1

3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
18
CSFB

At CSFB scheme, whenever there is a demand for a new voice call, the LTE user is 'backed' for a CS legacy
network, assuming that this provides an overlapping coverage. In other words, with CSFB, a voice call is
never active in LTE, but in legacy networks. At the end of the call in the legacy network, the UE can re-
register the LTE network.

It goes something like this: the UE is registered (also) in the legacy network. When it got a call, the
legacy network tells to LTE network: 'I have a call to the UE, can you ask it to come here and make the
call?'

To CSFB be possible, users must be using dual mode devices, ie able to operate both in LTE network and
in the legacy network.

To support CSFB, a new interface is introduced: the SGs, connecting the MME to the legacy MSC. let's
see some basic scenarios of CSFB.

CSFB - Registration and Location

When the CSFB UE is turned on, it registers itself in the two networks: LTE and legacy network (CS).And
to allow quick transfer to the legacy network (either 2G or 3G) when necessary, the LTE network needs
to know the location of the UE. For this, the MME, which tracks the location of the UE in the LTE
network, continuously provides location information to the legacy MSC, using the new SGs interface.
The set of SGs messages then supports management of mobility, paging and SMS.
CSFB - Originated Call
We will continue, and assume that the UE is initially covered by the LTE network, and that there is an
active IP connection. When the UE decides to originate a voice call, it sends an SRM (Service Request
Message) to the MME (more specifically the ESR - Extended Service Request).

The MME checks whether the UE is CSFB capable, and notifies the eNodeB to transfer the UE to the
legacy network. Before performing the UE transfer, the eNodeB can ask it to make RF measures on
neighboring 2G/3G network. The eNodeB then decides the best network for the UE and performs the
transfer.

Once the UE camp in 2G/3G network, it starts the call procedure as usual - the UE starts the call control
procedures in legacy network.

CSFB - Terminated Call

we have the case of a terminated call for LTE user.

The call request arrives first to the MSC where the UE was previously registered.
When the MSC the receives call request, it sends paging messages to the related MME via SGs interface.
This message is forwarded to the UE, which is still connected to the LTE network.
If the user accepts the call, it sends an SRM (Service Request Message) to the MME.

Then the MME notifies the eNodeB to transfer the UE to the legacy network, and the eNodeB then decide
the best network for the UE to make the call.
CSFB Call + Data Connection in LTE
And what happens if I have an active data connection in the IP LTE network, and decide to make a voice
call? There are two options:

The data is also transferred to the legacy network, or

The data is temporarily suspended, until UE return to the LTE network.
Although the first option seems the best, we must take into account that the transmission of IP data is
also transferred: it can operate at much lower speeds (legacy systems). In addition, it may be that the
legacy networks deny the IP session due to lack of resources or for not being able to process it.

The S3 interface is used to carry out the PS session handover for 3G (in this case, the DTM - Dual Transfer
Mode must exist, but this details escapes form our theme today).

There are no 4G data handover supported to 2G - in this case, the data is suspended. The eRABs 4G are
released when the UE performs the CSFB.

An important information is that the S3 is a 'new' interface between MME and SGSN. And to support it,
the SGSN needs to be updated

And Gn interface is already on GTPCv1, which is the native GTP version for 3G networks. So in this case
only the MME needs to be updated, and as it is a relatively new node, it is probably easier to do. Not to
mention that the new SGSN may have native support for S3.
CSFB What happens after the end of the CS call?

The main possibilities are:

The upper layers forcing the 'reselection' to LTE so that the UE enters idle mode in legacy network.
The operator send LTE 'redirection' information in RRC connection release message of legacy 3G network
after the call is finished. This will result again in reselection to LTE.
The lower layers (AS - Access Stratum in this case URRC or GRR) reselect to LTE if the reselection criterion
is satisfied. In most cases, operators have their parameters set such that the reselection to LTE happen if
there is a good LTE coverage area overlapping the legacy network.
32
Nominal
plan and
Negotiation
The following are considered here;
Site position
Site height
Contract Surrounding objects height
signing Space of room
Road accessibility
Transmission
Power supply
Survey Rent
Legal limitations

Engineering Coverage and capacity

simulations
design
Software
Production debugging

Delivery Quality
inspection
Inspection
Preliminary
acceptance
Preparation
Cutover Site Final acceptance
Hardware
verification
installation
 On EMTS network, all BSC A interfaces and RNC Iucs interfaces connect to all the MGWs.
All BSC Gb interfaces and RNC Iups interfaces connect to the SGSN.
All MGWs connect to each other.
All MSCs connect to all MGWs.
There are 7 MSCs, 2 SGSNs and 6 MGWs.
 Band Designation ARFCN fUL fDL fUL fDL
GSM 1800 DCS 1800 512885 1710.2-1784.8 1805.2-1879.8 1710.2 + 0.2(n512) fUL(n) + 95
GSM 900 P-GSM 1124 890.2-914.8 935.2-959.8 890.0 + 0.2n fUL(n) + 45

Etisalat 900: ARFCN (1-25 = 25CHs) 890-895 UL / 935-940 DL

Etisalat 1800: ARFCN (810-885 = 75CHs) 1769.8-1784.8 UL / 1864.8-1879.8 DL
Etisalat 2100:
Steps in Generating a WCDMA Signal
1. Voice is digitized.
2. Digitized voice is vocoded (RNC).
3. Digital signal is encoded and interleaved (BTS).
4. Encoded signals are spread (channelized) (BTS).
5. The digital signal converted and transmitted as a radio signal (BTS).
Analog to digital conversion: The voice signal is converted to a digital signal using

Variable rate vocoder: The vocoder (Voice Coder) is used to compress the digital signal from
the Codec.

Encoding : The purpose of the encoder is to build redundancy into the signal.

Interleaving: Interleaving is a method of reducing the effects of burst errors and recovering bits
when burst errors occur.

channelization : The data is encoded using a code that will separate it from other encoded
voice data, this will spread the encoded symbols over the entire bandwidth of the WCDMA
channel.

