3G RF Optimisation Basics Robert Joyce January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 WCDMA Basics Frequency Reuse Scrambling Codes Signal Strength/Quality Measurements in WCDMA Soft/Softer Handover Pilot Pollution Missing Neighbours January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 UK 3G Spectrum Allocations From (MHz) To (MHz) From (MHz) To (MHz) From (MHz) To (MHz) A Hutchison 3G 1920.0 1934.9 2110.3 2124.9 1914.9 1920.0 2x15 + 5 = 35 B Vodafone 1944.9 1959.7 2134.9 2149.7 N/A N/A 2x14.8 = 29.6 C O2 1934.9 1944.9 2124.9 2134.9 1909.9 1914.9 2x10 + 5 = 25 D T-Mobile 1959.7 1969.7 2149.7 2159.7 1899.9 1904.9 2x10 + 5 = 25 E Orange 1969.7 1979.7 2159.7 2169.7 1904.9 1909.9 2x10 + 5 = 25 Total (MHz) TDD Licence Operator FDD Downlink FDD Uplink 1905 1910 1960 FDD Uplink Licence A - Hutchison 3G Licence B - Vodafone 1935 Licence C - O2 Licence D - T-Mobile FDD Downlink 2150 2110 Licence E - Orange 1915 1920 1980 2125 1945 1970 2135 2160 TDD January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Frequency Reuse Initially operators have been launching with just a single carrier Vodafone NZ Network will initially be FDD only Vodafone will launch using only the FDD carrier (F1 =10588) All launch cells will use F1 & therefore Vodafone NZs 3G network will have a frequency reuse of 1 UARFCN Frequency (MHz) FDD Uplink F1 9638 1927.6 F2 F3 FDD Downlink F1 10588 2117.6 F2 F3 January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Scrambling Codes & CPICH The Common Pilot Indication Channel (CPICH) is broadcast from every cell It carries no information and can be thought of as a beacon constantly transmitting the Scrambling Code of the cell It is this beacon that is used by the phone for its cell measurements for network acquisition and handover purposes (Ec, Ec/Io). CPICH January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 3G Coverage Measurements The majority of 3G coverage measurements are based upon measurements of the CPICH Golden Rule: If the UE cant see the CPICH the UE cant see the cell. Initial 3G network optimisation will be performed purely from CPICH measurements Three key related measurements for 3G optimisation are Ec - The Received Signal Level of a particular CPICH (dBm) Io - The Total Received Power (dBm) Ec/Io - The CPICH Quality (The ratio of the above two values) January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Total Received Power I o In a WCDMA network the User Equipment (UE) may receive signals from many cells whether in handover or not I o * = The sum total of all of these signals + any background noise (dBm) *Note: Sometimes Io is referred to as No, RSSI or ISSI I o January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Received Power of a CPICH E c Using the properties of SCs the UE is able to extract the respective CPICH levels from the sites received E c * = The Received Power of a Particular CPICH (dBm) *Note: Sometimes Ec is referred to as RSCP E c1 E c2 January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 The CPICH Quality (Ec/Io) From the previous two measures we can calculate a signal quality for each CPICH (SC) received Ec/Io = Ec - Io (dB) *Note: Sometimes Ec/Io is referred to as Ec/No E c1 E c2 January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Example From the above three measurements we can calculate for each pilot the Ec level for that particular pilot Ec 1 = -80 - 5 = -85dBm Ec 2 = -80 - 10 = -90dBm E c /I o1 =-5dB E c /I o2 =-10dB Io=-80dBm January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Ec, Io and Ec/Io Measurement All commercial scanners and test UEs are capable of making Ec, Io and Ec/Io measurements It is these measurements that are used for cover analysis and basic optimisation January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 3G Scanners Many types of 3G scanners on the market Agilents 3G Scanner & Nitros Software Anritsus ML8720B 3G scanner DTI Seagull (Dual band 3G/2G) scanner From experience the Anritsu scanner is the better of the all three with a higher sampling rate and greater flexibility However DTI scanner has added benefit of 2G scanning, ideal for 3G- 2G neighbour optimisation as well as 2G optimisation January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Handovers in WCDMA Various handover types exist in WCDMA Those between WCDMA sites (intra-system HO) Those between WCDMA and GSM (inter-system HO) January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Handovers in WCDMA - Softer HO Softer handover occurs between sectors of the same site January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Soft handover occurs between sectors of the different sites For both softer and soft it is the Ec/Io levels used to determine whether a cell should be added or removed from the active set Handovers in WCDMA - Soft HO January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Handovers - Inter frequency HO Inter frequency handover occurs between two WCDMA carriers Will be used once operator deploys its second carrier, for microcell layer or capacity purposes January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Handovers - Inter