1 GSM Principles and Call Flow

1.1 GSM Frequency Band Allocation

GSM cellular system can be divided into GSM900M and DCS1800M according to
frequency band, with carrier frequency interval of 200 KHz and up and down
frequencies as follows:

Table 1-1 GSM frequency allocation

Frequency band(MHz), Bandwidth(MHz), Frequency number, Carrier frequency
number (pair)
GSM900 Up 890–915 Down 935–960, 25, 1–124, 124
DCS1800 Up 1710–1785 Down 1805–1880, 75, 512–885, 374

“Up” and “down” are classified according to base station. Base station
transmitting - mobile station receiving is “down”; mobile station transmitting -
base station receiving is up.
With the expanding services, GSM protocol adds EGSM(expanded GSM frequency
band) and RGSM (expanded GSM frequency band including railway service) to
the original GSM900 frequency band. The frequency band allocation is as
follows:

Table 1-2 EGSM/RGSM frequency allocation

Frequency band(MHz), Bandwidth (MHz), Frequency number, Carrier frequency
number (pair) EGSM Up 880–915 Down 925–960, 35, 0–124 , 975–1023, 174
RGSM Up 876–915 Down 921–960, 40, 0–124, 955–1023, 199
1.2 Multiple Access Technology and Logical Channel

1.2.1 GSM Multiple Access Technology

In cellular mobile communications system, since many mobiles stations
communicate with other mobiles stations through one base station, it is
necessary to distinguish the signals from different mobile stations and base
stations for them to identify their own signals. The way to this problem is
called multiple access technology. There are now five kinds of Multiple access
technology, namely: Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division
Multiple Access (TDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Space Division
Multiple Access (SDMA), and polar division multiple access (PDMA).
GSM multiple access technology focuses on TDMA, and takes FDMA as
complement. The following only introduces FDMA and TDMA technologies.
I. FDMA
FDMA divides the whole frequency band into many single radio channels
(transmitting and receiving carrier frequency pairs). Each channel transmits
one path of speech or control information. Any subscriber has access to one of
these channels under the control of the system.
Analog cellular system is a typical example of FDMA application. Digital cellular
system also uses FDMA, but not the pure frequency allocation. For example,
GSM takes FDMA technology.
II. TDMA
TDMA divides a broadband radio carrier into several time division channels
according to time (or timeslot). Each subscriber takes one timeslot and sends
or receives signals only in the specified timeslot. TDMA is applied in digital
cellular system and GSM.
GSM adopts a technology combined with FDMA and TDMA.

1.2.2 TDMA Frame

The basic conception of GSM in terms of radio path is burst. Burst is a
transmission unit consists of over one hundred of modulation bits. It has a
duration limit and takes a limited radio frequency. They are exported in time
and frequency window which is called slot. To be specific, in system frequency
band, central frequency of slot is set in every 200 KHz (in FDMA). Slot occurs
periodically in each 15/26 ms, which is about 0.577 ms (in TDMA).The interval
between two slots is called timeslot. Its duration is used as time unit, called
burst period (BP).
Time/frequency map illustrates the concept of slot. Each slot is expressed as
one little rectangle with 15/26ms length and 200 KHz width. See Figure 1-1.
Similarly, the 200 KHz bandwidth in GSM is called frequency slot, equal to radio
frequency channel in GSM protocol.
Burst represents different meaning in different situation. Sometimes it
concerns time – frequency “rectangle” unit, and sometimes not. Similarly,
timeslot sometimes concerns time value, and sometimes means using one of
every eight slots periodically.
Using a given channel means transmitting burst with a particular frequency at
particular time, that is, a particular slot. Generally, the slot of a channel is not
continuous in time.

Physical channel combines frequency division multiple access and time division
multiple access together. It consists of timeslot flow that connects base station
(BS) and mobile station (MS).The position of these timeslots in TDMA frame is
fixed. Figure 1-2 shows the complete structure of TDMA frame, including
timeslot and burst. TDMA frame is a repetitive “physical” frame in radio link.
One TDMA frame consists of eight basic timeslots, about 60/13≈4.615ms in
total. Each timeslot is a basic physical channel with 156.25 elements, coving
15/26≈0.557ms.
There are two kinds of multiframes, consisting of 26 and 51 continuous TDMA
frames respectively. Multiframes are applied when different logical channels
are multiple used in one physical channel.
The 26 multiframe, with a period of 120 ms, is used in traffic channel and
associated control channel. Among the 26 bursts, 24 are used in traffic and 2
are used in signaling.
The 51 multiframe, with a period of 3060/13≈235.385 ms, is specially used in
control channel.
Many multiframes together form a super frame. Super frame is a continuous
51×26TDMA frame, that is to say, a super frame consists of fifty-one 26 TDMA
multiframes or twenty-six 51 TOMA multiframes. The period of super frame is
1,326 TDMA frames, or 6.12 s.
Many super frames together form a hyper frame.
A hyper frame consists of 2,048 super frames with a period of 12,533.7s, or 3
hours and 28’ 53’’ 760’’’. It is used in encrypted voice and data. Each period of
hyper frame consists of 2,715,648 TDMA frames numbered from 0 to 2,715,648.
The frame number is transmitted in sync channel.

1.2.3 Burst
Burst is the message layout of a timeslot in TDMA channel, which means each
burst is sent to a timeslot of TDMA frame.
Different message in the burst determines its layout.
There are five kinds of bursts:
Normal burst: used to carry messages in TCH, FACCH, SACCH, SDCCH, BCCH,
PCH and AGCH channels
Access burst: used to carry message in RACH channel
Frequency correction burst: used to carry message in FCCH channel
Synchronization burst: used to carry message in SCH channel
Dummy burst: transmitted when no specific message transmission request from
system (In cells, standard frequency sends message continuously)
Each kind of burst includes the following elements:
Tail bits: Its value is always 0 to help equalizer judge start bit and stop bit to
avoid lost synchronization.
Information bits: It is used to describe traffic and signaling information, except
idle burst and frequency correction burst.
Training sequence: It is a known sequence, used for equalizer to generate
channel model (a way to eliminate dispersion). Training sequence is known by
both transmitter and receiver. It can be used to identify the location of other
bits from the same burst and roughly estimate the interference situation of
transmission channel when the receiver gets this sequence. Training sequence
can be divided into eight categories in normal burst. It usually has the same
BCC setting with cells, but when accessed to burst and synchronization bust,
training sequence is fixed and does not change with cells. For example, in
access burst, training sequence is fixed (occupying 41 bits). The 36-bit message
digit of the random access burst includes BSIC information of the cell. BSIC
settings of the same BCCH should be different, in order to avoid mis-decoding
of random access burst from neighboring cells into local access.
Guard period: It is a blank space. Since each carrier frequency can carry a
maximum of eight subscribers, it is necessary to guarantee the non-overlapping
of each timeslot in transmission. Although timing advance technology
(introduced later) is used, bursts from different mobile stations still show little
slips; therefore, protection interval is adopted to allow transmitter to fluctuate
in a proper range in GSM. On the other hand, GSM requires protection bits to
keep constant transmission amplitude of the effective burst (except protection
bits) and properly attenuate the transmission amplitude of mobile station. The
amplitude attenuation of two sequential bursts as well as proper modulation
bit stream can reduce the interference to other RF channels.
The following is a detailed introduction to the structure and content of burst:
Access burst
It is used for random access (channel request from network and switchover
access).
It is the first burst that the base station needs in uplink modulation.
Access burst includes a 41-bit training sequence, 36-information bit, and its
protection interval is 68.25 bits. There is only one kind of training sequence in
access burst. Since the possibility of interference is rather little, it is
unnecessary to add extra kinds of training sequences. Both training sequence
and protection interval are longer than normal bursts in order to offset the bug
of timing advance ignorance in the first access of mobile station (or switch over
to another BTS) and improve demodulation ability of the system.
Frequency correction burst
It is used for frequency synchronization in mobile station, equal to an
unmodulated carrier. This sequence has 142 constant bits for frequency
synchronization. Its structure is pretty simple with all constant bits being 0.
After modulated, it becomes a pure sine wave. It is used in FCCH channel for
mobile station to find and modulate synchronization burst of the same cell.
When mobile station gets the frequency through this burst, it can read the
information of following bursts (such as SCH and BCCH) in the same physical
channel. Protection interval and tail bit are the same with that of normal
burst.
Synchronization burst
With a 64-bit training sequence and two 39-bit information fields,
synchronization burst is used for time synchronization of mobile station in SCH
channel. It belongs to downlink. Since it is the first burst required to be
modulated by mobile station, its training sequence is relatively long and easy
to be detected.
Normal burst
It has two 58-bit groups used in message field. To be more specific, two 58-bit
groups are used to transmit subscriber data or voice together with two stealing
flags. Normal burst is used to describe whether the transmitted is traffic
information or signaling information. For example, to distinguish TCH and
FACCH (when TCH channel is used as FACCH channel to transmit signaling, the
stealing flag of the 8 half bursts should be set to 1. It has no other use in
channels except in TCH channel, but can be regarded as the extension of
training sequence and always set to 1.Normal burst also includes two 3-bit tails
and a protection interval of 8.25 bits. The only bug is that the receiver has to
store the preceding part of burst before modulation. Normal burst has a total
of 26 bits, 16 of which are information bits. In order to get 26 bits, it copies
the first five bits to the end of the training sequence and the last five bits to
the head of the training sequence. There are eight kinds of such training
sequence (these eight sequences have the least relevancy with each other).
They correspond to different base station color code (BCC, 3 bits) respectively
to distinguish the two cells using the same frequency.
Dummy burst
This kind of bust is sometimes sent by BTS without carrying any information. Its
format is the same with normal burst. The encrypted bits are changed into
mixed bits with certain bit model.
1.2.4 Logical Channel
In real networking, each cell has several carrier frequencies and each
frequency has eight timeslots, proving eight basic physical channels. Logical
channel carries out time multiplexing in one physical channel. It is classified
according to the type of information in physical channel. Different logical
channel transmits different type of information between BS and MS, such as
signaling and data service. GSM defines different burst type for different
logical channel.
In GSM, logical channel is divided into dedicated channel (DCH) and common
channel (CCH), or traffic channel (TCH) and control channel (CCH) sometimes.
I. TCH
TCH carries coded voice or subscriber data. It is divided into full rate TCH
(TCH/F) and half rate TCH (TCH/H) with 22.8 bit/s information and 11.4 Kbit/s
information respectively. Using half of the timeslots in TCH/F can get TCH/H. A
carrier frequency can provide eight kinds of TCH/F or sixteen kinds of TCH/H.
Voice channel types are as follows:
Enhanced full rate speech TCH (TCH/EFS)
Full rate speech TCH (TCH/EFS)
Full rate 9.6 Kbit/s TCH (TCH/F9.6)
Full rate 4.8 Kbit/s TCH (TCH/F4.8)
Full rate ≤2.4 Kbit/s TCH (TCH/F2.4)
II. CCH
CCH is used to transmit signaling or synchronous data. It mainly consists of
broadcast channel (BCCH), common control channel (CCCH), and dedicated
control channel (DCCH).
III. BCCH
Frequency Correction Channel (FCCH)
It carries the information for frequency correction in mobile station. Through
FCCH, mobile station can locate a cell and demodulate other information in the
same cell, and recognize whether this carrier frequency is BCCH or not.
Sync Channel (SCH)
After FCCH decoding, mobile station has to decode SCH information. This
information contains mobile station frame synchronization and base station
identification. Base station identification code (BSIC) occupies six bits, three of
which are PLMN color codes ranging from zero to seven, and the other three
are base station color codes (BCCs) ranging from zero to seven.
Reduced TDMA frame (RFN) occupies 22 bits.
BCCH
Generally, each BTS has a transceiver containing BCCH in order to broadcast
system information to mobile station. System information enables mobile
station to work efficiently in null state.
IV. CCCH
Paging Channel (PCH)
PCH is a downlink channel used to page mobile station. When the network
wants to communicate with a certain mobile station, it sends paging
information marked as TMSI or IMSI through PCH to all the cells in LAC area
according to the current LAC registered in mobile station.
Access Grant Channel (AGCH)
AGCH is a downlink channel used for base station to respond the network
access request of mobile station, that is, to allocate a SDCCH or TCH directly.
AGCH and PCH share the same radio resource. Keep a fixed number of blocks
for AGCH or just borrow PCH when AGCH requires without keeping special
AGCH block (AGB).
Random Access Channel (RACH)
RACH is an uplink channel used for mobile station to request SDCCH allocation
in random network access application. The request includes the reason to build
3-bit (call request, paging response, location update request and short message
request) and 5-bit reference random number for mobile station to identify its
own access grant message.
V. DCCH
Stand-alone Dedicated Control Channel (SDCCH)
SDCCH is a bi-directional dedicated channel used to transmit information of
signaling, location update, short message, authentication, encrypted
command, channel allocation, and complementary services. It can be divided
into SD/8 and SD/4.
Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH)
SACCH works with traffic channel or SDCCH to transmit subscriber information
and some specific information at the same time. Uplink mainly transmits radio
measurement report and the first layer head information; downlink mainly
transmits part system information and the first layer head information. The
information includes quality of communications, LAI, CELL ID, BCCH signal
strength in neighboring cells, NCC limit, cell options, TA, and power control
level.
Fast Associated Control Channel (FACCH)
FACCH works with TCH to provide signaling information with a rate and
timeliness much higher than that provided by SACCH.
There is another control channel called cell broadcast channel (CBCH) besides
the three control channels mentioned above. It is used in downlink and carries
short message service cell broadcast (SMSCB) information. CBCH uses a physical
channel same as SDCCH.
VI. Channel Combination
Logical channel is mapped to physical channel according to certain rules. The
channel combinations specified in GSM protocol are as follows:
TCH/F + FACCH/F + SACCH/TF
TCH/H(0,1) + FACCH/H(0,1) + SACCH/TH(0,1)
TCH/H(0,0) + FACCH/H(0,1) + SACCH/TH(0,1) + TCH/H(1,1)
FCCH + SCH + BCCH + CCCH (main BCCH)
FCCH + SCH + BCCH + CCCH + SDCCH/4(0..3) + SACCH/C4(0..3)(BCCH
combination)
BCCH + CCCH(BCCH extension)
SDCCH/8(0. .7) + SACCH/C8(0. .7)
VII. Uncombined BCCH/SDCCH and Combined BCCH/SDCCH
Paging information transmits in the timeslot 0 of BCCH. Timeslot 0 has the
following sub channels:
Broadcast channel (BCH): FCCH, SCH, BCCH
CCCH: PCH, AGCH
DCCH (combined BCCH/SDCCH): SDCCH, SACCH, CBCH ( if using cell broadcast)
Physical channel timeslot 0 is made of multiframes logically. Each multiframe
is 235.4 ms in length. Multiframe has different channel configurations, such as
combined BCCH/SDCCH and uncombined BCCH/SDCCH. Different configuration
has different paging capacity.
Uncombined BCCH/SDCCH
Each frame of Uncombined BCCH/SDCCH can have nine paging blocks. The
timeslot 0 of BCCH carrier frequency does not have SDCCH channel or CBCH
channel.
Combined BCCH/SDCCH
Each multiframe of combined BCCH/SDCCH can have three paging blocks. The
timeslot 0 of BCCH carrier frequency contains four SDCCH subchannels (no
CBCH) or three SDCCH and one CBCH subchannel.
The configuration of combined BCCH/SDCCH has a great influence on paging
capacity. Each multiframe has only three paging blocks instead of nine in
uncombined BCCH/SDCCH, which means the paging capacity of cells with
combined BCCH/SDCCH is only one third of that of cells with uncombined
BCCH/SDCCH.
1.3 Data Transmission
Radio channel has totally different characteristics from wired channel. Radio
channel has a strong time-varying characteristic. It has a high error rate when
the signal is influenced by interferences, multipath fading, or shadow fading. In
order to solve these problems, it is necessary to protect the signals through a
series of transformation and inverse transformation from original subscriber
data or signaling data to the information carried by radio wave and then to
subscriber data or signaling data. These transformations include channel coding
and decoding, interleaving and de-interleaving, burst formatting, encryption
and decryption, modulation and demodulation.
1.3.1 Voice Coding
Modern digital communication system usually uses voice compression
technology. GSM takes tone and noise from human throat as well as the mouth
and tongue filter effect of acoustics as voice encoder to establish a model. The
model parameters transmit through TCH channel.
Voice encoder is based on residual excited linear prediction encoder (REIP) and
its compression effect is strengthened through long term predictor (LTP). LTP
improves residual data encoding by removing the vowel part of voice.
Voice encoder divides voice into several 20 ms voice blocks and samples each
block with 8 kHz, so each block has 160 samples. Each sample is quantified
through frequency A 13 bits (frequency μ 14 bits). Since the compression rates
of frequency A and frequency μ are different, add three and two “0” bits to
the quantification values respectively, and then each sample gets 16 bits
quantification value. Therefore, 128 Kbit/s data flow is obtained after
digitizing but before encoding. This data flow is too fast to transmit in radio
path and has to be compressed in encoder. With full speed encoder, each voice
block is encoded into 260 bits to form a 13 Kbit/s source coding rate. Next is
channel coding. With 20 ms as a unit, 260 bits are output after compression
encoding, so the encoding rate is 13Kbit /s.
Compared with the direct coding transmission of voice in traditional PCM
channel, the 13kbps voice rate of GSM is much lower. More advance voice
encoder can reduce the rate to 6.5kbps (half rate encoding).
1.3.2 Channel Coding
Channel coding is used to improve transmission quality and remove the
influence of interferential factors on signals at the price of increasing bits and
information. The basic way of coding is adding some redundant information to
the original data. The added data is calculated on the basis of original data
with certain rules. The decoding process of receiving end is judging and
correcting errors with this redundant bit. If the redundant bit of received data
calculated with the same way is different from the received redundant bit,
errors must have occurred in transmission. Different code is used in different
transmission mode. In practice, several coding schemes are always combined
together. Common coding schemes include block convolutional code, error
correcting cyclic code and parity code.
In GSM, each logical channel has its own coding and interleaving mode, but the
principle is trying to form a unified coding structure.
Encode information bit into a unified block code consisting of information bits
and parity check bits.
Encode block code into convolutional code and form coding bits (usually 456
bits).
Reassemble and interleave coding bits and add a stealing flag to form
interleaving bits.
All these operations are based on block. The block size depends on channel
type. After channel coding, all channels (except RACH and SCH) are made of
464-bit block, that is, 456 coded information bits plus 8-bit header (header is
used to distinguish TCH and FACCH). Then these blocks are reinterleaved
(concerning channel).
In TCH/F voice service; this block carries one speech frame of information. In
control channel, this block usually carries one piece of information. In TCH/H
voice service, speech information is transmitted by a block of 228 coded bits
block.
For FACCH, each block of 456 coded information bits is divided into eight sub
blocks. The first four sub blocks are transmitted by even bits of the four
timeslots borrowed from the continuous frames of TCH, and the rest four sub
blocks borrows odd bits of the four timeslots from the four continuous frames
delayed for two or four frames after the first frame. Each 456 coded bit block
has a stealing flag (8 bits), indicating whether the block belongs to TCH or to
FACCH. In the case of SACCH, BCCH or CCCH, this stealing flag is dummy.
The synchronous information in Downlink SCH and the random access
information in uplink use short coded bit blocks transmitted in the same
timeslot.
In TCH/F, a 20ms speech frame is encoded into 456-bit code sequence. The 260
bits of the 13 Kbit/s 20ms speech frame can be divided into three categories:
50 most import bits, 132 important bits and 78 unimportant bits. Add 3 parity
check bits to the 50 most important bits, and these 53 bits together with 132
important bits and 4 tail bits are convolutionally encoded ( with 1/2
convolutional coding rate ) into 378 bits, plus the 78 unimportant bits, and the
456 bits code sequence is obtained.
In BCCH, PCH, AGCH, SDCCH, FACCH and SACCH, data is transmitted by Link
Access Procedure on the Dm channel (LAPDm). Each LAPDm frame has 184 bits,
together with 40 bits error correcting cyclic code and 4 tail bits, through 1/2
convolutional coding rate, and the 456 bits code sequence is obtained.
Each SCH contains 25-bit message field. Among them, 19 bits are frame number
and 6 bits are BSC number. These 25 bits plus 10 parity check bits and 4 tail
bits are 39 bits. Through 1/2 rate convolutional coding, 78 bits are obtained,
which occupy an entire SCH burst. .
RACH message only has 8 bits, including 3-bit setup cause message and 5-bit
discrimination symbol. On the basis of these 8 bits, add 6 bits of color code
(obtained through the MOD 2 of the 6-bit BSIC and 6-bit parity check code),
plus 4 tail bits to get 18 bits. Through 1/2 rate convolutional coding, 36 bits are
obtained, which occupy an entire RACH burst. 。
1.3.3 Interleaving
If speech signal is modulated and transmitted directly after channel coding,
due to parametric variation of mobile communication channel, the long trough
of deep feeding will affect the succeeding bits, leading to error bit strings.
That is to say, after coding, speech signal turns into sequential frames, while in
transmission, error bits usually occur suddenly, which will affect the accuracy
of continuous frames. Channel coding only works for detection and correction
of signal error or short error string. Therefore, it is hoped to find a way to
separate the continuous bits in a message, that is, to transmit the continuous
bits in a discontinuous mode so as to change the error channel into discrete
channel. Therefore, even if an error occurs, it is only about a single or very
short bit stream and will not interrupt the decoding of the entire burst or even
the entire information block. Channel coding will correct the error bit under
such circumstances. This method is called interleaving technology. Interleaving
technology is the most effective code grouping method to separate error codes.

The essence of interleaving is to disperse the b bits into n bursts in order to

change the adjacent relationship between bits. Greater n value leads to better
transmission performance but longer transmission delay. Therefore, these two
factors must be considered in interleaving. Interleaving is always related to the
use of channel. GSM adopts secondary interleaving method.
After channel coding, The 456 bits are divided into eight groups; each group
contains 57 bits. This is the first interleaving, also called internal interleaving.
After first interleaving, the continuity of information in a group is broken. As
one burst contains two groups of 57-bit voice information, if the two-group 57
bits of a 20 ms voice block after first interleaving are inserted to the same
burst, the loss of this burst will lead to 25% loss of bits for this 20 ms voice
block. Channel coding cannot restore so much loss. Therefore, a secondary
interleaving, also called inter-block interleaving, is required between two voice
blocks.

After internal interleaving, the 456 bits of a voice block B are divided into eight
groups. Interleave the first four groups of voice block B (B0, B1, B2, and B3)
with the last four groups of voice block A (A4, A5, A6, and A6), and then (BO,
A4), (B1, A5), (B2, A6), and (B3, A7) form four bursts. In order to break the
consistency of bits, put block A at even position and block B at odd position of
bursts, that is, to put B0 at odd position and A4 at even position. Similarly,
interleave the last four groups of block B with the first four groups of block C.
Therefore, a 20 ms speech frame is inserted into eight normal bursts after
secondary interleaving. Theses eight bursts are transmitted one by one, so the
loss of one burst only affects 12.5% voice bits. In addition, as these bursts have
no relations with each other, they can be corrected by channel coding.
The secondary interleaving of control channel (SACCH, FACCH, SDCCH, BCCH,
PCH, or AGCH) is different from voice interleaving which requires three voice
blocks. The 456-bit voice block is divided into eight groups after internal
interleaving (the same as that of voice block), and then the first four groups
are interleaved with the last four groups (the same interleaving method as that
of voice block) to get four bursts.
Interleaving is an effective way to avoid interference, but it has a long delay.
In the transmission of a 20 ms voice block, the delay period is (9*8)-7=65 bursts
(SACCH occupying one burst), which is 37.5 ms. Therefore, MS and trunk circuit
have echo cancellers added to remove the echo due to delay.
1.3.4 Encryption
Security is a very important feature in digital transmission system. GSM
provides high security through transmission encryption. This kind of encryption
can be used in voice, user data, and signaling. It is used for normal burst only
and has nothing to do with data type.
Encryption is achieved by XOR operation of poison random sequence (generated
through A5 algorithm of encryption key Kc and frame number) and the 114
information bits of normal burst.
The same poison random sequence generated at receiving end and the received
encryption sequence together produce the required data after XOR operation
1.3.5 Modulation and Demodulation
Modulation and demodulation is the last step of signal processing. GSM
modulation adopts GMSK technology with BT being 0.3 at the speed of 270.833
Kbit/s and Viterbi algorithm. The function of modulation is to add a certain
feature to electromagnetic wave according to the rules. This feature is the
data to transmit. In GSM, the phase of electromagnetic field bears the
information.
The function of demodulation is to receive signals and restore the data in a
modulated electromagnetic wave. A binary numeral has to be changed into a
low-frequency modulated signal first, and then into an electromagnetic wave.
Demodulation is the reverse process of modulation.
1.4 Timing advance
Signal transmission has a delay. If the MS moves away from BTS during calling,
the signal from BTS to MS will be delayed, so will the signal from MS to BTS. If
the delay is too long, the signal in one timeslot from MS cannot be correctly
decoded, and this timeslot may even overlap with the timeslot of the next
signal from other MS, leading to inter-timeslot interference. Therefore, the
report header carries the delay value measured by MS. BTS monitors the arrive
time of call and send command to MS with the frequency of 480 ms, prompting
MS the timing advance (TA) value. The range of this value is 0–63(0–233 us),
and the maximum coverage area is 35km. The calculation is as follows:
1/2×3.7us/bit×63bit*c=35km
3.7us/bit is the duration per bit (156/577); 63bit is the maximum bit for time
coordination; c is light velocity (transmission rate of signal); 1/2 is related to
the round-trip of signal.
According to the preceding description, 1bit to 554 m, due to the influence of
multi-path transmission and the accuracy of MS synchronization, TA error may
be about 3 bits (1.6km).
Sometimes a greater coverage area is required, such as in coastal areas.
Therefore, the number of channels that each TRX contains must be reduced.
The method is to bind odd and even timeslots, so there are only four channels
(0/1, 2/3, 4/5, and 6/7) for each TDMA frame in extended cell. Allocate
channels 0, 2, 4, and 6 to MS. Within 35 KM around BTS, the TA value of MS is in
the normal range 0-63; for the area beyond 35 KM, TA value stays at 63. This
technology is called extended cell technology. The maximum value of TA in BTS
measurement report is 63+156.25=219.25 bit, so the maximum radius of
coverage area is:
1/2×3.7us× (63+156.25) ×3×108m/s=120km

In real scheme, in order to improve the utilization of TRX, both common TRXs
and dual timeslot TRXs can be included. BCCH must be in dual timeslot TRX to
receive random access from any area. The calls within 35 km are allocated to
common TRX; the calls within 35 km–120 km and the switched in calls are
allocated to dual timeslot TRX. If the system detects the switched in call is
within 35km, it will switch over this call to common TRX. If the MS in
conversation goes beyond 35 km, an intra-cell switchover will be carried out.
Therefore, both the capacity requirement for remote areas and the coverage
requirement for local areas can be satisfied.

1.5 System Information

System information is sent to MS from network in broadcast form. It informs all
the MSs within the coverage area of location area, cell selection and re-
selection, neighbor cell information, channel allocation and random access
control. By receiving system information, MS can quickly and accurately locate
network resources and make full use of all kinds of services that network
provides. There are 16 types of system information: type1, 2, 2bis, 2ter, 3, 4,
5, 5bis, 5ter, 6, 7, 8, and 13.
System information is transmitted on BCCH or SACCH. MS receives system
information in different mode from different logic channel.
In idle mode, system information 1– 4, 7, and 8 are transmitted on BCCH ;
In communication mode, system information 5 and 6 are transmitted on SACCH;
The content of system information is as follows:
System information 1：cell channel description + RACH control parameter,
transmitted on BCCH
System information 2： frequency description of neighbor cell + RACH control
information + network color code (NCC) permitted, transmitted on BCCH, used
for cell re-selection
System information 2bis： Extended neighbor cell BCCH frequency description +
RACH control information, transmitted on BCCH, used for cell re-selection.
System information 2ter： Extended neighbor cell BCCH frequency description,
transmitted on BCCH, used for cell re-selection.
System information 3： Cell identity + location area identity (LAI) + control
channel description + cell selection + cell selection parameter + RACH control
parameter, transmitted on BCCH.
System information 4： LAI + cell selection parameter + RACH control
parameter + CBCH channel description + CBCH mobile configuration,
transmitted on BCCH.
System information 5： Neighbor cell BCCH frequency description, transmitted
on SACCH channel, used for cell handover.
System information 5bis： Extended neighbor cell BCCH frequency description,
transmitted on SACCH channel, used for cell handover.
System information 5ter： Extended neighbor cell BCCH frequency description,
transmitted on SACCH channel, used for cell handover.
System information 6： Cell Global Identification (CGI) + cell option＋NCC
Permitted, transmitted on SACCH.
System information 7： cell re-selection parameter
System information 8： cell re-selection parameter
BCCH is a low-capacity channel, every 51 multiframes ((235 ms) have only four
frames (one information block) to transmit a 23 byte LAPDm message.
Each information unit contains:
Cell channel description contains all the frequencies used in this cell.
RACH control information contains parameters such as Max Retrans,
TX_integer, CBA, RE, EC, and AC CN.
Neighbor cell BCCH frequency description contains the BCCH frequency that
the neighbor cell uses.
Allowed PLMN is used to provide NCC Permitted that MS monitors on BCCH TRX.
Control channel description contains parameters such as MS
ATTACH/DEATTACH allowed Indicator ATT, BS-AG-BLKS-RES, CCCH-CONF, BA-
PA-MFRMS, and T3212.
Cell selection contains parameters such as power control (PWRC) indication,
discontinuous Transmission (DTX) indication, and RADIO-LINK-TIMEOUT.
Cell selection parameter contains parameters such as cell re-selection
hysteresis, MS-TXPWR-MAX-CCH, and RXLEV-ACCESS-MIN.
CBCH channel description contains channel type and TDMA deviation (the
combination mode of dedicated channel), timeslot number (TN), training
sequence code (TSC), hopping frequency channel indication H, mobile
allocation index offset (MAIO), hopping frequency sequence number (HSN) and
absolute radio frequency channel number ( ARFCN).
CBCH mobile configuration contains the relationship between hopping channel
sequence and cell channel description.
Cell re-selection parameter contains CELLRESELIND, cell bar qualify (CBQ), cell
reselection offset (CRO), temporary offset (TO), and penalty time (PT).

1.6 Cell Selection and Re-Selection

1.6.1 Cell Selection
When a MS is switched on, it tries to contact GSM PLMN that the SIM permits
and select a proper cell to extract control channel parameters and other
system information. This process is called cell selection.
The priority levels of cells include normal, low, and barred. Low priority level
cell is selected when there is no proper normal cell.
A proper cell means:
The cell belongs to the selected network;
The cell is not barred;
The cell is not in the national prohibited roaming location area;
The path loss between MS and BTS is under the limit set by network.
The priority level of a cell is determined by CELL_BAR_QUALIFY (CBQ) and
CELL_BAR_ACCESS (CBA).
1.6.2 Cell Selection Process
To perform cell selection and re-selection, MS requires all the frequencies
monitored to stay at the unweighted average value of Relev RLA_C.
I. Cell Selection When MS Storing No BCCH Information
MS searches all RF channels (at least 30 channels for 900 M, 40 for 1800 M, and
40 for PSC1900) in the system to obtain the Relev of each RF channel, and
calculate the RLA_C based on at least five samples in three to five seconds,
and then arrange these levels in descending order to select the proper BCCH.
MS selects the cells with normal priority first. If the proper cells have low
priority, MS will select the cell with the highest Relev. MS has already decoded
and identified all these frequencies by now. If there is no proper cell, MS will
keep on searching. It takes a maximum of 0.5 s to synchronize a BCCH TRX and
1.9 s to read the synchronized BCCH TRX data, except that it takes
n*1.9s(n>1)to obtain the system information.
II. Cell Selection When MS Storing BCCH Information
If MS stores the BCCH frequency list of the former selected networks, MS will
perform measurement sampling procedure (only for the stored BCCH TRX)
according to this list. If the cell selection within this list fails, common cell
selection will be performed. If all the cells have low priority level, MS will
select the cell with the highest Relev. MS has already decoded and identified
all these frequencies by now. When a 900 M MS enters the 900/1800 network,
MS will probably choose 900 M network and ignore the priority level, because
the MS stores all the 900 M frequency information in BCCH frequency list.
III. Cell Selection Criteria
Parameter C1 is the path loss criteria for cell selection, C1 of the service cell
must exceed 0, the formula is as follows:
C1= RLA_C - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN- MAX ((MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH- P), 0) (2-1)
For DCS 1800 cells:
C1 = RLA_C - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN- MAX ((MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH + POWER
OFFSET- P), 0)
In the formula:
RLA_C: Average value of Relev
RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN: Minimum Relev that MS allows
MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH: Maximum transmit power on control channel
P: Maximum transmit power of MS
POWER OFFSET：Power offset related to MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH used by
DCS1800 cells.
1.6.3 Down Link Failure
Downlink failure criteria are based on DSC. When a mobile phone stays in a
cell, DSC is initialized to an integer most close to 90/N ( N is BS_PA_MFRMS,
range value: 2–9). Each time when mobile phone successfully decodes a
message on its paging subchannel, DSC increases by 1, but DSC cannot exceed
the initial value; when decoding fails, DSC decreases by 4. When DSC<=0,
downlink failure occurs. Down signaling link failure will lead to cell re-
selection.
1.6.4 Cell Re-Selection Process
In cell re-selection, mobile phone will synchronize and read the information
from six BCCH TRXs (in BA list) with strongest signals outside the service area.
For multi-frequency mobile phones, the TRXs with strongest signals may be in
different frequency bands.
In idle mode, mobile phone monitors all the BCCH TRXs in BA list and averages
each Relev from BCCH TRX within 5 s to Max {5, ((5 * N + 6) DIV 7) *
BS_PA_MFRMS / 4} s. N is the number of BCCH TRXs outside service area in BA
list. Each RLA_C requires at least five level measurement samples and has to be
updated from time to time. Service area samples the Relev at least once for
each paging block to mobile. RLA_C is calculated by averaging the level
samples received from 5s to Max {5s, five consecutive paging blocks of that
MS}.
Each RLA_C update is followed by the update of the six BCCH TRXs outside the
service area in BA list. And the latter update may be even faster.
Mobile phone decodes all the BCCH data in a service cell every other 30 s and
the BCCH data blocks related to cell re-selection parameters of the six BCCH
TRXs with strongest signals every other five minutes. When the mobile phone
detects that a new BCCH TRX becomes one of the six TRXs with strongest
signals, this BCCH TRX data should be decoded within 30 s. Mobile phone
checks the BSICs of the six BCCH TRXs with strongest signals to make sure they
are in the same cell. If the BSIC of a TRX is changed, the MS will regard the TRX
as new TRX and reread the BCCH data.
MS will re-select a neighbor cell as service cell under certain condition. This
condition includes several factors, such as RLA_C, cell restriction (decided by
cell_bar and cell_bar_qualify), and access state of the neighbor cell.
Cell re-selection adopts C2 algorithm. The calculation formula is as follows:
When PENALTY TIME is not 11111
C2=C1+CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET–TEMPORARY_OFFSET*H (PENALTY_TIME–T);
When PENALTY_TIME is 11111
C2=C1-CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET.
When X>0, function H(x) =0; when X≤O, function H(x) =1.
T is a timer; its initial value is 0. When a cell is included in the six neighbor
cells with strongest signals by MS, the timer T of this cell begins to time; when
a cell is excluded from the six neighbor cells with strongest signals by MS, T
will be reset.
CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET adjusts the value of C2.
After T starts, TEMPORARY_OFFSET will modify the C2 algorithm according to
the defined value before the penalty time in order to avoid a micro cell or a
cell with small coverage area is selected by a fast moving MS. If the defined
penalty time is out, the temporary offset will be ignored. Penalty time can
avoid the frequent cell re-selection in those coverage areas like express
highway.
These parameters in C2 algorithm works only when
CELL_RESELECTION_INDICATION is activated. Otherwise, MS will ignore the
setting of CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET, TEMPORARY_OFFSET, and PENALTY_TIME,
under such circumstances, C2=C1.
Cell re-selection will be triggered under the following conditions:
The C2 value of a certain cell (belonging to the same location area with the
current cell) exceeds that of the current cell by 5 seconds successively;
The C2 value of a certain cell (belonging to different location area from the
current cell) exceeds the sum of the C2 value of the current service cell and
cell selection hysteresis value by 5 seconds successively;
The current service cell is barred;
MS detects downlink failure;
The C1 value of the service cell is less than 0 for 5 seconds successively.
1.7 Frequency Hopping
With the ever growing traffic volume and the limited frequency resource,
frequency reuse is more and more aggressive. Therefore, the problem of how
to reduce frequency interference becomes more and more remarkable. The
essence of anti-interference is to fully utilize the current spectrum, time
domain, and space resources. The key measures include frequency hopping,
discontinuous transmission (DTX), and power control. Frequency hopping also
can effectively reduce the influence of fast fading.
1.7.1 Types of Frequency Hopping
GSM radio interface uses slow frequency hopping (SFH) technology. The
difference between slow frequency hopping and fast frequency hopping is that
the frequency of latter changes faster than frequency modulation. In GSM, the
frequency remains the same during burst transmission. Therefore, GSM
frequency hopping belongs to slow frequency hopping.
In frequency hopping, the carrier frequency is controlled by a sequence and
hops with time. This sequence is frequency hopping sequence. Frequency
hopping sequence is a sequence of frequencies decided by hopping sequence
number (HSN), mobile allocation index offset (MAIO) and frame number (FN)
through a certain algorithm in the mobile allocation containing N frequencies.
The N channels of different timeslots can use the same hopping sequence. The
different channels of the same timeslot in the same cell adopt different MAIO.
Frequency hopping can be divided into frame hopping and timeslot hopping
according to time domain and RF hoping and baseband hopping according to
implementation mode.
Frame hopping: the hopping frequency changes once in each TDMA frame
period. Each TRX can be regarded as a channel. The TCH of BCCH TRX cannot
join in the frequency hopping in a cell. The hopping TRX should have a
different MAIO. Frame hopping is an exception of timeslot hopping.
Timeslot hopping: the timeslot frequency of each TDMA frame changes once.
The TCH of BCCH TRX can join in the frequency hopping, which happens in
baseband hopping.
RF hopping: both transmission and reception of TRX join in the frequency
hopping. The number hopping frequencies can exceed the number of TRXs in
the cell.
Baseband hopping: each transceiver works at a fixed frequency. TX does not
join in frequency hopping. Frequency hopping is performed through the
handover of banseband signal. Therefore, the number of hopping frequencies
cannot exceed the number of TRXs in the cell.
The two frequency hopping modes above are based on BTS. As for MS, since
each MS has only one TRX unit, RF hopping is the only mode.
I. Baseband Hopping
The system has multiple baseband and TRX processing unit. Each TRX
processing unit has a fixed working frequency; each baseband processing unit
processes one line of service information and sends the processed information
to the TRX unit with bus topology in time sequence according to frequency
hopping rule. This kind of frequency hopping is called “baseband hopping”.
In baseband hopping, each transceiver works with a fixed frequency. The bursts
on the same speech path are sent to each transceiver. Baseband hopping is
based on the handover of baseband signals. Since the transceiver of each BTS
has a fixed working frequency, both broadband combiner and cavity combiner
can be adopted. The number of TRXs decides the maximum number of
frequency hopping. The problem for baseband hopping is that if one TRX board
fails, the corresponding code word will be lost, thus affecting all the calls
under hopping mode in the cell.
II. RF Hopping
Under this mode, each line of service information is processed by fixed
baseband unit and frequency band unit. The working frequency of frequency
band unit is provided by frequency combiner. Under the control of control unit,
frequency can be changed according to certain rules. In RF hopping, the
frequencies used by a TRX to handle all the bursts of a call come from the
frequency change of combiner, instead of the handover of baseband signals.
The number of TRXs is not limited by carrier frequency. As the working
frequency of TRX changes, which means the frequency of the input port to
combiner changes, only broadband combiner can be adopted. This kind of
broadband combiner leads to about 3dB insertion loss in two-in-one
combination and the loss is greater in the link insertion of multi-combiner. GSM
protocol does not specify which kind of frequency hopping is used in GSM BTS.
The mode of frequency hopping can be decided by operators according to the
equipments.
1.7.2 Frequency Hopping Algorithm
The parameters related to frequency hopping algorithm are as follows:
CA: cell allocation, the collection of frequencies used by a cell
FN: TDMA frame number, broadcasted on sync channel. FN (0–2715647)
synchronizes BTS with MS
MA: mobile allocation, the collection of radio frequencies used for MS
frequency hopping. It is a subset of CA. MA contains N frequencies, 1≤N≤64.
MAIO: mobile allocation index offset, (0–N-1). During communication, the radio
frequency at air interface is an element of MA. Mobile allocation index (MAI, 0–
N-1) is used to determine the element of MA. That is to say, the actual
frequency used is decided by MAI. MAIO is the initial offset of MAI and it is used
to avoid the contention of frequency by several channels at the same time.
HSN: hopping sequence number (0–63). It determines that the hopping
sequence with concentrated frequencies is adopted in frequency hopping.
When HSN=0, the hopping is cyclic hopping; when HSN≠0, the hopping is
random hopping.
The proper setting of parameters is based on the understanding of the use of
each parameter in hopping algorithm and the hopping theory. The proper
setting ensures the healthy working state of the system.
Remarks: For the cyclic hopping in discontinuous transmission (DTX), the
number of hopping frequencies should avoid N mod 13 = 0, because under such
condition, the probability of transmission and measurement of SACCH frame at
the same frequency is rather high, and the harms are obvious.
When HSN=0, S equals the frame number, in other cases, S is only related to
frame number and frequency hopping number. When HSN is fixed and frame
number is the same, S must be the same. Therefore, as the TRXs of each sync
cell have the same frame number, different hopping groups in sync cells can
adopt the same HSN. A proper configuration of MAIO can avoid the inter-cell or
intra-cell frequency collision within the same BTS. The aggressive frequency
reuse adopts this theory.
1.7.3 Benefits of Frequency Hopping
In GSM, frequency hopping has two benefits: frequency diversity and
interference averaging.
I. Frequency Diversity
Frequency hopping can reduce the influence of signal strength change due to
multipath transmission. This effect equals that of frequency diversity. In
mobile communications, Rayleigh fading leads to the great change of radio
signal in a short time. This kind of change is related to frequency: a more
independent fading accompanies a greater frequency difference. The 200 KHz
interval generally ensures the independence of inter-frequency fading, while
the 1 MHz interval can fully guarantee this kind of independence. Through
frequency hopping, all the bursts containing the code word of the same speech
frame are protected from the damage of Rayleigh fading in the same way.
Statistics shows that frequency hopping gain is related to environmental
factors, especially to the moving speed of MS. When the MS moves at a high
speed, the location difference between two bursts on the same channel is also
affected by other kinds of fading. The higher the speed is, the lower the gain
will be. Frequency diversity benefits a lot to a large number of MSs moving at
low speed.
Frequency hopping gain is also related to the number of frequencies. When the
number of frequencies decreases, the hopping gain falls. The relationship
between the number of frequencies and hopping gain can be explained in this
way: frequency hopping is pseudo spectrum spread, and the hopping gain is the
processing gain after transmission frequency band spread. The basic way to
test frequency hopping gain is to calculate the differences between different
C/I at different hopping frequencies under the same FER. These C/I differences
are the frequency hopping gain.
II. Interference Averaging
Frequency hopping provides the diversity of interference on transmission
channel, so that all the bursts containing the code word of the same speech
frame are protected from the damage of interference in the same way.
Through error correction coding and interleaving of the system, the original
data can be restored from the rest part of the received flow. The hopping gain
is obtained only when the interference is in narrowband distribution. If the
interference is in broadband distribution, all the bursts will be destroyed and
the original data cannot be restored. Therefore, no hopping gain is obtained.
The common interference after frequency hopping can be regarded in
narrowband distribution.
In frequency hopping, error rate tends to increase in the test, but we feel the
conversation quality improves. It is because although the error rate increases,
the influence of interference is homogenized in frequency hopping, the speech
restoring ability improves because of the interleaving and de-interleaving
before. In GPRS data services, frequency hopping can be harmful when the
data rate is rather high (CS4).
1.9 Power Control
1.9.1 Power Control Overview
Power control is to change the transmission power of MS or BTS (or both) in
radio mode within certain area. Power control can reduce the system
interference and improve the spectrum utilization and prolong the service time
of MS battery. When the Relev and quality is good, the transmission power of
the peer end can be reduced to lower the interference to other calls.
In GSM, power control can be used in uplink and downlink respectively. The
power control range for uplink MS is 20 dB–30dB. Based on the power class of
MS (most MSs belongs to class 4, which means the maximum transmission power
is 33 dbm), each step can change 2 dB. The downlink power control range is
decided by equipment manufacturer. Although whether to adopt uplink or
downlink power control function is decided by network operators, all MSs and
BTS equipments must support this function. BSS manages the power control in
the two directions.
To facilitate BCCH frequency pull-in and the measurement of Relev (including
the Relev of neighbor cell BCCH frequency), GSM protocol specifies that no
power control is allowed for the timeslots in the downlink of BCCH TRX.
1.9.2 MS Power Control
The power control of MS includes two adjustment stages: stable adjustment
stage and initial adjustment stage. Stable adjustment is the common way to
implement power control algorithm. Initial adjustment is used at the beginning
of call connection. When a connection occurs, MS sends signals with nominal
power (before receiving power adjustment commend, the nominal transmission
power of MS is the maximum transmission power on BCCH of the cell. If MS
does not support this power level, it will adopt other power level most close to
this level, such as the maximum power level supported by the classmark of MS
in indication message establishment). Therefore, MS accesses to network
through RACH with the maximum power broadcast on BCCH. When MS power is
lower than this value, it will transmit with its maximum transmission power.
The system specifies that the power level of the first message that MS sends on
DCH is also this value. The system control begins after MS receives the power
control command in SACCH information block from SDCCH or TCH.
Since BTS can support multi-call at the same time, the Rxlev should be quickly
reduced in the new connection. Otherwise, other calls supported by this BTS
will deteriorate and the calls in other cells will also be affected. The purpose
of initial adjustment stage is to quickly reduce the transmission power of MS to
get the stable MR, so MS can be adjusted according to stable power control
algorithm.
The required parameters in uplink power control, the expected uplink Rxlev,
and the uplink received quality can be adjusted according to the situation of
the cell. After receiving a certain number of uplink MRs, the system compares
the actual uplink Rxlev and received quality obtained by interpolation,
filtering, and other methods with the expected values and calculate the power
level that the MS should be adjusted to through power control algorithm. If the
calculated power level differs from the output power level of MS and meets
certain limit conditions (such as step limit of power adjustment and range limit
of MS output power), the system will send power adjustment command.
The command of changing MS power and the required time advance will be
sent to MS in the layer 1 header of each downlink SACCH information block. MS
will configure the power level it uses now in its uplink SACCH information block
and send it to BTS in measurement report. This level is the power level of the
last burst in the previous SACCH measurement cycle. When MS receives the
power control information in SACCH information block from DCH, it will
transmit with this power level. One power control message does not make the
MS switch to the required level immediately. The maximum change rate of MS
power is 2 dB for every 60 ms. For 12 dB, before MS receives the next power
control message, it will not end as one SACCH measurement cycle takes 480
ms. In addition, it takes three measurement cycles to send power control
message and execute the command. Therefore, the power control cycle should
not be too short in order to ensure its accuracy. See Figure 1-10.
Figure 1-1 Execution of power control command
The purpose of uplink power control adjustment is to minimize the difference
between the actual uplink Rxlev and received quality and the expected uplink
Rxlev and received quality. The purpose of interpolation and filtering is to
process the lost measurement reports and remove temporary nature to ensure
the stability of power control algorithm.

The difference between initial adjustment and stable adjustment is that the
expected uplink Relev and received quality and the length of filter in initial
adjustment are different from that of stable adjustment, and the initial
adjustment only has downlink adjustment.
1.9.3 BTS Power Control
BTS power control is an optional function. It is similar to MS power control, but
it only uses stable power control algorithm. The required parameters are Rxlev
threshold (lower limit), and the maximum transmission level can be received
(upper limit). The Relev is divided into 64 levels ranging from 0 to 63. Level 0 is
the lowest Rxlev; level 63 is the highest Rxlev.
BTS power control is divided into static power control and dynamic power
control. Dynamic power control is the fine tuning based on static power
control. There are six steps (2 dB/step) of static power control according to
Protocol 0505. If the maximum output power is 46 dBm (40W), the step 6 is 34
dBm.
Static power control step is defined in the cell distributes list of data
management system, which specifies the maximum output power (suppose this
value is Pn) of static power control. For step 15 of dynamic power control, the
corresponding value range is Pn dB–Pn-30dB. When the maximum power control
still cannot satisfy the requirement, adjust static power control step to
improve the maximum output power of dynamic power control Pn.
1.9.4 Power Control Processing
I. Measurement Report Interpolation
Each measurement report has a sequence number. If network detects
incontinuous sequence numbers, it means some of the measurement reports
are missing. The network will complete the reports based on interpolation
algorithm.
The network receives measurement reports n and n+4. It detects the sequence
numbers are not continuous, so it uses an algorithm to add n+1, n+2, and n+3
to complete the reports.
The purpose of measurement report interpolation is to avoid call loss when the
power is too low.
II. Measurement Report Filtering
Network will not judge the state of MS based on only one measurement result,
because that is too incomprehensive, in addition, the MS may be fluctuating.
Therefore, filtering is required. Filtering combines several continuous
measurement results together to determine the state of MS during this period
of time. TA has filters for Rxlev and received quality of uplink and downlink
The purpose of measurement report filtering is to remove temporary nature
and ensure the algorithm stability.
III. Power Control Adjustment
Calculate the power adjustment value based on the difference between the
Rxlev and the expected value.
Power control adjustment based on Rxlev
Power control module compares the estimate value of Rxlev obtained through
pre-processing of measurement report with the expected value, and calculates
the step length of adjustment. In power control algorithm, variable step is
often used for quick power control.
Power control adjustment based on received quality
Power control module compares the estimate value of received quality
obtained through pre-processing of measurement report with the expected
value, and calculates the step length of adjustment. When the received quality
is bad, improve the transmit power; when the received quality is good, reduce
the transmit power. This kind of power control adopts fixed step.
Comprehensive decision for power control
Consider both Rxlev and received quality and adopt different power control
strategies in different conditions to keep the stability and efficiency of power
control algorithm.
When the received quality requires the improving of transmit power while the
Rxlev requires the reducing of it, the system will make a comprehensive
decision to perform no power control adjustment, because bad received quality
and good Rxlev represent strong network interference. Under such
circumstances, improving transmit power will further increase the
interference.
1.10 Immediate Assignment Procedure
The purpose of immediate assignment is to establish a radio connection (RR
connection) between MS and system at Um interface.
1.10.1 Network Access License and Random Access Request
The request of MS for channel assignment is controlled by its own access level
and the access grant level broadcast in cell. Each MS has one access level of
the ten levels from 0 to 9. In addition, it may also have one or several levels of
the five special access levels from l1 to 15. Access level is stored in SIM card.
BCCH system information broadcasts access levels and special access levels
that the network grants and the information that whether all MSs allow
emergency call or allow special access levels only. If the mobile originated call
is not emergency call, the MS can access to network only when it belongs to
the granted access level or granted special access level. If the mobile
originated call is emergency call, the MS can access to network only when all
the MSs in the cell allow emergency call or it belongs to the granted special
access level.
When an MS wants to establish connection with the network, it sends a channel
request to network through RACH channel. Channel request information
contains 8-bit useful signaling information, among which 3 bits–6 bits are used
as the minimal indicator of access cause. The system processes different
channel requests based on this rough indication. It differentiates the granted
calls from the denied calls and assigns proper channels for the granted calls.
This kind of process is especially useful when the network is overload and the
flow control is required. Since the channel capacity is limited, this indicator
cannot transfer all the information from MS, such as the detailed cause of
channel request, user identity and the features of mobile equipment. These
kinds of information are sent in the following SABM messages. The 8-bit
information also contains the random discriminator sent by the MS and the
immediate assignment command (it contains information about the assigned
channel). Immediate assignment command carries the discriminator sent by the
previous MS. MS compares this discriminator with its own discriminator and
judges whether it is the message for itself from network. Since there are at
most 5 bits in the 8 bits information carrying discriminator, only 32 MSs can be
differentiated at the same time. Further discrimination of the MSs requires the
response information at Um interface. Channel request information belongs to
internal information of BSS.
In GSM, RACH is a kind of ALOH. In order to reduce the collision on RACH during
MS access to network and improve the efficiency of RACH channel and MS
access. GSM specifies the required access algorithm for MS. This kind of
algorithm defines three parameters: Tx_interger T, the maximum
retransmission times RET, and parameter S related to T and channel
combination.
T represents the number of timeslots between two transmissions when
continuous channel requests are sent. S is an intermediate variable depends on
T and the configuration of CCCH. See the description of this parameter in
Chapter 7. RET is the MS maximum retransmission times allowed in order to
avoid access collision. Each time after MS sends access request, T3120 is to
receive (or reject) immediate assignment message. MS will retransmit access
request for the messages that are not received or rejected when T3120 times
out under the premise that RET is not exceeded and restart the T3120. When
the retransmission times reaches RET and T3120 times out, T3126 will be
started to receive (or reject) immediate assignment message. When T3126
times out, cell re-selection will be initiated.
1.10.2 Initial Immediate Assignment
After decoding the channel request information, BTS sends a channel required
message to BSC. This message contains important additional information and
the estimation of TA by BTS. After receiving this message, BSC selects a proper
channel for this request and activates the land resources by sending a channel
active message to BTS. BTS returns a channel active acknowledge message to
BSC. If BSC receives this message, BTS will send an immediate assignment
command or immediate assignment extended message on CCCH. In order to
improve channel efficiency, GSM introduces the message layout of immediate
assignment extended that contains the assignment information of two MSs. The
immediate assignment message contains the assignment information of one MS.
According to GSM specifications, MS must identity the immediate assignment
(extended) information for the last three channel requests.
If there is no channel to activate, BSC will send an immediate assignment
reject or immediate assignment extended reject message to MS. After
receiving the reject message, MS stops T3120 based on one of the last three
channel requests and starts T3122. During the specified time of T3122, MS has
no access to network and turns into idle mode. Before T3122 times out, MS
cannot initiate connection attempt except emergency call within the same
cell.
After receiving immediate assignment message, MS compares the received
assignment command with the information stored in its channel request and
judges whether this message is for itself. If this message matches one of its last
three channel requests, MS will stop T3120 or T3126 and switch to the assigned
channel. Then it starts to establish the signaling link by using Set Asynchronous
Balanced Mode (SABM) command.
1.10.3 Initial Message
After receiving immediate assignment message and decoding it, MS adjusts its
configuration of transmission and reception to the assigned channel and
transmits signaling according to the TA value specified by BSS and the initial
maximum transmission power broadcast in BCCH system information (see the
description of msTxPwrMaxCCH). MS sends an SABM frame on assigned
SDCCH/TCH to establish the asynchronous balanced mode (SAPI=0) that is used
to establish signaling message link layer connection under acknowledgement
mode. According to GSM protocol, SABM carries an initial message that contains
layer 3 service request information.
When two MSs send the same channel requests (which is possible in high traffic
volume area), the two MSs may respond to the same dedicated channel. in
order to save this problem, after receiving SABM frame, BTS makes no
modification but sends a UA frame (no frame number acknowledgement)
containing the same information as that of initial message. If the information
of UA frame is different from that of SABM frame, MS will abandon this channel
and start reaccess process. Only the right MS can stay on this channel.
SABM frame carries four kinds of initial messages: CM service request (such as
call setup, short message, and supplementary service), location updating
request (generic location updating, periodic location updating, and IMSI
attach), IMSI detach, and paging response. All these messages contain the
identity of MS, detailed access cause, and MS classmark (indicating some key
features such as transmission power level, encryption algorithm, short message
capacity, and frequency capacity).
After receiving the initial message, BTS sends an establish indication message
to BSC. BSC receives this message and sends complete layer 3 information to
MSC to request SCCP connection to MSC. Layer 3 information carries the causes
for CM service request, which includes mobile originated call, emergency call,
location updating, and short message service. This information also carries
cipher key sequence number, MS identification number, and some physical
information of the MS such as transmit power level, ciphering algorithm,
pseudo-synchronization, and short message. After receiving this information,
MSC sends connection confirmed message to BSC (if the connection cannot be
established, MSC will send SCCP refused message) to indicate that the signaling
link between MS and MSC has been established. By this time, MSC can control
the transmission properties of RR management; BSS monitors the transmission
quality and prepares for handover. Then the MM connection begins.
Authentication or encryption is triggered when required in the following
processing.
In the immediate assignment process, T3101 starts when BSC sends channel
active message to BTS and ends when the establish indication is received. If
T3101 times out before signaling channel is established, the activated channel
will be released.
1.10.4 Immediate Assignment Failure
If a failure occurs to the underlaying MS on the new channel before the
establishment of signaling link, the network releases the assigned channel of
MS. The following processing depends on the failure type and previous actions.
If the failure is caused by the mismatch of message field in decision contention
and no re-assignment is initiated, the immediate assignment is restarted.
If the failure is caused by other reasons or if the re-assignment triggered by the
mismatch of message field in decision contention is carried out and the
assignment still fails, MS turns into idle mode and triggers cell re-selection.
If the available information is not sufficient to define a channel after the MS
receives immediate assignment message, RR connection fails.
If the assigned frequencies of MS belong to two or more than two frequency
bands, RR connection fails. If the assigned frequency of MS is not consistent
with the requested frequency but supported by MS, MS accesses the channel
with the frequency used in channel request. If MS does not support the
assigned frequency, RR connection fails.
If T3101 times out before the signaling channel is established, network releases
the assigned channel. Network cannot tell whether MS resends the access
attempt or not.
1.11 Authentication and Encryption
GSM takes lots of measures to protect the safety of system, such as using
Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) to protect IMSI, using Personal
Identification Number (PIN) to protect SIM card, authentication through
authentication center (AUC) for network access, encryption, and equipment
identity register.
Authentication and encryption require a group of three parameters that
generated in AUC. Each client is assigned a Mobile Station International ISDN
Number (MSISDN) and IMSI when registers in GSM network. IMSI is preserved
onto SIM card through SIM printer and SIM printer will generate a corresponding
client authentication value Ki that is stored in SIM card and AUC as permanent
information. AUC has a pseudo number generator used to generate a random
number RAND. GSM defines algorithm A3, A8, and A5 that are used for
authentication and encryption. In AUC, RAND and Ki together produce a
response number SRES through A3 authentication algorithm and a Kc through
A8 encryption algorithm. RAND, Kc, and SRES form a three-parameter group of
client. This group is stored in the data base of this client in HLR. Generally,
AUC transfers five groups of parameters to HLR for automatic storage. HLR can
save ten groups of such parameters. When MSC/VLR requests for three-
parameter group transfer, HLR sends five groups at the same time for MSC/VLR
to use one by one. When there are two groups left, MSC/VLR will request for
transfer again.
1.11.1 Authentication
Authentication is the process that GSM network checks whether the IMSI or
TMSI from MS at radio interface is valid or not. The purpose of authentication is
to avoid unauthorized access to GSM network and the theft of private
information by illegal users. Authentication also provides parameters for MS to
calculate new encryption key.
The network initiates authentication procedure in the following situations:
MS requesting for the change of information in VLR or HLR;
Service access, including MS originated call, MS terminated call, MS activation
and deactivation, and supplementary services;
The first network access after MSC/VLR reboot;
Mismatching Cipher key Sequence;
Whether to initiate authentication procedure depends on if the Kc value of the
last service processing stored in network consistent with that of the present
access stored in MS. If consistent, authentication procedure can be escaped
and this Kc value is used directly for encryption; if not, Kc value needs to be
recalculated. MS does not send Kc value to network through radio path for the
sake of privacy. Therefore, Cipher Key Sequence Number (CKSN) is introduced.
CKSN is sent to MS by MSC/VLR through authentication request message during
the last network access. It is stored in both SIM card and MSC/VLR. During the
initial access of MS, CKSN is sent to MSC/VLR through the initial request
message of SABM frame. MSC/VLR compares it with the last CKSN. If they are
not consistent, authentication is required before encryption. If CKSN=0, it
means no Kc is assigned. Authentication procedure is initiates and controls by
network. MSC/VLR sends an authentication request message to MS to initiate
authentication procedure and T3260.
I. Authentication Success
2) AUTHENTICATION REQUEST contains a RAND (128 bits) and a CKSN. The Ki
and RAND together generate a SERS (32 bits) through algorithm A3 and a Kc (64
bits) through algorithm A8. The new Kc replaces the former key and is stored in
SIM card together with CKSN.
3) MS sends AUTHENTICATION RESPONSE to network. After receiving this
message, the network stops T3260 and checks its validity (network compares it
with the SERS generated by Ki and RAND through algorithm A3 and check
whether they are consistent or not), and then enters the subsequent
procedures, such as encryption.
II. Authentication Reject
If authentication fails, it means AUTHENTICATION RESPONSE is invalid.
If the MS uses TMSI, the network will initiate identity procedure. If the IMSI
provided by the MS is different from that in network, the network will restart
the authentication procedure; if the IMSI is correct, the network will send
AUTHENTICATION REJECT to the MS.
If the MS uses IMSI, the network will send AUTHENTICATION REJECT directly to
MS. After sending AUTHENTICATION REJECT message, the network releases all
the MM connections under establishment and restarts the procedure for RR
connection release.
After receiving AUTHENTICATION REJECT message, MS sets the roaming
disabled flag and deletes information such as TMSI, LAI, and cipher key.
If MS receives AUTHENTICATION REJECT message in IMSI DETACH INITIATED
state, it stops T3220 after RR connection is released. If possible, MS initiates
local release procedure after the normal release procedure or T3220 timeout;
if not (such as the IMSI detach after switch off), MSRR exits abnormally.
If MS receives AUTHENTICATION REJECT message in other state, it exits all MM
connections and call re-establishment procedures, stops T3210 and T3230, sets
and starts T3240 to enter WAIT FOR NETWORK COMMAND state and wait for the
release of RR connection; If RR connection is not released after T3240 timeout,
MS will exit RR connection abnormally. Under the two conditions above, MS
enters MM IDLE and NO IMSI state.
1.11.2 Encryption
Encryption occurs in service requests such as location updating, service access,
and inter-office handover. It requires the support of GSM network equipment
(especially BTS), as well as the encryption ability of MS.
I. Signaling Procedure
1) MSC sends BSC a Ciphering Mode CMD that contains encryption algorithm, Kc,
and whether the MS is required to add IMEI in Ciphering Mode CMP.
2) BSC decides the final algorithm based on the encryption algorithm in
Ciphering Mode CMD, the encryption algorithm that BSC allows, and the
encryption algorithm that MS supports, and then inform BTS.
3) BSC sends MS Ciphering Mode CMD to inform MS of the selected encryption
algorithm.
4) After receiving Ciphering Mode CMD, MS starts the transmission of ciphering
mode and sends Ciphering Mode CMP to the system.
5) After receiving the Ciphering Mode CMP from MS, BSC transfer it to MSC.
II. Procedure Description
A5 algorithm
GSM protocol specifies eight kinds of encryption algorithm from A5/0 to A5/7.
A5/0 stands for no encryption. The encryption procedure is initiated by the
network. The encryption information of Cipher Mode CMD specifies the
required encryption algorithm. The algorithm that generates encrypted code is
called A5 algorithm. It calculates by using the Kc (64 bits) and the current
frame number (22 bits) to generate a 114-bit encryption sequence and then
implements XOR operation with the 114-bit burst. Two encryption sequences
are used for uplink and downlink. For each burst, one sequence is used for MS
encryption and BTS decryption, the other sequence is used for BTS encryption
and MS decryption.
Encryption algorithm selection
When MS initiates call request, the SABM frame carries Classmark 1 or 2 to
indicate whether the MS supports algorithm A5/1, A5/2, or A5/3, and reports
Classmark 3 in CLASS MARK CHANGE to further indicate whether the MS
supports Algorithm A5/4, A5/5, A5/6, or A5/7(In system information, if
ECSC=1, MS reports Classmark 3 immediately; if ECSC = 0, the Classmark 3 is
reported after CLASSMARK ENQUIRY is initiated by the network. Therefore, the
configuration of ECSC = 1 is recommended when the encryption is used). MSC
sends encryption command based on the configuration of secret data. BSC
chooses the intersection of the encryption algorithm allowed in the command
sent by MSC, the encryption algorithm allowed in BSC data configuration, and
the encryption algorithm supported in the MS report. In the intersection, BSC
selects a proper algorithm based on the priority level of A5/7 > A5/6 > A5/5 >
A5/4 > A5/4 > A5/3 > A5/2 > A5/1 > A5/0.
Encryption in handover
The HANDOVER REQUEST contains the encryption information unit that
indicates the required encryption algorithm and key. If one of the two A
interfaces of BSS is in PHASE I, due to the limitation of ETSI　GSM PHASE I
protocol (no ciphering mode setting information unit in handover command),
the two A interfaces match only when they share the same encryption
algorithm (such as A5/2) to ensure the normal inter-BSC handover. Otherwise,
special treatment has to be made to the target MSC or target BSC (or the
source MSC or source BSC) to change the handover command for inter-BSC
handover.
For the interconnection of A-interfaces when the encryption is used, whether
special data configuration is required for BSC and MSC must be considered.
1.11.3 TMSI Reallocation
After authentication and encryption, the system sends CM SERVICE ACCEPT or
TMSI reallocation command to MS and initiates T3250.
When MS registers in the location area for the first time, the network allocates
a TMSI to it. When the MS leaves this location area, it releases the TMSI. When
the MS receives the TMSI reallocation command, it saves the TMSI and LAI and
sends TMSI reallocation complete message. After receiving this message, the
network stops T3250.
If the system cannot identify TMSI of the MS, for example, when the data base
error occurs, the MS must provide its IMSI. The identification program is
initiated before the TMSI reallocation to request for the IMSI.
The identification program sends identity request message to the MS, after
receiving this message, the MS provides its IMSI by sending identity response
message to the network. When this procedure is over, authentication,
encryption, and IMSI reallocation are implemented if required.
1.11.4 Exceptional Situations
I. Authentication
RR connection failure
If the network detects RR connection failure before receiving AUTHENTICATION
RESPONSE, it releases all the MM connections and terminates all the active MM
procedures.
T3260 timeout
T3260 is started when MSC sends authentication request to BSC and stops when
MSC receives AUTHENTICATION RESPONSE. If the T3260 times out before the
AUTHENTICATION RESPONSE is received, the network releases RR connection,
terminates the authentication procedure and all the active MM procedures, and
then releases all the MM connections and initiates RR connection release
procedure.
Unregistered SIM card
If the SIM card of the MS is not registered, the network sends AUTHENTICATION
REJECT message directly to the MS.
II. Encryption
Encryption reject
If BSS does not support the encryption algorithm specified in CIPHERING MODE
CMD, it sends CIPHER MODE REJECT message to MSC.
If the encryption is initiated in BSS before MSC requests for the change of
encryption algorithm, BSS also sends CIPHER MODE REJECT message to MSC.
Un-encrypted MS
The CIPHERING MODE COMMAND message is valid when:
–The un-encrypted MS receives CIPHERING MODE COMMMAND message that
requires encryption.
–The un-encrypted MS receives CIPHERING MODE COMMMAND message that
requires non-encryption.
–The encrypted MS receives CIPHERING MODE COMMMAND message that
requires non-encryption.
In other cases, CIPHERING MODE COMMAND is considered wrong. The MS sends
RR STATUS message with the cause of protocol error and performs no action.
III. TMSI Reallocation
RR connection failure
If RR connection fails before TMSI reallocation complete message is received,
all the MM connections are released and both the old and new TMSIs are saved
during a certain recovery time.
T3250 timeout
T3250 is started when MSC sends TMSI_ REALL_ CMD message or LOC UPD ACC
message with the new TMSI and stops when MSC receives TMSI _REALL_COM. If
T3250 times out before the TMSI _REALL_COM is received, MSC sends CLEAR
COM message to release RR connection and terminate TMSI reallocation.
1.12 Location Update
In GSM, the paging information cannot be sent in the whole network due to the
capacity limit of the paging channel. Therefore, the definition of location area
(LA) is introduced. LAC contains many cells. The paging for the MS is carried
out through the paging in all the cells within the LA of the MS. The size of the
LA is of vital importance to the system performance in network design.
The registration management for the LA is required since the paging for the MS
is carried out through the paging in all the cells within the LA, which brings
about the definition of location update. Location update is divided into generic
location update, periodic location update, and IMSI attach.
1.12.1 Generic Location Update (Inter-LA Location Update)
When the MS moves from one LA to another LA, registration is required. If the
LAI stored in the MS is different from the LAI of the current cell, the MS informs
the network to change the location information it stores. This procedure is
called generic location update.
In idle mode, if cell re-selection occurs when the MS moves within the LA, the
MS will not inform the network immediately but implement cell re-selection
without location update or network involvement. If the MS moves to another LA
after re-selection, the MS informs the network of this LA change, which is
called forced registration.
According to whether the VLR changes or IMSI involves, generic location update
is divided into the following types:
I. Intra VlR Location Update
It is the simplest location update that requires no IMSI. It happens in the
current VLR without informing the HLR.
In the initial message carried by SABM frame, the access cause is MM LOCATION
UPDATING REQUEST that carries the MS TMSI and LAI. The generic location
updating is indicated. MSC receives this message and forwards it to VLR. VLR
updates the MS location information and stores the new LAI, and then sends a
new TMSI to MS if required (MS uses the former TMSI if no TMSI is carried in the
TMSI re-allocation command). After receiving the TMSI re-allocation complete
message, MSC sends location updating accept message and releases the
channel. Location updating completes.
II. Inter-VLR Location Updating, Sending TMSI
After the MS enters a cell, if the current LAI is different from the LAI it stores,
it sends its LAI and TMSI to VLR through MSC in location updating request. VLR
deduces the former VLR based on the LAI and TMSI it received and sends a
MAP_SEND_IDENTIFICATION to the former VLR to request for IMSI and
authentication parameter. The former VLR sends the IMSI and authentication
parameters to the current VLR. If the current VLR cannot obtain the IMSI, it
sends MS an identity request message to request for the IMSI. After receiving
the IMSI, VLR sends HLR the location updating message that contains the MS
identity information for the data query and path establishment of HLR. After
receiving this message, HLR stores the number of the current VLR and sends
MAP/D_CANCEL_LOCATION to the former VLR if the current MSC/VLR has the
normal service rights. After receiving this message, the former VLR deletes all
the information about this MS and sends the HLR a
MAP/D_CANCEL_LOCATION_RESULT message to confirm the deletion. The HLR
will send MAP_INSERT_SUBSCRIBER_DATA message to provide the current VLR
with the information it requires (including authentication parameters) after the
procedure for authentication, encryption, and TMSI reallocation is over, and
confirm the location updating after receiving the response from the VLR.
III. Inter-VLR Location Updating, Sending IMSI
The procedure is similar with the procedure above but easier because it
requests for authentication parameter from the HLR through IMSI directly.
1.12.2 Periodic Location updating
The network and the MS lose contact when:
The MS is switched on but moves out of the network coverage area (dead
zone). The network lost contact with the MS and regards it still in attach
status.
The MS sends IMSI detach message and the uplink quality is bad due to
interference, the network may not be able to decode this message correctly.
The MS is still regarded in attach status.
The MS is power off. It cannot inform the network of its status and the contact
is lost.
If the paging for MS happens when the contact is lost, the system sends paging
information in the LA that the MS registered before. The network cannot
receive the response from the MS. The system resource is wasted. To solve this
problem, the implicit detach timer is introduced in the VLR for the IMSI status
management. In addition, measures are taken in BSS to force the MS to report
its location periodically. Therefore, the network is informed of the status of
MS. This kind of mechanism is called periodic location updating. The network
sends a periodic location updating time T3212 to all the users in the cell
through BCCH to force the MS to send location updating request with the cause
of periodic location updating after T3212 times out.
Before the T3212 times out, if the timeout value is changed (for example, the
service cell changes and the T3212 timeout value is broadcast), the MS uses the
time when the change happens as the initial value and keep on timing.
If the T3212 times out when the MS is in NO CELL AVAILABLE, LIMITED SERVICE,
PLMN SEARCH, or PLMN SEARCH-NORMAL SERVICE status, the location updating
is initiated after the MS is out of these service status.
Periodic location updating ensures the close contact between network and
mobile users. The shorter updating period leads to better network
performance. But the frequent location updating will increase the signaling
flow and reduce the utilization of the radio resources, or even affect the
processing ability of MSC, BSC, and BTS. On the other hand, it will greatly
increase the power consumption of MS and reduce its standby time. The T3212
setting should be based on comprehensive consideration.
The procedure for periodic location updating is the same as that for generic
location updating.
1.12.3 IMSI Attach and Detach
IMSI attach and detach means to attach a binary mark to the subscriber record
in MSC/VLR. The former one is marked as access granted, and the latter one is
marked as access denied.
When the MS is switched on, it informs the network of its status change by
sending an IMSI ATTACH message to the network to inform. After receiving this
message, the network marks the current user status in the system database for
the paging program.
If the current LAI and the LAI the MS stores are the same, IMSI attach is
initiated. The procedure is similar to the intra VLR location updating only that
the location updating request message is marked as IMSI attach and the initial
message contains IMSI of the MS.
If the current LAI is different from the LAI stored, generic location updating is
initiated.
When the MS is switched off, the IMSI detach is triggered by a key-press. Only
one command is sent to MSC/VLR from the MS. This is an unacknowledged
message. After receiving this message, MSC informs VLR to do detach mark to
this IMSI while the HLR is not informed of the no-radio of this user. When the
paging for this user occurs, HLR requests for the MSRN from the VLR and is
informed of the no-radio of this user by this time. Therefore, no paging
program is implemented. The paging message is handled directly, such as
playing the record: "The subscriber is powered off."
The procedure above is explicit IMSI detach. There is also implicit detach. The
implicit detach happens before the implicit detach timer times out. If the
contact between MS and network is not established, the VLR sets the IMSI
status as detach. The implicit detach timer is set longer than the periodic
location updating timer T3212 to avoid "abnormal" implicit detach. The implicit
detach is denied during the establishment of radio connection. The implicit
detach timer is reset after the release of radio connection. Implicit detach
timer is also called IMSI delete time.
VLR deletes the IMSI marked as detach periodically (The period is adjustable)
and reports the user status to the HLR.
1.12.4 Exceptional Situations
I. MS
Access denied because of access level limit
MS stays in the service cell and performs the normal cell re-selection procedure
without triggering location updating. When the current cell allows access or
other cell is selected, The MS initiates location updating immediately.
IMMEDIATE ASSIGNMENT REJECT message is received during random access
MS stays in the service cell and starts T3122 based on the value in the
immediate assignment reject message. The normal cell selection and re-
selection procedure is performed. If the cell that the MS stays changes or
T3122 times out, the MS initiates location updating.
Random access failure
If the random access fails, T3213 is started. After the T3213 times out, the
random access procedure is initiated. If two successive random accesses fail,
the location updating is terminated. For the subsequent processing, see the
following description.
RR connection failure: Location updating procedure is terminated. For the
subsequent processing, see the following description.
T3210 timeout: Location updating fails. For the subsequent processing, see the
following description.
The completion of RR connection is abnormal: Location updating fails. For the
subsequent processing, see the following description.
Location updating reject due to reasons other than #2, #3, #6, #11, #12, or
#13: MS waits for the release of RR connection. For the subsequent processing,
see the following description.
# 2 (IMSI unknown in HLR)
# 3 (Illegal MS)
# 6 (Illegal ME)
# 11 (PLMN not allowed)
# 12 (Location Area not allowed)
# 13 (Roaming not allowed in this location area)
Subsequent processing: If the T3210 is still timing, stop it; If T3210 times out,
RR connection fails. Add 1 to the location updating attempt timer. The
following processing depends on the LAI (stored and received from the service
cell) and the value of the location updating attempt timer.
If the location updating status is UPDATED, the stored LAI and the received LAI
are the same, and the location updating attempt timer is less than 4, MS keeps
the UPDATED status. After the release of RR connection, the sub status of MM
IDLE becomes NORMAL SERVICE. The MS also stores the information about the
former location updating type. The T3211 is started after RR connection
release. After it times out, the location updating procedure is started again.
If the location updating status is not UPDATED, or the stored LAI is different
from the received LAI, or the location updating attempt timer is equal to or
less than 4, the MS deletes the ciphering key sequence, LAI, TMSI stored in SIM
card and sets the location updating status as NOT UPDATED. After the release
of RR connection, the sub status of MM IDLE becomes ATTEMPTING TO UPDATE.
After the RR connection release, if the location updating attempt is less than 4,
T3211 is started. Otherwise, T3212 is started. After the T3211 or T3212 times
out, the location updating procedure is started again.
After the sub status of MM IDLE becomes ATTEMPTING TO UPDATE, the MS will
do the following:
If T3211, T3213, or T3212 times out, perform location updating.
If LA changes, perform generic location updating
If the cause for the status change is (3), (4), (6) (the cause is not the abnormal
release with unknown reason), or (7) (cause “retry in the new cell”), perform
location updating when entering the new cell.
If the cause for the status change is (5), (6) (the cause is abnormal release with
unknown reason), or (7) (the cause is not “retry in the new cell”), location
updating is not performed when entering the new cell.
No IMSI detach.
Support emergency call request
Respond the paging with IMSI
Perform generic location updating triggered by the request from CM layer (if
the location updating succeeds, the MML connection request will be accepted.
For details, see section 4.5.1 of the Protocol 0408).
II. Matching Between IMSI Delete Time and T3212
If the periodic location updating fails for four times, T3212 will be started for
the next update. In the bad coverage area, especially in the area where the
uplink and downlink do not match (downlink is better than uplink), after the
periodic location update fails,
Another location updating is initiated after T3212 times out. Therefore, the
T3212 is set to be shorter in the bad coverage area. In addition, if the IMSI
delete time is less than twice of the T3212, the users stay in the service area
but cannot be called. So the IMSI delete time should be more than twice of the
T3212 and based on LAC.
III. Network
RR connection failure
Among all the sub procedures attached to the location updating procedure, if
the RR connection fails, it is handled according to the exception handling of
other common procedures.
If no other common procedure is attached to the location updating procedure,
the MS location updating is terminated.
Protocol error
If the network detects protocol error after receiving LOCATION UPDATING
REQUEST, it sends LOCATION UPDATING REJECT message to the MS with the
following cause if possible:
#96 required IE error
#99 IE error or no IE exists
#100 Conditional IE error
#111 Protocol error, undefined
After sending LOCATION UPDATING REJECT to the MS, the network initiates
channel release procedure.
1.13 MS Originating Call Flow
The MS needs to set up a main signaling link to connect to MSC first, and then
initiates the authentication, encryption, and TMSI reassignment flow.
1.13.1 Called Number Analysis
After the authentication, encryption, and TMSI reassignment flow are over, the
MS starts the call setup flow.
First, the MS sends a SETUP message to the network side. This message
contains called number and the required services. The MSC implements the call
proceeding according to the message.
When receive the SETUP message, the MSC sends the outgoing call message
SEND_INFO_FOR_O/C_CALL to the VLR. After receive the outgoing call
message, the VLR analyzes the items such as called number, the calling party
capability, and network resources capability according to the user information
obtained from the HLR during the location updating process, to check whether
to accept this call request. If a certain item cannot be passed, the VLR sends
the RELEASE COMPLETE message to the MS. The call fails. The MS then
proceeds to release the bottom layer connection and switches to the idle state.
If the above items can be passed, the VLR sends the COMPLETE_CALL message
to the MSC. After receive this message, the MSC sends the CALL PROCEEDING
message to the MS. It means that the call request is accepted and the call is
set up.

