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Abstract
This document will provide with an overview general GSM radio network optimization areas; with regards to analysis and troubleshooting.
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Table of Contents
1 2
PERFORMANCE
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 4 RANDOM ACCESS............................................................................. 5 2.1 2.2 2.3 REASONS FOR POOR RANDOM ACCESS 5 USED FORMULAS................................ ............................................5 ANALYSIS ......................................................................................6
3
PERFORMANCE
P AGING AND LOCATION U PDATE ................................ .................... 8 3.1 REASONS FOR POOR PAGING AN LU 9 3.2 USED FORMULAS................................ ............................................9 3.3 ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 11 3.3.1 Paging ............................................................................. 12 3.3.2 Location Update................................................................ 14 3.4 TROUBLESHOOTING ................................................................ ...... 15 3.4.1 General ............................................................................ 15 3.4.2 Unsuccessful Location Updating ........................................ 18
4
PERFORMANCE
CALL SE T-UP ................................................................ .................. 19 4.1 REASONS FOR POOR CALL SET -UP 19 4.2 USED FORMULAS................................ .......................................... 20 4.3 ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 20 4.3.1 Random Access problems ................................................. 21 4.3.2 Cell parameter settings and RN 21 4.4 TROUBLESHOOTING ................................................................ ...... 22 4.4.1 General problems ............................................................. 22 4.4.2 Low signal strength ........................................................... 23 4.4.3 SDCCH and TCH congestion ............................................. 23 4.4.4 HW faults and other problems ............................................ 23
features
DROPPED CALLS............................................................................ 24 5.1 REASONS FOR DROPPED CALLS ...................................................... 24 5.2 USED FORMULAS................................ .......................................... 25 5.3 ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 26 5.3.1 SDCCH Results ................................................................ 26 5.3.2 TCH Results ..................................................................... 27 5.4 TROUBLESHOOTING ................................................................ ...... 29 5.4.1 Dropped Calls Due To Bad Quality ..................................... 29 5.4.2 Dropped Calls Due To Low Signal 30 5.4.3 Dropped Calls Due To Other 31
Strength Reasons 6
SDCCH & TCH ................................................................................. 32 6.1 6.2 6.3 REASONS FOR TRAFFIC C APACITY PROBLEMS .................................... 32 USED FORMULAS................................ .......................................... 32 ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 33
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6.3.1 SDCCH/TCH availability .................................................... 33 6.3.2 Cell size and location analysis ........................................... 34 6.3.3 Feature activation ............................................................. 34 6.4 TROUBLESHOOTING ...................................................................... 35 6.4.1 Congestion, general .......................................................... 35 6.4.2 SDCCH Congestion.......................................................... 35 6.4.3 TCH Congestion ............................................................... 38 7 INTERFERENCE .............................................................................. 40 7.1 REASONS FOR HIGH INTERFERENCE LEVELS ..................................... 41 7.2 USED FORMULAS ......................................................................... 41 7.3 ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 42 7.3.1 Bad frequency plan ........................................................... 43 7.3.2 External interference ................................ ......................... 44 7.3.3 Congestion ....................................................................... 44 7.3.4 Missing neighbour cell relations ......................................... 44 7.3.5 Wrong antenna type or bad 45 7.3.6 HW/SW Problems and site outages ................................... 45 7.3.7 Cell parameter settings and RN 45 7.4 TROUBLESHOOTING ...................................................................... 46 7.4.1 Uplink Interference............................................................ 46 7.4.2 Downlink Interference ....................................................... 47 7.4.3 External Interference................................ ......................... 48 8
PER FORMANCE
antenna positions
features
REASONS FOR POOR HANDOVER 49 8.2 USED FORMULAS ......................................................................... 50 8.3 ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 51 8.3.1 Neighbouring cell relation problems ................................... 51 8.3.2 Cell parameters settings and RN features 51 8.3.3 Hardware problems. .......................................................... 52 8.3.4 Too many measurement frequencies in the active BA list 52 8.3.5 Poor coverage and coverage holes .................................... 52 8.3.6 Congestion problems ........................................................ 52 8.3.7 High interference.............................................................. 53 8.3.8 Poor inter-MSC handover performance 53 8.4 TROUBLESHOOTING ...................................................................... 53 8.4.1 Too few Handover attempts or no handovers 53 8.4.2 Unsuccessful (lost) handovers ........................................... 54 8.4.3 Handover reversions ................................ ......................... 55 8.4.4 Ping-Pong Handovers ....................................................... 57 9 REFERENCES ................................ ................................................. 57
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Introduction
The purpose of this document is to provide an overview on general GSM radio network performance areas. General GSM radio network performance areas may be summarized as: Random Access Paging and Location Update Call set-up Dropped Calls SDCCH & TCH Interference Handover Following chapter will review each of above areas with focus on possible reasons for poor performance, formulas for STS monitoring, performance analysis and troubleshooting.
