GSM Radio Network Optimization

GSM Overview
Network Optimization Procedure
Network Performance Evaluation
Basic KPI and Monitoring
Traffic Statistics Index Analysis
General Analysis Method
High Call Drop Rate Analysis
High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis
High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis
Low Handover Success Rate Analysis
Network Problem Solutions
Coverage Problems
Interference Problems
Call Drop Problems
Handover Problems
Congestion Problems
Other Problems
By: Jc Quilates, Elabram Systems

TACS GSM 900 DCS 1800
Uplink 890 - 905 MHz 890 - 915 MHz 1710 - 1785 MHz
Downlink 935 - 950 MHz 935 - 960 MHz 1805 - 1880 MHz
Duplex Distance 45 MHz 45 MHz 95 MHz
Carrier Separation 25 kHz 200 kHz 200 kHz
Number of Channels 15 Mhz / 25 kHz = 600 25 MHz / 200 kHz = 124 75 MHz / 200 kHz = 374
Channels defined in Switch 1, 2, .599, 600 1, 2, .123, 124 512 , 513 .884, 885
Access Method FDMA TDMA TDMA
GSM Overview
TACS GSM 900/DCS 1800
3 Broadcast
Channels
1) FCCH
2) SCH
3) BCCH
3 Common Control
Channels
1) PCH
2) RACH
3) AGCH
3 Dedicated Control
Channels
1) SDCCH
2) SACCH
3) FACCH
TCH
CBCH
LOGICAL CHANNELS


Full rate => Used for speech at 13 Kbits/s
or sending data at 9.6 Kbits/s

Half rate => Used for speech at 6.5 Kbits/s
or sending data at 4.8 Kbits/s

Enhanced Full rate => Used for speech at 13 Kbits/s
or sending data at 9.6 Kbits/s but
with almost Land line quality

TCH = TRAFFIC CHANNEL
FCCH = FREQUENCY CORRECTION CHANNEL
=> To tell the Mobile that this is the BCCH carrier
=> To able the Mobile to synchronize to the frequency
(Downlink only)

SCH = SYNCHRONISATION CHANNEL
=> Used for sending BSIC (Base station Identity Code)
=> Give TDMA frame number to the Mobile.
(Downlink only)

BCCH = BROADCAST CONTROL CHANNEL
=> Used for sending information to the mobile like
CGI (Cell Global identity), LAI (Location Area Identity),
BCCH carriers of the neighboring cells,
maximum output power allowed in the cell and other
broadcast messages like barred cell. (Downlink only)
BROADCAST CHANNELS
PCH = PAGING CHANNEL
=> Used for paging the Mobile. (Downlink only)
Reason could be an incoming call or an incoming Short Message.

RACH = RANDOM ACCESS CHANNEL
=> Used for responding to the paging (terminating), Location updating
or to make call access (originating) by asking for a signaling channel.
(Uplink only)

AGCH = ACCESS GRANT CHANNEL
=> Used to allocate SDCCH to the mobile.
(Downlink only)
COMMON CONTROL CHANNELS
SDCCH = STAND ALONE DEDICATED CONTROL CHANNEL
=> Used for allocating voice channel (TCH) to the mobile (call setup) and
Location updating.
=> Send Short Text message to Idle Mobile
(Uplink & Downlink)

SACCH = SLOW ASSOCIATED CONTROL CHANNEL
=> Used for sending information to the mobile like
CGI (Cell Global identity), LAI (Location Area Identity),
BCCH of all the neighbors and TA (Timing Advance)
=> Send Short Text message to Busy Mobile
(Downlink)
=> Used for sending signal strength & bit error rate measurement of the
serving cell and signal strength of the BCCHs of the neighboring cells.
(Uplink)

FACCH = FAST ASSOCIATED CONTROL CHANNEL
=> Used for handover. (Uplink & Downlink)
DEDICATED CONTROL CHANNELS
TS 0 TS 1 TS 2 TS 3 TS 4 TS 5 TS 6 TS 7
200 kHz
4.615 ms
0.577 ms
FCCH,
SCH,
BCCH
PCH,
RACH,
AGCH
SDCCH,
SACCH
CBCH

