01 RA21611EN10GLS0 Channel Configuration

Channel configuration and allocation strategy 
1 Channel configuration and allocation

strategy
Contents
1 Channel configuration overview 3
1.1 Control channel configuration 14
1.2 Dedicated channel 14
1.3 Smooth Channel Modification 16
1.4 Random access channel 21
1.5 Paging, Access Grant and Notification channels 28
1.6 CCCH load 32
1.7 Additional ASCI service related parameters 36
2 Extended channel mode 49
3 Adaptive Multirate AMR 53
3.1 Basic 54
4 Channel allocation strategy 67
4.1 Basic 68
4.2 Multi Service Layer Support 70
5 Exercises 79
6 Solutions 91
RA21611EN10GLS0
© 2008 Nokia Siemens Networks
1
Channel configuration and allocation strategy
RA21611EN10GLS0
2 © 2008 Nokia Siemens Networks
1 Channel configuration overview
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On the radio interface Um two subbands for the BTS-MS duplex connection are
specified:
Uplink UL MS-BTS
824 - 849 MHz GSM850
890 - 915 MHz P-GSM900 (primary band)
880 - 915 MHz E-GSM900 (extended band)
1710 - 1785 MHz DCS1800
876 - 880 MHz GSM-R
1850 - 1910 MHz PCS1900
Downlink DL BTS-MS
869 - 894 MHz GSM850
935 - 960 MHz P-GSM900 (primary band)
925 - 960 MHz E-GSM900 (extended band)
1805 - 1880 MHz DCS1800
921 - 925 MHz GSM-R
1930 - 1990 MHz PCS1900
The radio frequency channel spacing in 200 kHz, allowing 124 RFC in P-GSM, 174
RFC in E-GSM, 374 in DCS, 20 RFC in GSM-R and 299 in PCS1900.
Within the database or within the protocol messages a carrier frequency is
characterized by its absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN).
Using the abbreviation n = ARFCN, there is the following relation between ARFCN
and the frequency in MHz in the uplink Fu [MHz] and the downlink Fd [MHz].
GSM850 Fu(n) = 824.2 + 0.2 (n – 128) 128 < n < 251 Fd(n) = Fu(n) + 45
P-GSM900 Fu(n) = 890 + 0.2 n 1 < n < 124 Fd(n) = Fu(n) + 45
E-GSM 900 Fu(n) = 890 + 0.2 n 0< n < 124 Fd(n) = Fu(n) + 45
Fu(n) = 890 + 0.2 x (n -1024) 975 < n < 1023
DCS1800 Fu(n) = 1710.2 + 0.2 x (n -512) 512 < n < 885 Fd(n) = Fu(n) + 95
GSM-R Fu(n) = 876.2 + 0.2 x (n -955) 955 < n < 974 Fd(n) = Fu(n) + 45
PCS1900 Fu(n) = 1850.2 + 0.2 x (n -512) 512 < n < 810 Fd(n) = Fu(n) + 80
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5
(880) 890 Mhz 915 Mhz (925) 935 Mhz 960 Mhz GSM 900
1710 MHz 1785 MHz 1805 MHz 1880 MHz DCS 1800
UPLINK (UL) DOWNLINK (DL)
Transmit band of the Transmit band of the base
mobile station station
Duplex Distance 45 MHz resp. 95 MHz

25 (35) MHz 25 (35) MHz
75 MHz 75 MHz
Guard band
not used
C C
C C C 124 C C C 124’
1 2 3 (174) 1’ 2’ 3’ (174’)
374 374
C = radio frequency channel (RFC)

200 kHz
512...............885 975....1024
01...............124
DCS1800 GSM900 ARFCN
(Absolute RF channel number)
E-GSM900
Fig.. 1 Radio
. . frequency
. . . channels
. . . RFC
. on
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Each RFC offers 8 physical channels a time division multiplex access TDMA.
The physical channels are subdivided into logical channels, divided in traffic channels
and control channels according GSM 04.03.
4
3
2
1
0
7
6
5
4
3
2 Time
1
200 kHz 0 4.615 msec
= 8  577 µs
Fig. 2 Radio frequency channels RFC on Um
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7
Speech Channels
(Full/Half)
Traffic Channels TCH
Data
Channels
(Data Rate)
Logical Channels
Broadcast Control
Channel BCCH
Control Channels Common Control

CCH Channel CCCH
Dedicated Control
Channel DCCH
Fig.. 3 Logical
. . .channel
. . types
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Frequency
identification of BCCH frequency, MS
Correction Channel
frequency synchronization
FCCH
frame (time) synchronization,

Synchronization identification of neighbour cells
Channel SCH (handover)
Broadcast Control
Channels BCCH
system information:
cell identifier, cell parameter, channel
Broadcast Control
configuration, cell frequencies,
Channel BCCH
broadcast frequencies of neighbour
cells
Cell Broadcast broadcast of short messages:

Channel CBCH traffic, weather, date, ...
(no mobile system info)
Fig. 4 Broadcast control channel
Random Access MS requests a dedicated

Channel RACH channel from network
answer to a random access,

Access Grant assignment of dedicated
Channel AGCH signaling channel
Common Control
Channel CCCH
paging of a MS in all cells of a

Paging Channel
location area for a mobile
PCH
terminating call
paging of MS‘s in all cells of a

Notification Channel voice group call area to perform
NCH ASCI (Advanced Speech Call Items)
Fig. 5 Common control channel
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“out of band” signaling channel for:

Stand Alone
call setup signaling, short message service
Dedicated Control
(SMS), location update (LUP),
Channel SDCCH
IMSI attach/detach
Dedicated Slow Associated “in band” signaling channel (periodic):

Control Control Channel downlink: system info, power command, TA;
Channel DCCH SACCH uplink: measurements (level quality),
short messages service
Fast Associated “in band” signaling channel (sporadic):

Control Channel handover signaling
FACCH channel mode modify: speech  data
Fig. 6 Dedicated control channel
Multiplexing of Logical Channels

1 physical channel (time slot) can carry one of the following logical channel
combinations:
Channel Combination Capacity

a) TCH/F + FAACH/F + SACCH/F 1 full rate subscriber
b) TCH/H (0, 1) + FACCH/H (0, 1) + 2 half rate subscriber (speech or data)
SACCH/H (0, 1)
c) FCCH + SCH + BCCH + CCCH uplink: 800 000 RACH slots per h
downlink: 140 000 CCCH blocks per h
d) FCCH + SCH + BCCH + CCCH + uplink: 400 000 RACH slots per h
SDCCH/4 (0..3) + SACCH/4 (0..3) downlink: 46 000 CCCH blocks per h
+ dedicated signaling channels for
4 subscribers
e) SDCCH/8 (0..7) + SACCH/8 (0..7) dedicated signaling channels for 8
... subscribers
1 RACH slot: 1 channel request message of 1 subscriber.

1 CCCH block (4 slots):  1 paging message for 1..4 subscribers or
 1 access grant message for 1..2 subscribers.
RA21611EN10GLS0
Channel Organization in a Cell

In SBS the following channel combinations are allowed:
 TCH/F + FACCH/F + SACCH/F TCHFULL
 FCCH + SCH+ BCCH+ CCCH (AGCH + PCH + RACH) MAINBCCH
 FCCH + SCH + BCCH + CCCH + 4 (SDCCH + SACCH) MBCCHC
 SDCCH/8 + SACCH/C8 SDCCH
 TCH/H (0) + FACCH/H (0) + SACCH/H (0) + TCH/H (1) ) + TCHF_HLF

FACCH/H (1) + SACCH/H (1)
 FCCH + SCH + BCCH + CCCH + 3 (SDCCH + SACCH) + BCBCH
CBCH
 7 (SDCCH + SACCH) + CBCH SCBCH
 BCCH + CCCH CCCH

TCH/H(0,1) + FACCH/H(0,1) + SACCH/H(0,1) or TCHSD
TCH/F + FACCH/F + SACCH/TF or
SDCCH/8 + SACCH/C8
In a cell with a single RFC the allocation should be the following:

Timeslot 0  FCCH+SCH + BCCH + CCCH + 4 (SDCCH + SACCH)
Timeslot 1...7  TCH/F + FACCH/F + SACCH/F
The timeslot 0 runs in the 51 frame organization as shown in figures 7 and 8.

The timeslots 1 to 7 run in the 26 frame organization as shown in figure 9.
:
In a cell with 2 RFC there are more possibilities, depending on the used traffic model
(SDCCH dimensioning), for example:
RFC-0 see cell with 1 TRX
RFC-1 Timeslot 0...7  TCH/F + FACCH/F + SACCH/F
or
Timeslot 0  8 (SDCCH + SACCH)
Timeslot 1...7  TCH/F + FACCH/F + SACCH/F
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F S BCCH CCCH F S CCCH F S CCCH F S CCCH F S CCCH I

0 1 2 - 5 6 - 9 10 11 12 - 19 20 21 22 - 29 30 31 32 - 39 40 41 42 - 49 50
DL: F = FCCH, S = SCH, B = BCCH, C = CCCH, (PCH, AGCH), I = idle
R R R R R R R R R R R
0 1 10 11 20 21 30 31 40 41 50
UL: R = RACH
Fig. 7 Multiframe for channel combination MAINBCCH
51 TDMA Frame = 235.38 ms
DOWNLINK: Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH), Common Control Channel (CCCH)

+4 Stand Alone Dedicated Control Channels (SDCCH/4)
F S B C F S C C F S D0 D1 F S D2 D3 F S A0 A1 I
F S B C F S C C F S D0 D1 F S D2 D3 F S A2 A3 I
UPLINK: Common Control Channel (CCCH)

+4 Stand Alone Dedicated Control Channels (SDCCH/4)
D3 RR A2 A3 RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR D0 D1 RR D2
D3 RR A0 A1 RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR D0 D1 RR D2
B BCCH
C CCCH
D SDCCH
F frequency correction burst
R RACH
S synchronized burst
I idle
Fig. 8 Multiframe for channel combination MBCCHC (2xMBCCH makes SACCHBCCH multiframe =2x 235.38 msec)
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T T T T T T T T T T T T A T T T T T T T T T T T T - 1 F u ll R a t e T C H
2 6 f r a m e s = 1 2 0 m s
T t T t T t T t T t T t A t T t T t T t T t T t T a 2 H a lf R a t e T C H
T: Traffic Channel (TCH) Burst for subscriber 1

t: Traffic Channel (TCH) Burst for subscriber 2
A: Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH) for subscriber 1
a: Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH) for subscriber 2
Fig. 9 Time organization for one TCH Multiframe
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RA21611EN10GLS0
1.1 Control channel configuration

Introduction
In a MOC, MTC, LU the MS has to request an SDCCH using the RACH. There is a
time delay between the request and the SDCCH allocation due to the traffic load. If
there is a free SDCCH, it is allocated using the AGCH. The SDCCH is used for the
authentication, transmission of cipher parameters and call initialization. Next a traffic
channel is requested and allocated, if available. After this, the SDCCH is released.
The MS acknowledges the allocation on the FACCH. The TCH with its FACCH and
SACCH is occupied until the end of the call. So the blocking probability is a function
of
 availability of SDCCH
 availability of TCH
 waiting time in TCH queue, if queuing performed (BTS parameter)
 time for connection establishment.
1.2 Dedicated channel

If we evaluate a given traffic model, we find a certain traffic load per subscriber.
Additionally we have to calculate the SDCCH load per subscriber.
According to the traffic model given in appendix-C, there are four values to be
considered:
 call attempts per subscriber per hour 1.1
 time for MOC/MTC setup signaling 3 sec
 time for Location Update 5 sec
 location updates per subscriber per hour 2.2.

