8

GSM Radio Network Optimization ............................................................................... 2

8.1 Network Optimization Procedure ........................................................................................ 28.2 Network Optimization Tools ................................................................................................ 38.2.1 Test MS ........................................................................................................ ........... 38.2.2 Drive Test Software ................................................................................................. 48.2.3 Signaling Analyzer ................................................................................................... 58.2.4 Network Optimization Software ................................................................................ 68.3 Network Performance Evaluation ....................................................................................... 78.3.1 DT ........................................................................................................ ................... 78.3.2 CQT ........................................................................................................ ................ 88.3.3 Network Operation Indexes ..................................................................................... 88.4 Traffic Statistics Index Analysis ........................................................................................ 108.4.1 General Analysis Method ....................................................................................... 108.4.2 High Call Drop Rate Analysis ................................................................................. 108.4.3 High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis

...................................................................... 128.4.4 High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis ................................................................ 148.4.5 Low Handover Success Rate Analysis ................................................................... 168.5 Network Problem Solutions .............................................................................................. 188.5.1 Coverage Problems ............................................................................................... 188.5.2 Interference Problems ........................................................................................... 318.5.3 Call Drop Problems ............................................................................................... 418.5.4 Handover Problems ............................................................................................... 538.5.5 Congestion Problems ............................................................................................ 618.5.6 Other Problems ..................................................................................................... 65

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use only Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network Optimization Radio network optimization aims to improve network performance and maximize thebenefit of the existing network resources through parameter collection, data analysis,parameter adjustment, and necessary technical

means.From the perspective of carriers, they hope to configure the system rationally, utilizenetwork resources to the maximum, enhance network economic benefit, and reduceoperation costs through network optimization. From the perspective of users, they hopeto get satisfactory telecommunication services in terms network stability, speech quality,and so on. Therefore, the core task of radio network planning and optimization is toseek a balance among coverage, capacity, and quality based on rational investmentand the limited frequency resources, thus achieving the best rate of investment return. 8.1 Network Optimization Procedure 8.1shows the network optimization procedure. Figure 1.1 Network optimization procedureHereunder details the procedure:

Network information acquisition 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage2, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use onlyYou are required to confirm the actual engineering parameters and networkparameters, survey the local radio

environment and hot-traffic spots, andunderstand customer requirement.

Data collectionYou are required to collect OMCR traffic statistics data and alarm data; drive testdata, and the objective reflection of MS.

Data analysisYou are required to analyze network performance, network parameters, andOMCR traffic statistics using network optimization tools.

Network tuningYou are required to tune engineering parameters and network functionalparameters.

Network optimization report A network optimization report must include optimization measures, fulfilled networkperformance indexes, and suggestions for network development. 8.2 Network Optimization Tools 8.2.1 Test MS Test MS is a daily must for engineers to perform network test. The test MS can displaythe service cell of a mobile telecommunication network and the six neighbor cells. It

canalso be used to test network parameters. The test MS can be connected to a computer,so it can collect and analyze data with the help of drive test software.The functions of a SAGEM test MS are listed below:

View the IMSI of the SIM card

Scan BCCHThe SAGEM test MS can scan the BCCH, and it will provides the Rxlev and BSICof the scanned BCCH in each cell.

View network parametersThe SAGEM test MS can display network parameters of the service cell of and thesix neighbor cells when it is idle or in conversation state.

Forced cell selectionThe test MS can be forced to reselect the designated cell for dialing test andhandover test. 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage3, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use only

Forced handover The test MS can be forced to hand over to the designated cell to analyze whether the handover is normal during conversation.

Frequency selection

GPRS function test (The MSs of SAGEM OT96 support this function) 8.2.2 Drive Test Software ANT, TEMS, and SAFCO are the GSM drive test software in common use. Generally,the drive test software consists of two parts: foreground data collection software andbackground data analysis software. I. Foreground Data Collection Software The foreground data collection software is mainly responsible for collecting the uplinkand downlink data at the Um interface of the GSM mobile network. If the BTSs and thelandform map of the test areas are imported, the track of the drive test, the radioparameters of each test point, and the main information of the service cell, neighbor cell, and the Um interface can be observed.The functions of foreground data collection software are listed below:

Test functionsTest functions include call test, scan test, call interference test, double-networksynchronization test, dialing record test, dual-band comparison test, and MSselection test.

Topical testTopical test is responsible for forced handover and frequency locking (call) test,BCCH frequency locking (standby) test, forced location update test, and bandlocking test.

Interference testInterference aims to locate the BCCH samefrequency and neighbor frequencyinterference and TCH neighbor frequency interference within the same network intime.

Parameter collectionThe field strength of the service cell and the neighbor cells, bit error ratio, frameerror rate, and various radio parameters of the cell need to be collected.

