ALL ABOUT GSM FAQ

QUESTION ANSWER

Can you list me the interfaces of a GSM network? Air, Abis, Ater, A, Gb, Gi, Gn, Gd, Gr, Gs
Can you list me the network elements of a GSM
MS, BTS, BSC, MSC, SGSN, GGSN,BG,HLR,EIR,AUC,CG,LIG
network?
Unique Identifier for a SIM.1 MS can be paged with a single PAGING
What is the IMSI?
message
What is the TMSI? TMSI in a Location Area. Shorter so you can page more MS
Authentication, but basically we care about it for paging. Paging message
When do you use IMSI and when TMSI?
always contains IMSI
How many MS can you page with 1 paging
2
message done w/ IMSI?
How many MS can you page with 1 paging
4
message done w/ TIMSI?
Paging method? Can you change this method w/
Either IMSI and / or TMSI … you can change the method by NSS parameters
BSS parameters?
Name some of the CCH channels RACH, AGCH, PCH … there is also NCH but it is not used …

Default PCH has always priority over AGCH. Anyway you can reserve a
Which are the feature we have in ----- in order to
certain number of blocks of AGCH. However, if AGCH =0, AGCH has
change the CCCH behaviour?
priority over PCH

Which are the CCCH in UL and which are in DL? UL = RACH DL = AGCH, PCH, (NCH)

Dedicated Channels in GSM FACCH, SACCH, SDCCH, TCH

Broadcast Channels in GSM BCCH, FCH, CBCH, SCH

Which is the difference between CONGESTION
Congestion = all resources in use. BLOCKING = Blocked requests
and BLOCKING?
How do you measure CONGESTION in -----? seconds

How do you measure BLOCKING in -----? events

Which is the unit of measure for the blocking
1 event
measurement?
Which is the measurement period for the
10 msec
congestion measurement?
Which is the measurement period for the traffic
20 sec
measurement?

Which are the ----- features to help SDCCH

Dynamic SDCCH, FACCH Call Set Up
congestion not to become SDCCH blocking?
 HR (EFR and AMR), DR, DADLB (actually this one avoids congestion to
Which are the ----- features to help TCH
happen as well as traffic reason handover), traffic reason HO (MSC initiated),
blocking?
AMH (traffic reason HO, BSC initiated)

DR is triggered when there is actual congestion in the TCHs. DADLB is

Which is the difference between DADLB and
triggered when the load of the BTS is above a certain threshold defined as a
DR?
parameter.

Which type of HO is triggered w/ DR? SDCCH - TCH HO

Is DR helpful for SDCCH or TCH congestion? TCH Congestion

There are 2 timers and 1 threshold you need to Min Time = Time in order to identify neighbours.
define when you activate DR … can you tell me Max Time = max time to try HO.
which are these parameters and what are these Level Threshold = Minimum Threshold of the neighbours in order to try
for? SDCCH-TCH HO

Basically IDR is an improvement of DR and it takes into account the Source

Which are the differences between DR (directed
Call Type, Target Cell Type and Subscriber type … anyway it is never used
Retry) and IDR (Intelligent Directed Retry)?
…
Threshold Level
Which are the DR parameters you need to set? Min time DR
Max Time DR

Basically when the BTS load is above the load defined by a parameter (in
Can you briefly explain to me the BSC AMH feature's parameter group). the AmhPBGT MARGIN for that specific
INITIATED TRAFFIC HO? neighbour relation is squeezed in order to help to lower load traffic … that's
the reason why you call it TRAFFIC HO

What happen in a network if there are legacy MS

They just use C1 (it happens all the time in Europe)
that don't support C2?

Microcell and to bias a layer (it happens in CINGULAR for 850 in order to
Why do you want to use C2?
have dual band MS which are EDGE capable only on 850)

Can you make practical examples of C2 usage? traffic management in dualband, microcell
What's the difference between Cell Selection and Cell Selection is when you switch on the MS. Cell ReSelection when it is
Cell Re-Selection? already on
- MS is able to read BCCH
What are the 4 criteria of the suitable cells for MS - MS is allowed to register to the PLMN and LA
to camp on - the cell is not barred
- signal level is higher than threshold (C1 > 0)

What is the TIMING ADVANCE? Measure distance MS -BTS w/ resolution of 550 meters

How long is it in time and in space? 1/2 bit where the bit rate is 270kbps ~ 550 meters

Who calculates it? BSC/BTS and sends back to the MS

How is it calculated? RACH delay

How can you collect TA statistics in the -----
There is the table … although we have only 10 bins … not 63 …
OSS?
Can you modify the setting of the TA stats in the
Yes, BSC level, maximum is 10 bins
----- OSS?
BTS needs to know when MS signal is expected to arrive to avoid inter
Why do we need to use timing advance
symbol interference
 Max distance you can keep a call in GSM?
(what is the maximum value of timing advance in
63 TA .. Equivalent to ~ 35 km
normal GSM cell? And what does it equivalent to?
)

Which network element uses TA to take certain Basically MS sends its bursts in advance in order to get to the BTS in the
decisions? MS or BTS? window expected …
Alows to have double maximum distance MS - BTS … theoretically 70 km
What is the extended cell feature?
… practically 65 km
Is it available in -----? Yes …

Which is the cabinet / BSC you need to have in

Ultrasite will support it in S11.5. Talk Family supports it since S7
order to make Extended Cell work?

Advantages and disadvantages of the MASTER- Basically when you have a MASTER, if this goes down also the other cabinet
MASTER and MASTER-SLAVE configuration goes down

Do you need the Synch Cable between cabinets in

no
order to share the T1?

Which is the best configuration for cabinet

synchronization (MASTER, SLAVE, independent
INDEPENDENT) if you don't have CBCCH?

