Professional Documents
Culture Documents
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual
Reviewed by Date
Granted by Date
Contents
4 Test Methods....................................................................30
5 Remarks About the Signaling Analysis of the TCH Call Drop
Rate....................................................................................30
6 Cases for TCH Call Drop Rate Optimization.........................33
6.1 Case 1: Call Drop Due to Interference................................................................................................33
6.2 Case 2: Call Drop Due to Imbalance Between Uplink and Downlink................................................34
6.3 Case 3: Call Drop Due to Repeater Problem.......................................................................................34
6.4 Case 4: Call Drop Due to Coverage....................................................................................................35
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual INTERNAL
Figures
Revision Record
Date Revision Version Change Description Author
2008-6-28 0.8 Draft completed. Su Shi
2008-7-26 1.0 The document is modified according Su Shi
to review comments.
References
S Document Name Author Date
N
1 G-Guide to Eliminating Interference - 20050311-A-1.0 Chen 2005-3-11
Baolin
2 GSM BSS Network KPI (Network Coverage) Optimization Xie Haibin 2008-6-18
Manual
3 GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Baseline Wu Zhen 2007-6-22
4 GSM BSS Network KPI (Uplink and Downlink Balance) Yang 2008-3-26
Optimization Manual Jixiang
5 Guide to Solving Call Drop Problems Yang Bin 2002-3-7
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual INTERNAL
Acronym Expansion
TCH Traffic Channel
MS Mobile Station
BSC Base Station Controller
KPI Key Performance Indicator
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual INTERNAL
1.1 Meaning
The TCH call drop rate refers to the ratio of call drops to successful TCH seizures
after the BSC successfully assigns TCHs to MSs. The TCH call drop rate can be
measured from the following aspects:
TCH call drop rate (including handover)
TCH call drop rate (excluding handover)
The TCH call drop rate, one of the most significant KPIs for telecom operators, is
related to retainability. It indicates the probability of call drops due to various
reasons after MSs access TCHs. A too high TCH call drop rate adversely affects
the user's experience.
x 100%
TCH call drop rate (excluding handover) = Number of call drops on TCH/Number
of successful TCH seizures (TCH) x 100%
Through the analysis of each pair of formulas, you can find out that the TCH call
drop rate (including handover) is lower than the TCH call drop rate (excluding
handover) irrespective of the BSC model (BSC32 or BSC6000). The following
takes the formulas for the BSC32 as an example. The number of call drops on TCH
is small during the very early assignment procedure. Therefore, the difference
between the numerator of the formula for the TCH call drop rate (including
handover) and that of the formula for the TCH call drop rate (excluding handover)
can be omitted. Including the TCH seizures in the case of handovers, the
denominator of the formula for the TCH call drop rate (including handover) is
greater than the denominator of the formula for the TCH call drop rate (excluding
handover). Therefore, the result of the formula for the TCH call drop rate
(including handover) is smaller than that of the formula for the TCH call drop rate
(excluding handover).
For details, refer to the GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Baseline.
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual INTERNAL
The meanings of the measurement points in the these figures are as follows:
TCH-SUCC-A: indicates the number of successful TCH seizures.
TCH-SUCC-B: indicates the number of successful incoming internal inter-cell handovers
plus the number of successful internal intra-cell handovers.
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual INTERNAL
to No.
3 shows the procedures for analyzing high TCH call drop rate.
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual INTERNAL
Figure 1.5 Procedures for analyzing high TCH call drop rate
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual INTERNAL
Start
No
No
、
Incorrect data Yes Adjust parameters
configuration? related to handover
and power control
No Solve inter-network
No
interference
problem
Yes Intra-network
Interference?
interference?
Optimize coverage
Yes
according to the
Insufficient coverage?
network coverage
optimization guide
No
Yes
Faulty antenna system? Adjust the
antenna system
No
Yes
Solve the imbalance
Imbalance between uplink problem according to
and downlink? the guide
No
Yes
Solve the
Faulty repeater?
repeater problem
No
Yes
End
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual INTERNAL
The following sections describe the solutions to high TCH call drop rates.
