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Introduction . 1 Chapter I: RF Optimization Introduction
Introduction . 1 Chapter I: RF Optimization Introduction
Contents
Introduction.1
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Conclusion.50
Introduction
Analog cellular systems are commonly referred to as first generation systems. The digital systems
currently in use, such as GSM, PDC, cdmaOne (IS-95) and US-TDMA (IS-136), are second generation
systems. These systems have enabled voice communications to go wireless in many of the leading
markets, and customers are increasingly finding value also in other services, such as text messaging
and access to data networks, which are starting to grow rapidly.
Third generation systems are designed for multimedia communication: with them personto-person
communication can be enhanced with high quality images and video, and access to information and
services on public and private networks will be enhanced by the higher data rates and new flexible
communication capabilities of third generation systems. This, together with the continuing evolution of
the second generation systems, will create new business opportunities not only for manufacturers and
operators, but also for the providers of content and applications using these networks.
In the standardization forums, WCDMA technology has emerged as the most widely adopted third
generation air interface. Its specification has been created in 3GPP (the 3rd Generation Partnership
Project), which is the joint standardization project of the standardization bodies from Europe, Japan,
Korea, the USA and China. Within 3GPP, WCDMA is called UTRA (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access)
FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) and TDD (Time Division Duplex), the name WCDMA being used to
cover both FDD and TDD operation.
Throughout this book, the chapters related to specifications use the 3GPP terms UTRA FDD and TDD,
the others using the term WCDMA. This book focuses on the WCDMA FDD technology. The WCDMA
TDD mode and its differences from the WCDMA FDD mode are presented in Chapter 13, which
includes a description of TD-SCDMA.
In this report we will try to present a manual for UMTS data collection and for optimization also
solutions for analyzing and the way for resolving problems in RF part of the WCDMA Network. Many
cases of this manual are token from the UAE Etisalat Network.
In 01, the data collection, problem analysis, and parameter adjustment might be repeatedly performed
according to optimization goal and actual on-site situations until RF indexes meet KPI requirements.
2 Test Preparations
Test preparations include the following four aspects:
Deciding optimization goal
Dividing clusters
Deciding DT route
Preparing tools and data
Actually, different operators might have different standards on KPI requirements, index definition, and
attention. Therefore the RF optimization goal is to meet the coverage and handover KPI requirements
in the contract (commercial deployment offices) or planning report (trial offices).
Define the indexes as required by contract as below:
The index definition is the percentage ratio of the sampling points with the index (such as CPICH
Ec/Io) greater than the reference value in all sampling points.
Usually after RF optimization, the network must meets the index requirements listed in 0.
0 lists the RF optimization objectives according to analysis of and suggestion to coverage by existing
network.
97% in
urban area According to test result from the scanner,
in unloaded and outdoor conditions, in
CPICH Ec/Io 9dB
97% in planning coverage areas, test in a grid-
suburban like route to cover all cells.
area
98% in According to test result from the scanner,
urban area in unloaded and outdoor conditions, in
planning coverage areas, test in a grid-
CPICH RSCP 95dBm 95% in like route to cover all cells. The coverage
suburban level request is basic. If operators have
area penetration loss request, add the
penetration loss to the coverage level.
The SHO Factor based on DT should be
5% to 10% lower than the goal, because
SHO Factor based on DT 30%40%
the following optimizations cause the soft
handover factor to increase
Pilot pollution ratio 5%
The maximum transmit power of a cell is usually 43 dBm, and the pilot channel power is 33 dBm.
When MPOConstant is 2.5 dB, the default configuration by RNC, the MPO is 7.5 dB.
The 4.5 dB is obtained according to the linear relationship between the SNR of all the subscriber's HS-
PDSCHs and the corresponding CQIs. Namely, SNR = 4.5dB + CQIUE, and SNR = Ec/NtHS-PDSCH +
10log16.
