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2G/3G Interoperability
Feature Parameter Description
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Contents
1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................1-1
1.1 Scope........................................................................................................................................... 1-1
1.2 Intended Audience........................................................................................................................ 1-1
1.3 Change History............................................................................................................................ 1-1
2 Overview......................................................................................................................................2-1
3 Measurement of Neighboring UMTS Cells..........................................................................3-1
4 Common Measurements and Information Exchange Based on Iur-g..............................4-1
4.1 Introduction to Iur-g Interface....................................................................................................... 4-1
4.2 Common Measurement................................................................................................................ 4-2
4.3 Information Exchange.................................................................................................................. 4-3
7 Engineering Guidelines............................................................................................................7-1
8 Parameters...................................................................................................................................8-1
9 Counters.......................................................................................................................................9-1
10 Glossary...................................................................................................................................10-1
11 Reference Documents............................................................................................................11-1
1 Introduction
1.1 Scope
This document describes the 2G/3G interoperability feature of Huawei GBSS. It covers the functions of
and technologies related to this feature, including measurement of neighboring 3G cells, inter-RAT cell
reselection, and inter-RAT handover.
The feature involved is GBFD-114301 GSM / WCDMA Interoperability.
Document Issues
The document issues are as follows:
01 (2010-06-30)
Draft (2010-03-30)
01 (2010-6-30)
This is the first release of GBSS12.0.
Compared with issue Draft (2010-03-30) of GBSS12.0, issue 01 (2010-06-30) of GBSS12.0
incorporates the changes described in the following table.
Draft (2010-03-30)
This is the draft release of GBSS12.0.
2 Overview
The UMTS network and the GSM network will coexist and provide services together for a long time.
Therefore, 2G/3G interoperability is introduced into the BSS. The 2G/3G interoperability involves inter-
RAT handover and inter-RAT cell reselection between GSM and UMTS.
Through 2G/3G interoperability, a smooth evolution from GSM to UMTS can be achieved, thus reducing
the CAPEX of operators. For the operator that has both the UMTS network and the GSM network,
2G/3G interoperability can be performed to make the GSM network and the UMTS network work as a
supplement to each other, thus expanding the network coverage and improving the service quality. For
example, when a dual-mode MS moves to an area without UMTS coverage, it can reselect or be
handed over to a GSM cell through 2G/3G interoperability. This improves the user experience.
For the areas covered by both the GSM network and the UMTS network, 2G/3G interoperability can be
performed to achieve traffic balance between the GSM and the UMTS. For example, when the traffic
load on a GSM cell is too high, 2G/3G interoperability can be performed to switch some calls in the
GSM cell to a UMTS cell.
With 2G/3G interoperability, the access policy for the GSM network can be different from that for the
UMTS network in the areas covered by both the GSM network and the UMTS network. For example,
the GSM network can be preferentially selected by CS services and similarly the UMTS network by PS
services. In this way, the advantages of both networks can be achieved.
If the value of QSEARCHC is 15, the MSs never measure the neighboring UMTS cell information
regardless of the receive level of the serving cell.
QSEARCHC is contained in the Measurement Information. After entering the dedicated mode, MSs try
to obtain the QSEARCHC from the Measurement Information transmitted on the SACCH. Before
QSEARCHC is obtained, MSs take the value of QCI that is transmitted on the BCCH as the value of
QSEARCHC.
CN
A/Gb Iu Iu
Iur-g Iur
Figure 4-2 shows the protocol stack defined in 3GPP specifications for the Iur-g interface.
Transport
Layer Transport Network Transport Network
User Plane Control Plane
SCCP
Physical Layer
Note that the Iur-g interface has the control plane but does not have the user plane. The Iur-g interface
uses IP transmission.
COMMON MEASUREMENT
INITIATION REQUEST
COMMON MEASUREMENT
INITIATION RESPOSE
If the target RNC/BSC does not support the common measurement procedure, it responds with a
COMMON MEASUREMENT INITIATION FAILURE message. Figure 4-4 shows the failed common
measurement initialization procedure.
After a common measurement is successfully initialized, the target RNC/BSC periodically sends
COMMON MEASUREMENT REPORT messages to the source BSC/RNC to report the load information
about neighboring cells. Figure 4-5 shows the common measurement reporting procedure.
Figure 1.5 Common measurement reporting procedure
If a neighboring cell is faulty, blocked, removed, or deactivated, the target RNC/BSC sends a COMMON
MEASUREMENT FAILURE INDICATION message to the source BSC/RNC, notifying the source
BSC/RNC that the common measurement procedure has failed and has to be terminated. Figure 4-6
shows the failed common measurement.
