Physical Cell Identity (PCI),

PCI collision & PCI confusion

JAKIR HOSSAIN

Presentation Outline

PCI Overview

PCI collision

PCI Confusion

Physical Cell Identity (PCI)

3
Physical cell identifiers (PCIs) are used for signal synchronization and random access. Each evolved universal
terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cell is allocated a PCI.
There are 504 PCIs in the LTE system. These PCIs are divided into 168 groups, each containing 3 PCIs. (PCI =
3*SSS+PSS)
PSS & SSS two synchronization signals transmitted once every 5 ms

Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS)

3 different sequences called Physical-Layer
Identities (0-2)
Subframe #1 and #6
Mapped on 72 subcarriers in the middle of the
band
OFDM symbol #2

Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS)

168 different sequences called Physical-Layer
Cell-Identity groups (0-167)
Subframe #0 and #5
Mapped on 72 subcarriers in the middle of the
band
OFDM symbol #13

PCI Collision Detection & Self-Optimization

When many cells exist in an LTE system, some cells must share one PCI. A PCI conflict
between neighboring cells may occur if PCIs are planned inappropriately or changed
manually, or if neighboring cell parameters are modified.

To solve this problem, Huawei developed the PCI conflict detection and selfoptimization feature. It helps detect and resolve the PCI conflict between neighboring
cells, allocate optimized PCIs to conflicting cells, and therefore reduce service drop
rates.

PCI Collision
PCI Collision: A PCI collision occurs between two intra-frequency cells that
use an identical PCI. In this case, UEs in the overlapping area of the two cells
cannot implement signal synchronization or decoding. Figure shows a PCI
collision between cell A and cell B.

PCI Confusion
PCI Confusion: A PCI confusion occurs between a detected cell and a
neighboring cell if the two cells have the same frequency and PCI and if the
reference signal received power (RSRP) of the two cells reaches the handover
threshold. The PCI confusion may lead to UE handover failures or service drops.

If the UE does not support ANR, the eNodeB cannot determine whether the detected
cell is cell B or C based on the report by the UE. This may lead to a handover failure.
If the UE supports ANR, the eNodeB can identify cell B based on the E-UTRAN cell global
identifier (ECGI) reported by the UE. Then, a handover to cell B can be performed if
necessary.

Thank You