2.1.1 RxLev (Rxlevel): RxLev in fig. 2 represents received signal strength of GSM network.

It is the average received

signal strength of the serving cell measured on all time slot and subset of time slots. The acceptable values of Rxlevel
in a com- mercial GSM network should be in the range of -10dBm to -95dBm. RxLev is mea- sured in dBm.

The RxLev in fig. 2 is -65dBm and falls under 'Strongest Signal' in table 1. A user in a location with -65dBm will have
good coverage and smooth calls. This parameter should be monitored closely and if the RxLev value fluctuates
or changes in the range of -95dBm to -105dBm, optimization engineers should carry out a drive test to troubleshoot
and boost coverage in this location. Users in a poor coverage area RxLev value in the range of -95dBm to -105dBm will
experience network problems such as dropped calls, among others.
2.1.2 RxQual (Rx Quality): RxQual in fig. 3 represents received signal quality. It is the average received signal quality
of the serving cell measured on all time slot and subset of time slots. RxQual is measured on the basis of BER. This
means
that, RxQual is a dependent parameter. RxQual is a value between 0 and 7. RxQual value presented in TEMS is
calculated in the same way as values reported in the measurement report sent on the uplink channel to the GSM
network. Zero (0) indi- cates the best quality signal and seven (7) indicates the worst quality signal. The acceptable
values of RxQual in a commercial GSM network should be in the range of 0 to 5.

Mean "RxQual" Aggregation Method is a method used to average RxQual values using the equivalent BER value.
Mathematically, Mean Aggregation Method is the arithmetic mean of the set of inputs. GSM RxQual values are
reported as values be- tween 0 and 7 that correspond to a bit error rate (BER) value in TEMS Investigation as shown in
table 3
RxQual in fig. 3 is 3 and it corresponds to BER value of 0.8-1.6 in table 3. RxQual of 3 is considered as the best quality
signal in table 2. The higher the BER, the lower the signal quality. A user in a location with RxQual of 3 will have a
good voice quality without dis- turbances. If the RxQual value in fig. 3 changes from 3 to 6 or 7, users will expe- rience
voice quality disturbance at 6 and above
2.1.3 FER: FER stands for Frame Erasure Rate. FER represents the percentage of frames being dropped due to high
number of non corrected bit errors in the frame. GSM MOS value (Voice Quality Indication) largely depends on FER
value. FER is also a dependent parameter; the value of FER depends on BER. The FER rate is a value between 0 and 100%
and is calculated and presented in TEMS once each SACCH multi frame, synchronous to the RxQual values. The
acceptable values of FER in a commercial GSM network should be in the range of 0% to 4% but highly recommended at 0
FER values in TEMS Investigation FER in fig. 4 is 0% and falls under 'Good' in table 4.
A user in a location with FER of 0% will have a better voice quality because GSM MOS value largely depends on FER
value. This means that, if FER value is at 0%, users will have a good voice quality and if FER value is in the range of 4% to
15%, this will result in degraded voice quality and poor user experience.
2.1.4 BER Actual: BER means Bit Error Rate. BER is the ratio of the number of bit errors to the total number of bits
transmitted in a given time interval. It is also known as a ratio of the number of bit errors to the total number of
transmitted bits in a certain period of observation. BER is a measure for the voice quality in network and BER is
inversely proportional to the Rxlevel and directly proportional to the interference level. The acceptable value of BER in
a commercial GSM network should be below 6.4% depending on BER value, RxQual is measured. The number of bit
errors is accumulated in BER sum for each SACCH multiframe. The BER sum is divided by the total number of bits per
SACCH multiframe and the result is clas- sified as (0-7) according to the BER to RxQual conversion in table 3. BER is
given in percentage (%).