Figure 1.6 Failed common measurement
FDDRSCPMIN is the minimum level threshold of UTRAN cell reselection. During the cell reselection
decision from a GSM cell to an FDD cell. this parameter is used to calculate the FDD_RSCP_threshold
of the target cell.
If FDD_RSCPmin is broadcast on the serving cell, FDD_RSCP_threshold = FDD_RSCPmin –
min((P_MAX – 21 dBm), 3 dB).
If FDD_RSCPmin is not broadcast on the serving cell, Qrxlevmin and Pcompensation are available,
FDD_RSCP_threshold = Qrxlevmin + Pcompensation + 10 dB.
If FDD_RSCPmin is not broadcast on the serving cell, Qrxlevmin and Pcompensation are not available,
the default value of FDDRSCPMIN is used.
- P_MAX is the maximum RF output power of the MS (dBm) in UTRAN FDD mode.
- Qrxlevmin is the minimum required RX level in the UTRAN FDD cell (dBm).
- UE_TXPWR_MAX_RACH is the maximum TX power level an MS may use when accessing the
UTRAN FDD cell on RACH (dBm).
For the UMTS FDD cell, the measurement quantities to be used are Ec/No of the Common Pilot
Channel (CPICH) and Received Signal Code Power (RSCP) of the CPICH. If the measurement result
meets the following conditions within five seconds, the MS initiates the cell reselection from GSM to
UMTS. If there is more than one UMTS cell that meets the conditions, the MS selects a cell with the
highest RSCP as the target cell.
Ec/No means the ratio of energy per modulating bit to the noise spectral density, which is a term in UMTS. It is equivalent
to C/I in GSM.
Here, RLA_C refers to the average receive level. The RSCP of the neighboring UMTS cell must be greater
than the sum of the value of FDDQOFF and the average receive level of the serving cell. In addition, the
RSCP of the neighboring UMTS cell must be FDDQOFF greater than the receive level of every GSM
neighboring cell.
The inter-RAT cell reselection from GSM to UMTS cannot be triggered five seconds within the cell
reselection from the UMTS to the GSM. If the inter-RAT cell reselection from GSM to UMTS is triggered
15 seconds within the cell reselection from UMTS to GSM, the value of FDDQOFF must be increased
by five dB.
If both the reselection condition from GSM to UMTS and the reselection condition between GSM cells
are met, the MS selects the UMTS cell as the target cell.
calculate cell reselection parameters. When the Fast 3G Reselection at 2G CS Call Release feature is
activated, the BSS determines the best neighboring UMTS cell based on the measurement information
on the neighboring UMTS cells after the call termination in a GSM cell. Then, the BSS sends the
frequency information on the neighboring UMTS cell through a Channel Release message to the MS to
instruct it to camp on the UMTS cell. In this way, the MS camps on a UMTS cell without calculating cell
reselection parameters, thus accelerating cell reselection. In addition, the MS camps on the UMTS cell
for a longer period, thus increasing the revenue of operators in the UMTS network.
This feature is activated when CELLSELECTAFTERCALLREL is set to YES.
A UMTS cell is classified into the UTRAN FDD cell and the UTRAN TDD cell.
Procedure
Take the case of call termination by the MS as an example. Figure 5-1 shows the cell reselection
procedure.
Figure 1.1 Cell reselection procedure
1. After receiving the Release Complete message from the MS, the MSC sends a Clear Command
message to the BSC, instructing the BSC to instruct the BSC to release the occupied resources on
the A and Um interfaces.
2. The BSC sends a Channel Release message to the MS to instruct the MS to release the TCH or
SDCCH on the Um interface. The Channel Release message may carry the information element
"Cell selection indicator after release of all TCH and SDCCH", which contains the information on the
target neighboring UMTS cell.
3. After receiving the Channel Release message, the MS disconnects the uplink signaling link. Then,
the MS sends a DISC frame to the BTS to instruct the BTS to release the TCH or SDCCH.
4. After receiving the UA message, the MS switches to idle mode and initiates cell reselection.
If... Then...
The Channel Release message contains The MS attempts to camp on the cell
the information element "Cell selection indicated in the Channel Release
indicator after release of all TCH and message.
SDCCH",
The Channel Release message does not The MS attempts to camp on the cell
contain the information element "Cell where the TCH or SDCCH is already
selection indicator after release of all TCH released.
and SDCCH",
5. If step 4 fails, the MS performs the normal cell reselection procedure. For details on the normal cell
reselection procedure, see 5.2 Inter-RAT Cell Reselection from GSM to UMTS.
