Prepared by Legend Technical Team: Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

5/24/2011
Prepared by Legend Technical Team
Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010
1
5/24/2011
RF People
RF people work in either
RF Planning RF Optimization
Responsibilities Responsibilities
− Nominal Plan Design. − Maintain the Network„s Accessibility

− Sites Survey. KPIs.
− Validation from field. − Maintain the Network‟s Retainability
− Set RF design (Structure, Azimuth, KPIs.
Height, Tilt, Cables type). − Maintain the Network‟s Service
− Frequency Plan. Integrity KPIs.
− Neighbor Plan. − Study and Apply new features.
− Sites Acceptance. − Try to think of innovative solutions to
maximize the Network capacity.
RF Planning KPIs: To provide
coverage outdoor & indoor and to offer
traffic with acceptable grade of service. They have to maintain the
performance of
the Network as good as possible.
2
5/24/2011
Part I: Radio Network Planning
Course Outlines:
− Planning Process and Procedures.
− Sites and Hardware Equipment.
− Technical Site Survey & Validation.
− Coverage and Capacity Dimensioning.
− Frequency and Neighbor Planning.
3
5/24/2011
Part II- Radio Network Optimization
What will be our concern during this part of the course?

 RF Optimization
How the RF Optimization people can maintain the KPIs?
 By studying the different radio network features and studying the controlling
parameters of each feature and how to tune them in a smart way to achieve
the target KPIs.
What are we going to study during this part of the course?

 Most of the Radio Network features and their controlling parameters.
 KPIs monitoring and analysis.
 Trouble shooting and Tuning.
Part II- Radio Network Optimization
Course Outlines:
− Idle Mode Behavior.
− Handover.
− HCS (Hierarchical Cell Structure).
− Concentric & Multi Band Cells.
− CLS ( Cell Load Sharing).
− Frequency Hopping.
− Intra Cell Handover.
− Dynamic HR Allocation.
− Power Control.
− GSM to UMTS Cell Reselection and Handover.
− Trouble Shooting and KPIs monitoring.
4
5/24/2011
5
5/24/2011
GSM Revision
• GSM stands for “ Global System for Mobile Communication”
• GSM
– Second Generation for Mobile System.
– Digital System.
– Efficient Use of the Spectrum.
– Speech privacy and security.
– Better resistance to interference (Introducing the frequency Hopping)
– Efficient use of the power battery (Introducing the power control)
– GSM Networks are called “PLMN: Public Land Mobile Networks” i.e.
the Radio Sites are located on land, not using satellites.
GSM Revision
• GSM System can work in different bands as follows:
Frequency Band-Down Link Frequency Band-Up Link

GSM 800 869  894 MHz 824  849 MHz
E-GSM (Extended GSM) 925  935 MHz 880  890 MHz
P-GSM 900 (Primary GSM) 935  960 MHz 890  915 MHz
GSM 1800 (DCS) 1805  1880 MHz 1710  1785 MHz
GSM 1900 (PCS) 1930  1990 MHz 1850  1910 MHz
– DCS: Digital Cellular System PCS: Personal Communication Services.
• But what do we mean by frequency Band?

• What is the DL and UL?
• Why DL is higher than UL band?
6
5/24/2011
GSM Revision
• Frequency Band
– The range of frequencies which the operator is allowed to use for
transmission and reception.
• Down Link and Up link bands

– DL band is the range of frequencies used by the Base station when
transmitting to the MS while the UL band is the range of frequencies used by
the Mobile station when transmitting to the Base Station.
GSM Revision
• Why DL band is higher than the UL band?

– As freq then attenuation with air
– Since Power BaseStation > Power MobileStation then it is wise to configure the
higher frequencies that will be attenuated fast to the side that is using
higher power (BTS).
7
5/24/2011
Access Techniques
 What do we mean by Multiple Access techniques?

These are the Techniques through which many MSs can access the shared media
which is the air interface.
i. FDMA ( Frequency Division Multiple Access)
− Each MS is assigned a dedicated frequency through which he can
talk.
ii. TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access)
− All MSs are using the same frequency but each of them will be
utilizing it only over a certain period of time called Time Slot (TS)
 In GSM System we’re using TDMA over FDMA where the frequency
band is divided into no. of frequencies each of which is shared
among no. of MSs, where each MS will be assigned a certain TS on
certain frequency.
GSM Revision
• For P-GSM (GSM 900)
– UL Band 890MHz  915MHz, DL Band 935MHz  960MHz
– Each Band is 25 MHz
– Guard Band between DL and UL is 20 MHz
– Duplex Distance = 45 MHz
– Carrier separation = 200 KHz
– No. of frequencies = 124
Downlink 935 – 960 MHz
Uplink 890 – 915 MHz
200 KHz
890.2 890.6 Uplink
1 2 3 4 121
121 122 123 124
890 890.4 915 F (MHz)
935.2 935.6 Downlink

1 2 3 4 121
121 122 123 124
935 935.4 960 F (MHz)
GSM 900 Frequency Allocation
8
5/24/2011
GSM Revision
• For the all GSM Bands
System P-GSM 900 E-GSM 900 GSM(DCS) 1800 GSM(PCS) 1900
Uplink (MS  BS) 890 – 915 MHz 880 – 915 MHz 1710 – 1785 MHz 1850 – 1910 MHz
Downlink(BS MS) 935 – 960 MHz 925 - 960 MHz 1805 - 1880 MHz 1930 - 1990 MHz
Wavelength  33 cm  33 cm  17 cm  16 cm
Bandwidth 25 MHz 35 MHz 75 MHz 60 MHz
Duplex distance 45 MHz 45 MHz 95 MHz 80 MHz
Carrier separation 200 kHz 200 kHz 200 kHz 200 kHz
No. of carriers 124 174 374 299
Channel rate 270.8 kbps 270.8 kbps 270.8 kbps 270.8 kbps
GSM Network Architecture
9
5/24/2011
Core Network (NSS: Network Switching System)
 MSC (Mobile Switching Center)

– Routing/Switching of calls between 2 end users within the
GSM Network.
– Charging & Billing.
– Paging of MSs is originated from the MSC
– Access to PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network)
– Act as a Gateway for other networks.
– Controls no. of BSCs connected to it.
Core Network (NSS: Network Switching System)
 HLR (Home Location Register)

– Centralized Network data base stores and manages all mobile subscriptions.
– Example: IMSI, MSISDN, MSRN, Services subscribed/restricted for that user.
IMSI,MSISDN.ppt
 VLR (Visitor Location Register)
– It is co-located with the MSC.
– Stored in it a copy of the user’s profile on temporary basis.
 AUC (Authentication Center)
– Provides the HLR with the authentication parameters and ciphering Keys used
by the MSC/VLR to authenticate certain user. (Triplets: RAND, SRES, Kc)
Authentication.ppt
 EIR (Equipment Identification Register)
– Used to authenticate the user equipment through the IMEI.
IMEI = International Mobile Equipment Identification
10
5/24/2011
BSS (Base Station System)

 BSC (Base Station Controller)
– It controls the air interface, it takes the decisions based on the reports came
from the MS and BTS.
– Channel Allocation.
– Controls the Handover Process.
– Dynamic Power Control.
– Frequency Hopping.
 BTS (Base Transceiver Station)

– It is the Hardware equipment needed to provide the radio coverage.
– Speech Coding/Channel Coding/Interleaving/Ciphering/Burst
formatting/Modulation all these are done within the BTS (RBS=Radio Base
Station)
– Equipment: Cabinet, jumpers, feeders, combiners, antennas.
MS (Mobile Station)
 Mobile Equipment
– Transmit the radio waves.
– Speech coding and decoding.
– Call control.
– Performance measurement of radio link.
 SIM card (Subscriber Identification Module)

– Stores user addresses (IMSI, MSISDN, TMSI).
– Stores authentication key Ki, authentication algorithm A3 and
ciphering algorithm A8&A5
– Stores the subscribed services.
11
5/24/2011
• Over the Air Interface

– Frequency Band is divided into no. of frequencies.
– Each frequency is divided into 8 Time slots (TS)
– Each user will be assigned 1 TS.
– One time slot duration = duration of 156.25 bits
– 1 Bit duration=3.7 µsec
– Time slot duration =156.25x3.69 µsec= 0.577 msec
– 1 Frame = 8 TSs
– Frame duration=0.577x8= 4.616 msec
– Bit rate on the air interface is 270 Kbps, but for each user it
is 33.8 Kbps
Physical Channels vs. Logical Channels
 Physical channel: Time slot is called the physical channel.

 Logical channel: It is the content that will be sent over the physical
channel.
12
5/24/2011
Logical Channels
Logical Channels
Traffic Channels Control Channels
Half Rate Full Rate

Broadcast Dedicated
Common
Frequency Correction Channel Paging Channel Fast Associated Control Channel
Synchronization Channel Access Grant Channel Cell Broadcast Control Channel
Broadcast Control Channel Random Access Channel Slow Associated Control Channel
Standalone Dedicated Control Channel
Traffic Channels
 Full Rate Channels (FR)

– Carries user’s speech traffic or user data DL and UL.
– Each user is assigned 1 TS.
– Transmission rate is 13 Kbit/s.
 Half Rate Channels (HR)

– Carries user’s speech traffic or user data DL and UL.
– 2 users will share 1 TS (physical channel), each of them will be utilizing
it each frame.
– Transmission rate is 6.5 Kbit/s
13
5/24/2011
Control Channels
 These are used to carry signaling or synchronization data,

they’re divided into three types:
– Broadcast Channels (BCH)
– Common Control Channels (CCCH)
– Dedicated Control Channels (DCCH)
BCH (Broad Cast Control Channels)
i. Frequency Correction Channel (FCCH)

– Pure signal is transmitted to help the MS to lock on the frequency of
the BTS and synchronize to its frequency. (DL channel)
ii. Synchronization Channel (SCH)

– Carries the TDMA frame number.
– BSIC (Base Station Identification Code) of the cell. (DL Channel)
iii. BCCH (Broad Cast Control Channel)

– LAI (Location Area Identity)
– Cell parameters (used power, Idle mode parameters,…..etc)
– List of BCCH carries of the neighbor cells i.e. “BA List” (DL Channel)
14
5/24/2011
CCCH (Common Control Channels)
i. Paging Channel (PCH)

– Used to inform the MS of an incoming call or sms, where the MS’s
IMSI/TMSI will be sent over it. (DL channel)
ii. Random Access Channel (RACH)

– Used by the MS to ask for an SDCCH to respond to the request send on
the paging channel /initiate a call/location update/IMSI attach-detach.
(UL Channel)
iii. AGCH (Access Grant Channel)

– Used by the network to assign an SDCCH sub-channel for the MS. (DL
channel)
DCCH (Dedicated Control Channels)
i. Standalone Dedicated Control Channel (SDCCH)

– Used for signaling purposes: call setup, location update, IMSI attach-detach
– Used to send/receive SMSs in idle mode. (DL/UL channel)
ii. Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH)

– Always allocated in conjunction with traffic channel/SDCCH channel to
transmit measurement reports.
– DL measurement reports will include commands from the network to the
MS to adjust its power level.
– Information about the Time Advance.
– UL measurement reports will include information about the MS own power,
received SS & Quality from serving cell and SS from neighbor cells.
– Used to send SMSs in active mode. (DL/UL channel)
15
5/24/2011
DCCH (Dedicated Control Channels)
iii. Fast Associated Control Channel (FACCH)

– Used to send necessary Handover information.
– Work in stealing Mode such that 1 TCH channel is replaced by FACCH
to send the HO information. (DL/UL channel)
iv. Cell Broad Cast Channel (CBCH)

– It is sent point to multi point i.e. from the cell to the mobiles attached
to it, this channel may carry information about the traffic, weather
reports,…etc. (DL channel)
Mapping of Logical Channels on the Physical channels
Mapping on TS0/BCCH carrier (DL)
51 consecutive control frames = 1 Control multi frame

Where F:FCCH, S:SCH, B:BCCH, C:PCH/AGCH
16
5/24/2011
 Mapping on TS0/BCCH carrier (UL)
 TS0 in UL is reserved for the RACH, for the MS to access the system.
 Mapping on TS1/BCCH carrier (DL)
Where D:SDCCH, A:SACCH
17
5/24/2011
Mapping on TS1/BCCH carrier (UL)
 Mapping on TS2/BCCH carrier (DL/UL) if it will be used by certain

MS in active mode
26 consecutive Traffic frames = 1 Traffic multi frame

18
5/24/2011
TDMA Multi Frames Structure
 Traffic Multi Frames

– Traffic Multi Frame = 26 consecutive traffic frames (4.61msec x 26
=120msec)
 Control Multi Frames
– Control Multi Frame = 51 consecutive Control frames (4.61msec x 51
=235msec)
• Super Frame
 51 consecutive Traffic Multi Frames or 26 consecutive Control
Multi Frames
– Super Frame = 6.12 seconds
• Hyper Frame
 2048 consecutive super Frames
– Hyper Frame = 3 hours and 29 minutes nearly.
19
5/24/2011
IMSI : International Mobile Subscriber Identity

IMSI = MCC + MNC + MSIN
MCC= Mobile Country Code (3 digits)
MNC= Mobile Network Code (2 digit )
MSIN= Mobile Subscriber Identification Number (10 digits)
MCC MNC MSIN

(3 digits) (2 digits) (10 digits)
Ex: IMSI = MCC-MNC-MSIN = 602-03-1234567890 where,

602  Egypt Country Code
03 Etisalat Network Code
1234567890  Mobile Subscriber Identification Number
20
5/24/2011
MSISDN : Mobile Station Integrated Services Digital Network

MSISDN = CC + NDC + SN
CC= Country Code (2-3 digits)
NDC= Network Destination Code (2-3 digit )
SN= Subscriber Number ( max 10 digits)
CC NDC SN
(2-3 digits) (2-3 digits) (max. 10 digits)
Ex: MSISDN = CC-NDC-SN =+20-10-1234567 where,

10 Vodafone Network Code
1234567  Subscriber Number
LAI : Location Area Identity

LAI = MCC + MNC + LAC
MCC= Mobile Country Code (2-3 digits)
MNC= Mobile Network Code (2-3 digit )
LAC= Location Area Code ( max 5 digits)
MCC MNC LAC

(2-3 digits) (2-3 digits) (max.5 digits)
Ex: LAI= MCC-MNC-LAC = 602-01-12345 where,

01 Mobinil Network Code
12345  Location Area Code
21
5/24/2011
CGI : Cell Global Identity

CGI = LAI + CI = MCC + MNC + LAC + CI
MCC = Mobile Country Code (2-3 digits)
MNC = Mobile Network Code (2-3 digit )
LAC = Location Area Code ( max 5 digits)
CI = Cell Identity ( max 5 digits)
MCC MNC LAC CI

(2-3 digits) (2-3 digits) (max. 5 digits) (max. 5 digits)
Ex: CGI = MCC-MNC-LAC-CI = 602-01-12345-11223 where,

01 Mobinil Network Code
12345  Location Area Code
11223  Cell Identity
IMEI : International Mobile Equipment Identification

IMEI = TAC + FAC + SNR + spare (15 digits)
TAC = Type Approval Code, determined by a central GSM body(6 digits)
FAC = Final Assembly Code, identified the manufacturer (2 digit )
SNR = Serial Number( 6 digits)
spare = A spare bit for future use, when transmitted by MS it is always zero.
( 1 digit)
22
5/24/2011
AUC : Authentication Center

- In the AUC the below table is stored, such that for each user there is a unique
authentication key (Ki)
User# IMSI Authentication Key
User1 MCC+MNC+MSIN1 Ki1
- On authenticating certain user, the AUC will generate the triplets: RAND,SRES,Kc
- AUC generates a random no. “RAND” and send it to the MS
- Both the AUC and the MS will use RAND + Ki and Algorithm A3 to produce the
SRES(Signed Response)
RAND1 RAND1
A3 (SRES1)_AUC A3 (SRES1)_MS
Ki1 Ki1
AUC side MS Side

- VLR will take the results from AUC and MS and if:
(SRES1)_AUC = (SRES2)_MS  then the MS is Authenticated 
23
5/24/2011
AUC : Authentication Center

- The AUC is responsible also for generating the ciphering Key (Kc) for each user.
RAND1 RAND1
A8 Kc_AUC A8 Kc_MS
Ki1 Ki1
AUC side MS Side

- Kc_AUC should be equal Kc_MS, so the data encrypted by the network can be
de-ciphered by the MS.
Ciphering Process:
TDMA Frame no. Kc_AUC TDMA Frame no. Kc_MS
A5 A5
Ciphered Speech
Speech + + Speech
Network side MS side
24
5/24/2011
• MS in Idle Mode
– Doesn’t have a dedicated channel, but able to access the Network and
able to be reached by the Network.
– MS will always try to camp on the best cell based on the signal
strength criterion.
– MS will continuously monitor the serving and neighbor BCCH carriers

to decide which cell to camp on.
– The purpose behind studying the Idle Mode Behavior is to always

ensure that the MS is camped on the cell where it has the highest
probability of successful communication.
25
5/24/2011
• MS Tasks during Idle Mode
– PLMN Selection.
– Cell Selection.
– Cell Reselection.
– Location Updating.
– Monitor the Incoming Paging.
– PLMN Selection
– Cell Selection.
26
5/24/2011
• PLMN Selection Criterion

– PLMN identity is defined as “MCC+MNC” which is part of the LAI,
where LAI=MCC+MNC+LAC.
MCC: Mobile Country Code - MNC: Mobile Network Code - LAC:
Location Area Code
– When the MS is powered “ON”, it will check if it needs to perform a

Location Update by comparing the new LAI with the old stored one.
– An MS will need to make a PLMN selection only incase:

1. MS is powered “ON” for the 1st time i.e. No PLMN was registered on
before
(No Information on MCC&MNC is stored on SIM)
2. Old PLMN is not available any more (Out of coverage/Roaming)

– When the MS has to do a PLMN selection due to one of the previous
cases, the selection mode will depend on the MS settings either
Automatic or Manual.
– Automatic PLMN Selection Mode steps:
1. Home PLMN.
2. Each PLMN stored on the SIM card in priority order.
3. Other PLMNs have Signal Strength > -85 dBm.
4. All other PLMNs in order of decreasing Signal Strength.
– Manual PLMN Selection Mode:

1. Home PLMN.
2. All other available PLMNs and give the user the choice to select.
27
5/24/2011

 National Roaming
– If National Roaming is permitted then a MS can register on a PLMN in
its home country other than its home PLMN.
– National Roaming may be allowed on a certain location areas (LAs) of

the visitor PLMN.
– MS should periodically try to access back his home PLMN, but this
periodic attempts will occur only on automatic selection mode.
– PLMN Selection.
– Cell Selection
28
5/24/2011
• Cell Selection Criterion
– The Cell Selection algorithm tries to find the most suitable cell in the
selected PLMN and make the MS camp on.
– Cell Selection is done by the MS itself.
– During Idle Mode the Network doesn’t know the cell which the MS is
camping on, it only knows the Location Area where the mobile registed
himself in.
• Cell Selection Criterion Scan RF Frequencies one by

one and calculates the Average
received signal strength over 3
 5 seconds
Tune to the RF Frequency with Tune to the next higher

the highest average received frequency that wasn‟t tried
signal strength before
Check if the chosen frequency is a

BCCH carrier frequency or not No
Yes
MS will synchronize to the BCCH
frequency and read system
information (LAI,BA List,…etc)
Check if PLMN is desired or not

No
Yes
Check if Cell is barred or not
Yes
No
Check if C1 > 0 or not
Yes No
Camp on the Cell
29
5/24/2011

– Scanning RF Frequencies may occur in 2 ways:
1. Normal Scanning: Scan all Frequencies in the band ex:124 freq. in
GSM900 Band.
2. Stored List Scanning: Scan the Frequencies in the Idle BA list (BCCH
Allocation) stored on the MS SIM before being switched off.
(BA list can have maximum 32 frequencies)
 If MS found cell belongs to the desired PLMN but not suitable, the
MS will start to scan the Idle BA list of this cell.