When calculating CQIUE at UE side, the UE assumes that the total transmit power of HS-PDSCH is
PHS-DSCH = PPCPICH + MPO. Wherein, PPCPICH is the transmit power of PCPICH. Therefore, Ec/NtHS-PDSCH
= Ec/NtPCPICH + MPO. As a result, the CQI reported by UE is as below:
CQIUE = Ec/NtPCPICH + MPO + 10log16 + 4.5dB
According to previous analysis, the offset between CQIUE and PCPICH Ec/Io is 24 dB. Therefore, in
terms of actual optimization, to optimize CQI is to optimize Ec/Io.
Assume that the cell power is dynamically distributed between R99 and HSDPA networks. After
receiving CQIUE from UE, the NodeB adjust the CQI as below:
The CQI adjusted by NodeB, CQINodeB = ( Pcell - Pcommon PR99 PHS-SCCH (PPCPICH + MPO ) + CQIUE.
Wherein,
Pcell is the maximum transmit power of cell
Pcommon is the CCH power of cell
PR99 is the power of downlink associated DPCH for R99 or HSDPA subscribers.
PHS-SCCH is the HS-SCCH power.
Assume:
Pcell = 43 dBm
Pcommon is 20% of total power of cell
No R99 subscribers are in the cell
PR99 is too low to neglect
PHS-SCCH is 5% of total power of cell
Therefore,
CQINodeB = 1 + CQIUE
According to experience in actual test, based on the difference between the Ec/Io from scanner and
the Ec/Io from UE, reserve a margin of 1 dB. At the edge of cell, an HSDPA subscriber may occupy
total power of cell, so the throughput rate at cell edge is equivalent to the throughput rate at cell edge
for the single subscriber.
Errore. L'origine riferimento non stata trovata. lists the relationship among the CQI reported by
UE, pilot Ec/Io, and throughput rate at MAC-HS layer (MPO = 7.5 dB).
Table 1-2: Relationship among the CQI reported by UE, pilot Ec/Io, and
throughput rate at MAC-HS layer
The throughput rate provided in Errore. L'origine riferimento non stata trovata. is based on the
test in the following conditions:
CQI TB Size
5 365
6 365
7 365
8 711
9 711
10 1055
11 1405
12 1742
13 2083
Refer to the divided clusters for network project maintenance of the operator.
Landform factor : Landforms affect signal propagation. Mountains block signal
propagation, so they are natural borders for dividing clusters. Rivers causes a longer
propagation distance, so they affect dividing clusters in various aspects. If a river is narrow,
the signals along two banks will interact. If the transportation between two banks allows,
divide sites along the two banks in the same cluster. If a river is wide, the upstream and
downstream will interact. In this situation, the transportation between two banks is
inconvenient, dividing clusters by the bank according to actual situation.
A cell-like cluster is much usual than a strip-like cluster.
Administrative areas When the coverage area involves several administrative areas,
divide clusters according to administrative areas. This is easily acceptable by the operator.
DT workload: The DT must be performed within a day for a cluster. A DT takes about
four hours.
Errore. L'origine riferimento non stata trovata.2: shows divided clusters in a project.
Tems investigation
1 Data collection
Data collection
Tems Rout
Analyzing DT data and checking neighbor
2 Analysis, Genex
cells
Assistant
3 Actix Analyzing performance, Network KPIs
Vehicle mounted
4 DC to AC, over 300W
inverter
Whether is
No. Needed data Remarks
necessary
1 List of engineering parameters Yes
2 Map Yes By Mapinfo or in paper
3 KPI requirements Yes
4 Network configuration parameters Yes
5 Survey report No
6 Single site verification checklist No
3 Data Collection
During RF optimization stage, the key is the optimization of radio signals distribution, with the major
means of DT and indoor test. Before test, confirm with the customer care engineers the following
aspects:
Whether the target NodeBs, RNCs, and related CN are abnormal due to being disabled,
blocked, congested, and transmission alarms.
Whether the alarms have negative impact on the validity of test result data.
If the alarms exist, solve the problems before test.
DT is a major test. Collect scanner and UE data of radio signals by DT test. The data is
applicable in analyzing coverage, handover, and pilot pollution problems.
Indoor test involves the following areas:
Indoor coverage areas
Indoor coverage areas include inside buildings, department stores, and subways.
Inside areas of important facilities
Inside areas of important facilities include gymnasiums and government offices.
