Engineering Rules For Frequency Hopping

Engineering Rules For Frequency Hopping
Reference : PE/IRC/DD/0012
Version : 01.03 / EN
Date : 20/07/98
Ext. ref. : ....
Type : TYP
Product : PRD
Cat : I
Status : A
Author : S. Le Graët
Documentalist : A.M. Le Berre
Approved by : C. Moreau
Quality manager : J.C. Hamani

Abstract / Comments :
Distribution lists : ND, AE, RF Projects, RF Solution, RF Measurement, System Design,

PENG, WGAl, NMO, RSV
This confidential document is the property of NORTEL MATRA CELLULAR and may not be copied or circulated without permission
Ce document confidentiel est la propriété de NORTEL MATRA CELLULAR et ne peut être reproduit ou communiqué sans autorisation
DOCUMENT AMENDMENTS
VERSION DATE COMMENTS AUTHOR

01.01/EN 25/05/98 Creation of document S. Le Graët
01.02/EN 12/06/98 Update after review S. Le Graët
01.03/EN 17/07/98 Modifications S. Le Graët
Engineering Rules For Frequency Hopping Page I.2

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
Reference : PE/IRC/DD/0012
Version : 01.03 / EN
Date : 20/07/98
ENGINEERING RULES FOR FREQUENCY HOPPING
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................. 3
1.1. OBJECT................................................................................................................... 3
1.2. SCOPE .................................................................................................................... 3
2. RELATED DOCUMENTS ................................................................................................... 4
2.1. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS................................................................................... 4
2.2. REFERENCE DOCUMENTS................................................................................... 4
3. ABBREVIATIONS & DEFINITIONS.................................................................................... 5
3.1. ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................... 5
3.2. DEFINITIONS .......................................................................................................... 5
4. ENGINEERING RULES FOR FREQUENCY HOPPING..................................................... 6
4.1. FREQUENCY HOPPING PRINCIPLES AND BENEFITS........................................ 6

4.1.1. FREQUENCY HOPPING PRINCIPLE ................................................................................................................ 6
4.1.2. FREQUENCY HOPPING BENEFITS .................................................................................................................. 8
4.1.3. BASEBAND FREQUENCY HOPPING ............................................................................................................. 11
4.1.4. SYNTHESISED FREQUENCY HOPPING........................................................................................................ 14
4.1.5. NORTEL CHOICE BETWEEN BASEBAND AND SYNTHESISED FREQUENCY HOPPING.................... 14
4.2. ENGINEERING RULES FOR SYNTHESISED FREQUENCY HOPPING ............. 18
4.2.1. SYNTHESISED FREQUENCY HOPPING PARAMETERS............................................................................. 18
4.2.2. FRACTIONAL FREQUENCY LOAD................................................................................................................ 20
4.2.3. MAXIMUM TRX CONFIGURATION............................................................................................................... 22
4.2.4. SFH PARAMETER SETTING FOR 1:1 PATTERN : STRATEGY 1 ............................................................... 25
4.2.5. SFH PARAMETER SETTING FOR 1:3 PATTERN : STRATEGY 2 ............................................................... 29
4.2.6. SUM-UP OF THE DIFFERENT STRATEGY RESULTS ................................................................................. 35
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 36
Z END OF DOCUMENT Y ................................................................................................. 37
Engineering Rules For Frequency Hopping Page 2/37

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. OBJECT
This document aims at describing the engineering rules for frequency hopping. It has
been written in the context of studies lead by WGAl. The purpose of this document is to
describe and compare baseband frequency hopping and synthesised frequency hopping.
It argues Nortel choice for synthesised frequency hopping. Then, according to the
network (frequency pattern, interference, environment,...) engineering rules for
Synthesised Frequency Hopping are developed. The given engineering rules come from
field experience and study results.
1.2. SCOPE
This document is compliant with BSS releases until V10.
First this document explains frequency hopping principle and benefits. The two (2)
types of frequency hopping (baseband and synthesised) are described and compared.
Then, engineering rules are given for synthesised frequency hopping.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
2. RELATED DOCUMENTS
2.1. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS
[A1] PE/DCL/DD/0007 V10.02/EN Dictionary of parameters
[A2] PE/IRC/APP/0037 V02.03/EN BSS parameters user guide
2.2. REFERENCE DOCUMENTS
[R1] MOBRO-02-Q-496-98 Synthesised frequency hopping versus
Baseband frequency hopping
[R2] GDC/BYT97/KH/DIV/1377 Revue du cahier de test Saut de Frequence et
reponses aux questions pour l’IWG Frequency
Hopping
[R3] PE/IRC/APP/00068 V10 Engineering Changes
[R4] PE/BTS/DD/0421 SFS of the BTS : Measurement Processing
[R5] PE/IRC/INF/0014 1/3 Reuse Pattern Engineering Information

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
3. ABBREVIATIONS & DEFINITIONS
3.1. ABBREVIATIONS
BER Bit Error Rate
BCCH Broadcast Control Channel
BCF Base Common Function
BSC Base Station Controller
BTS Base Station
DTX Discontinuous transmission
FER Frame Erasure Rate
FH Frequency Hopping
FN Frame Number
FP Frame Processor
HSN Hopping Sequence Number
MA Mobile Allocation
MAI Mobile Allocation Index
MAIO Mobile Allocation Index Offset
MTBF Minimum Time Between Failure
OMC Operation and Maintenance Centre for the radio subsystem
PWC Power Control
SFH Slow Frequency Hopping
TDMA Time Division Multiple Access
TEI Terminal equipment identifier (lapd protocol related)
TRX Transmission/Reception subsystem of the BTS
TX BTS Transmitter
TS Time Slot
3.2. DEFINITIONS
MTBF It is a mathematical time expectancy between two successive parts of
equipment or unit failure

