Optimisation MODULE II

GSM Network Optimisation
Module II
Dutchtone, 2002
© Cirta Consulting 2002 Dr. Hatem MOKHTARI

Quality
Quality
Targets
Targets Customer relevant:
• Coverage / Roll-out
Quality
Quality
Definition • Service Probability
Definition
• Call Set-up Time
• Call Set-up Success Rate (CSSR)
• Call Completion Rate (CCR)
Network • Overall Call Success Rate (OCSR)
Quality • Call Quality
Cycle Operator relevant:

• H/W Failure
• Network Configuration
• Network Traffic
• Spectrum Efficiency
© Cirta Consulting 2002

Quality
Quality Monitor
Targets Monitor
Targets Quality
Quality
Quality
Quality
Definition
Definition
NMS
Field Tests
Network Customer Complaints
Quality
Cycle

NMS
Field Tests
Customer Complaints
• as operator you have to care for
your customer
• reacting on customer complaints
is reacting too late (damage is done)
• is not efficient for optimising a
whole network
• good co-operation between network
optimisation and customer service
department is needed
• might pinpoint location of problem
• might show problems, which are
not yet noticed

NMS
Customer Complaints
Field Tests
• represent a reproducible and
objective customer view of network
quality
• very resource and time consuming
• are restricted to specific areas
• supply only downlink information
• good to geographically locate
problems
• suitable for competitor analysis
• pinpoints coverage holes

Customer Complaints
Field Tests
NMS
• allows centralised data collection
• is a cost efficient way to monitor
network quality
• permanent information flow
• can locate problems on a per-cell
(TRX) level
• limited geographical location of
problems is possible
• needs “statistically relevant” traffic
to provide reliable results
• useful to monitor trends
• mobile type selective performance
monitoring e.g. after new feature
activation

Global Network
Quality Quality Picture
Quality
(region 2) Monitor
Monitor
Targets
Targets Quality
Global Network Quality Picture Quality
(region 1)
Quality
Quality
Global Network Quality Picture
Definition
Definition(whole network)
Network Traffic and TCH Cong. Time
Network Quality
Quality
Reporting
Reporting
Traffic [Erl]
Quality
TCH Cong. Time [min]
Congestion Tim e
15000 150
Traffic [Erl]
10000 100
[m in]
5000
0
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46
Cycle
47
50
Week
• Average traffic per subscriber [mErl]

1. NETWORK
OPTIMISATION
1.1. Optimisation Scope
1.2. When is Optimisation Required?
1.3. QoS in a Cellular Network
1.4. How to Optimise a Cellular Network

1.1. Optimisation Scope
• After the GSM Network goes Live, one may observe
its behavior from the following perspectives :
– Traffic versus the Designed Capacity
– Spectrum Constraints : Frequency Re-use, Frequency
Planning constraints
– Amount of Successful calls / Dropped Calls
– Coverage given the existing dimensioning
– Emerging Marketing Requirements in terms of:
• Customer Base
• Roaming
• Special and/or Seasonal Events
• Competitive Operators to compare the Quality
• Special Marketing Demands
– In some cases, Health and Safety Issues
1.2.When Optimisation is Required ?
• Speech Quality is the main reasons
• CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS especially !
• Different situations may occur :
• Coverage Improvement :
New Site on Air
Outdoors and Indoors
Best Server issues
Antenna down/up tilt or Antenna Swaps
• Interference Reduction and Spectrum Efficiency improvement :
Further to high amount of CCI and/or ACI : Dropped Calls, HO Fails
Frequency Allocation and Frequency re-use
International Borders issues and frequency coordination
• Capacity Enhancement Traffic Handling versus Offered Capacity
• Call Setup Issues : SDCCH Configurations


PHASE A :
COVERAGE CONTROL
INTERFERENCE REDUCTION
NEIGHBOUR TUNING
PHASE B : TEMPLATES :
These are default BSS Parameters
BSS PARAMETER TUNING USING
used on per environment basis
TEMPLATES
PHASE C : FEATURES :
These are special software solutions
QUALITY ENHANCEMENT USING
available within ETSI Recommendations
FEATURES To leverage the traffic from a congested cell
For example or improve interference profile:
Congestion relief, directed retry,
Underlay-Overlay, SFH, HO Algorithms, etc.
• Two Major Parameters are responsible for the Speech Quality :
• RXLEV
It is the measured RF Power of the received signal at either UL/DL
UL : Measured by the BS/OMC
DL : Measured by the MS/TEMS Investigation
RXQUAL
The Received Signal Quality is measured through BER (Bit Error Ratio)
BER ratio of received error bits to the total transmitted bits
RXQUAL = 4 or lower are acceptable speech values

