GSM Optimization Guide book

Han Bin Jie / CMPAK

1. Call Drop Analysis..........................................................................................................................3
1.1 Problem Description...............................................................................................................3
1.2 Call Drop Caused by Coverage............................................................................................3
1.2.1 Reason Analysis.........................................................................................................3
1.2.2 Solutions.....................................................................................................................4
1.3 Call Drop Caused by Handover............................................................................................4
1.3.1 Reason Analysis.........................................................................................................4
1.3.2 Observation methods.................................................................................................5
1.3.3 Solutions.....................................................................................................................5
1.4 Call drops caused by fault of hardware equipment or system parameter.............................6
1.4.1 Parameter fault...........................................................................................................6
1.4.2 Hardware fault...........................................................................................................6
1.4.3 Wrong BTS longitude and latitude............................................................................7
1.4.4 Impact from system capacity expansion, upgrade and patch....................................7
1.5 Call drop caused by interference..........................................................................................7
1.5.1 Reason Analysis.........................................................................................................7
1.5.2 Method to figure out interference type by OMC-R...................................................7
1.5.3 Solutions.....................................................................................................................8
1.6 Call drop caused by antenna and feeder...............................................................................9
1.6.1 Reason Analysis.........................................................................................................9
1.6.2 Analysis and solutions for antenna and feeder problem..........................................10
1.7 Call drop caused by transmission fault...............................................................................10
1.8 Call drop caused by utilization of repeater.........................................................................11
2 Assignment failure rate..................................................................................................................11
2.1 Problem Description...........................................................................................................11
2.2 Common fault analysis.......................................................................................................12
2.3 Solutions..............................................................................................................................13
3 SDCCH/TCH congestion...............................................................................................................14
3.1 Problem description............................................................................................................14
3.2 Only SDCCH is congested.................................................................................................15
3.2.1 Common problem analysis......................................................................................15
3.2.2 Measures for solving SDCCH congestion and sharing signaling load...................16
3.3 TCH congestion..................................................................................................................17
3.3.1 Common problem analysis......................................................................................17
3.3.2 Measures for solving TCH congestion and sharing traffic load..............................19
4 Analysis of handover failure rate...................................................................................................20
4.1 Problem description............................................................................................................20
4.2 Common failure analysis and solution...............................................................................21
5 Handover reason proportion analysis............................................................................................24
5.1 Proportion of handover triggered by bad downlink quality is high...................................24
5.1.1 Problem description.................................................................................................24
 5.1.2 Common fault analysis............................................................................................25
5.1.3 Solutions...................................................................................................................25
5.2 Proportion of handover triggered by bad uplink quality is high........................................26
5.2.1 Problem description.................................................................................................26
5.2.2 Common Fault Analysis...........................................................................................26
5.2.3 Troubleshooting.......................................................................................................27
5.3 Big proportion of handover due to downlink level............................................................27
5.4 Big proportion of handover due to uplink level.................................................................27
5.5 big proportion of handover due to distance.......................................................................28
6 RACH access validity...................................................................................................................29
6.1 description..........................................................................................................................29
6.2 Common fault.....................................................................................................................29
6.3 Common fault analysis.......................................................................................................29
6.4 Troubleshooting..................................................................................................................30
7 No traffic or handover in the cell...................................................................................................31
7.1 description...........................................................................................................................31
7.2 Common fault analysis and troubleshooting......................................................................31
8. call successful rate........................................................................................................................31
8.1 PAGING TIMEOUT...........................................................................................................32
8.2 Communication link establishment fail..............................................................................33
9. reason and troubleshooting of coverage lessening of the sites.....................................................33
9.1 reason on sites side and troubleshooting...........................................................................34
9.2 Others..................................................................................................................................35
10 analysis and troubleshooting of hot issues...................................................................................35
10.1 terminating MS has signaling but when it’s terminated, it tells that user is not in the
serving area...............................................................................................................................35
10.2 MS has signaling but is implicitly power-off when being paged....................................36
10.3 MS signaling unstable in idle state...................................................................................37
10.4 Signaling fluctuate during MS making calls....................................................................37
10.5 Echo in MS communication.............................................................................................37
10.6 Other..................................................................................................................................38
11 typical case analysis and optimization measures.........................................................................38
11.1 Case one............................................................................................................................38
11.2 case two............................................................................................................................39
11.3 case three..........................................................................................................................40
11.4 case four...........................................................................................................................40
11.5 Case five............................................................................................................................41
11.6 case six.............................................................................................................................41
11.7 Case seven.........................................................................................................................42
11.8 Case eight..........................................................................................................................42
1. Call Drop Analysis

1.1 Problem Description

MSC BSC BTS MS

(1)
MEASUREMENT RESULT MEASUREMENT REPORT
(2)
...
CONNECTION FAILURE
(3)
CLEAR REQ (Radio Interface Failure)

(1) Dedicate channel (TCH or SDCCH) is established

(2) If Abis spy is activated
(3) SACCH block not decoded, Radio Link Timeout expiry

Figure 1 Radio link fault signaling flow

1.2 Call Drop Caused by Coverage

1.2.1 Reason Analysis

（1）Call drop occurs in the following situations: the server cell’s coverage is too large due to
various reasons (such as perfect radio propagation environment or too high power) and the server
cell even covers its neighbor cells; the azimuth angle of its neighbor cell’s directional antenna (we
suppose neighbor cell is a directional cell) has problem or neighbor cell’s signal is too weak that
cause MS still occupies the original server cell A’s channel when MS moves out of the coverage
of cell B defined as the server cell A’s neighbor cell and moves into cell C which isn’t defined as
server cell A’s neighbor cell, so MS fails when it tries to hand over neighbor cell B offered by
server cell A. These situations usually happen in urban areas where BTS are densely distributed.
（2）Obvious holes without being covered exist in the boundary between two cells.
（ 3 ） Too small coverage may be because hardware equipment of a certain cell has problems,
such as antenna is blocked or BCCH TRX has problems (in the power amplifier part).
（4）Shadow effect caused by some tall buildings may bring fast fading of MS signal, then call
drops when handover can’t be carried out in time.
（5）If neighbor cell isn’t defined completely, MS will be in connected status in the server cell
and call drop occurs when MS moves out of the server cell’s coverage.
1.2.2 Solutions

1．Find out weak covered areas

Through traffic statistic analysis, first we shall make sure whether cell’s call drop rate is high
(accompanied by high outgoing handover failure rate) and handovers are mostly rescue Rxlev
handover but other indicators are normal. If so, we shall check whether it is coverage problem,
then we ascertain weak covered areas through DT. In addition, we shall analyze whether call drop
is caused by special topography, such as tunnel, supermarket, subway entrance and hollow.
Generally, this kind of call drop focuses on a certain direction; we can solve it through adding
micro-beehive.

2．Expand BTS coverage

Find out weak covered areas through customer complaints, and then check whether new sites need
to be added, or site’s coverage needs to be expanded through some means. For instance, increase
site’s max transmitting power, change antenna’s azimuth angle, tilt angle, height, etc. (we shall
comprehensively take into account frequency planning situation and coverage status in other
directions).

3．Eliminate the impact from shifted signal

Through regular DT to find out sites with irregular coverage, and eliminate the impact of its
shifted signal to other sites. As to call drops caused by impact from shifted signal, we can solve
them through decreasing site’s tilt angle, or decreasing BSPWR MAX and increasing RXLEV
ACCESS MIN to shrink the coverage. Of course we shall avoid blind area from appearing during
the adjustment.

4．Eliminate hardware fault

If call drop rate rises abruptly but other indicators of the site are all normal, then we shall check
whether its neighbor cells work well (problems may occur in the downlink, such in TRX, diversity
unit and antenna; if problems occur in the uplink, then the cell’s outgoing handover failure rate
will be high).

5．Check whether neighbor cell list is defined completely

Check whether neighbor cells defined in OMC-R database are mutual neighbors and whether
neighbor cell list is incomplete. Different operators shall often refer to neighbor cells’ data.
1.3 Call Drop Caused by Handover

1.3.1 Reason Analysis

1．Unreasonable parameters
When BTS is carrying out rescue Rxlev handover (when mobile phone’s Rxlev is lower than
IRXLEVULH, IRXLEVDLH), some handover request may fail due to too weak signal strength of
the incoming handover cell, and call usually drops even if the handover is successful due to too
weak signal strength.

2．T3103 overtime
T3103 is overtime: T3103 starts to record when BSC sends message HANDOVER COMMAND
to MS, T3103 reset when BSC receives message HANDOVER COMPLETE from target cell for
incoming handover or message HANDOVER FAILURE from the original cell. BSC will send
message HANDOVER COMMAND to BTS, if T3103 receives none of the upper two reply
messages, BSC regards that radio link fails in the original cell and then release channel of the
original cell. Signaling flow is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 call drop due to T3103 overtime

1.3.2 Observation methods

If high call drop rate is caused by handover problem, we can find out the main reason for
handover through analyzing OMC-R traffic report. Handover may be caused by downlink RX
LEVEL, uplink/downlink RX QUAL, uplink/downlink interference, power budget (PBGT), call
directional retry, traffic, etc.

1.3.3 Solutions

Carry out DT in a large extent, because handover is taken place among cells and BTS, call drops
in one cell may be because of unreasonable handover setting with its neighbor cells. Pay high
emphasis on cells have topological relation with the original cell and have high congestion rate,
and check whether blind cell exists around the original cell. If call drop is caused by these two
reasons, we shall modify relevant frequency and add new sites, or expand the coverage of the
original site. If call drop is due to unreasonable handover setting, we can modify handover
parameter according to the field test. As to call drops caused by unbalanced traffic and target BTS
has no channel to hand over on busy hour, we can adjust the traffic to solve it.
1.4 Call drops caused by fault of hardware equipment

or system parameter

1.4.1 Parameter fault

We can check whether parameters are reasonable through parameter checking tool, like whether
frequency planning is reasonable, whether MAIO of TRX in the cell conflicts with each other (in
this situation, all indicators will be bad, such as assignment failure rate), whether hopping
frequency has interference, whether timer of BSC matches that of MSC (if CELL’s T3103 is
higher than BSC’s BSSMAPT8, then call drops when MS is carrying out handover). When
parameter IRXLEVDLH and RXLEVMINCELL are unmatched in definition, it is easily to make
call drop because when MS reaches IRXLEVDLH or IRXLEVULH but there is no neighbor cell
reach the RXLEVMINCELL. Besides, unreasonable HOMAGIN also causes call drop during the
handover. We can observe whether the definitions of T3101 and T3107 are so strict that system
has no sufficient time to send assignment completed message to BSC, and call drops because
timer has already reset.