Before sending the Channel Release message, the BSC determines whether to carry the information
element "Cell selection indicator after release of all TCH and SDCCH" in the message.
1. If CELLSELECTAFTERCALLREL is set to YES, the procedure proceeds to 2. Otherwise, the
procedure is complete, and the BSC sends the Channel Release message to the MS. The message
does not carry the information element "Cell selection indicator after release of all TCH and
SDCCH".
2. The BSC determines whether an MS supports both GSM and UMTS through the classmark. If the
classmark does not indicate the MS capability of supporting the GSM/UMTS, the procedure
proceeds to 3. Otherwise, the procedure is completed, and the BSC sends the Channel Release
message to the MS. The message does not carry the information element "Cell selection indicator
after release of all TCH and SDCCH".
3. The BSC figures out the best neighboring UMTS cell based on the related measurement report, and
then the procedure proceeds to 4. If there is no measurement report or the measurement report
does not contain the information on the neighboring UMTS cell, the procedure is complete, and the
BSC sends the Channel Release message to the MS. The message does not carry the information
element "Cell selection indicator after release of all TCH and SDCCH".
4. If the measurement report indicates a neighboring UMTS FDD cell, Cell Selection Indicator is set to
UTRAN FDD Description. If the measurement report indicates a neighboring UTRAN TDD cell, Cell
Selection Indicator is set to UTRAN TDD Description, and the procedure is complete. Meanwhile,
the BSC sends the Channel Release message to the MS. The message contains the information
element "Cell selection indicator after release of all TCH and SDCCH".
In the GSM network, the parameter HOOPTSEL determines whether the GSM cell or the UMTS cell is
preferentially selected as the target cell.
When HOOPTSEL is set to Pre_2G_Cell(Preference for 2G cell), the BSC preferentially selects a
GSM cell as the target cell.
When HOOPTSEL is set to Pre_3G_Cell(Preference for 3G cell), the BSC preferentially selects a
UMTS cell as the target cell.
If HOOPTSEL is set to Pre_2G_CellThres(Preference 2G cell by thresh), the BSC determines the
target cell according to the levels of the neighboring GSM cells and the value of HOPRETH2G. If no
neighboring GSM cell has a level higher than HOPRETH2G, the BSC selects a UMTS cell as the
target cell.
Better 3G cell handover can be performed only when both INTERRATOUTBSCHOEN and
BET3GHOEN are set to YES(Yes). As the measurement result of the UMTS cell can be reported
through RSCP or Ec/No, the ways for handover decision differ accordingly.
When the value of FDDREP is RSCP(RSCP), the better 3G cell handover is triggered if the following
condition is met for the period specified by HODURT3G within HOSTAT3G.
CPICH RSCP > HORSCPTH3G
When the value of FDDREP is Ec/N0, the better 3G cell handover is triggered if the following
condition is met for the period specified by HODURT3G within HOSTAT3G.
CPICH Ec/No > HOECNOTH3G
Related Algorithms
When an MS accesses the network through a 2G cell, the BSC selects an inter-RAT handover
algorithm based on the setting of the InterRatServiceLoadHoSwitch parameter, if the
INTERRATOUTBSCHOEN parameter is set to YES(Yes).
When the InterRatServiceLoadHoSwitch parameter is set to CnService-based(CN Service-
based), the BSC performs different processing based on the setting of the Service Handover IE in
the ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message received from the Core Network (CN). The details are as
follows:
− If
the value of the Service Handover IE is Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 should be
performed, it indicates that the MS should be handed over to a 3G cell. In this case, the BSC
selects a target 3G cell from the list of neighboring cells and starts the handover from 2G to 3G.
− If
the value of the Service Handover IE is Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 should not be
performed, it indicates that a 2G cell should be preferentially selected as the serving cell. In this
case, the BSC does not start the handover from 2G to 3G. If a handover is required during the call,
a 2G cell is preferentially selected as the target cell.
− If
the value of the Service Handover IE is Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 shall not be
performed, it indicates that the MS must not be handed over to a 3G cell. In this case, the BSC will
not hand over the MS to a 3G cell, and will select only a 2G cell as the target cell if a handover is
required.
When the InterRatServiceLoadHoSwitch parameter is set to Service-based(Service-based), the
BSC removes the candidate 3G cells that experience basic congestion in uplink or downlink and
admits the MS to the 2G cell if the MS performs only CS voice services after accessing the network.