system HO Inter system handover occurs between 3G and 2G sites As with all handovers, accurate adjacencies will be required 3G 2G January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Optimisation Basics Coverage Optimisation Neighbour Optimisation Pilot Pollution Optimisation SHO Optimisation January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Coverage Optimisation As with 2G if the coverage is inadequate then the call quality will be inadequate Therefore this first stage in 3G optimisation is ensuring adequate coverage Link budgets should be used to determine both the planning targets and the drive survey level targets Note that the planning and drive survey level targets will be different January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Coverage Optimisation Dense Urban Urban/Suburban Rail Road Rural Indoor Deep Indoor - 95% Deep Indoor - 95% Indoor Window - 95% Indoor Window - 95% Outdoor - 90% 95% 12.2k Speech -71.0 -81.0 -88.0 -95.0 -102.0 -102.0 64k CSD -72.0 -82.0 -90.0 -96.0 -103.0 -102.0 64k PSD -73.0 -82.0 -90.0 -97.0 -103.0 -103.0 64k CSD Videophone -71.0 -80.0 -88.0 -94.0 -101.0 -101.0 144k CSD -69.0 -79.0 -86.0 -93.0 -100.0 -99.0 144k PSD -70.0 -79.0 -87.0 -94.0 -100.0 -100.0 384k CSD -65.0 -75.0 -84.0 -90.0 -95.0 -95.0 384k PSD -66.0 -76.0 -84.0 -90.0 -96.0 -96.0 Service Environment These levels are the levels that should be achieved at the roof of the vehicle If these levels are not achieved then inbuilding coverage will be poor Further optimisation with lower coverage levels is very difficult Solutions: Downtilt, Azimuth, New Site Given below are example target drive survey Ec levels for the different 3G services January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Neighbour Optimisation Missing Neighbours was and still is the biggest cause of poor performance in most commercial 3G networks The majority of call drops in early cluster are due to missing neighbours. It is therefore essential that the initial neighbour list is thorough, ideally with neighbours ranked in order of importance In 3G the UE must be on the best cell at all times otherwise it will drop the call this is not the case in 2G 3G/2G neighbour lists must also be comprehensive, incorrect 3G/2G neighbour lists will lead to dropped calls when moving from 3G to 2G and poor 3G re-selection performance when on 2G January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 3G/3G Neighbour Optimisation We declare a 3G missing neighbour as a a cell not declared as neighbour of the best active cell although it is eligible to be added in the active set. A practical margin of 5dB is recommended as an initial window anything bigger and the neighbour lists become too large Solution: 3G Scanner Survey, Actix Analysis, Neighbours Added N MISSING BEST N MISSING in M EcNo EcNo _ _ arg January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 2G/3G Neighbour Optimisation 2G/3G neighbour optimisation will require the use of both 3G and 2G drive survey equipment Dualband scanner files can quickly be processed to pair up the best 3G cells with the best 2G cells for every sample along the drive survey. January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Pilot Pollution Optimisation As more and more 3G sites are integrated, the pilot pollution within the network will increase With >4 pilots of a similar level it can be very difficult to establish even a voice call The higher the data rate the more susceptible the service is to pilot pollution (bad Ec/Io). Whilst 3G voice requires an Ec/Io of above -15dB, 384kbps will required Ec/Io levels of -9dB or higher !! Pilot pollution should not be confused with poor coverage, where there is poor coverage, there is generally pilot pollution/bad Ec/Io January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 PS384 - Pilot Pollution Areas DL_PS384 is much more sensitive to pilot pollution or overlaps than lower bit-rates. Optimising pilot pollution for PS128 is already a challenge, for 384 might be an unrealistic target. Comparison of required EcIo: Service Voice PS64 PS128 PS384 Min EcIo -15 -13 -13 -9.5 Even with good Ec levels, some areas will never provide reliable PS384 simply due to cell overlaps. It seems unclear whether a mature network may ever provide a full 384 footprint. Conclusion: 384 requires an optimised network January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Required EcIo GPRS Attach Success Rate vs Serving CPICH Ec/Io -20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% -19 -18 -17 -16 -15 -14 -13 -12 -11 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 Serving Cell CPICH Ec/Io (dB) GPRS Attach Success Rate January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 PS384 - required EcIo DL Application Throughput vs. Serving Cell CPICH Ec/Io 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 -14 -12 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 Serving Cell CPICH Ec/Io (dB) D L
A p p l i c a t i o n
T h r o u g h p u t
