2G BSS RAN ANALYSIS

Abstract This document reports the analysis result of the 2G BSS Audit done in Etisalat network between October and November 2012.

This analysis encompasses results related to topics such as: BSS Parameters Audit QoS Audit (Counters) QoS Audit (Drive Tests) Frequency Plan Audit Stability Audit Architecture Audit.

Alcatel Lucent

1/57

All rights reserved. Passing on and copying of this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

TABLE OF CONTENTS
AUDIT CONTEXT ............................................................................................................................................................. 2 AREA UNDER STUDY ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................................... 3 TOPOLOGY OF ETISALATS NETWORK ................................................................................................................................ 3 2. BSS PARAMETERS AUDIT..................................................................................................................................... 4 1.1. 1.2. 1.3. 1.4. 1.5. 1.6. 1.7. 1.8. 1.9. 3. CELL AND RADIO RESOURCE SELECTION .............................................................................................................. 4 POWER CONTROL................................................................................................................................................ 6 HANDOVER.......................................................................................................................................................... 8 DUAL LAYER AND DUAL BAND HANDOVER .......................................................................................................... 10 MULTIBAND AND CONCENTRIC CELL SPECIFIC HANDOVER PARAMETERS ............................................................. 11 DIRECTED RETRY AND QUEUING ........................................................................................................................ 12 (E)GPRS CONFIGURATION ................................................................................................................................ 13 BSC SPECIFIC CONFIGURATION ......................................................................................................................... 14 DESIGN PARAMETERS ........................................................................................................................................ 14

QOS AUDIT (COUNTERS)..................................................................................................................................... 17 3.1. CS PERFORMANCE ............................................................................................................................................ 17 3.1.1. Call Establishment................................................................................................................................... 17 3.1.2. Call Drop ................................................................................................................................................. 20 3.1.3. Handover................................................................................................................................................. 23 3.1.4. Traffic ...................................................................................................................................................... 25 3.2. PS PERFORMANCE ............................................................................................................................................ 26

QOS AUDIT (DRIVE-TESTS) ......................................................................................................................................... 29 4. 5. FREQUENCY PLAN AUDIT................................................................................................................................... 32 STABILITY AUDIT.................................................................................................................................................. 35 5.1. AVAILABILITY ..................................................................................................................................................... 35 5.1.1. BSC availability ....................................................................................................................................... 37 5.1.2. Cell availability......................................................................................................................................... 38 5.1.3. TRX availability........................................................................................................................................ 39 5.2. STABILITY.......................................................................................................................................................... 40 6. ARCHITECTURE AUDIT........................................................................................................................................ 43 6.1. 6.2. 6.3. 6.4. 7. BSC CONFIGURATION ....................................................................................................................................... 43 MFS CONFIGURATION ....................................................................................................................................... 47 TRAFFIC LOAD ................................................................................................................................................... 50 BSC MX_WEST7 DETAILS ................................................................................................................................ 54

CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................ 56

Audit context
Area under study
Regions Bateen Area BSC MX_West7 MFS station_MX_mfs_7 Cells 135 TRXs 600 BSS Release B11MR3ed1.1

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

2/57

1. Introduction
Following a complaint from Etisalat regarding some performance issues on the 2G network, a complete BSS Audit was performed in one of the main Abu Dhabis BSCs ( MX_West7 ), known to cover the VIP area of the city, Bateen. The aim of this document is to present the result of the audit which evaluated the behavior of the Radio/BSS elements of the network and presents a set of recommendation to improve network in terms of performance and dimensioning. Main topics of the audit consider: BSS Parameters Audit QoS Audit (based in Counters) QoS Audit (based in Drive Tests) Frequency Plan Audit Stability Audit Architecture Audit

Topology of Etisalats network

Total number of BSS elements in the network, BSC configuration and target BSC for the audit:

Figure 1 Nb of BSS Elements

Figure 2 BSC Configuration

Figure 3 Audited BSC MX_West7 Details

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

3/57

2. BSS Parameters Audit

Audit of BSS Parameters of BSC MX_West7 considered the review of general and main feature configuration. Good optimization practices were also considered in order to better define an optimization strategy and allow a better network tuning in the future. Below, the 4 main important outputs of the audit highlighted: Need of better HO tuning HO margins need to be better defined for PBGT and Emergency HOs. There are several important violations of good practices in parameters configurations (ex: negative HO_MARGINs). Calls not handled by best server in the area what might be causing QoS degradation; Design and coverage issues can he hided by such aggressive configuration; Ping-pong and unnecessary HOs occurring. Multiband and Concentric cells Traffic Management Important to respect rules for traffic management between bands. Thresholds must be well defined to avoid unnecessary HOs and Ping-pong between layers. Aggressive forcing of traffic can affect cells performance and Voice Quality. DWELL Time Configuration BSC tuning for DWELL time algorithm is compromising features efficiency. Traffic management between umbrella and micro cells being affected. BCCH/BSIC Review Several cases of BCCH/BSIC duplication inside same BSC. HO efficiency affected and Phantom RACH created. Network pattern Create a network pattern for all parameter families/features. This will improve the network performance, and create conditions for a better RNE optimization.

1.1. Cell and Radio Resource Selection

Parameter: CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network CRH = 6 dB 4 dB in 1 cell 6 dB in 20 cells 8 dB in 97 cells 12 dB in 1 cell 14 dB in 16 cells Use 6 dB for all cells. This parameter is the level hysteresis for cell reselection applied when the new cell is in a different location area. Such different parameters may cause excess of LU (cases of 0dB), or abnormal cell camping causing SDCCH assignment failures, SDCCH drop, and reduced voice quality (HOs may occur right after calls are initiated).
4/57

Recommendation:

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

Parameter: CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network CRO = 0 dB

CRO(dB) Umbrella 0 50 4 6 8 10 12 14 10 10 Micro 22 3 5 1 18 15 10 1

Recommendation:

This parameter depends on the strategy followed for network access. Anyway, except for some specific tuned cases, usage of a pattern for all cells is recommended.

Parameter: PENALTY_TIME Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network PENALTY_TIME = 20s 0 seg in 38 cells 1 seg in 12 cells 2 seg in 43 cells 3 seg in 1 cell 30 seg in 1 cell 31 seg in 40 cells In the cases where 31s are used, CRO is computed with a negative value, preventing cell to capture most of the traffic. Degradation is expected in neighbors KPIs.

Recommendation:

Parameter: RACH_TA_FILTER Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Recommendation: RACH_TA_FILTER = 64 89 cells bellow 10 This setting forbids some MSs to access the network. It is always recommended to limit cell coverage by site re-engineering and avoid logical limitation.

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

5/57

1.2. Power Control

Parameter: EN_BS_PC Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Recommendation:

Disabled In dense urban environments it is recommended the usage of Power Control in order to reduce interference and improve main KPIs.

