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VELIZY
Originators HANDOVER PREPARATION
SYT
RELEASE B9
ABSTRACT
This document specifies the algorithms to be implemented in Release B9 of the Alcatel BSS for:
− Handover preparation,
− Directed retry preparation.
Approvals
Name C.LEJEUNE R.MAUGER ZHANG Y.
App. SYT DPM SYT CCM BSC DPM
Name U. TISCH
App. BTS DPM
HISTORY
1 SCOPE .............................................................................................................................................. 7
2 FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION.......................................................................................................... 7
2.1 Overview .................................................................................................................. 7
2.2 Cell configuration ................................................................................................... 7
2.2.1 Cell Environments............................................................................................................ 7
2.2.1.1 Conventional cell environment ............................................................................................................... 8
2.2.1.2 Hierarchical cell environment ............................................................................................................... 10
2.2.1.3 Multiband cell environment................................................................................................................... 11
2.2.1.4 3G cell environment. ............................................................................................................................ 12
2.2.2 Cell profiles .................................................................................................................... 12
2.2.3 3G cells.......................................................................................................................... 17
2.3 Handover preparation........................................................................................... 17
2.3.1 Functional entities of handover preparation................................................................... 17
2.3.2 Specific cases of application ......................................................................................... 18
2.3.3 Handover detection........................................................................................................ 18
2.3.3.1 Emergency intercell handovers ............................................................................................................ 20
2.3.3.1.1 Quality and Level causes (Causes 2, 3, 4, and 5) ................................................................... 20
2.3.3.1.2 Too long MS-BS distance cause (Cause 6) ............................................................................ 20
2.3.3.1.3 Too short MS-BS distance cause (Cause 22) ......................................................................... 21
2.3.3.1.4 Handovers specific to micro cells (Causes 7, 17, and 18)....................................................... 21
2.3.3.2 Better conditions intercell handovers.................................................................................................... 21
2.3.3.2.1 Power budget cause (Cause 12)............................................................................................. 21
2.3.3.2.2 Inter-layer handovers based on MS speed discrimination (Causes 12 and 14) ....................... 22
2.3.3.2.3 Preferred band cause (Cause 21) ........................................................................................... 23
2.3.3.2.4 Traffic handover (Cause 23) ................................................................................................... 24
2.3.3.2.5 General capture handover (Cause 24) .................................................................................... 24
2.3.3.2.6 Fast traffic handover (Cause 28)............................................................................................. 24
2.3.3.3 Emergency intracell handovers ............................................................................................................ 24
2.3.3.3.1 Interference or low level intracell handovers (Causes 10, 11, 15, and 16)............................... 24
2.3.3.4 Better conditions intracell handovers.................................................................................................... 25
2.3.3.4.1 Better conditions interzone handovers (Cause 13).................................................................. 25
2.3.3.5 Channel adaptation handovers............................................................................................................. 25
2.3.3.5.1 HR-to-FR channel adaptation (Cause 26) ............................................................................... 25
2.3.3.5.2 FR-to-HR channel adaptation (Cause 27) ............................................................................... 26
2.3.3.6 Resource management handovers ...................................................................................................... 26
2.3.3.7 2G-3G Handover.................................................................................................................................. 26
2.3.4 Handover candidate cell evaluation............................................................................... 27
2.3.4.1 Cell ordering according to target layer and target band ........................................................................ 27
2.3.4.2 Filtering process................................................................................................................................... 27
2.3.4.3 Candidate cell ranking.......................................................................................................................... 27
2.3.4.4 3G cell ranking ..................................................................................................................................... 28
2.3.5 Inhibition of handover .................................................................................................... 28
2.3.6 Functional diagram of Handover preparation ................................................................ 30
2.4 Directed retry preparation .................................................................................... 34
2.4.1 System aspects ............................................................................................................. 34
2.4.2 Functional description.................................................................................................... 34
2.4.3 Directed retry on handover alarms ................................................................................ 35
2.4.4 Forced directed retry...................................................................................................... 35
2.4.5 Inhibition of directed retry .............................................................................................. 35
3 DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR ................................................................................................................. 37
3.1 Functions linked to handover preparation......................................................... 37
3.1.1 Biband mobile stations................................................................................................... 37
3.1.2 Concentric cell and multiband cell ................................................................................. 37
3.1.2.1 Allocation in the inner zone in case of Normal Assignment .................................................................. 37
3.1.2.2 Allocation in the inner zone in case of incoming handover ................................................................... 38
3.1.2.3 Handover in a concentric or multiband cell........................................................................................... 39
3.1.3 MS speed discrimination ............................................................................................... 39
3.1.3.1 Basic principle...................................................................................................................................... 39
3.1.3.2 Required parameters and variables...................................................................................................... 40
3.1.3.3 Parameter initialisation and modification .............................................................................................. 41
3.1.4 Load management in hierarchical environment............................................................. 43
3.2 Handover preparation........................................................................................... 45
3.2.1 General .......................................................................................................................... 45
3.2.1.1 HO preparation configuration ............................................................................................................... 45
REFERENCED DOCUMENTS
Alcatel references
3GPP references
[ 37] 3GPP TS 44.018 Mobile radio interface layer 3 specification
[ 38] 3GPP TS 45.008 Radio subsystem link control
[ 39] 3GPP TS 48.058 BSC-BTS layer 3 specification
Note : Most of the SDL diagrams have been produced with the software tool GEODE which is a
trademark of VERILOG [ 41]. The SDL standard is defined in [ 42].
PREFACE
Not applicable
Handover preparation consists of two functions which are considered separately in this document :
− detection of the need to handover a radio connection,
− candidate cell list evaluation.
2 FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION
2.1 Overview
The main objective of the handover preparation, in connection with power control (See [ 32]), is to allow
a maximum number of MS to operate in the network while maintaining a minimum interference level.
The algorithms shall ensure that any mobile is connected with the cell in which the output powers from
the MS and the BS are as low as possible (to reduce MS power consumption and interference in the
network) while keeping a satisfactory link quality.
When on a sufficient duration the propagation conditions keep worsening, then action must be taken.
The first action is to increase the output power levels at the MS or the BS (for further details, see [ 32]).
When the maximum allowed value has been reached, a handover may become necessary.
To reflect this philosophy in macrocells (not in microcellular environment), the algorithm allows for
handover on quality and strength reasons only when the last step of power control has been reached.
Great care must be taken in choosing the relative values of the thresholds for power control and
handover as well as the averaging window sizes (smaller window size and higher threshold for power
control than for handover). It must be remembered that, although it is desired that the MS transmits
with the lowest possible power, it is more important not to lose a call. Thus early triggering for the
power control is possible, by choosing small values for the averaging window sizes and higher
comparison thresholds.
Reflecting this representation, the upper layer cells are often called "umbrella cells".
In a multiband network environment, the above three layers available for one frequency band can be
duplicated for the other frequency band so as to form a multiband network composed of six layers:
− DCS upper layer and GSM upper layer,
− DCS lower layer and GSM lower layer,
− DCS indoor layer and GSM indoor layer,
where GSM stands for GSM900 or GSM850 bands and DCS stands for DCS1800 or DCS1900
bands.The interest of the multiband network is to increase the capacity or the coverage of the network.
In a 3G cells environment, 2G cells can have 3G cells as neighbour cells. The 3G cells are described
with their UTRAN-FDD frequency in the UMTS band and their scrambling codes.
- concentric cell : a macrocell with two frequency groups covering two concentric zones. This
allows to use a smaller reuse distance for the inner zone frequencies and hence to densify an
existing network by introducing a small number of frequencies at the needed places.
Figure 2 shows the smaller reuse factor (here 3) for the inner zone frequencies in a traditional 9 cell
cluster.
- extended cell where two cells with collocated antennas provide coverage up to 70 km. The
application fields are both the low density areas and the off-shore coverage for coastal radio
communications.
Figure 3 and Figure 4 illustrate the layout of two associated cells making an extended cell. For
reference information on that feature, see [ 31].
Inner zone
f2 f1 f3
Outer zone
f1 f3 f2
Highw ay
outer cell
70km
35 km
inner
cell
outer cell
outer limit
This configuration will be of main interest for dense urban areas where some hot-spots are covered
by very small macrocells (less than 500 m radius) and continuous coverage is provided by a big
macrocell (5 to 10 km radius).
Figure 5 presents a possible application of the two-layer hierarchical network with macrocells for
both layers, in a middle size town.
mini cells
0.5<R<1 km
pedestrian area
Figure 5: Cell layout with mini cells below one umbrella cell
One layout is provided for microcellular applications, that should apply to very highly dense traffic
areas or when the available spectrum is very reduced. Figure 6 presents the cell layout for
existing cells
1<R<2 km
microcells
R < 300 m
In high traffic buildings, it is of main interest to install indoor cells. The addition of the indoor cells
allows to unload the existing micro and umbrella outdoor cells and to ensure a better radio
coverage inside buildings. Figure 7 shows an example of a cellular network including the indoor
layer cells.
Figure 7: Typical cellular network using three cell layers and two frequency bands.
An operator with licenses in the different frequency bands (GSM900 and DCS1800) can mix in its
network cells which use GSM frequency band with cells using DCS frequency band. This case is
referred to as multiband cell environment. In the Alcatel BSS, the following multiband cells are not
supported:
- Multiband cells using GSM850 and DCS1900 bands, and,
- Multiband cells using GSM900 and DCS1900 bands
Multiband cell environment is supposed to be made out of a main part with cells of same frequency
band. This band is the oldest one acquired by the operator and it is the most used in its network : it is
called the classical band.
When the operator cell deployment strategy is to increase the capacity of its network, the biband
mobiles (mobiles with capability in both frequency bands) are preferentially directed towards the new
cells which use the frequency band different from the classical one. That is why this band is called the
preferred band.
Multiband cell environment can be applied to conventional cell environment as well as hierarchical cell
environment. In this last case, the multilayer structure will interact with the multiband concept.
The optimisation of the use of the frequency resources is a main concern for network operators.
The Alcatel BSS provides a span of cell environments that allows to cover the whole range of traffic
density requirements : from very dense urban centres with microcells up to very low traffic areas
(desert or off shore) with extended cell sites.
These different types of cell environment must be controlled and administered in a flexible way by the
operator.
For this purpose, the Alcatel BSS provides a set of cell profiles, which enable the operator to make a
starting point configuration by just applying the default values of the profile. Each profile provides all the
configuration data associated to one given cell as default settable values. This includes handover
parameters, but also power control settings, timers.
Nine main monoband profiles are defined : single cell, micro cell, mini cell, umbrella cell, extended
inner cell, extended outer cell, concentric cell, concentric umbrella cell, and indoor micro cell. These
profiles are duplicated by the internal parameter cell_band_type which can have two different values
for each profile. In order to give the operator the possibility to have its personal usage of the ALCATEL
parameters, the profiles are user-editable. This means that all default values associated to one given
profile can be modified to reflect the standard usage of the operator.
These cell profiles correspond to one unique combination of the five parameters :
- Cell dimension type : this parameter identifies the cell size in a finite set of cell dimensions(macro or
micro).
- Cell layer type : this parameter defines the layer type of a cell in connection with other cells and with
itself. In single layer cell environment, all cells have the same layer type (single). In a hierarchical cell
environment, three cell layer types distinguish the upper layer cells, the lower layer cells, and the
indoor layer cells.
- Cell_partition type : this parameter defines the type of frequency partitioning that is used in the cell.
- Cell range : this parameter identifies the cell as a normal cell or a part of an extended cell
- Cell_band_type : this parameter defines the type of frequency band used in the cell
The first three parameters are settable on a per cell basis and changeable on-line by O&M.
The cell_range parameter is set at BTS initialisation time and only changeable off-line.
Cell_band_type is an internal parameter derived from the BCCH frequency of the serving cell
(BCCH_FREQUENCY) or from the BCCH frequency of the neighbour cells n
(BCCH_FREQUENCY(n)), reported by the mobile.
The concentric partition corresponds to the concentric or multiband cell case. In this case, the
frequency carriers are assigned to one or the other of the two concentric zones : inner and outer.
Cell range
Three values are possible : ### Normal
### Extended inner
### Extended outer
Cell_band_type is an internal parameter whose value depends on the BCCH frequency of the serving
cell (BCCH_FREQUENCY) or on the BCCH frequency given by the mobile for every reported
neighbour cell (BCCH_FREQUENCY(n), refer to [ 34]).
Note : the correspondence between the neighbour cell index and the frequency band of the neighbour
cell n is performed through the neighbour cell list (for further details see [ 22]).
Cell configuration
In the following "Cell configuration" will refer to the combination of the five parameters :
− Cell dimension type,
− Cell layer type,
− Cell partition type,
− Cell range,
− Cell band type.
The frequency range supported by the cell is indicated by the parameter FREQUENCY_RANGE. The
allowed ranges are PGSM, EGSM, DCS1800, DCS1900, and GSM850 for monoband cells, and
PGSM-DCS1800 or EGSM-DCS1800 for multiband cells. The term “E-GSM” is used for the whole
GSM-900 frequency band, i.e. the primary band (890-915 MHz / 935-960 MHz) plus the extension
band G1 (880-890 MHz / 925-935 MHz). The term “G1” is used for the extension band, whereas the
term “P-GSM” is used for the primary band. In the following, a cell supporting only the E-GSM band,
i.e. the P-GSM and G1 bands, is never referred to as a multiband cell.
In this release of the ALCATEL BSS, all the possible monoband cell configurations are given in Table
1. In the first column “Cell Profile” of Table 1, the term GSM stands for the GSM900 or GSM850 band
and the term DCS for the DCS1800 or DCS1900 band depending on the
PLMN_FREQUENCY_BANDS parameter. All the other monoband cell configurations are forbidden as
they are not relevant for operation.
