GSM BSS

RAN Sharing
Feature Parameter Description Copyright Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Trademarks and Permissions and other Huawei trademarks are trademarks of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. All other trademarks and trade names mentioned in this document are the property of their respective holders.

Notice The purchased products, services and features are stipulated by the commercial contract made between Huawei and the customer. All or partial products, services and features described in this document may not be within the purchased scope or the usage scope. Unless otherwise agreed by the contract, all statements, information, and recommendations in this document are provided AS IS without warranties, guarantees or representations of any kind, either express or implied. The information in this document is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made in the preparation of this document to ensure accuracy of the contents, but all statements, information, and recommendations in this document do not constitute the warranty of any kind, express or implied.

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Contents

Contents
1 Introduction to This Document .............................................................................................1-1
1.1 Scope ............................................................................................................................................ 1-1 1.2 Intended Audience ........................................................................................................................ 1-1 1.3 Change History.............................................................................................................................. 1-1

2 Overview .....................................................................................................................................2-1 3 Technical Description ..............................................................................................................3-1

3.1 Networking Scenario Analysis....................................................................................................... 3-1 3.2 Operation and Maintenance System............................................................................................. 3-2 3.3 Network Elements ......................................................................................................................... 3-3 3.4 Functions....................................................................................................................................... 3-4

4 Engineering Guidelines...........................................................................................................4-1 5 Parameters .................................................................................................................................5-1 6 Counters ......................................................................................................................................6-1 7 Glossary ......................................................................................................................................7-1 8 Reference Documents .............................................................................................................8-1

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1 Introduction to This Document

1 Introduction to This Document

1.1 Scope
This document describes the networking scenarios, operation and maintenance system, and related network elements (NEs) for RAN sharing. (GBFD-118701 RAN Sharing)

1.2 Intended Audience

It is assumed that users of this document are familiar with GSM basics and have a working knowledge of GSM telecommunication. This document is intended for:
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Personnel working on Huawei GSM products or systems System operators who need a general understanding of this feature

1.3 Change History

The change history provides information on the changes in different document versions. There are two types of changes, which are defined as follows:
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Feature change Feature change refers to the change in the RAN Sharing feature of a specific product version. Editorial change Editorial change refers to the change in wording or the addition of the information that was not described in the earlier version.

Document Issues
The document issues are as follows:
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01 (2010-06-30) Draft (2010-03-30)

01 (2010-06-30)
This is the first release of GBSS12.0. Compared with issue draft (2010-03-30) of GBSS12.0, issue 01 (2010-06-30) of GBSS12.0 incorporates the changes described in the following table. Change Type Feature change Editorial change Change Description None.
Parameters are presented in the form of Parameter ID instead of Parameter Name.

Parameter Change None. None.

Draft (2010-03-30)
This is the draft release of GBSS12.0.

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2 Overview

2 Overview
With the increasingly fierce competition in the radio communications market, reducing the operation expenditure (OPEX) becomes a major concern for operators during network deployment. Network deployment in different phases has different characteristics. In the initial phase, there are only a few subscribers, and thus the investment recovery period is long. In the later phase, with the introduction of new technologies, the original equipment may be replaced and thus equipment resources are wasted. In addition, network deployment has limitations in different areas. In urban areas, difficult site acquisition and complex site construction increase the OPEX. In rural areas, the equipment utilization is likely to be low, though site construction is relatively easy. It will be desirable if operators at different phases of network deployment can share network resources, thus maximizing the capital utilization. To achieve this, RAN Sharing is introduced. The network resources mainly refer to the sites, transmission resources, feeders, base stations, and base station controllers. RAN Sharing supports the coexistence of shared resources with non-shared resources. Some resources in an operational network may be exclusive to an operator while others can be shared among several operators. For example, all the resources under a certain BTS belong to a specific operator and other operators cannot use these resources, whereas the resources under another BTS may be used by multiple operators. RAN Sharing enables multiple operators to share the network resources on the BSS side while keeping their own subscribers and services. Technically, RAN Sharing is a technology using which a set of physical GBSS equipment is split into multiple subsets of logical GBSS equipment. In this way, the same set of physical GBSS equipment can be shared by multiple operators to cover the same area. Operators have their respective frequency resources. Therefore, different operators can use different cells under the same BTS, but a cell belongs to only one operator. When an MS in a cell accesses the network, the BSC determines the operator to which the MS belongs and routes the MS to the core network (CN) of the operator. The services involved in RAN Sharing include both CS and PS services. According to the mapping between the CNs and the cells, the GBSS equipment routes the services in a cell to a specific CN for processing. For mature operators, RAN Sharing makes it possible to reuse the equipment. For new operators, RAN Sharing enables them to enter the market quickly and decreases the network deployment period. That is, RAN Sharing enables operators to save OPEX, share network resources, and thus achieve a win-win situation. The benefits of RAN Sharing are as follows:
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RAN Sharing helps save the CAPEX and OPEX. Multiple operators share networks to achieve maximum network coverage. RAN Sharing enables new operators to quickly deploy network and increase the market share.