Parameter: MS_P_CON_ACK MS_P_CON_INT Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Recommendation: MS_P_CON_ACK = 3 x (2 SACCH) MS_P_CON_INT = 1 x (2 SACCH) MS_P_CON_ACK = 2, in 73 cells MS_P_CON_INT = 0, in 105 cells To achieve maximum performance, default values should be used in all cells.

Parameter: Power-Control Thresholds Default Alcatel L_RXLEV_UL_P = -95 dBm (Evolium) or 90 dBm (G2) L_RXQUAL_UL_P = 3.0 U_RXLEV_UL_P = -85 dBm (Evolium) or 80 dBm (G2) U_RXQUAL_UL_P = 1.0 Wide range of values can be observed in the network. Used thresholds present in some cases very aggressive values, turning PC algorithm ineffective. Rule: difference of 10dB between U and L level thresholds In case of Power Control activation, use recommended values to improve efficiency of algorithm.

ETISALAT Network Recommendation:

Parameter: MAX_POW_RED Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network 8 dB 2 dB in 3 cells 4 dB in 33 cells 6 dB in 8 cells 8 dB in 91 cells 8 dB should be used in all cells
6/57

Recommendation:
Alcatel Lucent

All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

Parameter: MAX_POW_INC Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network 8 dB (recommended) 8 dB in 39 cells 12 dB in 19 cells 16 dB in 77 cells A value equal or higher than 8dB is recommended to allow a faster power level recovery in case of too low quality.

Recommendation:

Parameter: MS_TXPWR_MIN Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Recommendation: 13 dBm (coded 15) for GSM900 cells 4 dBm (coded 13) for DCS1800 cells Several different configurations can be found Usage of default values

Parameter: OFFSET_HOPPING_PC Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Recommendation: 1 0 in 17 cells Usage of default value for all cells.

Parameter: POW_INC_FACTOR POW_INC_STEP_SIZE POW_RED_FACTOR POW_RED_STEP_SIZE Default Alcatel POW_INC_FACTOR = 0.8 POW_INC_STEP_SIZE = 6 dB POW_RED_FACTOR = 0.5 POW_RED_STEP_SIZE = 2 dB POW_INC_FACTOR = 0.8 (in 99.9% of cells) POW_INC_STEP_SIZE = 6 dB (in 99.99% of cells) POW_RED_FACTOR = 0.5 (in 97% of cells) and 1 (in 3 cells) POW_RED_STEP_SIZE = 1 dB in all cells Usage of default values for all cells.

ETISALAT Network

Recommendation:

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

7/57

1.3. Handover
Parameter: A_PBGT_HO Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network 8 for urban 4 in 1 cell 6 in 74 cells 8 in 2 cells 10 in 58 cells Use of the default values.

Recommendation:

Parameter: HO_MARGIN_DIST (0,n) Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network 2 dB 4dB in 5 cells 5dB in 515 cells 6dB in 6 cells Should be greater than 0 and less than HO_MARGIN: < 0: Ping-Pong > HO_MARGIN: no Dist Emergency HOs

Recommendation:

Parameter: HO_MARGIN_LEV (0,n) Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Recommendation: 2 dB < 0dB, in 90 HO relations >= HO_MARGIN, in 602 HO relations Should be greater than 0 and less than HO_MARGIN: < 0: Ping-Pong > HO_MARGIN: no Lev Emergency HOs

Parameter: HO_MARGIN_QUAL (0,n) Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Recommendation: 1 dB < 0dB, in 160 HO relations >= HO_MARGIN, in 510 HO relations Should be greater than 0 and less than HO_MARGIN: < 0: Ping-Pong > HO_MARGIN: no Qual Emergency HOs

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

8/57

Parameter: HO_MARGIN (0,n) Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network 5 dB HO_MARGIN < 0 dB in 3 HO relations 0 <= HO_MARGIN < 4 in 25 HO relations 4 <= HO_MARGIN <= 6 in 3125 HO relations HO_MARGIN > 6 in 126 HO relations Usage of too high or too lower values should be avoided, once calls will not be handled by the best server cells in the area. QoS is expected to be degraded and uncontrolled ping-pong HO can occur. In addition, HO_MARGIN(a,b) + HO_MARGIN(b,a) must never be less than 0 as it causes ping-pong problems.

Recommendation:

Parameter: L_RXLEV_DL_H L_RXLEV_UL_H L_RXQUAL_DL_H L_RXQUAL_UL_H Default Alcatel L_RXLEV_DL_H = -93 dBm in urban L_RXLEV_UL_H = -100 dBm in urban L_RXQUAL_DL_H = 4 L_RXQUAL_UL_H = 4 L_RXLEV_DL_H: wide range of cells between -80dBm and -92dBm L_RXLEV_UL_H: wide range of cells between -88dBm and -97dBm L_RXQUAL_DL_H = 29/30 in all cells L_RXQUAL_UL_H = 29/30 in all cells High emergency level thresholds must be avoided, once it artificially reduces the coverage area with emergency HOs, and can create Ping-Pong (HO out by emergency and come in by PBGT HO).

ETISALAT Network

Recommendation:

Parameter: T_HCP Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Recommendation: T_HCP = 0s T_HCP =20s in 11 cells High values should be avoided for T_HCP without specific optimization.

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

9/57

1.4. Dual Layer and Dual Band Handover

Parameter: EN_PREFERRED_BAND_HO MULTIBAND_TRAFFIC_CONDITION Default Alcatel EN_PREFERRED_BAND_HO = enable for GSM900 and GSM-DCS cells EN_PREFERRED_BAND_HO = enable for DCS cells (if DCS is the preferred band) MULTIBAND_TRAFFIC_CONDITION = Any load EN_PREFERRED_BAND_HO enable for 7 DCS and 22 GSM cells Both parameters must be defined according a general traffic management strategy. Due to the different configuration found at this level, no strategy seems to be followed.

ETISALAT Network Recommendation:

Parameter: L_RXLEV_CPT_HO(0,n) Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Recommendation: -85 dBm Wide range of configurations found considering values between -85dBm and -47dBm This parameter is the minimum received downlink level from classical band cell to preferred band cell and is used on traffic balancing between bands. Recommended values should be set around 85dBm and depending on traffic management strategy.

Parameter: T_INHIBIT_CPT Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Recommendation: 0s 4 cells have this timer greater than 0s. Must be set according to default value

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

10/57

1.5. Multiband and Concentric Cell Specific Handover Parameters

Parameter: NEIGHBOUR_RXLEV(0,n) Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Recommendation: -47 dBm 0 in 2 cells This parameter is the threshold of maximum received level from the neighbor cells for cause 13. If set on 47 dBm, the level of the neighboring cell is not taken into account for the triggering of cause 13. In case of non specific optimization cases, it must be used 47dBm in all HO relations.

Parameter: OFFSET_HO_MARGIN_INNER Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network 10 dB for multiband 0 dB for concentric 0 dB in one cell 4 dB in 21 cells 6dB in one cell 10bB in 5 cells In case of Concentric Cells, value should be 0 dB.