1.4.2 Hardware fault

We can check alarm related to hardware in OMC-R if call drop is caused by hardware fault. If
there is no hardware alarm in OMC-R, it may be caused by fault of a certain TRX or diversity
part, then at the same time assignment failure rate and uplink/downlink quality handover
proportion will be very high. We can find out the fault by ABIS monitoring software or by
carrying out CQT to suspicious TRX after turning off other TRX in the cell. We shall replace the
faulted hardware in time once discover it; if there is no equipment available for replacing, we shall
turn off faulted equipment to avoid call drops that may impact network operation quality.
Generally, when frame processing unit is faulted, assignment failure rate and uplink/downlink
quality handover proportion will be high; when receiving part is faulted, assignment failure rate
and uplink quality handover proportion will be high; when transmitting part is faulted, faulted,
assignment failure rate and downlink quality handover proportion will be high.
1.4.3 Wrong BTS longitude and latitude

In the field DT, we find that sometimes few BTS’s longitude and latitude are not the same with
those in the planning or even have huge differences with them. It is mainly because difficulties
appeared in site selection make it impossible to locate BTS according to design demand. But the
new location of the site wasn’t updated in planning database, and we still planned its neighbor
cells and frequencies according to the original plan, then lots of neighbor cells are missed or set
wrong and this finally causes high call drop rate.

1.4.4 Impact from system capacity expansion, upgrade and

patch

After system has been adjusted on a large scale, like cutting over newly-added sites for launch,
BTS capacity expansion, frequency re-planning, upgrade and patch, we shall carry out an overall
checking and adjustment to its related system parameters. We shall pay special attention to
neighbor cell relations, frequency interference as well as hopping parameter, cell parameter, etc.

1.5 Call drop caused by interference

1.5.1 Reason Analysis

Because the frequency of SDCCH that BTS assigns to MS may not be the same with that of TCH,
we need to analyze them separately. Interference includes co-channel interference, adjacent
channel interference and intermodulation interference. Error rate will be deteriorated and mobile
phone can’t demodulate BSIC of neighbor cell accurately or can’t receive MS measure report
correctly when mobile phone receives strong co-channel or adjacent channel interference signal.
Intermodulation interference is produced by transmitter of analog BTS in digital and analog co-
sited BTS; the direct impact of this kind of interference is BTS resource waste because time slot
can’t be assigned.
1.5.2 Method to figure out interference type by OMC-R

1 ） We can observe OMC-R counter related to interference. In some systems, when channel is
idle, system will observe the interference to the channel and report it in a certain period. When
channels working in interference are too many, then we can judge that the system has interference.
2）We can judge whether uplink interference exists through observing the absolute value of the
average level in RACH request that can be decoded by system.
3 ） We can judge through observing handover reason statistic of OMC-R. In normal situation,
PBGT handover shall be much more than other handover (accounts for over 60% of the total
handover times); we can regard it as uplink interference or hardware fault if uplink quality
handover is too many; we can regard it as downlink interference or hardware fault if downlink
quality handover is too many; we can regard it as hardware fault if both uplink and downlink
quality handovers are too many (it is also possible that both uplink interference and downlink
interference exist at the same time).

1.5.3 Solutions

1．Eliminate uplink interference

This is the main interference at present. Uplink interference often occurs on a period with the
maximum traffic. It mainly comes from co-channel interference or exterior interference. Co-
channel interference is related to the traffic of intra-frequency cell; the higher traffic, the larger
interference. Exterior interference is intermodulation interference. Uplink interference can be
solved by analyzing related reports in DT, modifying co-channel frequency in intra-frequency cell,
increasing distance between two intra-frequency cells (statistic shows that signal strength
attenuates along with the 4 power of the distance) or using spectrum analyzer. It can also be
decreased through diversity and effective power control.

2．Eliminate downlink interference

Downlink interference is not very common. It is mainly co-channel interference and adjacent
channel interference of some BTS caused by improper frequency planning. We can judge it
through handover test report in OMC, downlink interference usually cause frequent downlink
handover. If co-channel interference and adjacent channel interference are discovered in test report
and field test, we shall re-optimize and re-adjust frequency planning of the cellular system. As to
cells have interference but aren’t in the upper situations, we can find out interference source by
using spectrum analyzer.

3 ． Use discontinuous transmission (DTX), hopping technology, power control and diversity
technology
DTX includes uplink DTX (set by parameter DTXMODE) and downlink DTX (set by parameter
CELLDTXDOWNLINK); both of them use VAD technology and stop transmitting when voice
signal isn’t transmitted (only a group of SID frame is sent in each 480ms to meet the measure
requirement of BTS). Then useless information is restrained from sending and effective
transmitting time is decreased, so that system’s interference level can be depressed and life of the
battery can be prolonged. Hopping can improve radio signal’s transmitting quality effectively,
especially to the transmitting quality of slowly-moving object. This is because hopping makes
transmitting TRX hop on each unit length of burst that can obviously decrease co-channel
interference and frequency selectivity fading effect. But DTX has to be adjusted according to
practical surrounding radio environment and relations with neighbor cells. If the receiving signal
of the mobile phone is not good, call drop may occur when using DTX. It is because that when
DTX is used in downlink and mobile phone is in connected status, BTS transmitting power gets
strong while the subscriber is talking and gets weak on gaps. In this way, on the one hand we can
decrease interference to other BTS, but on the other hand if there is interference surrounds the
BTS then discontinuous transmission of downlink signal makes call quality worse; and when BTS
decrease transmitting power, call quality deteriorates and even call drop occurs in some places
where receiving signal is relatively weak and interference signal is relatively strong.

1.6 Call drop caused by antenna and feeder

1.6.1 Reason Analysis

1．Call drops due to different down/up tilt angles of two pairs of antennas
In BTS installation, each directional cell has two pairs of antennas, then BCCH and SDCCH of the
cell may be transmitted separately by different antennas. Different down/up tilt angles of two pairs
of antennas will cause different coverage of the two pairs of antennas, which means call drops
may occur when subscriber can receive BCCH but can’t occupy SDCCH sent by another antenna
while setting a call.

2．Call drops due to antenna’s azimuth angle

In BTS installation, each directional cell has two pairs of antennas. If the azimuth angles of the
two pairs of antennas are different, then call drops occur when subscriber can receive SDCCH and
be assigned to TCH sent by another pair of antenna.

3．Call drops due to antenna feeder

The transmitting power and receiving sensitivity will be decreased due to damaged and folded
feeder, or because feeder is affected by water or loose contact. Consequently, call drop occurs
severely. We can ascertain the reason through testing VSWR.

4．Call drops due to too short distance between antennas for diversity or unparallel Rx and Tx
antennas
A certain horizontal distance between two pairs of antennas should be insured to realize diversity
receiving; otherwise receiving sensitivity will be decreased and call drops will occur. When we
use diversity receiving antenna, generally an ideal effect will be obtained and gain is 3dB if
distance between Rx and Tx antennas is about 3 to 5 meters. But diversity receiving will be hard
to realize if the distance between Rx and Tx antennas is shorter than 1 meter. Besides, if Rx and
Tx antennas are unparallel, or even transmitting antenna directs receiving antenna, or there is a
very tall iron pole not far away from Rx and Tx antennas, signals will be obstructed and reflected
easily and interference will be produced.

5．Call drops due to too strong backward signal strength from directional antenna
If backward signal from a cell’s directional antenna is too strong, call drops when MS occupies
the signal but can’t find its neighbor cell.

1.6.2 Analysis and solutions for antenna and feeder problem

1．Check antenna’s azimuth angle and down/up tilt angle

If call drops due to incorrect antenna’s azimuth angle and down/up tilt angle, we shall first
observe the BTS. We can find out fault reason by carrying out CQT, DT while combining with
statistics from OMC in faulted cells, and decrease call drop rate through adjusting antenna
azimuth angle and down/up tilt angle. If it is because of too strong backward signal strength from
directional antenna, we shall replace the antenna in time.

2．Eliminate feeder problem

If call drops are due to decreased BTS transmitting power and receiving sensitivity caused by
damaged feeder or loose contact, we can ascertain fault reason and faulted place through
measuring feeder by feeder test instrument, so as to replace faulted feeders and connectors in time.
Notices in feeder system:
Avoid feeders from being connected reversely because they are wrong labeled; avoid feeders from
getting affected by water, pay attention to dust prevention and firmness of feeder’s combination
parts; be familiar with feeder’s working environment and physical nature, check whether feeder is
aging according to practical installation and cabling rather than doing analysis simply relying on
VSWR tested by instrument; avoid other things from getting inside connectors so that situations
such as feeder’s short circuit or dust entry won’t happen.

3．Use reasonable antenna type

Because presently sites distribute more densely and network structure keeps on changing, we
suggest using some small-sized antennas with low gain and high forward and backward isolation
in BTS in urban areas or areas with densely-distributed sites. We don’t need to worry about any
bad impact that small antenna may impose to signal coverage at all; contrarily, radio space will be
purer and easier to be controlled than before because of antenna’s lower gain and higher forward
and backward isolation. According to the practical effect of using small antenna, network
performance has been improved obviously.

4．Eliminate interference from antenna backward signal

Antennas are usually installed on poles, towers or rails on top floor in urban area, therefore they
may be too high and it’s not easy to control signal coverage, even backward signal may be
interference to the network. We suggest installing antennas on a floor’s walls, and then antenna’s
backward signal will be obstructed by buildings.

1.7 Call drop caused by transmission fault

Faults in Abis interface include that BSC doesn’t receive measure report from BTS; failed
signaling during handover and some internal reasons; impact of error rate on Abis interface. There
isn’t many faults occurs on A interface, most of them are handover failure (handover between
BSCs or MSCs) because handover data are not complete or target BTS isn’t qualified to be handed
over in.
We shall adjust BTS clock, check transmission synchronization and transmission quality regularly.
Adjusting BTS clock and checking transmission synchronization is for signal synchronization and
improving handover success rate between MSCs or BSCs. Checking transmission quality,
checking transmitting error rate by instrument, or even checking 2M cable connectors regularly
are very necessary. Because unstable transmission link will cause signaling lose and unstable
lower link or even call drops. Stable transmission quality can decrease lots of Abis call drops.