Areas required by the operator :Areas required by the operator include VIC and VIP.
Test the previous areas to locate, analyze, and solve the RF problems.
Indoor test also involves in optimizing handover of indoor and outdoor intra-frequency, inter-frequency,
and inter-system.
The DT and indoor test during RF optimization stage is based on VP service. According to the contract
(commercial deployment offices) and planning report (trial offices), if seamless coverage by VP service
is impossible in areas, such as, suburban areas and rural areas, the test is based on voice services.
For areas with seamless coverage by PS384K service or HSDPA service required by the contract
(commercial deployment office) or planning report (trial office), such as office buildings, press centers,
and hot spot areas, the test is based on the above services.
3.1.1 DT Types
According to different full coverage services in the planned areas, DT might be one of the following:
Setting DT
Index Meaning
Whether to implement this index. True for implementation. False for non-
Enable
implementation. The recommended value is True.
Call Called number. Whether the called terminal supports VP must be
Number confirmed.
Setup Time The maximum time for setting up calls. It ranges from 2030s. The
(s) recommended value is 25s.
Calling The time for a single call from call start to normal end of call. Set it great
Time (s) enough according to actual DT route. The recommended value is 99999s.
Idle Time
Call internal time. The recommended value is 10s.
(s)
Total call times. Set it great enough according to actual DT route. The
Call Count
recommended value is 999 times.
01: For setting DT, see the following table.
Collect call data tracing at RNC side while performing drive test. This help to locate and analyze
problems.
While checking configured data, feedback the improperly configured data (if found) to product support
engineers. During checking, pay special attention to handover reselection parameters and power
setting parameters, as listed in 02.
Configured parameters to be checked
Type Content to be checked
Weak coverage refer to that the RSCP of pilot signals in a coverage area is smaller than 95 dBm. It
might be in:
Valley areas
Hillside back
Elevator well
Tunnel
Underground garage
Basement
Areas inside high buildings
If the pilot signals are weaker than that required by full coverage services (such as VP and PS64K), or
just meet the requirements, if the PICH Ec/Io cannot meets the lowest requirements on full coverage
services due to increased intra-frequency interference, problems like difficult access of full coverage
services will occur.
If the RSCP of pilot signals is weaker than that of minimum access threshold in a coverage area, the
UE cannot camp on the cell, so the UE drops off the network due to failing in location updating and
location registration.
Cross-cell coverage refers to that the coverage range of some NodeBs is beyond the planned range
and discontinuous primary pilot coverage areas form in coverage areas of other NodeBs.
For example, if the NodeBs with a height much higher than the average height of adjacent buildings
transmit signals along upland or roads over far, a primary pilot coverage area form in the coverage
area of other NodeBs, an "island" forms. Therefore, if a call accesses the "island" and the nearby cells
of the "island" is not configured as the neighbor cells, call drops once the UE leaves the island.
Though the nearby cells of the "island" is configured as the neighbor cells, the "island" is over small,
call also drops due to delayed handover.
If the two-side areas along a gulf are improperly planned, cross-cell coverage occurs on these areas
due to short distance between two sides of the gulf. Consequently, interference occurs.
Unbalanced uplink and downlink refers to the following situations in uplink and downlink symmetric
services:
The downlink coverage is good but the uplink coverage is restricted. More specific, the
UE transmit power reaches the maximum which still cannot meet uplink BLER requirements.
The downlink coverage is restricted. More specific, the downlink DCH transmit power
reaches the maximum which still cannot meet downlink BLER requirements.
If the uplink and downlink are unbalanced, call drops easily. The probable cause is restricted uplink
coverage.
For the unbalanced uplink and downlink problems, check for interference by monitoring RTWP alarms
of NodeB.
Other causes may lead to unbalanced uplink and downlink, such as:
Uplink and downlink gain of repeaters and interference amplifier are faulty.
In an Rx/Tx detach system, the Rx diversity antenna-feeder system is faulty.
NodeB problems, such as power amplifier failure
For previous problems, check the work state whether there are alarms, whether it is normal. Solve the
problem by replacing NEs, isolating faulty NEs, and adjust NEs.
