1 3JK11052AAAAWBZZA Typical Radio Problems

Do not delete this graphic elements in here:
11
Section 1
Radio Fine Tuning
Module 1
Typical Radio Problems
3JK11052AAAAWBZZA Issue 01
EVOLIUM Base Station Subsystem

Introduction to Radio Fine Tuning B10
3FL10493ADAAZZZZA Issue 01
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2008

Section 1 Module 1 Page 1
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112
Radio Fine Tuning Typical Radio Problems

EVOLIUM Base Station Subsystem Introduction to Radio Fine Tuning B10
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Document History
Edition
Date
Author
Remarks
01
YYYY-MM-DD
Last name, first name
First edition

Module Objectives
Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:
Characterize typical radio problems in order to trigger an intervention of the
appropriate team
113


Module Objectives [cont.]
114
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Table of Contents
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1
2
3
4
5
6
Theoretical Presentation
Coverage Problem
Interference Problem
Unbalanced Power Budget Problem
TCH Congestion Problem
Deducing the Right Team for Intervention
115


7
9
18
32
38
43
Table of Contents [cont.]

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116

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1 Theoretical Presentation
117


1 Theoretical Presentation
Justification
Several sources of information can alert RFTM team:

QoS indicators
Customers complaints
Drive tests
Other teams information (NSS statistics)
As many symptoms are common to several causes, it can be necessary

to:
Consolidate standard sources of information
Carry out specific examinations
Deduce the appropriate team for intervention
118


2 Coverage Problem
119


2 Coverage Problem
Definition and Symptoms

Definition: Bad coverage

A network or cell facing coverage problems presents a bad RxLev and RxQual
at the same time on some areas.
Symptoms:
Customers complain about dropped calls or/and no network
OMC QoS indicators

TCH failure rate

Call drop rate
Low proportion of better cell HO
High rate of DL quality HO
A interface indicators
High rate of Clear Request messages, cause radio interface failure
1 1 10

No information is available on non-covered parts of the network, as there are non-mobiles making calls over
there!
Nevertheless, cells in border of non-covered zones do have a particular behavior:
B
A
Cell A will mainly perform Better Cell handovers towards its neighbors, whereas cell B, bordering the noncoverage area, will perform emergency handovers for MSs exiting the network.
For these MSs, mainly DL Quality HO will be triggered:
DL because MS antenna is less efficient than BTS one,
Quality rather than Level since Qual has a greater priority in Alcatel-Lucent HO causes.

2 Coverage Problem
Examination
Depending on the information sources you have:

Radio Measurement Statistics (RMS)
(RxLevel , RxQuality) matrix
Radio Link Counter S vector
Number of calls with DL/UL bad coverage (bad RxLev, bad RxQual)
Abis interface (for example with COMPASS)

bad quality > 5%
bad level RxLev < - 95 dBm and RxQual > 4
OMC-R or A interface
unexpected high traffic, induced by call repetition
Billing information
High recall rate detected
1 1 11

RMS:
Provides statistics from any area in the network which are available at any time.
Cost-effective.
Easier and cheaper to perform than Drive test or Abis Trace.
The operator can tune 54 parameters (based on RxLev, BFI, C/I, Radio Link Counter S, Path Balance, etc.)
to define up to 16 templates (depending on cell type rural, urban, etc. for example).
Trigger from the OMC-R.
NPO can save up to 15 days of RMS for the complete network.
Templates can be designed in NPO.
Default result reports are available in NPO.

2 Coverage Problem
Typical Causes
If the actual coverage is not the one predicted by RNP tools:

check antenna system
increase or decrease antenna down-tilt
check BS_TXPWR_MAX
to be increased if value different from RNP power budget
If the actual coverage is OK compared to the predicted ones:

indoor traffic, to be handled by specific means
if black spot close to cell border, ease outgoing HO
1 1 12


2 Coverage Problem
Investigation with Abis Trace

Example of an Abis trace analysis
TRX index
RxLev_UL
RxLev_DL
Path_loss_UL
Path_loss_DL
delta_Path_loss
Delta_quality
AV_MS_PWR
-89.29
-84.67
RxQual_UL RxQual_DL
0.42
0.43
123.82
123.67
0.15
-0.01
34.53
3074
-89.77
-89.09
0.41
0.38
124.87
128.09
-3.21
0.03
35.11
10 253
-83.15
-79.15
0.17
0.33
116.05
121.22
-5.16
-0.16
32.9
5339
Nb_of_samples
DISTRIBUTION OF UPLINK QUALITY

