GSM RF Equipment Testing and Performance Analysis
Ahmad H. Fares, Ali M. Khachan, and Ahmad M. Bakri Kasbah
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
American University of Beirut
Beirut - Lebanon
{ahf05, amk18, amb07}@aub.edu.lb
Abstract: In this paper, we present four Radio
Frequency (RF) measurements used to evaluate
fundamental performance parameters of Global
System for Mobile Communications (GSM)
equipment. We describe the relevant theory for each
measurement, and then we proceed to explain the
algorithms associated with it. These algorithms are
implemented using LabVIEW in a GSM
Measurement Toolkit (GMT). GMT is developed for
National Instruments (NI) to be used with PXI-5660
RF Signal Analyzer (RFSA) to test RF equipment.
Using this toolkit, a Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
downlink signal and a Mobile Station (MS) uplink
signal are tested to ensure their conformance to 3rd
Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards.
Keywords: BTS, GSM, GMT, Gaussian Minimum
Shift Keying (GMSK), MS, Multiple Access, power
spectrum, RF equipment testing, RFSA, Virtual
Instrument (VI)
1. Introduction
GSM is the most widely deployed mobile system
with more than half a billion users spanning the
globe. Measurements are indispensable for both
GSM manufacturers and operators who are very
concerned about the cost of test equipment. These
measurements are used in quality control,
calibration, and maintenance of both mobile and
base stations [1] [2].
GSM is a trunked radio system in which the number
of available channels is less than the number of
possible users. This process of sharing channels
among users is feasible because the probability of
everyone demanding a channel at the same instance
is very low. Multiple users of the system are granted
access through the division of the system into
frequency and time. GSM utilizes a combination of
Frequency-Division Multiple Access (FDMA) and
Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA), in
addition to frequency hopping. The GSM frequency
band is divided into 124 uplink/downlink carriers.
Each carrier is divided in time into 8 time slots to
allow at least 7 users to access the network using the
same carrier.
The process of testing consumes a lot of resources in
terms of time and budget. NI’s virtual
instrumentation technology promises a great
reduction in test costs and enables the customer to
administer the test setup and apply customized
configurations. The four measurements, described
throughout this work and included in the GMT, are
adjacent channel power, modulation accuracy, mean
transmitted RF carrier power, and transmitted RF
carrier power versus time. For each measurement,
we introduce its theory and illustrate its
implementation in LabVIEW. The NI PXI-5660
RFSA and GMT are used to test a BTS downlink
signal and an MS uplink signal [3].
2. Adjacent Channel Power
According to 3GPP standard, GSM adjacent channel
power measurement is divided into two sub-
measurements: spectrum due to modulation and
wideband noise and spectrum due to switching.
These two measurements are frequently referred to
as output RF spectrum (ORFS) [5].
2.1. Spectrum due to Modulation and Wideband
Noise
Spectrum due to modulation and wideband noise
measurement checks whether the modulation
process is causing excessive spectral spread. In this
test, one timeslot (except for time slot 0) shall be set
up to transmit full power while all other time slots
shall be turned off. In case of slow frequency
hopping (SFH), any carrier may be used, else only
the carrier transmitted shall be used [5]. First, the
power is measured on the carrier frequency using a
video filter with bandwidth of 30 KHz. The
measurement shall be gated over 50 - 90 % of the
useful part of a single time slot, and the measured
value over this part of the burst shall be averaged.
The averaging shall be over at least 200 time slots
and only the active burst shall be included in the
averaging process. The same above procedure is
repeated at different offsets below and above the
carrier frequency. These offsets are 100 KHz, 200 1800 kHz offsets, power shall be continuously
KHz, 250 KHz, and 400 KHz, in addition to offsets measured using a video bandwidth of 100 kHz. The
from 600 KHz to 1800 KHz in steps of 200 KHz. power measured shall not exceed the limits shown
The test limits are expressed in relative terms (dBc), in Table 2 for a BTS [5] [6].
relative to the carrier power. As for the
measurements performed on the different offsets, Table 2 BTS limits for spectrum due to switching
and according to 3GPP Technical Specification (TS)
Offset GSM 900 DCS 1800
05.05, the results should not exceed the limits
(kHz) Power (dBc) Power (dBc)
shown in Table 1 for the BTS. The algorithm for
400 -57 -50
this measurement is summarized in Figure 1.
600 -67 -58
Table 1 BTS limits for spectrum due to modulation [5] 1200 -74 -66
1800 -74 -66
Carrier Maximum relative level (dB) at specified
Power carrier offsets (kHz)
level 100 200 250 400 600 to 1200 to 3. Modulation Accuracy
(dBm) < 1200 < 1800
≥ 43 +0,5 -30 -33 -60* -70 -73 Modulation accuracy test is characterized by phase
41 +0,5 -30 -33 -60* -68 -71 error and frequency error sub-measurements. It
39 +0,5 -30 -33 -60* -66 -69 reflects the performance of the transmitter; a
37 +0,5 -30 -33 -60* -64 -67 significant phase error indicates a problem with the
35 +0,5 -30 -33 -60* -62 -65
≤ 33 +0,5 -30 -33 -60* -60 -63
I/Q base-band generator, the Gaussian LPF, the
modulator, or the RF amplifier of the transmitter.
On the other hand, a significant frequency error
indicates a problem with the synthesizer (phase-lock
loop) [4].

