3 WCDMA A en UMTS Handover Optimization 1 WORD 201005 59 - 2

UMTS Handover Optimization
Version 1.00
ZTE CORPORATION
ZTE Plaza, Keji Road South,
Hi-Tech Industrial Park,
Nanshan District, Shenzhen,
P. R. China
518057
Tel: (86) 755 26771900 800-9830-9830
Fax: (86) 755 26772236
URL: http://support.zte.com.cn
E-mail: doc@zte.com.cn
Contents
Chapter 1.................................................................1
Handover Performance Analysis and Optimization.......1

DT Optimization Analysis...................................................2
Causes for Intra-Frequency Handover Failures...........................2
Corner Effect......................................................................12
Causes for Inter-Frequency Handover Failures.........................17
Causes for Inter-RAT Handover Failures..................................18
Optimization of the Traffic Statistics..................................18
Causes for Soft Handover Failure...........................................19
Causes for Inter-Frequency Handover Failure...........................22
Analysis of the Reason for the Outgoing CS Inter-RAT Handover
Failure...............................................................................25
Analysis of the Reason for the Outgoing PS Inter-RAT Handover
Failure...............................................................................29
Chapter 2................................................................33
Cases of Handover Performance Optimization............33

Cases of Intra-RAT Handover Optimization.........................33
Handover Failure and Call Drop Caused by Corner Effect...........33
Handover Failure and Call Drop Caused by Pinpoint Effect..........37
Handover Failure and Call Drop Caused by Insufficient PSC Reuse
Distance.............................................................................40
Handover Failure and Call Drop Caused by Limited System
Resources..........................................................................45
Inter-RAT Handover Cases...............................................47
Handover Failure Caused by Improper Intra-RAT Handover
Parameter Configuration.......................................................47
Handover Failure Caused by Wrong Configuration of Intra-RAT
Neighboring cells.................................................................50
Inter-RAT PS Domain Handover Failure Caused by No Routing
Between SGSNs..................................................................53
Chapter 1
Handover Performance
Analysis and Optimization
Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION 1

DT Optimization Analysis
Causes for Intra-Frequency
Handover Failures
F I G U R E 1 A N ALYS I S F L O W F O R I N T R A - F R E Q U E N C Y H AN D O V E R FAI L U R E S
2 Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION

Chapter 1 Handover Performance Analysis and Optimization
Missing Neighboring cells
Judgment of missing neighboring cells

Neighboring cells refer to cells that may enter the active set, and
cells that the UE may reselect as the serving cell or may be
handed over to. When the UE is at idle or FACH state, it can read
the neighboring cell information from the system information,
and it will measure these cells when the conditions are fulfilled.
Therefore, missing neighboring cells may cause that the cell
reselection cannot be finished in time, which further leads to call
setup failure. When the UE is at DCH state, the RNC will deliver
the neighboring cell information to the UE through the
measurement control command, and instruct the UE to measure
all the neighboring cells that it may be handed over to. In this
condition, missing neighboring cells may lead to call drops.
Generally, the following three methods can be used to judge
missing neighboring cells:
1. Best SC of the UE and Best SC of the Scanner
Missing neighboring cells may lead to call drops. If both the
UE and the Scanner are used in the test, we can check
whether there are any missing neighboring cells by
comparing the Ec/Io of the optimal serving cell in the active
set of the UE and the Ec/Io of the optimal serving cells
measured by the Scanner. If the Ec/Io of the optimal serving
cell within the active set of the UE is poor, while that
measured by the Scanner is good, and the PSCs of the
optimal serving cell recorded by the Scanner is not included
in the Measurement Control signaling delivered by the
RNC, it is certain that the some neighboring cells are
missing.
As shown in the figure below, on one road, the Best SC by
Ec/Io measured by the UE is poor, lower than -11dB, while
that recorded by the Scanner is good, higher than -8 dB. The
optimal serving cell recorded by the Scanner is 194 and 409,
while that of the UE is 160. Through the Measurement
Control signaling received by the UE, we find out that Cell
194 and cell 409 are not included in the neighboring cell list.
From this, it is safe to ascertain that some neighboring cells
are missing.

FIGURE 2 JUDGING MISSING NEIGHBORING CELLS BY BEST SC OF THE UE

AND THE SCANNER (1)
FIGURE 3 JUDGING MISSING NEIGHBORING CELLS BY BEST SC OF THE UE

AND THE SCANNER (2)
2. Pilot set of the UE

If only the UE is used in the test, we can judge whether
there are missing neighboring cells by checking the pilot set
changes before and after the call drops. It is safe to
ascertain that some neighboring cells are missing when the
following three conditions are all met: 1. One cell with strong
signals exists in the detective set around the call drop point;

2. The PSC of the cell that the UE accesses after the call drop
is different from the one that the UE accessed before the call
drop; 3. There is no record about this cell in the last
Measurement Control message that the UE received before
the call drop.
As shown in the figure below, Cell227 with strong pilot
strength is included in the detective set. After the call drop,
the UE accesses Cell227. However, Cell227 is excluded in the
neighboring cell list delivered by the last Measurement
Control message. Then, we can ascertain that Cell227 is the
missing neighboring cell.
FIGURE 4 PILOT SET OF THE UE BEFORE THE CALL DROP
FIGURE 5 PILOT SET OF THE UE AFTER THE CALL DROP
3. CNA pilot pollution analysis algorithm 2

CNA pilot pollution analysis algorithm 2 is used to check the
test data of the UE. Pilot pollution refers to the condition that
the pilots that exceed the pilot pollution threshold are not
included in the active set after certain lag time. When the UE
is used in the test, the condition that the missing neighboring
cells that cannot join the active set in a short period of time
deteriorates the Ec/Io of the serving cell and generates extra
interference. The pilot pollution analysis algorithm 2 can

speedily locate the potential area with missing neighboring

cells. Then, the pilot set of the UE can be used to check
whether the problem exists.
As shown in the figure below, you can locate the pilot
pollution area by pilot pollution analysis algorithm 2, and
then use the UE to judge whether the pilot pollution is
caused by missing neighboring cells. From the pilot set of the
UE, we can judge that Cell194 is the missing neighboring
cell.
F I G U R E 6 U S I N G P I L O T P O L L UT I O N AN ALYS I S AL G O R I T H M 2 T O C H E C K F O R
MISSING NEIGHBORING CELLS
Solution for missing neighboring cells

Once the missing neighboring cells are detected, you should add
the cells to the neighboring cell list in the OMC-R. Note that
more configured neighboring cells does not necessarily represent
the network performance is better. It is the quality of the
neighboring cells that impacts the network performance. If too
many neighboring cells are configured, the neighboring cell
searching period will be prolonged, and then the equipment
performance will be impacted; on the contrary, if some
neighboring cells are missing, unnecessary interference will
exist, and call drop may occur. At the initial stage of network
construction, the network engineers set the neighboring cell
relation based on field inspection and distribution of the base
stations. After the network is put into commercial operation, the
network load is added with the increase of subscribers. In this
condition, the engineer can optimize the neighboring cell
configuration by tracing the detected set and MR.

Pilot Pollution
Judgment of pilot pollution

Pilot pollution is the most common problem in UMTS. In plain
terms, it refers to the condition that the pilot signals received
from different cells are similar (either strong or weak) at one
testing point, and there is no primary pilot signal. At present,
most UMTS terminals support a maximum of three active sets.
In other words, if more than three cells have similar Ec/Ios, the
three RLs in the active set will be interfered.
Pilot pollution is generally caused by improper design of the
network coverage. The following causes may lead to poor
coverage: overshooting of high sites, ring-shaped NodeB
distribution, wave-guide effect, and large reflector. All these
factors lead to the deformation of signals. Areas with severe
pilot pollution will have low call setup success rate, low call setup
success rate for high-speed data services, high handover failure
rate, and compromised capacity.
CNA has defined three algorithms to calculate the pilot pollution.
Click Tools > Analysis Parameter Setup to set the
parameters related to the algorithms. These algorithms can
speedily and accurately analyze the pilot pollution problem, and
timely locate the pilot pollution area.
F I G U R E 7 P AR A M E T E R S E T T I N G F O R P I L O T P O L L U T I O N AN A LYS I S
ALGORITHMS
The above figure shows the setting of parameters related to pilot

pollution and their default value.
Algorithm one considers the number of pilots in the active set,
and is applicable to the test data of the Scanner and the UE.
Algorithm one is defined as the number of pilots that has
exceeded the pilot pollution threshold and the active set
threshold. In algorithm one, pilot pollution is defined as follows:
RSCP > -95 dBm (RSCP Threshold), and Ec/Io > 13 dB (Ec/Io
Threshold). We can get the number of pilot pollutions by
subtracting 3 (active set) from the total number of pilots that have
exceeded the pilot pollution threshold.
As shown in the figure below, when the parameters related to
pilot pollution is set as shown in the figure above, three pilots