Geographic navigationThe foreground data collection software can be used to display the geographicnavigation through combing the digital map and BTS resources. 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage4, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use only

SQI (Speech Quality Index) testSQI test aims to evaluate the speech quality experienced by mobile users.

Traffic statisticsThe foreground data collection software can be used for CQT traffic statistics. Itenables the call setup, call duration, and call release to be recorded respectively.In addition, it is also responsible for recording call drop rate and congestion rate.

Data recordThe foreground data collection software can record and store the test data of thetest MS synchronously, and can record and store the scanned data of the 900MHzand 1800MHz synchronously.

Scanning testScanning test aims to test and record the field strength of the channels of the GSM900MHz network and GSM1800MHz network.

Competitive testThe comparison between real-time field strength and speech quality is available. Inaddition, real-time check of cell parameters is allowed. II. Bachground Data Analysis Software The background data analysis software can geographically present the radio networktest data and reflect the distribution of network parameters on the electronic mapvisually. It can locate the problem cell by fully considering the drive test data, networkresource data, and digital frequency sweep receiver data, and GSM signalingcharacteristics, thus guiding engineers to evaluate and optimize the network rationallyand effectively.The functions of background data analysis software are listed below:

Radio coverage evaluation and analysis

Interference analysis

Neighbor cell analysis

Handover analysis

Signaling analysis

Speech record and analysis 8.2.3 Signaling Analyzer MA-10 and K1205 are the GSM signaling analyzer in common use. This sectionintroduces the functions of the signaling analyzer.MA-10 signaling analyzer can test the Abis interface signaling messages, the A-G 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage5, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use onlyinterface signaling messages, and the SS#7 interface signaling messages of ISUP,TUP, and INAP when it is on line. In addition, it can perform PCM BERT (bit error ratetest) and GSM BERT. Furthermore, it can enable the signaling message files savedduring on-line monitoring when it is offline.The MA-10 signaling analyzer has five sub-applications. They are listed below:

MA-10 control (It is used to test Abis interface signaling messages, A-G interfacesignaling messages, and bit errors when it is on line.)

MONITOR ABIS offline (It is used to analyze the Abis interface signalingmessages when it is off line.)

MONITOR MSC offline (It is used to analyze the A-G interface signaling messageswhen it is off line.)

GSM-BERT offline (It is used to analyze GSM BERT when it is off line.)

PCM-BERT offline (It is used to analyze PCH BERT when it is off line.)With the help of MA-10 signaling analyzer, network optimization engineers can collectand analyze Abis interface data and A-interface data, view the whole signalingprocedure, and obtain the measurement report, and then compare the information withthe downlink signals obtained from drive test. These means can help networkoptimization engineers have an overall understanding of the operation of the network.In this case, the causes and places for the problems, such as call drop, handover failure, and congestion can be located. 8.2.4 Network Optimization Software Good network optimization software can work as a platform for radio projects andmaintenance personnel. NASTAR, Huawei network planning and optimization tool, candeeply analyze GSM network by integrating OMCR traffic statistics, configuration data,alarm data, engineering data, and so on. In

addition, it also provides the interfaces for network planning, performance analysis, alarm analysis, and geography conditions.The functions of NASTAR are listed below:

Import static traffic statistics data (import the traffic statistics files of themaintenance console into database)

Import static traffic statistics data according to time

Import dynamic Huawei traffic statistics

Import BSC data configuration

Display the geographic view of BTSs

Cancel, add, and move the cells based on the geographic view of BTSs

Record spectrum utilization and analyze idle channel number

Check same-frequency BSIC

Analyze neighbor cells 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage6, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use only

Measure distance and azimuth angle

Display navigation window and legend

Query performance analysis tasks in common use

Make performance analysis task

Query network optimization tasks in common use

Make network optimization tasks

Perform tasks and alarms automatically

Import and export tasks

Display task result and site view

Query traffic statistics inversely from the cell set selected by site view

Display the traffic tasks in direct views, including linear figure, column, pie (supportthe display of double y-axis and the simultaneous display of multiple indexes;support 2D and 3D.)

Export electronic table (Excel) for query results. 8.3 Network Performance Evaluation Before putting network optimization into practice, you should have an overallunderstanding of the network performance. The traffic statistics data, DT (drive test)data, and CQT (call

quality test) data are necessary for network performanceacquisition. 8.3.1 DT DT is used to evaluate the connectivity, coverage, call drop, and voice quality for themain roads and transportation backbones in urban areas. The indexes for the roadsinclude connected ratio, call drop rate, coverage rate, voice quality, and so on. Theindexes for transportation backbones include call drop rate per kilometer, coveragerate, voice quality, connected rate, and so on.

