Root Cause Analysis for TCH Drop for Ericsson System:

Background:
It has been observed that TCH Drop in Ericsson system is on higher side as compare to other vender system. Purpose of document is to find out the various reasons for call drop in Ericsson system along with solutions and features which helps for improvement in call drop. Structure of the document: 1 TCH Drop Rate 1.1 Define 1. !easure 1. .1 "T" counters for TCH drop 1.# $naly%e 1.#.1 &ish bone diagram for the root cause analysis for high TCH Drop 'ate 1.#. Power control parameters for !" 1.#.# Power control parameters for (" ! Hando"er .1 Define . !easure . .1 "T" counters and stats for handover performance .# $naly%e .#.1 &ish bone diagram for the root cause analysis for high handover failure rate .#. E1 $lgorithm for )ocating *E+$)T,PE-1. .#.# E# algorithm for )ocating *E+$)T,PE-#. .#./ 0rgency condition handover trigger parameters # $e% &eatures

1 TCH Drop Rate 1.1 Define

TCH drop *or a dropped call. could be broadly classified into # sub classes1 1. Degradation of the lin2s *0plin2 and Downlin2.1 either degradation of "ignal "trength which falls near or lower than the sensitivity of the base station *around to 3114 d(m. or that of the mobile *around 314/d(m. or degradation of 5uality of the lin2s *0plin2 and Downlin2. often due to interference. . E6cess T$ *T$78# or e6cess path imbalance due to high T$.. #. 9ther 'easons.

BSC 1 TCHDrop Cause

.: 4 # .1< 1. : #8.:8

4.8# 1.:8 1.:8 #.;: Drop Reason'o%SS(' )*+ Drop ' eason(ad ? ualityD) *= . Drop ' eason(ad ? uality0 )>D) *= . Drop ' easonE6cessive T$*= . Drop ' eason)ow""D) *= . Drop ' eason)ow""0)>D) *= . Drop ' eason(ad ? uality0) *= . Drop Reason Suddenly 'ost Connections )*+ Drop ' eason9 ther *= .

&igure 1: an e,ample of distri-ution of cause of TCH Drop in a BSC

1. !easure
0se the following available stats to measure nature of drop call rate in a cell > ("C Drop 'eason1 )ow "ignal "trength D) =. Drop 'eason1 )ow "ignal "trength 0) =.

Drop 'eason1 (ad ?uality D) =. Drop 'eason1 (ad ?uality 0) =. Drop 'eason1 "udden )ost Connections =. Drop 'eason1 E6cess T$ =. Drop 'eason1 9ther =

$lso the raw counters given in table 11 could be used for further analyse the cause of TCH drop. $lways categori%e the highest dropper *T@D'9P. in a networ2 by traffic and not Aust drop call rateB as an e6ample ta2e two cells in a networ2 Cell $ dropping at the rate of 4= with a net carried traffic of #4 calls in a day *say 4.4 : Erlang. and Cell ( dropping at the rate of #.:= with a net carried traffic of 14B444 calls a day *say / Erlang.. Though TCH Drop 'ate for cell ( is only #.:= as compared to 4= TCH Drop 'ate for cell $C Cell $ drops #:4 calls a day B where as cell ( drops only 8 calls a day. Thus fi6ing the TCH drop issue on Cell $ will show larger percentage of improvement at the ("C level as compared to Cell (. 1 ! 1 STS counters for TCH drop
Counter T&DT'$&&IC TDD'D" @DC$))" .eaning T&DT'$&&IC - *T&T'$)$CC>T&@"C$@. TDD'D" -*T@DD'9P>@DC$))".E144 = IDC$))"FInc*H93$(3$G.39utg*H93$(3$G.
IDC$))" - H of initiated calls in a cell *sum of four C$""$)) for TCH or C!"E"T$( for "D. Inc - sum of all incomming handovers to a cell from all its neighbours 9utg - "um of all outgoing handovers from a cell to all its neighbours H9 is the number of successful handovers on TCH - H9+E'"0C $G is number of successful assignment to worst cell -H9"0CGC) $( is number of succesful assignments to better cell -H9"0C(C)

Comment in Erlangs TCH drop rate *DC'. @et sum of terminated calls in cell

T@D'9P TDD'D"

T@DD'9P- T&@D'9PFT&@D'9P"0(FTH@D'9PFTH@D'9P"0( TDD'D" -*T@DD'9P>@DC$))".E144 =

Total number of drops on TCH TCH drop rate *DC'.

T&D'E)DC THD'E)DC T&D'E)DC THD'E)DC

number of dropped TCH connection due to transcoder resource congestion *on TCH &'. at immediate assignment CC on TCH H' in 0) and 9) both T&D'E)DC-T&@'E)C9@IFT&@'E)C9@I"0( THD'E)DC-TH@'E)C9@IFTH@'E)C9@I"0(
H of released TCH signallign connections due to transcoder resource congestion during the immediate assignment on TCH. CC for H' CC for overlaid subcell &' CC for underlaid subcell in H' T&@D'9P is incrimented at the same time.

T&@'E)C9@I TH@'E)C9@I T&@'E)C9@I"0( TH@'E)C9@I"0(

Transcoder Congestion

Ta-le 1: STS ra% counters for TCH drop

1.# $naly%e
1 # 1 &ish -one diagram for the root cause analysis for high TCH Drop Rate
E,ternal 2nterference 'o% Signal Strength D' 'o% Signal Strength ('

TCH Drop Rate

High TA 0R& Spillage01ath 2m-alence

Bad /uality D'

Bad /uality ('

&igure !: &ish -one diagram for the root cause analysis for high TCH Drop Rate

C'S

HCS

Hard%are &aults

Drops due to 3ther Reason

TCH Drop Rate

Assignment to another cell

Hando"er &ailures

1o%er Control

Sudden 'ost Connection

&igure #: &ish -one diagram for the root cause analysis for high TCH Drop Rate

'o% Signal Strength ('1 0) is the wea2est of the both D) and 0) on an average in a networ2C the uplin2 is seen to be # d( wea2er than D). Hence the contribution of Jwea2 signal on the 0)K to TCH drop call rate in a networ2 will usually be far greater than that by Jwea2 signal strength on the D)K *chec2 figure 18B for ("C1 D) wea2 signal strength contributes to

