Paging Improvement Reference

Airtel Africa
Networks Group
Paging Improvement Reference Document
Content
Purpose & Scope................................................................................................................ 6
How Paging works?............................................................................................................6

2.1
Paging Process
..................................................................................................7
Paging Capacity ................................................................................................................ 8

3.1
Paging Capacity and Paging Group at the RBS......................................................8
3.2
Paging Capacity at the BSC....................................................................................9
Paging Strategies..............................................................................................................11
4.1
Paging Strategies via A-interface..........................................................................11
4.2
Retransmission of Pages......................................................................................14
4.3
Reducing Unnecessary Paging.............................................................................16
Performance measurement..............................................................................................17
5.1
Paging parameters................................................................................................17
5.1.1
BSC parameters ................................................................................................17
5.1.2
MSC parameters ................................................................................................18
5.2
Statistic counters & KPI formulas..........................................................................21
5.2.1
MSC Level
................................................................................................21
5.2.2
BSC Level
................................................................................................22
5.2.3
Location Area Level...............................................................................................23
5.2.4
Cell Level
................................................................................................24
Paging Analysis and Problems affecting Paging...........................................................26

6.1
Fish bone diagram for the root cause analysis of poor Paging Success Rate.......26
6.2
Poor Coverage
6.3
Low rand accessibility...........................................................................................28
6.4
No channel resource.............................................................................................29
................................................................................................27
Standard Operating Procedure