(An Example)

1.4. How to Optimise a Cellular
Network ?

1.4. How to Optimise a Cellular Network ?
• Drive Test Analyses

– Coverage and/or Quality Assessment
– Interference Assessment
– HO Performance Assessment
• Traffic Analyses
– Actual Traffic versus existing capacity
– SDCCH/TCH Blocking
• BSS Parameters
– Change Thresholds : HO Rxlev, HO Rxqual, HO Timing Advance,
etc…

Observe Internal Interference

• Two tools are used at Dutchtone to analyse coverage problems.
• The two tools are :
• GIMS/MapInfo
• PARCELL.
• There are a number of solutions to coverage problems. Some of these are listed below:
• - COVERAGE FROM NEIGHBOUR SITES

• If the objectives for sufficient coverage are not met one of the possibilities to consider is improper neighbour
relations. The neighbour list should be checked to ensure all neighbour relations are defined correctly.
• - ANTENNA DOWNTILT
• In certain cases, sites may have a greater than intended coverage area. In cases like this, the coverage control exercise should be
undertaken and the antennas should be downtilted. Downtilting of antennas will help to reduce potential interference problems.
However, it is important not to downtilt too much otherwise coverage holes may be created.
• An example of downtilting is shown below in figure 51 and figure 52. Figure 51 shows the large coverage area of site 1273, sector 2.
This cell was interfering with another cell in the network. It was decided that the antenna should be downtilted by 2 degrees. The new
coverage area is shown in figure 52. A legend for the MapInfo plots is shown in figure 39.
• The changes made were:
• Before change: 2 degree mechanical uptilt, 6 degree electrical downtilt
• After change: 0 degree mechanical uptilt, 6 degree electrical downtilt
• Observe that the RF coverage has been reduced for sector 2 after the 2 degree uptilt has been removed. This exercise helps in
reinforcing the propagation in the intended coverage area by minimizing the unnecessary overlap with the neighbouring cells.

Drive Test Analyses
Drive test MapInfo plot of received signal strength before change (2 degree uptilt)
Drive Test Analyses
Drive test MapInfo plot of received signal strength after change (0 degree uptilt)

Sound Overview of the RF and BSS
Parameters

2. INTEGRATION OF A NEW SITE
2.1. Integration Drive Test

2.2. All-Sector Check
2.3. Antenna Orientation Check
2.4. Performance Check of HO with the Neighboring Cells
2.5. Coverage Objective Check
2.6. Quality Check on a per-cell basis
2.7. Surrounding Sites Check for Local Optimisation
2.7.1. Local Frequency Plan
2.7.2. Down/Up Tilt
2.7.3. Coverage


• Integration Drive Test are the real site drive test

• They differ from CW Trials because they take into account the
actual site parameters such as :
• Actual Cable and Connector Losses
• Actual Antenna characteristics is terms of Height as it is mounted
• Actual Traffic given a number of TRXs installed to cope with the Marketing
requirements
• Integration Drive tests are generally extensive drive tests to verify :
• HO Sequences to neighbouring cells
• Coverage and possible interference in the area
• Performance of the site in terms of Traffic absorbed and compare it with
neighbours
• Drop calls due to coverage from the previous situation have decreased
• Most imporantly, the Quality statistics of each integrated cell and compare them
to the required minimum quality thresholds
2.2. All-Sector Check
(Cross Sectors Problems)
• To avoid too much antenna pattern overlaps

within a site, it is important to assess the HO
between these cells
• We need to perform special drive tests during

integration for the sake of verifying that intra-
site HO occur correctly and no predominant cell
takes the whole traffic

2.3. Antenna Orientation Check
New integrated
Site
Bad Sector Orientation
Main Lobe not correctly oriented
Main Lobe correctly oriented
Existing
Site
ADDS MORE CONSTRAINTS FOR FREQUENCY PLANNING

2.4. Performance Check of HO
with the Neighboring Cells
• Each time a new site is integrated HO Check of
neighbouring cells is done :
• To delete Neighbour relation with inactive
cells
• To Update the neighbour list based upon real
statistics and not only a best server plot
• To evaluate the traffic on each neighbouring
cell in different HO Situations