Connected ratioConnected ratio = total connected times/attempted calls *100%

Call drop rateCall drop rate = call drop times/total connected times *100%

Coverage rateCoverage rate = ( -94dBm test road kilometers)/total test road kilometers*100%

Voice quality According to bit error rate, voice quality can be divided into 8 classes, from 0 to 7.Each class matches its bit error rate range.

2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage7, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use onlyThe calculation of voice quality depends on actual conditions. Generally, thefollowing method is in common use:Voice quality = [Rxqual (class 0)% + Rxqual (class 1)% + Rxqual (class 2)%*1 +Rxqual (class 3)%* + Rxqual (class 4)%*0.8 + Rxqual (class 5)%* + Rxqual (class6)%*0.5 + Rxqual (class 7)%*0.2

Call drop ratio per kilometer Call drop ratio per kilometer = ( -94dBm test road kilometers)/total call drop times 8.3.2 CQT CQT is applied to the important spots in urban areas. It enables you to experience thenetwork quality from the perspective of users. This section introduces the indexes usedto evaluating the CQT.

Coverage rateCoverage rate = ( -94dBm test points)/total calling test points)*100%

Connected ratioConnected ratio = total connected times/attempted calls *100%


Call drop rateCall drop rate = call drop times/total connected times *100%

Voice discontinuity/background noise rateVoice discontinuity/background noise rate = (total voice discontinuity occurrencetimes + total background occurrence times)/total connected times*100%

One-way audio/echo/cross-talking rate = (total one-way audio times + total echooccurrence times + total cross-talking occurrence times)/total connectedtimes*100%CQT enables you to use the MOS (mean opinion score) to evaluate the voice qualityfrom the perspective of peoples objective feeling. The MOS can be divided into fiveclasses, from 1 to 5. For the evaluation standard, see Table 5-2 of Chapter 5 GSM Radio Network Planning of GSM Radio Network Planning and Optimization. 8.3.3 Network Operation Indexes Though DT and CQT can detail network problems, they are restricted from test routesand time. Therefore, DT and CQT cannot test the overall network. To give an overallevaluation

towards the network, you should collect as more network operation indexesas possible. 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage8, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use onlyThe indexes evaluating network operation quality are listed below:

Service access capacity indexesService access capacity indexes include toll network connected ratio, shortmessage connected ratio, (GPRS) PDP activation ratio, and IP telephoneconnected ratio.

Service hold capacity indexesService hold capacity indexes include call drop rate, worst cell ratio, traffic call dropratio, handover success rate, and short message gateway transit success rate.With the expansion of network scale, the network structure becomes ever morecomplicated. In this case, networks with high performance but low cost are encouraged.The indexes on network utilization can be used to evaluate whether the cost to run anetwork is low. These indexes include toll circuit utilization rate, traffic channelavailability, busiest and idlest cell ratio, and so on.Hereunder introduces the methods to calculate the indexes used to evaluate networkoperation at the radio side.


Radio connected ratioRadio connected ratio = (1 SDCCH congestion rate)*(1 TCH congestion rate(all busy))*100%

Call drop rateCall drop rate = TCH call drop/successful TCH seizures (all busy)

Worst cell ratio A cell with TCH congestion rate higher than 5% at busy hours or a cell with TCHcall drop rate higher than 3% is defined as a worst cell. The number of the worstcells varies with network scales.

Traffic call drop ratioTraffic call drop ratio = total TCH traffic volume *60%/total TCH call drop times (allbusy)

Handover success rateHandover success rate = successful handovers/attempted handovers*100%

Traffic channel availabilityTraffic channel availability = the available traffic channels at busy hour/configuredtraffic channels*100% 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage9, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use only 8.4 Traffic Statistics Index Analysis At the network optimization stage, the traffic statistics indexes are the basis for networkperformance optimization. For network optimization, the KPIs, such as congestion rate,call drop rate, and handover success rate, are in common use. These indexes are theexternal representation of network quality. The radio coverage quality, channel capacity,and cell parameters are the internal factor to affect the network quality. The trafficstatistics analysis aims to look into these internal factors through external factors. Sincethe mobile network is a complex system, you should consider related DT information,signaling messages, and alarm information for the overall analysis. 8.4.1 General Analysis Method Traffic statistics analysis is performed from BSC overall performance to cellperformance, from primary indexes to secondary indexes.First you should have a rough understanding of the network performance through BSCperformance analysis. Here the indexes such as THC traffic intensity, TCH call droprate, TCH congestion rate, and inter-cell handover success rate should be considered. Attention that in addition to check the percentages of the indexes, you should alsocheck the absolute numbers of the indexes, because the percentages may sometimeshide some cell