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6.5
A interface
................................................................................................30
6.6
Abis interface
................................................................................................31
6.7
UM interface
................................................................................................32
6.8
Other reason
................................................................................................33
Solutions
.............................................................................................................. 34
7.1
A and Abis INTERFACE........................................................................................34
7.2
Um INTERFACE ................................................................................................34
7.3
Congestion and Rand Access...............................................................................34
7.4
UL /DL Unbalance and LAC border.......................................................................35
7.5
TIMERS Optimization............................................................................................35
7.6
Coverage Optimization..........................................................................................35
7.7
Tracing no paging response..................................................................................36
7.7.1
Blocks for tracing in MSC......................................................................................36
7.7.2
Blocks for tracing in BSC......................................................................................36
Purpose & Scope
The purpose of this document is to make the reader familiar with the Paging Process, message flows in Paging,
performance monitoring for Paging Success in the network, problems affecting paging performance and some solutions for
the problems.
How Paging works?
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When a Mobile Station (MS) is paged, a Paging message is sent from the MSC to each Base Station Controller (BSC)
belonging to that MSC's service area (global page), or to those BSCs serving at least one cell belonging to the LA where the
MS is registered (local page).
For each Paging message received by the BSC, Paging Command messages have to be sent to all cells belonging to the
LA where the target MS is registered. The number of cells in an LA ranges from a few tens up to perhaps one hundred cells,
sometimes even more. This means that one incoming Paging message to the BSC leads to a considerably larger number of
outgoing Paging Commands from the BSC.
The BTSs have to broadcast all the incoming pages. The Paging Request messages are sent on the Paging Channel (PCH)
on the Common Control Channel (CCCH). Too large LAs may lead to a too high paging load in the BTS resulting in
congestion and lost pages due to capacity limitation on the air interface.
Smaller LAs reduce the paging load in the BTSs as well as in the BSCs. However, smaller LAs also mean a larger number
of LA border cells in the network. Each time an MS crosses the border between two LAs, a Location Updating is performed.
The Location Updating affects the load on the signaling sub-channels, SDCCH, in the LA border cells. The SDCCH
signaling capacity depends on the SDCCH configuration in the cell and is further described in [Figure-1].
Figure 1: Paging of a MS
2.1
Paging Process
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Paging Success by far is the most complex KPI to deal with as the process of paging touches almost all the
nodes in GSM system and is influenced by performance of each of them. Thats the reason why this write
up on paging looks too interwoven and cross refers to too many things. But the good news with paging is by
the time paging success rate in a network gets improved; almost all the other KPIs too stand improved.
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In response to an incoming call, the MSC initiates the paging process by broadcasting a paging request
message on the paging sub channel (IMSI or TMSI of the MS and its Paging Group) and starts timer
T31131.
A paging message consists of the mobile identity (IMSI or TMSI) of the MS being paged and its paging
group number.
A Paging Request Message may include more than one MS identification. The maximum number of paged
MS per message is 4 when using TMSI for identification of the MS (maximum number of paged MS per
message is 2 when using IMSI).
The BSC receives this page and processes the paging request and schedules it for transmission on the
PCH at appropriate time.
The MS on its part will analyse the paging messages (and immediate assignment messages) sent on the
paging sub channel corresponding to its paging group.
Upon receipt of a paging request message, MS will initiate within 0.7s an immediate assignment
procedure.
Upon receipt of a page at the MS, the MS responds by transmitting a channel request on the RACH.
BSS in response to the received channel request, will process it and immediately assign the MS a SDCCH
(immediate assignment / assignment reject; done over AGCH).
MS Paging response- After receiving the immediate assignment command, MS switches to the assigned
SDCCH and transmits a Paging Response.
The establishment of the main signalling link is then initiated (E1) with information field containing the
PAGING RESPONSE message and the paging response is sent to the MSC.
Upon receipt of the Paging Response MSC stops the timer T3113.
If the timer T3113 expires and a Paging Response message have not been received, the MSC may repeat
the Paging Request message and start T3113 all over again. The number of successive paging attempt is
a network dependent choice.
Timer T3113 at the Ericsson MSC is PAGING_timer (guard time for paging initiated from the MSC)
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Paging Capacity
3.1
Paging Capacity and Paging Group at the RBS
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One control channel Multi Frame is made of 51 TDMA frames2 with a time duration of 235 ms.
Each 51 TDMA frame Multi Frame will have 9 Common Control Channel (CCCH) blocks.
Each of these 9 CCCH block is made of 43 TDMA timeslots
Each CCCH block can carry Paging Messages for 2 MS if IMSI based paging is used or 4 MS if TMSI 4
based paging is used.
Thus the paging capacity for one 51 TDMA frame Multi Frame 5 will be 9(number of CCCH blocks available
per Multi Frame) * 4 (when TMSI based paging is used) = 36 mobiles per 235 ms or 9*2 = 16 mobiles per
235 ms when IMSI based paging is used.
Thus the paging capacity of a cell is 153 mobiles per second when TMSI based paging are used and 68
