5.5 Network Problem Solutions 5.5.1 Coverage Problems I.

Solutuon Procedures [Problem: the coverage is becoming smaller after the BTS is enabled] After a BTS has run for a period of time (for example, half years), the coverage of the BTS may become smaller or even dead zone may appear due to various causes. In this case, the system performance will be affected. The shrink of the coverage is not only related to the technical indexes (such as the BTS sensitivity and power), but also related to the engineering quality, geographic factors, and the electromagnetic environment. The factor concerning the BTS problems are as follows: 1) Transmitter output power decrease Receive sensitivity decrease Antenna azimuth angle change Antenna tilt change Antenna gain change Feeder loss Coupler loss Working band change Propagation environment change Diversity effect change. Check the conditions around the BTS antenna You are required to check if there are other antennas (such as micro antenna), decorations, billboard, trees, or glass walls standing around the BTS antenna. These barriers may exert a negative effect against the antenna reception and transmission, thus affecting the coverage of the BTS. In this case, you can tune the azimuth angel of the corresponding antenna or change the antenna height. 2) Check the change of the propagation environment The change of the propagation environment of the electromagnetic wave will weaken the signals received by radio terminals. Especially for mountains, the propagation of the electromagnetic waves depends on the reflection of mountains. For example, the change in the vegetation of the mountain will reduce the coverage of the BTS. In addition, the climate and other natural factors also have some effect against the electromagnetic waves. The propagation loss varies with wood intensity, season, and so on. The maximum loss can reach 30 dB. If new buildings prevent the propagation of the electromagnetic waves and weakens the signals, the areas in the remote cannot be covered, so the subscribers cannot enjoy the service. Especially the high buildings near the BTS have a great effect against the propagation of electromagnetic waves. 3) Check if there is standing wave alarm and main diversity reception alarm at the operation and maintenance console This problem can be checked according to the standing wave alarm messages and the diversity reception alarm messages. If the alarms of this kind occur, you should check the corresponding antennas and feeders. 4) Check if the standing wave ratio is smaller than 1.5% The tolerance of the standing wave alarm threshold of the CDU or EDU is great. Therefore, after checking that the set-top power is normal, you can further check if the standing wave is smaller than 1.5%. If the standing wave ratio is abnormal, you need to check if the water has penetrated into the antenna or feeder connector, or if it is lightening protector problem. 5) Check if the tower amplifier work normally Check if tower amplifier alarm is present at the operation and maintenance console. Generally, the problems are the low noise amplifier was damaged or the water has penetrated into the amplifier. The amplifier alarm always comes together with the damage of the low noise amplifier. If the water has penetrated into the tower amplifier, no alarm will be generated, but the RF loss is great. In this case, the receiver sensitivity will decrease dramatically. 6) Check the engineering parameters (including antenna tilt and azimuth angle) The increase of the antenna tilt or the deviation of the azimuth angle will reduce the coverage of the BTS. Therefore, antennas must be firmly fixed so that they can stand strong wind and storms.

You can check the problem according to the following procedure:

7)

Check the set-top output power of the transceiver First you should check if the lines are well connected, and then check if the set-top power is normal. If it not normal, you should replace the problem hardware.

8)

Check if the receiver sensitivity is normal Check if the coverage distance is shortened by the low receiver sensitivity. In addition, you can monitor the messages at the Abis interface and find out the relationship between level and bit error rate. After that, you can get the value of the level when the bit error rate is 2%. This means, however, only applies to the situation that when the receiver sensitivity drops dramatically.

9) Check if the parameters affecting the coverage are rationally set 10) Check if the high back noise in the coverage area is caused by interference and poor electromagnetic environment. [Coverage problem caused by BTS expansion] If the coverage of the BTS shrinks after expansion, in addition to making the previous checks, you are supposed to check the following items. 1) Check if the combiner keeps the same before and after expansion The loss of different combiners varies greatly Therefore, the combiner configuration deserves special attention during BTS expansion. If different combiners are a must, you should fully communicate with customers. 2) Check if the antennas are rationally selected Suitable antennas must be selected for project installation and network planning so that the best coverage can be achieved. It must be pointed out that you should use zero-point filling antenna or the electrical title antenna when the antenna height is great. In addition, omni antennas cannot be widely used for the large area coverage. In this case, the coverage problem can be solved by directional antennas. 3) Check if the installation of the newly-added antennas are qualified You should first check if the design of the antenna height, azimuth angle, and antenna tilt is qualified. Generally, the important coverage areas cannot be bared by tower. Meanwhile, the important coverage areas cannot be perpendicular to the diversity direction of the antenna. In this case, the antenna diversity effect can be excavated to the maximum. To reduce the coverage shadow caused by the tower, you should pay attention to the distance between the antenna and the tower. Moreover, the pole of the omni antenna and the RF part of the antenna cannot be overlapped. 4) Check the position of the BCCH transmitter antenna Since the tower effect is present, the BCCH transmitter antenna must be installed at a side of the important coverage area. In this case, the coverage shadow can be avoided. To prevent the assignment failure caused by the inconsistence of the BCCH coverage and TCH coverage, you can use the concentric channel allocation algorithm. In addition, the important coverage area cannot be perpendicular to the diversity direction of the antenna. 5) Check if the tilts and the azimuth angles of the directional dual transmitter antennas are consistent with each other If the tilts and azimuth angles of the directional dual transmitter antennas are inconsistent, call drop, assignment failure, and handover failure will easily occur. In this case, the coverage area of the BTS will become small. In addition, since the tower effect is present, the BCCH transmitter antenna must be installed at a side of the important coverage area. In this case, the coverage shadow can be avoided. Moreover, the important coverage area cannot be perpendicular to the diversity direction of the antenna. 6) Check the set-top output power of various TRXs if the scheme for the maximum coverage is used. When the maximum coverage is pursued, the TRXs are required to be combined in various ways. In this case, the coverage distance of the BCCH will be longer than that of the TCH. As a result, the TCH assignment failure will be caused, so the concentric technology is needed. The channel assignment failure caused by low transmit level in the inner circle and the channel congestion in the external circle can be avoided if the TA values of the inner circle and the external circle are correctly set and allocated to the inner circle and external circle according to the right priority. [Coverage problems caused by BTS swap or construction] 1) swap Check if the azimuth angle and the antenna height are the same before and after the BTS

If all the antenna and feeder components are newly constructed, the old BTS can only be swapped after the new antenna is installed. Therefore, the azimuth angle and the antenna

height may be different from that of the old antenna. In this case, the coverage area may decrease. As a result, you should check if the azimuth angle and the antenna height are the same before and after the bas station swap. 2) Check antenna tilt problems caused by network swap Generally, the tilt must keep the same. If you need to control the coverage area due to new BTSs are added to urban areas, you can consider increasing the tilt. 3) Check if the set-top power of the swap BTS is the same as that of the old BTS. 4) Check if the receiver sensitivity of the BTS is normal. 5) Check if it is the interference or the poor electromagnetic environment that makes the back noise of the whole area too high. 6) Check if any standing wave alarm message or diversity reception alarm message is generated for antenna and feeder at the operation and maintenance console. 7) Check the parameters that will affect coverage are rationally set. 8) Check if the installation of the antennas is qualified after the BTS has been enabled or swapped. 9) Check if the right type of antenna is selected. 10) Check the position of the BCCH TRX transmitter of the omni dual transmitter antenna. 11) Check if the tilts and the azimuth angles of the two directional antennas keep the same after the directional dual transmitter antenna is used. 12) Check if the antennas and feeders of the cell are inversely connected. 13) Check if the tower amplifier works normally. 14) Check the set-top power for various TRXs when the configuration scheme for the maximum coverage is pursued. II. Problems Affecting Coverage and Solutions [Antenna water penetration] It is quite accidental that the water penetrates into the antenna. Water penetration means that the water enters the RF internal channel. In this case, the voltage standing wave ratio of the antenna will increase; the antenna loss will increase, the coverage area will decrease; or event the power amplifier will be disabled. [Antenna passive intermodulation] The passive intermodulation of the antenna and various connectors will cause interference. The exclusive method can be used for the check. That is, you can connect the antenna feeders of the neighbor cells where there is no interference to the test cell. If any problem is found, you should change the antenna. [Improper antenna selection] Generally, if the antenna height exceeds 50m and if the first zero point under the main antenna beam is not filled, the "shadow under tower" may occur. That is, the area under the tower cannot be covered by signals. In this case, you should select the antenna with zero point filling function. If three-sector directional antennas are used for vast coverage, the antennas must have a high gain and their half power angle must be greater than 90 degrees. If the half power angle is small, the gain of the two neighbor sectors will be low. In this case, the coverage radius is small. If the antenna tilt is great, the all mechanical tilt antenna is not a suitable choice. In this case, you should select the fixed "electrical tilt + mechanical tilt" antenna or the "continuous adjustable electrical tilt (0 to 10 degrees) + mechanical tilt" antenna. As the frequency reuse becomes more aggressive, the front-to-back ratio of the antenna may not meet the requirement of a single BTS or several BTSs. Therefore, you should select the antennas with greater front-to-back ratio. [Tower effect against Omni antenna radiation] The tower effect against omni antenna radiation deserves enough attention. It is hard to estimate the damage of the omni antenna directional diagram caused by the tower. The damage varies greatly with the distance between the tower and the antenna. If the antenna is installed on the tower and metal tube, you should pay special attentions to the following items: The metal tube and the effect radiation part of the antenna cannot be overlapped. Take measures to avoid installing the whole antenna on the metal tube. If the antenna is installed on the tower, make sure that the distance between the antenna and the nearest end of the tower is greater than 6 wavelengths. The omni dual transmitter technology is not recommended. The antenna must be perpendicular to 1/8 of the half power beam width at least. [Directional antenna installation problem] Two problems may occur for directional antenna installation: The antenna is inversely or wrongly connected.

 The azimuth angles and the tilts of the transmitter antenna and the receiver antenna are inconsistent and or the error is great. Engineering causes are the explanations of the two problems. Generally, the error scope of the azimuth angle cannot exceed 5 degrees, and that of the tilt cannot exceed 0.5 degrees. If the error is too great, the coverage of the transit antenna and that of the receiver antenna will be different. In this case, it is hard to make calls the coverage edges. Problems concerning the diversity distance between the transit antenna and the receiver antenna or the isolation between the antennas and tower. The coverage of the antenna will be affected if the diversity distance between the transmitter antenna and the receiver antenna or the isolation between the antennas and the tower is not great enough. For GSM 900MHz system, the diversity distance between the transmitter antenna and the receiver antenna is required to be greater than 4m. For GSM 1800MHz system, it is required to be greater than 2m. The antenna mount must be at least 1.5m away from the tower. Meanwhile, the antenna mount must be installed within the 45-dregree protection areas of the lightening protector. There are shadows in coverage areas. When installing a directional antenna, you should make sure that there is no shadow within the coverage area. Generally, if there are huge barrier, such as high buildings and mountains, around the BTS, shadows may appear. If you intend install the BTS on the roof of a high building, you should install it at the edges of the building so as to avoid the shadow. Since the environment around the roof is quite complex, the antenna height must be great enough. In this case, however, you should consider the ability of the antenna to stand the wind and storm. [Omni antenna installation problem] The radiator of the omni antenna is barred by antenna pole. The coverage will be affected if the radiator of the omni antenna is barred by antenna pole. Generally, there is a jacket installed at the bottom of the omni antenna and the jacket is used to connect the omni antenna and the antenna pole. From the perspective of installation, the top of the jacket must be at the same level with or higher than the top of the pole; otherwise the radiation will be affected. tower. The problems concerning antenna diversity distance and isolation between antenna and

If the antenna diversity distance or the isolation between antenna and tower is not great enough, the coverage will be poor. If the antenna diversity distance is too small, it will reduce diversity gain. In this case, the receiver sensitivity will reduce. Though the tower effect against the omni antenna radiation is unavoidable, you can increase the isolation between the antenna and the tower to reduce the effect. It is suggested that the isolation between the omni antenna and the tower is greater than 2m, the horizontal diversity distance of the 900MHz omni antenna is greater than 4m, and the horizontal diversity distance of the 1800MHz antenna is greater than 2m. The omni antenna is not perpendicular to the horizontal plane. If the omni antenna is not perpendicular to the horizontal plane, the antenna directional diagram will be distorted in the coverage area. In this case, the coverage of the antenna will be affected. It is suggested that installation plane of the antenna mount be perpendicular to the horizontal plane. If the mount extends beyond the tower, make sure that the mount is still in the protection areas of the lightening protector. Generally, the areas 45-dregee under the lightening protector top are the protection areas. [Connection problems of antenna and feeder, combiner and splitter, and CDU] If various connectors of the antenna and feeder system are not connected according to requirement, the performance of the antenna and feeder system will be affected. In this case, the coverage area of the BTS will also be affected. Water penetration occurs at the various connectors of the antenna and feeder system. If water has penetrated into the connector and feeder, the standing wave ratio will increase. In this case, the coverage area will be affected. Various connectors are not tightened. If the connectors for set-top jumpers, for the cables from TRX boards to combiner and splitter, and for various RF cables are not tightened, both the reception performance and the transmit performance of the system will decrease. In this case, the coverage area and the conversation quality will be affected. The transmitter antenna and the receiver antenna are inversely connected due to inconsistent configuration of the set-top jumper and data.

 The connection between the jumper and feeder is not tight, which results in high loss and standing wave ratio. In this case, the coverage will be affected and interference will be caused. [Tower amplifier problem] Water penetration will increase the loss, deteriorate the standing wave ratio, and decrease the receiver sensitivity. The damage of the LNA (it is in the tower amplifier) will decrease the gain or even decrease the gain to a negative value. The input end and the output end of the tower amplifier are inversely connected. In this case, the tower amplifier will be short-circuited. If the short circuit lasts for a long time, the front module will be damaged. [BTS front module problem] Isolator problem Duplexer and other filter damage Standing wave ratio error alarm LNA (low noise amplifier) damage Low TRX or amplifier output power

[Parameter configuration problem] The parameters affecting coverage are listed below: TRX power class Tower amplifier attenuation coefficient MS maximum transmit power control power MS minimum Rxlev RACH minimum access threshold

III. Coverage Cases Case 1: Use down tilt omni antenna to improve coverage [Problem description] In a suburban area, the omni antenna with a gain of 11dBi is used for the BTS. This coverage distance can reach 9km in plain environment. However, the coverage in the area near the BTS is poor. The Rxlev in the small town 800-1400m away from the BTS is about -90dBm. [Problem analysis and solution] On-site survey shows that the antenna height is too great. The height of the tower on which the antenna is installed 50m. Moreover, the tower is established on a small mountain, so the town is 120m below the antenna. The first judgment is that the phenomenon of "shadow under tower" has been caused. Further analysis of the collected data finds that omni antenna is used for the BTS. The antenna gain is 11dBi, and the vertical half power angel is 7 degrees. If the valid antenna height is 120m, the half power points of the antenna major lobe are scattered in the area about 2000m away from the BTS. Therefore, this town is not in the coverage area of the BTS. Through checking the fluctuation of the Rxlev according to the drive test map, engineers found that this town locates within the radiation area of a zero power point of the BTS. However, the town is too far away from the mountains around, so it cannot get the signals reflected by the mountains. Therefore, the Rxlev in this town is quite slow. After having replaced the antenna with an omni antenna with 5 degrees of the down tilt angle, engineers retested the Rxlev and found that it increased by 15-20 dB in the areas 3km within the BTS. In some areas, the Rxlev is increased by 30 dB. Therefore, the coverage has been improved remarkably. Case 2: Improper installation of omni antenna has effect against the coverage [Problem description] A new BTS has been enabled for a local network. Users complain that the coverage area become smaller after that. For the low narrow areas 2km away from the BTS, the Rxlev is already lower than -90dBm. [Problem analysis and solution] Through surveying the environment around the BTS, engineers found that the major transmitter antenna and the diversity receiver antenna are installed in a plane parallel to the road. Apparently, this kind of installation does not meet the criteria. The correct way is to install the major transmitter antenna and the diversity receiver antenna in a plane perpendicular to the road. In addition, the major transmitter antenna must be located at one side of the road. Case 3: Improper configuration of data causes poor coverage [Problem description] During the optimization for a place, engineers found that the signals at a section of the road in the suburban area are quite poor. The measured Rxlev is -95dBm.

[Cause analysis] This section locates in the suburban area and is about 3km away from the urban area. There is no abrupt change in terms of landform within this section. Theoretically, the Rxlev here should be about -80dBm, so the difference between the theoretical Rxlev and the measured Rxlev is great. According to the frequency sweep test, the strength of the Fa signal is about -95dBm, and the strength of the Fb signal is about -80dBm. For this section, it is covered by three cells of the BTS A and BTS B that are installed in the urban area (the BCCH frequencies are Fa and Fb). In addition, a cell of the BTS C installed at the remote suburban area also covers the section (the BCCH frequency is Fc). Through checking data, engineers found that the Fb is not included in the neighbor channel numbers of the A-3 cell in the BA1. When the MS moves from the urban area to the suburban area, it will choose A-3 cell to camp on, because the Fb is not configured in the neighbor channel numbers. In this case, the MS cannot reselect the B-3 cell to camp on. In the cell neighbor relationship list, the A-3 cell and B-3 cell cannot work as the neighbor cell for each other, and the Fb is not configured in the neighbor channel numbers of the A-3 cell listed in BA2. Therefore, in conversation mode, the MS cannot keep the conversation in A-3 cell. When it arrives at this section, it cannot hand over to the B-3 cell. Therefore, the signals are poor, so is the voice quality. [Solution] Enable the A-3 cell and B-3 cell to work as neighbor cell for each other. Case 4: Irrational BTS swap affects coverage [Problem description] In an urban area, a BTS must be swapped for the building on which the BTS was installed were to be moved. Considering that coverage for the scenic spot 2km away (the scenic spot locates behind a hill) is poor, so engineers intended to install the BTS on the top of the hill. On the top of the cell, the whole city and the scenic spot can be seen. However, after the BTS swap, users complaint that there were no signals in the indoor environment of the cells near the site where the old BTS was installed. [Cause analysis] The buildings of the resident area are densely distributed and the average height is 8m. Before the BTS swap, the cell used for this area is only 100m away, and the antenna height is 15m. Therefore, the indoor conversation quality can be guaranteed. After the BTS swap, however, the cell used this area is 1.8km away, and the antenna height is 30m. In this case, the signals are quite weak when arriving at the bottom of resident area, though the signals falling at the top of the building is good. To solve this problem, you can only increase the output power of the transmitter antenna or increase the antenna gain. However, the coverage is still not to users' satisfactory even increase the antenna height to 30m. Therefore, when swapping or constructing a BTS at the densely populated area, you should pay attention to the following items: It is suggested that the distance between the BTS and the resident area is equal to or smaller than 150m, otherwise the coverage for this area will become weak dramatically. The antenna of the swapped BTS cannot be too great. If the BTS is installed among resident buildings, the antenna height is suggested to be 7-10m. If the BTS is installed beyond the resident buildings and the buildings are high, you can increase the antenna height accordingly. You can solve the problems concerning cross area coverage can through controlling the power class of the BTS, tuning the azimuth angle of the antenna, or tuning the tilt angle of the antenna. [Solution] According to on-site survey, engineers found that the indoor signals of this area are too poor to hold the conversation. This area can be seen clearly from the tower on which the BTS is installed. The distance between the BTS and the area is only 1.8km, and between them are vast farmlands. To solve this problem, you can attempt to tune the azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the antenna. If the coverage is not yet improved, you can use the following methods: Replace the common antenna used for this cell (its gain is 15dBi) with the high-gain antenna used for the scenic spot (its gain is 18dBi) There are 4 TRXs in this cell, all in SCU mode, replace the SCU mode with the dual-CDU mode. After the above methods are done, the antenna gain for this area can be increased by 6dB. After the antenna replacement, you need to tune the antenna tilt for the best coverage. Through retesting the indoor signal level, engineers found that it increased by 6-12dB. And even the common MS can keep normal conversation. 5.5.2 Interference Problems Interference is a key factor affecting network performance, including conversation quality, call drop, handover, congestion, and so on.

I. Interference Sources In the mobile telecommunication system, when the BTS is receiving the signals from a remote MS, it will not only be interfered by other telecommunication equipments, but also it will be interfered by the other BTSs and MSs within the system. Hereunder introduces the interference sources affecting the GSM system. Intra-network interference If the frequencies are improperly planned, or the frequency reuse is too aggressive, intrafrequency interference or neighbor cell interference will be caused. Repeater interference At the early stage of network construction, repeaters are widely used for extending the coverage distance of the network. However, if the repeaters are improperly planned, the network will be interfered. If the repeaters are not installed according to requirement, that is, there is not enough isolation left between the donor antenna and the subscriber antenna, the BTS to which the repeaters attach will interfered. For the repeaters enabling broadband non-linear amplifier, the intermodulation indexes are far greater than that required in the protocols. In this case, the greater the power is, the greater the intermodulation will be. Therefore, the BTS near the repeaters will be interfered. Interference from other big-power telecommunication equipments These equipments include radar, analog BTS, and other telecommunication equipments using the same band. Hardware problems TRX problem: If the performance of the TRX decreases, the system may be interfered. CDU problem or splitter problem: Active amplifier is used in the CDU splitter and splitter module. When any problem occurs, the system may also be interfered. Stray and intermodulation: If the out-band stray of the power amplifier or the TRX of the BTS go beyond requirement, or the isolation of the transmission and the reception of the CDU duplexer is too small, the connection channel will be interfered. Meanwhile, the passive equipments, such as the feeder and the antenna, will generate intermodulation. II. Interference Positioning and Elimination [Positioning and elimination procedure] 1) Find out the interference cell according to KPI If the call drop rate, handover success rate, traffic volume, congestion rate, and interference band of a cell deteriorate to a bad level abruptly, it means that interference may exist in the cell. In this case, you can also check the historical record of operations made in this cell. For example, check if the hardware and software of the BTS has been added or increased and if the data of the BTS has been modified. Generally, the appearance of interference is related to these operations. If these parameters are not adjusted, the interference may be from the hardware itself out outside factors. In this case, you are suggested to check if it is hardware problem. If it is not, you should check outside factors. 2) Check OMC alarm Sometimes high call drop rate, low handover success rate, and high congestion rate may be related to equipment problems. In this case, you can check OMC alarm records. These records are related to the deterioration of these indexes. 3) Check frequency planning If the interference is doubt in a cell, you can check the frequency planning for the cell and the neighbor cells of the cell. For this check, you are required to make clear the distribution of the antennas, find out the azimuth angle of each cell, draw the topology, and mark the BCCH/TCH channel numbers. Meanwhile, you are also required to compare the planned channel numbers with the configured channel numbers in the BSC. According to the accurate frequency planning topology, you can make sure if the intrafrequency interference or neighbor frequency interference is present in the network. 4) Check cell parameter configuration The cell parameters, such as CRO, threshold, handover duration, neighbor cell relationship, and so on, may have interference against the system.

If the CRO is set to a great value, the MS may be guided to an idle cell whose level is lower than its surrounding cells. Once the conversation is started but the C/I cannot meet the threshold requirement (12dB), interference will be caused. If neighbor cells are missing, the MS cannot hand over to a cell with better signal level and quality. In this case, the interference will also be generated. If the handover threshold and the P/N are too great, the handovers between cells are unavailable. If the P/N is too small, however, it will result in frequent handover. In this case, both the call drop rate and the system load will be increased. 5) Drive test Drive test is an effective method to position the interference. There are two drive test methods: idle mode test and dedicated mode test. For idle mode test, the test equipment can test the signal level of both the signal level and the neighbor cells. In addition, the test equipment can also perform the frequency sweep test for the designate channel numbers or bands. In this case, the interference caused by cross-cell coverage signals can be discovered. For dedicated mode test, the test equipments can test the signal level of the service cell and neighbor cells, the Rxqual, the TA, and so on. If the Rxlev is equal to or greater then -80dBm and the Rxqual is equal to or greater than 6 in an area, it can be confirmed that the interference exists in the area. Some test equipment can display the FER (frame error rate). Generally, if the FER is greater or equal to 25%, the conversation will not be continuous. That is, the interference exists. 6) Interference elimination You can eliminate the interference according to the above checked results, and then evaluate the elimination through KPI and drive test. [Hardware problem positioning and elimination] When the interference is doubted in a cell, you should first check if the BTS where the cell locates works normally. In the remote end, you should check if there is antenna alarm, TRX alarm, or BTS clock alarm generated. In the near end, you should check if there is antenna problem, water penetration, feeder (jumper) damage, CPU problem, TRX problem, wrong jumper connection or clock problem occurred. Antenna performance decline Antenna a passive component and its damage probability is small. However, if the antenna is damaged or its performance declines, the voice quality will become poor. Antenna connector problem GSM RF signals are micro wave signals. If the connections between TRX, CDU, feeder, and antenna have any problem, both the standing wave ratio and the intermodulation will increase. In this case, the interference will be resulted. Inverse antenna connection The inverse antenna connection is a commonly seen problem. If the antenna is inversely connected, the channel numbers used by the cell and the planned channel numbers are completely inconsistent. In this case, intra-frequency interference, inter-frequency interference, and handover difficulty will be resulted. Especially for the networks that have inadequate frequency resource, the inverse antenna connection has great effect against network quality. Jumper problem Many jumpers locate between antennas, so they are often wrongly connected. In this case, high call drop rate will be resulted. TRX problem If TRX problems occur, the interference will increase, the coverage distance area will decrease, and the access is difficult. Clock failure If the clock deviation is too great, it is hard for the MS to lock the frequencies of the BTS, so the handover failure always occurs, or the MS cannot camp on any cell of the BTS. In addition, if the clock deviation is too great, the BTS cannot understand the signals of the BTS, which will result in bit errors. However, the clock failure will not really introduce interference, but it is the transmission errors that make the voice quality decrease. Conclusion Any problem concerning the TRX, CDU, feeder, antenna, jumper, and connector may cause interference or call drop. Therefore, if interference appears, you should check the hardware of the BTS. In addition, BTS clock failure will also cause interference and call drop. It is easy to solve the hardware problems through changing the boards or adjusting traffic data. If there is spectrum analyzer available, you can position the problem more efficiently. Especially

when the interference appears without any modification of network data, you should focus on checking the hardware. [Intra-Network Interference] The intra-network interference is mainly from intra-frequency interference and neighbor cell interference. When C/I is smaller than 12dB or the C/A is smaller than -6dB, the interference is unavoidable. However, the aggressive frequency reuse technology will increase of the occurrence probability of interference. Same-frequency and neighbor frequency interference In GSM system, the frequency reuse is unavoidable. When the frequency reuse distance of two cells using the same frequency is smaller than cell radius, same-frequency interference will be easily caused. Past experiences show that the frequency reuse must be avoided in many cases. The interference against the uplink channel numbers can be judged by the interference band data in the traffic statistics. For the interference against the downlink channel numbers, the existing drive test equipments can be indirectly used to measure if the same-frequency interference is present. First you should lock the test MS in the service cell and enable make the MS work in conversation mode during drive test. If you find that the Rxlev in an area is high but the Rxqual is low, it is likely that the same-frequency is present in this area. Interference caused by cross coverage In a properly designed network, each cell covers the areas around the BTS only and the MS camps on or holds conversation in the nearest cell. Cross coverage means that the coverage of a cell is too large and the cell can cover the areas under the control of other BTSs. If cross coverage occurs, irrational traffic absorption, interference, call drop, congestion, and handover failure may arise. Interference caused by aggressive frequency reuse Capacity and quality always contradicts to each other. In urban areas, the aggressive frequency reuse technology must be used for the number of subscribers in urban areas are great. In this case, the network quality will surely decrease. In the areas where BTSs are irrationally distributed, the aggressive frequency reuse technology may cause the collision of same frequency and neighbor frequencies. Interference caused by repeater It is convenient to use repeater for special coverage. However, if a repeater is not qualified or it is not properly installed, it will cause interference. Interference caused by outside environment Outside environment, such as TV station, big-power radio station, micro wave, radar, high voltage wire, analog BTS, and so on, will cause interference. III. Interference Cases Case 1: Interference cause by antenna performance decline [Problem description] There are 5 BTSs in a county. The configuration type is S4/4/4 or S6/6/6. The interference band 5 reaches 15 according to the TCH performance measurement of the most cells. There is no alarm found at the OMC. [Problem positioning and solution] 1) Through monitoring and registering the interference band traffic statistics for the problem cells all day, engineers found that the interference band 5 mostly appeared at day time, and it seldom appeared at early morning. 2) Through sending the idle BURSTS of all the BTSs, engineers found that the interference bands of these cells appeared in the early morning. If the sending of these idle BURSTS stopped, these interference bands disappeared. Therefore, it can be proved that the interference came from the network. It is not related to other telecommunication equipments. 3) The frequencies and other data were not adjusted before the interference appeared, so the interference is not related to the frequency planning. 4) Through surveying the RXM test interface of the CDU using the spectrum analyzer during the traffic peak at day time, engineers found that the broadband interference was strong and the back noise was rising. 5) There was no interference in one cell, but the interference in another two cells was strong. Through replacing the antenna feeder of the cell with no interference with the antenna feeders of the cells with interference and sending idle BURSTS, engineers found that the interference went with the antenna feeder. Therefore, it can be decided that the problem occurred at the antenna and feeder system.

6) Through changing the antenna, engineers found that the interference went with the antenna. Therefore, the problem is likely present at the antenna. 7) Through replacing the antenna with dual polarization antenna, engineers found that the strong interference disappeared immediately. Through replacing the old antenna of another BTS with a new one, engineers found that the interference also disappeared. Case 2: Call drop caused by intra-network interference [Problem description] Customers in a place complaint that call drop happen frequently. [Problem analysis and solution] 1) Through a careful test, engineers found that there were 12 channel numbers gathering at the call drop spot and Rxlev reached -73dBm. When the MS seized channel number 11, the interference from channel number 112 caused the call drop. 2) Through testing the CGI of channel number 12 using test MS, engineers found that this channel number was one of the BCCH number of D3. 3) Through surveying BTS D, engineers found that the antenna of D3 is installed at the top of a building. In addition, a house made of glass was found 8m away and 4m under the antenna. Engineers tested that the signal strength near the antenna was about -45dBm, and the signal strength at near the glass was -30dBm, which was beyond the expectation of engineers. In fact, the cause was that the signals reflected by the glass were reflected to the call drop spot. 4) It is suggested to change the antenna installation place and channel number. You should interchange the channel number 111 and channel number 114 of BTS A and increase the down tilt angle of A3 cell. In addition, to avoid the interference caused by channel number 111 after the interchange, you should adjust the direction of channel number 113 of C1 cell. 5) Test shows that everything is normal after the adjustment. The channel number 113 of BTS C has no effect against channel number 114. And the call drop disappears. Case 3: Interference caused by repeater [Problem description] Users in an area complaint that the MS cannot seize a channel to hold conversation, or the noise is great after channel seizure and the channel and the MS signal is strong. Two BTSs are installed in this area. The antenna azimuth angle of cell1 rightly directs to the north. Before user complaint, the BTS in this area ran normally and the network indexes met the requirement. After the problem arisen, the traffic volume of the two BTSs dropped sharply from the perspective of traffic statistics indexes. In addition, the traffic volume of cell1 and cell3 also dropped sharply. Though the signals for the conversation were strong, the voice quality was quite poor. According to traffic statistics, the interference bands of the four cells were of level 3, level 4, and level 5, and 95% of the channels were interfered. In addition, other channels were interfered to some extent. However, no alarm messages were generated at the OMC. [Problem analysis and solution] 1) According to user feedbacks, the possible reasons include transmission problem, antenna feeder problem, hardware problem, intra-network interference, and outside interference. 2) The uplink interference signals in the northwest direction might strong. Therefore, cell1, cell2, and cell3 of the two BTSs were interfered, in which cell1 and the cell3 were seriously interfered. 3) Through on-site dialing test, engineers found that it was hard to make calls in the areas covered by cell1 and cell3. Even if a call was put through, the voice quality was quite poor. In addition, the voice was discontinuous and the interference was strong. Through using MS to call a fixed phone, engineers found it was hard to hear the voice clearly. On the contrary, they could hear the voice from the fixed phone clearly. This has proved the above analysis. That is, the interference might be from the outside, or the standing wave problem was occurring at the antenna (from this perspective, it can be judged that the interference existed on the uplink only). 4) Through using antenna feeder analyzer to perform on-site test, engineers found no problem was existing at any BTS. A new repeater was found in this area, and it was located two kilometers away from the BTS in the northwest direction. Moreover, the interference appeared just when the repeater was enabled. On-site test found that the BTS became normal state once the repeater shut down, and the interference bands also became normal, so did the call. If the repeater was enabled, however, it was hard to make calls and the interference was strong. At last, the agreement to shut down the repeater was reached. After that, the conversation became normal. Case 4: Microwave interference [Problem description] During network maintenance, through analyzing BSC traffic statistics, engineers found that the call drop rate of the cell2 and cell3 of a S2/2/2 BTS arisen abruptly, and the value even reached 20% at some time. [Problem analysis and solution] 1) Through checking BSC traffic statistics, engineers found that the number of idle TCHs was increasing at the interference bands 3-5 around 8:30. Around 10:00, the idle TCHs were found at

the interference band 4 and interference band 5. Around 22:00, the idle TCHs were found at the interference band 1. Therefore, it could be judged that the interference existed. 2) Because the BTS ran normally, the problems cannot be related to frequency planning. 3) According to the TRX management messages, engineers found that the interference existed at the four boards of the cell2 and cell3 of the BTS. Because the probability for the four boards to be damaged simultaneously is quite small, the TRX problem can be excluded. However, one board was changed in case of abnormal conditions, but the interference was not eliminated. 4) Through checking all the BSC traffic statistics data, engineers found that cells of the BTSs near the BTS and the cells of the cell2 and cell3 of the BTS were interfered to some extent. In addition, engineers also found that the SDCCHs (16 SDCCHs in total) of the seriously-affected cells were seized at sometimes. However, the number of subscribers determined that the probability for all the SDCCHs to be seized simultaneously is quite small. Therefore, it could be judged that the uplink was interfered by outside factors. However, the interference might be related to direction only. 5) To further position the problem, engineers interchanged the jumpers of cell1 and cell3 at the set top. In this case, the interference was found at cell1, but the interference was disappearing from cell3. Therefore, the interference was not related to channel number. 6) Because the interference was not related to channel number, it might be the big-power signals that caused the interference. 7) Through using the spectrum analyzer to perform the measurement at the output interface of the BTS splitter, engineers found that the big-power signals existed at the 904MHz channel number (it has an interval of 5M between the used channel number. For the BTS where the interference was strong, the signal level can reach as high as about -25dBm. For other BTSs, the signal level was about -50dBm. Therefore, it could be judged that it was this signal that affected the BTS. 8) Through using the spectrum analyzer to scan the areas near the BTS, engineers found that there was a microwave antenna outputting big-power at the channel number 904. 9) The interference disappeared after the microwave equipment was shut down. 5.5.3 Call Drop Problems For the GSM network, call drop is users' major worry and the call drop rate is an important index evaluating network quality. I. Call Drop Resasons and Solutions i) Call drop due to coverage reasons Discontinuous coverage (dead zone) For a single BTS, the quality of the signals at the edge of the station is quite poor, so the MS cannot hand over to another cell. In this case, the call drop occurs. If the landform of the coverage areas is complex or fluctuates greatly, or the radio transmission environment is complex, the signals will be barred. In this case, the coverage is discontinuous and call drop will occur. Poor indoor coverage If the buildings in an area are densely populated, the signal attenuation is great. And if the walls of the buildings are thick, the penetration loss is great and the indoor signal level is low. In this case, the call drop may easily occur. Isolated island effect As shown in Error: Reference source not found, the service cell forms an isolated island due to various reasons (for example, the power is too great). In this case, the MS still seizes the signals of the service cell A after moving to cell C, but the cell A does not define the neighbor cell C. At this time, if the MS still performs the handover according to the neighbor cell B provided by neighbor cell A, it cannot find a suitable cell. In this case, the call drop will occur. Small coverage If the coverage is too small, the hardware equipment of a cell may fail. For example, the antenna is barred or the TRX failure occurs (the power amplifier part). [Judgment methods] First you should find out the areas where the coverage is inadequate according to user complaints, and then you should perform the drive test in a larger scope to check if the signal level and the handover are normal and if the call drop exists. In addition, you can employ the traffic statistics recorded at the OMC to check the BSC overall call drop rate and find out the cell with great call drop rate. Furthermore, you can still make the analysis and judgment by referring to other traffic statistics items. Hereunder lists some ones:

[Reason analysis]

 Power control performance measurement (to check if the mean uplink and downlink signal strength is too low) Rxlev performance measurement (to check if the ratio of the low Rxlev is too great) Cell performance measurement/inter-cell handover performance measurement (to check if the level class and the mean Rxlev are too low) Call drop performance measurement (to check if the signal level is too low during call drop and if the TA value is normal before call drop) Defined neighbor cell performance measurement (to position the cell with low mean signal level) Undefined neighbor cell performance measurement (to check if the undefined neighbor cells with high signal level exist) Power control performance measurement (to measure the greatest TA value between the MS and BTS) [Solutions] 1) Check the areas where the coverage is inadequate You can find out the area where the coverage is inadequate through drive test. For an isolated BTS or the BTSs installed in mountain areas that cannot form seamless coverage, you can add BTSs to these areas for seamless coverage. Or you can improve the coverage through other means. For example, you can enhance the maximum transmit power of the BTS, change the antenna azimuth angle, change the antenna tilt, change the antenna height, and so on. In addition, you should also analyze if the call drop is caused by landforms. Generally, call drop can easily occur at tunnels, big shopping market, underground railway entrance, underground parking lot, and low-lying places. In this case, you can use the micro cell to solve the coverage problem. 2) Ensure indoor call quality To ensure indoor call quality, you should make sure that the outdoor signals are strong enough. To strength the outdoor signals, you can increase the maximum BTS transmit power, change the antenna azimuth angle, change the antenna tilt angle, and change the antenna height, and so on. If the indoor call quality is still not improved remarkably, you can consider adding BTSs. For improving the indoor coverage of office buildings and hotels, you can consider using the indoor antenna distribution system. 3) For the cells having no neighbor cells, you can configure the neighbor cells for the cell so as to reduce the call drop rate. To eliminate the isolation island effect, you can reduce the tilt angle of the BTS. 4) Eliminate hardware problems You can check if there are hardware problems and if the coverage area is too small through drive test. If the call drop rate of a cell arises dramatically but all other indexes are normal, you should check if the neighbor cells of this cell work normally. (Generally, the downlink problems may occur. For example, TRX problem, diversity unit problem, and antenna problem are commonly seen. If the uplink fails, the outgoing handover failure rate of the old cell will be high.) ii) Call drop due to handover reasons Irrational parameter configuration If the signal level at the cross-area of two cells is quite low, the level of the handover candidate cell is too low, and if the handover threshold is too low, some MSs will hand over to the neighbor cell when the signal level of the neighbor cell is higher than that of the service cell. If the signal level of the neighbor cell deteriorates dramatically just after the handover, the call drop will occur if no suitable cell is available for the handover. Incomplete neighbor cell definition If the neighbor cell definition is incomplete, the MS will hold the conversation in the existing cells until it moves beyond the edges of the cell but cannot hand over to a stronger cell. In this case, the call drop will occur. Neighbor cells with same BCCH and same BSIC exist. Traffic congestion If the traffic is unbalance, no TCH will be available in the target cell. In this case, the handover failure will occur. BTS clock lost synchronization If the BTS lost synchronization, the frequency offset will go beyond the requirement. In this case, the call drop will occur if handover fails. T3103 expiry The T3103 will be started when the network sends a handover command. Upon the reception of the message to complete the handover or the message to remove the command, the T3103 will stop. T3103 [Reason analysis]

is used to hold the channel long enough for the MS to return to the old channel. If the T3103 is set to a too small value, the MS cannot necessarily return to the old channel. In this case, call drop may occur during handover. [Judgment methods] You can judge if the cells with low handover success rate, frequent re-establishment failures, and high call drop rate through analyzing traffic statistics indexes. After the judgment, you can find out what causes the handover. For example, the uplink and downlink Rxlev can cause the handover; the uplink and downlink Rxqual can cause the handover; power budget can cause handover; call direct retry can cause handover; and also handover can be initiated by traffic reasons. To check if the BTS clock runs normally, you can check if the any alarm is generated for the BTS clock. If necessary, you must correct the BTS clock to eliminate clock problem. You can check if there is handover problem through drive test. If there is a problem cell, you should perform drive near the cell for several times. Hereunder lists the indexes concerning call drop: Inter-cell handover performance measurement (frequent handover failures, frequent reestablishment failures) Inter-cell handover performance measurement (frequent handovers, high re-establishment rate) Undefined neighbor cell performance measurement (the undefined neighbor cell level and the number of measurement report go beyond the standard) Outgoing cell handover performance measurement (find out the reasons for low outgoing cell handover from the handover target cell) Low incoming cell handover success rate; the cell handover parameters are improperly set; the target cell is congested. TCH performance measurement (the handover times are not proportional to the TCH call seizure successes; the handover happens too frequent) [Solution] 1) Check the parameters affecting the handover. For example, you can check the hierarchical and level setting, each handover threshold, each handover hysteresis, handover time, handover duration, the minimum access level of the handover candidate cell, and so on. 2) If the call drop is caused by unbalance traffic volume or if the call drop occurs due to no handover channel is available at the target BTS, you can solve the problem by adjusting the traffic volume. For example, you can adjust the project parameters, such as antenna tilt and antenna azimuth angle, to control the coverage scope of a cell. To balance the traffic volume, you can use CRO to guide the MS to camp on other idle cells, or you can set the hierarchical and level priority to guide the MS to hand over to the idle cell. In addition, you can solve the problem by expanding the TRX directly. 3) Calibrate the problem BTS clock to enable the synchronization of the clock. iii) Call drop due to interference reasons [Reason analysis] If the MS receives strong same-frequency interference signals or strong neighbor frequency interference signals in the service cell, the bit error rate will deteriorate. In this case, the MS cannot demodulate the BSIC code of the neighbor cells accurately, or it cannot receive the measurement report from the MS correctly. As a result, the conversation will be interfered, the call quality will become poor, and call drop will occur. [Judgment methods] The interference may be from the network itself or the outside network, or it may exist in the uplink signals or downlink signals. The following methods can be used to position the interference. Find out the cells might be interfered through checking traffic statistics. Perform the call drive test for the areas that might be interfered and check the uplink and downlink interference according to user complaint. You can find out if there is a place where the signal is strong but the call quality is poor through drive test tools. In addition, you can use a test MS to perform dialing test to check if a channel number is interfered. Check the frequency planning to see if same-frequency interference and neighbor frequency interference occur in the area where the frequency is improperly planned. Adjust the channel numbers that might be interfered to see if the interference can be avoided or reduced. Exclude the interference caused by equipment. If the previous methods fail to eliminate the interference, you can use the spectrum analyzer to scan the frequencies to find out the interfered channel number and the interference source. Hereunder lists several traffic statistics indexes used for interference analysis: Interference band

You can check the uplink interference through analyzing the interference band in the traffic statistics. If an idle channel appears at the interference bands 3-5, the interference is present. If it is intra-network interference, it will increase as the traffic volume grows. Generally, if it is outside interference, it is not related to traffic volume. It must be pointed out that the interference bands are reported to the BSC by the BTS TRX channel (when in idle mode) through RF resource indication messages. If the current channel is busy and cannot report RF resource indication message, you must consider the traffic volume for the measuring the interference bands. Rxlev performance measurement The Rxlev performance measurement provides the matrix relationship between the signal level and quality. If the signal level is high but the quality is poor, it means that the interference (same-frequency interference, intra-frequency interference, and outside interference) is present at the channel numbers of the TRX board. Poor quality handover ratio The cell performance measurement, inter-cell handover performance measurement, or the outgoing cell handover performance measurement records the outgoing handover attempt times. If the frequent handover is caused by poor signal quality, it means that the interference is present. [Solutions] 1) Check the interfered road and the distribution of signal quality through dive test. As far as the actual conditions are concerned, you can adjust the BTS transmit power and antenna tilt of the related cells or adjust the channel number planning to avoid the interference. 2) Use DTX technology, frequency hopping technology, power control, and diversity technology These technologies can be used to reduce the system noise and enhance anti-interference capacity of the system. DTX is divided into uplink DTX and downlink DTX. In this case, the transmit time can be reduced and the interference level of the system can also be reduced. However, you should adjust the DTX according to the actual radio environment and the neighbor cell relationship. When signals received by the MS are poor, the use of the DTX will result in call drop. If the downlink DTX is enabled, the BTS will increase its transmit power after the call is established. During the conversation, however, the BTS will reduce its transmit power. In this case, the interference against other BTSs will be reduced. If the interference is present near the BTS, the downlink DTX will deteriorate the conversation quality. When the BTS reduces its transmit power, the conversation quality will decrease or the call drop may even occur in the areas where the Rxlev is low but the interference signal is strong. 3) Solve the equipment problems, such as the self-excitation of TRX boards and the antenna demodulation interference. 4) Exclude the outside interference. iv) Call drop due to antenna feeder reasons Engineering problem may be one of the reasons. For example, if the transmit antennas between two cells are inversely connected, the level of the uplink signal will be far poorer than that of the downlink signal. In this case, the call drop, one-way audio, and call difficulty will be found in the areas far away from the base station. If polarization antennas are used, a cell had two sets of antennas. If the tilt angles of the two antennas are inconsistent with each other, the call drop will occur. If a directional cell has a master antenna and a diversity antenna, the BCCH and the SDCCH of the cell may be transmitted through the two antennas respectively. If the tilt angles of the two antennas are different, the coverage scope of the two antennas will be different. In this case, the MS can receive BCCH signals but cannot seize the SDCCH when starting a call. Thus the call drop is resulted. If the azimuth angles of the two antennas are inconsistent with each other, call drop may also occur. That is, the MS can receive the SDCCH signals, but it may be assigned with the TCH. In this case, the call drop will occur. The problems concerning antenna feeder will also cause call drop. For example, if the antenna is damaged, or water penetrates into the antenna, or connector problem is present, the [Reason analysis] Rxqual performance measurement Call drop performance measurement Frequent handover failures and frequent re-establishment failures It is related to the mean Rxlev and Rxqual during call drop. It records the mean Rxlev and Rxqual during call drop. It means that the interference may be present in the target cell.

transmitter power and the receiver sensitivity will decrease. In this case, the call drop will occur. To confirm the problem, you can check the standing wave ratio. [Problem positioning and solution] 1) Check if any alarm concerning the combiner, CDU, tower amplifier, and standing wave is generated and check if the BTS boards are normal in the OMC. 2) Analyze if the path balance is realized according to traffic statistics. 3) Further analyze if the path balance is realized through monitoring the messages sent across the Abis interface. 4) Perform drive test and dialing test. During drive test, you can check if the BCCH numbers of the service cell are consistent with the planned ones, namely, if the transmit antenna of the antenna is correctly installed. 5) Check and test the on-site BTSs. Here the installation of the azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the antenna must be checked. In addition, you should also check if the feeder and jumper are correctly connected, if there is connector problem, and if the feeder is damaged. Furthermore, you must still check if the standing wave is normal. 6) Judge if it is BTS hardware that causes path unbalance and call drop. To solve hardware problem, you can either change the components that may have problems or disable other TRXs in the cell. To find out the problem TRX, you can position the problem through dialing test. Once a problem hardware component is found, you must replace it with a sound one. If no sound one is available, you must shut down the problem hardware component to prevent it from affecting network quality. Hereunder lists several traffic statistics items for path balance analysis: Path balance measurement (to analyze if the path balance is realized) Call drop performance measurement (to analyze the uplink and downlink level and quality during call drop) Power control performance measurement (to analyze mean Rxlev on the uplink and downlink) v) Call drop due to transmission reasons If the transmission quality across the Abis interface and A-interface may be not good and stable, call drop may occur. The following methods can be used to solve the problem: 1) Check the transmission alarm and board alarm and analyze if there is transmission intermittent and board failure. 2) Check the transmission channel, test the bit error rate, check 2M connectors, and check if the equipment grounding is rational to ensure stable transmission quality and reduce call drop rate. 3) Check the traffic statistics to see if the frequent call drop is caused by transmission problems. Especially you should check TCH performance measurement, because it can indicate if the A-interface failures during TCH seizure is normal, if the TCH utilization is normal, and if the ground link call drop times are great. vi) Call drop due to parameter reasons Here you should focus on checking if the parameters related to call drop are irrationally set. If the following parameters are not irrationally set, the call drop may be resulted. Radio link failure counter This parameter acts on the downlink. When the MS fails to decode the SACCH, it will use this parameter to decide when to disconnect the call. If this parameter is set to a too small value, the radio link failures will easily occur and cause call drop. For dead zones or the areas where the call drop frequently happens, you are recommended to set this parameter to a greater value. When changing the radio link failure counter, you should change the corresponding T3109. The T3109 must be set to a value great enough for the MS to detect a radio link failure. For example, if the value of the radio link failure counter is 16 (about 8 seconds), the value of T3109 must be greater than 8 seconds (you can set T3109 to 9 seconds or 10 seconds). SACCH multiframe number This parameter acts on the uplink. The BTS uses this parameter to notify the radio link connection failure message to BSS. The BSS side judges the radio link failure according to the bit error rate on the uplink SACCH. If this parameter is set to a too small value, the radio link failure will happen frequently and the call drop rate will be resulted. Access control parameters The access control parameters include the Minimum RACH Rxlev, RACH busy threshold, and so on. If the access control parameters are irrationally set, the call drop will be easily resulted. T3101, T3107 T3101 is started when the BSC sends a CHANNEL ACTIVATE message to the BTS. It stops when an ESTABLISH INDICATION message is received. This timer monitors the immediate assignment procedure. If T3101 expires, the allocated channels will be removed.

T3107 is started when the BSC sends an ASSIGNMENT COMMAND message to the BTS. Once the BSC receives the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message from the BTS, this timer will reset. T3107 is used to hold the channels long enough so that the MS can return to the old channel. Or it can also be used by the MS to release a channel. If the two timers are set to a too small value, the system will not have enough time to send the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message to the BSC. In this case, the call drop will occur if the timer expires. T200; N200 T200 is an important timer used for the LAPDm (Link Access Procedure on the Dm channel). It prevents the deadlock from occurring when the data is transferred across the data link layer. In GSM system, the messages transferred across radio interfaces can be divided into two types: the messages needing opposite acknowledgement and the messages not needing opposite acknowledgement. For the messages needing opposite acknowledgement, a T200 must be started once the message is sent. If the opposite acknowledgement is not received after a period of time, the message should be retransmitted. In this case, the timer must be restarted. If the retransmission times exceed the maximum allowed times, the message will no longer be retransmitted and the link will be released. That is, this call drops. N200 is the maximum retransmission times allowed. T200 and N200 have different types depending on channel types (TCH full rate, TCH half rate, and SDCCH) and service types (signaling and messages). The given channel type and service type matches a pair of T200 and N200. The call drop rate can be reduced if the message is retransmitted as early as possible before the opposite acknowledgement is received. That is, the value of T200 must be set as small as possible and the value of N200 must be set as great as possible. However, the T200 cannot be set to a too small value and the N200 cannot be set to a too large value. If the opposite party has acknowledged that the link had been removed, the retransmission will make nonsense. Therefore, to reduce the call drop rate, you can adjust the T200 and N200 according to actual radio conditions. II. Call Drop Cases Case 1: Call drop caused by frequency hopping collision [Problem analysis] A BTS uses 1 x 3 RF frequency hopping. After capacity expansion, the TCH allocation failure rate is still high due to radio link problems. In addition, the TCH call drop rate and incoming handover failure rate are high. The SDCCH call drop rate is normal. [Problem positioning and solution] Because high call drop rate and high incoming handover failure rate come together with the TCH allocation rate, it can be judged that the problem may arise during TCH assignment or the channel numbers or timeslots seized by the call are interfered or unstable. Because the SDCCH call drop rate is normal, it can be judged that the probability for the BCCH carriers and BCCH numbers to the interfered are small, but the non-BCCH carriers and non-BCCH numbers may be greatly interfered. Through checking the hardware, antenna feeder, and transmission, engineers found no problem. According to drive test, engineers found that the signal level was high but the quality was poor. Through on-site dialing test, engineers found that the conversation quality was poor. Through checking engineering parameters, engineers found that the MAIO of the new carrier was the same as that of the old carrier. Therefore, it can be judged that the call drop was caused by the frequency hopping collision. After modifying the MAIO, engineers found that call drop rate became normal. Case 2: Call drop caused by isolated island effect [Problem description] Users complained that call drop always occurred above the fifth floor of a building. [Problem analysis] 1) Through on-site test, engineers found that call drop and noise existed here. As far as the test MS was concerned, it was always in the service area of the other BTS (hereunder called BTS B) other than the local BTS (hereunder called BTS C) before the call drop. 2) It is estimated that the service cell belongs to BTS B, which is 3-4 kilometers away from the building. Therefore, it can be judged that the signals from the BTS B are reflected signals. As a result, an area similar to an isolated island is formed. 3) Through checking data configuration, engineers found that only the cell 2 of BTS A has the neighbor cell relationship with BTS B. Therefore, when the MS is using the signals in cell 2 of the BTS B, if the signals in cell 3 of BTS A were strong, and if the cell 2 of BTS B has no neighbor cell relationship with the cell 3 of the BTS A, the handover cannot be performed.

The signals from the cell 2 of BTS B are reflected many times. Therefore, when signals (from BTS B) received by the MS became poor dramatically, emergent handover may be initiated. In this case, however, either the cell 2 or cell 3 of the BTS A is not an ideal candidate cell for the cell 2 of BTS B. As a result, the MS may hand over to other BTS (hereunder called BTS C), but the MS cannot receive the signals from BTS C. Therefore, call drop occurs. [Solution] You are recommended to change the data in the BA1 (BCCH) list, BA2 (SACCH) list, and neighbor cell relationship list. For example, you can configure the cell 3 of BTS A as the neighbor cell of cell 2 of BTS B. To eliminate the isolated island effect, you should also further optimize the engineering parameters. After that, the call drop problem can be solved. Case 3: Reduce call drop rate through optimizing handover parameters [Problem description] The drive test in an area found that the call drop rate at a cave near the BTS high because the handover cannot be performed in due time. [Problem analysis and solution] The cave is near the BTS. The signal level of the target cell is about -80dBm in the cave, but the signal level of the old cell drops below -100dBm. The downlink power of the two cells outside the cave is good, so the handover cannot be initiated. However, the signal level deteriorates dramatically in the cave, so the call drop occurs before the measurement time is arriving. To reduce the call drop rate, you can optimize and adjust the handover parameters: 1) If no ping-pong handover is present and the conversation is continuous, you can make the PBGT handover happen as easily as possible. 2) Set the threshold to trigger the emergent handover rationally so that the emergent handover can be triggered before call drop. For the parameter modification, see Handover parameter optimization Parameter Name PBGT handover measurement time PBGT handover duration PBGT handover threshold Uplink quality threshold for emergent handover Minimum downlink power for handover candidate cell Before Modification 5 4 72 70 10 After Modification 3 2 68 60 15

Case 4: Call drop caused by clock problem [Problem description] The cell A of an 1800MHz network has been cutover. After the establishment of a cell at site B, the calls made in the cell handing over to the GSM900 MHz cell that shares the same BTS site drops in the GSM900 MHz cell. And the call drop rate is great. [Problem analysis and solution] Engineers find that the clock of the GSM900 MHz BTS and that of the GSM1800 MHz BTS are asynchronous. When the calls established on the GSM1800 MHz cell intend to hand over to the GSM900 MHz cell, the drive test data shows that the FER arises dramatically first, and then gradually disappears to none. If the handover is from a GSM900 MHz cell to a GSM1800 MHz cell, this phenomenon is also present. Through monitoring signaling, engineers find that the conversation held several seconds before the call drop is just process for call re-establishment. However, the test MS shows that the call has been handed over to the GSM900 MHz cell. Therefore, it can be judged that the clocks are seriously asynchronous. To solve this problem, the carrier concerned and the GSM900 equipment provider cooperate with each other on clock calibration. After that, the abnormal call drop disappears. Therefore, for dual-band handover, the clock of the GSM900 MHz BTS and that of the GSM1800 MHz BTS must be synchronous. 5.5.4 Handover Problems

The MS is always moving during conversation. To ensure channel quality, the MS must measure the quality of the channels of the surrounding channels without stop, and then send the measurement report to the BSC through the service cell. The BSC will perform radio link control according to the signal level and quality contained in the measurement report. If the MS moves to another cell, the new cell will replace the old cell to ensure the continuity of the service. The handover enables each cell to form a seamless network. I. Handover Problem Positioning Steps 1) Find out if the problem occurs at an individual cell or all cells and find out the characteristics of the problem cells. For example, if the cells are the neighbors cell of a cell, or if they are co-BSC cells, or if they are co-MSC cells. If the handover between two cells fails, you should focus on checking if the data of the two cells is correctly configured. In addition, you should also check the hardware of the two cells. If the problem is found in all the neighbor cells of a cell, you should focus on checking of the data of this cell is correctly configured. In addition, you should also check the hardware of the cell. If the problem is found in all the cells under the same BSC, you should focus on checking the data configuration between the BSC and MSC. If the problem is found in all the cells under the same MSC, the cooperation between the local exchange and the opposite exchange may fail. For example, the signaling is incompatible and the timer setting is irrational. 2) Check if the data has been modified before handover problems occur. If the problem is found in an individual cell, you should focus on checking if the data configuration for this cell has been modified. If the problem is found in all the cells under the same BSC, you should focus on checking the data configuration for the local BSC and the opposite MSC has been modified. If the problem is found in the cells under the same MSC, you should check if the data configuration for the opposite MSC has been modified. 3) Check if it is the hardware failure that causes the handover problem. 4) Register the related traffic statistics items, such as the handover performance measurement and TCH performance measurement. Check if the TCH seizure of the problem cell is normal. For example, if the call drop rate is high. Check if the outgoing handover success rate is normal. Find out the causes for the handover failure. Check if the radio handover success rate is normal. 5) Perform drive test for the problem cell and analyze the drive test signaling. Check if the uplink and downlink of the problem cells are balanced, because unbalanced path may cause handover problem (BTS problem may cause the unbalance). Check if the measurement report for the problem cell contains correct neighbor cell list. Check if a call can hand over from a problem cell to a neighbor cell correctly and check if it can hand over from a neighbor cell to the problem cell. Analyze if the signaling procedure for the handover is normal. II. Handover Problem Analysis Methods i) Handover cannot be initiated

If the MS is in a cell where the signal is poor, it cannot hand over to another cell. In this case, you should consider of the handover conditions are met and if there is an outgoing cell available. Hereunder details the possible reasons: The handover threshold is set to a low value For edge handover, the handover triggering condition is that the Rxlev must be smaller than the handover threshold. If the edge handover threshold is set to a too small value, the signal level of the neighbor cells will be far higher than that of the service cell. In this case, the handover cannot be initiated. As a result, the conversation quality will be affected, or even the call drop will be resulted. The setting of the handover threshold depends on the coverage scope of the cell. You can change the size of the service area of the cell through changing the handover threshold. Neighbor cell relationship is not set Though the signal level in the neighbor cells of the service cell is high, the MS will not report the neighbor cells if the neighbor cell relationship is not set. In this case, the MS cannot hand over to a neighbor cell. Through performing cell reselection or dialing test, you can check the neighbor cell list reported by the MS. If the MS has moved to the major lobe of a cell but this cell

is not found in the neighbor cell list, you should check if the correct neighbor cell relationship has been correctly set. During the drive test, you can use another MS to scan the BCCH numbers to check if the strong BCCH numbers are in the service cell or in the neighbor cell list. Handover hysteresis is irrationally set If the difference between the signal level of the handover candidate cell and that of the service cell is greater than handover hysteresis, the cell can work as a target cell. If the hysteresis is set to a too great value, the handover is hard to be initiated. The best measurement time "N" and "P" are irrationally set During normal handover, the MS uses N-P rules to list the handover candidate cells in a certain order. If a candidate cell is the best cell within P seconds out of N seconds, it will be treated as the best cell. When there are two cells become the best cell alternately, the MS may find it hard to select a best cell through N-P rule, which makes the handover difficult. In this case, you can adjust the values of N and P and reduce the measurement time to make the handover decision more sensitive to level change. If the landform and the ground objects of the service cell are quite complicated, the signals received by the moving MS will fluctuate greatly. In this case, the handover candidate cell cannot meet N-P rule, which will make the handover difficult. ii) Handover problem caused by hardware failure If the data configuration for the problem cell and the neighbor cells has not been modified recently but the handover problems occur abruptly, you should first consider if the problems are caused by BTS hardware equipment. If the cells sharing the same base station with the cell have similar problem, you should consider if the problem is caused by the common hardware of the cells. If the problem is found in only one cell under the base station, you should consider if it is the hardware of this cell that causes the problem. For example, if some of the carriers are damaged. To test the problems of this kind, you can disable some of the carriers. If the handover success rate returns to normal state after a carrier is disabled, you can check if the problem is present at this carrier or if the CDU and antenna feeder part related to this carrier fails. If signals of a cell on the uplink and downlink are seriously unbalanced, frequent handover will be caused and the handover success rate will decrease. To check if the signaling flow of the cell is normal and if the uplink Rxqual and downlink Rxqual are good, you can monitor the messages sent across the Abis interface. If the Rxqual is poor, it means that the hardware equipment of the fails or serious interference is present in the cell. In this case, the signaling exchange is unavailable and the handover problem will occur. iii) Handover problem caused by irrational data configuration For stand-alone networking mode, if the outgoing MSC or incoming MSC handover is abnormal, you should check if the signaling cooperation of the two MSCs is correct. In addition, you should also check if the data configuration for the opposite MSC and the local MSC has been modified recently. For co-MSC networking mode, if the handover is performed within the BSCs of different providers and the inter-BSC handover is abnormal, you should first check if the signaling cooperation between the BSCs is normal, and then check if the data configuration for the BSCs has been modified. If the abnormal handover is found at a cell only, you need to analyze the abnormal handover according to actual conditions. If the incoming handover of a cell is abnormal, you need first check if the incoming handovers to this cell is abnormal. Generally, when the handover is abnormal, the handover success rate is low, or even the handover does not occur. If all the incoming handovers to this cell is abnormal, you should check if the data configuration for this cell is correct. Here the data configuration includes both the data configured for this cell and the data configured for other cells but is related to this cell. For example, the CGI of this cell may be correctly configured, but it may be wrongly configured in other cells. If there is only one incoming handover to a cell is abnormal but other incoming handovers to this cell are normal, in addition to checking if the data configuration for this cell is correct, you should also check if the data configuration for the neighbor cells is correct. Furthermore, you should also check if the hardware equipment of the cell is normal. The methods to analyze the abnormal outgoing handovers are similar to the methods to analyze the abnormal incoming handovers. Check the timers (such as T3105, Ny1, T3103, and T3142) related to the handover. T3105 indicates the interval for continuous PHYSICAL INFORMATION to be sent to the MS. The network will start T3105 for the sending of the PHYSICAL INFORMATION. If the timer fails before receiving any

correct frame from the MS, the network will resend the PHYSICAL INFORMATION and restart the timer. A piece of PHYSICAL INFORMATION can be sent Ny1 times to the maximum. Here the product of Ny1 and T3105 must be greater than the sum of T3124 and delta ("delta" indicates the interval between the expiry of T3124 and the reception of the Handover Failure message of the old BSC), otherwise the MS cannot perform successful handover. T3124 is a timer waiting for the PHYSICAL INFORMATION from the network side during asynchronous handover. When sending the HANDOVER ACCESS message on the DCCH for the first time, the MS will start T3124. Upon receiving a piece of PHYSICAL INFORMATION, the MS will stop T3124. If the channel type allocated in the HANDOVER COMMAND message is SDCCH (+SACCH), the T3124 is set to 675ms. For other cases, the T3124 is set to 320ms. III. Handover Cases Case 1: No handover candidate cell is available due to CGI error [Problem description] The handover in an area is abnormal. When the MS moves from cell A to cell B, the signals in cell B are stronger than that of cell A, but the handover does not happen. After the MS moves from cell B to cell C, the MS hands over from cell A to cell C. [Cause analysis] If a cell can work as a service cell and can hand over to other cells, but the incoming handover is unavailable, you can check if the CGI, BSIC, BCCH number of the cell are correct. [Problem solution] 1) Use the test MS to lock the BCCH numbers of cell B. The call is normal. The MS can hand over to any other cell by force. 2) Make a call after locking the BCCH umber of any neighbor cell of cell B, and then force the MS to hand over to cell B, but the handover does not happen, because no handover command is seen in the drive test software. 3) The handover procedure requires the MS detecting the neighbor cell signals and reporting the detected signals to BSC with a measurement report. Upon receiving the measurement report, the BSC must make the handover decision. If the handover conditions are met, the BSC should activate the TCH of the service cell, and then send a handover command to the MS. 4) If the signals of cell B are far stronger than that of cell A and the handover conditions are met (the PBGT handover threshold is 70), but no handover command is sent, it means that errors occur during the activation of the target cell TCH. 5) If the cell B works as the target cell but the TCH cannot be activated, the data may be incorrectly configured for the cell. In this case, the BSC that contains the cell cannot find the target cell, so the TCH cannot be activated and no handover command can be found in the service cell. 6) The CGI error is found in cell B through data checking. The handover is normal after the CGI is changed to correct value. Case 2: Unbalanced path causes low handover success rate [Problem description] The incoming BSC handover success rate is quite low for the two cells under a BTS, ranging from 10% to 30%. [Cause analysis] Generally, if the data problems, such as CGI error or intra-frequency interference, exists and if there is dead zones in heavy-traffic areas, or if it is hard for the MS to access the cell due to poor uplink signals, the incoming BSC handover success rate is low. [Solution] 1) The cell data is found normal. 2) Through checking traffic statistics items, engineers found that all incoming cell handover success rates were low. 3) Through drive test, engineers found that frequent handover attempts were made in the area 2km away from the BTS, but the handover always failed. Even if a successful handover was made, call drop occurred immediately. During the handover, engineers found that the downlink level was about -85dBm. Engineers made 10 dialing tests with frequency locked, all the originating calls failed. For the answering calls, they can be connected but cannot be called out. 4) It is estimated that the CDU uplink channel loss is great, or the jumpers are incorrectly connected at the BTS top. In this case, the uplink signals will be poor, which causes the problem. 5) After changing the CDU, engineers found that the incoming handover success rate increased to 95%. Case 3: Improper antenna planning causes low handover success rate [Problem analysis]

The handover success rate among the three cells under a BTS is quite low according to traffic statistics. For the handover from cell1 to cell3 and the handover from cell2 to cell3, the success rate is lower than 30%. [Cause analysis] Generally, low handover success rate is caused by board failure, handover data error, or improper antenna planning. [Solution] 1) The BTS hardware is normal and no alarm concerning handover parameters is generated, so the hardware problem and parameter setting problem can be excluded. 2) The BTS locates at the eastern side of a south-north road and is 700m away from the road. The azimuth angles of the three cells are 0, 80and 160. They three cells direct to the two directions and the open resident areas lying under a hill in the east respectively. Among the three cells, the down tilts of two cells are 7. To make the coverage as specified as possible, engineers concentrated the antenna azimuth angles of the three cells in design. In this case, however, the cells of the BTS are seriously overlapped in the east. For the areas just in the west, the coverage is provided by the side lobes and back lobes of the three cells. Therefore, when the MS is moving on this road, first it is covered by cell1. When it moves to the west, the signals of the three cells are poor and fluctuating greatly. In addition, since the handover measurement time and the handover duration is set to a small value, the handover is rather sensitive, and that's why the frequent handover failure occurs. 3) After setting the azimuth angles of the three cells to 60, 180, and 350, engineers found that the handover success rate of among the three cells increased to 95%. Case 4: Problems concerning the cooperation of different carriers' equipment cause low outgoing BSC handover success rate [Problem description] There is a dual-band network in which the GSM900 MHz network and the GSM1800 MHz network are stand-alone. After the two networks completed cell reselection and handover parameter setting, engineers found that the dual-band handover success rate was low; especially the success rate of the handover from the GSM1800 MHz network to the GSM900 MHz network was low, ranging from 60% to 80%. However, the success rate of the handover from the GSM900 MHz network to the GSM1800 MHz network was higher than 92%. [Cause analysis] For a dual-band network, if the problems concerning the cooperation of different carriers' equipment are found, you must know the data configuration of the equipment. For example, if the equipment supports Phase 2+ and EFR. [Solution] 1) Through using signaling analyzer to analyze the message flowing across the A-interface and E-interface, engineers found that the MSC of the GSM1800 MHz network would send back a Handover Reject message to the BSC of the GSM1800 MHz network when the BSC sent a Handover Required message to the MSC. 2) The MSC of the GSM1800 MHz network sent a Prepare Handover message to the MSC of the GSM900 MHz network. Upon receiving the message, the MSC of the GSM900 MHz network sent back an Abort message. 3) Because the success rate of the handover from GSM900 MHz network to the GSM1800 MHz network was high, engineers found that the voice version carried in the Prepare Handover message (from the GSM900 MSC to GSM1800 MSC) is half rate version 1, but the voice versions carried in the Prepare Handover message (from GSM1800 MSC to GSM900 MSC) are full rate version 1, full rate version 2, and half rate version 1, which belong to PHASE 2+. However, MSC of provider A does not support the PHASE 2+, so the handover failure is caused. 4) Through modifying the MSC data of the circuit MSC data at the A-interface and selecting the full rate version 1 only, engineers found that the voice versions carried in the Prepare Handover message (from GSM1800 MSC to GSM900 MSC) are full rate 1 and 2. After that, the dual-band handover success rate was greatly increased. 5.5.5 Congestion Problems This section introduces the methods to handle SDCCH congestion and TCH congestion, in which TCH congestion indicates SDCCH seizure all busy. The TCH congestion has two cases. One is TCH seizure all busy. For this case, the real channels cannot be allocated to the MS, so the MS will fail to request the channels. The other one is that the TCH assignment fails after an assignment is sent due to various reasons. I. Congestion Problem Solutions Congestion caused by heavy traffic

You can check if the SDCCH traffic and TCH traffic are normal through viewing traffic statistics. If the congestion is caused by heavy traffic, the most efficient method to solve the problem is to expand the capacity of the network. In addition, you can adopt traffic sharing technologies to ease the congestion. For example, you can modify the CRO, enable direct retry or load handover function. SDCCH congestion caused by burst traffic If the SDCCH congestion rate is high and the traffic is heavy but the TCH traffic is normal, the SDCCH congestion may be caused by burst traffic. The SDCCH congestion always occurs at BTSs along railways and tunnel exits, because the BTSs are installed in remote places and the capacity of a BTS is small. As a result, when the train moves fast along the railways or stops at a railway station, most of MSs failing to capture a network will perform location update, which will result in SDCCH congestion. In addition, when short messages are sent at a concentrated time, the SDCCH congestion will also occur easily. SDCCH congestion cannot be completely avoided, but some measures can be taken to ease the congestion. For example, you can add the number of SDCCHs, or enable the dynamic conversion between SDCCH and TCH. Congestion caused by TRX problems When a carrier configured in a multi-TRX cell cannot provide services, the channel congestion will also occur. To solve the problem, you should replace the problem TRX with a sound one. If the TRX problem cannot be positioned, you should check if the antenna feeder connection is correct and if the antenna standing wave is normal. If yes, recheck the TRX where the problem may be generated. Congestion caused by interference The interference present across the radio interfaces will also cause congestion. In this case, you should solve the interference problem first. Channel assignment failure caused by inconsistent coverage If the concentric technology is not used, the transmit power of the TRXs within the same cell will be inconsistent, which will result in inconsistent coverage. In this case, the channel assignment failure will easily occur. To position this problem, you can check if the connection between the splitter and connector and if the connection between CDU and SCU are correct. When a cell uses multiple transmitter antennas, inconsistent coverage will be inconsistent, which will result in channel assignment failure. To solve this problem, you should make the coverage of each transmitter antenna as consistent as possible through engineering adjustment. In addition, if the transmitter antenna and the receiver antenna of a cell is not in the same plane or the antenna tilt angles are inconsistent, the channel assignment failure will also be caused. In this case, you can calibrate the antennas to solve the problem. Congestion caused improper data configuration If the congestion is caused by improper location area planning, you can reduce the SDCCH congestion rate by planning the location area properly. If the congestion is caused by the problems concerning SDCCH dynamic allocation, you can reduce the SDCCH congestion rate by enabling the SDCCH dynamic allocation function. For dual-band network, you can properly set the parameters (such as CRO, CBA, and cell reselection hysteresis) to reduce the SDCCH congestion rate. If the timers, such as T3101, T3103, T3107, T3122, T3212, and T3111, are not properly set, SDCCH congestion will also be caused. Hereunder are the solutions to the previous problems. You can ease the congestion caused by SDCCH dual allocation through reducing the T3101 to a smaller value. If the T3101 is set to a large value, the radio resources will be seized for a long period of time. To fully use the radio resources, therefore, you can reduce the T3101 value. You can save the TCH resources through reducing the T3103 and T3107 to a rational value. Generally, T3103 and T3107 are set to about 5 seconds. The T3122 must be stopped once the MS receives an IMMEDIATE ASSIGN REJECT message. Only after the T3122 expires, the MS can send a new channel request message. If the MS sends channel request messages frequently, the RACH load and CCCH load will increase. To solve this problem, you can increase the T3122 to a larger value. T3212 stands for the time limit value for periodical location update. You can ease the SDCCH load by increasing the T3212 to a larger value. T3111 is related to release latency. It is used for the deactivation of the latency channels after the major signaling link breaks. T3111 can be initiated during either TCH release or SDCCH release. The value of T3111 must be consistent with that of the T3110 at the MS side.

