RF optimization is to optimize radio frequency (RF) signals.

RF optimization can control the pilot pollution and soft handover ratio in the drive test while optimizing the signal coverage, thus ensuring normal distribution of radio signals before service parameters are optimized. Objectives Of RF Optimization: Coverage ratio 95% Perform test on the acceptance route that should not cover any area without coverage. The downlink CPICH Ec/Io of the planned full-coverage service is greater than or equal to -12 dB and the downlink CPICH RSCP is greater than or equal to -95 dBm. CPICH Ec/Io -12 dB 95% Test result from the Scanner, with no service carried outdoors CPICH RSCP -95 dBm 95% Test result from the Scanner, with no service carried outdoors Soft handover ratio 30%-40% The soft handover ratio in the RF optimization phase should be 5% to 10% lower than the target value. This is because the later optimization will cause a rise of soft handover ratio. Pilot pollution ratio 5% Post Processing (Optimization): Data post-processing, log analysis, failure categorization and weekly reporting is done offsite. Optimization is an ongoing process. The goal is to improve quality of service, retain existing subscribers, and attract new ones while continually expanding the network. Optimization process begins with drive-testing, moves to post-processing, then requires data analysis, and finally action needs to be taken correct the problems. Drive-testing is performed again to verify that the actions were effective.

Drive Tests: Drive testing is a method of measuring and assessing the coverage, capacity and Quality of Service (QoS) of a mobile radio network. Advantaged Of Drive Tests: Less labor intensive and time consuming More comprehensive, based on large number of users Not limited to time of test drive Uplink and Downlink analysis possible Subscriber behavior mix of outdoor, indoor, incar use Several functions of drive test: - Analyzing customer complaint of certain operator in their home or office area - Finding problem in BTS ( Timeslot Check, TRX Check, Swap Feeder) - Analyzing the result of optimization process (continuity and all of area) There are softwares can be used for drivetest that installed on laptop. TEMS Investigation (Ericsson), NEMO (Nokia). Drive tests are performed to identify problems such as RF coverage Holes, Pilot pollution, Congestion and capacity problems, missing neighbors, UTRAN generated failures, Core network failures (CS, PS). 1) RF Coverage Hole: Coverage hole is an area within the radio coverage footprint of a wireless system in which the RF signal level is below the design threshold. Coverage holes are usually caused by physical obstructions such as buildings, foliage, hills, tunnels and indoor parking garages. 2) Pilot Pollution: Pilot pollution is a type of co-channel interference in CDMA systems caused when the pilot code from a distant cell or base station is powerful enough to create an interference problem. Causes of Interference: co-channel interference adjacent channel interference intermodulation: mainly on one link only multipath interference

------ Antenna down tilt often used to minimize interference. Cause for Poor Signal Quality: low signal strength (coverage related) interference

3) Congestion: Congestion refers to the situation that the traffic in the network or part of the network is in excess of network capacity. When congestion happens, transmission will slow down and some packets may get dropped. 4) UTRAN: UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network

UTRAN, short for Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, is a collective term for the Node B's and Radio Network Controllers which make up the UMTS radio access network. This communications network, commonly referred to as 3G (for 3rd Generation Wireless Mobile Communication Technology), can carry many traffic types from real-time Circuit Switched to IP based Packet Switched. The UTRAN allows connectivity between the UE (user equipment) and the core network. The UTRAN contains the base stations, which are called Node Bs, and Radio Network Controllers (RNC). The RNC provides control functionalities for one or more Node Bs. The RNC

carries out radio resource management, some of the mobility management functions and is the point where encryption is done before user data is sent to and from the mobile. A Node B and an RNC can be the same device, although typical implementations have a separate RNC located in a central office serving multiple Node Bs. Despite the fact that they do not have to be physically separated, there is a logical interface between them known as the Iub. The RNC and its corresponding Node Bs are called the Radio Network Subsystem (RNS). There can be more than one RNS present in a UTRAN. There are four interfaces connecting the UTRAN internally or externally to other functional entities: Iu, Uu, Iub and Iur. The Iu interface is an external interface that connects the RNC to the Core Network (CN). The Uu is also external, connecting the Node B with the User Equipment (UE). The Iub is an internal interface connecting the RNC with the Node B. And at last there is the Iur interface which is an internal interface most of the time, but can, exceptionally be an external interface too for some network architectures. The Iur connects two RNCs with each other. INTRODUCTION: Currently in 3GPP the UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) is conceived as a hierarchical architecture. The Node B is responsible for the transmission in a cell or a number of cells and the Radio Network Controller (RNC) manages the resources in the Node Bs and serves as a point of termination for the user connections. Node B: The Node B represents a single point of failure for the cell or group of cells it controls. When the Node B fails, radio transmissions in its cells become impossible. This cannot be avoided but is usually reduced by foreseeing spare boards in the Node B. In addition, at the edges of the cell, this is sometimes compensated by adjacent cells increasing their coverage. RNC: When an RNC fails, however, not only all user connections controlled by this RNC are dropped, but also the whole area of cells controlled by this RNCs loses its