mobiles per second when IMSI based paging are used.
This means we can improve the paging bandwidth for a cell (if there are too many paging discards at the
cell level) by using TMSI based paging rather than IMSI based (at the expense of increased processor load
at the BSC and MSC).
When the rate of paging load at the RBS becomes higher than what the RBS is able to handle (paging
capacity of RBS), RBS will start discarding pages (check for high page discard stats at the cell level).
If the page discard at the cell is very high then increase the paging bandwidth at the cell level by setting
AGBLK=0 (all the 9 CCCH blocks in the 51 frame multi frame available for PCH with preference for AGCH 6 )
and use TMSI based paging instead of IMSI based paging.
One TDMA frame = 8 Radio timeslots of duration 4.615 ms
Signaling Requirement in GSM : One complete Signaling Message in GSM system requires 464 bits (or 4*116 bits or 58 bytes) , one
TDMA burst on one timeslot can code 58+58=116 bits ; hence it requires 4 TDMA frames to complete one message (E.g. One MR or
Measurement Report or One Paging Message).
At the expense of increased processing load at the MSC and BSC
with the cell parameter AGBLK = 0 (here all the 9 CCCH blocks will be available for PCH with preference for AGCH)
AGCH has to have high priority over PCH as AGCH deals with immediate assignment for either a successfully paged MS or for an MS
that has made a successful Random Access.
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If the PAGE MODE ELEMENT is set to extended paging , the MS will not only listen to its own paging
group but also to its next but one page group (example , say an MS is assigned 23 as its paging group ,
with extended paging MS will also listen to the page group 25). Configuration parameters for extended
paging are hard coded in the BSC and it is not usually modified during optimization.
The cell parameter MFRMS and AGBLK together defines the number of paging groups available at the
cell level.
Number of Paging Groups at cell = MFRMS*(9-AGBLK) for a non combine BCCH 7
MFRMS decides the repeat interval of paging messages for MSs that belongs to the same paging group
across multiple 51 frame multi frames (for an example if an MS belongs to paging group 23 and if MFRMS
is set to 4, then pages for all the MSs falling under the paging group 23 will be broadcasted after every 4th
51 frame multi frame).
Once an MS deciphers its paging group, in an idle mode, it will tune in and check for an incoming page only
during broadcast time for its paging group (so further the paging groups are places across multiple 51 frame
multi frames (say MFRMS=9), less frequently it will tune in to check for an incoming page and longer will be
its battery life. But the problem in this case for a cell with high paging load is higher paging discards. For
cells with high paging load its recommended to keep MFRMS between 4 to 6.
If MFRMS<= 3, then the IMSI/TMSI is discarded if it has not been retransmitted within two scheduling of its
paging group. If MFRMS>3, then the IMSI/TMSI is discarded if it has not been retransmitted within one
scheduling of its paging group. Thats the reason why for a site with ABIS over VSAT it is recommended that
MFRMS be set to 2 (to compensate for the delay on satellite system).
One Paging Queue per Paging Group is available at the cell level (that means when we decrease the
number of paging groups for the cell by reducing MFRMS to lower numbers, we actually reduce the number
of available paging queue).
Paging Queue Length = 14 (Number of Paging Groups/10); which means higher the number of paging
groups in a cell (that is higher the MFRMS settings), lower will be the Paging Queue length, this will
compensate for lower number of Paging Queue available at lower MFRMS.
MFRMS does not affect the processor load of BSC and MSC too much (though very low settings of MFRMS
are seen to increase the BSC and MSC load slightly).
Also call setup time is seen to be shorter for the cell when MFRMS is set low as compared to high value of
MFRMS.
MFRMS also influences downlink signalling failure rate in idle mode leading cell reselection. High values of
MFRMS can lead to high (unnecessary) cell reselection. (When an MS camps on a cell , the counter DSC
gets initiated to 90/MFRMS , and each time the MS successfully decodes a page DSC gets incremented by
1 till DSC=90/MFRMS and if MS fails to decode a page , DSC is decremented by 4. If DSC gets
decremented to 0 a downlink signalling failure gets flagged and the MS will do cell reselection).
7 In
a combined BCCH cell, 4 SDCCH sub channels shares the same timeslot with BCCH, this drastically reduces the SDCCH capacity
and proportionately reduces the cells paging response capacity. For cells with high paging load always use the non-combined mode of
BCCH/SDCCH, in other words use SDCCH/8 mode (i.e. at least one dedicated time slot for SDCCH and one dedicated SDCCH timeslots
gives 8 SDCCH sub channels) than SDCCH/4 mode as in a combined BCCH case.
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Paging Capacity at the BSC
The key bottleneck in paging performance is the Location Area dimensioning (as the first page usually gets
done to Location Area) and BSC capacity.
Number of cells in a Location Area ranges from as low as 10 to more than 100. Once a page reaches the
BSC from MSC, BSC sends it across to all the cells within the BSC 8. Hence an incoming page to a BSC
gives rise to a considerably large number of outgoing paging commands from the BSC (point to multipoint).
This is the reason why the BSC is more likely to be the unit limiting paging rate than the MSC.
All the RBSs within this BSC will now broadcast this page at least once , this means the RBS sets the limit
on overall paging capacity (158 mobiles per second if TMSI based paging is used or 68 mobiles per second
if IMSI based paging is used).
Paging Bottleneck at the BSC usually is the number of RP signals that can be sent from the CP to the RPDs
in the TRHs9.
Calculations for number of pages per second:
NO _ PAGE
RPSIG
NO _ TRH RPp
NO _ CELLS
RPp 1 1
NO _ TRX NO _ LA
(1)
TRXpTRH
(2)
Where:
8 Unfortunately unlike UMTS there is no localised (page to registered cell) paging in case of GSM.
9 CP is the central processor of the BSC, the CP controls numerous Regional Processors (RP); each of these RPs can control up to 16 EMs (Equipment Modules, which are
the hardware software function responsible for a particular task / tasks). RP signals refers to the number of messages that CP can pass onto RPs for control as well as
messaging purpose)
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RPSIG10Maximum number of RP signals per second

