Cell Selection/Reselection

Cell Selection / Cell Reselection

Contents
1 Cell Selection 3
1.1 Measurements for Normal Cell Selection 4
1.2 Criteria for Cell Selection 5
2 Cell Reselection 13
2.1 Necessary Actions for a Cell Reselection 14
2.2 Phase 1 MS 15
2.3 Phase 2 MS 16
2.4 Triggers for Cell Reselection 18
3 Parameters for Cell Selection/Reselection 21
4 Exercise 35

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 Cell selection/Reselection

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

1 Cell Selection

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 Cell selection/Reselection

Cell selection/reselection are processes, which are performed by a GSM mobile

station in idle mode.
The MS uses the cell selection algorithm to look for a cell (of the chosen PLMN)
where it can camp on ("camping on a cell").
If the MS looses coverage of that cell (caused for example by moving out of the cell)
it will look for the most suitable alternative cell (of the selected PLMN) and it will
camp on that cell. This is called cell reselection.
The cell selection /reselection processes are described in GSM 03.22, GSM 05.08
and ETSI TS 123 122.

1.1 Measurements for Normal Cell Selection

In case of normal cell selection the MS has no prior knowledge on which GSM 900 or
DCS 1800 frequencies are BCCH carriers. Therefore the MS has to search in the
beginning all RF carriers of the corresponding system (124 carriers for P-GSM, 174
carriers for E-GSM and 374 carriers for DCS 1800), and has to measure the signal
strength on each RF carrier. The MS takes 5 measurement samples per RF carrier
which are averaged:

AV_RXLEV = 1/5 x (RXLEV1 + RXLEV2 + ... + RXLEV5)

A multi band MS searches all carriers within its band of operation. The number of
carriers searched corresponds to the sum of carriers on each band of operation.

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

1.2 Criteria for Cell Selection

Based on these measurements the MS can estimate whether a cell will be an
appropriate serving cell from the radio propagation point of view, i.e. whether there
will be a sufficient ”link quality”:

1.2.1 C1 Criterion for Cell Selection

C1 = AV_RXLEV - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN - max (0, MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P )

RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN: minimum received level at the MS required for access

to the system
MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH: maximum allowed MS transmit power on RACH
P: Powerclass of MS specified in GSM O5.05

Power Class (GSM 05.05) Max. Output Power Max. Output Power
(GSM 900) (DCS 1800)
1 -- 1 Watt = 30 dBm
2 8 Watt = 39 dBm 0.25W = 24 dBm
3 5 Watt = 37 dBm 4 Watt = 36 dBm
4 2 Watt = 33 dBm
5 0.8 Watt= 29 dBm

Power classes of GSM 900 and DCS 1800 MS

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 Cell selection/Reselection

During cell selection procedure the MS will select only those cells which have C1 > 0.
This means that the averaged received level downlink has to be greater than the
threshold RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN + max (0, MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P):

AV_RXLEV > RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN + max (0, MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P)

The maximum term is included to ensure a sufficient uplink received level even for
MS of low maximum transmit power:
If P < MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH, then the C1 criterion is equivalent to:

AV_RXLEV > RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN + (MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P)

i.e. the averaged received level downlink has to exceed the RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN
by a certain margin to ensure that the Base Station can receive the MS even in case
of a MS with low maximum output power.

If P > MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH, then the C1 criterion reduces to:

AV_RXLEV > RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

1.2.2 Suitable Cell

Beside the C1 radio criterion there are some other criteria (administrative and traffic
control) for a cell to be suitable:
A Suitable Cell is defined as a cell which
is part of the selected PLMN,
is unbarred (parameter CELL_BAR_ACCESS = 0),
has a value C1 > 0,
is not in a location area forbidden for national roaming.

To allow e.g. emergency calls the conditions for a serving cell are less restrictive:
An Acceptable Cell is defined as a cell which
is unbarred,
has a parameter C1 > 0.

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 Cell selection/Reselection

The general strategy for cell selection is to find the ”suitable cell” with the highest C1
(best estimated link quality). If no suitable cell can be found, an ”acceptable cell” is
selected.