TRX index
Qual0
Qual1
Qual2
Qual3
Qual4
Qual5
Qual6
Qual7
Bad_Quality
86.50%
3.19%
2.50%
2.57%
1.92%
2.08%
0.98%
0.26%
3.32%
88.11%
1.82%
1.91%
2.51%
2.14%
2.17%
1.15%
0.19%
3.51%
77.70%
4.30%
4.30%
4.36%
3.56%
3.56%
1.70%
0.17%
5.43%
DISTRIBUTION OF DOWNLINK QUALITY

TRX index
Qual0
Qual1
Qual2
Qual3
Qual4
Qual5
Qual6
Qual7
Bad_Quality
88.29%
1.82%
2.05%
2.37%
1.30%
1.46%
1.76%
0.94%
4.16%
87.50%
2.98%
2.60%
2.43%
2.11%
1.14%
0.74%
0.50%
2.38%
71.30%
3.82%
4.02%
4.89%
4.16%
4.30%
4.23%
3.16%
11.73%
1 1 13

It could have been coverage problems if this trace was made for 3 mono-TRX cells. In this case, the 3 lines are
uncorrelated. Anyway, delta path loss of frequency 111 is greater than 5dB, showing a problem on this TRX.
If this is a 3-TRX cell, it cannot be a coverage problem as the three TRXs are not impacted. It will be either
interference or malfunction of one TRE.
If the trace is done on 3 mono-TRX cells, in that case, it could be a coverage problem. Be careful when
interpreting this result table: even if average levels in the UL and the DL are high and a lot of Quality
problems are seen, nobody can say that samples with bad quality have a good level! The level seen is just an
average
One should have a look at the next slide

2 Coverage Problem
Investigation with Abis Trace [cont.]


5
7
11
1
12
3.74%
Neigh_Cell_N
b
0
10
5
7
BC_DL: 115
6
-88.00
3
3
-95.33
3
3
-71.00
1
6
-80.00
1
3
-80.00
1
<RxLev_Serving>= -102.17 dBm
BSIC
<Lev>
Samples
-100.53
2
57
2
-98.71
45
6
-98.03
34
3
-98.61
33
Frequency: 92
Number_UL: 10 253
Number_DL: 10 253
Int_UL: 2
Bad Coverage
RxLev -95
RxQual > 4
Interference
RxLev > -95
RxQual > 4
0.02%
3.49%
BC_UL: 358
Thresholds
Int_DL: 0%
BC_DL: 244
2.38%
Neigh_Cell_Nb
0
1
Frequency: 111

BSIC
<Lev>
Samples
2
67
104.64
5
48
107.50
Number_UL: 5339
Number_DL: 5339
0.00%
5.43%
Int_UL: 0
BC_UL: 290
Int_DL: 0%
BC_DL: 626
11.73%
Neigh_Cell_N
b
10
1 1 14

BSIC
<Lev>
Samples
-101.54
2
63

All samples are Bad Coverage samples (BC). None is interference, showing that this cell is not facing any
interference problem.
By the way, if the cell is:
mono-TRX, this is a coverage problem.
3 TRXs, this is a malfunction of the TRE (shown also by the high value of delta_path_loss).

2 Coverage Problem
Investigation with RMS

Suspecting a cell coverage problem

Distribution of samples per RxQual value and RxLev band
Downlink Samples Matrix in log scale
Interval of number
of samples
RxQuality (Nb)
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
[-110,
-104[
[-104,
-98[
[-98,
-92[
[-92,
-86[
[-86,
-80[
[-80,
-74[
[-74,
-68[
[-68,
-62[
[-62,
-56[
[-56,
-47[
RxLevel
(dB)
[0, 14 793]
]14 793, 23 446]
]23 446, 29 586]
]29 586, 34 348]
]34 348, 38 239]
]38 239, 41 529]
]41 529, 44 378]
]44 378, 46 892]
Out of Range
Not acceptable coverage limit:

too low level
too bad quality
Distribution of samples per RxLev band
1 1 15

A coverage problem is observed when a significant amount of the traffic of a cell is suffering from both low
level and bad quality (RxQual).
To confirm, distribution of samples per RXLEV band should be also considered to know the proportion of calls
which are experiencing a low signal level.
If a lot of samples of low level and bad quality are observed for only a sub-part of the TRXs (can be one only)
then a BTS hardware problem or a problem on the antenna should be suspected.
If all the TRXs are experiencing a lot of samples of low level and bad quality then a coverage problem must be
suspected.
These RMS indicators are provided on the NPO tool per TRX, per Cell:
Matrix of Number of Measurement Results per DL RxQual value and per DL RxLev band
RMQLDSAM = RMS_DL_RxQuality_RxLevel_sample
Vector of Percentage of Samples per DL RxLev band