transmission capability. The RNC thus represents a single point of failure, with serious impacts on the UTRAN's capacity in case of breakdown. KPI Examples: Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR) Call Completion Success Rate (CCSR) Call Setup Time TCP Throughput Latency (Round-Trip Time) Drop Call Rate (DCR) Handover Success Rate (HOSR) Test Sequence: The initial testing is focused to improve the performance of the basic services (CS voice call and PS data call). The test sequence is later modified to cover any other available services according to clients request (PS web access, Cs data call, SMS, MMS, Video call). Drive Test Measurement (TEMS etc. together with a GPS): Signal Strength Co-channel and adjacent interference Handover relations Coverage: Analysis for fulfillment of Coverage Requirements (Urban, rural ... areas, outdoor, in-car, indoor) Dropped Call: Analysis for Dropped Calls due to Interference, SW/HW failures, Transmission Network Failures. Reasons for dropped calls lack of coverage

 interference problems handover problems lack of synchronization in network problems with other parts of the network Call Setup: Analysis for Blocking and Capacity Limitations, Analysis for Resource Allocation Procedures. Reasons for failed call setups lack of coverage database problems Improper Integration of Nobe B database inconsistencies parameter settings, e.g. RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN, RACHBT, cell reselection related parameters network congestion Handover: Analysis for Efficient Handover Performance.

Fine-tuning of handover parameters Moving cell boundaries in order to Enhance success rate for critical handovers Minimize local interference at the cell edge Traffic load sharing between cells Compared to other optimization measures improvement potential is limited Affected by Measurement averaging Power control parameters Speech Quality: Analysis for Interference.

Handover means transfer of user connection from one radio channel to other. 1. Softer Handover 2. Soft Handover 3. Intra-frequency hard handover 4. Inter-frequency hard handover 5. SRNS Relocation 6. Combined Hard handover and SRNS Relocation 7. Inter-RAT hard handover Hard Handover: Hard handover means that all the old radio links in the UE are removed before the new radio links are established. Hard handover can be seamless or non-seamless. Seamless hard handover means that the handover is not perceptible to the user. IFHO: Inter-frequency handover In practice a handover that requires a change of the carrier frequency (inter-frequency handover) is always performed as hard handover. Intra-frequency hard handover will not occur for the FDD system. It would happen in TDD system. In this case the code spreading/scrambling code for UE will change but the frequency remains the same. Inter-frequency hard handover generally occurs when hierarchical cells are present. In this case the frequency at which the UE is working changes. This happens when the current cell is congested, etc. Soft Handover: The UE is connected to at least 2 cells(Active set) belonging to different Node Bs, and the uplink signals from the different cells are combined in the RNC. Soft handover means that the radio links are added and removed in a way that the UE always keeps at least one radio link to the UTRAN. Soft handover is performed by means of macro diversity, which refers to the condition that several radio links are active at the same time. Normally soft handover can be used when cells operated on the same frequency are changed. Soft handover ratio = Number of points matching handover conditions collected on the Scanner in the DT / Total number of points collected on the Scanner in the DT