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

Cell Selection
Algorithm
(no BCCH Info)

measure all
carriers

sort by received
level

no Selection of an
carriers in list acceptable cell

yes
trial carrier:
best level in list

no remove trial
BCCH carrier from list

yes

decode BCCH

no cell
no
suitable cell in selected
PLMN
yes yes

try only carriers of

BCCH allocation

Camp on normal
priority cell

Fig. 1 Cell selection for phase 1 MS - no BCCH info is stored

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 Cell selection/Reselection

For phase 2 MS there is an additional parameter called CELL_BAR_QUALIFY

(values: 0, 1) used to assign different priorities to cells:
CELL_BAR_QUALIFY = 0 <=> normal priority cell
CELL_BAR_QUALIFY = 1 <=> low priority cell

A MS tries first to select a suitable normal priority cell. If no such cell can be found, a
suitable low priority cell is selected.

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

Cell Selection
Algorithm
(no BCCH Info)

measure all carriers

sort by received level

no low priority yes Camp on low

carriers in list
cell found priority cell
yes no
trial carrier: Selection of an
best level in list acceptable cell

no remove trial
BCCH
carrier from list
yes

decode BCCH

no cell
suitable cell no
in selected
PLMN
yes yes
try only carriers of
BCCH allocation

no suitable low priority try only normal priority

normal priority
cell found cells

yes
Camp on normal
priority cell

Fig. 2 Cell selection for phase 2 MS - no BCCH info is stored

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 Cell selection/Reselection

1.2.3 Cell Selection with Stored BCCH Information

Optionally, the MS may store information on received level on BCCH carriers when
switched off.
When switched on, the MS first performs measurements on these carriers. If cell
selection for the corresponding cells is not successful, normal cell selection is carried
out.

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

2 Cell Reselection

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 Cell selection/Reselection

While moving within the radio network in idle mode another cell may be more appro-
priate to serve the MS. Therefore cell reselection may be performed.
For the following discussion the MS shall camp on a cell which is called serving cell.

2.1 Necessary Actions for a Cell Reselection

The following actions are performed by the MS to detect whether or not a cell
reselection is necessary:

Detection of a Downlink Signaling Failure:

The downlink signaling failure counter DSC is a counter running in the MS. The
starting value of this counter is called DSC0 and is set by the MS to the following
value:

DSC0 = round(90 / BS_PA_MFRMS)

The value of BS_PA_MFRMS is broadcasted in the system informations on the

BCCH of the serving cell.

Each BS_PA_MFRMS, the MS attempts to decode the messages on its paging

sub-channel. Depending on whether or not this decoding is successful, the value
of the downlink signaling failure counter DSC is modified in the following way :

successful decoding: DSC new = DSC old + 1

if DSC new + 1 > DSC0 → DSC new = DSC old

unsuccessful decoding: DSC new = DSC old - 4

If DSC < 0 the MS has detected a downlink signaling failure.

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

Monitoring of all BCCH carriers given in the BCCH allocation (neighbor cells) of
the serving cell

Taking at least 5 samples of the received level from the serving cell (on paging
sub-channel) as well as from the neighbor cells
=> AV_RXLEV(serving cell) and AV_RXLEV (neighbor cell)

Decoding of full BCCH data of the serving cell at least every 30 sec

Decoding of BCCH data of the 6 strongest neighbor cells at least every 5 minutes

2.2 Phase 1 MS
From the radio propagation point of view it is worth to select a new (neighbor) cell if
the received level from that neighbor cell exceeds the received level of the current
serving cell. For phase 1 MS this is expressed using the C1 criterion
C1 (neighbor cell) > C1 (serving cell).
For the reselection process for phase 1 MS the neighbor cells are ordered according
to their C1-value.

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 Cell selection/Reselection

2.3 Phase 2 MS
For phase 2 MS a modified path loss criterion, the C2 criterion, is used
The C2 criterion depends on the value of a timer T, which is called
PENALTY_TIMER.
The timer T is started in the MS for each cell in the list of the 6 strongest neighbor
cells as soon as it is placed on the list.
Timer T is reset to 0 if the cell is removed from the list.

During penalty time:

C2 = C1 + CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET - TEMPORARY_OFFSET

After penalty time:

C2 = C1 + CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET

For penalty time = 31 the whole time:

C2 = C1 - CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET

CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET, TEMPORARY_OFFSET, and PENALTY_TIME are cell

reselection parameters which are broadcasted on the BCCH of the cell in the system
informations if CELL_RESLECT_PARAM_IND (Cell Reselection Parameter
Indication) is set to 1.