RMQLDLVDV = RMS_DL_RxLevel_distrib
Vector of Percentage of Samples per DL RxQual band
RMQLDQUDV = RMS_DL_RxQuality_distrib

2 Coverage Problem
Investigation with RMS [cont.]

Suspecting a cell coverage problem

Average TA values per RxQual value and RxLev band
Uplink average TA Distribution
Down
RxQuality (Nb)
7
6
Interval of average
Timing Advance
5
4
[0, 2]
]2, 4]
]4, 6]
]6, 8]
Out of Range
3
2
1
0
[-110,
-104[
[-104,
-98[
[-98,
-92[
[-92,
-86[
[-86,
-80[
[-80,
-74[
[-74,
-68[
[-68,
-62[
[-62,
-56[
[-56,
-47[
RxLevel
(dB)
Maximum Timing Advance and TA > threshold
1 1 16
12.00%
10.00%
8.00%
6.00%
4.00%
2.00%
13/01/2002
12/01/2002
11/01/2002
10/01/2002
09/01/2002
08/01/2002
07/01/2002
06/01/2002
05/01/2002
04/01/2002
03/01/2002
02/01/2002
0.00%
14/01/2002
TA max
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
14.00%
01/01/2002
Acceptable
coverage limit:
sufficient level and
good quality
% of TA value
over TA threshold
has also to be
considered
%N > TA thres
16.00%
01/12/2001
Not acceptable
coverage limit:
too low level and
too bad quality
N > TA thres
TA max
TA threshold

In order to know if the coverage problem is due to a big amount of traffic at the cell border or rather to
indoor calls, the average TA value per RXQUAL value and RXLEV band as well as the Percentage of TA values
over TA threshold should be observed:
Matrix of Average TA per UL RxQual value and per UL RxLev band
RMQLUTAM = RMS_UL_RxQuality_RxLevel_TimingAdvance
Rate of Measurements Results whose TA is greater than the TA threshold

RMTAGTR = RMS_TimingAdvance_greater_threshold_rate
Maximum TA value of all values reported in Measurement Results

RMTAMXN = RMS_TimingAdvance_max

2 Coverage Problem
Investigation with RMS [cont.]

Suspecting a local cell coverage problem

RxQual and RxLev per TA bands
2.5
5
4
Bad quality
and bad Level
for a specific TA band
3
2
1
0
[0,5[
[6,11[
[12,18
[
[19,24
[
[25,30[
[31,36[
[37,42[
[43,48[
[49,54[ [55,63[
- 59
-47
- 60
- 70
- 80
- 90
- 110
[0,5[
[6,11[
[12,18
[
[19,24
[
[25,30[
[31,36[
[37,42[
[43,48[
[49,54[ [55,63[
Coverage problem
1 1 17

In order to know if the coverage problem is due to a big amount of traffic at the cell border or rather to
indoor calls, the average TA value per RXQUAL value and RXLEV band as well as the Percentage of TA values
over TA threshold should be observed:
Matrix of Average TA per UL RxQual value and per UL RxLev band
RMQLUTAM = RMS_UL_RxQuality_RxLevel_TimingAdvance
Rate of Measurements Results whose TA is greater than the TA threshold

RMTAGTR = RMS_TimingAdvance_greater_threshold_rate
Maximum TA value of all values reported in Measurement Results

RMTAMXN = RMS_TimingAdvance_max

3 Interference Problem
1 1 18



Definition: Interference
A network facing interference problems presents good RxLev and bad RxQual
at the same time on some areas.
Symptoms
Customers complain about bad speech quality (noisy calls) and/or call drops
OMC QoS indicators:

SDCCH/TCH Drop
Low proportion of better cell HO
High rate of DL/UL quality HO and interference HO
Low HO success rate
1 1 19

DL/UL depends on the way on which the interference is present.

Mainly, interferences are in the DL, due to bad frequency planning introducing interferences in the network.
And this problem will not change till the frequency plan is not returned
Sometimes, interference can be in the UL in very dense area (for example, microcell area), since MSs are very
close.
Finally, sometimes interferences are not coming from BS or MS but from another radio equipment, either in
the UL or the DL.