– Cell is said to be suitable if:
1. Cell belongs to the desired PLMN
 If at least 30 strongest frequencies from GSM900 band were tried
and no suitable
cell was found, then the MS will try another PLMN based on PLMN
criterion.
2. Cell is not Barred ( CB = NO)

 Some cells can be barred for access at selection and reselection or
given lower
priority based on settings of parameters: CB
3. C1 > 0
30
5/24/2011

– C1 is called “Cell Selection Quantity”
– It is calculated at the MS based on the below equation:
C1 = (Received SS – ACCMIN) – max (CCHPWR-P,0)
ACCMIN  Minimum allowed DL received SS at the MS in order to access the
system
CCHPWR  Maximum allowed transmitting power by the MS in the UL.
P  Maximum out put power of the MS according to its class.
N.B:
1. ACCMIN and CCHPWR are cell parameters sent to the MS at the BCCH
channel.
2. If CCHPWR > P then C1 will decrease and so the Received SS should be large
enough to keep C1 > 0 (May be this cell is not designed for this MS class)
3. ACCMIN, CCHPWR, P are all measured in dBm, where C1&C2 are measured
in dBs
– PLMN Selection.
– Cell Selection.
– Cell Reselection
31
5/24/2011
• Cell Reselection Criterion

– After a cell has been selected, the MS will start the cell reselection
measurements to know if it is better to stay on the current cell or to
camp on another cell.
– Cell reselection measurements:
1. Monitors the SS (Signal Strength) of the BCCH carrier of the serving
cell.
2. Monitors the SS of the BCCH carrier of all defined neighbors in the
Idle BA list.
3. Continuously read system information sent on the serving BCCH
carrier at least every 30 seconds.
4. Continuously read system information sent on the BCCH carrier for
the six strongest neighbors at least every 5 minutes.
5. Try to decode BSIC of the six strongest neighbors every 30 seconds to
assure that it is still monitoring the same cells.

– Cell reselection measurements summary
BSIC BCCH Data (System Information)

Serving Cell - Every 30 Seconds
Six Strongest Neighbors Every 30 Every 5 Minutes
Seconds
32
5/24/2011

– When Cell Reselection will occur ?
1. Serving Cell became barred ( CB = YES )
2. C1 serving cell falls below zero for more than 5 seconds.
3. MS tried to access the network through this cell unsuccessfully for

the allowed no. of times defined by the parameter MAXRET
4. C2 neighbor cell ( one of the six strongest neighbors) became greater than
C2 serving cell for more than 5 seconds.
5. MS detects Downlink Signaling Failure.

– What will happen when the MS needs to make cell reselection?
 The MS will camp on the cell that has the highest C2 value.
– C2 is called “Cell Reselection Quantity”

C2 = C1 + CRO – TO * H( PT – T ) where PT ≠ 31
C2 = C1 – CRO where PT = 31
0, X<0
Where H(x)
1, X≥0
CRO  Cell Reselection Offset, unit = 2 dB, value range = 0 to 63
TO Temporary Offset, unit = 10 dB, value range = 0 to 7
PT  Penalty Time during which TO is valid
T  Initiated from zero when the MS places the neighbor in the list of
the Six Strongest
33
5/24/2011

– CRO : defines a signal strength offset to encourage or discourage MSs
to reselect that cell.
– TO : defines a negative temporary offset for certain time according to
settings of PT (Practically this is useful to prevent fast moving MS from
camping on microcells)
– PT: If PT is set to 31, this means that a (–ve) SS offset “CRO” will be
applied to this cell and it appears less favorite for cell reselection.

 Down Link Signaling Failure Algorithm
– The Algorithm of type “Leaky Bucket” and used a counter “D”, where D
= 90/MFRMS
– MFRMS is a cell parameter defines the no. of multiframes between
the transmission of each paging group i.e. if MFRMS=4 then a MS
attached to a certain paging group will wait in sleeping mode for 4
multiframes (4*235msec) until it is up again to listen to paging.
– When the MS is up to listen to its paging group, if the message is not
decoded successfully then D is decremented by 4 and if the message is
decoded correctly then D is incremented by 1.
– If D reaches zero, then a Down Link Signaling Failure is detected and
cell reselection took place.
34
5/24/2011

 Down Link Signaling Failure Algorithm
– Ex: Assume that MFRMS = 4
Downlink signaling failure counter is initialized: D = round(90/MFRMS)=22.
If the MS unsuccessfully decodes a paging message, then: D = D - 4 = 18.
If the MS successfully decodes a paging message, then: D = D + 1 = 19.
 If D reaches zero, then a Down Link Signaling Failure is detected and

cell reselection took place.
N.B: D can’t exceed the bucket size given by round(90/MFRMS)

 CRH ( Cell Reselection Hysteresis )
– Cell Reselection between two cells lie in two different Location Areas,
will be accompanied by Location Update.
– At the border between cells the Signal level may be comparable, cell
reselection may occur many times accompanied by many location
updating leading to huge signaling load.
– To avoid this, a parameter CRH is introduced such that a cell in another

location area LA2 should have C2LA2 should greater than C2LA1 of
serving cell lie in LA1 by at least CRH in order to be selected.
– If C2LA1 = 5 dB, CRH = 4 dB, then C2LA2 ≥ 9 dB in order to be selected.
35
5/24/2011
– PLMN Selection.
– Cell Selection.
– Location Updating
• Location Updating
– To make it possible for the mobile subscriber to receive a call and
initiate a call whenever needed, the network must know where the
MS is located whenever it moves that’s why Location Updating is
needed.
– In the Idle Mode, the Network knows the location of the MS on a

Location area resolution not on a cell resolution.
– There are three different types of location updating defined:

1. Normal Location Updating.
2. Periodic registration.
3. IMSI attach & IMSI detach (when the MS informs the network when
it enters an inactive state)
36
5/24/2011
1. Normal Location Updating

– Initiated by the MS when it enters a cell belongs to a new Location Area
(LA).
– The MS will compare the LAIold stored on the SIM with the LAInew
broadcasted from the new cell and it will found them different so it’ll
perform Location Update type normal.
2. Periodic Registration
– Regularly the MS should update the Network with its current location
Area.
– The Network will inform the MS how often it should report the location
Area he is registering himself in.
– Based on the value of the Parameter T3212 the MS will know how
frequent it should make periodic registration.
– T3212 take values from 1 (6min) to 255 (25.5 Hours), default = 40 (4 Hours)
– MSC has a supervision time = BTDM+GTDM if it doesn’t hear from the MS
during this period, the MSC will consider the MS implicitly detached.
– BTDM+GTDM should > T3212 , to not consider the MS detach before
periodic location update is performed.
37
5/24/2011
3. IMSI Attach/Detach
– IMSI attach/detach operation is an action taken by the MS to inform the
Network either it will go to inactive state (Power off) or it returned back to
idle mode.
– ATT is a cell parameter that will inform the MS whether IMSI attach/detach
is operational or not.
– If ATT=Yes, then before the MS will be switched off, it will send an IMSI
detach request to the Network, so no paging messages will be sent to this
MS while it is in this state.
– When the MS is switched on again it will send an IMSI attach request to
the Network so now paging messages can be sent normally to this MS.
– PLMN Selection.
– Cell Selection.
– Monitor the Incoming Paging
38
5/24/2011
• Monitor the Incoming Paging

 Let us revise the DL logical channels and their mapping:
I) BCH(Broadcast Channels): including
FCCH(Frequency Correction Channel)
SCH(Synchronization Channel) Always Mapped on TS0/C0
BCCH(Broadcast Control Channel)
II) CCCH(Common Control Channels): including
PCH(Paging Channel) Always Mapped on TS0/C0
AGCH(Access Grant Channel)
III) DCCH(Dedicated Control Channels): including
SDCCH(Stand Alone Dedicated Control Channel) May be Mapped on either
SACCH(Slow Associated Control Channel) TS1/C0 or TS0/C0
CBCH(Cell Broadcast Channel)
FACH(Fast Associated Control Channel) “ Work in Stealing mode
by replacing the TCH time slot”
Frame 1 Frame 2 Frame 3 Frame 4 Frame 5 Frame 6 Frame 7
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
F S B B B B C
F S B C F S C C F S C C F S C C F S C C I
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51
Default Mapping on TS0/C0 (BCH+CCCH) “Non

Combined Mode”
51 TDMA Frames = 1 Control Multi-frame
39
5/24/2011
Default Mapping on TS1/C0

(SDCCH+SACCH+CBCH(optional))

Combination of Control channels (Different Mapping Criteria)
− Mapping on TS0/C0 is controlled by Parameter called BCCHTYPE
− BCCHTYPE = NCOMB (Non Combined, BCH&CCCH)TS1/C0 will carry

SDCCH+SACCH
= COMB (Combined, BCH&CCCH&SDCCH/4) TS1/C0 will be free for

TCH
= COMBC (Combined with cell broadcast channel CBCH is in use,

BCH&CCCH&SDCCH/4&CBCH)  TS1/C0 will be free for TCH
40
5/24/2011

− SDCCH may have on of the following 4 configurations based on parameter

SDCCH
− SDCCH = (i) SDCCH/8 (8 SDCCH Sub-channels i.e. make call setup for 8 users)
= (ii) SDCCH/8 including CBCH (7 SDCCH Sub-channels + 1 CBCH)
 For these two cases, the BCCHTYPE=NCOMB and the mapping of the SDCCH
channel is done on TS1/C0
= (iii) SDCCH/4 (4 SDCCH Sub-channels)

= (iv) SDCCH/4 including CBCH(3 SDCCH Sub-channels + 1 CBCH)
 For these two cases, the BCCHTYPE=COMB or COMBC and the mapping of the
SDCCH channel is done on TS0/C0

Non Default Mapping on TS0/C0 (BCH+CCCH)

2*51 TDMA Frames = 2 Control Multi-frame
41
5/24/2011

The Table below summarizes all the previous details
Default Mapping (Non Combined) Non Default Mapping (Combined)

BCH+CCCH on TS0/C0 and
BCH+CCCH+SDCCH+SACCH+CBCH on TS0/C0
SDCCH+SACCH+CBCH on TS1/C0
CBCH doesn't exist CBCH exist CBCH doesn't exist CBCH exist
1 block for BCCH 1 block for BCCH 1 block for BCCH 1 block for BCCH
9 blocks for CCCH 9 blocks for CCCH 3 blocks for CCCH 3 blocks for CCCH
8 blocks for SDDCH 7 blocks for SDDCH 4 blocks for SDDCH 3 blocks for SDDCH
1 block for CBCH 1 block for CBCH

Paging Groups
− The MS will monitor the incoming paging in only specific times, and the rest of
the time it will remain in sleeping mode.
− In this way we save the MS battery and we decrease the UL interference on the
system.
− The MS will monitor the incoming paging when the “Paging Group” assigned for
this MS is transmitted only.
− The CCCH block can be used by either PCH or AGCH.
− When the CCCH block is used for paging it will be called “Paging Block”
− The Paging Block consists of 4 consecutive Time slots lie in 4 consecutive frames.
− The Paging Block can be used to page 4/3/2 users according to IMSI or TMSI is
used when paging the MS ( Length IMSI = 2 TS, Length TMSI = 1 TS)
− The group of users belong to the same paging block will be called “Paging
Group”
42
5/24/2011
Frame 1 Frame 2 Frame 3 Frame 4 Frame 5 Frame 6 Frame 7
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
F S B B B B C
F S B C F S C C F S C C F S C C F S C C I
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51
Default Mapping on TS0/C0 (BCH+CCCH) “Non

Combined Mode”
51 TDMA Frames = 1 Control Multi-frame

Paging Groups
− As appeared the MS will listen to paging in only specific times.
− The MS will utilize the time between the 4 TS that lie in 4 consecutive frames to
make the required measurements on the neighbor cells.
43
5/24/2011

Paging Groups
− How many Paging Groups we have? This will depend on a parameter MFRMS
− MFRMS is a parameter defined per cell and it defines how frequent the paging
group assigned for certain MS will be transmitted.
− MFRMS takes values from 1 to 9,
 if MFRMS=1 then the paging group assigned for certain MS will be transmitted
every 1 control Multiframes=235 msec
 if MFRMS=9 then the paging group assigned for certain MS will be transmitted
every 9 control Multiframes = 9*235msec=2.3 seconds.
− If MFRMS is large:
Positive Side: The MS battery life time will increase coz the MS remains in sleeping
mode for longer time + paging capacity will increase.
Negative Side: Call setup time will increase coz the paging won’t be sent to the MS
except when the time of its paging group came.

Paging Strategies
− Paging Strategies are controlled by parameters in the MSC.
− Setting of parameters will decide whether the paging will be local paging (within
the LA) or global paging (within the MSC service area).
− Setting of parameters will decide also whether paging will be done via IMSI or
TMSI.
− Using the parameters we can decide also how the second paging will be incase
the first paging failed, ex: If 1st paging was local with TMSI then we can set the
2nd paging to be global with IMSI.
44
5/24/2011
• Related Feature to the Idle Mode Behavior

Adaptive Configuration of Logical Channels (ACLC)
− As we know the SDCCH channel is used for signaling i.e. call setup, while the TCH
channel is used to carry real user traffic (speech/data).
− As per the GSM standards, the GOS for TCH=2% i.e. within 100 calls if 2 of them
are blocked then this will be acceptable, for the SDCCH/8 the GOS=0.5% and for
the SDCCH/4 the GOS=1%
− As we know in the default settings for frequency C0, TS0 is used to carry
BCH+CCCH and TS1 used to carry SDCCH+SACCH, and TS2TS7 used to carry
speech/data

− Now if the signaling load is high, ex: many users need to make call setup, then
high blocking will occur exceeding the acceptable value = 0.5%
− To solve the blocking we have 2 ways:

i) Static configuration of a TCH TS to be used as SDCCH forever
( Now TS1&TS2 used for SDDCH+SACCH and TS3TS7 used to carry speech/data)
 But in this case we lost 1 TCH channel i.e. 5 users can talk simultaneously instead
of 6
ii) Adaptive configuration of a TCH TS to be used as SDCCH/8 when there is high
SDCCH utilization only
( Now TS1&TS2 used for SDDCH+SACCH and TS3TS7 used to carry speech/data,
but when the utilization is back to its normal trend, TS2 will be configured back
automatically as a TCH and used to carry speech/data)
45
5/24/2011

 Main Controlling Parameters:

ACSTATE: Activates/Deactivates the feature on cell basis, values: ON/OFF
SLEVEL: No. of Idle SDCCH sub-channels below which the feature will work.
 The conditions that should be fulfilled for the ACLC feature to work:
1) ACSTATE=ON
2) No. of Idle SDCCH sub-channels ≤ SLEVEL (Indication for high utilization)
3) No. of already defined SDCCH channels/8 < Max. allowed configuration of
SDCCHs in the cell.
4) No. of Idle TCHs > 4
• Parameters Summary
SCH Parameters
Parameter Name Value Range Recommended Value Unit
BSIC NCC: 0 to 7 BCC: 0 to 7 ─ ─
RACH Control Parameters

MAXRET 1,2,4,7 4 ─
Control Channel Parameters

BCCHTYPE COMB COMBC NCOMB NCOMB ─
0 to 16 (0: No SDCCH/8
SDCCH 1 ─
configured-combined mode)
IMSI Attach/Detach Parameters

ATT Yes, No Yes ─
46
5/24/2011
Paging Parameters and Periodic Update
Parameter
Value Range Recommended Value Unit
Name
Control Channel Multi
MFRMS 2 to 9 6
frame
AGBLK 0 or 1 0 ─
0 to 255 (0: infinite-No periodic
T3212 40 6 minutes
registeration)
Cell Selection and Reselection Parameters

Parameter
Name
ACCMIN − 47 dBm to −110 dBm −110 dBm dBm
GSM900: 13 to 43 in steps of 2 GSM900: 33 dBm
CCHPWR dBm
GSM1800: 4 to 30 in steps of 2 GSM1800: 30 dBm
CRO 0 to 63 0 2 dB
TO 0 to 7 (7:infinite) 0 10 dB
PT 0 to 31 0
CRH 0 to 14 in steps of 2 dB
47
5/24/2011
• Handover (Locating) Algorithm
– The Handover (Locating) Algorithm is the basic feature to provide mobility in

the Radio Network.
– Aims At? i) Keep the continuity of a current call with acceptable quality.
ii) Cell size control in-order to decrease total interference in the
system.
– Implemented where? In the BSC.
– Location process initiated when? After Hand Over (HO), Assignment or
Immediate Assignment.
– Inputs to the Algorithm? Signal Strength, Quality measurements &TA for
serving cell and Signal Strength measurements for neighbor cells.
– Output from the Algorithm? List of candidates which the algorithm judges to be
possible candidates for HO (List of HO candidates are ranked and sorted in
descending order)
48
5/24/2011
– What types of Handover (locating) algorithm we have?

i) SS & Path Loss based Algorithm: Follows the GSM specifications. HO decision is
taken based on both Signal Strength (SS) and Path Loss.
ii) SS based Algorithm: HO decision is taken based on Signal Strength only and
this leads to better performance.
It is less complex, uses less parameters and easy to be maintained in the Radio
Network.