2.5. Coverage Objectives Check

2.6. Quality Check on a per-cell
basis
• Quality Statistics have to cope with the
company’s threshold requirements
• Generally acceptable Quality figures of

RXQUAL = 4 or better
• If Quality worsens in some areas, one may need

to assess the coverage and/or Interference

2.7. Surrounding Sites Check for
Local Optimisation
2.7.1. Frequency
2.7.2. Tilting
2.7.3. Coverage

2.7. Surrounding Sites Check for Local Optimisation
2.7.1. Frequency
Each newly integrated site needs :
- BCCH, BSIC
New Site - Neighbour definition
- BSS Parameters, etc..
Inter-site and intra-site frequency

Constraints have to be respected
Coverage assessed accurately to avoid :

-Spalsh coverage
-High interference spots
Traffic vs HO has also to be controlled

3. FREQUENCY PLANNING
WITHIN DUTCHTONE
3.1. Frequency Plan every 2 weeks

3.2. Local Frequency Plan for interference Problems
3.3. How to Do Frequency Planning
3.4. (BCCH, BSIC) Planning
3.4.1. Guidelines/Tools for each Region
3.4.2. Forbidden Channels

• Sites has to go on air as quickly as possible
• Minimising the risk of bad quality on the Network
• => 2 Week-cycle is the best compromise
• Two Frequency Plans done :

• ODD weeks : Dedicated to improve Nework Quality ONLY
• No new sites are on-air during this period
• Gives the region the stability of the network they need to audit it

Frequency Planning Process for week N+2

Data Flow and Data Checks Process

3.2. Local Frequency Plan for
interference Problems
Other cells do
Local retune is needed because not affect cells
in retune area
Of high amount of dropped-calls
Within the area between the « red »
Cells ! Cells to be
returned
Isolation area
Co-Channel

3.3. How to do Frequency Planning
- Generally BBCH and non-BCCH channels are

allocated different bands with at least one guard-channel
- Frequency Planning is done on the DOWNLINK only
because the Mobiles are limited in power and the BTSs
are well « filtered » in the Uplink to generate interference
ARFCN = 662 ARFCN = 736
BCCH Channels Guard Channels Non-BCCH Channels
DOWNLINK LICENSED BAND

Goal
- Confine radiated energy to desired coverage area
- Keep the traffic as high as possible with less congestion and drop calls
Techniques
- Regular site grid
- Standard antenna type, azimuth, height
- Antenna tilting
Typical site grids

- Cloverleaf, 65°antenna system
- Hexagonal, 90°antenna system
- Hexagonal, onmi-directional antenna system

Site grid – 65° antenna system

Cloverleaf site coverage 65° antenna system
area using 65° antenna
system
Maximises capacity
PROVIDED regular grid
pattern is strictly adhered to one sector points
into the bisector of 2 other sectors
Preferred choice in dense,

high-traffic areas.

3.4. (BCCH, BSIC) Planning
3.4.1. Guidelines/Tools for each Region
3.4.2. Forbidden Channels

BCCH/BSIC Planning
(Example : 7/21 Reuse pattern )
Each Color means a different BCCH/BSIC
In this example a reuse of 7 is illustrated
The yellow colour is re-used and this

Means that another cell cannot
Have the same BCCH/BSIC couple
Unless a minimum distance is
Fullfiled. Minimum distance to
Allow the same BCCH
BCCH = 664 And the same BSIC to
BSIC = 27 Be reused.

4. ENCOUNTERED PROBLEMS DURING
OPTIMISATION PROCESS
4.1. Interference
4.2. Blocking/Capacity/Congestion
4.2.1. Signalling Blocking
4.2.2. Traffic Blocking
5. Site Restrictions/Design Related Issues
6. Drop Call
7. HO Issues
7.1. Types of HO
7.2. Causes of HO
7.3. Incoming/Outgoing Problems
8. Coverage

4.1. Interference
• Interference may occur in the following situation :

• Coverage not suitably controlled => Design change needed such as
downtilt, antenna type change,
• Tight frequency re-use especially in dense urban where the capacity

requirements are high => need for an automatic frequency plan to solve
the complexe frequency allocation re-allocation problem!
• BCCH/BSIC and TCH Allocation need to be considered separately

• CCI and ACI can be very high in urban areas => need to respect the
intra-site and inter-site frequency constraints

