GSM OPTIMISATION & BASIC CONCEPT PRERARED BY ANIMESH SARKAR

CHANNEL SHORT CUT (GSM)

BCH FCCH: - ALLOWS MS TO SYNCHRONISE WITH FREQUENCY. DL ONLY. SCH: INFORMS ABOUT FRAME NUMBER,BSIC OF THE CHOSEN BSC. DL ONLY BCCH: - GIVES GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT CELL. INCLUDES LAI, MAX. POWER OUTPUTALLOWED IN CELL. DL ONLY. USING FCCH,SCH,BCCH MS TUNES TO A BTS AND SYNCHRONIZED WITH FRAME STRUCTURE IN THAT CELL. CCCH PCH: - INCLUDES IMSI,TMSI. USED TO CONTACT MS FOR INCOMING CALL OR SMS. DL ONLY. RACH: - CHANNEL REQUESTS SENT THROUGH RACH.ALSO USED TO CONTACT NETWORK BY MS. UL ONLY. AGCH:- ASSAIGNMENT OF SDCCH IS PERFORMED BY AGCH. DL ONLY. DCCH SDCCH: - CALL SETUP IS PERFORMED ON SDCCH. TEXT MESSAGE TRANSMISSION IN IDLE MODE UL/DL WHEN CALL SETUP IS PERFORMED,THE MS IS TOLD TO SWITCH TO A TCH. SACCH: - UL MS SENDS AVERAGED MEASUREMENT ON ITS OWN BTS AND NEIGHBOURING BTS. DL INFORMATION CONCERNING TX POWER TO USE INFORMATION ABOUT TA. FACCH: - IF HO IS REQUIRED, FACCH IS USED. WORKS IN STEALING MODE. SIGNALING INFO. NECESSARY FOR HO. CBCH: - DL TO CARRY SMSCB USES SAME PHYSICAL CHANNEL AS SDCCH

BASIC OPTIMISATION PROCESS

THERE ARE 4-TYPES OF TYPICAL RADIO PROBLEM. THEY ARE 1. 2. 3. 4. COVERAGE PROBLEM INTERFERENCE PROBLEM UNBALANCED POWER BUDGET PROBLEM CONGESTION PROBLEM. COVERAGE PROBLEM & SOLUTION IN THIS CASE RX LEVEL IS POOR AT THE SAME TIME QUALITY CAN BE BAD. INDICATIONS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. DROP CALLS NO NETWORK CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS TCH FAILURE RATE CDR LOW PROPORTION OF BETTER CELL HO INDICATOR HIGH DL & UL LEVEL HO(POSSIBLY ALSO QUALITY)

OMC

7. POOR LEVEL(< -95 dBm) RESULT OPTIMISATION 1. 2. 3.

DRIVE TEST

CHECK ANTENNA SYSTEM(AZIMUTH,HEIGHT,TILT) INCREASE/DECREASE DOWNTILT AS PER REQUIREMENT CHECK BTS OUT-PUT POWER IN OMCR(SHOULD ALWAYS SET TO ZERO)

SOME TIME LEVEL IS OK IN THE STREET BUT POOR INSIDE THE BUILDING DUE TO BUILDING LOOSES (-10 TO -30 Db OR MORE). INTERFERENCE PROBLEM IN THIS CASE RX LEVEL IS GOOD BUT RX QUALITY IS BAD. INDICATORS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. BAD SPEECH QUALITY(NOISY CALLS) CALL DROP. SDCCH/TCH DROP LOW PROPORTION OF BETTER CELL HO HIGH RATE OF UL/DL QUALITY HO & INTERFERENCE HO INDICATOR LOW HOSR RXQUAL>4 WITH RXLEVEL> -85 dBm TEST

CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS OMC

DRIVE

OPTIMISATION 1. 2. 3. ANTENNA OPTIMISATION FREQUENCY (BCCH) CHANGE REDUCTION OF BTS POWER

UNBALANCED POWER BUDGET PROBLEM TOO HIGH PATH-LOSS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UL & DL(OFTEN DL>UL) REASONS 1. 2. 3. CROSSED FEEDERS LOOSE CONNECTORS FAULTY ANTENNA,FEEDER,TMA