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1 Random Access
A Random Access burst is the first thing that will be sent when an MS tries to access the network. The Random Access (RA) performance is important for the accessibility performance and is linked to the BSIC planning.
Areas with possible problems with BSIC planning, too low ACCMIN, wrong MAXTA, interference or bad link budgets. A very high number of not approved Random Accesses on BSC level might also indicate problems with software file congestion in the BSC or MSC.
1.1
Used Formulas
RAACCFA: Total Number of Failed Random Access Attempts. RA_TOT: Total Number of Random Access Attempts. CNROCNT: Total Number of Accepted Random Accesses. RA_FAIL: Failed Random Accesses of Total RA Attempts. RA_ANSWPAG: Answer to Paging of Total Random Accesses. RA_SERVICE: Other Services Requested of Total Random Accesses. RA_EMERG: Emergency Calls of Total Random Accesses.
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RA_CALLREE: Random Accesses with Cause Call Reestablishments of Total Number of Accepted Random Accesses RA_OTHER: All Other Cases of Total Random Accesses. S_EST: Number of SDCCH Establishments of Total Number of SDCCH Seizure Attempts when No SDCCH Congestion.
1.2
Analysis
A cell can interpret a handover burst (supposed for another cell) as a Random Access burst, which causes the counter RAACCFA to be stepped. A necessary condition for this to happen is that the cells have BSIC and an ARFCN in common. The handover burst is sent by an MS to the target cell on the new TCH and contains the BSIC for the cell. If another cell in the vicinity uses the frequency as BCCH and have the same BSIC, the problem can occur. The general system performance will not be affected unless any congestion occurs due to this unnecessary use of RACCH and AGCH (Access Granted channel). Anyway, a lot of RA failures (RAACCFA) always mean co-channel interference. A problematic cell has to be checked for neighbours with identical BSIC and where BCCH for the problem cell is used as ARFCN. If this neighbour is far away, the co-channel interference will usually not cause any performance problems (although there are a lot of RAACCFA detected). High timing advance can also be a reason for RAACCFA to be stepped. The parameter MAXTA should be checked in that case.
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employees if AMPS located close to the problem area. These can cause interference within distance of at least 100 m. Sometimes filters can solve the interference AMPS sites. MRR, CTR, MTR used to point out areas of problems? Frequency change tried? Antenna down tilt tried? Before doing down tilt it should be verified TEMS that the interference occurs in the border area of the cell, coverage from the cell that should be tilted is unreasonably large. Check that antenna directions are according to the plan. Poor coverage?
3.4.2
3.4.3
3.4.4
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planning tool it can depend on that the antenna is connected to the wrong feeder. The site can in reality be lower than in the predictions in the frequency planning tool, giving less coverage than planned. There can be alarms indicating HW faults. Software file congestion
Dropped Calls
The retainability performance evaluates the systems ability to handle established connections. Dropped calls are probably the single most important quality item to control in the system. The level of dropped calls in the system is in high extent depending on the initial RF planning, optimization and also the system growth.