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
4. ENGINEERING RULES FOR FREQUENCY
HOPPING
4.1. FREQUENCY HOPPING PRINCIPLES AND BENEFITS
4.1.1. FREQUENCY HOPPING PRINCIPLE
Basically, Frequency Hopping aim is to spread the spectrum of the signal to minimise the impact of
potential interferers. Frequency Hopping consists in changing the frequency used by a channel at
regular intervals.
In GSM, the transmission frequency remains the same during the transmission of a whole burst. Thus,
it is possible to have different frequencies on each burst of a frame. The radio interface of GSM uses
then slow Frequency Hopping.
According to the type of coupler used in the BTS, two (2) main types of Frequency Hopping
mechanism can be used :
• Synthesised mode for Hybrid couplers with duplexers (hopping time slots can hop on a large
band of frequencies)
• Baseband mode using Cavity couplers with duplexers (hopping time slots can hop on a set of
frequencies limited by the number of TRXs) - Only available with S4000 BTS.
Remark:
It is also possible to use baseband frequency hopping for hybrid couplers with duplexers, when not
using hopping BCCH (pseudo Baseband Frequency Hopping). However the interest of having
hybrid couplers is lost (possibility to have more frequencies than TRX with hybrid couplers though
baseband needs exactly the same number of frequencies than TRX).
Using frequency hopping allows to adapt and maximise the frequency re-use pattern efficiency by
maximising the capacity in term of offered Erlang/Mhz/km². The pattern to use will depend on the
available frequency band and the traffic requirement.
With frequency hopping, instead of having determined frequencies for TCH, TCH TRXs can hop on
several frequency groups.
It is possible (and recommended) to mix different frequency re-use technique, as 4:12 for BCCH and
1:3 or 1:1 for TCH. Indeed, a traditional 4:12 reuse pattern is appropriate to a wide spectrum allocation
as for BCCH frequency (only one frequency per cell is needed). However, in order to increase the
number of TRX per cell with a given frequency band, in keeping a low interference level, the only
solution is to use more restricting reuse pattern, as 1:1 or 1:3.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
BCCH 4*12 Re-use Pattern Basis TCH 1x3 Re-use Pattern Basis TCH 1*1 Re-use Pattern Basis
Example
Here below is an example of spectrum efficiency, according to the type of frequency re-use pattern.
This application is supposing 30 RF carriers in a 6 MHz allocation for trisectorial cells, using a 4:12
reuse pattern for BCCH.
4*12 pattern Fract.1*3 Fract.1*1
30 Carriers 30 Carriers
30 /12 = 2 or 3 - 12 for BCCH - 12 for BCCH
18 for TCH 18 /3 = 6 18 for TCH
Each cell contains

Each cell contains Each cell contains
2 or 3 frequencies
7 frequencies (1 + 6) 19 frequencies (1 + 18)
11TRX
TRXfor
forBCCH
BCCHnonnonhopping
hopping 11TRX
TRXforforBCCH
BCCHnon
nonhopping
hopping 11TRX
TRXforforBCCH
BCCHnon
nonhopping
hopping
11or
or22TRX
TRXonon11 frequency
frequency(no
(noFH)
FH) up
uptoto33TRX
TRXhopping
hoppingon
on66 up
up to 4 TRX hoppingon
to 4 TRX hopping on18
18
frequencies
frequencies frequencies
frequencies
It is obvious with this example that frequency hopping associated to fractional re-use patterns leads to
a subsequent gain in terms of offered Erlangs per cell.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
4.1.2. FREQUENCY HOPPING BENEFITS
The two main advantages of Frequency Hopping are interferer and frequency diversity.
• The first-one (interferer diversity) is minimising the standard deviation of the C/I distribution law
• The second-one (frequency diversity) allows to lower the impact of Rayleigh Fading for slow
mobiles.
4.1.2.1. Benefits for RxLev
The Rayleigh fading is a high attenuation of the signal at a given point, due to multiple path. The
area with fading or fading hole has a very small size which is directly dependant on the frequency of
the signal.
Negative effects of deep Rayleigh fading holes can therefore be counter-balanced. Such a robust
behaviour is especially useful for slow-moving mobiles, which are more likely to experiment low field
levels due to fast fading.
When moving, the mobile is obviously less sensitive to these fading holes and looses few information
which does not decrease the voice quality. But when not moving or in case of slow moving (e.g.
pedestrian) a mobile may stay during a long time under the same Rayleigh fading effect and loose a
significant amount of information.
For two different frequencies the Rayleigh fading is not at the same place (the distance between two
fading holes is λ/2). So with Frequency Hopping, during the same time the mobile can be considered
like if it was under different fast fading effects : the frequency hopping simulates the movement for a
fixed mobile.
dB
10
0
1
-5
F requency 1
( or T ime 1)
-10
F requency 2
-15
( or T ime 2 )
-20
-25
T ime ( or
F requency )
-30
-A S L OW MS CAN S T AY HE R E DUR ING S E VE R AL S P E E CH F R AME S

- AT HIGH S P E E D OR WIT H S P ACE OR DIVE R S IT Y T E CHNIQUE S IT CAN S T AY ONL Y ONE T IME S L OT

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
Warning : It is common to find a 6dB for the C/I gain in the GSM documents ; however a significant
deviation can be observed according to the type of mobile, type of interferers, number of frequencies in
the hopping list, physical environment,...
4.1.2.2. Benefits for RxQual
GSM Channel coding and frame interleaving allow to spread interference across the time and
frequency axes, thanks to frequency hopping activation between consecutive time slots.
As shown on the next diagram, the RxQual parameter is computed as the average over all the burst of
a SACCH period (104 consecutive bursts in case of TCH channel without DTX) of the bit error rate
(BER) before decoding. The frame erasure rate (FER) is evaluated once the 8 bursts which constitute a
full speech frame (456 coded bits interleaved in 8 half-bursts of 57 bits each) is decoded.
c(f1) c(f2) c(f3) c(f4) c(f5) c(f6) c(f7) c(f8)

....
RXQUAL
I(f1) I(f2) I(f3) I(f4) I(f5) I(f6) I(f7) I(f8)
c(fi): wanted signal, on carrier i

I(fi) : jammer signal, on carrier i
Decoding Speech frame FER

De-interleaving erasure criterion
In the case of networks with small spectrum allocation, high instantaneous interference levels can be
expected. However, frequency hopping allows to take advantage of jammer diversity, spreading
interference across the network, which can therefore result in improvements of high RxQual values but
also in degradation of low RxQual values (tighter RxQual distribution).
Therefore, RxQual thresholds should be increased by one (1) or two (2) units when using frequency
hopping, in order to avoid an increase of handover on quality criteria.
4.1.2.3. Benefit on FER
As frequency hopping spreads over space and time the effects of fading and interferers, FER decreases
when frequency hopping is enabled.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
At Air Interface :
measure in BER
After Forward Error Correction :
measure in FER
It is remained that each voice frame of 20 ms is spread over 4 frames of 5 ms each. The BER Bite
Error Rate) is computed on each 5 ms frame and the FER (Frame Erasure Rate) on each 20 ms frame
after the decoding/interleaving. Hence the FER is the best way to estimate the subjective voice quality.
For handset mobiles, frequency hopping brings a high improvement. This gain is particularly
interesting since four (4) frequencies are used for frequency hopping.
Furthermore, the following curve highlights that for a given frequency hopping configuration, the gain
is particularly high when the speed of mobiles is low (less than 20 km/h).
FRAME ERASURE RATE versus SFH at -104 dBm
12,00
10,00 1 km/h
3 km/h
5 km/h
8,00 10 km/h
50 km/h
FER(%)
6,00
4,00
2,00
0,00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
NUMBER OF FREQUENCIES FOR HOPPING
4.1.2.4. Sum-up of the main benefits of frequency hopping
• up to 8 frequencies, the higher the number of frequencies in the hopping law, the smaller the
Fading margin taken into account in the link budget (due to Rayleigh fading).
• the smaller the mobile speed and the higher the number of frequencies, the higher the benefit of the
frequency hopping.
• the higher the number of frequencies in the hopping law, the narrower the Rxqual distribution.
However Rxqual mean remains the same (see figure below). Hence the Frequency Hopping
eliminates the number of bad Rxqual samples but it also reduces the number of good Rxqual ones.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
RXQUAL cdf versus SFH (1km/h, -104 dBm)
cdf = cumulative distribution function
100
90
80
70
60
50
40 NO FH
4 freq
30 8 freq
16 freq
20
10
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
BER %
• Increase resistance to Rayleigh fading:

- re-centred RxQual distribution for slow moving mobiles
- better stability of the received signal level (smoothing effect )
Completion of diversity task on uplink and full benefit on downlink
- high improvement for areas of weaker signal strength (inside buildings and on street level)
• Resistance to interference
- spread of interference over all RF spectrum
- spread of interference over time
- highly loaded sites benefit from lower load on adjacent sites
- more efficient error correction gain from digital processing
4.1.3. BASEBAND FREQUENCY HOPPING
4.1.3.1. Principle
Using baseband frequency hopping, each TX is dedicated to one frequency and is connected to all the
Frame Processor (TDMA) via the FH bus. It is used with cavity coupling system. It uses exactly the
same number of frequencies as TRXs.
The filling is done by the FP according to the configuration of the TDMA (all the parameters for the
frequency hopping are static and not per call basis ; so even if there is no call the FP knows if it has to
transmit on the BCCH frequency).

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
Moreover the TX can have a carrier filling functionality which is not useful for the BCCH frequency
(Carrier filling is already done by the FP) but which can be used in case of other frequencies carrier
filling with the use of a specific BCF load.
BCCH Freq
FP1 TX1
FP2 TX2
FP3 TX3
FP4 TX4
Filling burst when there is no information

to transmit on the BCCH frequency
For a given cell with the previous configuration (4 TRX), two Mobiles Allocations would be defined :
- MA1 is used with the complete set of frequencies available to hop on (including the BCCH
frequency), then four (4) frequencies.
- MA0 does not contain the BCCH to be able to hop on three (3) frequencies (MA1-BCCH frequency)
with the TS in the TDMA0.
There are two possibilities for baseband frequency hopping configuration:
- hopping on TCH and BCCH
TS 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
TDMA 0 F1 MA1 MA1 MA1 MA1 MA1 MA1 MA1 MAIO = 0
TDMA 1 MA0 MA1 MA1 MA1 MA1 MA1 MA1 MA1 MAIO = 1

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
- hopping on TCH, no hopping on BCCH
TS 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
TDMA 0 F1 F1 F1 F1 F1 F1 F1 F1 MAIO = 0
with : MA : Mobile Allocation (list of hopping frequencies for a TRX)

MAIO : Mobile Allocation Index Offset between 0 and (Nb of Freq in MA - 1).
F1 : BCCH frequency
Caution : it is not recommended to hop on BCCH frequency when using baseband frequency hopping,
because it can lead to some troubles when downlink DTX or downlink power control are enabled.
4.1.3.2. Reconfiguration procedure
With the baseband frequency hopping mechanism, it is possible to reconfigure the frequencies in
certain cases. The process is started by BSC in case of equipment failure/recovery within a TRX, for a
Radio Cell which supports frequency hopping and uses the Frequency Management GSM function.
This function is supported by the TRX and allows the BSC to configure or to reset a frequency on a
TX which is identified by the TEI of the corresponding TRX. The loss of one TX implies the loss of
one frequency (which is not the BCCH) and of one TDMA (the one defined with the lowest priority) if
no redundant TRX.
Two symmetric mechanisms are managed by the BSC to handle the automatic frequency
reconfiguration in the case of frequency hopping cavity coupling BTS:
- loss of a frequency: the cell is stopped and restarted with new set of frequencies. This may lead
to release the calls.
- recovery of all frequencies: an automatic reconfiguration is triggered by the BSC when all the
frequencies are recovered. This may lead to release the calls.
There will be a reconfiguration if the flag bscHopReconfUse = True (defined at BSC level) and if there
are more frequencies than the threshold btsThresholdHopReconf (defined at BTS level). Otherwise the
cell is badly configured.
When a end of fault occurs if the flag btsHopReconfRestart = True and if there are more frequencies
than the threshold (btsThresholdHopReconf), there is a complete cell reconfiguration.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
4.1.4. SYNTHESISED FREQUENCY HOPPING
Using synthesised frequency hopping, each TX is associated to one FP (TDMA) and can transmit on
all the frequencies. It is used with hybrid coupling systems and can use more frequencies than TRXs.
The main issue is to ensure that the frequency BCCH is transmitted all the time (on all the TS of the
TDMA) at a constant power even if there is no call to transmit (no voice or data burst). This is done by
a specific configuration which consists in dedicating a TRX to the BCCH frequency (so the TDMA
called BCCH does not hop)
Generally, the number of frequencies is greater than the number of TRX in order to have the smallest
Fading margin in the link budget.
FH bus
FP1 TX1
FP2 TX2
FP3 TX3
The TDMA configurations in case of synthesised frequency hopping are defined as follows :
• F1 is the BCCH frequency.
• the other two TDMA of the cell have the same MA. HSN and MAIO can be different (see
Engineering Rules in chapter 4.2).
4.1.5. NORTEL CHOICE BETWEEN BASEBAND AND SYNTHESISED

FREQUENCY HOPPING
In case of cavity (or filter) coupling system, the only way to perform frequency hopping is to use
baseband frequency hopping. The wideband coupling system (duplexer or hybrid-2ways and duplexer)
allows the use of both types of frequency hopping ; however, it is more appropriated with synthesised
frequency hopping.
Here below are listed the main comparison points between baseband and synthesised frequency
hopping. It allows to decide the most appropriated frequency hopping mechanism.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
4.1.5.1. Use of downlink DTX and downlink power control
Tests have shown that if DTX downlink and Power Control downlink are activated simultaneously
when using baseband frequency hopping, it could lead to quality degradation and eventually to call
drops for some mobile brands.
With synthesised frequency hopping, this behaviour has never been encountered whatever the mobile
brand is. So with simultaneous activation of these two features, interference are significantly reduced.
Synthesized Frequency Hopping is then the only frequency hopping mechanism possible when using
downlink DTX and downlink power control.
4.1.5.2. Parameter settings
The parameter setting for the synthesised frequency hopping with a fractional re-use pattern is easily
performed due to the fact that the set of frequencies is the same for each cell (1*1 pattern) or a group
of cells (for example 1*3 pattern). Implementation of new sites does not imply a new frequency
planning for the existing sites.
On the contrary, two different MA per cell (one including BCCH frequency) are needed when using
baseband frequency hopping.
4.1.5.3. Capacity and Quality impact in case of TRX loss
In case of baseband frequency hopping, the number of used frequencies is equal to the number of
TRX. As a result, in case of TRX loss, the capacity of the site will be reduced, and the number of
frequencies in the hopping sequence is also reduced by one. Therefore, the overall benefit of the
frequency hopping (i.e. voice quality) is reduced.
In case of synthesised frequency hopping, the capacity of the site is also reduced, but the overall load
of the fractional pattern is reduced (the number of frequency in the hopping sequence is still the same,
but the number of in-service TRX is reduced by one) ; so the overall voice quality is improved.
4.1.5.4. MTBF impact of the coupling system
Cavity combiners, which are mechanical equipment, have smaller MTBF than hybrid coupler
combiners which are passive equipment. Therefore, the synthesised solution with wideband coupling
system shall be more reliable than the baseband solution with cavity coupling system.
4.1.5.5. Coupling loss impact
On one hand, cavity coupling systems have an insertion loss around 4,5 dB ; on the other hand,
duplexer and hybrid 2-ways coupling systems have a respective insertion loss of 1,3 dB and 4,8 dB.
Therefore, when using duplexers, a lower loss in the uplink budget allows to have a lower downlink