The SDCCH load per subscriber is calculated as follows:
(1.1 * 3 sec + 2.2 * 5 sec) / 3600 sec = 0.004 Erl.
Furthermore we have for the TCH: 25 mErl.
At the following page an example for a channel configuration of the 2carriers

cell is given using the above assumptions.
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Example for Channel Configuration
Assumptions: 25 mErl TCH Load per subscriber

4 mErl SDCCH load per subscriber
no load problem on CCCH
Cell with 2 TRX: 16 channels

Configuration A Configuration B
 1 comb. CCCH/SDCCH  4  uncomb. CCCH
SDCCH
 1 SDCCH/8  8 SDCCH
 15 TCH
 14 TCH
offered TCH load at 1 % blocking offered TCH load at 1 % blocking
8.11 Erl  Subscriber 8.11 / 0.025 = 324 7.35 Erl  Subscriber: 7.35 / 0.025 = 294
offered SDCCH load at 1 % blocking offered SDCCH load at 1 % blocking
0.87 Erl  Subscriber 0.87 / 0.004 = 218 3.13 Erl  Subscriber: 3.13 / 0.004 = 782
 SDCCH limited: 218 subscriber  TCH limited: 294 subscriber
 Configuration B is the better one for this scenario.
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1.3 Smooth Channel Modification

The control channel configuration up to BR5.5 is a static definition of the channel type
(TCH or SDCCH) independent of the dynamic variations of the SDCCH traffic load in
the network.
Smooth Channel Modification offers an automatic change of the channel type (e.g.
between TCH and SDCCH/8) without operator interaction.
If the SDCCH load is higher than a settable threshold, an additional SDCCH is
automatically used instead of an idle TCH.
In case of unexpected high SDCCH load (SMS traffic, LCS, specific areas as airports
or PLMN borders, etc.) a blocking of SDCCH is avoided.
This results in saving of resources on Um interface, since a further SDCCH does not
have to be configured permanently.
Flexible channels used as TCH or SDCCH are created as channel type 'TCHSD'. To
provide full flexible channel configuration, a radio frequency pool concept is
introduced.
The customer selects and configures the channels to be used as TCH or SDCCH for
each carrier. This can be done when new versions or new cells are introduced to the
network or new carriers are added to a cell. These channels are created using the
new TCH_SD channel type. When the BSC selects a TCHSD channel for a specific
service, the operational mode notifies the BTS on a call-by-call basis using a channel
activation message. The system can then dynamically use the timeslot as either a
TCH or a SDCCH without further service interruption.
A radio frequency pool of resources in the BSC allows flexible allocation of radio
frequency resources. Each TCH, SDCCH and TCHSD is assigned to a specific pool,
TCH and SDCCH are assigned permanently to their related pools, and each TCHSD
is assigned by the operators using the new specific object attribute CHPOOLTYP.
This attribute can be changed using a SET command.
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TS 0 TS 1 TS 2 TS 3 TS 4 TS 5 TS 6 TS 7
assignment
In case of
SDCCH request
SDCCH_POOL TCH_POOL TCH/SD_POOL
SDCCH_BACKUP
_POOL
Traffic Channel / SDCCH Request
Fig.. 10. Pooling

. . concept
. . for
. smooth
. . .channel
. . modification
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RA21611EN10GLS0
SDCCH Allocation Strategy

In case of SDCCH request the BSC first tries to get one SDCCH sub-channel from
the SDCCH_POOL. If the SDCCH_POOL and the SDCCH_BACKUP_POOL are
empty or congested (i.e. all sub-channels are busy) the BSC moves eight sub-
channels with best quality from TCH_SD_POOL to SDCCH_BACKUP_POOL and
uses one sub-channel to satisfy the request.
If also in the TCH_SD_POOL there is no resource available and the service request
is MOC and MTC, the direct assignment procedure is tried. If the requested services
are Location Update Procedure LUP-SMS or SDCCH/SDCCH-H/O the service is
rejected.
Additionally a configurable SDCCH congestion threshold on cell basis is implemented
in order to move a sub-channel from TCH_SD_POOL to SDCCH_BACKUP_POOL
when the sub-channel occupation (i.e. the sum of SDCCH_POOL and
SDCCH_BACKUP_POOL) is higher than this threshold for two seconds. The range
of the SDCCH congestion threshold can be set by the operator. Due to peak load
traffic (e.g. SMS) at different times, the system can then automatically share
resources between signaling and speech without configuration changes thus
reducing blocking probability in signaling phase.
SDCCH Release Strategy

When a SDCCH sub-channel is released and coming from the SDCCH_POOL the
sub-channel is returned to that pool. If the sub-channel to be released is coming from
the SDCCH_BACKUP_POOL and is not the last sub-channel busy in the TCH_SD,
the sub-channel is returned in the SDCCH_BACKUP_POOL. If the sub-channel to be
released is coming from the SDCCH_BACKUP_POOL and is the last sub-channel
busy in the TCH_SD, the decision of the destination pool is based on a configurable
attribute. This attribute is cell based and specifies the guard timer for return of the
TCH_SD channel to the TCH_SD_POOL. This timer is implemented to avoid
oscillation between TCH_SD_POOL and SDCCH_BACKUP_POOL.
TCH Allocation Strategy

In case of TCH full request, the BSC uses the TCH with the best quality from the
TCH_POOL. In case of TCH half request the BSC first tries to use unpaired
channels. If TCH_POOL is empty or congested, the BSC tries to get one TCH_SD
from the TCH_SD_POOL. If both pools are empty or congested, a directed retry
procedure is attempted for new MOC or MTC. In case of handover, the target cell list
is scanned in order to find a target cell not congested.
TCH Release
At TCH release the TCH is returned to the original pool.
RA21611EN10GLS0
19
Fig. 11 The process triggered by an SDCCH request
RA21611EN10GLS0
Parameters for Channel Configuration:
Specification DB Name Object Range Meaning

Name (default)
CH_TYPE CHTYPE CHAN TCHFULL Type of Channel
SDCCH combination
GSM 04.08
MAINBCCH
GSM 05.01 MBCCHC
GSM 05.02 CCCH
SCBCH
BCBCH
TCHF_HLF
TCHSD
CH_POOL_ CHPOOLTYP CHAN TCHPOOL Channel Pool Type

TYPE SDCCHPOOL must be defined if
TCHSDPOOL CH_TYPE=TCHSD
NULL
(NULL)
SDCCH_ SDCCHCONGTH BTS 70 ... 100[ % ] SDCCH Congestion
CONGESTION_ Threshold
(70)
THRESHOLD
GUARD_ TGUARDTCHSD BSC SEC00 Guard Timer TCHSD
TIMER_ TCHSD SEC10 (default)
SEC11
SEC12
SEC13
SEC14
SEC15
RA21611EN10GLS0
21
1.4 Random access channel

Capacity of the RACH
The RACH is used by the MS to request a dedicated channel, the SDCCH. The
channel request needs one RACH timeslot. The cause for the channel request can
be a paging response in MTC, an emergency call, a MOC, LU or IMSI attach/detach.
According to the traffic model from appendix-C there are about 4 RACH activities per
subscriber per hour.
Configuration of the RACH

The RACH is configured only uplink, his frequency corresponds to the downlink
BCCH frequency. The RACH may be combined with the uplink part of the SDCCH. In
the combined case, the RACH is multiplexed onto 27 timeslots 0 out of 51 of a
BCCHcombined. These 27 RACH are spread over the multiframe as follows:
SSSSRRSSSSSSSSRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSRRSSSS
with S = SDCCH/SACCH and R = RACH.
The RACH can also be configured uncombined on all timeslots 0, 2, 4, 6.
This gives the following capacities, the frame duration is 4.6 ms (period between two
successive timeslots 0):
combined: 27/51 of all timeslots 0  400000 RACH slots per hour
uncombined: timeslot 0  800000 RACH slots per hour
uncombined: timeslot 0,2  1560000 RACH slots per hour
(not in BR2.1)
uncombined: timeslot 0,2,4  2340000 RACH slots per hour
(not in BR2.1)
uncombined: timeslot 0,2,4,6  3120000 RACH slots per hour
(not in BR2.1)
In a cell with 5000 subscriber normally there are about 20 000 RACH activities per
hour only!!
RA21611EN10GLS0
1.4.1 RACH Control Parameter

RACH busy threshold, defines a threshold for the signal level during the RACH
bursts. The BTS measures the signal level on each RACH timeslot and
determines whether a channel request is successfully received or not: If the
received signal level is greater than or equal to the value of RACHBT then the
RACH burst in question will be indicated as busy (one or more mobile stations
have tried to access the network). The purpose of this parameter is to avoid
unnecessary load on the BSS by normal noise signals being decoded as RACH
bursts (followed by seizure of SDCCH) by mistake. However, to be on the safe
side the BTS does not only evaluate the RACH level but additionally decodes
the Synch sequence bits of the RACH burst.
Until BR9, the value entered for this parameter is not only relevant for the CHANNEL
REQUEST message on the RACH but also for the HANDOVER ACCESS message
on the FACCH. But now, since BR10, the value is spelt into two which are RACHBT
for the channel request and FACHBT for HO access.
With this feature it is now possible to set up optimal threshold values for
discrimination of access bursts on RACH and on TCHs as well (with only one
threshold for both cases before, it was necessary to find a compromise for the
threshold value). Thus phantom RACH access bursts can be avoided efficiently while
TCH access bursts (e.g. to access the target cell / BTS in case of inter-cell handover)
are accepted even in case of low receive power level. As a consequence the RACH
load in the BTS and the rejection of inter-cell handovers (or even call drops) can be
kept low simultaneously.
The MS receives the RACH control parameters from the base station on the BCCH:
 Maximum number of retransmission (max_retrans) MAXRETR = 1, 2, 4, 7.
If a channel request is not acknowledged by the base station, the MS repeats
the request until the given value of MAXRETR.
 Number of slots to spread transmissions (tx_integer) NSLOTST = 0,..15
representing the real values according to the following table:
NSLOTST value 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
GSM value 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 16 20 25 32 50
RA21611EN10GLS0
23
The NSLOTST value determines the time period between sending of two channel
requests. This period is measured in RACH slots and is the sum of a deterministic
part td and a random part tr:
MS tx_integer td (RACH slots, td (RACH slots,

combined) uncombined)
Phase 2 3, 8, 14, 50 41 (0.35 sec) 55 (0.25 sec)
4, 9, 16 52 (0.45 sec) 76 (0.35 sec)
5, 10, 20 58 (0.50 sec) 109 (0.50 sec)
6, 11, 25 86 (0.75 sec) 163(0.75 sec)
7, 12, 32 115 (1.00 sec) 217(1.00 sec)
Deterministic part td of retransmission period as a function of tx_integer
The random part tr is an integer between 1 and tx_integer where the probability of
choosing a certain time slot i is given by:
p ( tr = i ) = 1 / tx_integer for i = 1...tx_integer.
retransmission
td = 163 slots
first transmission tr = tx_integer = 6

with a collision
Fig. 12 Retransmission of CHANNEL_REQUEST
RA21611EN10GLS0
Immediate Assignment Procedure

The procedure is specified in GSM 04.08, chapter 3.3.1.2:
IMMEDIATE
ASSIGNMENT
PROCEDURE
Select RACH slot

for first transmission
number of
retransmissions = 0
Send CHANNEL
REQUEST msg.
no.of
retransmissions Y set timer T3126 GRANT during N
= max_retrans wait for grant Sup. time
N Y
Select RACH slot for
CELL
next transmission,
RESELECTION
wait for grant
immediate Y
assignment
Y
Rejection
N
number of N
retransmissions + 1
SDCCH WAIT
Allocation T3122
Fig. 13 Immediate assignment procedure
RA21611EN10GLS0
25
Evaluation of Immediate Assignment Procedure for different parameter values
Traffic Load/RACH Activities per Hour

The relative traffic load is the average number of initiated immediate assignment
procedures or RACH activities in a timeslot:
traffic load =
total number of immediate assignment procedures / total number of RACH slots.
The absolute number of RACH activities per hour is obtained by multiplying this
relative load with the number of RACH slots per hour.
Blocking
The blocking shows the percentage of not successful immediate assignment
procedures initialized by the MS.
blocking [%] =
(number of unsucc. imm. ass. proc. / total number of imm. ass. Proc. ) * 100.
Throughput
The channel throughput is the average number of successful transmissions per time
slot.
throughput = number of successful transmissions/number of simulated time slots.
throughput = ( 1 - blocking ) * traffic load.
Wait Time
The wait time is the time between the initiation of the immediate assignment
procedure and the arrival of the immediate assignment message. For the waiting time
it is useful to consider the 90% quantile of the wait time:
for 90% of the immediate assignment procedures, the wait time is less than the time
t90.
The blocking and the 90% (95%) quantile for different values of the RACH control
parameters is shown in the following tables for a combined RACH/SDCCH:
RA21611EN10GLS0
tx_integer max_retrans blocking(%) 90% quantile(s) 95% quantile(s)

3 1 2.9 < 0.1 0.35
3 2 1.1 < 0.1 0.35
3 4 0.2 < 0.1 0.35
3 7 < 0.01 < 0.1 0.4
7 1 1.6 < 0.1 1.0
7 2 0.4 < 0.1 1.0
7 4 0.1 < 0.1 1.0
7 7 < 0.01 < 0.1 1.0
14 1 0.9 < 0.1 0.4
14 2 0.1 < 0.1 0.4
14 4 < 0.01 < 0.1 0.4
14 7 < 0.01 < 0.1 0.4
25 1 0.6 < 0.1 0.8
25 2 < 0.1 < 0.1 0.8
25 4 < 0.01 < 0.1 0.8
25 7 < 0.01 < 0.1 0.8
50 1 0.5 < 0.1 0.5
50 2 0.1 < 0.1 0.5
50 4 < 0.01 < 0.1 0.5
50 7 < 0.01 < 0.1 0.5
Values for 25000 RACH activities per hour
RA21611EN10GLS0
27
tx_integer max_retrans blocking(%) 90% quantile(s) 95% quantile(s)