TCH,
SACCH
FACCH

TCH,
SACCH
FACCH

TCH,
SACCH
FACCH

TCH,
SACCH
FACCH

TCH,
SACCH
FACCH

TCH,
SACCH
FACCH

1 TDMA FRAME
TACS GSM 900 DCS 1800
Class 1 10 Watt (40dBm) 20 Watt (43dBm) 1 Watt (30dBm)
Class 2 4 Watt (36dBm) 8 Watt (39dBm) 0.25 Watt (24dBm)
Class 3 1 Watt (30dBm) 5 Watt (37dBm) 4 Watt (36dBm)
Class 4 0.6 Watt (28dBm) 2 Watt (33dBm) *
Class 5 * 0.8 Watt (29dBm) *
TACS GSM 900 DCS 1800
Mobile Sensitivity -113 dBm -104 dBm -102 dBm
BTS Sensitivity -116 dBm -107 dBm -106 dBm
Maximum Transmit Power allowed to access the
BTS (using RACH) - Mobile is Idle
MsTxPwrMaxCCH(Nokia)
CCHPWR (Ericsson)
PLC (TACS)
= 30 dBm (DCS1800) = 0 (28 dBm) (TACS) = 33 dBm (GSM900)
Maximum Transmit Power allowed to use in a BTS
during busy status (Using TCH) - Mobile is Busy
MsTxPwrMax(Nokia)
MsTxPwr (Ericsson)
PLVM (TACS)
= 30 dBm (DCS1800) = 0 (28 dBm) (TACS) = 33 dBm (GSM900)
Minimum Transmit Power allowed to use in a BTS
during busy status (Using TCH) - Mobile is Busy
MsTxPwrMin(Nokia)
= 13 dBm (DCS1800) = 13 dBm (GSM900)
MSTXPWRMAX(Huawei)
MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH(Huawei)
Switch on the Mobile
For 2 to 3 seconds the Mobile will scan all the 124
channels in GSM900 and 374 channels in DCS1800
The mobile will synchronize to this carrier
and read the BCCH info like LAI, CGI
Tune to the second
strongest channel
Mobile will compare the signal strength
of the 124 channels and tune to the strongest
Mobile will check if it is a BCCH carrier ?
Does the BCCH belong to the wanted PLMN,
E.x: Smart, Globe, Sun?
Is the Cell Barred from accessing ?
Is C1 >0 ?
Camp on this site !!!
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
No
GSM Radio Network Optimization

GSM Overview
Network Optimization Procedure
Network Performance Evaluation
Basic KPI and Monitoring
Traffic Statistics Index Analysis
General Analysis Method
High Call Drop Rate Analysis
High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis
High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis
Low Handover Success Rate Analysis
Network Problem Solutions
Coverage Problems
Interference Problems
Call Drop Problems
Handover Problems
Congestion Problems
Other Problems
By Jc Quilates, Elabram Systems

Network Optimization Procedure
Network Information Acquisition
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Network Tuning
Network Optimization Report
Reach Network
Performance or Not
Yes
No
GSM Radio Network Optimization

GSM Overview
Network Optimization Procedure
Network Performance Evaluation
Basic KPI and Monitoring
Traffic Statistics Index Analysis
General Analysis Method
High Call Drop Rate Analysis
High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis
High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis
Low Handover Success Rate Analysis
Network Problem Solutions
Coverage Problems
Interference Problems
Call Drop Problems
Handover Problems
Congestion Problems
Other Problems
By Jc Quilates, Elabram Systems

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.

Drive Test
- 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.