Recommendation: Parameter: RXLEV_DL_ZONE, RXLEV_UL_ZONE Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network

RXLEV_DL_ZONE -80 dBm RXLEV_UL_ZONE -88 dBm RXLEV_DL_ZONE: - 78dBm in one cell - 80dBm in one cell - 90dBm in one cell - 85dBm in 25 cells RXLEV_UL_ZONE - 95dBm in 20 cells - 92dBm in 2 cells - 90dBm in one cell - 88dBm in one cell - 85dBm in one cell Depends on the traffic intended for each layer. Extreme values should be avoided. Recommended rules: RXLEV_DL_ZONE >= L_RXLEV_DL_H RXLEV_UL_ZONE >= L_RXLEV_UL_H

Recommendation:

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

11/57

Parameter: ZONE_HO_HYST_DL ZONE_HO_HYST_UL Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network 6dB ZONE_HO_HYST_DL and ZONE_HO_HYST_UL 6dB, in 8 cells >6dB, in 20 cells Parameters are the hysteresis applied to RXLEV_XX_ZONE for outer to inner zone handover, or the DL/UL offset used for triggering cause 13 HOs. For a better traffic balance between zones, RXLEV_XX_ZONE must be changed and the hysteresis parameters maintained constant. This will allow better analysis of QoS and better tuning in case of need. Parameters are recommended to be set with 6 dB for Concentric Cells.

Recommendation:

1.6. Directed Retry and Queuing

Parameter: Freelevel_DR(n) Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Recommendation: 2 for cells with 2 TRX 4 for all others 255 TS in 20 cells 0 TS in one cell Setting FREElevel_DR(n) to 255 for an external cell will inhibit outgoing external directed retry towards this cell. Setting FREElevel_DR(n) to any other value will allow outgoing external directed retry towards this cell.

Parameter: L_RXLEV_NCELL_DR(n) Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Recommendation: -85 dBm Wide range of values is defined, between -110dBm (1 cell) and -47dBm (20 cells) In case threshold is too low, cause 20 HOs will be triggered in a more easy way, but creating a problem of quality in the target cell. For giving a higher priority to a given layer, it is preferable to make a better tuning of the parameter PRIORITY(0,n).

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

12/57

1.7. (E)GPRS Configuration

Generally, for data configuration, no issues were found and just some recommendation is mentioned to improve PS performance.

Parameter: EN_EGPRS Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Enabled (depends on customer strategy for PS) Disabled: 44 cells - 35 Micro cells - 9 Macro cells Enabled: 91 cells - 40 Micro cells - 51 Macro cells EGPRS is recommended to be enabled for better PS performance. Due to some HW limitation in some cases is disabled.

Recommendation:

Parameter: EN_EXTENDED_UL_TBF Default Alcatel ETISALAT Network Recommendation: Disabled (depends on customer strategy for PS) Disabled Extended TBF mode feature is recommended for better performance on the UL in (E)GPRS.

Parameter: PS_PREF_BCCH_TRX Default Alcatel 0: No preference. The TRX ranking algorithm handles the BCCH TRX as a non-BCCH TRX (depends on customer strategy for PS) 1: PS requests preferentially served on BCCH TRX; the TRX ranking algorithm ensures that the BCCH TRX has the highest preference to carry PS traffic (provided that the BCCH TRX can carry PS traffic Configuration at TRX level for PS depends on customer strategy and needs always to consider which TRXs (BCCH/nonBCCH) will have higher or lower interference and where CS or PS will have preference.

ETISALAT Network

Recommendation:

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

13/57

Parameter:

TBF_DL_INIT_CS TBF_DL_INIT_MCS TBF_UL_INIT_CS TBF_UL_INIT_MCS TBF_DL_INIT_CS: CS2 TBF_DL_INIT_MCS: MCS3 TBF_UL_INIT_CS: CS2 TBF_UL_INIT_MC: MCS3 Default values respected Better performance can be achieved by adjusting the initial coding schemes for GPRS and EDGE according to the network design/coverage and level of noise

Default Alcatel

ETISALAT Network Recommendation:

1.8. BSC Specific Configuration

At BSC level only a few parameters concerning the traffic management in the umbrella cells need special attention. Parameter: H_MIN_DWELL_TIME L_MIN_DWELL_TIME DWELL_TIME_STEP H_MIN_DWELL_TIME: 20s L_MIN_DWELL_TIME: 8s DWELL_TIME_STEP: 2s H_MIN_DWELL_TIME: 5s L_MIN_DWELL_TIME: 5s DWELL_TIME_STEP: 0s In umbrella cells, speed estimation is based on the dwell time in the neighbor micro-cells. In case this value is changed, algorithm will be compromised. It is highly recommended to maintain this value as per indicated in the default.

Default Alcatel

ETISALAT Network

Recommendation:

1.9. Design Parameters

Basic design configuration issues are normally a good indication of some problems in the network, such as unidirectional HO relations, relations with co-channel and adjacent BCCH and duplication of the same BCCH/BSIC in the same area. On the MX_West7 BSC were identified 3 unidirectional HO relations. This can be creating some HO efficiency problems on the opposite cell.

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

14/57

Figure 4 - Unidirectional HO Relation

For the detection of interference, some good inputs can be obtained from the analysis of the HO relations. Declared HO relations between cells with same BCCH indicate that most probably some strong interference is occurring, by having 2 neighbor cells with same BCCH. In MX_West7 BSC no cases were identified. However, some relations exist between BCCH adjacent cells which need a deeper analysis. In some of these cases where cell overlap is larger, some quality issues can also be created.

Figure 5 - Neighbours with Adjacent BCCH

BCCH/BSIC duplication in the same area (checked inside same BSC) may cause some HO efficiency problems which results in degradation at HO level and poor Voice Quality and can even sometimes end with a Call Drop. In MX_West7 BSC no cases were identified, but others are visible in the remaining network:

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

15/57

Figure 6 - BCCH/BSIC Duplication Same BSC

These situations must be avoided not to create HO efficiency problems and in some cases Phantom RACH.

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

16/57

3. QoS Audit (Counters)

A QoS analysis was performed to BSC MX_West7 and all the main KPI for CS and PS reviewed. Important to highlight that on the 10th October a new site entered on air (Site 4915x) highly degraded due to HW issues and with high impact in global KPIs. For the analysis, and once the cause is known, this site/fact was ignored. Analysis was focused in the following QoS domains: CS Performance o Call Establishment o Call Drop o Handover o Traffic PS Performance o Global PS Performance It is assumed that PS performance is directly linked to radio and CS performance and also configuration. Due to this, highest priority and detail was put in CS. Main outputs consider: General good KPI No issues found at general level with all the main KPI inside good thresholds Punctual issues in the different domains in some cells For each domain some cells were identified with some problems which need a better cell by cell analysis High HO per call in a significant number of cells affecting QoS and Voice Quality Several cells having a huge HO_per_Call which can be affecting cells performance and has great influence at Voice Quality level, due to the big number of unnecessary HOs. Influence also on Call Drop HO.