problems. After having understood the indexes about the overall network performance, you shouldanalyze the indexes for each cell if finding abnormal indexes. First you should judge if the abnormal index is a common phenomenon or it is really an abnormal one. If it is acommon phenomenon, you should begin the analysis from the perspective of coverage,capacity, frequency planning, and cell parameters. If it is really an abnormal case, youshould register the corresponding traffic sub-items and analyze them in detail. Inaddition, you should also make an overall judgment through collecting the informationabout alarm, engineers operation, and other external causes. If the traffic statisticsanalysis cannot contribute a correct judgment, you should employ DT equipment andsignaling analyzer for help. 8.4.2 High Call Drop Rate Analysis If the uplink and downlink quality deteriorates to a level that cannot hold normalconversation, the conversation will be disconnected. This is defined as call drop. Sincethe user mobility and radio propagation is uncertain, call drop always exists in a mobilenetwork. However, optimization measures can be adopted to reduce the call drop rate.8.4.2shows the flow chart for high call drop rate analysis. 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage10, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use only Figure 1.2

High call drop analysisWhen the call drop rate of the BSC overall performance is found abnormal, you cancheck TCH performance to judge whether the call drop is just a common phenomenonor it is an individual phenomenon. After that, you can judge whether the high call droprate occurs in several cells or in all the BTSs. If the call drop is a commonphenomenon, you should make an overall check towards the coverage planning, cellparameter planning, and frequency planning to analyze whether the link budget meetthe requirements, whether the configuration of the path failure counter is rational, andwhether the network interference is too great. In addition, you should also check theBSC hardware, and then perform drive test to check the network coverage.If it the abnormality is caused by the severe call drop in individual cells, you shouldconfirm whether it is equipment failure that caused the call drop. Generally, alarmmessages are always come together with equipment failure, so you can takeequipment failure as a reference. After the equipment failure is excluded, you can analyze the call drop rate from theperspective of interference, coverage, and handover.1)Interference is divided into uplink interference and downlink interference. You cananalyze the uplink interference according to the number of interference bands intowhich the idle TCHs drop. It is normal that the idle TCHs drop into interference 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage11, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use onlyband 1 and interference band 2. For the network with

aggressive frequency reuse,it is acceptable that the idle TCHs drop into interference band 3. Here thefrequency hopping, PBGT handover and coverage control must be considered. If the idle TCHs drop into interference band 4 or above, you should carefully checkthe interference. Generally, the interference within the network increases with thetraffic volume. The increase of the Rxqual class can be seen through the Rxqualmeasurement task and Rxlev measurement task. The poor handover ratio can beseen arising through inter-cell handover performance measurement. In addition,the handover re-establishment failures will result in more handover failures.2)If the coverage is inadequate or it is unbalance on the uplink and downlink, the calldrop will also be resulted. You can judge if the Rxlev is adequate through themean Rxlev of the power control measurement task and the power class. If theRxlev is still low when the transmitter power reaches the maximum, there areareas with poor coverage. Meanwhile, you can take the mean Rxqual and Rxlevduring call drop as a reference. The distribution of TA (timing advance) values canhelp you estimate the radius of subscriber distribution. Through checking thereceived channel strength of the neighbor cells, you can analyze the cell coverage.Generally, drive test is needed for a detailed analysis.If the uplink coverage and downlink coverage are unbalance, RF componentfailure or cable connection problem will occur. The path unbalance can be seenfrom the path balance measurement task, power measurement task, and call dropmeasurement task. At this time, the alarm information and user complaint alsodeserve your attention.3)Handover failure will prevent the MS from moving to the best cell. In this case, calldrop may be resulted. In addition, cross-cell handover

and target cell congestionmay cause call drop. To solve this problem, you can add neighbor cell relationshipand balance the traffic within the cells.The high SDCCH call drop rate analysis is similar to high TCH call drop rateanalysis. Acting as the point-to-point signaling channel, the SDCCH is moresensitive to the interference than TCH. In this case, the common method toreduce the call drop rate is to adjust the access threshold and reduce interference. 8.4.3 High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis This section discusses TCH congestion, including the congestion caused by TCHseizure all busy and the congestion caused by TCH seizure failure.8.4.3shows the flow chart for high TCH congestion analysis. 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage12, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use only Figure 1.3 High TCH congestion rate analysisWhen the congestion rate of the BSC overall performance is found abnormal, you canfind out the cells with high congestion rate through checking the TCH performancestatistics. In this case, you can discover the problems through analyzing each functionalsubitem of the TCH performance statistics of this cell. In addition, you should checkwhether there is transmission problem, clock problem, or hardware problem throughconsidering the alarm

