Professional Customer Services: GPRS Planning Guideline B7

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Reference Classification: 900 000
File Name: B7 GPRS Planning Guideline Ed01.doc Save Date: 2003-07-10 Revision Number: 080
3DF 01902 2710 VAZZA Edition 01 RELEASED 1/34
Professional Customer Services
GPRS Planning Guideline B7
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2/34 Edition 01 RELEASED 3DF 01902 2710 VAZZA
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Contents
1 SCOPE ............................................................................................................................................ 4
2 REFERENCED DOCUMENTS............................................................................................................. 4
3 OVERVIEW: PLANNING A GPRS NETWORK................................................................................... 5
4 GPRS GREENFIELD PLANNING...................................................................................................... 6
4.1 Traffic Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 6
4.1.1 GPRS traffic calculation............................................................................................................................. 9
4.2 GPRS Network Design................................................................................................................................ 10
4.3 GPRS Analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 12
4.4 Routing area and CAE data generation ...................................................................................................... 12
4.5 Reaching GPRS QoS during GPRS planning and implementation phase ...................................................... 12
5 GPRS INTRODUCTION INTO AN OPERATIONAL GSM NETWORK................................................ 13
5.1 Actual status of the GSM network ............................................................................................................... 13
5.2 Occurred traffic and handled traffic balance............................................................................................... 13
5.3 Introduction of GPRS and related features/settings ...................................................................................... 14
6 GPRS ANALYSIS (CODING SCHEME AND THROUGHPUT PREDICTIONS)..................................... 15
7 ROUTING AREA PLANNING ........................................................................................................ 16
7.1 CAE-BSS Parameters Generated by A955 ................................................................................................... 17
8 PLANNABLE FEATURES TO REACH GPRS QOS TARGET................................................................ 18
9 GPRS FEATURES TO INCREASE QOS DURING PLANNING........................................................... 18
9.1 MPDCH and SPDCH Planning.................................................................................................................... 18
9.1.1 Master and Slave PDCH Concept ............................................................................................................ 18
9.1.2 Handling Primary MPDCH ...................................................................................................................... 19
9.1.3 Secondary Master Channels.................................................................................................................... 19
9.1.4 Planning Recommendation on MPDCH................................................................................................... 19
9.2 Radio resource and TBF management ........................................................................................................ 20
9.2.1 PDCH Dynamic Allocation ...................................................................................................................... 20
9.2.2 Fast pre-emption .................................................................................................................................... 21
9.2.3 TBF Resource Management ..................................................................................................................... 22
9.2.4 PDCH Resource Management ................................................................................................................. 22
9.2.5 TBF resource reallocation (radio resource reallocation) ............................................................................ 22
9.2.6 Coding Scheme (CS) Adaptation process................................................................................................. 23
9.3 Overview on cell reselection modes ............................................................................................................ 24
9.3.1 Cell adjacencies ..................................................................................................................................... 24
9.3.2 Cell reselection criterion no PBCCH established....................................................................................... 24
9.3.3 Cell reselection criterion PBCCH established ........................................................................................... 25
9.3.4 Cell Reselection at Routing Area Border................................................................................................... 26
9.3.5 Broadcasting of SI13 on extended BCCH ................................................................................................ 27
9.4 Features on DL TBF establishment and release............................................................................................ 27
9.4.1 Delayed DL TBF release .......................................................................................................................... 28
9.4.2 Fast DL TBF re-establishment .................................................................................................................. 28
9.4.3 Non-DRX feature .................................................................................................................................... 29
9.5 GPRS POWER CONTROL ........................................................................................................................... 29
APPENDIX A GSM NETWORK ENHANCEMENT FEATURES AND GPRS .............................................. 30
APPENDIX B GPRS TRAFFIC ANALYSIS CALCULATION METHODS..................................................... 32

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1 SCOPE
The focus of this document is the GPRS planning from AIR interface point of view. For
this reason planning relevant integration steps, restrictions and recommendations of
GPRS features (B6 and B7) will be presented.
For the Edition 02 of this document the link to the document Radio QoS Acceptance
Test Procedures For GSM/GPRS [9] will be created. This link will help to identify which
planning steps have an influence on which QoS KPI (Key Performance Indicator) of
GPRS.
The reader should be familiar with GSM and GPRS features of Alcatel. This document
will help the reader to setup or integrate a GPRS network into a GSM network. For
GPRS knowledge related introduction and advanced features see [1].
In chapter 4 GPRS Greenfield planning and in chapter 5 GPRS Introduction into an
operational GSM network is described.
Chapter 6 is describing the GPRS thoughput analysis with a radio network planning
tool (e.g. A955) and the details of the planning steps.
For routing area planning, chapter 7 will give rercommendations on how to split the
GPRS network into routing areas.
Chapter 9 gives proposals how to integrate GPRS features to increase GPRS QoS. This
features shall be taken into account during GPRS planning to guarante QoS demand
of the operator.
APPENDIX A summarizes impacts of GSM features on GPRS QoS. The presented GSM
features should be used to reduce interference in the network which may increase
GPRS QoS.
APPENDIX B presents three different GPRS traffic analysis calculation methods to
achieve the needed TS for GPRS. The results will be used in chapter 4 or chapter 5 in
the corresponding subchapter GPRS traffic analysis.
To get into contact with the Radio Network Planning Expert Center on
GPRS topics, please use the intranet link of Professional Customer Services under
http://aww-mnd.alcatel.com/pcs/
Select GPRS in the Technology area
Please send your comments, update wishes referring to this document to
rnp.methods@alcatel.de
They will be considered in a next edition of the document.
2 REFERENCED DOCUMENTS
[1] 3DF 00995 0005 UAZZA GPRS/E-GPRS Radio Network Planning Aspects
[2] 3DC 21150 0260 TQZZA GPRS Network Design Process in Release B6.2 and B7
[3] 3DF 01907 2710 VAZZA GPRS: parameters and QoS follow-up B7
[4] 3DF 01955 5283 PCZZA Radio Network Planning for GPRS
[5] 3DC 21083 0001 TQZZA Evolium A9100 BTS product description
[6] 3DC 21150 0263 TQZZA GSM 900 and GSM 1800 Use of High Power TRX with
TMA
[7] 3DC 21150 0275 TQZZA TMA Configuration for GSM and Impact on Network
Design
[8] 3DC 21150 0292 TQZZA GPRS/EGPRS Throughput Tool User Manual
[9] 3DF 01900 3060 QMZZA Radio QoS Acceptance Test Procedures For GSM/GPRS
Readership Profile
Content Summary
Service Information
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3 OVERVIEW: PLANNING A GPRS NETWORK
Two different aspects have to be separated if speaking about GPRS planning:
GPRS Greenfield planning
Introduction of GPRS to operating GSM cells
GPRS Greenfield planning means the introduction of GPRS with dedicated QoS
distribution for each GPRS cell right from the operational start. So the GPRS network
will be planned as throughput coverage oriented network with speech service
integration. As this GPRS approach covers all GPRS planning steps the details on the
planning steps will be described in chapter 4 dedicated to GPRS Greenfield planning.
For the case introduction of GPRS into an operating GSM network (todays most
common case) the planning steps which are common with GPRS Greenfield planning
are referenced in chapter 5. In chapter 5 also the case is covered which deals with the
influence of the existing GSM network to the GPRS planning and GPRS network
performance. A flowchart of tasks to optimize the GSM network to the GPRS
requirements shall help the reader to identify and react in the right order of planning
tasks.
Following flow diagram defines the aspects during GPRS planning and their order.

Measures to reach
GPRS QoS
RA Planning
CAE Data
GPRS features
MPDCH Planning
Radio Resource and TBF Planning
Cell Reselection Modes
Features on DL TBF Establishment
Power Control
Chapter 4
Chapter 7
GSM features
Frequency Hopping, Microcell, Dual-Band, Concentric Cell
Chapter 9
Appendix A
Chapter 8
GPRS Throughput
Analysis
Chapter 6
Chapter 4.1
GPRS Greenfield
planning
Traffic Analysis
Field strength prediction
Mutual interference
calculation
GSM/GPRS frequency
planning
Cell specific
interference calculation
TRX assignment to
GPRS service
Chapter 5
Introduction of GPRS to
operating GSM cells
Traffic Analysis
Mutual interference
calculation
GSM/GPRS frequency
planning
Cell specific interference
calculation
TRX assignment to GPRS
service
Chapter 4.2
.
.
.
These steps are
optional.
If after GPRS
throughput
analysis
new sites are
required these
steps are
performed