Examination with RMS

Radio Measurement Statistics (RMS)

RxQual/RxLev matrix
CFE/RxLev matrix
C/I vectors for neighbors
C/I vectors for MAFA frequencies
MAFA is a new standardized GSM feature for mobiles
MAFA mobiles can provide C/I measurements from non-neighbor cells
Number of calls with DL/UL interference (good RxLev, bad RxQual)

Number of noisy calls (bad RxQual) with bad voice quality (bad FER)
A high rate use of the most robust AMR codecs also denounces interferences
problems. But be careful, this can also be due to a pessimistic choice of the
thresholds used for codec change.
1 1 20

The feature Radio Measurement Statistics (RMS) is designed to make far easier the work for planning and
optimization of the network by providing the operator with useful statistics on reported radio measurements.
In fact these statistics give directly the real cell characteristics by taking into account the MS distribution.
Thanks to this feature, the operator is able to:
detect interfered frequencies.
assess the quality of the cell coverage.
detect and quantify cell unexpected propagation.
assess the traffic distribution in the cell from statistics on reported neighboring cells.
evaluate the voice quality in the cell.
etc.
In regards to the RTCH Measurements Observation (measurement type 11), the Radio Measurement
Statistics feature (RMS) brings the following advantages:
smaller report files.
the report files always have the same maximum length no matter what the measurement duration is.
every measurement is taken into account (no sampling).
no more need for measurement post-processing tools for statistics. Directly available with NPO.

Examination with RMS [cont.]

Suspecting a cell interference problem

Number of samples per RxQual value and RxLev band
Downlink Samples Matrix in log scale
Interval of number
of samples
RxQuality (Nb)
7
6
55
4
3
2
1
0
[-110,
-104[
[-104,
-98[
[-98,
-92[
[-92,
-86[
[-86,
-80[
[-80,
-74[
[-74,
-68[
[-68,
-62[
[-62,
-56[
Downlink average RxQuality per RxLevel
[-56,
-47[
RxLevel
(dB)
[0, 14 793]
]14 793, 23 446]
]23 446, 29 586]
]29 586, 34 348]
]34 348, 38 239]
]38 239, 41 529]
]41 529, 44 378]
]44 378, 46 892]
Out of Range
Average DL RxQuality = 2.81
RxQuality (Nb)
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
[-110,
-104[
[-104,
-98[
[-98,
-92[
[-92,
-86[
[-86,
-80[
[-80,
-74[
[-74,
-68[
[-68,
-62[
[-62,
-56[
[-56,
-47[
RxLevel
(dB)
RxQuality
Average
Average RxQual value per RXLev band

has also to be considered
1 1 21
Quality problems are obvious at any

level of RMS data
Interference highlighted
Network fine tuning needed



Suspecting a Voice Quality problem

Number of samples per BFI band and RxLev band
Consecutive Frame Erasure Matrix in log scale
CFE (Nb)
[22,
25[
[14, 18[
Interval of number
of samples
[18,
22[
[14, 18[
[14, 18[
[14,
18[
[10, 14[
[8, 10[
[6, 8[
[4, 6[
[2, 4[
[1, 2[
[0, 1[
[-110,
-104[
[-104,
-98[
[-98,
-92[
[-92,
-86[
[-86,
-80[
Consecutive Frame Erasure (BFI) is a

measurement based on loss of consecutive
speech frames over one SACCH mw.
[-80,
-74[
[-74,
-68[
[-68,
-62[
[-62,
-56[
[-56,
-47[
RxLevel
(dB)
[0, 14 793]
]14 793, 23 446]
]23 446, 29 586]
]29 586, 34 348]
]34 348, 38 239]
]38 239, 41 529]
]41 529, 44 378]
]44 378, 46 892]
Out of Range
Uplink average Consecutive Frame Erasure per RxLevel

CFE
Average
RxQuality
Average
Average CFE
8
Average RxQual
6
6
4
5
4
It is directly linked to Voice Quality.
2
1
0
[-110,
-104[
RxQual to be compared with CFE since Bad

RxQual does not always mean bad VQ.
1 1 22
[-104,
-98[
[-98,
-92[
[-92,
-86[
[-86,
-80[
[-80,
-74[
[-74,
-68[
[-68,
-62[
[-62,
-56[
[-56,
-47[
RxLevel (dB)

Matrix of Number of Measurements Results per CFE band (or BFI band) and per UL RxLev band
RMFEM = RMS_UL_ConsecutiveFrameErasure_RxLevel_sample
Vector of Average number of Consecutive Frame Erasure per UL RxLev band

RMFEBFAV = RMS_UL_ConsecutiveFrameErasure_avg_per_RxLevel
Vector of Average UL RxQual per RxLev band