1. := of the net cause of TCH Drop 'ate where as wea2 signal strength on the 0) contributes to #8.:8=.C this means that the 0) in any networ2 will be more prone to interference *that is a lower C>I as I staying constant on both D) and 0) B and since C is lower in case of 0) B naturally C>I for 0) will be lower for 0).. 9ptimisation of 0) can either be done usingB '& coverage optimi%ationB Hardware fault chec2s or parameter optimisation. 1. '& Coverage 9ptimi%ation for 0)1 $ntenna load heights B tilts B a%imuth B wea2 coverage cluster optimi%ationB addition of more sites B using !icro cells to cover hotspotsB use of T!$ to give additional gain on the 0) etc. . Hardware fault chec2s1 &aulty $ntennaB High +"G' due to incorrect termination of '& cable B '& Lumper and antenna feed mechanismsB damaged connectors B damaged cables Bwater in e6ternal '& feed cables faulty T'M1 etc. #. Parameter 9ptimi%ation1 In idle mode ACC.2$ N CR3 could be optimised to ma2e sure that the !" ma2es correct cell reselectionB also ma2e use of the feature J$ssignment to $nother Cell *assignment to better cell part of this feature.K for these cases of incorrect cell reselection in idle mode. .ST415R defines the ma6imum permitted transmit power from the !"B ma2e sure its set at /# *1.< Gatts. for <44 band and #4 *1 Gatt. for 1O44 band. $nother set of cell parameters that influences 0) signal strength performance is 0) power control settingsC ma2e sure SSDES(' is not set too low *3<: d(m or wea2er than that for a cell that drops e6cessively on the 0). B 'C3.1(' and /C3.1(' settings are not too high *increasing the value of these two parameters leads to aggressive power control on 0). B filter lengths for signal strength SS'E$(' and uplin2 5uality /'E$(' are set between # to : seconds for faster power revision commands form the ("" especially for mobiles in the wea2 coverage areas of the cell B where signal strength fading rate can be very rapid. $lso for cells with high percentage of drops due to wea2 uplin2 levels ma2e sure that the desired 5uality for the 0) is set very sensitiveB use the parameter /DES(' to control this aspect *2eep it a 4 instead of default 4.. Power control is covered in more detail later in this document. 'o% Signal Strength on D'1 E6cess reasons for drops on wea2 D) are similar to that of drops on wea2 0) level. Drops due to wea2 levels on D) for any cell should always be lower than that due to wea2 levels on the uplin2 B if itPs the other way round either its because of hardware issues similar to that discussed above or due to incorrect settings of BST415R. &or cells with wide footprint and high density of traffic from far3off %ones *high T$ N high distribution of traffic at far3off %ones seen on !'' recordings. B e6cess drops are seen due to path3imbalance C idle mode resection and eventual channel re5uest are made based on D) measurements B which means in these 2ind of cases an !" might camp on a cell with reliable D) but unreliable 0) which it only realises either during '$CHB $ICH and "DCCH signalling process or when the !" lands on the TCH B where it drops due to wea2 and unreliable 0) *rather than D) related issues.. ThatPs the reason why power control optimi%ation of 0) or use of T!$ usually brings in much better performance improvements in a networ2 than similar wor2 done on D). Bad /uality ('1 The reasons for e6cess drop due to bad 0) 5uality could be classified as Interference related *Co Channel interference B $dAacent Channel interference or E6ternal Interference. B coverage issuesB handover issues or incorrect cell parameter settings.

9nce again if correct power control settings are used at the ("C>Cell level with a good fre5uency plan and use of synthesi%er fre5uency hopping can bring down e6cess drops on 0) due to bad 5uality.

E6cess +"G' is a common observed problem in networ2s with wea2 maintenance plan. High reflected power bac2 to the radios often causes damage of sensitive )ow @oise $mplifiers in the '6 Path causing e6cess 0) related drops.

1. Interference1 Chec2 for co3channelB adAacent channel interference and ma2e the relevant fre5uency changes. . Coverage1 discussed in the last section. #. Parameters1 Correct settings for idle mode reselection parameters * ACC.2$ and CR3. Power control settings *covered later. B use of DT4 B .ST415R B /'2.('# /. Handovers1 missing neighboursB incorrect settings for locating algorithm etc can lead to drag and drop scenarios. E,ternal 2nterference: E6ternal to I"! systemB but operating fre5uency bandB or harmonics falling within I"! band. 0se a spectrum analyser in field to measure and identify the source.

High TA 0 R& Spillage and 1ath im-alance1 Covered under the section of )ow "ignal "trength 0). Drops due to 3ther Reason1 This is often a difficult one to crac2 B e6cess TCH drop due to other reason could be due to the following reasons1

1. Transcoder

synchroni%ation faultB the counter T'$",@CC90@T gets incremented when T'$ sync fault is reported by the (T" on any of the timeslots within the TI/.

Relationship -et%een TCH Drop Rate and Transcoder Synchroni6ation &aults

1# 1! 11 17 = < * ; : 9 8 # ! 1 7
7< >n 7= o" >n 17 o" >n 11 o" >n 1! o" >n 1# o" >n 18 o" >n 19 o" >n 1: o" >n 1; o" >n 1< o" >n 1= o" >n !7 o" >n !1 o" >n !! o" >n !# o" >n !8 o" >n !9 o" >n !: o" >n !; o" >n !< o" >n != o" >n #7 o" >n o 71 " >d 7! ic >d 7# ic >d ic

!:7 !87 !!7 !77 1<7 1:7 187 1!7 177 <7 :7 87 !7 7

TCH?DR31

TRAS@$C

&igure 8: Relationship -et%een increase of TCH Drop Rate and the increase of transcoder synchroni6ation fault )TRAS@$CC3($T from STS .3TA o-Bect type+

. &aulty Transcoder:.
0se of Discontinuous Transmission on the 0) * DT4(C7 D .S may use discontinuous transmission . brings down interference on 0) # ?)I!0) determines the urgency condition for 0) 5uality based handover trigger valueB default setting of :: *i.e. '65ual of :.: for / "$CCH period leading to urgency based handover. C if 5uality drops on 0) is seen to be very high B reducing ?)I!0) is seen to bring down TCH Drop 'ate. / TI or Transceiver Iroup is a !9 *managed obAect. within the '(" : If a transcoder card is seen to be faulty use the Jtranscoders in a poolK feature to minimi%e localised high TCH drop to a ("C by distributing the issue across cells from more than one ("C till the faulty transcoder card is replaced.