1.8 Call drop caused by utilization of repeater

Some business and trade centers like shopping mall as well as some small BTS in counties use
repeater to amplify signals directly for reducing investment and expanding coverage. Signals are
transmitted by fiber or in microwave. Due to topography, environment and engineering equality
reasons, demanded indicators can’t be satisfied and then call drop occurs.
When we use repeater, distance control parameter setting (TA setting) requires special attention.
Otherwise distance reason will cause handover failure, consequently call drop or call clearing.
We usually transmit signals in microwave when using outdoor repeater. Therefore repeater
amplifies interference as well while amplifying required BTS uplink and downlink signals. Then
signal quality gets worse and finally call drops accompanied with obvious assignment failure rate
raise.
We shall survey repeater’s real surrounding cells according to its neighbor cell definition while
installing it, and pay special to whether it will cause mutual interference to its surrounding cells; if
so, call drop due to handover failure (T3103 overtime) and interference will occur. After repeater
has been installed, we shall observe whether assignment failure rate, call drop rate and handover
proportion due to quality reason are deteriorated suddenly; if so, we can ascertain there is
interference.
If the situation mentioned above occurs, we shall re-plan frequency, modify neighbor cell list,
adjust handover parameter and power control parameter.
Anyway, no matter what kind of reason causes call drop, we shall analyze it through all kinds of
test methods and test reports from OMC, and carry out CQT and DT periodically.

2 Assignment failure rate

2.1 Problem Description

Signaling flow assigned by TCH is shown in figure7-5.

MSC BSC BTS MS
ASSIGN REQUEST
CHANNEL ACTIVATION
ASSIGN FAILURE (1)

CHANNEL ACTIVATION ACK

ASSIGN FAILURE (2)
ASSIGN COMMAND
ASSIGN COMMAND
SABM

UA
ASSIGN COMPLETE
ASSIGN FAILURE (3) ASSIGN COMPLETE
ASSIGN COMPLETE

(1) The BSC can’t allocate the resource requested by the NSS
(2) The BTS can’t activate the channel requested by the BSC
(3) The mobile can’t get hooked on the proposed channel

Figure 5 Signaling flow assigned by TCH

The following reasons cause assignment failure:
BTS downlink fault prevents assignment message from sending correctly; MS can’t receive the
assignment message; MS can’t identify the assignment message; MS can’t occupy the assigned
channel; BTS can’t receive or can’t identify SABM from MS; BTS uplink fault prevents
assignment completion message from sending to BSC. When MS can’t occupy the channel
assigned by network, it will send back assignment failure message. Other situations will make
T3107 overtime.
2.2 Common fault analysis

1．Faulted transmitter or receiver

Generally assignment failure rate will be very high when TRX is faulted; incoming handover
failure rate will also be very high because BSC assigns channel for MS during incoming handover.
If a cell’s assignment failure rate is over 10%, then it is most probably due to TRX fault; if the rate
is over 5%, usually we suspect it is due to TRX fault or interference; if the rate is 3%~5%, then it
may be caused by congestion or interference; if the rate is lower than 3%, commonly it is because
of radio environment influence.

2．Co-channel interference or adjacent channel interference

We shall analyze it according to interference value. High error rate caused by interference
prevents MS from establishing the second layer link with BTS and then causes failed assignment.

3．Feeder problem
If feeder is broken or get corroded, then VSWR will be so high that it may impact receiving and
transmitting performance.

4．Main diversity antenna is blocked or can’t offer symmetric coverage

When antenna that only transmits TCH TRX is blocked or its covered area is different from
another antenna that transmits BCCH TRX or SDCCH TRX, then MS may not occupy the TCH.

5．Unreasonable parameters（HSN, MAIO, T3107 setting）

When network uses hopping technology, if HSN or MAIO are set unreasonably, then co-channel
interference or adjacent channel interference in one cell or among cells on the same MA List will
be severe and then assignment failure rate will be very high. Generally, when this situation
happens, all indicators will not be good.
Check whether T3107 is set so strict that network has already released the channel because T3107
is overtime before it gets assignment completion message.

6．Transmission fault on A interface or Abis interface

If transmitting error rate is too high on A interface or Abis interface, then signaling exchange
between MS and network can’t be accomplished normally, and then assignment failure happens.

7．Impact from repeater

Please refer to call drop analysis.
2.3 Solutions

1．We shall check cell’s incoming handover execution failure rate for better locating the problem
Ascertain whether handover failure rate ((handover execution – handover success) / handover
execution) is related to assignment failure rate. It is because the process that MS establishes the
second layer link with handover target cell is similar to the channel assignment process when call
is set up.

2．We shall check hardware fault when assignment failure rate is high (higher than 5%)
If it may be TRX problem, operation and maintenance engineers shall check OMC-R alarm record
(mostly a receiving module or transmitting module has problem). If there is no problem
discovered in OMC-R, then use Abis interface monitor to find out the faulted TRX that causes
assignment failure (equipment SN is TEI).

3．Find out reason through cell’s link balance test

Assignment failure may caused by uplink signal loss or receiving path failure. We can find out the
reason through cell’s link balance test by Abis track analyzer or path test statistic.

4．Eliminate interference
Other situations occur when high assignment failure rate is caused by interference, such as lots of
handovers triggered by quality problem (high BER), or too high RACH decoding level. We can
find out system interior interference by carrying out DT. If uplink and downlink levels are high
but signal quality is bad, then interference may exist. Then we check whether the occupied
channel (BCCH TRX) is hopping or not. If BCCH TRX has interference, we re-plan the frequency
of co-channel cell and adjacent channel cell.
If there is no hardware fault but TRX voice quality is bad, then it means frequencies it uses have
interference. One solution is to optimize cells that have the same MA list with the cell; another
solution is to suppose the cell isn’t in hopping mode and set TRX on each frequency on MA list,
so as to find out frequencies get interference. Of course, network quality will be decreased if we
use this solution, so we suggest using it on non-busy hour.

5．Eliminate antenna problem

If there is no interference or hardware problem but handover failure accompanies with assignment
failure, we can check whether diversity antennas’ down tilt angles are different or antennas get
blocked.
If the assignment failure is severe but reason can’t be found temporarily, we shall turn off the cell
to avoid network quality from getting serious impact.

6．Check cell parameter setting status

Modify parameters set improperly.

7．Eliminate transmission problem

Check whether transmission problem exists through testing error rate by instruments; if yes, solve
the problem.

3 SDCCH/TCH congestion

3.1 Problem description

There are two kinds of congestions: one is that network has no signaling channel to use in
immediate assignment; another is that network has no TCH to use in voice channel assignment. In
this section we mainly analyze congestion problems as well as propose solutions and balance
method to signaling load and traffic load.
In immediate assignment, SDCCH assignment failure counter accumulates once BSC sends
IMMEDIATE ASSIGNMENT REJECT according to command that channel can’t be activated.
When there is no available SDCCH or ground resource on Abis interface, T3122 is included in
IMMEDIATE ASSIGNMENT REJECT message sent by BSC to MS. T3122 defines the minimum
interval for MS to set up the next call.
Signaling flow is shown in Figure 6.

MSC BSC BTS MS

RACH/CHANNEL
CHANNEL REQUIRED REQUEST

CHANNEL ACTIVATION
CHANNEL ACTIVATION NACK

IMMEDIATE ASSIGNEMENT IMMEDIATE ASSIGNEMENT

REJECT
（1） REJECT

MS 启动
T3122
（1）BSC 无法给 MS 的请求分配无线资源

Figure 6 SDCCH congestion signaling flow

When assigning TCH, assignment failure occurs (reason is congestion) if BSC has no resource
when receives ASSIGN REQUEST or HO REQUIRED from MSC, or no available ground circuit
resource when sends channel activation. If this happens, BSC sends ASSIGN FAILURE to MSC
(reason is no radio resource), and TCH assignment failure counter accumulates once. Please refer
to Figure 5.
Through analysis, we can solve these two kinds of congestions separately.
3.2 Only SDCCH is congested

3.2.1 Common problem analysis

1．LAC boundary problem

If a cell locates on the boundary of LAC, then frequent LAC updating program triggers TCH
congestion because the cell’s boundary may cross a high traffic area.
When this situation happens, we can check that the cell hands over frequently into which cell s
with different LAC and BSC by observing its handoff status, and then optimize LAC (cut the cell
over other LAC). If we use this method, we shall also take into account parameters related to C1,
C2 algorithm, cell reselection hysteresis parameter and handover margin parameter, etc.

2．Improper parameter configuration

Too less signaling channels are configured; relevant parameters of C1, C2 algorithm are set
improperly; T3101, T3122 and T3212 are set improperly.

3．Hardware fault
Faulted or unstable hardware such as TRX will trigger that BSC can’t activate the channel’s
ground resource in immediate assignment.

4．Neighbor cell fault

Neighbor cell’s fault will cause server cell congestion because it absorbs some extra traffic.

5．Illegal subscribers’ frequent registration

Check whether congestion is triggered by frequent registration of some roam-restricted
subscribers. If a roam-restricted subscriber enters a restricted area and keeps the mobile phone
turning on, then the subscriber will try to register on the local network ceaselessly but always fails
due to authentication failure. This will aggravate the signaling load and equal the subscriber
occupies the capacity of a local signaling channel.
3.2.2 Measures for solving SDCCH congestion and sharing

signaling load

1．Increase the value of cell reselection hysteresis

If SDCCH congestion is due to LAC boundary problem and the congestion is not severe, we can
increase the value of cell reselection hysteresis, so as to decrease frequent MS location update as
much as possible.

2．Reconfigure channel type

If the method mentioned above doesn’t have much effect, we can reconfigure TDMA according to
TCH traffic status, like to change TCH time slot as SDCCH/8 while referring to the times that
TCH used as signaling channel.

3．Decrease T3101
Adjust T3101 to reduce system resource waste. Generally, immediate assignment can be
accomplished within 3 seconds. Then we set T3101 as 3 seconds to avoid BSC from assigning
resource because of resending channel request and to release resources that have been wasted for
other requests.

4．Adjust MAXretrans（maximum retransmission times）

On the premise that the radio environment is favorable, we try to decrease MAXretrans to reduce
system resource waste as much as possible. Generally we shall try to increase its value if cell’s
load is normal.

5．Adjust T3107 and T3103

We can reduce TCH waste by adjusting T3107 and T3103. On the premise that the radio
environment is favorable, it only takes system about 2 seconds to assign TCH, so we can set the
lowest T3107 as 2s. Generally we set both T3107 and T3103 as 5s.

6．Adjust T3122
We can prevent subscribers from frequently sending channel request message which will increase
network RACH and CCCH load by increasing T3122 when system has no resource (normally we
set T3122 as 10s, or 30s when SDCCH traffic is very large). This timer shall be set as shorter as
possible when channel’s traffic isn’t much big.

7．Adjust relevant parameters impact C2

We can decrease the cell’s C2 by reducing the value of CELL RESELECT OFFSET (the premise
is that C2 algorithm has to be activated). In this way, we can reduce the cell’s traffic and the
difficulty for MS to select the cell as server cell, so as to make calls be set up in the cell’s neighbor
cells as much as possible.