Transmission: The channelized data from all calls will be combined into a one signal that is
converted to an analog RF signal which is transmitted over the air.
ENCODING

INTERLEAVING
 Also known as OVSF/Walsh Codes

Also known as PN/Gold codes

In binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation, Zero and one
are represented by 2 signals phase shifted by 180 degrees.
each data bit is transformed into a separate data symbol
(phase). It can transmit one bit per symbol.

GMSK 1 bit/symbol
QPSK 2 bits/symbol
8PSK 3 bits/symbol
16QAM 4 bits/symbol
64QAM 6 bits/symbol

The quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK)

modulation has four phases: 0, 90,180 and
270 degrees. Two data bits are
transformed into one data symbol; A
symbol is any change (keying) of the
carrier. QPSK can transmit 2 bits per
symbol.
LOGICAL CHANNELS

Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH): a downlink channel that broadcasts all system information

Paging Control Channel (PCCH): a downlink channel that transfers paging information. It is used to
reach a UE (or several UEs) in idle mode or in connected mode (Cell PCH or URA_PCH state).

Common Control Channel (CCCH): a bi-directional channel for transmitting control information
between network and UEs. It is used to send messages related to RRC connection, cell update and
URA update.

Common Traffic Channel (CTCH): a point-to-multipoint downlink channel for transfer of information
for all or a group of specified UEs. Example of these messages can is cell broadcast data like weather,
traffic etc.

Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH): a point-to-point bi-directional channel that transmits dedicated
control information between a UE and the network. This channel is used for dedicated signaling after
a RRC connection has been done. For example, active set update procedure.

Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH): a point-to-point bi-directional channel, that transmits dedicated
user information between a UE and the network. That information can be speech, CS data or PS data.
TRANSPORT CHANNELS

In order to carry logical channels, several transport channels are defined. They are:

Broadcast Channel (BCH): a downlink channel used for broadcast of system information into the
entire cell.

Paging Channel (PCH): a downlink channel used for broadcast of control information into the entire
cell, such as paging.

Random Access Channel (RACH): a contention based uplink channel used for initial access or for
transmission of relatively small amounts of data

Forward Access Channel (FACH): a common downlink channel used for dedicated signaling (answer
to a RACH typically), or for transmission of relatively small amounts of data.

Dedicated Channel (DCH): a channel dedicated to one UE used in uplink or downlink.

High Speed Downlink Shared Channel (HS-DSCH) A Downlink transport channel shared by several
UEs.
EMTS VALUES
Event 2D Event 2F

EMTS VALUES InterRATCSThd2DEcN0 -14dB

InterRATR99PsThd2DRSCP -110dBm InterRATCSThd2FEcN0 -12dB
InterRATR99PsThd2FRSCP -107dBm InterRATR99PsThd2DEcN0 -15dB
InterRATHThd2DRSCP -110dBm InterRATR99PsThd2FEcN0 -13dB
InterRATHThd2FRSCP -107dBm InterRATHThd2DEcN0 -15dB
TargetRatCsThd 16 InterRATHThd2FEcN0 -13dB
TargetRatR99PsThd 16 InterRATCSThd2DRSCP -100dBm
TargetRatHThd 16 InterRATCSThd2FRSCP -97dBm
UE BEHAVIOUR IN IDLE MODE

The UE enters the idle mode immediately after being switched on. The UE Behavior in Idle Mode
feature ensures that the UE is ready to start a service (for example, to make a call or pick a call).
The behaviors are as follows:
1 PLMN selection
This procedure ensures that the PLMN selected by the UE provides services properly.
2 Cell selection and reselection
This procedure ensures that the UE finds a suitable cell to camp on.
3 Location registration
This procedure is used by the UE to report its status to the network. This procedure is of two types:
periodical location registration (set using T3212 timer on RNC) and the location registration
necessitated by changes in the location area.
3 Paging reception
The network sends paging messages to the UE in CELL_PCH or URA_PCH state. The UE detects the
paging indicator on the PICH within the predefined time and receives corresponding paging messages
on the S_CCPCH. Paging type 1 procedure is used to page the selected UEs in idle mode, CELL_PCH or
URA_PCH state using the PCCH. In paging type 2, UTRAN pages the UE in CELL_FACH or CELL_DCH
state through the DCCH or FACH.
4 Broadcast information reception
The network broadcasts the network information to the UE that camps on the cell, the UE obtains the
network information and takes actions accordingly.
This feature enables the UE to:
1 Receive system information from the PLMN
2 Prepare to establish the RRC connection
3 Prepare to respond to paging messages
4 Report the UE state to the network periodically or in event-triggered mode
UE BEHAVIOUR IN CONNECTED MODE
1w=30dbm
2w=33dbm
4w=36dbm
8w=39dbm
16w=42dbm
20w=43dbm
30w=44dbm
40w=46dbm
80w=49dbm
ANTENNA TILTING
(1)Intra-frequency reporting events for FDD
Event 1a:A Primary CPICH enters the reporting range
Event 1b:A Primary CPICH leaves the reporting range
Event 1c:A non-active primary CPICH becomes better than an active primary CPICH
Event 1d:Change of best cell
Event 1e:A Primary CPICH becomes better than an absolute threshold
Event 1f:A Primary CPICH becomes worse than an absolute threshold

(2) Inter-frequency reporting events

Event 2a:Change of best frequency
Event 2b:The estimated quality of the currently used frequency is below a certain threshold and the estimated quality of a non-used frequency is
above a certain threshold.
Event 2c:The estimated quality of a non-used frequency is above a certain threshold
Event 2d:The estimated quality of the currently used frequency is below a certain threshold
Event 2e:The estimated quality of a non-used frequency is below a certain threshold
Event 2f:The estimated quality of the currently used frequency is above a certain threshold

