This is a sample log from Amarisoft Callbox with NTN for LTE NB IoT.  This example is done with a simulated environement for the following setup.

NOTE : If you want to see the contents of full log with Amarisoft Log viewer, go to LogAnalysis section and click on 'Sample Log' in this tutorial of Amarisoft TechAcademy.

The message summarizes configuration details for an NB-IoT system's SIB1, focusing on parameters relevant to a non-terrestrial network (NTN)

• Network Identity: Specifies the MCC (001) and MNC (01), indicating the operator's country and network.
• Cell Status: The cell is marked as barred, meaning it's not available for use by ordinary NB-IoT devices (i.e, non-NTN device).
• Selection Criteria: Minimum signal levels for cell selection are outlined (-70 dBm for Rx level and -34 dB for quality).
• Frequency and Scheduling:
• The frequency band indicator is set to 7. (NOTE : Technically you can use any band for this application based on your requirement. But now 3GPP specifies a few specific bands for NB IoT as shown here )
• System information is scheduled with different periodicities (rf128 and rf64) and repetition patterns.
• NTN Configuration:
• There is a provision for sibType31-NB related to NTN in the non-critical extension, indicating support for NTN.
• The NTN cell is not barred, suggesting it is available for use

{

  message c1: systemInformationBlockType1-r13: {

    hyperSFN-MSB-r13 '01'H,

    cellAccessRelatedInfo-r13 {

      plmn-IdentityList-r13 {

        {

          plmn-Identity-r13 {

            mcc {

              0,

              0,

              1

            },

            mnc {

              0,

              1

            }

          },

          cellReservedForOperatorUse-r13 notReserved

        }

      },

      trackingAreaCode-r13 '0002'H,

      cellIdentity-r13 '1A2D102'H,

      cellBarred-r13 barred,

      intraFreqReselection-r13 allowed

    },

    cellSelectionInfo-r13 {

      q-RxLevMin-r13 -70,

      q-QualMin-r13 -34

    },

    p-Max-r13 10,

    freqBandIndicator-r13 7,

    schedulingInfoList-r13 {

      {

        si-Periodicity-r13 rf128,

        si-RepetitionPattern-r13 every2ndRF,

        sib-MappingInfo-r13 {

        },

        si-TB-r13 b208

      },

      {

        si-Periodicity-r13 rf64,

        si-RepetitionPattern-r13 every4thRF,

        sib-MappingInfo-r13 {

        },

        si-TB-r13 b256

      }

    },

    si-WindowLength-r13 ms160,

    systemInfoValueTagList-r13 {

      0,

      0

    },

    nonCriticalExtension {

      nonCriticalExtension {

        nonCriticalExtension {

          nonCriticalExtension {

            schedulingInfoList-v1530 {

              {

              },

              {

                sib-MappingInfo-v1530 {

                  sibType31-NB-r17

                }

              }

            },

            nonCriticalExtension {

              nonCriticalExtension {

                cellAccessRelatedInfo-NTN-r17 {

                  cellBarred-NTN-r17 notBarred

                }

              }

            }

          }

        }

      }

    }

  }

}

This message configures the radio resource configuration for NB-IoT, with a focus on common settings and NTN adjustments:

• RACH Configuration: Details on Random Access Channel (RACH) settings for coverage enhancement (CE) devices.
• BCCH and PCCH: Broadcast Control Channel and Paging Control Channel configurations.
• NPRACH Settings: Parameters for Narrowband Physical Random Access Channel, such as periodicity and power levels.
• NPDSCH & NPUSCH: Configuration for downlink and uplink shared channels in NB-IoT.
• Uplink Power Control: Power settings for uplink transmissions.
• NTN Common Configuration: Settings specific to NTN, including timing advance reporting and t318.
• ta-Report-r17 : enable/disable UE specific TA report,
• t318-r17 : Radio Link Failure (RLF) related timer
• UE Timers and Constants: Various timers and constants that control UE behavior.
• Frequency Information: Additional spectrum emission parameters.
• Time Alignment Timer: Set to infinity, which affects the timing alignment for the UE.