information.It is a must to analyze the load according to the TCH traffic intensity and the configuredTCH capacity.1)Check if the THC congestion rate is caused by TCH seizure all busy throughanalyzing the TCH performance measurement of the cell. If the congestion iscaused by heavy traffic, you should predict the real traffic of the cell and check if other cells can share the traffic. If it is beyond the optimization capability to enableother cells to share the traffic, you should consider expanding the capacity of thenetwork. The adjustment measures for traffic balance may not be consistent withthe principle of minimum radio path loss, so they are applied to emergent causesonly. In most cases, you can balance the traffic through adjusting coverage scope,adjusting access threshold, adjusting CRO and handover threshold, or enabling 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage13, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use onlyload handover. If the congestion is not caused by TCH seizure all busy, go on withthe check.2)Check if the TRXs of the congestion cell work normally. The damage or performance decline of the uplink channels may prevent the MS from accessingother cells. In this case, many cells will be seized, which will cause congestion.The incoming cell handover performance measurement will show that manyhandovers towards this cell are failures. In this case, you should query the statueof each TRX within each cell through querying the Rxlev performancemeasurement task or Rxqual performance measurement task. In addition, youshould find

out which TRX is related to the abnormality through querying the uplinkand downlink measurement reports of the same TRX.3)Check if the congestion rate is related to interference, namely, check if anyabnormality is present from the interference band 1 to interference band 5 in thetraffic statistics. If the interference is present in a cell, the call drop rate of the cellwill be high, and the SDCCH congestion rate will increase accordingly. Moreover,the RACH in the random access performance measurement may be congested,and the immediate assignment success rate will decrease.4)Under some conditions, the congestion of some cells is a result of large coverage.In this case, you should analyze the relationship between TA value and Rxlevthrough querying the power control mean level, the mean level during call drop,and TA. In addition, you should also use drive test to define the coverage area of the cell. Through querying the TCH availability of the neighbor cell, you canconfirm if the congestion is caused by neighbor cell failures. Through queryingpath balance performance measurement, you can judge if the reason for the TCHseizure failure is that the downlink power is greater than the uplink power.5)Frequent handovers can also cause TCH congestion. Through querying the ratioof the handovers to the call seizure successes, you can check if the ratio isrational. Through querying the incoming and outgoing ratio, you can check if thecongestion is caused by irrational handover. 8.4.4 High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis 8.4.4shows flow chart for high SDCCH congestion rate analysis. 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage14, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use only Figure 1.4 High SDCCH congestion rate analysisThe SDCCH congestion rate is mainly caused by heavy traffic. First you should define if the congestion is a common phenomenon or if it is just an individual phenomenon. If itis a common phenomenon, you should analyze if the location update timer is irrationallyset, and then calculate the SDCCH capacity to see if it meets system requirement. If itis just an individual phenomenon, you should analyze it from the perspective of equipment, location area, and interference.1)From the perspective of equipment, you should first check the TRX sound ratio inthe BSC overall performance measurement and the SDCCH availability in theSDCCH performance measurement, and then check the TCH activationNACK/TIMEOUT in the TCH performance measurement. After that, you can defineif the congestion is caused by board problem.2)Check the messages for SDCCH bearer location update. Irrational location areaplanning will cause frequent location update, which will result in SDCCHcongestion. You are required to analyze of the edge of the location is set at theareas with a great number of subscribers by checking the location area planningand actual drive test. In addition, you are also required to check if the locationupdate messages accounts a too larger percentage of the SDCCH seizurerequests at the edge. The method is to query the ratio of the successful SDCCHseizures (location

update) to the total SDCCH seizure successes in the SDCCHperformance measurement. 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage15, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use only3)Interference also causes SDCCH congestion. Especially for the networks in whichthe distance between BTSs is small and the BCCH frequency is aggressive, thesystem may receive more interference random access signals. The network willallocate a SDCCH for each random access, which causes SDCCH congestion. Inthis case, the immediate assignment success rate will decrease, the pagingsuccess rate will decrease, and the RACH in the random access performancemeasurement may be overloaded. 8.4.5 Low Handover Success Rate Analysis 8.4.5shows the flow chart for low handover success rate analysis. Figure 1.5 Low handover success rate analysisThe analysis for handover success rate is quite complicated, because it involvescapacity, coverage, clock, signaling, equipment, and even MS. 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage16, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use only1)If the handover success rate of all cells is low, you should check the problem fromthe perspective of handover parameters, A-interface circuit, and BSC clock.2)Filter the cells with poor handover. If a network is run by the equipments of different carriers, you should check if it interoperability problem by comparing theinter-BSC handover success rata with the intra-BSC handover success rate in thehandover performance measurement. Generally, the interBSC handover successrate is a little lower than the intra-BSC handover success rate. In addition, youneed to monitor the signaling messages and data configuration between BSCsand analyze the radio link budget and clock of each carrier.3)Check if any problem is present at the Um interface through comparing thehandover success rate and radio handover success rate. The radio handover success rate is equal to or greater than the handover success rate. If the handover success rate is far smaller than the radio handover success rate, you shouldanalyze the ground link and capacity. If the difference between the radio handover success rate and the handover success rate, you need to consider theinterference.4)Analyze if it is incoming handover failure or it is outgoing handover failure throughquerying the incoming cell handover success rate and outgoing handover successrate in the handover performance measurement. After that, analyze the outgoingcell handover performance measurement and incoming cell handover performancemeasurement of the problem cell so as to find out the incoming handover failurecells from the outgoing cell performance measurement. Confirm if the poor handover is caused by target cell congestion through analyzing the incoming cellhandover