Generally, it should be 2 seconds. If the T3111 is set to a large value, great SDCCH congestion rate may be caused. II. Congestion Cases Case 1: SDCCH congestion caused by wrong LAC configuration [Description] A BTS is configured as S1/1/1. It is found that the SDCCH congestion rate for 2 cells reaches as high as 8%. [Problem analysis and solution] 1) Through checking the measurement indexes for TCH and SDCCH, engineers found that the TCH traffic was not heavy. The traffic volume for each cell during busy hours is lower than 2.2Erl. However, the requests for SDCCH seizure are great, reaching 3032 times during busy hours. The SDCCH traffic reaches 1.86Erl, and the congestion rate reaches 8%. 2) The main reasons for SDCCH seizure include the messages sent before call setup, the messages sent during handover, the location update messages sent under the idle mode, and other short messages. 3) The TCH traffic is normal, the requests for TCH seizure (including handover) are normal (318 times), and the handover requests are also normal (146 times). Therefore, the SDCCH congestion may be caused by a large number of location update messages or short messages. 4) The LAC of the BTS is 0500, and the LACs of other cells of the surrounding cells are 0520. After changing the LAC of the BTS to 0520, engineers found that the requests for SDCCH seizure during busy hours were 298, the SDCCH traffic was 0.27Erl, and the congestion rate reduced to 0. Case 2: SDCCH congestion caused by burst location updates [Problem description] The radio connected ratio of a local network is lower than average level. According to traffic statistics analysis, it is found that the SDCCH congestion happened at several BTSs. [Problem analysis and solution] 1) Through analyzing traffic statistics, engineers found that the SDCCHs of the congested cells were seized for 300 to 400 times during busy hours. Here the BTS was configured as S1/1/1 and each cell was configured with 8 SDCCHs. Therefore, the SDCCHs can be seized by 400 times, but the SDCCHs were congested for tens of times during busy hours. 2) As far as the registered traffic statistics items were concerned, most of the SDCCH seizures were caused by location update. Taking the BTS location into consideration, engineers found that most of the BTSs were installed at the intersections of two railways. Therefore, it might be the burst location update that caused SDCCH congestion. 3) To verify if it was the burst location update that caused the congestion, engineers registered the traffic statistics items in 5 minutes and found that most of the location update happened within the five seconds. Through querying the train time table, engineers found that there were 4 to 5 trains passing by within the five seconds. When the trains passed the intersections, a large number of location updates were generated in a short time. In this case, the congestion was caused. Therefore, if the BTSs are installed at the railway intersections, you are suggested to enable the SDCCH dynamic allocation function and configure a suitable margin for the SDCCH. Case 3: Great TCH congestion rate caused by the inconsistent tilt angles of two antennas under the same cell [Problem description] It is found that the TCH congestion rate of a cell is great (greater than 5%) according to traffic statistics. [Problem analysis and solution] 1) Through checking BSC traffic statistics, engineers found that it was the TCH seizure failure that directly caused the great TCH congestion rate. 2) Generally, TCH seizure failure is caused by TCH assignment failure. Through monitoring Abis interface, engineers found that most of the TCH assignment failure occurred at the No.4 TRX and No.5 TRX, and the probability for the assignment failure rate for the No.4 TRX was near that for the No.5 TRX. 3) Through checking the antenna feeder part, engineers found that the tile angle corresponding to the transmitter antennas of the two TRXs were too great (it is 10 degrees than that of the antenna for BCCH, because the antenna nuts were found loosen. Therefore, if the MS is far away from the BTS, it can receive the BCCH signals but cannot receive the TCH signals. If the TCH is assigned to the MS when the MS starts a call, the TCH seizure failure will occur. 4) To solve the problem, you can enable the tilt angel of the TCH antenna and that of the BCCH antenna to be consistent with each other. In this case, the TCH congestion rate can be reduced to 2% or lower. Case 4: High TCH congestion rate caused by downlink interference

[Problem description] A cell of BTS is responsible for covering a large area of sea surface along the coast. According to the registered traffic statistics items, engineers found that when the traffic volume was lower than 1Erl, the TCH congestion of the cell reached 10% at some time. However, no alarm was generated. All the interference bands fell within the interference band1 and the hardware and RF connections were normal. [Problem analysis and solution] Because all the interference bands fell within the interference band1, the uplink interference is impossible. Considering that the coverage distance reaches 60 to 70 kilometers and multiple normal cells are present along the coast, the probability for the channel numbers of the downlink areas and the cell to be interfered is high. Through modifying the channel numbers of the cell, engineers found that the TCH congestion rate was improved. Through further optimizing the channel numbers, engineers found that the TCH congestion rate was lower than 1%. Therefore, it can be judged that the 10% of congestion rate is caused by the downlink interference of some areas. 5.5.6 Other Problems I. Subscriber Is Not in Service Area When a subscriber is not in service area, the MS works as the called party when the signals received by the MS are good and the calling party hears a voice saying that the subscriber is not in the service area. If the coverage, operation, and data configuration of a network are good, the occurrence probability for the problem must be lower than 1%, otherwise it is other causes that result in the problem. Generally, if a subscriber is not in the service area, the following causes may be present: Coverage problem If the subscriber complaint happens at cell edges, the problem may be related to coverage. In this case, the probability for the calling party failure is equal to the probability for the "subscriber is not in service area". Parameter setting If the subscriber is not in service area, the parameters concerning the paging, access, and immediate assignment may be not properly set. In this case, you can check if the messages concerning RACH overload, PCH overload, and SDCCH overload are generated through querying traffic statistics and alarms. If yes, the subscriber may not in the service area. System capacity limit or overload If system capacity limit or overload occur (for example, HDB overload, CPU overload, or capacity overload during busy hours), the system may fail to read the subscriber information, or subscribers cannot access the radio network. In this case, the subscriber may not in the service area. To solve this problem, you can take measures to expand the system capacity. Transmission problem If the links between systems (such as the LAPD link of the Abis interface and the links of the each network entity) and the links within a system (such as the link among the modules of BCS/MSC) are not stable, the messages sent through these links may be missing. In this case, subscribers may not in the service area. To position the problem, you can check the alarms. Equipment causes If the designs concerning MSC and BSC are incomplete, the probability of "subscriber is not in service area" will increase. MS causes If the RF parts or the software parts of the MS have problems, for example, the reception capability of the MS is poor; the frequency deviation goes beyond the requirements defined in the protocols; and the dualband performance of the MS is poor, this problem may also occur. II. Signal Fluctuation Signal fluctuation indicates that change of the MS signal strength. The following factors may cause signal fluctuation. Radio wave propagation The strength of the signals received by the MS is the amplitude of the sum of the vectors of various propagation paths. Because the propagation environment is ever-changing, the attenuation of radio channels is ever-changing. Therefore, even if the MS does not move, the strength of the received signals will change. Cell reselection and handover

When the MS moves from the old cell to the new cell through handover or cell reselection, the signals of the MS will fluctuate because the signal strength of the old cell and that of the new cell are inconsistent. Antenna shake Location update or channel assignment occurs at non-BCCH TRX When the antenna shakes, the antenna gain will change, so the signals will also fluctuate. If the SDCCH is assigned to a non-BCCH TRX during location update and power control is available on SDCCH, the signal strength may fluctuate. III. Voice Discontinuity Voice discontinuity stands for pauses or words loss occurs in conversation. If the voice continuity is remarkable, the conversation quality will be affected. The following factors may cause voice discontinuity Frequent handovers Only hard handover is available in GSM system. Therefore, when the MS hands over from the source channel to the target channel, the downlink frames may loss at the Abis interface. As a result, the voice continuity is unavoidable during handover. Generally, frequent handovers may occur at cell edges or during cross coverage. In this case, the voice discontinuity will become a headache of subscribers. To avoid the frequent handovers, you can adjust the antenna tilt and height and configure the data, such as uplink and downlink quality threshold and restriction properly. Radio link interference Radio link interference will increase the bit error rate, which will cause voice discontinuity. In addition, the signals always fluctuate greatly at cell edges, so the conversation quality at the cell edges is bad. Poor network coverage If the network coverage is poor, the Rxlev and Rxqual will become poor, thus the conversation quality will be affected. BTS transmission problem BTS transmission problems will affect conversation quality. For connectors, you should check of the connection among the connector is good. For optical transmission, you should check if the optical headers are clean and if the transmission errors are great. For micro wave transmission, it may be affected by weather. If there is large amount of dust in the equipment, the conversation quality may also be affected. If both micro wave transmission and optical transmission are used, you should pay attention to the cooperation of the transmission impedance at the equipment interfaces. TRX board failure Hardware problem will result in poor conversation quality. In this case, you should replace the problem hardware with the sound one.

5.4 Traffic Statistics Index Analysis At the network optimization stage, the traffic statistics indexes are the basis for network performance optimization. For network optimization, the KPIs, such as congestion rate, call drop rate, and handover success rate, are in common use. These indexes are the external representation of network quality. The radio coverage quality, channel capacity, and cell parameters are the internal factor to affect the network quality. The traffic statistics analysis aims to look into these internal factors through external factors. Since the mobile network is a complex system, you should consider related DT information, signaling messages, and alarm information for the overall analysis. 5.4.1 General Analysis Method Traffic statistics analysis is performed from BSC overall performance to cell performance, from primary indexes to secondary indexes. First you should have a rough understanding of the network performance through BSC performance analysis. Here the indexes such as THC traffic intensity, TCH call drop rate, TCH congestion rate, and inter-cell handover success rate should be considered. Attention that in addition to check the percentages of the indexes, you should also check the absolute numbers of the indexes, because the percentages may sometimes hide some cell problems. After having understood the indexes about the overall network performance, you should analyze the indexes for each cell if finding abnormal indexes. First you should judge if the abnormal index is a common phenomenon or it is really an abnormal one. If it is a common phenomenon, you should begin the analysis from the perspective of coverage, capacity, frequency planning, and cell parameters. If it is really an abnormal case, you should register the corresponding traffic sub-items and analyze them in detail. In addition, you should also make an overall judgment through collecting the information about alarm, engineers' operation, and other external causes. If the traffic statistics analysis cannot contribute a correct judgment, you should employ DT equipment and signaling analyzer for help. 5.4.2 High Call Drop Rate Analysis If the uplink and downlink quality deteriorates to a level that cannot hold normal conversation, the conversation will be disconnected. This is defined as call drop. Since the user mobility and radio propagation is uncertain, call drop always exists in a mobile network. However, optimization measures can be adopted to reduce the call drop rate. When the call drop rate of the BSC overall performance is found abnormal, you can check TCH performance to judge whether the call drop is just a common phenomenon or it is an individual phenomenon. After that, you can judge whether the high call drop rate occurs in several cells or in all the BTSs. If the call drop is a common phenomenon, you should make an overall check towards the coverage planning, cell parameter planning, and frequency planning to analyze whether the link budget meet the requirements, whether the configuration of the path failure counter is rational, and whether the network interference is too great. In addition, you should also check the BSC hardware, and then perform drive test to check the network coverage. If it the abnormality is caused by the severe call drop in individual cells, you should confirm whether it is equipment failure that caused the call drop. Generally, alarm messages are always come together with equipment failure, so you can take equipment failure as a reference. After the equipment failure is excluded, you can analyze the call drop rate from the perspective of interference, coverage, and handover. 1) Interference is divided into uplink interference and downlink interference. You can analyze the uplink interference according to the number of interference bands into which the idle TCHs drop. It is normal that the idle TCHs drop into interference band 1 and interference band 2. For the network with aggressive frequency reuse, it is acceptable that the idle TCHs drop into interference band 3. Here the frequency hopping, PBGT handover and coverage control must be considered. If the idle TCHs drop into interference band 4 or above, you should carefully check the interference. Generally, the interference within the network increases with the traffic volume. The increase of the Rxqual class can be seen through the Rxqual measurement task and Rxlev measurement task. The poor handover ratio can be seen arising through inter-cell handover performance measurement. In addition, the handover re-establishment failures will result in more handover failures. 2) If the coverage is inadequate or it is unbalance on the uplink and downlink, the call drop will also be resulted. You can judge if the Rxlev is adequate through the mean Rxlev of the power control measurement task and the power class. If the Rxlev is still low when the transmitter power reaches the maximum, there are areas with poor coverage. Meanwhile, you can take the mean Rxqual and Rxlev during call drop as a reference. The distribution of TA (timing advance) values can help you estimate the radius of subscriber distribution. Through checking the received channel strength of the neighbor cells, you can analyze the cell coverage. Generally, drive test is needed for a detailed analysis.

If the uplink coverage and downlink coverage are unbalance, RF component failure or cable connection problem will occur. The path unbalance can be seen from the path balance measurement task, power measurement task, and call drop measurement task. At this time, the alarm information and user complaint also deserve your attention. 3) Handover failure will prevent the MS from moving to the best cell. In this case, call drop may be resulted. In addition, cross-cell handover and target cell congestion may cause call drop. To solve this problem, you can add neighbor cell relationship and balance the traffic within the cells. The high SDCCH call drop rate analysis is similar to high TCH call drop rate analysis. Acting as the point-to-point signaling channel, the SDCCH is more sensitive to the interference than TCH. In this case, the common method to reduce the call drop rate is to adjust the access threshold and reduce interference. 5.4.3 High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis This section discusses TCH congestion, including the congestion caused by TCH seizure all busy and the congestion caused by TCH seizure failure. When the congestion rate of the BSC overall performance is found abnormal, you can find out the cells with high congestion rate through checking the TCH performance statistics. In this case, you can discover the problems through analyzing each functional sub-item of the TCH performance statistics of this cell. In addition, you should check whether there is transmission problem, clock problem, or hardware problem through considering the alarm information. It is a must to analyze the load according to the TCH traffic intensity and the configured TCH capacity. 1) Check if the THC congestion rate is caused by TCH seizure all busy through analyzing the TCH performance measurement of the cell. If the congestion is caused by heavy traffic, you should predict the real traffic of the cell and check if other cells can share the traffic. If it is beyond the optimization capability to enable other cells to share the traffic, you should consider expanding the capacity of the network. The adjustment measures for traffic balance may not be consistent with the principle of minimum radio path loss, so they are applied to emergent causes only. In most cases, you can balance the traffic through adjusting coverage scope, adjusting access threshold, adjusting CRO and handover threshold, or enabling load handover. If the congestion is not caused by TCH seizure all busy, go on with the check. 2) Check if the TRXs of the congestion cell work normally. The damage or performance decline of the uplink channels may prevent the MS from accessing other cells. In this case, many cells will be seized, which will cause congestion. The incoming cell handover performance measurement will show that many handovers towards this cell are failures. In this case, you should query the statue of each TRX within each cell through querying the Rxlev performance measurement task or Rxqual performance measurement task. In addition, you should find out which TRX is related to the abnormality through querying the uplink and downlink measurement reports of the same TRX. 3) Check if the congestion rate is related to interference, namely, check if any abnormality is present from the interference band 1 to interference band 5 in the traffic statistics. If the interference is present in a cell, the call drop rate of the cell will be high, and the SDCCH congestion rate will increase accordingly. Moreover, the RACH in the random access performance measurement may be congested, and the immediate assignment success rate will decrease. 4) Under some conditions, the congestion of some cells is a result of large coverage. In this case, you should analyze the relationship between TA value and Rxlev through querying the power control mean level, the mean level during call drop, and TA. In addition, you should also use drive test to define the coverage area of the cell. Through querying the TCH availability of the neighbor cell, you can confirm if the congestion is caused by neighbor cell failures. Through querying path balance performance measurement, you can judge if the reason for the TCH seizure failure is that the downlink power is greater than the uplink power. 5) Frequent handovers can also cause TCH congestion. Through querying the ratio of the handovers to the call seizure successes, you can check if the ratio is rational. Through querying the incoming and outgoing ratio, you can check if the congestion is caused by irrational handover. 5.4.4 High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis The SDCCH congestion rate is mainly caused by heavy traffic. First you should define if the congestion is a common phenomenon or if it is just an individual phenomenon. If it is a common phenomenon, you should analyze if the location update timer is irrationally set, and then calculate the SDCCH capacity to see if it meets system requirement. If it is just an individual phenomenon, you should analyze it from the perspective of equipment, location area, and interference. 1) From the perspective of equipment, you should first check the TRX sound ratio in the BSC overall performance measurement and the SDCCH availability in the SDCCH performance measurement, and then check the TCH activation NACK/TIMEOUT in the TCH performance measurement. After that, you can define if the congestion is caused by board problem.

2) Check the messages for SDCCH bearer location update. Irrational location area planning will cause frequent location update, which will result in SDCCH congestion. You are required to analyze of the edge of the location is set at the areas with a great number of subscribers by checking the location area planning and actual drive test. In addition, you are also required to check if the location update messages accounts a too larger percentage of the SDCCH seizure requests at the edge. The method is to query the ratio of the successful SDCCH seizures (location update) to the total SDCCH seizure successes in the SDCCH performance measurement. 3) Interference also causes SDCCH congestion. Especially for the networks in which the distance between BTSs is small and the BCCH frequency is aggressive, the system may receive more interference random access signals. The network will allocate a SDCCH for each random access, which causes SDCCH congestion. In this case, the immediate assignment success rate will decrease, the paging success rate will decrease, and the RACH in the random access performance measurement may be overloaded. 5.4.5 Low Handover Success Rate Analysis The analysis for handover success rate is quite complicated, because it involves capacity, coverage, clock, signaling, equipment, and even MS. 1) If the handover success rate of all cells is low, you should check the problem from the perspective of handover parameters, A-interface circuit, and BSC clock. 2) Filter the cells with poor handover. If a network is run by the equipments of different carriers, you should check if it interoperability problem by comparing the inter-BSC handover success rata with the intra-BSC handover success rate in the handover performance measurement. Generally, the inter-BSC handover success rate is a little lower than the intra-BSC handover success rate. In addition, you need to monitor the signaling messages and data configuration between BSCs and analyze the radio link budget and clock of each carrier. 3) Check if any problem is present at the Um interface through comparing the handover success rate and radio handover success rate. The radio handover success rate is equal to or greater than the handover success rate. If the handover success rate is far smaller than the radio handover success rate, you should analyze the ground link and capacity. If the difference between the radio handover success rate and the handover success rate, you need to consider the interference. 4) Analyze if it is incoming handover failure or it is outgoing handover failure through querying the incoming cell handover success rate and outgoing handover success rate in the handover performance measurement. After that, analyze the outgoing cell handover performance measurement and incoming cell handover performance measurement of the problem cell so as to find out the incoming handover failure cells from the outgoing cell performance measurement. Confirm if the poor handover is caused by target cell congestion through analyzing the "incoming cell handover failures", "TCH traffic intensity", and "TCH congestion rate (all busy)" of all the incoming handover failure cells. 5) Check if any equipment fails through querying the TRX sound ratio, TCH availability, and TCH activation NACK/TIMEOUT of the target cell. Analyze if the TRX performance decreases through querying the Rxlev performance measurement of the target cell. 6) Check if any ground link equipment fails through querying the A-interface failures and the ground link breaks during TCH seizure. When the microwave is used for the transmission or during inter-BSC handover, the clock deviation is another cause for poor handover. And this can be proved by the intra-BSC handover failures. For the cells where the clock synchronization is unavailable, the BSIC cannot be decoded, so the handover can never occur. In this case, you need to check if the clock is normal and analyze the call drop rate. If these two causes are excluded, you need to make adjustment from the perspective of coverage and interference. To reduce call drop rate and enhance handover success rate, you can leave a margin for the Rxlev and Rxqual during handover. If the Rxlev of a cell is lower than -90dBm during handover, you should check the mean Rxlev and TA value of TCH call drop in the call drop performance measurement and analyze drive test to see if the coverage distance of the cell is too long and if the signal is not strong enough. For the networks in which better cell algorithms are enabled, you should check the "attempted handovers (better cell)". It is better that the percentage it accounts 60% of the handover causes. The interference will also affect the handover success rate. When the interference is present, the voice quality will decrease and the call drop rate will increase. Handover problems are rather complicated. To solve the problems arising in actual work, you are supposed to integrate the methods introduce above, the signaling analyzer, equipment condition, and drive test into consideration.

5.3 Network Performance Evaluation Before putting network optimization into practice, you should have an overall understanding of the network performance. The traffic statistics data, DT (drive test) data, and CQT (call quality test) data are necessary for network performance acquisition. 5.3.1 DT DT is used to evaluate the connectivity, coverage, call drop, and voice quality for the main roads and transportation backbones in urban areas. The indexes for the roads include connected ratio, call drop rate, coverage rate, voice quality, and so on. The indexes for transportation backbones include call drop rate per kilometer, coverage rate, voice quality, connected rate, and so on. Connected ratio Call drop rate Coverage rate Voice quality According to bit error rate, voice quality can be divided into 8 classes, from 0 to 7. Each class matches its bit error rate range. The calculation of voice quality depends on actual conditions. Generally, the following method is in common use: Voice quality = [Rxqual (class 0)% + Rxqual (class 1)% + Rxqual (class 2)%*1 + Rxqual (class 3)%* + Rxqual (class 4)%*0.8 + Rxqual (class 5)%* + Rxqual (class 6)%*0.5 + Rxqual (class 7)%*0.2 Call drop ratio per kilometer Call drop ratio per kilometer = ( -94dBm test road kilometers)/total call drop times 5.3.2 CQT CQT is applied to the important spots in urban areas. It enables you to experience the network quality from the perspective of users. This section introduces the indexes used to evaluating the CQT. Coverage rate Connected ratio Call drop rate Voice discontinuity/background noise rate Voice discontinuity/background noise rate = (total voice discontinuity occurrence times + total background occurrence times)/total connected times*100% One-way audio/echo/cross-talking rate = (total one-way audio times + total echo occurrence times + total cross-talking occurrence times)/total connected times*100% CQT enables you to use the MOS (mean opinion score) to evaluate the voice quality from the perspective of people's objective feeling. The MOS can be divided into five classes, from 1 to 5. For the evaluation standard, see Table 5-2 of Chapter 5 GSM Radio Network Planning of GSM Radio Network Planning and Optimization. 5.3.3 Network Operation Indexes Though DT and CQT can detail network problems, they are restricted from test routes and time. Therefore, DT and CQT cannot test the overall network. To give an overall evaluation towards the network, you should collect as more network operation indexes as possible. The indexes evaluating network operation quality are listed below: Service access capacity indexes Coverage rate = ( -94dBm test points)/total calling test points)*100% Connected ratio = total connected times/attempted calls *100% Call drop rate = call drop times/total connected times *100% Connected ratio = total connected times/attempted calls *100% Call drop rate = call drop times/total connected times *100% Coverage rate = ( -94dBm test road kilometers)/total test road kilometers*100%

Service access capacity indexes include toll network connected ratio, short message connected ratio, (GPRS) PDP activation ratio, and IP telephone connected ratio. Service hold capacity indexes Service hold capacity indexes include call drop rate, worst cell ratio, traffic call drop ratio, handover success rate, and short message gateway transit success rate. With the expansion of network scale, the network structure becomes ever more complicated. In this case, networks with high performance but low cost are encouraged. The indexes on network utilization can be used to evaluate whether the cost to run a network is low. These indexes include toll circuit utilization rate, traffic channel availability, busiest and idlest cell ratio, and so on. Hereunder introduces the methods to calculate the indexes used to evaluate network operation at the radio side. Radio connected ratio Radio connected ratio = (1 SDCCH congestion rate)*(1 TCH congestion rate (all busy))*100% Call drop rate Worst cell ratio A cell with TCH congestion rate higher than 5% at busy hours or a cell with TCH call drop rate higher than 3% is defined as a worst cell. The number of the worst cells varies with network scales. Traffic call drop ratio Traffic call drop ratio = total TCH traffic volume *60%/total TCH call drop times (all busy) Handover success rate Traffic channel availability Traffic channel availability = the available traffic channels at busy hour/configured traffic channels*100% Handover success rate = successful handovers/attempted handovers*100% Call drop rate = TCH call drop/successful TCH seizures (all busy)

5.2 Network Optimization Tools 5.2.1 Test MS Test MS is a daily must for engineers to perform network test. The test MS can display the service cell of a mobile telecommunication network and the six neighbor cells. It can also be used to test network parameters. The test MS can be connected to a computer, so it can collect and analyze data with the help of drive test software. The functions of a SAGEM test MS are listed below: View the IMSI of the SIM card Scan BCCH The SAGEM test MS can scan the BCCH, and it will provides the Rxlev and BSIC of the scanned BCCH in each cell. View network parameters The SAGEM test MS can display network parameters of the service cell of and the six neighbor cells when it is idle or in conversation state. Forced cell selection The test MS can be forced to reselect the designated cell for dialing test and handover test. Forced handover The test MS can be forced to hand over to the designated cell to analyze whether the handover is normal during conversation. 5.2.2 Drive Test Software ANT, TEMS, and SAFCO are the GSM drive test software in common use. Generally, the drive test software consists of two parts: foreground data collection software and background data analysis software. I. Foreground Data Collection Software The foreground data collection software is mainly responsible for collecting the uplink and downlink data at the Um interface of the GSM mobile network. If the BTSs and the landform map of the test areas are imported, the track of the drive test, the radio parameters of each test point, and the main information of the service cell, neighbor cell, and the Um interface can be observed. The functions of foreground data collection software are listed below: Test functions Test functions include call test, scan test, call interference test, double-network synchronization test, dialing record test, dual-band comparison test, and MS selection test. Topical test Topical test is responsible for forced handover and frequency locking (call) test, BCCH frequency locking (standby) test, forced location update test, and band locking test. Interference test Interference aims to locate the BCCH same-frequency and neighbor frequency interference and TCH neighbor frequency interference within the same network in time. Parameter collection The field strength of the service cell and the neighbor cells, bit error ratio, frame error rate, and various radio parameters of the cell need to be collected. Geographic navigation The foreground data collection software can be used to display the geographic navigation through combing the digital map and BTS resources. SQI (Speech Quality Index) test Traffic statistics SQI test aims to evaluate the speech quality experienced by mobile users. Frequency selection GPRS function test (The MSs of SAGEM OT96 support this function)

The foreground data collection software can be used for CQT traffic statistics. It enables the call setup, call duration, and call release to be recorded respectively. In addition, it is also responsible for recording call drop rate and congestion rate. Data record The foreground data collection software can record and store the test data of the test MS synchronously, and can record and store the scanned data of the 900MHz and 1800MHz synchronously. Scanning test Scanning test aims to test and record the field strength of the channels of the GSM 900MHz network and GSM1800MHz network. Competitive test The comparison between real-time field strength and speech quality is available. In addition, real-time check of cell parameters is allowed. II. Bachground Data Analysis Software The background data analysis software can geographically present the radio network test data and reflect the distribution of network parameters on the electronic map visually. It can locate the problem cell by fully considering the drive test data, network resource data, digital frequency sweep receiver data, and GSM signaling characteristics, thus guiding engineers to evaluate and optimize the network rationally and effectively. The functions of background data analysis software are listed below: 5.2.3 Signaling Analyzer MA-10 and K1205 are the GSM signaling analyzer in common use. This section introduces the functions of the signaling analyzer. MA-10 signaling analyzer can test the Abis interface signaling messages, the A-G interface signaling messages, and the SS#7 interface signaling messages of ISUP, TUP, and INAP when it is on line. In addition, it can perform PCM BERT (bit error rate test) and GSM BERT. Furthermore, it can enable the signaling message files saved during on-line monitoring when it is off-line. The MA-10 signaling analyzer has five sub-applications. They are listed below: MA-10 control (It is used to test Abis interface signaling messages, A-G interface signaling messages, and bit errors when it is on line.) MONITOR ABIS offline (It is used to analyze the Abis interface signaling messages when it is off line.) MONITOR MSC offline (It is used to analyze the A-G interface signaling messages when it is off line.) GSM-BERT offline (It is used to analyze GSM BERT when it is off line.) PCM-BERT offline (It is used to analyze PCH BERT when it is off line.) With the help of MA-10 signaling analyzer, network optimization engineers can collect and analyze Abis interface data and A-interface data, view the whole signaling procedure, and obtain the measurement report, and then compare the information with the downlink signals obtained from drive test. These means can help network optimization engineers have an overall understanding of the operation of the network. In this case, the causes and places for the problems, such as call drop, handover failure, and congestion can be located. 5.2.4 Network Optimization Software Good network optimization software can work as a platform for radio projects and maintenance personnel. NASTAR, Huawei network planning and optimization tool, can deeply analyze GSM network by integrating OMCR traffic statistics, configuration data, alarm data, engineering data, and so on. In addition, it also provides the interfaces for network planning, performance analysis, alarm analysis, and geography conditions. The functions of NASTAR are listed below: Import static traffic statistics data (import the traffic statistics files of the maintenance console into database) Radio coverage evaluation and analysis Interference analysis Neighbor cell analysis Handover analysis Signaling analysis Speech record and analysis

 Import static traffic statistics data according to time Import dynamic Huawei traffic statistics Import BSC data configuration Display the geographic view of BTSs Cancel, add, and move the cells based on the geographic view of BTSs Record spectrum utilization and analyze idle channel number Check same-frequency BSIC Analyze neighbor cells Measure distance and azimuth angle Display navigation window and legend Query performance analysis tasks in common use Make performance analysis task Query network optimization tasks in common use Make network optimization tasks Perform tasks and alarms automatically Import and export tasks Display task result and site view Query traffic statistics inversely from the cell set selected by site view Display the traffic tasks in direct views, including linear figure, column, pie (support the display of double y-axis and the simultaneous display of multiple indexes; support 2D and 3D.) Export electronic table (Excel) for query results.

5 GSM Radio Network Optimization Radio network optimization aims to improve network performance and maximize the benefit of the existing network resources through parameter collection, data analysis, parameter adjustment, and necessary technical means. From the perspective of carriers, they hope to configure the system rationally, utilize network resources to the maximum, enhance network economic benefit, and reduce operation costs through network optimization. From the perspective of users, they hope to get satisfactory telecommunication services in terms network stability, speech quality, and so on. Therefore, the core task of radio network planning and optimization is to seek a balance among coverage, capacity, and quality based on rational investment and the limited frequency resources, thus achieving the best rate of investment return. 5.1 Network Optimization Procedure Hereunder details the procedure: Network information acquisition You are required to confirm the actual engineering parameters and network parameters, survey the local radio environment and hot-traffic spots, and understand customer requirement. Data collection You are required to collect OMCR traffic statistics data and alarm data; drive test data, and the objective reflection of MS. Data analysis You are required to analyze network performance, network parameters, and OMCR traffic statistics using network optimization tools. Network tuning You are required to tune engineering parameters and network functional parameters. Network optimization report A network optimization report must include optimization measures, fulfilled network performance indexes, and suggestions for network development.

4.10 Systematic Important Timers 4.10.1 T3101 I. Definition T3101 is the BSC timer controlling time of immediate assignment process. II. Format T3101 ranges from 0 to 255s. The recommended value is 3s. III. Configuration and Influence In an immediate assignment process, the BSC requires BTS to provide SDCCH to set up signaling channel. When the BSC sends a channel activation message, T3101 starts timing. When the BSC receives the setup instruction sent by BTS, T3101 stops timing. When T3101 expires, the system releases corresponding SDCCH resources. Proper configuration of T3101 reduces congestion due to dual assignment SDCCH effectively. The greater the T3101 is, the longer the inefficient time for using signaling resources is. For example, if the extended transmission delay is improperly configured (usually the sum of T and S is over small), the MS fails in responding to the network side, so the MS resends the random access request message. Therefore, the network side will assign SDCCH (the network cannot distinguish the repeated sending access request from the first send). For better use of signaling resources, especially in activating queue function, you must configure T3101 to a smaller value. The minimum interval for sending channel activation message and receiving setup indicator is 600ms. For non-overload BSS, the maximum interval is 1.8s. 4.10.2 T3103 I. Definition In inter- and intra-BSS handover, the BSC determines the time for keeping TCH both in handoveroriginated cell and target cell. When the time receives handover completion (intra-BSC) or clearing (interBSC) message, T3103 stops. II. Format T3103 ranges from 0 to 255s. The recommended value is 5s. III. Configuration and Influence The following paragraph is an example of inter-BSS handover. When T3103 receives the handover command, it is reset and starts timing. When it receives clearing command, it is reset. This means that T3103 reserves two channels when it is timing, one channel for source BSC, and one channel for target BSC. If it is over long, two channels are occupied for a long time and resources might be wasted. According to the tests, if the NSS timer is properly configured, the handover process occurs within 5s. Therefore, the recommended value is 5s. 4.10.3 T3105 I. Definition See the protocol 0408 and 0858. When sending physical information, the network starts T3105. If the timer expires before receiving any correct frames from MS, the network resends physical information and restarts the T3105. The maximum repeated times is Ny1. II. Format T3105 ranges from 0 to 255, with unit of 10ms. III. Configuration and Influence The physical information is sent on FACCH. The time for sending four TDMA in a time on FACCH is about 18ms. If the next physical information is just sent 18ms after the first one, probably the first physical

information is still being sent. The minimum time for sending physical information continuously and most quickly is 20ms. IV. Precautions T3105 is related to the timer NY1. If T3105 is small, configure NY1 to a greater value. If a handover trial fails and the T3105 of the target cell expires for Ny times before the original cell receives the HANDOVER FAILURE message, the target BTS sends the CONNECTION FAILURE INDICATION message to the target BSC. The counter of target BSC is renewed though MS might return to the original channel. To avoid this, the T3105 must meet the following foulard: Ny * T3105 > T3124 + delta Wherein, delta is the time between expiration of T3124 and receiving HANDOVER FAILURE message by original BSC. 4.10.4 T3107 I. Definition T3107 is a BSC timer, restricting the time for executing TCH assignment instruction. It caters for TCH assignment of intracell handover and channel assignment of calling. II. Format T3107 ranges form 0s to 255s. The recommended values are as follows: 10s when channel resources are enough. 5s when channel resources are limited.

III. Configuration and Influence T3107 starts after the BSC sends the ASS_CMD message to BTS. It stops after the BSC receives the ASS_CMP or ASS_FAIL message sent by BTS. If T3107 expires, the system judges that the MS disconnects to the network, so the occupied resource is released to other MSs. According to the measured statistics result of network, the channel assignment is complete within 2s. If the BSC does not receive ASS_CMP message after 2s, the assignment command fails. If the radio link is bad and some information must be resent, the process might be prolonged to 5s. To avoid premature disconnection, configure T3107 to 10s. In this way, the MS can reuse the original channel when handover or assignment fails. Therefore the call drop due to intracell handover decreases or the system service quality of re-assignment is improved (if the system supports re-assignment function). However, the channel resource might be wasted for several seconds. When the network capacity is limited, you must save the resource as possible. 4.10.5 T3109 I. Definition The BSC restricts the releasing resource of SACCH by T3109. II. Format T3109 ranges from 3s to 34s. The recommended T3109 is as follows: T3109 = a + RdioLinktimeOut x 0.480s, a = 1s or 2s. III. Configuration and Influence T3109 measures the time for channel releasing indicator after sending MS clearing instructions. It starts after the BSC sends DEACT_SACCH message to BTS. It stops after the BSC receives the REL_INC message sent by BTS. When T3109 expires, the BSC sends the CLEAR REQUEST message to MSC. IV. Precautions The sum of T3111 and T3109 must be greater than RadioLinkTimeOut. If T3109 is over small, the corresponding radio resources are re-allocated before RadioLinkTimeOut is due (radio link is not released). 4.10.6 T3111

I. Definition T3111 is a connection release delay timer, used in deactivation of delayed channel after disconnection of major signaling link. T3111 aims to spare some time for repeated disconnections. When BSC receives the REL_IND message sent by BTS, T3111 starts. For time protection, T3111 stops until expiration and the BSC sends the RF_CHAN_REL message to BTS. II. Format T3111 ranges from 0s to 5s. The recommended value is 2s. III. Configuration and Influence After the disconnection of major signaling link, T3111 delays the release of channels. It allows the base station to retransmit the instruction for releasing radio channels to MS within delayed time. After the base station sends a release request massage, the radio resources remain for T3111 time. If the system capacity is small, configure T3111 as short as possible. The minimum value of T3111 is 2s, over five multiples of the time for resending MS the instruction for releasing radio channel resources. A greater T3111 might be of no help, but affects congestion of SDCCH and TCH easily. 4.10.7 Parameter T3212 I. Definition In a GSM network, the causes to location updating are as follows: The MS attach. The MS detects that its location area changes. The network forces MS to update location periodically. The network controls how frequent the MS updates location, and the period for location updating is determined by the parameter T3212. II. Format T3212 ranges from 0 to 255, with unit of 6 minutes (1/10 hour). If T3212 = 1, it means that T3212 is 6 minutes. If T3212 = 255, it means that T3212 is 25 hours and 30 minutes. If T3212 = 0, it means that MS is not required for periodical location updating in the cell. The recommended T3212 is 240. III. Configuration and Influence As an important means, the periodical location updating enables network to connect to MSs closely. Therefore, the short the period is, the overall service performance of the network is. Anyhow frequent periodical location updating brings two negative aspects: The signaling flow of the network increases sharply and the utilization of radio resource declines. When the period is over long, the processing capability of network elements (NE, including MSC, BSC, and BTS) is directly affected. The MS must transmit signals with greater power, so the average standby time is shortened sharply. Therefore, configure T3212 according to resource utilization in various aspects of network. T3212 is configured by equipment room operators. Its value depends on the flow and processing capability of each NE. Configure T3212 as follows: Configure T3212 to a greater value (such as 16 hours, 20 hours, or even 25 hours) in areas with heavy traffic and signaling flow. Configure T3212 to a smaller value (such as 3 hours or 6 hours) in areas with low traffic and signaling flow. Configure T3212 to 0 in areas with traffic overrunning the system capacity. To configure T3212 properly, you must permanently measure the processing capability and flow of each UE in the running network, such as: The processing capability of MSC and BSC A interface, Abis interface, and Um interface The capability of HLR and VLR

If any of the previously listed NEs is overloaded, you can consider increasing T3212. IV. Precautions

T3212 cannot be over small. Otherwise, the signaling flow at each interface increases sharply and the MS (especially handset) consumes increasing power. If the T3212 is smaller than 30 minutes (excluding 0), the network will be fiercely impacted. Configuring T3212 of different cells in the same location area to the same value is recommended. In addition, the T3212 must be consistent with related parameters of switching side (smaller than the implicit detach timer at switching side). If the T3212 of different cells in the same location area is the same, in the cell reselection, the MS continues to time according the T3212 of the original cell. If the T3212 of the original and target cell in the same location area is different, the MS uses the T3212 of the original cell modulo that of the serving cell. According to the actual tests of MS in the network, if the T3212 in the same location area is different, after the MS performs modulo algorithm based on behaviors of some users, the MS might power on normally. However, the MS fails in originating location updating, so the network identifies it as implicit detach. Now the MS powers on normally, but a user has powered off prompt appears when it is called. 4.10.8 T3122 I. Definition T3122 defines the period that the MS must wait for before the second trial calling if the first trial calling fails. It aims to avoid congestion of SDCCH due to repeated trial calling by MS and to relieve system load. II. Format T3122 ranges from 0s to 255s. The recommended value is 10s. III. Configuration and Influence The value of T3122 is included in the immediate assignment reject message. After the MS receives the immediate assignment reject message (no channels for signaling, A interface failure, overload of central processing unit, namely, CPU), it can send new trial calling request after T3122. T3122 aims to relieve radio signaling and voice channel resources. T3122 also help avoid systematic overload. When the CPU is overloaded, the system multiplies T3122 by a factor (determined by processorLoadSupconf) to increase T3122 through overload control. In peak load time, you can manage network access by increasing T3122. Namely, you can increase the interval between two continuous trial callings to relieve network load. 4.10.9 T3124 I. Definition T3124 is used in occupation process in asynchronous handover. It is the time for MS to receive the physical information send by network side. II. Format Configure it to 675ms when the channel type of assigned channel for HANDOVER COMMAND message is SDCCH (+ SACCH). Configure it to 320ms in other situations. III. Configuration and Influence When the MS sends the HANDOVER ACCESS message on the primary DCCH, T3124 starts. When the MS receives a PHYSICAL INFORMATION message, the MS stops T3124, stops sending access burst, activates the PCH in sending and receiving mode, and connects to the channel if necessary. If the assigned channel is a SDCCH (+ SACCH), you must enable MS to receive a correct PHYSICAL INFORMATION message sent by network side in any block. If T3124 expires (only in asynchronization) or the low layer link fails in the new channel before sending the HANDOVER COMPLETE message, the MS proceeds as follows: 1) 2) 3) 4) Deactivate the new channel Restart the original channel Reconnect to TCH Trigger to setup primary signaling link

Then the MS sends the HANDOVER FAILURE message on the primary signaling link and return normal operation before trial handover. The parameters for returning the original channel are those before response to the HANDOVER COMMAND message (such as in encryption mode). 4.10.10 T11

I. Definition T11 is an assignment request queue timer. II. Format T11 is determined by equipment room operators. It indicates the maximum queuing delay for assignment request. III. Configuration and Influence When the BSC is sending the ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message, no TCHs are available. The ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message must be put to a queue and the BSC sends the QUEUING INDICATION message to MSC. Meanwhile, T11 starts timing. When the BSC sends the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message (TCH is successfully assigned) or the ASSIGNMENT FAILURE message (TCH is not assigned) to MSC, T11 stops timing. If T11 expires, the corresponding ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message is removed from queue and the BSC sends a CLEAR REQUEST message with the cause of no radio resource available to MSC to clear calling. Assignment queuing helps reduce service rejection times due to congestion, so enabling it is recommended in a network. Anyhow, T11 cannot be over great and it must be configured according to customer habits. 4.10.11 T200 I. Definition T200 is important (both the MS and base station have T200) at Um interface in data link layer LAPDm. LAPDm has different channels, such as SDCCH, FACCH, and SACCH, and the transmission rate of different channel is different, so T 200 must be configured with different values. The type of the channels corresponding to T200 is the value of the T200. II. Format Different channels corresponds different values of T200. According to the protocol, when SAPI = 0 and SAPI = 3, the T200 of corresponding data link is dependently implemented, depending on delay of synchronous processing mechanism and process in layer 1 and layer 2. Table 7-1 Value range and default of each type of T200 T200 T200_SDCCH_SAPI0 T200_FACCH_Full_Rate T200_FACCH_Half_Rate T200_SACCH_TCH SAPI0 T200_SACCH_TCH SAPI3 T200_SACCH_SDCCH T200_SDCCH_SAPI3 Minimum 50 40 40 120 120 50 50 Maximum 100 100 100 200 200 100 100 Default 60; /* = 60 * 5 ms */ 50; /* = 50 * 5 ms */ 50; /* = 50 * 5 ms */ 150; /* = 150 * 10 ms */ 150; /* = 150 * 10 ms */ 60; /* = 60 * 10 ms */ 60; /* = 60 * 5 ms */

III. Configuration and Influence T200 avoids deadlock in sending data in data link layer. The data link layer changes the physical link in which error occurs easily to data link with no errors. At the two ends of the data link communication system, a confirm-to-resend mechanism is used. Namely, receiving a message by the receiver must be confirmed by the sender. If it is unknown that the message is lost, both two ends wait for messages, so the system confronts a deadlock. Therefore, T200 is used by the sender. When T200 expires, the sender judges that the receiver fails in receiving the message, so it resends the message. When the sender needs to confirm whether the receiver has received the message, T200 starts. When the sender receives the response from the receiver, T200 stops. When T200 expires, the resending mechanism starts. If the sender receives no response from the receiver after multiple resendings, it sends ERROR INDICATION (T200 expiration) to layer 3.

IV. Precautions T200 must be properly configured to ensure a predictable behavior at Um interface. The rules for configuring T200 include: The potentially-existing lost frames in radio link must be detected as possible. Necessary retransmission of frames must start at the earliest possible moment. If the response is delayed due to UE failure, the T200 cannot expire before receiving and processing the next frame from the opposite end. If T200 expires and no other frames are sent by preference, the related frames must be resent in the message block. T 200 starts immediately after next PH-READY-TO-SEND. 4.10.12 N200 I. Definition N200 is the resending times after expiration of T200. II. Format To configure N200, follow rules below: 1) When SAPI = 0 or 3, N200 depends on the state and the channel used. When multiframe operation is set up, it ensures a common time value for layer 2 link failure in all channels. For layer 2 link establishment and release, configure N200 to 5. 2) In timer recovery state, configure N200 as below: 5 (SACCH) 23 (SDCCH) 34 (FACCH of full rate) 29 (FACCH of half rate) 3) When SAPI is unequal to 0 or 3, configure N200 to 5, as shown in Table 7-2 Situations of SAPI unequal to 0 or 3. Table 7-2 Situations of SAPI unequal to 0 or 3 SAPI Channel Valid response delay Minimum resending delay Trmin 51 Maximum resending delay

Tresp Trmax Note 3 MS: 11 51 BSS: 32 0 FACCH/Full rate 9 26 39 0 FACCH/Half rate 10 34 44 3 SDCCH MS: 11 51 51 Note 1 BSS: 32 3 SACCH(with TCH) 25/129 Note 2 312 416 Note 2 The TDMA frame is the measurement unit of values in this table, equal to 120/26ms (approximately 4.615ms) Note 1: It caters for the process without SAPI 0 transmission. Otherwise, it does not have a upper limit due to the priority of SAPI 0 transmission. Note 2: You can configure it to a greater value only when PCH is unavailable due to SAPI frame transmission if SAPI = 3. Note 3: It caters only for sending monitoring frames that are available and without F equal to 1. 0 SDCCH

III. Configuration and Influence If the BSC fails in receiving lay 2 response message after multiple resending, it sends the ERROR INDICATION message (T200 expires) to layer 3. The BSC takes statistics of ERROR INDICATION message by corresponding traffic measurement counter. When T200 or N200 is configured to an over small value, call drop occurs probably due to ERROR INDICATION.

4.9 Power Control and Related Parameters 4.9.1 Maximum Transmit Power of MS (MSTXPWRMX) I. Definition The transmit power of MS in communication is controlled by BTS. According to the uplink signal strength and quality, power budget result, the BTS controls MS to increase or decrease its transmit power. Note: In any situation, power control is prior to related handover for BSS. Only when the BSS fails to improve uplink signal strength and voice quality to the prescribed level, it starts handover. To reduce interference between neighbor cells, the power control of MS is restricted. Namely, the BTS controls MS to transmit power within the threshold. MSTXPWRMX is the maximum transmit power of MS controlled by BTS. II. Format MSTXPWRMX ranges from 0 to 31. The dBm values corresponding to GSM900 and GSM1800 cells are different: The 32 maximum transmit power control classes for GSM900 are {39, 39, 39, 37, 35, 33, 31, 29, 27, 25, 23, 21, 19, 17, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5} The 32 maximum transmit power control classes for GSM900 are {30, 28, 26, 24, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 36, 34, 32} III. Configuration and Influence Configuring MSTXPWRMX helps control interferences between neighbor cells, because: occur. If MSTXPWRMX is over great, the interference between neighbor cells increases. If MSTXPWRMX is over small, the voice quality declines and improper handover might

4.9.2 Received Level Threshold of Downlink Power Increment (LDR) I. Definition When the downlink received level of the serving cell is smaller than a threshold, the network must start power control to increase the transmit power of base station and to guarantee communication quality of MS. The received level threshold of downlink power increment defines the downlink received level threshold. When the downlink level received by MS is smaller than it, the base station starts power control to increase its transmit power. The parameter N1 means that at lease N1 sampling points must be measured before starting handover algorithm. The parameter P1 means the level of at least P1 sampling points in N1 sampling points is smaller than the threshold prescribed by received level threshold of downlink power increment. II. Format It ranges from 110 dBm to 47 dBm. N1 ranges from 1 to 32. P1 ranges from 1 to 32. III. Configuration and Influence The received level is between 60 dBm and 80 dBm in a GSM network, so configure received level threshold of downlink power increment to 85 dBm. N1 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N1 to between 3 and 5. Configure P1 to about 2/3 of N1.

4.9.3 Received Level Threshold of Uplink Power Increment (LUR) I. Definition When the uplink received level of the serving cell is smaller than a threshold, the network must start power control to increase the transmit power of MS and to guarantee communication quality of MS. The received level threshold of uplink power increment defines the uplink received level threshold. When the uplink level received by MS is smaller than it, the base station starts power control to increase MS transmit power. The parameter N1 means that at lease N1 sampling points must be measured before starting handover algorithm. The parameter P1 means the level of at least P1 sampling points in N1 sampling points is smaller than the threshold prescribed by received level threshold of uplink power increment. II. Format It ranges from 110 dBm to 47 dBm. N1 ranges from 1 to 32. P1 ranges from 1 to 32. III. Configuration and Influence The received level is between 60 dBm and 80 dBm in a GSM network, so configure received level threshold of uplink power increment to 85 dBm. N1 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N1 to between 3 and 5. Configure P1 to about 2/3 of N1. 4.9.4 Received Quality Threshold of Downlink Power Increment (LDR) I. Definition When the downlink received quality of the serving cell is smaller than a threshold, the network must start power control to increase the transmit power of base station and to guarantee communication quality. The received quality threshold of downlink power increment defines the downlink received level threshold. When the downlink quality received by MS is smaller than it, the base station starts power control to increase its transmit power. The parameter N3 means that at lease N3 sampling points must be measured before starting handover algorithm. The parameter P3 means the quality of at least P3 sampling points in N3 sampling points is smaller than the threshold prescribed by received quality threshold of downlink power increment. II. Format It ranges from 0 to 7, the voice quality grade. N3 ranges from 1 to 32. P3 ranges from 1 to 32. III. Configuration and Influence The received quality is 0 to 2 of quality grade in a GSM network, so configure received quality threshold of downlink power increment to 85 dBm. N3 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N3 to between 3 and 5. Configure P3 to about 2/3 of N3. 4.9.5 Received Quality Threshold of Uplink Power Increment (LUR) I. Definition When the uplink received quality of the serving cell is smaller than a threshold, the network must start power control to increase the transmit power of MS and to guarantee communication quality.

The received quality threshold of uplink power increment defines the uplink received quality threshold. When the uplink quality received by MS is smaller than it, the base station starts power control to increase transmit power of MS. The parameter N3 means that at lease N3 sampling points must be measured before starting handover algorithm. The parameter P3 means the quality of at least P3 sampling points in N3 sampling points is smaller than the threshold prescribed by received quality threshold of uplink power increment. II. Format It ranges from 0 to 7, the voice quality grade. N3 ranges from 1 to 32. P3 ranges from 1 to 32. III. Configuration and Influence The received quality is 0 to 2 of quality grade in a GSM network, so configure received quality threshold of uplink power increment to 3. N3 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N3 to between 3 and 5. Configure P3 to about 2/3 of N3. 4.9.6 Received Level Threshold of Downlink Power Decrement (UDR) I. Definition When the downlink received level of the serving cell is greater than a threshold, the network must start power control to decrease the transmit power of base station and to decrease interference to radio channels. The received level threshold of downlink power decrement defines the downlink received level threshold. When the downlink level received by MS is greater than it, the base station starts power control to decrease its transmit power. The parameter N2 means that at lease N2 sampling points must be measured before starting handover algorithm. The parameter P2 means the level of at least P2 sampling points in N2 sampling points is greater than the threshold prescribed by received level threshold of downlink power decrement. II. Format It ranges from 110 dBm to 47 dBm. N1 ranges from 1 to 32. P1 ranges from 1 to 32. III. Configuration and Influence The received level is between 60 dBm and 80 dBm in a GSM network, so configure received level threshold of downlink power decrement to 85 dBm. N2 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N2 to between 3 and 5. Configure P2 to about 2/3 of N2. 4.9.7 Received Level Threshold of Uplink Power Decrement (UUR) I. Definition When the uplink received level of the serving cell is greater than a threshold, the network must start power control to decrease the transmit power of MS and to decrease interference to radio channels. The received level threshold of uplink power decrement defines the uplink received level threshold. When the uplink level received by MS is greater than it, the base station starts power control to decrease transmit power of MS. The parameter N2 means that at lease N2 sampling points must be measured before starting handover algorithm.

The parameter P2 means the level of at least P2 sampling points in N2 sampling points is greater than the threshold prescribed by received level threshold of uplink power decrement. II. Format It ranges from 110 dBm to 47 dBm. N2 ranges from 1 to 32. P2 ranges from 1 to 32. III. Configuration and Influence The received level is between 60 dBm and 80 dBm in a GSM network, so configure received level threshold of uplink power decrement to 60 dBm. N2 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N2 to between 3 and 5. Configure P2 to about 2/3 of N2. 4.9.8 Received Quality Threshold of Downlink Power Decrement (UDR) I. Definition When the downlink received quality of the serving cell is greater than a threshold, the network must start power control to decrease the transmit power of base station and to decrease space interference. The received quality threshold of downlink power decrement defines the downlink received quality threshold. When the downlink quality received by MS is greater than it, the base station starts power control to decrease transmit power of MS. The parameter N4 means that at lease N4 sampling points must be measured before starting handover algorithm. The parameter P4 means the quality of at least P4 sampling points in N2 sampling points is greater than the threshold prescribed by received quality threshold of downlink power decrement. II. Format It ranges from 0 to 7, the voice quality grade. N4 ranges from 1 to 32. P4 ranges from 1 to 32. III. Configuration and Influence The received quality is 0 to 2 of quality grade in a GSM network, so configure received quality threshold of downlink power decrement to 0. N4 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N4 to between 3 and 5. Configure P4 to about 2/3 of N4. 4.9.9 Received Quality Threshold of Uplink Power Decrement (UUR) I. Definition When the uplink received quality of the serving cell is greater than a threshold, the network must start power control to decrease the transmit power of MS and to decrease space interference. The received quality threshold of uplink power decrement defines the uplink received quality threshold. When the uplink quality received by MS is greater than it, the base station starts power control to decrease transmit power of MS. The parameter N4 means that at lease N4 sampling points must be measured before starting handover algorithm. The parameter P4 means the quality of at least P4 sampling points in N4 sampling points is greater than the threshold prescribed by received quality threshold of uplink power decrement. II. Format It ranges from 0 to 7, the voice quality grade. N4 ranges from 1 to 32.

P4 ranges from 1 to 32. III. Configuration and Influence The received quality is 0 to 2 of quality grade in a GSM network, so configure received quality threshold of uplink power decrement to 0. N4 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N4 to between 3 and 5. Configure P4 to about 2/3 of N4. 4.9.10 Power Control Interval (INT) I. Definition It takes a period from beginning of power control to detection of effect of power control. Therefore an interval must exist between continuous two power controls; otherwise the system becomes unstable and even call drop occurs. The parameter power control interval (INT) configures the minimum interval between two continuous times of power control. II. Format It ranges from 0 to 31s. III. Configuration and Influence According to frame structure of GSM network, configure INT to about 3s. IV. Precautions INT cannot be smaller than 1s, and otherwise the system becomes unstable. 4.9.11 Power Increment Step (INC) I. Definition The INC indicates the power increment of MS or base station in power control. II. Format The range of INC is 2 dB, 4 dB, or 6 dB. III. Configuration and Influence The recommended value is 4 dB. 4.9.12 Power Decrement Step (RED) I. Definition The RED indicates the power decrement of MS or base station in power control. II. Format The range of RED is 2 dB or 4 dB. III. Configuration and Influence The recommended value of RED is 2 dB.

4.8 Handover and Related Parameters 4.8.1 PBGT Handover Threshold (HoMargin) I. Definition The PBGT handover threshold is power handover tolerance (handover in serving areas). When the signal level of neighbor cell is hoMargin (dB) higher than that of the serving cell, handover occurs. Complex radio propagation conditions cause fluctuation of signal level. Using handover tolerance avoids frequent handover at bordering areas. The PBGT handover threshold is similar to HO_MARGIN (GSM 05.08). II. Format The PBGT handover threshold ranges from 0 to 127, corresponding to 64 dB to +63 dB. The reference value for suburban areas is 68. The reference value for urban areas is 70 to 72. III. Configuration and Influence The PBGT handover threshold aims to adjust handover difficulty properly, and to avoid ping-pong handover. If it is configured over great, the handover is delayed and handover is less efficient. When it is smaller than 64, the MS hands over from the serving cell to the neighbor cell with lower level. 4.8.2 Minimum Downlink Power of Handover Candidate Cells (rxLevMinCell) I. Definition It is the minimum allowed access level for a cell to be a neighbor cell. When the cell level measured by MS is greater than the threshold, the BSS list the cell into candidate cell list for handover judgment. II. Format It ranges from 110 dBm to 47 dBm. III. Configuration and Influence It is helpful in the following two aspects: It guarantees communication quality. For a common single layer network structure, the value ranges from 90 dBm to 80 dBm. It helps allocate traffic between cells averagely. Especially in multi-layer network structure, to maintain MS in a network layer, you can increase the level of the cell of the network layer (such as 70 dBm), and also decrease that in other cells. IV. Precautions You cannot configure rxLevMinCell over great (over 65 dBm) or over small (lower than 95 dBm), and otherwise communication quality is affected. 4.8.3 Handover Threshold at Uplink Edge I. Definition If the uplink received level keeps being smaller than the handover threshold at uplink edge for a period, edge handover can be performed. II. Format It ranges from 0 to 63, corresponding to 110 dBm to 47 dBm. The recommended values are as follows: Configure it to 25 in urban areas without PBGT handover. Configure it to 20 in single site of suburban areas. Configure it to 20 in urban areas with PBGT handover

III. Configuration and Influence When PBGT handover is enabled, the corresponding edge handover threshold can be lowered. When PBGT handover is disabled, and the edge handover threshold is over low, an artificial cross-cell nonhandover occurs. Therefore call drop occurs or intra-frequency and side interference occur due to crosscell talk.