(3) Inter-RAT measurements reporting events

Event 3a:The estimated quality of the currently used UTRAN frequency is below a certain threshold and the estimated quality of the other system is
above a certain threshold.
Event 3b:The estimated quality of other system is below a certain threshold
Event 3c:The estimated quality of other system is above a certain threshold
Event 3d:Change of best cell in other system

(4) Traffic Volume Measurements

Event 4a:Transport Channel Traffic Volume becomes larger than an absolute threshold
Event 4b:Transport Channel Traffic Volume becomes smaller than an absolute threshold

(5)Quality Measurements
Event 5a:A predefined number of bad CRCs is exceeded

(6) UE internal measurements

Event 6a:The UE Tx power becomes larger than an absolute threshold
Event 6b:The UE Tx power becomes less than an absolute threshold
Event 6c:The UE Tx power reaches its minimum value
Event 6d:The UE Tx power reaches its maximum value
Event 6e:The UE RSSI reaches the UE's dynamic receiver range
Event 6f:(FDD) The UE Rx-Tx time difference for a RL included in the active set becomes larger than an absolute threshold(1.28 Mcps TDD): The time
difference indicated by TADV becomes larger than an absolute threshold-
Event 6g:The UE Rx-Tx time difference for a RL included in the active set becomes less than an absolute threshold
 GENERAL DT PROBLEMS

Low Ec/Io, Low RSCP - Lack of coverage and no dominant server; improve only the
1 potential dominant server or servers, try the closest sector or sectors.
Low Ec/Io, High RSCP - Pilot pollution and lack of dominant servers; 1. reduce the
number of interfering servers by downtilting some unnecessary sectors. 2.
increase the dominance of the main server in the problem area by reducing the
2 downtilt.
Medium Ec/Io. Low RSCP - Lack of coverage but with dorminant servers (near
network edge); improve the dorminant servers with hardware upgrades or by
3 installing new cell sites to cover the bad areas.
Medium Ec/Io. High RSCP - Too much cell overlap; reduce the cell overlap by
4 identifying overshooting sectors and downtilting them.
The Standard Propagation Model is a
propagation model based on the Hata
formulas and is suited for predictions in
the 150 to 3500 MHz band over long
distances (from one to 20 km). It is best
suited to GSM 900/1800, UMTS,
CDMA2000, WiMAX,
and LTE radio technologies.
SIB ApplicatiContent Used by
on Huawei or
Scope Not
Master Cell SIB scheduling information Yes
information block
Scheduling block 1 Cell SIB scheduling information Yes
SIB11 Cell Measurement control Yes
Scheduling block 2 Cell SIB scheduling information Yes
information for UEs in idle
mode
SIB1 PLMN NAS system information Yes
Timer information of UEs in SIB12 Cell Measurement control Yes
connected mode or idle mode information for UEs in
connected mode
SIB2 Cell URA ID list information Yes SIB13 Cell ANSI-41 system information No
SIB3 Cell Information about the Yes
parameters for cell selection SIB14 Cell Information about the TDD No
and reselection for UEs in idle physical channel parameters
mode
SIB4 Cell Information about the Yes SIB15 Cell/PL Information about the location No
parameters for cell selection MN services
and reselection of UEs in SIB16 Equivale Information about the No
connected mode nt PLMN parameters to be stored by
SIB5 Cell Information about the Yes UEs for use during a handover
parameters for the within the UTRAN
configuration of common
physical channels (PRACH, AICH,
SIB17 Cell Information about the TDD fast No
PICH, S-CCPCH) of UEs in idle
changing parameters for the
mode
configuration of shared
SIB6 Cell Information about the Yes
physical channels of UEs in
parameters for the
connected mode
configuration of common
physical channels of UEs in SIB18 Cell PLMN IDs of neighboring cells Yes
connected mode
SIB7 Cell UL interference and dynamic Yes SIB19 Cell Information about the Yes
persistence level neighboring LTE cells
BSC 6900 RNC BOARDS
3900 NODE B

It consists of two basic parts

The baseband unit (BBU)
The RF module which is either a WRFU (WCDMA Radio Filter Unit ) module built into the
nodeB cabinet or a RRU (Remote Radio unit) which is a stand alone module located close to
the antenna away from the nodeB cabinet.
 The BBU consists of 5 major units, they are the FAN, WBBP, WMPT, UTRP, UEIU and UPEU.

WBBP (CDMA Baseband Process Unit): It processes UL and DL baseband signals.

UL baseband data processing module: consists of the demodulation unit and the decoding unit.
DL baseband data processing module: consists of the modulation unit and the encoding unit
In the baseband subsystem, the BBU3900 has an integrated CPRI interface module that connects
the BBU3900 to the RF module.
CE resources are a type of NodeB hard resource. The number of CEs supported by a NodeB
indicates the channel demodulation capabilities of the NodeB. The more CEs a NodeB
supports, the more powerful the channel demodulation and service processing capabilities.
Services at different rates require different numbers of CEs to ensure proper channel
demodulation.
In a RAN, CE resources are managed by both the RNC and NodeB, The NodeB reports its CE
capacity to the RNC. The RNC determines whether to admit a new service based on the
number of CEs that need to be consumed and controls CE resources during CE congestion.
This ensures the proper use of CE resources. The NodeB dynamically manages CE resources
and rapidly adjusts the number of CEs that can be consumed based on the actual service
rate. This increases CE resource usage.
WMPT (WCDMA Main Processing and Transmission unit):
This performs centralized management of the entire NodeB in terms of OM and signaling processing and provides
the system clock.

UTRP (Universal Transmission Processing unit ):

Provides ports for communication between the NodeB and the RNC it also provides maintenance channels
between the BBU3900 and the LMT or the M2000 to operate and maintain the BBU3900.
 UEIU (Universal Environment Interface Unit)
The UEIU transmits monitoring and alarm signals from the external devices to the main control and
transmission unit.
.