3.1. CS Performance
General CS Performance is good and apart from the problem created by site 4915x QoS is presenting very good values. Some issues were however found and some improvement can be obtained after some optimization activities.

3.1.1. Call Establishment

At Call Establishment level, no main issues were found with global behavior of the BSC in a good state. No significant congestion is observed at SDCCH level and apart from site 4915x, congestion is only observed in a few cells and below 0,1%.

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

17/57

Figure 7 MX_West7 SDCCH Assignment Congestion

Failures at SDCCH assignment level only significant in a small number of cells and with no impact at global level.

Figure 8 - MX_West7 SDCCH Assignment Failure

Main impacted cells are reduced to a group of 10 cells where failures are related to radio issues:

Figure 9 - Cells with higer SDCCH Ass Fail Rate

One of the cells, VI_W_VIP_W18_Sh_Sultn_Bn_Hamdn_P (22011/52900) has global bad performance, including high Call Drop and HO Failures and should be investigated in detail. Others have a general good performance and issue might be related to some HW malfunction. At SDCCH Drop level, behavior is good and all cells performing well. Exception goes again to cell VI_W_VIP_W18_Sh_Sultn_Bn_Hamdn_P (22011/52900) which reaches more than 2% drop.
Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization 18/57

Figure 10 - MX_West7 SDCCH Drop

RTCH Assignment phase with very good behaviour and no issues found. No congestion verified in any of the cells with exception only for W_W11_Khalidiah_park_A (22011/49151) with just 0.01% congestion rate in one week.

Figure 11 MX_West7 RTCH Assignment Congestion

Also very good performance at Call Setup Success Rate level with almost 100% Call Success. The only cell having values outside targets is again VI_W_VIP_W18_Sh_Sultn_Bn_Hamdn_P (22011/52900).

Figure 12 - MX_West7 CSSR Alcatel - Lucent

All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization 19/57

3.1.2. Call Drop

Performance observed at RTCH Call Drop is generally good in the BSC, with values normally under 0.3%. On the 19th October significant degradation is observed but related only to a single site which entered On-Air with some HW issues ( Site 4915x mentioned before ). Some BSS Drops also being observed.

Site 4915x On-Air

Figure 13 MX_West7 CDR

By removing problematic Site 4915x it is visible that BSC remains stable and with good performance:

Figure 14 - MX_West7 CDR excluding Site 4915x

However some strange behavior is observed by having a significant number of Drops during HO. This is also observed with the difference between Call Drop Rate and RTCH Drop Rate. Individually, it is possible to observe that a significant number of cells is presenting more than 50% of Drops during HO among theyre total number of Drops. All the cases refer to Micro and Concentric Cells where some special HO configuration is sometimes needed.

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

20/57

Figure 15 - Cells with high Drop HO (1 week data)

In most of the times, this type of behavior is linked with Ping-Pong effect in HO and is caused by mismatch configuration at HO level. In the table it is visible that in most of the cases HO per Call is very high. A relation is visible in a general way between these two indicators:

Figure 16 Drop HO vs HO per Call

As indicated in the parameters audit, some issues were found in the Concentric Cell configuration that can lead to this type of performance. Also all the micro cells need special attention in terms of optimization to avoid Ping-Pong between capture HOs and normal PBGT HOs. Configuration is highly dependant on the type of environment and coverage of the cell. Indicator is also presenting a very high value in some cells which need urgent attention:
Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization 21/57

Figure 17 - Worst Cell HO per Call

Apart from the issues around the Concentric Cells, and performing a deeper analysis to CDR and the Cell Type, it is visible that the main contributors for global CDR are the Umbrella/Macro cells:

Figure 18 - CDR and HO per Call per Cell Type

Number of RTCH Assignments is equivalent between both types of macro cells, Concentric and Single and just a bit lower for the Micro cells. On the Radio side, some cells have been identified as having a high rate of failures. All the 3 sectors of the new site are visible (4915x) and issue known. For the remaining ones, a deeper analysis is recommended.

Figure 19 - Worst Cell CDR ( 1 week data )

Degradation in cell W_W9_C16 (22011/16760) only observed in the last week of analysis and might be related to punctual issues.

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

22/57

3.1.3. Handover
Handover Performance is having a very good performance in both Intra and Inter BSC scenarios. Rate of failures is low and no issues are visible. Again, some degradation is visible after the 19th October due to the new site 4915x.

Site 4915x On-Air

Figure 20 - BSC MX_West7 Out Intra BSC HSR

Site 4915x On-Air

Figure 21 BSC MX_West7 Out Inter BSC HSR

Analysis to HO Causes showing good behaviour in the overall BSC: Mainly Better Cell HOs occurring Low number of Quality HOs, both in DL and UL Balanced number of HOs between DL and UL for Level and Quality causes.

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

23/57

Figure 22 - BSC MX_West7 HO Causes

In a per cell analysis, even if global behaviour is good, some issues can be found indicating poor performance in some cases and added need for analysis and improvement. Some outputs from the detailed cell analysis: 12 cells with no Better Cell HOs Cell W_View_Refreshments_A (22011/16831) with 55.7% DL Quality HOs Cell W_W9_C16 (22011/16760) with 31.85% DL Quality HOs Cell VI_W_VIP_W18_Sh_Sultn_Bn_Hamdn_P (22011/52900) with 27% UL Quality HOs 28 cells with high DL Level HOs Cell W_W19_01_P26 (22011/64400) with almost 80% DL Level HOs 8 cells with high UL Level HOs Cells VI_W_VIP_W18_Sh_Sultn_Bn_Hamdn_P (22011/52900) and W_Hamad_Alsuwaidi_Villa_W35 (22011/43840) with more than 60% UL Level HOs Cell V_W_W30_C (22011/14263) with 42% Distance HOs Cell W_W19_01_North_A (22011/45401) with 10% Distance HOs Issues can indicate bad configuration, unbalanced power between UL and DL, interference and HW issues. Also, coverage must be limited by reviewing cell design and not by logical configuration. A cell with 42% Distance HOs indicates large coverage where it is not needed, and even if service of the cell is limited, interference is kept for the remaining cells. In case of 3G to 2G HOs, BSC is also performing well with no visible problems. Anyway, even if rate of failures is low, a deeper analysis can be performed around existing BSS failures.

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

24/57

Figure 23 - BSC MX_West7 3G->2G HO Performance

BSS Failures are observed generally in all the cells of the BSC.

3.1.4. Traffic
Traffic pattern normal and good values observed for RTCH and SDCCH Duration Average. On the SDCCH part, duration average is 3s, seen as very good performance.

