2G Optimization v1.0

2G OPTIMIZATION
Course Outlines
GSM System Reminder

Optimization Principles
Systematic Quality Assessment and Measures
Optimization in Details: Step by Step for each KPIs
GSM System Reminder
Working Frequency
Frequency Band-Down Link Frequency Band-Up Link

GSM 800 869 894 MHz 824 849 MHz
E-GSM (Extended GSM) 925 935 MHz 880 890 MHz
P-GSM 900 935 960 MHz 890 915 MHz
GSM 1800 (DCS) 1805 1880 MHz 1710 1785 MHz
GSM 1900 (PCS) 1930 1990 MHz 1850 1910 MHz
But what do we mean by frequency Band?

What is the DL and UL?
Why DL is higher than UL band?
GSM Frequency
Frequency Band
The range of frequencies which the operator is
allowed to use for transmission and reception.
Downlink and Uplink bands
DL band is the range of frequencies used by the Base
station when transmitting to the MS while the UL
band is the range of frequencies used by the Mobile
station when transmitting to the Base Station.
Why DL band is higher than the UL band?
As frequency >>> then attenuation with air >>>
Since Power BaseStation > Power MobileStation then it is wise
to configure the higher frequencies that will be
attenuated fast to the side that is using higher power.
Access Techniques
Access techniques: Techniques through which many MSs can access the shared media
which is the air interface.
FDMA ( Frequency Division Multiple Access)
Each MS is assigned a dedicated frequency through which he can talk.
TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access)
All MSs are using the same frequency but each of them will be utilizing it only over a
certain period of time called Time Slot (TS)
In GSM System were using TDMA over FDMA where the frequency band is divided into
no. of frequencies each of which is shared among no. of MSs, where each MS will be
assigned a certain TS on certain frequency.
GSM 900
UL Band 890MHz 915MHz, DL Band 935MHz 960MHz

Each Band is 25 MHz
Guard Band between DL and UL is 20 MHz
Duplex Distance = 45 MHz Downlink 935 960 MHz
Carrier separation = 200 KHz

Uplink 890 915 MHz
No. of frequencies = 124
200 KHz
890.2 890.6 Uplink
1 2 3 4 121
121 122 123 124
890 890.4 915 F (MHz)
935.2 935.6 Downlink

1 2 3 4 121
121 122 123 124
935 935.4 960 F (MHz)
GSM 900 Frequency Allocation
All GSM Summary
GSM(DCS) GSM(PCS)
System P-GSM 900 E-GSM 900
1800 1900
Uplink (MS BS) 890 915 MHz 880 915 MHz 1710 1785 MHz 1850 1910 MHz
Downlink(BS MS) 935 960 MHz 925 - 960 MHz 1805 - 1880 MHz 1930 - 1990 MHz
Wavelength 33 cm 33 cm 17 cm 16 cm
Bandwidth 25 MHz 35 MHz 75 MHz 60 MHz
Duplex distance 45 MHz 45 MHz 95 MHz 80 MHz
Carrier separation 200 kHz 200 kHz 200 kHz 200 kHz
No. of carriers 124 174 374 299
Channel rate 270.8 kbps 270.8 kbps 270.8 kbps 270.8 kbps
Network Architechture
Base Station System (BSS)
BSC (Base Station Controller)

It controls the air interface, it takes the decisions based on the reports came from
the MS and BTS.
Channel Allocation.
Controls the Handover Process.
Dynamic Power Control.
Frequency Hopping.
BTS (Base Transceiver Station)

It is the Hardware equipment needed to provide the radio coverage.
Speech Coding/Channel Coding/Interleaving/Ciphering/Burst formatting/Modulation
all these are done within the BTS (RBS=Radio Base Station)
Equipment: Cabinet, jumpers, feeders, combiners, antennas.
Mobile Station (MS)
Mobile Equipment
Transmit the radio waves.
Speech coding and decoding.
Call control.
Performance measurement of radio link.
SIM card (Subscriber Identification Module)

Stores user addresses (IMSI, MSISDN, TMSI).
Stores authentication key Ki, authentication algorithm A3 and ciphering algorithm
A8&A5
Stores the subscribed services.
Over the Air Interface
Frequency Band is divided into no. of frequencies.

Each frequency is divided into 8 Time slots (TS)
Each user will be assigned 1 TS.
One time slot =156.25 bits
1 Bit duration=3.69 sec
Time slot duration =156.25x3.69 sec= 0.577 msec
1 Frame = 8 TSs
Frame duration=0.577x8= 4.615 msec
Bit rate on the air interface is 270 Kbps, but for each user it is 33.8 Kbps
Radio Channel
Physical Channels vs. Logical Channels

Physical channel: Time slot is called the physical channel.
Logical channel: It is the content that will be sent over the physical channel.
Logical Channels
Logical Channels
Traffic Channels Control Channels
Half Rate Full Rate

Broadcast Common Dedicated
Frequency Correction Control Channel Paging Channel Fast Associated Control Channel
Synchronization Channel Access Grant Channel Cell Broadcast Control Channel
Broadcast Control Channel Random Access Channel Slow Associated Control Channel
Standalone Dedicated Control Channel

Logical Channel: Traffic Channels
Full Rate Channels (FR)

Carries users speech traffic or user data DL and UL.
Each user is assigned 1 TS.
Transmission rate is 13 Kbit/s.
Half Rate Channels (HR)

Carries users speech traffic or user data DL and UL.
2 users will share 1 TS (physical channel), each of them will be utilizing it each frame.
Transmission rate is 6.5 Kbit/s
Logical Channels
Half Rate Full Rate Common Dedicated

Broadcast

Logical Channel: Control Channels
These are used to carry signaling or synchronization data, theyre divided into three types:
Broad Cast Channels (BCH)
Common Control Channels (CCCH)
Dedicated Control Channels (DCCH)
Logical Channels

Broadcast

Control Channel: Broadcast Control Channels
Frequency Correction Channel (FCCH)

Pure signal is transmitted to help the MS to lock on the frequency of the BTS
and synchronize to its frequency. (DL channel)
Synchronization Channel (SCH)
Carries the TDMA frame number.
BSIC (Base Station Identification Code) of the cell. (DL Channel)
BCCH (Broad Cast Control Channel)
LAI (Location Area Identity)
Cell parameters (used power, Idle mode parameters,..etc)
List of BCCH carries of the neighbor Logical Channels
cells. (DL Channel)


Broadcast

Control Channel: Common Control Channels
Paging Channel (PCH)

Used to inform the MS of an incoming call or sms, where the MSs IMSI/TMSI
will be sent over it. (DL channel)
Random Access Channel (RACH)
Used by the MS to ask for an SDCCH to respond to the request send on the
paging channel /initiate a call/location update/IMSI attach-detach. (UL
Channel)
AGCH (Access Grant Channel)
Used by the network to assign an SDCCH sub-channel for the MS. (DL
channel)
Logical Channels

Broadcast

Control Channel: Dedicated Control Channels
Standalone Dedicated Control Channel (SDCCH)

Used for signaling purposes: call setup, location update, IMSI attach-detach.
Used to send/receive SMSs in idle mode. (DL/UL channel).
Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH)
Always allocated in conjunction with traffic channel/SDCCH channel to
transmit measurement reports.
DL measurement reports will include commands from the network to the MS
to adjust its power level and info about the Time Advance.
UL measurement reports will include information about the MS own power,
received SS & Quality from serving cell and SS from neighbor cells.
Logical Channels
Used to send SMSs in active mode
(DL/UL channel). Traffic Channels Control Channels

Broadcast

Control Channel: Dedicated Control Channels
Fast Associated Control Channel (FACCH)

Used to send necessary Handover information . (DL/UL channel)
Cell Broad Cast Channel (CBCH)

It is sent point to multi point i.e. from the cell to the mobiles attached to it, this
channel may carry information about the traffic, weather reports,etc. (DL
channel)
Logical Channels

Broadcast

Optimization Principles
Principle of 2G Radio Network Optimization
Radio Network
Optimization
Optimization Strategy
Evaluation Failure
causes Radio / BTS
/ Transport / BSC
Quality benchmark
Operator can be define several KPIs:
- Call Setup Success Rate (eg. CSSR 98%)

- Blocking Rate (eg. SDCCH 1%, TCH 2%)
- Call Drop Rate (eg. SDCCH 1%, TCH 2%)
- Handover Success Rate (eg. HOSR 95%)
Evaluated for accessibility, retainability, usage, mobility & integrity

KPI Principles
The KPI to be monitored for GERAN could be:
- Cell Availability
- Call Setup Success Rate
- Blocking Rate
- Call Drop Rate
- Handover Success Rate
- Traffic Volume & Utilization
KPIs in different stages of the call phase
Call Success Rate
Call Setup Success Rate
TCH
SDCCH Assignment
Establishment success rate success rate
SDCCH availability
TCH
SDCCH time TCH
Availability
congestion Drop
And
Time congestion
establish establish
get get get call release
SDCCH TCH
service SDCCH TCH phase phase
connection connection
Dropped Call Rate
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Initials
Systematic Quality Assessment & Measures
Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
KPI Principles and Definition
KPI Principles and Definition
Accessibility
This KPI measures the ability to set up a call. This range from the arrival of random access burst to the
event users get TCH assignment. (Random Access Success Rate, SDSR, SDCCH Drop Rate)
Retainability
This KPI measures the ability to maintain the existing connection. This range from the service has been
accessed to the event user disconnected the service. (TCH Drop Rate, Erlang per Minute Drop/EMD,)
Mobility
This KPI measures the ability to maintain user connection while moving in network.
(HOSR)
Integrity
This KPI measures the degree of service after the service has been accessed by user.
(Throughput, FER, SQI, RxQual)
KPI SLA (Service Level Agreement) Target
No KPI
1 TCH Availability ==> Cell Availabiliy
2 SDCCH Blocking Rate BH
3 SDCCH Drop Rate
4 TCH Blocking BH
5 DCR (2G Voice)
6 CSSR (2G Voice)
7 2G HoSR
8 ISHO 2G - 3G (RT Service)
9 ISHO 2G - 3G (NRT Service)
Main Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
2G Call Success Rate (CSR)
Indicator Name 2G Call Success Rate (CSR)

Ratio of call that successfully terminated by user. The formula of CSR is = Call
Definition
Setup Success Rate * (1-Drop Call Rate)
Unit Rate (%)
Digital display Rounded to 2 significant figures.
Goal To measure the radio access network call success.
Granularity Network
Periodicity Monthly
Data source OSS tools
Calculation rule CSR = Call Setup Success Rate * (1-Drop Call Rate)
2G Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR)
Indicator Name 2G Call Setup Success Rate
Ratio of the successfully established calls over the requested calls. This does not include SDCCH access failures only
Definition
SDCCH establishment failures due to blocking are included.
Unit Ratio (%)
Digital display Rounded to 2 significant figures.
Goal Measures the accessibility of the network for speech calls.
Granularity Network
Periodicity Monthly value (average value from the first day to the last day of the month on a network basis).
CSSR = (1 - SDCCH Blocking Rate) * (1 - SDCCH Drop Rate) *
(1 TCH Blocking Rate) * (1- TCH Normal Assignment Failure Rate)
SDCCH Blocking Rate = SDCCH_Blocking_A / SDCCH_Blocking_B.