Why independent configuration is the best? Because doesn't have a chain effec in case 1 BCF has problems

Advantages and disadvantages of allocating 1900

Basically a hybrid configuration is always an headache for implementation
radios on one cabinet and 850 on another cabinet

Briefly explain FULL and SUB measurements in FULL is when you don't use DTX, SUB when you use DTX. FULL Is
the Air I/F? measured on 104 frames, SUB on 12 frames
Are these stats always sent? Both of them? Yes., both all the the time

How can the BSC understand which one to use? There is a flag that says if DTX is used or not

If you plot these stats what do you notice? Sub stats are more spread, more standard deviation

What happens when you enable UL DTX / disable

RxQual has more samples in 0 and 7
UL DTX to your RxQuality?

How much of it is due to real interference? Some is real interference but most is just statistical distribution

Why you have a different distribution between

SUB and FULL RxQual samples? (HINT - It is a Less samples = Less reliable = More deviation
statistical reason)

What are BER and BEP? Bit Error Rate and Probability
Can you explain what is NBLO measurement and It is used in CBCCH and it measures the difference between BCCH and non-
how it is used? BCCH layer

CBCCH advantage = Trunking Gain + you can assign the call to the slave
Which is the main advantage of CBCCH Vs. (e.g. other layer) w/ call assignment w/o using HO
Multiple BCCH? MBCCH advantage = Give BCCH channel to both bands … especially here
in US where there are a lot of legacy phones in singleband @ 1900
Could you please explain the basic signalling of a
RACH, AGCH, SDCCH, TCH …
Mobile Originated Call Setup?

Could you please explain the basic signalling of a

PCH, RACH, AGCH, SDCCH, TCH …
Mobile Terminated Call Setup?

What are the important GSM specifications for

3.22, 4 series esp. 4.08 & 4.60, 5 series esp 5.08, 5.05
radio performance?
What is the channel spacing in GSM? 200 kHz
What is the duplex frequency of GSm850 and
45 MHz for GSM850 and 80 MHz for GSM1900
GSM1900?
in GSM, What is the multiple access and duplex
FDMA/TDMA with FDD
used?
Absolure Radio Frequency Channel Number. Basically it is the frequency in
What is ARFCN? What does it mean?
use.
Is ARFCN = 120 in GSM850 or GSM1900 band? 850

How many ARFCN do you have in GSM850? ch 128 -251 (124 Ch)

How many ARFCN do you have in GSM1900? Ch 512 - 811 (300 ch)
Which is the number of frames in a
51
SIGNALLING CHANNEL?
Which is the number of frames in a TRAFFIC
26
CHANNEL?

What's the difference between MECHANICAL

Electrical reduces also side lobes and back lobes.
and ELECTRICAL DOWNTILT?

Put a signal w/ different phases which deletes part of the initial one creating
How does the ELECTRICAL DOWNTILT work?
smaller lobes
What is the difference in propagation between
7 dB. The higher the frequency, the more the loss.
850Mhz and 1900Mhz?

Also known as shadowing, caused by large obstructions such as hils, building

What is Slow fading?
trees. Behaviour is a slow change in propagation

Also known as multipath or Rayleigh. Caused by constuctive or destructive

What is Fast fading? interference as a result of reflections, multiple propagation paths. Fades as
deep as 30 dB over distances of half a wavelength

In the slow moving mobile environment,

Fast Fading.
what kind of fading has more impact to signal?

When the RF signal is distorted around an object. Happens to all EM waves,

it seems as though the wave "bends" around an object, therefore can provide
What is Diffraction? coverage behind an obstruction. Happens when there is no LOS or the 1st
Fresnel zone is obstructed. Commonly modelled as knife edge, either single
or double. Epstein-Petersein is a multiple edge model.

What is the effect of transmit frequency on

None. Diffraction is independent of frequency
Diffraction?

What is the difference between "Service" and Coverage is provided by the signal propagating to an area. Service is useable
"Coverage"? coverage, affected by interference or GSM distance constraints
 What is the relationship between Coverage and Interference is unwanted coverage. The same signal can be both coverage or
Interference? interference depending on whether the signal is useful or not

Site location (Lat, long), Antenna configuration (diversity, HPBW, gain,

type), Antenna line information (feeder length/loss, spiltter, diplexer, MHA),
What is the required information from site survey
Rooftop layout.
activities? And what are their purpose?
This is used for link budge calc., coverage planning and prediction
simulation, optimization analysis

Customer wants to give to ----- a new service,

coverage planning of a new market. You need to
Coverage Polygons (Rural, SubUrban, Urban, Freeway) # Different RxLevel
tell him which are the inputs you need in order to
for each polygon # Coverage Probability
start your work. Please do so … which are the
inputs you need to ask him for.

What is the Coverage Probability? You have

normally 2 Coverage Probabillity … which are Cell Edge. Cell Area.
their names?

Cell Area Coverage Probability ~ 90% is a typical value you can use and that
Which is a typical Coverge Probability you can
you have to put in the Propagation model as an input in order to have the Cell
use for coverage dimensioning purposes?
Range and from that the Cell Area.

The customer has given you the input you have

1. You need to decide the type of equipment and configuration you want to
requested him (Polygons, RxLev, Coverage
have. Normally this is a standard one (e.g. ULTRASITE, w/ LNA, 2 TRXs) 2.
Probability) now you need to decide which are the
Calculate the LINK BALANCE for that specific configuration. 3. Propagation
tools you need in order to give him an initial
Model (e.g. Okomura Hata) correction factors (e.g. mean and
understanding of how many sites he needs. Please
standarddeviation)
tell me which are the tools you need

Probably at this point you have to decide / ask

PRO OMNI = Trunking Gain. Cover perfectly an Island for example, from
which is the typical configuration you want in the
the top of a hill. CONS OMNI = Painful when you need to make frequency
sites (omni, 2 sectors, 3 sectors). Which are the
plan and/or limit interference
advantages / disadvantages of OMNI?

Probably at this point you have to decide / ask

which is the typical configuration you want in the
Probably you can use a 2 sector site when you have a freeway in a rural area.
sites (omni, 2 sectors, 3 sectors). Which are the
advantages / disadvantages of 2 sectors?