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
budget (3.2 dB) to balance the path loss. Otherwise, the use of hybrid 2-ways coupling systems does
not badly impact the link budget, in comparison with cavity coupling systems.
4.1.5.6. Frequency hopping efficiency
For limited frequency spectrum networks, the maximum configuration of BTS is limited to few TRX
in case of baseband frequency hopping. This means that every timeslot is hopping on a few frequencies
(often less than 4).
When using synthesised frequency hopping, every timeslot (except those of the BCCH TRX) is
hopping on more frequencies (not limited by the number of TRX).
Now, from Nortel experience, to get the full benefit of frequency hopping, a minimum of four (4)
different frequencies shall be used. This benefit is increased up to 8 frequencies available within the
hopping sequence concerning fading effects. Moreover, beyond 8 frequencies, the additional interferer
benefits are still increasing.
RXLEV cdf versus SFH
100
NOHOP
2freq
4 freq
8 freq
% 10
1
-2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
FADING MARGIN (dB)
Simulation for a MS with a 1 km/h speed

cdf : cumulative distribution function
Then the use of Synthesised Frequency Hopping is more efficient than the use of baseband frequency
hopping.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
4.1.5.7. TRX addition in a given cell
In case of synthesised frequency hopping, it is not always mandatory to stop a sector when adding a
TRX in this sector (it only requires that this additional TRX was previously declared within the OMC
database).
On the contrary, in case of baseband frequency hopping, this is not possible due to the fact that every
time a TRX is added, the quantities of frequencies used in the cell has to be increased.
Then it is more convenient to use Synthesised Frequency Hopping when adding TRX in a cell.
4.1.5.8. Conclusion
Thus, the use of synthesised frequency hopping really outperforms the use of baseband frequency
hopping.
It implies less interference than the use of baseband frequency hopping and it is easier to use for
parameter setting. Moreover, Synthesised Frequency Hopping is fully compliant with the use of
downlink DTX and DTX power control.
The following chapter is then describing the recommended engineering rules to follow wor synthesised
frequency hopping.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
4.2. ENGINEERING RULES FOR SYNTHESISED FREQUENCY
HOPPING
4.2.1. SYNTHESISED FREQUENCY HOPPING PARAMETERS
The parameters used to set the Frequency Hopping are the following one :
HSN : Hopping Sequence Number [0, 63]
MAI : Mobile Allocation Index
Nf : Number of hopping frequencies
MAIO : Mobile Allocation Index Offset between 0 and Nf - 1. Each hopping TRX has a MAIO
FN : Frame Number (GSM time)
MA : Mobile Allocation
The hopping sequence generation algorithm uses the hopping sequence number (HSN) parameter to
distinguish between the 64 possible pseudo-random sequences, and produces for each frame, a Mobile
Allocation Index (MAI). This parameter is therefore GSM time and HSN dependent. The number of
frequencies in the Mobile Allocation is also used as an input in order to produce a MAI value within
the range of the frequency allocation.
This value (MAI) is increased by the MAIO assigned to each time slot, prior to selecting in the Mobile
Allocation (MA) the appropriate frequency to be used on this particular time slot.
Example:
FN HSN Nf
MA
F1
F2 Nf = 8
HSN : 10
F3 MAI 1 2 7 8 2 4 5 1
F4 MAIO : 0
MAI F1 F2 F7 F8 F2 F4 F5 F1
F5 MAIO : 2
F6
F7
+ MAI MAI F3 F4 F1 F2 F4 F6 F7 F3
F8
MAIO
The sequence number indicates the frequency used in a TRX with MAIO equal to 0, according to the
frequency order in the Mobile Allocation.
In the upper example, the sequence number 1 corresponds to the frequency F1, because it is the first
one in the MA list. The MAIO indicates the offset of the MAI in the MA list. Thus, keeping the
sequence number 1 for MAIO 0 (F1 is selected) a MAIO equal to 2 corresponds to the frequency F3
because it is the third-one in the MA list.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
MAI = 1 Î F MAIO=0 = F MAI = F1
Then: F MAIO=2 = F (MAI + MAIO) = F3
As a general rule, the frequency for a TRX using a MAIO equal to i is the following:
F MAIO=i = F (MAI + i)
HSN and MAIO properties :

• Sequences bearing different HSN will statistically collide 1/Nf of time (whatever the MAIO).
• Sequences bearing the same HSN but different MAIO are orthogonal (no collision).
• HSN = 0 correspond to cyclic frequency hopping.
Thus, on a same site an identical value of HSN for each cell provides the same MAI. A different
MAIO for each TRX ensure the hopping sequence laws are orthogonal.
The generation algorithm in GSM has been specified so that two sequences bearing two different HSN
will statistically collide 1/Nfth of the time, where Nf is the number of hopping frequencies.
However, perfect orthogonality is ensured by assigning the same HSN but a different MAIO value to
two synchronised TDMAs. In the example above, channels 1, 2 and 3 will never collide.
HSN and MAIO rules :

Two HSN and MAIO allocation strategies are possible depending on :
• the implemented reuse pattern
• the frequency grouping
• the number of hopping TRXs per site
On one hand, to avoid a collision between two sequences, it is better to use the same HSN and
different MAIO (sequences are then orthogonal). On the other hand the maximum number of MAIO in
a cell is equal to the number of hopping frequencies. So this solution can not be used if the number of
hopping frequencies is too low.
Network HSN plan :

Once a strategy for HSN and MAIO plans within a site has been defined, an HSN plan must be
elaborated for the network. The MAIO plan will be the same for all sites. But for the HSN plan,
usually a minimum distance between two (2) sites using the same HSN is defined. Furthermore, the
use of the same HSN in a cell and in its jammers is also not recommended.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
Example (set of frequencies is F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7) :
HSN =1 F1 F2 F6 F7 F2 F4 F5 F1
MAIO = 0
HSN = 1 F2 F3 F7 F1 F3 F5 F6 F2
MAIO = 1
4.2.2. FRACTIONAL FREQUENCY LOAD
The fractional reuse pattern which can be implemented on a network depends on the fractional
frequency load.
NbHopTRXCell
FrequencyLoad =
Nhfcell
With: - NbHopTRXCell : number of hopping TRX in a cell