Figure 1: GPRS planning steps in the document
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4 GPRS GREENFIELD PLANNING
GPRS Greenfield planning means dedicated analysis of GPRS network design. All GPRS
cells will be designed for maximum throughput performances. So the (GPRS) cell
ranges could be smaller, in opposite to chapter 5, as used to be in a pure GSM
network designed for speech service only.
The GPRS Greenfield planning:
Traffic analysis
GPRS data traffic model
GPRS Network Design (cell design with focus on maximum throughput)
Field strength prediction (with creation of interference matrix)
Frequency planning
Network wide Interference analysis for all cell relationships
GPRS analysis
RA planning
BSS-CAE data generation
All this points will be discussed one by one in the same order in the following
subchapters. The order is important because the output of one action is the input for
the next task
4.1 Traffic Analysis
The traffic analysis is done to have the amount of resources (frequencies) one needs to
fulfill GSM+GPRS traffic. So the CS traffic demand (Circuit Switched, derived from
Erlang B formula) and PS (Packet Switched) traffic demand have to be taken into
account for the capacity calculation.
The PS traffic demand (or user throughput demand) is derived from an average traffic
data volume generated by each type of GPRS subscriber. GPRS traffic volume is given
on a monthly basis as sum of used applications data volume.
Today all PS traffic values are based on assumptions until useful experience
values are available. The traffic values are collected in a traffic model as described
below.
In general, the traffic from PS services is depending on:
User profile
User behavior
Market applications and service distributions
User profile
Market applications
and service distributions
User behavior Customer
Questionnaire
Traffic calculation
Traffic model

Figure 2: Traffic analysis inputs for a traffic model
GPRS traffic
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A user profile defines a typical user for packet data services, using a certain amount of
applications.
It is useful to limit the amount of user profiles to keep the calculation simple, e.g.
two profiles can be introduced, business and private user as in Table 1.
Different services are possible for packet data use e.g. new designed services or
services known from the fixed network.
Market applications and user profiles are related to each other, thus some
applications are assigned to one user profile only (Table 1).
Each service is characterized by its occurrence: action time per month and the
related bit rate per action.
In some applications, the data exchange traffic is oriented to downlink, in some others
to uplink. Generally the downlink traffic is preponderant in asymmetrical applications
such as: web browsing, information downloading, audio downloading etc.
This shall be taken into account for the dimensioning process: so the dimensioning will
be downlink oriented.
Important is the daily distribution
Duration and occurrence time of busy hour (BH), assumption busy hour is same
for CS and PS
The user distribution over the planning area
A probable definition for the user behavior in the phase of GPRS introduction is listed
below; a homogeneous traffic distribution over the cell area is assumed. Following
definitions can be only expected values for the introduction of GPRS.
GPRS subscriber percentage (%), related to the total (CS+PD) subscriber number
GPRS user profiles percentage (%), related to the total GPRS subscriber number
Geographical percentage distribution (%) of GPRS user profiles related to
morphostructure
Daily GPRS user profile activity (days/month)
As soon as more precise information will be available the user behavior can be
specified better, but for the time being, there is no use for a deeper behavior
specification.
Table 1 summarizes exemplarily, the assumptions made for the traffic profiles of
GPRS subscribers. It gives the average data volume generated by each type of GPRS
subscriber per month based on an estimation of the used applications.
All data, which is relevant for the traffic calculation has to be collected from the
operator and submitted to network planning. To simplify the process, a questionnaire
was worked out. It contains data, which the network operator should be able to give
even at early stages of GPRS introduction. The data of the customer questionnaire is at
least needed to calculate the resources needed to cope with the expected GSM+GPRS
traffic. The customer questionnaire list:
a) Total amount of GSM subscribers in the network (CS+PD subscribers)
b) Blocking at air interface (speech)
c) Speech traffic per subscriber (mErl/sub)
d) Distribution of CS subscribers to different morpho classes
e) Percentage of GPRS subscribers related to the total amount of GSM subscribers
f) Busy hour occurrence for speech traffic and packet data traffic
g) User profile definition
h) Market applications definition and relation to user profiles
User profile
Market applications
User behavior
Customer Questionnaire
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i) PD user behavior/distribution
j) Daily GPRS user profile activity (days/month)
k) GPRS user profiles percentage (%), related to the total GPRS subscriber number
l) Geographical percentage distribution (%) of GPRS user profiles related to morpho
structure
m) Number of (foreseen) BTS in the network
n) Distribution of foreseen/existing BTS to morph classes
o) Number (foreseen) of TRX/BTS, in accordance to morph class
Answers to the points a)-o) can be only estimated in the case of Greenfield planning.
Points m), n) and o) are especially for the case if GPRS is implemented in an existing
GSM network, see chapter 5.
Table 1: Exemplary Traffic model for PD
User Profile
Business
User Profile
Private
Market Application Expected during
GPRS introduction
Expected during
GPRS introduction
Mail/Month 6 -
Kbytes 20 -
Remote access (e.g. WEB
data bases general and
specific (law, medicine, ...)
Mbytes/Month 0.117=
6*20 Kbyte/1024
-
Pages/Month 24 3
Kbytes 150 30
E-mail + Attachment
Mbytes/Month 3.516 0.0878
Info/Month 25 10
Kbytes 100 100
WWW
Update/Month 25 20
Kbytes 60 60
Information (e.g. Location,
event, transportation
services)
Usage/Month 8 2
Kbytes 75 75
e-Commerce
(e.g. On-line shopping)
TOTAL Mbytes/Month 8.124 2.380
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4.1.1 GPRS traffic calculation
This subchapter gives the hints how to achieve the PS traffic demand with the inputs of
Table 1 (and customer questionnaire). Following definitions of user mapping and multi-
service mapping shall help to categorize the quality of the three calculation methods
described in clause: Three different calculations for GPRS Traffic.
User mapping defines that one certain resource can be shared simultaneously by
different users. Behavior in GPRS -> Packet switched service for different users on one
timeslot.

User 1
User 2
User 3
User ...
TS1 TS2 TS3 TS...

Figure 3: User mapping
Multi-service mapping means that one user can use different services. The user is not
directly mapped to only one service in the traffic model examination.

U s e r
S e r v i c e 1
S e r v i c e 2
S e r v i c e 3

Figure 4: Multi-service mapping
3 different methods are presented how to achieve needed resources to fulfill PS traffic
demand requirements. The 3 different methods will give a range of needed PDCHs
(Figure 5):

of needed
PDCHs
Straight
Forward
Erlang C Tool ND
lower bound upper bound

Figure 5: Different calculations for GPRS Traffic
The calculation methods differ from the usage of packet switched advantages or not
(user-mapping, service-mapping), see Table 2.
Table 2: Comparison of the 3 different methods to calculate GPRS traffic

User mapping QoS per service
Multi-service
mapping
Straight Forward
result for PS
+
_