4.1
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4.2
Used Formulas
S_DR- C: Dropped SDCCH Connections of Total Number of SDCCH Connections. S_DR_ERLM: Erlang Minutes per Dropped SDCCH Connection. S_DR_SS: Dropped SDCCH Connections due to Low Signal Strength of Total Number of Dropped SDCCH Connections. S_DR_BQ: Dropped SDCCH Connections due to Bad Quality of Total Number of Dropped SDCCH Connections. S_DR_TA: Dropped SDCCH Connections due to Excessive Timing Advance of Total Number of Dropped SDCCH Connections. S_DR_OTH: Dropped SDCCH Connections due to Other Reasons than Low Signal Strength, Bad Quality or Excessive Timing Advance of Total Number of Dropped SDCCH Connections. T_TRAF: Average TCH Traffic Level. T_CONGT: TCH Time Congestion of Total Measurement Interval. T_AVAIL: Available TCHs (not blocked) of Total Number of Defined TCHs. T_DWN: Average Cell downtime for active cells H_SUC: Successful Handovers of Total Number of Handover Attempts. T_DR-S: Dropped TCH Connections of Total Number of Calls Terminated in the Cell. T_DR_ERLM: Erlang Minutes per Dropped TCH Connection. T_DR_SS_DL: Dropped TCH Connections due to Low Signal Strength on Downlink of Total Number of Dropped TCH Connections. T_DR_SS_UL: Dropped TCH Connections due to Low Signal Strength on Uplink of Total Number of Dropped TCH Connections. T_DR_SS_BL: Dropped TCH Connections due to Low Signal Strength on both links of Total Number of Dropped TCH Connections.
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T_DR_SUD: Suddenly lost connections of Total Number of Dropped TCH Connections. T_DR_BQ_DL: Dropped TCH Connections at Bad Quality on Downlink of Total Number of Dropped TCH Connections. T_DR_BQ_UL: Dropped TCH Connections at Bad Quality on Uplink of Total Number of Dropped TCH Connections. T_DR_BQ_BL: Dropped TCH Connections at Bad Quality on both links of Total Number of Dropped TCH Connections. T_DR_TA: Dropped TCH Connections due to Excessive Timing Advance of Total Number of Dropped TCH Connections. T_DR_OTH: Dropped Calls due to Other Reasons than Low Signal Strength, Bad Quality or Excessive Timing Advance of Total Number of Dropped TCH Connections.
4.3
4.3.1
Analysis
SDCCH Results
If a high drop rate on SDCCH has been noticed the following actions is recommended in order to proceed and solve the problems. Improvements for dropped calls on TCH will improve the drop call rate on SDCCH. I.e. recommend to trouble shoot the TCH drop calls first if there is poor performance on both TCH and SDCCH. The drop call rate on SDCCH can be improved if the congestion on TCH is decreased. Recommend to use the feature assignment to worse cell or increase the capacity on TCH. The reasons for low SS drops could be too few sites, wrong output power, shadowing, no indoor coverage or network equipment failure.
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The reasons for dropped calls due to bad quality on the uplink or downlink are related to internal or external interference and trouble shooting is needed to find the interferers. The situation could be temporary improved by means of applicable features. Recommend features that are not activated or recommend alternative parameter setting. The reasons for drops on to high timing advance is related to the site location i.e. close to open water, desert or hilly terrain and the setting of MAXTA and TALIM. Setting MAXTA to 63 and TALIM to 62 could solve the problem and/or tilt the antennas, reduce antenna height, change antenna or reduce output power. Miscellaneous problems could for example be mobile errors which can occur when old mobiles may cause dropped calls if certain radio network features are used. Another reasons could be that the MS is damaged and not working properly.
4.3.2
TCH Results
If a high drop rate on TCH has been noticed the following actions is recommended in order to proceed and solve the problems. High drop rate due to high outage time or low availability. Inform the operation and maintenance department about the problems or check the reasons for the downtime. Check also the alarm list or BTS error log. Another way is also to check the resolution time for the different alarm categories. Many problems with dropped calls are often related to insufficient O&M routines and not to radio problems.