failures, TCH traffic intensity, and TCH congestion rate (all busy) of all the incoming handover failure cells.5)Check if any equipment fails through querying the TRX sound ratio, TCHavailability, and TCH activation NACK/TIMEOUT of the target cell. Analyze if theTRX performance decreases through querying the Rxlev performancemeasurement of the target cell.6)Check if any ground link equipment fails through querying the A-interface failuresand the ground link breaks during TCH seizure.When the microwave is used for the transmission or during inter-BSC handover,the clock deviation is another cause for poor handover. And this can be proved bythe intra-BSC handover failures. For the cells where the clock synchronization isunavailable, the BSIC cannot be decoded, so the handover can never occur. In thiscase, you need to check if the clock is normal and analyze the call drop rate.If these two causes are excluded, you need to make adjustment from theperspective of coverage and interference.To reduce call drop rate and enhance handover success rate, you can leave a 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage17, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use onlymargin for the Rxlev and Rxqual during handover. If the Rxlev of a cell is lower than -90dBm during handover, you should check the mean Rxlev and TA value of TCH call drop in the call drop performance measurement and analyze drive test tosee if the coverage distance of the cell is too long and if the signal is not strongenough.For the networks in which better cell algorithms are enabled, you should check

theattempted handovers (better cell). It is better that the percentage it accounts 60%of the handover causes.The interference will also affect the handover success rate. When the interferenceis present, the voice quality will decrease and the call drop rate will increase.Handover problems are rather complicated. To solve the problems arising in actualwork, you are supposed to integrate the methods introduce above, the signalinganalyzer, equipment condition, and drive test into consideration. 8.5 Network Problem Solutions 8.5.1 Coverage Problems I. Solutuon Procedures [Problem: the coverage is becoming smaller after the BTS is enabled] After a BTS has run for a period of time (for example, half years), the coverage of theBTS may become smaller or even dead zone may appear due to various causes. Inthis case, the system performance will be affected. The shrink of the coverage is notonly related to the technical indexes (such as the BTS sensitivity and power), but alsorelated to the engineering quality, geographic factors, and the electromagneticenvironment.The factor concerning the BTS problems are as follows:

Transmitter output power decrease


Receive sensitivity decrease

Antenna azimuth angle change

Antenna tilt change

Antenna gain change

Feeder loss

Coupler loss

Working band change

Propagation environment change 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage18, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use only

Diversity effect change.You can check the problem according to the following procedure:1)Check the conditions around the BTS antennaYou are required to check if there are other antennas (such as micro antenna),decorations, billboard, trees, or glass walls standing around the BTS antenna.These barriers may exert a negative effect against the antenna reception andtransmission, thus affecting the coverage of the BTS. In this case, you can tunethe azimuth angel of the corresponding antenna or change the antenna height.2)Check the change of the propagation environmentThe change of the propagation environment of the electromagnetic wave willweaken the signals received by radio terminals. Especially for mountains, thepropagation of the electromagnetic waves depends on the reflection of mountains.For example, the change in the vegetation of the mountain will reduce thecoverage of the BTS. In addition, the climate and other natural factors also havesome effect against the electromagnetic waves. The propagation loss varies withwood intensity, season, and so on. The maximum loss can reach 30 dB. If newbuildings prevent the propagation of the electromagnetic waves and weakens thesignals, the areas in the remote cannot be covered, so the subscribers cannotenjoy the service. Especially the high buildings near the BTS have a great effectagainst the propagation of electromagnetic waves.3)Check if there is standing wave alarm and main diversity reception alarm at theoperation and maintenance

consoleThis problem can be checked according to the standing wave alarm messages andthe diversity reception alarm messages. If the alarms of this kind occur, you shouldcheck the corresponding antennas and feeders.4)Check if the standing wave ratio is smaller than 1.5%The tolerance of the standing wave alarm threshold of the CDU or EDU is great.Therefore, after checking that the set-top power is normal, you can further check if the standing wave is smaller than 1.5%. If the standing wave ratio is abnormal, youneed to check if the water has penetrated into the antenna or feeder connector, or if it is lightening protector problem.5)Check if the tower amplifier work normallyCheck if tower amplifier alarm is present at the operation and maintenanceconsole. Generally, the problems are the low noise amplifier was damaged or thewater has penetrated into the amplifier. The amplifier alarm always comes together with the damage of the low noise amplifier. If the water has penetrated into thetower amplifier, no alarm will be generated, but the RF loss is great. In this case,the receiver sensitivity will decrease dramatically. 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage19, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use only6)Check the engineering parameters (including antenna tilt and azimuth angle)The increase of the antenna tilt or the deviation of the azimuth angle will reducethe coverage of the BTS. Therefore, antennas must be firmly fixed so that they canstand strong wind and storms.7)Check the set-top output power of the transceiver First you should check if the lines are well connected, and then check if the set-toppower is normal.