_

Erlang C
for PS
+ +
_
Traffic tool from
ND, see also [2]
+ + +
User mapping
Multi-service mapping
Three different calculations for
GPRS Traffic
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The calculation method and results of the 3 different approaches are given in the
APPENDIX B .
Note: All calculation methods will use the Erlang B calculation for CS traffic with inputs
a) and b) from Customer Questionnaire for further network planning tasks.
The straightforward calculation gives the smallest number of needed PS TS
among the traffic calculation methods. It calculates for the whole data volume, sum of
all users data, the number of PDCH TS needed to transfer this data volume, regardless
of data transfer peaks. This method is not taking into account parallel data transfer,
which is the benefit of packet transfer (GPRS).
So no service attempt queuing and no service multiplexing is taken into account by this
method. Anyhow it is a fast calculation method to get in the first step of GPRS planning
an idea of minimum needed PDCH TS.
Erlang C gives for a required service attempt probability (Quantile e.g. 90 %, Quantile:
Specific elements x in the range of a variate X are called quantiles) and the queue
delay time of it (e.g. 2 s delay can be set if no resource is available at service attempt),
the number of needed resources (TS).
The result of Erlang C will give the biggest number of needed PDCH TS among
the presented packet traffic calculations. The reason is that a constant data flow is
considered which is not the case for different applications like WAP. So for all different
services the PDCH TS with Erlang C has to be calculated and summarized. Afterwards
the sum of PDCH TS for the different services leads to an over dimensioning.
This method can be used to give very fast a planning result on how many PDCH as
maximum can be expected.
The traffic tool, described in [2], is the more exact method to calculate the needed
PDCH compared to the above calculation methods. Another important point is that the
traffic tool is an automated tool (attention only ND internal use). The result of this
calculation will be most probably between the above calculation methods.
Additionally operator agreed/suggested handling of GPRS channels must be fixed. This
is for example the usage of:
Activation of MPDCH or not, see also chapter 7
BCCH combined mode or not
Usage of Delayed DL TBF Release or not, see also chapter 9.4.1
QUALITY OF SERVICES [Volume @BH, Page size (KBytes), Queue delay (seconds),
Quantile (%), Bit rate (kbit/s)]
The traffic tool can calculate the result:
TS needed for CS traffic and signaling in DL/UL
TS needed PS traffic and signaling in DL/UL
TRX calculation for CS and PS with application of reuse of CS TS for PDCH (PS)
when dynamic/smooth PDCH adaption and /or fast preemption feature is
activated
4.2 GPRS Network Design
The knowledge of the amount of timeslots makes it possible to go to the next step of
GPRS network design process. The user throughput demand is then related to a daily
traffic occurrence (user capacity) and in combination with the CS traffic demand, the
needed equipment amount is calculated:
Number of timeslots which may be reserved for GPRS in normal and high load
state of the BSC
Number of timeslots which have to be reserved exclusively for GPRS
Calculation steps and result
comparison
Straight Forward Result for PS
Erlang C calculation for PS
TRAFFIC TOOL from ND
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Number of remaining timeslots for CS traffic
The result of traffic analysis, chapter 4.1, gives the standard BTS configuration for the
different traffic areas. The traffic areas are most commonly linked to a specific morpho
class. Please consult the BTS product description for the selection process [5].
For the GPRS network design the field strength prediction is done as for the GSM
network planning e.g. with the radio network planning tool A955. After field strength
calculation the mutual interference calculation is done in A955. These results will be
used as input for a GSM/GPRS frequency planning, in A955 this is done in the AFP
module (automatic frequency planning).
The cell specific interference calculation is done with the results of the GSM/GPRS
frequency planning. The cell specific interference calculation will be used to identify less
interfered frequencies for TRX assignment.
Some general considerations apply independently from the BSS software release:
GPRS shall be mapped on the TRX(s) with the best radio quality (lowest
interference probability); this can be any TRX in the cell.
It is recommended that the BCCH TRX is among the carriers which carry GPRS
traffic due to the better frequency reuse of the BCCH.
This is done by:
Identification of less interfered frequencies and their ranking
Assigning the preference for PS traffic handling to the best ranked frequencies
with the help of the parameters.
In B7 up to 16 TRX per cell are available for GPRS service. So a differentiation of GSM
and GPRS TS allocation priority on the TRX must be fixed during planning. The
allocation priority for GPRS shall be set according to GPRS QoS needs.
The BCCH TRX with bigger frequency reuse distance shall be favored for GPRS TSs
(Slave PDCH and MPDCH) with the help of the parameters TRX_PREF_MARK and
GPRS_PREF_MARK. The better the ranking of a TRX is (after cell specific interference
calculation), the higher its GPRS_PREF_MARK value shall be.
Case no frequency hopping:
Set all TRX foreseen with only CS service to
TRX_PREF_MARK 0 (Range 1-7)
GPRS_PREF_MARK=0
Set all TRX favoring for PS service allocation (with CS traffic allocation possibility)
TRX_PREF_MARK = 0
GPRS_PREF_MARK 0 (Range 1-3) (according to cell specific interference
calculation)
If the required number of TRX for GPRS =1, the BCCH has to be preferably
selected
If the required number of TRX for GPRS =n (with 2<=n<=16), the BCCH has to
be among the n TRXs carrying GPRS traffic
Settings for the BCCH TRX: TRX_PREF_MARK=0; GPRS_PREF_MARK=3
Settings for GPRS TRXs 2 to n:
TRX_PREF_MARK=0; GPRS_PREF_MARK=1-2 according to cell specific
interference calculation
Case with frequency hopping:
Standard BTS configuration
Mutual Interference calculation
GSM/GPRS frequency planning
Cell specific interference
calculation
TRX assignment to GPRS service
Radio Network Planning Impacts
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Frequency hopping (BBH and SFH) is recommended for the GPRS carrier for CS-1 and
CS-2 due to reduction of C/I requirements. The parameters GPRS_PREF_MARK;
TRX_PREF_MARK will have no impact on PS TS assignment. See also appendix A1.
This calculation is a standalone-planning step. The GPRS/EGPRS Throughput-Cell
Range Tool V1.0 can calculate
The system data throughput per physical channel (TS) for GPRS/EGPRS for a given
cell range
The cell range for a given system data throughput per physical channel
This tool and its user manual [8] are strictly for internal usage only. It may never be
given to anyone outside ND/PMD or PCS, also not so sub-contractors.
4.3 GPRS Analysis
The GPRS analysis contains of the evaluation of coding scheme and throughput
coverage. Their results are based on interference (C/I) calculation of the network-
planning tool (e.g. A955).
Due to the asymmetric traffic expected for packet data services, GPRS and EGPRS
networks are planned commonly for the downlink only. But for the traffic analysis it is
necessary to plan for DL and UL
Field strength analysis, Frequency planning and Interference analysis will give the
relevant boundary condition to analyze GPRS CS distribution per cell and/or network.
The analysis and planning tasks can be done with A955. This will later give throughput
performance of GPRS cell/network.
The request of GPRS throughput from operator has to be compared with throughput
predictions in the radio network-planning tool A955 V5 at this point of planning, see
chapter 6.
4.4 Routing area and CAE data generation
The routing area (RA) planning is a must for GPRS introduction into GSM network, see
chapter 7 for details on RA planning and CAE data generation.
4.5 Reaching GPRS QoS during GPRS planning and implementation phase
If the GPRS QoS requirement of the customer is high or is not fulfilled after GPRS
network implementation than measures, as in Figure 6 and chapter 8 have to be
considered.
GPRS cell range calculation
Coding Scheme and Throughput
predictions
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5 GPRS INTRODUCTION INTO AN OPERATIONAL GSM NETWORK
Following aspects are considered if GPRS is introduced into a mature GSM network
without network design changes, different to the approach of GPRS Greenfield
planning (chapter 4). If the operator foresees design changes due to GPRS QoS
requirements than traffic analysis and GPRS network design tasks has to be done
before the GPRS introduction step.
5.1 Actual status of the GSM network
All GSM network enhancement features and GSM network problems, mainly GSM
QoS and interference, shall be fixed before GPRS is implemented.
If a new network design and frequency planning is developed to improve GSM QoS
and interference, then the implementation of this design should be done before GPRS
is implemented.

GSM QoS and
Interference problems?
see chapter 8
Actual GSM capacity
enough to cope with
GSM and GPRS traffic?
see chapter 4.1
New Frequency plan
foreseen?
see chapter 4.2
RA planning
CAE data generation
yes
yes
yes
no
no
no
no
yes
GSM problem fixing
no
Introduction of GPRS
and related
features/settings.
Check GPRS
throughput map
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Increase capacity
Implement Freq. plan
GPRS QoS reached?
Plannable features to
reach GPRS QoS target
Optimize GPRS
parameters if needed
Add new GPRS
features if needed
GSM QoS and
Interference problems
Figure 6: GPRS Implementation steps into an existing GSM network
5.2 Occurred traffic and handled traffic balance
The GPRS QoS requirements from the operator define the needed GPRS capacity.
GSM QoS and Interference
New network design/frequency
planning
GPRS QoS requirements
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Before the GPRS planning tasks begin the operator should fix GPRS QoS per user in
relation to specific definitions for user and used service:
Volume @BH (Kbytes), Page size (Kbytes), Queue delay (seconds), Quantile (%),
Bit rate (kbit/s)
The calculation of expected GPRS traffic can be done according to GPRS traffic
calculation in chapter 4.1.1. Following results will be then available:
TS needed for CS traffic and signaling in DL/UL and
TS needed for PS traffic and signaling in DL/UL.
The knowledge of the amount of TS and so TRX/frequency makes it possible to go to
the next step of comparing actual capacity in the GSM network to needed capacity for
GSM and GPRS.
If the resources are enough to cope with the additional GPRS traffic the frequency
planning in chapter 0 and the MPDCH planning (chapter 9.1) can be done.
If the resources are not enough to cope with the GPRS traffic additional
TRX/frequencies must be allocated to the sites with less traffic capacity.
A new frequency planning should be done when a not negligible amount of new
frequencies have to be added to a planning area to fulfill (GSM+GPRS) capacity
requirements.
5.3 Introduction of GPRS and related features/settings
The prerequisites for a GPRS analysis (chapter 6) are following tasks
see also (chapter 4.2):
Interference analysis
If new sites after GPRS analysis are required to fulfill operators GPRS requirements, a
new frequency planning with a certain frequency band range planning has to be done.
The routing area (RA) planning is a must for GPRS introduction into GSM network, see
chapter 7 for details on RA planning and CAE data generation.
GPRS QoS increasing tasks to be done are depending on dimensions of QoS
requirements. What kind of tasks and references can be done to increase GPRS QoS is
given below.
GPRS DL QoS increasing features as in chapter 9 (especially 9.2, 9.4) and APPENDIX
A can be added to the GPRS planning.
The gains of the features should be not included in the calculations of needed capacity
(result from chapter 5.2). The gain should be used as buffer to fulfill GPRS QoS
requirements from operator easily during GPRS planning and GPRS acceptance test.
Following tasks can be done according to dimensions of GPRS QoS requirements:
GPRS frequency separation in a cell can be done if TRX number in the cell is 2,
see chapter 0
Introduction of GPRS Master channels (MPDCH), see chapter 9.1, to separate
GPRS and GSM signaling
Open question: Penetration rate of GPRS MS which can decode MPDCH
The parameters for the PDCH dynamic allocation can be set according to the
GPRS QoS requirements e.g. the weaker the GPRS requirements are the more
buffer TS for GSM can be reserved with a low value of MAX_PDCH, for details see
chapter 9.2.1
TBF resource management parameters shall be fixed according to
recommendations in 9.2.3
Expected GPRS traffic
Resources are enough for GSM
and GPRS
Resources are not enough for
GSM and GPRS
Prerequisites for GPRS analysis
Routing area, CAE data
Increasing GPRS QoS
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6 GPRS ANALYSIS (CODING SCHEME AND THROUGHPUT PREDICTIONS)
The GPRS analysis contains the evaluation of coding scheme and throughput coverage
based on Interference (C/I).
Field strength analysis, frequency planning and interference analysis, which can be
done with A955, will give the relevant boundary condition to analyze GPRS coding
scheme distribution per cell and/or network. The coding scheme prediction will define
throughput performance of GPRS cell/network.
The description how to achieve following coding scheme and throughput prediction in
the radio network planning tool A955 V5 is given in [4].
The coding scheme predictions shall be used to identify areas where the throughput
rates are not reached and to decide on measures, which can be done to satisfy the
operator request, e.g.:
Low coding schemes in dense urban network will probably indicate interference
Low number of time slots in lower urban network will probably indicate the need
of new sites