3 1 6.1 0.35
3 2 2.8 0.35 0.75
3 4 0.6 0.35 0.75
3 7 0.1 0.35 0.75
7 1 3.6 1.0 1.1
7 2 1.0 1.0 1.1
7 4 0.1 1.0 1.1
7 7 < 0.1 1.0 1.1
14 1 2.6 0.4 0.45
14 2 0.5 0.4 0.45
14 4 < 0.1 0.4 0.45
14 7 < 0.01 0.4 0.45
25 1 2.0 0.8 0.9
25 2 0.4 0.8 0.9
25 4 < 0.01 0.8 0.9
25 7 < 0.01 0.8 0.9
50 1 1.8 0.5 0.7
50 2 0.2 0.5 0.7
50 4 < 0.01 0.5 0.7
50 7 < 0.01 0.5 0.7
Values for 50000 RACH activities per hour.
The results of these studies show, that even the RACH minimal configuration
(combined RACH/SDCCH is able to serve 50000 RACH activities per hour at a low
blocking (< 0.5%) with an acceptable wait time. An uncombined RACH is able to
serve twice the traffic load with the same grade of service. The minimum blocking for
the considered traffic load is achieved by the following setting of parameters:
max_retrans = 7, tx_integer = 50.
Though a combined RACH can serve the expected traffic load, another RACH
configuration may have to be chosen. The RACH is only the uplink part of the CCCH.
The downlink parts (AGCH, PCH) may need a higher capacity. Therefore, the
RA21611EN10GLS0
configuration of CCCH is determined by the capacity needed by the downlink

channels, the RACH configuration is uncritical.
RA21611EN10GLS0
29
1.5 Paging, Access Grant and Notification channels

PCH/AGCH
The paging channel and the access grant channel share the same TDMA frame
mapping (modulo 51) when combined onto a basic physical channel. The channels
are shared on a block by block basis. The information within each block allows the
MS to determine if it is a paging or an access grant message. Every paging channel
can be used by the system as access grant channel but it is not allowed to the
system to use access grant channels as paging channels. However, to ensure a
mobile a satisfactory access to the system, there is a control parameter to define a
fixed number of access grant blocks in the 51 multiframe. The number of blocks
reserved for AGCH is broadcasted on the BCH. The number of available paging
blocks is reduced by this number.
1.5.1 PCH/AGCH Control Parameters

Paging channels may be used as access grant channels but not vice versa.
Therefore it is useful to set the parameter BS_AG_BLKS_RES to the smallest value
and let the system organize the use of channels. In case of MOC more AGCH are
needed, in case of MTC more PCH are needed. In average the number of MOC is
higher than the number of MTC. If the BS_AG_BLKS_RES value is set too high with
the result of a PCH shortage, a overload indication for the PCH may arise in high
traffic time.
In GSM traffic model the paging per subscriber per hour is 0.93.
The second parameter to be set is called BS_PA_MFRMS (NFRAMEPG value =
2..9, number of multiframes between paging). It indicates the number of TDMA
multiframes between transmission of paging messages to the same paging
subgroup. The MS gets the information on BCH, to which paging groups it should
listen to. By this way the MS can save battery because it only listens to its own
paging group. If the value is too high so that the time between two blocks of the same
paging sub-channel is high, the time for setting up an MTC is high.
In a medium cell the common channel pattern on timeslot 0 on one of the TRX can
use the following combination downlink (in uplink all channels are used as RACH):
FSBBBBPPPPFSPPPPPPPPFSPPPPPPPPFSPPPPPPPPFSPPPPPPPP
F = FCCH
S = SCH
B = BCCH
P = PACH/AGCH.
RA21611EN10GLS0
An example for the load and the servable number of subscribers is given at the
following pages.
RA21611EN10GLS0
31
queui ng of
paging requests
M
PAGING MESSAGE: PAGING COMMAND:
M B B S
- IMSI or IMSI+TMSI - IMSI or TMSI
S S T M
C C paging group: S S
M paging request
S type 1, 2 or 3
NFRAMEPG LAC
(CCCHs monitored by MS)
Fig. 14 Number of multiframes between paging
1.5.2 NCH Control Parameters

In all cells where the ASCI (Advanced Speech Call Item) service is enabled, an
downlink logical channel belonging to CCCH is defined, Notification Channel (NCH).
An MS which is VBS/VGCS (Voice Broadcast Service /Voice Group Call Service)
subscriber, besides the paging blocks, monitors also the Notification Channel. This
logical channel is mapped onto contiguous blocks reserved for access grants, the
position and the number of blocks is defined by the two parameters
NCH_FIRST_BLOCK and NCH_BLOCK_NUMBER.
Service subscribers are notified of the VBS/VGCS call in each cell via notification
messages that are broadcasted on the Notification Channel; these messages don’t
use individually TMSI/IMSI but the group identity and service area identity.
The process of broadcasting messages on NCH is carried out throughout the call in
order to provide late entry facility. The repetition time is defined by the parameter
TIMER_NCH.
RA21611EN10GLS0
1.5.3 Improved CCCH handling between AGCH and PCH

To make the CCCH block management more flexible, in BR8.0 a new mechanism
was introduced which observes the current filling state (load) of the AGCH queue.
The mechanism dynamically priorities the AGCH message higher then the paging
messages if the detected AGCH queue load requires that and features the
preemption of unreserved CCCH blocks (i.e. blocks that are shared between PCH
and AGCH) for AGCH procedures even if also paging messages are queued for
transmission in the BTS paging queues.
Improvements
 16 instead of 4 Immediate Assignment entries can be queued
 two Immediate Assignment Command can be combined within one AGCH
 modification of the priority for ''not reserved'' CCCH blocks by defining three
signaling loads (NORMAL, MEDIUM and HIGH) for AGCH queue
The priority of PCH messages before AGCH messages depends on the current
AGCH queue filling state.
The AGCH queue load is assumed NORMAL when less then 12 out of 16 AGCH
queuing places are used. This implies that the IMMEDIATE ASSIGNMENT (REJ)
messages waiting for delivery in the AGCH queue are delivered on a non-reserved
block only if no PAGING REQUEST message is pending in the paging queue (see
picture below).
The AGCH queue load is assumed MEDIUM when there are still less then 12
IMMEDIATE ASSIGNMENT (REJ) messages in the queue but some are in danger of
being delayed too much if not quickly delivered over the U m interface. Under these
conditions, the preemption takes place only on those paging queues that are
completely empty or half full, but not already preempted during the last CCCH cycle
(e.g. IMMEDIATE ASSIGNMENT (REJ) message is sent if in the previous cycle
PAGING REQUEST was sent from the queue).
The AGCH queue load is assumed HIGH when there are more then 12 IMMEDIATE
ASSIGNMENT (REJ) messages in the queue. In this case AGCH blocks have
absolute precedence over PCH ones until the number of AGCH pending in queue
drops again below 12.
There is no parameter to enable improved handling of CCCH mechanism.
RA21611EN10GLS0
33
Fig.. 15. Common

. . .control
. .channel
. . handling
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
RA21611EN10GLS0
1.6 CCCH load
paging messages per hour: SUBSCR * LA_size * MTC_ph * REPET/

subscr_per_pag_message
random messages per hour: SUBSCR * (MTC_PR_ph + MOC_ph + LU_ph +
IMSI_ph + SMS_ph)
access grant messages per SUBSCR * (MTC_PR_ph + MOC_ph + LU_ph +
hour: IMSI_ph + SMS_ph) / subscr_per_agch_message
SUBSCR number of subscribers within the cell

LA_size number of cells on the location area
MTC_ph mobile terminating calls per subscriber per hour (with and
without paging response)
REPET mean number of repetitions of a paging message (no
paging response to first paging)
MTC_PR_ph mobile terminating calls per subscriber per hour with
paging response to first paging)
MOC_ph mobile originating calls per subscriber per hour
LU_ph location updates per subscriber per hour
IMSI_ph IMSI attach/detach per subscriber per hour
SMS_ph short message service requests per subscriber per hour
RA21611EN10GLS0
35
Example
Calculate the number of subscribers that can be served in a cell regarding CCCH
load if the traffic model described with the following values is used
SUBSCR: ?
LA_size: 20
MTC_ph: 0.46
REPET: 1.33
MTC_PR_ph 0.30
MOC_ph 0.64
LU_ph 2.2
IMSI_ph 1.0
SMS_ph -
subscr_per_pag_message = 2
subscr_per_agch_message = 1.0
Consider both possible configurations for the CCH.
Solution
 paging messages per hour = SUBSCR * 20 * 0.46 * 1.33/2  SUBSCR * 6/h
 access grant messages per hour  SUBSCR * 4/h

 paging + access grant messages per hour  SUBSCR * 10/h
  4600 subscriber (combined CCCH)
  14000 subscriber (uncombined CCCH)
 random access messages per hour  SUBSCR * 4 / h

(at 10 % load)
  10000 subscriber (combined CCCH)
  20000 subscriber (uncombined CCCH)
RA21611EN10GLS0
Parameters for Common Control Channel Configuration

Name (default)
RACH_BUSY_ RACHBT BTS 0...127 Threshold for the received
THRES signal level (RXLEV)
(109)
during RACH access.
An access burst signal is
assumed as valid (not
noise), if the receive level
exceeds this threshold.
Step : 1 dbm
FACH_Busy_TH FACHBT BTS 0…127 Threshold for the received
RES signal level (RXLEV)
(109) during handover access
and ASCI uplink access.
An access burst signal is
assumed as valid (not
noise), if the receive level
exceeds this threshold.
Step : 1 dbm
MAX_RETRANS MAXRETR BTS ONE,TWO, Maximum number of
FOUR, SEVEN allowed retransmissions of
GSM 04.08
a channel request on the
(FOUR)
GSM 05.08 RACH
TX_INTEGER NSLOTST BTS 0...15 Number of RACH slots to
spread re-transmission of
GSM 04.08 (10)
channel request; also
fixing he deterministic part
of wait time
0... 15 
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,
12, 14, 16, 20, 25, 32, 50
BS_AG_BLKS_ NBLKACGR BTS 0...7 for uncomb. Number of common
RES 0...2 for comb. control blocks per
CCCH multiframe used for
GSM 04.08
access grant exclusively
(1)
GSM 05.02
BS_PA_MFRMS NFRAMEPG BTS 2...9 number of multiframes
RA21611EN10GLS0
37
GSM 04.08 between paging blocks

belonging to the same
GSM 05.02 (2)
paging sub-channel
GSM 05.08
NCH_FIRST_ NOCHFBLK BTS 1...7 indicates the first block of
BLOCK downlink CCCH to be
(1)
used for NCH
NCH_BLOCK_ NOCHBLKN BTS 1...4 number of downlink CCCH
NUMBER blocks to be used for NCH
(1)
TIMER_NCH TNOCH BTS 1...254 repetition period for
notification messages
(1)
defined in steps of one
multi-frame period
(235ms)
RA21611EN10GLS0
1.7 Additional ASCI service related parameters

ASCI service is enabled via parameter ASCISER
This service introduced in the SBS BR5.5 has been improved since BR6.0 with a
number of procedures that are defined with a number of additional parameters.
Uplink reply procedure

Uplink reply procedure delays the assignment of common broadcasted (TCH)
channel until required by a mobile "interested" in that ASCI call. In that way the traffic
channel resources in the cell belonging to the Group Call Area but without ASCI
listening subscribers are saved. Notification messages are sent without the
VBS/VGCS channel description in that cell.
The parameter ASCIULR is used to enable or disable the uplink reply procedure for
VGCS calls only (VGCSENABLE), VBS calls only (VBSENABLE) or both at the same
time (VBS_VGCSENABLE).
Description
When an ASCI group call (VBS or VGCS) is set up in a cell and simultaneously an
ASCI common TCH was activated, the BTS broadcasts the group call reference and
the Channel Description data of the ASCI common TCH via the NCH in the cell. In
this situation, the BSC may initiate the release of the activated ASCI common TCH, if
no listening ASCI MSs are available in the cell. To check whether or not ASCI MSs
are present in the cell, the BTS sends the UPLINK FREE message via the FACCH
associated to the ASCI common TCH and waits for an UPLINK ACCESS message.
This UPLINK ACCESS message is sent on the ASCI common TCH and is the
response from the ASCI MSs, if they have previously received the UPLINK FREE
message with the IE ‘Uplink Access Request’ included.
For the supervision of this procedure, the BTS uses 2 timers: TWUPA (timer to wait
for uplink access, hardcoded in the BTS) and the administrable timer TUPLREP
which are both started when the UPLINK FREE message is sent. The BTS assumes
that no listening ASCI MS is present in the cell and initiates the de-allocation of the
ASCI common TCH in this cell by sending the VBS/VGCS CHANNEL RELEASE
INDICATION towards the BSC, which in turn releases the channel by sending
CHANNEL RELEASE, DEACTIVATE SACCH, RF CHANNEL RELEASE etc.
ASCI one channel model and Talker Change Procedure