1.13.2 Voice Channel Assignment (Follow-up Assignment)

After send the CALL PROCEEDING message to the MS, the MSC activates the
follow-up assignment according to the service request. That is, assign the TCH
voice channel to the user. At this time, the MSC sends the ASSIGNMENT
REQUEST message to the BSC. This message contains the information such as
the requested channel type to request the BSC to assign the TCH voice channel
for the call.
After receive the channel request from the MSC, the BSC sends the Channel
Activation for TCH message to the BTS to activate corresponding terrestrial
resources and start a timer at the same time if the TCH channel resources are
available. If the BTS has prepared the resources such as circuit, the BTS sends
the CHANNEL ACTIVATION ACK message to the BSC. If the BSC has no available
resources to assign, it sends the RESOURCE FAILURE message to the MSC. But if
the system allows queuing, the BSC sends the QUEUING INDICATION message to
the MSC and places the assignment request in the queue and starts the timer
T11. If the T11 times out, the BSC sends the CLEAR REQUEST message to the
MSC.
The immediate assignment request, intra-BSC handover, and inter-BSC
handover do not support queuing. Only the TCH resource request (that is, the
assignment request and intra-cell handover) allows queuing. The TCH resource
requests in the queue are assigned with relevant channels in the sequence of
their priorities. In the length of the queue reaches its threshold or the timer
times out, the request is rejected.
When the BSC receives the CHANNEL ACTIVATION ACK message from the BTS,
the BSC puts the physical information of the channel provided by the BTS in the
ASSIGNMENT COMMAND message (this message contains the information such as
channel type, voice/data indication, channel rate, voice decoding algorithm
and transparent transmission indicator, assignment priority and CIC). The
ASSIGNMENT COMMAND message is sent to the MS through the SDCCH channel.

After receive the ASSIGNMENT COMMAND message from the BTS, the MS adjusts
the transceiver configuration to the TCH channel and then sends the SABM
message to the BTS through the FACCH channel in the way of stolen frame.
After the BTS receives the SABM message, the BTS sends the ESTABLISH
INDICATION message to the BSC and then sends an Unnumbered Acknowledge
(UA) to the MS, just as the initial signaling channel assignment does.
After receive the UA, the MS sends the ASSIGNMENT COMMPLETE message to
the BTS through the FACCH channel. If the MS fails to identify the assignment
information and fails to occupy the specified channel due to the radio interface
failure, radio interface message failure or interference, or hardware problems,
the MS returns to the original channel and sends the ASSIGNMENT FAILURE to
the BTS. If the MS does not receive the ASSIGNMENT COMMAND sent from BTS
or the BTS does not receive the response message sent from MS due to
interference or other causes, the system starts the corresponding timers (such
as T3103 or T3107) and when the timer times out, the channel is released.
When receive the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message, the BSC sends the
ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message to the MSC. At the same time, it also sends
the RF CHANNEL RELEASE message to the BTS to release the occupied SDCCH
signaling channel. When the BTS releases the signaling channel, it sends the RF
CHANNEL RELEASE ACK message to the BSC. After the BSC receive the message,
it considers that the signaling channel is in idle state and can be assigned to
other channel requests.
For different purposes, the GSM has three different channel assignment flows.
They are initial channel assignment, follow-up channel assignment, and
handover channel assignment.
Initial channel assignment: is mandatory to establish the link transmission
between the MS and the network. For example, process the location updating
request.
During the establishment of the signaling transmission, if the TCH channel is
assigned preferably, this assignment is called very early assignment (VEA).
After the MSC sends the ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message, the BSC does not apply
for new channel but initiate the Mode_Modify flow. After the Mode_Modify is
complete, the BSC reports the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message to the MSC.
If the SDCCH channel is assigned first, and the TCH channel is assigned when it
is needed, and then ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message from MSC is sent before the
Alerting message, this assignment is called early assignment (EA).
If the SDCCH channel is assigned first and the TCH is assigned after the called
party sends the CONNECT message, Generally, it adopts the EA mode.

If the EA mode is used in the initial assignment, when no SDCCH is available,

assign the TCH channel for the channel request directly. The TCH channel
replaces the SDCCH channel to send the signaling message. Please note that
using the TCH channel to transmit the signaling wastes the resources a lot
because one TCH channel equals eight SDCCH channels. When this situation is
quite serious, add more SDCCH to meet the requirement in time.
Follow-up channel assignment
After the signaling channel finishes the authentication and encryption process,
if there is still voice or data request, the follow-up channel assignment is
triggered to assign a TCH channel.
Handover channel assignment
This assignment is used to apply for channels due to handover during the call
process. The system judges whether the handover occurs in the SDCCH or in
the TCH to assign corresponding channels. The handover flow and the
assignment flow in the cell are the same. The only difference is that the
message names are different. Similar to the immediate assignment flow, in the
MS assignment flow, the timer T3107 starts when the BSC sends the
ASSIGNMENT COMMAND message to the BTS. After the BSC receives the
ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message from the BTS, the timer T3107 resets.
Generally, the timeout of the timer is caused by the bad radio coverage. When
the timer times out, the MS is considered disconnected with the network and
the resources are released for other MSs. Based on the statistics, the channel
assignment is generally complete within two seconds. If the BSC does not
receive the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message within two seconds, the
assignment fails. But sometime, the network quality is bad, some messages
needs to be sent several times, in this case, the assignment can be extended to
five seconds. Generally, if the traffic load of the cell is heavy, set the timer as
2 seconds to 5 seconds. If not heavy, set the timer as 10 seconds.
1.13.3 Call Connection
After receiving the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message from the BSC, the MSC
sends the Initial Address Message (IAM) that includes the information used to
establish the route to the called network. The MSC will receive the call setup
report soon. If succeeds, the MSC receives an ADDDRESS COMPLETE message
(ACM); if fails because of certain reason (such as busy line or congestion), the
MSC receives a RELESASE message from the called end.
If MSC receives the ACM, MSC sends the ALERTING message to the MS (MS
translates it into ring back tone). This message is a DTAP message. If no answer
is received from the called party and the calling party does not terminate the
connection, the network will terminate the call or perform no answer call
transfer after a while.
If the called party picks up the phone, MSC receives an ANSWER message. The
link between the calling party and the called party is connected. MSC sends a
CONNECT message in the CC protocol to the MS. After receiving this message,
the MS sends a CONNECT ACKNOWLEDGE message in the CC protocol to the
system. The system starts charging after receiving this message. If the called
end is data device, it enters CONNECT status directly after receiving the SETUP
indication. The call connection procedure is over and the two parties start the
conversation or data transmission service.
1.13.4 Call Release
If the calling party hangs up first, the MS sends disconnect message to MSC
through FACCH. After receiving this message, the MSC sends release message to
inform the called party to terminate the communication. The end-to-end
connection is over. But the call is not complete, because certain tasks such as
sending charge indication are performed. When the connection to the MS is no
longer necessary, the system sends a RELEASE message to the MS and starts
T308. After receiving this message, the MS sends a RELEASE COMPLETE message
to the system and the call is over. The MS stops the T308 after receiving the
RELEASE COMPLETE message. Similarly, if the called party hangs up first, it
sends a RELEASE message to the calling party. The MSC sends the calling party
a DISCONNECT message after receiving the RELEASE message. If the call is
terminated in an abnormal way, this message further indicates the cause for
that.
When the MSC receives the RELEASE COMPLETE message from the MS, it sends a
CLEAR COMMAND message to BSC to release all the signaling links. This message
contains the cause for the call clearance, such as handover complete or
location updating complete. The call connection release is over. If the
abnormal release occurs because of radio link failure or device failure, the BSC
sends a CLEAR REQUEST message to the MSC.
After receiving the CLEAR REQUEST message, BSC sends a CHANNEL RELEASE
message to the MS and starts T3109 to show that all the lower layer links are
released. Meanwhile, it requires the MS to enter the idle mode. When the MS
receives the CHANNEL RELEASE message, it removes the uplink signaling link
(to stop sending the measurement report of uplink channel associated signaling
on SACCH). The MS sends DISC message to BTS and starts T3110. After receiving
this message, The BTS sends UA to MS and the RELEASE INDICATION to the BSC.
When the T3110 times out or the MS receives the UA frame, it enters the idle
mode.

In order to ensure the timely removal of the uplink and downlink, when the BSC
sends the CHANNEL RELEASE message to the MS for the uplink removal, it also
sends a deactivate SACCH (SACCH) to the BTS requiring for the release of the
downlink signaling (to stop the signaling connection between the two parties).
After receiving this message, the BTS stops the transmission of the downlink
SACCH frame and sends the deactivate SACCH acknowledgement to the MSC.
After receiving the RELEASE INDICATION message, BSC resets the T3109 and
starts the T3111, and sends RF CHANNLE RELEASE to the BTS (the T3111 is reset
at the same time), requiring for the release of TCH resources. When the BSC
receives the RF CHANNLE RELEASE acknowledgement message from the BTS, it
sends a CLEAR COMPLETE message to the MSC, indicating that the radio link
clearance is over and the channel is available for reallocation.
After receiving the CLEAR COMPLETE message, the MSC releases the SCCP
connection by sending RLSD and receiving RLC. The whole MS originating call
flow is over.
1.13.5 Exceptional Situations
I. No Establish Indication Message Is Received After Channel Activation
The main causes are:
The MS may send many channel requests even if the BSS works well, which
activates many signaling channels. But the MS only occupies one of them. Other
channels are released by the BSC after the T3101 times out as they cannot
receive the establish indication from the MS. If the Tx_interger is proper, the
cause for this problem is that the uplink reception is normal but the downlink
signal cannot be received by the MS. Under such circumstances, the received
level and the received quality of uplink and downlink should be checked. If the
MS is not far away from the BTS but the received level and the received quality
are bad, check the antenna feeder and the TRX in BTS.
Improper configuration of Tx-integer in BSC
The Tx-integer affects the interval of channel request re-sending. Improper Tx-
integer only leads to the activation of many channels by BSS, but no call will be
affected.
II. BSC Sending Immediate Assignment Reject
If the BSC sends immediate assignment reject to the MS after receiving the
channel required message, the usual causes are:
No proper signaling channel is available for the MS because of all channels are
busy or the channels are blocked.
BTS sends channel activation negative acknowledge after receiving the channel
activation message.
If the BTS sends lots of channel activation negative acknowledge messages to
the BSC, it is usually because the transmission at Abis interface is not stable,
which leads to the inconsistent channel status of the BSC and BTS, or because
errors occur in certain board of BTS.
III. MSC Sending Disconnect Message Instead of Assignment Request to
Terminate the Call
In the call connection process, the immediate assignment is followed by the
assignment procedure. But due to certain reasons, the MSC sends a disconnect
message instead of the assignment request message to the MS and then
terminates the call. Under such circumstances, many complaint phones from
users cannot get through. Check the following:
The A interface circuit of MSC
The data consistencies of the A interface between the MSC and BSC, especially
the circuit pool data.
IV. Assignment Failure
After receiving the assignment request, the BSC sends assignment failure
message instead of assignment complete. The usual causes are:
No proper voice channel is available for the MS.
BSC has no proper voice channel for the MS because all the voice channels are
busy or the channels are blocked.
The cause value carried by the assignment failure message is no radio resource.
The MS voice channel access fails.
Under this condition, the assignment failure is reported from the MS.
Due to the special features of the radio transmission, this kind of assignment
failure occurs most frequently and is unsolvable. If the occurrence rate is too
high, check the antenna feeder, the BTS board, and the parameters related to
channel access in BSC data configuration.
The A interface circuit of BSC fails, for example, the CIC in the assignment
request is not available.
The hardware of BSC fails.
The cause value in the assignment failure message sent by BSC is equipment
failure.
The transmission at A interface fails.
V. Directed Retry
After receiving the assignment request message from the MSC, if no TCH is
available and the BSC allows directed retry, the BSC implements the handover
with the cause value of directed retry to change the service cell of the MS.
VI. Exceptional Procedure Due to Call Drop
Call drop may occur any time during the call flow, which affects the following
procedures. For example, the call drop occurs when the BSC receives the
assignment request message from the MSC. The assignment procedure may be
not complete (the channel may be just assigned and no assignment command
message is sent). Under this condition, BSC may send clear request message
instead of assignment complete message or assignment failure message to the
MSC.
VII. Exceptional Procedure Due to Hangup
Hang up of the calling party or the called party may occur any time during the
call flow, which affects the following procedures. For example, the hangup
occurs when the BSC receives the assignment request from the MSC. Under this
condition, the call flow may be terminated before the BSC sends assignment
complete or assignment failure to the MSC. This assignment procedure neither
succeeds (BSC sends assignment complete) nor fails (BSC sends assignment
failure).
VIII. Exceptional procedure because MSC sends clear command
After the A interface connect is established, MSC may send clear command or
disconnect message to the BSC during the call flow, which affects the following
procedures. For example, the hang up occurs when the BSC receives the
assignment request from the MSC. Under this condition, the call flow may be
terminated before the BSC sends assignment complete or assignment failure to
the MSC. This assignment procedure neither succeeds (BSC sends assignment
complete) nor fails (BSC sends assignment failure)
If it happens many times, analysis the following two factors:
The cause value carried in the clear command
The cause value is usually the call control if the call is terminated in a normal
way. Otherwise, the cause value may be protocol error, equipment failure, or
others.
The interval between the clear command or disconnect message and the last
message
The interval between the clear command or disconnect message and the last
message indicates whether the exceptional procedure is triggered by timeout.
1.14 MS Originated Call Flow
1.14.1 Enquiry
After the signaling link for the calling end is established, the Initial Address
Message with Information (IAI) is send from the calling end to the GMSC. The IAI
contains the MSISDN of the called party. GMSC analyzes the identification
number of the CCS7 of the HLR and sends this HLR the
SEND_ROUTING_INFORMATION message. After receiving this message, the HLR
checks the user record, and then performs different procedures and responds
the GMSC as follows:
Under normal circumstances, the HLR only has the partial information about
the identification of the current VLR, such as the CCS7 address or the universal
mark. To get the routing information for the call, the HLR sends the VLR a
PROVIDE ROAMING_ NUMBER message that contains the user IMSI information,
requiring the VLR to provide a MSRN for this call. When the MSC/VLR receives
this message, it selects a roaming number from the idle numbers to temporarily
connect it to the IMSI, and sends the PROVIDE_ROAMING_NUMBER_RESULT
message with the MSRN assigned to this call in it to the HLR. When the HLR
receives the MSRN, it transfers the information by sending a
SEND_ROUTING_INFORMATION_RESULT message to the call originating GMSC.
Then the GMSC can find the VLR with the obtained MSRN and sends the IAI to
it. After receiving this message, the MSC restores the IMSI of this user in its
memory record with the MSRN and starts the paging for the MS. After the call is
established, this roaming number is released for another user.
If the record of the called party is set as Barring of All Incoming Calls (BAIC) or
Barring of Incoming Calls when roaming is outside the home PLMN country
(BIC_roam) according to the message sent by the VLR and the user is in roaming
now, the HLR rejects this call.
If the user record is set as Call Forwarding Unconditional (CFU), the HLR sends
the MSRN to the original GMSC to analyze this number and redefine the routing.
If no VLR number of the user is found and no call forwarding is set, Error
message will be sent to the GMSC.
1.14.2 Paging
After receiving the IAI from the GMSC, the called MSC sends a
SEND_INFO_I/C_CALL message to the VLR and the VLR will analyze the called
number and the network resource capacity to check whether this requirement
is acceptable. If certain item is not accepted, it informs the calling end that
the call establishment fails. Under normal circumstances, the VLR sends the
MSC a PAGING MAP message that contains the location area identification (LAI)
and the IMSI or TMSI of the called party, informing the MSC to perform the
paging procedure.
When the MSC obtains the LA information of the MS from the VLR, it sends all
the BSCs in this LA the paging message that contains the cell list and the TMSI
and IMSI information required for paging. The IMSI can be used in the paging for
the MS through the cell paging channel. In addition, it is also used to confirm
the paging subchannel in the discontinuous reception processing.
BSC sends the PAGING COMMAND to all the cells in the LA. This command
message contains the paging channel group number and the timeslot number
(obtained by the calculation of the last three numbers of the IMSI, the total
number of the paging channels, and the total number of the paging timeslots).
When the cell receives this paging command, it sends the PAGING REQUEST
message on the paging channel. The message contains the IMSI or TMSI of the
user paged.
If the called MS detects the paging by decoding the paging information, it sends
a channel request to initiate the channel allocation process. After receiving the
immediate assignment command from the network, the MS sends the initial
message of PAGING RESPOSE on the channel assigned through the SABM frame,
and then implements the authentication, encryption, TMSI reallocation, and
finally begins the call establishment process.
1.14.3 Call Establishment for the Called Party
After the TMSI reallocation is over, the MSC sends the MS a SETUP message that
includes all the details required such as the service type and the calling
number. After receiving this message, the called MS confirms the information
and sends a CALL CONFIRMED message back if the service is available. The call
confirmed message carries the parameters that the MS selects, such as the
channel type (full rate TCH or half rate TCH) and the service type.
After receiving the call confirmed message, the MSC sends the assignment
command to the BSC for the voice channel allocation. After the assignment
procedure is over, the called MS sends an ALERTING message to the network
and a ringing prompt occurs to the called MS. when the MSC receives this
message, it sends an Address Complete Message (ACM) to the calling end. After
receiving this message, the calling end makes a ring back tone as the
originating user prompter.
The called user hears the ringing and responds, and then sends a CONNECT
message to the MSC. After receiving this message, the MSC connects all the
transmission links. The end-to-end transmission is established.
1.14.4 The Influence of Call Transfer to Routing
In the supplementary services, call transfer has the greatest influence on call
routing. The call transfer is mainly caused by Call Forwarding Unconditional
(CFU), Call Forwarding Busy (CFB), Call Forwarding on mobile subscriber Not
Reachable (CFNRc), and Call Forwarding on No Reply (CFNRy). The routing
selection for each function is as follows:
I. CFU
When the GMSC sends the SEND_ROUTING_INFORMATION message to the HLR, if
the CFU function is available, the HLR sends the
SEND_ROUTING_INFORMATION_RESULT message with the transfer number in it
back to the GMSC for it to redefine the routing.
II. CFB
When the GMSC finds the VMSC/VLR with the MSRN obtained from the HLR, but
the called end is busy and the CFB function is available, the VMSC/VLR
implements the call transfer of the transfer number and sends it to the third
party. If the CFB function is not available, the GNSC handles the call directly,
such as playing the user bush record.
III. CFNRc
The routing selection for this function is based on how the network decides the
called party is not reachable. The processing is different for different criteria.
If the last location registration of the called user fails, and the HLR keeps the
record of this situation and knows the MS is unreachable, it makes the CFNRc
decision by itself.
If the HLR does not keep the record of this situation, the call flow continues
until the MSC performs the paging for the user and gets no response from the
user in due time. The user is decided not reachable. The MSC forwards this
call. This kind of situation has many causes. One of them is that the user enters
the dead zone or the MS is power-off, but the VMSC has not made the periodic
check on the IMSI attached user yet, so it cannot judge the MS status and the
paging fails. Another cause is that the MS is in frequent location updating on
the edge of the LA and cannot respond the paging or the channel request fails,
which leads to paging timeout.
If the MS is in IMSI detach (the MS is switched off or out of the service area for
a long time), because the detach tag is in the VLR instead of the HLR, the call
forwarding can only be initiated by the VMSC/VLR. When the VLR periodically
deletes the long-term detached IMSI and informs the HLR, the HLR need not
contact the VLR.
IV. CFNRy
If the paging of the VMSC for the user succeeds and the called end sends the
ALERTING message to the system, but the called user makes no response in due
time and the CFNRy function is activated, the call forwarding procedure is
initiated.
V. CW and HOLD
Call Waiting (CW) is a supplementary service. When the MSC receives the IAI
from the calling end, if the called user is in another conversation and the CW
function is enabled, the MSC skips the paging procedure and directly sends a
SETUP message to the MS by using the current signaling mode. When the CW
function is enabled, the handover of the two calls can be performed.
When the CFB and the CW are enabled at the same time, the CW is initiated
first if another call is coming. The CFB will be initiated when a third call is
coming.
1.14.5 Exceptional Situations
This section only analyzes the common abnormal procedures. For other
abnormal procedures, see "Mobile Originating Call Establishment Procedure."
Upon paging failure, the MSC prompts voice information to the calling party,
indicating the called MS is outside the serving area or cannot be connected. In
this case, trace the signaling on interfaces A and Abis to check whether the
paging failure is caused by:
No PAGING COMMAND at A interface
No PAGING COMMAND at Abis interface
No PAGING RESPONSE at Abis interface
No PAGING RESPONSE at A interface
I. No Paging Command at A Interface
Through signaling tracing over interface A, the MSC is detected that it has not
sent a PAGING message to the BSC. In this case, check the data configuration
and MS information in the MSC/VLR and HLR on the NSS side. Additionally,
power off the called MS, power it on and make a test call to check whether the
MS is normal.
Checking user data in VLR
When an MS is paged, the MSC judges the current state of the MS by the user
data (including MS active state, registered LA, cell information), and decides
whether or how to send the PAGING message.
If the MS state has changed (for example, the MS is switched off, or has
entered a different LA) and has not registered in the network normally or
updated user data in VLR, the MS may probably be unable to be paged.
In that case, the MS only need to initiate a location updating procedure to
ensure that the user data in VLR is correct. The period of periodic location
updating is indicated in system information. On MSC side, there is also a
location updating period (See "Location updating Procedure"). The two
parameters of BSC and MSC must satisfy a certain relationship, which requires
that MS must initiate a location updating procedure within the period specified
in MSC.
Checking RA- or Cell-Related parameter settings in MSC
If a routing area or cell related parameter is incorrectly set in the MSC, the
transmission of the PAGING message may fail. For example, if a wrong target
BSC is selected, the PAGING message that should have been sent to the local
BSC will be sent to another BSC.
II. No Paging Command at Abis Interface
Upon receiving the PAGING message from the MSC, the BSC detects that the
MSC has not sent PAGING COMMAND to the BTS over interface Abis. In this case,
check the operations and data configuration in the BSC。
Checking if flow control is enabled
Check if the system load suddenly increases due to centralized transmission of
short messages or mass access bursts.
Checking relevant data configuration
Check if the CGI information in BSC data configuration is consistent with the
LAC information in the PAGING message over A interface. Additionally, if RA- or
cell-related parameter is not correctly set in the MSC, for example, a wrong
target BSC is selected, the PAGING COMMAND message cannot be successfully
sent over Abis interface.
Check whether the following parameters in the [System information table] are
correctly set: "BS_AG_BLKS_RES", "CCCH-CONF" and "BS_PA_MFRMS".
III. No Paging Response at Abis Interface
Through signaling tracing over Abis interface, the BSC is detected that it has
not received the Establishment Indication (PAGING RESPONSE) after sending
PAGING COMMAND to the BTS. In this case, check the relevant data
configuration and radio signal coverage.
Check if there is PCH or AGCH overload due to centralized short message
transmission or mass access bursts.
Check the called MS or SIM in it.
Check BTS by making test calls in a different cell.
Check data configuration in BSCCheck whether the following parameters in the
[System information table] are correctly configured: "BS_AG_BLKS_RES", "CCCH-
CONF", "BS_PA_MFRMS", "Tx-integer," and "MS MAX retrans". Check the setting
for "location updating period" in BSC and that in MSC
Check radio signal coverage
Due to the problem of radio signal coverage, there might be some blind
coverage areas. The MS that has entered a blind coverage area cannot receive
the PAGING REQUEST message. In that case, the MS cannot be paged. Such
cases, if any, only exist in partial areas.
IV. No Paging Response at A Interface
Through signaling tracing at Abis interface, the BSC is detected that it has
received an Establishment Indication (PAGING RESPONSE) message from the BTS
but this message is not reported over interface A.
1.15 HO
As a key technology in the cellular mobile telecommunication system, handover
(HO) can reduce the call drop rate and the network cross interference. The
handover procedure consists of handover trigger, handover preparation and
decision, and handover execution.
HO can be divided into synchronous HO and asynchronous HO based on Timing
Advance (TA). Synchronous HO means the two cells are synchronized with each
other and the MS can calculate the new TA (the HO command indicates
whether the HO is synchronous or not). Asynchronous HO requires the BTS to
calculate the new TA. When the MS receives the HO command and requests for
the new BTS access, the new BTS informs the MS of the calculated TA. The MS
access to the new channel can also be divided into four types: synchronous,
asynchronous, pre-synchronous, and pseudo-synchronous. The first three types
are required in MS and the last one is optional. The pseudo-synchronous HO can
be performed only when the MS supports this function. In the pseudo-
synchronous HO, the handover command from the BTS of the original service
cell contains the RTD value (the TA difference between the source BTS and the
target BTS). The MSC calculates the TA required for the access to the new BTS
based on the RTD value.
The HO process involves MS, BTS, BSC, and MSC. According to the location
where the HO happens, the HO can be divided into intra-cell HO and inter-cell
HO. To be more specific, intra-cell HO, intra-BTS HO, intro-BSC HO, intra-MSC
HO, and inter-MSC HO. The function of each unit is: MS measures the downlink
performance and the signal strength; BTS monitors the received signal level
and quality of the uplink and the interference level of the idle traffic channel;
BSC handles the measurement report and makes the HO decision; MSC decides
the target cell of the inter-BSC HO.
1.15.1 HO Preparation
I. Measurement Report
The HO decision depends on the measurement report (MR) sent by MS through
uplink SACCH to the network and the MR of the uplink sent by BTS. These two
reports are sent to BSC at the same time for decision. The system information
that includes the parameters of the current cell and the neighbor cell are sent
to the MS under the dedicated mode through the downlink SACCH. The MS
reports the RXLEV and quality, TA value, power control, and DTX usage to the
network according to the system information. In addition, the MS also performs
the pseudo-synchronization with the neighbor cell defined by the system for HO
and measures the RXLEV from the BCCH. The MS measures all the frames
except the idle frames that are used to synchronize the neighbor cell and
decode SCH. The MS reports the condition of the cell and the six neighbor cells
with the strongest RXLEV it measures during the measurement period to the
system for the HO decision.
Measurement period
The SACCH measurement period is different if the MS occupies different
channel under the dedicated mode.
–If the SACCH is associated with SDCCH, the measurement period is 470ms,
because a complete SACCH message block occupies two 51 multiframes of
SDCCH.
–If the SACCH is associated with TCH, the measurement period is 480 ms,
because a complete SACCH message block occupies four 26 multiframes of
TCH.
A complete MR consists of four continuous SACCH bursts. On the SDCCH, the
four bursts are transmitted continuously. On the TCH, each 26 multiframe has
only one SACCH burst, so a complete MR requires four 26 multiframes.
Figure 1-1 Measurement period
Whether to use DTX or not, the MR has two values: full measurement value and
sub measurement value. For details, see the DTX description in Chapter 2.
MR processing
BTS handles the uplink MR it makes and the downlink MR it collects from the
MS. It obtains the sample values of the RXLEV, RXQUAL, and TA, and then
calculates the arithmetical mean value and the weighted mean value based on
the related parameters. When the time is up, the system decides whether to
perform the level handover, quality handover, or distance handover.
II. Neighbor Cell Monitoring
To establish the HO relation with the neighbor cells, the MS must listen to the
standard frequency of the neighbor cells defined in the system message. The
standard frequency carries the synchronous channel and frequency correction
channel. One way to decide the received channel is the standard frequency
channel is to confirm that the frequency carries a FCCH. The MS also decodes
the SCH that carries the TDMA frame number and BSIC. The MS can only
analyze the BCCH standard frequency of the neighbor cell in the idle timeslot
of the TCH multiframe. In fact, during the data exchange, the interval between
the end of the reception and the beginning of the transmission (about 1 ms)
can be used to measure the RXLEV and the RXQUAL, but it is not sufficient to
measure the level of the neighbor cell. The interval between the end of the
transmission and the beginning of the reception (about 2 ms) is sufficient to
measure the level of the neighbor cell, but not sufficient to find the FCCH. In
the 26 muliframe of TCH, there is always an idle frame (about 6 ms) available
for MS to decode the FCCH and SCH. But the FCCH of the neighbor cell may not
be found during this timeslot. Therefore, the use of the arithmetic feature of
the two numbers 26 and 51 is required. Because these two numbers have no
common factor, the FCCH can be found during the 11 periods. When SACCH is
associated with SDCCH, although its period is also 51 multiframe, the SDCCH
channel assigned to the MS only occupies 1/8 of the 51 multiframe. Since there
are lots of idle timeslots, the MS can synchronize the neighbor cell.
When the MS receives the SCH, the synchronization is established. To translate
the message on the downlink CSCH, the MS must know the training sequence of
the CSCH. The training sequence is of eight types, matching the BCC 0 to BCC 7
of BSIC respectively. The BSIC carried by the SCH can inform the MS of the
training sequence number of its service cell.
BSIC also enables the MS to differentiate the cells using the same BCCH
frequency. The two cells with the same BCCH frequency and BSIC must be far
from each other. The MS reports the six neighbor cells with the strongest
signals, but differentiates them according to the BSIC and frequency it obtains
to achieve the pre-synchronization. The MR only contains the sequence number
of the frequencies in the BA list. Therefore, if a cell shares the same frequency
and BSIC with the neighbor cell and its signal is strong enough, error report and
decision of MS may occur, leading to HO failure and call drop.
III. Conditions Required for Neighbor Cells to Join in HO Decision Queue
When the BTS receives the report on the neighbor cell from the MS, it checks
whether this neighbor cell is qualified to join in the HO decision queue. The
following conditions must be met:
RXLEV(n) > RxLevMinCell(n)+ MAX(0,Pa(n)) + OFFSET (2-4)
Pa(n)=MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) －MAX_POWER_OF_MS
RXLEV(n) is the RXLEV of the neighbor cell; RxLevMinCell(N) is the minimal
access level of the neighbor cell; OFFSET is the offset of the minimal access
level; MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) is the maximal transmit power of MS defined by the
system; MAX_POWER_OF_MS is the maximal transmit power the MS can
achieve. The unit is dBm.
RxLevMinCell(n) and MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) are defined by the HO cell parameters.
Under the dedicated mode, the system informs the MS by sending the system
message through SACCH. The neighbor cell can be listed in the HO candidate
cells only when its RXLEV is qualified according to the formula above.
The defined RxLevMinCell (n) must be higher than the RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN. If it
is too low, the threshold for the candidate cells is reduced, which may lead to
HO failure. The purpose to define the Pa is to ensure the low power MS can
access the neighbor cell only when the RXLEV is high enough, thus improving
the quality of conversation.
1.15.2 HO Types
HO must be performed on time under different conditions to ensure the quality
of communication. According to the cause of the HO, it can be divided into
Power Budget (PBGT) HO, edge HO, bad quality (BQ) HO, direct retry, and
timing advance (TA) HO.
I. PBGT HO
PBGT HO is based on path loss. PBGT HO algorithm looks for a cell with less
path loss to decide whether HO is necessary. The biggest difference between
the PBGT HO and others is that the triggering condition is path loss but not
receiving power.
The formula of PBGT HO is as follows:
PBGT (n) > PGBT_Ho_Margin (n) (2-5)
PBGT(n) = ( BSTX_MAX - RXLEV_DL - PWR_C_D ) - ( BSTX_MAX(n)-
RXLEV_NCELL(n) )- ( RXLEV_DL - RXLEV_UL - SENSI_CORRECT)- max
( BSTX_MAX(n)- min(MSTX_MAX(n),P) - BSTX_MAX + min (MSTX_MAX,P) ,0 )
BSTX_MAX: The maximum transmit power of BS in service cell
BSTX_MAX (n): The maximum transmit power of BS in neighbor cell
RXLEV_DL: The downlink received signal level in service cell
RXLEV_UL: The uplink received signal level in service cell
SENSI_CORRECT: The correct factor of MS/BS receiver sensitivity
RXLEV_NCELL (n): the received signal level of MS from neighbor cell n
PWR_C_D: the decrease of the transmission power in BTS power control
P: Max MS Transmission power
MSTX_MAX (n): Max MS transmit power allowed of the neighboring cell n
MSTX_MAX: Max MS transmit power allowed of the service cell
The neighbor cell with the biggest PBGT (n) is selected as the target cell for
HO. The PGBT_Ho_Margin is the defined RXLEV difference value between the
service cell and the neighbor cell when the HO is initiated. If this value is too
low, it may lead to ping-pong handover; if it is too high, HO hysteresis may
occur and the HO efficiency is reduced. Since the PGBT_Ho_Margin is defined
for the specific neighbor cell, the traffic load can be adjusted accordingly. For
example, when cell A and cell B are adjacent, A is the high-traffic cell and B is
the low-traffic cell, the call distribution can be balanced by reducing the
PGBT_Ho_Margin from A to B and increasing that from B to A. In fact, this way
to balance the call distribution equals the decrease of the coverage area for
cell A and the increase of the coverage area for cell B.
PBGT HO only happens between the peer cells. .
II. Edge HO
The uplink/downlink edge HO margin is defined in the HO parameters. When
BSC finds in the MRs from the MS and BTS that the uplink or downlink RXLEV is
lower than the edge HO margin defined, it selects a proper neighbor cell from
the MRs as the target cell to initiate HO, thus avoiding the call drop.
In the edge HO, the RXLEV of the neighbor cell should be higher than that of
the service cell by a certain value. This value is called the edge HO margin.
This algorithm is also used to avoid ping-pong handover. The edge HO margin
should be higher than the minimal access level of the MS.
III. BQ HO
The decision mechanism of BQ HO is similar to that of the edge HO. When BSC
finds in the MRs from the MS and BTS that the bit error rate of the uplink or
downlink is higher than the BQ HO margin defined, the BQ HO is initiated. To
further differentiate the BQ HO, the interference HO is introduced. If the
RXLEV is higher than the defined RXLEV margin of the interference HO and the
RXQUAL is higher than the quality HO margin, the frequency interference
exists. The interference HO will trigger the intra-cell HO (when the intra-cell
HO is available) first to improve the bad conversation quality due to
interference, and then trigger the inter-cell HO. The intra-cell HO is not
effective when the frequency hopping is used. By improving the interference
HO margin, the BQ HO will be mainly performed between cells.
IV. Direct Retry
During the call establishment, the SDCCH is assigned first and then is the TCH.
If the service cell has no idle TCH, the call attempt usually fails because of TCH
congestion. To fully utilize the radio resources and reduce the congestion, the
direct retry function is introduced. When the SDCCH is assigned, but no TCH is
available, the assignment request is sent in the form of MR and the call is
accessed to the idle speech channel. After the direct retry function is enabled,
the queuing function can be activated to provide enough time for the system to
select the neighbor cell available for direct retry.
V. TA HO
TA HO can be used to control the coverage area of the BTS. When the BSC finds
the TA value reported by the MS is higher than the defined margin, the TA HO
is initiated. If the TA margin is relatively low, the frequent ping-pong handover
may be triggered. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the matching
of different kinds of HO.
1.15.3 HO Process Analysis
I. Intra-Cell HO
In the real network, sometimes the interference may occur to certain
frequency or a certain TRX fails, leading to the high RXLEV but low RXQUAL or
the remarkably low signal level of TRX. To improve the conversation quality
and avoid the call drop, the intra-cell HO is used.
The intra-cell HO is initiated by the RXLEV margin or RXQUAL quality. During
the conversation, BSC analyzes the MR from the MS and BTS. If the requirement
for intra-cell HO margin is satisfied, it sends a CHANNEL ACTIVE message to BTS
to initiate the intra-cell HO. The connection process is similar to the TCH
assignment during the call establishment. Because the TCH is also assigned
within the cell, the BTS can indicate the MS to perform the intra-cell HO
through HO command or assignment command. When the BSC receives the
ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE/HANDOVER COMPLETE message from the BTS, it sends
MSC the HO PERFOMED message that contains the HO type. Then the BSC sends
a RF CHANNEL RELEASE message to BTS. After receiving the message, the BTS
releases the TCH resource and sends a RF CHANNEL RELEASE ACK message
back.
When the intra-cell HO is enabled, intra-cell HO increases a lot, and the system
load also increases. Therefore, if the traffic load is already heavy, the intra-
cell HO function is not recommended.
II. Intra-BSC HO
Intra-BSC HO is performed by BSC and no MSC has to be involved. To inform
MSC that the HO is complete, BSC will send a HO PERFOMED message to MSC.
1) The MS sends MR to BTS1 on SACCH at Um interface, and BTS1 forwards the
message to the BSC.
2) BSC receives the MR. If it decides that the MS should be handed over to
another cell, it sends Channel Activation to BTS2 of the target cell to activate
the channel.
3) BTS2 receives the CHANNEL ACTIVATE. If the channel type is correct, it turns
on the power amplifier on the specified channel to receive information in the
uplink direction, and send CHANNEL ACTIVATE ACK to the BSC.
4) After receiving the CHANNEL ACTIVATE ACK from BTS2, the BSC sends
HANDOVER COMMAND to the MS through BTS1 and starts T3103. The handover
command contains all the feature information of the transmission on the new
channel and the data required for MS access. It also indicates whether this HO
is synchronous or asynchronous.
5) After receiving the HANDOVER COMMAND, the MS decides the type of it. If it
is synchronous HO, the MS sends the target cell four continuous HANDOVER
ACCESS messages on the assigned TCH, and then starts the transmission based
on the calculated. For the synchronous HO, the former TA can be used; for pre-
synchronous HO, the TA in the handover command is used (If the TA is not
provided in the handover command, the default value is used); for pseudo-
synchronous HO (MS reported whether this HO is supported or not before), the
TA is calculated based on the difference value provided in the handover
command. Please note that the HANDOVER ACCESS is send by the access burst.
It is the only time when the access burst is used on the DCH. It only contains
the 8-bit HO reference number obtained from the handover command. Since
this reference number is known to the target cell, the target cell can check
whether the access request is from the expected MS with this number.
The HO reference number is not fully defined in the protocol. During the HO
access, if the assigned TCH is on the BCCH, due to synchronization error and
delay or other reasons, the access burst may offset to the BCCH RACH timeslot.
If the 8-bit reference number is the same as a service application number, the
system will regard it as a random access by mistake and assign the SDCCH
through AGCH, leading to a waste of AGCH and SDCCH. But as the access burst
contains the BSIC information, only the HO access cell will be affected.
Since there are more than four HO access bursts, and after the new BSS assigns
a channel to the MS, it will no re-assign this channel to other MS, even if no
reference number is used, the network can find the MS to access and the HO
will not be affected.
To further avoid the waste of radio resources, the reference number is assigned
a fixed value that is different from the application number for service type in
random access.
6) BTS2 receives the HANDOVER ACCESS from the MS, and send HANDOVER
DETECT to the BSC notifying that the HANDOVER ACCESS message is received.
7) For asynchronous HO, after the BTS2 channel of the target cell is activated,
it waits for the MS access on the assigned DCH (until the T3103 times out).
When it detects the handover access from the MS, the BTS2 sends the HO
DETECT message to the BSC and the PHYSICAL INFO that contains the
calculated TA to the MS. During the PHYSICAL INFO transmission, the network
initiates T3105. Before receiving the SABM frame response from the MS, the
BTS2 re-enables the T3105 after timeout and resends the PHYSICAL INFO NY1.
For asynchronous HO, after receiving the PHYSICAL INFO, the MS sends the
SABM to the BTS2; for synchronous HO, the MS sends the SABM to the BTS2
immediately after sending the HANDOVER ACCESS.
8) For asynchronous HO, the MS starts the T3124 when sending the HANDOVER
ACCESS message for the first time and stops the T3124 after receiving the
PHYSICAL INFO. For details, see the parameter description section.
9) After receiving the first SABM, BTS2 sends BSC the EST IND to inform it of the
radio link establishment. When the network receives this message, it sends an
ESTABLISHE INDICATION message to the BSC to show that the data link layer is
established. Meanwhile, it also sends the UA response frame to the MS. after
receiving the UA response, the MS regards that the signaling answer mode is
established with this cell.
10) The MS sends HANDOVER COMPLETE to the BTS2, and BTS2 forwards it to
the BSC. Then it sends the target cell a HANDOVER COMPLETE message that
only contains the handover complete indication but no other information. The
MS stops considering the possibility to return to the former channel only when
this message is sent. If the MS does not receive the PHYSICAL INFO from the
target cell or the UA response frame, it sends a HANDOVER FAILURE message on
the source channel.
11) After receiving the HANDOVER COMPLETE message, the BSC stops the T3103
and sends MSC the HANDOVER PERFORMED that contains the handover type.
Meanwhile, the BSC initiates the local release for the former channel of BTS1.
When the target cell receives the handover complete message from the MS, it
forwards it to the BSC. After receiving this message, the BSC sends the RF
CHANNEL RELEASE message to inform the source cell to release the former
TCH. When the source cell receives this report, it sends a RF CHANNEL RELEASE
ACK to indicate the radio channel is released and available for another
assignment.
III. Intra MSC HO
Compared with the intra-BSC HO procedure, the procedure for the inter-BSC
HO only has several A interface signaling added.
1) When the MS has to be handed over to the cell where the BSC2 belongs to,
the BSC1 sends a HO REQUIRED message that contains cell ID of the target cell
group and the source cell and the HO cause to the MSC and starts T7 at the
same time.
2) After the MSC receives this message, if it shares the same LAC with the
target cell, it searches the BSC of the target cell (BSC2) and sends the BSC2 a
HANDOVER REQUEST message that contains the information of the target cell
and the source cell, transmission mode, encryption mode, classmark, and the
channel type required. When the BSC2 receives this message, it sends MSC a CC
message to indicate that the connection between the MSC and its SCCP is
established for transmission of the information from the A interface.
3) After the new channel is activated, the BSC2 sends the MSC a HO REQUEST
ACK to indicate that the channel is available. This message carries the HO
command with the information about the resource allocation in it to show that
the local end is ready for HO.
4) After receiving the HO REQUEST ACK, the MSC sends a HO COMMAND to the
BSC1. BSC1 stops the T7 and starts the T8, and forwards the HO COMMAND to
the MS and starts T3103, informing the MS to access the new channel. This
command contains the cell ID, channel type, and HO reference.
5) After receiving the HO COMPLETE from the BSC2, MSC sends a CLEAR
COMMAND to the BSC1. This command contains the clear cause (such as HO
clear). BSC1 stops T8 and T3103, and releases the former channel. Meanwhile,
it sends a CLEAR COMPLETE message to the MSC.
T3103 is started when BSC sends the HO command and cleared when the BSC
receives the HO COMPLETE (INTRA BSC) or CLEAR COMMAND (INTER BSC). The
T3103 should be set less than T8. During the HO, the BSC provides the time for
TCH both in the source cell and the target cell according to the T3103. When
the T3103 is timing, two channels are reserved. The longest HO (INTER MSC)
may take about five seconds, so the T3103 can be set to five seconds. If it is
set too long, the system resources will be wasted.
If the target cell and the source cell are not in the same LA, a location
updating will be performed at the end of each call.
IV. Inter-MSC HO
The procedure for inter-MSC HO is shown in Figure 1-26.
1) When MSCa receives the HANDOVER REQUIRED message from the BSC, if it
finds that the LAC of the preferred target cell is not in the local LAC list, it
queries the remote LAC list that contains the routing address of the neighbor
MSC/VLR.
2) When the target MSCb is found, the MSCa sends a PREPARE HANDOVER
message that contains the HANDOVER REQUEST to it.
3) After receiving the PREPARE HANDOVER message, the MSCb sends the VLRb
an ALLOCATE_HO_NUMBER message to request for HO number (HON)
assignment. The HON indicates the routing between MSCa and MSCb.
4) VLRb selects an idle HON and sends it to MSCb through the SEND HO REPORT
message.
5) MSCb establishes a SCCP link to the target BSC and sends a HANDOVER
REQUEST message to BSCB. Then the BSC activates the channel of the target
cell. After receiving the channel activation response from the target cell, the
BSC sends MSCb a HANDOVER REQUEST ACK message that contains the HO
command.
6) After receiving this message, MSCb sends a PREPARE HANDOVER ACK
message that contains the HANDOVER REQUEST ACK and the HON to the MSCa.
7) MSCa receives this message and sends an IAM to MSCb. The IAM contains the
HON assigned by VLRb for MSCb to identify which speech channel is reserved
for the MS. MSCb sends a SEND HO REPORT RESP message to the VLRb anytime
after it receives the IAM.
8) After MSCa receives the ACM from the MSCb, it sends the HO command to
the MS. Then the MS will perform the HO access to the target cell.
9) After receiving the HO access message from the MS, MSCb sends MSCa a
PROCESS ACCESS SIGNALLING message to indicate that the HO is detected.
10) When the target cell receives the HANDOVER COMPLETE message from the
MS, it informs the MSCb. Then the MSCb sends a SEND END SIGNAL REQ message
to MSCa to inform it the HO is complete. After the HO-DETECT or HO-
COMPLETE is received, the connection between MSCa and MSCb is established.
MSCb will release the HON.
11) When MSCa receives the HO complete message, it sends a clear command
to the former BSC to release the channel resource. The inter-MSC HO is
complete. To avoid the PSTN/ISDN contradiction of the MSCa and MSCb, MSCb
must send an answer signaling when receiving the HO-DETECT/COMPLETE.
12) MSCa controls the call until it is cleared. When MSCa clears the MS call, it
also clears the call control function of MSCa and sends a MAP-SEND-END-SIGNAL
message to release the MSCb MAP resource.
MSCb sends a HO failure indication to the MSCa if the MSCb cannot identify the
target cell, the HO to the target cell is not allowed, the target cell has no radio
channel available, or the data error occurs. The MSCa will perform the HO to
the secondary cell or terminate the HO.
V. Subsequent Inter-MSC HO
After the MSCb receives the HO request, it checks this target cell belongs to
MSCb and performs the inter-MSC HO. After the HO is complete, it informs the
MSC.
The subsequent HO is the handover of MSCb to other MSC after an inter-MSC HO
is complete. The target MSC can be the former MSCa or the new MSCb’. The
circuit switch happens in the MSCa for both situations. After the subsequent HO
is complete, the connection between MSCa and MSCb is released. The
procedure for the subsequent HO with circuit switch is as follows:
MSCb is handed over back to MSCa

1) MSCb sends MAP PREPARE SUBSEQUENT HANDOVER request to MSCa. This

message contains MSCa number, target cell ID, and all the information in HO
REQUEST.
2) MSCa is the call control MSC. It can search the idle channel immediately
without target HO number routing.
3) After the radio channel is assigned, MSCa sends a MAP PREPARE SUBSEQUENT
HANDOVER response back.
4) If the TCH is busy, BSSa sends a QUEUING INDICATION to MSCb (optional).
MSC sends MSCb the MAP FORWARD ACCESS SIGNALLING request that contains
the subsequent TCH assignment result (HO REQUEST ACK or HO FAILURE). If the
radio channel cannot be assigned or the error occurs to the target cell ID, or
the target cell ID does not match the target MSC number according to the HO
REQUEST, a MAP PREPARE SUBSEQUENT HANDOVER response that contains the
HO FAILURE information in it is sent to the MSCb. MSCb keeps the connection to
the MS.
5) If the MSCa is successfully assigned, and the MAP PREPARE SUBSEQUENT
HANDOVER response is sent to MSCb. The MSCb requests the handover of the MS
to the new cell of the MSCa by sending a HO command.
6) After receiving the HO complete message, MSCa releases the circuit
connection to MSCb.
7) MSCa must send a proper MAP message to terminate the MAP procedure for
MSCa and MSCb during the basic HO. When MSCb receives the MAP SEND END
SIGNAL response message, it releases the BSSb resources.

MSCb is handed over to MSCb'

Note 1: This message can be sent anytime after the IAM is received.

1) MSCb receives the HO request and finds that the target cell does not belong
to the MSCb. It sends a PREPARE SUBS HANDOVER to the MSCa. This message
contains the MSCb’ ID, target cell ID, and all the information in HO REQUEST.
MSCa will initiate a basic HO to MSCb’.
2) If the MSC can be found in the MSCa LAC list and remote LAC list (it contains
information about other MSC), after the HON is provided by the VLRb’ and the
MSCb’ channel is activated,
3) MSCa sends a MAP PREPARE SUBSEQUENT HANDOVER response message to
the MSCb. This message contains the HO REQUEST ACK from the BSSb’ and the
BSSMAP information that may be special.
4) After receiving this message, MSCb sends the HO command to the MS. After
the access succeeds, if the MSCa receives the MAP SEND END SIGNAL REQUEST
(it contains the HO COMPLETE information of the BSSb’) from the MSCb’, the
HO is complete and the connection between MSCa and MSCb is released. MSCa
also sends the MAP SEND END SIGNAL response to MSCb to end their MAP
conversation. MSCb receives this message and releases the radio resources.
5) After the subsequent HO is complete, the MSCb’ replaces the MSCb. Any
subsequent inter-MSC HO is the same as described above.
The remote LAC list of MSCa must be complete and contain as many MSCs as
possible besides the neighbor MSC. For example, if a user in place A calls
another user in place B, the MSC in place A must contains all the data of the
MSCs and cells within the area between A and B. Otherwise, the HO cannot be
performed and the call drops.
1.15.4 Exceptional Situations
The following are some extra exceptional situations on the basis of what has
described before.
I. HO Failure Due to CIC Exception
If the CIC allocated in the Handover REQ received by BSC is marked as BLOCK,
BSC will respond to MSC with Handover Failure due to "requested terrestrial
resource unavailable".
II. HO Failure Due to MS Access Failure
If the BTS cannot decode Handover Access or Handover Completed correctly
when a MS accesses the new channel, the HO will fail. The MS returns to the
old channel, and responds with a Hanover Failure message.
For the intra-BSC handover, if the BSC has not received the Handover CMP
message on the new channel, or Handover Failure message on the old channel
at expiry of timer T3103A, it will consider the call as dropped and send a Clear
REQ message to the MSC on the old channel. Upon receiving the Clear CMD
message from the MSC, the BSC releases the old channel and notifies the target
cell to release the new channel. If timer T3103B1 or T3103B2 times out, the
target cell will release the new channel.
For the inter-BSC handover, if BSC1 has not received the Handover CMP
message at expiry of timer T3103B2, it will send a Clear REQ message to the
MSC to release the call. If BSC2 has not received the Handover DET or Handover
CMP message, it will send a Clear REQ message to the MSC for the same
purpose.
1.16 Call Re-Establishment
1.16.1 Introduction
The re-establishment procedure allows MS to resume a connection in progress
after a radio link failure, possibly in a new cell or in a new location area (re-
establishment in a new location area initiates no location updating).
Whether call re-establishment is allowed depends on the calling status, the
cell's allowance of call re-establishment, and activated MM connection (MM is in
status 6 "MM connection activated" or status 20 " Waiting for additional MM
connection" Call re-establishment can only be initiated by MS. GSM protocol
does not specify the implementation mode for the short message service and
the independent call supplementary service. In the other end, no voice is heard
during the call re-establishment.
During the radio transmission, a connection may be broken suddenly because of
the great transmission loss due to obstructions such as bridges, buildings, or
tunnels. When the call re-establishment is used, the MS can maintain the
conversation by using another cell in a short time, thus improving the network
quality. Call re-establishment can be regarded as the HO initiated by MS to
save the interrupted call in the current cell.
Call re-establishment is of two types according to the entity that has the radio
link failure first.
I. Radio Link Failure Occurs to MS First
The MS sends a call re-establishment request in the selected cell (source cell or
target cell). The former channel resource is released after the BTS timer times
out.
II. Radio Link Timeout Occurs to BSS First
After the radio link timer in BTS times out, the BTS sends a radio link failure
message to the BSC and BSC activates the SACCH. According to the protocol,
the network must handle the context for a while after detecting the lower
layer faults for the successful call re-establishment. The implementation mode
and duration are decided by the equipment provider. After detecting the radio
link failure, the MS selects a neighbor cell with the highest RXLEV within five
seconds and sends the channel request in the selected cell. This cell should not
be barred and the C1 is over 0. In addition, this cell must permit the call re-
establishment. If all the neighbor cells are not qualified, the call re-
establishment is abandoned.