TRXpTRH11Average number of TRXs per TRH
NO_LA
Number of Location Areas
NO_TRH
Number of TRHs belonging to the BSC
NO_TRX
Number of TRXs belonging to the BSC
NO_CELLS
Number of cells
RPp
Probability that an RP signal is sent to an TRH
NO_PAGE
Number of pages per second
With more TRHs the paging capacity for the BSC decreases.
With more LACs within a BSC the paging capacity for the BSC increases.
In the BSC there also exists a paging queue with 32 slots (i.e. 32 TIMSI or IMSI can be queued at the
BSC , this means the supervision timer for page response of the first page PAGTIMEFRST1LA should not
be set too short (shorter than 6 seconds)
Paging Strategies
4.1
Paging Strategies via A-interface
Paging strategy in the MSC is determined by the AXE parameters or the exchange property settings. With the right paging
strategy set in the network, we can always minimize the unnecessary paging and the risk of paging overload in the
interfaces is always in the minimum level.
Refer to the chart below for the relation between AXE parameter settings and the paging strategies:
10 Maximum number of RP signals per second is a BSS release version (R#) dependent, please refer to revision release notes.
11 again release version dependent ; for R11 with RPG3 , one TRH can handle up to 32 TRXs
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Figure 2: Paging Strategies via A-interface
MSC will decide to send the first local or global page in the initial stage. First local page will be sent, as long as the
VLR has the LAI info. TMSI is always exist too if the LAI info exist in VLR because TMSI is normally assigned with
every change of the LAI info (subject to the setting of TMSILAIMSC & TMSIPAR). Normally, TMSI will be used for
the local page.
There are some special cases, whereby the LAI is not exist in the MSC/VLR and lead to the global paging. There
are two conditions in which no LAI for a subscriber is available in the MSC/VLR. One is a large restart after a large
restart the subscriber data is gone. The other is after either manual or automatic deregistration of the subscriber, if
no purge MS operation is executed. In case of deregistration (for example the subscriber was inactive for a too
long time), all subscriber data in the MSC/VLR is deleted. If this happens and the 'Purge MS' function is deactivated
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(exchange parameter PURGECONTROL), the HLR is not informed with deregistration, thus the HLR would let
terminating calls still be routed to this MSC/VLR, but there is no LAI stored for the subscriber.
st
st
No matter the 1 Page is sent locally or globally, paging response from the MS must reach the MSC within the 1
Page response timer set in the network: PAGTIMEFRST1LA and PAGTIMEFRSTGLOB. Otherwise, those paging
messages will be identified as paging failure. Normally, repeated page will be sent, depends on the setting of
PAGREP1LA and PAGREPGLOB.
Repeating Global Page is not recommended in most of the case. 1st global page sent to the whole MSC service
area with IMSI. Repeated or the 2nd paging is basically repeat the same procedure of the 1st paging. This is
something unnecessary, which lead to unnecessary increase of the paging load in the network. In addition, the
possibility to get the success response from the repeated global page is minimal. So, it is always recommended to
set PAGREPGLOB = 0.
st
Disable the repeated local paging by setting PAGREP1LA=0 is not a good idea. 1 local paging is normally sent in
a particular location area with TMSI. There is a high possibility to receive the success response from the MS
through repeated paging. Hence, PAGREP1LA=0 is not recommended, unless the radio access network is really
overloaded.
When setting the AXE parameter PAGREP1LA=1 the mobile subscriber will be paged by using the TMSI, if a TMSI
is available. TMSI is normally used in the Repeated Local Page most of the time. The only exception I can see is, if
TMSI reallocation fails: In case an IMSI attach operation is done (subscriber turns on the mobile), the location
update request contains an IMSI, because there is no TMSI allocated yet. After ciphering a TMSI reallocation will be
initiated, where a TMSI is supplied by the MSC to the MS. In case the MS doesn't answer this reallocation before
the related timer in the MSC times out, the subscriber is marked attached (LAI info exists for this subscriber in the
VLR), without having a TMSI. In this case, IMSI will be used in repeated Page.
st
Repeating 1 local page with IMSI only in the same location area (PAGREP1LA = 2) would be the ideal setting
because the possibility to get the success response is from repeated page is higher compare to PAGREP1LA = 1.
Of course, the paging load is slightly higher compare to the strategy mentioned earlier.
st
If the network with very low traffic and paging load, repeating 1 local page with global page (PAGREP1LA=3)
would be the ideal case. This is not a practical strategy in the loaded network because this will significantly increase
the paging load in the network. Paging overload situation can easily happen, especially at the cell level if the
repeated paging is sent globally with IMSI.
st
In the highly loaded network, it is recommended to extend the paging response timer, especially 1 paging
response timer PAGTIMEFRST1LA and PAGTIMEFRSTGLOB. For example, utilization of the CCCH resources is
high during the peak hour. The paging messages have to queue in the BTS paging queue and the maximum
queuing time is 5 seconds before the paging messages are discarded. If the paging response time is set too low, 4
seconds for example, those paging messages in the BTS paging queue will never have a chance to send the
response back to the MSC. In addition, MSC will send out the repeated paging once there is no response from MS
st
for the
paging sent. So, we can actually maximize the possibility of getting the successful paging response by
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extending the paging response timers. On the other hand, paging load due to unnecessary repeated page can be
minimized too. This is a proven solution from the previous project.
Before any changes made on the paging response timers, it is important to perform audit on other MSC timers. For
instant, the call setup timer setting in the MSC. As the rule of thumb, sum of 1
Repeated Paging Response Timer shall not more than 12 seconds.
4.2
st
Paging Response Timer and
Retransmission of Pages
When the LA of a mobile is known in the VLR (normal case), the first page is a local page. A local page is only broadcasted
in the cells belonging to the LA in which the mobile is registered. If a page was not successful (the mobile didnt respond to
the page), the MSC can be set to send a second page. The second page can be either local or global. A global page is
broadcasted in all cells belonging to the same MSC area as the LA in which the mobile was registered.
When a mobile is paged, either TMSI or IMSI can be used to identify the mobile. The recommended paging strategy is:
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If the LA of an MS is known in the VLR, the first page is a local page. For the local page, TMSI is used to
identify the MS.
If the MS does not respond to the first page, a second page is sent. The second page is also a local page,
but IMSI is used to identify the MS.
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Figure 3: Paging Strategies