The traffic measurement counters and KPIs in this document are the same
as those in the BSC6000V9R8C01B051 version.
You can check whether hardware is faulty by viewing BTS alarms or viewing
the hardware state on the Site Device Panel of the LMT. 1.1 lists the major
BSC alarms related to hardware failures.
In addition, you can locate the fault by checking the traffic measurement
related to hardware failures.
In addition, you can locate the fault by checking the traffic measurement
related to transmission failures.
traffic measurement, if there are many call drops (M3101A) related to radio
link failure, you can infer that the radio propagation conditions are poor. In
this case, you can set this parameter to a greater value.
2. Radio Link Timeout
This parameter determines whether a downlink radio link is faulty. Each
time the BTS fails to decode the measurement report sent over the SACCH
by the MS, the counter decreases by 1. Each time the BTS successfully
decodes the measurement report sent over the SACCH, the counter
increases by 2. When the value of this parameter is 0, the BTS regards the
radio link as faulty. In the traffic measurement, if there are many call drops
(M3101A) related to radio link failure, you can infer that the radio
propagation conditions are poor. In this case, you can set this parameter to
a greater value.
3. RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN
This parameter specifies the minimum receive level of an MS to access the BSS. If
this parameter is set to a too small value, some MSs with low receive levels
may access the network and call drops are likely to occur. You can set this
parameter to a great value to reduce the TCH call drop rate. The counters
such as call setup success rate and the counters related to traffic volume,
however, are accordingly affected.
4. RACH Min.Access Level
This parameter determines whether an MS can access the network over the RACH.
If this parameter is set to a too small value, some MSs with low signal levels
may access the network and call drops are likely to occur. You can set this
parameter to a great value to reduce the TCH call drop rate. The counters
such as call setup success rate and paging success rate, however, are
affected.
5. Min DL Power on HO Candidate Cell and Min Access Level Offset
The sum of the values of the two parameters specifies the minimum
downlink receive level of a candidate neighboring cell for a handover. If this
parameter is set to a too great value, some desired cells may be excluded from
the candidate cells; if this parameter is set to a too small value, an unwanted cell
may become the candidate cell. Both conditions may lead to the increase of call
drops.
6. Timer T3103 series
Timer T3101 series consists of T3103A, T3103C, and T8. These timers are
started to wait for a handover complete message. If the lengths of the
timers are set to small values, probably no message is received when timer
T3103 series expires. In this case, the BSC considers that the radio link in
the originating cell is faulty. Then, the BSC releases the channel in the
originating cell. Thus, call drops occur. In the traffic measurement, if many
call drops are related to handovers (CM331: Call Drops on Radio Interface
in Handover State), you can set this parameter to a greater value. If this
parameter is set to a too great value, channel resources are wasted and
TCH congestion occurs.
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual INTERNAL
7. Timer T3109
This parameter specifies the period for waiting for a Release Indication
message after the BSC sends a Channel Release message to the BTS. If
this parameter is set to a too small value, the link may be released before
the Release Indication message is received. As a result, a call drop occurs.
You can set this parameter to a greater value to reduce the TCH call drop
rate. It is recommended that timer T3109 be set to 1–2 seconds longer than
timer Radio Link Timeout.
8. Timer T3111
This parameter specifies the interval between the time that the main
signaling link is disconnected and the time that a channel is deactivated.
The purpose is to reserve a period of time for repeated link disconnections. If this
timer is set to a too small value, a channel may be deactivated too early.
Thus, call drops increase.
9. Timers T305 and T308
Timers T305 and T308 are used on the MSC side. Timer T305 specifies the
period during which the MSC monitors the on-hook procedure. Timer T308
specifies the period during which the MSC monitors the resource release
procedure. You should set the two parameters when adding BSC data. Note
that the modification of the data in the timer table does not take effect. If
timers T305 and T308 are set to invalid or great values, the MSC clears the
call a long time after the MS hangs up. After the T3103 and Radio Link
Timeout timers expire, the number of call drops is increased and thus the
TCH call drop rate is significantly affected.