– The main Flow of the Handover (locating) Algorithm goes as follow:
Initiations Filtering Basic Urgency Conditions

Ranking Handling
Auxiliary Radio Network

Features Evaluation
Organizing the List
Sending the List

& Allocation
Reply
49
5/24/2011
– Initiation
– Filtering.
– Basic Ranking.
– Urgency Conditions Handling.
– Auxiliary Radio Network Features Evaluation.
– Organizing the List.
– Sending the List & Allocation Reply
• Initiation of the Handover (Locating) Process/Algorithm

 The Locating Process is initiated when one of the following occurs:
1. Handover: Normal, Intra Cell HO (IHO), Sub-cell change (OLUL or

ULOL)
2. Assignment: Allocation of TCH channel after completing call setup on

SDCCH.
3. Immediate assignment: You are assigned SDCCH to make call setup, or a

TCH to make call setup on when no free SDCCH channels exist.
50
5/24/2011
– Initiation
– Filtering
– Basic Ranking.
• Filtering
− Simply it is the process of collecting the required data on Signal Strength

(SS), Quality and Time Advance (TA) for serving and neighbor cells and
average these consecutive measurements over a specified period to rank
these cells.
− This is accomplished in two steps:

1. Measurements preparation
2. SS, Quality and TA filtering
51
5/24/2011
• Filtering
1. Measurements preparation
− Data that is measured:
Cell on which measurements Who makes the

Measured Quantity
are reported measurements?
SS DL MS
Quality DL (rxqual_DL) MS
Serving Cell
Quality UL (rxqual_UL) BTS
TA BTS
6 Strongest neighbor cells SS DL MS
− The MS can measure the SS of up to 32 neighbor frequencies but only the six
strongest neighbors (which it succeeded to decode its BSIC over the last 10
seconds) are reported and considered candidates for HO.
• Filtering
1. Measurements Preparation
− SS measurements are delivered as integer values 0  63 corresponds to real SS
from
-110 dBm  - 47 dBm
− Quality is measured based on the BER and it may be represented in two forms:
i) Integers 0 (Best)  7 (Worst)
ii) Decitransformed Quality units (dtqu) from 0 (Best)  70 (Worst)
− Time Advance (TA) is reported as values between 0  63 bit period.

N.B: If TA=1 then the MS is at nearly 0.5 km from the cell
52
5/24/2011
• Filtering
2. SS, Quality and TA filtering:

− The consecutive measurements for SS, Quality and TA are averaged in some
way based on the equation of the filter used.
− We’ve 5 Types of Filters that may be used, each one has its own equation or its
way to produce output results from the collected consecutive measurements:
A. General FIR filters (Finite Impulse response)
B. Recursive Straight Average filter
C. Recursive exponential filter
D. Recursive 1st order Butterworth filter
E. Median filter
• Filtering
2. SS, Quality and TA filtering:
− In addition to the way each filter use to produce output results from the
consecutive measurements, each filter has what we call filter length which is
the period over which measurements are considered.
− We have controlling parameters on cell basis to select the type of filter used
and the length of the filter.
− Also the type of the filter used in signaling (call setup) and dedicated phases
may be configured separately as we’ll see.
53
5/24/2011
– Initiation
– Filtering
– Basic Ranking
• Basic Ranking
− It is called “Basic” coz in this stage ranking is done before handling the urgency
conditions and evaluation of the auxiliary radio network features.
− As mentioned earlier, two algorithms are available for basic ranking (SS&Path
loss based Algorithm and SS based Algorithm) and they’re selected according
to the parameter EVALTYPE
− EVALTYPE=1, SS & Path loss based Algorithm is used for basic ranking taking
into consideration both Signal Strength measurements and the path loss.
− EVALTYPE=3, SS based Algorithm is used for basic ranking taking into

consideration Signal Strength measurements only.
54
5/24/2011
• Basic Ranking
Basic Ranking Algorithm following the SS based Algorithm will be done on four steps:
A. Correction of Base Station output power. Common for
B. Evaluation of the minimum signal strength condition for neighbors. Both
C. Subtraction of signal strength penalties. Algorithms
D. Rank the Candidates after applying Offsets and Hysteresis.
• Basic Ranking
Basic Ranking Algorithm following the SS based Algorithm
A. Correction of Base Station output power
 The location algorithm aims at making the Pure traffic frequencies to control
the cell
borders and not the BCCH frequencies, coz most of the time the seized TCH
Time slot will be located on a TCH frequency.
 BSPWR is a parameter to set the output power of the BCCH carrier and
BSTXPWR is a parameter to set the output power of the TCH frequencies.
 Correction for the output power will done for both:

(A-i) Correction for Neighbor Cells.
(A-ii) Correction for Serving Cell.
55
5/24/2011
• Basic Ranking
(A-i) Correction for Neighbor Cells
− The MS is informed by the BCCH frequencies of the neighbors cells on which he

has to perform his measurements via the Active BA list.
− SS_corrected_DLneighbor = SS_measured_DLneighbor - ( BSPWR - BSTXPWR )
• Basic Ranking
(A-ii) Correction for Serving Cell
1) TCH Time Slot (TS) is on the BCCH frequency
SS_corrected_DLservingcell = SS_measured_DLservingcell - ( BSPWR - BSTXPWR )
2) TCH TS is hopping between a BCCH frequency and a TCH frequency:

SS_corrected_DLservingcell = SS_measured_DLservingcell - ( BSPWR - BSTXPWR )/N ,
Where N is the no. of the hopping frequencies
3) TCH TS is on the OL (Over Laid sub cell)

SS_corrected_DLUnderLaid = SS_measured_DLOverLaid+ ( BSTXPWR Under Laid –
BSTXPWROverLaid )
56
5/24/2011
• Basic Ranking
B. Evaluation of the minimum Signal Strength condition for Neighbors
− Not all the neighbors are allowed to be ranked!!
− The neighbor should pass the minimum signal strength condition in order to be
ranked.
− SS_corrected_DLneighbor will be compared with respect to parameter called
MSRXMIN,
If SS_corrected_DLneighbor ≥ MSRXMIN  this neighbor will be included in ranking
If SS_corrected_DLneighbor < MSRXMIN  this neighbor will be excluded from
ranking
− If UL measurements are included then SS_corrected_ULneighbor will be
compared with respect to parameter called BSRXMIN,
If SS_corrected_ULneighbor ≥ BSRXMIN  this neighbor will be included in ranking
If SS_corrected_ULneighbor < BSRXMIN  this neighbor will be excluded from
ranking
• Basic Ranking
B. Evaluation of the minimum Signal Strength condition for Neighbors
− Example: Assume that a MS is connected to cell A that has five neighbors
B,C,D,E&F, the MSRXMIN for all the cells is -104 dBm and the
SS_corrected_DLneighbor for each cell after correcting the BTS o/p power is given
in the below Table
Neighbors SS_corrected_DLneighbor
B -85 dBm
C -110 dBm  Cell C will be excluded
from ranking and won‟t be
D -87 dBm
considered in the next stage
E -70 dBm and the MS will never HO to it
F -100 dBm
57
5/24/2011
• Basic Ranking
C. Subtraction of signal strength penalties
− Penalties or Punishments will be applied on cells that are for some reasons
temporarily undesirable.
− A Penalty value will decrease the rank of some cells for certain penalty time.
− SS_punished_DL = SS_corrected_DL – Locating Penalties – HCS Penalties
− In the coming slides we’ll talk about the two types of penalties:
(C-i) Locating Penalties
(C-ii) HCS Penalties
• Basic Ranking
1) Due to HO failure: If HO to a neighbor cell failed then we’ve to apply a penalty value
for some time on this neighbor so when basic ranking is done again we don’t go
back to this cell.
Penalty value will be configured using parameter PSSHF (default 63 dB)
Penalty time will be configured using parameter PTIMHF (default 5 sec)
58
5/24/2011
• Basic Ranking
2) Due to Bad Quality (BQ) Urgency HO:
If a cell was abandon due to BQ, then it should have been the best cell from SS
point of view so without penalties using the basic ranking we’ll be back to this cell.
Penalty value will be configured using parameter PSSBQ (default 7 dB)
Penalty time will be configured using parameter PTIMBQ (default 5 seconds)
3) Due to Excessive TA Urgency HO:
Handled in the same manner like the BQ case.
Penalty value will be configured using parameter PSSTA (default 63 dB)
Penalty time will be configured using parameter PTIMTA (default 30
seconds)
• Basic Ranking
(C-ii) HCS Penalties
− It is related to the HCS (Hierarchical Cell Structure) feature when a MS is detected
as a fast moving mobile (If fast moving mobile feature is activated)
− A penalty will be applied on lower layer cells so in ranking we will prioritize cells in
the same layer of the serving cell and cells in higher layers and in this way
unnecessary HO’s are prevented ( ex: layer2 cells will be prioritized than layer1
cells)
59
5/24/2011
• Basic Ranking
D. Rank the Candidates after applying Offsets and Hysteresis
− Ranking for neighbor cells will be done after
applying Offsets and Hysteresis.
– Offset: Displace the cell border as compared to
The border strictly given by SS.
Controlling parameter: OFFSET (default: zero dB)
– Hysteresis: To reduce the risk of ping pong HO
a region for Hysteresis is applied
around the cell border.
• Basic Ranking
− If the Hysteresis value is too high there will be a risk that the MS will be connected
to the cell of low SS for long time and if the Hysteresis is too low then there will be
a risk that ping pong HO’s occur.
− So the applied value of Hysteresis will be variable based on the received SS of the
serving cell.
− SS_corrected_DLservingcell will be compared to value HYSTSEP (default -90 dBm),
 If SS_corrected_DLservingcell > HYSTSEP, then the serving cell is strong enough and
high value of Hysteresis will be applied such that Hysteresis value=HIHYST (default
5 dB)
 If SS_corrected_DLservingcell < HYSTSEP, then the serving cell is not strong enough
and low value of Hysteresis will be applied such that Hysteresis value=LOHYST
(default 3 dB)
60
5/24/2011
• Basic Ranking
N
SS_corrected_DLservingcell > HYSTSEPo HYST=LOHY
ST
Yes
HYST=HIHYST
Output from
Basic Ranking
Now,
Rankservingcell = SS_corrected_DLservingcell
Rankneighbor= SS_punished_DLneighbor – OFFSETneighbor – HYSTneighbor
– Initiation
– Filtering
– Basic Ranking
– Urgency Conditions Handling
61
5/24/2011
• Urgency Conditions Handling
− After the Basic Ranking stage a check is made on the serving cell to know if
Urgency conditions are detected or not.
− We have two types of Urgency HO:
1. Bad Quality (BQ) Urgency HO
2. Excessive Time Advance (TA) Urgency HO
− If Urgency conditions are detected then the serving cell should be abandon as
fast as possible, but some of the neighbors will be removed from the candidate
list and the MS will not be able to HO to them as we will see later.
− As seen before, cells that were abandon due to Urgency HO will be subjected
to punishment/penalty.
− The Quality measured at the DL and UL for the serving cell will be compared with
two parameters QLIMDL & QLIMUL (default 50 dtqu) and if:
Or  Urgency HO due to BQ should be
rxqual_DL > QLIMDLperformed
rxqual_UL > QLIMUL
− The Quality may drop like that as a result of Co-Channel Interference or when the
SS became very low.
− When Urgency condition is detected the MS has to leave the cell and make HO to
other cell, but in this case the serving cell is the one that has the highest SS so the
MS has to HO to a cell of worse SS, but is the MS allowed to HO to any worse cell?
62
5/24/2011

− Is the MS allowed to HO to any worse cell? No, this will be based on a parameter
called BQOFFSET which will ensure that far neighbors won’t be selected.
− If Rankservingcell – Rankneighbor ≤ BQOFFSET+HYST, then this neighbor is near to the
serving cell and it is not much worse than the serving cell and it can be candidate
for HO.
− If Rankservingcell – Rankneighbor > BQOFFSET+HYST, then this neighbor is far from the
serving cell and it will be removed from the candidate list.
− Ex: If Urgency condition is detected where Rankservingcell = -75 dBm and the
neighbors: RankB = -79 dBm ,RankC = -90 dBm ,RankD = -87 dBm and
BQOFFSET=5dB,HYST=0 dB
Rankservingcell – RankB =4dB<BQOFFSET= 5dB Cell B is kept in the candidate list
Rankservingcell –RankC=15dB>BQOFFSET= 5dB Cell C is removed from the candidate list
Rankservingcell – RankD = 8dB > BQOFFSET=5dB  Cell D is removed from the
candidate list
2. Excessive Time Advance (TA) Urgency HO

− TA can be used as a measure for the distance between the BTS and the MS.
− If TA > TALIM (63 bit period)  Urgency HO due to TA is initiated.
63
5/24/2011
• After Basic Ranking and Evaluation of the Urgency Conditions, the

Serving cell and Neighbor cells will be divided into 3 Groups
Better Cell
Categorization #1 Serving Cell
Worse Cell
– Initiation
– Filtering
– Basic Ranking
– Auxiliary Radio Network Features Evaluation
64
5/24/2011
• Auxiliary Radio Network Features Evaluation
1. Assignment to Another Cell Evaluation

2. Cell Load Sharing Evaluation
3. Over Laid/Under Laid sub-cell Evaluation
4. IHO Evaluation
5. HCS Evaluation
 After these Evaluations, some candidates will be removed from the HO candidate
list and
Categorization#2 will be performed.

− The Locating Algorithm may be initiated after immediate assignment to know
whether it is better for the MS to take a TCH time slot on the current cell or not.
− If during the signaling phase a better cell was found after ranking, then
“Assignment to Better Cell” will be initiated.
− If during the signaling phase no better cell was found, then the MS will normally
be assigned a TCH time slot on the current cell.
− If the Better/Serving cells were congested then “Assignment to Worse Cell” will
be initiated if possible.
65
5/24/2011

− Is the MS allowed to take TCH time slot on any worse cell? No, this will be based
on a parameter called AWOFFSET which will ensure that far neighbors won’t be
selected.
− Only if Rankservingcell – Rankneighbor ≤ AWOFFSET+HYST, then this neighbor is near to
the serving cell and it is not much worse than the serving cell and assignment to it
can be done.
− If Rankservingcell – Rankneighbor > AWOFFSET+HYST, then this neighbor is far from the
serving cell and it will be removed from the candidate list.
2. Cell Load Sharing (CLS) Evaluation

− This feature is used to reduce congestion on the serving cell.
− When CLS is activated and the load on the serving cell becomes higher than
certain threshold then:
i) Valid CLS HO candidates are defined
ii) Re-calculation of their ranking values will be performed.
66
5/24/2011
2. Cell Load Sharing (CLS) Evaluation

i) Valid CLS HO candidates are defined as follow:
− Load on neighbor cells < CLS load threshold
− Internal cells: lies in the same BSC
− Same Layer
ii. Re-calculation of their ranking values will be performed

− We’re going to recalculate the Ranking values of the valid CLS neighbors with
reduced Hysteresis so these worse neighbors will appear with higher SS than they
really are and the MS can make HO to them and relief the congestion on the
current cell.
 This feature will be discussed in details afterwards.
3. OL/UL Sub-Cell Evaluation

− The OL/UL feature provides a way of increasing the traffic capacity in a cellular
network without building new sites.
− Since OL subcell serves smaller area than the corresponding UL subcell a smaller
reuse distance can be used in in the OL subcell than in the under laid.
− The OL/UL evaluation may result in a recommendation to change the subcell from
the one currently in use, this evaluation is based on:
DL SS, TA serving Cell, Distance to cell border, Traffic Load in the cell
67
5/24/2011

4. Intra Cell HO (IHO) Evaluation
− The IHO feature provides a way to improve the speech quality during the
conservation when bad quality is detected while the SS is high.
− This is can be accomplished by changing the channel the connection is currently

using within the same cell.
5. Hierarchical Cell Structure (HCS) Evaluation

− The HCS feature provides the possibility to give priority to cells that are not
strongest but provide sufficient SS.
− The priority of a cell is given by associating a layer to the cell.
− We have 8 layers from layer 1 (Highly prioritized) to layer 8 (least prioritized).
− Micro cells are prioritized than Macro cells for capacity purposes.
− Cells of lower layers will be ranked higher than cells of higher layers in the HO
candidate list.
68
5/24/2011
• After the Auxiliary Radio Network features evaluation some

candidates may be prioritized and the order of the candidate list will
be modified.
The Serving cell and Neighbor cells will be divided into 3 Groups
Above S
Serving Cell
Categorization #2 (SC)
Below S
– Initiation
– Filtering
– Basic Ranking
– Organizing the List
69
5/24/2011
• Organizing the List
− The final list will contain maximum up to six neighbors + the serving cell and
categorized as follows: Serving Cell (SC), Above S, Below S
− To reach the final form before sending the list the following steps will be done:
A. Removal of Candidates
B. Ordering the Candidate list based on the Current Conditions.
A. Removal of Candidates
 Some Candidates may be removed coz:
− Some Controlling timers are active and preventing HO to certain cell:
TALLOC: This timer prevents HO on a target cell for some time after assignment/HO
failure due to congestion on target cell. (N.B: No penalties are applied on this
cell)
TURGEN: This timer prevents HO on a target cell for some time after urgency HO
failure due to congestion on target cell. (N.B: No penalties are applied on this
cell)
N.B: TALLOC and TURGEN are BSC parameters (Default Values= 2 SACCH periods
70
5/24/2011
B. Ordering the Candidate list based on the Current Conditions

− Means what? Means in what order the 3 categories (Above S, S, Below S) will be
arranged before sending the candidate list. This will be based on some condition
flags.
− Condition flags: 1  Assignment Request Arrived
2  Assignment to Worst Cell is in use
3  Excessive TA detected
4  BQ Urgency HO
5  OL/UL Subcell load change or IHO