When the InterRatServiceLoadHoSwitch parameter is set to Load-based(Load-based) and the
value of the Service Handover IE is handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 should be performed, the
BSC selects a candidate 3G cell that meets the following condition in both uplink and downlink as the
target cell. The details are as follows:
− G2GLoadAdjustCoeffx Current load in the serving 2G cell – 10 x load in the neighboring 3G cell ≥
10 x G2G3GLdBlcDeltaThrd – 1,000
Then, the BSC selects the best neighboring 3G cell as the target cell and starts the directed retry to the
3G cell. If there is no 3G cell that meets the preceding condition in uplink and downlink, the BSC admits
the MS to the 2G cell.
If there are no candidate 3G cells or if the directed retry to the target 3G cell fails, the BSC starts a reassignment
procedure in a 2G cell.
When the InterRatServiceLoadHoSwitch parameter is set to Dynamic-based(Dynamic
Service/Load-based), the BSC selects a proper target cell by using the system service distribution
algorithm if the load in the serving cell is in the normal state. If the load in the serving cell is in other
states, the BSC selects a target cell by using the system load balancing algorithm.
Related Algorithms
When the OutSysLoadHoEn parameter is set to YES(Yes) and the MS or UE supports inter-RAT
handover, an inter-RAT load-based handover in connected state is triggered when the following
conditions are met:
The CPU usage of the system is smaller than or equal to the value of the SYSFLOWLEV parameter.
The current load in the serving cell is greater than or equal to the value of the TRIGTHRES
parameter.
The value of the Service Handover IE in the ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message received from the
CN is not handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 shall not be performed.
The candidate neighboring 3G cells must meet the following condition:
G2GLoadAdjustCoeff x Load in the current 2G serving cell – 10 x Load in the neighboring 3G cell ≥
G2G3GLdBlcDeltaThrd – 1,000
In the case that the FDDREP parameter is set to RSCP(RSCP), the target 3G cell must meet the
following conditions:
− InterRATLoadHoRSCPStart – LOADOFFSET < CPICH RSCP < InterRATLoadHoRSCPStart
− CPICH RSCP > IntRATLoadHORSCPThr
In the case that the FDDREP parameter is set to EcN0(Ec/N0), the target 3G cell must meet the
following conditions:
− InterRATLoadHoEcNoStart – LOADOFFSET < CPICH Ec/No < InterRATLoadHoEcNoStart
− CPICH Ec/No > IntRATLoadHOEcNoThr
If a candidate neighboring 3G cell does not meet the preceding condition, the neighboring 3G cell is
removed from the list of candidate cells.
If the load information about a neighboring 3G cell is invalid, the neighboring 3G cell is not considered as a candidate
cell.
If there is at least one candidate 3G cell that meets the preceding condition, the BSC selects the best
candidate cell as the target cell.
7 Engineering Guidelines
Related Parameters in the System Information
2G/3G interoperability requires the support of MSs. After 2G/3G interoperability is enabled, the early
classmark sending function should be enabled so that MSs will report their support capabilities as soon
as possible. It is recommended that ECSC be set to Yes.
When setting the inter-RAT cell reselection parameters and handover thresholds, take the consistency
between the GSM parameters and UMTS parameters into consideration to avoid ping-pong handovers.
The network can control the cell reselection between GSM and UMTS through related parameters in
the system information. If the MS is preferred to access UMTS when available, you are advised to set
QI to 7, that is, the UMTS cell search is always performed.
The value of FDDQOFF has a great impact on cell reselection. If the MS is preferred to camp on the
UMTS, you are advised to change the value of FDDQOFF so that the actual offset is a negative value.
When the value of FDDQOFF is smaller than 8, the corresponding actual offset is smaller than 0.
8 Parameters
Table 1.1 Parameter description
Parameter ID NE MML Description
Send2QuterFlag BSC690SET Meaning: This parameter specifies whether
0 OTHSOFTPARA(Optional) the SI Type 3 message contains the
2QUATER indicator.
1: -94 dBm
...
6: -74 dBm
7: (always)
8: -78 dBm
9: -74 dBm
...
14: -54 dBm
15: Positive infinity (never)
9 Counters
For the counters, see the BSC6900 GSM Performance Counter Reference.
10 Glossary
For the acronyms, abbreviations, terms, and definitions, see the Glossary.
11 Reference Documents
3GPP TS 45.008 Radio subsystem link control
3GPP TS 44.018 Mobile radio interface layer 3 specification; Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol
3GPP TS 48.008 Mobile Switching Centre - Base Station system (MSC-BSS) interface; Layer 3
specification
BSC6900 Feature List
BSC6900 Optional Feature Description
GBSS Reconfiguration Guide
BSC6900 GSM Parameter Reference
BSC6900 GSM MML Command Reference
BSC6900 GSM Performance Counter Reference