During the call re-establishment, the MS cannot return into the idle mode. If
the MS selects a cell in different LA as the target cell for call re-establishment,
it cannot perform location updating until the call ends.
Under normal circumstances, the call re-establishment procedure lasts about 4
to 20 seconds. Most users have hung up the phone before the procedure is over.
Therefore, the call re-establishment cannot achieve its goal but wastes a lot of
radio resources. For the areas with limited channel resources, the activation of
this function is not recommended.
1.16.2 Call Re-Establishment Procedure
1) After the MM connection failure indication is reported to the CM entity, if
the MS receives at least one request for MM connection re-establishment from
CM, it will initiate the call re-establishment procedure. If several CM entities
request for re-establishment, only one re-establishment procedure will be
initiated.
2) After the CM sends the request for the re-establishment of MM connection,
MM sublayer sends a request for the establishment of RR connection and enters
the WAIT FOR REESTABLISH state. This request includes an establishment cause
and a CM re-establishment request. When the RR sublayer indicates a RR
connection is established (the CM re-establishment request message has been
sent through the Um interface), the MM sublayer starts T3230 and indicates to
all the CM entities that the MM connection is under construction. The MM
sublayer stays in WAIT FOR REESTABLISH state.
The CM Re-establishment Request message contains the MS identity (IMSI or
TMSI), Classmark 2, and encrypted sequence number.
Whether the CM entity can request for re-establishment depends on protocol
discriminator (PD).
3) After receiving the CM re-establishment request, the network analyzes the
request type and starts the MM program or RR program. The network can start
the classmark enquiry program to obtain more information about the MS
encryption ability. The network can also decide to perform the authentication
procedure or ciphering mode setting procedure.
4) When the RR sublayer indicates the ciphering mode setting procedure is over
or the CM SERVICE ACCEPT message is received, the MM connection is re-
established. The T3230 stops and informs all the CM entities related to the re-
establishment to enter the MM CONNECTION ACTIVE state.
5) If the network cannot connect the re-establishment request to the current
MS call, it sends the CM SERVICE REJECT with the reject cause to the MS.
The reject cause (value) includes unidentifiable call (#38), unidentifiable IMSI
(# 4), unauthorized ME (# 6), network failure (#17), congestion (#22),
unsupported service (#32), and temporary service failure (#34)。
6) After receiving the CM SERVICE REJECT, the MS stops T3230 and releases all
MM connections and RR connections. If the reject cause if #4, the MS deletes
the TMSI, LAI, and CKSN in SIM card, and changes the status from “updating”
into “no updating”, and then enters the “WAIT FOR NETWORK COMMAND”
state. The location updating will be initiated after the RR release.
If the reject cause is #6, the MS deletes the TMSI, LAI, and CKSN in SIM card,
and changes the status from "updating" into “roaming inhibit”. The SIM is
regarded invalid until the MS is switched off or the SIM card is pulled out.
1.16.3 Exceptional Situations
I. Re-Establishment Prohibition or Failure
When MM connection is established, the MM layer may send an indication to the
CC layer. If the MM layer is disconnected, the connection may be re-established
through CC request.
If the re-establishment is not allowed, and the call is initiated within the
establishment or clearing period, the CC layer shall release MM connections.
If re-establishment is unsuccessful, MM connections shall be released, and a
release indication shall be sent to the CC layer.
II. RR Connection Failure
If random access failure or RR CONNECTION FAILURE is detected by the MS, the
MS will stop timer T3230, abort the call re-establishment procedure, and
release all MM connections.
If RR CONNECTION FAILURE is detected by the MSC, the MSC will abort the call
re-establishment procedure and release all MM connections.
III. T3230 Time-out
If the T3230 times out, the MS will stop call re-establishment and release MM
and RR connections.
1.16.4 SM Procedure
Short messages can be transmitted either on SDCCH or SACCH. A short message
procedure can be classified into short message calling procedure and called
procedure. For details, see GSM03.40 protocol.
1.16.5 Short Message Procedure on SDCCH When MS is calling
I. Signaling Procedure
II. Procedure Description
The random access, immediate assignment, authentication, and encryption
procedures of short message procedure on SDCCH when MS is calling are the
same as general procedures. After encryption, the MS sends SABM again,
notifying the network side that this user needs short message service (SMS).
Then, BSC provides a transparent-transmission channel for MS to exchange
short message information with MSC. In this procedure, the MSCs of some
manufacturers are capable to send ASS REQ to BSC, requesting it to assign
channel for short message transmission. The time for sending ASS REQ is the
same as that for a common call. BSC can provide SMS either by allocating other
channels or by using the original SDCCH.
Point to Point short messages protocol is divided into connection management
layer (CM), relay layer (RL), transport layer (TL) and application layer (AL).
CP_DATA and CP_ACK are the messages on CM layer, CP_DATA is used to
transmit the content of RL and AL message, and CP_ACK is the
acknowledgement message of CP_DATA.
The release procedure after message is sent is the same as general ones.
1.16.6 Short Message Procedure on SDCCH When MS is called
I. Signaling Procedure
II. Procedure Description
The paging response and immediate assignment procedures of short message
procedure on SDCCH when MS is called are the same as general procedures. For
the short message procedure when MS is called, after encryption, the BSC
sends EST REQ to MS to establish short message connection. When EST CNF is
received from MS, the connection is successfully established. BSC transparently
transmits the short message till the end of the transmission.
The release procedure after message is sent is the same as general ones.
1.16.7 Short Message Procedure on SACCH When MS is calling
I. Signaling Procedure
II. Procedure Description
The MS sends CM SERV REQ through FACCH. The MSC responds with the CM SERV
ACC message and establishes CC layer connection. Then, it establishes RR layer
connection on SACCH, and sends the short message.
1.16.8 Short Message Procedure on SACCH when MS is called
I. Signaling Procedure
II. Procedure Description
The BSC receives the CP DATA message from MSC, and establishes an RR layer
connection for SMS. Upon reception of CP ACK from MS, MSC sends the short
message.
1.17 CBS
Cell Broadcast Service (CBS) is similar to paging station broadcast information.
It means the mobile network operator broadcasts the public information to the
mobile users within a certain area. The information that the users can read is
called CBS message. It is generated by the Cell Broadcast Entity (CBE) and sent
to the Cell Broadcast Center (CBC) for processing. After the processing, it is
forwarded to the BSC and broadcast to the users through CBCH. The MS can
only receive the CBS message in idle mode. Unlike the Point to Point Short
Message service, the CBS message is broadcast without the acknowledgement
of the user terminal.
CBS includes:
- Common public information service, such as weather, news, stock market,
exchange rate, and lottery.
- Special public information service, such as people search, traffic navigation,
and call charge prompt.
- Advertising service, such as information about stores, restaurants, and
theaters.
1.17.1 CBS Mechanism
Operators or information providers can define the cell broadcast area through
CBE. The minimal area is a cell and the maximal area can be all the cells of the
BSCs that the CBC connects with. Features such as intervals, duration, and
priority levels can also be specified to meet different requirements. The field
length of the CBS message sent to BSC from CBC must be 82 bytes. If the length
is shorter than 82 bytes, fill codes are added to it. If the length exceeds 82
bytes, the message is broken to a maximum of 15 pages. If the sending fails,
the message may be sent again and the message with high priority level is sent
first. The CBS information is sent to the proper cells through four continuous
SMS BROADCAST REQUEST messages or one SMS BROADCAST COMMAND
message. Each CBS message contains 82-byte user information and 6-byte
header. The CBS message can be sent to BTS in the form of SMS BROADCAST
REQUEST or SMS BROADCAST COMMAND. For details, see 1.17.2
BTS can send the CBCH Load Indication message to BSC and the system will
speed up or delay the message sending according to this message. Although the
BSC considers the CBCH capacity when sending the message and the BTS can
indicate the status of the current CBCH, when the CBCH LOAD INDICATION
mode is enabled, the BTS can send CBCH LOAD INDICATION to request for
immediate broadcast of the m(1－15) SMSCB timeslot message when the CHCB
is idle. After the BSC sends the m timeslot message, it sends messages
according to its own schedule. If the message volume that the BTS requests
exceeds the volume that the BSC can provide, the BSC only sends the messages
within its volume limit. When the CBCH LOAD INDICATION mode is enabled, the
BTS can send CBCH LOAD INDICATION to stop the sending of the m(1－15)
timeslot message if overload occurs. Then the BSC will continue the sending
according to its own schedule.
CBCH LOAD INDICATION is only used in DRX mode.
The CBCH is of two types: basic CBCH and extended CBCH. They are four
continuous multiframes. The TB of basic CBCH is 0, 1, 2, or 3; The TB of
extended CBCH is 4, 5, 6, or 7. TB = (FN DIV 51) mod (8).
For the basic CBCH, the CBS message head is sent on the multiframe with TB
being 0; for the extended CBCH, it is sent on the multiframe with TB being 4.
The system message on BCCH indicates whether the CBS is available or not.
When SMSCB is used, the BS_AG_BLKS_RES is set as 1 or above. When the CBCH
is mapped to the CCCH+SDCCH/4, the number of BS_AG_BLKS_RES will not be
limited by SMSCB.
MS recomposes the CBS message and displays it for the user.
MS obtains the CBS message from the CBCH. BTS informs MS of the short
message information during the schedule in the form of bitmap by sending
schedule message. There are three reception modes for MS on CBCH:
- Non-DRX mode. MS reads the first block of all message timeslots. The rest
blocks will be read if the message head indicates that the following timeslots
are used. If the MS does not support other reception mode, or it does not
receive the scheduling for the next message timeslot, Non-DRX mode is used.
- First DRX mode. If MS receives the scheduling for the next message timeslot,
but the first scheduling message of the last scheduling period, or all the
information of the last period or even earlier period is not received, first DRX
mode is used.
- Second DRX mode. If MS receives the important information of the last
scheduling period and reads the first scheduling message of the current period,
second DRX mode is used.
Whether the network uses DRX to receive the broadcast short message can be
set through the maintenance console in BSC.
1.17.2 BSC-BTS Message Transmission Mode
A CBS message consists of eighty eight 8-bit bytes. These bytes are divided into
four message blocks with each block containing twenty two 8-bit bytes. Each
block is added by an 8-bit block type, and the length of the block is twenty
three 8-bit bytes. A CBS message contains four continuous blocks: first block,
second block, third block, and fourth block.
When the SMS BROADCAST REQUEST mode is used, the message is sent to BTS
from BSC. The BSC handles the queuing, repetition, and short message sending.
It also considers the CBCH capacity and takes charge of the SMS segmentation
at radio interface. In the SMS BROADCAST REQUEST message, each SMSCB
Information cell carries a complete frame that can be transmitted on CBCH and
the layer 2 information that indicates the radio path. SMSCB Channel Indicator
cell indicates the CHCH used for broadcast. If this cell does not provide the
information, the basic CBCH will be used.

When the SMS BROADCAST COMMAND mode is used, SMS BROADCAST COMMAND
message is sent to BTS from BSC. BSC requires the immediate message sending
during the next CBCH time. The default broadcast mode for BTS can also be set
through this message. In the default broadcast mode, if there is no other
message to broadcast, BTS will send the default message.

In the SMS BROADCAST COMMAND message, the SMSCB message cell contains
the information to be broadcast on CBCH. It has four continuous blocks with a
maximum of 88 bytes. BTS segments the message and establishes the block
format. It also adds bytes to the block if required. SMSCB Channel Indicator cell
indicates the CHCH used for broadcast. If this cell does not provide the
information, the basic CBCH will be used.
2 GSM Radio Network Planning
2.1 Overview
The design of radio network planning (RNP) is the basis of the construction of a
wireless mobile network. The design level of network planning decides the
future layout of a network.
During network planning, the documents concerning base station distribution,
channel assignment, and cell data must be outputted. And the major tasks
involved are as follows:
1) Analyze carriers’ requirements on network coverage, capacity and quality.
2) Analyze the coverage and capacity features of the candidate mobile
communication systems and bands, and then analyze the investment feasibility
through estimating the network scale.
3) Decide the network structure and base station type based on further
analysis.
First analyze whether to construct a layering network according to user
distribution, propagation conditions, city development plan and existed
network conditions, and then analyze the sites within this area to decide
whether to use omni antennas or directional antennas to meet the
requirements on coverage and capacity.
4) Estimate the number of base stations
Before estimating the number of base stations, estimate the coverage distance
of base stations of various types in various coverage areas. The factors deciding
the effective coverage area of a base station include:
- Valid transmit power of the base station
- Working bands to be used (900 MHz or 1800 MHz)
- Antenna type and installation position
- Power budget
- Radio propagation environment
- Carriers’ indexes on coverage
Then through calculating the coverage distance and dividing the coverage
areas, you can obtain a rough number of base stations for various coverage
areas.
5) Plan an ideal base station address according to cellular structures.
According to geographic maps or administrative maps and with the help of on-
the-spot surveys, you can have a full understanding of the areas to be planed,
and then mark the area where the number of users is large as a target address.
After that, mark the addresses of other base stations according to the ideal
cellular structure and the result of link budget.
6) Calculate the number of channels of the cells of each base station
- Estimate the traffic of a base station according to its ideal location, and then
obtain the number of carriers and channels needed by each base station by
checking Erl table according to the indexes of call loss rate.
- Decide the frequency reuse mode according to band width, network quality
requirement, and equipment supportability.
- Estimate the maximum base station configuration type according to the
frequency bandwidth and reuse mode provided by the construction carriers. If
the system capacity in some areas cannot be met, you need to add more base
stations or cells to the system according to cell splitting principles and actual
conditions. After that, reselect an ideal base station address on the map and
re-estimate the number of channels required by the base station.
7) Predict the coverage area and decide the project data, namely, perform the
preliminary emulation. The specific tasks are as follows:
- Select the design indexes
Select the minimum received power and the penetration ratio index at the
coverage area edge.
- Select the design parameters, which includes:
Antenna height (above the ground), antenna azimuth angle, antenna gain,
antenna tilt angle, base station height above sea level, base station type,
feeder length, antenna feeder system loss, combining and distribution modes,
transmitter output power, receiver sensitivity, base station diversity reception,
and diversity gains.
- Predict the coverage area of each cell according to the propagation models in
different areas, and then give the opinions on adjusting the base station
address, antenna direction, antenna tilt angle, and antenna height in the areas
where dead zones may be present and signals are poor. Finally, provide the
project data.
8) Select actual base station address and decide base station type:
Perform filed examination according to the ideal base station addresses, and
then record the possible addresses according to various construction conditions
(including power supply, transmission, electromagnetic background, and land
taken over). Finally, recommend a suitable address based on integrated
consideration of the deviation from the ideal base station address, the effect
on future cell splitting, economic benefits, and coverage prediction.
After the base station address is selected, decide the actual base station type
according to the number of base station channels.
After the base station type is decided, you need to make a scheme for antenna
configuration. For moving a network, if you intend to provide a best
combination scheme for the antenna feeders, you must fully investigate the
combination of the antenna feeders of the original carriers, plan the future
expansion of the base station, and design the combination of the antenna
feeders supported by current equipments.
9) Plan frequency and adjacent cell
Decide the frequency and adjacent planning according to the actual base
station distribution and type.
10) Make cell data
To ensure that the network runs stably, you must design the parameters
relative to performance for each cell. These parameters include system
information parameters, handover parameters, power control algorithm
parameters, and so on.
- Note:
For the selection of handover bands, the handover algorithms to be enabled,
and whether to use frequency hopping, power control, and DTX, they must be
decided in coverage prediction and frequency planning, because the related
parameters will be used in emulation.

In addition, sections 2.9 and that later introduce the solutions to the planning
of dual-band network and the planning in special occasions.
2.2 Planning Foundation
2.2.1 Coverage and Capacity Target Confirmation
Before planning a network, you must confirm the network coverage and
capacity target and relative specifications from carriers. They are specified as
follows:
- Definition of coverage areas
- Specific division of the service quality in coverage areas
- Grade of service (GoS) at Um interface
- Prediction of network capacity and subscriber growth rate
- Available bands and restrictions on using bands
- Restrictions on base station address and the number of carriers
- Penetration loss in cars or indoor environment
- Performance and sensitivity of base stations
- Rules on base station naming and numbering
- Information of the base stations in the existing network
Engineers perform the network planning and guide the subsequent construction
work according to the previous technical specifications. Because any change of
these specifications will affect network construction, you must discuss these
specifications with carriers and get their confirmation.
2.2.2 Performance Target Confirmation
Carriers emphasize much on the future network quality. Therefore, network
planning engineers must judge the indexes concerning network performance
according to construction difficulty and experience, and then cooperate with
carriers to design a reasonable solution.
Generally, the performance of voice services can be judged according to KPI
indexes. The KPI indexes vary slightly with carriers.
The mean opinion score (MOS) is divided into five levels.
- The call whose quality is above level 3 can access the mobile communication
network.
- The call whose quality is above level 4 can access the public network.
2.3 Coverage Analysis
2.3.1 Area Division
I. Types of coverage area
The signal propagation models are applied in accordance with the propagation
environments in areas of different types. The signal propagation models decide
the design principles, network structures, grade of services and frequency
reuse modes for the radio networks in coverage areas. In order to decide the
cell coverage area, you can the radio coverage areas into the following four
types:
- Big city
- Middle-sized city
- Small town
- Countryside

Big city
- Dense population
- Developed economy
- Large traffic
- Dense high buildings and mansions distributed in center areas
- Flourishing shopping centers
Middle-sized city
- Relatively dense population
- Relatively developed economy
- Relatively large traffic
- Dense buildings distributed in center areas
- Active and promising shopping centers
Small town
- Relative large population
- Promising economic development
- Moderate traffic
- Relative dense buildings distributed in center areas
- A certain scale of shopping centers but with great potentiality
Countryside
- Scattered population
- Developing economy
- Low traffic

In addition, you must consider the coverage of the areas at the intersections
and various transport arteries, including:
- Express way
- National high way
- Provincial highway
- Railway
- Sea-route
- Roads in mountain areas
Generally, it is recommended to apply omni base stations in the countries
plains and the areas with restricted landforms. In big cities, middle-sized
cities, and along expressways, it is recommended to apply directional base
stations.
II. Define the field strength at coverage area edges
When defining the field strength of the uplink edges of a service area, you must
consider the factors:
Mobile station sensitivity -102 dBm
Fast fading protection 4 dB (3 dB for countryside)
Slow fading protection 8 dB (6 dB for countryside)
Noise (environmental noise and interfering noise) protection 5 dB
Remark:
- To ensure the indoor coverage in big and middle-sized cities, you can consider
15dB for the average penetration loss between buildings and consider adding
5dB to the protection margin.
- Generally, the propagation loss of GSM 1800MHz signals is 8 dB greater than
that of the GSM 900MHz signals in average.
- Radio links have two directions, namely, uplink direction and downlink
direction, and the coverage area is defined by the direction in which the
signals are poor, so you must consider the uplink and downlink balance.
Therefore, if you intend to plan an ideal network, you must make a good power
control budget so that the uplink and downlink can be as balance as possible.

III. Define coverage probability

The definition of coverage probability varies with the coverage areas, and the
coverage probability is gradually improved along with the construction of the
network.
Generally, a call must be ensured to access the network at 90% of the places
and 99% of the time within the coverage area.
- For the outdoor environment in big cities, the two ratios must be greater.
- For the areas in countryside, the two ratios can be lower.
- For transport arteries, different standards are applied, and the coverage
probability can be defined in accordance with the types of the arteries.

2.3.2 Radio Environment Survey

Through surveying radio propagation environments, you can get familiar with
the overall landforms, estimate the rough antenna height, and select the
proper radio propagation model, among which the radio propagation model
helps you estimate the number of base station when predicting the coverage. If
necessary, you must adjust the propagation model.
2.4 Network Structure Analysis
When considering the layout of base stations, you must deeply analyze network
structure. Generally, according to network layers, a network can be divided
into middle-layer, high-layer, and low-layer. The base stations at the middle-
layer bear the greatest traffic in a network
2.4.1 Middle-Layer Station
I. Definition and application
A middle-layer station in big and middle-sized cities is defined as follows:
- The antenna is installed on building tops.
- The antenna height ranges from 25 to 30 meters, which is greater than the
average height of the buildings.
- It covers several blocks.
In small towns and countryside areas, except the high-layer stations are
designed for controlling traffic flow or for landform reasons, most of the base
stations are middle-layer stations.
II. Advantages
Compared with high-layer stations, middle-layer stations can utilize frequency
resources more efficiently. Compared with low-layer stations, middle-layer
stations can absorb traffic more efficiently. Therefore, the middle-layer
stations bear the greatest traffic in a network.
III. Distance between stations
The average distance between most middle-layer stations range from 0.6 to 5
km except in countryside areas. In big cities, the distance between some
middle-layer stations is shorter than 0.6 km. However, it is suggested that the
distance between middle-layer stations in big cities cannot be shorter than 0.4
km. If this distance is too short, the buildings will produce strong interference
against the signals of the base stations. In this case, to control the coverage
area is quite demanding.
IV. Challenges
Because no suitable ground objective is available, to ensure the quality of
service of a network is quite demanding. According to the experience on
project construction and maintenance, great challenge is present in the
selection of base station address, station design, project construction, network
maintenance, and network quality.
2.4.2 High-Layer Station
I. Definition and application
A high-layer station in big and middle-sized cities is defined as follows:
- The antenna height ranges from 10 to 50 meters, which is far greater than the
average height of the buildings.
- Its coverage areas contain the areas covered by multiple middle-layer
stations.
Because the high-layer stations make poor use of the frequency resources, they
are mainly applied to the traffic networks where people move fast in big and
middle-sized cities.
In addition, to control construction cost and meet coverage requirements, you
can install some high-layer stations in suburban areas, highroads, small towns,
and countryside areas.
II. Functions
The high-layer stations must be as fewer as possible but be as effective as
possible. They mainly provide services to the fast-moving subscribers in cities.
& Note:
The coverage of high buildings is realized by indoor distribution systems.
2.4.3 Low-Layer Station
I. Definition and application
A low-layer station is defined as follows:
- The antenna height is shorter than 20 meters, which is shorter than the
average height of the buildings.
- The antenna can be installed on the outer walls of the lower floors of a
building, on the top of lower roofs, or in the rooms of a building.
Generally, at the early stage of the network construction, signal network
design is applied, so most of the base stations are middle-layer stations. After
the basic network is established, you must adjust the base stations and add
new base stations according to traffic and coverage requirements.
For populated commercial areas where the traffic is heavy, you can use low-
layer stations, which are constructed with micro cell layer and distributed
antenna system. In this case, not only the requirements on indoor coverage are
met, but also the interference and difficulties of base station selection caused
by short distance between stations are avoided. With the development of the
network, the low-layer stations will develop into the layering network
structure.
II. Other considerations
The coverage area of a low-layer station is small, so it can fully use frequency
resources but cannot absorb the traffic efficiently. As a result, ideal traffic
cannot be ensured if the base station deviates far away from the areas where
the traffic is heavy.
Therefore, when constructing a low-layer station, you must consider whether
the base station is used to make up coverage or solve the problem of heavy
traffic, because the construction purpose is directly related to the selection of
the address and type of the base station.
& Note:
A layering network cost much frequency resource, so it is not recommended for
the networks where the frequency resource is inadequate.
2.5 Traffic Analysis
2.5.1 Traffic Prediction and Cell Splitting
I. Traffic prediction
The network construction requires the consideration of economic feasibility
and rationality. Therefore, a reasonable investment decision must be based on
the prediction of the network capacity of the early and late stage.
When predicting network capacity, you must consider the following factors:
- Population distribution
- Family income
- Subscription ratio of fixed telephone
- Development of national economy
- City construction
- Consumption policy
After predicting the total network capacity, you must predict the density of
subscriber distribution. Generally, base stations are constructed in urban areas,
suburban areas, and transport arteries. Therefore, you can use the percentage
of prediction method.
At the early stage of construction, the subscribers in cities account for a larger
percentage of the total predicted subscribers. With the development of the
network construction, the percentage of the subscribers in suburban areas and
transport arteries grows. The traffic of each subscriber is 0.025 Erl in urban
areas and 0.020 Erl in suburban areas.
The formula calculating traffic is:
A = (n × T) / 3600
Here,
- “n” is the call times in busy hour
- “T” is the duration of each call, in the unit of second.
In this way, the number of voice channels needed for a base station can be
obtained through predicting the traffic.
& Note:
When estimating the number of voice channels needed for a base station in the
future, you must consider the effect caused by cell splitting.

In a GSM system, you can use Erl model to calculate the traffic density that the
network can bear. The call loss can be 2% or 5% depending on actual
conditions.
Because restrictions on cell coverage area and the width of the available
frequencies are present, you must plan the cell capacity reasonably. If good
voice quality is ensured, you must enhance the channel utilization ratio as
much as possible.
In actual networking, if the network quality is ensured at a certain level, two
capacity solutions are available, namely, a few stations with high-level
configuration and multiple stations with low-level configuration. Both the
advantages and disadvantages of the two solutions are apparent, so which one
should be used depending on the actual conditions of an area.
For network construction, you can expand the capacity either through adding
base stations or through expanding the base station capacity. The expansion
strategies adopted must be in accordance with the traffic density in an area.
For example, the strategies such as adding 1800 MHz base stations, expanding
sector capacity, adding micro cells, or improving indoor coverage can be used
to expand network capacity.
II. Cell splitting
Cell splitting is quite effective for the expansion of network capacity. An omni
base station can split into multiple sectors, and a sector can split into multiple
smaller cells. In other word, you must plan cell radius in accordance with the
traffic density of an area.
Cell splitting means more base station and greater cost are needed. Therefore,
when planning a network, you must consider the following factors:
- The rules and diagrams of frequency reuse are repeatable.
- The original base stations can still work.
- The transition cells must be reduced or avoided.
- The cell can split without effect.
Cell splitting is quite important in a network. The followings further describe
the cell splitting based on 1-to-4 splitting.
Cell splitting is used to split a congested cell into multiple smaller cells.
Through setting the new cells whose radiuses are smaller than the original cells
and placing them among the original cells, you can increase the number of
channels in a unit area, thus increasing channel reuse times. In this case,
system capacity is expanded.
Through adjusting the project parameters relative to antenna feeders and
reducing transmitter power, you can narrow the coverage area of a cell. Error!
Reference source not found. shows that a cell splits into four smaller cells by
half of its radius.
Smaller cells are added without changing the frequency reuse mode. They are
split proportional to the shape of the original cell clusters.
In this case, the coverage of a service area depends on the smaller cells, which
are 4 times outnumber of the original cells. To be more specifically, you can
take a circle with the radius R as an example, the coverage area of the circle
with the radius R is 4 times that of a circle with the radius R/2.
After cell splitting, the number of cell clusters in the coverage area increases.
Thus the number of channels in this coverage area increases and the system
capacity is expanded accordingly.
You can adjust the coverage area of the new cells through reducing the
transmit power. For the transmit power of the new cells whose radiuses are
half of that of the original cell, you can check the power “Pr” received at the
new cell edge and at the original cell edge, and make them equal. However,
you must ensure that the frequency reuse scheme of the new micro cells is the
same as that of the original cell. As for Figure 5-1,
- Pr [at the edge of the original cell] = Pt1R-n, and,
- Pr [at the edge of the new cell] = Pt2 (R/2)-n
Here,
Pt1 and Pt2 are the transmit power of the base stations of the original cell and
the new cell, and n is path fading exponent. If make n = 4, make the received
power at the edge of the new and original cell equal, the following equation
can be obtained:
Pt2 = Pt1/16
That is to say, if the micro cells are used to cover the original coverage area
and the requirement of S/I is met, the transmit power must be reduced by 12
dB.
Not all cells need splitting. In fact, it is quite demanding for carriers to find out
a perfect cell splitting scheme. Therefore, many cells of different scales exist
in a network simultaneously. As a result, the minimum distance among intra-
frequency cells must be maintained, which further complicate frequency
allocation.
In addition, you must pay attention to the handover because success handover
ensure the all subscribers to enjoy good quality of service regardless of moving
speed.
When two layers of cells are present within an area but their coverage scale is
different, according to the formula Pt2 = Pt1/16, neither all new cells can
simply apply the original transmit power, nor all original cells can simply apply
the new transmit power.
If all cells apply great transmit power, the channels used by smaller cells
cannot be separated from the intra-frequency cells. If all cells apply lower
transmit power, however, some big cells will be exclusive from the service
areas.
For the previous reason, the channels in the original cells can be divided into
two groups. One group meets the reuse requirement of the smaller cells, and
the other group meets the reuse requirement of the bigger cells. The bigger
cells are applied to the communication of fast-moving subscribers, which
requires a fewer handover times.
The power of the two channel groups decides the progress of cell splitting. At
the early stage of cell splitting, the channels in the low-power group are fewer.
As the requirement grows, more channels are needed in low-power group. The
cell splitting does not stop until all channels within this area are applied in the
low-power group. In this case, all cells in this area have split into multiple
smaller cells, and the radius of each cell is quite small.
& Note:
Commonly, you can restrict cell coverage area through adjusting the project
parameters of the base station.
2.5.2 Voice Channel Allocation
I. Voice channel decision
The base station capacity refers to the number of channels that must be
configured for a base station or a cell. The calculation of the base station
capacity is divided into the calculation of the number of radio voice channels
and the calculation of the number of radio control channels.
According to the information of base stations and cells and the density
distribution of subscribers, you can calculate the total number of the
subscribers. Then according to the radio channel call loss ratio and traffic, you
can obtain the number of voice channels that must be configured by checking
Erl B table.
Generally, you can decide the number of voice channels as follows:
1) According to the bandwidth and the reuse mode allowed by current GSM
networks within the areas to be planned, you can obtain the maximum number
of carriers that can be configured for a base station.
2) Each carrier has 8 channels. You can obtain the maximum number of voice
channel numbers that can be configured for a base station by detracting the
control channels from the 8 channels.
3) According to the number of voice channels and call loss ratio (generally 2%
dense traffic areas and 5% for other areas), you can obtain the maximum traffic
(Erl number) that the base station can bear through checking Erl B table.
4) Through dividing the Erl number by the average busy-hour traffic of
subscribers, you can obtain the maximum number of subscribers that the base
station can accommodate.
5) According to the data of subscriber density, you can obtain the coverage
area of the base station.
6) After the areas are specified based on the subscriber density, according to
the area of an area and the actual coverage area of the base station, you can
calculate the number of needed base stations.
7) For important areas, you must consider back up stations and the cooperation
between carriers. For example, an important county needs at least two base
stations and three important carriers.
8) For the areas where burst traffic is possible, such as the play ground and
seasonal tourism spots, you must prepare the equipments (such as carriers and
micro cells) and frequency resources for future use.
9) The dynamic factors, such as roaming ratio, subscriber mobility, service
development, industry competition, charging rate change, one-way charge, and
economic growth, must be considered.
10) To configure a base station, you must consider the transmission at the Abis
interface so that the capacity can be met while saving transmission. For
example, the application and concatenation of the Abis interface 15:1 and 12:1
should be considered.
11) For indoor coverage and capacity, you can use micro cells and distributed
antenna systems. For the coverage in countryside areas and highroads, you can
use economical micro base stations. For the transmission in countryside areas
and highroads, you can use HDSL because it is cost effective.
12) Prepare the some carriers, micro cells, and micro base stations for new
coverage areas and future optimization.
13) In some special areas, you can use the base stations consisting of omni and
directional cells, but you must consider the isolation between omni antennas
and directional antennas. For traffic control, you can use the algorithm in
terms of network layers.
14) For some highroads which require a little traffic by large coverage, you can
use the two networking modes. They are:
- (A micro base station with single carrier) + (0.5 + 0.5 cell with two set of
directional antennas)
- A micro base station with single carrier + 8-shaped antenna
II. Relationship between carrier number and bearable traffic
Erl traffic model can calculate the traffic that a network can bear. The call loss
ratio can be 2% or 5% according to actual conditions. Table 5-7 describes the
relationship between the number of carriers and the traffic that a network can
bear according to Erl B table.
According to Erl B table, the larger the number of carriers and the call loss
ratio are, the greater the traffic that each TCH bear, and the greater the TCH
utilization ratio is (the channel utilization ratio is an important indicator of the
quality of network planning and design). If the number of subscribers of a base
station is small, you can consider delaying the construction.
Because restrictions on the coverage area of a cell and the bandwidth of the
available frequencies, you must plan a reasonable capacity for the cell. If good
voice quality is ensured, you must take measures to enhance the channel
utilization ratio as much as possible.
For the construction of the dual-band network, you can use the frequencies
with wider bands to enhance channel utilization ratio, which is helpful for
traffic sharing.
In actual applications, when the traffic on each TCH accounts for 80-90% of
total given by Erl B table (the call loss ratio is 2%), the congestion ratio in this
cell rise greatly. Therefore, we generally calculate the traffic that a network
can bear by taking the 85% of the traffic given by Erl B table as a reference.
III. Example
The capacity of a local network needs to be expanded. According to the service
development, population growth and mobile popularity, the subscribers in this
area are expected to reach 100,000 in 2 years.
If only the followings are considered:
- Roaming factor (according to the development trend of traffic statistics) =
10%.
- Mobile factor (the subscriber moves slightly within the local network instead
of roaming) = 10%.
- Dynamic factor (with burst traffic considered) = 15%.
The network capacity = 100000 * (1 + 10% + 10% + 15%) = 135,000.
However, because the congestion is present, we generally calculate the traffic
that a network can bear by taking the 85% of the traffic given by Erl B table as
a reference. As a result, the network capacity must be designed as follows:
The network capacity = 135, 000/85% = 158,800, about 160,000.
2.5.3 Control Channel Allocation
I. SDCCH allocation
Stand-alone dedicated channel (SDCCH) is an important channel in a GSM
network. Mobile station activities, such as location update, attach and detach,
call setup and short message, are performed on SDCCH. The SDCCH is used to
transmit signaling and data.
It is difficult to induce a traffic model for the SDCCH; especially it even
becomes impossible after the large-scale application of layering networks and
short messages. Moreover, the equipments of some carriers support SDCCH
dynamic allocation function. As a result, the traffic model for SDCCH must be
adjusted according to actual conditions.
The advantages of the SDCCH dynamic function are as follows:
- Adjusting SDCCH capacity dynamically
- Reducing SDCCH congestion ratio
- Reducing the effect of initial SDCCH configuration against system
performance
- Making SDCCH and TCH configuration more adaptive to the characteristics of
cell traffic
- Optimizing the performance of the systems under the same carrier
configuration.
In conclusion, the SDCCH dynamic allocation function is divided into two types,
namely,
- Dynamic allocation from SDCCH to TCH
- Dynamic recovery from SDCCH to TCH
II. CCCH allocation
Common control channels (CCCH) contain access grant channel (AGCH), paging
channel (PCH) and random access channel (RACH). The function of a CCCH is
sending access grant message (immediate assignment message) and paging
message.
All traffic channels in each cell share the CCCH. The CCC can share a physical
channel (a timeslot) with SDCCH, or it can solely occupy a physical channel.
The parameters relative to the CCCH include CCCH Configure, BS AG BLKS PES,
and BS PA MFRMS.
Here,
- CCCH Configure designates the type of CCCH configuration, namely, whether
the CCCH shares one physical channel with the SDCCH. If there are 1 or 2 TRX
in a cell, it is recommended that the CCCH occupies a physical channel and
share it with the SDCCH. If there are 3 or 4 TRXs, it is recommended that the
CCCH solely occupies a physical channel. If there are more than 4 TRX, it is
recommended to calculate the capacity of the paging channels in the CCCH
according to actual conditions first, and then you can perform the
configuration.
- BS AG BLKS PES indicates that the number of CCCH message blocks reserved
to the AGCH. After CCCH configuration is done, this parameter, in fact, decides
allocates the ratio of AGCH and PCH in CCCH. Some carriers can set sending
priority for the “access grant message and “paging message”. When the former
message set to be prior to the later one, the BS AG BLKS PES can be set to 0.
- BS PA MFRMS indicates the number of multi-frames that can be taken as a
cycle of paging sub-channels. In fact, this parameter decides the number of
paging sub-channels that a cell can be divided into.
& Note:
In CCCH configuration, the location area planning, paging modes and system
flow control must be considered.
2.6 Base Station Number Decision
After traffic and coverage analysis, according to the selected base station
equipments and parameters, you can obtain the coverage areas of various base
stations through link budget. The coverage area helps you calculate the
number of base stations required by each area. Then you decide the base
station configuration according to traffic distribution. Finally, you must
perform emulation using relative planning software so that coverage, capacity,
carrier-to-interference ratio can be assured and interference can be avoided.
2.6.1 Characteristics of 3-sector base stations in urban areas
Cellular communication is named because the coverage areas of base stations
are extruded through small cellular-shaped blocks. In urban areas, for the
purpose of capacity expansion and radio frequency optimization, mainly 3-
sector base stations are used. This section explains some basic concepts of a 3-
sector base station.
This is a standard 3-sector cellular layout. Thedistance between two 3-sector
base stations is R + r, here R = 2r. However, “R” is mainly used in cell radius
estimation because the direction along “R” is the direction of the major lobe of
the directional antenna. In the design for cellular layout, however, “r”
indicates the cell radius.
In a cellular cell, if the included angle between a direction and the direction of
the major lobe of the antenna, the coverage distance along this direction is r =
R/2, and the path loss along this direction is about 10dB less than that along
the direction of the major lobe of the antenna (for the deduction, it is
introduced in the following), namely, the equivalent isotropic radiated power
(EIRP) along this direction can be about 10dB less than that along the major
lobe.
According to this feature, in the cellular layout of this kind, you can adopt the
directional antenna whose azimuth beam width ranges from 60 to 65 degrees
because their horizontal lobe gain diagram also meets this feature.
If “R” is the cell radius, the cell area is S = 0.6495 × R × R. Sometimes the “r”
is used as cell radius, so the cell area is S = 2 5981×r×r. Therefore, when
calculating the cell area, you must make clear whether “r” or “R” is used.
The followings deduce the EIRP required along “R” direction and “r” direction.
As shown in Figure 5-3, the coverage distance along “r” direction is half of that
along “R” direction, namely, r = R/2. To keep even coverage, you must make
the field intensity at the edges of the cell equal, namely, RxlvelB = RxlevelC.
Suppose that the EIPR transmitted from cell A is EIRPR and EIRPr along “R”
direction and “r” direction respectively, and the city HATA mode is used for
path loss, the path loss from point A and B is expressed as equation (1) :
EIRPR – RXLEVB = 69.55 + 21.66lgf - 13.82lgh1 + (44.9 - 6.55lgh1) lgR (1)
And the path loss from pint A to point C is expressed as equation (2):
EIRPr- RXLEVc = 69.55 + 21.66lgf - 13.82lgh1 = (44.9 - 6.55lgh1) lgr (2)
Subtract (2) from (1), the equation (3) is expressed as follows:
EIRPR - EIRPr =(44.9 - 6.55lgh1)×(lgR – lgr) =(44.9 - 6.55lgh1) × lg (R/r) (3)
Introduce R = 2r, the equation (4) is obtained as follows:
EIRPR - EIRPr = 0.3 × (44.9 - 6.55lgh1) (4)
When the antenna height “h1” increases from 5m to 100m, the values of (EIRPR
- EIRPr) decrease from 12 to 9.5, which can be roughly treated as 10dB.
5.1.2 References for Design of Base Station Parameters
When estimating the number of base stations, you must perform uplink and
downlink budget. Based on the coverage division and propagation environment
survey, you can obtain some project parameters and apply them to link budget.
2.6.3 Uplink and Downlink Balance
After base station parameters are specified, you can perform link budget to
estimate the coverage area of the base station. In addition, you must consider
the sensitivity of the base station equipments at this time.
In a mobile communication system, radio links are divided into two directions,
namely, uplink and downlink. For an excellent system, you must perform a
good power budget so that the balance is present between uplink signals and
downlink signals. Otherwise, the conversation quality is good for one party but
bad for the other party at the edges of the cell. If uplink signals are too bad,
the mobile station cannot start a call even if signals are present.
However, the because the fading for uplink channels and downlink channels is
not totally the same and the other factors such as the difference of the
performances of receivers are present, the calculated uplink and downlink are
not absolute, but the there a fluctuation of 2 to 3 dB.
The measurement report on uplinks and downlinks at the Abis interface can tell
whether the uplink and downlink reach a balance. In addition, dialing tests in
actual network can also tell whether the balance between uplinks and
downlinks are reached. If the conversation quality on downlinks uplinks
becomes poor simultaneously, it means that the downlinks and uplinks are
balance.
& Note:
Some carriers provide the traffic statistics on uplink and downlink
measurement, which can also tell whether the balance between uplinks and
downlinks are reached.
I. Link budget model
When calculating uplink and downlink balance, you must consider the functions
of the tower amplifier first. In a base station receiving system, the thermal
movement of the active parts and radio frequency (RF) conductors cause
thermal noise, which reduces the signal-to-noise ratio of the receiving system.
In this case, the receiving sensitivity of the base station is restricted and the
conversation quality is reduced. To improve the receiving performance of the
base station, you can add a low-noise amplifier under the receiving antenna.
And this is the principle of the tower amplifier.
The contributions of the tower amplifier to uplinks and downlinks are judged
according to the performance of its low-noise amplifier and gain. In fact, it is
the tower amplifier that reduces the noise coefficient of the base station
receiving system. The power amplifier can improve the coefficients for the
uplink receiving system (start from the output end of the receiving antenna).
However, if the functions of the tower amplifier are quantified by this, the
uplink improved value can be represented by the NFDelta (it is the reduced
value of the noise coefficient of the receiving system) after a tower amplifier is
added to the system.
(1) No tower amplifier
When there is no tower amplifier, the sensitivity of the equipments at the
duplexer input interface at the top of the base station cabinet are taken as a
reference.
For downlink signals, if,
Mobile station receiver output power = Poutm
Base station diversity received gain = Gdb
Base station receiving level = Pinb
Base station side noise deterioration = Pbn
Antenna receiving gain = antenna transmitting gain (according to reciprocity
theorem)
The following equation can be obtained:
Pinb + Mf = Poutm + Gam – Ld + Gab + Gdb – Lfb – Pbn
Generally, Pmn is almost equal to Pbn, so the following equation can be
obtained:
Poutb = Poutm + Gdb + (Pinm – Pinb) + Lcb
(2) With tower amplifier
If a tower amplifier is present, the improved value of the noise coefficients of
the uplink receiving system can be represented by NFDelta, so the equation
Poutb = Poutm + Gdb + (Pinm – Pinb) + Lcb can be developed into the following
equation:
Poutb = Poutm + Gdb + (Pinm - Pinb) + Lcb + NFDelta
The two equations, Poutb = Poutm + Gdb + (Pinm – Pinb) + Lcb and Poutb =
Poutm + Gdb + (Pinm - Pinb) + Lcb + NFDelta are used to calculate base station
transmit power when the uplinks and downlinks are balance. Here,
Pinb is the base station receiving sensitivity
Pinm is the mobile station receiving sensitivity
Gdb (antenna diversity receiving gain) is 3.5dB
According to the requirements in protocols GSM05.05, the mobile station
transmit power and the reference receiving sensitivity of the mobile station
and base station are specified in Table 5-10. At present, however, the
sensitivities in actual systems are greater than the reference values listed in
the following table.
II. Bass station sensitivity
This section further introduces the base station sensitivity and the functions of
the tower amplifier.
Receiver sensitivity refers to the minimum signal level needed to by the input
end of the receiver when the certain bit error rate (BER) is met. The receiver
sensitivity detects the performances of the following components:
Receiver analog RF circuit
Intermediate frequency circuit and demodulation
Decoder circuit
Three parameters are used to measure the receiver bit error performance.
They are frame expurgation rate (FER), residual bit error rate (RBER), and bit
error rate (BER). When a fault is detected in a frame, this frame is defined as
deleted one.
Here,
FER indicates the ratio of the deleted frames to the total received frames. For
full rate voice channels, the FER is present when the 3-bit cyclic redundancy
check (CRC) detects errors or bad error indication (BFI) is caused. For signaling
channels, the FER is present when the fire code (FIRE) or other packet codes
detect errors. The FER is not defined in data services.
FBER indicates the BER that are not announced as deleted frames, namely, it is
the ratio of the bit errors in the frame detected as “good” to the total number
of bits transmitted in “good” frames.
BER indicates the ratio of the received error bits to all transmitted bits.
Because BER occurs at random, the statistical measurement is mainly applied
to measure receiver error rate. That is, sample multiple measuring points on
each channel and when the number of measuring points is certain, if the BER of
each measurement is within the required limit, the BER of this channel meets
the BER as required.
However, the number of sampled measured points and the limit value of the
BER must meet the following conditions:
For each independent sampled measuring point, the times for it to pass a
“bad” unit must be as fewer as possible, that is, the probability must be
smaller than 2%.
For each independent sampled measuring point, the times for it to pass a
“good” unit must be as more as possible, that is, the probability must be
greater than 99.7%.
The measurement has vivid statistical features.
The measuring time must be reduced to the minimum.
As a result, you can measure the receiver sensitivity through measuring
whether the receiver BER has reached the requirement while entering
sensitivity level to the receiver.
Enter the reference sensitivity level to the receiver in various propagation
environments. For the data produced after receiver demodulation and channel
decoding, the indexes for FER, RBER.
The requirements on BCCH, AGCH, PCH, and SACCH are the same as that on
SDCCH.
The value of “a” in this table depends on the channels. It is 1 for base stations,
and 1 to 1.6 for mobile stations.

III. Contributions of tower amplifier to base staiton sensitivity

In terms of technical principles, the tower amplifier reduces the noise
coefficients of the base station receiving system, which is helpful for improving
the sensitivity of the base station receiving system.
In an actual system, to improve the receiving performance of the base station,
you can add a low-noise amplifier near the feeder of the receiving antenna.
In a mobile communication system, the receiver sensitivity = noise spectrum
intensity (dBm/Hz) + bandwidth (dBHz) + noise coefficient (dB) + C/I (dB).
Here the noise spectrum intensity, bandwidth, and noise coefficient are system
thermal noise. C/I is the signal-to-noise ratio required at the Um interface. In a
narrow band system, C/I indicates the modulation performance required by the
receiver baseband, and it is a positive number.
In a spreading communication system, because spread spectrum gain is
present, the value of C/I is far beyond the requirement of the modulation
performance of the receiver baseband, and it is a negative number.
When there are n* cascaded receivers, the equivalent noise coefficient is as
follows:
Here,
Gn indicates the receivers gain at each level (including the loss at each level).
Fn indicates the noise coefficient of the receivers at each level.
The noise coefficient of the passive device is equal to its loss, and the gain of
the passive device is the reciprocal of the loss.
According to the previous equation, the noise coefficient of the cascading
system is determined by the receivers at the first level.
It must be pointed out that the linear values of the parameters must be applied
in the previous equation, so the “F” is a linear value, which must be converted
into a logarithm. Moreover, according to this equation, the noise the cascaded
receivers are determined by the noise coefficient (F1) of the receivers at the
first level.
However, when the tower amplifier stops working, because the loss is present
on duplexer and bypass connectors, about 2dB of redundant loss is introduced
on reverse link.
According to the equation , the following two assumptions conclude the
regularity of the effect of tower amplifier on the base station system.
(1) Assumption 1
Hereunder is a series of assumptions:
F1 = 2.5 dB (1.7783), noise coefficient of the tower amplifier
F2 = 4.5 dB (2.8184), noise coefficient of the base station
G = 2 (15.849) dB, tower amplifier gain
Loss of the feeder and other passive devices = 3 dB (2)
Gain of the feeder and other passive devices G0 = –3 dB (1/2)
Noise coefficient of the feeder and other passive devices F0 = 1/G0
When the tower amplifier is not added, the noise coefficient of the base
station receiving system with the antenna output end as reference point is as
follows:
F = F0 + (F2–1)/G0 = 10*log (2 + (2.8184–1)/0.5) =7.5dB
When the tower amplifier is added, the noise coefficient of the base station
receiving system with the antenna output end as reference point is as follows:
F = F1 + (F0 – 1)/G + (F2 – 1)/(G*G0) = 10*log(1.7783 + (2 – 1)/15.849 + (2.8184 –
1)/(15.849 × 0.5) = 3.2dB
At this time, the added tower amplifier improves the noise coefficient, and
FDelta is 4.3dB, that is, the uplink is improved by 4.3 dB.
(2) Assumption 2
Hereunder is a series of assumptions:
F1 = 2.2 dB (1.6596), noise coefficient of the tower amplifier
F2 =2.3 dB (1.6982), noise coefficient of the base station
G = 12 (15.849) dB, tower amplifier gain
Loss of the feeder and other passive devices = 3 dB (2)
Gain of the feeder and other passive devices G0 = –3 dB (1/2)
Noise coefficient of the feeder and other passive devices F0 = 1/G0
When the tower amplifier is not added, the noise coefficient of the base
station receiving system with the antenna output end as reference point is as
follows:
F = F0 + (F2 – 1)/G0 = 10*log (2 + (1.6982 – 1)/0.5) = 5.3dB
When the tower amplifier is added, the noise coefficient of the base station
receiving system with the antenna output end as reference point is as follows:
F = F1 + (F0 – 1)/G + (F2 – 1)/(G*G0) = 10*log(1.6596+(2 – 1)/15.849 + (1.6982 –
1)/(15.849 × 0.5)) = 2.6dB
At this time, the added tower amplifier improves the noise coefficient, and
FDelta is 2.7 dB, that is, the uplink is improved by 2.7 dB.
According to the previous calculation, the following conclusions can be
obtained:
The tower amplifier improves the noise coefficient of the base station receiving
system, thus improving the receiving sensitivity of the base station.
The tower amplifier improves uplink signals effectively, which is also helpful
for improving the receiving sensitivity of the base station.
The gain of the antenna amplifier reduces the effect of the components
installed behind the tower amplifier against noise coefficient.
When the feeder is long and the loss of the feeder is great, if the tower
amplifier is added, the noise coefficient of the base station receiving system
and the uplink signals will be greatly improved.
The smaller the noise coefficient of the tower amplifier is, if the tower
amplifier is added, the greater the noise coefficient of the base station
receiving system is improved. However, if the noise coefficient of the tower
amplifier is too great, it may cause the noise coefficient of the base station
receiving system to deteriorate.
When the receiving sensitivity of the base station is great and the feeder is
short, the tower amplifier makes a little improvement on the noise coefficient
of the base station.
If the tower amplifier improves the base station sensitivity, the base station is
more sensitive to outside interference.
2.6.4 Cell Coverage Estimation
In actual project planning, the effective coverage area of a base station largely
depends on the following factors:
Effective base station transmit power
Working band (900MHz or 1800MHz) to be used
Antenna type and location
Power budget
Radio propagation environment
Carriers; coverage requirements
Based on the indexes of QoS for the mobile network and the actual
applications, this section introduces the coverage area of the base station in
different environments theoretically.
If the following assumptions are present:
The antenna height of GSM 900MHz and GSM 1800MHz base stations are 30
meters.
The sensitivities of the GSM900 MHz 2W (33 dBm) mobile station and GSM
1800MHz 1W (30 dBm) mobile station are -102 dBm and -100 dBm respectively.
The mobile station height is 1.5 meters and the gain is 0 dB.
When the combiner and divider unit (CDU) is used, the sensitivities of the
900MHz base station and 1800MHz base station are -110dBm and -108dBm
respectively.
The CDU loss is 5.5dB, and the SCU loss is 6.8dB.
The gain of the 65-degree directional antenna is 13dBd for the 900 MHz mobile
station and 16dBd for the 1800MHz mobile station.
The feeder is 50m in length. For 900MHz signals, the feeder loss is
4.03dBm/100m. For 1800MHz signals, the feeder loss is 5.87dB/100m.
In general cities, select Okumura propagation model.
No tower amplifier and the downlinks are restricted according to the
calculation of the uplink and downlink balance.
According to the previous assumptions, the calculated results are as follows:
(1) Outdoor coverage radius of the 900 MHz base station in urban areas
The minimum received level of the mobile station dBm. The coverage radius is
calculated according to the maximum TRX transmit power. The maximum TRX
transmit power for the 900 MHz base station W (46 dBm).
The EIRP of the base station antenna is:
(dBm)
Here,
LCOM indicates the combiner loss
Lbf indicates the feeder loss
Gab indicates the antenna gain of the base station
And the allowed maximum propagation loss is:
(dB)
According to the Okumura propagation model introduces earlier,
Here,
indicates the antenna height of the base station.
indicates the antenna height of the mobile station.
“f” = 900 MHz.
(dB)
According to the previous known number, the outdoor coverage radius of the
900 MHz base station in urban areas can be obtained, that is, d = 2.8km.
(2) Coverage radius of the 900 MHz base station in urban buildings
The minimum received level of the mobile station (dBm).
(dB)
Therefore, the coverage radius of the 900 MHz base station in urban buildings
can be obtained, that is, d = 0.75km.
If the previous assumptions are present, this indicates that the 900 MHz base
station can cover the outdoor areas 2.8 km away, but for the subscribers on the
first floor of the buildings 750 m away, the quality of the received signals is not
satisfying.
(3) Coverage radius of the 900 MHz base station in suburban areas
The minimum received level of the mobile station (dBm).
(dB)
The Okumura propagation model in suburban areas must be modified as
follows:
Therefore, the coverage radius of the 900 MHz base station in urban areas can
be obtained, that is, d = 5.4km, so it is obvious that the coverage radius of the
base station with the same configuration is larger in suburban areas that in
urban areas.
(4) Outdoor coverage radius of the 1800 MHz base station in urban areas
The minimum received level of the mobile station (dBm). Because the
maximum transmit power of the 1800 MHz TRX is 40W (46dBm), the coverage
radius is calculated based on this maximum transit power.
(dBm)
(dB)
For the 1800 MHz base station, the Okumura propagation model is:
In addition, f = 1800 MHz and (dB).
According to the previous known number, the outdoor coverage radius of the
1800 MHz base station in urban areas can be obtained, that is, d = 1.7km.
(5) Coverage radius of the 1800 MHz base stations in urban buildings
The minimum received level of the mobile station (dBm).
(dB)
If the previous assumptions are present, this indicates that the 1800 MHz base
station can cover the outdoor areas 1.7km away, but for the subscribers on the
first floor of the buildings 500m away, the quality of the received signals is not
satisfying.
2.6.5 Base Station Address Planning
I. Overview
When planning base station addresses, first you must estimate the number of
the base stations needed in various coverage areas according to the coverage
distance and the divisions of the coverage areas. For the convenience of
prediction and emulation, you must plan an initial layout the base station
addresses with the help of maps and the estimated results.
II. Planning methods
The base station address can be planned based on standard girds, or it can be
planned from a specific area.
(1) Plan base station address based on standard grids
First you set the base stations in the coverage areas according to the distance
of the standard grids, and then adjust the address layout and project
parameters according to the estimated coverage results to meet the coverage
requirement. After that, continue the planning according to the following
instructions:
If a satisfying address layout is obtained, you must analyze the capacity of the
base stations to be planned according to this layout, and determine the
reasonable number of base stations. When designing the capacity, you must
calculate the number of TRXs needs to be configured for each base station, and
then analyze and adjust the configuration of the base station according to the
number of the configured TRXs.
The adjustment of the configuration of the base station is determined by
subscriber distribution. If the number of base stations in some areas does not
meet capacity requirement, another base stations must be added.
(2) Plan base station address based on a specific area
According to this method, you are required to start the planning from the areas
where the subscribers are most densely distributed or the planning work is
quite hard to be performed. As a result, you must fully survey the subscriber
distribution, landforms, and ground objectives within the coverage area to
position the key coverage area where the center base stations should be
planned. And these center base stations function as ensuring the coverage and
capacity in important areas.
After the layout of these center base stations is determined, you can plan
other base station addresses according to coverage and capacity target. And
this is how the final layout of the base station addresses come from. After the
overall solution is determined, the subsequent steps are performed according
to the first planning method.

& Note:
The difference of the traffic intensity and the abnormality of the landforms
and ground objectives result in irregularity of the radio coverage. Therefore,
the distance between base stations varies. Generally, this distance is smaller in
the areas where traffic intensity is great. In some hot areas, you can ensure
the system capacity by using micro cells and distributed antennas to provide
multi-layer coverage.
For restrictions from frequency resources are present, you must consider
avoiding interference while ensuring system capacity.
There is no standard available for the layout of the base station addresses. A
good planning solution is selected based on the integrated performance of the
network.

2.6.6 Coverage Prediction

The coverage prediction is to predict the coverage of the network to be
constructed according to the selected base station addresses, designed base
station types, suitable electronic maps, and network planning tools to judge
whether the coverage meet the requirements of the subscribers.
The coverage of a base station is determined by the following factors:
Indexes of QoS
Output power of transmitters
Available sensitivity of receivers
Direction and gain of antennas
Working bands
Propagation environment (such as landforms, city constructions)
Application of diversity reception
If the predicted results of the network coverage fail to meet the requirements,
you can take the following adjusting measures:
When there are subscribers distributing beyond the cell coverage area, but it is
not economical for you to install a base station, you can use a repeater to
ensure the requirement of those subscriber.
When the signals are weak or blind zones are present within the coverage area,
you can consider whether to use micro cells according to actual conditions.
If a large blank area is present between neighbor cells, you can increase the
antenna height and add base stations according to the principles of cell
splitting.
When the cell coverage area fails to meet the co-channel interference index,
you can adjust the frequency configuration of the cell, adjust base station
addresses, or adjust design of the parameters, such as antenna specification,
antenna height, azimuth angle, tilt angle, and transmit power.
& Note:
When taking these adjusting measures, you must consider the mutual effect
between base stations.
2.7 Design of Base Station Address
2.7.1 Address design
Generally, in GSM radio network planning, the base station address is designed
according to the following requirements:
The address must serve to the reasonable cell structure.
Based on the comprehensive analysis of the electronic maps and paper maps,
you can select several candidate addresses from the perspective of coverage,
anti-interference, and traffic balance.
In actual conditions, carriers are required to discuss the selected addresses
with owners. Generally, the addresses must be located within the area 1/4
radius of the cellular base station.
During the early construction stage when only a few base stations are installed,
the base stations must be located in the center of the areas where subscribers
are densely populated.
For the selection of the base station addresses, the priority must be given to
the important areas, such as government offices, airports, train stations, news
center, and great hotels so that good conversation quality can be assured.
Furthermore, overlapped coverage must be avoided in these areas.
For other coverage areas, the base station addresses are designed according to
standard cellular structures. For the suburban areas, highroads, and
countryside areas, the design of base station addresses has little relation with
cellular structures.
Without affecting the layout of base stations, you can select the
telecommunication buildings and post offices as the base station addresses so
that the facilities, such as the equipment room, power supplier, and iron tower
can be fully utilized.
The direction of antenna major lobe must be in accordance with the area
where the traffic intensity is great. In this case, the signal strength of the area
can be enhanced, so does the conversation quality. Meanwhile, the direction of
the antenna major lobe must be deviated from intra-frequency cells so that the
interference can be controlled efficiently.
In urban areas, it is recommended that the overlapped depth of the antennas
in adjacent sectors cannot excel 10%. In suburban areas and small towns, the
overlapped depth between coverage areas cannot be too great, and the
included angle between sectors must be equal to or higher than 90°.
In addition, for actual design, you must consider the mapping relationship
between carrier number and cells. Generally, more carriers are configured for
the cells with high intensity.
The azimuth angle must be designed according to not only the traffic
distribution in the areas around the base stations, but also the performance of
the overall network.
Generally, it is recommended to adopt the same azimuth angle for the 3-sector
base stations in urban areas so that the complicated network planning can be
avoided after cell splitting in the future. Moreover, the antenna major lobe
cannot directly point to the straight streets in populated urban areas, because
it can cause cross-coverage.
In the areas connecting urban and suburban areas, and along transport arteries,
you must adjust the azimuth angle according to coverage target.
Generally, the base station address is not considered on the high mountains in
urban and suburban areas. To be more specifically, the high mountains are
those over 200 to 300 meters higher than above the sea-level). Otherwise, not
only strong interference and weak signals may be present within the coverage
area, but also the base stations are hard to be installed and maintained on high
mountains.
New base stations must be installed at the spots where the traffic is
convenient, the power supply is available, and the environment is secure. In
contrast, new base stations must not be installed at the spots near the radio
transmit stations with high power, radar stations, and other equipments which
produces great interference, because the interference-field intensity cannot be
greater than that defined by the base station.
The base station addresses must be far away from forests or woods to keep the
receiving signals from fading.
The transmission between base station controllers must be considered in the
design of the base station address.
When selecting a base station address from high buildings in urban areas, you
can divide the network into several layers with the help of the building height.
The antenna height of major base stations must be a little higher than the
average height of buildings. Generally, the antenna height of the base stations
in populated urban areas ranges from 25 to 30 meters. In suburban areas (or
the antenna points to suburban areas), the antenna height ranges from 40 to 50
meters.
Along highroads or in mountain areas, the base station address is selected
based on full survey of the landforms. For example, the address can be
determined in an open area or at the turns of the highroads.
When selecting a base station address from the cities characterized by
mountains and hills and from the areas where high buildings are constructed
with metals, you must consider the effect of time dispersion. In this case, the
base station address must near reflected objectives. When the base station is
far away from reflected objectives, you must adjust the directional antenna to
the reverse direction of the reflected objectives.
Caution:
Time dispersion mainly refers to the intra-frequency interference arising from
the time difference between the master signal and other multipath signal
arriving at the receiver in terms of space transmission. According to the
requirements in GSM protocols, the equalizer of the receiver must carry the
time window with 16μs (equivalent to 4.8 km). The multipath signal with time
difference greater than 16 μs is regarded as intra-interference signal. In this
case, you must consider whether the level difference between the master
signal and multipath signal meet the carrier-to-interference ratio (C/I),
namely, the master signal is 12 dB greater than the multipath signal at least.

2.7.2 Project Parameter Decision

After finishing designing a base station address, you must decide the project
parameters needed for the base station installation. These parameters include:
Latitude and longitude of the location of base station antenna
Antenna height
Directions of the antenna
Antenna gain
Azimuth angle
Tilt angle
Feeder specifications
Transmit power for each cell of the base station
And the previous parameters are decided through field survey.
Before beginning field survey, you must familiarize yourself with the overall
project and collect the materials and tools relative to the project. They are:
All types of project documents
Background information
Information about the existing network
Local map
Configuration lists required in contracts
Relative tools (including digital camera, GPS, compass, ruler, and laptop
computer)
& Note:
Make sure that all the materials and tools are usable before setting out.

The following items must be emphasized before field survey:

The GPS must be placed in an open land to position the latitude and longitude
of a base station
Make a detailed record of the surroundings around the base station, such as the
distribution of the buildings, facilities with strong interference, and the
equipments sharing the same base station address.
It is better to record the previous information with a camera.
Prevent the compass from magnetizing, because the magnetization will cause
great deviation during the measurement.
Field survey determines the layout of the base station addresses ultimately.
The field survey for the base station includes optical measurement, spectrum
measurement, and base station address survey. They are specified as follows:
Optical measurement
Measure if a barrier that may reflect electrical waves around the base station,
such as high buildings.
Spectrum measurement
Check if the electromagnetic environments around the base stations are normal
at present or in recent days.
Base station address survey
Check the installation conditions of antenna and equipments, power supply,
and natural environment.
The following sections introduce the design for antenna installation.
I. Environment for antenna installation
The environment for antenna installation can be divided into the environment
near the antenna and the base station. For the environment near the antenna,
you must consider the isolation between antennas and the effect of iron tower
and buildings against the antenna. For the environment near the base station,
you must consider the effect the high buildings within 500 meters against the
base station. However, if the height of the buildings is properly used, you can
obtain the intended coverage area.
If a directional antenna is installed on the wall, the radiation direction of the
antenna is perfectly perpendicular to the wall. If its azimuth angle must be
adjusted, the included angle between the radiation direction and the wall is
required to be greater than 75°. In this case, if the front-to-back ratio of the
antenna is greater than 20 dB, the effect of the signals reflected by the wall in
reverse direction against the signals in the radiation direction is quite slight.
When installing an antenna, you must consider whether large shadows will be
present within the coverage area of the antenna. The shadows are produced
mainly because the base station is surrounded by some huge barriers, such as
high buildings and great mountains. Therefore, the antenna must be installed
in the areas with no such barriers.
When a directional antenna is installed on building roofs, you must prevent the
building edges from barring the radiation of antenna beams. Therefore, to
reduce or ease the shadow, you can install the antenna near building edges.
Because the building roofs are diversified and complicated, if an antenna must
be installed far away from building edges, the antenna must be installed higher
than the roof. In this case, the wind load of the antenna must be considered.
II. Antenna isolation in GSM system
To avoid inter-modulation interference, you must leave certain isolation
between the receiver and transmitter of the GSM base station, namely, Tx - Rx:
30 dB and Tx -Tx: 30 dB. They are applicable to the situation that a GSM
900MHz base station and a GSM 1800MHz base station share the same address.
The antenna isolation depends on the radiation diagram, space distance, and
gain of the antenna. Generally, the attenuation introduced by the voltage
standing wave ratio (VSWR) is not considered. The antenna isolation is
calculated as follows:
For vertical arrangement, Lv = 28 + 40lg (k/λ) (dB)
For horizontal arrangement, Lv =22 + 20lg (d/λ) – (G1+G2) – (S1 + S2) (dB)
Here,
Lv indicates the required isolation.
λ indicates the length of carrier waves.
k indicates the vertical isolation distance.
d indicates the horizontal isolation distance.
G1 indicates the gains of the transmitter antenna in the maximum radiation
direction, in the unit of dBi.
G2 indicates the gains of the receiver antenna in the maximum radiation
direction, in the unit of dBi.
S1 indicates the levels of the side lobes of the transmitter antenna in the 90°
direction, in the unit of dBp, and it is a negative value relative to the main
beam.
S2 indicates the levels of the side lobes of the receiver antenna in the 90°
direction, in the unit of dBp, and it is a negative value relative to the main
beam.
The followings introduce the requirements on the antenna mount in GSM
900MHz and GSM 1800MHz.
(1) Directional antenna
In one system, the following requirements must be met in terms of isolation:
The horizontal distance between two antennas in the same sector must be
equal to or greater than 0.4m.
The horizontal distance between two antennas in different sectors must be
equal to or greater than 0.5m.
In different systems, the following requirements must be met when two
antennas are in the same sector and direction:
The horizontal distance between the two antennas must be equal to or greater
than 1m.
The vertical distance between the two antennas must be equal to or greater
than 0.5m.
The distance between the bottom of the antennas and the enclosing wall of
building roof must be equal to or greater than 0.5m.
The included angle between the line connecting the bottom of the antenna to
the antenna-facing roof and the horizontal direction must be greater than 15°.