4.8.4 Handover Threshold at Downlink Edge I. Definition If the downlink received level keeps being smaller than the handover threshold at downlink edge for a period, edge handover can be performed. II. Format It ranges from 0 to 63, corresponding to 110 dBm to 47 dBm. The recommended values are as follows: Configure it to 30 in urban areas without PBGT handover. Configure it to 25 in single site of suburban areas. Configure it to 25 in urban areas with PBGT handover

III. Configuration and Influence When PBGT handover is enabled, the corresponding edge handover threshold can be lowered. When PBGT handover is disabled, and the edge handover threshold is over low, an artificial cross-cell nonhandover occurs. Therefore call drop occurs or intra-frequency and side interference occur due to crosscell talk. 4.8.5 Downlink Quality Restriction of Emergency Handover I. Definition If the downlink received quality is lower than the threshold of downlink quality restriction of emergency handover, the quality difference emergency handover occurs. II. Format It ranges from 0 to 70, corresponding to RQ (QoS 0 to 7) x 10. The recommended value is 50. III. Configuration and Influence When frequency hopping is enabled, the voice quality is better with the same RQ, you can configure it to 60 or 70. When emergency handover occurs, the intracell handover occurs first. If there are no other candidate cells, and the intracell handover is enabled, the intracell handover occurs. 4.8.6 Uplink Quality Restriction of Emergency Handover I. Definition If the uplink received quality is lower than it, quality difference emergency handover is triggered. II. Format It ranges from 0 to 70, corresponding to RQ (QoS 0 to 7) x 10. The recommended value is 50. III. Configuration and Influence When frequency hopping is enabled, the voice quality is better with the same RQ, you can configure it to 60 or 70. When emergency handover occurs, the intracell handover occurs first. If there are no other candidate cells, and the intracell handover is enabled, the intracell handover occurs. 4.8.7 Uplink Quality Threshold of Interference Handover I. Definition It is the uplink received quality threshold of the serving cell that triggers interference handover. The interference handover is triggered if all the following conditions are met: The uplink received level is higher than the uplink received power threshold of interference handover. The uplink received quality is lower than the uplink quality threshold of interference handover. When handover switch is enabled, the interference handover occurs within the cell by preference.

II. Format It ranges from 0 to 70, corresponding to RQ (QoS 0 to 7) x 10. The recommended value is 50. III. Configuration and Influence When frequency hopping is enabled, the voice quality is better with the same RQ, you can configure it to 60 or 70. When interference handover is triggered, select the candidates according to the sorted result. If the serving cell ranks first and its intracell handover is enabled, the MS selects the serving cell; otherwise it selects the second candidate cell. 4.8.8 Downlink Quality Threshold of Interference Handover I. Definition It is the downlink received quality threshold of the serving cell that triggers interference handover. The interference handover is triggered if all the following conditions are met: The downlink received level is higher than the downlink received power threshold of interference handover. The downlink received quality is lower than the downlink quality threshold of interference handover. When handover switch is enabled, the interference handover occurs within the cell by preference. II. Format It ranges from 0 to 70, corresponding to RQ (QoS 0 to 7) x 10. The recommended value is 50. III. Configuration and Influence When frequency hopping is enabled, the voice quality is better with the same RQ, you can configure it to 60 or 70. When interference handover is triggered, select the candidates according to the sorted result. If the serving cell ranks first and its intracell handover is enabled, the MS selects the serving cell; otherwise it selects the second candidate cell. IV. Precautions The interference handover quality must be better than emergency handover quality. 4.8.9 Uplink Received Power Threshold of Interference Handover I. Definition If interference handover occurs due to uplink quality, the serving cell must reach the minimum uplink received power threshold. If this is met, the system judges that uplink is interfered, so interference handover is triggered. The interference handover is triggered if all the following conditions are met: The uplink received level is higher than the uplink received power threshold of interference handover. The uplink received quality is lower than the uplink quality threshold of interference handover. When handover switch is enabled, the interference handover occurs within the cell by preference. II. Format It ranges from 0 to 63, corresponding to 110 dBm to 47 dBm. The recommended value is 25. III. Configurationa and Influence When interference handover is triggered, select the candidates according to the sorted result. If the serving cell ranks first and its intracell handover is enabled, the MS selects the serving cell; otherwise it selects the second candidate cell. 4.8.10 Downlink Received Power Threshold of Interference Handover

I. Definition If interference handover occurs due to uplink quality, the serving cell must reach the minimum downlink received power threshold. If this is met, the system judges that downlink is interfered, so interference handover is triggered. The interference handover is triggered if all the following conditions are met: The downlink received level is higher than the downlink received power threshold of interference handover. The downlink received quality is lower than the downlink quality threshold of interference handover. When handover switch is enabled, the interference handover occurs within the cell by preference. II. Format It ranges from 0 to 63, corresponding to 110 dBm to 47 dBm. The recommended value is 30. III. Configurationa and Influence When interference handover is triggered, select the candidates according to the sorted result. If the serving cell ranks first and its intracell handover is enabled, the MS selects the serving cell; otherwise it selects the second candidate cell. 4.8.11 Maximum Repeated Times of Physical Messages (NY1) I. Definition In asynchronous handover process of GSM system, when the MS receives handover messages of the network, it sends handover access messages on the target channel. After the network receives the message, it does as follows: 1) Calculate related RF features. 2) Send physical messages (it the channel messages are encrypted, start encryption and decryption algorithm) in unit data to MSs. 3) Start timer T3105. If the network does not receive correct layer 2 frames sent by MS until expiration of T3105, the network will resend the physical message and restart T3105. The maximum times for resending physical messages is determined by the parameter maximum repeated times of physical messages (NY1) II. Format NY1 ranges from 0 to 254. The recommended value is 20. III. Configuration and Influence When the network receives the handover access messages sent by MS, the physical channel (PCH) needs to be synchronous. If the communication quality on channels is guaranteed, the MS can receive physical messages correctly and send layer 2 frames to the network. If the physical messages are sent multiple times, and the network cannot receive layer 2 frames sent by MS, the PCH is too poor to communicate normally. Though link is setup after multiple trials, the communication quality is not guaranteed. This lowers the utilization of radio resources. Therefore configure NY1 to a smaller value. IV. Precautions Configuring NY1 is affected by T3105. If T3105 is configured to a short value, then the NY1 needs to be increased accordingly. If a handover trial fails before the original cell receives the HANDOVER FAILURE message, and the T3105 of the target cell expires for Ny times, the target BTS sends a CONNECTION FAILURE INDICATION message to the target BSC. Though the MS might return to the original channel, the traffic measurement counters from multiple vendors will take statistics of connection failure. To avoid the previous phenomenon, configure T3105 as follows: Ny * T3105 > T3124 + delta (delta: the time between expiration of T3124 and receiving HANDOVER FAILURE message by original BTS) 4.8.12 Multiband Indicator (multiband_reporting)

I. Definition In a single band GSM network, when the MS send measurement reports of neighbor cells to the network, it needs to report the content of the six neighbor cells with strongest signals. In a multiband network, operators wish that MS uses a band by preference in cross-cell handover. Therefore the MS sends measurement reports according to signal strength and signal band. The parameter multiband indicator indicates MS to report content of multiband neighbor cells. II. Format The multiband indicator ranges from 0 to 3, with meanings as follows: 0: According to signal strength of neighbor cells, the MS must report six allowed measurement reports of neighbor cells with strongest signals and known NCC, with the neighbor cells in whatever band. 1: The MS must report the allowed measurement report of a neighbor cell with known NCC and with strongest signals at each band expect for the band used by the serving cell. The MS must also report the neighbor cells of the band used by the serving cell in rest locations. If there are other rest locations, the MS must report conditions of other neighbor cells in any band. 2: The MS must report the allowed measurement report of two neighbor cells with known NCC and with strongest signals at each band expect for the band used by the serving cell. The MS must also report the neighbor cells of the band used by the serving cell in rest locations. If there are other rest locations, the MS must report conditions of other neighbor cells in any band. 3: The MS must report the allowed measurement report of three neighbor cells with known NCC and with strongest signals at each band expect for the band used by the serving cell. The MS must also report the neighbor cells of the band used by the serving cell in rest locations. If there are other rest locations, the MS must report conditions of other neighbor cells in any band. III. Configuration and Influence In multiband networks, it is related to traffic of each band. For configuration, refer to the following rules: If the traffic of each band is approximately equal, and operators do not select a band intentionally, you can configure the multiband indicator to 0 If the traffic of each band is obviously different, and operators want MS to select a band by preference, you can configure the multiband indicator to 3. For situations between the previous two, configure multiband indicator to 1 or 2. 4.8.13 Permitted Network Color Code (ncc permitted) I. Definition During a talk, the MS must report the measured signals of neighbor cells to the base station, but each report includes only six neighbor cells. Therefore the MS is configured to report the potential handover target neighbor cells, instead of reporting unselectively and according to signal level. To enable previous functions, restrict MS to measure the cells with the fixed network color code (NCC). The NNC allowed by parameters list the NCCs of the cells to be measured by MS. The MS compares the measured NCC of neighbor cells and NCCs set allowed by parameters. If the measured NCC is in the set, the MS reports the NCC to the base station; otherwise, the MS discard the measurement report. II. Format The parameter ncc permitted is a bit mapping value, consisting of 8 bits. The most significant bit is bit 7 while the least significant bit is bit 0. Each bit corresponds to an NCC code 0 to 7 (see GSM regulations 03.03 and 04.08). If the bit N is 0 (N ranges from 0 to 7), the MS needs not to measure the level of the cell with NCC of N. Namely, it only measures the signal quality and level of the cells corresponding to bit number of 1 in NCC and ncc permitted configuration. III. Configuration and Influence Each area is allocated with one or more NCCs. In the parameter ncc permitted of the cell, the local NCC is absolutely and only included. If excluded, abnormal handover and call drop occur. For normal roaming between areas, the NCC of neighbor areas must be included in the edge cells of an area. IV. Precautions Improper configuration of the parameter causes normal handover and even call drop. The parameter only affects behaviors of MS.

4.7 Radio Link Failure Process and Parameters The radio link failure is detected from uplink and downlink. The MS completes downlink detection, while the base station completes uplink detection. 4.7.1 Radio Link Failure Counter (RLC or Radio Link Timeout) I. Definition The MS originates call resetup or disconnects by force if all the following conditions are met: The voice or data quality is too poor to be received. Power control and handover cannot help to improve the quality.

A disconnection by force actually brings about a call drop, so the MS considers it a radio link failure that the voice or data service is actually too poor to be received. GSM regulations provide solutions to the previous problems as follows: Set a counter S in the MS. The initial value of S is provided at the beginning of talk, and it is the value of the parameter radio link failure counter. S changes as follows: S decreases by 1 if the MS fails in decoding a correct SACCH message when the MS should receive the SACCH message. S increases by 2 if the MS succeed in decoding a correct SACCH message. S cannot exceed the value for radio link failure counter. When S equals to 0, the MS originates call resetup or disconnects by force. II. Format The step from 4 to 64 is 4, with unit of SACCH period as follows: For TCH, the SACCH period is 480ms. For SDCCH, the SACCH period is 470ms.

III. Configuration and Influence The value of the parameter radio link failure counter affects CDR and utilization of radio resources. Assume that cell A is a neighbor cell to cell B and the bordering coverage is poor. When an MS moves from P to Q while in talk, If the radio link failure counter is over small, call drop occurs before cross-cell handover. If the radio link failure counter is over great, the network releases related resources until radio link expires, though the voice quality is too poor when MS camps on cell B near P. Therefore, the utilization of radio resources declines. Proper configuration of radio link failure counter is important, and is related to the actual situations. To configure radio link failure counter, refer to the following rules: Configure it to between 52 and 64 in areas with over low traffic. Configure it to between 36 and 48 in areas with low traffic and great coverage radium Configure it to between 20 and 32 in areas with heavy traffic.

IV. Precautions Configure radioLinkTimeout to smaller than T3109. This contributes to success of call resetup and avoids the following situation effectively: Before the MS releases radio resources due to expiration, the network side completes releasing channels resources and reallocates resources to other MSs. Therefore two MSs might use the same slot and this causes interferences even call drop. 4.7.2 SACCH Multiframe (RLTO_BS) I. Definition Refer to the description of radio link failure counter. A counter is set accordingly to radio link at base station side for managing radio link failures. The solutions vary due to different equipment providers, but a general method is as follows: Set a counter S in the base station. The initial value of S is provided at the beginning of talk, and it is the value of the parameter radio link failure expiration. S changes as follows: S decreases by 1 if the MS fails in decoding a correct SACCH message when the MS should receive the SACCH message.

S increases by 2 if the MS succeed in decoding a correct SACCH message.

S cannot exceed the value for radio link expiration of base station. When S equals to 0, the MS originates call resetup or disconnects by force, as shown in Error: Reference source not found. II. Format RLT0_BS ranges from 4 to 64. III. Configuration and Influence Proper configuration of radio link expiration of base station affects CDR and utilization of radio resources. It is related to the actual situations. To configure radio link failure counter, refer to the following rules: Configure it to between 52 and 64 in areas with over low traffic. Configure it to between 36 and 48 in areas with low traffic and great coverage radium Configure it to between 20 and 32 in areas with heavy traffic. Configure it to a greater value in areas with apparent voids or where call drop occurs frequently while the MS moves. IV. Precautions RLT0_BS and RLC must be consistent.

4.6 Distance Control Parameters 4.6.1 Call Clearing I. Definition Call clearing (CallClearing) means that the maximum allowed distance threshold is cleared between MS and base station in talk. II. Format CallClearing ranges from 0 to 63, with unit of TA. III. Configuration and Influence Configure CallClearing according to actual coverage range of a cell. Proper configuration of CallClearing helps check whether the handover threshold of the cell is properly defined, especially for urban cells. If the call is frequently cleared after CallClearing threshold is defined according to cell radium, probably the handover threshold is improperly configured. This is due to that the MS cannot hand over to the best server cell after exceeding designed coverage range. Define CallClearing according to msRangeMax, namely, CallClearing > msRangeMax. In actual network operation, call clearing is unusually performed, because radio link fails due to over poor coverage before call clearing. Defining CallClearing aims to restrict the distance between MS and base station and to avoid MSs in allowed coverage range to interfere other MSs, especially in areas with complex landform. The cell coverage range is irregular, so island effect might occur. For this phenomenon, define CallClearing to clear calls in island areas. 4.6.2 TA Handover Threshold (MSRANGEMAX) I. Defintion When the distance between MS and base station reaches or exceeds MSRANGEMAX, distance handover is triggered. II. Format MSRANGEMAX ranges from 0 to 63, with unit of TA. The reference is 63. III. Configuration and Influence MSRANGEMAX must be smaller than CallClearing, and otherwise the handover function will be actually unavailable. While configuring MSRANGEMAX, you must adjust the threshold of other types of handover; otherwise ping-pong handover occurs. one occasion might be as follows: The distance between MS and the serving cell exceeds the threshold, but the signals of target cell are weaker than that of original cell. Consequently the PowerBudget handover is triggered immediately after distance handover is triggered. 4.6.3 TA Restriction (MS_BS_DIST_USED) I. Definition The maximum allowed access distance between base station and MS. If the distance between an MS and base station exceeds the maximum allowed access distance, the MS is forbidden to access cells. II. Format The range is 0 to 63, with unit of TA. The reference is 63. III. Configuration and Influence For its configuration, refer to the method for configuring CallClearing. Adjust the parameter to enable it consistent with the geographic coverage range of the cell. Set a proper threshold to filter pseudo RACH requests to avoid unnecessary assigning SDCCH. According to tests, for mountain-mounted base stations, the coverage and interference is difficult to control. If you define the maximum allowed access distance to 63, the RACH misjudgment increases (the

system demodulates interference to RACH bursts by mistake). Therefore the radio performance and traffic measurement indexes of the cell are affected.

4.5 Frequency Hopping Parameters 4.5.1 Frequency Hopping Sequence Number I. Definition In a GSM network, the cell allocation (CA) means the set of carriers used by each cell, recorded as {R0, R1, , Rn - 1}. Wherein, Ri indicates the absolute channel number. For each communication process, the set of carriers used by base station and MS is mobile allocation (MA), recorded as {M0, M1, , Mn - 1}. Wherein, Mi indicates the absolute channel number. Obviously MA is a subset of CA. During a communication process, the air interface uses a carrier number, one element of MA. The variable mobile allocation index (MAI) determines an exact element of MA. According to the frequency hopping algorithm in GSM regulation 05.02, the MAI is the TDMA frame number (RN) or reduced frame number (RFN), frequency hopping sequence number (HSN), and mobile allocation index offset (MAIO). Wherein, the HSN determines two aspects: Track of frequency points during frequency hopping The asynchronous neighbor cells using the same MA can avoid continuous frequency collision during frequency hopping by using different HSNs. II. Format HSN is in decimal, ranging from 0 to 63, wherein: 0: cyclic frequency hopping 163: pseudo frequency hopping

III. Configuration and Influence You can choose any HSN in cells using frequency hopping, but you must ensure that the cells using same frequency group must use different HSN. The following paragraph is an exception: In an 1X1 network, three cells under a base station use the same frequency group, but they are synchronous cells because of same FN. Therefore the three cells use the same HSN. You must plan MAIO properly to avoid frequency collision of the three cells under the same base station. 4.5.2 Mobile Allocation I. Definition The mobile allocation (MA) in the GSM network indicates a frequency set for frequency hopping. Namely, when the MA of a cell is fixed, the communication frequency points of the cell performs transient in the set by MA according to rules. The parameter MA determines all the elements in MA. II. Format MA is a set, with all GSM frequency points as its element, namely: For GSM900 networks: 1124 and 9751023. For GSM1800 networks: 512885

III. Configuration and Influence MA is configured according to network designing requirements. IV. Precautions Chinese GSM networks do not cover all available frequency bands of GSM system, so configure MA in available frequency bands. The number of elements in each MA set cannot exceed 63. The MA cannot include BCCH carriers. The number of MA must not be multiples of 13 if all the following conditions are met: Using DTX HSN = 0 (cyclic frequency hopping)

You must avoid SACCH to appear usually at the same frequency point.

4.5.3 Mobile Allocation Index Offset I. Definition During communication, the air interface uses a carrier frequency, one element of MA set. MIO determines an exact element of MA set. According to the frequency hopping algorithm in GSM regulation 05.02, the MAI is the TDMA frame number (RN) or reduced frame number (RFN), frequency hopping sequence number (HSN), and mobile allocation index offset (MAIO). MAIO is an initial offset of MAI, and it aims to avoid multiple channels to use the same frequency carrier in the same time. II. Format MAIO ranges from 0 to 63. III. Configuration and Influence MAIO is configured by equipment room operators. IV. Precautions The different cells using same group of MA must use consistent MAIO. Using different MAIOs enables different sectors in the same location to use the same frequency group (MA) without frequency collision.

4.4 Parameters Affecting Network Functions 4.4.1 Newly Established Cause Indicator (NECI) I. Definition In a GSM network, the traffic channel (TCH) consists of full-speed TCH and half-speed TCH. When the network supports half-speed TCH, the MS is informed of whether the area supports half-speed TCH by NECI. II. Format The value of NECI includes Y and N, with the meaning as follows: Y means that the area support half-speed TCH. N means that the area cannot support half-speed TCH.

III. Configuration and Influence Half-speed TCHs enable each carrier to support more traffic channel, but you must confirm whether the system support half-speed TCH. 4.4.2 Power Control Indicator (PWRC) I. Definition The PWRC informs MS of whether to take statistics of downlink level of BCCH carrier slot for measuring average value when the BCCH frequency participates in frequency hopping. The causes to configuring PWRC are as follows: GSM regulations allow frequency hopping channels to use BCCH (frequency hopping not in BCCH slots) . GSM regulations allow downlink power control over frequency hopping channels. The MS needs signal level of the measured neighbor cells, so the power of each slot on BCCH frequency is prohibited to change. The downlink power control does not involve carrier slots for BCCH which includes the frequency hopping. For previous causes, when the MS measures the average downlink channel level with common methods, the measurement result is inaccurate for power control because the average value includes the downlink received level of BCCH carriers the power of which are not controlled, so the measurement report is inaccurate for power control. To avoid the influence on power control, when the MS calculates average received level during frequency hopping, the received level obtained from BCCH carrier slot must be removed (see GSM regulations 05.08). II. Format The value of PWRC includes 0 and 1, with meanings as follows: When PWRC is 0, the measurement result by MS includes BCCH carrier. When PWRC is 1, the measurement result by MS does not include BCCH carrier.

III. Configuration and Influence The PWRC is usually configured to 0. Configure it to 1 if all the following conditions are met: Channels have frequency hopping on two or more frequencies. One of the frequency is BCCH carrier frequency. The system uses downlink power control.

IV. Precautions The value of PWRC depends actually on the following parameters: Whether to use frequency hopping. Whether the hopping frequency includes BCCH carrier. Whether the system uses downlink power control.

4.4.3 Discontinuous Transmit of Uplink I. Definition

Discontinuous transmit of uplink (DTXU) refers to the process for MS not to transmit signals during silent period (see description about DTX in Chapter 2). II. Format Whether the network allows uplink to use discontinuous transmit (DTX) is set by equipment room operators. DTX ranges from 0 to 2, with the following meanings: 0: MS can use DTXU. 1: MS must use DTXU. 2: MS cannot use DTXU.

III. Configuration and Influence Using uplink DTX affects call quality, but it is helpful in the following aspects: Lower interference to radio channels. Due to this, the average call quality of network is improved. Cut power consumption by MS For the previous advantages, DTX is recommended to use. 4.4.4 Discontinuous Transmit of Downlink I. Defintion Discontinuous transmit of downlink (DTXD) means the network does not transmit signals during silent period. II. Definition DTXD is in string, and the range is YES and NO. The meanings are as follows: YES: Downlink uses DTX. NO: Downlink does not use DTX.

III. Configuration and Influence Using downlink DTX affects call quality in a limit scale, but it is helpful in the following aspects: Lower interference to radio channels. Due to this, the average call quality of network is improved. Reduce load of base station CPU Therefore, if possible, you use DTX. IV. Precautions According to GSM regulations, downlink DTX is optional. If the base station equipment supports DTXD, then use it. However, you must ensure that voice transcoder is available to support DTXD. 4.4.5 Call Resetup Allowed I. Definition When coverage voids cause radio link failure, consequently call drop, the MS starts to resetup the call for recovery. Whether resetting up the call is allowed depends on the parameter call resetup allowed (RE). II. Format The values of call resetup allowed are 1 and 0, with meanings as follows: 1: Call resetup is allowed in the cell. 0: Call resetup is forbidden in the cell.

III. Configuration and Influence When a connected MS passes coverage voids, call drop occurs easily. If call resetup is allowed, the average call drop rate (CDR) is lowered. However, call resetup takes longer time, and most users disconnects before completion of call resetup. Therefore call resetup is difficult to achieve, and even wastes abundant radio resources. In a word, call resetup is disabled. 4.4.6 Emergency Call Allowed

I. Definition The following MSs cannot enjoy various services: MS without SIM MS with ACC as one of C0 to C9 and with cell_bar_access

The parameter emergency call allowed (EC) determines whether the MS is allowed for emergency calls, such as police emergency call. II. Format EC consists of 1 bit. For the MS with ACC of C0 to C9 or without SIM, the EC is NO, meaning emergency call forbidden. YES means emergency call allowed. For the MS with ACC of C11 to C15, when both the access control bit and EC are configured to forbidden, it is forbidden for emergency calls. III. Configuration and Influence According to the GSM regulations, the emergency number is 112, different from that in China. The Chinese emergency call cannot function as prescribed in GSM regulations. For international roaming users, set 112 to answerphone to inform users of various special service numbers. Therefore, setting emergency call must be allowed through configuring radio parameters, namely, configure EC to 1. 4.4.7 Early Classmark Sending Control I. Definition In a GSM network, the MS classmark marks the following aspects: Service capacity Supported frequency band Power capacity Encryption capacity

Classmark consists of classmark1, classmark2, and classmark3. A GSM MS. In a GSM network, the MS reports Classmark1 or Classmark2 information immediately after ESTIND<CM SERV REQ> (corresponding to L2-SABM at Um interface) is allocated. Classmark3 (CM3) information includes power information of various frequency band of multi-frequency MS. During handover between different bands, the power class must be correctly described. When the GSM system pages and transmits BA2 in different bands, it must know the CM3 message. In GSM regulation Phase2plus, early classmark sending control (ECSC) is added. ECSC means that by SI the system informs MS of reporting Classmark3 after link setup. This avoids querying process by network. II. Format The values of ECSC are Y and N, with the following meanings: Y: The MS reports Classmark3 to the network immediately after link setup. N: The MS is forbidden to report its Classmark3 to network initiatively.

III. Configuration and Influence The major information of Classmark3 is for dualband network, so do as follows: Configure ECSC to N in single frequency GSM application areas. Configure ECSC to Y in dualband GSM application areas.

IV. Precautions In a dualband network, configure the parameter of all cell to the same value. Configuring the parameter to different values in one or more cells is forbidden; otherwise, the network quality declines.

4.3 Serial Parameters of Cell Selection and Reselection 4.3.1 cell_bar_access I. Definition In the SI broadcasted in each cell, a bit indicates whether the MS is allowed to access the network in the cell, namely, cell_bar_access. II. Format The value of cell_bar_access includes 1 and 0. The value 0 indicates that MS is allowed to access the network from the cell. The value 1 indicates that the MS is barred to access the network from the cell. Actually whether to allow MS to access the network from the cell is determined by both cell_bar_access and cell_bar_qualify. III. Configuration and Influence The cell_bar_access is configured by equipment room operators. Usually the MS is allowed to access the network from all the cells, so cell_bar_access is configured to 0. In special situations, the operators want some cell for handover service only, so cell_bar_access is configured to 1 The MS usually works in microcells (you can configure the priority of cells and reselection parameters to enable this). When the MS is calling while moving fast, the network force MS to hand over to the base station G. The signals of base station G are stronger than microcell base station in most areas. When the call terminates, the MS just camps near base station G and at edge of microcell cells, the MS will not reselect a cell according to GSM regulations, therefore the MS cannot return to microcell. The capacity of base station G is usually small, so the previous phenomenon leads to congestion of base station G. To solve the problem, you can configure the cell_bar_access to 1, namely, to forbid MS directly accessing base station G. In area A, handover is allowed to base station G. IV. Precautions The cell_bar_access is used only in some special areas. For common cells, it is configured to 0. 4.3.2 cell_bar_qualify I. Definition The cell_bar_qualify determines the priority of cells, namely, it enables MS to select some cell by preference. II. Format The value of cell_bar_qualify includes 1 and 0. The cell_bar_qualify and cell_bar_access determine the priority state of cells, as listed in Table 7-1 Cell priorit. Table 7-1 Cell priorities cell_bar_qualify 0 0 1 1 cell_bar_access 0 1 0 1 Cell selection priority Normal Barred Low Low Cell reselection state Normal Barred Normal Normal

An exception is that the cell selection priority and cell reselection state are normal when the following conditions are met: The cell belongs to the PLMN which the MS belongs to. The MS is in cell test operation mode. The cell_bar_access is 1. The cell_bar_qualify is 0. The access control class 15 is disabled.

III. Configuration and Influence

The priority of all the cells are usually configured to normal, namely, cell_bar_qualify = 0. In microcell and dualband networking, operators might want MS to camps on the cell of some type by preference. In this situation, the equipment room operators can configure the priority of these cells to normal and other cells to low. During cell selection, when the proper cells with normal as the priority is not present (proper cells means that all parameters meet the conditions for cell selection, namely, C1 > 0, and the cell is allowed to access), the MS will select cells with low priority. IV. Precautions Pay attention to the following aspects: When cell priority is used as a method to optimize network, the cell_bar_qualify only affects cell selection, without any influence on cell reselection. You must optimize the network by combining cell_bar_qualify and C2. During cell selection, when the proper cells with normal as the priority is not present, the MS will select cells with low priority. Therefore when the level of the cell with normal priority is low, and cells with low priority and high level are present, the MS will access the network slowly while powering on. 4.3.3 Minimum Received Level Allowing MS to Access (RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN) I. Definition To avoid bad communication quality, call drop, and a waste of network radio resources due to MS accessing the network at low received signal level, GSM regulations prescribe that when an MS accesses the network the received level must be greater than the threshold level, namely, the minimum received level allowing MS to access. II. Format The value range of RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN is from 110 dBm to 47 dBm. III. Configuration and Influence The recommended RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN needs to be approximately equal to the receiving sensitivity of MS. The RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN affects cell selection parameter C1, so it is important to traffic adjustment and network optimization. For cells with over high traffic and severe congestion, you can increase RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN. In this way, the C1 and C2 of the cells decrease, and the effective coverage range decreases. You must not configure RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN over great, because this might cause non-seamless coverage and complaints for signal fluctuation. It is recommended that the RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN is smaller than or equal to 90 dBm. IV. Precautions Except for areas of high density of base stations and of qualified coverage, adjusting cell traffic by RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN is not recommended. 4.3.4 Additional Reselection Parameter Indicator I. Definition The cell selection and reselection by MS depends on the parameters C1 and C2. Whether C2 is the cell reselection parameter is determined by network operators. Additional reselection parameter indicator (ADDITIONAL RESELECT) informs MS of whether to use C2 in cell reselection. II. Format ADDITIONAL RESELECT consists of 1 bit. In SI3, it is meaningless, and equipment manufacturers configure it to N. The MS uses ADDITIONAL RESELECT of SI4. When ADDITIONAL RESELECT is configured to N, the meaning is: if the rest bytes of SI4 (SI4RestOctets) are present, the MS must abstract and calculate parameters related to C2 and related cell reselection parameter PI. When ADDITIONAL RESELECT is configured to Y, the meaning is that the MS must abstract and calculate parameters related to C2 and related cell reselection parameter PI. III. Configuration and Influence

Cells seldom use SI7 and SI8, so you can configure ADDITIONAL RESELECT to N. When cells use SI7 and SI8, and the parameter C2 is used in cell reselection, you can configure ADDITIONAL RESELECT to Y. 4.3.5 Cell Reselection Parameter Indicator I. Definition The cell reselection parameter indicator (CELL_RESELECT_PARAM_IND) is used in informing MS of whether C2 is a cell reselection parameter and whether C2 is present. II. Format The value of CELL_RESELECT_PARAM_IND includes Y and N, with the meanings as follows: Y: The MS must calculate C2 by abstracting parameters from SIs of cell broadcast, and set C2 as the standard for cell reselection. N: The MS must set C1 as the standard, namely, C2 = C1. III. Configuration and Influence The equipment room operators determine the value of PI. Configure PI to Y if related cells set C2 as the standard for cell reselection; otherwise, configure it to N. 4.3.6 Cell Reselection Offset, Temporary Offset, and Penalty Time I. Definition After the MS selects a cell, without great change of all the conditions, the MS will camp on the selected cell. Meanwhile, it does as follow: Starts measuring signals level of BCCH carrier in neighbor cells. Records the 6 neighbor cells with greatest signal level. Abstract various SI and control information of each neighbor cell from the 6 cells.

When conditions are met, the MS hands over from the selected cell to another. This process is called cell reselection. The conditions include: Cell priority Whether the cell is barred to access Radio channel level (important)

When the signal level of neighbor cells exceeds that of the serving cell, cell reselection occurs. The channel level standard used in cell reselection is C2, with the calculation as follows: 1) When PENELTY_TIME 11111: C2 = C1 + CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET - TEMPORARY_OFFSET * H (PENALTY_TIME - T) Wherein, if PENALTY_TIME - T (x) < 0, the function H(x) = 0; if x 0, H(x) = 1. 2) When PENELTY_TIME = 11111: C2 = C1 - CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET T is a timer, with 0 as the initial value. When a cell is listed by MS in the list of cells with maximum signal level, start T with step of 4.62ms (a TDMA frame). When the cell is removed from the list, the associated T is reset. After cell reselection, the T of original cell works as PENALTY_TIME. Namely, temporary offset is not performed on the original cell. CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET (CRO) modifies cell reselecting time C2. TEMPORARY_OFFSET (TO) is supplemented to C2 from starting working of T to the prescribed time. PENALTY_TIME is the time for TEMPORARY_OFFSET having effect on C2. When PENALTY_TIME = 11111, the MS is informed of using C2 = C1 CRO. CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET, TEMPORARY_OFFSET, and PENALTY_TIME are cell reselection parameters. When the cell reselection parameter PI is 1, the MS is informed of receiving values of three parameters on BCCH. If PI is 0, the MS judges that the previous three parameters are 0, namely C2 = C1. If the C2 of a cell (in the same location area as the serving cell) calculated by MS is greater than the C2 of the cell where MS camps, and this lasts for over 5s, the MS reselects to camp on the cell. If the C2 of a cell (in different location area as the serving cell) calculated by MS is greater than the sum of C2 of the cell where MS camps and cell reselect hysteresis, and this lasts for over 5s, the MS reselects to camp on the cell.

The interval between two reselections is at least 15s, and this avoids frequent cell reselection by MS. C2 is formed on the combination of C1 and artificial offset parameters. The artificial offset parameters help MS camp on or prevent MS from camping on some cell. This balances the traffic of the network. II. Format 1) The cell reselection offset (CRO) is in decimal, with unit of dB. It ranges from 0 to 63, which means 0 to 126 dB (2 dB as the step). The recommended value is 0. 2) The temporary offset (TO) is in decimal, with unit of dB. It ranges from 0 to 7, which means 0 to 70 dB (10 dB as the step). The recommended value is 0. 3) The penalty time (PT) is in decimal, with unit of second. It ranges from 0 to 31. The value 0 to 30 means 20s to 620s (20s as the step). The value 31 is reserved for changing the effect direction of C2 by CRO. The recommended value is 0. III. Configurationa and Influence The previous parameters can be adjusted accordingly in the following three situations: 1) When the communication quality is bad due to heavy traffic or other causes, change the parameters to enable MS not camps on the cell (the cell is exclusive from the MS). For this situation, configure PT to 31, so TO is ineffective. C2 = C1 CRO. The C2 is artificially lowered. So the probability for MS to reselect the cell decreases. In addition, the equipment room operators can configure CRO to a proper value according to the exclusive level of the cell by MS. The greater the exclusion is, the greater the CRO is. 2) For cells with low traffic and equipment of low utilization, change the parameters to enable MS to camp on the cell (the cell is prior). In this situation, configure CRO to 020 dB according to the priority. The higher the priority is, the greater the CRO is. TO is configured the same as or a little greater than CRO. PT helps avoid over frequent cell reselection, the recommended value of PT is 20s or 40s. 3) For cell with average traffic, configure CRO to 0, PT to 11111 so that C2 = C1. No artificial influence is on the cell. IV. Precautions In whatever situations, the CRO must not be greater than 30 dB, because over great CRO leads to unstable network, such as complaints about signal fluctuation. 4.3.7 Cell Reselection Hysteresis (CRH) I. Definition CRH affects cell reselection of cross location area. The MS starts cell reselection if the following conditions are met: The signal level of neighbor cell (in different location area) is greater than that of the serving cell. The difference between the signal levels of the neighbor cell and the serving cell must be greater than the value prescribed by cell reselection hysteresis. The difference is based on the cell reselection methods used by MS. If the MS reselects a cell with C2, then compare values of C2. II. Format CRH is in decimal, with unit of dB. The range is 0 to 14, with step of 2 dB. The recommended value is 4. III. Configuration and Influence If the original cell and target cell belongs to different location areas, the MS must originate a location updating process after cell reselection. Due to the attenuation feature of radio channels, the C2 of two cells measured at the bordering area of neighbor cells fluctuates much, so the MS reselect cells frequently. The interval between two reselections is over 15s, which is rather short for location updating. The signal flow of network increases sharply, radio resources cannot be fully utilized. During location updating, the MS cannot respond to paging, so the connection rate decreases. Adjust CRH according to signal flow and coverage. When signal flow overloads or location updating of cross location area is frequent, the cell reselection hysteresis is increased as recommended. You must avoid abnormal coverage due to over large location area. IV. Precautions Do not configure CRH to 0 dB.

4.2 Paging and Access Control Parameters 4.2.1 Number of Access Grant Reserved Blocks (BS_AG_BLK_RES or AG) I. Definition The common control channel consists of access grant channel (AGCH) and paging channel (PCH). For different CCCHs, each BCCH multiframe (including 51 frames) contains CCCH message blocks different number. The CCCH is shared by AGCH and PCH. According g to regulations, partial message blocks on CCCH are especially reserved for AGCH. This avoids that the AGCH messages are blocked when the PCH traffic is great. The number of parameter access grant reserved blocks (AG) refers to the number of message blocks reserved for AGCH on CCCH in each BCCH multiframe. II. Format The AG ranges from 0 to 2 when CCCH shares physical channel (CCCH_CONF = 1) with stand-alone dedicated control channel (SDCCH). The AG ranges from 0 to 5 when CCCH does not share physical channel (CCCH_CONF=0) with standalone dedicated control channel (SDCCH). III. Configuration and Influence When the channel combination of the cell is fixed, the parameter AG adjusts the ratio of AGCH and PCH in CCCH. When the PCH is idle, it can send immediate assignment messages. The AGCH does not transmit paging messages. Equipment operators can balance AGCH and PCH by adjusting AG, with the following principles. The principle for AG value is that based on no overload of AGCH, you must reduce the parameter to shorten the time for MS to respond to paging, and to improve system service performance. When the immediate assignment messages are superior to paging messages to be sent, configure AG to 0. The value of AG is recommended as follows: AG is 1 when the CCCH and SDCCH share a physical channel. AG is 2 or 3 in other situations.

In network operation, take statistics of overload situations of AGCH and adjust AG accordingly. By default the immediate assignment messages are superior to paging messages to be sent in the network, so you need not reserve a channel for immediate assignment messages. In this situation, configure AG to 0. 4.2.2 Frame Number Coding Between Identical Paging Frame number coding between identical paging is BS_PA_MFRMS (MFR for short). I. Definition According to GSM regulations, each MS (corresponding to an IMSI) belongs to a paging group (for calculation of paging groups, see GSM regulation 05.02). Each paging group in a cell corresponds to a paging subchannel. According to its IMSI, the MS calculates the paging group that it belongs to, and then calculates the location of paging subchannel that belongs to the paging group. The MS only receives the signals of the paging subchannel that it belongs to, and neglects that of other paging subchannels. In addition, the MS even powers off some hardware of itself during other paging subchannel to lower power cost of itself. The number of paging channel multiframe (MFR) is the number of multiframes used in a period of paging subchannel. The MFR determines the number of paging subchannels that the cell PCH is divided into. II. Format The MFR ranges from 2 to 9, which respectively means that the same paging group cycles in a period of 2 to 9 multiframes. III. Configuration and Influence According to the definition of CCCH, AG, and MFT, you can calculate the number of paging channel in each cell. When the CCCH and SDCCH share a physical channel, there is (3 - AG) MFRs. When the CCCH and SDCCH share a physical channel, there is (9 - AG) MFRs.

According to the previous analysis, the greater the MFR is, the more the paging channels of the cell are (see the calculation of paging groups in GSM regulation 05.02). Theoretically, the capacity of paging channels does not increase with the increase of MFR. The number of buffers for buffering paging messages on each base transceiver station (BTS) increases. The paging messages are sent more evenly both in time and space, so it seldom occurs that the paging messages overflow in the buffers so call lost occurs (related to functions by equipment providers). However, to enjoy the previous advantages, you will have a longer delay of paging messages on the radio channels. The greater the MFR is, the greater the delay of paging messages in the space is, and the lower the average service performance of the system is. Therefore, the MFR is an important parameter in network optimization. The following principle caters for configuring MFR: The configured strategy for buffers of each equipment provider is different, so you must select the MFR properly so that the paging messages do not overflow on PCH. Based on this, configure the parameter as small as possible. In addition, you must measurement the overflow situations of PCH periodically while the network is running, and adjust MFR accordingly. IV. Precautions Any paging message of the same location area must be sent to all cells in the location areas at the same time, so the PCH capacity of each cell in the location area must be equivalent or close to each other. Otherwise, you must consider smaller PCH capacity as the evidence for designing location area. 4.2.3 Common Control Channel Configuration (CCCH-CONF) I. Definition The CCCH includes AGCH and PCH. It sends immediate assignment messages and paging messages. In each cell, all traffic channels (TCHs) share CCCH. According to the TCH configuration and traffic model of the cell, the CCCH can be one or more physical channels. In addition, the CCCH and SDCCH share a physical channel. The combination methods for CCH are determined by CCCH parameter CCCH_CONF. II. Format The CCCH_CONF consists of three bits, with the coding methods listed in CCCH configuration coding CCCH configuration coding CCCH_CONF 000 001 010 100 110 Meaning One physical channel for used for CCCH, not shared with SDCCH One physical channel for used for CCCH, shared with SDCCH Two physical channels for used for CCCH, not shared with SDCCH Three physical channels for used for CCCH, not shared with SDCCH Four physical channels for used for CCCH, not shared with SDCCH Number of CCCH message blocks in a BCCH multiframe 9 3 18 27 36

III. Configuration and Influence When the CCCH and SDCCH share one physical channel, the CCCH has the minimum channel capacity. When the CCCH and SDCCH do not share a physical channel, the more physical channels that the CCCH uses, the greater the capacity is. The CCCH_CONF is determined by the operators based on combination of cell traffic model and paging capacity of the location area where a cell belongs to. It is determined in system design, and adjusted in network expansion. According to experiences, when the paging capacity in the location area is not high and cell has one or two carriers, it is recommended that the CCCH uses one physical channel and share it with SDCCH (in combination CCCH methods). This spares a physical channel for paging. Otherwise, the method that CCCH and SDCCH do not share one physical channel is used. When the cell TRX exceeds 6 and CCCH OVERLOAD occurs in the cell, it is recommended that the CCCH uses two or more basic physical channel and does not share them with SDCCH. IV. Precautions

The CCCH_CONF must be consistent with the actual configuration of cell CCCH. In addition, you must consider the influence on the access grant reserved blocks. 4.2.4 Extended Transmission Slots (TX_INTEGER) I. Definition In a GSM network, a random access channel (RACH) is an ALOH. To reduce the conflicting times on RACH when an MS accesses the network, and to increase RACH efficiency, GSM regulations (sections 3.3.1.2 of 04.08) prescribe the compulsory access algorithm for MS. The algorithm defines three parameters as follows: Extended transmission slots T Maximum retransmission times RET T It is the number of slots between two sending when the MS keeps sending multiple channel request messages. S It is related to channel combination, and is an intermediate variable of access algorithm. It is determined by T and CCCH configuration. II. Format The value of T is from 3 to 12, 14, 16, 20, 25, 32, and 50. The value of S ranges as listed in Values of S Values of S S in different CCCH combination methods T The CCCH and SDCCH does not share a physical channel 55 76 109 163 217 The CCCH and SDCCH share a physical channel 41 52 58 86 115

3, 8, 14, 50 4, 9, 16 5, 10, 20 6, 11, 25 7, 12, 32

III. Configuration and Influence To access the network, the MS must originate an immediate assignment process. To begin the process, the MS sends (RET + 1) channel request messages on RACH. To reduce conflicts on RACH, the time for MS to send channel request messages must meet the following requirements: The number of slots (not including slots for sending messages) between originating immediate assignment process by MS and sending the first channel request messages is random. Its range is {0, 1, , MAX (T, 8) - 1}. When the MS originates the immediate assignment process, it takes a value from the range according to even distribution probability. The number of slots (not including slots for sending messages) between a channel request message and the next is from {S, S + 1, , S + T - 1} according to even distribution probability. According to previous analysis, the greater the T is, the larger the range of intervals between one channel request message and the next, and the less the RACH conflicting times is. The greater the S is, the greater the interval between one channel request message and the next, the less the RACH conflicting times is, and the more efficiently the SDCCH is used. However, the increase of T and S leads to longer time for MS to access the network, so the access performance of the whole network declines. Therefore you must configure T and S properly. S is calculated by MS according to T and combination of CCH. You can configure T freely and sends it to MS by system information. Usually, you need configure T properly to make T + S as small as possible (to reduce the time for MS to access the network); meanwhile you must ensure an effective assignment of SDCCH to avoid overload (for all random access requests, the system does not distinguish whether they are from the same MS, but assigns a SDCCH). In operation, you can adjust the value according to traffic measurement of cell immediate assignment.

4.2.5 Minimum Access Level of RACH I. Definition The minimum access level of RACH is the level threshold for the system to judge whether there is a random access request. II. Format The minimum access level of RACH ranges from 0 to 63 (corresponding to 110 dBm to 47 dBm). The unit is level grade value. III. Configuration and Influence When the access burst level of RACH is greater than the threshold, the BTS judges that there is an access request. The BTS, together with the parameter random access error threshold, determines whether the random access burst is valid. To configure the parameter properly, you must combine actual sensitivity of the base station and the parameter minimum received level permitted for MS to access. This prevents the MS from failing in calling though there are signals. The access burst level of RACH affects call drop rate and access range (coverage), so you must pay attention to the influence on access of MS. 4.2.6 Random Access Error Threshold I. Definition GSM protocols prescribe that by relativity of judgment training sequence (41 bits) the system can judge whether the received signals are the random access signals of MS. II. Format The value ranges from 0 to 255. The recommended value is 180. III. Configuration and Influence The random access error threshold defines the relativity of training sequence. If the smaller it is, the more errors of random access signals permitted by the network are, the easily the MS randomly accesses the network, and the greater the report error rate is. If the greater the random access error threshold is, the smaller the report error rate is, and the more difficult the access to the network is when signals are weak. See protocol 0408, 0502. The system requires the random access error threshold transferred by current bit of 41 bit training sequence. 90100 101120 121140 141160 161175 176195 196221 222243 244250 089 or 251255 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 38

The two parameters random access error threshold and minimum access level of RACH determine the validity of random access burst. 4.2.7 Access Control Class (ACC)

I. Definition GSM regulations (02.11) prescribe that each GSM user (common user) corresponds to an access class, ranging from class 0 to class 9. The access class is stored in SIM of mobile users. For special users, GSM regulations reserves five special access classes, ranging from class 11 to class 15. Theses classes are prior to other classes in accessing. Special users might have one or more access classes (between 11 and 15), which are also stored in user SIM. Users of class 11 to 15 are prior to that of class 0 to 9. However, the class between 0 and 9 or between 11 and 15 does not mean priority. The access class is distributed as follows: Class 09: common users Class 11: users for PLMN management Class 12: users for security departments Class 13: common business departments (in charge of water, gas) Class 14: emergency services Class 15: PLMN staff

Users of class 09 have its access rights catering for home PLMN and visited PLMN. Users of class 11 and 15 have its access rights catering for visited PLMN only. Users of class 12, 13, and 14 have its access rights catering for in the country where home PLMN belongs to. II. Format The access control class consists of two parts: Common access control class Value range: a check option, including class 0 disabled, , class 9 disabled. Recommended value: all 0. Special access control class Value range: a check option, including class 11 disabled, , class 15 disabled. Recommended value: all 0. If a class is configured to 1, it means that access is forbidden. For example, a common access class is configured to 1000000000; common users excluding class 0 users can access the network. III. Configuration and Influence C0C15 (excluding C10) are set by equipment room operators. Usually these bits are configured to 1. Proper configuration contributes to network optimization as follow: When installing a base station, starting a base station, or maintaining and testing in some cells, configure C0C15 (excluding C10) to 1. In this way, different users are prevented from accessing the network, so the installing and maintenance is less influenced. During busy hours of cells with high traffic, congestion occurs, RACH conflicting time increase, AGCH traffic overloads, and Abis interface traffic overloads. When you configure class of some users to 1, you can reduce the traffic of the cell. 4.2.8 Maximum Retransmission Times (RET) I. Definition See GSM regulation 04.08. When an MS originates an immediate assignment process, it sends a channel request message to the network on RACH. The RACH is an ALOH, so the MS can send multiple channel request messages before receiving immediate assignment messages, to increase access success rate of MS. The maximum retransmission times M (RET) is determined by equipment room operators, and sent to MS by SI. II. Format The maximum retransmission times consists of two bits, with the meanings listed in Coding of maximum transmission times M Coding of maximum transmission times M M 00 01 10 11 maximum transmission times 1 2 4 7

III. Configuration and Influence The greater the M is, the higher the success rate of call attempt is, and the higher the connection rate is, but the load of RACH, CCCH, and SDCCH increase. In cell with high traffic, if the RET is over great, overload of radio channels and congestion occur, so the connection rate and radio resource utilization declines sharply. If the RET is over small, the call attempt times of MS reduces, success rate reduces, so the connection rate reduces. Therefore, proper configuration of RET for each cell help utilize network radio resources and improve connection rate. For configuration of RET M, refer to the following methods: For areas with low traffic, such as in suburban or rural areas, configure RET to 7 to increase the access success rate of MS. For areas with average traffic, such as common urban areas, configure RET to 4. For microcell with high traffic and of apparent congestion, configure RET to 1. 4.2.9 Control Class of MS Maximum Transmit Power (MS-TXPWR-MAX-CCH) I. Definition MS-TXPWR-MAX-CCH is sent in BCCH SIs. It affects behavior of MS in idle mode. It is also used in calculating C1 and C2, and determines cell selection and reselection. C1 = RLA_C - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN - MAX((MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P), 0) RLA_C: average received level by MS RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN: minimum received level permitted for MS to access MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH: maximum power level of control channel (control class of MS maximum transmit power) P: Maximum transmit power level of MS II. Format The range of MS-TXPWR-MAX-CCH is 031. For cells of GSM900 and GSM1800, the dBm values corresponding to the control class are different. In a GSM900 network, the 32 control class of maximum transmit power corresponding to 031 is as follows: {39, 39, 39, 37, 35, 33, 31, 29, 27, 25, 23, 21, 19, 17, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5} In a GSM1800 network, the 32 control class of maximum transmit power corresponding to 031 is as follows: {30, 28, 26, 24, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 36, 34, 32} Recommended values are 5 for GSM900 and 0 for GSM1800. III. Configuration and Influence MS-TXPWR-MAX-CCH determines the power class used before MS receives power control messages. For details, see protocol 0508. The smaller it is, the greater the output power of MS is. The MS near the base station interferes with neighbor channels of the cell, so the access to the network by other MSs and communication quality are influenced. The greater it is, the smaller the output power of MS is, and the lower the access success rate of MS at cell borders is. You must configure MS-TXPWR-MAX-CCH properly according to the serving range of the cell. 4.2.10 Power Offset (POWEROFFSET) I. Definition When the MS accesses the network and before it receives the initial power control messages, all GSM900 MSs and type 1 and type 2 DCS1800 MSs use MS_TXPWR_MX_CCH of BCCH. If the MS_TXPWR_MX_CCH exceeds the maximum transmit power of MS, the MS uses the closest power. The parameter POWEROFFSET is effective to type 3 DCS1800 MSs. When the type 3 DCS1800 MS accesses the network, it use total power of MS_TXPWR_MX_CCH + POWEROFFSET before receiving the initial power control message. See protocol GSM0508. II. Format The values of 03 correspond to 0 dB, 2 dB, 4 dB, and 6 dB.

The recommended value is 2. III. Configuration and Influence The greater the parameter is, the more easily the type 3 DCS1800 MS accesses the network. A great POWEROFFSET enables MS to access the network afar, but does not help control cross-cell interference, so the network quality is influenced. 4.2.11 IMSI Attach/Detach Allowed I. Definition The IMSI detach means that the MS informs the network of itself work state changing from working to non-working. Usually it refers to when the MS powers off or the SIM is taken off MS. After receiving the inform from MS, the network sets the IMSI as in non-working state. The IMSI attach is opposite of IMSI detach. It means that MS informs the network of itself work state changing to working. Usually it refers to when the MS powers on or the SIM is put into MS again. After the MS turns to working state again, it detects whether the current location areas (LAI) is the same as that recorded in MS at last. If yes, the MS starts IMSI attach process (this is one of location updating). If no, the MS starts location updating process of cross location area.

After receiving the location updating message or IMSI message from MS, the network sets the IMSI as in working state. The parameter IMSI attach/detach allowed (ATT) is used for informing MS of the IMSI attach/detach process. II. Format The value of ATT includes YES/NO. NO means that starting IMSI attach/detach process by MS is forbidden. YES means that starting IMSI attach/detach process by MS is compulsory. III. Configuration and Influence Usually configure ATT to YES so that the network will not process the proceeding of the MS after the MS powers off. This frees system resources (such as PCH). IV. Precautions The ATT of different cells in the same location area must be the same to avoid abnormalities while the MS is called. For example, in a cell with YES as the value of ATT, when the MS powers off, it starts IMSI detach process. Therefore the network records that the MS is in non-working state, so it does not page the MS. In a cell with No as the value of ATT and the cell being different from the one where the MS powers off, when the MS powers on again in the cell, the MS does not start IMSI attach process. In this situation, the MS cannot be called normally until it starts location updating process. 4.2.12 Direct Retry (DR) I. Definition During the assignment process of call setup, congestion might cause assignment failure. The assignment failure causes failure of the whole call. GSM networks has a function to avoid such failures, namely, DR. The DR is that the BSS directly assign MS to TCH of neighbor cells. The parameter is used by system to set whether to allow direct retry function. II. Format The value of DR includes YES and NO. YES means that the system allows directional retry. NO means that the system does not support direction retry function. III. Configuration and Influence DR improves call success rate. If conditions are ready, start DR. On the contrary, DR is that the BSS directly assign MS to TCH of neighbor cells when congestion occurs in the cell where the MS camps, so the MS can originates a call in the non-best cell with lowest received level, and extra interference might be brought about in frequency reuse networks. Therefore, you must use the function properly according to comprehensive network situations.

4 GSM Parameter Configuration and Adjustment When operators prepare to construct a mobile communication network, they must predict coverage according to traffic prediction and local radio propagation environment. This guides project design of the system and parameter configuration of radio network. The project design includes the following aspects: Network topology design Selecting the location of base station Frequency planning Cell parameter configuration The RF planning determines the coverage range of a cell, and the serving range of the cell is determined based on the combination of RF planning and cell parameter configuration. By this, the MS always enjoys optimal services and maximum network capacity at the best cell. This chapter discusses the meaning and effect of important parameters in GSM radio communication. Mastering the effect and impact of these parameters helps to configure network parameters and optimize the network in later stages. In a GSM network, abundant radio parameters are configured according to cells or partial areas; however, the parameter configuration might affect neighbor areas. Therefore, while configuring and adjusting parameters, you must pay attention to the impact of configuring parameters on other areas, especially neighbor areas. 4.1 Network and Cell ID 4.1.1 Cell Global ID I. Definition GSM is a global cellular mobile communication system. To ensure that each cell corresponds to a unique ID globally, the GSM system numbers the following items: Each GSM network in each country Each location area Each base station Each cell Numbering the previous items aims as follows: An MS can identify the serving network so that the MS can select a network in any environment. The network can obtain the precise location of the MS so that the network can process various service requests involving the MS. The MS can report information about neighbor cells to the network during calling to avoid call drop. The cell global identity (CGI) is a major network identity parameter. CGI consists of location area identity (LAI) and cell identity (CI). LAI includes mobile country code (MCC), mobile network code (MNC), and location area code (LAC). The system transmits CGI information through system information (SI) transmitted by cell broadcast. When an MS receives SI, it demodulates SI for CGI information. The MS judge whether to camp on the cell according to the MCC and MNC. It also judges whether the current location area changes to determine updating location. While updating location, the MS reports LAI information to the network so that the network can know the location area of the MS. II. Format The CGI is MCC-MNC-LAC-CI, with details as follows: MCC consists of three decimal digits, ranging from 000 to 999. MNC consists of two decimal digits, ranging from 00 to 99. LAC ranges from 0 to 65535 CI ranges from 0 to 65535. III. Configuration and Influence As a globally unique mobile identity, the MCC is uniformly distributed and managed by international telecommunication union (ITU). The MCC for China is 460 (decimal).

The MNC is uniformly distributed by state telecommunication management organs. Now two GSM networks exist in China. The MNC for China Mobile is 00. The MNC for China Unicom is 01. The method for coding LAC is ruled by each country accordingly. This caters for China also (refer to GSM system from Ministry of Information Industry). At the early stage of network construction, the LAC is coded and distributed. The LAC is seldom changed in the later stages. The coverage areas related to the LAC is vital in the network. You can configure it as great as possible. No special restriction is on the distribution of CI. The CI ranges from 0 to 65535 (decimal). It must be ensured that two equivalent CIs exist in the same location area. This is determined in the system design. Except for special situations (such as constructing base stations), the CI must not be changed during the system operation. IV. Precautions You must pay attention to the following aspects: The MNC is unchangeable. While configuring the LAC, you must follow related regulations. Equivalent LACs must not exist in the state network. Equivalent CIs must not exist in the same location area. 4.1.2 Base Station Identity Code I. Definition In a GSM network, each base station corresponds to a distributed local color code, called base station identity code (BSIC). When the MS receives broadcast control channel (BCCH) carriers of two cells at the same time, with same channel number, the MS distinguishes them by BSIC. In network planning, the BCCH carriers of neighbor cells are different in frequency to reduce intrafrequency interference. The cellular communication system features that the BCCH carrier might be reused. Therefore, the BSIC of the cells with the same BCCH carrier must be different. The system transmits BSIC on synchronization channel (SCH) of each cell. The effect of BSIC is as follows: The BSIC involves in decoding process of random access channel (RACH) to prevent base stations from connecting to the RACH sent to the neighbor cells by the MS by error. After the MS receives SCH messages, it judges that it has been synchronous to the cell. Decoding information on the downlink common signaling channel correctly requires training sequence code (TSC) used on common signaling channel. GSM regulations describe TSC in eight fixed formats, and the sequence number of them is 07. The cell BCC determines the TSC used by the common signaling channel of a cell. Therefore the BSIC helps inform the MS of the TSC used by the common signaling channel of the serving cell. In a call, the MS must measure the level of BCCH carrier of neighbor cells and report it to the base station according to regulations to neighbor cell list of BCCH. Meanwhile, the MS must provide measured BSIC of the carrier in the uplink measurement reports. When the neighbor cells of a cell include two or more cells with the same BCCH carrier, the base station can distinguish the cells by BSIC to avoid incorrect handover. In a call, the MS must measure signals of neighbor cells, and sends measurement reports to the network. The measurement report can contain information about six neighbor cells only, so the MS must be controlled to report the cells actually related to handover. The first three digits of BSIC (namely, NCC) aims as previously mentioned. Operators control the MS to report the neighbor cell information permitted by the serving cell NCC by broadcast parameters NCC permitted. II. Format The BSIC is NCC-BCC, with details as follows: The NCC ranges from 0 to 7. The BCC ranges from 0 to 7. III. Configuration and Influence Usually different GSM PLMNs use the same frequency resource, but, to some degree, their network planning is independent. The neighbor GSM PLMNs use different NCCs according to regulations. This ensures that the neighbor base stations with same frequency use different BSICs. The BCC is part of the BSIC. It helps identify different base stations with same BCCH carrier number in the same GSM PLMN. The values of BCC must meet the previous requirements. According to GSM regulations, the TSC of cell BCCH carrier must be same as that of cell BCC. The equipment providers must ensure the TSC consistency. IV. Precautions

The neighbor cells or cells nearby using the same BCCH carrier must use different BSICs. Especially when two or more cells use the same BCCH carrier in the neighbor cell list of a cell, theses cells must use different BSIC. Pay attention to cells at the bordering areas between provinces and cities, and otherwise cross-cell handover might fail and abundant mistaken access problems might occur.

3.8 Network Capacity Comparison For the comparison of the network capacity under various frequency reuse patterns, see: Comparison of the network capacity under various frequency reuse pattern Bandwidth Frequency reuse pattern 43 33 43 + 13 6MHz MRP(12, 9, 6) 26 IUO: 4 3 + 2 3 43 33 43+13 7.2MHz MRP(12, 9, 8, 7) 26 IUO: 4 3 + 2 3 43 3 3 43+13 9.6MHz MRP(12,9,8,7,6,6) 26 IUO: 4 3 + 2 3 Note: GoS = 0.02; a = 0.025 Erl. 8 12 9 6/6/6 4/4/4/4/4/4 7/7/7 104.1 126 123.6 4164 5040 4944 1.70 2.03 1.99 9 12 9 12 9 7.5 4/4/4 3/3/3/2/2/2 5/5/5 4/4/4 5/5/5 7/7/7 62 60.1 81.9 62 81.9 123.6 2480 2404 3276 2480 3276 4944 1.8 1.74 2.37 1 1.32 1.99 9 12 9 12 9 7.5 3/3/3 2/2/2/2/2/2 4/4/3 3/3/3 4/4/4 5/5/5 34.5 49.2 53.5 34.5 62 81.9 1380 1968 2140 1380 2480 3276 1.16 1.66 1.8 1 1.8 2.37 Frequency reuse degree 12 9 7.5 Base station configuratio n type 3/2/2 3/3/3 4/4/3 Loadable traffic volume 27.9 34.5 53.5 Admissible subscribers 1188 1380 2140 Capacity ratio 1 1.16 1.8

3.7 Multiple Reuse Pattern Technology 3.7.1 Basic Principle According to multiple reuse pattern (MRP), the carriers are divided into several groups. The carries in each group work as an independent layer, and each layer uses a different frequency reuse pattern. During frequency planning, you can configure the carriers layer by layer, with reuse aggressiveness increases layer by layer. MRP has no special requirement on hardware. It is developed from the concept of carrier layering. That is, the available channel numbers are divided into multiple groups, and each group works as a carrier layer. According to the rules of the aggressive frequency reuse pattern, the channel numbers allocated for each layer are listed in Channel number allocation for each layer Channel number allocation for each layer Layer BCCH TCH 1 TCH 2 TCHm-1 Note: n1 n2 n3 n4 nm. For MRP, first you must divide an available band into several sub-bands. Generally, the sub-bands work as the bands for BCCH. The reasons are listed below: BSIC decoding will not be affected by traffic. TCH numbers cannot affect separated BCCH numbers, which is helpful for the MS to decode the BSIC. The planning for adjacent cell list can be simplified. The separated BCCH numbers contributes the simplification of adjacent cell list, so the MS can capture the useful BCCH quickly. Maximum gain can be obtained from power control and DTX. Downlink power control and DTX can be applied to TCH carriers only, so the separated BCCH numbers can maximize the function of downlink power control and DTX. The re-planning for TCH numbers will not affect BCCH. When a TRX is added to the system, if not considering the isolation of combiner and adjacent frequency interference, you do not have to change the BCCH numbers. After that, you must divide the remaining channel numbers into multiple TCH bands. For MRP, different frequency reuse patterns must be used for different TCH bands. According to the carrier allocation in the network, you can decide the average frequency reuse degree. According to the maximum number of carriers configured in each cell and the number of cells configured in the network, you can adjust the average frequency reuse degree to a proper value. In this way, you can effectively control network quality. The increase of the carries has little effect on the frequency allocation plan. The increased channel numbers affect other cells that have more carriers than the service cell has. For example, if a cell has four carriers, the cells that have been configured with more than four cells will be affected. MRP technology enables carriers to be configured flexibly. According to MRP, the frequencies of a cell can never be completely identical with that of the adjacent cells. Therefore, the MRP improves both the intra-frequency interference protection ratio and frequency hopping effect. According to the requirements defined in GSM protocols, all the downlink timeslots of the BCCH carriers must transit with full power and the interference features of the BCCH are different from that of the TCH. Therefore, to ensure network quality and security, you are recommended to use 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for BCCH. In this case, the channel numbers used for BCCH are equal to or more than 12. In actual conditions, they are from 12 to 15. If the available bandwidth is 7.2MHz, the available channel numbers are from 60 to 95, 36 in total, and they can be divided into 4 groups To ensure network security, you must finish BCCH number allocation first. To be specific, plan the 12 channel numbers according to 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern and allocate 1 BCCH number to each of the 12 cells. After that, you should allocate 1 carrier at the TCH3 layer to each cell, and then you should allocate the TCH2 and TCH1 numbers to the cells. In this case, you can configure four channel numbers Channel number n1 n2 n3 nm

for each cell of a base station (S4/4/4). The remaining 3 channel numbers can be configured for micro cells or mini-micro cells. 3.7.2 MRP Sequence Grouping Because BCCH numbers and TCH numbers are selected in different ways, the MRP can be divided into two types. They are MRP sequence grouping and MRP space grouping, the first of which is introduced hereunder. If the available bandwidth is 10MHz, the channel numbers are from 46 to 94. In this case, you can plan the frequencies at the BCCH and TCH carrier layers according to the sequence of the channel numbers. If using the sequence planning, you should add 1 to 2 extra channel numbers to the BCCH numbers. For the MRP sequence grouping, see: MRP sequence grouping Carrier type BCCH TCH1 TCH2 TCH3 TCH4 TCH5 ARFCN of the available channel number 8394 7482 6673 5865 5257 4651 Available channel numbers 12 9 8 8 6 6

Note: ARFCN stands for absolute radio frequency channel number. According to this table, the channel numbers can be divided into 6 groups. For BCCH, 12 channel numbers can be reused at the carrier layer. Traffic channels can be divided into 5 groups, from TCH1 to TCH5. For TCH1, 9 channel numbers can be reused; for TCH2 and TCH3, 8 channel numbers can be reused; and for TCH4 and TCH5, 6 channel numbers can be reused. Therefore, when the bandwidth is 10MHz, the base station type can be configured as S6/6/6. If the traditional 4/12 frequency reuse pattern is used, the maximum base station type can be configured as S4/4/4 only. For MRP sequence grouping, intra-frequency and neighbor frequency interference may exist within the frequency layer, and the interference between frequency layers exist at the critical points of the frequencies. 3.7.3 MRP Space Grouping For MRP space grouping, neighbor frequency interference does not exist within the frequency layer, but exist between frequency layers. When the traffic is not busy, this frequency reuse pattern can reduce network interference. If the available bandwidth is 10MHz, the available channel numbers are from 46 to 94. In this case, the frequencies can be allocated according to

Carrier type BCCH TCH1 TCH2 TCH3 TCH4 TCH5

ARFCN of the available channel number 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 82, 84, 86 88, 90, 92, 94, 47, 49, 51, 53 55, 57, 59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 69 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81 83, 85, 87, 89, 91, 93

Available channel numbers 12 9 8 8 6 6

Note: ARFCN stands for absolute radio frequency channel number. At the very beginning, not each cell needs the TRX of the last layer, so the TRX of the last layer can reuse the frequencies more aggressively. In addition, though interference increases after the MRP is enabled, the TRXs in the cells also increase. In this case, more the channel numbers will participate in frequency, which enhances frequency hopping gain. If both the channel numbers with a little interference and the channel numbers with great interference exist simultaneously within a cell, the frequency hopping technology will average the interference through mixing these channel numbers. In this case, the system can still decode the signals normally. When allocating the frequencies according to MRP, you must notice that the minimum frequency reuse degree at the TCH layer must be equal to or greater than 6. In actual conditions, however, the minimum average frequency reuse degree at the TCH layer ranges from 7 to 8. Therefore, when the frequency resource is adequate, you can reserve some channel numbers to for future use during frequency planning. Fixed MRP means that the channel numbers allocated to each TCH are fixed. They are independent of each other, as shown in Error: Reference source not found. For MRP, you should plan the channel numbers layer by layer so that the TCH numbers can be easily adjusted. In this case, if interference is present at a TCH layer, you need to adjust the channel numbers allocated to that layer only. 3.7.4 Characteristics of MRP Technology MRP technology can enables you to plan the frequencies flexibly according to traffic distribution. Compared with 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, MRP contributes to greater network capacity. Compared with 2 x 3 and 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, MRP has little effect against network quality. In addition, MRP technology is compatible with the technologies, such as frequency hopping, power control, DTX. Moreover, it has no special requirement on hardware and software. Generally, the advantages of the MRP are listed below: The network capacity is great and frequency utilization rate is high. The channel configuration is flexible. The frequency reuse pattern is selected according to network capacity and traffic distribution. In the areas where the traffic is high, you can add carriers to these areas. No two cells have the same channel numbers, so no intra-frequency cell exists in the system if the MRP is used. Baseband hopping and RF hopping can be used. The base station type can be configures flexibly, which is good for network quality. The channels to be allocated are weighted, which enhances the network quality. 3.7.5 Comparison between MRP and 1 X 3 Frequency Reuse Pattern In fact, 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is a special kind of MRP. The configuration for the equivalent MRP is 12/3/3/3/3/3. The following is a comparison between MRP and 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. The network capacity under 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is greater than that under MRP. For 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, you need to plan a group of frequencies for TCH only. If you have to add new carriers to the system without adding new base stations, you do not have to replan the frequencies. Therefore, the frequency planning is simpler under 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern than that under MRP. If the network is irregular in landforms and traffic distribution, you should better not use 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. In most cases, a base station is interfered by many base stations nearby. If the 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is used, you will find it hard to position the interference source. Therefore, when adding new base stations to the network, you cannot eliminate the interference by adjusting some channel numbers only. If using MRP, however, you can easily solve this problem.

