GSM SYSTEM

ARCHITECTURE

CONTENTS
> OVERVIEW
> PLANNING
> RF OPTIMIZATION
> TOOLS

ANSV | DO-Mobile | RNO Training | May 2014 | Page 2

OVERVIEW

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ANSV | DO-Mobile | RNO Training | May 2014 | Page 4

ARCHITECHTURE
A GSM network is made up of three sub-systems:
The Mobile Station (MS)
The Base Station Sub-system (BSS) BSC and several BTSs
The Network and Switching Sub-system (NSS) MSC and associated
registers

The interfaces defined between each of these sub systems

include:
'A' interface between NSS and BSS
'Abis' interface between BSC and BTS (within the BSS)
'Um' air interface between the BSS and the MS

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ALU BSS

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BSS components
BSC controller of the BSS
Control of the BTSs and their resources.
Perform switching functions within the BSS.

BTS provides the radio transmission and reception

functions for a cell, contains:
Radio Transmitter/Receiver (TRX)
Signal processing and control equipment
Antennas and feeder cables

TC key component for the transmission function

performs rate adaptation and encoding/decoding of speech and
data between the MSC and the BSC

The BSS is supervised by the OMC-R

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BSS configurations
Remote BTS

BSC
BTS

Daisy Chain
BTS 3
BTS 4

BTS 1

BSC
BTS 2
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BSS configurations
Star Config.
BTS 3
BTS 1

BSC
BTS 4

BTS 2

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BSS configurations
Loop Config.
BTS 3
BTS 1

BTS 4

BSC
BTS 2
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TERMINOLOGY
Site
Cell
CGI
Feeder
ANC
TRX
BCCH
TCH
BSIC
etc

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planning

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RF NETWORK CYLCLE
Spreadsheet
Design
Benchmarking

Model Tuning

IBS Solution

Site Survey

Traffic
Expansion

Freq.
Planning

Optimization
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Neighbor List
Site Params.

SPREADSHEET DESIGN
Use link budget to calculate the number of sites required to
meet coverage/capacity requirements of a certain
geographical area
Based on spreadsheet design operator agrees to buy
certain no of sites to build his network
Calculations based on

subscriber density
traffic per subscriber
expected growth in traffic, etc

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MODEL TUNING
Model tuning is used to
Accurately allocate the sites.
To achieve more accurate results from the prediction/simulation tool
deployed.
Identification of hotspots/special coverage requirement areas.
Tuned model can be used as a benchmark for future expansions.

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NORMINAL CELL PLAN

Distribution of the sites across the agreed geographical
area.
Coverage/Capacity objective details.
The output is search ring, which have:
Nominal site coordinates,
Search radius,
Specifications about antenna height requirements for each site, in
order that the site objectives are reasonably achieved.

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RF SITE SURVEY
Surveys for each search ring in the network to identify the
suitable candidates which can be used for building the sites.
Candidates identified are ranked on basis of their RF
suitability and other parameters such as structural stability,
line of sight clearance(for Tx), accessibility, costs, etc.
Drive testing may be carried out in some cases, to assess
the RF suitability
Once
suitable candidate(s) is identified acquisition
begins!!!
Often due to acquisition constraints, search rings need to be
modified and sometimes even the nominal plan needs to be
changed.
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SAR

FREQUENCY planning
GSM works on a frequency reuse pattern.
Different techniques available for frequency plan
Non Hopping (NH)
Hopping - further divided into Baseband Hopping (BBH) and
Synthesized Frequency Hopping (SFH/RH)

Can be done manually or automatically by AFP tools.