No primary pilot areas refer to the areas where no primary pilot is or the primary cell changes
frequently. In no primary pilot areas, UE hands over frequently, so the system efficiency is lowered and
probability of call drop increases.
In no primary pilot areas, you can enhance the coverage by strong signals of a cell (or near cells) and
reduce the coverage by weak signals of other cells (or far cells) by adjusting antenna down tilt and
azimuth.
Usually, the strongest RSCP received by each scanner in the coverage area must be above 95 dBm.
Start Assistant. Analyze scanner-based RSCP for 1st Best ServiceCell, and you can obtain the
distribution of weak coverage area.
In 0, weak coverage areas with RSCP smaller than 95 dBm in the DT route. According to scanner
and UE, the pilot RSCP is acceptable. If the scanner antenna is mounted outside the car, and the UE
is inside the car, there is a penetration loss of 5 to 7 dB. Use scanner data to avoid incomplete pilot
information measured by UE due to missing neighbor cells.
Cell primary pilot analysis is analyzing cell scramble information obtained in DT. The content to be
checked include (by Assistant):
Weak coverage cell
Start Assistant. Analyze scanner-based RSCP for SC, and you can obtain the signal
distribution of each cell (scramble). According to DT data, if the scramble signals of a cell are
not present, probably some sites cannot transmit signals during test. If a cell cannot transmit
signals during DT, the DT of relative areas must be re-performed. Very weak coverage might
be result of blocked antennas, so you must check the survey report of the site and check
installation of on-site antennas. No (poor) coverage cell might be due to that the DT route
does not cover the cell coverage area. In this case, reevaluate the DT route for the rationality
and perform DT again.
Cross-cell coverage cell
Start Assistant. Analyze scanner-based RSCP for SC, and you can obtain the signal
distribution of each cell (scramble). If the signals of a cell are widely distributed, even in the
neighbor cells and the cells next to its neighbor cells, the signals of the cell is present, the
cell encounters a cross-cell coverage which might be due to over high site or improper down
tilt of antenna. The cross-cell coverage cells interferes neighbor cells, so the capacity
declines. You can solve the problem by increasing the down tilt of antenna or lowering the
height of antenna. Avoid forming new weak coverage areas while solving cross-coverage
problems. Pay special attention to the adjustment of engineering parameters which might
cause coverage voids. Be conservative that cross-cell coverage is better than coverage
voids if no other choices are available.
No primary pilot cell
Start Assistant. Analyze scanner-based SC for 1st Best ServiceCell, and you can obtain
the scramble distribution of the best cell. If multiple best cells changes frequently in an cell,
the cell is a no primary pilot cell, as shown in 0 No primary pilot cell forms due to the
following causes:
Cross-cell non-seamless coverage due to over high site
Pilot pollution in some areas
Coverage voids at edges of coverage areas
Therefore intra-frequency interferences forms which causes ping-pong handover and affects
performances of service coverage.
Figure 2.2: Distribution of pilot SC for the 1st Best Service Cell
Missing neighbor cells, improper parameters of soft handover, cell selection and reselection cause the
consistent between scanner primary pilot cell and camped cell in idle mode or Best Service Cell in the
active set in connection mode of UE. After optimization, the Ec/Io for 1st Best Service Cell of UE and
scanner is consistent. In addition, the coverage map of UE is marked by clear bordering lines of Best
ServiceCell, as 0.
Check for uplink interference by tracing and analyzing RTWP data. For details, see WCDMA
Interference Solution Guide.
!
The distribution of UE transmit power reflects the distribution of uplink interference and uplink path
loss. In 0, UE transmit power is lower than 10 dBm normally. Only when uplink interference and
coverage area edge exist will the UE transmit power increase sharply to 21 dBm (Some UEs that
support HSDPA, such as E620, with a power class of 3, the maximum transmit power is 24 dBm), and
the uplink is restricted. Comparatively restricted uplink coverage occurs much easily in macro cells
than in micro cells.
In 0, the pilot RSCP is lower than 95 dBm in the marked red area. This belongs to weak coverage,
which might cause call drop.