INDICATORS (OMC-MAINLY) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. HIGH RATIO OF UPLINK LEVEL HO CAUSE LOW INCOMMING HO SUCCESS RATE DL LEVEL LOOKS OK FOR HO BUT UL IS TOO WEAK WHEN HO IS ATTEMPED DEGRADATION OF TCH FAILURES & OC CALL DROP INDICATORS VSWR ALARM TMA ALARM

OPTIMISATION THE FOLLOWING EQUIPMENTS SHOULD BE CHECKED 1. TRX TYPES (MP, HP) 2. ANTENNAS OR COMMON RF COMPONENTS, TMA(COMMON TO ALL TRX OF THE BTS) 3. TRX RF CABLES,LNA CONGESTION PROBLEM TCH CONGESTION RATE ( TCH ASSIGNMENT PHASE) IS TOO HIGH (MORE THAN 2%) INDICATORS 1. COSTOMERS COMPLAIN ABOUT NETWORK BUSY 2. HIGH TCH CONGESTION RATE RTCH ASSIGNMENT FAIL-CONGESTION OMC 3. LOW INCOMING INTRA/INTER BSC HO SUCCESS RATE 4. HIGH DIRECT RETRY/CONGESTION RELIEF IF ACTIVATED 5. HO TO BETTER CELL IS SLOW OR NEVER OCCURS OPTIMISATION HARDWARE SOLUTION 1. 2. 3. 4. TRX ADDITION ACTIVATE HR NEW SITE ADDITION CELL BOUNDARY OPTIMISATION TO SHARE TRAFFUC WITH SURROUNDING CELL. DRIVE TEST

SOFTWARE SOLUTION 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. DIRECT RETRY TRAFFIC HANDOVER HALF RATE(ALCATEL) CONGESTION RELIEF FLOW CONTROL(MOTOROLA)

HANDOVER OPTIMISATION WHEN HOSR IS POOR HANDOVER OPTIMISATION IS REQUIRED THE PROCESS IS AS FOLLOWS:1. 2. 3. 4. 5. CHECK NEIGHBOUR RELATIONS CHECK HOSR WITH NEIGHBOURS FROM OMCR STATS ADD/DELETE NEIGHBOURS AS PER REQUIREMENT REDEFINE EXISTING NEIGHBOURS. SET HO-MARGIN PARAMETER DEPENDING UPON STATS CALL DROP OPTIMISATION 1. 2. 3. 4. HANDOVER OPTIMISATION CHECK REMOTE TC DROP FROM DAILY DASH BOARD, IF HIGH INFORM OMC CHECK INTERFERENCE BANDS IN DASH BOARD. BAND 1 & 2 FOR CO & ADJACENT CHANNEL INTERFERENCE-IF HICH----- CHECK FREQUENCY PLAN. IF HIGH IN BAND 5------ FILTER FAULTY------INFORM OMC & BSS TEAM IF TRX DROP IS HIGHa. CHANGE CALL PRIOTITY b. IF BCCH DROP IS HIGH- SHIFT BCCH TRX c. CHECH TRX EFFICIENCY----IF POOR-----GIVE A RESET------IF NO RESULY COMES------CHANGE IT

POINTS TO REMEMBER 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. SDCCH BUSY HOUR- TYPICALLY MORNING HOURS(FREQUENT ON/OFF AND UPDATES) TCH BUSY HOURHEAVY CALL TRAFFIC HOURS(COULD BE BACK HOME HOURS) HOLDING TIME- AVERAGE TIME SPENT ON ANY DEDICATED RESOURCES. SDCCH HOLDING TIME- TYPICALLY 3-4 SEC TCH HOLDING TIME- ACTUAL CALL DURATION+ ALERTING

BASIC FACTS UP LINK:DOWN LINK:BAND P-900 E-900 1800 UL(MHZ) 890-915 880-915 1710-1785 DL(MHZ) 935-960 925-960 1805-1880 NO. OF CARRIER 124 373