have exceeded the pilot pollution threshold, and the number of

the active set is set to 3, so the number of pilot pollution is 0. If
the RSCP Threshold is set to be larger than -105 dBm, and the
Ec/Io Threshold is set to be larger than -18 dB, then four pilots
have exceeded the pilot pollution threshold. Because the active
set is set to 3, the number of pilot pollution is 1.
F I G U R E 8 E X AM P L E O F P I L O T P O L L U T I O N AN A LYS I S AL G O R I T H M O N E
Algorithm two does not consider the number of pilots in the

active set, and it is applicable to the test data of the UE. Pilot
pollution refers to the condition that the pilots that exceed the
pilot pollution threshold are not included in the active set after
certain lag time. In algorithm two, pilot pollution is defined as
follows: RSCP > -95 dBm (RSCP Threshold), and Ec/Io > 13 dB
(Ec/Io Threshold). Number of the pilot pollutions refers to the
pilots that have exceeded the pilot pollution threshold, and are
not included in the active set after certain lag time.
When the parameters related to pilot pollution is set as shown in
the figure below, three pilots have exceeded the pilot pollution
threshold. After 1 s, pilot 222 and pilot 123 still are not included
in the active set, so the number of pilot pollution is 2.
F I G U R E 9 E X AM P L E O F P I L O T P O L L U T I O N AN A LYS I S AL G O R I T H M T W O
Algorithm three, defined by China Unicom, is applicable to the

test data of the Scanner and the UE. Here, pilot pollution refers
to the number of pilots that has exceeded the pilot pollution

threshold and the active set threshold. In algorithm three, pilot

pollution is defined as follows: RSCP > -100 dBm (RSCP
Threshold), and Ec/Io > 1BestServingCell - 5dB (Ec/Io
Threshold). We can get the number of pilot pollutions by
subtracting 3 (active set) from the total number of pilots that
has exceeded the pilot pollution threshold.
As shown in the figure below, when the parameters related to
pilot pollution is set as shown in Figure 7 , six pilots have
exceeded the pilot pollution threshold. Because the active set is
set to 3, the number of pilot pollution is 3.
F I G U R E 1 0 E X AM P L E O F P I L O T P O L L UT I O N AN ALYS I S AL G O R I T H M T H R E E
Note:
The parameter settings of the three algorithms are different,
so their conclusions also may differ. Pilot pollution analysis
can help to locate the area with possible pilot pollution
problems. Therefore these three algorithms with different
parameter settings can be used to analyze the condition of
the network from different aspects. Then, we can put
forward a more customized network optimization solution.
For China Unicom projects, it is recommended to use
algorithm three to evaluate the pilot pollution level.
The following figure shows the analysis chart of pilot pollution
algorithm three. 0, 1, 2, and 3 represent the number of pilot
pollution.

F I G U R E 11 AN ALYS I S C H AR T O F P I L O T P O L L UT I O N AL G O R I T H M T H R E E
Solution for pilot pollution

To solve the pilot pollution problem, we have to find one main
coverage pilot within the pilot pollution area, which can be
performed by the following steps:
1. Add base stations.
If pilot pollution happens in areas with strong coverage
signals, reconstruct the ambient base stations to omni cells
or 2-sector base stations to reduce the number of pilots; if
pilot pollution happens in areas with poor coverage signals,
add a new base station in the polluted area. It is common to
add base stations in the pilot polluted areas. The working
principle is as follows: the path loss of a newly constructed
site will be far less than that of the cells in the pilot polluted
areas owning to the distance causes. So the pilot power of
this site will obviously larger than that of the other sites, and
the new site will work as the main serving cell of the UE. For
the sectors of the original sites, the introduction of the new
site helps to increase the Io value of this area, so the Ec/Io
reduces, and the pilot pollution problem is solved. This
method has its own shortcomings, for example, it may waste
some resources, PSC resources, or even capacity. Whats
more, it makes the PSC planning become more complicated,
and increase the investment.
2. Adjust TX power of the cell.
Increase or decrease the TX power of one or multiple cells
within the pilot polluted area, then a main pilot will appear. If
the TX power of the cell is reduced, the Io value within the
area also will reduce. Then, the EC/Io will be increased under
the precondition that the power of the rest pilots remains

unchanged. In this way, you can enlarge the difference

between the main pilot and the rest PSCs in Ec/Io, thereby
removing the pilot pollution. ZTE has proved that there will
not be significant changes in the cell capability when the TX
power of the pilot is reduced.
Similarly, increase of the TX power of one or two sectors can
help to increase the Ec/Io of the sector(s), and then Ec/Io of
the other sectors is reduced for the Io value is increased.
Thereby, the pilot pollution problem is solved. Different from
reducing the TX power, when you increase the TX power of
the sectors, you must ensure that this operation will not
generate extra interference to other cells or even new pilot
pollutions in other areas. All these problems may appear.
Surely, this adjustment method also has its own
shortcomings:
If the power of the pilot increases, the sync channel power
and paging channel power also increase, and then the traffic
channel power will reduce.
If the pilot power is reduced, the penetration of the signals
will be greatly reduced, and then the communication quality
will be affected. Therefore increasing rather than decreasing
of the power is recommended.
Because the TX power of the sector is adjusted, the coverage
of the cell and ambient cells may be affected. When
optimizing the pilot pollution issue, you must fully consider
the impact of this operation on system coverage.
3. Adjust the antenna parameters.
This mainly refers to the azimuth and downtilt. The solution
is to generate a main pilot signal strong enough for the pilot
pollution area, and to reduce the pilot quality of the other
signals. The adjustable range of the antenna downtilt is
small. Therefore you can adjust the downtilts of multiple cells
to expand the adjustment range. This may also influence the
coverage of the adjusted cell and its ambient cells.
Compared with adjusting the TX power of the sectors,
adjusting the antenna downtilt will have limited influences on
coverage. Only the coverage of the ambient cells will be
slightly impacted for the cell breathing effect.
Similarly, if you adjust the azimuth adequately, the signal
power of this sector in the polluted area will decrease or
increase, then the difference among the signal power of
different sectors will be enlarged, and the pilot pollution
problem can be solved. However, it is not easy to control the
TX power of the sector within the range by adjusting the
sector azimuth. Whats more, the coverage of this sector
may be affected. Actually, azimuth is mainly used to adjust
the coverage.
From the reasons above, we can see that adjusting antenna
azimuth and downtilt are good optimization methods to solve
the pilot pollution problem. It requires few project loads, and

has little impact on system coverage. It is recommended to

use the planning software with advanced algorithms and high
accuracy to do the simulation. During the DT, several
engineers can work together to modify the parameters.
4. Replace the original antenna with Remote Electrical Tilt
(RET).
When the downtilt of mechanical antennas is increased, the
antenna beam will be flattened, and more signals cover the
side lobe. Then coverage of the side lobe to other cells will
increase, and the new pilot pollution may occur. For the RET,
this kind of problem never appears. Therefore, you can
replace the mechanical antenna with RET when the other
methods do not work.
5. Adjust handover parameters.
From the handover aspect, you can increase the handover
threshold properly so signals with poor Ec/Io cannot enter
the active set. However, this may cause the problem that the
handover cannot be completed timely, and the handover
failure rate may arise.
Corner Effect
Description
Corner effect: After the UE reports that the target cell satisfies
the requirement for Event 1A or Event 1C, the Ec/Io of the
source cell decreases abruptly, while that of the target cell
increases abruptly. From the background signal tracing we can
see that the RNC delivers the active set upgrade command after
receiving the measurement report. However, the UE fails to
receive this command, and call drop happens.
The figure below is the scenario that the handover happens at
the crossroads. The UE moves from cell2 to cell1 at a high
speed. The UE reports that cell1 satisfies Event 1A through the
link of Cell2. When it crosses the road, signals of Cell2 decreases
while that of Cell1 increases, and Ec/Io of Cell2 deteriorates.
Through the RNC delivers the command to upgrade the active
set, the UE cannot receive the command for the poor RLs of
Cell2. Then, the UE cannot perform the handover in time, and
call drop happens.

FIGURE 12 CORNER EFFECT AND SIGNAL CHANGES
Solution:
From the above analysis, we can see that corner effect is mainly
caused by abrupt drop of the Ec/Io in the source cell and
increase of Ec/Io in the target cell. To counter the corner effect,
you should include the target cell into the active set before the
signal of the source cell drops abruptly. The following methods
can be used to counter the corner effect.
1. Adjust cell CIO.
Set the CIO of the target cell to a positive value, so the
target cell can report Event 1A as soon as possible, and then
it can enter the active set before the signal of the source cell
drops abruptly. This setting also makes it difficult for the
target cell to report Event 1B, and then the cell handover
proportion is increased.