The O&M functions shall ensure that the cell configurations managed by the handover preparation are
authorised. The selection of one given cell profile for applying default values will force the value of the
cell configuration.
In monoband cells, the frequency range parameter FREQUENCY_RANGE can be set to PGSM,
EGSM, DCS1800, DCS1900, or GSM850. If the parameter FREQUENCY_RANGE equals to PGSM
EGSM, or GSM850 the cell band type is GSM. If the parameter FREQUENCY_RANGE equals to
DCS1800 or DCS1900, the cell band type is DCS.
Note : - The duplication of the main profiles according to the values of the cell band type is performed
for every main profile. It gives a few cell profiles not really relevant (such as DCS extended
outer cell profile) but it prevents from dealing with exceptions.
Figure 9 depicts the outdoor monoband configurations of Table 1 for cell_range = normal and with
different values of cell band type. In Figure 9, GSM stands for GSM900/GSM850 and DCS for
DCS1800/DCS1900.
The ALCATEL handover preparation is derived from the basic algorithm found in Annex A of the 3GPP
Technical Specification 05.08 [ 38]. The main differences between both algorithms are described in [
19].
The handover preparation is in charge of detecting a need for handover and proposing a list of target
cells. Therefore it can be divided into two processes : handover detection and handover candidate
cell evaluation.
The handover detection process analyses the radio measurements reported by the BTS and the
possible alarms sent by RAM. Then, the candidate cell evaluation process is started each time a
handover cause (emergency or better conditions type) is fulfilled.
The handover candidate cell evaluation works out a list of possible candidate cells for the handover.
This list is sorted according to the evaluation of each cell as well as the layer they belong to (in a
hierarchical network) and the frequency band they use (in a multiband network).
Once the handover preparation is completed, the handover decision and execution (handover
management entity refer to [ 28) is performed under the MSC or BSC control. The directed retry
preparation (see definition in section 2.4) is performed by the handover preparation function.
Once the directed retry preparation is completed, the directed retry is performed either under the BSC
control (internal directed retry) or under the MSC control (external directed retry). These procedures
use signalling protocols described respectively in [ 23] and [ 24].
An example of implementation of these functions except for directed retry is given in the 3GPP
Technical Specification 45.008 [ 38].
The handover preparation requires indirectly (see below) input parameters provided by the function in
charge of the radio link measurements. This function is described in [ 22].
Most of the input data required by the handover functions are provided by a function called : Active
channel pre-processing. This function is described in [ 34]. It processes raw data given by the radio
link measurements (quality, level and distance) through the A-bis interface in compression mode or
non compression mode. The compression mode uses two functions: Radio measurements data
compression in the BTS and Radio measurements data decompression in the BSC. They are
described in [ 34].
For the handovers based on the radio measurements, each time a set of preprocessed (averaged)
measurements is available, the HO detection process checks whether a handover is needed or not. If
the need for a handover is detected, the target cell evaluation process is triggered. The need for
handovers often comes to compare a predefined threshold with a radio measurement. That is why this
process is sometimes called ‘HO threshold comparison’.
In case of an intercell handover alarm, the handover detection process gives to the cell evaluation
process :
− the preferred target cell layer : indoor, lower, upper or none
− the raw candidate cell list, which can be either all neighbours, or the subset which verify the
handover causes (plus other specific cells in particular cases). With each cell is given one of the
handover causes which have been verified.
Depending of the context of application, the emergency and better conditions HOs can be either
intercell or intracell HO. Six HO categories are then defined as shown in Table 3.
↓ Handover family
Emergency HO Emergency intracell HO Emergency intercell HO
The detection of a need for handover is performed through handover causes which are going to be
detailed. In what follows, each cause is thus identified with a number. The following sections detail the
different categories of handover according to the context of application (intercell or intracell) and the
handover cause.
Handover on "too low level" is used to avoid situations where the interference level is low, while the
attenuation is quite high. These conditions may appear for example in big city streets which enable a
line of sight propagation from the BTS antenna. There is in this case a risk of abrupt quality
degradation, if the MS moves away from the line of sight street.
This cause is different from the others as it is more preventive. It does not make use of the propagation
conditions of a call. It just does not allow a MS to talk to a BS if it is too far away.
It may then happen that these exceptional conditions suddenly drop and the link is lost which would not
have happened if the mobile had been connected to the closest cell. For these reasons also, this
cause does not wait for the power control to react.
The handovers Cause 7 come to check if the last consecutive SACCH frames have been correctly
received. The handovers Causes 17 and 18 are triggered when the level of the received signal is below
a certain threshold. These latter causes are sometimes called “level dropping under high threshold”.
The main drawback of this handover category is the risk of "ping-pong" effect, which is an oscillating
back and forth handover between two (or three) cells. As the "better conditions intercell" handover are
meant to find the "best cell", the variation of the radio conditions will trigger a big amount of better
conditions intercell handovers, if the algorithms have a too sensitive reaction. Hence, some
mechanisms are forecast, in order to prevent these oscillations from occurring repeatedly at given
places.
In order to avoid the cancellation of an on-going location service procedure, HOP inhibits the better
conditions intercell handovers for TCH to TCH or from SDCCH to SDCCH when a location procedure
is on-going (whatever the positioning method that the SMLC has selected).
However it would not be advisable to hand over the MS to another cell as soon as PBGT is greater
than 0, because the MS would probably oscillate between the two adjacent cells as the propagation
conditions vary. A hysteresis mechanism is implemented to avoid this undesirable effect.
The MS may be handed over from the serving cell indexed 0 to a neighbour cell indexed n only if the
power budget exceeds the handover Margin(0,n). The handover Margin(0,n) can be modified
according to the traffic situation in the serving cell and the neighbour cell n. In this way, power budget
handover can be delayed towards a loaded cell and traffic load handover can be triggered from a
loaded cell (see section 2.3.3.2.4.). Once the MS is handed over, the same algorithm is applied in the
new cell, and a new PBGT is computed (which will be close to the opposite value of PBGT in the old
cell) and compared to a new HOMargin. (Thus, the global hysteresis (from cell 0 to cell n and back to
cell 0) is the sum of the two HOMargins).
However, It is still possible that a ping-pong mechanism is created by different handover causes, for
instance a handover may be triggered towards a neighbour cell for bad quality, but in the neighbour
cell, a handover back may be triggered for power budget reasons. In order to avoid this, an additional
anti-ping-pong mechanism is implemented in the power budget calculation. It enables to penalise for a
certain time the cell on which the call has precedently been (See Section 6.1).
In case of handover from SDCCH to SDCCH, this cause does not take the traffic situation into
account.
In multiband cell environment, the mobile can operate in a different band than the frequency band of
the BCCHs. This can lead to circular ping-pong handovers from the inner zone if the new band is DCS
1800 or to the impossibility to trigger PBGT handovers from the inner zone if the preferred band is
GSM 900.
To avoid this problem, when the MS is in the inner zone of a multiband cell, it may be handed over
from the serving cell indexed 0 to a neighbour multiband cell indexed n only if the power budget
exceeds the handover Margin(0,n) plus the offset handover margin which allows to handicap or favour
the PBGT (In the inner zone, the cause “power budget” is only checked between multiband cells, in a
way to maintain the MS in the preferred band).
The offset handover margin can possibly be used in concentric cells.
In some specific network, the operator may have two different frequency band areas in its network, the
first one using the classical frequency band cell (e.g. GSM900 or GSM850), and the second one using
the new frequency band (e.g. DCS1800 or DCS1900). At the border of these two areas, handovers
based on a power budget comparison are required so as to approach the behaviour of power budget
handovers between cells having the same frequency band. These handovers are allowed by setting
the specific flag EN_MULTIBAND_PBGT_HO defined on a per cell basis at the OMC. Only biband MS
can perform these multiband power budget handovers.
A MS which moves fast in a lower or indoor layer cell is preferentially handed over to an upper layer
cell, i.e. an umbrella cell, so as to limit the repetition of intra-layer handovers that would have occurred
if the MS were stayed in the same layer cells. This has also the advantage of reducing the signalling
generated by the repetitive intra-layer handovers. In such a situation, the power budget cause (Cause
12) associated with the MS speed measure is employed to trigger a handover from a lower or indoor
layer to an upper layer.
The frequencies on the upper layer can not be reused within a small range and will therefore be a
critical resource in hierarchical cell structures. Therefore, the load of the umbrella cell may be a critical
problem and a mechanism is required to stop handovers into the upper layer when it becomes
overloaded. That is why the estimation of the MS speed and the calculation of the power budget
PBGT(n) depend on the load of the upper layer cells.
Another advantage of the hierarchical cell structure is that the umbrella cell can offer a number of
overflow channels, for calls which are queued in the lower or indoor layers (see directed retry Section
2.4). This allows a much better usage of the traffic capacity of the lower or indoor layers cells,
especially when they have only 1 or 2 TRX. This is a second reason why the upper layer cells should
not be overloaded.
In order to unload the umbrella cells, the MS that moves slowly in an upper layer cell must be handed
over the lower or indoor layers cells. Without such an handover, the GSM Phase 1 slow moving MS
can connect to the upper layer cell, and can stay in this layer even if the MS do not move at all. The
handovers (Cause 14) from an upper layer cell to an indoor or lower layer cell allow to capture the slow
mobile.
When a MS moves slowly in a lower layer cell and receives a good signal from a neighbour indoor
layer cell, the MS will be captured by the indoor layer cell with Cause 14. This type of capture allows to
unload the lower layer cell.
Then, an intercell multiband handover will be performed towards the neighbour cell. The only
requirement for this handover is that the serving cell uses the classical band and the target cell, the
preferred band.
This cause is inhibited for handover from SDCCH to SDCCH.
2.3.3.3.1 Interference or low level intracell handovers (Causes 10, 11, 15, and 16)
Emergency handovers Causes 15 and 16 are triggered for intracell application when the radio link is
deemed to suffer a high level of interference. In this case, the channel assigned to the call is changed
for another channel in the same cell, on which the measured interference level is the smallest possible.
Since AMR calls can be performed over worse carrier-to-interference ratios than non AMR calls, the
parameter setting for Causes 15 and 16 is different for non AMR and AMR calls.
In the case of concentric cell or multiband cell environment, emergency intracell handovers Causes 10
and 11 concern handovers from the inner to the outer zone of the same cell (they are called interzone
In order to avoid the cancellation of an on-going location service procedure, HOP inhibits the better
conditions intracell handovers (always from TCH to TCH) when a location procedure is on-going
(whatever the positioning method that the SMLC has selected).
For multiband cells, this same cause forces an intracell handover from an outer zone TCH in the
classical band to an inner zone TCH in the preferred band.
The handover detection is made on signal levels coming from the serving cell and possibly from the
neighbour cells.
The causes specific to the channel adaptation handovers are listed in Table 8.
There are two ways to trigger Cause 26. The first way consists of triggering Cause 26 only if a previous
intracell handover Cause 15 or 16 have been previously detected in the serving cell for the current MS.
This way is intended to non-hopping channels for which an intracell handover Cause 15 or 16 is
sometimes not sufficient to improve the quality of the call. If the quality is not sufficient due to a too
high interference level, instead of continuing triggering intracell handover Cause 15 or 16, a HR-to-FR
channel adaptation is triggered thanks to Cause 26. The second way applies when the intracell
handover Causes 15 and 16 are both disable for AMR calls. If a too high level of interference is
detected in the serving cell for the current MS, Cause 26 is then triggered. This second way intends to
improve the quality of hopping channels which quality is generally not much improved after an intracell
handover Cause 15 or 16.
In order to avoid the cancellation of an on-going location service procedure, HOP inhibits the FR-to-HR
channel adaptation handovers when a location procedure is on-going (whatever the positioning method
that the SMLC has selected).
From resource allocation point of view, in case of a CS ongoing call is located in PS preference zone,
not only non pre-emptable PS zone, but also MAX_SPDCH_LIMIT zone, at this situation, an intra-cell
handover should be triggered to move the CS call to CS preference zone.
NOTE: MAX_SPDCH_LIMIT is the number of SPDCHs that the BSC will allocate to the MFS, see ref[
30].
In hierarchical environment, the HO detection process can indicate a preferred layer where the
handover must be directed to. If this indication is used, the candidate cell evaluation puts in the first
places of the list, the candidate cells belonging to the preferred layer. They are followed by the cells of
the other layer, providing they are also correct candidates.
After this possible distinction, in each part of the list, the candidate cell evaluation sorts the candidate
cells according to the parameter PRIORITY(0,n) (parameter on line changeable from the OMC-R). The
cells having the highest priority are put in the first place of the list. They are followed by the cells having
lowest priorities. The PRIORITY(0,n) is only used when the flag EN_PRIORTY_ORDERING is set to
enable.
In case of emergency handover, for each category (preferred layer and other layer) and between cells
having the same priority, the candidate cell evaluation sorts the candidate cells according to the
frequency band they use : the cells which use the same frequency band as the serving cell are put first
and they are followed by the cells which use the other frequency band.
The cell evaluation function (see section 3.2.3.) is then applied to the different candidate cell lists
defined from the preferred layer indication, the PRIORITY(0,n) parameter and the frequency band of
the serving cell (only in case of emergency handover).
with ORDER
- The candidate cell evaluation process interacts with the handover detection by use of cause
dependent handover margins.
- The candidate cell evaluation process takes into account the number of free TCH in the candidate
cells.
The type of cell evaluation is chosen by the operator on a (serving) cell basis and is provided to the
BSC with the parameter CELL_EV.