3.6 Concentric Cell Technology 3.6.1 Concept In the GSM network, concentric cell technology is used to divide the service area into two parts: overlay and underlay. In essence, the concentric cell technology concerns channel allocation and handover. When combining this technology with various frequency planning technologies, you can both expand network capacity and improve network quality. The underlay covers the traditional cells, and the overlay covers the areas near the base station. Generally, 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is used for the underlay. For overlay, the frequency reuse patterns, such as 3 x 3, 2 x 3, or 1 x 3, are used. Therefore, all carriers can be divided into two groups, one for underlay, and the other one for overlay. The overlay and underlay share the same base station address, one set of antenna feeder system, and one BCCH, so you must set the BCCH on the underlay. If the capacity of the overlay is great, you can group the channel numbers according to Channel number grouping for 6MHz bandwidth concentric cell (a). In this case, the overlay has more channel numbers, which is beneficial for the base station to absorb nearby traffic volume. Channel number grouping for 6MHz bandwidth concentric cell Logical channel Underla y (12) Overlay (18) 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 98 90 91 92 93 94 95 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 Channel number (a)

If traffic volume is evenly distributed, you can enhance the underlay capacity through grouping the channel numbers according to Channel number grouping for 6MHz bandwidth concentric cell (b). In this case, the underlay can absorb more traffic volume. Channel number grouping for 6MHz bandwidth concentric cell (b)

Logical channel Underlay (24) Overlay (6 ) 6 6 6 7 6 8 6 9 7 0 7 1 7 2 7 3 7 4 7 5 7 6 7 7 7 8

Channel number 7 9 8 0 8 1 8 2 8 3 8 4 8 5 8 6 8 7 8 8 8 9 9 0 9 1 9 2 9 3 9 4 9 5

3.6.2 General Underlay Overlay General underlay overlay (GUO) aims to restrict the intra-frequency interference. To realize this purpose, you can reduce the overlay coverage area. That is, if the transmit power of the overlay carriers is lower than that of the underlay carriers, the coverage area of the overlay is smaller than that of the underlay.

The handover between the overlay and underlay is related to the receiving level of the MS and the TA (timing advance) from the MS to the base station. You should allocate the channel numbers (such as BCCH number) with looser frequency reuse aggressiveness to the MSs in the underlay. For the MSs in the overlay, you should allocate the channel numbers with aggressive frequency reuse to them. In this case, you can expand the network capacity by using aggressive frequency reuse pattern in overlay. For general underlay overlay, the coverage area of the underlay is inconsistent with that of the overlay, so problems concerning traffic and handover control are often caused. The general underlay overlay is applicable to the areas near the base station where the traffic is concentrated. The more concentrated the traffic near the base station, the more apparent the effect of capacity expansion is. However, the transmit power of the carriers in the overlay is low, so it is hard for the base station to absorb indoor traffic volume. In this case, when the traffic volume is evenly distributed, the general underlay overlay has little effect on capacity expansion. 3.6.3 Intelligent Underlay Overlay Intelligent underlay overlay (IUO) technology can ensure that the coverage areas of call carriers are the same. For an IUO, the transmit power of the carriers in the underlay and overlay is the same. In an IUO, the frequencies of a base station are divided into two layers: one is regular layer, and the other one is supper layer. At the regular layer, the frequency reuse distance is large, so you can use looser frequency reuse pattern, such as 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. At the supper layer, the frequency reuse distance is relatively small, so you can use aggressive frequency reuse patterns, such as 2 x 3 and 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. In an IUO, the interference at the supper layer is great, so designated equipments and handover algorithms on C/I must be provided. In an IUO, the conversation is first established at the supper layer, and then the BSC monitors the C/I of the channels at the supper layer without any stop. If the C/I is greater than the Good C/I Threshold, the conversation seizes a channel at the supper layer. If the C/I is smaller than the Bad C/I Threshold, the conversation seizes a channel at the regular layer. In addition, you can control the traffic volume at the supper layer and the regular layer by adjusting the handover threshold. For an IUO, the transmit power of the carriers at the regular layer is the same as that at the supper layer, so the network can absorb the traffic flexibly, which is beneficial for the expansion for actual network capacity. If the IUO technology is used, you must add the functions, including the estimation of intra-frequency protection C/I for downlink channels and the handover algorithms related to IUO, to the system. 3.6.4 Characteristics of Concentric Cell Technology The characteristics of concentric cell technology are listed below: Any change of the network structure is unnecessary. Special software and designated algorithms on channel allocation and handover are needed. The system has no special requirement on hardware. GUO is applicable to the areas near the base station where the traffic is concentrated. The overlay coverage of the GUO is small, so the intra-frequency reuse attenuation factor (q) is great, which increases interference in the network. The transmit power of the overlay carriers in the GUO is low, so it is hard for the carriers to absorb indoor traffic. The transmit power of the underlay carriers in the GUO is the same, so the carriers can absorb indoor traffic, which contributes to network capacity expansion and good conversation quality. For the comparison between the GUO and IUO, see A comparison between GUO and IUO. A comparison between GUO and IUO. A comparison between GUO and IUO. Coverage area Underlay Overlay IUO Underlay Overlay Frequency reuse pattern 4x3 3 x 3/2 x 3/1 x 3 4x3 3 x 3/2 x 3/1 x 3 Transmit power High Low Same Same Logical channel allocation BCCH/TCH TCH BCCH/TCH TCH C/I Handover algorithm Power& Distance

GUO

3.5 Aggressive Frequency Reuse Technology 3.5.1 3 x 3 Frequency Reuse Pattern The 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern can be used in the areas with high traffic. That is, three base stations form a group, and each base station has three cells, so there are 9 cells, which form a frequency reuse cluster. However, the 9 cells use different frequencies. Compared with the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the intra-frequency reuse distance under the 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is small, so on-line interference is greater. If the available bandwidth is 10MHz and the channel numbers are from 45 to 94, you can use normal 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern on BCCH. In this case, the frequency ranges from 81 to 94, so 14 channel numbers are available. For TCH, you can use 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. In this case, the frequency ranges from 45 to 80, so 36 channel numbers are available. For the frequency planning under 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, see Frequency planning under 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern Frequency planning under 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern Frequency planning under 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern Frequency group number Channel number of each frequency group A1 B1 C1 A2 B2 C2 A3 B3 C3

80 71 62 53

79 70 61 52

78 69 60 51

77 68 59 50

76 67 58 49

75 66 57 48

74 65 56 47

73 64 55 46

72 63 54 45

If 3 x 3 reusing the 10MHz band, you can configure the maximum base station type as S5/5/5, and the frequency reuse degree is 10. According to previous equations, because the number of base stations is 3 (N = 3), the intra-frequency interference attenuation factor is 3 (q = 3). In this case, the number of the intra-frequency interference sources is 2 at the first layer. When the bandwidth is 10MHz, the base station type can be configured as S5/5/5 under 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. For 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the maximum base station configuration type can only be configured as S4/4/4/. Therefore, network capacity under 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is greater than that under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern when the bandwidth is the same. When the number of subscribers in a network is not great, you can use the 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern to ease the pressure of network capacity. In actual conditions, however, because base stations are irregularly distributed, the antenna height is different, and the coverage area of each base station varies, the interference in the network will increase. In this case, if you intend to obtain better voice quality, you must take some anti-interference measures, such as using frequency hopping and DTX. The characteristic of the 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern are as follows: The adjustment for network structure is unnecessary. The frequencies can be easily grouped and the system capacity is great. Compared with 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern brings greater interference, but the overall interference can be controlled to a lower level. If frequency hopping is used, adequate bandwidth is needed. 3.5.2 2 x 6 Reuse Pattern The 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern is developed from the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. Under the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, you can add anther 2 cells to each base station, so 2 base stations (each base station has 6 60-sectorized cells) has 12 cells, which form a frequency reuse cluster. In this case, a frequency reuse cluster contains 12 60-sectorized cells, and this is defined as 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern. 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern. 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern Under the 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern, . Because each cell is 60-directional cell under 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern, the interference source of each cell is reduced to 1 at the first layer. In this case, the theoretical C/I can be expressed by the following equation:

In actual conditions, because base stations are irregularly distributed, the antenna height is different, and the effect from radio environment, the value of C/I cannot be as high as 15.6 dB. If the available bandwidth is 10MHz, the channel numbers range from 45 to 94, you can also use 2 x 6 frequency reused pattern. Considering the characteristics of the 2 x 6 cellular structures, you can also use the 2 x 6 frequency reuse for BCCH. The frequencies are from 81 to 94, 14 channel numbers in total, and the others are TCH numbers. For the frequency planning under 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern, see Frequency planning under 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern Frequency planning under 2 x 6 frequency reuse patternFrequency planning under 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern Frequency group number Channel number of each frequency group A1 B1 A2 B2 A3 B3 A4 B4 A5 B5 A6 B6

94 80 68 56

93 79 67 55

92 78 66 54

91 77 65 53

90 76 64 52

89 75 63 51

88 74 62 50

87 73 61 49

86 72 60 48

85 71 59 47

84 70 58 46

83 69 57 45

As listed in this table, when allocating frequency to the base station, you can select the frequency according to the regularity of {A1, A2, A3, A4, A4, A6} and {B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6}. Note that intrafrequency and neighbor frequency cannot be present within the same cell and adjacent cells. Under the 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern, you can enhance the system capacity by adding new cells to the base station. Compared with 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the maximum base station type can be configured as S4/4/4/4/4/4 under 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern, so the capacity of a single base station is twice that of the base station under the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. Under this frequency reuse pattern, however, the intra-frequency reuse distance is further shortened, which increases network interference greatly. In addition, as the number of cells increases, the requirements on the half-power angle and other antenna indexes are higher. Moreover, you must add antenna feeders to the system if using the 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern, which brings great difficulty to project implementation. Therefore, the 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern is seldom used. For the 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern, the frequency reuse degree is 12.5. And its characteristics are listed in the following: Through add more cells to each base station, you can enhance the capacity of the base station greatly. The antennas with smaller half-power angle and good performance are needed and the requirement on antenna and base station address is strict. The signals radiated by antennas are more concentrated, which is good for indoor coverage. The BSS system must support 6 sectors. More antennas are needed under the 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern than that under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, so you must adjust and optimize the planning for antenna system and frequencies. The times of handovers under the 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern are more than that under the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. The intra-frequency reuse distance is small, so the interference within the network is great. Therefore, you must take anti-frequency measures, such as using DTX and frequency hopping. 3.5.3 2 x 3 Frequency Reuse Pattern Under 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, there are 2 base stations. Each one has 3 cells, so 6 cells form a frequency reuse cluster. The cells in the same cluster use the different frequencies, and the cells in different clusters use the same frequency group. This is defined as the 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. Error: Reference source not found2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern: Under 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, each intra-frequency cell is interfered by 3 cells. Because the number of base stations in each frequency cluster is 2 (N = 2), the intra-frequency interference attenuation factor (q) can be expressed by the following equation: For regularly-arranged cells, the theoretical carrier-to-interference ratio (C/I) can be expressed by the following equation:

Even if the cells are regularly arranged, however, the value of C/I cannot meet the requirement of the network. Therefore, you must take anti-frequency measures, such as frequency hopping, power control, and DTX. For 10MHz bandwidth, the available channel numbers are from 45 to 94. If the 14 channel numbers (8194) are BCCH numbers, and the others are TCH numbers, the frequencies are planned according to 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. Frequency planning under 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern Frequency group number A1 80 74 Channel number of each frequency group 68 62 56 50 B1 79 73 67 61 55 49 A2 78 72 66 60 54 48 B2 77 71 65 59 53 47 A3 76 70 64 58 52 46 B3 75 69 63 57 51 45

You can use looser 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern and allocate 14 channel numbers for BCCH. If the bandwidth is 10MHz, you can configure the maximum base station type as S7/7/7 under the 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. In this case, the frequency reuse degree is 7.14. The network capacity is great under the 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, but small intra-frequency reuse distance will cause great interference. In addition, the cell traffic cannot 100% reach the designated value. In actual conditions, therefore, you can use the looser 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for BCCH and the 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for TCH. The characteristics of the 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern are listed below: The network capacity is relatively great. The adjustment for the network structure is unnecessary. The network capacity can be expanded without wide frequency band. Small intra-frequency reuse distance will cause great interference, so you must take antiinterference measures to ensure network quality. Radio frequency (RF) hopping technology must be used to support the equipments. The antennas must be directed to the same direction as much as possible. 3.5.4 1 x 3 Frequency Reuse Pattern 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is also called fractional reuse. For 1 x 3 or 1 x 1 frequency reuse pattern, the reuse distance is quite small, so the interference in the network is quite great. Therefore, to avoid frequency collision, you must use RF hopping technology and set the parameters, including MA (mobile allocation), HSN (hopping sequence number), and MAIO (mobile allocation index offset). The ratio of number of the TRXs to that of the frequency hopping is FR LOAD (generally, it is smaller than 50%). Under the 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the interference in the network can also indicates the probability of the collision of intra-frequencies and neighbor frequencies. Emulation shows that probability of the collision is related to FR only. According to 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the 3 cells of a base station form a frequency reuse cluster. The same-directional cells of each base station use the same frequency group. 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. For the 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the number of base station is 1 (N = 1), so , and . Because the value of C/I here is far lower than the protection value required by the system, you must take anti-interference measures, such as frequency hopping, power control, and DTX, to enhance the value of C/I. If the available bandwidth is 10MHz, the available channel numbers are from 45 to 94. Because RF hopping must be used under 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, considering the importance of BCCH, you can use 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for BCCH and 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for TCH. For BCCH, 14 channel numbers (81-94) are available; for TCH, 36 channel numbers (45-80) are available.

The channel numbers used for TCH are divided according to two ways. They are space grouping and sequence grouping. For the 1 x 3 frequency reuse spacing grouping, see 1 X 3 frequency reuse space grouping 1 X 3 frequency reuse space grouping Frequency group number A B C (a) Channel number 80, 77, 74, 71, 68, 65, 62, 59, 56, 53, 50, 47 79, 76, 73, 70, 67, 64, 61, 58, 55, 52,49, 46 78, 75, 72, 69, 66, 63, 60, 57, 54, 51, 48, 45 MAIO 0, 2, 4,6, 8, 10 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10

For the 1 x 3 frequency reuse sequence grouping, see 1 x 3 frequency reuse sequence grouping (a) 1 x 3 frequency reuse sequence grouping Frequency group number A B C (a) Channel number 80, 79, 78, 77, 76, 75, 74, 73,72, 71, 70, 69 68, 67, 66, 65, 64, 63, 62, 61, 60, 59, 58, 57 56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51, 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45 MAIO 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10

Because the ratio of the number of carriers to that of frequency hopping is required to be 1 to 2, if the bandwidth is 10MHz, you can configure the maximum base station type as S7/7/7. In this case, the frequency reuse degree is 7.14. The 3 cells of the same base station use the same HSN, and the cells of different base stations use different HSNs. To avoid the interference from neighbor frequencies, you can configure a proper MAIO for the cells of the same base station. If the available bandwidth is 6MHz, the available channel numbers are from 96 to 124. In this case, you can use 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for BCCH (the available channel numbers are from 111 to 124, namely, 14 in total). For TCH, you can use 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern (the available channel numbers are from 96 to 110, namely, 15 in total. For the 1 x 3 frequency reuse space grouping when the bandwidth is 6MHz, see 1 x 3 frequency reuse space grouping (b) 1 x 3 frequency reuse space grouping Frequency group number A B C (b) Channel number 96, 99, 102, 105, 108 97, 100, 103, 106, 109 98, 101, 104, 107, 110 MAIO 0, 2, 4 1, 3 0, 2

When the bandwidth is 6MHz, you can configure the maximum base station type as S4/3/3 under 1 x 3 frequency reuse space grouping. In this case, the frequency reuse degree is 7.25/9.67/9.67, with 8.86 in average. For the 1 x 3 frequency reuse sequence grouping, see 1 x 3 frequency reuse space grouping (b) 1 x 3 frequency sequence grouping Frequency group number A B (b) Channel number 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 101, 102, 103, 104, 105 MAIO 0, 2 0, 2

106, 107, 108, 109, 110

0, 2

Because the ratio of the number of carriers to that of frequency hopping is required to be 1 to 2, if the bandwidth is 6MHz, you can configure the maximum base station type as S3/3/3. In this case, the frequency reuse degree is 9.67. For TCH, both the space grouping and sequence grouping have drawbacks. Generally, for the urban areas where base stations are regularly and densely distributed, you should better use sequence grouping. For the areas where base stations are fragmentary and irregularly distributed, you should better use space grouping. The characteristics of 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern are listed below: The frequencies are more aggressively reused, so the network capacity is great. The network capacity under space grouping is a little greater than that under sequence grouping. When planning a network, you need to plan channel numbers for BCCH only. Re-planning for frequencies is unnecessary during network optimization. The efficiency for network planning is high. Wideband combiner must be used, but the cavity combiner with frequency selectivity is inapplicable. This frequency reuse pattern requires wideband repeater. The interference among intra-frequencies and neighbor frequencies increases as the frequency reuse distance decreases. RF hopping must be used, and the channel numbers participating frequency hopping is twice that of the number of carriers at least. In actual conditions, you cannot take anti-interference measures, such as RF hopping, DTX, and power control, for BCCH. Therefore, to ensure network quality, you can use the looser 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for BCCH only. 3.5.5 1 x 1 Frequency Reuse Pattern One cell of one base station forms a frequency reuse cluster, and this is defined 1 x 2 frequency reuse pattern. Other cells and this cell use the same frequency group. If the available bandwidth is 6MHz, the available channel numbers are from 96 to 124. Because RF hopping must be used under 1 x 1 frequency reuse pattern, considering the importance of BCCH, you can use 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for BCCH and 1 x 1 frequency reuse pattern for TCH. If 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is used for BCCH, the available channel numbers are from 111 to 124, 14 in total. The channel numbers from 96 to 110 are used for TCH, 15 in total. For the frequency planning under 1 x 1 frequency reuse pattern, see Frequency planning under 1 x 1 frequency reuse pattern. Frequency planning under 1 x 1 frequency reuse pattern. Frequency group number A B C Channel number 96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,11 0 96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,11 0 96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,11 0 MAIO 0,2,4 6,8 10,12

If the bandwidth is 6MHz, you can configure the maximum base station type as S4/3/3/ under 1 x 1 frequency reuse pattern. In this case, the frequency reuse degree is 7.25/9.67/9.67, so the average value is 8.86. Therefore, the maximum base station configuration under 1 x 1 frequency reuse pattern is the same as that under 1 x 3 frequency reuse space grouping pattern, so is the network capacity. 3.5.6 A + B Frequency Reuse Pattern The A + B frequency reuse pattern is developed from 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. When the bandwidth is narrow but the capacity is great, you can use this frequency reuse pattern. In this case, you must use

RF hopping. Under the A + B frequency reuse pattern, the frequencies can be divided into three groups. They are {f1}, {f2}, and {f3}. For frequency planning, see A + B frequency reuse pattern A + B frequency reuse pattern According to A + B frequency reuse pattern, you can increase frequency diversity gain by increasing the number of channel numbers participating frequency hopping within the cell, because the increase of the frequency diversity gain can improve the carrier-to-interference ratio. To avoid interference among intrafrequencies and neighbor frequencies, you can configure a proper MAIO for the cells within the same base station. The probability of the collision of the intra-frequencies and neighbor frequencies will decrease as the number of channel numbers participating frequency hopping increases among cells of different base stations. If the available bandwidth is 6MHz, the available channel numbers are 96 to 124. For A + B frequency reuse pattern, you must use RF hopping, but the BCCH does not participate in RF hopping. Therefore, in actual planning, to ensure good network quality, you can use looser 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for BCCH and A + B frequency reuse pattern for TCH. If you use 4 x 3 frequency reuse for BCCH, the available channel numbers are 111 to 124, 14 in total, in which two channel numbers are standby ones. For TCH, the available channel numbers are 96 to 110, 15 in total. For the frequency planning under A + B frequency reuse pattern, see Frequency planning under A + B frequency reuse pattern Frequency planning under A + B frequency reuse pattern Frequency group number A B C Channel number 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110 MAIO 0, 2, 4 1, 3 5, 7

When the bandwidth is 10MHz, you can configure the maximum base station type as S4/3/3 under A + B frequency reuse pattern. In this case, the frequency reuse degree is 7.25/9.67/9.67, so the average value is 8.86. In actual conditions, the irregular distribution of base stations and antenna height may deteriorate the performance of parts of the network. Therefore, the A + B frequency reuse pattern are not recommended in large networks.

3.4 Normal Frequency Reuse Technology 3.4.1 C/I under 4 x 3 Frequency Reuse Pattern The spectrum utilization ratio can be expressed by frequency reuse degree, which reveals the aggressiveness of the frequency reuse. The frequency reuse degree can be expressed by the following equation: freuse=NARFCN / NTRX Here NARFCN is the total number of the available channel numbers, and NTRX is the number of TRXs configured for the cell. For the n x m frequency reuse pattern, "n" indicates the number of the base stations in the reuse clusters, and "m" indicates the number of the cells under each base station. In this case, the frequency reuse degree can be expressed by the following equation: freuse= n x m In actual planning, however, the allocated number of channel numbers will be greater than n x m, so the actual freuse is usually greater than n x m. Therefore, the smaller the freuse, the more aggressive the frequency is reused and the higher the frequency utilization ratio is. As the aggressiveness of the frequency reuse grows, however, it will bring greater interference to the network. In this case, you must enable the technologies, including DTX and power control, to solve this problem. The more aggressive the frequency is reused, the lower the spectrum utilization ratio is, but the conversation quality is better at this time. The purpose the frequency planning is to reach a balance between the frequency utilization ratio and the network capacity. Based on the assurance of the network quality, you must take measures to maximize the network capacity. In the GSM system, the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is in basic use. Here "4" indicates 4 base stations (each base station consists of 3 cells), and "3" indicates the 3 cells under the control of each base station. Therefore, there are 12 sectors are available. And the 12 sectors makes up of a frequency reuse cluster, but the frequency in the same cluster cannot be reused. For the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the intra-frequency spacing is great, so it can meet GSM system's requirement on the intra-frequency interference protection ratio and adjacent frequency interference protection ratio. As a result, this frequency reuse pattern is good for the network quality and security. Under the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the frequency reuse aggressiveness is 12. For the aggressive reuse introduced hereunder, because the BCCH plays an important role in the network and you cannot use the apply the anti-interference measures, such as downlink power control and DTX, to the BCCH, you must apply the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern or looser reuse patterns to the BCCH carriers. Normal 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. 3.4.2 10MHz Bandwidth 4 x 3 Frequency Reuse Hereunder are several assumptions: The available bandwidth is 10MHz. The channel number is 4594. If the channel numbers ranging from 8194 (14 channel numbers in total) are allocated to the BCCH, and the other channel numbers are allocated to TCH. If the previous assumptions are present, the frequency planning under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is provided in Frequency planning under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern Frequency group number Channel number of each frequency group (a)

A1

B1

C1

D1

A2

B2

C2

D2

A3

B3

C3

D3

94 80 68 56

93 79 67 55

92 78 66 54

91 77 65 53

90 76 64 52

89 75 63 51

88 74 62 50

87 73 61 49

86 72 60 48

85 71 59 47

84 70 58 46

83 69 57 45

According to this table, the channel numbers in the first line are BCCH numbers, in which the channel numbers 81 and 82 are standby channel numbers. The channel number of BCCH of the cell A1 is 94. It is 80, 68 and 56 for other carriers, and so on. In a cluster which contains 12 cells, the frequency group for base station A is {A1, A2, and A3}; the frequency group for base station B is {B1, B2, and B3}; the frequency group for base station C is {C1, C2, and C3}; and the frequency group for base station D is {D1, D2, and D3}. Therefore, as listed in this table, no channel number is reused within a cluster. In addition, the intrafrequency and adjacent frequency are not available for the adjacent cells and the same cell. However, the drawbacks of this frequency reuse pattern are that the frequency reuse ratio is low and the capacity expansion needs a great amount of the frequency resources. Therefore, this reuse pattern is not used in the areas where the network capacity needs to be constantly expanded. If the bandwidth is 10MHz, the maximum base station configuration is S4/4/4 under the normal 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, and the frequency reuse degree is 12.5 (50/4 = 12.5). Note: The maximum base station type mentioned in the chapter refers to the configuration type that most continuous base stations can reach. It does not include standalone base station.

3.4.3 19MHz Bandwidth 4 x 3 Frequency Reuse For the 19MHz frequency (1 to 94) used by China Mobile, the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern are used for the frequency planning. The channel numbers ranging from 79 to 94 (16 channel numbers in total) are allocated to the BCCH, and other channel numbers are allocated to TCH. No channel number is reserved for micro cells. In this case, the frequency planning solution is provided in Frequency planning under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern (b) Frequency planning under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern Frequency group number A1 B1 C1 D1 A2 B2 (b) C2 D2 A3 B3 C3 D3

94 78 Channel number of each frequency group 66 54 42 30 18 6

93 77 65 53 41 29 17 5

92 76 64 52 40 28 16 4

91 75 63 51 39 27 15 3

90 74 62 50 38 26 14 2

89 73 61 49 37 25 13 1

88 72 60 48 36 24 12

87 71 59 47 35 23 11

86 70 58 46 34 22 10

85 69 57 45 33 21 9

84 68 56 44 32 20 8

83 67 55 43 31 19 7

As listed in this table, the channel numbers ranging from 79 to 82 are standby channel numbers. For the 19MHz bandwidth, the maximum base station type can be S8/7/7 under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. The frequency reuse degrees are 11.75, 13.43, and 13.43, so the average value is 12.87. 3.4.4 6MHz Bandwidth 4 x 3 Frequency Reuse For the 6MHz frequency (96 to 124) used by China Unicom, the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is used for the frequency planning. The channel numbers ranging from 111 to 124 (14 channel numbers in total) are allocated to the BCCH, and other channel numbers are allocated to TCH. No channel number is reserved for micro cells. In this case, the frequency planning solution is provided in: Frequency planning under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern Frequency group number A1 B1 C1 D1 A2 B2 (c) C2 D2 A3 B3 C3 D3

Channel number of each frequency group

124 110 98

123 109 97

122 108 96

121 107

120 106

119 105

118 104

117 103

116 102

115 101

114 100

113 99

As listed in this table, the channel numbers ranging from 111 to 112 are standby channel numbers. For the 6MHz bandwidth, the maximum base station type can be S3/2/2 under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. The frequency reuse degrees are 9.67, 13.5, and 13.5, so the average value is 12.22. 3.4.5 4 x 3 Frequency Reuse Conclusion The 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is a basic technology applied in frequency planning. It is applicable to other frequency aggressive reuse technologies that are used for the BCCH. Theoretical analysis shows that when the base stations are regularly distributed and azimuths of the cells are consistent with each other, the interference can be reduced to the minimum. Therefore, if you intend to expand the network capacity, you can keep the base stations to be distributed as regular as possible and plan the azimuths of the cells along the same direction. In addition, you can also maintain the antennas at a similar height. However, sometimes you need to adjust the azimuth of the antenna to improve the coverage, which seems contradicts to the capacity expansion. Therefore, sometimes you must make find a balance between the coverage and capacity. If the network capacity needs to be further expanded, you can take the following measures: Split a cell into smaller cells. At present, however, the average coverage radius of the macro cell base stations in urban areas is already shorter than 500m, so further cell splitting will meet difficulty in cost and technology. Utilize new frequency resources. For example, you can employ the 1800MHz band to establish a DSC 1800MHz network. Under the current 900MHz network, use more aggressive frequency reuse technology to expand the network capacity. At present, the aggressive frequency reuse technology works as the most economical and convenient way to expand the network capacity, so it is also the most popular with carriers. The typical frequency reuse technology includes 3 x 3, 2 x 6, 2 x 3, 1 x 3, and 1 x 1.

3.3 Frequency Planning Principle Generally, when planning the frequency for the network, you will divide the geographic area into smaller slices, but you must reserve a certain amount of channel number at the intersection area between slices if the frequency resource is adequate. The intersection area must be far away from the areas where the traffic is great and the areas where the networking is complex. Generally, you should begin the planning with the area where base stations are intensively distributed. If there are rivers or big lakes in the planning area, you must consider the refection effect of the surface. Generally, base stations irregularly distributed, so you cannot perform the frequency planning completely according to 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern or 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. Instead, you must make flexible adjustment according to actual conditions. No matter which reuse pattern you take, you must obey the following principles: - Generally, the intra-frequencies and adjacent cannel numbers are allowed to appear within a base station. - The frequency spacing between the BCCH and TCH must be greater than 400 KHz within a cell. - The frequency spacing between the TCHs must be greater than 400 KHz within a cell. (When frequency hopping is used, you can meet this by properly setting the mobile allocation index offset.) - The adjacent base stations cannot use the same frequency. - Considering the complexity of the antenna height and radio propagation environment, the base stations near each other cannot use the same frequency. - Generally, if using the 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, you must ensure that the number of frequency hopping channel numbers is at least twice that of the frequency hoping carriers. - Pay special attention to the intra-frequency reuse. The adjacent areas are not allowed to share the BCCH and the BSIC. : ourdot 0:34

3.2 Frequency Division and C/I Requirement 3.2.1 Frequency Division The GSM cellular system can be divided into GSM 900MHz system and DCS 1800MHz system in terms of the band to be used. The carrier spacing is 200 KHz. I. GSM 900MHz It has 124 channel numbers. The absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN) is 1124, and a protection band with 200 KHz in width is reserved at the two ends. According to the documents prescribed by the relative government department of China, China Mobile uses the 890909/936954MHz band, and the corresponding ARFCN is 195 (generally, the channel number 95 is for reservation only). For China Unicom, it uses the 909915/954960MHz band, and the corresponding ARFCN is 96124. For the bands defined for the carriers from other countries, they can be calculated by the following formulas: Base station reception: f1 (n) = [890.2 + (n 1) x 0.2] MHz Base station transmit: f2 (n) = [f1 (n) + 45] MHz II. DSC 1800MHz It has 374 channel numbers. The ARFCN is 512885. The relationship between the frequency and the channel number (n) are listed in the following: Base station reception: f1 (n) = [1710.2 + (n 512) x 0.2] MHz Base station transmit: f2 (n) = [f1(n) + 95] MHz China Mobile uses the 17101720 MHz band, and the corresponding ARFCN is 512561. China Unicom uses the 1745 1755 MHz, and the corresponding ARFCN is 687736. 3.2.2 C/I C/I stands for carrier-to-interference ratio. In the GSM system, frequency reuse will cause intra-frequency interference. The intra-frequency is related to both the reuse distance and the cell radius. If the intra-frequency cell and the service cell work at the same time, the MS locating in the center of the service cell will receive both the useful signals from this service cell and the interfering signals from the intra-frequency cells. For the omni-directional base station with regular frequency reuse, there are 6 intra-frequency interference sources at the first layer, namely, the 6 intra-frequency reuse cells in orange. There are 12 intra-frequency interference sources at the second layer, namely, the 12 intra-frequency reuse cells in yellow. However, the 12 intra-frequency interference sources has only a little effect on the 6 interference sources at the first layer, so it can be neglected. If the radio propagation environment between the 6 intra-frequency reuse cells and the service cell is the keeps stable. When the MS locates at the edge of the service cell, it will receive the poorest signals form the service cell but the strongest interfering signals. In this case, the needed C/I can be expressed by the following equation: If the cellular layout is improperly designed, the interfering sources will increase and the C/I will decrease. According to the previous equations, the more the cells in each cluster, the greater the C/I and the better the network quality are, but the frequency utilization ratio will be lower. In addition, the GSM interference is related to the traffic load. The intrafrequency interference reaches the greatest when the traffic load reaches the peak. Generally, the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is used in GSM frequency planning. For the areas where the traffic is great, you can use other frequency reuse patterns, such as 3 x 3 and 1 x 3. No matter which frequency reuse pattern you take, you must meet the requirement on interference-to-protection ratio. Apart from the intra-frequency interference caused by normal frequency reuse, there are other abnormal interferences. They are listed in the following: Multipath signal interference (It occurs when useful signals fall outside the delay equalizer of the system.) Outside signal interference (It refers to the signals from the radar, illegal wireless equipments, and environment noises.) In the GSM system, the requirements on the C/I are listed in the following: For intra-frequency C/I, it must be equal to greater than 9 dB. In actual projecting, a margin of 3 dB is needed, namely, it is equal to or greater than 12 dB. For adjacent-frequency C/I, it must be equal to or greater than -9 dB. In actual projecting, a margin of 3 dB is needed, namely, it is equal to or greater than -6 dB. When the carrier offset reaches 400 KHz, the C/I must be equal to or greater than -41 dB. : ourdot 0:18

3 GSM Frequency Planning 3.1 Overview Frequency resource is scarce for the mobile communication, so how to maximize the spectrum utilization ratio is a great concern for many carriers, equipment providers, and scholars. And their research into this problem has accelerated the development of the communication technologies. By now, the mobile communication has experienced three phases: analog TACS/AMPS, GSM/CDMA IS95, and WCDMA/CDMA2000. The purpose to enhance the spectrum utilization ratio is to expand the network capacity based on the limited spectrum resource while ensuring the network quality. If not considering adding frequencies to the network, you can expand the capacity of a GSM network using the two methods. One is to increase the number of base stations in the network; the other is to use the frequency reuse technologies. This chapter mainly describes the GSM frequency reuse technologies, namely, frequency planning technologies. To expand the network capacity, you must reuse the limited frequency resources. Though frequency reuse is beneficial for network expansion, it brings into another problem. That is, it deteriorates the conversation quality. The more aggressive the frequencies are reused, the greater the interference will arise in the network. Therefore, how to seek a balance between network capacity and conversation quality is a demanding task in frequency planning. Currently, the 4 x 3, 3 x 3, 2 x 6, 1 x 3, 1 x 1, MRP, and concentric circles are the GSM frequency technologies in common use. For the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the frequency utilization ratio is relatively low, but the higher carrier-tointerference ratio (C/I) can be obtained, so you can enjoy better conversation quality. Compared with the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern ensures a relatively high frequency utilization ratio, but the reuse distance is shorter, so interference is greater and the conversation quality is poorer. In this case, you should take some measures, such as the frequency hopping and DTX, against the interference. The frequency planning is a key technology for GSM network, so the quality of the frequency planning will determine the network quality. This chapter introduces the rules of frequency reuse based on the frequency reuse patterns and the network requirement. Meanwhile, it also provides examples to detail the frequency division, C/I, frequency reuse degree under each reuse pattern.

2.13 Conclusion Network planning is the foundation of a mobile communication network, especially the wireless parts in a mobile communication network costs great and is of vital importance to network quality, so you must make a good planning at earlier stage, which is helpful for network expansion and service update in the future. Network planning requires engineers to analyze coverage, decide network layers, and analyze traffic based on relative technologies and parameters, and finally output the results of RF planning, including base station layout and scale. RF planning, as well as the application of cell parameters, determines the cell coverage. The cell coverage must be properly designed so that the mobile station can always enjoy the best service at the best cells. In addition, the cell coverage must be designed in a way conducive to network capacity expansion. This chapter also introduces the solutions to dual-band network, indoor coverage, tunnel coverage, and so on. Last, this chapter introduces the repeater application.

2.12 Repeater Planning 2.12.1 Application Background With rapid development of mobile communication networks, people have higher requirements on service quality. They hope to enjoy mobile services anywhere and anytime. As for telecommunication carriers, they cannot enable a base station in some dead zones due to the reasons such as cost and transmission conditions. In this case, a repeater can provide an auxiliary and economical means to coverage the dead zones. I. Repeater types A wireless repeater adopts a set of donor antenna to receive the signals from the base station. After amplifying the signals, it adopts a set of retransmission antenna to forward the signals in another direction. Generally, a wireless repeater has only one receiving path, so the diversity antenna is unnecessary. Optical repeater An optical repeater transmits signals using optical fibers, so the repeater side and base station side must have the optical transmission capability. Channel bandwidth Bandwidth selection repeater A bandwidth selection repeater is also called wideband repeater, and it can select a frequency (for example, the frequency with a bandwidth of 6M, 19M, or 25M) and amplify it. Channel selection repeater A channel selection repeater is also called narrow band repeater or frequency selection repeater. It amplifies the selected channel numbers only. It is a narrow band repeater and amplifies a limited channel numbers. New style Solar energy repeater A solar energy repeater is of the wideband type. It is similar to a general wideband repeater except that its power is solar energy. Product type Wireless frequency selection repeater Currently, the types of the repeaters listed in the left column are in commercial use. Optical frequency selection repeater Wireless wideband repeater Optical wideband repeater II. Comparison between repeater and micro cell Many equipments and a long period are needed for constructing a micro cell. A repeater is installed in a flexible way and the base station equipments and transmission equipments are unnecessary. A micro cell can expand the system capacity. When the cells near a base station are busy, a micro cell can be used to ease the congestion. A repeater can absorb traffic. When a cell is idle, it brings the traffic to this cell, thus enhancing the utilization ratio of the equipments. A repeater does not expand the capacity for a system. The system needs to allocate channel numbers to a micro cell, but this is hard to be realized in the areas where the frequency resource is scarce. The system does not need to allocate channel numbers to a repeater, but it must prevent the repeater from interfering with other cells. Note: The filter of an intra-frequency repeater will produce a delay of about 5s. Theoretically, the maximum effective coverage distance of a GSM cell will be smaller than 35km in this case. A GSM system must enable the dynamic power control function, which is transparent to a repeater. Generally, you must adopt the automatic level control technologies (ALC) for a repeater. & Note: When the ALC technology is applied to a repeater, if a mobile station is too near to the repeater, the repeater will reduce the gains for all the mobile stations within its service area. In this case, the conversation quality of some mobile stations will become poor, or even call drop may occur; especially the mobile stations far away from the repeater are greatly affected. III. Application characteristics Repeaters are mainly used to cover the dead zones in vast open land, and they are the extension of the base stations. A repeater improves the coverage but does add up to the traffic capacity of a network. However, because it enlarges the coverage of the base station, the total traffic volume increases. A wireless repeater applies the radio transmission mode, with short construction period and effective cost. An optical repeater adopts optical fiber as transmission medium, so the transmission loss is small and transmission distance is large, but construction cost is greater than that of the wireless repeater. The application advantage of the wireless repeater lies in low transmission requirement. If you plant the optical fiber, there is no price advantage against the construction of a micro cell base station. In this case, considering the network quality, you are recommended to select the micro cell base station. Compared with wideband repeater, a narrow band repeater has better performance and provides better signal quality. However, the following problems are still present in application: The carriers of a narrow band repeater must outnumber the carriers configured for the source base station; otherwise the repeater cannot capture a channel. The number of paths of many repeaters is set to 4, so the base stations outnumber 4 carriers cannot work as the signal

source. For the base stations with radio frequency and frequency hopping, if the frequencies in the frequency hopping set outnumber the paths selected by the repeater, the conversation cannot be maintained. When the channel number of the donor cell of the repeater changes, you must adjust the channel number, otherwise the problems such as channel assignment failure, call drop, and interference will occur. The wideband repeater allows the base station to adopt frequency hopping, and you do not have to adjust the channel number of the repeater after the channel number of the donor cell changes if the channel number is within the bandwidth of the repeater. However, the wideband repeater will amplify all the signals within the band, so it causes great interference against other cells. No matter whether the optical fiber or wireless repeater is applied, the sum of the radius of the service area of the repeater and the distance between the repeater and base station cannot break the TA limitation. For general base stations, the distance between a repeater and the base station must be shorter than 35 kilometers. The optical repeater can be used in the areas where the GSM radio signals cannot reach and no space is left for a repeater. Because the transmission loss of optical fiber is small and its bandwidth is wide, the optical repeater is quite helpful for transmitting RF signals. Either an omni antenna or a directional antenna can be selected for an optical repeater according to the actual landforms. For an optical repeater, its transmission does not have to be isolated from the reception. In addition, the address of an optical repeater is easy to be decided. Generally, an optical repeater is applied in the dead zones within countryside, highroads, touring areas, factories, and urban areas. In remote mountain areas and along highroads, you can also consider using a solar energy repeater. In conclusion, the repeater is used for the following purposes: Enlarge coverage area and eliminate dead zones. Strength the field strength and enlarge converge of the base stations in urban areas. Ensure the coverage along the highroads and tunnels. Realize indoor coverage. 2.12.2 Working Principles of Repeater I. Wireless frequency selection repeater Figure 5-45 shows the working principles of a wireless frequency selection repeater. The repeater receives the RF signals from the selected base station (donor antenna) and amplifies and forwards the signals. The antenna receiving the signals from the base station is called donor antenna, the other antenna is called retransmission antenna. Working principles of a wireless frequency selection repeater are as follows: 1) The low-noise power amplifier processes the signals (received by the donor antenna) from downlink carriers. 2) The signals (900 MHz RF signals) are down converted into 71 MHz intermediate frequency (IF) signals. 3) The IF filter (with a bandwidth of 200 KHz) amplifies the 71 MHz IF signals and up converts the signals into the 900 MHz RF signals. 4) The retransmission antenna (service antenna) transmits the signals to the coverage areas. The uplink signals are also processed according to the previous procedures. II. Wireless wideband repeater The wireless wideband repeater works as the same way as the wireless frequency selection repeater except the filter part. The bandwidth of the filter of the wireless wideband repeater is fixed. Generally, it is 6M, 19M, or 25M. III. Optical repeater The difference between the optical frequency selection repeater and the optical wideband repeater lies in the coverage end. The former adopts the frequency selection components, but the later adopts the variable bandwidth options. Compared with the wireless repeater, the optical repeater does require isolation between donor antenna and retransmission antenna. 2.12.3 Repeater Network Planning I. Repeater address selection There is no special requirement on the repeater address selection except the following items: A repeater address must lie between the donor base station and the dead zone, and the azimuth angle between the donor antenna and the retransmission antenna cannot be smaller than 90, as shown in the following figure. If the service antenna is a directional antenna, the repeater must be installed about 200 to 500 meters beyond the dead zone. If the repeater is installed within the dead zone, the coverage quality cannot reach the best, as shown in the following figure. When the repeater is used to coverage the dense residential areas at the edges of the urban area, it cannot face the buildings, because great penetration loss will be caused. In this case, the repeater must be installed at the one side of the building, as shown in the following figure. The areas to be covered must meet the requirement of line-of-sight transmission. The repeater address must ensure the received signal level required by the repeater. Generally, the received signal level ranges from -50 dBm to -80 dBm. No strong carrier whose channel number is the same as that of the donor base station is present at near the repeater address. The landforms, buildings, or towers where the donor antenna and retransmission antenna can be installed. (The donor antenna must be directed to the base station and the retransmission antenna must be directed to the service area of the repeater. In addition, the isolation between the two antennas must be greater than 170 dBc.) II. Antenna selection When selecting the antenna for a repeater, you must consider the followings: Select the proper antenna gain according to the signals and coverage condition Do not adopt the omni antenna because the wireless repeater is affiliated to the intra-frequency relay system, otherwise

the system will perform self-excitation. The communication between the donor antenna and the donor base station antenna is point-to-point communication, so you must select the antenna with high gain or narrow horizontal beam width. For example, to reduce interference, you can select the reflector antenna or the log-periodical antenna. Select retransmission antenna according to the characteristics of a coverage area. For a large coverage area, you can select the general directional antenna with high gain. For tunnel coverage, you can select the Yagi antenna or the spiral antenna. For indoor coverage, you must select the antenna specially designed for indoor use. No matter in what occasions, you must control the transmit direction of the retransmission antenna to prevent the retransmitted signals from feeding in the donor antenna. The front-to-back ratio of the antenna must be as great as possible (it is better to be greater than 30 dB) so that a better isolation between the donor antenna and retransmission antenna can be ensured. III. Requirements on antenna isolation The isolation between repeater antennas depends on the host gain, but the host gain cannot excel the isolation coefficient for self-excitation. According to the requirements in GSM protocols 03.30, the isolation must be at least 15 dB greater than the host gain. In actual project design, you can judge whether the installation position meets the requirements on antenna isolation according to on-site measurement. According to the formulas calculating the antenna horizontal isolation, the following formula can be deducted: AH = 31.6 + 20 lgd (Gt + Gr) dB (900 MHz) AH = 37.6 + 20 lgd (Gt + Gr) dB (1800 MHz) Here, d indicates the distance between the donor antenna and retransmission antenna, in the unit of meter. Gt and Gr indicate the antenna gain relative to the major lobe in the direction of the two antennas. If the two antennas are back-toback installed, Gt and Gr indicate the front-to-back ratio of the antenna. Horizontal isolation of repeater antennas: The formula calculating the vertical isolation of repeater antennas is as follows: Av = 47.3 + 40 logd dB (900 MHz) Av = 59.3 + 40 logd dB (1800 MHz) Vertical isolation of repeater antennas: If the horizontal isolation and vertical isolation are present simultaneously, the total isolation can be calculated by the following formula: AS = (AV - AH) a/90 + AH, here AV indicates the vertical isolation; AH indicates the horizontal isolation; and a indicates the antenna included angle. Donor antenna and retransmission antenna are installed on the top of the building. Suppose the host gain is 100 dB, the isolation between the two antennas can be 120 dB. If the front-to-back ratio of the donor antenna and the retransmission antenna is 30 dB, when no barriers are present between the two antennas, the requirement on the isolation can be met. If the space loss of the signals between the two antennas is 60 dB, the horizontal isolation distance can be obtained, that is, d = 26m. During project implementation, you must select the antenna installation position according to on-site measurement. You can use a signal source and a receiver for the repeater. If the signal attenuation between the signal source and the receiver reaches 60 dB, it means that the antenna installation position meets the requirement on antenna isolation. When installing the antenna for a repeater, you must pay attention to the following items: If the antennas are horizontally installed, the host of the repeater must be installed between the donor antenna and the retransmission antenna (it must be nearer to the donor antenna.) A good isolation must be ensured regardless that the antennas are horizontally or vertically installed. When they are horizontally installed, it is better that there are some barriers lying between the donor antenna and the retransmission antenna, because you do not have to particularly design a large installation space to ensure antenna isolation in this case. IV. Uplink and downlink balancce calculation For a GSM repeater, the link balance is realized by four links, namely, the uplink and downlink between the donor base station and repeater, and the uplink and downlink between the repeater and mobile station. This section employs the wireless repeater applied in outdoors as an example to calculate the link balance. To simplify the calculation, we introduce the effective donor path loss (EDoPL), which includes all the loss and gain from the output end of the base station combiner or the input end of the multi-path coupler to the input end of the repeater. The link balance is calculated according to the following two formulas: For downlinks, Pbout - EDoPL + GRD - LRF + GRA - Lpass - Pmn = Pmin. For uplinks, Pmout - Lpass + GRA - LRF + GRU - EDoPL - Pbn = Pbin. Here, Pbout indicates the output power of the base station. Pmout indicates the output power of the mobile station. GRD indicates the downlink gain of the repeater. GRU indicates the uplink gain of the repeater. LRF indicates the feeder loss of the retransmission antenna. GRA indicates the gain of the retransmission antenna. Lpass indicates the path loss the mobile stations from the repeater to the service area. Pbn indicates the attenuation margin of the mobile station. Pbin indicates the receiving level of the base station. Pmin indicates the receiving level of the mobile station. BTSsens indicates the base station sensitivity. MSsens indicates the mobile station sensitivity. If the uplink EDoPL and downlink EDoPL are equal to the uplink path loss and the downlink path loss from the repeater and mobile station, the attenuation margin of the base station is equal to that of the mobile station. Therefore, if you

subtract the formula calculating uplink balance from the formula calculating downlink balance, you can get Pbout - Pmout + GRD - GRU = Pmin - Pbin. If the links are balance, the equation Pmin - Pbin = Dsens = MSsens- BTSsens is present. In this case, the formula calculating link balance is Pbout - Pmout + GRD - GRU = Dsens. Therefore, the Dsens is fixed after the base station equipments are selected. Moreover, the output power of the base station and mobile station may be decided in GSM system planning. As a result, to achieve the balance of the whole links, you need to adjust the uplink gain and downlink gain of the repeater only. The followings employ the repeater system installed in outdoors as an example to calculate the whole link balance. For downlink budget of the outdoor repeater , output power of the transmitter (+43dBm) loss of the combiner (4dB) EdoPL (90dB) = input power of the repeater (-51dBm) + downlink gain of the repeater (80dB) = downlink output power of the repeater (+29dBm) feeder loss of the retransmission antenna (3dB) + gain of the retransmission antenna (18dBi) path loss of the repeater in the coverage area (127dB) = input level of the mobile station (-83dBm) attenuation margin (20dBm) = the mobile station sensitivity (-103dBm). & Note: To obtain the value of EDoPL, you can measure the input level of the donor repeater and output level of the base station combiner first, and then obtain the difference between the two, and the difference is the value of EDoPL. In addition, the gain of the mobile antenna must be converted to 0 dBi. For uplink budget of the outdoor repeater, output power of the mobile station transmitter (+33dBm) path loss of the repeater in the coverage area (127dB) + gain of the retransmission antenna (18dBi) feeder loss of the retransmission antenna (3dB) = input power of the repeater (-79dBm) + uplink gain of the repeater (80dB) = output power of the repeater (+1dBm) EdoPL (90dB) = input level of the base station (-89dBm) attenuation margin (20dBm) = base station sensitivity (-109dBm). & Note: Because you do not have to consider the diversity function, the attenuation margin on uplinks is the same as that on downlinks. According to the previous link budget, the downlinks are restricted by the output power of the repeater, the uplinks are restricted by the output power of the mobile station, and the noise restricts the maximum gain (EDoPL-10 dB), so the link balance is present. However, this is the most common situation. Actually, you must calculate the margin for all links when installing or optimizing the repeater system. The latest repeater supports the uplink gain and downlink gain to be set respectively. Hereunder is an example. There is a base station covering parts of a highroad. Its coverage radius is about 20 km. The measured signal strength at the edges of the base station cells is -93dBm. The microwave link tower on the top of the hill near the base station is selected as the address of the repeater. In the areas (including mountains) 350m below the top of the tower, the received level of the mobile station is -71 dBm. The log-periodical antenna with a gain of 18dBi and an azimuth angle of 35is used as the donor antenna. The antenna is installed at 15 meters under the tower top and faces the base station. If the previous conditions are present, the signals output by the repeater are -54 dBm. If a plane antenna with a gain of 17 dBi and a horizontal azimuth angle of 60 degrees is installed at the top of the tower and the antenna radiates to the reverse direction of the donor antenna, the requirements on antenna isolation can be met even if the gain of the repeater reaches 85 dB. In this case, the output power of the repeater is 30 dBm. And the level of the signals in the areas along the highroad which are 20 km beyond the tower can reach -90 dBm. Therefore, the radius of the cell along the highroad is enlarged by 50%. & Note: If a retransmission antenna is installed at the top of the tower, you must ensure that the received signal level in the zero point filling areas near the tower. V. Repeater output power control When adopting a repeater, you must pay special attention to the effect of the intermodulation products against the system. The intermodulation products of the repeater depend on the number of the amplified carriers, the output power of each carrier, and the linearity of the amplifier. Linearity of the amplifier: Third order intermodulation will increase with output power due to the nonlinearity of the amplifier. Therefore, you must control the output to a certain degree to ensure that that the indexes on third order intermodulation meet the requirements. The following formula shows the relationship between the output power of each carrier of the repeater and the requirements on third order intermodulation. Po = IP3 + (PIMP/2) +10 lg (N/2) Here, Po indicates the output power of each carrier (dBm) IP3 indicates the third order section of the amplifier (dBm) PIMP indicates the level of the third order intermodulation (dBc) N indicates the number of carriers If the third order section of the amplifier of a typical repeater is 50 dBm, and the intermodulation level must be lower than -45 dBc according to the requirement of the wireless communication institutes in Britain. VI. Repeater gain setting The gain of the early repeaters must be set manually, but the latest gain of the latest repeaters can be automatically set. For the repeaters whose gain is set manually, the sum of the repeater gain and the protection margin must be equal to or smaller than the repeater isolation; otherwise, the self-excitation of the repeater will be caused. Here the repeater isolation indicates the isolation between the donor antenna and the retransmission antenna of the repeater. Generally, the protection margin ranges from 10 dB to 15 dB.

VII. Repeater adjacent cell planning The coverage areas of a repeater may overlap other donor cells, so you must configure the corresponding adjacent cell relationship for the repeater to ensure normal handover. In addition, you must pay attention that the frequencies in the coverage areas of the repeater and that in the donor cells cannot be the same frequency and neighbor frequency. VIII. Effect of delay processing against repeater planning If only one repeater cannot fully cover an area (such as a narrow and long tunnel), you can use several cascaded repeaters to provide the coverage. The selection of the address and antenna for the repeater of each level is the same as that for a single repeater. However, the repeater will amplify the same frequency and it takes some time for the repeater to process the signal, so there is a delay for each signal segment. If the delay is greater than the time for the GSM system to identify the time window, the intra-frequency interference will occur. Therefore, you must consider the effect of the delay when adopting cascaded repeaters, because the delay will also accelerate the time dispersion and shorten the coverage distance. If adopting the optical repeater, you must consider that the transmission speed of the signals in optical fibers is 2/3 that of in free space, namely, if the extension cell technology is not used, the maximum transmission distance of the signals in optical fiber is 35 km multiplies 2/3 (about 23.3 km) due to the restriction on transmission delay. In addition, if one of three synchronous cells adopting the optical repeater, the TA of two cells will be different due to the difference of transmission mode and rate. In this case, the synchronous handover failure will occur. Therefore, you must adopt the asynchronous handover to obtain the TA of a new cell, which works as the handover target cell. The delay processing varies with repeater types. Some take 2 to 3 s and some takes 5 to 6s. In a GSM system, the delay of two signals cannot be greater than 16s. For the effect of repeater delay processing against time dispersion. Distance between point A and the repeater d is 2.1km. The delay for the mobile station at point A to receive the signals from the repeater and the cell is as follows: (2.1km + 2.1km)/c (light speed) + 3s = 14s + 3s = 17s > 16s. In this case, the intra-frequency interference may be present. If the difference of the levels of the two signals is equal to or lower than 12 dB, the conversation quality will be affected. The time dispersion will cause intra-frequency interference, and the time dispersion is caused by the overlap of the signal source cell and the repeater coverage area. Therefore, you must select the signal of the secondary cells in the coverage areas of the repeater instead of the signals of the major service cell as the source signal of the repeater. In this case, the time dispersion caused by overlap can be avoided. IX. Effect of background noise against repeater planning Suppose that the maximum received noise level allowed by the base station is DN, if the uplink background noise level of the repeater host is too great, the base station channels will be congested when the noise level at the base station is greater than DN. However, how to set the repeater without affecting the base station? They are introduces as follows. If the following assumptions are present: The transmitted signal strength of the base station is Tb. The received signal strength of the base station is Rb. The received downlink signal strength of the base station host is Dr. The transmitted uplink signal strength of the base station host is Ut. In this case, the path loss between the base station and the repeater is Tb-Dr, so Rb = Ut (Tb-Dr). As a result, if the repeater does not affect the base station, Rb < DN, so the following two inequities are present: Ut (Tb - Dr) < DN Ut < Tb-Dr + DN According to the previous analysis, the repeater does not affect the base station if the uplink background noise level output by the repeater host is lower than (Tb-Dr+DN). From this perspective of review, the background noise must be particularly emphasized in repeater planning because it is easier to bring interference than other types of base stations. X. Specifications of wireless repeaters

2.11 Tunnel Coverage 2.11.1 Characteristic of Tunnel Coverage At present, most of the tunnels are dead zones, so you must make out special solutions for tunnel coverage. The tunnel types include railway tunnel, highroad tunnel, and underground railway tunnel. Each tunnel has its characteristics, and they are specified as follows. For the highroad tunnel, it is wide. The coverage in the highroad tunnels is relatively stable. When there are vehicles passing by, you can select the antennas with a larger size to obtain a higher gain, so the coverage distance is larger. For the railway tunnel, it is narrow, especially when there is a train passing by; only a little room is left in the tunnel, so the radio propagation is greatly affected. Moreover, the train has great effect on radio signals. Since the antenna installation room is quite limited, the antenna size and gain are greatly restricted. In addition, because general cars cannot be driven to such tunnels, the tunnel coverage is hard to be tested. Therefore, the planning for highroad coverage is different from that of the railway coverage. The length of tunnels ranges from several hundred meters to several kilometers. For short tunnels, you can adopt flexible and economical means to realize the coverage. For example, you can install a general antenna near one end of the tunnel, with the radiation directed to the inside. For long tunnels, however, you must adopt other means. Actually, the coverage solution varies with tunnels, so it is designed according to actual conditions. Cross section of the single-track railway tunnel and multi-track railway tunnel: The smaller the area of the cross section, the greater the loss when a train passes through the tunnel. The related calculation and analysis are based on the multitrack railway tunnels and highroad tunnels. For the calculation and analysis for single-track tunnels, the protection margin can be 5 dB greater than that of multi-track railway tunnels. Before planning tunnel coverage, you must prepare for the following data: Length of the tunnel Width of the tunnel Number of tunnel holes (1 or 2) Needed coverage probability (50%, 90%, 98% or 99%) Structure of the tunnel (it is constructed with metals or concretes) Number of needed carriers (130) Minimum receiving level in the tunnel (generally, it ranges from -85 dBm to -102 dBm) Distance between tunnel holes Whether AC/DC is available Whether the hole can be punched in the tunnel wall Signal level at the tunnel entrance Existed signal level in the tunnel 2.11.2 Tunnel Coverage Solution I. Link budget Indoor radio link loss is mainly decided by path loss medium value and shadow fading. A tunnel can be taken as a tube. The signals are transmitted through the reflection of walls and straight transmission, with straight transmission the major form. ITU-R suggests an indoor propagation model on page 1238, which is also effective for tunnel coverage. The formula is as follows: Lpath = 20 lg f + 30 lg d + Lf (n) - 28 dB Here, f indicates frequency (MHz) d indicates distance (m) Lf indicates penetration loss factors between floors (dB) n indicates the number of floors lying between the mobile station and antenna. The Lf (n) can be neglected in tunnel coverage, so the following equation can be applied in the calculation of the radio propagation in tunnels. That is: Lpath = 20 lgf + 30 lg d - 28 dB II. GSM signal source selection A GSM signal source and a set of distributed antenna system are a must for tunnel coverage. For tunnel coverage, the GSM signal source is selected according to the radio coverage, transmission, traffic, and the existing network equipments near the tunnel. A macro cell base station, a micro cell base station, or a repeater can work as a GSM signal source for the tunnel coverage. For the coverage of railway tunnels and highroad tunnels, the indoor macro cell base station is seldom used as signal source, but it can be used for an underground railway which requires the coverage of platforms and entrances. In this case, the capacity of the signal source must be great. In most cases, however, the tunnel coverage is realized by micro cell signals. For the areas to be covered, if the nearby network capacity is adequate, the capacity expansion is unnecessary. And if there are good GSM signals available, namely, the donor signal level meets the requirements of a repeater (for example, -70 dBm); a repeater can work as the signal source for the tunnel coverage. With the increase of traffic, however, you must use GSM base stations to replace the repeaters. Adequate isolation must left between donor antenna and retransmission antenna, though it will cause difficulty in antenna installation. Generally, the log-periodical antenna with great front-to-back ratio is used as the retransmission antenna. The general antenna (wireless repeater), coaxial cable, and optical fiber (optical repeater) can connect a repeater to a donor cell. For tunnel coverage, the installation space and auxiliary equipments are quite limited, so micro cell base stations and

repeaters instead of macro cell base stations are often applied in tunnel coverage. In mountain areas, repeaters are more likely used because strong signal level often exists at the mountain tops near the tunnel. In this case, the antenna isolation requirement can be easily met. If the signal level of the existed network near the tunnel is not strong enough, you can use a micro cell for the tunnel coverage. III. Antenna feeder system selection After deciding the GSM signal source, you must configure the antenna feeder system for the tunnel coverage according to actual conditions. Three types of configuration are available, namely, coaxial feeder passive distributed antenna, optical fiber feeder active distributed antenna, and leaky cable. Hereunder introduces the tunnel coverage based on coaxial feeder passive distributed antenna and leaky cable. 2.11.3 Tunnel Coverage Based on Coaxial distributed antenna system In a coaxial distributed antenna system, the following RF components are used: Feeder (3/8", 1/2", or 7/8") and jumper Power splitter Power splitter Antenna This section introduces three tunnel coverage solutions based on the coaxial distributed antenna system. I. Solution 1 Tunnel coverage solution based on the bi-directional passive distributed antenna system. Tunnel coverage solution based on bi-directional passive distributed antenna system According to this solution, if the needed minimum signal level is -85dBm (the location probability is 50%), you must add a margin of 8 dB if the want to enhance the location probability to 90%. If the gain of the bi-directional antenna is 5 dBi, the loss of the equal probability power splitter and the jumper is 2 dB, and the feeder with the specification of 7/8" is used, the path loss in 100 meters is 4 dB and the output power of the equipment is 39 dBm. Suppose that the level of the signals transmitted by the first bi-directional antenna is -85 dBm at the tunnel entrance, you can calculate the distance between the antenna and the tunnel entrance using the following equation: Pout- Lpath (d) Lcable (d) Ljumper + Gant = -85dBm + 8dB90%_loc.Prob Here, Pout indicates the output power (39dBm). Lpath (d) indicates the path loss from the first bi-directional antenna to the tunnel entrance. Lcable (d) indicates the cable loss. Ljumper indicates the jumper loss (2 2 dB). Gant indicates the antenna gain (5 dBi). If introducing the previous data to the equation, you can obtain the sum of the Lpath (d) and Lcable (d), that is, 117 dB. For the relationship between distance d and Lpath (d) and Lcable (d), see Figure 5-34, in which the curve indicates Lpath (d) and the slant line indicates Lcable (d). 1 You can obtain that d = 301m through estimation. If a power splitter is adopted for the first antenna, a loss of 3dB must be added. In this case, the sum of Lpath (d) and Lcable (d) is 114 dB. 2 You can also obtain that d = 261m through estimation. For railway tunnels, train filling will affect signal propagation, so a protection margin of 5dB must be considered when the antenna is installed in the tunnel. In this case, d = 240m. That is, if a bi-directional antenna is installed in the tunnel, it can coverage a distance of 480m. If a power splitter is adopted for the second antenna, the coverage distance between the first antenna and the second antenna will be shortened unless an amplifier is used. The followings analyze the coverage when no amplifier is adopted for the second antenna. The total power output by the first power splitter (it is installed at the first antenna) Pout1 is expressed as follows: Pout1 = Pout Lcable (d) - Ljumper - Lsplitter = 39dBm Lcable (261m) - 2dB - 3dB= 23.56 dBm. (The cable loss in 261m is about 10.44 dB, jumper loss is 2 dB, and the power splitter intersection loss is 3dB). Suppose the overlapping level between the two antennas is -85 dBm, the distance between the second antenna and the first antenna is: d2 = d + x. Here, d indicates the coverage distance of the first antenna (261m), and x indicates the coverage distance of the second antenna in the single direction. According to the previous analysis, the following two equations can be obtained: Pout1 Lcable (261m) Lcable (x) Ljumper + Gant Lpath (x) = - 85dBm + 8dB90%_loc.Prob Lpath (x) + Lcable (x) = 108.56dB Plus the two equations, you can obtain the value of x, that is, 100m. This means that when no amplifier is adopted, two antennas can coverage a tunnel distance of 722m, namely, 2*(261 + 100) m = 722m. If you adopt cascaded antennas, the transmit power is relative low due to the coaxial cable loss. In this case, you can use the amplifier to amplify the power. II. Solution 2 If a tunnel is not long, you can adopt a simpler coverage mode. Tunnel coverage solution based on a single antenna According to this solution, a directional antenna is installed at the tunnel entrance, with the radiation directed to the inside. The following analyze this coverage solution. In this solution, Pout = 39 dBm (suppose that the output power of the GSM signal source is 8W). If the Lpath (d) indicates propagation loss, the sum of Lcable (d) and Ljumper is 5dB, the antenna gain Gant is 8 dBi, and the needed received level is -77dBm, the Lpath (d) is expressed as follows: Lpath (d) = 39dBm - 5dB + 8dBi (-77dBm) = 119 dB According to the equation Lpath (d) = 20 lg10f + 30 lg10d - 28 dB, the value of d can be obtained, that is, 858m.

