2 - Omo131010 Bsc6900 GSM v9r11 Cell Parameters Issue1.01

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Confidential Information of Huawei. No Spreading Without Permission

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By reading cell parameters, MS can access the network, perform cell selection and
reselection, fully utilize various services provided by the network, and achieve
favorable cooperation with the network.

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Cell parameters can be divided into two parts:

Cell parameters is sent on BCCH, which are used in idle mode.
Cell parameters is sent on SACCH, which are used in dedicated mode.

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As a global cellular mobile communication system, GSM conducts strict coding for
each GSM network in every country, and even every location area, BTS, and cell, so
as to ensure that each cell corresponds to a unique number all over the world. The
adoption of this coding scheme can achieve the following objectives:
1. Ensure that MS can correctly identify the current network, so that MS can
accurately select the network expected by subscribers and operators.
2. Ensure that the network can know the real-time position of MS, so that the network
can provide various service requests from the MS.
3. Ensure that the MS can report correct neighbor cells’ information to the network
during conversation, so that network can perform handover when necessary to keep
continuous conversation for the mobile subscribers.

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As a global cellular mobile communication system, GSM conducts strict coding for
each GSM network in every country, and even every location area, BTS, and cell, so
as to ensure that each cell corresponds to a unique number all over the world. The
adoption of this coding scheme can achieve the following objectives:
1. Ensure that MS can correctly identify the current network, so that MS can
accurately select the network expected by subscribers and operators.
2. Ensure that the network can know the real-time position of MS, so that the network
can provide various service requests from the MS.
3. Ensure that the MS can report correct neighbor cells’ information to the network
during conversation, so that network can perform handover when necessary to keep
continuous conversation for the mobile subscribers.

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MCC is used in international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) and location area
identity (LAI).
1. LAI. It is periodically transmitted in cell parameters of each cell. MCC indicates the
home country of GSM PLMN. MS uses the received information as the important
basis for network selection.
2. IMSI of MS. MS’s IMSI also contains MCC. It shows the resident country of the
mobile subscriber. When MS logs on the network or applies for a certain service, it
must report its IMSI to the network (When TMSI is unavailable.). The network uses
the MCC in IMSI to judge whether this subscriber is an international roaming
subscriber.
As the unique country identity standard, MCCs are allocated and managed by the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU). ITU Default Value E.212 (blue book)
stipulated the MCC number for every country. The MCC of China is 460 (decimal).
Due to the special meaning of MCC, modification is prohibited once it has been set in
the network.

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MNC is used in international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) and location area
identity (LAI).
LAI. It is periodically transmitted in each cell. Here, MNC indicates the network
number of GSM PLMN. MS uses the received information as an important basis for
network selection.
IMSI also contains MNC. It shows the home GSM PLMN network of the subscriber.
When MS logs on the network or applies for a certain service, it must report IMSI to
the network (When TMSI is unavailable.). The network judges whether this subscriber
is a roaming subscriber according to the MNC in IMSI, and uses it as one of the
important parameters for addressing to subscriber HLR.
If a country has more than one GSM PLMN, different networks must have different
MNC. MNC is allocated by relevant telecommunication management department of
the country. One operator can have one or more MNC (which regards to the scale
provided by the service, usually one operator has one MNC.). Different operators can
share the same MNC. Currently, China have two GSM networks, which are operated
by China Mobile and China Unicom. Their MNC are 00 and 01 respectively. Due to
the special meaning of MNC, modification is prohibited once it has been set in the
network.

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When MS is powered on or LAC of current cell is found to be different from its

originally stored Descriptions, MS will inform network of the current location area via
location update, and the network uses the LAI for paging. Generally the allocation and
coding of LAC is set at the early stage of network construction, and seldom modified
during the operation.
The size of location area (LA) is one of key factors in the system. If the LA coverage
is too small, the chances for MS to update location increase, and this will increase the
signaling load in the system. If the LA coverage is too large, when network conducts
paging to the MS, the same paging information will be transmitted in a large number
of cells, and this will lead to the heavy load on CCCH. The adjustment of LA size has
no unified standard. Operating departments can decide whether to adjust the size
according to the currently running network. If the CCCH signaling load is heavy
because of too big LA coverage, then reduce the size of LA, and vice versa. It is
generally recommended to set the LA as large as possible. The calculation of LA is
related with the paging strategies of different manufacturers. If Huawei equipment is
employed, it is recommended to set the TRX number within the range of 300 in one
location area. In the early stage of network construction, the traffic is not heavy, so the
TRX number in one LA can be larger than this value. It is necessary to monitor the
PCH load and the increase of traffic in a long term. If necessary, PCH capacity can be
increased by adding one extended BCCH channel.
While making LA planning, try to make use of the geographical distribution and
behaviors of mobile subscribers to allocate the LA, so as to achieve the objective of
reducing the times of location update at the boundary between location areas. Please
note that LAC in cell parameters must be in consistent with that in MSC. Otherwise,
call setup failure will occur.

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Cell Identity (CI) is one part of Cell Global Identity (CGI), transmitted in each cell.
There is generally no restriction for the allocation of CI. Value from 0 to 65535
(decimal) can be obtained. But it should be ensured that one location area cannot
have two cells with the same CI.
CI is usually determined in the network design. Except for some special cases, CI
value should not be changed during the operation of the system.
Please note that one location area is not permitted to have two or more cells using the
same CI. CI on MSC should be the same as that on BSC. Otherwise, MS cannot
make calls in this cell.

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BSIC is transmitted on Synchronous Channel (SCH) of each cell. Its functions are as
below:
1. If MS have read SCH, it is considered as being synchronous with that cell.
However, to correctly read the information on the downlink common signaling channel,
MS must get the TSC (Training Sequent Code) that is adopted by the common
signaling channel. According to GSM specification, TS (Training Sequent) has eight
fixed formats, which are represented by TSC ranged 0~7 respectively. TSC number
adopted by common signaling channel of each cell is just the BCC of the cell. So one
of the functions of BSIC is to inform MS of the TSC adopted by the common signaling
channel of the cell.
2. Since BSIC attends the coding process of information bits in random access burst,
it can be used to prevent the BTS from accepting a RACH transmitted from MS in a
neighbor cell as the access signal from the MS of the serving cell.
3. When MS is in dedicated mode, it must measure the BCCH level of the neighbor
cells and report it to BTS according to BA2 that is sent on SACCH, including their
respective BSIC. In special circumstance, when there are two or more cells using the
same BCCH in the neighbor cells, BSC can use BSIC to distinguish these cells and
avoid wrong handover or even handover failure.
4. MS must measure the BCCH signals of neighbor cells in dedicated mode, and
report the results to the network. Since MS sends measurement report which contain
the Descriptions of a maximum of 6 neighbor cells each time, it is necessary to control
MS to report only the cells which have neighbor relationships with the serving cell.
The NCC is used for the above purpose. Network operators can use parameter “ NCC
Permitted” to control MS to report the neighbor cells with NCC permitted in the
serving cell only.

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NCC and BCC together form the base station identity code (BSIC), transmitted on
synchronous channel of each cell.
In many cases, different GSM PLMNs have the identical coverage in many But their
network planning are independent from each other. To ensure that adjacent BTSs
have different BSICs, it is generally regulated that adjacent GSM PLMN select
different NCC.
Adjacent or close cells with the same BCCH frequency must have different BSIC.
Special attention should be paid to the configuration of cells in boundary areas.