RMQLUQUAV = RMS_UL_RxQuality_avg_per_RxLevel


Suspecting a local interference problem

RxQual and RxLev per TA bands
2.5
5
4
Bad quality
and good Level
for a specific TA band
3
2
1
0
[0,5[
[6,11[
[12,18
[
[19,24
[
[25,30[
[31,36[
[37,42[
[43,48[
[49,54[ [55,63[
- 59
-47
- 60
- 70
- 80
- 90
- 110
[0,5[
[6,11[
[12,18
[
[19,24
[
[25,30[
[31,36[
[37,42[
[43,48[
[49,54[ [55,63[
interference problem
1 1 23

Matrix of Number of Measurements Results per CFE band (or BFI band) and per UL RxLev band
RMFEM = RMS_UL_ConsecutiveFrameErasure_RxLevel_sample
Vector of Average number of Consecutive Frame Erasure per UL RxLev band

RMFEBFAV = RMS_UL_ConsecutiveFrameErasure_avg_per_RxLevel
Vector of Average UL RxQual per RxLev band

RMQLUQUAV = RMS_UL_RxQuality_avg_per_RxLevel

Typical Causes
GSM interference
co-channel
adjacent
Non-GSM interference
other Mobile Networks
other RF sources
1 1 24


GSM Interference: Adjacent Channels

Adjacent channel interference

+6dB are sufficient to interfere (9dB according to GSM)
F(BTS1) = F(BTS2)+1
F(BTS2)
Level
F(BTS1)
6 dB
Frequency
1 1 25


GSM Interference: Adjacent Channels [cont.]

Adjacent channel interference:

Symptom
Usually downlink interference
High rate of quality HO, call drop (due to HO but mainly due to radio) and TCH
assignment failure
Examination
Neighbor cells in Abis trace (only for BCCH)
Non-neighbor cells in RMS (MAFA frequencies)
Frequency planning C/(I adjacent) < -6dB
Correction
Downtilt increase of interferer, or even change of antenna orientation
Reduction of BS power if necessary, Change of frequency (best solution)
Concentric cell implementation (1 extra TRX needed if traffic cannot be supported
by Outer+Inner configuration)
1 1 26


GSM Interference: Co-Channel

GSM Interference
Co-Channel interference
-12dB are sufficient (-9dB according to GSM)
by Outer+Inner configuration
F(BTS1) = F(BTS2)
F(BTS2)
Level
F(BTS1)
-12 dB
Frequency
1 1 27


GSM Interference: Co-Channel [cont.]

Co-channel interference
Symptom
Usually downlink interference
High rate of quality HO, call drop and call failure
Examination
Neighbor cells in Abis trace (only for BCCH)
Non-neighbor cells in RMS (MAFA frequencies)
Frequency planning C/I < 12 dB
Correction
Downtilt increase of interferer, or even change of antenna orientation
Reduction of BS power, Change of frequency
Concentric cell implementation (1 extra TRX needed if traffic cannot be supported
by Outer+Inner configuration)
1 1 28


GSM Interference: cellular

GSM interference: cellular
BTS1: ARFCN 5
BTS2: ARFCN 6
MS 2
(outdoor)
BTS 1
(Micro)
BTS 2
MS 1
(indoor)
MS1 indoor
RxLev_UL: - 90 dBm
MS2 outdoor, connected to BTS2

1: no level on BTS1
(BTS 1 under-roof)
2: - 80 dBm on BTS1:
interferer UL/DL
3: no level on BTS1
cell algo prevents BTS2->BTS1 HO
3
1 1 29

When interferences are created by frequency planning, its not so hard to detect them. But frequency
planning tools mainly consider DL C/I and coverage.
Some problems are more difficult to predict. For example, lets consider a microcell layer:
B
A
A and B are 2 microcells with the coverage described before in dense urban environment.
Even if both cells A & B are using adjacent frequencies (5 and 6), the overlapping area is far from cell A
antenna. Thus, in this area C/I is lower than 6 dB.
A red MS is connected to cell A. When the MS starts its call, it transmits full power and a PC algorithm
quickly reduces MS power as the received level is very good (microcell coverage). When MS A enters the
building, it faces a loss of signal of 20 dB. Then, the MS power increases to MS_TXPWR_MAX.
A second mobile B is connected to cell B and moves down in the coverage area of cell B. The MS power of
B decreases quickly down to MS_TXPWR_MIN as the MS is close to the antenna. But when MS B arrives outside
the building where A is sitting, A and B are close and transmitting on adjacent frequencies Then B has to
increase its power to avoid dropping its call. By the way, global level of freq B is increased in all cell B
creating interference in the UL.