Call Quality Test
- CQT is applied to the important spots in urban areas. It enables you to
experience the network quality from the perspective of users. It enables you to
use the MOS (mean opinion score) to evaluate the voice quality from the
perspective of peoples objective feeling.
GSM Radio Network Optimization

GSM Overview
Network Optimization Procedure
Network Performance Evaluation
Basic KPI and Monitoring
Traffic Statistics Index Analysis
General Analysis Method
High Call Drop Rate Analysis
High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis
High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis
Low Handover Success Rate Analysis
Network Problem Solutions
Coverage Problems
Interference Problems
Call Drop Problems
Handover Problems
Congestion Problems
Other Problems
By Jc Quilates, Elabram Systems

Basic KPI and Monitoring
HO Success rate
Drop Call Rate
Call Set-up Success Rate
SDCCH Blocking Rate
SDCCH Drop Rate
TCH Blocking Rate
The analysis for handover success rate is quite complicated,
because it involves capacity, coverage, clock, signaling,
equipment, and even MS.
If the uplink and downlink quality deteriorates to a level that
cannot hold normal conversation, the conversation will be
disconnected. Also called as TCH DROP
CSSR is computed based on the performance of all network
elements. (1-SDBLK)*(1-SDDROP)*(1-TCHBLK)*100
SDCCH congestion rate indicates the failed requests for the
SDCCH for various reasons. The SDCCH congestion rate is
mainly caused by heavy traffic.
The high SDCCH call drop rate analysis is similar to high
TCH call drop rate analysis. 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.
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.
GSM Radio Network Optimization

GSM Overview
Network Optimization Procedure
Network Performance Evaluation
Basic KPI and Monitoring
Traffic Statistics Index Analysis
General Analysis Method
High Call Drop Rate Analysis
High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis
High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis
Low Handover Success Rate Analysis
Network Problem Solutions
Coverage Problems
Interference Problems
Call Drop Problems
Handover Problems
Congestion Problems
Other Problems
By Jc Quilates, Elabram Systems

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.

General Analysis Method
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.
High Call Drop Rate Analysis
High Call Drop Rate Analysis
The TCH call drop rate, one of the most significant KPIs for telecom operators, and it is
related to retainability. It indicates the probability of call drops due to various reasons after
MSs access TCHs. A too high TCH call drop rate adversely affects the user's experience.

The SDCCH call drop rate indicates the probability of call drops when the MS occupies the
SDCCH. The SDCCH call drop rate is one of accessibility KPIs. This KPI reflects the seizure
condition of signaling channels. If the value of this KPI is high, user experience is adversely
affected.

Factors That Affect the TCH / SDCCH Call Drop Rate:

Hardware failure
Transmission problem
Version upgrade
Parameter setting
Intra-network and inter-network interference
Coverage problem
Antenna system problem
Imbalance between uplink and downlink
Repeater problem
Note:
The high SDCCH call drop rate analysis
is similar to high TCH call drop rate
analysis. 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.

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.
High Call Drop Rate Analysis
1. Interference is divided into uplink interference and downlink interference. 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.
High Call Drop Rate Analysis
2. If the coverage is inadequate or it is unbalance on the uplink and downlink, the call drop will also be
resulted. The distribution of TA (timing advance) values can help you estimate the radius of
subscriber distribution. If the uplink coverage and downlink coverage are unbalance, RF component
failure or cable connection problem will occur.


High Call Drop Rate Analysis
3. Handover failure will prevent the MS from moving to the best cell. In this case, call drop may be
resulted. To solve this problem, you can add neighbor cell relationship and balance the traffic within
the cells.
High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis
High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis
The TCH congestion rate is the proportion of the number of TCH assignment
failures to the number of TCH seizure requests. If the TCH congestion rate is high,
the network service quality deteriorates. In this case, you can expand the capacity to
reduce the TCH congestion rate.

Influencing Factors of TCH Congestion Rate:

Network capacity and traffic distribution
Faults occurred during equipment installation, transmission, or on the hardware
Network interference
KPI measurement problems
Incorrect parameter settings
Third-party device problems
Software version problems
High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis
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 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.
High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis
1. Check if the TCH 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.