TRANSCODER CONVERTS 64 KBPS PCM CHANNEL TO 13 KBPS VOCODER CHANNEL USED IN AIR-INTERFACE. SOME INTERFACES

MS BTS MSC

Um Abis A

BTS BSC BSC

RANGES PARAMETER RX LEVEL RX QUALITY C/I SQI GOOD -45 TO -70 0 TO 4 16 TO 25 21 TO 30 AVERAGE -71 TO -90 5 TO 6 12 TO 15 12 TO 20 POOR LESS THAN -91 GREATER THAN 7 LESS THAN 12 LESS THAN 12

GSM Parameters
Base Station ID Parameters Network Color Code Base Station Color Code Note: Default Value 0 0 (1) Network Colour Code (NCC) Range 0 to 7 0 to 7

This code enables a mobile to determine the network to which the base station belongs. Normally 0 to 3 are used for the 'first' network operator, and 4 to 7 for the 'second' network operator within the country.

(2)

Base Station Colour Code (BCC)

This defines the colour code of the base station so that a mobile can distinguish neighbouring base stations.

RACH Control Parameters Maximum Retransmissions Tx Spread Integer 25, Cell Barred Call Re-Establish PLMN Permitted Cell Identity Value Note: (1) Maximum Retransmissions This field defines the maximum number of repeated attempts at transmission by the mobile. (2) Tx Spread Integer This field defines for the mobile the number of timeslots over which transmission of the RACH is to be distributed. (3) Cell Barred 0 1 255 1 0 0 0 0 to to to to Default Value 2 5 Range 1, 2, 4, 7 3 to 12, 14, 16, 20, 32 and 50 1 1 255 65535

A cell can be barred; that is, a mobile can be denied access to the base station. The codes for this field are: 0 = cell is not barred 1 = cell is barred (4) Call Re-Establish The code in this field permits or denies a mobile return to the cell. 0 = Return to cell permitted 1 = Return to cell denied

(5)

PLMN Permitted (NCC Permitted)

This field identifies which Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs) the mobile is allowed to monitor, with each network uniquely identified by its Network Colour Code (NCC). The eight NCCs are represented by an 8-digit binary number. The network with colour code 0 is the LSB of this number, and the network with colour code 7 is the MSB. If a '1' is entered at a particular position in this binary number, the mobile is to monitor base stations that belong to this NCC (PLMN). Those NCCs for which a '0' is entered are ignored. The binary number is then converted to its decimal equivalent. For example, if base stations that belong to the PLMN with the network colour code of 3 are to be monitored, then the PLMN Permitted field has the following value: 8 ( 23 )

If all PLMNs are to be monitored, then the PLMN Permitted value entry is: 255 (6) Cell Identity Value This field contains the identity number of the cell. Each identity number is only issued once in a network and permits unique identification of the cell. ( 20 + 21 + . . . . . . .+ 27 )

Location Area ID
Parameters Access Control Class Mobile Country Code Number of MNC Digits Mobile Network Code Location Area Code Note: (1) Default Value 0 1 2 1 1 Range 0 to 65535 0 to 999 2 or 3 (PCS 1900 0 to 99 0 to 65535

only)

Access Control Class

Each mobile is assigned to one of 16 access groups. One or more of these groups can be denied access to the base station. The 16 access groups are represented by a 16-digit binary number; access group 0 is LSB of this number, and access group 15 is MSB. If there is a '1' at a particular position in this binary number, then access will be denied to the corresponding group. Where there is a '0', the relevant group is allowed to access the base station. The number in the Access Control Class field is the decimal equivalent of the 16-digit binary number. For example, if groups 1, 9, 12 and 14 are to be denied access to the base station, then the number in the field is: 20994 ( 21 + 29 + 212 + 214 = 2 + 512 + 4096 + 16384 ) If no groups are to be denied access, then the Access Control Class number is 0.

(2)

Mobile Country Code (MCC)

This is a code number that represents the country of origin of a base station or network, and it is sent by the base station to the mobile to convey that information. The codes are as follows: Country Austria Belgium Canada Cyprus Denmark Germany Finland France Gibraltar Great Britain Greece Greenland Hungary Iceland Ireland Code 232 206 302 280 238 262 244 208 266 234 202 290 216 274 272 Country Italy Luxemburg Malta Monaco Netherlands Norway Portugal San Marino Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey USA Yugoslavia TEST SIM Code 222 270 278 212 204 242 268 292 214 240 228 285 310 220 001

Note that if the Country Code does not match the first three digits of the SIM IMSI, it is possible that the mobile will be unable to respond to a base station initiated call.