Figure 24 - BSC MX_West7 Traffic

In a small number of cases, SDCCH Duration Average observed is low, which can be an indication of problems on the SDCCH phase.

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

25/57

Figure 25 BSC MX_West7 Lowest SDCCH Dur Avg

3.2. PS Performance
Performance for Data Services, GPRS and EDGE, is directly linked to normal radio conditions and network stability and can be evaluated by the main CS KPIs. Network is presenting good performance on the CS side and it can be assumed that Data Services will also perform well. Anyway, analysis was performed to main (E)GPRS indicators, around TBF establishment and behavior, Data Transfer modes and PDCH usage. Considering the Establishment phase, performance is very good with almost no failures and a high rate of success, both for DL and UL.

Figure 26 BSC MX_West7 DL TBF Establishment

In the whole BSC were identified 2 cells with bad behavior at TBF Establishment in DL, with Radio and BSS problems:

Figure 27 - Worst Cells GPRS TBF Establishment Performance Alcatel Lucent

All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization 26/57

Degradation observed around the 21st September is related to a Shelf Reduction which had some issues. Later, a new degradation is observed related to some actions around the correction of previous problem.

Figure 28 - BSC MX_West7 UL TBF Establishment

In the UL path and in a per cell analysis, a new cell was found apart from W_HILTONIA_MIC_1 (22011/55590) seen before, cell W_W11_Khalidiah_park_A (22011/49151), with only 42% success rate. During Dada Transfer, BSC is also performing well with a small rate of Drops. No radio issues are visible, blocking or any other equipment problems.

Figure 29 - BSC MX_West7 DL Data Transfer

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

27/57

Figure 30 - BSC MX_West7 UL Data Transfer

Some cells present higher rate of DL TBF Drops, but most of them with no significant PS Traffic and not generating reliable statistics. No blocking and/or BSS issues visible.

Figure 31 - BSC MX_West7 Cell PS Performance

The UL performance is similar and no major issues found. At PDCH Usage level, also no issues are found.

Figure 32 - BSC MX_West7 PDCH Traffic Alcatel Lucent

All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization 28/57

QoS Audit (Drive-Tests)

One of the best ways to evaluate real End-User experience and QoS is via the analysis of DriveTests, where the real performance of the MSs in the field can be evaluated. Tests were performed with TEMS tool in the main roads of Abu Dhabi with multiple passes in both ways. Toolchain: TEMS MS: Sony Ericsson W600 (2G Mode only) Roads measured and RxLev are according:

Figure 33 - DT Route and RxLev

Tests were performed in Dedicated Mode, 2G only and continuous call. No major issues detected but one call drop occurred. Main KPIs of the Drive-Tests are presented in the next table:

Figure 34 - Drive-Test KPI

Regarding RxLev distribution, most of the samples are located on the [-60dBm; -70dBm[ interval, a good indication of good coverage in the main roads. Also, only a very small number of samples
Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization 29/57

is having more than -80dBm.

Figure 35 - RxLev Distribution

For RxQual, more than 80% of the samples have value 0 and almost none above 5. Measured quality of signal is showing very good performance.

Figure 36 - Rate of Samples per RxQual

HO Issues and Call Drop were observed in Corniche Rd between 32nd Str and 18th Str. In all the remaining areas no Handover Failures and Dropped Calls were registered. During tests in Corniche Str, a normal HO occurred from cell W_W8_F to W_W11_Khalidiah_park_A. Then, as soon as the MS started to move away from the serving cell, RxLev dropped to values worst than -100dBm and also with very poor RxQual. However, at the time, some good neighbors were reported: First, W_W10_C54_A (RxLev around -65dBm) Later W_Central_Furniture (RxLev around -70dBm) No HO relation is declared between W_W11_Khalidiah_park_A and W_W10_C54_A or W_Central_Furniture. Due to the very poor radio conditions, call dropped. Next call was initiated in W_Kaser_Macro_A, also not a declared neighbor cell of W_W11_Khalidiah_park_A.

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

30/57

Figure 37 - RxQual and Events

3 HO Failures occurred after in cell W_W45_F, on the attempt to D_W_COW3_Yasalam_2012_A. Message received is related to:
Handover Failure Skip Indicator : 0 Protocol Discriminator : (6) Radio resources management messages Message Type : 40 Value : (111) Protocol error, unspecified

Issue is linked to: RR Timer Timeout : T3124

T3124: This timer is used in the seizure procedure during a hand-over, when the two cells are not synchronized. Its purpose is to detect the lack of answer from the network to the special signal. Its value is set to 675 ms if the channel type of the channel allocated in the HANDOVER COMMAND is an SDCCH (+ SACCH); otherwise its value is set to 320 ms.

No radio issues were found and main KPI of the cell is good. Once this is a new site to cover a special event, issue must have occurred in an integration phase.

In addition, from the remaining DT some other missing neighbors were detected: V_W_W8_Corniche_C <-> W_W10_C54_B E_Corniche_E1_PH <-> E_Corniche_E5_D E_E11_C125_A <-> E_East2_A

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

31/57

4. Frequency Plan Audit

Frequency Plan analysis was performed in a global way, due to the wider impact of the frequencies, not confined to the BSC. Also, this type of analysis gives a better overview on the Frequency Plans issues. In summary we can observe 3 main problems: No strategy defined for Hopping System Different types of hopping and also nonhopping co-exist in the same area. It is recommended the usage of the same Hopping Type in the entire network. No split between BCCH and TCH channels All channels are used for both BCCH and TCH. As a good practice, a division is always preferable between the 2 types of frequencies so that optimization can be performed in an easier way and the introduction of new cells/TRXs could be better performed. Frequencies not used in a homogeneous way Re-use of certain frequencies is much higher than others, meaning that frequency re-use is not being performed in a very efficient way. A complete frequency plan must be computed for a more reliable usage.

Number of cells per frequency band and Hopping Type usage can be seen below:

Figure 38 Nb of Cells per Frequency Band and Hopping Type

No pattern could be observed in the type of hopping to be used in the network. Baseband hopping is the most common, but SFH and No-Hopping co-exist in the same areas. With current configuration some trouble is expected when performing network optimization and also it could be very hard to introduce new cells and TRXs. Any new frequency that might be needed in the network will be hard to calculate. Same type of hopping is recommended to be used in the whole network or at least in areas well defined containing the same type. No clear division is also observed between BCCH and TCH channels, meaning that the same channel is used in certain cells in BCCH and in others is included in the Hopping Lists or simply attributed to a TCH channel in Non-Hopping mode. Apart from this, also the distribution of BCCH channels is not made in a homogeneous way, a clear indication that frequency re-use mechanism in the network is not well optimized. As per the graphs below, showing the number of frequency usage in each band, it is easy to
Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization 32/57

observe that some channels are much more used for BCCH than others, and also that most of the frequencies are used in BCCH.

