ZTE - GSM Basic Radio Parameters PDF

GSM Basic Radio parameters
ZTE University
Objectives
 At the end of this course, you will be able to:

 Understand the meaning of various radio parameters
 Grasp the setting of radio parameters
 State the effect to radio network performance of various
kind of radio parameters
Content
 Network identification parameters

 System control parameters
 Cell selection parameters
 Network function parameters
Roles of identification parameters
 Enable the MS to correctly identify the ID of the current
network
 Enable the network to be real time informed of the correct

geographical location of the MS
 Enable the MS to report correctly the adjacent cell

information during the conversation process
CELL GLOBAL IDENTITY (CGI)
 Cell Global Identity (CGI)

 It is used for identifying individual cells within an LA
3 Digits 2-3 Digits Max 16 Bits Max 16 bits
MCC MNC LAC CI
LAI
Cell Global Identity

ROLES OF CGI
 The CGI information is sent along the system broadcasting
information in every cell.
 When the MS receives the system information, it will

extract the CGI information from it and determines whether
to camp on the cell according to the MCC and MNC
specified by the CGI.
 It judges whether the current location area is changed,

then determines whether to take the location updating
process.
SETTING OF CGI
 MCC（Mobile Country Code）:
 consists of 3 decimal digits, and the value range is the decimal
000 ～ 999.
 MNC（Mobile Network Code）:

00 ～ 999.
 LAC（Location Area Code）:

 The range is 1-65535.
 CI（Cell Identity）:
BASE STATION IDENTITY CODE (BSIC)
 Base Station Identity Code (BSIC)

 It enables MSs to distinguish between
neighboring base stations
3 Bits 3 Bits
NCC BCC
BSIC
NCC Network/ National Color Code Value Range: 0~7

BCC Base Station Color Code Value Range: 0~7
NCC and BCC ROLES
 NCC:
 In the connection mode (during conversation), the MS
must measure the signals in the adjacent cells and
report the result to the network. As each measurement
report sent by the MS can only contain the contents of
six cells, so it is necessary to control the MS so as to
only report the information of cells factually related to
the cell concerned. The high 3 bits (i.e. NCC) in the
BSIC serve this purpose.
 BCC:
 The BCC is used to identify different BS using the same
BCCH in the same GSMPLMN.
BSIC CONFIGURATION PRINCIPLE
A B C
D E F
 In general, it is required that Cells A, B, C, D, E and

F use different BSIC when they have same BCCH
frequency. When the BSIC resources are not
enough, the cells close to each other may take the
priority to use different BSIC.
ROLES OF BSIC
 Inform the MS the TSC used by the common signaling
channel of the cell.
 As the BSIC takes part in the decoding process of the
random access channel (RACH), it can be used to prevent
the BS from mis-decoding the RACH, sent by the MS to
an adjacent cell, as the access channel of this cell.
 When the MS is in the connection mode (during
conversation), it must measure the BCCH level of adjacent
cells broadcasting by BCCH and report the results to the
BS. In the uplink measurement report, MS must show
BSIC of this carrier it has measured to every frequency
point.
BA LIST (BCCH ADJACENT LIST)
 Adjacent cell BCCH table

 At most 32 adjacent cell
 Carried by BCCH when MS is idle, by SACCH
when MS is dedicated
 The MS will first search carriers from this table
and if none is found it will turns to find any of 30
carriers with highest levels.
Content

RANDOM ACCESS
 Random access is the process that messages

being transmitted on RACH when a MS turns
from “idle” to “dedicate” mode. The main
parameters includes:
 MAXRETRANS
 Tx_Integer
 AC
MAX RETRANS
 When starting the immediate assignment process

(e.g, when MS needs location updating,
originating calls or responding to paging calls), the
MS will transmit the "channel request" message
over the RACH to the network. As the RACH is an
ALOHA channel, in order to enhance the MS
access success rate, the network allows the MS to
transmit multiple channel request messages
before receiving the immediate assignment
message. The numbers of maximum
retransmission (MAX RETRANS) are determined
by the network.
MAX RETRANS
 The MAX RETRANS is often set in the following ways:
For areas (suburbs or rural areas) where the cell radius is more
than 3km and the traffic is smaller, the MAX RETRANS can be
set 11 (i.e. the MAX RETRANS is 7).
For areas (not bustling city blocks) where the cell radius is less
than 3km and the traffic is moderate, the MAX RETRANS can be
set 10（i.e. the MAX RETRANS is 4).
For micro-cellular, it’s recommend that the MAX RETRANS be
For microcellular areas with very high traffic and cells with
apparent congestion, it’s recommend that the MAX RETRANS
be set 00（i.e. the MAX RETRANS is 1).
Transmission Distribution Timeslots
(Tx_integer)
The Tx_integer parameter is the interval in timeslots at which

the MS continuously sends multiple channel request messages.
The parameter S is an intermediate variable in the access

algorithm, and is to be determined by the Tx_integer parameter
and the combination mode of the CCCH and SDCCH
Format of Tx_Integer
 MS starts the first channel request message : {0, 1, ...,
MAX (Tx_integer, 8)-1}
 The number of timeslots between any two adjacent
channel request messages {S, S+1, ..., S+Tx_integer-1}
 The Tx_integer is a decimal number, which can be 3~12,
14, 16, 20, 25, 32 and 50 (default). The values of the
parameter S are shown as below:
CCH Combination Mode
Tx_integer
CCCH Not Shared with SDCCH CCCH Shared with SDCCH
3, 8, 14, 50 55 41
4, 9, 16, 76 52
5, 10, 20, 109 58
6, 11, 25, 163 86
7, 12, 32, 217 115
ACCESS CONTROL AC
 The access levels are distributed as follows:

 C 0～C9: ordinary subscribers;
 C11: used for PLMN management;
 C12: used by the security department;
 C13: public utilities （e.g. water, gas）;
 C14: emergency service;
 C15: PLMN staff.
SETTING OF AC
 In the BS installation and commissioning process or in the
process of maintaining or testing some cells, the operator
can set C0～C9 as 0 to forcedly forbid the access of
ordinary subscribers so as to reduce the unnecessary
effects on the installation or maintenance work.
 In some cells with very high traffic, the congestion will
occur in busy hours. For example, the RACH conflict
happens frequently, the AGCH is overloaded and the Abis
interface flow is overloaded. The network operator can set
proper access control parameters（C0～C15）to control
the traffic of some cells.
CCCH_CONF
 The CCCH can be one or more physical channels. The
CCCH and SDCCH can share the same physical channel.
The combination mode of the common control channel in a
cell is determined by the CCCH_CONF
CCCH message
CCCH_CONF
Meanings blocks in one
Coding
BCCH
0 CCCH use one basic physical channel, not shared with SDCCH 9
1 CCCH use one basic physical channel, shares with SDCCH 3
10 CCCH use two basic physical channels, not shared with SDCCH 18
100 CCCH use three basic physical channels, not shared with SDCCH 27
110 CCCH use 4 basic physical channels, not shared with SDCCH 36
Others Reserved
CCCH_CONF
 The CCCH_CONF is determined by the telecom

operation department according to the traffic
model of a cell.
 If a cell has 1 TRX, we recommend that the CCCH
uses one basic physical channel and shares it with the
SDCCH
 If a cell has 2 ~ 8 TRX, we recommend that the CCCH
uses one basic physical channel but does not share it
with the SDCCH.
AGBLK
 Since the CCCH consists of the access grant

channel (AGCH) and paging channel (PCH), it is
necessary to set how many blocks of the CCCH
information blocks are reserved and dedicated to
the AGCH, the access grant reserve blocks
(AGBLK).
 AGBLK is represented in decimal numerals, and
its value range is:
 CCCH is not combined with SDCCH: 0～7.
 CCCH is combined with SDCCH: 0～2.
AGBLK
 SETTING AND IMPACT OF AGBLK

 The AGBLK setting principle is: given that the AGCH is
not overloaded, try to reduce the parameter as much as
possible to shorten the time when the MS responds to
the paging and improve the quality of service of the
system.
 The recommended value of AGBLK is usually 1 (when
the CCCH is combined with the SDCCH), 2 or 3 (when
the CCCH is not combined with the SDCCH).
BS-PA-MFRMS
 According to the GSM specifications, every mobile
subscriber belongs to a paging group. the MS calculates
the paging group to which it belongs by its own IMSI.
 In an actual network, the MS only "receives“ the contents
in the paging subchannel to which it belongs but ignores
the contents in other paging subchannels. (i.e. DRX
source).
 The BS-PA-MFRMS refers to how many multi-frames are
used as a cycle of a paging subchannel. This parameter in
fact determines how many paging sub-channels are to be
divided from the paging channels of a cell.
BS-PA-MFRMS (2)
 BS-PA-MFRMS is represented in decimal

numerals and its value range is 2～9, its unit is
multiframe （51 frames）, its default value is 2
Multiframes of the same
BS-PA-MFRMS paging group that cycle
on the paging channel
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 8
9 9
PERIODIC UPDATING TIMER (T3212)
 The frequency of periodic location update is

controlled via the network and the period length is
determined by the parameter T3212.
 The T3212 is a decimal number, within the range
of 0~255, in the unit of six minutes (1/10 hours).
 If the T3212 is set to 0, it means that the cell
needs no periodical location update.
NCCPERM
 In the connection mode (during the conversation),
the MS will report the measured signals of the
adjacent cells to the BS, but each report may
contain at most 6 adjacent cells.
 Therefore, let the MS only report the information of
the cells that may become the hand-over target
cells.
 The above functions can be fulfilled by limiting the
MS to merely measure the cells whose NCC have
been specified. The NCCPERM lists the NCCs of
cells to be measured by the MS.
 NCCPERM will affect handover
RADIO LINK TIMEOUT (RLT)
 GSM specification stipulates that the MS must have a timer
(S), which is assigned with an initial value at the start of
the conversation, that is, the “downlink radio link timeout”
value.
 Every time the MS fails to decode a correct SACCH
message when it should receive the SACCH, the S is
decreased by 1. On the contrary, every time the MS
receives a correct SACCH message, the S is increased by
2, but the S should not exceed the downlink radio link
timeout value. When the S reaches 0, the MS will report
the downlink radio link failure.
 The radio link timeout is a decimal number, within the
range of 4 ~ 64, at the step of 4, defaulted to 16.
MBCR (1)
 The parameter "multiband indication (MBCR)" is

used to notify the MS that it should report the
multiband adjacent cell contents.
 The value is 0-3
MBCR (2)
0: Based on the signal strength of adjacent cells, the MS reports the

measurement results of 6 adjacent cells whose signals are the strongest,
whose NCC are known and allowed no matter in which band the adjacent
cells lie. The default value is “0”
1: The MS should report the measurement result of one adjacent cell in

each band (not including the band used by the current service area) in the
adjacent table, whose signal is the strongest and whose NCC is already
known and allowed.
MBCR (3)
2: The MS should report the measurement results of two adjacent cells

in each band (not including the band used by the current service area)
in the adjacent table, whose signals are the strongest and whose NCC
are already known and allowed.
3: The MS should report the measurement results of three adjacent cells

Application of MBCR
Content

CELL SELECTION C1
 When the MS is turned on, it will try to contact a

public GSM PLMN, so the MS will select a proper
cell and extract from the cell the control channel
parameters and prerequisite system messages.
This selection process is called cell selection.
 The quality of radio channels is an important factor

in cell selection. The GSM Specifications defines
the path loss rule C1. For the so-called proper cell,
C1>0 must be ensured.
CELL SELECTION C1
C1 = RXLEV - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN
- Max(MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P ,0)
 where:
 RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN is the minimum received level the
MS is allowed to access the network
 MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH is the maximum power level of
the control channel (when MS sending on RACH);
 RXLEV is average received level;
 P is the maximum TX power of MS;
 MAX（X, Y）＝X; if X Y.
 MAX（X, Y）＝Y; if Y X.
RxLevAccessMin
 The RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN is a decimal number,

within the range of -110dBm ~ -47dBm
 Default value is 0 (-110dBm).
RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN Meaning
-47 dBm > -48 dBm (level 63)
-46 dBm -49 ~ -48 dBm (level 62)
... ...
-108 dBm -109 ~ -108 dBm (level 2)
-109 dBm -110 ~ -109 dBm (level 1)
-110 dBm <-110 dBm (level 0)

Setting and Influence
 For a cell with traffic overload, you can appropriately
increase the RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN
 RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN value cannot be set to too high a

value. Otherwise, “blind areas” will be caused on the
borders of cells.
 It is suggested that the RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN value

should not exceed -90 dBm.
CELL RESELECTION C2
 Cell Reselection (C2) is a process when MS change its
service cell in idle mode.
 When the MS selects a cell it will begin to measure the

signal levels of the BCCH TRX of its adjacent cells (at
most 6)
 When given conditions are met, the MS will move from the
current cell into another one. This process is called cell
reselection.
CELL RESELECTION C2
 When C2 Parameter Indicator (PI) indicates YES，the MS
will get parameters (CRO, TO and PT) , from BCCH, to be
used to calculate C2(channel quality criterion), which serves
as cell reselection norm. The equation is as follows:
C2＝C1＋CRO－H（PT－T）×TO, when PT≠ 31

C2＝C1－CRO , when PT= 31
 Where T is a timer. When a cell is recorded by MS as one
of the six strongest cells, timer starts counting, otherwise, T
is reset to zero.
PARAMETER INDICATOR (PI)
 PI is used to notify the MS whether to use C2 as the cell
reselect parameter and whether the parameters calculating
C2 exist.
 PI consists of 1 bit. “1”means the MS should extract

parameters from the system message broadcasting in the
cell to calculate the C2 value, and use the C2 value as the
standard for cell reselect; “0” means the MS should use
parameter C1 as the standard for cell reselect (equivalent
to C2＝C1）.
CRO, PT AND TO
 The cell reselection initiated by the radio channel quality regards C2

as the standard. C2 is a parameter based on C1 plus some artificial
offset parameters.
 The artificial influence is to encourage the MS to take the priority in

accessing to some cells or prevent it from accessing to others. These
methods are often used to balance the traffic in the network.
 In addition to C1, there are three other factors influencing C2, namely:
CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET (CRO), TEMPORARY_OFFSET (TO)
and PENALTY_TIME (PT).
Format of CRO, PT and TO
 The CRO is a decimal number, in dB, within the range
of 0 ~ 63, meaning 0 ~ 126 dB, at the step of 2 dB.
 The TO is a decimal number, in dB, within the range of

0 ~ 7, meaning 0 ~ 70 dB, at the step of 10 dB, where
70 means infinite.
 The PT is a decimal number, in seconds, within the

range of 0 ~ 31, meaning 20 ~ 620 seconds for 0 ~ 30,
and at the step of 20 seconds. The value of 31 is
reserved to change the direction of effect that the CRO
works on the C2 parameter.
C2 TYPICAL APPLICATIONS
 For cells where the traffic is very heavy or the

channel quality is very low. the PT may be set 31,
making TO invalid, so C2=C1-CRO.
 For cells where the traffic is moderate, the

recommended value for CRO is zero and PT=31,
thus causing C2=C1, i. e. no artificial impact will
be imposed.
 For cells with light traffic, it’s recommended that CRO

be ranged from 0 to 20dB. The greater the CRO, the
more possible the cells will be reselected ,and vice
versa. It’s also suggested that TO is equal or a little
higher than CRO. PT, whose main role is to avoid
frequent cell reselection by MS, is generally
recommended to be set at 20 seconds or 40 seconds.
CELL SELECTION HYSTERESIS (1)
 When a MS reselects a cell, if the old cell and the target
cell are in different locations, then the MS must initiate a
location updating process after cell reselection.
 Due to the fading features of the radio channel, the C2
values of two adjacent cells measured along their borders
will fluctuate greatly.
 MS will frequently conduct the cell reselection, which will
not only increase the network signaling flow and lead to
low efficiency use of radio resources, but reduces the
access success rate of the system, as the MS cannot
respond to paging calls in the location updating process.
 To minimize the influence of this issue, the GSM

specifications put forward a parameter called
ReselHysteresis,
 The cell selection hysteresis is represented in

decimal numerals, its unit is dB, its range is 0～14,
its step length is 2dB, and its default value is 4.
CELL RESELECTION PRINCIPLE
 If the MS calculates that the C2 value of an
adjacent cell (Same location area) surpasses the
C2 value of the serving cell and maintains for 5s
or longer, the MS will start cell reselection .
 If the MS detects a cell that is not in the same
location area with the current cell, the calculated
C2 value surpasses the sum of the C2 value of the
current cell and the ReselHysteresis parameter
and if it remains for 5s or longer, the MS will start
the cell reselection .
 The cell reselection caused by C2 should be
originated at least at the interval of 15s.
CELL BAR ACCESS (CBA)
 In the system message broadcasting in each cell, there is a bit
information indicating whether to allow the MS to access to it, which
is called cell bar access (CBA). The parameter CBA is to indicate
whether the cell bar access is set in a cell.
 The CBA bit is a parameter for the network operator to set. Usually
all the cells are allowed to be accessed by MS , so the bit is set
NO. However, in special cases, the telecom operator may want to
assign a certain cells for handover service only, then the bit can be
set YES.
Area A
BTS B
MS A
BTS C
CELL BAR QUALIFY (CBQ)
 In areas where the cells overlay with each

other and differ in capacity, traffic and
functions, the telecom operator often hopes
that the MS can have priority in selecting
some cells, that is, the setting of cell priority.
This function is set by way of the parameter
"Cell Bar Qualify" (CBQ).
CELL BAR QUALIFY (CBQ) 2
C1 and C2 States with CBA and CBQ Configurations
Cell Selection Cell Reselection

CBQ CBA
Priority State
No No Normal Normal
No Yes Barred Barred
Yes No Low Normal
Yes Yes Low Normal
EXAMPLE OF CBQ SETTING
A B
 For some reasons, the traffic of Cells A and B is apparently higher

than that of other adjacent cells. To balance the traffic in the whole
area, you can set the priority of Cells A and B as low, and set the
priority of the rest cells as normal so that the traffic in the shade
area will be absorbed by adjacent cells. It must be noted that the
result of this setting is that the actual coverage of Cell A and Cell B
is narrowed. However, this is different from reducing the transmitting
power of Cell A and Cell B, the latter may cause blind areas of the
network coverage and the reduction of communication quality.
Content

LIMITn
 According to GSM Specification 05.08, the BTS must
measure the interference levels of the upward links of all
the free channels for the purpose of providing basis for
managing and allocating radio resources.
 Moreover, the BTS should analyze its measured results,
divide the interference levels into 5 grades and report them
to the BSC. The division of the 5 interference grades (i.e.
the so-called interference bands) is set by the operator
through the man-machine interface. The parameter
"Interference band border(LIMITn)” determines the borders
of the 5 interference bands.
LIMITn
Value Range Specified dBm Level
0 <-110 dBm
1 -110 dBm ~ -109 dBm
2 -109 dBm ~ -108 dBm
…
61 -50 dBm ~ -49 dBm
62 -49 dBm ~ -48 dBm
Default: LIMIT1：4 LIMIT2：8 LIMIT3：15 LIMIT4：25

 The division of the interference bands should be favorable in
describing the interference in the system. Generally the default values
are recommended. In the ordinary situations, the free channel
interference level is smaller, so the LIMIT1～4 value should be
smaller. When apparently large interference appears in the system,
you can properly increase the LIMIT1~4 values in order to know the
exact interference.
INTAVE
 Due to the randomness of the radio channel

interference, the BTS must average the measured
uplink interference levels within the specified
period, and this average cycle is determined by
the INTAVE parameter.
 This parameter is a decimal number, in SACCH
multi-frames, within the range of 1 ~ 31.
New Cause Indication (NECI)
 The NECI is a decimal number, within the range of

0 ~ 1, with the meaning described as below:
 When the NECI is 0, it means that the cell does not
support the access of half-rate services.
 When the NECI is 1, it means that the cell supports the
access of half-rate services.
RE-ESTABLISHMENT ENABLE (RE)
 For the drop calls caused by the radio link fault, the MS
can start the call reestablishment process to resume the
conversation, but the network is entitled to determine
whether the call reestablishment is allowed or not.
“0”=Yes, “1”=No.
 In some special circumstances, the drop call may occur
when the MS goes through a blind area during the
conversation. If the call reestablishment is allowed, the
mean drop call rate will be reduced. However, the call
reestablishment process will occupy a longer period of
time, most of the subscribers have hung up before the
reestablishment process is over, as a result, the call
reestablishment failed to achieve its purpose and wasted
many radio resources. We recommend that the call
reestablishment be not allowed in the network except for
some individual cells.
GSM Coverage problem & Solution
ZTE university
Objectives
 To know different kinds of coverage problem, their

causes and solutions.
Contents
 Overview of Coverage Problem

 Main Causes of Coverage Problem & Solutions
 Procedures of Handling Coverage Problem
 Typical Cases
Overview of coverage problem
Too small coverage range will cause high

Weak coverage call drop rate and a large number of
customer complaints.
Too large coverage will result in frequent

handovers, and mutual interference as
Over coverage well, if it’s rather serious, and network
indicators will also be affected.
When cell reselection parameters and

handover scenarios are similar, or there
No-serving cell coverage are 2 or more cells with similar signal
strength ,Pingpong handover is easy to be
caused during calls.
Contents

 Typical Cases
Main causes of weak coverage
too small BTS power
too low antenna height
too small down-tilt
hardware problem
Weak coverage
Obstruction of buildings
Main causes of over coverage
poor antenna
performance
inappropriate down-tilt
too high antenna height

Causes of no-serving cell coverage
unreasonable planning
of antenna parameters
inappropriate type of antenna
too large or too small

carrier transmission power
shrunk coverage caused

by equipment problem
influence of changes
in radio environment
no-serving cell coverage unreasonable setting

of handover parameters
unreasonable setting of
cell reselection parameters
Contents

 Typical Cases
Procedures of Handling Coverage Problem
Check setting of problem BTS’ radio parameters
Check if strong interference source exists
Check hardware
Check antenna system
Analyze the local geographical environment to

see if site location and type of site are appropriate
Contents

 Typical Cases
Poor coverage at cold storage warehouse
 【Problem description 】
 Subscribers complained about the poor coverage around a cold storage
warehouse of animal foodstuff; it was difficult to detect signal even when
they were not far from the warehouse.
 【Problem analysis】
 According to subscriber’s complaint, we confirmed there was problem with
coverage around the warehouse. We found all radio parameters of the site
were set correct at OMCR. Statistical report showed that idle data of
interference band and UL/DL quality data distribution were normal.
Hardware operated normally, as shown in OMCR warning report.
 Hardware engineers went to the site and checked the system of the BTS,
tested power amplifier's power and VSWR, they were all shown normal.
Connection between equipment was correct. Antenna azimuth and down-
tilt were all set reasonable.
 Through DT on site, network engineers found that the signal strength of
the antenna main lobe was weak, while that of the side lobes was
stronger, so they tentatively confirmed the problem was due to antenna
fault.
 【Problem handling】
 After the antenna was replaced with a new one, the coverage improved
greatly, so did the speech quality.
Poor coverage of a BTS
 Subscribers complained about weak signal strength around a Food
Bureau (near a BTS).
 【Problem analysis 】
 According to subscriber’s complaint, we confirmed there was
problem with the BTS' coverage. We found all radio parameters of
the site were set correct at OMCR. Statistical report showed that
idle data of interference band and UL/DL quality distribution were
normal. Hardware operated normally, as shown in OMCR warning
report.
 Hardware engineers went to the site and checked the system of the
BTS, tested amplifier's power and VSWR, they were all shown
normal. Connection between equipment was correct. Antenna
azimuth and down-tilt were all set reasonable.
 Through DT on site, network optimization engineers found that the
BTS’ coverage was in normal condition. While the Food Bureau,
where subscribers complained about the signal, was 4km away
from the BTS, and only indoor signal was weak (covered by Cell2).
Coverage shrinking after BTS starts operation
 After Cell3 of a BTS started to operate, its coverage range was
found shrunk. On highway 3km away from the BTS, where the BTS
tower was visible, MS could not detect Cell3’s signal. MS could
receive signal when it’s around the BTS, and the signal level was
about -60dB.
 We checked in radio resource management centre and found
Cell3’s static power class was set 2, which meant its static power
was reduced by 4dB, so we reset it to be 0. The next day, MS on
highway 3km away from the BTS could receive Cell3’s signal, and
its level was -60—70; and the signal level around the BTS was
strong, which was about -40dB.
 we concluded that the cell’s coverage shrinking was caused by
wrong setting of static power control at OMCR.
High handover failure rate due to skip-zone
coverage
 Configuration of a mountain site was S11, and the local network was
single band GSM900. From indicator statistics of the past week, we found
handover success rate of Cell2 under the BTS kept very low, which was
around 80%, while TCH allocation failure rate was completely normal.
 First, we could exclude the possibility of hardware problem and
interference, because there were no TCH assignment failures, which
explained that MS could successfully occupy TCHs assigned to it by BSC;
from DT analysis, we could see when signal level was above -90dbm, no
call drops happened to MS, and speech quality was good, which could
prove that no serious interference existed. Through further analysis, we
found the target cell for handover was a bit far from Cell2; and probably
adjacent cell relations were not set right during assignment planning,
which resulted in isolated-island effect.
 we could make area A and area B become adjacent cells to Cell2; while
Cell2 coverage at A and B was already very weak, so Cell2 should not be
adjacent cell to A and B .
 After adjustment, handover success rate of Cell2 increased greatly, from
80% to 96%.
coverage
Cell1
Cell2
Questions for thinking
 Which parameters can be adjusted to improve

coverage?
GSM/GPRS/EDGE Basic Principles
ZTE University
Objective

 Learn GSM development history
 Learn and master network structure of GSM system and
functions & principles of different portions
 Learn and be familiar with GSM wireless channel and
protocol
 Learn and be familiar with main service call process for
GSM
Content
 Chap.1: GSM Overview

 Chap.2: GSM Network Structure
 Chap.3: Interfaces and Protocols
 Chap.4: GSM Radio Channel
 Chap.5: Basic Service and Signaling Process
 Chap.6: Voice Processing and Key Radio
Technology
 Chap.7: GPRS and EDGE
GSM Overview
 This chapter mainly introduces some basic

information for GSM, including GSM development
history, supported service type, specification, and
system features.
 GSM Basic Concepts
 Services Supported by GSM System
 GSM Specification
GSM Overview
 This section introduces network structure of GSM

system and basic functions of various NEs.
 GSM Area Division Concepts
 GSM composition
 Mobile Switching System (MSS)
 Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
 Operation & Maintenance Subsystem (OMS)
 Mobile Station (MS)
 GSM System Number
GSM Area Division Concepts
Relationship between Areas in GSM

GSM composition
PSTN
Um A IBM
Interfac IBM
Interf
e ace MS
MS
Other
BSS MSS
PLMN
GSM System Composition

Mobile Switching System (MSS)
 The MSS consists of such entities as the mobile

switching center (MSC), home location register
(HLR), visitor location register (VLR), equipment
identity register (EIR), authentication center (AUC)
and short message center (SMC).
Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
 BSS serves as a bridge between the NSS and MS.

It performs wireless channel management and
wireless transceiving. The BSS includes the Base
Station Controller (BSC) and Base Transceiver
Station (BTS).
Operation & Maintenance Subsystem (OMS)
The OMS consists of two parts: Operation &

Maintenance Center – System (OMC-S) and OMC-
Radio (OMC-R). The OMC-S serves the NSS, while
the OMC-R serves the BSS.
Mobile Station (MS)
The MS consists of mobile terminals and Subscriber

Identity Module (SIM) card.
GSM System Number
 GSM system number contains:

 Mobile Subscriber ISDN Number (MSISDN)
 International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)
 Mobile Subscriber Roaming Number (MSRN)
 Handover Number
 Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identification (TMSI)
 Location Area Identification (LAI)
GERAN interfaces
 This chapter introduces GERAN interfaces, User

plane/control plane protocol stack at PS and CS.
Interfaces
 PS-Domain Protocol Stack
 CS-Domain Protocol Stack

Interfaces
GSM interfaces
PS-Domain Protocol Stack
User plane protocol stack at PS domain

Control plane protocol stack at PS

domain
CS-Domain Protocol Stack
User plane protocol stack at CS domain

Control plane protocol stack at CS

domain
GSM Working Frequency Band
 This section introduces GSM radio frame, channel

concept, division & function for different channels,
mapping combination mechanism between
channels.
 GSM Working Frequency Band
 Structure of GSM Radio Frame
 Physical Channel and Logical Channel
 System Messages
Currently, the GSM communication system works at

900MHz, extended 900MHz and 1800MHz.
1900MHz band is adopted in some countries.
Structure of GSM Radio Frame
 There are five layers for structure of GSM radio frame, that
is, timeslot, TDMA frame, multiframe, super frame, and
hyper frame.
1 hyper frame = 2048 super frames =2715648 TDMA frame
1 hyper frame = 1326 TDMA frame (6.12s)

(=51 (26 frames) multi-frames or 26 (51 frames) multi-frames
1 (26 frames) multi-frame = 26 TDMA frame (120ms) 1 (51 frames) multi-frame = 51 TDMA frame (3036/13 ms)
TDMA Frame
Hierarchical frame structure in GSM system

Physical Channel and Logical Channel
GSM uses TDMA and FDMA technologies for physical

channel, as shown in the figure below.
Time
Frequency
Time
Frequency
System Messages
System message falls into 12 types: type1, 2, 2bis,

2ter, 3, 4, 5, 5bis, 5ter, 6, 7, 8.
Basic Service and Signaling Process
 This section introduces GSM terminal start,

position register / update, service call and
handover service implementation and signaling
interaction process.
 Mobile subscriber state
 Location Update
 Typical Call and Handover Process
 Basic Signaling Process
Mobile subscriber state
 The mobile subscriber has three states as follows:

 MS starts, network does "Attach" marks on it
 MS shutdowns, separated from network
 MS Busy
Location Update
Location Update at Same MSC Office
BSC M
LAI
S
1
MSC/VLR （2）
（1）
（3） LAI （4） M
2 S
Location update between different MSCs
MSC/VLR1 M
（5）
S
HLR
（2）
（3）（1） M
MSC/VLR2
（4） S
Typical Call and Handover Process
Call process
Handover process
Basic Signaling Process
MS BT S BSC M SC
CH REQ
CH RQD
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
IM M ASS CM D
IM M ASS
SABM
EST IND
UA CR：LOC UPD REQ
CC
DT 1：CIPH M ODE CM D
ENCRY CM D
CIPH M ODE CM D
CIPH M ODE COM
DI：CIPH M ODE COM
DT 1：CIPH M ODE COM
DTAP：LOC UPD ACCEPT
DT 1：Clear CM D
DT 1：Clear COM
DR：CH REL
CH REL RLSD
DEACT SACCH
DISC RLC
REL IND
UA
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
Location Update Process of MS

MS BTS BSC M SC
CH REQ
CH RQD
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
IM M ASS CM D
IM M ASS
SABM
EST IND
UA CR：IM SI DETACH
CREF
DR：CH REL
CH REL
DEACT SACCH
DISC
REL IND
UA
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
IMSI Detach Process

MS BTS BSC M SC
CH REQ
CH RQD
CH ACT

CH ACT ACK
IM M ASS CM D
IM M ASS
SABM
EST IND
UA CR：CM SERV REQ
CC
DT1：CIPH M ODE CM D
ENCRY CM D
CIPH M ODE CM D
CIPH M ODE COM
DI：CIPH M ODE COM
DT1：CIPH M ODE COM
DTAP:CM SERV ACCP
DTAP:SETUP
DTAP:CALL PROC
DT1:ASS REQ
PHY CONT REQ
PHY CONT CONF
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
ASS CM D
DR：ASS CM D
Mobile-Originated Call and Called
SABM
UA
EST IND
Party On-hook Process
ASS COM
DI：ASS COM
DT1：ASS COM
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
DTAP：Alerting
DTAP：Connect
DTAP：Connect ACK
数据流
DTAP：Disconnect
DTAP：Release
DTAP：Release COM
DT1：Clear CM D
DR：CH REL
CH REL DT1：Clear COM
DEACT SACCH
DISC RLSD
REL IND
UA RLC
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
MS BTS BSC M SC
PAG CM D UDT：PAG
PAG REQ
CH REQ
CH RQD
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
IM M ASS CM D
IM M ASS
SABM
EST IND
UA CR：PAG RES
CC
ENCRY CM D
CIPH M ODE CM D
CIPH M ODE COM
DI：CIPH M ODE COM
DTAP:SETUP
DTAP:CALL CONF
DT1:ASS REQ
PHY CONT REQ
PHY CONT CONF
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
DR：ASS CM D
Mobile-Terminated Call and Calling
ASS CM D
SABM
EST IND
UA
ASS COM DI：ASS COM
DT1：ASS COM
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
DTAP：Alerting
DTAP：Connect
DTAP：Connect ACK
数据流
DTAP：Disconnect
DTAP：Release
DTAP：Release COM
DT1：Clear CM D
DR：CH REL
DEACT SACCH
DISC RLSD
REL IND
UA RLC
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
MS BTS1 BTS2 BSC M SC

M EAS REP
M EAS RES
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
DR：HO CM D
HO CM D
HO ACCESS
HO DET
PHY INFO
SABM
EST IND
UA
HO COM
DI：HO COM
DT1：HO PERF
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
Inter-cell Handover Process

key radio enhanced technologies
 This section describes basic voice processing for

GSM, and several key radio enhanced
technologies.
 Voice Processing
 Frequency multiplexing
 Adaptive equalizing
 Diversity Receiving
 Discontinuous Transmission (DTX)
 Power Control
 Timing Advance
 Frequency Hopping Technology
Voice Processing
Voice Processing in the GSM System

Frequency multiplexing
Frequency multiplexing is the core concept of the cellular

mobile radio system. In a frequency multiplexing system,
users at different geographical locations (different cells)
can use channels of the same frequency at the same time
(see the figure above).
Adaptive equalizing
Equalizer can do equalizing at frequency domain

and time domain. GSM uses time domain
equalizing, enabling the better performance in
whole system.
Diversity Receiving
Diversity reception technology is commonly used in GSM.

Diversity consists of different forms: Space diversity,
frequency diversity, time diversity and polarity diversity.
Discontinuous Transmission (DTX)
The DTX mode accomplishes two objectives: Lower the total

interference level in the air and save the transmitter power.
Speech Frame Transmission in DTX Mode

Power Control
Power control means to control the actual transmitting power (keep it
as low as possible) of MS or BS in radio propagation, so as to reduce
the power consumption of MS/BS and the interference of the entire
GSM network.
Power Control Process

Timing Advance
In the GSM, the MS requires three intervals between timeslots when
receiving or transmitting signals. See the figure below.
Uplink and Downlink Offset of TCH

Frequency Hopping Technology
Frequency hopping (FH) refers to hopping of the carrier frequency
within a wide frequency band according to a certain sequence.
Basic Structure of FH
section describes evolution of GSM
technologies
 This section describes evolution of GSM
technologies: basic concept, network structure,
radio channel, and basic application of GPRS and
EDGE.
 Definition and Feature
 Inheritance and Evolution
 GPRS Radio Channel
 Radio Link and Media Access Control Flow
 Terminal and Application
Definition and Feature
 The General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is the

packet data service introduced in GSM Phase2+.
 The GPRS has the following features:
 Seamless connection with IP network
 High rate
 Always online and flow charging
 Mature technology
 Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE) is a kind
of technology for transition of GSM to 3G.
 The EDGE has the following features:
 EDGE neither changes GSM or GPRS network structure nor
introduces new network element, but only upgrades the BSS.
 EDGE does not change the GSM channel structure, multiframe
structure and coding structure.
 EDGE supports two data transmission modes: packet service (non-
real time service) and circuit switching service (real time service).
 EDGE adopts octal 8PSK modulation technology, supports 303%
of GMSK payload, and provides higher bit rate and spectral
efficiency.
 Compared with GPRS, EDGE adopts new coding mode.
GPRS Radio Channel
 This section introduces GPRS physical channel,

GPRS logic channel, mapping of logical channel
combination in the physical channel, and GPRS
channel coding.
Radio Link and Media Access Control Flow
 This section introduces paging flow, TBF setup

flow, GPRS suspend/resume flow, and TBF
release flow.
Terminal and Application
 The GPRS MSs fall into three categories: Type A,

B, and C.
GSM Handover Problems & Solutions
ZTE university
Objectives
 To master different types of handover and their

signaling flows;
 To master handover statistical signaling point and MR
tasks;
 To know common handover problems and the handling
procedures.
Contents
 Overview of handover
 Flow of handover signaling
 Handover statistics
 Handover problem analysis
Aims of handovers
 Why there are handovers?