Even the Notification without Channel Description and Uplink Reply procedure allows
saving of the resources on the air interface, still remains the problem, that both sides,
the talker and the listeners, have assigned different duplex connections each for his
own, not using the DL in case of the talker and the UL in case of the listeners.
RA21611EN10GLS0
39
With the ASCI one channel model feature the group call channel may be used both
by the talker and by the listeners: The UL will be occupied by the talker, if present in
the cell, the DL by the listeners. This way no separate dedicated TCH is necessary
for the talker. In a cell with only listeners the UL of the group call channel is unused.
In a cell without talker and listeners no group call channel will be allocated at all.
In case of an already allocated VGCS common channel one of the listener mobile
stations may want to become talker (subsequent talker). The MS is sending Uplink
Access messages to the BTS. BTS reacts by sending a VGCS Uplink Grant message
to the requesting mobile station and a Talker Detection message to the BSC.
After the VGCS Uplink Grant message has been sent to the mobile station wanting to
become talker, the respective task within BTS ignores any further Uplink Access
message on the VGCS common channel.
This way it is always guaranteed that in case of competitor talkers belonging to the
same VGCS group there may be only one talker per cell at a time to which the VGCS
common channel uplink has been granted by the BTS.
The call-initiating talker can not become a ‘subsequent’ talker with an originator
reconfiguration. For this very first talker only an intra- or intercell HO to a dedicated
TCH is possible. Obviously, this call-initiating talker can subsequently become a
talker again after he has left the uplink and he can try the talker change procedure
later on.
A subsequent talker may gain access to the uplink of a VGSC only through a Talker
Change procedure.
For the BSC the parameter ASCIONECHMDL has to be set to true to enable the
ASCI one channel mode.
In case of setting the parameter ASCIONECHMDL to false BSC assigns a new TCH
to the subsequent talker, this is also called 1,5 channel mode.
Late entry notification for VGC listeners

When a VGCS/VBS group call is established with a priority level equal to or higher
than the level set by the operator (defined by the NOTFACCH parameter), FACCH
notifications (Fast Associated Control Channel) are periodically sent on the common
channels of all other ongoing voice group (VGCS) and broadcast calls (VBS) in that
cell.
This notification is sending as long as the relevant high priority call lasts, and will be
repeated at a rate indicated by a new PNOFACCH O&M parameter.
With this solution, mobile stations in the group receive mode are informed about
ongoing high-priority calls, irrespective of whether the call is a late entrant to a cell, or
whether there is another ongoing ASCI call, or irrespective of a group transmit mode
of a late entrant in that cell due to the handover of the subsequent talker (one-
channel model).
RA21611EN10GLS0
Cell A
common downlink common downlink

common
uplink downlink
Cell 1 Cell 2 Cell 3
Fig.. 16. Advanced

. . . speech
. . call
. items
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41
Group call broadcast point in BSS
ASCI services, as specified in the relevant standards, require for each cell in the
service area of a call one common broadcast channel where the listeners in the cell
are able to receive the speech of the talker. Therefore, for each cell of the ASCI call a
dedicated channel is required that is assigned on the A interface between MSC and
BSS and on the Asub interface between TRAU and BSC.
The feature “ASCI: Group call broadcast point in BSS” supports the 3GPP defined
A-Interface link sharing, which shifts the voice broadcast point of ASCI calls – both
for circuits and signaling – into the BSS. Within the BSS, the BSC works as a
multicast so that it is possible to reduce the amount of channels on the A and Asub
interfaces to only one common channel for group calls from the MSC to each BSS
that control the cells in the service area of the ASCI call.
The feature “ASCI: Group call broadcast point in BSS” can be enabled/disabled by
network operators per BSC.
It is expected that the number of cells for ASCI services increase considerably when
ASCI services are used by technical emergency organizations such as fire brigades,
ambulances etc. The high number of cells that have to be served by each ASCI call
would lead to a very high number of channels carrying the same signal over the
same route, thereby wasting line and transport resources on A and Asub interfaces. If
there are, for example, 5 ASCI calls with a service area of 400 cells each, they
require 2000 circuits on the A/Asub interface.
By shifting the voice broadcast point of ASCI calls into the BSS, the feature “ASCI:
Group call broadcast point in BSS” establishes only one terrestrial resource and one
SCCP resource connection on the A and Asub interfaces for all cells of an ASCI call
controlled by a given BSC. Saving the number of circuits reduces substantially the
network operators' costs for leased lines.
RA21611EN10GLS0
Fig. 17 Group call broadcast point in BSS for BSC1
Fig. 18 Group call broadcast point in BSS for eBSC
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43
Reactivation of VGCS/VBS channels after service unavailability
Up to now, if an ongoing ASCI call (VGCS/VBS) is released in one of the cells of the
service area due to BSS generated reasons (e.g. HW failure of radio channels)
resulting in the release of the resources and stop of transmitting the notifications for
the ASCI call, it is not possible to re-establish the ASCI call in this cell after the cause
for the release has been overcome. Similarly, if an ASCI call establishment fails in a
cell, e.g. because of cell congestion, and the request is rejected for this cell, no
further attempts are undertaken to connect the ASCI subscribers in this cell to the
ASCI call. Eventually, if a shutdown command affects the VGCS/VBS channel in a
cell, the related ASCI connections are released without trying to reconfigure the
VGCS/VBS channel, because a reconfiguration report to the MSs in that cell was not
provided.
The feature “ASCI: Reactivation of VGCS/VBS Channels After Service Unavailability”

offers the (re-)establishment of an ASCI call in the involved cells automatically by the
BSC, as soon as the reasons for the release/rejection have been overcome. Also a
reconfiguration of VGCS/VBS Channels in case of shutdown commands and
appropriate reconfiguration reports are provided.
The “ASCI: Reactivation of VGCS/VBS Channels After Service Unavailability” feature

generates the following benefits for the customer:
• Since a congestion situation, shutdown of radio resources or a hardware failure in a

cell inhibits a call connection only for a short time usually, an ASCI subscriber in this
cell is excluded from an ASCI call only for this time period. Thus ASCI messages are
broadcast in a reliable way even in case of a temporary connection failure.
• There is no effort to re-establish the ASCI connection after a temporary interruption

any more and other participants of the group call in other cells which operate well
are not disturbed during the re-establishment process. Without this feature, the
usual way to have the “lost” subscribers participate again was to stop the complete
ASCI call and re-establish it again.
RA21611EN10GLS0
Fig. 19 ASCI Call Re-Establishment after Failure of the VGCS/VBS Channel
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45
Ciphering for Voice Group Call Services

In all previous SBS releases the implementation of ASCI service supports no
confidentiality protection, e.g. no encryption/decryption is performed during a
VGCS/VBS call.
In BR9.0, ciphering is introduced for both ASCI call types (VBS and VGCS) to allow
radio interface integrity also for group calls. This is done by defining per cell basis the
new parameter ASCICIPH.
For those ASCI subscribers that use a dedicated channel (i.e. originator of a VGCS
call or the ‘subsequent talker’), the usual ciphering procedure as known for CS calls
(IMSI related ciphering based on a subscriber-individual Kc) is applied in any case.
Special conditions apply, however, for all other subscribers participating in a group
call. The overall (not talker-related) ciphering of a group call is not based on an
individual ciphering key Kc but on the broadcast ciphering key V_ Kc.
Within different cells, different Voice group or Broadcast ciphering keys V_Kc must
be used. This means that in case of cell change of an MS also the Group Ciphering
Key V_Kc changes. On another hand the lifetime of the same V_Kc shall not be
longer than the TDMA frame number cycle (which is equal to 3 hours and 28 minutes
period).
In the BSS and MS, the ciphering key V_ Kc is calculated using the so-called ‘Key
Modification Function’ (KMF) each time
 a new ASCI group call is set up in a cell and
 after each TDMA frame number cycle (which is equal to 3 hours and 28 minutes
period).
The input parameters of KMF are:

 VSTK_RAND: a 128 bits Short Term Key, forwarded from the BSC to the BTS
 CGI: the cell global identifier which identifies a cell world-wide uniquely
 CELL_GLOBAL_COUNT: counter value used for a mechanism that ensures the
change of the V_Kc in regular time periods (the time period is the length of a
complete TDMA frame number cycle).
The output of KMF is the ciphering key:

 V_Kc: 128 bit encryption key that is to be used for the VGCS call in this cell in
this time period.
The 'Ciphering on Voice Group Call Services' feature introduces the KMF in the BTS
independently on the BTS platform, e.g. the feature if enabled can run in the BTSone
as well as in the BTSplus.
RA21611EN10GLS0
CS data transmission during active voice group call
Advanced Speech Call Items (ASCI) offer customers the possibility to establish a call
in several cells that form the so-called service area of a Voice Group Call Service
(VGCS) or Voice Broadcast Service (VBS). Within this service area one subscriber
speaks and several subscribers in the various cells listen to the speech. In case of
VGCS the speaker can change. Up to now, such group communication is
implemented as a pure voice service within today's mobile radio systems.
This feature, also called “Enhanced Push-to-Talk”, is an extension of ASCI services
and provides an additional point-to-multipoint data service for an ongoing VGCS call:
Each participant of the voice group call – the talker and the listeners as well – can
send a small amount of application data to the other participants without interrrupting
or releasing the active voice group call.
The feature "CS Data Transmission During Active Voice Group Call" offers the
following functionality:
• Short application data can be sent during an ongoing voice group call without
interrupting the group call.
• Any subscriber (listener or talker) is able to send short application data to all other
participants of the ongoing VGCS call. In case it is a listener who sends data, his
identity is included. The transmission of short application data is triggered by
pressing the push-to-send key on the MS.
• Any subscriber (listener or subsequent talker) is able to confirm the receipt of data
by sending an acknowledgement regardless if someone is currently talking or not.
Confirmation is done by pressing the push-to-confirm key on the MS.
• The transmission time of the short application-specific data from pressing the
pushto- send key at the sender's terminal to displaying the data at the receiver's
mobiles does not exceed 500 ms.
The basic ideas to avoid interrupting of an ongoing group call while sending and
distributing short data are the following:
– Short CS application data is usually sent and distributed on air interface via
FACCH.
– The ASCI 1.5 channel mode shall be used providing one common DL channel and
two UL channels (one is the counterpart of the common DL channel, the other is an
additional allocated dedicated UL channel). In case a listener sends data, one UL
channel is still used for the UL VGCS call, the other for sending CS data. The ASCI
1.0 channel mode – only one UL channel, which is the counterpart of the common DL
channel – also allows additional transmitting of short data, but with performance
degradation.
– Application data is short enough to fit in one SABM frame.
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47
Specification DB Name Objec Range Meaning

Name t (default)
ASCI_SERVICE ASCISER BTS ENABLED, Enables or disables
ASCI service on a cell
DISABLED
basis.
(DISABLED)
ASCI_UPLINK_ ASCIULR BTS ULRDISABLE The ASCI Uplink Reply
REPLY parameter enables or
VBSENABLE
disables the uplink reply
VGCSENABLE procedures for both
VBS_VGCSENABLE VGCS and VBS
(ULRDISABLE)
TIMER_UPLINK_ TUPLREP BTS 5..60 s This timer determines
REPLY the period between
(20)
transmissions of the
Uplink Free message in
the uplink reply
procedure.
NOTIFICATION_ NOTFACCH BSC NO SUPP, Indicates for which
FACCH mobile priorities the
ALWAYS,
NOTIFICATION FACCH
EQA, HIGHEQB, messages are sent on
HIGHEQx, x=0…4 the FACCH belonging to
(NOSUPP) the TCH seized by one
ASCI subscriber.
TIMER_GRANT TGRANT BTS 1-254 This timer determines
the period in which BTS
unit 10ms
waits for a correctly
(4) decoded message from
MS as an answer to the
sent message VGCS UL
GRANT.
Enable_ EPTT BSC TRUE/(FALSE) The “Enhanced Push-
EnhancedPush- to_Talk” feature can be
ToTalk enabled/disabled by this
attribute
VGShort_Data_ VGSDBB BSC TRUE/(FALSE) This attribute allows to
DistributionByBSC distribute the short data
to be transmitted within
the group call area by
control of the BSC in
RA21611EN10GLS0
case only one BSC

covers this area;
otherwise the MSC is
involved which causes a
certain time delay
timer3151 T3151 BTS 1 ... 9 s This attribute determines
the repetition time for the
(3s)
UPLINK BUSY message
in the cell
Number_Of_Enha NEPTTREP BTS (0 )... 3 This attribute determines
nced_PushToTalk the number of repetitions
_Repetitions of the application-
specific data
transmissions
RA21611EN10GLS0
49