UPEU (Universal Power and Environment Interface Unit)

It is a mandatory board of the BBU3900 that converts -48 V or +24 V DC to +12 V DC.
 WRFU (WCDMA Radio Filter Unit )/ RRU (Radio Resource Unit)

They receive UL RF signals from the antenna system and then down-converts the received signals to IF
signals. After amplification, analog-to-digital conversion, digital down-conversion, matched filtering,
automatic gain control (AGC), the IF signals are sent to the BBU for further processing.
They provide power control and Voltage Standing Wave Ration (VSWR) detection.
They provide reverse power detection.
They provide frequency synthesis and loopback test.
They generate the CPRI clock, recovers the CPRI clock from loss of synchronization, and detect alarms.
They support 40 W (2 carriers) and 80 W (4 carriers) power outputs.

TRU can support a max of one carrier

Double Radio Frequency Unit (DRFU): supports a maximum of two carriers for small-or medium-
capacity
GSM Radio Frequency Unit (GRFU): supports a maximum of six carriers for large-capacity system
Multimode Radio Frequency Unit (MRFU): supports a maximum of eight carriers for large-capacity
system, it delivers a greater power per carrier than the GRFU. Can be used for multiple technologies.
FADING

Slow Fading:
As a receiver traverses away, obstacles that partially block the signal path (such as trees,
building, and moving trucks) cause occasional drops in received power. This decrease in
power occurs over many wavelengths of the carrier and is thus called slow fading also called
a log-normal distribution. The reason for the log-normal distributed slow fading is that the
received signal is the result of the transmitted signal passing through or reflecting off many
different objects, such as trees and buildings. Each object attenuates the signal to some
extent, and the final received signal power is the sum of transmission factors of all these
objects.

Multipath Rayleigh (fast) Fading:

There are times when a mobile receiver is completely out of sight of the base station
transmitter (i.e., there is no signal path traveling to the receiver via LOS). In this case, the
received signals are made up of a group of reflections from objects, and none of the
reflected paths is any more dominant than the other ones. The different reflected signal
paths arrive at slightly different times, with different amplitudes, and with different phases.
Because there are many different signal paths, constructive and destructive interference can
result.
Access Probes

One problem that has to be immediately solved in power control is the initial mobile
transmit power. Before the mobile establishes contact with the base station, the mobile
cannot be power-controlled by the base station. Thus, the natural question is when the
mobile first attempts to access the base station, what power level should the mobile use to
transmit its request? At this point, the base station has no idea as to the location of the
mobile user.
There are two options:
the mobile can attempt to access the base station with a high transmit power. Such high
power increases the probability that the base station will receive that mobiles access
request. However, such high power represents interference to other users currently served
by the cell.
The second option is that the mobile can request access from the base station with a low
transmit power. Such low power decreases the likelihood that the base station will receive
the mobiles access request. But the advantage is that this mobile wont cause much
interference to other users.

The solution is that when the mobile first attempts to access the system, it transmits a
series of access probes. Access probes are a series of transmissions of progressively
higher power. The mobile transmits its first access probe at a relatively low power, then it
waits for a response back from the base station.
 If after a random time interval the mobile does not receive an acknowledgment from
the base station, then the mobile transmits a second access probe at a slightly higher
power. The process repeats until the mobile receives an acknowledgment back from the
base station.
The power difference between the current access probe and the previous access probe
is called an access probe correction. The step size for a single access probe correction is
specified by the system parameter PWR_STEP. The standard further specifies that the
mobile should use the power level it receives from the base station to estimate how
much to initially transmit. In other words, if the mobile sees a strong signal from the
base station, then it assumes that the base station is nearby and thus transmits initially
at a relatively low level. If the mobile sees a weak signal from the base station, then it
assumes that the base station is far away and thus transmits initially at a relatively high
level.
Open Loop power control

The process described above is termed open-loop power control in that it is purely a mobile-controlled
operation and does not involve the base station at all.
Open loop power control is used to compensate for slow-varying and log-normal shadowing effects
where there is a correlation between the forward-link and reverse-link fades. However, since the
forward and reverse links are on different frequencies, the open-loop power control is inadequate and
too slow to compensate for fast Rayleigh fading.

Closed Loop Power Control

The closed-loop power-control process operates along with the open-loop power control.
NodeB will measure the received signal SIR from UE, and compare it with a target value. If the
measured value is higher than target, NodeB will control the UE to decrease the transmitting power,
otherwise, increase. In downlink, the mechanism is similar ,UE will measure the received signal SIR from
NodeB dedicated channel, and compare it with a target value. If the measured value is high than target,
UE will control the NodeB to decrease the transmitting power on the dedicated channel, otherwise,
increase. The frequency of closed loop power control is 1500Hz.
103
Negotiation
The following are considered here;
Site position
Site height
Contract Surrounding objects height
signing Space of room
Road accessibility
Transmission
Power supply
Survey Rent
Legal limitations
Areas to be covered.
Engineering Number of sites to be installed.
design Project take off date.
BSC dimensioning
Software BSC/MSC parenting.
Production debugging Selection of number of TRX/sectors per sites.
Frequency spectrum planning and design.
Output: cell design coverage & capacity Prediction plot.
Delivery Quality Definition of coverage area.
Expected area coverage probability.
inspection Expected Signal receiving level at different points: Outdoor,
Indoor, In-car.
Inspection Number of subscribers
Preliminary Traffic Plan per subscribers
acceptance Number of BTS/BSC
Preparation Half Rate Ratio

Cutover Site Final acceptance

Hardware
verification
installation
 On EMTS network, all BSC A interfaces and RNC Iucs interfaces connect to all the MGWs.
All BSC Gb interfaces and RNC Iups interfaces connect to the SGSN.
All MGWs connect to each other.
All MSCs connect to all MGWs.
There are 7 MSCs, 2 SGSNs and 6 MGWs.
Mobile Station
The mobile station (MS) consists of the mobile equipment (the terminal) and a smart card called the
Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). The SIM provides personal mobility, The mobile equipment is uniquely
identified by the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). The SIM card contains the International
Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) used to identify the subscriber to the system, a secret key for
authentication, and other information.