10. TCH Traffic Busy Threshold
If the current channel seizure ratio exceeds the value of this parameter, the
BSC preferentially assigns a half-rate channel to a dualrate-enabled call.
Otherwise, the BSC assigns a full-rate channel to the dualrate-enabled call.
Compared with a full-rate channel, a half-rate channel has weak anti-
interference capabilities. Therefore, if a large number of half-rate channels
are assigned, the TCH call drop rate increases. It is recommended that this
parameter should not be set to a too small value if congestion is unlikely to
occur.
11. Call Reestablishment Forbidden
This parameter specifies whether to allow call reestablishment. In case of
burst interference or radio link failure due to blind areas caused by high
buildings, call drops occur. In this case, MSs can initiate the call
reestablishment procedure to restore communication. To reduce the TCH
call drop rate, you can set this parameter to No to allow call
reestablishment. In certain conditions, allowing call reestablishment greatly
reduces the TCH call drop rate. Call reestablishment lasts for a long time, and
therefore some subscribers cannot wait and hang up. This affects user experience.
12. Parameters related to edge handover
When the receive level drops greatly, an edge handover cannot be
performed in time in any of the following conditions: The parameter Edge
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual INTERNAL
You can check whether the data configuration is correct by viewing the
traffic measurement results.
The following table lists the traffic measurement counters related to
repeaters.
addition, the handover success rate decreases and the handovers due to
bad quality account for a large proportion of all handovers.)
If a coverage problem exists, you can solve the problem through the
following methods: adjusting the tilt of the antenna, increasing the transmit
power, adding repeaters, or changing the combining mode. For details,
refer to the GSM BSS Network Performance KPI (Coverage) Optimization
Manual.
4 Test Methods
The TCH call drop rate is one of retainability KPIs, which can be obtained
through registration of or reporting of the related traffic measurement
counters. In addition, the TCH call drop rate is one of key drive test
counters and it can be obtained through drive tests.
At present, the formula for the TCH call drop rate varies with device
manufacturer and with telecom operator, thus affecting the value of the
TCH call drop rate. During actual tests, you should register the specific
counters and use an appropriate formula to calculate the value of the TCH
call drop rate.
Trace the RSL signaling on the Abis interface. Then, generate the signaling
tracing file on the LMT or through the Signal Analyze Tool. Obtain the
CONN_FAIL and ERROR_INC signaling from the file. Then, right-click a
piece of signaling and choose Call Trace from the shortcut menu, as
shown in the following figure.
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual INTERNAL
Then, right-click the signaling of a call and choose Show Chart from the
shortcut menu, as shown in the following figure.
From the following figure, you can view such information as the uplink and
downlink receive level of the serving cell, uplink and downlink signal quality
of the serving cell, downlink receive level of neighboring cells, TA, MS
power, and BTS power. Based on the information, you can find out the
causes of call drops, such as insufficient downlink coverage and
interference.
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual INTERNAL
GSM BSS Network KPI (TCH Call Drop Rate) Optimization Manual INTERNAL
The tracing result (as shown in the previous figure) shows that the uplink
signal level is much lower than the downlink signal level. Therefore, call
drops occur.
port of cell 3, cell 2, and cell 1 is –27 dBm, –40 dBm, and –60 dBm
respectively, and the signal strength is consistent with the interference
level. The traffic volume in daytime is greater than that at night, and thus
the probability of intermodulation is high. It can be concluded that the 904.14
MHz frequency is the interference source. When a spectrum analyzer is
used to perform drive tests, the interference source cannot be located.
When tests are performed on a rooftop, it is found that the interference is
generated by a small antenna of a repeater. If the signal from the antenna
is blocked, all the test results are normal. Therefore, the interference signal
is generated by the antenna.
You can adjust the handover parameters to reduce call drops in the
following ways:
1. If there is no frequent audio discontinuity or ping-pong handover, set the
parameters properly so that PBGT handovers can be easily performed,
thus minimizing the interference and reducing the call drop rate.
2. Set the emergency handover threshold properly so that emergency
handovers are triggered before call drops occur.
If the TCH call drop rate is high and technical support is required, fill in the
following form.