8．Increase T3212 properly

T3212 is used for limiting the time of periodical location update. We can alleviate SDCCH load
from periodical location update by increasing T3212. But we shall be aware that its value has to be
shorter than MSC connotative turning off time limit while modifying it. Connotative turning off
time limit shall be set a little bit longer than “periodical location update”; otherwise, MS will be
regarded to be turned off by the network if it doesn’t have any contact with the network during a
period of time.

9．Eliminate hardware fault

Check whether cell and its neighbor cells are working normally. Check whether TCH is available
to ascertain unstable equipment. If neighbor cell isn’t working normally, the cell will take the
extra traffic.

3.3 TCH congestion

3.3.1 Common problem analysis

1．Traffic density is higher than BTS designed capacity

If TCH keeps congested during a period of time, it means subscriber group has changed that
makes the BTS traffic density higher than the original designed capacity. As for this situation, the
easiest solution is to expand capacity.

2．Handover problem
Unreasonable call model caused by too frequent handovers among cells will decrease system
capacity. Ping Pong handover caused by boundary problem, coverage problem, interference,
hardware fault or parameter problem will trigger TCH congestion. When system has interference
or hardware problem, MS receiving level will be high but signal quality is bad. If this happens,
MS may be handed over out due to bad signal quality and handed over in due to power budget
reason, and then Ping Pong handover occurs.
Some similar situations happen such as MS can also be handed over out due to TA reason and
handed over in due to power budget reason.

3．Transmission problem
If transmission breaks off for an instant or high error rate occurs on Abis interface, because the
fault hasn’t been transmitted to BSC and ground circuit resource is unavailable when BSC is
activating channel, it is counted as congestion. It is especially obvious after queuing function has
been activated.
This problem will also trigger severe incoming handover failure. Because MSC doesn’t know the
BTS has transmission problem and still sends incoming handover request to the BSC, then
consequently incoming handover request fails. BSC will also count this event as congestion. This
problem will last till MS that try to handover in deletes the cell on handover cell list reported to
the system.

4．Isolated island problem

When a cell’s coverage is isolated in an area, mostly the cell can’t find pre-defined neighbor cells,
and then MS will always stay in the cell where call set up and can’t be handed over no matter how
signal changes till call drops. We can take two measures to avoid this: the first measure is to adjust
antenna of the isolated cell and eliminate isolated island phenomenon.
We have to do tests many times to eliminate isolated island without influencing covered area, but
tall building’s isolated island phenomenon still can’t be eliminated completely because of
complexity of wave propagation. So the second measure is to define new neighbor cells for
isolated cell. The principle for defining parameters is that isolated cell has the priority in location
update and priority to be handed over in normal cells.

5．Neighbor cell problem

Please refer to SDCCH congestion analysis.

6．Neighbor cell definition problem

Neighbor cells are not defined completely prevents calls from timely handover out and then causes
call drop.

7．Improper parameter setting

T3107 and T3103 are set too long, queuing parameter is unreasonable; handover threshold and
handover margin are set unreasonably; the definition of cell’s minimum accessing level and BTS
power are unreasonable.

8．TCH is used as signaling channel

Idle TCH is used as signaling channel due to lack of SDCCH. Then there is no resource available
when MSC is assigning channels.

9．Coverage problem
These problems exist in urban areas:
Too large coverage caused by too high antenna height or unreasonable antenna down/up tilt angle;
BS TXPWR MAX is set too high due to RXLEV ACCESS MIN is set too low; the BTS overlaps
its neighbor cells because its coverage is perfect in some directions (such as in square, lake or
highway) that makes some traffic can’t be handed over out normally and causes congestion due to
too concentrated traffic.

10．Hardware is instable
Instable BTS equipment (like TRX) will impact channel’s availability and channel can’t be
activated while assigning channel that will trigger congestion.

3.3.2 Measures for solving TCH congestion and sharing

traffic load

1．BTS capacity expansion

If channel congestion is caused by limited capacity, then we shall calculate cell’s traffic
requirement according to cell’s congestion rate and practical loaded traffic, and increase
corresponding radio resource in the planning.

2．Prevent Ping Pong handover

Within the T3103 time limit, TCH of both server cell and target cell will be occupied at the same
time during the handover, so too many handovers will waste resource. Then possibly we shall
reduce handover times especially when resource is tight.
If the ratio of handover times to total call times is too high, we can avoid unnecessary Ping Pong
handover by increasing cell’s handover power margin. Possibly algorithm for Ping Pong handover
control shall also be activated in proper situation. For instance, if the outgoing handover is
because of quality reason, then incoming handover due to power budget shall be refused in a
period of time. We shall pay special attention to it in dual band handover.

3．Activate queuing function

Queuing function has obvious effect for solving congestion caused by temporary traffic summit.

4．Adjust T3103 and T3107

Decrease time limits of T3107 and T3103 to reduce system resource waste as much as possible.

5．Control SDCCH congestion

When SDCCH is not enough, BSC will use TCH to transmit signaling. Therefore if TCH
congestion is caused by lack of SDCCH, we shall control SDCCH congestion by the method
mentioned above.

6．Eliminate neighbor cell faults

Check whether there are faults exist in neighbor cells, find out undefined cells through DT and
neighbor cell parameter checking.

7．Shrink BTS coverage

If congestion is caused by too large BTS coverage, then we can increase RXLEV ACCESS MIN
and decrease BS TXPWR MAX according to practical situation.
9．C2 algorithm optimization
If a cell is severely congested but its surrounding cells are relatively idle, we can optimize the
cell’s traffic load through adjusting parameter PT and CRO (set CRO as minus bias) after C2
algorithm has been activated. We can also low the cell’s priority (set CELL BAR QUALITY as 1),
this is equal to shrink the access range of the cell’s RACH into an area that only the cell can cover,
so that part traffic will be shared. Meanwhile, we shall increase its neighbor cell’s C2 and
handover margin to avoid shared traffic from being handed over in again.

10．Adjust antenna’s installation height as well as down tilt angle and up tilt angle
Possibly control BTS coverage by adjusting antenna’s installation height as well as down tilt angle
and up tilt angle, so as to optimize traffic load. But we shall prevent blind area from appearing.

11．Eliminate equipment fault

Repair faulted equipment if it is the reason for incomplete channel utilization.

4 Analysis of handover failure rate

4.1 Problem description

From view of signaling, handover failure could be divided into two aspects: handover selection
failure and handover execution failure. Let’s make deep analysis. Signaling procedure is
illustrated in Figure 9.
 MS BTS1 BTS2 BSC MSC
Handcver lndication

Channel Activate

Channel Activate Ack

Handcver Command Set

Handover Command T3103

Handover Access
Handover detection
Physicallnfo（TA）
SABM
Estabish lndication
LA

Handcver Complete
Handover complete Reset
Handcver Failure T3103
Handover Failure HO
HO Failure

Figure 9 handover failure procedure

Handover selection failure （ HANDOVER SELECTION FAILURE ） is the difference between

amount of HO COMMAND from BSC to BTS and amount of HO INDICATION received by
BSC. The reasons of handover failure sometimes are channel resource absence of target cell, or
system parameters or hardware issues (viz. difficult L2 connection between BSC and BTS).
Handover execution failure（HANDOVER EXECUTION FAILURE）is the difference between
amount of HO COMMAND from BSC to BTS and amount of HO COMPLETE received by BSC.
This reflects the quality of radio interface in the air.
When handover succeeds, MS will send HO COMPLETE message to target cell. After target cell
receives the message, one handover-in success will be counted; if this handover is INTRA MSC
handover, after originating BSC receives CLEAR COMMAND message (this message includes
clear reason which is handover success), one handover-out will be counted.
When MS could not capture target cell channel, which results in handover failure, due to radio
matters, MS will send handover failure message to handover originating cell. After this, MSC send
CLEAR REQUEST to target BSC, the message includes clear reason which is handover failure.
And then, one handover-in failure will be counted.

4.2 Common failure analysis and solution

1．Hardware failure
When handover execution failure rate is very high, hardware failure is most possible (see
allocation failure). Here, we have to locate failure hardware by traffic analysis, and dispose well in
time.

2．Neighbor cell relationship issue

In dedicated mode, MS send measurement report to system by SACCH, and distinguish different
cell RX power level with BCCH and BSIC. If two cells have same BSIC and BCCH, in normal
situation, the distance between the two cells should be far enough, so nothing should be between
them. But due to isolated cell environment, MS often send inveracious report to system, this
inveracious neighbor cell report will misguide handover control program send handover
injunction, it will cause connections in cell attempt sending handover request to cell with low RX
power level, named ping-pong handover, and result in higher handover-out failure rate from
isolated cell to target cell. On the other hand, higher handover-in failure rate will appear at target
cell which has the same BSIC and BCCH with isolated cell.
Due to compact frequency reuse in urban, it sometimes results in isolated effectiveness. The
principle how to judge isolated point is, that observes whether advantaged radio propagation
environment exists between isolated point C and Cell A, for example: higher antenna height and
small down tilt for Cell C, open land, highway and river between Cell A and Cell C, etc.

Figure 10 isolated effectiveness

In the area of city boundary, when more INTRA-MSC handover failure happens, and excludes
other possible failures, here check whether frequency change on boundary neighbor cell, which
results in isolated effectiveness.
For a pair of neighbor cells, if higher handover execution failure due to isolated effectiveness,
Abis interface test could be done to find isolated cell by checking time ahead (TA). Then bigger
down tilt could abate isolated effectiveness, or change BSIC to eliminate same BCCH/BSIC.
Check whether neighbor cell table matches BTS parameters, if not, modification should be done in
OMC-R.

3．Neighbor cell channel resource absence or transmission failure

If handover selection failure rate （ HO SELECTION FAILURE RATE ） is very high, it is
possible that the load of target cell is very heavy, and without available TCH. Here BSC receives
HO INDICATION message, but handover could not be executed. For higher handover selection
failure rate between a pair of neighbor cells, check whether it is the load problem of target cell.
When transmission failure happens in neighbor cell (e.g. higher BER or transmission
instantaneous break), BSC has available resource, but terrain circuit resource could not be
activated, therefore, results in handover selection failure. If transmission failure happens between
intra MSC handover or inter MSC handover, the problem will be more serious. Because MSC
does not know transmission failure between BSC and BTS, if handover request happens, it will
cause channel allocation request is sent to target BSC, and results in handover failure. This
problem will continue until originating BSC does not receive MS measurement report about target
cell.
If neighbor cell channel resource absence results in handover failure, we could refer to solution of
TCH/SDCCH congestion. In addition, configuring handover request priority higher than allocation
request priority is also an effective solution for handover selection failure problem.