An optimal frequency is critical to ensure good RF
performance of the network.
Spectral challenges:
Limited band allocation
Traffic grow
Tighter reused pattern
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FREQUENCY CHANNELS
P-GSM900
890-915 MHz for uplink, MS to BS
935-960 MHz for downlink, BS to MS
fup(n) = (890+0.2*n) MHz (with ARFCN 1 n 124)
fdown(n) = fup(n) + 45 MHz
Radio frequency channel spacing: 200 KHz;
Duplex spacing: 45 MHz

E-GSM900
880- 915 MHz for UL; 925-960 MHz for DL

GSM1800
1710-1785 MHz for UL; 1805-1880 MHz for DL
Radio frequency channel spacing: 200 KHz; 512 n 885
Duplex spacing: 95 MHz
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FREQUENCY RE-USE
F=2

C/I 12 dB
C/A -9 dB
(GSM 05.05 spec.)
Reused pattern

F=3

F=7
F=1

F=4,8

F=6,10
F=5,9

F=2
F=3

F=7

F=2
F=1

F=4,8

F=6,10
F=5,9

F=3

F=7

F=1

F=4,8

F=6,10
F=5,9

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CRITICAL FACTORS FOR

GOOD RF NETWORK
Grid based RF design.
Maintain standard azimuths while sectorizing cells This
makes frequency plan easier.
Correct choice of antenna type for specific coverage
requirements.
Use of optimal antenna heights Should be sufficient to
cater to the coverage area, but should not exceed the
requirement, else it results into large spillovers and
interference, making reuse difficult!!
Use optimal tilt Electrical tilt as far as possible. In some
cases combination of electrical and mechanical tilts.

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ANTENNA
Types - Omni, Sector
Antenna pattern - the graphical representation of the
radiation properties of the antenna as a function of space

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ANTENNA
Lobes portions of the pattern, can be a main lobe, a side
lobe, a back lobe
Gain (dBi decibel relative to isotropic radiator) - the ratio of
the power gain in a given direction to the power gain of a
reference antenna in the same direction

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ANTENNA
HPBW
VSWR reflect how well the impedance of cable (feeder,
jumper), connector, antenna are matched. The typically
acceptable value is 1.5 which is ~ 4% of original power was
loss

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ANTENNA
Mechanical tilt

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Electrical tilt

OPt IMIZATION

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OVERVIEW
Parameter BSC, Cell, TRX level
Timer at MS, Cell, BSC
Counter
Indicator Dimensioning, HO, QoS, Resource Availibility &
Usage, Traffic Load
KPI Key Performance Indicator

OSS KPIs

Accessibility

Retainability

Mobility

Drivetest KPIs

Coverage

Quality

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OPTIMIZATION CYCLE
Network Rollout

Traffic
Optimization

Network PreOptimization

Hardware
Optimization

RF Fine Tuning

Parameter
Optimization
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Physical
Optimization

HW OPTIMIZATION
Hardware Optimization is a process in which failing network
elements which affect the performance of BSS (Access
Network) are troubleshooted.
In most cases, hardware failures on a BTS/BSC or any part
of the access network alarms are generated at the OMC,
which help in identifying the fault
Key statistics from OMCR could point towards hardware
failures Typical statistics which indicate such problems are

Poor assignment success/High assignment failure rate

High TCH/SD RF loss
High handover failure rate
Lower call volume/traffic on the cell

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HW OPTIMIZATION
Faulty TRX/combiner one of the most common problem.
Immediate step to be taken is to lock the particular
timeslot/TRX/combiner from the OMC and escalate the fault
to the BSS team.
Sleeping TRX/Cell - this is a temporary problem and gets
resolved by performing a reset on the particular.
Path balance This is also one of the common causes for
poor cell performance.
Path is balanced if DL receiving level UL receiving level = 0
(Pow(TRE TX) - RXLEV(DL)) - (Pow(MS TX) - RXLEV(UL)) = 0
PB < 0 means losses in the UL (poor UL RX)
PB > 0 means losses in the DL (weak DL TX)
PB in [-5; 5] is acceptable
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HW OPTIMIZATION
Path balance If path is unbalanced, possible things that
could go wrong are

High VSWR due to faulty feeder cable

Improper connection
Faulty combiner

Steps for Hardware Optimization

Check from OMCR statistics for indications of hardware faults

Check event logs from OMCR to find out if any alarms were
generated
Conduct call test on the site/cell in question check for assignment
failures, handover failures, from layer 3 messages
Isolate the problem to the specific TRX. This can be done by
locking the suspicious TRX.