B. Ordering the Candidate list based on the Current Conditions
Condition flags: 1  Assignment Request Arrived 2  Assignment to Worse Cell is in
use 3  Excessive TA detected 4  BQ Urgency HO 5  OL/UL
Subcell load change or IHO
Condition Flags
Case Ordering Comment
1 2 3 4 5
1 0 x 0 0 0 Above S Normal Case
Serving Cell has BQ so it should be abandon
2 0 x 0 1 0 Above S Below S
either to the Above S or Below S cell
An Assignment request came and the AW flag is
3 1 0 0 0 0 Above S S
not raised
An Assignment request came and the AW flag is
4 1 1 0 0 0 Above S S Below S
raised
Serving Cell has BQ so it should be abandon but

coz the OL/UL subcell change flag is raised, then
5 0 x 0 1 1 Above S S Below S the serving cell is included coz this subcell
change may solve the issue with no need to go
for a below worse cell
71
5/24/2011
– Initiation
– Filtering
– Basic Ranking
– Organizing the List
• Sending the List & Allocation Reply
− The resulting candidate list will form the basis on which HO will be performed.
− Empty list means that no options are better than remaining on the current cell
and no HO will occur.
− The channel allocation reply may be success or failure.
− Failure may be due to congestion or signaling failure on the target cell.
− Based on the result of allocation either success/failure, some actions will be taken
like applying some penalties or enabling of certain timers as we saw previously.
72
5/24/2011
• Example1:
− Assume that the o/p from the Filtering stage for the SS measurements is as below
and we want to prepare the Basic Ranking Candidate list for HO:
Cell SS(dBm)
A -70
B (Serving Cell) -74
C -78
D -68
E -80
F -92
G -95
Where,
BSPWR = BSTXPWR, MSRXMIN = -90 dBm,
Cell A was abandon due to BQ urgency HO (PSSBQ=7dB)
SS based Algorithm is in use where OFFSET=0, HYSTSEP= -90 dBm,
HIHYST= 5 dB, LOHYST= 3 dB
• Solution:
A) Correction of Base Station output power:

− Since BSPWR = BSTXPWR then the current measurements will be kept as it is.
− SS_corrected_DLneighbor = SS_measured_DLneighbor
− SS_corrected_DLserving = SS_measured_DLserving
B) Evaluation of the minimum Signal Strength condition for Neighbors

− The SS for neighbors will be compared against MSRXMIN = -90 dBm
Cell SS(dBm)
A -70 Cell F and Cell G have SS < MSRXMIN then they will be
removed from the list and can’t be candidates for HO.
C -78
D -68
E -80
F -92
G -95
73
5/24/2011
• Solution:
C) Subtraction of signal strength penalties
− Since Cell A was abandon due to BQ urgency HO (PSSBQ=7dB) then it will be

punished,
SS_punished_DL Cell A = SS_corrected_DL – PSSBQ = -70 – 7 = -77 dBm
− The candidate list will now be in the following form:

Cell SS(dBm)
A -77
C -78
D -68
E -80
• Solution:
D) Rank the Candidates after applying Offsets and Hysteresis
Cell SS(dBm) Since SSServing cell B = -74 dBm > HYSTSEP= -90 dBm, then it is
A -77 better to stay on the current cell and high Hysteresis will be
applied
C -78
D -68 i.e. HYST = HIHYST = 5 dB
E -80
Rankservingcell B = -74 dBm  “Serving Cell”

RankA= -77 dBm – OFFSET – HYST = -77 – 0 – 5 = -82 dBm  “Worse Cell”
RankC= -78 dBm – OFFSET – HYST = -78 – 0 – 5 = -83 dBm  “Worse Cell”
RankD= -68 dBm – OFFSET – HYST = -68 – 0 – 5 = -73 dBm  “Better Cell”
RankE= -80 dBm – OFFSET – HYST = -80 – 0 – 5 = -85 dBm  “Worse Cell”
74
5/24/2011
• Solution:
− Now the final list according to Categorization#1 will be arranged as follows:
Categorization#1
Cell RANK(dBm) Category
D -73 Better Cell
B -74 Serving Cell
A -82 Worse Cell
C -83 Worse Cell
E -85 Worse Cell
• Disconnection Criteria
− The Disconnection algorithm is not part of the locating algorithm but for
completeness, the topic is treated here.
− The Disconnection algorithm manages when the connection between the MS and
the Network shall be dropped when signaling failure is detected.
− The Disconnection criterion can be made in both the DL and the UL such that:
 In the DL: managed by the MS and in the UL: managed by the BSC.
75
5/24/2011
• Disconnection Criteria
− In DL:
 Controlled by a parameter RLINKT (max. bucket size) , when the MS couldn’t
decode a SACCH message (0.48 sec), the bucket will be decreased by 1 unit,
when the MS successfully decodes a SACCH message, the bucket will be
increased by 2 units, if the bucket reached value = Zero then disconnection will
occur, recommended value RLINKT=16
− In UL:
 The disconnection algorithm will run in the same way, the BSC will make the
evaluation, and the controlling parameter is called RLINKUP, , recommended
value RLINKUP=16
N.B: The bucket can’t have values larger than the max. value given by RLINKT/
RLINKUP
Algorithm Selection
Parameter
Name
EVALTYPE 1 or 3 3 ─
Flow Control Parameters

Parameter
Name
TALLOC 0 to 120 2 SACCH period=480 msec
TURGEN 0 to 120 2 SACCH period=480 msec
76
5/24/2011
Signal Strength based Basic Ranking Parameters
HYSTSEP −150 to 0 -90 dBm
LOHYST 0 to63 3 dB
HIHYST 0 to63 3 dB
OFFSET −63 to 63 0 dB
Handover Failure Parameters (Signaling Failure)

PSSHF 0 to 63 63 dB
PTIMHF 0 to 600 5 Seconds
Urgency Conditions Parameters
QLIMUL 0 to 100 55 dtqu
QLIMDL 0 to 100 55 dtqu
BQOFFSET 0 to 63 3 dB
PSSBQ 0 to 63 7 dB
PTIMBQ 0 to 600 15 Seconds
TALIM 0 to 63 62 Bit Period (0.577msec)
PSSTA 0 to 63 63 dB
PTIMTA 0 to 600 30 Seconds
Disconnection Algorithm Parameters

RLINKT 4 to 64 in steps of 4 16 SACCH period=480 msec
RLINKUP 1 to 63 16 SACCH period=480 msec
77
5/24/2011
78
5/24/2011
• HCS Evaluation Algorithm
– HCS feature provides the ability and flexibility to give priority to cells that are
not strongest but provide sufficient Signal Strength.
– The priority of a cell is given by associating an HCS layer to the cell where each
cell will be belonging to an HCS band.
– The lower the layer ( and the HCS band), the priority is higher,
i.e. layer 1 has higher priority than layer 2, layer 3, layer 4, …..
layer 2 has higher priority than layer 3, layer 4, layer 5, …..
– Up to 8 layers (in up to 8 bands) may be defined, where one or several layers

can be assigned to the same HCS band.
– The lower HCS bands will only include lower layers compared to a higher HCS
bands.
– A mixture of small micro cells (lower layers) and large macro (higher layers)
cells will achieve both high capacity and good coverage.
– Micro cells will be used for capacity issues while macro cells will be used to
provide coverage, fill coverage holes and handle the fast moving mobiles.
79
5/24/2011
– With Basic Ranking only, micro cells will be ranked as the strongest server in
very small area, so to let micro cells serve in an area where acceptable SS is
guaranteed then HCS should be used.
− The idea with a layered cell structure is to let lower layer cells serve MSs that
receive sufficient SS even if there is other cells with strongest received SS in the
area.
− But how to decide if the lower layer cell has sufficient SS to be prioritized over
strongest cells?
 This will be according to two thresholds LAYERTHR (Layer Threshold) and
HCSBANDTHR (HCS Band Threshold)
− LAYERTHR: Decides if the cell should be prioritized over stronger cells lie in the
same HCS band or not.
− HCSBANDTHR: Decides if the cell should be prioritized over stronger cells from
different HCS bands or not.
80
5/24/2011
− The input to the HCS Evaluation Algorithm is the Basic Ranking list we prepared
from the locating process.
− The output will be in the form of two lists: HCS prioritized list (on Top) then Basic
Ranking list.
− HCS prioritized list: will include cells that fulfilled the HCS conditions & rules and
will be ranked according to HCS evaluation (layered ranking)
− Basic Ranking list: will include cells that didn’t fulfill the HCS conditions and will be
ranked according to basic ranking rules (SS ranking)
HCS Prioritized
Input HCS Evaluation Outp Cell List
Basic Ranking List
Algorithm ut
Basic Ranking List

Mechanism of the HCS Algorithm
81
5/24/2011

(A) Band Evaluation: In order to be a candidate in the HCS evaluation process, then the
SS of serving and neighbor cells should be greater than their band threshold (
HCSBANDTHR )
SSservingcell > HCSBANDTHRservingcell – HCSBANDHYSTservingcell
SSneigbhorcell > HCSBANDTHRneighborcell + HCSBANDHYSTneighborcell
 Cells that will not fulfill the above condition will go to be sorted in the Basic
Ranking list in priority order according to SS.
 Cells that will fulfill the criterion will pass to the next step in the HCS evaluation.
N.B: HCSBANDTHR and HCSBANDHYST are BSC parameters.

(B) Define the strongest Cell (SS) in each Band
− Cells that passed the band evaluation in step (A) will be moved to the next step.
− In this stage, the strongest cells in each Band from SS point of view will be
identified.
− Strongest cells  will pass direct to be HCS Ranked
− The rest of cells that are not strongest within the band will be moved to Step (C)
82
5/24/2011

(C) Layer Threshold Evaluation
− Cells that passed the band evaluation in step (A) and they are not strongest within
their own band, their SS will be checked against the Layer threshold (LAYERTHR)
SSservingcell ≥ LAYERTHRservingcell – LAYERHYSTservingcell
SSneigbhorcell ≥ LAYERTHRneighborcell + LAYERHYSTneighborcell
 Cells that will not fulfill the above condition will go to be sorted in the Basic
Ranking list in priority order according to SS.
 Cells that will fulfill the criterion will pass to the next step in the HCS evaluation

(D) Identify the Strongest Cells within each layer
− Now we will deal with cells that passed the band evaluation (in Step A) and they
were not strongest within their own band (in Step B) and they passed the layer
threshold condition (in Step C)
− Cells that are strongest within their own layer will be identified and they’ll pass
direct to be HCS ranked.
− Cells that are not strongest within their own layer will be moved to the next step.
83
5/24/2011

(E) Check how many cells from each layer are allowed to pass to be HCS ranked
− Now we will deal with cells that passed the band evaluation (in Step A) and they
were not strongest within their own band (in Step B) and they passed the layer
threshold condition (in Step C) and they are not strongest within their own layer
(in step D)
− MAXCELLSINLAYER: will identify how many cells from each layer can pass to be
HCS ranked, ex: if MAXCELLSINLAYER = 2 then two cells only are allowed to pass
to be HCS ranked.
− MAXDBDEVINLAYER: will identify how the next strongest cell in the layer is far
from the strongest cell in the layer.
i.e. if SS_Strongest Celllayer x - SS_next strongest celllayer x ≤ MAXDBDEVINLAYER
then the next strongest cell is not weak and it will pass to be HCS ranked.

(F) Form the Final list
− Now all cells that succeeded to pass to be HCS ranked, will be sorted in ascending
order according to their layer not SS (as in Basic Ranking) i.e. layer1 cells, then
layer2 cells, …… and these cells will form an HCS prioritized list that will lie on
Top.
− All cells that failed to pass to be HCS ranking, will go to be sorted in a Basic
Ranking list and this list will lie after the HCS prioritized list
84
5/24/2011

Example:
Assume that the output from the Basic Ranking is as below, where for all cells have
HCSBANDTHR = - 90 dBm, LAYERTHR = - 80 dBm,
HCSBANDHYST= LAYERHYST= 0,
MAXCELLSINLAYER = 3, MAXDBDEVINLAYER = 3
Cell SS(dBm) Band Layer

G -68 Band 8 Layer 7
E -72 Band 8 Layer 6
B (Serving) -73 Band 4 Layer 4
A -74 Band 4 Layer 3
C -75 Band 8 Layer 7
F -75 Band 4 Layer 4
D -95 Band 4 Layer 4

Solution: (A) Band Evaluation: In order to be a candidate in the HCS evaluation process,
then the SS of serving and neighbor cells should be greater than their band threshold
(HCSBANDTHR )
SSservingcell > HCSBANDTHRservingcell – HCSBANDHYSTservingcell
SSneigbhorcell > HCSBANDTHRneighborcell + HCSBANDHYSTneighborcell
HCSBANDTHRservingcell = HCSBANDTHRneighborcell = -90 dBm
HCSBANDHYSTservingcell = HCSBANDHYSTneighborcell = 0 dBm
Cell SS(dBm) Band Layer
E -72 Band 8 Layer 6
B (Serving) -73 Band 4 Layer 4
D -95 Band 4 Layer 4 
Cell D didn‟t fulfill the condition (SS_Cell D = -95 dBm < -90 dBm) so it will be out of
the HCS evaluation and it will go to be sorted in the Basic Ranking list.
85
5/24/2011

Solution: (B) Define the strongest Cell (SS) in each Band
− Cells that passed the band evaluation in step (A) will be moved to the next step.
− In this stage, the strongest cells in each Band from SS point of view will be
identified.
− Strongest cells  will pass direct to be HCS Ranked
Cell SS(dBm) Band Layer Comment
G -68 Band 8 Layer 7 Strongest in Band 8 - Go direct to HCS Evaluation list 
E -72 Band 8 Layer 6 Will go to the next step: Layer Evaluation
B -73 Band 4 Layer 4 Strongest in Band 4 - Go direct to HCS Evaluation list 
A -74 Band 4 Layer 3 Will go to the next step: Layer Evaluation
C -75 Band 8 Layer 7 Will go to the next step: Layer Evaluation
F -75 Band 4 Layer 4 Will go to the next step: Layer Evaluation
D -95 Band 4 Layer 4 Out of the HCS Evaluation – Back to the Basic Ranking list 
− Now Cells G & B will go direct to be HCS evaluated, while cells E,A,C&F will be
examined in the next steps.

Solution: (C) Layer Threshold Evaluation
− Cells E,A,C&F that are not strongest within their own band, their SS will be checked
against the Layer threshold (LAYERTHR) if
SSservingcell ≥ LAYERTHRservingcell – LAYERHYSTservingcell
SSneigbhorcell ≥ LAYERTHRneighborcell + LAYERHYSTneighborcell
LAYERTHRservingcell = LAYERTHRneighborcell = - 80 dBm
LAYERHYSTservingcell = LAYERHYSTneighborcell = 0 dBm
E -72 Band 8 Layer 6 SS > LAYERTHR = -80 dBm, Will go to the next step
A -74 Band 4 Layer 3 SS > LAYERTHR = -80 dBm, Will go to the next step
C -75 Band 8 Layer 7 SS > LAYERTHR = -80 dBm, Will go to the next step
F -75 Band 4 Layer 4 SS > LAYERTHR = -80 dBm, Will go to the next step
86
5/24/2011

Solution: (D) Identify the Strongest Cells within each layer
− After Cells E,A,C&F all of them passed the layer threshold condition (LAYERTHR),
Cells that are strongest within their own layer will be identified and they’ll pass
direct to be HCS ranked.
E -72 Band 8 Layer 6 Strongest in Layer 6 - Go direct to HCS Evaluation list 
A -74 Band 4 Layer 3 Strongest in Layer 3 - Go direct to HCS Evaluation list 
C -75 Band 8 Layer 7 Not Strongest in Layer-Will be examined in the next step
F -75 Band 4 Layer 4 Not Strongest in Layer-Will be examined in the next step
− Cells E&A are strongest within their own layer so they will go direct to be HCS
ranked.
− Cells C&F are not the strongest within their own layer, so they will be examined in
the next step to know if they can pass to be HCS ranked or not

Solution: (E) Check how many cells from each layer are allowed to pass to be HCS
ranked
− MAXCELLSINLAYER: will identify how many cells from each layer can pass to be HCS
In our example MAXCELLSINLAYER = 3 then three cells only are allowed to pass to
be HCS ranked.
− MAXDBDEVINLAYER: will identify how the next strongest cell in the layer is far
from the strongest cell in the layer.
i.e. if SS_Strongest Celllayer x - SS_next strongest celllayer x ≤ MAXDBDEVINLAYER = 3
dB
then the next strongest cell is not weak and it will pass to be HCS ranked.
87
5/24/2011

Solution: (E) Check how many cells from each layer are allowed to pass to be HCS
ranked
Cell C:
Check1: Lies in layer 7 and ranked as the 2nd strongest cell in the layer and since 3 cells
are
allowed to be ranked according to MAXCELLSINLAYER then Check1 is passed.
Check2: Is SS_Strongest Celllayer 7 - SS_next strongest celllayer 7 <
MAXDBDEVINLAYER=3dB
SSCell G - SS
G Cell C =Band
-68 -68-(-75)
8 Layer= 77 dB >Strongest
MAXDBDEVINLAYER=3dB then
in Band 8 - Go direct to HCS Check2list
Evaluation failed. 
C -75 Band 8 Layer 7 Out of the HCS Evaluation – Back to the Basic Ranking list 

Solution:(E)Check how many cells from each layer are allowed to pass to be HCS
ranked
Cell F:
Check1: Lies in layer 4 and ranked as the 2nd strongest cell in the layer and since 3 cells
are allowed to be ranked according to MAXCELLSINLAYER then Check1 is passed.
Check2:Is SS_Strongest Celllayer 4 - SS_next strongest celllayer 4<MAXDBDEVINLAYER=3dB
SSCell G - SSCell C = -73-(-75) = 2 dB < MAXDBDEVINLAYER=3dB then Check2 is passed.
C -75 Band 8 Layer 7 Out of the HCS Evaluation – Back to the Basic Ranking list 
F -75 Band 4 Layer 4 2nd Strongest in Layer4-Go to HCS Evaluation list 
88
5/24/2011

Solution: (F) Form the Final list
− Now all cells that succeeded to pass to be HCS ranked, will be sorted in ascending
order according to their layer not SS (as in Basic Ranking) i.e. layer1 cells, then
layer2 cells, …… and these cells will form an HCS prioritized list that will lie on
Top.
− All cells that failed to pass to be HCS ranking, will go to be sorted in a Basic
Ranking list and this list will lie after the HCS prioritized list
B(Serving) -73 Band 4 Layer 4
HCS prioritized list
Final F -75 Band 4 Layer 4
(Layer Ranking)
List E -72 Band 8 Layer 6
Basic Ranking list (SS Ranking)

HCS Traffic Distribution Concept
− This feature is useful In order to control the traffic distribution between cells.
− If this feature is active then some cells that were prioritized due HCS ranking (layer
ranking) will be removed if they already have enough traffic.
− HCSTRAFDISSTATE: Is a BCS parameter that shows if HCS Traffic Distribution is

enabled within the cells in the BCS or not.
– If the HCS traffic distribution is allowed then two checks will be made:
(i) Check on the serving cell’s availability vs. parameter on cell level called HCSOUT
(ii) Check on the neighbor cells’ availability vs. parameter on cell level called HCSIN
− The Availability means: the percentage of free (non-occupied) Full Rate Time
Slots.
89
5/24/2011

HCS Traffic Distribution Concept
(i) Check on the serving cell’s availability:
− If AvailabilityServingCell > HCSOUT, then this cells has too many free Time slots and it
is not preferred to leave this cell.
(ii) Check on the neighbor cell’s availability:

− If AvailabilityneighborCell < HCSIN, then this cells has few free Time slots and it can’t
accept HO’s due to HCS prioritization.