Probably at this point you have to decide / ask

which is the typical configuration you want in the 3 sectors is probably the best combination for coverage and frequency plan
sites (omni, 2 sectors, 3 sectors). Which are the and it gives good ability to control interference (w/ tilts)
advantages / disadvantages of 3 sectors?

Related to the previous question … which is the

City = 3 sectors. Freeway = 2 sectors (but only if around there is really
best configuration is you have to cover a freeway?
nothing else to cover). Island = Omni works just fine if you put it on the top
And if you need to cover an Island? And if you
of the hill
need to cover a city?
 Once you have decided which is the sector
configuration to use, how can you use the Cell
You use the typical hexagon model. With that you know how many sites you
Range calculated w/ the Propagation Model
need in order to cover you polygon.
correction factors in order to calculate how many
sites to you need?

10*log (W) = dBW,

What is the relationship of W, dB and dBm? 10*log(W/1000[mW]) = dBm,
10 log (Power/ Reference) = dB or 20 log (Voltage / Reference)

10 dB + 14 dB 24 dB

10 dBm + 14 dB 24 dBm

In order to do it you need to convert the dBm to Watt, sum the Watts and go
10 dBm + 14 dBm
back to dBm … in this case the results is 15.455 dBm

Is the following statement correct? False. The A and B coefficient used in OH model is different if frequency
Okumura Hata model used in GSM850 is the below 1000 MHz and above1500MHz. Besides, the area correction factor is
same as GSM1900. different between the 2 frequency

BTS type (Rx sensitivity and Tx Power), Antenna gain, feeder length and
What is the possible way to improve link budget? types (site planning), using MHA and diversity (improve Rx), using Booster
(improve Tx)
Sensitivity and TRX output power for -----
-112 to -115 dBm, 5W TRX
METROSITE?
-115 typical (-112 to -118 dBm),
Sensitivity and TRX output power for -----
43dBm (guaranteed ~ minimum on 100% production)
ULTRASITE?
47dBm TRX (nominal ~ on 90% of production)

With the maximum allow pathloss from link budget with consideration of LP,
How does the link budget impact to number of the STD, Slow fading margin and propagation model , it is used for defining the
sites required in an area? cell range. If the pathloss is bigger, the cell range could be higher and the
number of sites require will be reduced.

cell/site splitting: coverage enhancement but more cost to hardware &

limitation of frequency
more TRX: easy but need frequency
Please list 3 methods of capacity enhancement and micro cell layer: more easy to control interference but more site require
their pros & cons dualband: additional spectrum required, minimize impact to existing band
coverage/capacity,
soft capacity features: hopping, IUO, DFCA, AMR, DTX
better cell planning &optimization for better interference control.

Basically the LNA is helping to improve the effective noise figure of the
receiving path which then reduces the Rx Sensitivity of receiving path. The
How does LNA improve the sensitivity? simple way to do is the compensation of feeder loss (but not more than LNA
gain). However, the calculation have to be calculated on the effective noise
figure and effective gain of the receiving path.

IDD is basically a DL booster. The way it works is basically putting together

INTELLIGENT DOWNLINK DIVERSITY? the signals of 2 TRXs with the same signal but w/ a different phase. The gain
is ~ 3 dB.
lack of coverage as the antennas are lower down. Increased interference from
What is the problems with highrise buildings?
LOS to many sites.
 TRUNKING GAIN IS THE GAIN THAT YOU HAVE WHEN YOU HAVE
LESS ENTRY POINT TO THE RESOURCES (e.g. 1 line in front of the 10
What is trunking gain?
airport check-in counters works much better than 10 lines in front of the same
10 airport check-in counters) …

One channel used for 3600 seconds in 1 h ~ 100% utilization of a resource

what does 1 Erlang mean?
(TCH or PDCH in GSM)

Customer is complaining that w/ 1TRX he can

serve only 3 Erlang and has 10% blocking while
Basically the traffic is not approaching the BTS w/ a Poisson distribution
we have told him that according to the Erlang B
(which is the assumption that is the base of the Erlang B model)
table we should be able to serve 3 Erl w/ 2%
blocking. What is happening?

What is the Erlang C table? It is a model which takes into account queuing
If we have QUEUING active do we need to use
No … because queue is not infinite …
the Erlang C table? Why?
Is the Erlang B table the right model to use in case
NO
of AMR FR / HR?

1 TRX w/ 2% blocking … according to the Erlang

~ 3 Erl
B table how many Erlang can I serve?

What is the output from link budget? Maximum allowed pathloss (UL and DL)
Which is a typical PathLoss you can have in a
~ 150 dB
GSM connection?
Do we use different LINK BUDGET for different No, maximum allowed path loss is not environment dependent. It is service
type of environments? dependent though

To model the network. Allows the planner to see the effect of making changes
What is the purpose of a radio planning tool? to the network so the best solution can be chosen and implemented. Can also
be used to store all the site data.

First start with accurate clutter, DTM and building data. Next calibrate the
How can you ensure the planning tool is as
model correctly. All site data must be correct. This will give the propagation
accurate as possible?
model of the network.

What general power law do propagation models

3.5 power law (4th power law good enough)
follow?
Name two methods of propagation modelling Statistical and Deterministic (Ray tracing, virtual source)
Okumra-Hata (General propagation) and Walfisch-Ikegami (canyon like
Name two statistical models commonly used
environment)

Collect CW (not TEMS, noise floor isn't low enough) measurements from
mulitple locations. Drive through as many clutter classes as possible. Input all
How do you calibrate a statistical propagation data to a planning tool. Calculate SD. Use different values of first co-efficient
model? to get different SD values. This is normally a square function, so get
minimum. Continue with other coefficients. Repeat. Coefficient order:
distance, diffraction, BTS height, BTS height*distance

What are the main MML families in manipulating

EA: Adjacency, EE: BSC, EQ: BTS, ER: TRX, EH: HOC, EU: POC
radio objects?