In 05, the problem lies sector B mainly covers the marked area but Materials Building sector A partially
covers the marked area. Initially engineers consider enhancing the coverage of the marked area by
adjusting the two cells. According to the survey report, other buildings opposite Materials Building
prevent sector A from transmit signals, so adjusting antenna fails to enhance the coverage of the
areas.
Keep the parameter configuration of Materials Building sector A, but adjust the azimuth of the antenna
sector B from 170 to 165, down tilt from 10 to 8.
In a trial office, the Erqi Rd. NodeB is 60-meter high, over 20 meters than nearby buildings. This
causes cross-cell coverage easily and brings intra-frequency interference to other NodeBs, as shown
in Errore. L'origine riferimento non stata trovata.6.
For a high NodeB problem, adjust fixed electric down tilt of antenna from 2 to 6. Because the Erqi
Rd. NodeB is at the edge of network coverage, reduce interferences to other NodeBs by adjusting
antenna down tilt and azimuth. In this case, no equipment is removed. Engineers solve the cross-cell
coverage by increasing mechanism down tilt and adjusting azimuth.
After adjustment of down tilt to 4, the most cross-cell coverage areas are eliminated, with only few
cross-cell coverage areas, as shown in Errore. L'origine riferimento non stata trovata..
For similar high NodeBs, you can combine adjustable down tilt of electric antenna and mechanism
antenna to better control signal coverage.
At the optimization stage after network construction, in front of the traffic lights below antennas, video
quality declines due to VP mosaic and PS384K service is reactivated.
In terms of planning, 3G and 2G antennas are mounted in a co-location site. According to coverage
test data of 2G antenna, 2G signals does not fluctuate sharply under the site and under the traffic
lights. Namely, if the 3G and 2G antennas are in the same location, 3G signals will cover the areas
around traffic lights. The problem lies in that the 3G antenna is mounted too close to the wall on the
roof and the wall blocks signals so the special installation conditions of antennas are not met. In
addition, the 2G antenna and its installation parts affect the pattern of 3G antenna. This changes the
radiation pattern of 3G antenna. According to the installation scene, adjusting location of 3G antenna
is difficult.
According to discussion between 2G and 3G engineers, the minimum adjustment solution without
affecting 2G coverage is as below:
Connect the 3G and 2G TX/RX feeder to two feeders of outside wideband polarization antenna
Connect the 3G and 2G RX feeder to two feeders of inner wideband antenna.
2.1.1 Definition
The pilot pollution is that excessive strong pilots exist in a point but no primary pilot is strong enough.
Due to restriction to site location and complex geographic environment, cell distribution might be
improper. Improper cell distribution causes weak coverage of some areas and coverage by multiple
strong pilots in same areas.
" # $ % # &
If a NodeB is constructed in a position higher than around buildings, most areas will be with in the line-
of sight range. Therefore signals are widely transmitted. Over high site cause difficult control of cross-
cell coverage, which causes pilot pollution.
In a network with multiple NodeBs, the antenna azimuth must be adjusted according to the following
factors:
!
Setting antenna down tilt depends on the following factors:
Relative height to around environment
Coverage range requirements
Antenna types
If the antenna down tilt is improper, signals are received in the areas which are covered by this site.
Therefore interferences to other areas causes pilot pollution. Even worse, interferences might cause
call drop.
# !
When the NodeBs are densely distributed with a small planned coverage rang and the PICH power is
over high, the pilot covers an area larger than the planned area. This causes pilot pollution.
'
The signals cannot reach the planned state due to the following factors of radio environment:
Landform
Building distribution
Street distribution
Waters
The ambient factors include:
High buildings or mountains block signals from spreading
The signals of a NodeB to cover a target area are blocked by high buildings or mountains, so
the target area will have no primary pilot. This causes pilot pollution.
Streets or waters influences signals
When the antenna direction is pointing a street, the coverage range is expanded by the
street. When the coverage range of a NodeB overlaps with the coverage range of other
NodeBs, pilot pollution occurs.
High buildings reflect signals
When high glassed buildings stand near a NodeB, they will reflect signals to the coverage
range of other NodeBs. This causes pilot pollution.
(
Multiple strong pilots interferes useful functional signals, so Io increases, Ec/Io decreases, BLER
increases, and network quality declines.