Name (default)
VG_UPINK_ VGRULF BTS 1-254 This parameter is used for
FREE the repetition of the
(1)
UPLINK FREE message
during the Talker Change
procedure to inform all MS
that UL is free.
ASCI_ONE_CH_ ASCIONE- BSC TRUE,FALSE Determines whether the
MODEL ASCI "one channel model"
CHMDL (FALSE)
is enabled or not.
ENABLE _NCH_ ENPERNOTDE BTS TRUE, FALSE This attribute enables the
REPET repetition of notifications
(FALSE)
on dedicated channels.
REPET_PER_ PNOFACCH BTS 1, 1.5 …5 This attribute defines the
FACCH duration of the repetition
unit 0,5s
period for the FACCH
(5) notification of a given
ASCI call.
ASCI_ ASCICIPH BTS TRUE, FALSE This parameter indicates
CIPHERING whether the ciphering for
(FALSE)
ASCI calls is enabled.
Enable_ASCI_C EASCICRE BTS TRUE/FALSE The “ASCI Reactivation of
allReEstablish (FALSE) VGCS/VBS Channels ... ”
feature can be
enabled/disabled by this
attribute
Bsc_Timer14_Pu BSCT14PUB BTS TunitType: The queuing timer for the
blic ASCI calls in the “public”
(HLFSEC) /
ASCI re-establishment
SEC5 buffer. When the queuing
TvalueType: timer expires, a call in the
ASCI re-establishment
0 –(16)- 254 buffer is released. The
“public” queue is used for
ordinary subscribers.
Bsc_Timer14_W BSCT14WPS BTS TunitType: The WPS queue is used
PS (HLFSEC) / SEC5 for prioritized subscribers.
TvalueType:
0 –(16)- 254
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2 Extended channel mode
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51
In a normal GSM standard cell the maximum MS-BTS distance is 35 km; this is the
limit given by the maximum TA (timing advance 0...63 bit) which is possible on one
radio timeslot.
Distance calculation:
Dist = TA * bit-period * light-speed / 2
bit-period = 48/13 (3.69) µs
light-speed = 300000 km/s.
The feature ‘Extended Cells’ supports a larger distance between MS and BTS by
using two subsequent radio timeslots to compensate the longer delay of the bursts.
The first timeslot of a double timeslot has always an even number (0, 2, 4, 6), the
following corresponding channel must not be created.
For a double timeslot the maximum propagation delay can be 219 bit ( 120 km), but
note that the maximum distance which can be configured by O&M is 100 km.
The BTS splits the propagation delay into two values:
 timing advance (TA), covering the first 63 bit delay
 timing offset (TO), used for extended cells as an offset to TA for delays greater
63 bit (the propagation delay is the algebraic sum of TA and TO).
When activating the SDCCH and later the TCH for that corresponding MS, the
evaluated initial TA value forms part of the layer 1 header downlink, the initial TO is
used BTS-internally.
If the average of the deviation exceeds 1 bit period (48/13 µs) in comparison to the
TA confirmed by the MS (contained in every uplink SACCH header information), the
previously ordered TA is incremented/decremented by one and sent as new ordered
TA in the layer 1 header downlink to MS. As previously mentioned TA cannot exceed
63 bit. TO is used internally for processing further delay in case of extended cells.
Note that TO may only be greater then 0 when TA has the maximum value 63.
In extended cells all control and signaling channels must be defined in extended
(double) mode.
Name (default)
CELL_TYPE CELLTYP BTS STDCELL Maximum range
35 km a cell covering,
(def.)
Maximum range 100 km a
EXTCELL
cell covering,
Dual Band Standard Cell.
DBSTDCELL
EXTENDED_MODE EXTMODE CHAN TRUE Defines if a channel is
FALSE used in extended mode or
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(FALSE) not.
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53
BTS
Max
35 km
Max
100 km
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 TRX in Extended Cell

(for near and far area)
EXTMODE=TRUE EXTMODE=FALSE
Fig.. 17. Extended

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RA21611EN10GLS0
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55
3 Adaptive Multirate AMR
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3.1 Basic
The Adaptive Multi Rate Speech Codec (AMR) is made up of a set of speech codec
modes at different bit rates. Each codec mode provides a different level of error
protection on the air interface, obtained by varying the balance between source (i.e.
speech) coding bit rate and radio channel coding bit rate. All modes may be mapped
to full rate channels, only the lower bit rate modes may be mapped to half rate
channels.
The speech codecs FR, EFR and HR show several constraints. They operate at
constant source and channel coding bit rate and at constant error protection. The
quality of FR and HR is not high enough to cope with wireline speech. EFR is not
robust enough against bad radio conditions. The flexibility of AMR provides important
benefits:
 Improved speech quality in both half-rate and full-rate modes by means of
codec mode adaptation, i.e. varying the balance between speech and channel
coding for the same gross bit-rate.
 Ability to trade speech quality and capacity smoothly and flexibly by a
combination of channel and code mode adaptation.
 Improved robustness to channel errors under bad radio signal conditions in full-
rate mode. This increased robustness to errors and hence to interference may
be used to increase capacity by operating a tighter frequency re-use pattern.
This allows the optimization of networks for high quality or high capacity.
 Use of certain modes for special applications, e.g. wireline quality half-rate for
indoor with low channel errors.
In full-rate mode only, the robustness to high error levels is substantially increased
such that the quality level of EFR at a C/I of 10 dB is extended down to a C/I of 4 dB.
This gives additional coverage in noise limited scenarios.
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57
Traffic Channel Full: Gross rate 22.8 kbit/s
Flexible
Channel Coding Speech Coding
balance
Fig. 18 AMR principle
22,8
kbit/s channel coding FR
channel coding HR
speech coding
11,4
kbit/s
0
FR1 FR2 FR3 FR4 FR5 FR6 FR7 FR8 HR1 HR2 HR3 HR4 HR5 HR6
Fig. 19 AMR codecs
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59
MOS
5.0
4.0
3.0
EFR
12.2
10.2
7.95
2.0
7.4
6.7
5.9
5.15
4.75 Conditions
1.0
No Errors C/I=16 dB C/I=13 dB C/I=10 dB C/I= 7 dB C/I= 4 dB C/I= 1 dB
EFR 4.01 4.01 3.65 3.05 1.53
12.2 4.01 4.06 4.13 3.93 3.44 1.46
10.2 4.06 3.96 4.05 3.80 2.04
7.95 3.91 4.01 4.08 3.96 3.26 1.43
7.4 3.83 3.94 3.98 3.84 3.11 1.39
6.7 3.77 3.80 3.86 3.29 1.87

5.9 3.72 3.69 3.59 2.20
5.15 3.50 3.58 3.44 2.43
4.75 3.50 3.52 3.43 2.66
Fig. 20 Family of curves (clean speech in full rate) acc. to ETSI study
DMOS
5.0
4.0
3.0
Sel. Requir.
AMR-FR
2.0 EFR
FR
G.729
Conditions
1.0
No Errors C/I=16 dB C/I=13 dB C/I=10 dB C/I= 7 dB C/I= 4 dB C/I= 1 dB
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Fig. 21 AMR performance curves (full rate with street noise) acc. to ETSI study
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61
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MOS
5.0
4.0
3.0 EFR
7.95
7.4
6.7
5.9
2.0 5.15
4.75
FR
HR
Conditions
1.0
No Errors C/I=19 dB C/I=16 dB C/I=13 dB C/I=10 dB C/I= 7 dB C/I= 4 dB
EFR 4.21 4.21 3.74 3.34 1.58
7.95 4.11 4.04 3.96 3.37 2.53 1.60
7.4 3.93 3.93 3.95 3.52 2.74 1.78
6.7 3.94 3.90 3.53 3.10 2.22 1.21

5.9 3.68 3.82 3.72 3.19 2.57 1.33
5.15 3.70 3.60 3.60 3.38 2.85 1.84
4.75 3.59 3.46 3.42 3.30 3.10 2.00
FR 3.50 3.50 3.14 2.74 1.50
HR 3.35 3.24 2.80 1.92
Fig. 22 Family of curves (clean speech in half rate) acc. to ETSI study
Capacity Im pr ove m e nt as a function of the AM R Hands e t

Pe n e tr ation
(Par am e te r : Half Rate Op e r ating Thr e s hold )
120.0%
HR
Only
100.0%
Capacity Improvement
15 dB
80.0%
60.0% 20 dB
40.0% 25 dB
20.0%
AM R Pe ne tr ation
0.0%
50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
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Fig. 23 AMR capacity gain acc. to ETSI study
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Most speech codecs including the existing GSM codecs (FR, HR and EFR) operate
at a fixed coding rate. Channel protection against errors is added also at a fixed rate.
The coding rates are chosen as a compromise between best clear channel
performance and robustness to channel errors. The AMR system exploits this
performance compromise by adapting the speech and channel coding rates
according to the quality of the radio channel resulting in better quality and increased
robustness against errors.
The radio resource algorithm, enhanced to support AMR operation, allocates a half-
rate or full-rate channel according to channel quality and the traffic load on the cell in
order to obtain best balance between quality and capacity.
The channel measurement reports and any other information for the codec mode
adaptation are transmitted in-band in the traffic channel. In addition the channel
mode of the codec can be switched in order to increase channel capacity while
maintaining the speech quality to operator specified limits. These variations are
carried out by means of AMR modifications and handovers.
The allocation of AMR FR or AMR HR codecs can also be related to the current
traffic load in the network. The operator sets the threshold for the traffic dependent
allocation of HR channels (c.f. "Cell Load Dependent Activation of Half Rate").
Principles
 Channel state information is derived in MS and BTS.
 BTS and BSC decide which AMR codec mode is used based on channel state
information.
 Quality/robustness of AMR modes depend on division of the gross bit-rate into
speech and channel coding.
 In-band signaling is provided over the air interface to switch rapidly between the
different modes (within full-rate or half-rate modes) in order to adapt to the
channel conditions.
 Switching between codec modes is seamless.
 AMR can also be operated in "HR only" mode. The speech quality perceived by
the subscriber is similar to present FR quality. AMR "HR only" mode is even
better in respect to clean speech and channel errors. In case of background
noise and channel errors the performance is lower.
AMR Codec Modes

The AMR codec operates at different codec mode bit-rates (4.75 kbit/s - 12.2 kbit/s).
Each codec mode performs differently under changing channel quality (C/I). The
following table provides an overview on the codecs used.
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AMR Codec Designation Support by Support by

Mode Bitrate (Full Rate / Half Rate BTSplus BTSone
(kbit/s) Mode)
12.2 FR 1 ("Enhanced FR") Yes Yes
10.2 FR 2 Yes Yes
7.95 FR 3 / HR 1 FR 3 only FR 3 only
7.40 FR 4 / HR 2 Yes FR 4 only
6.70 FR 5 / HR 3 Yes Yes
AMR FR channels are mapped on 16 kbit/s TRAU frames on the Abis interface while
AMR HR channels are mapped on 8 kbit/s TRAU frames. (GSM standards, however,
map HR1 codec, 7.95 kbit/s source bit rate, to 16 kbit/s TRAU frames.)
Radio Interface
The AMR codec and its control operate without any changes to the air-interface
channel multiplexing. Conventional TCH/F and TCH/H channels are used for full-rate
and half-rate channel modes of the AMR codec.
Channel Mode Handover

Channel mode handovers (AMR HR  AMR FR) are executed in the same way as
existing intra cell handovers. An algorithm to determine when and whether to perform
an AMR handover is applied.
Code Mode Signaling