BER in fig. 5 is 0.40% and falls under the acceptable value of BER (below 6.4%) in a commercial GSM network. Since BER
is a measure for the voice quality in net- work and directly proportional to interference. This means that, BER value
at 0.40% is 'interference free' with high voice quality rate. A user in a location with BER of 0.40% will not have a
degraded voice quality except there is an interference and this will cause BER value to change from 0.40% to 6.5% and
above.
2.1.6 SQI: SQI in fig. 7 represents Speech Quality Index. SQI is a dependent param- eter. The values of SQI depends on
BER, FER and Speech Codec. SQI helps Mobile Operators to know the quality of speech when users are on calls as
opposed to radio environment conditions.
There are three types of Speech Codec in GSM. These are EFR (Enhanced full rate
12.2 kbit/s), FR ( Full rate 13.2 kbit/s) and HR (Half rate 5.6 kbit/s). SQI value is updated at 0.5 seconds intervals and it is
computed on basis of BER and FER. SQI values ranges from 0 to 30. '0' represents worse quality speech and '30'
represents best quality speech. SQI values in TEMS Investigation
2.1.7 C/I Worst/Best [0]: C/I means Co-channel Interference. It is measured in decibels (dB). Co channel interference is
caused by the use of a frequency close to the exact same frequency. It is the ratio between the signal strength of the
current serving cell and the signal strength of unwanted signal components known as interference. This means, the
former will interfere with the latter, leading to the terms interfering frequency (I) and carrier frequency (c). The
acceptable values of C/I in a commercial GSM network should be above 9dB.

In fig. 8, C/I value is 17.30dB and this indicates that C/I value is within the GSM specifications of above 9dB. This tells us
that, there is no interfering frequency or signal to obstruct the GSM network in that location
2.1.8 MS Power Control Level: MS power control level in GSM indicates the transmit power control scheduled by the
base transceiver station (BTS).
The lowest power control level for all classes of GSM 900 MS is 19 (5dBm) and for all classes of DCS 1800 MS is 15
(0dBm). The MS power control level parameter is The lowest power control level for all classes of GSM 900 MS is 19
(5dBm) and for all classes of DCS 1800 MS is 15 (0dBm). The MS power control level parameter is valid only in dedicated
mode and it's ranges from 0dBm to 31dBm.
2.1.9 DTX: DTX means Discontinuous transmission. The information element DTX downlink (DL) rate indicates in
percentage form how many TCH frames were not sent to the mobile station during the last SACCH multi frame. The DTX
DL rate varies from 0% to 96%. It can never be 100%, since at least the frame containing SID information must be sent
for each SACCH multiframe. DTX is a mechanism which allows the radio transmitter to be switched off dur- ing speech
pauses. This features saves the power consumption of the radio trans- mitter, which is important for mobile station
(MS) and it's also decreases the over- all interference level on the radio channels affecting the capacity of the network.

The DTX DL rate is not a measure of quality. Instead, it is an indication of whether The DTX DL rate is not a measure of
quality. Instead, it is an indication of whether DTX DL is used in the GSM network. There is no parameter in GSM telling
the mo- bile whether DTX DL is used or not, so the DTX DL rate gives the information to TEMS Investigation user. If any
DTX DL rate value during a drive test with TEMS Investigation shows a value that is not zero (0), this means DTX DL is
used. In fig. 10 where DTX is at 0%, this means that DTX DL is not used. If the DTX DL rate is very high for a whole period
of time during a call where there should have been speech, you could suspect a silent call problem in the net- work. Any
problems with silent call located before the voice activity detector (VAD) in the transcoder unit (TRAU) in the base
station subsystem (BSS) can be found using the DTX DL rate information element.
2.1.10 TA: TA means timing advance. In GSM network, TA is the length of time it takes to reach a signal from base
station to the mobile station (MS). Excess TA (TA>63 or excess path imbalance due to high TA) causes TCH drop (or a
dropped call). TA value in GSM changes after every 550 meters. This value ranges from 0 to 63. In practice, a GSM cell
can cover maximum of 34.6km, that is 63 mul- tiply by 550 meters=34.6km. Higher TA value above 63 will cause TCH
drop (or a dropped call). In fig. 11, TA value is 0.This indicates that TA value at '0' is good.
2.1.11 RL Timeout Counter (Cur): Radio Link (RL) Timeout Counter parameter defines the maximum value of the radio
link counter expressed in SACCH blocks.
RL timeout counter (Cur) ranges from 0 - 64 and when RLT counter (Cur) reaches zero (0), it results in normal drop call.
This parameter indicate how much time call is maintained when radio environment is bad. If RL timeout counter is high
then call is sustain for a longer time. In fig. 12, RL timeout counter (cur) is 28. This value is high enough to sustain call
for a longer time.
2.1.12 RL Timeout Counter (Max): RL timeout counter (Max) in TEMS radio parameter defines the maximum value of
the radio link counter and it is expressed in SACCH blocks. RLT counter (Max) range from 4 - 64 in step size of 4.
RL timeout counter (Max) is normally 16, 20, 24, 28. In fig.13, RL timeout counter (Max) is 28.