( k b p s ) Mean DL Application Throughput Mode DL Application Throughput DL Application Throughput (Last Value) January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Pilot Pollution Optimisation To avoid confusing areas of poor coverage with areas of pilot pollution we can define an area of pilot pollution as somewhere where The Ec target is the target coverage = -100dBm The current recommended Ec/Io target = -10dB Actix is able to identify areas of pilot pollution and display the locations on a map Best server CPICH_Ec >= Ec target (dBm) And Best server CPICH EcNo < Ec/Io target (dB) January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Pilot Pollution Optimisation There are various means of reducing pilot pollution New Sites: Additional sites may reduce pilot pollution by bringing dominance to an area (before optimising for pilot pollution, always check that a new site is not about to be brought on air in the locality) Antenna Downtilts: By adjusting tilts on the best servers, or worst interferers, pilot pollution can be removed Solution: 3G Scanner Survey, Analysis, Downtilts, New Sites? January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Handover Optimisation Softer, Soft, Inter-frequency & system HOs have all been optimised on Nokias trial and other customers networks Therefore initial HO Optimisation should not require any changes to the UTRAN parameters . Instead initial HO optimisation will involve studying how much HO occurs in the network and where this HO occurs. For 3G/3G HO, Actix is able to display areas where Softer & Soft HO is occurring and calculate the percentage of a drive route in SHO Typically we should be aiming for a SHO area of less that 40% Optimisation of SHO area should be performed using downtilt and azimuth changes Solution: 3G Scanner Survey, Analysis, Downtilt and Azimuth changes January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Optimisation Basics Coverage Optimisation Neighbour Optimisation Pilot Pollution Optimisation SHO Optimisation Everything is based around Ec/Io, to improve this we need to Increase Ec (improve the best server(s)) Reduce Io (reduce pilots not eligible for the active set) Get all neighbours optimised In call drive runs should only take place once Radio Optimisation is complete January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Overview of Vodafone New Zealand Optimisation Process January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 OrangeUK 3G Optimisation Process This section will cover the following; Overview of Vodafone New Zealand 3G Optimisation Process Key Performance Indicators Analysis Tools & Processes Next Steps January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Overview of Vodafone NZs 3G Optimisation Process Based upon the 3G Optimisation Process flowcharts agreed between Aircom/Nokia and Vodafone New Zealand 1 hour prior to every cluster Drive test 3G Opt eng must obtain CDF dump from OSS eng CDF file obtainable ? 3G Opt eng obtains Alarm report and cell availability report from OSS eng Yes No CDF = Cell Definition File Yes Check with Nokia Opt manager High number of alarm ? Can drive test proceed ? Yes No Can drive test proceed ? Check with Nokia Opt manager Yes High cell availability ? No Check with Nokia Opt manager Yes Yes Can drive test start ? Can OMC solve the problem < 4 hours? Yes OMC works on solving the alarm Is the problem solved ? No Optimization Stage 1 (Optimize RF condition) Optimization Stage 2 (Optimize Neighbour list) Optimization Stage 3 (Optimize Call Performance) Postpone the drive test to next day or until Problem solved Can OMC solve the problem < 4 hours? Yes OMC works on Increasing cell availability Is the problem solved ? No Stage 1 completed? Stage 2 completed? Stage 3 completed? KPI measurement and reporting Postpone the drive test to next day or until Problem solved No No No Yes Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes A A A A D C B Drive test starts A.1 A.3 A.2 A.4 A.5 A.6 A.7 A.8 A.9 A.10 A.11 A.12 A.13 A.14 A.15 A.16 A.17 A.19 A.21 A.22 A.20 A.23 A.24 A.18 January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Overview of Vodafone NZs 3G Optimisation Process Based upon the 3G Optimisation Process flowcharts agreed between Aircom/Nokia and Vodafone New Zealand Stage 1 & 2 cover the basic RF Optimisation steps described earlier Only once these steps are completed is it worth moving onto Stage 3 Call Performance Optimisation Yes Optimization Stage 1 (Optimize RF condition) Optimization Stage 2 (Optimize Neighbour list) Optimization Stage 3 (Optimize Call Performance) Stage 1 completed? Stage 2 completed? Stage 3 completed? KPI measurement No No No Yes Yes Yes A A A D C B Drive test starts A.8 A.10 A.14 A.17 A.22 A.20 A.23 A.24 January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Key Performance Indicators (KPI) In order to benchmark the performance of a 3G network a basic set of KPI targets are required The Vodafone NZ 3G KPI targets fall into two categories, RF KPIs and in-call KPIs The Vodafone RF KPIs are very simple and concise but focus on the key RF requirements of Ec (RSCP), Ec/Io and SHO area The In Call or End To End (E2E) KPIs are somewhat more complex January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Vodafone RF KPIs The RF targets are