Signaling and measurement reporting for codec mode changes (e.g. AMR FR i 
AMR FRj) are transmitted in-band on the radio interface.
VAD/DTX
Signaling and measurement reporting for codec mode changes are transmitted in-
band on the radio interface.
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3.2 AMR wideband TCH/WFS
Most speech coding systems in use today are based on a speech sampling rate of 8
kHz deploying a typical bandwidth of speech between approx. 200-300 and 3400 Hz
only which limits the speech quality. Such speech codecs are used in today's wireline
and mobile networks and include usual AMR codecs (narrowband adaptive multirate
codecs).
This feature introduces wideband AMR coding as specified by 3GPP and ITU-T. The
sampling rate is increased to 16 kHz, the deployed bandwidth is extended and
ranges from 50 to 7000 Hz. AMR wideband is based on a family of new speech
codecs.
AMR wideband significantly improves the speech quality compared to today’s

narrowband solutions. The “tin can” sound experienced with narrowband
communication is replaced by a more face-to-face like sound sensation creating a
greater sense of privacy, discretion and comfort. More in detail, the increase of the
high frequency range of the audio signals improves intelligibility (such as
differentiation between “s”, “f” and “th”) and the separation of speech from
background noise. Additionally, speech sounds more natural easing speaker
recognition and giving a feeling of transparent communication. The increase of the
low frequency range of the audio signals mainly affects speech naturalness.
The increased intelligibility and naturalness of speech allows for mobile applications
requiring high quality audio parts. Such applications can be e.g. enhanced automatic
voice recognition, improved voice mail, audio teleconferencing, program
broadcasting, drive information services. Also wireless communication regarding
multimedia content and Internet applications can be pushed. Such applications are
e.g. network based language learning, distribution of narrative content, streaming
services, real-time collaboration, virtual reality scenarios.
Since the quality of wideband AMR speech surpasses that of today’s fixed networks,
users of fixed networks might be attracted by appropriate mobile services and might
become new costumers. Positive changes in calling patterns are expected,
generating substantially more mobile traffic, both in terms of number and duration of
calls.
Wideband AMR is adopted by both 3GPP and ITU-T, thus the same codec can be
applied for wireless and wireline services. The implementation of wideband voice
applications and services across a wide range of communication systems and
platforms will be simplified.
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Implementation
Application of wideband AMR affects all network elements of the radio access
network including TRAUs. The different network elements are in charge for the main
functional parts of wideband AMR as described in the following topics.
TRAU
Two TRAUs are affected in case of an MS-MS call, one on the originating side, one
on the terminating side of the connection. These TRAUs activate and control the
“tandem free operation” (TFO) mode required for the transparent transmission of
speech encoded (thereby compressed) wideband AMR speech data in the core
network. The TRAUs decide, if TFO is possible. They handle the TFO protocol and
continuously monitor the tandem free operation. This includes the handling of TFO
frames (packing/unpacking in uplink/downlink direction) and of in-band control
information (contained in the downlink TFO frames).
BSC
– Channel allocation for wideband AMR usage

– Database handling for the new attributes
BTS
– Channel coding/decoding (DL/UL) for GMSK modulated wideband AMR codecs

– Pre-processing for handover and power control
– Link adaptation
MS
– Measurements for DL link adaptation

– Channel coding/decoding (UL/DL) for GMSK modulated wideband AMR codecs
– Speech coding/decoding (UL/DL)
AMR Wideband Codec Modes
AMR wideband for Nokia Siemens Networks comprises three speech codec modes
with bit rates of 12.65, 8.85 and 6.6 kbit/s. The speech codecs utilize the Algebraic
Code Excited Linear Prediction (ACELP) technology, which is also employed in the
AMR narrowband and EFR speech codecs. Table 1 and Table 2 show the
characteristics of the wideband AMR codecs. The encoding is done block by block
(one block comprises data for one TFO frame and 4 radio bursts). The speech bits
are grouped in the two classes 1a and 1b. Class 1a bits are protected by CRC and
convolutional coding, class 1b bits are protected by convolutional coding only.
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Characteristics of AMR Wideband Codec Modes for CRC Encoding
Characteristics of AMR Wideband Codec Modes for Convolution Coding
The information about the AMR wideband codec is carried by the “Multirate
Configuration” Information Element. This Information Element is present in the
following messages within the radio access network:
– CHANNEL ACTIVATION (Abis)

– MODE MODIFY REQUEST (Abis)
– ASSIGNMENT COMMAND (Um)
– HANDOVER COMMAND (Um)
– CHANNEL MODE MODIFY (Um)
– DTM ASSIGNMENT COMMAND (Um)
Further aspects of the wideband AMR feature comprise:
– Integration in the Service Dependent Channel Allocation

– Codec Selection at Call Setup
– Tandem Free Operation
– Codec Mode Adaptation
– Switching Between Wideband AMR and Narrowband AMR (exceptional cases)
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3.2.1 SBS implementation

Both BTSplus and BTSone support all FR codecs. However, not all AMR HR codecs
are supported: Due to static alignment of HR channels on 8 kbit/s TRAU frames,
AMR HR codec HR1 (for BTSplus) and AMR HR codecs HR1 and HR2 (for BTS1)
are not supported.
The TRAU equipped with TRAC V7 modules supports all codecs (FR/HR/EFR
speech, data, AMR full rate, AMR half rate, etc.)
3.2.2 TRAU pooling

For the TRAU, pools can be defined for the timeslots of a PCMA:
Parameter Object Range Meaning

(default)
DEFPOOLTYP PCMA NOT_DEFINED, Default pool type, this parameter is
POOL_1,…, only relevant if the feature ‘pooling of
POOL_48 A-interface TCH resources’ (the
parameter EPOOL in command SET
(NOT_DEFINED)
BSC) is enabled and defines the
default type of pool assigned to every
TSLA of the given PCMA.
POOLTYP TSLA NOT_DEFINED, Pool type, this parameter defines the
POOL_1,…, type of pool assigned to the TSLA.
POOL_48
(NOT_DEFINED)
3.2.3 AMR codec adaptation

AMR codec adaptation is done within a restricted set of codec modes (using half-rate
or full-rate). This set is called Active Code Set ACS and can be composed of up to
four codec modes.
The dynamic changes between AMR codecs is done according to an adaptation
algorithm without notification or intervention by the BSC. This algorithm is called AMR
Link Adaptation. It is based on channel quality measurements performed in the BTS
and MS (Quality Indicator is defined in terms of carrier to interference ratio C/I).
For the AMR link adaptation DL the thresholds and the associated hysteresis are
administrable by the parameters given in the following table.
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For the AMR link adaptation UL so called reference thresholds for the transition
between the possible codec modes are hard-coded.
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3.2.4 BSC Database Parameters

The tables below contain parameters concerning basic AMR settings (used codec
modes, threshold - hysteresis for the active codecs and initial coding mode). In the
BSC DB there are two sets of these parameters with the same meaning but
configured independently. One set is applied for AMR subscribers allocated on
hopping and another on non hopping traffic channels (e.g. FHAMRFRC1 and
AMRFRC1 respectively).
Since release BR9.0 the AMR feature has to be enabled generally on BSC level.
Parameter Object Range (Default) Meaning

EAMR BSC TRUE, FALSE (TRUE) The parameter enables AMR
speech in the BSC. When it is
set to TRUE, the BSC
generally allows the use of
AMR speech codecs in the
BSC when the BSC receives
TCH request messages.
EAMRWB BSC TRUE/FALSE (FALSE) This attribute generally
enables/disables
the “AMR wideband” feature.
AMRFRC1, BTS 1:RATE_01 (4.75 kbit/s), AMR Full Rate Codec no. 1,
AMRFRC2, 2:RATE_02 (5.15 kbit/s), AMR Full Rate Codec no. 2,
AMRFRC3, 3:RATE_03 (5.90 kbit/s), AMR Full Rate Codec no. 3,
AMRFRC4 4:RATE_04 (6.70 kbit/s), AMR Full Rate Codec no. 4,
and 5:RATE_05 (7.40 kbit/s),
FHAMRFRC1, 6:RATE_06 (7.95 kbit/s),
FHAMRFRC2, 7:RATE_07 (10.2 kbit/s),
FHAMRFRC3, 8:RATE_08 (12.2 kbit/s)
FHAMRFRC4
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AMRFRTH23 BTS Threshold: 0 ... 63; "Threshold-Hysteresis" related
Default: 12 (6 dB) to the active codecs specified
and
Hysteresis: 0 ..15 (7.5dB) in the AMRFRC2 and
FHAMRFRTH23 AMRFRC3
Default: 4 ( 2dB)
AMRFRTH34 BTS Threshold: 0 ... 63; "Threshold-Hysteresis" related

Default: 23 (11,5 dB) to the active codecs specified
and
Hysteresis: 0 ..15 (7.5dB) in the AMRFRC3 and
FHAMRFRTH34 AMRFRC4
Default: 4 ( 2dB)
AMRHRC1 BTS 1:RATE_01 (4.75 kbit/s), AMR Half Rate Codec no. 1,
AMRHRC2, 2:RATE_02 (5.15 kbit/s), AMR Half Rate Codec no. 2,
AMRHRC3, 3:RATE_03 (5.90 kbit/s), AMR Half Rate Codec no. 3,
AMRHRC4 4:RATE_04 (6.70 kbit/s), AMR Half Rate Codec no. 4,
and 5:RATE_05 (7.40 kbit/s) AMR Half Rate Codec no. 5
FHAMRHRC1
FHAMRHRC2,
FHAMRHRC3,
FHAMRHRC4
AMRACMRDL HAND 1…31 , Size of averaging window for
Codec Mode Requests (CMR)
Unit=CMR
(5 CMR)
AMRHRTH12 Threshold 0..63 "Threshold-Hysteresis" related

to the active codecs specified
and Default: 19 (9,5 dB)
in the AMRHRC1 and
FHAMRHRTH12 Hysteresis 0..15 AMRHRC2
Default:4 (2 dB)
AMRHRTH23 Threshold: 0 ... 63 "Threshold-Hysteresis" related

to the active codecs specified
and Default: 24 (12 dB)
in the AMRHRC2 and
FHAMRHRTH23 Hysteresis: 0 ... 15 AMRHRC3
Default:4 (2 dB)
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Parameter Obje Range (Default) Meaning

ct
AMRHRTH34 BTS Threshold: 0 ... 63 "Threshold-Hysteresis" related to
the active codecs specified in the
and Default: 30(15 dB)
AMRHRC3 and AMRHRC4
FHAMRHRTH34 Hysteresis: 0 ... 15
For BTS One family these two
Default:4 (2 dB) values should be set as NULL
Null (BTS One)
AMRFRIC BTS 0:START_MODE_FR, Initial FR codec mode (i.e. start
mode among the ACS)
and 1:CODE_MODE_01,
FHAMRFRIC 2:CODE_MODE_02,
3:CODE_MODE_03,
4:CODE_MODE_04
Default:0
AMRHRIC BTS 0:START_MODE_HR, Initial HR codec mode
and 1:CODE_MODE_01,
FHAMRHRIC 2: CODE_MODE_02,
3:CODE_MODE_03,
4:CODE_MODE_04
Default:0
AMRLKAT BTS Range: 0..200 The AMR link adaptation tuning
parameter is used by the AMR
0 = -10dB,
Uplink Codec Mode Adaptation in
100 = 0dB, the BTS.
200 = +10dB It tunes the transition between
unit: 0.1dB CODEC modes determined by
internal thresholds. A value
Default: 100 higher than the default shifts the
transition towards higher carrier-
to-interferer or signal-to-noise
ratios. A value lower than the
default has the opposite effect.
Adaptation of AMR HR and AMR
FR is affected simultaneously.
AMRWBFGTH12 BTS threshold: Lower threshold for switching
between codec 2 and 1 and
0 … 63
hysteresis value to obtain the
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75
hysteresis: higher threshold for switching

between codec 1 and 2.
0 … 15
FHAMRWBFG BTS threshold: Lower threshold in case of
TH12 0 … 63 frequency hopping for switching
(0 … 31.5 dB) between codec 2 and 1 and
hysteresis: hysteresis value to obtain the
0 … 15 higher threshold for switching
(0 … 7.5 dB) between codec 1 and 2.
AMRWBFGTH BTS threshold: Lower threshold for switching
23 0 … 63 between codec 3 and 2 and
(0 … 31.5 dB) hysteresis value to obtain the
hysteresis: higher threshold for switching
0 … 15 between codec 2 and 3.
(0 … 7.5 dB)
FHAMRWBFG BTS threshold: Lower threshold in case of
TH23 0 … 63 frequency hopping for switching
(0 … 31.5 dB) between codec 3 and 2 and
hysteresis: hysteresis value to obtain the
0 … 15 higher threshold for switching
(0 … 7.5 dB) between codec 2 and 3.
AMRLKATWFS BTS 0 … 200 This attribute allows to favour
(-10 … 10 dB) either more robust AMR codec or
wideband AMR codec in uplink
direction.
AMRWBFGIC BTS 0 ... 3 This attribute determines the
initial wideband AMR codec for
GMSK modulated full rate TCHs.
FHAMRWBFGIC BTS 0 ... 3 This attribute determines the
initial wideband AMR codec for
GMSK modulated full rate TCHs
in case of frequency hopping.
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The thresholds and hysteresis values indicated in the table (for HR and FR codec
modes, see above) must fulfill the following conditions:
Thr_1  Thr_2  Thr_3
Thr_1 + Hys_1  Thr_2 + Hys_2  Thr_3 + Hys_3
Parameter Meaning Range