(3)

Number of MNC Digits

This parameter is only available when operating in the PCS 1900 band. This is the number of digits used to specify the Mobile Network Code. (4) Mobile Network Code (MNC)

This is the code of the network to which the base station belongs. The range of this is 0 to 99 if E-GSM or DCS 1800 are being used, and if 2 MNC digits have been selected when PCS 1900 is being used. When using PCS 1900 with 3 MNC digits selected, this range changes to 0 to 999. (5) Location Area Code (LAC)

This is an identity number given to the site of a base station. This number is only issued once in a network. In this way, a base station is uniquely identified by the values MCC, MNC, and LAC. The value '0' is used in this field to show that there is no valid local area identification (LAI).

Cell Selection
Parameters Cell Reselect Hysteresis (Note 1) Max Mobile Tx Power Level Min Mobile Rx Signal Level Default Value Range 12 dB 2 0 0 to 14 dB in 2 dB steps 0 to 31 (Note 2) 0 to 63 (Note 3)

Note:

(1)

Cell Reselect Hysteresis

This is the threshold level for a mobile to select a new base station. When a mobile tries to signal again, starting from its idle mode, it will only call another base station if the reception from it is better (by this threshold level) than from the previous one. (2) Max Mobile Tx Power Level (MS-TxPWR-MAX-CCH)

This is the maximum permitted transmitting power of the mobile when it first gains access to the system (on the CCH). The power value entered is the GSM mobile control level defined in GSM recommendation 05-05, as described under the heading EGSM / DCS / PCS VARIATIONS - Error: Reference source not found (3) Min Mobile Rx Signal Level (RXLEV-ACCESS-MIN)

The signal from the base station must arrive at the mobile with a certain minimum power level for the mobile to register with the cell. The minimum level, starting from -110 dBm, is increased by this value set. For example, a minimum receive level of -63 dBm is set by entering '47' in this field.

Fixed Parameters
The values of the following GSM parameters are fixed within the Test Set, and are not user-programmable. Parameter Value

DTX (Mobile) IMSI Attach-detach allowed BS-AG-BLKS-RES BS-PA-MFRMS CCCH-CONF BA_IND PWRC Radio Link Timeout Multiband Reporting Information

Disabled MS shall apply 0 010 (binary) (i.e. 4 multiframes) 001 0 0 8 SACCH frames 1 At least 1 neighbour cell from each band.

Notes: (1) DTX The code in this field specifies whether a mobile station may, or should, or may not, use discontinuous transmission. Note: For the purposes of a Battery Life Test sequence, the code can be changed in the test sequence parameters, or by editing the main Parameter File. When the Battery Life test is complete, the DTX parameter should be restored to its default value (as above). The 6103 does not fully support DTX operation. Selecting DTX may cause abnormal operation. (2) IMSI Attach/Detach Allowed (ATT) This parameter determines whether IMSI attach and detach procedures are to be used at power ON and OFF. Setting this bit guarantees that the mobile will register at power-on, even if the Location Area is not changed. (3) BS-AG-BLKS-RES This parameter defines the number of blocks on each common control channel (CCCH) that are reserved for access grant messages. (4) BS-PA-MFRMS This parameter determines at what intervals (in multiframes of 51 frames) the paging call from the base station is repeated. Note: For the purposes of a Battery Life Test sequence, the parameter can be changed in the test sequence parameters, or by editing the main Parameter File. When the Battery Life test is complete, the BS-PA-MFRMS parameter should be restored to its default value (as above).

(5)

CCCH-CONF A CCCH can be assigned several physical channels, in part combined with SDCCHs (stand-alone dedicated control channels).