#
More than three strong pilots or no primary pilot exists in multiple pilots, frequent handover occurs
among these pilots. This might cause call drop.
The interference of the areas with pilot pollution increases, the system capacity declines.
In 07, the area marked in black encounters pilot pollution due to improper azimuth of the antenna of
SC100 sector (scramble No. is 100). The SC100 sector covers the area with an antenna azimuth of
90, so the coverage is poor with weak signals and no primary pilot, which cause pilot pollution.
After adjustment of the antenna azimuth from 90 to 170, the primary pilot signals become stronger
and pilot pollution is eliminated.
08 shows the pilot pollution due to improper antenna down tilt.
In 08, the area marked in blacked encounters pilot pollution due to improper antenna down tilt. The
down tilt of SC360 cell is 2, so the coverage area is large, cross-cell coverage is difficult to control,
and interferences to other areas form.
After adjustment of antenna down tilt of SC360 cell from 2 to 7, the cross-cell coverage by SC360
cell is eliminated and pilot pollution is eliminated.
Some areas with pilot pollution is inapplicable to the previous adjustment. You can use the following
methods based on actual situation:
Change the antenna to a different type
Add reflection device or isolation device
Adjust installation position of antenna
Adjust NodeB location
In 09,
The distance between NodeB A and NodeB B is 1260 meters.
The distance between NodeB A and NodeB C is 2820 meters.
The distance between NodeB B and NodeB C is 2360 meters.
The distances is unbalanced, so the pilot pollution is difficult to eliminate.
The optimization is to reduce weak pilot strength and eliminate pilot pollution, detailed as below:
Ensure seamless coverage between cells by not adjusting transmit power of SC20
and SC30 cells.
Decrease the PICH power of SC10, SC40, and SC50 cells by 3 dB. These cells have
little impact on seamless coverage.
The area marked in black encounters pilot pollution due to ambient factors. The area is covered by
SC60 cell of NodeB A, SC110 cell or NodeB B, and SC130 cell of NodeB C. However, shown in
Errore. L'origine riferimento non stata trovata., hills prevent NodeB A from transmitting signals,
high buildings prevent NodeB B and NodeB C from transmitting signals, so the signals from NodeB A,
NodeB B, and NodeB C are weak. On the contrary, SC240 and SC250 cells of NodeB D have good
propagation conditions in this direction. Therefore the cross-cell coverage is serious and pilot pollution
occurs.
High buildings or hills blocks the area, so no strong pilot is present in the area. For this problem,
adjusting antenna down tilt has little effect on eliminating pilot pollution. Instead adding RRU helps
solve the problem.
Control the size and location of handover areas by adjusting RF parameters. You can eliminate
handover call drop due to sharp fluctuation and increase handover success rate.
For other handover problems, see WCDMA Handover and Call Drop Problem Optimization Guide.
The daemon analysis tools can usually check for missing neighbor cells. The principle is as below:
Compare the pilots scanned by scanner and the configured pilots of neighbor cell list.
Locate these pilot scrambles that meet the handover conditions and that are not in the
neighbor cell list. Output them as a missing neighbor cell report.
The following checks and methods related to missing neighbor cells are based on Assistant.
Type information about NodeB and neighbor cells Decide conditions for judging neighbor cells
Change the conditions for judging neighbor cells by selecting Modify Dataset Property. The default
configuration is that if the difference between the pilot of candidate cell and the base cell is within 5 dB
the candidate cell can be listed as a neighbor cell. The configuration must comply with the actual
configuration of system (overall parameters), as shown in 0.
The parameters and meanings are as below (according to default configuration of RNC1.5
(Huawei RNC), you just list the parameters to be changed):
For the missing neighbor cells generated automatically by Assistant, you must check according to the
location information of the cell on the map whether to add the missing neighbor cells to the neighbor
cell list. For the missing neighbor cells due to cross-cell coverage, the primary task is to solve
coverage problem by adjusting RF parameters. If this fails, you can temporarily solve the problem by
adding neighbor cells.