ORDER GRADE
Power budget X X
Number of free TCH/FS X(1)
Cell load (%) X(1)
Handover type X
Table 11: Comparison of candidate cell evaluation algorithms
(1) The number of free TCH in the calculation of ORDER and the cell load in the calculation of
GRADE will only be used in case of an internal candidate cell and when the flag
EN_LOAD_ORDER is set to ENABLE. Otherwise, there is no offset due to load information in
the candidate cell evaluation.
Note: The BSC maintains a filtered list with both 2G and 3G cells with associated handover causes,
because in the case where all the 3G cells are rejected, it shall be possible to handover to a 2G cell.
The following flags are set per cell and are on-line changeable.
These flags are used by the handover management entity (see [ 28]). They are not used by the
handover preparation function, except for HO_INTERCELL_ALLOWED and
EN_INTRACELL_REPEATED. They are mentioned only for information with respect to the flags
described in the next paragraph.
The following flags can be used to inhibit and control the execution of a handover in the BSC :
- HO_INTERCELL_ALLOWED : enable/disable intercell handover,
- HO_INTRACELL_ALLOWED : inhibition of all intracell (BSC internal) handovers (TCH and SDCCH).
This flag does not control the inhibition of interzone handover (see below).
- EN_IC_HO : inhibition of all incoming handovers
- EN_INTRACELL_REPEATED : inhibition of repetition of intracell handover , by triggering an intercell
handover with cause "Quality too low".
The following flags can be used to inhibit the detection of a handover cause.
- HO_INTERCELL_ALLOWED : enable/disable intercell handover causes,
- EN_INTRACELL_REPEATED : enable/disable repetition of intracell handover causes,
- EN_RXQUAL_UL : enable/disable too low quality uplink cause,
- EN_RXQUAL_DL : enable/disable too low quality downlink cause,
- EN_RXLEV_UL : enable/disable too low level uplink cause,
- EN_RXLEV_DL : enable/disable too low level downlink cause,
- EN_PBGT_HO : enable/disable power budget cause,
- EN_MULTIBAND_PBGT_HO : enable/disable the power budget handovers Cause 12 and the
traffic handovers Cause 23 between cells belonging to different frequency bands
- EN_DIST_HO : enable/disable too long MS-BS distance cause,
- EN_INTRA_UL : enable/disable too high interference uplink cause for non AMR calls,
- EN_INTRA_UL_AMR : enable/disable too high interference uplink cause for AMR calls,
- EN_INTRA_DL : enable/disable too high interference downlink cause for non AMR calls,
- EN_INTRA_DL_AMR : enable/disable too high interference downlink cause for AMR calls,
- EN_MCHO_H_UL : enable/disable level uplink, high threshold, microcell cause,
- EN_MCHO_H_DL : enable/disable level downlink, high threshold, microcell cause,
- EN_MCHO_RESCUE : enable/disable microcell to macrocell handover on missing MS measurement
reports,
- EN_MCHO_NCELL : enable/disable upper to lower layer handover cause.
- EN_PREFERRED_BAND_HO : enable/disable multiband handover cause.
- EN_BETTER_ZONE_HO : enable/disable too high level on the uplink and the downlink, outer zone
cause.
- EN_TRAFFIC_HO(0,n) : enable/disable traffic HO cause from the serving cell to the cell n.
- EN_GENERAL_CAPTURE_HO : enable/disable general capture handover cause.
- EN_AMR_CA : enable/disable intracell HO for AMR channel adaptation (Causes 26 and 27)
When these flags are set to DISABLE, the corresponding handover alarms are not checked by the
handover detection function.
- EN_3G_HO: enable/disable Inter-system Handover.
Note 1: For the multiband handover cause, the enabling of the flag EN_PREFERRED_BAND_HO
does not imply automatically the execution of multiband handovers. It depends also on the flag
EN_INTERBAND_NEIGH used on a per BSS basis (see [ 33]).
Note 2: The flag to enable or disable Cause 29 and 30 arecontrolled by RAM (cause 29 and 30) and
the transcoder (cause 29 only) (See [ 30]).
The flags are per cell and on-line changeable, this means that for each cell the operator can enable or
disable some handover causes without releasing active calls in the cell.
Consistency checks are performed by the OMC-R, in order to maintain the overall coherence of all
flags with the type of the cell.
Providing the conditions defined in Section 3.2.4 are fulfilled, the timer T_INHIBIT_CPT inhibits the
capture handover causes for a while so as to avoid the ping pong effects in a multilayer/multiband
environment.
The parameter SDCCH_COUNTER allows to inhibit SDCCH handovers after completion of the
Immediate Assignment procedure during SDCCH_COUNTER successive SACCH frames (See
Section 3.3).
A handover cause due to too low level in the inner zone (causes 10 or 11) or the better zone cause
(cause 13) triggers an interzone handover (see section 3.2.2.1.2). An interzone handover is a particular
case of intracell handover.
The two HO causes (10, 11) cannot be enabled or disabled individually. These causes are enabled and
disabled when the parameter CELL_PARTITION_TYPE = CONCENTRIC and = NORMAL respectively
(see sections 2.2 and 3.2.2). Moreover the HO cause 13 must not be disabled in case of allocation in
the inner zone during Normal Assignment (the flag EN_BETTER_ZONE_HO should not be looked at
when deciding whether the MS should go to the inner zone or outer zone).
Therefore, HO_INTRACELL_ALLOWED flag does not control the enabling/disabling of the interzone
handover, but only of the intrazone handover (or interzone handover causes 15 or 16).
Finally , the flag EN_INTRACELL_REPEATED does not control the repetition of the interzone
handover.
The BSC receives raw measurement data from the BTS in the message MEASUREMENT RESULT if
EN_MEAS_COMPRESSION=DISABLE or compressed measurement data in the message
PREPROCESSED MEASUREMENT RESULT every SACCH multiframe period (see radio link
measurements, ref. [ 22] and Radio measurements data processing, ref. [ 34]). The BSC pre-
processes that data to detect HO threshold conditions for emergency, better conditions, and channel
adaptation handovers. The preprocessed measurement reports are therefore generated internally by
the BSC which uses them also for candidate cell evaluation.
The Active Channel Preprocessing function is not specified in this document (refer to [ 34]). That is
why it is not represented in bold type.
“MS Zone Indication Request”
T_INHIBIT_CPT
T_FILTER
P T_HCP
MS & BS
parameters
cell candidate cell evaluation parameters
configuration
parameters
CELL_EV
HO and DR
enabling flags "Start T_INHIBIT_CPT"
"Start T_HCP"
EN_CAUSE_28
Handover
averaged measurements detection
for handover detection “MS Zone Indication ACK (ZONE)”
HO cause,
raw cell list,
PREF_LAYER
“TCH usage information” New codec type
HO candidate “Alarm”
cell evaluation
Input flows
* EN_CAUSE_13: flag that indicates in concentric or multiband cells whether or not the inner zone
is more loaded than the outer zone.
Control flows
- MS and BS parameters :
Maximum and minimum MS/BS powers allowed in the cell :
MS_TXPWR_MAX, BS_TXPWR_MAX, MS_TXPWR_MIN, BS_TXPWR_MIN,
Maximum MS power in the inner zone of a concentric or multiband cell :
MS_TXPWR_MAX_INNER,
Maximum BS power in the inner zone of a concentric or multiband cell : BS_TXPWR_MAX_INNER.
- T_FILTER : Time after which a “no alarm” message (an alarm message with no candidate cell, see
section 3.2.4) is sent to the handover management entity, if no new alarm has been detected whilst
running.
- T_HCP : time during which penalty PING_PONG_HCP is applied to the preceding cell (cause 12);
time during which penalty is applied to the preceding inner zone (cause 13).
- T_INHIBIT_CPT: Time during which the capture handover Causes 14, 21, and 24 are inhibited.
- "Start DR algos " : indication to the handover preparation to start the preparation for directed retry.
This message is sent by the HOM entity.
- "Start HO" : indication to the handover preparation to start the handover for Causes 28 , 29 and 30.
This message is sent by the RAM entity.
- "Fast traffic HO request" : Request from the RAM entity for checking if the current call can
perform a fast traffic handover.
- “Move from PS to CS zone HO” : Request from RAM entity to make an intra-cell handover ,
to optimise packet radio resource allocation.
- “MS zone Indication Request”: Request from the RAM entity (refer to [ 30]) for determining the
zone location of the mobile in a concentric or multiband cell (see section 3.1.1) in case of allocation
during Normal assignment in the concentric or multiband cell.
- HO detection parameters :
* RXLEV_UL_ZONE, RXLEV_DL_ZONE, ZONE_HO_HYST_UL, ZONE_HO_HYST_DL,
* L_RXQUAL_UL_H, L_RXQUAL_UL_H_AMR, L_RXLEV_UL_H, RXLEV_UL_IH,
* L_RXQUAL_DL_H, L_RXQUAL_DL_H_AMR, L_RXLEV_DL_H, RXLEV_DL_IH,
* U_TIME_ADVANCE, L_TIME_ADVANCE,
* N_BAD_SACCH,
* L_RXLEV_CPT_HO(0,n), n=1..NBR_ADJ,
* U_RXLEV_UL_MCHO, U_RXLEV_DL_MCHO,
* L_RXLEV_NCELL_DR(n), n = 1..NBR_ADJ,
* EN_BI-BAND_MS(n),
* OUTDOOR_UMB_LEV(0,n), n ### { neighbour umbrella cells}
* PREFERRED_BAND : Frequency band type preferably used by biband mobiles.
Internal flows
- “Start T_INHIBIT_CPT”: This timer is started under the conditions specified in Section 3.2.4. While
running, it inhibits the capture handover Causes 14, 21, and 24.
- EN_CAUSE_28: This flag enables or disables the triggering of Cause 28 in HOP. The enabling of
Cause 28 is controlled via RAM messages.
Output flows
- “Fast handover alarm ACK”: message that is sent to RAM when a fast traffic handover has been
detected. This message contains the reference of the queued request, and the call reference.
- “MS Zone Indication ACK(ZONE)”: message that is sent to RAM (refer [ 30]). This message
contains the zone in the concentric or multiband cell where the mobile is situated.
The directed retry consists in an SDCCH to TCH intercell handover during the call set-up process. The
directed retry is triggered when given radio conditions are met and the serving cell is congested. The
handover to TCH in another cell reduces the call set-up time (queuing phase) and allows the sharing of
resources from one cell with another, thus overcoming traffic load unbalance.
In this release of the ALCATEL BSS, the directed retry can be internal or external to the BSS (see [ 23]
and [ 24]).
The start and stop of the directed retry preparation are described in Section 3.3.1.1.
- or on alarm of forced directed retry : If during queuing, an internal or external neighbour cell is
reported with a sufficient level and has free TCH, then the BSS will perform a directed retry .
The expression "Forced directed retry" refers to this case, because the radio conditions in the serving
cell do not represent a need for handover. The cause which leads to forced directed retry is assimilated
to a "better conditions cause" in the handover preparation.
The detection process for directed retry consists in the checking of the handover alarms and of the
forced directed retry alarm.
If an alarm for forced directed retry is raised, then the target cell evaluation is performed by the
candidate cell evaluation process for forced directed retry.
For all other alarms, the target cell evaluation is performed by the candidate cell evaluation process for
handover (see section 3.2.3.).
For further details about this process and the alarm priority order, refer to section 3.2.2.2.
The candidate cell evaluation process (see section 3.2.3.) looks for target cells so as to do an SDCCH
to TCH handover.
TCH load (i.e. Freelevels and Loadlevels related to TCH) in neighbour cells may be used for target cell
evaluation and ranking (the TCH load is not known in case of external cells).
Note : in case of handover preparation, the candidate cell evaluation process looks for target cells so
as to do a SDCCH handover. The SDCCH load is not taken into account (see section 3.2.3).
The forced directed retry detection requires specific preprocessed measurements (refer to [ 34]).
The detection is performed every SACCH measurement reporting period when preprocessed
measurements are available.
The averaged received levels of all neighbour cells are compared to a threshold. If one or several cells
are found with a received level higher than the threshold, an alarm of forced directed retry is raised :
high level in a neighbour cell for forced directed retry. This cause is included in the "better conditions
causes" of the handover preparation.
When detected, this alarm is sent , with the list of internal and external cells fulfilling the condition, to
the candidate cell evaluation process for forced directed retry if there is no handover alarm raised at
the same time. A handover alarm raised at the same time is prior and is sent to the candidate cell
evaluation process (see section 3.2.3.).
The forced directed retry is enabled/disabled on a per cell basis with the O&M flag EN_FORCED_DR.
EN_FORCED_DR : DISABLE = forced directed retry disabled.
ENABLE = forced directed retry enabled.
The flag EN_FORCED_DR is only relevant when EN_DR = ENABLE as the detection of forced
directed retry may operate only when the directed retry function is enabled. On the opposite, the
handover alarm detection operates whatever the value of EN_DR flag as this detection is used not only
for directed retry but also for SDCCH handover.
The flag HO_INTERCELL_ALLOWED applies to the cause of forced directed retry as for the other
handover causes (see section 2.3.5).
### Forced directed retry : the incoming retry traffic in a cell n can be forbidden by setting the
parameter FREElevel_DR(n) to its maximum value i.e. 255 (see section 3.3.3).
### Directed retry on handover alarms : the incoming retry traffic in a cell can be forbidden by setting
the parameters FREEfactors_i and LOADfactors_i to their minimum values.
Each frequency carrier of the cell is allocated to either the inner zone or the outer zone. This allocation
is indicated by the flag ZONE_TYPE (OUTER ZONE or INNER ZONE) on a per frequency carrier
basis.
Any SDCCH connection is always allocated to the outer zone (ZONE_TYPE = OUTER ZONE).
In order to assign from the start a TCH in the zone corresponding to the MS location, the information
on the measured level gathered by the handover detection function is used.