If it not normal, you should replace the problem hardware.8)Check if the receiver sensitivity is normalCheck if the coverage distance is shortened by the low receiver sensitivity. Inaddition, you can monitor the messages at the Abis interface and find out therelationship between level and bit error rate. After that, you can get the value of thelevel when the bit error rate is 2%. This means, however, only applies to thesituation that when the receiver sensitivity drops dramatically.9)Check if the parameters affecting the coverage are rationally set10)Check if the high back noise in the coverage area is caused by interference andpoor electromagnetic environment. [Coverage problem caused by BTS expansion] If the coverage of the BTS shrinks after expansion, in addition to making the previouschecks, you are supposed to check the following items.1)Check if the combiner keeps the same before and after expansionThe loss of different combiners varies greatly Therefore, the combiner configuration deserves special attention during BTS expansion. If differentcombiners are a must, you should fully communicate with customers.2)Check if the antennas are rationally selectedSuitable antennas must be selected for project installation and network planning sothat the best coverage can be achieved. It must be pointed out that you should usezero-point filling antenna or the electrical title antenna when the antenna height isgreat. In addition, omni antennas cannot be widely used for the large areacoverage. In this case, the coverage problem can be solved by directionalantennas.3)Check if the installation of the newlyadded antennas are qualifiedYou should first check if the

design of the antenna height, azimuth angle, andantenna tilt is qualified. Generally, the important coverage areas cannot be baredby tower. Meanwhile, the important coverage areas cannot be perpendicular to thediversity direction of the antenna. In this case, the antenna diversity effect can beexcavated to the maximum. To reduce the coverage shadow caused by the tower,you should pay attention to the distance between the antenna and the tower. 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage20, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use onlyMoreover, the pole of the omni antenna and the RF part of the antenna cannot beoverlapped.4)Check the position of the BCCH transmitter antennaSince the tower effect is present, the BCCH transmitter antenna must be installedat a side of the important coverage area. In this case, the coverage shadow can beavoided. To prevent the assignment failure caused by the inconsistence of theBCCH coverage and TCH coverage, you can use the concentric channel allocationalgorithm. In addition, the important coverage area cannot be perpendicular to thediversity direction of the antenna.5)Check if the tilts and the azimuth angles of the directional dual transmitter antennas are consistent with each other If the tilts and azimuth angles of the directional dual transmitter antennas areinconsistent, call drop, assignment failure, and handover failure will easily occur. Inthis case, the coverage area of the BTS will become small. In addition, since thetower effect is present, the BCCH transmitter antenna must be installed at a side of the important coverage area. In this

case, the coverage shadow can be avoided.Moreover, the important coverage area cannot be perpendicular to the diversitydirection of the antenna.6)Check the set-top output power of various TRXs if the scheme for the maximumcoverage is used.When the maximum coverage is pursued, the TRXs are required to be combinedin various ways. In this case, the coverage distance of the BCCH will be longer than that of the TCH. As a result, the TCH assignment failure will be caused, sothe concentric technology is needed. The channel assignment failure caused bylow transmit level in the inner circle and the channel congestion in the externalcircle can be avoided if the TA values of the inner circle and the external circle arecorrectly set and allocated to the inner circle and external circle according to theright priority. [Coverage problems caused by BTS swap or construction] 1)Check if the azimuth angle and the antenna height are the same before and after the BTS swapIf all the antenna and feeder components are newly constructed, the old BTS canonly be swapped after the new antenna is installed. Therefore, the azimuth angleand the antenna height may be different from that of the old antenna. In this case,the coverage area may decrease. As a result, you should check if the azimuthangle and the antenna height are the same before and after the bas station swap.2)Check antenna tilt problems caused by network swap 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage21, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use onlyGenerally, the tilt must keep the same. If you need to control the coverage areadue to new BTSs are added to urban areas, you can consider increasing the tilt.3)Check if the settop power of the swap BTS is the same as that of the old BTS.4)Check if the receiver sensitivity of the BTS is normal.5)Check if it is the interference or the poor electromagnetic environment that makesthe back noise of the whole area too high.6)Check if any standing wave alarm message or diversity reception alarm messageis generated for antenna and feeder at the operation and maintenance console.7)Check the parameters that will affect coverage are rationally set.8)Check if the installation of the antennas is qualified after the BTS has beenenabled or swapped.9)Check if the right type of antenna is selected.10)Check the position of the BCCH TRX transmitter of the omni dual transmitter antenna.11)Check if the tilts and the azimuth angles of the two directional antennas keep thesame after the directional dual transmitter antenna is used.12)Check if the antennas and feeders of the cell are inversely connected.13)Check if the tower amplifier works normally.14)Check the set-top power for various TRXs when the configuration scheme for themaximum coverage is pursued. II. Problems Affecting Coverage and Solutions [Antenna water penetration] It is quite accidental that the water penetrates into the antenna. Water penetrationmeans that the water enters the RF internal channel. In this case, the voltage standingwave ratio of the antenna will increase; the antenna loss will increase, the