The previous analysis is applicable to highroad tunnels. For railway tunnels, you can consider a margin of 10 dB due to the effect of train filling, but the coverage distance of the antenna in railway tunnels is calculated the same as that in highroad tunnels. According to the calculation, d = 398m. 2.11.4 Tunnel Coverage Based on Leaky Cable System If adopting leaky cables to realize the tunnel coverage, you must find the specifications of the leaky cables and complete the leaky cable design according to the following steps: 1) Decide coverage factor 2) Calculate the gain of the bi-directional amplifier 3) Estimate the length of the leaky cable between the feeder source and the first amplifier 4) Estimate the length of the leaky cable between the amplifiers 5) Decide the number of needed amplifiers The followings describe these steps in details. I. Decide coverage factor The following information is needed for deciding the coverage factor: Coupler loss Number of carriers Coverage probability Coverage factor indicates the loss in the areas 2 meters beyond the leaky cable (along the vertical direction). This loss includes the coupler loss of the leaky cable and protection margin required by the coverage probability. If 90% of coverage probability is required, you must add 8dB to the medium level. Some leaky cables specify the relationship between the coverage probability and coupler loss. The coverage factor is determined by the parameters, such as coupler loss, RF carrier number, coverage probability, and tunnel type. For the decision of coverage factor in concreter tunnels. For the decision of coverage factor in metal tunnels. When deciding the coverage factor, you can fix a point in the graph and mark a horizontal line through this point, and this line intersects required coverage probability. This intersection point is the coverage factor. Coverage factor in metal tunnels: For example, if the leaky cable with a coupler loss of 71 (900 MHz) is used, the RF carrier number is 18, and the coverage probability is 90, the coverage factor in a concrete tunnel is -77 II. Decide cable length between GSM signal source and the first amplifier Before deciding cable length between GSM source and the first amplifier, you must obtain the following information: Transmit power of the signal source (dBm) Jumper loss: 1 dB Connector loss: 1 dB Leaky cable loss: 2 dB Transmit power at the feeder source (dBm) When calculating the power at a point of the feeder, you must subtract the feeder propagation loss from the GSM signal source. If a wireless repeater with an output power of 18 dBm (18 carriers) is used as the GSM signal source, and the attenuation from the jumper to feeder, and from the feeder to the leaky cable is 7 dB (That is, the power from the repeater is transmitted from a jumper to a feeder, and then from the jumper to a leaky cable, so four connectors are needed. Generally, the attenuation is 2 dB for each jumper, 1 dB for each feeder, and 0.5 dB for each connector, so the total attenuation is 7 dB.), the transmit power at this point is 11 dB. For the connection of leaky cable. Connection scheme of leaky cable: Suppose the needed signal level in a tunnel is -85 dBm, the signal level at the first amplifier must be equal to or greater than -85 dBm. The coupler loss and longitudinal propagation loss of the leaky cable are present between the signal feeder point and the first amplifier. They are calculated according to the following equation: LossLong = 11dBm (-85dBm) + Losscoup. Here, Losscoup indicates the coverage factor, and it is -77dB when 90% coverage is ensured. Therefore, the LossLong is 19 dB (that is, 11dBm + 85dBm -77dB = 19dB). The cable length between the signal feeder source and the first amplifier can be obtained according to Figure 5-39 and Figure 5-40. For example, suppose that the attenuation is 4.3dB/100 for the leaky cable, you can mark a plumb line at the point indicating 4.3dB. This plumb line will intersect the curve indicating 19 dB at a point, and then you mark a horizontal line starting from this point. The horizontal line will intersect the right vertical axis at a point. And this point shows the cable length. According to this example, the distance between the signal source and the first amplifier is 440m (that is, 19/4.3 = 440m). Cable length between amplifiers in concrete cables: According to the previous figures, the left vertical axis indicates Required RADIAMP Gain, which can be replaced by the radial loss of the leaky cable, but it makes no difference. III. Needed amplifier gain Before calculating the maximum amplifier gain, you must collect the following information: The minimum acceptable signal level (dBm) Coverage factor (dB) The maximum output loss allowed by a single carrier (dBm) If the amplifier is not added, the signal level output by the leaky cable for the longest transmission distance is equal to the difference of the minimum acceptable signal level and the coverage factor. The signal level at the leaky cable beyond the longest transmission distance may be lower the minimum acceptable level, so an amplifier must be added to amplify the signals to the maximum output power allowed by a single carrier. The amplification of this power is related to the specifications of the amplifier and the number of carriers. If the maximum output power allowed by a single carrier is known, the amplifier gain can be calculated as follows: Needed amplifier gain = the maximum output power allowed by a single carrier (it depends on the number of carriers) (the minimum acceptable signal level coverage factor)

Along the leaky cable, the maximum output power allowed by each carrier of a bi-directional amplifier is related to the number of carriers that have been amplified. This is considered mainly for the intermodulation interference is present, because the intermodulation interference will increase with the total number of carriers that have been amplified. Relationship between the maximum output power allowed by a single carrier and the number of carriers that have been amplified: Needed amplifier gain = the minimum acceptable signal level coverage factor + the maximum output power allowed by a single carrier. According to the previous equation, if the minimum acceptable signal level is -85 dBm, the coverage factor is -77, and the maximum output power allowed by a single carrier is 5 dBm, the needed amplifier gain is 13 dB. IV. Decide cable length between amplifiers Before deciding the cable length between amplifiers, you must know the needed amplifier gain and the cable loss (dB/100m). Figure 5-39 and Figure 5-40 help you decide the cable length between amplifiers. For example, in a concrete tunnel, if the amplifier gain is 13 dB and the cable attenuation is 4.3dB/100m, the cable length between two amplifiers is 300m. V. Decide the number of needed amplifiers Before deciding the number of needed amplifiers, you must know the following information: The cable length between the feeder source and the first amplifier The cable length between amplifiers The tunnel length If the previous information is known, the following formula can be used to calculate the number of needed amplifiers. That is: The number of amplifiers (the tunnel length the cable length between the feeder source and the first amplifier)/(the cable length between amplifiers), rounding up to the nearest integer. According to the formula, if the tunnel length is 1000m, the cable length between amplifiers is 300m, and the cable length between the feeder source and the first amplifier is 420m, 2 amplifies are needed. That is, (1000 420)/300 = 1.93, so the nearest integer is 2. After deciding the number of needed amplifiers, you can optimize the distance between amplifiers. That is, you can obtain the distance between the two amplifiers by dividing the remaining distance by the number of needed amplifier. According to the previous example, it is 580/2 = 290m, namely, the distance between the two amplifiers is 290m. VI. Remarks on leaky cable installation The leaky cable must not touch any metal. Generally, a leaky cable must be installed at a spot 5m away from concrete walls and at least 10m away from metal walls. In addition, a leaky cable must be installed near to the coverage area. You cannot necessarily consider the line-of-sight propagation, because the signals leaking from the cable will fill the space nearby. This section introduces the coverage solutions to tunnels in different length. In actual networking, the following coverage solutions may be used: Micro base station (or repeater) + a single antenna Micro base station (or repeater) + distributed antenna system Micro base station (or repeater) + leaky cable Before deciding which coverage solution should be adopted, you must consider the followings: Is the GSM signal near the tunnel entrance strong enough? Is there any available transmission link near the tunnel? Generally, if the existed signal level near the tunnel entrance (including nearby mountains) is lower than -80 dBm, the micro base station is recommended. If it is greater than -80 dBm, the micro base station or the repeater is recommended. If problems concerning transmission are present, the repeater is recommended. When using the repeater, you must consider that certain isolation is required between repeaters. I. Coverage solution to short tunnels Generally, the tunnels shorter than 100m are defined as short tunnels. When planning the coverage for these tunnels, you must consider the coverage areas near the tunnels. If several tunnels are close to each other, you can install a base station or a repeater between the tunnels. If adopting a micro base station, you must adopt the bi-directional antenna. If the antenna gain is 5 dBi, you should install the antenna at the tunnel entrance so as to ensure coverage. When designing tunnel coverage solutions, you must fully consider that fact that cars and trains move at a high speed, so how to ensure normal handover after the cars or trains steering into the tunnels is of vital importance. If the repeater is used as the GSM signal source and the signals outside the tunnel and the signals within the tunnel belong to the same cell, no handover problem will occur. If the micro cell is used as the GSM signal source and the signals outside the tunnels and the signals within the tunnel belong to different cells, the signals in the outside cell will drop dramatically when the train steers into the tunnel. In this case, handover failure may occur and call drop will be resulted in. To solve this problem, you can consider adopting the following methods: Adopt the bi-directional antenna for the tunnel coverage, because it can provide enough overlapping area for handover. Enable special handover algorithms, such as fast level fall handover algorithm. In this case, a mobile station can hand over to another cell when the signal level falls fast. Select the directional antenna with small front-to-back ratio. II. Coverage solution to middle-length tunnels This section introduces several typical coverage solutions to railway tunnels. The followings are a series of assumptions: The Huawei BTS3001C (the maximum output power is 8W) is used as the GSM signal source. The repeater with 1 amplified carrier and a maximum output power of 2W is considered. The lowest receiving level is designed to -85 dBm, and the coverage probability is 90% (with a protection margin of 8 dB). For railway tunnel coverage, because the train will affect signal transmission, if the antenna is installed at the tunnel

entrance, the protection margin must be increased by 10 dB. If the antenna is installed in the tunnel, the protection margin must be increased by 5dB. The dedicated directional antenna with the specification of DB771S50NSY, the horizontal half power angle of 60, and the antenna gain of 8 dBi is used at the tunnel entrance. The bi-directional antenna with the specification of K738446 and antenna gain of 5 dBi is used within the tunnel. According to these assumptions, if a micro base station (39 dBm) is used as the GSM signal source, the coverage distance is 400m when the antenna with a gain of 8 dBi is installed at the tunnel entrance, and the coverage distance is 480m when the bi-directional antenna with a gain of 5 dBi is installed in the tunnel. If a repeater (33 dBm) is used as the GSM signal source, the coverage distance is 250m when the antenna with a gain of 8 dBi is installed at the tunnel entrance, and the coverage distance is 360m when the bi-directional antenna with a gain of 5 dBi is installed in the tunnel. Therefore, for the tunnels shorter than 500m, you can use the combination of a micro base station and a single antenna (or a repeater) for the tunnel coverage. For curve tunnels, you can install a bi-directional antaean in the tunnel. According to on-site survey on the cross-section, the available antenna size, and the tunnel length, you can use the antenna with a higher gain to coverage the tunnels a little longer than 500m. III. Coverage solution to long tunnels For the tunnels longer than 500m, you need to use the distributed antenna system or the leaky cable for the coverage. The followings introduce the coverage realized by the combination of a micro base station and a leaky cable (or a repeater). Hereunder is a series of assumptions: The Huawei BTS3001C (the maximum output power is 8W) is used as the GSM signal source. The repeater with 1 amplified carrier and a maximum output power of 2W is considered. The lowest receiving level is designed to -85 dBm, and the coverage probability is 90% (with a protection margin of 8 dB). The leaky cable with the specification of SLWY-50-22 and the radial loss of 5dB/100 m is used. The coupler loss may be 77 dB when the 90% of signals are received. According to these assumptions, if a micro base station (39 dBm) is used as the GSM signal source, the coverage distance is 800m when only the leaky cable but no amplifier is used. If a repeater (33 dBm) is used as the GSM signal source, the coverage distance is 680m when only the leaky cable but no amplifier is used. The coverage distance will be larger if leaky cables with smaller loss are used. For the coverage of still longer tunnels, you must use amplifiers to amplify signals. That is, you can use either the distributed antenna system or the leaky cable for the coverage solution. In terms of technical indexes and installation space, coverage solution based on leaky cable is recommended. In terms of cost, you must select a suitable coverage solution base on actual conditions.

2.10 Design of Indoor Coverage System 2.10.1 Characteristics of Indoor coverage With the rapid development of economy, hotels, commercial centers, large-scale flats, underground railways, and underground parking areas are arising by batch. As a result, mobile stations are more frequently used in indoor environment. Thus, they require better indoor mobile communication services. Generally, the following problems are present in indoor mobile communication systems: From the perspective of coverage, the complex indoor structure and the shielding and absorbing effect of the buildings cause great radio wave transmission loss. As a result, the signals in some areas may be weak, especially the signals in the first and second floors in the underground are quite weak, or even there are dead zones. In this case, mobile stations cannot necessarily access the network, there is no paging response, or subscribers are not in service areas. From the perspective of network quality, the factors interfering radio frequencies are probably present in upper floors of high buildings. In this case, the signals in service areas are not stable, so ping pong effect may occur and conversation quality cannot be ensured. From the perspective of network capacity, if mobile stations are frequently used in buildings, such as large-scale shopping centers, conference halls, some areas in the network cannot meet the requirements of subscribers. In this case, congestion may occur on radio channels. If the indoor coverage is realized by a repeater, an outdoor high-power base station, or a great-height outdoor antenna, the following problems may arise: The penetration loss is great, so the indoor coverage is not satisfying. In this case, a large number of dead zones are present, so subscribers cannot keep conversation. If a repeater is adopted, the level of original signals must be high. In addition, the cross-modulation and intra-frequency interference is great, so the conversation quality is weak and call drop ratio is high. The network capacity is limited and the call connected ratio is low. The frequency planning is hard to be performed for the network and the network capacity is hard to be expanded. The detached island effect is great. The value-added services are restricted for group subscribers due to network quality and capacity. To enhance the grade of service, we must improve indoor coverage immediately. When designing an indoor coverage system, we must make the following considerations: A new indoor coverage system cannot affect the existing network. Enough capacity of an indoor system must be ensured. An indoor system must support new services and functions. The chapter analyzes the design of indoor coverage system from the following aspects: Indoor Antenna System Design Capacity Analysis and Design Frequency Planning Traffic Control 2.10.2 Indoor Antenna System Design I. RF design (1) Link budget In an indoor coverage system, the link budget formula is as follows: Here, Pant = antenna input interface power RFmarg = Raleigh fading margin IFmarg = access margin (depends on environment) LNFmarg = design margin (generally, it is 5 dB) BL = body loss (900MHz: 5 dB; 1800/1900MHz: 3 dB) MSsens = mobile station sensitivity Lpath = path loss Here, Lpath = 20logd (m) + 30logf (MHz) - 28 dB + . When there no barrier loss, Lp = 20logd (m) + 30logf (MHz) - 28 dB. The indicates the loss caused by other bariers. Because the penetration in cylindrical tunnels is great, leaky cables are applied in cylindrical tunnels. When performing link budget, you must consider the followings: In an indoor multi-antenna system, the link budget for test points must be in accordance with the link with the minimum loss. Under the same converge area, the EIRP at each antenna interface must be consistent, and the error must be controlled within 10 dB. The uplink signal must be designed to a high value, so antenna diversity is unnecessary. To reduce uplink interference, you must properly set the maximum transit power of the mobile station and enable the power control function of the mobile station. A certain margin must be leaved for error correction and future system expansion. The estimation and design for interference margin vary with the distance from the outer wall. The smaller the distance, the larger the interference margin is designed. (2) Service quality design (interference degree) The actual interference level changes with network layout and frequency re-planning, and it can be tested according to actual situations. (3) Service quality design (interference margin design) The greater the interference in an area, the greater the interference margin (IFmarg) is designed, and the higher the level

the mobile station needs to receive. When a dual-band system is adopted in the indoor environment, the indexes of mobile station receiving level are designed according to the 1800 MHz system standard. II. Antenna system design When designing an indoor distribution system, you must first survey the building type, structure, interference environment, customers, and then analyze the path loss. Finally, decide the antenna type, number, and installation location according to the requirements of an area. This section introduces the antenna design guidelines in some typical cases. (1) Single cell If the indoor coverage is realized by a signal cell, each antenna must be designed to ensure that signals are evenly distributed in the coverage area. Generally, it is recommended to install the antenna in a zigzag way. (2) Multi-cells If the indoor coverage is realized by multiple cells, a certain distance must be leaved between intra-frequency reuse cells. Each antenna must also be designed to ensure that signals are evenly distributed in the coverage area of each cell. If the frequencies are reused frequently, it is recommended to install the antennas on different layers at the same position of the layer.(3) Closed building A closed building has the characteristics, such as thick outer wall, great signal attenuation, and little leakage. In addition, it is little affected by outdoor intra-frequency cells. Therefore, the frequency between floors is easily to be planned. For the antenna design guideline in a closed environment. (4) Half-open environment For a half-open building, the outer wall is made of glasses, so the signal attenuation is small. Within the building are the open conference halls, which are greatly affected by outdoor intra-frequency cells, so you must plan dedicated frequencies or adopt the multi-antenna system with low output power to limit the edges of the indoor cells within the building. (5) Frame-structure building For a frame-structure building, the number of internal walls is large and they are thick. Therefore, if the antenna is installed at the corridors, the antenna output power must be high so that good coverage can be ensured. In this case, signals will leak at the windows near the corridor, so you must plan dedicated frequencies for the building. The distance of the intra-frequency cells between floors is larger than that in other environments. For the antenna design guideline in frame-structure building. (6) Office building The indoor environment of office buildings requires high grade of services, so its coverage is realized by several directional and omni antennas. You can control the coverage area easily through properly designing the effective radiation power in the cell. For design guideline, see (7) Parking area Parking area has no special requirement on capacity and mobile station receiving level (-90 dBm). For a parking area, the elevator, escalator, entrance and exit are key coverage areas. (8) Supermarket Supermarkets have certain requirements on coverage and capacity. The antennas can be designed according to actual structure of the buildings. III. Survey The antenna design and installation is finally decided according to the survey, which includes the following aspects: Detailed coverage area and signal quality and converge requirements Distribution of the signals in coverage areas Composition of buildings in coverage areas Signal access location and mode Installation position According to the survey, you must output the final topological structure diagram, antenna cabling scheme, and list of materials. Generally, the omni antenna is installed at the ceiling center. The small directional antenna is hung on the inner side of the outer wall, with the radiation directed to indoor part. In this case, the effect of the antenna against the outdoor system can be reduced to the minimum, so the C/I requirement of the outdoor system can be met. If possible, you can test the coverage and adjust the antenna design according to the test result, or re-plan the frequency to ensure the voice quality. Generally, if the radiation power at the antenna interface is 10 dBm, the 2 dBi small indoor omni antenna is used. In this case, if the walls are densely distributed in the areas within 30 meters from the antenna, the coverage level can reach -70 dBm. 2.10.3 Capacity Analysis and Design Before analyzing the capacity, you must define the type of the indoor service area. Definition of indoor service area type Indoor service area type Characteristic Example Public service area The traffic is hard to be predicted. The population number varies with day and night. The capacity characteristics, such as uneven distribution and bursting must be considered. The grade of service and the traffic of each subscriber are similar to that for outdoor cells. Airport, shopping center, and play ground. Commercial service area The existed fixed networks are frequently used.

The traffic is relatively fixed and easy to be calculated. High service quality is required. Generally, the grade of service (GoS) is 1%, the traffic of each subscriber can reach 0.1 Erl. Office building and commercial hotels of high ranks. There are two cell organization modes of distributed antenna system, namely, single cell and multiple vertical split cells. The single cell is applied to the indoor environment which requires smell coverage area. The multiple vertical split cells are applied to the indoor environment with dense traffic. Likewise, a single cell will split when the capacity does not meet the requirement, with vertical splitting the splitting mode. Generally, a cell will vertically split into at least three cells so that frequency reuse can be ensured. Four layers must be present between two intra-frequency cells . To avoid interference between frequencies, you must take measures to prevent a cell from horizontally splitting. 2.10.4 Frequency Planning If the dedicated frequency is adopted in indoors, the frequency planning is relatively simple. Generally, the frequency reuse mode in business service areas is almost the same as that in pubic service areas. If the frequency resource is adequate, you must try best to use dedicated band for indoor coverage. If not, you can search the available channel numbers with relatively small interference through scanning the channel numbers. If the frequency resources of the 900 MHz cannot meet requirements, you can introduce the 1800 MHz frequency; namely, use a dual-band system. If you steal frequency resource for indoor system due to no available dedicated frequency, you must pay attention to the followings: Do not select the frequencies of the neighbor cells. Ensure that the BCCH frequencies are not interfered. The interference on the TCH frequencies can be reduced with the help of radio frequency hopping. Search the available uplink frequencies through using BTS equipments to scanning the uplink channel numbers. Search the available downlink frequencies through using drive test equipment to scanning the downlink channel numbers. If the hierarchical cell structure is not used, the cell with the strongest signal level is the service cell, and the interference from neighbor frequencies can be neglected. If the hierarchical cell structure is used, the cell with the strongest signal level cannot necessarily be the service cell, so you must take measures to reduce the interference from neighbor frequencies. Because the environment is urban areas is quite complicated, especially the effect of the antenna back lobe is present, the service areas for high buildings are greatly interfered, so you must carefully plan the frequencies for the indoor coverage of high buildings. Generally, for the lower floors, you can plan the frequencies according to general method. For the higher floors where the interference is strong, you can use dedicated channel numbers. However, the final frequency planning must be based on practical tests. 2.10.5 Traffic Control The indoor coverage system for high buildings can be taken as a system independent of outdoor systems if the coverage of the indoor system is good. Theoretically, you can only consider the cell selection and reselection, handover relationship, and the compact on outdoor networks at the entrances and exits of the building. However, the actual conditions are quite complicated. For example, the signals outside of the building may be strong. In this case, if a mobile station is powered off, it may camp on an outside cell. Therefore, when optimizing the network, you must set the one-way adjacent cell and two-way adjacent cell according to actual conditions and set the parameters, such as CRO and TO to a proper value according to the regularity of cell selection and reselection. In addition, you can set the indoor cells to a high priority so as to reserve more traffic. And the inter-layer handover threshold and hysteresis are defined and adjusted according to actual conditions.

2.9 Dual-Band Network Design 2.9.1 Necessity for Constructing Dual-Band Network The earlier GSM mobile communication network is constructed on the 900 MHz band. With rapid growth of subscribers, the network capacity also grows rapidly. Therefore, the lack of frequency resources and radio channels is a major concern for mobile telecommunications. Many methods can be used to expand the capacity of a GSM system, including: Adding macro cell base stations to the system Reducing distance between base stations Adopting aggressive frequency reuse technologies (such as MRP and 13) Adding micro cells to the system Applying half rate to the system However, all these methods cannot thoroughly solve the problems concerning network capacity. As a result, the GSM 1800MHz network is introduced (uplink: 18051880 MHz; downlink: 17101785 MHz). And the network integrating GSM 900MHz and GSM 1800MHz can meet the growth of network capacity. The application of GSM 1800MHz can bring the following advantages: It does not occupy the bands of GSM 900MHz and has a communication bandwidth of 75M. Therefore, it breaks the bottleneck of GSM 900MHz in terms of frequency resources. The system networking, project implementation, network planning, and network maintenance of a GSM 1800MHz network are almost the same with that of a GSM 900MHz network. The GSM 1800MHz and GSM 900 MHz can share a base station, so a GSM 1800MHz network can be finished in a short time, which is quite helpful for network expansion. Dual-band mobile phones now accounts for a major part of the total, so a GSM 1800MHz network can provide services to the dual-band subscribers. In this case, the capacity pressure on GSM 900MHz can be greatly eased. 2.9.2 GSM 1800MHz Coverage Solutions I. Propagaiton features of GSM 1800MHz The propagation features of the electromagnetic waves of 900 MHz and 1800 MHz are different in the following aspects: The propagation loss in free space The propagation loss of the 1800 MHz signals is 6 dB greater than that of the 900 MHz signals in free space. Penetration loss The penetration loss of the 900 MHz signals is greater than that of the 1800 MHz signals, but their difference is slight. Diffraction loss The longer the waves, the smaller the diffraction loss is. The diffraction ability of the 1800 MHz signals is poorer than that of the 900 MHz signals. II. Dual-Band Networking Mode There are three dual-band networking modes, namely, independent MSC networking, co-MSC/independent BSC networking, and co-BSC networking, among which the former two are called independent networking, and the later is called hybrid networking. III. Coverage requirements on GSM 1800 MHz Outdoor coverage The outdoor coverage can be easily realized when the distance between base stations are not large. In necessary cases, you can add a GSM 1800MHz base station at the address of the original GSM base station. And in some places, you should consider add a new base station. Indoor coverage To ensure that the indoor coverage of GSM 1800MHz is good, you must control the distance between the base stations installed in urban areas within 1000 meters. In China, however, the buildings in most cities are constructed by concretes and metals, so the penetration loss is great. As result, the distance between base stations in urban areas of China ranges from 500 to 800 meters. IV. Coverage mode of GSM 1800MHz (1) Scattered coverage in hotspot areas At the early network construction stage, the GSM 1800MHz base stations are scattered in hotspot areas. When the capacity configured for a GSM 1800 MHz base station is small, you must solve the problems, such as SDCCH congestion, TCH congestion, and frequent update between GSM 1800MHz and GSM 900MHz. The cost in early construction stage is small. Scattered coverage of GSM 1800MHz in hotspot areas The coverage of the dual-band network of this mode is based on the original GSM 900MHz network. The GSM 1800MHz base station is constructed in some hotspot areas, so the seamless coverage of GSM 1800MHz is not available in this case. If a dual-band mobile phone starts conversation in an area covered by GSM 1800MHz, after leaving this coverage area, it hands over to the GSM 900MHz cell where it originally was. And the handover of this type is called the inter-band handover caused by coverage. If a dual-band mobile phone starts the conversation in an area covered by GSM 900MHz, but because the traffic in this area is great, the mobile phone will hand over to an area covered by GSM 1800MHz. And the handover of this type is called the inter-band handover caused by capacity. The scattered coverage in hotspot areas only relieves capacity problems in a short term. Moreover, frequent inter-band frequency handover increase the signaling load, which results in the loss of system capacity. (2) Seamless coverage in hotspot areas If the coverage of this mode is available; the GSM 1800 MHz network can share greater traffic for GSM 900MHz network and expand the system capacity. In addition, it is cost-effective. (3) Perfect seamless coverage If a GSM 1800MHz network adopts the coverage of this type, the advantages are as follows:

The seamless coverage area within a city can be realized. The GSM 1800MHz network can share the traffic load for GSM 900MHz network as much as possible. The system capacity can be greatly expanded. The ratio of the handover between layers is small. The quality of the network is quite satisfying. The frequencies can be planned by patch. The carriers can be expanded step by step. However, there are still disadvantages. They are as follows: The number of base stations is large. The work load of network planning and optimization is huge. The investment is large. The base station addresses cannot be decided once. Perfect coverage of GSM 1800MHz in hotspot areas If a GSM 1800MHz network adopts this coverage mode, it can be easily expanded to meet future coverage. Compared with the scattered coverage in hotspot areas, the perfect seamless coverage is characterized by great intensity and large area. Therefore, the ratio of inter-band handover under this coverage mode is far smaller than that under scattered coverage mode. As a result, the signaling load is reduced greatly. Therefore, this coverage mode is an ideal coverage solution. If a GSM 1800MHz network adopts this coverage mode, it does not necessarily attach to the GSM 900MHz network, instead, it can form an independent network. 2.9.3 Location Area Division for Dual-Band Network The location area division for dual-band network is suggested as follows: If 1800 MHz cells and 900 MHz cells are under the control of two MSCs respectively, their location areas are different. Therefore, you must set related parameters to maintain the mobile stations stay in the 1800 MHz cells where the traffic is absorbed. In this case, the times for the mobile station to handover between the two bands and reselect cells will decrease. Meanwhile, when designing signaling channels, you must fully consider the load resulted from location update. If 1800 MHz cells and 900 MHz cells share a MSC, at the early network construction stage, they are suggested to use the same location area without affecting the network capacity. If the restriction on paging capacity is present, two location areas must be divided for them either in terms of band or geographic location, as shown in Figure 5-17 and Figure 5-18. Location area division based on geographic location If the location area is divided in terms of band, because frequent location updates are resulted from inter-band handover and cell reselection, you must set related parameters to maintain the mobile stations stay in the 1800 MHz cells where the traffic is absorbed. In this case, the times for the mobile station to handover between the two bands and reselect cells will decrease. Meanwhile, when designing signaling channels, you must fully consider the load resulted from location update. If the location is divided in terms of geographic location, the frequent location updates resulted from inter-band handover and cell reselection can be avoided. However, you need to modify the related data of the original 900 MHz network. In addition, at the edges of the location areas, because the location updates caused by intra-band and inter-band handover and cell reselection is present simultaneously, the signaling flow is huge at these edges. As a result, you must carefully design the edges of the location areas. 2.9.4 Traffic Guidance and Control Strategies of Dual-Band Network I. Traffic guide of Dual-Band Network At early construction stage of a dual-band network, traffic control concerns how to use the new GSM 1800MHz network to share the traffic flow for the GSM 900MHz network. According to the original intension of the GSM 1800MHz network, the traffic can be guided according to the following principles: 1) At the early construction stage of a dual-band network, the GSM 1800MHz network is mainly applied to absorb the traffic of the dual-band subscribers so that the load of the GSM 900MHz network can be eased. 2) When the number of dual-band subscriber grows large, each band must share the traffic so that the inter-band handover times can be reduced. Process of traffic guide and control strategies. The various traffic control strategies can be realized through adjusting parameter settings as follows: 1) In idle mode, when the mobile station is selecting cells after it is switched on and reselecting cells when it is in standby state, you can set higher priorities for the 1800 MHz cells by designing the system parameters, including CBQ, CBA, CRO, TO, and PT. In this case, subscribers are more likely to stay in the 1800 MHz cells. As a result, their calls are established on the 1800 MHz cells. 2) If traffic congestion is present in the service cell when a mobile station is setting up a call, the system applies directed retry function to assign the mobile station to a TCH in the neighbor cells of the service cell and adjust the traffic allocation. 3) In conversation state, the traffic must be guided to the 1800 MHz cells in lower layers and levels according to the hierarchy cell structure. In addition, you can use Huawei dual-band handover algorithms so that the traffic load can be allocated more properly. II. Hierarchical Cell Structure According to the hierarchy cell structure of the dual-band network, a GSM system covering an area can be divided into four layers, as listed in Table 5-25. To enable the network to develop smoothly and flexibly, you can divide each of the four layers into multiple levels, and then you can set multiple priority classes (for example, 16 classes) for the levels in each layer. This method is not only helpful for adjusting the traffic load in part of the areas. Therefore, the hierarchical cell structure enhances the cooperation of the current network equipments and meets the devolvement of the future network. In terms of traffic priority, the cells in lower layers and levels has higher priorities, namely, the cells in lower layers has the priority to absorb the traffic.

2.9.5 Dual-Band Networking Engineering Implementation During network construction and optimization, a dual-band network is debugged and commissioned step by step, which facilitates debugging the new GSM 1800 MHz networks and the original GSM 900MHz networks that has been expanded respectively. After each signal network is perfectly adjusted, you must debug each base station in the dual-band network. And you cannot stop the debugging until the whole dual-band network is finished. The construction of a whole dual-band network can be divided into three stages, namely, deployment preparation, signal 1800 MHz network debugging, and 900/1800 MHz dual-band network debugging. I. Deployment perparation The coordination of dual-band technologies and network planning must be finished in this stage. The coordination of dualband network technologies is a prerequisite for the cooperation of different carriers networks. Network planning is the first step in network construction and involves many tasks, including base station address survey, channel number planning, electromagnetic background test, coverage test, and so on. The followings must be emphasized in dual-band cooperation: The customers, the third party (the designing institute or the original equipment supplier), and the new equipment supplier must be cooperate with each other well. If one party meets a tough problem during the debugging of the dual-band network, the engineers from a third party must be present in site and help position the problem. The 900 MHz BSC and 1800 MHz BSC must synchronize their clocks with the same source clock. Meanwhile, the clock of each base station in the existing GSM 900 MHz network can lock the clock of the BSC, and the clock of the BSC can lock the clock of the MSC. When modifying the parameters related to dual-band handover (such as modifying the parameters at the BSC side or MSC side), you must notify that to other two parties. If the some problems concerning the cooperation of dual-band network arise, a meeting must be organized, in which each party discuss with each other on how to solve the problems. Both the designing institute or the original equipment supplier and the new equipment supplier must provide the project implementation plan, cutover plan, and precise cell information. II. Signal 1800 MHz network debugging At this stage, you need not modify any data of the original GSM 900 MHz network, but it is still the GSM 900MHz network provides services to subscribers. The GSM 1800MHz network does not absorb traffic. When debugging the GSM 1800MHz network, you must adjust the following parameter so that the existing subscribers can be least affected. In the system message data list, set the parameter CBA to NO to prevent general subscribers from selecting and reselecting the 1800 MHz network. Theoretically, general subscribers can hand over to the 1800 MHz network, but in fact, the handover relationship is not configured with the dual-band network, so the general subscribers cannot enter the 1800 MHz network. After that, you use the testing mobile phone which can access the network by force to perform dialing test in each cell. If all goes normal, you can test coverage, handover, power control, interference, downlink and uplink balance, power adjustment, the coverage of the GSM 900MHz network, and the coverage of the GSM 1800MHz network. Through these tests, you can not only discover the problems present in the networks, but also adjust the channel number, power, tilt angle, and parameter setting and optimize the parameter configuration for the GSM 1800MHz cell. In this case, the coverage and operation of the single GSM 1800MHz network can be ensured. III. 900/1800 MHz dual-band network debugging After finishing the single GSM 1800MHz network debugging, you must change back the parameter CBA to YES and configure the data for dual-band handover. The tests involved into the dual-band network debugging include: Cell reselection and location update Traffic load control Continuous conversation mode Automatic dialing and scan Dual-band network handover Calls and handovers initiated on major streets Calls and handovers initiated on edge areas Dialing tests in poor coverage areas and indoor environment Dialing tests in outdoor and indoor environments in key areas The data includes neighbor cell relationship, layer and level setting, handover type, and handover threshold. In this case, when a mobile phone is in idle mode, it can reselect an 1800MHz cell, the GSM 1800MHz network can absorb the traffic of dual-band subscribers, and the subscribers can perform handover between 1800MHz cells and 900MHz cells. At the beginning, you can control the GSM 1800MHz network to absorb only a small part of the traffic of subscribers through adjusting the setting of CRO and handover threshold. When good cell reselection and dual-band handover are ensured, you can take measures to enable the GSM 1800MHz network to absorb more traffic, with the prerequisites that no congestion is present among cells and the network quality is ensured. At this stage, the following parameters must be configured: The parameters related to cell selection and reselection, including CBA, CBQ, ACCMIN, CRH, and CRO. The parameters related to neighbor cell relationship, layer and level setting, and handover. The configuration of the previous parameters must be based on the prerequisite that the cooperation of the GSM 1800MHz cells and GSM 900MHz cells is normal. After the GSM 900MHz and 1800MHz dual-band network is enabled, you must do the followings: 1) Find out the problems present in the network through multiple means, such as drive test. 2) Adjust and optimize the network according to the problems so that the dual-band network can run stably. 3) Check if the dual-band network runs stably, analyze all the traffic statistic data, and check the network operation

indexes. 4) Make sure the problems and take effective measures according to the analysis of the drive test and traffic statistics. 5) Adjust the related parameters and retest the network till the network indexes meet the design requirements. Thus, a dual-band network is constructed and optimized according to the three stages as introduced in this section.

2.8 Location Area Design 2.8.1 Definition of Location Area In GSM protocols, a mobile communication network is divided into multiple service areas according to the codes of location areas. Thus the network pages a mobile subscriber through paging its location area. Location area is the basic unit of paging areas in a GSM system. That is, the paging message of a subscriber is sent in all cells of a location area. A location area contains one or more BSCs, but it belongs to one MSC only. Figure 5-13 shows the division of service areas. Figure 5-1 Division of service areas 2.8.2 Division of location areas The coverage area of each GSM PLMN is divided into multiple location areas, in which an MS is positioned. The size of a location area, namely, the area covered by a location area code (LAC), plays a key role in a GSM system. Therefore, this section mainly introduces the principle for planning location areas. I. Dividing the location area according to the distribution and behaviour of mobile subscribers The distribution of location areas in cities and suburbs is different. Generally, suburban areas or counties occupy independent location areas. In cities, the distribution of location areas is similar to a concentric circle. (The areas in the internal circle can be divided into several location areas due to the requirements on capacity. The concentric circle can be divided into several fragments.) In addition, if two or more location areas are present simultaneously in a big city of great traffic, the landforms, such as mountains and rivers within this city can be used as edges of the location areas. In this case, the overlapped depth between the cells of the two location areas can be reduced. If no such landforms available within this city, the areas (such as streets and shopping centers) with great traffic cannot be used as edges of the location areas. Generally, the edge of a location area is oblique instead of parallel or perpendicular to streets. In the intersected areas of urban areas and suburban areas, to avoid frequent location update, you must design the edges of location areas near the outer base stations instead of the base stations just installed at the intersections. II. Calculating coverage area and capacity of a location area If the coverage area of a location area is too small, the mobile station will perform frequent location update. In this case, the signaling flow in the system will increase. If the coverage of a location area is too larger, however, the network will send a paging message in multiple cells until the mobile station is paged. In this case, the PCH will be overloaded and the signaling flow at the Abis interface will increase. The calculation of location areas varies with the paging strategies designed by different carriers. During early network construction stage, the traffic is not great, so a location area can accommodate more TRXs. However, it is still necessary for you to monitor the PCH load and traffic growth. When the traffic grows great, you can enhance the PCH capacity by adding a BCCH to the system, but the number of voice channels can be added is reduced by one accordingly. Generally, the capacity of a location area is calculated as follows: The number of paging blocks sent in each second the number of paging messages sent in each paging block = the maximum paging times in each second. As a result, the number of paging times in each hour, the traffic allowed in each location area, and the number of carriers supported in each location area can be deducted. The followings introduce the items present in the previous paragraph respectively. (1) The number of paging blocks sent in each second 1 frame = 4.61ms, 1 multiframe = 51 frames = 0.2354s; suppose the number of access grant blocks is AGB, the number of blocks, the number of paging blocks sent in each second is calculated by the following formulas: For non-combined BCCH, the number of paging blocks sent in each second = (9 AGB)/0.2345 (paging block/second). For combined BCCH, the number of paging blocks sent in each second = (3 AGB)/0.2345 (paging block/second). For non-combined BCCH, the AGB is 2 according to Huawei BSC. Therefore, the number of paging blocks sent in each second is 29.7 (paging block/second); when AGB is 0, it is 38.2 (paging block/second). For combined-BCCH, the AGB is 1, so the number of paging blocks sent in each second is 8.5 (paging blocks/second); when the AGB is 0, it is 12.7 (paging block/second). According to the previous analysis, the larger the number of AGB, the smaller the number of the paging blocks sent in each second and the smaller the paging capacity is. Moreover, the paging capacity of the combined BCCH is far less than that of the non-combined BCCH. & Note: Generally, a combined-BCCH cell and a non-combined-BCCH cell are not configured simultaneously within a LAC, and the number of AGB must be consistent with a location area; otherwise the paging capacity of the location area will decrease (now the paging capacity of the cell with the least paging capacity is the paging capacity of the location area). However, if the capacity of a location area is small and the LAC resource is scarce, you can configure the combinedBCCH cell and non-combined-BCCH cell within a LAC to enlarge the number of traffic channels for O1 and S111 base stations. (2) The number of paging messages sent in each paging block (X) According to section 9.1.22 of GSM0408 protocols, each paging block has 23 bytes, and can send 2 IMSI pages, or 2 TMSI and 1 IMSI pages, or 4 TMSI pages. According to the paging strategies of Huawei MSC, if the IMSI paging mechanism is adopted, the number of paging messages sent in each paging blocks is 2 (paging times/paging block); if the TMSI paging mechanism is adopted, it is 4 (paging times/paging block) (3) The maximum paging times in each second (P) The maximum paging times in each second is calculated by the following two formulas: For non-combined BCCH, P = (9 AGB)/0.2345 (paging block/second) (paging times/paging block). For combined BCCH, P = (3 AGB)/0.2345 (paging block/second) (paging times/paging blocks). If the IMSI paging mechanism is adopted, for non-combined BCCH, when AGB = 2, P = 59.47 (paging times/second); when AGB = 0, P = 76.47 (paging times/second). For combined-BCCH, when AGB = 1, P = 16.99 (paging times/second);

when AGB = 0, P = 25.49 (paging times/second). If the TMSI paging mechanism is adopted, for combined BCCH, when AGB = 2, P = 118.95 (paging times/second); when AGB = 0, P = 152.93 (paging times/second). For combined BCCH, when AGB = 1, P = 33.98 (paging times/second); when AGB = 0, P = 50.98 (paging times/second). According to the previous analysis, the paging capacity under IMSI paging mechanism is half of that under TMSI paging mechanism. (4) The traffic allowed in each location area (T) When designing the capacity for a location area, you must be attention that the paging capacity of a location area cannot break its limit. For network expansion, you can collect the times of the busy-hour paging orders delivered by BSC from OMC, and then convert the times into the number of paging orders sent in each second. If no traffic measurement data is available, such as in the case of new network construction, you can calculate the traffic allowed in each location area by assuming a traffic model. For example, if the average conversation duration is 60s and the ratio of the times for the mobile station to be successfully paged to the times of total pages is 30%, the 60s of conversation duration matches 1/60 calls (in the unit of second. Erl), and 30% of calls is generated by the called parties. Therefore, the successful calls of the 30% mobile stations are 0.05 times (that is, 1/60*30% = 0.005), in the unit of second. Erl. If the 75% of the mobile stations respond to the first page and 25% respond to the second page, the mobile stations responding to the third page can be neglected. (It is just an assumption, which may be different from actual conditions.). Therefore, 1.25 pages are needed if a mobile station is successfully called each time (25% of the pages must be resent). In this case, the following equation is present: Y = 0.005*(1+25%) = 0.00625 paging times/(second. Erl) Suppose the congestion on paging channels will occur when the paging capacity is 50% greater than maximum theoretical paging capacity, the original paging messages are still present even the paging queue is full in the BTS. In this case, the paging capacity in one second is P*50%. Therefore, the traffic allowed in each location area can be calculated according to the formula T = P*50%/Y. (5) The number of carriers supported by each location area (NTRX) Each TRX had 7.2 TCHs in average, so the maximum traffic of each TRX in each hour is 7.2. Therefore, the number of carriers supported in each location area can be calculated according to NTRX = T/7.2 and the specific values are listed in All the previous assumptions do not include the effect of the point-to-point short messages against on paging capacity. If the conversation times of a subscriber are equal to the number of the short messages to be sent, and if the sent ratio and received ratio are consistent with each other, the paging times/second. Erl will double in busy hour and the capacity of the location area will reduce by half. Therefore, some common short messages must be sent on CBCH. 2.8.3 Others This section introduces some other information about location area design. The capacity of a location area is closely related to paging mechanism, and is directly related to the combinations of AGB and BCCH. When the combinations of AGB and BCCH are inconsistent with each other in a location area, the capacity of the location area is determined by the cell with the smallest capacity. Therefore, the combinations of AGB and BCCH must be designed to be consistent in location area planning. If the number of point-to-point messages grows large immediately, the number of paging messages will increase, but the number of supported subscribers will decrease. In this case, you must control and protect the flows in the system. Because the traffic density varies with location areas, it is recommended that the combined-BCCH cells, non-combinedBCCH cells, and multi-BCCH cells form a location area respectively. When a cell with BCCH/SDCCH combination, the location area can be as large as possible when the paging capacity of the BTS does not reach the limit. However, because all paging messages will be broadcasted in all cells within a location area, the cell with BCCH/SDCCH combination is the bottleneck of the location area. The LAC is a kind of number resource. Therefore, you must cooperate with carries to plan location areas.

2.7 Design of Base Station Address 2.7.1 Address design Generally, in GSM radio network planning, the base station address is designed according to the following requirements: The address must serve to the reasonable cell structure. Based on the comprehensive analysis of the electronic maps and paper maps, you can select several candidate addresses from the perspective of coverage, anti-interference, and traffic balance. In actual conditions, carriers are required to discuss the selected addresses with owners. Generally, the addresses must be located within the area 1/4 radius of the cellular base station. During the early construction stage when only a few base stations are installed, the base stations must be located in the center of the areas where subscribers are densely populated. For the selection of the base station addresses, the priority must be given to the important areas, such as government offices, airports, train stations, news center, and great hotels so that good conversation quality can be assured. Furthermore, overlapped coverage must be avoided in these areas. For other coverage areas, the base station addresses are designed according to standard cellular structures. For the suburban areas, highroads, and countryside areas, the design of base station addresses has little relation with cellular structures. Without affecting the layout of base stations, you can select the telecommunication buildings and post offices as the base station addresses so that the facilities, such as the equipment room, power supplier, and iron tower can be fully utilized. The direction of antenna major lobe must be in accordance with the area where the traffic intensity is great. In this case, the signal strength of the area can be enhanced, so does the conversation quality. Meanwhile, the direction of the antenna major lobe must be deviated from intra-frequency cells so that the interference can be controlled efficiently. In urban areas, it is recommended that the overlapped depth of the antennas in adjacent sectors cannot excel 10%. In suburban areas and small towns, the overlapped depth between coverage areas cannot be too great, and the included angle between sectors must be equal to or higher than 90. In addition, for actual design, you must consider the mapping relationship between carrier number and cells. Generally, more carriers are configured for the cells with high intensity. The azimuth angle must be designed according to not only the traffic distribution in the areas around the base stations, but also the performance of the overall network. Generally, it is recommended to adopt the same azimuth angle for the 3-sector base stations in urban areas so that the complicated network planning can be avoided after cell splitting in the future. Moreover, the antenna major lobe cannot directly point to the straight streets in populated urban areas, because it can cause cross-coverage. In the areas connecting urban and suburban areas, and along transport arteries, you must adjust the azimuth angle according to coverage target. Generally, the base station address is not considered on the high mountains in urban and suburban areas. To be more specifically, the high mountains are those over 200 to 300 meters higher than above the sea-level). Otherwise, not only strong interference and weak signals may be present within the coverage area, but also the base stations are hard to be installed and maintained on high mountains. New base stations must be installed at the spots where the traffic is convenient, the power supply is available, and the environment is secure. In contrast, new base stations must not be installed at the spots near the radio transmit stations with high power, radar stations, and other equipments which produces great interference, because the interference-field intensity cannot be greater than that defined by the base station. The base station addresses must be far away from forests or woods to keep the receiving signals from fading. The transmission between base station controllers must be considered in the design of the base station address. When selecting a base station address from high buildings in urban areas, you can divide the network into several layers with the help of the building height. The antenna height of major base stations must be a little higher than the average height of buildings. Generally, the antenna height of the base stations in populated urban areas ranges from 25 to 30 meters. In suburban areas (or the antenna points to suburban areas), the antenna height ranges from 40 to 50 meters. Along highroads or in mountain areas, the base station address is selected based on full survey of the landforms. For example, the address can be determined in an open area or at the turns of the highroads. When selecting a base station address from the cities characterized by mountains and hills and from the areas where high buildings are constructed with metals, you must consider the effect of time dispersion. In this case, the base station address must near reflected objectives. When the base station is far away from reflected objectives, you must adjust the directional antenna to the reverse direction of the reflected objectives. Caution: Time dispersion mainly refers to the intra-frequency interference arising from the time difference between the master signal and other multipath signal arriving at the receiver in terms of space transmission. According to the requirements in GSM protocols, the equalizer of the receiver must carry the time window with 16s (equivalent to 4.8 km). The multipath signal with time difference greater than 16 s is regarded as intra-interference signal. In this case, you must consider whether the level difference between the master signal and multipath signal meet the carrier-to-interference ratio (C/I), namely, the master signal is 12 dB greater than the multipath signal at least. 2.7.2 Project Parameter Decision After finishing designing a base station address, you must decide the project parameters needed for the base station installation. These parameters include: Latitude and longitude of the location of base station antenna Antenna height Directions of the antenna Antenna gain Azimuth angle Tilt angle

Feeder specifications Transmit power for each cell of the base station And the previous parameters are decided through field survey. Before beginning field survey, you must familiarize yourself with the overall project and collect the materials and tools relative to the project. They are: All types of project documents Background information Information about the existing network Local map Configuration lists required in contracts Relative tools (including digital camera, GPS, compass, ruler, and laptop computer) & Note: Make sure that all the materials and tools are usable before setting out. The following items must be emphasized before field survey: The GPS must be placed in an open land to position the latitude and longitude of a base station Make a detailed record of the surroundings around the base station, such as the distribution of the buildings, facilities with strong interference, and the equipments sharing the same base station address. It is better to record the previous information with a camera. Prevent the compass from magnetizing, because the magnetization will cause great deviation during the measurement. Field survey determines the layout of the base station addresses ultimately. The field survey for the base station includes optical measurement, spectrum measurement, and base station address survey. They are specified as follows: Optical measurement Measure if a barrier that may reflect electrical waves around the base station, such as high buildings. Spectrum measurement Check if the electromagnetic environments around the base stations are normal at present or in recent days. Base station address survey Check the installation conditions of antenna and equipments, power supply, and natural environment. The following sections introduce the design for antenna installation. I. Environment for antenna installation The environment for antenna installation can be divided into the environment near the antenna and the base station. For the environment near the antenna, you must consider the isolation between antennas and the effect of iron tower and buildings against the antenna. For the environment near the base station, you must consider the effect the high buildings within 500 meters against the base station. However, if the height of the buildings is properly used, you can obtain the intended coverage area. If a directional antenna is installed on the wall, the radiation direction of the antenna is perfectly perpendicular to the wall. If its azimuth angle must be adjusted, the included angle between the radiation direction and the wall is required to be greater than 75. In this case, if the front-to-back ratio of the antenna is greater than 20 dB, the effect of the signals reflected by the wall in reverse direction against the signals in the radiation direction is quite slight. When installing an antenna, you must consider whether large shadows will be present within the coverage area of the antenna. The shadows are produced mainly because the base station is surrounded by some huge barriers, such as high buildings and great mountains. Therefore, the antenna must be installed in the areas with no such barriers. When a directional antenna is installed on building roofs, you must prevent the building edges from barring the radiation of antenna beams. Therefore, to reduce or ease the shadow, you can install the antenna near building edges. Because the building roofs are diversified and complicated, if an antenna must be installed far away from building edges, the antenna must be installed higher than the roof. In this case, the wind load of the antenna must be considered. II. Antenna isolation in GSM system To avoid inter-modulation interference, you must leave certain isolation between the receiver and transmitter of the GSM base station, namely, Tx - Rx: 30 dB and Tx -Tx: 30 dB. They are applicable to the situation that a GSM 900MHz base station and a GSM 1800MHz base station share the same address. The antenna isolation depends on the radiation diagram, space distance, and gain of the antenna. Generally, the attenuation introduced by the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) is not considered. The antenna isolation is calculated as follows: For vertical arrangement, Lv = 28 + 40lg (k/) (dB) For horizontal arrangement, Lv =22 + 20lg (d/) (G1+G2) (S1 + S2) (dB) Here, Lv indicates the required isolation. indicates the length of carrier waves. k indicates the vertical isolation distance. d indicates the horizontal isolation distance. G1 indicates the gains of the transmitter antenna in the maximum radiation direction, in the unit of dBi. G2 indicates the gains of the receiver antenna in the maximum radiation direction, in the unit of dBi. S1 indicates the levels of the side lobes of the transmitter antenna in the 90 direction, in the unit of dBp, and it is a negative value relative to the main beam. S2 indicates the levels of the side lobes of the receiver antenna in the 90 direction, in the unit of dBp, and it is a negative value relative to the main beam. The followings introduce the requirements on the antenna mount in GSM 900MHz and GSM 1800MHz. (1) Directional antenna In one system, the following requirements must be met in terms of isolation: The horizontal distance between two antennas in the same sector must be equal to or greater than 0.4m.

The horizontal distance between two antennas in different sectors must be equal to or greater than 0.5m. In different systems, the following requirements must be met when two antennas are in the same sector and direction: The horizontal distance between the two antennas must be equal to or greater than 1m. The vertical distance between the two antennas must be equal to or greater than 0.5m. The distance between the bottom of the antennas and the enclosing wall of building roof must be equal to or greater than 0.5m. The included angle between the line connecting the bottom of the antenna to the antenna-facing roof and the horizontal direction must be greater than 15. The bands of the two systems are close to each other, the interference against each other will easily occur. Mostly, the transmission of CDMA2000 1X base station will interfere with the reception of GSM 900MHz base station. The disclosure signals of the CDMA band falling into the channels of the GSM base station receivers will enhance the noise level of the GSM receivers. In this case, the GSM uplinks become weak, which will reduce the coverage area of the base station and worsen the quality of the network. If there is not enough isolation between base stations or the transmitting filter interfering base stations does not provide enough out-of-band attenuation, the signals falling into the band of the interfered base station receiver may strong, which will increase the noise level of the receiver. The deterioration of the system performance is closely related to the strength of interference signals, and the strength of interference signals is determined by the factors, such as the performance of the transmitting elements of the interfering base stations, the performance of the receiving elements of the interfered base stations, the distance between bands, and the distance between antennas. The signal from the amplifier of the interfering base station is first sent to the transmitting filter, and then it attenuate due to the isolation between the two base stations. Finally, it is received by the receiver of the interfered base station. The power of the spurious interference arriving at the antenna end of the interfered base station can be expressed by the following equation: Here, Ib indicates the interference level received at the antenna receiving end of the interfered base station, in the unit of dBm. PTX-AMP indicates the output power at the amplifier of the interfering base station, in the unit of dBm. Pattenuation indicates the out-of-band suppression attenuation at the transmitting filer. Iisolation indicates the isolation between the antennas of the two base stations, in the unit of dB. WBinterfered indicates the bandwidth of the signals at the interfered base station. WBinterfering indicates the measurable bandwidth of the interfering signals, or it can be understood as the bandwidth defined by spurious radiation. Regulate the previous equation and the following equation can be obtained: Suppose the transmit channel number of CDMA2000 1X is the last one on its working band, that is, 878.49MHz, the spurious signal level on the band of 890-915MHz must be equal to or lower than -13dBm/100kHz. If you intend to put this assumption into practice, you can filter and combine each transmitted channel number by using band-limited filter with a bandwidth of only 1.23MHz. The band-limited filter of this type has great out-of-band attenuation, which can reach 56 dB at 890 MHz and 80 dB at 909 MHz. Here you must consider the worst situation, that is, the frequencies at the highest end of the CDMA system interfere with the frequencies at the lowest end of the GSM system. In this case, Iisolation = (-13dBm/100kHz) - 56 - Ib + 10lg (200kHz/100kHz) Here Ib indicates the highest interference level (dBm) allowed by the receiving end of the interfered base station. If the receiving sensitivity of the interfered base station is ensured, the outside interference level are required to be 10 dB lower than the back noise of the receiver. In this case, the sensitivity affected only accounts to about 0.5 dB. The back noise of the GSM receiver is the sum of the noise intensity, bandwidth, and noise coefficient. If the noise coefficient is 8 dB, the back noise is -174+noise coefficient+10lg (200000) = -174+8+53 = -113 (dBm). Therefore, the maximum spurious interference allowed is -113-10 = -123 (dBm/200kHz). As a result, the spurious interferences from other systems falling at the GSM receivers are required to be smaller than -123 (dBm/200kHz); otherwise, the spurious interferences will seriously affect the GSM system. Therefore, Iisolation = (-13dBm/100kHz) 56 - Ib + 10lg (200kHz/100kHz) = -13- 56- (-123dBm/200kHz) + 10lg (200kHz/100kHz) = 57 dBm/200kHz. That is, according to the assumption, the isolation between a CDMA antenna and GSM 900MHz antenna must be at least 57dB regardless whether they share the address or not. Many ways can be used to reduce the interference. For example, you can adopt the following ways: Design enough distance between antennas Filter the out-of-band interference of the transmitter Add different equipments to the filter, such as receiver, duplexer, and divider. According to the requirements in TIA/EIA-97 protocols, the spurious interference from the CDMA antenna interface falling within the GSM 900MHz receiving bands must be less than -13 dBm/100kHz. Therefore, the problems, such as mutual interference and co-address construction must be considered in the initial design. To be specific, you can filter and combine each transmitted channel number using a limited-band filter with the bandwidth of only 1.23 MHz. The band-limited filter of this type has great out-of-band attenuation, thus the space distance between the antennas of the CDMA system and GSM system must be shortened. In addition, to minimize the interference, you must keep suitable isolation between the antennas of the CDMA system and GSM system. The antenna isolation is calculated according to the following two formulas, which has been introduced earlier: For vertical arrangement, Lv = 28 + 40lg (k/) (dB) For horizontal arrangement, Lv =22 + 20lg (d/) (G1+G2) (S1 + S2) (dB) According to the two formulas, the requirements on the isolation between the antennas of CDMA system and GSM 900 MHz system are specified in the following three circumstances.

The antennas of the CDAM system and GSM 900MHz system do not share the same address, with the antennas horizontally opposite to each other, or the antennas of the two systems share the same address, with the antenna type of omni antenna. Suppose the effective gains of the antennas of the two systems in the maximum radiation direction are 10 dBi (with the feeder loss considered), and the interference signals are 890MHz, according to previous analysis, the isolation between the CDMA system and GSM system is required at least 57dB. Therefore, the following equation can be obtained according to the previous formula: 57 = 22 + 20lg (Dh/) (10 + 10) The antennas of the CDMA and GSM 900 MHz system share the same address (the antennas are installed on the same platform and horizontally separated), with the antenna type of directional antenna. Suppose that the two antennas are horizontally placed, and their tilt angle is 65, and that the effective gains of the two antennas in the radiation direction are 15dBi. And if the side lobe of the 65antenna is -18dB in the horizontal plane, the effective gain of the antenna in this direction is (15 18) dBi = -3 dBi. Therefore, 57=222+0lg (Dh/) - {(15+15) + [(-18) + (-18)]}. According to the previous equation, the horizontal distance between the two antennas are d = 9.5m. The antennas of the CDMA and GSM 900 MHz antennas share the same address (the antennas are not installed on the same platforms of the iron tower and vertically separated), with the antenna types of directional antenna and omni antenna. In this case, the equation 57=28 + 40 lg (k/) is present. According to this equation, the vertical distance between the two antennas is d = 1.8m. & Note: The previous descriptions are just theoretical detections. In actual networking, other types of antennas may be installed at the same address. In this case, some equipment indexes must be considered, among which the important ones are spurious radiation, the interference power of the interfering signals to interfered signals, and the antenna isolation. IV. Installation distance between antennas Diversity technology is the most anti-fading effective. When two signals are irrelevant to each other, the horizontal distance between the diversity antennas must be 0.11 times that of the valid antenna height. The higher place the antenna is installed, the larger the horizontal distance between diversity antennas is. When the distance between diversity antennas is equal to or greater than 6m, however, the antenna is hard to be installed on an iron tower. In addition, the distance required by vertical diversity antennas is 5 to 6 times that of the horizontal diversity antennas when the same coverage is ensured. Therefore, the vertical diversity antenna is seldom used in actual projects, but antennas are often vertically installed to meet isolation requirement, especially omni antennas are vertically installed. In addition, for highroad coverage, the line connecting two receiving antennas must be perpendicular to the highroad. If space diversity is used, the diversity distance is the perpendicular. Isolation requirement: Tx-Tx, Tx - Rx: 30 dB The installation for GSM 900MHz and GSM 1800MHz antennas is flexible, but no matter what specifications are used, they must meet the requirements on isolation and distance. In addition, in actual projects, barriers are present between antennas. For example, a tower is always present between two omni antennas, so you must shorten the horizontal distance between them. V. Design of base station parameters in residential areas A large number of residential areas are distributed in urban areas, so this section introduces the design of base station parameters in these areas. (1) Features of residential areas Building intensity Great-intensity residential areas: the distance between buildings is within 10 meters. Middle-intensity residential areas: the distance between buildings ranges from 10 to 20 meters. Low-intensity residential areas: the distance between buildings is larger than 20 meters. Construction material The walls of the residential areas are constructed with concretes. The walls of the residential areas are constructed with bricks and concretes. The walls of the residential areas are constructed with hollow blocks. Notes: The thickness of the buildings varies with the regions and climates. Three specifications are available, namely, 24m, 47m, and 49m. Generally, the walls are thicker in southern parts and thinner in northern parts. (2) Antenna installation in residential areas The address where the antenna should be installed in residential areas is hard to be determined. Generally, when adopting micro cells, you can install the antenna within a residential area near to the target coverage area. In this case, the antenna can be installed in the following spots: On outer walls (not roofs) of a building On pillars Install a micro cell in underground garages If the antenna is installed at a wall corner, the major lobe of the antenna can radiate the space between buildings. Generally, the major lobe of the antenna cannot face the walls of the buildings nearby directly. If frequencies are reusable among these micro cells, the directions of antennas must be consistent with each other. In addition, you can also use the cell splitter to enable a cell to coverage the areas in two directions. In this case, however, the frequency utilization ratio may decrease and extra power splitter will introduce loss of 3 dB.

For the residential areas with regular arrangement, the directional antennas whose horizontal beam width is 90 to 120 and vertical beam width is greater than 30 are recommended. Under certain conditions, the micro cell antenna can be installed on the pillars within a residential area. For the residential areas with irregular arrangement, the antenna can be installed on the walls of a building, so the reflected waves can coverage the walls of opposite buildings. In this case, the antennas whose horizontal beam width is greater than 120and vertical beam width is greater than 30are recommended. (3) Antenna selection When the walls of a building is selected as an installed position, you can use the build-in antenna of the micro cell directly, or other antennas with small size. According to coverage features of residential areas, when selecting the specifications for the micro cell antennas to be used, you must consider the following factors: Antenna gain Horizontal beam width Vertical beam width Polarization mode Visual effect (antenna size, shape, and weight) The antenna gain is recommended less than 9 dBi for micro cell antennas. Because the coverage area of a micro cell antenna is small and the installed position is near to the coverage area, the antenna gain can be adjusted to a smaller value, especially if the gain of an antenna is greater than 10dBi, its size is large, which may cause opposition from residents. The selection of the horizontal and vertical beam width for an antenna is related to radio environment. If a micro cell antenna is installed on a wall, the antenna height is lower than the average height of surrounded buildings. In this case, if both the indoor coverage of lower floors and higher floors can be assured, you must select the antennas with greater vertical beam width. According to the height of buildings, you can select the directional antennas whose vertical beam width ranges from 35to 80. The selection of the horizontal beam width of the micro cell antenna and the installed position of the antenna are related to coverage target. In this case, you can select the directional antennas whose beam width ranges from 60 to 150, or you can choose omni antennas or bi-directional antennas (8-shaped antennas). Both vertical polarization antennas and dual polarization antennas can be selected for a micro cell. The coverage area of a micro cell in urban areas is small, so the diversity reception is unnecessary. In this case, a vertical polarization antenna can meet the coverage requirements in residential areas. As for the dual polarization antenna, however, it is expensive and large in size, so it is not recommended. The visual effect must be emphasized for the micro cell antennas installed in residential areas. They must be small and moderate. In addition, they must be light for installation convenience. If the contract between the color of the antenna and that of the surrounded buildings is great, you must color the antenna with the same color of the buildings. In some cases, you should consider adopting dual-band antennas. When selecting a small-sized antenna, you should consider whether its maximum output power can bear the micro cell output power. When adopting short jumpers instead of 7/8 feeders, you should consider whether the antenna connector (N-shaped male/female, 7/16 DIN header) matches the jumper connector.