2. Adjust cell R1a (RptRange), H1a (Hysteresis), and Time to

Trigger.
By increasing R1a, decreasing H1a and Time to Trigger of the
source cell, its neighboring cells can report Event 1A early,
and the target cell also can enter the active set early.
Compared with adjusting the cell CIO, adjusting R1a, H1a,
and Time to Trigger may influence the handover between the
source cell and the neighboring cells.
3. Adjust the RF parameters.
By adjusting the RF parameters, the antenna of the target
cell can cover across the corner, so the handover happens
before the UE reaches the corner. Or, you can make the
antenna of the source cell cover across the corner to avoid
the abrupt drop of the signals. Then, the call drop rate
reduces. In actual application, the adjustment of the RF
parameters and whether the antenna can cover across the
corner depend on the experience of the engineers, which
makes this method hard to apply.
Pinpoint Effect
Description:
Pinpoint effect mainly happens in the shadow area of the
buildings or areas where indoor signals are leaked outdoors. As
to the signal changes, the Ec/Io of the source cell increases after
a certain periods of decreasing, and the Ec/Io of the target cell
surges in a short period of time. As to the signaling changes, the
UE reports that the target cell satisfies Event 1A or 1C, and then
reports that the source cell satisfies Event 1B or 1C. Then, the
UE removes the source cell from the active set. However, the
source cell reports Event 1A just after the removal, and at this
moment, the signal quality of the target cell plunges. The UE
cannot receive the active set upgrade command delivered by the
RNC, and then handover fails.
The figure below shows the typical pinpoint effect and the typical
signal changes.
There is one building in Cell1, and the area behind the building is
the shadow area of Cell1, and the signals from Cell2 are very
strong in this area. Initially, the UE is connected to Cell1, and
then it moves to the shadow area of Cell1. At moment one, the
UE gets through the shadow area of Cell1, Cell2 reports Event
1A, and the UE adds Cell2 to the active set. At moment 2, the
signal of Cell1 plunges for the blocking of the building and
reports Event 1B, and the UE removes Cell1 from the active set,
and then only Cell2 remains in the active set. At moment 3, the
UE moves out of the shadow area of Cell1, the signal of Cell1
upsurges, ad reports Event 1A. However the UE cannot receive
the active set upgrade command delivered by the RNC for the
signal of Cell2 plunges, and the handover fails.

FIGURE 13 PINPOINT EFFECT AND SIGNAL CHANGES
Solution:
From the above analysis, we can see the pinpoint effect is
mainly caused by abrupt drop and the subsequent arise of Ec/Io
in the source cell in a short period of time.
Because the signal quality in the source cell only drops in a
short period of time, to counter the corner effect, you should
ensure that the source cell remains in the active set when its
signals drop abruptly. The following methods can be used to
counter the pinpoint effect.
1. Adjust cell CIO.
Set the CIO of the target cell to a positive value, which
makes it hard for the source cell to report Event 1B, and

then it can remain in the active set when its signals drop
abruptly.
2. Adjust cell R1a (RptRange), H1a (Hysteresis), and Time to
Trigger.
By increasing R1a and Time to Trigger and decreasing H1a of
the target cell, you can make it hard for the neighboring cells
of the target cell to report Event 1B, and then the source cell
can remain in the active set when its signals drop abruptly.
Compared with adjusting the cell CIO, adjusting R1a, H1a,
and Time to Trigger may influence the handover between the
target cell and its neighboring cells.
3. Adjust the RF parameters.
Adjust the RF parameters, and then the signals both of the
source and target cell can become smoother.
Conjoint Analysis of DT Data and Background

Signaling
Based on the signaling flow, the handover mainly happens in the

following scenarios:
TABLE 1 HANDOVER FAILURE SCENARIOS
Scenarios Causes
Check the RRC messages. If the
UE sends the Measurement Report
message, while the RNC fails to
receive it. The UL is faulty.
Some neighboring cells are
missing.
When the UE enters a new cell, The pilot pollution problem exists.
the RNC does not receive the There are too many cells in the
Measurement Report monitoring set of the UE, so the
message. cell searching period is too long.
The moving speed of the UE is
fast, which makes the handover
detection fails.
The handover area is too small.
The handover parameters are
improperly set.
If the RNC does not send the
The RNC receives the radio Link Set Up/Addition
Measurement Report Request message, the network
message, but does not send the may be congested or the
Active Set Update message. hardware is faulty.
The DL is faulty.
The RNC sends the Active Set
Update message, but the UE The DL is faulty.
fails to receive it.

Scenarios Causes
The UE receives the Active Set
Update message, but does not The UE is faulty.
respond.
The UE sends the Active Set
The UL is faulty, or the timer for
Update Complete/Failure
active set update expires, and the
message, but the RNC fails to
connection is released.
receive it.
The handover-target NodeB
does not send the Radio Link The UL of the target NodeB is not
Restore Indication message synchronized with the UE.
to the RNC.
Causes for Inter-Frequency

Handover Failures
Inter-frequency handover mainly happens among the inter-
frequency neighboring cells. The place and condition of inter-
frequency handovers must be properly set. Generally, if the
threshold for enabling the compressed mode of the inter-
frequency handover is too high, the UEs frequently enables the
compressed modes when they are near the cell edge, and then
much signaling overhead are wasted, and system interference is
generated. If the threshold is too low, the compressed mode
measurement is triggered too late and the handover cannot be
performed timely. Then, call drops will occur.
The main cause for the inter-frequency handover failure is that
the handover area is too narrow, so the UE reaches the cell edge
just after it started the inter-frequency measurement. The
handover measurement cannot be finished.
During the indoor/outdoor handover, if the indoor and
outdoor cells are at different frequencies, the handover success
rate will be lower than the soft handover success rate. To solve
this problem, you can use the following methods:
1. Adjust the handover parameters to control the indoor and
outdoor handover area.
2. Set the handover areas at places with little traffic.
3. Construct a transitional cell in indoor area, so the inter-
frequency handover can happen indoors.
4. Install the antenna in a proper location and control the power
at the antenna port to adjust the area of hard handover.

Causes for Inter-RAT Handover

Failures
The general causes for inter-RAT handover failures are as
follows:
1. The quality of UL is poor.
2. The threshold for Event 2D is set improperly.
3. The parameter for Event 3A is set improperly.
4. Some GSM neighboring cells of the current UMTS cell are
missing.
5. Too many GSM neighboring cells are configured for the UMTS
cell.
6. No radio resources are available for the target GSM cell.
The optimization of the handover between UMTS and GSM is to
optimize the boundaries of the UMTS and GSM networks. For
example, if the GSM cell can provide favorable signals at the
UMTS boundary, the handover to GSM is favored. If the GSM
signals are weak, the failure possibility of inter-RAT
measurement or signaling interaction will increase. Then, call
drops will occur. Therefore the signal coverage within the UTMS
network should be continuous, and the number of weak
coverage areas or blind areas should be minimum. And the
inter-RAT handovers should happen at the boundary of the UMTS
network, and the times should be minimum. In addition, the
inter-RAT handovers should happen in areas with small
population density, and the handover times should be minimum.
This can avoid the signaling interaction delay or failure caused
by insufficient processing capability, which may further lead to
call drops.
Optimization of the Traffic

Statistics
After the network is put into commercial operation and enters
the O&M stage, the engineers can analyze the network
performance by monitoring the traffic statistics, with DT data as
the assistance.
The following figure displays the handover traffic statistic
analysis flow.

F I G U R E 1 4 H A N D O V E R T R A F F I C S T AT I S T I C A N A L Y S I S F L O W
Causes for Soft Handover Failure

The soft handover failure can be analyzed from the following
aspects: association data, foreground and background signaling
tracing, and association KPI analysis. The following figure
displays the flow to analyze the soft handover failure.

F I G U R E 1 5 S O F T H AN D O V E R FAI L U R E AN ALYS I S F L O W
The handover procedure contains three stages: handover

decision stage, handover preparation stage, and handover on
the Uu interface.
Handover decision stage
The UE reports Event 1A, 1B, and 1C, and then the RNC
admission control module determines whether to let the UE to
be handed over to the target cell based on the current system
resources of the target cell. If the target cell can provide
sufficient resources, the RNC triggers the handover preparation.
The RNC sends the Radio Link Setup Request message to
request the NodeB to build the corresponding RL; if the target
cell cannot provide sufficient resources, the RNC triggers the
congestion control flow, and postpones the handling of the
events. You can check whether the handover failure is caused by
the congested target cell by the handover congestion rate.
Handover preparation stage

The RNC receives the measurement report sent by the UE, and
then instructs the target NodeB to build the corresponding RLs
through the Radio Link Setup Request message. After the RLs
are successfully built, the handover on the Uu interface begins.
If the NodeB returns the Radio Link Setup Failed message,
the handover preparation fails. The causes that may lead to
handover preparation failure are included in the following table.
T ABLE 2 C AUS E S FO R RL ADDIT I O N /SE TUP F AI LURE O N T HE IUB INT E RFACE
Causes for RL Addition/Setup Failure on the Iub Interface

TNBAP_ul_sf_not_supported
TNBAP_dl_sF_not_supported
TNBAP_cm_not_supported
TNBAP_transport_resource_unavailable
TNBAP_requested_configuration_not_supported
TNBAP_unspecified_2
No response
Handover on the Uu interface stage

After the target NodeB finishes building the RLs, the RNC
instructs the UE to perform the handover through the Active
Set Update signaling. After the handover is completed, the UE
reports the Active Set Update Complete message. If the UE
returns Active Set Update Failed or the RNC receives no
response from the UE, then the handover on the Uu interface
also fails. The causes that may lead to handover failure on the
Uu interface are included in the following table.
T A B L E 3 G E N E R A L C A U S E S F O R A C T I V E S E T U P D AT E F A I L U R E
General Causes for Active Set Update Failure

Configuration unsupported
Physical channel failure
Incompatible simultaneous reconfiguration
Compressed mode runtime error
Protocol error
Cell update occurred
No response
Current the soft handover success rate only refers to the

handover success rate on the Uu interface.