How do you list current alarms for a BTS? ZEOL

 What does the initial "Z" stand for in an MML It makes MML interpret the command from the main level, even if you are
command? inside another family

What is the available tool for OSS data collection

TANO, NDW, EOSFLEX
in -----?
Name two drive test tools TEMS, NEMO(TOM)
What drive test equipment is needed for Logging tool, 2 phones (one short call, one long), GPS, scanner, map, power
performance data collection? supply for all
What type of measurements should be used for
Continuous Wave (CW), Greater dynamic range and lower noise floor
model calibration?

Name some protocol analysers for monitoring the

Nethawk, K1215, Agilent
Abis, A or Gn interfaces

When a cell is being interfered with by another cell with the same carrier
What is co-channel interference
frequency
What is the GSM rejection ratio for co-channel
9 dB
interference?

When a cell is being interfered with by another cell with a carrier frequency
What is adjacent channel interference? which is seperated by 200kHz for the 1st adjacent interferer, 400kHz for the
2nd adjacent interferer, etc.

What is the GSM rejection ratio for the first

-9 dB (-18 dB for the second adjacent interferer)
adjacent channel interference?

What is frequency reuse 4/12 ? There are 12 frequency ch reuse on the 4x3-sector sites.

When planning a frequency what is the channel

3 ch. (600 kHz) for GSM850 and 4 ch (800 kHz) for GSM1900
separation required for the TRX in the same cell?

When planning a frequency what is the channel

400 kHz
separation required for the TRX in the same site?

1/1: there is 1 MA list and reuse on every cells

3/3: there are 3 MA list and each site (3 sectors) using same MA list and reuse
what is the different between hopping scheme 1/1,
every 3 sites
3/3, 1/3?
1/3: there are 3 MA list and each cells in same site using different MA list.
And reuse same pattern for every site.

What is the factor to determine which hopping Number of TRX (too small number of TRX cannot gain much from BB
scheme above to be used? hopping) and combiner type. (RTC is only can use BB hopping)

Do we need to plan MAIO Step, MA List, MAIO There is no need to plan for MAIO and MAIO offset in BB hopping.
Offset and HSN when use BB hopping? However, HSN is required.

yes, all of them. MA list is required to plan to ensure that there is no

Do we need to plan MAIO Step, MA List, MAIO
frequency collision within the site. HSN should be same for all sectors in the
Offset and HSN when use RF hopping?
sites.
Do you have MAL only w/ RF hopping or also w/
only with RF hopping
BB hopping?
Which is the main difference between RF and BB RF = TRX changes ARFCN. BB = Call moves from 1 RTSL to an other (in
hopping? an other TRX)
What is a MAL? Mobile Alloction List. It is used for RF HOPPING

How many MAL can you define in a ----- BSC? 128

Which are the parameters you need t define in the
HSN, Maio Step, MAIO Offset,hopping mode, MAlist
BTS when you want to use a MAL?

Why do we use Frequency Hopping? (I mean You have 2 advantages w/frequency hopping … FREQUENCY DIVERSITY
which are the advantages of frequency hopping) (FADING) and INTERFERENCE DIVERSITY

Which is the type of fading you are able to "beat"

Fast Fading
when you use HOPPING?

You have a BTS w/ 3 hopping TRXs and a MAL

Basically the sum of MAIO OFFSET and MAIO STEPS exceeds the number
w/ 3 ARFCN … once you try to unlock the the
of ARFCN in the MAL … it is indeed a silly problem but you need to know
site the BSC gaves you a DX error saying that you
it. Suggestion is to keep MAIO OFFSET = 0 and MAIO STEP =1 in such a
don't have enough frequencies … where is the
case (where probably you are using ad HOC hopping)
problem?

How many HSN do we have? 64 (0 … 63)

Is this a GSM standard or do you know if ----- has

No. it can't … it is GSM specs
any plan to increase this number?

How does HSN = 0 works? sequential hopping (others are psuedo-random)

Uses the parameters you set (MAIOs) and FN which is something you can't
Do you know which are the basics of the
define … that is the reason why in a synch network you can better control the
algorithm used from HSN?
interference.
How many HSN do I need to define for each BTS
1
in RF HOPPING?
How many HSN do I need to define for each BTS
2
in BB HOPPING?

Effective Frequency Load. A way of measuring spectral efficiency with a

What is EFL?
hopping system. Formula: erls/(#freq*ave#(TCH/TRX))

A way of measuring how effectively the spectrum is being used. The more
What is spectral efficiency? traffic carried with less spectrum the more efficient the use. Formula:
erls/MHz/Cell

Is the following statement correct? Why?

No, because it is all frequencies are used all the time which could create the
It is good enough to use RF hopping reuse 1/1
high interference level esp. if the site planning (dominant area) is not good
with MA list length 15 in the area with 6+6+6
enough.
BTS.

When customer want to build GSM1900 on

GSM850 site or vise versa, what are the things Frequency use (intereference and intermodulation between 2 bands)
that you would like to suggest him to check and antenna solution (Isolation requirement and area spacing)
what is the issue behind that? (not parameters)

When can you have paging thru the Gb I/f instead

Gs interface is necessary
of the A I/f?
What's the advantage of the paging thru the Gb
Can page a MS in data session
I/f?

Does the Abis I/f size change the paging Yes … if the LA is bigger you need to page more MS, so all these messages
capability? need to go thru the Abis … so you need a bigger Abis

How many MS can you paging messages can you 100,000 paging messages … 200,000 MS if you use IMSI or 400,000 MS if
send in 1 hour w/ 16kbps TRXSig? you use TMSI
How many MS can you paging messages can you
400,000 paging messages …
send in 1 hour w/ 64kbps TRXSig?

Which is a parameter you can change in order to

reduce the probability that a MS that went out of Periodic Location Update … you need to reduce it …
coverage will be paged?

Why do we need BSIC in GSM? Identify neighbour … couple BCCH, BSIC make you identify the neighbour

How many bits are the BSIC? 6

Which are the 2 components of the BSIC? NCC, BCC

They should be the same in the BCCH TRX, not in all the TRXs … NOKIA
Which is the relation between BCC and TSC?
by default is usig the same but it is not mandatory in GSM.

