UMTS Call Drop Analysis

ZTE University

Content

Definition of Call Drop

Reasons of Call Drop
Analysis of Call Drop
Parameters of Call Drop
Case of Call Drop

Type of Call Drop Definition

Call termination not through the normal hang up process,

that is dropped calls.
Tow types of call drop definition:

Definition of drive test indicators

Definition of network management indicators

Definition of Drive Test Indicators

The definition of drive test:

Call drop rate= Number of call drop times/Number of call setup

success times
Number of call setup success times+1:After the Alerting message
is received

Definition of Drive Test Indicators

Number of call drop times+1:(Air interface signaling at

the UE side)

The Connect ACK message is not received but the System

Information message is received.
After the Connect ACK message is received, RRC Release
message received and the reasons is Not Normal.
After the Connect ACK message is received, any of the CC
Disconnect, CC Release, CC Release Complete message
received and the reasons is Not Normal.

Definition of Drive Test Indicators

number of call setup

success times+1

UE Voluntarily Initiated Signaling Release

Definitions of Network Management Indicators

The definition of the network management:

CSRabrelTriggedByRNC

CS _ CDR
*100%
CSRABSetupSuccess
CSRabrelTriggedByRNC+1:(Iu interface signaling at the
RNC side)

When the RNC send the Iu Release Request or RAB Release

Request message to the CN.

Definitions of Network Management Indicators

RNC

CN

RAB
RELEASE REQUEST

RNC

CN
IU RELEASE REQUEST

Content

Definition of Call Drop

Reasons of Call Drop
Analysis of Call Drop
Parameters of Call Drop
Case of Call Drop

Call Drop Reasons

Poor Coverage
Unconfigured Neighbor Cell
Handover
Interference
PSC Confliction
Engineering Error

Poor Coverage

Service Type

Requirement of RSCP (dBm)

Requirement of Ec/Io (dB)

AMR12.2K

-105

-13

CS64K

-100

-11

PS384K

-95

-10

HSDPA

-90

-8

RSCP and Ec/Io threshold for different services

Poor Coverage

The decision whether it is problem of uplink or downlink

poor coverage is based on the power of dedicated channel
before call drop.
UL Poor Coverage:

DL Poor Coverage:

TX power reaches the maximum

UL BLER is poor
NodeB report RL failure
TX power reaches the maximum
DL BLER is poor

Scanner:

If the RSCP and Ec/Io of the cell with the best coverage are poor,
you can infer that the coverage is poor.

Unconfigured Neighboring Cell

Missed neighbor cell.

Removal of key neighbor cells caused by combination of
macro diversity.
Untimely update of the external cell information.

Unconfigured Neighboring Cell

Handover

The handover process is incomplete

Radio Environment becoming bad, UE can not receive the Active

Set Update
UE

RNC
Measurement Report (1A event)

Active Set Update

Active Set Update Complete

Handover

Ping-pong Handover

In a short time, UE send different Report for delete or add cell A

UE

RNC
Measurement Report (1B event,
Delete cell A)
Active Set Update (Delete cellA)
Measurement Report (1A event,
Add cell A)
Active Set Update (Add cell A)

Interference

Reasons for Pilot Pollution:

Cross-cell coverage of high Node-B

Node-B in ring layout
Signal distortion caused by street effect or strong reflection

Interference

Judgment of DL interference:

CPICH RSCP of the active set is large than -85dBm

Ec/Io is lower than -13dB

Reason of DL interference:

Pilot pollution
Unconfigured neighboring cell

Interference

Judgment of UL interference:

The average RTWP of an idle cell exceeds -100dBm

The max RTWP is around -90dBm

Reason of UL interference:

Intra-RAT interferences
Inter-RAT interferences.

Case-Interference

UL interference = -93(dBm)

Case-Interference

PSC Confliction

When analyzing such call drop, check Cell ID in the call

drop signaling besides PSCs because the neighbor
relation is identified by Cell ID.

PSC Confliction

Cell A and Cell B are configured as neighbor cell for each other.
Cell C and Cell B are not configured as neighbor cells for each other.
Cell A and Cell C have the same PSC.

PSC Confliction

Cell A is the neighbor cell of Cell B.

Cell D is the neighbor cell of Cell C.
Cell A and Cell D have the same PSC.

PSC Confliction

Cell B and Cell D are not configured as neighbor cell for each other.
Cell A is the neighbor cell of Cell B.
Cell E is the neighbor cell of Cell D.
Cell A and Cell E have the same PSC.