Causes for Inter-Frequency

Handover Failure
F I G U R E 1 6 I N T E R - F R E Q U E N C Y H AN D O V E R FAI L U R E AN ALYS I S F L O W
The inter-frequency handover procedure contains three stages:

handover decision stage, handover preparation stage, and

handover on the Uu interface.
The handover decision stage is mainly to judge whether the
inter-frequency cells can provide sufficient resources to build the
new services.
The inter-frequency handover preparation stage is similar to that
of the soft handover.
For the handover on the Uu interface, the RNC adopts the Radio
Bearer Reconfiguration\Transport Channel
Reconfiguration\Physical Channel Reconfiguration
messages to instruct the UE to perform the hard handover, and
then the UE reports the Radio Bearer Reconfiguration
complete\Transport Channel Reconfiguration complete\
Physical Channel Reconfiguration Complete message after
the hard handover is completed. If the UE returns Radio Bearer
Reconfiguration Failed\Transport Channel Reconfiguration
Failed\Physical Channel Reconfiguration Failed or the RNC
receives no response from the UE, then the handover on the Uu
interface also fails. The causes that may lead to handover failure
on the Uu interface are included in the following table.
T AB L E 4 R E AS O N S F O R U U I N T E R F AC E H AN D O V E R F AI L U R E
Failure Course Reason for Active Set Update Failure

If the hard handover of the UE to the target cell
is decided to be made, the RNC will send the
reconfiguration message to the UE. The
reconfiguration message includes multiple kinds
of parameter configuration, such as RB,
transmission channel, and physical channel. If
the parameter configuration is beyond the UEs
Configuration capability, the UE will return the reconfiguration
unsupported failure message to the RNC, and the reason for
the failure is that the configuration is not
supported. If the parameter value is not in the
allowed range, or the mutex parameters appear
in the message at the same time, or the
parameters in the message are not consistent
with each other, the UE will send the
reconfiguration failure message to the RNC, and
the reason is Configuration unsupported.
reconfiguration message to the UE. If the UE is
in the dedicated status before the hard
handover, it tries to establish the dedicated
physical channel according to the parameter
Physical channel
configuration in the message, and start to
failure
synchronize the physical layer with that at the
network side. If the synchronization fails, the UE
will send the RNC the reconfiguration failure
message, and the reason is physical channel
failure. At the same time, the UE returns to the
status before receiving the message.

Failure Course Reason for Active Set Update Failure

Incompatible reconfiguration message to the UE. If the UE is
simultaneous busy with dealing the other messages when
reconfiguration receiving this message, the UE will send the
reconfiguration failure message to the RNC, and
the reason is incompatible simultaneous
reconfiguration.
reconfiguration message to the UE. If the
reconfiguration message carries the compressed
mode parameter, and the multi activated
Compressed transmission gap pattern sequences create the
mode runtime transmission gaps in the same radio frame, the
error UE will send the reconfiguration failure message
to the RNC, and the reason is the compression
mode runtime error. One radio frame can only
include the transmission gap of one function.
The transmission gap is the time slot used for
the inter-frequency/inter-RAT measurement in
one radio frame.
reconfiguration message to the UE. If some
Protocol error parameters in the reconfiguration message do
not conform to the protocol (such as grammar
mistakes), the UE will send the reconfiguration
failure message to the RNC, and the reason is
protocol error.
Cell update reconfiguration message to the UE. If the radio
occurred link failure makes the UE activate the cell update
in the reconfiguration process, the UE will send
the message about reconfiguration failure to the
RNC after the cell update, and the reason is cell
update occurred.
reconfiguration message to the UE, start the
timer, and wait for the response from the UE. If
No reply the reconfiguration message or the
reconfiguration response message is lost in the
transmission process, the timer at the RNC side
will expire, that is to say, the UE does not
response in the waiting time, which is mainly
caused by the poor radio environment.

Analysis of the Reason for the

Outgoing CS Inter-RAT Handover
Failure
Outgoing CS inter-RAT handover includes the following two
phases: the outgoing CS inter-RAT handover preparation at the
lu interface and the outgoing inter-RAT handover request on the
Uu interface. The outgoing CS inter-RAT handover preparation at
the lu interface corresponds to the message of relocation
preparation, and the outgoing inter-RAT handover requirement
on the Uu interface corresponds to the HANDOVER FROM
UTRAN COMMAND message.
The outgoing CS inter-RAT handover preparation is the
relocation process between the RNC and the BSC. After the RNC
receives Event 3A/3C reported by the UE, the RNC judges
whether the handover from 3G to 2G is possible. If it is, the RNC
will send the Relocation Required message to the CN. Then,
the CN will send the handover request to the BSC. If the
handover is allowed, the BSC will allocate the necessary
resources and returns the confirming message to the CN. The
CN sends the RANAP message Relocation Command to the
SRNC, and the handover preparation is finished. The relevant
counters in the outgoing CS inter-RAT handover preparation
process are described in the following table.
T A B L E 5 R E L E V A N T C O U N T E R S I N T H E O U T G O I N G C S I N T E R - R AT H A N D O V E R
P R E PAR ATI O N P R O C E S S
Counter Description
Number of The measurement object of the counter is the

attempted cell. The counter is used to count the number of
relocation the inter-RAT CS domain handover outgoing
preparation requests and the request cause is
preparation for
Time Critical Relocation. Time critical
outgoing CS
indicates all emergent cases (such as,
inter-RAT
transmission resources are blocked at Iub
handovers, time interface). If the relocation is not performed
critical relocation immediately, the call may drop.

attempted cell. The counter
relocation is used to count the number of the inter-RAT CS
preparation for domain handover outgoing preparation requests
outgoing CS and the request cause is Resource
inter-RAT Optimization Relocation. Resource
optimization indicates that the SRNC re-
handovers, configures all types of the radio transmission
resource resources according to the maximum utilization
optimization rate, such as, code resources. Thus, the UE is
relocation handed over into different system.

Counter Description
preparation for preparation requests and the request cause is
outgoing CS Relocation Desirable for Radio Reasons. The
inter-RAT UE is handed over into different system because
the quality of the radio link is not good at the
handovers,
RNC side but good in another system.
relocation
desirable for At this time the reason of the accompanied
radio reasons relocation is the radio quality.

preparation for preparation requests and the request cause is
outgoing CS Directed Retry.
inter-RAT The inter-RAT handover occurs because the voice
handovers, service establishment fails due to the resource
directed retry congestion at the SRNC side.
Number of
attempted The measurement object of the counter is the
relocation cell. The counter
preparation for is used to count the number of the inter-RAT CS
outgoing CS domain handover outgoing preparation requests
inter-RAT and the request cause is Reduce Load in
handovers, Serving Cell. The inter-RAT handover occurs
reduce load in because the load at the SRNC side is too high.
serving cell
Number of
attempted The measurement object of the counter is the
relocation cell. The counter is used to count the number of
preparation for the inter-RAT CS domain handover outgoing
outgoing CS preparation requests and the request cause is
inter-RAT Access Restricted Due to Shared Networks.
handovers, The inter-RAT handover occurs because the cell
access restricted in the sharing network does not authorize the
due to shared UE.
networks

preparation requests and the request cause is
preparation for not listed above.
outgoing CS
inter-RAT This counter will count the number of
preparation requests when the inter-RAT
handovers, other handover occurs due to the cause not listed
causes above.
Number of failed The measurement object of the counter is the
relocation cell. The counter is used to count the number of
preparation for the inter-RAT CS domain handover outgoing
outgoing CS preparation failures and the failure cause is
inter-RAT Trelocprep Expiry.
handovers, When the SRNC sends the RELOCATION
TRELOCalloc REQUIRED message to the CN, the RNC begins

Counter Description
to set the relocation preparation timer after
receiving the RELOCATION COMMAND
message from the CN, the RNC stops the
expiry relocation preparation timer. If the RNC fails to
receive the response from the CN after the
relocation preparation timer timeout, the SRNC
cancels the relocation flow.
The measurement object of the counter is the
Number of failed cell. The counter is used to count the number of
preparation failures and the failure cause is
preparation for
Relocation Failure In Target CN/RNC Or
outgoing CS
Target System.
inter-RAT
After the SRNC sends the RELOCATION
handovers,
REQUIRED message to the CN and if the
relocation failure
relocation fails due to the operation error at the
in target CN/RNC
CN or 2G side, the CN sends the RELOCATION
or target system PREPARATION FAILURE message with this
cause value.
Number of failed The measurement object of the counter is the

relocation cell. The counter
preparation for is used to count the number of the inter-RAT CS
outgoing CS domain handover outgoing preparation failures
inter-RAT and the failure cause is Relocation Not
Supported In Target RNC Or Target System.
handovers,
relocation not After the SRNC sends the RELOCATION
supported in REQUIRED message to the CN and if the
target incoming relocation is not supported at the 2G
side, the CN sends the RELOCATION
RNC or target PREPARATION FAILURE message with this
system cause value.
preparation for Relocation Target not allowed.
outgoing CS
inter-RAT After the SRNC sends the RELOCATION
REQUIRED message to the CN and if the DRNC
handovers, does not authorize the UE to access the target
relocation target cell at the 2G side , the CN sends the
not allowed RELOCATION PREPARATION FAILURE
message to the SRNC with this cause value.
Number of failed cell. The counter
relocation is used to count the number of the inter-RAT CS
preparation for domain handover outgoing preparation failures
outgoing CS and the failure cause is No Radio Resources
inter-RAT Available in Target Cell.
handovers, no After the SRNC sends the RELOCATION
radio resources REQUIRED message to the CN and if the DRNC
available in cannot allocate the radio resources due to high
load, the CN sends the RELOCATION
target cell PREPARATION FAILURE message to the SRNC
with this cause value.