Figure 2-1 shows the RAN Sharing networking.

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2 Overview

Figure 2-1 RAN Sharing networking

Operator A CBC Operator B CBC Operator A SGSN MSC Operator B SGSN MSC A/Gb interface Shared-BSC Abis interface Non-shared BTS Shared BTS CELL Operator A CELL Operator B Non-shared BTS

In the current networking mode of RAN Sharing, the CN is not shared by operators. Each Mobile Switching Center (MSC) or Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) belongs to only one operator.

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3 Technical Description

3 Technical Description
3.1 Networking Scenario Analysis
Coexistence of BSC Supporting RAN Sharing with BSC Not Supporting RAN Sharing Under Full Coverage
As shown in Figure 3-1, operator A and operator B have independent coverage areas. In addition, they achieve full coverage in other areas through the shared GBSS network equipment. Through the configuration of neighboring cells, an MS of operator A can be handed over from a cell under BSC A to a cell of operator A under shared BSC 1 or BSC 2; an MS of operator B can be handed over from a cell under BSC B to a cell of operator B under shared BSC 1 or BSC 2. Figure 3-1 Coexistence of shared BSCs with non-shared BSCs under full coverage

Operator A CN

Operator B CN

BSC A

BSC B

Shared BSC 1

Shared BSC 2

Operator A Cell Operator B Cell

Operator A Cell Operator B Cell

Operator A Cell Operator B Cell

Operator A Cell Operator B Cell

Coexistence of BSC Supporting RAN Sharing with 3G Network

As shown in Figure 3-2, operator A and operator B have independent 3G networks. In some areas, the GSM network is still required to complement the 3G network coverage. Operator A and operator B share the 2G network equipment to reduce the operation costs. Operator A can ensure the service continuity of an MS in its own network. The same situation applies to operator B. In this networking scenario, 3G network operators who do not have 2G network equipment can lease equipment from 2G network operators to complement the 3G network coverage.

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3 Technical Description

Figure 3-2 Coexistence of shared BSC with 3G network

Operator A CN

Operator B CN

RNC A

Shared BSC

RNC B

3G Cell

Operator A Cell Operator B Cell

Operator A Cell Operator B Cell 3G Cell

Coexistence of Full Coverage Network with Partial Coverage Network

As shown in Figure 3-3, the GSM network of operator A provides full coverage, whereas the GSM network of operator B provides only partial coverage. To achieve full coverage, operator B must use the equipment shared by operator A and enable the handover between cells of its own network and cells of operator A's network. In this networking scenario, an MS of operator B can access the network of operator A through handover or cell reselection and use the A interface resources of operator A. When moving to the area covered by the networks of operator A and operator B, the MS can return to operator B's cell and use the network resources of operator B. In this case, both operator A and operator B should set HOBTWNOTHOPALLOW to Yes and configure neighboring relations between their cells. Figure 3-3 Coexistence of full coverage network with partial coverage network

Operator A CN

Operator B CN

BSC A

Shared BSC

Operator A Cell

Operator A Cell Operator B Cell

Operator A Cell Operator B Cell

Operator A Cell

3.2 Operation and Maintenance System

RAN sharing enables a maximum of four operators to share the same radio access network while keeping their independent core networks (CNs). The shared GBSS equipment uses the same primary operation and maintenance system, which performs integrated management of al the resources under the GBSS equipment. The primary operation and maintenance system can be connected to the network management systems of different operators through the northbound interface. Through its own network management system, an operator can perform the following operations on a per cell basis: setting the