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HW OPTIMIZATION
Steps for Hardware Optimization

Check for downlink receive level on each TRX. In some cases the
downlink receive level on a particular TRX may be very low, due to
faulty radio.
Request VSWR test to be performed if the problem appears to be
related to poor path balance.
Check for improper connection, improper antenna installation. One
loose connector could skew the performance of the entire cell
If the problem is not isolated to a bad TRX/ other BTS hardware
further investigations needed to check other possible faulty
hardware in the BSC/TC

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PHYSICAL RF OPTIMIZATION
A well designed RF is key to good network performance.
Physical RF Optimization is an essential requirement during
the network pre-optimization stage.
The process comprises of conducting a drive test for the
entire cluster, which may comprise of one or several BSC
areas.
The drive test results are plotted on a GIS map and
deficiencies in coverage/interference problems are identified
by plotting Rxlev/Rxqual values.
RF optimization is helpful in resolving specific coverage
problems or interference problems, overshooting, no
dominant server issues, etc.
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PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION
Access parameters

The MS uses a "path loss criterion" parameter C1 to determine

whether a cell is suitable to camp on.
C1 ensure that, if a call was attempted, it would be done with a
sufficient downlink and uplink received level based on 2
parameters, broadcast on BCCH

RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN (dBm) - minimum level to access the cell

MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH (dBm) - maximum level for MS emitting

evaluated every 5 sec (minimum)

C1 = A - MAX(0,B) > 0

A = RxLev - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN
B = MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH Pmax_MS

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PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION
Access parameters

In case of reselection from one cell to another in the same location

area the C1 value of target cell must be higher than that of the
source cell
In case of reselection to a target cell in a different location area
the C1 value must be greater than that of the source cell by a
database parameter cell_reselect_hysteresis
C2 is an option GSM feature which can only be used for cell
reselection, it can be enabled or disabled on a cell basis.
If C2 parameters are not being broadcasted, the C1 process is
used for reselection.
Why C2?

Cell prioritization

As a means of encouraging MSs to select some suitable cells in

preference to others

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PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION
Access parameters
CELL_RESELECT_PARAM_IND= not present THEN C2=C1
else
C2 = C1 + CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET - TEMPORARY_OFFSET (T)
(for PENALTY_TIME 31)

if T > PENALTY_TIME, TEMPORARY_OFFSET(T) = 0

C2 = C1 - CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET
(for PENALTY_TIME = 31)

One reselection criterion is compared to C2s

C2neighbor > C2current if cells belong to same LA

C2neighbor > C2current + Cell_Reselect_Hysteresis if cells from a

different LA

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PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION
Access parameters

Paging
SDCCH Radio failure, congestion, drop
Directed Retry

Call handling parameters

DTX prevents unnecessary transmissions when there is no need to

transfer information.
Power Control (UL/DL) is used to optimise the transmitted signal
strength so that the signal strength at the receiver is still adequate.
Frequency Hopping BBH, SFH/RF

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PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION
Handover parameters

Therere many types of Handover Causes, which can be divided

into 3 main families
Emergency HO DL/UL Quality, Level, Interference
Better condition HO PBGT
Channel adaptation HO HR-FR
The cause value contained in the handover request message will
affect the evaluation process in the BSC

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PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION

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PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION
Better cell HO (Power budget HO)

There is another cell with a better power budget i.e. the link quality
can be improved or maintained with a reduced transmission power
of both the MS and the BTS.
This cause is especially designed to cope with the requirement that
the mobile should be connected with the cell with which the lowest
possible output powers are used.
To assess which of the cells is the "best cell", the algorithm
performs the comparison of the path loss in the current and in the
neighbor cell every measurement reporting period.
The mobile measures the adjacent cell signal levels and reports
the six best ones

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PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION
Better cell HO (Power budget HO)

The power budget gives the difference in path loss between the
current cell and the adjacent cells.

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CALL FLOW
Call Flow

Radio link establishment

SDCCH phase
TCH phase
Alerting phase

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KPI
Call Setup Success Rate

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KPI
Call Drop Rate

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PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS

Coverage problem
Interference problem
Unbalanced power budget problem
Congestion problem
Typical problems
& solutions

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