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The value 001 specifies 1 physical channel for CCCH, with combined SDCCHs. (6) BA_IND This field contains the BCCH allocation sequence number indication. The range is 0 to 1; it is sent in the Neighbour Cells Description in SYS INFO 3 on the BCCH and SYS INFO 5 on the SACCH; the value is fixed at 0. (7) PWRC This is the Power Control Indication, which specifies whether a mobile (when monitoring) is to measure the power on the BCCH carrier and include it in the measurement report. It is sent in the Cell Options information element in SYS INFO 3 on the BCCH and SYS INFO 6 on the SACCH. The value is fixed at 0, indicating that the mobile does not measure the power on the BCCH (a 1 would indicate that power is measured). (8) Radio Link Timeout Radio Link Timeout (T100 in the MS) is sent in the Cell Options information element. The mobile uses this value to determine whether there is still good radio contact with the base station. The S counter in the mobile is loaded with this value, fixed at 8 SACCH frames, and the value is -- decremented by 1 if an SACCH message could not be decoded, or -- incremented by 2 if an SACCH message message was properly received. If the value drops to 0, the mobile communicates that it has lost the base station. (9) Multiband Reporting Information This value determines the minimum number of available cells to be reported on each band by a multiband mobile.

TIMERS
The following tables show values for the various 'network-side' timers that are implemented within the Test Set. These values are not user-programmable.

TABLE 4.3 Timers Applicable To Call Setup

GSM-specified 6103 Test Set Value Failure Indication MS Timer No paging response T3120 + T3101 (Note 1) not specified Immediate Assign failed

Activity Paging the Mobile Immediate Assignment

Channel Timer CCCH CCCH to SDCCH transfer T3113 T3101

Duratio n 3s 2.5 s

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Authenticati SDCCH on Ciphering SDCCH

T3260

5s

5s

Protocol Error (if there is NO response) (Note 2) Call Lost During Test (Note 3) None - triggers T308 (see Error: Reference source not found) None - triggers T308 (see Error: Reference source not found) Assignment to TCH failed (Note 4) N/A

T100

4s 4 to 64 SACCH (8 SACCH blocks blocks) 3s not specified

Call Setup (BTS Initiated) Call Setup (MS Initiated) TCH Assignment

SDCCH

T303

SDCCH

T313

3s

not specified

SDCCH to TCH transfer

T3107

5s

not specified

User TCH response to ringing tone Notes: (1) (2)

T301

3 min

> 3 min

This message is given because the call setup protocol cannot even start. If an Authentication Response is received, but SRES is incorrect, then a Warning is given, but the test can continue successfully. However, it will not be possible to set up a call with Encryption enabled. The Test Set expects the mobile to start encrypting before T303 times out; if it has not, the call will be lost.

(3)

(4) This indicates that the mobile has not successfully moved to the assigned traffic channel.

TABLE 4.4 Timers Applicable To Call Termination

GSM-specified Failure Indication None (Note) None (Note)

Activity Call Disconnection Channel Release

Channel DCCH DCCH

Time r T305 T308

Duration 30 s 3s

Value 30 s 3s

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Note:

Expiry of these timers causes a 'Local End Release' (as defined by GSM Recommendations) to occur.

TABLE 4.5 Other General GSM Timers

GSM-specified Failure Indication

Activity

Channel

Timer T100

Duration Value

Radio Any Signalling Link Layer 2 SDCCH FACCH/F SACCH/TF SACCH/C4 FACCH TCH CCH

4s 4 to 64 SACCH Call Lost During (8 SACCH blocks Test blocks) 220 160 900 900 ms ms ms ms 220 160 900 900 ms ms ms ms (Note 1) (Note 1) Triggers T100 (Note 1)

T200 T200 T200 T200

Mobile traffic loopback Handover Location update Note:

TT01 2.5 s (Note 2) T3103 5 s T3212 0 min (Note 3)

2.5 s

TCH Loopback command failed 5s Handover failed 6 to 1530 min N/A 0 = infinity

(1) Failure of the layer 2 link will usually trigger a layer 3 error handling mechanism, since a layer 3 message will possibly be corrupt or missing. (2) As defined in GSM 11 10, Section III.1.2.5

(3) T3212 controls how often the mobile performs a location update when in the idle mode, by specifying the period between location updating. T3212 is sent in the Control Channel Description and is normally fixed at 0, indicating that periodic updating is not used. During the Synchronisation/Registration test it is set to a value in the range 0 to 1530 minutes (variable in steps of 6 minutes).