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3 Technical Description

cell-level parameters, enabling or disabling the cell-level features, and performing the cell-level performance management, log management, and alarm management. Non-cell-level parameter settings and performance management are performed through the primary operation and maintenance system. Figure 3-4 shows the operation and maintenance network structure after RAN sharing is introduced. Figure 3-4 Operation and maintenance network structure after RAN sharing is introduced
Operator A NMS Operator B NMS

Operator A CN

Operator B CN A/Gb interface

Shared Master OSSiManage M2000

Shared-BSC Abis interface Shared BTS

Operator A Cell

Operator B Cell

In RAN sharing mode, operators are classified into two types. The type of operator is specified by OperatorType.
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Primary operator The primary operator has the administrative rights to operate and maintain the system. The operator is responsible for adding secondary operators and configuring the function parameters for the secondary operators. OPINDEX of the primary operator must be set to 0.

Secondary operator The primary operator must be specified before RAN Sharing is enabled at the BSC. In addition, all the resources of the BSC belong to the primary operator. When SptRanSharing is set to Yes, a secondary operator can be added to the shared GBSS equipment, and the related resources can be allocated to the secondary operator. Before setting SptRanSharing to No, you should delete the information about all secondary operators. A maximum of three secondary operators are supported. The value of OPINDEX for a secondary operator ranges from 1 to 3. Each operator is identified by a unique PLMN ID, that is, MCC + MNC. On the shared GBSS equipment, operators can also be identified by OPNAME.

3.3 Network Elements

MSC
In RAN Sharing mode, one MSC belongs to only one operator, which is identified by OPNAME. Each MSC is identified by NAME corresponding to only one OPNAME.

SGSN
In RAN Sharing mode, one SGSN belongs to only one operator. Each SGSN is identified by CNID corresponding to only one OPNAME.

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3 Technical Description

PCU
In RAN Sharing mode, one external PCU belongs to only one operator. One operator, however, can have multiple external PCUs. Each external PCU is identified by NAME of PCU or PCUNO. corresponding to only one OPNAME.

BTS
In RAN Sharing mode, the BTS is the lowest-level NE shared by operators. If the primary operator does not share its BTS with a secondary operator, it can set SHARINGALLOW to No to have the sole use of the BTS. Before setting SHARINGALLOW to No, ensure that all the cells under the BTS belong to the primary operator.

Cell
In RAN Sharing mode, one cell belongs to only one operator. Each cell is identified by CELLNAME or CELLID corresponding to only one OPNAME. When changing the operator of a cell, delete the neighboring relations of this cell if it is configured with neighboring cells. If a cell is an external cell and the corresponding BTS does not adopt RAN Sharing, this cell can only be a neighboring cell of the primary operator's cells. If a cell is an external cell and the corresponding BTS adopts RAN Sharing, the cell is identified by CELLNAME or CELLID corresponding to only one OPNAME. Two cells belonging to different operators cannot be configured as enhanced dualband cells.

3.4 Functions
System Information Broadcast
One cell belongs to only one operator. Therefore, the system information broadcast on the BCCH of the cell carries the information about the PLMN of only the operator to which the cell belongs. The MSs of different operators listen to the system information and determine the cell that they can access according to the PLMN carried in the system information.

Paging
When the CN initiates a paging, the paging area can be a cell, a location area, or the whole coverage area of the BSC. In RAN Sharing mode, the paging message sent by the CN of a specific operator is broadcast in only the cells of this operator.

Call Access
When an MS attempts to access the network, the BSC determines the operator based on the cell on which the MS camps and routes the MS to the operator's CN.