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BSIC includes BCC and NCC which is transmitted on SCH. BCC is a part of BSIC,
used to identify different cell with the same BCCH in the same GSM system.
According to the requirements of GSM specification, TSC of BCCH in each cell
should be the same with BCC of the cell. Generally this consistency must be ensured
by manufacturers. Adjacent or close cells using the same BCCH must have different
BSIC, otherwise, inter cell handover might be unsuccessful.
BCC planning has three solutions. All of them have taken distance principle into
consideration to avoid collisions of adjacent cells with the same BCCH and same
BSIC.
1. Based on the existing BCC set, select one of the BCC that has been used by other
cell, ensure at the same time that BCC selected will not cause BSIC/BCCH collision
with adjacent cells. The advantage of this solution is that it can ensure BCC be evenly
distributed in the whole network. However, if done manually, this solution is time-
consuming and troublesome, we can use automatic distribution tools.
2. When defining BCC, try to assign the value from 0. When causes BSIC/BCCH
collision, expand the value range. The advantage is that the number of BCC used is
kept to the smallest. So when adding a new BTS, in order to avoid the BSIC/BCCH
collision, a new BCC can be selected without modifying the BCC of original cells
around.
3. Allocate BCC according to its reuse model. That is to use the same BCC within one
cluster. It means that adjacent cells cannot use the same BCCH with the service cell.
This solution is frequently used, and also the simplest one.

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There are a lot of parameters in GSM system, they are usually transmitted to MS from
BTS via Um interface. It aims to maintain favorable cooperation between MS and
BTS. On the other hand, the values of these parameters directly affect the traffic load
and signaling flow of each part of the system. Therefore, proper configuration of these
parameters is important to the favorable and stable operation of the system. The
following will elaborate on the definitions, value ranges, and effects on the system of
these system control parameters.

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Detach process (IMSI) refers to the process that MS informs the network that it is
shifting from working state to non-working state (usually a power-off process), or the
SIM card is being taken out from MS. Upon receiving the notice from MS, the network
knows that the IMSI subscriber is in non-working state. Therefore, if the MS is called,
the call connection will be implemented.
IMSI attach process is opposite to detach process. It is the process that MS informs
the network it has entered the service area (usually a power-on process) or SIM card
has been inserted into MS. After entering service state again, MS will test whether the
current location area (LAI) is the same with the latest LAI recorded in MS. If yes, MS
will start IMSI attach process. Otherwise MS will start location update process, upon
receiving the location update or IMSI attach process, the network will indicate that this
IMSI subscriber is in working state.
Note that ATT configuration of different cells in the same LAI must be the same. It is
because IMSI detach process will be started when MS is power-off in the cell with
ATT set as yes. The network will record that this subscriber is in non-working state
and reject all the called connection requests to this subscriber. When MS is power-on
again, if it is in the same LAI as it was power-off (thus the LAI update process will not
be started) but in another cell, and ATT of the cell is set as no, then the MS will not
start IMSI attach process. In this case, this subscriber can not be called normally until
the MS starts the location update process.

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In GSM system, the downlink common control channel mainly includes Access
Granted Channel (AGCH) and Paging Channel (PCH). It serves to send the access
granted (immediate assignment) and paging messages. CCCH is shared. According
to the configuration of traffic channel and traffic model, CCCH can be carried by either
one or multiple physical channels. Moreover, CCCH and SDCCH can share one
physical channel. The MS needs to know how the CCCH(s) is/are configured, so that
it can find and select one to listen to. The CCCH Conf is just used to tell the MS about
this matter.
When CCCH is a physical channel which combined with SDCCH, the capacity of
CCCH is the lowest, and the value of CCCH Conf default as 1 . When CCCH is a
physical channel which is not combined with SDCCH, the capacity is higher. For other
cases, the more the physical channels are used as CCCH, the higher the CCCH
capacity is.
Configuration of CCCH Conf is specified according to the traffic model. This model is
closely related to the cell location and environment. According to experiences, when
TRX quantity in the cell is 1 or 2, it is recommended to use a combined CCCH as the
common control channel, and CCCH Conf default as 1. When TRX quantity in the cell
is 3 or 4, it is recommended to use a non-combined CCCH as the common control
channel, and CCCH Conf default as 0.
Currently CCCH can be configured according to actual traffic load. If the paging load
is very heavy, the paging traffic of cell should be distributed via multiple CCCH
physical channels other way. Special attention should be paid to PCH in CCCH.
Generally PCH capacities of various cells under one LAC must be the same.

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As downlink CCCH includes both AGCH and PCH, it is necessary to set the number
of blocks, which are reserved for AGCH among CCCH message blocks. To let MS
know such configuration information, the cell parameter of each cell includes a
configuration parameter, which is the number of access granted blocks reserved
(BS_AG_BLKS_RES). This parameter actually assigns the proportion of AGCH and
PCH on CCCH. It affects the time of MS’s response to the paging.
The network operator can adjust this parameter to balance the traffic of AGCH and
PCH by referring to the following principles:
1. Principle for BS_AG_BLKS_RES: make this parameter as small as possible
without causing overload of AGCH, so as to increase the capability of paging and
improve the system performance.
2. Generally it is recommended to select 1 (when CCCH Conf is 1 combined CCCH),
2 or 3 (when CCCH Conf is one of other values) for BS_AG_BLKS_RES.
3. During operation, observe the statistics of AGCH overload and adjust
BS_AG_BLKS_RES properly.
Note: In Huawei system, when AGCH has been all occupied, if PCH is free, it can be
used to send the immediate assignment command. If AGCH blocks reserved is set as
0, the immediate assignment would be sent only when there is free PCH channel.
Therefore, a fixed capacity reserved for AGCH is necessary.

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This parameter specifies the number of paging sub-channels that are assigned in a
cell. In the network, MS only monitors the paging sub-channel it belongs and ignores
the Description of the others. When this parameter is set larger, there will be more
paging sub-channels in the cell and accordingly there will be less MS in each paging
sub-channel. Therefore, the bearing capability of PCH will be more (theoretically the
capacity of each PCH does not increase, but the buffer that buffers paging message
in each BTS is increased, which makes the sending of paging messages more even
in the time domain), and the lifetime of MS battery will be longer. The value of this
parameter should be as small as possible under the condition that the overload on
PCH does not occur. In the operation, the PCH load should be measured regularly
and the value of this parameter should be adjusted properly according to the PCH
load. In a location area, paging is sent in all the cells. Therefore, all cells in the same
location area should have the same or nearly the same PCH capacity (number of
paging sub-channels). In the area where the PCH bears a medium or large load, it is
suggested to be set as 6 or 7 (6 or 7 multi-frames are used as a cycle of paging). For
the area with a small load, it is set as 4 or 5. Besides, it is often set as 2.
Note:
1. One CCCH block (four consecutive CCCH timeslots) can bear the information of
two IMSI pagings or four TMSI pagings or two AGCH immediate assignments.
2. In idle mode MS camps in a cell. The DSC is initialized to the integer part of 90/N
(N is BS_PA_MFARMES, with the value range: 2~9). when MS can successfully
decode the message on paging sub-channel, DSC will increase by 1, but it will not
exceed initially value. If decoding fails, DSC will decrease by 4. If DSC<=0, the
downlink signaling link fails, resulting in cell reselection.