#. T'$( *vododers. congestionC use the counter T&@'E)C9@I N TH@'E)C9@I counter to chec2 this. /. (loc2ed $3interface *'$)T. and $(I" *'()T. devices causing $ and $(I" interface problems. :. C; lin2 problems *lin2 unavailabilityB high (E'.. 8. )$PD problems *lin2 failuresB high (E'.. ;. If )$PD problems *e6cess T 448 timer e6piry. are not due to transmission related issues *congestionB availability or high (E' due to interference.B give a reset to DM0s on TI that is showing )$PD problems.. O. Intermittent digital path *DIP. 5uality problems on transmission networ2s caused by interference on the transmission networ2s. <. Caused by usage of features li2e (T">!" power control *high discrepancy in power control settings in a ("C causing e6cessive CP load. or $daptive Configuration of )ogical Channels. 14. +ery high load of )ocation 0pdating 'e5uests within the ("C. 11. )$PD Concentration factor; set to too high value resulting in )$PD congestion. TCH drop due to Sudden 'ost Connection: This can be due to almost all the reasons from TCH drops due to other reason plus '& coverage issues. $n e6ample of TCH drop due to sudden lost connection could be a subscriber entering a lift while in conversationC apart from these reasons chec2 also for loose feeder cable>Aumper cable connections to the antennaB connectors and to the '(". Hard%are faults: &aulty antennaB '& cabling issuesB +"G'B (T" faults *chec2 alarms.. Hando"er: !issing neighboursB swapped sectorsB locating algorithm needing correctionsB high number of co3BS2C>(CCH combinations in a cellB '& coverage issues etc. This topic is covered in detail in the ne6t section. C'S1 $ggressive use of C)"B especially for cells with wea2 or interfered neighbours can cause high TCH Drop 'ate *chec2 per neighbour handover success rate and only then optimise C)" settings.. HCS: In a dual band networ2B often to ma2e the 1O44 band carry more traffic HC" parameters are set too sensitive leading to drop on the higher bands. +ery low multiband

T!77 timer comes into picture mainly during Call "etupB $ssignment and handover *signalling part. and it monitors the JdecodabilityK of the signalling information *from "DCCHB &$CCH and "$CCH. on the signalling frames. If the information in the frames are not decodable T 44 timer is decremented B and if it gets continuously decremented by a figure specifies by @ 44 * # for "DDCH or appro6imately 4 ms B #/ for &$CCH used for handover or appro6imately 11:ms or : for "$CCH or <44 ms.B (T" will send a )ayer # messageK Error indication3 abnormal releaseK Qreason unspecified *cause value -1. to both !" and ("C along with T 44 e6piry B both these messages could be read from the )ayer # messages on the !" * TE!" . or from CT' measurements at the (T". ("C in its turn will drop this call>setup attempt and increment the counter C@D'9P and treat it as a drop due to Jother reasonK. 9ften interference B or incorrect settings of $CC!I@ is the cause of e6cess T 44 e6piry in a cell C but if all the three sectors shows e6cess T 44 e6piry *T 44 e6piry common to the site. then the cause often is transmission related. ; )$PD Concentration factor1 The main components of an '(" is the T'0s *radio that helps setup and sustain a call from !".B which is connected to a DM0 which acts as the interface>switching unit between the E13transmission connection in and out of the '(" to the ("C *this E1 connection is also referred to as DIP or a PC!.. 1 E1 connection to an '(" *terminated on the DM0 of the '(". has # PC! timeslots in all with each timeslot having a capacity of carrying speech information from / speech timeslots from a T'0B that is each timeslot on the E1 has a 8/2(ps bandwidth *and hence 18E/ air speech timeslots mapped onto one PC! timeslot.. @ow each T'0 w.r.t. to this E1 lin2 to the DM0 within the '(" needs a Jwhole 8/ Rbps T" for &$CCH B (CCH B "CH B CCCH*paging.B "DCCH and "$CCH C this is because only TCH information gets send at sub rate of 18 Rbps where as signalling is not sub rated and doesnPt pass through the transcoder.. @ow one whole PC! timeslot needed for signalling per T'0 can bring down the available bandwidth for TCH traffic on the E1 connection between '(" and ("C. ThatPs the reason why a component called C9@ *concentrator. is used in the '(". C9@ is connected direct to the DM0 and all the signalling timeslots from T'0 gets routed through C9@ to the DM0. C9@ defines the priority of the signalling information and ma2es Jsharing of a PC! timeslot between T'0s possibleKC this is done using the cell parameter C9@&$CT *default value -1B range -1 to /.. "etting it at high values B say -/ B C9@&$CT-/ means &3(R T'0s from the '(" will share 3$E 1C. timeslot on the E1 instead of using / PC! timeslots. "uch settings can increase the number of T'0s that could be e5uipped on one E1 between the ("C and the '(" but at the same time will put immense load on the signalling bandwidth *bringing down signalling performanceB increasing TCH drops due to other reasonB lower paging success rate etc. especially in the case of cells that carry a lot of traffic.

parameters li2e 'A@ETHR and HSCBA$DTHR often leads to high TCH drop rate on the 1O44 layer. Assignment to 5orse Cell: This feature can increase the TCH drop 'ate at the e6pense of brining down congestion in cases where the neighbours are wea2 or interfered. Chec2 per neighbour handover success rate before implementing this feature. .S and BS 1o%er Control: Power control is usually seen to have huge impact on both "DCCH and TCH drops especially on the 0)B improving both call setup success rate and drop call rates both on "DCCH and TCH. E6cess transited powerB on the downlin2 by the (" as well on the uplin2 by the !"B often causes proportional e6cess interference on the lin2s.