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Dropped TCH due to bad quality are often due to interference problems and/or low signal strength in areas where there is no dominant server. The reason could also be missing neighbour relations so that the mobile is not connected to the strongest server and therefore perceives bad quality. The interfered cell should be investigated in order to find the source for the interference. In most cases the interference is internal but can also originate from external sources such as other networks, radio stations, microwave links etc. The interference could also be reduced by means of applicable features such as frequency hopping, assignment to better cell, DTX, MS/BTS power control etc. Recommend applicable features or alternative parameter setting if founded incorrect. Dropped TCH due to low signal strength are in most cases related to coverage gaps but can also be a result of missing neighbour relations, hidden antennas, wrong antenna type (to low gain), antenna or feeder problems, incorrect power settings, etc. The reason can also be unforeseen subscriber behaviour i.e. the subscribers use their mobiles indoor, in elevators, parking lots etc. This can also be indicated if there is a high percentage of suddenly lost connections. Dropped TCH due to excessive timing advance should in normal cases not occur in the network. The reasons for timing advance drops are site location (close to open water, desert or hilly terrain) and the setting of MAXTA and TALIM. Setting MAXTA to 63 and TALIM to 62 could solve the problem. Or reduce the coverage by down tilting the antennas, reduce antenna height, change antenna or reduce output power. If the site is located close to open water etc. the extended range feature could be considered. TCH drops due to other reasons than low SS, bad quality, excessive timing advance could for example be because of BTS HW problems, transmission problems, service affecting maintenance work, uplink interference problems (external or internal), mobile station problems etc.
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4.4
Troubleshooting
The trouble shooting of dropped calls is divided into three areas, dropped calls due to bad quality, low SS and other reasons.
4.4.1
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See if it is possible to change frequency or reduce the signal strength of the interferer. For example down tilting the antenna. Check the antenna diagram in order to see the effect of different tilt angels. A second alternative is to change the frequency or increase the signal strength in the interfered cell. Check if there is any missing neighbour relations causing low SS and by that bad quality drops.
4.4.2
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If there are a lot of suddenly lost connections in the cell this could indicate that there is a tunnel, underground parking lot, high indoor usage etc. Try to find the most likely position in the cell where this kind of drops might occur. Check in planning tool to see if any coverage gaps or areas with low coverage can be found in the cell. Verify that the different clutter values make sense in the planning tool. Is the site position OK? Is the antenna azimuth correct, is it shooting to the correct location, road, building etc. Perform drive tests in the cell and check for missing neighbours, swapped antennas etc. Perform the drive test close to the site and try to see if it is line of sight or of the antennas are hidden by any obstacles. Make a site visit and check the antennas if necessary. If the low signal strength is not related to any faults or missing configuration probably a new site or improved indoor coverage is needed and the problem should be passed on to the cell planning department.
4.4.3
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Check with the operation and maintenance department or check the applicable alarm logs if there have been any HW problems, transmission problems, and service affecting maintenance work during the time period. The average cell downtime and TCH and SDCCH availability should also be checked. If mobile station problems are suspected in the network this needs to be raised with the Customer and his customer care department to investigate the problem further.
5.1
5.2
Used Formulas
RA_OTHER: Random Accesses with Cause All Other Cases, e. g. Location Updating,
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Detach, Attach, etc. of Total Number of Accepted Random Accesses. S_TRAF: Average SDCCH Traffic Level. S_CNGT: SDCCH Time Congestion of Total Measurement Interval. S_MHT: SDCCH Mean Holding Time. S_AV_NR: Average Number of Available SDCCHs. S_AVAIL: Available (not blocked) SDCCHs of Total Number of Defined SDCCHs. S_DR: Dropped SDCCH Connections of Total Number of SDCCH Connections. T_AS_SUC: Successful TCH Assignments of Total Number of Assignment Attempts. T_TRAF: Average TCH Traffic Level. TF_CNGT_U: TCH/F Time Congestion in under laid Sub cell of Total Measurement Interval. T_MHT: TCH Mean Holding Time. T_AV_NR: Average Number of Available TCHs. T_AVAIL: Available TCHs (not blocked) of Total Nu mber of Defined TCHs. T_DR_ERLM: Erlang Minutes per Dropped TCH Connection.