Handover
RAN Sharing supports a handover from the 2G cell of one operator to the 2G or 3G cell of another operator. If HOBTWNOTHOPALLOW is set to Yes in both the originating cell and the target cell, the MS can be handed over between the two cells, though these two cells belong to different operators. If an MS is handed over between two cells of two operators under the same BSC, the inter-BSC handover procedure is performed, and outgoing BSC handover signaling and incoming BSC handover signaling can be traced on the A interface.
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3 Technical Description

If HOBTWNOTHOPALLOW is set to No, a cell can have unidirectional or bidirectional neighboring relations with all the other cells belonging to the same operator. If HOBTWNOTHOPALLOW is set to Yes, a cell of this operator can have unidirectional or bidirectional neighboring relations with all the cells belonging to another operator of which HOBTWNOTHOPALLOW is also set to Yes.

Cell Broadcast
A cell broadcast center (CBC) can be either owned by an operator or shared by multiple operators. The relation between a CBC and an operator is specified by CBCINDEX and OPINDEXSET. A maximum of four CBCs can be connected to a BSC where RAN Sharing is enabled. If RAN Sharing is enabled and SpprtCB is set to SPPRTSTANDARD(Support Standard CB), different operators can use different CBCs. In this case, the BSC is connected to multiple CBCs. Before changing SpprtCB from SPPRTSTANDARD(Support Standard CB) to another value, delete the relation between the operator and the CBC. Each operator provides cell broadcast short message services in its cells.

Flow Control
The flow control in the BSC is performed on a per BSC basis.

Local Switching
The local switching function is performed on a per BSC basis.

Abis Transmission Resources

If Flex Abis, HDLC transmission optimization, or IP transmission is applied on the Abis interface, the Abis interface transmission resources are shared among cells on a first-come, first-served basis.

Functions That Can Be Separately Controlled by Operators

Operators can control certain functions separately by setting the parameters at different levels.
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TRX-level parameters: Different TRXs have different TRX-level parameters. Operators can control the related functions separately by setting different TRX-level parameters. Cell-level parameters: Different cells have different cell-level parameters. Operators can control the related functions separately by setting different cell-level parameters. BSC-level parameters: The BSC-level parameters take effect for the networks of all operators. MSC-level parameters: The settings of some A interface parameters depend on the settings of the corresponding parameters on the MSC side. Operators can set different parameters on the MSC side for proper interconnection. Operator-level parameters: Different operators have different operator-level parameters.

Table 3-1 Functions related to RAN Sharing Functions Multi-transceiver unit in PBT transmit mode Multi-transceiver unit in transmit diversity mode Multi-transceiver unit Effective Level TRX TRX TRX

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Functions Multi-transceiver unit in four-way receive diversity Dynamic PBT Dynamic Transmit Diversity eMLPP 2G/3G Interoperability GBR QoS TCH HR/FR Adaptation NACC NC2 Network Operation Mode I Packet Power Control 2G/3G Inter-RAT Load Handover BSS Local Switching Soft-Synchronized Network A over IP Flow Control Location Service Cell Broadcast

Effective Level TRX TRX TRX Cell Cell Cell Cell Cell Cell Cell Cell Cell BSC BSC BSC BSC MSC Operator

For details of PBT, see PBT Parameter Description. For details of transmit diversity, see Transmit Diversity Parameter Description. For details of four-way receive diversity, see Four-Way Receive Diversity Parameter Description.

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4 Engineering Guidelines

4 Engineering Guidelines
z z z z z z

RAN Sharing supports a maximum of four operators, including the primary operator. RAN Sharing supports a maximum of four CBCs. With or without RAN Sharing, the DPC of the SS7 signaling and the total number of SGSNs remain unchanged. Operators must adopt the same configuration mode: BM/TC separated or BM/TC combined. The MSCs of RAN-Sharing operators must use the same type of bit rate for signaling link. The equipment of all RAN-Sharing operators must be connected to the same M2000, and the information about all alarms and performance counters can be viewed on the M2000. Such information is not displayed on a per operator basis. The BSC clock of one operator is used as the reference clock for all the other BSCs of RAN-Sharing operators. Operators must ensure the clock synchronization among the MSCs. If an NSE and a cell belong to different operators, a PTP BVC cannot be configured between them. The operation and maintenance or dynamic modification of data configuration by one operator may affect the services of other operators. The DPUa is shared among operators. All the PCUs must be external PCUs or built-in PCUs. In the case of external PCU, each PCU should be exclusively used by an operator.