2.6 Base Station Number Decision After traffic and coverage analysis, according to the selected base station equipments and parameters, you can obtain the coverage areas of various base stations through link budget. The coverage area helps you calculate the number of base stations required by each area. Then you decide the base station configuration according to traffic distribution. Finally, you must perform emulation using relative planning software so that coverage, capacity, carrier-to-interference ratio can be assured and interference can be avoided. 2.6.1 Characteristics of 3-sector base stations in urban areas Cellular communication is named because the coverage areas of base stations are extruded through small cellularshaped blocks. In urban areas, for the purpose of capacity expansion and radio frequency optimization, mainly 3-sector base stations are used. This section explains some basic concepts of a 3-sector base station. This is a standard 3-sector cellular layout. Thedistance between two 3-sector base stations is R + r, here R = 2r. However, R is mainly used in cell radius estimation because the direction along R is the direction of the major lobe of the directional antenna. In the design for cellular layout, however, r indicates the cell radius. In a cellular cell, if the included angle between a direction and the direction of the major lobe of the antenna, the coverage distance along this direction is r = R/2, and the path loss along this direction is about 10dB less than that along the direction of the major lobe of the antenna (for the deduction, it is introduced in the following), namely, the equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) along this direction can be about 10dB less than that along the major lobe. According to this feature, in the cellular layout of this kind, you can adopt the directional antenna whose azimuth beam width ranges from 60 to 65 degrees because their horizontal lobe gain diagram also meets this feature. If R is the cell radius, the cell area is S = 0.6495 R R. Sometimes the r is used as cell radius, so the cell area is S = 2 5981rr. Therefore, when calculating the cell area, you must make clear whether r or R is used. The followings deduce the EIRP required along R direction and r direction. As shown in Figure 5-3, the coverage distance along r direction is half of that along R direction, namely, r = R/2. To keep even coverage, you must make the field intensity at the edges of the cell equal, namely, RxlvelB = RxlevelC. Suppose that the EIPR transmitted from cell A is EIRPR and EIRPr along R direction and r direction respectively, and the city HATA mode is used for path loss, the path loss from point A and B is expressed as equation (1) : EIRPR RXLEVB = 69.55 + 21.66lgf - 13.82lgh1 + (44.9 - 6.55lgh1) lgR (1) And the path loss from pint A to point C is expressed as equation (2): EIRPr- RXLEVc = 69.55 + 21.66lgf - 13.82lgh1 = (44.9 - 6.55lgh1) lgr (2) Subtract (2) from (1), the equation (3) is expressed as follows: EIRPR - EIRPr =(44.9 - 6.55lgh1)(lgR lgr) =(44.9 - 6.55lgh1) lg (R/r) (3) Introduce R = 2r, the equation (4) is obtained as follows: EIRPR - EIRPr = 0.3 (44.9 - 6.55lgh1) (4) When the antenna height h1 increases from 5m to 100m, the values of (EIRPR - EIRPr) decrease from 12 to 9.5, which can be roughly treated as 10dB. 5.1.2 References for Design of Base Station Parameters When estimating the number of base stations, you must perform uplink and downlink budget. Based on the coverage division and propagation environment survey, you can obtain some project parameters and apply them to link budget. 2.6.3 Uplink and Downlink Balance After base station parameters are specified, you can perform link budget to estimate the coverage area of the base station. In addition, you must consider the sensitivity of the base station equipments at this time. In a mobile communication system, radio links are divided into two directions, namely, uplink and downlink. For an excellent system, you must perform a good power budget so that the balance is present between uplink signals and downlink signals. Otherwise, the conversation quality is good for one party but bad for the other party at the edges of the cell. If uplink signals are too bad, the mobile station cannot start a call even if signals are present. However, the because the fading for uplink channels and downlink channels is not totally the same and the other factors such as the difference of the performances of receivers are present, the calculated uplink and downlink are not absolute, but the there a fluctuation of 2 to 3 dB. The measurement report on uplinks and downlinks at the Abis interface can tell whether the uplink and downlink reach a balance. In addition, dialing tests in actual network can also tell whether the balance between uplinks and downlinks are reached. If the conversation quality on downlinks uplinks becomes poor simultaneously, it means that the downlinks and uplinks are balance. & Note: Some carriers provide the traffic statistics on uplink and downlink measurement, which can also tell whether the balance between uplinks and downlinks are reached. I. Link budget model When calculating uplink and downlink balance, you must consider the functions of the tower amplifier first. In a base station receiving system, the thermal movement of the active parts and radio frequency (RF) conductors cause thermal noise, which reduces the signal-to-noise ratio of the receiving system. In this case, the receiving sensitivity of the base station is restricted and the conversation quality is reduced. To improve the receiving performance of the base station, you can add a low-noise amplifier under the receiving antenna. And this is the principle of the tower amplifier. The contributions of the tower amplifier to uplinks and downlinks are judged according to the performance of its low-noise amplifier and gain. In fact, it is the tower amplifier that reduces the noise coefficient of the base station receiving system. The power amplifier can improve the coefficients for the uplink receiving system (start from the output end of the receiving antenna). However, if the functions of the tower amplifier are quantified by this, the uplink improved value can be represented by the NFDelta (it is the reduced value of the noise coefficient of the receiving system) after a tower amplifier is added to the system. (1) No tower amplifier When there is no tower amplifier, the sensitivity of the equipments at the duplexer input interface at the top of the base station cabinet are taken as a reference.

For downlink signals, if, Mobile station receiver output power = Poutm Base station diversity received gain = Gdb Base station receiving level = Pinb Base station side noise deterioration = Pbn Antenna receiving gain = antenna transmitting gain (according to reciprocity theorem) The following equation can be obtained: Pinb + Mf = Poutm + Gam Ld + Gab + Gdb Lfb Pbn Generally, Pmn is almost equal to Pbn, so the following equation can be obtained: Poutb = Poutm + Gdb + (Pinm Pinb) + Lcb (2) With tower amplifier If a tower amplifier is present, the improved value of the noise coefficients of the uplink receiving system can be represented by NFDelta, so the equation Poutb = Poutm + Gdb + (Pinm Pinb) + Lcb can be developed into the following equation: Poutb = Poutm + Gdb + (Pinm - Pinb) + Lcb + NFDelta The two equations, Poutb = Poutm + Gdb + (Pinm Pinb) + Lcb and Poutb = Poutm + Gdb + (Pinm - Pinb) + Lcb + NFDelta are used to calculate base station transmit power when the uplinks and downlinks are balance. Here, Pinb is the base station receiving sensitivity Pinm is the mobile station receiving sensitivity Gdb (antenna diversity receiving gain) is 3.5dB According to the requirements in protocols GSM05.05, the mobile station transmit power and the reference receiving sensitivity of the mobile station and base station are specified in Table 5-10. At present, however, the sensitivities in actual systems are greater than the reference values listed in the following table. II. Bass station sensitivity This section further introduces the base station sensitivity and the functions of the tower amplifier. Receiver sensitivity refers to the minimum signal level needed to by the input end of the receiver when the certain bit error rate (BER) is met. The receiver sensitivity detects the performances of the following components: Receiver analog RF circuit Intermediate frequency circuit and demodulation Decoder circuit Three parameters are used to measure the receiver bit error performance. They are frame expurgation rate (FER), residual bit error rate (RBER), and bit error rate (BER). When a fault is detected in a frame, this frame is defined as deleted one. Here, FER indicates the ratio of the deleted frames to the total received frames. For full rate voice channels, the FER is present when the 3-bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC) detects errors or bad error indication (BFI) is caused. For signaling channels, the FER is present when the fire code (FIRE) or other packet codes detect errors. The FER is not defined in data services. FBER indicates the BER that are not announced as deleted frames, namely, it is the ratio of the bit errors in the frame detected as good to the total number of bits transmitted in good frames. BER indicates the ratio of the received error bits to all transmitted bits. Because BER occurs at random, the statistical measurement is mainly applied to measure receiver error rate. That is, sample multiple measuring points on each channel and when the number of measuring points is certain, if the BER of each measurement is within the required limit, the BER of this channel meets the BER as required. However, the number of sampled measured points and the limit value of the BER must meet the following conditions: For each independent sampled measuring point, the times for it to pass a bad unit must be as fewer as possible, that is, the probability must be smaller than 2%. For each independent sampled measuring point, the times for it to pass a good unit must be as more as possible, that is, the probability must be greater than 99.7%. The measurement has vivid statistical features. The measuring time must be reduced to the minimum. As a result, you can measure the receiver sensitivity through measuring whether the receiver BER has reached the requirement while entering sensitivity level to the receiver. Enter the reference sensitivity level to the receiver in various propagation environments. For the data produced after receiver demodulation and channel decoding, the indexes for FER, RBER. The requirements on BCCH, AGCH, PCH, and SACCH are the same as that on SDCCH. The value of a in this table depends on the channels. It is 1 for base stations, and 1 to 1.6 for mobile stations. III. Contributions of tower amplifier to base staiton sensitivity In terms of technical principles, the tower amplifier reduces the noise coefficients of the base station receiving system, which is helpful for improving the sensitivity of the base station receiving system. In an actual system, to improve the receiving performance of the base station, you can add a low-noise amplifier near the feeder of the receiving antenna. In a mobile communication system, the receiver sensitivity = noise spectrum intensity (dBm/Hz) + bandwidth (dBHz) + noise coefficient (dB) + C/I (dB). Here the noise spectrum intensity, bandwidth, and noise coefficient are system thermal noise. C/I is the signal-to-noise ratio required at the Um interface. In a narrow band system, C/I indicates the modulation performance required by the receiver baseband, and it is a positive number. In a spreading communication system, because spread spectrum gain is present, the value of C/I is far beyond the requirement of the modulation performance of the receiver baseband, and it is a negative number.

When there are n* cascaded receivers, the equivalent noise coefficient is as follows: Here, Gn indicates the receivers gain at each level (including the loss at each level). Fn indicates the noise coefficient of the receivers at each level. The noise coefficient of the passive device is equal to its loss, and the gain of the passive device is the reciprocal of the loss. According to the previous equation, the noise coefficient of the cascading system is determined by the receivers at the first level. It must be pointed out that the linear values of the parameters must be applied in the previous equation, so the F is a linear value, which must be converted into a logarithm. Moreover, according to this equation, the noise the cascaded receivers are determined by the noise coefficient (F1) of the receivers at the first level. However, when the tower amplifier stops working, because the loss is present on duplexer and bypass connectors, about 2dB of redundant loss is introduced on reverse link. According to the equation , the following two assumptions conclude the regularity of the effect of tower amplifier on the base station system. (1) Assumption 1 Hereunder is a series of assumptions: F1 = 2.5 dB (1.7783), noise coefficient of the tower amplifier F2 = 4.5 dB (2.8184), noise coefficient of the base station G = 2 (15.849) dB, tower amplifier gain Loss of the feeder and other passive devices = 3 dB (2) Gain of the feeder and other passive devices G0 = 3 dB (1/2) Noise coefficient of the feeder and other passive devices F0 = 1/G0 When the tower amplifier is not added, the noise coefficient of the base station receiving system with the antenna output end as reference point is as follows: F = F0 + (F21)/G0 = 10*log (2 + (2.81841)/0.5) =7.5dB When the tower amplifier is added, the noise coefficient of the base station receiving system with the antenna output end as reference point is as follows: F = F1 + (F0 1)/G + (F2 1)/(G*G0) = 10*log(1.7783 + (2 1)/15.849 + (2.8184 1)/(15.849 0.5) = 3.2dB At this time, the added tower amplifier improves the noise coefficient, and FDelta is 4.3dB, that is, the uplink is improved by 4.3 dB. (2) Assumption 2 Hereunder is a series of assumptions: F1 = 2.2 dB (1.6596), noise coefficient of the tower amplifier F2 =2.3 dB (1.6982), noise coefficient of the base station G = 12 (15.849) dB, tower amplifier gain Loss of the feeder and other passive devices = 3 dB (2) Gain of the feeder and other passive devices G0 = 3 dB (1/2) Noise coefficient of the feeder and other passive devices F0 = 1/G0 When the tower amplifier is not added, the noise coefficient of the base station receiving system with the antenna output end as reference point is as follows: F = F0 + (F2 1)/G0 = 10*log (2 + (1.6982 1)/0.5) = 5.3dB When the tower amplifier is added, the noise coefficient of the base station receiving system with the antenna output end as reference point is as follows: F = F1 + (F0 1)/G + (F2 1)/(G*G0) = 10*log(1.6596+(2 1)/15.849 + (1.6982 1)/(15.849 0.5)) = 2.6dB At this time, the added tower amplifier improves the noise coefficient, and FDelta is 2.7 dB, that is, the uplink is improved by 2.7 dB. According to the previous calculation, the following conclusions can be obtained: The tower amplifier improves the noise coefficient of the base station receiving system, thus improving the receiving sensitivity of the base station. The tower amplifier improves uplink signals effectively, which is also helpful for improving the receiving sensitivity of the base station. The gain of the antenna amplifier reduces the effect of the components installed behind the tower amplifier against noise coefficient. When the feeder is long and the loss of the feeder is great, if the tower amplifier is added, the noise coefficient of the base station receiving system and the uplink signals will be greatly improved. The smaller the noise coefficient of the tower amplifier is, if the tower amplifier is added, the greater the noise coefficient of the base station receiving system is improved. However, if the noise coefficient of the tower amplifier is too great, it may cause the noise coefficient of the base station receiving system to deteriorate. When the receiving sensitivity of the base station is great and the feeder is short, the tower amplifier makes a little improvement on the noise coefficient of the base station. If the tower amplifier improves the base station sensitivity, the base station is more sensitive to outside interference. 2.6.4 Cell Coverage Estimation In actual project planning, the effective coverage area of a base station largely depends on the following factors: Effective base station transmit power Working band (900MHz or 1800MHz) to be used Antenna type and location Power budget Radio propagation environment Carriers; coverage requirements

Based on the indexes of QoS for the mobile network and the actual applications, this section introduces the coverage area of the base station in different environments theoretically. If the following assumptions are present: The antenna height of GSM 900MHz and GSM 1800MHz base stations are 30 meters. The sensitivities of the GSM900 MHz 2W (33 dBm) mobile station and GSM 1800MHz 1W (30 dBm) mobile station are -102 dBm and -100 dBm respectively. The mobile station height is 1.5 meters and the gain is 0 dB. When the combiner and divider unit (CDU) is used, the sensitivities of the 900MHz base station and 1800MHz base station are -110dBm and -108dBm respectively. The CDU loss is 5.5dB, and the SCU loss is 6.8dB. The gain of the 65-degree directional antenna is 13dBd for the 900 MHz mobile station and 16dBd for the 1800MHz mobile station. The feeder is 50m in length. For 900MHz signals, the feeder loss is 4.03dBm/100m. For 1800MHz signals, the feeder loss is 5.87dB/100m. In general cities, select Okumura propagation model. No tower amplifier and the downlinks are restricted according to the calculation of the uplink and downlink balance. According to the previous assumptions, the calculated results are as follows: (1) Outdoor coverage radius of the 900 MHz base station in urban areas The minimum received level of the mobile station dBm. The coverage radius is calculated according to the maximum TRX transmit power. The maximum TRX transmit power for the 900 MHz base station W (46 dBm). The EIRP of the base station antenna is: (dBm) Here, LCOM indicates the combiner loss Lbf indicates the feeder loss Gab indicates the antenna gain of the base station And the allowed maximum propagation loss is: (dB) According to the Okumura propagation model introduces earlier, Here, indicates the antenna height of the base station. indicates the antenna height of the mobile station. f = 900 MHz. (dB) According to the previous known number, the outdoor coverage radius of the 900 MHz base station in urban areas can be obtained, that is, d = 2.8km. (2) Coverage radius of the 900 MHz base station in urban buildings The minimum received level of the mobile station (dBm). (dB) Therefore, the coverage radius of the 900 MHz base station in urban buildings can be obtained, that is, d = 0.75km. If the previous assumptions are present, this indicates that the 900 MHz base station can cover the outdoor areas 2.8 km away, but for the subscribers on the first floor of the buildings 750 m away, the quality of the received signals is not satisfying. (3) Coverage radius of the 900 MHz base station in suburban areas The minimum received level of the mobile station (dBm). (dB) The Okumura propagation model in suburban areas must be modified as follows: Therefore, the coverage radius of the 900 MHz base station in urban areas can be obtained, that is, d = 5.4km, so it is obvious that the coverage radius of the base station with the same configuration is larger in suburban areas that in urban areas. (4) Outdoor coverage radius of the 1800 MHz base station in urban areas The minimum received level of the mobile station (dBm). Because the maximum transmit power of the 1800 MHz TRX is 40W (46dBm), the coverage radius is calculated based on this maximum transit power. (dBm) (dB) For the 1800 MHz base station, the Okumura propagation model is: In addition, f = 1800 MHz and (dB). According to the previous known number, the outdoor coverage radius of the 1800 MHz base station in urban areas can be obtained, that is, d = 1.7km. (5) Coverage radius of the 1800 MHz base stations in urban buildings The minimum received level of the mobile station (dBm). (dB) If the previous assumptions are present, this indicates that the 1800 MHz base station can cover the outdoor areas 1.7km away, but for the subscribers on the first floor of the buildings 500m away, the quality of the received signals is not satisfying. 2.6.5 Base Station Address Planning I. Overview When planning base station addresses, first you must estimate the number of the base stations needed in various coverage areas according to the coverage distance and the divisions of the coverage areas. For the convenience of prediction and emulation, you must plan an initial layout the base station addresses with the help of maps and the

estimated results. II. Planning methods The base station address can be planned based on standard girds, or it can be planned from a specific area. (1) Plan base station address based on standard grids First you set the base stations in the coverage areas according to the distance of the standard grids, and then adjust the address layout and project parameters according to the estimated coverage results to meet the coverage requirement. After that, continue the planning according to the following instructions: If a satisfying address layout is obtained, you must analyze the capacity of the base stations to be planned according to this layout, and determine the reasonable number of base stations. When designing the capacity, you must calculate the number of TRXs needs to be configured for each base station, and then analyze and adjust the configuration of the base station according to the number of the configured TRXs. The adjustment of the configuration of the base station is determined by subscriber distribution. If the number of base stations in some areas does not meet capacity requirement, another base stations must be added. (2) Plan base station address based on a specific area According to this method, you are required to start the planning from the areas where the subscribers are most densely distributed or the planning work is quite hard to be performed. As a result, you must fully survey the subscriber distribution, landforms, and ground objectives within the coverage area to position the key coverage area where the center base stations should be planned. And these center base stations function as ensuring the coverage and capacity in important areas. After the layout of these center base stations is determined, you can plan other base station addresses according to coverage and capacity target. And this is how the final layout of the base station addresses come from. After the overall solution is determined, the subsequent steps are performed according to the first planning method. & Note: The difference of the traffic intensity and the abnormality of the landforms and ground objectives result in irregularity of the radio coverage. Therefore, the distance between base stations varies. Generally, this distance is smaller in the areas where traffic intensity is great. In some hot areas, you can ensure the system capacity by using micro cells and distributed antennas to provide multi-layer coverage. For restrictions from frequency resources are present, you must consider avoiding interference while ensuring system capacity. There is no standard available for the layout of the base station addresses. A good planning solution is selected based on the integrated performance of the network. 2.6.6 Coverage Prediction The coverage prediction is to predict the coverage of the network to be constructed according to the selected base station addresses, designed base station types, suitable electronic maps, and network planning tools to judge whether the coverage meet the requirements of the subscribers. The coverage of a base station is determined by the following factors: Indexes of QoS Output power of transmitters Available sensitivity of receivers Direction and gain of antennas Working bands Propagation environment (such as landforms, city constructions) Application of diversity reception If the predicted results of the network coverage fail to meet the requirements, you can take the following adjusting measures: When there are subscribers distributing beyond the cell coverage area, but it is not economical for you to install a base station, you can use a repeater to ensure the requirement of those subscriber. When the signals are weak or blind zones are present within the coverage area, you can consider whether to use micro cells according to actual conditions. If a large blank area is present between neighbor cells, you can increase the antenna height and add base stations according to the principles of cell splitting. When the cell coverage area fails to meet the co-channel interference index, you can adjust the frequency configuration of the cell, adjust base station addresses, or adjust design of the parameters, such as antenna specification, antenna height, azimuth angle, tilt angle, and transmit power. & Note: When taking these adjusting measures, you must consider the mutual effect between base stations.

2.5 Traffic Analysis 2.5.1 Traffic Prediction and Cell Splitting I. Traffic prediction The network construction requires the consideration of economic feasibility and rationality. Therefore, a reasonable investment decision must be based on the prediction of the network capacity of the early and late stage. When predicting network capacity, you must consider the following factors: - Population distribution - Family income - Subscription ratio of fixed telephone - Development of national economy - City construction - Consumption policy After predicting the total network capacity, you must predict the density of subscriber distribution. Generally, base stations are constructed in urban areas, suburban areas, and transport arteries. Therefore, you can use the percentage of prediction method. At the early stage of construction, the subscribers in cities account for a larger percentage of the total predicted subscribers. With the development of the network construction, the percentage of the subscribers in suburban areas and transport arteries grows. The traffic of each subscriber is 0.025 Erl in urban areas and 0.020 Erl in suburban areas. The formula calculating traffic is: A = (n T) / 3600 Here, - n is the call times in busy hour - T is the duration of each call, in the unit of second. In this way, the number of voice channels needed for a base station can be obtained through predicting the traffic. & Note: When estimating the number of voice channels needed for a base station in the future, you must consider the effect caused by cell splitting. In a GSM system, you can use Erl model to calculate the traffic density that the network can bear. The call loss can be 2% or 5% depending on actual conditions. Because restrictions on cell coverage area and the width of the available frequencies are present, you must plan the cell capacity reasonably. If good voice quality is ensured, you must enhance the channel utilization ratio as much as possible. In actual networking, if the network quality is ensured at a certain level, two capacity solutions are available, namely, a few stations with high-level configuration and multiple stations with low-level configuration. Both the advantages and disadvantages of the two solutions are apparent, so which one should be used depending on the actual conditions of an area. For network construction, you can expand the capacity either through adding base stations or through expanding the base station capacity. The expansion strategies adopted must be in accordance with the traffic density in an area. For example, the strategies such as adding 1800 MHz base stations, expanding sector capacity, adding micro cells, or improving indoor coverage can be used to expand network capacity. II. Cell splitting Cell splitting is quite effective for the expansion of network capacity. An omni base station can split into multiple sectors, and a sector can split into multiple smaller cells. In other word, you must plan cell radius in accordance with the traffic density of an area. Cell splitting means more base station and greater cost are needed. Therefore, when planning a network, you must consider the following factors: - The rules and diagrams of frequency reuse are repeatable. - The original base stations can still work. - The transition cells must be reduced or avoided. - The cell can split without effect. Cell splitting is quite important in a network. The followings further describe the cell splitting based on 1-to-4 splitting. Cell splitting is used to split a congested cell into multiple smaller cells. Through setting the new cells whose radiuses are smaller than the original cells and placing them among the original cells, you can increase the number of channels in a unit area, thus increasing channel reuse times. In this case, system capacity is expanded. Through adjusting the project parameters relative to antenna feeders and reducing transmitter power, you can narrow the coverage area of a cell. Error! Reference source not found. shows that a cell splits into four smaller cells by half of its radius. Smaller cells are added without changing the frequency reuse mode. They are split proportional to the shape of the original cell clusters. In this case, the coverage of a service area depends on the smaller cells, which are 4 times outnumber of the original cells. To be more specifically, you can take a circle with the radius R as an example, the coverage area of the circle with the radius R is 4 times that of a circle with the radius R/2. After cell splitting, the number of cell clusters in the coverage area increases. Thus the number of channels in this coverage area increases and the system capacity is expanded accordingly. You can adjust the coverage area of the new cells through reducing the transmit power. For the transmit power of the new cells whose radiuses are half of that of the original cell, you can check the power Pr received at the new cell edge and at the original cell edge, and make them equal. However, you must ensure that the frequency reuse scheme of the new micro cells is the same as that of the original cell. As for Figure 5-1, - Pr [at the edge of the original cell] = Pt1R-n, and, - Pr [at the edge of the new cell] = Pt2 (R/2)-n

Here, Pt1 and Pt2 are the transmit power of the base stations of the original cell and the new cell, and n is path fading exponent. If make n = 4, make the received power at the edge of the new and original cell equal, the following equation can be obtained: Pt2 = Pt1/16 That is to say, if the micro cells are used to cover the original coverage area and the requirement of S/I is met, the transmit power must be reduced by 12 dB. Not all cells need splitting. In fact, it is quite demanding for carriers to find out a perfect cell splitting scheme. Therefore, many cells of different scales exist in a network simultaneously. As a result, the minimum distance among intra-frequency cells must be maintained, which further complicate frequency allocation. In addition, you must pay attention to the handover because success handover ensure the all subscribers to enjoy good quality of service regardless of moving speed. When two layers of cells are present within an area but their coverage scale is different, according to the formula Pt2 = Pt1/16, neither all new cells can simply apply the original transmit power, nor all original cells can simply apply the new transmit power. If all cells apply great transmit power, the channels used by smaller cells cannot be separated from the intra-frequency cells. If all cells apply lower transmit power, however, some big cells will be exclusive from the service areas. For the previous reason, the channels in the original cells can be divided into two groups. One group meets the reuse requirement of the smaller cells, and the other group meets the reuse requirement of the bigger cells. The bigger cells are applied to the communication of fast-moving subscribers, which requires a fewer handover times. The power of the two channel groups decides the progress of cell splitting. At the early stage of cell splitting, the channels in the low-power group are fewer. As the requirement grows, more channels are needed in low-power group. The cell splitting does not stop until all channels within this area are applied in the low-power group. In this case, all cells in this area have split into multiple smaller cells, and the radius of each cell is quite small. & Note: Commonly, you can restrict cell coverage area through adjusting the project parameters of the base station. 2.5.2 Voice Channel Allocation I. Voice channel decision The base station capacity refers to the number of channels that must be configured for a base station or a cell. The calculation of the base station capacity is divided into the calculation of the number of radio voice channels and the calculation of the number of radio control channels. According to the information of base stations and cells and the density distribution of subscribers, you can calculate the total number of the subscribers. Then according to the radio channel call loss ratio and traffic, you can obtain the number of voice channels that must be configured by checking Erl B table. Generally, you can decide the number of voice channels as follows: 1) According to the bandwidth and the reuse mode allowed by current GSM networks within the areas to be planned, you can obtain the maximum number of carriers that can be configured for a base station. 2) Each carrier has 8 channels. You can obtain the maximum number of voice channel numbers that can be configured for a base station by detracting the control channels from the 8 channels. 3) According to the number of voice channels and call loss ratio (generally 2% dense traffic areas and 5% for other areas), you can obtain the maximum traffic (Erl number) that the base station can bear through checking Erl B table. 4) Through dividing the Erl number by the average busy-hour traffic of subscribers, you can obtain the maximum number of subscribers that the base station can accommodate. 5) According to the data of subscriber density, you can obtain the coverage area of the base station. 6) After the areas are specified based on the subscriber density, according to the area of an area and the actual coverage area of the base station, you can calculate the number of needed base stations. 7) For important areas, you must consider back up stations and the cooperation between carriers. For example, an important county needs at least two base stations and three important carriers. 8) For the areas where burst traffic is possible, such as the play ground and seasonal tourism spots, you must prepare the equipments (such as carriers and micro cells) and frequency resources for future use. 9) The dynamic factors, such as roaming ratio, subscriber mobility, service development, industry competition, charging rate change, one-way charge, and economic growth, must be considered. 10) To configure a base station, you must consider the transmission at the Abis interface so that the capacity can be met while saving transmission. For example, the application and concatenation of the Abis interface 15:1 and 12:1 should be considered. 11) For indoor coverage and capacity, you can use micro cells and distributed antenna systems. For the coverage in countryside areas and highroads, you can use economical micro base stations. For the transmission in countryside areas and highroads, you can use HDSL because it is cost effective. 12) Prepare the some carriers, micro cells, and micro base stations for new coverage areas and future optimization. 13) In some special areas, you can use the base stations consisting of omni and directional cells, but you must consider the isolation between omni antennas and directional antennas. For traffic control, you can use the algorithm in terms of network layers. 14) For some highroads which require a little traffic by large coverage, you can use the two networking modes. They are: - (A micro base station with single carrier) + (0.5 + 0.5 cell with two set of directional antennas) - A micro base station with single carrier + 8-shaped antenna II. Relationship between carrier number and bearable traffic Erl traffic model can calculate the traffic that a network can bear. The call loss ratio can be 2% or 5% according to actual conditions. Table 5-7 describes the relationship between the number of carriers and the traffic that a network can bear according to Erl B table. According to Erl B table, the larger the number of carriers and the call loss ratio are, the greater the traffic that each TCH

bear, and the greater the TCH utilization ratio is (the channel utilization ratio is an important indicator of the quality of network planning and design). If the number of subscribers of a base station is small, you can consider delaying the construction. Because restrictions on the coverage area of a cell and the bandwidth of the available frequencies, you must plan a reasonable capacity for the cell. If good voice quality is ensured, you must take measures to enhance the channel utilization ratio as much as possible. For the construction of the dual-band network, you can use the frequencies with wider bands to enhance channel utilization ratio, which is helpful for traffic sharing. In actual applications, when the traffic on each TCH accounts for 80-90% of total given by Erl B table (the call loss ratio is 2%), the congestion ratio in this cell rise greatly. Therefore, we generally calculate the traffic that a network can bear by taking the 85% of the traffic given by Erl B table as a reference. III. Example The capacity of a local network needs to be expanded. According to the service development, population growth and mobile popularity, the subscribers in this area are expected to reach 100,000 in 2 years. If only the followings are considered: - Roaming factor (according to the development trend of traffic statistics) = 10%. - Mobile factor (the subscriber moves slightly within the local network instead of roaming) = 10%. - Dynamic factor (with burst traffic considered) = 15%. The network capacity = 100000 * (1 + 10% + 10% + 15%) = 135,000. However, because the congestion is present, we generally calculate the traffic that a network can bear by taking the 85% of the traffic given by Erl B table as a reference. As a result, the network capacity must be designed as follows: The network capacity = 135, 000/85% = 158,800, about 160,000. 2.5.3 Control Channel Allocation I. SDCCH allocation Stand-alone dedicated channel (SDCCH) is an important channel in a GSM network. Mobile station activities, such as location update, attach and detach, call setup and short message, are performed on SDCCH. The SDCCH is used to transmit signaling and data. It is difficult to induce a traffic model for the SDCCH; especially it even becomes impossible after the large-scale application of layering networks and short messages. Moreover, the equipments of some carriers support SDCCH dynamic allocation function. As a result, the traffic model for SDCCH must be adjusted according to actual conditions. The advantages of the SDCCH dynamic function are as follows: - Adjusting SDCCH capacity dynamically - Reducing SDCCH congestion ratio - Reducing the effect of initial SDCCH configuration against system performance - Making SDCCH and TCH configuration more adaptive to the characteristics of cell traffic - Optimizing the performance of the systems under the same carrier configuration. In conclusion, the SDCCH dynamic allocation function is divided into two types, namely, - Dynamic allocation from SDCCH to TCH - Dynamic recovery from SDCCH to TCH II. CCCH allocation Common control channels (CCCH) contain access grant channel (AGCH), paging channel (PCH) and random access channel (RACH). The function of a CCCH is sending access grant message (immediate assignment message) and paging message. All traffic channels in each cell share the CCCH. The CCC can share a physical channel (a timeslot) with SDCCH, or it can solely occupy a physical channel. The parameters relative to the CCCH include CCCH Configure, BS AG BLKS PES, and BS PA MFRMS. Here, - CCCH Configure designates the type of CCCH configuration, namely, whether the CCCH shares one physical channel with the SDCCH. If there are 1 or 2 TRX in a cell, it is recommended that the CCCH occupies a physical channel and share it with the SDCCH. If there are 3 or 4 TRXs, it is recommended that the CCCH solely occupies a physical channel. If there are more than 4 TRX, it is recommended to calculate the capacity of the paging channels in the CCCH according to actual conditions first, and then you can perform the configuration. - BS AG BLKS PES indicates that the number of CCCH message blocks reserved to the AGCH. After CCCH configuration is done, this parameter, in fact, decides allocates the ratio of AGCH and PCH in CCCH. Some carriers can set sending priority for the access grant message and paging message. When the former message set to be prior to the later one, the BS AG BLKS PES can be set to 0. - BS PA MFRMS indicates the number of multi-frames that can be taken as a cycle of paging sub-channels. In fact, this parameter decides the number of paging sub-channels that a cell can be divided into. & Note: In CCCH configuration, the location area planning, paging modes and system flow control must be considered.

2.4 Network Structure Analysis When considering the layout of base stations, you must deeply analyze network structure. Generally, according to network layers, a network can be divided into middle-layer, high-layer, and low-layer. The base stations at the middlelayer bear the greatest traffic in a network 2.4.1 Middle-Layer Station I. Definition and application A middle-layer station in big and middle-sized cities is defined as follows: - The antenna is installed on building tops. - The antenna height ranges from 25 to 30 meters, which is greater than the average height of the buildings. - It covers several blocks. In small towns and countryside areas, except the high-layer stations are designed for controlling traffic flow or for landform reasons, most of the base stations are middle-layer stations. II. Advantages Compared with high-layer stations, middle-layer stations can utilize frequency resources more efficiently. Compared with low-layer stations, middle-layer stations can absorb traffic more efficiently. Therefore, the middle-layer stations bear the greatest traffic in a network. III. Distance between stations The average distance between most middle-layer stations range from 0.6 to 5 km except in countryside areas. In big cities, the distance between some middle-layer stations is shorter than 0.6 km. However, it is suggested that the distance between middle-layer stations in big cities cannot be shorter than 0.4 km. If this distance is too short, the buildings will produce strong interference against the signals of the base stations. In this case, to control the coverage area is quite demanding. IV. Challenges Because no suitable ground objective is available, to ensure the quality of service of a network is quite demanding. According to the experience on project construction and maintenance, great challenge is present in the selection of base station address, station design, project construction, network maintenance, and network quality. 2.4.2 High-Layer Station I. Definition and application A high-layer station in big and middle-sized cities is defined as follows: - The antenna height ranges from 10 to 50 meters, which is far greater than the average height of the buildings. - Its coverage areas contain the areas covered by multiple middle-layer stations. Because the high-layer stations make poor use of the frequency resources, they are mainly applied to the traffic networks where people move fast in big and middle-sized cities. In addition, to control construction cost and meet coverage requirements, you can install some high-layer stations in suburban areas, highroads, small towns, and countryside areas. II. Functions The high-layer stations must be as fewer as possible but be as effective as possible. They mainly provide services to the fast-moving subscribers in cities. & Note: The coverage of high buildings is realized by indoor distribution systems. 2.4.3 Low-Layer Station I. Definition and application A low-layer station is defined as follows: - The antenna height is shorter than 20 meters, which is shorter than the average height of the buildings. - The antenna can be installed on the outer walls of the lower floors of a building, on the top of lower roofs, or in the rooms of a building. Generally, at the early stage of the network construction, signal network design is applied, so most of the base stations are middle-layer stations. After the basic network is established, you must adjust the base stations and add new base stations according to traffic and coverage requirements. For populated commercial areas where the traffic is heavy, you can use low-layer stations, which are constructed with micro cell layer and distributed antenna system. In this case, not only the requirements on indoor coverage are met, but also the interference and difficulties of base station selection caused by short distance between stations are avoided. With the development of the network, the low-layer stations will develop into the layering network structure. II. Other considerations The coverage area of a low-layer station is small, so it can fully use frequency resources but cannot absorb the traffic efficiently. As a result, ideal traffic cannot be ensured if the base station deviates far away from the areas where the traffic is heavy. Therefore, when constructing a low-layer station, you must consider whether the base station is used to make up coverage or solve the problem of heavy traffic, because the construction purpose is directly related to the selection of the address and type of the base station. & Note: A layering network cost much frequency resource, so it is not recommended for the networks where the frequency resource is inadequate.

2.3 Coverage Analysis 2.3.1 Area Division I. Types of coverage area The signal propagation models are applied in accordance with the propagation environments in areas of different types. The signal propagation models decide the design principles, network structures, grade of services and frequency reuse modes for the radio networks in coverage areas. In order to decide the cell coverage area, you can the radio coverage areas into the following four types: - Big city - Middle-sized city - Small town - Countryside Big city - Dense population - Developed economy - Large traffic - Dense high buildings and mansions distributed in center areas - Flourishing shopping centers Middle-sized city - Relatively dense population - Relatively developed economy - Relatively large traffic - Dense buildings distributed in center areas - Active and promising shopping centers Small town - Relative large population - Promising economic development - Moderate traffic - Relative dense buildings distributed in center areas - A certain scale of shopping centers but with great potentiality Countryside - Scattered population - Developing economy - Low traffic In addition, you must consider the coverage of the areas at the intersections and various transport arteries, including: - Express way - National high way - Provincial highway - Railway - Sea-route - Roads in mountain areas Generally, it is recommended to apply omni base stations in the countries plains and the areas with restricted landforms. In big cities, middle-sized cities, and along expressways, it is recommended to apply directional base stations. II. Define the field strength at coverage area edges When defining the field strength of the uplink edges of a service area, you must consider the factors: Mobile station sensitivity -102 dBm Fast fading protection 4 dB (3 dB for countryside) Slow fading protection 8 dB (6 dB for countryside) Noise (environmental noise and interfering noise) protection 5 dB Remark: - To ensure the indoor coverage in big and middle-sized cities, you can consider 15dB for the average penetration loss between buildings and consider adding 5dB to the protection margin. - Generally, the propagation loss of GSM 1800MHz signals is 8 dB greater than that of the GSM 900MHz signals in average. - Radio links have two directions, namely, uplink direction and downlink direction, and the coverage area is defined by the direction in which the signals are poor, so you must consider the uplink and downlink balance. Therefore, if you intend to plan an ideal network, you must make a good power control budget so that the uplink and downlink can be as balance as possible. III. Define coverage probability The definition of coverage probability varies with the coverage areas, and the coverage probability is gradually improved along with the construction of the network. Generally, a call must be ensured to access the network at 90% of the places and 99% of the time within the coverage area. - For the outdoor environment in big cities, the two ratios must be greater. - For the areas in countryside, the two ratios can be lower. - For transport arteries, different standards are applied, and the coverage probability can be defined in accordance with the types of the arteries.

2.3.2 Radio Environment Survey Through surveying radio propagation environments, you can get familiar with the overall landforms, estimate the rough antenna height, and select the proper radio propagation model, among which the radio propagation model helps you estimate the number of base station when predicting the coverage. If necessary, you must adjust the propagation model.

2.2 Planning Foundation 2.2.1 Coverage and Capacity Target Confirmation Before planning a network, you must confirm the network coverage and capacity target and relative specifications from carriers. They are specified as follows: - Definition of coverage areas - Specific division of the service quality in coverage areas - Grade of service (GoS) at Um interface - Prediction of network capacity and subscriber growth rate - Available bands and restrictions on using bands - Restrictions on base station address and the number of carriers - Penetration loss in cars or indoor environment - Performance and sensitivity of base stations - Rules on base station naming and numbering - Information of the base stations in the existing network Engineers perform the network planning and guide the subsequent construction work according to the previous technical specifications. Because any change of these specifications will affect network construction, you must discuss these specifications with carriers and get their confirmation. 2.2.2 Performance Target Confirmation Carriers emphasize much on the future network quality. Therefore, network planning engineers must judge the indexes concerning network performance according to construction difficulty and experience, and then cooperate with carriers to design a reasonable solution. Generally, the performance of voice services can be judged according to KPI indexes. The KPI indexes vary slightly with carriers. The mean opinion score (MOS) is divided into five levels. - The call whose quality is above level 3 can access the mobile communication network. - The call whose quality is above level 4 can access the public network.

2 GSM Radio Network Planning 2.1 Overview The design of radio network planning (RNP) is the basis of the construction of a wireless mobile network. The design level of network planning decides the future layout of a network. During network planning, the documents concerning base station distribution, channel assignment, and cell data must be outputted. And the major tasks involved are as follows: 1) Analyze carriers requirements on network coverage, capacity and quality. 2) Analyze the coverage and capacity features of the candidate mobile communication systems and bands, and then analyze the investment feasibility through estimating the network scale. 3) Decide the network structure and base station type based on further analysis. First analyze whether to construct a layering network according to user distribution, propagation conditions, city development plan and existed network conditions, and then analyze the sites within this area to decide whether to use omni antennas or directional antennas to meet the requirements on coverage and capacity. 4) Estimate the number of base stations Before estimating the number of base stations, estimate the coverage distance of base stations of various types in various coverage areas. The factors deciding the effective coverage area of a base station include: - Valid transmit power of the base station - Working bands to be used (900 MHz or 1800 MHz) - Antenna type and installation position - Power budget - Radio propagation environment - Carriers indexes on coverage Then through calculating the coverage distance and dividing the coverage areas, you can obtain a rough number of base stations for various coverage areas. 5) Plan an ideal base station address according to cellular structures. According to geographic maps or administrative maps and with the help of on-the-spot surveys, you can have a full understanding of the areas to be planed, and then mark the area where the number of users is large as a target address. After that, mark the addresses of other base stations according to the ideal cellular structure and the result of link budget. 6) Calculate the number of channels of the cells of each base station - Estimate the traffic of a base station according to its ideal location, and then obtain the number of carriers and channels needed by each base station by checking Erl table according to the indexes of call loss rate. - Decide the frequency reuse mode according to band width, network quality requirement, and equipment supportability. - Estimate the maximum base station configuration type according to the frequency bandwidth and reuse mode provided by the construction carriers. If the system capacity in some areas cannot be met, you need to add more base stations or cells to the system according to cell splitting principles and actual conditions. After that, reselect an ideal base station address on the map and re-estimate the number of channels required by the base station. 7) Predict the coverage area and decide the project data, namely, perform the preliminary emulation. The specific tasks are as follows: - Select the design indexes Select the minimum received power and the penetration ratio index at the coverage area edge. - Select the design parameters, which includes: Antenna height (above the ground), antenna azimuth angle, antenna gain, antenna tilt angle, base station height above sea level, base station type, feeder length, antenna feeder system loss, combining and distribution modes, transmitter output power, receiver sensitivity, base station diversity reception, and diversity gains. - Predict the coverage area of each cell according to the propagation models in different areas, and then give the opinions on adjusting the base station address, antenna direction, antenna tilt angle, and antenna height in the areas where dead zones may be present and signals are poor. Finally, provide the project data. 8) Select actual base station address and decide base station type: Perform filed examination according to the ideal base station addresses, and then record the possible addresses according to various construction conditions (including power supply, transmission, electromagnetic background, and land taken over). Finally, recommend a suitable address based on integrated consideration of the deviation from the ideal base station address, the effect on future cell splitting, economic benefits, and coverage prediction. After the base station address is selected, decide the actual base station type according to the number of base station channels. After the base station type is decided, you need to make a scheme for antenna configuration. For moving a network, if you intend to provide a best combination scheme for the antenna feeders, you must fully investigate the combination of the antenna feeders of the original carriers, plan the future expansion of the base station, and design the combination of the antenna feeders supported by current equipments. 9) Plan frequency and adjacent cell Decide the frequency and adjacent planning according to the actual base station distribution and type. 10) Make cell data To ensure that the network runs stably, you must design the parameters relative to performance for each cell. These parameters include system information parameters, handover parameters, power control algorithm parameters, and so on. - Note: For the selection of handover bands, the handover algorithms to be enabled, and whether to use frequency hopping, power control, and DTX, they must be decided in coverage prediction and frequency planning, because the related parameters will be used in emulation.

In addition, sections 2.9 and that later introduce the solutions to the planning of dual-band network and the planning in special occasions.

1.17 CBS Cell Broadcast Service (CBS) is similar to paging station broadcast information. It means the mobile network operator broadcasts the public information to the mobile users within a certain area. The information that the users can read is called CBS message. It is generated by the Cell Broadcast Entity (CBE) and sent to the Cell Broadcast Center (CBC) for processing. After the processing, it is forwarded to the BSC and broadcast to the users through CBCH. The MS can only receive the CBS message in idle mode. Unlike the Point to Point Short Message service, the CBS message is broadcast without the acknowledgement of the user terminal. CBS includes: - Common public information service, such as weather, news, stock market, exchange rate, and lottery. - Special public information service, such as people search, traffic navigation, and call charge prompt. - Advertising service, such as information about stores, restaurants, and theaters. 1.17.1 CBS Mechanism Operators or information providers can define the cell broadcast area through CBE. The minimal area is a cell and the maximal area can be all the cells of the BSCs that the CBC connects with. Features such as intervals, duration, and priority levels can also be specified to meet different requirements. The field length of the CBS message sent to BSC from CBC must be 82 bytes. If the length is shorter than 82 bytes, fill codes are added to it. If the length exceeds 82 bytes, the message is broken to a maximum of 15 pages. If the sending fails, the message may be sent again and the message with high priority level is sent first. The CBS information is sent to the proper cells through four continuous SMS BROADCAST REQUEST messages or one SMS BROADCAST COMMAND message. Each CBS message contains 82-byte user information and 6-byte header. The CBS message can be sent to BTS in the form of SMS BROADCAST REQUEST or SMS BROADCAST COMMAND. For details, see 1.17.2 BTS can send the CBCH Load Indication message to BSC and the system will speed up or delay the message sending according to this message. Although the BSC considers the CBCH capacity when sending the message and the BTS can indicate the status of the current CBCH, when the CBCH LOAD INDICATION mode is enabled, the BTS can send CBCH LOAD INDICATION to request for immediate broadcast of the m(115) SMSCB timeslot message when the CHCB is idle. After the BSC sends the m timeslot message, it sends messages according to its own schedule. If the message volume that the BTS requests exceeds the volume that the BSC can provide, the BSC only sends the messages within its volume limit. When the CBCH LOAD INDICATION mode is enabled, the BTS can send CBCH LOAD INDICATION to stop the sending of the m(115) timeslot message if overload occurs. Then the BSC will continue the sending according to its own schedule. CBCH LOAD INDICATION is only used in DRX mode. The CBCH is of two types: basic CBCH and extended CBCH. They are four continuous multiframes. The TB of basic CBCH is 0, 1, 2, or 3; The TB of extended CBCH is 4, 5, 6, or 7. TB = (FN DIV 51) mod (8). For the basic CBCH, the CBS message head is sent on the multiframe with TB being 0; for the extended CBCH, it is sent on the multiframe with TB being 4. The system message on BCCH indicates whether the CBS is available or not. When SMSCB is used, the BS_AG_BLKS_RES is set as 1 or above. When the CBCH is mapped to the CCCH+SDCCH/4, the number of BS_AG_BLKS_RES will not be limited by SMSCB. MS recomposes the CBS message and displays it for the user. MS obtains the CBS message from the CBCH. BTS informs MS of the short message information during the schedule in the form of bitmap by sending schedule message. There are three reception modes for MS on CBCH: - Non-DRX mode. MS reads the first block of all message timeslots. The rest blocks will be read if the message head indicates that the following timeslots are used. If the MS does not support other reception mode, or it does not receive the scheduling for the next message timeslot, Non-DRX mode is used. - First DRX mode. If MS receives the scheduling for the next message timeslot, but the first scheduling message of the last scheduling period, or all the information of the last period or even earlier period is not received, first DRX mode is used. - Second DRX mode. If MS receives the important information of the last scheduling period and reads the first scheduling message of the current period, second DRX mode is used. Whether the network uses DRX to receive the broadcast short message can be set through the maintenance console in BSC. 1.17.2 BSC-BTS Message Transmission Mode A CBS message consists of eighty eight 8-bit bytes. These bytes are divided into four message blocks with each block containing twenty two 8-bit bytes. Each block is added by an 8-bit block type, and the length of the block is twenty three 8bit bytes. A CBS message contains four continuous blocks: first block, second block, third block, and fourth block. When the SMS BROADCAST REQUEST mode is used, the message is sent to BTS from BSC. The BSC handles the queuing, repetition, and short message sending. It also considers the CBCH capacity and takes charge of the SMS segmentation at radio interface. In the SMS BROADCAST REQUEST message, each SMSCB Information cell carries a complete frame that can be transmitted on CBCH and the layer 2 information that indicates the radio path. SMSCB Channel Indicator cell indicates the CHCH used for broadcast. If this cell does not provide the information, the basic CBCH will be used. When the SMS BROADCAST COMMAND mode is used, SMS BROADCAST COMMAND message is sent to BTS from BSC. BSC requires the immediate message sending during the next CBCH time. The default broadcast mode for BTS can also be set through this message. In the default broadcast mode, if there is no other message to broadcast, BTS will send the default message. In the SMS BROADCAST COMMAND message, the SMSCB message cell contains the information to be broadcast on CBCH. It has four continuous blocks with a maximum of 88 bytes. BTS segments the message and establishes the block format. It also adds bytes to the block if required. SMSCB Channel Indicator cell indicates the CHCH used for broadcast. If this cell does not provide the information, the basic CBCH will be used.

1.16 Call Re-Establishment 1.16.1 Introduction The re-establishment procedure allows MS to resume a connection in progress after a radio link failure, possibly in a new cell or in a new location area (re-establishment in a new location area initiates no location updating). Whether call re-establishment is allowed depends on the calling status, the cell's allowance of call re-establishment, and activated MM connection (MM is in status 6 "MM connection activated" or status 20 " Waiting for additional MM connection" Call re-establishment can only be initiated by MS. GSM protocol does not specify the implementation mode for the short message service and the independent call supplementary service. In the other end, no voice is heard during the call re-establishment. During the radio transmission, a connection may be broken suddenly because of the great transmission loss due to obstructions such as bridges, buildings, or tunnels. When the call re-establishment is used, the MS can maintain the conversation by using another cell in a short time, thus improving the network quality. Call re-establishment can be regarded as the HO initiated by MS to save the interrupted call in the current cell. Call re-establishment is of two types according to the entity that has the radio link failure first. I. Radio Link Failure Occurs to MS First The MS sends a call re-establishment request in the selected cell (source cell or target cell). The former channel resource is released after the BTS timer times out. II. Radio Link Timeout Occurs to BSS First After the radio link timer in BTS times out, the BTS sends a radio link failure message to the BSC and BSC activates the SACCH. According to the protocol, the network must handle the context for a while after detecting the lower layer faults for the successful call re-establishment. The implementation mode and duration are decided by the equipment provider. After detecting the radio link failure, the MS selects a neighbor cell with the highest RXLEV within five seconds and sends the channel request in the selected cell. This cell should not be barred and the C1 is over 0. In addition, this cell must permit the call re-establishment. If all the neighbor cells are not qualified, the call re-establishment is abandoned. During the call re-establishment, the MS cannot return into the idle mode. If the MS selects a cell in different LA as the target cell for call re-establishment, it cannot perform location updating until the call ends. Under normal circumstances, the call re-establishment procedure lasts about 4 to 20 seconds. Most users have hung up the phone before the procedure is over. Therefore, the call re-establishment cannot achieve its goal but wastes a lot of radio resources. For the areas with limited channel resources, the activation of this function is not recommended. 1.16.2 Call Re-Establishment Procedure 1) After the MM connection failure indication is reported to the CM entity, if the MS receives at least one request for MM connection re-establishment from CM, it will initiate the call re-establishment procedure. If several CM entities request for re-establishment, only one re-establishment procedure will be initiated. 2) After the CM sends the request for the re-establishment of MM connection, MM sublayer sends a request for the establishment of RR connection and enters the WAIT FOR REESTABLISH state. This request includes an establishment cause and a CM re-establishment request. When the RR sublayer indicates a RR connection is established (the CM reestablishment request message has been sent through the Um interface), the MM sublayer starts T3230 and indicates to all the CM entities that the MM connection is under construction. The MM sublayer stays in WAIT FOR REESTABLISH state. The CM Re-establishment Request message contains the MS identity (IMSI or TMSI), Classmark 2, and encrypted sequence number. Whether the CM entity can request for re-establishment depends on protocol discriminator (PD). 3) After receiving the CM re-establishment request, the network analyzes the request type and starts the MM program or RR program. The network can start the classmark enquiry program to obtain more information about the MS encryption ability. The network can also decide to perform the authentication procedure or ciphering mode setting procedure. 4) When the RR sublayer indicates the ciphering mode setting procedure is over or the CM SERVICE ACCEPT message is received, the MM connection is re-established. The T3230 stops and informs all the CM entities related to the reestablishment to enter the MM CONNECTION ACTIVE state. 5) If the network cannot connect the re-establishment request to the current MS call, it sends the CM SERVICE REJECT with the reject cause to the MS. The reject cause (value) includes unidentifiable call (#38), unidentifiable IMSI (# 4), unauthorized ME (# 6), network failure (#17), congestion (#22), unsupported service (#32), and temporary service failure (#34) 6) After receiving the CM SERVICE REJECT, the MS stops T3230 and releases all MM connections and RR connections. If the reject cause if #4, the MS deletes the TMSI, LAI, and CKSN in SIM card, and changes the status from updating into no updating, and then enters the WAIT FOR NETWORK COMMAND state. The location updating will be initiated after the RR release. If the reject cause is #6, the MS deletes the TMSI, LAI, and CKSN in SIM card, and changes the status from "updating" into roaming inhibit. The SIM is regarded invalid until the MS is switched off or the SIM card is pulled out. 1.16.3 Exceptional Situations I. Re-Establishment Prohibition or Failure When MM connection is established, the MM layer may send an indication to the CC layer. If the MM layer is disconnected, the connection may be re-established through CC request. If the re-establishment is not allowed, and the call is initiated within the establishment or clearing period, the CC layer shall release MM connections. If re-establishment is unsuccessful, MM connections shall be released, and a release indication shall be sent to the CC layer. II. RR Connection Failure If random access failure or RR CONNECTION FAILURE is detected by the MS, the MS will stop timer T3230, abort the call re-establishment procedure, and release all MM connections.

If RR CONNECTION FAILURE is detected by the MSC, the MSC will abort the call re-establishment procedure and release all MM connections. III. T3230 Time-out If the T3230 times out, the MS will stop call re-establishment and release MM and RR connections. 1.16.4 SM Procedure Short messages can be transmitted either on SDCCH or SACCH. A short message procedure can be classified into short message calling procedure and called procedure. For details, see GSM03.40 protocol. 1.16.5 Short Message Procedure on SDCCH When MS is calling I. Signaling Procedure II. Procedure Description The random access, immediate assignment, authentication, and encryption procedures of short message procedure on SDCCH when MS is calling are the same as general procedures. After encryption, the MS sends SABM again, notifying the network side that this user needs short message service (SMS). Then, BSC provides a transparent-transmission channel for MS to exchange short message information with MSC. In this procedure, the MSCs of some manufacturers are capable to send ASS REQ to BSC, requesting it to assign channel for short message transmission. The time for sending ASS REQ is the same as that for a common call. BSC can provide SMS either by allocating other channels or by using the original SDCCH. Point to Point short messages protocol is divided into connection management layer (CM), relay layer (RL), transport layer (TL) and application layer (AL). CP_DATA and CP_ACK are the messages on CM layer, CP_DATA is used to transmit the content of RL and AL message, and CP_ACK is the acknowledgement message of CP_DATA. The release procedure after message is sent is the same as general ones. 1.16.6 Short Message Procedure on SDCCH When MS is called I. Signaling Procedure II. Procedure Description The paging response and immediate assignment procedures of short message procedure on SDCCH when MS is called are the same as general procedures. For the short message procedure when MS is called, after encryption, the BSC sends EST REQ to MS to establish short message connection. When EST CNF is received from MS, the connection is successfully established. BSC transparently transmits the short message till the end of the transmission. The release procedure after message is sent is the same as general ones. 1.16.7 Short Message Procedure on SACCH When MS is calling I. Signaling Procedure II. Procedure Description The MS sends CM SERV REQ through FACCH. The MSC responds with the CM SERV ACC message and establishes CC layer connection. Then, it establishes RR layer connection on SACCH, and sends the short message. 1.16.8 Short Message Procedure on SACCH when MS is called I. Signaling Procedure II. Procedure Description The BSC receives the CP DATA message from MSC, and establishes an RR layer connection for SMS. Upon reception of CP ACK from MS, MSC sends the short message.

1.15 HO As a key technology in the cellular mobile telecommunication system, handover (HO) can reduce the call drop rate and the network cross interference. The handover procedure consists of handover trigger, handover preparation and decision, and handover execution. HO can be divided into synchronous HO and asynchronous HO based on Timing Advance (TA). Synchronous HO means the two cells are synchronized with each other and the MS can calculate the new TA (the HO command indicates whether the HO is synchronous or not). Asynchronous HO requires the BTS to calculate the new TA. When the MS receives the HO command and requests for the new BTS access, the new BTS informs the MS of the calculated TA. The MS access to the new channel can also be divided into four types: synchronous, asynchronous, pre-synchronous, and pseudosynchronous. The first three types are required in MS and the last one is optional. The pseudo-synchronous HO can be performed only when the MS supports this function. In the pseudo-synchronous HO, the handover command from the BTS of the original service cell contains the RTD value (the TA difference between the source BTS and the target BTS). The MSC calculates the TA required for the access to the new BTS based on the RTD value. The HO process involves MS, BTS, BSC, and MSC. According to the location where the HO happens, the HO can be divided into intra-cell HO and inter-cell HO. To be more specific, intra-cell HO, intra-BTS HO, intro-BSC HO, intra-MSC HO, and inter-MSC HO. The function of each unit is: MS measures the downlink performance and the signal strength; BTS monitors the received signal level and quality of the uplink and the interference level of the idle traffic channel; BSC handles the measurement report and makes the HO decision; MSC decides the target cell of the inter-BSC HO. 1.15.1 HO Preparation I. Measurement Report The HO decision depends on the measurement report (MR) sent by MS through uplink SACCH to the network and the MR of the uplink sent by BTS. These two reports are sent to BSC at the same time for decision. The system information that includes the parameters of the current cell and the neighbor cell are sent to the MS under the dedicated mode through the downlink SACCH. The MS reports the RXLEV and quality, TA value, power control, and DTX usage to the network according to the system information. In addition, the MS also performs the pseudo-synchronization with the neighbor cell defined by the system for HO and measures the RXLEV from the BCCH. The MS measures all the frames except the idle frames that are used to synchronize the neighbor cell and decode SCH. The MS reports the condition of the cell and the six neighbor cells with the strongest RXLEV it measures during the measurement period to the system for the HO decision. Measurement period The SACCH measurement period is different if the MS occupies different channel under the dedicated mode. If the SACCH is associated with SDCCH, the measurement period is 470ms, because a complete SACCH message block occupies two 51 multiframes of SDCCH. If the SACCH is associated with TCH, the measurement period is 480 ms, because a complete SACCH message block occupies four 26 multiframes of TCH. A complete MR consists of four continuous SACCH bursts. On the SDCCH, the four bursts are transmitted continuously. On the TCH, each 26 multiframe has only one SACCH burst, so a complete MR requires four 26 multiframes. Figure 1-1 Measurement period Whether to use DTX or not, the MR has two values: full measurement value and sub measurement value. For details, see the DTX description in Chapter 2. MR processing BTS handles the uplink MR it makes and the downlink MR it collects from the MS. It obtains the sample values of the RXLEV, RXQUAL, and TA, and then calculates the arithmetical mean value and the weighted mean value based on the related parameters. When the time is up, the system decides whether to perform the level handover, quality handover, or distance handover. II. Neighbor Cell Monitoring To establish the HO relation with the neighbor cells, the MS must listen to the standard frequency of the neighbor cells defined in the system message. The standard frequency carries the synchronous channel and frequency correction channel. One way to decide the received channel is the standard frequency channel is to confirm that the frequency carries a FCCH. The MS also decodes the SCH that carries the TDMA frame number and BSIC. The MS can only analyze the BCCH standard frequency of the neighbor cell in the idle timeslot of the TCH multiframe. In fact, during the data exchange, the interval between the end of the reception and the beginning of the transmission (about 1 ms) can be used to measure the RXLEV and the RXQUAL, but it is not sufficient to measure the level of the neighbor cell. The interval between the end of the transmission and the beginning of the reception (about 2 ms) is sufficient to measure the level of the neighbor cell, but not sufficient to find the FCCH. In the 26 muliframe of TCH, there is always an idle frame (about 6 ms) available for MS to decode the FCCH and SCH. But the FCCH of the neighbor cell may not be found during this timeslot. Therefore, the use of the arithmetic feature of the two numbers 26 and 51 is required. Because these two numbers have no common factor, the FCCH can be found during the 11 periods. When SACCH is associated with SDCCH, although its period is also 51 multiframe, the SDCCH channel assigned to the MS only occupies 1/8 of the 51 multiframe. Since there are lots of idle timeslots, the MS can synchronize the neighbor cell. When the MS receives the SCH, the synchronization is established. To translate the message on the downlink CSCH, the MS must know the training sequence of the CSCH. The training sequence is of eight types, matching the BCC 0 to BCC 7 of BSIC respectively. The BSIC carried by the SCH can inform the MS of the training sequence number of its service cell. BSIC also enables the MS to differentiate the cells using the same BCCH frequency. The two cells with the same BCCH frequency and BSIC must be far from each other. The MS reports the six neighbor cells with the strongest signals, but differentiates them according to the BSIC and frequency it obtains to achieve the pre-synchronization. The MR only contains the sequence number of the frequencies in the BA list. Therefore, if a cell shares the same frequency and BSIC with the neighbor cell and its signal is strong enough, error report and decision of MS may occur, leading to HO failure and call drop. III. Conditions Required for Neighbor Cells to Join in HO Decision Queue

When the BTS receives the report on the neighbor cell from the MS, it checks whether this neighbor cell is qualified to join in the HO decision queue. The following conditions must be met: RXLEV(n) > RxLevMinCell(n)+ MAX(0,Pa(n)) + OFFSET (2-4) Pa(n)=MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) MAX_POWER_OF_MS RXLEV(n) is the RXLEV of the neighbor cell; RxLevMinCell(N) is the minimal access level of the neighbor cell; OFFSET is the offset of the minimal access level; MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) is the maximal transmit power of MS defined by the system; MAX_POWER_OF_MS is the maximal transmit power the MS can achieve. The unit is dBm. RxLevMinCell(n) and MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) are defined by the HO cell parameters. Under the dedicated mode, the system informs the MS by sending the system message through SACCH. The neighbor cell can be listed in the HO candidate cells only when its RXLEV is qualified according to the formula above. The defined RxLevMinCell (n) must be higher than the RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN. If it is too low, the threshold for the candidate cells is reduced, which may lead to HO failure. The purpose to define the Pa is to ensure the low power MS can access the neighbor cell only when the RXLEV is high enough, thus improving the quality of conversation. 1.15.2 HO Types HO must be performed on time under different conditions to ensure the quality of communication. According to the cause of the HO, it can be divided into Power Budget (PBGT) HO, edge HO, bad quality (BQ) HO, direct retry, and timing advance (TA) HO. I. PBGT HO PBGT HO is based on path loss. PBGT HO algorithm looks for a cell with less path loss to decide whether HO is necessary. The biggest difference between the PBGT HO and others is that the triggering condition is path loss but not receiving power. The formula of PBGT HO is as follows: PBGT (n) > PGBT_Ho_Margin (n) (2-5) PBGT(n) = ( BSTX_MAX - RXLEV_DL - PWR_C_D ) - ( BSTX_MAX(n)- RXLEV_NCELL(n) )- ( RXLEV_DL - RXLEV_UL SENSI_CORRECT)- max ( BSTX_MAX(n)- min(MSTX_MAX(n),P) - BSTX_MAX + min (MSTX_MAX,P) ,0 ) BSTX_MAX: The maximum transmit power of BS in service cell BSTX_MAX (n): The maximum transmit power of BS in neighbor cell RXLEV_DL: The downlink received signal level in service cell RXLEV_UL: The uplink received signal level in service cell SENSI_CORRECT: The correct factor of MS/BS receiver sensitivity RXLEV_NCELL (n): the received signal level of MS from neighbor cell n PWR_C_D: the decrease of the transmission power in BTS power control P: Max MS Transmission power MSTX_MAX (n): Max MS transmit power allowed of the neighboring cell n MSTX_MAX: Max MS transmit power allowed of the service cell The neighbor cell with the biggest PBGT (n) is selected as the target cell for HO. The PGBT_Ho_Margin is the defined RXLEV difference value between the service cell and the neighbor cell when the HO is initiated. If this value is too low, it may lead to ping-pong handover; if it is too high, HO hysteresis may occur and the HO efficiency is reduced. Since the PGBT_Ho_Margin is defined for the specific neighbor cell, the traffic load can be adjusted accordingly. For example, when cell A and cell B are adjacent, A is the high-traffic cell and B is the low-traffic cell, the call distribution can be balanced by reducing the PGBT_Ho_Margin from A to B and increasing that from B to A. In fact, this way to balance the call distribution equals the decrease of the coverage area for cell A and the increase of the coverage area for cell B. PBGT HO only happens between the peer cells. . II. Edge HO The uplink/downlink edge HO margin is defined in the HO parameters. When BSC finds in the MRs from the MS and BTS that the uplink or downlink RXLEV is lower than the edge HO margin defined, it selects a proper neighbor cell from the MRs as the target cell to initiate HO, thus avoiding the call drop. In the edge HO, the RXLEV of the neighbor cell should be higher than that of the service cell by a certain value. This value is called the edge HO margin. This algorithm is also used to avoid ping-pong handover. The edge HO margin should be higher than the minimal access level of the MS. III. BQ HO The decision mechanism of BQ HO is similar to that of the edge HO. When BSC finds in the MRs from the MS and BTS that the bit error rate of the uplink or downlink is higher than the BQ HO margin defined, the BQ HO is initiated. To further differentiate the BQ HO, the interference HO is introduced. If the RXLEV is higher than the defined RXLEV margin of the interference HO and the RXQUAL is higher than the quality HO margin, the frequency interference exists. The interference HO will trigger the intra-cell HO (when the intra-cell HO is available) first to improve the bad conversation quality due to interference, and then trigger the inter-cell HO. The intra-cell HO is not effective when the frequency hopping is used. By improving the interference HO margin, the BQ HO will be mainly performed between cells. IV. Direct Retry During the call establishment, the SDCCH is assigned first and then is the TCH. If the service cell has no idle TCH, the call attempt usually fails because of TCH congestion. To fully utilize the radio resources and reduce the congestion, the direct retry function is introduced. When the SDCCH is assigned, but no TCH is available, the assignment request is sent in the form of MR and the call is accessed to the idle speech channel. After the direct retry function is enabled, the queuing function can be activated to provide enough time for the system to select the neighbor cell available for direct retry. V. TA HO TA HO can be used to control the coverage area of the BTS. When the BSC finds the TA value reported by the MS is higher than the defined margin, the TA HO is initiated. If the TA margin is relatively low, the frequent ping-pong handover may be triggered. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the matching of different kinds of HO. 1.15.3 HO Process Analysis

I. Intra-Cell HO In the real network, sometimes the interference may occur to certain frequency or a certain TRX fails, leading to the high RXLEV but low RXQUAL or the remarkably low signal level of TRX. To improve the conversation quality and avoid the call drop, the intra-cell HO is used. The intra-cell HO is initiated by the RXLEV margin or RXQUAL quality. During the conversation, BSC analyzes the MR from the MS and BTS. If the requirement for intra-cell HO margin is satisfied, it sends a CHANNEL ACTIVE message to BTS to initiate the intra-cell HO. The connection process is similar to the TCH assignment during the call establishment. Because the TCH is also assigned within the cell, the BTS can indicate the MS to perform the intra-cell HO through HO command or assignment command. When the BSC receives the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE/HANDOVER COMPLETE message from the BTS, it sends MSC the HO PERFOMED message that contains the HO type. Then the BSC sends a RF CHANNEL RELEASE message to BTS. After receiving the message, the BTS releases the TCH resource and sends a RF CHANNEL RELEASE ACK message back. When the intra-cell HO is enabled, intra-cell HO increases a lot, and the system load also increases. Therefore, if the traffic load is already heavy, the intra-cell HO function is not recommended. II. Intra-BSC HO Intra-BSC HO is performed by BSC and no MSC has to be involved. To inform MSC that the HO is complete, BSC will send a HO PERFOMED message to MSC. 1) The MS sends MR to BTS1 on SACCH at Um interface, and BTS1 forwards the message to the BSC. 2) BSC receives the MR. If it decides that the MS should be handed over to another cell, it sends Channel Activation to BTS2 of the target cell to activate the channel. 3) BTS2 receives the CHANNEL ACTIVATE. If the channel type is correct, it turns on the power amplifier on the specified channel to receive information in the uplink direction, and send CHANNEL ACTIVATE ACK to the BSC. 4) After receiving the CHANNEL ACTIVATE ACK from BTS2, the BSC sends HANDOVER COMMAND to the MS through BTS1 and starts T3103. The handover command contains all the feature information of the transmission on the new channel and the data required for MS access. It also indicates whether this HO is synchronous or asynchronous. 5) After receiving the HANDOVER COMMAND, the MS decides the type of it. If it is synchronous HO, the MS sends the target cell four continuous HANDOVER ACCESS messages on the assigned TCH, and then starts the transmission based on the calculated. For the synchronous HO, the former TA can be used; for pre-synchronous HO, the TA in the handover command is used (If the TA is not provided in the handover command, the default value is used); for pseudosynchronous HO (MS reported whether this HO is supported or not before), the TA is calculated based on the difference value provided in the handover command. Please note that the HANDOVER ACCESS is send by the access burst. It is the only time when the access burst is used on the DCH. It only contains the 8-bit HO reference number obtained from the handover command. Since this reference number is known to the target cell, the target cell can check whether the access request is from the expected MS with this number. The HO reference number is not fully defined in the protocol. During the HO access, if the assigned TCH is on the BCCH, due to synchronization error and delay or other reasons, the access burst may offset to the BCCH RACH timeslot. If the 8bit reference number is the same as a service application number, the system will regard it as a random access by mistake and assign the SDCCH through AGCH, leading to a waste of AGCH and SDCCH. But as the access burst contains the BSIC information, only the HO access cell will be affected. Since there are more than four HO access bursts, and after the new BSS assigns a channel to the MS, it will no re-assign this channel to other MS, even if no reference number is used, the network can find the MS to access and the HO will not be affected. To further avoid the waste of radio resources, the reference number is assigned a fixed value that is different from the application number for service type in random access. 6) BTS2 receives the HANDOVER ACCESS from the MS, and send HANDOVER DETECT to the BSC notifying that the HANDOVER ACCESS message is received. 7) For asynchronous HO, after the BTS2 channel of the target cell is activated, it waits for the MS access on the assigned DCH (until the T3103 times out). When it detects the handover access from the MS, the BTS2 sends the HO DETECT message to the BSC and the PHYSICAL INFO that contains the calculated TA to the MS. During the PHYSICAL INFO transmission, the network initiates T3105. Before receiving the SABM frame response from the MS, the BTS2 re-enables the T3105 after timeout and resends the PHYSICAL INFO NY1. For asynchronous HO, after receiving the PHYSICAL INFO, the MS sends the SABM to the BTS2; for synchronous HO, the MS sends the SABM to the BTS2 immediately after sending the HANDOVER ACCESS. 8) For asynchronous HO, the MS starts the T3124 when sending the HANDOVER ACCESS message for the first time and stops the T3124 after receiving the PHYSICAL INFO. For details, see the parameter description section. 9) After receiving the first SABM, BTS2 sends BSC the EST IND to inform it of the radio link establishment. When the network receives this message, it sends an ESTABLISHE INDICATION message to the BSC to show that the data link layer is established. Meanwhile, it also sends the UA response frame to the MS. after receiving the UA response, the MS regards that the signaling answer mode is established with this cell. 10) The MS sends HANDOVER COMPLETE to the BTS2, and BTS2 forwards it to the BSC. Then it sends the target cell a HANDOVER COMPLETE message that only contains the handover complete indication but no other information. The MS stops considering the possibility to return to the former channel only when this message is sent. If the MS does not receive the PHYSICAL INFO from the target cell or the UA response frame, it sends a HANDOVER FAILURE message on the source channel. 11) After receiving the HANDOVER COMPLETE message, the BSC stops the T3103 and sends MSC the HANDOVER PERFORMED that contains the handover type. Meanwhile, the BSC initiates the local release for the former channel of BTS1. When the target cell receives the handover complete message from the MS, it forwards it to the BSC. After receiving this message, the BSC sends the RF CHANNEL RELEASE message to inform the source cell to release the former TCH. When the source cell receives this report, it sends a RF CHANNEL RELEASE ACK to indicate the radio channel is released and available for another assignment.