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Both assignment message and paging message share downlink CCCH channel.
Assignment message can be transmit either by AGCH or PCH, while paging message
can be sent only by PCH.

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MS will make location update when detecting the change of location. Besides, MS will
make periodic location update controlled by parameter T3212. Once MS read T3212
from cell parameter, it will store it in SIM card. When the time reaches T3212 value,
the location update process will be triggered. The shorter the period is, the better the
performance is. But it will bring more signaling load for system. On setting of this
parameter, the processing capability of MSC and BSC, the flux of A interface, Abis
interface and Um interface, the flux of HLR and VLR should be considered. Generally
this parameter is set as a larger value for urban area and smaller for suburb,
countryside or the place with poor coverage.
Large T3212( 16 hours 20 hours) is recommended for the area with heavy traffic, and
small T3212 (3 hours, 2 hours) for the area with normal traffic. For the area where the
traffic exceeds the system capacity, it is recommended to set T3212 as 0 (no periodic
location update). To set the value of T3212 properly, it’s necessary to conduct long-
term measurement on the processing capability and flux of each entity in the system.
If any overload occurs, increase the value T3212.
Note that this value should be smaller than the period by which the network queries
the IMSI attached subscriber. Otherwise, the following situation occurs: When MS has
not done any operation in a certain time, and it is not yet the time for periodic location
update, the network will set IMSI flag of MS as detached, because its query result
shows that MS has not done any operation. Thus, the network will not process the
paging of this MS. So, before MS initiates another round of periodic location update,
once there is a call to the MS, the network will voice the calling party that the called
MS is has been powered off. As usual, the T3212 is set smaller than one third of the
MSC’s check time.
When MS reselects a cell in a different location area, it will make a non-periodic
location update and reset T3212 in the new cell. If it reselects in the same location
area, then the timer value will be remainder of the original one divided by the new
T3212.

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Let us make the following assumption. The system query time is set to 1 hour, T3212
value of cell A is set to 4 (0.4 hour), and T3212 value of the adjacent cell B is set to 8
(0.8 hour), and they are in the same location area. MS reselects B when the periodic
location update status in A is 3/4, and the MS periodic location update status in B
changes to 3/8. If MS stays in B for some time and the location update status reaches
7/8, then MS reselects A. At this time, it can be seen that in cell A, MS reselection
status changes to “7/4”, i.e. 3/4. If MS reselects to B at this time, the status will
change to 3/8 instead of 7/8. The above analysis shows that if the above case occurs
(the probability is high), though T3212 values of both cells are smaller than the
system query time, the MS’s frequent cell reselection leads to the final equivalent time
is greater than system query time. Thus the subscriber will be considered as a power-
off subscriber within certain time even it is in normal idle mode.

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MS keeps on measuring the BCCH signal level of the serving cell and the neighbor
cells. In order to know the adjacent cells, neighbor cell description information will be
broadcast periodically in cell parameter of each cell. This information lists the BCCH
of all neighbor cells. MS extracts the information from cell parameter and use it as
basis for neighbor cell measurement.
For GSM network, the neighbor relationship between cells is accomplished when
designing the network topology. During the network construction, the neighbor cell
relationship must be configured in accordance with the topology design that has been
planned. Moreover, after the commission of network, neighbor relationship should be
modified according to the data of drive test and traffic measurement. When the
network’s architecture is changed (e.g. adding BTSs or changing the network
frequency configuration.), the network operator must strictly follow the changed-cell-
neighbor-relationship, re-set and verify it. Improper neighbor cell description is usually
one of the main reasons of call drop. Besides, since the actual network topology
structure is often greatly different from the theoretical calculation result, and network
is in ever-changing environment, the network operator must configure the neighbor
cell description according to the actual situation.

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In theoretical calculated neighbor cell relationship, cell A and cell C are not adjacent
cells. Assume that one MS moves from cell A to cell C during the conversation,
theoretically, MS needs twice of inter-cell handovers. Assume that the interference in
cell D is rather serious, call drop is may occur during this period. But in fact, the
coverage of A, B, C, and D is not the case as the theory. A and C have overlapping
coverage. If A and C are regarded as adjacent cells here, that is to say, add the
BCCH of C and A respectively to the neighbor cell description of A and C, then when
MS passes from A to C, only one handover happens. What’s more, call drop could be
avoided because of the good quality of cell C.

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Part of the signals from cell A leaks out and covers some areas far away from this cell.
It is overshooting. If MS is in dedicated mode in the shady area and moves from this
area towards B and C, since there are no BCCH of cell B and C in cell A’s neighbor
cell description, call drop is unavoidable. If the antenna of BTS is located too high, or
the transmitting power is too large, overshooting will occur. BTSs built at the early
stage of GSM construction usually have this problem, because coverage is the major
purpose at that time and the antenna height is very high. The best solution for this
phenomenon is to adjust the location and downtilt of the antenna, or to adjust the
transmitting power of the BTS to eliminate the BTS’s over-covered area. In real
situation, it is hard or even impossible to change the location of antenna. So one more
simple and applicable method is to add BCCH of B and C to the neighbor cell
description of cell A (no need to add A’s BCCH to B and C). But it must be ensured
that there are no cells which are all neighbor cells of cell A and using the same
frequency and same BSIC with cell B and C. Generally, this method is not
recommended.

Course Name P-33
There are a lot of parameters in GSM system, they are usually transmitted to MS from
BTS via Um interface. It aims to maintain favorable cooperation between MS and
BTS. On the other hand, the values of these parameters directly affect the traffic load
and signaling flow of each part of the system. Therefore, proper configuration of these
parameters is important to the favorable and stable operation of the system. The
following will elaborate on the definitions, value ranges, and effects on the system of
these system control parameters.

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After initiating immediate assignment process, MS keeps monitoring messages on

BCCH and CCCH group it belongs to. If the network does not send Immediate
Assignment or Immediate Assignment Extend message, MS will resend the channel
request message at a certain time interval. The larger this parameter is, the higher the
call setup success rate is, but also the heavier the load of RACH and SDCCH is.
When MS initiates immediate assignment, it will send the “channel request” message
to the network via RACH. As RACH is an ALOHA channel, the network is incapable
of controlling the access time of MS. Thus in heavy traffic spot, it is unavoidable that
several MSs may simultaneously make access request and cause collision which will
lead to two results: one is when one request signal level is obviously higher than the
others’ access signals, the access request with higher level will be handled; the other
is the network can recognize none of them due to mutual-interference. As the traffic is
increasing, access request loss due to collision will increase, too. To make sure that
the system can correctly receive the access request and increase the access success
rate, the network allows MS to send several channel requests before receiving an
immediate assignment message so as to achieve a higher access success probability.
MS will return to idle mode if it fails to receive an immediate assignment command
after the MAX Retrans exceeds. Once MS sends a channel request, it will start timer
T3120 and wait on the downlink CCCH. When T3120 times out and RACH resend
times are not more than “MAX Retrans.”, MS will resend channel request message
(containing one new random reference), and restart T3120 with a random value.
When T3120 is times out and “MAX Retrans” is reached, MS will start T3126. If MS
still fails to receive a response from the network after T3126 times out, it will give up
the access. If MS receives the access rejection, it will stop T3120 and start T3122.
Within T3122, no new access attempt will be allowed.