The RAM entity (refer to [ 30]) during Normal Assignment in a concentric cell or in a multiband cell will
request to the handover detection function (with the indication “MS Zone Indication Request”, see
section 2.3.6) the zone where the MS is deemed to be : inner or outer zone.
The HOP entity first checks whether or not the MS supports the frequency band of the inner zone:
− If the MS is in a PGSM-DCS1800 or a EGSM-DCS1800 multiband cell and the MS is not biband ,
then the indication is set to OUTER.
− If the MS is in a EGSM-DCS1800 multiband cell, the EGSM_ALLOC_STRATEGY is set to
Different behaviour for E-GSM capable MS, there is only EGSM TRXs in the inner zone, and the
MS is biband but does not support the E-GSM band, then the indication is set to OUTER.
To this avail, the handover detection function will check all the relations in the cause "outer zone too
high” (cause 13) except the condition EN_BETTER_ZONE_HO=ENABLE in (HO-17) using
− the AV_RXLEV_UL/DL_HO averages, if A_LEV_HO measurements have been received,
− the average of the RXLEV_UL/DL measurements already received.
The checking of Cause 13 will indicate in which zone the MS is deemed to be on a radio criterion.
The MS zone indication is sent to RAM in the message “MS zone indication ACK” (See Sections 2.4.2
and 4.2).
In (HO-17), the average of the RXLEV_NCELL(n) measurements is computed for each neighbour cell
with a same window whose size is determined by the number of MEASUREMENT RESULT messages
which have already been received since the first received MEASUREMENT RESULT message with a
Layer 3 info present.
As long as this number is lower than A_PBGT_HO, it is used as window to calculate these averages.
When this number becomes higher than A_PBGT_HO, then A_PBGT_HO is used as window to
calculate these averages.
For that the information on the downlink measured level of the target cell RXLEV_NCELL is used.
Each time, a candidate cells list is provided to the HOM entity, it must indicate for each concentric or
multiband cell, the zone where the MS is deemed to be in the target cell: inner or outer zone. If the MS
is in a PGSM-DCS1800 or a EGSM-DCS1800 multiband cell and the MS is not biband, the indication is
always OUTER zone. Furthermore, if the MS is in a EGSM-DCS1800 multiband cell, the
EGSM_ALLOC_STRATEGY is set to Different behaviour for E-GSM capable MS, there is only EGSM
TRXs in the inner zone, and the MS is biband but does not support the E-GSM band, then the
indication is always OUTER.
So each time a concentric or multiband cell is in the candidate cells list, the handover detection
function checks the equation (HO-0) in a way to determine the MS zone location in this concentric or
multiband cell.
As mentioned in Section 3.1.2.1, the load balance between the inner and outer zones is managed by
RAM.
MS zone location
For concentric cell environment, the cause "power budget" is applied in the inner zone as well as in the
outer zone.
For multiband cell environment, the cause "power budget" is applied in the inner zone as well as in the
outer zone. In the inner zone, if the flag EN_MULTIBAND_PBGT_HO is set to disable, the cause
“power budget” is only checked between multiband cells, in a way to maintain the MS in the preferred
band.
In order to avoid unnecessary handover alarms on SDCCH for all mobiles geographically located in the
inner zone, the handover alarms cause 13 on SDCCH (from outer zone towards inner zone) must be
filtered by the handover preparation function.
For initiation of an intercell handover between a concentric or multiband cell (inner and outer zone) and
the defined adjacent cell, the same handover criteria and handover strategies hold true as for non-
concentric cells.
The criteria for handover between the inner and outer zones is based either on the received signal
level or on the interference level (see section 3.2.2.1.2). This kind of handover is called "interzone
handover".
A handover due to interference (cause = 15 or 16) will change, when it is possible, the frequency of the
radio channel in case of non-hopping channels.
As the inner zone contains only a few frequencies, this will give the opportunity to make an interzone
handover from the inner to the outer zone in case of interference problems in the inner zone.
In case of interference problems in the outer zone, the MS will always make an intrazone handover (it
will stay connected to the outer zone).
In case of hopping channels an interzone handover may occur from the inner to outer zone but never
in the reverse direction (as with non-hopping channels).
The speed discrimination procedure can only be activated in a hierarchical cell environment, i.e. when
the serving CELL_LAYER_TYPE = upper or lower or indoor . It is based on the dwell time in the lower
or indoor layer cells, either as serving or neighbour cells.
The knowledge of the speed of a MS is indicated with a flag MS_SPEED that has the values "fast",
"slow" and "indefinite". The value of this flag is kept for the whole call duration, once it has been set to
"fast". This choice relates to the assumption that a prediction is possible on the MS speed. Whenever
the MS moves into another cell and was not recognised "fast" at this occasion, or at a precedent
occasion, the MS_SPEED is reset to "indefinite".
The time experienced in a serving lower or indoor layer cell is kept in a counter C_DWELL (in SACCH
multiframes).
The handover cause power budget is used because it is assumed that in any cell environment this
cause will indicate that the MS is leaving the "better cell" zone of the serving cell, and not because of
interference, shadowing, or street corner effect.
The MS speed discrimination can only happen when the preceding cell is already a lower layer cell
(Respectively indoor layer cell) this ensures that the MS has entered the cell at its edge and not at an
arbitrary position inside the cell. This would be the case after call setup, or after a handover from an
umbrella cell.
Because the measured dwell time in the serving lower or indoor layer cell is taken between two points
located at the edge of the cell, the time interval can be related to the MS speed, assuming that the
main road on which fast moving mobiles are, is known beforehand.
The MIN_CONNECT_TIME shall be set to the value necessary for a fast moving car (mean speed v
about 40 km/h) necessary to travel along the cell on the main road.
If there is no information available about a privileged direction of fast MS, then the
Cell_ Diameter
MIN_CONNECT_TIME shall be set to the value 2x where v represents the average
∏ ×v
speed of fast moving mobiles.
The speed discrimination function can be enabled/disabled on a per cell basis, using a flag :
EN_SPEED_DISC.
If EN_SPEED_DISC is set to DISABLE, then the dwell time in a serving lower or indoor layer cell is not
used to determine if an MS is fast. Nevertheless, when the MS is on the upper layer, the dwell time in
the neighbour lower and indoor layer cells is used to decide a handover to the lower layer or to the
indoor layer cell, after a fixed period of time. The same behaviour applies if the MS is on the lower
layer: the dwell time in the serving lower layer cell is used to decide a handover to the indoor layer after
a fixed period of time. Table 12 shows which cells is used for the estimation of the MS speed as a
function of the serving cell layer.
Layer of the serving cells Cells used for the estimation of MS_SPEED
For each call, a variable MS_SPEED is used to store the already determined mobile speed, if any. It
has three values : "fast", "slow" and "indefinite".
The initialisation of the parameters will occur at call set-up and after external handover.
After internal handover, the variables MS_SPEED and PREC_LAYER_TYPE will be transferred to the
new call context, after possible modification.
The initialisation and modification of the MS speed parameters depend on the layer of the serving cell.
### Case the serving cell is an indoor layer cell (CELL_LAYER_TYPE = indoor)
PREC_LAYER_TYPE = indefinite
MS_SPEED = indefinite
Each time a MEASUREMENT RESULT is received for a call in an indoor layer cell
C_DWELL is incremented by 1. When it reaches the maximum value of 255, it is no more
incremented.
Note 1: By default, the flag EN_SPEED_DISC is set to disable for indoor layer cells.
### Case the serving cell is a lower layer cell (CELL_LAYER_TYPE = lower)
PREC_LAYER_TYPE = indefinite
MS_SPEED = indefinite
Each time a MEASUREMENT RESULT is received for a call in a lower layer cell
C_DWELL is incremented by 1. When it reaches the maximum value of 255, it is no more
incremented.
### Case the serving cell is an upper layer cell (CELL_LAYER_TYPE = upper)
PREC_LAYER_TYPE = indefinite
MS_SPEED = indefinite
Each time a MEASUREMENT RESULT is received for a call on the upper layer :
- Each time a measurement is received for the neighbour lower layer cell n or for the neighbour
indoor layer cell n (in MEASUREMENT REPORT), with a value RXLEV_NCELL(n) strictly above
the threshold L_RXLEV_CPT_HO(0,n), C_DWELL(n) is incremented by 1. When it reaches the
maximum value of 255, it is no more incremented.
- Each time no measurement is received or the reported level is smaller or equal to the threshold
L_RXLEV_CPT_HO(0,n), C_DWELL(n) is decremented by 1. When it reaches the minimum
value of 0, it is no more decremented.
If for one neighbour lower or indoor layer cell n, C_DWELL(n) ### 2*MIN_DWELL_TIME,
and the MS_SPEED was "indefinite"
then MS_SPEED is set to "slow".
Remarks :
For phase 1 MS, or when EN_SPEED_DISC = DISABLE in the umbrella cell, the initialisation of
C_DWELL(n) is done in such way that they will make a handover to the lower or indoor layer, after
L_MIN_DWELL_TIME seconds, provided they are under the coverage area of a lower or indoor layer
cell.
This will give an efficient way to reduce the load of the umbrella cell, caused by a large proportion of
Phase 1 MS, which will camp on this cell, because it has the best received level.
The "leaky bucket" mechanism on counter C_DWELL(n) allows to do with the statistical shadowing
affecting raw level measurements : if exactly 50% of the measurements are strictly above the
L_RXLEV_CPT_HO(0,n) threshold, the value of C_DWELL(n) grows, otherwise it stays at 0.
The value for the threshold L_RXLEV_CPT_HO(0,n) should be equal to the measured or planned
mean signal level at the border of the lower or indoor layer cells.
The counters C_DWELL(n) only work for neighbour cells, which belong to the lower layer or to the
indoor layer. The counter C_DWELL only work for the serving cell which belongs to the lower layer or
to the indoor layer. In other words, C_DWELL is never used for a serving cell in the upper layer.
Therefore, a control mechanism is forecast, in order to have the averaged traffic load on the umbrella
cell held between two limits L_LOAD_OBJ and H_LOAD_OBJ.
Thus, the variable MIN_DWELL_TIME is modified according to the averaging of traffic load, called
AV_LOAD (refer to [ 30]), on the umbrella cell (See Figure 14).
Each time the averaged load on the umbrella is recalculated, AV_LOAD is compared with the values
L_LOAD_OBJ and H_LOAD_OBJ.
The setting of the DWELL_TIME_STEP parameter will be made using experiences in pilot sites.
It will be incorporated in the user-settable default cell profile for umbrella cells, taking advantage of the
compromise value found between reactivity and oscillating behaviour.
Note : The umbrella load control mechanism can be disabled by setting the L_LOAD_OBJ to 0% and
H_LOAD_OBJ to 100%, in this way MIN_DWELL_TIME is blocked to its current value. For setting
MIN_DWELL_TIME to H_MIN_DWELL_TIME, the operation (setting L_LOAD_OBJ to 0% and
H_LOAD_OBJ to 100%) must be made off-line or with no load in the cell.
H_LOAD_OBJ
L_LOAD_OBJ
end : low traffic
L_MIN_DWELL_TIME
H_MIN_DWELL_TIME
DWELL_TIME_STEP
Figure 14: Traffic regulation with MIN_DWELL_TIME modified according to the traffic load
3.2.1 General
At BSS initialisation, the parameters of handover preparation (see control flows of SADT diagrams in
section 2.3.6) are contained in the BSC database (for further details on BSS initialisation, see [ 26]).
Concerning the BSS reconfiguration, all the handover preparation parameters can be modified at OMC
side and then provided to the concerned BSS.
For both initialisation and reconfiguration, the algorithms are configured in the BTS by the BSC with the
message PREPROCESS CONFIGURE (see message description [ 23]). This message is sent on the
Abis radio signalling link (see [ 39]) on a TRX basis.
Note : In case of TCU restart, the message is sent to the BTS (i.e. to the TRX(s) connected to the
corresponding TCU).
Enabling
For further details on the call establishment and handover protocol refer [ 21], [ 23], and [ 24].
Disabling
- the BSC disables the algorithms whenever it initiates a channel release on the radio interface.
The following sections describe the general behaviour of the handover preparation function with its two
processes :
- HO detection : see section 3.2.2,
- HO candidate cells list evaluation : see section 3.2.3.
Handover detection
Once a handover alarm is detected, the HO detection process sends to the HO candidate cell
evaluation process the list of the MS neighbouring cells with for each of them one of the handover
causes which have been verified. It is an internal BSC action (implementation dependent).
The handover candidate cells list evaluation builds a cells list which is, according to the case and the
value of the timer T_FILTER, sent or not to HOM (see 3.2.4.). The specific management of Cause 28
is explained in Section 3.2.4.1.3. Within the list of candidate cell, the message sent to HOM also
contains the HO cause, the zone indication for concentric cells, and the new codec type for Cause 29.
In order to have an overview of the HOP entity, Figure 15 gives an SDL diagram of the HO preparation
function. However, in case of discrepancy between this diagram and the text of the document, the text
takes precedence over the diagram.
Note : the event "HO parameters change" corresponds to a on-line reconfiguration (managed by the
network operator) of the handover parameters used for HO detection and HO candidate cell
evaluation.
Document produced by GEODE <VERILOG (C)>
DESCRIPTION: PCHO
Partition 1/1
Page: 1
PROCESS PCHO/Handover_preparation/Mode_B/BSC
1.5 03-Feb-1995
HO threshold
’init T FILTER’ active channel idle channel HO threshold Wait T FILTER active channel idle channel
comparison comparison
(No) (Yes)
(Yes) (No)
HO candidate
Wait T FILTER cell
evaluation
HO candidate
cell active channel ‘Candidate cell
evaluation list changes?'