 To keep calls going on during movement;
 To improve network service quality;
 To decrease call drop rate;
 To decrease congestion rate.
Handover classification
Intra-cell
Handover
Inter-MSC Intra-BSC
classification
Inter-BSC
Contents
Intra-cell handover
Air A
BSC TC
BTS
Ch annel
Old
Ch annel
New
Signaling flow of intra-cell handover
MS BTS BSC MSC
1、Measurement Report(SACCH)
2、Measurement Report
3、Channel Activation
4、Channel Activation Ack
5、Assigment Command （FACCH)
6、SABM(FACCH)
7、Establish Indication
8、UA(FACCH)
9、Assigment Complete(FACCH)
10、Receiver Ready(FACCH)
11、HO Performed
12、RF Channel Release
13、RF Channel Release Ack

Inter-cell handover within one BSC
Air A
BTS BSC TC
BTS
Old Cell / BTS New Cell / BTS

Signaling flow of inter-cell handover within one BSC
MS Old BTS BSC New BTS MSC

5、HO Command
6、HO Command(FACCH)
7、HO Access(FACCH)
8、HO Detect
9、Physical info(FACCH)
10、SABM(FACCH)
12、UA(FACCH)
13、HO Complete(FACCH)
15、HO Complete
16、HO Performed

Inter-BSC handover
New Cell / BTS
Air A
BSC TC
BTS
MSC VLR
BSC TC
BTS
Old Cell / BTS

Signaling flow of inter-BSC handover
MS Old BTS Old BSC MSC New BSC New BTS
1、HO_REQ
2、HO_REQ

5、HO_REQ_ACK
6、HO Command
7、HO Command
8、HO Command
10、HO Detect
12、SABM(FACCH)
13、UA(FACCH)
14、HO ommand
15、HO Command
16、HO Command
17、HO Command
Inter-MSC handover
New Cell / BTS

Air A
BSC TC
BTS
MSC VLR
BSC TC
BTS
MSC VLR
Old Cell / BTS

Basic signaling flow of Inter-MSC handover
MS/BSS-A BSS-B/MS
MSC-A MSC-B VLR-B

A-HO-REQUIRED
MAP-Prep-Handover req. MAP-Allocate-Handover-Number req.
MAP-Send-Handover-Report req.
MAP-Send-Handover-Report resp.
A-HO-REQUEST
MAP-Prep-Handover resp. A-HO-REQUEST-ACK
IAM
A-HO-COMMAND ACM
MAP-Process-Access-Sig req. A-HO-DETECT
A-CLR-CMD/COM MAP-Send-End-Signal req. A-HO-COMPLETE
ANSWER
RELEASE
End of call
MAP-Send-End-Signal resp.
Signaling flow of inter-MSC back-handover
MS/BSS-B BSS-A/MS
MSC-A MSC-B VLR-B

A-HO-REQUIRED
MAP-Prep-Sub-Handover req.
A-HO-REQUEST
A-HO-REQUEST-ACK
MAP-Prep-Sub-Handover resp. A-HO-COMMAND
A-HO-DETECT
A-HO-COMPLETE
MAP-Send-End-Signal resp. A-CLR-CMD/COM
Release
Signaling flow of inter-MSC handover to a third MSC
MS/BSS
MSC-B’ VLR-B’
MSC-A MSC-B VLR-B
A-HO-REQUIRED
MAP-Prepare-Handover req. MAP-Allocate-Handover-Number req.
MAP-Prepare-Handover resp. MAP-Send-Handover-Report req.
IAM
MAP-Send-Handover-Rep. resp. (1)
ACM
MAP-Prep-Sub-Ho resp.
A-HO-COMMAND
A-HO-DETECT
MAP-Process-Access-Signalling req.
A-HO-COMPLETE
MAP-Send-End-Signal req.
Answer
Release
A-CLR-CMD/COM
(end of call)
Release
Basic flow of handover signaling
There is no “HO-Request” message for intra-BSC handover; all
Inter-cell handover
information is analyzed within BSC; Once a target cell in the
within BSC
BSC fulfilling handover conditions is found, send “Channel
activation” message directly;
BSC reports CGI and handover cause of original cell and target
cell to MSC through “HO-Request”;
Inter-BSC handover After MSC finds target cell LAC, it sends “HO-Request” to the
within MSC
BSC which the target cell belongs to;
Target BSC activates channel in target cell, and executes the
following flow.
MSC inquires “REMOTLAC sheet” (including LAC and

route address of adjacent MSC);
Inter-MSC handover MSC sends （Prepare-HO） message to the target
MSC-B according to the route address;
According to the （Prepare-HO） message, target
MSC-B requests for Handover number from VLR-B,
then sends “HO-Request” message to BSC-B;
After the target BSC-B receives “HO-Request ACK”, it
sends （Prepare-HO ACK）message to the original
MSC, and executes the following flow.”
Main differences between intra-BSC handover
and inter-BSC handover
MSC transmits “HO-REQ” message,
and CGI of original cell and target cell
MSC participates is carried in the message; Inter-
or not BSC
handover
As for inter-BSC handover, MSC
participates in it since “HO-Request”;
As for intra-BSC handover, “HO-

Performed” message is sent to MSC
CGI is carried
or not only after the handover is
Intra-
completed; MSC doesn’t participate
BSC
before that; handover
For intra-BSC handover, CGI isn’t

carried in any message, it’s handled
within BSC.
Flow of handover algorithm List of cells
under one LAC
MS BTS BSC MSC Target BSC Target MSC
HO request
HO request
BCCH Process of MR
frequency
point, BSIC Intra-MSC
UL MR
and level Confirmation of handover
values of adjacent cell CGI
HO request
the six
adjacent Execution of
cells (with handover decision
strongest
level) and Selection of
serving cell; target cell
Yes
BA2 sheet External cell?
No
Channel activation
Common timers at BSC
 T3107
 Suitable for: intra-cell handover
 Start-up: BSC sends “assignment command”
 Stop counting: when “assignment completed” or
“assignment failure” is received;
MS BTS:TRX BSC
CHANNEL ACTIVATE
CHANNEL ACTIVATE ACK
A1
ASSIGNMENT COMMAND
SET T3107
T3107
Timeout
A2
 T3103
 Suitable for: inter-cell handover
 Start-up: BSC sends “handover command”
 Stop counting: when “handover completed” or “handover failure” is
received;
MS Old BTS: New BTS BSC
CHANNEL ACT
CHANNEL ACT ACK
A1
HANDOVER COMMAND HANDOVER COMMAND
SET T3103
T3103
Timeout
A2
Contents
MR cycle
 MR is sent to BTS in SACCH UL direction;
 When MS is in SDCCH, MR cycle is 470ms/time;
 When MS is in TCH, MR cycle is 480ms/time.
26 multi-
480ms frames of 4
TCHs
12TCH 1SACCH 12TCH 1 idle

Indicator definition of handover success rate
KPI name Handover success rate
Indicator （ busy hour number of handover success times /busy hour total
definition number of handover request times）*100%
V6.20 (C900060098+C900060102+C900060120+C900060094
+C900060096)*100/(C900060097+C900060213+C9000
60214+C900060215+C900060099+C900060100+C900
060101+C900060216+C900060119+C900060093+C900
060095)
Signaling statistical point of handover success
 C900060098  C900060102
BSC BTS MSC BSC BTS
HO_COM
HO_ COM
A
HO_COM
A
BSC-controlled inter-cell incoming handover success MSC-controlled incoming handover success
 C900060120  C900060096
BSC MSC
BSC BTS
ASS_CMD CLEAR_CMD
ASS_COM A
Intra-cell handover success No. of MSC-controlled outgoing handover success times

 C900060094
MS BTS(Src) BTS(Target) BSC MSC

MEAS_RES
MEAS_RES
CHL_ACT
CHL_ACT_ACK
HO_CMD
HO_CMD
HO_ACCESS
HO DETECT
Phy Info
SABM EST_IND
UA
HO_COM
HO_COM
A HO_PERFORM
BSC-controlled inter-cell outgoing handover success

Signaling statistical point of handover request
 C900060097  C900060213
BTS( Target) BSC
BSC BTS
Forced
Resource
release ，
CHL_ACTIV_ACK Available
attempt A
A CHANNEL ACT
CHANNEL ACT ACK
BSC-controlled inter-cell incoming handover execution

Execution of forced release
 C900060215
 C900060214
BTS( Target) BSC
BTS( Target) BSC
Force
Resource
handover，
Available
Cell Resource attempt A
，
queuing Available
A CHANNEL ACT
CHANNEL ACT
CHANNEL ACT ACK
CHANNEL ACT ACK
Execution of cell queuing Execution of force handover

 C900060099  C900060100
MSC BSC BTS
MSC BSC BTS
HO_REQ
HO_REQ Forced release attempt,
CHL_ACTIV
resource available
A CHL_ACTIV
CHL_ACTIV_ACK
A CHL_ACTIV_ACK
HO_REQ_ACK HO_REQ_ACK

MSC BSC-controlled incoming handover execution
 C900060101  C900060119
MSC BSC BTS
BTS BSC
HO_REQ
CHL_ ACTIV_ ACK
Cell queuing, resource available
A ASSIGN_ CMD A
CHL_ACTIV
CHL_ACTIV_ACK
HO_REQ_ACK
Execution of intra-cell handover

Execution of queuing
 C900060216  C900060095
BTS( Target) BSC
BTS BSC MSC Force

Resource
handover，
available
attempt A
HO_CMD
CHANNEL ACT
A
HO_CMD
CHANNEL ACT ACK
Execution of force handover

No. of MSC-controlled outgoing handover execution times
 C900060093 MS BTS(Src)
MEAS_RES
BTS(Target)
MEAS_RES
BSC MSC
CHL_ACT
CHL_ACT_ACK
HO_CMD A
HO_CMD
HO_ACCESS
HO DETECT
Phy Info
SABM EST_IND
UA
HO_COM
HO_COM
HO_PERFORM
No. of BSC-controlled inter-cell outgoing handover execution times

Handover-related measurement tasks
Handover
 Measure the frequency of MS handovers caused by various kinds of
causes
reasons, so as to examine radio environment of a cell;
measurement
Common  Measure the process of MS handover to inspect handover success or

handover failure and abnormal situations causing failures, so as to improve the
measurement cell’s radio configuration and observe traffic dispersion, etc.;
 Measure the number of times of incoming/outgoing handover

Measurement
attempt/success/failure from/to certain cells, and number of times of
of adjacent
handover caused by different reasons, so as to get the handover
cell handover
situations of the serving cell and its adjacent cells and to optimize their
radio configurations correspondingly;
Sub cell
statistical  Focus on traffic load of the second subcell.
measurement
Contents
Analysis handover problems
 Analysis of handover problems
 Location method of handover problems
Common handover problems
Common handover
Possible influences
problems
Handover • Result in call drop;

nonoccurrence
Handover failure • Affect call quality and result in call

drop;
Frequent handover • Affect call quality, and increase

system load;
Handover hysteresis • Affect call quality and result in

call drop;
Discovery of handover problems
TOPN analysis
Traffic statistics
analysis Abnormal number of handover times
Call drop
Customer complaints
Bad coverage
Handover to best cell
inhibited
DT/CQT tests Poor speech quality
Slow handover
Handover problem
No handover
Meters at A interface
Handover failure
Frequent handover
Flow of handover problem checking
Too high TCH
handover failure rate
of a cell
Is radio No Adjust
parameter setting
parameters
reasonable?
Yes Check &

Interference
eliminate
exists?
interference
Coverage Yes Improve

problem exists? coverage
Yes Eliminate
Any equipment
equipment
faults?
faults
Yes Solve
Any antenna
antenna
problems?
problems
Complete
Location methods of handover problems
 Analyze traffic statistics
 Conduct handover statistics measurement, identify
problem range:
 If just some cells fail to make handovers to the cell, check
handover data, check if co-channel and co-BSIC exist;
 If the cell fails to take handovers from all other cells, check its
data.
 Check warnings: single board malfunction,
transmission and clock malfunctions, etc.;
 Check if radio parameters are set reasonably
 If co-channel or co-BSIC exist among adjacent cells;
 If handover parameters are set reasonably;
 If data configuration of external cells is correct.
 Interference checking
 DT analysis
 Signaling analysis: Um interface、Abis interface 、 A interface;
 Hardware checking: like DCU, transceiver, clock generator, RF
connection lines between boards;
 Antenna system checking
Analysis of handover problems
 Coverage & interference
 Antenna system
 BTS software & hardware
 transmission
 BSC software & hardware
 A interface malfunction
 Busy target cell
 Connection & adaptation to equipment from different suppliers
Coverage & interference
 Coverage:
 Poor coverage: due to influence from forest, complex
landforms, houses, indoor coverage, etc.;
 Isolated site: no adjacent cells around;
 Skip-zone coverage: no adjacent cells available due to
isolated-island effect;
 Interference:
 It makes MS unable to access in UL, or DL signal
receiving problem will be resulted.
Handover nonoccurance due to isolated-
island effect
Handover can’t
happen due to
lack of adjacent Non-adjacent
cell
cells.
adjacent cell N1
Serving cell
Non-adjacent
cell
adjacent cell N2
Non-adjacent
Adjacent cell N3
cell
Skip-zone
coverage leads to
isolated island.
Antenna system problems
 Too large VSWR
 Reversed installation of antenna
 Non-standard antenna installation
 Unreasonable azimuth, down-tilt
 Below-standard antenna insulation
 Twisted cables, loosened connectors and wrong
connections;
BTS software/hardware
 Problems about :
 Single board
 Clock generator malfunction
 Internal communication cable malfunction
 BTS software malfunction
Transmission and BSC problems
 Transmission fault
 Unstable transmission
 Too high transmission error rate
 BSC hardware/software malfunctions
 Clock generator malfunction: unconformity among clocks in
different BTSs due to clock generator malfunction;
 Problem about single board
 Wrong data configuration
 Unreasonable setting of handover threshold
 CGI, BCCH and BSIC values in “external cell data sheet” do not
match up to those in the corresponding BSC;
 Wrong BSC signaling point in “list of cell under a LAC” in MSC; co-
channel& co-BSIC adjacent cells exist.
A interface malfunction
 Abnormal handover due to lack of link resource, abnormal calls;

 handover between equipment from different suppliers

 Difference in signaling at interface A and interface E between ZTE
and other suppliers’ equipment, causing non-recognition or non-
support problem, including speech version, handover code and
addressing mode (CGI or LAI) etc., which will result in handover
failure.
Typical case 1- frequency interference
 Problem description:
 The data in performance report shows that Cell 1 under
a BTS suffers from low handover success rate.
 Problem analysis
 Examine the problem cell, discover that 2 cells under a
BTS co-channel and co-BSIC, and close to each other,
which results in low handover success rate in the cell.
 Problem handling
 After adjustment of frequency point, handover success
rate obviously increases, and number of handover times
reduces.
Changes of HO indicators before & after Frequency point adjustment
180 120%
Number of HO Req./number of HO success
150 100%
120 80%
HO success rate
90 60%
60 40%
30 20%
0 0%
9-4 9-5 9-6 9-7 9-8 9-9 9-10 9-11
切换请求总次数
No. of HOReq. 切换成功总次数
No. of HOsuccess 切换成功率(%)
HO success
rate
Typical case 2- clock malfunction
 Problem description
 For a newly-commissioned BTS, handover nonoccurrence appears
during DT: the MS occupies a channel in cell A; during DT from cell
A to cell B, cell B can’t be observed in the adjacent cell list, and it
doesn’t start normal handovers.
 It’s a common network problem that handover nonoccurrence
appears in many cells;
 It’s a newly-commissioned BTS; handover parameters are as
default in the system;
 Check adjacent cells relation, no problem found;
 Observe from test MS, find out that adjacent cell frequency
appears in the adjacent cell, but BSIC can’t be decoded.
 Since adjacent cell is searched through BA2 table during a call, and
BA2 relies on BCCH and BSIC to confirm an adjacent cell, when the
adjacent cell’s BSIC is unobtainable, BSC is unable to locate it, thus
handover won’t be started.
 Process of MS decodeing on DL channel
 decode FCCH decode SCH（SCH comprises MS frame
synchronous information and BSIC.
 MS can show adjacent cell frequency point, but not BSIC. It’s
suspected that adjacent cell’s SCH information can’t be decoded
by MS due to clock or transmission fault.
 Check clock and transmission
 BTS adopts network clock
 BSC traces superior clock
 MSC traces superior GPS clock through long-distance satellite link
 The long-distance satellite link is found unstable, which leads to
high error rate on the meter, and warning of clock deterioration
appears on MSC.
 Decide that it’s handover problem
caused by poor clock quality.
 Bring new GPS clock device and
adopt the local one, thoroughly
solve clock malfunction.
 Problem of handover
nonoccurrence is solved.
 Experience conclusion
 If no high accuracy clock
available, clock in BTS can be
used; calibration of each BTS
must be made by using
frequency meter and LMT to
ensure that frequency deviation
meets precision requirement.
Typical case 3-HO parameter setting problem
 During DT at a BTS, we find slow handover problem is
common (>10S), which affects speech quality and even
causes call drops.
 Problem: level of cell 2 is higher than that of cell 3 by
20dB, total handover time is 15s.
 Problem analysis and handling
 Slow handover seriously affects network quality. Make adjustment of
handover parameters accordingly:
 Change adjacent cell handover threshold to improve timeliness of
handover trigger;
 Adjust the whole network’s handover window to be 2, so as to
accelerate handover speed;
 Adjust the whole network’s handover preprocess to 2, so as to
accelerate handover speed.
Parameter Before After adjustment
adjustment
Level threshold 30 28
(HOMARGINRXLEV)
Quality threshold 30 26
(HOMARGINRXQUAL)
 Result
 Test after adjustment shows that handover time is reduced to 5s; the slow
handover problem is solved and speech quality is improve.
 Please simply illustrate effects on handover due to
changing T3103、T3107.
 Suggestions on parameter settings of handovers on

highway.
GSM Network Interference &
Solutions
ZTE university
Training goals
 To know the classification of interference;

 To master the analytical methods of interference
problem;
 To master the flow of handling interference problem;
 To know the analytical tool of interference problem;
 To be able to handle common interference problems.
Contents
 GSM Frequency Allocation

 Phenomena & Classification of Interference
 Flow of Handling Interference Problem
 Analytical Methods of Interference Problem
 Typical Cases
GSM Frequency Allocation
Carrier
Frequenc UL DL Duplex Band
frequenc
y band frequency frequency interval width
y interval
EGSM+G 880MHz 925MHz~9
45MHz 35MHz 200kHz
SM900 ~915MHz 60MHz
1710MHz~1 1805MHz~
DCS1800 95MHz 75MHz 200kHz
785MHz 1880MHz
Contents

 Typical Cases
Phenomena of Interference
Poor
speech
quality
On-and-off
Call drop
speech
Phenomena
Unable to
Metallic noise
establish calls
Classification of Interference
Internal interference
Internal interference refers to unreasonable frequency planning
and equipment hardware faults, which could lead to decrease in

network service quality.
External interference
External interference refers to unknown signal source out of the
network, whose existence could seriously disturb the network’s
signals and lead to decrease in service quality.
UL interference
DL interference
Internal Interference _Causes
Unreasonable frequency planning
Internal
Equipment faults
interference
Skip-zone coverage
Internal Interference
_due to unreasonable frequency planning
 Unreasonable frequency planning :
 Frequency and adjacent cell relation may be set
unreasonable in network planning because of planning
tools or human mistakes .
 Interference will be reflected in too large DL_RxQuality,
MS unable to access into network, poor speech quality,
and call drop.
 Check and confirm problem:
 Use planning tool to check if co-channel exists; co-
channel is easy to be detected if it does exist.
 As for cells in boundary areas, we can block co-
channel cells in the network; meanwhile, make tracing
test with DT devices at areas with emergence of large
DL_RxQuality. If co-channel interference does exist, the
DL_RxQuality value shall become smaller after the
blocking of co-channel cells, thus we can adjust the
cell’s frequencies to eliminate the interference.
Internal Interference _due to skip-zone
coverage
 Interference caused by skip-zone coverage
 If the actual cell coverage greatly exceeds requirement,
interference will be increased.
 Incorrect setting of engineering and network
parameters may lead to skip-zone coverage.
coverage
 Unreasonable setting of engineering parameters:
 Wrong antenna type, down-tilt and azimuth may result
in over large cell coverage, which exceeds actual
coverage need;
 Unreasonable setting of network parameters:
 Network parameters include: minimum access level,
BTS transmission power, MS max transmission power,
handover thresholds, etc..Improper setting of these
parameters will result in skip-zone coverage problem
and interference as well.
Internal Interference _ due to equipment
fault
 Interference caused by equipment fault:
 Radio fault of BTS is mainly caused by defective UL
unit parts.
External Interference
 Definition:
 External interference refers to other interferences caused by
external factors, but not due to equipment fault or unreasonable
frequency planning.
 Common external interferences:

 due to wide-band repeater;
 due to CDMA system (trailing signal);
 due to signal jammer;
 Characteristic:
 It’s hard to detect this kind of interference without
specific devices.
Contents

 Typical Cases
Flow of Handling Interference Problem
Any new sites? If thorough change

of frequency parameters taken
recently?
Several Interference Interference

cells exists exists
Check
Poor speech Check
Confirm frequency, Check and
quality due One
external
interference change change Complete
to TRX
range frequency TRX interference
interference
points
One cell
Interference
Check exists
VSWR/antenna/divider/dupl
exer
Contents

 Typical Cases
Analytical Methods of Interference
Problem
Analytical
Methods of
Interference
Problem
Statistical
analysis of Analysis of Investigation Drive Test External
network parameter of hardware and Dialing interference
performance checking fault Test test
indicators
Analytical Methods of Interference Problem
- Statistical analysis of network performance
indicators
Statistical analysis of network performance indicators
Statistics of interference band : When TCHs are in idle status, UL

noise/interference is constantly being measured BTS, and the
measurement result will be analyzed, and interference level will be
sent to BSC in 6 levels. 。
Statistics of handover due to UL/DL interference : We can judge

whether interference exists through statistics of handover caused by
UL/DL interference.
Collection of UL/DL RQ samples during speeches : RxQual is an

indicator to reflect speech quality, which is based on error rate and
falls into 8 grades (0～7).
indicators
 Corresponding relation between RxQual
and Ber
- Analysis of parameter checking
Parameter
checking
Check
Check
parameters Check antenna Check frequency
parameters
related to engineering planning
related to skip-
transmitting parameters parameters
zone coverage
power
- Checking hardware fault
Checking hardware fault
OMCR warning analysis

Checking latent equipment fault
- Checking latent equipment fault
Input the two

If serious UL
stimulations Disconnect the
interference exists
Block the two of TRX rack top feeder
even though there
input ways of without cables, and
is no stimulation
TRX, observe connecting observe UL
imposed on
UL them to interference
power amplifier,
interference power band; if the
disconnect rack
band; if it’s 0, amplifier, interference
top feeder cables,
it’s proved observe UL isn’t fading at
if the interference
that TRX interference all, then we can
disappears, we
hasn’t band; if it’s conclude that
can infer that the
brought UL 0, it means the problem is
problem is caused
interference. external with the divider
by external
interference unit.
factors.
doesn’t exist.
- Drive Test and Call Quality Test
 Drive Test and Call Quality Test

 Drive test can effectively detect the location
and degree of interference, which is
convenient for analyzing the cause of
interference.
 In CQT, we can actually feel the speech

quality at areas being interfered, and we can
see call quality class on the test phone.
 DT parameters:
 C/I: co-channel carrier-to-interference ratio
25
20
15
C/I[dB]
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
RxQual 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C/I[dB] 23 19 17 15 13 11 8 4
 DT parameters:
 SQI：SPEECH QUALITY INDEX is the comprehensive
description of BER, FER and HANDOVER EVENT by TEMS.
- Test of external interference
 Confirm external interference with
SITEMASTER :
 Test of UL interference;
 Connect the input port of frequency-sweep
generator to the output port of divider to increase
the degree of sensitivity, as shown in the figure.
 Confirm external interference with SITEMASTER :
 persistent strong level exists within the bandwidth of
20MHz, we can conclude that serious UL interference
exists.
 Confirm external interference with YBT250:

 Make UL interference analysis of GSM 900M UL frequency
band with frequency scanning meter-NetTek Analyzer(TEK
company). The model we usually use is YBT250.
 Connection method of YBT250:

 One is to use its own test antenna ;
 One is to obtain interference information through connection to
the output port of divider.

 Connection method using YBT250 to test UL

interference:
CDU Feeder
Antenna
YBT 250
 Wave graph of UL interference tested by YBT250:
 This output is the average value of the test results of
one minute, which shows the frequency and
strength of interference. Persistent observation is
needed to confirm if the interference continues.
 Time scatter graph of UL interference tested by YBT250:
 TEK frequency scanning meter features in three
dimensional recording of time, frequency and signal.The
vertical bold red lines in the graph represent the time
duration, signal level strength and frequency .
Colour
spectrum
vertical =strengt
h
axis=time
horizontal
axis=frequency
Contents

 Typical Cases
Typical case 1: Problem description
Since March 2005, an operator has received a lot of

complaints about poor speech quality; sometimes calls
even couldn’t be setup; the caller could hear the
counterpart, but could not be heard.
Typical case 1: Problem analysis
When the level

tested by MS was
At the -85dbm, UL call
Performanc
beginning we problem
e statistics
thought it was occurred, which
at OMCR Confirmed the
caused by was displayed as
showed that problem was
poor signal. on-and-off
the rank of caused by
After on-site speech, silence,
idle channel interference
test, we found metallic noise
interference
it wasn’t and current noise,
band was
coverage so we concluded
that the problem high.
problem.
was caused by
interference.
Typical case 1: Problem handling process—
STEP1
Test UL interference with YBT250 connected to CDU. CDMA wave
form was strong when wave filter wasn’t used, the peak value reached
about -35dbm (average about -60dbm), which was close to GSM UL
wave band and could cause UL interference to GSM network.
STEP1
In the three dimensional graph of interference tested by YBT250, the
CDMA wave form was strong and the wave form of GSM background
noise on the right was high in a long period of time.
STEP2
Use CDMA wave filter to eliminate CDMA
interference.
Common CDMA wave

CDU filter Antenna
Feeder
YBT 250
STEP2
When CDMA wave filter was adopted, CDMA wave
form was obviously weakened, but it was still strong at
some certain point; the background noise in GSM
frequency band was also reduced.
STEP2
Because of CDMA wave filter, the UL interference in GSM
frequency band reduced greatly.
STEP3
With the aim to eliminate CDMA interference, adopt IRCDU
+CDMA wave filter.
IR CDU CDMA wave Antenna

filter
YBT 250
STEP3
Adoption of IRCDU＋CDMA wave filter can effectively
filter CDMA waves to below -104dbm. This kind of filtering
effect can help completely avoid CDMA network interfering
GSM UL network.
STEP3
Adoption of IRCDU＋CDMA wave filter can eliminate
CDMA wave form to a great extent; during the test period,
CDMA interference was almost eliminated.
Typical case 1: Summary
The interference source was from CDMA system.

Through comparisons of tests above, we can see after
IRCDU+CDMA wave filter was used, call quality
obviously improved.
 How is interference resulted from

wrong setting of transmitting power-
related parameters?
 What is the flow of checking external
interference?
SDCCH Assignment Analysis
& Solutions
Zte university
Contents
 Overview
 Analysis of signaling and counters related to
immediate assignment
 Radio parameters
 Instructions on checking of SDCCH assignment
failure
 Typical cases on SDCCH assignment
Definition of SDCCH
 SDCCH: the Standalone Dedicated Control
Channel is used to transmit information like
channel assignment, which falls into the following
two types:
 SDCCH/8: the standalone dedicated control channel;
 SDCCH/4: the SDCCH that is combined with CCCH.
 In brief, the following processes shall be taken into
consideration in the process of occupying SDCCH:
 Location update, periodical location update;
 IMSI attach/detach
 Call setup
 SMS
Signaling flow of immediate assignment
Counters related to SDCCH assignment &
corresponding signaling messages V3
 Function:
C900060242  After BSC sends out the immediate assignment message (IMM_ASS),
Number of this counter counts the number of successful MS accesses to the
SDCCH corresponding SDCCH.
assignment  Sampling:
success  when BSC receives the correct EST_IND or the message of assignment
complete.
 Function:
C900060243 After BSC sends out the immediate assignment message (IMM_ASS),

Number of this counter counts the number of failed MS accesses to the allocated
SDCCH SDCCH.
assignment
failure  Sampling:
 when BSC receives the wrong EST_IND, or when T3101 expires.
SDCCH assignment success rate
KPI SDCCH assignment success rate
Definition Number of successful SDCCH assignments*100/(Number of successful

SDCCH assignments + Number of failed SDCCH assignments)
V2 C11644*100%/( C11644+ C11645)

Counter
formula C900060242*100%/(C900060242+C900060243)
V3 V6.2
Difference: Random access success rate
 Definition: Number of successful random
accesses / Number of random access
requests*100%
 Number of random access requests
 Definition: MS applies for a channel in the idle mode.
 Trigger point: it counts the message of CHANNEL
REQUIRED received by BSC from MS. (A1)
 Number of successful random accesses
 Definition: BSC successfully assigns a dedicated
channel for MS.
 Trigger point: it counts the message of IMMEDLATE
ASSIGNMENT sent from BSC to MS. (A2)
Contents
 Overview
failure
Analysis of Channel Request cause
 Establishment Cause
 Establishment Cause (continued)
 Summary on Establishment Cause

 Emergency call
 Call re-establishment
 Paging response（MTC）
 Mobile originating call（MOC）
 Location update （LOC）
 Other access causes
 One-step access
 LMU service
 MBMS service
Channel Required
Channel Required
 Request Reference
 RA（Random access reference）: it continues to use the Cause and
Random Reference in the Channel Request.
 Byte 3 and 4 (T1, T2, T3): receive the frame number(42432) of the
burst pulse.
Channel Required
 Access Delay
The estimated TA
 Physical Context
including Rxlev_UL
Immediate Assignment
Page Mode = same as before
Packet Response Type and Dedicated mode or TBF
Downlink assignment to mobile in Ready state: no meaning
TBF or dedicated mode: this message assigns a dedicated mode resource
PR Type: immediate assignment procedure for RR connection establishment
Channel Description
Type = SDCCH/8[0]
Timeslot Number: 1
Training Sequence Code: 0h
ARFCN: 104
Request Reference
Random Access:
Establish Cause: E0h = Originating call and TCH/F is needed, or originating call
and the network does not set NECI bit to 1
Random Reference: 12h
N32: 13h; N51: 1Fh; N26: 0Dh
Timing Advance: 1 = 0,6 km
Mobile allocation
Establish Indication
T represents the sub-channel number.