The bands of the two systems are close to each other, the interference against
each other will easily occur. Mostly, the transmission of CDMA2000 1X base
station will interfere with the reception of GSM 900MHz base station.
The disclosure signals of the CDMA band falling into the channels of the GSM
base station receivers will enhance the noise level of the GSM receivers. In this
case, the GSM uplinks become weak, which will reduce the coverage area of
the base station and worsen the quality of the network.
If there is not enough isolation between base stations or the transmitting filter
interfering base stations does not provide enough out-of-band attenuation, the
signals falling into the band of the interfered base station receiver may strong,
which will increase the noise level of the receiver.
The deterioration of the system performance is closely related to the strength
of interference signals, and the strength of interference signals is determined
by the factors, such as the performance of the transmitting elements of the
interfering base stations, the performance of the receiving elements of the
interfered base stations, the distance between bands, and the distance
between antennas.
The signal from the amplifier of the interfering base station is first sent to the
transmitting filter, and then it attenuate due to the isolation between the two
base stations. Finally, it is received by the receiver of the interfered base
station. The power of the spurious interference arriving at the antenna end of
the interfered base station can be expressed by the following equation:
Here,
Ib indicates the interference level received at the antenna receiving end of the
interfered base station, in the unit of dBm.
PTX-AMP indicates the output power at the amplifier of the interfering base
station, in the unit of dBm.
Pattenuation indicates the out-of-band suppression attenuation at the
transmitting filer.
Iisolation indicates the isolation between the antennas of the two base
stations, in the unit of dB.
WBinterfered indicates the bandwidth of the signals at the interfered base
station.
WBinterfering indicates the measurable bandwidth of the interfering signals, or
it can be understood as the bandwidth defined by spurious radiation.
Regulate the previous equation and the following equation can be obtained:
Suppose the transmit channel number of CDMA2000 1X is the last one on its
working band, that is, 878.49MHz, the spurious signal level on the band of 890-
915MHz must be equal to or lower than -13dBm/100kHz. If you intend to put
this assumption into practice, you can filter and combine each transmitted
channel number by using band-limited filter with a bandwidth of only 1.23MHz.
The band-limited filter of this type has great out-of-band attenuation, which
can reach 56 dB at 890 MHz and 80 dB at 909 MHz. Here you must consider the
worst situation, that is, the frequencies at the highest end of the CDMA system
interfere with the frequencies at the lowest end of the GSM system.
In this case, Iisolation = (-13dBm/100kHz) - 56 - Ib + 10lg (200kHz/100kHz)
Here Ib indicates the highest interference level (dBm) allowed by the receiving
end of the interfered base station. If the receiving sensitivity of the interfered
base station is ensured, the outside interference level are required to be 10 dB
lower than the back noise of the receiver. In this case, the sensitivity affected
only accounts to about 0.5 dB.
The back noise of the GSM receiver is the sum of the noise intensity,
bandwidth, and noise coefficient. If the noise coefficient is 8 dB, the back
noise is -174+noise coefficient+10lg (200000) = -174+8+53 = -113 (dBm).
Therefore, the maximum spurious interference allowed is -113-10 = -123
(dBm/200kHz).
As a result, the spurious interferences from other systems falling at the GSM
receivers are required to be smaller than -123 (dBm/200kHz); otherwise, the
spurious interferences will seriously affect the GSM system.
Therefore, Iisolation = (-13dBm/100kHz) – 56 - Ib + 10lg (200kHz/100kHz) = -13-
56- (-123dBm/200kHz) + 10lg (200kHz/100kHz) = 57 dBm/200kHz.
That is, according to the assumption, the isolation between a CDMA antenna
and GSM 900MHz antenna must be at least 57dB regardless whether they share
the address or not.
Many ways can be used to reduce the interference. For example, you can adopt
the following ways:
Design enough distance between antennas
Filter the out-of-band interference of the transmitter
Add different equipments to the filter, such as receiver, duplexer, and divider.
According to the requirements in TIA/EIA-97 protocols, the spurious
interference from the CDMA antenna interface falling within the GSM 900MHz
receiving bands must be less than -13 dBm/100kHz. Therefore, the problems,
such as mutual interference and co-address construction must be considered in
the initial design.
To be specific, you can filter and combine each transmitted channel number
using a limited-band filter with the bandwidth of only 1.23 MHz. The band-
limited filter of this type has great out-of-band attenuation, thus the space
distance between the antennas of the CDMA system and GSM system must be
shortened.
In addition, to minimize the interference, you must keep suitable isolation
between the antennas of the CDMA system and GSM system.
The antenna isolation is calculated according to the following two formulas,
which has been introduced earlier:
For vertical arrangement, Lv = 28 + 40lg (k/λ) (dB)
For horizontal arrangement, Lv =22 + 20lg (d/λ) – (G1+G2) – (S1 + S2) (dB)
According to the two formulas, the requirements on the isolation between the
antennas of CDMA system and GSM 900 MHz system are specified in the
following three circumstances.
The antennas of the CDAM system and GSM 900MHz system do not share the
same address, with the antennas horizontally opposite to each other, or the
antennas of the two systems share the same address, with the antenna type of
omni antenna.
Suppose the effective gains of the antennas of the two systems in the maximum
radiation direction are 10 dBi (with the feeder loss considered), and the
interference signals are 890MHz, according to previous analysis, the isolation
between the CDMA system and GSM system is required at least 57dB.
Therefore, the following equation can be obtained according to the previous
formula:
57 = 22 + 20lg (Dh/λ) – (10 + 10)
The antennas of the CDMA and GSM 900 MHz system share the same address
(the antennas are installed on the same platform and horizontally separated),
with the antenna type of directional antenna.
Suppose that the two antennas are horizontally placed, and their tilt angle is
65°, and that the effective gains of the two antennas in the radiation direction
are 15dBi.
And if the side lobe of the 65°antenna is -18dB in the horizontal plane, the
effective gain of the antenna in this direction is (15 – 18) dBi = -3 dBi.
Therefore, 57=222+0lg (Dh/λ) - {(15+15) + [(-18) + (-18)]}.
According to the previous equation, the horizontal distance between the two
antennas are d = 9.5m.
The antennas of the CDMA and GSM 900 MHz antennas share the same address
(the antennas are not installed on the same platforms of the iron tower and
vertically separated), with the antenna types of directional antenna and omni
antenna.
In this case, the equation 57=28 + 40 lg (k/λ) is present.
According to this equation, the vertical distance between the two antennas is d
= 1.8m.
& Note:
The previous descriptions are just theoretical detections. In actual networking,
other types of antennas may be installed at the same address. In this case,
some equipment indexes must be considered, among which the important ones
are spurious radiation, the interference power of the interfering signals to
interfered signals, and the antenna isolation.
IV. Installation distance between antennas
Diversity technology is the most anti-fading effective. When two signals are
irrelevant to each other, the horizontal distance between the diversity
antennas must be 0.11 times that of the valid antenna height. The higher place
the antenna is installed, the larger the horizontal distance between diversity
antennas is. When the distance between diversity antennas is equal to or
greater than 6m, however, the antenna is hard to be installed on an iron
tower.
In addition, the distance required by vertical diversity antennas is 5 to 6 times
that of the horizontal diversity antennas when the same coverage is ensured.
Therefore, the vertical diversity antenna is seldom used in actual projects, but
antennas are often vertically installed to meet isolation requirement,
especially omni antennas are vertically installed.
In addition, for highroad coverage, the line connecting two receiving antennas
must be perpendicular to the highroad. If space diversity is used, the diversity
distance is the perpendicular. Isolation requirement: Tx-Tx, Tx - Rx: 30 dB

The installation for GSM 900MHz and GSM 1800MHz antennas is flexible, but no
matter what specifications are used, they must meet the requirements on
isolation and distance. In addition, in actual projects, barriers are present
between antennas. For example, a tower is always present between two omni
antennas, so you must shorten the horizontal distance between them.

V. Design of base station parameters in residential areas

A large number of residential areas are distributed in urban areas, so this
section introduces the design of base station parameters in these areas.
(1) Features of residential areas

Building intensity
Great-intensity residential areas: the distance between buildings is within 10
meters.
Middle-intensity residential areas: the distance between buildings ranges from
10 to 20 meters.
Low-intensity residential areas: the distance between buildings is larger than
20 meters.
Construction material
The walls of the residential areas are constructed with concretes.
The walls of the residential areas are constructed with bricks and concretes.
The walls of the residential areas are constructed with hollow blocks.
Notes:
The thickness of the buildings varies with the regions and climates. Three
specifications are available, namely, 24m, 47m, and 49m. Generally, the walls
are thicker in southern parts and thinner in northern parts.

(2) Antenna installation in residential areas

The address where the antenna should be installed in residential areas is hard
to be determined. Generally, when adopting micro cells, you can install the
antenna within a residential area near to the target coverage area.
In this case, the antenna can be installed in the following spots:
On outer walls (not roofs) of a building
On pillars
Install a micro cell in underground garages
If the antenna is installed at a wall corner, the major lobe of the antenna can
radiate the space between buildings. Generally, the major lobe of the antenna
cannot face the walls of the buildings nearby directly.
If frequencies are reusable among these micro cells, the directions of antennas
must be consistent with each other. In addition, you can also use the cell
splitter to enable a cell to coverage the areas in two directions. In this case,
however, the frequency utilization ratio may decrease and extra power splitter
will introduce loss of 3 dB.
For the residential areas with regular arrangement, the directional antennas
whose horizontal beam width is 90° to 120° and vertical beam width is greater
than 30° are recommended.
Under certain conditions, the micro cell antenna can be installed on the pillars
within a residential area.
For the residential areas with irregular arrangement, the antenna can be
installed on the walls of a building, so the reflected waves can coverage the
walls of opposite buildings. In this case, the antennas whose horizontal beam
width is greater than 120°and vertical beam width is greater than 30°are
recommended.
(3) Antenna selection
When the walls of a building is selected as an installed position, you can use
the build-in antenna of the micro cell directly, or other antennas with small
size. According to coverage features of residential areas, when selecting the
specifications for the micro cell antennas to be used, you must consider the
following factors:
Antenna gain
Horizontal beam width
Vertical beam width
Polarization mode
Visual effect (antenna size, shape, and weight)
The antenna gain is recommended less than 9 dBi for micro cell antennas.
Because the coverage area of a micro cell antenna is small and the installed
position is near to the coverage area, the antenna gain can be adjusted to a
smaller value, especially if the gain of an antenna is greater than 10dBi, its size
is large, which may cause opposition from residents.
The selection of the horizontal and vertical beam width for an antenna is
related to radio environment. If a micro cell antenna is installed on a wall, the
antenna height is lower than the average height of surrounded buildings. In this
case, if both the indoor coverage of lower floors and higher floors can be
assured, you must select the antennas with greater vertical beam width.
According to the height of buildings, you can select the directional antennas
whose vertical beam width ranges from 35°to 80°.
The selection of the horizontal beam width of the micro cell antenna and the
installed position of the antenna are related to coverage target. In this case,
you can select the directional antennas whose beam width ranges from 60° to
150°, or you can choose omni antennas or bi-directional antennas (8-shaped
antennas).
Both vertical polarization antennas and dual polarization antennas can be
selected for a micro cell. The coverage area of a micro cell in urban areas is
small, so the diversity reception is unnecessary. In this case, a vertical
polarization antenna can meet the coverage requirements in residential areas.
As for the dual polarization antenna, however, it is expensive and large in size,
so it is not recommended.
The visual effect must be emphasized for the micro cell antennas installed in
residential areas. They must be small and moderate. In addition, they must be
light for installation convenience. If the contract between the color of the
antenna and that of the surrounded buildings is great, you must color the
antenna with the same color of the buildings.

In some cases, you should consider adopting dual-band antennas. When

selecting a small-sized antenna, you should consider whether its maximum
output power can bear the micro cell output power. When adopting short
jumpers instead of 7/8 feeders, you should consider whether the antenna
connector (N-shaped male/female, 7/16 DIN header) matches the jumper
connector.
2.8 Location Area Design
2.8.1 Definition of Location Area
In GSM protocols, a mobile communication network is divided into multiple
service areas according to the codes of location areas. Thus the network pages
a mobile subscriber through paging its location area.
Location area is the basic unit of paging areas in a GSM system. That is, the
paging message of a subscriber is sent in all cells of a location area. A location
area contains one or more BSCs, but it belongs to one MSC only.
Figure 5-13 shows the division of service areas.
Figure 5-1 Division of service areas
2.8.2 Division of location areas
The coverage area of each GSM PLMN is divided into multiple location areas, in
which an MS is positioned. The size of a location area, namely, the area
covered by a location area code (LAC), plays a key role in a GSM system.
Therefore, this section mainly introduces the principle for planning location
areas.
I. Dividing the location area according to the distribution and behaviour of
mobile subscribers
The distribution of location areas in cities and suburbs is different. Generally,
suburban areas or counties occupy independent location areas. In cities, the
distribution of location areas is similar to a concentric circle. (The areas in the
internal circle can be divided into several location areas due to the
requirements on capacity. The concentric circle can be divided into several
fragments.)
In addition, if two or more location areas are present simultaneously in a big
city of great traffic, the landforms, such as mountains and rivers within this
city can be used as edges of the location areas. In this case, the overlapped
depth between the cells of the two location areas can be reduced. If no such
landforms available within this city, the areas (such as streets and shopping
centers) with great traffic cannot be used as edges of the location areas.
Generally, the edge of a location area is oblique instead of parallel or
perpendicular to streets. In the intersected areas of urban areas and suburban
areas, to avoid frequent location update, you must design the edges of location
areas near the outer base stations instead of the base stations just installed at
the intersections.
II. Calculating coverage area and capacity of a location area
If the coverage area of a location area is too small, the mobile station will
perform frequent location update. In this case, the signaling flow in the system
will increase. If the coverage of a location area is too larger, however, the
network will send a paging message in multiple cells until the mobile station is
paged. In this case, the PCH will be overloaded and the signaling flow at the
Abis interface will increase.
The calculation of location areas varies with the paging strategies designed by
different carriers. During early network construction stage, the traffic is not
great, so a location area can accommodate more TRXs. However, it is still
necessary for you to monitor the PCH load and traffic growth. When the traffic
grows great, you can enhance the PCH capacity by adding a BCCH to the
system, but the number of voice channels can be added is reduced by one
accordingly.
Generally, the capacity of a location area is calculated as follows:
The number of paging blocks sent in each second × the number of paging
messages sent in each paging block = the maximum paging times in each
second. As a result, the number of paging times in each hour, the traffic
allowed in each location area, and the number of carriers supported in each
location area can be deducted.
The followings introduce the items present in the previous paragraph
respectively.
(1) The number of paging blocks sent in each second
1 frame = 4.61ms, 1 multiframe = 51 frames = 0.2354s; suppose the number of
access grant blocks is AGB, the number of blocks, the number of paging blocks
sent in each second is calculated by the following formulas:
For non-combined BCCH, the number of paging blocks sent in each second = (9
– AGB)/0.2345 (paging block/second).
For combined BCCH, the number of paging blocks sent in each second = (3 –
AGB)/0.2345 (paging block/second).
For non-combined BCCH, the AGB is 2 according to Huawei BSC. Therefore, the
number of paging blocks sent in each second is 29.7 (paging block/second);
when AGB is 0, it is 38.2 (paging block/second).
For combined-BCCH, the AGB is 1, so the number of paging blocks sent in each
second is 8.5 (paging blocks/second); when the AGB is 0, it is 12.7 (paging
block/second).
According to the previous analysis, the larger the number of AGB, the smaller
the number of the paging blocks sent in each second and the smaller the paging
capacity is. Moreover, the paging capacity of the combined BCCH is far less
than that of the non-combined BCCH.
& Note:
Generally, a combined-BCCH cell and a non-combined-BCCH cell are not
configured simultaneously within a LAC, and the number of AGB must be
consistent with a location area; otherwise the paging capacity of the location
area will decrease (now the paging capacity of the cell with the least paging
capacity is the paging capacity of the location area).
However, if the capacity of a location area is small and the LAC resource is
scarce, you can configure the combined-BCCH cell and non-combined-BCCH cell
within a LAC to enlarge the number of traffic channels for O1 and S111 base
stations.

(2) The number of paging messages sent in each paging block (X)
According to section 9.1.22 of GSM0408 protocols, each paging block has 23
bytes, and can send 2 IMSI pages, or 2 TMSI and 1 IMSI pages, or 4 TMSI pages.
According to the paging strategies of Huawei MSC, if the IMSI paging mechanism
is adopted, the number of paging messages sent in each paging blocks is 2
(paging times/paging block); if the TMSI paging mechanism is adopted, it is 4
(paging times/paging block)
(3) The maximum paging times in each second (P)
The maximum paging times in each second is calculated by the following two
formulas:
For non-combined BCCH, P = (9 – AGB)/0.2345 (paging block/second) × (paging
times/paging block).
For combined BCCH, P = (3 – AGB)/0.2345 (paging block/second) × (paging
times/paging blocks).
If the IMSI paging mechanism is adopted, for non-combined BCCH, when AGB =
2, P = 59.47 (paging times/second); when AGB = 0, P = 76.47 (paging
times/second). For combined-BCCH, when AGB = 1, P = 16.99 (paging
times/second); when AGB = 0, P = 25.49 (paging times/second).
If the TMSI paging mechanism is adopted, for combined BCCH, when AGB = 2, P
= 118.95 (paging times/second); when AGB = 0, P = 152.93 (paging
times/second). For combined BCCH, when AGB = 1, P = 33.98 (paging
times/second); when AGB = 0, P = 50.98 (paging times/second).
According to the previous analysis, the paging capacity under IMSI paging
mechanism is half of that under TMSI paging mechanism.
(4) The traffic allowed in each location area (T)
When designing the capacity for a location area, you must be attention that
the paging capacity of a location area cannot break its limit. For network
expansion, you can collect the times of the busy-hour paging orders delivered
by BSC from OMC, and then convert the times into the number of paging orders
sent in each second.
If no traffic measurement data is available, such as in the case of new network
construction, you can calculate the traffic allowed in each location area by
assuming a traffic model.
For example, if the average conversation duration is 60s and the ratio of the
times for the mobile station to be successfully paged to the times of total
pages is 30%, the 60s of conversation duration matches 1/60 calls (in the unit
of second. Erl), and 30% of calls is generated by the called parties. Therefore,
the successful calls of the 30% mobile stations are 0.05 times (that is, 1/60*30%
= 0.005), in the unit of second. Erl.
If the 75% of the mobile stations respond to the first page and 25% respond to
the second page, the mobile stations responding to the third page can be
neglected. (It is just an assumption, which may be different from actual
conditions.). Therefore, 1.25 pages are needed if a mobile station is
successfully called each time (25% of the pages must be resent). In this case,
the following equation is present:
Y = 0.005*(1+25%) = 0.00625 paging times/(second. Erl)
Suppose the congestion on paging channels will occur when the paging capacity
is 50% greater than maximum theoretical paging capacity, the original paging
messages are still present even the paging queue is full in the BTS. In this case,
the paging capacity in one second is P*50%.
Therefore, the traffic allowed in each location area can be calculated
according to the formula T = P*50%/Y.
(5) The number of carriers supported by each location area (NTRX)
Each TRX had 7.2 TCHs in average, so the maximum traffic of each TRX in each
hour is 7.2.
Therefore, the number of carriers supported in each location area can be
calculated according to NTRX = T/7.2 and the specific values are listed in

All the previous assumptions do not include the effect of the point-to-point
short messages against on paging capacity. If the conversation times of a
subscriber are equal to the number of the short messages to be sent, and if the
sent ratio and received ratio are consistent with each other, the paging
times/second. Erl will double in busy hour and the capacity of the location area
will reduce by half. Therefore, some common short messages must be sent on
CBCH.

2.8.3 Others
This section introduces some other information about location area design.
The capacity of a location area is closely related to paging mechanism, and is
directly related to the combinations of AGB and BCCH. When the combinations
of AGB and BCCH are inconsistent with each other in a location area, the
capacity of the location area is determined by the cell with the smallest
capacity. Therefore, the combinations of AGB and BCCH must be designed to
be consistent in location area planning.
If the number of point-to-point messages grows large immediately, the number
of paging messages will increase, but the number of supported subscribers will
decrease. In this case, you must control and protect the flows in the system.
Because the traffic density varies with location areas, it is recommended that
the combined-BCCH cells, non-combined-BCCH cells, and multi-BCCH cells form
a location area respectively. When a cell with BCCH/SDCCH combination, the
location area can be as large as possible when the paging capacity of the BTS
does not reach the limit. However, because all paging messages will be
broadcasted in all cells within a location area, the cell with BCCH/SDCCH
combination is the bottleneck of the location area.
The LAC is a kind of number resource. Therefore, you must cooperate with
carries to plan location areas.
2.9 Dual-Band Network Design
2.9.1 Necessity for Constructing Dual-Band Network
The earlier GSM mobile communication network is constructed on the 900 MHz
band. With rapid growth of subscribers, the network capacity also grows
rapidly. Therefore, the lack of frequency resources and radio channels is a
major concern for mobile telecommunications.
Many methods can be used to expand the capacity of a GSM system, including:
Adding macro cell base stations to the system
Reducing distance between base stations
Adopting aggressive frequency reuse technologies (such as MRP and 1×3)
Adding micro cells to the system
Applying half rate to the system
However, all these methods cannot thoroughly solve the problems concerning
network capacity. As a result, the GSM 1800MHz network is introduced (uplink:
1805–1880 MHz; downlink: 1710–1785 MHz). And the network integrating GSM
900MHz and GSM 1800MHz can meet the growth of network capacity.
The application of GSM 1800MHz can bring the following advantages:
It does not occupy the bands of GSM 900MHz and has a communication
bandwidth of 75M. Therefore, it breaks the bottleneck of GSM 900MHz in terms
of frequency resources.
The system networking, project implementation, network planning, and
network maintenance of a GSM 1800MHz network are almost the same with
that of a GSM 900MHz network.
The GSM 1800MHz and GSM 900 MHz can share a base station, so a GSM
1800MHz network can be finished in a short time, which is quite helpful for
network expansion.
Dual-band mobile phones now accounts for a major part of the total, so a GSM
1800MHz network can provide services to the dual-band subscribers. In this
case, the capacity pressure on GSM 900MHz can be greatly eased.
2.9.2 GSM 1800MHz Coverage Solutions
I. Propagaiton features of GSM 1800MHz
The propagation features of the electromagnetic waves of 900 MHz and 1800
MHz are different in the following aspects:
The propagation loss in free space
The propagation loss of the 1800 MHz signals is 6 dB greater than that of the
900 MHz signals in free space.
Penetration loss
The penetration loss of the 900 MHz signals is greater than that of the 1800
MHz signals, but their difference is slight.
Diffraction loss
The longer the waves, the smaller the diffraction loss is. The diffraction ability
of the 1800 MHz signals is poorer than that of the 900 MHz signals.
II. Dual-Band Networking Mode
There are three dual-band networking modes, namely, independent MSC
networking, co-MSC/independent BSC networking, and co-BSC networking,
among which the former two are called independent networking, and the later
is called hybrid networking.
III. Coverage requirements on GSM 1800 MHz
Outdoor coverage
The outdoor coverage can be easily realized when the distance between base
stations are not large. In necessary cases, you can add a GSM 1800MHz base
station at the address of the original GSM base station. And in some places, you
should consider add a new base station.
Indoor coverage
To ensure that the indoor coverage of GSM 1800MHz is good, you must control
the distance between the base stations installed in urban areas within 1000
meters. In China, however, the buildings in most cities are constructed by
concretes and metals, so the penetration loss is great. As result, the distance
between base stations in urban areas of China ranges from 500 to 800 meters.
IV. Coverage mode of GSM 1800MHz
(1) Scattered coverage in hotspot areas
At the early network construction stage, the GSM 1800MHz base stations are
scattered in hotspot areas. When the capacity configured for a GSM 1800 MHz
base station is small, you must solve the problems, such as SDCCH congestion,
TCH congestion, and frequent update between GSM 1800MHz and GSM 900MHz.
The cost in early construction stage is small.
Scattered coverage of GSM 1800MHz in hotspot areas
The coverage of the dual-band network of this mode is based on the original
GSM 900MHz network. The GSM 1800MHz base station is constructed in some
hotspot areas, so the seamless coverage of GSM 1800MHz is not available in this
case.
If a dual-band mobile phone starts conversation in an area covered by GSM
1800MHz, after leaving this coverage area, it hands over to the GSM 900MHz
cell where it originally was. And the handover of this type is called the inter-
band handover caused by coverage.
If a dual-band mobile phone starts the conversation in an area covered by GSM
900MHz, but because the traffic in this area is great, the mobile phone will
hand over to an area covered by GSM 1800MHz. And the handover of this type is
called the inter-band handover caused by capacity.
The scattered coverage in hotspot areas only relieves capacity problems in a
short term. Moreover, frequent inter-band frequency handover increase the
signaling load, which results in the loss of system capacity.
(2) Seamless coverage in hotspot areas
If the coverage of this mode is available; the GSM 1800 MHz network can share
greater traffic for GSM 900MHz network and expand the system capacity. In
addition, it is cost-effective.
(3) Perfect seamless coverage
If a GSM 1800MHz network adopts the coverage of this type, the advantages are
as follows:
The seamless coverage area within a city can be realized.
The GSM 1800MHz network can share the traffic load for GSM 900MHz network
as much as possible.
The system capacity can be greatly expanded.
The ratio of the handover between layers is small.
The quality of the network is quite satisfying.
The frequencies can be planned by patch.
The carriers can be expanded step by step.
However, there are still disadvantages. They are as follows:
The number of base stations is large.
The work load of network planning and optimization is huge.
The investment is large.
The base station addresses cannot be decided once.

Perfect coverage of GSM 1800MHz in hotspot areas

If a GSM 1800MHz network adopts this coverage mode, it can be easily
expanded to meet future coverage.
Compared with the scattered coverage in hotspot areas, the perfect seamless
coverage is characterized by great intensity and large area. Therefore, the
ratio of inter-band handover under this coverage mode is far smaller than that
under scattered coverage mode. As a result, the signaling load is reduced
greatly.
Therefore, this coverage mode is an ideal coverage solution. If a GSM 1800MHz
network adopts this coverage mode, it does not necessarily attach to the GSM
900MHz network, instead, it can form an independent network.

2.9.3 Location Area Division for Dual-Band Network

The location area division for dual-band network is suggested as follows:
If 1800 MHz cells and 900 MHz cells are under the control of two MSCs
respectively, their location areas are different. Therefore, you must set related
parameters to maintain the mobile stations stay in the 1800 MHz cells where
the traffic is absorbed. In this case, the times for the mobile station to
handover between the two bands and reselect cells will decrease. Meanwhile,
when designing signaling channels, you must fully consider the load resulted
from location update.
If 1800 MHz cells and 900 MHz cells share a MSC, at the early network
construction stage, they are suggested to use the same location area without
affecting the network capacity. If the restriction on paging capacity is present,
two location areas must be divided for them either in terms of band or
geographic location, as shown in Figure 5-17 and Figure 5-18.
Location area division based on geographic location
If the location area is divided in terms of band, because frequent location
updates are resulted from inter-band handover and cell reselection, you must
set related parameters to maintain the mobile stations stay in the 1800 MHz
cells where the traffic is absorbed. In this case, the times for the mobile
station to handover between the two bands and reselect cells will decrease.
Meanwhile, when designing signaling channels, you must fully consider the load
resulted from location update.
If the location is divided in terms of geographic location, the frequent location
updates resulted from inter-band handover and cell reselection can be avoided.
However, you need to modify the related data of the original 900 MHz network.
In addition, at the edges of the location areas, because the location updates
caused by intra-band and inter-band handover and cell reselection is present
simultaneously, the signaling flow is huge at these edges. As a result, you must
carefully design the edges of the location areas.

2.9.4 Traffic Guidance and Control Strategies of Dual-Band Network

I. Traffic guide of Dual-Band Network
At early construction stage of a dual-band network, traffic control concerns
how to use the new GSM 1800MHz network to share the traffic flow for the GSM
900MHz network. According to the original intension of the GSM 1800MHz
network, the traffic can be guided according to the following principles:
1) At the early construction stage of a dual-band network, the GSM 1800MHz
network is mainly applied to absorb the traffic of the dual-band subscribers so
that the load of the GSM 900MHz network can be eased.
2) When the number of dual-band subscriber grows large, each band must share
the traffic so that the inter-band handover times can be reduced.
Process of traffic guide and control strategies.
The various traffic control strategies can be realized through adjusting
parameter settings as follows:
1) In idle mode, when the mobile station is selecting cells after it is switched
on and reselecting cells when it is in standby state, you can set higher
priorities for the 1800 MHz cells by designing the system parameters, including
CBQ, CBA, CRO, TO, and PT. In this case, subscribers are more likely to stay in
the 1800 MHz cells. As a result, their calls are established on the 1800 MHz
cells.
2) If traffic congestion is present in the service cell when a mobile station is
setting up a call, the system applies directed retry function to assign the
mobile station to a TCH in the neighbor cells of the service cell and adjust the
traffic allocation.
3) In conversation state, the traffic must be guided to the 1800 MHz cells in
lower layers and levels according to the hierarchy cell structure. In addition,
you can use Huawei dual-band handover algorithms so that the traffic load can
be allocated more properly.
II. Hierarchical Cell Structure
According to the hierarchy cell structure of the dual-band network, a GSM
system covering an area can be divided into four layers, as listed in Table 5-25.
To enable the network to develop smoothly and flexibly, you can divide each of
the four layers into multiple levels, and then you can set multiple priority
classes (for example, 16 classes) for the levels in each layer. This method is not
only helpful for adjusting the traffic load in part of the areas. Therefore, the
hierarchical cell structure enhances the cooperation of the current network
equipments and meets the devolvement of the future network.
In terms of traffic priority, the cells in lower layers and levels has higher
priorities, namely, the cells in lower layers has the priority to absorb the
traffic.

2.9.5 Dual-Band Networking Engineering Implementation

During network construction and optimization, a dual-band network is
debugged and commissioned step by step, which facilitates debugging the new
GSM 1800 MHz networks and the original GSM 900MHz networks that has been
expanded respectively. After each signal network is perfectly adjusted, you
must debug each base station in the dual-band network. And you cannot stop
the debugging until the whole dual-band network is finished.
The construction of a whole dual-band network can be divided into three
stages, namely, deployment preparation, signal 1800 MHz network debugging,
and 900/1800 MHz dual-band network debugging.
I. Deployment perparation
The coordination of dual-band technologies and network planning must be
finished in this stage. The coordination of dual-band network technologies is a
prerequisite for the cooperation of different carriers’ networks. Network
planning is the first step in network construction and involves many tasks,
including base station address survey, channel number planning,
electromagnetic background test, coverage test, and so on.
The followings must be emphasized in dual-band cooperation:
The customers, the third party (the designing institute or the original
equipment supplier), and the new equipment supplier must be cooperate with
each other well.
If one party meets a tough problem during the debugging of the dual-band
network, the engineers from a third party must be present in site and help
position the problem.
The 900 MHz BSC and 1800 MHz BSC must synchronize their clocks with the
same source clock. Meanwhile, the clock of each base station in the existing
GSM 900 MHz network can lock the clock of the BSC, and the clock of the BSC
can lock the clock of the MSC.
When modifying the parameters related to dual-band handover (such as
modifying the parameters at the BSC side or MSC side), you must notify that to
other two parties.
If the some problems concerning the cooperation of dual-band network arise, a
meeting must be organized, in which each party discuss with each other on
how to solve the problems.
Both the designing institute or the original equipment supplier and the new
equipment supplier must provide the project implementation plan, cutover
plan, and precise cell information.
II. Signal 1800 MHz network debugging
At this stage, you need not modify any data of the original GSM 900 MHz
network, but it is still the GSM 900MHz network provides services to
subscribers. The GSM 1800MHz network does not absorb traffic.
When debugging the GSM 1800MHz network, you must adjust the following
parameter so that the existing subscribers can be least affected.
In the system message data list, set the parameter “CBA” to “NO” to prevent
general subscribers from selecting and reselecting the 1800 MHz network.
Theoretically, general subscribers can hand over to the 1800 MHz network, but
in fact, the handover relationship is not configured with the dual-band
network, so the general subscribers cannot enter the 1800 MHz network.
After that, you use the testing mobile phone which can access the network by
force to perform dialing test in each cell. If all goes normal, you can test
coverage, handover, power control, interference, downlink and uplink balance,
power adjustment, the coverage of the GSM 900MHz network, and the coverage
of the GSM 1800MHz network.
Through these tests, you can not only discover the problems present in the
networks, but also adjust the channel number, power, tilt angle, and
parameter setting and optimize the parameter configuration for the GSM
1800MHz cell. In this case, the coverage and operation of the single GSM
1800MHz network can be ensured.
III. 900/1800 MHz dual-band network debugging
After finishing the single GSM 1800MHz network debugging, you must change
back the parameter “CBA” to “YES” and configure the data for dual-band
handover. The tests involved into the dual-band network debugging include:
Cell reselection and location update
Traffic load control
Continuous conversation mode
Automatic dialing and scan
Dual-band network handover
Calls and handovers initiated on major streets
Calls and handovers initiated on edge areas
Dialing tests in poor coverage areas and indoor environment
Dialing tests in outdoor and indoor environments in key areas
The data includes neighbor cell relationship, layer and level setting, handover
type, and handover threshold. In this case, when a mobile phone is in idle
mode, it can reselect an 1800MHz cell, the GSM 1800MHz network can absorb
the traffic of dual-band subscribers, and the subscribers can perform handover
between 1800MHz cells and 900MHz cells.
At the beginning, you can control the GSM 1800MHz network to absorb only a
small part of the traffic of subscribers through adjusting the setting of CRO and
handover threshold. When good cell reselection and dual-band handover are
ensured, you can take measures to enable the GSM 1800MHz network to absorb
more traffic, with the prerequisites that no congestion is present among cells
and the network quality is ensured.
At this stage, the following parameters must be configured:
The parameters related to cell selection and reselection, including CBA, CBQ,
ACCMIN, CRH, and CRO.
The parameters related to neighbor cell relationship, layer and level setting,
and handover.
The configuration of the previous parameters must be based on the
prerequisite that the cooperation of the GSM 1800MHz cells and GSM 900MHz
cells is normal.
After the GSM 900MHz and 1800MHz dual-band network is enabled, you must do
the followings:
1) Find out the problems present in the network through multiple means, such
as drive test.
2) Adjust and optimize the network according to the problems so that the dual-
band network can run stably.
3) Check if the dual-band network runs stably, analyze all the traffic statistic
data, and check the network operation indexes.
4) Make sure the problems and take effective measures according to the
analysis of the drive test and traffic statistics.
5) Adjust the related parameters and retest the network till the network
indexes meet the design requirements.
Thus, a dual-band network is constructed and optimized according to the three
stages as introduced in this section.
2.10 Design of Indoor Coverage System

2.10.1 Characteristics of Indoor coverage

With the rapid development of economy, hotels, commercial centers, large-
scale flats, underground railways, and underground parking areas are arising by
batch. As a result, mobile stations are more frequently used in indoor
environment. Thus, they require better indoor mobile communication services.
Generally, the following problems are present in indoor mobile communication
systems:
From the perspective of coverage, the complex indoor structure and the
shielding and absorbing effect of the buildings cause great radio wave
transmission loss. As a result, the signals in some areas may be weak,
especially the signals in the first and second floors in the underground are quite
weak, or even there are dead zones. In this case, mobile stations cannot
necessarily access the network, there is no paging response, or subscribers are
not in service areas.
From the perspective of network quality, the factors interfering radio
frequencies are probably present in upper floors of high buildings. In this case,
the signals in service areas are not stable, so “ping pong effect” may occur and
conversation quality cannot be ensured.
From the perspective of network capacity, if mobile stations are frequently
used in buildings, such as large-scale shopping centers, conference halls, some
areas in the network cannot meet the requirements of subscribers. In this case,
congestion may occur on radio channels.
If the indoor coverage is realized by a repeater, an outdoor high-power base
station, or a great-height outdoor antenna, the following problems may arise:
The penetration loss is great, so the indoor coverage is not satisfying. In this
case, a large number of dead zones are present, so subscribers cannot keep
conversation.
If a repeater is adopted, the level of original signals must be high. In addition,
the cross-modulation and intra-frequency interference is great, so the
conversation quality is weak and call drop ratio is high.
The network capacity is limited and the call connected ratio is low.
The frequency planning is hard to be performed for the network and the
network capacity is hard to be expanded.
The “detached island effect” is great.
The value-added services are restricted for group subscribers due to network
quality and capacity.
To enhance the grade of service, we must improve indoor coverage
immediately. When designing an indoor coverage system, we must make the
following considerations:
A new indoor coverage system cannot affect the existing network.
Enough capacity of an indoor system must be ensured.
An indoor system must support new services and functions.
The chapter analyzes the design of indoor coverage system from the following
aspects:
Indoor Antenna System Design
Capacity Analysis and Design
Frequency Planning
Traffic Control

2.10.2 Indoor Antenna System Design

I. RF design
(1) Link budget
In an indoor coverage system, the link budget formula is as follows:
Here,
Pant = antenna input interface power
RFmarg = Raleigh fading margin
IFmarg = access margin (depends on environment)
LNFmarg = design margin (generally, it is 5 dB)
BL = body loss (900MHz: 5 dB; 1800/1900MHz: 3 dB)
MSsens = mobile station sensitivity
Lpath = path loss
Here, Lpath = 20logd (m) + 30logf (MHz) - 28 dB + α. When there no barrier
loss, Lp = 20logd (m) + 30logf (MHz) - 28 dB. The “α” indicates the loss caused
by other bariers.
Because the penetration in cylindrical tunnels is great, leaky cables are applied
in cylindrical tunnels.

When performing link budget, you must consider the followings:

In an indoor multi-antenna system, the link budget for test points must be in
accordance with the link with the minimum loss.
Under the same converge area, the EIRP at each antenna interface must be
consistent, and the error must be controlled within 10 dB.
The uplink signal must be designed to a high value, so antenna diversity is
unnecessary.
To reduce uplink interference, you must properly set the maximum transit
power of the mobile station and enable the power control function of the
mobile station.
A certain margin must be leaved for error correction and future system
expansion.
The estimation and design for interference margin vary with the distance from
the outer wall. The smaller the distance, the larger the interference margin is
designed.
(2) Service quality design (interference degree)
The actual interference level changes with network layout and frequency re-
planning, and it can be tested according to actual situations.
(3) Service quality design (interference margin design)
The greater the interference in an area, the greater the interference margin
(IFmarg) is designed, and the higher the level the mobile station needs to
receive.
When a dual-band system is adopted in the indoor environment, the indexes of
mobile station receiving level are designed according to the 1800 MHz system
standard.

II. Antenna system design

When designing an indoor distribution system, you must first survey the
building type, structure, interference environment, customers, and then
analyze the path loss. Finally, decide the antenna type, number, and
installation location according to the requirements of an area.
This section introduces the antenna design guidelines in some typical cases.
(1) Single cell
If the indoor coverage is realized by a signal cell, each antenna must be
designed to ensure that signals are evenly distributed in the coverage area.
Generally, it is recommended to install the antenna in a zigzag way.
(2) Multi-cells
If the indoor coverage is realized by multiple cells, a certain distance must be
leaved between intra-frequency reuse cells. Each antenna must also be
designed to ensure that signals are evenly distributed in the coverage area of
each cell. If the frequencies are reused frequently, it is recommended to
install the antennas on different layers at the same position of the layer.(3)
Closed building
A closed building has the characteristics, such as thick outer wall, great signal
attenuation, and little leakage. In addition, it is little affected by outdoor
intra-frequency cells. Therefore, the frequency between floors is easily to be
planned. For the antenna design guideline in a closed environment.
(4) Half-open environment
For a half-open building, the outer wall is made of glasses, so the signal
attenuation is small. Within the building are the open conference halls, which
are greatly affected by outdoor intra-frequency cells, so you must plan
dedicated frequencies or adopt the multi-antenna system with low output
power to limit the edges of the indoor cells within the building.
(5) Frame-structure building
For a frame-structure building, the number of internal walls is large and they
are thick. Therefore, if the antenna is installed at the corridors, the antenna
output power must be high so that good coverage can be ensured. In this case,
signals will leak at the windows near the corridor, so you must plan dedicated
frequencies for the building. The distance of the intra-frequency cells between
floors is larger than that in other environments. For the antenna design
guideline in frame-structure building.
(6) Office building
The indoor environment of office buildings requires high grade of services, so
its coverage is realized by several directional and omni antennas. You can
control the coverage area easily through properly designing the effective
radiation power in the cell. For design guideline, see (7) Parking area
Parking area has no special requirement on capacity and mobile station
receiving level (-90 dBm). For a parking area, the elevator, escalator, entrance
and exit are key coverage areas.
(8) Supermarket
Supermarkets have certain requirements on coverage and capacity. The
antennas can be designed according to actual structure of the buildings.
III. Survey
The antenna design and installation is finally decided according to the survey,
which includes the following aspects:
Detailed coverage area and signal quality and converge requirements
Distribution of the signals in coverage areas
Composition of buildings in coverage areas
Signal access location and mode
Installation position
According to the survey, you must output the final topological structure
diagram, antenna cabling scheme, and list of materials. Generally, the omni
antenna is installed at the ceiling center. The small directional antenna is hung
on the inner side of the outer wall, with the radiation directed to indoor part.
In this case, the effect of the antenna against the outdoor system can be
reduced to the minimum, so the C/I requirement of the outdoor system can be
met.
If possible, you can test the coverage and adjust the antenna design according
to the test result, or re-plan the frequency to ensure the voice quality.
Generally, if the radiation power at the antenna interface is 10 dBm, the 2 dBi
small indoor omni antenna is used. In this case, if the walls are densely
distributed in the areas within 30 meters from the antenna, the coverage level
can reach -70 dBm.

2.10.3 Capacity Analysis and Design

Before analyzing the capacity, you must define the type of the indoor service
area.
Definition of indoor service area type
Indoor service area type
Characteristic
Example
Public service area
The traffic is hard to be predicted.
The population number varies with day and night.
The capacity characteristics, such as uneven distribution and bursting must be
considered.
The grade of service and the traffic of each subscriber are similar to that for
outdoor cells.
Airport, shopping center, and play ground.
Commercial service area
The existed fixed networks are frequently used.
The traffic is relatively fixed and easy to be calculated.
High service quality is required.
Generally, the grade of service (GoS) is 1%, the traffic of each subscriber can
reach 0.1 Erl.
Office building and commercial hotels of high ranks.

There are two cell organization modes of distributed antenna system, namely,
single cell and multiple vertical split cells. The single cell is applied to the
indoor environment which requires smell coverage area. The multiple vertical
split cells are applied to the indoor environment with dense traffic.
Likewise, a single cell will split when the capacity does not meet the
requirement, with vertical splitting the splitting mode. Generally, a cell will
vertically split into at least three cells so that frequency reuse can be ensured.
Four layers must be present between two intra-frequency cells . To avoid
interference between frequencies, you must take measures to prevent a cell
from horizontally splitting.

2.10.4 Frequency Planning

If the dedicated frequency is adopted in indoors, the frequency planning is
relatively simple. Generally, the frequency reuse mode in business service
areas is almost the same as that in pubic service areas. If the frequency
resource is adequate, you must try best to use dedicated band for indoor
coverage. If not, you can search the available channel numbers with relatively
small interference through scanning the channel numbers. If the frequency
resources of the 900 MHz cannot meet requirements, you can introduce the
1800 MHz frequency; namely, use a dual-band system.
If you steal frequency resource for indoor system due to no available dedicated
frequency, you must pay attention to the followings:
Do not select the frequencies of the neighbor cells.
Ensure that the BCCH frequencies are not interfered.
The interference on the TCH frequencies can be reduced with the help of radio
frequency hopping.
Search the available uplink frequencies through using BTS equipments to
scanning the uplink channel numbers.
Search the available downlink frequencies through using drive test equipment
to scanning the downlink channel numbers.
If the hierarchical cell structure is not used, the cell with the strongest signal
level is the service cell, and the interference from neighbor frequencies can be
neglected.
If the hierarchical cell structure is used, the cell with the strongest signal level
cannot necessarily be the service cell, so you must take measures to reduce the
interference from neighbor frequencies.
Because the environment is urban areas is quite complicated, especially the
effect of the antenna back lobe is present, the service areas for high buildings
are greatly interfered, so you must carefully plan the frequencies for the
indoor coverage of high buildings. Generally, for the lower floors, you can plan
the frequencies according to general method. For the higher floors where the
interference is strong, you can use dedicated channel numbers. However, the
final frequency planning must be based on practical tests.

2.10.5 Traffic Control

The indoor coverage system for high buildings can be taken as a system
independent of outdoor systems if the coverage of the indoor system is good.
Theoretically, you can only consider the cell selection and reselection,
handover relationship, and the compact on outdoor networks at the entrances
and exits of the building.
However, the actual conditions are quite complicated. For example, the signals
outside of the building may be strong. In this case, if a mobile station is
powered off, it may camp on an outside cell. Therefore, when optimizing the
network, you must set the one-way adjacent cell and two-way adjacent cell
according to actual conditions and set the parameters, such as CRO and TO to a
proper value according to the regularity of cell selection and reselection. In
addition, you can set the indoor cells to a high priority so as to reserve more
traffic. And the inter-layer handover threshold and hysteresis are defined and
adjusted according to actual conditions.
2.11 Tunnel Coverage

2.11.1 Characteristic of Tunnel Coverage

At present, most of the tunnels are dead zones, so you must make out special
solutions for tunnel coverage. The tunnel types include railway tunnel,
highroad tunnel, and underground railway tunnel. Each tunnel has its
characteristics, and they are specified as follows.
For the highroad tunnel, it is wide. The coverage in the highroad tunnels is
relatively stable. When there are vehicles passing by, you can select the
antennas with a larger size to obtain a higher gain, so the coverage distance is
larger.
For the railway tunnel, it is narrow, especially when there is a train passing by;
only a little room is left in the tunnel, so the radio propagation is greatly
affected. Moreover, the train has great effect on radio signals. Since the
antenna installation room is quite limited, the antenna size and gain are
greatly restricted. In addition, because general cars cannot be driven to such
tunnels, the tunnel coverage is hard to be tested. Therefore, the planning for
highroad coverage is different from that of the railway coverage.
The length of tunnels ranges from several hundred meters to several
kilometers. For short tunnels, you can adopt flexible and economical means to
realize the coverage. For example, you can install a general antenna near one
end of the tunnel, with the radiation directed to the inside. For long tunnels,
however, you must adopt other means. Actually, the coverage solution varies
with tunnels, so it is designed according to actual conditions.
Cross section of the single-track railway tunnel and multi-track railway tunnel:
The smaller the area of the cross section, the greater the loss when a train
passes through the tunnel. The related calculation and analysis are based on
the multi-track railway tunnels and highroad tunnels. For the calculation and
analysis for single-track tunnels, the protection margin can be 5 dB greater
than that of multi-track railway tunnels.

Before planning tunnel coverage, you must prepare for the following data:
Length of the tunnel
Width of the tunnel
Number of tunnel holes (1 or 2)
Needed coverage probability (50%, 90%, 98% or 99%)
Structure of the tunnel (it is constructed with metals or concretes)
Number of needed carriers (1–30)
Minimum receiving level in the tunnel (generally, it ranges from -85 dBm to
-102 dBm)
Distance between tunnel holes
Whether AC/DC is available
Whether the hole can be punched in the tunnel wall
Signal level at the tunnel entrance
Existed signal level in the tunnel

2.11.2 Tunnel Coverage Solution

I. Link budget
Indoor radio link loss is mainly decided by path loss medium value and shadow
fading. A tunnel can be taken as a tube. The signals are transmitted through
the reflection of walls and straight transmission, with straight transmission the
major form. ITU-R suggests an indoor propagation model on page 1238, which is
also effective for tunnel coverage. The formula is as follows:
Lpath = 20 lg f + 30 lg d + Lf (n) - 28 dB
Here,
“f” indicates frequency (MHz)
“d” indicates distance (m)
“Lf” indicates penetration loss factors between floors (dB)
“n” indicates the number of floors lying between the mobile station and
antenna.
The Lf (n) can be neglected in tunnel coverage, so the following equation can
be applied in the calculation of the radio propagation in tunnels. That is:
Lpath = 20 lgf + 30 lg d - 28 dB

II. GSM signal source selection

A GSM signal source and a set of distributed antenna system are a must for
tunnel coverage. For tunnel coverage, the GSM signal source is selected
according to the radio coverage, transmission, traffic, and the existing network
equipments near the tunnel. A macro cell base station, a micro cell base
station, or a repeater can work as a GSM signal source for the tunnel coverage.
For the coverage of railway tunnels and highroad tunnels, the indoor macro cell
base station is seldom used as signal source, but it can be used for an
underground railway which requires the coverage of platforms and entrances.
In this case, the capacity of the signal source must be great. In most cases,
however, the tunnel coverage is realized by micro cell signals.
For the areas to be covered, if the nearby network capacity is adequate, the
capacity expansion is unnecessary. And if there are good GSM signals available,
namely, the donor signal level meets the requirements of a repeater (for
example, -70 dBm); a repeater can work as the signal source for the tunnel
coverage. With the increase of traffic, however, you must use GSM base
stations to replace the repeaters.
Adequate isolation must left between donor antenna and retransmission
antenna, though it will cause difficulty in antenna installation. Generally, the
log-periodical antenna with great front-to-back ratio is used as the
retransmission antenna.
The general antenna (wireless repeater), coaxial cable, and optical fiber
(optical repeater) can connect a repeater to a donor cell.
For tunnel coverage, the installation space and auxiliary equipments are quite
limited, so micro cell base stations and repeaters instead of macro cell base
stations are often applied in tunnel coverage.
In mountain areas, repeaters are more likely used because strong signal level
often exists at the mountain tops near the tunnel. In this case, the antenna
isolation requirement can be easily met. If the signal level of the existed
network near the tunnel is not strong enough, you can use a micro cell for the
tunnel coverage.
III. Antenna feeder system selection
After deciding the GSM signal source, you must configure the antenna feeder
system for the tunnel coverage according to actual conditions. Three types of
configuration are available, namely, coaxial feeder passive distributed
antenna, optical fiber feeder active distributed antenna, and leaky cable.
Hereunder introduces the tunnel coverage based on coaxial feeder passive
distributed antenna and leaky cable.

2.11.3 Tunnel Coverage Based on Coaxial distributed antenna system

In a coaxial distributed antenna system, the following RF components are used:
Feeder (3/8", 1/2", or 7/8") and jumper
Power splitter
Power splitter
Antenna
This section introduces three tunnel coverage solutions based on the coaxial
distributed antenna system.
I. Solution 1
Tunnel coverage solution based on the bi-directional passive distributed
antenna system.
Tunnel coverage solution based on bi-directional passive distributed antenna
system
According to this solution, if the needed minimum signal level is -85dBm (the
location probability is 50%), you must add a margin of 8 dB if the want to
enhance the location probability to 90%.
If the gain of the bi-directional antenna is 5 dBi, the loss of the equal
probability power splitter and the jumper is 2 dB, and the feeder with the
specification of 7/8" is used, the path loss in 100 meters is 4 dB and the output
power of the equipment is 39 dBm.
Suppose that the level of the signals transmitted by the first bi-directional
antenna is -85 dBm at the tunnel entrance, you can calculate the distance
between the antenna and the tunnel entrance using the following equation:
Pout- Lpath (d) – Lcable (d) – Ljumper + Gant = -85dBm + 8dB90%_loc.Prob
Here,
Pout indicates the output power (39dBm).
Lpath (d) indicates the path loss from the first bi-directional antenna to the
tunnel entrance.
Lcable (d) indicates the cable loss.
Ljumper indicates the jumper loss (2 × 2 dB).
Gant indicates the antenna gain (5 dBi).
If introducing the previous data to the equation, you can obtain the sum of the
Lpath (d) and Lcable (d), that is, 117 dB.
For the relationship between distance “d” and Lpath (d) and Lcable (d), see
Figure 5-34, in which the curve indicates Lpath (d) and the slant line indicates
Lcable (d).
1 You can obtain that d = 301m through estimation.
If a power splitter is adopted for the first antenna, a loss of 3dB must be
added. In this case, the sum of Lpath (d) and Lcable (d) is 114 dB.
2 You can also obtain that d = 261m through estimation.
For railway tunnels, train filling will affect signal propagation, so a protection
margin of 5dB must be considered when the antenna is installed in the tunnel.
In this case, d = 240m. That is, if a bi-directional antenna is installed in the
tunnel, it can coverage a distance of 480m.
If a power splitter is adopted for the second antenna, the coverage distance
between the first antenna and the second antenna will be shortened unless an
amplifier is used.
The followings analyze the coverage when no amplifier is adopted for the
second antenna.
The total power output by the first power splitter (it is installed at the first
antenna) Pout1 is expressed as follows:
Pout1 = Pout – Lcable (d) - Ljumper - Lsplitter = 39dBm –Lcable (261m) - 2dB -
3dB= 23.56 dBm. (The cable loss in 261m is about 10.44 dB, jumper loss is 2 dB,
and the power splitter intersection loss is 3dB).
Suppose the overlapping level between the two antennas is -85 dBm, the
distance between the second antenna and the first antenna is: d2 = d + x.
Here, “d” indicates the coverage distance of the first antenna (261m), and “x”
indicates the coverage distance of the second antenna in the single direction.
According to the previous analysis, the following two equations can be
obtained:
Pout1 – Lcable (261m) – Lcable (x) – Ljumper + Gant – Lpath (x) = - 85dBm +
8dB90%_loc.Prob
Lpath (x) + Lcable (x) = 108.56dB
Plus the two equations, you can obtain the value of x, that is, 100m. This
means that when no amplifier is adopted, two antennas can coverage a tunnel
distance of 722m, namely, 2*(261 + 100) m = 722m.
If you adopt cascaded antennas, the transmit power is relative low due to the
coaxial cable loss. In this case, you can use the amplifier to amplify the power.
II. Solution 2
If a tunnel is not long, you can adopt a simpler coverage mode.
Tunnel coverage solution based on a single antenna
According to this solution, a directional antenna is installed at the tunnel
entrance, with the radiation directed to the inside. The following analyze this
coverage solution.
In this solution, Pout = 39 dBm (suppose that the output power of the GSM
signal source is 8W).
If the Lpath (d) indicates propagation loss, the sum of Lcable (d) and Ljumper
is 5dB, the antenna gain Gant is 8 dBi, and the needed received level is
-77dBm, the Lpath (d) is expressed as follows:
Lpath (d) = 39dBm - 5dB + 8dBi – (-77dBm) = 119 dB
According to the equation Lpath (d) = 20 lg10f + 30 lg10d - 28 dB, the value of
“d” can be obtained, that is, 858m.
The previous analysis is applicable to highroad tunnels. For railway tunnels, you
can consider a margin of 10 dB due to the effect of train filling, but the
coverage distance of the antenna in railway tunnels is calculated the same as
that in highroad tunnels. According to the calculation, d = 398m.

2.11.4 Tunnel Coverage Based on Leaky Cable System

If adopting leaky cables to realize the tunnel coverage, you must find the
specifications of the leaky cables and complete the leaky cable design
according to the following steps:
1) Decide coverage factor
2) Calculate the gain of the bi-directional amplifier
3) Estimate the length of the leaky cable between the feeder source and the
first amplifier
4) Estimate the length of the leaky cable between the amplifiers
5) Decide the number of needed amplifiers
The followings describe these steps in details.
I. Decide coverage factor
The following information is needed for deciding the coverage factor:
Coupler loss
Number of carriers
Coverage probability
Coverage factor indicates the loss in the areas 2 meters beyond the leaky cable
(along the vertical direction). This loss includes the coupler loss of the leaky
cable and protection margin required by the coverage probability. If 90% of
coverage probability is required, you must add 8dB to the medium level. Some
leaky cables specify the relationship between the coverage probability and
coupler loss.
The coverage factor is determined by the parameters, such as coupler loss, RF
carrier number, coverage probability, and tunnel type. For the decision of
coverage factor in concreter tunnels. For the decision of coverage factor in
metal tunnels. When deciding the coverage factor, you can fix a point in the
graph and mark a horizontal line through this point, and this line intersects
required coverage probability. This intersection point is the coverage factor.
Coverage factor in metal tunnels:
For example, if the leaky cable with a coupler loss of 71 (900 MHz) is used, the
RF carrier number is 18, and the coverage probability is 90, the coverage factor
in a concrete tunnel is -77
II. Decide cable length between GSM signal source and the first amplifier
Before deciding cable length between GSM source and the first amplifier, you
must obtain the following information:
Transmit power of the signal source (dBm)
Jumper loss: 1 dB
Connector loss: 1 dB
Leaky cable loss: 2 dB
Transmit power at the feeder source (dBm)
When calculating the power at a point of the feeder, you must subtract the
feeder propagation loss from the GSM signal source. If a wireless repeater with
an output power of 18 dBm (18 carriers) is used as the GSM signal source, and
the attenuation from the jumper to feeder, and from the feeder to the leaky
cable is 7 dB (That is, the power from the repeater is transmitted from a
jumper to a feeder, and then from the jumper to a leaky cable, so four
connectors are needed. Generally, the attenuation is 2 dB for each jumper, 1
dB for each feeder, and 0.5 dB for each connector, so the total attenuation is 7
dB.), the transmit power at this point is 11 dB. For the connection of leaky
cable.
Connection scheme of leaky cable:
Suppose the needed signal level in a tunnel is -85 dBm, the signal level at the
first amplifier must be equal to or greater than -85 dBm. The coupler loss and
longitudinal propagation loss of the leaky cable are present between the signal
feeder point and the first amplifier. They are calculated according to the
following equation:
LossLong = 11dBm – (-85dBm) + Losscoup. Here, Losscoup indicates the
coverage factor, and it is -77dB when 90% coverage is ensured. Therefore, the
LossLong is 19 dB (that is, 11dBm + 85dBm -77dB = 19dB).
The cable length between the signal feeder source and the first amplifier can
be obtained according to Figure 5-39 and Figure 5-40. For example, suppose
that the attenuation is 4.3dB/100 for the leaky cable, you can mark a plumb
line at the point indicating 4.3dB. This plumb line will intersect the curve
indicating 19 dB at a point, and then you mark a horizontal line starting from
this point. The horizontal line will intersect the right vertical axis at a point.
And this point shows the cable length. According to this example, the distance
between the signal source and the first amplifier is 440m (that is, 19/4.3 =
440m).
Cable length between amplifiers in concrete cables:
According to the previous figures, the left vertical axis indicates “Required
RADIAMP Gain”, which can be replaced by the radial loss of the leaky cable,
but it makes no difference.
III. Needed amplifier gain
Before calculating the maximum amplifier gain, you must collect the following
information:
The minimum acceptable signal level (dBm)
Coverage factor (dB)
The maximum output loss allowed by a single carrier (dBm)
If the amplifier is not added, the signal level output by the leaky cable for the
longest transmission distance is equal to the difference of the minimum
acceptable signal level and the coverage factor.
The signal level at the leaky cable beyond the longest transmission distance
may be lower the minimum acceptable level, so an amplifier must be added to
amplify the signals to the maximum output power allowed by a single carrier.
The amplification of this power is related to the specifications of the amplifier
and the number of carriers. If the maximum output power allowed by a single
carrier is known, the amplifier gain can be calculated as follows:
Needed amplifier gain = the maximum output power allowed by a single carrier
(it depends on the number of carriers) – (the minimum acceptable signal level –
coverage factor)
Along the leaky cable, the maximum output power allowed by each carrier of a
bi-directional amplifier is related to the number of carriers that have been
amplified. This is considered mainly for the intermodulation interference is
present, because the intermodulation interference will increase with the total
number of carriers that have been amplified.
Relationship between the maximum output power allowed by a single carrier
and the number of carriers that have been amplified:
Needed amplifier gain = the minimum acceptable signal level – coverage factor
+ the maximum output power allowed by a single carrier.
According to the previous equation, if the minimum acceptable signal level is
-85 dBm, the coverage factor is -77, and the maximum output power allowed
by a single carrier is 5 dBm, the needed amplifier gain is 13 dB.
IV. Decide cable length between amplifiers
Before deciding the cable length between amplifiers, you must know the
needed amplifier gain and the cable loss (dB/100m). Figure 5-39 and Figure 5-
40 help you decide the cable length between amplifiers. For example, in a
concrete tunnel, if the amplifier gain is 13 dB and the cable attenuation is
4.3dB/100m, the cable length between two amplifiers is 300m.
V. Decide the number of needed amplifiers
Before deciding the number of needed amplifiers, you must know the following
information:
The cable length between the feeder source and the first amplifier
The cable length between amplifiers
The tunnel length
If the previous information is known, the following formula can be used to
calculate the number of needed amplifiers. That is:
The number of amplifiers ≥ (the tunnel length – the cable length between the
feeder source and the first amplifier)/(the cable length between amplifiers),
rounding up to the nearest integer.
According to the formula, if the tunnel length is 1000m, the cable length
between amplifiers is 300m, and the cable length between the feeder source
and the first amplifier is 420m, 2 amplifies are needed. That is, (1000 –
420)/300 = 1.93, so the nearest integer is 2.
After deciding the number of needed amplifiers, you can optimize the distance
between amplifiers. That is, you can obtain the distance between the two
amplifiers by dividing the remaining distance by the number of needed
amplifier. According to the previous example, it is 580/2 = 290m, namely, the
distance between the two amplifiers is 290m.
VI. Remarks on leaky cable installation
The leaky cable must not touch any metal. Generally, a leaky cable must be
installed at a spot 5m away from concrete walls and at least 10m away from
metal walls. In addition, a leaky cable must be installed near to the coverage
area. You cannot necessarily consider the line-of-sight propagation, because
the signals leaking from the cable will fill the space nearby.
This section introduces the coverage solutions to tunnels in different length. In
actual networking, the following coverage solutions may be used:
Micro base station (or repeater) + a single antenna
Micro base station (or repeater) + distributed antenna system
Micro base station (or repeater) + leaky cable
Before deciding which coverage solution should be adopted, you must consider
the followings:
Is the GSM signal near the tunnel entrance strong enough?
Is there any available transmission link near the tunnel?
Generally, if the existed signal level near the tunnel entrance (including nearby
mountains) is lower than -80 dBm, the micro base station is recommended. If it
is greater than -80 dBm, the micro base station or the repeater is
recommended. If problems concerning transmission are present, the repeater is
recommended. When using the repeater, you must consider that certain
isolation is required between repeaters.
I. Coverage solution to short tunnels
Generally, the tunnels shorter than 100m are defined as short tunnels. When
planning the coverage for these tunnels, you must consider the coverage areas
near the tunnels. If several tunnels are close to each other, you can install a
base station or a repeater between the tunnels. If adopting a micro base
station, you must adopt the bi-directional antenna. If the antenna gain is 5 dBi,
you should install the antenna at the tunnel entrance so as to ensure coverage.
When designing tunnel coverage solutions, you must fully consider that fact
that cars and trains move at a high speed, so how to ensure normal handover
after the cars or trains steering into the tunnels is of vital importance.
If the repeater is used as the GSM signal source and the signals outside the
tunnel and the signals within the tunnel belong to the same cell, no handover
problem will occur. If the micro cell is used as the GSM signal source and the
signals outside the tunnels and the signals within the tunnel belong to different
cells, the signals in the outside cell will drop dramatically when the train steers
into the tunnel. In this case, handover failure may occur and call drop will be
resulted in.
To solve this problem, you can consider adopting the following methods:
Adopt the bi-directional antenna for the tunnel coverage, because it can
provide enough overlapping area for handover.
Enable special handover algorithms, such as fast level fall handover algorithm.
In this case, a mobile station can hand over to another cell when the signal
level falls fast.
Select the directional antenna with small front-to-back ratio.
II. Coverage solution to middle-length tunnels
This section introduces several typical coverage solutions to railway tunnels.
The followings are a series of assumptions:
The Huawei BTS3001C (the maximum output power is 8W) is used as the GSM
signal source.
The repeater with 1 amplified carrier and a maximum output power of 2W is
considered.
The lowest receiving level is designed to -85 dBm, and the coverage probability
is 90% (with a protection margin of 8 dB).
For railway tunnel coverage, because the train will affect signal transmission,
if the antenna is installed at the tunnel entrance, the protection margin must
be increased by 10 dB. If the antenna is installed in the tunnel, the protection
margin must be increased by 5dB.
The dedicated directional antenna with the specification of DB771S50NSY, the
horizontal half power angle of 60°, and the antenna gain of 8 dBi is used at the
tunnel entrance.
The bi-directional antenna with the specification of K738446 and antenna gain
of 5 dBi is used within the tunnel.
According to these assumptions, if a micro base station (39 dBm) is used as the
GSM signal source, the coverage distance is 400m when the antenna with a gain
of 8 dBi is installed at the tunnel entrance, and the coverage distance is 480m
when the bi-directional antenna with a gain of 5 dBi is installed in the tunnel.
If a repeater (33 dBm) is used as the GSM signal source, the coverage distance
is 250m when the antenna with a gain of 8 dBi is installed at the tunnel
entrance, and the coverage distance is 360m when the bi-directional antenna
with a gain of 5 dBi is installed in the tunnel.
Therefore, for the tunnels shorter than 500m, you can use the combination of a
micro base station and a single antenna (or a repeater) for the tunnel
coverage. For curve tunnels, you can install a bi-directional antaean in the
tunnel.
According to on-site survey on the cross-section, the available antenna size,
and the tunnel length, you can use the antenna with a higher gain to coverage
the tunnels a little longer than 500m.
III. Coverage solution to long tunnels
For the tunnels longer than 500m, you need to use the distributed antenna
system or the leaky cable for the coverage. The followings introduce the
coverage realized by the combination of a micro base station and a leaky cable
(or a repeater).
Hereunder is a series of assumptions:
The Huawei BTS3001C (the maximum output power is 8W) is used as the GSM
signal source.
The repeater with 1 amplified carrier and a maximum output power of 2W is
considered.
The lowest receiving level is designed to -85 dBm, and the coverage probability
is 90% (with a protection margin of 8 dB).
The leaky cable with the specification of SLWY-50-22 and the radial loss of
5dB/100 m is used.
The coupler loss may be 77 dB when the 90% of signals are received.
According to these assumptions, if a micro base station (39 dBm) is used as the
GSM signal source, the coverage distance is 800m when only the leaky cable
but no amplifier is used. If a repeater (33 dBm) is used as the GSM signal
source, the coverage distance is 680m when only the leaky cable but no
amplifier is used. The coverage distance will be larger if leaky cables with
smaller loss are used.
For the coverage of still longer tunnels, you must use amplifiers to amplify
signals. That is, you can use either the distributed antenna system or the leaky
cable for the coverage solution. In terms of technical indexes and installation
space, coverage solution based on leaky cable is recommended. In terms of
cost, you must select a suitable coverage solution base on actual conditions.
2.12 Repeater Planning

2.12.1 Application Background

With rapid development of mobile communication networks, people have
higher requirements on service quality. They hope to enjoy mobile services
anywhere and anytime. As for telecommunication carriers, they cannot enable
a base station in some dead zones due to the reasons such as cost and
transmission conditions. In this case, a repeater can provide an auxiliary and
economical means to coverage the dead zones.
I. Repeater types
A wireless repeater adopts a set of donor antenna to receive the signals from
the base station. After amplifying the signals, it adopts a set of retransmission
antenna to forward the signals in another direction. Generally, a wireless
repeater has only one receiving path, so the diversity antenna is unnecessary.
Optical repeater
An optical repeater transmits signals using optical fibers, so the repeater side
and base station side must have the optical transmission capability.
Channel bandwidth
Bandwidth selection repeater
A bandwidth selection repeater is also called wideband repeater, and it can
select a frequency (for example, the frequency with a bandwidth of 6M, 19M,
or 25M) and amplify it.
Channel selection repeater
A channel selection repeater is also called narrow band repeater or frequency
selection repeater. It amplifies the selected channel numbers only. It is a
narrow band repeater and amplifies a limited channel numbers.
New style
Solar energy repeater
A solar energy repeater is of the wideband type. It is similar to a general
wideband repeater except that its power is solar energy.
Product type
Wireless frequency selection repeater
Currently, the types of the repeaters listed in the left column are in
commercial use.
Optical frequency selection repeater
Wireless wideband repeater
Optical wideband repeater
II. Comparison between repeater and micro cell
Many equipments and a long period are needed for constructing a micro cell.
A repeater is installed in a flexible way and the base station equipments and
transmission equipments are unnecessary.
A micro cell can expand the system capacity. When the cells near a base
station are busy, a micro cell can be used to ease the congestion.
A repeater can absorb traffic. When a cell is idle, it brings the traffic to this
cell, thus enhancing the utilization ratio of the equipments. A repeater does
not expand the capacity for a system.
The system needs to allocate channel numbers to a micro cell, but this is hard
to be realized in the areas where the frequency resource is scarce.
The system does not need to allocate channel numbers to a repeater, but it
must prevent the repeater from interfering with other cells.
Note:
The filter of an intra-frequency repeater will produce a delay of about 5μs.
Theoretically, the maximum effective coverage distance of a GSM cell will be
smaller than 35km in this case.

A GSM system must enable the dynamic power control function, which is
transparent to a repeater. Generally, you must adopt the automatic level
control technologies (ALC) for a repeater.

& Note:
When the ALC technology is applied to a repeater, if a mobile station is too
near to the repeater, the repeater will reduce the gains for all the mobile
stations within its service area. In this case, the conversation quality of some
mobile stations will become poor, or even call drop may occur; especially the
mobile stations far away from the repeater are greatly affected.