4.1. Interference
• RXQUAL statistics are the best interference

indicator
• If RXQUAL is high and the RXLEV is also

high => CCI and/or ACI
• If RXQUAL is high and RXLEV is low =>

this is generally a Coverage problem

Optimisation Drive Tests = CO-CHANNEL INTERFERENCE
4.1. Interference

Signalling blocking is generally related to SDCCH congestion and/or

interference
Low Traffic
SDCCH TCH TCH TCH TCH TCH TCH TCH
NON-COMBINED SDCCH Configuration
SDCCH/TCH TCH TCH TCH TCH TCH TCH TCH

COMBINED SDCCH/TCH Configuration
High Traffic
SDCCH SDCCH SDCCH TCH TCH TCH TCH TCH
NON-COMBINED SDCCH Configuration

2 TRX During Peak-Hour Mobiles will not be able to get

an SDCCH to inititate a call !
If sector 2 has enough capacity

2 TRX 2 TRX but interferred, there will be no
Peak Hour Traffic call setup possible leading to :
2 TRX = 8.2 Erlang 8 Erlang
Sector 2 needs at least Increase in Drop-call rate
3 TRX to cope with the Decrease in Traffic on sector 2
Peak-hour traffic
Sector 2 might enter either the Black/Grey List

7. Handover Issues

Different Types of HO
• The flexibility and complexity of GSM delivers various types of
handover possibilities
– HO due to Quality Degradation

– HO due to Level Degradation
– HO due to Power Budget
– HO due to Distance
– Inter-BSC Handover
• This type of HO occurs between cells belonging to 2 different BSCs; This HO is
decided by the MSC that controls these 2 BSCs
– Intra-BSC Handover
• This type of HO occurs between 2 cells belonging to the same BSC. This
handover is decided by the BSC itself

Used Terms for Handovers
MSC 2
BSC 1 MSC 1
target
intra
inter
cell source
BSC
MSC controlled
out-
going
in- inter BSC 2

MSC controlled coming cell

7.1. Types of HO
Self-Test
MSC Identify inter-BSC and Intra-BSC HO Regions if

we assume that mobile moves on the solid line
A A
Abis
BSC
A Abis
BSC
Urban Area B
Rural Area

HO due RXLEV (1/2)
Assumptions :
L as the length of the sample-averaging window,
S as a number less than or equal to L and represents the number of samples that must exceed the
threshold,
L_RXLEV_UL_H is the minimum threshold of RXLEV_UL before a handover takes place,
L_RXLEV_DL_H is the minimum threshold of RXLEV_DL before a handover takes place and N
is the neighbour cell.
Then if S out of L averages of RXLEV_DL is less than L_RXLEV_DL_H, the call will handover
to the neighbour cell N.
This will happen when cell N has the highest power budget (PBGT (N)), and its
RXLEV is above RXLEV_MIN (N).

HO due RXLEV (2/2)
RXQUAL is good but the handover has taken place due to lower received signal strength.

HO due RXQUAL (1/2)
L_RXQUAL_UL_H is the minimum threshold of RXQUAL_UL before a handover takes place.
L_RXQUAL_DL_H is the minimum threshold of RXQUAL_DL before a handover takes place,

and
N is the neighbour cell.
If S out of L averages of RXQUAL_DL are less than L_RXQUAL_DL_H, the call will handover
to the neighbour cell N.
This will happen when cell N has the highest power budget (PBGT (N)), and its RXQUAL is
above RXQUAL_MIN (N).
Some vendors deviate from GSM recommendation 05.08. They handover to the neighbour cell having
the highest RXQUAL_NCELL (N).
The conditions are that the RXQUAL should be greater than RXQUAL_MIN (N) is met
and the cause of the handover is poor RXQUAL_UL or RXQUAL_DL.

HO due RXQUAL (2/2)
The RXQUAL is very poor and has reached a level of 5.