Counter Description
cell. The counter is used to count the number of
Number of failed the inter-RAT CS domain handover outgoing
relocation preparation failures and the failure cause is
preparation for Traffic Load In The Target Cell Higher Than
outgoing CS In The Source Cell.
handovers, traffic REQUIRED message to the CN and if the load in
load in the target the target cell is higher than that in the source
cell higher cell, the 2G side rejects the relocation request
and the CN sends the RELOCATION
than in the
PREPARATION
source cell
FAILURE message to the SRNC with this cause
value.
preparation for Unknown target RNC.
outgoing CS
REQUIRED message to the CN and if the CN
handovers, has no idea about the 2G BSC and does not
unknown target know how to access, the CN sends the
RNC RELOCATION PREPARATION FAILURE
message with this cause value.
preparation failures and the failure cause is not
preparation for listed above.
outgoing CS
REQUIRED message to the CN and if the cause
handovers, other is not listed above, the CN sends the
causes RELOCATION PREPARATION FAILURE
message to the RNC with this cause value.
preparation for preparation failures and the failure cause is no
outgoing CS reply.
handovers, no REQUIRED message to the CN, the CN does not
reply response and the relocation preparation timeout
happens.
After the handover preparation is completed, the RNC sends the

Handover form Utran command to the UE to start the
handover process on the Uu interface. If the UE responses with
the Handover form Utran Failed message or the RNC does
not receive any response from the UE, the handover on the Uu
interface fails. The main reasons for the handover on the Uu
interface are described as follows:

T A B L E 6 R E L E V AN T C O U N T E R S D U R I N G T H E O U T G O I N G C S I N T E R - R AT
H AN D O V E R O N T HE U U I N T E R F AC E
Failure Course Course for Active Set Update Failure

If the hard handover of the UE to the 2G cell is
decided to be made, the RNC will send the
HANDOVER FROM UTRAN COMMAND
message to the UE, and the message includes
Configuration multiple kinds of parameters. If the UE does not
unacceptable support the configured parameters, for example,
the UE does not support the inter-RAT handover
in the PS domain, the UE will return the failure
message to the RNC, and the reason is
Configuration unacceptable.
message to the UE. After receiving the message,
Physical channel the UE will try to establish connection with the
failure target system. If the connection fails, the UE will
reply to the RNC with the failure message, and
the reason is physical channel failure, and the
UE returns to the status before receiving the
message.
Protocol error message to the UE. If the message includes the
parameter not conforming to the protocol, the
UE will reply to the RNC with the failure
message, and the reason is protocol error.
Inter-RAT message to the UE. If cell "Inter-RAT message"
protocol error in this message includes the parameter not
conforming to the protocol,.the UE will reply to
the RNC with the failure message, and the
reason is Inter-RAT protocol error.
Unspecified message to the UE. If the handover fails, and
the reason is not listed in the above content, the
UE sends the message about the failure with the
unspecified reason.
Timer timeout The measurement object of the counter is the
cell. The counter is used to count the number of
the inter-RAT CS domain handover outgoing
failures and the failure cause is Inter-RAT
handover timeout. If there are several cells in
the active set, the measurement object is the
best cell with the best Ec/No or RSCP at the
SRNC side. If all the cells are at the DRNC side,
the counter is not counted. If the hard handover
of the UE to the 2G cell is decided to be made,
the RNC will send the HANDOVER FROM

Failure Course Course for Active Set Update Failure

UTRAN COMMAND message to the UE, start
the timer, and wait for the IU RELEASE
COMMAND message sent by the CN. If the
message or the response message is lost during
the transmission, the timer at the RNC side will
expire. And the RNC cannot receive the IU
RELEASE COMMAND message sent by the CN,
or the response about the failure from the UE.
Analysis of the Reason for the

Outgoing PS Inter-RAT Handover
Failure
The outgoing PS inter-RAT handover does not have the
preparation phase. The outgoing PS handover at the network
side is for the UE in the CELL_DCH and CELL_FACH status, and it
involves outgoing PS handover process on the Uu interface and
the context information acquisition and transmission process at
the lu interface.
Outgoing PS handover on the Uu interface corresponds to the
CELL CHANGE ORDER FROM UTRAN message, and the UE
starts the routing area update flow to the 2G network after it
receives the CELL CHANGE ORDER FROM UTRAN message.
Then the SGSN launches the context information acquisition and
data transmission through the lu interface. Context Information
acquisition at the lu interface corresponds to the SRNS
CONTEXT REQUEST/ SRNC CONTEXT RESPONSE message,
and the data transmission process corresponds to the SRNS
DATA FORWARD COMMAND message.
The following conditions indicate the outgoing PS inter-RAT
handover failure.
1. The RNC receives the UE CELL CHANGE ORDER FROM UTRAN
FAIL message.
2. If the outgoing inter-RAT handover is successful, the cause
value of the Iu Release Command message may be
Successful Relocation or Normal Release. When the RNC
receives the lu connection release command message
with cause value Successful Relocation or Normal
Release, the outgoing inter-RAT handover is successful.
3. The inter-RAT handover times out. If the UE will be handed
over to the 2G cell, the RNC will send the CELL CHANGE
ORDER FROM UTRAN message to the UE, start the timer,
and wait for the SRNS CONTEXT REQUEST message sent
by the CN. If the CELL CHANGE ORDER FROM UTRAN

message or the response message is lost in the transmission

process, the RNCs waiting will time out, and then the RNC
cannot receive the SRNS CONTEXT REQUEST message
delivered by the CN, or the failure response from the UE.
T A B L E 7 R E A S O N S F O R T H E O U T G O I N G P S I N T E R - R AT H A N D O V E R F A I L U R E
Failure course Cause for Active Set Update Failure

decided to be made, the RNC will send the CELL
CHANGE ORDER FROM UTRAN message to
the UE. The message includes multiple kinds of
parameters. If the UE does not support the
configuration parameter, the UE will reply to the
RNC with the failure message, and the reason is
Configuration configuration unacceptable.
unacceptable This failure is very common in other countries,
and it brings the inter-RAT handover failure for
most UEs, except some UEs with excellent
compatibility. The main reason is that the 2G
equipment does not support SAI cell, and the
encryption setting information is not complete.
The solution is updating the BSC equipment or
using ZTE's CN adaptor.
This is the most ordinary failure by now. This
failure indicates the T3124 timer timeout and
the 2G RACH channel cannot be accessed. The
reasons are listed as follows:
1. Incorrect neighbouring cell configuration.
2. Because of the serious uplink interference of
the GSM network, the UE cannot be
synchronized to the GSM channel. The solution
is checking the 2G cells handover success rate
Physical channel and deleting the 2G neighboring cells with poor
failure indicators.
3. The GSM signal of the handover area is very
unstable. After the UE reports the Event 3A, the
GSM signal become weaker immediately.
4. The handover target refuses the service
marketing strategy of the operator, and parts of
the users are not allowed to register in the 2G
network.
5. The UE is abnormal.
If the handover of the UE to the 2G cell is
the UE. If the message includes the parameters
Protocol error
not conforming to the protocol (grammar
mistake), the UE will send the failure message
to the RNC, and the failure reason is protocol
error.
Unspecified When the handover of the UE to the 2G cell is
the UE. If the handover fails, and the failure

Failure course Cause for Active Set Update Failure

reason is not listed above, The content of the
failure message returned by the UE is
unspecified.
When the handover of the UE to the 2G cell is
the UE, and start the timer to wait the SRNS
CONTEXT REQUEST message sent by the CN.
No response If the CELL CHANGE ORDER FROM UTRAN
message or the response message is lost during
the transmission, the waiting at the RNC side
will be timeout, and the RNC will receive neither
the SRNS CONTEXT REQUEST message from
the CN nor the failure response from the UE.

