How to Solve Interference Problem

in GSM Network
The
solution
for
interference
problem
depends
on
the followingfactors1. Whether interferer comes from internal
or external source2. What is the cause of internal interference,
whether it were caused by bad frequency planning, site location,
coverage problem or implementation problem. The following flow chart
shows how to overcome interference problem in the network

The potential interferer can be identified by displaying the

cells using the same or adjacent frequency
(frequencies)geographically

The other solution to reduce interference level in the network is

activation radio network features. The following radio features are
proposed to be activated to reduce interference level in the
network:1. Discontinuous Transmission (DTX)2. BTS and
MS Power Control3. Frequency Hopping4. Multiband Cell can
be an alternative for operator who has limited frequency
bandwidth. It will reduce interference level by using common
BCCH. Another benefits to have multiband cell are trunking gain,
simplify neighboring system and high configuration site
How to Identify Interference in GSM Network (1)

One major challenge when optimizing GSM network is the detection of

cellssuffering from interference as interference is limiting the capacity and
harming the quality of the network. This problem occurred due to limited
bandwidth and limitednumber of carrier frequency.There are two categories
of interference source that are:- Internal Interference: Co-channel or Adjacent
channel interference causinginternal interference.- External Interference:
Exists when there is another transmitter or something elseacting as a
transmitter outside the network such as TV transmission, RailwayStation
frequency, and microwave links.Interference Identification using Radio
Network StatisticRadio network statistic (RNS) can be used to analyze if
specific cells suffer frominterference and which frequency channels are
involved. A cell in GSM can sufferfrom interference either in the uplink or
downlink or in both directions. As theinterference is related to the frequency
or a set of frequencies in case of frequencyhopping, it is interesting to see
which TRX suffers from interference if interferencehappened in BCCH TRX or
Hopping TRX. The interesting parameter in this case isthe assigned
frequency to the individual TRX. After the disturbed cell and therelated
frequencies are identified, potential interferer cell can be identified. For
thispurpose a geographical analysis can be performed. Frequency retune
becomes thesolution if BCCH frequency suffers from interference. In case
TCH frequencyfurther identification shall be performed if hopping system is
assigned to TRXs.There are several indicators from Radio Network Statistics
that can be used toidentify the interference in the network.1. The correlation
between RxLevel to RxQual.An indication for interference will be that the
receive level is good but at the sametime the receive quality is poor. This can
be analysed for both directions (uplink anddownlink) separately. It is better to
have this figure for BCCH TRX and hoppingTRX so we can identify whether
interference exists at BCCH TRX, Individual TRX(non-hopping case) or
Hopping TRX.

indicator is a lot of reversion to old channel activity due to target frequency mightbe
interfered.Another ways to identify internal interference in GSM network is by scanningfrequency at
idle mode. At this case, GSM recommendation introduces referencevalue of interference level
(GSM Recommendation. 05.05).The actual interference ratio is defined as the interference ratio for
which thisperformance is met. The actual interference ratio shall be less than a specified limit,called
the reference interference ratio. The reference value of interference will showco-channel
interference(C/Ic) and adjacent channel interference (C/Ia).

C/Ia calculation shows that carrier to interference level of first adjacent (200KHzspacing) and second
adjacent (400 KHz spacing) exceeds minimum value of interference level (-9 dB for first adjacent
and -41 dB for second adjacent). So, wecan conclude that there is no interference to channel
512.Distribution C/I from drive test with dedicated mode also can be used as figure todescribe level
interference on drive test route. We can do analysis separatelybetween C/I distribution on BCCH
carrier and C/I on Hopping list carrier.External interference cant be detected using drive test tool. As
instead, scanningfrequency using spectrum analyzer is used to observe the source of
externalfrequency