$dverse impact of e6cess transmit power by calls originated from close in fields on calls which are originated from far off fields is usually acuteC reasoning here beingB received signal strength at the !" for far off traffic is wea2 due to e6cess fading from longer propagation distance and hence prone to more damage from interference. Controlling the high percentage of e6cess transmit power in the close in fields can bring down the interference levels on uplin2 *and downlin2.. 1 # ! 1o%er control parameters for .S
1arameters ""DE"0) )C9!P0) ?C9!P0) "")E@0) I@I)E@ ?)E@0) ?DE"0) I@IDE" 'EII@T0) O 4 4 B14 or 4 3;4 : # Default Recommended 3O: ;4 #4 : 3<: 8 ;: # Range neg114 to 3/; 4 t4 144 4 to 84 # to 1: 4B to : (nit Comment desired signal on the 0) if rest all criterias*path d(m balance and interference . are met. 0) path loss compensation factorB increasing = )C9!P will increase aggressiveness of 0) Pcon 0) 5uality compensation factorBhigh values of = ?C9!P0)1 faster response to degradation of )ength of signal strength filter B for cells with fast "$CCH periods moving traffic 2eep it low filter length for "DDCH power control B for faster "$CCH periods power adAustments on "D 2eep it low )ength of 5uality filter on 0) B 2eep it low to react "$CCH periods 5uec2ly*increase power. degradation of r6?ual desired 0) 5uality C if aggressive power control dt5u of 0) "" is used B 2eep it at 4 *sensitive on "DDCH 1 ininitial desired signal strength for d(m "DCCH *2eeping it on 3;4 can cause drop on

1 to 4 4 to ;4

3O4 neg144 to neg /; 1

1 to #4 "$CCH periods time interval*min. between two power order

Ta-le !: 1o%er control parameters for ('

SSDES('1 2eeping it low will ma2e sure that when the 0) path loss *controlled by 'C3.1('. is low *that is the !" is very close to the site where from it need not transmit at very high power to reach comfortable to (". and the 0) 5uality is very good * /DES('-4B R,/ual 0) is 4C /C3.1('-;:.B the !" will be powered down to very low transmit power thus decreasing the overall noise floor for the ("C. This strategy of aggressive power reduction on !" and at the same time ma2ing the uplin2 e6tremely sensitive to high path loss and interference *power up immediately on interference or higher path loss. is seen to bring down TCH drop and "DCCH drop by huge factor. $lso at the same time 2eeping the filter lengths low ensures that power change commands are send to !" at a faster rate to 2eep the lin2 under high interference due to low levels or high path loss. (1D5$RAT23: This parameter controls the Jratio between up and down power regulation speedK. Default value for 0PDG@'$TI9 is 44. Ghen using the above strategy for 0) power control 2eeps this parameter at #44.

1 # # 1o%er control parameters for BS 1arameters ""DE"D) ?DE"D) )C9!PD) ?C9!PD) 'EII@TD) "")E@D) ?)E@D) "DCCH'EI Default Recommended 3;4 3<4 4 #4 ;4 : #4 :: : 1 : # O # 9&& 9@ Range (nit Comment neg 114 to 3/; d(m 4 T9 ;4 dt5u 4 to 144 = 4 to 144 = 1 to 14 "$CCH Periods # to 1: "$CCH Periods 1to 4 "$CCH Periods 9@B9&& Enables power control on "DCCH

Ta-le #: 1o%er control parameters for BS

! Hando"er .1 Define
Handover in Ericsson ("" system is controlled by what is called as the locating algorithm in the ("C. )ocating algorithm operates on the basis of !easurement 'eports *!'. O sent in by the !" on "$CCH. The inputs that the ("C uses for ma2ing a handover decisionB from the received !'s from the !" is the D) signal strengthB D) 5ualityB and the signal strength of the si6 best reported neighbours. &rom the serving (T"B for the same !" the ("C will use 0) signal strengthB 0) 5uality and T$. There are two )ocation algorithms E1 and signal strength based E#. E1 algorithm uses path loss measurements and received signal strength measurements to come to a handover decision. &or both E1 and E# the ("C goes through the same sets of steps before coming out with a need of a handover decisionC these steps are !' filteringB urgency condition detection *5uality urgency or T$ urgency.B radio networ2 function evaluations and basic ran2ing of the serving and reported si6 best neighbours.

. !easure
! ! 1 STS counters and stats for hando"er performance

!' called as !easurement 'eports are sent up by the !" in>on every "$CCH interval */O4 m". when in $ctive mode. The ("C primarily uses the information in !' sent up to it on "$CCH to ma2e power control and handover decisions. If the ("" cannot decode !'s for the time period set by radio lin2 timeout counter *usually set for 18 "$CCH periodsB or O seconds. will drop the call. $ !easurement 'eport usually consists of the following information1 ($ usedB DTM usedB '6)ev &ull and "ub for the serving cell and 8 best neighboursB '6?ual &ull and "ub of the serving cellB T$ of the serving cell and decoded (CCH3("IC of the si6 best neighbours.

.eaning @umber of handover commands sent to the !" @umber of successful handovers to the neighbouring cell @umber of successful handovers bac2 to old cel within 14 seconds Handover attempt made to better R3cell C corresponding ) cell is called H9T9)C) Handover attempt due to HC" @umber of hadover attempts due to bad downlin2 5uality C H9 counter for bad 0) 5uality is H90P)?$ H9EMCT$ @umber of handover attempts due to e6cessive timign advance H9$"(C) @umber of assinment attempts to better cell H9$"GC) @umber of assinment attempts to worse cell H9"0C(C) @umber of successful assignment attempt to better cell H9"0CGC) @umber of succesful assignment to worse cell H9$TT)"" @umber of handover attempts when serving cell is a low signal strength cell H9$TTH"" @umber of handover attempts E+E@ when serving cell is a high signal strength cell H9$TTH' @umber of handover attempts at high handover rate H9"0CH' @umber of successful handovers at high handover rate H?'3ST H?'3ST C E)H3FERC$T>H3FERS(C>H3RTT3CH+ 0 H3FERC$TGH177 * Ta-le 8: Counters and stats a"aila-le for Hando"er

Counter H9+E'C@T H9+E'"0C H9D0P&T H9T9RC) H9T9HC" H9DG@?$

Comment

for Ericson 1 algorithm

H3 lost I Ho succ rate

$part from these counters "T" also 2eeps Jper neigh-our hando"er success rateK for all the available neighbours to a cell. Per neighbour handover success rate gives us immense amount of information on the performance between two neighboursB strength> wea2ness of '& overlap between two cellsB interference issues between the borders of two cells etc and could be used to identify wea2 neighbours for '&B handover optimisation to improve upon TCH drop caused by handover failures.