(No) (Yes)
candidate cells ,
HOcause TO
HO execution candidate cells ,
'restart HOcause TO
T FILTER' HO execution
’trigger
’restart
T FILTER’ Wait T FILTER
T FILTER’
Figure 15: SDL diagram - HO preparation/BSC.- partition 1/1. The specific alarm management for
Causes 28 , 29 and 30 are not described in the figure.
For resource management handover Cause 29 and 30, the HO detection process consists in checking
if a message “Start HO” concerning the current call is received from RAM. The flag that allows to
enable or disable Cause 29 and 30 are controlled by RAM (causes 29 and 30) and the transcoder
(cause 29 only).
Accordingly, HO alarms are sent to initiate the candidate cell evaluation function when a threshold
condition occurs or an appropriate message is received from RAM. After each intercell handover
alarm, the raw list of candidate cells and the preferred target cell layer are indicated to the handover
candidate evaluation process.
Note : the relationships between the handover cause values used on the A interface and the handover
cause values used by the ALCATEL BSS are given in reference [ 23].
In the following, the handover causes will be detailed according to the handover categories, as defined
in 2.3.3. The recapitulation of the cell types allowed for the serving and the candidate cell for each
handover cause can be found in Section 6.2.
The 3GPP coding of quality is contra-intuitive, since the value 0 codes for the best quality and 7 for the
worst. Thus, the comparison between two quality values must be understood in the opposite way in
terms of quality.
In order to take into account the frequency hopping in the RXQUAL evaluation the variable
OFFSET_RXQUAL_FH is introduced (for more information refer to [ 30]).
If on the corresponding channel,
Frequency hopping is applied then OFFSET_RXQUAL_FH = Offset_Hopping_HO
otherwise OFFSET_RXQUAL_FH = 0
Offset_Hopping_HO is a parameter defined on a per cell basis.
In case of concentric or multiband cell, if an MS uses a TCH which belongs to the inner zone,
MS_TXPWR_MAX must be replaced by MS_TXPWR_MAX_INNER in (HO-1) and (HO-2) and
BS_TXPWR_MAX must be replaced by BS_TXPWR_MAX_INNER in (HO-3) and (HO-4).
Cause 2
Note : This handover cause can also be triggered in case of repetitive intracell handover, see section
3.2.2.1.1.2
Cause 3
In (HO-1) and (HO-2), MS_TXPWR is the last MS_TXPWR_CONF value reported by the BTS in the
message MEASUREMENT RESULT or PREPROCESSED MEASUREMENT RESULT (refer to [ 34]).
Cause 4
Note : This handover cause can also be triggered in case of repetitive intracell handover, see section
3.2.2.1.1.2
Cause 5
Unlike the previous causes, the five following handover causes do not take into account the increase of
the MS or the BS power to its maximum.
Cause 6
Cause 22
Cause 22 is only checked if the Cell range of the cell is set to extended_outer.
- L_TIME_ADVANCE : Minimum distance for handover from the extended outer zone
The three following equations are only used in microcells, i.e. the corresponding flags are set to
ENABLE if the cell profile is microcell (or CELL_DIMENSION_TYPE = micro) and to DISABLE for all
other cell profiles.
Cause 7
last N_BAD_SACCH consecutive SACCH frames are not correctly received (HO-20)
and EN_MCHO_RESCUE = ENABLE
The cause 7 is managed with an internal BSC variable which counts the number of bad SACCH
frames consecutively received :
- this counter is incremented every time a MEASUREMENT RESULT or PREPROCESSED
MEASUREMENT RESULT message with BFI = 1(Bad Frame Indication) is received,
- this counter is reset every time a MEASUREMENT RESULT or PREPROCESSED MEASUREMENT
RESULT message with BFI = 0 is received.
The format of these two messages is given in [ 34].
Cause 17
CAUSE = 17 (Too low level on the uplink in a microcell compared to a high threshold)
In (HO-18) and (HO-19), ’i’ is the index of the last MS measurement report.
Cause 18
CAUSE = 18 (Too low level on the downlink in a microcell compared to a high threshold)
Concerning the case ii, the condition ’no previous intracell handover for this connection failed’ is given
by the function handling the call in the BSC. This condition is used to avoid repetitive intracell
handovers. If an intracell handover for a given connection was not successful (handover failure, no free
timeslot, etc...) it is not repeated when the next handover alarm occurs.
If an intracell handover is still required for this connection, the handover is turned into an intercell
handover as described above. Then for the same call in the new cell, intracell handover is allowed
again.
Cause 12
Cause 12 is checked over all the neighbour cells belonging to the same layer . It means that it is
checked between cells whose CELL_LAYER_TYPE is single or upper, between cells whose
CELL_LAYER_TYPE is lower, and between cells whose CELL_LAYER_TYPE is indoor.
In addition to the condition on the cell layer type, the cell frequency band condition for checking Cause
12 in Eq. (HO-6) is as follows whether or not the MS is in the inner zone of a multiband cell:
− If the flag EN_MULTIBAND_PBGT_HO is set to enable, Cause 12 will be checked over all
the neighbours cells without any cell frequency band restriction.
− If the flag EN_MULTIBAND_PBGT_HO is set to enable, Cause 12 will be checked over all
the neighbours cells without any cell frequency band restriction.
In addition, in order not to cancel an on-going location procedure, Cause 12 for handovers from TCH to
TCH is not checked when a location procedure is on-going for the call.
Cause 12 for handover from TCH to TCH and for directed retry on handover alarms from SDCCH to
TCH is:
If EN_TRAFFIC_HO(0,n)=ENABLE (HO-6)
then PBGT(n) > HO_MARGIN(0,n) + OFFSET_HO_MARGIN_INNER
+ max(0, DELTA_HO_MARGIN(0,n)) (n=1...BTSnum)
else PBGT(n) > HO_MARGIN(0,n) + OFFSET_HO_MARGIN_INNER
and AV_RXLEV_PBGT_HO ≤ RXLEV_LIMIT_PBGT_HO
and EN_PBGT_HO = ENABLE
Note 2: In case the flag EN_MULTIBAND_PBGT_HO is set to enable and the MS is in the inner zone
of a multiband cell, the offset OFFSET_HO_MARGIN_INNER is kept unchanged whatever the
target cell frequency band is.
In addition to the same layer condition, the cell frequency band condition for checking Cause 12 in Eq.
(HO-6bis) is:
− If the flag EN_MULTIBAND_PBGT_HO is set to disable, Cause 12 must not be checked
between cells which use different frequency band (i.e. cells having different
CELL_BAND_TYPE).
− If the flag EN_MULTIBAND_PBGT_HO is set to enable, Cause 12 will be checked over all
the neighbours cells without any cell frequency band restriction.
In addition, in order not to cancel an on-going location procedure, Cause 12 for handovers from
SDCCH to SDCCH is not checked when a location procedure is on-going for the call.
Note 1: In the case of concentric or multiband cells, if the channel is in the inner zone (ZONE_TYPE
= INNER), BS_TXPWR_MAX and MS_TXPWR_MAX in equation (HO-7) must be replaced
by BS_TXPWR_MAX_INNER and MS_TXPWR_MAX_INNER respectively.
If the channel is in the outer zone (ZONE_TYPE = OUTER), the formulation of equation (HO-
7) is not changed.
Note 2: The value of PBGT(n) is calculated every SACCH period for each neighbour cell n whose
measures are kept in the book-keeping list.
Note 3: If no traffic load evaluation is available in an external cell n, the Traffic_Load(n) parameter is
set to indefinite.
The four following equations are only checked for handover from TCH to TCH and for directed retry on
handover alarms from SDCCH to TCH. For handover from SDCCH to SDCCH, they are not checked.
Cause 14
Cause 14 is checked if and only if CELL_LAYER_TYPE = upper or lower (this rule is applied at the
OMC by disabling the flag EN_MCHO_NCELL when CELL_LAYER_TYPE is different from both upper
and lower).
The two following cases have to be considered depending on the cell layer of the serving cell.
− If the MS is in the inner zone of a multiband cell, the cause 14 is checked over all the
neighbour cells with CELL_LAYER_TYPE(n) = lower or indoor except the ones with EN_BI-
BAND_MS(n)=DISABLE and CELL_BAND_TYPE(n)=CELL_BAND_TYPE(0).
− If the MS is not in the inner zone of a multiband cell and the MS is in a cell with
CELL_BAND_TYPE(0)=PREFERRED_BAND, the cause 14 is checked over all the
neighbour cells with CELL_LAYER_TYPE(n) = lower or indoor except the ones with EN_BI-
BAND_MS(n)=DISABLE and CELL_BAND_TYPE(n)<>PREFERRED_BAND.
− If the MS is not in the inner zone of a multiband cell and the MS is in a cell with
CELL_BAND_TYPE(0)<>PREFERRED_BAND, the cause 14 is checked over all the
neighbour cells with CELL_LAYER_TYPE(n) = lower or indoor.
− If the MS is not in the inner zone of a multiband cell and the MS is in a cell with
CELL_BAND_TYPE(0)=PREFERRED_BAND, the cause 14 is checked over all the
− If the MS is not in the inner zone of a multiband cell and the MS is in a cell with
CELL_BAND_TYPE(0)<>PREFERRED_BAND, the cause 14 is checked over all the
neighbour cells with CELL_LAYER_TYPE(n) = indoor.
In order to limit the ping-pong effect, Cause 14 is not checked while the timer T_INHIBIT_CPT is
running (See section 3.2.4). In addition, in order not to cancel an on-going location procedure, Cause
14 for handover from TCH to TCH is not checked when a location procedure is on-going for the call.
CAUSE = 14 (high level in neighbour lower or indoor layer cell for slow mobile)
(HO-21)
CELL_LAYER_TYPE(0) = upper
and AV_RXLEV_NCELL(n) > L_RXLEV_CPT_HO(0,n) n = (1...BTSnum)
and MS_SPEED = slow
and EN_MCHO_NCELL = ENABLE
Or
CELL_LAYER_TYPE(0) = lower
and AV_RXLEV_NCELL(n) > L_RXLEV_CPT_HO(0,n) n = (1...BTSnum)
and MS_SPEED <> fast
and EN_MCHO_NCELL = ENABLE
Note 1: In (HO-21), the condition on the MS_SPEED variable depends on the cell layer type. The
reason for this is that the MS_SPEED variable is by default set to indefinite. Then, the
MS_SPEED can changed from indefinite to slow only when the MS is in a upper layer cell. To
give an ease access to the MS in the indoor layer, it is therefore necessary to allow Cause 14
when MS_SPEED = indefinite in the lower layer.
Cause 21
In order to limit the ping-pong effect, Cause 21 is not checked while the timer T_INHIBIT_CPT is
running (See section 3.2.4). In addition, in order not to cancel an on-going location procedure, Cause
21 for handover from TCH to TCH is not checked when a location procedure is on-going for the call.
CAUSE = 21 (high level in neighbour cell in the preferred band) (HO -22)
Traffic_load(0) = MULTIBAND_TRAFFIC_CONDITION
and Traffic_load(n) <> high
and AV_RXLEV_NCELL(n) > L_RXLEV_CPT_HO(0,n) + max(0,[MS_TXPWR_MAX(n)-P])
and EN_PREFERRED_BAND_HO = ENABLE
Cause 23
Cause 23 is checked over all the neighbour cells belonging to the same layer. It means that it is
checked between cells whose CELL_LAYER_TYPE is single or upper, between cells whose
CELL_LAYER_TYPE is lower, and between cells whose CELL_LAYER_TYPE is indoor.
In addition to the condition on the cell layer type, the cell frequency band condition for checking Cause
23 is as follows whether or not the MS is in the inner zone of a multiband cell:
− If the flag EN_MULTIBAND_PBGT_HO is set to enable, Cause 23 will be checked over all
the neighbour cells without any cell frequency band restriction.
− If the flag EN_MULTIBAND_PBGT_HO is set to enable, Cause 23 will be checked over all
the neighbour cells without any cell frequency band restriction.
In addition, in order not to cancel an on-going location procedure, Cause 23 for handover from TCH to
TCH is not checked when a location procedure is on-going for the call.
(n=1...BTSnum)
and EN_TRAFFIC_HO(0,n) = ENABLE
Cause 24
If the MS is in the inner zone of a multiband cell, Cause 24 is checked over all the neighbour cells
except the ones with EN_BI-BAND_MS(n)=DISABLE and CELL_BAND_TYPE(n) =
CELL_BAND_TYPE(0).
If the MS is not in the inner zone of a multiband cell and the MS is in a cell with
CELL_BAND_TYPE(0)=PREFERRED_BAND, the cause 24 is checked over all the neighbour cells
except the ones with EN_BI-BAND_MS(n)=DISABLE and CELL_BAND_TYPE(n) <>
PREFERRED_BAND.
If the MS is not in the inner zone of a multiband cell and the MS is in a cell with
CELL_BAND_TYPE(0)<>PREFERRED_BAND, the cause 24 is checked over all the neighbour cells.
Traffic_load(0) = CAPTURE_TRAFFIC_CONDITION
And Traffic_load(n) <> high
And AV_RXLEV_NCELL(n) > L_RXLEV_CPT_HO(0,n) + max(0,[MS_TXPWR_MAX(n)-P])
And EN_GENERAL_CAPTURE_HO = ENABLE
Cause 28
Cause 28 is only checked if the channel of the current MS can support the channel rate required by the
queued request. If the channel rate of the queued request is HR, Cause 28 is only checked if the MS is
using a HR or a FR channel on a dual rate TRX. If the channel rate of the queued request is FR,
Cause 28 is only checked if the MS is using a FR channel whatever the TRX type is dual rate or not.