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Recommendation:
Set to 7 for areas with low traffic (suburban or rural area) and the cell radius
more than 3 km.
Set to 4 for areas with ordinary traffic (non-busy area in the city) and the cell
radius is less than 3km.
Set to 2 for micro-cell
Set to 1 for micro-cell with heavy traffic or with obvious congestion.
Set to 4 or 7 for satellite transmission BTS.

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It is set to reduce the collisions on RACH. It mainly affects the execution efficiency of
the immediate assignment process. The value of this parameter is related to CCCH
configuration mode, both of them together determine the parameter S (see the next
page). The MS sends the first random access burst at a random TS in the set {0, 1, …,
MAX(T, 8)--1}. And the TS number between any two adjacent channel request
messages is a random value in the set {S, S+1, …, S+T-1}.
Generally, parameter T+S should be as small as possible (in order to shorten the
access time of MS), but AGCH and SDCCH must not be overloaded. If AGCH or
SDCCH of the cell is overloaded, then parameter T can be changed to make
parameter S larger, until AGCH or SDCCH of the cell is not overloaded.
When the RACH collisions is serious, value T should be large. When the number of
RACH collisions is small, value T should be as small as possible.

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When T becomes larger, the interval range between channel request messages sent
by different MSs will increase and RACH collisions will be reduced. When value S
becomes larger, the interval between channel request messages sent by the same
MS will increase, collisions on RACH will be reduced and the availability of AGCH
and SDCCH will increase. But the increase of either will prolong the access duration
of MS, resulting in deterioration of access performance of the entire network.
Generally, value T should be selected to make S as small as possible (in order to
shorten MS access time), but AGCH and SDCCH must not be overloaded.

Course Name P-38
To avoid MS being unable to set up call even it is in the coverage area, consideration
should be given to BTS sensitivity and MS RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN during the setting
of this parameter.
A too small value for this parameter makes MSs easily to access but the call drop rate
may rise.
A too big value for this parameter may cause some MSs unable to make calls.

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Once assigned with a dedicated channel, MS will start counter S. From then on, S will
decrease by 1 when a SACCH message fails to be decoded, and will increase by 2
when decoded correctly. When S decreases to 0, there will be a radio link failure. This
allows either re-establishment or release of the connection. If the value of this
parameter is too small, the radio link will easily get failed which will result in call drops.
If it is too large, MS will not release for a long time which will lower the availability of
resources (this parameter functions for the downlink).
For area with little traffic (remote area), it is recommended to be between 52~64.
For area with light traffic and large coverage(suburb or countryside), it is
recommended to be between 36~48.
For area with heavy traffic (urban), it is recommended to be between 20~32.
For the area with very heavy traffic (area covered by microcell), it is recommended to
be between 4~16.
For the cell with obvious coverage hole or the area where the call drops is serious
during movement, this parameter can be increased appropriately in order to increase
the possibility to resume the conversation.
Note: Radio link timeout is the parameter used to judge the downlink failure. Likewise,
the uplink will be monitored at BTS, either based on the uplink SACCH error or based
on the receiving level and quality of the uplink.

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If cell A and B are adjacent to each other, assume that one MS moves from point P to
point Q during a conversation, usually an outgoing cell handover will occur. If the
value of parameter “radio link timeout” is too small and the quality of signal at the
edge of cells A and B is poor, the radio link will time out before the handover occurs,
thus resulting in call drops.

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Because the robustness of the AMR voice frames is not at the same level with that of
SACCH frames, the GSM specification only improves the robustness of the AMR
voice frames but not that of the SACCH frames. Therefore, the actual coverage
capability of AMR is determined by the coverage capability of the SACCH.
In application, the data——[RLT] and [SACCH Multi-Frames] should be set to higher
values for AMR channels to increase the robustness of the SACCH. Thus the network
coverage performance of AMR is improved and the call drop rate is reduced.
"Robustness" indicates the anti-interference capability. Protocols in 3GPP R6 version
provide several new technologies to enhance the robustness of the SACCH. The
problem about low robustness of the SACCH is expected to be solved with the
evolution of technologies.

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Course Name P-44
In working status, MS needs to measure adjacent cells BCCH signals and report
them to network. But each report can only include a maximum of six adjacent cells.
Thus it is necessary to make MS only report the potential target cells for handover,
instead of reporting all according to the signal level (usually MS does not report the
signals of cells from other GSM PLMN). The above function can be implemented by
making MS only measure the cells whose NCC are selected. Parameter “NCC
Permitted” lists the NCCs of the cells that the MS needs to measure.
BSIC is transmitted continuously on SCH of each cell and the higher three bits of
BSIC are NCC. MS only needs to compare the measured NCC of the adjacent cell
with parameter NCC Allowed. If it is allowed, MS will report it to BTS, otherwise it will
discard the measurement result.
Note: Improper setting of this parameter will lead to lots of call drops.

Course Name P-45
In some special case, the operator expects to prohibit all or part of the MSs from
sending access requests or paging response. For example, emergency status occurs
or a serious fault occurs to a GSM PLMN. Therefore, GSM specification 0211
requires to assign an access level for each common GSM subscriber. The common
access level is divided into level 0~9, which is stored in the SIM card of MS, and has
nothing to do with access priority.
Some cells with extremely heavy traffic may be congested during busy hour, resulting
in a large number of RACH collisions, AGCH overload, Abis interface overload, etc.
GSM specifications provide a variety of ways for dealing with the overload and
congestion, but most of them will lower the availability of equipment resources. The
network operator can set the access control parameter (L0-L9) properly to control the
traffic inside the cell. For example, when the cell suffers traffic overload or congestion,
Li_FORBID can be chose to prohibit MS with this access level from accessing this
cell (change of Li will not affect MS in dedicated mode), thus reducing the traffic of the
cell. To solve this problem, values of L0-L9 in the cell can be changed periodically.
For example, at intervals of five minutes, alternatively allow the access of MS with
odd access levels and those with even access levels.

Course Name P-46
For some special subscribers, GSM specifications have reserved five special access
levels 11-15, which usually have higher access priority. A special subscriber can have
one or multiple access levels (between 11 and 15) at the same time, which are also
stored in the SIM card of the subscriber.
Class15——PLMN Staff;
Class14——Emergency Services;
Class13——Public Utilities (e.g. water/gas suppliers);
Class12——Security Services;
Class11——For PLMN Use.
For subscribers with the access levels 0~9, their access right is also applicable to the
home PLMN and visit PLMN. For subscribers with the access levels 11-15, their
access right is only applicable to the home PLMN. For subscribers with the access
levels 12, 13 and 14, their access right is applicable to the area of the country to
which the PLMN belongs.
Subscribers with the access level 11~15 have a higher access priority than those with
the access levels 0~9.
The access level control parameter consists of 16 bits: L0-L15, which respectively
corresponds to 15 access levels in bit mapping mode (L10 is used for permitting
emergency call). When a bit is selected, it indicates not to allow MS with the
corresponding level to access the cell. Otherwise it indicates to allow the access.