The daemon analysis tool can seldom analyze UE data automatically and generate missing neighbor
cells, so RNO engineers must analyze the missing neighbor cells one by one for confirmation. Missing
neighbor cell might cause call drop or access failure or cause Ec/Io to deteriorate for a period. Based
on data analysis by scanner, you can easily locate these points with missing neighbor cells, detailed
as below:
Compare the active set Ec/Io distribution diagram measured by UE and that measured by scanner
The spots with missing neighbor cells has a poor Ec/Io measured by UE and a strong Ec/Io scanned
by scanner. Locate the areas for further analysis.
Check the points with poor Ec/Io and check whether the strongest scramble by scanner is neither in
active set nor in monitoring set. If yes, move to the third step for confirmation. If the scramble exists in
the monitoring set, the problem is not about missing neighbor cell but about Ec/Io deterioration due to
handover (reselection) delay and soft handover failure.
Check the latest intra-frequency measurement control whether the neighbor cell list contains the
strong scrambles by scanner. You can also directly check the neighbor cells continuation of the base
cell under the RNC for deciding missing neighbor cells.
The following paragraphs describes a case about call drop due to missing neighbor cell.
Check the Ec/Io coverage information of active set measured by UE, and you can find that the Ec/Io of
the active set is weak near call drop point and the signals are as weak as lower than 15 dB. The base
cell is SC209 cell.
Figure 3.4: Variation of active set Ec/Io recorded by UE before call drop
You also need to check data from scanner about the call drop point for the points with poor signals.
The signals , from SC128 cell, measured by scanner is strong, as shown in 0.
Figure 3.5: Variation of active set Ec/Io recorded by scanner before call drop
From 0 and 0, SC128 encounters missing neighbor cell. For confirmation, check the message process
behind to front for intra-frequency measurement control message. Check whether SC128 exists in the
list of intra-frequency neighbor cells. The result is that SC128 is not in the list of intra-frequency
neighbor cells, therefore the call drop is caused by missing neighbor cell.
If only UE recorded data in the test without data from scanner, confirm by the following method
whether the problem is caused by missing neighbor cell:
Check scrambles of all cells listed in active set measured by UE before call drop
Check scramble information of the cell where UE camps again after call drop and check whether the
scrambles are in active set and monitoring set before call drop If yes, the call drop might be due to
missing neighbor cell.
Check the list of neighbor cells
You must be very careful to remove redundant neighbor cells. If the necessary neighbor cells are
removed, problems like call drop occur. Therefore follow the principles below:
Before removing neighbor cells, check the revision records of neighbor cells whether
the neighbor cells to be removed are those that were added in previous DT and optimization.
After removing neighbor cells, perform comprehensive test, including DT and call
quality test (CQT) in important indoor spots, and check for abnormalities. If there are
abnormalities, restore the data configuration.
)
During RF optimization stage, you might remove neighbor cells in the following situations:
Remove the neighbor cells related to cross-cell coverage on the precondition that the
cross-cell coverage problem is solved and no new weak coverage areas are appear.
Remove neighbor cells according to experiences while referring to the network
topology structure. This applies to that the original neighbor cell list is full and new neighbor
relations must be added. Perform test after removal and confirm that the removal does not
cause bigger problems. Otherwise, you must reselect the neighbor cells to be removed.
In the later stages, you can refer to removing traffic measurement statistics. For details, see
WCDMA Handover and Call Drop Problem Optimization Guide.
No subscribers are using the network during RF optimization stage, so UE DT data of entire network in
a time is used and geographically averaged by 5 meters. You can obtain the ratio of the points in soft
handover state to all DT points. Set the scanner consistent to the system parameters with default
configuration, such as 1A and 1B threshold.
If the SHO Factor based on DT is over large, decrease or change the handover areas by using the
following methods for shrinking coverage areas:
Increase the down tilt
Adjust azimuth
Decrease the antenna height
Decrease the PICH power
The precondition for adjustment is that the adjustment will not cause new coverage voids, coverage
blind zone, and more pilot pollution.
The adjustment proceeds as below:
Start Assistant
Analyze scanner-based RSCP for 4th Best Service Cell and for 3rd Best Select candidate cells
in the 4th Best Service Cell and 3rd Best Service Cell 0 shows the RSCP for the candidates in 4th
Best Service Cell. List the SC136 cell as a candidate cell.