Engineering Error

Call drops caused by engineering error:

Reversely-connected antenna
An excessive VSWR
Multi-band antenna problem
Leakage of signals from indoor distribution system
Call drop caused by unsteady transmission

Case-Engineering Error

Content

Definition of Call Drop

Reasons of Call Drop
Analysis of Call Drop
Parameters of Call Drop
Case of Call Drop

Common Analysis Methods for Call Drop

Analyzing Call Drops by DT

Analyzing Call Drops by Traffic Statistics

Analyzing Call Drops by DT

Call drop data

Call drop spots
Stability of the primary serving cell
RSCP and Ec/Io of the primary
serving cell
Reproducing of problems with DT

Analyzing Call Drops by Traffic Statistics

The commonly used KPI analysis

method is the TOP cell method,
which means the top cells will be
screened out according to certain
index, then these top cells are
optimized and then the top cells
are selected again. After several
repetitions, the related KPI can be
speedily converged.

Multi-Dimension Analysis

Multi-dimension analysis is carried out from different

perspectives.
For the call drop problem, not only the call drop itself, but
also related factors such as

access
handover
traffic statistics
time
RTWP

Multi-Dimension Analysis
Cell ID
Cell Name
CS Call Drop Rate [%]
Number of Successful CS RAB establishment
Total Abnormal Release
Repeated Integrity Checking Failure
Radio Connection With UE Lost
Abnormal Iu Released
TRELOCoverall expiry
Number, by Cause
Failure in the Radio Interface Procedure
Unspecified Failure
UTRAN Generated Reason
Release due to UTRAN in cell Generated Reason
Abnormal RAB Released
Iu UP Failure
Number, by Cause
Unspecified Failure
CS Traffic [Erl]
PS Traffic [Kbyte]
HSDPA RLC Throughput [Mbps]
Max Cell Freq RTWP [dBm]
Average Cell Freq RTWP [dBm]
Max Cell Freq Tcp [dBm]
Average Cell Freq Tcp [dBm]
Max HSDPA users in cell
Average HSDPA users in cell
Max HSUPA users in cell
Average HSUPA users in cell

Trend Analysis

Accident Analysis

Check the equipment alarm

and system log of this period to
find out hardware problems;
Check the transmission of this
period;
Check whether the upgrade or
cell blocking is performed
during this period;
Check whether there is an
occasion with abrupt high traffic
requirements such as a concert,
game, or exhibition.

Ranking Analysis

Ranking analysis

Index
1
2
3
4
5
10
12
13
14
21
22
24
25
26
27
29
30
32
34

Ranking analysis is carried out through classifying data into top N and bottom N
data from a large amount of data.
Reason of failure for Handover
Failure when getting the decision of handover from database
Timeout for setup of service channel in handover
Failure for decision of NodeB hard handover
Failure when build the service channel
Timeout for waiting for the handover of UE complete
Other errors
Basic channel switch, cannot find appointed frequency
Basic channel switch, failed to allocate the resource
Basic channel switch, failed to setup channel board
Not enough resource for channel
OVSF code is not engough
Timeout for handover of UE
The frequency is configured in the neighbouring cell list
Overload for power allocation of the frequency for the service cell
There is no idle channel in service cell
There is not suitable frequency in service cell
Different reason of failure for several service cells
Can not find UE
Abnormal release in CN

Failure times
0
0
0
0
0
3104
0
0
0
0
0
29966
0
0
0
0
0
416
9

Percent(%)
0
0
0
0
0
9.24
0
0
0
0
0
89.16
0
0
0
0
0
1.24
0.09

Cause-and-Effect Analysis

For a certain effect, the cause-and-effect analysis

is performed to locate the causes that may result
in the effect and to determine the influence of the
causes.
For example, the call congestion of a cell may be
caused by insufficient capacity of the hardware, of
the downlink, or of the uplink.

Content

Definition of Call Drop

Reasons of Call Drop
Analysis of Call Drop
Parameters of Call Drop
Case of Call Drop

Optimization Methods for Call Drop

Engineer optimization:

Directional angle, downtilt, position of Antenna, type of Antenna,

Transmit power of BS, position of BS, new BS.

Radio parameter optimization:

Time to Trigger, CIO, threshold of enabling/disabling Compression

Mode, Maximum transmit power of DL RL, Threshold of Interfrequency and Inter-system.