Can we have TSC <> BCC in -----? Since when?

Do you know if CINGULAR has it activated?
Yes, we have a S10 feature about it. CINGULAR doesn't use it.
(do we have any features that could allow TSC <>
BCC?)

Which is the the reason to have TSC <>BCC? Better HO SUCCESS RATE … but basically it doesn't change anything …
Which is the relationship between NCC and
There is no relationship. PLMN is MCC + MNC
PLMN?

This is for the MS and BTS to learn the interference. Basically the MS is
Why do we need TSC (Training Seuqence Code) expecting a certain TSC but receives an other if there is intereference. The
in GSM? difference between the expected and the measured one is used in order to
reconstruct the rest of the bits of the burst.

Which is a recommended size for the LA in -----? Depends from Abis LAPD size … 1-2 BSC works fine w/ 16kbps

Can you have smaller LA? YES

Can you have bigger LA? YES

Can you have a LA across 2 different MSC? NO

Why do you need the LA in GSM? Paging reasons

Can you have a LA across more than 1 BSC? Yes

Which is the trade off in the LA size? Paging and SDCCH traffic

Which are the KPI you need to monitor when you SDCCH, Paging Success Rate, congestion in Abis and Air for LAPD and
are modifying the LA size? CCCH

Does roaming traffic affecting the LA size? No

Which are the parameters you can change in order

Cell Reselection Hysteresis
to make harder or easier LA update?

It defines to which PLMNs the MS is permitted to report measurement

What is the PLMN permitted parameter?
results.
Is "PLMN permitted" parameter the same as
No.
PLMN id?
What parameters need to be set as the equal to or
NCC part of the BSICs.
subset of PLMN permitted?

If it is not set, what will happen? MS is not possible to measure the cells e.g. no HO.

Where really do you need this parameter? National Borders

Do you know which is the PLMN setting used in
All of them
CINGULAR?

Can you use TRAFFICA tool in the CINGULAR

Only if you have our core … means Orange
network? Blue? Orange? Why?

If you increase the LA size do you expect an

NO
increase in the A I/f traffic?

If you increase the LA size do you expect an

YES
increase in the Abis I/f traffic?

If you increase the LA size do you expect an

YES
increase in the Air I/f traffic?

What do you use the FACCH for in UL and DL? HO, CALL SETUP if you have the feature

What do you use the SACCH for in UL and DL? System Info (DL), Measurements (UL), SMS during a call

How many SDCCH can you put in 1 RTSL? 8

Which is the difference between COMBINED and combined = CCCH + 4SDCCH; separated = CCCH and SDCCH are in
SEPARATED signalling? different RTSL

Which channels have no power control? BCCH, SDCCH, GPRS TSL(DL)

Measurement report is sent to BSC every period

of which channel and how long does it equivalent SACCH = 480 ms
to?

What is the different between sync and non-sync in non-sync HO, there is physical information is require for MS to perform
HO? And in which case it will happen? And what HO. The information contains TA information and it requires when the cell
parameter is used to define this? HO to different BCF cell. The parameter is in each ADJ pair "SYNC"

is following statement correct?

There is no problem if the neighbor list contains False. MS report only BCCH and BSIC to BSC, therefore BSC will not be
the same BCCH and same BSIC from different able to differentiate which ADJ is the right one and that could cause HO
cells as long as the 2 neighbour are far away and failure and eventually call drop
not interfere to each other.

What is the Nx/Px parameters in handover Nx is the total number of sample in the evaluation.
parameters defined? And what is the impact on Px is the number of samples within Nx that below or above threshold.
setting large number of Nx/Px? The large number could lead to the longer time for HO decision making

What's the difference between HO ATTEMPT HO Attempt is before the check if target has available RTSL. HO Command
and HO command in -----? is after. There are more HO attempts than HO commands

Which is the 1st thing you should check in the

formula when the customer is telling yu he has a If counts HO attempts …
very high HO failure rate?
 1) Interference (uplink or downlink)
2) Uplink quality
3) Downlink quality
4) Uplink level
5) Downlink level
Please name 5 types of HO reasons 6) Distance between MS and BTS
7) Turn around corner MS (special case of rapid field drop)
8) Any other rapid field drop
9) Fast / slow moving MS (special case of umbrella handover)
10) Any other umbrella or power budget handover
11) traffic reason ho

1) Adjacent Cell Load Threshold : Can be checked only for cells belonging to
the same BSC as the serving one
What is the 4 criteria in ranking the ADJ for HO
2) Adjacent Cell Priority
candidate?
3) Overloaded Cell -> Reduction of Priority
4) RX level (if same priority)

What is typical value use for PBGT HO margin? 6 dB

dualBandCell Y indicates cell as dual band cell

multiCellBandReporting 0..3 number of adjacent dual band cells taken into
What are the 3 parameters in BSS that need to
account for measurement report
change to make sure that dualband is working?
earlySendingIndication Y enables MS to send classmark 3 message as early
as possible

What is the impact of setting higher number of it reduces the amount of same band reporting. Normally there are only 6 cells
mulitcellBandreporting? report from MS. Deducting by MBR, the rest will be used for same band.

What feature could be used to help the situation? EMR

What is the RLT parameter? RLT = Radio Link timeout.

It is both in UL and in DL. Speaking about UL … if the BTS doesn't receive

the SACCH in UL it decreases this counter by -1 and if receives the SACCH
How does RLT works?
it increments by +2. If it gets to the maximum value it stops incrementing.
When it gets to zero the BSC releases the call.