Other strategies than those recommended affect the paging load as follows:
No second page: No second page reduces the paging load in both the BTS and the BSC. The disadvantage
is risk of more unsuccessful MS paging.
Global second page: Compared to a local second page, a global second page increases the paging load.
The advantage is that MSs that, for some reason, have the wrong LA status in the VLR stand a better
chance of being successfully paged.
TMSI for second pages: If the second page is global, IMSI must be used to identify the MS. If the second
page is local, either IMSI or TMSI can be used to identify the MS. Using TMSI increases the paging capacity
in the BTS. The drawback is that some pages may be unsuccessful if an MS has the wrong TMSI in the
VLR, for example, immediately after having crossed an LA border.
4.3
Reducing Unnecessary Paging

The Location Area dimensioning is mainly based on the paging load in the BTS. Examples of network features that
can reduce the required paging rate in a system are:
IMSI attach/detach:
The ATT parameter informs the MS whether it should apply IMSI attach and detach. If ATT is set to ON, the
MS sends attach and detach information to the MSC/VLR when it is powered on and off. The amount of
unnecessary paging of MSs, which are not connected to the network, decreases and, therefore, the ATT
parameter value should always be set to ON. This leads to more signaling on the SDCCH, thereby affecting
the SDCCH dimensioning.
Periodic Registration:
Periodic Registration is necessary to avoid unnecessary paging attempts for an MS which has lost
coverage and has not been able to inform the system that it is inactive. The T3212 parameter
controls the Periodic Registration interval. A shorter interval, together with implicit detach
supervision initiated in the MSC, will reduce the amount of unnecessary paging, but it leads to
more signaling on the SDCCH, thereby affecting the SDCCH dimensioning. The recommended
initial setting of T3212 is 40, that is, registration every 4th hour.
Performance measurement
Performance measurement via network statistic analysis is very essential for any paging performance improvement
activity. It is important to understand the existing paging performance in the network prior to the parameter audit. In
some cases, we may easily identify or zoom in to the root causes of the poor paging performance thru the network
statistic analysis.
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Paging parameters
The paging strategy implemented in the network depend 100% on the setting of the MSC exchange property
settings; while the cell level parameter settings will determine the paging capacity in the Air Interface.
5.1.1
BSC parameters
In this section some of the most important BSC parameters for paging performance are explained:
MFRMS is the multi-frame period and defines the transmission interval of paging messages to the same paging
group.
AGBLK sets the number of CCCH blocks in each multi-frame that will be reserved for access grants. Setting
AGBLK to a value other than 0 will reduce the paging capacity.
BCCHTYPE can be either:
COMB = Combined; the cell has a combined BCCH, CCCH and SDCCH/4.
COMBC = Combined with CBCH; The cell has a combined BCCH, CCCH and
SDCCH/4 with a CBCH sub-channel.
NCOMB = Not combined; The cell does not have a SDCCH/4.
If COMB is used the maximum capacity of the CCCH will decrease to a third (If AGBLK set to 0), compared to the
NCOMB case.
T3212 is the time between the periodic registration.
ATT determines if attach/detach is allowed.
MAXRET defines maximum number of retransmission of MS may do when accessing the system on RACH. The
settings parameter must be always in the optimum level because this is the trace off between call success and the
paging capacity in the cell.
CRH is the hysteresis value used when the MS in idle mode crosses an LA border. As default this parameter is set
to 4. A higher setting might be advantageous in areas with many LA borders and thus problems with many Location
Updating.
PAGLIMIT defines the max number of paging orders allowed to be sent to the TRH per second. Set per BSC as a
BSC Exchange Property. Since there are also other mechanisms in the BSC that prevents overload due paging,
there should normally not be any need to change the parameter value. The only case when reducing it can be
useful is o preventing congestion on the paging channel PCH.
Parameter name
Default value
Recommended
value
Value range
MFRMS
2 - 9 CCCH multi-frames
AGBLK
0 - 7 (0-1 for RBS 200,

2000)
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BCCHTYPE
NCOMB
see section 3.6
COMB, COMBC, NCOMB
T3212
40
40
0 - 255
ATT
YES
YES
YES, NO
CRH
0 - 14 (in steps by 2) dB
PAGLIMIT
0
restriction)
(no
0 (no restriction)
0 to 10
Table 1. BSC parameter table.
5.1.2
MSC parameters
The following MSC parameters and exchange properties are relevant for paging and Location Updating:
BTDM implicit detach supervision should be equal (or longer) than T3212 in the BSC. If T3212 is increased, BTDM
must also be increased. Note that BTDM is set in minutes and T3212 is set in deci-hours.
GTDM is an extra guard time in minutes before the subscriber is set to detached.
TDD sets the time (in days) that an inactive IMSI is stored in the VLR before it is removed.
PAGTIMEFRST1LA is the time supervision for the page response of the first page. The MS is paged in the LA with
the first page if the Location Area Identity (LAI) information exists in the VLR. The parameter is set according to the
default values.
PAGETIMEFRSTGLOB is the time supervision for the first global page. It is used instead of PAGTIMEFRST1LA if
the LAI information does not exist in the VLR.
PAGEREP1LA decides how the second page is sent:
0 Paging in LA is not repeated
1 Paging is repeated in LA with either TMSI or IMSI
2 Paging is repeated in LA with IMSI
3 Paging is repeated as global paging with IMSI
PAGEREPGLOB defines how global paging is repeated according to:
0 Global paging is not repeated
1 Global paging is repeated with IMSI
PAGTIMEREP1LA is the time supervision for the second page to LA. This is the timer used for the second page
when PAGEREP1LA is set to 1 or 2.
PAGTIMEREPGLOB, the time supervision for the second page, if it is global.
TMSIPAR indicates if TMSI should be used or not:
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0 TMSI is not allocated. Note that this setting this means that TMSI is not used.
The paging capacity will be decreased if TMSI is not used.
1 TMSI is allocated only on encrypted connection
2 TMSI is allocated
TMSILAIMSC states if a new TMSI shall be allocated at a change of LAI within the MSC/VLR. Only applicable if
TMSIPAR is not equal to 0.
0 Allocation only once
1 Allocation on every change of LAI
If TMSI is used it will be used (at least) in the first page. Then, depending on how PAGEREP1LA is set the page is
repeated with either TMSI or IMSI.
However, there will always be some pages that are sent out globally in the first page. The reason for this is that
information about the MS did not exist in the VLR. Normally, this is due to that the MS was removed from the VLR,
due to being inactive for too long (see parameter TDD above). At an incoming call, the HLR has information about
the most recent location, i.e. VLR, where the MS was registered. Then, when the call is connected to the VLR a
global page will be sent out due to that no information exists in the VLR about this particular MS. If the MS would
have been registered in the VLR but not active, no page would have been sent out.
The following LATA exchange properties are valid only if the function Equal Access and Transit Network Selection in
MSC/VLR and Gateway MSC (GMSC) is implemented. This is an optional GSM 1900 function.
LATAUSED defines the usage of LATA administration:
0 LATA administration is not used
1 LATA administration is used
PAGLATA defines if LATA paging is used for mobile terminating calls or not:
0 LATA paging is not used
1 LATA paging is used
PAGREPCT1LA defines how the paging in one location area is repeated, if the first Paging Attempt was local. This
parameter is only valid when PAGLATA is set to 1.
0 Paging in one LA is not repeated
1 Paging in one LA is repeated with either TMSI or IMSI
2 Paging in one LA is repeated with IMSI
3 Paging is repeated as call delivery LATA paging with IMSI
PAGTIMEREPLATA defines the time supervision for page response of repeated LATA paging. After expiration of
this timer no new paging repetition for this call is done.
TIMPAGINGM defines the timer for supervision over the Gs-interface. At expiry of the timer, according to the
parameter SECPAGEPATH.
SECPAGEPATH defines over which interface
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0 No paging.
1 Paging over the Gs-interface.
2 Paging over the A-interface.
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Parameter Name
Default
Recommended
Value Range
BTDM
OFF
T3212 * 6
6 1530 (steps of 6) minutes or