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5 Parameters

5 Parameters
Table 5-1 Parameters Description Parameter ID HOBTWNOTHOPALLOW NE BSC6900 MML MOD GCNOPERATOR(Optional) ADD GCNOPERATOR(Optional) Description Meaning: Whether to allow handover between different operators. If the BSC supports RAN sharing, MSs in a cell of this operator can be handed over to a cell of other operators, or vice versa. GUI Value Range: NO(No), YES(Yes) Actual Value Range: NO, YES Unit: None Default Value: NO SptRanSharing BSC6900 SET BSCBASIC(Optional) Meaning: Whether to support RAN Sharing.RAN sharing refers to the technique that the GBSS equipment is categorized into multiple logical GBSS equipment, thus operators can share the GBSS equipment to cover the same area. GUI Value Range: NO(No), YES(Yes) Actual Value Range: NO, YES Unit: None Default Value: NO OPNAME BSC6900 MOD GCELL(Optional) ADD GCELL(Optional) Meaning: Name of the operator. This parameter uniquely identifies an operator. GUI Value Range: None Actual Value Range: 0~255 characters Unit: None Default Value: None

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5 Parameters

SHARINGALLOW

BSC6900

SET BTSSHARING(Optional)

Meaning: Whether to allow sharing GUI Value Range: NO(NO), YES(YES) Actual Value Range: NO, YES Unit: None Default Value: NO

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5 Parameters

OPINDEXSET

BSC6900

ADD GCBSADDR(Mandatory) MOD GCBSADDR(Mandatory)

Meaning: Indicates the set to which the operator index belongs. Each telecom operator is expressed through the sixteen bits of the operator index. When the bit is set to 1, it indicates that the operator share this CBC. When the bit is set to 0, it indicates that the operator does not share this CBC. GUI Value Range: OPINDEX0(OPINDEX 0), OPINDEX1(OPINDEX 1), OPINDEX2(OPINDEX 2), OPINDEX3(OPINDEX 3), OPINDEX4(OPINDEX 4), OPINDEX5(OPINDEX 5), OPINDEX6(OPINDEX 6), OPINDEX7(OPINDEX 7), OPINDEX8(OPINDEX 8), OPINDEX9(OPINDEX 9), OPINDEX10(OPINDEX 10), OPINDEX11(OPINDEX 11), OPINDEX12(OPINDEX 12), OPINDEX13(OPINDEX 13), OPINDEX14(OPINDEX 14), OPINDEX15(OPINDEX 15) Actual Value Range: OPINDEX0, OPINDEX1, OPINDEX2, OPINDEX3, OPINDEX4, OPINDEX5, OPINDEX6, OPINDEX7, OPINDEX8, OPINDEX9, OPINDEX10, OPINDEX11, OPINDEX12, OPINDEX13, OPINDEX14, OPINDEX15 Unit: None Default Value: None

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OperatorType

BSC6900

ADD GCNOPERATOR(Mandatory)

Meaning: Primary operator or secondary operator. Primary operator is an operator that provides equipment, whereas secondary operator is an operator that leases equipment. GUI Value Range: PRIM(Primary Operator), SEC(Secondary Operator) Actual Value Range: PRIM, SEC Unit: None Default Value: None

OPINDEX

BSC6900

MOD GCNOPERATOR(Mandatory) RMV GCNOPERATOR(Mandatory) ADD GCNOPERATOR(Mandatory)

Meaning: Index of the operator. This parameter uniquely identifies an operator. GUI Value Range: 0~15 Actual Value Range: 0~15 Unit: None Default Value: None

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6 Counters

6 Counters
For the counters, see the BSC6900 GSM Performance Counter Reference.

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7 Glossary

7 Glossary
For the acronyms, abbreviations, terms, and definitions, see the Glossary.

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8 Reference Documents

8 Reference Documents
[1] BSC6900 Feature List [2] BSC6900 Optional Feature Description [3] GBSS Reconfiguration Guide [4] BSC6900 GSM Parameter Reference [5] BSC6900 GSM MML Command Reference [6] BSC6900 Performance Counter Reference

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