In case the serving cell is a monoband cell, and CELL_BAND_TYPE = GSM, and
PLMN_FREQUENCY_BANDS is set to “GSM900_and_DCS1800_bands” or to “GSM900 and
DCS1900 bands”, Cause 28 is only checked if the current MS is allocated to a P-GSM TRX.
In case the serving cell is a concentric cell or a multiband cell, Cause 28 is only checked if the current
MS is located in the outer zone of the serving cell. Furthermore, if CELL_BAND_TYPE = GSM and
PLMN_FREQUENCY_BANDS is set to “GSM900_and_DCS1800_bands” or to “GSM900 and
DCS1900 bands”, Cause 28 is checked only if the current MS is allocated to a P-GSM TRX.
In addition, in order not to cancel an on-going location procedure, Cause 28 is not checked when a
location procedure is on-going for the call.
where
- FREElevel_DR(n) is the minimum threshold of free TCHs in the neighbour cell n for forced directed
retry and fast traffic handover.
- t(n) is the absolute number of free TCHs in the neighbour cell n.
Note 1: The threshold L_RXLEV_NCELL_DR(n) is the observed level from the neighbour cell n at the
border of the area where fast traffic handovers are enabled. This threshold fixes the size of
the overlapping area where fast traffic handovers can be performed. It should be greater than
RXLEVmin(n).
Note 3: If the BTS has dual rate capability, t(n) = absolute number of free Dual Rate TCH
Note 4: The flag EN_CAUSE_28 is not an OMC flag but an HOP flag. Its enabling and disabling is
explained in Section 3.2.4.
The 3GPP coding of quality is contra-intuitive, since the value 0 codes for the best quality and 7 for the
worst. Thus, the comparison between two quality values must be understood in the opposite way in
terms of quality.
In order to take into account the frequency hopping in the RXQUAL evaluation the variable
OFFSET_RXQUAL_FH is introduced (for more information refer to [ 30]).
If on the corresponding channel,
Frequency hopping is applied then OFFSET_RXQUAL_FH = Offset_Hopping_HO
otherwise OFFSET_RXQUAL_FH = 0
Offset_Hopping_HO is a parameter defined on a per cell basis.
Cause 15
Two set of parameters are defined to control Cause 15 whether the current call is AMR or not:
− If the current call is not an AMR call,
EN_CAUSE_15 = EN_INTRA_UL,
THR_RXQUAL_CAUSE_15 = L_RXQUAL_UL_H.
− If the current call is an AMR call,
EN_CAUSE_15 = EN_INTRA_UL_AMR,
THR_RXQUAL_CAUSE_15 = L_RXQUAL_UL_H_AMR.
Cause 16
Two sets of parameters are defined to control Cause 16 whether the current call is AMR or not:
− If the current call is not an AMR call,
EN_CAUSE_16 = EN_INTRA_DL,
THR_RXQUAL_CAUSE_16 = L_RXQUAL_DL_H.
− If the current call is an AMR call,
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EN_CAUSE_16 = EN_INTRA_UL_AMR,
THR_RXQUAL_CAUSE_16 = L_RXQUAL_DL_H_AMR.
The following handover Causes 10 and 11 are specific to concentric or multiband cell configurations.
They are checked only if CELL_PARTITION_TYPE = CONCENTRIC and the active channel is a TCH.
Furthermore, they are only valid for handover from the inner zone to the outer zone of the concentric or
multiband cell. Thus, the following conditions are checked only if ZONE_TYPE = INNER_ZONE (it
means that the channel is in the inner zone partition).
Cause 10
Cause 11
Cause 13
The following cause must be checked for all the neighbour cells in the same layer and the same
frequency band as the serving cell.
In addition, in order not to cancel an on-going location procedure, Cause 13 is not checked when a
location procedure is on-going for the call.
CAUSE = 13 (Too high level on the uplink and the downlink, outer zone)
+ PING_PONG_MARGIN(0, call_ref)
and AV_RXLEV_DL_HO > RXLEV_DL_ZONE + ZONE_HO_HYST_DL +
BS_TXPWR - BS_TXPWR_MAX_INNER
+ PING_PONG_MARGIN(0, call_ref)
and AV_RXLEV_NCELL_BIS(n) ≤ NEIGHBOUR_RXLEV(0,n)
and EN_CAUSE_13 = enable
and EN_BETTER_ZONE_HO = ENABLE
Note:
1) For the computation of AV_RXLEV_NCELL_BIS(n) refer to [ 34].
2) The encoding of MS power levels depends on the frequency band. In multiband cells, the BSC shall
then compute the difference (MS_TXPWR – MS_TXPWR_MAX_INNER) considering that
MS_TXPWR is encoded with the encoding scheme of the outer zone, whereas
MS_TXPWR_MAX_INNER is encoded with the encoding scheme of the inner zone.
Cause 26
The triggering of Cause 26 depends on the set of parameters and the triggering of Causes 15 and 16
for AMR calls. When the intracell HO Causes 15 or 16 are allowed for an AMR call in the serving cell,
i.e. EN_INTRA_UL_AMR = enable or EN_INTRA_DL_AMR = enable, Cause 26 shall be checked only
if a previous intracell HO Cause 15 or 16 has already been triggered for this call in the serving cell.
This condition allows to perform one intracell HO before triggering a HR-to-FR channel adaptation.
The check of Cause 26 is always allowed when the intracell HO Causes 15 and 16 are both set to
disable, i.e. EN_INTRA_UL_AMR = disable and EN_INTRA_DL_AMR = disable.
Cause 26 is only checked if the current channel is half rate, and corresponds to an AMR call.
Furthermore, the current channel has to be dual rate (DR) and changes allowed (CA) for checking
Cause 26.
According to the load of the serving cell, the variables THR_RXQUAL_CA and OFFSET_CA are set as
follows:
If LOAD_SV3(0) = false
THR_RXQUAL_CA = THR_RXQUAL_CA_NORMAL
OFFSET_CA = OFFSET_CA_NORMAL
If LOAD_SV3(0) = true
THR_RXQUAL_CA = THR_RXQUAL_CA_HIGH
OFFSET_CA = OFFSET_CA_HIGH
Note 1: The variables THR_RXQUAL_CA and OFFSET_CA are specific to Causes 26 and 27 in
HOP. The relevant parameters that have to be set at the OMC are
THR_RXQUAL_CA_NORMAL, THR_RXQUAL_CA_HIGH, OFFSET_CA_NORMAL, and
OFFSET_CA_HIGH.
Note 2: Only the speech channels are allowed for Cause 26.
Cause 27
Cause 27 is only checked if the current channel is full rate and corresponds to an AMR call.
Furthermore, the current channel has to be dual rate (DR) and changes allowed (CA) for checking
Cause 27.
In addition, in order not to cancel an on-going location procedure, Cause 27 is not checked when a
location procedure is on-going for the call.
According to the load of the serving cell, the variable THR_RXQUAL_CA is set as follows:
If LOAD_SV3(0) = false
THR_RXQUAL_CA = THR_RXQUAL_CA_NORMAL,
If LOAD_SV3(0) = true
THR_RXQUAL_CA = THR_RXQUAL_CA_HIGH
Note 1: The variable THR_RXQUAL_CA is specific to Causes 26 and 27 in HOP. The relevant
parameters that have to be set at the OMC are THR_RXQUAL_CA_NORMAL,
THR_RXQUAL_CA_HIGH.
Note 2: Only the speech channels are allowed for Cause 27.
Figure 16: Thresholds for channel adaptation. The frequency hopping offset is not shown in the figure.
Cause 29
Cause 29 is checked upon the reception of the message “Start HO” from RAM. If Cause 29 is
triggered, the new codec type is forwarded to HOM (See Section 3.2.4). This cause shall be triggered
only once per received message checking the cause.
(HO-29)
The HO cause parameter in the message “Start HO” equals 29
and The call reference parameter in the message “Start HO” is the reference of the current call
Cause 30
Similar as cause 29, if the cause 30 is enabled in RAM, when the HO condition meets, RAM triggers
this HO by sending message to HOP.
Figure 17 is the state diagram of the handover detection process (signal level - signal quality) in case
of conventional cell environment. The HO causes for microcellular handover are not shown.
The threshold values are only indicative.
RXQUAL
0
2 Level
intercell HO Power Control
3 (HO-2,HO-4)
5
L_RXQUAL_XX_H Quality intercell HO Intracell HO
6
(HO-1,HO-3) (HO-8,HO-9)
7
RXLEV
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
L_RXLEV_XX_H L_RXLEV_XX_IH
Figure 17: State diagram for handover detection (signal level - signal quality)
Figure 18: PBGT(n) according to the traffic load in the serving cell and the neighbour cell.
Cause 31
The cause 31 is checked when there a 3G cell whose averaged Ec/No given by the radio
measurement process is greater or equal to a predefined threshold.
The handover causes are checked with the priority order defined in Table 14. The order 1 corresponds
to the highest priority whereas the order 19 to the lowest. The resource management handovers 29 ,
30 and 31 will have no priority since they are checked with a different trigger than the other handover
causes.
The better condition causes 21, 14, 24, 12 and 23 have the same priority. For each cell in the list of
possible candidate cell is associated a cause.
If a cell is in the candidate cell list because of 2 different causes, only the one with the highest priority
in the ordered list (cause 21, cause 14, cause 24, cause 12 and cause 23) in which cause 21 has the
highest priority is kept.
After an inter cell handover alarm has been detected, the candidate cell evaluation receives a raw cell
list with for each cell one of the handover causes which have been verified and the indication of the
preferred layer for the target cell.
When the serving CELL_LAYER_TYPE is single, the following rules are applied :
The raw cell list is :
− for Better conditions intercell handover (Causes 12, 14, 20, 21, 23, 24, and 28) : the neighbour
cells which verify the cause,
− for Emergency handover : all neighbour cells; and if the MS is in the DCS1800 inner zone of a
multiband cell, the serving cell must be added to the raw cell list with the MS zone indication
OUTER.
However, in both cases, if the serving cell is an extended-inner cell, the extended-outer cell must be
filtered from the raw cell list except in case of handover cause 6.
When the serving CELL_LAYER_TYPE is upper, the following rules are applied :
- for better conditions intercell handover causes (causes 12, 14, 20, 21, 23, 24, and 28)
the whole set of neighbour cells; and if the MS is in the DCS1800 inner zone of a multiband cell,
the serving cell must be added to the raw cell list with the MS zone indication OUTER.
- Better conditions intercell handover causes (12, 14, 20, 21, 23, 24, and 28) will indicate :
PREF_LAYER = none
PREF_LAYER = upper+single
When the serving CELL_LAYER_TYPE is lower or indoor, the following rules are applied :
- for better conditions intercell handover causes (causes 12, 14, 20, 21, 23 , 24, and 28)
Select the whole set of neighbour cells except the umbrella cells n (CELL_LAYER_TYPE(n) =
upper), which do not verify:
AV_RXLEV_NCELL(n)>OUTDOOR_UMB_LEV(0,n)
and if the MS is in the inner zone of a multiband cell, the serving cell must be added to the raw
cell list with the MS zone indication OUTER.
-"Better conditions intercell" handover causes (12, 14, 20, 21, 23 , 24, and 28) will indicate :
Table 15 and Table 16 resume the indications given to the candidate cell evaluation process when the
serving CELL_LAYER_TYPE = lower or indoor.
(1): if the MS is in the DCS inner zone of a multiband cell, the serving cell must be added to the raw
cell list with the MS zone indication OUTER.
The HO candidate evaluation process is run after all intercell handover alarms as shown in Figure 19.
In case of intra-cell handover alarm (HO causes 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 26, 27,29 and 30), the candidate
cell evaluation process is skipped since the target cell is also the serving cell. For intracell handovers in
a concentric or multiband cell, the zone which the MS is currrently allocated to (either outer or inner
zone) is forwarded to RAM via HOM together with the serving cell. In this case, the MS zone indication
is not determined by the radio criterion presented in Cause 13 and Section 3.1.2.1.
HO Detection HO Candidate Cell Evaluation
Handover causes
10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 26,
27, 29, 30
Input parameters
The ordering process receives (refer to input flows described in section 2.3.6) :
- measurements of up to 32 neighbour cells (TCU internal indication) handled by the BSC cell book-
keeping function.
- the raw cell list of potential candidates to be ordered with for each of them one of the handover
causes which have been verified.
In case of emergency handover alarm, cause 20 alarm, or Cause 28 alarm, the target cell list is built
from the cell ordering according to target layer, target band (see Section 2.3.4.1) and the priority of
each cells (if EN_PRIORITY_ORDERING=ENABLE) and from the cell evaluation function indicated by
the flag CELL_EV associated to the serving cell (see Sections 3.2.3.4 and 3.2.3.5).
Unlike the other causes, the cell evaluation of Cause 20 is directly based on the directed retry power
budget PBGT_DR(n) without using the ORDER and GRADE cell evaluation processes. The specific
case of Cause 20 is further detailed in Section 3.3.3.
The priority of each cells is defined by the parameter PRIORITY(0,n). The cell priority introduced here
shall not be confused with the cause priority of Section 3.2.2.2.
The ordering of the target cell list (from the higher priority to the lower one) is performed according to
the following scheme :
Ordering process for better conditions HO alarm (except Causes 20 and 28)
In case of better condition handover alarm except causes 20 and 28, the target cell list is built from the
cell ordering according to target layer and the priority of each cells (if
EN_PRIORITY_ORDERING=ENABLE) and from the cell evaluation function indicated by the flag
CELL_EV associated to the serving cell (see Sections 3.2.3.4 and 3.2.3.5).
The priority of each cells is defined by the parameter PRIORITY(0,n). The cell priority introduced here
shall not be confused with the cause priority of Section 3.2.2.2.
