Terminology » Mobile Communication » WCDMA PICH (Paging Indicator Channel) Explained

WCDMA PICH (Paging Indicator Channel) Explained

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This page describes the PICH, or Paging Indicator Channel, with respect to the WCDMA/UMTS system. The Paging Indicator Channel (PICH) is always associated with a Paging Channel (PCH) on the S-CCPCH (Secondary Common Control Physical Channel).

The PICH carries the Page Indicators (PIs). A PI indicates to a subset of UEs (User Equipments) within a cell whether they should check the next S-CCPCH frame for paging messages.

WCDMA PICH

Key characteristics of PICH:

  • Symbol rate: 15 ksps (kilo symbols per second)
  • Spreading factor: 256
  • Spreading code: OVSF (Orthogonal Variable Spreading Factor)
  • Scrambling: Gold sequence - 3.84Mcps (Mega chips per second), 10 ms periodic
  • Number of PI (Page Indicators): 18 / 36 / 72 / 144

UE WCDMA/UMTS Timers Explained

A comprehensive guide to WCDMA/UMTS timers in User Equipment (UE), covering functions, start/stop conditions, and expiry actions for timers T300 to T317.

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