.# $naly%e
! # 1 &ish -one diagram for the root cause analysis for high hando"er failure rate
2ncorrect 1arameters TCH interference Co>BCCH0BS2C .issing $eigh-ours

1oor H3 Succ Rate

Too many n-rs

5eak Cell Boundry

TCH Congestion on target

S%apped Sectors

&igure 9: &ish -one diagram for the root cause analysis for high hando"er failure rate

.issing $eigh-ours: ma2e use of planning toolB @9M < and drive tests to identify and add missing neighbours. Co>BCCH0BS2C: 9ften a maAor contributor to handover failures in a networ2. !" when in active mode reports bac2 the si6 best detected neighbours*!" in active mode measures only those (CCH supplied to it on system information from the current serving cell B this list supplied to the !" in active mode by the serving cells is the neighbour list of the serving cell or also called as the "$CCH list of the serving cell. this si6 best sorting done by !" strictly is based on the reported neighbours D) signal strength level B and gets reported bac2 to the ("C in the !' sent up on "$CCH. This information on the measured neighbours consists of '6)evel of the neighbours and reported (CCH and ("IC of the neighbour. If within the coverage boundary of a cell B there e6ists another cell *spillage. with similar (CCH as the reported neighbour B then it can often cause incorrect decoding of the relevant neighbours ("IC *or no decodingB depending upon the interference level by the spiller.. "uch a situation can lead to a handover failure leading to TCH drop. Do an audit of the co (CCH>("IC allocation within the ("C and surrounding ("C and change co ("IC for cells with same (CCH. TCH Congestion at Target: Handover signalling between two cells is performed over &$CCH. &$CCH operates by stealing a bit from the TCH channel that is serving the !" currently *this means the whole signalling process of handover happens on TCH itself.. Ghen the ("C initiates a handover process over &$CCH of the serving cell direct to TCH channel of the best reported neighbour *once again &$CH of the neighbour. and if the neighbour is congested *TCH congestion at target. it will lead to a handover failure at the source cell due to a cause Jtarget cell congestedK. If such signalling failure occurs during a handover ("C will apply penalty of 1SSH& *default setting 8#B which is 8# d( and a range of 4 to 8# d(. for a time period of 1T2.H& *default setting of : secB range of 4 to 844 second.B this penalty is applied to a handover for the mobile under consideration and not for other mobiles in the same source cell or other cells trying for handover to the neighbour under dispute. $fter applying this penalty ("C will do the process of locating again and if the same congested neighbour is reported as the best neighbourB after the period set by PTI!& the !" will retry for a handover. E6cess congestion at a target cell with a lot of inward mobility can lead to high handover failure rate at the source cells and often TCH drop due to drag and drop scenario. S%apped Sectors: $ntenna implementation fault *with un3swapped neighbour definition.. BCCH 0 TCH interference: $t the cell boundaries causing either difficulty in decoding corrupt !'s or signalling failures due to high interference on TCH *on &$CCH.. 5eak Cell Boundary: Poor '& coverage across the cell boundary will ma2e decoding of "$CCH and &$CCH difficult leading to handover failures or TCH drop. Too .any $eigh-ours: In a I"! system a cell can have up to # defined neighbours. (ut for a ("C a combination of high density of trafficB high percentage of mobile traffic needing handoversB with maAority of the cells having very high count of neighbours means Jtoo much processingK C which can lead to either too high CP load or very high amount of signalling on the transmission networ2s *especially on the $(I". leading to lin2 congestions. &or such ("Cs brining down the average neighbour count per cell can marginally improve handover performance across the ("C. 2ncorrect Hando"er 1arameters: 9ptimi%ation of handover parameters *for both E1 and E# algorithm. can lead to improvement of H9 success rate in a networ2.

! # ! E1 Algorithm for 'ocating )EFA'T@1EC1+

<

@9M1 @eighbour Cell )ist 9ptimi%ation E6pert is an 9"" feature from Ericsson which can detect missing neighbours by rotating test neighbours in a cell across the legal fre5uency bandB and measure the signal strength reported from !" for these test neighbours *(CCH>("IC combinations.. If any of the reported (CCH>("IC shows very good levels *thresholds could be pre set.B @9M can either add it as a neighbour or else create a missing neighbour report.

1arameters Default Recommended Falue !"'M"0&& ("'M"0&& RH,"T R9&&"ET T'H,"T T'9&&"ET )9&&"ET )H,"T 4 4 # # 4 neg1:4 to 4 neg1:4 to 4 # 4 to 8# neg 8# to 4 F8# 4 to 8# neg 8# to 4 F8# neg 8# to 4 F8# # 4 to 8#

(nit Comment sufficient Recea"ed le"el on the D' from a neighbour to be considered d(m as a candidate hor handover evaluation sufficient Recea"ed le"el on the (' from a neighbour to be considered d(m as a candidate hor handover evaluation 0sed to decrease*applied penalty. ran2ing value for a neighbouring cell d( *reduce ping pong hando"ers. factor by which a cell boundry is displaced away from the target *for d( handover. C delays hando"er *ping pong red . similar to RH,"T B but applied over )in2 balance criteria of E1 and it d( reduces unnecessary hando"ers )in2 balance criteria B positive value will ma2e the sorce cell more d( attractive to retain the call *strech the call into target.B delay the Handover !argin B absed on signal strength criteria C neighbour needs to d( stronger that server by this factor to be considered for hando"er calcul d( Hysteris appiled to )9&&"ET B to prevent ping pong handover.

Ta-le 9: E1 'ocating algorith parameters

In E1 algorithmB the ("C uses the above mentioned parameters to ran2 handover candidates into Lowest L-rank Best cell two listsC the )3)ist *lin2 balance list. and R3list *signal strength list.. This ran2ing is done as per figure 1

L-list
Highest L-rank Highest K-rank
&igure :: Basic Candidate 'ist -y 'ocating Algorithm

K-list

This 2ind of listing by E1 algorithm will ensure that a handover decision ta2es place only when the K-rank Worst cell an issue mobile is far away Lowest from the serving cell *delay the handover till the lin2 budget becomes or an emergency handover trigger either in terms of bad 5uality * /'2.('or /'2.D'. or T$ *TA'2.. has occurred. ! # # E# algorithm for 'ocating )EFA'T@1EC#+
1arameters Default Falue Recommended Falue Falue Range (nit Comment The thhreshod below which the the serving cell gets tagged H,"T"EP 3<4 neg 1:4 to 4 d(m as Slow signal strength cellS . Handover hysteris *neighbour should be strong by this )9H,"T # # 4 to 8# d( factor. applied to the serving cell if it is tagged as Slow signal Handover hysteris *neighbour should be strong by this HIH,"T : # 4 to 8# d( factor. applied to the serving cell if it is tagged as Shigh handover margin *the neighbour should be stronger than the 9&&"ET 4 4 neg 8# to 8# d( server by 9&&"ETFhysterisis to be considered for a
Ta-le :: E# algorithm for locating

Ericsson $lgorithm # *algorithm type is determined by the ("C parameter E+$)T,PE. is easy to implement and optimi%e. (rgency Condition in hando"er1 0rgency conditions are special conditions where a handover is a must even if the locating algorithm has not found a need to perform a handover to the best neighbour located in the candidate list. (ad ?uality issues and e6cess T$ issues trigger an urgency condition handover. Parameters controlling urgency condition handovers are listed in table 1;.