4．Terrible radio environment

If handover execution failure rate（HANDOVER EXECUTION FAILURER RATE）is high, it is
possible radio environment problem of target cell or originating cell. Terrible radio environment
will cause that MS could not receive handover command from originating cell, or capture channel
allocated by target cell.
Normally, the reason of terrible radio environment is overlap coverage absence between cells. We
could check coverage prediction, especially some special places (e.g. tunnel, etc), once have
suspicion, it is better to confirm it by drive test and use relevant radio optimization approaches to
improve coverage. Reducing down tilt and adding antenna height could improve cell coverage, but
this could also introduce much adjacent interference. Fundamental method is to add sites or micro
cells, but this is out of optimization.

5．Coverage issue
If there is not enough overlap coverage between originating cell and target cell (shown in Figure
11), handover could fail because MS is not able to capture TCH of target cell. In the situation,
replacement is difficult with lower probability.
If make sure terrible coverage results in failure, we have to use relevant approaches to improve
overlap coverage.

Figure 11 terrible coverage results in handover failure

6．Interference issue
If interference exists, it is difficult for MS to capture TCH of target cell. And here, RX power level
is better, but uplink / downlink signal quality is terrible.
If handover-in execution failure rate is high, it is necessary to check cell interference. Checking
handover-in and handover-out execution failure rate of every pair of cells could indicate
interference exists in single cell or in multi-cell, and further estimate interference area and
interference property.
If handover-out execution failure rate is high, probably downlink interference exists in originating
cell, MS could not decode HANDOVER COMMAND message from BTS, here T3103 time out
results in call drop. The reason of higher handover-out execution failure rate may be due to
downlink / uplink interference in target cell. Therefore, it is necessary to check every indicator of
every pair of cells to help estimating interference, at the same time check correlation between
handover-in execution failure rate and allocation failure rate of target cell. Higher handover failure
rate caused by interference always accompanies high allocation failure rate.
To confirm cell interference, proportion of handover due to uplink / downlink quality could be
estimated.
If confirming cell interference, change cell frequency in time or eliminate interference source.

7．Antenna issue
Due to obstruction before antenna or two antennae coverage asymmetry of the same cell, for
solution, please see allocation failure analysis.

8．Repeater issue
for analysis and solution, please see call drop analysis.

9．Parameters issue
Due to inconsequent or mismatch parameters, e.g. configuring T3103 with a small number results
in MS could not capture channel if target cell.
If parameter description of neighbor cell about LAC and CI of target cell, it will result in higher
handover selection failure rate.

10．Incomplete LAC list of MSC

If the definition of REMOTELAC table of MSC faultiness or error, and there is MSC boundary
cell definition on BSS side, it will result in handover selection failure. When handover request
reaches MSC, MSC finds LAC does not belong to itself, MSC will search in remote LAC table. If
remote LAC table has no information about LAC, it will result in handover failure. When
executing INTER MSC continuous handover, if there is no definition of LAC of target MSC in
originating MSC, it will result in handover failure.

11．Higher signaling link load impact

Due to congestion caused by heavy load on interface A, there is no available resource when
sending handover request and handover command between intra MSC or inter MSC. In this
situation, trunk link capacity should be expanded.
5 Handover reason proportion analysis

5.1 Proportion of handover triggered by bad downlink

quality is high

5.1.1 Problem description

It is one of the rescue handovers and it’s different from normal power handover. Rescue handover
is carried out not because a server cell with stronger signal has been discovered, but because the
present server cell’s signal quality is too bad to support normal call. Handover triggered by bad
downlink quality is carried out because server cell’s signal quality is too bad (high error rate). If
the original BSC decides that voice quality error rate has reach the downlink quality handover
threshold, then it will choose a cell with the strongest signal as the target cell for incoming
handover from well-performed neighbor cells. Therefore the handover is only carried out when
voice quality error rate is higher than L RXQUAL DL H.

5.1.2 Common fault analysis

1．Unreasonable handover parameter

If L RXQUAL DL H is set too low, then it’s very easy for voice quality error rate to reach quality
handover threshold. If handover algorithm judging period is too short, then quality handover will
take place even just a few samplings are lost.

2．Hardware problem
It may be downlink hardware problem if handover failure rate is high, such as BTS transmitter,
power amplifier, transmitting antenna or feeder has problem.

3．GSM interference
Check whether co-channel interference or adjacent channel interference exists. If there is severe
interference inside system, quality handover will also be triggered during the call because of bad
voice quality even if subscriber can occupy the assigned channel. But quality handover usually
causes Ping Pong handover: if quality handover is triggered by interference, then commonly the
original cell’s signal strength is high but quality is bad; therefore MS will be handed over back
into the original cell again because of power budget even if it was handed over out due to quality
reason.

5.1.3 Solutions

1．Parameter checking
Check whether cell handover parameter is set properly.

2．Eliminate hardware problem

If there is downlink hardware problem, for instance, too small transmitting power of some TRX, it
will make receiving signal’s strength and quality of MS that uses the TRX is bad. If this situation
happens, high downlink level handover will accompany high downlink quality handover.
Therefore, we can check traffic change as well as the ratio of incoming handover to outgoing
handover.
Downlink hardware problem will also make downlink quality handover, assignment failure, radio
link failure increase and much higher than those of other cells. Some downlink hardware problems
will be shown in VSWR alarm in OMC-R. Solutions are: track Abis interface, check whether
uplink and downlink are balanced, check downlink level status, measure VSWR of BTS, as well
as check cables in transmitter.

3．Eliminate GSM system internal interference

1）Track Abis interface. Abis analysis software can find out downlink TRX with high level and
bad quality;
2) Observe OMC-R traffic report. If the cell’s traffic is high, then uplink quality handover will
also be very high;
3 ） Analyze cell’s planning figure. Try to find out interfering cell (the interference may not be
caused by neighbor cells, we shall be aware that it is possibly because of isolated island
phenomenon). If the interference is newly-appeared, it may be related to newly-added BTS;
4）Ascertain interference by DT;
5 ） Turn off interfering cell and check whether the interference disappears, so as to ascertain
interference source.
5.2 Proportion of handover triggered by bad uplink

quality is high

5.2.1 Problem description

It is one of the emergence handovers, carried out if server cell’s uplink signal is too bad. The
target for outgoing handover is a cell with strongest BCCH signal among well-performed neighbor
cells. Handover trigger threshold is L RXQUAL UL H, which is network uplink quality handover
threshold.

5.2.2 Common Fault Analysis

1．Too strict parameter setting

This makes MS easily reach the threshold of handover caused by quality and handover become
frequent.
2．Facility fault
If uplink handover times is great, it may probably caused by the hardware of radio uplink
transmission facilities (TRX, antenna, diversity and feeder).
3．Coverage problem
Check whether it relates to handover caused by uplink and downlink power level. If it’s the
case，it may be result from inadequate coverage.
4．Uplink interference
See whether uudecoded RACH level is too great in OMC-R traffic statistics report, if so, the fault
may caused by uplink interference. Take DT to see whether there are interference in the cell.
5．GSM interference
When there is interference is GSM system, handover caused by voice quality will be considerably
large.

5.2.3 Troubleshooting

1．Parameter checking
Check the parameters of cell handover.
2．Check the hardware
If there are problems concerning uplink hardware, loss of cell or some TRX will be great. At the
same time, we shall check the failure rate of handover in. Because if uplink BER is high, even if
the downlink is normal, handover can be hard to carry out.
If there are problems concerning the uplink, handover due to uplink power level, assignment
failure and RL failure will be more than normal cell.
3．Eliminate external interference
Take the following measures to make sure whether it’s caused by BCCH uplink interference:
check related RACH demodulation level; analyze and check GSM uplink frequency band using
spectrum analyzer in BTS; track Aibs; check uplink & downlink balance and uplink distributed
level ; check BTS transmission cable etc.
4．Eliminate GSM interior interference
Please refer to the cause of handover due to downlink quality.

5.3 Big proportion of handover due to downlink level

1．description
This handover is an emergency one due to the signaling of serving cell is lower than normal call
requirements. The target is the adjacent cell with strong BCCH signaling.
note：if handover parameter setting is unreasonable, the cell which handover is implemented out
to is hard to find. Otherwise PBGT handover will be processed. Thus this kind of handover failure
rate is great.
Alarm threshold is L RXLEV DL H, that is, network downlink level threshold.
2．Common Fault Analysis
This is not usually seen and it’s caused mainly by the following reasons：
1）parameter setting is improper；
2）downlink hardware problem
3．Troubleshooting
It’s the same with handover due to downlink quality caused by problems of parameter and
hardware.

5.4 Big proportion of handover due to uplink level

1．description
This handover is an emergency type which is invoked when signaling level of the serving cell is
lower than normal call. The target is the adjacent cell with the strongest BCCH signaling.
Note: if handover parameter setting is reasonable, the cell which handover is implemented out to
is hard to find. Otherwise PBGT handover will be processed. Thus this kind of handover failure
rate is great.
Alarm threshold is L RXLEV UL H，that is, network downlink level threshold.
2．Phenomenon analysis
1）inadequate coverage is accompanied by much handover due to uplink quality;
2）cell handover parameter setting is improper；
3）hardware problem if uplink & downlink is imbalance；
4 ） Ping-pong handover between two cells. For example, handover in to the adjacent cell with
lower level due to quality and back to the previous cell due to PBDG or level
3．troubleshooting
（ 1 ） parameter. check the handover parameters of related cell including power handover
tolerance, power level handover threshold, and minimum access level
（2）hardware. check the hardware using the following methods: make Abis track, check cell link
budget and special attention shall be given to balance of uplink & downlink.
（3）coverage or adjacent cells.
Check the definition of adjacent cells of related sites is consistent with coverage predictions.
Check whether there are a great proportion of handover between adjacent cells due to quality. If
there are ping-pong handover of adjacent cells, interference shall be kept in control. Please refer to
quality handover& interference chapter;
If isolated island or coverage problem is not found via TA gotten by Abis track, DT is needed to
solve the problem.