coveragearea will decrease; or event the power amplifier will be disabled. [Antenna passive intermodulation] The passive intermodulation of the antenna and various connectors will causeinterference. The exclusive method can be used for the check. That is, you can connectthe antenna feeders of the neighbor cells where there is no interference to the test cell.If any problem is found, you should change the antenna. [Improper antenna selection] Generally, if the antenna height exceeds 50m and if the first zero point under the mainantenna beam is not filled, the shadow under tower may occur. That is, the area under the tower cannot be covered by signals. In this case, you should select the antennawith zero point filling function. 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage22, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use onlyIf three-sector directional antennas are used for vast coverage, the antennas must havea high gain and their half power angle must be greater than 90 degrees. If the half power angle is small, the gain of the two neighbor sectors will be low. In this case, thecoverage radius is small.If the antenna tilt is great, the all mechanical tilt antenna is not a suitable choice. In thiscase, you should select the fixed electrical tilt + mechanical tilt antenna or thecontinuous adjustable

electrical tilt (0 to 10 degrees) + mechanical tilt antenna. As the frequency reuse becomes more aggressive, the front-toback ratio of theantenna may not meet the requirement of a single BTS or several BTSs. Therefore, youshould select the antennas with greater front-to-back ratio. [Tower effect against Omni antenna radiation] The tower effect against omni antenna radiation deserves enough attention. It is hard toestimate the damage of the omni antenna directional diagram caused by the tower. Thedamage varies greatly with the distance between the tower and the antenna, as showninIIandII. Figure 1.6 Omni antenna directional diagram without barrier 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage23, Total68

Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network OptimizationFor internal use only Figure 1.7 Tower effect against antenna far-fieldIf the antenna is installed on the tower and metal tube, you should pay specialattentions to the following items:

The metal tube and the effect radiation part of the antenna cannot be overlapped.

Take measures to avoid installing the whole antenna on the metal tube.

If the antenna is installed on the tower, make sure that the distance between theantenna and the nearest end of the tower is greater than 6 wavelengths.

The omni dual transmitter technology is not recommended.

The antenna must be perpendicular to 1/8 of the half power beam width at least. [Directional antenna installation problem] Two problems may occur for directional antenna installation:

The antenna is inversely or wrongly connected.

The azimuth angles and the tilts of the transmitter antenna and the receiver antenna are inconsistent and or the error is

great.Engineering causes are the explanations of the two problems. Generally, the error scope of the azimuth angle cannot exceed 5 degrees, and that of the tilt cannotexceed 0.5 degrees. If the error is too great, the coverage of the transit antennaand that of the receiver antenna will be different. In this case, it is hard to makecalls the coverage edges. 2012-09-07HUAWEI ConfidentialPage24, Total68

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Search Bottom of Form TIP Press Ctrl-FF to search anywhere in the document. Sections Chapter 8 GSM Radio Network Optimization 8.1 Network Optimization Procedure Figure 1.1 Network optimization procedure 8.2 Network Optimization Tools 8.2.1 Test MS 8.2.2 Drive Test Software 8.2.3 Signaling Analyzer 8.2.4 Network Optimization Software 8.3.2 CQT 8.3.3 Network Operation Indexes 8.4 Traffic Statistics Index Analysis 8.4.1 General Analysis Method 8.4.2 High Call Drop Rate Analysis 8.4.3 High TCH Congestion Rate Analysis 8.4.4 High SDCCH Congestion Rate Analysis

8.4.5 Low Handover Success Rate Analysis Figure 1.5 Low handover success rate analysis 8.5 Network Problem Solutions 8.5.1 Coverage Problems 8.5.2 Interference Problems 8.5.3 Call Drop Problems 8.5.4 Handover Problems 8.5.5 Congestion Problems 8.5.6 Other Problems Info and Rating Category: Uncategorized. Rating: Upload Date: 09/07/2012 Copyright: Attribution Non-commercial gsm radio network optimization Tags: gsm radio network optimization (fewer)

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