o SDCCH_Blocking_A:number SDCCH allocation failure on all cells
o SDCCH_Blocking_B: number of SDCCH requests on all cells.
SDCCH Drop Rate = SDCCH_Drop_A / SDCCH_Drop_B
o SDCCH_Drop_A: number of SDCCH drops on all cells
Calculation rule
o SDCCH_Drop_B: number of successful SDCCH establishments on all cells
TCH Blocking Rate = TCH_Blocking_A / TCH_Blocking_B
o TCH_Blocking_A: Number of unsuccesful TCH allocation due to no radio resources on normal assignment for
all cells
o TCH_Blocking_B: Number of TCH Request Attempt for all cells.
TCH Normal Assignment Failure Rate = TCH_Failure_A / TCH_Failure_B
o TCH_Failure_A: number of unsuccessful TCH Seizure on normal assignments for all cells
o TCH_Failure_B: number of TCH normal assignment requests on all cells
2G SDCCH Blocking Rate
Indicator Name 2G SDCCH Blocking Rate

Ratio of the unsuccessful SDCCH allocation over the total SDCCH Attempt
Definition
request.
Unit Ratio (%)
Goal Shows the network quality of service in terms of SDCCH resource allocation.
Granularity Network
Periodicity Monthly value (average value from the first day to the last day of the month on a
network basis).
SDCCH Blocking Rate = SDCCH_Block_A / SDCCH_Block_B

Calculation rule
SDCCH_Block_A: unsuccessful SDCCH allocation on all cells
SDCCH_Block_B: SDCCH request attempt for all cells.
2G SDCCH Drop Rate
Indicator Name 2G SDCCH Drop Rate

Definition Ratio of the SDCCH drop over the total SDCCH asignment success.
Unit Ratio (%)
Goal Shows the network quality of service in terms of SDCCH retention.
Granularity Network
Periodicity Monthly value (average value from the first day to the last day of the month on
a network basis).
SDCCH Drop Rate = SDCCH_Dro_A / SDCCH_Drop_B
Calculation rule
SDCCH_Drop_A: number of SDCCH drop due to any reason on all cells
SDCCH_Drop_B: SDCCH assignment success for all cells.
2G TCH Blocking Rate
Indicator Name 2G TCH Blocking Rate

Ratio of the TCH blocking due to no radio resources available over TCH Normal
Definition
Assignment Attempt.
Unit Ratio (%)
Goal Shows the network quality of service in terms of TCH resources allocation.
Granularity Network
network basis).
TCH Blocking Rate = TCH_Block_A / TCH_Block_B

Calculation rule
TCH_Block_A: number of TCH Blocking due to no radio resources for all cells.
TCH_Drop_B: number of TCH Normal Attempt for all cells.
2G TCH Assignment Failure Rate
Indicator Name 2G TCH Assignment Failure Rate

Definition Ratio of the TCH Assignment failure over TCH Attempt.
Unit Ratio (%)
Shows the network quality of service in terms of successful rate TCH seizure of
Goal
normal assignment.
Granularity Network
network basis).
TCH Assignment Failure Rate = TCH_Failure_A / TCH_Failure_B

Calculation rule
TCH_Failure_A: number of TCH Assignment failure due to any reason for all cells.
TCH_Failure_B: number of TCH Assignment Attempt for all cells.
2G Drop Call Rate
Indicator Name 2G Drop Call Rate
Definition Ratio of the dropped calls over the total established calls.
Unit Ratio (%)
Goal Shows the network quality of service in terms of call completion.
Granularity Network
network basis).
DCR = DCR_A / DCR_B
DCR_A: Total number of dropped calls in all cells

Calculation rule
DCR_B: Successful TCH Normal Seizure + Successful Incoming inter-Cell
Handover - Successful Outgoing Inter-cell Handover + Successful Incoming
IRAT Handover Successful Outgoing IRAT Handover, for all cells.
Optimization in Details: Step by Step for
each KPIs
Message Flow
Mobile Originating Call (MOC)
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Filename.ppt / yyyy-mm-dd / Initials
Message Flow
Mobile Terminating Call (MTC)
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Message Flow
Location Update
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KPIs in different stages of the call phase
Call Success Rate
Call Setup Success Rate
TCH
SDCCH Assignment
Establishment success rate success rate
SDCCH availability
TCH
SDCCH time TCH
Availability
congestion Drop
And
Time congestion
establish establish
get get get call release
SDCCH TCH
service SDCCH TCH phase phase
connection connection
Project Dropped Call Rate

Initials
2G Optimization Process Flow
Accessibility
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Retainability
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Mobility
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Integrity
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Audit
Before starting an network audit is taken

The audit contains the following steps
General parameter audit
General feature audit
Neighbor cells analysis
Freq plan analysis
Freq distribution
Freq load
Statistics audit
Site audit
Site distribution
Site configuration
KPI agreement
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Drop Call Rate process
Data collection
KPI reporting
Analysis of DCR
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Dropped call process
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2G SDCCH Drop Rate
Indicator Name 2G SDCCH Drop Rate

Definition Ratio of the SDCCH drop over the total SDCCH asignment success.
Unit Ratio (%)
Goal Shows the network quality of service in terms of SDCCH retention.
Granularity Network
Periodicity Monthly value (average value from the first day to the last day of the month on
a network basis).
SDCCH Drop Rate = SDCCH_Dro_A / SDCCH_Drop_B
Calculation rule
SDCCH_Drop_A: number of SDCCH drop due to any reason on all cells
SDCCH_Drop_B: SDCCH assignment success for all cells.
TCH Assignment Failure Rate
Indicator Name 2G TCH Assignment Failure Rate

Definition Ratio of the TCH Assignment failure over TCH Attempt.
Unit Ratio (%)
Shows the network quality of service in terms of successful rate TCH seizure of
Goal
normal assignment.
Granularity Network
network basis).
TCH Assignment Failure Rate = TCH_Failure_A / TCH_Failure_B

Calculation rule
TCH_Failure_A: number of TCH Assignment failure due to any reason for all cells.
TCH_Failure_B: number of TCH Assignment Attempt for all cells.
2G Drop Call Rate
Indicator Name 2G Drop Call Rate
Definition Ratio of the dropped calls over the total established calls.
Unit Ratio (%)
Goal Shows the network quality of service in terms of call completion.
Granularity Network
network basis).
DCR = DCR_A / DCR_B
DCR_A: Total number of dropped calls in all cells

Calculation rule
DCR_B: Successful TCH Normal Seizure + Successful Incoming inter-Cell
Handover - Successful Outgoing Inter-cell Handover + Successful Incoming
IRAT Handover Successful Outgoing IRAT Handover, for all cells.
Dropped SDCCH connection
Following cases will increase the counter CNDROP

Low signal strength or high interference
Error indication (Sequence Error) and Channel Release
Radio Link Time-Out
T200 Expiration (Layer 2 Time-Out)
Unexpected Release Indication
Abnormal Release unspecified
Release SAPI 3
Release Indication after no response from MS
No Assignment Command
Unsuccessful Assignment on TCH
Assignment Failure is sent
Layer 2 time-out on Assignment Channel
Mobile fails to return to the old SDCCH
Counters
CDISSS, CDISQA, and CDISTA but also CNRELCONG
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Dropped TCH channel
Low signal strength:

because of missing neighbour relationships, poor locating parameter settings, bad exchange property settings, system memory
congestion, or neighbour cell congestion
TRU or other BTS Antenna Near Part HW problem
MS problem of specific brand or model
Link is not balanced
High site picking up remote traffic that cannot be handed over to other sites
Lack of coverage indoor, inside tunnels, parking garages, basements, in hilly or mountainous terrain, etc.
Cells at the border areas of the system
Sites missing in areas
Poor BTS or MS power control parameter settings
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Dropped TCH channel
Bad quality:
Missing neighbour relationships, poor locating parameter settings, bad exchange property settings, system memory congestion, or
neighbour cell congestion
Excessive internal interference To solve problem use DTX, FH, or a new frequency plan
Excessive external interference Discovered if interference still happens during low traffic periods
Time Dispersion In hilly or mountainous areas next to lots of water
No dominant server (usually seen as a rapid succession of handovers made between several cells, all of which usually provide fairly
weak coverage)
BTS HW fault
Poor BTS or MS power control parameter settings
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Dropped TCH channel
Excessive Timing Advance:

High sites or sites next to water that pick up traffic from far away
Very low TALIM setting, indicates a false excessive timing advance drop
Sudden Loss:
Sudden and/or severe drop in signal strength
Sudden and/or severe occurrence of interference or bad quality
MS running out of battery during conversation
BTS HW fault
Synchronization or Abis link fault (transmission fault)
MS Fault
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Processes

Initials
DCR analysis (main process)
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Hardware change process
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Quality change on TCH channel
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Check environment
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Redistribute traffic
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Interference
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Coverage plan
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External interference
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Alarms
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Parameter inconsistency process
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SDCCH bad performance process
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Back Up
2G Huawei Performance Monitoring and

Optimization
1. High SDCCH Blocking (1)
- KPI formula:
SDCCH Congestion Rate (Overflow) = ([Failed SDCCH Seizures due to Busy SDCCH]/[SDCCH Seizure
Requests])*{100}
Analysis process:
1. High SDCCH blocking is due to congestion on the SDCCH channel. Check what causes the high
SDCCH usage. Then appropriate actions can be taken:
Check Call Setups:

- CELL_ESTB_IND_MOC_NONSMS_SD: Number of Call Setup Indications for MOC on SDCCH
- CELL_ESTB_IND_MTC_SD: Number of Call Setup Indications for MTC on SDCCH
Check amount of SMS. Check and verify with Core engineers SMS Center parameterization.
- A3030B: CELL_ESTB_IND_MOC_SMS_SD: Number of Call Setup Indications for SMS on SDCCH
- CA3340: CELL_Pt_to_Pt_SMS_SD: Number of Point-to-Point Short Messages on SDCCH (includes
UL+DL)
Check LAU/RAU requests:

- A300F: CELL_CH_REQ_LOC_UPDATE: Number of Channel Requests for Location Update
- A3030F: CELL_ESTB_IND_LOC_UPDATE_SD: Number of Call Setup Indications on SDCCH for
Location Update.
2. If high SCDDH usage is due to LAU then:
Check if the problem is caused by roamers that do not have access to the network, thus causing
big amount of failed LAUs/RAUs.
Check if cell is in LA border: if yes, then we can increase CRH parameter value
- CRH: Cell Reselect Hysteresis Parameters (Cell reselection hysteresis. This is one of the
parameters used for deciding whether to reselect cells in different location areas.)
Check LA border planning. Verify LA borders by checking HO statistics between cells in LA

border:
- H380:CELLCELL_INCELL_HO_REQ: Incoming Inter-Cell Handover Requests between 2 cells
Check the value of T3212; if too low, increase

- T3212: T3212 (This parameter specifies the length of the timer for periodic location update).
Recommended value: as high as possible, usually 4h.
Check whether moving LA borders (if possible to move) could help relieving the congestion.
Check the pattern of LAU requests. Check hours and duration of high number of such requests.
Check whether the problem is constant throughout the day or it occurs only during 1 hour for
example. If the problem occurs only on specific hour of day check if it is worth acting to solve it
(costs vs. benefits).
3. Check if TCH Immediate Assignment is allowed:
- IMMASSEN: TCH Immediate Assignment (Whether to allow immediate TCH assignment. If this
parameter is set to YES, the BSC can assign a TCH immediately when there is no available SDCCH for
a channel request.) Note: It is not recommended to activate this in congested LA borders.
4. Activate SDCCH dynamic conversion feature: Dynamic SDCCH conversion can be triggered if the
SDCCH resource is insufficient or the SDCCH allocation fails during the channel assignment
- SDDYN: SDCCH Dynamic Allocation Allowed (Whether to allow SDCCH dynamic allocation, that is,
whether to allow dynamic conversion between TCHs and SDCCHs.)
- IDLESDTHRES: Idle SDCCH Threshold N1 (When the number of idle SDCCH channels in a cell is
smaller than this parameter, the system searches for available TCHs and transforms them into SDCCH
channels)
- CELLMAXSD: Cell SDCCH Channel Maximum (Maximum number of SDCCHs in the cell. Before
converting a TCH into an SDCCH, the BSC compares the number of SDCCHs after the conversion in
the cell with "Cell SDCCH Channel Maximum". If the number of SDCCHs after the conversion in the
cell exceeds this parameter, the BSC does not convert the TCH into an SDCCH.)
5. Add SDCCH/8 channel
6. Add TRX
Note: for more details on SDCCH capacity optimisation check

HUA_2G_Capacity_Optimization_v1.0.pptx
document from Multivendor Team in IMS.
2. High SDCCH Drop Rate (1)
- KPI formula:
SDCCH Drop Rate = ([Call Drops on SDCCH]/[Successful SDCCH Seizures])*{100}
Analysis process:
1. Identify the route cause of SDCHH drops by checking the following counters. The total number of
SDCCH drops is given by:
Call Drops on SDCCH = [Call Drops on Radio Interface (SDCCH)]+[Call Drops due to No MRs from MS for
a
Long Time (SDCCH)]+[Call Drops due to Abis Terrestrial Link Failure (SDCCH)]+[Call Drops Due to
Equipment Failure (SDCCH)]+[Call Drops due to Forced Handover (SDCCH)]:
Call Drops on Radio Interface (SDCCH): the drop is due to radio. Check for missing neighbours.
Check radio environment/signal strength at drop points. Adjust antenna parameters appropriately
to improve coverage if this is the problem. Check whether the drops are during handover. Check
interference.
Call Drops due to No MRs from MS for a Long Time (SDCCH): After seizing an SDCCH, the MS sends
a measurement report to the BSC every 470 ms. When the BSC does not receive a measurement
report within a certain period of time, the BSC sends a CLEAR REQUEST message to the MSC to
release the call, and this counter is incremented by one. Check UL coverage and quality
(interference). Check for possible MS problem.
Call Drops due to Abis Terrestrial Link Failure (SDCCH): transmission problem on Abis. Check
relative alarms.
Call Drops Due to Equipment Failure (SDCCH): BSC hardware or software failure. Check alarms to
discover the exact cause.
2. High SDCCH Drop Rate (2)
Call Drops due to Forced Handover (SDCCH): After an MS seizes a channel, if the system initiates a
forced handover and the handover fails, the BSC may initiate a call release procedure. Check why
the handover failed: Timer expired? Check whether the emergency handover is due to preemption,
or blocking of cell/TRX/channel.
3. CSSR (1)
- KPI formula:
BSS Call Setup Success Rate = (([Immediate Assignment Success Rate]*[TCH Assignment Success
Rate])*(1-[SDCCH Drop Rate]))*{100}
The CSSR combines 3 other KPIs:

- Immediate Assignment Success Rate = ([Call Setup Indications (Circuit Service)]/[Channel Requests
(Circuit Service)])*{100}
- TCH Assignment Success Rate = ([Successful Assignments]/[Assignment Requests])*{100}
- SDCCH Drop Rate = ([Call Drops on SDCCH]/[Successful SDCCH Seizures])*{100}
Analysis process:
1. Each of the 3 component-KPIs will affect CSSR:
- Low Immediate Assignment Success Rate will decrease CSSR
- Low TCH Assignment Success Rate will decrease CSSR
- High SDCCH Drop Rate will decrease CSSR
2. Examine at which point most of the failures appear by checking thoroughly the 3 component-KPIs.
Find out the corresponding failure causes for Immediate Assignment, Assignment and SDCCH Drops.
3. CSSR (2)
3. Low Immediate Assignment Success Rate
Basic Immediate Assignment signalling procedure:
Fig.1 Successful Immediate Assignment Fig.2 Failed Immediate Assignment

A: The BSC sends an IMM ASS REJ message due to no
available channel
B: The BSC sends an IMM ASS REJ message due to
channel activation failure
C: The BSC sends an IMM ASS REJ message due to
channel activation timeout
3. CSSR (3)
If Immediate Assignment failures are due to no channel available (point A in Figure 2), this means that
there is SDCCH congestion. Refer to Case 1 of present document for handling.
If Immediate Assignment failures are due to channel activation failure or channel activation timeout
(points B, C in Figure 2) check hardware/software alarms.
4. Low TCH Assignment Success Rate
Basic Assignment signalling procedure:

3. CSSR (4)
Check following counters to identify the reason for Assignment failure:
(1) Failures due to mismatch between the state machine of the BSC and the ASS REQ message or due
to the abnormality of the ASS REQ message:
- A3129I: CELL_ASS_FAIL_INVALID_STATE: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL messages sent
by the BSC to the MSC when the BSC receives an ASS REQ message that is not expected by the internal
state machine of the BSC (for example, the state machine is in release status).
- A3129J: CELL_ASS_FAIL_INVALID_MSG_CONTENTS: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL

messages sent by the BSC to the MSC when the BSC receives an ASS REQ message but the ASS REQ
message fails to be decoded (for example, an error occurs during the decoding of an IE, such as
CHANNEL TYPE, CIC, or Layer 3 header information).
- A3129E: CELL_ASS_FAIL_NO_CIC: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL messages sent by the
BSC to the MSC when the BSC receives an ASS REQ message that carries an unavailable A interface CIC.
- A3129F: CELL_ASS_FAIL_CIC_ALLOC: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL messages sent by
the BSC to the MSC when the BSC receives an ASS REQ message that carries an A interface CIC that is
already occupied by another call.
3. CSSR (5)
(2) Failures due to abnormal radio resource allocation:
- A312A: CELL_ASS_FAIL_Frst_ASS_NO_CH: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL messages
sent by the BSC to the MSC when the cell does not have available channels and the directed retry
procedure fails to be initiated or the directed retry is prohibited by the data configuration in the first air
interface assignment procedure.
- A312L: CELL_ASS_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_ASS_NO_CH: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL

messages sent by the BSC to the MSC when the cell does not have available channels and the directed
retry procedure fails to be initiated or the directed retry is prohibited by the data configuration in the
air interface assignment procedure except for the first air interface assignment procedure.
- A312K: CELL_ASS_FAIL_Frst_DR_NO_CH: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL messages sent
by the BSC to the MSC when the cell does not have available channels and the directed retry procedure
is successfully initiated but failed due to no available channel in the first air interface assignment
procedure.
- A312M: CELL_ASS_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_DR_NO_CH: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL

messages sent by the BSC to the MSC when the BSC attempts to make a directed retry but the directed
retry failed because the target cell does not have available channels in the air interface assignment
procedure except for the first air interface assignment procedure.
3. CSSR (6)
- A312F: CELL_ASS_FAIL_NO_IDLE_ABIS: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL messages sent
by the BSC to the MSC when the dynamic allocation of Abis resources is enabled on the BSC but the
assignment fails due to no available Abis resources.
- A3129S: CELL_ASS_FAIL_NO_SPEECH_VER: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL messages
sent by the BSC to the MSC when the assignment fails because the intersection between the speech
version set carried in the ASS REQ message from the MSC and the speech version set supported by the
current cell of the MS does not have available speech versions.
(3) Failures due to abnormal air interface access:
- A3129C: CELL_ASS_FAIL_Frst_ASS_EXP: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL messages sent
by the BSC to the MSC when the timer for the BSC to wait for an ASS CMP message expires after the
BSC sends an ASS CMD message to the MS in the first air interface assignment procedure.
- A3129P: CELL_ASS_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_ASS_EXP: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL

messages sent by the BSC to the MSC when the timer for the BSC to wait for an ASS CMP message
expires after the BSC sends an ASS CMD message to the MS in the air interface assignment procedure
except for the first air interface assignment procedure.
3. CSSR (7)
- A3129O: CELL_ASS_FAIL_Frst_DR_EXP: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL messages sent
by the BSC to the MSC when the cell does not have available channels and the directed retry procedure
is successfully initiated but failed due to the expiry of the timer for waiting for an HO CMP message in
the first air interface assignment procedure.
- A3129Q: CELL_ASS_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_DR_EXP: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL

messages sent by the BSC to the MSC when the timer for waiting for an ASS CMP message expires after
the BSC sends an HO CMD message to the MS in the air interface assignment procedure except for the
first air interface assignment procedure.
- A3129D: CELL_ASS_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_ASS_RECONN_SUCC: This counter provides the number of

ASS FAIL or RR STATUS messages reported by the MS to the BSC when the MS attempts but fails to
access the new channel and then successfully reconnects to the old channel after receiving an ASS
CMD message.
- A3129R: CELL_ASS_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_DR_RECONN_SUCC: This counter provides the number of