OFF
GTDM
0 -255 minutes
TDD
OFF
1 255 days or OFF
PAGTIMEFRST1LA
2 10 sec
PAGTIMEFRSTGLOB
2 10 sec
PAGREP1LA
03
PAGREPGLOB
01
PAGTIMEREP1LA
2 10 sec
PAGTIMEREPGLOB
2 10 sec
TMSIPAR
1 or 2
02
TMSILAIMSC
01
LATAUSED**
01
PAGLATA**
01
PAGREPCT1LA
03
PAGTIME
REPLATA**
2 10 sec
SECPAGEPATH***
02
TIMPAGINGM***
2 20 sec
Table 2. MSC parameter table.
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Statistic counters & KPI formulas
In the paging performance analysis, end to end performance measurement and analysis is a necessity. In Ericsson network,
the measurement counters are available in MSC, BSC, Location Area and Cell level.
Paging performance is very much related to the location update success. Hence, it is recommended to look into the location
update performance in the paging performance improvement activity.
5.2.1
MSC Level
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Formulas:
Overall
Paging
Success
Rate,
(NPAG1GLTOT+NPAG1LOTOT)
P_12_SUC-1
(%)
=100x
(NPAG1RESUCC
NPAG2RESUCC)
1st Paging Success Rate, P_1_SUC-1 (%) = 100 x (NPAG1RESUCC)/ (NPAG1GLTOT +NPAG1LOTOT)
Percentage of 1st Page result into 2nd Page, % 2nd_PAGE (%) 100 x (NPAG2GLTOT +NPAG2LOTOT)/
(NPAG1GLTOT+NPAG1LOTOT)
Percentage of 1st Global Page, % PAGE1STGLOB (%) = 100 * NPAG1GLTOT/ (NPAG1GLTOT+NPAG1LOTOT)
Central Processor Load, CPLOAD (%) = ACCLOAD / NSCAN
Location Update Success Rate,
(NLOCNRGTOT+NLOCOLDTOT)
LU_SUC
(%)
=100
(NLOCOLDSUCC
NLOCNRGSUCC)
Location Update Success for Non Registered Subscriber, LU_NR_SUC (%) = 100 x (NLOCNRGSUCC / NLOCNRGTOT)
Location Update Success for Registered Subscriber, LU_R_SUC (%) = 100 x (NLOCOLDSUCC / NLOCOLDTOT)
Periodic Location Update, LU_PERIOD (%) =100 x (NLOCPERTOT / NLOCOLDTOT)
IMSI Attach, LU_IMSI_ATT (%) = 100 x (NLOCATTTOT / NLOCOLDTOT)
Normal Location Update, LU_NORM (%) = 100 x {(NLOCOLDTOT-NLOCPERTOT-NLOCATTTOT) / NLOCOLDTOT}
5.2.2
BSC Level
Formulas:
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Central Processor Load, CPLOAD (%) = ACCLOAD / NSCAN