5.5 big proportion of handover due to distance

1．Problem description
This handover is an emergent one due to large distance between site and MS. The threshold is MS
RANGE MAX, which is the maximum distance between sites and MS.
Notice: the priority of handover due to distance is lower than handover due to quality and level, as
a result, when handover due to distance is triggered, level and quality shall all below the
threshold. We can reduce isolated island effectively by setting the distance threshold.
Notice：great proportion handover due to distance indicated that the coverage scope of this cell is
greater than MS RANGE MAX （it may be caused by too high antenna, broad terrain and high
building etc.）
2．Common fault analysis
1 ） parameter MS RANGE MAX is too small ( notice: this unit of this parameter is TA(time
advancement. 1 represents 500m instead of 1km)
2）isolated island；
3）definition of adjacent cell is wrong
Power handover haven’t be implemented when MS is moving away from the site into the region
that is not covered.
3．Troubleshooting
1）check whether it’s due to the smallness of the parameter of handover due to distance
2）check whether there is malfunction cell；
3）check other indications such as RL failure or handover failure.；
4）make Abis track to see whether there is isolated island.
6 RACH access validity

6.1 description

Valid RACH access is the process from MP sending RACH REQUEST to the completion of
SDCCH establishment. Please refer to Figure 12.

MSC BSC BTS MS

RACH/CHANNEL REQUEST
CHANNEL REQUIRED
(2) (1)
CHANNEL ACTIVATION

CHANNEL ACTIVATION ACK (3)

IMMEDIATE ASSIGNEMENT
IMMEDIATE ASSIGNEMENT

ESTABLISH INDICATION SABM

UA
(4)

(1) RACH decoded

(2) RACH transmitted to the BSC
(3) SDCCH Allocation
(4) LapDm established
Figure 12 RACH access signaling process

6.2 Common fault

1）RACH power level is high and can’t be demodulated (noise RACH level is high) and BTS
can’t be decoded (information is wrongly coded);；
2）RACH request times is low which is obviously ；
3）RACH demodulation rate is low（RACH sends to BSC / all RACH）；
4）LapDm establishment success rate is low（LapDm success /SDCCH assignment number）；
5）excessive invalid RACH channel request（RACH CHANNEL REQUEST）。

6.3 Common fault analysis

（ 1 ） The most frequently-seen fault is BCCH uplink interference. When BCCH uplink
interference is severe, BTS can’t decode RACH access request information(information is
wrongly coded) .
（2）hardware of receiving path.
（3）uplink & downlink imbalance will affect signaling process after RACH is demodulated.
（ 4 ） parameter is inappropriately defined. For example, “ minimum access power
level”（RXLEV ACCESS MIN）is set to be too high.
（ 5 ） RACH decoded power is too high. When radio condition is consistent with normal
propagation model, if signaling level is high than BTS sensitivity，BTS can demodulate RACH
bursts received. When there is no interference, BTS sensitivity is decided by noise coefficient and
thermal noise power and is -115dBm(not taking fading tolerance into consideration). Uplink
interference and block will disable minimum demodulation level to reach -115dBm.
In the cities, because the propagation ambience is complicated, BTS demodulation ability will be
affected by background noise and reduced to -100～-110dBm.
（ 6 ） SDCCH establishment success rate is low. Only small number of MS SDCCH channel
requests are successful . There are two possibilities:
Main reason: BTS receiving path loss is severe （ cable, receiving separator, and
connector），thus receiving bursts from MS can’t reach BTS or is lower than demodulation
level.（<-110 dBm）
Another reason: RACH short bursts can be demodulated, and level required by LapDm can ’t be
successfully established. It maybe caused by the low uplink receiving level or interference.

6.4 Troubleshooting

1．Confirm the time when error occurs

Check the time when RACH access failed and whether it still exists and is caused by incident.
2．Make sure whether it’s caused by hardware or interference
Compare the following running status: handover in, establish requests, and assign requests. If it ’s
caused by BCCH uplink interference, it will not affect handover greatly, and RACH
demodulation level and channel assignment success rate will be reduced. If it’s caused by
hardware, access success rate will be very low.
3．Eliminate hardware malfunction
If there is hardware error in uplink, network will not be able to assign channels responding to MS
channel requests. In this case, check site hardware, especially TRX, antenna and feeder. If the
problem is not sure, do Abis analysis and check link budget.
4．Eliminate interference
If the problems don’t lie in hardware and connection, then there is great possibility that it’s caused
by interference. Check whether there is newly-added RF equipment around the cell based on the
time that error arises and the duration. Check frequency scheme to make sure that there is no intra-
frequency interference and adjacent cell interference. If it’s the case, modify BCCH frequency to
see whether RACH level is changed also. If it’s necessary, do DT, use spectrum analyzer or RF
receptor to check the features of interference signaling. Please refer to interference chapter.
5．Remove the effect of repeater
Attention shall be given to wideband repeater. The function of wideband repeater is to enhance
network coverage and is mainly used in suburbs and rural areas. In the cities, indoor repeater is
mainly used for coverage of large buildings and basements. The usage of repeaters will change the
coverage condition, so coverage range shall be controlled. Interference will not be caused in the
area with no signaling from other sites, but the balance of uplink & downlink shall be guaranteed.
In the cities the repeater will cause great interference especially uplink interference. If the
equipment is good, most problems of RACH inefficiency is caused by the interference from the
repeaters. So if repeater is needed, closed circuit repeaters are strongly recommended or install
narrow-beam antenna beside the site to control transmission power.

7 No traffic or handover in the cell

7.1 description

Compare to normal cells, there are few handover or none, few establishment requests or none, few
assignment requests or none.
If there are no attempt calls, make sure where error occurs using traffic statistics report, such as
SDCCH fail, no RACH request, RACH access fail and TCH establishment fail. The first three
faults may make traffic of initial calls and traffic of handover in of the cell low.

7.2 Common fault analysis and troubleshooting

1．Parameters are not appropriately set

Check CELL BAR ACCESS to see whether this cell is barred，if it’ s the case, the traffic of this
cell are mostly handover in calls. Check if the setting of CI and LAC of this cell is consistent with
the setting of exchange. If it’s inconsistent, the call path establishment will fail and therefore, the
traffic of the cell are mainly handover in calls.
If there are no handover in traffic, check whether adjacent cell is correctly defined and handover is
allowed in the system; Check the definition of LAC of the malfunction cell coupled with MSC
of the adjacent cell.
2．Hardware fault
Do Abis track, check the hardware by checking link budget. If exchange matrix control panel,
transmission control panel and control panel of corresponding BSC breaks down, MS will fail to
initial calls. If transmission power and receiving sensitivity of the carrier of this cell is low, MS
will be unable to use the channel assigned.
It may be caused by the problem in antenna, feeder, coupler, receiving divider and receptor etc.
3．Antenna error
The antenna is blocked and thus calls established in this cell are few. Currently there are many
residential areas in the sites, antenna is in mast shape and the first sector of many sites is toward
rectangle roof, which makes it hard to absorb the traffic even in high-traffic region. When this
happens, antenna parameters like height, direction angle and pitch angle shall be adjusted.

8. call successful rate

call connection rate is the indicator to evaluate network running performance. The following is
the factors to affect long-distance call connection rate.
Paging overtime; user busy; no response from the user; telecommunication link establishment
fail(line is busy, TCH channel busy or TCH assignment fail)；the definition of parameters of BSC
and MSC causes overtime of the paging; dialing incomplete number.
We will make analysis of the above problems in the following report.

8.1 PAGING TIMEOUT

Paging timeout indicates that MSC sends paging message successfully and in fixed time MSC
doesn’t get response from MS. Paging overtime is the important factor that affects long-distance
call connection rate and the reasons are many.
Paging handling is classified into two levels: one is MSC, and the other BTS. MSC is responsible
for sending paging messages and to avoid bad radio condition of MS, MSC will resend it again,
the interval is 10 seconds. BTS will place paging messages to certain paging group according to
CCCH assignment of this cell and will resend it to avoid the relay caused by uncoding of the
message in PCH because of interference.
The main factors are as follows：
（1）MP subscriber enters blind spots or MP powers off. If the time for exchange’s area periodic
upgrading is not reached (MSC will timely inquire the user of IMSI ATTACH and will set MS that
doesn’t communicate with the system to be in power-off status), MSC will continue to send
paging messages to this subscriber which will result in paging overtime and waste of system
resources.
We can make optimization the parameters of T3212 and the parameters of T3212 and exchange
hidden power-off in order to enhance connection rate.
BSC area periodic update timer T3212 must be later than hidden power-off timer in MSC. Under
this premise, we can make settings of T3212 freely.
In some suburban and rural areas, the blind spots and region with weak signaling are many,
therefore we can set T3212 to be small. For example, set T3212 to be 8 （ which means area
upgrading every 48 minutes ） . But in urban area, considering the considerable great average
traffic and signaling flow, T3212 shall not be small, otherwise signaling flow will be added greatly
and thus adds to MSC load and finally reduces paging success rate. If MSC hidden power-off time
is set to be too short, on one hand, it will improve paging success rate, on the other hand, it will
cause some subscribes to be in power-off status because of some subscribers’ long-time
disconnection with the system. If hidden power-off time is set to be too long, user area periodic
update times will be added and thus improve paging success rate; at the same time, one problem
may occur. Because user stays in blind spots for long time(time is shorter than hidden power-off
time) and is still in ATTACH status in MSC and when the user is being called, VLR will allocate
the user with MSRN, which will result in an effective paging and thus reduce paging success rate.
Therefore, the setting of T3212 and hidden power-off time makes difference for paging success
rate, and shall be made based on analysis of traffic statistics and BSC & MSC parameters.
We shall also make optimization of TRX maximum transmission power and MS minimum access
power level （ RXLEV ACCESS MIN ） etc , adjust antennae and build new sites to enhance
network coverage.
（2）lack of signaling channel of the cell in which MS being called, RACH access failure of user
being called, SDCCH assignment failure and SDCCH call drop can all lead to one of the
following results: RACH access failure, signaling channel of access cell busy and call drop on
SDCCH during signaling link establishment, which will make MSC to fail to receive paging
response messages and finally result in paging overtime.
In this case we shall use traffic statistics to find cells of which signaling channels are congested
and which severe failure of immediate assignment exists. For the cells with congested SDCCH,
PCH, RACH and AGCH ， we can adjust related parameters and number of related signaling
channels (refer to the handling of SDCCH congestion) based on requirements in order to reduce
congested cell and improve PAGING success rate. As for the cells with many immediate
assignment failures, we can check whether it’s caused by interference, equipment hardware error,
improper parameters or feeder error etc.
In the process of optimization, we can set T3122 (wait indication duration) to be as short as
possible so as to enhance network average access performance. Raise MAXRETRANS
“maximum resend time” as much as possible which is a key parameter to improve accessibility
rate，and can be set according to traffic volume of the cell. Also, we shall make optimization of
BS AG BLKS RES, BS PA MFRMS and TX INTEGER in order to improve the responding
capability of MS toward the system.