Thr_1 / 2 / 3 Thr_i gives the "downward" threshold for 0 (0.0 dB)... 63
switching to mode i (from mode i+1) (31.5 dB)
Hys_1 / 2 / 3 Hys_i determines the "upward" threshold for 0 (0.0 dB)... 15
switching to mode i+1 (from i, the switch occurs (7.5 dB)
at Thr_i+Hyst_i)
Carrier-to-
interference
ratio C/I
Codec_Mode_4
Thr_3 + Hyst_3 = Thr_Mx_Up (3)

Thr_3 = Thr_Mx_Down (4)
Codec_Mode_3
Codec_Mode_2
Codec_Mode_1
Thr Threshold
Hyst Hysteresis
Fig. 24 Threshold and hysteresis determine the switching "up" and "down" between codec modes in downlink
If the EAMR attribute of BSC is set to FALSE then the TRAU DEFPOOLTYP attribute
(CREATE PCMA) cannot be equal to POOL_23 or POOL_46.
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Thresholds and Hysteresis for AMR Link Adaptation Uplink

For the AMR link adaptation in the uplink so-called Reference Thresholds for the
transition between the possible CODEC modes are hard-coded. However, the
effective thresholds are not fixed, but they are calculated for each call, depending on
the used ACS and the value of the tuning parameter AMRLKAT.
As a basis for this calculation, the BTS uses a table of 'reference values'.
Fig. 25 Default values for the AMR Full/Half Rate Thresholds for AMR Link Adaptation Uplink
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The AMR Link Adaptation is based on the quality of a connection. Since a finer scale
is needed than the one RXQUAL offers, C/I is used. The approach to consider C/I
values for AMR calls was basically used to achieve a higher resolution of quality
values for AMR link adaptation. To harmonize and simplify the Handover and Power
Control Quality Threshold parameters the C/I values are since BR9.0 used for all
service types.
PC and HO decisions however are still based on RXQUAL values which are then
mapped into C/I values within the BTS.
The following mapping between C/I values and RXQUAL values is applied:
RXQUAL C/I
6.88 ... 7.00 1
6.76 ... 6.87 2
6.38 ... 6.75 4
6.13 ... 6.37 5
5.88 ... 6.12 6
5.63 ... 5.87 7
5.38 ... 5.62 8
5.13 ... 5.37 8
4.88 ... 5.12 9
4.63 ... 4.87 10
4.13 ... 4.62 11
3.88 ... 4.12 12
3.38 ... 3.87 13
2.88 ... 3.37 14
2.63 ... 2.87 15
2.13 ... 2.62 16
1.63 ... 2.12 17
1.13 ... 1.62 18
0.38 ... 1.12 19
0.00 ... 0.37 20
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4 Channel allocation strategy
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4.1 Basic
Allocation of the radio channels is not only based on the best interference band as it
was in early SBS releases (e.g. BR5.5) but is a service dependant.
The Service Dependant Channel Allocation Strategy (SDCA) applied on Um interface
offers the possibility to decide the call policy for resource allocation (data calls
preferably on BCCH carrier and speech calls on non BCCH carriers or vice versa)
and the downgrading strategy (parameter DGRSTRGY) for multislot data calls in
case of congestion.
Cell Load Dependent Activation of Half Rate allocates half rate channels only during
high traffic peaks in the cell, when additional capacity is needed. The feature can be
enabled with the parameter EHRACT within a cell which is configured for dual rate
channels. A threshold HRACTT1 for standard cells and HRACTT2 for extended and
concentric cells is implemented.
If the cell traffic load exceeds the percentage defined by HRACTT1, all incoming calls
or incoming handovers, for which HR in the info element (IE) is indicated as
supported speech version, are forced to HR. If the cell load is below the percentage
defined by HRACTT1, all incoming calls are forced to FR.
The allocation of half rate channels according to the current cell load is also provided
for AMR half rate codecs with the parameters EHRACTAMR, HRACTAMRT1,
HRACTAMRT2 (see chapter 3, section 4.5.3).
Enhanced pairing of HR channels, parameter EPA set on the BSC basis, implies
automatically triggered forced intracell handovers that fill up dual rate TCHs, carrying
only one HR call, with another HR call.
Enhanced pairing due to Um radio TCH load is triggered if the percentage of dual
rate TCHs or full rate TCHs in the BTS in usage state ''idle'' drops below a definable
threshold. This thresholds are based on the parameters EPAT1 in case of standard
cell, complete area of a concentric cell and far area of an extended cell, and EPAT2
in case of inner area of a concentric cell and near area of an extended cell.
In addition, for circuit switched (CS) services Service Dependant Handover and
Power Control was introduced to offer higher flexibility for handover and power
control algorithms (parameters SGxHOPAR and SGxPCPAR discussed in chapters 3
and 6 respectively).
Further step to improve the Channel Allocation Strategy (SDCA) was done in the
SBS BR8.0 by introducing the feature “Multi Service Layer Support''.
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Service dependent Channel Allocation Strategy (SDCA)
BCCH TRX Packet Switched

BR6.0 traffic
Downgrade Strategy: HSCSD first
Service dependent Power Control and Handover
Service Group 1 Thresholds

BR7.0 Service Group 2
Enable / Disable
Service Group 14
BTS
BR8.0 Service List: Layer 1

• CS speech Layer 2
• Signaling
• GPRS...
Fig.. 26. SDCA

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4.2 Multi Service Layer Support

Operators can split-up the frequency spectrum of their networks to supply a variety of
services based on the marketing forecast for them.
In order to be able to supply the quality required for a variety of services the network
has to be designed with different frequency reuse patterns. That means that a cell
may consist of one or more service layers that, in turn, may comprise one or more
TRXs with the same reuse pattern and that provide the same mean quality in terms
of C/I.
The “Multi Service Layer Support” feature enables operators to assign the required
number of TRXs to the different service layers. This feature distinguishes between up
to nine different types of services having different quality demands. These service
types can be assigned to the respective service layers.
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Service Type Description

Signaling Signaling services only use the Stand Alone Dedicated
Control Channel (SDCCH) for signaling purposes, e.g. call
setups, Short Message Service, location updates, Location
Services, etc.
CS Speech Denotes circuit switched single slot speech services that
EFR/FR/HR use the following codecs: Enhanced Full Rate (EFR), Full
Rate (FR) or Half Rate (HR).
CS Speech AMR FR Denotes circuit switched single slot speech services that
use the Adaptive Multi-Rate Full Rate codec (AMR FR)
CS Speech AMR HR Denotes circuit switched single slot speech services that
use the Adaptive Multi-Rate Half Rate codec (AMR HR)
CS Data Performs circuit switched single slot data transfers using
rates up to 9.6 kbit/s or up to 14.4 kbit/s
HSCSD Denotes circuit switched single slot or multislot data
transfers that carry High Speed Circuit Switched Data
Services (HSCSD).
GPRS Denotes packet switched single slot or multislot data
transfers that carry General Packet Radio Services (GPRS)
on the Packet Data Traffic Channels (PDTCH) that are
either embedded alone or multiplexed in dynamically
allocated Packet Data Channels (PDCH)
EGPRS Denotes packet switched single slot or multislot data
transfers that carry Enhanced General Packet Radio
Services (EGPRS) in Packet Data Traffic Channels
(PDTCH) that are either embedded alone or multiplexed in
dynamically allocated Packet Data Channels (PDCH).
ASCI The Voice Broadcast Services (VBS) of Advanced Speech
Call Items (ASCI) allocate specific channels; e.g. GSM-
Railway subscribers (GSM-R) use common voice group
broadcast channels for Voice Group Call Services (VGCS).
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Two new concepts have been introduced to provide flexible resource allocation - the
Service Layer that a transceiver belongs to and the Service List SL.
The Service List is a collection of all of the service types supported within a cell and
defines the mapping of the service types onto the Service Layer Lists (SLL). The
Service Layer List is a logical entity, i.e. it is not an O&M parameter that includes all
of the Service Layers, but one or more, assigned to a particular service and listed in
decreasing order of their priority. A certain level of mean radio quality, as a result of
radio network planning characterizes a service ‘Layer’ - referred to as ‘Layer’ (LY) in
this document.
The Service List has to be configured per cell. Modification or deletion of the priority
layers within the SLL can be done for CS service types without interrupting service
provisioning, but for PS service types the service is interrupted because the PTPPKF
object has to be locked.
In order to avoid blocking on a layer as long as unused resources are available, it is
recommended to assign the layers to several Service Layer Lists.
NOTE
Please note that service types not included in the SL are not supported in the cell.
The system checks network consistencies such as hardware support before enabling
or disabling services, i.e. before modifying the ‘Service List’.
Separate Service Lists must be maintained per area in case of dual area cells, i.e.
concentric cells using single/dual bands or extended cells. The Service List of the
complete or far area is referred to as the Service List of the Primary Area. The
Service List of the inner or near area is referred to as the Service List of the
Complementary Area.
For dual band standard cells, a Service List of the Primary Area belongs to the area
that supports the radio frequency band using the BCCH.
Please note that GPRS is not available in specific cell areas, e.g. in the inner areas of
concentric cell structures, although both dual band standard cell areas support it.
EGPRS needs transceivers that are capable of satisfying its service requirements.
Resource allocation
On receiving a request for a particular service, the system reads the SL of the cell to
check its resources. If it contains the relevant service type, the system searches
through the resources in the first layer of the relevant SLL. If there are no resources
available in the highest priority layer, the system checks the next layer of that SLL
and so forth. Thus, services may be temporarily allocated on a layer other than the
highest prior layer.
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Therefore, a resource reallocation procedure is periodically triggered to move such

CSC calls into a more appropriate layer as soon as possible.
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TRX 0
Layer 1
Service List
TRX 1
Service 1
(e.g. signaling)
TRX 2
Service 2
(e.g. GPRS)
Layer 2
TRX 3
Service 3
(e.g. cs data)
TRX 4
Service 4
(e.g. cs speech)
Layer 3
TRX 5
List of all or Service Layer List defined per TRX with the same expected
selection of the 9 service, e.g. C/I are assigned to layers, e.g.
defined service
signaling  LY1 LY 1  TRX 0
types
GPRS  LY1, LY2 LY 2  TRX 1, TRX 2
cs data  LY2, LY1 LY 3  TRX 3, TRX 4, TRX 5
cs speech  LY3, LY2, LY1
Fig.. 27. Allocation

. . .example
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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4.2.1.1 Service Layer List

The Service Layer List contains radio channels of one or several TRXs with expected
the same quality and the same characteristics. Each TRX in the BTS will be
associated to a layer via O&M. The selection of the appropriate layer LYn and
grouping layers in the SLL for each service will be performed on the Radio Network
planning and customer consideration basis.
SLL0 is default for signaling services. SLL1 is created for data services requiring
higher quality. SLL2 is designed for less demanding services.
After creation of SL and SLL, resources assignment table can be created.
By default LY0 is reserved for signaling services.
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4.2.1.2 Parameters related to the Multi Service Layer Support and some changes
in the BSC DB
In the BSC DB object (SET) BTS the attributes xLLPRM and xLLCOM related to the
Service List Primary and Complementary respectively (x stands in this document for
different services like S for signaling, AMRFR, AMRHR, SCRTSWD for circuit
switched data, CRTSWSPE speech, EDGE, GPRS and HSCSD) are introduced.
In the BSC DB object TRX a new attribute LAYER ASSIGNED (LYn where n=0…11)
is introduced.
GSUP parameter in TRX is no longer supported.