Chapter 2
Cases of Handover
Performance Optimization
Cases of Intra-RAT
Handover Optimization
Handover Failure and Call Drop
Caused by Corner Effect
Problem Description
According to the CQT test, the engineer finds the call drop when
the elevator is opened or closed at some indoor distributed sites.
Analysis
The main reasons include that the neighboring cell relation
between the cells inside and outside of the elevator is improperly
set, and the handover is not processed in time. After the
repeated continuous calling test in the elevator where the call
drop happens, the engineer finds that the call drop happens at
the moment of the elevator being closed. And the test shows
that the neighboring cell relation between the cell inside and
outside the elevator is properly set, so the reason of the call
drop may be the fact that the handover is not processed in time.
The following figure shows the signaling outside of the elevator,
which is mainly covered by the cell with PSC 378.

F I G U R E 1 7 S I G N A L I N G O U T O F T H E E L E V AT O R B E F O R E O P T I M I Z AT I O N
The signaling of the scrambling 368 cell becomes stronger at the

moment the UE enters the elevator and its door is being closed,
as shown in the following figure.
F I G U R E 1 8 S I G N A L I N G I N T H E E L E V AT O R B E F O R E O P T I M I Z AT I O N
According to the test signaling, this kind of call drop is the

typical corner effect. As shown in the following figure, at the
moment of the elevator being closed, the signaling quality of the
scrambling 378 cell becomes poor, the scrambling 378 cell
leaves the active set, but the scrambling 368 cell is not included
the active set in time, which causes the call drop.

Chapter 2 Cases of Handover Performance Optimization
F I G U R E 1 9 A N ALYS I S O F T HE C AL L D R O P C A U S E D B Y C O R N E R E F FE C T
Optimization Plan
Because the area around the elevator is covered by the indoor
distributed sites, it is difficult to reconstruct the indoor antenna
and feeder system. So the optimization can be done by
modifying the parameters. The general optimization plan is that
the PSC368 cell should report Event 1A as soon as possible to
enter the active set. In order to make the cell handover finished
before the elevator is closed, and the offset of the cell in the
elevator should be increased from 0 dB to 4 dB.
Optimization Result
F I G U R E 2 0 S I G N A L I N G O U T O F T H E E L E V AT O R A F T E R T H E O P T I M I Z AT I O N

F I G U R E 2 1 S I G N A L I N G AT T H E M O M E N T O F T H E E L E V AT O R B E I N G C L O S E D
A F T E R O P T I M I Z AT I O N
After the adjustment, judging from the signaling, the engineer

can view that the scrambling 368 cell has being included in the
active set and become the main service cell before the elevator
is closed. After the elevator is closed, the scrambling 378 cell
leaves the active set because the signal quality becomes poor,
however, the scrambling 368 is still the main service cell.
In the area where the signals changes dramatically such as the

elevator and the corner, call drop always happens because the
handover is not processed in time. If the problem cannot be
solved by adjusting the antenna and feeder system, the
engineer can adjust the cell offset to achieve the optimization.
Based on the recent optimization experience of sever indoor
distributed sites, the engineer realizes that it is proper to change
the cell offset to 4 dB or 5 dB to solve the problem that the
handover in the elevator is not processed in time.


Caused by Pinpoint Effect
Problem Description
In moment 1, the cell phone moves along the route shown by
the red arrow, and the handover failure and call drop of the
voice service happen. The two related cells are BKC0044U
(PSC48) and BKCOO74U (PSC53). At the beginning, the cell is in
the macro diversity status, the main serving cell is the third cell
(PSC53) of site BKC0074U, and the pilot quality Ec/Io is -9.83
dB.
FIGURE 22 HANDOVER AND CALL DROP CAUSED BY PINPOINT EFFECT (THE

MAIN SERVICE CELL IS PSC53 IN MOMENT 1)
In moment 2, the main serving cell of the UE is changed to be

the third cell (PSC48) of BKC0044U, and the pilot quality Ec/Io is
-10.31 dB. The third cell (PSC53) of BKC0074U leaves the active
set and appears in the monitoring set.

FIGURE 23 HANDOVER AND CALL DROP CAUSED BY PINPOINT EFFECT

( P S C 5 3 C E L L L E AVE S T H E AC T I V E S E T I N M O M E NT 2 )
In moment 3, after one second, the signal quality of the third

cell (PSC53) of BKC0074U is stronger than that of the third cell
(PSC48) of BKC0044U, and the Ec/Io is -2.39 dB. And the third
cell (PSC53) of BKC0074U reports Event 1A and tries to enter
the active set again. However, as the main serving cell, the third
cell (PSC48) of BKC0044U has poor pilot quality, and the Ec/Io is
-21.05 dB. As shown in the following figure, after the UE reports
Event 1A, the downlink cannot receive the handover command,
and finally the call drop happens.
FIGURE 24 HANDOVER AND CALL DROP CAUSED BY PINPOINT EFFECT (CALL

DROP HAPPENS BECAUSE THE PSC53 CELL CANNOT JOIN IN THE ACTIVE SET
IN MOMENT 3)
Analysis
This is the typical call drop caused by the Pinpoint effect. The
signal of PSC48 cell becomes stronger suddenly, which makes
the Ec/Io become poorer of the original PSC53 cell, and the
PSC53 cell reports Event 1B and leaves the active set. Then, the
signal of the PSC48 becomes weaker suddenly, and the call drop
happens because the PSC53 do not have enough time to enter
the active set. Because the signal of PSC53 cell becomes weaker
in a short time, the general plan to solve this problem is to make

it hard for PSC53 cell to trigger Event 1B and leave the active
set.
FIGURE 25 HANDOVER AND CALL DROP CAUSED BY TIP EFFECT
Optimization Plan
In order to prevent the situation that the call drop happens
because it is difficult for the third cell (PSC53) of BKC0074U to
enter the active set again after it leaves the active set, the
CellIndivOffset (utranCell) of the third cell (PSC53) of BKC0074U
in the active set should be modified from 0 to 3 dB, so the cell
will remain in the active set.
Optimization Result
After modifying the parameter, the engineer finds that the call
drop point disappears in the test. In the call hold status, the UE
still moves along the arrows direction, and the main service cell
is the third cell (PSC53) of BKC0074U.
FIGURE 26 MAIN SERVICE CELL PSC53
Later, the signal quality of the third cell (PSC53) of BKC0074U

becomes poor, and the Ec/Io is -13.23, weaker than that of the
third cell (PSC48) of BKC0044U. Although the main service cell
changes, the PSC53 cell still stays in the active set, as shown in
the following cell.

FIGURE 27 MAIN SERVICE CELL CHANGED TO BE PSC48
Finally, PSC53 cell is the main service cell again, as shown in the
following cell, and the call drop disappears.
FIGURE 28 MAIN SERVICE CELL CHANGED TO BE PSC53

Caused by Insufficient PSC Reuse
Distance
Problem Description
In the whole-network optimization process near the BaiShiYi in
JiuLongPo district of ChongQing, call drop happens in every test

on the road near Yi Yuan Restaurant. The specific locations are

shown in the following figure.
F I G U R E 2 9 C A L L D R O P N E A R Y I Y U A N R E S T AU R A N T
Analysis
First, check the signal coverage in the area where the call drop
happens, and the engineer finds that the signal coverage
strength and the signal quality are good in this area according to
the drive test. The signal strength is around -75 dBm, and the
signal quality is about -6 dB. With this kind of signal coverage, it
is impossible that the call drop is caused by the weak coverage
or the poor signal quality or pilot pollution in the radio
environment.
The NodeB distribution and the scrambling allocation near Yi
Yuan Restaurant are shown in the following figure.

FIGURE 30 DISTRIBUTION DIAGRAM OF THE NODEB AND SCRAMBLING NEAR

Y I Y U A N R E S T AU R A N T
From the above figure, the engineer finds that the scrambling at
Yi Yuan Restaurant is the same with those of the NodeBs at
BeiDiYiYuan and ZouMaTaoHuaLin (PSC79), and the distance
between two sites is less than 5 kilometers. Then, the signal
planned to be sent to Yi Yuan Restaurant may be sent to
BeiDiYiYuan or ZouMaTaoHualin, and the signal interaction is
unsuccessful, which causes the call drop.
The following figure shows the signaling at the moment that the
PSC79 cell enters the active set before the call drop in UE log.
FIGURE 31 SIGNALING OF PSC79 ENTERING THE ACTIVE SET IN UE LOG
The message authentification code 00101010 11011111

11010000 11011011B is converted to hexadecimal
0x2ADFD0DB, and the corresponding RNC signaling is shown in
the following figure:

FIGURE 32 CORRESPONDING RNC SIGNALING
From the internal signaling after the completion of active set

upgrade, the new active set list can be checked, and the 2 nd cell
of Yi Yuan Restaurant and the 2 nd cell of ZouMaTaoHuaLin use
the same scrambling PSC79.
FIGURE 33 ACTIVE SET LIST
Then the UE reports Event 1B to activate PSC77 and PSC78.

