Optimization using TEMS Investigation

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Understanding The Network Strategy

900/1800 Dual Band Network Two layers 900 and 1800 using SIEMENS Hierarchical Cell

Structure (HCS) Feature

1800 is the priority layer for Cell Reselection and for

handovers.

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Cell Selection & Re-Selection

CBQ
Cell bar qualify is used to assign a priority to a cell for the cell selection process. A suitable cell with low priority is only selected if no suitable cell of normal priority can be found. The assignment of CBQ is useful in hierarchical cell structures

CELLRESH
Cell reselect hysteresis, indicates the value of the receiver RF power level hysteresis required for cell reselection (MS in idle mode) on the basis of the path loss criterion C1. where, A = <receive level average> - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN = RLA_P - RXLEVAMI B = MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P = MSTXPMAXCH - P P = Maximum RF output power of the MS Max (B,0)= MSTXPMAXCH - P if MSTXPMAXCH > P Max (B,0)= 0 if MSTXPMAXCH < P
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C1 = (A - Max(B,0))

The MS calculates the path loss criterion for the serving and the nonserving cell at least every 5 seconds
The calculation result determines the priority of these cells within the list of the six strongest neighbour cells which is dynamically managed in the MS in idle mode. The path loss criterion is satisfied if (A) C1 > 0 (If C1 has been < 0 for a period of 5 s the path to the cell is regarded as lost). (b) If C1 of the non-serving cell is higher than C1 of the serving cell for a period of 5 s then the MS performs a cell reselection

Exception: If the current cell and the new cell belong to different location areas the new cell shall only be selected if the path loss criterion C1 on the new cell exceeds C1 on the old serving cell by at least CELLRESH for a period of 5 seconds. This mechanism is used to avoid unnecessary location update procedures Note: The value of CELLRESH is sent on the BCCH (SYSTEM INFORMATION Type3 and Type 4

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Cell Reselection C2

The criterion C2 is an optional feature that can be enabled on a cell basis. It is an enhancement of the cell selection C1. C2, however, is useful for microcell configurations since it prevents fast moving MSs from performing unnecessary cell reselections CRESPARI Cell reselection parameter indicator Indicates the presence of C2 cell reselection parameters CRESOFF Cell reselection offset
It applies an offset to the cell reselection criterion C2

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General Principle of the C2 algorithm:

If the MS places a non-serving cell on the list of six strongest carriers it starts a timer the value of which has been broadcast on the BCCH Equation A: C2 = C1 + CRESOFF - TEMPOFF
As long as the timer runs C2 is increased by a permanent offset (see parameter CRESOFF) and decreased by a temporary offset (see parameter TEMPOFF). By this temporary offset the C2 of the non-serving cell is artificially made worse and the cell reselection is not executed

Equation B: C2 = C1 + CRESOFF

On expiry of the timer the temporary offset is disregarded and thus - if the C2 of a non-serving cell still exceeds the one of the serving cell for a period of 5 s the MS performs a cell reselection

For 1800 CRESOFF=10; FOR 900: CRESOFF=0

Equation C: C2 = C1 CRESOFF ;if PENTIME = 31

If the penalty time is set to 31 (i.e. 260s) the permanent offset (CRESOFF) is not added to but subtracted, i.e. setting PENTIME to 31 results in a permanent decrease of priority

Exception:

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If the current cell and the new cell belong to different location areas the new cell shall only be selected if the C2 of the new cell exceeds C2 of the old serving cell by at least the cell reselect hysteresis (see parameter CELLRESH) for a period of 5 seconds. This mechanism is used to avoid unnecessary location update procedures.

Handover Parameter Setting

Parameter Unit Default Urban Highway Name Minimum received Level (Idle Mode) Definition Minimum received level at the MS required for access to the network on the RACH The minimum received signal level the adjacent cell must provide to be regarded as a suitable target cell for handover. RXLEVAMI 1dB 8(-102dB) 8(G900),12(G1800) 6(G900),10(G1800)

G9=15(-95 dBm), G18=25(-85 dBm) Source cell is G9

RXLEVMIN 1dB 12(-98dBm) G9=15(-95 dBm), G18=20(-90 dBm) Source cell is G18

G9=12(-98 dBm), G18=20(-90 dBm) Rxlevel minimum (Dedicated Mode) G9=12(-98 dBm), G18=15(-95 dBm)

Power Budget Handover:

From From From From 900 to 900: 900 to 1800: 1800 to 1800: 1800 to 900:

Handover Handover Handover Handover

Margin= Margin= Margin= Margin=

5 dBm -20 dBm 5 dBm 20 dBm

A Power budget (Better Cell) handover is triggered if:

PBGT(n) > HO_MARGIN(n) Where:
PBGT(n) = RXLEV_NCELL(n) - (RXLEV_DL + PWR_C_D) + Min (MS_TXPWR_MAX, P) - Min (MS_TXPWR_MAX(n), P)