Figure 1 Spectrum due to modulation and wideband

noise measurement procedure

2.2. Spectrum due to Switching

Spectrum due to switching is the second
measurement defined with adjacent channel power.
RF power quickly ramps up in GSM transmitters.
This process of ramping should occur precisely and
at a specific speed. Spectrum due to switching
measurement checks for undesirable spectral
components resulting from very quick power Figure 2 Modulation accuracy test procedure
ramp. Quick power ramping causes significant
interference in adjacent channels. This measurement Both sub-measurements depend on bits obtained
usually detects faults in a transmitter’s output power after demodulation and are performed when all
amplifier. For the transmitter under test, all timeslots carriers are transmitting full power in all their time
shall be set up to transmit full power. Similar to slots. In case of SFH, the BTS shall be hopping over
spectrum due to modulation, if SFH is on, any the maximum number of carriers or else the test
carrier may be used. Otherwise, only the carrier shall be only performed over the B, M, and T
transmitted shall be used. At 400, 600, 1200, and channels [5]. As defined in CCITT
Recommendation O.153, any 148-bit subsequence
of the 511-bit pseudo random sequence can be used
to trace the trajectory of the expected phase. This
expected phase is subtracted from the actual phase
of the measured waveform. Phase error is
determined using the root mean square (RMS) and
the peak of the variation of the subtraction result, as
shown in Figure 2. RMS and peak values should not
surpass 5o and 20o respectively. Finally, the mean
gradient of the subtraction result constitutes the
frequency error. Frequency error should not exceed
0.05 ppm [5].
4. Mean Transmitted RF Carrier Power
GSM BTS and MS are classified into classes
according to the maximum power they can emit.
Mean transmitted RF carrier power shall always be
less than that maximum level. Were it not the case,
transmitter power sources and amplifiers might be
malfunctioning. Transmitted RF carrier power shall
be measured at the input of the TX combiner. It is
defined to be the mean power of the useful part of a
GSM burst, shown in Figure 3. It keeps changing
due to dynamic power control of the BTS in a
predefined power steps defined by 3GPP TS 11.20
[5].
Figure 3 Mask limits of a GSM burst for BTS
5. Transmitted RF Carrier Power versus
Time
Transmitted RF carrier power versus time
measurement evaluates the envelope of carrier
power in the time domain within a predefined mask.
To prevent interference, the power of GSM
transmitters must ramp up then down within the
allocated timeslot. If transmitters ramp up too
slowly, data at the beginning of the burst may be
lost. Furthermore, if transmitters ramp down too
slowly, the user of the next timeslot will experience
interference. A problem with the unit’s output
amplifier is highly probable if the transmitter fails
this measurement, which is performed using an
analyzer in a zero-span mode. An example of the
mask used in transmitted RF carrier power for BTS
is shown in Figure 3 [4].
6. Implementation
The above four measurements are implemented
using LabVIEW, with Spectral Measurements
Toolset and Modulation Toolkit, and included in the
GMT. LabVIEW, a data-flow programming
platform, provides a great graphical development
environment for signal acquisition, measurement
analysis, and data presentation. It delivers the
flexibility of a programming language and avoids
the complexity of traditional development tools. The
basic unit in LabVIEW is the VI. The VI is an
instrument driver divided into a front panel and a
block diagram. The front panel forms the Graphical
User Interface (GUI) of the driver while the block
diagram forms graphical code which is compiled
into machine code.
Our GMT is designed for use along with NI PXI-
5660 RFSA for GSM RF equipment testing. All its
measurements are integrated in one VI.
6.1. RFSA Hardware
The RFSA used for acquisition is the NI PXI-5660,
which is a modular signal analyzer optimized for
automated RF tests. PXI-5660 features a wide real-
time bandwidth, a highly stable time base, and
flexible software tools that can solve measurement
applications ranging from component
characterization in R&D to the remote monitoring of
RF navigation systems. The main components of
PXI-5660 are the NI PXI-5600 and PXI-5620. The
PXI-5600 is a 2.7 GHz broadband down-converter
that employs vector RF measurements. It has an 80
dB spurious-free dynamic range with a 30 dBm full
scale input range. Correspondingly, the PXI-5620 is
a high-spectral-purity single-channel digitizer
module with a sampling rate ranging from 1 kS/s to
64 MS/s. It is characterized by an outstanding
distortion-free performance due to its deep
segmented memory and 14-bit resolution. A GSM 7
dBi directional antenna is used with the PXI-5660
via its SMA interface. Subsequently, the PXI-5660
is connected to a PC via a PCI-PCI bridge (NI PXI-
8335), fiber optical cables, and a PCI card [3].
As illustrated in Figure 4, a GSM signal passes
through a range of stages while processed and
analyzed by the PXI-5660/GMT package.
 power averaging, power spectrum calculations and
GUI functions.