Figure 39 GSM Channel Usage in BCCH

Figure 40 DCS Channel Usage in BCCH

The lack of strategy verified in the global frequency plan might not be showing very bad results at the present time, due to a huge effort made in network optimization and frequency tuning. By the graph below, it is possible to observe that RxQual average levels are acceptable and also all the main KPI dont indicate big issues.

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

33/57

Figure 41 Average RxQual in BSC MX_West7

However, increased difficulties are found when adding a new cell or new TRXs in the network and the cell by cell analysis and optimization can be much more difficult. Detection of interference cases and the identification of the interferers will be very hard or almost impossible in certain circumstances.

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

34/57

5. Stability Audit
This BSS availability and stability assessment is covering 1 BSC MX_West7 from 1st of October till 17th of October 2012. BSS stability assessment helps to get an idea of the network health and so to evaluate the network quality from a system point of view providing measures the BSS system capability to run without problems which is represented by telecom resources availability and by BSS equipment stability. Results Summary for BSC MX_West7 BSC/N7 availability for MX_West7 is excellent GPRS average availability is below good range; however this is mainly due to an outage from 2 days Some unavailability is noticed for cells GSM but due to planned availability for some sites; for others, unavailability is in good range Some transmission alarms observed which could have some impact on availability

5.1. Availability
The table below shows the main Availability KPIs on network level just for reference. The analysis for the audit would concern BSC MX_West7
Main availability KPI
Average_CELL2G_GPRS_Availability(AVG_CELL2G_GPRS_TBA)(%) Average_BSC_GSM_Availability(AVG_BSC_GSM_TBA)(%) Average_CELL2G_GSM_Availability(AVG_CELL2G_GSM_TBA)(%) Average_SS7SL_Availability(AVG_SS7SL_TBA)(%) Average_TRX_Availability(AVG_TRX_TBA)(%)
Figure 42 - Availability KPIs for the whole network

Network Average
94.41% 100.% 94.57% 100.% 97.22%

Main Availability KPIs on MX_West7 BSC level:

Main availability KPI
Average_CELL2G_GPRS_Availability(AVG_CELL2G_GPRS_TBA)(%) Average_BSC_GSM_Availability(AVG_BSC_GSM_TBA)(%) Average_CELL2G_GSM_Availability(AVG_CELL2G_GSM_TBA)(%) Average_SS7SL_Availability(AVG_SS7SL_TBA)(%) Average_TRX_Availability(AVG_TRX_TBA)(%)
Figure 43 - Availability KPIs for MX_West7

BSC Average
93.75% 100.% 96.5% 100.% 99.51%

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

35/57

Observations regarding KPIs: Excellent availability of BSC & N7 Cell GPRS availability below good threshold due to impact of 3 causes o 2 peaks of unavailability on BSC level on 8/10 & 11/10 o Some cells with planned unavailability for both Cs & Ps Cell GSM availability is in acceptable range and mainly impacted by the following: o 2 Cells are having planned unavailability during the whole observation period (due to possible operator action) o 1 site (4 cells) was having as well planned unavailability on 16/10 & 17/10 o 1 site (3 cells) with unplanned unavailability on 11/10 (but with less outage compared to planned ones) TRX availability is in good range

Availability analysis for BSC MX_West7 Table below shows the evolution of main availability KPIs over the observation period:
Average_Availability - BSC: MX_West7 ( MX_West7 ) - 10/01/2012 To 10/17/2012 (Asia/Dubai) (Working Zone: Global - Medium)
100.00% Average_CELL2G_GPRS_Availability(A VG_CELL2G_GPRS_TBA) Average_BSC_GSM_Availability(AVG_ BSC_GSM_TBA) Average_CELL2G_GSM_Availability(A VG_CELL2G_GSM_TBA) 40.00% Average_SS7SL_Availability(AVG_SS7 SL_TBA) Average_TRX_Availability(AVG_TRX_T BA)

80.00%

60.00% % 20.00% 00.00% 10/01/2012 10/02/2012 10/03/2012 10/04/2012 10/05/2012 10/06/2012 10/07/2012 10/08/2012 10/09/2012 10/10/2012 10/11/2012 10/12/2012 10/13/2012 10/14/2012 10/15/2012 10/16/2012 10/17/2012

Figure 44 Main Availability KPIs

Next section will break-down the availability analysis element by element and highlight the availability observations

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

36/57

5.1.1. BSC availability

Table below shows the evolution of BSC availability KPIs over the observation period:
Availability for BSC - BSC: MX_West7 ( MX_West7 ) - 10/01/2012 To 10/17/2012 (Asia/Dubai) (Working Zone: Global - Medium)
120.00%

20000

100.00%

80.00% 15000 60.00% 10000 40.00% % s

Total_BSC_GPRS_BU(BSC_GPRS_T BU) Total_BSC_GSM_BU(BSC_GSM_TBU) Average_BSC_GSM_unavailable_time( AVG_BSC_GSM_IBU) Average_BSC_GSM_Availability(AVG_ BSC_GSM_TBA)

5000 20.00%

0 10/01/2012 10/02/2012 10/03/2012 10/04/2012 10/05/2012 10/06/2012 10/07/2012 10/08/2012 10/09/2012 10/10/2012 10/11/2012 10/12/2012 10/13/2012 10/14/2012 10/15/2012 10/16/2012 10/17/2012

00.00%

Figure 45 - BSC Availability

BSC GSM availability is 100% during the observation period. However, it can be noted that there is GPRS unavailability on BSC level on 7/10 & 11/10. This could be due to unavailability issues on GPU during those 2 days

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

37/57

5.1.2. Cell availability

Availability for CELL2G - BSC: MX_West7 ( MX_West7 ) - 10/01/2012 To 10/17/2012 (Asia/Dubai) (Working Zone: Global - Medium)
98.25%

3500000

3000000

93.25% Total_CELL2G_GPRS_BU(CELL2G_G PRS_TBU) 88.25% Total_CELL2G_GSM_BU(CELL2G_GS M_TBU) Average_CELL2G_GPRS_unavailable_t ime(AVG_CELL2G_GPRS_IBU) Average_CELL2G_GSM_unavailable_ti me(AVG_CELL2G_GSM_IBU) Average_CELL2G_GPRS_Availability(A VG_CELL2G_GPRS_TBA) Average_CELL2G_GSM_Availability(A VG_CELL2G_GSM_TBA) 73.25%

2500000

2000000 83.25% 1500000 78.25% 1000000 % s 500000

0
10 /0 1/ 20 12 10 /0 3/ 20 12 10 /0 5/ 20 12 10 /0 7/ 20 12 10 /0 9/ 20 12 10 /1 1/ 20 12 10 /1 3/ 20 12 10 /1 5/ 20 12 10 /1 7/ 20 12