FIGURE 34 REPORTED EVENT 1B
The call drop happens before the UE deletes PSC78 from the
active set. Then, the UE sends the cell update message, and
the reason is radiolink failure.
FIGURE 35 CALL DROP CAUSED BY OUT OF SYNC OF THE RADIO LINK
Check the recent two measure reports before the call drop, the
signal quality of PSC79 is good.
modeSpecificInfo fdd :
{
primaryCPICH-Info
{
primaryScramblingCode 79
},
cpich-Ec-N0 40,

cpich-RSCP 28
}
modeSpecificInfo fdd :
{
primaryCPICH-Info
{
primaryScramblingCode 79
},
cpich-Ec-N0 40,
cpich-RSCP 33
}
The reason of radio link failure is analyzed as follows: The UE
reports Event 1A after measuring cell26913 (PSC79), but the
RNC establishes one RL in cell24722 (PSC79) according to the
neighboring cell relationship. The UE measures the FrameOffset
of cell26913, but uses the FrameOffset in cell24722, which
causes the out of sync of the RL node.
Optimization Plan
From the Figure 30 , the engineer can view that there is
scrambling reuse in the area where the call drop happens.
Through the subsequent signaling analysis, the engineer knows
that the scrambling reuse causes the call drop. The solution of
this problem is reasonable planning of the scrambling allocation
in this area. In order to verify the problem, the cells at
ZouMaTaoHuaLin and BeiDiYiYuan using the same scrambling
should be disabled. And then, the relative signaling should be
adjusted as shown in the following figure.
F I G U R E 3 6 S C R E E N S H O T O F S I G N A L I N G N E A R Y I Y U A N R E S T AU R A N T A F T E R
ADJUSTMENT
After disabling the antennas in the cells at ZouMaTaoHuaLin and

BeiDiYiYuan, the engineer finds that there is no call drop near
the Yi Yuan Restaurant through the repeated tests. Therefore the
problem is solved after the scramblings in the cells of the three
NodeBs are adjusted.


Caused by Limited System
Resources
Problem Description
The background KPI statistical indicators show that the
successful rate of the soft handover is relatively low when the
cell is busy. And the drive test at the busy hours indicates that
the UE does not receive the active set update command
delivered by the RNC after it reports Event 1A. The background
signaling RNC has received the measuring report of the UE, but
the RNC does not deal with it.
Analysis
After the RNC receives Event 1A reported by the UE, it makes
the resource decision for the target cell through the admission
control algorithm. If the resource of the target cell is limited, the
RNC will not deliver the Radio Link Setup request to the
NodeB. Through the analysis of the signaling captured at the
background at the busy hours, the engineer finds that the
downlink CE resources of the target NodeB is limited, so the RNC
decision fails to be admitted.
TCrmRlmmCacResponse.tCauseStack.atRnlcFailCause[0].btInterf
aceCause = 0:CAC_REFUSE,
TCrmRlmmCacResponse.tCauseStack.atRnlcFailCause[0].btInner
Cause = 393235:CAC_FAILURE_FOR_HIGHPRIO_BLOCK: current
cell has high priority ue to be accessed ,
TCrmRlmmCacResponse.tCauseStack.atRnlcFailCause[0].btFlowE
xceptionInfo = 0:
TCrmRlmmCacResponse.tCauseStack.atRnlcFailCause[0].btFlowS
tatus = 0:
TCrmRlmmCacResponse.tCauseStack.atRnlcFailCause[0].btFlowS
tatusExt = 0:

TCrmRlmmCacResponse.tCauseStack.atRnlcFailCause[0].btExten
dInfoType = 0:eExtendInfoType_Self,
TCrmRlmmCacResponse.tCauseStack.atRnlcFailCause[0].btExten
dInfo =
147456:CAC_FAILURE_FOR_UL_CELLCE_RESOURCE_LIMIT |
CAC_FAILURE_FOR_DL_CELLCE_RESOURCE_LIMIT
TCrmRlmmCacResponse.tCauseStack.atRnlcFailCause[0].dwFileC
ode = 0:
TCrmRlmmCacResponse.tCauseStack.atRnlcFailCause[0].dwLine
No = 0:
TCrmRlmmCacResponse.wQueueTime = 0
Optimization Plan and Result
The successful rate of soft handover is increased to 99.5% or
higher after the BPC board is added.
Inter-RAT Handover Cases

Handover Failure Caused by
Improper Intra-RAT Handover
Parameter Configuration
One going to Tsuen Wan from JinShang Road passes Tai Lam
Mountain. There are two tunnels in Tai Lam Mountain, one for
Tsing Long Highway and the other for West Rail. There is no 3G
coverage in these two tunnels. Then, it is necessary to configure
GSM neighboring cells for the 3G sites to cover the exits of the
tunnels. The site covering the northern exit of the Tai Lam
Tunnel is SUT, and the CS call drop rate of the relative cells is
15%~20%.

FIGURE 37 SITE DIAGRAM OF TAI LAM TUNNEL
Problem Analysis and Optimization Plan

In this scenario, the user enters the 2G covered area from the
3G covered area outside of the tunnel at a high speed. The
general optimization plan is to let the users handover from 3G
network to 2G network become quick enough. During the period
of middle and late May, the engineer tried three kinds of 2D/2F
parameter configuration for the SUT, to make the UE start the
measure early enough by adjusting the 2D threshold.
The following table shows the KPI indicators of SUT call drop
recorded by day after the 2D/2F parameter is modified. From
this table, two parameter configuration mistakes which cause
the abnormal call drop KPI (in yellow) can be viewed. The first
mistake is that F1 and F3 do not use the same 2D/2F parameter
(16th May~18th May), and the second mistake is that the failure
of the handover from 3G to 2G caused by the wrong importing
sequence of the parameter templates (26th May~27th May).
F I G U R E 3 8 I N D I C AT O R C H A N G E A F T E R T H E 2 D / 2 F P AR A M E T E R M O D I F I C AT I O N

T A B L E 8 I N D I C AT O R C H A N G E A F T E R T H E 2 D / 2 F P A R A M E T E R M O D I F I C AT I O N
Nu Numbe
Cell
mb r Of
Call
Time er Succes
In Dro
Begin End Gran Of sful
de p Remark
Time Time ularit Call RAB
x Rat
y Dro Establis
e,
p, hment,
CS
CS CS
17. For F1/F3
2009- 2009- 24
1 66 466 2342 cells 2D/2F =
05-11 05-12 hours
% -115/-
106;Hys_2d/
19. Hys_2f =
2009- 2009- 24
2 70 600 2642
05-12 05-13 hours 4/4;
% TTT_2d/TTT_
19. 2f =
2009- 2009- 24 640ms/640m
3 44 565 2460
05-13 05-14 hours s; Inter-RAT
%
Handover
19. Tactic = 1
2009- 2009- 24
4 08 527 2339 (Event 3A
05-14 05-15 hours
% trigger)
3A_Utrancell
= -95;
10. 3A_OtherRat
2009- 2009- 24
5 40 311 2578 = -90; Hys =
05-15 05-16 hours
% 4; TTT_3A =
100 ms
2009- 2009- 24 5.8 For F1 cells
6 162 2540
05-16 05-17 hours 0% 2D/2F =
-115/-106;
2009- 2009- 24 7.0
7 142 1821 Hys_2d/Hys_
05-17 05-18 hours 2% 2f = 4/4;
8 2009- 2009- 24 5.2 130 2184 TTT_2d/TTT_
05-18 05-19 Hours 8% 2f =
640ms/640m
s; Inter-RAT
Handover
Tactic = 1
(Event 3A
trigger)
3A_Utrancell
= -95;
3A_OtherRat
= -90;
Hys=4;
TTT_3A =
100 ms For
F3 cells2D/2F
= -95/-85;
Hys_2d/Hys_
2f = 4/4;
TTT_2d/TTT_
2f =
640ms/640m
s; Inter-RAT
Handover

Nu Numbe
Cell
mb r Of
Call
Time er Succes
In Dro
de p Remark
x Rat
y Dro Establis
e,
p, hment,
CS
CS CS
Tactic = 1
(Event 3A
trigger)
3A_Utrancell
= -95;
2009- 2009- 24 2.0 For F1/F3
9 53 2273
05-19 05-20 Hours 8% cells2D/2F =
-95/-85;
2009- 2009- 24 2.8 Hys_2d/Hys_
10 66 2081
05-20 05-21 Hours 9% 2f = 4/4;
2009- 2009- 24 2.0 TTT_2d/TTT_
11 51 2174 2f = 640
05-21 05-22 Hours 7%
ms/640 ms;
2009- 2009- 24 2.6 Inter-RAT
12 67 2230
05-22 05-23 Hours 2% Handover
2009- 2009- 24 2.1 Tactic = 1
13 67 2768 (Event 3A
05-23 05-24 Hours 1%
trigger)
3A_Utrancell
= -95;
2009- 2009- 24 2.4 3A_OtherRat
14 63 2295
05-24 05-25 Hours 6% = -90; Hys
=4; TTT_3A
= 100 ms
2009- 2009- 24 5.6 The wrong
15 195 3165
05-25 05-26 Hours 9% sequence of
the imported
parameter
template
2009- 009- 24 8.1 causes the
16 316 3499 failure of the
05-26 05-27 Hours 3%
handover
from 3G to
2G
2009- 2009- 24 1.2 For F1/F3
17 50 3453
05-27 05-28 Hours 5% cells2D/2F =
-90/-80;
009- 2009- 24 0.9
18 27 2642 Hys_2d/Hys_
05-28 05-29 Hours 1% 2f = 4/4;
2009- 2009- 24 1.3 TTT_2d/TTT_
19 55 3538 2f = 640
05-29 05-30 Hours 9%
ms/640 ms;
2009- 2009- 24 1.0 Inter-RAT
20 42 3668
05-30 05-31 Hours 3% Handover
21 2009- 2009- 24 1.1 34 2743 Tactic =