 Information on layer3:
 CM SERVICE REQUEST
 LOCATION UPDATING REQUEST
 IMSI DETACH
 PAGING RESPONSE
 CM RE-ESTABLISHMENT REQUEST
 NOTIFICATION RESPONSE
 IMMEDIATE SETUP
 RR INITIALISATION REQUEST
 CM SERVICE REQUEST
 Originate call
 Emergency call (Access statistics show that emergency
call is not included in MOC )
 SMS
 Supplementary service
 Group call establishment
 Voice broadcast call
Access counters
 Basic measurement
Counter Number Counter name

C900060001 Number of MTC access requests
C900060002 Number of MTC access successes
C900060131 Number of CM SERVICE REQ of MOC
C900060136 Number of MOC access requests
C900060137 Number of accesses due to paging response
C900060236 Number of MOC access successes

Access counters
 Radio access measurement (I)

Counter Number Counter name
C901110001 Number of invalid access requests
C901110003 Number of successful process for MOC access
C901110006 Number of successful process for MTC access
C901110008 Number of call re-establishment access requests
C901110009 Number of successful process for call re-
establishment access
C901110010 Number of call re-establishment access success
C901110011 Number of emergency call access requests
C901110012 Number of successful process for emergency call
access
C901110013 Number of emergency call access success
C901110014 Number of LOC access requests
C901110015 Number of successful process for LOC access
C901110016 Number of LOC access success
C901110017 Number of access requests due to other causes
C901110018 Number of successful process for other causes’
access
C901110019 Number of access success of other causes
Access counters
 Radio access measurement (II)

C901110020 Number of LMU Establishment access requests
C901110021 Number of successful process for LMU Establishment
access
C901110022 Number of LMU Establishment access success
C901110023 Number of accesses due to location update
C901110024 Number of accesses due to CM SERVICE REQ
C901110026 Number of Emergency Call (CM SERVICE REQ)
accesses
C901110027 Number of SMS (CM SERVICE REQ ) accesses
C901110028 Number of supplementary service (CM SERVICE REQ)
accesses
C901110029 Number of accesses for LCS (CM SERVICE REQ )
accesses
C901110031 Number of accesses due to call re-establishment
C901110032 Number of accesses due to IMSI de-activation
C901110033 Number of accesses due to other causes
Contents
 Overview
failure
TxInteger
 Before response to the previous “channel request”

is received, MS waits for a period of time at
random and sends the request again after
expiration. TxInteger is to decide the random
waiting time.
 The interval (number of timeslots) from MS originating
the immediate assignment to the transmission of the
first “channel request” message is a random number
among { 0,1,…,Max（T,8）-1 }.
 The interval (number of timeslots) between two
consecutive “channel request” is a random number
among {S,S+1,…,S+T-1}.
TxInteger
TxInteger Number of
timeslots (T)
0 3
1 4 T(Number of S S
2 5 timeslots (CCCH is NOT (CCCH is
3 6 Of TxInteger) combined with combined with
4 7 SDCCH) SDCCH)
5 8 3, 8, 14,50 55 41
6 9 4, 9, 16 76 52
7 10 5,10,20 109 58
8 11 6,11,25 163 86
9 12 7,12,32 217 115
10 14
11 16
12 20
13 25
14 32
15 50
MaxRetrans
 Because RACH is a ALOHA channel, in order to

improve MS access success rate, the network
allows MS to send several Channel Request
messages before it receives the Immediate Assign
message. The max number of Channel Requests
sent by MS is decided by MaxRetrans.
MaxRetrans Max number of retransmission
0 1
1 2
2 4
3 7
TaAllowed
 It represents the max TA allowed for access to the

cell.
 It is used to filter out fake accesses.
RachAccessMin
 New parameter for iBSC 6.20.100e

 Used to filter out fake access, but not
recommended because it will affect the paging
performance.
Contents
 Overview
 Instructions on checking of SDCCH
assignment failure
Explanation on common causes of SDCCH
assignment failure
 MS frequently originates location update due to
poor downlink quality;
 Improper setting of Tx-Integer;
 High SD assignment failure rate due to LAPD
delay
 Co-channel/co-BSIC interference
 Uplink interference
 Overshooting
Improper setting of Tx-Integer
 The default of Tx-Integer is 14, which is also the
max value.
 Usually, the one-way signaling transmission delay
at Abis interface is 60ms~100ms; there should be
a delay of about 240ms from MS originates
Channel Request till it receives Immediate Assign.
 When the transmission link delay is long, while
TxInteger is set with a small value, it will result in
MS sending too many access requests. However,
MS only responds to the first Immediate Assign it
receives.
 Flow chart of repeated assignment failure

M S B T S B S C
Channel Request
Channel Required
Channel Active
TxInteger
Channel Active Ack Lapd
Delay
Channel Request(Re-Send）
Channel Required
Imm Assign Cmd

MS change Imm Assign(OK)
to SDCCH Channel Active
Channel Active Ack
Imm Assign Cmd
Imm Assign(Fail)
LAPD delay
 Possible causes of LAPD delay
 Application of LAPD 1:4 multiplexing will lead to the situation that
several BCCH TRXs are multiplexed on one LAPD, which will
cause heavy flow on the LAPD and hence delay.
 Heavy flow on LAPD leads to delay. For example, improper LAC
division will lead to large amount of paging and hence LAPD flow
control.
 Transmission equipment fault leads to loss of messages on LAPD
or long LAPD delay. These phenomena are often accompanied
with SDCCH assignment failure.
 The transmission equipment’s own delay, such as the delay
caused by satellite transmission at Abis interface.
 Impact of PS service: PS service is more sensitive to network delay.
Any LAPD delay will leads to re-transmission of PS service
message, which increases the flow on LAPD and causes longer
LAPD delay, then a malicious circle will be resulted.
Co-channel & co-BSIC
 Two cells have same BCCH and same BSIC

 The Channel Request sent by MS is received by two
cells and they assign SDCCH at the same time, but MS
can only accept one SDCCH, therefore, one of the two
cells will inevitably experience SDCCH assignment
failure.
 For RACH coding, first add in 6bit color code, which is
obtained through taking mod2 of 6bit BSIC and 6bit
parity checking code. Therefore, co-BCCH and co-BSIC
may cause the BTS to incorrectly decode MS access
bursts to other sites, which will lead to SDCCH
assignment failure
Co-channel & co-BSIC
 Two cells have same BSIC and the TCH Arfcn of one cell
is same as the BCCH Arfcn in the other cell.
 The handover access request occurring on the TCH timeslot is
received as Channel Request by the other cell, which thereafter
performs assignment. This certainly leads to SDCCH assignment
failure.
 It’s stipulated in protocols that the MS-started handover access
information and the random access request share the same format,
which is AB frame; the difference is that the handover access
information content (RA) in one handover started by MS is the
same, and the FN is in consecution.
 Signaling related to this problem displays that the RA is the same,
TA is in consistence and FN in consecution. It’s confirmed that all
the large amount and consecutive Channel Requests are fake
accesses caused by handovers between co-channel cells.
Overshooting
 If the coverage of cell is too large, the DL Rxqual at the cell
margin will be poor. In this case, BTS can receive Channel
Request sent by MS, but MS can not receive Immediate
Assign sent by BTS, for BTS is more sensitive than MS,
 If the coverage of cell is too large, the cell may share
channel and BSIC with the cell which is far away.
 Solution to overshooting:
 Adjust the engineering parameters of antenna to limit the cell
coverage.
 TA_allowed can effectively decrease SDCCH assignment failures
caused by overshooting. The side effect it brings is that the distant
MS is not able to access network. Therefore, the threshold of
TA_allowed shall be set a bit higher than the cell’s actual coverage.
Besides, we should take into account the transmission distance of
repeater when calculating the cell coverage range.
Uplink Interference --- Fake Access
 BTS receiving sensitivity is -112dbm~-125dbm. If the random access signal
strength received by BTS is lower than BTS sensitivity, it usually is confirmed to
be interference. The interference can be decoded as random access, which is
called as fake access, and will definitely lead to SDCCH assignment failure.
 Another feature of fake access is that TA is larger than that needed for the actual
coverage range.
 Solution: TA_allowed
Note:
① RachAccessMin is not recommended to use
② As for TA-allowed, the corresponding name used by Nortel is RNDACCTIMADVTHRESHOLD,
whose description is as follows: adjust the parameter according to the cell’s actual coverage range.
Fake RACH request can be filtered out through setting proper threshold, therefore unnecessary
SDCCH assignment can be avoided. Test results prove that if TA-allowed is set 35Km for cells with
small coverage radius, fake RACH (the system demodulate the noise into RACH pulse by mistake)
accounts for almost 30% of all RACH requests. After rndAccTimAdvThreshold is changed to 2, fake
RACH is totally filtered out.
Frequent location update started by MS
 If MS needs to make location update, while the

radio environment is poor, it will retransmit
Channel Request with the cause of location
update again and again, but it can never receive
Immediate Assign message.
 The frequent location update will cause
fluctuations in SDCCH assignment indicators.
Frequent location update started by MS
Number of SDCCH
Number of SDCCH SDCCH assignment
assignment
assignment failures success rate
successes
Reference
indicators
Number of
(MOC+MT
Number of Number of Number of Number of SDCCH (MOC+MT
C)
MOC access MOC access MTC access MTC access occupation C)
assignment
requests successes requests successes attempts (for proportion
success rate
assignment)
Troubleshooting instructions
 Check TxInteger of the problem cell, along with LAPD
delay observed from signaling.
 Check whether the LAPD link of BCCH TRX in the problem
cell is multiplexed with that of other cells.
 Check whether any of the adjacent cells have same Arfcn
and BSIC with the problem cell.
 Check whether the value of counter “number of access
attempts due to other causes” is big. If so, and the counter
“number of access successes due to other causes” is zero,
it is possible that “handover access” on other TCH TRXs
are decoded as “channel request” by the problem cell.
 Error Report with Channel Number 0x88 is available in the
mplog file.
Troubleshooting instructions
 Check SDCCH allocation KPIs and transmission

alarms.
 If SDCCH &TCH assignment indicators are all bad,
the problem shall be related to radio environment.
 Analyze signaling and check if Channel Request
with large TA, if so, fake access exist and
TA_allowed restriction can be used.
Contents
 Overview
failure
LAPD delay—Case 1: Large amount of
paging
 Problem description: It’s found through performance
analysis that ZTE BSC3 has low SD assignment success
rate, which is only about 60% on late busy hours.
 Problem analysis:
 It’s observed that all the cells are experiencing high SD assignment
failure rate, so impact from radio parameters is excluded.
 Indicators of other BSCs are normal; the SD assignment success
rate is low in only BSC3 and the Siemens BSC, both of which are
under MSC7.
 The paging success rate in MSC7 is also very low; as the traffic
volume increases, the amount of paging increases as well.
LAPD delay—Case 1: Large amount of
paging
 Adjustment measure:
 Add one LAC under MSC7. After the adjustment, the SD assignment
success rate of BSC3 returns to normal, reaching above 95％.
BSC3 SDCCH指配成功率对比
100000 100%
80000 90%
60000 80%
40000 70%
20000 60%
0 50%
3月10日 3月11日 3月12日 3月13日 3月14日 3月15日
SDCCH指配成功次数 SDCCH指配失败次数 SD指配成功率

LAPD delay—Case 2: Satellite transmission
 Problem description: 4BTSs are under BSC01, but

belong to different peripheral modules. The SD
assignment failure rate of the 4BTSs reaches as
high as 50%.
 The time stamp shows that it takes an average of
0.58s to successfully activate a channel.
LAPD delay—Case 2: Satellite transmission
 How to confirm that two Channel Requests are

started by the same call attempt?
 They should have the same Establish Cause;
 The same Access Delay;
 The frame number interval corresponds to the setting of
TxInteger:
 Calculation formula: FN＝T1*26*51+((T3-T2)mod 26)*51+T3
LAPD delay—Case 3: Transmission equipment fault
 Problem description: Massive SDCCH assignment

failures occur in 3 cells of a site, accompanied
with lots of SDCCH allocation failures.
 Problem analysis: SDCCH allocation failure
usually means transmission equipment fault.
 After checking mpLog printing, there are lots of LAPD
Errors.
 Also There are a lot of transmission alarms.
 A cell’s ordinary SDCCH assignment failure rate remains at around
20% and hits 30% in busy hour. However, other KPIs(such as TCH
assignment failure rate, handover success rate) are all good.
 Problem analysis: After analyzing the cell’s signaling, we find there
usually are Channel Request messages appearing in couples in the
cell (with the same TA and cause). The Imm Assignment
corresponding to the first Channel Request was successful, but the
one corresponding to the second Channel Request failed.
 Tx-Integer=12, which means “channel request”
retransmission interval is 109~128
 FN of the first Channel Request is 964; that of the second
Channel Request is 1086; there is a difference of 124 frames.
 It’s confirmed that the two Channel Requests are sent by the
same MS.
 Solution: change Tx-Integer to be 14. After the
adjustment, the SDCCH assignment failure rate drops
to below 10%.
Access of interference signal—Case 1: TA
exceeding the actual coverage range
 Problem description: the SDCCH assignment
success rate in a cell is very poor.
11644(Number of 11645(Number of
Time Alias SDCCH Assignment SDCCH Assignment
Success) Failure)
2007-4-26 19:15 Cell A 191 15
2007-4-26 19:30 Cell A 190 24
2007-4-26 19:45 Cell A 177 33
2007-4-26 20:00 Cell A 192 26
Access of noisy signal—Case 1: TA exceeding the
actual range
 Problem analysis: analyze ABIS signaling; the TA of
failed random access Immediate Assign failure is as
follows; the neighboring sites are near each other ,
with a distance less than 1 Km.
Corresponding time stamp for sending Immediate
Serial No. TA Cause
Assign
1 35 MOC 06-08-55.375
2 36 MTC 06-08-55.562
3 35 MOC 06-08-55.984
4 34 MTC 06-08-56.578
5 32 MOC 06-09-11.640
6 30 MTC 06-09-24.546
7 27 MTC 06-09-38.031
8 27 MTC 06-09-38.578
9 27 MTC 06-09-39.109
10 0 MOC 06-09-57.171
11 24 MOC 06-09-57.828
12 10 MOC 06-11-15.406
13 2 MOC 06-12-12.781
14 0 MOC 06-12-52.671
15 0 MOC 06-12-53.218
16 1 LAC update 06-15-13.140
Access of noisy signal—Case 2: the Rxlev
lower than BTS sensitivity
 Problem description: A cell’s SDCCH assignment
failure rate keeps high, but the TCH assignment
rate is acceptable.
SDCCH SDCCH TCH

SDCCH TCH assign
assign assign Assignment TCH assign
assign failure
successful failure Success failure rate
failure rate number
number number Number
14479 4490 23.63 4678 122 2.54

Access of noisy signal—Case 2: the Rxlev
lower than BTS sensitivity
 Problem analysis: The Physical Context carried by
Channel Required message reports the Rxlev of random
accesses, in which we find lots of Channel Request
messages whose Rxlev is -135dbm(0x87).
Co-BCCH & co-BSIC— Overshooting
 Problem description: the SDCCH assignment failure rate
in many cells exceeds 25%.
 Process procedure:
 After all the hardware is changed, the problem still exists.
 Through signaling trace we find that the co- BCCH/co-BSIC
signals received when TA=20 lead to SDCCH assignment failure.
 Based on the above finding, re-plan the BSIC of more than 10
cells in the network. After the re-planning, coverage of the cells
returns to normal.
 Solution:
 Temporary solution: the CMM of cells with high reset failure rate
enables the clock to reset, which lead to synchronous malposition
of SDCCH timeslot.
 Ultimate solution: to avoid co-channel/co-BSIC.
Co-Channel & co-BSIC—Handover
 Problem description: a cell experiences a sudden

increase of SDCCH assignment failure rate in
busy hour; the TCH assignment indicators are
good.
SDCCH assign TCH assign

Cell ID Pmdatatime
failure rate faliure rate
Cell A 19:00-20:00 15.85 0.68
Cell A 21:00-22:00 12.78 0.71
Cell A 20:00-21:00 11.27 1.36
Co-Channel & co-BSIC—Handover
 Problem analysis: Through signaling trace, we find that there is a
large number of continuous random accesses; these Channel
Requests have the same RA, TA, and consecutive frame numbers.
 Solution: After checking frequency planning, we find there are co-
channel & co-BSIC cells which are located 14km away from the BTS.
After re-planning of frequency, the problem disappears.
Weak coverage
 The SDCCH assignment failure rate in a cell reaches
58% in busy hour, and TCH assignment failure rate
56%; handover success rate in only 20%.
 Network performance statistics of fore-and-aft days
display that the TCH assignment failure rate, call drop
rate and handover failure rate have remained high.
Handover SDCCH assign TCH assign

UserLabel
success rate(%) failure rate failure rate
Cell A 20 58.67 56.19

Weak coverage
 DT result shows that the problem cell not only experiences weak
coverage, but also overshooting and co-channel interference.
 Signaling trace shows a large number of abnormal accesses of
consecutive Channel Requests with TA =63.
Consecutive LOC update request
 Problem description: some sites at LAC boundaries and suburb

experience sudden increase of SDCCH assignment failure rate, which
moves in no certain pattern; while other indicators of the cell are quite
normal.
 The basic measurement data shows that LOC access attempts and
failures count for a large proportion of the SDCCH assignment failures.
Consecutive LAC update access request
 Signaling analysis shows that MS continuously starts Channel
Requests with cause of LAC update, which all end in failure.
GSM Radio network planning principle
ZTE University
Objectives

 Describe the contents of information collection
 State capacity planning
 State coverage planning
 Describe steps to notices of site survey
 Master frequency planning and anti-interference
technology
Contents
 Network planning information collection

 Capacity Planning
 Coverage Planning
 Site layout & Survey
 Coverage Emulation
 Frequency Planning
Overview
Information Collection Analysis and survey
 Radio propagation survey

 Mobile service forecast
 Geographic environment
 Subscriber forecast, distribution
 Plantation
 Network equipment &
 Network traffic distribution
operation profile
 Industrial, commercial, residential
 MSC,BSC,BTS
area
 Traffic statistic, quality
 Coverage and quality analysis
 City planning
 Coverage and quality (DT)
 City type, map
 Statistic of A, Abis and OMCR
 Population
 Interference analysis
 Economic development plan
 Frequency allocation
 Road and transport condition
 Frequency scanning test
Requirement analysis
Frequency Coverage Capacity Traffic Model Other
Limited  Coverage  Redundancy  Data traffic  Site

frequency KPI and other model configuration
Available  Traffic requirements  Voice traffic  Propagation
bandwidth distributing  traffic model environment
Frequency  Coverage distributing  Electronic
resources size  Traffic and map exists ?
system
capacity
Summary
 Network planning information collecting

template
？
1. What is necessary information?
2. What is supplementary info?
Inadequate
info
Contents

Basic concepts
 Traffic volume
 Traffic model
 Erland
 Call loss rate
 Erlang B table
Erlang B table
2% 5%
1 0.020 0.053
2 0.223 0.381
3 0.602 0.899
4 1.092 1.525
5 1.657 2.218
6 2.276 2.960
7 2.935 3.738
8 3.627 4.543
9 4.345 5.370
10 5.084 6.216
11 5.842 7.076
12 6.615 7.950
13 7.402 8.835
14 8.200 9.730
15 9.010 10.633
16 9.828 11.544
17 10.656 12.461
18 11.491 13.335
19 12.333 14.315
20 13.182 15.249
21 14.036 16.189
22 14.896 17.132
23 15.761 18.080
24 16.631 19.030
25 17.505 19.985
Capacity Planning
Capacity Planning Procedures
1 2 3 4 5
Capacity information Traffic distribution Site type and Site layout Network scale
collection analysis number
 Confirm subscriber  Traffic distribution  Site numbers and  Site distribution and  Reach target of
number ratio configuration their latitude and capacity planning
longitude
Information collection
 Network type: GSM900, DCS1800, dual-band network or
WLL network？
 System capacity requirement. No of subscriber and the
traffic?
 Traffic model of the voice service?
 Equipment type: V2/V3? Model? Indoor or outdoor? DPCT
applied in V3 or not?
 Data service required? EDGE TRX? Data service
penetration rate? Traffic model of data service?
 Frequency resource range ? Is there frequency that are
prohibited? Maximum site configuration ?
 Forecast and investigation traffic density and define traffic
distribution ratio.
Traffic density distribution
 Traffic distribution analysis is to categorize the planning
area into areas of different service levels based on
forecast and survey of traffic density distribution
● how many phases and what is the ratio of

扇面 5
7%
扇面 4
11%
subscribers in each phase
扇面 1
41% ● what is the planning area range and the
扇面 3
15%
traffic distributing ratio in DU/MU/SU/RU.
● Provide existing sites and their
扇面 2
26%
configuration and performance statistics
report data
Service level by radio propagation environment
Area Topographic features

Average height of surrounding buildings is more than 30 metres (over 10 storey)
Dense and average distance between buildings is 10-20 metres. Usually the buildings
urban are crowded around the site with the height of 10-20 stories and the ambient
roads are not considerably wide.
Average height of surrounding buildings is about 15-30 metres (5-9 storey) and
average distance between buildings is 10-20 metres. The buildings are evenly
urban
distributed around the site. Mostly are below 9 stories and some are over 9
stories and the ambient roads are not considerably wide.
suburb
distributed around the site. Mostly are 3-4 stories and some are over 4 stories.
Roads around are wide.
Average height of surrounding buildings is below 10 metres. They are dispersed
rural
and mainly are 1-2 storey high. There are spacious space between.
Service level by service distribution area
Area Distribution Features

Traffic is heavy with high data service
Dense
rate, mainly for data service Both radio propagation
urban development
environment and service
Traffic is relatively heavy and date
Mean distribution factors should all
rate should be comparatively high.
urban Data service is required be taken into consideration.
Traffic is low and only low-speed
Suburb data service
Traffic is quite low. Site is for
Rural coverage purpose and data service
quality are not ensured.
Number of BTS sites-1
 No. of BTS for capacity limited area

 Maximum site type by frequency reuse pattern
 Traffic per site by traffic model, Erlang-B table
 Total number of BTS: Total traffic / single site
traffic
 No. of BTS for coverage limited area
 Total area / single site coverage (according to service
level)
 Cell traffic = Cell coverage * traffic density
 TCH number (Erlang-B table)
 SDCCH number
 TRX number
Site type and number
Network Scale Coverage Planning

Traffic &
distribution
Site configuration
& number
Capacity per site Site configuration
Start
Frequency reuse Channel planning Capacity of each cell
pattern & data service
Frequency resources Erlang B table

Maximum
Site type
Traffic model
No of SDCCH
 Suppose SDCCH average process time is 3s，Location updating
process is 9s,BHCA=2
 The traffic of SDCCH per subscriber is:
(3×2 + 9) / 3600 = 0.0042 Erlang
 4SDCCH call loss=2% can support 1.092Erlang，
 (1.092 / 0.0042 = 260sub) ×0.025 Erlang = 6.5Erlang
 look up in Erlang-B，call loss=2%， 6.5Erlang need 12TCH(2TRX)
 8SDCCH call loss=2% can support 3.627Erlang
 Look up in Erlang-B，call loss=2%，21.6Erlang need 30
TCH(4TRX)
SDCCH configuration
TCH traffic
TRX Channel SDCCH type SDCCH TCH
(GOS=2%)
1 8 SDCCH/8 1 6 2.28
2 16 SDCCH/8 8 14 8.2
3 24 2*SDCCH/8 16 21 14.9
4 32 2*SDCCH/8 16 29 21
5 40 2*SDCCH/8 16 37 28.3
6 48 2*SDCCH/8 16 45 35.6
7 56 3*SDCCH/8 24 52 43.1
8 64 3*SDCCH/8 24 60 49.6
9 72 3*SDCCH/8 24 68 57.2
10 80 4*SDCCH/8 32 75 64.9
LA planning
 LA border
 Paging capacity in LA
 Paging capacity calculation
 Influence by Short message
LA border
 Avoid dense city with high traffic area
 Avoid area with high mobility of subscribers
 Cross the road slantwise
 Consider traffic expansion
Paging capacity
 IMSI/TMSI
 Second paging（local paging、global paging）
 Paging group：
 (BS-AG-BLK-RES)
 (BS_PA_MFRAMS)
 Paging blocks/ per second =（9-AGB）/0.2354

 Paging number / per paging block : B = 2 or 4
Paging capacity calculation
 Paging numbers per second（P）
P =（9-AGB）/0.2354 * B
 Suppose：
 Average time of call：60s，ie:1/60Erl
 Traffic of LA（T）
 75％of MS response first paging，25％ of MS response

second paging
 Paging congestion when 50% of maximum paging.
 T*30%/(1/60)*1.25 = P*50% = 59.47*3600*50%

Influence by short message
 3/per sub/per day

 30% retransmit
 Convergence factor:0.12
 Subscriber in LA:100000
 SM number in busy hour
100000×3×0.12×(1+30%)=46800
 Consider holiday case: 8 times
Summary
 Capacity planning is
just an initial plan,
 Add or reduce sites
based on radio
coverage planning
Capacity Network Coverage and analysis.
Planning Scale Planning
a repeated, gradual
process helping to
decide site number
and type.
Contents

Coverage Planning flow
1 2 3 4 Site layout & 5

Network Link budget Coverage radius coverage emulation Network scale
parameter estimate
 Allowable max path  Estimated  Information of site  Target of coverage

 Set parameters coverage radius of
loss distribution ,
each site latitude & longitude
of sites
Confirm network parameters
1
Network parameter
 Network category: GSM900,DCS1800, dual-band or WLL network?

 Equipment type: V2 or V3? Model? Indoor or outdoor? Apply DPCT in
V3? DPCT ratio?
 Carrier Transmission power is 40W，60W，80W? Are data service
required? EDGE carrier frequency？
 Antenna model: antenna gains, horizontal and vertical beam width,
antenna downtilt, polarization mode and electrical downtilt etc.
 Antenna parameter: antenna available height, directional angle and
downtilt.
 Apply tower top amplifier?
 Feeder type: 7/8 feeder or 15/8 feeder?
 Maximum site configuration is? Are there special requirements toward
configuration of combining and distribution unit?
 What is KPI? What is level and area coverage rate? Which new
technology will be adopted in V3 site, DDT? IRC? or FWDR?
Link budget
2
Link Budget
 Definition:
 Link budget is the calculation of loss and gains on one
communication link.
 Target:
 Maximum power of the site, avoid invalid downlink
coverage, reduce interference and system noise.
 Allowable maximum indoor & outdoor path loss of uplink
and downlink Uplink Downlink
Link budget
Fading margin
Antenna gain Penetration loss
Transmission
Feeder loss loss
MS power Body loss
Site sensitivity
PA
Link budget
Template
Network Type & Equipment Margin reservation
 Transmission power and reception  Fast fading margin

sensitivity of MS/BTS  Slow fading margin
 CDU type  Interference margin
Link Budget
Losses Gains
 Building penetration
 Path loss loss  Site antenna gain
 Body loss  Feeder and  MS antenna gain
 Vegetation connector loss  TMA gain
loss  Combiner and
splitter loss
Link budget-Equipments
 MS transmission power is showed as follows：
Power GSM 900 DCS 1800 PCS 1900

class Nominal Nominal Nominal
Maximum output Maximum output Maximum output
power power power
1 1 W (30 dBm) 1 W (30 dBm)
2 8 W (39 dBm) 0.25 W (24 dBm) 0.25 W (24 dBm)
3 5 W (37 dBm) 4 W (36 dBm) 2 W (33 dBm)
4 2 W (33 dBm)
5 0.8 W (29 dBm)
Series Modulation Transmission power Reception Biggest site
sensibility
GMSK 60 W 47.78 dBm
B8018
8PSK 31 W 45 dBm -112 dBm S18/18/18
BTS GMSK 60 W 47.78 dBm

B8112
V3 8PSK 31 W 45 dBm -112 dBm S12/12/12
GMSK 30 W 44.78 dBm
M8202
8PSK 20 W 43 dBm -110 dBm S2/2/2 or O6
GMSK 40W 46 dBm -110 dBm S12/12/12
BTS GMSK 80W 49 dBm -110 dBm S6/6/6

V2 8PSK 30W 44.78 dBm -110 dBm S12/12/12
(EDGE) GMSK 60W 47.7 dBm -110 dBm S12/12/12
OB06 GMSK 40W 46 dBm -110 dBm S6/6/6
BS30 GMSK 40W 46 dBm -110 dBm S2/2/2
GMSK 40W 46 dBm -110 dBm S2/2/2
BS21
GMSK 80W 49 dBm -112 dBm S1/1/1
Link budget-Loss
 Path loss
 Body loss
 Vehicle loss
 Plantation loss
 Building penetration loss
 Feeder and connector
loss
 Combining and
distributing unit loss
Link budget-Loss
 Path loss
 Radio wave loss caused by the transmission distance.
 Body loss
 Voice service, body loss 3 dB
 Data service, 0dB.
 Vehicle loss
 Usually it is 8~10dB.
Link budget-Loss
 Plantation loss
 Inside the forest, the loss of 900MHz is 0.2dB/m; the
loss of 1800MHz is 0.3dB/m
 Through forest or diffraction, the loss is 20dB/dec
 Forest around the antenna and the antenna is lower
than the forest, around 10dB
 Averagely it’s 10 – 20 dB，relying on building material
and thickness.
Link budget-Loss
 Feeder cable loss
Type loss（dB/100m）
900M 1800/1900M
1/2 soft jumper 7.22 11.3
7/8 feeder 3.89 6.15
15/8 feeder 2.34 3.84
Link budget-Loss
 Combiner & Splitter loss

Unit (900M) Insertion loss
CDUG 4.4dB
CEUG 3.5dB
CENG 5.3dB
CENG/2 5.3dB
ECDU 0.9-1.0dB
Unit(1800M) Insertion loss
CDUD 4.6dB
CEUD 3.6dB
CEND 5.5dB
CEND/2 5.5dB
ECDU 0.9-1.0dB
Link budget-Gain
 BTS Antenna gain  MS antenna gain

usually is 0
 remark：special attention
Area Antenna gain
should be paid to antenna gain
（dBi）
in MS in GSM WLL network
urban 15.5
suburb 15.5~17
rural 17~18 Antenna may be indoor,
Express way or 18~21 outside door or on the roof.

long & narrow So antenna gain and height
valley should be checked, which
Hills and 17~18 will affect coverage greatly.
highland
 TMA gain
Link budget-Margin
 Fast fading & deterioration storage

 walking：2.0--5.0dB
 fast moving：0dB
 In GSM system, fast fading for voice and data service is
supposed to be 3dB.
 Interference margin
 The interference margin is generally supposed to be
3dB.
Link budget-Margin
 Slow fading (shadow fading) margin

 shadow fading is based on
 standard deviation
 margin coverage probability.
 slow fading standard deviation is related to propagation
condition. In cities, it’s about 8~10 dB, while in suburbs
or rural areas，6～8dB.
Marginal coverage 70 75 80 85 90 95 98
probability(%)
Slow fading margin/dB 0.53σ 0.68σ 0.85σ 1.04σ 1.29σ 1.65σ 2.06σ
Link budget
Parameter Symbol
MS transmitting power A
Body loss B
Building loss C
MS reception sensibility D
MS antenna gain E Path loss difference
TMA gain F
between uplink and
Diversity gain G
Feeder loss H
downlink is 3-5dB
Combiner/divider unit I
loss
Fast fading margin J
Slow fading margin K
Noise margin L
Path loss indoor M=A-B-C-D+E+F+G-H-I-J-
K-L
Path loss outdoor N=M+C
Estimate coverage radius
3
Coverage  Maximum allowable path loss
radius estimate
 Propagation model
 Okumura-Hata model
 Cost231-Hata model
 Universal model
 Cost231-Walfish-Ikegami model
Estimate
Max allowable loss coverage Propagation model selection
radius
Site layout & emulation
4
Site layout &
coverage emulation
Electronic map
Planning area size Distribution map
Site Distribution info
Planning site number
distribution
Link budget Latitude & longitude
radius estimate
Input **** Output

4
Site layout &
coverage emulation
Electronic map
Planning map
Site distribution map
latitude & longitude
Site coverage effect map
Antenna height/direction angle
Coverage & Height info map
Antenna selection
emulation Existing network coverage map
Propagation model
Coverage probability statistics table
Link budget
Existing network data
Input **** Output

Summary
5
Network scale
Capacity Network Coverage

planning scale planning
Contents

Site layout & survey procedure
Distribute site on Mapinfo Based on theoretic location of

coverage planning
or PLANET/EET E-map, sites, make sites survey.
+ capacity planning
decide site theoretic Confirm site location, site type &
=>
location, latitude & location, antenna type, height,
network scale
longitude and other para of direction angle, downtilt, CDU,
sites TTA and feeder etc.
Site survey
 Optical measurement
 Construction environment and natural
environment
 Frequency spectrum measurement
 Electromagnetism environment
 Site investigate
 Installation condition of antenna and equipment
 Power and transmission supply

Preparation
 Try to collect materials relating to the project

include：
 Engineering files, background information,
existing network situation, map and
configuration list
 Get tools ready
 Digital cameral, GPS satellite receiver,
compass, ruler and PC.
Site layout & survey
 When select site location, take the following aspects into
consideration
 Previous Network condition
 Population distribution and habits
 City layout and distribution
 Main streets and traffic volume
 Natural environment such as Hills, lakes, rivers and coastline
 Growing trend
 Principles of site selection
population Select high traffic area and
Traffic distribution dense population area
Customer mobility trend

Careful select high hills, radar,
Surrounding environment
radio station, gas station, forest
Signaling transmission and power plant
quality
Main principles to select sites
 Site should be at the best place of regular mesh with deviation less than a
quarter of the site radius.
 Select existing facilities for cost saving and period reduction purpose on the
premise that it doesn’t affect site distribution.
 City edge or High-altitude hills(100 m or 300 m higher than city construction) in
suburbs are not supposed to be sites, as first to control coverage scope,
second to make construction and maintenance easier.
 Newly-constructed sites should better be at place where transportation is
convenient, commercial power supply available, safe environment and take
less farmland.
 Avoid construct sites near high power radio transmitter, radar station or other
interference sources.
 Better far from forest to avoid fast fading of received signaling.
 Pay attention to the effect of signaling reflection and dispersion when in hills,
steep slopes, dense lake area, mountainous region and high metallic buildings.
 When in cities, utilize the height of the building to realize division of network
hiberarchy
 There are less sites in the initial stage of network construction, so good
coverage of key areas should be guaranteed.
Antenna and feeder
TMA Feeder
 To increase
receiving sensitivity of
BTS
Antenna
CDU  Height, direction

 Frequency range,
gain
Feeder design  Polarization
 3dB beam width
 Down tilt
Antenna selection
 Site in city
 Select directional antenna with horizontal 3dB bandwidth of 60～
65°
City site
 Select medium gain antenna of about 15dBi
 Best to select antenna with electrical tiltdown of 3～6°
 Recommend dual-polarized antenna
 Site in suburb
 Select
Suburb direction antenna with horizontal 3dB bandwidth of 65°or
site 90°
 Generally select medium or high gain antenna 15~18dBi

 Preset downtilt or not based on actual condition
 Select dual polarized or vertical polarized antenna
Antenna selection
 Site in rural area
 Select directional antenna of 90°、120°or omni antenna
 High gain of directional antenna （16～18dBi）
City site
 Generally don’t select downtilt antenna. For high sites, zero filling
antenna is the best choice.