8.2 Communication link establishment fail

It refers to the call failure after the RR establishment between MS and the network caused by
authentication failure, radio call loss, TCH congestion, TCH assignment failure, lack of ground
resources of A interface or Abis interface .
（ 1 ） Call loss may occur due to radio problem during the time from MSC sending SETUP
message to BSC to BSC sending back CALL CONFIRMED message. If the call loss is too great,
we can do track of signaling of A interface and find worse cell based on OMC-R report and get
help from site personnel.
（ 2 ） During the period from MSC getting CALL CONFIRED message from BSC to MSC
sending assign TCH request message to BSC, call establishment may fail caused by TCH
congestion of target cell due to lack of exchange resources. Therefore, we shall pay attention to
TCH congestion of the cells in the network and signaling load of A interface in order to avoid
the circumstance.
（3） During the period from MSC sending TCH assignment request to BSC to BSC resending
TCH assignment success message, call establishment may fail due to failure of TCH assignment.
（4）During the period from getting message from BSC to BSC sending ANC message to TMSC,
call loss may occur caused by one of the following reasons: the calling MS hangs up, no response
from MP, disconnection due to overtime and the called MS hangs up.
It’s hard to resolve for the user. We shall check whether instability of signaling or transmission
exists in MSC and resolve it immediately.

9. reason and troubleshooting of coverage

lessening of the sites

It’s not only related to system technical indicators such as system frequency, sensitivity and
power, but also has direct relationship with engineering quality, geographical status and
electromagnetic environment. Generally when indicators of the system is stable, the environment
is bad, and engineering quality is not up to the standard, the coverage area of the site may be
small.

9.1 reason on sites side and troubleshooting

The factors that affect the coverage due to the sites are: output power of transmitter reduces,
sensitivity of receptors lessens, directional angle of the antenna tilts, pitch angle of the antenna
changes; antenna gain changes; antenna height varies; feeder loss, coupler loss, working frequency
changes, propagation environment (terrain and human environment) changes and diversity
receptor effect etc.
To sum up,
（1）check whether it is due to the growing of reversing leakout pf directional antenna, which
will make forward output power become weaker and finally narrow the coverage area of the
cell. It’s recommended to change the antenna.
（2）check whether there are other antenna or buildings that block the antenna. They will affect
reception and transmission of the antenna and thus affect the coverage of the site. In this case,
adjust the directional angle or height of the antenna to avoid the bad effect.
（ 3 ） check whether the performance of the inclination or direction angle changes. The
enlargement of the inclination or offset of the direction will narrow the coverage of the site, which
shall be handled once being found.
（4）Check whether output power of site receptor or the coupler is descending. If so, adjust the
power of the amplifier or change hardware equipment. If not, we shall check whether it’s caused
by leakage of the signaling due to bad connection of the downlink hardware units.
（5）check whether the loss of the feeder is increasing. We can use apparatus to measure standing
wave ratio. If it’s less than 1.5, it may be caused by feeder connector or leakage of the feeder
which reduces the transmission power and the coverage of the sites.
（6）make sure whether it’s due to capacity enlargement. If it’s the case, check the following：
1）whether different types of couplers are used. Different type has different loss which we shall
pay special attention to.
2）After operation or capacity enlargement of the site, check whether the installation of the new
antenna is up to the requirements; If the distance between MS and tower is near, the tower may
block the antenna; check the height of the antenna. If it’s too high, it may lead to dark-down-tower;
if it’s tow low, it may make the coverage narrower; check whether the inclination of the antenna is
reasonable; check whether the coverage of the major antenna and diversity is consistent. For
inconsistency will affect the coverage effect which leads to call drop, assignment failure and hand
over failure and finally results in narrow coverage of the sites.
3）check the receiving sensitivity of the sites
If the sensitivity decreases, the coverage of the site will become weaker.
（7 ）check whether RACH decoding level varies. If it changes greatly, the signaling from MS
may not reach the site.
（ 8 ） check whether interference exists. Strong interference will reduce receiving sensitivity of
the site and thus affect the site coverage.
（ 9）eliminate the electromagnetic interference . If the electromagnetic interference is great, it
will affect SNR, which will affect communication of long-distance subscriber.

9.2 Others

1．Signaling block
New buildings block the propagation of the electromagnetic wave and make the signaling become
weak and users in far area can’t use normally. The high buildings near the sites will have greatest
effect on the propagation.
2．Propagation ambience changes
The change of propagation environment of electromagnetic makes the receiving signaling fade.
Especially in mountainous region, the propagation there rely much on the reflection of the hills
and if the plantation changes, the signaling may fade and can’t reach the user.
3．Technical indicator of the terminal descends
The descending of the MS power and sensitivity may affect the reception of the radio signaling.
The feeder which is used to transmit signaling and the connector shall be in good condition.
We can seen from the above that the descending of the site coverage is caused by many reasons.
Thus we shall make daily maintenance and do troubleshooting timely to guarantee smooth running
of the system.
10 analysis and troubleshooting of hot issues

10.1 terminating MS has signaling but when it’s

terminated, it tells that user is not in the serving

area

MSC paging MS and if in fixed time, it doesn’t get PAGING RESPOSE from the user, it will
replay user is not in serving area recording and handle it in another way. In fact there are many
causes such as the user entering blind spot or MS power off. VMSC hasn’t make periodic query of
the IMSI attach user and can’t confirm the status of the MS which results in paging failure. The
malfunction are as follows:
1． Signaling channel of the cell which terminating MS is in is very busy
After MS receiving the paging, it will away from idle state and sends channel request to the
standing cell. BSC receives this request and hasn’t channel to assign and send assignment refuse
message to MS and padding fails. When 当 MSC 的“寻呼超时”（PAGING TIMEOUT）后，it
will send recording notification(user is not in serving area) to originating user or handle it in
other way（replay busy tone etc）
We can see whether the signaling channel of the cell is congested or unavailable. If this happens,
MS will receive immediate assignment refuse message. In this case, it’s even hard for MS to
make originating calls.
2．Terminating MS immediate assignment fail
When MS is being paged, if channel assigned by the network is unavailable（radio environment
is bad due to interference ） or equipment error （ feeder, major equipment or transmitter
becomes unstable or error）makes immediate fail, it will make MSC paging overtime.
When this happens, check whether the difference between RACH request number immediate
assignment success number is considerably big （ subtract RACH resend time ） using traffic
statistics. MS being paged can’t get immediate assignment command after sending channel
request or can’t get response from the system after sending SABM （PAGING RESPONSE. In
this case, it’s hard even for MS to be originating.
3．Terminating user RACH access fail
When terminating MS sends channel request on RACH, network can’t decode it due to radio
interference or equipment error(generally one control channel in this cell error) and paging times
out. When this happens, check whether RACH requests is less than TCH assignment times. If it’s
the case, MS can’t enter this cell and can only use TCH of this cell by handover in.
In this condition, regardless of MS to be originating or terminating, MS will resume idle status(in
1- 2 seconds) because network can’t assign channels which results in T3216 overtime and make
cell reselection.
4．Area update of terminating MS resulting in paging failure
When MS being paged is doing area update(normal location update & periodic location
update)，this MS can’t make response （because location update is invoked and other program
can’t be invoked at the same time. Measures may be taken to counteract this situation are:
1 ） increase cell reselection lag value, and the difficulty for location update; 2 ） optimizing
location area is the most effective way to handle it.
The time for MS to do location update is generally 3.5s. In this case, there are many incidences
happen along the border.
5．Terminating MS CCCH decoding fail
Due to severe downlink interference in BCCH frequency, MS fails to decode CCCH of the paging
group. This case is few.
6．System is overloaded with paging
When system is overloaded with paging and paging channel of the cell which MS is in is too few,
MSC may lose MS paging message.
7．NSS malfunction
Due to location updating or VLR database fault, MSC fails to page MS.

10.2 MS has signaling but is implicitly power-off when

being paged

This happens when T3212 (periodical location update timer) is bigger or equals to MSC
implicit power-off time, MSC consider MS is power-off due to no response from it.
We shall pay attention to the setting of T3212. When T3212 is less than implicit power-off ,
reducing T3212 will deduct system load and enhance the sensitivity of the network to MS status .
But improper value will add to user’s complaints (MS has signaling but is implicitly power-off
when being paged). Please see the following descriptions:
Set time for implicit power-off to be 1 h, T3212 of cell A to be 4（0.4h），T3214 of cell B
to be 8(0.8h) and the two cells are in the same location area. Set MS location update status in A
to be 3/4，and MS make cell reselection to be B and status becomes 3/8, if MS stays in B for a
time, MS status will return to 3/8. In this case, although T3212 of these two cells is less than
MSC implicit power-off time, time to make location update is later than the time of implicit
power-off, thus this user is considered to be power-off.
10.3 MS signaling unstable in idle state

When we are handling complaints, we find many come from MP instability. Weak signaling is
related to receiving strength instead of algorithm. Besides unavoidable factors such as multi-path
effect and environment factor etc, the causes may be as follows:
1．Equipment fault
When BCCH transceiver power amplifier works unsteadily, transmission power is instable and
thus the signaling is instable.
2．Reselection parameter 重选参数影响
Adjusting C2 may bring bad results: during network optimization, C2 needs to be adjusted to
balance the traffic. Cell reselection is based on C2, and MS signaling fluctuates with practical
receiving level. If two measured C2 of the two cells is close and practical receiving levels are
far, cell reselection will frequently happen and make MS signaling fluctuate in idle state.
Especially in the place where micro-cell and dual-band exist, the problem becomes even severe
due to difficulty to define reselection coefficient.
In border area, due to the effect brought by cell reselection hysteresis, signaling may fluctuate
when MS is doing location update.
3．Coverage reason

when signaling of cell C drifts to cell A, if cell A defines cell B as its adjacent cell ， and the
frequency of cell B and C are the same, MS standing in A may select cell C. At this time, MS will
monitor BA(BCCH）table broadcast by Cell C（frequency of cell A may not in the table）, and
signaling of BCCH tends to be weak, therefore, MS may not receive drift signaling of cell C and
will make cell reselection again. This will make signaling fluctuate.

10.4 Signaling fluctuate during MS making calls

1．Equipment malfunction
If TCH and BCCH of MS don’t belong to one carrier, and the transceiver works
unsteadily （ signaling is weak ） ， signaling of MS in idle state will appear strong but is weak
during communication.
2．Problems brought by handover
When MS handover is frequent, signaling of MS may fluctuate.
When adjacent cells of handover are too many, frequency samplings in BA table for MS may be
less and results in incorrect measurement level and frequent handover.