! # 8 (rgency condition hando"er trigger parameters

1arameters ?)I!0) ?)I!D) (?9&&"ET P""(? PTI!(? T$)I! normal range e6tended range P""T$ PTI!T$ EMTPE@

Default Recommended :: :: # 14 1: 8 8 8# #4 9&& 9&&

Range

:: 4 to 144 :: 4 to 144 # ; 4 to 8# 4 to 8#

(nit Comment threshold for 0) 5uality emergency *triggers an handover if 0) dt5u ?ual reaches '6?ual of :.: or worse for 5uality filter length threshold for D) 5uality emergency *triggers an handover if D) dt5u ?ual reaches '6?ual of :.: or worse for 5uality filter length cell to cell symetrical relationB the negative offset in level dt5u acceptable to a urgency handover*to a worse neighbour. on penalty given to the cell abandoned on bad 5uality *for that d( particular connection B that !".

d( time period for which P""(? is applied s 8 4 to 8# bit period 4 to 1< bit period urgency condition due to high T$ penalty given to the cell abandoned on high T$ *for that 8# 4 to 8# d( particular connection B that !". #4 4 to 844 9@B9&& s time period for which P""T$ is applied alllows or dissallowes urgency condition inter3("C handovers

1: 4 to 844

Ta-le ;: (rgency condition hando"er trigger parameters

3 Enhanced Handover
1 Introduction
This document describes how to improve the robustness of the system by enhancing the control signalling performance of the FACCH and SACCH. FACCH is mainly used for Handover and Assignment signalling; lost handovers or assignments are mainly due to poor FACCH performance. SACCH defines the Radio lin time out counter which generally defines a dropped call. The features covered in this document are !nhanced Handover Success Rate and !nhanced A"R Coverage. The features are implemented according to the #$%% standard& see Reference '().

1.1 Background
*nvestigations and field trials have shown that the speech frames are more robust than the associated control signalling and the control signalling may therefor terminate calls to early. +y improving the control signalling& drop rates in networ s with high fre,uency utili-ation or low signal strengths may be reduced even further. The features !nhanced Handover Success Rate and !nhanced A"R Coverage have been developed for more robust FACCH and SACCH signalling.

2 Capabilities
The downlin FACCH performance is improved by using the feature !nhanced Handover Success Rate. The feature increases the probability of decoding the .ayer # FACCH messages for "Ss in bad radio conditions and low signal strength. The feature consists of two parts/ Repeated 0ownlin FACCH Re1establishment of .ayer 2

Repeated 0ownlin FACCH sends the .ayer # messages in pairs. The "S then have two opportunities to decode the .ayer # message instead of 3ust one& which may improve the Handover Success Rate and the Assignment Success Rate. This applies for all "Ss& but the benefit is even higher if the "S is capable of soft combining& as specified in Release 4 of #$%%. Re1establishment of .ayer 2 is triggered if the .ayer 2 signalling is lost in the originating cell and applies to all "S. The feature !nhanced A"R Coverage improves the SACCH performance on either lin independently. To increase the probability to decode SACCH messages the same message is sent twice when the conditions deteriorates due to low signal strength or interference. The feature re,uires #$%% Release 4 "Ss capable of soft combining. The function will be enabled for "Ss that are in bad conditions and have reported apability of the feature. 5hen the conditions improve& the functionality will be disabled automatically. The functionalities mentioned above are e6pected to wor concerns that could occur are/ 1 Repeated 0ownlin transmissions. well in all networ s. The

FACCH steals more speech frames than normal FACCH

However the five first transmissions of a message are always without the repetition enabled& which covers the normal performing FACCH messages. After the five first attempts the ris for a drop call is imminent when the feature is not activated. 1 !nhanced A"R Coverage reduces the number of "easurements Results to half The number of messages is still the same& but every second is a copy of the previous one. This means that the information is not updated as often for locating and power control when in repeated SACCH mode. However& if the SACCH frames are lost& a dropped call is imminent& ma ing this measure well motivated. *t is important to eep in mind that the "S only goes into repeated SACCH mode when really needed.

2.1 Benefits
These features will reduce the drop call rate.

3 Technical Description
3.1 Enhanced Handover Success Rate
The feature !nhanced Handover Success Rate is activated per +SC. The feature consists of two functional parts/ Repeated 0ownlin FACCH Re1establishment of .ayer 2

Repeated 0ownlin FACCH and Re1establishment of .ayer 2 can be activated independently. To assist !nhanced Handover Success Rate an improved FACCH decoder in the +TS was introduced in 74+& this decoder contributes to enhancing the feature. The feature improves all networ s to some e6tent& but shows the largest improvement on networ s with high spectrum utili-ation or low signal strengths. "Ss capable of soft combining 8i.e. #$%% Release 4 "Ss9 benefit the most from this feature. There is no impact on legacy "Ss. There are no drawbac s with using this feature regardless of the networ configuration. *f the "S faces a bad radio environment and a .ayer # downlin FACCH message 8Reference ':)9 is sent to the "S& the "S may have difficulties to decode the message. This feature is used to increase the probability that the "S successfully decodes the message by sending the repeated messages in pairs. *f the "S still has not been able to decode the message despite the repetitions and the message is a Handover Command or Assignment Command& the +SS tries to re1 establish the .ayer 2 signalling in the originating cell in order to maintain the call. For more information about the handover process& see Reference '#). 3.1.1 Repeated downlink FACCH

;sually when sending a .ayer # downlin FACCH message the message is repeated until it is decoded. 5hen Repeated 0ownlin FACCH is used the repetitions of a .ayer # downlin FACCH message are sent in pairs with a time distance of (7ms within the pair. 5hen sending the repetitions in pairs the probability of successful decoding is increased. #$%% Release 4 "Ss& capable of soft combining& can combine two messages which increases the probability of correct decoding. Figure < shows how the messages are sent when Repeated 0ownlin FACCH is activated and when it is not.