HO due to Powerbudget (1/3)
Definitions :
MS_TX_PWR is the maximum allowed transmit power for mobile station

in the serving cell (DCS 1800 range: 10 to 30 dBm)
Pm is the maximum transmit power of the mobile station
PWR_C_D = BS_TX_PWR_MAX - BS_TX_PWR_ACTUAL (if downlink

power control is used)
RXLEV_DL is the serving cell’s downlink signal strength
RXLEV_NCELL (N) is the downlink signal strength of neighbour cell N,

and
PBGT (N) is the power budget of the neighbour cell N

The BSC calculates Power Budget based on the average data for each
neighbour cell:
PBGT (n) = {min (MS _ TXPWR _ MAX , Pm ) − RXLEV _ DL − PWR _ C _ D}

− [min{MS _ TX _ PWR _ MAX ( N ), Pm } − RXLEV _ NCELL ( N )]
The BSC then performs cell ranking for each neighbour cell:
max{PBGT ( N ) − HOMARGIN ( N ) − FACTOR( N )}
Where varies between N=1 to 6,
HO_MARGIN is the handover margin of cell N. This is the hysteresis applied to the
neighbour cell’s power budget.

FACTOR (N) is the sum of any offset allowed by the vendor to the
optimiser.
It is to be used between serving cell and neighbour cell N.
These may include OFFSET (N), defined as HO_MARGIN/hysteresis

offsets, LOAD_FACTOR (N) and results in the differences between the
traffic loads of the serving cell and its neighbour cell N, and penalties to
the neigbour cell due to previous poor service or failed handovers.
and assuming: RXLEV _ NCELL( N ) > RXLEV _ MIN (N )
If (1) results in a positive value for neighbour cell N, the handover will
occur to the cell N.

HO due to Distance
If S out of L averages of the timing advance are more than the prescribed timing advance
limit for the serving cell (U_TIME_ADVANCE), then the handover is made to the
neighbour cell N with the highest power budget {PBGT (N)}, with the condition that its
RXLEV is above RXLEV_MIN (N).
U_TIME_ADVANCE can be calculated from MS_RANGE_MAX. MS_RANGE_MAX is the

maximum allowed range in km of serving cell, and its range is 2 to 35km with each step
of 1 km.
HO
Zone
RXLEV_MIN
MS_RANGE_MAX
Cell B assumed to
CELL A CELL B Have the highest
PBGT
If MS_RANGE_MAX = 10
When TA reaches 11 then HO is done to Cell B
What is CPT or
Call Path Trace
• 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

Rx Quality Statistics
TRX 1
BER RXQual UL DL
< 0,2% 0 324 394
0,2- 0,4 % 1 223 241
0,4 - 0,8 % 2 65 48
good 0,8 - 1,6 % 3 57 23
1,6 - 3,2 % 4 23 17
slightly 3,2 - 6,4 % 5 21 9
degradiated 6,4 - 12,8 % 6 16 7
degradiated >12,8 % 7 11 1
useless
• Results are shown on TRX level

• Gives a quick overview about differences in UL and DL
• Can pinpoint hardware or interference problems

Rx Level Statistics
UL RxQual: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
UL RxLev:
0-10 12 87 56 45 12 12 12 12
11-15 88 88 7 21 11 9 0 0
16-20 92 87 54 12 13 0 0 0
21-30 56 54 34 23 11 0 0 0
31-40 123 123 99 9 0 0 0 0
41-63 234 222 79 34 0 0 0 0
DL RxQual: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
DL RxLev:
0-10 12 87 56 45 12 12 12 12
11-15 88 88 7 21 11 9 0 0
number of samples 16-20 92 87 54 12 13 0 0 0
21-30 56 54 34 23 11 0 0 0
with UL RxQual=0 31-40 123 123 99 9 0 0 0 0
and UL RxLev 41-63 234 222 79 34 0 0 0 0
between 41 and 63
• Results can be shown on TRX, BTS or BSC level

• Gives a quick overview about interference
and imbalance situation

HO Adjacent Cell
Statistics
from Cell A: to cell A:
fail due to fail due to
Att. Succ. lack of res. Att. Succ. lack of res.
Cell B 147 140 3 93 87 2
Cell C 545 230 27 556 347 18
Cell D 17 2 0 7 1 0
Cell E 92 87 0 112 111 0
• Quick overview which handover relations

are not ok (failures, blocking)
• Easy to find unnecessary neighbour relations
• Optimise Location Areas

Timing Advance
TA = .... 63
No. of samples 7
min. MsTxpower 0
max. MsTxpower 0
TA = x .... y avg. MsTxpower 2
No. of samples 7
TA = 0 .... xmin. MsTxpower 0
max. MsTxpower
No. of samples 437 0 s
avg. MsTxpower 2 b in
min. MsTxpower 10
max. MsTxpower 0
10
avg. MsTxpower 3,2
• Results are shown on cell level