Nu Numbe
Cell
mb r Of
Call
Time er Succes
In Dro
de p Remark
x Rat
y Dro Establis
e,
p, hment,
CS
CS CS
05-31 06-01 Hours 2%
2009- 2009- 4 1.3
22 56 3591
06-01 06-02 Hours 8%
2(Event 3C
2009- 2009- 24 1.4 trigger)
23 57 3636
06-02 06-03 Hours 2% 3C_OtherRat
= -95; Hys =
From the change of the KPI of the SUT call drop, the engineer
can know: 2D/2F=-115/-106, and the call drop rate is
17%~19%; 2D/2F=-95/-85, and the call drop is 2%~3%;
2D/2F=-90/-80, and the call drop is 1%~1.4%. Therefore, the
setting of parameter 2D/2F=-90/-80 is suitable for the SUT in
the scenario of fast handover from 3G to 2G. If this suit of
parameter uses Event 3A trigger, the corresponding threshold
should be adjusted. The 3C event trigger can also be used.
Handover Failure Caused by Wrong

Configuration of Intra-RAT
Neighboring cells
Problem Description
On a main road from north to south, the inter-RAT handover
from SC27 (KHTK3) cell failed, which caused the call drop, as
shown in the following figure.
F I G U R E 3 9 C A L L D R O P C A U S E D B Y T H E I N T E R - R AT H A N D O V E R F A I L U R E
Analysis

The background inter-RAT parameter 2D and 3A are set to -95

dBm, and the signal strength RSCP of the main service cell SC27
(KHTK3) has been less than -100 dBm. The UE reports Event 2D
for many times, but never reports Event 3A, as shown in the
following figure. At the same time, the background signaling
tracing record shows that the compressed mode is enabled, but
the handover cannot be started.
Modify the compressed mode and the handover threshold to -90
dBm. In the following test, the compressed mode is enabled
normally, but the UE still does not report Event 3A, and the
handover fails.
Slow down the car speed, and modify the time to trigger of
Event 3A from 100 ms to 80 ms. In the following test, the
compressed mode is enabled normally, but the UE still does not
report Event 3A, and the handover fails.
Check the neighboring cell list in the measure control command.
When the UE is in the UMTS service cell, the BCCH of the GSM
neighboring cell in the measuring report is 112, as shown in the
Figure 40 . When the UE is locked in the GSM network, use CNT
to check the GSM signals, and the BCCH parameter delivered by
the GSM cell is 124, as shown in Figure 41 . Judging from the
above facts, the engineer can be sure that the reason of the
problem is that the delivered GSM neighboring cell information is
different from the actual GSM neighboring cell information.
F I G U R E 4 0 G S M C E L L I N F O R M AT I O N D E L I V E R E D B Y T H E S Y S T E M

F I G U R E 4 1 A C T U A L G S M C E L L I N F O R M AT I O N ( B C C H = 1 2 4 )
Optimization Plan
Let the background update the cell information of all the 2G sites
in the neighboring cell list.
Result
As shown in the measurement result, the UE reports the Event
2D and Event 3A in time, and the inter-RAT handover is normal.
F I G U R E 4 2 N O R M A L I N T E R - R AT H A N D O V E R A F T E R T H E G S M N E I G H B O R I N G
C E L L U P D AT E
Inter-RAT PS Domain Handover

Failure Caused by No Routing
Between SGSNs
Problem Description
In the drive test, the inter-RAT handover of the PS service is
unsuccessful. The UE reports the Routing Area Update
Request message, but does not receive the Routing Area
Update Accept message. The routing area update fails.

FIGURE 43 BACKGROUND SIGNALING 1
Analysis
From the background signaling analysis, the engineer finds that
the RNC delivers the cellChangeFromUtran command after the
UE reports Event 3A, but the RNC receives the Iu_Release
Command from the CN before starting the context information
acquisition and data transmission on the lu interface. Viewing
from the Uu interface, the UE sent the Routing Area Update
Request message, but it does not receive the Routing Area
Update Accept message.
FIGURE 44 BACKGROUND SIGNALING 2
General Plan

1. First, the Router Update Request message is not found at

the 2-SGSN terminal, but, viewing from the Uu interface, the
engineer finds that the UE sent this message. Actually, 2-SGSN
terminal can only record some simple signaling, but it cannot trace the
signaling. Therefore, this phenomenon does not necessarily
represent that 2-SGSN did not receive the message completely.
2. Suppose that 2-SGSN received the Router Update Request
message in the last step, and then check whether the new 2-
SGSN sent the SGSN Context Request message to the old
3-SGSN, and whether the old 3-SGSN received this message.
The result shows that the new 2-SGSN terminal does not has
the record of sending this message, and the reason is the
same with that demonstrated in the last step, with nothing
new in this. At the same time, the old 3-SGSN terminal does
not have the record of receiving this message, but this
terminal can show the signaling in detail. Therefore, this
problem locates at the transmission of the SGSN Context
Request message between 2-SGSN and 3-SGSN.
What is more, judging from the reason MS identity cannot
be derived by the network of the routing area update
failure, the engineer realizes that the most possible reason is
that the new 2-SGSN does not get SGSN Context from the
old 3-SGSN.
3. Three possibilities are shown as follows:
i. The new 2-SGSN did not send the SGSN Context
Request message to the old 3-SGSN.
ii. The new 2-SGSN sent the SGSN Context Request
message to the old 3-SGSN, but the old 3-SGSN could
not receive the message because the connection between
2-SGSN and 3-SGSN was blocked.
iii. The new 2-SGSN sent the SGSN Context Request
message to the old 3-SGSN, and the old 3-SGSN received
this message. But the old 3-SGSN could not read this
message because of the difference in format between the
two systems.
After communicating with the SGSN vendor, we find that
the reason of the routing area update failure belongs to
the second kind. The reason leading to the situation is
that 3G SGSN and 2G SGSN have not been cut over.
4. Provide the parameters of routing area and location area for
the SGSN vendor, and the test is successful after the cutover.

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UMTS Handover Optimization

Handover Performance Analysis and Optimization.......1

Cases of Handover Performance Optimization............33

Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION 1

2 Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION

Missing Neighboring cells

Judgment of missing neighboring cells

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FIGURE 2 JUDGING MISSING NEIGHBORING CELLS BY BEST SC OF THE UE

FIGURE 3 JUDGING MISSING NEIGHBORING CELLS BY BEST SC OF THE UE

2. Pilot set of the UE

4 Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION

FIGURE 4 PILOT SET OF THE UE BEFORE THE CALL DROP

FIGURE 5 PILOT SET OF THE UE AFTER THE CALL DROP

3. CNA pilot pollution analysis algorithm 2

Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION 5

speedily locate the potential area with missing neighboring

Solution for missing neighboring cells

6 Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION

Judgment of pilot pollution

The above figure shows the setting of parameters related to pilot

Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION 7

have exceeded the pilot pollution threshold, and the number of

Algorithm two does not consider the number of pilots in the

Algorithm three, defined by China Unicom, is applicable to the

8 Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION

threshold and the active set threshold. In algorithm three, pilot

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Solution for pilot pollution

10 Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION

unchanged. In this way, you can enlarge the difference

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has little impact on system coverage. It is recommended to

12 Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION

FIGURE 12 CORNER EFFECT AND SIGNAL CHANGES

Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION 13

2. Adjust cell R1a (RptRange), H1a (Hysteresis), and Time to

14 Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION

FIGURE 13 PINPOINT EFFECT AND SIGNAL CHANGES

Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION 15

Conjoint Analysis of DT Data and Background

Based on the signaling flow, the handover mainly happens in the

TABLE 1 HANDOVER FAILURE SCENARIOS

16 Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION

Causes for Inter-Frequency

Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION 17

Causes for Inter-RAT Handover

Optimization of the Traffic

18 Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION

Causes for Soft Handover Failure

Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION 19

The handover procedure contains three stages: handover

20 Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION

T ABLE 2 C AUS E S FO R RL ADDIT I O N /SE TUP F AI LURE O N T HE IUB INT E RFACE

Causes for RL Addition/Setup Failure on the Iub Interface

Handover on the Uu interface stage

General Causes for Active Set Update Failure

Current the soft handover success rate only refers to the

Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION 21

Causes for Inter-Frequency

The inter-frequency handover procedure contains three stages:

22 Confidential and Proprietary Information of ZTE CORPORATION

handover decision stage, handover preparation stage, and