High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis
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.
High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis
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.
High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis
4. if the coverage is inadequate or it is unbalance on the uplink and downlink, the call drop will also be
resulted. The distribution of TA (timing advance) values can help you estimate the radius of
subscriber distribution. If the uplink coverage and downlink coverage are unbalance, RF component
failure or cable connection problem will occur.
High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis
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.
High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis
High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis
SDCCH congestion rate is one of the important counters that indicate accessibility in
circuit service. This counter provides the ratio of failed SDCCH seizures due to busy
SDCCH to the total requests for the SDCCH. SDCCH congestion rate indicates the
failed requests for the SDCCH for various reasons. SDCCH congestion rate also
indicates the status of the SDCCH resource utilization.


Factors of SDCCH Congestion Rate:

Faults on Equipment or Transmission
Insufficient Signaling Resources
Improper Data Configuration Software version problems
Interference
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.
High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis
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 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.

High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis
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.
High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis
3. 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.
High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis
4. 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.
High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis
5. If the coverage is inadequate or it is unbalance on the uplink and downlink, the call drop will also be
resulted. The distribution of TA (timing advance) values can help you estimate the radius of
subscriber distribution. If the uplink coverage and downlink coverage are unbalance, RF component
failure or cable connection problem will occur.
Low Handover Success Rate Analysis
Low Handover Success Rate Analysis
Handover is an important function in mobile communication systems. As a means of
radio link control, handover enables users to communicate continuously when they
traverse different cells. The HOSR is the ratio of the number of successful handovers
to the number of handover requests. The major purpose of handover is to guarantee
call continuity, improve speech quality, reduce cross interference in the network, and
thus provide better services for mobile station (MS) subscribers.

Factors of Handover Failure Rate:

Hardware and transmission failures
Data configuration
Congestion
Coverage problems, and uplink and downlink imbalance
Interference
Clock problems
Failed inter-BSC/inter-MSC handovers
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.
Low Handover Success Rate Analysis
1. Interference is divided into uplink interference and downlink interference. 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.
Low Handover Success Rate Analysis
2. 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.
Low Handover Success Rate Analysis
3. 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.
Low Handover Success Rate Analysis
4. If the coverage is inadequate or it is unbalance on the uplink and downlink, the call drop will also be
resulted. The distribution of TA (timing advance) values can help you estimate the radius of
subscriber distribution. If the uplink coverage and downlink coverage are unbalance, RF component
failure or cable connection problem will occur.
GSM Radio Network Optimization

GSM Overview
Network Optimization Procedure
Network Performance Evaluation
Basic KPI and Monitoring
Traffic Statistics Index Analysis
General Analysis Method
High Call Drop Rate Analysis
High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis
High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis
Low Handover Success Rate Analysis
Network Problem Solutions
Coverage Problems
Interference Problems
Call Drop Problems
Handover Problems
Congestion Problems
Other Problems
By Jc Quilates, Elabram Systems

Coverage Problems
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:

Transmitter output power decrease
Receive sensitivity decrease
Antenna azimuth angle change
Antenna tilt change
Antenna gain change
Feeder loss
Coupler loss
Propagation environment change
Diversity effect change.
Coverage Problems (Parameter Settings)
The parameters that have an impact on the coverage include Power Class, RACH
Min.Access Level, and RXMIN.

POWER CLASS (POWT, POWL)
To suppress the co-channel interference and adjacent-channel interference, you can
lower the antenna, increase the tilt angle of the antenna, or reduce the transmit
power of the BTS in planning the network in urban areas. Generally, the indoor
coverage may become poor if the transmit power of the BTS is reduced. You are
advised to lower the antenna or increase the tilt angle of the antenna. When the
coverage is poor, ensure that the transmit power level is 0.