{

  message c1: systemInformation-r13: {

    criticalExtensions systemInformation-r13: {

      sib-TypeAndInfo-r13 {

        sib2-r13: {

          radioResourceConfigCommon-r13 {

            rach-ConfigCommon-r13 {

              preambleTransMax-CE-r13 n10,

              powerRampingParameters-r13 {

                powerRampingStep dB2,

                preambleInitialReceivedTargetPower dBm-104

              },

              rach-InfoList-r13 {

                {

                  ra-ResponseWindowSize-r13 pp5,

                  mac-ContentionResolutionTimer-r13 pp32

                }

              }

            },

            bcch-Config-r13 {

              modificationPeriodCoeff-r13 n64

            },

            pcch-Config-r13 {

              defaultPagingCycle-r13 rf128,

              nB-r13 oneT,

              npdcch-NumRepetitionPaging-r13 r1

            },

            nprach-Config-r13 {

              nprach-CP-Length-r13 us66dot7,

              nprach-ParametersList-r13 {

                {

                  nprach-Periodicity-r13 ms80,

                  nprach-StartTime-r13 ms32,

                  nprach-SubcarrierOffset-r13 n0,

                  nprach-NumSubcarriers-r13 n12,

                  nprach-SubcarrierMSG3-RangeStart-r13 twoThird,

                  maxNumPreambleAttemptCE-r13 n10,

                  numRepetitionsPerPreambleAttempt-r13 n1,

                  npdcch-NumRepetitions-RA-r13 r8,

                  npdcch-StartSF-CSS-RA-r13 v4,

                  npdcch-Offset-RA-r13 zero

                }

              }

            },

            npdsch-ConfigCommon-r13 {

              nrs-Power-r13 -15

            },

            npusch-ConfigCommon-r13 {

              ack-NACK-NumRepetitions-Msg4-r13 {

                r1

              },

              dmrs-Config-r13 {

                threeTone-CyclicShift-r13 0,

                sixTone-CyclicShift-r13 0

              },

              ul-ReferenceSignalsNPUSCH-r13 {

                groupHoppingEnabled-r13 FALSE,

                groupAssignmentNPUSCH-r13 0

              }

            },

            uplinkPowerControlCommon-r13 {

              p0-NominalNPUSCH-r13 -80,

              alpha-r13 al1,

              deltaPreambleMsg3-r13 0

            },

            ntn-ConfigCommon-r17 {

              ta-Report-r17 enabled,

              t318-r17 ms2000

            }

          },

          ue-TimersAndConstants-r13 {

            t300-r13 ms2500,

            t301-r13 ms2500,

            t310-r13 ms200,

            n310-r13 n6,

            t311-r13 ms10000,

            n311-r13 n5

          },

          freqInfo-r13 {

            additionalSpectrumEmission-r13 1

          },

          timeAlignmentTimerCommon-r13 infinity

        }

      }

    }

  }

}

The message configures parameters for satellite communication in a non-terrestrial network (NTN):

• Ephemeris Information: Specifies orbital parameters like the semi-major axis, eccentricity, periapsis, longitude, inclination, and anomaly of the satellite. Check out here for further details
• NTA Common Parameters: Includes a network timing area (NTA) common parameter value. Check out here for further details
• UL Sync Validity: Defines the uplink synchronization validity duration. Check out here for further details
• K-Offset: Provides an offset value, possibly related to timing or frequency corrections. Check out here for further details

{

  message c1: systemInformation-r13: {

    criticalExtensions systemInformation-r13: {

      sib-TypeAndInfo-r13 {

        sib31-v1700: {

          servingSatelliteInfo-r17 {

            ephemerisInfo-r17 orbitalParameters: {

              semiMajorAxis-r17 8394210402,

              eccentricity-r17 0,

              periapsis-r17 0,

              longitude-r17 242097885,

              inclination-r17 0,

              anomaly-r17 193139

            },

            nta-CommonParameters-17 {

              nta-Common-r17 7776350

            },

            ul-SyncValidityDuration-r17 s240,

            k-Offset-r17 1023

          }

        }

      }

    }

  }

}

Message: n_init=8 ta=25 snr=41.3 cfg_id=0 n_rep=1 n_sf=6 n_sc_start=0

Message: RAR: rapid=8

 