Blocked Call Troubleshooting

Blocked Calls can occur due to : Access Failures SDCCH Congestion SDCCH Drop TCH Congestion Trouble shooting cause : Use Layer 3 messages to analyze the cause Decode System Information Type 3 messages. Note the parameter , max_retransmission ; CCCH CONF and BS_AG_BLKS_RES

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Access Failures - CCCH Overload at the Base Station - Uplink Interference at the Base Station - Low Rxlev at the Base Station - Base Station TRX decoder malfunctioning - Downlink Low Rxlev ( Coverage Hole ) - Downlink Interference - Excess Cell Range

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Access Failure - Uplink Problem Causes: 1. AGCH Overload at Base Station 2. RACH Collisions 3. MS out of Range 4. Poor Uplink quality 5. BTS Receiver Problem

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AGCH Overloading - Root Cause Analysis If Multiple Immediate Assignment Extended Messages are seen, problem could be AGCH overloading OR RACH Collisions/Non-detection If max_retrans and Tx-Integer are set to a lower value, problem could be more towards RACH Collisions/ Non-detection If set high, then possibility of overloading is high!! Check for CCCH_CONF and BS_AG_BLKS_RES. If less blocks are reserved , problem is overloading. Analyze the OMC data for the same period for the following stats: - No of Deletions - No of Successful RACHs - RACH Busy counts - No of RACHs with invalid establishment cause RACH Collisions/ Max Range - Root Cause Analysis Max_Retrans and Tx-Integer set low - RACH Collisions Possible Check for Distance from Base Station -- Plot a map for BCH ARFCN -- Export the Channel Request and CellID Label -- Import the Site IDs Raster Images on the Map -- Calculate distance between Channel Request and BTS -- Compare this distance with the Max_Distance_Allowed set for thjs cell. -- Note: Max_Dist_Allowed is a BSC paramter ( not on Air ) -- If the MS distance is more than max_distance then problem with Max Range If both the above conditions dont meet, then problem is Non-Detection. RACH Non-Detection - Root Cause Analysis Downlink is fine !!! Parameters are well set for RACH control !!! Problem could be Uplink Quality / Base Station Analyze the following OMC Data -- No of Invalid RACHs -- Interference on Idle Channel -- SDCCH RF Loss / TCH RF Loss

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If Interference and RF Losses are above normal, problem is Uplink Interference. If RF Losses are high, but interference is low , problem is Uplink level Uplink level poor indicates Link imbalance. If all above conditions are satisfactory and still No of Invalid RACHs high, problem could SDCCH Congestion Cause Location Updates to be analysed with OMC statistics first. If high, determine the source to target cell ratio Drive around the suspected area in the Idle Mode Configure Delta LAC < > Constant 0 alarms Optimize Location Updates Interference Analyze OMC statistics on Idle Channel Interference Carry out Uplink Interference Measurements using Viper Heavy Traffic Verify from OMC statistics SDCCH Congestion Carry Call Setup Time measurements Optimize set up time if high, else modify channel configuration TCH Blocked - Causes Interference -- Verify Idle Channel Interference reports from OMC -- If suspected, carry out uplink interference measurements Heavy Traffic -- Verify the TCH Holding time and no of attempts statistics from OMC -- During low traffic hours, Activate Cell barring in the cell -- Carry out Time slot testing , by setting Ignore Cell Barring.

Blocked Call - Interference Base Station Measures Uplink Interference on Idle Timeslots At regular intervals, categorizes Timeslots into Interference Bands. There are Five Interference Bands. Each Interference Band has a range of interference level. Example : Interference Band 1 = -110 to -100 dbm Interference Band 2 = - 99 to -90 dbm Interference Band 3 = - 89 to -75 dbm Interference Band 4 = - 75 to -60 dbm Interference Band 5 = -59 dbm and above Network will assign Timeslots starting from lower band Interference Band 5 Timeslots are considered as BLOCKED OMC reports Hourly average statistics for each timeslot.