• Shows real cell range
• shows were the subscribers are (distance)

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

APPENDIX

Frequency Re-use
• In a frequency re-use system, the same

frequency is re-used in a different area. The
total spectrum is divided into K frequency
groups given by :
• K = i2 + i.j + j2
• where i an j are positive integer numbers
• The re-use distance is thus given by :
• D2 = 3K.R2

Frequency Re-use
J j=4
j=3
j=2
j=1
i=4
D i=3
i=2
i=1 i=2, j=1 leading to
K=7
7 Channels/Group
Frequency Re-use
(re-use Factors)
I j K D/R
1 1 3 3.00
2 0 4 3.46
1 2 7 4.58
3 0 9 5.20
2 2 12 6.00
3 1 13 6.24
0 4 16 6.93
3 2 19 7.55
4 1 21 7.94
0 5 25 8.66

Frequency Re-use K = 4 (i=2,j=0)
J
Second Tier
12 Co-channel I
interferers
First Tier
6 Co-channel interferers
Minimum C/I Requirement
6 co-channel interferers
1 useful signal considered at the cell

border to consider the worst-case.
Received interferers’ powers assumed

to be equal :
In = A.D-γ
D1 Useful C given by :
C = A.R-γ
γ is the Propagation slope. Typicals

values for urban areas is 4 to 5
And D2/R2 = 3K leads to :

C 1
=
I 6
( 3K )
γ

Self-Test
• Compute the C/I due to the second tier in
the figure above
• Numerical Application :
– What is the first and second tier C/I if we
assume g for dense urban and rural
environment and a reuse factor of 4 and 7
respectively
– What is the best reuse factor in dense urban and
in rural and why ?

CELL SELECTION/RESELECTION – C1
The MS when not in the process of making a call will camp on the most suitable BCCH assuming the MS is switched on, contains a
SIM card and is in the system coverage area.
Whilst in this idle state the MS receives a list of neighbour cell frequencies broadcast on the BCCH of the serving cell.
The MS will tune to each of these frequencies in turn, gain synchronisation and check the following information towards a possible
cell re—selection.
1. Correct PLMN
2. Cell bar
3. Location Area
4. P1 & P2 (C1 Parameters)
Assuming the first two of these criteria are met the major factor used by the MS for cell reselection is the perceived transmission
quality between the MS and the potential cell known as C1.
One of the major factors used by the MS for cell selection is the perceived transmission quality between the MS and the potential
cell known as C1. The criterion on which C1 is calculated takes into account the RXLEV of the BCCH, the maximum output power
of MS and other cell specific parameters.
C1 = (A - Max. (B, 0))

A= RXLEV Average - P1
B= P2 - Max 0/P Power of MS
P1 and P2 are the cell specific parameters
P1 = rxlev_access_min which determines the min RXLEV required for the MS to
access the system.
P2= ms_txpwr_max_cch which determines the maximum output power at which the
MS can access the system.


Optimisation MODULE II

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Optimisation MODULE II

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GSM Network Optimisation

© Cirta Consulting 2002 Dr. Hatem MOKHTARI

Cycle Operator relevant:

© Cirta Consulting 2002

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• Average traffic per subscriber [mErl]

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• Two Major Parameters are responsible for the Speech Quality :

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• Drive Test Analyses

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• - COVERAGE FROM NEIGHBOUR SITES

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2.1. Integration Drive Test

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• Integration Drive Test are the real site drive test

• To avoid too much antenna pattern overlaps

• We need to perform special drive tests during

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Bad Sector Orientation

Main Lobe not correctly oriented

Main Lobe correctly oriented

ADDS MORE CONSTRAINTS FOR FREQUENCY PLANNING

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• Generally acceptable Quality figures of

• If Quality worsens in some areas, one may need

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Each newly integrated site needs :

Inter-site and intra-site frequency

Coverage assessed accurately to avoid :

Traffic vs HO has also to be controlled

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3.1. Frequency Plan every 2 weeks

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• Sites has to go on air as quickly as possible

• Minimising the risk of bad quality on the Network

• => 2 Week-cycle is the best compromise

• Two Frequency Plans done :

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© Cirta Consulting 2002

- Generally BBCH and non-BCCH channels are

BCCH Channels Guard Channels Non-BCCH Channels

DOWNLINK LICENSED BAND

Typical site grids

© Cirta Consulting 2002

Site grid – 65° antenna system

Preferred choice in dense,