Time To Trigger
Abbreviated Name

TrigTime[MAX_INTRA_MEAS_EVENT]

Description

This parameter indicates the time difference between having detected

the event generation and reporting the event. Only when the event
generation is detected and still meets all requirements of event
triggering after Time to trigger, the event can be triggered and
reported. The larger the value is, the stricter the judgment is for the
event to be triggered. The parameter should be set according to the
actual requirements. Sometimes, if it is set too large, the quality of
calls may decrease.

Range and Step

(0, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 160, 200, 240,320, 640, 1280, 2560,
5000)ms

Default Value

UE Event Report Parameters for CPICH Ec/No:

[200,640,320,320,200,200, 320]ms
UE Event Report Parameters for CPICH RSCP:
[200,200,200,200,200,200,200]ms
Detected Set Measurement Parameters for CPICH Ec/No: [200]ms
Detected Set Measurement Parameters for CPICH RSCP: [200]ms

Time To Trigger (TTT) refers to the interval between the detection and reporting of
events (1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D). The setting of TTT has an impact on the promptness of
handovers.

Cell Individual Offset

Abbreviated Name

CellIndivOffset

Description

An offset is allocated for each cell being monitored. The offset can be
positive or negative. Before the UE judges whether an event occurs,
adds the offset to the measurement result. If the PCPICH uses a
positive offset, the UE sends the measurement report just like
PCPICH is x dB better than the actual case. Or, if the PCPICH uses a
negative offset, the PCPICH report is limited. When the cell individual
offset is used, the corresponding cell is possibly (at least temporarily)
the target cell of the handover or removed from the active set.

Range and Step

OMCR: [-10, 10] dB, step 0.5

RNC: D=(P+10)*2, [0, 40]

Default Value

0dB

A higher value of this parameter results in easier soft handovers, more UEs in the soft
handover state, and more used resources.
A lower value results in more difficult handovers.
The CIO has an impact on the non-best cell. In detail, the CIO is effective for 1a events
in neighboring cells and effective for 1b events in cells to be deleted.

Threshold of Enabling/Disabling Compression

Mode
Abbreviated Name

ThreshUsedFreq[MAX_INTER_MEAS_EVENT]

Description

This parameter indicates the absolute threshold that is required to be

configured for event 2b/2d/2f (used when judging the quality of the
currently used frequency.

Range and Step

CPICH RSCP: [-115, -25] dBm, step 1dBm

CPICH Ec/No: [-24, 0] dB, step 1dB

Default Value

UE Inter-frequency Event Report Parameters for CPICH Ec/No:

[-24,-13, -24,-13,-24,-8]dB
UE Inter-frequency Event Report Parameters for CPICH RSCP:
[-115,-95,-115,-95,-115,-80]dBm

The compression mode is used in inter-frequency and inter-system handovers.

The compression mode is enabled before the handover.
Currently, the compression mode is enabled by the 2D event and disabled by the 2F
event.
The measurement can be RSCP or Ec/Io. By default, the RSCP is currently used.

Maximum Downlink Transmit Power of Radio

Link
Abbreviated Name

MaxDlDpchPwr

Description

This parameter indicates the maximum downlink DPCH transmission

power. When performing the downlink inner loop power control, the
new transmission power must be smaller than or equal to the
configured DPCH Maximum DL Power. If the newly computed
transmission power is larger than the configured DPCH Maximum DL
Power, make it equal to the configured DPCH Maximum DL Power.

Range and Step

[-35, 15] dB, step 0.1 dB

If call drop occurs frequently in a cell due to coverage problem, increase the maximum
downlink transmit power of services.
However, a user in the edge area may consume great transmit power, which affects
other users and reduces the downlink capacity of the system.
If users fail to access a cell due to heavy traffic, consider changing the value of this
parameter to a smaller value.

Maximum Downlink Transmit Power of Radio

Link
Conversational
Conversational
Conversational
Conversational
Conversational
Conversational
Conversational
Conversational
Streaming
Streaming
Streaming
Streaming
Streaming
Streaming
Streaming
Streaming
Interactive
Interactive
Interactive
Interactive
Interactive
Background
Background
Background
Background
Background