5.3
5.3.1
Analysis
SDCCH/TCH availability
From the STS data it can be seen how much of the hardware that is being used. Normally the availability for SDCCH and TCH should be 100%. For the cells showing low availability, check the BTS error log to make sure that there are no problems with the hardware error logs.
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5.3.2
5.3.3
Feature activation
In this chapter it is described how short-term actions can be taken to decrease congestion and improve the capacity of the system.
5.3.3.1
SDCCH Congestion Selecting the number of time slots in a cell that are going to be used for signalling is a critical part of network optimization. Increased use of subscriber services such as Short Message Service can make the demand for SDCCHs more unpredictable. The feature Immediate Assignment on TCH can be used to lower the load on SDCCH. Note, however, that the SDCCH first strategy is recommended, i.e. an idle SDCCH is always allocated and in case of SDCCH congestion, the signalling is performed on a TCH instead. If the optional feature "Adaptive Configuration of Logical Channels" is available and activated in the BSC, the system can automatically assign SDCCHs. The way the feature should be used depends on the channel dimensioning strategy and therefore great care should be taken when implementing this feature. No recommended parameter values are given in the User Descriptions.
5.3.3.2
TCH Congestion Make sure that the congestion is not caused by hardware problems or link Make sure that
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the congestion is not caused by hardware problems or link failures. If no problems can be found, check if it is possible to add extra TRXs to the cell or to add (micro) cells in the area. It may also be possible to activate the feature Cell Load Sharing and/or Assignment to Worst Cell as short-term solutions.
5.4
5.4.1
Troubleshooting
Congestion, general
Check if the congestion can depend on a short-term growth or a long-term growth: Short term growth If the high traffic related to an occasional event, like sport event, fairs, conference, a temporary solution might be considered. Long term growth If there is a long-term growth the network capacity has to grow according to the demand. Check if there is an expansion planned in the near future for the TCH congested cells. Check if the congestion is on SDCCH, TCH or both.
5.4.2
SDCCH Congestion
The time congestion should be used instead of congestion based on access attempts as there is no way to estimate the number of access attempts a single mobile does.
Increasing Traffic Demand The increase in traffic could be related to an occasional event or due to a long-term growth. Check if short term traffic growth. Make trend comparisons. Check if combined SDCCH is used. Check SDCCH dimensioning.
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Increase the number of SDCCH channels. Note that an increase may lead to the need for new transceivers. If combined SDCCH is used, non-combined channel configuration should be introduced. Long Mean Holding Time If the mean holding time is long, this generates a higher traffic load. Check SDCCH Mean Holding Time. TCH Congestion TCH congestion may cause the mobiles to stay extra long time on the SDCCH before being allocated TS on a TCH. Check if there exists TCH congestion and if the SDCCH mean holding time is above 7 seconds. For immediate assignment the time is 2-2, 5 seconds. Check TCH Congestion. Check SDCCH Mean Holding Time. Check if Assignment to Worse cell is used and existing parameter setting. Check if Cell Load Sharing is used. Increase TCH capacity. Use the features for traffic distribution such as Cell Load Sharing and Assignment to Worse Cell. Low Availability Check SDCCH Availability. Check if the unavailable channels are manual, control or automatically blocked. Change & repair faulty equipment. Review the O&M procedures. Too Frequent Periodic Registration Check Random Access distribution. Check the timer T3212 in the BSC and the parameters BTDM and GTDM in the MSC. Decrease the number of periodic registration.
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