GSM Interference: Forced Directed Retry

GSM Interference: Forced Directed Retry

The MS should connect to cell2, but no TCH
available
The MS connects to cell 1 with forced
directed retry
The MS is emitting at high level (far from
BTS1)
C e ll 1
:2
UL interference for BTS 3
BTS 1
BTS 1 is emitting at high level

DL interference at BTS 3
MS
BTS 2
C
el
l 2
: 45
BTS 3
Ce
1 1 30
ll 3 : 2 3

Another more difficult case of interference: FDR

When examining the preceding situation of planning tool: no problem of C/I. No risk of interference.
The FDR algorithm allows an MS connected on an SDDCH on a cell without any free TCH to make an SDCCHTCH handover (cause 20) so that it takes a TCH on its neighbor. As seen from the user, this is not a handover
(call establishment phase, no impact on speech quality), and this algorithm is very efficient to avoid cell
congestion cases.
This algorithm is mainly based on neighbor level compared to parameter L_RXLEV_NCELL_DR (n). If the level
greater than this threshold, the TCH is to be seized on neighbor.
FDR is mandatory for dual layer or dual band networks (and very easy to configure in this case), since we
have capture handovers. Capture handovers send traffic to lower or preferred band cells. In case these cells
are congested, calls may not be established, even if upper or non-preferred band cells are free (due to MS
idle mode selection, advantaging microcell for example). With the FDR algorithm, the MS takes an SDCCH in
the preferred cell, and FDR is used to take a TCH on the non-preferred cell in case of congestion. This
situation highlights a good network behavior, since the MS is at the same time in the coverage area of both
cells (preferred and not preferred).
umbrella
capture
FDR
microcell
The situation described on the slide corresponds to the usage of FDR in a single layer network. This is in that
case a heavy-to-tune algorithm presenting of lot of interference and bad quality call risks, since the mobile
will be connected to a cell when being not in its service area.
Non-GSM Interference
Other mobile networks: TACS/AMPS/NMT900

Inter-modulation with GSM BS/MS receiver
Spurious RACH for AMPS (AMPS Tx bands close to GSM uplink band)
Examination
TASC: coverage hole with 600 m from TASC BTS
AMPS => 50% reduction of range if AMPS/GSM BTS collocated

Other RF interferers (Radar, shop anti-theft mechanisms, medical

device, etc.)
1 1 31

Other RF interferers:
medical devices: GSM equipment disturb them more than the opposite!
anti-theft mechanisms.
Example:
Microcell
antenna
shop
Qual
Qual
DL
UL
Level
Level
interference
The Microcell is showing a very high call drop rate. On one frequency, very small call duration.
No problem seen in the frequency plannig. No potential interferer.
Abis trace:
The Spectrum analyzer connected on the antenna feeder highlights a peak on GSM freq 6 in the UL
Anti-theft mechanism turned off: no more problem

4 Unbalanced Power Budget Problem
1 1 32



Definition: Unbalanced power budget

A cell facing unbalanced power budget problems presents a too high pathloss difference between UL and DL (often DL>UL)
Rule: try to have delta as small as possible to avoid access network possible
only in 1 direction (usually BTS->MS: OK and MS->BTS: NOK)
Symptoms:
OMC QoS indicators
High rate of Uplink quality Handover causes
Low incoming HO success rate (no HO Access triggered on the uplink)
Degradation of TCH failures and OC call drop indicators
O&M Alarms
Voltage Standing Wave Ratio BTS Alarm (VSWR)
TMA Alarm (in case of G2 BTS or Evolium BTS with high power TRE)
1 1 33

UL Quality HO is triggered:
UL since the problem is in the UL.
Quality as Quality has greater priority than level.

Examination
RMS:
Path Balance vector per TRX
Number of calls with abnormal bad FER (good RxQual & bad FER)
Abis monitoring:
|delta path-loss| > 5dB
Check if problem is occurring for 1 TRX or all
1 1 34

Problem on 1 TRX: FU/CU or TRE problem or ANY problem or cables connected to this equipment.
All TRXs: problem on antenna, feeder, jumper or common equipment (e.g., ANX, ANC).