Softer Handover: The UE is connected to at least 2 cells belonging to the same Node B, the handover is called Softer Handover, and in this case, the uplink signals from the different cells are combined in the Node B. Softer handover is a special case of soft handover where the radio links that are added and removed belong to the same Node B (i.e. the site of co-located base stations from which several sector-cells are served. In softer handover, macro diversity with maximum ratio combining can be performed in the Node B, whereas generally in soft handover on the downlink, macro diversity with selection combining is applied. Generally we can distinguish between intra-cell handover and inter-cell handover. For UMTS the following types of handover are specified: Handover 3G -3G (i.e. between UMTS and other 3G systems) FDD soft/softer handover FDD inter-frequency hard handover FDD/TDD handover (change of cell) TDD/FDD handover (change of cell) TDD/TDD handover Handover 3G - 2G (e.g. handover to GSM) Handover 2G - 3G (e.g. handover from GSM) There is a disadvantage (trade-off) between soft handover and system capacity. A UE involved in Soft/Softer Handover uses several radio links, more DL channelization codes and more DL power than a single link connection. However, as long as the number of radio links involved in Soft Handover is optimized, the capacity advantage offered due to Soft Handover from interference reduction is larger and hence system capacity is actually improved. Inter-RAT hard handover: When UE reaches end of coverage area for UMTS services, it can handover to a 2G service like GSM (if the UE supports multiple RAT). Inter-RAT handover procedure can be initiated in variety of ways. RNS might send a Handover From UTRAN command explicitly telling the UE to move to a different RAT or the UE might select a cell that belongs to a different RAT or the Network may ask UE to perform Cell Change Order from UTRAN. Inter-RAT hard handover using Handover from UTRAN command can be performed when there are no RAB's or when there is atleast one CS domain RAB. The state of the UE is CELL_DCH.

Inter-RAT hard handover using Cell change order from UTRAN can be performed when UE is either in CELL_DCH or CELL_FACH state. The only requirement is that there should be atleast a PS signaling connection and no CS signaling connection. Active Set: The cells involved in Soft/Softer Handover and measured by the UE. Scrambling Code: Scrambling Codes (SCs) are the internal method used to identify and distinguish sectors from one another in 3GPP compliant WCDMA networks. Mobile handsets utilize Scrambling Codes to report to the network about which sectors they are able to access. Each transmitter in WCDMA has its unique code named Scrambling Code (SC). In the DL direction, SC is used to distinguish each cell and in the UL direction SC is used to distinguish each use (UE). UE detects DL SC using cell search procedure after slot and frame synchronization process. 3GPP (TS 25.213) has specified 512 Primary Scrambling Code (PSC) that can be used in the network (Actually, total of 218-1 = 262,143 scrambling codes, numbered 0262,142 can be generated. However not all the scrambling codes are used).512 PSC are divided into 64 SC Group (SC Group 063) and each cell is allocated one and only one PSC. SC in DL is assigned based on Planning and SC in UL is assigned automatically by network at call setup phase. DL PSC must be considered in the planning scope to avoid Co-SC problem that make UE cant distinguish cell correctly due to identical scrambling codes are detected. Scrambling code planning is not unique and can be performed in many ways. The following rules are commonly used in PSC planning: 1. Cell and its neighbors can not use the PSC from the same group 2. We should provide spare PSC to accommodate new node expansion for the future 3. Different PSC group allocation for each cell type (Macro, Micro and In Building)

CPICH: CPICH stands for Common Pilot Channel in UMTS and some other CDMA communications systems. In WCDMA FDD cellular systems, CPICH is a downlink channel broadcast by Node Bs with constant power and of a known bit sequence. Its power is usually between 5% and 15% of the total Node B transmit power. Commonly, the CPICH power is 10% of the typical total transmit power of 43 dBm. Information on W-CDMA CPICH The W-CDMA CPICH is used in the Scrambling Coding Identification phase of WCDMA synchronization to complete the synchronization of the W-CDMA User Equipment (mobile phone) to the W-CDMA Base Transceiver Station (W-CDMA BTS). What is a typical CPICH power? CPICH power typically takes about 8~10% of the total Node B power. For a 20W (43dBm) Node B, CPICH is around 2W (35.1 ~ 33dBm). In urban areas where in-building coverage is taken care of by in-building installations, the CPICH may sometimes go as low as 5% because: 1) The coverage area is small since users are close to the site, and 2) More power can be allocated to traffic channels Role of CPICH: CPICH is the reference channel used for cell selection and handover procedures. 1. UE measures the received power of CPICH channel from different cells (called the Monitored Set) and selects the one with the highest one as the serving cell. 2. The decision to add or remove the Active Set depends on the ratio between the received CPICH level of the best cell and other cells.

