2

Signaling Analysis Manual

M900/M1800

Base

Chapter 9 Handover Procedure

Station

Subsystem

5
Chapter 9 Handover Procedure
9.1 Overview
Handover procedure includes intra-BSC handover procedure, inter-BSC handover
procedure and inter-MSC handover procedure.

9.2 Normal Procedure

A handover procedure can be divided into 3 types according to different ranges
involved in handover: intra-BSC handover procedure, inter-BSC handover procedure
and inter-MSC handover procedure.

9.2.1 Intra-BSC Handover Procedure

I. Signaling procedure
BTS2

MS

BSC

BTS1

MS

Measurement Reports From MS (1)

Channel ACT (2)

Channel ACT ACK (3)
Handover CMD (4)
Handover Access (5)
(7)

PHY INFO

1.

SABM
UA

Handover Detect

(6)

(8)
(10)

EST IND (9)

Handover Complete

(11)
Handover Performed

Figure 1.1 Intra-BSC handover procedure

(12)

MSC

2
3

Signaling Analysis Manual

M900/M1800

Base

Chapter 9 Handover Procedure

Station

Subsystem

5
II. Procedure explanation
1)

MS sends Measurement Report to BTS1 on SACCH on interface Um, and BTS1

will transfer the message to BSC.

2)

BSC receives the Measurement Report. If it judges that the MS should be

handed over to another cell, it will send CHANNEL ACTIVATION to BTS2 of the
target cell to activate the channel.

3)

BTS2 receives the CHANNEL ACTIVATION. If the channel type is correct, it will
turn on the power amplifier on the specified channel to receive information in the
uplink direction and send CHANNEL ACTIVATION ACKNOWLEDGE to BSC.

4)

BSC receives the CHANNEL ACTIVATION ACKNOWLEDGE from BTS2 and

sends HANDOVER COMMAND to BTS1, which will transfer the command to
MS. The message is sent on FACCH on the Um interface.

5)

MS receives the HANDOVER COMMAND and sends HANDOVER ACCESS on

FACCH to BTS2 for access attempt.

6)

BTS2 receives the HANDOVER ACCESS from MS and sends HANDOVER

DETECT to BSC notifying that the HANDOVER ACCESS message bas been
received.

7)

In case of asynchronous handover, i.e., when BTS1 and BTS2 are located in
different BTSs, BTS2 will send PHY INFO on FACCH to MS while sending
HANDOVER DETECT to BSC. The PHY INFO includes such contents as the
synchronous information for correct access of MS. In case of synchronous
handover, i.e., when BTS1 and BTS2 are located in the same BTS, the PHY
INFO message will not be delivered.

8)

For the asynchronous handover, MS receives the PHY INFO, and sends SABM
on FACCH to BTS2. While for the synchronous handover, MS will send SABM
soon after sending HANDOVER ACCESS.

9)

BTS2 receives the first SABM, and sends EST IND to BSC, notifying it that the
radio link has been established.

10) At the same time, BTS2 sends UA frames on FACCH to MS, notifying that the
radio link layer has been established.
11) Then, MS sends HANDOVER COMPLETE on FACCH to BTS2, which transfers
the command to BSC notifying handover completion.
12) BSC sends HANDOVER PERFORMED to MSC, notifying that the handover has
been completed. At the same time, BSC initiates a local release procedure to
BTS1 to release the old channel occupied.