Figure 1

Definition of T200 without (A) and with repeated FACCH (B).

*n a bad radio environment during the handover process& the mobile station may have difficulties decoding the layer # downlin FACCH message successfully. ;sually the message is sent until a response is received or until the message has been repeated the ma6imum number of times& see the e6ample below. 5hen the Repeated 0ownlin FACCH functionality is used the repetition of the message is started. *f the message is not decoded during the five first messages& the repetitions are sent in pairs. This eeps the signalling load on the FACCH channel at a low level& since most messages are decoded within the first five repetitions for "Ss outside a #.<.<.< Handover Command or Assignment Command not segmented

5hen the Handover Command or Assignment Command is not segmented& the "S will try to reach the target cell 8or target channel in case of Assignment Command9 as soon as the Handover Command or Assignment Command message is decoded by the "S. #.<.<.2 Handover Command or Assignment Command segmented

5hen the Handover Command or Assignment Command message is segmented& the "S will not try to reach the target cell until the last Handover Command or Assignment Command segment is decoded by the "S. The "S has to send AC=>?AC= on each decoded segment of the Handover or Assignment Command message. 3.1.2 Re-establishment of Layer 2

*f a Handover Command or Assignment Command is sent to the "S and there is no response from the "S an !rror *ndication is received in the +SC. ;sually the call is disconnected when the !rror *ndication is received& but when Re1establishment of .ayer 2 is activated the system tries to re1establish the call on the originating channel again& also see Figure 2.

Figure 2 Re-esta !ish"ent of #a$er 2 signa!!ing. %f the &' fai!s to de(ode the Hando)er Co""and or Assign"ent Co""and* the networ+ tries to re-esta !ish the #A,D" signa!!ing on the originating (hanne!.

3.1.3

Val e Ran!es and "efa lts Val es

The timers introduced by the feature !nhanced Handover Success Rate are T@!ST$;AR0& T@R!!STA+.*SH and T@R!!ST$;AR0& for default values& recommended values and value ranges see Reference '<).

3.2 Enhanced AMR Coverage

The feature !nhanced A"R Coverage is an optional feature activated per +SC that increases the probability of successful decoding of SACCH messages. !nhanced A"R Coverage increases the probability of successful decoding of a SACCH bloc by combining two transmissions of the same bloc . This is done by repeated SACCH mode and #$%% Release 4 "Ss capable of soft combining. Repeated SACCH mode is adaptively switched on when necessary. ;sually a new SACCH bloc is sent every (A7 ms. 5hen in repeated SACCH mode the same SACCH bloc is sent twice within B47 ms& i.e. the time between two SACCH bloc s is still (A7 ms but every second SACCH bloc is replaced by a copy of the previous bloc . The amount of information transmitted when in repeated SACCH mode is thus half of when normal SACCH transmissions are used. The repeated SACCH mode could be seen as having a +.!R of :7C on normal SACCH transmissions. *n order to use it only when it is really necessary the repeated SACCH mode is adaptively switched on when the SACCH performance is poor. The repeated SACCH mode is switched off when the SACCH performance is recovered. *n order to control the performance& internal lea y buc et counters are used per call; one for the uplin and one for the downlin . The counters are incremented by two when a SACCH bloc is unsuccessfully decoded and decremented by one for a successfully decoded SACCH bloc . 5hen these counters are greater than or e,ual to a threshold value 8#ACCH"L$HR for the downlin and #ACCH%L$HR for the uplin 9 the call goes into repeated SACCH mode. For more information about the thresholds see Table 2. The repeated SACCH mode is switched off when the counter value has returned to -ero. *f the counter value is e,ual or greater than the threshold& the counter value is not increased further if another SACCH +loc is unsuccessfully decoded. *f the counter value is e,ual to -ero it is not decreased further when a SACCH +loc is correctly decoded.

Figure - &easure"ent Reports sent on the up!in+ 'ACCH when in nor"a! 'ACCH "ode and in repeated 'ACCH "ode. !nhanced A"R Coverage improves decoding of "easurement Reports on the uplin and System *nformation on the downlin . Figure # illustrates how the uplin SACCH messages are sent when in repeated SACCH mode compared to normal SACCH trabsmissions. This is valid for System *nformation messages on the downlin as well.

3.2.1 RF(A) RF(A( RF(AC

&#C 'ommands *nitiate !nhanced A"R Coverage in the +SC. 0eactivate !nhanced A"R Coverage in the +SC. Change !nhanced A"R Coverage threshold values for ;. and 0. respectively. o #ACCH%L$HR to set the uplin threshold. o #ACCH"L$HR to set the downlin threshold.

RF(A*

%rint the status of !nhanced A"R Coverage.

For more information about the +SC commands& see Reference '2).

3.2.2

&#C parameters

The threshold values introduced by !nhanced A"R Coverage are SACCH0.THR and SACCH;.THR& for default values& recommended values and value ranges see Table 2.
Ta !e 2 Thresho!d )a!ues

*arameter +ame

"efa lt Val e A A

Re'ommended Val e Ran!e Val e A A < to 4# < to 4#

%nit

SACCH0.THR SACCH;.THR

1 1

3.3 Related Statistics

3.3.1 #.#.<.< ,*) impa't !nhanced Handover Success Rate

5hen using !nhanced Handover Success Rate the robustness of the system is e6pected to improve by enhancing the FACCH signalling performance. The affected =%*/s are/ Handover Handover Handover TCH 0rop Success Rate .ost Rate Reversion Rate

#.#.<.2

!nhanced A"R Coverage

5hen using !nhanced A"R Coverage the robustness of the system is e6pected to improve by enhancing the SACCH signalling performance. The affected =%* is/ 3.3.2 #.#.2.< TCH 0rop Rate )mpa't on Le!a'y Co nters !nhanced Handover Success Rate

5hen introducing the feature !nhanced Handover Success Rate the HDRTTDCH and HD*?+DCH counters were updated. HDRTTDCH is also stepped at unsuccessful inter cell handover attempts when the networ succeeds to re1establish the call on the originating cell. HD*?+DCH is also stepped at unsuccessful intra cell handover attempts when the networ succeeds to re1establish the call on the originating channel. 3.3.3 #.#.#.< #tatisti's for *erforman'e -ana!ement !nhanced Handover Success Rate

The value of the Handover .ost =%* is e6pected to improve since the HDRTTDCH counter is changed as mentioned in Section #.#.2. However the formula for Handover .ost remains the same. #.#.#.2 !nhanced A"R Coverage

There are four new STS counters introduced to monitor the fraction of time in repeated SACCH mode/ (A#%LAC$-R(* stepped for each "easurement Report that is received while in repeated SACCH mode on the uplin . (A#%LCA*-R(* stepped for each "easurement Report that is received from an "S capable of repeated SACCH& while the feature !nhanced A"R Coverage is activated in the +SC. (A#"LAC$#&L (A#"LCA*#&L stepped for each 0. SACCH bloc received by the "S while in repeated SACCH mode on the downlin . stepped for each 0. SACCH bloc received by an "S capable of repeated SACCH& while the feature !nhanced A"R Coverage is activated in the +SC.