Data:

rapid=8

  ta=25

  ul_grant:

    sc_spacing=1

    i_sc=0

    i_delay=0

    i_rep=0

    mcs=2

    reserved=0x0

  tc-rnti=0x0101

The message is an RRC (Radio Resource Control) Connection Request for NB-IoT

• UE Identity: A unique random value assigned to the UE for this transaction.
• Establishment Cause: Indicates the reason for the request is mobile originating signalling.
• MultiTone Support: Shows that the UE supports multi-tone operation for NPUSCH (Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared Channel).
• Early Contention Resolution: A feature enabled to resolve contention earlier in the process.
• CQI for NPDCCH: The IE CQI-NPDCCH-NB represents the downlink channel quality measurement of the NB-IoT carrier where the random access response is received. The codepoints for the CQI-NPDCCH measurements are according to the mapping table in TS 36.133. The value noMeasurements indicates no measurement reporting.

{

  message c1: rrcConnectionRequest-r13: {

    criticalExtensions rrcConnectionRequest-r13: {

      ue-Identity-r13 randomValue: '2D1318AD6C'H,

      establishmentCause-r13 mo-Signalling,

      multiToneSupport-r13 true,

      earlyContentionResolution-r14 TRUE,

      cqi-NPDCCH-r14 noMeasurements,

      spare '00000000000000000'B

    }

  }

}

The message is an RRC Connection Setup for NB-IoT

• SRB Configuration: Setup for Signaling Radio Bearers with AM RLC configuration, including retransmission and threshold parameters.
• MAC Configuration: Includes UL-SCH configuration for Buffer Status Reporting and a dedicated Time Alignment Timer set to infinity. It would be important to adjust these timer value according to the distance and channels between UE and satellite.
• Physical Configuration: Specifies NPDCCH (Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel) configurations such as the number of repetitions, start subframe, and offset.

{

  message c1: rrcConnectionSetup-r13: {

    rrc-TransactionIdentifier 0,

    criticalExtensions c1: rrcConnectionSetup-r13: {

      radioResourceConfigDedicated-r13 {

        srb-ToAddModList-r13 {

          {

            rlc-Config-r13 explicitValue: am: {

              ul-AM-RLC-r13 {

                t-PollRetransmit-r13 ms6000,

                maxRetxThreshold-r13 t32

              },

              dl-AM-RLC-r13 {

              }

            },

            logicalChannelConfig-r13 explicitValue: {

              priority-r13 1

            }

          }

        },

        mac-MainConfig-r13 explicitValue-r13: {

          ul-SCH-Config-r13 {

            periodicBSR-Timer-r13 pp16,

            retxBSR-Timer-r13 pp64

          },

          timeAlignmentTimerDedicated-r13 infinity

        },

        physicalConfigDedicated-r13 {

          npdcch-ConfigDedicated-r13 {

            npdcch-NumRepetitions-r13 r8,

            npdcch-StartSF-USS-r13 v4,

            npdcch-Offset-USS-r13 zero

          }

        }

      }

    }

  }

}

Message: K_OFFSET=63 LCID:3 len=2 LCID:3 len=41 PAD: len=3

{

  message c1: ueCapabilityEnquiry-r13: {

    rrc-TransactionIdentifier 0,

    criticalExtensions c1: ueCapabilityEnquiry-r13: {

    }

  }

}

The message is an RRC UE Capability Information message for NB-IoT:

• Access Stratum Release: Indicates support for Release 17.
• UE Category: The UE is categorized as NB1, with mention of a later category NB2.
• Multiple DRBs: Indicates support for multiple Data Radio Bearers.
• PDCP Parameters: Specifies supported ROHC profiles and a maximum number of ROHC context sessions.
• PHY Layer Parameters: Shows support for multi-tone operation.
• RF Parameters: Lists supported bands and mentions power class support.
• Radio Paging Info: Reiterates the UE category as NB1.
• Extensions: Include further capabilities like UM RLC, NPRACH Format 2, and NTN parameters indicating support for non-terrestrial network connectivity and timing advance reporting.
• ntn-Connectivity-EPC-r17
• ntn-TA-Report-r17