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PBGT (n) = power budget of the neighbor cell (n)

HO_MARGIN(n) = HOM (CREATE ADJC) = handover margin of the neighbour cell (n) in [dB]
RXLEV_NCELL(n) = received level average of the neighbour cell (n) (the averaging is done according to the setting of HOAVPWRB (SET HAND)) RXLEV_DL = received level average downlink of the serving cell PWR_C_D = BS_TXPWR_MAX - BS_TXPWR = averaged difference between the maximum downlink RF power and the actual downlink due to Power Control MS_TXPWR_MAX = MSTXPMAXGSM or MSTXPMAXDCS or MSTXPMAXPCS value in [dBm] = max. allowed transmit power of serving cell (n) MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) = MSTXPMAXGSM/DCS/PCS [dBm] = max. allowed transmit power of neighbour cell (n) P = power capability of the mobile in [dBm] Min(MS_TXPWR_MAX,P) = MS_TXPWR_MAX if MS_TXPWR_MAX < P Min(MS_TXPWR_MAX,P) = P if MS_TXPWR_MAX > P
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Imperative Handover:
1. Bad up- and downlink quality 2. Bad up- and downlink level 3. Exceeding maximum distance
Parameter
HOTDLINT

Unit
1 dB

Default
35(-75 dBm)

Urban
35(-75 dBm)

Highway
35(-75 dBm)

Name
HO threshold level downlink intra Cell HO threshold level uplink intra Cell HO lower threshold level downlink

Definition
This parameter defines the max interference level from BTS to MS direction for the quality intracell handover decision.(Interference HO) This parameter defines the max interference level from MS to BTS direction for the quality intracell handover decision.(Interference HO) defines the receive signal level threshold on the downlink for inter-cell level handover decision.

HOTULINT

1 dB

35(-75 dBm)

35(-75 dBm)

35(-75 dBm)

HOLTHLVDL

1 dB

10(-100 dBm)

13(-97 dBm) G900, 15 (-95 dBm) G1800

10(-100 dBm) G900, 15 (-95 dBm) G1800

HOLTHLVUL

1 dB

8(-102 dBm)

10(- 100 dBm) G900, 12(-98 dBm)g1800

10(- 100 dBm) G900, 12(-98 dBm)g1800

HO lower threshold level uplink HO lower threshold quality downlink HO lower threshold quality uplink Handover threshold MS range maximum

defines the receive signal level threshold on the uplink for inter-cell level handover decision.

HOLTHQUDL

defines the receive signal quality threshold on the downlink for inter-cell quality handover decision. defines the receive signal quality threshold on the uplink for inter-cell quality handover decision. the threshold for the maximum permitted distance between MS and the BTS in 1km step size which is used for intercell handover due to distance.

HOLTHQUUL

HOTMSRM

1km

34

34

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Tracing out Issues during Drive Test

Hardware Related
Antenna System: 1- Sector Swap (Rx / Tx Line) 2- Loose or Open Connector Connection at BTS/Line/Antenna Port Observations: Bad Up/Dl, Drop Calls, Handover Failures Troubleshooting: Drive Test; Path Loss/Path Balance (Up/Dl Losses) [RF Loopback] BTS Cabinet: 1- Faulty Radio/TS (Drop Calls/Handover Failure) 2- Other Hardware like Coupling System, Band Pass Filter Observations: Bad Up/Dl, Drop Calls, Handover Failures Troubleshooting: Drive Test; Path Loss/Path Balance (Up/Dl Losses) [RF Loopback]

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Tracing out Issues during Drive Test

RF Related
DATABASE Related:

1- Missing/Wrong Neighbor definition 2- Co-Channel Neighbor (Handover Failure)

RF Related: 1234Co-Channel Interference (Overshoot) Adjacent Channel Interference Logical Server and Handover Boundary (TA, Obstacle, Antenna Tilt) Interference on Hopping

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Interference

Case Studies

The carrier-over-interference ratio is the ratio between the signal strength of the current serving cell and the signal strength of undesired (interfering) signal components In dedicated mode, average C/I (-5 dB to 25 dB)is presented twice a second, which is equal to the ordinary measurement interval. If frequency hopping is employed, the average C/I for each frequency is presented C/I is not the measure of Speech Quality. Although its of course generally true that severe interference problem tends to degrade speech quality 0 gives the C/I of the worst channel

C/I Worst(0):

Co- Channel Interference: (C/I >= 9dB) Co-Channel interference is meant interference from other network cells using the same transmission frequency How to reduce Co-Channel Interference: i- Improvement of Cell Planning ii-Shrinking the interfering cell, for example by lowing its output power or tilting the antennas of that particular cell iii- Activating DL DTX on the Traffic Channels iV- Activating DL Power Control on Traffic Channels
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Interference
Adjacent Channel Interference:

Case Studies
(C/A >= -9 dB)

Adjacent Channel interference is always originates from other carriers than the one mobile is transmitting on. C/A-1 >= -9 dB at +/- 200 kHz C/A-2 >= -41 dB at +/- 400 kHz

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Definitions Full vs. SUB Values:

In GSM, there are two types of values presented for RXQual and RXLev i.e. RXQual Full, RxQual Sub, RxLev Full, RxLev Sub.
The Full values are based upon all frames on the SACCH multiframe, whether they have been transmitted from the base station or not. This means that if DTX DL has been used, the Full values will be invalid for that period since they include Bit Error Measurements at periods where nothing has been sent resulting in very high BER. In Total, 100 bursts (i.e. 25 blocks) will be used for the Full values

The Sub Values are based on the mandatory frames on the SACCH multiframe
i.e. frames that always must be transmitted.

In Total, 12 busrts (i.e. 2 blocks) will be used for Sub Values

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Definitions Why SQI?

Traditionally, speech quality in GSM networks is measured by means of the RxQual parameter (which is also available in TEMS Investigation). RxQual, however, suffers from a number of drawbacks which make it an unreliable indicator of speech quality. SQI is a more sophisticated measure which is dedicated to reflecting the quality of the speech (as opposed to radio environment conditions). This means that when optimizing the speech quality in your network, SQI is the best criterion to use.

RxQual and Its Limitations:

RxQual is obtained by transforming the bit error rate (BER) into a scale from 0 to 7. In other words, RxQual is a very basic measure: it simply reflects the average BER over a certain period of time (0.5 s). By contrast, a listener's assessment of speech quality is a complex process which is influenced by many factors. Some of these, all of which RxQual fails to take into account, are the following: (A)The distribution of bit errors over time For a given BER, if the BER fluctuates very much, the perceived quality is lower than if the BER remains rather constant most of the time. Different channel conditions give rise to radically different BER distributions. However, since RxQual just measures the average BER, it cannot capture this. (In fact, the logarithmic scale of RxQual gives rise to the opposite effect: a high BER variance gives a better RxQual than a low variance does. This is completely misleading from a speech quality point of view.)
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Definitions
(B) Frame erasures When entire speech frames are lost, this affects the perceived quality in a very negative way (C) Handovers Handovers always cause some frames to be lost, which generally gives rise to audible disturbances. This does not show at all in RxQual, however, since during handovers BER measurements are suppressed. (D) The choice of speech codec The general quality level and the highest attainable quality vary widely between speech codecs. Moreover, each codec has its own strengths and weaknesses as regards types of input and channel conditions In short, RxQual fails to capture many phenomena that have a decisive influence on a listener's judgment of speech quality. Using RxQual for optimization of speech quality in the network thus leads to suboptimal results

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Definitions
Design of SQI:
SQI has been designed to take into consideration all the phenomena discussed in the preceding section. This ensures that it will produce an unbiased prediction of the speech quality, independently of channel conditions and other circumstances. Somewhat roughly, the computation of SQI involves : i- The bit error rate (BER) ii- The frame erasure rate (FER) iii- Data on handover events iv- Statistics on the distributions of each of these parameters Furthermore, for each speech codec, SQI is computed by a separate algorithm which is tuned to the characteristics of that codec. Like RxQual, SQI is updated at 0.5 s intervals. FR (Full Rate): -19 ... 22 dBQ EFR (Enhanced Full Rate): -20 ... 30 dBQ

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Definitions
FER Frame Erasure Rate:
The FER rate is the value between 0 and 100%, and its calculated and represented in TEMS one each SACCH multiframe. The FER value presented in the TEMS is based on the number of blocks that has been discarded due to error in the CRC, i.e. FER(%)= (No. of blocks with incorrect CRC / total no. of blocks)*100 FER Full: The Total number of Blocks on a full rate TCH is 24 TCH + 1 SACCH=25 blocks. FER Full= (No. of blocks with incorrect CRC / 25)*100 FER SUB (FER Actual): The Total number of mandatory Blocks on a full rate TCH is 1 TCH + 1 SACCH=2 blocks. FER SUB (FER Actual)= (No. of blocks with incorrect CRC / 2)*100 Note: The Actual FER Sub values are limited to three values : 0, 50, 100%

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Definitions
DTX Downlink Rate (0 to 96%):
The Information Element DTX Downlink Rate indicates in % that how many TCH frames that were not sent to the Mobile station during the last SACCH Multiframe. DTX DL Rate (%)= (number of silent blocks/total number of blocks)*100 Each SACCH multiframe hold 24 TCH frames, therefore, total number of blocks=24 DTX Downlink Rate is not the measure of the Quality, instead its an indication whether DTX DL is used in the GSM Network. If DTX DL Rate is very high for a whole period of time during a call where there should have been speech, you could suspect a Silent Call problem in the Network.

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