 Vertical polarized antenna is recommended
 Road site
 Select narrow-beam, high
Suburb gain directional antenna. 8-shape
site antenna, omni antenna or deformation omni antenna based on
actual condition
 Generally don’t select downtilt antenna because road site has
higher requirements to coverage distance.
 Vertical polarized antenna is recommended.
Principle for antenna height
 Antenna of different cell of the same site can be different
due to installation conveniences or cell planning
requirements.
 For flat urban area, height of antenna is around 25m.
 For suburbs, antenna height can be elevated to 40m.
 Antenna can not be too high
 Reduce coverage level near the antenna especially for omni
antenna
 Easy cause problems affecting network quality like over coverage,
co-channel interference or adjacent-channel interference.
Principle for Antenna direction
 Try to keep the direction of three-sector site same in urban
area.
 Antenna main lobe should direct at dense traffic area
 Main lobe deviate from co-frequency cell to control
interference effectively.
 Overlapping depth of urban adjacent sectors should not
exceed 10%.
 Overlapping area for suburb and country adjacent cells
shouldn’t be too deep and the antenna angle between two
adjacent sector of the same site should not less than 90
degree
 Antenna main lobe of dense city area should avoid
pointing straight to the street in case over coverage
because of wave guide effect.
Principles of antenna tiltdown
 Antenna tiltdown is the basic method to enhance

frequency reuse ability.
 Control coverage and reduce interference
 Electrical or mechanical tiltdown.
 Mechanical tiltdown angle < 15°
Space diversity distance
 Distance between two receiving antenna is 12～18λwhen
antenna is diversified by space.
 Generally distance between diversity antenna is 0.11 times
of the antenna height.
 To achieve the same effect, distance of vertical diversity
must be 5 to 6 times of horizontal diversity.
 To reduce the interaction of the two antennas, horizontal
distance of diversity antenna should be over 3 m
Contents

Coverage emulation
 Electronic map
 Sites distribution map
 Planning area
 Site coverage effect map
 Latitude & longitude of sites
 Antenna height & direction angel Coverage  Height information map
 Antenna model emulation  Existing network
 Link budget coverage map
 Existing network data  Coverage rate statistics
table
Input **** Output

Contents

GSM working frequency band
 GSM900
ARFCN
 Uplink890  915 MHz
 P-GSM900
 Downlink 935  960 MHz
 Fl (n) = 890 + 0.2n MHz
 duplex separation is 45MHz，
carrier frequency separation is
200KHz  Fu (n) = Fl(n) + 45 MHz 1  n 
124
 EGSM
 n stands for ARFCN
 E-GSM900
 Fl (n) = 890 + 0.2(n-1024) 975 
 duplex separation is 45MHz， n  1023
200KHz  Fu (n) = Fl(n) + 45 MHz 0  n 
124
 DCS1800
 DCS1800
 Uplink1710  1785 MHz
 Fl (n) = 1710.2 + 0.2(n-512) MHz
 Fu (n) = Fl(n) + 95 MHz 512  n
 duplex separation is 95MHz，  885
200KHz
Basic Concept
 Frequency Reuse Cluster
 Frequency Reuse Factor
 Frequency Reuse Distance
 C/I and C/A
Frequency reuse distance
 The following equation is used to estimate frequency reuse
distance:
D= 3N * R
D —— frequency reuse distance

R —— cell radius
N - frequency reuse factor.
Definition of C/I and C/A
 Co-channel Interference C/I：
C/I refers to the interference of another cell using the
same frequency to the current cell. The ratio of carrier
to interference is called C/I.
GSM specification regulates that C/I >9dB. In
implementing, it requires C/I>12dB.
 Adjacent channel interference C/A
C/A refers to interference of adjacent channel to the
current channel. The ratio is called C/A. The GSM
specification regulates that C/A>-9dB.
Calculation of C/I
 Where, Pown_cell is the signal strength of current

cell; Pi_BCCH is BCCH signal strength of interfering
cell i measured by MS.
Frequency reuse pattern
 Ordinary (group) frequency reuse: ―43‖, ―33‖ and

more close ―26‖ and ―13‖.
 MRP: different layers adopt different frequency reuse
patterns.
 Concentric: the Underlay and Overlay adopt different
frequency reuse patterns respectively.
―4×3‖multiplex
A1
A2 A3 D1
A1 B1 D2 D3 A1
C
(dB)
A2 A3 D1 B2 B3 C1 A2 A3 I
24
B1 D2 D3 A1 C2 C3 B1  10 log
(8) 4  2(7.2) 4
B2 B3 C1 A2 A3 D1 B2 B3  18dB
A1 C2 C3 B1 D2 D3 A1
A2 A3 D1 B2 B3 C1 A2 A3
18dB>12dB
B1 D2 D3 A1 C2 C3 B1
―3×3‖multiplex
A1 A1
A2 A3 C1 A2 A3 C1 C
(dB )
B1 C2 C3 B1 C2 C3
I
24
 10 log
A1 B2 B3 A1 B2 B3 A1 2(7) 4  2(5.57) 4
 13.3dB
A2 A3 C1 A2 A3 C1 A2 A3
B1 C2 C3 B1 C2 C3 B1
B2 B3 A1 B2 B3 A1 B2 B3 13.3dB>12dB
A2 A3 C1 A2 A3 C1
Multiple reuse pattern（MRP）
 BCCH can use 43 or higher reuse coefficient to
ensure the BCCH quality, while the TCH will use
relatively dense reuse mode.
 The division of BCCH and TCH layer frequency
bands reduces the planning workload and
facilitate the layered planning.
 Reserve some frequency for the micro cell.
 Simplify the configuration of BA tables
 The relative independence of the BCCH and TCH
layers facilitates the maintenance and expansion
of each layer.
MRP
Bandwidth=6 MHz
BCCH FRF=12
TCH1 FRF=9
TCH2
FRF=6 For Microcell
FRF: Frequency reuse factor
MRP
BCCH TCH1 TCH2 TCH3

“4×3” “3×3” “2×3” “1×3”
Application of MRP
 China mobile: MRP

 Frequency bandwidth: 7.2MHz
 AFN:（60～95），
 Divide 36 carrier frequencies into 4 group as per
12/9/8/7
Channel Logic channel TCH1 service TCH2 service TC3 service

type channel channel channel
Channel 60 61 62 63 64 65 72 73 74 75 76 77 81 82 83 84 85 89 90 91 92
number 66 67 68 69 70 71 78 79 80 86 87 88 93 94 95
Application of MRP
66 76
62 73
64 70 67 75 75
60 63 79
65 72 72
68 71 78 77 78
61 74
69 80
1) BCCH 4  3 2) TCH1 3  3
92
90 84
82
91 92 84
94 90 83 86
89 81 82
93 91 94 83
85 86
89 81
93 85
4) TCH3 2  3 3) TCH2 2  3
Concentric
2 2
2 2
2
2
2 2
2 2 2 2 2
2
2
Concentric
 The coverage of Underlay is the same as that of ordinary
cell, while the Overlay use small transmitting power and
thus has smaller coverage.
 The frequency reuse factor of overlay differs from that of
underlay.
 The BCCH and SDCCH are used by Underlay, in which
the call will be set up.
 The absorbing of traffic by overlay is limited by traffic lay-
out and coverage. It will increase the capacity by 10-30%
 A brand new switching algorithm should be added.
Intelligent Concentric IUO
2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2
2 2
2
2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2
2 2
2
IUO
 IUO has the same network structure as ordinary
concentric, consisting of Overlay and Underlay.
 Underlay and Overlay of IUO both use the same
transmitting power.
 IUO adopts a handover algorithm based on C/I
 It’s very suitable for absorbing traffic inside building.
Comparison
 Concentric  IUO
 Overlay smaller  U/O same transmitting
transmitting power power
 Handover based on  Handover algorithm
power or TA based on C/I
 Overlay coverage is  Overlay coverage is
fixed but not reasonable fixed and reasonable
 Absorb limited traffic  Absorb more traffic
 Handover algorithm is  Handover algorithm is
easy complicated
TCH frequency plan
 The frequency in same site can not be reused
 In same cell, the frequency distance between BCCH and
TCH is at least 400khz
 Frequency can not be reused in its directly adjacent sites if
it is not 1*3 pattern
 Opposite cells should not be co-channel and avoid
adjacent channel.
 High hill in the middle shall not be considered as
neighboring sites while broad water in the middle shall be
considered as neighboring sites.
 Avoid to set same BSIC to BCCH with same frequency
Neighboring cell configuration
 Centered on the cell, at most two-circle cells

can be neighbor cells
 Neighboring cells shall not be more than 32.
 Modify unreasonable neighboring cells
according to drive test.
 Handover cells shall not be co-channel.
 Avoid one way neighboring relationships
 Avoid two neighboring cells with the same
BCCH and the same BSIC.
Attention
 Reserve frequencies for
 Test in propagation,
 Replacement frequency in the interference test,
 Micro cell frequency in hot spot area.
 Generally BCCH should use higher continuous frequencies.

 Allocate frequency based on different areas.
 Allocate frequency for sites in different areas such as urban,
suburb and rural.

 Focus should be put on cities to avoid interference.
 Make planning in urban areas before suburbs and rural areas.
 Divide urban area into small areas if there are many sites.
 Check manually after frequency assignment via automatic frequency

planning.
Anti-interference technique
 Dynamic power control (DPC)
 Discontinuous transmit (DTX)
 Diversity receiving
 FH technique
Discontinuous transmit (DTX)
 DTX encodes the voice at 13kbit/s during the

voice active period, it encodes the comfort
noise at 500bit/s during the quiet period.
DTX
 DTX contributes very little to the interference

during the quiet period, its power can be
regarded as 0 (inactive state).
 Suppose the DTX active factor is , then the
gain 
C / I (dB)  10 log CI  10 log CI  10 log 

Dynamic power control (DPC)
 From the figure we

A1
can see that, in the
dynamic power A1 A2 A3 A1
control situation,
A2 A3 A1 A2 A3
when the interfering
MS is only at the A1 A2 A3 A1
cell borders, the

A2 A3 A1 A2 A3
BTS can work with
the maximum A2 A3
transmitting power.
DPC
 Obviously, the interfering MS location is a

probability. This case is especially apparent in
the frequency hopping situation.
 Suppose the DPC factor is p:
C / I (dB)  10 log C
pI  10 log CI  10 log p
（FH）
 Frequency hopping is to avoid external

interference. In other words, it is to prevent or
greatly reduce co-channel interference and
frequency selective fading effect by
converting frequencies to an extent that
interference cannot catch up with.
 Baseband and synthesized FH
 Parameters
 HSN（hopping sequence number）
 MAIO（mobile assignment index offset）
Function
 The advantage of the frequency hopping is the so-called

effect of Frequency Diversity and Interference Diversity.
 The former actually expands the network coverage scope,
and the latter improves the network capacity.
Frequency diversity gain
 For static or slow moving MS. about 6.5dB gain can

be provided.
 For fast moving MS, the difference of two connected
bursts of a channel in time and place is enough to
make them uncorrelated to Rayleigh change, that is,
they are almost not subject to the influence of the
same fading, at this time, the slow hopping can
provide very little frequency diversity gain.
 Gain=1.5-6.5dB
Interference diversity gain
Interfering cell
{ f 1 , f 2 , f 3 ,..., f n }
Hopping set MA： ,
TRX number：m (mn)
 In consideration of the above figure, suppose the MS talks by

using fk at the time t, in this case, the probability of the
interfered cell fk is
p  Cnm11 / Cnm  m / n
C C n
增益C / I (dB)  10 log  10 log  10 log
pI I m
1*3＋FH＋DPC＋DTX
 Most densely reuse pattern

A1
 BCCH (4*3)
 Combined with anti- A1 A2 A3 A1
interference technology
 Generally，only use 50% A2 A3 A1 A2 A3
of the whole available
frequency A1 A2 A3 A1
A2 A3 A1 A2 A3
A2 A3
C/I= 9.43 dB
 Compared to ―4×3‖ multiplex, the ―1×3‖ multiplex brings about the
interference degradation:
CIR 4×3- CIR 1×3 =18 - 9.43  8.57 dB
 ―1×3‖hopping, 50% frequency load brings about the interference
diversity gain:
10log10(2/1) = 3dB
 Suppose the frequency hopping length is 12 frequency points, then
the frequency diversity gain is about 2dB
 Suppose the DTX active factor is 0.5, then the gain is:
-10log10(0.5) = 3dB
 Suppose the DPC factor is 0.9, then the gain is: -10log10(0.9)
=0.5dB
 The total gain is: 3+2+3+0.5=8.5dB
Summary
GSM Network Planning
Info Radio
collection network
Capacity Coverage Site layout Frequency

planning planning & survey planning
Case Analysis on GSM Network
Optimization
ZTE University
Contents
 Call Drop
 Handover
 Congestion
 Coverage
 Paging
 Interference
 Allocation Failure
Severe call drops caused by the illegal user
 Description:
 2 cells of the GSM network in XX had severe call drop
problem, about dozens of times per hour in the day time.
 Cause Analysis & Procedure:

According to the 24-hour performance statistics, most
of the call drops were in the daytime. While very few of
them were in the night. So the engineer suspected that
the problem was related with the user behavior.
After tracing the Abis interface signaling, we found:
(1) The handsets with the call drop problem all used the same
IMEI number.
(2) The dialed numbers were all the emergency number: 112;
(3) The call drop occurred about 10s after the call was
connected. After the call drop, the user continued to dial 112
again and again.
Based on the above factors, we made the judgment: the call drop
was caused by the user himself. For example, the workers in a
factrory were testing the batteries of handsets, and they took out the
battery while the call was still going on. So if we disable the
emergency call function of the cell, the user will try to use another
operator's network. After the operation, we found that the amount of
call drops in the cell was greatly reduced. After we enabled the
emergency call function later, the call drop problem didn't occur any
more, becasue the user selected another operator's network.
 Summary:
 By analyzing the Abis signaling file, we can make
judgement about the call drop problem and find out the
regularity of the problem. The network performance
index and user experience may be harmed when the
network resource is occupied by some illeagle user.
We can find out the illeagle user by signal tracing or
analyzing the CDR from the switching side.
Call drops caused by handover failure of the
handset
 Description:
 After the equipment been swapped to the GSM
network, one subscriber complained that under the
mobile environment, his call was automatically hanged
up within one minute after connection. The subscriber's
handset is HS-D907 and it worked normally under the
MOT equipment network before the swap. Another
subscriber complained that when he made a call by HS-
D907 on the highway, the call was frequently hanged up
about dozens of seonds after connection. In addition,
the subscriber said the handset never had the above
problem in other places.
handset
 The engineer traced the Abis interface MM signaling from the
switching side.
 When the XX handset is the calling party, it enters the
Conversation state after receiving "connect Ack". Several seconds
later, the BSSAP entity sends a "cbclearcmdEvent" message to the
handset, and the handset automatically hangs up.
 When the XX handset is the called party, it enters the Conversation
state after receiving "connect Ack". Several seconds later, the
BSSAP entity also sends a "cbclearcmdEvent" message to the
handset, and the handset automatically hangs up.
 According to the signaling tracing analysis, the core network makes
the judgement that the connection is actively released by the
wireless side. The releasing reason is 1, and the meaning of this
value is:
1=Radio interface failure(1)
handset
 The engineer traced the Abis interface signaling
from the OMCR side.
 After tracing the signaling in the 900/1800 area of Cell 3
and conducting call trace by MA10 software, we found
that the handset released the channels after the
handover failure, and the handovers were all
simultaneous handovers
 During the conversation, every time when the handover
command was initiated, the handset pointed to "full rate
or half rate version 3", then the handover was failed.
handset
 After comparing the version with the BSC voice
version, the core network engineer found that the
preferred full rate voice version for the wireless
side was version 2, while the switching side only
supported voice version 1 and 3, voice version 2
was not selected.
 Steps:
 In "Configure the relation between BSC and trunk
group", the engineer added the TFRV2 to the property
of all trunk groups of the 79 and 80 BSC from the
switching side. After that, the automatic hang up never
happened again during the dialing test.
handset
Under the AMR mode, the HS-D907 handset misunderstands the
encrypted fields in the handover command, so the handover will be
failed. Once the encrypted fields contain non-encription information,
the handset will report invalid mandatory filed, then the handover is
failed, and the call drop occurs.
Contents
 Call Drop
 Handover
 Congestion
 Coverage
 Paging
 Interference
Slow handover caused by improper handover
parameters
 Description:
 During the drive test, the engineer found that the handover
from the Negotiation Building (covered by the 1800 network)
to the Hongyan Primary School (covered by the 900 network)
was too slow.
 The testing vehicle moved from the north to the south, and
the MS occupied the Cell5 (CI：10355，BCCH：700) of the
Negotiation Building for conversation. When the vehicle
moved on, the MS gradually entered the coverage of G1 cell
of Hongyan Primary School (CI：11551, BCCH：115), and
the level of the serving cell gradually turned to be -86db and
became lower and lower. From the table, we can see that the
level of the G1 cell was -50db, but the serving cell was not
switched to the G1 cell of the school. So the level turned to
be worse, and the quality also became worse.
parameters
 Tmicro timer
 The 900 network and the 1800 network were set to be
on the same layer, and the Tmicro timer was set to be
8S. So when the handset occupied the cell 5 of the
Negotiation Building under the 1800 network, it could
not be switched to the 900 network at the same layer
within 8S after it sent the PBGT handover request. And
after 8S, since the frame error rate became higher, the
device couldn't decode the corresponding neighbor cell.
In order to solve the problem of slow PBGT handover
from the 1800 network to the 900 network, we need to
reduce the value of the Tmicro timer.
parameters
 Pre-processing Parameter
 Description: The survey report contains the large amount (message
amount) of Abis interface information. Preprocess of the survey report
can be transferred to BTS to reduce the burden of Abis interface link.
After preprocess, BTS averages the survey data of MS by its own, and
reports to BSC in a lower frequency. Average reporting period can be
two, three or four SACCH multi-frames (480 ms). That is, the
frequency decreases from the original twice/s to once/2 s, so the
message amount of Abis interface decreases. However, the decrease
of message amount still depends on whether the message length
before preprocess is same as that after preprocess. This parameter
determines whether to execute pre-processing or not, and it also
determines the period of pre-processing.
 Reducing the period of pre-processing will greatly impact the
handover. It will speed up the handover, as well as increase the times
of handover.
 When the pre-processing period is 3, the average window is 4, and the
P/N value is 2/3, the handover decision will take 9S. When the pre-
processing is turned off , the average window is 6, and the P/N value
is 3/4, the handover decision will take 4.5S.
parameters
 The related parameters may be
adjusted as follows:
Original
Parameters Value Adjustment value
Tmicro 8s 5s
Pre-processing window 3 0
parameters
 Summary:
 After the adjustment of related parameters, the problem
of slow handover from the Negotiation Building to the
Hongyan Primary School was solved.
 Accoring to the site conditions, we can adjust the pre-
processing parameter, the decision window and the
Tmicro timer to ensure the prompt handover and
prevent the call drop.
Inter-MSC Trunk Congestion Leading to Low
Handover Success Rate
 Description:
 One network uses dual bands, 900M is our equipment
and 1800 M is Nokia. Recently one IBSC was
commissioned, kept under the new MSC. Performance
statistics shows that handover success rate of this IBSC
is low, specifically, its outgoing handovers are basically
normal, and its incoming handover success rate is low.
Based on the handover statistics of the cells in this
IBSC with low handover success rate, most failures
happen during handovers from Nokia 1800M to 900M of
our company.
 Based on the observation and performance statistics of our
MSC, the handover failures causes are mainly
mchMapCauseErr_M.
 From the failure observation of the core network, we found
that when the failure occurs, the MSC-B has already sent
MAP－Prep－HO Rsp containing the handover number to
the MSC-A. The MSC-A should send IAM to the MSC-B
according to the handover number, then MSC-B send the
ACM to the MSC-A to indixate that the inter-office trunk is
ready. And then the MSC-A will send HO Cmd to the BSC to
inform the BSC to initiate the handover.
 At this time, if MSC-A, due to some reasons, such as trunk
congestion, can not send the IAM message, the MAP
interface timer will time out and release MAP. MSC-A will not
send HO Cmd message, and the handover fails.
 Based on the field test, the inter-MSC trunk
between our MSC and Nokia MSC are congested,
and the traffic volume of each line is more than 0.9
Erl.
 Thus, it can be concluded that the low inter-MSC
handover success rate is caused by the trunk
congestion from Nokia MSC to our MSC, leading to
acquisition failure of inter-MSC trunk and then handover
failure.
 We perform the capacity expansion of the inter-
MSC trunk, and the traffic volume of every line is
reduced and IBSC6 handover success rate
becomes normal.
Contents
 Call Drop
 Handover
 Congestion
 Coverage
 Paging
 Interference
SDCCH congestion caused by group sending
SMS
 Description:
 As shown from the performance report, one site has
heavy congestion on the SDCCH channel. But the TCH
traffic volume of the site is not high and the site is not at
the bordering sections of several location areas. We
think the SDCCH congestion may be caused by the
huge amount of SMS.
SDCCH congestion caused by group sending
SMS
 At first, we tried the signaling tracing. And the result
showed that most of the CM service requests are SMS.
 Then we conducted CALL TRACE. After we conducted CALL
TRACE for two continuous requests, we found both of them
were initiated by the IMSI:460028703084110, and the
interval between the two requests was very short. So we
thought the IMSI was group-sending the SMS.
 According to the signaling trace, the cell has initiated 4536
requests (including the calling/called request, the SMS
request and data service request) in total during the traced
period. The amount of SMS requests was 3454 (including
3125 SMS requests initiated by that IMSI), and the amount of
location update request was 247.
 So we were sure that the SDCCH congestion was caused by
the group sending of SMS from the IMSI number.
Serious SD congestion caused by core
network module problem
 Description
 About one third of the cells on 2 iBSC of the XX site had
serious SDCCH congestion. The cell-level statistics
shows that nearly one third of the cells have serious
congestion for all the time. The rate of successful
paging was decreased from 80% to 50%.
 Troubleshooting process
 According to our analysis, the data configuration of the cell
was normal, the alarming of the BSC was normal, and the
CPU usage was normal. Compared with the core network,
the data of the cell was OK. And the load on the A interface
was not increased.
 After checking the basic CS measurement of the cell, we
found the amount of calling /called attempts was small, and
most of the attempts were about location update.
 After analyzing the signaling of the cell, we found that a lot of
location updates were failed. The handset didin't receive
responses after sending the identity response. After the
T3120 timer timed out,the channel was released. During this
period, the SD channel was occupied for about 20s.
 In mormal location update, the handset will receive the
response from the network in about 100ms after it sends the
identity response:
 In mormal location update, the handset will receive the
response from the network in about 100ms after it
sends the identity response:
 Since the failed location update occupied the SD
channel for long time, serious congestion occurred on
the SD channel. Due to the 3210 Timer on the
handset timed out, the failed location update occupied
the channel for 20s.
 After the handset sent the location update request,
there were ID request and ID response between the
core network and the handset. It means the SCCP
layer is OK, but the core network didn't respond to the
handset.
 Conclusion
 After troubleshooting, the core network found two
modules were in problems. After the supporting A5/1
encryption algorithms of all the cells were disabled by
the wireless side, the SD congestion was temporarily
settled. And the congestion problem did not happen
after the algorithms was enabled again.
Contents
 Call Drop
 Handover
 Congestion
 Coverage
 Paging
 Interference
Handling the shrinking of BTS coverage
 Description:
 According to the statement from the network
optimization engineer of China Unicom in ZhouKou, the
coverage of ZTE's BTSs in some counties shrinked
after certain period of operation, thus some originally
covered areas became coverage holes or areas with
weak coverage. This situation has great impact
especially for the sub-urban areas, since the sub-urban
areas had more omni-directional BTSs, and the
distances between the BTSs in sub-urban areas are
wider. The shrinked coverage can easily lead to
coverage holes. Therefore, the operator may frequently
receive complaint from the subscriber that the signal in
some area becomes weak.
Handling the shrinking of BTS coverage

 According to the subscriber's complaint, we conducted
drive test for the BTS with serious problem of shrinked
coverage. According to our analysis on the drive test
data, the coverage of some BTSs indeed shrinked,
especially for those BTSs that had been commissioned
for long time.
Problem 1: The coverage of the BTS in
FuCaoLou shrinked badly
 Description
 From the table of project parameters, we found that the
BTSs in FuCaoLou Town of Taikang County were 40W
omni-directional stations with the height of 50m. This kind of
BTS generally can cover a distance of 4 km. According to the
above figure, we can see that the coverage of the BTS
(frequency point 124) in FuCaoLou is too small. The
receiving level of the handset decrerases to －85dBm when
the handset is 1 km away from the BTS.
 Cause analysis
 We found that the BTS in FuCaoLou had been
commissioned for more than 2 years. However, the dust filter
of the cabinet had never been cleaned during the period.
Since lots of dusts were accumulated on the dust filter, the
ventilation and cooling function of the fan on the cabinet was
greatly affected, thus the working of the carrier, power
amplifier and combiner were affected.
Problem 2: The BTS in Wulikou has different
coverage in different direction
 Description
 从From the Rxlev chart, we can see that the BTS in
Wulikou has different coverage in different direction.
The coverage to the east is very samll, about 1 km,
while the coverage to the north-easte reaches 5 km.
 Cause analysis
 There are 2 platforms on the tower of the BTS. This site
is shared by the BTSs of CDMA network and GSM
network. The CDMA network was commissioned earlier,
it uses the upper platform, then the omni-directrional
antennas of the GSM network were placed on the lower
platform. So some omni-directrional antennas were
obstructed by the iron tower, and the coverage in that
direction is smaller.
Coverage became weaker due to repeater
frequency is inconsistent
 Description:
 A subscriber from Shao Yang city complained that due to the
unstable signals at ShenJiaCun, he couldn't make a call untill
he climed to the top of his building.
 According to our test at the site, the strength of the signal
from the repeater is -90dbm and the signal disappears
randomly. After several times of dialing test, we confirmed
the reported problem.
 From the BTS side, we found the equipment was working
normally. After querying, we found that the data of the
repeater were not updated after the BTS was changed from
omni-directional to directional. Then the repeater didn't work,
and the signal strength became weak.
 After we changed the frequency of the repeater to be the
frequency of the signal source, the problem was solved.
Contents
 Call Drop
 Handover
 Congestion
 Coverage
 Paging
 Interference
"The subscriber is not in the service area"
caused by large CRO value
 Description:
 Some subscribers complained that the signal was very
weak near the BTS. For most of the handsets, the
signal strength was only 2 grids when the handset was
500 m away from the BTS. The maintenance engineer
said, the signal strength displayed on the handset was
normal, but when the subscriber was called, the calling
party got the response "the subscriber is not in the
service area".
According to our analysis, the above problem of subscriber not in the
service area was caused by "no response to paging". The possible
causes are as follows:
1 The system was congested or over-loaded
If the MSC, the Abis interface signaling link, the BSC, the TRX or the
wireless interface is overloaded, "no response to paging" may occur.
2 The cell was interferred by radio signal
If the cell is interferred by strong radio signal for a long time, "no
response to paging" may occur.
3 The communication equiment is failed or working unsteadily
If the LAPD link, the uplink or downlink signal from the BTS is poor, "no
response to paging" may occur.
If the handset has some problem itself, "no response to paging" may
occur, and there will also be problems when the handset is the calling
party.
4 The BSC has data configuration error
It mainly refers to that the "Cell Module Information Table"
is in error. The content of the table should be in consistency
with all the modules of the BSC.
5 The handset was executing other processes, so it didn't
respond to the paging
It's a coincidence that a new call is inintiated when the
location update, SMS, call releasing process is not
completed. This kind of "no response to paging" cannot be
avoided in the GSM system. In this case, the calling party
only needs to redial the number later.
6 The subscriber is indeed not in the service area or the
handset is power-off
In this case, "The subscriber is not in the service area" is
the correct response from the GSM.
 For the complaint of the signal was very weak near the BTS, the
engineer suspected that the RF system and antenna feeder system
had problems. But no problem was found when the engineer checked
the hardwares of the BTS, the RF connection cable and the antenna
feeder system. And the signal was not improved when the engineer
adjusted the pitch angles of the antenna. Then the engineer tested the
handset and found that the serving cell used by the handset belonged
to the neighbor BTS in area B. The signal strength of the serving cell
was only -85dBm, but the CRO was set to be 40. So it is very easy for
the subscriber to select this BTS. Then the level of the serving cell was
too low, it was easy to cause "The subscriber is not in the service
area" . After the CRO setting was changed from the background, the
problem was solved.
 Generally, the CRO value should not be too large, especially for the
sub-urban areas. Because the signal received by the MS is depending
on the actually received level. If the two cells around the MS have
similar C2 value and the actually received levels are quite different, it is
very easy to cause cell reselection, thus lead to the problem of
unstable signal when the MS is in idle state.
caused by cross-location-area cell reselection
 Description:
 The subscribers in one office building complained that
they often received the response " the subscriber is
powered off" or "the subscriber isnot in the service area"
when the signal on the handset of the called party was
very good.
 The office buiding is a high-rise building. Most of
the complaint are from the subscribers on the 10th
floor to 13th floor. According to the observation at
11th floor, the level received by the test handset is
-70dbm to -90dbm. However, the handset
detected multiple frequencies, including 900M and
1800M. And the signal strengths of different
frequencies were quite similar. There were many
900M frequence points taht belonged to different
location area. The handset frequently reselected
the cell in idle state.
 Cell reselection is needed in the following conditions:+
(1) Great loss of radio path occurs on the current registered
cell (C1<=0);
(2) The downlink of current registered cell failed;
(3) The current registered cell is blocked;
(4) According to C2, another cell in the same location area is
better than the current registered cell; Or according to CRH,
a cell in another location area in the selected netrwork is
better than the current regitered cell.
(5) The handset has not accessed the current regidtered cell
successfully after the random access times reached the
maximum number broadcasted on the BCCH.
 When the handset is in idle state, it frequently reselects the cell.
If the cell reselection is crossing different location areas, a
location update will be initiated. After times of dialing tests, we
found that "the subscriber is not in the service area" may occur if
the handset frequently conducts the location update.
 According to the dialing test, some 900M frequence points are

from a BTS that is in different location area. So there are two
location areas for the 900M nertwork. Added by the location
area of the 1800M network, the office building receives signals
from 3 different location areas. So the cross-location-area cell
reselection frequently occurs on the handset. The number of
complaints were significatntly reduced after we requested the
operator to adjust the downtilt angle of the 900M BTS antenna,
since the office building cannot receive the signals from that
BTS.。
Contents
 Call Drop
 Handover
 Congestion
 Coverage
 Paging
 Interference
Interference caused by Excessive Strong
Back Signals of the Directional Antenna
 Description:
 During the drive test performed in one GSM network
optimization process, it was found that the area which
was more than one kilometer away from the site (S122)
and should be covered by cell 3 received stronger
signals from cell 1. Cell 1 signals brought severe
interference to other sites.
1． The engineers first walked 100 meters away from the site, circled
the BTS tower to test the signals with the MS. and the signals of all
directions were found normal.
2． The engineers walked one kilometer away from the site and
performed the test. It was found that the areas which should be
covered by cell 3, was covered by cell 1, and the signals from cell 1
were about 5 dB stronger than that of cell 3.
3． The engineers first suspected that the jumper connection of the
antenna system was wrong, and cross connection might exist. They
checked the jumper and no problem was found.
4． The engineers checked the jumpers of the antenna and found no
problem. This problem will not affect the transmission of the TRX and
the VSWR, which can not located by SITEMASTER.
5． Therefore the engineers suspected that the directivity of the
directional antenna of one cell is poor, and the back signals are not
shielded. Because the site is space diversity, change the TRX/Main
antenna with the diversity receiving antenna.
 Then it showed that the directivity of the antenna was poor,
the back signals of the antenna were not shielded, which
led to the great transmission strength of the opposite
coverage direction of the cell.
 Because this cell was one TRX cell, and the power did not
deteriorated through using the combiner. Therefore the
areas which should be covered by cell 1 received better
signals from cell 1.
 The antennas of cell 1 had 3 degree depression angle and
the test near the site did not show. The areas which should
be covered by cell 2 were not severely affected, because
the TRX of cell 2 is blocked from that of cell 3 by the tower.
Bad KPI of the Cell Caused by External
Interference
 Description:
 In one project, cells such as KBL029 had very poor
voice quality, high call drop rate and high handover
failure rate. KPIs were as follows:
 KBL used PGSM as BCCH (105-124), and TCH used
EGSM 1*3 frequency hopping (975-995). Based on
TRX measurement, idle interference band of these cells
were distributed on TCH TRX instead of BCCH TRX,
assignment failed and most were on TCH TRX.
Interference
 It was decided that the cells with strong interference
were the cells marked in red in the following figure:
Interference
 Therefore the interference existed in the red areas, and the
interference is only on the TCH TRX that used the EGSM. The
engineers were required to performe a scanning test
Interference
 The result shown that the EGSM frequency used
by ET was strongly interfered externally and the
interference power level was about -8 dB.
 The scanning result was submitted to ET, and the
government confirmed that it was caused by the
military troops of one country and therefore the
problem could not be solved.
Contents
 Call Drop
 Handover
 Congestion
 Coverage
 Paging
 Interference
Long delay in receiving the "recharging is
successful" message
 Description
 One subscriber complained that he had to wait for a
long time to receive the "recharging is successful".
successful" message
 Signaling of the core network: the core network releases the CC
connection after sending the short message, then it sends the short
mesage, and after sending the short mesage, it releases the RR
connection.
successful" message
 Even if the handset has hanged up, the core network will continue to send
the message. After receiving the clear request 12s later, it will release the
connection. If the sending of short message is failed, the core network will
resend the "recharging is successful" when the handset is in Idle state.
successful" message
 Cause for the failure of sending the message
for the first time
 From the signaling of the Abis interface, we found that
after receiving the "release complete" message for 10s,
the handset sent a "release indication" message to
clear the connection. So the sending of "recharging is
successful" was failed.
 The handset cleared the connection 10s after receiving
the "release complete", because the T3240 timer of the
handset was timed out then.
successful" message
 Judging form the process, we can see the handset
will receive the "recharging is successful" if it
receives the CP-DATA message within 10s.
 The engineer recorded the signaling of the
recharging process again. According to the air
interface signaling, it takes10s in total for the BTS
to send the "recharging is successful" to the
handset in 11 steps.
successful" message
 T3240 was started when the handset released the
connection. And it was stopped when the handset
received the CP-DATA messagem T3240. In the
signaling, the interval between receiving " release
complete" and "release indication" was 10s, that
means the timer was not stopped.
 There are two possible reasons.
 One is that the BTS had not send the CP-DATA
message to the handset in time.
 The other one is that the handset may have some
problem itself, that it didn't stop the T3240 timer after it
received the CP-DATA message.
successful" message
 Conclusion
 Based on the above analysis, if the handset actively hangs
up after the recharging, it cannot receive the CP-DATA
message within the time specified by the T3240 timer, and it
will release the connection, so it will not receive "the
recharging is successful" message. According to the
subscriber behavior, most subscribers hang up the handset
after they hear "the recharging is successful". So the first
time of sending the message is failed.
 So there are two solutions for this problem:
 One is to shorten the message of recharging success, so as
to let the total time of message sending + link creation be
less than the value of T3240.
 The other one is to change the time for sending the message.
The core network will send "the recharging is successful" to
the handset when the handset is in idle state after the
recharging.
Antenna System
ZTE University
Objective
 By the end of this course, you will be able:

 To Understand the concept of dipole
 To state GSM antenna specifications
 To comprehend the principle of antenna selection
Content
 Antenna overview
 Antenna specifications
 Principle of antenna selection
Radio Waves
 A form of electromagnetic radiation typically

generated as disturbances sent out by
oscillating charges on a transmitting antenna
Blah blah
blah bl ah
Definition
 An Antenna is any
device used to
collect or radiate
Electromagnetic
Waves
Antenna for mobile communication
 Linear antennas are

used:
 Monopole (Slab) • Array of dipoles
 Dipole Elements
• Single Monopole
• Patch Antenna
Base Tranceiver
Station Antenna
Mobile Phones
Antenna basic structure
 Antenna are generally

composed of stacked of dipole
bundling their radiated power
to form a desired antenna
pattern in vertical plains
around the antenna
 Depending on the gain desired

that wants to be achieved
several of those diploes can
be arranged on top of one
another
Generation of radio waves
DIPOLES
Wavelength
1/4 Wavelength
1/2 Wavelength
1/4 Wavelength
1/2 Wavelength
Dipole
1800MHz ：166mm
900MHz ：333mm
Half wave dipole
1个 dipole Multiple dipole matrix

Received Power：1mW Received Power：4 mW
GAIN= 10log(4mW/1mW) = 6dBd

Isotropic antenna
Antenna
(Overlook
“Omnidirectional array” “Sector antenna”

Received power：1mW Received power：8mW
Gain=10log(8mW/1mW) = 9dBi
dBd and dBi
Ideal radiating dot source

(lossless radiator) 2.15dB
0dBd = 2.15dBi
Dipole
dBd and dBi
Content
Antenna electrical properties
 Operating Frequency Band
 Input impedance
 VSWR
 Polarization
 Gain
 Radiation Pattern
 Horizontal/Vertical beamwidth
 Downtilt
 Front/back ratio
 Sidelobe suppression and null filling
 Power capability
 3rd order Intermodulation
 Insulation
GSM antenna frequency range
Type Frequency Range

GSM 900 890 - 960 MHz
GSM 1800 1710 - 1880 MHz
890 - 960 MHz
GSM Dual Band
1710 - 1880 MHz
at at
Optimum 1/2 wavelength
890 960
for dipole at 925MHz
MHz MHz
Antenna
Dipole
BANDWIDTH = 960 - 890 = 70MHz

Impedance
 Standard Value: 50
Antenna
Cable
50 ohms
50 ohms
Voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR)
Forward: 10W
50 ohms 80
ohms 9.5 W
Backward: 0.5W
Return Loss： 10log(10/0.5) = 13dB

VSWR (Voltage Standing Wave Ratio)
Calculation of VSWR
 VSWR1.5
  = (VSWR-1)/(VSWR+1)
 RetureLoss = -20lg 
Bandwidth
3dB Beamwidth 10dB Beamwidth
Peak - 3dB Peak - 10dB
60° (eg) Peak 120°

Peak
(eg)

3dBm horizontal beamwidth
 Directional Antenna：65°/90°/105°/120°
 Omni：360°
Omni-directional Directional
3dBm vertical beamwidth
Antenna structure types
Polarization
Vertical Horizontal
+ 45degree slant - 45degree slant

Space diversity
Polarization diversity
V/H (Vertical/Horizontal) Slant (+/- 45°)

Types of antenna
Linear Polarization,vertical
X Polarization, 45
Antenna down tilt
 Mechanical down tilt

 Fixed electronic down tilt
 Adjustable electronic down tilt
Mechanical down tile
 It is achieved by physically
tilting the antenna out of the
perpendicular by using down
tilt kit
 PROS: Cost efficient and
flexible
 CON: Has no effect on the
side-lobe characteristics of the
antenna
Electrical down tilt
Input Signal
 Electrical downtilt can be fixed or adjustable

 Fixed is tuned by the manufacturer
 Adjustable allows adjustment in a certain level on the rear of the
antenna
Down tilt
Non down tilt Electronic downtilt Mechanical

downtilt
Antenna tilt development
FRONT-TO-BACK Ratio
 Ratio of maximum mainlobe to maximum

sidelobe
Back power Front power
F/B = 10 log(FP/BP) typically ： 25dB

Upper sidelobe suppression and null fill
Intermodulation
 It occurs when two signals of a different frequency mix in a
non-linear device
 It can be a problem at any site that has two or more
transmitters
 It can be caused by a transmitter of the same system or by a
transmitter in another site that is co-sited or has a site in the
neighborhood
IMD@243dBm
f1, f2, 2f1-f2, 2f2-f1
913 MHz 936 MHz 959 MHz 982 MHz

Isolation
10log(1000mW/1mW) = 30dB
1000mW ( 1W) 1mW

Antenna mechanical properties
 Size
 Weight
 Radome material
 Appearance and color
 Working temperature
 Storage temperature
 Windload
 Connector types
 Package Size
 Lightning Protection
Dimension
 LWH
 Length：connected with vertical bandwidth and gain
 Width：connected with horizontal bandwidth
 Height：connected with techniques adopted
Weight
 A factor that can affect transport and

deployment
Radome materials
 PVC, Fiberglass
 Anti-temperature, water-proof ， anti-
aging，weather resistant
Color
 Good-looking
 Environment-protecting
Temperature range
 Operation and storage

 Typical range：-40°C — +70°C
Connector type
 7/16”DIN，N，SMA
 Female/male
Mast
 Mast diameter 45-

90mm
Lightning protection
 Direct Ground
Antenna types
 By frequency band: GSM900, GSM1800,

GSM900/1800
 By polarization: Vertical, Horizontal, ±45º linear
polarization, circle polarization
 By pattern: Omni-directional, directional
 By down-tilt: Non, mechanical, electronic
adjustment, remote control
 By function: Transmission, receiver,
transceiver
Feeder cable
7/8” Main feeder

Jumper cable
1/2” （JUMPER CABLE）

Connector
7/16”DIN-F（DIN CONNECTOR）
7/16”DIN-M（DIN & N CONNECTOR）
Lightning arrestor
Rf port 2
Grounding
Accessories
 Trimming Tool or Hand Tool Kit

 Clamp
 Earthing Kit
 Wall Glands
 Hoisting Stocking
 Universal Ground Bar
Antenna system
Antenna
7/16 Din Connector

1/2 Clamp
1/2 Jumper
Tower Top 7/8“ Cable

Amplifier
7/8“ Cable
Grounding
Machine house
1/2“ Jumper Grounding clip

EMP
Grounding bar
Cabinet
Content
Radio propagation in cities
 Environment features:
 Densely deployed BTS，small coverage area
 Decrease over coverage and interference, increase
frequency reuse factor
Antenna selection in cities
Polarization Dual-polarization (Installation space)
Direction Directional antenna (Frequency reuse factor)
3dB bandwidth 60~65°(Control coverage)
Gain 15-16dBi
Tilt down angle Fixed electrical tilt down

Radio propagation in suburb/rural area
 Loosely deployed BTS
 light traffic
 large coverage
Antenna selection in suburb/rural area
Polarization Both dual-polarized and vertical
Direction directional
3dB bandwidth 90°105°
16-18dBi directional
Gain
or 9－11dBi omni
Tilt down angle Mechanical tilt down; 50m high; null fill
Radio propagation in road/highway environment
 Low traffic
 Fast moving
subscribers
 Focus on coverage.
 Strip coverage
 Two sectors
 Omni-cell when pass
towns or tourist site
Antenna selection for highway
Direction Narrow beamwidth directional
3dB
30°
bandwidth
Gain 18dBi－22dBi
Tilt down
No tilt down
angle
Radio propagation in mountainous environment
 Block by mountains
 Big propagation loss
 Difficult to cover
Antenna selection in mountainous area
Direction Omni or directional
3dB bandwidth Big 3db verticle bandwidth
Omni (9-11dBi）
Gain
Directional (15-18dBi）
Tilt down angle Null fill & electrical tilt down

ZTE University
Objective

protocol
GSM
Content

Technology
GSM Overview

system features.
GSM Overview

 GSM composition

GSM composition
PSTN
Um A IBM
Interfac IBM
Interf
e ace MS
MS
Other
BSS MSS
PLMN



Station (BTS).