III. Application characteristics

Repeaters are mainly used to cover the dead zones in vast open land, and they
are the extension of the base stations. A repeater improves the coverage but
does add up to the traffic capacity of a network. However, because it enlarges
the coverage of the base station, the total traffic volume increases.
A wireless repeater applies the radio transmission mode, with short
construction period and effective cost. An optical repeater adopts optical fiber
as transmission medium, so the transmission loss is small and transmission
distance is large, but construction cost is greater than that of the wireless
repeater.
The application advantage of the wireless repeater lies in low transmission
requirement. If you plant the optical fiber, there is no price advantage against
the construction of a micro cell base station. In this case, considering the
network quality, you are recommended to select the micro cell base station.
Compared with wideband repeater, a narrow band repeater has better
performance and provides better signal quality. However, the following
problems are still present in application:
The carriers of a narrow band repeater must outnumber the carriers configured
for the source base station; otherwise the repeater cannot capture a channel.
The number of paths of many repeaters is set to 4, so the base stations
outnumber 4 carriers cannot work as the signal source.
For the base stations with radio frequency and frequency hopping, if the
frequencies in the frequency hopping set outnumber the paths selected by the
repeater, the conversation cannot be maintained.
When the channel number of the donor cell of the repeater changes, you must
adjust the channel number, otherwise the problems such as channel assignment
failure, call drop, and interference will occur.
The wideband repeater allows the base station to adopt frequency hopping,
and you do not have to adjust the channel number of the repeater after the
channel number of the donor cell changes if the channel number is within the
bandwidth of the repeater. However, the wideband repeater will amplify all
the signals within the band, so it causes great interference against other cells.
No matter whether the optical fiber or wireless repeater is applied, the sum of
the radius of the service area of the repeater and the distance between the
repeater and base station cannot break the TA limitation. For general base
stations, the distance between a repeater and the base station must be shorter
than 35 kilometers.
The optical repeater can be used in the areas where the GSM radio signals
cannot reach and no space is left for a repeater. Because the transmission loss
of optical fiber is small and its bandwidth is wide, the optical repeater is quite
helpful for transmitting RF signals.
Either an omni antenna or a directional antenna can be selected for an optical
repeater according to the actual landforms. For an optical repeater, its
transmission does not have to be isolated from the reception. In addition, the
address of an optical repeater is easy to be decided. Generally, an optical
repeater is applied in the dead zones within countryside, highroads, touring
areas, factories, and urban areas.
In remote mountain areas and along highroads, you can also consider using a
solar energy repeater.
In conclusion, the repeater is used for the following purposes:
Enlarge coverage area and eliminate dead zones.
Strength the field strength and enlarge converge of the base stations in urban
areas.
Ensure the coverage along the highroads and tunnels.
Realize indoor coverage.
2.12.2 Working Principles of Repeater
I. Wireless frequency selection repeater
Figure 5-45 shows the working principles of a wireless frequency selection
repeater. The repeater receives the RF signals from the selected base station
(donor antenna) and amplifies and forwards the signals. The antenna receiving
the signals from the base station is called donor antenna, the other antenna is
called retransmission antenna.
Working principles of a wireless frequency selection repeater are as follows:
1) The low-noise power amplifier processes the signals (received by the donor
antenna) from downlink carriers.
2) The signals (900 MHz RF signals) are down converted into 71 MHz
intermediate frequency (IF) signals.
3) The IF filter (with a bandwidth of 200 KHz) amplifies the 71 MHz IF signals
and up converts the signals into the 900 MHz RF signals.
4) The retransmission antenna (service antenna) transmits the signals to the
coverage areas.
The uplink signals are also processed according to the previous procedures.
II. Wireless wideband repeater
The wireless wideband repeater works as the same way as the wireless
frequency selection repeater except the filter part. The bandwidth of the filter
of the wireless wideband repeater is fixed. Generally, it is 6M, 19M, or 25M.
III. Optical repeater
The difference between the optical frequency selection repeater and the
optical wideband repeater lies in the coverage end. The former adopts the
frequency selection components, but the later adopts the variable bandwidth
options.
Compared with the wireless repeater, the optical repeater does require
isolation between donor antenna and retransmission antenna.

2.12.3 Repeater Network Planning

I. Repeater address selection
There is no special requirement on the repeater address selection except the
following items:
A repeater address must lie between the donor base station and the dead zone,
and the azimuth angle between the donor antenna and the retransmission
antenna cannot be smaller than 90°, as shown in the following figure.
If the service antenna is a directional antenna, the repeater must be installed
about 200 to 500 meters beyond the dead zone. If the repeater is installed
within the dead zone, the coverage quality cannot reach the best, as shown in
the following figure.
When the repeater is used to coverage the dense residential areas at the edges
of the urban area, it cannot face the buildings, because great penetration loss
will be caused. In this case, the repeater must be installed at the one side of
the building, as shown in the following figure.
The areas to be covered must meet the requirement of line-of-sight
transmission.
The repeater address must ensure the received signal level required by the
repeater. Generally, the received signal level ranges from -50 dBm to -80 dBm.
No strong carrier whose channel number is the same as that of the donor base
station is present at near the repeater address.
The landforms, buildings, or towers where the donor antenna and
retransmission antenna can be installed. (The donor antenna must be directed
to the base station and the retransmission antenna must be directed to the
service area of the repeater. In addition, the isolation between the two
antennas must be greater than 170 dBc.)
II. Antenna selection
When selecting the antenna for a repeater, you must consider the followings:
Select the proper antenna gain according to the signals and coverage condition
Do not adopt the omni antenna because the wireless repeater is affiliated to
the intra-frequency relay system, otherwise the system will perform self-
excitation.
The communication between the donor antenna and the donor base station
antenna is point-to-point communication, so you must select the antenna with
high gain or narrow horizontal beam width. For example, to reduce
interference, you can select the reflector antenna or the log-periodical
antenna.
Select retransmission antenna according to the characteristics of a coverage
area. For a large coverage area, you can select the general directional antenna
with high gain. For tunnel coverage, you can select the Yagi antenna or the
spiral antenna. For indoor coverage, you must select the antenna specially
designed for indoor use. No matter in what occasions, you must control the
transmit direction of the retransmission antenna to prevent the retransmitted
signals from feeding in the donor antenna.
The front-to-back ratio of the antenna must be as great as possible (it is better
to be greater than 30 dB) so that a better isolation between the donor antenna
and retransmission antenna can be ensured.
III. Requirements on antenna isolation
The isolation between repeater antennas depends on the host gain, but the
host gain cannot excel the isolation coefficient for self-excitation. According to
the requirements in GSM protocols 03.30, the isolation must be at least 15 dB
greater than the host gain. In actual project design, you can judge whether the
installation position meets the requirements on antenna isolation according to
on-site measurement.
According to the formulas calculating the antenna horizontal isolation, the
following formula can be deducted:
AH = 31.6 + 20 lgd – (Gt + Gr) dB (900 MHz)
AH = 37.6 + 20 lgd – (Gt + Gr) dB (1800 MHz)
Here, “d” indicates the distance between the donor antenna and
retransmission antenna, in the unit of meter. Gt and Gr indicate the antenna
gain relative to the major lobe in the direction of the two antennas. If the two
antennas are back-to-back installed, Gt and Gr indicate the front-to-back ratio
of the antenna.
Horizontal isolation of repeater antennas:
The formula calculating the vertical isolation of repeater antennas is as
follows:
Av = 47.3 + 40 logd dB (900 MHz)
Av = 59.3 + 40 logd dB (1800 MHz)
Vertical isolation of repeater antennas:
If the horizontal isolation and vertical isolation are present simultaneously, the
total isolation can be calculated by the following formula:
AS = (AV - AH) a/90 + AH, here AV indicates the vertical isolation; AH indicates
the horizontal isolation; and “a” indicates the antenna included angle.
Donor antenna and retransmission antenna are installed on the top of the
building. Suppose the host gain is 100 dB, the isolation between the two
antennas can be 120 dB. If the front-to-back ratio of the donor antenna and the
retransmission antenna is 30 dB, when no barriers are present between the two
antennas, the requirement on the isolation can be met.
If the space loss of the signals between the two antennas is 60 dB, the
horizontal isolation distance can be obtained, that is, d = 26m.
During project implementation, you must select the antenna installation
position according to on-site measurement. You can use a signal source and a
receiver for the repeater. If the signal attenuation between the signal source
and the receiver reaches 60 dB, it means that the antenna installation position
meets the requirement on antenna isolation.
When installing the antenna for a repeater, you must pay attention to the
following items:
If the antennas are horizontally installed, the host of the repeater must be
installed between the donor antenna and the retransmission antenna (it must
be nearer to the donor antenna.)
A good isolation must be ensured regardless that the antennas are horizontally
or vertically installed. When they are horizontally installed, it is better that
there are some barriers lying between the donor antenna and the
retransmission antenna, because you do not have to particularly design a large
installation space to ensure antenna isolation in this case.
IV. Uplink and downlink balancce calculation
For a GSM repeater, the link balance is realized by four links, namely, the
uplink and downlink between the donor base station and repeater, and the
uplink and downlink between the repeater and mobile station.
This section employs the wireless repeater applied in outdoors as an example
to calculate the link balance. To simplify the calculation, we introduce the
effective donor path loss (EDoPL), which includes all the loss and gain from the
output end of the base station combiner or the input end of the multi-path
coupler to the input end of the repeater.

The link balance is calculated according to the following two formulas:

For downlinks, Pbout - EDoPL + GRD - LRF + GRA - Lpass - Pmn = Pmin.
For uplinks, Pmout - Lpass + GRA - LRF + GRU - EDoPL - Pbn = Pbin.
Here,
Pbout indicates the output power of the base station.
Pmout indicates the output power of the mobile station.
GRD indicates the downlink gain of the repeater.
GRU indicates the uplink gain of the repeater.
LRF indicates the feeder loss of the retransmission antenna.
GRA indicates the gain of the retransmission antenna.
Lpass indicates the path loss the mobile stations from the repeater to the
service area.
Pbn indicates the attenuation margin of the mobile station.
Pbin indicates the receiving level of the base station.
Pmin indicates the receiving level of the mobile station.
BTSsens indicates the base station sensitivity.
MSsens indicates the mobile station sensitivity.
If the uplink EDoPL and downlink EDoPL are equal to the uplink path loss and
the downlink path loss from the repeater and mobile station, the attenuation
margin of the base station is equal to that of the mobile station. Therefore, if
you subtract the formula calculating uplink balance from the formula
calculating downlink balance, you can get Pbout - Pmout + GRD - GRU = Pmin -
Pbin.
If the links are balance, the equation Pmin - Pbin = Dsens = MSsens- BTSsens is
present. In this case, the formula calculating link balance is Pbout - Pmout +
GRD - GRU = Dsens.
Therefore, the Dsens is fixed after the base station equipments are selected.
Moreover, the output power of the base station and mobile station may be
decided in GSM system planning. As a result, to achieve the balance of the
whole links, you need to adjust the uplink gain and downlink gain of the
repeater only.
The followings employ the repeater system installed in outdoors as an example
to calculate the whole link balance.
For downlink budget of the outdoor repeater , output power of the transmitter
(+43dBm) – loss of the combiner (4dB) – EdoPL (90dB) = input power of the
repeater (-51dBm) + downlink gain of the repeater (80dB) = downlink output
power of the repeater (+29dBm) – feeder loss of the retransmission antenna
(3dB) + gain of the retransmission antenna (18dBi) – path loss of the repeater in
the coverage area (127dB) = input level of the mobile station (-83dBm) –
attenuation margin (20dBm) = the mobile station sensitivity (-103dBm).
& Note:
To obtain the value of EDoPL, you can measure the input level of the donor
repeater and output level of the base station combiner first, and then obtain
the difference between the two, and the difference is the value of EDoPL. In
addition, the gain of the mobile antenna must be converted to 0 dBi.

For uplink budget of the outdoor repeater, output power of the mobile station
transmitter (+33dBm) – path loss of the repeater in the coverage area (127dB) +
gain of the retransmission antenna (18dBi) – feeder loss of the retransmission
antenna (3dB) = input power of the repeater (-79dBm) + uplink gain of the
repeater (80dB) = output power of the repeater (+1dBm) –EdoPL (90dB) = input
level of the base station (-89dBm) – attenuation margin (20dBm) = base station
sensitivity (-109dBm).
& Note:
Because you do not have to consider the diversity function, the attenuation
margin on uplinks is the same as that on downlinks. According to the previous
link budget, the downlinks are restricted by the output power of the repeater,
the uplinks are restricted by the output power of the mobile station, and the
noise restricts the maximum gain (EDoPL-10 dB), so the link balance is present.
However, this is the most common situation. Actually, you must calculate the
margin for all links when installing or optimizing the repeater system. The
latest repeater supports the uplink gain and downlink gain to be set
respectively.

Hereunder is an example.
There is a base station covering parts of a highroad. Its coverage radius is about
20 km.
The measured signal strength at the edges of the base station cells is -93dBm.
The microwave link tower on the top of the hill near the base station is
selected as the address of the repeater.
In the areas (including mountains) 350m below the top of the tower, the
received level of the mobile station is -71 dBm.
The log-periodical antenna with a gain of 18dBi and an azimuth angle of 35°is
used as the donor antenna.
The antenna is installed at 15 meters under the tower top and faces the base
station.
If the previous conditions are present, the signals output by the repeater are
-54 dBm. If a plane antenna with a gain of 17 dBi and a horizontal azimuth
angle of 60 degrees is installed at the top of the tower and the antenna
radiates to the reverse direction of the donor antenna, the requirements on
antenna isolation can be met even if the gain of the repeater reaches 85 dB. In
this case, the output power of the repeater is 30 dBm. And the level of the
signals in the areas along the highroad which are 20 km beyond the tower can
reach -90 dBm. Therefore, the radius of the cell along the highroad is enlarged
by 50%.
& Note:
If a retransmission antenna is installed at the top of the tower, you must
ensure that the received signal level in the zero point filling areas near the
tower.
V. Repeater output power control
When adopting a repeater, you must pay special attention to the effect of the
intermodulation products against the system. The intermodulation products of
the repeater depend on the number of the amplified carriers, the output power
of each carrier, and the linearity of the amplifier.
Linearity of the amplifier:
Third order intermodulation will increase with output power due to the
nonlinearity of the amplifier. Therefore, you must control the output to a
certain degree to ensure that that the indexes on third order intermodulation
meet the requirements. The following formula shows the relationship between
the output power of each carrier of the repeater and the requirements on third
order intermodulation.
Po = IP3 + (PIMP/2) +10 lg (N/2)
Here,
Po indicates the output power of each carrier (dBm)
IP3 indicates the third order section of the amplifier (dBm)
PIMP indicates the level of the third order intermodulation (dBc)
N indicates the number of carriers
If the third order section of the amplifier of a typical repeater is 50 dBm, and
the intermodulation level must be lower than -45 dBc according to the
requirement of the wireless communication institutes in Britain.
VI. Repeater gain setting
The gain of the early repeaters must be set manually, but the latest gain of the
latest repeaters can be automatically set. For the repeaters whose gain is set
manually, the sum of the repeater gain and the protection margin must be
equal to or smaller than the repeater isolation; otherwise, the self-excitation
of the repeater will be caused. Here the repeater isolation indicates the
isolation between the donor antenna and the retransmission antenna of the
repeater. Generally, the protection margin ranges from 10 dB to 15 dB.
VII. Repeater adjacent cell planning
The coverage areas of a repeater may overlap other donor cells, so you must
configure the corresponding adjacent cell relationship for the repeater to
ensure normal handover. In addition, you must pay attention that the
frequencies in the coverage areas of the repeater and that in the donor cells
cannot be the same frequency and neighbor frequency.
VIII. Effect of delay processing against repeater planning
If only one repeater cannot fully cover an area (such as a narrow and long
tunnel), you can use several cascaded repeaters to provide the coverage. The
selection of the address and antenna for the repeater of each level is the same
as that for a single repeater.
However, the repeater will amplify the same frequency and it takes some time
for the repeater to process the signal, so there is a delay for each signal
segment. If the delay is greater than the time for the GSM system to identify
the time window, the intra-frequency interference will occur. Therefore, you
must consider the effect of the delay when adopting cascaded repeaters,
because the delay will also accelerate the time dispersion and shorten the
coverage distance.
If adopting the optical repeater, you must consider that the transmission speed
of the signals in optical fibers is 2/3 that of in free space, namely, if the
extension cell technology is not used, the maximum transmission distance of
the signals in optical fiber is 35 km multiplies 2/3 (about 23.3 km) due to the
restriction on transmission delay.
In addition, if one of three synchronous cells adopting the optical repeater, the
TA of two cells will be different due to the difference of transmission mode
and rate. In this case, the synchronous handover failure will occur. Therefore,
you must adopt the asynchronous handover to obtain the TA of a new cell,
which works as the handover target cell.
The delay processing varies with repeater types. Some take 2 to 3 μs and some
takes 5 to 6μs. In a GSM system, the delay of two signals cannot be greater
than 16μs. For the effect of repeater delay processing against time dispersion.
Distance between point A and the repeater “d” is 2.1km. The delay for the
mobile station at point A to receive the signals from the repeater and the cell
is as follows:
(2.1km + 2.1km)/c (light speed) + 3μs = 14μs + 3μs = 17μs > 16μs.
In this case, the intra-frequency interference may be present. If the difference
of the levels of the two signals is equal to or lower than 12 dB, the
conversation quality will be affected.
The time dispersion will cause intra-frequency interference, and the time
dispersion is caused by the overlap of the signal source cell and the repeater
coverage area. Therefore, you must select the signal of the secondary cells in
the coverage areas of the repeater instead of the signals of the major service
cell as the source signal of the repeater. In this case, the time dispersion
caused by overlap can be avoided.
IX. Effect of background noise against repeater planning
Suppose that the maximum received noise level allowed by the base station is
DN, if the uplink background noise level of the repeater host is too great, the
base station channels will be congested when the noise level at the base
station is greater than DN. However, how to set the repeater without affecting
the base station? They are introduces as follows.
If the following assumptions are present:
The transmitted signal strength of the base station is Tb.
The received signal strength of the base station is Rb.
The received downlink signal strength of the base station host is Dr.
The transmitted uplink signal strength of the base station host is Ut.
In this case, the path loss between the base station and the repeater is Tb-Dr,
so Rb = Ut – (Tb-Dr). As a result, if the repeater does not affect the base
station, Rb < DN, so the following two inequities are present:
Ut – (Tb - Dr) < DN
Ut < Tb-Dr + DN
According to the previous analysis, the repeater does not affect the base
station if the uplink background noise level output by the repeater host is
lower than (Tb-Dr+DN). From this perspective of review, the background noise
must be particularly emphasized in repeater planning because it is easier to
bring interference than other types of base stations.
X. Specifications of wireless repeaters
2.13 Conclusion
Network planning is the foundation of a mobile communication network,
especially the wireless parts in a mobile communication network costs great
and is of vital importance to network quality, so you must make a good
planning at earlier stage, which is helpful for network expansion and service
update in the future.
Network planning requires engineers to analyze coverage, decide network
layers, and analyze traffic based on relative technologies and parameters, and
finally output the results of RF planning, including base station layout and
scale.
RF planning, as well as the application of cell parameters, determines the cell
coverage. The cell coverage must be properly designed so that the mobile
station can always enjoy the best service at the best cells. In addition, the cell
coverage must be designed in a way conducive to network capacity expansion.
This chapter also introduces the solutions to dual-band network, indoor
coverage, tunnel coverage, and so on. Last, this chapter introduces the
repeater application
3 GSM Frequency Planning
3.1 Overview
Frequency resource is scarce for the mobile communication, so how to
maximize the spectrum utilization ratio is a great concern for many carriers,
equipment providers, and scholars. And their research into this problem has
accelerated the development of the communication technologies. By now, the
mobile communication has experienced three phases: analog TACS/AMPS,
GSM/CDMA IS95, and WCDMA/CDMA2000.
The purpose to enhance the spectrum utilization ratio is to expand the network
capacity based on the limited spectrum resource while ensuring the network
quality. If not considering adding frequencies to the network, you can expand
the capacity of a GSM network using the two methods. One is to increase the
number of base stations in the network; the other is to use the frequency reuse
technologies. This chapter mainly describes the GSM frequency reuse
technologies, namely, frequency planning technologies.
To expand the network capacity, you must reuse the limited frequency
resources. Though frequency reuse is beneficial for network expansion, it
brings into another problem. That is, it deteriorates the conversation quality.
The more aggressive the frequencies are reused, the greater the interference
will arise in the network. Therefore, how to seek a balance between network
capacity and conversation quality is a demanding task in frequency planning.
Currently, the 4 x 3, 3 x 3, 2 x 6, 1 x 3, 1 x 1, MRP, and concentric circles are
the GSM frequency technologies in common use. For the 4 x 3 frequency reuse
pattern, the frequency utilization ratio is relatively low, but the higher carrier-
to-interference ratio (C/I) can be obtained, so you can enjoy better
conversation quality. Compared with the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the 1 x
3 frequency reuse pattern ensures a relatively high frequency utilization ratio,
but the reuse distance is shorter, so interference is greater and the
conversation quality is poorer. In this case, you should take some measures,
such as the frequency hopping and DTX, against the interference.
The frequency planning is a key technology for GSM network, so the quality of
the frequency planning will determine the network quality.
This chapter introduces the rules of frequency reuse based on the frequency
reuse patterns and the network requirement. Meanwhile, it also provides
examples to detail the frequency division, C/I, frequency reuse degree under
each reuse pattern.
3.2 Frequency Division and C/I Requirement
3.2.1 Frequency Division
The GSM cellular system can be divided into GSM 900MHz system and DCS
1800MHz system in terms of the band to be used. The carrier spacing is 200
KHz.
I. GSM 900MHz
It has 124 channel numbers. The absolute radio frequency channel number
(ARFCN) is 1–124, and a protection band with 200 KHz in width is reserved at
the two ends. According to the documents prescribed by the relative
government department of China, China Mobile uses the 890–909/936–954MHz
band, and the corresponding ARFCN is 1–95 (generally, the channel number 95
is for reservation only). For China Unicom, it uses the 909–915/954–960MHz
band, and the corresponding ARFCN is 96–124. For the bands defined for the
carriers from other countries, they can be calculated by the following
formulas:
Base station reception: f1 (n) = [890.2 + (n – 1) x 0.2] MHz
Base station transmit: f2 (n) = [f1 (n) + 45] MHz
II. DSC 1800MHz
It has 374 channel numbers. The ARFCN is 512–885. The relationship between
the frequency and the channel number (n) are listed in the following:
Base station reception: f1 (n) = [1710.2 + (n – 512) x 0.2] MHz
Base station transmit: f2 (n) = [f1(n) + 95] MHz
China Mobile uses the 1710–1720 MHz band, and the corresponding ARFCN is
512–561. China Unicom uses the 1745–1755 MHz, and the corresponding ARFCN
is 687–736.
3.2.2 C/I
C/I stands for carrier-to-interference ratio. In the GSM system, frequency reuse
will cause intra-frequency interference. The intra-frequency is related to both
the reuse distance and the cell radius.
If the intra-frequency cell and the service cell work at the same time, the MS
locating in the center of the service cell will receive both the useful signals
from this service cell and the interfering signals from the intra-frequency cells.

For the omni-directional base station with regular frequency reuse, there are 6
intra-frequency interference sources at the first layer, namely, the 6 intra-
frequency reuse cells in orange. There are 12 intra-frequency interference
sources at the second layer, namely, the 12 intra-frequency reuse cells in
yellow. However, the 12 intra-frequency interference sources has only a little
effect on the 6 interference sources at the first layer, so it can be neglected.
If the radio propagation environment between the 6 intra-frequency reuse cells
and the service cell is the keeps stable.
When the MS locates at the edge of the service cell, it will receive the poorest
signals form the service cell but the strongest interfering signals. In this case,
the needed C/I can be expressed by the following equation:
If the cellular layout is improperly designed, the interfering sources will
increase and the C/I will decrease. According to the previous equations, the
more the cells in each cluster, the greater the C/I and the better the network
quality are, but the frequency utilization ratio will be lower. In addition, the
GSM interference is related to the traffic load. The intra-frequency
interference reaches the greatest when the traffic load reaches the peak.
Generally, the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is used in GSM frequency
planning. For the areas where the traffic is great, you can use other frequency
reuse patterns, such as 3 x 3 and 1 x 3. No matter which frequency reuse
pattern you take, you must meet the requirement on interference-to-
protection ratio.
Apart from the intra-frequency interference caused by normal frequency reuse,
there are other abnormal interferences. They are listed in the following:
Multipath signal interference (It occurs when useful signals fall outside the
delay equalizer of the system.)
Outside signal interference (It refers to the signals from the radar, illegal
wireless equipments, and environment noises.)
In the GSM system, the requirements on the C/I are listed in the following:
For intra-frequency C/I, it must be equal to greater than 9 dB. In actual
projecting, a margin of 3 dB is needed, namely, it is equal to or greater than 12
dB.
For adjacent-frequency C/I, it must be equal to or greater than -9 dB. In actual
projecting, a margin of 3 dB is needed, namely, it is equal to or greater than -6
dB.
When the carrier offset reaches 400 KHz, the C/I must be equal to or greater
than -41 dB.
3.3 Frequency Planning Principle
Generally, when planning the frequency for the network, you will divide the
geographic area into smaller slices, but you must reserve a certain amount of
channel number at the intersection area between slices if the frequency
resource is adequate.
The intersection area must be far away from the areas where the traffic is
great and the areas where the networking is complex. Generally, you should
begin the planning with the area where base stations are intensively
distributed. If there are rivers or big lakes in the planning area, you must
consider the refection effect of the surface.
Generally, base stations irregularly distributed, so you cannot perform the
frequency planning completely according to 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern or 3
x 3 frequency reuse pattern. Instead, you must make flexible adjustment
according to actual conditions.
No matter which reuse pattern you take, you must obey the following
principles:
- Generally, the intra-frequencies and adjacent cannel numbers are allowed to
appear within a base station.
- The frequency spacing between the BCCH and TCH must be greater than 400
KHz within a cell.
- The frequency spacing between the TCHs must be greater than 400 KHz
within a cell. (When frequency hopping is used, you can meet this by properly
setting the mobile allocation index offset.)
- The adjacent base stations cannot use the same frequency.
- Considering the complexity of the antenna height and radio propagation
environment, the base stations near each other cannot use the same
frequency.
- Generally, if using the 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, you must ensure that
the number of frequency hopping channel numbers is at least twice that of the
frequency hoping carriers.
- Pay special attention to the intra-frequency reuse. The adjacent areas are
not allowed to share the BCCH and the BSIC.

3.4 Normal Frequency Reuse Technology

3.4.1 C/I under 4 x 3 Frequency Reuse Pattern

The spectrum utilization ratio can be expressed by frequency reuse degree,

which reveals the aggressiveness of the frequency reuse. The frequency reuse
degree can be expressed by the following equation: freuse=NARFCN / NTRX
Here NARFCN is the total number of the available channel numbers, and NTRX is
the number of TRXs configured for the cell.
For the n x m frequency reuse pattern, "n" indicates the number of the base
stations in the reuse clusters, and "m" indicates the number of the cells under
each base station. In this case, the frequency reuse degree can be expressed
by the following equation:
freuse= n x m
In actual planning, however, the allocated number of channel numbers will be
greater than n x m, so the actual freuse is usually greater than n x m.
Therefore, the smaller the freuse, the more aggressive the frequency is reused
and the higher the frequency utilization ratio is. As the aggressiveness of the
frequency reuse grows, however, it will bring greater interference to the
network. In this case, you must enable the technologies, including DTX and
power control, to solve this problem. The more aggressive the frequency is
reused, the lower the spectrum utilization ratio is, but the conversation quality
is better at this time.

The purpose the frequency planning is to reach a balance between the

frequency utilization ratio and the network capacity. Based on the assurance of
the network quality, you must take measures to maximize the network
capacity.
 In the GSM system, the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is in basic use. Here "4"
indicates 4 base stations (each base station consists of 3 cells), and "3"
indicates the 3 cells under the control of each base station. Therefore, there
are 12 sectors are available. And the 12 sectors makes up of a frequency reuse
cluster, but the frequency in the same cluster cannot be reused.
For the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the intra-frequency spacing is great, so
it can meet GSM system's requirement on the intra-frequency interference
protection ratio and adjacent frequency interference protection ratio. As a
result, this frequency reuse pattern is good for the network quality and
security. Under the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the frequency reuse
aggressiveness is 12.
For the aggressive reuse introduced hereunder, because the BCCH plays an
important role in the network and you cannot use the apply the anti-
interference measures, such as downlink power control and DTX, to the
BCCH, you must apply the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern or looser reuse
patterns to the BCCH carriers.
Normal 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern.

3.4.2 10MHz Bandwidth 4 x 3 Frequency Reuse

Hereunder are several assumptions:

 The available bandwidth is 10MHz.
 The channel number is 45–94.
 If the channel numbers ranging from 81–94 (14 channel
numbers in total) are allocated to the BCCH, and the other
channel numbers are allocated to TCH.
If the previous assumptions are present, the frequency planning under 4 x 3
frequency reuse pattern is provided in
Frequency planning under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern (a)
Frequency
group A1 B1 C1 D1 A2 B2 C2 D2 A3 B3 C3 D3
number

94 93 92 91 90 89 88 87 86 85 84 83
Channel
number of 80 79 78 77 76 75 74 73 72 71 70 69
each
frequency 68 67 66 65 64 63 62 61 60 59 58 57
group
56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45

According to this table, the channel numbers in the first line are BCCH
numbers, in which the channel numbers 81 and 82 are standby channel
numbers. The channel number of BCCH of the cell A1 is 94. It is 80, 68 and
56 for other carriers, and so on.
 In a cluster which contains 12 cells, the frequency group for base station A is
{A1, A2, and A3}; the frequency group for base station B is {B1, B2, and
B3}; the frequency group for base station C is {C1, C2, and C3}; and the
frequency group for base station D is {D1, D2, and D3}.
Therefore, as listed in this table, no channel number is reused within a cluster.
In addition, the intra-frequency and adjacent frequency are not available for
the adjacent cells and the same cell.
However, the drawbacks of this frequency reuse pattern are that the frequency
reuse ratio is low and the capacity expansion needs a great amount of the
frequency resources. Therefore, this reuse pattern is not used in the areas
where the network capacity needs to be constantly expanded.
If the bandwidth is 10MHz, the maximum base station configuration is S4/4/4
under the normal 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, and the frequency reuse
degree is 12.5 (50/4 = 12.5).
& Note:
The maximum base station type mentioned in the chapter refers to the
configuration type that most continuous base stations can reach. It does not
include standalone base station.

3.4.3 19MHz Bandwidth 4 x 3 Frequency Reuse

For the 19MHz frequency (1 to 94) used by China Mobile, the 4 x 3

frequency reuse pattern are used for the frequency planning. The channel
numbers ranging from 79 to 94 (16 channel numbers in total) are allocated to
the BCCH, and other channel numbers are allocated to TCH. No channel
number is reserved for micro cells. In this case, the frequency planning
solution is provided in Frequency planning under 4 x 3 frequency reuse
pattern (b)
Frequency planning under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern (b)
Frequency
group A1 B1 C1 D1 A2 B2 C2 D2 A3 B3 C3 D3
number

Channel 94 93 92 91 90 89 88 87 86 85 84 83
number of
each 78 77 76 75 74 73 72 71 70 69 68 67
frequency
66 65 64 63 62 61 60 59 58 57 56 55
group
54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43

42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31

30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7
 6 5 4 3 2 1

As listed in this table, the channel numbers ranging from 79 to 82 are standby
channel numbers. For the 19MHz bandwidth, the maximum base station type
can be S8/7/7 under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. The frequency reuse
degrees are 11.75, 13.43, and 13.43, so the average value is 12.87.

3.4.4 6MHz Bandwidth 4 x 3 Frequency Reuse

For the 6MHz frequency (96 to 124) used by China Unicom, the 4 x 3
frequency reuse pattern is used for the frequency planning. The channel
numbers ranging from 111 to 124 (14 channel numbers in total) are allocated
to the BCCH, and other channel numbers are allocated to TCH. No channel
number is reserved for micro cells. In this case, the frequency planning
solution is provided in:
Frequency planning under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern (c)
Frequency
group A1 B1 C1 D1 A2 B2 C2 D2 A3 B3 C3 D3
number

Channel 124 123 122 121 120 119 118 117 116 115 114 113
number of
each 110 109 108 107 106 105 104 103 102 101 100 99
frequency
group 98 97 96

As listed in this table, the channel numbers ranging from 111 to 112 are
standby channel numbers. For the 6MHz bandwidth, the maximum base
station type can be S3/2/2 under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. The frequency
reuse degrees are 9.67, 13.5, and 13.5, so the average value is 12.22.

3.4.5 4 x 3 Frequency Reuse Conclusion

The 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is a basic technology applied in frequency

planning. It is applicable to other frequency aggressive reuse technologies
that are used for the BCCH.
Theoretical analysis shows that when the base stations are regularly
distributed and azimuths of the cells are consistent with each other, the
interference can be reduced to the minimum. Therefore, if you intend to
expand the network capacity, you can keep the base stations to be distributed
as regular as possible and plan the azimuths of the cells along the same
direction. In addition, you can also maintain the antennas at a similar height.
However, sometimes you need to adjust the azimuth of the antenna to
improve the coverage, which seems contradicts to the capacity expansion.
 Therefore, sometimes you must make find a balance between the coverage
and capacity.
If the network capacity needs to be further expanded, you can take the
following measures:
 Split a cell into smaller cells. At present, however, the
average coverage radius of the macro cell base stations in urban
areas is already shorter than 500m, so further cell splitting will
meet difficulty in cost and technology.
 Utilize new frequency resources. For example, you can
employ the 1800MHz band to establish a DSC 1800MHz network.
 Under the current 900MHz network, use more aggressive
frequency reuse technology to expand the network capacity.
At present, the aggressive frequency reuse technology works as the most
economical and convenient way to expand the network capacity, so it is also
the most popular with carriers.
The typical frequency reuse technology includes 3 x 3, 2 x 6, 2 x 3, 1 x 3, and
1 x 1.

3.5 Aggressive Frequency Reuse Technology

3.5.1 3 x 3 Frequency Reuse Pattern

The 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern can be used in the areas with high traffic.
That is, three base stations form a group, and each base station has three cells,
so there are 9 cells, which form a frequency reuse cluster. However, the 9
cells use different frequencies. Compared with the 4 x 3 frequency reuse
pattern, the intra-frequency reuse distance under the 3 x 3 frequency reuse
pattern is small, so on-line interference is greater.
If the available bandwidth is 10MHz and the channel numbers are from 45 to
94, you can use normal 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern on BCCH. In this case, the
frequency ranges from 81 to 94, so 14 channel numbers are available. For TCH,
you can use 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. In this case, the frequency ranges
from 45 to 80, so 36 channel numbers are available.
For the frequency planning under 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, see
Frequency planning under 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern
Frequency planning under 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern Frequency planning
under 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern
Frequency
group A1 B1 C1 A2 B2 C2 A3 B3 C3
number

Channel 80 79 78 77 76 75 74 73 72
number of
each 71 70 69 68 67 66 65 64 63

62 61 60 59 58 57 56 55 54
 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45
frequency

If 3 x 3 reusing the 10MHz band, you can configure the maximum base
station type as S5/5/5, and the frequency reuse degree is 10.
According to previous equations, because the number of base stations is 3 (N =
3), the intra-frequency interference attenuation factor is 3 (q = 3). In this case,
the number of the intra-frequency interference sources is 2 at the first layer.
When the bandwidth is 10MHz, the base station type can be configured as
S5/5/5 under 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. For 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern,
the maximum base station configuration type can only be configured as
S4/4/4/. Therefore, network capacity under 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is
greater than that under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern when the bandwidth is
the same.
When the number of subscribers in a network is not great, you can use the 3 x
3 frequency reuse pattern to ease the pressure of network capacity. In actual
conditions, however, because base stations are irregularly distributed, the
antenna height is different, and the coverage area of each base station varies,
the interference in the network will increase. In this case, if you intend to
obtain better voice quality, you must take some anti-interference measures,
such as using frequency hopping and DTX.
The characteristic of the 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern are as follows:
 The adjustment for network structure is unnecessary.
 The frequencies can be easily grouped and the system
capacity is great.
 Compared with 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, 3 x 3
frequency reuse pattern brings greater interference, but the
overall interference can be controlled to a lower level.
 If frequency hopping is used, adequate bandwidth is
needed.

3.5.2 2 x 6 Reuse Pattern

The 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern is developed from the 4 x 3 frequency reuse

pattern. Under the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, you can add anther 2 cells to
each base station, so 2 base stations (each base station has 6 60°-sectorized
cells) has 12 cells, which form a frequency reuse cluster. In this case, a
frequency reuse cluster contains 12 60°-sectorized cells, and this is defined as
2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern.
2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern.
2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern

Under the 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern, .

 Because each cell is 60°-directional cell under 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern,
the interference source of each cell is reduced to 1 at the first layer. In this
case, the theoretical C/I can be expressed by the following equation:
In actual conditions, because base stations are irregularly distributed, the
antenna height is different, and the effect from radio environment, the value
of C/I cannot be as high as 15.6 dB.
If the available bandwidth is 10MHz, the channel numbers range from 45 to
94, you can also use 2 x 6 frequency reused pattern. Considering the
characteristics of the 2 x 6 cellular structures, you can also use the 2 x 6
frequency reuse for BCCH. The frequencies are from 81 to 94, 14 channel
numbers in total, and the others are TCH numbers.
For the frequency planning under 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern, see Frequency
planning under 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern
Frequency planning under 2 x 6 frequency reuse patternFrequency planning
under 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern
Frequency
group A1 B1 A2 B2 A3 B3 A4 B4 A5 B5 A6 B6
number

94 93 92 91 90 89 88 87 86 85 84 83
Channel
number of 80 79 78 77 76 75 74 73 72 71 70 69
each
frequency 68 67 66 65 64 63 62 61 60 59 58 57
group
56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45

As listed in this table, when allocating frequency to the base station, you can
select the frequency according to the regularity of {A1, A2, A3, A4, A4, A6}
and {B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6}. Note that intra-frequency and neighbor
frequency cannot be present within the same cell and adjacent cells.
Under the 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern, you can enhance the system capacity
by adding new cells to the base station. Compared with 4 x 3 frequency reuse
pattern, the maximum base station type can be configured as S4/4/4/4/4/4
under 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern, so the capacity of a single base station is
twice that of the base station under the 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern.
Under this frequency reuse pattern, however, the intra-frequency reuse
distance is further shortened, which increases network interference greatly. In
addition, as the number of cells increases, the requirements on the half-power
angle and other antenna indexes are higher. Moreover, you must add antenna
feeders to the system if using the 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern, which brings
great difficulty to project implementation. Therefore, the 2 x 6 frequency
reuse pattern is seldom used.
For the 2 x 6 frequency reuse pattern, the frequency reuse degree is 12.5. And
its characteristics are listed in the following:
  Through add more cells to each base station, you can
enhance the capacity of the base station greatly.
 The antennas with smaller half-power angle and good
performance are needed and the requirement on antenna and
base station address is strict.
 The signals radiated by antennas are more concentrated,
which is good for indoor coverage.
 The BSS system must support 6 sectors.
 More antennas are needed under the 2 x 6 frequency reuse
pattern than that under 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, so you
must adjust and optimize the planning for antenna system and
frequencies.
 The times of handovers under the 2 x 6 frequency reuse
pattern are more than that under the 4 x 3 frequency reuse
pattern.
 The intra-frequency reuse distance is small, so the
interference within the network is great. Therefore, you must
take anti-frequency measures, such as using DTX and frequency
hopping.

3.5.3 2 x 3 Frequency Reuse Pattern

Under 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, there are 2 base stations. Each one has 3
cells, so 6 cells form a frequency reuse cluster. The cells in the same cluster
use the different frequencies, and the cells in different clusters use the same
frequency group. This is defined as the 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern.
Error: Reference source not found2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern:
Under 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, each intra-frequency cell is interfered by
3 cells. Because the number of base stations in each frequency cluster is 2 (N
= 2), the intra-frequency interference attenuation factor (q) can be expressed
by the following equation:
For regularly-arranged cells, the theoretical carrier-to-interference ratio (C/I)
can be expressed by the following equation:
Even if the cells are regularly arranged, however, the value of C/I cannot
meet the requirement of the network. Therefore, you must take anti-frequency
measures, such as frequency hopping, power control, and DTX.
For 10MHz bandwidth, the available channel numbers are from 45 to 94. If
the 14 channel numbers (81-94) are BCCH numbers, and the others are TCH
numbers, the frequencies are planned according to 2 x 3 frequency reuse
pattern.
Frequency planning under 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern
Frequency group
A1 B1 A2 B2 A3 B3
number
 80 79 78 77 76 75

74 73 72 71 70 69
Channel number of 68 67 66 65 64 63
each frequency
group 62 61 60 59 58 57

56 55 54 53 52 51

50 49 48 47 46 45

You can use looser 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern and allocate 14 channel
numbers for BCCH. If the bandwidth is 10MHz, you can configure the
maximum base station type as S7/7/7 under the 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern.
In this case, the frequency reuse degree is 7.14.
The network capacity is great under the 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, but
small intra-frequency reuse distance will cause great interference. In addition,
the cell traffic cannot 100% reach the designated value. In actual conditions,
therefore, you can use the looser 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for BCCH and
the 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for TCH.
The characteristics of the 2 x 3 frequency reuse pattern are listed below:
 The network capacity is relatively great.
 The adjustment for the network structure is unnecessary.
 The network capacity can be expanded without wide
frequency band.
 Small intra-frequency reuse distance will cause great
interference, so you must take anti-interference measures to
ensure network quality.
 Radio frequency (RF) hopping technology must be used to
support the equipments.
 The antennas must be directed to the same direction as
much as possible.

3.5.4 1 x 3 Frequency Reuse Pattern

1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is also called fractional reuse. For 1 x 3 or 1 x 1

frequency reuse pattern, the reuse distance is quite small, so the interference
in the network is quite great. Therefore, to avoid frequency collision, you
must use RF hopping technology and set the parameters, including MA
(mobile allocation), HSN (hopping sequence number), and MAIO (mobile
allocation index offset). The ratio of number of the TRXs to that of the
frequency hopping is FR LOAD (generally, it is smaller than 50%).
Under the 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the interference in the network can
also indicates the probability of the collision of intra-frequencies and
neighbor frequencies. Emulation shows that probability of the collision is
related to FR only.
According to 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the 3 cells of a base station form
a frequency reuse cluster. The same-directional cells of each base station use
the same frequency group.
1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern.
For the 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, the number of base station is
1 (N = 1), so , and .

Because the value of C/I here is far lower than the protection value required
by the system, you must take anti-interference measures, such as frequency
hopping, power control, and DTX, to enhance the value of C/I.
If the available bandwidth is 10MHz, the available channel numbers are from
45 to 94. Because RF hopping must be used under 1 x 3 frequency reuse
pattern, considering the importance of BCCH, you can use 4 x 3 frequency
reuse pattern for BCCH and 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for TCH.
For BCCH, 14 channel numbers (81-94) are available; for TCH, 36 channel
numbers (45-80) are available.
The channel numbers used for TCH are divided according to two ways. They
are space grouping and sequence grouping. For the 1 x 3 frequency reuse
spacing grouping, see 1 X 3 frequency reuse space grouping
1 X 3 frequency reuse space grouping (a)
Frequency
Channel number MAIO
group number

A 80, 77, 74, 71, 68, 65, 62, 59, 56, 53, 50, 47 0, 2, 4,6, 8, 10

B 79, 76, 73, 70, 67, 64, 61, 58, 55, 52,49, 46 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11

C 78, 75, 72, 69, 66, 63, 60, 57, 54, 51, 48, 45 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10

For the 1 x 3 frequency reuse sequence grouping, see 1 x 3 frequency reuse

sequence grouping (a)
1 x 3 frequency reuse sequence grouping (a)
Frequency
Channel number MAIO
group number

A 80, 79, 78, 77, 76, 75, 74, 73,72, 71, 70, 69 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10

B 68, 67, 66, 65, 64, 63, 62, 61, 60, 59, 58, 57 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10

C 56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51, 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10

Because the ratio of the number of carriers to that of frequency hopping is

required to be 1 to 2, if the bandwidth is 10MHz, you can configure the
maximum base station type as S7/7/7. In this case, the frequency reuse degree
is 7.14.
The 3 cells of the same base station use the same HSN, and the cells of
different base stations use different HSNs. To avoid the interference from
neighbor frequencies, you can configure a proper MAIO for the cells of the
same base station.
If the available bandwidth is 6MHz, the available channel numbers are from
96 to 124. In this case, you can use 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for BCCH
(the available channel numbers are from 111 to 124, namely, 14 in total). For
TCH, you can use 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern (the available channel
numbers are from 96 to 110, namely, 15 in total.
For the 1 x 3 frequency reuse space grouping when the bandwidth is 6MHz,
see 1 x 3 frequency reuse space grouping (b)
1 x 3 frequency reuse space grouping (b)
Frequency
Channel number MAIO
group number

A 96, 99, 102, 105, 108 0, 2, 4

B 97, 100, 103, 106, 109 1, 3

C 98, 101, 104, 107, 110 0, 2

When the bandwidth is 6MHz, you can configure the maximum base station
type as S4/3/3 under 1 x 3 frequency reuse space grouping. In this case, the
frequency reuse degree is 7.25/9.67/9.67, with 8.86 in average.
For the 1 x 3 frequency reuse sequence grouping, see 1 x 3 frequency reuse
space grouping (b)
1 x 3 frequency sequence grouping (b)
Frequency
Channel number MAIO
group number

A 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 0, 2

B 101, 102, 103, 104, 105 0, 2

C 106, 107, 108, 109, 110 0, 2

Because the ratio of the number of carriers to that of frequency hopping is

required to be 1 to 2, if the bandwidth is 6MHz, you can configure the
maximum base station type as S3/3/3. In this case, the frequency reuse degree
is 9.67.
For TCH, both the space grouping and sequence grouping have drawbacks.
Generally, for the urban areas where base stations are regularly and densely
distributed, you should better use sequence grouping. For the areas where
base stations are fragmentary and irregularly distributed, you should better
use space grouping.
 The characteristics of 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern are listed below:
 The frequencies are more aggressively reused, so the
network capacity is great.
 The network capacity under space grouping is a little
greater than that under sequence grouping.
 When planning a network, you need to plan channel
numbers for BCCH only.
 Re-planning for frequencies is unnecessary during network
optimization.
 The efficiency for network planning is high.
 Wideband combiner must be used, but the cavity combiner
with frequency selectivity is inapplicable.
 This frequency reuse pattern requires wideband repeater.
 The interference among intra-frequencies and neighbor
frequencies increases as the frequency reuse distance decreases.
 RF hopping must be used, and the channel numbers
participating frequency hopping is twice that of the number of
carriers at least.
 In actual conditions, you cannot take anti-interference
measures, such as RF hopping, DTX, and power control, for
BCCH. Therefore, to ensure network quality, you can use the
looser 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for BCCH only.

3.5.5 1 x 1 Frequency Reuse Pattern

One cell of one base station forms a frequency reuse cluster, and this is
defined 1 x 2 frequency reuse pattern. Other cells and this cell use the same
frequency group.
If the available bandwidth is 6MHz, the available channel numbers are from
96 to 124. Because RF hopping must be used under 1 x 1 frequency reuse
pattern, considering the importance of BCCH, you can use 4 x 3 frequency
reuse pattern for BCCH and 1 x 1 frequency reuse pattern for TCH.
If 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is used for BCCH, the available channel
numbers are from 111 to 124, 14 in total. The channel numbers from 96 to
110 are used for TCH, 15 in total.
For the frequency planning under 1 x 1 frequency reuse pattern, see
Frequency planning under 1 x 1 frequency reuse pattern.
Frequency planning under 1 x 1 frequency reuse pattern.
Frequency
Channel number MAIO
group number

A 96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,11 0,2,4
0

B 96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,11 6,8
0
 C 96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,11 10,12
0

If the bandwidth is 6MHz, you can configure the maximum base station type
as S4/3/3/ under 1 x 1 frequency reuse pattern. In this case, the frequency
reuse degree is 7.25/9.67/9.67, so the average value is 8.86.
Therefore, the maximum base station configuration under 1 x 1 frequency
reuse pattern is the same as that under 1 x 3 frequency reuse space grouping
pattern, so is the network capacity.

3.5.6 A + B Frequency Reuse Pattern

The A + B frequency reuse pattern is developed from 1 x 3 frequency reuse

pattern. When the bandwidth is narrow but the capacity is great, you can use
this frequency reuse pattern. In this case, you must use RF hopping. Under
the A + B frequency reuse pattern, the frequencies can be divided into three
groups. They are {f1}, {f2}, and {f3}. For frequency planning, see A + B
frequency reuse pattern
A + B frequency reuse pattern

According to A + B frequency reuse pattern, you can increase frequency

diversity gain by increasing the number of channel numbers participating
frequency hopping within the cell, because the increase of the frequency
diversity gain can improve the carrier-to-interference ratio. To avoid
interference among intra-frequencies and neighbor frequencies, you can
configure a proper MAIO for the cells within the same base station. The
probability of the collision of the intra-frequencies and neighbor frequencies
will decrease as the number of channel numbers participating frequency
hopping increases among cells of different base stations.
If the available bandwidth is 6MHz, the available channel numbers are 96 to
124. For A + B frequency reuse pattern, you must use RF hopping, but the
BCCH does not participate in RF hopping. Therefore, in actual planning, to
ensure good network quality, you can use looser 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern
for BCCH and A + B frequency reuse pattern for TCH.
If you use 4 x 3 frequency reuse for BCCH, the available channel numbers
are 111 to 124, 14 in total, in which two channel numbers are standby ones.
For TCH, the available channel numbers are 96 to 110, 15 in total.
For the frequency planning under A + B frequency reuse pattern, see Frequency
planning under A + B frequency reuse pattern
Frequency planning under A + B frequency reuse pattern
Frequency
Channel number MAIO
group number

A 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105 0, 2, 4
 B 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110 1, 3

C 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110 5, 7

When the bandwidth is 10MHz, you can configure the maximum base station
type as S4/3/3 under A + B frequency reuse pattern. In this case, the
frequency reuse degree is 7.25/9.67/9.67, so the average value is 8.86.
In actual conditions, the irregular distribution of base stations and antenna
height may deteriorate the performance of parts of the network. Therefore,
the A + B frequency reuse pattern are not recommended in large networks.

3.6 Concentric Cell Technology

3.6.1 Concept
In the GSM network, concentric cell technology is used to divide the service
area into two parts: overlay and underlay. In essence, the concentric cell
technology concerns channel allocation and handover. When combining this
technology with various frequency planning technologies, you can both
expand network capacity and improve network quality.
The underlay covers the traditional cells, and the overlay covers the areas
near the base station. Generally, 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is used for the
underlay. For overlay, the frequency reuse patterns, such as 3 x 3, 2 x 3, or 1
x 3, are used. Therefore, all carriers can be divided into two groups, one for
underlay, and the other one for overlay. The overlay and underlay share the
same base station address, one set of antenna feeder system, and one BCCH,
so you must set the BCCH on the underlay.
If the capacity of the overlay is great, you can group the channel numbers
according to Channel number grouping for 6MHz bandwidth concentric cell (a).
In this case, the overlay has more channel numbers, which is beneficial for the
base station to absorb nearby traffic volume.
Channel number grouping for 6MHz bandwidth concentric cell (a)

Logical
Channel number
channel

Underla
y 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77
(12)

Overlay
78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 98 90 91 92 93 94 95
(18)
If traffic volume is evenly distributed, you can enhance the underlay capacity
through grouping the channel numbers according to Channel number grouping
for 6MHz bandwidth concentric cell (b).
In this case, the underlay can absorb more traffic volume.
Channel number grouping for 6MHz bandwidth concentric cell (b)

Logical
Channel number
channel

Underlay 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
(24) 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Overlay 9 9 9 9 9 9
(6 ) 0 1 2 3 4 5

3.6.2 General Underlay Overlay

General underlay overlay (GUO) aims to restrict the intra-frequency
interference. To realize this purpose, you can reduce the overlay coverage
area. That is, if the transmit power of the overlay carriers is lower than that of
the underlay carriers, the coverage area of the overlay is smaller than that of
the underlay.
The handover between the overlay and underlay is related to the receiving
level of the MS and the TA (timing advance) from the MS to the base station.
You should allocate the channel numbers (such as BCCH number) with
looser frequency reuse aggressiveness to the MSs in the underlay. For the
MSs in the overlay, you should allocate the channel numbers with aggressive
frequency reuse to them. In this case, you can expand the network capacity by
using aggressive frequency reuse pattern in overlay.
For general underlay overlay, the coverage area of the underlay is
inconsistent with that of the overlay, so problems concerning traffic and
handover control are often caused. The general underlay overlay is applicable
to the areas near the base station where the traffic is concentrated. The more
concentrated the traffic near the base station, the more apparent the effect of
capacity expansion is. However, the transmit power of the carriers in the
overlay is low, so it is hard for the base station to absorb indoor traffic
 volume. In this case, when the traffic volume is evenly distributed, the
general underlay overlay has little effect on capacity expansion.

3.6.3 Intelligent Underlay Overlay

Intelligent underlay overlay (IUO) technology can ensure that the coverage
areas of call carriers are the same. For an IUO, the transmit power of the
carriers in the underlay and overlay is the same.
In an IUO, the frequencies of a base station are divided into two layers: one is
regular layer, and the other one is supper layer. At the regular layer, the
frequency reuse distance is large, so you can use looser frequency reuse
pattern, such as 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern. At the supper layer, the
frequency reuse distance is relatively small, so you can use aggressive
frequency reuse patterns, such as 2 x 3 and 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern.
In an IUO, the interference at the supper layer is great, so designated
equipments and handover algorithms on C/I must be provided.
In an IUO, the conversation is first established at the supper layer, and then
the BSC monitors the C/I of the channels at the supper layer without any stop.
If the C/I is greater than the Good C/I Threshold, the conversation seizes a
channel at the supper layer. If the C/I is smaller than the Bad C/I Threshold,
the conversation seizes a channel at the regular layer. In addition, you can
control the traffic volume at the supper layer and the regular layer by
adjusting the handover threshold.
For an IUO, the transmit power of the carriers at the regular layer is the same
as that at the supper layer, so the network can absorb the traffic flexibly,
which is beneficial for the expansion for actual network capacity.
If the IUO technology is used, you must add the functions, including the
estimation of intra-frequency protection C/I for downlink channels and the
handover algorithms related to IUO, to the system.

3.6.4 Characteristics of Concentric Cell Technology

The characteristics of concentric cell technology are listed below:
 Any change of the network structure is unnecessary.
 Special software and designated algorithms on channel
allocation and handover are needed.
 The system has no special requirement on hardware.
 GUO is applicable to the areas near the base station where
the traffic is concentrated.
 The overlay coverage of the GUO is small, so the intra-
frequency reuse attenuation factor (q) is great, which increases
interference in the network.
 The transmit power of the overlay carriers in the GUO is
low, so it is hard for the carriers to absorb indoor traffic.
  The transmit power of the underlay carriers in the GUO is
the same, so the carriers can absorb indoor traffic, which
contributes to network capacity expansion and good conversation
quality.
For the comparison between the GUO and IUO, see A comparison between GUO
and IUO.
A comparison between GUO and IUO. A comparison between GUO and IUO.
Coverage Frequency reuse Transmit Logical channel Handover
area pattern power allocation algorithm

Power&
Underlay 4x3 High BCCH/TCH
GUO Distance

Overlay 3 x 3/2 x 3/1 x 3 Low TCH

Underlay 4x3 Same BCCH/TCH C/I

IUO
Overlay 3 x 3/2 x 3/1 x 3 Same TCH

3.7 Multiple Reuse Pattern Technology

3.7.1 Basic Principle
According to multiple reuse pattern (MRP), the carriers are divided into
several groups. The carries in each group work as an independent layer, and
each layer uses a different frequency reuse pattern. During frequency
planning, you can configure the carriers layer by layer, with reuse
aggressiveness increases layer by layer.
MRP has no special requirement on hardware. It is developed from the concept
of carrier layering. That is, the available channel numbers are divided into
multiple groups, and each group works as a carrier layer. According to the rules
of the aggressive frequency reuse pattern, the channel numbers allocated for
each layer are listed in Channel number allocation for each layer
Channel number allocation for each layer
Layer Channel number

BCCH n1

TCH 1 n2

TCH 2 n3

… …

TCHm-1 nm
Note:
n1 ≥ n2 ≥ n3 ≥ n4 ≥…≥nm.
For MRP, first you must divide an available band into several sub-bands.
Generally, the sub-bands work as the bands for BCCH. The reasons are listed
below:
 BSIC decoding will not be affected by traffic. TCH numbers
cannot affect separated BCCH numbers, which is helpful for the
MS to decode the BSIC.
 The planning for adjacent cell list can be simplified. The
separated BCCH numbers contributes the simplification of
adjacent cell list, so the MS can capture the useful BCCH quickly.
 Maximum gain can be obtained from power control and DTX.
Downlink power control and DTX can be applied to TCH carriers
only, so the separated BCCH numbers can maximize the function
of downlink power control and DTX.
 The re-planning for TCH numbers will not affect BCCH. When a
TRX is added to the system, if not considering the isolation of
combiner and adjacent frequency interference, you do not have
to change the BCCH numbers.
After that, you must divide the remaining channel numbers into multiple TCH
bands. For MRP, different frequency reuse patterns must be used for different
TCH bands.
According to the carrier allocation in the network, you can decide the average
frequency reuse degree. According to the maximum number of carriers
configured in each cell and the number of cells configured in the network,
you can adjust the average frequency reuse degree to a proper value. In this
way, you can effectively control network quality.
The increase of the carries has little effect on the frequency allocation plan.
The increased channel numbers affect other cells that have more carriers than
the service cell has. For example, if a cell has four carriers, the cells that have
been configured with more than four cells will be affected.
MRP technology enables carriers to be configured flexibly. According to
MRP, the frequencies of a cell can never be completely identical with that of
the adjacent cells. Therefore, the MRP improves both the intra-frequency
interference protection ratio and frequency hopping effect.
According to the requirements defined in GSM protocols, all the downlink
timeslots of the BCCH carriers must transit with full power and the
interference features of the BCCH are different from that of the TCH.
Therefore, to ensure network quality and security, you are recommended to
use 4 x 3 frequency reuse pattern for BCCH. In this case, the channel
numbers used for BCCH are equal to or more than 12. In actual conditions,
they are from 12 to 15.
If the available bandwidth is 7.2MHz, the available channel numbers are from
60 to 95, 36 in total, and they can be divided into 4 groups
To ensure network security, you must finish BCCH number allocation
first. To be specific, plan the 12 channel numbers according to 4 x 3
 frequency reuse pattern and allocate 1 BCCH number to each of the
12 cells. After that, you should allocate 1 carrier at the TCH3 layer
to each cell, and then you should allocate the TCH2 and TCH1
numbers to the cells. In this case, you can configure four channel
numbers for each cell of a base station (S4/4/4). The remaining 3
channel numbers can be configured for micro cells or mini-micro
cells.

3.7.2 MRP Sequence Grouping

Because BCCH numbers and TCH numbers are selected in different ways,
the MRP can be divided into two types. They are MRP sequence grouping
and MRP space grouping, the first of which is introduced hereunder.
If the available bandwidth is 10MHz, the channel numbers are from 46 to 94.
In this case, you can plan the frequencies at the BCCH and TCH carrier
layers according to the sequence of the channel numbers. If using the
sequence planning, you should add 1 to 2 extra channel numbers to the
BCCH numbers. For the MRP sequence grouping, see:
MRP sequence grouping
ARFCN of the available
Carrier type Available channel numbers
channel number

BCCH 83–94 12

TCH1 74–82 9

TCH2 66–73 8

TCH3 58–65 8

TCH4 52–57 6

TCH5 46–51 6
Note:
ARFCN stands for absolute radio frequency channel number.

According to this table, the channel numbers can be divided into 6 groups.
For BCCH, 12 channel numbers can be reused at the carrier layer. Traffic
channels can be divided into 5 groups, from TCH1 to TCH5. For TCH1, 9
channel numbers can be reused; for TCH2 and TCH3, 8 channel numbers can
be reused; and for TCH4 and TCH5, 6 channel numbers can be reused.
Therefore, when the bandwidth is 10MHz, the base station type can be
configured as S6/6/6. If the traditional 4/12 frequency reuse pattern is used,
the maximum base station type can be configured as S4/4/4 only.
For MRP sequence grouping, intra-frequency and neighbor frequency
interference may exist within the frequency layer, and the interference
between frequency layers exist at the critical points of the frequencies.
3.7.3 MRP Space Grouping
For MRP space grouping, neighbor frequency interference does not exist
within the frequency layer, but exist between frequency layers. When the
traffic is not busy, this frequency reuse pattern can reduce network
interference.
If the available bandwidth is 10MHz, the available channel numbers
are from 46 to 94. In this case, the frequencies can be allocated
according to

Carrier Available channel

ARFCN of the available channel number
type numbers

BCCH 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68 12

TCH1 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 82, 84, 86 9

TCH2 88, 90, 92, 94, 47, 49, 51, 53 8

TCH3 55, 57, 59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 69 8

TCH4 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81 6

TCH5 83, 85, 87, 89, 91, 93 6

Note:
ARFCN stands for absolute radio frequency channel number.

At the very beginning, not each cell needs the TRX of the last layer, so the
TRX of the last layer can reuse the frequencies more aggressively. In
addition, though interference increases after the MRP is enabled, the TRXs in
the cells also increase. In this case, more the channel numbers will participate
in frequency, which enhances frequency hopping gain.
If both the channel numbers with a little interference and the channel numbers
with great interference exist simultaneously within a cell, the frequency
hopping technology will average the interference through mixing these
channel numbers. In this case, the system can still decode the signals
normally.
When allocating the frequencies according to MRP, you must notice that the
minimum frequency reuse degree at the TCH layer must be equal to or
greater than 6. In actual conditions, however, the minimum average
frequency reuse degree at the TCH layer ranges from 7 to 8. Therefore, when
the frequency resource is adequate, you can reserve some channel numbers to
for future use during frequency planning.
Fixed MRP means that the channel numbers allocated to each TCH are fixed.
They are independent of each other, as shown in Error: Reference source not
found. For MRP, you should plan the channel numbers layer by layer so that
the TCH numbers can be easily adjusted. In this case, if interference is
 present at a TCH layer, you need to adjust the channel numbers allocated to
that layer only.

3.7.4 Characteristics of MRP Technology

MRP technology can enables you to plan the frequencies flexibly according
to traffic distribution. Compared with 3 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, MRP
contributes to greater network capacity. Compared with 2 x 3 and 1 x 3
frequency reuse pattern, MRP has little effect against network quality. In
addition, MRP technology is compatible with the technologies, such as
frequency hopping, power control, DTX. Moreover, it has no special
requirement on hardware and software.
Generally, the advantages of the MRP are listed below:
 The network capacity is great and frequency utilization rate is
high.
 The channel configuration is flexible. The frequency reuse
pattern is selected according to network capacity and traffic
distribution. In the areas where the traffic is high, you can add
carriers to these areas.
 No two cells have the same channel numbers, so no intra-
frequency cell exists in the system if the MRP is used.
 Baseband hopping and RF hopping can be used.
 The base station type can be configures flexibly, which is good
for network quality.
 The channels to be allocated are weighted, which enhances
the network quality.

3.7.5 Comparison between MRP and 1 X 3 Frequency Reuse Pattern

In fact, 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is a special kind of MRP. The
configuration for the equivalent MRP is 12/3/3/3/3/3. The following is a
comparison between MRP and 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern.
 The network capacity under 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is
greater than that under MRP.
 For 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern, you need to plan a group of
frequencies for TCH only. If you have to add new carriers to the
system without adding new base stations, you do not have to re-
plan the frequencies. Therefore, the frequency planning is
simpler under 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern than that under
MRP.
 If the network is irregular in landforms and traffic
distribution, you should better not use 1 x 3 frequency reuse
pattern. In most cases, a base station is interfered by many base
stations nearby. If the 1 x 3 frequency reuse pattern is used, you
will find it hard to position the interference source. Therefore,
 when adding new base stations to the network, you cannot
eliminate the interference by adjusting some channel numbers
only. If using MRP, however, you can easily solve this problem.

3.8 Network Capacity Comparison

For the comparison of the network capacity under various frequency reuse
patterns, see:
Comparison of the network capacity under various frequency reuse pattern
Base
Frequency Loadabl
Frequency reuse station Admissible Capacit
Bandwidth reuse e traffic
pattern configurati subscribers y ratio
degree volume
on type

4×3 12 3/2/2 27.9 1188 1

3×3 9 3/3/3 34.5 1380 1.16

4×3 + 1×3 7.5 4/4/3 53.5 2140 1.8

6MHz
MRP(12, 9, 6) 9 3/3/3 34.5 1380 1.16

2×6 12 2/2/2/2/2/2 49.2 1968 1.66

IUO: 4 × 3 + 2 × 3 9 4/4/3 53.5 2140 1.8

4×3 12 3/3/3 34.5 1380 1

3×3 9 4/4/4 62 2480 1.8

4×3+1×3 7.5 5/5/5 81.9 3276 2.37

7.2MHz
MRP(12, 9, 8, 7) 9 4/4/4 62 2480 1.8

2×6 12 3/3/3/2/2/2 60.1 2404 1.74

IUO: 4 × 3 + 2 × 3 9 5/5/5 81.9 3276 2.37

4×3 12 4/4/4 62 2480 1

3 ×3 9 5/5/5 81.9 3276 1.32

4×3+1×3 7.5 7/7/7 123.6 4944 1.99

9.6MHz
MRP(12,9,8,7,6,6) 8 6/6/6 104.1 4164 1.70

2×6 12 4/4/4/4/4/4 126 5040 2.03

IUO: 4 × 3 + 2 × 3 9 7/7/7 123.6 4944 1.99

Note:
GoS = 0.02; a = 0.025 Erl.
4 GSM Parameter
Configuration and
Adjustment
When operators prepare to construct a mobile communication network, they
must predict coverage according to traffic prediction and local radio
propagation environment. This guides project design of the system and
parameter configuration of radio network.
The project design includes the following aspects:
 Network topology design
 Selecting the location of base station
 Frequency planning
 Cell parameter configuration
The RF planning determines the coverage range of a cell, and the serving
range of the cell is determined based on the combination of RF planning and
cell parameter configuration. By this, the MS always enjoys optimal services
and maximum network capacity at the best cell.
This chapter discusses the meaning and effect of important parameters in
GSM radio communication. Mastering the effect and impact of these
parameters helps to configure network parameters and optimize the network
in later stages.
In a GSM network, abundant radio parameters are configured according to
cells or partial areas; however, the parameter configuration might affect
neighbor areas. Therefore, while configuring and adjusting parameters, you
must pay attention to the impact of configuring parameters on other areas,
especially neighbor areas.