- Nhfcell : number of hopping frequencies in a cell (= number of frequencies in the MA)
For a 1:1 pattern, as all cells within a site have the same MA list, the number of hopping frequencies in
a cell is the same than the number of hopping frequencies in the corresponding site.
Nhfsite = Nhfcell in a 1:1 pattern

With: - Nhfsite : number of hopping frequencies in a site
For a 1:3 pattern, as each cell within a site has a specific MA list, there are three (3) times more
hopping frequencies in a site (trisectorial site) than hopping frequencies in its cells.
Nhfsite = 3* Nhfcell in a 1:3 pattern
Assuming a network with trisectorial sites with an homogeneous distribution of TRX, whatever the
pattern is, there are always three (3) times more hopping TRX in a site than hopping TRX in its cells.
NbHopTRXSite = 3* NbHopTRXCell
for trisectorial sites with homogeneous distribution of TRX
With: - NbHopTRXSite : number of hopping TRX in a site
Thus, it is obvious that the defined frequency load is not comparable in a 1:1 pattern and a 1:3
pattern. In order to study the capacity (number of TRX per cell) according to the type of

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
pattern, with a given frequency band and a minimum if interference, a new function must be
defined:
NbHopTRXCell
FreqLoadSite =
Nhfsite
With: - NbHopTRXCell : number of hopping TRX in a cell

- Nhfsite : number of hopping frequencies in a site
According to the previous equations for 1:1 and 1:3 patterns, the new function FreqLoadSite can be
related to the usual frequency load:
FrequencyLoad = FreqLoadSite for a 1:1 pattern
FrequencyLoad = 3* FreqLoadSite for a 1:3 pattern
The table below shows the fractional re-use pattern that can be implemented according to the
maximum fractional frequency load. The results in this table come from simulations and field
experience. Then they have to be understood as maximum values for a good RF quality in the network.
They are available only in case of using power control and DTX, both uplink and downlink.
Otherwise, the maximum fractional frequency load would be smaller.
Fractional re-use pattern FrequencyLoad max FreqLoadSite max

1:1 20 % 20 %
1:3 50 % 16 %
16% 20%
FreqLoadSite
1/1 fractional re-use pattern
1/3 fractional re-use pattern
The maximum frequency load is the basis of the following study for engineering rules concerning HSN
and MAIO. Indeed, as the frequency load is a limitation, the aim of HSN and MAIO plans is to be as
close as possible to this limitation, and to have as less interference as possible (no adjacent frequency).

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
4.2.3. MAXIMUM TRX CONFIGURATION
With the previous results, it is possible to determine the maximum site configuration according to the
number of frequencies and the re-use pattern (considering a 4:12 re-use pattern for the BCCH), and
taking into account the results of maximum frequency load.
Here below some examples show how to find the maximum site configuration from the number of
available frequencies, or the contrary, the minimum number of frequencies needed for a given site
configuration.
Example 1:
What is the minimum number of needed frequencies for a S333 site configuration, considering one (1)
no hopping TRX (BCCH) and two (2) hopping TRX (TCH) in a 1:3 pattern for TCH ?
As seen before, with a 1:3 pattern: FrequencyLoad = 50 %
Then: NbHopTRXCell = FrequencyLoad * Nfhcell = 4
There are 3 cells, then: NbHopTRXSite = 12 TCH
As there is a 4:12 reuse pattern for BCCH, 12 frequencies are reserved for BCCH.
Finally, at least 24 frequencies are needed for using Synthesised Frequency Hopping in respecting the
maximal frequency load authorised.
Example 2:
What is the maximum site configuration with 28 available frequencies in the site, considering a
trisectorial site, a 1:1 pattern for TCH and a 4:12 pattern for BCCH ?
Then, 14 frequencies are available for TCH: Nhfsite = 14
As seen before, with a 1:1 pattern: Nhfcell = Nhfsite = 14
Frequency load for a 1:1 pattern: FrequencyLoad = FreqLoadSite = 20 %
Then: NbHopTRXCell FrequencyLoad * Nfhcell = 2.8
There are 3 cells, then: Nb of TRX / Cell = BCCH + NbHopTRXCell = 3
Thus, the maximum configuration is: S333

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
Example 3:
What is the maximum site configuration with 28 available frequencies in the site, considering a
trisectorial site, a 1:3 pattern for TCH and a 4:12 pattern for BCCH ?
Frequency load for a 1:3 pattern: FrequencyLoad = 50 %
Then, 14 frequencies are available for TCH: Nhfsite = 16
As seen before, with a 1:3 pattern: Nhfcell = Nhfsite / 3 = 5.3
The number of hopping frequencies in a cell is of course a whole number, and because the frequency
load is 0.5, it is better to have even numbers to optimize the number of TRX in the site.
In order to have whole and even numbers: cell1: Nhfcell = 6
cell2: Nhfcell = 6
cell3: Nhfcell = 4
Then: NbHopTRXCell = FrequencyLoad * Nfhcell
Thus, for each cell: cell1 & cell2: NbHopTRXCell = 3
cell3: NbHopTRXCell = 2
Then, to determine the total number of TRX: Nb of TRX / Cell = BCCH + NbHopTRXCell
Thus, the maximum configuration is: S443
The following tables show the maximum site configuration according to the number of frequencies
and the re-use pattern (considering a 4:12 re-use pattern for the BCCH), and taking into account the
results of maximum frequency load.
number of frequencies 96 84 72 60 54 48 47
1:3 fractional re-use pattern S888 S777
1:1 fractional re-use pattern S888
4 :12 re-use pattern S888 S777 S666 S555 S444
number of frequencies 42 37 36 32 30 27 24
1:3 fractional re-use pattern S666 S555 S444 S333
1:1 fractional re-use pattern S777 S666 S555 S444
4 :12 re-use pattern S333 S222
number of frequencies 22 18 17 12
1:3 fractional re-use pattern S222 S111
1:1 fractional re-use pattern S333 S222 S111
4 :12 re-use pattern S111

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
Maximum TRX configuration
60
50
frequency number
40 S888
30 S777
S666
20
S555
10 S444
0 S333
1:1 fractional re-use 1:3 fractional re-use 4:12 re-use pattern S222
pattern pattern S111
re-use pattern

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
4.2.4. SFH PARAMETER SETTING FOR 1:1 PATTERN : STRATEGY 1
As defined in chapter 4.1.1., this strategy means the use of the same frequency group of TCH (Mobile
Allocation) for all cells in the network.
The values of maximum frequency load in a cell (function FreqLoadSite, 20 % for 1:1, 16 % for 1:3)
indicated in chapter 4.2.2. show that for a given frequency band, this strategy (1:1 pattern) leads to a
capacity increase (more TRX per cell).
However, this maximum frequency load must be obtained without an increase of interference. Then,
the aim of the following study is to show what are the best HSN and MAIO plans to reach the
maximum frequency load without increasing the interference.
HSN and MAIO general rules

• In case of 1:1 fractional re-use pattern it is obviously forbidden to re-use the same value of HSN
and MAIO on two different cells of a same site. As they are synchronised, it would systematically
lead to frequency collision.
• For a 1:1 re-use pattern, it is forbidden to use different HSN in cells of a same site. It would always
lead to frequency collision.
• Moreover, if some frequencies inside the group are adjacent (general case), the use of two adjacent
MAIO in a same site is also extremely inadvisable because it would lead to interference (minimum
frequency spacing of 400 kHz).
Supposing the following abbreviations, calculations can be made to show the maximum frequency
load associated to different engineering rules, according to the MA content.
NbHopTRXSite : total number of hopping TRX (non-BCCH TRX) in the site.