Mobile Station (MS)

GSM System Number

 Handover Number
GERAN interfaces

Interfaces

Interfaces
GSM interfaces


domain


domain

channels.
 System Messages

hyper frame.

TDMA Frame


Time
Frequency
Time
Frequency
System Messages

2ter, 3, 4, 5, 5bis, 5ter, 6, 7, 8.

 Location Update

 MS Busy
Location Update
BSC M
LAI
S
1
MSC/VLR （2）
（1）
（3） LAI （4） M
2 S
MSC/VLR1 M
（5）
S
HLR
（2）
（3）（1） M
MSC/VLR2
（4） S
Call process
Handover process
MS BT S BSC M SC
CH REQ
CH RQD
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
IM M ASS CM D
IM M ASS
SABM
EST IND
UA CR：LOC UPD REQ
CC
ENCRY CM D
CIPH M ODE CM D
CIPH M ODE COM
DI：CIPH M ODE COM
DT 1：Clear CM D
DT 1：Clear COM
DR：CH REL
CH REL RLSD
DEACT SACCH
DISC RLC
REL IND
UA
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK

MS BTS BSC M SC
CH REQ
CH RQD
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
IM M ASS CM D
IM M ASS
SABM
EST IND
CREF
DR：CH REL
CH REL
DEACT SACCH
DISC
REL IND
UA
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
IMSI Detach Process

MS BTS BSC M SC
CH REQ
CH RQD
CH ACT

CH ACT ACK
IM M ASS CM D
IM M ASS
SABM
EST IND
UA CR：CM SERV REQ
CC
ENCRY CM D
CIPH M ODE CM D
CIPH M ODE COM
DI：CIPH M ODE COM
DTAP:CM SERV ACCP
DTAP:SETUP
DTAP:CALL PROC
DT1:ASS REQ
PHY CONT REQ
PHY CONT CONF
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
ASS CM D
DR：ASS CM D
SABM
UA
EST IND
ASS COM
DI：ASS COM
DT1：ASS COM
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
DTAP：Alerting
DTAP：Connect
DTAP：Connect ACK
数据流
DTAP：Disconnect
DTAP：Release
DTAP：Release COM
DT1：Clear CM D
DR：CH REL
DEACT SACCH
DISC RLSD
REL IND
UA RLC
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
MS BTS BSC M SC
PAG CM D UDT：PAG
PAG REQ
CH REQ
CH RQD
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
IM M ASS CM D
IM M ASS
SABM
EST IND
UA CR：PAG RES
CC
ENCRY CM D
CIPH M ODE CM D
CIPH M ODE COM
DI：CIPH M ODE COM
DTAP:SETUP
DTAP:CALL CONF
DT1:ASS REQ
PHY CONT REQ
PHY CONT CONF
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
DR：ASS CM D
ASS CM D
SABM
EST IND
UA
DT1：ASS COM
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
DTAP：Alerting
DTAP：Connect
DTAP：Connect ACK
数据流
DTAP：Disconnect
DTAP：Release
DTAP：Release COM
DT1：Clear CM D
DR：CH REL
DEACT SACCH
DISC RLSD
REL IND
UA RLC
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK

M EAS REP
M EAS RES
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
DR：HO CM D
HO CM D
HO ACCESS
HO DET
PHY INFO
SABM
EST IND
UA
HO COM
DI：HO COM
DT1：HO PERF
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK


technologies.
 Power Control
 Timing Advance
Voice Processing


Adaptive equalizing

whole system.
Diversity Receiving



Power Control
GSM network.

Timing Advance

technologies
EDGE.

 High rate
efficiency.
GPRS Radio Channel

channel coding.

release flow.

B, and C.
GSM Network optimization overview
Objectives

 State network optimization flow and the Content
 Master common network optimization problems analysis
and solution
 Understand Dual-Band Network and its peculiar
problems and solutions
Contents
 Overview of radio network optimization

 Introduction of network performance evaluation
 Flow of Radio Network Optimization
 Routine network optimization tasks
 Common network optimization problems
 Dual-Band network optimization
Network Optimization Concept
Object Purpose
 Improve system performance
 Maximize service quality under existing
 The upcoming network system configuration
 Network in operation  Maximize benefit of existing network
 Suggestion of network future
maintenance and planning
Network
Optimization
Data
Data Confirm Make Solution
Analysi
Collection Reason Solution Implement
s
Why Optimization
 End-user changes  Environment change

New calling model New Building,Road,Vegetation
Subscriber distribution change
Cause of Network
Optimization
 Application of
New Technology
 Network structure changes  New Equipment
Coverage , Capacity  New Standard

Network Optimization Position
Position in mobile communication Relation with Maintenance
 Maintenance is the foundation of

network optimization
 Specific working flow of mobile
networks  Network optimization is the
further development based on
 Throughout network planning,
maintenance
implementation and daily
maintenance  Maintenance focus on equipment,
 Closed-loop management of network  Network optimization focus on
quality network,
 Necessary and effective approach of  Maintenance work is the network
Improving network operation quality value-keeping process
 Optimization is the network
value-added process
Network optimization category
Commission and maintenance optimization Independence Optimization
ZTE equipments were not

 Engineering network used in network optimization,
optimization but network operator wants
Network us (as the third party) to do
 Maintenance network optimization network quality evaluation,
optimization category optimization adjustment,
complementary planning,
etc.
Content

 Introduction of network performance
evaluation
Concept
Object
Network in
operation
Network
Evaluation
Means Objectives
Check and analyze: Output reasonable and
•Collection customers’ objective evaluation
complain, •network planning quality,
•frequency allocation • network running condition,
•radio parameter, • network operation question,
•BTS equipment the hidden danger,
•MSC data • network investment
•System performance data utilization factor
Network performance KPI
Drop call rate

TCH/SDCCH congestion rate
TCH allocation success rate
Handover success rate
KPI Radio coverage
Traffic
Channel available rate
Voice quality
Optimization
Network evaluation content
Network
 Through DT and CQT test, simulate users calling process. Reflect
test
the user’s feeling of communication
evaluation
Network  Network size, types of coverage, the feature / topographic

layout distribution, network architecture, site / Traffic density, indoor coverage
evaluation strategy
Resource  By traffic statistic, export Traffic, calculate the utilization of network

utilization resources. Reflect the capacity of network
evaluation
Performance  Analyze network KPI and output optimization suggestion

evaluation
Voice
quality  Evaluate voice quality by MOS
evaluation
Contents

Detailed Flow
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Require Preparation Equipment Data Data Adjust Result Summary
analysis check collection analysis plan verify acceptance
 Network status: coverage, voice quality，radio KPI,

topographic and geographic feature, population
distribution, traffic hot spot
 The most important problem of existing network
 Expected performance KPI and dead line
 Working interface with operator

Preparation
Analysis Framework
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
preparation Equipment Data Data Adjust Result Summary
Require
check collection analysis plan verifies acceptance
analysis
Detail Prepare data &

Goals requirement equipment
 Expectations indicators  History P&O report

 Further detail
 Estimate time  Digital map
operator
 Special requests  Site information
requirement
 Network Index
 DT and related test equipment
 …………
Equipment check
Analysis Framework
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Require preparation Equipment Data Data Adjust Result Summary
analysis check collection analysis plan verifies acceptance
Checking object Avoid the

Hardware
problems to affect
overall network
 BTS hardware fault performance
 Antenna and feeding cable
 Clock problem
 Unstable power supply system
 Working environment condition
 BSC/OMCR fault
Data collection
Analysis Framework
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Require Preparation Equipment Data Data Adjust Result Summary
Current service condition
System performance data

Field test data
Subscriber complaints
Signaling trace
The data directly related to call processing of

mobile system in MSC
Data analysis
Analysis Framework
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Require Equipment Data Data Adjust Result Summary
Preparation
Traffic Subscriber
Drive test Signaling data
statistics complaints
Longer period Reflect Analysis coordination The non-

data downlink between system entity professional data
Comprehensive signal Provide essential clue Need confirmation
analysis of situation for network failure again
relative KPI
Adjust optimization plan
Analysis Framework
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
preparation check collection analysis plan verify acceptance
analysis
Make plan Check plan Implementation
Risk control
Avoid frequent Audit by the  Detailed record
adjustment expert and optimization
Partial experiment plan process and
operator
Quickly rollback plan results
Implementation step
Confirm feasible
Backup solution
Reasonable time
Agreement from operator
Verify result
Analysis Framework
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
preparation
Performance Comparison of
Comparison test
Compare and Compare DT result.

analyze the data Compare CQT result.
before and after At the same test
adjustment period and route
Summary and acceptance
Analysis Framework
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
preparation
Optimization Project Project

report acceptance summary
Knowledge
The work done Accept on
transfer
The achievement standard
Job evaluation
obtained Operator involved
Document
Signed by
backup
operator
Contents

 Routine network optimization
Three kind of routine work
RF
Optimization
Network monitor
Performance statistics
Several important counters Several key network element
CCCH
Radio resource Abis interface
Some specific event can A interface
assignment trigger corresponding counter
BSC
Channel mode to do add 1 for counting,
through the observation of
cell
Dedicated channel
counters in a specific period of Neighbor cell list
assignment
time, We can know the
Handover
network running status
Channel release
Channel establish
Network monitor
Statistics report table
Concept
Network performance statistics report come from the

calculation of counters.
Quality KPI Statistical report reflect faults and solution
 Drop call
 Hard fault：Failed board or partial failure of
 Handover
equipment. Generally hard faults can generate
 Can’t call (block, obvious warning information on OMC-R
interference...)
 Soft fault：System still running, but
 Network access (large part of system is unstable or not in the
coverage, indoor best status
coverage...)
 Voice quality
Network monitor
Other monitor methods
 DT and  Subscrib Environment

CQT er feeling
 New
and
building
customer  External
complaints interference
BSS parameter adjustment
Network identification parameters System control parameters

The parameters related to
Identify MS and network system configuration. Which
will Influence the service load
and signaling flow of the
system (capacity)
Radio
parameter
The parameters related to cell The parameters that
selection and cell re-selection, provide various system
which will affect coverage functions
Cell selection and re-selection parameters Network function parameters

CGI：
BSIC： BSIC＝NCC&BCC
 Network
identification System control
parameters
parameters Radio
Selection and reselection parameter Network function
parameters parameters
 IMSI attach detach
 Common control channel configuration (CCCH
CONF)
 Access allowed reserved blocks (BS AG BLKS
RES)
 Paging channel multiplexing frames (BS PA
MFRMS)
 Periodic location update timer (T3212）
 Radio Link Timeout
 Permitted network color code （NCC
PERMITTED）
 Maximum retransmission times (MAX RETRANS)
System  Transmission distributed timeslots （TX
INTEGER）
control  Cell access barring（CBA）
Network identification Wait time（T3122）
parameters 
parameters  Multi-band indication （MULTIBNAD ）

Radio
Selection and
parameter Network function parameters
reselection
parameters
Network identification System control
 parameters parameters
Radio
Network function
parameter
parameters
 Additional re-selection Selection and reselection
parameter indication (ACS) parameters

 Reselection parameter indication (PI)
 Cell barring qualifying （CBQ）
 Cell reselection offset （CRO）
 Temporary offset （TO）
 Penalty time （PT）
 Cell reselection hysteresis (CRH)
 Maximum power level of the control
channel （MS TXPWR MAX CCH）
 Allowed access minimum receiving
（RXLEV ACCESS MIN）
 Network identification  System control
 parameters Radio  parameters
parameter
Selection and
Network function
reselection
parameters
parameters
 Power control indication (PWRC）

 discontinuous transmission
（DTX）
 New establishment cause
indication (NECI）
 Call reestablishment allowance
（RE）
T3101： Waitting
timer used in immediate
assignment process.
T3103：Intra-BSC
 T3111： Timer handover timer to hold TCH
between channel release
both in original and target
and RF deactivation.
cells
Some BSC timers
T3109：used limit
SACCH release time in T3107：used to restrict
case of a radio link the TCH assignment time
timeout.
RF Optimization
Antenna check Feeder cable check
 Azimuth  Cross connection

 Tiltdown angle  VSWR high
 Height  Connector loose
 Isolation  Signal leakage
RF
Optimization
Check balance Check interference
of UP/DOWN link of UP/DOWN link
RF Optimization
Antenna check Feeder cable check

RF
Optimization
Check interference
Check balance
of UP/DOWN link of UP/DOWN link
Uplink Interference
Downlink
 Check the ratio of un-decoded Interference
RACH and uplink signal quality  Cell coverage test
handover to determine internal or
 Adjacent channel scan
external uplink interference.
 Co-channel interference
 Repeated change frequency detection
 Check idle channel interference
band
 Frequency scanner
RF Optimization
Antenna check Feeder check

RF
Check balance Optimization
Check interference
of UP/DOWN link
of UP/DOWN link
Preparation information ： Field data
 Link budget used in radio collection

design  Abis signaling trace by
 BTS functions : DPC,DTX OMCR
 Cell main parameter  Signaling analysis by MA10,
 BTS debugging report retain measurement report

message
Contents

Common Network Optimization Problem
coverage
Call drop interference
handover congestion
Coverage
1
Common phenomenon
Blind spot Sector cell
Overshooting
Overlaps
Coverage
2
Investigation
Undefin
Cell
ed Cell
Power Drop Neighbo handover
Rx_LEV neighbor perform Locate
Control Call r Cell out
Measure cell ance reason
Measure Measure Measure measure
(lonely measure
island)
Coverage
3
Problem solution
Adjust network
parameter
Adjust
Add new Coverage
solution antenna
site
and feeder
Increase power
of TRX,MHA
Interference
Common phenomenon
Bad voice Ping-pong

quality handover
High call Handover

drop rate failure
Interference
Investigation
Handover failure but reestablish

Also fail
Interference
Solution
Increase
the
distance Adjust Use
Avoid antenna frequency
of co- Reduce Adjust Narrow
external height Solution
channel BTS
interference azimuth frequency beamwidth hopping,
DTX,
or power plan antenna
frequency down DPC
adjacent
channel tilt
cell
Congestion
Common phenomenon
Incoming
handover
failure
Difficult to originate
a call Low calling
success rate
Congestion
2
Investigation －
SDCCH congestion
SDCCH
Unreasona Unreaso Small frequency SDCCH
Wrong Too Locate
ble access nable T3212 interferen number
LAC many reason
parameter LAC ce setting SM
2
Investigation －
TCH congestion
•Check equipment hardware
•Check TCH Congestion rate
Congestion
3
Solution －
TCH congestion
Open
Adjust Adjust cell
traffic-
antenna access, based Expand
Change Open
height, reselection handover TRX or
BTS half rate solution
direction, and , add new
power handover
function
down tilt direction site
parameter al retry
function
Congestion
3
Solution －
SDCCH congestion
Check cell
Rational Check Adjust cell Check
CRH of increase Increase
LAC
division of
SDCCH
LAC access frequency solution
LAC T3212 setting interference
boundary parameter
Handover
Common phenomenon
Frequent
handove
r
HO failure
Unreasonable
or HO slow
Proportion of out/in HO
Handover
2
Investigation and
solution
1 2 3 4 5
Congestion and Bad radio coverage
Hardware Neighbor cell transmission fault environment
 Very high HO  Same frequency  Neighbor cell high  Interference  No enough

failure rate and same BSIC for load overlap area
nearby cells between source
 Neighbor cell TRX
cell and target cell
 Lonely island fault
 Neighborcell
transmission fault
 Neighbor cell
 Work out setting check  Work out neighbor  Improveradio  Improve coverage
hardware problem  Define neighbor cell problem environment
cell for lonely
island
Handover
2
Investigation and
solution
6 7 8 9 10
Antenna Repeater Parameter setting Signaling link
problem problem LAC Not defined
problem in MSC Heavy load
 Two transmitting  Repeater only  HO aarameters  Check MSC  A interface

antennas of same enlarged part of unreasonable or REMOTELAC signaling load
cell cover scope is frequency of a cell. mismatch table congestion, lead
different. HO signaling lost
 Check antenna  Adjust

or replace  Check and adjust  Complete LAC  Expansion
condition, Repeater HO parameters info in MSC
Call drop
1
Three type
Radio link timeout Handover call drop LAPD call drop
 MS can not decode  Equipment failure

SACCH result in RLT  HO timer timeout，
cause the call
timeout and dropped MS is unable to
dropped, Such as
calls. access the target
LAPD link break
channel, and can
and so on
not return to the
original channel as
well.
Call drop
3
Investigation and
solution
1 2 3 4 5
Coverage Handover Interference Antenna and Transmission
feeder
 Unreasonable
 Blind spot  co-channel  Feeder mistake
parameters. interference  The transmission
 Poor indoor connection
 Neighbor cell not break, Interrupt,
coverage  Adjacent channel  Azimuth and
complete interference high BER
 overshooting downtilt inconsistent
 Same BCCH/ BSIC
 Antenna, feeder
 Traffic Congestion
damage, leak water
 Clock asynchronous
 Adjust radio para.  Adjust para.  Adjust engineering para. Analysis traffic  Observation
 Adjust engineer  Balanced traffic or frequency plan statistics transmission and
board alarm
para.  Calibration Clock  Open DTX、FH、DPC  Examination
 Solve hardware  Solve equipment alarm  Transmission path
problem problems  On-stie check checks
Call drop
3
Investigation and
solution
6 7
Unreasonable Other reasons
radio para.
RLT ,Min-Acc- such as

Min, Minimum inconsistent
level of RACH, software
RACH busy version
threshold.
check and Upgrade software

adjust radio
parameters
Contents

Concept
GSM900/1800 umbrella-like cell macro
GSM1800 macro GSM900 macro
1800 micro 900 micro
P-cell P-cell
A lot of cells are

available for choice.
Ideal dual-band network
Traffic is not balance
Dual-band network unique problem

Frequent HO and Frequent location
reselection update
Ideal dual-band network
 MS roaming in two band network

 MS can seamless handover between two band network
 Traffic balance in the dual-band network
 Avoid frequent re-election and normal location update
 Avoid frequent unnecessary handover between dual-band
network
The basic principle
Selection principle Traffic balance principle
MS idle: Select the 1800 cell first Automatic traffic

MS busy: Remain in the layer
balance technology
based on dynamic
where the call is originated,
Traffic management priority to prevent
and avoid unnecessary traffic congestion.
principle
handover between layers.
900 networks and 1,800 networks in different

layer
Layer principle
1800 layer
900 layer
Traffic control principle
The efficient use of

Traffic Balance
resources
 While covered by dual-

 Balance the traffic in band cells ,try to reduce
dual-band network the frequent handover
and location update,
reduce network signaling
flow
The main optimization method
Adjust cell engineering parameters Adjust cell radio parameters
Cell selection ：C1，CBA，CBQ

 BTS transmit power
Cell re-selection ：C2
 Antenna height, azimuth and
downtilt Dual-band handover ：
 Antenna type • PBGT handover control
• Handover priority
Objective
Through modifying the signal level of dual band cells in the same position,
change priority and direction of cell selection, reselection and handover.
Balance traffic of dual band cells.
Application of Cell Selection
 MS select 1800 network first, set the 1800 cell to a

normal priority cell
 CBQ = 0，CBA = 0
 Set the 900 cell to a low priority cell
 CBQ = 1，CBA = 0
900M cell：CBQ = 1，CBA = 0，C1=15
1800M cell：CBQ = 0，CBA = 0，C1=10
Power on the MS to make cell selection

Application of Cell Selection
 MS Reselects the 1800 network, set a large

offset for the 1800 cell and a small offset for
the 900 cell.
Cell re-selection in the idle mode
900M cell：C1=15，C2=5
1800M cell：C1=10，C2=20
Bar Inter-layer PBGT Handover
 Multi-path fading 1800 cell

can cause a
large number of
PBGT handover

 80% handover is PBGT
handover
PBGT, it must be
barred.
900 cell
Other optimization policies
Different layer use different Directed retry between

different bands
handover priority
Automatic traffic balance

Fast fading handoff
policy based on dynamic Other policies algorithm
priority
Set handover protection

Traffic-based handover
time
GSM Radio network planning principle
ZTE University
Objectives

 Describe the contents of information collection
 State capacity planning
 State coverage planning
 Describe steps to notices of site survey
 Master frequency planning and anti-interference
technology
Contents

Overview
Information Collection Analysis and survey
 Radio propagation survey

 Mobile service forecast
 Geographic environment
 Subscriber forecast, distribution
 Plantation
 Network equipment &
 Network traffic distribution
operation profile
 Industrial, commercial, residential
 MSC,BSC,BTS
area
 Traffic statistic, quality
 Coverage and quality analysis
 City planning
 Coverage and quality (DT)
 City type, map
 Statistic of A, Abis and OMCR
 Population
 Interference analysis
 Economic development plan
 Frequency allocation
 Road and transport condition
 Frequency scanning test
Frequency Coverage Capacity Traffic Model Other
Limited  Coverage  Redundancy  Data traffic  Site

frequency KPI and other model configuration
Available  Traffic requirements  Voice traffic  Propagation
bandwidth distributing  traffic model environment
Frequency  Coverage distributing  Electronic
resources size  Traffic and map exists ?
system
capacity
Summary
 Network planning information collecting

template
？
1. What is necessary information?
2. What is supplementary info?
Inadequate
info
Contents

Basic concepts
 Traffic volume
 Traffic model
 Erland
 Call loss rate
 Erlang B table
Erlang B table
2% 5%
1 0.020 0.053
2 0.223 0.381
3 0.602 0.899
4 1.092 1.525
5 1.657 2.218
6 2.276 2.960
7 2.935 3.738
8 3.627 4.543
9 4.345 5.370
10 5.084 6.216
11 5.842 7.076
12 6.615 7.950
13 7.402 8.835
14 8.200 9.730
15 9.010 10.633
16 9.828 11.544
17 10.656 12.461
18 11.491 13.335
19 12.333 14.315
20 13.182 15.249
21 14.036 16.189
22 14.896 17.132
23 15.761 18.080
24 16.631 19.030
25 17.505 19.985
Capacity Planning
Capacity Planning Procedures
1 2 3 4 5
Capacity information Traffic distribution Site type and Site layout Network scale
collection analysis number
 Confirm subscriber  Traffic distribution  Site numbers and  Site distribution and  Reach target of
number ratio configuration their latitude and capacity planning
longitude
Information collection
 Network type: GSM900, DCS1800, dual-band network or
WLL network？
 System capacity requirement. No of subscriber and the
traffic?
 Traffic model of the voice service?
 Equipment type: V3/SDR? Model? Indoor or outdoor?
DPCT applied in V3 or not?
 Data service required? EDGE TRX? Data service
penetration rate? Traffic model of data service?
 Frequency resource range ? Is there frequency that are
prohibited? Maximum site configuration ?
 Forecast and investigation traffic density and define traffic
distribution ratio.
Traffic density distribution
 Traffic distribution analysis is to categorize the planning
area into areas of different service levels based on
forecast and survey of traffic density distribution
● how many phases and what is the ratio of

扇面 5
7%
扇面 4
11%
subscribers in each phase
扇面 1
41% ● what is the planning area range and the
扇面 3
15%
traffic distributing ratio in DU/MU/SU/RU.
● Provide existing sites and their
扇面 2
26%
configuration and performance statistics
report data
Service level by radio propagation environment
Area Topographic features

Average height of surrounding buildings is more than 30 metres (over 10 storey)
Dense and average distance between buildings is 10-20 metres. Usually the buildings
urban are crowded around the site with the height of 10-20 stories and the ambient
roads are not considerably wide.
urban
distributed around the site. Mostly are below 9 stories and some are over 9
stories and the ambient roads are not considerably wide.
suburb
distributed around the site. Mostly are 3-4 stories and some are over 4 stories.
Roads around are wide.
Average height of surrounding buildings is below 10 metres. They are dispersed
rural
and mainly are 1-2 storey high. There are spacious space between.
Service level by service distribution area
Area Distribution Features

Traffic is heavy with high data service
Dense
rate, mainly for data service Both radio propagation
urban development
environment and service
Traffic is relatively heavy and date
Mean distribution factors should all
rate should be comparatively high.
urban Data service is required be taken into consideration.
Traffic is low and only low-speed
Suburb data service
Traffic is quite low. Site is for
Rural coverage purpose and data service
quality are not ensured.
 No. of BTS for capacity limited area

 Maximum site type by frequency reuse pattern
 Traffic per site by traffic model, Erlang-B table
 Total number of BTS: Total traffic / single site
traffic
 No. of BTS for coverage limited area
 Total area / single site coverage (according to service
level)
 Cell traffic = Cell coverage * traffic density
 TCH number (Erlang-B table)
 SDCCH number
 TRX number
Site type and number
Network Scale Coverage Planning

Traffic &
distribution
Site configuration
& number
Capacity per site Site configuration
Start
Frequency reuse Channel planning Capacity of each cell
pattern & data service
Frequency resources Erlang B table

Maximum
Site type
Traffic model
No of SDCCH
 Suppose SDCCH average process time is 3s，Location updating
process is 9s,BHCA=2
 The traffic of SDCCH per subscriber is:
(3×2 + 9) / 3600 = 0.0042 Erlang
 4SDCCH call loss=2% can support 1.092Erlang，
 look up in Erlang-B，call loss=2%， 6.5Erlang need 12TCH(2TRX)
 8SDCCH call loss=2% can support 3.627Erlang
 Look up in Erlang-B，call loss=2%，21.6Erlang need 30
TCH(4TRX)
SDCCH configuration
TCH traffic
TRX Channel SDCCH type SDCCH TCH
(GOS=2%)
1 8 SDCCH/8 1 6 2.28
2 16 SDCCH/8 8 14 8.2
3 24 2*SDCCH/8 16 21 14.9
4 32 2*SDCCH/8 16 29 21
5 40 2*SDCCH/8 16 37 28.3
6 48 2*SDCCH/8 16 45 35.6
7 56 3*SDCCH/8 24 52 43.1
8 64 3*SDCCH/8 24 60 49.6
9 72 3*SDCCH/8 24 68 57.2
10 80 4*SDCCH/8 32 75 64.9
LA planning
 LA border
 Paging capacity in LA
 Paging capacity calculation
 Influence by Short message
LA border
 Avoid dense city with high traffic area
 Avoid area with high mobility of subscribers
 Cross the road slantwise
 Consider traffic expansion
Paging capacity
 IMSI/TMSI
 Second paging（local paging、global paging）
 Paging group：
 (BS-AG-BLK-RES)
 (BS_PA_MFRAMS)
 Paging blocks/ per second =（9-AGB）/0.2354

 Paging number / per paging block : B = 2 or 4
Paging capacity calculation
 Paging numbers per second（P）
P =（9-AGB）/0.2354 * B
 Suppose：
 Average time of call：60s，ie:1/60Erl
 Traffic of LA（T）
 75％of MS response first paging，25％ of MS response

second paging
 Paging congestion when 50% of maximum paging.
 T*30%/(1/60)*1.25 = P*50% = 59.47*3600*50%

Influence by short message
 3/per sub/per day

 30% retransmit
 Convergence factor:0.12
 Subscriber in LA:100000
 SM number in busy hour
100000×3×0.12×(1+30%)=46800
 Consider holiday case: 8 times
Summary
just an initial plan,
 Add or reduce sites
based on radio
coverage planning
Capacity Network Coverage and analysis.
Planning Scale Planning
a repeated, gradual
process helping to
decide site number
and type.
Contents

Coverage Planning flow
1 2 3 4 Site layout & 5

Network Link budget Coverage radius coverage emulation Network scale
parameter estimate
 Allowable max path  Estimated  Information of site  Target of coverage

 Set parameters coverage radius of
loss distribution ,
each site latitude & longitude
of sites
Confirm network parameters
1
Network parameter
 Network category: GSM900,DCS1800, dual-band or WLL network?