{

  message c1: ueCapabilityInformation-r13: {

    rrc-TransactionIdentifier 0,

    criticalExtensions ueCapabilityInformation-r13: {

      ue-Capability-r13 {

        accessStratumRelease-r13 rel17,

        ue-Category-NB-r13 nb1,

        multipleDRB-r13 supported,

        pdcp-Parameters-r13 {

          supportedROHC-Profiles-r13 {

            profile0x0002 TRUE,

            profile0x0003 FALSE,

            profile0x0004 TRUE,

            profile0x0006 FALSE,

            profile0x0102 FALSE,

            profile0x0103 FALSE,

            profile0x0104 FALSE

          },

          maxNumberROHC-ContextSessions-r13 cs12

        },

        phyLayerParameters-r13 {

          multiTone-r13 supported

        },

        rf-Parameters-r13 {

          supportedBandList-r13 {

            {

              band-r13 7,

              powerClassNB-20dBm-r13 supported

            }

          }

        }

      },

      ue-RadioPagingInfo-r13 {

        ue-Category-NB-r13 nb1

      },

      nonCriticalExtension {

        ue-Capability-ContainerExt-r14 {

          ue-Category-NB-r14 nb2,

          rf-Parameters-v1430 {

          },

          nonCriticalExtension {

            nonCriticalExtension {

              nonCriticalExtension {

                rlc-Parameters-r15 {

                  rlc-UM-r15 supported

                },

                mac-Parameters-v1530 {

                },

                phyLayerParameters-v1530 {

                  nprach-Format2-r15 supported

                },

                nonCriticalExtension {

                  nonCriticalExtension {

                    mac-Parameters-v1610 {

                    },

                    measParameters-r16 {

                    },

                    nonCriticalExtension {

                      nonCriticalExtension {

                        phyLayerParameters-v1700 {

                        },

                        ntn-Parameters-r17 {

                          ntn-Connectivity-EPC-r17 supported,

                          ntn-TA-Report-r17 supported

                        }

                      }

                    }

                  }

                }

              }

            }

          }

        }

      }

    }

  }

}

This message is an RRC Connection Reconfiguration for NB-IoT, which includes:

• DRB Configuration: Sets up a Data Radio Bearer with PDCP configuration, including an infinite discard timer and no header compression.
• RLC Configuration: Specifies the parameters for the AM RLC in both uplink and downlink. It would be important adjust these timers according to the distance and channel condition between UE and satellite
• t-PollRetransmit-r13 ms6000,
• maxRetxThreshold-r13 t32
• Logical Channel: Assigns a logical channel identity and sets its priority.
• MAC Configuration: Time alignment timer is set to infinity and includes a threshold for time alignment offset.  It would be important adjust these timers according to the distance and channel condition between UE and satellite
• timeAlignmentTimerDedicated-r13 infinity,
• offsetThresholdTA-r17 setup: ms1

{

  message c1: rrcConnectionReconfiguration-r13: {

    rrc-TransactionIdentifier 0,

    criticalExtensions c1: rrcConnectionReconfiguration-r13: {

      dedicatedInfoNASList-r13 {

        '278D2415C2010742013E0...'H

      },

      radioResourceConfigDedicated-r13 {

        drb-ToAddModList-r13 {

          {

            eps-BearerIdentity-r13 5,

            drb-Identity-r13 1,

            pdcp-Config-r13 {

              discardTimer-r13 infinity,

              headerCompression-r13 notUsed: NULL

            },

            rlc-Config-r13 am: {

              ul-AM-RLC-r13 {

                t-PollRetransmit-r13 ms6000,

                maxRetxThreshold-r13 t32

              },

              dl-AM-RLC-r13 {

              }

            },

            logicalChannelIdentity-r13 4,

            logicalChannelConfig-r13 {

              priority-r13 13

            }

          }

        },

        mac-MainConfig-r13 explicitValue-r13: {

          timeAlignmentTimerDedicated-r13 infinity,

          offsetThresholdTA-r17 setup: ms1

        }

      }

    }

  }

}