4.1 Network and Cell ID

4.1.1 Cell Global ID

I. Definition
GSM is a global cellular mobile communication system. To ensure that each
cell corresponds to a unique ID globally, the GSM system numbers the
following items:
 Each GSM network in each country
 Each location area
 Each base station
  Each cell
Numbering the previous items aims as follows:
 An MS can identify the serving network so that the MS can
select a network in any environment.
 The network can obtain the precise location of the MS so that
the network can process various service requests involving the
MS.
 The MS can report information about neighbor cells to the
network during calling to avoid call drop.
The cell global identity (CGI) is a major network identity parameter. CGI
consists of location area identity (LAI) and cell identity (CI). LAI includes
mobile country code (MCC), mobile network code (MNC), and location area
code (LAC).
The system transmits CGI information through system information (SI)
transmitted by cell broadcast. When an MS receives SI, it demodulates SI for
CGI information. The MS judge whether to camp on the cell according to the
MCC and MNC. It also judges whether the current location area changes to
determine updating location. While updating location, the MS reports LAI
information to the network so that the network can know the location area of
the MS.
II. Format
The CGI is MCC-MNC-LAC-CI, with details as follows:
 MCC consists of three decimal digits, ranging from 000 to 999.
 MNC consists of two decimal digits, ranging from 00 to 99.
 LAC ranges from 0 to 65535
 CI ranges from 0 to 65535.
III. Configuration and Influence
As a globally unique mobile identity, the MCC is uniformly distributed and
managed by international telecommunication union (ITU). The MCC for
China is 460 (decimal).
The MNC is uniformly distributed by state telecommunication management
organs. Now two GSM networks exist in China. The MNC for China Mobile
is 00. The MNC for China Unicom is 01.
The method for coding LAC is ruled by each country accordingly. This caters
for China also (refer to GSM system from Ministry of Information Industry).
At the early stage of network construction, the LAC is coded and distributed.
The LAC is seldom changed in the later stages.
The coverage areas related to the LAC is vital in the network. You can
configure it as great as possible.
 No special restriction is on the distribution of CI. The CI ranges from 0 to
65535 (decimal). It must be ensured that two equivalent CIs exist in the same
location area. This is determined in the system design. Except for special
situations (such as constructing base stations), the CI must not be changed
during the system operation.
IV. Precautions
You must pay attention to the following aspects:
 The MNC is unchangeable.
 While configuring the LAC, you must follow related
regulations. Equivalent LACs must not exist in the state network.
 Equivalent CIs must not exist in the same location area.

4.1.2 Base Station Identity Code

I. Definition
In a GSM network, each base station corresponds to a distributed local color
code, called base station identity code (BSIC). When the MS receives
broadcast control channel (BCCH) carriers of two cells at the same time, with
same channel number, the MS distinguishes them by BSIC.
In network planning, the BCCH carriers of neighbor cells are different in
frequency to reduce intra-frequency interference. The cellular communication
system features that the BCCH carrier might be reused. Therefore, the BSIC
of the cells with the same BCCH carrier must be different.
The system transmits BSIC on synchronization channel (SCH) of each cell. The
effect of BSIC is as follows:
 The BSIC involves in decoding process of random access
channel (RACH) to prevent base stations from connecting to the
RACH sent to the neighbor cells by the MS by error.
 After the MS receives SCH messages, it judges that it has been
synchronous to the cell. Decoding information on the downlink
common signaling channel correctly requires training sequence
code (TSC) used on common signaling channel.
GSM regulations describe TSC in eight fixed formats, and the
sequence number of them is 0–7. The cell BCC determines the
TSC used by the common signaling channel of a cell. Therefore
the BSIC helps inform the MS of the TSC used by the common
signaling channel of the serving cell.
 In a call, the MS must measure the level of BCCH carrier of
neighbor cells and report it to the base station according to
regulations to neighbor cell list of BCCH. Meanwhile, the MS must
provide measured BSIC of the carrier in the uplink measurement
reports. When the neighbor cells of a cell include two or more
 cells with the same BCCH carrier, the base station can
distinguish the cells by BSIC to avoid incorrect handover.
 In a call, the MS must measure signals of neighbor cells, and
sends measurement reports to the network. The measurement
report can contain information about six neighbor cells only, so
the MS must be controlled to report the cells actually related to
handover. The first three digits of BSIC (namely, NCC) aims as
previously mentioned. Operators control the MS to report the
neighbor cell information permitted by the serving cell NCC by
broadcast parameters NCC permitted.
II. Format
The BSIC is NCC-BCC, with details as follows:
 The NCC ranges from 0 to 7.
 The BCC ranges from 0 to 7.
III. Configuration and Influence
Usually different GSM PLMNs use the same frequency resource, but, to
some degree, their network planning is independent. The neighbor GSM
PLMNs use different NCCs according to regulations. This ensures that the
neighbor base stations with same frequency use different BSICs.
The BCC is part of the BSIC. It helps identify different base stations with
same BCCH carrier number in the same GSM PLMN. The values of BCC
must meet the previous requirements. According to GSM regulations, the
TSC of cell BCCH carrier must be same as that of cell BCC. The equipment
providers must ensure the TSC consistency.
IV. Precautions
The neighbor cells or cells nearby using the same BCCH carrier must use
different BSICs. Especially when two or more cells use the same BCCH
carrier in the neighbor cell list of a cell, theses cells must use different BSIC.
Pay attention to cells at the bordering areas between provinces and cities, and
otherwise cross-cell handover might fail and abundant mistaken access
problems might occur.

4.2 Paging and Access Control Parameters

4.2.1 Number of Access Grant Reserved Blocks (BS_AG_BLK_RES or AG)

I. Definition
The common control channel consists of access grant channel (AGCH) and
paging channel (PCH).
 For different CCCHs, each BCCH multiframe (including 51 frames) contains
CCCH message blocks different number. The CCCH is shared by AGCH and
PCH. According g to regulations, partial message blocks on CCCH are
especially reserved for AGCH. This avoids that the AGCH messages are
blocked when the PCH traffic is great.
The number of parameter access grant reserved blocks (AG) refers to the
number of message blocks reserved for AGCH on CCCH in each BCCH
multiframe.
II. Format
The AG ranges from 0 to 2 when CCCH shares physical channel
(CCCH_CONF = 1) with stand-alone dedicated control channel (SDCCH).
The AG ranges from 0 to 5 when CCCH does not share physical channel
(CCCH_CONF=0) with stand-alone dedicated control channel (SDCCH).
III. Configuration and Influence
When the channel combination of the cell is fixed, the parameter AG adjusts
the ratio of AGCH and PCH in CCCH. When the PCH is idle, it can send
immediate assignment messages. The AGCH does not transmit paging
messages. Equipment operators can balance AGCH and PCH by adjusting
AG, with the following principles.
The principle for AG value is that based on no overload of AGCH, you must
reduce the parameter to shorten the time for MS to respond to paging, and to
improve system service performance. When the immediate assignment
messages are superior to paging messages to be sent, configure AG to 0.
The value of AG is recommended as follows:
 AG is 1 when the CCCH and SDCCH share a physical channel.
 AG is 2 or 3 in other situations.
In network operation, take statistics of overload situations of AGCH and
adjust AG accordingly. By default the immediate assignment messages are
superior to paging messages to be sent in the network, so you need not
reserve a channel for immediate assignment messages. In this situation,
configure AG to 0.

4.2.2 Frame Number Coding Between Identical Paging

Frame number coding between identical paging is BS_PA_MFRMS (MFR

for short).
I. Definition
According to GSM regulations, each MS (corresponding to an IMSI) belongs
to a paging group (for calculation of paging groups, see GSM regulation
05.02). Each paging group in a cell corresponds to a paging subchannel.
According to its IMSI, the MS calculates the paging group that it belongs to,
and then calculates the location of paging subchannel that belongs to the
paging group. The MS only receives the signals of the paging subchannel that
it belongs to, and neglects that of other paging subchannels. In addition, the
MS even powers off some hardware of itself during other paging subchannel
to lower power cost of itself.
The number of paging channel multiframe (MFR) is the number of
multiframes used in a period of paging subchannel. The MFR determines the
number of paging subchannels that the cell PCH is divided into.
II. Format
The MFR ranges from 2 to 9, which respectively means that the same paging
group cycles in a period of 2 to 9 multiframes.
III. Configuration and Influence
According to the definition of CCCH, AG, and MFT, you can calculate the
number of paging channel in each cell.
 When the CCCH and SDCCH share a physical channel, there
is (3 - AG) MFRs.
 When the CCCH and SDCCH share a physical channel, there
is (9 - AG) MFRs.
According to the previous analysis, the greater the MFR is, the more the
paging channels of the cell are (see the calculation of paging groups in GSM
regulation 05.02). Theoretically, the capacity of paging channels does not
increase with the increase of MFR. The number of buffers for buffering
paging messages on each base transceiver station (BTS) increases. The
paging messages are sent more evenly both in time and space, so it seldom
occurs that the paging messages overflow in the buffers so call lost occurs
(related to functions by equipment providers).
However, to enjoy the previous advantages, you will have a longer delay of
paging messages on the radio channels. The greater the MFR is, the greater
the delay of paging messages in the space is, and the lower the average
service performance of the system is. Therefore, the MFR is an important
parameter in network optimization.
The following principle caters for configuring MFR:
The configured strategy for buffers of each equipment provider is different,
so you must select the MFR properly so that the paging messages do not
overflow on PCH. Based on this, configure the parameter as small as
possible. In addition, you must measurement the overflow situations of PCH
periodically while the network is running, and adjust MFR accordingly.
IV. Precautions
Any paging message of the same location area must be sent to all cells in the
location areas at the same time, so the PCH capacity of each cell in the
 location area must be equivalent or close to each other. Otherwise, you must
consider smaller PCH capacity as the evidence for designing location area.

4.2.3 Common Control Channel Configuration (CCCH-CONF)

I. Definition
The CCCH includes AGCH and PCH. It sends immediate assignment
messages and paging messages. In each cell, all traffic channels (TCHs) share
CCCH. According to the TCH configuration and traffic model of the cell, the
CCCH can be one or more physical channels. In addition, the CCCH and
SDCCH share a physical channel. The combination methods for CCH are
determined by CCCH parameter CCCH_CONF.
II. Format
The CCCH_CONF consists of three bits, with the coding methods listed in CCCH
configuration coding
CCCH configuration coding
Number of CCCH message blocks in
CCCH_CONF Meaning
a BCCH multiframe

One physical channel for used

000 for CCCH, not shared with 9
SDCCH

One physical channel for used

001 3
for CCCH, shared with SDCCH

Two physical channels for used

010 for CCCH, not shared with 18
SDCCH

Three physical channels for

100 used for CCCH, not shared with 27
SDCCH

Four physical channels for used

110 for CCCH, not shared with 36
SDCCH

III. Configuration and Influence

When the CCCH and SDCCH share one physical channel, the CCCH has the
minimum channel capacity. When the CCCH and SDCCH do not share a
physical channel, the more physical channels that the CCCH uses, the greater
the capacity is.
The CCCH_CONF is determined by the operators based on combination of
cell traffic model and paging capacity of the location area where a cell
belongs to. It is determined in system design, and adjusted in network
expansion. According to experiences, when the paging capacity in the
location area is not high and cell has one or two carriers, it is recommended
 that the CCCH uses one physical channel and share it with SDCCH (in
combination CCCH methods). This spares a physical channel for paging.
Otherwise, the method that CCCH and SDCCH do not share one physical
channel is used.
When the cell TRX exceeds 6 and CCCH OVERLOAD occurs in the cell, it
is recommended that the CCCH uses two or more basic physical channel and
does not share them with SDCCH.
IV. Precautions
The CCCH_CONF must be consistent with the actual configuration of cell
CCCH. In addition, you must consider the influence on the access grant
reserved blocks.

4.2.4 Extended Transmission Slots (TX_INTEGER)

I. Definition
In a GSM network, a random access channel (RACH) is an ALOH. To reduce
the conflicting times on RACH when an MS accesses the network, and to
increase RACH efficiency, GSM regulations (sections 3.3.1.2 of 04.08)
prescribe the compulsory access algorithm for MS. The algorithm defines
three parameters as follows:
 Extended transmission slots T
 Maximum retransmission times RET
 T
It is the number of slots between two sending when the MS keeps
sending multiple channel request messages.
 S
It is related to channel combination, and is an intermediate
variable of access algorithm. It is determined by T and CCCH
configuration.
II. Format
The value of T is from 3 to 12, 14, 16, 20, 25, 32, and 50.
The value of S ranges as listed in Values of S
Values of S
S in different CCCH combination methods
T The CCCH and SDCCH does The CCCH and SDCCH share a
not share a physical channel physical channel

3, 8, 14, 50 55 41

4, 9, 16 76 52

5, 10, 20 109 58
 6, 11, 25 163 86

7, 12, 32 217 115

III. Configuration and Influence

To access the network, the MS must originate an immediate assignment
process. To begin the process, the MS sends (RET + 1) channel request
messages on RACH. To reduce conflicts on RACH, the time for MS to send
channel request messages must meet the following requirements:
 The number of slots (not including slots for sending
messages) between originating immediate assignment process by
MS and sending the first channel request messages is random. Its
range is {0, 1, …, MAX (T, 8) - 1}. When the MS originates the
immediate assignment process, it takes a value from the range
according to even distribution probability.
 The number of slots (not including slots for sending
messages) between a channel request message and the next is
from {S, S + 1, …, S + T - 1} according to even distribution
probability.
According to previous analysis, the greater the T is, the larger the range of
intervals between one channel request message and the next, and the less the
RACH conflicting times is. The greater the S is, the greater the interval
between one channel request message and the next, the less the RACH
conflicting times is, and the more efficiently the SDCCH is used. However,
the increase of T and S leads to longer time for MS to access the network, so
the access performance of the whole network declines. Therefore you must
configure T and S properly.
S is calculated by MS according to T and combination of CCH. You can
configure T freely and sends it to MS by system information. Usually, you
need configure T properly to make T + S as small as possible (to reduce the
time for MS to access the network); meanwhile you must ensure an effective
assignment of SDCCH to avoid overload (for all random access requests, the
system does not distinguish whether they are from the same MS, but assigns a
SDCCH). In operation, you can adjust the value according to traffic
measurement of cell immediate assignment.

4.2.5 Minimum Access Level of RACH

I. Definition
The minimum access level of RACH is the level threshold for the system to
judge whether there is a random access request.
 II. Format
The minimum access level of RACH ranges from 0 to 63 (corresponding to –
110 dBm to –47 dBm).
The unit is level grade value.
III. Configuration and Influence
When the access burst level of RACH is greater than the threshold, the BTS
judges that there is an access request. The BTS, together with the parameter
random access error threshold, determines whether the random access burst is
valid. To configure the parameter properly, you must combine actual
sensitivity of the base station and the parameter minimum received level
permitted for MS to access. This prevents the MS from failing in calling
though there are signals. The access burst level of RACH affects call drop
rate and access range (coverage), so you must pay attention to the influence
on access of MS.

4.2.6 Random Access Error Threshold

I. Definition
GSM protocols prescribe that by relativity of judgment training sequence (41
bits) the system can judge whether the received signals are the random access
signals of MS.
II. Format
The value ranges from 0 to 255. The recommended value is 180.
III. Configuration and Influence
The random access error threshold defines the relativity of training sequence.
If the smaller it is, the more errors of random access signals permitted by the
network are, the easily the MS randomly accesses the network, and the
greater the report error rate is. If the greater the random access error threshold
is, the smaller the report error rate is, and the more difficult the access to the
network is when signals are weak. See protocol 0408, 0502.
The system requires the random access error threshold transferred by current
bit of 41 bit training sequence.
90–100 33

101–120 34

121–140 35

141–160 36

161–175 37

176–195 38
 196–221 39

222–243 40

244–250 41

0–89 or 251– 38
255

The two parameters random access error threshold and minimum access level
of RACH determine the validity of random access burst.

4.2.7 Access Control Class (ACC)

I. Definition
GSM regulations (02.11) prescribe that each GSM user (common user)
corresponds to an access class, ranging from class 0 to class 9. The access
class is stored in SIM of mobile users. For special users, GSM regulations
reserves five special access classes, ranging from class 11 to class 15. Theses
classes are prior to other classes in accessing. Special users might have one or
more access classes (between 11 and 15), which are also stored in user SIM.
Users of class 11 to 15 are prior to that of class 0 to 9. However, the class
between 0 and 9 or between 11 and 15 does not mean priority.
The access class is distributed as follows:
 Class 0–9: common users
 Class 11: users for PLMN management
 Class 12: users for security departments
 Class 13: common business departments (in charge of water,
gas)
 Class 14: emergency services
 Class 15: PLMN staff
Users of class 0–9 have its access rights catering for home PLMN and visited
PLMN. Users of class 11 and 15 have its access rights catering for visited
PLMN only. Users of class 12, 13, and 14 have its access rights catering for
in the country where home PLMN belongs to.
II. Format
The access control class consists of two parts:
 Common access control class
Value range: a check option, including class 0 disabled, …, class
9 disabled.
Recommended value: all 0.
 Special access control class
Value range: a check option, including class 11 disabled, …, class
 15 disabled.
Recommended value: all 0.
If a class is configured to 1, it means that access is forbidden. For example, a
common access class is configured to 1000000000; common users excluding
class 0 users can access the network.
III. Configuration and Influence
C0–C15 (excluding C10) are set by equipment room operators. Usually these
bits are configured to 1. Proper configuration contributes to network
optimization as follow:
 When installing a base station, starting a base station, or
maintaining and testing in some cells, configure C0–C15
(excluding C10) to 1. In this way, different users are prevented
from accessing the network, so the installing and maintenance is
less influenced.
 During busy hours of cells with high traffic, congestion
occurs, RACH conflicting time increase, AGCH traffic overloads,
and Abis interface traffic overloads. When you configure class of
some users to 1, you can reduce the traffic of the cell.

4.2.8 Maximum Retransmission Times (RET)

I. Definition
See GSM regulation 04.08. When an MS originates an immediate assignment
process, it sends a channel request message to the network on RACH. The
RACH is an ALOH, so the MS can send multiple channel request messages
before receiving immediate assignment messages, to increase access success
rate of MS. The maximum retransmission times M (RET) is determined by
equipment room operators, and sent to MS by SI.
II. Format
The maximum retransmission times consists of two bits, with the meanings
listed in Coding of maximum transmission times M
Coding of maximum transmission times M
M maximum transmission times

00 1

01 2

10 4

11 7
 III. Configuration and Influence
The greater the M is, the higher the success rate of call attempt is, and the
higher the connection rate is, but the load of RACH, CCCH, and SDCCH
increase. In cell with high traffic, if the RET is over great, overload of radio
channels and congestion occur, so the connection rate and radio resource
utilization declines sharply. If the RET is over small, the call attempt times of
MS reduces, success rate reduces, so the connection rate reduces. Therefore,
proper configuration of RET for each cell help utilize network radio resources
and improve connection rate.
For configuration of RET M, refer to the following methods:
 For areas with low traffic, such as in suburban or rural
areas, configure RET to 7 to increase the access success rate of
MS.
 For areas with average traffic, such as common urban areas,
configure RET to 4.
For microcell with high traffic and of apparent congestion, configure RET to
1.

4.2.9 Control Class of MS Maximum Transmit Power (MS-TXPWR-MAX-CCH)

I. Definition
MS-TXPWR-MAX-CCH is sent in BCCH SIs. It affects behavior of MS in
idle mode. It is also used in calculating C1 and C2, and determines cell
selection and reselection.
 C1 = RLA_C - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN -
MAX((MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P), 0)
 RLA_C: average received level by MS
 RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN: minimum received level permitted for
MS to access
 MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH: maximum power level of control
channel (control class of MS maximum transmit power)
 P: Maximum transmit power level of MS
II. Format
The range of MS-TXPWR-MAX-CCH is 0–31. For cells of GSM900 and
GSM1800, the dBm values corresponding to the control class are different.
 In a GSM900 network, the 32 control class of maximum
transmit power corresponding to 0–31 is as follows:
{39, 39, 39, 37, 35, 33, 31, 29, 27, 25, 23, 21, 19, 17, 15, 13, 11,
9, 7, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5}
 In a GSM1800 network, the 32 control class of maximum
transmit power corresponding to 0–31 is as follows:
 {30, 28, 26, 24, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0,
0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 36, 34, 32}
Recommended values are 5 for GSM900 and 0 for GSM1800.
III. Configuration and Influence
MS-TXPWR-MAX-CCH determines the power class used before MS
receives power control messages. For details, see protocol 0508.
The smaller it is, the greater the output power of MS is. The MS near the base
station interferes with neighbor channels of the cell, so the access to the
network by other MSs and communication quality are influenced. The greater
it is, the smaller the output power of MS is, and the lower the access success
rate of MS at cell borders is. You must configure MS-TXPWR-MAX-CCH
properly according to the serving range of the cell.

4.2.10 Power Offset (POWEROFFSET)

I. Definition
When the MS accesses the network and before it receives the initial power
control messages, all GSM900 MSs and type 1 and type 2 DCS1800 MSs use
MS_TXPWR_MX_CCH of BCCH. If the MS_TXPWR_MX_CCH exceeds
the maximum transmit power of MS, the MS uses the closest power.
The parameter POWEROFFSET is effective to type 3 DCS1800 MSs. When
the type 3 DCS1800 MS accesses the network, it use total power of
MS_TXPWR_MX_CCH + POWEROFFSET before receiving the initial
power control message. See protocol GSM0508.
II. Format
The values of 0–3 correspond to 0 dB, 2 dB, 4 dB, and 6 dB.
The recommended value is 2.
III. Configuration and Influence
The greater the parameter is, the more easily the type 3 DCS1800 MS
accesses the network. A great POWEROFFSET enables MS to access the
network afar, but does not help control cross-cell interference, so the network
quality is influenced.

4.2.11 IMSI Attach/Detach Allowed

I. Definition
The IMSI detach means that the MS informs the network of itself work state
changing from working to non-working. Usually it refers to when the MS
powers off or the SIM is taken off MS. After receiving the inform from MS,
the network sets the IMSI as in non-working state.
 The IMSI attach is opposite of IMSI detach. It means that MS informs the
network of itself work state changing to working. Usually it refers to when
the MS powers on or the SIM is put into MS again. After the MS turns to
working state again, it detects whether the current location areas (LAI) is the
same as that recorded in MS at last.
 If yes, the MS starts IMSI attach process (this is one of
location updating).
 If no, the MS starts location updating process of cross
location area.
After receiving the location updating message or IMSI message from MS, the
network sets the IMSI as in working state.
The parameter IMSI attach/detach allowed (ATT) is used for informing MS
of the IMSI attach/detach process.
II. Format
The value of ATT includes YES/NO. NO means that starting IMSI
attach/detach process by MS is forbidden. YES means that starting IMSI
attach/detach process by MS is compulsory.
III. Configuration and Influence
Usually configure ATT to YES so that the network will not process the
proceeding of the MS after the MS powers off. This frees system resources
(such as PCH).
IV. Precautions
The ATT of different cells in the same location area must be the same to
avoid abnormalities while the MS is called. For example, in a cell with YES
as the value of ATT, when the MS powers off, it starts IMSI detach process.
Therefore the network records that the MS is in non-working state, so it does
not page the MS. In a cell with No as the value of ATT and the cell being
different from the one where the MS powers off, when the MS powers on
again in the cell, the MS does not start IMSI attach process. In this situation,
the MS cannot be called normally until it starts location updating process.

4.2.12 Direct Retry (DR)

I. Definition
During the assignment process of call setup, congestion might cause
assignment failure. The assignment failure causes failure of the whole call.
GSM networks has a function to avoid such failures, namely, DR. The DR is
that the BSS directly assign MS to TCH of neighbor cells. The parameter is
used by system to set whether to allow direct retry function.
 II. Format
The value of DR includes YES and NO. YES means that the system allows
directional retry. NO means that the system does not support direction retry
function.
III. Configuration and Influence
DR improves call success rate. If conditions are ready, start DR. On the
contrary, DR is that the BSS directly assign MS to TCH of neighbor cells
when congestion occurs in the cell where the MS camps, so the MS can
originates a call in the non-best cell with lowest received level, and extra
interference might be brought about in frequency reuse networks. Therefore,
you must use the function properly according to comprehensive network
situations.

4.3 Serial Parameters of Cell Selection and

Reselection
4.3.1 cell_bar_access

I. Definition
In the SI broadcasted in each cell, a bit indicates whether the MS is allowed
to access the network in the cell, namely, cell_bar_access.
II. Format
The value of cell_bar_access includes 1 and 0. The value 0 indicates that MS
is allowed to access the network from the cell. The value 1 indicates that the
MS is barred to access the network from the cell. Actually whether to allow
MS to access the network from the cell is determined by both cell_bar_access
and cell_bar_qualify.
III. Configuration and Influence
The cell_bar_access is configured by equipment room operators. Usually the MS
is allowed to access the network from all the cells, so cell_bar_access is
configured to 0. In special situations, the operators want some cell for
handover service only, so cell_bar_access is configured to 1
The MS usually works in microcells (you can configure the priority of cells and
reselection parameters to enable this). When the MS is calling while moving
fast, the network force MS to hand over to the base station G. The signals of
base station G are stronger than microcell base station in most areas. When the
call terminates, the MS just camps near base station G and at edge of microcell
cells, the MS will not reselect a cell according to GSM regulations, therefore
the MS cannot return to microcell.
 The capacity of base station G is usually small, so the previous phenomenon
leads to congestion of base station G. To solve the problem, you can
configure the cell_bar_access to 1, namely, to forbid MS directly accessing
base station G. In area A, handover is allowed to base station G.
IV. Precautions
The cell_bar_access is used only in some special areas. For common cells, it
is configured to 0.

4.3.2 cell_bar_qualify

I. Definition
The cell_bar_qualify determines the priority of cells, namely, it enables MS
to select some cell by preference.
II. Format
The value of cell_bar_qualify includes 1 and 0. The cell_bar_qualify and
cell_bar_access determine the priority state of cells, as listed in Table 7-1
Cell priorit.
Table 7-1 Cell priorities
cell_bar_qualify cell_bar_access Cell selection priority Cell reselection state

0 0 Normal Normal

0 1 Barred Barred

1 0 Low Normal

1 1 Low Normal

An exception is that the cell selection priority and cell reselection state are
normal when the following conditions are met:
 The cell belongs to the PLMN which the MS belongs to.
 The MS is in cell test operation mode.
 The cell_bar_access is 1.
 The cell_bar_qualify is 0.
 The access control class 15 is disabled.
III. Configuration and Influence
The priority of all the cells are usually configured to normal, namely,
cell_bar_qualify = 0. In microcell and dualband networking, operators might
want MS to camps on the cell of some type by preference. In this situation,
the equipment room operators can configure the priority of these cells to
normal and other cells to low.
During cell selection, when the proper cells with normal as the priority is not
present (proper cells means that all parameters meet the conditions for cell
 selection, namely, C1 > 0, and the cell is allowed to access), the MS will
select cells with low priority.
IV. Precautions
Pay attention to the following aspects:
 When cell priority is used as a method to optimize network,
the cell_bar_qualify only affects cell selection, without any
influence on cell reselection. You must optimize the network by
combining cell_bar_qualify and C2.
 During cell selection, when the proper cells with normal as
the priority is not present, the MS will select cells with low
priority. Therefore when the level of the cell with normal
priority is low, and cells with low priority and high level are
present, the MS will access the network slowly while powering
on.

4.3.3 Minimum Received Level Allowing MS to Access (RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN)

I. Definition
To avoid bad communication quality, call drop, and a waste of network radio
resources due to MS accessing the network at low received signal level, GSM
regulations prescribe that when an MS accesses the network the received
level must be greater than the threshold level, namely, the minimum received
level allowing MS to access.
II. Format
The value range of RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN is from –110 dBm to –47 dBm.
III. Configuration and Influence
The recommended RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN needs to be approximately equal
to the receiving sensitivity of MS. The RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN affects cell
selection parameter C1, so it is important to traffic adjustment and network
optimization.
For cells with over high traffic and severe congestion, you can increase
RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN. In this way, the C1 and C2 of the cells decrease,
and the effective coverage range decreases. You must not configure
RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN over great, because this might cause non-seamless
coverage and complaints for signal fluctuation. It is recommended that the
RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN is smaller than or equal to –90 dBm.
IV. Precautions
Except for areas of high density of base stations and of qualified coverage,
adjusting cell traffic by RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN is not recommended.
4.3.4 Additional Reselection Parameter Indicator

I. Definition
The cell selection and reselection by MS depends on the parameters C1 and
C2. Whether C2 is the cell reselection parameter is determined by network
operators. Additional reselection parameter indicator (ADDITIONAL
RESELECT) informs MS of whether to use C2 in cell reselection.
II. Format
ADDITIONAL RESELECT consists of 1 bit. In SI3, it is meaningless, and
equipment manufacturers configure it to N. The MS uses ADDITIONAL
RESELECT of SI4.
 When ADDITIONAL RESELECT is configured to N, the meaning
is: if the rest bytes of SI4 (SI4RestOctets) are present, the MS
must abstract and calculate parameters related to C2 and
related cell reselection parameter PI.
 When ADDITIONAL RESELECT is configured to Y, the meaning
is that the MS must abstract and calculate parameters related to
C2 and related cell reselection parameter PI.
III. Configuration and Influence
Cells seldom use SI7 and SI8, so you can configure ADDITIONAL
RESELECT to N. When cells use SI7 and SI8, and the parameter C2 is used
in cell reselection, you can configure ADDITIONAL RESELECT to Y.

4.3.5 Cell Reselection Parameter Indicator

I. Definition
The cell reselection parameter indicator (CELL_RESELECT_PARAM_IND)
is used in informing MS of whether C2 is a cell reselection parameter and
whether C2 is present.
II. Format
The value of CELL_RESELECT_PARAM_IND includes Y and N, with the
meanings as follows:
 Y: The MS must calculate C2 by abstracting parameters from
SIs of cell broadcast, and set C2 as the standard for cell
reselection.
 N: The MS must set C1 as the standard, namely, C2 = C1.
 III. Configuration and Influence
The equipment room operators determine the value of PI. Configure PI to Y if
related cells set C2 as the standard for cell reselection; otherwise, configure it
to N.

4.3.6 Cell Reselection Offset, Temporary Offset, and Penalty Time

I. Definition
After the MS selects a cell, without great change of all the conditions, the MS
will camp on the selected cell. Meanwhile, it does as follow:
 Starts measuring signals level of BCCH carrier in neighbor
cells.
 Records the 6 neighbor cells with greatest signal level.
 Abstract various SI and control information of each neighbor
cell from the 6 cells.
When conditions are met, the MS hands over from the selected cell to
another. This process is called cell reselection. The conditions include:
 Cell priority
 Whether the cell is barred to access
 Radio channel level (important)
When the signal level of neighbor cells exceeds that of the serving cell, cell
reselection occurs. The channel level standard used in cell reselection is C2,
with the calculation as follows:
1) When PENELTY_TIME ≠ 11111:
C2 = C1 + CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET - TEMPORARY_OFFSET * H
(PENALTY_TIME - T)
Wherein, if PENALTY_TIME - T (x) < 0, the function H(x) = 0; if x
≥ 0, H(x) = 1.
2) When PENELTY_TIME = 11111:
C2 = C1 - CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET
T is a timer, with 0 as the initial value. When a cell is listed by MS in the list
of cells with maximum signal level, start T with step of 4.62ms (a TDMA
frame). When the cell is removed from the list, the associated T is reset.
After cell reselection, the T of original cell works as PENALTY_TIME.
Namely, temporary offset is not performed on the original cell.
CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET (CRO) modifies cell reselecting time C2.
TEMPORARY_OFFSET (TO) is supplemented to C2 from starting working
of T to the prescribed time.
PENALTY_TIME is the time for TEMPORARY_OFFSET having effect on
C2. When PENALTY_TIME = 11111, the MS is informed of using C2 = C1
– CRO.
CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET, TEMPORARY_OFFSET, and
PENALTY_TIME are cell reselection parameters.
 When the cell reselection parameter PI is 1, the MS is
informed of receiving values of three parameters on BCCH.
 If PI is 0, the MS judges that the previous three parameters
are 0, namely C2 = C1.
If the C2 of a cell (in the same location area as the serving cell) calculated by
MS is greater than the C2 of the cell where MS camps, and this lasts for over
5s, the MS reselects to camp on the cell.
If the C2 of a cell (in different location area as the serving cell) calculated by
MS is greater than the sum of C2 of the cell where MS camps and cell
reselect hysteresis, and this lasts for over 5s, the MS reselects to camp on the
cell.
The interval between two reselections is at least 15s, and this avoids frequent
cell reselection by MS.
C2 is formed on the combination of C1 and artificial offset parameters. The
artificial offset parameters help MS camp on or prevent MS from camping on
some cell. This balances the traffic of the network.
II. Format
1) The cell reselection offset (CRO) is in decimal, with unit of
dB. It ranges from 0 to 63, which means 0 to 126 dB (2 dB as the
step). The recommended value is 0.
2) The temporary offset (TO) is in decimal, with unit of dB. It
ranges from 0 to 7, which means 0 to 70 dB (10 dB as the step).
The recommended value is 0.
3) The penalty time (PT) is in decimal, with unit of second. It
ranges from 0 to 31. The value 0 to 30 means 20s to 620s (20s as
the step). The value 31 is reserved for changing the effect
direction of C2 by CRO. The recommended value is 0.
III. Configurationa and Influence
The previous parameters can be adjusted accordingly in the following three
situations:
1) When the communication quality is bad due to heavy traffic
or other causes, change the parameters to enable MS not camps
on the cell (the cell is exclusive from the MS). For this situation,
configure PT to 31, so TO is ineffective. C2 = C1 – CRO. The C2 is
artificially lowered. So the probability for MS to reselect the cell
decreases. In addition, the equipment room operators can
configure CRO to a proper value according to the exclusive level
of the cell by MS. The greater the exclusion is, the greater the
CRO is.
 2) For cells with low traffic and equipment of low utilization,
change the parameters to enable MS to camp on the cell (the
cell is prior). In this situation, configure CRO to 0–20 dB
according to the priority. The higher the priority is, the greater
the CRO is. TO is configured the same as or a little greater than
CRO. PT helps avoid over frequent cell reselection, the
recommended value of PT is 20s or 40s.
3) For cell with average traffic, configure CRO to 0, PT to
11111 so that C2 = C1. No artificial influence is on the cell.
IV. Precautions
In whatever situations, the CRO must not be greater than 30 dB, because over
great CRO leads to unstable network, such as complaints about signal
fluctuation.

4.3.7 Cell Reselection Hysteresis (CRH)

I. Definition
CRH affects cell reselection of cross location area. The MS starts cell
reselection if the following conditions are met:
 The signal level of neighbor cell (in different location area)
is greater than that of the serving cell.
 The difference between the signal levels of the neighbor
cell and the serving cell must be greater than the value
prescribed by cell reselection hysteresis.
The difference is based on the cell reselection methods used by MS. If the
MS reselects a cell with C2, then compare values of C2.
II. Format
CRH is in decimal, with unit of dB. The range is 0 to 14, with step of 2 dB.
The recommended value is 4.
III. Configuration and Influence
If the original cell and target cell belongs to different location areas, the MS
must originate a location updating process after cell reselection. Due to the
attenuation feature of radio channels, the C2 of two cells measured at the
bordering area of neighbor cells fluctuates much, so the MS reselect cells
frequently. The interval between two reselections is over 15s, which is rather
short for location updating. The signal flow of network increases sharply,
radio resources cannot be fully utilized.
During location updating, the MS cannot respond to paging, so the
connection rate decreases. Adjust CRH according to signal flow and
coverage. When signal flow overloads or location updating of cross location
 area is frequent, the cell reselection hysteresis is increased as recommended.
You must avoid abnormal coverage due to over large location area.
IV. Precautions
Do not configure CRH to 0 dB.

4.4 Parameters Affecting Network Functions

4.4.1 Newly Established Cause Indicator (NECI)

I. Definition
In a GSM network, the traffic channel (TCH) consists of full-speed TCH and
half-speed TCH. When the network supports half-speed TCH, the MS is
informed of whether the area supports half-speed TCH by NECI.
II. Format
The value of NECI includes Y and N, with the meaning as follows:
 Y means that the area support half-speed TCH.
 N means that the area cannot support half-speed TCH.
III. Configuration and Influence
Half-speed TCHs enable each carrier to support more traffic channel, but you
must confirm whether the system support half-speed TCH.

4.4.2 Power Control Indicator (PWRC)

I. Definition
The PWRC informs MS of whether to take statistics of downlink level of
BCCH carrier slot for measuring average value when the BCCH frequency
participates in frequency hopping. The causes to configuring PWRC are as
follows:
 GSM regulations allow frequency hopping channels to use
BCCH (frequency hopping not in BCCH slots) .
 GSM regulations allow downlink power control over
frequency hopping channels.
 The MS needs signal level of the measured neighbor cells, so
the power of each slot on BCCH frequency is prohibited to
change. The downlink power control does not involve carrier
slots for BCCH which includes the frequency hopping.
For previous causes, when the MS measures the average downlink channel
level with common methods, the measurement result is inaccurate for power
control because the average value includes the downlink received level of
 BCCH carriers the power of which are not controlled, so the measurement
report is inaccurate for power control.
To avoid the influence on power control, when the MS calculates average
received level during frequency hopping, the received level obtained from
BCCH carrier slot must be removed (see GSM regulations 05.08).
II. Format
The value of PWRC includes 0 and 1, with meanings as follows:
 When PWRC is 0, the measurement result by MS includes
BCCH carrier.
 When PWRC is 1, the measurement result by MS does not
include BCCH carrier.
III. Configuration and Influence
The PWRC is usually configured to 0. Configure it to 1 if all the following
conditions are met:
 Channels have frequency hopping on two or more
frequencies.
 One of the frequency is BCCH carrier frequency.
 The system uses downlink power control.
IV. Precautions
The value of PWRC depends actually on the following parameters:
 Whether to use frequency hopping.
 Whether the hopping frequency includes BCCH carrier.
 Whether the system uses downlink power control.

4.4.3 Discontinuous Transmit of Uplink

I. Definition
Discontinuous transmit of uplink (DTXU) refers to the process for MS not to
transmit signals during silent period (see description about DTX in Chapter
2).
II. Format
Whether the network allows uplink to use discontinuous transmit (DTX) is
set by equipment room operators. DTX ranges from 0 to 2, with the following
meanings:
 0: MS can use DTXU.
 1: MS must use DTXU.
 2: MS cannot use DTXU.
 III. Configuration and Influence
Using uplink DTX affects call quality, but it is helpful in the following
aspects:
 Lower interference to radio channels.
Due to this, the average call quality of network is improved.
 Cut power consumption by MS
For the previous advantages, DTX is recommended to use.

4.4.4 Discontinuous Transmit of Downlink

I. Defintion
Discontinuous transmit of downlink (DTXD) means the network does not
transmit signals during silent period.
II. Definition
DTXD is in string, and the range is YES and NO. The meanings are as
follows:
 YES: Downlink uses DTX.
 NO: Downlink does not use DTX.
III. Configuration and Influence
Using downlink DTX affects call quality in a limit scale, but it is helpful in
the following aspects:
 Lower interference to radio channels.
Due to this, the average call quality of network is improved.
 Reduce load of base station CPU
Therefore, if possible, you use DTX.
IV. Precautions
According to GSM regulations, downlink DTX is optional. If the base station
equipment supports DTXD, then use it. However, you must ensure that voice
transcoder is available to support DTXD.

4.4.5 Call Resetup Allowed

I. Definition
When coverage voids cause radio link failure, consequently call drop, the MS
starts to resetup the call for recovery. Whether resetting up the call is allowed
depends on the parameter call resetup allowed (RE).
II. Format
The values of call resetup allowed are 1 and 0, with meanings as follows:
  1: Call resetup is allowed in the cell.
 0: Call resetup is forbidden in the cell.
III. Configuration and Influence
When a connected MS passes coverage voids, call drop occurs easily. If call
resetup is allowed, the average call drop rate (CDR) is lowered. However,
call resetup takes longer time, and most users disconnects before completion
of call resetup. Therefore call resetup is difficult to achieve, and even wastes
abundant radio resources. In a word, call resetup is disabled.

4.4.6 Emergency Call Allowed

I. Definition
The following MSs cannot enjoy various services:
 MS without SIM
 MS with ACC as one of C0 to C9 and with cell_bar_access
The parameter emergency call allowed (EC) determines whether the MS is
allowed for emergency calls, such as police emergency call.
II. Format
EC consists of 1 bit. For the MS with ACC of C0 to C9 or without SIM, the
EC is NO, meaning emergency call forbidden. YES means emergency call
allowed. For the MS with ACC of C11 to C15, when both the access control
bit and EC are configured to forbidden, it is forbidden for emergency calls.
III. Configuration and Influence
According to the GSM regulations, the emergency number is 112, different
from that in China. The Chinese emergency call cannot function as prescribed
in GSM regulations. For international roaming users, set 112 to answerphone
to inform users of various special service numbers. Therefore, setting
emergency call must be allowed through configuring radio parameters,
namely, configure EC to 1.

4.4.7 Early Classmark Sending Control

I. Definition
In a GSM network, the MS classmark marks the following aspects:
 Service capacity
 Supported frequency band
 Power capacity
 Encryption capacity
Classmark consists of classmark1, classmark2, and classmark3. A GSM MS.
In a GSM network, the MS reports Classmark1 or Classmark2 information
 immediately after ESTIND<CM SERV REQ> (corresponding to L2-SABM
at Um interface) is allocated. Classmark3 (CM3) information includes power
information of various frequency band of multi-frequency MS.
During handover between different bands, the power class must be correctly
described. When the GSM system pages and transmits BA2 in different
bands, it must know the CM3 message. In GSM regulation Phase2plus, early
classmark sending control (ECSC) is added. ECSC means that by SI the
system informs MS of reporting Classmark3 after link setup. This avoids
querying process by network.
II. Format
The values of ECSC are Y and N, with the following meanings:
 Y: The MS reports Classmark3 to the network immediately
after link setup.
 N: The MS is forbidden to report its Classmark3 to network
initiatively.
III. Configuration and Influence
The major information of Classmark3 is for dualband network, so do as
follows:
 Configure ECSC to N in single frequency GSM application
areas.
 Configure ECSC to Y in dualband GSM application areas.
IV. Precautions
In a dualband network, configure the parameter of all cell to the same value.
Configuring the parameter to different values in one or more cells is
forbidden; otherwise, the network quality declines.

4.5 Frequency Hopping Parameters

4.5.1 Frequency Hopping Sequence Number

I. Definition
In a GSM network, the cell allocation (CA) means the set of carriers used by
each cell, recorded as {R0, R1, …, Rn - 1}. Wherein, Ri indicates the
absolute channel number. For each communication process, the set of carriers
used by base station and MS is mobile allocation (MA), recorded as {M0,
M1, …, Mn - 1}. Wherein, Mi indicates the absolute channel number.
Obviously MA is a subset of CA.
During a communication process, the air interface uses a carrier number, one
element of MA. The variable mobile allocation index (MAI) determines an
exact element of MA. According to the frequency hopping algorithm in GSM
 regulation 05.02, the MAI is the TDMA frame number (RN) or reduced
frame number (RFN), frequency hopping sequence number (HSN), and
mobile allocation index offset (MAIO).
Wherein, the HSN determines two aspects:
 Track of frequency points during frequency hopping
 The asynchronous neighbor cells using the same MA can
avoid continuous frequency collision during frequency hopping by
using different HSNs.
II. Format
HSN is in decimal, ranging from 0 to 63, wherein:
 0: cyclic frequency hopping
 1–63: pseudo frequency hopping
III. Configuration and Influence
You can choose any HSN in cells using frequency hopping, but you must
ensure that the cells using same frequency group must use different HSN. The
following paragraph is an exception:
In an 1X1 network, three cells under a base station use the same frequency
group, but they are synchronous cells because of same FN. Therefore the
three cells use the same HSN. You must plan MAIO properly to avoid
frequency collision of the three cells under the same base station.

4.5.2 Mobile Allocation

I. Definition
The mobile allocation (MA) in the GSM network indicates a frequency set for
frequency hopping. Namely, when the MA of a cell is fixed, the
communication frequency points of the cell performs transient in the set by
MA according to rules.
The parameter MA determines all the elements in MA.
II. Format
MA is a set, with all GSM frequency points as its element, namely:
 For GSM900 networks: 1–124 and 975–1023.
 For GSM1800 networks: 512–885
III. Configuration and Influence
MA is configured according to network designing requirements.
 IV. Precautions
Chinese GSM networks do not cover all available frequency bands of GSM
system, so configure MA in available frequency bands.
The number of elements in each MA set cannot exceed 63.
The MA cannot include BCCH carriers.
The number of MA must not be multiples of 13 if all the following conditions
are met:
 Using DTX
 HSN = 0 (cyclic frequency hopping)
You must avoid SACCH to appear usually at the same frequency point.

4.5.3 Mobile Allocation Index Offset

I. Definition
During communication, the air interface uses a carrier frequency, one element
of MA set. MIO determines an exact element of MA set. According to the
frequency hopping algorithm in GSM regulation 05.02, the MAI is the
TDMA frame number (RN) or reduced frame number (RFN), frequency
hopping sequence number (HSN), and mobile allocation index offset
(MAIO). MAIO is an initial offset of MAI, and it aims to avoid multiple
channels to use the same frequency carrier in the same time.
II. Format
MAIO ranges from 0 to 63.
III. Configuration and Influence
MAIO is configured by equipment room operators.
IV. Precautions
The different cells using same group of MA must use consistent MAIO.
Using different MAIOs enables different sectors in the same location to use
the same frequency group (MA) without frequency collision.

4.6 Distance Control Parameters

4.6.1 Call Clearing

I. Definition
Call clearing (CallClearing) means that the maximum allowed distance
threshold is cleared between MS and base station in talk.
 II. Format
CallClearing ranges from 0 to 63, with unit of TA.
III. Configuration and Influence
Configure CallClearing according to actual coverage range of a cell. Proper
configuration of CallClearing helps check whether the handover threshold of
the cell is properly defined, especially for urban cells.
If the call is frequently cleared after CallClearing threshold is defined
according to cell radium, probably the handover threshold is improperly
configured. This is due to that the MS cannot hand over to the best server cell
after exceeding designed coverage range.
Define CallClearing according to msRangeMax, namely, CallClearing >
msRangeMax.
In actual network operation, call clearing is unusually performed, because
radio link fails due to over poor coverage before call clearing. Defining
CallClearing aims to restrict the distance between MS and base station and to
avoid MSs in allowed coverage range to interfere other MSs, especially in
areas with complex landform.
The cell coverage range is irregular, so island effect might occur. For this
phenomenon, define CallClearing to clear calls in island areas.

4.6.2 TA Handover Threshold (MSRANGEMAX)

I. Defintion
When the distance between MS and base station reaches or exceeds
MSRANGEMAX, distance handover is triggered.
II. Format
MSRANGEMAX ranges from 0 to 63, with unit of TA. The reference is 63.
III. Configuration and Influence
MSRANGEMAX must be smaller than CallClearing, and otherwise the
handover function will be actually unavailable. While configuring
MSRANGEMAX, you must adjust the threshold of other types of handover;
otherwise ping-pong handover occurs. one occasion might be as follows:
The distance between MS and the serving cell exceeds the threshold, but the
signals of target cell are weaker than that of original cell. Consequently the
PowerBudget handover is triggered immediately after distance handover is
triggered.

4.6.3 TA Restriction (MS_BS_DIST_USED)

 I. Definition
The maximum allowed access distance between base station and MS. If the
distance between an MS and base station exceeds the maximum allowed
access distance, the MS is forbidden to access cells.
II. Format
The range is 0 to 63, with unit of TA. The reference is 63.
III. Configuration and Influence
For its configuration, refer to the method for configuring CallClearing. Adjust
the parameter to enable it consistent with the geographic coverage range of
the cell. Set a proper threshold to filter pseudo RACH requests to avoid
unnecessary assigning SDCCH.
According to tests, for mountain-mounted base stations, the coverage and
interference is difficult to control. If you define the maximum allowed access
distance to 63, the RACH misjudgment increases (the system demodulates
interference to RACH bursts by mistake). Therefore the radio performance
and traffic measurement indexes of the cell are affected.

4.7 Radio Link Failure Process and Parameters

The radio link failure is detected from uplink and downlink. The MS
completes downlink detection, while the base station completes uplink
detection.

4.7.1 Radio Link Failure Counter (RLC or Radio Link Timeout)

I. Definition
The MS originates call resetup or disconnects by force if all the following
conditions are met:
 The voice or data quality is too poor to be received.
 Power control and handover cannot help to improve the
quality.
A disconnection by force actually brings about a call drop, so the MS
considers it a radio link failure that the voice or data service is actually too
poor to be received. GSM regulations provide solutions to the previous
problems as follows:
Set a counter S in the MS. The initial value of S is provided at the beginning
of talk, and it is the value of the parameter radio link failure counter. S
changes as follows:
 S decreases by 1 if the MS fails in decoding a correct SACCH
message when the MS should receive the SACCH message.
  S increases by 2 if the MS succeed in decoding a correct
SACCH message.
S cannot exceed the value for radio link failure counter. When S equals to 0,
the MS originates call resetup or disconnects by force.
II. Format
The step from 4 to 64 is 4, with unit of SACCH period as follows:
 For TCH, the SACCH period is 480ms.
 For SDCCH, the SACCH period is 470ms.
III. Configuration and Influence
The value of the parameter radio link failure counter affects CDR and
utilization of radio resources.
Assume that cell A is a neighbor cell to cell B and the bordering coverage is
poor. When an MS moves from P to Q while in talk,
 If the radio link failure counter is over small, call drop
occurs before cross-cell handover.
 If the radio link failure counter is over great, the network
releases related resources until radio link expires, though the
voice quality is too poor when MS camps on cell B near P.
Therefore, the utilization of radio resources declines.
Proper configuration of radio link failure counter is important, and is related
to the actual situations. To configure radio link failure counter, refer to the
following rules:
 Configure it to between 52 and 64 in areas with over low
traffic.
 Configure it to between 36 and 48 in areas with low traffic
and great coverage radium
 Configure it to between 20 and 32 in areas with heavy
traffic.
IV. Precautions
Configure radioLinkTimeout to smaller than T3109. This contributes to
success of call resetup and avoids the following situation effectively:
Before the MS releases radio resources due to expiration, the network side
completes releasing channels resources and reallocates resources to other
MSs. Therefore two MSs might use the same slot and this causes
interferences even call drop.

4.7.2 SACCH Multiframe (RLTO_BS)

 I. Definition
Refer to the description of radio link failure counter. A counter is set
accordingly to radio link at base station side for managing radio link failures.
The solutions vary due to different equipment providers, but a general method
is as follows:
Set a counter S in the base station. The initial value of S is provided at the
beginning of talk, and it is the value of the parameter radio link failure
expiration. S changes as follows:
 S decreases by 1 if the MS fails in decoding a correct SACCH
message when the MS should receive the SACCH message.
 S increases by 2 if the MS succeed in decoding a correct
SACCH message.
S cannot exceed the value for radio link expiration of base station. When S
equals to 0, the MS originates call resetup or disconnects by force, as shown
in Error: Reference source not found.
II. Format
RLT0_BS ranges from 4 to 64.
III. Configuration and Influence
Proper configuration of radio link expiration of base station affects CDR and
utilization of radio resources. It is related to the actual situations. To
configure radio link failure counter, refer to the following rules:
 Configure it to between 52 and 64 in areas with over low
traffic.
 Configure it to between 36 and 48 in areas with low traffic
and great coverage radium
 Configure it to between 20 and 32 in areas with heavy
traffic.
 Configure it to a greater value in areas with apparent voids
or where call drop occurs frequently while the MS moves.
IV. Precautions
RLT0_BS and RLC must be consistent.

4.8 Handover and Related Parameters

4.8.1 PBGT Handover Threshold (HoMargin)

I. Definition
The PBGT handover threshold is power handover tolerance (handover in
serving areas). When the signal level of neighbor cell is hoMargin (dB)
higher than that of the serving cell, handover occurs. Complex radio
 propagation conditions cause fluctuation of signal level. Using handover
tolerance avoids frequent handover at bordering areas. The PBGT handover
threshold is similar to HO_MARGIN (GSM 05.08).
II. Format
The PBGT handover threshold ranges from 0 to 127, corresponding to –64
dB to +63 dB. The reference value for suburban areas is 68. The reference
value for urban areas is 70 to 72.
III. Configuration and Influence
The PBGT handover threshold aims to adjust handover difficulty properly,
and to avoid ping-pong handover. If it is configured over great, the handover
is delayed and handover is less efficient. When it is smaller than 64, the MS
hands over from the serving cell to the neighbor cell with lower level.

4.8.2 Minimum Downlink Power of Handover Candidate Cells (rxLevMinCell)

I. Definition
It is the minimum allowed access level for a cell to be a neighbor cell. When
the cell level measured by MS is greater than the threshold, the BSS list the
cell into candidate cell list for handover judgment.
II. Format
It ranges from –110 dBm to –47 dBm.
III. Configuration and Influence
It is helpful in the following two aspects:
 It guarantees communication quality.
For a common single layer network structure, the value ranges
from –90 dBm to –80 dBm.
 It helps allocate traffic between cells averagely.
Especially in multi-layer network structure, to maintain MS in a
network layer, you can increase the level of the cell of the
network layer (such as –70 dBm), and also decrease that in other
cells.
IV. Precautions
You cannot configure rxLevMinCell over great (over –65 dBm) or over small
(lower than –95 dBm), and otherwise communication quality is affected.

4.8.3 Handover Threshold at Uplink Edge

 I. Definition
If the uplink received level keeps being smaller than the handover threshold
at uplink edge for a period, edge handover can be performed.
II. Format
It ranges from 0 to 63, corresponding to –110 dBm to –47 dBm. The
recommended values are as follows:
 Configure it to 25 in urban areas without PBGT handover.
 Configure it to 20 in single site of suburban areas.
 Configure it to 20 in urban areas with PBGT handover
III. Configuration and Influence
When PBGT handover is enabled, the corresponding edge handover threshold
can be lowered. When PBGT handover is disabled, and the edge handover
threshold is over low, an artificial cross-cell non-handover occurs. Therefore
call drop occurs or intra-frequency and side interference occur due to cross-
cell talk.

4.8.4 Handover Threshold at Downlink Edge

I. Definition
If the downlink received level keeps being smaller than the handover
threshold at downlink edge for a period, edge handover can be performed.
II. Format
It ranges from 0 to 63, corresponding to –110 dBm to –47 dBm. The
recommended values are as follows:
 Configure it to 30 in urban areas without PBGT handover.
 Configure it to 25 in single site of suburban areas.
 Configure it to 25 in urban areas with PBGT handover
III. Configuration and Influence
When PBGT handover is enabled, the corresponding edge handover threshold
can be lowered. When PBGT handover is disabled, and the edge handover
threshold is over low, an artificial cross-cell non-handover occurs. Therefore
call drop occurs or intra-frequency and side interference occur due to cross-
cell talk.

4.8.5 Downlink Quality Restriction of Emergency Handover

 I. Definition
If the downlink received quality is lower than the threshold of downlink
quality restriction of emergency handover, the quality difference emergency
handover occurs.
II. Format
It ranges from 0 to 70, corresponding to RQ (QoS 0 to 7) x 10.
The recommended value is 50.
III. Configuration and Influence
When frequency hopping is enabled, the voice quality is better with the same
RQ, you can configure it to 60 or 70. When emergency handover occurs, the
intracell handover occurs first. If there are no other candidate cells, and the
intracell handover is enabled, the intracell handover occurs.

4.8.6 Uplink Quality Restriction of Emergency Handover

I. Definition
If the uplink received quality is lower than it, quality difference emergency
handover is triggered.
II. Format
It ranges from 0 to 70, corresponding to RQ (QoS 0 to 7) x 10.
The recommended value is 50.
III. Configuration and Influence
When frequency hopping is enabled, the voice quality is better with the same
RQ, you can configure it to 60 or 70. When emergency handover occurs, the
intracell handover occurs first. If there are no other candidate cells, and the
intracell handover is enabled, the intracell handover occurs.

4.8.7 Uplink Quality Threshold of Interference Handover

I. Definition
It is the uplink received quality threshold of the serving cell that triggers
interference handover. The interference handover is triggered if all the
following conditions are met:
 The uplink received level is higher than the uplink received
power threshold of interference handover.
 The uplink received quality is lower than the uplink quality
threshold of interference handover.
 When handover switch is enabled, the interference handover occurs within
the cell by preference.
II. Format
It ranges from 0 to 70, corresponding to RQ (QoS 0 to 7) x 10.
The recommended value is 50.
III. Configuration and Influence
When frequency hopping is enabled, the voice quality is better with the same
RQ, you can configure it to 60 or 70. When interference handover is
triggered, select the candidates according to the sorted result. If the serving
cell ranks first and its intracell handover is enabled, the MS selects the
serving cell; otherwise it selects the second candidate cell.

4.8.8 Downlink Quality Threshold of Interference Handover

I. Definition
It is the downlink received quality threshold of the serving cell that triggers
interference handover. The interference handover is triggered if all the
following conditions are met:
 The downlink received level is higher than the downlink
received power threshold of interference handover.
 The downlink received quality is lower than the downlink
quality threshold of interference handover.
When handover switch is enabled, the interference handover occurs within
the cell by preference.
II. Format
It ranges from 0 to 70, corresponding to RQ (QoS 0 to 7) x 10.
The recommended value is 50.
III. Configuration and Influence
When frequency hopping is enabled, the voice quality is better with the same
RQ, you can configure it to 60 or 70. When interference handover is
triggered, select the candidates according to the sorted result. If the serving
cell ranks first and its intracell handover is enabled, the MS selects the
serving cell; otherwise it selects the second candidate cell.
IV. Precautions
The interference handover quality must be better than emergency handover
quality.

4.8.9 Uplink Received Power Threshold of Interference Handover

 I. Definition
If interference handover occurs due to uplink quality, the serving cell must
reach the minimum uplink received power threshold. If this is met, the system
judges that uplink is interfered, so interference handover is triggered.
The interference handover is triggered if all the following conditions are met:
 The uplink received level is higher than the uplink received
power threshold of interference handover.
 The uplink received quality is lower than the uplink quality
threshold of interference handover.
When handover switch is enabled, the interference handover occurs within
the cell by preference.
II. Format
It ranges from 0 to 63, corresponding to –110 dBm to –47 dBm.
The recommended value is 25.
III. Configurationa and Influence
When interference handover is triggered, select the candidates according to
the sorted result. If the serving cell ranks first and its intracell handover is
enabled, the MS selects the serving cell; otherwise it selects the second
candidate cell.

4.8.10 Downlink Received Power Threshold of Interference Handover

I. Definition
If interference handover occurs due to uplink quality, the serving cell must
reach the minimum downlink received power threshold. If this is met, the
system judges that downlink is interfered, so interference handover is
triggered.
The interference handover is triggered if all the following conditions are met:
 The downlink received level is higher than the downlink
received power threshold of interference handover.
 The downlink received quality is lower than the downlink
quality threshold of interference handover.
When handover switch is enabled, the interference handover occurs within
the cell by preference.
II. Format
It ranges from 0 to 63, corresponding to –110 dBm to –47 dBm.
The recommended value is 30.
 III. Configurationa and Influence
When interference handover is triggered, select the candidates according to
the sorted result. If the serving cell ranks first and its intracell handover is
enabled, the MS selects the serving cell; otherwise it selects the second
candidate cell.

4.8.11 Maximum Repeated Times of Physical Messages (NY1)

I. Definition
In asynchronous handover process of GSM system, when the MS receives
handover messages of the network, it sends handover access messages on the
target channel. After the network receives the message, it does as follows:
1) Calculate related RF features.
2) Send physical messages (it the channel messages are
encrypted, start encryption and decryption algorithm) in unit
data to MSs.
3) Start timer T3105.
If the network does not receive correct layer 2 frames sent by MS until
expiration of T3105, the network will resend the physical message and restart
T3105. The maximum times for resending physical messages is determined
by the parameter maximum repeated times of physical messages (NY1)
II. Format
NY1 ranges from 0 to 254.
The recommended value is 20.
III. Configuration and Influence
When the network receives the handover access messages sent by MS, the
physical channel (PCH) needs to be synchronous. If the communication
quality on channels is guaranteed, the MS can receive physical messages
correctly and send layer 2 frames to the network.
If the physical messages are sent multiple times, and the network cannot
receive layer 2 frames sent by MS, the PCH is too poor to communicate
normally. Though link is setup after multiple trials, the communication
quality is not guaranteed. This lowers the utilization of radio resources.
Therefore configure NY1 to a smaller value.
IV. Precautions
Configuring NY1 is affected by T3105. If T3105 is configured to a short
value, then the NY1 needs to be increased accordingly.
If a handover trial fails before the original cell receives the HANDOVER
FAILURE message, and the T3105 of the target cell expires for Ny times, the
target BTS sends a CONNECTION FAILURE INDICATION message to the
 target BSC. Though the MS might return to the original channel, the traffic
measurement counters from multiple vendors will take statistics of
connection failure.
To avoid the previous phenomenon, configure T3105 as follows:
Ny * T3105 > T3124 + delta (delta: the time between expiration of T3124
and receiving HANDOVER FAILURE message by original BTS)

4.8.12 Multiband Indicator (multiband_reporting)

I. Definition
In a single band GSM network, when the MS send measurement reports of
neighbor cells to the network, it needs to report the content of the six
neighbor cells with strongest signals.
In a multiband network, operators wish that MS uses a band by preference in
cross-cell handover. Therefore the MS sends measurement reports according
to signal strength and signal band. The parameter multiband indicator
indicates MS to report content of multiband neighbor cells.
II. Format
The multiband indicator ranges from 0 to 3, with meanings as follows:
 0: According to signal strength of neighbor cells, the MS
must report six allowed measurement reports of neighbor cells
with strongest signals and known NCC, with the neighbor cells in
whatever band.
 1: The MS must report the allowed measurement report of a
neighbor cell with known NCC and with strongest signals at each
band expect for the band used by the serving cell. The MS must
also report the neighbor cells of the band used by the serving
cell in rest locations. If there are other rest locations, the MS
must report conditions of other neighbor cells in any band.
 2: The MS must report the allowed measurement report of
two neighbor cells with known NCC and with strongest signals at
each band expect for the band used by the serving cell. The MS
must also report the neighbor cells of the band used by the
serving cell in rest locations. If there are other rest locations,
the MS must report conditions of other neighbor cells in any
band.
 3: The MS must report the allowed measurement report of
three neighbor cells with known NCC and with strongest signals
at each band expect for the band used by the serving cell. The
MS must also report the neighbor cells of the band used by the
serving cell in rest locations. If there are other rest locations,
the MS must report conditions of other neighbor cells in any
band.
 III. Configuration and Influence
In multiband networks, it is related to traffic of each band. For configuration,
refer to the following rules:
 If the traffic of each band is approximately equal, and
operators do not select a band intentionally, you can configure
the multiband indicator to 0
 If the traffic of each band is obviously different, and
operators want MS to select a band by preference, you can
configure the multiband indicator to 3.
 For situations between the previous two, configure
multiband indicator to 1 or 2.

4.8.13 Permitted Network Color Code (ncc permitted)

I. Definition
During a talk, the MS must report the measured signals of neighbor cells to
the base station, but each report includes only six neighbor cells. Therefore
the MS is configured to report the potential handover target neighbor cells,
instead of reporting unselectively and according to signal level.
To enable previous functions, restrict MS to measure the cells with the fixed
network color code (NCC). The NNC allowed by parameters list the NCCs of
the cells to be measured by MS. The MS compares the measured NCC of
neighbor cells and NCCs set allowed by parameters. If the measured NCC is
in the set, the MS reports the NCC to the base station; otherwise, the MS
discard the measurement report.
II. Format
The parameter ncc permitted is a bit mapping value, consisting of 8 bits. The
most significant bit is bit 7 while the least significant bit is bit 0. Each bit
corresponds to an NCC code 0 to 7 (see GSM regulations 03.03 and 04.08).
If the bit N is 0 (N ranges from 0 to 7), the MS needs not to measure the level
of the cell with NCC of N. Namely, it only measures the signal quality and
level of the cells corresponding to bit number of 1 in NCC and ncc permitted
configuration.
III. Configuration and Influence
Each area is allocated with one or more NCCs. In the parameter ncc permitted
of the cell, the local NCC is absolutely and only included. If excluded,
abnormal handover and call drop occur. For normal roaming between areas,
the NCC of neighbor areas must be included in the edge cells of an area.
 IV. Precautions
Improper configuration of the parameter causes normal handover and even
call drop. The parameter only affects behaviors of MS.

4.9 Power Control and Related Parameters

4.9.1 Maximum Transmit Power of MS (MSTXPWRMX)

I. Definition
The transmit power of MS in communication is controlled by BTS.
According to the uplink signal strength and quality, power budget result, the
BTS controls MS to increase or decrease its transmit power.

& Note:
In any situation, power control is prior to related handover for BSS. Only
when the BSS fails to improve uplink signal strength and voice quality to the
prescribed level, it starts handover.

To reduce interference between neighbor cells, the power control of MS is

restricted. Namely, the BTS controls MS to transmit power within the
threshold.
MSTXPWRMX is the maximum transmit power of MS controlled by BTS.
II. Format
MSTXPWRMX ranges from 0 to 31.
The dBm values corresponding to GSM900 and GSM1800 cells are different:
 The 32 maximum transmit power control classes for GSM900
are {39, 39, 39, 37, 35, 33, 31, 29, 27, 25, 23, 21, 19, 17, 15, 13,
11, 9, 7, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5}
 The 32 maximum transmit power control classes for GSM900
are {30, 28, 26, 24, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 0, 0, 0,
0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 36, 34, 32}
III. Configuration and Influence
Configuring MSTXPWRMX helps control interferences between neighbor
cells, because:
 If MSTXPWRMX is over great, the interference between
neighbor cells increases.
 If MSTXPWRMX is over small, the voice quality declines and
improper handover might occur.
4.9.2 Received Level Threshold of Downlink Power Increment (LDR)

I. Definition
When the downlink received level of the serving cell is smaller than a
threshold, the network must start power control to increase the transmit power
of base station and to guarantee communication quality of MS.
The received level threshold of downlink power increment defines the
downlink received level threshold. When the downlink level received by MS
is smaller than it, the base station starts power control to increase its transmit
power.
The parameter N1 means that at lease N1 sampling points must be measured
before starting handover algorithm.
The parameter P1 means the level of at least P1 sampling points in N1
sampling points is smaller than the threshold prescribed by received level
threshold of downlink power increment.
II. Format
It ranges from –110 dBm to –47 dBm.
N1 ranges from 1 to 32.
P1 ranges from 1 to 32.
III. Configuration and Influence
The received level is between –60 dBm and –80 dBm in a GSM network, so
configure received level threshold of downlink power increment to –85 dBm.
N1 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage
range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N1 to between 3 and 5.
Configure P1 to about 2/3 of N1.