How many RLT do we have in -----? UL / DL /

In NOKIA we have only one RLT …
AMR FR / AMR HR?
Why should we have different RLT for AMR FR Because the C/I protection in very different … so the RLT should take into
and AMR HR and EFR? account before dropping a call …
What does EFR mean? EFR = Enhanced Full Rate

It is a way to speed up the Power Control + HO decisions because you don't

What is FAST AVERAGING? need to wait the complete window before start counting Nx/Px in your
decision
We have a WEIGHTING parameter in HOC, POC It is used to overweight if you want) the FULL measurements rather than the
… what is this for? SUB measurements
How many parameters do you have for FAST
AVERAGING?
3 … after Call Set Up, After PC, After HO
(at what call phase Fast Averaging can be
applied?)
 Because based on the measurements we can take after the same SACCH
different HO decisions and you want to give to certain HO more priority (e.g.
Why do we have the concept of PRIORITY in the
Quality HO should have higher priority over PBGT HO because the problem
HO?
is more urgent … and the way you choose the neighbours for the different HO
types are different)

What is a CLEAR CODE? DX Cause w/ failure

What is a DX CAUSE? Why this funny name? Internal Cause in BSC. Because of DX architecture ofBSC and MSC

After activation of Double BA list the sector

Neighbour BCCHs are not in the list
doesn't make anymore HO … what's the problem?

where to find information about ----- counter and 1) NED 2) Jump page. 3) Database Description for BSC
KPI? Measurements (PDF document)
What is the JUMP PAGE? Intranet page w/ info about KPI, COUNTERS

CLEAR CODES CAN BE MONITORED W/ OBSERVATIONS … YO

How can you use DX CAUSE and CLEAR
CAN FOR EXAMPLE USE "DROP CALL OBSERVATION" OR "DROP
CODE in order to optimize my network?
CALL BREAKDOWN" …

THEY ARE BOTH WAYS TO GET PERFORMANCE STATS … KPI AND

WHICH IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
COUNTERS ARE FROM MEASUREMENTS TABLES. OBSERVATION
MEASUREMENT AND OBSERVATION
ARE GIVING US CLEAR CODES / DX CAUSE.

Is the MS or the BTS able to measure the actual No … in GSM we can't measure the C/I … we can only measure the BER,
C/I of the Air I/f? FER … which are affected of the C/I

In the ----- OSS I have seen there are interference These are idle mode measurements and they are only in UL … basically in
measurements . Can you explain what they mean the RTSL not in use if the Level is above -110 dBm we assume it is
and how they is measured? interference and it is recorded in the OSS stats …

INTERFERENCE HO are basically QUALITY HO in good RxLevel

In the ----- OSS measurements I can see HO due
condition (which is set with a RxLevel parameter) … the reason is dual … 1)
to interference? How do these HO work / are
Have stats about bad Quality in good RxLevel conditions. 2) Trigger an
triggered?
intracell HO rather than a intercell HO

What is AMR? Adaptive Multirate voice coding

AMR varies the proportion of voice coding and channel coding to provide
How does it work?
more robustness in bad C/I at the expense of voice quality

How many AMR codecs are there at FR and HR? 8 at FR, 6 at HR (1 not used in HR). Only 4 can be used in a call

What is MOS? Mean Opinion Score: A subjective view of the quality of a voice call

Frame Erasure Rate: Number of speech frames discarded due to errors. A

What is FER? better measure of quality than BER with AMR because BER is measured
before decoding and FER after decoding

What is the effect of AMR on a full rate channel? It allows the call to maintain the same FER in worse C/I conditions
It allows the FER to improve in better C/I conditions while occupying half a
What is the effect of AMR on a half rate Channel?
timeslot

When certain C/I thresholds are met, the voice codec will be changed. There
How does AMR link adaptation work?
is no target FER to maintain and thresholds have to be carefully chosen
 A channel with 11.4 kbps. FR is 22.8 kbps. Each channel occupies alternate
What is a half rate channel?
bursts of a multiframe.

How does the BSC decide whether to use a HR or With cell load thresholds. When the lower limit is reached, calls are packed,
FR channel? when the upper limit is reached, new calls are sent to FR

When is a HR unpacked to FR? When the RxQual of the HR call reaches a pre-set limit
No doesn't support HR 7.95kbps because it should use 16kbps TRAU and
Does ----- supports all the GSM AMR codecs?
NOKIA doesn't have it.

Name of a CINGULAR idea to maximize capacity. Basically while testing it

they have found that our BSS had a problem and wasn't unpacking if a
What is MAXCAP feature? candidate for Quality HO wasn't available. When it was introduced we saw a
sudden increase in drop call during unpacking. That is the reason why we
want to have MAXCAP = OFF.

Do you have more signalling channels in AMR

In band singalling, but it is transparent
HR?
Does the overall bit rate on the Air I/F changes w/
No it doesn't …
AMR?

Dynamic Frequency and Channel Allocation, is a BSS radio resource

management functionality that selects the radio channel individually for each
What is DFCA? connection from a dedicated channel pool based on C/I criteria. The different
degrees of interference tolerence of different connection type such as
EFR,AMR FR, HR are taken into account in the ch selection process.

-BSC2i + CP2MX CPU cards or BSC 3i

-BSC-BSC connections for BSC using DFCA and have adjacent service area.
What are the DFCA HW requirement? -Ultrasite or metrosite BTS
- Wideband combiner
- LMU in every BTS

-S11.5
- CX4.1
What are the DFCA SW requirement?
-OSS4
-LMU4.1
Three frequency bands are defined in DFCA, what
BCCH band, Regular band (optional), DFCA band
are they?
-The range of Malist is 1-32
-The DFCA MA list must be defined the same way in al BSCs within each
What are the requirement/limitation in DFCA continous BSC area
band? -DFCA MA list do not contain consecutive frequency
-Any two DFCA MA lists containing adjacent frequency are required to be of
the same length.

-non real time information I.e. Background inteference matrix

What are the inputs for DFCA channel allocation? -near real time information I.e. Mobile measurement report
- realtime information I.e. Radio channel usage information

What are the 4 methods in DFCA C/I estimation? incoming DL, Incoming UL, Outgoing DL, Outgoing UL
 Soft Blocking is a user define parameter.