Legend (CS value)

CS 4
CS 3
CS 2
CS 1

Figure 7: Network wide coding scheme distribution (C/I based)
Legend (kbit/s)

19..20 kbit/s
16..18 kbit/s
14..15 kbit/s
7..13 kbit/s
< 7 kbit/s

Figure 8: Network wide GPRS throughput distribution (C/I based)
Coding Scheme and Throughput
predictions
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7 ROUTING AREA PLANNING
Each GSM/GPRS cell is additionally to CI and LAC characterized by:
Routing Area Code (RA_code) send on SI13; range 0255
RA_colour send on SI3 and SI4; range 07
Introducing RAs, which should be smaller than LA, will reduce the additional signaling
load in a GSM network due to GPRS paging. So the signaling effort for GPRS paging is
more focused to a smaller area.. Location Area (LA) planning is done in accordance to
the common rules for circuit switch (GSM) planning; no extra adaptation (e.g. on the
neighbor list) has to be made for PS (packet switched) services.
Routing Area (RA) planning follows, as long no further experiences are available the
rules of the common LA assignment, e.g. avoid roads with fast moving traffic through
RA. As a consequence, the assignment of the cells belonging to RA has to be done
such as to minimize signaling load on the cell.
The RA planning consist of:
Assignment of each cell to a RA
Assignment of the RA_code to a RA
Assignment of a RA_colour to each cell
The following rules apply:
One RA must belong to only one LA; it is not possible to define a RA across a LA
border (e.g. one cell from LA1 and two cells from LA2)
A RA can contain one or several cells
One cell can not belong to two RA
Cells from one BTS can be allocated to different RA
The maximum number of RA in a LA is 256 (0..255)
It is possible to reuse the RA_Colour in a LA
Two adjacent RA in a LA shall have different RA_Colour (recommended but not
mandatory rule)
LAC can have the same 'digit' like the RA_code, e.g. LAC =2 with RAC =2
The network operation mode should be the same in each cell of one routing area
(3GPP 4.18)
RA planning depends on different input, e.g.
Number of RA in a LA,
Number of cells belonging to a RA and
Number of RA_Codes per LA
It is recommended to set RA_code (RA1) RA_code (RA2) in neighbor routing areas
of different location areas.
For RA_colour planning the recommendation is RA_colour (RA1) RA_colour (RA2).
Possible is also RA_colour(RA1)=RA_colour(RA2). However the first solution enhances
faster RA changes.
Particularly the cell reselection together with a LA and RA update can largely impact the
average throughput if the RA and LA update procedures during reselection do not work
efficiently. So RA should be not to small to avoid often RA changes
RA as big as LA =>1 RA_Code (same for each cell) per LA, 1 RA_colour (same for
each cell) per LA
The expense of this implementation is low.
Impact on RA_code planning
General info
1. Step Network with low
GPRS/E-GPRS traffic
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The LA is split into maximum 8 RA, see figure 3.
This is also valid for the case when a LA size is bigger than the BSC size.
Reason: it is possible with Alcatel to expand the LA size over the BSC area (e.g. it is
possible to have 2 neighbor BSC areas in one LA -i.e. with the same LAC- for CS
services). Since PS services bring additional paging load it is recommended in this case
to split the LA size into smaller RAs
RA_code planning: For each RA in a LA one unique RA_Code is assigned. A balanced
number of cells per RA need to be acquired; however for identified hot spots an
unbalanced assignment is possible (smaller RA for hot spots).
RA_colour planning: For each RA in a LA one unique RA_Code is assigned but with
different RA colours
This step represents a reasonable split of the LA into RA if packet data traffic rises. It
can also be carried out right from the start to be prepared for the traffic growth. The
planning effort is medium.

RA_code=0
RA_colour=0
RA_code=1
RA_colour=1
RA_code=2
RA_colour=2
RA_code=3
RA_colour=3
RA_code=4
RA_colour=4
RA_code=5
RA_colour=5
RA_code=6
RA_colour=6
RA_code=7
RA_colour=7
RA0
RA2
RA4
RA6
RA1
RA3
RA5
RA7

Figure 9: LA with maximum 8 RA's with allocated cells and RA_Codes
LA can contain up to 256RA, see figure 4.
RA_Code planning: For each RA in a LA one unique RA_Code is assigned.
RA_Colour planning: since the number of RA in a LA is larger than 9, the RA_Colour
reuse is necessary, and a large-scale planning is recommended.
Adjacencies of RA's with the same RA_Colour shall be avoided (not mandatory).
.

RA_code=0
RA_colour=0
RA_code=1
RA_colour=1
RA_code=2
RA_colour=2
RA_code=3
RA_colour=3
RA_code=4
RA_colour=4
RA_code=5
RA_colour=5
RA_code=6
RA_colour=6
RA_code=7
RA_colour=7
RA_code=8
RA_colour=0
RA_code=9
RA_colour=1
RA0
RA2
RA4
RA6
RA1
RA3
RA5
RA7
RA8 RA9

Figure 10: LA with maximum 256 RA's with allocated cells and RA_Codes
7.1 CAE-BSS Parameters Generated by A955
If A955 is used as planning tool it allows an automatic CAE-Data output generation.
Additionally to the common BSS parameters (like CI), there are now GPRS related BSS
parameters, which have to be set by the radio network planner. A summary for the
GPRS data is given in table 3. RA_Colour and RA_Code are results of the RA planning
process.
2. Step: Network with medium
GPRS/E-GPRS traffic
3. Step: Network with high
packet data traffic
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Table 3: BSS CAE parameters for GPRS
Name Description Value
ENABLE GPRS Enables / Disables GPRS
traffic within the cell
0: disabled
1: enabled
RA_Colour Routing area colour code of
the cell
0 ... 7
RA_Code Routing area code for GPRS 0 ... 255
8 PLANNABLE FEATURES TO REACH GPRS QOS TARGET
GSM QoS and Interference problems if existing shall be fixed, e.g. by
Introduction of Frequency Hopping
GSM Power Control (UL)
If the GPRS QoS is still not reached, then
New GPRS features as mentioned in chapter 5.3 and listed in chapter 9 have to
be implemented
If still the GPRS QoS requirement is not fulfilled, then
An optimization campaign on parameters has to be started
Use of unique values of (GPRS) parameter settings has to be checked
Use of latest Alcatel default parameters
Use of parameters recommendations from PCS department
Optimize parameters as defined in chapter 9 and [3] for the different
features, if implemented in the network
TMA (Tower Mounted Amplifier; [6],[7]) from hardware point of view can be
considered to increase UL throughput, see also chapter 9.5 GPRS power control.
9 GPRS FEATURES TO INCREASE QOS DURING PLANNING
Details on following features in this chapter can be found in [1].
9.1 MPDCH and SPDCH Planning
The enabling of MPDCH and the decision to allocate them dynamic or static is
depending on
Traffic capacity the operator has for GSM and GPRS
Traffic capacity the operator can reserve directly to GPRS
Amount of traffic for GSM (Voice, SMS signaling, Location Area Update signaling)
and GPRS (data, signaling, Routing Area Update signaling)
Subscriber distribution per service and area
Mobility (cell reselection) of users during GPRS transfer
Following subchapters will give hints for the usage and planning of MPDCH.
Figure 11 describes in a flowchart the decision process for MPDCHs.
9.1.1 Master and Slave PDCH Concept
Primary Master Channel= PBCCH + PCCCH Two types of Master Channel
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Secondary Master Channel(s)= PCCCH
9.1.2 Handling Primary MPDCH
Enabling MPDCH allocation is only possible with NMO I or NMO III. Then two different
configurations are available to establish a MPDCH:
Dynamic MPDCH
Static MPDCH
Possible re-use of the corresponding radio timeslot for circuit-switched services, when
there is no GPRS traffic in the cell.
Use of dynamic MPDCH aims to minimize the TCU load (and also CCCH load) and
ensures the QoS of the GSM circuit switched services whatever the GPRS traffic load is.
The presence does not depend on the GPRS activity of the mobiles. This guarantees
that the PSI (packet system information) messages are broadcast, even if all GPRS
mobiles in the cell are in the STANDBY state.
This allows these mobiles performing more efficient GPRS cell reselection, particularly
in hierarchical cell structures when the operator wishes to encourage all GPRS mobiles
camping on certain layers.
The permanently allocated TS for static MPDCH are wasted capacity resources in a
network with non significant GPRS traffic.
A possible drawback of static primary MPDCH can be an increase of the load on the
Atermux interface as seen by some operators.
9.1.3 Secondary Master Channels
Secondary MPDCHs are always dynamically allocated or deallocated according to
measurements of the GPRS signaling traffic (basically the PRACH, PPCH, the overall
PCCCH and uplink PACCH loads) done by the MFS.
Each of these secondary master PDCHs can have a different radio configuration
The thresholds allow scattering the signaling load over several MPDCHs rather than
keeping it on one MPDCH, in order to preserve the possibility to multiplex data on
them and preserve optimum TBF establishment duration in the cell.
As the GPRS traffic grows in the cell, the increased signaling load on the Primary
Master Channel may degrade the performances of the network, unless one or several
Secondary Master Channels are established. Indeed, too high load on the master
channels may introduce significant data transfer delays and may significantly reduce
data throughput.
Allocated TS for secondary MPDCH with decreasing GPRS traffic in the cell are wasted
capacity resources till deactivated by respective timer T_MPDCH_S_MIN_ACTIV.
9.1.4 Planning Recommendation on MPDCH
Till the penetration rate of GPRS MS, which support master channel feature, is unclear
the MPDCH should be not enabled. So it is guaranteed that all GPRS mobiles in the
network can access for GPRS service. MS, which do not support MPDCH, cannot access
the GPRS service if MPDCH is enabled. Note: MPDCH can be enabled in network
mode of operation: NMO I and NMO III.
Traffic dependent recommendation (with respect to condition for MPDCH):
Low GPRS traffic
If GPRS traffic is low no Primary Master Channel needs to be activated
High GPRS traffic
Static Primary Master channel
Advantage of dynamic MPDCH
Advantage of static MPDCH
Disadvantage of static MPDCH
Remark for B6.2
Advantage of Secondary MPDCH
Disadvantage of Secondary
MPDCH
Condition for MPDCH
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If the available TS are not scarce
Operator wants the GPRS MS to perform autonomous cell re-selection
based on C31 and C32 criterion
Dynamic Primary Master Channel
If the CS signaling channels CCCH getting overloaded due to high
GPRS traffic and signaling in addition to CS signaling
N O M P D C H
L o w p r i o r i t y f o r G P R S o r
l o w G P R S t r a f f i c ?
S t a t i c M P D C H
( D y n a m i c M P D C H )
Y E S
G P R S s i g n a l i n g
c o n g e s t i o n
E n a b l e s e c o n d a r y M P D C H s d e p e n d i n g
o n G P R S s i g n a l i n g n e e d
N O
N O Y E S