III. Internal handling of BSC

The internal handling of the BSC in an internal handover procedure is given below:

2
3

Signaling Analysis Manual

M900/M1800

Base

Chapter 9 Handover Procedure

Station

Subsystem

5
1)

Huawei BSC performs handover decision at GLAP. Upon detecting that a call
complies with the handover initiation conditions, the GLAP sends a handover
request that carries a CGI list of the neighbor cells to the GMPU. The GMPU
then selects a neighbor cell from the list based on the cell priority (from high to
low). If the selected neighbor cell is under management of the same BSC based
on the CGI of the cell and that in the [Cell module information table] but there is
no channel available, the GMPU shall select the next neighbor cell. If the
selected neighbor cell is under management of another BSC based on the CGI
of the cell and that in the [Cell module information table], the GMPU shall initiate
an inter-BSC handover procedure that is omitted here. If the selected neighbor
cell with the highest priority is under management of the same BSC and there is
a channel available, the GMPU shall initiate an intra-BSC handover procedure
and this neighbor cell is the target cell. In this case, the source cell sends an
internal handover request to the target cell and starts the 2-second timer to await
the handover preparation completion.

2)

Upon receipt of the internal handover request, the target cell allocates a channel
and sends a CHANNEL ACTIVATION message to BTS2 to activate the allocated
channel.

3)

Upon completion of the channel activation, the target cell sends a CHANNEL
ACTIVATION ACKNOWLEDGE message to the source cell, informing the source
cell that the channel is available. Then it starts timer T3103B1 (see [Cell Call
Control Parameter Table]) to await the HANDOVER DETECT message.

4)

Upon receipt of the CHANNEL ACTIVATION ACKNOWLEDGE message, the

source cell sends a HANDOVER COMMAND message to BTS1, stops the 2second timer and starts timer T3103A (see [Cell Call Control Parameter Table]).

5)

Upon receipt of the HANDOVER DETECT message, the target cell stops timer
T3103B1 and starts timer T3103B2 (see [Cell Call Control Parameter Table]) to
await the HANDOVER COMPLETE message.

6)

Upon receipt of the HANDOVER COMPLETE message from the MS, the target
cell stops timer T3103B2 and notifies such relevant modules as AIE and AIR to
update the RR connection number. At the same time, it sends an Internal
Handover Success message to the source cell.

7)

Upon receipt of the Internal Handover Success message, the source cell
initiates a local release procedure to release the old channel.

8)

The target cell sends a HANDOVER PERFORMED message to the MSC,

informing the MSC that an intra-BSC handover procedure has been completed.

2
3

Signaling Analysis Manual

M900/M1800

Base

Chapter 9 Handover Procedure

Station

Subsystem

5
9.2.2 Inter-BSC Handover Procedure
I. Signaling procedure
2.

MS

BTS1

BSC1

MSC

BSC2

BTS2

MS

Measure Report from MS (1)

(2)

Handover RQD

Handover REQ

(3)
Channel ACT

(4)

Channel ACT ACK (5)

Handover CMD

(7)

Handover REQ ACK

(6)

HANDOVER COMMAND (8)

Handover Detect
Handover Detect

(10)

Handover Access (9)

(11)
PHY INFO (12)
PHY INFO (13)
SABM
Establish IND

(14)

(15)
UA

(16)

HANDOVER CMP (17)

Clear CMD

(19)

Clear CMP

(20)

Handover CMP (18)

Figure 1.1 Normal inter-BSC handover procedure

II. Procedure explanation

Compared with the intra-BSC handover procedure, more A interface signaling are
added to the inter-BSC handover procedure. The added A interface signaling will be
described here. For the descriptions of other signaling, please see 9.2.1Intra-BSC
Handover Procedure.

2
3

Signaling Analysis Manual

M900/M1800

Base

Chapter 9 Handover Procedure

Station

Subsystem

5
1)

When an MS needs to be handed over to the cell under management of the

target BSC (BSC2), the source BSC (BSC1) sends a HANDOVER REQUIRED
message to the MSC to request outgoing BSC handover.

2)

Upon receipt of the HANDOVER REQUIRED message, the MS sends a

HANDOVER REQUEST message to BSC2.

3)

BSC2

activates

new

channel

and

sends

HANDOVER

REQUEST

ACKNOWLEDGE to MSC, notifying MSC the channel is now available.

4)

Upon receipt of the HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message, the

MSC sends a HANDOVER COMMAND message to BSC1, which will transfer
the message to MS, notifying MS to access in the new channel.