How does UE measure the path loss? The transmission power of the primary CPICH (Common Pilot Channel) is broadcast in the BCH channel. This allows a UE to measure the path loss by measuring the received power of the CPICH and comparing it with the transmitted power. RSCP: Received signal code power (RSCP) denotes the power measured by a receiver on a particular physical communication channel. It is used as an indication of signal strength, as a handover criterion, in downlink power control, and to calculate path loss. In CDMA systems, a physical channel corresponds to a particular spreading code, hence the name. RSCP = Received signal code power it is a sum of RSSI (Received signal strength) and Ec/No in dbm. RSCP (dbm) = RSSI(dbm)+Ec/No(dbm). Characteristics: 1. These qualities will be measured from primary CPICH. To evaluate receive signal condition. 2. RSSI and RSCP is measured for full frequency. 3. Ec/No is measured for a cell on that frequency. Ec/Io: Pilot channel Quality. Ec/No and Ec/Io both are almost same.. no big difference.. RSSI=RSCP+EC/Io Eb/Io=Ec/Io+processing gain CPICH Ec/No: The received energy per chip divided by the power density in the band. The Ec/No is identical to RSCP/RSSI. Measurement shall be performed on the primary CPICH. The reference point for Ec/No is the antenna connector at the mobile station. Ec/I0 => In CDMA refers to the portion of the RF signal, which is usable. It's the

difference between the signal strength and the noise floor.

What is noise Floor? The noise floor is the measure of the signal created from the sum of all the noise sources and unwanted signals within a measurement system.

Eb/N0=> Bit Energy-to-Noise Density Bit Energy-to-Noise Density (Eb/N0) is the ratio of bit energy to noise density. This value is used to specify the lower limit of operation in most digital communications systems and is also used to measure radio channel performance. Ec/N0 = Carrier-to-noise Ratio 2G speed range HSPA+ HSDPA speed Range 20-40 Mbps (2MBPS) 4G 100 Mbps (100mbps/8 = 12.5 MBPS) Interleaving: Interleaving is basically a way to arrange data to protect against burst errors, which happen rarely but can disrupt data transmission when they do occur. The downside to having interleaving enabled is that it increases latency (i.e. it slows down the connection). What is C/I Ratio? The Carrier to Interface ratio, or C/I, is the ratio of the amount of power in an RF carrier to the power of the interference that exists within the channel. BSIC - Base Station Identity Code: The Base Station Identity Code (BSIC) is a code used in GSM to uniquely identify a base station. The code is needed because it is possible that mobile stations receive the broadcast channel of more than one base station on the same frequency. This is due to frequency re-use in a cellular network. The BSIC consists of 6 bits of which the first three identify the network (Network

Colour Code, NCC). The other 3 bits are used by the operator to uniquely identify base stations within a certain area. Frequency Reuse: Frequency reuse is a technique of reusing frequencies and channels within a communications system to improve capacity and spectral efficiency. Frequency reuse is one of the fundamental concepts on which commercial wireless systems are based that involves the partitioning of an RF radiating area (cell) into segments of a cell. One segment of the cell uses a frequency that is far enough away from the frequency in the bordering segment that it does not provide interference problems. Frequency re-use in mobile cellular systems means that each cell has a frequency that is far enough away from the frequency in the bordering cell that it does not provide interference problems. The same frequency is used at least two cells apart from each other. This practice enables cellular providers to have many times more customers for a given site license. AMR: AMR is Adaptive Multi Rate, which is a audio recording file format for certain mobile phones. Originally the development of AMR files was from the Ericsson (Sony Ericsson) team which now has become the widely used mobile extension on Sony ericsson cell phones such as SE KE 750i. SQI: TEMS products offer the quality measure SQI (Speech Quality Index) for estimating the downlink speech quality in a GSM, WCDMA, or CDMA cellular network as perceived by a human listener. Ericsson has developed SQI. Computing SQI for GSM and WCDMA requires data collected with Sony Ericsson phones. SQI for CDMA can be based on data from any CDMA phone that is connectable in TEMS Investigation. SACCH: The GSM Slow Associated Control Channel - which allows for control information to be exchanged between the MS and the network during a call. Contrast FACCH. An auxiliary control channel appended to the traffic channel used by the mobile station for reporting received signal strength indicator and signal quality measurements.

