Cell Performance Issues

Behaviour Problem Description Possible solutions

Call set-up Poor coverage If problem is poor Check Antenna line

failure area coverage, this means installation (antenna
poor RSCP (<-95 dBm) position and quality,
Call drop thus also the EcNo cable length and quality).
derades very rapidly (< -
12 dB) when the Check that CPICH powers
coverage border is are balanced between
reached. the studied cells.

Check presence of
shadowing obstacles.

Add a site to the area.

Call set-up Poor No main server in the Use buildings and other
failure dominance area, too many cells with environmental structures
area. weak CPICH level. to isolate cell(s)
Call drop coverage.
CPICH EcNo is usually
very bad even the RSCP is Down tilt antennas to
good e.q. RSCP –80…-90 make cells dominant and
dBm but EcNo about –10 limit effects of interfering
dB cell(s).

Check antenna bearing.

Add a site.

Call set-up Pilot Pollution Bad CPICH Ec/Io (<-12 Find interfering cell from
failure dB) level although CPICH Scanner results.
RSCP level is good. High
Call drop site in the Adjust antenna bearing
neighbourhood may and down tilt or lower
cause interference. the antenna height (too
much tilt will break the
dominance).

Add interfering cell to the

neighbour of the serving
cell.

Dropped Missing A good usable neighbour Check scanner data and

call/SHO failure neighbour is present within cells look for missing
 Cell Performance Issues

Behaviour Problem Description Possible solutions

coverage area, can cause neighbours.

DL interference if it is not
in the active set. Check the cabling in
antenna line.
Swapped sectors in
WBTS.

Call set-up High PrxTotal The PrxTotal level is Try to figure the possible
Failure due to UL significantly higher than area/direction of the
External expected in no/low load interference by checking
Call drop interference conditions. PrxTotal level on
neighbouring cells.

Alternatively use
spectrum analyser &
directive antenna to
locate interferer.

Inform
operator/regulator about
the found conditions.

Check if auto tuning

range is large enough (20
dB).

Call set-up High PrxToatal The PrxTotal level is In case of MHA is used in
failure due to wrong significantly higher than BTS check MHA and
MHA settings expected in no/low load cables loss parameters,
Call drop conditions. otherwise PrxTotal value
will be too high.
MHA settings should be
checked, see more in (If MHA parameter is set
reference [7] to ON, Cable loss
parameter is used, Cable
loss = Real MHA gain =
Feeder loss parameter)

Call set-up High Prxtotal The PrxTotal level is Check the antenna
failure due to significantly higher than installation as the last
Installation expected in no/low load alternative in high
Call drop problems conditions. PrxNoise case.
 Cell Performance Issues

Behaviour Problem Description Possible solutions

Cell set-up Bad RRC RRC connection set-up Set parameters so that
failure connection set- complete message not reselection process will
up success rate heard by BTS. start earlier:
due to slow Ue
cell reselection Qqualmin, Sintrasearch
and Qhyst2 as per latest
recommendation [8]

Long call set-up Long time The value of Parameter Use smaller value N312
time interval for N312 is too high: (2, recommendation is 4).
sync between maximum number of “in
RNC and BTS sync” indications Use Actix for checking
before received from L1 during the call set-up delay (L3
connection the establishment of a messages).
physical channel Use call set-up time
optimisation feature
Dynamic setting of
“ActivationTimeOffset”
(possible in RAN1.5.2
ED2) enables 200 to
500ms reduction for set
up delay.

Dropped call SHO to wrong Overshooting cell come Pan away overshooting
cell will cause temporarily into active cell if it is too close to the
drop call. set and forces a suitable serving cell, otherwise
serving cell to be apply down tilting as
dropped out. Later RSCP well.
suddenly drops in the
“wrong cell” and causes a
dropped call because
there is no neighbour
defined.

Dropped call Cell suffering As the UE Tx power is not Use cell individual offset
from UL enough for target cell (negative value)
interference = synchronisation, the SHO parameter to balance the
DL (CPICH) fails which will cause call DL and UL coverage.
coverage much drop later.
bigger than UL Check traffic direction of
in-car UEs to decide
 Cell Performance Issues

Behaviour Problem Description Possible solutions

coverage which cell requires

offsets.

Dropped call DL CPICH Cell with lower CPICH Use cell individual offset
coverage <> power than the (positive value)
surrounding is having parameter to balance the
“too good” UL DL and UL coverage.
performance, as this
cells’ UL cannot be used Note: Cell individual
efficiently due to SHO is offsets are not taken into
decided upon DL (CPICH account when calculating
Ec/No). the added cell Tx power.

Dropped call Round the The call drops due to too Use cell individual offset
corner effect rapid CPICH coverage (positive value)
degradation for Cell A, parameter to balance the
and therefore there is DL and UL coverage.
not enough time for SHO.
Note: Cell individual
offsets are not taken into
account when calculating
the added cell Tx power.

Dropped Too many In SHO area the number Delete unnecessary

call/SHO failure neighbours of combined neighbours.
neighbouring cells
become more than Improve dominance.
31.HO list is created
using RNC algorithm in
the final stage some of
the neighbours will
randomly be removed.