 Equipment type: V3/SDR? Model? Indoor or outdoor?
 Carrier Transmission power is 40W，60W，80W? Are data service
required? EDGE carrier frequency？
 Antenna model: antenna gains, horizontal and vertical beam width,
antenna downtilt, polarization mode and electrical downtilt etc.
 Antenna parameter: antenna available height, directional angle and
downtilt.
 Apply tower top amplifier?
 Feeder type: 7/8 feeder or 15/8 feeder?
 Maximum site configuration is? Are there special requirements toward
configuration of combining and distribution unit?
 What is KPI? What is level and area coverage rate?
Link budget
2
Link Budget
 Definition:
 Link budget is the calculation of loss and gains on one
communication link.
 Target:
 Maximum power of the site, avoid invalid downlink
coverage, reduce interference and system noise.
 Allowable maximum indoor & outdoor path loss of uplink
and downlink Uplink Downlink
Link budget
Fading margin
Antenna gain Penetration loss
Transmission
Feeder loss loss
MS power Body loss
Site sensitivity
PA
Link budget
Network Type & Equipment Margin reservation
 Transmission power and reception  Fast fading margin

sensitivity of MS/BTS  Slow fading margin
  Interference margin
Link Budget
Losses Gains
 Building penetration
 Path loss loss
 Site antenna gain
 Body loss  Feeder and
connector loss  MS antenna gain
 Vegetation
loss  Combiner and  TMA gain
splitter loss
 MS transmission power is showed as follows：
Power GSM 900 DCS 1800 Nominal Maximum

class Nominal output power
Maximum output
power
1 1 W (30 dBm)
2 8 W (39 dBm) 0.25 W (24 dBm)
3 5 W (37 dBm) 4 W (36 dBm)
4 2 W (33 dBm)
5 0.8 W (29 dBm)
Series Modulation Transmission power Reception Biggest site
sensibility
GMSK 60 W 47.78 dBm
B8018
8PSK 31 W 45 dBm -112 dBm S18/18/18
BTS GMSK 60 W 47.78 dBm

B8112
V3 8PSK 31 W 45 dBm -112 dBm S12/12/12
GMSK 30 W 44.78 dBm
M8202
8PSK 20 W 43 dBm -110 dBm S2/2/2 or O6
Link budget-Loss
 Path loss
 Body loss
 Vehicle loss
 Plantation loss
 Feeder and connector
loss
 Combining and
distributing unit loss
Link budget-Loss
 Path loss
 Radio wave loss caused by the transmission distance.
 Body loss
 Voice service, body loss 3 dB
 Data service, 0dB.
 Vehicle loss
 Usually it is 8~10dB.
Link budget-Loss
 Plantation loss
 Inside the forest, the loss of 900MHz is 0.2dB/m; the
loss of 1800MHz is 0.3dB/m
 Through forest or diffraction, the loss is 20dB/dec
 Forest around the antenna and the antenna is lower
than the forest, around 10dB
 Averagely it’s 10 – 20 dB，relying on building material
and thickness.
Link budget-Loss
 Feeder cable loss
Type loss（dB/100m）
900M 1800/1900M
1/2 soft jumper 7.22 11.3
7/8 feeder 3.89 6.15
15/8 feeder 2.34 3.84
Link budget-Loss
 Combiner & Splitter loss

Unit (900M) Insertion loss
CDUG 4.4dB
CEUG 3.5dB
CENG 5.3dB
CENG/2 5.3dB
ECDU 0.9-1.0dB
Unit(1800M) Insertion loss
CDUD 4.6dB
CEUD 3.6dB
CEND 5.5dB
CEND/2 5.5dB
ECDU 0.9-1.0dB
Link budget-Gain
 BTS Antenna gain  MS antenna gain

usually is 0
 remark：special attention
Area Antenna gain
should be paid to antenna gain
（dBi）
in MS in GSM WLL network
urban 15.5
suburb 15.5~17
rural 17~18 Antenna may be indoor,
Express way or 18~21 outside door or on the roof.

long & narrow So antenna gain and height
valley should be checked, which
Hills and 17~18 will affect coverage greatly.
highland
 TMA gain
Link budget-Margin
 Fast fading & deterioration storage

 walking：2.0--5.0dB
 fast moving：0dB
 In GSM system, fast fading for voice and data service is
supposed to be 3dB.
 Interference margin
 The interference margin is generally supposed to be
3dB.
Link budget-Margin
 Slow fading (shadow fading) margin

 shadow fading is based on
 standard deviation
 margin coverage probability.
 slow fading standard deviation is related to propagation
condition. In cities, it’s about 8~10 dB, while in suburbs
or rural areas，6～8dB.
Marginal coverage 70 75 80 85 90 95 98
probability(%)
Slow fading margin/dB 0.53σ 0.68σ 0.85σ 1.04σ 1.29σ 1.65σ 2.06σ
Link budget
Parameter Symbol
MS transmitting power A
Body loss B
Building loss C
MS reception sensibility D
MS antenna gain E Path loss difference
TMA gain F
between uplink and
Diversity gain G
Feeder loss H
downlink is 3-5dB
Combiner/divider unit I
loss
Fast fading margin J
Slow fading margin K
Noise margin L
Path loss indoor M=A-B-C-D+E+F+G-H-I-J-
K-L
Path loss outdoor N=M+C
Estimate coverage radius
3
Coverage  Maximum allowable path loss
radius estimate
 Propagation model
 Okumura-Hata model
 Cost231-Hata model
 Universal model
 Cost231-Walfish-Ikegami model
Estimate
Max allowable loss coverage Propagation model selection
radius
Site layout & emulation
4
Site layout &
coverage emulation
Electronic map
Planning area size Distribution map
Site Distribution info
Planning site number
distribution
Link budget Latitude & longitude
radius estimate
Input **** Output

4
Site layout &
coverage emulation
Electronic map
Planning map
Site distribution map
latitude & longitude
Site coverage effect map
Antenna height/direction angle
Coverage & Height info map
Antenna selection
emulation Existing network coverage map
Propagation model
Coverage probability statistics table
Link budget
Existing network data
Input **** Output

Summary
5
Network scale
Capacity Network Coverage

planning scale planning
Contents

Site layout & survey procedure
Distribute site on Mapinfo Based on theoretic location of

coverage planning
or PLANET/EET E-map, sites, make sites survey.
+ capacity planning
decide site theoretic Confirm site location, site type &
=>
location, latitude & location, antenna type, height,
network scale
longitude and other para of direction angle, downtilt, CDU,
sites TTA and feeder etc.
Site survey
 Optical measurement
 Construction environment and natural
environment
 Frequency spectrum measurement
 Electromagnetism environment
 Site investigate
 Installation condition of antenna and equipment
 Power and transmission supply

Preparation
 Try to collect materials relating to the project

include：
 Engineering files, background information,
existing network situation, map and
configuration list
 Get tools ready
 Digital cameral, GPS satellite receiver,
compass, ruler and PC.
Site layout & survey
 When select site location, take the following aspects into
consideration
 Previous Network condition
 Population distribution and habits
 City layout and distribution
 Main streets and traffic volume
 Natural environment such as Hills, lakes, rivers and coastline
 Growing trend
 Principles of site selection
population Select high traffic area and
Traffic distribution dense population area
Customer mobility trend

Careful select high hills, radar,
Surrounding environment
radio station, gas station, forest
Signaling transmission and power plant
quality
Main principles to select sites
 Site should be at the best place of regular mesh with deviation less than a
quarter of the site radius.
 Select existing facilities for cost saving and period reduction purpose on the
premise that it doesn’t affect site distribution.
 City edge or High-altitude hills(100 m or 300 m higher than city construction) in
suburbs are not supposed to be sites, as first to control coverage scope,
second to make construction and maintenance easier.
 Newly-constructed sites should better be at place where transportation is
convenient, commercial power supply available, safe environment and take
less farmland.
 Avoid construct sites near high power radio transmitter, radar station or other
interference sources.
 Better far from forest to avoid fast fading of received signaling.
 Pay attention to the effect of signaling reflection and dispersion when in hills,
steep slopes, dense lake area, mountainous region and high metallic buildings.
 When in cities, utilize the height of the building to realize division of network
hiberarchy
 There are less sites in the initial stage of network construction, so good
coverage of key areas should be guaranteed.
Antenna and feeder
TMA Feeder
 To increase
receiving sensitivity of
BTS
Antenna
CDU  Height, direction

 Frequency range,
gain
Feeder design  Polarization
 3dB beam width
 Down tilt
Antenna selection
 Site in city
 Select directional antenna with horizontal 3dB bandwidth of 60～
65°
City site
 Select medium gain antenna of about 15dBi
 Best to select antenna with electrical tiltdown of 3～6°
 Recommend dual-polarized antenna
 Site in suburb
 Select
Suburb direction antenna with horizontal 3dB bandwidth of 65°or
site 90°
 Generally select medium or high gain antenna 15~18dBi

 Preset downtilt or not based on actual condition
 Select dual polarized or vertical polarized antenna
Antenna selection
 Site in rural area
 Select directional antenna of 90°、120°or omni antenna
 High gain of directional antenna （16～18dBi）
City site
 Generally don’t select downtilt antenna. For high sites, zero filling
antenna is the best choice.

 Vertical polarized antenna is recommended
 Road site
 Select narrow-beam, high
Suburb gain directional antenna. 8-shape
site antenna, omni antenna or deformation omni antenna based on
actual condition
 Generally don’t select downtilt antenna because road site has
higher requirements to coverage distance.
 Vertical polarized antenna is recommended.
Principle for antenna height
 Antenna of different cell of the same site can be different
due to installation conveniences or cell planning
requirements.
 For flat urban area, height of antenna is around 25m.
 For suburbs, antenna height can be elevated to 40m.
 Antenna can not be too high
 Reduce coverage level near the antenna especially for omni
antenna
 Easy cause problems affecting network quality like over coverage,
co-channel interference or adjacent-channel interference.
Principle for Antenna direction
 Try to keep the direction of three-sector site same in urban
area.
 Antenna main lobe should direct at dense traffic area
 Main lobe deviate from co-frequency cell to control
interference effectively.
 Overlapping depth of urban adjacent sectors should not
exceed 10%.
 Overlapping area for suburb and country adjacent cells
shouldn’t be too deep and the antenna angle between two
adjacent sector of the same site should not less than 90
degree
 Antenna main lobe of dense city area should avoid
pointing straight to the street in case over coverage
because of wave guide effect.
Principles of antenna tiltdown
 Antenna tiltdown is the basic method to enhance

frequency reuse ability.
 Control coverage and reduce interference
 Electrical or mechanical tiltdown.
 Mechanical tiltdown angle < 15°
Space diversity distance
 Distance between two receiving antenna is 12～18λwhen
antenna is diversified by space.
 Generally distance between diversity antenna is 0.11 times
of the antenna height.
 To achieve the same effect, distance of vertical diversity
must be 5 to 6 times of horizontal diversity.
 To reduce the interaction of the two antennas, horizontal
distance of diversity antenna should be over 3 m
Contents

Coverage emulation
 Electronic map
 Sites distribution map
 Planning area
 Site coverage effect map
 Latitude & longitude of sites
 Antenna height & direction angel Coverage  Height information map
 Antenna model emulation  Existing network
 Link budget coverage map
 Existing network data  Coverage rate statistics
table
Input **** Output

Contents

GSM working frequency band
 GSM900
ARFCN
 P-GSM900
 Fl (n) = 890 + 0.2n MHz
 duplex separation is 45MHz，
200KHz  Fu (n) = Fl(n) + 45 MHz 1  n 
124
 EGSM
 n stands for ARFCN
 E-GSM900
 Fl (n) = 890 + 0.2(n-1024) 975 
 duplex separation is 45MHz， n  1023
200KHz  Fu (n) = Fl(n) + 45 MHz 0  n 
124
 DCS1800
 DCS1800
 Uplink1710  1785 MHz
 Fl (n) = 1710.2 + 0.2(n-512) MHz
 Fu (n) = Fl(n) + 95 MHz 512  n
 duplex separation is 95MHz，  885
200KHz
Basic Concept
 Frequency Reuse Cluster
 Frequency Reuse Factor
 Frequency Reuse Distance
 C/I and C/A
Frequency reuse distance
 The following equation is used to estimate frequency reuse
distance:
D= 3N * R
D —— frequency reuse distance

R —— cell radius
N - frequency reuse factor.
Definition of C/I and C/A
 Co-channel Interference C/I：
C/I refers to the interference of another cell using the
same frequency to the current cell. The ratio of carrier
to interference is called C/I.
GSM specification regulates that C/I >9dB. In
implementing, it requires C/I>12dB.
 Adjacent channel interference C/A
C/A refers to interference of adjacent channel to the
current channel. The ratio is called C/A. The GSM
specification regulates that C/A>-9dB.
Calculation of C/I
 Where, Pown_cell is the signal strength of current

cell; Pi_BCCH is BCCH signal strength of interfering
cell i measured by MS.
Frequency reuse pattern
 Ordinary (group) frequency reuse: ―43‖, ―33‖ and

more close ―26‖ and ―13‖.
 MRP: different layers adopt different frequency reuse
patterns.
 Concentric: the Underlay and Overlay adopt different
frequency reuse patterns respectively.
―4×3‖multiplex
A1
A2 A3 D1
A1 B1 D2 D3 A1
C
(dB)
A2 A3 D1 B2 B3 C1 A2 A3 I
24
B1 D2 D3 A1 C2 C3 B1  10 log
(8) 4  2(7.2) 4
B2 B3 C1 A2 A3 D1 B2 B3  18dB
A1 C2 C3 B1 D2 D3 A1
A2 A3 D1 B2 B3 C1 A2 A3
18dB>12dB
B1 D2 D3 A1 C2 C3 B1
―3×3‖multiplex
A1 A1
A2 A3 C1 A2 A3 C1 C
(dB )
B1 C2 C3 B1 C2 C3
I
24
 10 log
A1 B2 B3 A1 B2 B3 A1 2(7) 4  2(5.57) 4
 13.3dB
A2 A3 C1 A2 A3 C1 A2 A3
B1 C2 C3 B1 C2 C3 B1
B2 B3 A1 B2 B3 A1 B2 B3 13.3dB>12dB
A2 A3 C1 A2 A3 C1
Multiple reuse pattern（MRP）
 BCCH can use 43 or higher reuse coefficient to
ensure the BCCH quality, while the TCH will use
relatively dense reuse mode.
 The division of BCCH and TCH layer frequency
bands reduces the planning workload and
facilitate the layered planning.
 Reserve some frequency for the micro cell.
 Simplify the configuration of BA tables
 The relative independence of the BCCH and TCH
layers facilitates the maintenance and expansion
of each layer.
MRP
Bandwidth=6 MHz
BCCH FRF=12
TCH1 FRF=9
TCH2
FRF=6 For Microcell
FRF: Frequency reuse factor
MRP
BCCH TCH1 TCH2 TCH3

“4×3” “3×3” “2×3” “1×3”
Application of MRP
 China mobile: MRP

 Frequency bandwidth: 7.2MHz
 AFN:（60～95），
 Divide 36 carrier frequencies into 4 group as per
12/9/8/7
Channel Logic channel TCH1 service TCH2 service TC3 service

type channel channel channel
Channel 60 61 62 63 64 65 72 73 74 75 76 77 81 82 83 84 85 89 90 91 92
number 66 67 68 69 70 71 78 79 80 86 87 88 93 94 95
Application of MRP
66 76
62 73
64 70 67 75 75
60 63 79
65 72 72
68 71 78 77 78
61 74
69 80
1) BCCH 4  3 2) TCH1 3  3
92
90 84
82
91 92 84
94 90 83 86
89 81 82
93 91 94 83
85 86
89 81
93 85
4) TCH3 2  3 3) TCH2 2  3
Concentric
2 2
2 2
2
2
2 2
2 2 2 2 2
2
2
Concentric
 The coverage of Underlay is the same as that of ordinary
cell, while the Overlay use small transmitting power and
thus has smaller coverage.
 The frequency reuse factor of overlay differs from that of
underlay.
 The BCCH and SDCCH are used by Underlay, in which
the call will be set up.
 The absorbing of traffic by overlay is limited by traffic lay-
out and coverage. It will increase the capacity by 10-30%
 A brand new switching algorithm should be added.
Intelligent Concentric IUO
2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2
2 2
2
2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2
2 2
2
IUO
 IUO has the same network structure as ordinary
concentric, consisting of Overlay and Underlay.
 Underlay and Overlay of IUO both use the same
transmitting power.
 IUO adopts a handover algorithm based on C/I
 It’s very suitable for absorbing traffic inside building.
Comparison
 Concentric  IUO
 Overlay smaller  U/O same transmitting
transmitting power power
 Handover based on  Handover algorithm
power or TA based on C/I
 Overlay coverage is  Overlay coverage is
fixed but not reasonable fixed and reasonable
 Absorb limited traffic  Absorb more traffic
 Handover algorithm is  Handover algorithm is
easy complicated
TCH frequency plan
 The frequency in same site can not be reused
 In same cell, the frequency distance between BCCH and
TCH is at least 400khz
 Frequency can not be reused in its directly adjacent sites if
it is not 1*3 pattern
 Opposite cells should not be co-channel and avoid
adjacent channel.
 High hill in the middle shall not be considered as
neighboring sites while broad water in the middle shall be
considered as neighboring sites.
 Avoid to set same BSIC to BCCH with same frequency
Neighboring cell configuration
 Centered on the cell, at most two-circle cells

can be neighbor cells
 Neighboring cells shall not be more than 32.
 Modify unreasonable neighboring cells
according to drive test.
 Handover cells shall not be co-channel.
 Avoid one way neighboring relationships
 Avoid two neighboring cells with the same
BCCH and the same BSIC.
Attention
 Reserve frequencies for
 Test in propagation,
 Replacement frequency in the interference test,
 Micro cell frequency in hot spot area.
 Generally BCCH should use higher continuous frequencies.

 Allocate frequency based on different areas.
 Allocate frequency for sites in different areas such as urban,
suburb and rural.

 Focus should be put on cities to avoid interference.
 Make planning in urban areas before suburbs and rural areas.
 Divide urban area into small areas if there are many sites.
 Check manually after frequency assignment via automatic frequency

planning.
Anti-interference technique
 Dynamic power control (DPC)
 Discontinuous transmit (DTX)
 Diversity receiving
 FH technique
Discontinuous transmit (DTX)
 DTX encodes the voice at 13kbit/s during the

voice active period, it encodes the comfort
noise at 500bit/s during the quiet period.
DTX
 DTX contributes very little to the interference

during the quiet period, its power can be
regarded as 0 (inactive state).
 Suppose the DTX active factor is , then the
gain 
C / I (dB)  10 log CI  10 log CI  10 log 

Dynamic power control (DPC)
 From the figure we

A1
can see that, in the
dynamic power A1 A2 A3 A1
control situation,
A2 A3 A1 A2 A3
when the interfering
MS is only at the A1 A2 A3 A1
cell borders, the

A2 A3 A1 A2 A3
BTS can work with
the maximum A2 A3
transmitting power.
DPC
 Obviously, the interfering MS location is a

probability. This case is especially apparent in
the frequency hopping situation.
 Suppose the DPC factor is p:
C / I (dB)  10 log C
pI  10 log CI  10 log p
（FH）
 Frequency hopping is to avoid external

interference. In other words, it is to prevent or
greatly reduce co-channel interference and
frequency selective fading effect by
converting frequencies to an extent that
interference cannot catch up with.
 Baseband and synthesized FH
 Parameters
 HSN（hopping sequence number）
 MAIO（mobile assignment index offset）
Function
 The advantage of the frequency hopping is the so-called

effect of Frequency Diversity and Interference Diversity.
 The former actually expands the network coverage scope,
and the latter improves the network capacity.
Frequency diversity gain
 For static or slow moving MS. about 6.5dB gain can

be provided.
 For fast moving MS, the difference of two connected
bursts of a channel in time and place is enough to
make them uncorrelated to Rayleigh change, that is,
they are almost not subject to the influence of the
same fading, at this time, the slow hopping can
provide very little frequency diversity gain.
 Gain=1.5-6.5dB
Interference diversity gain
Interfering cell
{ f 1 , f 2 , f 3 ,..., f n }
Hopping set MA： ,
TRX number：m (mn)
 In consideration of the above figure, suppose the MS talks by

using fk at the time t, in this case, the probability of the
interfered cell fk is
p  Cnm11 / Cnm  m / n
C C n
增益C / I (dB)  10 log  10 log  10 log
pI I m
 Most densely reuse pattern

A1
 BCCH (4*3)
 Combined with anti- A1 A2 A3 A1
interference technology
 Generally，only use 50% A2 A3 A1 A2 A3
of the whole available
frequency A1 A2 A3 A1
A2 A3 A1 A2 A3
A2 A3
C/I= 9.43 dB
 Compared to ―4×3‖ multiplex, the ―1×3‖ multiplex brings about the
interference degradation:
CIR 4×3- CIR 1×3 =18 - 9.43  8.57 dB
 ―1×3‖hopping, 50% frequency load brings about the interference
diversity gain:
10log10(2/1) = 3dB
 Suppose the frequency hopping length is 12 frequency points, then
the frequency diversity gain is about 2dB
 Suppose the DTX active factor is 0.5, then the gain is:
-10log10(0.5) = 3dB
 Suppose the DPC factor is 0.9, then the gain is: -10log10(0.9)
=0.5dB
 The total gain is: 3+2+3+0.5=8.5dB
Summary
GSM Network Planning
Info Radio
collection network
Capacity Coverage Site layout Frequency

planning planning & survey planning
GSM Signaling System
Objectives

 Know GSM system signaling model
 State various types of GSM protocol messages
 Understand GSM system basic signaling procedure
Content
 GSM System Signaling Model

 GSM protocol message
 Basic Signaling Procedure
GSM Interface
Um Abis
SGSN GGSN
BTS
HLR/AUC
BTS Qx PSTN / PLMN /

Gb PSPDN / ISDN
EIR SMC
OMC
BTS
NSMU FSMU TRAU
BSC MSC/VLR/GMSC
Ater A
BTS
GSM System Signaling Model
 GSM system signaling model adopts the lowest three
layer of OSI seven layer protocol model, from low to
high:
Application layer
Link layer/Network layer
Physical layer
Physical Layer
 The physical layer provides error protection

transmission. It defines the electric parameters of
transmission.
 In ZTE-GSM digital mobile communication
systems, The physical layer of Um interface
between MS and BTS is Radio link. Abis interface
physical layer adopts 75-ohm coaxial cable or
120-ohm symmetrical twisted pair whose rate is
2Mbit/s.
Data Link Layer
 The data link layer major functions: frame

transmission、error-free transmission and realize
end-to-end bits transfer between two connective
entities. Open、 maintenance and close the
connection of two connective entities.
 The link layer protocol used by the GSM system at
the radio interface is the LAPDm protocol (Dm
channel link access procedure). The data link
layer of Abis interface between BTS and BSC is
LAPD (D channel link access procedure).
Application Layer
Application Layer
CM MM RR
CC SS SMS
Application Layer
 Radio Resources (RR) management handles the
establishment, maintenance and release of physical
channels. Its major functions are performed by BSC. Part
of functions are performed by BTS.
 Mobility Management (MM) deals with the mobile station’s
register and the identify of the mobile subscriber, The
function are performed by MSC.
 The CM Layer is composed of three functional entities:
Call Control (CC), deals with the functions to establish、
maintenance and release the call；Short Message Service
support (SMS) and Supplementary Service support (SS).
GSM protocol
Public Switched Mobile

Telephone Network Switching
(PSTN) Centre
(MSC)
MAP/TCAP + ISUP/TUP
ISUP/TUP ) ))
Mobile Base Base

BTSM
Switching DTAP + BSSMAP Station Transceiver
Centre Controller Station
(MSC) (BSC) (BTS)
A interface A-bis interface
MAP/TCAP
Authenti- Home Visitor Equipment

cation Location Location ID
Centre Register Register Register
(AUC) (HLR) (VLR) (EIR)
To other VLR
MAP/TCAP MAP/TCAP
GSM Protocol Architecture
MS BTS BSC MSC
CM (CM) (CM) (CM) DTAP

CM
(MM) I
MM (MM) (MM) (CM+MM) MM S
MAP U
(RR) (RR)
BSSMAP TCAP P
BSSMAP
RR RR
RR' BTSM SCCP SCCP SCCP

BTSM
Sig. layer 2 Sig. layer 2 Sig. layer 2 Sig. layer 2
(LAPDm) (LAPDm) (LAPD) (LAPD)
MTP MTP MTP
Layer 1 (air) Layer 1 (air) Sig. layer 1 Sig. layer 1
Um Interface Abis Interface A Interface Inter-MSC

Interface
DTAP Direct Transfer Application Part SCCP Signalling Connection Control Part
BSSMAP BSS Management Application Part MAP Mobile Application Part
CM Call Management TCAP Transaction Capability Application Part
MM Mobile Management ISUP ISDN User Part
RR Radio Resource Management MTP Message Transfer Part
BTSM BTS Management
Content

Um interface protocol stack
Um interface
CM
MM
RR RR
LAPDm LAPDm
Layer1 Layer1
BTS
MS
LAPDm frame format
 The address field contains the service
access point identifier (SAPI).
 SAPI = 0 represents the signaling link
 SAPI = 3 represents the short message link
 In the control field,
 N (S) represents the sending serial number
 N (R) represents the receiving serial number
Address Control Information
SAPI N(S) N(R)

Operation mode
 Acknowledged mode: Requires the confirmation

from the receiver. This mode provides a whole set
of control mechanism for error recovering and flow
control, the establishment mechanism and release
mechanism for multi-frame operations.
 Unacknowledged mode: The receiver is not
required to send a confirmation upon reception of
a UI frame. This operation mode does not provide
flow control or error recovering mechanism.
RR messages
Type Message
Channel establishment message Immediate assignment
Immediate assignment reject
Ciphering message Ciphering mode command
Ciphering mode complete
Handover command
Handover complete
Handover message
Handover failure
Handover access
Channel release message Channel release
Paging message Paging request
Paging response
System info System info:1～8
MM messages
Type Message
IMSI detach indication
Registration messages Location updating accept
Location updating reject
Location updating request
Authentication reject
Authentication request
Authentication response
Security messages
Identity request
Identity response
TMSI reallocation command
TMSI reallocation complete
CM service accept
Connection-management messages CM service reject
CM service request
CC messages
Type Message
Alerting
Call confirmed
Call establishment messages
Call proceeding
Connect
Disconnect
Call clearing messages Release
Release complete
Congestion control notify

Miscellaneous messages
Start DTMF
Stop DTMF
Abis Interface Protocol stack
Abis interface
RR
BTSM BTSM
LAPD LAPD
Layer1 Layer1
BTS BSC
LAPD Protocol
1 0-260 2 1
flag Address Control Information FCS flag
SAPI TEI N(S) N(R)
 SAPI = 0 represents the signaling link,

 SAPI = 62 represents the O&M link, and
 SAPI = 63 represents the management link of the LapD layer.
A interface protocol stack
CM
A interface RR
MM
BSSAP BSSAP
SCCP SCCP
MTP3 MTP3
MTP2 MTP2
Layer1 Layer1
BSC MSC
Relationship between SCCP and OSI model
HLR VLR
INAP OMAP MAP BSSAP ISUP TUP
Layer 7 TCAP
4～6 ISP
SCCP
Layer3
MTP-3
Layer2 MTP-2
Layer1 MTP-1
BSSAP
MSC BSS MS
CC CC
DTAP
MM MM
RR
BSSAP RR
BSSAP
DTAP RR
BSSMAP BSSMAP DTAP
Distribution Distribution
SCCP SCCP LAPDm LAPDm

MTP MTP L1 L1
BSSMAP： DTAP：
SCCP message
 CR Connection request
 CC Connection confirm
 CREF Connection refused
 RLSD Released
 RLC Release complete
 DT1 Data form 1
 UDT Unit data
 UDTS Unit data service
BSSMAP Message -1
 Assignment messages (setup of traffic channels)
 Assignment request
 Assignment complete
 Assignment failure
 Handover messages
 Handover request (to BSC: request for handover to that BSC)
 Handover required (to MSC: inter BSC/MSC handover required)
 Handover request ack. (to MSC: acknowledge of handover request)
 Handover command (to BSC: contains new radio channel/BTS for the
MS)
 Handover complete (to MSC: commanded handover successful)
 Handover failure (to MSC: commanded handover unsuccessful)
 Handover performed (to MSC: BSC has performed internal handover)
 Handover candidate enquiry (to BSC: MSC requests list of MS that could be
handed
 over to another cell)
 Handover candidate response (to MSC: answer to handover candidate enquiry)
 Handover required reject (to BSC: required handover unsuccessful)
 Handover detect (to MSC: commanded handover successful)
BSSMAP Message -2
 Release messages
 Clear command (release of traffic channel)
 Clear complete
 Clear request
 SAPI “n” clear command (control of layer 2 SAPI “n” on the radio interface)
 SAPI “n” clear complete
 SAPI “n” reject
 General messages
 Reset (initialisation of BSS or MSC due to failure)
 Reset acknowledge
 Overload (processor or CCCH overload)
 Trace invocation (start production of trace record
 Reset circuit (initialisation of single circuit due to failure)
 Terrestrial resource messages
 Block (management of circuits/time slots between MSC and
BTS)
 Blocking acknowledge
 Unblock
 Unblocking acknowledge
BSSMAP Message -2
 Radio resource messages

 Resource request (available radio channels in
BSS cells)
 Resource indication
 Paging (paging of MS)
 Cipher mode command (start encryption)
 Classmark update (change of MS power class)
 Cipher mode complete
 Queuing indication (indicates delay in
assignment of tch)
Content

Mobile Originating Call Establishment Procedure -1
MS BTS BSC MSC
CH REQ(1)
CH RQD(2)
CH ACT(3)
CH ACT ACK(4)
IMM ASS CMD(5)
IMM ASS(6)
SABM(7)
EST IND(8)
UA(10) CM SERV REQ(9)
AUTH REQ(11)
AUTH REQ(12)
AUTH RSP(13)
AUTH RSP(14)
CIPH MODE CMD(15)
CIPH MODE CMD(16)
CIPH MODE CMD(17)
CIPH MODE CMP(18)

CIPH MODE CMP(19)
MS BTS BSC MSC
TMSI REALL CMD(20)
TMSI REALL CMD(21)
TMSI REALL CMP(22)
TMSI REALL CMP(23)
SETUP(24)
SETUP(25)
CALL PRO(26)
CALL PROCEEDING(27)
ASSIGN REQ(28)
CH ACT(29)
CH ACT ACK(30)
ASSIGNMENT COMMAND(31)
SABM(32)
EST IND(33)
UA(34)
ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE(35)
ASSIGN CMP(36)
RF CH REL(37)
RF CH REL ACK(38)
MS BTS BSC MSC
ALERTING(39)
ALERTING(40)
CONNECT(41)
CONNECT(42)
CONNECT ACK(43)
CONNECT ACK(44)
MEAS REPORT(45)
MEAS REPORT(46)
DISCONNECT(47)
DISCONNECT(48)
RELEASE(49)
RELEASE(50)
RELEASE COMPLETE(51)
RELEASE CMP(52)
CLEAR CMD(53)
CHANNEL RELEASE(54)
DEACT SACCH(55)
DISC(56)
UA(57)
REL IND(58)
RF CH REL(59)
RF CH REL ACK(60)
CLEAR CMP(61)
SCCP REL(62)
SCCP REL ACK(63)
Mobile Terminating Call Establishment Procedure -1
MS BTS BSC MSC
PAGING CMD(1)
PAGING CMD(2)
PAGING RQT(3)
CH REQ(4)
CH RQD(5)
CH ACT(6)
CH ACT ACK(7)
IMM ASS CMD(8)
IMM ASS(9)
SABM(10)
EST IND(11)
UA(13) PAGE RSP(12)
AUTH REQ(14)
AUTH REQ(15)
AUTH RSP(16)
AUTH RSP(17)
CIPH MODE CMD(18)
CIPH MODE CMD(19)
CIPH MODE CMD(20)
CIPH MODE CMP(21)

CIPH MODE CMP(22)
MS BTS BSC MSC
TMSI REALL CMD(23)
TMSI REALL CMD(24)
TMSI REALL CMP(25)
TMSI REALL CMP(26)
SETUP(27)
SETUP(28)
CALL CONFIRMED(29)
CALL CONF(30)
ASSIGN REQ(31)
CH ACT(32)
CH ACT ACK(33)
SABM(35)
EST IND(36)
UA(37)
ASSIGN CMP(39)
RF CH REL(40)
RF CH REL ACK(41)
MS BTS BSC MSC
ALERTING(42)
ALERTING(43)
CONNECT(44)
CONNECT(45)
CONNECT ACK(46)
CONNECT ACK(47)
MEAS REPORT(48)
MEAS REPORT(49)
DISCONNECT(50)
DISCONNECT(51)
RELEASE(52)
RELEASE(53)
RELEASE COMPLETE(54)
RELEASE CMP(55)
CLEAR CMD(56)
CHANNEL RELEASE(57)
DEACT SACCH(58)
DISC(59)
UA(60)
REL IND(61)
RF CH REL(62)
RF CH REL ACK(63)
CLEAR CMP(64)
SCCP REL(65)
SCCP REL ACK(66)
Location Update Procedure -1
MS BTS BSC MSC
CH REQ(1)
CH RQD(2)
CH ACT(3)
CH ACT ACK(4)
IMM ASS CMD(5)
IMM ASS(6)
SABM(7)
EST IND(8)
UA(10) LOC UPDATE REQ(9)
IDENTITY REQ(11)
IDENTITY REQ(12)
IDENTITY RSP(13)
IDENTITY RSP(14)
AUTH REQ(15)
AUTH REQ(16)
AUTH RSP(17)
AUTH RSP(18)
CIPH MODE CMD(19)
CIPH MODE CMD(20)
CIPH MODE CMD(21)
CIPH MODE CMP(22)
CIPH MODE CMP(23)
Location Update Procedure -2
MS BTS BSC MSC
LOC UPDATE ACC(24)

LOC UPDATE ACCEPT(25)
TMSI REALL CMP(26)
TMSI REALL CMP(27)
CLEAR CMD(28)
CHANNEL RELEASE(29)
DEACT SACCH(30)
DISC(31)
UA(32)
REL IND(33)
RF CH REL(34)
RF CH REL ACK(35)
CLEAR CMP(36)
SCCP REL(37)
SCCP REL ACK(38)
Intra Cell Handover Procedure
MS BTS BSC MSC
MEASURE REPORT(1)
MEASURE REPORT(2)
CH ACT(3)
CH ACT ACK(4)
SABM(6)
EST IND(7)
UA(8)
RECEIVE READY(10)
HO PERFORMED(11)
RF CH REL(12)
RF CH REL ACK(13)
Intra BSC Handover Procedure
MS BTS1 BSC BTS2 MSC
MEAS REPORT(1)
MEAS REPORT(2)
CH ACT(3)
CH ACT ACK(4)
HO CMD(5)
HO CMD(6)
HO ACCESS(7)
HO DETECT(8)
PHYSICAL INFO(9)
SABM(10)
EST IND(11)
UA(12)
HO CMP(13)
RECEIVER READY(14)
HO CMP(15）
HO PERFORMED(16)
RF CH REL(17)
RF CH REL ACK(18)
Inter BSC Handover Procedure
MS BTS1 BSC1 BTS2 BSC2 MSC
MEAS REPORT(1)
MEAS REPORT(2)
HO REQUIRED(3)
HO REQ(4)
CH ACT(5)
CH ACT ACK(6)
HO REQ ACK(7)
HO CMD(8)
HO CMD(9)
HO ACCESS(10)
HO DETECT(11)
HO DETECT(12)
PHYSICAL INFO(13)
SABM(14)
EST IND(15)
UA(16)
HO CMP(17)
RECEIVER READY(18)
HO CMP(19)
HO CMP(20)
CLEAR COMMAND(21)
RF CH REL(22)
RF CH REL ACK(23)
CLEAR COMPLETE(24)
Call Re-establishment Procedure
MS BTS BSC MSC
CONN FAIL IND(1)
CLEAR REQ(2)
CLEAR CMD(3)
CLEAR CMP(4)
CHANNEL REQ(5)
CM RE-EST REQ(6)
CIPH MODE CMD(7)
CIPH MODE CMP(8)
ASS REQ(9)
ASS CMP(10)
STATUS ENQUIRY(11)
STATUS(12)
Directed Retry Procedure
MS BTS1 BSC MSC BTS2 MS
CH REQ(1)
CH RQD(2)
CH ACT(3)
CH ACT ACK(4)
IMM ASS CMD(5)
SABM(6)
EST IND(8)
UA(7) CR(9)
CC(10)
CM SERVICE ACCEPTED(11)
SETUP(12)
CALL PROCEEDING(13)
ASS REQ(14)
CHANNEL ACT(15)
CHANNEL ACT ACK(16)

HANDOVER COMMAND(17) HO ACCESS(18)
HO DETECT(19)
PHY INFO(20)
SABM(21)
EST IND(22)
UA(23)
HO CMP(24)
ASS CMP(25)
Short Message Procedure On SDCCH When MS Is
Calling -1
MS BTS BSC MSC
CH REQ(1)
CH RQD(2)
CH ACT(3)
CH ACT ACK(4)
IMM ASS CMD(5)
SABM(6)
EST IND(8)
CC(10)
AUTH REQ(11)
AUTH RSP(12)
SABM(SAPI3)(13)
EST IND(SAPI3)(15)
UA(14)
CIPH MODE CMD(16)
CIPH MODE CMP(17)
CP DATA(18)
CP ACK(19)
Calling -2
MS BTS BSC MSC

CP DATA(20)
CP ACK(21)
CLEAR CMD(22)
CHANNEL RELEASE(23)
DEACT SACCH(24)
DISC(25)
UA(26)
REL IND(27)
RF CH REL(28)
RF CH REL ACK(29)
CLEAR CMP(30)
SCCP REL(31)
SCCP REL ACK(32)
Called -1
MS BTS BSC MSC
PAGING CMD(1)
PAGING CMD(2)
CH REQ(3)
CH RQD(4)
CH ACT(5)
CH ACT ACK(6)
IMM ASS CMD(7)
SABM(8)
EST IND(9)
CC(12)
AUTH REQ(13)
AUTH RSP(14)
CIPH MODE CMD(15)
CIPH MODE CMP(16)
CP DATA(17)
EST REQ(SAPI3)(18)
SABM(19)
UA(20)
EST CMP(SAPI3)(21)
Called -2
MS BTS BSC MSC
CP DATA(22)
CP ACK(23)
CP DATA(24)
CP ACK(25)
CLEAR CMD(26)
CHANNEL RELEASE(27)
DEACT SACCH(28)
DISC(29)
UA(31)
REL IND(30)
RF CH REL(32)
RF CH REL ACK(33)
CLEAR CMP(34)
SCCP REL(35)
SCCP REL ACK(36)
Short Message Procedure On SACCH When
MS Is Calling
MS BTS BSC MSC
ACTIVE CALL
CM SERVICE REQ（1）
CM SERVICE ACC(2)
SABM(SAPI3)(3)
EST IND(SAPI3)(5)
UA(4)
CP DATA(6)
CP ACK(7)
CP DATA(8)
CP ACK(9)
ACTIVE CALL
Short Message Procedure On SACCH When
MS Is Called
MS BTS BSC MSC
ACTIVE CALL
CP DATA(1)
EST REQ(SAPI3)(2)
SABM(3)
UA(4)
EST CNF(SAPI3)(5)
CP DATA(6)
CP ACK(7)
CP DATA(8)
CP ACK(9)
ACTIVE CALL
Summary of radio network planning
ZTE University
Objectives