68.25%

Figure 46 - Cell Availability

Cell GSM availability is mainly impacted by planned unavailability from the following cells: 2 cells were having 0% availability during the overall observation period o D_BLK_W_W18_02_P104_INV_FIN_BROK (22011/41080) o D_W_Crown_Prince_Gen_Serv_Office (22011/3340) 4 cells belonging to 1 site were having planned unavailability on 16th & 17th October o W_W28_A (22011/11241) o W_W28_B (22011/11242) o W_W28_C (22011/11243) o W_W28_D (22011/11244)

There are as well some other unplanned unavailability for some cells (not visible on the graph due to the above mentioned sites high values). The main cells with unplanned unavailability are: W_W11_Khalidiah_park_A/B C on 11/10 V_W_VIP_Qarqashan_Island_B on 10/10

However, by removing the planned availability from the total indicator, graph below can be obtained showing the unplanned availability value which is quite good:

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

38/57

Total cell availability 101.00% 100.00% 99.00% 98.00% 97.00% 96.00% 95.00% 94.00% 93.00% 92.00% 91.00% 90.00%

Average unplanned cell availability

5.1.3. TRX availability

Availability for TRX - BSC: MX_West7 ( MX_West7 ) - 10/01/2012 To 10/17/2012 (Asia/Dubai) (Working Zone: Global - Medium)
1800000 1600000 1400000 1200000 1000000 800000 97.76% 600000 97.26% 400000 200000 0
10 /0 1/ 20 12 10 /0 3/ 20 12 10 /0 5/ 20 12 10 /0 7/ 20 12 10 /0 9/ 20 12 10 /1 1/ 20 12 10 /1 3/ 20 12 10 /1 5/ 20 12 10 /1 7/ 20 12

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

/1 /2 01 2 /2 /2 01 10 2 /3 /2 01 10 2 /4 /2 01 10 2 /5 /2 01 10 2 /6 /2 01 10 2 /7 /2 01 10 2 /8 /2 01 10 2 /9 /2 01 10 2 /1 0/ 20 10 12 /1 1/ 20 10 12 /1 2/ 20 10 12 /1 3/ 20 10 12 /1 4/ 20 10 12 /1 5/ 20 10 12 /1 6/ 20 10 12 /1 7/ 20 12 10

10

Figure 47 - Cell Availability (Total vs Unplanned)

99.76%

99.26%

98.76%

Total_TRX_GSM_BU(TRX_GSM_TBU) Average_TRX_unavailable_time(AVG_T RX_IBU) Average_TRX_Availability(AVG_TRX_T BA)

98.26%

96.76%

96.26%

Figure 48 - TRX Availability

39/57

TRX availability is in excellent range (above 99%) except for last 2 days which were impacted by the following elements: TRXs of 1 site (4 cells) have planned unavailability on both 16/10 & 17/10 o W_W28_A (22011/11241) o W_W28_B (22011/11242) o W_W28_C (22011/11243) o W_W28_D (22011/11244) Cell W_W28_D having some unplanned unavailability for 15 & 16/10 This is the same site appeared as well in cell planned unavailability; so it looks that it had cell/TRE lock action during those 2 days

On the other hand, a few cells were also found having some TRX unplanned unavailability. Those Cells should be checked for possible operational issues on its own TRXs: Cell W_W8_B (22011/11782)is having low TRX availability for the duration from 13/10 to 17/10 W_W11_Khalidiah_park_B (22011/49152)& W_W11_Khalidiah_park_C (22011/49153)on different days but specially on 11,14&16/10 W_W9_C49_B (22011/12222)on different days but specially on 15/10

5.2. Stability
Graph below showing the evolution of alarms per event type. As can be observed, OoS & communication alarms are with the highest occurrences:
Alarms_Split_per_EventType - BSC: MX_West7 ( MX_West7 ) - 10/01/2012 To 10/17/2012 (Asia/Dubai) (Working Zone: Global - Medium)

450 400 350 300 nb 250 200 150 100 50 0 10/01/2012 10/02/2012 10/03/2012 10/04/2012 10/05/2012 10/06/2012 10/07/2012 10/08/2012 10/09/2012 10/10/2012 10/11/2012 10/12/2012 10/13/2012 10/14/2012 10/15/2012 10/16/2012 10/17/2012 QoS_Alarms(QOS_ALARMS) Processing_Error_Alarms(PE_ALARMS) Equipment_Alarms(EQU_ALARMS) Environment_Alarms(ENV_ALARMS) Communication_Alarms(COM_ALARMS)

Figure 49 - Alarm Split per Event Type

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

40/57

Graph below showing the evolution of alarms per severity:

Alarms Split per Severity - BSC: MX_West7 ( MX_West7 ) - 10/01/2012 To 10/17/2012 (Asia/Dubai) (Working Zone: Global - Medium)
400 350 300 Indeterminate_Alarms(IND_ALARMS) 250 nb 200 150 100 50 0
10 /0 1 10 /2 0 /0 12 2/ 10 2 0 /0 12 3 10 /2 0 /0 12 4/ 10 2 0 /0 12 5 10 /2 0 /0 12 6/ 10 2 0 /0 12 7 10 /2 0 /0 12 8/ 10 2 0 /0 12 9 10 /2 0 /1 12 0/ 10 2 0 /1 12 1 10 /2 0 /1 12 2/ 10 2 0 /1 12 3 10 /2 0 /1 12 4/ 10 2 0 /1 12 5 10 /2 0 /1 12 6/ 10 2 0 /1 12 7/ 20 12

Warning_Alarms(WAR_ALARMS) Minor_Alarms(MIN_ALARMS) Major_Alarms(MAJ_ALARMS) Critical_Alarms(CRIT_ALARMS)

Figure 50 - Alarm Split per Severity

Below graph showing the highest transmission alarms occurrence for BSC MX_West7:
Global Trans. Occurence 600 500 400 300 200 100 BSC-TRANS [101] RAI [5] BTS-TRANS [11] FRAMEALIGNMENT [81] TRUNK [36] AIS [4] BTS-TRANS [11] BER-10E6 [102] BTS-TRANS [11] BER-10E4 [100] BTS-TRANS [11] AIS-2-MB [66] BSC-TRANS [101] AIS [1] BSC-TRANS [101] LFA [2] BSC-TRANS [101] LIS [0] BSC-TRANS [101] BER10E-6 [7] BSC-TRANS [101] BER10E-3 [4] BTS-TRANS [11] CRCMFRAME-ALGN [86] BTS-TRANS [11] FAREND-ALARM [176] 0 Count

Figure 51 Highest Transmission Alarms

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

41/57

100

200

300

400

500

600

0 MX_West7 - BSC-TRANS [101] AIS [1]

Alcatel Lucent
V_W_VIP_Qarqashan_Island_B (22011/61302) - GPRS DOWNLINK TBF PROBLEM VI_W_Sh_Hamdan_family_health _clu (22011/43990) - GPRS UPLINK TBF PROBLEM MX_West7 - BSC-TRANS [101] FRAME-SLIP [8] B39_AUH_WEST_C_XX - RXTX [10] HW-DEGRADED [237] V_W_VIP_Qarqashan_Island_B (22011/61302) - GPRS UPLINK TBF PROBLEM MX_West7 - BSC-TRANS [101] RAI [5] Top N Alarm occurrence count among network object per specific problem MX_West7 - TRUNK [36] AIS [4]