Course Name P-47
When the value is “0”, MS will report measurement results of six strongest adjacent
cells no matter which band they are in. When it is “X(X<=3)”, MS will report
measurement results of X strongest adjacent cells in each band other than the
serving band, and the remaining positions are used to report the strongest ones in the
serving band. If there are still some position left, MS will use them to report the left
strongest cells no matter what band they are. If there are no special requirements on
different bands and the traffics in the various bands are basically the same, “0” is
recommended. When the traffics on various bands are obviously different from each
other and MS is expected to enter a band preferably, “3” is preferred. When traffics
on various bands are slightly different from each other, “1” or “2” is recommended.
In the initial stage of dual-band network, the traffic of GSM1800 system is very light,
usually dual-band MS are expected to work on this band preferably. Therefore, the
priority of GSM1800 cells for HO should be higher than that of GSM900 cells, and “3”
is recommended for MBR.
Note: In the single-band system, the MBR parameter does not exist.

Course Name P-48
S is a GSM900 cell, cells A~H are adjacent to cell S. Of them, A and B are GSM1800
cells and others are GSM900 cells. The above diagram shows the influences of
different MBR parameters as follows:
1)When MBR = 0, MS will report six adjacent cells with strongest signals without
considering the bands, the report result is: C, E, B, H, F, D.
2)When MBR = 1, the result is: C, B, E, H, F, D.
3)When MBR = 2, the result is: C, E, B, A, H, F.
4)When MBR = 3, the result is: C, E, H, B, A, F (3 GSM1800 cells should be reported.
But there are only 2 currently, so 2 GSM1800 cells are reported. For the rest,
GSM900 cells will be reported).

Course Name P-49
In GSM network, MS’s service capability, supported band, power capability,

encryption capability and so on are described by classmarks. There are three
classmarks which are classmark1, classmark2 and classmark3. The network can
know the MS’s capability by checking the classmarks of the MS. After receiving the
class mark enquiry message, MS will send classmark change message to the
network as soon as possible. CM3 (Classmark 3) includes the information about MS
power, multiband and/or multislot capability. To perform handover between different
bands, the power level must be described correctly. In the process of paging and
sending of the BA2 information between different bands, the CM3 message must be
known.
Note:
1) ECSC is invalid for single-band MS. For dual-band MS, when ECSC is not used,
after the MS sends EST IND , MSC will still send the CLASSMARK REQUEST
message, and MS will response with the CLASSMARK UPDATE message, and other
functions are not affected. For the dual-band MS, when this parameter is set to Yes,
the connection time between different MS will be obviously shortened.
2) When the encryption function is enable, The parameter must be set to "Yes".
3) M900/M1800 hybrid cells sharing BCCH are advised to be configured as "yes", and
M1800 cells in dual-band network are advised to be configured as “yes".

Course Name P-50

Course Name P-51
Class mark update flow.

For dual-band MS, after the SCCP connection is established and before receiving
message “CM service Accepted”, there will be a classmark update flow. Classmark is
originated by MSC. MSC will send one “Classmark Request” message, then BSC will
convert this message into “Classmark Enquiry”. This is classmark request. Then MS
will send one “Classmark Change”, and convert it into “Classmark Update” at BSS.
MSC can get the MS Classmark 3 via this message. Here the “Classmark Update” is
to make MSC get MS Classmark 3. CR message reports the information of
Classmark 2. And in the classmark update flow, MS will report Classmark 3
information which is related to the dual-band capability. Therefore, MSC needs
classmark update to get the MS Classmark 3.

Course Name P-52

Course Name P-53
For MS with common access control class 0~9, when “Emergent Call Disable” is
“Yes”, it indicates not to allow an emergency call.
For MS with access levels 11~15, the emergency call will not be allowed only when
the corresponding access control class is not forbidden and “Emergent Call Disable”
is set to “Yes” at the same time.

Course Name P-54
When MS is powered on, it will try to find a GSM PLMN. MS will select an appropriate
cell and read cell parameter. This process is called cell selection. The “appropriate
cell” is restricted by many factors. For example, whether this cell belongs to the
selected network (under manual network selection mode), whether the cell is barred,
the cell selection priority of the cell, whether the access level of MS is prohibited by
the cell, whether the quality of radio channel meets the requirement of communication,
etc. Among them, the quality of radio channel is one important factor of cell selection.
GSM specification stipulates one parameter called path loss principle C1. The
appropriate cell must ensure the C1>0. C1 is obtained by the calculation of receiving
level and the cell selection parameters.
After MS selects cell, MS will settle in the selected cell. At the same time it begins to
measure the signal level of BCCH of neighbor cells. It records six neighbor cells with
the strongest signals (refresh at least every 60s), extracts various cell parameter and
control information of each neighbor cell. (MS must conduct data block decoding for
all the six strongest BCCH of neighbor cells within 5 minutes, including parameters
affecting cell reselection. When MS regards a new neighbor BCCH as one of the six
strongest BCCHs, it will conduct data block decoding for this new BCCH at least
every 30s). Moreover, MS must check one of the six strongest at least every 30s. If
BSIC has any changes, it will be regarded as a new BCCH and data decoding will be
conducted again. During this process, MS will not stop monitoring PCH. When a
certain condition is satisfied, MS will move from current cell to anther cell. This
process is called cell reselection. The condition includes many factors, and they are
all related to the quality of radio channels. When a neighbor cell’s radio channel
quality is better than current cell’s, cell reselection occurs. The channel quality
standard for cell reselection is C2. C2 is obtained by calculation of the receiving level
and a number of parameters.

Course Name P-55
If the SIM card of MS has not stored any BCCH (usually it is a new SIM card), it will
search all the 124 RF channels and 374 more GSM1800 channels for dual-band MS,
and measures the receiving signal level of each. The whole process lasts about 3s to
5s. During this period, MS obtains at least 5 measurement samples from each RF
channel. Then MS tunes to the carrier with strongest receiving level, and judge
whether it is BCCH (by searching for FCCH). If yes, MS tries to decode SCH and
makes itself synchronous with that BCCH, then the MS reads cell parameter on it. If
MS can correctly read the cell parameter and verify this cell belongs to the selected
PLMN and its C1 is larger than 0, and also its cell selection priority is normal, then MS
conducts location update. After passing, MS resides in that cell. Otherwise, MS will
tune to second strongest BCCH and go on with the same procedure. If after trying
the strongest 30 (single-band) or 40 (dual-band) carriers it still can’t find a suitable cell
to reside in, the MS will try to access the cells with low cell selection priority. If still
unsuccessful, the MS will try the cells of other PLMNs which are allowed by the SIM
card. If failed again, MS will stay at a cell (signal is the strongest, C1 is larger than 0,
cell selection priority is not prohibited.) without considering the PLMN and enter the
emergency call mode (service bar mode). Meanwhile, the MS keeps on monitoring all
RF channels.
Note:
1. When MS access level is prohibited by this cell, cell selection algorithm is not
affected. If the condition is fulfilled, MS will still try to reside in this cell.
2. MS belongs to the PLMN selected, but is prohibited from access, or C1<0, then MS
will obtain the BA table from this cell and search those BCCHs according to this BA.
When MS is powered off, it will store some BCCH carrier information. When MS is
powered on, it will first search the BCCHs which have been stored. If MS can decode
the BCCH data of this cell but cannot reside, it will check the BA table of this cell and
try these BCCHs. If it still cannot pass, MS will start the cell selection process without
BCCH list.