The ordering of the target cell list (from the higher priority to the lower one) is performed according to
the following scheme :
The flag CELL_EV is managed by the network operator on a per cell basis. It has two values, which
correspond to the two cell evaluation functions ORDER and GRADE (see Sections 3.2.3.4 and 3.2.3.5)
.
A filtering process can be applied to the target list before the ORDER or GRADE evaluation process in
case of emergency handovers. The filtering process, the ORDER or GRADE evaluation process are
not applied to the serving cell when it is in the target cell list. The serving cell is always at the end of the
target cell list.
After the cell evaluation processing, the list of candidate target cells with their cause is provided to
HOM. For Cause 28, the list of candidate cells is sent to the HOM only when the message “Start HO”
concerning the current call and Cause 28 has been received from RAM.
Output parameters
The ordering process (after the filtering process) should provide to the handover alarm management
described in Section 3.2.4 the list of candidate cells with their cause and with the serving cell at the end
of the list in case of emergency handover from the DCS inner zone of a multiband cell.
The HO causes together with the CELL_PARTITION_TYPE parameter shall be used by HOM (for
further details, see [ 28] and [ 30]) as described in Table 17:
HO cause
###
Intracell handover Intrazone or interzone
15, 16 Select a channel in the handover
same cell Select a channel in the
same cell
26, 27 Intracell handover Intracell handover
Change the speech Change the speech
channel rate and select a channel rate and select a
channel in the same cell channel in the same cell
29 Intracell handover Intracell handover
Select a new codec type Select a new codec type
30 Intracell handover Intracell handover
Move TCH from PS Move TCH from PS
preference zone to CS preference zone to CS
preference zone. preference zone.
Not applicable Interzone handover
10, 11, 13 Select a channel in the
other zone
Intercell handover Intercell handover
Others Channel allocation is Channel allocation is
described in [ 28] and [ 30]. described in [ 28] and [ 30].
Table 17: Channel allocation strategy
Input parameters
The ordering process receives (refer to input flows described in section 2.3.6):
− average Ec/No measurements of 1 to NBR_ADJ_3G 3G neighbour cells handled by the BSC
cell book-keeping function.
− the raw cell list of 3G potential candidates to be ordered with for each of them one of the
handover causes which have been verified.
Output parameters
The ordering process should provide to the handover alarm management described in Section 3.2.4
the list of 3G candidate cells with their cause on top of the list of the 2G candidate cells if any.
If EN_PBGT_FILTERING is set to enable, all the cells(n) which do not fulfil the following condition (HO-
13) are rejected from the cell list sent to the ORDER or GRADE evaluation process.
If no cell fulfils the condition and the serving cell does not belong to the target cell list, the target cell list
is empty and no further action is carried out.
If the target list is not empty, it is sent to the ORDER or GRADE evaluation process according to
CELL_EV.
The value of ORDER(n) for each neighbour cell(n) is computed according to the following formula :
For emergency handover causes (plus Cause 28), HO_MARGIN_XX(0,n) has the following values:
HO_MARGIN_XX(0,n)=HO_MARGIN_QUAL(0,n) If cause =2, 4 or 7
HO_MARGIN_XX(0,n)=HO_MARGIN_LEV(0,n) If cause =3, 5, 17,18, or 28
HO_MARGIN_XX(0,n)=HO_MARGIN_DIST(0,n) If cause =6 or 22
For better cell handover causes, HO_MARGIN_XX(0,n)=HO_MARGIN(0,n)
For multiband handover, P considered in (HO-11) corresponds to the classmark power in the
frequency band used by the cell n.
For any handover cause, the first cell in the list is taken as target cell, i.e. the cell with the highest value
of ORDER(n). The cells do not need to fulfil any other condition.
If no cell fulfils the condition and the serving cell does not belong to the target cell list, the target cell list
is empty and no further action is carried out.
The real time traffic load and corresponding FREEfactor and LOADfactor are only known for the cells
that are controlled by the current BSC. For the cells controlled by another BSC the traffic load does
not influence the candidate evaluation.
- PBGT(n) is the power budget between the serving cell(0) and the cell(n) (see Section 6.1 for
definition).
The greater is GRADE(n), the most suitable is the neighbour cell n compared to the serving cell.
All neighbour cells(n) which fulfil the following condition are sorted according to their GRADE(n).
For multiband handover, P considered in (HO-11) corresponds to the classmark power in the
frequency band used by the cell n.
For any handover cause the first cell in the list is taken as target cell, i.e. the cell with the highest value
of GRADE(n). If no cell fulfils the condition and the serving cell does not belong to the target cell list,
the target cell list is empty and no further action is carried out.
Each time a candidate cell list is provided by the handover candidate cell evaluation function or by the
candidate cell evaluation function for forced directed retry and T_FILTER is not running, the message
“Alarm” is sent to the HOM entity, and T_FILTER is started. This message contains:
− The list of the candidate 2G, 3G cells as given by the handover candidate cell evaluation function,
− The HO Cause (per cell in the list), which is the number of the handover cause,
− The MS zone location (per concentric cell in the list),
− The new codec type for Cause 29.
Each time a candidate cell list is provided by the handover candidate cell evaluation function or by the
candidate cell evaluation function for forced directed retry and T_FILTER is running, T_FILTER is
restarted and the new list is compared to the previous candidate cell list (See Figure 20).
If the list has changed (ie one or more cells have disappeared in relation to the previous list and/or
one or more cells are new in the list), a handover alarm containing the candidate list is sent to the
HOM entity.
If the new list has not changed (ie the cells are the same, the number of cells is the same but the
order in the list can be different see note1), no handover alarm is sent to the handover
management entity.
Upon the reception of the message “Fast traffic HO request” from RAM, the check of Cause 28 is
enabled by setting the HOP flag EN_CAUSE_28 to enable, and the reference and the channel rate of
the queued request is stored. When a new candidate cell list is received from the HO candidate cell
evaluation function because of Cause 28, the checking of Cause 28 is disabled by setting
EN_CAUSE_28 to disable, and the message “Fast traffic HO ACK” is sent to RAM. This message
contains (See also Section 4.2):
− The reference of the queued request, which is given in the message “Fast traffic HO request”
sent by RAM,
− The call reference, which is the reference of the current call.
At this step, even if Cause 28 is detected, the “Alarm” message is not send to HOM. This message
handling is described in Figure 21.
If two “Fast traffic HO request” arrive after each other, only the last one will be taken into account. This
last one concerns the top request of the queue. So only for the last received queued request reference
and channel rate, Cause 28 will be checked on reception of measurements. Every new received “Fast
traffic HO request” will overwrite the queued request reference and channel rate to be taken into
account when checking Cause 28.
In the same way that the Causes 29 and 30 are managed, we introduced here the Cause 28bis. Cause
28bis is checked upon the reception of the message “Start HO” from RAM. This cause shall be
triggered only once per received message checking the cause.
(HO-31)
The HO cause parameter in the message “Start HO” equals 28
and The call reference parameter in the message “Start HO” is the reference of the current call
When an HO alarm is detected because of Cause 28bis, the handover detection function is computed
with the available radio measurements. All the relations for Cause 28 in (HO-26) are checked except
the condition EN_CAUSE_28 = enable. The handover cell evaluation function is then performed
including Cause 28 if triggered. If a candidate cell list is received from the candidate cell evaluation
function because of Cause 28, the timer T_FILTER is started or restarted, and the message “Alarm” is
sent to HOM containing the list of the candidate cells. The interaction of Cause 28 with the T_FILTER
mechanism is described in Figure 20.
Note 1: Since several MS can acknowledge the “Fast traffic HO request”, RAM needs to obtain the call
reference to distinguish the different MS acknowledgement.
Condition 1: The immediately preceding cell n-1 is in the indoor or lower layer, i.e.
CELL_LAYER_TYPE(n–1) = lower or indoor, or the frequency band of the
immediately preceding cell n-1 is different from the frequency band of the
serving cell n0, i.e. CELL_BAND_TYPE(n–1) <> CELL_BAND_TYPE(n0).
Condition 2: The call has previously performed i) an emergency internal handover on
quality (Cause 2, 4, and 7) towards the serving cell or ii) an external
handover with the A interface GSM cause “uplink quality or downlink
quality” and there is a bi-directional adjacency link between the preceding
external cell n-1and the serving cell n0.
If Conditions 1 and 2 are fulfilled the timer T_INHIBIT_CPT is started.
If these conditions are not fulfilled, the timer T_INHIBIT_CPT is not started.
The BSC detects that there is a bi-directional adjacency link between a given Cell Cext and a given Cell
Cint as follows. When the BSC receives an handover request from Cell Cext to Cell Cint, the BSC
checks whether or not there is an outgoing handover adjacency link defined from Cell Cint to Cell Cext. If
this adjacency link exists, the BSC considers that there is a bi-directional adjacency link between Cells
Cint and Cext. When performing this check, the BSC uses the Cell Global Identifier (CGI) of each cell
(i.e. the CGI where CGI = MCC + MNC + LAC + CI).
3.3.1 General
Enabling
The directed retry preparation is enabled upon reception of an indication from the handover
management entity (BSC internal message, see [ 28]). This indication is called "Start DR algos " in the
SADT diagram of section 2.3.6.
The directed retry is supported by the same processes as the handover preparation except for forced
directed retry (see section 2.4), consequently :
- for directed retry on handover alarms, the enabling consists in changing the behaviour of the
candidate cell evaluation process (see section 3.2.3). This process looks for target cells for TCH
channel instead of SDCCH channel.
- for forced directed retry : both the detection and candidate cell evaluation processes are enabled at
this point in time.
Note : The handover preparation function is enabled when the SDCCH connection is established
(reception of the ESTABLISH INDICATION from the corresponding BTS). Therefore the handover
preparation is always enabled before the directed retry preparation. This allows the detection process
for forced directed retry, after its enabling, to get immediately measurements from the neighbouring
cell measurements book-keeping.
When the directed retry preparation is enabled, SDCCH_COUNTER is stopped and not restarted.
Disabling
The directed retry preparation is disabled whenever the BSC initiates a channel release on the radio
interface.
The directed retry preparation function is completely handled by the BSC. The input parameters of this
function are provided by the active channel preprocessing function (refer [ 34]) which handles the
neighbour cell list book-keeping. As the handover preparation function, the directed retry preparation
function can be divided into two processes : Alarm detection and Candidate cell evaluation.
Once the directed retry preparation enabled, a directed retry on handover alarms or forced directed
retry alarm can be detected every SACCH multiframe upon reception of the averaged measurements
for directed retry detection.
Once a directed retry alarm is detected, the alarm detection process sends to the candidate cell
evaluation process the list of MS neighbouring cells with for each of them one of the handover causes
which have been verified.
The candidate cell evaluation builds a cells list which is according to the case and the value of
T_FILTER sent or not to the BSC function in charge of the handover management entity (see 3.2.4.).
The following condition is checked every measurement reporting period and if at least one input
preprocessed parameter AV_RXLEV_NCELL_DR(n) is available.
The threshold L_RXLEV_NCELL_DR(n) is the observed level from the neighbour cell n at the border of
the area where forced directed retry is enabled (See Section 2.4.1). This threshold fixes the size of the
overlapping area where forced directed retry can be performed. It should be greater than
RXLEVmin(n).
Alarms priority
As explained in section 2.4, the handover alarms have priority over the forced directed retry alarm (HO
cause 20). The priority order for handover alarms is indicated in Section 3.2.2.2.
This candidate cell evaluation process is performed as specified in Section 3.2.3. except that the cell
evaluation function is reduced to a specific power budget evaluation called PBGT_DR(n).
All neighbour cells n which meet the following condition (DR-3) and (DR-4) are sorted according to the
ordering process for emergency HO described in Section 3.2.3.1 . Instead of using the ORDER or
GRADE cell evaluation processes, the cell evaluation is computed according to the PBGT_DR(n) :
For further details on the PBGT formula, see Section 3.2.2.1.1.3 and Section 6.1.
Note : if the BTS has dual rate capability, t(n) = absolute number of free Dual Rate TCH
L_RXLEV_NCELL_DR(n) and FREElevel_DR(n) are parameters set by O&M for each neighbour cell
n.
If no cell fulfils the condition, the target cell list is empty and no further action is carried out.
Note : In [ 34] is given the general structure of the Abis messages required by the handover algorithm.
In particular, the fields for which it is stated in the 3GPP Technical Specification 05.08 [ 38] "the coding
of this field requires further elaboration" are described. For the coding of the others information
elements, refer to [ 39].
LOAD_EV_PERIOD 1 to 30 1:30 8
Number of load samples (received every 1=1 , 30 = 30
TCH_INFO_PERIOD) for load averaging
This section provides a list of all the variables and parameters used in the algorithms and thus
encountered in the text. For each entry will be found :
− its name,
− its meaning,
− its physical range,
− its binary range,
− the number of bits into which it is encoded.
The variables and parameters are ranked in the alphabetical order.