Figure 11: MPDCH planning flowchart
9.2 Radio resource and TBF management
In the following subchapters the impact of B7 extensions on GPRS network planning
tasks will be discussed on following points
9.2.1 PDCH Dynamic Allocation
In B7 the subdivision between PS data service and CS service is done dynamically,
depending from the actual load in the cell.
There are 2 PDCH adaptation algorithms depending on traffic load variations:
A basic (since B6.2) and
Smooth/enhanced PDCH adaptation (since B7, recommended to be used)
Basic PDCH dynamic allocation
Basic PDCH dynamic allocation is not recommended to be enabled.
The load evaluation process is too slow in B6.2 (about 2mn are needed to detect high
load before pre-emption is undertaken). Second drawback is, that during high load
situation more PDCHs can be closed as needed for GSM speech traffic
Smooth/Enhanced PDCH adaptation to traffic load variations
Smooth and dynamic adaption of PDCH (also called fast adjustment of radio
resources) with MAX_PDCH_DYN shall be used together with soft and fast pre-
emption feature:
Feature is enabled by EN_DYN_PDCH_ADAPTION in the MFS; if disabled the
MFS works as in B6.2 (Basic PDCH dynamic allocation), but fast pre-emption can
be still used.
The number of PDCHs left for GPRS in high load situation is a dynamic
variable, MAX_PDCH_DYN (calculated by BSC, for each cell specifically,
Drawback of Basic PDCH
dynamic allocation
Improvement in B7 B7 B7 B7
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every evaluation period according to used GPRS and CS TS compared to
High_Traffic_Load_GPRS)
Feature smooth/enhanced PDCH adaptation is recommended to be enabled, which
will lead to higher GPRS QoS
If EN_DYN_PDCH_ADAPTION = enable, the parameter Low_Traffic_Load_GPRS
is not used and the values of T_PDCH_Inactivity and T_PDCH_Inactivity_Last can
be increased. The value of HIGH_TRAFFIC_LOAD_GPRS can then also be set to a
higher value (e.g.: 90%)
HIGH_TRAFFIC_LOAD_GPRS
Min:0, Max:100 Default: 80%, can be set higher with smooth and dynamic PDCH
adaption compared to Basic PDCH dynamic allocation (in B6.2).
LOW_TRAFFIC_LOAD_GPRS
This threshold is not used in the algorithm smooth and dynamic PDCH adaption
MIN_PDCH
Improvement in B7: possibility to reserve MIN_PDCH timeslots to GPRS without
having to book the corresponding GCH on the Atermux interface. In release B7,
PDCH and GCH management planning is independent.
Generally MIN_PDCH 0 is recommended if the operator wishes a certain GPRS
QoS which requires the permanent allocation of TS for PDCH, otherwise
MIN_PDCH = 0
For low GPRS traffic it is recommended to have MIN_PDCH=0 to not waste
resources if e.g. required for service. So possible impact on the CS QoS: like
increase of cell congestion time, blocking rate, delayed incoming HO, HOs not
directed to best target cell can be seen.
Max PDCH
Default: Defined depending BTS TRX configuration; mandatory rule:
MAX_PDCH <= 8 * number of TRX (with GPRS_Pref_Mark > 0).
In B.2 number of TRX=1 so MAX_PDCH is maximum 8
MAX_PDCH_HIGH_LOAD
Is set according to priority of circuit switched traffic against packet service during
high load situation. MIN_PDCH < MAX_PDCH_HIGH_LOAD < Max PDCH
Traffic Evaluation period is the product of Load_EV_Period_GPRS (new, default =
3) and TCH_Info_Period (default= 5 sec)
9.2.2 Fast pre-emption
A fast pre-emption in B7 uses the same principle as the soft pre-emption but if the
TBF(s) on the marked PDCH are not closed after the duration of the PDCH pre-
emption timer T_PDCH_PREEMPTION (range=0..240 s, default=2 s), the MFS forces
the release of the TBF(s) on the concerned PDCH.
T_PDCH_PREEMPTION timer (in seconds) to limit the duration of the soft pre-
emption process. Min:0s, Max 240s, default: 2 s
Mandatory rule:
T_PDCH_PREEMPTION (=2s default) < Traffic Evaluation period (=15s default)
If T_PDCH_Pre-emption = 0, then the operator wants the BSC to get PDCHs
back immediately. Therefore no resource reallocation at all shall be
triggered
T_PDCH_PREEMPTION > 0 will increase GPRS QoS
Priority can be given to CS traffic vs. PS traffic with small values of the timer
Fast pre-emption
Advantage of Fast pre-emption
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The pre-emption is achieved by a PS call drop
Long T_PDCH_PREEMPTION times will occupy TS needed for CS traffic
9.2.3 TBF Resource Management
The strategy of the TBF resource sharing is to use the PDCH resources in a most
effective way, that means not to waste a PDCH just with one user and therefore to
limit the available PS capacity.
The system will try to fill each PDCH with in this parameter N_TBF_PER_S/MPDCH
defined number of TBF, before requesting a new radio resource. The radio blocks on
each timeslot will be equally distributed among the users assigned on a channel.
If no new PDCH can be allocated the number of users per PDCH will be increased to
MAX_UL/DL_TBF_S/MPDCH.
On the other hand, the more users (different TBFs) share a PDCH, the less effective the
data flow and the longer the download or upload time is.
A trade-off has to be done between the radio resource capacity sharing and optimum
data throughput.
Since GSM speech service users are still to be preferred, it is recommended to
set N_TBF_PER_SPDCH1 (e.g.=2). For example, if the N_TBF_PER_SPDCH=2
and CS-2 is used, the bit rate per MS will be 6.0 kbit/s (=12/2) per used timeslot
for this MS.
If operators goal is to maximize the PS throughput then
N_TBF_PER_SPDCH=1 is recommended.
In B6.2, if all GSM usable TSs are active, busy or full, a new CS call suffers from hard
blocking. In this case the B7 feature PDCH fast pre-emption can increase the chance
for successful CS TS allocation; see above chapter 9.2.1.
9.2.4 PDCH Resource Management
Multislot access is the allocation of more than one PDCH to one MS (multislot access).
However to prevent one multislot MS to use too many PDCHs each time it wants to
transmit data (detriment of other users), following parameter is used:
MAX_PDCH_PER_TBF
Maximum number of PDCHs, which can be allocated to a single TBF (or MS)
Range: [1..5], default value: 5 (due to todays MS capabilities)
A few multi slot mobiles can occupy all resources with the default value of
MAX_PDCH_PER_TBF. Thus the parameter has to be set, depending from the expected
load and in combination with N_TBF_PER_S/MPDCH to reflect operators strategy on
GPRS QoS.
9.2.5 TBF resource reallocation (radio resource reallocation)
The radio resources (PDCHs) allocated to a TBF are not changed during the TBF
lifetime. The probability of long-lasting sub optimal TBF is highly increased.
With the feature TBF reallocation, the radio resources allocated to a TBF can be
changed during TBF lifetime, which increases successful and efficient TS allocation
(according to multislot capability) during ongoing data transfer for PS case.
EN_RES_REALLOCATION is enabling / disabling the Radio Resource reallocation
feature per trigger and per BSS
All events that can trigger a TBF resource re-allocation shall be considered:
Trigger T1 (target maintain a TBF alive when its PACCH is fast preempted)
Drawbacks of Fast pre-emption
User multiplexing
Multislot access
Situation in B6.2
Resource re-allocation in B7
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Trigger T2 (target attempt offering more PDCHs to an MS upon concurrent TBF
establishment):
Trigger T3 (target periodically attempt offering more PDCHs to an MS which has a
TBF in the direction of the bias with less PDCHs than it can support according to
its multislot class)
Details to the triggers can be found in referenced documents [1] and [3].
The advantage of the feature TBF resource reallocation is to serve a better PDCH
allocation to a TBF (throughput can be optimized), according to the available radio,
transmission, DSP and CPU resources, during establishment and lifetime of TBF.
In B7 the evaluation function to determine if the TBF can get a better allocation is
based on the number of PDCHs that the TBF can be mapped on and not on the
throughput the TBF will get on these PDCHs.
Consequence: in certain cases, available PDCHs will not be used for TBF re-allocation,
whilst using them would have improved the TBF throughput
9.2.6 Coding Scheme (CS) Adaptation process
Recommendation: Enable Coding scheme adaptation mechanism in GPRS RLC
acknowledged, un-acknowledged mode with parameters
EN_CS_ADAPTATION_ACK/EN_CS_ADAPTATION_NACK), default=enabled.
Different quality threshold are introduced in B7 to optimize the B6.2 coding scheme
adaptation algorithm, distinguished by
UL/DL
Usage of frequency/no-frequency hopping
RLC mode of operation (acknowledged or non-acknowledged)
Table 4: Coding Scheme change decision
Current
coding
scheme
Increasing the coding
scheme number
(CS
I
--> CS
i+1
)
Decreasing the coding scheme
number
(CS
i
--> CS
i-1
)
CS1
AV_RXQUAL_LT <
CS_QUAL_XX_1_2_Y_Z
Not possible
CS2
Not possible
AV_RXQUAL_LT >
CS_QUAL_ XX_1_2_Y_Z + CS_HST_XX_LT
OR
AV_RXQUAL_ST >
CS_QUAL_ XX_1_2_Y_Z + CS_HST_XX_ST
XX = DL or UL
Y = FH or NFH, for Frequency Hopping or Non-Frequency Hopping (see annex A.1)
Z = ACK or NACK, for RLC acknowledged or non-acknowledged modes
For the calculation of AV_RXQUAL_LT/AV_RXQUAL_ST see [1].
In B6.2 the hysteresis value is recommended to be 1.0. This guarantees an anti ping
pong of coding scheme adaptation on the field.
The parameter TBF_CS_DL defines maximum number of consecutive PACKET DL
ACK/NACK messages lost in UL (not received by the BTS) on the radio interface before
changing the CS in the DL from CS 2 to CS 1. Range: 1 to 15, default value: 6
The parameter TBF_CS_UL defines the maximum number of consecutive invalid or lost
UL RLC data blocks from the MS having a monoslot TBF before changing the coding
Advantages
Drawback
Hysteresis: CS_HST_XX_LT
CS_HST_XX_ST
TBF_CS_DL
TBF_CS_UL
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scheme to CS1. For a multislot TBF, TBF_CS_UL_limit:= TBF_CS_UL * n_allocated _TS.
Range: 1 to 64, Default value: 32
9.3 Overview on cell reselection modes
When the MS is in GMM standby state, the SGSN has the knowledge of the MS
location on routing area (RA) basis. When changing a RA, the MS performs a RA
update procedure to inform the SGSN about its new RA.
When the MS is in GMM ready state, the MS location is known by the SGSN on a per
cell basis. After performing the cell reselection, the MS shall indicate to the SGSN its
new serving cell through a cell update procedure. Table 5 shows the different cell
reselection criterion as a function of the network control order (NC) parameter, GMM
state and the presence of PBCCH in the serving cell.
Table 5: Cell reselection criterion parameters
Network
Control Order
parameter
MS GMM
State
Mode of cell
reselection
Presence of
the PBCCH
Absence of
the PBCCH
Standby MS autonomous