Base Station Subsystem

The Base Station Subsystem is composed of two parts, the Base Transceiver Station (BTS) and the Base
Station Controller (BSC). These communicate across the standardized Abis interface, The Base Transceiver
Station houses the radio transceivers that define a cell and handles the radio-link protocols with the Mobile
Station. The Base Station Controller manages the radio resources for one or more BTSs. It handles radio-
channel setup, frequency hopping, and handovers, as described below.

Network Subsystem
The central component of the Network Subsystem is the Mobile services Switching Center (MSC). It acts
like a normal switching node of the PSTN, and additionally provides all the functionality needed to handle a
mobile subscriber, such as registration, authentication, location updating, handovers, and call routing to a
roaming subscriber.

The Home Location Register (HLR) and Visitor Location Register (VLR), together with the MSC, provide
the call-routing and roaming capabilities of GSM. The HLR contains all the administrative information of
each subscriber registered in the corresponding GSM network, along with the current location of the mobile.
The location of the mobile is typically in the form of the signalling address of the VLR associated with the
mobile station. There is logically one HLR per GSM network

The Visitor Location Register (VLR) contains selected administrative information from the HLR, necessary
for call control and provision of the subscribed services for each mobile currently located in the geographical
area controlled by the VLR, all manufacturers of switching equipment to date implement the VLR together
with the MSC, so that the geographical area controlled by the MSC corresponds to that controlled by the
VLR, thus simplifying the signalling required.
The Equipment Identity Register (EIR) is a database that contains a list of all valid mobile equipment
on the network, where each mobile station is identified by its International Mobile Equipment Identity
(IMEI). An IMEI is marked as invalid if it has been reported stolen or is not type approved. The
Authentication Center (AuC) is a protected database that stores a copy of the secret key stored in
each subscriber's SIM card, which is used for authentication and encryption over the radio channel.

MEDIA GATE WAY (MGW)

A Media gateway is a translation device or service that converts digital media streams between
disparate telecommunications networks such as PSTN, SS7, Next Generation Networks (2G, 2.5G and
3G radio access networks) or PBX. Because the media gateway connects different types of networks,
one of its main functions is to convert between different transmission and coding techniques.

IDENTIFIERS

Location Area Identity LAI

Identifies every location area in the network.

LAI= MCC+MNC+LAC

(1) IMSI = International mobile Subscribers Identity

Identify each subscribers uniquely in the network.

Stored in the SIM.
IMSI= MCC + MNC+ MSIN
MCC= Mobile country code: 3 decimal places (internal standard).
MNC= Mobile Network Code: 2 decimal places, for unique identification of mobile network
across the country.
MSIN= Mobile Subscriber Identification Number:- identify the subscriber in the mobile network
 IMEI= International mobile equipment identity

Uniquely identifies each mobile station internationally.

Allocated by the equipment manufacturer and registered by the network operators in the EIR.

(3)MSISDN:- Mobile Subscriber ISDN number.

The real telephone number of the MS.

Assigned to the subscriber, such that MS can have several MSISDN depending on the SIM.

(4) TMSI:- Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity.

Assign by the VLR to the MS.

Significant only in the area handled by the VLR.
Used in place of the TMSI for identification and addressing of the MS.
Serves a identity hopping means, since nobody can listen to the radio channel and identify the
correct IMSI
TMSI changes from one VLR to another.

PCM
The following describes how voice was digitized to carry over the PSTN under the original sampling
theorem (i.e Nyquist theorem), it states that in order to reproduce voice in a toll quality manner you
have to sample that voice at twice the rate of the highest frequency carried. The highest frequency
carried in the PSTN telephone channel was 4000 Hz (since the human voice ranges between 30-3300
Hz) so we needed a sampling rate of 8000 samples per second. Now in order to digitize voice, 8 bits
where needed for one sample, so we had 8 bits in one sample and 8000 samples per second
resulting in 64 Kbps required to carry one channel of voice in a digital manner. An E1 has 32 of such
channels thus resulting in a speed of 2.048 Mbps for an E1.
Logical channel can also be divided into two types :
Traffic channels (TCH) and control channels.

(1) Broadcast control channel- BCCH

Broadcast system information to the MS.
Configured in every cell.
Enable MS to identify and access network at the idle mode

2) Frequency Correction channel-FCCH

Provides information for carrier synchronization

(3) Synchronous channel SCH

Decodes the BSIC and MS frame synchronization..
(4) Paging Channel-PCH
The BTS/BSC uses PCH to page the MS using the TMSI or IMSI.

(5) Access Grant Channel-AGCH

Used in answering network access request by the MS.
Allocation of SDCCH or TCH directly.

6) Random Access Channel-RACH

Used by MS to randomly access the network by requesting for SDCCH.

(7) Stand-alone Dedicated Control Channel-SDCCH

Used for signaling messages, concerned with call setup, location update message, SMS, etc.

(8) Slow Associated Control Channel-SACCH

Used with the traffic channel or SDCCH.
It carries specific information while transmitting the subscribed information.
In uplink, it transmits the measurement report.
In down link, it transmits some system information messages.

(9) Fast Associated control Channel- FACCH

Provides signaling messages who speed and timeliness are much higher than SACCH.
Used together with TCH
Traffic channel carries voice or data, which are full rate TCH/F or half rate TCH/H. (13kbps
or 6.5kbps).

The control channel are used to transmit signaling or synchronous data.

There are three main types of control channels:
(1) Broadcast Channel, BCCH
(2) Common Control channel.
(3) Dedicated Control channel.

Physical combination of logical channel

There are two multi-frame types of combination:
(1) 26- frame multi-frame.
(2) 51-frames Multi-frame.

(1) 26 frame multi-frame.

TCH/F+FACCH/F+SACCH/TF (Full rate)
TCH/H+FACCH/H+SACCH/TH (Hall rate)

(2) 51-frame multi-frame

FCCH+ SCH+BCCH+CCCH-Main BCCH
FCCH+SCH BCCH CCCH +SDCCH/4+SACCH/C4(combined BCCH)
BCCH+CCCH (Extended BCCH)
SDCCH/8+SACCH/8 (Main SDCCH)

As shown above CCCH =PCH+RACH+AGCH.