III. Intra MSC HO Compared with the intra-BSC HO procedure, the procedure for the inter-BSC HO only has several A interface signaling added. 1) When the MS has to be handed over to the cell where the BSC2 belongs to, the BSC1 sends a HO REQUIRED message that contains cell ID of the target cell group and the source cell and the HO cause to the MSC and starts T7 at the same time. 2) After the MSC receives this message, if it shares the same LAC with the target cell, it searches the BSC of the target cell (BSC2) and sends the BSC2 a HANDOVER REQUEST message that contains the information of the target cell and the source cell, transmission mode, encryption mode, classmark, and the channel type required. When the BSC2 receives this message, it sends MSC a CC message to indicate that the connection between the MSC and its SCCP is established for transmission of the information from the A interface. 3) After the new channel is activated, the BSC2 sends the MSC a HO REQUEST ACK to indicate that the channel is available. This message carries the HO command with the information about the resource allocation in it to show that the local end is ready for HO. 4) After receiving the HO REQUEST ACK, the MSC sends a HO COMMAND to the BSC1. BSC1 stops the T7 and starts the T8, and forwards the HO COMMAND to the MS and starts T3103, informing the MS to access the new channel. This command contains the cell ID, channel type, and HO reference. 5) After receiving the HO COMPLETE from the BSC2, MSC sends a CLEAR COMMAND to the BSC1. This command contains the clear cause (such as HO clear). BSC1 stops T8 and T3103, and releases the former channel. Meanwhile, it sends a CLEAR COMPLETE message to the MSC. T3103 is started when BSC sends the HO command and cleared when the BSC receives the HO COMPLETE (INTRA BSC) or CLEAR COMMAND (INTER BSC). The T3103 should be set less than T8. During the HO, the BSC provides the time for TCH both in the source cell and the target cell according to the T3103. When the T3103 is timing, two channels are reserved. The longest HO (INTER MSC) may take about five seconds, so the T3103 can be set to five seconds. If it is set too long, the system resources will be wasted. If the target cell and the source cell are not in the same LA, a location updating will be performed at the end of each call. IV. Inter-MSC HO The procedure for inter-MSC HO is shown in Figure 1-26. 1) When MSCa receives the HANDOVER REQUIRED message from the BSC, if it finds that the LAC of the preferred target cell is not in the local LAC list, it queries the remote LAC list that contains the routing address of the neighbor MSC/VLR. 2) When the target MSCb is found, the MSCa sends a PREPARE HANDOVER message that contains the HANDOVER REQUEST to it. 3) After receiving the PREPARE HANDOVER message, the MSCb sends the VLRb an ALLOCATE_HO_NUMBER message to request for HO number (HON) assignment. The HON indicates the routing between MSCa and MSCb. 4) VLRb selects an idle HON and sends it to MSCb through the SEND HO REPORT message. 5) MSCb establishes a SCCP link to the target BSC and sends a HANDOVER REQUEST message to BSCB. Then the BSC activates the channel of the target cell. After receiving the channel activation response from the target cell, the BSC sends MSCb a HANDOVER REQUEST ACK message that contains the HO command. 6) After receiving this message, MSCb sends a PREPARE HANDOVER ACK message that contains the HANDOVER REQUEST ACK and the HON to the MSCa. 7) MSCa receives this message and sends an IAM to MSCb. The IAM contains the HON assigned by VLRb for MSCb to identify which speech channel is reserved for the MS. MSCb sends a SEND HO REPORT RESP message to the VLRb anytime after it receives the IAM. 8) After MSCa receives the ACM from the MSCb, it sends the HO command to the MS. Then the MS will perform the HO access to the target cell. 9) After receiving the HO access message from the MS, MSCb sends MSCa a PROCESS ACCESS SIGNALLING message to indicate that the HO is detected. 10) When the target cell receives the HANDOVER COMPLETE message from the MS, it informs the MSCb. Then the MSCb sends a SEND END SIGNAL REQ message to MSCa to inform it the HO is complete. After the HO-DETECT or HO-COMPLETE is received, the connection between MSCa and MSCb is established. MSCb will release the HON. 11) When MSCa receives the HO complete message, it sends a clear command to the former BSC to release the channel resource. The inter-MSC HO is complete. To avoid the PSTN/ISDN contradiction of the MSCa and MSCb, MSCb must send an answer signaling when receiving the HO-DETECT/COMPLETE. 12) MSCa controls the call until it is cleared. When MSCa clears the MS call, it also clears the call control function of MSCa and sends a MAP-SEND-END-SIGNAL message to release the MSCb MAP resource. MSCb sends a HO failure indication to the MSCa if the MSCb cannot identify the target cell, the HO to the target cell is not allowed, the target cell has no radio channel available, or the data error occurs. The MSCa will perform the HO to the secondary cell or terminate the HO. V. Subsequent Inter-MSC HO After the MSCb receives the HO request, it checks this target cell belongs to MSCb and performs the inter-MSC HO. After the HO is complete, it informs the MSC. The subsequent HO is the handover of MSCb to other MSC after an inter-MSC HO is complete. The target MSC can be the former MSCa or the new MSCb. The circuit switch happens in the MSCa for both situations. After the subsequent HO is complete, the connection between MSCa and MSCb is released. The procedure for the subsequent HO with circuit switch is as follows: MSCb is handed over back to MSCa 1) MSCb sends MAP PREPARE SUBSEQUENT HANDOVER request to MSCa. This message contains MSCa number,

target cell ID, and all the information in HO REQUEST. 2) MSCa is the call control MSC. It can search the idle channel immediately without target HO number routing. 3) After the radio channel is assigned, MSCa sends a MAP PREPARE SUBSEQUENT HANDOVER response back. 4) If the TCH is busy, BSSa sends a QUEUING INDICATION to MSCb (optional). MSC sends MSCb the MAP FORWARD ACCESS SIGNALLING request that contains the subsequent TCH assignment result (HO REQUEST ACK or HO FAILURE). If the radio channel cannot be assigned or the error occurs to the target cell ID, or the target cell ID does not match the target MSC number according to the HO REQUEST, a MAP PREPARE SUBSEQUENT HANDOVER response that contains the HO FAILURE information in it is sent to the MSCb. MSCb keeps the connection to the MS. 5) If the MSCa is successfully assigned, and the MAP PREPARE SUBSEQUENT HANDOVER response is sent to MSCb. The MSCb requests the handover of the MS to the new cell of the MSCa by sending a HO command. 6) After receiving the HO complete message, MSCa releases the circuit connection to MSCb. 7) MSCa must send a proper MAP message to terminate the MAP procedure for MSCa and MSCb during the basic HO. When MSCb receives the MAP SEND END SIGNAL response message, it releases the BSSb resources. MSCb is handed over to MSCb' Note 1: This message can be sent anytime after the IAM is received. 1) MSCb receives the HO request and finds that the target cell does not belong to the MSCb. It sends a PREPARE SUBS HANDOVER to the MSCa. This message contains the MSCb ID, target cell ID, and all the information in HO REQUEST. MSCa will initiate a basic HO to MSCb. 2) If the MSC can be found in the MSCa LAC list and remote LAC list (it contains information about other MSC), after the HON is provided by the VLRb and the MSCb channel is activated, 3) MSCa sends a MAP PREPARE SUBSEQUENT HANDOVER response message to the MSCb. This message contains the HO REQUEST ACK from the BSSb and the BSSMAP information that may be special. 4) After receiving this message, MSCb sends the HO command to the MS. After the access succeeds, if the MSCa receives the MAP SEND END SIGNAL REQUEST (it contains the HO COMPLETE information of the BSSb) from the MSCb, the HO is complete and the connection between MSCa and MSCb is released. MSCa also sends the MAP SEND END SIGNAL response to MSCb to end their MAP conversation. MSCb receives this message and releases the radio resources. 5) After the subsequent HO is complete, the MSCb replaces the MSCb. Any subsequent inter-MSC HO is the same as described above. The remote LAC list of MSCa must be complete and contain as many MSCs as possible besides the neighbor MSC. For example, if a user in place A calls another user in place B, the MSC in place A must contains all the data of the MSCs and cells within the area between A and B. Otherwise, the HO cannot be performed and the call drops. 1.15.4 Exceptional Situations The following are some extra exceptional situations on the basis of what has described before. I. HO Failure Due to CIC Exception If 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". II. HO Failure Due to MS Access Failure If the BTS cannot decode Handover Access or Handover Completed correctly when a MS accesses the new channel, the HO will fail. The MS returns to the old channel, and responds with a Hanover Failure message. For the intra-BSC handover, if the BSC has not received the Handover CMP message on the new channel, or Handover Failure message on the old channel at expiry of timer T3103A, it will consider the call as dropped and send a Clear REQ message to the MSC on the old channel. Upon receiving the Clear CMD 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 will release the new channel. For the inter-BSC handover, if BSC1 has not received the Handover CMP message at expiry of timer T3103B2, it will send a Clear REQ message to the MSC to release the call. If BSC2 has not received the Handover DET or Handover CMP message, it will send a Clear REQ message to the MSC for the same purpose.

1.14 MS Originated Call Flow 1.14.1 Enquiry After the signaling link for the calling end is established, the Initial Address Message with Information (IAI) is send from the calling end to the GMSC. The IAI contains the MSISDN of the called party. GMSC analyzes the identification number of the CCS7 of the HLR and sends this HLR the SEND_ROUTING_INFORMATION message. After receiving this message, the HLR checks the user record, and then performs different procedures and responds the GMSC as follows: Under normal circumstances, the HLR only has the partial information about the identification of the current VLR, such as the CCS7 address or the universal mark. To get the routing information for the call, the HLR sends the VLR a PROVIDE ROAMING_ NUMBER message that contains the user IMSI information, requiring the VLR to provide a MSRN for this call. When the MSC/VLR receives this message, it selects a roaming number from the idle numbers to temporarily connect it to the IMSI, and sends the PROVIDE_ROAMING_NUMBER_RESULT message with the MSRN assigned to this call in it to the HLR. When the HLR receives the MSRN, it transfers the information by sending a SEND_ROUTING_INFORMATION_RESULT message to the call originating GMSC. Then the GMSC can find the VLR with the obtained MSRN and sends the IAI to it. After receiving this message, the MSC restores the IMSI of this user in its memory record with the MSRN and starts the paging for the MS. After the call is established, this roaming number is released for another user. If the record of the called party is set as Barring of All Incoming Calls (BAIC) or Barring of Incoming Calls when roaming is outside the home PLMN country (BIC_roam) according to the message sent by the VLR and the user is in roaming now, the HLR rejects this call. If the user record is set as Call Forwarding Unconditional (CFU), the HLR sends the MSRN to the original GMSC to analyze this number and redefine the routing. If no VLR number of the user is found and no call forwarding is set, Error message will be sent to the GMSC. 1.14.2 Paging After receiving the IAI from the GMSC, the called MSC sends a SEND_INFO_I/C_CALL message to the VLR and the VLR will analyze the called number and the network resource capacity to check whether this requirement is acceptable. If certain item is not accepted, it informs the calling end that the call establishment fails. Under normal circumstances, the VLR sends the MSC a PAGING MAP message that contains the location area identification (LAI) and the IMSI or TMSI of the called party, informing the MSC to perform the paging procedure. When the MSC obtains the LA information of the MS from the VLR, it sends all the BSCs in this LA the paging message that contains the cell list and the TMSI and IMSI information required for paging. The IMSI can be used in the paging for the MS through the cell paging channel. In addition, it is also used to confirm the paging subchannel in the discontinuous reception processing. BSC sends the PAGING COMMAND to all the cells in the LA. This command message contains the paging channel group number and the timeslot number (obtained by the calculation of the last three numbers of the IMSI, the total number of the paging channels, and the total number of the paging timeslots). When the cell receives this paging command, it sends the PAGING REQUEST message on the paging channel. The message contains the IMSI or TMSI of the user paged. If the called MS detects the paging by decoding the paging information, it sends a channel request to initiate the channel allocation process. After receiving the immediate assignment command from the network, the MS sends the initial message of PAGING RESPOSE on the channel assigned through the SABM frame, and then implements the authentication, encryption, TMSI reallocation, and finally begins the call establishment process. 1.14.3 Call Establishment for the Called Party After the TMSI reallocation is over, the MSC sends the MS a SETUP message that includes all the details required such as the service type and the calling number. After receiving this message, the called MS confirms the information and sends a CALL CONFIRMED message back if the service is available. The call confirmed message carries the parameters that the MS selects, such as the channel type (full rate TCH or half rate TCH) and the service type. After receiving the call confirmed message, the MSC sends the assignment command to the BSC for the voice channel allocation. After the assignment procedure is over, the called MS sends an ALERTING message to the network and a ringing prompt occurs to the called MS. when the MSC receives this message, it sends an Address Complete Message (ACM) to the calling end. After receiving this message, the calling end makes a ring back tone as the originating user prompter. The called user hears the ringing and responds, and then sends a CONNECT message to the MSC. After receiving this message, the MSC connects all the transmission links. The end-to-end transmission is established. 1.14.4 The Influence of Call Transfer to Routing In the supplementary services, call transfer has the greatest influence on call routing. The call transfer is mainly caused by Call Forwarding Unconditional (CFU), Call Forwarding Busy (CFB), Call Forwarding on mobile subscriber Not Reachable (CFNRc), and Call Forwarding on No Reply (CFNRy). The routing selection for each function is as follows: I. CFU When the GMSC sends the SEND_ROUTING_INFORMATION message to the HLR, if the CFU function is available, the HLR sends the SEND_ROUTING_INFORMATION_RESULT message with the transfer number in it back to the GMSC for it to redefine the routing. II. CFB When the GMSC finds the VMSC/VLR with the MSRN obtained from the HLR, but the called end is busy and the CFB function is available, the VMSC/VLR implements the call transfer of the transfer number and sends it to the third party. If the CFB function is not available, the GNSC handles the call directly, such as playing the user bush record. III. CFNRc The routing selection for this function is based on how the network decides the called party is not reachable. The processing is different for different criteria. If the last location registration of the called user fails, and the HLR keeps the record of this situation and knows the MS is

unreachable, it makes the CFNRc decision by itself. If the HLR does not keep the record of this situation, the call flow continues until the MSC performs the paging for the user and gets no response from the user in due time. The user is decided not reachable. The MSC forwards this call. This kind of situation has many causes. One of them is that the user enters the dead zone or the MS is power-off, but the VMSC has not made the periodic check on the IMSI attached user yet, so it cannot judge the MS status and the paging fails. Another cause is that the MS is in frequent location updating on the edge of the LA and cannot respond the paging or the channel request fails, which leads to paging timeout. If the MS is in IMSI detach (the MS is switched off or out of the service area for a long time), because the detach tag is in the VLR instead of the HLR, the call forwarding can only be initiated by the VMSC/VLR. When the VLR periodically deletes the long-term detached IMSI and informs the HLR, the HLR need not contact the VLR. IV. CFNRy If the paging of the VMSC for the user succeeds and the called end sends the ALERTING message to the system, but the called user makes no response in due time and the CFNRy function is activated, the call forwarding procedure is initiated. V. CW and HOLD Call Waiting (CW) is a supplementary service. When the MSC receives the IAI from the calling end, if the called user is in another conversation and the CW function is enabled, the MSC skips the paging procedure and directly sends a SETUP message to the MS by using the current signaling mode. When the CW function is enabled, the handover of the two calls can be performed. When the CFB and the CW are enabled at the same time, the CW is initiated first if another call is coming. The CFB will be initiated when a third call is coming. 1.14.5 Exceptional Situations This section only analyzes the common abnormal procedures. For other abnormal procedures, see "Mobile Originating Call Establishment Procedure." Upon paging failure, the MSC prompts voice information to the calling party, indicating the called MS is outside the serving area or cannot be connected. In this case, trace the signaling on interfaces A and Abis to check whether the paging failure is caused by: No PAGING COMMAND at A interface No PAGING COMMAND at Abis interface No PAGING RESPONSE at Abis interface No PAGING RESPONSE at A interface I. No Paging Command at A Interface Through signaling tracing over interface A, the MSC is detected that it has not sent a PAGING message to the BSC. In this case, check the data configuration and MS information in the MSC/VLR and HLR on the NSS side. Additionally, power off the called MS, power it on and make a test call to check whether the MS is normal. Checking user data in VLR When an MS is paged, the MSC judges the current state of the MS by the user data (including MS active state, registered LA, cell information), and decides whether or how to send the PAGING message. If the MS state has changed (for example, the MS is switched off, or has entered a different LA) and has not registered in the network normally or updated user data in VLR, the MS may probably be unable to be paged. In that case, the MS only need to initiate a location updating procedure to ensure that the user data in VLR is correct. The period of periodic location updating is indicated in system information. On MSC side, there is also a location updating period (See "Location updating Procedure"). The two parameters of BSC and MSC must satisfy a certain relationship, which requires that MS must initiate a location updating procedure within the period specified in MSC. Checking RA- or Cell-Related parameter settings in MSC If a routing area or cell related parameter is incorrectly set in the MSC, the transmission of the PAGING message may fail. For example, if a wrong target BSC is selected, the PAGING message that should have been sent to the local BSC will be sent to another BSC. II. No Paging Command at Abis Interface Upon receiving the PAGING message from the MSC, the BSC detects that the MSC has not sent PAGING COMMAND to the BTS over interface Abis. In this case, check the operations and data configuration in the BSC Checking if flow control is enabled Check if the system load suddenly increases due to centralized transmission of short messages or mass access bursts. Checking relevant data configuration Check if the CGI information in BSC data configuration is consistent with the LAC information in the PAGING message over A interface. Additionally, if RA- or cell-related parameter is not correctly set in the MSC, for example, a wrong target BSC is selected, the PAGING COMMAND message cannot be successfully sent over Abis interface. Check whether the following parameters in the [System information table] are correctly set: "BS_AG_BLKS_RES", "CCCH-CONF" and "BS_PA_MFRMS". III. No Paging Response at Abis Interface Through signaling tracing over Abis interface, the BSC is detected that it has not received the Establishment Indication (PAGING RESPONSE) after sending PAGING COMMAND to the BTS. In this case, check the relevant data configuration and radio signal coverage. Check if there is PCH or AGCH overload due to centralized short message transmission or mass access bursts. Check the called MS or SIM in it. Check BTS by making test calls in a different cell. Check data configuration in BSCCheck whether the following parameters in the [System information table] are correctly configured: "BS_AG_BLKS_RES", "CCCH-CONF", "BS_PA_MFRMS", "Tx-integer," and "MS MAX retrans". Check the setting for "location updating period" in BSC and that in MSC Check radio signal coverage Due to the problem of radio signal coverage, there might be some blind coverage areas. The MS that has entered a blind

coverage area cannot receive the PAGING REQUEST message. In that case, the MS cannot be paged. Such cases, if any, only exist in partial areas. IV. No Paging Response at A Interface Through signaling tracing at Abis interface, the BSC is detected that it has received an Establishment Indication (PAGING RESPONSE) message from the BTS but this message is not reported over interface A.

1.13 MS Originating Call Flow The MS needs to set up a main signaling link to connect to MSC first, and then initiates the authentication, encryption, and TMSI reassignment flow. 1.13.1 Called Number Analysis After the authentication, encryption, and TMSI reassignment flow are over, the MS starts the call setup flow. First, the MS sends a SETUP message to the network side. This message contains called number and the required services. The MSC implements the call proceeding according to the message. When receive the SETUP message, the MSC sends the outgoing call message SEND_INFO_FOR_O/C_CALL to the VLR. After receive the outgoing call message, the VLR analyzes the items such as called number, the calling party capability, and network resources capability according to the user information obtained from the HLR during the location updating process, to check whether to accept this call request. If a certain item cannot be passed, the VLR sends the RELEASE COMPLETE message to the MS. The call fails. The MS then proceeds to release the bottom layer connection and switches to the idle state. If the above items can be passed, the VLR sends the COMPLETE_CALL message to the MSC. After receive this message, the MSC sends the CALL PROCEEDING message to the MS. It means that the call request is accepted and the call is set up. 1.13.2 Voice Channel Assignment (Follow-up Assignment) After send the CALL PROCEEDING message to the MS, the MSC activates the follow-up assignment according to the service request. That is, assign the TCH voice channel to the user. At this time, the MSC sends the ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message to the BSC. This message contains the information such as the requested channel type to request the BSC to assign the TCH voice channel for the call. After receive the channel request from the MSC, the BSC sends the Channel Activation for TCH message to the BTS to activate corresponding terrestrial resources and start a timer at the same time if the TCH channel resources are available. If the BTS has prepared the resources such as circuit, the BTS sends the CHANNEL ACTIVATION ACK message to the BSC. If the BSC has no available resources to assign, it sends the RESOURCE FAILURE message to the MSC. But if the system allows queuing, the BSC sends the QUEUING INDICATION message to the MSC and places the assignment request in the queue and starts the timer T11. If the T11 times out, the BSC sends the CLEAR REQUEST message to the MSC. The immediate assignment request, intra-BSC handover, and inter-BSC handover do not support queuing. Only the TCH resource request (that is, the assignment request and intra-cell handover) allows queuing. The TCH resource requests in the queue are assigned with relevant channels in the sequence of their priorities. In the length of the queue reaches its threshold or the timer times out, the request is rejected. When the BSC receives the CHANNEL ACTIVATION ACK message from the BTS, the BSC puts the physical information of the channel provided by the BTS in the ASSIGNMENT COMMAND message (this message contains the information such as channel type, voice/data indication, channel rate, voice decoding algorithm and transparent transmission indicator, assignment priority and CIC). The ASSIGNMENT COMMAND message is sent to the MS through the SDCCH channel. After receive the ASSIGNMENT COMMAND message from the BTS, the MS adjusts the transceiver configuration to the TCH channel and then sends the SABM message to the BTS through the FACCH channel in the way of stolen frame. After the BTS receives the SABM message, the BTS sends the ESTABLISH INDICATION message to the BSC and then sends an Unnumbered Acknowledge (UA) to the MS, just as the initial signaling channel assignment does. After receive the UA, the MS sends the ASSIGNMENT COMMPLETE message to the BTS through the FACCH channel. If the MS fails to identify the assignment information and fails to occupy the specified channel due to the radio interface failure, radio interface message failure or interference, or hardware problems, the MS returns to the original channel and sends the ASSIGNMENT FAILURE to the BTS. If the MS does not receive the ASSIGNMENT COMMAND sent from BTS or the BTS does not receive the response message sent from MS due to interference or other causes, the system starts the corresponding timers (such as T3103 or T3107) and when the timer times out, the channel is released. When receive the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message, the BSC sends the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message to the MSC. At the same time, it also sends the RF CHANNEL RELEASE message to the BTS to release the occupied SDCCH signaling channel. When the BTS releases the signaling channel, it sends the RF CHANNEL RELEASE ACK message to the BSC. After the BSC receive the message, it considers that the signaling channel is in idle state and can be assigned to other channel requests. For different purposes, the GSM has three different channel assignment flows. They are initial channel assignment, follow-up channel assignment, and handover channel assignment. Initial channel assignment: is mandatory to establish the link transmission between the MS and the network. For example, process the location updating request. During the establishment of the signaling transmission, if the TCH channel is assigned preferably, this assignment is called very early assignment (VEA). After the MSC sends the ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message, the BSC does not apply for new channel but initiate the Mode_Modify flow. After the Mode_Modify is complete, the BSC reports the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message to the MSC. If the SDCCH channel is assigned first, and the TCH channel is assigned when it is needed, and then ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message from MSC is sent before the Alerting message, this assignment is called early assignment (EA). If the SDCCH channel is assigned first and the TCH is assigned after the called party sends the CONNECT message, Generally, it adopts the EA mode. If the EA mode is used in the initial assignment, when no SDCCH is available, assign the TCH channel for the channel request directly. The TCH channel replaces the SDCCH channel to send the signaling message. Please note that using the TCH channel to transmit the signaling wastes the resources a lot because one TCH channel equals eight SDCCH channels. When this situation is quite serious, add more SDCCH to meet the requirement in time.

Follow-up channel assignment After the signaling channel finishes the authentication and encryption process, if there is still voice or data request, the follow-up channel assignment is triggered to assign a TCH channel. Handover channel assignment This assignment is used to apply for channels due to handover during the call process. The system judges whether the handover occurs in the SDCCH or in the TCH to assign corresponding channels. The handover flow and the assignment flow in the cell are the same. The only difference is that the message names are different. Similar to the immediate assignment flow, in the MS assignment flow, the timer T3107 starts when the BSC sends the ASSIGNMENT COMMAND message to the BTS. After the BSC receives the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message from the BTS, the timer T3107 resets. Generally, the timeout of the timer is caused by the bad radio coverage. When the timer times out, the MS is considered disconnected with the network and the resources are released for other MSs. Based on the statistics, the channel assignment is generally complete within two seconds. If the BSC does not receive the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message within two seconds, the assignment fails. But sometime, the network quality is bad, some messages needs to be sent several times, in this case, the assignment can be extended to five seconds. Generally, if the traffic load of the cell is heavy, set the timer as 2 seconds to 5 seconds. If not heavy, set the timer as 10 seconds. 1.13.3 Call Connection After receiving the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message from the BSC, the MSC sends the Initial Address Message (IAM) that includes the information used to establish the route to the called network. The MSC will receive the call setup report soon. If succeeds, the MSC receives an ADDDRESS COMPLETE message (ACM); if fails because of certain reason (such as busy line or congestion), the MSC receives a RELESASE message from the called end. If MSC receives the ACM, MSC sends the ALERTING message to the MS (MS translates it into ring back tone). This message is a DTAP message. If no answer is received from the called party and the calling party does not terminate the connection, the network will terminate the call or perform no answer call transfer after a while. If the called party picks up the phone, MSC receives an ANSWER message. The link between the calling party and the called party is connected. MSC sends a CONNECT message in the CC protocol to the MS. After receiving this message, the MS sends a CONNECT ACKNOWLEDGE message in the CC protocol to the system. The system starts charging after receiving this message. If the called end is data device, it enters CONNECT status directly after receiving the SETUP indication. The call connection procedure is over and the two parties start the conversation or data transmission service. 1.13.4 Call Release If the calling party hangs up first, the MS sends disconnect message to MSC through FACCH. After receiving this message, the MSC sends release message to inform the called party to terminate the communication. The end-to-end connection is over. But the call is not complete, because certain tasks such as sending charge indication are performed. When the connection to the MS is no longer necessary, the system sends a RELEASE message to the MS and starts T308. After receiving this message, the MS sends a RELEASE COMPLETE message to the system and the call is over. The MS stops the T308 after receiving the RELEASE COMPLETE message. Similarly, if the called party hangs up first, it sends a RELEASE message to the calling party. The MSC sends the calling party a DISCONNECT message after receiving the RELEASE message. If the call is terminated in an abnormal way, this message further indicates the cause for that. When the MSC receives the RELEASE COMPLETE message from the MS, it sends a CLEAR COMMAND message to BSC to release all the signaling links. This message contains the cause for the call clearance, such as handover complete or location updating complete. The call connection release is over. If the abnormal release occurs because of radio link failure or device failure, the BSC sends a CLEAR REQUEST message to the MSC. After receiving the CLEAR REQUEST message, BSC sends a CHANNEL RELEASE message to the MS and starts T3109 to show that all the lower layer links are released. Meanwhile, it requires the MS to enter the idle mode. When the MS receives the CHANNEL RELEASE message, it removes the uplink signaling link (to stop sending the measurement report of uplink channel associated signaling on SACCH). The MS sends DISC message to BTS and starts T3110. After receiving this message, The BTS sends UA to MS and the RELEASE INDICATION to the BSC. When the T3110 times out or the MS receives the UA frame, it enters the idle mode. In order to ensure the timely removal of the uplink and downlink, when the BSC sends the CHANNEL RELEASE message to the MS for the uplink removal, it also sends a deactivate SACCH (SACCH) to the BTS requiring for the release of the downlink signaling (to stop the signaling connection between the two parties). After receiving this message, the BTS stops the transmission of the downlink SACCH frame and sends the deactivate SACCH acknowledgement to the MSC. After receiving the RELEASE INDICATION message, BSC resets the T3109 and starts the T3111, and sends RF CHANNLE RELEASE to the BTS (the T3111 is reset at the same time), requiring for the release of TCH resources. When the BSC receives the RF CHANNLE RELEASE acknowledgement message from the BTS, it sends a CLEAR COMPLETE message to the MSC, indicating that the radio link clearance is over and the channel is available for reallocation. After receiving the CLEAR COMPLETE message, the MSC releases the SCCP connection by sending RLSD and receiving RLC. The whole MS originating call flow is over. 1.13.5 Exceptional Situations I. No Establish Indication Message Is Received After Channel Activation The main causes are: The MS may send many channel requests even if the BSS works well, which activates many signaling channels. But the MS only occupies one of them. Other channels are released by the BSC after the T3101 times out as they cannot receive the establish indication from the MS. If the Tx_interger is proper, the cause for this problem is that the uplink reception is normal but the downlink signal cannot be received by the MS. Under such circumstances, the received level and the received quality of uplink and downlink should be checked. If the MS is not far away from the BTS but the received level and the received quality are bad, check the antenna feeder and the TRX in BTS.

Improper configuration of Tx-integer in BSC The Tx-integer affects the interval of channel request re-sending. Improper Tx-integer only leads to the activation of many channels by BSS, but no call will be affected. II. BSC Sending Immediate Assignment Reject If the BSC sends immediate assignment reject to the MS after receiving the channel required message, the usual causes are: No proper signaling channel is available for the MS because of all channels are busy or the channels are blocked. BTS sends channel activation negative acknowledge after receiving the channel activation message. If the BTS sends lots of channel activation negative acknowledge messages to the BSC, it is usually because the transmission at Abis interface is not stable, which leads to the inconsistent channel status of the BSC and BTS, or because errors occur in certain board of BTS. III. MSC Sending Disconnect Message Instead of Assignment Request to Terminate the Call In the call connection process, the immediate assignment is followed by the assignment procedure. But due to certain reasons, the MSC sends a disconnect message instead of the assignment request message to the MS and then terminates the call. Under such circumstances, many complaint phones from users cannot get through. Check the following: The A interface circuit of MSC The data consistencies of the A interface between the MSC and BSC, especially the circuit pool data. IV. Assignment Failure After receiving the assignment request, the BSC sends assignment failure message instead of assignment complete. The usual causes are: No proper voice channel is available for the MS. BSC has no proper voice channel for the MS because all the voice channels are busy or the channels are blocked. The cause value carried by the assignment failure message is no radio resource. The MS voice channel access fails. Under this condition, the assignment failure is reported from the MS. Due to the special features of the radio transmission, this kind of assignment failure occurs most frequently and is unsolvable. If the occurrence rate is too high, check the antenna feeder, the BTS board, and the parameters related to channel access in BSC data configuration. The A interface circuit of BSC fails, for example, the CIC in the assignment request is not available. The hardware of BSC fails. The cause value in the assignment failure message sent by BSC is equipment failure. The transmission at A interface fails. V. Directed Retry After receiving the assignment request message from the MSC, if no TCH is available and the BSC allows directed retry, the BSC implements the handover with the cause value of directed retry to change the service cell of the MS. VI. Exceptional Procedure Due to Call Drop Call drop may occur any time during the call flow, which affects the following procedures. For example, the call drop occurs when the BSC receives the assignment request message from the MSC. The assignment procedure may be not complete (the channel may be just assigned and no assignment command message is sent). Under this condition, BSC may send clear request message instead of assignment complete message or assignment failure message to the MSC. VII. Exceptional Procedure Due to Hangup Hang up of the calling party or the called party may occur any time during the call flow, which affects the following procedures. For example, the hangup occurs when the BSC receives the assignment request from the MSC. Under this condition, the call flow may be terminated before the BSC sends assignment complete or assignment failure to the MSC. This assignment procedure neither succeeds (BSC sends assignment complete) nor fails (BSC sends assignment failure). VIII. Exceptional procedure because MSC sends clear command After the A interface connect is established, MSC may send clear command or disconnect message to the BSC during the call flow, which affects the following procedures. For example, the hang up occurs when the BSC receives the assignment request from the MSC. Under this condition, the call flow may be terminated before the BSC sends assignment complete or assignment failure to the MSC. This assignment procedure neither succeeds (BSC sends assignment complete) nor fails (BSC sends assignment failure) If it happens many times, analysis the following two factors: The cause value carried in the clear command The cause value is usually the call control if the call is terminated in a normal way. Otherwise, the cause value may be protocol error, equipment failure, or others. The interval between the clear command or disconnect message and the last message The interval between the clear command or disconnect message and the last message indicates whether the exceptional procedure is triggered by timeout.

1.12 Location Update In GSM, the paging information cannot be sent in the whole network due to the capacity limit of the paging channel. Therefore, the definition of location area (LA) is introduced. LAC contains many cells. The paging for the MS is carried out through the paging in all the cells within the LA of the MS. The size of the LA is of vital importance to the system performance in network design. The registration management for the LA is required since the paging for the MS is carried out through the paging in all the cells within the LA, which brings about the definition of location update. Location update is divided into generic location update, periodic location update, and IMSI attach. 1.12.1 Generic Location Update (Inter-LA Location Update) When the MS moves from one LA to another LA, registration is required. If the LAI stored in the MS is different from the LAI of the current cell, the MS informs the network to change the location information it stores. This procedure is called generic location update. In idle mode, if cell re-selection occurs when the MS moves within the LA, the MS will not inform the network immediately but implement cell re-selection without location update or network involvement. If the MS moves to another LA after reselection, the MS informs the network of this LA change, which is called forced registration. According to whether the VLR changes or IMSI involves, generic location update is divided into the following types: I. Intra VlR Location Update It is the simplest location update that requires no IMSI. It happens in the current VLR without informing the HLR. In the initial message carried by SABM frame, the access cause is MM LOCATION UPDATING REQUEST that carries the MS TMSI and LAI. The generic location updating is indicated. MSC receives this message and forwards it to VLR. VLR updates the MS location information and stores the new LAI, and then sends a new TMSI to MS if required (MS uses the former TMSI if no TMSI is carried in the TMSI re-allocation command). After receiving the TMSI re-allocation complete message, MSC sends location updating accept message and releases the channel. Location updating completes. II. Inter-VLR Location Updating, Sending TMSI After the MS enters a cell, if the current LAI is different from the LAI it stores, it sends its LAI and TMSI to VLR through MSC in location updating request. VLR deduces the former VLR based on the LAI and TMSI it received and sends a MAP_SEND_IDENTIFICATION to the former VLR to request for IMSI and authentication parameter. The former VLR sends the IMSI and authentication parameters to the current VLR. If the current VLR cannot obtain the IMSI, it sends MS an identity request message to request for the IMSI. After receiving the IMSI, VLR sends HLR the location updating message that contains the MS identity information for the data query and path establishment of HLR. After receiving this message, HLR stores the number of the current VLR and sends MAP/D_CANCEL_LOCATION to the former VLR if the current MSC/VLR has the normal service rights. After receiving this message, the former VLR deletes all the information about this MS and sends the HLR a MAP/D_CANCEL_LOCATION_RESULT message to confirm the deletion. The HLR will send MAP_INSERT_SUBSCRIBER_DATA message to provide the current VLR with the information it requires (including authentication parameters) after the procedure for authentication, encryption, and TMSI reallocation is over, and confirm the location updating after receiving the response from the VLR. III. Inter-VLR Location Updating, Sending IMSI The procedure is similar with the procedure above but easier because it requests for authentication parameter from the HLR through IMSI directly. 1.12.2 Periodic Location updating The network and the MS lose contact when: The MS is switched on but moves out of the network coverage area (dead zone). The network lost contact with the MS and regards it still in attach status. The MS sends IMSI detach message and the uplink quality is bad due to interference, the network may not be able to decode this message correctly. The MS is still regarded in attach status. The MS is power off. It cannot inform the network of its status and the contact is lost. If the paging for MS happens when the contact is lost, the system sends paging information in the LA that the MS registered before. The network cannot receive the response from the MS. The system resource is wasted. To solve this problem, the implicit detach timer is introduced in the VLR for the IMSI status management. In addition, measures are taken in BSS to force the MS to report its location periodically. Therefore, the network is informed of the status of MS. This kind of mechanism is called periodic location updating. The network sends a periodic location updating time T3212 to all the users in the cell through BCCH to force the MS to send location updating request with the cause of periodic location updating after T3212 times out. Before the T3212 times out, if the timeout value is changed (for example, the service cell changes and the T3212 timeout value is broadcast), the MS uses the time when the change happens as the initial value and keep on timing. If the T3212 times out when the MS is in NO CELL AVAILABLE, LIMITED SERVICE, PLMN SEARCH, or PLMN SEARCH-NORMAL SERVICE status, the location updating is initiated after the MS is out of these service status. Periodic location updating ensures the close contact between network and mobile users. The shorter updating period leads to better network performance. But the frequent location updating will increase the signaling flow and reduce the utilization of the radio resources, or even affect the processing ability of MSC, BSC, and BTS. On the other hand, it will greatly increase the power consumption of MS and reduce its standby time. The T3212 setting should be based on comprehensive consideration. The procedure for periodic location updating is the same as that for generic location updating. 1.12.3 IMSI Attach and Detach IMSI attach and detach means to attach a binary mark to the subscriber record in MSC/VLR. The former one is marked as access granted, and the latter one is marked as access denied. When the MS is switched on, it informs the network of its status change by sending an IMSI ATTACH message to the network to inform. After receiving this message, the network marks the current user status in the system database for the paging program. If the current LAI and the LAI the MS stores are the same, IMSI attach is initiated. The procedure is similar to the intra

VLR location updating only that the location updating request message is marked as IMSI attach and the initial message contains IMSI of the MS. If the current LAI is different from the LAI stored, generic location updating is initiated. When the MS is switched off, the IMSI detach is triggered by a key-press. Only one command is sent to MSC/VLR from the MS. This is an unacknowledged message. After receiving this message, MSC informs VLR to do detach mark to this IMSI while the HLR is not informed of the no-radio of this user. When the paging for this user occurs, HLR requests for the MSRN from the VLR and is informed of the no-radio of this user by this time. Therefore, no paging program is implemented. The paging message is handled directly, such as playing the record: "The subscriber is powered off." The procedure above is explicit IMSI detach. There is also implicit detach. The implicit detach happens before the implicit detach timer times out. If the contact between MS and network is not established, the VLR sets the IMSI status as detach. The implicit detach timer is set longer than the periodic location updating timer T3212 to avoid "abnormal" implicit detach. The implicit detach is denied during the establishment of radio connection. The implicit detach timer is reset after the release of radio connection. Implicit detach timer is also called IMSI delete time. VLR deletes the IMSI marked as detach periodically (The period is adjustable) and reports the user status to the HLR. 1.12.4 Exceptional Situations I. MS Access denied because of access level limit MS stays in the service cell and performs the normal cell re-selection procedure without triggering location updating. When the current cell allows access or other cell is selected, The MS initiates location updating immediately. IMMEDIATE ASSIGNMENT REJECT message is received during random access MS stays in the service cell and starts T3122 based on the value in the immediate assignment reject message. The normal cell selection and re-selection procedure is performed. If the cell that the MS stays changes or T3122 times out, the MS initiates location updating. Random access failure If the random access fails, T3213 is started. After the T3213 times out, the random access procedure is initiated. If two successive random accesses fail, the location updating is terminated. For the subsequent processing, see the following description. RR connection failure: Location updating procedure is terminated. For the subsequent processing, see the following description. T3210 timeout: Location updating fails. For the subsequent processing, see the following description. The completion of RR connection is abnormal: Location updating fails. For the subsequent processing, see the following description. Location updating reject due to reasons other than #2, #3, #6, #11, #12, or #13: MS waits for the release of RR connection. For the subsequent processing, see the following description. # 2 (IMSI unknown in HLR) # 3 (Illegal MS) # 6 (Illegal ME) # 11 (PLMN not allowed) # 12 (Location Area not allowed) # 13 (Roaming not allowed in this location area) Subsequent processing: If the T3210 is still timing, stop it; If T3210 times out, RR connection fails. Add 1 to the location updating attempt timer. The following processing depends on the LAI (stored and received from the service cell) and the value of the location updating attempt timer. If the location updating status is UPDATED, the stored LAI and the received LAI are the same, and the location updating attempt timer is less than 4, MS keeps the UPDATED status. After the release of RR connection, the sub status of MM IDLE becomes NORMAL SERVICE. The MS also stores the information about the former location updating type. The T3211 is started after RR connection release. After it times out, the location updating procedure is started again. If the location updating status is not UPDATED, or the stored LAI is different from the received LAI, or the location updating attempt timer is equal to or less than 4, the MS deletes the ciphering key sequence, LAI, TMSI stored in SIM card and sets the location updating status as NOT UPDATED. After the release of RR connection, the sub status of MM IDLE becomes ATTEMPTING TO UPDATE. After the RR connection release, if the location updating attempt is less than 4, T3211 is started. Otherwise, T3212 is started. After the T3211 or T3212 times out, the location updating procedure is started again. After the sub status of MM IDLE becomes ATTEMPTING TO UPDATE, the MS will do the following: If T3211, T3213, or T3212 times out, perform location updating. If LA changes, perform generic location updating If the cause for the status change is (3), (4), (6) (the cause is not the abnormal release with unknown reason), or (7) (cause retry in the new cell), perform location updating when entering the new cell. If the cause for the status change is (5), (6) (the cause is abnormal release with unknown reason), or (7) (the cause is not retry in the new cell), location updating is not performed when entering the new cell. No IMSI detach. Support emergency call request Respond the paging with IMSI Perform generic location updating triggered by the request from CM layer (if the location updating succeeds, the MML connection request will be accepted. For details, see section 4.5.1 of the Protocol 0408). II. Matching Between IMSI Delete Time and T3212 If the periodic location updating fails for four times, T3212 will be started for the next update. In the bad coverage area, especially in the area where the uplink and downlink do not match (downlink is better than uplink), after the periodic location update fails, Another location updating is initiated after T3212 times out. Therefore, the T3212 is set to be shorter in the bad coverage

area. In addition, if the IMSI delete time is less than twice of the T3212, the users stay in the service area but cannot be called. So the IMSI delete time should be more than twice of the T3212 and based on LAC. III. Network RR connection failure Among all the sub procedures attached to the location updating procedure, if the RR connection fails, it is handled according to the exception handling of other common procedures. If no other common procedure is attached to the location updating procedure, the MS location updating is terminated. Protocol error If the network detects protocol error after receiving LOCATION UPDATING REQUEST, it sends LOCATION UPDATING REJECT message to the MS with the following cause if possible: #96 required IE error #99 IE error or no IE exists #100 Conditional IE error #111 Protocol error, undefined After sending LOCATION UPDATING REJECT to the MS, the network initiates channel release procedure. : ourdot 1:14

1.11 Authentication and Encryption GSM takes lots of measures to protect the safety of system, such as using Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) to protect IMSI, using Personal Identification Number (PIN) to protect SIM card, authentication through authentication center (AUC) for network access, encryption, and equipment identity register. Authentication and encryption require a group of three parameters that generated in AUC. Each client is assigned a Mobile Station International ISDN Number (MSISDN) and IMSI when registers in GSM network. IMSI is preserved onto SIM card through SIM printer and SIM printer will generate a corresponding client authentication value Ki that is stored in SIM card and AUC as permanent information. AUC has a pseudo number generator used to generate a random number RAND. GSM defines algorithm A3, A8, and A5 that are used for authentication and encryption. In AUC, RAND and Ki together produce a response number SRES through A3 authentication algorithm and a Kc through A8 encryption algorithm. RAND, Kc, and SRES form a three-parameter group of client. This group is stored in the data base of this client in HLR. Generally, AUC transfers five groups of parameters to HLR for automatic storage. HLR can save ten groups of such parameters. When MSC/VLR requests for three-parameter group transfer, HLR sends five groups at the same time for MSC/VLR to use one by one. When there are two groups left, MSC/VLR will request for transfer again. 1.11.1 Authentication Authentication is the process that GSM network checks whether the IMSI or TMSI from MS at radio interface is valid or not. The purpose of authentication is to avoid unauthorized access to GSM network and the theft of private information by illegal users. Authentication also provides parameters for MS to calculate new encryption key. The network initiates authentication procedure in the following situations: MS requesting for the change of information in VLR or HLR; Service access, including MS originated call, MS terminated call, MS activation and deactivation, and supplementary services; The first network access after MSC/VLR reboot; Mismatching Cipher key Sequence; Whether to initiate authentication procedure depends on if the Kc value of the last service processing stored in network consistent with that of the present access stored in MS. If consistent, authentication procedure can be escaped and this Kc value is used directly for encryption; if not, Kc value needs to be recalculated. MS does not send Kc value to network through radio path for the sake of privacy. Therefore, Cipher Key Sequence Number (CKSN) is introduced. CKSN is sent to MS by MSC/VLR through authentication request message during the last network access. It is stored in both SIM card and MSC/VLR. During the initial access of MS, CKSN is sent to MSC/VLR through the initial request message of SABM frame. MSC/VLR compares it with the last CKSN. If they are not consistent, authentication is required before encryption. If CKSN=0, it means no Kc is assigned. Authentication procedure is initiates and controls by network. MSC/VLR sends an authentication request message to MS to initiate authentication procedure and T3260. I. Authentication Success 2) AUTHENTICATION REQUEST contains a RAND (128 bits) and a CKSN. The Ki and RAND together generate a SERS (32 bits) through algorithm A3 and a Kc (64 bits) through algorithm A8. The new Kc replaces the former key and is stored in SIM card together with CKSN. 3) MS sends AUTHENTICATION RESPONSE to network. After receiving this message, the network stops T3260 and checks its validity (network compares it with the SERS generated by Ki and RAND through algorithm A3 and check whether they are consistent or not), and then enters the subsequent procedures, such as encryption. II. Authentication Reject If authentication fails, it means AUTHENTICATION RESPONSE is invalid. If the MS uses TMSI, the network will initiate identity procedure. If the IMSI provided by the MS is different from that in network, the network will restart the authentication procedure; if the IMSI is correct, the network will send AUTHENTICATION REJECT to the MS. If the MS uses IMSI, the network will send AUTHENTICATION REJECT directly to MS. After sending AUTHENTICATION REJECT message, the network releases all the MM connections under establishment and restarts the procedure for RR connection release. After receiving AUTHENTICATION REJECT message, MS sets the roaming disabled flag and deletes information such as TMSI, LAI, and cipher key. If MS receives AUTHENTICATION REJECT message in IMSI DETACH INITIATED state, it stops T3220 after RR connection is released. If possible, MS initiates local release procedure after the normal release procedure or T3220 timeout; if not (such as the IMSI detach after switch off), MSRR exits abnormally. If MS receives AUTHENTICATION REJECT message in other state, it exits all MM connections and call re-establishment procedures, stops T3210 and T3230, sets and starts T3240 to enter WAIT FOR NETWORK COMMAND state and wait for the release of RR connection; If RR connection is not released after T3240 timeout, MS will exit RR connection abnormally. Under the two conditions above, MS enters MM IDLE and NO IMSI state. 1.11.2 Encryption Encryption occurs in service requests such as location updating, service access, and inter-office handover. It requires the support of GSM network equipment (especially BTS), as well as the encryption ability of MS. I. Signaling Procedure 1) MSC sends BSC a Ciphering Mode CMD that contains encryption algorithm, Kc, and whether the MS is required to add IMEI in Ciphering Mode CMP. 2) BSC decides the final algorithm based on the encryption algorithm in Ciphering Mode CMD, the encryption algorithm that BSC allows, and the encryption algorithm that MS supports, and then inform BTS. 3) BSC sends MS Ciphering Mode CMD to inform MS of the selected encryption algorithm. 4) After receiving Ciphering Mode CMD, MS starts the transmission of ciphering mode and sends Ciphering Mode CMP to the system. 5) After receiving the Ciphering Mode CMP from MS, BSC transfer it to MSC. II. Procedure Description

A5 algorithm GSM protocol specifies eight kinds of encryption algorithm from A5/0 to A5/7. A5/0 stands for no encryption. The encryption procedure is initiated by the network. The encryption information of Cipher Mode CMD specifies the required encryption algorithm. The algorithm that generates encrypted code is called A5 algorithm. It calculates by using the Kc (64 bits) and the current frame number (22 bits) to generate a 114-bit encryption sequence and then implements XOR operation with the 114-bit burst. Two encryption sequences are used for uplink and downlink. For each burst, one sequence is used for MS encryption and BTS decryption, the other sequence is used for BTS encryption and MS decryption. Encryption algorithm selection When MS initiates call request, the SABM frame carries Classmark 1 or 2 to indicate whether the MS supports algorithm A5/1, A5/2, or A5/3, and reports Classmark 3 in CLASS MARK CHANGE to further indicate whether the MS supports Algorithm A5/4, A5/5, A5/6, or A5/7(In system information, if ECSC=1, MS reports Classmark 3 immediately; if ECSC = 0, the Classmark 3 is reported after CLASSMARK ENQUIRY is initiated by the network. Therefore, the configuration of ECSC = 1 is recommended when the encryption is used). MSC sends encryption command based on the configuration of secret data. BSC chooses the intersection of the encryption algorithm allowed in the command sent by MSC, the encryption algorithm allowed in BSC data configuration, and the encryption algorithm supported in the MS report. In the intersection, BSC selects a proper algorithm based on the priority level of A5/7 > A5/6 > A5/5 > A5/4 > A5/4 > A5/3 > A5/2 > A5/1 > A5/0. Encryption in handover The HANDOVER REQUEST contains the encryption information unit that indicates the required encryption algorithm and key. If one of the two A interfaces of BSS is in PHASE I, due to the limitation of ETSIGSM PHASE I protocol (no ciphering mode setting information unit in handover command), the two A interfaces match only when they share the same encryption algorithm (such as A5/2) to ensure the normal inter-BSC handover. Otherwise, special treatment has to be made to the target MSC or target BSC (or the source MSC or source BSC) to change the handover command for interBSC handover. For the interconnection of A-interfaces when the encryption is used, whether special data configuration is required for BSC and MSC must be considered. 1.11.3 TMSI Reallocation After authentication and encryption, the system sends CM SERVICE ACCEPT or TMSI reallocation command to MS and initiates T3250. When MS registers in the location area for the first time, the network allocates a TMSI to it. When the MS leaves this location area, it releases the TMSI. When the MS receives the TMSI reallocation command, it saves the TMSI and LAI and sends TMSI reallocation complete message. After receiving this message, the network stops T3250. If the system cannot identify TMSI of the MS, for example, when the data base error occurs, the MS must provide its IMSI. The identification program is initiated before the TMSI reallocation to request for the IMSI. The identification program sends identity request message to the MS, after receiving this message, the MS provides its IMSI by sending identity response message to the network. When this procedure is over, authentication, encryption, and IMSI reallocation are implemented if required. 1.11.4 Exceptional Situations I. Authentication RR connection failure If the network detects RR connection failure before receiving AUTHENTICATION RESPONSE, it releases all the MM connections and terminates all the active MM procedures. T3260 timeout T3260 is started when MSC sends authentication request to BSC and stops when MSC receives AUTHENTICATION RESPONSE. If the T3260 times out before the AUTHENTICATION RESPONSE is received, the network releases RR connection, terminates the authentication procedure and all the active MM procedures, and then releases all the MM connections and initiates RR connection release procedure. Unregistered SIM card If the SIM card of the MS is not registered, the network sends AUTHENTICATION REJECT message directly to the MS. II. Encryption Encryption reject If BSS does not support the encryption algorithm specified in CIPHERING MODE CMD, it sends CIPHER MODE REJECT message to MSC. If the encryption is initiated in BSS before MSC requests for the change of encryption algorithm, BSS also sends CIPHER MODE REJECT message to MSC. Un-encrypted MS The CIPHERING MODE COMMAND message is valid when: The un-encrypted MS receives CIPHERING MODE COMMMAND message that requires encryption. The un-encrypted MS receives CIPHERING MODE COMMMAND message that requires non-encryption. The encrypted MS receives CIPHERING MODE COMMMAND message that requires non-encryption. In other cases, CIPHERING MODE COMMAND is considered wrong. The MS sends RR STATUS message with the cause of protocol error and performs no action. III. TMSI Reallocation RR connection failure If RR connection fails before TMSI reallocation complete message is received, all the MM connections are released and both the old and new TMSIs are saved during a certain recovery time. T3250 timeout T3250 is started when MSC sends TMSI_ REALL_ CMD message or LOC UPD ACC message with the new TMSI and

stops when MSC receives TMSI _REALL_COM. If T3250 times out before the TMSI _REALL_COM is received, MSC sends CLEAR COM message to release RR connection and terminate TMSI reallocation.

1.10 Immediate Assignment Procedure The purpose of immediate assignment is to establish a radio connection (RR connection) between MS and system at Um interface. 1.10.1 Network Access License and Random Access Request The request of MS for channel assignment is controlled by its own access level and the access grant level broadcast in cell. Each MS has one access level of the ten levels from 0 to 9. In addition, it may also have one or several levels of the five special access levels from l1 to 15. Access level is stored in SIM card. BCCH system information broadcasts access levels and special access levels that the network grants and the information that whether all MSs allow emergency call or allow special access levels only. If the mobile originated call is not emergency call, the MS can access to network only when it belongs to the granted access level or granted special access level. If the mobile originated call is emergency call, the MS can access to network only when all the MSs in the cell allow emergency call or it belongs to the granted special access level. When an MS wants to establish connection with the network, it sends a channel request to network through RACH channel. Channel request information contains 8-bit useful signaling information, among which 3 bits6 bits are used as the minimal indicator of access cause. The system processes different channel requests based on this rough indication. It differentiates the granted calls from the denied calls and assigns proper channels for the granted calls. This kind of process is especially useful when the network is overload and the flow control is required. Since the channel capacity is limited, this indicator cannot transfer all the information from MS, such as the detailed cause of channel request, user identity and the features of mobile equipment. These kinds of information are sent in the following SABM messages. The 8-bit information also contains the random discriminator sent by the MS and the immediate assignment command (it contains information about the assigned channel). Immediate assignment command carries the discriminator sent by the previous MS. MS compares this discriminator with its own discriminator and judges whether it is the message for itself from network. Since there are at most 5 bits in the 8 bits information carrying discriminator, only 32 MSs can be differentiated at the same time. Further discrimination of the MSs requires the response information at Um interface. Channel request information belongs to internal information of BSS. In GSM, RACH is a kind of ALOH. In order to reduce the collision on RACH during MS access to network and improve the efficiency of RACH channel and MS access. GSM specifies the required access algorithm for MS. This kind of algorithm defines three parameters: Tx_interger T, the maximum retransmission times RET, and parameter S related to T and channel combination. T represents the number of timeslots between two transmissions when continuous channel requests are sent. S is an intermediate variable depends on T and the configuration of CCCH. See the description of this parameter in Chapter 7. RET is the MS maximum retransmission times allowed in order to avoid access collision. Each time after MS sends access request, T3120 is to receive (or reject) immediate assignment message. MS will retransmit access request for the messages that are not received or rejected when T3120 times out under the premise that RET is not exceeded and restart the T3120. When the retransmission times reaches RET and T3120 times out, T3126 will be started to receive (or reject) immediate assignment message. When T3126 times out, cell re-selection will be initiated. 1.10.2 Initial Immediate Assignment After decoding the channel request information, BTS sends a channel required message to BSC. This message contains important additional information and the estimation of TA by BTS. After receiving this message, BSC selects a proper channel for this request and activates the land resources by sending a channel active message to BTS. BTS returns a channel active acknowledge message to BSC. If BSC receives this message, BTS will send an immediate assignment command or immediate assignment extended message on CCCH. In order to improve channel efficiency, GSM introduces the message layout of immediate assignment extended that contains the assignment information of two MSs. The immediate assignment message contains the assignment information of one MS. According to GSM specifications, MS must identity the immediate assignment (extended) information for the last three channel requests. If there is no channel to activate, BSC will send an immediate assignment reject or immediate assignment extended reject message to MS. After receiving the reject message, MS stops T3120 based on one of the last three channel requests and starts T3122. During the specified time of T3122, MS has no access to network and turns into idle mode. Before T3122 times out, MS cannot initiate connection attempt except emergency call within the same cell. After receiving immediate assignment message, MS compares the received assignment command with the information stored in its channel request and judges whether this message is for itself. If this message matches one of its last three channel requests, MS will stop T3120 or T3126 and switch to the assigned channel. Then it starts to establish the signaling link by using Set Asynchronous Balanced Mode (SABM) command. 1.10.3 Initial Message After receiving immediate assignment message and decoding it, MS adjusts its configuration of transmission and reception to the assigned channel and transmits signaling according to the TA value specified by BSS and the initial maximum transmission power broadcast in BCCH system information (see the description of msTxPwrMaxCCH). MS sends an SABM frame on assigned SDCCH/TCH to establish the asynchronous balanced mode (SAPI=0) that is used to establish signaling message link layer connection under acknowledgement mode. According to GSM protocol, SABM carries an initial message that contains layer 3 service request information. When two MSs send the same channel requests (which is possible in high traffic volume area), the two MSs may respond to the same dedicated channel. in order to save this problem, after receiving SABM frame, BTS makes no modification but sends a UA frame (no frame number acknowledgement) containing the same information as that of initial message. If the information of UA frame is different from that of SABM frame, MS will abandon this channel and start reaccess process. Only the right MS can stay on this channel. SABM frame carries four kinds of initial messages: CM service request (such as call setup, short message, and supplementary service), location updating request (generic location updating, periodic location updating, and IMSI attach), IMSI detach, and paging response. All these messages contain the identity of MS, detailed access cause, and MS classmark (indicating some key features such as transmission power level, encryption algorithm, short message capacity, and frequency capacity).

After receiving the initial message, BTS sends an establish indication message to BSC. BSC receives this message and sends complete layer 3 information to MSC to request SCCP connection to MSC. Layer 3 information carries the causes for CM service request, which includes mobile originated call, emergency call, location updating, and short message service. This information also carries cipher key sequence number, MS identification number, and some physical information of the MS such as transmit power level, ciphering algorithm, pseudo-synchronization, and short message. After receiving this information, MSC sends connection confirmed message to BSC (if the connection cannot be established, MSC will send SCCP refused message) to indicate that the signaling link between MS and MSC has been established. By this time, MSC can control the transmission properties of RR management; BSS monitors the transmission quality and prepares for handover. Then the MM connection begins. Authentication or encryption is triggered when required in the following processing. In the immediate assignment process, T3101 starts when BSC sends channel active message to BTS and ends when the establish indication is received. If T3101 times out before signaling channel is established, the activated channel will be released. 1.10.4 Immediate Assignment Failure If a failure occurs to the underlaying MS on the new channel before the establishment of signaling link, the network releases the assigned channel of MS. The following processing depends on the failure type and previous actions. If the failure is caused by the mismatch of message field in decision contention and no re-assignment is initiated, the immediate assignment is restarted. If the failure is caused by other reasons or if the re-assignment triggered by the mismatch of message field in decision contention is carried out and the assignment still fails, MS turns into idle mode and triggers cell re-selection. If the available information is not sufficient to define a channel after the MS receives immediate assignment message, RR connection fails. If the assigned frequencies of MS belong to two or more than two frequency bands, RR connection fails. If the assigned frequency of MS is not consistent with the requested frequency but supported by MS, MS accesses the channel with the frequency used in channel request. If MS does not support the assigned frequency, RR connection fails. If T3101 times out before the signaling channel is established, network releases the assigned channel. Network cannot tell whether MS resends the access attempt or not.

