUD technique of the receiver in the NodeB. It is used in the heavy-load scenario.
By eliminating interference from the UL control channel signals in the baseband data and reducing UL interference,
CCPIC improves system capacity and thus reduces the investment for operators.
The principle of CCPIC is as follows: After receiving baseband signals, the NodeB demodulates the signals. According to
the multipath delay and fading signals, the data regeneration module regenerates DPCCH signals and sends them to the
IC module for IC processing. The data on other channels such as the DPDCH, E-DPDCH, and E-DPCCH can be
demodulated after IC is performed on the DPCCH

2- E-DPDCH PIC:
HSUPA UL interference cancellation (E-DPDCH PIC) is used to eliminate interference signals on the UL high-rate EDPDCH.
HSUPA provides UL high-rate services. The Radio Access Network (RAN), based on the wideband code division multiple
access technology, is a typical self-interference system. With the increase of the HSUPA rate, the UL interference
increases. The UL interference is a major factor affecting the UL capacity of the RAN.
E-DPDCH PIC greatly improves the UL capacity of the RAN system. When there are few high-throughput HSUPA
subscribers and several low-throughput HSUPA subscribers in the system, high-throughput HSUPA subscribers generate
serious UL interference to low-throughput HSUPA subscribers, and the rate of the original high-throughput HSUPA
subscribers is also affected. E-DPDCH PIC can reduce the interference from high-throughput HSUPA subscribers to other
subscribers. When E-DPDCH PIC is used, more subscribers using low-rate services such as VoIP can access the network,
considering that the rate of the existing subscribers remains unchanged.
In the HSUPA application scenario, if there are some high-rate HSUPA subscribers, E-DPDCH PIC can be used to increase
the SIR and the system capacity.
When E-DPDCH PIC is used, the NodeB demodulates the HSUPA UL E-DPDCH data and then performs IC based on the
demodulated data and the original received baseband data. Then, the NodeB demodulates the baseband data again
after IC. For the baseband data after IC, the interference from the E-DPDCH data is eliminated and the MAI is reduced.
Therefore, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the data is improved.
Huawei NodeB can provide an IC resource pool to share signals generated after IC between the boards. The functions of
the IC resource pool are as follows:
Intra-board

IC: IC results cannot be shared between boards. IC results of an IC-capable board can be used
within the board only but cannot be shared with other boards, irrespective of whether these boards are IC capable.
Inter-board

IC: IC results can be shared between all boards in the NodeB. That is ,when there are multiple ICcapable boards in a NodeB, IC-capable boards can share IC results with each other. In addition, IC-incapable
boards in this NodeB can also share the IC results of IC-capable boards. As a result, users carried on ICincapable boards can use the signals after IC rather than the original signals for demodulation. This improves
the demodulation performance of users carried on IC- incapable boards and brings gain from IC.
Currently, only the 3800/3900 series base stations support inter-board IC. Other types of base stations support intraboard IC only.

HSUPA UL Interference Cancellation:

When to Use HSUPA UL Interference Cancellation
HSUPA UL Interference Cancellation reduces uplink interference and improves uplink system capacity.
This feature yields notable gains in some scenarios. For example, if the system needs to support a small number of
HSUPA users that require high throughput and a large number of HSUPA users that require low throughput, HSUPA UL
Interference Cancellation can be used to prevent high-throughput users from inflicting too much interference on lowthroughput users. Without HSUPA UL Interference Cancellation, the system supports only a limited number of lowthroughput users (such as VoIP users) or has to lower the rates of high-throughput users.
The uplink rates of HSUPA UL Interference Cancellation users affect interference cancellation efficiency and uplink
system capacity. Generally, this feature yields notable gains for high-throughput users on the uplink. Higher rates mean
more gains. Therefore, HSUPA UL Interference Cancellation is recommended for HSUPA cells if the network has high throughput users on the uplink.
When used together with HSUPA Adaptive Transmission (large retransmission state), HSUPA UL Interference
Cancellation yields reduced gains, because a higher proportion of retransmissions leads to a lower efficiency of HSUPA
UL Interference Cancellation.

Configuring HSUPA UL Interference Cancellation

This section describes how to activate, verify, and deactivate the optional feature WRFD-010691 HSUPA UL Interference
Cancellation.

Prerequisites

Dependencies on Hardware
o In the case of the DBS3800, the EBBCd board needs to be configured.
o In the case of the BTS3812E or BTS3812AE, the EULPd board needs to be configured.
When configured with EBBI/EDLP+EULPd, the base station can support HSUPA UL Interference
Cancellation. In this case, the EULPd board must be included in the uplink resource group, and
the downlink resource group must be set up on the EBBI or EDLP board.
When configured with HBBI/HDLP+EULPd, the base station does not support HSUPA UL
Interference Cancellation.
o In the case of the 3900 series base station, the WBBPb board needs to be configured.
Dependencies on Other Features
o WRFD-010612 HSUPA Introduction Package.
License
o The license controlling this feature has been activated.
Other Prerequisites
o The NodeB software version should be not earlier than RAN12.0.
o The BSC6900 software version should be not earlier than RAN12.0.

Procedure

Activation Procedure
1. If the UMTS cell has been activated, run the BSC6900 MML command DEA UCELL to deactivate the cell.
2. Run the NodeB MML command MOD LOCELL to modify the local cell. In this step, se t

IC_MODE to TRUE.
3. Run the BSC6900 MML command ACT UCELL to activate the cell .

Verification Procedure

4. Run the NodeB MML command DSP LOCELL to query the status of a specified local cell .
Expected result: The value of IC MODE is ENABLED.

Deactivation Procedure

5. Run the NodeB MML command MOD LOCELL to modify the local cell. In this step, set
IC_MODE to FALSE.

For example,
//Activation procedure
DEA UCELL: CellId=1;
MOD LOCELL: LOCELL=1, SECT=LOCAL_SECTOR, IC_MODE=TRUE;
ACT UCELL: CellId=1;
//Verification procedure
DSP LOCELL: LOCELL=1;
//Deactivation procedure
MOD LOCELL: LOCELL=1, SECT=LOCAL_SECTOR, IC_MODE=FALSE;

Performance check:
To determine whether HSUPA UL Interference Cancellation has taken effect, check the values of the following
NodeB Counters:

Counter Name

Counter Description

VS.HSUPA.Ic.MeanEff

A verage efficiency of IC in the cell in each scheduling period

VS.HSUPA.Ic.MaxEff

Max efficiency of IC in the cell

HSUPA UL Interference Cancellation increases cell uplink throughput. To find out how much the cell uplink throughput
has increased, compare the uplink throughput before the feature is enabled with the uplink throughput after the feature
is enabled. The following NodeB counters indicate uplink throughput in a cell

Counter Name

Counter Description

VS.HSUPA.Thruput

total number of bits in MAC-d PDUs successfully received from all users
within a measurement period

VS.HSUPA.MeanBitRate

average bit rate of MAC-d data flows successfully received from all users
within a measurement period

VS.HSUPA.MeanBitRate.WithData

average bit rate of MAC-d data flows successfully received from all users
in data transmission within a measurement period

Hint:
Benefit of Interference Cancellation:
IC reduce the interference among users and increase the UL cell throughput by 21~55%