GSM TCH Congestion Rate Optimization Delivery Guide

GSM TCH Congestion Rate Optimization Delivery Guide
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GSM RNP V1.0

(For internal use only)
Prepared by Reviewed by Reviewed by Approved by
Wang Weiji, Yang Haiquan Network Planning GSM Technical Support Team
Date: Date: Date: Date:
2006-12-20 2006-12-29
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

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2008-3-27
Huawei Technologies Proprietary
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Revision Record
Date 2006-12-20 Revised version V1.0 Description Completed the initial draft Modified the level of indexes of Table 1 and Table 2 Author Wang Weiji, Yang Haiquan Wang Weiji
2007-01-15
V1.1
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Contents
1 Overview......................................................................................................................................... 5 2 Definition of TCH Congestion Rate ............................................................................................. 5 3 Application Strategy ..................................................................................................................... 6 3.1 Distinguishing from Index Statistic Object ............................................................................ 6 3.2 Distinguishing from Congestion Rate Definition ................................................................... 6 3.3 Time Congestion Rate .......................................................................................................... 8 3.4 TCH Times Congestion Rate (%) ......................................................................................... 8 4 Optimization Strategy of TCH Congestion Rate......................................................................... 8 4.1 Optimization Analysis ........................................................................................................... 8 4.2 Congestion Caused by Traffic Load ................................................................................... 14 4.3 Congestion Caused by Hardware Problem ........................................................................ 15 4.4 Congestion Caused by Coverage....................................................................................... 15 4.5 Congestion Caused by Interference ................................................................................... 16 4.6 Congestion Caused by Frequent Handover ....................................................................... 18 4.7 Congestion Caused by Data Configuration ........................................................................ 18 5 Appendix: TCH Channel Rate Signaling Process .................................................................... 19 5.1 Immediate Assignment and Assignment Channel Seizure Process .................................. 19 5.2 BSC Intra-handover Channel Seizure Process .................................................................. 20 5.3 Incoming BSC Handover Channel Seizure Process .......................................................... 21
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Keywords: GSM, TCH congestion rate, application strategy, and optimization strategy Abstract: This document defines the current key TCH congestion rates, and provides the references for KPI index clarifications and index commitment related to the project in China. In addition, this guide provides the optimization methods briefly for the TCH congestion caused by various reasons. Reference document SN Document name GSM Radio Network Planning and Optimization GSM Principles and Network Optimization GSM Wireless Network Optimization Procedures Traffic Statistic Analysis Guide M900/M1800 Base 6 Station Controller Traffic Statistic Manual (v6.06) 7 GSM Wireless Network KPI Baseline (v1.38) Huawei Huawei Author Publishing house People's Posts and Huawei Telecommunications Publishing House Han Binjie Mechanical Industry Publishing House August 2001 2001-03-09 June 2004 Date
Si Fazhong
Bai Xiaobin
2002-04-20
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1 Overview
The TCH congestion rate is an important index for measuring the network operation quality in the GSM network optimization. It indicates the access performance of a mobile network. The TCH congestion rate influences on the network indexes such as wireless put-through rate, handover success rate, and worst cell rate. This document defines the various TCH congestion rates and introduces the optimization strategy. Competitors and customers have different understandings on the KPI indexes; therefore, TCH congestion rate varies with competitors and customers. Abstract: This document defines the current key TCH congestion rates, and provides the references for KPI index clarifications and index commitment related to the project in China. In addition, this guide provides the optimization methods briefly for the TCH congestion caused by various reasons, and is helpful for the on-site handling. The description of this document is based on GSM BSC V300R002C13.
2 Definition of TCH Congestion Rate