1.9 Power Control 1.9.1 Power Control Overview Power control is to change the transmission power of MS or BTS (or both) in radio mode within certain area. Power control can reduce the system interference and improve the spectrum utilization and prolong the service time of MS battery. When the Relev and quality is good, the transmission power of the peer end can be reduced to lower the interference to other calls. In GSM, power control can be used in uplink and downlink respectively. The power control range for uplink MS is 20 dB 30dB. Based on the power class of MS (most MSs belongs to class 4, which means the maximum transmission power is 33 dbm), each step can change 2 dB. The downlink power control range is decided by equipment manufacturer. Although whether to adopt uplink or downlink power control function is decided by network operators, all MSs and BTS equipments must support this function. BSS manages the power control in the two directions. To facilitate BCCH frequency pull-in and the measurement of Relev (including the Relev of neighbor cell BCCH frequency), GSM protocol specifies that no power control is allowed for the timeslots in the downlink of BCCH TRX. 1.9.2 MS Power Control The power control of MS includes two adjustment stages: stable adjustment stage and initial adjustment stage. Stable adjustment is the common way to implement power control algorithm. Initial adjustment is used at the beginning of call connection. When a connection occurs, MS sends signals with nominal power (before receiving power adjustment commend, the nominal transmission power of MS is the maximum transmission power on BCCH of the cell. If MS does not support this power level, it will adopt other power level most close to this level, such as the maximum power level supported by the classmark of MS in indication message establishment). Therefore, MS accesses to network through RACH with the maximum power broadcast on BCCH. When MS power is lower than this value, it will transmit with its maximum transmission power. The system specifies that the power level of the first message that MS sends on DCH is also this value. The system control begins after MS receives the power control command in SACCH information block from SDCCH or TCH. Since BTS can support multi-call at the same time, the Rxlev should be quickly reduced in the new connection. Otherwise, other calls supported by this BTS will deteriorate and the calls in other cells will also be affected. The purpose of initial adjustment stage is to quickly reduce the transmission power of MS to get the stable MR, so MS can be adjusted according to stable power control algorithm. The required parameters in uplink power control, the expected uplink Rxlev, and the uplink received quality can be adjusted according to the situation of the cell. After receiving a certain number of uplink MRs, the system compares the actual uplink Rxlev and received quality obtained by interpolation, filtering, and other methods with the expected values and calculate the power level that the MS should be adjusted to through power control algorithm. If the calculated power level differs from the output power level of MS and meets certain limit conditions (such as step limit of power adjustment and range limit of MS output power), the system will send power adjustment command. The command of changing MS power and the required time advance will be sent to MS in the layer 1 header of each downlink SACCH information block. MS will configure the power level it uses now in its uplink SACCH information block and send it to BTS in measurement report. This level is the power level of the last burst in the previous SACCH measurement cycle. When MS receives the power control information in SACCH information block from DCH, it will transmit with this power level. One power control message does not make the MS switch to the required level immediately. The maximum change rate of MS power is 2 dB for every 60 ms. For 12 dB, before MS receives the next power control message, it will not end as one SACCH measurement cycle takes 480 ms. In addition, it takes three measurement cycles to send power control message and execute the command. Therefore, the power control cycle should not be too short in order to ensure its accuracy. See Figure 1-10. Figure 1-1 Execution of power control command The purpose of uplink power control adjustment is to minimize the difference between the actual uplink Rxlev and received quality and the expected uplink Rxlev and received quality. The purpose of interpolation and filtering is to process the lost measurement reports and remove temporary nature to ensure the stability of power control algorithm. The difference between initial adjustment and stable adjustment is that the expected uplink Relev and received quality and the length of filter in initial adjustment are different from that of stable adjustment, and the initial adjustment only has downlink adjustment. 1.9.3 BTS Power Control BTS power control is an optional function. It is similar to MS power control, but it only uses stable power control algorithm. The required parameters are Rxlev threshold (lower limit), and the maximum transmission level can be received (upper limit). The Relev is divided into 64 levels ranging from 0 to 63. Level 0 is the lowest Rxlev; level 63 is the highest Rxlev. BTS power control is divided into static power control and dynamic power control. Dynamic power control is the fine tuning based on static power control. There are six steps (2 dB/step) of static power control according to Protocol 0505. If the maximum output power is 46 dBm (40W), the step 6 is 34 dBm. Static power control step is defined in the cell distributes list of data management system, which specifies the maximum output power (suppose this value is Pn) of static power control. For step 15 of dynamic power control, the corresponding value range is Pn dBPn-30dB. When the maximum power control still cannot satisfy the requirement, adjust static power control step to improve the maximum output power of dynamic power control Pn. 1.9.4 Power Control Processing I. Measurement Report Interpolation Each measurement report has a sequence number. If network detects incontinuous sequence numbers, it means some of the measurement reports are missing. The network will complete the reports based on interpolation algorithm. The network receives measurement reports n and n+4. It detects the sequence numbers are not continuous, so it uses an algorithm to add n+1, n+2, and n+3 to complete the reports. The purpose of measurement report interpolation is to avoid call loss when the power is too low. II. Measurement Report Filtering

Network will not judge the state of MS based on only one measurement result, because that is too incomprehensive, in addition, the MS may be fluctuating. Therefore, filtering is required. Filtering combines several continuous measurement results together to determine the state of MS during this period of time. TA has filters for Rxlev and received quality of uplink and downlink The purpose of measurement report filtering is to remove temporary nature and ensure the algorithm stability. III. Power Control Adjustment Calculate the power adjustment value based on the difference between the Rxlev and the expected value. Power control adjustment based on Rxlev Power control module compares the estimate value of Rxlev obtained through pre-processing of measurement report with the expected value, and calculates the step length of adjustment. In power control algorithm, variable step is often used for quick power control. Power control adjustment based on received quality Power control module compares the estimate value of received quality obtained through pre-processing of measurement report with the expected value, and calculates the step length of adjustment. When the received quality is bad, improve the transmit power; when the received quality is good, reduce the transmit power. This kind of power control adopts fixed step. Comprehensive decision for power control Consider both Rxlev and received quality and adopt different power control strategies in different conditions to keep the stability and efficiency of power control algorithm. When the received quality requires the improving of transmit power while the Rxlev requires the reducing of it, the system will make a comprehensive decision to perform no power control adjustment, because bad received quality and good Rxlev represent strong network interference. Under such circumstances, improving transmit power will further increase the interference.

1.8 Discontinuous Reception and Discontinuous Transmission 1.8.1 Discontinuous Reception and Paging Channel In idle mode, if MS selects a cell as its service cell, it begins to receive the paging information from this cell. But in order to reduce power consumption, discontinuous reception (DRX) is introduced in GSM. Each user (IMSI) belongs to a paging group and each paging group corresponds to a paging subchannel. MS can calculate which group it belongs to based on the last three digits of its IMSI and the configuration of paging channel in this location area, and then locate the paging subchannel of this paging group. In fact, in idle mode, MS just listens to the paging information from the system on its subchannel (MS also monitors the Relev of BCCH carrier frequency in non-service area during this period of time) and ignores the information on other paging subchannels. Some of the hardware equipments are even switched off to save the power of MS. But MS must complete the required task of network information measurement within a specified time. Through DRX, MS can receive the broadcast short messages that the users want to know with less power consumption, thus extending the service time. BSC has to send scheduling messages to support DRX at MS. One scheduling message contains lots of broadcast short messages to be sent soon. The time that all broadcast short messages of a scheduling information takes is a scheduling cycle. Scheduling information contains the description of all short messages to be broadcast in order and also indicates the position of the messages in scheduling cycle. Through scheduling messages, MS can find the broadcast short messages it wants quickly so as to reduce its power consumption. The number of paging subchannels of each cell can be calculated based on the configuration type of CCCH, BS_AG_BLKS_RES (the number of blocks belonging to AGCH in 51 multiframe), and BS_PA_MFRMS (the number of 51 multiframes used as one paging subchannel cycle). When there are three CCCHs in a 51 multiframe, the number of paging subchannels is (3- BS_AG_BLKS_RES) BS_PA_MFRMS When there are nine CCCHs in a 51 multiframe, the number of paging subchannels is (9BS_AG_BLKS_RES)BS_PA_MFRMS In addition, the configuration of CCCH parameters has the following principles: The greater the parameter BS_PA_MFRMS, the more the paging subchannels, and the less the users of each paging subchannel, but the total capacity of the system remains the same, because the average delay of the paging information on radio channel increases. When the ratio of retransmission waiting is relatively high, BS_PA_MFRMS should be improved to increase the paging subchannels; when the ratio of retransmission waiting is relatively low, BS_PA_MFRMS should be reduced to shorten the paging delay. The capacities of paging subchannels of all cells in a location area should be the same, because the paging message of a location area must be sent in all the cells of this location area at the same time. The longer the cycle of paging channel, the less power the MS in this service area takes. For example, in cities, this cycle can be defined as 2, which means MS listens to paging messages once for every 102 frames. In rural areas, this cycle can be defined as 4 or 6. The MS with the paging channel cycle of 6 consumes 18% less power than the MS with the paging channel cycle of 2. After measuring the system information, MS enters the rest state and listens to the paging information in the specified paging blocks only and measures the Relev of BCCH of neighbor cells at the same time. After 30 s, MS will listen to system information again to judge the cell re-selection process. In GSM, CCCH mainly includes AGCH and PCH. Its primary function is to transmit immediate assignment messages and paging messages. CCCH can be one or several physical channels and it can also share a physical channel with SDCCH. The combination mode of CCCH depends on the parameter CCCH_CONF. The configuration of CCCH_CONF must be consistent with the actual configuration. It is recommended that when there is only one TRX in a cell, the configuration of CCCH can be a physical channel shared with SDCCH (3 CCCH information blocks). When the traffic volume is extremely large, in case one physical timeslot is not enough, GSM specification allows the configuration of multiple CCCH channels on the TRX besides BCCH, but these channels must be used in timeslot 0, 2, 4, and 6. When CCCH_CONF is confirmed, parameter BS_AG_BLKS_RES actually decides the ratio of AGCH and PCH on CCCH. It is recommended that this parameter be configured as little as possible in order to reduce the response time of MS to paging. 1.8.2 DTX I. DTX Overview During communication, only 40% time is used for conversation; no useful information is transmitted during the rest 60% time. If all the information is transmitted to network, many of the system resources will be wasted, in addition, the interference will aggravate. In order to solve this problem, GSM adopts DTX technology to stop signal transmission when there is no voice signal. Therefore, the interference level is reduced and the system efficiency is improved. There are two kinds of transmission modes in GSM: normal mode and discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode. In normal mode, noise and voice have the same transmission quality. In DTX mode, the transmission of unuseful messages is prohibited. MS only sends man-made noise signals that are tolerable, which means this noise will not annoy the listeners nor affect the conversation. This kind of noise is called comfort noise. In DTX mode, 260-bit code is transmitted in every 480 ms; in normal mode, 260-bit code is transmitted in every 20 ms. Whether the downlink DTX is adopted or not is controlled by network operators of the exchange part. This kind of control is based on BSC. The control information is transmitted to baseband processing part through dedicated signaling channel, and then arrives at TC through the inband signaling of TRAU frame to indicate whether downlink DTX is adopted. For some vendors, the downlink DTX can be configured on the basis of cell. Uplink DTX is configured by network operators of the radio part. The parameter DTX in system information consists of 2 bits. Parameter DTX is contained in cell option of information unit and transmitted periodically in the system information of each cell broadcast. MS decides whether to start DTX function based on this information. DTX can be used for voice signal transmission and nontransparent data transmission. BCCH TRX does not use this technology. The benefits of DTX are listed below: Uplink DTX can save MS batteries and reduce interference.

Downlink DTX can save BTS power consumption and reduce interference and intra-BTS intermodulation. Uplink DTX and downlink DTX used together can improve the intra-frequency ratio of the system. This kind of improvement, when used in aggressive-frequency-reuse cell planning, especially when used with frequency hopping, can greatly expand the system capacity. II. Voice Activity Detection For voice activity detection (VAD), the source must indicate when the transmission is required. When DTX mode is activated, the encoder must detect the signal is voice or noise. Therefore, the VAD is required. VAD can differentiate voice from noise through calculating some signal parameters and threshold values. This kind of differentiation is based on an energy rule: the energy of noise is always lower than that of voice. VAD generates a group of threshold value in every 20 ms to judge whether the next 20ms block is voice or noise. When the background noise is too loud, the noise signal will be regarded as voice signal to transmit. III. Silence Indicator The coding procedure of noise is the same as that of voice. After sampling and quantification, a noise block will be produce by encoder in every 20ms. Like voice block, the coded noise block also contains 260 bits, which forms a SID frame. The SID frame will go through channel coding, interleaving, encryption and modulation and finally be sent by eight continuous bursts. On TCH, a complete SACCH information block has four 26 muliframe cycles (480 ms). In order to differentiate voice frame and SID frame, these eight continuous bursts are arranged at the beginning of the third multiframe. During other time of the 480 ms, no information is transmitted except SACCH timeslot. The SID frame made from the 20 ms noise block is interleaved with the preceding frame and the following frame; the first SID frame is interleaved with the preceding voice frame and the following SID frame. IV. Measurement Uplink DTX and downlink DTX are two irrelevant procedures that are activated by system parameters respectively. There are two kinds of measurement in GSM: full measurement and sub measurement. Global measurement is the average of the level and quality of the 104 timeslots in a measurement cycle (four 26 multiframes); local measurement is the average of level and quality of 12 timeslots, including eight continuous TCH bursts (for TCH/F, 0-103 TDMA frames as a cycle. The frame numbers of these eight bursts are 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59. when no voice or signaling is transmitted, the descriptor of comfort noise they contain is called SID) and four SACCH bursts (0-103 TDMA frames as a cycle, for timeslot 0, the frame numbers of these four bursts are 12, 38, 64, and 90; for timeslot 1, the frame number is that of timeslot 0 plus 13. similarly, the frame numbers that the eight timeslots correspond to can be obtained in this way). In order to achieve uniformity, no matter the uplink DTX or downlink DTX is activated or not, BTS and MS must complete these two kinds of measurement. Each SACCH measurement report of BTS and MS indicates whether DTX is used in last measurement report time. BSC choose one of the two kinds of measurement based on this indication. : ourdot 0:15

1.7 Frequency Hopping With the ever growing traffic volume and the limited frequency resource, frequency reuse is more and more aggressive. Therefore, the problem of how to reduce frequency interference becomes more and more remarkable. The essence of anti-interference is to fully utilize the current spectrum, time domain, and space resources. The key measures include frequency hopping, discontinuous transmission (DTX), and power control. Frequency hopping also can effectively reduce the influence of fast fading. 1.7.1 Types of Frequency Hopping GSM radio interface uses slow frequency hopping (SFH) technology. The difference between slow frequency hopping and fast frequency hopping is that the frequency of latter changes faster than frequency modulation. In GSM, the frequency remains the same during burst transmission. Therefore, GSM frequency hopping belongs to slow frequency hopping. In frequency hopping, the carrier frequency is controlled by a sequence and hops with time. This sequence is frequency hopping sequence. Frequency hopping sequence is a sequence of frequencies decided by hopping sequence number (HSN), mobile allocation index offset (MAIO) and frame number (FN) through a certain algorithm in the mobile allocation containing N frequencies. The N channels of different timeslots can use the same hopping sequence. The different channels of the same timeslot in the same cell adopt different MAIO. Frequency hopping can be divided into frame hopping and timeslot hopping according to time domain and RF hoping and baseband hopping according to implementation mode. Frame hopping: the hopping frequency changes once in each TDMA frame period. Each TRX can be regarded as a channel. The TCH of BCCH TRX cannot join in the frequency hopping in a cell. The hopping TRX should have a different MAIO. Frame hopping is an exception of timeslot hopping. Timeslot hopping: the timeslot frequency of each TDMA frame changes once. The TCH of BCCH TRX can join in the frequency hopping, which happens in baseband hopping. RF hopping: both transmission and reception of TRX join in the frequency hopping. The number hopping frequencies can exceed the number of TRXs in the cell. Baseband hopping: each transceiver works at a fixed frequency. TX does not join in frequency hopping. Frequency hopping is performed through the handover of banseband signal. Therefore, the number of hopping frequencies cannot exceed the number of TRXs in the cell. The two frequency hopping modes above are based on BTS. As for MS, since each MS has only one TRX unit, RF hopping is the only mode. I. Baseband Hopping The system has multiple baseband and TRX processing unit. Each TRX processing unit has a fixed working frequency; each baseband processing unit processes one line of service information and sends the processed information to the TRX unit with bus topology in time sequence according to frequency hopping rule. This kind of frequency hopping is called baseband hopping. In baseband hopping, each transceiver works with a fixed frequency. The bursts on the same speech path are sent to each transceiver. Baseband hopping is based on the handover of baseband signals. Since the transceiver of each BTS has a fixed working frequency, both broadband combiner and cavity combiner can be adopted. The number of TRXs decides the maximum number of frequency hopping. The problem for baseband hopping is that if one TRX board fails, the corresponding code word will be lost, thus affecting all the calls under hopping mode in the cell. II. RF Hopping Under this mode, each line of service information is processed by fixed baseband unit and frequency band unit. The working frequency of frequency band unit is provided by frequency combiner. Under the control of control unit, frequency can be changed according to certain rules. In RF hopping, the frequencies used by a TRX to handle all the bursts of a call come from the frequency change of combiner, instead of the handover of baseband signals. The number of TRXs is not limited by carrier frequency. As the working frequency of TRX changes, which means the frequency of the input port to combiner changes, only broadband combiner can be adopted. This kind of broadband combiner leads to about 3dB insertion loss in two-in-one combination and the loss is greater in the link insertion of multi-combiner. GSM protocol does not specify which kind of frequency hopping is used in GSM BTS. The mode of frequency hopping can be decided by operators according to the equipments. 1.7.2 Frequency Hopping Algorithm The parameters related to frequency hopping algorithm are as follows: CA: cell allocation, the collection of frequencies used by a cell FN: TDMA frame number, broadcasted on sync channel. FN (02715647) synchronizes BTS with MS MA: mobile allocation, the collection of radio frequencies used for MS frequency hopping. It is a subset of CA. MA contains N frequencies, 1N64. MAIO: mobile allocation index offset, (0N-1). During communication, the radio frequency at air interface is an element of MA. Mobile allocation index (MAI, 0N-1) is used to determine the element of MA. That is to say, the actual frequency used is decided by MAI. MAIO is the initial offset of MAI and it is used to avoid the contention of frequency by several channels at the same time. HSN: hopping sequence number (063). It determines that the hopping sequence with concentrated frequencies is adopted in frequency hopping. When HSN=0, the hopping is cyclic hopping; when HSN0, the hopping is random hopping. The proper setting of parameters is based on the understanding of the use of each parameter in hopping algorithm and the hopping theory. The proper setting ensures the healthy working state of the system. Remarks: For the cyclic hopping in discontinuous transmission (DTX), the number of hopping frequencies should avoid N mod 13 = 0, because under such condition, the probability of transmission and measurement of SACCH frame at the same frequency is rather high, and the harms are obvious. When HSN=0, S equals the frame number, in other cases, S is only related to frame number and frequency hopping number. When HSN is fixed and frame number is the same, S must be the same. Therefore, as the TRXs of each sync cell have the same frame number, different hopping groups in sync cells can adopt the same HSN. A proper configuration

of MAIO can avoid the inter-cell or intra-cell frequency collision within the same BTS. The aggressive frequency reuse adopts this theory. 1.7.3 Benefits of Frequency Hopping In GSM, frequency hopping has two benefits: frequency diversity and interference averaging. I. Frequency Diversity Frequency hopping can reduce the influence of signal strength change due to multipath transmission. This effect equals that of frequency diversity. In mobile communications, Rayleigh fading leads to the great change of radio signal in a short time. This kind of change is related to frequency: a more independent fading accompanies a greater frequency difference. The 200 KHz interval generally ensures the independence of inter-frequency fading, while the 1 MHz interval can fully guarantee this kind of independence. Through frequency hopping, all the bursts containing the code word of the same speech frame are protected from the damage of Rayleigh fading in the same way. Statistics shows that frequency hopping gain is related to environmental factors, especially to the moving speed of MS. When the MS moves at a high speed, the location difference between two bursts on the same channel is also affected by other kinds of fading. The higher the speed is, the lower the gain will be. Frequency diversity benefits a lot to a large number of MSs moving at low speed. Frequency hopping gain is also related to the number of frequencies. When the number of frequencies decreases, the hopping gain falls. The relationship between the number of frequencies and hopping gain can be explained in this way: frequency hopping is pseudo spectrum spread, and the hopping gain is the processing gain after transmission frequency band spread. The basic way to test frequency hopping gain is to calculate the differences between different C/I at different hopping frequencies under the same FER. These C/I differences are the frequency hopping gain. II. Interference Averaging Frequency hopping provides the diversity of interference on transmission channel, so that all the bursts containing the code word of the same speech frame are protected from the damage of interference in the same way. Through error correction coding and interleaving of the system, the original data can be restored from the rest part of the received flow. The hopping gain is obtained only when the interference is in narrowband distribution. If the interference is in broadband distribution, all the bursts will be destroyed and the original data cannot be restored. Therefore, no hopping gain is obtained. The common interference after frequency hopping can be regarded in narrowband distribution. In frequency hopping, error rate tends to increase in the test, but we feel the conversation quality improves. It is because although the error rate increases, the influence of interference is homogenized in frequency hopping, the speech restoring ability improves because of the interleaving and de-interleaving before. In GPRS data services, frequency hopping can be harmful when the data rate is rather high (CS4).

1.6 Cell Selection and Re-Selection 1.6.1 Cell Selection When a MS is switched on, it tries to contact GSM PLMN that the SIM permits and select a proper cell to extract control channel parameters and other system information. This process is called cell selection. The priority levels of cells include normal, low, and barred. Low priority level cell is selected when there is no proper normal cell. A proper cell means: The cell belongs to the selected network; The cell is not barred; The cell is not in the national prohibited roaming location area; The path loss between MS and BTS is under the limit set by network. The priority level of a cell is determined by CELL_BAR_QUALIFY (CBQ) and CELL_BAR_ACCESS (CBA). 1.6.2 Cell Selection Process To perform cell selection and re-selection, MS requires all the frequencies monitored to stay at the unweighted average value of Relev RLA_C. I. Cell Selection When MS Storing No BCCH Information MS searches all RF channels (at least 30 channels for 900 M, 40 for 1800 M, and 40 for PSC1900) in the system to obtain the Relev of each RF channel, and calculate the RLA_C based on at least five samples in three to five seconds, and then arrange these levels in descending order to select the proper BCCH. MS selects the cells with normal priority first. If the proper cells have low priority, MS will select the cell with the highest Relev. MS has already decoded and identified all these frequencies by now. If there is no proper cell, MS will keep on searching. It takes a maximum of 0.5 s to synchronize a BCCH TRX and 1.9 s to read the synchronized BCCH TRX data, except that it takes n*1.9s(n>1)to obtain the system information. II. Cell Selection When MS Storing BCCH Information If MS stores the BCCH frequency list of the former selected networks, MS will perform measurement sampling procedure (only for the stored BCCH TRX) according to this list. If the cell selection within this list fails, common cell selection will be performed. If all the cells have low priority level, MS will select the cell with the highest Relev. MS has already decoded and identified all these frequencies by now. When a 900 M MS enters the 900/1800 network, MS will probably choose 900 M network and ignore the priority level, because the MS stores all the 900 M frequency information in BCCH frequency list. III. Cell Selection Criteria Parameter C1 is the path loss criteria for cell selection, C1 of the service cell must exceed 0, the formula is as follows: C1= RLA_C - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN- MAX ((MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH- P), 0) (2-1) For DCS 1800 cells: C1 = RLA_C - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN- MAX ((MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH + POWER OFFSET- P), 0) In the formula: RLA_C: Average value of Relev RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN: Minimum Relev that MS allows MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH: Maximum transmit power on control channel P: Maximum transmit power of MS POWER OFFSETPower offset related to MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH used by DCS1800 cells. 1.6.3 Down Link Failure Downlink failure criteria are based on DSC. When a mobile phone stays in a cell, DSC is initialized to an integer most close to 90/N ( N is BS_PA_MFRMS, range value: 29). Each time when mobile phone successfully decodes a message on its paging subchannel, DSC increases by 1, but DSC cannot exceed the initial value; when decoding fails, DSC decreases by 4. When DSC<=0, downlink failure occurs. Down signaling link failure will lead to cell re-selection. 1.6.4 Cell Re-Selection Process In cell re-selection, mobile phone will synchronize and read the information from six BCCH TRXs (in BA list) with strongest signals outside the service area. For multi-frequency mobile phones, the TRXs with strongest signals may be in different frequency bands. In idle mode, mobile phone monitors all the BCCH TRXs in BA list and averages each Relev from BCCH TRX within 5 s to Max {5, ((5 * N + 6) DIV 7) * BS_PA_MFRMS / 4} s. N is the number of BCCH TRXs outside service area in BA list. Each RLA_C requires at least five level measurement samples and has to be updated from time to time. Service area samples the Relev at least once for each paging block to mobile. RLA_C is calculated by averaging the level samples received from 5s to Max {5s, five consecutive paging blocks of that MS}. Each RLA_C update is followed by the update of the six BCCH TRXs outside the service area in BA list. And the latter update may be even faster. Mobile phone decodes all the BCCH data in a service cell every other 30 s and the BCCH data blocks related to cell reselection parameters of the six BCCH TRXs with strongest signals every other five minutes. When the mobile phone detects that a new BCCH TRX becomes one of the six TRXs with strongest signals, this BCCH TRX data should be decoded within 30 s. Mobile phone checks the BSICs of the six BCCH TRXs with strongest signals to make sure they are in the same cell. If the BSIC of a TRX is changed, the MS will regard the TRX as new TRX and reread the BCCH data. MS will re-select a neighbor cell as service cell under certain condition. This condition includes several factors, such as RLA_C, cell restriction (decided by cell_bar and cell_bar_qualify), and access state of the neighbor cell. Cell re-selection adopts C2 algorithm. The calculation formula is as follows: When PENALTY TIME is not 11111 C2=C1+CELL_RESELECT_OFFSETTEMPORARY_OFFSET*H (PENALTY_TIMET); When PENALTY_TIME is 11111 C2=C1-CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET. When X>0, function H(x) =0; when XO, function H(x) =1.

T is a timer; its initial value is 0. When a cell is included in the six neighbor cells with strongest signals by MS, the timer T of this cell begins to time; when a cell is excluded from the six neighbor cells with strongest signals by MS, T will be reset. CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET adjusts the value of C2. After T starts, TEMPORARY_OFFSET will modify the C2 algorithm according to the defined value before the penalty time in order to avoid a micro cell or a cell with small coverage area is selected by a fast moving MS. If the defined penalty time is out, the temporary offset will be ignored. Penalty time can avoid the frequent cell re-selection in those coverage areas like express highway. These parameters in C2 algorithm works only when CELL_RESELECTION_INDICATION is activated. Otherwise, MS will ignore the setting of CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET, TEMPORARY_OFFSET, and PENALTY_TIME, under such circumstances, C2=C1. Cell re-selection will be triggered under the following conditions: The C2 value of a certain cell (belonging to the same location area with the current cell) exceeds that of the current cell by 5 seconds successively; The C2 value of a certain cell (belonging to different location area from the current cell) exceeds the sum of the C2 value of the current service cell and cell selection hysteresis value by 5 seconds successively; The current service cell is barred; MS detects downlink failure; The C1 value of the service cell is less than 0 for 5 seconds successively.

1.5 System Information System information is sent to MS from network in broadcast form. It informs all the MSs within the coverage area of location area, cell selection and re-selection, neighbor cell information, channel allocation and random access control. By receiving system information, MS can quickly and accurately locate network resources and make full use of all kinds of services that network provides. There are 16 types of system information: type1, 2, 2bis, 2ter, 3, 4, 5, 5bis, 5ter, 6, 7, 8, and 13. System information is transmitted on BCCH or SACCH. MS receives system information in different mode from different logic channel. In idle mode, system information 1 4, 7, and 8 are transmitted on BCCH ; In communication mode, system information 5 and 6 are transmitted on SACCH; The content of system information is as follows: System information 1cell channel description + RACH control parameter, transmitted on BCCH System information 2 frequency description of neighbor cell + RACH control information + network color code (NCC) permitted, transmitted on BCCH, used for cell re-selection System information 2bis Extended neighbor cell BCCH frequency description + RACH control information, transmitted on BCCH, used for cell re-selection. System information 2ter Extended neighbor cell BCCH frequency description, transmitted on BCCH, used for cell reselection. System information 3 Cell identity + location area identity (LAI) + control channel description + cell selection + cell selection parameter + RACH control parameter, transmitted on BCCH. System information 4 LAI + cell selection parameter + RACH control parameter + CBCH channel description + CBCH mobile configuration, transmitted on BCCH. System information 5 Neighbor cell BCCH frequency description, transmitted on SACCH channel, used for cell handover. System information 5bis Extended neighbor cell BCCH frequency description, transmitted on SACCH channel, used for cell handover. System information 5ter Extended neighbor cell BCCH frequency description, transmitted on SACCH channel, used for cell handover. System information 6 Cell Global Identification (CGI) + cell optionNCC Permitted, transmitted on SACCH. System information 7 cell re-selection parameter System information 8 cell re-selection parameter BCCH is a low-capacity channel, every 51 multiframes ((235 ms) have only four frames (one information block) to transmit a 23 byte LAPDm message. Each information unit contains: Cell channel description contains all the frequencies used in this cell. RACH control information contains parameters such as Max Retrans, TX_integer, CBA, RE, EC, and AC CN. Neighbor cell BCCH frequency description contains the BCCH frequency that the neighbor cell uses. Allowed PLMN is used to provide NCC Permitted that MS monitors on BCCH TRX. Control channel description contains parameters such as MS ATTACH/DEATTACH allowed Indicator ATT, BS-AG-BLKSRES, CCCH-CONF, BA-PA-MFRMS, and T3212. Cell selection contains parameters such as power control (PWRC) indication, discontinuous Transmission (DTX) indication, and RADIO-LINK-TIMEOUT. Cell selection parameter contains parameters such as cell re-selection hysteresis, MS-TXPWR-MAX-CCH, and RXLEVACCESS-MIN. CBCH channel description contains channel type and TDMA deviation (the combination mode of dedicated channel), timeslot number (TN), training sequence code (TSC), hopping frequency channel indication H, mobile allocation index offset (MAIO), hopping frequency sequence number (HSN) and absolute radio frequency channel number ( ARFCN). CBCH mobile configuration contains the relationship between hopping channel sequence and cell channel description. Cell re-selection parameter contains CELLRESELIND, cell bar qualify (CBQ), cell reselection offset (CRO), temporary offset (TO), and penalty time (PT).

1.4 Timing advance Signal transmission has a delay. If the MS moves away from BTS during calling, the signal from BTS to MS will be delayed, so will the signal from MS to BTS. If the delay is too long, the signal in one timeslot from MS cannot be correctly decoded, and this timeslot may even overlap with the timeslot of the next signal from other MS, leading to inter-timeslot interference. Therefore, the report header carries the delay value measured by MS. BTS monitors the arrive time of call and send command to MS with the frequency of 480 ms, prompting MS the timing advance (TA) value. The range of this value is 063(0233 us), and the maximum coverage area is 35km. The calculation is as follows: 1/23.7us/bit63bit*c=35km 3.7us/bit is the duration per bit (156/577); 63bit is the maximum bit for time coordination; c is light velocity (transmission rate of signal); 1/2 is related to the round-trip of signal. According to the preceding description, 1bit to 554 m, due to the influence of multi-path transmission and the accuracy of MS synchronization, TA error may be about 3 bits (1.6km). Sometimes a greater coverage area is required, such as in coastal areas. Therefore, the number of channels that each TRX contains must be reduced. The method is to bind odd and even timeslots, so there are only four channels (0/1, 2/3, 4/5, and 6/7) for each TDMA frame in extended cell. Allocate channels 0, 2, 4, and 6 to MS. Within 35 KM around BTS, the TA value of MS is in the normal range 0-63; for the area beyond 35 KM, TA value stays at 63. This technology is called extended cell technology. The maximum value of TA in BTS measurement report is 63+156.25=219.25 bit, so the maximum radius of coverage area is: 1/23.7us (63+156.25) 3108m/s=120km In real scheme, in order to improve the utilization of TRX, both common TRXs and dual timeslot TRXs can be included. BCCH must be in dual timeslot TRX to receive random access from any area. The calls within 35 km are allocated to common TRX; the calls within 35 km120 km and the switched in calls are allocated to dual timeslot TRX. If the system detects the switched in call is within 35km, it will switch over this call to common TRX. If the MS in conversation goes beyond 35 km, an intra-cell switchover will be carried out. Therefore, both the capacity requirement for remote areas and the coverage requirement for local areas can be satisfied.

1.3 Data Transmission Radio channel has totally different characteristics from wired channel. Radio channel has a strong time-varying characteristic. It has a high error rate when the signal is influenced by interferences, multipath fading, or shadow fading. In order to solve these problems, it is necessary to protect the signals through a series of transformation and inverse transformation from original subscriber data or signaling data to the information carried by radio wave and then to subscriber data or signaling data. These transformations include channel coding and decoding, interleaving and deinterleaving, burst formatting, encryption and decryption, modulation and demodulation. 1.3.1 Voice Coding Modern digital communication system usually uses voice compression technology. GSM takes tone and noise from human throat as well as the mouth and tongue filter effect of acoustics as voice encoder to establish a model. The model parameters transmit through TCH channel. Voice encoder is based on residual excited linear prediction encoder (REIP) and its compression effect is strengthened through long term predictor (LTP). LTP improves residual data encoding by removing the vowel part of voice. Voice encoder divides voice into several 20 ms voice blocks and samples each block with 8 kHz, so each block has 160 samples. Each sample is quantified through frequency A 13 bits (frequency 14 bits). Since the compression rates of frequency A and frequency are different, add three and two 0 bits to the quantification values respectively, and then each sample gets 16 bits quantification value. Therefore, 128 Kbit/s data flow is obtained after digitizing but before encoding. This data flow is too fast to transmit in radio path and has to be compressed in encoder. With full speed encoder, each voice block is encoded into 260 bits to form a 13 Kbit/s source coding rate. Next is channel coding. With 20 ms as a unit, 260 bits are output after compression encoding, so the encoding rate is 13Kbit /s. Compared with the direct coding transmission of voice in traditional PCM channel, the 13kbps voice rate of GSM is much lower. More advance voice encoder can reduce the rate to 6.5kbps (half rate encoding). 1.3.2 Channel Coding Channel coding is used to improve transmission quality and remove the influence of interferential factors on signals at the price of increasing bits and information. The basic way of coding is adding some redundant information to the original data. The added data is calculated on the basis of original data with certain rules. The decoding process of receiving end is judging and correcting errors with this redundant bit. If the redundant bit of received data calculated with the same way is different from the received redundant bit, errors must have occurred in transmission. Different code is used in different transmission mode. In practice, several coding schemes are always combined together. Common coding schemes include block convolutional code, error correcting cyclic code and parity code. In GSM, each logical channel has its own coding and interleaving mode, but the principle is trying to form a unified coding structure. Encode information bit into a unified block code consisting of information bits and parity check bits. Encode block code into convolutional code and form coding bits (usually 456 bits). Reassemble and interleave coding bits and add a stealing flag to form interleaving bits. All these operations are based on block. The block size depends on channel type. After channel coding, all channels (except RACH and SCH) are made of 464-bit block, that is, 456 coded information bits plus 8-bit header (header is used to distinguish TCH and FACCH). Then these blocks are reinterleaved (concerning channel). In TCH/F voice service; this block carries one speech frame of information. In control channel, this block usually carries one piece of information. In TCH/H voice service, speech information is transmitted by a block of 228 coded bits block. For FACCH, each block of 456 coded information bits is divided into eight sub blocks. The first four sub blocks are transmitted by even bits of the four timeslots borrowed from the continuous frames of TCH, and the rest four sub blocks borrows odd bits of the four timeslots from the four continuous frames delayed for two or four frames after the first frame. Each 456 coded bit block has a stealing flag (8 bits), indicating whether the block belongs to TCH or to FACCH. In the case of SACCH, BCCH or CCCH, this stealing flag is dummy. The synchronous information in Downlink SCH and the random access information in uplink use short coded bit blocks transmitted in the same timeslot. In TCH/F, a 20ms speech frame is encoded into 456-bit code sequence. The 260 bits of the 13 Kbit/s 20ms speech frame can be divided into three categories: 50 most import bits, 132 important bits and 78 unimportant bits. Add 3 parity check bits to the 50 most important bits, and these 53 bits together with 132 important bits and 4 tail bits are convolutionally encoded ( with 1/2 convolutional coding rate ) into 378 bits, plus the 78 unimportant bits, and the 456 bits code sequence is obtained. In BCCH, PCH, AGCH, SDCCH, FACCH and SACCH, data is transmitted by Link Access Procedure on the Dm channel (LAPDm). Each LAPDm frame has 184 bits, together with 40 bits error correcting cyclic code and 4 tail bits, through 1/2 convolutional coding rate, and the 456 bits code sequence is obtained. Each SCH contains 25-bit message field. Among them, 19 bits are frame number and 6 bits are BSC number. These 25 bits plus 10 parity check bits and 4 tail bits are 39 bits. Through 1/2 rate convolutional coding, 78 bits are obtained, which occupy an entire SCH burst. . RACH message only has 8 bits, including 3-bit setup cause message and 5-bit discrimination symbol. On the basis of these 8 bits, add 6 bits of color code (obtained through the MOD 2 of the 6-bit BSIC and 6-bit parity check code), plus 4 tail bits to get 18 bits. Through 1/2 rate convolutional coding, 36 bits are obtained, which occupy an entire RACH burst. 1.3.3 Interleaving If speech signal is modulated and transmitted directly after channel coding, due to parametric variation of mobile communication channel, the long trough of deep feeding will affect the succeeding bits, leading to error bit strings. That is to say, after coding, speech signal turns into sequential frames, while in transmission, error bits usually occur suddenly, which will affect the accuracy of continuous frames. Channel coding only works for detection and correction of signal error or short error string. Therefore, it is hoped to find a way to separate the continuous bits in a message, that is, to transmit the continuous bits in a discontinuous mode so as to change the error channel into discrete channel. Therefore, even if an error occurs, it is only about a single or very short bit stream and will not interrupt the decoding of the entire burst or even the entire information block. Channel coding will correct the error bit under such circumstances. This method is called

interleaving technology. Interleaving technology is the most effective code grouping method to separate error codes. The essence of interleaving is to disperse the b bits into n bursts in order to change the adjacent relationship between bits. Greater n value leads to better transmission performance but longer transmission delay. Therefore, these two factors must be considered in interleaving. Interleaving is always related to the use of channel. GSM adopts secondary interleaving method. After channel coding, The 456 bits are divided into eight groups; each group contains 57 bits. This is the first interleaving, also called internal interleaving. After first interleaving, the continuity of information in a group is broken. As one burst contains two groups of 57-bit voice information, if the two-group 57 bits of a 20 ms voice block after first interleaving are inserted to the same burst, the loss of this burst will lead to 25% loss of bits for this 20 ms voice block. Channel coding cannot restore so much loss. Therefore, a secondary interleaving, also called inter-block interleaving, is required between two voice blocks. After internal interleaving, the 456 bits of a voice block B are divided into eight groups. Interleave the first four groups of voice block B (B0, B1, B2, and B3) with the last four groups of voice block A (A4, A5, A6, and A6), and then (BO, A4), (B1, A5), (B2, A6), and (B3, A7) form four bursts. In order to break the consistency of bits, put block A at even position and block B at odd position of bursts, that is, to put B0 at odd position and A4 at even position. Similarly, interleave the last four groups of block B with the first four groups of block C. Therefore, a 20 ms speech frame is inserted into eight normal bursts after secondary interleaving. Theses eight bursts are transmitted one by one, so the loss of one burst only affects 12.5% voice bits. In addition, as these bursts have no relations with each other, they can be corrected by channel coding. The secondary interleaving of control channel (SACCH, FACCH, SDCCH, BCCH, PCH, or AGCH) is different from voice interleaving which requires three voice blocks. The 456-bit voice block is divided into eight groups after internal interleaving (the same as that of voice block), and then the first four groups are interleaved with the last four groups (the same interleaving method as that of voice block) to get four bursts. Interleaving is an effective way to avoid interference, but it has a long delay. In the transmission of a 20 ms voice block, the delay period is (9*8)-7=65 bursts (SACCH occupying one burst), which is 37.5 ms. Therefore, MS and trunk circuit have echo cancellers added to remove the echo due to delay. 1.3.4 Encryption Security is a very important feature in digital transmission system. GSM provides high security through transmission encryption. This kind of encryption can be used in voice, user data, and signaling. It is used for normal burst only and has nothing to do with data type. Encryption is achieved by XOR operation of poison random sequence (generated through A5 algorithm of encryption key Kc and frame number) and the 114 information bits of normal burst. The same poison random sequence generated at receiving end and the received encryption sequence together produce the required data after XOR operation 1.3.5 Modulation and Demodulation Modulation and demodulation is the last step of signal processing. GSM modulation adopts GMSK technology with BT being 0.3 at the speed of 270.833 Kbit/s and Viterbi algorithm. The function of modulation is to add a certain feature to electromagnetic wave according to the rules. This feature is the data to transmit. In GSM, the phase of electromagnetic field bears the information. The function of demodulation is to receive signals and restore the data in a modulated electromagnetic wave. A binary numeral has to be changed into a low-frequency modulated signal first, and then into an electromagnetic wave. Demodulation is the reverse process of modulation.

1.2 Multiple Access Technology and Logical Channel 1.2.1 GSM Multiple Access Technology In cellular mobile communications system, since many mobiles stations communicate with other mobiles stations through one base station, it is necessary to distinguish the signals from different mobile stations and base stations for them to identify their own signals. The way to this problem is called multiple access technology. There are now five kinds of Multiple access technology, namely: Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA), and polar division multiple access (PDMA). GSM multiple access technology focuses on TDMA, and takes FDMA as complement. The following only introduces FDMA and TDMA technologies. I. FDMA FDMA divides the whole frequency band into many single radio channels (transmitting and receiving carrier frequency pairs). Each channel transmits one path of speech or control information. Any subscriber has access to one of these channels under the control of the system. Analog cellular system is a typical example of FDMA application. Digital cellular system also uses FDMA, but not the pure frequency allocation. For example, GSM takes FDMA technology. II. TDMA TDMA divides a broadband radio carrier into several time division channels according to time (or timeslot). Each subscriber takes one timeslot and sends or receives signals only in the specified timeslot. TDMA is applied in digital cellular system and GSM. GSM adopts a technology combined with FDMA and TDMA. 1.2.2 TDMA Frame The basic conception of GSM in terms of radio path is burst. Burst is a transmission unit consists of over one hundred of modulation bits. It has a duration limit and takes a limited radio frequency. They are exported in time and frequency window which is called slot. To be specific, in system frequency band, central frequency of slot is set in every 200 KHz (in FDMA). Slot occurs periodically in each 15/26 ms, which is about 0.577 ms (in TDMA).The interval between two slots is called timeslot. Its duration is used as time unit, called burst period (BP). Time/frequency map illustrates the concept of slot. Each slot is expressed as one little rectangle with 15/26ms length and 200 KHz width. See Figure 1-1. Similarly, the 200 KHz bandwidth in GSM is called frequency slot, equal to radio frequency channel in GSM protocol. Burst represents different meaning in different situation. Sometimes it concerns time frequency rectangle unit, and sometimes not. Similarly, timeslot sometimes concerns time value, and sometimes means using one of every eight slots periodically. Using a given channel means transmitting burst with a particular frequency at particular time, that is, a particular slot. Generally, the slot of a channel is not continuous in time. Physical channel combines frequency division multiple access and time division multiple access together. It consists of timeslot flow that connects base station (BS) and mobile station (MS).The position of these timeslots in TDMA frame is fixed. Figure 1-2 shows the complete structure of TDMA frame, including timeslot and burst. TDMA frame is a repetitive physical frame in radio link. One TDMA frame consists of eight basic timeslots, about 60/134.615ms in total. Each timeslot is a basic physical channel with 156.25 elements, coving 15/260.557ms. There are two kinds of multiframes, consisting of 26 and 51 continuous TDMA frames respectively. Multiframes are applied when different logical channels are multiple used in one physical channel. The 26 multiframe, with a period of 120 ms, is used in traffic channel and associated control channel. Among the 26 bursts, 24 are used in traffic and 2 are used in signaling. The 51 multiframe, with a period of 3060/13235.385 ms, is specially used in control channel. Many multiframes together form a super frame. Super frame is a continuous 5126TDMA frame, that is to say, a super frame consists of fifty-one 26 TDMA multiframes or twenty-six 51 TOMA multiframes. The period of super frame is 1,326 TDMA frames, or 6.12 s. Many super frames together form a hyper frame. A hyper frame consists of 2,048 super frames with a period of 12,533.7s, or 3 hours and 28 53 760. It is used in encrypted voice and data. Each period of hyper frame consists of 2,715,648 TDMA frames numbered from 0 to 2,715,648. The frame number is transmitted in sync channel. 1.2.3 Burst Burst is the message layout of a timeslot in TDMA channel, which means each burst is sent to a timeslot of TDMA frame. Different message in the burst determines its layout. There are five kinds of bursts: Normal burst: used to carry messages in TCH, FACCH, SACCH, SDCCH, BCCH, PCH and AGCH channels Access burst: used to carry message in RACH channel Frequency correction burst: used to carry message in FCCH channel Synchronization burst: used to carry message in SCH channel Dummy burst: transmitted when no specific message transmission request from system (In cells, standard frequency sends message continuously) Each kind of burst includes the following elements: Tail bits: Its value is always 0 to help equalizer judge start bit and stop bit to avoid lost synchronization. Information bits: It is used to describe traffic and signaling information, except idle burst and frequency correction burst.

Training sequence: It is a known sequence, used for equalizer to generate channel model (a way to eliminate dispersion). Training sequence is known by both transmitter and receiver. It can be used to identify the location of other bits from the same burst and roughly estimate the interference situation of transmission channel when the receiver gets this sequence. Training sequence can be divided into eight categories in normal burst. It usually has the same BCC setting with cells, but when accessed to burst and synchronization bust, training sequence is fixed and does not change with cells. For example, in access burst, training sequence is fixed (occupying 41 bits). The 36-bit message digit of the random access burst includes BSIC information of the cell. BSIC settings of the same BCCH should be different, in order to avoid misdecoding of random access burst from neighboring cells into local access. Guard period: It is a blank space. Since each carrier frequency can carry a maximum of eight subscribers, it is necessary to guarantee the non-overlapping of each timeslot in transmission. Although timing advance technology (introduced later) is used, bursts from different mobile stations still show little slips; therefore, protection interval is adopted to allow transmitter to fluctuate in a proper range in GSM. On the other hand, GSM requires protection bits to keep constant transmission amplitude of the effective burst (except protection bits) and properly attenuate the transmission amplitude of mobile station. The amplitude attenuation of two sequential bursts as well as proper modulation bit stream can reduce the interference to other RF channels. The following is a detailed introduction to the structure and content of burst: Access burst It is used for random access (channel request from network and switchover access). It is the first burst that the base station needs in uplink modulation. Access burst includes a 41-bit training sequence, 36-information bit, and its protection interval is 68.25 bits. There is only one kind of training sequence in access burst. Since the possibility of interference is rather little, it is unnecessary to add extra kinds of training sequences. Both training sequence and protection interval are longer than normal bursts in order to offset the bug of timing advance ignorance in the first access of mobile station (or switch over to another BTS) and improve demodulation ability of the system. Frequency correction burst It is used for frequency synchronization in mobile station, equal to an unmodulated carrier. This sequence has 142 constant bits for frequency synchronization. Its structure is pretty simple with all constant bits being 0. After modulated, it becomes a pure sine wave. It is used in FCCH channel for mobile station to find and modulate synchronization burst of the same cell. When mobile station gets the frequency through this burst, it can read the information of following bursts (such as SCH and BCCH) in the same physical channel. Protection interval and tail bit are the same with that of normal burst. Synchronization burst With a 64-bit training sequence and two 39-bit information fields, synchronization burst is used for time synchronization of mobile station in SCH channel. It belongs to downlink. Since it is the first burst required to be modulated by mobile station, its training sequence is relatively long and easy to be detected. Normal burst It has two 58-bit groups used in message field. To be more specific, two 58-bit groups are used to transmit subscriber data or voice together with two stealing flags. Normal burst is used to describe whether the transmitted is traffic information or signaling information. For example, to distinguish TCH and FACCH (when TCH channel is used as FACCH channel to transmit signaling, the stealing flag of the 8 half bursts should be set to 1. It has no other use in channels except in TCH channel, but can be regarded as the extension of training sequence and always set to 1.Normal burst also includes two 3-bit tails and a protection interval of 8.25 bits. The only bug is that the receiver has to store the preceding part of burst before modulation. Normal burst has a total of 26 bits, 16 of which are information bits. In order to get 26 bits, it copies the first five bits to the end of the training sequence and the last five bits to the head of the training sequence. There are eight kinds of such training sequence (these eight sequences have the least relevancy with each other). They correspond to different base station color code (BCC, 3 bits) respectively to distinguish the two cells using the same frequency. Dummy burst This kind of bust is sometimes sent by BTS without carrying any information. Its format is the same with normal burst. The encrypted bits are changed into mixed bits with certain bit model. 1.2.4 Logical Channel In real networking, each cell has several carrier frequencies and each frequency has eight timeslots, proving eight basic physical channels. Logical channel carries out time multiplexing in one physical channel. It is classified according to the type of information in physical channel. Different logical channel transmits different type of information between BS and MS, such as signaling and data service. GSM defines different burst type for different logical channel. In GSM, logical channel is divided into dedicated channel (DCH) and common channel (CCH), or traffic channel (TCH) and control channel (CCH) sometimes. I. TCH TCH carries coded voice or subscriber data. It is divided into full rate TCH (TCH/F) and half rate TCH (TCH/H) with 22.8 bit/s information and 11.4 Kbit/s information respectively. Using half of the timeslots in TCH/F can get TCH/H. A carrier frequency can provide eight kinds of TCH/F or sixteen kinds of TCH/H. Voice channel types are as follows: Enhanced full rate speech TCH (TCH/EFS) Full rate speech TCH (TCH/EFS) Full rate 9.6 Kbit/s TCH (TCH/F9.6) Full rate 4.8 Kbit/s TCH (TCH/F4.8) Full rate 2.4 Kbit/s TCH (TCH/F2.4) II. CCH CCH is used to transmit signaling or synchronous data. It mainly consists of broadcast channel (BCCH), common control channel (CCCH), and dedicated control channel (DCCH). III. BCCH

Frequency Correction Channel (FCCH) It carries the information for frequency correction in mobile station. Through FCCH, mobile station can locate a cell and demodulate other information in the same cell, and recognize whether this carrier frequency is BCCH or not. Sync Channel (SCH) After FCCH decoding, mobile station has to decode SCH information. This information contains mobile station frame synchronization and base station identification. Base station identification code (BSIC) occupies six bits, three of which are PLMN color codes ranging from zero to seven, and the other three are base station color codes (BCCs) ranging from zero to seven. Reduced TDMA frame (RFN) occupies 22 bits. BCCH Generally, each BTS has a transceiver containing BCCH in order to broadcast system information to mobile station. System information enables mobile station to work efficiently in null state. IV. CCCH Paging Channel (PCH) PCH is a downlink channel used to page mobile station. When the network wants to communicate with a certain mobile station, it sends paging information marked as TMSI or IMSI through PCH to all the cells in LAC area according to the current LAC registered in mobile station. Access Grant Channel (AGCH) AGCH is a downlink channel used for base station to respond the network access request of mobile station, that is, to allocate a SDCCH or TCH directly. AGCH and PCH share the same radio resource. Keep a fixed number of blocks for AGCH or just borrow PCH when AGCH requires without keeping special AGCH block (AGB). Random Access Channel (RACH) RACH is an uplink channel used for mobile station to request SDCCH allocation in random network access application. The request includes the reason to build 3-bit (call request, paging response, location update request and short message request) and 5-bit reference random number for mobile station to identify its own access grant message. V. DCCH Stand-alone Dedicated Control Channel (SDCCH) SDCCH is a bi-directional dedicated channel used to transmit information of signaling, location update, short message, authentication, encrypted command, channel allocation, and complementary services. It can be divided into SD/8 and SD/4. Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH) SACCH works with traffic channel or SDCCH to transmit subscriber information and some specific information at the same time. Uplink mainly transmits radio measurement report and the first layer head information; downlink mainly transmits part system information and the first layer head information. The information includes quality of communications, LAI, CELL ID, BCCH signal strength in neighboring cells, NCC limit, cell options, TA, and power control level. Fast Associated Control Channel (FACCH) FACCH works with TCH to provide signaling information with a rate and timeliness much higher than that provided by SACCH. There is another control channel called cell broadcast channel (CBCH) besides the three control channels mentioned above. It is used in downlink and carries short message service cell broadcast (SMSCB) information. CBCH uses a physical channel same as SDCCH. VI. Channel Combination Logical channel is mapped to physical channel according to certain rules. The channel combinations specified in GSM protocol are as follows: TCH/F + FACCH/F + SACCH/TF TCH/H(0,1) + FACCH/H(0,1) + SACCH/TH(0,1) TCH/H(0,0) + FACCH/H(0,1) + SACCH/TH(0,1) + TCH/H(1,1) FCCH + SCH + BCCH + CCCH (main BCCH) FCCH + SCH + BCCH + CCCH + SDCCH/4(0..3) + SACCH/C4(0..3)(BCCH combination) BCCH + CCCH(BCCH extension) SDCCH/8(0. .7) + SACCH/C8(0. .7) VII. Uncombined BCCH/SDCCH and Combined BCCH/SDCCH Paging information transmits in the timeslot 0 of BCCH. Timeslot 0 has the following sub channels: Broadcast channel (BCH): FCCH, SCH, BCCH CCCH: PCH, AGCH DCCH (combined BCCH/SDCCH): SDCCH, SACCH, CBCH ( if using cell broadcast) Physical channel timeslot 0 is made of multiframes logically. Each multiframe is 235.4 ms in length. Multiframe has different channel configurations, such as combined BCCH/SDCCH and uncombined BCCH/SDCCH. Different configuration has different paging capacity. Uncombined BCCH/SDCCH Each frame of Uncombined BCCH/SDCCH can have nine paging blocks. The timeslot 0 of BCCH carrier frequency does not have SDCCH channel or CBCH channel. Combined BCCH/SDCCH Each multiframe of combined BCCH/SDCCH can have three paging blocks. The timeslot 0 of BCCH carrier frequency contains four SDCCH subchannels (no CBCH) or three SDCCH and one CBCH subchannel. The configuration of combined BCCH/SDCCH has a great influence on paging capacity. Each multiframe has only three paging blocks instead of nine in uncombined BCCH/SDCCH, which means the paging capacity of cells with combined BCCH/SDCCH is only one third of that of cells with uncombined BCCH/SDCCH.

1 GSM Principles and Call Flow 1.1 GSM Frequency Band Allocation GSM cellular system can be divided into GSM900M and DCS1800M according to frequency band, with carrier frequency interval of 200 KHz and up and down frequencies as follows: Table 1-1 GSM frequency allocation Frequency band(MHz), Bandwidth(MHz), Frequency number, Carrier frequency number (pair) GSM900 Up 890915 Down 935960, 25, 1124, 124 DCS1800 Up 17101785 Down 18051880, 75, 512885, 374 Up and down are classified according to base station. Base station transmitting - mobile station receiving is down; mobile station transmitting - base station receiving is up. With the expanding services, GSM protocol adds EGSM(expanded GSM frequency band) and RGSM (expanded GSM frequency band including railway service) to the original GSM900 frequency band. The frequency band allocation is as follows: Table 1-2 EGSM/RGSM frequency allocation Frequency band(MHz), Bandwidth (MHz), Frequency number, Carrier frequency number (pair) EGSM Up 880915 Down 925960, 35, 0124 , 9751023, 174 RGSM Up 876915 Down 921960, 40, 0124, 9551023, 199

Radio Network Planning Optimization The objective is to build a radio network of large capacity and broad coverage as best as possible and make it available for future network development and expansion. Network planning optimization is a systematic project covering the whole process of network building from technology system comparison to radio transmission theory, from antenna feeder index analysis to network capability forecast, and from project low level design to network performance test and system parameter adjustment optimization. Network planning is an integrated technology requiring wired and wireless knowledge and abundant practical experiences. It involves from macro view such as technology system, characteristic of coverage capability and general design idea of radio network, to micro view such as cell parameters. 1 Radio Network Planning Optimization Flow The first stage is call service coverage analysis. The following information is required in order to support network planning: cost limit, various maps, coverage area type, service type, terminal type and proportion, coverage and capability requests of different services, available band, class of service, population distribution, the development of system capacity, income distribution, and the use of fixed-line phone. The second stage is emulation. Network dimensioning estimate should be carried out on the basis of BSS equipment and the mature planning method after call service coverage analysis to get the coverage areas and the number of base stations, and then obtain the configuration (type, address and height of base station, carrier type, power amplifier type, frequency, antenna feeder combination, equipment type) of all base stations according to call service distribution. Use planning software for emulation and verify and adjust the estimate result. Ensure the stated coverage and capacity and a certain class of service. The third stage is survey. Carry out field exploration according to emulation result. Record potential base station address following the requirement of base station building, including power supply, transmission, electromagnetic background, land condition. Recommend proper resolution for base station address on the basis of the offset range from the ideal address, the influence on the future cell splitting, economic return, and coverage forecast, and decide whether the electromagnetic background is purified or not. The forth stage is system design. Decide the frequency, neighboring cell plan, and operating parameters of each cell according to the distribution and type of base stations. Finish the database. The fifth stage is installation and debugging. Carry out system installation and debugging according to designed data and make sure the normal system running. The sixth stage is optimization. With the increase of subscribers, network requires continuous optimization. Optimization is a refined adjustment and a complementary to project defects. It also includes resource adjustment of exception conditions such as high-volume traffic burst. Circuit test, traffic statistics, alarm and subjective sense are usually used as optimization measures. Signaling tracing and analysis plays a decisive role in solving tough problems. Carry out optimization report and suggestions for future network building. When the traffic volume exceeds the former object, extend the network and carry out new analysis of capacity and coverage. 2 Difficulties in Radio Network Planning Among the six stages above, the first four stages are usually called preplanning/planning stages and the last two stages are optimization stages. Early planning is of vital importance to network running. Late optimization can hardly change the network architecture and the quality of network running; therefore, network planning deserves enough emphasis and attention. The main problems of GSM planning optimization are as follows: 1) It is difficult to make theoretical forecast of coverage area because of the complex transmission environment, highly fluctuant signals, and big differences among multi-channel transmissions due to various buildings. 2) Besides man-made noise, other serious interferences such as adjacent signals, intermodulation and other radio jamming have to be considered in project design and controlled within a proper range. 3) Frequency resource becomes more and more limited with great increase of subscribers. 4) Due to outside influences, the cellular structure and base station placement cannot be carried out exactly according to plan in actual project. 5) There are some network planning problems in particular situation.

History of GSM 1 GSM Development Mobile telecommunications technology began as early as 1920s when the mobile telecommunications system for shortwave developed first at that time. The first public bus telephony system in 1946 served as the basis for modern public mobile telecommunications system. Following the development of telecommunications technologies such as mobile radio transmission, channel management and mobile switching, various mobile telecommunications systems like cellular phone, mobile call, land cellular mobile telecommunications and satellite mobile telecommunications also emerged rapidly. Since 1980s, cellular mobile telecommunications has developed from the first generation of simulation cellular mobile telecommunications system to the second generation of digital cellular system. Established in Europe, 1991, GSM is a global system for digital cellular mobile telecommunications and has gained unprecedented development because of its public standards worldwide and strong roaming ability. According to global mobile telecommunications system institution, the number of GSM subscribers is expected to reach 1 billion in over 206 roaming countries by early 2004. GSM mainly provide voice service and low speed data service. Compared with the first generation, GSM has such distinct features as high security, strong anti-interference ability, high spectrum effectiveness and capability with the mean frequency reuse coefficient less than 7. 2 GPRS Development General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a new bearer service based on the current GSM system. It can be regarded as the application of GSM in IP and X.25 data network, and also as the application of internet in radio service. GPRS can be used in FTP, WEB browser, E-mail etc The primary difference between GPRS radio packet data system and the current GSM voice system is that GSM is a circuit-switched system while GPRS is a packet switched system. The basic process of packet switching is to divide the data into several small packets and transfer them to the destination in a storage-switch way through different routes, and then arrange into complete data. Radio channel is a very rare resource in GSM system. Each channel can only provide a transfer rate of 9.6kbit/s or 14.4kbit/s in circuit-switched system. Combining several slots together provides higher rate, but it can only be enjoyed by one subscriber and is not feasible considering cost-efficiency. Packet switched GPRS can arrange the mobile channels in a flexible way to serve many GPRS data subscribers and make full use of the radio resource. GPRS can theoretically combine a maximum of 8 slots together and provide a bandwidth as high as 171.2kbit/s shared by many subscribers. GPRS is a great leap for GSM system in radio data service which provides a convenient and highly efficient radio packet data service at low costs. GPRS is especially for interrupted, burst, frequent or small data transmission. It is also adopted in burst large data transmission. Most mobile internet protocols have such features. According to the GPRS proposal made by ETSI, GPRS can be divided into two stages after commercial use. In the first stage, it offers services such as E-mail, internet browsing. The second stage of GPRS is based on EDGE E-GPRS. EDGE is a high rate mobile data standard with a data transmission rate as high as 384kbit/s. EDGE can greatly improve the efficiency of GPRS channel coding and fully meet the requirement for broadband in the future radio multimedia application. Different from the current GSM system, EDGE adopts a modulation technology recommended in the 3G mobile telecommunications. As a transition from GPRS to 3G/UMTS, EDGE finished its feasibility study and got ETSI approval in 1997. The standardization process of EDGE consists of two stages. The first stage focused on the enhanced GPRS (EGPRS) and enhanced circuit switching digital service (ECSD) and standardized in 1999. The second stage defined the improved multimedia and real time services and standardized in 2000. EDGE enables network operators to make full use of the current radio network equipment during the transition from GPRS to 3G/UMTS. EDGE has the following primary features: 1) EDGE has a high rate. The current GSM network mainly uses Guassian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK) modulation. EDGE adopts Octal Phase Shift Keying (8PSK) modulation with a rate of 384kbit/s in mobile environment and 2Mbit/s in static environment, which generally meets the requirement of the third mobile telecommunication system and all kinds of radio application. 2) EDGE supports both packet switched data transmission and circuit switched data transmission at the same time. The timeslot rate of packet switched service with EDGE is as high as 11.2-69.2kbit/s, and for circuit switched service, this rate can reach 28.8kbit/s. 3) EDGE supports both symmetric and asymmetric data transmission. It is a very important feature for mobile network and other data services. In EDGE system, subscribers can enjoy a downlink rate higher than uplink rate. 4) Technically, EDGE is an improvement for radio interface. To a large extent, it can be regarded as an effective general radio interface technology which promotes the 3G evolution for cellular mobile system. 3 Evolution to 3G In order to uniform the global mobile telecommunication standard and telecommunication band, realize 3G global roaming, and improve the spectral efficiency and the data service transmission rate to meet the requirement of multimedia service, International Telecommunications Union -Radiocommunication Sector ITUR began the study on the 3G mobile telecommunications 14 years ago. By June 30th, 1998, the calling deadline for the standard of the 3G mobile telecommunications radio transmission technology (RTT), ITUR had received sixteen 3G RTT standard resolutions consist of six resolutions for satellite mobile and ten resolutions for land mobile from America, Europe, China, Japan, South Korea etc The TDSCDMA standard resolution proposed by China is one of the ten land mobile 3G RTT resolutions. ITUR raised the following requirement for the 3G: high speed land mobile: FDD: terminal at 500km/h mobile speed provides a transmission rate of 144kbit/s. TDD: terminal at 120km/h mobile speed provides a transmission rate of 144kbit/s. medium and low speed land mobile: FDD and TDD: terminal at medium and low speed provides a transmission rate of 384kbit/s.

 land walking and indoor fixed terminal FDD and TDD: terminal at walking speed or in fixed condition provides a transmission rate of 2Mbit/s. According to 3G standard requirement, ITUR carried out a two-year study on ten land mobile standard resolutions in terms of evaluation, emulation, integration, key parameter confirmation and finally approved five technical specifications (including that proposed by China) for radio transmission in Turkey ITUR plenary meeting in May 5th, 2000. Among these five specifications, three are based on CDMA and two are based on TDMA. specifications based on CDMA: IMT2000 CDMA DSWCDMAcdma2000 DS IMT2000 CDMA MCcdma2000 MC IMT2000 CDMA TDDTDSCDMATDCDMA specifications based on TDMA: IMT2000 TDMA SCuwc 136 IMT2000 TDMA MCDECT Since TDMA is not a mainstream in the 3G, TDMA SC and TDMA MC are used as regional standards for upgrading IS 136 and DECT system. The three RTT specifications based on CDMA, also called one family, three members, become the mainstream in the 3G. Both CDMADS and CDMAMC are frequency division duplex (FDD). CDMA TDD is time division duplex (TDD). ITUR assigns independent band for 3G FDD and TDD; Therefore, FDD and TDD are coexistent and complementary with each other. Considering core network signaling adaptation and public core network resource, most GSM network operators choose UMTS/WCDMA. Although 3G is called radio broadband multimedia, in fact, the primary task of 3G is to solve the problem of increasing voice service. In China, the current bandwidth is already not in line with the rapid increase of the voice subscribers. Voice service with 3G network can not only meet the requirement of the increasing subscribers but also help to reduce costs and improve service ability. The overall building costs of 3G network voice service is expected to be just half of that of 2G network voice service. Meanwhile, the high-quality voice service at low costs enables subscribers to explore more services 3G provides, such as videotelephony, multimedia and other data services. During the initial stage, UMTS coverage may not as large as that of GSM, together with the uneven development of 3G worldwide; therefore, the terminal should be GSM/UMTS dualband and support GSMUMTS roaming and system switching, in order to solve the problem of service continuity and cross-operator roaming. In UMTS coverage area, dualband terminal can enjoy UMTS high rate data service and voice service as well. In the dead zone of UMTS, dualband terminal subscribers can still get support from GSM voice service and low rate data service. Therefore, GSM network will continue to provide voice service and low rate data service for a long time in future. It is a long term task to carry out GSM network optimization and GSM radio planning for the future 3G building.