If in the C/I estimation phase any of the four C/I estimates produced for each
radio channel candidate does not exceed the soft blocking limit of the
interfered connection, then the radio channel candidate is deemed soft
blocked.

If there are no acceptable assignment candidates (i.e. all the candidates breach
the connection type specific soft blocking C/I limit), the assignment will be
What is the Soft Blocking in DFCA?
directed to a regular TRX if available.

If there are no free TSLs on any regular TRXs of the cell, the call will be
finally rejected (DFCA soft blocking situation). Directed retry could still be
used and if successfull the directed retry will move the call to another cell in
which case the call is not rejected.

In case of handovers soft blocking is not applied except if the handover is for
DR or DADLB then the soft blocking is applied as in normal call setup.

If the current incoming DL C/I average is below the Force HR mode C/I
threshold for the corresponding channel type (non-AMR/AMR), then the
force HO mode is switched on. After HR mode switched on, HR
channel/AMR HR channel will be assigned to a speech connection that is
What is DFCA forced HR mode?
placed on a DFCA TRX until the HR mode switched off.

DFCA Force HR mode C/I threshold and Force HR C/I threshold AMR are
user defined parameters.

· Packet switch territory is not allow in DFCA TRX

What is the restrictions to use DFCA? (features · Dynamic SDCCH is not allowed in DFCA TRX
interworking limitation) · FACCH call setup to DFCA TRX is not possible.
· Antenna hopping cannot be used in DFCA TRX

BSS Synchronization
-Sync MUST be on prior to switching to DFCA Mode.
-FN and TS offsets should be set (not left at 0)
Interference Handovers
-nterference based handovers should be enabled on all DFCA BTS
Dynamic Power Control
Apart from DFCA parameter, what are the
-Should be enabled on all DFCA BTS for UL and DL
parameters shall be checked for DFCA activation?
Timeslot Type
-TCH timeslots only supported on DFCA TRX’s
-All signaling (e.g. SDCCH) and GP timeslots must be removed.
Idle & Active BA List Usage
-BA list must be created and attached for Idle & Active use in each DFCA
BTS

What additional network elements are needed for

SGSN, GGSN, CG, DNS, (BG, LIG)
Data?
What elements need to be upgraded to activate TRXs. A modulation scheme is used and modulation is performed by the
EGPRS? TRX with hardware
How does an MS handover from one cell to
It doesn't. MS performs cell re-selection exactly like idle mode
another during a data session?
 When a cell re-selects, the data stored in the BVC buffer is Flushed (Deleted).
What is a Flush? If the new cell is in the same PCU than the data is moved to the new BVC. If
not it is deleted and there is a bigger break in downloading.

What modulation scheme does GRPS use? GMSK

How many GPRS coding schemes are there

CS1, CS2
currently in ----- and what are they called?

What modulation scheme does EGPRS use? GMSK(mcs1-4), 8PSK

How many EGPRS coding schemes are there? 9: MCS1 - MCS9

What is the maximum bitrate per timeslot with
GPRS: 13kbps with CS2, EGPRS: 59.62 kbps with MCS9
GPRS and EGPRS?
Maximum TSL capacity after C/I has reduced the MCS but before TBF
What is timeslot capacity?
multiplexing
Re-transmissions are sent in MCSs of the same family as each family has a
What are the MCS families used for?
different packet length.
What functionality counters fast fading in
Incremental Redundency
EGPRS?

Data is punctured after coding. This involves reducing the number of bits
needed to send the data. 3 puncturing codes are used. If the first packet can't
How does it work?
be fully decoded, it is sent again with different puncturing scheme. The
packets are combined until it is decoded.

What functionality counters slow fading in

Link Adaptation
EGPRS?

PCU tries to keep best throughput by using BEP to calculate the probabilty of
the packet being decoded. PCU uses initial MCS, then once it has BEP
How does it work?
values, chooses modulation, then coding scheme according to whether it is
initial transmission or re-transmission. User only has to set initial MCS

What is timeslot multiplexing? When there is more than one TBF allocated to the same timeslot
When there is a mix of GPRS and EGRPS TBFs on a timeslot. Especially bad
What is TBF multiplexing?
with UL GPRS and DL EGRPS

3, NMO1: Needs a Gs link, all CS and PS paging through SGSN and PCCCH
(or CCCH). NMO2: No Gs link, CS paging through MSC and CCCH, PS
How many different types of Network Mode of
paging through SGSN and CCCH, NMO3: No Gs link, CS paging through
Operation are they and how are they different?
MSC and SGSN, PS paging through SGSN and PCCCH (not supported in
Nokia)

Radio Link Control is between the PCU and the MS. Logical Link Control is
What is the difference between the RLC and LLC
between the SGSN and the MS. RLC gives network throughput, LLC gives
protocols?
user throughput.

What is a territory? A territory is an area of the cell that is used for a certain purpose

How many are there and what are they called? 4: CS, Dedicated data, Default data, Additional data

Dedicated data is only used for data, default can be used for both but CS is
kept out of it unless there is no more CS territory available, additional is data
How does each behave?
territory beyond default and is released as soon as possible, CS can be used to
carry CS and includes default and additional
 Is there power control in EGPRS? Only in Uplink

EGPRS Dynamic Abis Pool: A part of the Abis set aside for EGPRS use. It is
shared amongst all TRXs attached to it and provides a 30% saving on Abis
What is an EDAP and why is it needed?
capacity compared to fixed allocation. The EDAP is needed because the
higher bitrates with EGPRS need more than 1 16kbps Abis subslot

What is the difference between one-phase and In one phase, the RACH request asks for a TBF. In two phase, the RACH
two-phase access? request ask for a single block and uses this to ask for the TBF.

Routing Area: serve the same function for data as the LA for voice: Allows
What is a RA?
the SGSN to page the MS
A RA is a subset of an LA. Maxiumum size is the LA size. An LA can have
What is its relationship to an LA?
more than one RA.
Which is the trade off in the DEFAULT Small default territory = Few GPRS reason Ho. Big default territory = Better
TERRITORY size? Throughput

Can you have separated (from the VOICE one)

Yes, you can although it is not really used
signalling for GPRS / EGPRS?