FACCH: Fast associated control channel - FACCH is a logical channel on a digital traffic channel that is typically used to send urgent signaling control messages (such as a handoff or power control message). The FACCH channel sends messages by replacing speech data with signaling data for short periods of time. In GSM two special reserved bits are used to inform the receiving device if the data in the current time slot is digitally coded subscriber traffic or alternatively a FACCH message. In IS-136 systems, a FACCH message is distinguished from digitally coded subscriber traffic because two different types of error protection coding are used for the two types of information. FER: Frame error rate (FER), i.e. the percentage of frames that are lost on their way to the receiving party, usually because of bad radio conditions. BER: The BER is simply a percentage of the number of bits it receives that did not pass error checking. Signal Strength: The first and arguably most important consideration in radio link management is signal strength. In GSM (and most other RF communications) the standard measure of signal strength is dBm (decibels in milliwatts). The term received signal strength indicator (RSSI) is often used but in GSM the term received-signal level (RXLEV) is preferred. The distinction is that the term RSSI was generally used on analog networks and RXLEV is used on digital networks. On this website RSSI will be used for general reference to signal strength and RXLEV for the actual value that is passed over the network. RXLEV: RXLEV is a number from 0 to 63 that corresponds to a dBm value range. 0 represents the weakest signal and 63 the strongest. RSSI below -110 dBm are generally considered unreadable in GSM. RSSI in the area of -50 dBm are rarely seen and would indicate that the MS is right next to the BTS. The main factor that affects RSSI is distance from the tower. However, other factors such as terrain, elevation, and large objects such as buildings can dampen signal strength.

RXQUAL Although a strong RSSI is desirable, it does not guarantee a quality signal. RXQUAL is a value that represents the quality of the received signal. The MS determines the Bit Error Rate (BER) of the signal and reports it back to the network. The BER is simply a percentage of the number of bits it receives that did not pass error checking. The bits may have been garbled along the RF path or lost due to fading or interference. The higher the BER the lower the signal quality. RXQUAL is given as a number from 0 to 7 and represents a percentage range of BER. RxQual is used in GSM and is a part of the Network Measurement Reports (NMR).[1] This is an integer the value of which can be between 0 and 7 and reflects the quality of voice. 0 is the best quality, 7 is the worst. Cell Selection and Reselection Cell selection refers to the initial registration that a MS will make with a network. This normally only occurs when the phone powers up or when the MS roams from one network to another. Cell reselection refers to the process of a MS choosing a new cell to monitor once it has already registered and is camped on a cell. It is important to distinguish that selection and reselection are done by the MS itself and not governed by the network. The network would only be responsible for this function when the MS is in a Traffic Channel (TCH). When the MS reselects a new cell it will not inform the network that it has done so unless that new cell is in a new Location Area (LA). There are many parameters involved in selection and reselection of a new cell. The MS must ensure it is getting the best signal and the network must ensure that the MS does not cause unneeded strain on the network by switching cells when unnecessary or undesired. C1: C1 is the path-loss parameter that is used to determine the strongest cell for selection. The MS will calculate a C1 for each tower it can see and select the cell tower with the highest C1. The C1 uses the following parameters for calculation: The formula for calculating C1 is given as:C1 = (A) - Max(B,0) where:A =

(RXLEV - RLAM) B = MS Transmit Power Max CCH -Max RF Output of MS At first this may seem complicated but if we examine the various parameters and how they affect the C1 score then it becomes more clear. A - This value is merely a dB value for the difference between what RSSI is required to select that cell and what signal strength the MS sees the tower at. If the RLAM is -110dB and the MS sees the tower at -90dB then the value of A is 20dB. The higher the value of A the higher the C1 and the more attractive this tower will be to the MS. B - Just because a MS can receive a tower's signal does not mean that the MS has enough power to reach that tower. The tower tells the MS what maximum power level that the MS may use to transmit to that tower. If the phone is capable of transmitting at this power than there is no problem. However, what if the phone can not transmit at that power level? The signal from the MS may not have enough power to reach the tower. Any lack in transmitting power of the MS must be taken into account when calculating C1. B is essentially the value of this difference. Let's say a cell tower requires the MS to be able to transmit at a 30dB power level but this MS is only capable of transmitting at 26dB. In this case the value of B would be 4dB. This value is subtracted from the value of A which has the result of lowering the value of C1. If the MS is capable of transmitting at the required power or higher then B will be zero and no adjustments to C1 will be made. In summary, the two main factors in determining C1 are the strength of the received signal and the transmission power the MS is capable of. C1 alone is only used for cell selection. When a MS is already camped on a cell and it wants to move to another cell it will reselect it. Cell reselection uses a different criteria C2. C2: C2 is the parameter used for cell reselection. Once a MS is camped on a cell it will continuously monitor the strength of neighbor cells. Every BCCH sends out a BCCH Allocation (BA) List. This is a list of neighbor cells (ARFCNs) that the MS must monitor while camped on a particular cell. The MS will monitor these ARFCNs for signal strength and only reselect a cell that is on this list. The MS will calculate a C2 value for each cell on the BA list. The cell tower with the highest C2 wins and the MS will move to that cell and camp on it. Keep in mind the C2 is calculated by the MS and the MS decides which cell tower to camp on. The cell