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

Cell included in the

list of 6 strongest

C2
TEMPORARY_OFFSET CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET
C1

PENALTY_TIME
T

Fig. 3 Illustration of the C2 criterion

A negative TEMPORARY_OFFSET reduces the priority of a cell in the list of strong-

est neighbor cells.
A positive CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET increases the priority of a cell in the list of
strongest neighbor cells.
This mechanism may be applied in hierarchical cell structures to keep fast moving
mobiles in the umbrella cells and slow moving mobiles in the micro cells:
When a mobile reaches the coverage area of a (neighbor) micro cell given by the C1
criterion, this cell becomes effectively excluded from reselection during the
PENALTY_TIME.
A fast moving mobile is assumed to have left the coverage area of the micro cell be-
fore PENALTY_TIME is reached and hence the micro cell is not selected.
In contrast a slow moving mobile is assumed to be still within the coverage area of
the micro cell when PENALTY_TIME has expired.
Applying the positive CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET, this cell is selected with prefer-
ence.

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 Cell selection/Reselection

2.4 Triggers for Cell Reselection

Cell reselection is triggered by the following conditions:
1. C1 < 0 for the serving cell for a period of 5 s
2. MS detects a downlink signaling failure
3. Serving cell becomes barred
4. Phase 1 MS
C1 (serving cell) < C1 (suitable neighbor cell) if the suitable neighbor cell is in the
same location area
C1 (serving cell) + CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS < C1 (suitable neighbor
cell) if the suitable neighbor cell is in another location area for a period of 5 sec.
5. Phase 2 MS
C2 (serving cell) < C2 (suitable neighbor cell) if the suitable neighbor cell is in the
same location area
C2 (serving cell) + CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS < C2 (suitable neighbor
cell) if the suitable neighbor cell is in another location area for a period of 5 sec.
6. A random access attempt is unsuccessful even after the maximum number of
repetitions.

For phase 2 there is the additional trigger:

7. A location update request has been rejected with cause ”location area not al-
lowed”.

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

C1 Phase 1 MS direction of movement

BTS1 BTS2
high power class MS

low power class MS

BTS1 BTS2

CELL_RESELECT_
HYSTERESIS

(h) (l)
C1=0

Radius of Cell 2 (a) (b)

for selection Cell Reselection
(l) low power MS (a) no change of location area
(h) high power MS (b) change of location area

Fig. 4 Illustration of cell selection / reselection

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 Cell selection/Reselection

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

3 Parameters for Cell Selection/Reselection

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 Cell selection/Reselection

BA (BCCH) - BCCH Allocation broadcasted on BCCH

In each cell the absolute radio frequency carrier number BCCH_ARFCN_NC(n) of
each of its neighbor cell n has to be known. This information is broadcasted as the
so-called BCCH Allocation to all MS in the respective cell. On the corresponding
frequencies the MS take measurement samples of the received level used for cell
selection / reselection.
Furthermore, the BCCH of neighbor cells has to be decoded by the MS (at least
every 5 min) to know the current values of the control parameters for the reselection
algorithm.

Object DB Name Range Step Size Unit

ADJC BCCHFREQ 0...1023 1 -
(Taken from
TGTCELL)

BCCH_ARFCN_NC(n)

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

CELL_BAR_ACCESS - Cell Barred for Access

A mobile station cannot camp on a barred cell, i.e. a barred cell is not selected by the
cell selection/reselection procedure.
Mobile stations which camp on a cell while it becomes barred initialize the reselection
procedure to find a new (unbarred) cell, i.e. traffic load is distributed to neighbor cells.
This means that e.g. neither a call nor a location update can start in a barred cell.
However, a cell barred for access is not barred for incoming handovers. To barr a cell
completely, e.g. for maintenance reasons also incoming handovers have to be
avoided.
To reduce overload in a certain cell more moderately without distributing the overload
to neighbor cells, barring of access classes has to be used. Barring access for an
access class does not trigger a cell reselection for MSs of that class.

Object DB Name Range Step Size Unit

BTS CELLBARR FALSE/TRUE - -

CELL_BAR_ACCESS - Cell Barred for Access

default: FALSE

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 Cell selection/Reselection

RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN - Minimum Downlink Received Level for Cell to be

selected
The parameter RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN determines the cell border for a MS in idle
mode by means of the C1 or C2 criterion respectively.
Choosing a high value reduces the risk of a handover immediately after call setup.
On the other hand the value has to be low enough to achieve a sufficient overlap be-
tween adjacent cells (especially if they belong to different location areas).
It has to be observed that the overlap may be different for mobiles of different power
classes (refer to MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH).
In any case RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN has to be above the MS receiver sensitivity level
(-100 dBm for DCS1800, -102 dBm for GSM handhelds, -104 dBm for other GSM
MS).
Furthermore, it has to harmonize with the handover thresholds (RXLEV_MIN,
L_RXLEV_HO).