Course Name P-56
When MS is powered off, it will store some BCCH carrier information. When MS is
powered on, it will first search the BCCHs which have been stored. If MS can decode
the BCCH data of this cell but cannot reside, it will check the BA table of this cell and
try these BCCHs. If it still cannot pass, MS will start the cell selection process without
BCCH list.

Course Name P-57
Search all frequency

Judge whether it is BCCH
If MS can correctly read the cell parameter and verify this cell belongs to the selected
PLMN and its C1 is larger than 0, and also its cell selection priority is normal, then MS
conducts location update. After passing, MS resides in that cell.
Otherwise, MS will tune to second strongest BCCH and go on with the same
procedure. If after trying the strongest 30 (single-band) or 40 (dual-band) carriers it
still can’t find a suitable cell to reside in, the MS will try to access the cells with low
cell selection priority.
If still unsuccessful, the MS will try the cells of other PLMNs which are allowed by the
SIM card.
If failed again, MS will stay at a cell (signal is the strongest, C1 is larger than 0, cell
selection priority is not prohibited.) without considering the PLMN and enter the
emergency call mode (service bar mode).

Course Name P-58

Course Name P-59
To prevent MS from accessing the system when the receiving signal level is very low
(this will make unsatisfactory communication quality and waste the radio resources of
the network), GSM specifications require that the MS’s receiving level must be greater
than a threshold when it needs to register in the network. The threshold is the
RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN.
For some cells with high traffic, this parameter can be increased appropriately to
lower the values of C1 and C2 of this cell. Accordingly the effective coverage range of
the cell will be reduced. But the value of RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN should not be too big,
otherwise coverage hole (with regard to idle mode MS) will be created at the edge of
the cell. When this method is used to balance the traffic, the value of
RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN is recommended to be no more than 20.
Except for the areas with densely distributed BTS and good coverage, generally it is
not recommended to use RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN to adjust the traffic of the cell. For
isolated BTS or BTS with poor coverage, this value should be set properly, otherwise
the call drop rate may increase and QoS will be affected.

Course Name P-60
During MS’s communication with BTS, its transmitting power is controlled by the
network via power control command. This command is transmit in SACCH (There are
two head bytes. One is power control byte, the other is time advance). MS must get
the power control head from the downlink SACCH, and output the power as is
indicated in the in the power control header. If the MS cannot support the power level
in the power control header, it will use the nearest power level it supports.
Since SACCH is associated signaling channel, it must be combined with other
channels, such as SDCCH or TCH. Therefore, the control of MS’s power begins after
MS receives SACCH. While the power level used by MS before it receives SACCH
(power used when RACH is sent) is determined by the “MS TXPWR_MAX_CCH
“ (maximum power level of control channel).
This parameter will affect cell selection and cell reselection.
C1 = RLA_C - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN - MAX((MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P), 0)
RLA_C: mean receiving level of MS
RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN: minimum receiving level of MS permitted to access
P: maximum physical supported transmitting power of MS.

Course Name P-61
The network operator can set the cell access is permitted or not by the parameter.
Usually all cells allow MS to access, thus it is set as “No”. But in the special cases,
the operator may want a cell to be used for handover service only, which can be
realized by setting the parameter as “Yes” (CBQ should be “No” in this case).

Course Name P-62
For the area overlapped by cells, the operator often wants MS to preferably select
certain cell during cell selection according to the cell capacity, traffic and cell functions,
i.e. setting the cell priority. This function can be implemented by setting parameter
“cell bar quality”. It works with parameters “cell bar access” together to determine the
cell selection and cell reselection priority of the cell.
Usually the priorities of all cells should be set as “Normal”. But in some special cases
such as micro-cell and dual-band network, the operator may expect MS to preferably
enter the cells of a certain type. In this case, the network operator can set the priority
of this type of cell as “Normal” while setting the other cells as “Low”. MS will select the
cell with lower priority only when there is no appropriate cell with the priority as
“Normal”. During the network optimization by means of cell priority, it is necessary to
note that CBQ only influences the cell selection. Therefore, in order to achieve the
target, C2 (cell reselection parameter) must be taken into consideration.

Course Name P-63

Course Name P-64
Each circle in the diagram indicates a cell. For some causes, the traffic in cell A and
that of cell B are obviously higher than those of the adjacent cells. To make the traffic
of the entire area distributed on average, set the priorities of cell A and cell B as
“Prohibited” and those of other cells as “Normal”. In this way, the services in the
shadow areas in the diagram will be shared by the adjacent cells. It must be pointed
out that this setting will reduce the actual coverage areas of cell A and cell B, which
is different from decreasing the transmitting powers of cell A and cell B.

Course Name P-65
Assume that micro-cell B and macro-cell A together cover an area. In order to make
micro-cell B share more traffic of macro-cell A, the priority of cell B can be set as
“Normal” and that of cell A as “Low”. Thus in the coverage area of cell B, MS will
select cell B as long as the level of cell B reaches the RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN, no
matter cell B has a lower signal level than cell A’s or not. And then reselection
parameters can be set appropriately to make MS not to reselect cell A.

Course Name P-66

Course Name P-67
C2=C1+CRO-TO*H(PT-T) When PT is not equal to 31:

C2=C1-CRO When PT is equal to 31.
Wherein:
1. Function H(x)=0, when x<0; H(x)=1, when x>0.
2. T is a timer with initial value 0. When a certain cell becomes one of the six
strongest neighbor cells, T corresponding to this cell begins to count. When the cell is
out of the six strongest neighbor cells, the corresponding timer is reset.
3. CRO is used to revise the C2 intentionally.
4. The function of TO is to reduce the value of C2 from T begins to T reaches the
stipulated PENALTY_TIME.
5. PT is the time that TO functions on C2. But if PT=31, the C2 formula is changed as
C2=C1-CRO.

Course Name P-68
After cell selection, MS will reselect another better cell in idle mode. It is C2
parameter that determines cell reselection. The principle for MS reselection is: select
the cell with the maximum C2 as the serving cell. C2 is determined by the following
factors:
C2=C1+CRO-TO*H(PT-T) (PT <31)
C2=C1-CRO (PT = 31)
H(x)=0 if x<0；
H(x)=1 if x≥0
As shown above, C1 indicates the quality of radio channel. The larger C1 is, the
better the channel is. C2 value is based on C1, through CRO, C2 of various cells can
be adjusted. Thus C2 value can be calculated according to CRO, TO and PT in order
to prefer selecting the cell in reselection process. That is, in dual-band
network,several parameters that influence C2 value can be set to make C2 value of
GSM1800 larger than that of GSM900. Therefore, even though the signal strength of
GSM1800 cell is weaker than that of GSM900 cell, MS can still reside in GSM1800 by
the aid of these parameters. Besides CRO, there are another two parameters
influencing C2:TEMPORARY_OFFSET(TO) and PENALTY_TIME(PT).
CRO is a artificial modification on C2. Reasonable setting of this parameter can
reduce handover times and realize assignment to a better cell. Usually it is not set as
larger than 25dB. Generally the cells with the same priority in the network have
basically the same CRO. Setting of this parameter only affects MS of GSM Phase II
and above.