RACH Min. Access Level (RACHACCLEV)
If this parameter is set to a smaller value, the MS can easily access the RACH and
call drops are more likely to occur. If you increase the value of RACH Min.Access
Level to increase the call completion rate and decrease the call drop rate, the actual
coverage area may become smaller.
Coverage Problems (Parameter Settings)
Minum Access RXLEV (RXMIN)
If this parameter is set to a smaller value, the required access signal level is low;
therefore, many MSs attempt to camp on this cell, thus increasing the cell load and
call drop rate. If this parameter is set to a larger value, the coverage area of the cell
decreases. Therefore, you need to set this parameter to a reasonable value to balance
the uplink with the downlink when the coverage is poor. It is recommended that the
RXMIN is smaller than or equal to 90 dBm.
C1 = RxLev - RXMIN
and C1 > 0 for the mobile to camp on this BTS
RxLev = Signal strength received by the mobile
RXMIN = Minimum Signal level to be received by the mobile
from BTS (BCCH) before it could access the BTS
C1 = (RxLev - RXMIN)
Ex : C1 = ( -80 - (-100)
= -80 + 100
= 20
=> C1 > 0 so mobile will camp on this site
ShortCut : If RxLevel > RXMIN then Mobile can camp
on this site
Coverage Problems (Parameter Settings)
Cell Reselect Hysteresis (CRH)
If the value is set very low then the mobile will Ping-Pong between
location areas which will increase signaling load. If the value is set very high the
mobile may camp in the wrong cell too long. Recommendations: Set the value to 6.
(2 dB as the step)

Cell Reselection Offset and Penalty Time
When conditions are met, the MS hands over from the selected cell to another. Same
as when the signal level of neighbor cells exceeds that of the serving cell, This
process is called cell reselection. (2 dB as the step) also ensure PI is set to 1.

If Penalty Time(PT) = 0
C2 = C1 + CRO

If Penalty Time(PT) = 31
C2 = C1 CRO
Cell Layer
Must be set according to priority layer, the smaller the value and so the Higher the
priority.
Interference Problems
When interference exists in a network, the following symptoms may be found in
the traffic statistics:
The uplink interference is reflected in the traffic statistics for interference bands.
You can check whether interference exists based on the settings of interference
band thresholds and the actual application scenarios. If loose frequencies are
planned in an edge network, the frequency reuse density is low. In this case, if
interference band 2 is displayed in the traffic statistics, interference may occur.
For an urban area with high frequency reuse density, if interference band 4 or 5 is
displayed in the traffic statistics, interference may occur.
The number of failed SDCCH or TCH assignments is great.
The number of call drops is great or the call drop rate is high.
The success rate of handovers is low.

Interference sources affecting the GSM system:
Intra-network interference
Repeater interference
Interference from other big-power telecommunication equipmentsAntenna gain
change
Hardware problems
Interference Band Level Range
Interference band 1 105 dBm to 98 dBm
Interference band 2 98 dBm to 90 dBm
Interference band 3 90 dBm to 87 dBm
Interference band 4 87 dBm to 85 dBm
Interference band 5 85 dBm to 47 dBm
Interference Problems
Interference Problems
Determining an Interfered Cell Based on KPIs
If the counters, such as the call drop rate, handover success rate, traffic volume,
congestion rate, and interference band, deteriorate suddenly, it indicates that the cell
is interfered.

Checking OMC Alarms
If the call drop rate and congestion rate are high and the handover success rate is
low, the equipment may be faulty. Therefore, you need to check and analyze OMC
alarm records to find their correlativity.

Checking Cell Parameter Settings
Some cell parameters (such as CRO, handover threshold, handover measurement
duration, neighboring cell relationship, FH parameters (such as MAIO, HSN, and
MA) may cause interference.

Checking Frequency Planning
Check for Intra-Network and Inter-Network Interference. Also If the FH parameters
(such as MAIO, HSN, and MA) are configured improperly, strong frequency
interference occurs.
Call Drop Problems
Parameter Setting (TCH DROP)
The settings of some parameters on the BSC and MSC sides may affect the TCH call
drop rate. If the following situations occur, the TCH call drop rate may increase:

The parameters SACCH Multi-Frames and Radio Link Timeout are set to too
small values.
The parameter RXMIN is set to a too small value.
The parameter RACH Min.Access Level is set to a too small value.
The parameters Min DL Power on HO Candidate Cell and Min Access Level
Offset are inappropriately set.
The parameter TCH Traffic Busy Threshold is set to a too small value.
The parameter Call Re-establishment Forbidden is set to Yes.
The parameters related to Edge handover are inappropriately set.
The parameters related to power control are inappropriately set.
T200 and N200 are set to too small values.
Some neighboring cell relations are not configured.
The parameter MAIO is inappropriately set.
MAX TA are set to too small values.