At present, the definitions of the TCH congestion rate are as follows: 1) TCH congestion rate (TCH overflow) (%) = [2124 Attempted TCH seizures meeting TCH overflow/2089 Attempted TCH seizures (all)]*100% This index indicates the percentage of the TCH allocations in the attempted TCH seizures when there is no idle TCH for allocation in the application. 2) TCH congestion rate (including handover)(%) = [2126 TCH seizure failures for call + 2127 TCH seizure failures for very early assignment + 2131 TCH seizure failures for intraBSC incoming cell handover(no radio resource) +2132 TCH seizure failures for interBSC incoming cell handover(no radio resource)]/[2090 Attempted TCH seizures for call + 2091 Attempted TCH seizures for very early assignment + 2096 Attempted TCH seizures for intraBSC incoming cell handover + 2097 Attempted TCH seizures for interBSC incoming cell handover]. 3) TCH congestion rate (excluding handover) (%) = [2126 TCH seizure failures for call + 2127 TCH seizure failures for very early assignment]/[2090 Attempted TCH seizures for call + 2091 Attempted TCH seizures for very early assignment]
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This index indicates the percentage of TCH seizure failures for call excluding the handover procedure in attempted TCH seizures for call (excluding handover). 4) Time congestion rate (%) = [2169 TCHF busy time (second) 2283 Cell unavailable duration]/3600. This index indicates the time ratio of TCHF busy time in the statistic duration. 5) Times congestion rate (including handover) = [[2120 TCH seizure failures for call(no radio resource) + 2131 TCH seizure failures for intraBSC incoming cell handover(no radio resource) + 2132 TCH seizure failures for interBSC incoming cell handover(no radio resource) +2161 TCH seizure failures for intracell handover (no radio resource)] /[2090 Attempted TCH seizures for call + 2091 Attempted TCH seizures for very early assignment + 2096 Attempted TCH seizures for intraBSC incoming cell handover + 2097 Attempted TCH seizures for interBSC incoming cell handover + 2101 Attempted TCH seizures during intracell handover]] This index indicates the voice channel attempted call congestion rate (including handover). 6) Times congestion rate (excluding handover) = 2120 TCH seizure failures for call (no radio resource)/2090 Attempted TCH seizures for call This index indicates the voice channel attempted call congestion rate (excluding handover).
3 Application Strategy
3.1 Distinguishing according to Index Statistic Object
It can be divided into BSC level, Cluster level, and cell level, that is, the TCH congestion rate of the whole BSC, the TCH congestion rate of the Cluster consisting of a series of cells, and the TCH congestion rate of each cell. In the acceptance of TCH congestion rate index, the object requirements of the index statistic vary with operators. In general, it is BSC level or Cluster level. The selection of BSC level or Cluster level is subject to the specific networks and operators practical requirements.
3.2 Distinguishing according to Congestion Rate Definition

Signaling processes related to TCH congestion rate definitions are different. The calculation value is also different. Numerator statistic reasons are different also, for example, Attempted TCH seizures meeting TCH overflow, and seizure failure.
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Attempted TCH seizures meeting TCH overflow: It is the channel request failure caused by the real channel allocation failure. TCH seizure failure: It is the assignment failure caused by various causes after the assignment commands are issued. The processes and causes of numerator TCH seizure failures are listed in the table below: Definition of congestion rate TCH congestion rate (TCH overflow) (%) Related process Call, early assignment, intra-BSC incoming inter cell handover, inter-BSC incoming cell handover Index meaning
Indicate the idle degree of the channel resources In the numerator, some
TCH congestion rate (including handover)
Call, early assignment, intra-BSC incoming inter cell handover, inter-BSC incoming cell handover
items indicate the idle degree of the TCH channel resource, and some items indicate the TCH seizure failure.
TCH congestion rate (excluding handover)
Call, early assignment
Indicate the TCH seizure failure rate Indicate the TCH seizure
Times congestion rate (excluding handover) Call
failure rate owing to unavailable channel resources. It indicates the idle degree of channel resources. Indicate the TCH seizure Call, intra-BSC incoming inter-cell failure rate owing to unavailable channel resources. It indicates the idle degree of channel resources.
Times congestion rate (including handover)
handover, inter-BSC incoming inter-cell handover, and intra-BSC intra-cell handover
In the definition of the acceptance index, TCH congestion rate (TCH overflow) (%) and Times congestion rate (%) are used most frequently. The numerator of the time congestion rate indicates the seizure failures owing to the unavailable TCH channel resources. The index calculation results are better than TCH congestion rate (TCH
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overflow) (%). It is the formula selected with preference in the relocation project. Other competitors use the times congestion rate frequently in the acceptance. The process in the times congestion rate (including handover) differs from that in the times congestion rate (excluding handover). The times congestion rate (excluding handover) includes the call process only.
3.3 Time Congestion Rate

The meaning of statistic point TCHF busy time (second) of the competitor Ericsson differs from that of Huawei. Huawei TCHF busy time (second) indicates the no TCH allocation caused by unavailability of TCH channel resources or BTS unavailability of a cell in the statistic period. Ericsson TCHF busy time (second) does not include the time of TCH channel unavailability caused by the BTS unavailability, and only include the time of the unavailable TCH channel resources. Therefore, Huawei TCH time congestion rate is the difference of two parts, which subtracts the time of the unavailable TCH channel (Cell unavailable duration (second)). Ericsson time congestion rate includes TCHF busy time (second) only.
3.4 TCH Times Congestion Rate (%)

In the numerator, TCH seizure failure in each process is caused by the unavailable resources.
4 Optimization Strategy of TCH Congestion Rate