5)

Upon receipt of the HANDOVER COMPLETE message from BSC2, the MSC
sends a CLEAR COMMAND message to BSC1, which will initiate a local release
procedure. Then BSC1 responds to MSC with CLEAR COMPLETE, indicating
the clearance has been completed.

III. Internal handling of BSC

The internal handling of the BSC in an inter-BSC handover procedure is given below:
1)

Huawei BSC performs handover decision at GLAP. Upon detecting that a call
complies with the handover initiation conditions, the GLAP sends a HANDOVER
REQUEST message that contains a CGI list of neighbor cells to the GMPU. The
GMPU then selects a neighbor cell from the list based on the cell priority (from
high to low). If the selected neighbor cell is under management of the same BSC
based on the CGI of the cell and that in the [Cell module information table], but
there is no channel available, the GMPU shall select the next neighbor cell. If the
selected neighbor cell is under management of another BSC, the GMPU shall
initiate an inter-BSC handover procedure. For the source cell in this case, the
cell under management of another BSC is the target cell and the BSC that
manages the target cell is the target BSC.

2)

Upon initiation of the intra-BSC handover procedure, the source cell sends a
HANDOVER REQUIRED message to the MSC and starts the 10-second timer
(T7) to await the HANDOVER COMMAND message.

3)

Upon receipt of the HANDOVER REQUEST message from the MSC, BSC2
allocates a channel based on the target cell identify in this message and
activates the allocated channel. After the activation, the target cell sends the
MSC a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message that carries the
HANDOVER COMMAND message. In this case, the target cell starts timer
T3103B1 (see [Cell Call Control Parameter Table]) to await the HANDOVER
DETECT message.

2
3

Signaling Analysis Manual

M900/M1800

Base

Chapter 9 Handover Procedure

Station

Subsystem

5
4)

When BSC1 receives the HANDOVER COMMAND message from the MSC, the
source cell sends the HANDOVER COMMAND to BTS1, which shall transfer this
message to the MS. At the same time, the source cell starts timer T3103A (see
[Cell Call Control Parameter Table]) to await handover completion. If the source
cell receives the CLEAR COMMAND message with cause Handover Success
before expiry of timer T3103A, BSC1 shall consider the handover procedure as
successful. If the MS returns to the old channel before expiry of this timer, BSC1
stops this timer and sends a HANDOVER FAILURE message to the MSC. If this
timer times out before reception of the CLEAR COMMAND message, BSC1 shall
consider the call in the handover procedure as dropped and send a CLEAR
REQUEST message to the MSC to release the call.

5)

Upon receipt of the HANDOVER DETECT message, the target cell stops timer
T3103B1, sends a HANDOVER DETECT message to the MSC and starts timer
T3103B2 to await the HANDOVER COMPLETE message.

6)

Upon receipt of the HANDOVER COMPLETE message from the MS, the target
cell stops timer T3103B2 and transfers this message to the MSC, informing the
MSC that an intra-BSC handover has been completed.

7)

Upon receiving the CLEAR COMMAND message from the MSC before expiry of
timer T3103A, the source cell locally releases the radio resources and sends
back a MSC CLEAR COMMAND message.

2
3

Signaling Analysis Manual

M900/M1800

Base

Chapter 9 Handover Procedure

Station

Subsystem

5
9.2.3 Inter-MSC Handover Procedure
I. Signaling procedure
3.
MS

BTS1

BSC1

MSC1

MSC2

BSC2

BTS2

MS

Measure Report from MS (1)

(2)

Handover RQD

Perform Handover (3)

Radio Channel ACK (8)

IAM
Handover CMD

ACM

(11)

(4)

Handover REQ
Handover REQ ACK

(7)

Channel ACT

(5)

Channel ACT ACK (6)

(9)
(10)

HANDOVER COMMAND (12)

Handover Detect

(17)

Handover_Detect

(14)

Handover Access (13)

PHY INFO (15)
PHY INFO (16)
SABM

Establish IND

(18)