Call Drop Problems
Traffic Measurement Counter Troubleshooting Procedure
M3100A (T200 expiry) Checking the Parameter Settings
M3101A (radio link failure) Checking the Parameter Settings
M3101D (radio resource
unavailable)
Checking the Hardware
CM303 (Abis terrestrial link
failure)
Checking the Transmission
M304 (device failure) Checking the Hardware
Call Drop Problems
Sample Optimization:
During drive tests, call drops occurred frequently at a cave entrance near the BTS
because handovers were not performed in time. Before the MS entered the cave, the
signal level of both the serving cell and the target cell was high, and thus a handover
was not triggered. After the MS entered the cave, the signal level of the target cell
was proper (about 80 dBm), but the signal level of the original serving cell rapidly
decreased to below 88 dBm. Therefore, a call drop occurred before the measurement
period ended.
Parameter Name Before Modification After Modification
PBGT Watch Time 5 3
PBGT Valid Time 4 2
PBGT HO Threshold 72 68
Min DL Power on HO
Candidate Cell
10 15
Call Drop Problems
Parameter Setting (SDCCH DROP)
The settings of some parameters on the BSC and MSC sides may affect the SDCCH
call drop rate. If the following situations occur, the SDCCH call drop rate may
increase:

Radio link and cell parameters:
SACCH Multi-Frames (SACCH period (480ms)) and Radio Link Timeout are set
to too small values.
RACH Min.Access Level(dBm) is set to a too small value.
T200 SDCCH(5ms) and N200 of SDCCH are set to too small values.
MAIO is set improperly.

Handover parameters:
SDCCH HO Allowed is set to Yes.
T3103 (this timer is set to wait for a Handover Complete message) is set to a too small value.
T3109 (this timer is set to wait for a Release Indication message) is set to a too small value.
T3111 (this timer specifies the connection release delay) is set to a too small value.
The length of timer T305/T308 is set to an invalid or too great value.
MAX TA are set to too small values.
Call Drop Problems
Traffic Measurement Counter Troubleshooting Procedure
M3100A (T200 expiry) Checking the Parameter Settings
M3101A (radio link failure) Checking the Parameter Settings
M3101D (radio resource
unavailable)
Checking the Hardware
CM303 (Abis terrestrial link
failure)
Checking the Transmission
M304 (device failure) Checking the Hardware
Congestion Problems
Parameter Setting (TCH CONGESTION)
Parameter settings on the BSC and MSC affect the handover, load, channel
assignment, and cell congestion. The following parameters may cause negative
affects:

TCH Traffic Busy Threshold(%) is incorrectly set.
Assignment Cell Load Judge Enable (BSC6000) is invalid.
Directed Retry Load Access Threshold is invalid.
Balance Traffic Allowed is not set.
Load HO Allowed is not set.
Load HO Step Period is set to a too great value.
RACH Min.Access Level is set to a too small value.
Cell reselection parameters are incorrectly set.
Cell Direct Try Forbidden Threshold (BSC6000) is incorrectly set.
Direct Retry is set to No.
SDCCH Dynamic Adjustment is invalid.
Speech Version is incorrectly set.
Congestion Problems
BSC Level Cell Level
BSC Measurement ->
Access measurement
per BSC ->
TCH Availability per
BSC
Configured TCHs per
BSC
Available TCHs per
BSC
KPI Measurement ->
TCH Availability
Available TCHs
Configured TCHs
TCH Congestion Rate
TCH Traffic Volume
TRX Measurement ->
Number of configured
TRXs in a cell
Number of available TRXs
in a cell
Congestion Problems
Parameter Setting (SDCCH CONGESTION)
The SDCCH congestion relates to the parameter settings of the BSC. If the
parameters are set correctly, the SDCCH congestion can be relieved:

LAC planning: The LAC setting is very important to the network performance. If the LAC is
too great, the signaling flow increases during the paging in the BTSs within the LA, and thus
the network load increases. If the LAC is too small, the number of MS location updating
increases, and thus the signaling flow of the system increases, which may lead to the SDCCH
congestion. Therefore, proper planning of LAC can reduce the SDCCH congestion. SDCCH
Congestion Caused by Improper Configuration of LAC.