10.5 Echo in MS communication

Causes are:
1．Echo suppressor(EC）error
EC is placed between PLMN and PSTN. So if the subscribers of these network complain about
echo during communication, it’s probably caused by EC error.
2．TCU error
Tch is responsible for rate transferring adaptation, so if it error, echo will occur.
3．Subscriber MP error
In the process from MS voice coding to radio wave sending, if relevant hardware error, echo will
occur.
4．Propagation circuit
Due to careless maintenance of A interface and Abis interface, loop or cutover may caused which
may result in echo.
5．BTS hardware error
BTS is responsible for the whole process(demodulation, burst and channel decoding ect) exclusive
of voice decoding, if one hareware error, echo may occur.
6．Update and patch
If system update and patch are inconsistent with current system hardware, echo may occur. It’s
suggested to do dialing test to check the compatibility of the system.

10.6 Other

1．When MS originates calls and returns to idle state, MS can’t dial in a while. It’s because MS
receives immediate assignment refuse message （ due to signaling channel congestion ） which
includes refuse connect timer T3122，thus MS is hard to get access to the network
2．Bad voice quality when MS is making calls
When MS is making calls with PSTN subscriber，voice quality of MS is bad while the other party
is fair (receiving level is high), there may be error or interference in downlink of the standing cell
of MS. So, check downlink hardware（transceiver ,frame processor, combiner and feeder etc）
first ， then use traffic statistics to check whether there are too many handover of downlink
handover due to quality.
When voice quality of PSTN subscriber is bad, it may be caused by uplink error or interference of
MS standing cell. Check uplink hardware such as transceiver, frame processor, combiner and
feeder etc
If it happens between two MS, two network situation shall be taken into consideration.
11 typical case analysis and optimization

measures

11.1 Case one

1．Error
One suburb site is in S777 model and adopt 1 ： 3 hopping. Call drop of three-sectored voice
channel is high due to radio link error and other indicators are normal.
2．Malfunction analysis
Because the sector assignment failure rate and handover in failure rate are normal, it can ’t be
major equipment hardware error. The causes may be: geographic and environment effect （such as
blocking of new buildings ） , coverage, interference , feeder error （ quality, height, pitch angle
and direction angle etc, adjacent cell not defined, and unreasonable relevant parameters.
Interference, feeder error, environment and coverage shall pay great attention to.
3．Fault finding
Standing wave ratio of feeder, feeder connector and antenna performance are in normal state;
hardware of major equipment is normal; no decoding in propagation; cell parameter, hopping
parameter, handover parameter and adjacent cell definition are all favorable. By doing DT and
ABIS signaling analysis, we find that average receiving level of this sector is comparably high (-
77dBm/uplink, -73dBm/uplink) while receiving quality is relatively bad(4.33/uplink,
3.25/downlink). When there is only one carrier function in the sector, call drop indicator and
receiving quality are all in the normal range. By above analysis, we can decide that it’s caused by
hopping frequency interference.
4．troubleshooting
Use HP8921A to scanner uplink of the site, and find that spectrum of BCCH of the site is
frequently covered by stronger spectrum.
It shows that interference spectrum and simulative system spectrum is similar and HP8921A can
demodulate voice signaling and find it’s due to co-channel interference of co-site simulative
system. Correct frequency of the hopping being interfered and it will resume normal state.
5．experience
When choosing site, we shall analyze the environment and make facility adjustment and parameter
adjustment.
11.2 case two

1．Error description
Site with O3 model uses radio hopping and 1:3 hopping. When the site has finished capacity
expansion( from O2 to O3 ） ， voice channel assignment failure rate remains high due to radio
link error accompanied by high call drop and handover in failure rate. RACH decoding success
rate , coding level, SDCCH immediate assignment success rate and call drop rate are normal.
2．Malfunction analysis
Assignment fail rate is accompanied by high call drop rate and handover in failure rate. There are
two possibilities, one, error occurs when assigning voice channel, two, frequency or timeslot of
this call may encounter interference or unsteadiness. Because RACH decoding success rate,
decoding level are normal, SDCCH immediate assignment success rate and call drop rate are
normal, we can decide that there are few chances for BCCH TRX and BCCH frequency error.
From above, we can see there are great possibilities of error or interference of non-BCCH trx or
frequency error. Therefore, we shall first check the equipment, then decide whether it’s due to
interference by the help of traffic statistics analysis tool, DT coupled with parameter.
3．Fault finding
Check equipment hardware, feeder and propagation steadiness and no problem is found. By doing
dialing test, we find that dialing success rate is low and voice quality is mostly bad. When
checking the parameters we find that new MAIO is the same with MAIO of another carrier
which caused clash during channel assignment and communication. That cause this result
4．troubleshooting
Reset MAIO value of new TDMA.
5．experience
After capacity expansion and update of the site, we shall check all the parameters and related data
to avoid the same malfunction

11.3 case three

1．Error description
The urban site is in S333 model and use GSM900, frequency hopping and adopt 1:3 hopping.
Handover failure rate in one sector of this site remains high, handover in fail rate from cell A to
this cell reached 80%. Call drop rate and voice channel assignment failure rate are normal.
2．Malfunction analysis
We find that it’s not due to error and interference in hardware. First because although failure rate
is high, there is no TCH assignment failure, which indicates MS can occupy voice channel
assigned by BSC; secondly MS has no call drop and voice quality problem which indicates there
are no severe interference. By analysis we find that source cell is far from this cell and it’s may be
due to isolated island.
3．Fault finding
We find no problem in equipment hardware, propagation steadiness and interference. Then we
investigate whether there are the same BSIC/BCCH in the surrounding cells of source cell A.
Finally we find cell B, has favorable radio propagation environment with cell A due to a square
newly built between , and this leads to isolated island.
4．troubleshooting
Make frequency planning of this cell again, adopt a new frequency and set cell B to be adjacent
cell of cell A.
5．Experience
We shall taken environment into consideration when handling network problem. If environment
changes ,we shall adjust system software parameters(adding or deleting adjacent cells) and
engineering parameter（antenna height, pitch angle and direction angle. Due to limitation of GSM
frequency, isolated island may become a big issue which we shall carefully handle.
What’s more, if co-channel interference（co-BCCH）is severe, handover success rate will also be
affected.

11.4 case four

1．malfunction
One suburban site configuration is S444, use GSM900 and use frequency hopping and adopt 1:3
hopping model. The two sectors has some handover failure rate, assignment failure rate and call
drop rate and no congestion.
2．Malfunction analysis
We shall check hardware equipment first. Then check the interference between the two cells and
outside the system through parameter checking, traffic statistics report and DT test. Next check
feeder fault（see call drop analysis）。
3．Fault checking
Check equipment hardware and find no error. Check MAIO, HSN, MA, handover parameter, co-
channel and adjacent channel and find no inappropriate configuration. In DT report, the coverage
of two sectors are found to be improper which is due to the reverse installation of the antenna.
4．troubleshooting
Resume the antennae of the two sectors and the problem is resolved.
5．Experience
Pay special attention to the quality when doing acceptance check.

11.5 Case five

1．Malfunction description
The site with O4 configuration and adopt frequency hopping, DTX and 1 ：3 hopping. Call drop
of this cell keeps relatively high due to radio link error accompanied by relatively-high handover
fail rate and assignment failure rate.
2．Malfunction analysis
See the analysis of case four.
3．Fault finding
Check equipment hardware and parameters and find no problems. OMC-R traffic statistics report
reveals average receiving level of MS in this cell is relatively high (-85dBm/uplink and
-81dBm/uplink on average) and receiving quality is bad(-3.8/uplink and 3.15/downlink), which
indicates there are probably great interference in the system. By investigation, we find that a
repeater amplifies the signaling of this cell as well as the interferer signaling（BCCH frequency
of surrounding cell and frequency of the hopping ） and co-channel and adjacent channel are
introduced..
4．troubleshooting
Close DTX function of this cell, change hopping mode to non-hopping mode and do frequency
planning again. Avoid using the same and adjacent frequency. Adjust handover parameter and
power control parameters in order to avoid hopping.
5．experience
Avoid using repeater where the same frequency or adjacent frequency may be used. Use micro-
cell to resolve coverage issue.

11.6 case six

1．Malfunction description
The site with S777configuration uses hopping and DTX. The user around the site find it hard to
dial both for originating MS and terminating MS, although MS signaling is strong. The originating
MS will resume idle status indicating no signaling and terminating MS will prompt to be not in
serving area.
2．Malfunction analysis
First make sure whether malfunction lies in one cell of the site, all cell of the site or no site ’s
problem at all. Judging from the malfunction, it’s hard for user to use signaling channel,
therefore ,check whether SDCCH is congested. Otherwise, check whether there is severe
interference. If the above are fairly good, check hardware, parameters and feeder.
3．Malfunction checking and troubleshooting
Through the analysis of OMC-R traffic statistics report, we find there is no congestion in this site.
But the report of one sector is abnormal. The report shows that SDCCH immediate assignment
times are dozen including area update while TCH assignment times is several hundred with most
handover in assignment. Close this cell and network resumes its normal working state.
Do DT test and find no interference, and do cell parameter check again no problem is found.
Change one control panel and the problem disappears.
11.7 Case seven

1．Error description
One subscriber along the border of two provinces complains that although there is no problem
concerning roaming in his dwelling, but once he received roaming signaling from other province
and can’t away from the signaling. The two provinces are not adjacent to each other.
2．Malfunction analysis
Through DT of this region, the network structure is showed in 7-15

Figure 15 network structure along the border

The subscriber usually stand at P and reside at cell A, Cell A and B are adjacent cells and are
affiliated to user network. Cell C and D are adjacent cells and belong to roaming network. Cell
A has no adjacent relationship with cell C and D.
Because cell D and Cell B defined by A uses the same BCCH frequency, MS at P reselects cell D
and back to cell C later. But there is no frequency of cell A in adjacent cell table of cell C and D,
therefore, user keeps staying in the network of roaming area. When MS powers off in cell C and
powers on again, it keeps stay in cell C and its adjacent cells. This is called roaming.
3．Troubleshooting
Define adjacent cells of the two provinces. If it can’t be realized, change frequency of cell B.

11.8 Case eight

1．Malfunction description
Urban subscriber find that although MS has signaling, but when being paged, recording prompts it
to be not in serving area.
2．Malfunction analysis
Check whether the network has problems such as signaling channel congestion, frequent location
update and immediate assignment failure. Check whether T3212 is too small
3．Malfunction check
Through investigation, we find that there are two LAC in the urban area and cell location update
along the border of LAC is frequent, which leads to signaling channel congestion. One reason is
some terminated MS can’t use SDCCH, thus paging is overtime, another reason is that MS is
paged when doing location update, and can’t respond timely, which results in paging overtime.
4．Troubleshooting
Make planning of the location area, avoid setting borders to be area with frequent cell reselection,
and assign signaling channel to the cells in the boundary area as many as possible.