Abis Trace
Frequency
RxLev_UL
106
-94.52
RxLev_DL RxQual_UL RxQual_DL Path_loss_UL Path_loss_DL delta_Path_loss Delta_quality
-87.19
0.43
0.25
127.55
130.19
-2.64
0.18
AV_MS_PWR Nb_of_samples
33.03
2066
89
-84.29
-75.17
0.65
0.44
115.32
118.17
-2.85
0.21
31.03
2001
118
-90.75
-83.36
0.46
0.41
123.22
126.36
-3.14
0.04
32.46
3193
124
-88.89
-85.30
0.29
0.67
120.48
128.30
-7.82
-0.37
31.59
2931
Bad_Quality
DISTRIBUTION OF UPLINK QUALITY

Frequency
Qual0
Qual1
Qual2
Qual3
Qual4
Qual5
Qual6
Qual7
106
84.75%
4.07%
3.68%
3.19%
1.36%
1.50%
0.92%
0.53%
2.95%
89
81.41%
1.70%
2.95%
3.65%
6.35%
2.55%
1.30%
0.10%
3.95%
118
83.62%
4.23%
4.23%
3.35%
1.57%
1.79%
0.97%
0.25%
3.01%
124
90.79%
1.06%
2.18%
2.35%
1.77%
1.30%
0.48%
0.07%
1.84%
Bad_Quality
DISTRIBUTION OF DOWNLINK QUALITY

Frequency
Qual0
Qual1
Qual2
Qual3
Qual4
Qual5
Qual6
Qual7
106
90.27%
3.44%
2.08%
1.55%
0.92%
1.36%
0.34%
0.05%
1.74%
89
80.16%
6.45%
7.00%
3.85%
1.50%
0.50%
0.45%
0.10%
1.05%
118
86.78%
2.72%
3.95%
1.82%
1.41%
1.13%
1.19%
1.00%
3.32%
124
77.14%
4.37%
5.87%
5.94%
3.48%
1.36%
0.82%
1.02%
3.21%
1 1 35


RMS Data
Suspecting a TRX hardware problem

Average Path Balance
PathBalance Distribution
Nb Samples
3000
Nb
Samples
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
[-110,
-20[
[-20,
-10[
[-10,
-6[
[-6,
-3[
[-3,
0[
[0,
3[
[3,
6[
[6,
10[
[10,
20[
[20,
110[
PathBalance
(dB)
Average Cell Path Balance = - 0.9 dB
A fair average Path Balance at Cell level can hide a bad value for one TRX
1 1 36

Vector of the Number of Measurement Results per Path Balance band

RMPBV = RMS_PathBalance_sample
Average Path Balance value

RMPBAN = RMS_PathBalance_avg

Typical Causes
Antennas or common RF components, TMA (pb common to all TRXs of

the BTS)
TRX RF cables/LNA ... if problem located on only 1 FU
1 1 37

Every BTS has its proper architecture and the diagnosis must be adapted.

5 TCH Congestion Problem
1 1 38



Definition: TCH Congestion

TCH Congestion rate (TCH Assignment Phase) is too high (more than 2%)
Rule: try to meet the offered traffic (asked by users) by providing the right
number of resources (TRX extension)
Symptoms:
Customers complain about Network busy
OMC QoS indicators
High TCH Congestion rate
Low incoming Intra/Inter BSC HO success rate (no TCH available)
High Directed Retry rate if activated
A interface indicator: BSS Congestion failure in OC

High rate of Assignment Failure messages, No radio resource available
1 1 39


Examination and Typical Causes

Examination: TCH Congestion

On a per cell basis examination, check the evolution of the TCH Congestion
rate.
Typical causes:
Special events:
Foreseeable: football match, important meeting

Activate some TRXs already installed (and use Synthesized FH)

Add special moving BTSs
Not foreseeable: car crash on the highway
1 1 40

Cells on wheel operational by several operators around the world for special events coverage & capacity:
IRMA (SFR) connected to Caens BSC.
Orange coverage / Football WC 1998 for Paris Stade de France :

Specific cells covering Paris Stadium. During games, only small capacity (using joker frequencies). During
breaks, some TRX off-cells around are turned off, and frequencies are reused for stadium cells.

Typical Causes
Daily periodic problems

At peak hour, the cell is not correctly dimensioned.
Hardware solution (refer to Annex)

Estimate the offered traffic:
At OMC-R level: Traffic in Erlang/(1- TCH Congestion rate)
Use the B-Erlang law to estimate the number of TCHs required for a 2%
blocking rate, thus the target configuration
Add TRXs to reach the new target configuration and find joker frequencies
and / or implement concentric cells
1 1 41

Warning: offered traffic is not the capacity delivered by the system but the traffic asked by the users.

Typical Causes [cont.]