HO FAIL or RR STATUS messages reported by the MS to the BSC when the MS attempts but fails to
access the new channel and then successfully reconnects to the old channel after receiving an HO CMD
message.
3. CSSR (8)
(4) Failures due to the abnormality of terrestrial resources or the call clearing performed by the MSC.
- A3129B: CELL_ASS_FAIL_Frst_APPLY_TRSL_FAIL: This counter provides the number of ASS FAIL

messages sent by the BSC to the MSC when the MS drops from the connection to the air interface, or a
circuit fails to be obtained for the call, or the obtained circuit is faulty during the circuit connection of
the BSC in the first air interface assignment procedure.
- A3129N: CELL_ASS_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_APPLY_TRSL_FAIL: This counter provides the number of ASS

FAIL messages sent by the BSC to the MSC when the MS drops from the connection to the air interface,
or a circuit fails to be obtained for the call, or the obtained circuit is faulty during the circuit connection
of the BSC in the air interface assignment procedure except for the first air interface assignment
procedure.
- A3129G: CELL_ASS_FAIL_A_INTERF_FAIL: This counter provides the number of times that the BSC
locally releases the call when the BSC receives an SS7 link abnormality indication in the assignment
procedure.
- A3129H: CELL_ASS_FAIL_MSC_CLR_CMD: This counter provides the number of times that the BSC
releases the call after receiving a CLEAR CMD message from the MSC in the assignment procedure.
3. CSSR (9)
5. High SDCCH Drop Rate
In case high SDCHH Drop Rate causes deterioration of CSSR, refer to Case 2 of present document for
handling.
6. Parameters that affect CSSR
- RACHACCLEV: RACH Min. Access Level

This parameter affects the coverage area. If this parameter is set to a higher value, the actual coverage
area of the network becomes small; if this parameter is set to a lower value, call drops are likely to
occur because of invalid access or too weak access signals, thus decreasing the success rate of BSS call
setup.
- RACHBUSYTHRED: RACH Busy Threshold
setup.
- RANERRTHRED: Random Access Error Threshold
setup.
- CIC No.
The values of CICs must be consistent with that on the MSC side.
3. CSSR (10)
7. Network functions that affect CSSR
- Directed retry
When TCHs in a cell are insufficient, TCHs in other cells can be assigned through directed retry, thus
increasing the BSS CSSR. By default, this function is enabled.
- SDCCH dynamic adjustment

When SDCCHs are insufficient, this function can be enabled to convert some TCHs into SDCCHs to
increase the success rate of immediate assignment, thus increasing the BSS CSSR. By default, this
function is enabled.
- TCH reassignment
When this function is enabled, the BSC initiates a re-assignment procedure after receiving the failure
indication of the TCH assignment on the Um interface. This function can be used to increase the
success
rate of TCH assignment, thus increasing the BSS CSSR. By default, this function is enabled.
- Flex Abis
This function is implemented in the BSC6000V900R003 and later versions. This function enables
dynamic assignment of Abis timeslots to more efficiently utilize the Abis link resources; however,
assignment may fail because of congestion on the Abis links. This function may decrease the BSS CSSR.
4. High TCH Blocking (1)
- KPI formula:
TCH Congestion Rate (Overflow) = (([Failed TCH Seizures due to Busy TCH (Signaling Channel)]+[Failed
TCH Seizures due to Busy TCH (Traffic Channel)]+[Failed TCH Seizures in TCH Handovers due to Busy
TCH (Traffic Channel)])/([TCH Seizure Requests (Signaling Channel)]+[TCH Seizure Requests (Traffic
Channel)]+[TCH Seizure Requests in TCH Handovers (Traffic Channel)]))*{100}
Analysis process:
1. High TCH blocking means congestion on the Traffic Channel: there are not enough free TCHs to
accept new service requests.
2. Check cell traffic channel availability in order to verify that congestion is not due to availability
issue. Check cell alarms.
3. Check availability of neighboring sites. If neighboring cells are unavailable this will cause big
amount of HOs directed to our current cell thus leading to congestion.
4. Check cell traffic channel configuration. Check if all HR resources are in use before TCH
congestion occurs. Verify that HR is enabled. In case AMR is supported by the operator, verify
that is enabled.
5. Load balancing between cells: certain features can be activated to manage the traffic sharing
between cells:
- Enable LO handover algorithm: LoadHoEn: Load Handover Support
- Enable Directed Retry due to load: DIRECTRYEN: Directed Retry
6. Load balancing between cells:
- Concentric Cells: check relative parameters so as to implement optimal traffic sharing between
underlaid-overlaid cells.
- Enhanced Dual Band Network: check relative parameters so as to implement optimal traffic
sharing between underlaid-overlaid cells.
7. Check if additional capacity related features can be activated in the network in order to improve
the utilisation of TCH resources:
- BCCH Dense Frequency Multiplexing: enables the BCCHs to reuse frequencies more tightly to free
more frequencies for non-BCCH TRXs, thus increasing the system capacity.
TIGHTBCCHSWITCH: TIGHT BCCH Switch (Whether to enable the BCCH aggressive frequency reuse
algorithm)
- Interference Based Channel Allocation (IBCA): The IBCA algorithm requires the BSC to estimate the
C/I ratio of the new call in every channel assignment procedure; it also requires the BSC to
estimate the interference caused to the established calls on the network when an idle channel is
assigned to a new call. In this way, the optimal channel, that is, the one that meets the C/I ratio
requirement of the new call and causes the least interference to the established calls after being
occupied, is assigned to the new call to alleviate the interference and ensure the full use of the
frequency resources.
IBCAALLOWED: IBCA Allowed (Whether to enable the IBCA algorithm)
- Flex MAIO: BSC dynamically adjusts the MAIO according to the current interference level of a
channel when assigning an MAIO to the channel .
FLEXMAIO: Start Flex MAIO Switch (Whether to enable the function of Flex Mobile Allocation
Index Offset)
8. If congestion is still present although the previous described fine tuning and features activation,
then:
- Check Interference in the network (C/I); check frequency plan

- Check coverage: maybe network layout should be changed in traffic hot spots
- We can use TA distribution in order to identify traffic distribution among cells. In some cases
overshooting can be detected, so we can check the possibility to reduce service area of the
overshooting cell. Before doing so, we need, of course, to make sure that there is clear dominance
in the area that we are going to shrink serving cells coverage.
- Implement physical network changes where necessary and feasible: tilt, azimuth, antenna type,
etc.
- Add TRX
- Long term monitoring (e.g. one month) can be used to identify whether we have constant growth
in traffic in a site and area close by. If traffic increases in area level and we have already high
HR/AMR HR utilization then there are not too many other options than implement a new site.
- Add Site
Note: for more details on TCH capacity optimisation check

HUA_2G_Capacity_Optimization_v1.0.pptx
document from Multivendor Team in IMS.
5. High TCH Drop Call Rate (1)
- KPI formula:
TCH Call Drop Rate (including handovers) = ([Call Drops on TCH]/([Successful TCH Seizures (Signaling
Channel)]+[Successful TCH Seizures (Traffic Channel)]+[Successful TCH Seizures in TCH handovers
(Traffic Channel)]))*{100}
Analysis process:
1. Identify the route cause of the call drops by checking the Call Drops on TCH counter:
Call Drops on Traffic Channel =

[Call Drops on Radio Interface in Stable State (Traffic Channel)]+
[Call Drops on Radio Interface in Handover State (Traffic Channel)]+
[Call Drops due to No MRs from MS for a Long Time (Traffic Channel)]+
[Call Drops due to Abis Terrestrial Link Failure (Traffic Channel)]+
[Call Drops due to Equipment Failure (Traffic Channel)]+
[Call Drops due to Forced Handover (Traffic Channel)]+
[Call Drops Due to Loopback Start Failure]+
[Call Drops Due to Failures to Return to Normal Call from Loopback]
Call Drops on Radio Interface in Stable State (Traffic Channel): indicates RF issue. Check coverage at
drop points; check interference in the cell; check for missing neighbours.
Call Drops on Radio Interface in Handover State (Traffic Channel): drops during handover
procedure; check the handover failure counters to get more details for the handover failure cause.
Call Drops due to No MRs from MS for a Long Time (Traffic Channel): After seizing a TCH, the MS
sends a measurement report to the BSC every 480 ms. If the BSC does not receive any
measurement report within a certain period, call drop occurs on the Um interface. Check UL
coverage/UL interference at drop points. Check for possible MS problem.
Call Drops due to Abis Terrestrial Link Failure (Traffic Channel): indicates Abis transmission problem.
Check relative alarms.
Call Drops due to Equipment Failure (Traffic Channel): indicates BSS hardware or software problem.
Check relative alarms.
Call Drops due to Forced Handover (Traffic Channel): After the MS seizes a traffic channel, the BSC
initiates forced handover in the case of channel preemption, channel failure, or channel blocking. If
the handover of the MS fails, the BSC releases the call.
Call Drops Due to Loopback Start Failure: After seizing a channel, the MS starts the local switching.
This measurement provides the number of call drops due to the failure in starting the local
switching caused by different reasons. The cause value can be Terrestrial Resource Request Failure,
Failures on the BTS Side, or Timer Expired.
Call Drops Due to Failures to Return to Normal Call from Loopback: After a call is in the BSC/BTS
local switch state, it incurs a handover. The local switch, however, cannot be continued because the
target cell of the handover may not support local switch, the outgoing BSC handover fails, the TRX
that carries the target channel of the handover may not support local switch, or the specified
handover fails. The BSC attempts to restore the call to a normal one. The restoration may fail due
to various reasons. If the restoration fails, the MS incurs call drop.
2. Parameters that affect TCH Drop Call Rate:
Check and tune appropriately, if needed, the values of the following parameters:
- RLT: Radio Link Timeout; recommended value: 52

- SAMULFRM: SACCH Multi-Frames; recommended value: 32
6. High HO fail (1)
- KPI formula:
Handover Success Rate = (([Successful Outgoing Internal Inter-Cell Handover]+[Successful Outgoing
External Inter-Cell Handovers])/([Outgoing Internal Inter-Cell Handover Requests]+[Outgoing External
Inter-Cell Handover Requests]))*{100}
Analysis process:
1. Identify the possible cause of the handover failures by checking the following counters:
A. Internal HO (intra-BSC):
Basic intra-BSC inter-cell handover signalling procedure:
6. High HO fail (2)
The main causes for a failed outgoing internal inter-cell handover include:
1) Causes related to resource allocation:

- No traffic channel is available.
- No speech version is available.
- No Abis resource is available.
- The BSC fails to obtain the terrestrial resources.
2) Causes related to access on the Um interface

- The MS fails to access the new channel and then reconnects to the old channel.
- The timer for the BSC to wait for an HO CMP message expires.
3) Abnormal causes
- The BSC fails to activate the allocated channel.
- A fault occurs on the A interface.
6. High HO fail (3)
(1) The following counters are measured when the outgoing internal inter-cell handover fails because
of
failed allocation of relevant resources.
- H312A:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_CONG: no channel is available in the target cell