Object DB Name Range Step Size Unit

BTS RXLEVAMI 0...63 1 RXLEV

RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN - Minimum downlink received level for cell to be selected

default: 6

RXLEV 0 = less than -110 dBm.

RXLEV 1 = -110 dBm to -109 dBm.
...
RXLEV 62 = -49 dBm to-48 dBm.
RXLEV 63 = greater than -48 dBm.

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - Maximum allowed MS Transmit Power on RACH

The transmit power level the MS uses for the access on the Random Access Chan-
nel is given by the minimum of two values:
the maximum possible transmit power of the MS (given by the power class P of the
MS)
the maximum allowed power for access within the respective cell
(given by MS_TXP WR_MAX_CCH).

This parameter affects the

the random access procedure
the cell selection procedure.

Random access:
If there is a collision of channel requests on the random access channel, the one with
the higher received level has a good chance to be decoded and to get a response by
the BTS.
Hence MS with higher output power are preferred. This imbalance can be avoided by
choosing a low maximum allowed transmit power.

Cell Selection:
To be selected by the cell selection procedure, a cell has to fulfill the C1 criterion
C1 > 0 where
C1 = AV_RXLEV - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN - Max(0, MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P )
Choosing for example MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH = Pmin where Pmin is the output
power level for the minimum power class 5 (29 dBm), the C1 criterion reduces to
AV_RXLEV > RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN
for MSs of all power classes. Hence the same idle mode cell border is seen by each
mobile.

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 Cell selection/Reselection

Choosing for example MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH = Pmax where Pmax is the output

power level for the maximum power class 1 (43 dBm), the C1 criterion reduces to
AV_RXLEV > RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN + ( MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P )
for MSs of all power classes. Hence, a larger cell radius is seen by a mobile of higher
output power than by a mobile of lower output power. On the other hand one can
ensure by this mechanism that a certain uplink received level is exceeded by each
MS independent of its power class.

Object DB Name Range Step Size Unit

BTS MSTXPMAXCH 0...31 1 2 dB

MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - Maximum allowed MS transmit power on RACH

default: 2

For the values of MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH see the power control level defined in
GSM rec. 05.05:

MS GSM900 Phase 1 MS GSM900 Phase 2 MS DCS1800

0 := 43 dBm 0 := 39 dBm 0 := 30 dBm
1 := 41 dBm 1 := 39 dBm 1 := 28 dBm
2 := 39 dBm 2 := 39 dBm 2 := 26 dBm
3 := 37 dBm 3 := 37 dBm 3 := 24 dBm
... ... ...
15 := 13dBm 19 := 5 dBm 15 := 0 dBm
16-31 := 13 dBm 20-31 := 5 dBm 16-31 := 0 dBm

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

POWER_OFFSET - Additional Parameter for Class 3 DCS1800 MS

The parameter POWER_OFFSET is only used by class 3 DCS1800 MS to calculate
the C1-criterion described as follows.
C1 = AV_RXLEV - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN - Max(0,MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH +
POWER_OFFSET- P).

Object DB Name Range Step Size Unit

BTS PWROFS 0...3 1 2 dB

Power_Offset

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 Cell selection/Reselection

CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS - Hysteresis for Reselection of a Cell from

another Location Area
In idle mode the MS selects a new (neighbor) cell if the received level of the neighbor
cell exceeds the received level of the current cell in order to be served by the cell with
the expected best link quality. However, due to fading effects, the propagation
conditions may change rapidly and therefore a reselection may occur very frequently.
If the cells involved in the reselection process belong to the same location area, fre-
quent cell reselection does not have an effect on the network performance.
But if the involved cells belong to different location area, the reselection of a new cell
triggers a location update procedure, which causes signaling load (e.g. on the
SDCCH) and involves all network elements.
To avoid unnecessary signaling load by forward and backward reselection due to
fading, a hysteresis given by the parameter CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS is
introduced, i.e. a cell from another location area is selected only if the corresponding
received level exceeds the level of the current serving cell by the value of this
parameter. This is expressed in terms of the C1 (phase 1) or C2 (phase 2) criterion:
C1 (serving cell) + CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESES(serving) < C1 (suitable
neighbor cell)
or
C2 (serving cell) + CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESES(serving) < C2 (suitable
neighbor cell)
respectively.
The adjustment of CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESES should be a compromise be-
tween
reduction of unnecessary location updates (high value) and
selection of the cell with best reception quality (low value).