DL 3.4kbps Signaling(AM): 0 dB
DL 13.6kbps Signaling:0dB
DL WAMR 6.60~23.85kbps: 0dB
DL 64kbps (PS Conversational Video): 3dB
DL NAMR 4.75~12.2kbps: 0dB
DL CS 28.8kbps: -6dB
DL CS 32kbps: -4dB
DL CS 64kbps: 3dB
DL CS 14.4kbps: -7dB
DL CS 28.8kbps: -6dB
DL CS 57.6kbps: -4dB
DL CS 64kbps: 3dB
DL PS 16kbps:-4dB
DL PS64kbps: 1dB
DL PS384kbps: 4dB
DL PS128kbps: 2dB
DL PS 8kbps:-8dB
DL PS 16kbps:-4dB
DL PS64kbps: 1dB
DL PS384kbps: 4dB
DL PS128kbps: 2dB
DL PS 8kbps:-8dB
DL PS 16kbps:-4dB
DL PS64kbps: 1dB
DL PS384kbps: 4dB
DL PS128kbps: 2dB

Maximum Downlink Transmit Power of Radio

Link
Streaming
Interactive
Interactive
Interactive
Interactive
Interactive
Background
Background
Background
Background
Background
Streaming
Streaming
Streaming
Streaming
Streaming
Interactive
Interactive
Background
Background
Streaming
Streaming

DL CS64kbps: 3dB
DL PS 1.2Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 3.65Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 7.2Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 10.1Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 14.0Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 1.2Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 3.65Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 7.2Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 10.1Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 14.0Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 1.2Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 3.65Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 7.2Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 10.1Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 14.0Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 17.6Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 21.096Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 17.6Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 21.096Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 17.6Mbps: 4dB
DL PS 21.096Mbps: 4dB

Threshold of Inter-system handover

Abbreviated Name

Thresh[MAX_RAT_MEAS_EVENT]

Description

This parameter indicates the absolute threshold of the UTRAN cell

quality that UE uses to judge event 3a. The range and unit of the
parameter relate to the measurement quantity of UTRAN system.

Range and Step

CPICH RSCP: [-115, -25] dBm, step 1dBm

CPICH Ec/No: [-24, 0] dB, step 1dB

Default Value

UE Event Report Parameters for Own System CPICH Ec/No:

[-6,-24,-24,-24]
UE Event Report Parameters for Own System CPICH RSCP:
[-95,-115,-115,-115]

When the measured value of inter-system neighboring cell signal exceeds the
specified threshold, handover is triggered.
If you set this parameter to a small value, handover is triggered ahead of time. If
you set this parameter to a great value, handover is delayed.

Timer and Counter Related to Call Drop

Value Range

Default
Value

Name

Description

T312
Connected

T312 of connection mode, that is, the time when

the UE waits for L1 synchronization indicator when
the special physical channel is set up

(1..15)s

1s

N312
Connected

N312 of connection mode, that is, the number of

synchronization indicators that the UE should
receive continuously from L1 before the special
channel is set up successfully

(1, 2, 4, 10, 20, 50,

100, 200, 400,
600, 800, 1000)

T313

Waiting time after the DPCCH channel set up in

CELL_DCH mode loses synchronization

(0..15)s

3s

N313

Maximum number of lost synchronization indicators

that the UE receives continuously from the L1

(1, 2, 4, 10, 20, 50,

100, 200)

20

T314

Time of cell update, existing in T314-related radio

bearer when wireless connection fails

(0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12,
16, 20)s

4s

T315

Time of cell update, existing in T315-related radio

bearer when wireless connection fails

(0,10, 30, 60, 180,

600, 1200, 1800)s

30s

N315

Maximum number of synchronization indicators

that the UE receives continuously from L1 in T313
activated state

(1, 2, 4, 10, 20, 50,

100, 200, 400,
600, 800, 1000)

T309

Waiting time after initiating requests to access

other RATs, such as GSM

(1..8)s

3s

Content

Definition of Call Drop

Reasons of Call Drop
Analysis of Call Drop
Parameters of Call Drop
Case of Call Drop

Neighboring Relation Adjustment

Reason

High call drop rate caused by improper neighbor list configuration

Description

The call drop rate of the TRI135W-1 cell corresponding to RNC1 in

Libya is always around 3%, and no hardware alarm is generated.
The cell coverage is mainly on the sea.

Neighboring Relation Adjustment

Neighboring Relation Adjustment

After the neighbor relation is adjusted, the CS call drop

rate of TRI135W-1 decreases from 3 to 1.3%.

Unconfigured Neighboring Cell

74

Unconfigured Neighboring Cell

Main parameters:

Troubleshooting process:

The cell with SC 9 is in the detection set and cannot be added to

the active set when the quality of the serving cell with SC 74 is
extremely poor. This is a typical unconfigured neighboring cell.