GSM-900/1800

P-GSM-900
P-GSM-900 band is the primary band for GSM-900 Frequency band for primary
GSM-900 (P-GSM-900) : bandwidth of 25 MHz (UL&DL) and duplex spacing of
45Mhz.

890 915 MHz for MS to BTS (uplink)

935 960 MHz for BTS to MS (downlink)

GSM-1800
Frequency band: bandwidth of 75 MHz (UL&DL) and duplex spacing of 95Mhz.
1710 1785 MHz for MS to BTs (uplink)
1805 1880 MHz for BTS to MS (downlink)
Channel number the carrier frequency is designated by the absolute radio frequency
channel number (ARFCN). The frequency value of the carrier n in the lower band is called FL
(n) while FU (n) is the corresponding frequency value in the upper band. Frequencies are in
MHz
P-GSM-900:
FL (n) = 890 + 0.2 n with 1 < n < 124
FU (n) = FL (n) + 45
GSM-1800:
FL (n) = 1710.2 + 0.2 x (n-512) with 512 < n < 885
FU (n) = FL (n) + 95

Carrier spacing is 200 kHz, 8 time slots per carrier. For P-GSM-900 with a bandwidth of
25Mhz (UL&DL), number of possible carriers is 25Mhz/200Khz = 125 carriers, one carrier
out of this is sub-divided into 5 200Khz channels to serve as guard bands between different
operators.

For GSM-1800 with a bandwidth of 75Mhz (UL&DL), number of possible carriers is

75Mhz/200Khz = 325 carriers, one carrier out of this is sub-divided into 5, 200Khz channels
to serve as guard bands between different operators.
 INTERFERENCE THEORY

GSM is an interference restricted system.

Carrier-to-interference ratio, also called interference protection ratio, CI

C/I = All useful signals = _ carrier
All useless signals Interference

GSM standard: C / I >= 9 dB

In practical projects: C / I >= 12dB

In the cellular system, since the frequency resource is limited, the replicated use
of the frequency is an effective approach for promoting the frequency
availability. The replicated use of the same frequency would cause interference
with each other, so called common frequency interference. The closer the interval
between both frequencies is, the more the frequency can be re-used, but with
higher interference.
SIGNAL QUALITY
Receiving quality (RXQUAL parameter)
Level of receiving quality (0 ... 7)
Bit error rate before decoding and error correction

RXQUAL Mean BER BER range

class (%) from... to
0 0.14 < 0.2%
1 0.28 0.2 ... 0.4 %
2 0.57 0.4 ... 0.8 %
3 1.13 0.8 ... 1.6 %
4 2.26 1.6 ... 3.2 %
5 4.53 3.2 ... 6.4 %
6 9.05 6.4 ... 12.8 %
7 18.1 > 12.8 %
The diagram below shows a cluster of 7 omni-directional cells along with the
first tier interfering neighbors of the clusters center cell. A cell always has 6
first tier interfering cells.
where:
q reuse ratio, D is reuse distance, R is cell radius (center to corner)
N cluster size or reuse factor
The table on the next page shows the values of q for different
values of N.
GSM is an interference-restricted system. According to the requirements for signal demodulation in space
interface, GSM stipulates the protection ratio of the same and neighboring frequencies should meet the
following requirements
Carrier to interference ratio of the same frequency S/I9dB With 3dB allowance left in the project,
i.e., S/I12dB
Rejection ratio of the neighboring frequencies S/A 9dBWith 3dB allowance left in the project, i.e.,
S/A6dB

The S/I ratio at the desired mobile receiver due to the 6 first tier interfering cells (omni directional cells) is
given as:
3x3 reuse pattern
TYPES OF FREQUENCY HOPPING

1.Base band Hopping

Number of frequencies for hopping = Number of carriers
The TRXs always transmit a fixed frequency.
The call hops" over the TRXs, maintaining the same timeslot, on a per burst basis.
In reception the call is always processed by the same TRX (the one where the call started).
The number of frequencies to hop over is limited by the number of TRXs equipped in the
cell.
The BCCH carrier can hop in timeslots 1 to 7 (without power control/DTX).

2. RF Hopping
The TRXs change (retune) the frequency every burst.
Number of frequencies for hopping > Number of carriers
The call always stays in the same TRX.
One TRX can hop up to over 64 different frequencies.
The BCCH frequency can be included in the hopping sequence, but in practice, BCCH
carrier never hops, and carries traffic on timeslots 1 to 7.
FREQUENCY HOPPING

Frequency hopping is a technique that basically improves the channel to

interference C/I ratio by utilizing many frequency channels.

BENEFITS.

Get an agreeable radio environment.

Provide a similar communication quality for every user.
Tighter reuse patterns are possible to be used for larger capacity.

HOPPING PARAMETERS
At the Um interface, the ARFCN on a specific burst is an element in MA set. MAI
is used for indication, referring to a specific element in the MA set.
When 0< MAI<n-1 MAI is the function of TDMA FN, HSN and MAIO.
HSN
HOPPING SEQUENCE NUMBER,
Used to define the actual rule for hopping.
HSNhopping sequence number063.
HSN=0cycle hopping.
HSN0random hopping. Every sequence number corresponds a pseudo random
sequence.

MA
Mobile Allocation set: Set of available frequency during hopping. Must not contain the
BCCH frequency for RF hopping.

MAIO
Mobile Allocation Index Offset: Used to define the initial frequency of the hopping. The
MAIO of all channels of one hopping TRX must be identical. The MAIO of different
channels of the different hopping TRX in the same cell must be different.

TSC
Training Sequence Code: Used for delay equalization at the receiver end. TSC must be the
same as the BCC.
 NETWORK IDENTITY PARAMETERS
CGI = Cell Global Identity consist of location, Area identity and Cell identity, and LAI consist of ;
Mobile Country Code (MCC), Mobile Network Code (MNC), and Location Area Code (LAC).