4.9.3 Received Level Threshold of Uplink Power Increment (LUR)

I. Definition
When the uplink received level of the serving cell is smaller than a threshold,
the network must start power control to increase the transmit power of MS
and to guarantee communication quality of MS.
The received level threshold of uplink power increment defines the uplink
received level threshold. When the uplink level received by MS is smaller
than it, the base station starts power control to increase MS transmit power.
The parameter N1 means that at lease N1 sampling points must be measured
before starting handover algorithm.
The parameter P1 means the level of at least P1 sampling points in N1
sampling points is smaller than the threshold prescribed by received level
threshold of uplink power increment.
 II. Format
It ranges from –110 dBm to –47 dBm.
N1 ranges from 1 to 32.
P1 ranges from 1 to 32.
III. Configuration and Influence
The received level is between –60 dBm and –80 dBm in a GSM network, so
configure received level threshold of uplink power increment to –85 dBm.
N1 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage
range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N1 to between 3 and 5.
Configure P1 to about 2/3 of N1.

4.9.4 Received Quality Threshold of Downlink Power Increment (LDR)

I. Definition
When the downlink received quality of the serving cell is smaller than a
threshold, the network must start power control to increase the transmit power
of base station and to guarantee communication quality.
The received quality threshold of downlink power increment defines the
downlink received level threshold. When the downlink quality received by
MS is smaller than it, the base station starts power control to increase its
transmit power.
The parameter N3 means that at lease N3 sampling points must be measured
before starting handover algorithm.
The parameter P3 means the quality of at least P3 sampling points in N3
sampling points is smaller than the threshold prescribed by received quality
threshold of downlink power increment.
II. Format
It ranges from 0 to 7, the voice quality grade.
N3 ranges from 1 to 32.
P3 ranges from 1 to 32.
III. Configuration and Influence
The received quality is 0 to 2 of quality grade in a GSM network, so
configure received quality threshold of downlink power increment to –85
dBm.
N3 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage
range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N3 to between 3 and 5.
Configure P3 to about 2/3 of N3.
4.9.5 Received Quality Threshold of Uplink Power Increment (LUR)

I. Definition
When the uplink received quality of the serving cell is smaller than a
threshold, the network must start power control to increase the transmit power
of MS and to guarantee communication quality.
The received quality threshold of uplink power increment defines the uplink
received quality threshold. When the uplink quality received by MS is smaller
than it, the base station starts power control to increase transmit power of MS.
The parameter N3 means that at lease N3 sampling points must be measured
before starting handover algorithm.
The parameter P3 means the quality of at least P3 sampling points in N3
sampling points is smaller than the threshold prescribed by received quality
threshold of uplink power increment.
II. Format
It ranges from 0 to 7, the voice quality grade.
N3 ranges from 1 to 32.
P3 ranges from 1 to 32.
III. Configuration and Influence
The received quality is 0 to 2 of quality grade in a GSM network, so
configure received quality threshold of uplink power increment to 3.
N3 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage
range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N3 to between 3 and 5.
Configure P3 to about 2/3 of N3.

4.9.6 Received Level Threshold of Downlink Power Decrement (UDR)

I. Definition
When the downlink received level of the serving cell is greater than a
threshold, the network must start power control to decrease the transmit
power of base station and to decrease interference to radio channels.
The received level threshold of downlink power decrement defines the
downlink received level threshold. When the downlink level received by MS
is greater than it, the base station starts power control to decrease its transmit
power.
The parameter N2 means that at lease N2 sampling points must be measured
before starting handover algorithm.
The parameter P2 means the level of at least P2 sampling points in N2
sampling points is greater than the threshold prescribed by received level
threshold of downlink power decrement.
 II. Format
It ranges from –110 dBm to –47 dBm.
N1 ranges from 1 to 32.
P1 ranges from 1 to 32.
III. Configuration and Influence
The received level is between –60 dBm and –80 dBm in a GSM network, so
configure received level threshold of downlink power decrement to –85 dBm.
N2 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage
range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N2 to between 3 and 5.
Configure P2 to about 2/3 of N2.

4.9.7 Received Level Threshold of Uplink Power Decrement (UUR)

I. Definition
When the uplink received level of the serving cell is greater than a threshold,
the network must start power control to decrease the transmit power of MS
and to decrease interference to radio channels.
The received level threshold of uplink power decrement defines the uplink
received level threshold. When the uplink level received by MS is greater
than it, the base station starts power control to decrease transmit power of
MS.
The parameter N2 means that at lease N2 sampling points must be measured
before starting handover algorithm.
The parameter P2 means the level of at least P2 sampling points in N2
sampling points is greater than the threshold prescribed by received level
threshold of uplink power decrement.
II. Format
It ranges from –110 dBm to –47 dBm.
N2 ranges from 1 to 32.
P2 ranges from 1 to 32.
III. Configuration and Influence
The received level is between –60 dBm and –80 dBm in a GSM network, so
configure received level threshold of uplink power decrement to –60 dBm.
N2 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage
range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N2 to between 3 and 5.
Configure P2 to about 2/3 of N2.

4.9.8 Received Quality Threshold of Downlink Power Decrement (UDR)

 I. Definition
When the downlink received quality of the serving cell is greater than a
threshold, the network must start power control to decrease the transmit
power of base station and to decrease space interference.
The received quality threshold of downlink power decrement defines the
downlink received quality threshold. When the downlink quality received by
MS is greater than it, the base station starts power control to decrease transmit
power of MS.
The parameter N4 means that at lease N4 sampling points must be measured
before starting handover algorithm.
The parameter P4 means the quality of at least P4 sampling points in N2
sampling points is greater than the threshold prescribed by received quality
threshold of downlink power decrement.
II. Format
It ranges from 0 to 7, the voice quality grade.
N4 ranges from 1 to 32.
P4 ranges from 1 to 32.
III. Configuration and Influence
The received quality is 0 to 2 of quality grade in a GSM network, so
configure received quality threshold of downlink power decrement to 0.
N4 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage
range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N4 to between 3 and 5.
Configure P4 to about 2/3 of N4.

4.9.9 Received Quality Threshold of Uplink Power Decrement (UUR)

I. Definition
When the uplink received quality of the serving cell is greater than a
threshold, the network must start power control to decrease the transmit
power of MS and to decrease space interference.
The received quality threshold of uplink power decrement defines the uplink
received quality threshold. When the uplink quality received by MS is greater
than it, the base station starts power control to decrease transmit power of
MS.
The parameter N4 means that at lease N4 sampling points must be measured
before starting handover algorithm.
The parameter P4 means the quality of at least P4 sampling points in N4
sampling points is greater than the threshold prescribed by received quality
threshold of uplink power decrement.
 II. Format
It ranges from 0 to 7, the voice quality grade.
N4 ranges from 1 to 32.
P4 ranges from 1 to 32.
III. Configuration and Influence
The received quality is 0 to 2 of quality grade in a GSM network, so
configure received quality threshold of uplink power decrement to 0.
N4 is related to propagation quality of radio channels within cell coverage
range. To reduce influence by attenuation, configure N4 to between 3 and 5.
Configure P4 to about 2/3 of N4.

4.9.10 Power Control Interval (INT)

I. Definition
It takes a period from beginning of power control to detection of effect of
power control. Therefore an interval must exist between continuous two
power controls; otherwise the system becomes unstable and even call drop
occurs.
The parameter power control interval (INT) configures the minimum interval
between two continuous times of power control.
II. Format
It ranges from 0 to 31s.
III. Configuration and Influence
According to frame structure of GSM network, configure INT to about 3s.
IV. Precautions
INT cannot be smaller than 1s, and otherwise the system becomes unstable.

4.9.11 Power Increment Step (INC)

I. Definition
The INC indicates the power increment of MS or base station in power
control.
II. Format
The range of INC is 2 dB, 4 dB, or 6 dB.
 III. Configuration and Influence
The recommended value is 4 dB.

4.9.12 Power Decrement Step (RED)

I. Definition
The RED indicates the power decrement of MS or base station in power
control.
II. Format
The range of RED is 2 dB or 4 dB.
III. Configuration and Influence
The recommended value of RED is 2 dB.

4.10 Systematic Important Timers

4.10.1 T3101

I. Definition
T3101 is the BSC timer controlling time of immediate assignment process.
II. Format
T3101 ranges from 0 to 255s. The recommended value is 3s.
III. Configuration and Influence
In an immediate assignment process, the BSC requires BTS to provide
SDCCH to set up signaling channel. When the BSC sends a channel
activation message, T3101 starts timing. When the BSC receives the setup
instruction sent by BTS, T3101 stops timing. When T3101 expires, the
system releases corresponding SDCCH resources. Proper configuration of
T3101 reduces congestion due to dual assignment SDCCH effectively.
The greater the T3101 is, the longer the inefficient time for using signaling
resources is. For example, if the extended transmission delay is improperly
configured (usually the sum of T and S is over small), the MS fails in
responding to the network side, so the MS resends the random access request
message.
Therefore, the network side will assign SDCCH (the network cannot
distinguish the repeated sending access request from the first send). For better
use of signaling resources, especially in activating queue function, you must
configure T3101 to a smaller value. The minimum interval for sending
 channel activation message and receiving setup indicator is 600ms. For non-
overload BSS, the maximum interval is 1.8s.

4.10.2 T3103

I. Definition
In inter- and intra-BSS handover, the BSC determines the time for keeping
TCH both in handover-originated cell and target cell. When the time receives
handover completion (intra-BSC) or clearing (inter-BSC) message, T3103
stops.
II. Format
T3103 ranges from 0 to 255s. The recommended value is 5s.
III. Configuration and Influence
The following paragraph is an example of inter-BSS handover.
When T3103 receives the handover command, it is reset and starts timing.
When it receives clearing command, it is reset. This means that T3103
reserves two channels when it is timing, one channel for source BSC, and one
channel for target BSC. If it is over long, two channels are occupied for a
long time and resources might be wasted.
According to the tests, if the NSS timer is properly configured, the handover
process occurs within 5s. Therefore, the recommended value is 5s.

4.10.3 T3105

I. Definition
See the protocol 0408 and 0858. When sending physical information, the
network starts T3105. If the timer expires before receiving any correct frames
from MS, the network resends physical information and restarts the T3105.
The maximum repeated times is Ny1.
II. Format
T3105 ranges from 0 to 255, with unit of 10ms.
III. Configuration and Influence
The physical information is sent on FACCH. The time for sending four
TDMA in a time on FACCH is about 18ms. If the next physical information
is just sent 18ms after the first one, probably the first physical information is
still being sent. The minimum time for sending physical information
continuously and most quickly is 20ms.
 IV. Precautions
T3105 is related to the timer NY1. If T3105 is small, configure NY1 to a
greater value. If a handover trial fails and the T3105 of the target cell expires
for Ny times before the original cell receives the HANDOVER FAILURE
message, the target BTS sends the CONNECTION FAILURE INDICATION
message to the target BSC.
The counter of target BSC is renewed though MS might return to the original
channel. To avoid this, the T3105 must meet the following foulard:
Ny * T3105 > T3124 + delta
Wherein, delta is the time between expiration of T3124 and receiving
HANDOVER FAILURE message by original BSC.

4.10.4 T3107

I. Definition
T3107 is a BSC timer, restricting the time for executing TCH assignment
instruction. It caters for TCH assignment of intracell handover and channel
assignment of calling.
II. Format
T3107 ranges form 0s to 255s. The recommended values are as follows:
 10s when channel resources are enough.
 5s when channel resources are limited.
III. Configuration and Influence
T3107 starts after the BSC sends the ASS_CMD message to BTS. It stops
after the BSC receives the ASS_CMP or ASS_FAIL message sent by BTS. If
T3107 expires, the system judges that the MS disconnects to the network, so
the occupied resource is released to other MSs. According to the measured
statistics result of network, the channel assignment is complete within 2s. If
the BSC does not receive ASS_CMP message after 2s, the assignment
command fails.
If the radio link is bad and some information must be resent, the process
might be prolonged to 5s. To avoid premature disconnection, configure
T3107 to 10s. In this way, the MS can reuse the original channel when
handover or assignment fails. Therefore the call drop due to intracell
handover decreases or the system service quality of re-assignment is
improved (if the system supports re-assignment function). However, the
channel resource might be wasted for several seconds. When the network
capacity is limited, you must save the resource as possible.

4.10.5 T3109
 I. Definition
The BSC restricts the releasing resource of SACCH by T3109.
II. Format
T3109 ranges from 3s to 34s. The recommended T3109 is as follows:
T3109 = a + RdioLinktimeOut x 0.480s, a = 1s or 2s.
III. Configuration and Influence
T3109 measures the time for channel releasing indicator after sending MS
clearing instructions. It starts after the BSC sends DEACT_SACCH message
to BTS. It stops after the BSC receives the REL_INC message sent by BTS.
When T3109 expires, the BSC sends the CLEAR REQUEST message to
MSC.
IV. Precautions
The sum of T3111 and T3109 must be greater than RadioLinkTimeOut. If
T3109 is over small, the corresponding radio resources are re-allocated before
RadioLinkTimeOut is due (radio link is not released).

4.10.6 T3111

I. Definition
T3111 is a connection release delay timer, used in deactivation of delayed
channel after disconnection of major signaling link. T3111 aims to spare
some time for repeated disconnections. When BSC receives the REL_IND
message sent by BTS, T3111 starts. For time protection, T3111 stops until
expiration and the BSC sends the RF_CHAN_REL message to BTS.
II. Format
T3111 ranges from 0s to 5s.
The recommended value is 2s.
III. Configuration and Influence
After the disconnection of major signaling link, T3111 delays the release of
channels. It allows the base station to retransmit the instruction for releasing
radio channels to MS within delayed time. After the base station sends a
release request massage, the radio resources remain for T3111 time.
If the system capacity is small, configure T3111 as short as possible. The
minimum value of T3111 is 2s, over five multiples of the time for resending
MS the instruction for releasing radio channel resources. A greater T3111
might be of no help, but affects congestion of SDCCH and TCH easily.

4.10.7 Parameter T3212

I. Definition
In a GSM network, the causes to location updating are as follows:
 The MS attach.
 The MS detects that its location area changes.
 The network forces MS to update location periodically.
The network controls how frequent the MS updates location, and
the period for location updating is determined by the parameter
T3212.
II. Format
T3212 ranges from 0 to 255, with unit of 6 minutes (1/10 hour). If T3212 = 1,
it means that T3212 is 6 minutes. If T3212 = 255, it means that T3212 is 25
hours and 30 minutes. If T3212 = 0, it means that MS is not required for
periodical location updating in the cell. The recommended T3212 is 240.
III. Configuration and Influence
As an important means, the periodical location updating enables network to
connect to MSs closely. Therefore, the short the period is, the overall service
performance of the network is. Anyhow frequent periodical location updating
brings two negative aspects:
 The signaling flow of the network increases sharply and the
utilization of radio resource declines. When the period is over
long, the processing capability of network elements (NE,
including MSC, BSC, and BTS) is directly affected.
 The MS must transmit signals with greater power, so the
average standby time is shortened sharply.
Therefore, configure T3212 according to resource utilization in various
aspects of network.
T3212 is configured by equipment room operators. Its value depends on the
flow and processing capability of each NE. Configure T3212 as follows:
 Configure T3212 to a greater value (such as 16 hours, 20
hours, or even 25 hours) in areas with heavy traffic and signaling
flow.
 Configure T3212 to a smaller value (such as 3 hours or 6
hours) in areas with low traffic and signaling flow.
 Configure T3212 to 0 in areas with traffic overrunning the
system capacity.
To configure T3212 properly, you must permanently measure the processing
capability and flow of each UE in the running network, such as:
 The processing capability of MSC and BSC
 A interface, Abis interface, and Um interface
 The capability of HLR and VLR
 If any of the previously listed NEs is overloaded, you can consider increasing
T3212.
IV. Precautions
T3212 cannot be over small. Otherwise, the signaling flow at each interface
increases sharply and the MS (especially handset) consumes increasing
power. If the T3212 is smaller than 30 minutes (excluding 0), the network
will be fiercely impacted.
Configuring T3212 of different cells in the same location area to the same
value is recommended. In addition, the T3212 must be consistent with related
parameters of switching side (smaller than the implicit detach timer at
switching side).
If the T3212 of different cells in the same location area is the same, in the cell
reselection, the MS continues to time according the T3212 of the original cell.
If the T3212 of the original and target cell in the same location area is
different, the MS uses the T3212 of the original cell modulo that of the
serving cell.
According to the actual tests of MS in the network, if the T3212 in the same
location area is different, after the MS performs modulo algorithm based on
behaviors of some users, the MS might power on normally. However, the MS
fails in originating location updating, so the network identifies it as implicit
detach. Now the MS powers on normally, but a user has powered off prompt
appears when it is called.

4.10.8 T3122

I. Definition
T3122 defines the period that the MS must wait for before the second trial
calling if the first trial calling fails. It aims to avoid congestion of SDCCH
due to repeated trial calling by MS and to relieve system load.
II. Format
T3122 ranges from 0s to 255s. The recommended value is 10s.
III. Configuration and Influence
The value of T3122 is included in the immediate assignment reject message.
After the MS receives the immediate assignment reject message (no channels
for signaling, A interface failure, overload of central processing unit, namely,
CPU), it can send new trial calling request after T3122. T3122 aims to relieve
radio signaling and voice channel resources.
T3122 also help avoid systematic overload. When the CPU is overloaded, the
system multiplies T3122 by a factor (determined by processorLoadSupconf)
to increase T3122 through overload control. In peak load time, you can
 manage network access by increasing T3122. Namely, you can increase the
interval between two continuous trial callings to relieve network load.

4.10.9 T3124

I. Definition
T3124 is used in occupation process in asynchronous handover. It is the time
for MS to receive the physical information send by network side.
II. Format
Configure it to 675ms when the channel type of assigned channel for
HANDOVER COMMAND message is SDCCH (+ SACCH). Configure it to
320ms in other situations.
III. Configuration and Influence
When the MS sends the HANDOVER ACCESS message on the primary
DCCH, T3124 starts. When the MS receives a PHYSICAL INFORMATION
message, the MS stops T3124, stops sending access burst, activates the PCH
in sending and receiving mode, and connects to the channel if necessary.
If the assigned channel is a SDCCH (+ SACCH), you must enable MS to
receive a correct PHYSICAL INFORMATION message sent by network side
in any block. If T3124 expires (only in asynchronization) or the low layer link
fails in the new channel before sending the HANDOVER COMPLETE
message, the MS proceeds as follows:
1) Deactivate the new channel
2) Restart the original channel
3) Reconnect to TCH
4) Trigger to setup primary signaling link
Then the MS sends the HANDOVER FAILURE message on the primary
signaling link and return normal operation before trial handover. The
parameters for returning the original channel are those before response to the
HANDOVER COMMAND message (such as in encryption mode).

4.10.10 T11

I. Definition
T11 is an assignment request queue timer.
II. Format
T11 is determined by equipment room operators. It indicates the maximum
queuing delay for assignment request.
 III. Configuration and Influence
When the BSC is sending the ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message, no TCHs
are available. The ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message must be put to a
queue and the BSC sends the QUEUING INDICATION message to MSC.
Meanwhile, T11 starts timing.
When the BSC sends the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message (TCH is
successfully assigned) or the ASSIGNMENT FAILURE message (TCH is
not assigned) to MSC, T11 stops timing.
If T11 expires, the corresponding ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message is
removed from queue and the BSC sends a CLEAR REQUEST message with
the cause of no radio resource available to MSC to clear calling.
Assignment queuing helps reduce service rejection times due to congestion,
so enabling it is recommended in a network. Anyhow, T11 cannot be over
great and it must be configured according to customer habits.

4.10.11 T200

I. Definition
T200 is important (both the MS and base station have T200) at Um interface
in data link layer LAPDm. LAPDm has different channels, such as SDCCH,
FACCH, and SACCH, and the transmission rate of different channel is
different, so T 200 must be configured with different values. The type of the
channels corresponding to T200 is the value of the T200.
II. Format
Different channels corresponds different values of T200. According to the
protocol, when SAPI = 0 and SAPI = 3, the T200 of corresponding data link
is dependently implemented, depending on delay of synchronous processing
mechanism and process in layer 1 and layer 2.
Table 7-1 Value range and default of each type of T200
Maximu
T200 Minimum Default
m

T200_SDCCH_SAPI0 50 100 60; /* = 60 * 5 ms */

T200_FACCH_Full_Rate 40 100 50; /* = 50 * 5 ms */

T200_FACCH_Half_Rate 40 100 50; /* = 50 * 5 ms */

T200_SACCH_TCH SAPI0 120 200 150; /* = 150 * 10 ms */

T200_SACCH_TCH SAPI3 120 200 150; /* = 150 * 10 ms */

T200_SACCH_SDCCH 50 100 60; /* = 60 * 10 ms */

T200_SDCCH_SAPI3 50 100 60; /* = 60 * 5 ms */

 III. Configuration and Influence
T200 avoids deadlock in sending data in data link layer. The data link layer
changes the physical link in which error occurs easily to data link with no
errors. At the two ends of the data link communication system, a confirm-to-
resend mechanism is used. Namely, receiving a message by the receiver must
be confirmed by the sender.
If it is unknown that the message is lost, both two ends wait for messages, so
the system confronts a deadlock. Therefore, T200 is used by the sender.
When T200 expires, the sender judges that the receiver fails in receiving the
message, so it resends the message.
When the sender needs to confirm whether the receiver has received the
message, T200 starts. When the sender receives the response from the
receiver, T200 stops. When T200 expires, the resending mechanism starts. If
the sender receives no response from the receiver after multiple resendings, it
sends ERROR INDICATION (T200 expiration) to layer 3.
IV. Precautions
T200 must be properly configured to ensure a predictable behavior at Um
interface. The rules for configuring T200 include:
 The potentially-existing lost frames in radio link must be
detected as possible.
 Necessary retransmission of frames must start at the
earliest possible moment.
 If the response is delayed due to UE failure, the T200
cannot expire before receiving and processing the next frame
from the opposite end.
 If T200 expires and no other frames are sent by preference,
the related frames must be resent in the message block.
 T 200 starts immediately after next PH-READY-TO-SEND.

4.10.12 N200

I. Definition
N200 is the resending times after expiration of T200.
II. Format
To configure N200, follow rules below:
1) When SAPI = 0 or 3, N200 depends on the state and the
channel used.
When multiframe operation is set up, it ensures a common time
value for layer 2 link failure in all channels. For layer 2 link
establishment and release, configure N200 to 5.
2) In timer recovery state, configure N200 as below:
  5 (SACCH)
 23 (SDCCH)
 34 (FACCH of full rate)
 29 (FACCH of half rate)
3) When SAPI is unequal to 0 or 3, configure N200 to 5, as
shown in Table 7-2 Situations of SAPI unequal to 0 or 3.
Table 7-2 Situations of SAPI unequal to 0 or 3
Minimum
Valid response Maximum resending
SAPI Channel resending
delay delay
delay
Tresp Trmin Trmax Note 3
0 SDCCH MS: 11 51 51
BSS: 32
0 FACCH/Full rate 9 26 39
0 FACCH/Half rate 10 34 44
3 SDCCH MS: 11 51 51 Note 1
BSS: 32
SACCH(with
3 25/129 Note 2 312 416 Note 2
TCH)
The TDMA frame is the measurement unit of values in this table, equal to
120/26ms (approximately 4.615ms)
Note 1: It caters for the process without SAPI 0 transmission. Otherwise, it
does not have a upper limit due to the priority of SAPI 0 transmission.
Note 2: You can configure it to a greater value only when PCH is
unavailable due to SAPI frame transmission if SAPI = 3.
Note 3: It caters only for sending monitoring frames that are available and
without F equal to 1.

III. Configuration and Influence

If the BSC fails in receiving lay 2 response message after multiple resending,
it sends the ERROR INDICATION message (T200 expires) to layer 3. The
BSC takes statistics of ERROR INDICATION message by corresponding
traffic measurement counter. When T200 or N200 is configured to an over
small value, call drop occurs probably due to ERROR INDICATION.

5 GSM Radio Network Optimization

Radio network optimization aims to improve network performance and
maximize the benefit of the existing network resources through parameter
collection, data analysis, parameter adjustment, and necessary technical
means.
From the perspective of carriers, they hope to configure the system rationally,
utilize network resources to the maximum, enhance network economic
 benefit, and reduce operation costs through network optimization. From the
perspective of users, they hope to get satisfactory telecommunication services
in terms network stability, speech quality, and so on. Therefore, the core task
of radio network planning and optimization is to seek a balance among
coverage, capacity, and quality based on rational investment and the limited
frequency resources, thus achieving the best rate of investment return.

5.1 Network Optimization Procedure

Hereunder details the procedure:
 Network information acquisition
You are required to confirm the actual engineering parameters and network
parameters, survey the local radio environment and hot-traffic spots, and understand
customer requirement.
 Data collection
You are required to collect OMCR traffic statistics data and alarm data; drive test
data, and the objective reflection of MS.
 Data analysis
You are required to analyze network performance, network parameters, and OMCR
traffic statistics using network optimization tools.
 Network tuning
You are required to tune engineering parameters and network functional parameters.
 Network optimization report
A network optimization report must include optimization measures, fulfilled network
performance indexes, and suggestions for network development.

5.2 Network Optimization Tools

5.2.1 Test MS

Test MS is a daily must for engineers to perform network test. The test MS
can display the service cell of a mobile telecommunication network and the
six neighbor cells. It can also be used to test network parameters. The test MS
can be connected to a computer, so it can collect and analyze data with the
help of drive test software.
The functions of a SAGEM test MS are listed below:
 View the IMSI of the SIM card
 Scan BCCH
The SAGEM test MS can scan the BCCH, and it will provides the Rxlev and BSIC
of the scanned BCCH in each cell.
 View network parameters
 The SAGEM test MS can display network parameters of the service cell of and the
six neighbor cells when it is idle or in conversation state.
 Forced cell selection
The test MS can be forced to reselect the designated cell for dialing test and
handover test.
 Forced handover
The test MS can be forced to hand over to the designated cell to analyze whether the
handover is normal during conversation.
 Frequency selection
 GPRS function test (The MSs of SAGEM OT96 support this
function)

5.2.2 Drive Test Software

ANT, TEMS, and SAFCO are the GSM drive test software in common use.
Generally, the drive test software consists of two parts: foreground data
collection software and background data analysis software.
I. Foreground Data Collection Software
The foreground data collection software is mainly responsible for collecting
the uplink and downlink data at the Um interface of the GSM mobile
network. If the BTSs and the landform map of the test areas are imported, the
track of the drive test, the radio parameters of each test point, and the main
information of the service cell, neighbor cell, and the Um interface can be
observed.
The functions of foreground data collection software are listed below:
 Test functions
Test functions include call test, scan test, call interference test, double-network
synchronization test, dialing record test, dual-band comparison test, and MS
selection test.
 Topical test
Topical test is responsible for forced handover and frequency locking (call) test,
BCCH frequency locking (standby) test, forced location update test, and band
locking test.
 Interference test
Interference aims to locate the BCCH same-frequency and neighbor frequency
interference and TCH neighbor frequency interference within the same network in
time.
 Parameter collection
The field strength of the service cell and the neighbor cells, bit error ratio, frame
error rate, and various radio parameters of the cell need to be collected.
 Geographic navigation
 The foreground data collection software can be used to display the geographic
navigation through combing the digital map and BTS resources.
 SQI (Speech Quality Index) test
SQI test aims to evaluate the speech quality experienced by mobile users.
 Traffic statistics
The foreground data collection software can be used for CQT traffic statistics. It
enables the call setup, call duration, and call release to be recorded respectively. In
addition, it is also responsible for recording call drop rate and congestion rate.
 Data record
The foreground data collection software can record and store the test data of the test
MS synchronously, and can record and store the scanned data of the 900MHz and
1800MHz synchronously.
 Scanning test
Scanning test aims to test and record the field strength of the channels of the GSM
900MHz network and GSM1800MHz network.
 Competitive test
The comparison between real-time field strength and speech quality is available. In
addition, real-time check of cell parameters is allowed.
II. Bachground Data Analysis Software
The background data analysis software can geographically present the radio
network test data and reflect the distribution of network parameters on the
electronic map visually. It can locate the problem cell by fully considering the
drive test data, network resource data, digital frequency sweep receiver data,
and GSM signaling characteristics, thus guiding engineers to evaluate and
optimize the network rationally and effectively.
The functions of background data analysis software are listed below:
 Radio coverage evaluation and analysis
 Interference analysis
 Neighbor cell analysis
 Handover analysis
 Signaling analysis
 Speech record and analysis

5.2.3 Signaling Analyzer

MA-10 and K1205 are the GSM signaling analyzer in common use. This
section introduces the functions of the signaling analyzer.
MA-10 signaling analyzer can test the Abis interface signaling messages, the
A-G interface signaling messages, and the SS#7 interface signaling messages
of ISUP, TUP, and INAP when it is on line. In addition, it can perform PCM
 BERT (bit error rate test) and GSM BERT. Furthermore, it can enable the
signaling message files saved during on-line monitoring when it is off-line.
The MA-10 signaling analyzer has five sub-applications. They are listed
below:
 MA-10 control (It is used to test Abis interface signaling
messages, A-G interface signaling messages, and bit errors when
it is on line.)
 MONITOR ABIS offline (It is used to analyze the Abis
interface signaling messages when it is off line.)
 MONITOR MSC offline (It is used to analyze the A-G interface
signaling messages when it is off line.)
 GSM-BERT offline (It is used to analyze GSM BERT when it is
off line.)
 PCM-BERT offline (It is used to analyze PCH BERT when it is
off line.)
With the help of MA-10 signaling analyzer, network optimization engineers
can collect and analyze Abis interface data and A-interface data, view the
whole signaling procedure, and obtain the measurement report, and then
compare the information with the downlink signals obtained from drive test.
These means can help network optimization engineers have an overall
understanding of the operation of the network. In this case, the causes and
places for the problems, such as call drop, handover failure, and congestion
can be located.

5.2.4 Network Optimization Software

Good network optimization software can work as a platform for radio

projects and maintenance personnel. NASTAR, Huawei network planning
and optimization tool, can deeply analyze GSM network by integrating
OMCR traffic statistics, configuration data, alarm data, engineering data, and
so on. In addition, it also provides the interfaces for network planning,
performance analysis, alarm analysis, and geography conditions.
The functions of NASTAR are listed below:
 Import static traffic statistics data (import the traffic
statistics files of the maintenance console into database)
 Import static traffic statistics data according to time
 Import dynamic Huawei traffic statistics
 Import BSC data configuration
 Display the geographic view of BTSs
 Cancel, add, and move the cells based on the geographic
view of BTSs
 Record spectrum utilization and analyze idle channel
number
 Check same-frequency BSIC
 Analyze neighbor cells
  Measure distance and azimuth angle
 Display navigation window and legend
 Query performance analysis tasks in common use
 Make performance analysis task
 Query network optimization tasks in common use
 Make network optimization tasks
 Perform tasks and alarms automatically
 Import and export tasks
 Display task result and site view
 Query traffic statistics inversely from the cell set selected
by site view
 Display the traffic tasks in direct views, including linear
figure, column, pie (support the display of double y-axis and the
simultaneous display of multiple indexes; support 2D and 3D.)
 Export electronic table (Excel) for query results.

5.3 Network Performance Evaluation

Before putting network optimization into practice, you should have an overall
understanding of the network performance. The traffic statistics data, DT
(drive test) data, and CQT (call quality test) data are necessary for network
performance acquisition.

5.3.1 DT

DT is used to evaluate the connectivity, coverage, call drop, and voice quality
for the main roads and transportation backbones in urban areas. The indexes
for the roads include connected ratio, call drop rate, coverage rate, voice
quality, and so on. The indexes for transportation backbones include call drop
rate per kilometer, coverage rate, voice quality, connected rate, and so on.
 Connected ratio
Connected ratio = total connected times/attempted calls *100%
 Call drop rate
Call drop rate = call drop times/total connected times *100%
 Coverage rate
Coverage rate = (≥ -94dBm test road kilometers)/total test road kilometers*100%
 Voice quality
According to bit error rate, voice quality can be divided into 8 classes, from 0 to 7.
Each class matches its bit error rate range.
The calculation of voice quality depends on actual conditions. Generally, the
following method is in common use:
 Voice quality = [Rxqual (class 0)% + Rxqual (class 1)% + Rxqual (class 2)%*1 +
Rxqual (class 3)%* + Rxqual (class 4)%*0.8 + Rxqual (class 5)%* + Rxqual (class
6)%*0.5 + Rxqual (class 7)%*0.2
 Call drop ratio per kilometer
Call drop ratio per kilometer = (≥ -94dBm test road kilometers)/total call drop times

5.3.2 CQT

CQT is applied to the important spots in urban areas. It enables you to

experience the network quality from the perspective of users. This section
introduces the indexes used to evaluating the CQT.
 Coverage rate
Coverage rate = (≥ -94dBm test points)/total calling test points)*100%
 Connected ratio
Connected ratio = total connected times/attempted calls *100%
 Call drop rate
Call drop rate = call drop times/total connected times *100%
 Voice discontinuity/background noise rate
Voice discontinuity/background noise rate = (total voice discontinuity occurrence
times + total background occurrence times)/total connected times*100%
 One-way audio/echo/cross-talking rate = (total one-way
audio times + total echo occurrence times + total cross-talking
occurrence times)/total connected times*100%
CQT enables you to use the MOS (mean opinion score) to evaluate the voice
quality from the perspective of people's objective feeling. The MOS can be
divided into five classes, from 1 to 5. For the evaluation standard, see Table
5-2 of Chapter 5 GSM Radio Network Planning of GSM Radio Network
Planning and Optimization.

5.3.3 Network Operation Indexes

Though DT and CQT can detail network problems, they are restricted from
test routes and time. Therefore, DT and CQT cannot test the overall network.
To give an overall evaluation towards the network, you should collect as
more network operation indexes as possible.
The indexes evaluating network operation quality are listed below:
 Service access capacity indexes
Service access capacity indexes include toll network connected ratio, short message
connected ratio, (GPRS) PDP activation ratio, and IP telephone connected ratio.
 Service hold capacity indexes
Service hold capacity indexes include call drop rate, worst cell ratio, traffic call drop
ratio, handover success rate, and short message gateway transit success rate.
 With the expansion of network scale, the network structure becomes ever
more complicated. In this case, networks with high performance but low cost
are encouraged.
The indexes on network utilization can be used to evaluate whether the cost
to run a network is low. These indexes include toll circuit utilization rate,
traffic channel availability, busiest and idlest cell ratio, and so on.
Hereunder introduces the methods to calculate the indexes used to evaluate
network operation at the radio side.
 Radio connected ratio
Radio connected ratio = (1 – SDCCH congestion rate)*(1 – TCH congestion rate (all
busy))*100%
 Call drop rate
Call drop rate = TCH call drop/successful TCH seizures (all busy)
 Worst cell ratio
A cell with TCH congestion rate higher than 5% at busy hours or a cell with TCH
call drop rate higher than 3% is defined as a worst cell. The number of the worst
cells varies with network scales.
 Traffic call drop ratio
Traffic call drop ratio = total TCH traffic volume *60%/total TCH call drop times
(all busy)
 Handover success rate
Handover success rate = successful handovers/attempted handovers*100%
 Traffic channel availability
Traffic channel availability = the available traffic channels at busy hour/configured
traffic channels*100%

5.4 Traffic Statistics Index Analysis

At the network optimization stage, the traffic statistics indexes are the basis
for network performance optimization. For network optimization, the KPIs,
such as congestion rate, call drop rate, and handover success rate, are in
common use. These indexes are the external representation of network
quality. The radio coverage quality, channel capacity, and cell parameters are
the internal factor to affect the network quality. The traffic statistics analysis
aims to look into these internal factors through external factors. Since the
mobile network is a complex system, you should consider related DT
information, signaling messages, and alarm information for the overall
analysis.

5.4.1 General Analysis Method

 Traffic statistics analysis is performed from BSC overall performance to cell
performance, from primary indexes to secondary indexes.
First you should have a rough understanding of the network performance
through BSC performance analysis. Here the indexes such as THC traffic
intensity, TCH call drop rate, TCH congestion rate, and inter-cell handover
success rate should be considered. Attention that in addition to check the
percentages of the indexes, you should also check the absolute numbers of the
indexes, because the percentages may sometimes hide some cell problems.
After having understood the indexes about the overall network performance,
you should analyze the indexes for each cell if finding abnormal indexes.
First you should judge if the abnormal index is a common phenomenon or it
is really an abnormal one. If it is a common phenomenon, you should begin
the analysis from the perspective of coverage, capacity, frequency planning,
and cell parameters. If it is really an abnormal case, you should register the
corresponding traffic sub-items and analyze them in detail. In addition, you
should also make an overall judgment through collecting the information
about alarm, engineers' operation, and other external causes. If the traffic
statistics analysis cannot contribute a correct judgment, you should employ
DT equipment and signaling analyzer for help.

5.4.2 High Call Drop Rate Analysis

If the uplink and downlink quality deteriorates to a level that cannot hold
normal conversation, the conversation will be disconnected. This is defined as
call drop. Since the user mobility and radio propagation is uncertain, call drop
always exists in a mobile network. However, optimization measures can be
adopted to reduce the call drop rate.
When the call drop rate of the BSC overall performance is found abnormal,
you can check TCH performance to judge whether the call drop is just a
common phenomenon or it is an individual phenomenon. After that, you can
judge whether the high call drop rate occurs in several cells or in all the
BTSs. If the call drop is a common phenomenon, you should make an overall
check towards the coverage planning, cell parameter planning, and frequency
planning to analyze whether the link budget meet the requirements, whether
the configuration of the path failure counter is rational, and whether the
network interference is too great. In addition, you should also check the BSC
hardware, and then perform drive test to check the network coverage.
If it the abnormality is caused by the severe call drop in individual cells, you
should confirm whether it is equipment failure that caused the call drop.
Generally, alarm messages are always come together with equipment failure,
so you can take equipment failure as a reference.
After the equipment failure is excluded, you can analyze the call drop rate
from the perspective of interference, coverage, and handover.
1) Interference is divided into uplink interference and
downlink interference. You can analyze the uplink interference
 according to the number of interference bands into which the
idle TCHs drop. It is normal that the idle TCHs drop into
interference band 1 and interference band 2. For the network
with aggressive frequency reuse, it is acceptable that the idle
TCHs drop into interference band 3. Here the frequency hopping,
PBGT handover and coverage control must be considered. If the
idle TCHs drop into interference band 4 or above, you should
carefully check the interference. Generally, the interference
within the network increases with the traffic volume. The
increase of the Rxqual class can be seen through the Rxqual
measurement task and Rxlev measurement task. The poor
handover ratio can be seen arising through inter-cell handover
performance measurement. In addition, the handover re-
establishment failures will result in more handover failures.
2) If the coverage is inadequate or it is unbalance on the
uplink and downlink, the call drop will also be resulted. You can
judge if the Rxlev is adequate through the mean Rxlev of the
power control measurement task and the power class. If the
Rxlev is still low when the transmitter power reaches the
maximum, there are areas with poor coverage. Meanwhile, you
can take the mean Rxqual and Rxlev during call drop as a
reference. The distribution of TA (timing advance) values can
help you estimate the radius of subscriber distribution. Through
checking the received channel strength of the neighbor cells, you
can analyze the cell coverage. Generally, drive test is needed for
a detailed analysis.
If the uplink coverage and downlink coverage are unbalance, RF component failure
or cable connection problem will occur. The path unbalance can be seen from the
path balance measurement task, power measurement task, and call drop
measurement task. At this time, the alarm information and user complaint also
deserve your attention.
3) Handover failure will prevent the MS from moving to the
best cell. In this case, call drop may be resulted. In addition,
cross-cell handover and target cell congestion may cause call
drop. To solve this problem, you can add neighbor cell
relationship and balance the traffic within the cells.
The high SDCCH call drop rate analysis is similar to high TCH call drop rate
analysis. Acting as the point-to-point signaling channel, the SDCCH is more
sensitive to the interference than TCH. In this case, the common method to reduce
the call drop rate is to adjust the access threshold and reduce interference.

5.4.3 High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis

This section discusses TCH congestion, including the congestion caused by

TCH seizure all busy and the congestion caused by TCH seizure failure.
When the congestion rate of the BSC overall performance is found abnormal,
you can find out the cells with high congestion rate through checking the
TCH performance statistics. In this case, you can discover the problems
through analyzing each functional sub-item of the TCH performance statistics
of this cell. In addition, you should check whether there is transmission
problem, clock problem, or hardware problem through considering the alarm
information.
It is a must to analyze the load according to the TCH traffic intensity and the
configured TCH capacity.
1) Check if the THC congestion rate is caused by TCH seizure
all busy through analyzing the TCH performance measurement of
the cell. If the congestion is caused by heavy traffic, you should
predict the real traffic of the cell and check if other cells can
share the traffic. If it is beyond the optimization capability to
enable other cells to share the traffic, you should consider
expanding the capacity of the network. The adjustment
measures for traffic balance may not be consistent with the
principle of minimum radio path loss, so they are applied to
emergent causes only. In most cases, you can balance the traffic
through adjusting coverage scope, adjusting access threshold,
adjusting CRO and handover threshold, or enabling load
handover. If the congestion is not caused by TCH seizure all
busy, go on with the check.
2) Check if the TRXs of the congestion cell work normally. The
damage or performance decline of the uplink channels may
prevent the MS from accessing other cells. In this case, many
cells will be seized, which will cause congestion. The incoming
cell handover performance measurement will show that many
handovers towards this cell are failures. In this case, you should
query the statue of each TRX within each cell through querying
the Rxlev performance measurement task or Rxqual performance
measurement task. In addition, you should find out which TRX is
related to the abnormality through querying the uplink and
downlink measurement reports of the same TRX.
3) Check if the congestion rate is related to interference,
namely, check if any abnormality is present from the
interference band 1 to interference band 5 in the traffic
statistics. If the interference is present in a cell, the call drop
rate of the cell will be high, and the SDCCH congestion rate will
increase accordingly. Moreover, the RACH in the random access
performance measurement may be congested, and the
immediate assignment success rate will decrease.
4) Under some conditions, the congestion of some cells is a
result of large coverage. In this case, you should analyze the
relationship between TA value and Rxlev through querying the
 power control mean level, the mean level during call drop, and
TA. In addition, you should also use drive test to define the
coverage area of the cell. Through querying the TCH availability
of the neighbor cell, you can confirm if the congestion is caused
by neighbor cell failures. Through querying path balance
performance measurement, you can judge if the reason for the
TCH seizure failure is that the downlink power is greater than
the uplink power.
5) Frequent handovers can also cause TCH congestion. Through
querying the ratio of the handovers to the call seizure successes,
you can check if the ratio is rational. Through querying the
incoming and outgoing ratio, you can check if the congestion is
caused by irrational handover.

5.4.4 High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis

The SDCCH congestion rate is mainly caused by heavy traffic. First you
should define if the congestion is a common phenomenon or if it is just an
individual phenomenon. If it is a common phenomenon, you should analyze
if the location update timer is irrationally set, and then calculate the SDCCH
capacity to see if it meets system requirement. If it is just an individual
phenomenon, you should analyze it from the perspective of equipment,
location area, and interference.
1) From the perspective of equipment, you should first check
the TRX sound ratio in the BSC overall performance
measurement and the SDCCH availability in the SDCCH
performance measurement, and then check the TCH activation
NACK/TIMEOUT in the TCH performance measurement. After
that, you can define if the congestion is caused by board
problem.
2) Check the messages for SDCCH bearer location update.
Irrational location area planning will cause frequent location
update, which will result in SDCCH congestion. You are required
to analyze of the edge of the location is set at the areas with a
great number of subscribers by checking the location area
planning and actual drive test. In addition, you are also required
to check if the location update messages accounts a too larger
percentage of the SDCCH seizure requests at the edge. The
method is to query the ratio of the successful SDCCH seizures
(location update) to the total SDCCH seizure successes in the
SDCCH performance measurement.
3) Interference also causes SDCCH congestion. Especially for
the networks in which the distance between BTSs is small and
the BCCH frequency is aggressive, the system may receive more
interference random access signals. The network will allocate a
SDCCH for each random access, which causes SDCCH congestion.
 In this case, the immediate assignment success rate will
decrease, the paging success rate will decrease, and the RACH in
the random access performance measurement may be
overloaded.

5.4.5 Low Handover Success Rate Analysis

The analysis for handover success rate is quite complicated, because it

involves capacity, coverage, clock, signaling, equipment, and even MS.
1) If the handover success rate of all cells is low, you should
check the problem from the perspective of handover
parameters, A-interface circuit, and BSC clock.
2) Filter the cells with poor handover. If a network is run by
the equipments of different carriers, you should check if it
interoperability problem by comparing the inter-BSC handover
success rata with the intra-BSC handover success rate in the
handover performance measurement. Generally, the inter-BSC
handover success rate is a little lower than the intra-BSC
handover success rate. In addition, you need to monitor the
signaling messages and data configuration between BSCs and
analyze the radio link budget and clock of each carrier.
3) Check if any problem is present at the Um interface through
comparing the handover success rate and radio handover success
rate. The radio handover success rate is equal to or greater than
the handover success rate. If the handover success rate is far
smaller than the radio handover success rate, you should analyze
the ground link and capacity. If the difference between the radio
handover success rate and the handover success rate, you need
to consider the interference.
4) Analyze if it is incoming handover failure or it is outgoing
handover failure through querying the incoming cell handover
success rate and outgoing handover success rate in the handover
performance measurement. After that, analyze the outgoing cell
handover performance measurement and incoming cell handover
performance measurement of the problem cell so as to find out
the incoming handover failure cells from the outgoing cell
performance measurement. Confirm if the poor handover is
caused by target cell congestion through analyzing the "incoming
cell handover failures", "TCH traffic intensity", and "TCH
congestion rate (all busy)" of all the incoming handover failure
cells.
5) Check if any equipment fails through querying the TRX
sound ratio, TCH availability, and TCH activation NACK/TIMEOUT
of the target cell. Analyze if the TRX performance decreases
through querying the Rxlev performance measurement of the
target cell.
 6) Check if any ground link equipment fails through querying
the A-interface failures and the ground link breaks during TCH
seizure.
When the microwave is used for the transmission or during inter-BSC handover, the
clock deviation is another cause for poor handover. And this can be proved by the
intra-BSC handover failures. For the cells where the clock synchronization is
unavailable, the BSIC cannot be decoded, so the handover can never occur. In this
case, you need to check if the clock is normal and analyze the call drop rate.
If these two causes are excluded, you need to make adjustment from the perspective
of coverage and interference.
To reduce call drop rate and enhance handover success rate, you can leave a margin
for the Rxlev and Rxqual during handover. If the Rxlev of a cell is lower than
-90dBm during handover, you should check the mean Rxlev and TA value of TCH
call drop in the call drop performance measurement and analyze drive test to see if
the coverage distance of the cell is too long and if the signal is not strong enough.
For the networks in which better cell algorithms are enabled, you should check the
"attempted handovers (better cell)". It is better that the percentage it accounts 60% of
the handover causes.
The interference will also affect the handover success rate. When the interference is
present, the voice quality will decrease and the call drop rate will increase.
Handover problems are rather complicated. To solve the problems arising in actual
work, you are supposed to integrate the methods introduce above, the signaling
analyzer, equipment condition, and drive test into consideration.

5.5 Network Problem Solutions

5.5.1 Coverage Problems

I. Solutuon Procedures
[Problem: the coverage is becoming smaller after the BTS is enabled]
After a BTS has run for a period of time (for example, half years), the
coverage of the BTS may become smaller or even dead zone may appear due
to various causes. In this case, the system performance will be affected. The
shrink of the coverage is not only related to the technical indexes (such as the
BTS sensitivity and power), but also related to the engineering quality,
geographic factors, and the electromagnetic environment.
The factor concerning the BTS problems are as follows:
 Transmitter output power decrease
 Receive sensitivity decrease
 Antenna azimuth angle change
 Antenna tilt change
 Antenna gain change
 Feeder loss
  Coupler loss
 Working band change
 Propagation environment change
 Diversity effect change.
You can check the problem according to the following procedure:
1) Check the conditions around the BTS antenna
You are required to check if there are other antennas (such as micro antenna),
decorations, billboard, trees, or glass walls standing around the BTS antenna. These
barriers may exert a negative effect against the antenna reception and transmission,
thus affecting the coverage of the BTS. In this case, you can tune the azimuth angel
of the corresponding antenna or change the antenna height.
2) Check the change of the propagation environment
The change of the propagation environment of the electromagnetic wave will
weaken the signals received by radio terminals. Especially for mountains, the
propagation of the electromagnetic waves depends on the reflection of mountains.
For example, the change in the vegetation of the mountain will reduce the coverage
of the BTS. In addition, the climate and other natural factors also have some effect
against the electromagnetic waves. The propagation loss varies with wood intensity,
season, and so on. The maximum loss can reach 30 dB. If new buildings prevent the
propagation of the electromagnetic waves and weakens the signals, the areas in the
remote cannot be covered, so the subscribers cannot enjoy the service. Especially the
high buildings near the BTS have a great effect against the propagation of
electromagnetic waves.
3) Check if there is standing wave alarm and main diversity
reception alarm at the operation and maintenance console
This problem can be checked according to the standing wave alarm messages and the
diversity reception alarm messages. If the alarms of this kind occur, you should
check the corresponding antennas and feeders.
4) Check if the standing wave ratio is smaller than 1.5%
The tolerance of the standing wave alarm threshold of the CDU or EDU is great.
Therefore, after checking that the set-top power is normal, you can further check if
the standing wave is smaller than 1.5%. If the standing wave ratio is abnormal, you
need to check if the water has penetrated into the antenna or feeder connector, or if it
is lightening protector problem.
5) Check if the tower amplifier work normally
Check if tower amplifier alarm is present at the operation and maintenance console.
Generally, the problems are the low noise amplifier was damaged or the water has
penetrated into the amplifier. The amplifier alarm always comes together with the
damage of the low noise amplifier. If the water has penetrated into the tower
amplifier, no alarm will be generated, but the RF loss is great. In this case, the
receiver sensitivity will decrease dramatically.
6) Check the engineering parameters (including antenna tilt
and azimuth angle)
The increase of the antenna tilt or the deviation of the azimuth angle will reduce the
coverage of the BTS. Therefore, antennas must be firmly fixed so that they can stand
strong wind and storms.
7) Check the set-top output power of the transceiver
First you should check if the lines are well connected, and then check if the set-top
power is normal. If it not normal, you should replace the problem hardware.
8) Check if the receiver sensitivity is normal
Check if the coverage distance is shortened by the low receiver sensitivity. In
addition, you can monitor the messages at the Abis interface and find out the
relationship between level and bit error rate. After that, you can get the value of the
level when the bit error rate is 2%. This means, however, only applies to the situation
that when the receiver sensitivity drops dramatically.
9) Check if the parameters affecting the coverage are
rationally set
10) Check if the high back noise in the coverage area is caused
by interference and poor electromagnetic environment.
[Coverage problem caused by BTS expansion]
If the coverage of the BTS shrinks after expansion, in addition to making the
previous checks, you are supposed to check the following items.
1) Check if the combiner keeps the same before and after
expansion
The loss of different combiners varies greatly Therefore, the combiner configuration
deserves special attention during BTS expansion. If different combiners are a must,
you should fully communicate with customers.
2) Check if the antennas are rationally selected
Suitable antennas must be selected for project installation and network planning so
that the best coverage can be achieved. It must be pointed out that you should use
zero-point filling antenna or the electrical title antenna when the antenna height is
great. In addition, omni antennas cannot be widely used for the large area coverage.
In this case, the coverage problem can be solved by directional antennas.
3) Check if the installation of the newly-added antennas are
qualified
You should first check if the design of the antenna height, azimuth angle, and
antenna tilt is qualified. Generally, the important coverage areas cannot be bared by
tower. Meanwhile, the important coverage areas cannot be perpendicular to the
diversity direction of the antenna. In this case, the antenna diversity effect can be
excavated to the maximum. To reduce the coverage shadow caused by the tower,
you should pay attention to the distance between the antenna and the tower.
Moreover, the pole of the omni antenna and the RF part of the antenna cannot be
overlapped.
4) Check the position of the BCCH transmitter antenna
Since the tower effect is present, the BCCH transmitter antenna must be installed at a
side of the important coverage area. In this case, the coverage shadow can be
avoided. To prevent the assignment failure caused by the inconsistence of the BCCH
coverage and TCH coverage, you can use the concentric channel allocation
algorithm. In addition, the important coverage area cannot be perpendicular to the
diversity direction of the antenna.
5) Check if the tilts and the azimuth angles of the directional
dual transmitter antennas are consistent with each other
If the tilts and azimuth angles of the directional dual transmitter antennas are
inconsistent, call drop, assignment failure, and handover failure will easily occur. In
this case, the coverage area of the BTS will become small. In addition, since the
tower effect is present, the BCCH transmitter antenna must be installed at a side of
the important coverage area. In this case, the coverage shadow can be avoided.
Moreover, the important coverage area cannot be perpendicular to the diversity
direction of the antenna.
6) Check the set-top output power of various TRXs if the
scheme for the maximum coverage is used.
When the maximum coverage is pursued, the TRXs are required to be combined in
various ways. In this case, the coverage distance of the BCCH will be longer than
that of the TCH. As a result, the TCH assignment failure will be caused, so the
concentric technology is needed. The channel assignment failure caused by low
transmit level in the inner circle and the channel congestion in the external circle can
be avoided if the TA values of the inner circle and the external circle are correctly set
and allocated to the inner circle and external circle according to the right priority.
[Coverage problems caused by BTS swap or construction]
1) Check if the azimuth angle and the antenna height are the
same before and after the BTS swap
If all the antenna and feeder components are newly constructed, the old BTS can
only be swapped after the new antenna is installed. Therefore, the azimuth angle and
the antenna height may be different from that of the old antenna. In this case, the
coverage area may decrease. As a result, you should check if the azimuth angle and
the antenna height are the same before and after the bas station swap.
2) Check antenna tilt problems caused by network swap
Generally, the tilt must keep the same. If you need to control the coverage area due
to new BTSs are added to urban areas, you can consider increasing the tilt.
3) Check if the set-top power of the swap BTS is the same as
that of the old BTS.
4) Check if the receiver sensitivity of the BTS is normal.
5) Check if it is the interference or the poor electromagnetic
environment that makes the back noise of the whole area too
high.
 6) Check if any standing wave alarm message or diversity
reception alarm message is generated for antenna and feeder at
the operation and maintenance console.
7) Check the parameters that will affect coverage are
rationally set.
8) Check if the installation of the antennas is qualified after
the BTS has been enabled or swapped.
9) Check if the right type of antenna is selected.
10) Check the position of the BCCH TRX transmitter of the omni
dual transmitter antenna.
11) Check if the tilts and the azimuth angles of the two
directional antennas keep the same after the directional dual
transmitter antenna is used.
12) Check if the antennas and feeders of the cell are inversely
connected.
13) Check if the tower amplifier works normally.
14) Check the set-top power for various TRXs when the
configuration scheme for the maximum coverage is pursued.
II. Problems Affecting Coverage and Solutions
[Antenna water penetration]
It is quite accidental that the water penetrates into the antenna. Water
penetration means that the water enters the RF internal channel. In this case,
the voltage standing wave ratio of the antenna will increase; the antenna loss
will increase, the coverage area will decrease; or event the power amplifier
will be disabled.
[Antenna passive intermodulation]
The passive intermodulation of the antenna and various connectors will cause
interference. The exclusive method can be used for the check. That is, you
can connect the antenna feeders of the neighbor cells where there is no
interference to the test cell. If any problem is found, you should change the
antenna.
[Improper antenna selection]
Generally, if the antenna height exceeds 50m and if the first zero point under
the main antenna beam is not filled, the "shadow under tower" may occur.
That is, the area under the tower cannot be covered by signals. In this case,
you should select the antenna with zero point filling function.
If three-sector directional antennas are used for vast coverage, the antennas
must have a high gain and their half power angle must be greater than 90
degrees. If the half power angle is small, the gain of the two neighbor sectors
will be low. In this case, the coverage radius is small.
If the antenna tilt is great, the all mechanical tilt antenna is not a suitable
choice. In this case, you should select the fixed "electrical tilt + mechanical
 tilt" antenna or the "continuous adjustable electrical tilt (0 to 10 degrees) +
mechanical tilt" antenna.
As the frequency reuse becomes more aggressive, the front-to-back ratio of
the antenna may not meet the requirement of a single BTS or several BTSs.
Therefore, you should select the antennas with greater front-to-back ratio.
[Tower effect against Omni antenna radiation]
The tower effect against omni antenna radiation deserves enough attention. It
is hard to estimate the damage of the omni antenna directional diagram caused
by the tower. The damage varies greatly with the distance between the tower
and the antenna.
If the antenna is installed on the tower and metal tube, you should pay special
attentions to the following items:
 The metal tube and the effect radiation part of the antenna
cannot be overlapped.
 Take measures to avoid installing the whole antenna on the
metal tube.
 If the antenna is installed on the tower, make sure that the
distance between the antenna and the nearest end of the tower
is greater than 6 wavelengths.
 The omni dual transmitter technology is not recommended.
 The antenna must be perpendicular to 1/8 of the half power
beam width at least.
[Directional antenna installation problem]
Two problems may occur for directional antenna installation:
 The antenna is inversely or wrongly connected.
 The azimuth angles and the tilts of the transmitter antenna
and the receiver antenna are inconsistent and or the error is
great.
Engineering causes are the explanations of the two problems. Generally, the error
scope of the azimuth angle cannot exceed 5 degrees, and that of the tilt cannot
exceed 0.5 degrees. If the error is too great, the coverage of the transit antenna and
that of the receiver antenna will be different. In this case, it is hard to make calls the
coverage edges.
 Problems concerning the diversity distance between the
transit antenna and the receiver antenna or the isolation
between the antennas and tower.
The coverage of the antenna will be affected if the diversity distance between the
transmitter antenna and the receiver antenna or the isolation between the antennas
and the tower is not great enough. For GSM 900MHz system, the diversity distance
between the transmitter antenna and the receiver antenna is required to be greater
than 4m. For GSM 1800MHz system, it is required to be greater than 2m. The
antenna mount must be at least 1.5m away from the tower. Meanwhile, the antenna
mount must be installed within the 45-dregree protection areas of the lightening
protector.
  There are shadows in coverage areas.
When installing a directional antenna, you should make sure that there is no shadow
within the coverage area. Generally, if there are huge barrier, such as high buildings
and mountains, around the BTS, shadows may appear. If you intend install the BTS
on the roof of a high building, you should install it at the edges of the building so as
to avoid the shadow. Since the environment around the roof is quite complex, the
antenna height must be great enough. In this case, however, you should consider the
ability of the antenna to stand the wind and storm.
[Omni antenna installation problem]
 The radiator of the omni antenna is barred by antenna pole.
The coverage will be affected if the radiator of the omni antenna is barred by antenna
pole. Generally, there is a jacket installed at the bottom of the omni antenna and the
jacket is used to connect the omni antenna and the antenna pole. From the
perspective of installation, the top of the jacket must be at the same level with or
higher than the top of the pole; otherwise the radiation will be affected.
 The problems concerning antenna diversity distance and
isolation between antenna and tower.
If the antenna diversity distance or the isolation between antenna and tower is not
great enough, the coverage will be poor. If the antenna diversity distance is too
small, it will reduce diversity gain. In this case, the receiver sensitivity will reduce.
Though the tower effect against the omni antenna radiation is unavoidable, you can
increase the isolation between the antenna and the tower to reduce the effect.
It is suggested that the isolation between the omni antenna and the tower is greater
than 2m, the horizontal diversity distance of the 900MHz omni antenna is greater
than 4m, and the horizontal diversity distance of the 1800MHz antenna is greater
than 2m.
 The omni antenna is not perpendicular to the horizontal
plane.
If the omni antenna is not perpendicular to the horizontal plane, the antenna
directional diagram will be distorted in the coverage area. In this case, the coverage
of the antenna will be affected.
It is suggested that installation plane of the antenna mount be perpendicular to the
horizontal plane. If the mount extends beyond the tower, make sure that the mount is
still in the protection areas of the lightening protector. Generally, the areas 45-dregee
under the lightening protector top are the protection areas.
[Connection problems of antenna and feeder, combiner and splitter, and
CDU]
If various connectors of the antenna and feeder system are not connected according
to requirement, the performance of the antenna and feeder system will be affected. In
this case, the coverage area of the BTS will also be affected.
 Water penetration occurs at the various connectors of the
antenna and feeder system.
If water has penetrated into the connector and feeder, the standing wave ratio will
increase. In this case, the coverage area will be affected.
 Various connectors are not tightened.
If the connectors for set-top jumpers, for the cables from TRX boards to combiner
and splitter, and for various RF cables are not tightened, both the reception
performance and the transmit performance of the system will decrease. In this case,
the coverage area and the conversation quality will be affected.
 The transmitter antenna and the receiver antenna are
inversely connected due to inconsistent configuration of the set-
top jumper and data.
 The connection between the jumper and feeder is not tight,
which results in high loss and standing wave ratio. In this case,
the coverage will be affected and interference will be caused.
[Tower amplifier problem]
 Water penetration will increase the loss, deteriorate the
standing wave ratio, and decrease the receiver sensitivity.
 The damage of the LNA (it is in the tower amplifier) will
decrease the gain or even decrease the gain to a negative value.
 The input end and the output end of the tower amplifier are
inversely connected. In this case, the tower amplifier will be
short-circuited. If the short circuit lasts for a long time, the front
module will be damaged.
[BTS front module problem]
 Isolator problem
 Duplexer and other filter damage
 Standing wave ratio error alarm
 LNA (low noise amplifier) damage
 Low TRX or amplifier output power
[Parameter configuration problem]
The parameters affecting coverage are listed below:
 TRX power class
 Tower amplifier attenuation coefficient
 MS maximum transmit power control power
 MS minimum Rxlev
 RACH minimum access threshold
III. Coverage Cases
Case 1: Use down tilt omni antenna to improve coverage
[Problem description]
In a suburban area, the omni antenna with a gain of 11dBi is used for the
BTS. This coverage distance can reach 9km in plain environment. However,
 the coverage in the area near the BTS is poor. The Rxlev in the small town
800-1400m away from the BTS is about -90dBm.
[Problem analysis and solution]
On-site survey shows that the antenna height is too great. The height of the
tower on which the antenna is installed 50m. Moreover, the tower is
established on a small mountain, so the town is 120m below the antenna. The
first judgment is that the phenomenon of "shadow under tower" has been
caused.
Further analysis of the collected data finds that omni antenna is used for the
BTS. The antenna gain is 11dBi, and the vertical half power angel is 7
degrees. If the valid antenna height is 120m, the half power points of the
antenna major lobe are scattered in the area about 2000m away from the BTS.
Therefore, this town is not in the coverage area of the BTS.
Through checking the fluctuation of the Rxlev according to the drive test
map, engineers found that this town locates within the radiation area of a zero
power point of the BTS. However, the town is too far away from the
mountains around, so it cannot get the signals reflected by the mountains.
Therefore, the Rxlev in this town is quite slow.
After having replaced the antenna with an omni antenna with 5 degrees of the
down tilt angle, engineers retested the Rxlev and found that it increased by 15-
20 dB in the areas 3km within the BTS. In some areas, the Rxlev is increased by
30 dB. Therefore, the coverage has been improved remarkably.
Case 2: Improper installation of omni antenna has effect against the
coverage
[Problem description]
A new BTS has been enabled for a local network. Users complain that the
coverage area become smaller after that. For the low narrow areas 2km away
from the BTS, the Rxlev is already lower than -90dBm.
[Problem analysis and solution]
Through surveying the environment around the BTS, engineers found that the
major transmitter antenna and the diversity receiver antenna are installed in a
plane parallel to the road. Apparently, this kind of installation does not meet
the criteria.
The correct way is to install the major transmitter antenna and the diversity
receiver antenna in a plane perpendicular to the road. In addition, the major
transmitter antenna must be located at one side of the road.
Case 3: Improper configuration of data causes poor coverage
[Problem description]
During the optimization for a place, engineers found that the signals at a
section of the road in the suburban area are quite poor. The measured Rxlev is
-95dBm.
[Cause analysis]
This section locates in the suburban area and is about 3km away from the
urban area. There is no abrupt change in terms of landform within this
section. Theoretically, the Rxlev here should be about -80dBm, so the
difference between the theoretical Rxlev and the measured Rxlev is great.
According to the frequency sweep test, the strength of the Fa signal is about
-95dBm, and the strength of the Fb signal is about -80dBm. For this section,
it is covered by three cells of the BTS A and BTS B that are installed in the
urban area (the BCCH frequencies are Fa and Fb). In addition, a cell of the
BTS C installed at the remote suburban area also covers the section (the
BCCH frequency is Fc).
Through checking data, engineers found that the Fb is not included in the
neighbor channel numbers of the A-3 cell in the BA1. When the MS moves
from the urban area to the suburban area, it will choose A-3 cell to camp on,
because the Fb is not configured in the neighbor channel numbers. In this
case, the MS cannot reselect the B-3 cell to camp on. In the cell neighbor
relationship list, the A-3 cell and B-3 cell cannot work as the neighbor cell for
each other, and the Fb is not configured in the neighbor channel numbers of
the A-3 cell listed in BA2. Therefore, in conversation mode, the MS cannot
keep the conversation in A-3 cell. When it arrives at this section, it cannot
hand over to the B-3 cell. Therefore, the signals are poor, so is the voice
quality.
[Solution]
Enable the A-3 cell and B-3 cell to work as neighbor cell for each other.
Case 4: Irrational BTS swap affects coverage
[Problem description]
In an urban area, a BTS must be swapped for the building on which the BTS
was installed were to be moved. Considering that coverage for the scenic spot
2km away (the scenic spot locates behind a hill) is poor, so engineers
intended to install the BTS on the top of the hill. On the top of the cell, the
whole city and the scenic spot can be seen. However, after the BTS swap,
users complaint that there were no signals in the indoor environment of the
cells near the site where the old BTS was installed.
[Cause analysis]
The buildings of the resident area are densely distributed and the average
height is 8m. Before the BTS swap, the cell used for this area is only 100m
away, and the antenna height is 15m. Therefore, the indoor conversation
quality can be guaranteed. After the BTS swap, however, the cell used this
area is 1.8km away, and the antenna height is 30m. In this case, the signals
are quite weak when arriving at the bottom of resident area, though the
signals falling at the top of the building is good. To solve this problem, you
can only increase the output power of the transmitter antenna or increase the
antenna gain. However, the coverage is still not to users' satisfactory even
increase the antenna height to 30m. Therefore, when swapping or
 constructing a BTS at the densely populated area, you should pay attention to
the following items:
 It is suggested that the distance between the BTS and the
resident area is equal to or smaller than 150m, otherwise the
coverage for this area will become weak dramatically.
 The antenna of the swapped BTS cannot be too great. If the
BTS is installed among resident buildings, the antenna height is
suggested to be 7-10m. If the BTS is installed beyond the
resident buildings and the buildings are high, you can increase
the antenna height accordingly.
 You can solve the problems concerning cross area coverage
can through controlling the power class of the BTS, tuning the
azimuth angle of the antenna, or tuning the tilt angle of the
antenna.
[Solution]
According to on-site survey, engineers found that the indoor signals of this
area are too poor to hold the conversation. This area can be seen clearly from
the tower on which the BTS is installed. The distance between the BTS and
the area is only 1.8km, and between them are vast farmlands. To solve this
problem, you can attempt to tune the azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the
antenna. If the coverage is not yet improved, you can use the following
methods:
 Replace the common antenna used for this cell (its gain is
15dBi) with the high-gain antenna used for the scenic spot (its
gain is 18dBi)
 There are 4 TRXs in this cell, all in SCU mode, replace the
SCU mode with the dual-CDU mode.
After the above methods are done, the antenna gain for this area can be
increased by 6dB. After the antenna replacement, you need to tune the
antenna tilt for the best coverage.
Through retesting the indoor signal level, engineers found that it increased by
6-12dB. And even the common MS can keep normal conversation.