(19)
UA

(20)

HANDOVER CMP (21)

Send End Signal

Clear CMD

(24)

Clear CMP

(25)

(23)

Handover CMP (22)

Figure 1.1 Normal inter-MSC handover procedure

II. Procedure explanation

For the descriptions of this procedure, refer to 9.2.1Intra-BSC Handover Procedure
and 9.2.2Inter-BSC Handover Procedure.
Here introduces briefly the messages on the E interface:
1)

Perform Handover is the message on MAP layer. It contains the CGI of source
cell and target cell and the required channel type. It informs MSC2 that a
handover will be initiated.

2)

RADIO CHANNEL ACK is the message on MAP layer. It contains the information
of the new channel in the target cell and handover number.

2
3

Signaling Analysis Manual

M900/M1800

Base

Chapter 9 Handover Procedure

Station

Subsystem

5
3)

INITIAL ADDRESS MESSAGE (IAM) is a TUP/ISUP message.

4)

ADDRESS COMPLETE MESSAGE (ACM) is a TUP/ISUP message.

5)

Send End Signal is a MAP message.

III. Internal handling of BSC

Refer to 9.2.2 IIIInternal handling of BSC.

9.3 Abnormal Cases

In case of such exceptions as radio interface message loss, call drop, user hangup,
transmission failure, NSS or even BSS equipment failure, the handover procedure
might be incapable to run normally.
There are many reasons resulting in abnormal handover procedure. Only the
common cases will be described here.

9.3.1 Handover Failure Due to CIC Exception

Suppose the CIC allocated in the Handover REQ received by BSC is marked as
BLOCK, BSC will respond to MSC with HANDOVER FAILURE due to "requested
terrestrial resource unavailable".

9.3.2 Handover Failure Due to MS Access Failure

When a MS accesses the new channel, BTS cannot decode the HANDOVER
ACCESS or HANDOVER COMPLETE message correctly, and the handover will fail.
The MS returns to the old channel and responds with a HANDOVER FAILURE
message.
In the intra-BSC handover, if the BSC has not received the HANDOVER COMPLETE
message on the new channel or HANDOVER FAILURE message on the old channel
at expiry of timer T3103A, it shall consider the call as dropped and send a CLEAR
REQUEST message to the MSC on the old channel. Upon receiving the CLEAR
COMMAND message from the MSC, the BSC releases the old channel and notifies
the target cell to release the new channel. If timer T3103B1 or T3103B2 times out, the
target cell shall release the new channel.
In the inter-BSC handover procedure, if BSC1 has not received the HANDOVER
COMPLETE message at expiry of timer T3103B2, it shall send a CLEAR REQUEST
message to the MSC to release the call. If BSC2 has not received the HANDOVER

2
3

Signaling Analysis Manual

M900/M1800

Base

Chapter 9 Handover Procedure

Station

Subsystem

5
DETECT or HANDOVER COMPLETE message, it shall send a CLEAR REQUEST
message to the MSC for the same purpose.

9.3.3 Handover Procedure Initiation Failure

In case of handover procedure initiation failure, perform the following steps:
1)

Check whether the call complies with the handover initiation conditions

2)

Check whether there is a CGI list of neighbor cells in the measurement report

3)

Check whether there is any channel available for the selected neighbor cell

4)

Check whether the data about the selected neighbor cell is correct, for example,
whether the CGI of the neighbor cell is consistent with that in the [Cell module
information table].

5)

Log in to the BSC maintenance system. Click [Trace/GSM Trace/GSM Interface

Trace] to display the [Interface Trace] dialog box. Check whether the LAPD has
sent the GMPU a LAPD_GMPU_HO_IND message on the interface between the
GMPU and LAPD. If yes, the call complies with the handover initiation
conditions. If a neighbor cell with correct data already exists but there is still no
HANDOVER COMMAND message on interface Um, check whether the
handover procedure initiation failure is due to no channel available or another
reason.