NbHopTRXCell : total number of hopping TRX (non-BCCH TRX) in a cell.
Nhfsite : Number of Hopping Frequencies per site (MAIO step 2 leads to twice more frequencies).
NbMAIO : Number of MAIO used in the site
4.2.4.1. Strategy 1A: adjacent frequencies
Frequency band for hopping TRX: F1, F1+200, F1+400, F1+600,...
Rule :
The use of a unique HSN and different MAIO for each TRX within a site (with a step of 2 for
the MAIO because all frequencies inside the group are adjacent) ensure the orthogonality and
the non-adjacency of the frequencies.
Example: for a S444 with a MAIO step 2, there are 3 hopping TRX per cell, then 9 hopping TRX
within the site.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
HSN = 1 MAIO max = 16 then Nb hopping frequencies in the site 17
MAIO 0,6,12
NbMAIO = 9
HSN = 1 HSN = 1
MAIO 4,10,16 MAIO 2,8,14
In this example, to avoid any frequency adjacency, the minimum number of hopping frequencies in the
site must be 18, as shown in the tables below.
With 17 frequencies, the adjacency appears when the frequency of the first TRX of the first cell is not
the first frequency of the band (F1).
Cell1- TRX1 F1 F5 = F1 + 800 kHz
MAIO = 0
Cell3- TRX3 F17 = F1 + 3200 kHz F4 = F1 + 600 kHz
MAIO = 16
With one more frequency (18), the adjacency disappears

Cell1- TRX1 F1 F5 = F1 + 800 kHz
MAIO = 0
MAIO = 16
Then, in this example: Nb hopping frequencies in the site 18 = 2*NbMAIO
Remark:
In the above example, another solution for the MAIO rule would have been to give MAIO 0, 2, 4 to
TRX in the first cell, MAIO 6, 8, 10 to TRX in the second cell and MAIO 12, 14, 16 to TRX in the third
cell. However, the disadvantage of this solution appears when adding new TRX in a cell. For instance,
a new TRX in the first cell would have MAIO 18 assigned, then the logic aspect of the MAIO
assignment is lost.
For a trisectorial site with an homogeneous repartition of TRX in the cells, the frequency load due to
the previous constraints on HSN and MAIO is the following :

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
- even number of frequencies in the group :
As there are 3 cells per site: NbHopTRXSite = 3* NbHopTRXCell
And MAIO step 2 is used, then: Nhfsite ≥ 2 * NbMAIO
There are as many MAIO as TRX: NbHopTRXSite = NbMAIO
Nhfsite
Then NbHopTRXCell ≤ thus FreqLoadSite ≤ 16%
6
- odd number of frequencies in the group :

And MAIO step 2 is used, then: Nhfsite ≥ 2 * NbMAIO + 1
Nhfsite − 1
6
4.2.4.2. Strategy 1B: no adjacent frequency
Frequency band for hopping TRX: F1, F1+400, F1+800, F1+1200,... for instance
This strategy is not representative of operator strategy, because it also means that sometimes, there will
be adjacencies between BCCH and TCH frequencies. However, it is interesting to know if the previous
result can be enhanced with this strategy.
Rule :
The use of a unique HSN and different MAIO for each TRX within a site (with a step of 1 for
the MAIO because no frequency inside the group are adjacent) ensure the orthogonality and the
non-adjacency of the frequencies.
within the site.
HSN = 1 Ex : Nb hopping frequencies in the site 9
MAIO 0,3,6
NbMAIO = 9
HSN = 1 HSN = 1
MAIO 2,5,8 MAIO 1,4,7
For a trisectorial site with an homogeneous repartition of TRX in the cells, the frequency load due to
the previous constraints on HSN and MAIO is the following :

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
And MAIO step 1 is used, then: Nhfsite ≥ NbMAIO
Nhfsite
3
As the maximum frequency load for having few interference with 1:1 pattern is 20 %, the previous
result will lead to many interference. The same HSN and MAIO plans can be kept, however the
number of hopping frequencies per site must be higher.
Thus, with this configuration (no adjacent frequency), it is possible to reach the maximum
frequency load (20 %).
Nhfsite
Then: NbHopTRXCell ≤
5
Thus, in a 1:1 pattern, for a trisectorial site with an homogeneous repartition of TRX in the
cells, the engineering rules to follow are the following :
NbHopTRXcell/Nhfsite FreqLoadSite Adjacent HSN and

max frequencies in MA MAIO rule
Nhfsite 16 % yes Identical HSN
NbHopTRXcell ≤ (even ) MAIO step 2
6
Nhfsite + 1 16 % yes Identical HSN
NbHopTRXcell ≤ (odd) MAIO step 2
6
Nhfsite 20 % (max) no Identical HSN
NbHopTRXcell ≤ MAIO step 1
5
Caution : the only way to have a 20 % frequency load (maximum) with a 1:1 pattern is to use an
unique HSN with adjacent MAIO. However, this engineering rule is only applicable if there are no
adjacent frequencies in the MA (what is not generally the case). Otherwise it leads to an increase of
interference and it is not recommended to use MAIO step 1.
In the same way, the use of different HSN in each cell leads to an increase of interference whatever the
HSN and MAIO rules are.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
4.2.5. SFH PARAMETER SETTING FOR 1:3 PATTERN : STRATEGY 2
This strategy is studied here below in the case of a trisectorial site with an homogeneous repartition of
TRX in the cells.
4.2.5.1. Strategy 2A : 3 non-continuous frequency bands
Cell1 : F1, F1+600, F1+1200,...

Cell2 : F1+200, F1+800, F1+1400,...
Cell3 : F1+400, F1+1000, F1+1600,...