that the MS camps on is known as the serving cell. As long as the losing cell and the gaining cell are both in the same Location Area the MS will not notify the network that is is selecting a new cell. The MS only needs to notify the network if it is reselecting the cell that is in a new location area in which case it will do a location update. The C2 is calculated using the following parameters: The formula for calculating C2 is: C2 = C1 + CRO - (Temp_Offset * H) H = 1 if the MS has been monitoring a particular cell for less than the penalty time. H = 0 if the MS has been monitoring the particular cell for longer than the penalty time.H = 0 if the particular cell is the serving cell (the one the MS is currently camped on). Let's look at an example to see how the temporary offset works. The following chart shows two example cell towers and values for C1 and C2 parameters. The time progresses as the MS moves away from cell A and towards cell B. For sake of simplicity, we are assuming that the MS can transmit at the max power allowed and that neither cell is using CRO.

0 seconds - The MS is camped on cell A. The MS calculates the C2 value as 38. Since the RXLEV for cell B is not above the RLAM the C1 (and C2) are below 0. A MS will not select a cell with a C1 below 0 and it will not reselect a cell with a C2 below 0. 10 seconds - The RXLEV for cell B meets the minimum threshold (RLAM). The MS starts a timer as soon as it puts it on its strongest neighbor list. The penalty time for cell B is 40 seconds, so for the first 40 seconds that cell B is on the strongest neighbor list it will apply the temporary offset to the C2 value. After including the offset, the C2 for cell B is -20 dBm. 20 seconds - The C2 for cell A continues to drop as the C2 for cell B continues to rise. With a C2 of 25, cell A is still the most attractive. 30 seconds - Cell A drops to a C2 of 21 and cell B has a C2 of -5.

40 seconds - Cell A drops to a C2 of 18. Cell B rises to a C2 of 3. Notice here that if it were not for the temporary offset, the C2 for cell B would be at 23. At this point the MS would normally reselect cell B. However, due to the temporary offset, cell A is still the most attractive. 50 seconds - At this point the penalty time for cell B has expired and the temporary offset is no longer applied. The C2 for cell B raises from 3 to 27. The C2 for cell B wins over the C2 for cell A and the MS reselects cell B.

The temporary offset would be used if the network wanted to discourage mobile stations from reselecting a cell as soon as the MS saw it. This is commonly found in pico-cells. This forces a MS to be in the area of the cell for a certain period before reselecting it. It prevents mobile stations that just happen to be passing by from reselecting the cell. In order to reselect the cell, the MS must be in the area for a certain period of time or be close enough that the RXLEV overcomes the negative offset value. Cell Reselection Offset (CRO) - CRO is a value from 0 to 63. Each step represents a 2 dBm step (0 to 126 dBm). This value is added to C1. A higher CRO value will make the cell tower more attractive to the MS. The higher the CRO, the more attractive the cell will be. The network might assign a CRO value to a cell if the network wanted to encourage mobile stations to utilize that cell. The network might want to do this in order to reduce the load on other cells during times of high traffic volume or to force MS's to a certain band. Neighbor List - The neighbor list is a list of the 6 strongest cells that the MS can see. The RXLEV for these cells is transmitted in a measurement report from the MS to the BTS on the SACCH whenever the MS has been allocated an SDCCH or a TCH. The BSC and MSC use these measurements to determine if the MS needs to move to a different cell. Whenever a cell is in an active SDCCH or TCH the network will always manage the handoff. The MS will only move from one cell to another by itself when it is in idle mode. Cell Reselection Hysteresis (CRH) When a MS reselects a new cell it does not need to notify the network unless that new cell is in a different Location Area. When a MS moves into a new location area it must do a location update which generates signal messaging between the BTS, BSC, MSC, VLR, and HLR. If a MS is located along the border of two location