cell reselection
(NC0 mode)
C1, C31, C32 C1, C2
NC0
(in B7)
Ready MS autonomous
cell reselection
(NC0 mode)
C1, C31, C32 C1, C2
NC1 Not supported in B7
NC2 Not supported in B7
9.3.1 Cell adjacencies
Independent from the presence of the MPDCH:
GPRS cell adjacencies are same in packet idle mode as in packet transfer mode.
GPRS cell adjacencies are set equal to the GSM cell adjacencies (i.e. the
BA(GPRS) list = BA(BCCH) list )
So it is still possible to reselect a cell without GPRS service (if in the target cell GPRS is
disabled). For this reason it is recommended to enable the GPRS service on all cells in
order to prevent a MS to reselect a cell without GPRS support
9.3.2 Cell reselection criterion no PBCCH established
The GPRS MS triggers cell reselection according to GSM cell reselection criteria if
MPDCH (PBCCH ) is not enabled:
Generally optimized GSM/CS parameters for cell reselection shall be kept also for PS
cell reselection
TEMPORARY_OFFSET and PENALTY_TIME
High TEMPORARY_OFFSET values makes it more difficult to reselect this cell
during PENALTY_TIME
Used to avoid that fast MS reselect a lower layer cell
CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET
Using different offsets for the frequency bands gives different reselection
priorities
The higher the value is, the higher the probability is to reselect this cell
Standby state
Ready state
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9.3.3 Cell reselection criterion PBCCH established
In B7 only the MS can trigger cell reselection according to network control order
parameter NC0, see Table 5, if the following conditions are satisfied:
1. Path loss criterion (C1) for the current serving cell falls below zero. This indicates
that the received signal level of the serving falls below GPRS_RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN
2. A neighbor cell is seen as being better than the serving cell.
C2 criterion is not used; instead the cell ranking criterion C32 and possibly C31
criterion are used.
In non-hierarchical networks C32 is used to rank the cells
In hierarchical networks, the signal level threshold criterion parameter (C31)
is also used with the C32 criterion parameter to find the best-ranked cell
Basically, the mobile station considers the cells that have a positive C31 value and sorts
them according to their absolute GPRS_PRIORITY_CLASS. Then, cells having the
highest priority are sorted according to their C32 values.
If no cell has a positive C31 value, the GPRS_PRIORITY_CLASS is not considered, and
all cells are ranked according to the C32 criterion only.
See GSM 05.08 and 03.22 recommendations for details of GPRS reselection process.
Generally optimized GSM/CS parameters for cell reselection can be kept also for PS
cell reselection.
If during cell reselection different behavior for GPRS MS as for GSM MS is wished, then
the following parameters can be tuned to achieve the required behavior:
GPRS_RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN, GPRS_RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN(n) (on PBCCH) is used
instead of RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN (on BCCH): minimum received signal level at the
MS required for access to the system; default = -96 dBm
If many GPRS attach or PDP context activation failures occur, then increasing
this value can improve the situation. Before this task is done the network
shall be checked for interference and the frequency plan is correct.
On the other hand the value should not be too high. This would cause that
GPRS coverage holes are created. The GPRS cell reselection success rate will
give the indication of GPRS coverage holes
GPRS_MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH, GPRS_MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH(n) (on PBCCH):
maximum MS transmission power level to access the system.
GSM900 default = +43 dBm, GSM850 default = +39 dBm,
GSM1800/1900 default = +30 dBm
GPRS_TEMPORARY_OFFSET(n): Negative offset used for MS cell reselection
process in neighbor. Range: 0 to infinity dB; default value=0 dB
High TEMPORARY_OFFSET values makes it more difficult to reselect this cell
during PENALTY_TIME
GPRS_PENALTY_TIME(n): Time during which GPRS_TEMPORARY_OFFSET is active
in neighbour cells. Range: 10 to 320 sec; default value=10 sec
GPRS_RESELECT_OFFSET(n): Permanent offset for GPRS cell reselection in
neighbor cells. Range: 10 to 320 sec; default value=10 sec
Using different offsets for the frequency bands gives different reselection
priorities
The higher the value is, the higher the probability is to reselect this cell
Triggers cell reselection
Choosing the Target Cell
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HCS_THR, HCS_THR(n) HCS signal strength.
Range: 110 to 48 dBm; default value=84 dBm
Used to give different priorities to the cells in hierarchical cell structures
GPRS_PRIORITY_CLASS, GPRS_PRIORITY_CLASS(n) HCS priority of the serving
and adjacent cell, used in NC0. Range: 0 to 7; default value=0
Used to give different priorities to the cells in hierarchical cell structures
9.3.4 Cell Reselection at Routing Area Border
4 cell change possibilities exists in GPRS
Intra BSC, intra SGSN cell update (cell A, B belong to the same RA 1 and
consequently to the same BSC 1)
Intra BSC, intra SGSN RA update (cell A belongs to RA 1, cell B belongs to RA 2,
RA 1 and RA 2 A belong to the same BSC 1/SGSN 1)
Inter BSC, intra SGSN RA update (cell A belongs to RA 1/BSC 1, cell B belongs to
RA 2/BSC 2, BSC 1 and BSC 2 belongs to the same SGSN 1)
Inter BSC, inter SGSN RA update (cell A belongs to RA 1/BSC 1/SGSN 1, cell B
belongs to RA 2/BSC 2/SGSN 2, where SGSN 1 and SGSN 2 are linked to the
common GGSN)
The CS specific parameter CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS (range: 0..14 dB; default= 6
dB) broadcasted over the BCCH allows finer tuning of cell reselection at RA borders to
limit the ping-pong effect when a MS is changing
The RA in GMM Standby state
The cell in GMM Ready state
Note, that this is the same parameter used for CS services to avoid unnecessary LA
changes. This parameter is particularly important in networks without PBCCH, which
are multiband/multilayer GPRS networks to delay cell reselection in packet transfer
mode.
Generally optimized GSM/CS parameters for cell reselection can be kept also for PS
cell reselection. For cells, which are not at location area borders different values of
CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS can be tuned to optimize GPRS reselection and RA
update. This will not have an impact on GSM location area update procedure.
GPRS-specific parameters broadcasted over the PBCCH allow finer tuning of cell
reselection at RA borders:
GPRS_CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS
RA_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS
C31_HYST
Case of cell reselection together with LA and RA updates
Among others, a bad efficiency of RA, LA update procedures during reselection cause
a low average throughput. Especially the cell reselection together with a LA and RA
updates can largely impact the average throughput; reason: the LA+RA update is fully
dependent of the MS. There may be e.g. differences on a MS basis concerning the
order (which update is triggered first), the number of repetitions in case of no SGSN
answer. The only solution to speed up this kind of mobility procedure is to have a Gs
interface (MSC-SGSN) in NMO1 (network mode of operation). This will enable a
combined LA and RA update fully controlled by the MS.
The following parameters offer more flexibility than CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS and
can be set to GPRS-specific values. The intention is to avoid repeated cell reselections
between cells from different RA's, in order to limit signaling load due to RA update
procedures and to limit the risk of paging messages being lost during RA change.
PBCCH not established in the
serving cell
Important hint
PBCCH established in the
serving cell
Remark
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These parameters are taken into account in the computation of the C31 and C32
criteria. The precise way they are used depends on whether the mobile station is in the
STANDBY or READY state (see ETSI standards GSM 05.08)
GPRS_CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS: Additional hysteresis which applies in Ready
state for cells in same RA, Range: 0 to 14 dB; default value=4 dB
RA_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS: This parameter indicates in STANDBY and READY
state the additional hysteresis, which applies when selecting a cell in a new
Routing Area to limit the ping-pong effect. Range: 0 to 14 dB; default value=8 dB
C31_HYST: Determines whether an additional cell hysteresis i.e.
GPRS_CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS shall be applied to the C31 criterion.
Range: no or yes; default value = no
9.3.5 Broadcasting of SI13 on extended BCCH
The feature is also named Fast Broadcasting of GPRS SI in Alcatel documentations.
The extended BCCH is achieved by changing the structure of the BCH multiframe in
GSM: if the BSS parameter BCCH_EXT=enable (default=disable), than the frames
6,7,8,9 are filled with BCCH frames instead of CCCH frames. The BCCH Ext channel
shares with the PCH and AGCH channels the resource of this CCCH on a block-by-
block basis.
If master channel is not enabled and there is no lack of resources/capacity the feature
can be enabled by BCCH_EXT=enable
Benefits
Additional information can be sent on BCCH via SI 13 (for GPRS), SI 16 (for
SoLSA), SI 17
Faster GPRS cell reselection for cells in GSM 1800 (rough expected gain: up
to 2s (max), up to 1s (as a mean value))
Shorter data transfer interruption time during a cell reselection
Improves the network quality, as seen from the end-users
Drawbacks
Less CCCH capacity available;
Feature is not supported with BTSs equipped with FUMO and DRFU TRXs
9.4 Features on DL TBF establishment and release
3 different features are presented here which preemptively delay the TBF release to
speed up the setup of subsequent TBF. Their success depends on the users download
behavior e.g. how often pages are changed and the content of the downloaded http
looks like. For Web browsing and WAP applications where the PS traffic is bursty, the
gain of the features to delay TBF release will be very high.
The 3 features are complementary and can be activated independently from each
other. Delays to start download of new LLC PDU depending on feature:
Delayed DL TBF release: zero delay on download of new LLC PDU
-> No new TBF required
Fast DL TBF re-establishment: Round trip delay + polling
-> New TBF required
Remark
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Non DRX: Paging period + Round trip delay + polling
-> New TBF required