4.4.1 Handover
SACCH_BFI 0 or 1 0:1 1
Bad Frame Indicator 0 : good frame
of the SACCH frame 1 : bad frame
BSIC(n) 0 to 63 0:63 8
Base Station Identity Code of cell n
BTSnum 0 to 32 0:32 8
Number of neighbouring cells for which
measurements made by the MS are available
DELTA_DEC_HO_margin 0 to 24 dB 0:24 8
allows the cause 23 detection when the traffic in stepsize 1 dB
the serving cell is high and is low in the cell n
DELTA_HO_MARGIN(0,n) 0 0 8
-DELTA_DEC_HO_margin -
DELTA_INC_HO_margin DELTA_DEC_HO_m
argin
DELTA_INC_HO_
margin
DELTA_INC_HO_margin 0 to 24 dB 0:24 8
penalises the cause 12 detection when the traffic stepsize 1 dB
in the serving cell is low and is high in the cell n
H_LOAD_OBJ 0 to 100% 0 : 10 8
Maximum desired load on umbrella cell step size 10 % 0=0%
defined for each umbrella cell 10 = 100%
L_LOAD_OBJ 0 to 100% 0 : 10 8
Minimum desired load on umbrella cells step size 10 % 0=0%
defined for each umbrella cell 10 = 100%
MS_SPEED 0 :2, 2
Estimation for mobile speed discrimination process indefinite, slow, fast 0 : indefinite
1 : slow
2 : fast
PING_PONG_HCP 0 to 20 dB 0:20 8
Dynamic handicap applied to the precedent cell on stepsize 1 dB
which the call has been (see appx B). Defined on a
cell basis.
PREF_LAYEindication of the preferred layer for the none, upper, lower + 0:3 ; 0 = none 2
target cell indoor, upper+single 1 = upper
2 = lower + indoor
3 = upper + single
The following parameters are used by the directed retry procedure only.
EGSM_RR_ALLOC_STRATEGY 0 or 1 0: Different 1
behaviour for E-
SDCCH_COUNTER 0 to 31 0:31 5
Time during which SDCCH handovers are forbidden step size : 1 SACCH 0=0
after completion of the Immediate Assignment frame 31=31
procedure
The document “BSS telecom parameters[ 27] specifies also the rules to be fulfilled by the handover
parameters. The present specification is the reference document in case of discrepancy.
The default values for parameters are indicated in the document [ 27].
Note : - for thresholds relative to quality measurements, the 3GPP coding is assumed, as already stated,
it is contra-intuitive.
- The relationships between the parameters relative to HO preparation and the ones relative to Power
control are included. The parameters of power control are characterised by the suffix _P or _PC. For
more information about them, refer to [ 32].
Mandatory relationships
### RXLEV_UL_IH > L_RXLEV_UL_H.
Recommended relationships
### The parameters FREElevel_k shall be updated according to the cell load
evaluation. For instance, in a concentric cell, if EN_LOAD_OUTER = enable, only the TCH
resources of the outer zone of the cell shall be considered for the determination of the parameters
FREElevel_k. Regarding the EGSM TCH resources of the cell, these parameters shall also be
updated according to the value of the parameters EN_LOAD_EGSM and
EGSM_ALLOC_STRATEGY [ 30].
### It is recommended to inhibit Traffic handover towards 1 TRX cells. These cells do not have
enough resources to receive incoming handovers due to congestion of neighbour cells. Moreover
because of the great variation of traffic in the 1 TRX cells, their Traffic_load is always different from
low.
### If PRIORITY(0,n) is used from cell of preferred band to cell of classical band, then it is
recommended:
EN_PREFERRED_BAND_HO = DISABLE in the classical band cell.
### If PRIORITY(0,n) is applied in order to manage inter-bands handover in a multiband network, then
it is recommended:
PREFERRED_BAND = none.
• For transferring fast mobiles from a minicell n1 to an umbrella cell n2 through a power budget
handover, it is recommended :
- if CELL_EV=GRADE
HO_MARGIN(n1,n2)=-127dB
LINKfactor(n1,n2)=24dB
• THR_RXQUAL_CA_HIGH >=THR_RXQUAL_CA_NORMAL
### Compatibility checking between cell configurations and handover inhibition flags.
For the definition of the different cell profiles, see section 2.4
EN_MCHO_NCELL = DISABLE.
EN_MCHO_H_DL = DISABLE.
EN_MCHO_H_UL = DISABLE.
EN_MCHO_RESCUE = DISABLE
EN_SPEED_DISC = DISABLE
EN_MCHO_H_DL = DISABLE.
EN_MCHO_H_UL = DISABLE.
EN_MCHO_RESCUE = DISABLE
EN_MCHO_H_DL = DISABLE.
EN_MCHO_H_UL = DISABLE.
EN_MCHO_RESCUE = DISABLE
EN_MCHO_NCELL = DISABLE
EN_SPEED_DISC = DISABLE
EN_MCHO_H_DL = DISABLE.
EN_MCHO_H_UL = DISABLE.
EN_MCHO_RESCUE = DISABLE
EN_MCHO_NCELL = DISABLE.
then it is recommended:
HO_MARGIN_QUAL(n1,n2) = -127 dB
HO_MARGIN_LEV(n1,n2) = -127 dB
HO_MARGIN_DIST(n1,n2) = -127 dB
5.1 Abbreviations
rd
3GPP 3 Generation Partnership Project
AMR Adaptive multi-rate
ARFCN Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number
BA BCCH-allocation
BFI Bad Frame Indication
BS Base Station
BSC Base Station Controller
BSIC Base Station Identity Code
BSS Base Station Subsystem
BTS Base Transceiver Station
CA Channel adaptation or Changes allowed
dB deciBel
DC Direct Current
DR Directed Retry or dual rate
DTX Discontinuous transmission
DCS-1800 Digital Cellular system using the uplink frequency band [1710,...,1785] MHz and the
downlink frequency band [1805,...,1880] MHz
DCS-1900 Digital Cellular system using the uplink frequency band [1850,...,1910] MHhz and the
downlink frequency band [1930,...,1990] Mhz
E-GSM Extended-GSM
Ec/No Energy per chip divided by the power density per band measured on the Primary
CPICH by the terminal.
FH Frequency Hopping
FR Full rate
GSM850 Global System for Mobile communications using the uplink frequency band
[824,...,849] MHz and the downlink frequency band [869,...,894] MHz
GSM-900 Global System for Mobile communications using the uplink frequency band
[880,...,915] MHz and the downlink frequency band [925,...,960] MHz (including the G1
band)
HO Handover
HOP Handover preparation
HOM Handover management
HR Hall rate
LCS Location Services
LOS Line Of Sight
MSC Mobile Switching Centre
MS Mobile Station
O&M Operation and Maintenance
OMC Operation and Maintenance Centre
P-GSM Primary-GSM
PBGT Power Budget
PC Power Control
RAM Resource allocation and management
SACCH Slow associated control channel
SADT Structured Analysis and Design Technics
SDCCH Slow dedicated control channel
SDL Specification Description Language
SMLC Serving Mobile Location Centre
TFO Tandem free operation
TCH Traffic channel
TCH/FS Traffic channel Full Speech
TCU Terminal Control Unit
TOA Time Of Arrival
TRX Transmitter Receiver
Note : all the parameters and variables used in the algorithms are thoroughly described in the
dedicated sections and in section 4.
5.2 Definitions
- internal HO : the handover execution is controlled by the BSC (only intracell and intercell-intra-
BSC HO).
- external HO : the handover execution is controlled by the MSC (necessary for all intercell-inter-
BSC HO, possible for intercell-intra-BSC HO).
- intercell HO : handover between two channels of adjacent cells. The old channel belongs to the
serving cell, the new channel to the target cell.
- Inter-system HO: Here covers the 2G-3G handover between a serving 2G cell and a 3G cell
external to the BSC. The handover execution is controlled by the MSC.
- intra-BSC HO : the serving cell and the target cell belong to the same BSC.
- Intralayer HO: An intralayer HO is an intercell HO which is performed between two cells pertaining
to the same layer.
- interzone HO : intracell handover between the inner zone and the outer zone of a concentric or
multiband cell configuration.
- intrazone HO : intracell handover within a zone (inner or outer) of a concentric or multiband cell
configuration.
- directed retry : handover from SDCCH to TCH when the serving cell is congested at the starting
time of the assignment procedure.
In this release of the ALCATEL BSS, the directed retry is internal or external to the BSS.
- decibel unit :
The “decibel” is a unit currently used in radio communications. It is the logarithmic expression of the
ratio of two terms :
The “dB” is the usual unit for the gains of power or voltage.
The dBi is a variant of the dB unit which is currently used for the antenna gains. The index “i” means
“isotropic” as an antenna gain is referred to the gain of an isotropic antenna (same gain in all
directions).
- log normal fading : The signal attenuation during propagation is the product of small independent
attenuations. Expressed in dB, this attenuation becomes a random variable which has a normal (or
gaussian) pdf, (central limit theorem). The log normal fading is defined as a centred (mean value is
0) gaussian variable that must be added to the mean signal value resulting from propagation
attenuation in order to have the reported value of the signal level (by MS or BS).
The log normal fading standard deviation ### normally ranges about 6-7 dB in urban macrocellular
environment and about 5 dB for rural environment.
6.1 Annex A
The Power budget criterion PBGT is used to estimate the difference of path loss between two
neighbouring cells.
with :
- BS_TXPWR_MAX : max power of the BTS in the serving cell (fixed value for each BTS).
- AV_BS_TXPWR_HO : average of the BS_POWER values over A_PBGT_HO measurements.
- AV_BS_TXPWR_DR : average of the BS_POWER value over A_PBGT_DR measurements.
- MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) : max power level the MS is allowed to use in its neighbour cell(n).
- MS_TXPWR_MAX : max. power the MS is allowed to use in the serving cell.
- PING_PONG_MARGIN(n,call_ref) is a penalty put on the cell n if :
it is the immediately precedent cell on which the call has been,
this cell belongs to the same BSC as the serving cell,
the call has not performed a forced directed retry towards the serving cell,
less than T_HCP seconds have elapsed since the last handover.
In this case PING_PONG_MARGIN(n,call_ref) = PING_PONG_HCP.,
If the call was not precedently on cell n, or if the preceding cell was external, or if
the call has just performed a forced directed retry, or if the timer T_HCP has
expired, then PING_PONG_MARGIN(n,call_ref) = 0
With abstraction of the PING_PONG_MARGIN, which is purely a handicap given to the preceding cell
for a certain time, the PBGT can be described in two steps :
Then, another correction factor must be taken into account because the maximum BS powers of the
serving and neighbouring cells may be different :
As the first step of calculation is based on the downlink parameters, this correction factor should be
based on the maximum BS powers used in the serving and neighbouring cells.
Two reasons (which are not completely decorrelated) for not using the BS powers can be envisaged :
- for a given cell, the 3GPP standard does not specify formally the maximum BS power of the
neighbouring cells. Only BS_TXPWR_MAX is defined (it is sent on the air interface),
- it is not easy for the evaluating BSC to know the maximum BS powers of the neighbouring cells.
The use of the maximum MS powers requires that the difference of MS powers is equal to the
difference of BS powers. This condition is met in most cases. If it is not the case, the difference can be
corrected by the operator with the HO_MARGIN(0,n) parameter (HO hysteresis).
PBGT >0 : the neighbour cell is more advantageous as the path loss is less than in the current cell.
PBGT <0 : the serving cell is more advantageous as the current cell.
The PBGT equation (without temporary handicap) can be interpreted in another way.
The PBGT is a balance or a trade-off between two opposite indicators. As a matter of fact :
### ###BCCH > 0 : the neighbouring cell n is more advantageous than the serving cell as the
reception of BCCH is better.
### ###BCCH < 0 : the neighbouring cell n is more disadvantageous than the serving cell.
### ###TXPWR > 0 : the neighbouring cell n is more disadvantageous than the serving cell as the
maximum permissible power of the MS is higher.
### ###TXPWR < 0 : the neighbouring cell n is more advantageous than the serving cell.
The PBGT can be seen as a balance, at MS side, between a probability to have a better reception and
the probability of requests of transmission at higher levels in the neighbouring cells.
6.2 Annex B
Recapitulation of the cell types allowed for the serving and the candidate cell for each handover cause
Handover causes Serving cell / zone types Target cell / zone types
Too low quality uplink (cause 2) All All cells except serving cell
(See note 1)
Too low level uplink (cause 3) All All cells except serving cell
(See note 1)
Too low quality downlink (cause 4) All All cells except serving cell
(See note 1)
Too low level downlink (cause 5) All All cells except serving cell
(See note 1)
ED 04 RELEASED HANDOVER PREPARATION
0400_04.doc
28/11/2005
EVOLIUM 3BK 11202 0400 DSZZA 106/110
Too long distance (cause 6) All All cells except serving cell
(See note 1)
Bad SACCH frames (cause 7) CELL_DIMENSION_TYPE = All cells except serving cell
micro (See note 1)
Too low level uplink, inner zone CELL_PARTITION TYPE = Same cell
(cause 10) concentric ZONE_TYPE = outer
ZONE_TYPE = inner
Too low level downlink, inner zone CELL_PARTITION TYPE = Same cell
(cause 11) concentric ZONE_TYPE = outer
ZONE_TYPE = inner
(CELL_LAYER_TYPE = single CELL_LAYER_TYPE = single
or or
Power budget (cause 12) CELL_LAYER_TYPE = upper) CELL_LAYER_TYPE = upper
Note 1: The serving cell is a candidate cell if the MS is connected to the inner GSM 1800 zone of a
multiband cell.
Note 2: For handover causes 12 and 23, the conditions on the frequency band (“Same
CELL_BAND_TYPE” and “FREQUENCY_RANGE = PGSM-DCS1800 or EGSM-DCS1800”) are only
checked by the BSC if the EN_MULTIBAND_PBGT_HO flag is set to disable.
Handover algorithm
As stated in [ 38] : "the exact handover strategies will be determined by the network operator".
Document [ 38] provides also a "detailed example of a basic overall algorithm" which is the basis of the
one implemented in the ALCATEL BSS.
The complete ALCATEL algorithm is described in section 3.2 of this document.
For further details about the compliance of this function with the requirements of the 3GPP Technical
Specification 05.08 (See [ 38] and [ 19]).
The 3GPP standard has not specified any requirement. The algorithm is implementation dependent.
END OF DOCUMENT