Daily periodic problems

At peak hour, the cell is not correctly dimensioned.
Software solution
Use specific densification features

Half Rate
Forced Directed Retry
Traffic handover
Fast Traffic handover
Candidate Cell Evaluation (FREEFACTOR / LOADFACTOR)
1 1 42

Half rate may not only mean SW solution. Need of G2 BSC/TC, Evolium TRE or G2 DRFU.

6 Deducing the Right Team for

Intervention
1 1 43


6 Deducing the Right Team for Intervention
Process
QOS team
Drive test team
Problem characterization
Make assumption causes
QOS alarm on the network,

on a BSC or some cells
- Indicators (% call drop)
- Field measurements/planning
- Subscriber complains
RFT team - Interferences

- Coverage (indoor)
- Power budget
- Congestion (TCH, SDCCH)
- BSS problem
Investig problem ?
No
END
DHCP
No
Yes
Recurrent problem ?
Yes
Yes
Planning/BSS causes
No
Correction
action
Check the tuning of default radio parameters

Planning team
Standard parameters ?
Maintenance team
Dimensionning team
Consult the config. db
On
purpose
Cell corrected ?
Neighbor cell ?
No
Choose an (other) classical algo
Yes
Yes
Identify the tunable parameters
No
Impact simulation of a
parameter modification
Impact estimation
NOK
N times
Check ?
With QOS ?
System
problem ?
OK
No
No
=N
Yes
Standard setting ?
Call expert
Parameters modification
Database updating
END
DHCP
- Microcell, multiband
- Concentric
1 1 44
Simulation
OK ?
Yes


- Hopping
- Marketing
Coverage Problem
In case of coverage problem:

If the field reality does not match the RNP prediction
Maintenance team to change physical configuration (tilt, azimuth, antenna height,
etc.) and drive test team to check it
If the field reality matches the RNP prediction

Deployment team to add sites (tri-sector, micro cellular, indoor cells)
1 1 45


Other Problems
In case of interference problem:

Planning team to identify the interference source and correct it (joker
frequency, new frequency planning, etc.)
In case of unbalanced power budget problem:

Maintenance team to check the impacted BTS (antennas, TMA, RF cables,
LNA, diversity system, etc.)
In case of TCH congestion problem:

Traffic team (theoretically always in relation with the marketing team) to
manage the need of TRX extension, densification policy, etc.
1 1 46


Exercise
Match the symptoms listed below with the corresponding problem.

Unbalanced
Power Budget
Bad coverage
High rate of UL QUAL HO

causes
Good RxLev and Bad RxQual
VSWR alarm (OMC-R)
(Voltage Standing Wave Ratio)
Bad RxLev and Bad RxQual
High Path-loss difference
between UL and DL
Low incoming HO success
rate
OMC QOS indicators:
% TCH ASS failure high
% call drop high
Time allowed:
10 minutes
% QUAL HO
% call drop
% call failure
1 1 47


Interferences
TCH
Congestion
Self-assessment on the Objectives

Please be reminded to fill in the form

Self-Assessment on the Objectives
for this module
The form can be found in the first part
of this course documentation
1 1 48


End of Module
Typical Radio Problems
1 1 49



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EVOLIUM Base Station Subsystem

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Radio Fine Tuning Typical Radio Problems

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Last name, first name

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Module Objectives [cont.]

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Switch to notes view!

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Table of Contents [cont.]

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Radio Fine Tuning Typical Radio Problems

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Radio Fine Tuning Typical Radio Problems

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Several sources of information can alert RFTM team:

As many symptoms are common to several causes, it can be necessary

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Radio Fine Tuning Typical Radio Problems

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Radio Fine Tuning Typical Radio Problems

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Definition and Symptoms

Definition: Bad coverage

TCH failure rate

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Radio Fine Tuning Typical Radio Problems

DL because MS antenna is less efficient than BTS one,

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Depending on the information sources you have:

Abis interface (for example with COMPASS)

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Radio Fine Tuning Typical Radio Problems

Easier and cheaper to perform than Drive test or Abis Trace.

Trigger from the OMC-R.

NPO can save up to 15 days of RMS for the complete network.

Templates can be designed in NPO.

Default result reports are available in NPO.

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If the actual coverage is not the one predicted by RNP tools:

If the actual coverage is OK compared to the predicted ones:

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Radio Fine Tuning Typical Radio Problems

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Investigation with Abis Trace

Example of an Abis trace analysis

DISTRIBUTION OF UPLINK QUALITY

DISTRIBUTION OF DOWNLINK QUALITY

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Radio Fine Tuning Typical Radio Problems