• If both HSN and MAIO are the same for each cell of a same site, there will be systematical
frequency adjacencies. Then, this configuration is not recommended.
• In order to systematically ensure a non-adjacency, the only way is to use a unique HSN but different
MAIO for consecutive cells within a site.
• The MAIO can be adjacent within a cell, because two (2) consecutive frequencies in a cell are not
adjacent (non-continuous frequency bands).
• The use of different HSN and MAIO in each cell of a site is not recommended because it would
lead to frequency adjacencies, then to an increase of interference.
within the site.
HSN = 1
MAIO 0,1,2 MAIO max = 8 then Nb hopping frequencies in each cell 9
HSN = 1 HSN = 1 NbMAIOSite = 9

MAIO 6,7,8 MAIO 3,4,5
In this example, to avoid any frequency adjacency, the minimum number of hopping frequencies in
each cell must be 10, as shown in the tables below.
With 9 frequencies, the adjacency appears when the frequency of the first TRX of the first cell is not
the first frequency of the band (F1).
Cell1- TRX1 F11 F15 = F11 + 2400 kHz
MAIO = 0
MAIO = 16

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
With one more frequency (18), the adjacency disappears
Cell1- TRX1 F11 F15 = F11 + 2400 kHz
MAIO = 0
MAIO = 16
Then, in this example: Nb hopping frequencies in each cell 18
Then, for a trisectorial site with an homogeneous repartition of TRX in the cells, the frequency load
due to the previous constraints on HSN and MAIO is the following :
Nhfsite
The reuse pattern is 1:3, then: NbMAIOSite + 1 ≤
3
As there are 3 cells per site : NbMAIOSite = 3* NbMAIOCell
And MAIO step 1 is used, then: NbMAIOCell = NbHopTRXCell
Nhfsite − 1
9
Where :
NbHopTRXSite : the total number of non-BCCH TRX in the site.
NbHopTRXCell : the total number of non-BCCH TRX in a cell.
Nhfsite : Number of Hopping Frequencies per site
NbMAIOSite : number of MAIO in the site
NbMAIOCell : number of MAIO in the Cell
The maximum value for FreqLoadSite was defined at 16 %, then this strategy is not optimised.
Keeping three (3) non continuous frequency bands, a better MAIO plan can be chosen, in order to
reach the maximum defined frequency load (FreqLoadSite = 16 %).
An indexed frequency Fi in the MA of the first cell is not adjacent with an indexed frequency Fi in the
MA of the third cell frequency (spacing of 400 kHz). However, an indexed frequency Fi in the MA of
the first cell frequency is adjacent with an indexed frequency Fi+1 in the MA of the third cell frequency.
Thus, using the same MAIO step 2 rule for both first and third cells will not lead to frequency
adjacencies between these cells.
Moreover, using different MAIO with a step 2 rule for the second cell will also ensure a non frequency
adjacency with this cell.
Example: for a S444 with a MAIO step 2 in all cells, same MAIO in first and third cells, there are 3
hopping TRX per cell, then 9 hopping TRX within the site.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
HSN = 1
MAIO 0,2,4 MAIO max = 5 then Nb hopping frequencies in each cell 6
HSN = 1 HSN = 1
MAIO 0,2,4 MAIO 1,3,5 NbMAIOSite = 6
Then the following frequency groups can be defined:
Cell1 F1 F1+600 kHz F1+1200 kHz F1+1800 kHz F1+2400 kHz F1+3000 kHz
Cell2 F1+200 kHz F1+800 kHz F1+1400 kHz F1+2000 kHz F1+2600 kHz F1+3200 kHz
Cell3 F1+400 kHz F1+1000 kHz F1+1600 kHz F1+2200 kHz F1+2800 kHz F1+3400 kHz
According to the MAI, the following frequencies will be allocated to each TRX.
Then, for : MAI = 0

TRX 1 TRX 2 TRX 3
Cell 1 (MAIO : 0, 2, 4) F1 F1 + 1200 kHz F1 + 2400 kHz
Cell 2 (MAIO : 1, 3, 5) F1 + 800 kHz F1 + 2000 kHz F1 + 3200 kHz
For MAI = 1
TRX 1 TRX 2 TRX 3
Cell 1 (MAIO : 0, 2, 4) F1+ 600 kHz F1 + 1800 kHz F1 + 3000 kHz
Whatever the MAI is, all frequencies are spaced of at least 400 kHz, then there is no frequency
adjacencies.
Then, for a trisectorial site with an homogeneous distribution of TRX in the cells, the frequency load
Nhfsite
The reuse pattern is 1:3, then: NbMAIOSite ≤
3
As there are 3 cells but 2 with same MAIO: NbMAIOSite = 2 * NbMAIOCell
And: NbMAIOCell = NbHopTRXCell
Nhfsite
6
Where :

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
Thus this solution leads to a non adjacency with a 16 % frequency load. As it is the maximum
frequency load determined in the limitation, it is the right solution to choose when using non
continuous frequency bands.
Caution
An other way to reach the maximum frequency load is to use different HSN and different MAIO for
each cell. This configuration leads to a 16 % frequency load (ideal case) but it also leads to frequency
adjacencies, then to interference increase.
4.2.5.2. Strategy 2B : 3 continuous frequency bands
Example with 4 frequencies per cell :

Cell1 : F1, F1+200, F1+400, F1+600
Cell2 : F1+800, F1+1000, F1+1200, F1+1400
Cell3 : F1+1600, F1+1800, F1+2000, F1+2200

• As in strategy 2A, if both HSN and MAIO are unique in a site, there will be systematical frequency
adjacencies. Then, this configuration is not recommended.
• Moreover, as in case A, the use of different HSN and MAIO within a site also leads to adjacencies.
Then, this configuration is not recommended.
• In order to ensure a systematical non-adjacency, the only way is to use a unique HSN but different
MAIO in each cell of a same site.
• The MAIO can not be adjacent within a cell, because two (2) consecutive frequencies in a cell are
adjacent in this case (continuous frequency bands).
Example: for a S444 with a MAIO step 2 per cell, there are 3 hopping TRX per cell, then 9 hopping
TRX within the site.
HSN = 1 MAIO max = 4 Nb hopping frequencies in each cell 5

MAIO 0,2,4
HSN = 1 HSN = 1 NbMAIOSite = 3

MAIO 0,2,4 MAIO 0,2,4
However, in this example, in order to avoid frequency adjacencies, the number of hopping frequencies
in each cell must be greater than 6.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
With 5 frequencies per cell:
Cell1- TRX1 F11
MAIO = 0
Cell1- TRX3 F15 = F11 + 1000 kHz
MAIO = 4
Cell2- TRX1 F31 = F11 + 1200 kHz
MAIO = 0
With one more frequency (6), the adjacency disappears:

Cell1- TRX1 F11
MAIO = 0
Cell1- TRX3 F15 = F11 + 1000 kHz
MAIO = 4
Cell3- TRX1 F31 = F11 + 1400 kHz
MAIO = 0
Then, in this example: Nb hopping frequencies in each cell 6
Remark
The use of different MAIO in each cell would not lead to less interference, because in the proposed
solution, the non-adjacency is already ensured.
Then, for a trisectorial site with an homogeneous repartition of TRX in the cells, the frequency load
MAIO step 2 is used: Nhfcell = 2 * NbMAIOCell

As the same MAIO plan is used in all cells : NbMAIOSite = NbMAIOCell
The reuse pattern is 1:3: Nhfsite = 3* Nhfcell
Nhfsite
Then: NbMAIOSite ≤
2*3
As the same MAIO plan is used in all cells : NbMAIOSite = NbMAIOCell
And: NbMAIOCell = NbHopTRXCell
Nhfsite
6
Where :