Mechanism of the HCS Algorithm when HCS Traffic Distribution is in use
90
5/24/2011

I) Example when HCS Traffic Distribution is enabled (Availability ServingCell<HSCOUT)
− After ordinary HCS evaluation we formed the below list from the previous
example.
− Assume HCSOUT=50%, HCSIN=30%, Availability of Cell B (serving) = 40%
and availability of Cell F (neighbor cell) = 10% only, while all other cells have
availability = 45 %
− What will be the final list form ?
(Layer Ranking)

Solution:
− Availability of Serving Cell (B) = 40% < HCSOUT (50%), then the serving cell has few
free Time Slots and we can leave this cell i.e. outgoing HO from this cell is enabled.
− Availability of Neighbor Cell F=10% < HCSIN (30%), then this cell can’t accept HO’s
due to HCS prioritization coz it has few free TS i.e. this cell is congested.
 This cell will be removed from the HCS prioritized list and it will be moved to the
Basic Ranking List.
(Layer Ranking)
91
5/24/2011

Solution:
− The final list will be as below:

B(Serving) -73 Band 4 Layer 4 HCS prioritized list
E -72 Band 8 Layer 6 (Layer Ranking)
Final
List G -68 Band 8 Layer 7
C -75 Band 8 Layer 7 Basic Ranking list (SS Ranking)

II) Example when HCS Traffic Distribution is enabled (Availability ServingCell > HSCOUT)
− If the serving cell has a channel availability above HCSOUT it is considered to be

taking too little traffic so it is decided to not allow handovers out due to HCS from
the cell.
− Instead, all the remaining HCS prioritized candidate cells, fulfilling the HCSIN
criterion and that are in a lower layer or in the same layer as the serving cell, will
be basic ranked among themselves and added to a “Prioritized basic ranked cells
list” that will be put above the other basic ranked cells in the final candidate list.
92
5/24/2011

II)Example when HCS Traffic Distribution is enabled(Availability ServingCell>HSCOUT)
− After ordinary HCS evaluation we formed the below list from the previous
example.
− Assume HCSOUT=50%, HCSIN=30%, Availability of Cell B (serving) = 60%
and availability of Cell F (neighbor cell) = 10% only, while all other cells have
availability = 45 %
− What will be the final list form ?
From HCS prioritized list
(Layer Ranking)

Solution:
− Availability of Serving Cell (B) = 60% > HCSOUT (50%), then the serving cell has Too
many Time slots and HO out from this cell due to HCS is not allowed.
− Availability of Neighbor Cell F=10% < HCSIN (30%), then this cell can’t accept HO’s
due to HCS prioritization coz it has few free TS i.e. this cell is congested.
 This cell will be removed from the HCS prioritized list and it will be moved to the
Basic Ranking List.
− Cells E&G are layers 6&7 respectively i.e. they are of higher layers than the serving
cells.
 These cells will be removed from the HCS prioritized list and it will be moved to the
Basic Ranking List.
− Now cells A&B will be ranked according to SS  “Prioritized Basic Ranking list”
cells C,D,E,F&G will be ranked according to SS  “Basic Ranking list”
93
5/24/2011

Solution:

From HCS prioritized list
(Layer Ranking)

Solution:
− The final list will be as below:

Priotirized Basic Ranking List
Final List E -72 Band 8 Layer 6
94
5/24/2011

Optimizing a problematic Traffic Case:
− Assume we have the below case with 3 Macro cells (layer 4) and 1 Micro cell
(layer2) and all of them belong to the same HCS band, HCSBAND 1
− One of the Macro cells carries very high traffic and it is about to congest, how could
we solve this case?
Macro Cell Macro Cell

(L4) (L4)
Micro
Cell
(L2)
Macro Cell
(L4)

Solution 1: Direct more Traffic to the Micro Cell
− We can decrease the LAYERTHR of the Micro cell (Layer 2) from -75dBm to -80dBm
for example, so the micro cell will capture more traffic from the congested macro
cell.
95
5/24/2011

Solution 2: Direct more Traffic to the adjacent Macro Cells
− We can increase the Layer of the congested Macro cell (Layer 4  Layer 5) so it will
appear less prioritized with respect to the adjacent neighbor cells and it will offload
its traffic to them.

Solution 3: Direct more Traffic to one of the adjacent Macro Cells
− We can decrease the Layer of one of the adjacent Macro cell (Layer 4  Layer 3) so
it will appear more prioritized with respect to the congested cell and it will capture
some of its traffic.
96
5/24/2011
Fast Moving MSs

− If cell parameter FASTMSREG is “ON” and MS made no. of HOs >NHO (default=3) in
time window THO (default=30sec) then MS is considered as fast moving MS.
− The stronger cells according to Basic Ranking in all higher layers within the same
system type are given priority.
− For example: 1800 candidates are in Layers 1,2&3 while 900 candidates are in
Layers 4&5, if the MS is considered as fast in layer1, then candidates in layers 2&3
of higher basic ranking than the serving cell are given priority.
− Highest priority is given for the strongest cell regardless of its layer.
− To prevent HO back to lower layer cells, a penalty PSSTEMP (0 to 63) is applied for a
time PTIMTEMP (0 to 600s) on all neighbor cells within the current system type
and all cells in other system types.

− Parameters Summary
HCS Algorithm Control Parameters
Parameter Name Value Range Default Value Recommended Value Unit
HCSBAND 1 to 8 1 2 2 ─
HCSBANDTHR 150 to 0 95 ─ dBm (–ve)
HCSBANDHYST 0 to 63 2 2 dB
LAYER 1 to 8 2 2 ─ ─
LAYERTHR 150 to 0 75 ─ dBm (–ve)
LAYERHYST 0 to 63 2 2 dB
MAXCELLSINLAYER 1 to 31 1 1
MAXDBDEVINLAYER 0 to 63 3 3 dB
HCSTRAFDISSTATE 0,1 0 1 ─
HCSIN 0 to100 0 ─ %
HCSOUT 0 to100 100 ─ %
1  For reduced HCS functionality we have only 2 bands HCS Band1 and HCS Band2
(default)
2  For reduced HCS functionality we have only 3 layers
97
5/24/2011
98
5/24/2011
• Concentric Cells (Overlaid Underlaid Subcells)
− Traffic Capacity of a cellular network can be increased by either adding more

frequencies or reducing the frequency reuse distance.
− One approach is to apply a second frequency re-use pattern with a tighter
frequency reuse (Overlay) on the existing pattern.
− These cells should be restricted in size, so shorter reuse distance can be
accomplished without causing Co-channel/Adjacent channel interference.
− They are termed Overlaid (OL) Subcells, whereas the original cells will be called
Underlaid(UL) Subcells.
− Now by having more frequencies per cell, then Network capacity is increased.
99
5/24/2011
− The fundamental idea behind the OL/UL subcells is to let the traffic close to the site
to be moved to the OL subcell, while traffic close to the cell border to be moved to
the UL subcell.
− In that way of treading the traffic, the frequencies in the OL subcell can have
tighter frequency reuse.
− Example: Assume that cell A has frequencies: f1&f2, cell B has frequencies: f3&f4
and now cell A has increase in the traffic, so we’re going to assign cell A frequency
f4 also.
− Now high Co-channel interference will occur on f4 at the border between the two
cells, coz f4 is reused between two adjacent cells.
100
5/24/2011
− Using the OL/UL concept we can solve the case as follows:
− f4 will be used in the OL subcell and it will be restricted to serve in a small area
only near to the site so interference from the neighbor cell will be minimized and a
good C/I can be enjoyed.
− To maintain the service area of the OL subcell restricted to a certain region we have
three thresholds we can play with:
A. Path Loss Threshold
B. Timing Advance Threshold
C. Distance to Cell Border Threshold
− With the ordinary OL/UL subcells, the MS near the cell will camp on the overlaid
subcell but even if the OL subcell got high utilized there is no way to push traffic to
the UL subcell.
− Using Subcell Load Distribution (SCLD) Concept, we can configure the cell to use
the OL as the preferred subcell initially and when traffic on the OL increased
beyond certain load, any extra traffic will be offloaded to the UL subcell.
101
5/24/2011
Algorithm
(I) OL/UL Subcell Change with Subcell Load Distribution Deactivated
− As we stated before, the service area of the OL subcell can be defined based on
one of three criteria: Path Loss, Time Advance and Distance to cell border.
1. Path Loss Criterion:
− Controlling parameters are the path loss threshold LOL and the path loss
hysteresis LOLHYST
− DL path loss L= (BSTXPWR - BTS power reduction) – Received_SS_DLfiltered
− BSTXPWR: BTS output power for the TCH frequencies.
− DL path loss L will be checked vs. LOL (path loss threshold) and LOLHYST to
know whether a subcell change from OLUL or ULOL is needed.
Algorithm
2. Time Advance Criterion:
− Time Advance can be used as a measure for the distance between the BTS and
MS.
− Controlling parameters are the time advance threshold TAOL and the time
advance hysteresis TAOLHYST
− The “TA” of the MS will be measured via BTS and checked vs. TAOL and
TAOLHYST to know whether subcell change is needed or not.
102
5/24/2011
Algorithm
3. Distance to Cell Border Criterion:
− DTCBSC: Is a BSC parameter that enables/disables the distance to cell border
evaluation criterion on whole cells on the BSC.
− Controlling parameters are the distance to cell border threshold DTCB and the
distance to cell border hysteresis DTCBHYST
− The cell border is defined as the difference between the Received_SSServingCell
and the Received_SSStrongest Neighbor ,where this strongest neighbor should meet
the following: Non-Cosited, Same System type (900/1800), Same HCS Layer.
Algorithm
3. Distance to Cell Border Criterion:
− Received_SSServingCell - Received_SSStrongest Neighbor will be checked vs. DTCB and
DTCBHYST to see whether subcell change is needed or not.
− But for the evaluation to be triggered (initiated), the serving cell should have
number of neighbor cells > NNCELLS (if NNCELLS=2, at least 2 neighbor cells)
that are measured by the MS having enough SS such that:
Received_SSServingCell - Received_SSNeighbor < DTCB+DTCBHYST+NDIST where,
NDIST is a threshold measured in dBs.
103
5/24/2011
Algorithm
OL  UL Subcell change: for a subcell change from OL  UL then one of the
following should be fulfilled.
L (Path Loss) > LOL + LOLHYST “OR”
ta (Time Advance) ≥ TAOL + TAOLHYST “OR”
SSServing - SSNeighbor < DTCB - DTCBHYST
Strongest, Non Cosited, Same type, Same HCS Layer
But as mentioned before, for this evaluation to be initiated then,

No. of neighbor cells ≥ NNCELLS should be reported meeting the following
equation:
SSServing - SSNeighbor < DTCB + DTCBHYST + NDIST
Non Cosited, Same type, Same HCS Layer
Algorithm
UL  OL Subcell change: for a subcell change from UL  OL then one of the

following should be fulfilled.
L (Path Loss) ≤ LOL - LOLHYST“and”ta (Time Advance) < TAOL - TAOLHYST “and”
SSServing - SSNeighbor ≥ DTCB + DTCBHYST
But as mentioned before, for this evaluation to be initiated then,
equation:
SSServing - SSNeighbor > DTCB + DTCBHYST + NDIST
Non Cosited, Same type, Same HCS Layer
104
5/24/2011
Algorithm
N.B:
− If parameter TAOL is set to its maximum value = 61 bit periods and DTCB is set
to its minimum value = - 63 dB then the OL/UL subcell change will only be
controlled by the path loss using LOL coz:
OLUL: Time Advance & Distance to cell border conditions will never be met and
so the path loss only using LOL will control the evaluation.
ULOL: Time Advance & Distance to cell border conditions will always be met and
so the path loss only LOL will control the evaluation.

Algorithm
(II)is OL/UL Subcell Change with Subcell Load Distribution Activated
− A subcell load distribution is used to control the traffic between the OL/UL
subcells, so if the initially preferred cell got congested we will try to allocate
resources in the other subcell. (Activated by setting cell parameter SCLD = ON)
− SCLDSC: Is a cell parameter used to define the preferred cell in allocation
whether UL or OL i.e. the subcell which will carry traffic first.
− N.B: if the OL subcell is the preferred one, i.e. if SCLDSC=OL, then the below
conditions should be met otherwise a TCH on the UL subcell will be allocated.
L < LOL – LOLHYST and ta < TAOL – TAOLHYST and
SSServing - SSNeighbor ≥ DTCB + DTCBHYST

equation:SSServing - SSNeighbor < DTCB + DTCBHYST + NDIST
105
5/24/2011

Algorithm
(II) OL/UL Subcell Change with Subcell Load Distribution Activated
− A subcell change may occur due to load based on the settings of the
parameters SCLDLUL an SCLDLOL
− Example: If serving cell is the OL subcell and the following occur

Percentage of idle TCHs in the OL subcell < SCLDLOL and
Percentage of idle TCHs in the UL subcell > SCLDLUL
 then subcell change from OLUL due to SCLD will occur.

Algorithm
− A subcell change may occur due to load based on the settings of the
parameters SCLDLUL an SCLDLOL
is
106
5/24/2011

Algorithm
− If some traffic will be moved from the OL  UL subcell due to load
distribution, then the MSs with the high path loss will be chosen first i.e. MSs
that are near to cell border.
− If some traffic will be moved from the UL  OL subcell due to load

distribution, then the MSs with the low path loss will be chosen first i.e. MSs
that are near to the site.
− Apart from the subcell change due to SCLD, as we mentioned before the MS
can also request to move from OL  UL because of path loss, TA or distance
to cell border criterion and in this case the load is not checked coz the
thresholds : SCLDLUL&SCLDLOL are only controlling the load incase of subcell
change due to load distribution.

Parameters Summary
Overlaid/Underlaid Control Parameters
SCTYPE UL,OL − − −
LOL 0 to 200 − − dB
LOLHYST 0 to 63 3 3 dB
TAOL 0 to 61 − − Bit Periods (3.69 µsec)
TAOLHYST 0 to 61 − − Bit Periods (3.69 µsec)
DTCBSC 0,1 0 − −
DTCB −63 to 63 -63 − dB
DTCBHYST 0 to 63 2 2 dB
NDIST 0 to 63 10 − dB
is
NNCELLS 1 to 5 3 1 −
SCLD ON,OFF OFF − −
SCLDLOL 0 to 99 20 − %
SCLDLUL 0 to 99 20 − %
SCLDSC UL,OL UL OL −
107
5/24/2011
Multi Band Cells (MBC)
• Multi Band Cells (MBC)

− A multi band network consists of cells from different
frequency bands for example: 900/1800 MHz
− By combining these frequencies in the same cell with 1
common BCCH, the radio performance and traffic
capacity are improved where the no. of cells and
neighbor relations are significantly reduced.
− Using 1 BCCH instead of two will increase the no. of
time slots that will be used for traffic.
108
5/24/2011

− Using MBC concept with only 1 BCCH, this will reduce the no. of defined
neighbors to 50% leading to better accuracy for the measurement reports coz
there will be more time available for measurements for each neighbor.

− The Dynamic OL/UL subcells (Concentric cells) is a prerequisite feature for the
Multi Band Cells.
− Mostly the frequency band with “Better coverage” (i.e. lower frequency band)
is configured as the Underlaid subcell while the other frequency band with
is “Worse coverage” (i.e. higher frequency band) is configured as the Overlaid
Subcell.
− Ex: 900MHz frequency band  UL, while 1800MHz frequency band  OL
− It is recommended to select the BCCH frequency to lie in the “Better

Coverage” i.e. UL subcell.
− for the previous example then BCCH frequency will belong to the 900MHz
band
109
5/24/2011

− A parameter CSYSTYPE  defines the band of the used BCCH
frequency in a multi band cell.
− A parameter BAND  defines the band of the Channel Group,
where the channel group consists of no. of frequencies as will be
seen later.
− As mentioned before, the path loss/Distance to cell border/time
advance criteria will define the coverage limit of the frequency
band used in the OL subcell vs. UL subcell, (In this case the
OL&UL will belong to two different bands)
− Also the traffic load can be maintained between the two subcells
(that belong to two different bands) using the subcell load
distribution feature where the SCLDSC parameter will define
which subcell is preferred first.

− The propagation of the radio waves depend on the used
frequency band, i.e. the reported signal strength from
one MS will differ
M depending on the frequency band
used. S
M
S
MS is in the same
location but the reported
SS differs depend on the
used frequency band
is
110
5/24/2011

− So to locate the MS correctly regardless of the band it is using we
have 2 possible ways:
1. Applying a frequency Band Offset:
If OL subcell is on 1800MHz band and the UL is on the 900MHz
band so when the MS is located on the OL subcell and report a
certain SS then it should be compensated for the UL subcell.
2. Includes the BCCH carrier frequency in the Active BCCH

Allocation (BA) list:The Active BA list is the list which the serving
cell uses to inform the MS the neighbors which he has to monitor
and make measurements on while it is in dedicated mode and in
this way no compensation is needed.