areas then it will see cells in both location areas. A MS along the borderline might reselect a cell in one location area and then a few minutes later reselect a cell in the other location area and continuously bounce back and forth between location areas generating too much signaling overhead and putting strain on the network. In order to mitigate this problem the CRH is used. It is a value that is similar to the temporary offset value of C2. CRH is applied to C2 when the desired cell is in a different location area. This results in making the cell in this different location area less desirable to the MS. The MS must move close enough to the new location area to overcome the offset thus ensuring the MS is truly close enough to the new location area to warrant a location update. Once the MS reselects the cell in the new location area it will perform a location update. The MS will then apply the CRH value to all cells it sees in the old location area which will make them less attractive to the MS and ensure the MS does not continually bounce back and forth between two location areas. Cell Bar Access (CBA) Cell Bar Access is a single bit (0 or 1) value sent down on the BCCH. If CBA is set to 1 then MS's are not allowed to select that cell. If the value is set to 0 then MS's may select it. CBA would be used on umbrella cells in order to prevent MS's from selecting it. The umbrella cell would be reserved for when the network needs to manage high levels of traffic. This gives the network total control of access to the umbrella cell. Cell Bar Qualifier (CBQ) This value is similar to the CBA but it applies to reselection. A cell that has CBQ set to 1 does not allow MS's to reselect it. CBQ set to 0 allows normal access to that cell.

UARFCN: UARFCN is an acronym that stands for UTRA Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number, where UTRA stands for UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access where UMTS stands for Universal Mobile Telephony System. These are used to identify frequencies in the UMTS frequency bands. The channel number is derived from the frequency in MHz through the

formula Channel Number = Frequency * 5 BAND & CHANNEL: A "band" refers to a small portion of the radio spectrum such as the UHF TV band (470MHz to 860MHz). A "channel" refers to a portion of a band which in the case of the TV Band is around 8MHz wide. CDMA: One of the basic concepts in data communication is the idea of allowing several transmitters to send information simultaneously over a single communication channel. This allows several users to share a band of frequencies (see bandwidth). This concept is called multiple access. CDMA employs spread-spectrum technology and a special coding scheme (where each transmitter is assigned a code) to allow multiple users to be multiplexed over the same physical channel. By contrast, time division multiple access (TDMA) divides access by time, while frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) divides it by frequency. CDMA is a form of spreadspectrum signalling, since the modulated coded signal has a much higher data bandwidth than the data being communicated.

CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) refers to any of several protocols used in so-called second-generation (2G) and thirdgeneration (3G) wireless communications. As the term implies, CDMA is a form of multiplexing, which allows numerous signals to occupy a single transmission channel, optimizing the use of available bandwidth. The technology is used in ultra-highfrequency (UHF) cellular telephone systems in the 800-MHz and 1.9-GHz bands. CDMA employs analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) in combination with spread spectrum technology. Audio input is first digitized into binary elements. The frequency of the transmitted signal is then made to vary according to a defined pattern (code), so it can

be intercepted only by a receiver whose frequency response is programmed with the same code, so it follows exactly along with the transmitter frequency. There are trillions of possible frequency-sequencing codes, which enhances privacy and makes cloning difficult. The CDMA channel is nominally 1.23 MHz wide. CDMA networks use a scheme called soft handoff, which minimizes signal breakup as a handset passes from one cell to another. The combination of digital and spread-spectrum modes supports several times as many signals per unit bandwidth as analog modes. CDMA is compatible with other cellular technologies; this allows for nationwide roaming. The original CDMA standard, also known as CDMA One and still common in cellular telephones in the U.S., offers a transmission speed of only up to 14.4 Kbps in its single channel form and up to 115 Kbps in an eight-channel form. CDMA2000 and Wideband CDMA deliver data many times faster.

TDMA: Time division multiple access (TDMA) is a channel access method for shared medium networks. It allows several users to share the same frequency channel by dividing the signal into different time slots. The users transmit in rapid succession, one after the other, each using its own time slot. This allows multiple stations to share the same transmission medium (e.g. radio frequency channel) while using only a part of its channel capacity. TDMA is used in the digital 2G cellular systems such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), IS-136, Personal Digital Cellular (PDC) and iDEN, and in the Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) standard for portable phones. It is also used extensively in satellite systems, combat-net radio systems, and PON networks for upstream traffic from premises to the operator. For usage of Dynamic TDMA packet mode communication, see below.