Figure 12: Features in DL transfer
9.4.1 Delayed DL TBF release
If the delayed DL TBF release feature is enabled (EN_DELAYED_DL_TBF_REL), the BSS
maintains a DL TBF during a short period of inactivity after an active downlink transfer
to allow to resume the DL data transfer immediately when subsequent DL LLC PDUs
are received (Figure 12)
During the delayed release of the DL TBF, the BSS periodically sends to the MS a DL
RLC data block.
The first polling is set by T_DELAYED_DL_TBF_POL_INITIAL= 100ms. The following
polling requests are done every T_DELAYED_DL_TBF_POL =200 ms which is repeated
until end of T_DELAYED_DL_TBF_REL. So the TBF is kept alive.
If new DL LLC PDUs are received for that MS during T_DELAYED_DL_TBF_REL, the DL
LLC PDUs can be sent immediately on the DL TBF.
If the BSS does not receive any DL LLC PDU during the inactivity period, it releases the
DL TBF through the normal TBF release procedure.
Total TBF release time is T_DELAYED_DL_TBF_REL
= T_DELAYED_DL_TBF_REL_RADIO + T_NETWORK_RESPONSE_TIME.
= 800 ms + 700 ms (defaults) = 1500 ms if delayed DL TBF Release is enabled by
parameter EN_DELAYED_DL_TBF_REL
The B7feature should be enabled if there is no lack of resources to achieve higher user
application throughput. Main beneficiaries will be the applications consecutive pings,
WAP and HTTP (clustered web page). The round trip time (RTT) can be shortened by
the availability of an already opened TBF. This, in turn, is affected by the TBF hold time
and the time between pings
So in fact less signaling is needed for e.g. download of successive WAP pages or HTTP
links because there is no need to establish a new TBF during T_DELAYED_DL_TBF_REL
time.
The drawback of the feature would be the waste of resources, since TBF is kept open
and not used till end of T_DELAYED_DL_TBF_REL.
T_DELAYED_DL_TBF_REL should be in between of 1.5s up to 2s depending on
available resources in the cell. The higher the TS capacity in a cell is the higher the
value of T_DELAYED_DL_TBF_REL can be tuned.
9.4.2 Fast DL TBF re-establishment
Since B6.2 Fast Downlink TBF re-establishment can be used to initiate TBF re-
establishment over PACCH by the BSS for a MS in downlink packet transfer mode. This
feature is active after Delayed DL TBF release (Figure 12).