Applying a frequency Band Offset:
− FBOFFS (Frequency Band Offset): is the parameter that determines the
difference between the path loss between bands (BCCH Frequency Band
Group and the Non-BCCH Frequency Band Group), it is measured in dBs
and take values between -40  40 dBs
− If the MS is served by 1800 band frequency and reporting SS 1800 band = -85
dbm and FBOFFS=7dB then the compensated SS if the MS was served by
the 900 band frequency will be SS 900 band = -85 dbm + 7 = -78 dBm
− FBOFFS has to be adjusted in a correct way coz:
a. It will be used to locate the MS correctly with respect to neighbors
b. It will be used to locate the MS correctly in the Subcell change Evaluation
is
111
5/24/2011

a. FBOFFS will be used to locate the MS correctly with respect to neighbors
Ex: MS is on the OL subcell (1800 band) and reporting SS_Serving_cellA1800 band = -85 dBm FBOFFS
=7dB, and after applying the offset and Hysteresis SS_neighbor_cellB 900 band = -83dBm
Without applying FBOFFS With applying FBOFFS
SS_Serving_cellA 1800 band SS_Serving_cellA 900band = SS_Serving_cellA1800

<SS_neighbor_cellB900 band band+ 7 dB
SS_Serving_cellA 900band = -78 dBm
SS_Serving_cellA 900 band > SS_neighbor_cellB900 band
HO from Cell A  Cell B will occur Cell A will remain the serving cell but subcell
change may occur if needed.
Wrong Decision Right Decision


b) FBOFFS will be used to locate the MS correctly during
the Subcell change Evaluation
 When the MS is served by the OL 1800 band subcell
(non-BCCH Band), the path loss in this case will be
checked vs. LOL – LOLHYST +Subcell
FBOFFSET
change OLUL
Ex: Assume a MS is served by the OL 1800 subcell and

reporting SS1800 band = -90 dBm, BSTXPWR=46dBm,
-83 -85
FBOFFSET=7dB, LOL=131dB, dBm dBm LOLHYST=zero
is
-90 -92
dBm dBm
112
5/24/2011

b) FBOFFS will be used to locate the MS correctly during the Subcell
change Evaluation
c) Ex: Assume a MS is served by the OL 1800 subcell and reporting
SS1800 band = -90 dBm, BSTXPWR=46dBm, FBOFFSET=7dB,
LOL=131dB, LOLHYST=zero
• Without applying FBOFFS With applying FBOFFS
Path loss= BSTXPWR - SS1800 band = 46-(-90)=136 dB Path loss= BSTXPWR - SS1800 band = 46 ( 90)=136dB
Path loss=136 dB > LOL – LOLHYST=131 dB Path loss=136 < LOL LOLHYST+
Sub cell change from OL  UL will occur FBOFFSET=138dB
− The MS will stay on the OL sub cell
Wrong Decision  Right Decision


Parameters Summary:
Multi Band Cells Control Parameters
Parameter Recommended
Value Range Default Value Unit
Name Value
GSM800, GSM900, GSM1800,
BAND − − −
GSM1900
GSM800, GSM900, GSM1800,
CSYSTYPE − − −
GSM1900
FBOFFS −40 to 40 0 − dB

is
113
5/24/2011
Cell Load Sharing (CLS)
114
5/24/2011
• Cell Load Sharing

– The purpose of the Cell Load Sharing feature is to distribute some of a cells traffic
load to surrounding cells during peaks in traffic.
− This is achieved by moving established connections to neighboring cells that have

idle resources.
− Cell Load Sharing increases the number of handovers in the part of the network
where the traffic load is unevenly distributed.

– Cell Load Sharing is activated on the BSC level via parameter LSSTATE (Active/Inactive) and
activated on cell level via parameter CLSSTATE (Active/Inactive)
– The traffic load (amount of idle full rate TCHs) on each cell is examined by the BSC every CLS
time Interval defined by a parameter CLSTIMEINTERVAL (default=100msec)
− If the percentage of idle full rate traffic channels is ≤ parameter CLSLEVEL, then this cell will
try to get rid of some traffic by initiating cell load sharing handovers to neighbors.
− For a neighbor cell to accept HOs due to cell load sharing then parameter HOCLSACC should
be set to “ON”
− The traffic load on the neighbor cells should also be examined so handovers due to cell load
sharing will only be done to neighbors having enough idle full rate TCHs (
percentage of idle full rate TCHs > CLSACC inorder to accept HO due to CLS)
115
5/24/2011

– CLS evaluation is performed after normal locating evaluation for neighboring cells.
– The normal Basic ranking evaluation was done as follows:

Rankservingcell = SS_DLservingcell
Rankneighbor= SS_DLneighbor – OFFSETneighbor – HYSTneighbor
− Now when the % idle full rate TCHs < CLSLEVEL, then the HYST for neighbors will be
recalculated with reduced values based on parameter RHYST
− Rankneighbor= SS_DLneighbor – OFFSETneighbor – HYSTnew neighbor
Where HYSTnew neighbor = HYSTneighbor [1-2 (RHYST/100)]

− Rankneighbor= SS_DLneighbor – OFFSETneighbor – HYSTnew neighbor
Where HYSTnew neighbor = HYSTneighbor [1-2 (RHYST/100)]
RHYST Hysteresis Reduction

No reduction of the Hysteresis
0 area
Cell Border is reduced to the
50 nominal cell border
All the Hysteresis area is
100 removed
116
5/24/2011

− For a neighbor cell to be candidate for HO due to CLS, then it should satisfy the
following:
− Lies in the same BSC as the source cell.
− Has the same HCS layer.
− Can Accept HO due to CLS i.e. HOCLSACC= ON
− % Idle full rate TCHs > CLSACC
− The settings for CLSLEVEL and CLSACC should be adjusted such that
CLSACC > CLSLEVEL in order to not having unstable situation.
100% idle TCHs
Accept Incoming HOs due

to CLS
CLSACC=5
0%
CLSLEVEL=30
% Make Outgoing HOs due to
CLS

Parameters Summary
Parameter Default Value Recommended Value Value Range Unit
CLSLEVEL 20 − 0 to 99 %
CLSACC 40 − 1 to 100 %
HOCLSACC OFF ON ON/OFF
RHYST 75 100 0 to 100 %
CLSTIMERINTERVAL 100 100 100 to 1000 ms
LSSTATE Inactive Active Active/Inactive
CLSSTATE Inactive Active Active/Inactive
117
5/24/2011
Thank You
Intra Cell Handover (IHO)
118
5/24/2011
• Intra Cell Handover
− Intra Cell means within the same cell.
− Intra Cell Handover aims at maintaining good quality of a current connection by

performing handover to a new channel within the same cell when bad quality is
detected. f1 TS TS TS TS TS TS TS TS Channel suffering
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 from bad quality
Same
Cell f2 TS TS TS TS TS TS TS TS New channel
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
− When a connection suffers from bad quality and at the same time the Signal
Strength is still high, there is a reason to believe that the bad quality is due to
interference.
− Changing the serving channel on a certain cell to another channel within the same
cell may be useful due to the fact that most likely the interference on different
channels is not the same, and the reason for this could be:
 The cell that interferes a certain connection (channel/call) may be not fully loaded and
not transmitting on all its channels.
 If power control is in use in the interferer cell, then power used on each channel will
differ based on the MS location from the BTS.
 For uplink interference, the MSs connected to the interferer cell will be located in
different places from the cell causing different levels of interference.
119
5/24/2011
− After Intra cell handover is performed, the quality of a connection will be enhanced
if the radio conditions on the new channel is better than the old channel, and this
may be expected when intra cell handover is performed at high signal strength
while the quality (rxqual) is bad.
− Intra Cell Handover can be triggered due to bad quality either in the downlink or in
the uplink.
− But at which conditions Intra Cell Handover will be triggered ?

− At which conditions Intra Cell Handover will be triggered ?
 Intra cell handover is triggered/initiated when signal strength is high and at the
same time the quality is bad based on the following equation:
rxqual_DL > QOFFSETDL + FQSS (RXLEV_DL + SSOFFSETDL)

Or
rxqual_UL > QOFFSETUL + FQSS (RXLEV_UL + SSOFFSETUL)
− FQSS is a quality vs. signal strength function that specify at each signal level the
quality beyond which an intra cell handover should be triggered.
120
5/24/2011

 Conditions at which Intra Cell Handover is initiated:
rxqual_DL > QOFFSETDL + FQSS (RXLEV_DL + SSOFFSETDL) Or
rxqual_UL > QOFFSETUL + FQSS (RXLEV_UL + SSOFFSETUL)
The FQSS Table. The rxqual Values Is Given in dtqu
(deci Transformed Quality Units)
− RXLEV_DL and RXLEV_UL both are RXLEV Rxqual
measured in rxlev units 0  63, which <=30 infinity
31 60
corresponds to -110 dBm  - 47 dBm 32 - 35 59
36 - 38 58
39 - 41 57
− Example: If RXLEV_DL = 57 and 42 - 45 56
QOFFSETDL=SSOFFSETDL= zero, then 46 - 48 55
49 - 52 54
when rxqual_DL > 52 dtqu an intra cell 53 - 55 53
handover will be initiated. 56 - 58 52
59 - 62 51
>=63 50
− SSOFFSETDL & SSOFFSETUL are signal strength offset parameters, increasing them
will make the measured signal strength to appear better than the actual situation
causing the intra cell handover to be triggered more often.
− QOFFSETDL & QOFFSETUL are quality offset parameters, decreasing them will
trigger the intra cell handover more often.
121
5/24/2011

Selection of a new channel at IHO
− The primary target is to find a new channel that differs as much as possible from
the currently used channel.
− The selection of a new channel will depend on whether frequency hopping is used
or not.

(A) With frequency hopping not used
− Among the idle channels, select a channel that lies on a different frequency than
the current channel is using.
− If no idle channels were found then select one of the idle timeslots that are on the
same frequency as the current channel.
1st choice at IHO
f1
(Change
f2 frequency)
2nd choice at IHO
f3 (Change Time Slot
on the same
frequency)
Interfered
Channel
122
5/24/2011

(B) With frequency hopping in use
− Select one of the idle channels that belongs to a different CHGR than the current
channel.
− If no idle channels were found or only 1 CHGR is defined then select one of the idle
timeslots that are on the same CHGR as the current channel.
− If no idle channels were found select idle channels on the same CHGR and time slot
as the current channel.
CHGR0 f1 1st choice at IHO(Change
CHGR)
f2
2nd choice at IHO (Change
CHGR1 f3 Time Slot within the same
CHGR )
f4 3rd choice at IHO
Interfered Channel (Same CHGR, same TS but
different channel)

− If quality is not improved after making number of consecutive IHOs, this means
that all channels are suffering from poor quality and may be a part of the cell is
subjected to high interference.
− We can limit the number of consecutive IHOs for certain connection to certain
number using parameter MAXIHO ex: If MAXIHO=3, then the maximum number of
allowed consecutive IHOs=3 and if the MS tried to make the 4th IHO it will be
disabled and a timer TIHO will start to inhibit any further attempts to make IHO
until this timer is released.
123
5/24/2011

− Intra cell handover and bad quality urgency are both triggered at poor quality
situations.
− Intra cell handover has higher priority over bad quality urgency handover, i.e. if the
criteria for both are fulfilled then IHO will be triggered/initiated first.
− If the dynamic OL/UL subcell feature is in use and if the number of consecutive
IHOs reached its maximum based on the settings of the parameter MAXIHO, then a
subcell change from OLUL or ULOL will be attempted.

Parameters Summary
Intra Cell Handover Control Parameters

IHO ON,OFF OFF ON −
SSOFFSETDL −30 to 30 0 0 dB
SSOFFSETUL −30 to 30 0 −10 dB
QOFFSETDL −50 to 50 0 − dtqu
QOFFSETUL −50 to 50 0 − dtqu
MAXIHO 0 to 15 3 3 −
TIHO 10 to 60 10 10 Seconds
124
5/24/2011
Thank You
Dynamic HR Allocation
125
5/24/2011
• Dynamic HR Allocation
− In high load situations it is important that the allocation of a traffic channel is done
efficiently for a new connection.
− This will result in high utilization of the channels while keeping good speech quality
for the existing connections.
− For a new connection the Dynamic HR Allocation Algorithm evaluates the traffic
load in the cell and based on this decides the connection mode: FR, HR or AMR HR
− To Activate the feature, set the parameter: DHA to “ON”
− The feature differentiates between AMR and NAMR MSs and can be controlled on
cell level.
126
5/24/2011
• Dynamic HR Allocation New Connection
No
Dual Rate MS ?
(Supports HR?)
Yes
No
Support AMR HR?
Yes
No. of Idle TCHs % < DTHNAMR No No. of Idle TCHs % < DTHAMR
Total no. of TCHs Total no. of TCHs
Yes Yes
HR Allocation AMR HR Allocation
FR Allocation
− DTHAMR: The threshold below which the Dynamic HR Allocation starts for AMR
supported MSs
− DTHNAMR: The threshold below which the Dynamic HR Allocation starts for Non
AMR supported MSs
127
5/24/2011
Parameters Summary
Intra Cell Handover Control Parameters

DHA ON,OFF OFF ON −
DTHAMR 0 to 100 30 30 %
DTHNAMR 0 to 100 15 15 %
128
5/24/2011
Frequency Hopping
• Frequency Hopping
− During a call connection, a time slot (burst) can easily be lost when the mobile
station happens to be located in a fading dip for that particular frequency or if it is
subjected to interference.
− If the next time slot is sent on another frequency, there is high probability that this
time slot will be received correctly and this can be done via frequency hopping.
− With frequency hopping:

 Tighter frequency reuse can be implemented and so higher capacity can be
maintained.
 More robust environment can be obtained.
 There will be a possibility to give subscribers more uniform speech quality.
129
5/24/2011
− In frequency hopping, a set of predefined frequencies is used in each cell and the
MS will be allowed to transmit on different frequency every TDMA frame (4.61
msec) i.e. The MS will change its frequency 217 times per second
− With frequency hopping we can get:

i. Frequency Diversity
ii. Interference Diversity
i. Frequency Diversity
− Frequency hopping can solve the multipath fading (fast fading) problem.
− The multipath fading results from reflections from the surrounding buildings
resulted in low signal strength fading dips.
− The multipath fading is frequency and location dependent.
− With frequency hopping, slow and non-moving MS won’t still in a low signal
strength fading dip more than 1 TDMA frame.
F1
F2
Average
130
5/24/2011
ii. Interference Diversity
− Frequency hopping can also offer better quality when the currently used
frequency is interfered.
− Interference depends on the time, frequency and the MS location.

− With frequency hopping, certain MS will experience interference only for 1 time
during number of hops i.e. if a MS will hop on 4 frequencies one of them is
interfered, then the MS will be subjected to interference 1 time every 4 hops.
− Using frequency hopping will result in spreading the interference on many MSs
which will lead to a radio environment that is more even (symmetric).
− The interference diversity can be expressed as a gain in the C/I ratio.
Channel Group Concept (CHGR)
− Each number of frequencies (Transmitters) in the cell are grouped in what we

called channel group (CHGR), some parameters are defined per the CHGR and not
per cell, for example: within the same cell frequency hopping can be enabled on
certain CHGRs and disabled on others.
− HOP: Is a parameter that is used to enable or disable frequency hopping on

certain CHGR, it has two values either ON/OFF
131
5/24/2011
− Frequency hopping is applied on Traffic channels (TCHs), on SDCCHs and packet
data channels but it is not applied on Broadcast and Common control channels
which are mapped on TS#0 on F0
− Methods of Hopping: we have two methods of hopping

A. Base Band Hopping (BB Hopping)
B. Synthesized frequency Hopping (SY Hopping)
 FHOP: Is a parameter to specify the method of hopping, it takes values: BB/SY
A. Base Band Hopping (BB Hopping)
− Each Transmitter is assigned certain frequency and connected to many MSs, each
Time slot out of the transmitter will belong to different MS but at the same
frequency.
− From MS prospective, each MS will transmit each TS on different frequency.
TRX Transmitter MS1-TS1-
F1
MS TS 1TS TS F1
1 2 3
1
TRX Transmitter MS2-TS1- MS1-TS2-
F2 F2
MS TS 2TS TS F2
1 2 3
2
TRX Transmitter F3MS3-TS1- MS2-TS2- MS1-TS3-
F3 F3 F3
3
MS TS TS TS
1 2 3
3 Transmitter
TRX
4 F4
Bus for routing the time slots
132
5/24/2011
B. Synthesizer Frequency Hopping (SY Frequency Hopping)
− With Synthesized frequency hopping, the MS will receive all its time slots via only
1 transmitter and the transmitter will change its frequency consequently every
TDMA frame based on certain sequence.
TRX1 Trans MS1-TS1- MS1-TS2- MS1-TS3-

F1 F2 F3
MS TS TS TS F1…….Fn
1 2 3
1
TRX2 Trans MS2-TS1- MS2-TS2- MS2-TS3-
F2 F3 F4
MS TS TS TS
F1…….Fn
1 2 3
2
TRX3 Trans F1……..FnMS3-TS1- MS2-TS2- MS1-TS3-
F3 F4 F5
MS TS TS TS
1 2 3
3 Trans
TRX4
F1………Fn
− The Advantage of Synthesized frequency hopping is that the number of hopping
frequencies can be larger than the number of the already existing transmitters
causing the hopping gain to increase without a need to use more hardware.
Modes of Hopping
i. Cyclic Frequency Hopping
ii. Random Frequency Hopping
133
5/24/2011
Modes of Hopping
i. Cyclic Frequency Hopping
− With this type of hopping, frequencies are changed every TDMA frame in a
consecutive order starting with the frequency of the lowest Absolute Radio Frequency
Channel Number (ARFCN).
− For P-GSM (UL 890-915 MHz, DL 935-960MHz), ARFCNs: 1,2,3,4,…… 124
− For example for four frequencies the cyclic hopping between them will appear as
follow: f1, f2, f3, f4, f1, f2, f3, f4, f1, f2, f3, f4, f1, ………
− HSN (Hopping Sequence Number) : Is a parameter defined per CHGR (number of

frequencies) that will be used to specify the mode of hopping, it take values from 0 
63
− When HSN = 0, this means that Cyclic frequency hopping will be used.
Modes of Hopping
ii. Random Frequency Hopping
− With this type of hopping, frequencies are changed every TDMA frame randomly
based on a pseudo-random sequence. The sequence is stored in a look-up table in the
MS as well as the BTS and up to 63 independent sequences can be defined.
− Based on the settings of the parameter HSN (163), one of the 63 independent
random sequences will be used.
− A random hopping sequence for four frequencies may appear as follow:

……, f1, f4, f4, f3, f1, f2, f4, f1, f3, f3, f2,……….
− The period of the Random sequence=6 minutes, i.e. the random sequence repeats
itself once every 6 minutes.
134
5/24/2011
Synthesizer Frequency Hopping (SY Frequency Hopping)
MAIO Concept
− As we mentioned before that HSN is defined per CHGR, so if a CHGR contains 4
Transmitters and HSN=0, then this means that cyclic hopping will be used over these 4
transmitters.
− But in order for the transmitters within the same CHGR to not interfere each other they
must start their hopping with different frequencies.
− And in order to do so a MAIO Same CHGR, HSN=0
f0,f1,f2,f3,f4,f5
(Mobile Allocation Index Offset) will be Transmitter#1 ,f0,….
assigned for each transmitter so each (f0,f1,f2,….fn)
f1,f2,f3,f4,f5,f0
of them will start the hopping sequence Transmitter#1
,f1….
either cyclic/random from a different (f0,f1,f2,….fn)
f2,f3,f4,f5,f0,f1
starting point, based the MAIO assigned Transmitter#1 ,f2….
to it. (f0,f1,f2,….fn)
f3,f4,f5,f0,f1,f2
Transmitter#1 ,f3….
(f0,f1,f2,….fn)
B. Synthesizer Frequency Hopping (SY Frequency Hopping)
MAIO Concept
− We have different MAIOs, i.e. there are different ways through which each transmitter
will start the cyclic/random hopping.
− Using the default MAIO, the even MAIO values in increasing order are picked first then
the odd values, example: for a CHGR of 4 Transmitters, the default MAIO list is 0,2,4,1
Transmitter#1 f0,f1,f2,f3,f4,f5,f0,
(f0,f1,f2,….fn) ….
Same
Transmitter#1 f2,f3,f4,f5,f0,f1,f2
CHGR, N.B: Number of used
(f0,f1,f2,….fn) ….
HSN=0 frequencies can
Transmitter#1 f4,f5,f0,f1,f2,f3,f4 exceed the no. of
(f0,f1,f2,….fn) …. Transmitters.
Transmitter#1 f1,f2,f3,f4,f5,f0,f1
(f0,f1,f2,….fn) ….
135
5/24/2011
Parameters Summary
Frequency Hopping Control Parameters

HOP ON,OFF OFF ON −
FHOP BB,SY − − −
HSN 0 to 63 − − −
MAIO 0 to 31 or Default Default − −
136
5/24/2011
Dynamic Power Control
• Dynamic Power Control

− In this chapter we’ll talk on both BTS and MS Dynamic Power Control.
− The aim with Power Control is to increase the number of connections
while maintaining good C/I (Carrier to Interference Ratio)
− Why Power Control is important ?
i. Decreases the total interference in the system ( Interference )
− So when Traffic increases (no. of MSs) then good C/I can be maintained.
− When Traffic is normal, C/I is improved.
− When Interference is low, MSs with poor quality will be able to
successfully complete their calls.
ii. Decreases the consumption of the MS battery and the BTS
backup batteries when the main supply is down.
137
5/24/2011
I- Dynamic BTS Power Control
• Dynamic BTS Power Control

− The Algorithms for both BTS and MS dynamic power control are the same.
− The below graph shows the relation between BTS o/p power and the measured
(received) signal strength at the MS vs. the path loss between BTS and MS
1
2
138
5/24/2011
− For the area before point 1, the received power at the MS in the DL is very good
and sufficient, however the BTS can’t make any sort of down regulation and sends
with power less than its minimum power.
− As the MS is moving away from the BTS, the received power is decreasing, so after
crossing point 1, the BTS will start up regulating its power in steps to compensate
for the path loss.
− At point 2, the BTS can’t up regulate its power for a value above the max. allowed
power level even if the received power in the MS is deteriorated or the path loss
increased.

− For Quality measurements the below graph shows the up regulations in the BTS
o/p power when quality is deteriorated (SS is not into consideration here)
− As the Quality got worse ( 0  7), the BTS will try to increase its power to
compensate for the quality drop.
139
5/24/2011

Algorithm: The Dynamic BTS Power Control algorithm is done on 3 stages
1. Preparation of the Input Data.

2. Filtering of measurements.
3. Calculation of Power Order.

Algorithm: 1) Preparation of the Input Data
− Dynamic Power Control is made on TCHs time slots as well as on the SDCCH time
slots(on TCH carriers), while the BCCH frequency with all its time slots is sent with
max. power with no power control.
Measurement Source
− Type of measurements SS_DL MS
Quality_DL MS
power level used by the BTS_DL BTS
− Both SS_DL and Quality_DL measurements will be used in the equation through
which the next power order is calculated.
140
5/24/2011

− REGINTDL: A parameter that defines the minimum time period between two
consecutive power orders in the DL. Measured in SACCH periods (0.48 Seconds)
from 1 to 10 SACCH periods i.e. Regulating Interval in DL. (It is a BSC parameter)
− The BTS is able to changes its output power , the resolution in o/p power is in the
form of steps of 2 dBs and maximum change is 30 dBs.
(ex: 2dBs, 4dBs,………. , max to 30 dBs)
− When power control is in use the BTS output power level will be given as:
Down Regulation: BTS o/p powernew (dBm) = BTS o/p powerold – 2*PLused , PLused = 0
to 15
 PLused is the power regulation step

− SSDESDL: A parameter that defines the desired Signal Strength in DL which we aim
to maintain using power control. Measured in dBm
− The SS measured will be checked against SSDESDL to know if Down regulation in

the BTS power or up regulation is needed
− QDESDL: A parameter that defines the desired Quality in DL which we aim to

maintain using power control. Measured in dtqu ( 0 to 70)
− The Quality measured will be checked against QDESDL to know if Down regulation
in the BTS power or up regulation is needed.
141
5/24/2011

− The equation used to calculate the power order in the next SACCH period contains
information on SSDESDL−SS_DLmeasured and QDESDL−Quality_DLmeasured.
− SSDESDL− SS_DLmeasured is measured in dBm, while QDESDL− Quality_DLmeasured is

measured in dtqu so to be used in the same equation some sort of mapping should
be done,
i.e. QDESDL−Quality_DLmeasured should be represented in the form of dBs as well
QDESDL (dtqu) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Quality_DLmeasured 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
dB transformation C/I
23 19 17 15 13 11 8 4
calculation (dB)

SS Compensation
− We aim to get the SS of the pure TCH time slot compensated for both frequency
hopping when BCCH frequency is included and compensated for power control.
i. Compensating for frequency hopping:
 When the MS is using a TS on BCCH carrier
SS_DLTCH = SS_DLMeasured – [ BSPWR – (BSTXPWR - 2*PLused) ]
SS_DLTCH = SS_DLMeasured – ( BSPWR – BSTXPWR + 2*PLused )
 When the MS is using a TS on TCH frequency
SS_DLTCH = SS_DLMeasured
By Averaging the results then:
SS_DLTCH = SS_DLMeasured – ( BSPWR – BSTXPWR + 2*PLused )/ Nf ,
Nf = no. of hopping frequencies
142
5/24/2011

SS Compensation
ii. Compensating for power control:

SS_DLCompensated = SS_DLTCH + 2*PLused
 Now in further calculations SS_DLCompensated will be used, where SSCompensated is the
signal
strength compensated for both frequency hopping and power regulations.
Quality Compensation
− Quality_DLCompensated is calculated in the same way such that:
Quality_DLCompensated = Quality_DLmeasured (in dBs) + 2*PLused
 Where the Quality_DLmeasured (in dBs) is the Quality_DLmeasured (07) after
transforming it into dBs


143
5/24/2011

Algorithm: 2) Filtering of measurements
− Filtering for both SS and Quality is done with exponential non-linear filters in order
to eliminate variations of temporary nature.
(A) Filtering of SS Measurements
− SS_DLFiltered (k) = b* SS_DLCompensated (k) + a* SS_DLFiltered (K-1), k is the SACCH period
− a & b (b=1-a) are the non-linear filter’s coefficients and “a” will define the length of
the filter “L”, where each filter length “L” corresponds to certain value of “a”
− But how the length of the non-linear filter is calculated?

− SS_DLFiltered (k) = b* SS_DLCompensated (k) + a* SS_DLFiltered(K-1), k is the SACCH period
If SS_DLCompensated (k) < If SS_DLCompensated (k) >

SS_DLFiltered(K-1) SS_DLFiltered(K-1)
then L = SSLENDL where, then L = SSLENDL
SSLENDL = 3 15 SACCH *UPDWNRATIO/100 where,
periods SSLENDL = 3 15 SACCH periods
UPDWNRATIO = 100  700
In this case “up regulation is In this case “Down regulation is
needed” and it should be done needed” and it should be done in a
very fast in order to not lose the smooth way, coz decreasing the
connection. power suddenly may harm the
connection.
144
5/24/2011

(B) Filtering of Quality Measurements
− Quality_DLFiltered (k) = b* Quality_DLCompensated (k) + a* Quality_DLFiltered(K-1),
k is the SACCH period
If Quality_DLCompensated (k) < If Quality_DLCompensated (k)

Quality_DLFiltered(K-1) >Quality_DLFiltered(K-1)
then L = QLENDL where, then L = QSLENDL
QSLENDL = 1 20 SACCH periods *UPDWNRATIO/100 where,
QSLENDL = 1 20 SACCH periods
In this case “up regulation is needed” In this case “Down regulation is needed”
and it should be done very fast in order and it should be done in a smooth way,
to not lose the connection. coz decreasing the power suddenly may
harm the connection.

− SS_DLFiltered(K-1) is set initially = SSDESDL, that will lead to start power regulations
immediately after the first valid measurement report.
− Also Quality_DLFiltered(K-1) is set initially = QDESDL, that will lead to start power
regulations immediately after the first valid measurement report.
− SSDESDL: has value range from -110 to -47 dbm and default value is -90 dbm
− QDESDL: has value range from 0 to 70 dtqu and default value is 30 dtqu
145
5/24/2011

Algorithm:
 Till now we finalized two stages from the algorithm:
SS_DLmeasured Compensation SS_DLCompens Filtering SS_DLFiltered

ated
Q_DLmeasured Quality units to

Q_DLmeasured( Compensation
(Quality Units) dB dB)
transformation
Q_DLFiltered Filtering Q_DLCompensated


146
5/24/2011

Algorithm: 3) Calculation of Power Order (PU)
− This will be done on three stages:

(A) Calculating the two basic Power Orders
(B) Applying the Power Orders constraints
(C) Conversion of output data.

pui = αi * (SSDESDL - SS_DLFiltered) + βi * (QDESDL - Q_DLFiltered)
i = 1,2 and α1 & β1 are parameters to compensate for the path loss and quality.
α1 = LCOMPDL/100, β1 = QCOMPDL/100, α2 = 0.3, β2 = 0.4
 pu1 is calculated according to settings of α1 & β1 ( The operator will set the proper
values from his point of view for LCOMPDL & QCOMPDL),
 Default values: LCOMPDL=5 and COPMDL=55
 pu2 is calculated according to recommended settings of α2 & β2 based on trials
and field measurements.
147
5/24/2011

pui = αi * (SSDESDL - SS_DLFiltered) + βi * (QDESDL - Q_DLFiltered)
 pu1 and pu2 both of them aim to maintain the SS within the desired value defined
according to SSDESDL and to maintain the Quality within the desired value defined
according to QDESDL but each will calculate the path loss in different way.
 pu_used = max (pu1,pu2), max of pu1 and pu2 will be used as the desired power
order in the next measurement report coz the max of both of them will mean lower
down regulation/higher up regulation.

Algorithm: 3) Calculation of Power Order (pu)
(B) Applying Power Order constraints
− The highest allowed power order pu_used = zero, which means keeping the output
power at maximum value with no power control.
− The lowest allowed power order is given by the minimum of the following:
pu_used= minimum (30 dB, BSPWRT- minimum BTS o/p power)
i.e. it is not allowed to decrease the o/p power or increase it by a value > 30 dB
(C) Conversion of output data
− pu_used will be interpreted into final form  PL_used which takes from015
− PL_used =Integer(-pu_used/2)
− ex: if PL_used = 3 and Down regulation for power is required, then in the next
measurement report the BSC will inform the BTS to decrease its current power by
2* PL_used = 6 dBs
148
5/24/2011

Parameters Summary
Dynamic BTS Power Control Parameters
Recommended
Parameter Name Value Range Default Value Unit
Value
SSDESDL −110 to −47 −90 −90 dBm
QDESDL 0 to 76 30 30 dtqu
SSLENDL 3 to 15 3 3 SACCH period (0.48 Seconds)
QLENDL 1 to 20 8 3 SACCH period (0.48 Seconds)
LCOMPDL 0 to 100 5 5 −
QCOMPDL 0 to 100 55 55 −
UPDWNRATIO 100 to 700 200 300 −
REGINTDL 1 to 10 1 1 SACCH period (0.48 Seconds)
II- Dynamic MS Power Control
149
5/24/2011
• Dynamic MS Power Control

− The Objective of the MS power control algorithm is to adjust the output power of
the MS so that a desired signal strength is received in the BTS
− The below graph shows the relation between MS o/p power and the measured
(received) signal strength at the BTS vs. the path loss between BTS and MS
1
2
− For the area before point 1, the received power at the BTS in the UL is very good
and sufficient, however the MS can’t make any sort of down regulation and sends
with power less than its minimum power.
− As the MS is moving away from the BTS, the received power is decreasing, so after
crossing point 1, the MS will start up regulating its power in steps to compensate
for the path loss.
− At point 2, the MS can’t up regulate its power for a value above the max. allowed
power level even if the received power in the MS is deteriorated or the path loss
increased.
150
5/24/2011

− For Quality measurements the below graph shows the up regulations in the MS o/p
power when quality is deteriorated (SS is not taken into consideration here)
− As the Quality got worse ( 0  7), the MS will try to increase its power to
compensate for the quality drop.

Algorithm: The Dynamic MS Power Control algorithm is done on 3 stages

151
5/24/2011

− Dynamic Power Control is made on TCHs time slots as well as on the SDCCH time
slots.
− Type of measurements Measurement Source
SS_UL BTS
Quality_UL BTS
power level used by the MS_UL MS
− Both SS_UL and Quality_UL measurements will be used in the equation through
which the next power order is calculated.

− REGINTUL: A parameter that defines the minimum time period between two
consecutive power orders. Measured in SACCH periods (0.48 Seconds) from 1 to 30
SACCH periods.
− The BTS is able to changes its output power in the form of steps of 2 dBs
(ex: 2dBs, 4dBs,………. , max to 16 dBs)
− When power control is in use the MS output power level will be given as:
MS o/p powernew (dBm) = MS o/p powerold – 2*PLused where PLused = 0 to 8
152
5/24/2011

− SSDESUL: A parameter that defines the desired Signal Strength in UL which we aim
to maintain using power control in the UL. Measured in dBm
− The SS measured will be checked against SSDESUL to know if Down regulation in

the MS power or up regulation is needed
− QDESUL: A parameter that defines the desired Quality in UL which we aim to

maintain using power control in the UL. Measured in dtqu ( 0 to 70)
− The Quality measured will be checked against QDESUL to know if Down regulation
in the MS power or up regulation is needed.

− The equation used to calculate the power order in the next SACCH period contains
information on SSDESUL−SS_ULmeasured and QDESUL−Quality_ULmeasured.
− SSDESUL− SS_ULmeasured is measured in dBm, while QDESUL− Quality_ULmeasured is

measured in dtqu so to be used in the same equation some sort of mapping should
be done,
i.e. QDESUL−Quality_ULmeasured should be represented in the form of dBs as well
QDESUL (dtqu) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Quality_ULmeasured 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
dB transformation
23 19 17 15 13 11 8 4
(dB)
153
5/24/2011

SS Compensation
− Compensating for power control:

SS_ULCompensated = SS_ULmeasured + 2*PLused
 Now in further calculations SS_ULCompensated will be used, where SSCompensated is the
signal
strength compensated for power regulations.
Quality Compensation
− Quality_ULCompensated is calculated in the same way such that:
Quality_ULCompensated = Quality_ULmeasured (in dBs) + 2*PLused
 Where the Quality_ULmeasured (in dBs) is the Quality_ULmeasured (07) after
transforming it into dBs


154
5/24/2011

− Filtering for both SS and Quality is done with exponential non-linear filters in order
to eliminate variations of temporary nature.
− SS_ULFiltered (k) = b* SS_ULCompensated (k) + a* SS_ULCompensated(K-1), k is the SACCH

period
− a & b (b=1-a) are the non-linear filter’s coefficients and “a” will define the length of
the filter “L”, where each filter length “L” corresponds to certain value of “a”
− But how the length of the non-linear filter is calculated?

− SS_ULFiltered (k) = b* SS_ULCompensated (k) + a* SS_ULFiltered(K-1), k is the SACCH period
If SS_ULCompensated (k) < If SS_ULCompensated (k) >

SS_ULFiltered(K-1) SS_ULFiltered(K-1)
then L = SSLENUL where, then L = SSLENUL
SSLENUL = 3 15 SACCH *UPDWNRATIO/100 where,
periods SSLENUL = 3 15 SACCH periods
In this case “Down regulation is
In this case “up regulation is needed” and it should be done in a
needed” and it should be done smooth way, coz decreasing the
very fast in order to not lose the power suddenly may harm the
connection. connection.
155
5/24/2011

(B) Filtering of Quality Measurements
− Quality_ULFiltered (k) = b* Quality_ULCompensated (k) + a* Quality_ULFiltered(K-1),
k is the SACCH period
If Quality_ULCompensated (k) < If Quality_ULCompensated (k)

Quality_ULFiltered(K-1) >Quality_ULFiltered(K-1)
then L = QLENUL where, then L = QLENUL *UPDWNRATIO/100
QSLENUL = 1 20 SACCH periods where,
QLENUL = 1 20 SACCH periods
In this case “up regulation is needed”
and it should be done very fast in order In this case “Down regulation is needed”
to not lose the connection. and it should be done in a smooth way,
coz decreasing the power suddenly may
harm the connection.