BSC Paging Discard, BSCPAGDISC (%) = 100 x (TOTCONGPAG / TOTPAG)
5.2.3
Location Area Level
Formulas:
Paging Intensity, PL_INT (Pages per Second) = (PAGPSBSC+ NLAPAG1LOTOT + NLAPAG2LOTOT) / 3600 sec
Overall Paging Success Rate, PL_SUC-1 (%) = 100 x ((NLAPAG1RESUCC+ NLAPAG2RESUCC) / NLAPAG1LOTOT)
st
Page Success Rate, PL_1_SUC-1 (%) = 100 x (NLAPAG1RESUCC / NLAPAG1LOTOT)
Percentage of 1st Page result into 2nd Page, % 2nd_PAG (%) = 100 x (NLAPAG2LOTOT / NLAPAG1LOTOT) Location
Update Success Rate, LU_SUC_TOT (%) = 100 x (NLALOCSUCC / NLALOCTOT)
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Cell Level
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Formulas:
Cell Paging Discard, CELPAGDISC (%) = 100 x (PAGPCHCONG+PAGETOOOLD) / (TOTPAG+ PAGCSBSC+PAGPSBSC)
If the BSC has more than 1 LA, then the paging ratio between LAs has to be evaluated by using the establishment cause
Answer to Paging in Channel Request message for each LA in the BSC.
Paging Ratio between LA1, LA_1_Dist = SUM (RAANPAG + RAAPAG1 + RAAPAG2) for all cells in LA1 / SUM (RAANPAG
+ RAAPAG1 + RAAPAG2) for all cells in BSC
Cell Paging Discard, CELPAGDISC (%) =100 x (PAGPCHCONG+PAGETOOOLD) / {(TOTPAG+PAGCSBSC+PAGPSBSC)
x LA_1_Dist}
SDCCH Congestion, SCONG (%) = 100 x (CCONGS / CCALLS)
Random Access Failure, RA_FAIL (%) =100 x RAACCFA / (RAACCFA + CNROCNT)
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Paging Analysis and Problems affecting Paging
6.1
Fish bone diagram for the root cause analysis of poor Paging Success Rate
3. In c orrec t M SC Para meters
1. Inco rrec t Ce ll Parame ters
Po or P agin g S u cc Rate
5. Po o r Pa g in g Strate g y
4. Poor R F
2. Excess p ag ing Disc ard s
Figure 4 : Root Cause for Poor Paging Succ Rate (1)
10. ABIS , A interface fluctuations, Errors
8. incorrect LAC Dimension
6. SDCCH Congestion
Poor Paging Succ Rate
11. decrease signalling load on CCCH
9. ABIS , A interface Congestion 7. Combined BCCH
Figure 5 : Root Cause for Poor Paging Succ Rate (2)
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Poor Coverage
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MS locates in poor coverage area, or no coverage area

MS cannot receive the paging message sent by BTS
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Low rand accessibility
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MS has received the paging message.

But BTS cannot receive or cannot decode the CHANNEL REQUEST message from MS sent on RACH due
to radio problem.
Low rand accessibility impacts on the paging.
Unbalance in DL/UL, BTS cannot receive the rand message.
Interference
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No channel resource
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BSS has already received rand access message from MS, know the reason is answer paging.
But due to no SDCCH channel at that time, BSS cannot allocate SDCCH for the MS.
BSS send IMMEDIATE ASSIGNMENT REJECT message to MS.
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A interface
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2 object types in MSS use to count paging (PAING, LOCREST)

LAC paging volume = the 1st local paging + the 2nd local paging + the 1st global paging + the 2nd global
paging = LOCAREAST: (NLAPAG1LOTOT + NLAPAG2LOTOT) + PAGING: (NPAG1GLTOT +
NPAG2GLTOT)
1 object type (BSC) in BSC uses to count paging, TOTPAG counts the total paging message received by
BSC
If the difference is very big between LAC paging volume and TOTPAG, A interface should have problem
Check if there is congestion in A interface
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Abis interface
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BSC object type (LAPD), COVERLOAD counts number of link overloads

If LAPD overload, paging message can not be sent in this Abis interface, and if the target MS locates
exactly in this coverage, MS can not receive paging message.
LAPD concentration
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UM interface
Paging capacity in Um depends on cell parameter setting (BCCHTYPE, AGBLK, and MFRAMS) and paging
method of MS (TMSI or IMSI).
Cell object types (CCCHLOAD, CELLPAG) count CCCH usage.
DISCIMMASS: Number of PS and CS IMMEDIATE ASSIGNMENT and IMMEDIATE ASSIGNMENT REJECT

messages that are discarded in the BTS. The messages are only discarded due to full queue in the BTS.
PAGPCHCONG: Number of paging messages discarded due to full cell paging queue.
PAGTOOOLD: Number of paging messages discarded due to being too long in the paging queue. At the point when
a page is taken from the paging queue, its age is calculated and compared to the BTS parameter AGE-OF-PAGING
(the parameter is set to 5 seconds in Ericsson BSS). If it is too old, it is discarded and PAGETOOLD is incremented.
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Paging message cannot be sent due to CCCH congestion.
6.8
Version no:
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date:
Document
No
Other reason
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For GPRS users, if MS is in Packet transfer mode when the paging message comes, MS cannot receive the
paging message since MS cannot listen to PCH at that time.
If there is Gs interface, CS paging message can be sent on PACCH.
If MS is in location update procedure when the paging message comes, MS cannot receive the paging
message either.
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7.1
A and Abis INTERFACE
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Compare paging message received by BSC side and paging message sent by MSC side, if the difference is
big, it means that A interface should have problem, such as congestion.
Need core engineer assistance, to check A interface, expand A interface.
If the value of COVERLOAD (LAPD) is high, it means that the LAPD signaling is overload.
Adjust LAPD concentration method, or expand ABIS interface.
7.2
2.0
Document
No
Um INTERFACE
Adjust paging strategy: change to TMSI paging, increase single paging block capacity, therefore increase
the paging message volume through Um interface.
Check BCCHTYPE setting, adjust COMB to NCOMB to add more CCCH channels
Optimize AGBLK and MFRAMS setting.
Control the coverage area of cells by adjusting antenna bearing and down tilt, avoid cells with high traffic
and large coverage area.
Optimize LAC plan, reduce LAC size to decrease the paging message volume in this LAC.
7.3
Congestion and Rand Access
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SDCCH congestion impacts paging - Add more SDCCH channels