Course Name P-69
TO indicates the temporary modification on C2. Temporary means that it functions for
C2 only within a duration which is determined by PT parameter. Setting of this
parameter only affects MS of GSM Phase II and above.

Course Name P-70
If the communication in a cell is affected due to very heavy traffic or some other
reasons, this cell should not be the preferable cell that MS works in (a repulse should
be made for this cell). In this case, PT can be set as 31, which causes TO invalid and
C2=C1 – CRO. Therefore, C2 value of this cell is decreased. MS will reselect this cell
with little possibility. Besides, the network operator can set CRO according to the
repulse degree to this cell. The higher the repulse degree, the larger CRO.
For the cell with very low traffic, MS should prefer to work in this cell. In this case,
CRO is recommended to be between 0-20dB. It can be set according to the
preference degree to this cell. The higher the preference degree and the larger CRO.
Generally TO is recommended to be the same as or a little more than CRO. PT is
mainly used to prevent MS’s too frequent cell reselections. Generally it is
recommended to be 0 (20s) or 1 (40s).
For the cell with medium traffic, generally CRO is recommended to be 0 and PT be 31
as a result of C2=C1.
Setting of PT can effectively prevent the fast moving MS from accessing the micro-
cell. This parameter can be set according to the size of micro-cell. And it is
recommended to be 20s for the ordinary micro-cells. When PT is set as 31, it is used
to change the direction of CRO.

Course Name P-71
This parameter is to inform MS whether C2 is used as the standard for cell reselection.
The minimum interval between cell reselections caused by C2 parameter is 15s to
avoid too frequent cell reselection.
If PI=Yes, C2 is used for cell reselection standard; if PI=No, C1 is used for cell
reselection.

Course Name P-72
This parameter aims to prevent the frequent location update that may increase the
network signaling flow and to reduce the possibility of paging message loss. If the
value of this parameter is too small, the location update will have “ping-pong” effect
and the signaling load on SDCCH will increase. Moreover, the call setup successful
rate of the system will become lower because MS will not respond paging during
location update. When it is too large, the cell where MS resides for a long time may
not be the best when MS enters a new location area. When MS reselects a cell from a
different location, MS will start a location update. Due to the fading of radio channel,
C2 values of two cells at the their edges will fluctuate, which causes MS to reselect
frequently. To reduce the influence, GSM specifications define a parameter called cell
reselection hysteresis. It is required that MS start cell reselection only when C2 value
of the adjacent cell (in a different location area) is greater than that of serving cell and
their difference is greater than the value of reselection hysteresis.
Appropriate cell reselection hysteresis is important for network optimization. Usually it
is recommended to be 8~10dB and can be adjusted in the following cases:
When the traffic of an area is very heavy and the signaling overload often occurs, it is
recommended to increase the value of cell reselection hysteresis of the adjacent cells
belonging to different LACs.
When the overlapping coverage of the adjacent cells belonging to different LAC are
wide, it is recommended to increase the value of cell reselection hysteresis.

Course Name P-73

Course Name P-74

Course Name P-75

Course Name P-76
In case of call drop, MS can start call re-establish process to resume the conversation.
The network has the right to decide whether to re-establish or not. This function is
achieved by setting “Call Reestablishment Forbidden”.
In some special cases (e.g. the cell has a dead zone at a fixed position), call drop will
occur if MS passes through the dead zone during the conversation. If call re-
establishment is permitted, the dropped call be resumed. However, call re-
establishment takes relatively long time. Most of the subscribers have already
released manually before the re-establishment is completed. Therefore, the re-
establish of call not only fails to achieve the target, but also waste a lot of radio
resources. So it is recommended that except for some special cells, it is not permitted
to re-establish the call on the network.

Course Name P-77

Course Name P-78
This parameter is used to concurrently deliver the channel activation message and
immediate assignment command message to quicken the processing of signaling.
Thus the response speed of the network is ensured.
This function is used in satellite transmission mode. In satellite transmission mode,
the Immediate Assignment Opt parameter must be set to 1 to minimize the effect of
the satellite transmission on time delay. In terrestrial transmission mode, the default
value of this parameter is 0.

Course Name P-79

Course Name P-80
In TCH assignment process, if there is no TCH available, hand over can take place
instead of assignment, and this is called direct retry.
Direct retry is not a main measure to solve traffic congestion. Instead, it is only an
emergency operation during traffic peak in local radio network.
If direct retry takes place frequently in a certain part of the radio network, it is
necessary to adjust BTS TRX configuration and even the network layout.

Course Name P-81
In TCH assignment process, if there is no TCH available, hand over can take place
instead of assignment, and this is called direct retry. Direct retry is not a main
measure to solve traffic congestion. Instead, it is only an emergency operation during
traffic peak in local radio network. If direct retry takes place frequently in a certain part
of the radio network, it is necessary to adjust BTS TRX configuration and even the
network layout.

Course Name P-82

Course Name P-83

Course Name P-84

Course Name P-85
During the asynchronous handover, MS constantly sends the handover access Burst
to BTS. When BTS detects the Burst, BTS send physical information to the MS on the
main DCCH/FACCH, and starts timer T3105. At the same time, it sends the
MSG_ABIS_HO_DETECT message to BSC. The physical information contains
related information of different physical layers so as to guarantee the correct access
of MS. If the timer T3105 times out before receiving the SAMB frame from MS, BTS
re-sends physical information to MS.

Course Name P-86
When BTS sends physical information to the MS, the BTS starts the timer T3105. If
the timer T3105 times out before receive the SAMB frame from MS, BTS re-sends
physical information to MS and restarts the timer T3105. The maximum times for re-
sending physical information is Ny1.
The physical information is sent through FACCH, which is sent every four TDMA
frames and takes 18 ms. If the value of T3105 is smaller than or equal to 18 ms, then
BTS should re-send the physical information to the MS when the timer T3105 times
out for the first time. This timeout is meaningless if the physical information sent at the
previous time is not sent on the FACCH because the time is shorter than a FACCH
period. Considering the previous factors, 20 ms is the reasonable minimum value for
this parameter. At present, the default value of this parameter is 70 ms.

Course Name P-87

Course Name P-88
In order to monitor the communication quality of radio link and conduct power control,
both MS and BTS must have measuring function. But the measurement will encounter
some problems when several independent functions of GSM specification are
combined for use. First, GSM specification allows BCCH frequency to attend
frequency hopping (excluding the BCCH timeslot); secondly, GSM specification
allows to conduct downlink power control for the frequency hopping channel; lastly,
the power of BCCH frequency is not allow to be changed because MS needs to
measure the signal level of the adjacent cells. In the above conditions, the downlink
power control of a channel can only be applicable to a subassembly of the frequency
assembly that the channel is using, that is, the BCCH frequency during the frequency
hopping process cannot be power-controlled. If MS measures the downlink channel
level in ordinary mode, the measurement result involving the BCCH frequency will be
inaccurate for the power control. To reduce the influence of this problem upon power
control, MS is required to deduct the receiving level value obtained from the timeslot
of BCCH carrier when calculating the average value of receiving level during
frequency hopping. To make MS execute the above operation, the parameter “PWRC”
should be set as “yes” in the system.