(congestion)
- H312L: CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_NO_IDLE_ABIS: no circuit resource is available on the
Abis interface in the target cell when the Abis dynamic allocation is enabled (congestion on Abis)
- H312H:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_NO_SPEECH_VER: no proper speech version is
available in the target cell; check speech version configuration
- H312B:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_APPLY_TRSL_FAIL: BSC fails to obtain circuit resource
when establishing the terrestrial connection; check A interface circuit status; check A interface alarms
6. High HO fail (4)
(2) The following counters provide the numbers of failed internal intra-cell handovers when the MS fails
to access the new channel on the Um interface.
In the outgoing internal inter-cell handover procedure, the BSC sends an HO CMD message to the MS
through the originating cell and initiates a timer (T3103) to wait for a HO CMP message. If the MS
reconnects to the old channel and sends a HO FAIL message on the old channel before the timer
expires, the following counters are measured in the originating cell based on the failure cause value:
- H312Da:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_ABNORM_REL_UNS:
Abnormal Release, Unspecified
- H312Db:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_ABNORM_REL_CHN:
Abnormal Release, Channel Unacceptable
- H312Dc:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_ABNORM_REL_EXP:
Abnormal Release, Timer Expired
- H312Dd:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_ABNORM_REL_NO_ACT:
Abnormal Release, No Activity on the Radio Path
- H312De:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_PREEMPT: Preemptive
Release
- H312Df:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_HO_TA: Timing Advance
out of Range
- H312Dg:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_CH_MODE: Channel
Mode Unavailable
- H312Dh:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_FREQ: Frequency
Unavailable
6. High HO fail (5)
- H312Di:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_C_CLR: Call Already
Cleared
- H312Dj:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_SEMANT: Semantically
Incorrect Message
- H312Dk:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_INV_MAN: Invalid
Mandatory Information
- H312Dl:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_M_T_NE: Message Type
Non-existent or Not Implemented
- H312Dm:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_M_T_NC: Message Type
Not Compatible with Protocol State
- H312Dn:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_CONDIT: Conditional IE
Error
- H312Do:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_NO_CA: No Cell Allocation
Available
- H312Dp:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_PROTOCL: Protocol Error
Unspecified
- H312Dq:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_OTHER: Other Causes
6. High HO fail (6)
During the handover procedure excluding directed retry, after the BSC successfully allocates and
activates
the channel in the target cell, it sends an HO CMD message to the MS and starts the timer T3103 to
wait for
the HO CMP message. If no HO CMP is received by the BSC before T3103 expires, the BSC releases the
call. Then, the specific one of the following counters is measured in the target cell based on the type of
the
target channel, that is, signalling channel (SDCCH/TCHF/TCCH) or traffic channel (TCHF/TCHH):
- H3120C:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_EXP_SD_NOT_INCLUDE_DR
- H3127Cb:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_EXP_TCHF_SIG_NOT_INCLUDE_DR
- H3128Cb:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_EXP_TCHH_SIG_NOT_INCLUDE_DR
- H3127Ca:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_EXP_TCHF_TRAF_NOT_INCLUDE_DR
- H3128Ca:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_EXP_TCHH_TRAF_NOT_INCLUDE_DR
In directed retry procedure, the BSC sends an HO CMD message to the MS through the originating cell
and
starts timer T3103 to wait for an HO CMP message. If no HO CMP is received by the BSC before T8
expires, the following counter is measured:
- H3121C:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_EXP_DR
Note: The counter CH312C:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_EXP is the sum of all the above

counters, i.e. the six counters above are sub-items of this counter.
6. High HO fail (7)
(3) The following counters are measured when the outgoing internal inter-cell handover fails because
of
equipment faults.
After the BSC successfully performs channel allocation and speech version confirmation in the target
cell, it
sends a CH ACT message to the BTS for activating the channel, and starts the corresponding timer to
wait
for the response. If the BSC receives a CH ACT NACK or no response from the BTS before the timer
expires, the following counter is measured:
- H312I:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_CHACT_FAIL
If an outgoing internal intra-cell handover fails because the BSC locally releases the call after receiving
an
SS7 link abnormality indication, the following counter is measured:
- H312G:CELL_INTRABSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_A_INTERF_FAIL
6. High HO fail (8)
The main causes for a failed outgoing
B. External HO (inter-BSC): external inter-cell handover include:
Basic inter-BSC inter-cell handover signalling procedure:
1. The timer T7 for the BSC to wait for
a HO CMD message, after having
sent a HO RQD message, expires.
2. The BSC receives a HO RQD

REJ message from the MSC.
3. The MS fails to access the new

channel and then reconnects to the
old channel, sending a HO FAIL
message.
4. The timer T8 for the BSC to wait for

a CLEAR CMD message , after
having sent a HO CMD message,
expires.
5. The BSC receives a CLEAR CMD

message from the MSC which
contains a failure handover cause.
6. An SS7 link failure occurs on the A

interface
6. High HO fail (9)
(1) During the outgoing external inter-cell handover procedure, timer T7 is started after the BSC sends
the
HO RQD to the MSC and waits for the HO CMD command from the MSC. If no HO CMD is received by
the
BSC before T7 expires, the BSC re-sends the HO RQD message. The specific counter provides the
number
of failed outgoing external inter-cell handovers when the number of resending times has exceeded the
maximum configuration.
In the outgoing external inter-cell handover (excluding directed retry) procedure, the following
counters are
measured when T7 expires based on the channel type:
- H3320L:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_T7_EXP_SD_NOT_INCLUDE_DR
- H3327Lb:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_T7_EXP_TCHF_SIG
- H3328Lb:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_T7_EXP_TCHH_SIG
- H3327La:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_T7_EXP_TCHF_TRAF_CH
- H3328La:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_T7_EXP_TCHH_TRAF_CH
In the outgoing external inter-cell handover (directed retry) procedure, the following counter is
measured:
- H3321L:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_T7_EXP_DR
6. High HO fail (10)
(2) The following counters provide the number of times that the BSC terminates the outgoing external
inter-
cell handover because it receives an HO RQD REJ message from the MSC after sending the HO RQD
message to the MSC.
- H332Ka:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_REQ_REJ_OM_INTERVENTION: OM Intervention
- H332Kb:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_REQ_REJ_EQUIP_FAIL: Equipment Failure
- H332Kc:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_REQ_REJ_NO_RADIO_RES: No Radio Resource Available
- H332Kd:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_REQ_REJ_REQ_NO_TER_RES: Requested Terrestrial
Resource Unavailable
- H332Ke:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_REQ_REJ_BSS_NOT_EQUIP: BSS not Equipped
- H332Kf:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_REQ_REJ_INVALID_CELL: Invalid Cell
- H332Kg:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_REQ_REJ_REQ_TRANS_NO_ADAPT: Requested
Transcoding/Rate Adaption Unavailable
- H332Kh:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_REQ_REJ_CIRCUIT_POOL_MISMATCH: Circuit Pool
Mismatch
- H332Ki:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_REQ_REJ_REQ_NO_SV: Requested Speech Version
Unavailable
- H332Kj:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_REQ_REJ_CIPH_ALG_NOT_SUPPORT: Ciphering Algorithm
not Supported
- H332Kk:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_REQ_REJ_TER_CIR_ALLOC: Terrestrial Circuit Already
Allocated
- H332Kl:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_REQ_REJ_INVALID_MSG: Invalid Message
- H332Km:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_REQ_REJ_PROTOCOL_ERR: Protocol Error between BSS
and MSC
- H332Kn:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_REQ_REJ_OTHER: Other Causes
(3) In the outgoing external inter-cell handover procedure, the BSC sends a HO CMD message to the MS
through the originating cell and initiates timer T8 to wait for a CLEAR CMD message from the MSC which
will indicate Successful Handover. If the MS reconnects to the old channel and sends an HO FAIL message
on the old channel before T8 expires, the specific one of the following counters is measured in the target cell
based on the cause value in the HO FAIL message.
- H332Da:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_ABNORM_REL_UNS:
Abnormal Release, Unspecified
- H332Db:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_ABNORM_REL_CHN:
Abnormal Release, Channel Unacceptable
- H332Dc:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_ABNORM_REL_EXP:
Abnormal Release, Timer Expired
- H332Dd:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_ABNORM_REL_NO_ACT:
No Activity on the Radio Path
- H332De:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_PREEMPT: Preemptive
Release
- H332Df:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_HO_TA: Timing Advance
out of Range
- H332Dg:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_CH_MODE: Channel
Mode Unavailable
- H332Dh:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_FREQ: Frequency
Unavailable
- H332Di:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_CALL_CLR: Call Already
Cleared
- H332Dj:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_SEMANT: Semantically
Incorrect Message
- H332Dk:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_INVALID_MAN: Invalid
Mandatory Information
- H332Dl:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_MSG_TYPE_NEXISTENT:
Message Type Non-existent or Not Implemented
- H332Dm:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_MSG_TYPE_NOT_CO
MPATIBLE: Message Type Not Compatible with Protocol State
- H332Dn:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_CONDIT: Conditional IE
Error
- H332Do:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_NO_CA: No Cell Allocation
Available
- H332Dp:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_PROTOCL: Protocol Error
Unspecified
- H332Dq:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_RECONN_SUCC_MS_RPT_OTHER: Other Causes
(4) In the outgoing external inter-cell handover procedure, after sending the HO CMD message to the
MS,
the BSC starts the timer T8 to wait for the CLEAR CMD message from the MSC. The specific counter
provides the number of times that the BSC terminates the handover due to the expiration of T8.
In the outgoing external inter-cell handover (excluding directed retry) procedure, the following
counters are
measured when T8 expires based on the channel type:
- H3320C:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_T8_EXP_SD_NOT_INCLUDE_DR
- H3327Cb:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_T8_EXP_TCHF_SIG
- H3328Cb:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_T8_EXP_TCHH_SIG
- H3327Ca:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_T8_EXP_TCHF_TRAF_CH
- H3328Ca:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_T8_EXP_TCHH_TRAF_CH
In the outgoing external inter-cell handover (directed retry) procedure, the following counter is
measured:
- H3321C:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_T8_EXP_DR
Note: The counter CH332C:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_T8_EXP is the sum of all the above

counters, i.e. the six counters above are sub-items of this counter.
(5) The following counters provides the number of times that the BSC terminates the outgoing external
inter-
cell handover because the BSC receives a CLEAR CMD message from the MSC and the cause value
carried in the message is not Handover successful.
- H332Ha:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_MSC_CLR_RADIO_INTF_MSG_FAIL: Radio Interface