Optimize cell coverage
Optimize LAC border
Using features: Adaptive configuration of logical channels, immediate assignment on TCH, Increased
SDCCH capacity.
Expansion.
Low Rand Access performance
Frequency optimization
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Optimize cell coverage

Hardware check
Parameter optimization: ACCMIN, MAXTA
7.4
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No
UL /DL Unbalance and LAC border

Unbalance in UL/DL
Control cell coverage
Check antenna, cable and connectors
Install TMA
Optimize LAC border
Do not set LAC border in dense region of people, such as main road, plaza, and train/bus station.
7.5
TIMERS Optimization
T3212 and BTDM
BTDM should equal or be more than T3212, the correct setting of BTDM should be a multiple of T3212
T3212 settings for all cells should be the same in one BSC
According to different coverage environment, reducing properly the value of T3212 and BTDM can increase
paging performance and user satisfaction
Shorten the setting of BTDM to decrease the unwanted paging message
After changing T3212 and BTDM, SDCCH capacity should be evaluated again
7.6
Coverage Optimization
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Most of no paging responses are caused by poor/no coverage.

Enhancing coverage is the best method to improve paging performance.
We can find out the problem cells by tracing feature, then point out the poor/no coverage area.
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Tracing no paging response

Analyze the distribution situation of users with no paging responses, check if they locates in the poor/no
coverage area, then give suggestions to strengthen the coverage of these areas
Analyze the cell situation resided recently by user with no paging response, to check if there are some
problems in that cell (hardware, parameter), then give advices to troubleshoot
We can find out the msisdn with no paging response and the cell information resided by the MS by
analyzing tracing log
Then we can point out the important areas with poor/no coverage
And also, we can call back to the users with no paging response to see what was the situation We can find
out the phone number with no paging response and the cell information resided by the MS by analyzing
tracing log
Then we can point out the important areas with poor/no coverage
And also, we can call back to the users with no paging response to see what was the situation at that time
7.7.1
2.0
Power adjustment or using the antennas with bigger gain.

Adjust antenna to enhance the coverage.
Install repeater to compensate the coverage.
Install indoor system to strengthen in-building coverage.
Add more sites.
7.7
Version no:
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No
Blocks for tracing in MSC
MPAG
MRRM
MTB
7.7.2
Blocks for tracing in BSC
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RMPAG
RMRCS
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Purpose & Scope................................................................................................................ 6

How Paging works?............................................................................................................6

Paging Capacity ................................................................................................................ 8

Paging Capacity and Paging Group at the RBS......................................................8

Paging Capacity at the BSC....................................................................................9

Paging Strategies via A-interface..........................................................................11

Reducing Unnecessary Paging.............................................................................16

BSC parameters ................................................................................................17

MSC parameters ................................................................................................18

Statistic counters & KPI formulas..........................................................................21

Location Area Level...............................................................................................23

Paging Analysis and Problems affecting Paging...........................................................26

Low rand accessibility...........................................................................................28

Standard Operating Procedure

A and Abis INTERFACE........................................................................................34

Congestion and Rand Access...............................................................................34

UL /DL Unbalance and LAC border.......................................................................35

Tracing no paging response..................................................................................36

Blocks for tracing in MSC......................................................................................36

Blocks for tracing in BSC......................................................................................36

Purpose & Scope

How Paging works?

Standard Operating Procedure

Standard Operating Procedure

Standard Operating Procedure

Paging Capacity and Paging Group at the RBS

Each of these 9 CCCH block is made of 43 TDMA timeslots

One TDMA frame = 8 Radio timeslots of duration 4.615 ms

At the expense of increased processing load at the MSC and BSC

Standard Operating Procedure

Standard Operating Procedure

Paging Capacity at the BSC

Calculations for number of pages per second:

Standard Operating Procedure

RPSIG10Maximum number of RP signals per second

Number of Location Areas

Number of TRHs belonging to the BSC

Number of TRXs belonging to the BSC

Probability that an RP signal is sent to an TRH

Number of pages per second

Paging Strategies via A-interface

Standard Operating Procedure

Figure 2: Paging Strategies via A-interface

Standard Operating Procedure

Standard Operating Procedure

Paging Response Timer and

Standard Operating Procedure

Figure 3: Paging Strategies

Reducing Unnecessary Paging

Standard Operating Procedure

0 - 7 (0-1 for RBS 200,

Standard Operating Procedure

see section 3.6

COMB, COMBC, NCOMB

Table 1. BSC parameter table.

Standard Operating Procedure

Standard Operating Procedure

6 1530 (steps of 6) minutes or

1 255 days or OFF

Table 2. MSC parameter table.

Standard Operating Procedure

Statistic counters & KPI formulas