defined in terms of: - RSCP of the Common Pilot Channel -89 dBm in >= 95% of bins for dense urban -94 dBm >= 95% of bins for urban -99 dBm >= 95% of bins for suburban -104 dBm >= 90% of bins for rural Ec/Io of Common Pilot Channel in unloaded network Ec/Io >= 10 dB in >= 95% of bins for DU, U, SU Ec/Io >= 10 dB in >= 90% of bins for Rural Ec/Io of Common Pilot Channel in loaded network Ec/Io >= 14 dB in >= 95% of bins for DU, U, SU Ec/Io >= 14 dB in >= 90% of bins for Rural Test case to be agreed SHO Overhead: 30-40% This Kpi will be measured according to the formula below: Set Active in Cells Bins Set Active in Cells Bins Set Active in Cell Bins Set Active in Cells Bins Set Active in Cells Bins Set Active in Cell Bins _ _ _ _ 3 _ _ # _ _ _ _ 2 _ _ # _ _ _ _ 1 _ _ # 3 _ _ _ _ 3 _ _ # 2 _ _ _ _ 2 _ _ # 1 _ _ _ _ 1 _ _ # + + + + January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 RF Optimisation Basic RF analysis checking the following Coverage Optimisation Neighbour Optimisation Pilot Pollution Optimisation SHO Optimisation. First stage is to run the KPI reports, then follows this with more detailed analysis. If the route meets the RF KPIs theres no point doing further analysis January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Actix RF KPI Report Run the basic RF KPI report check the KPIs January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Basic Sites on air analysis For each cell in the cluster check that coverage is seen for the sites expected to be on air Check correct SC is radiating in the expected direction (crossed feeders?) Highlight those sites not seen on air and any suspected crossed feeders But make sure your cell refs data is accurate !!! January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Coverage (Ec) Analysis If KPI Report indicates good Ec - no further Ec analysis required ! Otherwise analyse !! Solution: Tilts, azimuths, new sites January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Neighbour Optimisation If downtilts are to be made to any sectors, then additional neighbours should not be added to/or for these cells as they may not be necessary after downtilts Actix should be used to generate Missing Neighbour Report from Scanner data Remember until the cluster is complete, additional neighbours will come and go January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 3G/3G Neighbour Optimisation (2) 3G Neighbour lists can be generated automatically by the Actix The tool runs through every point in the survey comparing the Ec/Io values of the SCs seen generating a neighbour list like the one given The number of missing neighbours found will be dependent on the quality of the initial neighbour list Dont be scared of adding neighbours !! sc neighbour count 8 9 165 8 232 52 8 496 40 8 344 34 8 154 18 8 386 12 8 10 11 8 362 11 8 145 10 8 114 8 8 256 5 8 488 5 8 360 4 8 376 4 8 346 3 8 50 1 8 218 1 8 490 1 8 66 1 8 152 1 8 48 1 8 378 1 8 401 1 9 8 114 9 362 37 9 10 10 January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Pilot Pollution (Ec/Io) Analysis Run Pilot Pollution query to display areas of pilot pollution on map January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Pilot Pollution (Ec/Io) Analysis Identify worst Pilot Polluters on map Solution: tilts, azimuths, new site? January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 SHO Analysis KPI report will indicate % of route in SHO Aim for SHO < 40% Run RE SHO query to display areas on a map - is this due to distant sites, is it in important high traffic areas? Solution: Tilts, Azimuths January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Cell Adjacency Planner - CAP 3G 2G Adjacencies January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Cell Adjacency Planner - CAP 3G 3G adjacencies January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 3G/3G Neighbour Optimisation (3) January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Stage 3: In Call Optimisation Only once the RF Optimisation is complete should In Call analysis be undertaken In call analysis will also pick up Coverage Problems Pilot Pollution Problems Missing Neighbours SHO problems However if the RF Optimisation has been done correctly, none of the above should be seen at Stage 3 ! In Call Optimisation will be similar to RF Optimisation Run In Call KPI report Analyse any problems seen January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Stage 3: Run Call KPIs Report Run RE Call KPI report Identify problem areas, Call Setup Success, Call Drop etc. January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Stage 3: Detailed In call analysis Detailed in call analysis Look for the basics first, Ec, Ec/Io, missing neighbours etc. Only then delve into the detailed L3 message flows. January 2005 AIRCOM International 2005 Process Summary Stage 0 Cluster Preparation - plots, site checks, neighbour checks etc. Stage 1&2 RF optimisation, Ec, Ec/Io, Missing Neighbours, SHO Area Stage 3 In Call Analysis (Speech, Video, PS, ISHO etc) will be the subject of a further training session once Actix Reports in place. CLUSTER ACCEPTANCE !! Any questions: robert.joyce@aircom.com.sg