 Describe the contents and flow of site survey
 State the basic principle of site selection
 Master the using of site survey tools
Contents
 Site survey summary

 Preparation of site survey
 Working flow of site survey
 Data audit and documents output
 Site survey tools
 Site survey instances
Function
 Provide basic data for planning and imitation;

 Make planning more reasonable and reduce risk;
 Reduce the cost of network
Goals
 Know the feature of field, landform and

subscribers, estimate the subscriber number and
traffic；
 Integrate coverage, traffic density, site condition
and cost
 Output BTS site type, site location , distribution
and antenna configuration which satisfying
customer’s requirements.
 Make site survey of each site and prepare three
candidate sites for substitution
Working flow
Requirement
analysis
preparation Site survey

plan
Execution Single site record
Collection and
check
N
Right
data ?
Y
Output Site survey
Site survey report
report
Contents

 Target of network (coverage and capacity)

 Customer’s suggestion on site type (micro cell,
repeater, indoor coverage etc.)
 Existing network situation of coverage area (site
distribution of other operators)
 Working interface with customers
 Schedule and resource of site survey
Output of requirements analysis
 Collect and analyze all the requirements form

customer, combined with network planning and
site survey documents. Output report of
requirements analysis.
Tools
Tools Function
GPS Altitude, latitude and longitude of BTS
Compass direction and environment
necessary Digital camera photo the environment of site
ruler For measurement
vehicle One vehicle for each team
map Digital map, scan map, paper map
Not Range finder Measure distance

necessary telescope Increase sight scope
test equipment Test the coverage of site
Site survey plan
 According to the project and requirements report,

make detail site survey plan, including goal,
organization, personnel, tools, schedule and
outputs.
Contents

 Data process and documents output
Site survey flow
Site initial
start
information
‘Site adjust Not suitable

Site location
selection
Information
collection and
analyzing
Cell parameters Site survey

design record table
end
Site initial information
 Latitude and longitude of sites from planning

 Site location provided by operators
 The location of old substitute sites
 Sites of other operators
Principle of site selection
No. Common principle for site selection
1 Site should be in the ideal position of honeycomb structure
2 The BTS density should match the traffic density
3 The height of BTS should lower then the highest building and higher then
the average building
4 Avoid high buildings or potential blocking constructions, which may affect
the coverage
5 Avoid radio station, radar or other strong interference equipments
6 Avoid choose the top of hill or woods
7 Necessary condition for site building
8 Select the equipment rooms with little expansion cost or buildings with
less rent
9 Try to select the existing telecom station, micro wave station, so to reuse
the power supply
10 The feasibility, cost and performance should be considered before the
microwave is used as transmission
11 Dual band sites should be at same site in urban area
Information collection and analysis
 Traffic distribution survey

 Traffic distribution in serving area
 Economy level, average income and consumption
habits.
 Forecast subscriber increase trend
 Radio propagation environment survey
 Location information of BTS (longitude, latitude, altitude)
 Description of the overall environment
 Description of barriers
Cell parameter design
 BTS type
 Site configuration
 Antenna parameters
 Antenna height
 Azimuth
 Tilt down angle
Site survey record table
 Altitude, longitude and precision of GPS

 Geographic description of BTS
 Important area
 Direction
 Transmission system
 Repeater basic information
 Co-site description
 Picture of site
Contents

Data audit and documents output
 After the site survey, all the documents should be

collected by team leader, who will pass them to
network planning technical manager
 After check and audit, Network planning manager
will pass these documents to project manager.
Check and audit
 Check and audit from technical view, make sure

the site survey result is true, accurate, reasonable
and feasible:
 Fill up <Radio network site survey report>
 If there is any questions about sites, communicate with
customers and put it into MOU.
 If the environments is not good for sites, suggestion
must be given to customers for improvement.
Output report
 After gather and audit, provide the following

information in the final report
 BTS site survey report（Chinese, English）
 Coverage area list
 BTS site information list
Contents

GPS
 Main indices
 Receive sensitivity
 Navigation
 Physical index
 Power
 Keys on panel
 Power key
 Turn page
 Input
 Exit
GPS
 Basic operate
 power on, light, shut down
 Automatic location
 Location and navigation operation
 Navigation on route
GPS
 Notes for longitude/latitude measurement

 GPS needs 3 satellites for location
 The measurement mode is WGS84
 The angle unit is degree
 Try close to site to measure
 Deviation compared with digital map
 The precision of digital map
 GPS measurement deviation
 The test spot is not same as planned
Compass
 Main function
 Direction and tilt down angle
 Landform measurement: include orientation, slope
degree, fix level
 Vertical angle
Structure
 Magnetic needle
 Horizontal dial
 Vertical dial
 Aim board
 Viewfinder
1．viewfinder 2．Aim board
3．Magnetic needle 4．Horizontal
dial 5．Vertical dial
6．Vertical scale indicator
7．Vertical level organ
8．batholith level organ
9．Magnetic needle fix helix
10．thimble 11．lever
12．Glass cover
13．Box and needle round board
Compass
 Antenna direction
 Stand under the antenna or tower with instrument in
hand
 Make the upper cover face you, aim board point to
antenna
 Wait for the needle stop, the degree of the needle “N
pole” is the direction of antenna.
 Antenna tiltdown
 Keep the compass close to the character surface of
antenna, and keep the bleb in the middle for some time
 Read the degree, which represent the tiltdown angle of
this character surface.
Contents

Unreasonable location
 BTS site close to high voltage cable

 Wrong: One BTS is close to a high voltage cable,
antenna is at the same level as power cable and the
distance to power cable is no more than 10 meters.
 Right: move the BTS 50 meters away from the power
cable for safety
 BTS is on the hill in urban
 In order to cover a city, a BTS is built on a hill with 300
meters high.
 As the BTS is so high that all the MS in this city can
receive the signal, which make other BTS traffic idle,
 This site is congestion, and cause many MS fail to call.
Unreasonable planning
 Less BTS sites in dense urban area

 Total 29 frequencies available for one city, so only 5
sites were build.
 Limited by frequency resources, there is no large
capacity sites which can’t satisfy the traffic requirement.
 Solution: Another 8 new BTS sites were built to fit the
large traffic.
Antenna System
ZTE University
Objective
 By the end of this course, you will be able:

 To Understand the concept of dipole
 To state GSM antenna specifications
 To comprehend the principle of antenna selection
Content
Radio Waves
 A form of electromagnetic radiation typically

generated as disturbances sent out by
oscillating charges on a transmitting antenna
Blah blah
blah bl ah
Definition
 An Antenna is any
device used to
collect or radiate
Electromagnetic
Waves
Antenna for mobile communication
 Linear antennas are

used:
 Monopole (Slab) • Array of dipoles
 Dipole Elements
• Single Monopole
• Patch Antenna
Base Tranceiver
Station Antenna
Mobile Phones
Antenna basic structure
 Antenna are generally

composed of stacked of dipole
bundling their radiated power
to form a desired antenna
pattern in vertical plains
around the antenna
 Depending on the gain desired

that wants to be achieved
several of those diploes can
be arranged on top of one
another
Generation of radio waves
DIPOLES
Wavelength
1/4 Wavelength
1/2 Wavelength
1/4 Wavelength
1/2 Wavelength
Dipole
1800MHz ：166mm
900MHz ：333mm
Half wave dipole
1个 dipole Multiple dipole matrix

Received Power：1mW Received Power：4 mW
GAIN= 10log(4mW/1mW) = 6dBd

Isotropic antenna
Antenna
(Overlook
“Omnidirectional array” “Sector antenna”

Received power：1mW Received power：8mW
Gain=10log(8mW/1mW) = 9dBi
dBd and dBi
Ideal radiating dot source

(lossless radiator) 2.15dB
0dBd = 2.15dBi
Dipole
dBd and dBi
Content
Antenna electrical properties
 Operating Frequency Band
 Input impedance
 VSWR
 Polarization
 Gain
 Radiation Pattern
 Horizontal/Vertical beamwidth
 Downtilt
 Front/back ratio
 Sidelobe suppression and null filling
 Power capability
 3rd order Intermodulation
 Insulation
Type Frequency Range

GSM 900 890 - 960 MHz
GSM 1800 1710 - 1880 MHz
890 - 960 MHz
GSM Dual Band
1710 - 1880 MHz
at at
Optimum 1/2 wavelength
890 960
for dipole at 925MHz
MHz MHz
Antenna
Dipole
BANDWIDTH = 960 - 890 = 70MHz

Impedance
 Standard Value: 50
Antenna
Cable
50 ohms
50 ohms
Voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR)
Forward: 10W
50 ohms 80
ohms 9.5 W
Backward: 0.5W
Return Loss： 10log(10/0.5) = 13dB

VSWR (Voltage Standing Wave Ratio)
Calculation of VSWR
 VSWR1.5
  = (VSWR-1)/(VSWR+1)
 RetureLoss = -20lg 
Bandwidth
3dB Beamwidth 10dB Beamwidth
60° (eg) Peak 120°

Peak
(eg)

3dBm horizontal beamwidth
 Directional Antenna：65°/90°/105°/120°
 Omni：360°
3dBm vertical beamwidth
Antenna structure types
Polarization
Vertical Horizontal
+ 45degree slant - 45degree slant

Space diversity
Polarization diversity
V/H (Vertical/Horizontal) Slant (+/- 45°)

Types of antenna
Linear Polarization,vertical
X Polarization, 45
Antenna down tilt
 Mechanical down tilt

 Fixed electronic down tilt
 Adjustable electronic down tilt
Mechanical down tile
 It is achieved by physically
tilting the antenna out of the
perpendicular by using down
tilt kit
 PROS: Cost efficient and
flexible
 CON: Has no effect on the
side-lobe characteristics of the
antenna
Electrical down tilt
Input Signal
 Electrical downtilt can be fixed or adjustable

 Fixed is tuned by the manufacturer
 Adjustable allows adjustment in a certain level on the rear of the
antenna
Down tilt
Non down tilt Electronic downtilt Mechanical

downtilt
Antenna tilt development
FRONT-TO-BACK Ratio
 Ratio of maximum mainlobe to maximum

sidelobe
Back power Front power
F/B = 10 log(FP/BP) typically ： 25dB

Intermodulation
 It occurs when two signals of a different frequency mix in a
non-linear device
 It can be a problem at any site that has two or more
transmitters
 It can be caused by a transmitter of the same system or by a
transmitter in another site that is co-sited or has a site in the
neighborhood
IMD@243dBm
f1, f2, 2f1-f2, 2f2-f1
913 MHz 936 MHz 959 MHz 982 MHz

Isolation
10log(1000mW/1mW) = 30dB
1000mW ( 1W) 1mW

Antenna mechanical properties
 Size
 Weight
 Radome material
 Appearance and color
 Working temperature
 Storage temperature
 Windload
 Connector types
 Package Size
 Lightning Protection
Dimension
 LWH
 Length：connected with vertical bandwidth and gain
 Width：connected with horizontal bandwidth
 Height：connected with techniques adopted
Weight
 A factor that can affect transport and

deployment
Radome materials
 PVC, Fiberglass
 Anti-temperature, water-proof ， anti-
aging，weather resistant
Color
 Good-looking
 Environment-protecting
Temperature range
 Operation and storage

 Typical range：-40°C — +70°C
Connector type
 7/16”DIN，N，SMA
 Female/male
Mast
 Mast diameter 45-

90mm
Lightning protection
 Direct Ground
Antenna types
 By frequency band: GSM900, GSM1800,

GSM900/1800
 By polarization: Vertical, Horizontal, ±45º linear
polarization, circle polarization
 By pattern: Omni-directional, directional
 By down-tilt: Non, mechanical, electronic
adjustment, remote control
 By function: Transmission, receiver,
transceiver
Feeder cable
7/8” Main feeder

Jumper cable
1/2” （JUMPER CABLE）

Connector
7/16”DIN-F（DIN CONNECTOR）
7/16”DIN-M（DIN & N CONNECTOR）
Lightning arrestor
Rf port 2
Grounding
Accessories
 Trimming Tool or Hand Tool Kit

 Clamp
 Earthing Kit
 Wall Glands
 Hoisting Stocking
 Universal Ground Bar
Antenna system
Antenna
7/16 Din Connector

1/2 Clamp
1/2 Jumper
Tower Top 7/8“ Cable

Amplifier
7/8“ Cable
Grounding
Machine house
1/2“ Jumper Grounding clip

EMP
Grounding bar
Cabinet
Content
Radio propagation in cities
 Densely deployed BTS，small coverage area
 Decrease over coverage and interference, increase
frequency reuse factor
Antenna selection in cities
Polarization Dual-polarization (Installation space)
Direction Directional antenna (Frequency reuse factor)
3dB bandwidth 60~65°(Control coverage)
Gain 15-16dBi
Tilt down angle Fixed electrical tilt down

Radio propagation in suburb/rural area
 Loosely deployed BTS
 light traffic
 large coverage
Antenna selection in suburb/rural area
Direction directional
3dB bandwidth 90°105°
16-18dBi directional
Gain
or 9－11dBi omni
Tilt down angle Mechanical tilt down; 50m high; null fill
Radio propagation in road/highway environment
 Low traffic
 Fast moving
subscribers
 Focus on coverage.
 Strip coverage
 Two sectors
 Omni-cell when pass
towns or tourist site
Antenna selection for highway
Direction Narrow beamwidth directional
3dB
30°
bandwidth
Gain 18dBi－22dBi
Tilt down
No tilt down
angle
Radio propagation in mountainous environment
 Block by mountains
 Big propagation loss
 Difficult to cover
Antenna selection in mountainous area
Direction Omni or directional
3dB bandwidth Big 3db verticle bandwidth
Omni (9-11dBi）
Gain
Directional (15-18dBi）
Tilt down angle Null fill & electrical tilt down

GSM Basic Radio parameters
ZTE University
Objectives

 Understand the meaning of various radio parameters
 Grasp the setting of radio parameters
 State the effect to radio network performance of various
kind of radio parameters
Content

Roles of identification parameters
 Enable the MS to correctly identify the ID of the current
network
 Enable the network to be real time informed of the correct

geographical location of the MS
 Enable the MS to report correctly the adjacent cell

information during the conversation process
CELL GLOBAL IDENTITY (CGI)
 Cell Global Identity (CGI)

 It is used for identifying individual cells within an LA
3 Digits 2-3 Digits Max 16 Bits Max 16 bits
MCC MNC LAC CI
LAI
Cell Global Identity

ROLES OF CGI
 The CGI information is sent along the system broadcasting
information in every cell.
 When the MS receives the system information, it will

extract the CGI information from it and determines whether
to camp on the cell according to the MCC and MNC
specified by the CGI.
 It judges whether the current location area is changed,

then determines whether to take the location updating
process.
SETTING OF CGI
 MCC（Mobile Country Code）:
000 ～ 999.
 MNC（Mobile Network Code）:

00 ～ 999.
 LAC（Location Area Code）:

 CI（Cell Identity）:
BASE STATION IDENTITY CODE (BSIC)
 Base Station Identity Code (BSIC)

 It enables MSs to distinguish between
neighboring base stations
3 Bits 3 Bits
NCC BCC
BSIC
NCC Network/ National Color Code Value Range: 0~7

BCC Base Station Color Code Value Range: 0~7
NCC and BCC ROLES
 NCC:
 In the connection mode (during conversation), the MS
must measure the signals in the adjacent cells and
report the result to the network. As each measurement
report sent by the MS can only contain the contents of
six cells, so it is necessary to control the MS so as to
only report the information of cells factually related to
the cell concerned. The high 3 bits (i.e. NCC) in the
BSIC serve this purpose.
 BCC:
 The BCC is used to identify different BS using the same
BCCH in the same GSMPLMN.
BSIC CONFIGURATION PRINCIPLE
A B C
D E F
 In general, it is required that Cells A, B, C, D, E and

F use different BSIC when they have same BCCH
frequency. When the BSIC resources are not
enough, the cells close to each other may take the
priority to use different BSIC.
ROLES OF BSIC
 Inform the MS the TSC used by the common signaling
channel of the cell.
 As the BSIC takes part in the decoding process of the
random access channel (RACH), it can be used to prevent
the BS from mis-decoding the RACH, sent by the MS to
an adjacent cell, as the access channel of this cell.
 When the MS is in the connection mode (during
conversation), it must measure the BCCH level of adjacent
cells broadcasting by BCCH and report the results to the
BS. In the uplink measurement report, MS must show
BSIC of this carrier it has measured to every frequency
point.
BA LIST (BCCH ADJACENT LIST)
 Adjacent cell BCCH table

 At most 32 adjacent cell
 Carried by BCCH when MS is idle, by SACCH
when MS is dedicated
 The MS will first search carriers from this table
and if none is found it will turns to find any of 30
carriers with highest levels.
Content

RANDOM ACCESS
 Random access is the process that messages

being transmitted on RACH when a MS turns
from “idle” to “dedicate” mode. The main
parameters includes:
 MAXRETRANS
 Tx_Integer
 AC
MAX RETRANS
 When starting the immediate assignment process

(e.g, when MS needs location updating,
originating calls or responding to paging calls), the
MS will transmit the "channel request" message
over the RACH to the network. As the RACH is an
ALOHA channel, in order to enhance the MS
access success rate, the network allows the MS to
transmit multiple channel request messages
before receiving the immediate assignment
message. The numbers of maximum
retransmission (MAX RETRANS) are determined
by the network.
MAX RETRANS
 The MAX RETRANS is often set in the following ways:
For areas (suburbs or rural areas) where the cell radius is more
than 3km and the traffic is smaller, the MAX RETRANS can be
set 11 (i.e. the MAX RETRANS is 7).
For areas (not bustling city blocks) where the cell radius is less
than 3km and the traffic is moderate, the MAX RETRANS can be
For micro-cellular, it’s recommend that the MAX RETRANS be
For microcellular areas with very high traffic and cells with
apparent congestion, it’s recommend that the MAX RETRANS
be set 00（i.e. the MAX RETRANS is 1).
Transmission Distribution Timeslots
(Tx_integer)
The Tx_integer parameter is the interval in timeslots at which

the MS continuously sends multiple channel request messages.
The parameter S is an intermediate variable in the access

algorithm, and is to be determined by the Tx_integer parameter
and the combination mode of the CCCH and SDCCH
Format of Tx_Integer
 MS starts the first channel request message : {0, 1, ...,
MAX (Tx_integer, 8)-1}
 The number of timeslots between any two adjacent
channel request messages {S, S+1, ..., S+Tx_integer-1}
 The Tx_integer is a decimal number, which can be 3~12,
14, 16, 20, 25, 32 and 50 (default). The values of the
parameter S are shown as below:
CCH Combination Mode
Tx_integer
CCCH Not Shared with SDCCH CCCH Shared with SDCCH
3, 8, 14, 50 55 41
4, 9, 16, 76 52
5, 10, 20, 109 58
6, 11, 25, 163 86
7, 12, 32, 217 115
ACCESS CONTROL AC
 The access levels are distributed as follows:

 C 0～C9: ordinary subscribers;
 C11: used for PLMN management;
 C12: used by the security department;
 C13: public utilities （e.g. water, gas）;
 C14: emergency service;
 C15: PLMN staff.
SETTING OF AC
 In the BS installation and commissioning process or in the
process of maintaining or testing some cells, the operator
can set C0～C9 as 0 to forcedly forbid the access of
ordinary subscribers so as to reduce the unnecessary
effects on the installation or maintenance work.
 In some cells with very high traffic, the congestion will
occur in busy hours. For example, the RACH conflict
happens frequently, the AGCH is overloaded and the Abis
interface flow is overloaded. The network operator can set
proper access control parameters（C0～C15）to control
the traffic of some cells.
CCCH_CONF
 The CCCH can be one or more physical channels. The
CCCH and SDCCH can share the same physical channel.
The combination mode of the common control channel in a
cell is determined by the CCCH_CONF
CCCH message
CCCH_CONF
Meanings blocks in one
Coding
BCCH
0 CCCH use one basic physical channel, not shared with SDCCH 9
1 CCCH use one basic physical channel, shares with SDCCH 3
10 CCCH use two basic physical channels, not shared with SDCCH 18
100 CCCH use three basic physical channels, not shared with SDCCH 27
110 CCCH use 4 basic physical channels, not shared with SDCCH 36
Others Reserved
CCCH_CONF
 The CCCH_CONF is determined by the telecom

operation department according to the traffic
model of a cell.
 If a cell has 1 TRX, we recommend that the CCCH
uses one basic physical channel and shares it with the
SDCCH
 If a cell has 2 ~ 8 TRX, we recommend that the CCCH
uses one basic physical channel but does not share it
with the SDCCH.
AGBLK
 Since the CCCH consists of the access grant

channel (AGCH) and paging channel (PCH), it is
necessary to set how many blocks of the CCCH
information blocks are reserved and dedicated to
the AGCH, the access grant reserve blocks
(AGBLK).
 AGBLK is represented in decimal numerals, and
its value range is:
 CCCH is not combined with SDCCH: 0～7.
 CCCH is combined with SDCCH: 0～2.
AGBLK
 SETTING AND IMPACT OF AGBLK

 The AGBLK setting principle is: given that the AGCH is
not overloaded, try to reduce the parameter as much as
possible to shorten the time when the MS responds to
the paging and improve the quality of service of the
system.
 The recommended value of AGBLK is usually 1 (when
the CCCH is combined with the SDCCH), 2 or 3 (when
the CCCH is not combined with the SDCCH).
BS-PA-MFRMS
 According to the GSM specifications, every mobile
subscriber belongs to a paging group. the MS calculates
the paging group to which it belongs by its own IMSI.
 In an actual network, the MS only "receives“ the contents
in the paging subchannel to which it belongs but ignores
the contents in other paging subchannels. (i.e. DRX
source).
 The BS-PA-MFRMS refers to how many multi-frames are
used as a cycle of a paging subchannel. This parameter in
fact determines how many paging sub-channels are to be
divided from the paging channels of a cell.
BS-PA-MFRMS (2)
 BS-PA-MFRMS is represented in decimal

numerals and its value range is 2～9, its unit is
multiframe （51 frames）, its default value is 2
Multiframes of the same
BS-PA-MFRMS paging group that cycle
on the paging channel
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 8
9 9
PERIODIC UPDATING TIMER (T3212)
 The frequency of periodic location update is

controlled via the network and the period length is
determined by the parameter T3212.
 The T3212 is a decimal number, within the range
of 0~255, in the unit of six minutes (1/10 hours).
 If the T3212 is set to 0, it means that the cell
needs no periodical location update.
NCCPERM
 In the connection mode (during the conversation),
the MS will report the measured signals of the
adjacent cells to the BS, but each report may
contain at most 6 adjacent cells.
 Therefore, let the MS only report the information of
the cells that may become the hand-over target
cells.
 The above functions can be fulfilled by limiting the
MS to merely measure the cells whose NCC have
been specified. The NCCPERM lists the NCCs of
cells to be measured by the MS.
 NCCPERM will affect handover
RADIO LINK TIMEOUT (RLT)
 GSM specification stipulates that the MS must have a timer
(S), which is assigned with an initial value at the start of
the conversation, that is, the “downlink radio link timeout”
value.
 Every time the MS fails to decode a correct SACCH
message when it should receive the SACCH, the S is
decreased by 1. On the contrary, every time the MS
receives a correct SACCH message, the S is increased by
2, but the S should not exceed the downlink radio link
timeout value. When the S reaches 0, the MS will report
the downlink radio link failure.
 The radio link timeout is a decimal number, within the
range of 4 ~ 64, at the step of 4, defaulted to 16.
MBCR (1)
 The parameter "multiband indication (MBCR)" is

used to notify the MS that it should report the
multiband adjacent cell contents.
 The value is 0-3
MBCR (2)
0: Based on the signal strength of adjacent cells, the MS reports the

measurement results of 6 adjacent cells whose signals are the strongest,
whose NCC are known and allowed no matter in which band the adjacent
cells lie. The default value is “0”
1: The MS should report the measurement result of one adjacent cell in

each band (not including the band used by the current service area) in the
adjacent table, whose signal is the strongest and whose NCC is already
known and allowed.
MBCR (3)
2: The MS should report the measurement results of two adjacent cells

3: The MS should report the measurement results of three adjacent cells

Application of MBCR
Content

CELL SELECTION C1
 When the MS is turned on, it will try to contact a

public GSM PLMN, so the MS will select a proper
cell and extract from the cell the control channel
parameters and prerequisite system messages.
This selection process is called cell selection.
 The quality of radio channels is an important factor

in cell selection. The GSM Specifications defines
the path loss rule C1. For the so-called proper cell,
C1>0 must be ensured.
CELL SELECTION C1
C1 = RXLEV - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN
- Max(MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P ,0)
 where:
 RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN is the minimum received level the
MS is allowed to access the network
 MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH is the maximum power level of
the control channel (when MS sending on RACH);
 RXLEV is average received level;
 P is the maximum TX power of MS;
 MAX（X, Y）＝X; if X Y.
 MAX（X, Y）＝Y; if Y X.
RxLevAccessMin
 The RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN is a decimal number,

within the range of -110dBm ~ -47dBm
 Default value is 0 (-110dBm).
RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN Meaning
-47 dBm > -48 dBm (level 63)
-46 dBm -49 ~ -48 dBm (level 62)
... ...
-108 dBm -109 ~ -108 dBm (level 2)
-109 dBm -110 ~ -109 dBm (level 1)
-110 dBm <-110 dBm (level 0)

Setting and Influence
 For a cell with traffic overload, you can appropriately
increase the RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN
 RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN value cannot be set to too high a

value. Otherwise, “blind areas” will be caused on the
borders of cells.
 It is suggested that the RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN value

should not exceed -90 dBm.
CELL RESELECTION C2
 Cell Reselection (C2) is a process when MS change its
service cell in idle mode.
 When the MS selects a cell it will begin to measure the

signal levels of the BCCH TRX of its adjacent cells (at
most 6)
 When given conditions are met, the MS will move from the
current cell into another one. This process is called cell
reselection.
CELL RESELECTION C2
 When C2 Parameter Indicator (PI) indicates YES，the MS
will get parameters (CRO, TO and PT) , from BCCH, to be
used to calculate C2(channel quality criterion), which serves
as cell reselection norm. The equation is as follows:
C2＝C1＋CRO－H（PT－T）×TO, when PT≠ 31

C2＝C1－CRO , when PT= 31
 Where T is a timer. When a cell is recorded by MS as one
of the six strongest cells, timer starts counting, otherwise, T
is reset to zero.
PARAMETER INDICATOR (PI)
 PI is used to notify the MS whether to use C2 as the cell
reselect parameter and whether the parameters calculating
C2 exist.
 PI consists of 1 bit. “1”means the MS should extract

parameters from the system message broadcasting in the
cell to calculate the C2 value, and use the C2 value as the
standard for cell reselect; “0” means the MS should use
parameter C1 as the standard for cell reselect (equivalent
to C2＝C1）.
CRO, PT AND TO
 The cell reselection initiated by the radio channel quality regards C2

as the standard. C2 is a parameter based on C1 plus some artificial
offset parameters.
 The artificial influence is to encourage the MS to take the priority in

accessing to some cells or prevent it from accessing to others. These
methods are often used to balance the traffic in the network.
 In addition to C1, there are three other factors influencing C2, namely:
CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET (CRO), TEMPORARY_OFFSET (TO)
and PENALTY_TIME (PT).
Format of CRO, PT and TO
 The CRO is a decimal number, in dB, within the range
of 0 ~ 63, meaning 0 ~ 126 dB, at the step of 2 dB.
 The TO is a decimal number, in dB, within the range of

0 ~ 7, meaning 0 ~ 70 dB, at the step of 10 dB, where
70 means infinite.
 The PT is a decimal number, in seconds, within the

range of 0 ~ 31, meaning 20 ~ 620 seconds for 0 ~ 30,
and at the step of 20 seconds. The value of 31 is
reserved to change the direction of effect that the CRO
works on the C2 parameter.
 For cells where the traffic is very heavy or the

channel quality is very low. the PT may be set 31,
making TO invalid, so C2=C1-CRO.
 For cells where the traffic is moderate, the

recommended value for CRO is zero and PT=31,
thus causing C2=C1, i. e. no artificial impact will
be imposed.
 For cells with light traffic, it’s recommended that CRO

be ranged from 0 to 20dB. The greater the CRO, the
more possible the cells will be reselected ,and vice
versa. It’s also suggested that TO is equal or a little
higher than CRO. PT, whose main role is to avoid
frequent cell reselection by MS, is generally
recommended to be set at 20 seconds or 40 seconds.
 When a MS reselects a cell, if the old cell and the target
cell are in different locations, then the MS must initiate a
location updating process after cell reselection.
 Due to the fading features of the radio channel, the C2
values of two adjacent cells measured along their borders
will fluctuate greatly.
 MS will frequently conduct the cell reselection, which will
not only increase the network signaling flow and lead to
low efficiency use of radio resources, but reduces the
access success rate of the system, as the MS cannot
respond to paging calls in the location updating process.
 To minimize the influence of this issue, the GSM

specifications put forward a parameter called
ReselHysteresis,
 The cell selection hysteresis is represented in

decimal numerals, its unit is dB, its range is 0～14,
its step length is 2dB, and its default value is 4.
CELL RESELECTION PRINCIPLE
 If the MS calculates that the C2 value of an
adjacent cell (Same location area) surpasses the
C2 value of the serving cell and maintains for 5s
or longer, the MS will start cell reselection .
 If the MS detects a cell that is not in the same
location area with the current cell, the calculated
C2 value surpasses the sum of the C2 value of the
current cell and the ReselHysteresis parameter
and if it remains for 5s or longer, the MS will start
the cell reselection .
 The cell reselection caused by C2 should be
originated at least at the interval of 15s.
 In the system message broadcasting in each cell, there is a bit
information indicating whether to allow the MS to access to it, which
is called cell bar access (CBA). The parameter CBA is to indicate
whether the cell bar access is set in a cell.
 The CBA bit is a parameter for the network operator to set. Usually
all the cells are allowed to be accessed by MS , so the bit is set
NO. However, in special cases, the telecom operator may want to
assign a certain cells for handover service only, then the bit can be
set YES.
Area A
BTS B
MS A
BTS C
CELL BAR QUALIFY (CBQ)
 In areas where the cells overlay with each

other and differ in capacity, traffic and
functions, the telecom operator often hopes
that the MS can have priority in selecting
some cells, that is, the setting of cell priority.
This function is set by way of the parameter
"Cell Bar Qualify" (CBQ).
CELL BAR QUALIFY (CBQ) 2
C1 and C2 States with CBA and CBQ Configurations
Cell Selection Cell Reselection

CBQ CBA
Priority State
No No Normal Normal
No Yes Barred Barred
Yes No Low Normal
Yes Yes Low Normal
EXAMPLE OF CBQ SETTING
A B
 For some reasons, the traffic of Cells A and B is apparently higher

than that of other adjacent cells. To balance the traffic in the whole
area, you can set the priority of Cells A and B as low, and set the
priority of the rest cells as normal so that the traffic in the shade
area will be absorbed by adjacent cells. It must be noted that the
result of this setting is that the actual coverage of Cell A and Cell B
is narrowed. However, this is different from reducing the transmitting
power of Cell A and Cell B, the latter may cause blind areas of the
network coverage and the reduction of communication quality.
Content

LIMITn
 According to GSM Specification 05.08, the BTS must
measure the interference levels of the upward links of all
the free channels for the purpose of providing basis for
managing and allocating radio resources.
 Moreover, the BTS should analyze its measured results,
divide the interference levels into 5 grades and report them
to the BSC. The division of the 5 interference grades (i.e.
the so-called interference bands) is set by the operator
through the man-machine interface. The parameter
"Interference band border(LIMITn)” determines the borders
of the 5 interference bands.
LIMITn
Value Range Specified dBm Level
0 <-110 dBm
1 -110 dBm ~ -109 dBm
2 -109 dBm ~ -108 dBm
…
61 -50 dBm ~ -49 dBm
62 -49 dBm ~ -48 dBm
Default: LIMIT1：4 LIMIT2：8 LIMIT3：15 LIMIT4：25

 The division of the interference bands should be favorable in
describing the interference in the system. Generally the default values
are recommended. In the ordinary situations, the free channel
interference level is smaller, so the LIMIT1～4 value should be
smaller. When apparently large interference appears in the system,
you can properly increase the LIMIT1~4 values in order to know the
exact interference.
INTAVE
 Due to the randomness of the radio channel

interference, the BTS must average the measured
uplink interference levels within the specified
period, and this average cycle is determined by
the INTAVE parameter.
 This parameter is a decimal number, in SACCH
multi-frames, within the range of 1 ~ 31.
New Cause Indication (NECI)
 The NECI is a decimal number, within the range of

0 ~ 1, with the meaning described as below:
 When the NECI is 0, it means that the cell does not
support the access of half-rate services.
 When the NECI is 1, it means that the cell supports the
access of half-rate services.
RE-ESTABLISHMENT ENABLE (RE)
 For the drop calls caused by the radio link fault, the MS
can start the call reestablishment process to resume the
conversation, but the network is entitled to determine
whether the call reestablishment is allowed or not.
“0”=Yes, “1”=No.
 In some special circumstances, the drop call may occur
when the MS goes through a blind area during the
conversation. If the call reestablishment is allowed, the
mean drop call rate will be reduced. However, the call
reestablishment process will occupy a longer period of
time, most of the subscribers have hung up before the
reestablishment process is over, as a result, the call
reestablishment failed to achieve its purpose and wasted
many radio resources. We recommend that the call
reestablishment be not allowed in the network except for
some individual cells.
GSM Coverage problem & Solution
ZTE university
Objectives
 To know different kinds of coverage problem, their

causes and solutions.
Contents

 Typical Cases
Overview of coverage problem
Too small coverage range will cause high

Weak coverage call drop rate and a large number of
customer complaints.
Too large coverage will result in frequent

handovers, and mutual interference as
Over coverage well, if it’s rather serious, and network
indicators will also be affected.
When cell reselection parameters and

handover scenarios are similar, or there
No-serving cell coverage are 2 or more cells with similar signal
strength ,Pingpong handover is easy to be
caused during calls.
Contents

 Typical Cases
Main causes of weak coverage
too small BTS power
too low antenna height
too small down-tilt
hardware problem
Weak coverage
Obstruction of buildings
Main causes of over coverage
poor antenna
performance
inappropriate down-tilt
too high antenna height

Causes of no-serving cell coverage
unreasonable planning
of antenna parameters
inappropriate type of antenna
too large or too small

carrier transmission power
shrunk coverage caused

by equipment problem
influence of changes
in radio environment
no-serving cell coverage unreasonable setting

of handover parameters
unreasonable setting of
cell reselection parameters
Contents

 Typical Cases
Procedures of Handling Coverage Problem
Check setting of problem BTS’ radio parameters
Check if strong interference source exists
Check hardware
Check antenna system
Analyze the local geographical environment to

see if site location and type of site are appropriate
Contents

 Typical Cases
 Subscribers complained about the poor coverage around a cold storage
warehouse of animal foodstuff; it was difficult to detect signal even when
they were not far from the warehouse.
 【Problem analysis】
 According to subscriber’s complaint, we confirmed there was problem with
coverage around the warehouse. We found all radio parameters of the site
were set correct at OMCR. Statistical report showed that idle data of
interference band and UL/DL quality data distribution were normal.
Hardware operated normally, as shown in OMCR warning report.
 Hardware engineers went to the site and checked the system of the BTS,
tested power amplifier's power and VSWR, they were all shown normal.
Connection between equipment was correct. Antenna azimuth and down-
tilt were all set reasonable.
 Through DT on site, network engineers found that the signal strength of
the antenna main lobe was weak, while that of the side lobes was
stronger, so they tentatively confirmed the problem was due to antenna
fault.
 【Problem handling】
 After the antenna was replaced with a new one, the coverage improved
greatly, so did the speech quality.
Poor coverage of a BTS
 Subscribers complained about weak signal strength around a Food
Bureau (near a BTS).
 According to subscriber’s complaint, we confirmed there was
problem with the BTS' coverage. We found all radio parameters of
the site were set correct at OMCR. Statistical report showed that
idle data of interference band and UL/DL quality distribution were
normal. Hardware operated normally, as shown in OMCR warning
report.
 Hardware engineers went to the site and checked the system of the
BTS, tested amplifier's power and VSWR, they were all shown
normal. Connection between equipment was correct. Antenna
azimuth and down-tilt were all set reasonable.
 Through DT on site, network optimization engineers found that the
BTS’ coverage was in normal condition. While the Food Bureau,
where subscribers complained about the signal, was 4km away
from the BTS, and only indoor signal was weak (covered by Cell2).
Coverage shrinking after BTS starts operation
 After Cell3 of a BTS started to operate, its coverage range was
found shrunk. On highway 3km away from the BTS, where the BTS
tower was visible, MS could not detect Cell3’s signal. MS could
receive signal when it’s around the BTS, and the signal level was
about -60dB.
 We checked in radio resource management centre and found
Cell3’s static power class was set 2, which meant its static power
was reduced by 4dB, so we reset it to be 0. The next day, MS on
highway 3km away from the BTS could receive Cell3’s signal, and
its level was -60—70; and the signal level around the BTS was
strong, which was about -40dB.
 we concluded that the cell’s coverage shrinking was caused by
wrong setting of static power control at OMCR.
coverage
 Configuration of a mountain site was S11, and the local network was
single band GSM900. From indicator statistics of the past week, we found
handover success rate of Cell2 under the BTS kept very low, which was
around 80%, while TCH allocation failure rate was completely normal.
 First, we could exclude the possibility of hardware problem and
interference, because there were no TCH assignment failures, which
explained that MS could successfully occupy TCHs assigned to it by BSC;
from DT analysis, we could see when signal level was above -90dbm, no
call drops happened to MS, and speech quality was good, which could
prove that no serious interference existed. Through further analysis, we
found the target cell for handover was a bit far from Cell2; and probably
adjacent cell relations were not set right during assignment planning,
which resulted in isolated-island effect.
 we could make area A and area B become adjacent cells to Cell2; while
Cell2 coverage at A and B was already very weak, so Cell2 should not be
adjacent cell to A and B .
 After adjustment, handover success rate of Cell2 increased greatly, from
80% to 96%.
coverage
Cell1
Cell2
 Which parameters can be adjusted to improve

coverage?
ZTE University
Objective

protocol
GSM
Content

Technology
GSM Overview

system features.
GSM Overview

 GSM composition

GSM composition
PSTN
Um A IBM
Interfac IBM
Interf
e ace MS
MS
Other
BSS MSS
PLMN



Station (BTS).