CGI= MCC+MNC+LAC+CI

MCC:
Consist of 3 decimal numbers.
Indicates home country of the mobile subscriber.
Coding range is decimal 000-999.

MNC:
Uniquely identify a specific OSM PLMN network in a certain country.
Consist of two decimal numbers.
The coding range is 00-99.

LAC:
Locate the location of the MS based on the local area demarcation
Contains Hexadecimal coding.
Available range is 000IH to FFFEH.

CI
Cell ID of individual cell.
Uniquely identifies a cell in a network.
BSIC: Base Station Identity Code.
This is a color code allocated to each base station. MS can identify two cells with
the same BCCH with the help of a BSIC.

BSIC = NCC+BCC

NCC-:
MS uses it to distinguish adjacent BTS that belong to different GSM PLMN.
The coding range is 0-7.

BCC-:
Used to identify different cells with the same BCCH in the same GSM system.
BCC is always configured the same value as TSC
Coding range is 0-7.
 SYSTEM CONTROL PARAMETERS

System Control Parameters are meant for favorable cooperation between MS and
BTS. On the other hand, the values of these parameters affect the traffic load and
signaling flow of each part of the system.

ATT

Value range: Yes, No.

Content: Referred to as attach- detach is allowed in a cell.

Yes means, network should not process the connection to the subscriber called
when MS is switched off. Thus network processing time and resources are saved.
Recommended value : Yes.

CCCH CONF.

This is the Common Control Channel Configuration and determines the capacity of
PCH, AGCH and RACH.

It is either a combined CCCH or uncombined CCCH, and value is determined by the

number of TRX configured.

NOTE: When you have 1TRX configured, use combined CCCH, otherwise use
uncombined CCCH.
BS-AG-BLKS-RES

This is called Access Granted Blocks Reserved,

Assigned the proportion of AGCH and PCH on CCCH. It affects the MS response to
paging.
Recommended value is 2.

T3212

It is periodic Location Update Timer- Defines periodic length of location updating.

MS makes periodic location update controlled by T3212. MS reads T3212 and stores it
in the SIM, when the time expires, the location area update would be triggered.
The shorter the time, the better the system performance but it would increase the
signaling load of the system.

Radio Link Timeout

This parameter is used by MS to decide down link disconnection in case of SACCH

decoding failures.
MS starts a counter S, from then S decreases by 1 once SACCH fails to decode its
message, and increases by two when SACCH decodes correctly. When S drops to O,
the call would drop.
Recommended configuration is dependent on the area (high traffic, low traffic and
medium traffic).
Neighbor Cell Description

There are BA1 and BA2 tables.

BA1 describes BCCH frequencies of the adjacent cell to be measured when MS is in
idle mode. BA2 describes BCCH frequencies of the adjacent cells to be measured
when MS is in dedicated mode.

MS MAX Re-trans

The number of times MS is allowed to send channel request in one immediate

assignment procedure.
Setting dependent on traffic situation and area.

MBR

Multi-band Reporting: used to inform MS to report the adjacent cells in a

controllable way.
Applicable for a dual band network.
Value is from 0-3.
When the value is 0, MS will report MR of six strongest adjacent cells no matter
which band its in.
Cell Selection Parameters.

Normal Cell Selection

Stored List Cell Selection.

NORMAL SELECTION.

SIM card of MS does not store any BCCH.

Cell Reselection Process.

Cell reselection in same Location Area.
Cell selection in different Location Area.

C2=C1+CRO-TO*H(PT-T)
C1=Rxlev-Rxlevaccessmin
MS _ TXPWR _ MAX _ CCH

This parameter determines the maximum allowed output power of the MS when it
begin to access a cell, and has not yet received power control.
Recommended value 900M(5), 1800M(0).

RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN

The minimum receives signal level required for MS to access a cell.

Recommended is -102dBm.

CRO

Cell Reselection Offset: Manual adjustment of the value of C2 to motivate MS cell

reselection.

CRH

Cell Reselection Hysteresis: Parameter utilize when cell reselection is between two
location areas.
Traffic balancing between 900M and 1800M

Idle mode;
CRO: Cell Reselection Offset.
C2 = C1+CRO
C2 = C1+CRH

Active Mode
Inter-Layer Handover Threshold

If the DL receive level of a cell is lower than the Inter-layer HO Threshold, the cell is listed in the
candidate cells based on the receive level. The cell takes a low priority for handovers
Actual Inter-layer HO Threshold of a serving cell = configured Inter-layer HO Threshold -Inter-layer
HO Hysteresis

Actual Inter-layer HO Threshold of an adjacent cell = configured Inter-layer HO Threshold + Inter-

layer HO Hysteresis of an adjacent cell 64.

= increase the RxLv of the adjacent cell to enter the HO process

( )

= increase of the RxLv to enter the HO process (

)
Adaptive Multi Rate

Possible to change speech codec during a call, depending on the interference

conditions.

Improves speech quality at low C/I

Apply tighter frequency re-use in a network high AMR capable MS penetration.

Provides enhanced speech quality for AMR mobiles in the network.

The enhanced speech quality also provides better coverage at the edge of the cell,
thus making it possible to increase the coverage area.

AMR tolerates more interference than the old speech codecs.

AMR enables higher traffic loads which leads to higher capacity.

AMR Transcoders

There are 8 different codec modes available in AMR, namely:

1. 12.2kbps
2. 10.2kbps
3. 7.95kbps
4. 7.40kbps
5. 6.70kbps
6. 5.90kbps
7. 5.15kbps
8. 4.75kbps
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Radio network optimization means network performance improvement utilizing
existing network resources. The purpose is increasing the utilization of network
resources solving the existing and potential problem on the network, identifying
solution for future network planning.

Three main elements of any mobile network is capacity, quality and coverage.
These forms the basis of definition of the Key Performance indicators.