Object DB Name Range Step Size Unit

BTS CELLRESH 0...7 1 2 dB

CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS - Hysteresis for reselection of a cell from another

location area

default: 2

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

CELL_RESELCT_PARAM_IND_ - Phase 2 Reselection Parameter Indication

CELL_RESELECT_PARAM_IND=1:
The cell reselection parameters CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET,
TEMPORARY_OFFSET and PENALTY_TIME used for the C2 criterion as well as
the parameter CELL_BAR_QUALIFY are broadcasted on the BCCH. These
parameters are taken into account by phase 2 MS, but are ignored by phase 1 MS.
CELL_RESELECT_PARAM_IND = 0:
The cell reselection parameters and CELL_BAR_QUALIFY are not broadcasted on
the BCCH.
A phase 2 MS then uses the value 0 for all these parameters, i.e. C1 = C2.

Object DB Name Range Step Size Unit

BTS CRESPARI 0...1 - -

CELL_RESELCT_PARAM_IND_ - Phase 2 Reselection Parameter Indication

default: 1

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 Cell selection/Reselection

CELL_BAR_QUALIFY
Parameter is used to assign a priority to a cell selection process.
A suitable cell of low priority is only selected if no suitable cell of normal priority can
be found.
This parameter can be used e.g. in hierarchical cell structures that the MS initially
selects an umbrella cell.

Object DB Name Range Step Size Unit

BTS CBQ 0...1 1 -

CELL_BAR_QUALIFY

default: 0

normal priority: 0
low priority: 1

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

PENALTY_TIME - Time to Apply a Negative Offset to C2 of a Neighbor Cell

PENALTY_TIME < 31:
A timer T is started in the MS for each cell in the list of the 6 strongest neighbor cells
as soon as it is placed on the list.
T is reset to 0 if the cell is removed from the list. During Penalty Time
(T < PENALTY_TIME) a negative TEMPORARY_OFFSET is applied to the C2 of the
respective neighbor cell
C2 = C1 + CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET - TEMPORARY_OFFSET

which is removed after Penalty Time (T > PENALTY_TIME):

C2 = C1 + CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET.

PENALTY_TIME = 31:
C2 = C1 - CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET.
For PENALTY_TIME = 31 the priority of a neighbor cell for reselection is permanently
reduced.

Object DB Name Range Step Size Unit

BTS PENTIME 0...30 and 31: 1 20 sec
special meaning

PENALTY_TIME - Time to apply a negative offset to C2 of a neighbor cell

default: 5
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 Cell selection/Reselection

TEMPORARY_OFFSET
Subtracting TEMPORARY_OFFSET from CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET reduces the
priority of a cell in the list of strongest neighbor cells, i.e. during run time of the timer
the corresponding neighbor cell is effectively barred for cell reselection.

Object DB Name Range Step Size Unit

BTS TEMPOFF 0...7 1 10 dB
7: infinity

TEMPORARY_OFFSET

default: 1

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET
Adding CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET increases the priority of a cell in the list of
strongest neighbor cells when the timer has expired.
This mechanism may be applied in hierarchical cell structures to keep fast moving
mobiles in the umbrella cells and slow moving mobiles in the micro cells: When a
mobile reaches the coverage area of a (neighbor) micro cell, given by the C1
criterion, this cell becomes effectively excluded from reselection during the
PENALTY_TIME.
A fast moving mobile is assumed to have left the coverage area of the micro cell be-
fore PENALTY_TIME is reached and hence the micro cell is not selected. In contrast,
a slow moving mobile is assumed to be still within the coverage area of the micro cell
when PENALTY_TIME has expired. Applying the positive
CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET, this cell is selected with preference.

Object DB Name Range Step Size Unit

BTS CRESOFF 0...63 1 2 dB

CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET

default: 1

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 Cell selection/Reselection

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

4 Exercise

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 Cell selection/Reselection

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 Cell Selection/Reselection

Exercise 1
Fill in the relevant parameters for Cell Selection/Reselection:

Specification Name BSC-Database Name Value Range Remarks

(GSM Name)

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