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
Thus this solution leads to a non adjacency with a 16 % frequency load. As it is the maximum
frequency load determined in the limitation, it is the right solution to choose when using
continuous frequency bands.
It would be useless to have different HSN and MAIO, because the maximum frequency load limitation
is already reached. Then it would only lead to an increase of interference without any frequency load
benefit.
Then, in a 1:3 pattern, for a trisectorial site with an homogeneous distribution of TRX in the
cells, the engineering rules to follow are the following :
TRXcell/Nfcell FreqLoadSite Adjacent HSN and MAIO rule

frequencies in MA
Nhfsite 16 % (max) no Identical HSN
NbTRXcell ≤ (3 non continuous Same MAIO step 2 in
6
frequency bands) two cells
Other MAIO step 2 in
the third cell
Nhfsite 16 % (max) yes Identical HSN
NbTRXcell ≤ (3 continuous MAIO step 2 in a cell,
6
frequency bands) same MAIO in all cells

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
4.2.6. SUM-UP OF THE DIFFERENT STRATEGY RESULTS
11% 16% 20%
FreqLoadSite
Max in 1/1 fractional re-use pattern

Strategy 1A (adj. freq)
Strategy 1B (no adj. freq)
Max in 1/3 fractional re-use pattern

Strategy 2A (no adj freq)
Strategy 2B (adj. Freq)

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
CONCLUSION
Synthesised frequency hopping is highly recommended by Nortel, in comparison with baseband

frequency hopping. In particular, experiments have shown that the activation of SFH lead to a decrease
of call drops and an increase of successful hand over and TCH allocation.
Moreover, the maximum efficiency of Synthesised Frequency Hopping is obtained when using power
control and DTX, both uplink and downlink. Otherwise, the maximum fractional frequency load
would be smaller.
Additionally, the introduction of SFH means an increase of hand over on the quality criteria, however
they happen instead of hand over on RxLev or power budget. This increase is particularly important
when frequency load is superior than the defined maximum frequency loads. Then, it is advised to
adapt the quality thresholds to the fractional reuse pattern. Thus, a value of 6 in a 1:1 pattern and a
value of 5 in a 1:3 pattern is highly recommended, in order to control hand over on quality criteria.
The main benefits are found in the following areas :

• Increase of both the capacity and the quality of the network
• Easier frequency planning
• Easier roll out (specifically in the more complex multiple vendor environment)
• Easier frequency parameters settings
• Increase of the flexibility for the capacity planning
The recommended strategies for 1:3 reuse pattern systematically leads to a non-adjacency of
frequencies, and the maximum possible frequency load (50 %, or 16 % with the defined frequency
load in site). Furthermore, this results are obtained in using either non continuous frequency band or
continuous frequency band (what is generally the case) in the MA.
For 1:1 pattern, the strategy to follow depends on the frequency bands constraints. In the case of
adjacent frequencies in the MA (general case), the maximum frequency load is not reached without
interference (16 % instead of 20 % at a maximum).
However, if there is no adjacent frequency in the MA, it is possible to reach the limitation in frequency
load (20 %). But this case is rarely used by operators, because it leads to some frequency adjacencies
between TCH and BCCH.
Though both strategies generally lead to the same capacity (TRX number per cell) for a given
frequency band, the 1:1 pattern is recommended because the frequency plan for TCH group is
easier to do than for the 1:3 pattern. It is particularly the case when adding cells, TRX or
frequencies in a network, because for a 1:1 pattern, the MA (TCH group) will be the same in all
cells.
Then, the 1:1 reuse pattern with adjacent frequency group for the Mobile Allocation is the
strategy an operator must favour. It leads to a 16 % maximum frequency load.

PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98
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PE/IRC/DD/0012 01.03 / EN 20/07/98

Engineering Rules For Frequency Hopping

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Engineering Rules For Frequency Hopping

Documentalist : A.M. Le Berre

Quality manager : J.C. Hamani

Distribution lists : ND, AE, RF Projects, RF Solution, RF Measurement, System Design,

VERSION DATE COMMENTS AUTHOR

01.02/EN 12/06/98 Update after review S. Le Graët

01.03/EN 17/07/98 Modifications S. Le Graët

Engineering Rules For Frequency Hopping Page I.2

ENGINEERING RULES FOR FREQUENCY HOPPING

1.2. SCOPE .................................................................................................................... 3

2. RELATED DOCUMENTS ................................................................................................... 4

2.1. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS................................................................................... 4

2.2. REFERENCE DOCUMENTS................................................................................... 4

3. ABBREVIATIONS & DEFINITIONS.................................................................................... 5

3.1. ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................... 5

3.2. DEFINITIONS .......................................................................................................... 5

4. ENGINEERING RULES FOR FREQUENCY HOPPING..................................................... 6

4.1. FREQUENCY HOPPING PRINCIPLES AND BENEFITS........................................ 6

Z END OF DOCUMENT Y ................................................................................................. 37

Engineering Rules For Frequency Hopping Page 2/37

Engineering Rules For Frequency Hopping Page 3/37

Engineering Rules For Frequency Hopping Page 4/37

Engineering Rules For Frequency Hopping Page 5/37

4.1. FREQUENCY HOPPING PRINCIPLES AND BENEFITS

4.1.1. FREQUENCY HOPPING PRINCIPLE

Engineering Rules For Frequency Hopping Page 6/37

4*12 pattern Fract.1*3 Fract.1*1

Each cell contains

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4.1.2.1. Benefits for RxLev

-A S L OW MS CAN S T AY HE R E DUR ING S E VE R AL S P E E CH F R AME S

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4.1.2.2. Benefits for RxQual

c(f1) c(f2) c(f3) c(f4) c(f5) c(f6) c(f7) c(f8)

I(f1) I(f2) I(f3) I(f4) I(f5) I(f6) I(f7) I(f8)

c(fi): wanted signal, on carrier i

Decoding Speech frame FER

4.1.2.3. Benefit on FER

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FRAME ERASURE RATE versus SFH at -104 dBm

4.1.2.4. Sum-up of the main benefits of frequency hopping

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• Increase resistance to Rayleigh fading:

4.1.3. BASEBAND FREQUENCY HOPPING

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Filling burst when there is no information

There are two possibilities for baseband frequency hopping configuration:

- hopping on TCH and BCCH

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with : MA : Mobile Allocation (list of hopping frequencies for a TRX)

4.1.3.2. Reconfiguration procedure

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4.1.5. NORTEL CHOICE BETWEEN BASEBAND AND SYNTHESISED

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4.1.5.2. Parameter settings

4.1.5.3. Capacity and Quality impact in case of TRX loss

4.1.5.4. MTBF impact of the coupling system

4.1.5.5. Coupling loss impact

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4.1.5.6. Frequency hopping efficiency

RXLEV cdf versus SFH

Simulation for a MS with a 1 km/h speed

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412 pattern Fract.13 Fract.1*1

Then, in this example: Nb hopping frequencies in the site 18 = 2*NbMAIO

Then, in this example: Nb hopping frequencies in each cell 18

HSN = 1 MAIO max = 4 Nb hopping frequencies in each cell 5

Then, in this example: Nb hopping frequencies in each cell 6