What is CPT or

Call Path Trace

by Dr. Hatem MOKHTARI
• These are BSS statistics showing the performance of a cell in terms of :
• Link Balance : DL Path Loss – UL Path Loss
• Distribution of DL RXQUAL/RXLEV samples
• Distribution of Timing Advance

• Drive Tests alone cannot help assess all the problems especially UL performance
• It is important to compare DL AND UL :
• RF Losses in view of detecting HW Problems such as TRX, TMA, cables, etc
• Quality and Level to assess accurately which link is defficient and correct it
• Timing Advance stats will help understand Ping-Pong HO and the extent of a
cell and compare it according to marketing
 Signal strength (SS) and quality
measurements principles

BSC

DL SS(1) DL SS UL SS
DL SS(2) DL Qual UL Qual
.
.
DL SS(6) Σ


neighbours


Number of defined neighbours

32 20 16 10

Number of measurements per 3 5 6 10

neighbour
 Fo r all rep orted n eigh b our cells n

No
D iscard n
M in im u m sign al stregth
criterio n fu lfilled ?

D iscard n
Y es
No

No S tro n ger th an servin g cell

R an kin g acco rd in g to
P o w er B u d get? + h o M argin L ev/Q u al?

Y es Y es

No P o w er b u d get evalu ation >

D iscard n
h oM argin PB G T ?

Y es

No
L oad < Load th resh old?

Y es

R ed uce rank in g accordin g K eep ran kin g accord ing to

to h oLoad Factor h oP riorityLev el

R an k accordin g to signal stren gth

w ith in ow n p riority level

R an k accordin g to signal stren gth

w ith in red uced p riority level

H andover can did ate list

 Definition of Link Balance
• Link Balance equation is given by : ∆(dB) = DLPL − ULPL

Where DLPL is : DLPL = EIRP( BTS ) − Sensitivity ( MS )

• EIRP(BTS) : EIRP( BTS ) = Pout ( BTS ) + Gant ( BTS ) − LCCC
• Sensitivity(MS) = Sstatic(MS) + Lccc(=0) – Gant(MS) – DiversityGain(=0)

• And the DLPL : ULPL = EIRP( MS ) − Sensitivity ( BTS )

• EIRP(MS) : EIRP( MS ) = Pout ( MS ) + Gant ( MS ) − LCCC (= 0)
• Sensitivity(BTS) = Sstatic(BTS) + Lccc – Gant(BTS) – DiversityGain

∆ (dB) = Pout ( BTS ) − Pout ( MS ) + S static ( BTS ) − S static ( MS ) − DiversityGain

 Link Balance (self-test)
• Compute the Link Balance ∆(dB) using the following assumptions :

• BTS : Sstatic = -110 dBm

• Pout = 20 W
• Cable losses = 2.5 dB
• Antenna Gain = 18 dBi
• XPOL Diversity Gain = 3 dB

• MS : Sstatic = -100 dBm

• Pout = 1 W
• Antenna Gain = 0 dBi

• In case where no diversity is involved, what solution do you propose to keep

the path balanced?
 Uplink and Downlink Quality Samples
Are balanced => no Quality problem seemingly !

Most of the calls are

Completed at about
1.5 km !

High amount of Low level samples :

Coverage problem in a high traffic area
Few calls made at the vicinity of the cell
With high DL Level because UL is Power-controlled
Mean Link Balance
Centered around 2.5 dB
 Call Path Trace
(Self-Test)
• Given the Histograms in the figure below
what problems do we have and how can we
solve them? Do we need additional data to
solve the problem?
 Worst Cell List
• This is the list of the cells for which have two major concerns :
– Substantial Amount of Traffic
– Bad Quality Performance

• The Worst cells are ranked based upon :

– Carried Traffic
– Percentage of HO causes due to :
• DL/UL Quality
• DL/UL Level
• Power Budget

• Good cell statistical performance would lie within the following :

– % of HO due Power Budget : > 80 %
– % of HO due to DL/UL Quality and/or DL/UL Level : within 20 %
 HO Causes
• High % of HO Causes due to Quality :
– DL => Generally CCI and/or ACI
– UL => Generally a Hardware Problem :
• TMA (if any) alarms
• BTS RX problem (check TRX)
• Double check with CPT the Link balance

• High % of HO causes due to Level

– DL =>
• Due to terrain and lack of best servers
• Hardware problem : check the connectors, PA, Antenna connections, etc.
– UL =>
• Due to TMA (if any) Problem
• Due to Hardware Problem
Worst Cell List (an example)
 WCL Self-Test
• Given the WCL Chart in the figure below, analyse the 10 Worst
Cells and especially for which reason this ranking is done ?

– What kind of action do you propose for each cell given the comments
supplied ?

– Cell with CI = 46623 has a coverage problem, what indication explains this ?

– What do you propose to remove the cell with CI = 46623 from this list ?

– Cell with CI = 46462 has a PBGT HO cause about 60% and about 40%
combination of DL Qual and DL Level
• Why this cell is ranked 10 instead of 2 or 3 for example ?
• Does this cell need a frequency retune ?
WCL Self-Test