Data transfer
DL TBF

Fast rees-
tablishment
of new DL
TBF thanks
to T3192
Normal DL TBF
establishment via
PCH
ca. 2s ca. 0.5s ca. 2s
Delayed DL TBF Release
New in B7
New DL TBF establishment via
AGCH thanks to the DRX timer
Since B6.2

Range: 0 - 10s 0.5 - 1.5s 0 - 4s
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After reception of the final block by the MS and after the sending of the last PACKET DL
ACK/NACK message, the MS still listens on the PACCH during T3192 sec; during
T3192 this allows:
The BSS to send again the last DL RLC data block in case of MS
acknowledgement is not received
The BSS to re-establish a DL TBF on the PACCH of the previous DL TBF (i.e. to
send a PACKET DL ASSIGNMENT message on the PACCH); this allows a fast DL
TBF re-establishment without impacting the (P)CCCH resources; i.e. a new TBF is
established but with the parameters of the old TBF (TFI, TAI)
T3192 > MS-BSS roundtrip delay + RRBP maximum duration (120ms)
T3192 = 1000ms when non-DRX mode is not activated
T3192 = 500ms when non-DRX mode is active
Remark: while T3192 is running, the MS cannot request the establishment of an UL
TBF. However, while T3192 is running it is possible to undertake a fast DL TBF re-
establishment.
9.4.3 Non-DRX feature
Since B7, even with the SPLIT_PG_CYCLE feature, DRX mode may lead to a still quite
long downlink establishment time as compared to the duration of the data transfer
itself. This establishment time is significantly reduced if the new downlink TBF closely
follows a previous one (up- or downlink). Therefore the Non DRX feature is introduced;
it keeps the MS out of DRX mode during DRX_TIMER_MAX (Non DRX timer).
Higher downlink throughput and shorter transfer delay for cell reselection and bursty
download application (HTTP, WAP).
The Non-DRX feature should be enabled as default with DRX_TIMER_MAX=2 sec
(Maximum value allowed for the MS to request for non-DRX mode after packet transfer
mode).
If Non-DRX feature is enabled it has an influence on following parameters settings:
BS_AG_BLKS_RES, BS_PA_MFRMS, T_PDA, T_PUA, T_GPRS_assign_AGCH
T_GPRS_assign_AGCH parameter can be found in the memo
MND/TD/SYT/EBR/0342.2001. In B7, the default value is set to 0.7 s
9.5 GPRS POWER CONTROL
In B7 GPRS power control is only implemented on the UL in an open loop
configuration, which is described in the 05.08 GSM recommendations.
For GPRS rollouts it is recommended to disable the UL PC by setting
=0 and
TNX
=0
The reasons why GPRS UL PC shall be disabled:
MS controlled open loop PC is not working reliably (MS software implementation)
Field tests show a better throughput performance since the acknowledge message
is sent in UL with full power
It is possible to deactivate GPRS UL power control (
CH
=0 and =0) and to let GSM
UL power control activated (EN_MS_PC=enabled, default), different Power Control
parameters for GSM and GPRS
If TMA (Tower Mounted Amplifier) is used and UL GPRS PC is disabled on a site than
better throughput in UL is expected. See QoS impacts of TMA in [6] and [7].
Fast Downlink TBF re-
establishment process
Non-DRX feature benefits
Compatibility of GSM and GPRS
UL Power control
Remark
Increase UL GPRS throughput
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APPENDIX A GSM NETWORK ENHANCEMENT FEATURES AND GPRS
A.1 Frequency Hopping and GPRS
Generally Frequency Hopping (FH) leads to network interference averaging. Thus calls
having good quality will get worse and bad calls will be improved, if frequency
hopping is used. This is valid for GSM and similar for GPRS:
CS1 is used in bad conditions, thus it will be improved if FH is introduced
CS4 is used in very good conditions, which are more seldom in a hopping
network. Thus CS4 will perform less good and will be used more seldom
The overall gain of CS1-CS3 will depend on the C/I situation before and after FH
In B7, CS adaptation parameters can be tuned more optimistic in respect to
throughput and Coding Scheme if FH is used, see chapter 9.2.6:
CS_QUAL_XX_1_2_FH_Z > CS_QUAL_XX_1_2_NFH_Z
FH= Frequency Hopping and NFH= Non Frequency Hopping
A.1.1 GPRS load and GPRS performance
Following can be seen in simulation results:
The higher the GSM+GPRS load is, the higher is the probability for interference and so
for decreased GPRS performance.
As GPRS performance is mainly radio quality (C/I) dependent increased interference
level in the cell will reduce the GPRS throughput performance.
To reduce the load in the network/cell following GSM activities can be started:
Adding more resources, frequencies
Make smaller cell sizes (e.g. achieved by stronger tilt)
Do proper cell planning
A.2 -cell with GPRS
The main advantage of a -cell environment may be a better frequency re-use
possibility, thus better C/I value and higher throughput can be expected (especially for
E-GPRS with higher C/I requirements than GPRS s). Following two steps is proposed for
GPRS implementation:
If GPRS traffic is low, an introduction of GPRS in macro cell and -cell can be done.
Disadvantages:
Emergency capacity on macro cell layer reduced
Higher blocking probability on -cell layer for CS traffic
Solution:
Reduction of the maximum GPRS capacity of the -cell to 30-50% by
parameter setting
Tuning of the GPRS user access handling (TBF and PDCH share)
If GPRS traffic increases a network densification must be done.
Hardware measures: TRX upgrade, -cell and macro cell densification, site design
Parameter measures: GPRS capacity and user access handling tuning
Basis measures: OMC-R Load measurements and GPRS customer behavior
Step 1: GPRS traffic is low
Step 2: Increasing GPRS traffic
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A.3 Dual Band with GPRS
In B7 the BCCH and the TRX with PDCH function work only in the same frequency
band
In a multiband BSS configuration there is a dedicated BCCH for each cell/frequency
band.
GPRS (PS) functionality can be configured in both bands
Class B and C MSs can make interband cell reselection during data transmission.
For this it is necessary to activate the GPRS service on each frequency band.
In a multiband cell the TRXs of one band are allocated to the outer zone and the TRXs
of the other band to the inner zone. The BCCH is configured only in the outer zone.
The TRXs for GPRS (PS) traffic must be configured in the outer zone
Class B and C MSs will always be served by the outer zone GPRS TRXs, during PS
traffic.
The GPRS MS does the GPRS cell reselection autonomously because supported network
control order in B7 is NC0, see chapter 9.3. This brings the following limitations:
It is not possible to allocate resources of the second band of a multiband cell
to the GPRS service in NC0.
The only way to allocate resources of both GSM 900 and DCS 1800 bands
to the GPRS service is to migrate the BCCH to the multiband BSC feature
Explanation:
Due to the fact that the path loss of both bands is not the same, and the BTS
output power levels may also not be the same between the BCCH and the
PDCH group of the second band, it is not ensured that the DCS 1800
coverage is the same as the GSM 900 coverage.
In NC0 mode (autonomous cell reselection done by the mobile station), the
BSS does not get from mobile stations periodic measurement reports of the
RXLEV of the BCCH of the serving cell.
It is not possible to allocate resources of the second frequency band at the downlink
TBF establishment time. Only during the downlink data transfer, the mobile station
reports the RXLEV of the BCCH of the serving cell (through the Packet Downlink
Ack/nack). The only feasible strategy would be to allocate resources of the BCCH
frequency band at TBF establishment time, and then reassign resources of the second
band in case the reported measurements would guarantee the correct receipt of the
inner zone by the mobile station.
However, this would lead to frequent TBF resources reallocations, with uncertain gain
as the BSS does not know the volume of data to be transferred to the MS (e.g. with
WAP exchanges profile, a resources reallocation would only lead to a decrease of
throughput and an increase of signaling traffic).
As the Alcatel BSS does only support uplink power control in open loop, it is not
possible to determine the path loss. As the inner zone coverage is not known (it may be
smaller than the outer zone one), no band reselection can be decided.
In addition, if after the band reselection the MS leaves the inner zone but is still in the
outer zone, a new band reselection shall be triggered by the network towards the outer
zone before a cell reselection is triggered in the MS!
A.4 Concentric Cells with GPRS
In B7, the TRX for PS traffic must be configured in the outer zone of the concentric cell,
no GPRS cell-reselection to inner zone possible, see also appendix A.3 multiband cell.
Multiband BSS approach
Multiband cell approach
Limitations
Downlink
Uplink
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So total needed PDCH is 5 PDCH TS per cell
(= 49.6 kbit/s / 10 kbit/s)
APPENDIX B GPRS TRAFFIC ANALYSIS CALCULATION METHODS
B.1 Straight Forward calculation for GPRS Traffic
GPRS users (Packet Switched Service)=600
WAP users: 60
WEB users: 180
SMS users: 360
WAP data size per user 12KB
WEB data size per user 40KB
SMS data size per user 40KB
WAP: 12KB*8bit/3600s*60 user= 1.6 kbit/s
WEB: 40KB*8bit/3600s*180 user= 16 kbit/s
SMS: 40KB*8bit/3600s*360 user= 32 kbit/s
Sum of data rate for all services: 49.6 kbit/s
Expected transfer rate per Timeslot (PDCH)= 10 kbit/s in good radio conditions
B.2 Erlang C GPRS traffic calculation
GPRS users (Packet Switched Service)=600
WAP users: 60
WEB users: 180
SMS users: 360
WAP data size per user 12KB (page size 0.3 KByte/s)
WEB data size per user 40KB (page size 2 KByte/s)
SMS data size per user 40KB (page size 2 KByte/s)
WAP service: bit rate = 5 kbit/s for 90% Quantile and 2s queue delay
WEB service: bit rate = 30 kbit/s for 90% Quantile and 2s queue delay
SMS service: bit rate = 30 kbit/s for 90% Quantile and 2s queue delay
The following results calculation can be done with an Erlang C tool. Here the Erlang C
calculation part of the TRAFFIC TOOL BETA version 1.0 from ND [2] was used. The
results are listed for each service (in this example her for WAP, WEB and SMS)
WAP:

Figure 13: Number of resources for WAP service with Erlang C calculation
Number of GPRS Users per cell
Service data size per user in
busy hour (per 3600s)
Needed transfer rate per service
for all users
Total number of needed PDCH
Number of GPRS Users
Service data size per user in
busy hour
QoS per service
Number of needed PDCH per
service
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6 PDCH TS per cell is needed in total to
cope with GPRS traffic per cell
So in the sum for all services
10 PDCH TS
per cell are needed to offer the needed QoS
for the services in GPRS
WEB:
E R L A N G C
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Figure 14: Number of resources for WEB service with Erlang C calculation
SMS:
E R L A N G C
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Figure 15: Number of resources for SMS service with Erlang C calculation

Assumption: Expected rate per TS of 10 kbit/s
For the WAP service 1 resource of 5 kbit/s is needed = 1 PDCH TS
For the WEB service 1 resource of 30 kbit/s is needed = 3 PDCH TS
For the WEB service 2 resources of 30 kbit/s is needed = 6 PDCH TS
B.3 TRAFFIC TOOL BETA version 1.0
For the same conditions as in Appendix B.1 and B.2 the results of the traffic tool is:

Used settings in the traffic tool:
No activation of: Combined mode, DL Delayed TBF Release and MPDCH
Call Mix Reference used is: Alcatel B7 reference
Total number of needed PDCH
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