At this stage, the pilot pollution comes to an end. RSCP for 3rd Best Service Cell is more useful in
terms of reference. Select the sites or cells to which the adjustment is applicable and does not break
the preconditions. If the actual SHO Factor based on DT after adjustment is still different from the KPI
one, select candidate cells from for 2nd Best Service Cell. The sites are densely distributed in
microcell coverage areas, so the SHO Factor based on DT is much higher.
In this chapter we will introduce how we are reporting the detecting and reporting Incidents which
founded during the Drive test by making Incidents Reports in which we are giving the incidents with
small description and recommendation.
In second step we are delivering KPIs report to the customer in which we are delivering the major
WCDMA CS part KPIs.
In third step we should produce some recommendations based to our analysis and the Network KPIs
in order to increase network performance and reach target KPIs.
1 Incident Report
The following figure present a template for the Incident report which is daily report including all
incidents detected after one day drive test.
2 KPI Analysis
2.1 RSCP
RSCP is an acronym used in UMTS and other CDMA cellular communications systems and stands for
Received Signal Code Power.
While RSCP can be defined generally for any CDMA system, it is more specifically used in UMTS.
Also, while RSCP can be measured in principle on the downlink (DL) as well as on the uplink (UL), it is
usually associated only with the downlink and thus it is presumed to be measured by the UE and
reported to the Node-B.
In brief, the received power on one code after de-spreading measured by UE on the pilot bits on a
given channel. The reference point for the RSCP is the antenna connector of the UE. If Tx diversity is
applied on the measured channel then the received code power from each antenna is separately
measured and summed together in watt to produce a total received code power on the measured
channel.
RSCP Analysis:
Total 100%
Ec/No is the received Energy per Chip divided by the Power Density in the band. The CPICH Ec/No is
identical to CPICH RSCP/UTRA Carrier RSSI. Measurement shall be performed on the Primary
CPICH. The reference point for the CPICH Ec/No shall be the antenna connector of the UE.
Ec/No Values
Values range from 0 to -30 dB and correspond to an estimated Bit Error Rate
Ec/No Results:
Ec/No Plot:
1 33(+1/-3)
2 27(+1/-3)
3 24(+1/-3)
4 21(2)
2.4 BLER
The BLER report gives an idea of downlink quality. The BLER result is derived from the radio link
control layers packet acknowledgement message. BLER is simply the ratio of the number of
negatively acknowledged blocks to the total number of blocks acknowledged by the UE:
If the target BLER is too large, retransmission will be less probable and delay will increase otherwise
retransmission will be less probable and power efficiency will decline. When the power is not restricted
by scenarios, lower target BLER to increase effective throughput rate.
BLER Values:
BLER Sample %
Below 5 76.99%
5 to 10 6.47%
10 to 50 14.79%
Above 50 1.75%
Table 3.5: BLER Distribution
The set of Cells that the UE is connected to is called its active set (AS). Several radio resource
management parameters play a role here, most notably the maximum allowed active set size which is
set as 3 in Etisalat UMTS network.
If the UE is connected to more than one Active Set, then it affects the radio link quality, this is known
as macro diversity in WCDMA and it consumes more radio resources and increases the interference in
the system. Having Active set = 2 or 3 should be 30% to 40 % from whole network coverage area.
2.5 Events
Events Table
Events Count
Dropped Call 21
Events Plot
2.6 SC Distribution
Scrambling code distribution is presented below.
KPI Value
Dropped Call 21
Conclusion
In this reports we tried to make a manual for optimizing WCDMA networks which
contents many cases of problems in WCDMA RF interface. It was requested by the
company which did my internship to keep it as reference for next optimization
projects. And I m Introduced a sample of Incident Reports and KPI report which I
have been delivering those kind of report to the customer (Etisalat UAE) during this
project In which I was involved as WCDMA Optimizer Consultant.
This internship was useful for me since I improved my Skills in Mobile network
Optimization Filed. And based on that I will be able to find a good job opportunity in
wireless planning and optimization filed overall the world.