Mobile Station (MS)

GSM System Number

 Handover Number
GERAN interfaces

Interfaces

Interfaces
GSM interfaces


domain


domain

channels.
 System Messages

hyper frame.

TDMA Frame


Time
Frequency
Time
Frequency
System Messages

2ter, 3, 4, 5, 5bis, 5ter, 6, 7, 8.

 Location Update

 MS Busy
Location Update
BSC M
LAI
S
1
MSC/VLR （2）
（1）
（3） LAI （4） M
2 S
MSC/VLR1 M
（5）
S
HLR
（2）
（3）（1） M
MSC/VLR2
（4） S
Call process
Handover process
MS BT S BSC M SC
CH REQ
CH RQD
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
IM M ASS CM D
IM M ASS
SABM
EST IND
UA CR：LOC UPD REQ
CC
ENCRY CM D
CIPH M ODE CM D
CIPH M ODE COM
DI：CIPH M ODE COM
DT 1：Clear CM D
DT 1：Clear COM
DR：CH REL
CH REL RLSD
DEACT SACCH
DISC RLC
REL IND
UA
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK

MS BTS BSC M SC
CH REQ
CH RQD
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
IM M ASS CM D
IM M ASS
SABM
EST IND
CREF
DR：CH REL
CH REL
DEACT SACCH
DISC
REL IND
UA
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
IMSI Detach Process

MS BTS BSC M SC
CH REQ
CH RQD
CH ACT

CH ACT ACK
IM M ASS CM D
IM M ASS
SABM
EST IND
UA CR：CM SERV REQ
CC
ENCRY CM D
CIPH M ODE CM D
CIPH M ODE COM
DI：CIPH M ODE COM
DTAP:CM SERV ACCP
DTAP:SETUP
DTAP:CALL PROC
DT1:ASS REQ
PHY CONT REQ
PHY CONT CONF
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
ASS CM D
DR：ASS CM D
SABM
UA
EST IND
ASS COM
DI：ASS COM
DT1：ASS COM
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
DTAP：Alerting
DTAP：Connect
DTAP：Connect ACK
数据流
DTAP：Disconnect
DTAP：Release
DTAP：Release COM
DT1：Clear CM D
DR：CH REL
DEACT SACCH
DISC RLSD
REL IND
UA RLC
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
MS BTS BSC M SC
PAG CM D UDT：PAG
PAG REQ
CH REQ
CH RQD
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
IM M ASS CM D
IM M ASS
SABM
EST IND
UA CR：PAG RES
CC
ENCRY CM D
CIPH M ODE CM D
CIPH M ODE COM
DI：CIPH M ODE COM
DTAP:SETUP
DTAP:CALL CONF
DT1:ASS REQ
PHY CONT REQ
PHY CONT CONF
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
DR：ASS CM D
ASS CM D
SABM
EST IND
UA
DT1：ASS COM
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK
DTAP：Alerting
DTAP：Connect
DTAP：Connect ACK
数据流
DTAP：Disconnect
DTAP：Release
DTAP：Release COM
DT1：Clear CM D
DR：CH REL
DEACT SACCH
DISC RLSD
REL IND
UA RLC
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK

M EAS REP
M EAS RES
CH ACT
CH ACT ACK
DR：HO CM D
HO CM D
HO ACCESS
HO DET
PHY INFO
SABM
EST IND
UA
HO COM
DI：HO COM
DT1：HO PERF
RF CH REL
RF CH REL ACK


technologies.
 Power Control
 Timing Advance
Voice Processing


Adaptive equalizing

whole system.
Diversity Receiving



Power Control
GSM network.

Timing Advance

technologies
EDGE.

 High rate
efficiency.
GPRS Radio Channel

channel coding.

release flow.

B, and C.
GSM Handover Problems & Solutions
ZTE university
Objectives
 To master different types of handover and their

signaling flows;
 To master handover statistical signaling point and MR
tasks;
 To know common handover problems and the handling
procedures.
Contents
Aims of handovers
 Why there are handovers?

 To keep calls going on during movement;
 To improve network service quality;
 To decrease call drop rate;
 To decrease congestion rate.
Handover classification
Intra-cell
Handover
Inter-MSC Intra-BSC
classification
Inter-BSC
Contents
Intra-cell handover
Air A
BSC TC
BTS
Ch annel
Old
Ch annel
New
Signaling flow of intra-cell handover
MS BTS BSC MSC
5、Assigment Command （FACCH)
6、SABM(FACCH)
8、UA(FACCH)
9、Assigment Complete(FACCH)
11、HO Performed

Inter-cell handover within one BSC
Air A
BTS BSC TC
BTS
Old Cell / BTS New Cell / BTS

Signaling flow of inter-cell handover within one BSC
MS Old BTS BSC New BTS MSC

5、HO Command
6、HO Command(FACCH)
8、HO Detect
10、SABM(FACCH)
12、UA(FACCH)
13、HO Complete(FACCH)
15、HO Complete
16、HO Performed

Inter-BSC handover
New Cell / BTS
Air A
BSC TC
BTS
MSC VLR
BSC TC
BTS
Old Cell / BTS

Signaling flow of inter-BSC handover
MS Old BTS Old BSC MSC New BSC New BTS
1、HO_REQ
2、HO_REQ

5、HO_REQ_ACK
6、HO Command
7、HO Command
8、HO Command
10、HO Detect
12、SABM(FACCH)
13、UA(FACCH)
14、HO ommand
15、HO Command
16、HO Command
17、HO Command
Inter-MSC handover
New Cell / BTS

Air A
BSC TC
BTS
MSC VLR
BSC TC
BTS
MSC VLR
Old Cell / BTS

Basic signaling flow of Inter-MSC handover
MS/BSS-A BSS-B/MS
MSC-A MSC-B VLR-B

A-HO-REQUIRED
MAP-Prep-Handover req. MAP-Allocate-Handover-Number req.
MAP-Send-Handover-Report req.
MAP-Send-Handover-Report resp.
A-HO-REQUEST
MAP-Prep-Handover resp. A-HO-REQUEST-ACK
IAM
A-HO-COMMAND ACM
MAP-Process-Access-Sig req. A-HO-DETECT
A-CLR-CMD/COM MAP-Send-End-Signal req. A-HO-COMPLETE
ANSWER
RELEASE
End of call
Signaling flow of inter-MSC back-handover
MS/BSS-B BSS-A/MS
MSC-A MSC-B VLR-B

A-HO-REQUIRED
A-HO-REQUEST
A-HO-REQUEST-ACK
MAP-Prep-Sub-Handover resp. A-HO-COMMAND
A-HO-DETECT
A-HO-COMPLETE
MAP-Send-End-Signal resp. A-CLR-CMD/COM
Release
Signaling flow of inter-MSC handover to a third MSC
MS/BSS
MSC-B’ VLR-B’
MSC-A MSC-B VLR-B
A-HO-REQUIRED
MAP-Prepare-Handover req. MAP-Allocate-Handover-Number req.
MAP-Prepare-Handover resp. MAP-Send-Handover-Report req.
IAM
MAP-Send-Handover-Rep. resp. (1)
ACM
MAP-Prep-Sub-Ho resp.
A-HO-COMMAND
A-HO-DETECT
MAP-Process-Access-Signalling req.
A-HO-COMPLETE
MAP-Send-End-Signal req.
Answer
Release
A-CLR-CMD/COM
(end of call)
Release
There is no “HO-Request” message for intra-BSC handover; all
Inter-cell handover
information is analyzed within BSC; Once a target cell in the
within BSC
BSC fulfilling handover conditions is found, send “Channel
activation” message directly;
BSC reports CGI and handover cause of original cell and target
cell to MSC through “HO-Request”;
Inter-BSC handover After MSC finds target cell LAC, it sends “HO-Request” to the
within MSC
BSC which the target cell belongs to;
Target BSC activates channel in target cell, and executes the
following flow.
MSC inquires “REMOTLAC sheet” (including LAC and

route address of adjacent MSC);
Inter-MSC handover MSC sends （Prepare-HO） message to the target
MSC-B according to the route address;
According to the （Prepare-HO） message, target
MSC-B requests for Handover number from VLR-B,
then sends “HO-Request” message to BSC-B;
After the target BSC-B receives “HO-Request ACK”, it
sends （Prepare-HO ACK）message to the original
MSC, and executes the following flow.”
Main differences between intra-BSC handover
and inter-BSC handover
MSC transmits “HO-REQ” message,
and CGI of original cell and target cell
MSC participates is carried in the message; Inter-
or not BSC
handover
As for inter-BSC handover, MSC
participates in it since “HO-Request”;
As for intra-BSC handover, “HO-

Performed” message is sent to MSC
CGI is carried
or not only after the handover is
Intra-
completed; MSC doesn’t participate
BSC
before that; handover
For intra-BSC handover, CGI isn’t

carried in any message, it’s handled
within BSC.
Flow of handover algorithm List of cells
under one LAC
MS BTS BSC MSC Target BSC Target MSC
HO request
HO request
BCCH Process of MR
frequency
point, BSIC Intra-MSC
UL MR
and level Confirmation of handover
values of adjacent cell CGI
HO request
the six
adjacent Execution of
cells (with handover decision
strongest
level) and Selection of
serving cell; target cell
Yes
BA2 sheet External cell?
No
Channel activation
 T3107
 Suitable for: intra-cell handover
 Start-up: BSC sends “assignment command”
 Stop counting: when “assignment completed” or
“assignment failure” is received;
MS BTS:TRX BSC
CHANNEL ACTIVATE
CHANNEL ACTIVATE ACK
A1
ASSIGNMENT COMMAND
SET T3107
T3107
Timeout
A2
 T3103
 Suitable for: inter-cell handover
 Start-up: BSC sends “handover command”
 Stop counting: when “handover completed” or “handover failure” is
received;
MS Old BTS: New BTS BSC
CHANNEL ACT
CHANNEL ACT ACK
A1
HANDOVER COMMAND HANDOVER COMMAND
SET T3103
T3103
Timeout
A2
Contents
MR cycle
 MR is sent to BTS in SACCH UL direction;
 When MS is in SDCCH, MR cycle is 470ms/time;
 When MS is in TCH, MR cycle is 480ms/time.
26 multi-
480ms frames of 4
TCHs
12TCH 1SACCH 12TCH 1 idle

Indicator definition of handover success rate
KPI name Handover success rate
Indicator （ busy hour number of handover success times /busy hour total
definition number of handover request times）*100%
V6.20 (C900060098+C900060102+C900060120+C900060094
+C900060096)*100/(C900060097+C900060213+C9000
60214+C900060215+C900060099+C900060100+C900
060101+C900060216+C900060119+C900060093+C900
060095)
 C900060098  C900060102
BSC BTS MSC BSC BTS
HO_COM
HO_ COM
A
HO_COM
A
BSC-controlled inter-cell incoming handover success MSC-controlled incoming handover success
 C900060120  C900060096
BSC MSC
BSC BTS
ASS_CMD CLEAR_CMD
ASS_COM A
Intra-cell handover success No. of MSC-controlled outgoing handover success times

 C900060094
MS BTS(Src) BTS(Target) BSC MSC

MEAS_RES
MEAS_RES
CHL_ACT
CHL_ACT_ACK
HO_CMD
HO_CMD
HO_ACCESS
HO DETECT
Phy Info
SABM EST_IND
UA
HO_COM
HO_COM
A HO_PERFORM
BSC-controlled inter-cell outgoing handover success

 C900060097  C900060213
BTS( Target) BSC
BSC BTS
Forced
Resource
release ，
CHL_ACTIV_ACK Available
attempt A
A CHANNEL ACT
CHANNEL ACT ACK
BSC-controlled inter-cell incoming handover execution

 C900060215
 C900060214
BTS( Target) BSC
BTS( Target) BSC
Force
Resource
handover，
Available
Cell Resource attempt A
，
queuing Available
A CHANNEL ACT
CHANNEL ACT
CHANNEL ACT ACK
CHANNEL ACT ACK
Execution of cell queuing Execution of force handover

 C900060099  C900060100
MSC BSC BTS
MSC BSC BTS
HO_REQ
HO_REQ Forced release attempt,
CHL_ACTIV
resource available
A CHL_ACTIV
CHL_ACTIV_ACK
A CHL_ACTIV_ACK
HO_REQ_ACK HO_REQ_ACK

MSC BSC-controlled incoming handover execution
 C900060101  C900060119
MSC BSC BTS
BTS BSC
HO_REQ
CHL_ ACTIV_ ACK
Cell queuing, resource available
A ASSIGN_ CMD A
CHL_ACTIV
CHL_ACTIV_ACK
HO_REQ_ACK
Execution of intra-cell handover

Execution of queuing
 C900060216  C900060095
BTS( Target) BSC
BTS BSC MSC Force

Resource
handover，
available
attempt A
HO_CMD
CHANNEL ACT
A
HO_CMD
CHANNEL ACT ACK
Execution of force handover

No. of MSC-controlled outgoing handover execution times
 C900060093 MS BTS(Src)
MEAS_RES
BTS(Target)
MEAS_RES
BSC MSC
CHL_ACT
CHL_ACT_ACK
HO_CMD A
HO_CMD
HO_ACCESS
HO DETECT
Phy Info
SABM EST_IND
UA
HO_COM
HO_COM
HO_PERFORM
No. of BSC-controlled inter-cell outgoing handover execution times

Handover-related measurement tasks
Handover
 Measure the frequency of MS handovers caused by various kinds of
causes
reasons, so as to examine radio environment of a cell;
measurement
Common  Measure the process of MS handover to inspect handover success or

handover failure and abnormal situations causing failures, so as to improve the
measurement cell’s radio configuration and observe traffic dispersion, etc.;
 Measure the number of times of incoming/outgoing handover

Measurement
attempt/success/failure from/to certain cells, and number of times of
of adjacent
handover caused by different reasons, so as to get the handover
cell handover
situations of the serving cell and its adjacent cells and to optimize their
radio configurations correspondingly;
Sub cell
statistical  Focus on traffic load of the second subcell.
measurement
Contents
Analysis handover problems
 Analysis of handover problems
 Location method of handover problems
Common handover problems
Common handover
Possible influences
problems
Handover • Result in call drop;

nonoccurrence
Handover failure • Affect call quality and result in call

drop;
Frequent handover • Affect call quality, and increase

system load;
Handover hysteresis • Affect call quality and result in

call drop;
Discovery of handover problems
TOPN analysis
Traffic statistics
analysis Abnormal number of handover times
Call drop
Customer complaints
Bad coverage
Handover to best cell
inhibited
DT/CQT tests Poor speech quality
Slow handover
Handover problem
No handover
Meters at A interface
Handover failure
Frequent handover
Flow of handover problem checking
Too high TCH
handover failure rate
of a cell
Is radio No Adjust
parameter setting
parameters
reasonable?
Yes Check &

Interference
eliminate
exists?
interference
Coverage Yes Improve

problem exists? coverage
Yes Eliminate
Any equipment
equipment
faults?
faults
Yes Solve
Any antenna
antenna
problems?
problems
Complete
 Analyze traffic statistics
 Conduct handover statistics measurement, identify
problem range:
 If just some cells fail to make handovers to the cell, check
handover data, check if co-channel and co-BSIC exist;
 If the cell fails to take handovers from all other cells, check its
data.
 Check warnings: single board malfunction,
transmission and clock malfunctions, etc.;
 Check if radio parameters are set reasonably
 If co-channel or co-BSIC exist among adjacent cells;
 If handover parameters are set reasonably;
 If data configuration of external cells is correct.
 Interference checking
 DT analysis
 Signaling analysis: Um interface、Abis interface 、 A interface;
 Hardware checking: like DCU, transceiver, clock generator, RF
connection lines between boards;
 Antenna system checking
Analysis of handover problems
 Coverage & interference
 Antenna system
 BTS software & hardware
 transmission
 BSC software & hardware
 Connection & adaptation to equipment from different suppliers
Coverage & interference
 Coverage:
 Poor coverage: due to influence from forest, complex
landforms, houses, indoor coverage, etc.;
 Isolated site: no adjacent cells around;
 Skip-zone coverage: no adjacent cells available due to
isolated-island effect;
 Interference:
 It makes MS unable to access in UL, or DL signal
receiving problem will be resulted.
Handover nonoccurance due to isolated-
island effect
Handover can’t
happen due to
lack of adjacent Non-adjacent
cell
cells.
adjacent cell N1
Serving cell
Non-adjacent
cell
adjacent cell N2
Non-adjacent
Adjacent cell N3
cell
Skip-zone
coverage leads to
isolated island.
Antenna system problems
 Too large VSWR
 Reversed installation of antenna
 Non-standard antenna installation
 Unreasonable azimuth, down-tilt
 Below-standard antenna insulation
 Twisted cables, loosened connectors and wrong
connections;
BTS software/hardware
 Problems about :
 Single board
 Clock generator malfunction
 Internal communication cable malfunction
 BTS software malfunction
Transmission and BSC problems
 Transmission fault
 Unstable transmission
 Too high transmission error rate
 BSC hardware/software malfunctions
 Clock generator malfunction: unconformity among clocks in
different BTSs due to clock generator malfunction;
 Problem about single board
 Wrong data configuration
 Unreasonable setting of handover threshold
 CGI, BCCH and BSIC values in “external cell data sheet” do not
match up to those in the corresponding BSC;
 Wrong BSC signaling point in “list of cell under a LAC” in MSC; co-
channel& co-BSIC adjacent cells exist.
A interface malfunction

 handover between equipment from different suppliers

 Difference in signaling at interface A and interface E between ZTE
and other suppliers’ equipment, causing non-recognition or non-
support problem, including speech version, handover code and
addressing mode (CGI or LAI) etc., which will result in handover
failure.
 The data in performance report shows that Cell 1 under
a BTS suffers from low handover success rate.
 Examine the problem cell, discover that 2 cells under a
BTS co-channel and co-BSIC, and close to each other,
which results in low handover success rate in the cell.
 After adjustment of frequency point, handover success
rate obviously increases, and number of handover times
reduces.
Changes of HO indicators before & after Frequency point adjustment
180 120%
Number of HO Req./number of HO success
150 100%
120 80%
HO success rate
90 60%
60 40%
30 20%
0 0%
9-4 9-5 9-6 9-7 9-8 9-9 9-10 9-11
切换请求总次数
No. of HOReq. 切换成功总次数
No. of HOsuccess 切换成功率(%)
HO success
rate
 For a newly-commissioned BTS, handover nonoccurrence appears
during DT: the MS occupies a channel in cell A; during DT from cell
A to cell B, cell B can’t be observed in the adjacent cell list, and it
doesn’t start normal handovers.
 It’s a common network problem that handover nonoccurrence
appears in many cells;
 It’s a newly-commissioned BTS; handover parameters are as
default in the system;
 Check adjacent cells relation, no problem found;
 Observe from test MS, find out that adjacent cell frequency
appears in the adjacent cell, but BSIC can’t be decoded.
 Since adjacent cell is searched through BA2 table during a call, and
BA2 relies on BCCH and BSIC to confirm an adjacent cell, when the
adjacent cell’s BSIC is unobtainable, BSC is unable to locate it, thus
handover won’t be started.
 Process of MS decodeing on DL channel
 decode FCCH decode SCH（SCH comprises MS frame
synchronous information and BSIC.
 MS can show adjacent cell frequency point, but not BSIC. It’s
suspected that adjacent cell’s SCH information can’t be decoded
by MS due to clock or transmission fault.
 Check clock and transmission
 BTS adopts network clock
 BSC traces superior clock
 MSC traces superior GPS clock through long-distance satellite link
 The long-distance satellite link is found unstable, which leads to
high error rate on the meter, and warning of clock deterioration
appears on MSC.
 Decide that it’s handover problem
caused by poor clock quality.
 Bring new GPS clock device and
adopt the local one, thoroughly
solve clock malfunction.
 Problem of handover
nonoccurrence is solved.
 Experience conclusion
 If no high accuracy clock
available, clock in BTS can be
used; calibration of each BTS
must be made by using
frequency meter and LMT to
ensure that frequency deviation
meets precision requirement.
 During DT at a BTS, we find slow handover problem is
common (>10S), which affects speech quality and even
causes call drops.
 Problem: level of cell 2 is higher than that of cell 3 by
20dB, total handover time is 15s.
 Problem analysis and handling
 Slow handover seriously affects network quality. Make adjustment of
handover parameters accordingly:
 Change adjacent cell handover threshold to improve timeliness of
handover trigger;
 Adjust the whole network’s handover window to be 2, so as to
accelerate handover speed;
 Adjust the whole network’s handover preprocess to 2, so as to
accelerate handover speed.
Parameter Before After adjustment
adjustment
Level threshold 30 28
(HOMARGINRXLEV)
Quality threshold 30 26
(HOMARGINRXQUAL)
 Result
 Test after adjustment shows that handover time is reduced to 5s; the slow
handover problem is solved and speech quality is improve.
 Please simply illustrate effects on handover due to
changing T3103、T3107.
 Suggestions on parameter settings of handovers on

highway.
GSM Network Interference &
Solutions
ZTE university
Training goals
 To know the classification of interference;

 To master the analytical methods of interference
problem;
 To master the flow of handling interference problem;
 To know the analytical tool of interference problem;
 To be able to handle common interference problems.
Contents

 Typical Cases
GSM Frequency Allocation
Carrier
Frequenc UL DL Duplex Band
frequenc
y band frequency frequency interval width
y interval
EGSM+G 880MHz 925MHz~9
45MHz 35MHz 200kHz
SM900 ~915MHz 60MHz
1710MHz~1 1805MHz~
DCS1800 95MHz 75MHz 200kHz
785MHz 1880MHz
Contents

 Typical Cases
Phenomena of Interference
Poor
speech
quality
On-and-off
Call drop
speech
Phenomena
Unable to
Metallic noise
establish calls
Classification of Interference
Internal interference
Internal interference refers to unreasonable frequency planning
and equipment hardware faults, which could lead to decrease in

network service quality.
External interference
External interference refers to unknown signal source out of the
network, whose existence could seriously disturb the network’s
signals and lead to decrease in service quality.
UL interference
DL interference
Internal Interference _Causes
Unreasonable frequency planning
Internal
Equipment faults
interference
Skip-zone coverage
 Unreasonable frequency planning :
 Frequency and adjacent cell relation may be set
unreasonable in network planning because of planning
tools or human mistakes .
 Interference will be reflected in too large DL_RxQuality,
MS unable to access into network, poor speech quality,
and call drop.
 Check and confirm problem:
 Use planning tool to check if co-channel exists; co-
channel is easy to be detected if it does exist.
 As for cells in boundary areas, we can block co-
channel cells in the network; meanwhile, make tracing
test with DT devices at areas with emergence of large
DL_RxQuality. If co-channel interference does exist, the
DL_RxQuality value shall become smaller after the
blocking of co-channel cells, thus we can adjust the
cell’s frequencies to eliminate the interference.
coverage
 Interference caused by skip-zone coverage
 If the actual cell coverage greatly exceeds requirement,
interference will be increased.
 Incorrect setting of engineering and network
parameters may lead to skip-zone coverage.
coverage
 Unreasonable setting of engineering parameters:
 Wrong antenna type, down-tilt and azimuth may result
in over large cell coverage, which exceeds actual
coverage need;
 Unreasonable setting of network parameters:
 Network parameters include: minimum access level,
BTS transmission power, MS max transmission power,
handover thresholds, etc..Improper setting of these
parameters will result in skip-zone coverage problem
and interference as well.
Internal Interference _ due to equipment
fault
 Interference caused by equipment fault:
 Radio fault of BTS is mainly caused by defective UL
unit parts.
External Interference
 Definition:
 External interference refers to other interferences caused by
external factors, but not due to equipment fault or unreasonable
frequency planning.
 Common external interferences:

 due to wide-band repeater;
 due to CDMA system (trailing signal);
 due to signal jammer;
 Characteristic:
 It’s hard to detect this kind of interference without
specific devices.
Contents

 Typical Cases
Flow of Handling Interference Problem
Any new sites? If thorough change

of frequency parameters taken
recently?
Several Interference Interference

cells exists exists
Check
Poor speech Check
Confirm frequency, Check and
quality due One
external
interference change change Complete
to TRX
range frequency TRX interference
interference
points
One cell
Interference
Check exists
VSWR/antenna/divider/dupl
exer
Contents

 Typical Cases
Analytical Methods of Interference
Problem
Analytical
Methods of
Interference
Problem
Statistical
analysis of Analysis of Investigation Drive Test External
network parameter of hardware and Dialing interference
performance checking fault Test test
indicators
indicators
Statistical analysis of network performance indicators
Statistics of interference band : When TCHs are in idle status, UL

noise/interference is constantly being measured BTS, and the
measurement result will be analyzed, and interference level will be
sent to BSC in 6 levels. 。
Statistics of handover due to UL/DL interference : We can judge

whether interference exists through statistics of handover caused by
UL/DL interference.
Collection of UL/DL RQ samples during speeches : RxQual is an

indicator to reflect speech quality, which is based on error rate and
falls into 8 grades (0～7).
indicators
 Corresponding relation between RxQual
and Ber
- Analysis of parameter checking
Parameter
checking
Check
Check
parameters Check antenna Check frequency
parameters
related to engineering planning
related to skip-
transmitting parameters parameters
zone coverage
power
- Checking hardware fault
Checking hardware fault
OMCR warning analysis

Checking latent equipment fault
- Checking latent equipment fault
Input the two

If serious UL
stimulations Disconnect the
interference exists
Block the two of TRX rack top feeder
even though there
input ways of without cables, and
is no stimulation
TRX, observe connecting observe UL
imposed on
UL them to interference
power amplifier,
interference power band; if the
disconnect rack
band; if it’s 0, amplifier, interference
top feeder cables,
it’s proved observe UL isn’t fading at
if the interference
that TRX interference all, then we can
disappears, we
hasn’t band; if it’s conclude that
can infer that the
brought UL 0, it means the problem is
problem is caused
interference. external with the divider
by external
interference unit.
factors.
doesn’t exist.
 Drive Test and Call Quality Test

 Drive test can effectively detect the location
and degree of interference, which is
convenient for analyzing the cause of
interference.
 In CQT, we can actually feel the speech

quality at areas being interfered, and we can
see call quality class on the test phone.
 DT parameters:
 C/I: co-channel carrier-to-interference ratio
25
20
15
C/I[dB]
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
RxQual 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C/I[dB] 23 19 17 15 13 11 8 4
 DT parameters:
 SQI：SPEECH QUALITY INDEX is the comprehensive
description of BER, FER and HANDOVER EVENT by TEMS.
 Confirm external interference with
SITEMASTER :
 Test of UL interference;
 Connect the input port of frequency-sweep
generator to the output port of divider to increase
the degree of sensitivity, as shown in the figure.
 Confirm external interference with SITEMASTER :
 persistent strong level exists within the bandwidth of
20MHz, we can conclude that serious UL interference
exists.
 Confirm external interference with YBT250:

 Make UL interference analysis of GSM 900M UL frequency
band with frequency scanning meter-NetTek Analyzer(TEK
company). The model we usually use is YBT250.
 Connection method of YBT250:

 One is to use its own test antenna ;
 One is to obtain interference information through connection to
the output port of divider.

 Connection method using YBT250 to test UL

interference:
CDU Feeder
Antenna
YBT 250
 Wave graph of UL interference tested by YBT250:
 This output is the average value of the test results of
one minute, which shows the frequency and
strength of interference. Persistent observation is
needed to confirm if the interference continues.
 Time scatter graph of UL interference tested by YBT250:
 TEK frequency scanning meter features in three
dimensional recording of time, frequency and signal.The
vertical bold red lines in the graph represent the time
duration, signal level strength and frequency .
Colour
spectrum
vertical =strengt
h
axis=time
horizontal
axis=frequency
Contents

 Typical Cases
Typical case 1: Problem description
Since March 2005, an operator has received a lot of

complaints about poor speech quality; sometimes calls
even couldn’t be setup; the caller could hear the
counterpart, but could not be heard.
Typical case 1: Problem analysis
When the level

tested by MS was
At the -85dbm, UL call
Performanc
beginning we problem
e statistics
thought it was occurred, which
at OMCR Confirmed the
caused by was displayed as
showed that problem was
poor signal. on-and-off
the rank of caused by
After on-site speech, silence,
idle channel interference
test, we found metallic noise
interference
it wasn’t and current noise,
band was
coverage so we concluded
that the problem high.
problem.
was caused by
interference.
STEP1
Test UL interference with YBT250 connected to CDU. CDMA wave
form was strong when wave filter wasn’t used, the peak value reached
about -35dbm (average about -60dbm), which was close to GSM UL
wave band and could cause UL interference to GSM network.
STEP1
In the three dimensional graph of interference tested by YBT250, the
CDMA wave form was strong and the wave form of GSM background
noise on the right was high in a long period of time.
STEP2
Use CDMA wave filter to eliminate CDMA
interference.
Common CDMA wave

CDU filter Antenna
Feeder
YBT 250
STEP2
When CDMA wave filter was adopted, CDMA wave
form was obviously weakened, but it was still strong at
some certain point; the background noise in GSM
frequency band was also reduced.
STEP2
Because of CDMA wave filter, the UL interference in GSM
frequency band reduced greatly.
STEP3
With the aim to eliminate CDMA interference, adopt IRCDU
+CDMA wave filter.
IR CDU CDMA wave Antenna

filter
YBT 250
STEP3
Adoption of IRCDU＋CDMA wave filter can effectively
filter CDMA waves to below -104dbm. This kind of filtering
effect can help completely avoid CDMA network interfering
GSM UL network.
STEP3
Adoption of IRCDU＋CDMA wave filter can eliminate
CDMA wave form to a great extent; during the test period,
CDMA interference was almost eliminated.
Typical case 1: Summary
The interference source was from CDMA system.

Through comparisons of tests above, we can see after
IRCDU+CDMA wave filter was used, call quality
obviously improved.
 How is interference resulted from

wrong setting of transmitting power-
related parameters?
 What is the flow of checking external
interference?

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GSM Basic Radio parameters

 At the end of this course, you will be able to:

 Network identification parameters

 Enable the network to be real time informed of the correct

 Enable the MS to report correctly the adjacent cell

 Cell Global Identity (CGI)

3 Digits 2-3 Digits Max 16 Bits Max 16 bits

MCC MNC LAC CI

Cell Global Identity

 When the MS receives the system information, it will

 It judges whether the current location area is changed,

 MNC（Mobile Network Code）:

 LAC（Location Area Code）:

 Base Station Identity Code (BSIC)

NCC Network/ National Color Code Value Range: 0~7

 In general, it is required that Cells A, B, C, D, E and

 Adjacent cell BCCH table

 Network identification parameters

 Random access is the process that messages

 When starting the immediate assignment process

The Tx_integer parameter is the interval in timeslots at which

The parameter S is an intermediate variable in the access

 The access levels are distributed as follows:

 The CCCH_CONF is determined by the telecom

 Since the CCCH consists of the access grant

 SETTING AND IMPACT OF AGBLK

 BS-PA-MFRMS is represented in decimal

 The frequency of periodic location update is

 The parameter "multiband indication (MBCR)" is

0: Based on the signal strength of adjacent cells, the MS reports the

1: The MS should report the measurement result of one adjacent cell in

2: The MS should report the measurement results of two adjacent cells

3: The MS should report the measurement results of three adjacent cells

 Network identification parameters

 When the MS is turned on, it will try to contact a

 The quality of radio channels is an important factor

 The RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN is a decimal number,

-47 dBm > -48 dBm (level 63)

-46 dBm -49 ~ -48 dBm (level 62)

-108 dBm -109 ~ -108 dBm (level 2)

-109 dBm -110 ~ -109 dBm (level 1)

-110 dBm <-110 dBm (level 0)

 RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN value cannot be set to too high a

 It is suggested that the RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN value

 When the MS selects a cell it will begin to measure the

C2＝C1＋CRO－H（PT－T）×TO, when PT≠ 31

 PI consists of 1 bit. “1”means the MS should extract

 The cell reselection initiated by the radio channel quality regards C2

 The artificial influence is to encourage the MS to take the priority in

 The TO is a decimal number, in dB, within the range of

 The PT is a decimal number, in seconds, within the

 For cells where the traffic is very heavy or the

 For cells where the traffic is moderate, the

 For cells with light traffic, it’s recommended that CRO

 To minimize the influence of this issue, the GSM

 The cell selection hysteresis is represented in

 In areas where the cells overlay with each

C1 and C2 States with CBA and CBQ Configurations

Cell Selection Cell Reselection

 For some reasons, the traffic of Cells A and B is apparently higher

 Network identification parameters

Default: LIMIT1：4 LIMIT2：8 LIMIT3：15 LIMIT4：25

 Due to the randomness of the radio channel