− SS_ULFiltered(K-1) is set initially = SSDESUL, that will lead to start power regulations
immediately after the first valid measurement report.
− Also Quality_ULFiltered(K-1) is set initially = QDESUL, that will lead to start power
regulations immediately after the first valid measurement report.
− SSDESUL: has value range from -110 to -47 dbm and recommended value is -92
dbm
− QDESUL: has value range from 0 to 70 dtqu and recommended value is 30 dtqu
156
5/24/2011

Algorithm:
 Till now we finalized two stages from the algorithm:
SS_ULmeasured Compensation SS_ULCompens Filtering SS_ULFiltere

ated d
Q_ULmeasured Quality units to Compensation

Q_ULmeasured(
(Quality Units) dB dB)
transformation
Q_ULFiltered Filtering Q_ULCompensat
ed

Algorithm: The Dynamic MS Power Control algorithm is done on 3 stages

157
5/24/2011

− This will be done on three stages:

(B) Applying the Power Orders constraints
(C) Conversion of output data.

pui = αi * (SSDESUL - SS_ULFiltered) + βi * (QDESUL - Q_ULFiltered)
α1 = LCOMPUL/100, β1 = QCOMPUL/100, α2 = 0.3, β2 = 0.4
 pu1 is calculated according to settings of α1 & β1 ( The operator will set the proper
values from his point of view for LCOMPUL & QCOMPUL)
 pu2 is calculated according to recommended settings of α2 & β2 based on trials
and field measurements.
158
5/24/2011

pui = αi * (SSDESUL - SS_ULFiltered) + βi * (QDESUL - Q_ULFiltered)
 pu1 and pu2 both of them aim to maintain the SS within the desired value defined
according to SSDESUL and to maintain the Quality within the desired value defined
according to QDESUL but each will calculate the path loss in different way.
 pu_used = max (pu1,pu2), max of pu1 and pu2 will be used as the desired power
order in the next measurement report coz the max of both of them will mean lower
down regulation/higher up regulation

Algorithm: 3) Calculation of Power Order (pu)
(B) Applying Power Order constraints
− The highest allowed power order pu_used = zero, which means keeping the output
power at maximum value with no power control.
− The lowest allowed power order is given by the minimum of 16 dB i.e. it is not
allowed to decrease the o/p power or increase it by a value > 16 dB
(C) Conversion of output data

− pu_used will be interpreted into final form  PL_used which takes values from 0
8
− PL_used =Integer(-pu_used/2)
− ex: if PL_used = 3 and Down regulation for power is required, then in the next
measurement report the BSC will inform the MS to decrease its current power by
2* PL_used = 6 dBs
159
5/24/2011

Parameters Summary
Dynamic BTS Power Control Parameters
Recommended
Parameter Name Value Range Default Value Unit
Value
SSDESUL −110 to −47 −92 −92 dBm
QDESUL 0 to 76 30 30 dtqu
SSLENUL 3 to 15 3 3 SACCH period (0.48 Seconds)
QLENUL 1 to 20 3 3 SACCH period (0.48 Seconds)
LCOMPUL 0 to 100 6 6 −
QCOMPUL 0 to 100 75 75 −
UPDWNRATIO 100 to 700 200 300 −
REGINTUL 1 to 30 1 1 SACCH period (0.48 Seconds)
160
5/24/2011
GSM to UMTS Cell Reselection and

Handover
• GSM to UMTS Cell Reselection and Handover
− All 3G user equipments (UEs) can support Multi RATs(Radio Access Technology) i.e.
Both GSM and UMTS.
− With feature GSM-UMTS cell reselection and HO feature an operator can make use
of both GSM and UMTS systems to complement each other.
− Multi RAT users can have good coverage even in areas where no UMTS coverage
and this can be accomplished using UMTS-GSM cell reselection and HO.
− COEXUMTS: Is a BSC parameter used to activate the feature GSM-UMTS cell

reselection and Handover.
161
5/24/2011
 New concepts will be introduced to understand how the feature works:
− CPICH Ec/No: Common Pilot Channel - Energy per chip/Noise level power density
Used as a measure of the Quality of the neighbor UMTS cell.
− CPICH RSCP: Common Pilot Channel - Received Signal Code Power

Used as a measure of the SS of the neighbor UMTS cell after
dispreading.

Measurements on UMTS Cells
− Inorder to be able to make cell reselection or HO to a UMTS neighbor cell, the multi
RAT UE should be able to make measurements on this neighbor as well as the
ordinary GSM cells.
− But when or at which conditions the UE will perform measurements on the UMTS
neighbors?
 This will be based on the settings of the parameters QSI and QSC.
− QSI: used to manage the conditions of measuring the UMTS cell in Idle Mode
QSC: used to manage the conditions of measuring the UMTS cell in Active Mode
162
5/24/2011

Measurements on UMTS Cells
Example: If QSC=8, then the UE in When to start measuring the neighbor UMTS cell ?
QSI/QSC Signal Strength of the serving GSM Cell
dedicated mode is allowed to 0 to 6 "Below" -98dBm to -74 dBm in steps of 4 dB
measure the neighbor UMTS cell 7 Always
only when the SS of the serving 8 to 14 "Above" -78dBm to -54 dBm in steps of 4 dB
15 Never
GSM Cell > -78 dBm
SS(dB
m)
-78
dBm
-90 dBm
─ time
GSM GSM&UMTS GSM GSM&UMTS
measurement measurements measurements measurements
s

(I) GSM to UMTS Cell Reselection: This is controlled through set of parameters
QSI: Which defines at which conditions the UMTS cell will be measured in idle mode,
because there won’t be any kind of cell reselection without performing
measurements.
FDDQMIN: Defines the minimum quality of a UMTS cell inorder to be candidate for
cell reselection i.e. this condition should be satisfied CPICH Ec/No >FDDQMIN
condition#1
default value = 5 (-10 dB)
FDDRSCPMIN: Defines the minimum SS of a UMTS cell inorder to be candidate for cell
reselection i.e. this condition should be satisfied CPICH RSCP >FDDRSCPMIN
condition#2
default value= 6 (-102 dBm)
163
5/24/2011

(I) GSM to UMTS Cell Reselection: This is controlled through set of parameters
FDDQOFF: It is the key parameter to control the behavior of the cell reselection
provided that condition#1 and condition#2 are fulfilled.
If CPICH RSCP > RLA (S+N) + FDDQOFFS for at least 5 sec  condition#3then “Cell
reselection will occur”
RLA (S+N): It is the Received Level Average of the signal strength of the
serving+neighbor GSM cells measured in dBm, averaging is made on at least 5
measurements over a period of 35 seconds.
N.B: If the criteria for inter system cell reselection from GSM to
UMTS is fulfilled then the multi RAT UE will perform cell
reselection to the UMTS cell even if the criteria for selection
another ordinary GSM cell is fulfilled.

(II) GSM to UMTS Handover:
FDDMRR: The multi RAT UE is informed on how many UMTS cells (03) he should
report in the measurement report using this parameter.
− Upon receiving the measurements from the multi RAT UE, the BSC will handle the
GSM and UMTS cells separately by filtering out the UMTS measurements before
the GSM locating algorithm.
Filtering
Filtering out the UMTS cells
Basic Ranking
Urgency
Condition
UMTS % idle TCHs ≤ ISOLEV Aux. Radio GSM
features Evaluatio
Evaluation
Organizing the
Ec/No > MRSL list
n
Add UMTS cells to
Candidate list Sending the list
and allocation
reply
164
5/24/2011

(II) GSM to UMTS Handover: This is controlled through set of parameters
QSC: Which defines at which conditions the UMTS cell will be measured in active mode,
because there won’t be any kind of cell reselection without performing
measurements.
MRSL: It is a BSC parameter that gives the minimum threshold for the quality (Ec/No)
for a UMTS neighbor cell in order to be added to the HO candidate list,
recommended value= -9 dB
ISHOLEV: It is a Cell parameter. The percentage of idle TCHs in the serving GSM cell will
be compared vs. ISHOLEV to decide if the UMTS will be added to the HO candidate
list or not.
 Conditions that should be fulfilled for a UMTS cell to be added to the HO candidate
list:
(1) No. of Idle TCHsGSM ServingCell ≤ ISHOLEV, or urgency conditions are detected in the GSM
serving cell either due to BQ or TA
(2) CPICH Ec/No UMTS Neighbor ≥ MRSL

(II) GSM to UMTS Handover:
− Now all the valid neighboring UMTS cells will be sorted in order of decreasing
CPICH Ec/No in order to form the UMTS candidate list.
− But how the two lists, the GSM and UMTS will be sorted?
Ans.: this will depend on the urgency conditions and the load as follow
Non-Urgency HO Condition Urgency HO Condition
No Load Load No Load Load
UMTS list GSM list UMTS list

GSM list
GSM list UMTS list GSM list
− N.B: To have balance between the behavior in the idle & active modes it is
recommended to set the values for FDDQMIN (idle) = MRSL (active)
165
5/24/2011

Parameters Summary
GSM-UMTS Cell Reselection and HO Control Parameters
COEXUMTS 0(OFF),1(ON) 0(OFF) 1(ON) −
0 to 6(Below:-98dBm t o -74dBm)
7(Always)
QSI 15 − −
8 to 14(Above:-78dBm to -54dBm)
15 (Never)
0 to 6(Below:-98dBm t o -74dBm)
7(Always)
QSC 15 − −
8 to 14(Above:-78dBm to -54dBm)
15 (Never)
0 to 7 (-20dB, -18dB,
FDDQMIN 0 (-20dB) 5(-10dB) −
-16dB, -14dB, 12dB -10dB, -8dB, -6dB)
FDDRSCPMIN 0 to 15(-114 dBm to -84 dBm in steps of 2dBm) 6(-102 dBm) 6(-102 dBm) −
FDDQOFF 0 to 15 (-inf, -28dB to 28dB in steps of 4 dB) 8(0 dB) 0(-inf) −
FDMRR 0 to 3 0 1 or 2 −
MRSL 0 to 49 − 30 (-9 dB)
ISHOLEV 0 to 99 20 − %
Thank You
166
5/24/2011
Trouble Shooting and KPIs

Monitoring
• Trouble Shooting & KPIs monitoring
− The Quality of service means that how the subscriber is satisfied with the overall
service.
− To keep the quality of service good as much as possible, we have to enhance the
following:
(A) Accessibility: The ability of users to access the network.
(B) Retainability: The ability of users to successfully continue their connections with
the network until it is terminated in a normal way.
(C) Service Integrity: The ability to keep the quality of the service good enough
during the connection with the network.
167
5/24/2011

− KPIs: “Key Performance Indicators” it is a general term used to define the keys or
observations through which you can judge if the performance is good or not.
(A) Accessibility KPIs:

Paging Success Rate
Random Access
SDCCH Congestion (Blocking)
TCH Blocking
SDCCH Drop

(B) Retainability KPIs:
TCH Drop Rate
Handover Success Rate
(C) Service Integrity KPIs:

Rxqual (Received Signal Quality)
SQI (Speech Quality Indicator)
168
5/24/2011

(1) Paging
− On MSC level there is counters to count:

No. of attempts of paging to the Location Area
No. of paging response to first paging
No. of paging response to the repeated paging.
 Using these counters we can form the equation to calculate the paging success rate.

(1) Paging: The Paging Success rate on certain LA as appeared from the statistics:
Paging
Attempts
Paging Success
Rate
169
5/24/2011

(1) Paging
What are the causes of bad paging performance?

− Implicit detach is not used: parameter ATT is set to “Off”
− Low Signal Strength
− Not optimized paging strategy
− Use of combined BCCH mapping in high traffic location areas.
− Location area dimensioning
− Using of IMSI most of the time instead of TMSI

(2) Random Access
− A failure in the random access doesn’t mean a call setup failure because the MS
sends many random access bursts each time it tries to access the network.
− There are counters to count the no. of accepted random access requests, and the
no. of discarded requests (incremented for random access requests that are
received with too high Time Advance) through which the random access success
rate can be calculated.
− Causes of low random access success rate may be due to:

Too high Time Advance (TA)
High Interference
Bad BSIC Planning
170
5/24/2011

(3) SDCCH Congestion
− It is the failure of call/connection setup due to high signaling load.
− There are counters to count the no. failed allocations due to SDCCH congestion and
the no. of call attempts through which the SDCCH congestion rate can be
calculated.
− Causes of high SDCCH congestion? This is may be due to:

Location Area border cell.
High SMS Traffic.
Hardware Availability.
No. of configured SDCCHs is low.

(4) TCH Blocking
− It is the failure of setup a call/connection due to TCH congestion.
− There are counters to count the no. of released connections on SDCCH due to TCH
congestion and the no. of assignment attempts on TCH channel through which the
TCH blocking rate can be calculated.
− Causes of high TCH Blocking may be due to:

Hardware problem.
Too few TCH resources defined.
Missing neighbor cell definition.
171
5/24/2011

(4) TCH Blocking: The TCH Blocking as appeared from the Statistics
HR
Traffic
FR Traffic
TCH Blocking
Defined TCH
Channels
 TCH Blocking was solved after expansion (adding new frequency)


(5) SDCCH Drop
− It is the failure of setup a call/connection due to SDCCH channel drop.

N.B: when a connection is dropped at call setup it will affect the accessibility KPIs
− There are counters to count the no. of dropped connections on SDCCH and the no.
of successful MS channel establishments on SDCCH through which the SDCCH drop
rate can be calculated.
− Causes of high SDCCH drop rate may be due to:
Bad Coverage.
Interference.
Hardware problems.
Wrong parameters’ settings
172
5/24/2011

(1) TCH Drop
− It is the drop of the connection on the traffic channel which was assigned to the MS
− There are counters to count the no. of dropped connections and the initiated
connections on TCH channels through which the TCH drop rate can be calculated.
− Causes of high TCH drop rate may be due to:

Bad coverage.
Interference.
Hardware problems.
Missing Neighbors or Incomplete Active BA lists.
Wrong parameters‘ settings.

(1) TCH Drop: The TCH drop as appeared from the statistics.
TCH Traffic
TCH Drop
Rate
 High drop rate was solved after fixing a hardware problem.

173
5/24/2011

(1) TCH Drop: The TCH drop reasons as appeared from the statistics.
BQ Both Links
BQ Downlink
BQ Uplink
Low SS Both
Links
Low SS
Downlink
Low SS Uplink
Sudden Lost
 Main drop reason is due to BQ in downlink

(1) TCH Drop: The TCH drop reasons as appeared from the statistics.
BQ Both Links
BQ Downlink
BQ Uplink
Low SS Both
Links
Low SS
Downlink
Low SS Uplink
Sudden Lost
 Main drop reason is due to low SS Both link
174
5/24/2011

(2) Handover Success Rate
− There are counters to measure the number of Handover attempts from cell to cell
and the Handover success rate.
− Poor Handover Success rate may be due to:

Bad Frequency plan.
Wrong definitions and missing neighbors.
Wrong parameters settings.
Hardware problems.
− Handover failure does not mean a drop call will occur.

(1) Rxqual:
− It is obtained by averaging the Bit Error Rate over a certain period ~ 0.5 sec and it is
measured in both the Downlink and Uplink
− Rxqual take values from 0 (Best)  7 (Worst) and gives indication for the quality of
the radio environment.
− There are counters to measure the no. of samples that received with Rxqual 0,1,2,….7
175
5/24/2011

(2) SQI (Speech Quality Index):
− Is a good measure for the end user perceived speech quality.
− The algorithm used for calculation the SQI takes into account the BER, the
distribution of BER, the FER (Frame Erasure Rate) and the codec used (HR, FR, EFR).
The output values are measured on a dBQ scale.
− Typically, the SQI take values from 0 (Worst)  30 (Best), on HR connection

SQImax=17dBQ, FR connection SQImax=22dBQ, AMR HR SQImax=28dBQ, EFR
connection SQImax=30dBQ
− N.B: HR ≡ Half Rate, FR ≡ Full Rate, EFR ≡ Enhance Full Rate
176

Prepared by Legend Technical Team: Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Prepared by Legend Technical Team: Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

5/24/2011

Prepared by Legend Technical Team

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

− Nominal Plan Design. − Maintain the Network„s Accessibility

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Part I: Radio Network Planning

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Part II- Radio Network Optimization

What will be our concern during this part of the course?

How the RF Optimization people can maintain the KPIs?

What are we going to study during this part of the course?

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Part II- Radio Network Optimization

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

• GSM stands for “ Global System for Mobile Communication”

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

• GSM System can work in different bands as follows:

Frequency Band-Down Link Frequency Band-Up Link

– DCS: Digital Cellular System PCS: Personal Communication Services.

• But what do we mean by frequency Band?

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

• Down Link and Up link bands

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

• Why DL band is higher than the UL band?

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

 What do we mean by Multiple Access techniques?

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Uplink 890 – 915 MHz

935.2 935.6 Downlink

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

• For the all GSM Bands

System P-GSM 900 E-GSM 900 GSM(DCS) 1800 GSM(PCS) 1900

Bandwidth 25 MHz 35 MHz 75 MHz 60 MHz

Duplex distance 45 MHz 45 MHz 95 MHz 80 MHz

No. of carriers 124 174 374 299

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

GSM Network Architecture

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Core Network (NSS: Network Switching System)

 MSC (Mobile Switching Center)

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Core Network (NSS: Network Switching System)

 HLR (Home Location Register)

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

BSS (Base Station System)

 BTS (Base Transceiver Station)

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

 SIM card (Subscriber Identification Module)

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

• Over the Air Interface

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Physical Channels vs. Logical Channels

 Physical channel: Time slot is called the physical channel.

Copy Rights © LEGEND Co. 2010

Traffic Channels Control Channels

Half Rate Full Rate

Frequency Correction Channel Paging Channel Fast Associated Control Channel

Synchronization Channel Access Grant Channel Cell Broadcast Control Channel