SDCCH dynamic allocation: Enabling the SDCCH dynamic allocation function reduces the
SDCCH congestion, but also decreases the utilization of the TCH resources. To prevent this
problem, set the relevant counters according to the actual situations.

The setting of RXMIN also causes the SDCCH congestion. If the RXMIN is set too small,
the number of MSs that access the network increases. When the MS requests MOC or location
updating, the SDCCH congestion may occur.
Congestion Problems
The setting of RACH Min.Access Level may cause SDCCH congestion. If this
parameter is set too small, the interference signal access increases and excessive
SDCCH requests are initiated, thus leading to the SDCCH congestion. If the
parameter is set too great, call failures may occur though there are signals. Therefore,
set the parameter according to the actual BTS sensitivity, the lowest MS access level
and the interference.

The setting of MS MAX Retrans also causes the SDCCH congestion. To increase
the paging success rate, MS MAX Retrans is increased. The BSC may assign
multiple SDCCHs to a single MS. Thus, the SDCCH congestion rate increases.

Improper setting of Power also causes the SDCCH congestion. If the power of the
main BCCH is set normal but the power of the TCH on the non-main BCCH TRX is
set too small, a power difference band forms. When an MS requests the SDCCH
successfully in the power difference band, the TCH cannot be occupied and the time
of the SDCCH occupation increases, thus leading to congestion.
Congestion Problems
Causes BSC-Level Cell-Level
Traffic Load
Help of Performance Counter
Reference > BSC Measurement >
Access Measurement per BSC
TS3010: Traffic Volume of Signaling Channels (SDCCH)
SDCCH Congestion Rate
(overflow) (%)
CS3010: MRs on Signaling Channels (SDCCH)
ZK3004: Traffic Volume on SDCCH
per BSC
CS3023: Traffic Volume of Speech Service on SDCCH
CS3024: Traffic Volume of Short Message Service on SDCCH
CS3025: Traffic Volume of USSD Service on SDCCH
Troubleshooting Burst Traffic None.
A3030A: Call Setup Indications (MOC Non SMS) (SDCCH)
A3030B: Call Setup Indications (MOC SMS) (SDCCH)
A3030C: Call Setup Indications (MTC) (SDCCH)
A3030D: Call Setup Indications (Emergency Call) (SDCCH)
A3030E: Call Setup Indications (Call Re-establishment) (SDCCH)
A3030F: Call Setup Indications (Location Updating) (SDCCH)
A3030G: Call Setup Indications (IMSI Detach) (SDCCH)
A3030H: Call Setup Indications (PS Service) (SDCCH)
A3030I: Call Setup Indications (SS) (SDCCH)
A3030J: Call Setup Indications (LCS) (SDCCH)
A3030K: Call Setup Indications (Others) (SDCCH)
Congestion Problems
Handover Problems
PBGT Handover Threshold (HoMargin)
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. The reference value for suburban areas is 68. The
reference value for urban areas is 70 to 72.

Minimum Downlink Power of Handover Candidate Cells (RxLevMinCell)
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. It ranges from 110 dBm to 47 dBm.

Edge handover (ULEDGETHRES/DLEDGETHRES)
It is performed on the basis of receive level. To trigger an edge handover, the receive
level of the target cell should be at least one hysteresis value (specified by
INTERCELLHYST - 64) greater than the receive level of the serving cell. An edge
handover is triggered when the criteria is met, that is, when the previous conditions
are met for EDGELAST1 within EDGESTAT1.

Proceed to Actual Training
Thank You
By: Jc Quilates, Elabram Systems