Course Name P-89
The dual timeslot extended cell combines two timeslots to provide sufficient delay.
Theoretically, a maximum TA value of 219 (63+156) is supported, i.e., the maximum
coverage radius can be 120km theoretically. Dual timeslot extended cell can be
divided into two types: Cell level and TRX level. Versions after 03.1120A (BTS
00.1130A and latter) support TRX level dual timeslot extended cell.
For dual timeslot extended cell, MAX TA should be set as 219, or calls may fail even
there are good signals. For the TRX where the main BCCH/SDCCH/GPRS are
located, the concentric circle (HW_IUO Property) must be set as overlaid subcell, or a
prompt of error is displayed. For dual timeslot TRXs in the dual timeslot extended cell,
only the even timeslots are effective, while the normal TRXs in the dual timeslot
extended cell are the same with the TRXs in normal cell, i.e. eight timeslots are all
effective. The RF hopping of dual timeslot extended cell is similar to that of normal
cell. But if the hopping mode of the dual timeslot extended cell is baseband hopping,
the identical MA group should be applied to TRXs of the same type (either all dual
timeslot TRXs or all normal TRXs), or a prompt of error is displayed.

Course Name P-90

Course Name P-91
When the TCH is idle mode, BTS measures the uplink signal strength and sort the
results into different interference bands and then sends them to BSC. BSC will use
these data as a basic criteria to allocate the channels. Interference can be divided
into six grades according to the interference signal strength. The signal level used to
define the grades is called inference band threshold. Based on these interference
band thresholds, BTS can know which band the current interference belongs to, and
send it to BSC via radio resources indication messages.
In the traffic statistics system, we can register “interference band” in cell
measurement function. Interference band 1 to 5 are supported. The definition of the
interference bands are listed below.
Interference band 1 means the interference intensity is below interference band
threshold 1;
Interference band 2 means the interference intensity is between interference band
threshold 1 and 2;
threshold 2 and 3;
threshold 3 and 4;
Interference band 5 means the interference intensity is above interference band
threshold 4.
Because interference band threshold 0 is too weak and interference band threshold 5
is too strong, they are not adopted by the traffic statistics system.

Course Name P-92

Course Name P-93
DTX has very limited influence on the conversation quality. But its application has two
advantages: one is that the interference on radio channel is effectively reduced and a
better average conversation quality can be achieved; the other is that DTX can
considerably reduce the power consumption of MS. Therefore DTX is recommended
on the network.
According to the protocol, MS reports BTS with two kinds of measurement report.
One is called full measurement report. It will average the levels and qualities of 100
timeslots in the whole measurement cycle (one measurement cycle involves 4 TCH-
multi-frames except idle frames). The other is called sub measurement. It averages
the levels and qualities of 12 timeslots, including eight “consecutive” TCH bursts and
four SACCH bursts.
According to GSM specification, both BTS and MS should conduct this two kind of
measurement (FULL and SUB) no matter whether the uplink/downlink DTX of the
system is activated or not. Each measurement report of SACCH indicates whether
DTX is active or not. According to this indication, BTS can make the right selection,
either FULL or SUB.

Course Name P-94

Course Name P-95

Course Name P-96

Course Name P-97

GSM Cell Parameters
Procedure analysis:
The place is located in a highway section in suburb and is about three kilometers
away from downtown. The terrain structure does not fluctuate seriously. Theoretically,
the signal strength should be about -80dBm, which is very different from the actual
value measured. After conducting frequency scanning here, we find that cell A, B and
C are covering here. Their frequencies are Fa, Fb, Fc and signal strength is -95, -
80dBm, -92dBm respectively. After checking the data, it is found that cell B is not
configured as cell A’s neighbor, thus an island is formed between cell A and B. When
MS comes from cell A goes towards B, it cannot have cell reselection or handover to B
and this leads to as if the coverage near cell B is not good.

GSM Cell Parameters
Procedure analysis:
This BTS site originally worked normally. The problem arose recently. Since the
subscriber complained that the problem were most serious near BTS A and B, we
decided to check these two BTS first. First we checked the alarm on BTS A and B, it
was normal. Then we checked the traffic statistics data and found out that the SDCCH
requests in cell 2 of BTS A rose from about 3000 in 17th May to about 6000 in 18th May.
The obvious change began from 7:00 AM on 18th May. At the same time, SDCCH
attempt failures rose suddenly to more than 3000. It was obviously abnormal. And
SDCCH congestion rate in cell 3 of BTS A was about 30%. But the traffic volume,
congestion rate, and call drop rate of BTS A is normal. No abnormal situation is found in
BTS B’s traffic measurement. After checking the SDCCH traffic measurement of all the
adjacent cell of BTS A, we found a cell in which times of SDCCH attempt decreased
dramatically. The SDCCH statistics result showed the problem should exist in cell2 and 3
of BTS A.
Where did the 3000 times of SDCCH requests come from? Analyzed from the failure, we
suspected that the data was modified, so we checked the BSC data operation log. Using
MA10 to trace the network access flow of MS, and we found a lot of LOCATION
UPDATE REJECTED messages. Since there was no record of modification of BSC data,
we checked MSC’s related cell parameters, and found that CGI of cell 2 and 3 of BTS A
were modified. All the three cells in BTS A were using exactly the same CGI. After
correcting the CGI of cell 2 and 3, everything was back to normal.

GSM Cell Parameters
Cause analysis
We check the parameter “RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN” in data management

system, and find out that “RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN” of correlative cells are not
consistent, and some even have great differences. Then in this area, MS is
quite likely to reselect the cell with poor signals. And subscribers will feel the
obvious fluctuation of signals.

GSM Cell Parameters
Cause analysis:
Recently, no modification is conducted on the BSC. The current network only differs
from original network in the number of subscribers. In VLR, there are more than 4000
local subscribers and 5000 roaming subscribers. Therefore, the problem might be
caused by the sudden increase of subscribers.
The pressure brought by subscriber increase on network is mainly shown in two

aspects: (1) TCH (traffic channel) congestion rate increases; (2) SDCCH (signaling
channel) congestion rate increases. MS maybe cannot make MOC or MTC, and at the
same time cannot conduct location updating successfully. The direct result of location
update failure is MS loses connection with the network. Check BSC cell parameter
data table. It is found that T3212 is set to 2 (unit: 6 minutes), i.e. 12 minutes, and MSC
corresponding time is set to 30 minuets. This kind of configuration will cause the result
that all activated MS will originate a periodic location update every 12 minutes. When
the number of subscriber reaches a certain limit, SDCCH will be fully seized. If at this
time some MS originates periodic location update, it will fail because there is no spare
SDCCH available. Thus MS loses the connection with the network.

Course Name P-102

2 - Omo131010 Bsc6900 GSM v9r11 Cell Parameters Issue1.01

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Course Name P-0

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Cell parameters can be divided into two parts:

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When MS is powered on or LAC of current cell is found to be different from its

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After initiating immediate assignment process, MS keeps monitoring messages on

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In GSM network, MS’s service capability, supported band, power capability,

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Class mark update flow.

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