;se !AS;.ACT"R!%>!AS;.CA%"R!% to calculate the fraction of time in repeated SACCH mode on the uplin . ;se !AS0.ACTS+.>!AS0.CA%+. to calculate the fraction of time in repeated SACCH mode on the downlin .

3.4 Main changes in Ericsson GSM system 07B/ BSS 07B

The feature !nhanced A"R Coverage and an enhancement of !nhanced Handover Success Rate also called !6tended Repeated FACCH was introduced. *n 74+ only Handover and Assignment Commands were included in Repeated downlin FACCH& but in 7E+ all .ayer # downlin FACCH messages are included.

4 Engineering Guidelines
4.1 Enhanced Handover Success Rate
..1.1 -#C timers

*n order to avoid that the "SC disconnects the call while !nhanced Handover Success Rate is used& there are three !ricsson "SC timers 8T*"H?0C"0*?TRA"& H?0TC"0+AS?D? and TH?0C"0+AS*C"9 that need to be set in order not to time out at inter +SC handovers. The "SC timers must be bigger than the sum TA 8+SS8+SS"A%99FT@!ST$;AR0FT@R!!STA+.*SHFT@R!!ST$;AR0 in order not to time out while !nhanced Handover Success Rate is used. For recommended values& value ranges and default values see Table <.

4.2 Enhanced AMR Coverage

*n order to monitor the performance of Repeated SACCH capable "Ss it is possible to use the filtering function in R1%"D. 5hen a call is set up the system needs to now if the "S is capable of using the feature as soon as possible and therefor it is recommended to use early classmar sending when activating !nhanced A"R Coverage.

5 Parameters
5.1 Enhanced Handover Success Rate
/.1.1 &#C Commands

The +SC commands introduced by !nhanced Handover Success Rate are/ RF(H) RF(H( RF(H* R((#$ R(*FACCH *nitiate !nhanced Handover Success Rate. !nd !nhanced Handover Success Rate. %rint the status of !nhanced Handover Success Rate. Activate>deactivate Re1establish of .ayer 2. Activate>deactivate Repeated downlin FACCH.

For more information about the +SC commands& see Reference '2). /.1.2
Ta !e 1

*arameters for #pe'ial Ad0 stment

&'C Ti"ers

*arameter +ame

"efa lt Val e <: <: <:

Re'ommended Val e Ran!e Val e1 (B (B (B : to <27 : to <27 : to <27

%nit

T*"H?0C"0*?TRA" H?0TC"0+AS?D? TH?0C"0+AS*C"

<

s s s

The "SC Timers must be bigger than the sum TA 8+SS8+SS"A%99 FT@!ST$;AR0FT@R!!STA+.*SHFT@R!!ST$;AR0 in order not to time out while !nhanced Handover Success Rate is used.

RLINKT
$ype1 Ran!e1 %nit1 RL)+,%* ?umeral < to 4# RL)+,$ ?umeral A to 4( in steps of ( RL)+,$AFR ?umeral A to 4( in steps of ( RL)+,$AHR RL)+,%*AFR RL),%*AHR ?umeral ?umeral ?umeral A to 4( in < to 4# < to 4# steps of ( SACCH periods 8(A7 disconnect the ms9 SACCH SACCH periods 8(A7 periods 8(A7 call ms9upon repeated ms9

failure in decoding the "$CCH. <4 <4 <4 <4 <4 <4 R'2$JT is started in the !" after the assignment of a dedicated channel. Two units )dea RA2 the 2(counter if the 2( "$CCH #2 2( decoded. #2 2( increase data is successfully 9ne unit decreases +34 it if it cannot be successfully decoded. If the counter reaches the value %eroB then the call release is initiated.
"efa lt1

SACCH periods R'2$JT is8(A7 usedms9 by the

SACCH SACCH periods periods 8(A7 !" to determine 8(A7 ms9 ms9 when to

R'2$JTDR'2$JTA&RDR'2$JTAHR *Down lin2 Direction. R'2$J(1DR'2$J(1A&RDR'2$J(1AHR *0p lin2 Direction. R'2$JTDR'2$JT(1 *0sed for E&'B&'BH' speech codecs. R'2$JTA&RD R'2$J(1A&R *0sed for $!'3&' speech codec. R'2$JTAHRD R'2$J(1AHR *0sed for $!'3H' speech codec.

Actions Taken for TCH Drop )Ericsson Circle+: 1. Parameter benchmar2ing with Indore *!P. N !umbai *as both the circles have better sets of RPIs in !etro category..

. #. /. :.

&ine tuning of Power control parameters. Trail of different set of locating algorithm *'adio lin2 timers.. Trail of new features3 Enhanced HandoverB Enhanced $!' as suggested by E>>. Trail of different set of timer values realated to drop due to T 44 e6piry as suggested by E>>. 8. Implementation of ""0 cloc2 for @etwor2 "ync. ;. Trail T!$ implementation on sample sites where drop are contributed mainly due to low signal strength 0). O. +erification of &re5uency plan *(CCH N ("IC combination.. <. Change of T'M signalling from !P)EM18 to conc or unconc to remove )$PD congestion. 14. 'ectification of internal alarms li2e +"G'B diversity etc which contributes towards RPIs degradation. 11. $ugmentation of DT'0> D'0 on highly utili%ed cells. 1 . 9ptimi%ation of Transcoder resources. 3-ser"ation: 1. $fter implementing the above mentioned pointB no significant improvement is observed. .