FDMA: Frequency Division Multiple Access or FDMA is a channel access method used in multiple-access protocols as a channelization protocol. FDMA gives users an individual allocation of one or several frequency bands, or channels. It is particularly commonplace in satellite communication. FDMA, like other Multiple Access systems, coordinates access between multiple users. Alternatives include TDMA, CDMA, or SDMA. These protocols are utilized differently, at different levels of the theoretical OSI model. Disadvantage: Crosstalk may cause interference among frequencies and disrupt the transmission. WCDMA: W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), UMTS-FDD, UTRA-FDD, or IMT-2000 CDMA Direct Spread is an air interface standard found in 3G mobile telecommunications networks. It is the basis of Japan's NTT DoCoMo's FOMA service and the most-commonly used member of the UMTS family and sometimes used as a synonym for UMTS.[1] It utilizes the DS-CDMA channel access method and the FDD duplexing method to achieve higher speeds and support more users compared to most time division multiple access (TDMA) schemes used today. While not an evolutionary upgrade on the airside, it uses the same core network as the 2G GSM networks deployed worldwide, allowing dual-mode operation along with GSM/EDGE; a feat it shares with other members of the UMTS family.
W-CDMA is a spread-spectrum modulation technique; one which uses channels whose bandwidth is much greater than that of the data to be transferred. Instead of each connection being granted a dedicated frequency band just wide enough to accommodate its envisaged maximum data rate, W-CDMA channels share a much larger band. The modulation technique encodes each channel in such a way that a decoder, knowing the code, can pick out the wanted signal from other signals using the same band, which simply appear as so much noise. UMTS uses a core network derived from that of GSM, ensuring backward compatibility of services and allowing seamless handover between GSM access

technology and W CDMA.

Frequency-Division Duplexing
Frequency-division duplexing (FDD) means that the transmitter and receiver operate at different carrier frequencies. The term is frequently used in ham radio operation, where an operator is attempting to contact a repeater station. The station must be able to send and receive a transmission at the same time, and does so by slightly altering the frequency at which it sends and receives. This mode of operation is referred to as duplex mode or offset mode. Uplink and downlink sub-bands are said to be separated by the frequency offset. Frequency-division duplexing can be efficient in the case of symmetric traffic. In this case time-division duplexing tends to waste bandwidth during the switch-over from transmitting to receiving, has greater inherent latency, and may require more complex circuitry. Another advantage of frequency-division duplexing is that it makes radio planning easier and more efficient, since base stations do not "hear" each other (as they transmit and receive in different sub-bands) and therefore will normally not interfere with each other.

Time-division duplexing
In this duplex method, uplink and downlink transmissions are carried over the same frequency band by using synchronized time intervals. Thus time slots in a physical channel are divided into transmission and reception part.

Time-Division Duplex (TDD) is the application of time-division multiplexing to separate outward and return signals. It emulates full duplex communication over a half duplex communication link. Time division duplex has a strong advantage in the case where there is asymmetry of the uplink and downlink data rates. As the amount of uplink data increases, more communication capacity can be dynamically allocated, and as the traffic load becomes lighter, capacity can be taken

away. The same applies in the downlink direction. For radio systems that aren't moving quickly, another advantage is that the uplink and downlink radio paths are likely to be very similar. This means that techniques such as beamforming work well with TDD systems.

OFDM: Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), essentially identical to coded OFDM (COFDM) and discrete multi-tone modulation (DMT), is a frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) scheme used as a digital multi-carrier modulation method. A large number of closely-spaced orthogonal sub-carriers are used to carry data. The data is divided into several parallel data streams or channels, one for each sub-carrier. Each sub-carrier is modulated with a conventional modulation scheme (such as quadrature amplitude modulation or phase-shift keying) at a low symbol rate, maintaining total data rates similar to conventional single-carrier modulation schemes in the same bandwidth. OFDM is a combination of modulation and multiplexing. Multiplexing generally refers to independent signals, those produced by different sources. So it is a question of how to share the spectrum with these users. In OFDM the question of multiplexing is applied to independent signals but these independent signals are a sub-set of the one main signal. In OFDM the signal itself is first split into independent channels, modulated by data and then re-multiplexed to create the OFDM carrier. OFDM is a special case of Frequency Division Multiplex (FDM). As an analogy, a FDM channel is like water flow out of a faucet, in contrast the OFDM signal is like a shower. In a faucet all water comes in one big stream and cannot be subdivided. OFDM shower is made up of a lot of little streams. Modulation - a mapping of the information on changes in the carrier phase, frequency or amplitude or combination. Multiplexing - method of sharing a bandwidth with other independent data channels.

Poor Coverage
Concept:

The RSCP of pilot signals in the coverage area is smaller than -95

dBm.

Cross Coverage
Concept:

The area covered by a BTS exceeds the planned scope and discontinuous dominant areas are formed in the areas covered by other BTSs.