UMTS Common Channel Sensitivity Analysis

The UMTS common transport channels forward access channel (FACH) and the random access channel (RACH) are two of the three fundamental channels for a functional implementation of an UMTS network. Most signaling procedures, such as the registration procedure, make use of these channels and as such it is necessary that both channels be available across the cell radius. This requirement makes the choice of the transmission parameters a fundamental one. This paper presents a sensitivity analysis regarding the transmission parameters of two UMTS common channels: RACH and FACH. Optimization of these channels is performed and values for the key transmission parameters in both common channels are obtained. On RACH these parameters are the message to preamble offset, the initial SIR target and the preamble power step while on FACH it is the transmission power offset.