GSM Radio Parameter Setting and Adjustment: GSM P&O Department

GSM Radio Parameter Setting and Adjustment
GSM P&O Department
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
Network identification 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
MCCMobile Country Code: consists of 3 decimal
digits, and the value range is the decimal 000 999.
MNCMobile Network Code: consists of 3 decimal digits, and the value range is the decimal 00 999.
LACLocation Area Code: The range is

CICell Identity: The range is 0-65535.
1-65535.
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 BCC Base Station Color Code
Value Range: 0~7 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
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
System control parameters
RANDOM ACCESS
Random access is the process that messages being transmitted on RACH when a MS turns from idle to specialized 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 10i.e. the MAX RETRANS is 4).
For micro-cellular, its recommend that the MAX RETRANS be set
01i.e. the MAX RETRANS is 2).

For microcellular areas with very high traffic and cells with
apparent congestion, its recommend that the MAX RETRANS be set 00i.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 3, 8, 14, 50 4, 9, 16, 5, 10, 20, 6, 11, 25, 7, 12, 32, 55 76 109 163 217 41 52 58 86 115 CCCH Shared with SDCCH
ACCESS CONTROL AC
The access levels are distributed as follows:

C 0C9: 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 C0C9 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 parametersC0C15to 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
Meanings CCCH use one basic physical channel, not shared with SDCCH CCCH use one basic physical channel, shares with SDCCH CCCH use two basic physical channels, not shared with SDCCH CCCH use three basic physical channels, not shared with SDCCH CCCH use 4 basic physical channels, not shared with SDCCH CCCH message blocks in one BCCH 9 3 18 27 36 Reserved
CCCH_CONF Coding 0 1 10 100 110 Others
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: 07. CCCH is combined with SDCCH: 02.
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 29, its unit is multiframe 51 frames, its default value is 2
BS-PA-MFRMS 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Multiframes of the same paging group that cycle on the paging channel 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 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 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.
Application of MBCR
Content
Cell selection parameters
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;
MAXX, YX; if X Y. MAXX, YY; if Y X.
RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN
The RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN is a decimal number, within the range of -110dBm ~ -47dBm
Default value is 0 (-110dBm).

RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN -47 dBm -46 dBm ... -108 dBm -109 dBm -110 dBm Meaning > -48 dBm (level 63) -49 ~ -48 dBm (level 62) ... -109 ~ -108 dBm (level 2) -110 ~ -109 dBm (level 1) <-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 YESthe 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:
C2C1CROHPTTTO, when PT 31 C2C1CRO , 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. 1means 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 C2C1.
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.
C2 TYPICAL APPLICATIONS
For cells with light traffic, its recommended that CRO be ranged from 0 to 20dB. The greater the CRO, the more possible the cells will be reselected ,and vice versa. Its 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.
CELL SELECTION HYSTERESIS (2)
To minimize the influence of this issue, the GSM
specifications put forward a parameter called cell

selection hysteresis (CRH),
The cell selection hysteresis is represented in decimal numerals, its unit is dB, its range is 014, 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 cell selection hysteresis (CRH) 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 parameter is represented in character string. Its value range is:
YES: NO:
the cell is barred for access the cell is not barred for access
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.
CELL BAR ACCESS (CBA)
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).

YES: The cell has low priority NO: The cell has normal priority
CELL BAR QUALIFY (CBQ) 2
C1 and C2 States with CBA and CBQ Configurations
CBQ No No Yes Yes
CBA No Yes No Yes
Cell Selection Priority Normal Barred Low Low
Cell Reselection State Normal Barred Normal Normal
EXAMPLE OF CBQ SETTING
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 socalled 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 62
Default: LIMIT14
-50 dBm ~ -49 dBm -49 dBm ~ -48 dBm

LIMIT28 LIMIT315 LIMIT425
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 LIMIT14 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 multiframes, 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 Radio Parameter Setting and Adjustment: GSM P&O Department

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GSM Radio Parameter Setting and Adjustment: GSM P&O Department

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GSM Radio Parameter Setting and Adjustment

GSM P&O Department

of various kind of radio parameters

Network identification parameters System control parameters Cell selection parameters

Network function parameters

Network identification parameters

Roles of identification parameters

Network identification parameters

CELL GLOBAL IDENTITY (CGI)

Cell Global Identity (CGI)

LAI Cell Global Identity

Network identification parameters

The CGI information is sent along the system

broadcasting information in every cell.

Network identification parameters

MCCMobile Country Code: consists of 3 decimal

digits, and the value range is the decimal 000 999.

LACLocation Area Code: The range is

Network identification parameters

BASE STATION IDENTITY CODE (BSIC)

Base Station Identity Code (BSIC)

Value Range: 0~7 Value Range: 0~7

Network identification parameters

NCC and BCC ROLES

NCC: In the connection mode (during conversation), the

MS must measure the signals in the adjacent cells and

BCC: The BCC is used to identify different BS using the

Network identification parameters

BSIC CONFIGURATION PRINCIPLE

Network identification parameters

Network identification parameters

BA LIST (BCCH ADJACENT LIST)

Adjacent cell BCCH table

At most 32 adjacent cell

Network identification parameters System control parameters Cell selection parameters

Network function parameters

System control parameters

System control parameters

System control parameters

The MAX RETRANS is often set in the following ways:

01i.e. the MAX RETRANS is 2).

System control parameters

Transmission Distribution Timeslots (Tx_integer)

System control parameters

25, 32 and 50 (default). The values of the parameter S are shown as

System control parameters

The access levels are distributed as follows:

System control parameters

System control parameters

CCCH_CONF Coding 0 1 10 100 110 Others

System control parameters

The CCCH_CONF is determined by the telecom

operation department according to the traffic model of a

one basic physical channel and shares it with the SDCCH

System control parameters

System control parameters

SETTING AND IMPACT OF AGBLK

System control parameters

System control parameters

System control parameters

PERIODIC UPDATING TIMER (T3212)

The frequency of periodic location update is controlled

via the network and the period length is determined by