5.5.2 Interference Problems

Interference is a key factor affecting network performance, including

conversation quality, call drop, handover, congestion, and so on.
I. Interference Sources
In the mobile telecommunication system, when the BTS is receiving the signals
from a remote MS, it will not only be interfered by other telecommunication
equipments, but also it will be interfered by the other BTSs and MSs within the
system.
Hereunder introduces the interference sources affecting the GSM system.
  Intra-network interference
If the frequencies are improperly planned, or the frequency reuse is too aggressive,
intra-frequency interference or neighbor cell interference will be caused.
 Repeater interference
At the early stage of network construction, repeaters are widely used for extending
the coverage distance of the network. However, if the repeaters are improperly
planned, the network will be interfered.
If the repeaters are not installed according to requirement, that is, there is not enough
isolation left between the donor antenna and the subscriber antenna, the BTS to
which the repeaters attach will interfered.
For the repeaters enabling broadband non-linear amplifier, the intermodulation
indexes are far greater than that required in the protocols. In this case, the greater the
power is, the greater the intermodulation will be. Therefore, the BTS near the
repeaters will be interfered.
 Interference from other big-power telecommunication
equipments
These equipments include radar, analog BTS, and other telecommunication
equipments using the same band.
 Hardware problems
TRX problem: If the performance of the TRX decreases, the system may be
interfered.
CDU problem or splitter problem: Active amplifier is used in the CDU splitter and
splitter module. When any problem occurs, the system may also be interfered.
Stray and intermodulation: If the out-band stray of the power amplifier or the TRX
of the BTS go beyond requirement, or the isolation of the transmission and the
reception of the CDU duplexer is too small, the connection channel will be
interfered. Meanwhile, the passive equipments, such as the feeder and the antenna,
will generate intermodulation.
II. Interference Positioning and Elimination
[Positioning and elimination procedure]
1) Find out the interference cell according to KPI
If the call drop rate, handover success rate, traffic volume, congestion rate, and
interference band of a cell deteriorate to a bad level abruptly, it means that
interference may exist in the cell.
In this case, you can also check the historical record of operations made in this cell.
For example, check if the hardware and software of the BTS has been added or
increased and if the data of the BTS has been modified. Generally, the appearance of
interference is related to these operations.
If these parameters are not adjusted, the interference may be from the hardware itself
out outside factors. In this case, you are suggested to check if it is hardware problem.
If it is not, you should check outside factors.
 2) Check OMC alarm
Sometimes high call drop rate, low handover success rate, and high congestion rate
may be related to equipment problems. In this case, you can check OMC alarm
records. These records are related to the deterioration of these indexes.
3) Check frequency planning
If the interference is doubt in a cell, you can check the frequency planning for the
cell and the neighbor cells of the cell. For this check, you are required to make clear
the distribution of the antennas, find out the azimuth angle of each cell, draw the
topology, and mark the BCCH/TCH channel numbers. Meanwhile, you are also
required to compare the planned channel numbers with the configured channel
numbers in the BSC.
According to the accurate frequency planning topology, you can make sure if the
intra-frequency interference or neighbor frequency interference is present in the
network.
4) Check cell parameter configuration
The cell parameters, such as CRO, threshold, handover duration, neighbor cell
relationship, and so on, may have interference against the system.
If the CRO is set to a great value, the MS may be guided to an idle cell whose level
is lower than its surrounding cells. Once the conversation is started but the C/I
cannot meet the threshold requirement (12dB), interference will be caused.
If neighbor cells are missing, the MS cannot hand over to a cell with better signal
level and quality. In this case, the interference will also be generated. If the handover
threshold and the P/N are too great, the handovers between cells are unavailable. If
the P/N is too small, however, it will result in frequent handover. In this case, both
the call drop rate and the system load will be increased.
5) Drive test
Drive test is an effective method to position the interference. There are two drive test
methods: idle mode test and dedicated mode test.
For idle mode test, the test equipment can test the signal level of both the signal level
and the neighbor cells. In addition, the test equipment can also perform the
frequency sweep test for the designate channel numbers or bands. In this case, the
interference caused by cross-cell coverage signals can be discovered.
For dedicated mode test, the test equipments can test the signal level of the service
cell and neighbor cells, the Rxqual, the TA, and so on. If the Rxlev is equal to or
greater then -80dBm and the Rxqual is equal to or greater than 6 in an area, it can be
confirmed that the interference exists in the area. Some test equipment can display
the FER (frame error rate). Generally, if the FER is greater or equal to 25%, the
conversation will not be continuous. That is, the interference exists.
6) Interference elimination
You can eliminate the interference according to the above checked results, and then
evaluate the elimination through KPI and drive test.
[Hardware problem positioning and elimination]
 When the interference is doubted in a cell, you should first check if the BTS
where the cell locates works normally. In the remote end, you should check if
there is antenna alarm, TRX alarm, or BTS clock alarm generated. In the near
end, you should check if there is antenna problem, water penetration, feeder
(jumper) damage, CPU problem, TRX problem, wrong jumper connection or
clock problem occurred.
 Antenna performance decline
Antenna a passive component and its damage probability is small. However, if the
antenna is damaged or its performance declines, the voice quality will become poor.
 Antenna connector problem
GSM RF signals are micro wave signals. If the connections between TRX, CDU,
feeder, and antenna have any problem, both the standing wave ratio and the
intermodulation will increase. In this case, the interference will be resulted.
 Inverse antenna connection
The inverse antenna connection is a commonly seen problem. If the antenna is
inversely connected, the channel numbers used by the cell and the planned channel
numbers are completely inconsistent. In this case, intra-frequency interference, inter-
frequency interference, and handover difficulty will be resulted. Especially for the
networks that have inadequate frequency resource, the inverse antenna connection
has great effect against network quality.
 Jumper problem
Many jumpers locate between antennas, so they are often wrongly connected. In this
case, high call drop rate will be resulted.
 TRX problem
If TRX problems occur, the interference will increase, the coverage distance area
will decrease, and the access is difficult.
 Clock failure
If the clock deviation is too great, it is hard for the MS to lock the frequencies of the
BTS, so the handover failure always occurs, or the MS cannot camp on any cell of
the BTS. In addition, if the clock deviation is too great, the BTS cannot understand
the signals of the BTS, which will result in bit errors. However, the clock failure will
not really introduce interference, but it is the transmission errors that make the voice
quality decrease.
 Conclusion
Any problem concerning the TRX, CDU, feeder, antenna, jumper, and connector
may cause interference or call drop. Therefore, if interference appears, you should
check the hardware of the BTS. In addition, BTS clock failure will also cause
interference and call drop.
It is easy to solve the hardware problems through changing the boards or adjusting
traffic data. If there is spectrum analyzer available, you can position the problem
more efficiently. Especially when the interference appears without any modification
of network data, you should focus on checking the hardware.
 [Intra-Network Interference]
The intra-network interference is mainly from intra-frequency interference
and neighbor cell interference. When C/I is smaller than 12dB or the C/A is
smaller than -6dB, the interference is unavoidable. However, the aggressive
frequency reuse technology will increase of the occurrence probability of
interference.
 Same-frequency and neighbor frequency interference
In GSM system, the frequency reuse is unavoidable. When the frequency reuse
distance of two cells using the same frequency is smaller than cell radius, same-
frequency interference will be easily caused. Past experiences show that the
frequency reuse must be avoided in many cases.
The interference against the uplink channel numbers can be judged by the
interference band data in the traffic statistics.
For the interference against the downlink channel numbers, the existing drive
test equipments can be indirectly used to measure if the same-frequency
interference is present. First you should lock the test MS in the service cell
and enable make the MS work in conversation mode during drive test. If you
find that the Rxlev in an area is high but the Rxqual is low, it is likely that the
same-frequency is present in this area.
 Interference caused by cross coverage
In a properly designed network, each cell covers the areas around the BTS only and
the MS camps on or holds conversation in the nearest cell. Cross coverage means
that the coverage of a cell is too large and the cell can cover the areas under the
control of other BTSs. If cross coverage occurs, irrational traffic absorption,
interference, call drop, congestion, and handover failure may arise.
 Interference caused by aggressive frequency reuse
Capacity and quality always contradicts to each other. In urban areas, the aggressive
frequency reuse technology must be used for the number of subscribers in urban
areas are great. In this case, the network quality will surely decrease. In the areas
where BTSs are irrationally distributed, the aggressive frequency reuse technology
may cause the collision of same frequency and neighbor frequencies.
 Interference caused by repeater
It is convenient to use repeater for special coverage. However, if a repeater is not
qualified or it is not properly installed, it will cause interference.
 Interference caused by outside environment
Outside environment, such as TV station, big-power radio station, micro wave, radar,
high voltage wire, analog BTS, and so on, will cause interference.
III. Interference Cases
Case 1: Interference cause by antenna performance decline
[Problem description]
 There are 5 BTSs in a county. The configuration type is S4/4/4 or S6/6/6. The
interference band 5 reaches 15 according to the TCH performance
measurement of the most cells. There is no alarm found at the OMC.
[Problem positioning and solution]
1) Through monitoring and registering the interference band
traffic statistics for the problem cells all day, engineers found
that the interference band 5 mostly appeared at day time, and it
seldom appeared at early morning.
2) Through sending the idle BURSTS of all the BTSs, engineers
found that the interference bands of these cells appeared in the
early morning. If the sending of these idle BURSTS stopped,
these interference bands disappeared. Therefore, it can be
proved that the interference came from the network. It is not
related to other telecommunication equipments.
3) The frequencies and other data were not adjusted before
the interference appeared, so the interference is not related to
the frequency planning.
4) Through surveying the RXM test interface of the CDU using
the spectrum analyzer during the traffic peak at day time,
engineers found that the broadband interference was strong and
the back noise was rising.
5) There was no interference in one cell, but the interference
in another two cells was strong. Through replacing the antenna
feeder of the cell with no interference with the antenna feeders
of the cells with interference and sending idle BURSTS, engineers
found that the interference went with the antenna feeder.
Therefore, it can be decided that the problem occurred at the
antenna and feeder system.
6) Through changing the antenna, engineers found that the
interference went with the antenna. Therefore, the problem is
likely present at the antenna.
7) Through replacing the antenna with dual polarization
antenna, engineers found that the strong interference
disappeared immediately. Through replacing the old antenna of
another BTS with a new one, engineers found that the
interference also disappeared.
Case 2: Call drop caused by intra-network interference
[Problem description]
Customers in a place complaint that call drop happen frequently.
[Problem analysis and solution]
1) Through a careful test, engineers found that there were 12
channel numbers gathering at the call drop spot and Rxlev
reached -73dBm. When the MS seized channel number 11, the
interference from channel number 112 caused the call drop.
 2) Through testing the CGI of channel number 12 using test MS,
engineers found that this channel number was one of the BCCH
number of D3.
3) Through surveying BTS D, engineers found that the antenna
of D3 is installed at the top of a building. In addition, a house
made of glass was found 8m away and 4m under the antenna.
Engineers tested that the signal strength near the antenna was
about -45dBm, and the signal strength at near the glass was
-30dBm, which was beyond the expectation of engineers. In fact,
the cause was that the signals reflected by the glass were
reflected to the call drop spot.
4) It is suggested to change the antenna installation place and
channel number. You should interchange the channel number
111 and channel number 114 of BTS A and increase the down tilt
angle of A3 cell. In addition, to avoid the interference caused by
channel number 111 after the interchange, you should adjust the
direction of channel number 113 of C1 cell.
5) Test shows that everything is normal after the adjustment.
The channel number 113 of BTS C has no effect against channel
number 114. And the call drop disappears.
Case 3: Interference caused by repeater
[Problem description]
Users in an area complaint that the MS cannot seize a channel to hold
conversation, or the noise is great after channel seizure and the channel and
the MS signal is strong. Two BTSs are installed in this area. The antenna
azimuth angle of cell1 rightly directs to the north. Before user complaint, the
BTS in this area ran normally and the network indexes met the requirement.
After the problem arisen, the traffic volume of the two BTSs dropped sharply
from the perspective of traffic statistics indexes. In addition, the traffic
volume of cell1 and cell3 also dropped sharply. Though the signals for the
conversation were strong, the voice quality was quite poor. According to
traffic statistics, the interference bands of the four cells were of level 3, level
4, and level 5, and 95% of the channels were interfered. In addition, other
channels were interfered to some extent. However, no alarm messages were
generated at the OMC.
[Problem analysis and solution]
1) According to user feedbacks, the possible reasons include
transmission problem, antenna feeder problem, hardware
problem, intra-network interference, and outside interference.
2) The uplink interference signals in the northwest direction
might strong. Therefore, cell1, cell2, and cell3 of the two BTSs
were interfered, in which cell1 and the cell3 were seriously
interfered.
3) Through on-site dialing test, engineers found that it was
hard to make calls in the areas covered by cell1 and cell3. Even
 if a call was put through, the voice quality was quite poor. In
addition, the voice was discontinuous and the interference was
strong. Through using MS to call a fixed phone, engineers found
it was hard to hear the voice clearly. On the contrary, they could
hear the voice from the fixed phone clearly. This has proved the
above analysis. That is, the interference might be from the
outside, or the standing wave problem was occurring at the
antenna (from this perspective, it can be judged that the
interference existed on the uplink only).
4) Through using antenna feeder analyzer to perform on-site
test, engineers found no problem was existing at any BTS. A new
repeater was found in this area, and it was located two
kilometers away from the BTS in the northwest direction.
Moreover, the interference appeared just when the repeater was
enabled. On-site test found that the BTS became normal state
once the repeater shut down, and the interference bands also
became normal, so did the call. If the repeater was enabled,
however, it was hard to make calls and the interference was
strong. At last, the agreement to shut down the repeater was
reached. After that, the conversation became normal.
Case 4: Microwave interference
[Problem description]
During network maintenance, through analyzing BSC traffic statistics,
engineers found that the call drop rate of the cell2 and cell3 of a S2/2/2 BTS
arisen abruptly, and the value even reached 20% at some time.
[Problem analysis and solution]
1) Through checking BSC traffic statistics, engineers found that
the number of idle TCHs was increasing at the interference
bands 3-5 around 8:30. Around 10:00, the idle TCHs were found
at the interference band 4 and interference band 5. Around
22:00, the idle TCHs were found at the interference band 1.
Therefore, it could be judged that the interference existed.
2) Because the BTS ran normally, the problems cannot be
related to frequency planning.
3) According to the TRX management messages, engineers
found that the interference existed at the four boards of the
cell2 and cell3 of the BTS. Because the probability for the four
boards to be damaged simultaneously is quite small, the TRX
problem can be excluded. However, one board was changed in
case of abnormal conditions, but the interference was not
eliminated.
4) Through checking all the BSC traffic statistics data,
engineers found that cells of the BTSs near the BTS and the cells
of the cell2 and cell3 of the BTS were interfered to some extent.
In addition, engineers also found that the SDCCHs (16 SDCCHs in
 total) of the seriously-affected cells were seized at sometimes.
However, the number of subscribers determined that the
probability for all the SDCCHs to be seized simultaneously is
quite small. Therefore, it could be judged that the uplink was
interfered by outside factors. However, the interference might
be related to direction only.
5) To further position the problem, engineers interchanged the
jumpers of cell1 and cell3 at the set top. In this case, the
interference was found at cell1, but the interference was
disappearing from cell3. Therefore, the interference was not
related to channel number.
6) Because the interference was not related to channel
number, it might be the big-power signals that caused the
interference.
7) Through using the spectrum analyzer to perform the
measurement at the output interface of the BTS splitter,
engineers found that the big-power signals existed at the 904MHz
channel number (it has an interval of 5M between the used
channel number. For the BTS where the interference was strong,
the signal level can reach as high as about -25dBm. For other
BTSs, the signal level was about -50dBm. Therefore, it could be
judged that it was this signal that affected the BTS.
8) Through using the spectrum analyzer to scan the areas near
the BTS, engineers found that there was a microwave antenna
outputting big-power at the channel number 904.
9) The interference disappeared after the microwave
equipment was shut down.

5.5.3 Call Drop Problems

For the GSM network, call drop is users' major worry and the call drop rate is
an important index evaluating network quality.
I. Call Drop Resasons and Solutions
i) Call drop due to coverage reasons
[Reason analysis]
 Discontinuous coverage (dead zone)
For a single BTS, the quality of the signals at the edge of the station is quite poor, so
the MS cannot hand over to another cell. In this case, the call drop occurs.
If the landform of the coverage areas is complex or fluctuates greatly, or the radio
transmission environment is complex, the signals will be barred. In this case, the
coverage is discontinuous and call drop will occur.
 Poor indoor coverage
If the buildings in an area are densely populated, the signal attenuation is great. And
if the walls of the buildings are thick, the penetration loss is great and the indoor
signal level is low. In this case, the call drop may easily occur.
 Isolated island effect
As shown in Error: Reference source not found, the service cell forms an isolated
island due to various reasons (for example, the power is too great). In this case, the
MS still seizes the signals of the service cell A after moving to cell C, but the cell A
does not define the neighbor cell C. At this time, if the MS still performs the
handover according to the neighbor cell B provided by neighbor cell A, it cannot
find a suitable cell. In this case, the call drop will occur.
 Small coverage
If the coverage is too small, the hardware equipment of a cell may fail. For example,
the antenna is barred or the TRX failure occurs (the power amplifier part).
[Judgment methods]
First you should find out the areas where the coverage is inadequate
according to user complaints, and then you should perform the drive test in a
larger scope to check if the signal level and the handover are normal and if
the call drop exists. In addition, you can employ the traffic statistics recorded
at the OMC to check the BSC overall call drop rate and find out the cell with
great call drop rate. Furthermore, you can still make the analysis and
judgment by referring to other traffic statistics items. Hereunder lists some
ones:
 Power control performance measurement (to check if the
mean uplink and downlink signal strength is too low)
 Rxlev performance measurement (to check if the ratio of
the low Rxlev is too great)
 Cell performance measurement/inter-cell handover
performance measurement (to check if the level class and the
mean Rxlev are too low)
 Call drop performance measurement (to check if the signal
level is too low during call drop and if the TA value is normal
before call drop)
 Defined neighbor cell performance measurement (to
position the cell with low mean signal level)
 Undefined neighbor cell performance measurement (to
check if the undefined neighbor cells with high signal level exist)
 Power control performance measurement (to measure the
greatest TA value between the MS and BTS)
[Solutions]
1) Check the areas where the coverage is inadequate
You can find out the area where the coverage is inadequate through drive test. For an
isolated BTS or the BTSs installed in mountain areas that cannot form seamless
coverage, you can add BTSs to these areas for seamless coverage. Or you can
improve the coverage through other means. For example, you can enhance the
maximum transmit power of the BTS, change the antenna azimuth angle, change the
antenna tilt, change the antenna height, and so on. In addition, you should also
analyze if the call drop is caused by landforms. Generally, call drop can easily occur
at tunnels, big shopping market, underground railway entrance, underground parking
lot, and low-lying places. In this case, you can use the micro cell to solve the
coverage problem.
2) Ensure indoor call quality
To ensure indoor call quality, you should make sure that the outdoor signals are
strong enough. To strength the outdoor signals, you can increase the maximum BTS
transmit power, change the antenna azimuth angle, change the antenna tilt angle, and
change the antenna height, and so on. If the indoor call quality is still not improved
remarkably, you can consider adding BTSs. For improving the indoor coverage of
office buildings and hotels, you can consider using the indoor antenna distribution
system.
3) For the cells having no neighbor cells, you can configure the
neighbor cells for the cell so as to reduce the call drop rate. To
eliminate the isolation island effect, you can reduce the tilt
angle of the BTS.
4) Eliminate hardware problems
You can check if there are hardware problems and if the coverage area is too
small through drive test. If the call drop rate of a cell arises dramatically but
all other indexes are normal, you should check if the neighbor cells of this
cell work normally. (Generally, the downlink problems may occur. For
example, TRX problem, diversity unit problem, and antenna problem are
commonly seen. If the uplink fails, the outgoing handover failure rate of the
old cell will be high.)
ii) Call drop due to handover reasons
[Reason analysis]
 Irrational parameter configuration
If the signal level at the cross-area of two cells is quite low, the level of the handover
candidate cell is too low, and if the handover threshold is too low, some MSs will
hand over to the neighbor cell when the signal level of the neighbor cell is higher
than that of the service cell. If the signal level of the neighbor cell deteriorates
dramatically just after the handover, the call drop will occur if no suitable cell is
available for the handover.
 Incomplete neighbor cell definition
If the neighbor cell definition is incomplete, the MS will hold the conversation in the
existing cells until it moves beyond the edges of the cell but cannot hand over to a
stronger cell. In this case, the call drop will occur.
 Neighbor cells with same BCCH and same BSIC exist.
 Traffic congestion
If the traffic is unbalance, no TCH will be available in the target cell. In this case, the
handover failure will occur.
 BTS clock lost synchronization
If the BTS lost synchronization, the frequency offset will go beyond the requirement.
In this case, the call drop will occur if handover fails.
 T3103 expiry
The T3103 will be started when the network sends a handover command.
Upon the reception of the message to complete the handover or the message
to remove the command, the T3103 will stop. T3103 is used to hold the
channel long enough for the MS to return to the old channel. If the T3103 is
set to a too small value, the MS cannot necessarily return to the old channel.
In this case, call drop may occur during handover.
[Judgment methods]
You can judge if the cells with low handover success rate, frequent re-
establishment failures, and high call drop rate through analyzing traffic
statistics indexes. After the judgment, you can find out what causes the
handover. For example, the uplink and downlink Rxlev can cause the
handover; the uplink and downlink Rxqual can cause the handover; power
budget can cause handover; call direct retry can cause handover; and also
handover can be initiated by traffic reasons.
To check if the BTS clock runs normally, you can check if the any alarm is
generated for the BTS clock. If necessary, you must correct the BTS clock to
eliminate clock problem. You can check if there is handover problem through
drive test. If there is a problem cell, you should perform drive near the cell for
several times. Hereunder lists the indexes concerning call drop:
 Inter-cell handover performance measurement (frequent
handover failures, frequent re-establishment failures)
 Inter-cell handover performance measurement (frequent
handovers, high re-establishment rate)
 Undefined neighbor cell performance measurement (the
undefined neighbor cell level and the number of measurement
report go beyond the standard)
 Outgoing cell handover performance measurement (find out
the reasons for low outgoing cell handover from the handover
target cell)
 Low incoming cell handover success rate; the cell handover
parameters are improperly set; the target cell is congested.
 TCH performance measurement (the handover times are not
proportional to the TCH call seizure successes; the handover
happens too frequent)
[Solution]
1) Check the parameters affecting the handover. For example,
you can check the hierarchical and level setting, each handover
 threshold, each handover hysteresis, handover time, handover
duration, the minimum access level of the handover candidate
cell, and so on.
2) If the call drop is caused by unbalance traffic volume or if
the call drop occurs due to no handover channel is available at
the target BTS, you can solve the problem by adjusting the
traffic volume. For example, you can adjust the project
parameters, such as antenna tilt and antenna azimuth angle, to
control the coverage scope of a cell. To balance the traffic
volume, you can use CRO to guide the MS to camp on other idle
cells, or you can set the hierarchical and level priority to guide
the MS to hand over to the idle cell. In addition, you can solve
the problem by expanding the TRX directly.
3) Calibrate the problem BTS clock to enable the
synchronization of the clock.
iii) Call drop due to interference reasons
[Reason analysis]
If the MS receives strong same-frequency interference signals or strong
neighbor frequency interference signals in the service cell, the bit error rate
will deteriorate. In this case, the MS cannot demodulate the BSIC code of the
neighbor cells accurately, or it cannot receive the measurement report from
the MS correctly. As a result, the conversation will be interfered, the call
quality will become poor, and call drop will occur.
[Judgment methods]
The interference may be from the network itself or the outside network, or it
may exist in the uplink signals or downlink signals. The following methods
can be used to position the interference.
 Find out the cells might be interfered through checking
traffic statistics.
 Perform the call drive test for the areas that might be
interfered and check the uplink and downlink interference
according to user complaint. You can find out if there is a place
where the signal is strong but the call quality is poor through
drive test tools. In addition, you can use a test MS to perform
dialing test to check if a channel number is interfered.
 Check the frequency planning to see if same-frequency
interference and neighbor frequency interference occur in the
area where the frequency is improperly planned.
 Adjust the channel numbers that might be interfered to see
if the interference can be avoided or reduced.
 Exclude the interference caused by equipment.
 If the previous methods fail to eliminate the interference,
you can use the spectrum analyzer to scan the frequencies to
 find out the interfered channel number and the interference
source.
Hereunder lists several traffic statistics indexes used for interference analysis:
 Interference band
You can check the uplink interference through analyzing the interference band in the
traffic statistics. If an idle channel appears at the interference bands 3-5, the
interference is present. If it is intra-network interference, it will increase as the traffic
volume grows. Generally, if it is outside interference, it is not related to traffic
volume. It must be pointed out that the interference bands are reported to the BSC by
the BTS TRX channel (when in idle mode) through RF resource indication
messages. If the current channel is busy and cannot report RF resource indication
message, you must consider the traffic volume for the measuring the interference
bands.
 Rxlev performance measurement
The Rxlev performance measurement provides the matrix relationship between the
signal level and quality. If the signal level is high but the quality is poor, it means
that the interference (same-frequency interference, intra-frequency interference, and
outside interference) is present at the channel numbers of the TRX board.
 Poor quality handover ratio
The cell performance measurement, inter-cell handover performance measurement,
or the outgoing cell handover performance measurement records the outgoing
handover attempt times. If the frequent handover is caused by poor signal quality, it
means that the interference is present.
 Rxqual performance measurement
It is related to the mean Rxlev and Rxqual during call drop.
 Call drop performance measurement
It records the mean Rxlev and Rxqual during call drop.
 Frequent handover failures and frequent re-establishment
failures
It means that the interference may be present in the target cell.
[Solutions]
1) Check the interfered road and the distribution of signal
quality through dive test. As far as the actual conditions are
concerned, you can adjust the BTS transmit power and antenna
tilt of the related cells or adjust the channel number planning to
avoid the interference.
2) Use DTX technology, frequency hopping technology, power
control, and diversity technology
These technologies can be used to reduce the system noise and enhance anti-
interference capacity of the system. DTX is divided into uplink DTX and downlink
DTX. In this case, the transmit time can be reduced and the interference level of the
system can also be reduced. However, you should adjust the DTX according to the
actual radio environment and the neighbor cell relationship. When signals received
by the MS are poor, the use of the DTX will result in call drop. If the downlink DTX
is enabled, the BTS will increase its transmit power after the call is established.
During the conversation, however, the BTS will reduce its transmit power. In this
case, the interference against other BTSs will be reduced. If the interference is
present near the BTS, the downlink DTX will deteriorate the conversation quality.
When the BTS reduces its transmit power, the conversation quality will decrease or
the call drop may even occur in the areas where the Rxlev is low but the interference
signal is strong.
3) Solve the equipment problems, such as the self-excitation
of TRX boards and the antenna demodulation interference.
4) Exclude the outside interference.
iv) Call drop due to antenna feeder reasons
[Reason analysis]
 Engineering problem may be one of the reasons. For
example, if the transmit antennas between two cells are
inversely connected, the level of the uplink signal will be far
poorer than that of the downlink signal. In this case, the call
drop, one-way audio, and call difficulty will be found in the
areas far away from the base station.
 If polarization antennas are used, a cell had two sets of
antennas. If the tilt angles of the two antennas are inconsistent
with each other, the call drop will occur.
If a directional cell has a master antenna and a diversity antenna, the BCCH and the
SDCCH of the cell may be transmitted through the two antennas respectively. If the
tilt angles of the two antennas are different, the coverage scope of the two antennas
will be different. In this case, the MS can receive BCCH signals but cannot seize the
SDCCH when starting a call. Thus the call drop is resulted.
 If the azimuth angles of the two antennas are inconsistent
with each other, call drop may also occur. That is, the MS can
receive the SDCCH signals, but it may be assigned with the TCH.
In this case, the call drop will occur.
 The problems concerning antenna feeder will also cause call
drop. For example, if the antenna is damaged, or water
penetrates into the antenna, or connector problem is present,
the transmitter power and the receiver sensitivity will decrease.
In this case, the call drop will occur. To confirm the problem,
you can check the standing wave ratio.
[Problem positioning and solution]
1) Check if any alarm concerning the combiner, CDU, tower
amplifier, and standing wave is generated and check if the BTS
boards are normal in the OMC.
2) Analyze if the path balance is realized according to traffic
statistics.
 3) Further analyze if the path balance is realized through
monitoring the messages sent across the Abis interface.
4) Perform drive test and dialing test. During drive test, you
can check if the BCCH numbers of the service cell are consistent
with the planned ones, namely, if the transmit antenna of the
antenna is correctly installed.
5) Check and test the on-site BTSs. Here the installation of the
azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the antenna must be
checked. In addition, you should also check if the feeder and
jumper are correctly connected, if there is connector problem,
and if the feeder is damaged. Furthermore, you must still check
if the standing wave is normal.
6) Judge if it is BTS hardware that causes path unbalance and
call drop. To solve hardware problem, you can either change the
components that may have problems or disable other TRXs in the
cell. To find out the problem TRX, you can position the problem
through dialing test. Once a problem hardware component is
found, you must replace it with a sound one. If no sound one is
available, you must shut down the problem hardware component
to prevent it from affecting network quality.
Hereunder lists several traffic statistics items for path balance analysis:
 Path balance measurement (to analyze if the path balance
is realized)
 Call drop performance measurement (to analyze the uplink
and downlink level and quality during call drop)
 Power control performance measurement (to analyze mean
Rxlev on the uplink and downlink)
v) Call drop due to transmission reasons
If the transmission quality across the Abis interface and A-interface may be
not good and stable, call drop may occur. The following methods can be used
to solve the problem:
1) Check the transmission alarm and board alarm and analyze
if there is transmission intermittent and board failure.
2) Check the transmission channel, test the bit error rate,
check 2M connectors, and check if the equipment grounding is
rational to ensure stable transmission quality and reduce call
drop rate.
3) Check the traffic statistics to see if the frequent call drop is
caused by transmission problems. Especially you should check
TCH performance measurement, because it can indicate if the A-
interface failures during TCH seizure is normal, if the TCH
utilization is normal, and if the ground link call drop times are
great.
vi) Call drop due to parameter reasons
 Here you should focus on checking if the parameters related to call drop are
irrationally set. If the following parameters are not irrationally set, the call
drop may be resulted.
 Radio link failure counter
This parameter acts on the downlink. When the MS fails to decode the SACCH, it
will use this parameter to decide when to disconnect the call. If this parameter is set
to a too small value, the radio link failures will easily occur and cause call drop. For
dead zones or the areas where the call drop frequently happens, you are
recommended to set this parameter to a greater value.
When changing the radio link failure counter, you should change the corresponding
T3109. The T3109 must be set to a value great enough for the MS to detect a radio
link failure. For example, if the value of the radio link failure counter is 16 (about 8
seconds), the value of T3109 must be greater than 8 seconds (you can set T3109 to 9
seconds or 10 seconds).
 SACCH multiframe number
This parameter acts on the uplink. The BTS uses this parameter to notify the radio
link connection failure message to BSS. The BSS side judges the radio link failure
according to the bit error rate on the uplink SACCH. If this parameter is set to a too
small value, the radio link failure will happen frequently and the call drop rate will
be resulted.
 Access control parameters
The access control parameters include the Minimum RACH Rxlev, RACH busy
threshold, and so on. If the access control parameters are irrationally set, the call
drop will be easily resulted.
 T3101, T3107
T3101 is started when the BSC sends a CHANNEL ACTIVATE message to the
BTS. It stops when an ESTABLISH INDICATION message is received. This timer
monitors the immediate assignment procedure. If T3101 expires, the allocated
channels will be removed.
T3107 is started when the BSC sends an ASSIGNMENT COMMAND message to
the BTS. Once the BSC receives the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message from the
BTS, this timer will reset. T3107 is used to hold the channels long enough so that the
MS can return to the old channel. Or it can also be used by the MS to release a
channel.
If the two timers are set to a too small value, the system will not have enough time to
send the ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE message to the BSC. In this case, the call
drop will occur if the timer expires.
 T200; N200
T200 is an important timer used for the LAPDm (Link Access Procedure on the Dm
channel). It prevents the deadlock from occurring when the data is transferred across
the data link layer. In GSM system, the messages transferred across radio interfaces
can be divided into two types: the messages needing opposite acknowledgement and
the messages not needing opposite acknowledgement.
For the messages needing opposite acknowledgement, a T200 must be started once
the message is sent. If the opposite acknowledgement is not received after a period
of time, the message should be retransmitted. In this case, the timer must be
restarted. If the retransmission times exceed the maximum allowed times, the
message will no longer be retransmitted and the link will be released. That is, this
call drops. N200 is the maximum retransmission times allowed. T200 and N200 have
different types depending on channel types (TCH full rate, TCH half rate, and
SDCCH) and service types (signaling and messages). The given channel type and
service type matches a pair of T200 and N200.
The call drop rate can be reduced if the message is retransmitted as early as possible
before the opposite acknowledgement is received. That is, the value of T200 must be
set as small as possible and the value of N200 must be set as great as possible.
However, the T200 cannot be set to a too small value and the N200 cannot be set to a
too large value. If the opposite party has acknowledged that the link had been
removed, the retransmission will make nonsense.
Therefore, to reduce the call drop rate, you can adjust the T200 and N200 according
to actual radio conditions.
II. Call Drop Cases
Case 1: Call drop caused by frequency hopping collision
[Problem analysis]
A BTS uses 1 x 3 RF frequency hopping. After capacity expansion, the TCH
allocation failure rate is still high due to radio link problems. In addition, the
TCH call drop rate and incoming handover failure rate are high. The SDCCH
call drop rate is normal.
[Problem positioning and solution]
Because high call drop rate and high incoming handover failure rate come
together with the TCH allocation rate, it can be judged that the problem may
arise during TCH assignment or the channel numbers or timeslots seized by
the call are interfered or unstable. Because the SDCCH call drop rate is
normal, it can be judged that the probability for the BCCH carriers and
BCCH numbers to the interfered are small, but the non-BCCH carriers and
non-BCCH numbers may be greatly interfered.
Through checking the hardware, antenna feeder, and transmission, engineers
found no problem. According to drive test, engineers found that the signal
level was high but the quality was poor. Through on-site dialing test,
engineers found that the conversation quality was poor. Through checking
engineering parameters, engineers found that the MAIO of the new carrier
was the same as that of the old carrier. Therefore, it can be judged that the
call drop was caused by the frequency hopping collision. After modifying the
MAIO, engineers found that call drop rate became normal.
Case 2: Call drop caused by isolated island effect
[Problem description]
 Users complained that call drop always occurred above the fifth floor of a
building.
[Problem analysis]
1) Through on-site test, engineers found that call drop and
noise existed here. As far as the test MS was concerned, it was
always in the service area of the other BTS (hereunder called
BTS B) other than the local BTS (hereunder called BTS C) before
the call drop.
2) It is estimated that the service cell belongs to BTS B, which
is 3-4 kilometers away from the building. Therefore, it can be
judged that the signals from the BTS B are reflected signals. As a
result, an area similar to an isolated island is formed.
3) Through checking data configuration, engineers found that
only the cell 2 of BTS A has the neighbor cell relationship with
BTS B. Therefore, when the MS is using the signals in cell 2 of the
BTS B, if the signals in cell 3 of BTS A were strong, and if the cell
2 of BTS B has no neighbor cell relationship with the cell 3 of the
BTS A, the handover cannot be performed.
The signals from the cell 2 of BTS B are reflected many times. Therefore, when
signals (from BTS B) received by the MS became poor dramatically, emergent
handover may be initiated. In this case, however, either the cell 2 or cell 3 of the
BTS A is not an ideal candidate cell for the cell 2 of BTS B. As a result, the MS may
hand over to other BTS (hereunder called BTS C), but the MS cannot receive the
signals from BTS C. Therefore, call drop occurs.
[Solution]
You are recommended to change the data in the BA1 (BCCH) list, BA2
(SACCH) list, and neighbor cell relationship list. For example, you can
configure the cell 3 of BTS A as the neighbor cell of cell 2 of BTS B. To
eliminate the isolated island effect, you should also further optimize the
engineering parameters. After that, the call drop problem can be solved.
Case 3: Reduce call drop rate through optimizing handover parameters
[Problem description]
The drive test in an area found that the call drop rate at a cave near the BTS
high because the handover cannot be performed in due time.
[Problem analysis and solution]
The cave is near the BTS. The signal level of the target cell is about -80dBm
in the cave, but the signal level of the old cell drops below -100dBm. The
downlink power of the two cells outside the cave is good, so the handover
cannot be initiated. However, the signal level deteriorates dramatically in the
cave, so the call drop occurs before the measurement time is arriving.
To reduce the call drop rate, you can optimize and adjust the handover
parameters:
 1) If no ping-pong handover is present and the conversation is
continuous, you can make the PBGT handover happen as easily as
possible.
2) Set the threshold to trigger the emergent handover
rationally so that the emergent handover can be triggered before
call drop.
For the parameter modification, see
Handover parameter optimization
Parameter Name Before Modification After Modification

PBGT handover measurement time 5 3

PBGT handover duration 4 2

PBGT handover threshold 72 68

Uplink quality threshold for emergent

70 60
handover

Minimum downlink power for handover

10 15
candidate cell

Case 4: Call drop caused by clock problem

[Problem description]
The cell A of an 1800MHz network has been cutover. After the establishment
of a cell at site B, the calls made in the cell handing over to the GSM900
MHz cell that shares the same BTS site drops in the GSM900 MHz cell. And
the call drop rate is great.
[Problem analysis and solution]
Engineers find that the clock of the GSM900 MHz BTS and that of the
GSM1800 MHz BTS are asynchronous. When the calls established on the
GSM1800 MHz cell intend to hand over to the GSM900 MHz cell, the drive
test data shows that the FER arises dramatically first, and then gradually
disappears to none. If the handover is from a GSM900 MHz cell to a
GSM1800 MHz cell, this phenomenon is also present. Through monitoring
signaling, engineers find that the conversation held several seconds before the
call drop is just process for call re-establishment. However, the test MS
shows that the call has been handed over to the GSM900 MHz cell.
Therefore, it can be judged that the clocks are seriously asynchronous. To
solve this problem, the carrier concerned and the GSM900 equipment
provider cooperate with each other on clock calibration. After that, the
abnormal call drop disappears. Therefore, for dual-band handover, the clock
of the GSM900 MHz BTS and that of the GSM1800 MHz BTS must be
synchronous.

5.5.4 Handover Problems

 The MS is always moving during conversation. To ensure channel quality,
the MS must measure the quality of the channels of the surrounding channels
without stop, and then send the measurement report to the BSC through the
service cell. The BSC will perform radio link control according to the signal
level and quality contained in the measurement report. If the MS moves to
another cell, the new cell will replace the old cell to ensure the continuity of
the service. The handover enables each cell to form a seamless network.
I. Handover Problem Positioning Steps
1) Find out if the problem occurs at an individual cell or all
cells and find out the characteristics of the problem cells. For
example, if the cells are the neighbors cell of a cell, or if they
are co-BSC cells, or if they are co-MSC cells.
If the handover between two cells fails, you should focus on checking if the data of
the two cells is correctly configured. In addition, you should also check the hardware
of the two cells.
If the problem is found in all the neighbor cells of a cell, you should focus on
checking of the data of this cell is correctly configured. In addition, you should also
check the hardware of the cell.
If the problem is found in all the cells under the same BSC, you should focus on
checking the data configuration between the BSC and MSC.
If the problem is found in all the cells under the same MSC, the cooperation between
the local exchange and the opposite exchange may fail. For example, the signaling is
incompatible and the timer setting is irrational.
2) Check if the data has been modified before handover
problems occur.
If the problem is found in an individual cell, you should focus on checking if the data
configuration for this cell has been modified.
If the problem is found in all the cells under the same BSC, you should focus on
checking the data configuration for the local BSC and the opposite MSC has been
modified.
If the problem is found in the cells under the same MSC, you should check if the
data configuration for the opposite MSC has been modified.
3) Check if it is the hardware failure that causes the handover
problem.
4) Register the related traffic statistics items, such as the
handover performance measurement and TCH performance
measurement.
 Check if the TCH seizure of the problem cell is normal. For
example, if the call drop rate is high.
 Check if the outgoing handover success rate is normal.
 Find out the causes for the handover failure.
 Check if the radio handover success rate is normal.
 5) Perform drive test for the problem cell and analyze the
drive test signaling.
 Check if the uplink and downlink of the problem cells are
balanced, because unbalanced path may cause handover
problem (BTS problem may cause the unbalance).
 Check if the measurement report for the problem cell
contains correct neighbor cell list.
 Check if a call can hand over from a problem cell to a
neighbor cell correctly and check if it can hand over from a
neighbor cell to the problem cell.
 Analyze if the signaling procedure for the handover is
normal.
II. Handover Problem Analysis Methods
i) Handover cannot be initiated
If the MS is in a cell where the signal is poor, it cannot hand over to another
cell. In this case, you should consider of the handover conditions are met and
if there is an outgoing cell available.
Hereunder details the possible reasons:
 The handover threshold is set to a low value
For edge handover, the handover triggering condition is that the Rxlev must be
smaller than the handover threshold. If the edge handover threshold is set to a too
small value, the signal level of the neighbor cells will be far higher than that of the
service cell. In this case, the handover cannot be initiated. As a result, the
conversation quality will be affected, or even the call drop will be resulted. The
setting of the handover threshold depends on the coverage scope of the cell. You can
change the size of the service area of the cell through changing the handover
threshold.
 Neighbor cell relationship is not set
Though the signal level in the neighbor cells of the service cell is high, the MS will
not report the neighbor cells if the neighbor cell relationship is not set. In this case,
the MS cannot hand over to a neighbor cell. Through performing cell reselection or
dialing test, you can check the neighbor cell list reported by the MS. If the MS has
moved to the major lobe of a cell but this cell is not found in the neighbor cell list,
you should check if the correct neighbor cell relationship has been correctly set.
During the drive test, you can use another MS to scan the BCCH numbers to check if
the strong BCCH numbers are in the service cell or in the neighbor cell list.
 Handover hysteresis is irrationally set
If the difference between the signal level of the handover candidate cell and that of
the service cell is greater than handover hysteresis, the cell can work as a target cell.
If the hysteresis is set to a too great value, the handover is hard to be initiated.
 The best measurement time "N" and "P" are irrationally set
During normal handover, the MS uses N-P rules to list the handover candidate cells
in a certain order. If a candidate cell is the best cell within P seconds out of N
seconds, it will be treated as the best cell.
When there are two cells become the best cell alternately, the MS may find it hard to
select a best cell through N-P rule, which makes the handover difficult. In this case,
you can adjust the values of N and P and reduce the measurement time to make the
handover decision more sensitive to level change.
If the landform and the ground objects of the service cell are quite complicated, the
signals received by the moving MS will fluctuate greatly. In this case, the handover
candidate cell cannot meet N-P rule, which will make the handover difficult.
ii) Handover problem caused by hardware failure
If the data configuration for the problem cell and the neighbor cells has not been
modified recently but the handover problems occur abruptly, you should first
consider if the problems are caused by BTS hardware equipment.
If the cells sharing the same base station with the cell have similar problem, you
should consider if the problem is caused by the common hardware of the cells.
If the problem is found in only one cell under the base station, you should consider if
it is the hardware of this cell that causes the problem. For example, if some of the
carriers are damaged. To test the problems of this kind, you can disable some of the
carriers. If the handover success rate returns to normal state after a carrier is
disabled, you can check if the problem is present at this carrier or if the CDU and
antenna feeder part related to this carrier fails. If signals of a cell on the uplink and
downlink are seriously unbalanced, frequent handover will be caused and the
handover success rate will decrease.
To check if the signaling flow of the cell is normal and if the uplink Rxqual and
downlink Rxqual are good, you can monitor the messages sent across the Abis
interface. If the Rxqual is poor, it means that the hardware equipment of the fails or
serious interference is present in the cell. In this case, the signaling exchange is
unavailable and the handover problem will occur.
iii) Handover problem caused by irrational data configuration
 For stand-alone networking mode, if the outgoing MSC or
incoming MSC handover is abnormal, you should check if the
signaling cooperation of the two MSCs is correct. In addition, you
should also check if the data configuration for the opposite MSC
and the local MSC has been modified recently.
 For co-MSC networking mode, if the handover is performed
within the BSCs of different providers and the inter-BSC
handover is abnormal, you should first check if the signaling
cooperation between the BSCs is normal, and then check if the
data configuration for the BSCs has been modified.
 If the abnormal handover is found at a cell only, you need
to analyze the abnormal handover according to actual
conditions.
If the incoming handover of a cell is abnormal, you need first check if the incoming
handovers to this cell is abnormal. Generally, when the handover is abnormal, the
handover success rate is low, or even the handover does not occur.
If all the incoming handovers to this cell is abnormal, you should check if the data
configuration for this cell is correct. Here the data configuration includes both the
data configured for this cell and the data configured for other cells but is related to
this cell. For example, the CGI of this cell may be correctly configured, but it may be
wrongly configured in other cells.
If there is only one incoming handover to a cell is abnormal but other incoming
handovers to this cell are normal, in addition to checking if the data configuration for
this cell is correct, you should also check if the data configuration for the neighbor
cells is correct. Furthermore, you should also check if the hardware equipment of the
cell is normal.
The methods to analyze the abnormal outgoing handovers are similar to the methods
to analyze the abnormal incoming handovers.
 Check the timers (such as T3105, Ny1, T3103, and T3142)
related to the handover.
T3105 indicates the interval for continuous PHYSICAL INFORMATION to
be sent to the MS. The network will start T3105 for the sending of the
PHYSICAL INFORMATION. If the timer fails before receiving any correct
frame from the MS, the network will resend the PHYSICAL
INFORMATION and restart the timer. A piece of PHYSICAL
INFORMATION can be sent Ny1 times to the maximum. Here the product of
Ny1 and T3105 must be greater than the sum of T3124 and delta ("delta"
indicates the interval between the expiry of T3124 and the reception of the
Handover Failure message of the old BSC), otherwise the MS cannot perform
successful handover.
T3124 is a timer waiting for the PHYSICAL INFORMATION from the
network side during asynchronous handover. When sending the
HANDOVER ACCESS message on the DCCH for the first time, the MS will
start T3124. Upon receiving a piece of PHYSICAL INFORMATION, the MS
will stop T3124. If the channel type allocated in the HANDOVER
COMMAND message is SDCCH (+SACCH), the T3124 is set to 675ms. For
other cases, the T3124 is set to 320ms.
III. Handover Cases
Case 1: No handover candidate cell is available due to CGI error
[Problem description]
The handover in an area is abnormal. When the MS moves from cell A to cell
B, the signals in cell B are stronger than that of cell A, but the handover does
not happen. After the MS moves from cell B to cell C, the MS hands over
from cell A to cell C.
[Cause analysis]
If a cell can work as a service cell and can hand over to other cells, but the
incoming handover is unavailable, you can check if the CGI, BSIC, BCCH
number of the cell are correct.
[Problem solution]
1) Use the test MS to lock the BCCH numbers of cell B. The call
is normal. The MS can hand over to any other cell by force.
2) Make a call after locking the BCCH umber of any neighbor
cell of cell B, and then force the MS to hand over to cell B, but
the handover does not happen, because no handover command is
seen in the drive test software.
3) The handover procedure requires the MS detecting the
neighbor cell signals and reporting the detected signals to BSC
with a measurement report. Upon receiving the measurement
report, the BSC must make the handover decision. If the
handover conditions are met, the BSC should activate the TCH of
the service cell, and then send a handover command to the MS.
4) If the signals of cell B are far stronger than that of cell A
and the handover conditions are met (the PBGT handover
threshold is 70), but no handover command is sent, it means that
errors occur during the activation of the target cell TCH.
5) If the cell B works as the target cell but the TCH cannot be
activated, the data may be incorrectly configured for the cell. In
this case, the BSC that contains the cell cannot find the target
cell, so the TCH cannot be activated and no handover command
can be found in the service cell.
6) The CGI error is found in cell B through data checking. The
handover is normal after the CGI is changed to correct value.
Case 2: Unbalanced path causes low handover success rate
[Problem description]
The incoming BSC handover success rate is quite low for the two cells under
a BTS, ranging from 10% to 30%.
[Cause analysis]
Generally, if the data problems, such as CGI error or intra-frequency
interference, exists and if there is dead zones in heavy-traffic areas, or if it is
hard for the MS to access the cell due to poor uplink signals, the incoming
BSC handover success rate is low.
[Solution]
1) The cell data is found normal.
2) Through checking traffic statistics items, engineers found
that all incoming cell handover success rates were low.
3) Through drive test, engineers found that frequent handover
attempts were made in the area 2km away from the BTS, but the
handover always failed. Even if a successful handover was made,
call drop occurred immediately. During the handover, engineers
 found that the downlink level was about -85dBm. Engineers
made 10 dialing tests with frequency locked, all the originating
calls failed. For the answering calls, they can be connected but
cannot be called out.
4) It is estimated that the CDU uplink channel loss is great, or
the jumpers are incorrectly connected at the BTS top. In this
case, the uplink signals will be poor, which causes the problem.
5) After changing the CDU, engineers found that the incoming
handover success rate increased to 95%.
Case 3: Improper antenna planning causes low handover success rate
[Problem analysis]
The handover success rate among the three cells under a BTS is quite low
according to traffic statistics. For the handover from cell1 to cell3 and the
handover from cell2 to cell3, the success rate is lower than 30%.
[Cause analysis]
Generally, low handover success rate is caused by board failure, handover
data error, or improper antenna planning.
[Solution]
1) The BTS hardware is normal and no alarm concerning
handover parameters is generated, so the hardware problem and
parameter setting problem can be excluded.
2) The BTS locates at the eastern side of a south-north road
and is 700m away from the road. The azimuth angles of the
three cells are 0°, 80°and 160°. They three cells direct to the
two directions and the open resident areas lying under a hill in
the east respectively. Among the three cells, the down tilts of
two cells are 7°. To make the coverage as specified as possible,
engineers concentrated the antenna azimuth angles of the three
cells in design. In this case, however, the cells of the BTS are
seriously overlapped in the east. For the areas just in the west,
the coverage is provided by the side lobes and back lobes of the
three cells. Therefore, when the MS is moving on this road, first
it is covered by cell1. When it moves to the west, the signals of
the three cells are poor and fluctuating greatly. In addition,
since the handover measurement time and the handover
duration is set to a small value, the handover is rather sensitive,
and that's why the frequent handover failure occurs.
3) After setting the azimuth angles of the three cells to 60°,
180°, and 350°, engineers found that the handover success rate
of among the three cells increased to 95%.
Case 4: Problems concerning the cooperation of different carriers'
equipment cause low outgoing BSC handover success rate
[Problem description]
 There is a dual-band network in which the GSM900 MHz network and the
GSM1800 MHz network are stand-alone. After the two networks completed
cell reselection and handover parameter setting, engineers found that the
dual-band handover success rate was low; especially the success rate of the
handover from the GSM1800 MHz network to the GSM900 MHz network
was low, ranging from 60% to 80%. However, the success rate of the
handover from the GSM900 MHz network to the GSM1800 MHz network
was higher than 92%.
[Cause analysis]
For a dual-band network, if the problems concerning the cooperation of
different carriers' equipment are found, you must know the data configuration
of the equipment. For example, if the equipment supports Phase 2+ and EFR.
[Solution]
1) Through using signaling analyzer to analyze the message
flowing across the A-interface and E-interface, engineers found
that the MSC of the GSM1800 MHz network would send back a
Handover Reject message to the BSC of the GSM1800 MHz
network when the BSC sent a Handover Required message to the
MSC.
2) The MSC of the GSM1800 MHz network sent a Prepare
Handover message to the MSC of the GSM900 MHz network. Upon
receiving the message, the MSC of the GSM900 MHz network sent
back an Abort message.
3) Because the success rate of the handover from GSM900 MHz
network to the GSM1800 MHz network was high, engineers found
that the voice version carried in the Prepare Handover message
(from the GSM900 MSC to GSM1800 MSC) is half rate version 1,
but the voice versions carried in the Prepare Handover message
(from GSM1800 MSC to GSM900 MSC) are full rate version 1, full
rate version 2, and half rate version 1, which belong to PHASE
2+. However, MSC of provider A does not support the PHASE 2+,
so the handover failure is caused.
4) Through modifying the MSC data of the circuit MSC data at
the A-interface and selecting the full rate version 1 only,
engineers found that the voice versions carried in the Prepare
Handover message (from GSM1800 MSC to GSM900 MSC) are full
rate 1 and 2. After that, the dual-band handover success rate
was greatly increased.

5.5.5 Congestion Problems

This section introduces the methods to handle SDCCH congestion and TCH
congestion, in which TCH congestion indicates SDCCH seizure all busy. The
TCH congestion has two cases. One is TCH seizure all busy. For this case,
the real channels cannot be allocated to the MS, so the MS will fail to request
 the channels. The other one is that the TCH assignment fails after an
assignment is sent due to various reasons.
I. Congestion Problem Solutions
 Congestion caused by heavy traffic
You can check if the SDCCH traffic and TCH traffic are normal through viewing
traffic statistics. If the congestion is caused by heavy traffic, the most efficient
method to solve the problem is to expand the capacity of the network. In addition,
you can adopt traffic sharing technologies to ease the congestion. For example, you
can modify the CRO, enable direct retry or load handover function.
 SDCCH congestion caused by burst traffic
If the SDCCH congestion rate is high and the traffic is heavy but the TCH traffic is
normal, the SDCCH congestion may be caused by burst traffic. The SDCCH
congestion always occurs at BTSs along railways and tunnel exits, because the BTSs
are installed in remote places and the capacity of a BTS is small. As a result, when
the train moves fast along the railways or stops at a railway station, most of MSs
failing to capture a network will perform location update, which will result in
SDCCH congestion. In addition, when short messages are sent at a concentrated
time, the SDCCH congestion will also occur easily. SDCCH congestion cannot be
completely avoided, but some measures can be taken to ease the congestion. For
example, you can add the number of SDCCHs, or enable the dynamic conversion
between SDCCH and TCH.
 Congestion caused by TRX problems
When a carrier configured in a multi-TRX cell cannot provide services, the channel
congestion will also occur. To solve the problem, you should replace the problem
TRX with a sound one. If the TRX problem cannot be positioned, you should check
if the antenna feeder connection is correct and if the antenna standing wave is
normal. If yes, recheck the TRX where the problem may be generated.
 Congestion caused by interference
The interference present across the radio interfaces will also cause congestion. In this
case, you should solve the interference problem first.
 Channel assignment failure caused by inconsistent coverage
If the concentric technology is not used, the transmit power of the TRXs within the
same cell will be inconsistent, which will result in inconsistent coverage. In this case,
the channel assignment failure will easily occur. To position this problem, you can
check if the connection between the splitter and connector and if the connection
between CDU and SCU are correct.
When a cell uses multiple transmitter antennas, inconsistent coverage will be
inconsistent, which will result in channel assignment failure. To solve this problem,
you should make the coverage of each transmitter antenna as consistent as possible
through engineering adjustment.
 In addition, if the transmitter antenna and the receiver antenna of a cell is not in the
same plane or the antenna tilt angles are inconsistent, the channel assignment failure
will also be caused. In this case, you can calibrate the antennas to solve the problem.
 Congestion caused improper data configuration
If the congestion is caused by improper location area planning, you can reduce the
SDCCH congestion rate by planning the location area properly.
If the congestion is caused by the problems concerning SDCCH dynamic allocation,
you can reduce the SDCCH congestion rate by enabling the SDCCH dynamic
allocation function.
For dual-band network, you can properly set the parameters (such as CRO, CBA,
and cell reselection hysteresis) to reduce the SDCCH congestion rate.
If the timers, such as T3101, T3103, T3107, T3122, T3212, and T3111, are not
properly set, SDCCH congestion will also be caused.
Hereunder are the solutions to the previous problems.
You can ease the congestion caused by SDCCH dual allocation through reducing the
T3101 to a smaller value. If the T3101 is set to a large value, the radio resources will
be seized for a long period of time. To fully use the radio resources, therefore, you
can reduce the T3101 value.
You can save the TCH resources through reducing the T3103 and T3107 to a rational
value. Generally, T3103 and T3107 are set to about 5 seconds.
The T3122 must be stopped once the MS receives an IMMEDIATE ASSIGN
REJECT message. Only after the T3122 expires, the MS can send a new channel
request message. If the MS sends channel request messages frequently, the RACH
load and CCCH load will increase. To solve this problem, you can increase the
T3122 to a larger value.
T3212 stands for the time limit value for periodical location update. You can ease
the SDCCH load by increasing the T3212 to a larger value.
T3111 is related to release latency. It is used for the deactivation of the latency
channels after the major signaling link breaks. T3111 can be initiated during either
TCH release or SDCCH release. The value of T3111 must be consistent with that of
the T3110 at the MS side. Generally, it should be 2 seconds. If the T3111 is set to a
large value, great SDCCH congestion rate may be caused.
II. Congestion Cases
Case 1: SDCCH congestion caused by wrong LAC configuration
[Description]
A BTS is configured as S1/1/1. It is found that the SDCCH congestion rate for 2 cells
reaches as high as 8%.
[Problem analysis and solution]
1) Through checking the measurement indexes for TCH and
SDCCH, engineers found that the TCH traffic was not heavy. The
traffic volume for each cell during busy hours is lower than
 2.2Erl. However, the requests for SDCCH seizure are great,
reaching 3032 times during busy hours. The SDCCH traffic
reaches 1.86Erl, and the congestion rate reaches 8%.
2) The main reasons for SDCCH seizure include the messages
sent before call setup, the messages sent during handover, the
location update messages sent under the idle mode, and other
short messages.
3) The TCH traffic is normal, the requests for TCH seizure
(including handover) are normal (318 times), and the handover
requests are also normal (146 times). Therefore, the SDCCH
congestion may be caused by a large number of location update
messages or short messages.
4) The LAC of the BTS is 0500, and the LACs of other cells of
the surrounding cells are 0520. After changing the LAC of the BTS
to 0520, engineers found that the requests for SDCCH seizure
during busy hours were 298, the SDCCH traffic was 0.27Erl, and
the congestion rate reduced to 0.
Case 2: SDCCH congestion caused by burst location updates
[Problem description]
The radio connected ratio of a local network is lower than average level.
According to traffic statistics analysis, it is found that the SDCCH congestion
happened at several BTSs.
[Problem analysis and solution]
1) Through analyzing traffic statistics, engineers found that
the SDCCHs of the congested cells were seized for 300 to 400
times during busy hours. Here the BTS was configured as S1/1/1
and each cell was configured with 8 SDCCHs. Therefore, the
SDCCHs can be seized by 400 times, but the SDCCHs were
congested for tens of times during busy hours.
2) As far as the registered traffic statistics items were
concerned, most of the SDCCH seizures were caused by location
update. Taking the BTS location into consideration, engineers
found that most of the BTSs were installed at the intersections of
two railways. Therefore, it might be the burst location update
that caused SDCCH congestion.
3) To verify if it was the burst location update that caused the
congestion, engineers registered the traffic statistics items in 5
minutes and found that most of the location update happened
within the five seconds. Through querying the train time table,
engineers found that there were 4 to 5 trains passing by within
the five seconds. When the trains passed the intersections, a
large number of location updates were generated in a short
time. In this case, the congestion was caused.
Therefore, if the BTSs are installed at the railway intersections, you are
suggested to enable the SDCCH dynamic allocation function and configure a
suitable margin for the SDCCH.
Case 3: Great TCH congestion rate caused by the inconsistent tilt angles
of two antennas under the same cell
[Problem description]
It is found that the TCH congestion rate of a cell is great (greater than 5%)
according to traffic statistics.
[Problem analysis and solution]
1) Through checking BSC traffic statistics, engineers found that
it was the TCH seizure failure that directly caused the great TCH
congestion rate.
2) Generally, TCH seizure failure is caused by TCH assignment
failure. Through monitoring Abis interface, engineers found that
most of the TCH assignment failure occurred at the No.4 TRX and
No.5 TRX, and the probability for the assignment failure rate for
the No.4 TRX was near that for the No.5 TRX.
3) Through checking the antenna feeder part, engineers found
that the tile angle corresponding to the transmitter antennas of
the two TRXs were too great (it is 10 degrees than that of the
antenna for BCCH, because the antenna nuts were found loosen.
Therefore, if the MS is far away from the BTS, it can receive the
BCCH signals but cannot receive the TCH signals. If the TCH is
assigned to the MS when the MS starts a call, the TCH seizure
failure will occur.
4) To solve the problem, you can enable the tilt angel of the
TCH antenna and that of the BCCH antenna to be consistent with
each other. In this case, the TCH congestion rate can be reduced
to 2% or lower.
Case 4: High TCH congestion rate caused by downlink interference
[Problem description]
A cell of BTS is responsible for covering a large area of sea surface along the
coast. According to the registered traffic statistics items, engineers found that
when the traffic volume was lower than 1Erl, the TCH congestion of the cell
reached 10% at some time. However, no alarm was generated. All the
interference bands fell within the interference band1 and the hardware and RF
connections were normal.
[Problem analysis and solution]
Because all the interference bands fell within the interference band1, the
uplink interference is impossible. Considering that the coverage distance
reaches 60 to 70 kilometers and multiple normal cells are present along the
coast, the probability for the channel numbers of the downlink areas and the
cell to be interfered is high. Through modifying the channel numbers of the
 cell, engineers found that the TCH congestion rate was improved. Through
further optimizing the channel numbers, engineers found that the TCH
congestion rate was lower than 1%. Therefore, it can be judged that the 10%
of congestion rate is caused by the downlink interference of some areas.

5.5.6 Other Problems

I. Subscriber Is Not in Service Area

When a subscriber is not in service area, the MS works as the called party
when the signals received by the MS are good and the calling party hears a
voice saying that the subscriber is not in the service area. If the coverage,
operation, and data configuration of a network are good, the occurrence
probability for the problem must be lower than 1%, otherwise it is other
causes that result in the problem.
Generally, if a subscriber is not in the service area, the following causes may
be present:
 Coverage problem
If the subscriber complaint happens at cell edges, the problem may be related
to coverage. In this case, the probability for the calling party failure is equal
to the probability for the "subscriber is not in service area".
 Parameter setting
If the subscriber is not in service area, the parameters concerning the paging,
access, and immediate assignment may be not properly set. In this case, you
can check if the messages concerning RACH overload, PCH overload, and
SDCCH overload are generated through querying traffic statistics and alarms.
If yes, the subscriber may not in the service area.
 System capacity limit or overload
If system capacity limit or overload occur (for example, HDB overload, CPU
overload, or capacity overload during busy hours), the system may fail to read
the subscriber information, or subscribers cannot access the radio network. In
this case, the subscriber may not in the service area. To solve this problem,
you can take measures to expand the system capacity.
 Transmission problem
If the links between systems (such as the LAPD link of the Abis interface and
the links of the each network entity) and the links within a system (such as
the link among the modules of BCS/MSC) are not stable, the messages sent
through these links may be missing. In this case, subscribers may not in the
service area. To position the problem, you can check the alarms.
 Equipment causes
If the designs concerning MSC and BSC are incomplete, the probability of
"subscriber is not in service area" will increase.
 MS causes
If the RF parts or the software parts of the MS have problems, for example,
the reception capability of the MS is poor; the frequency deviation goes
beyond the requirements defined in the protocols; and the dual-band
performance of the MS is poor, this problem may also occur.
II. Signal Fluctuation
Signal fluctuation indicates that change of the MS signal strength. The
following factors may cause signal fluctuation.
 Radio wave propagation
The strength of the signals received by the MS is the amplitude of the sum of
the vectors of various propagation paths. Because the propagation
environment is ever-changing, the attenuation of radio channels is ever-
changing. Therefore, even if the MS does not move, the strength of the
received signals will change.
 Cell reselection and handover
When the MS moves from the old cell to the new cell through handover or
cell reselection, the signals of the MS will fluctuate because the signal
strength of the old cell and that of the new cell are inconsistent.
 Antenna shake
When the antenna shakes, the antenna gain will change, so the signals will
also fluctuate.
 Location update or channel assignment occurs at non-BCCH
TRX
If the SDCCH is assigned to a non-BCCH TRX during location update and
power control is available on SDCCH, the signal strength may fluctuate.
III. Voice Discontinuity
Voice discontinuity stands for pauses or words loss occurs in conversation. If
the voice continuity is remarkable, the conversation quality will be affected.
The following factors may cause voice discontinuity
 Frequent handovers
Only hard handover is available in GSM system. Therefore, when the MS
hands over from the source channel to the target channel, the downlink
frames may loss at the Abis interface. As a result, the voice continuity is
unavoidable during handover. Generally, frequent handovers may occur at
cell edges or during cross coverage. In this case, the voice discontinuity will
become a headache of subscribers. To avoid the frequent handovers, you can
adjust the antenna tilt and height and configure the data, such as uplink and
downlink quality threshold and restriction properly.
 Radio link interference
Radio link interference will increase the bit error rate, which will cause voice
discontinuity. In addition, the signals always fluctuate greatly at cell edges, so
the conversation quality at the cell edges is bad.
 Poor network coverage
If the network coverage is poor, the Rxlev and Rxqual will become poor, thus
the conversation quality will be affected.
 BTS transmission problem
BTS transmission problems will affect conversation quality. For connectors,
you should check of the connection among the connector is good. For optical
transmission, you should check if the optical headers are clean and if the
transmission errors are great. For micro wave transmission, it may be affected
by weather. If there is large amount of dust in the equipment, the
conversation quality may also be affected. If both micro wave transmission
and optical transmission are used, you should pay attention to the cooperation
of the transmission impedance at the equipment interfaces.
 TRX board failure
Hardware problem will result in poor conversation quality. In this case, you
should replace the problem hardware with the sound one.