7. RF Test Results
The developed GSM Measurement Toolkit is used
to test the RF equipment, BTS and MS. For the
ORFS measurement, the BTS failed the test while
the MS passed it as shown in the two figures below.

Figure 4 PXI-5660/GMT operational overview

First, the antenna detects required signal and passes

it to the PXI-5600 down-converter where it is down-
converted to an Intermediate Frequency (IF) of 15
MHz. Thereon, the signal is appropriately sampled
and digitized by the PXI-5620 digitizer. The
sampling rate is carefully set in the GMT block
diagram while the digitization is performed using
214 discrete levels. After the RF signal becomes
digital, it is transmitted to the PC where users may
carry out different tests using the GMT.

6.2. GMT Main VI Figure 5 ORFS due to modulation-BTS (Failed)

All GMT measurements share the same block

diagram. The general flow of each algorithm
includes tuning to one of the 124 frequency carriers,
synchronizing in time to a specific time slot, and
finally isolating a number of GSM bursts. The
process of tuning to a certain frequency f1 and
acquiring a GSM signal is done through several
VI’s. These VI’s are responsible for initializing the
acquisition hardware and then configuring a filter
with the required bandwidth. The filter bandwidth
depends on the type of measurement undertaken.
The ORFS measurement requires a bandwidth of
3.6MHz to ensure that all the offset frequencies are
present for later processing. The other 3
measurements need a bandwidth of 200 kHz only, Figure 6 ORFS due to modulation-MS (Passed)
which is the effective bandwidth of a single GSM
channel. Synchronization in time is achieved The BTS, far from the test location, failed to
through the identification of the Frequency Burst, conform to the 3GPP standard due to the highly
which has the shape of an unmodulated carrier in the attenuated signal. On the other hand, the MS under
frequency domain, and then the deciphering of the test, which was placed near the antenna, passed the
following Synchronization Burst. The last stage of test due to limited effect of signal attenuation.
isolating a burst is simply done by saving the
number of samples constituting the burst. The The figure below also shows an MS that passed
number of samples/burst depends on the sampling successfully the ORFS due to switching test. This
frequency used by the acquisition hardware [3]. indicates that the MS doesn’t emit undesirable
spectral components that cause inference in adjacent
After employing the above procedures, specialized channels.
VI’s are used to perform measurement-specific
operations and signal processing, such as filtering,

Figure 7 ORFS due to switching-MS (Passed)
Over the useful part of the burst, as shown in Figure
8, the mean transmitted RF carrier power for a BTS
is measured to be -58.6 dBm.
Figure 8 Mean Transmitted RF Carrier Power-BTS
Finally, the transmitted carrier power versus time
measurement is conducted on both the BTS and MS
as shown below.
Figures 9 and 10 indicate that the GSM bursts,
obtained from the downlink and uplink, fall within
the limits of the measurement mask. This result
guarantees that the power of both transmitters (BTS
and MS) ramps up then down within the allocated
timeslot causing no interference.
8. Conclusion
In this work, we presented four basic tests
performed on GSM RF equipment and the
algorithms used to implement them. We also
discussed the GSM Measurement Toolkit, which we
developed for National Instruments using LabVIEW
and PXI-5660. The importance of this toolkit lies in
the fact that it offers the same functions provided by
highly expensive GSM testing equipment, which are
widely used by vendors and operators. Finally, we
conducted real-time RF tests on a BTS and an MS.
Figure 9 Transmitted carrier power versus time-BTS
(Passed)
Figure 10 Transmitted carrier power versus time-MS
(Passed)
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Prof. Ayman Kayssi for his
supervision. His comments were enormously
helpful. Also we deeply appreciate the support of
National Instruments engineers, particularly Mr.
Mohamad Zeidan. His technical help was vital to the
progress of our work. Finally, we value the
assistance of the radio departments at France
Telecom Mobile International, Ericsson, and
LibanCell.
References
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Wiley & Sons, 1999.
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Available: http://www.ni.com
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GSM/EDGE Transmitter and Receiver
Stations and Their Components, Application
Note 1312. Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2002.
[5] 3GPP Standards. TS 05.01, 05.02, 05.04,
05.05, 11.20, and 11.21. [On-Line].
Available:
http://www.3gpp.org/specs/numbering.htm
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