Solution:

Cells in the system

Adjust the neighbor relation: Add the cell with SC 9 to the neighbor
list of the cell with SC 74.

Result:

In the same test, the cell with SC 9 is in the active set of the
serving cell with SC 74. When the signal cell with SC 9 is strong
enough, the UE hands over from the serving cell to the cell with SC
9.

Unconfigured Neighboring Cell

9

74

74

Soft Handover Parameter Optimization

Reason:

Description:

Low handover success rate because of improper soft

handover parameter configuration
The success rate of the handover from sector 1 (SC
436) of the Shuqian Lu site to sector 2 (SC 434) of the
Meihuacun hotel is low. This area is within the Shuqian
Lu section.

Main parameters:

Soft handover 1a/1b event handover threshold, trigger

time

Soft Handover Parameter Optimization

The signal quality of the Shuqian Lu section is poor and unstable because there are
overpasses in this section, Because the comparative threshold decision algorithm is
used, a cell with poor signal quality may be added to the active set if the 1a threshold is
excessively high. If the RNC sends the ActiveSet Update Command message to instruct
the UE to enter this cell, the soft handover may fail because the radio link cannot be set
up due to poor and unstable signal quality of this cell.

Soft Handover Parameter Optimization

Adjust the 1a/1b event handover threshold and trigger time

of cell 436.
Lower the 1a event handover threshold and shorten the
trigger time to ensure that the cells with good signal quality
can firstly enter the active set.
Raise the 1b event handover threshold and extend the
trigger time so that the cells are not deleted too early due
to drastic signal deterioration.

Soft Handover Parameter Optimization

Result

After the parameter optimization, cell 434 of the BS-1

(Meihuacun hotel site) can be added to the active set
quickly and is not deleted too early.
According to the drive test result from more than 100
times of handover tests, the success rate of the
handover between the BS-2 (Shuqian Lu site) and the
BS-1 (Meihuacun hotel site) increases greatly.

Data Configuration Optimization in 2G/3G

Handover

Reason

Description

Call drop because of incorrect data configuration

When the 2G/3G handover tests are performed at the boundary of
the 3G network, the handover from the 3G network to the 2G
network succeeds in the west to east direction, but the handover
fails in the east to west direction.

Main parameters

BSC ID, LAC, NCC, and BCCH of the 2G neighboring cell

fail
2G

3G

Data Configuration Optimization in 2G/3G

Handover

Troubleshooting process

Because the handover from 3G network to 2G network fails, you

should firstly check whether 2G neighboring cells are configured. If
all 2G neighboring cells are configured, go to the next step.
Record whether the 2G Sagem UE starts the compression mode
when the signal quality of a 3G UE is lower than the threshold for
starting the compression mode, and record the CI of the 2G cell
where the compression mode is started.
You can find that the UE starts the compression mode after the
preceding step is performed. The signaling is as follows:

Data Configuration Optimization in 2G/3G

Handover

However, after the UE starts the compression mode, the

repositioning fails. The signaling is as follows:

And the cause of the repositioning failure is as follows:

According to the preceding signaling analysis, you can

infer that the UE does not recognize the BSC of the 2G cell
during the 3G-to-2G handover. In this case, the failure may
be caused by unconfigured BSC ID or LAC.

Data Configuration Optimization in 2G/3G

Handover

Solution:

Result:

Check the BSC and LAC of the target 2G cell on the CN. You can
find that the LAC is not configured. Then, reconfigure the LACs of
all 2G neighboring cells on the CN.
After the data is configured again, all 3G-to-2G handovers succeed.

Suggestion for similar problems:

In the 3G-to-2G handover, the BSC ID, LAC, NCC, and BCCH of
2G neighboring cells must be configured in the 2G neighboring cell
database of the OMCR and on the CN.

Call Drop Case-Handover

Call Drop Case-Handover

Delete Cell 51 and

Cell 53

Call Drop Case-Handover

Report e1A to add

cell 51 and Cell 53
into Active Set after
0.4 second

Call Drop Case-Handover

Report e1a to add

cell 51,64,53,52 to
Active Set

Call Drop Case-Handover

Call Drop Case-Handover

Continue report e1a to add

stronger cells to Active Set
But UE cannot receive the
AcitiveUpdate message because
the poor signal of the cells in
ActiveSet.

Call Drop Case-Handover

Call Drop Case-Handover

Call Drop
Happened