Which is the channel you are going to use? PBCCH

Which is the trade off in term of signalling using
Need to use a dedicated RTSL for it
PBCCH?
What's the impact of GPRS traffic on the CCCH There is an impact, but there is no evidence so far of any real bottleneck
load? created from data signalling
Why we don't we use PBCCH in CINGULAR? Basically Blackberry 1st generation doesn't suport it

Which are the other features you can use for cell
C31, C32
reselection if you implement PBCCH?

C31 allows you to prefer a set of BTSs. C32 makes the cell reselection among
Which is the meaning of C31 and C32?
the one prefered from C31

Packet Control Unit. Receives the LLC PDUs from the SGSN and breaks
them down into RLC Packets for the radio interface. Vice versa in the
What is a PCU and what does it do?
opposite direction. Responsible for all scheduling, LA and radio resource
management for data

How many are there in a BSC? 2i: 2 per BSCU, 8+1 BCSU max, 3i: 4 per BSCU, 6+1 BCSU max

Digital Signal Processor core. Handles the individual Abis subslots and does
What is a DSP core?
the actual work.

How many are there in a PCU? 16

What is the maximum number of EDAPs a PCU

16
can handle?

What is the maximum number of 16 kbps Abis

256
sub-slots a PCU can handle?

As 8PSK has variable amplitude, the amplifier has to work in linear, not
What is the effect on the link budget of using
satuarated, mode. There has to be a power back-off to keep operation in linear
8PSK modulation?
mode. Back-off is 2 dB for BTS, 4-5 dB for MS
 Erlang B will provide enough spare TSL to guarentee GoS for voice. Data can
use these. Formula is a choice between Erlang B and an approximation, which
Outline a dimensioning method for combined ever requires more timeslots. Number of TSL for data is data load divided by
voice and data traffic? TSL capacity. Total TSL required given by Max(ErlangB(CS),CS traffic(E)
+Guard TSL+TSL for data-Dedicated TSL)+dedicated TSL. From here work
out TRXs and so on.

A way of including timeslot multiplexing in dimensioning by taking into

What is rate reduction?
account CS and PS traffic and PS territory

How big can an EDAP be? 12 * 64 kbps Abis TSL

There is no limit. It could be one per site or one per TRX, although this is
How many EDAPs can be attached to a site?
inefficient

How many EDAPS can be mapped onto a single

As long as there is space on the T1, there is no limit
T1?

Which are the 3 states of a MS in GPRS? Ready, Idle, Standby

What does READY mean? MS is transmitting data or it has just transmitted data … it is in active mode
What does IDLE mean? Basically the SGSN doesn't know where the MS is
What does STANDBY mean? SGSN knows where the MS is based on the RA resolution
How do you move from IDLE to READY? And
Attach and Detach
viceversa?
How do you move from READY to STANDBY? READY --> STANDBY / timer. STANDBY --> READY just if you send or
And viceversa? receive data
How do you move from STANDBY to IDLE?
GPRS Detach, either implicit or through a timer
And viceversa?
What is a TBF in EGPRS? Temporary Block Flow
Is the TBF in both directions? no, unidirectional
Can the same TBF be bi-directional (let's say like
no
a voice call)?
Which is the basic signalling in order to maintain
UL TBF and in DL just ACK
an UL TBF?
Which is the basic signalling in order to maintain
DL TBF and in UL just ACK
an UL TBF?
What is the effect of putting data on a hopping
With no power control there is increase interference to the hopping layer
TRX?
What is the main objective of EGPRS
To maximise user throughput
optimisation?
Mostly through, capacity improvements. C/I improvements will affect the
In EGPRS, how is this achieved? MCS but this is linked to GSM. For EGRPS only we can play with TRXs,
Ded TSL, EDAP, PCU, Gb

If a TRX is BLK-SYS when EGENA is turned on,

GTRX=Y and the TRX is not attached to the EDAP
what is the most probably cause?

Throughput, TBF est fail, TBF fail, TBF lost due to flush or MS lost, GMSK
Name some EGPRS KPIs share of EGPRS, TBF/TSL, Payload, EDAP congestion (mins/Gb), territory
upgrade rejects, territory downgrades, PCU congestion

What is PoC? Push-to-Talk over Cellular. It is a real-time service

 What elements need to be added for PoC? PoC Server, possible Presence server

How is EGPRS used for PoC? It is merely a transport layer, PoC is a service that uses EGPRS
Are there re-transmission in PoC? Not from the PoC server. EGPRS uses normal algorithm
Start to Talk (STT) time, Voice Through Delay (VTD),Glitches (delay in
What KPIs are used in PoC? packet arrival), Lost data), Round Trip Delay (RTT) (depends on user
reaction)
What values are normally expected for STT and
STT: <2s, VTD: <4s
VTD?

What is the advantages/disadvantages of a low Adv: greater possibility of the data being decoded for MSs in bad quality.
initial MCS Dis: Less range if 8PSK due to power back-off

Define a Microcell A small capacity cell with an antenna not more than 5m in height

In a grid system, on the side of a building. Not on a corner otherwise the

What is the best position for a microcell antenna? canyon streets will propagate the signal too far. In a non gird system, side or
corner of the building wherever best serves the target area.

Fast moving mobiles may select it and then leave the coverage area very fast.
What are the disadvantages of a micro cell?
Local congestion because of high traffic

Use C2 penalty time to make the cell attractive only to slow mobiles. Run the
How can these be solved? cell as barred and use hierarchical handovers to move the calls from the
overlaying macros
Active or passive Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS), leaky feeders, Yagis
Name some RF systems used in in-building cells
in the lift shaft.
If you don't know an answer to a question where NED, Jump, Quickplace, mailing lists, ETSI Specs, Nokia Feature
do you look? Descriptions, Training course material.
Why don't we suggest to have a bigger DEFAULT
More intracell Ho. Eat up PCU capacity
TERRITORY?