Message Failure
- H332Hb:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_MSC_CLR_RADIO_INTF_FAIL: Radio Interface Failure
- H332Hc:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_MSC_CLR_OM_INTERVENTION: OM Intervention
- H332Hd:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_MSC_CLR_EQUIP_FAIL: Equipment Failure
- H332He:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_MSC_CLR_PREEMPTION: Preemption
- H332Hf:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_MSC_CLR_INVALID_MSG: Invalid Message
- H332Hg:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_MSC_CLR_PROTOCOL_ERR: Protocol Error between
BSS and MSC
- H332Hh:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_MSC_CLR_OTHER: Other Causes
(6) The following counter provides the number of failed outgoing external inter-cell handovers when
the BSC
detects an SS7 link failure on the A interface and releases the call:
- H332G:CELL_INTERBSC_OUTCELL_HO_FAIL_MSC_CLR_A_INTF_FAIL
2. Check interference in source and target cells. High interference can cause handover failure.
3. Check whether ping-pong handover occurs due to no dominant server in the area. Ping-pong may
lead to HO failures.
4. Parameters that affect HO Success Rate:
- T3103A: Timer started after the BSC delivers a HANDOVER COMMAND in an intra-BSC inter-cell
handover. If the BSC receives a HANDOVER COMPLETE message before this timer expires, the timer
stops. If this timer expires, the BSC considers the handover as failed. Recommended value: 10000 ms
- T7: Timer is started after the BSC sends the HO RQD to the MSC and waits for the HO CMD command
from the MSC in an inter-BSC inter-cell handover procedure. Recommended value: 10000 ms
- T8: After sending the HO CMD message to the MS, the BSC starts this timer to wait for the CLEAR
CMD
message from the MSC in an inter-BSC inter-cell handover procedure. Recommended value: 10000 ms
7. Low Coverage (1)
1. TA measurements vs. cell radius
The following counters provide TA distribution per TRX in the cell. The measurements can be checked
versus cell radius to identify possible coverage problems.
- S4420A:TRX_MR_NUM_BY_TA_20
- S4430A:TRX_MR_NUM_BY_TA_30_TO_31
- S4463A:TRX_MR_NUM_BY_TA_GT_63
7. Low Coverage (2)
2. Rxlevel & Rxquality measurements
BSC receives reports that contain the uplink and downlink receive level rank and the uplink and downlink
receive quality rank.
- The receive level ranges from rank 0 to rank 7. Each rank corresponds to a receive level range.
- The receive quality ranges from rank 0 to rank 7. Each rank corresponds to a bit error rate range.
Receive Level Rank Receive Level (dBm) Receive Quality Rank Bit Error Rate
0 -100 0 < 0.2%
1 (-100,-95] 1 0.2%-0.4%
2 (-95,-90] 2 0.4 %-0.8%
3 (-90,-85] 3 0.8%-1.6%
4 (-85,-80] 4 1.6%-3.2%
5 (-80,-75] 5 3.2%-6.4%
6 (-75,-70] 6 6.4%-12.8%
7 > -70 7 > 12.8%
Receive Level Measurement, together with Receive Quality Measurement per TRX, reflects the radio signal
coverage and interference of a cell. For example, a high ratio of high level and low quality suggests possible
interference; a high ratio of low level and low quality suggests poor coverage.
7. Low Coverage (3)
TCHF Receive Level Measurement per TRX provides the number of measurement reports from the
TCHF that contain receive level rank and receive quality rank. TCHF receive level and quality measurements
for UL and DL are given by following counters:
- S4100A:TRX_FR_UP_LEV_0_RX_QLTY_0 - S4100B:TRX_FR_DOWN_LEV_0_RX_QLTY_0
... ..
Saaaaa:TRX_FR_UP_LEV_x_RX_QLTY_y Saaaaa:TRX_FR_UP_LEV_x_RX_QLTY_y
where: aaaaa=counter ID, x=receive level rank (0~7), y=receive quality rank (0~7)
TCHH Receive Level Measurement per TRX refers to the measurement of the sampled receive level
ranks and receive quality ranks in the MRs on the TCHH. TCHH receive level and quality measurements for
UL and DL are given by following counters:
- S4100C:TRX_HR_UP_LEV_0_RX_QLTY_0 - S4100D:TRX_HR_DOWN_LEV_0_RX_QLTY_0

Saaaaa:TRX_HR_UP_LEV_x_RX_QLTY_y Saaaaa:TRX_FR_UP_LEV_x_RX_QLTY_y
where: aaaaa=counter ID, x=receive level rank (0~7), y=receive quality rank (0~7)
8. High Interference (1)
1. Idle UL Interference
The interference band is the uplink interference level of a channel reported by the BTS to the BSC in the
RF RESOURCE INDICATION message when the channel is idle. There are five levels of interference
bands. The threshold of each interference band can be configured:
Parameter ID Interference Band Recommended Value (dBm)

INTERFTHRES1 1 -105
INTERFTHRES2 2 -98
INTERFTHRES3 3 -92
INTERFTHRES4 4 -87
INTERFTHRES5 5 -85
Higher rank suggests higher interference level.

8. High Interference (2)
The following counters provide the average number of idle channels (TCHF, TCHH, or SDCCH) whose
interference level are in each interference band (1-5) per granularity period.
- AS4200A:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR1_AVR_NUM_SD
- AS4200B:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR2_AVR_NUM_SD
- AS4200C:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR3_AVR_NUM_SD
- AS4200D:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR4_AVR_NUM_SD
- AS4200E:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR5_AVR_NUM_SD
- AS4207A:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR1_AVR_NUM_FR
- AS4207B:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR2_AVR_NUM_FR
- AS4207C:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR3_AVR_NUM_FR
- AS4207D:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR4_AVR_NUM_FR
- AS4207E:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR5_AVR_NUM_FR
- AS4208A:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR1_AVR_NUM_HR
- AS4208B:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR2_AVR_NUM_HR
- AS4208C:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR3_AVR_NUM_HR
- AS4208D:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR4_AVR_NUM_HR
- AS4208E:TRX_CH_IN_INTFR5_AVR_NUM_HR
2. Rxlevel & Quality distributions can be used to identify interference in a cell. Refer to Case 7 of present
document for details.
3. TA measurements can be used to identify interference in a cell. Refer to Case 7 of present document for
details.
9. High Signalling Failures Before TBF Establishment (1)
- KPI formula:
Success Rate of Random Access (Packet Service) =
[A301H:CELL_IMM_ASS_CMD_PS]/[A300H:CELL_CH_REQ_PACKET_CALL]
AGCH Blocking = ([L3188A:CELL_DEL_IND]/[Channel Requests (all reasons)])*{100}
Paging Overload Rate PS = ([PACKET CCCH LOAD IND Messages Sent on Abis Interface])/([Delivered Paging Messages
for PS Service])*{100}
Analysis process:
1. High signalling failures before TBF establishment refers to failures on the CCCH. During one-phase access or two-
phase access on the CCCH, the MS fails to proceed to TBF establishment process due to failures on the CCCH
channel: AGCH or PCH. The failures most likely will be due to CCCH congestion.
2. Check the above KPIs to identify congestion on the AGCH or PCH.
3. Check relative alarms on the BSC/BTS in order to locate any hardware/software fault.
4. If blocking is the problem, proceed to the following steps in order to relieve congestion on the CCCH.
Note: For more details on CCCH capacity optimisation refer to HUA_2G_Capacity_Optimization_v1.0.ppt

document from Multivendor team in IMS.
5. Check the values of following parameters:
- BSAGBLKSRES: Blocks Reserved for AGCH. Value range: 0-7. Recommended: 2
- BSPAMFRAMS: Multi-Frames in a Cycle on the Paging CH. Value range: 2-9. Value depends on paging load.
Increase value when paging load increases. Value should be kept as small as possible.
- PAGTIMES: Paging Times. Value range: 1-8 (For the BTS, this parameter is used to determine paging
retransmissions. This parameter and the number of paging times configured in the MSC determine the number
of paging retransmissions.)
6. Check if Flow Control feature is enabled. Recommendation is that Flow Control is always enabled. Flow Control,
controls the arrival of paging messages on the A interface (MSC-BSC) and on the LAPD links (BSC-BTS).
7. Check volume of PS pagings (A331:CELL_PAGES_PS: Delivered Paging Messages for PS Service). If too high then
check if PCCCH is configured. If PCCCH is configured then packet pages can be transmitted through PPCH, thus
reducing PCH load.
CS pages can also be transmitted through packet control channels (PACCH or PPCH). For this to work, Gs interface
needs to be configured between SGSN-MSC. Also Network Mode of Operation should be set to 1.
- NMO: Network Operation Mode
8. Check Location Area: re-size might be required (make smaller).
9. Consider splitting cells in the paging overload area. This will grow CCCH capacity.
10. Add CCCH capacity (Extended BCCH).

Packet access on the CCCH signalling procedure:
MS BTS BSC MS BTS BSC

Channel Request Channel Request
Immediate Assignment Immediate Assignment
RLC data block(with TLLI) Packet Resource Request(with TLLI)

Packet Uplink Ack/Nack(with TLLI) Packet Uplink Assignment(with TLLI)
RLC data block(without TLLI) RLC data block

Packet Uplink Ack/Nack(without TLLI) Packet Uplink Ack/Nack
Fig.1 One-phase packet access on the uplink CCCH Fig.2 Two-phase packet access on the uplink CCCH
10. High TBF Establishment Failures (1)
- KPI formula:
Uplink Assignment Success Rate = (([Number of Successful Uplink GPRS TBF Establishments]+[Number of Successful
Uplink EGPRS TBF Establishments])/([Number of Uplink GPRS TBF Establishment Attempts]+[Number of Uplink EGPRS
TBF Establishment Attempts]))*{100}
Downlink Assignment Success Rate = (([Number of Successful Downlink GPRS TBF Establishments]+[Number of
Successful Downlink EGPRS TBF Establishments])/([Number of Downlink GPRS TBF Establishment Attempts]+[Number
of Downlink EGPRS TBF Establishment Attempts]))*{100}
Analysis process:
1. Identify the possible cause of the TBF establishment failures by checking the following counters:
A. UL GPRS TBF establishment failures:

- A9003:UP_GPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_NO_CHAN_RES: number of failed uplink GPRS TBF establishments
due to no channel available. Indicates congestion on the TCH; refer to Case 4 of present document for
handling suggestions.
- A9004:UP_GPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_MS_NO_RESP: number of failed uplink GPRS TBF establishments
due to no response from MS. Indicates bad RF conditions in the cell. Check cell coverage and interference.
- A9037:UP_GPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_SEND_ASSMSG_FAIL: In dedicated mode, the BSS sends the
resource assignment command to the MS over the DCCH if both the network and the MS support DTM
(Dual Transfer Mode simultaneous support of CS+PS service). If the resource assignment command is not
sent successfully and the establishment of the uplink GPRS TBF thus fails, this counter is incremented by
one.
- A9038:UP_GPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_MS_RESP_ASS_FAILURE: In dedicated mode, the BSS sends the
resource assignment command to the MS over the DCCH if both the network and the MS support DTM
(Dual Transfer Mode simultaneous support of CS+PS service). If the MS responds with the resource
assignment failure message and the establishment of the uplink GPRS TBF thus fails, this counter is
incremented by one.
- A9016:UP_GPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_OTHER_CAUSE: This measurement provides the number of failed
uplink GPRS TBF establishments due to other causes in a granularity period. This may happen because an
exception or failure occurs in the resource assignment or the overload protection (flow control) is triggered.
Check BSS alarms in order to locate possible faults in the equipment (h/w or s/w).
B. UL EGPRS TBF establishment failures:

- A9203:UP_EGPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_NO_CHAN_RES: number of failed uplink EGPRS TBF
establishments due to no channel available. Indicates congestion on the TCH; refer to Case 4 of present
document for handling suggestions.
- A9204:UP_EGPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_MS_NO_RESP: number of failed uplink EGPRS TBF
establishments due to no response from MS. Indicates bad RF conditions in the cell. Check cell coverage
and interference.
- A9235:UP_EGPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_SEND_ASSMSG_FAIL: In dedicated mode, the BSS sends the
resource assignment command to the MS over the DCCH if both the network and the MS support DTM. If
the resource assignment command is not sent successfully and the establishment of the uplink EGPRS TBF
thus fails, this counter is incremented by one.
- A9236:UP_EGPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_MS_RESP_ASS_FAILURE: In dedicated mode, the BSS sends the
the MS responds with the resource assignment failure message and the establishment of the uplink EGPRS
TBF thus fails, this counter is incremented by one.
- A9216:UP_EGPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_OTHER_CAUSE: This measurement provides the number of failed
uplink EGPRS TBF establishments due to other causes in a granularity period. This may happen because an
exception or failure occurs in the resource assignment or the overload protection (flow control) is triggered.
Check BSS alarms in order to locate possible faults in the equipment (h/w or s/w).
C. DL GPRS TBF establishment failures:

- A9103:DOWN_GPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_NO_CHAN_RES: number of failed downlink GPRS TBF
- A9104:DOWN_GPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_MS_NO_RESP: number of failed downlink GPRS TBF
and interference.
- A9135:DOWN_GPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_SEND_ASSMSG_FAIL: In dedicated mode, the BSS sends the
the resource assignment command is not sent successfully and the establishment of the downlink GPRS
- A9136:DOWN_GPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_MS_RESP_ASS_FAILURE: In dedicated mode, the BSS sends
the resource assignment command to the MS over the DCCH if both the network and the MS support DTM.
If the MS responds with the resource assignment failure message and the establishment of the downlink
GPRS TBF thus fails, this counter is incremented by one.
- A9115:DOWN_GPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_OTHER_CAUSE: This measurement provides the number of
failed downlink GPRS TBF establishments due to other causes in a granularity period. This may happen
because an exception or failure occurs in the resource assignment or the overload protection (flow control) is
triggered. Check BSS alarms in order to locate possible faults in the equipment (h/w or s/w).
D. DL EGPRS TBF establishment failures:
- A9303:DOWN_EGPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_NO_CHAN_RES: number of failed downlink EGPRS TBF
- A9304:DOWN_EGPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_MS_NO_RESP: number of failed downlink EGPRS TBF
and interference.
- A9333:DOWN_EGPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_SEND_ASSMSG_FAIL: In dedicated mode, the BSS sends the
the resource assignment command is not sent successfully and the establishment of the downlink EGPRS
- A9334:DOWN_EGPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_MS_RESP_ASS_FAILURE: In dedicated mode, the BSS sends
the resource assignment command to the MS over the DCCH if both the network and the MS support DTM.
If the MS responds with the resource assignment failure message and the establishment of the downlink
EGPRS TBF thus fails, this counter is incremented by one.
- A9315:DOWN_EGPRS_TBF_ESTB_FAIL_OTHER_CAUSE: This measurement provides the number of
failed downlink EGPRS TBF establishments due to other causes in a granularity period. This may happen
because an exception or failure occurs in the resource assignment or the overload protection (flow control) is
triggered. Check BSS alarms in order to locate possible faults in the equipment (h/w or s/w).
Summary of corrective actions:
1. If TBF establishment failure is due to congestion in TCH, refer to Case 4 of present document for handling
suggestions. In brief:
- Check availability of current and neighbouring sites in order to make sure that TCH congestion is not due to
unavailability issues.
- Check FR/HR parameterization (including AMR if enabled in the network). Check usage of HR resources.
- Check Load balancing configuration between cells.
- Add TRX.
2. If TBF establishment failure is due to poor RF quality, then:

- Check cell coverage and interference. Refer to Cases 7, 8 of present document for more details on how to
check signal strength and quality in Huawei 2G system.
- Adjust antenna parameters (tilt, azimuth) to improve coverage and/or suppress interference in the
problematic areas.
- Check antenna line (feeders, jumpers) to identify faulty connections.
- Check BTS hardware (relative alarms) to identify faulty TRXs.
3. If TBF establishment failure is due to equipment fault, check relative BSS alarms (hardware and software
alarms) in order to identify the faulty part. Repair or replace the faulty equipment once found.
11. High TBF Drops (1)
- KPI formula:
Uplink GPRS TBF Drop Rate = (([Number of Uplink GPRS TBF Abnormal Releases due to N3101 Overflow (MS No
Response)]+[Number of Uplink GPRS TBF Abnormal Releases due to N3103 Overflow (MS No Response)])/[Number of
Successful Uplink GPRS TBF Establishments])*{100}
Uplink EGPRS TBF Drop Rate = (([Number of Uplink EGPRS TBF Abnormal Releases due to N3101 Overflow (MS No
Response)]+[Number of Uplink EGPRS TBF Abnormal Releases due to N3103 Overflow (MS No Response)])/[Number
of Successful Uplink EGPRS TBF Establishment])*{100}
Downlink GPRS TBF Drop Rate = ([Number of Downlink GPRS intermit transfers]/[Number of Successful Downlink
GPRS TBF Establishments])*{100}
Downlink EGPRS TBF Drop Rate = ([Number of Downlink EGPRS intermit transfers]/[Number of Successful Downlink
EGPRS TBF Establishments])*{100}
Analysis process:
1. Identify the possible cause of the TBF drops by checking the following counters:
A. UL GPRS TBF Drops:

- A9006:UP_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_N3101_OVERFLOW: Number of Uplink GPRS TBF Abnormal
Releases due to N3101 Overflow (MS No Response). Indicates poor radio conditions in the cell. Check
signal level, signal quality and interference in the cell.
- A9007:UP_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_N3103_OVERFLOW: Number of Uplink GPRS TBF Abnormal
Additional UL GPRS TBF abnormal releases:
- A9008:UP_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_SUSPEND: number of uplink GPRS TBF abnormal releases due
to cell suspension. This may happen because the MS often initiates CS services during the process of PS
services. Another possible cause is that the cell is on the edge of the network location area and therefore the
location update of the MS is frequent.
- A9009:UP_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_FLUSH: number of uplink GPRS TBF abnormal releases due to
cell flush. This may happen because the cell reselection procedure is frequently initiated by the MS.
- A9010:UP_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_NO_CHAN_RES: number of uplink GPRS TBF abnormal
releases due to no channel. Indicates that the channel malfunction is frequent or the channel is blocked
manually. Also indicates congestion on the traffic channel. To guarantee stable PS service in a cell with
heavy CS traffic, add fixed packet channels.
- A9017:UP_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_CHAN_PREEMPT: number of uplink GPRS TBF abnormal
releases due to channel preemption. Preemption may happen because congestion occurs on the Abis
interface or the dynamic PDCHs in use are occupied by the CS services. Check relative alarms to locate the
cause.
- A9018:UP_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_OTHER_CAUSE: number of uplink GPRS TBF abnormal
releases due to other causes. This may happen because of incorrect parameters or the number of uplink
GPRS TBFs on the PDCH reaches the limit or the cell is manually blocked. Check relative alarms to locate
the cause.
- A9034: UP_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_EGPRS_TBF_CONNECT: number of abnormal uplink GPRS
TBF releases due to the access of the EGPRS service.
- A9039:UP_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_CS_HO: number of uplink GPRS TBF abnormal releases due to
CS handover.
B. UL EGPRS TBF Drops:
- A9206:UP_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_N3101_OVERFLOW: Number of Uplink EGPRS TBF Abnormal
- A9207: UP_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_N3103_OVERFLOW: Number of Uplink EGPRS TBF Abnormal
Additional UL EGPRS TBF abnormal releases:

- A9208:UP_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_SUSPEND: number of uplink EGPRS TBF abnormal releases
due to cell suspension. This may happen because the MS often initiates CS services during the process of
PS services. Another possible cause is that the cell is on the edge of the network location area and therefore
the location update of the MS is frequent.
- A9209:UP_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_FLUSH: number of uplink EGPRS TBF abnormal releases due
to cell flush. This may happen because the cell reselection procedure is frequently initiated by the MS.
Check and tune if necessary cell reselection parameters in the area.
- A9210:UP_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_NO_CHAN_RES: number of uplink EGPRS TBF abnormal
- A9217:UP_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_CHAN_PREEMPT: number of uplink EGPRS TBF abnormal
cause.
- A9218:UP_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_OTHER_CAUSE: number of uplink EGPRS TBF abnormal
releases due to other causes. This may happen because of incorrect parameters or flow control or the cell is
manually blocked. Check relative alarms to locate the cause.
- A9237:UP_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_CS_HO: number of uplink EGPRS TBF abnormal releases due
to CS handover.
C. DL GPRS TBF Drops:

- A9118:DOWN_GPRS_TRANS_INTERRUPT_TIMES: number of intermitted downlink GPRS TBF transfers
in a granularity period. The counter is incremented because the downlink PDU buffer is emptied upon
abnormal downlink GPRS TBF releases due to SUSPEND, FLUSH, or failed downlink re-establishments due
to other causes.
- A9106:DOWN_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_N3105_OVERFLOW: number of downlink GPRS TBF

abnormal releases due to N3105 overflow. Indicates bad radio conditions in the cell. Check coverage and
interference in the cell.
- A9107:DOWN_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_SUSPEND: number of downlink GPRS TBF abnormal
releases due to cell suspension. This may happen because the MS often initiates CS services during the
process of PS services. Another possible cause is that the cell is on the edge of the network location area
and therefore the location update of the MS is frequent.
- A9108:DOWN_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_FLUSH: number of downlink GPRS TBF abnormal releases
due to cell flush. This may happen because the cell reselection procedure is frequently initiated by the MS.
Check and tune if necessary cell reselection parameters in the area.
- A9109:DOWN_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_NO_CHAN_RES: number of downlink GPRS TBF abnormal
- A9116:DOWN_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_CHAN_PREEMPT: number of downlink GPRS TBF abnormal
cause.
- A9117:DOWN_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_OTHER_CAUSE: number of downlink GPRS TBF abnormal
releases due to other causes. This may happen because of incorrect parameters or the number of uplink
GPRS TBFs on the PDCH reaches the limit or the cell is manually blocked. Check relative alarms to locate
the cause.
- A9132:DOWN_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_EGPRS_TBF_CONNECT: number of abnormal downlink
GPRS TBF releases due to the access of the EGPRS service.
- A9137:DOWN_GPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_CS_HO: number of downlink GPRS TBF abnormal releases
due to CS handover.
D. DL EGPRS TBF Drops:

- A9318:DOWN_EGPRS_TRANS_INTERRUPT_TIMES: number of intermitted downlink EGPRS TBF
transfers in a granularity period. The counter is incremented because the downlink PDU buffer is emptied
upon abnormal downlink GPRS TBF releases due to SUSPEND, FLUSH, or failed downlink re-
establishments due to other causes.
- A9306:DOWN_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_N3105_OVERFLOW: number of downlink EGPRS TBF

abnormal releases due to N3105 overflow. Indicates bad radio conditions in the cell. Check coverage and
interference in the cell.
- A9307:DOWN_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_SUSPEND: number of downlink EGPRS TBF abnormal
releases due to cell suspension. This may happen because the MS often initiates CS services during the
process of PS services. Another possible cause is that the cell is on the edge of the network location area
and therefore the location update of the MS is frequent.
- A9308:DOWN_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_FLUSH: number of downlink EGPRS TBF abnormal
releases due to cell flush. This may happen because the cell reselection procedure is frequently initiated by
the MS. Check and tune if necessary cell reselection parameters in the area.
- A9309:DOWN_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_NO_CHAN_RES: number of downlink EGPRS TBF
abnormal releases due to no channel. Indicates that the channel malfunction is frequent or the channel is
blocked manually. Also indicates congestion on the traffic channel. To guarantee stable PS service in a cell
with heavy CS traffic, add fixed packet channels.
- A9316:DOWN_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_CHAN_PREEMPT: number of downlink EGPRS TBF
abnormal releases due to channel preemption. Preemption may happen because congestion occurs on the
Abis interface or the dynamic PDCHs in use are occupied by the CS services. Check relative alarms to
locate the cause.
- A9317:DOWN_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_OTHER_CAUSE: number of downlink EGPRS TBF
abnormal releases due to other causes. This may happen because of incorrect parameters or overload
protection (flow control) or the cell is manually blocked. Check relative alarms to locate the cause.
- A9335:DOWN_EGPRS_TBF_ABNORM_REL_CS_HO: number of downlink EGPRS TBF abnormal
releases due to CS handover.
12. Low Throughput (1)
- KPI formula:
A. Average cell throughput:
Average Throughput of Uplink GPRS RLC (kbit/s) =

([Total Number of Uplink RLC Data Blocks Using CS1]*{23}+
[Total Number of Uplink RLC Data Blocks Using CS2]*{34}+
[Total Number of Uplink RLC Data Blocks Using CS3]*{40}+
[Total Number of Uplink RLC Data Blocks UsingCS4]*{54})*{8}/({1000}*[Total time of Uplink GPRS TBFs
exist period])
Average Throughput of Downlink GPRS RLC (kbit/s) =

([Total Number of Downlink RLC Data Blocks Using CS1]*{23}+
[Total Number of Downlink RLC Data Blocks Using CS2]*{34}+
[Total Number of Downlink RLC Data Blocks Using CS3]*{40}+
[Total Number of Downlink RLC Data Blocks Using CS4]*{54})*{8}/({1000}*[Total time of Downlink GPRS
TBFs exist period])
Average Throughput of uplink EGPRS RLC (kbit/s) =
([Total Number of Uplink EGPRS MCS1 RLC Data Blocks]*{22}+
[Total Number of Uplink EGPRS MCS2 RLC Data Blocks]*{28}+
[Total Number of Uplink EGPRS MCS9 RLC Data Blocks]*{74})*{8}/({1000}*[Total time of Uplink EGPRS
TBFs exist period])
Average Throughput of Downlink EGPRS RLC (kbit/s) =

([Total Number of Downlink EGPRS MCS1 RLC Data Blocks]*{22}+
[Total Number of Downlink EGPRS MCS2 RLC Data Blocks]*{28}+
[Total Number of Downlink EGPRS MCS6 RLC data blocks]*{74}+
[Total Number of Downlink EGPRS MCS9 RLC Data Blocks]*{74})*{8}/({1000}*[Total time of Downlink EGPRS TBFs exist
period])
B. Average throughput per TBF:
Average Throughput of Uplink GPRS TBF (kbit/s) = [Average Payload of Single Uplink GPRS TBF
(KB)]*{1024}*{8}/[Average Duration of Uplink GPRS TBF (s)]
Average Throughput of Uplink EGPRS TBF (kbit/s) = [Average Payload of Single Uplink EGPRS TBF
(KB)]*{1024}*{8}/[Average Duration of Uplink EGPRS TBF (s)]
Average Throughput of Downlink GPRS TBF (kbit/s) = [Average Payload of Single Downlink GPRS TBF
(KB)]*{1024}*{8}/[Average Duration of Downlink GPRS TBF (s)]
Average Throughput of Downlink EGPRS TBF (kbit/s) = [Average Payload of Single Downlink EGPRS TBF
(KB)]*{1024}*{8}/[Average Duration of Downlink EGPRS TBF (s)]
Analysis process:
1. Low throughput may be due to problems across the packet service transmission path. Thorough checks should be
done in Gb, Abis, Um interfaces. Also in SGSN, PCU, BSC systems.
2. Gb interface:
- Check usage of Gb links. Expand Gb capacity if congestion appears.
Gb usage can be checked through Real Time Monitoring function of BSC LMT: On the Trace & Monitor tab page,
choose Monitor > Monitor GPRS Flux.
Also Gb utilization can be checked through following counters:
- RL9608:BC_TRAN_UP_UTILIZATION_RATE: Uplink Utilization Rate on BC (%)
- RL9610:BC_TRAN_DOWN_UTILIZATION_RATE: Downlink Utilization Rate on BC (%)
Both counters above provide the ratio of actually used bandwidth over configured bandwidth on a BC of Gb.
- Check alarms on GDPUP board (BSC6000) or DPUd board (BSC6900) which are the boards that provide
PCU functionality in BSC (internal PCU).
3. Abis interface:
- Check for congestion on Abis interface. Congestion will lower the throughput.
- Higher CS and MCS coding schemes will occupy higher number of Abis timeslots. Check relative parameters for CS
transition:
- UPTHDCSUPGRADE1: Uplink TBF Threshold from CS1 to CS2
- UPTHDCSDEGRADE1: Uplink TBF Threshold from CS2 to CS1
- DNTHDCSUPGRADE1: Downlink TBF Threshold from CS1 to CS2

- DNTHDCSDEGRADE1: Downlink TBF Threshold from CS2 to CS1
Note: For more details on how to cope with Abis interface congestion refer to
HUA_2G_Capacity_Optimization_v1.0.pptx document from Multivendor Team in IMS.
4. Um interface:
- Check if TCH congestion exists on air interface. High CS usage will leave less dynamic PDCHs free for PS
service. Refer to Case 4 of present document for handling suggestions on TCH blocking.
- Check Radio quality in the cell. Bad quality will negatively affect throughput. Refer to Case 7 of
present document for more details on RxQual measurements.
- Check UL interference in the cell. High interference will negatively affect UL throughput. Refer to Case
8 of present document for more details on UL interference measurements.
Thank You

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2G OPTIMIZATION

GSM System Reminder

Frequency Band-Down Link Frequency Band-Up Link

E-GSM (Extended GSM) 925 935 MHz 880 890 MHz

P-GSM 900 935 960 MHz 890 915 MHz

GSM 1800 (DCS) 1805 1880 MHz 1710 1785 MHz

GSM 1900 (PCS) 1930 1990 MHz 1850 1910 MHz

But what do we mean by frequency Band?

UL Band 890MHz 915MHz, DL Band 935MHz 960MHz

Carrier separation = 200 KHz

935.2 935.6 Downlink

Bandwidth 25 MHz 35 MHz 75 MHz 60 MHz

Duplex distance 45 MHz 45 MHz 95 MHz 80 MHz

No. of carriers 124 174 374 299

BSC (Base Station Controller)

BTS (Base Transceiver Station)

SIM card (Subscriber Identification Module)

Frequency Band is divided into no. of frequencies.

Physical Channels vs. Logical Channels

Traffic Channels Control Channels

Half Rate Full Rate

Synchronization Channel Access Grant Channel Cell Broadcast Control Channel

Standalone Dedicated Control Channel

Full Rate Channels (FR)

Half Rate Channels (HR)

Traffic Channels Control Channels

Half Rate Full Rate Common Dedicated

Synchronization Channel Access Grant Channel Cell Broadcast Control Channel

Traffic Channels Control Channels

Half Rate Full Rate Common Dedicated

Synchronization Channel Access Grant Channel Cell Broadcast Control Channel

Frequency Correction Channel (FCCH)

cells. (DL Channel)

Half Rate Full Rate Common Dedicated

Synchronization Channel Access Grant Channel Cell Broadcast Control Channel

Paging Channel (PCH)

Traffic Channels Control Channels

Half Rate Full Rate Common Dedicated

Synchronization Channel Access Grant Channel Cell Broadcast Control Channel

Standalone Dedicated Control Channel (SDCCH)

Half Rate Full Rate Common Dedicated

Synchronization Channel Access Grant Channel Cell Broadcast Control Channel

Fast Associated Control Channel (FACCH)

Cell Broad Cast Channel (CBCH)

Traffic Channels Control Channels

Half Rate Full Rate Common Dedicated

Synchronization Channel Access Grant Channel Cell Broadcast Control Channel

Operator can be define several KPIs:

- Call Setup Success Rate (eg. CSSR 98%)

Evaluated for accessibility, retainability, usage, mobility & integrity

The KPI to be monitored for GERAN could be:

Call Success Rate

Call Setup Success Rate

Dropped Call Rate

27 2006 Nokia V1-Filename.ppt / yyyy-mm-dd /

Indicator Name 2G Call Success Rate (CSR)

SDCCH Blocking Rate = SDCCH_Blocking_A / SDCCH_Blocking_B.

Indicator Name 2G SDCCH Blocking Rate

SDCCH Blocking Rate = SDCCH_Block_A / SDCCH_Block_B

Indicator Name 2G SDCCH Drop Rate

Indicator Name 2G TCH Blocking Rate

TCH Blocking Rate = TCH_Block_A / TCH_Block_B

Indicator Name 2G TCH Assignment Failure Rate

TCH Assignment Failure Rate = TCH_Failure_A / TCH_Failure_B