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Dropped Call Troubleshooting

Dropped Call Analysis SDCCH Drops - Causes Coverage Interference & Multipath BTS performance TCH Drops - Causes Coverage Interference & Multipath BTS performance Pre-emption Handover Failure - Causes Threshold parameters Missing neighbors Solutions to Dropped Calls Optimize Coverage Interference Management Optimize neighbors Optimize handover parameters Effective Frequency Hopping Use of DTX & Power control We will examine the potential causes behind call drops and some solutions to combat them. * Coverage Poor non-contiguous coverage will reduce C/N and hence will reduce the Ec/No and will result into call drops. * Interference This is one of the major causes of dropped calls. Interference could be cochannel, adjacent channel or external. Under certain severe cell interference conditions, the call will

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be dropped before a handover can be initiated. . Multipath interference can also add to the problems. Strong signal reflections result in time dispersion issues resulting in a large coherence bandwidth. * Network initiated drops Certain network features, like preemption, can kill an ordinary call to provide connection to an emergency class subscriber. A handover is the key to survival from dropping calls. But if there are problems in the Handover process itself, then this will not avoid a drop. Dropped calls can be effectively reduced by improving coverage, detecting and reducing interference, setting appropriate Handover Margins , thresholds for handovers and the correct selection of neighbors. Use of DTX and dynamic downlink power control will also. reduce average interference which should lead to some improvements SDCCH Drop - Coverage SDCCH Drop - Co- Channel Interference SDCCH Drop - Adjacent Channel Interference SDCCH Drop - Uplink Problem TCH Drop - Coverage TCH Drop - Co-Channel Interference TCH Drop - Adjacent Channel Interference TCH Drop - Uplink Problem Handover Failure Poor Quality Poor Speech Quality could be due to Patchy Coverage ( holes) No Target cell for Handover Echo , Audio holes, Voice Clipping Interference ---: Co-channel Adjacent channel External Multipath Noise RxQUAL : Measured on the midamble. Indicates poor speech quality due to radio interface impairments FER : Measured on the basis of BFI ( Ping -Pong effect on speech ) Preferred under Frequency Hopping situation Echo and distortion : Generally caused by the Transmission and switching system. Audio holes : Blank period of speech, due to malfunctioning of Transcoder boards or PCM circuits. Voice Clipping : Occurs due to improper implementation of DTX. Mean Opinion Score (MOS) : ITU standard for estimating speech quality Optimizing - Handover Margin Handover Margin is value set for all cells, which will allow mobiles to handover to the cell, only when this cells power budget balance exceeds the source cells power budget balance by this value. Handover Margins main objective is to avoid ping-pong effects of handovers on cell periphery, when the power levels of two cells are near to equal , so due to multipath and mobility, this will result into frequent handovers between these two cells. Setting this value low, will result into fast handover to the target cell, which may result in improvement in quality. Setting this to high value will delay the handover to the target cell, and ensure that when handover takes place, the probability of the mobile going back to the source cell is very low for some significant period.

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Optimization for Interference After drive test - Co-Channel benchmarking, we know which cells are generating severe co-channel problem We also know by decoding BSIC , the interefering source Following processes could be adopted to optimize interference ---- Power Control ---- Antenna Tilts ---- Frequency Reallocations ---- Transmitter Tests ---- Mobile dispatch inspection ---- Space Diversity ---- Frequency Hopping /DTX In order to optimize interference the cells which are generating high level of interference should be located from the OMC Performance Database. It is essential to locate the source of interference whether it is external or internal. If it is internal then it could be due to multipath, adjacent, co-channel, inter-modulation or spurious. This can be located by analyzing the spectrum. There are various methods involved in optimizing interference. Appropriate Power Control of the interfering entities could be done. For Co-channel Interference problems, Tilting of antenna could be done with proper coverage aspects, for adjacent channel analysis should be done to locate if any adjacent channel is allocated to the neighbors , If it is then frequency allocation could help with this. It is very essential to carry out Transmitter and Mobile tests for Power v/s time output spectrum and intermodulation products, generally a mobile should be tested for these basic tests before being dispatched. In the Uplink Space Diversity is the worldwide adopted method for reducing the effect of Multipath fading, where as in the downlink it is the mobiles equalizer which has to do this job. One very relevant solution to interference is frequency hopping where the mobile constantly changes frequency for every burst which reduces the effect of interference. Implementation of DTX.DRX also reduces average interference. Co-Channel Optimization Static Power Control Antenna Tilting Trade Off with EC/No Frequency Reallocation Implementing Features like Dynamic Power Control, DTX and Frequency Hopping

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