Typical KPI

Call drop
Interference
Call setup
Handover
Congestion
 CALL DROP

Call drop here refers to call drop after distribution of traffic channels. It has been
the hot spot of complaint from subscribers. There are two types of call drop: TCH
call drop and SDCCH call drop.

Call drop is caused by:

1. Coverage hole
2. Interference
3. Handover failure
4. Imbalance of uplink and downlink
5. Inappropriate parameter configuration
6. Equipment failure

Call drop is measured as call drop rate.

Measurement benchmark varies from operator to operator, but the standard is 2%.

TCH call drop rate = TCH call drop x 100%

Successful TCH seizure
 INTERFERENCE

Mobile networks make use of frequency multiplexing to improve application

efficiency of spectrum and increase system capacity. Mean while it also brings
forth co-channel and adjacent channel interference (internal interference).
There are also other interference caused as a result of multi-path effect and
external factors like repeaters.

Downlink interference is measured by voice quality level, which is a factor of the

bit error rate.

Uplink interference can be measured with certain interference band definition in

the OMC.

Also measurement reports for both uplink and downlink can be viewed with a
Signaling Analyzer connected to the Abis interface. In this way uplink and
downlink interference can be measured.
HANDOVER
When a mobile subscriber moves from one cell into another, handover must be
implemented. Otherwise voice quality maybe greatly reduced. In some cases
even call drop may occur.

Causes of Handover Failure

Congestion in adjacent cells
Missing neighbor relation
Equipment failure
Interference
Coverage hole
CONGESTION.

Inadequate resources causes congestion.

Types of congestion.

Radio Resources congestion: TCH, SDCCH congestion

Non Radio Resources congestion: A interface circuit congestion.

Causes of Congestion.
Loss of Availability on a neighbor cell/site.
Sudden increase in traffic in the cell area.
Loss of cell capacity (damaged/inefficient TRXs, transmission links etc)
 RNO CASE STUDIES

Coverage
Coverage Hole

Coverage hole may exist when coverage areas of two BTS do not overlap
accordingly, or there are some big obstacles in the coverage area and this
leads to no signal or very poor signal level.

Solution

To improve the coverage of BTS at the area, add a new BTS, or extend the
coverage of the site if proper frequency planning with the neighboring sites has
been taken care of. Coverage holes in valleys and shops can be covered with
new BTS or repeaters.

While for underground garage and high building coverage, a repeater, leaking
cable technology and micro-cell technology can be used.
Over shooting

This is when a BTS with high antenna propagates beyond its prescribed boundary,
which results in a phenomena called Isolate Island.

Solution

Adjust the antenna down tilt and output power of TRX.

Change the azimuth
Add missing adjacent cells.

Traffic congestion

With OMC traffic statistics data, TCH congestion rate can be obtained (with
occupation at all busy). It is possible to judge the traffic congestion status by
comparing the busy hour traffic volume against calculations capacity of each base
station cell.

Solution
Add more carriers
Cell splits
Construction of new base station
Adopt dual frequency networks where necessary.
Add micro cells.
Traffic Engineering
The Erlang per subscriber (during busy hour) is given by :-

Where BHCA = Busy hour call attempt

Average call holding time = Duration of time (s) for an average call

Grade of Service (GoS)

GoS is expressed as the percentage of call attempts that are blocked during
peak traffic
Most cellular systems are designed to a blocking rate of 1% to 5% during busy
hour
Outside busy hour, the blocking rate is much lower.
TRAFFIC THEORY

Cellular system capacity depends on a number of different factors. These

include:

1. The number of channels available for voice and or data

2. The grade of service (GOS) the subscribers are encountering in the system.

Traffic refers to the usage of channels and is usually taken to be the holding time
per time unit (or number of call hours per hour) for one or several circuits
(trunks or channels).

The unit of traffic is Erlang (E)

For example, if one subscriber spends all his/her time on the phone he/ she can
generate one call per hour or 1E of traffic.
Erlang B table

Erlang B table named after the Danish traffic theorist is based on most common
assumptions, namely

No queues
Number of subscribers much higher than number of traffic channels
No dedicated traffic channels
Blocked calls, abandon call attempt
Poisson distributed (random) traffic.

Erlang B traffic model is used to work out the traffic density a network is capable
of bearing. GoS or call loss may be 2% or 5%. Erlang B table is shown below.
ERLANG B TABLE
Traffic capacity and channel planning
These are three major channels during capacity planning namely

BCCHCarries the systems information

TCH---- carries voice/data
SDCCH--- carries signaling information.

Rule of thumb

Every cell bears a BCCH channel

Every cell contains a certain number of SDCCH channel depending on
anticipated TCH traffic and signaling activities
The remaining channels are TCH channels

For example
A cell has 2 TRX there are 1 BCCH, 1SDCCH, & TCH channels

From erlang B table, 14TCH channels at 2% GoS is equal to 8.2erlang

SDCCH PLANNING
The table below shows a simple guideline on how to utilize SDCCH channels
Activities that use the SDCCH channels are
location updating
periodic registration
IMSI attach/detach
Call setup
SMS
FAX

CARRIER TYPES

1. 900M--- 40W-60W
2. 1800M--- 40W-60W
Abis Interface
This is a BSS internal interface that links the BSC and a BTS; The Abis interface allows control
of radio equipment and radio frequency allocation in the BTS.

The Abis timeslot assignment modes:

Fix: The Abis timeslots and Um timeslots are fixedly assigned.
They have a one-to-one relationship.

Flex: The Abis timeslots can be shared among different services

of the same BTS or among different BTSs.

E1 TDM Abis frame is a Multiplexing of 32 channels. Each channel has 64Kb/sec.

Channel zero is used for E1 signaling and synchronization, then we have 31 effective
channels for each E1.

In other vendors, maybe channel zero is used for E1 signaling and channel
16 is used for E1 synchronization, so we have 30 effective channels for
each E1.
THANK YOU
www.4netnig.com

168