Figure 52 - Highest Alarm Coccurence per Network Object and per Specific Problem
W_W11_Khalidiah_park_A (22011/49151) - GPRS UPLINK TBF PROBLEM W_AUH_WEST_B (22011/1242) - GPRS UPLINK TBF PROBLEM

All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

Below graph showing the highest alarm occurrence per network object and per specific problem:

Count

42/57

6. Architecture Audit
Analysis to BSS Architecture was made considering the whole network but with focus in BSC MXWest7 and related MFS, MFS607. Current network status is: SW release: B11 MR3 Ed.1.1 QD4 Network Architecture o 72 BSCs (52 G2 BSC and 20 Mx BSC) 52 G2 BSC, all in config.6 (448 TRX) 20 Mx BSC, all in config.15 (1000 TRX) and with HSL (1 link per BSC) o 29624 TRX (27968 TRX operational o 6717 Cells o 4719 BTS o 6 MFSs (all Mx MFS) 97 GP boards each G2 BSC has one GP board (between 2 and 4 AterPS links per board) 17 Mx BSC have 2 GP boards each (between 4 and 8 AterPS links per board) 1 Mx BSC has 3 GP boards (with 8 AterPS links per board) 2 Mx BSC have 4 GP boards (between 4 and 8 AterPS links per board)

6.1. BSC Configuration

BSC configuration for CS can be found below, divided by MFS:

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

43/57

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

44/57

Figure 53 CS BSC Configuration

For PS configuration is as following:

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

45/57

Figure 54 - PS BSC Configuration

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

46/57

6.2. MFS Configuration

All the 6 MFS have the following configuration:

Figure 55 - MFS Configuration

With the following GPs:

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

47/57

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

48/57

Figure 56 - MFS GP Configuration

From the data presented, we can observe that the number of TRE configured is exceeding the recommended limit of 80% in case of G2 BSCs and 95% in case of Mx BSCs. As example we have: G2 BSC Mafraq13 has 440 TRE configured (Max nb is 448) Mx BSC MX_Reem1 has 1016 TRE configured (Max nb is 1000) Also, all Mx BSCs are using HSL for N7 and they have a single E1 link configured. Recommended implementation considers 2 HSL links per BSC (even if there is no end-user impact except in case of link failure). All Gb links are well configured (each GP board has 2 Gb links).
Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization 49/57

6.3. Traffic Load

Considering CS Traffic Load, no issues were detected with following scenario in the BSCs:

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

50/57

Figure 57 CS Traffic Load

Regarding PS Traffic Load, some problems were already found:

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

51/57

Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

52/57

Figure 58 - PS Traffic Load

According to Traffic Load and Dimensioning analysis it is possible to conclude that for CS scenario dimensioning is correct. All BSC have enough AterMuxCS links configured and even, the number of links for CS is over-dimensioned.
Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization 53/57

This reality is different on the PS Traffic Load side, where several problems were found, especially for G2 BSCs. It is visible that the number of GP boards per BSC is correctly defined, with no GP overload. On the other hand, the number of ExtraAbisTS configured is very small, what can limit the PS traffic at Abis level. Traffic limitation at BSC level is coming from the number of AterPS links: 41 G2 BSC from a total of 52 have not enough AterPS links and are presenting Ater congestion. The number of AterPS needs to be increased with at least 1 link per GP board. The BSC South3 has very low traffic, and BSC Mafraq15 has no traffic at all. In case of Mx BSCs the status is better and only 1 BSC needs more AterPS links.

6.4. BSC MX_West7 Details

Going to BSC MX_West7, configuration is:

Figure 59 MX_West7 Configuration

CS Traffic is presenting a normal variation, showing no constraints.

Figure 60 BSC MX_West7 CS Traffic Alcatel Lucent

All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

54/57

In PS, performance was affected by problems during a Shelf Reduction operation, were one of the GP boards became inactive for some days. After the reactivation of this second GP board, traffic variation started again to performing well:

Second GP board reactivated

Figure 61 - BSC MX_West7 PS Traffic

In terms of GP boards, and after second board became active, the traffic started to be distributed between the two boards and no longer causing Ater congestion.

Figure 62 - GP Traffic Alcatel - Lucent

All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

55/57

7. Conclusion
After the audit performed in one of the most important BSCs for Etisalat, MX_West7, some important outputs were obtained from the different topics. Generally it is visible that network is having a good performance but some issues still need some attention. Also, important to highlight that it is always important to maintain a strategy for network configuration and follow the good network tuning practices. This allows all the activities to be more reliable and efficient, procedures easier to implement and network problems easier to detect. For the BSS Parameter Audit, some issues were highlighted the following aspects: HO configuration, where better tuning is needed for better mobility performance Multiband and concentric cell handovers, to better manage traffic between bands/zones and avoid traffic in poor conditions Dwell algorithm configuration, to ensure correct handling of traffic by macro and micro cells Design parameter revision at BCCH/BSIC for better HO efficiency Need of a network parameter pattern for better performance and to more efficient and correct optimization QoS Counter Based Audit with important outputs: General good KPI in the network Punctual issues in the different domains in some cells which need individual analysis, such as establishment failures, high Call Drop, Low MHT High HO per call in a significant number of cells affecting QoS and Voice Quality and indicating issues in configuration As per the Drive-Tests performed and the QoS Audit based on them, it is visible: Good results in a end-to-end scenario Good level of coverage and quality Some missing HO relations, which lead to 1 Call Drop during the tests During Frequency Plan Audit some issues related to lack of strategy were identified and also some according to frequency re-use. In summary: No strategy was found for Hopping System and where the different hopping types are used in the same area No split exists between frequencies for the BCCH and TCH bands, with increased difficulties for new frequency planning and interference detection Frequency channels not used in an homogeneous way, showing higher re-use of certain frequencies Stability Audit considering both Availability and Alarm Stability provided good results: BSC/N7 availability for MX_West7 is excellent GPRS average availability is below good range. However this is mainly due to an outage from 2 days Some unavailability is noticed for cells GSM but due to planned activities in some sites. For the remaining ones, unavailability is in good range Some transmission alarms observed which could have some impact on availability
Alcatel Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization 56/57

Finally the Architecture Audit provided some good outputs regarding network dimensioning: Good dimensioning in the number of AterCS Some MFSs with not enough number of AterPS for a big number of BSCs and having Ater congestion Number of ExtraAbisTS configured is very small, what can limit the PS traffic at Abis level

Alcatel - Lucent
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying this document, use and communication of its contents, not permitted without written authorization

57/57