4.1 Optimization Analysis
The TCH congestion includes the congestion owing to TCH seizure failure caused by Attempted TCH seizures meeting TCH overflow and other causes. Figure 1 shows the analysis process.
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Figure 1 Analysis process of high TCH congestion rate
Check whether the TCH congestion occurs in all cells or certain cell of the BSC. If it occurs in all cells, perform the troubleshooting from the aspects such as capacity, transmission, and hardware. If it occurs in a certain cell, troubleshoot the specific cell. For the TCH congestion occurred in a specific cell, locate the causes from the aspects such as traffic load, equipment fault or transmission problem, interference, coverage, and data configuration.
For internal use
The traffic statistic items needed for locating the TCH congestion rate problem are listed as follows: Table 1 TCCH congestion rate traffic statistic Cause classification BSC-level traffic statistic BSC measurement function -> Access measurement function -> Percentage of TRX in good condition (%) Attempted TCH seizures meeting TCH overflow TCH traffic volume (excluding very early assignment) (ERL) -> TCH congestion rate (TCH overflow) (%) Unsuccessful assignments (no radio resource available) Attempted TCH seizures (all) Seizure failure BSC measurement function -> Access measurement function -> Attempted TCH seizures (all) TCH congestion rate (including handover)(%) Very early assignment TCH Seizure failures (all) Attempted TCH seizures (all) TCH measurement function -> TCH seizure failures for very early assignment Attempted TCH seizures for very early assignment N/A. TCH measurement function -> Attempted TCH seizures meeting TCH overflow Percentage of TRX in Good Condition (%) TCH usability (%) TCH traffic volume (excluding very early assignment) (ERL) Attempted TCH seizures (all) None Cell-level traffic statistic Carrier-level traffic statistic
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Cause classification
BSC-level traffic statistic TCH congestion rate (excluding handover)(%) Unsuccessful assignments (radio interface failure, reversion to previous channel) Unsuccessful assignments (equipment failure) Unsuccessful assignments (requested terrestrial resource unavailable) Unsuccessful assignments (terrestrial circuit already allocated) Unsuccessful channel activation during assignment (NACK) Channel activation timeout during assignment (TIMEOUT) Incoming BSC
Cell-level traffic statistic TCH measurement function -> TCH Queue failures for queue full TCH queue failures for timeout Directed retry after queue failure Assignment TCH seizure failures (equipment failure) TCH seizure failures (requested terrestrial resource unavailable) TCH seizure failures (terrestrial circuit already allocated) TCH seizure failures (invalid message contents) TCH measurement function -> TCH Queue failures for queue full TCH queue failures for timeout Attempted TCH seizures during intraBSC incoming cell handover Attempted TCH seizures for interBSC incoming cell handover
Carrier-level traffic statistic
handover or intra-BSC handover
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Table 2 TCH congestion rate cause Cause classification BSC level BSC measurement function -> Access measurement function -> TCH congestion rate (including handover)(%) TCH congestion rate (excluding handover)(%) TCH congestion rate (TCH Traffic load overflow) (%) Percentage of TRX in good condition (%) TCH traffic volume (excluding very early assignment) (ERL) -> Unsuccessful assignments (no radio resource available) Channel allocation measurement function -> TCH Cell measurement function -> Inter-cell handover BSC measurement function -> Access Radio environment and interference measurement function ->Unsuccessful assignments (radio interface failure, reversion to previous channel) TCH call drop rate (%) measurement function -> Attempted handovers for uplink quality Attempted handovers for downlink quality Attempted handovers for uplink strength Attempted handovers for downlink strength Cell frequency scan allocation measurement function Average num. of idle TCHs in Interf. band 1 Average num. of idle TCHs in Interf. band 2 Average num. of idle TCHs in Interf. band 3 Average num. of idle TCHs in Interf. band 4 Average num. of idle TCHs in Interf. band 5 Receive quality measurement function Receive level measurement function Percentage of TRX in good condition (%) TCH usability TCH traffic volume (excluding very early assignment) (ERL) Full rate traffic volume (excluding very early assignment) (ERL) Half rate traffic volume (excluding very early assignment) (ERL) 1800/1900 cell TCH traffic volume (excluding very early assignment) (ERL) Cell level Carrier level
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BSC level
Cell level Cell measurement function -> TCH measurement function
Carrier level
BSC measurement function -> Access measurement function -> Unsuccessful assignments (equipment failure) Unsuccessful assignments Hardware fault and transmission problem (requested terrestrial resource unavailable) Unsuccessful assignments (terrestrial circuit already allocated) Unsuccessful channel activation during assignment (NACK) Channel activation timeout during assignment (TIMEOUT)
Cell measurement function 2-> TCHF/H measurement function (2) TCH seizure failures (requested terrestrial resource unavailable) TCHH channel activation failures during very early assignment (NACK) TCHH channel activation failures during assignment (TIMEOUT) TCHF channel activation failures during assignment (NACK) TCHF channel activation failures during assignment (TIMEOUT)
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BSC level
Cell level Cell measurement function -> Inter-cell handover measurement function-> Attempted handovers for uplink quality Attempted handovers for downlink quality Attempted handovers for uplink strength Attempted handovers for downlink strength
Carrier level
Up-Down Link Balance Measurement Function Call Allocation by TA Measurement Function
Coverage
Attempted handovers for timing advance Attempted handovers for better cell TCH measurement function -> TCH lost radio connections (connection failure) TCH lost radio connections (error indication) Power control measurement function ->
4.2 Congestion Caused by Traffic Load