CPOLICY is also no longer supported as the service layer concept is introduced.
DGRSTRGY is from the BSC object moved to the BTS object.
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4.2.2 BSC Database parameters

DGRSTRGY- BSC ENABLED,DISABLED Downgrade strategy busy
BCNT counting enables/disables the
(DISABLED)
functionality that considers the
setting of the parameter
DGRSTRGY.
If DGRSTRGYBCNT is set to
ENABLED, the BSC considers the
setting of the DGRSTRGY
parameter in the
-Radio TCH load calculation and
-Abis TCH load calculation
as in the previous SBS releases.
If DGRSTRGYBCNT is DISABLED
the BSC considers all (non-
reserved) TCHs which are
currently busy due to GPRS traffic
(PDCH) as 'busy' (like any other
TCH currently seized by a CS call)
no matter what the setting of
DGRSTRGY is.
DGRSTRGY BTS HSCSD_FIRST_ Downgrade strategy for multislot
DOWNGRADE, data calls.
GPRS_FIRST_
DOWNGRADE,
DOWNGRADE_HSCSD_
ONLY,
DOWNGRADE_GPRS_
ONLY,
NO_DOWNGRADE
(GPRS_FIRST_
DOWNGRADE)
<x>LLPRM BTS NULL (def.), Primary Service List for the
corresponding service.
LY_00,
x = AMRFR, AMRHR, AMRWBFR,
LY_01…
ASCI, S, CRTSWD, CRTSWSPE,
LY_11 E, G, HSCSD.
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Multiple selection is possible.
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91

<x>LLCOM BTS NULL (def.), Complementary Service List for
the corresponding service.
LY_00,
x = AMRFR, AMRHR, AMRWBFR,
LY_01…
CRTSWD, CRTSWSPE, E, G,
LY_11 HSCSD.
Multiple selection is possible.
LAYERID TRX NULL (def.), Specification of the group of the
radio resources the TRX belongs
LY_00,
to.
LY_01 …
LY_11
EPA BSC TRUE (def.), Enable HR channels pairing.
FALSE
EPAT1 BTS 0…10000, Enhanced pairing threshold 1
indicates the percentage of busy
Unit:0,01%
TCHs in a standard cell or
(4000) complete area of a concentric cell
or far area of an extended cell.
EPAT2 BTS 0…10000, Enhanced pairing threshold 2
indicates the percentage of busy
Unit:0,01%
TCH of the inner area of a
(4000) concentric cell or near area of an
extended cell.
EHRACT BTS TRUE (def.), FALSE Enable cell load dependent HR

activation.
HRACTT1 BTS 0 ... 10000 Threshold 1 for HR activation:
percentage of busy TCH in a
(6000)
standard cell or complete area of a
concentric cell or far area of an
extended cell.
HRACTT2 BTS 0 ... 10000 Threshold 2 for HR activation:
percentage of busy TCH for the
(6000)
inner area of a concentric cell or
near area of an extended cell.
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5 Exercises
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Exercise 1
Title: Creation of a RFC in the SBS
Task
The object in the SBS configuration language specifying a RFC is called TRX
(transceiver).
Take the UMN: BSC-CML (User Manual: BSC command manual) and check the
required input parameters.
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Exercise 2
Title: Dimensioning control channels of an extended cell
Task
Given an extended cell with 2 carriers.
In this cell, 3 channels with extended_mode = true are required.
Assume Erlang B and the following values:
Typical SDCCH load per subscriber and hour: 8 mErl.
Typical TCH load per subscriber and hour: 25 mErl.
Blocking probability 1%.
Determine the control channel configuration which offers highest capacity.
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Exercise 3
Title: Determining the highest "Trunking Gain" for the system
Task
By using Erlang B-traffic model table (chapter 9, page 45) compare the "Trunking
gain" in the operator's network composed of:
 an Erlang B system with 36 trunks
 2 Erlang B systems with 18 trunks each
 4 Erlang B systems with 9 trunks each
Which solution gives the highest offered traffic (trunking gain) if 1% blocking is
assumed in all cases?
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Exercise 4
Title: SS7 signaling load per BSC and needed number of CCSS7
links per BSC
Task
Assume the standard profile subscriber that makes signaling load of 900byte, BSC
system of 3500Erlang traffic capacity and traffic load per subscriber 25mErlang.
Calculate the total signaling load in the system and the number of needed CCSS7
links.
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Exercise 5
Title: Configuration of the Multi Service Layer in the given BTS
Task
Given an standard cell with 3carriers. TRX0 is the BCCH carrier
The BTS should support Signaling, CS speech, GPRS and HSCSD.
Create the service list for the given services in the BTS.
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6 Solutions
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Solution 1
Title: Creation of a RFC in the SBS
CREATE TRX:NAME=BTSM:0/BTS:0/TRX:1, TRXFREQ=CALLF05, PWRRED=0,

RADIOMR=OFF, RADIOMG=254, MOEC=TRUE, TRXAREA=NONE, LPDLMN=0,;
TRXMD=GSM; LAYERID=LY_02; USFGRAN=DISABLED;
The parameters are specified as following:

BTSM: BTS site manager number 0 ... 199
BTS: Number of sectors/site 0 ... 23
TRX: TRX number to the related cell 0 ... 23
TRXFREQ: TRX-frequency - ARFCN BCCHFREQ,
CALLF01,
CALLF02,
:
CALLF63
PWRRED: Power reduction [0...18 dB in steps of 2 dB] for 0 ... 9
decrease max. transmit power
RADIOMR: Radio measurement reports from TRXto the BSC ON / OFF
RADIOMG: Granularity of radio measurement reports in 0 ... 254
steps of 1 SACCH multiframe
MOEC Member of emergency configuration TRUE / FALSE
TRXAREA: Configuration of concentric cells NONE /
COMPLETE /
INNER
LPDLM Number of LAPD link 0 ... 10
TRXMD TRX is associated to the GSM or EDGE CU GSM / EDGE
USFGRAN Flexible USF granularity ENABLED/
DISABLED
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Solution 2
Title: Dimensioning control channels of an extended cell
Example configuration A:
1 BCCH combined (containing 4 SDCCH subslots), extmode must be true!
3 TCH_full, extmode = true
2 carriers
NTCH = 11, ATCH = 5.16 Erl, B = 0.01  206 subscribers

NSDCCH = 4, ASDCCH = 0.87 Erl, B = 0.01  108 subscribers
 Configuration A is SDCCH limited to 108 subscribers.
Example configuration B:
1 BCCH uncombined, extmode must be true!
1 SDCCH timeslot (containing 8 SDCCH subslots), extmode must be true!
3 TCH_full, extmode = true
2 carriers
NTCH = 9, ATCH = 3.78 Erl, B = 0.01  151 subscribers

NSDCCH = 8, ASDCCH = 3.13 Erl, B = 0.01  391 subscribers
 Configuration B is TCH limited to 151 subscribers.
 Configuration B offers higher capacity.
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Solution 3
Title: Determining the highest "Trunking Gain" for the operator's
system
The offered traffic for the given number of trunks and blocking is:
 25.51 Erlang if the operator uses only 1 system with 36 trunks

 2x 10.44=20.88Erlang if the operator uses 2 systems with 18 trunks each
 4x3.78=15.12 Erlang if the operator uses 4 systems with 9 trunks each.
Obviously the highest trunking gain is obtained by using the available number of
trunks in one system only.
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Solution 4
Title: SS7 signaling load per BSC and needed number of CCSS7
links per BSC
Number of the subscriber in the system is defined as:
Number of subscribers=Traffic capacity of the system/traffic per subscriber

Thus for the given values the number of subscribers is:
Number of subscribers=3500Erlang/25mErlang=140 000.
Total signaling load made by all subscribers is in 1h observation period is:
Total signaling load=Number of subscribes*signaling load per subscriber/1h, i.e.

Total signaling load=140 000*900byte/3600s= 35kbyte/s.
CCSS7 link single capacity is 64kbit/s=8kbyte/s.

Thus needed number of signaling links to handle offered signaling load is 5 as
obtained from:
35kbyte/s : 8kbyte/s=4,37 .
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Solution 5
Title: Configuration of the Multi Service Layer in the given BTS
The first step is to define in the TRX object the layers.
BCCH TRX should be defined as LY0 (best expected quality)

The other two TRXs we define as LY1 (normal quality).
Therefore three available TRXs are building 2 Layers:
 LY0 (BCCH TRX)
 LY1 (TRX1, TRX2)
Then SLL can be created. The position of the service in the service list corresponds
to the service priority:
 SLL0 (LY0)
 SLL1 (LY0, LY1)
 SLL2 (LY1, LY0)
It means that for SLL0 services will be allocated on BCCH TRX only.
For SLL1 system will look for a channel on BCCH TRX, and in case of channel
congested will search for a TCH of TRX1 and TRX2.
For SLL2 the services allocation will take place on TCHs of TRX2 and TRX1 and in
case of congestion on BCCH TRX.
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Priority Service Type
1 Signaling (SDCCH)
2 CS speech
3 GPRS
4 HSCSD
Priority Service Type SLL
1 Signaling (SDCCH) SLL0 (LY0)
2 CS speech SLL2 (LY1, LY0)
3 GPRS SLL1 (LY0, LY1)
4 HSCSD SLL2 (LY1, LY0)
Fig. 28 Service List and Service Layer List
TRX 0
Layer0
Service List
Service 1
(signaling)
Service 2 TRX 1
(speech)
Layer1
Service 3
(GPRS)
Service 4 TRX 2
(HSCSD)
List of services Service layer list defined per TRX with same expected C/I
supported in the service, e.g. are assigned to layers, e.g.
cell
signaling  LY0 LY0  TRX 0
GPRS  LY0&LY1 LY1  TRX 1, TRX 2
speech  LY1& LY0
HSCSD  LY1& LY0,
Fig. 29 Services supported in the cell by available TRXs
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117
TRX:NAME=BTSM:0/BTS:0/TRX:0,TRXFREQ=BCCHFREQ,PWRRED=0,RADIO
MR=ON,RADIOMG=2,MOEC=TRUE,TRXAREA=NONE,LPDLMN=0,TRXMD=GS
M,MAIO=<NULL>,FHSYID=<NULL>,LAYERID=LY_00,USFGRAN=DISABLED;
TRX:NAME=BTSM:0/BTS:0/TRX:1,TRXFREQ=CALLF01,PWRRED=0,RADIOMR
=ON,RADIOMG=2,MOEC=TRUE,TRXAREA=NONE,LPDLMN=0,TRXMD=GSM,M
AIO=<NULL>,FHSYID=<NULL>,LAYERID=LY_01,USFGRAN=DISABLED;
TRX:NAME=BTSM:0/BTS:0/TRX:2,TRXFREQ=CALLF02,PWRRED=0,RADIOMR
=ON,RADIOMG=2,MOEC=TRUE,TRXAREA=NONE,LPDLMN=0,TRXMD=GSM,M
AIO=<NULL>,FHSYID=<NULL>,LAYERID=LY_01,USFGRAN=DISABLED;
BTS:NAME=BTSM:0/BTS:0, SLLPRM=LY_00,
CRTSWSPELLPRM=LY_01&LY_00,GPRSLLPRM= LY_00&LY_01,
HSCSDLLPRM=LY_01& LY_00…;
Fig. 30 Database entry example
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01 RA21611EN10GLS0 Channel Configuration

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Channel configuration and allocation strategy 

1 Channel configuration and allocation

1 Channel configuration overview

Duplex Distance 45 MHz resp. 95 MHz

C = radio frequency channel (RFC)

Fig. 2 Radio frequency channels RFC on Um

Traffic Channels TCH

Control Channels Common Control

frame (time) synchronization,

Cell Broadcast broadcast of short messages:

Fig. 4 Broadcast control channel

Random Access MS requests a dedicated

answer to a random access,

paging of a MS in all cells of a

paging of MS‘s in all cells of a

Fig. 5 Common control channel

“out of band” signaling channel for:

Dedicated Slow Associated “in band” signaling channel (periodic):

Fast Associated “in band” signaling channel (sporadic):

Fig. 6 Dedicated control channel

Multiplexing of Logical Channels

Channel Combination Capacity

1 RACH slot: 1 channel request message of 1 subscriber.

Channel Organization in a Cell

 FCCH + SCH+ BCCH+ CCCH (AGCH + PCH + RACH) MAINBCCH

 FCCH + SCH + BCCH + CCCH + 4 (SDCCH + SACCH) MBCCHC

 SDCCH/8 + SACCH/C8 SDCCH

 TCH/H (0) + FACCH/H (0) + SACCH/H (0) + TCH/H (1) ) + TCHF_HLF

 BCCH + CCCH CCCH

In a cell with a single RFC the allocation should be the following:

The timeslot 0 runs in the 51 frame organization as shown in figures 7 and 8.

F S BCCH CCCH F S CCCH F S CCCH F S CCCH F S CCCH I

DL: F = FCCH, S = SCH, B = BCCH, C = CCCH, (PCH, AGCH), I = idle

Fig. 7 Multiframe for channel combination MAINBCCH

51 TDMA Frame = 235.38 ms

DOWNLINK: Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH), Common Control Channel (CCCH)

UPLINK: Common Control Channel (CCCH)

T: Traffic Channel (TCH) Burst for subscriber 1

1.1 Control channel configuration

1.2 Dedicated channel

 time for MOC/MTC setup signaling 3 sec

 time for Location Update 5 sec

 location updates per subscriber per hour 2.2.

At the following page an example for a channel configuration of the 2carriers

Example for Channel Configuration

Assumptions: 25 mErl TCH Load per subscriber

Cell with 2 TRX: 16 channels

 Configuration B is the better one for this scenario.

1.3 Smooth Channel Modification

SDCCH_POOL TCH_POOL TCH/SD_POOL

Traffic Channel / SDCCH Request

Fig.. 10. Pooling

SDCCH Allocation Strategy

SDCCH Release Strategy

TCH Allocation Strategy

Fig. 11 The process triggered by an SDCCH request

Parameters for Channel Configuration:

Specification DB Name Object Range Meaning

CH_POOL_ CHPOOLTYP CHAN TCHPOOL Channel Pool Type

1.4 Random access channel

Configuration of the RACH

1.4.1 RACH Control Parameter

MS tx_integer td (RACH slots, td (RACH slots,