If the network capacity is deficient or the radio capacity in each position of the network differs from the practical traffic allocation, the TCH congestion occurs in the cell where there are a lot of subscribers. Through the traffic statistic cell TCH measurement task, check whether the TCH congestion rate is caused by the TCH overflow. If the congestion rate is caused really by the too large traffic volume, forecast its real traffic volume, and check whether the traffic can be shared by other cells. If it exceeds the optimization adjustment capabilities, the operator should be suggested to expand the capacity. The traffic balance measures may not conform to the minimum radio path loss principle. The methods include the adjustment of coverage range, adjustment of access threshold, CRO, handover threshold, and enabling the load handover.
For internal use
4.3 Congestion Caused by Hardware Problem

The TCH channel seizure failure may be caused by hardware (carrier) or transmission problem. As a result, the congestion may occur. The specific analysis is as follows: 1) Check alarm information such as transmission alarm, board communication alarm, CDU Standing Wave Ratio alarm, and clock alarm to make sure whether the equipment is faulty. 2) Query the indexes such as Percentage of TRX in good condition (%), TCH usability, and [TCH channel activation (NACK)]/[TCH channel activation (TIMEOUT)] of the target cell to check whether the equipment is faulty. 3) Query the indexes such as TCH seizure failures due to A-interface failures and TCH seizure failures due to terrestrial link failures to analyze whether the terrestrial link is broken. 4) If the uplink channel is damaged or performance decreases, the MS resides in the cell and cannot be accessed. As a result, the congestion occurs owing to a lot of seizure failures. Through Incoming Inter Cell Handover Measurement Function, you can find that handovers towards this cell fail. Through Receiving Quality Measurement or Receiving Level Measurement Function, query each TRX status of the cell. Query whether the uplink/downlink measurement report of the same TRX is abnormal to determine which carrier is associated with. The carrier is faulty but without the fault alarm on the alarm console. This problem can be solved by using the signaling analyzer to trace the messages of the Abis in the cell with high TCH congestion rate. Through the analysis of the signaling, locate the fault at the carrier. After the fault is located at the carrier, the fault can be cleared through replacing the carrier or temporarily disabling the carrier.
4.4 Congestion Caused by Coverage

The coverage problems such as wrong installation of BTS antenna feeder and incorrect configuration may result in the TCH seizure failure. 1) TCH seizure failure caused by inappropriate installation of antenna feeder
The cell antenna is reversely connection, that is, the cell transmit antenna and receive antenna are wrongly connected. As a result, the signals of the uplink and downlink channel are severely unbalanced. Solution: Analyze the uplink/downlink signal level and quality of the target cell by using the DT or CQT test or using the signaling analyzer. Focus on the unbalance symptom. 2) TCH seizure failure caused by antenna feeder fault
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The standing wave ratio of the antenna feeder may increase owing to damage, water, and loose of the connector. The practical transmit power and receive sensitivity decrease. As a result, the TCH channel seizure fails and the TCH congestion occurs. This kind of problem can be located through carefully checking the antenna feeders such as tower amplifier, power amplifier, combiner, and feeder, and check whether the standing wave ratio alarm exists. For the cell with problem, perform the DT and CQT test. The simple method is: Test the BTS practical transmit signals by using the test MS at the foot of the BTS. If the signal strength is -30 to -50dBm, it is normal. Otherwise, it is problematic. 3) TCH seizure failure caused by CDU/SCU configuration
For the BTS configuration reason, the difference of the combiner loss between the channels passed by the BCCH and the channels passed by non-BCCH is large; therefore, the transmit power of the channel where the non-BCCH is located is smaller than that of the channel where the BCCH is located. If a MS originates a call (especially, it is far away from the BTS), when the system assigns the MS with the TCH channel of the TRX where the non-BCCH is located, the TCH channel seizure fails owing to the low transmit power. Solutions:
z z
Configure the TRX of the BCCH on the channel with high combiner loss. Optimize the configuration, to avoid the big difference of the combiner loss between the channel where the BCCH passes and the channel where the non-BCCH passes.
4)
Congestion caused by too large coverage
Query the average level of the power control, the average level in case of the call drop, and TA to analyze the TA value and the relation with the receive level. Judge the coverage range by using the driving test. Query the TCH usability of the neighbor cell to check whether the fault of the neighbor cell results in the congestion. Query the uplink and downlink balance performance to check whether the downlink value is greater than the uplink value, as a result, the MS cannot normally occupy the TCH.
4.5 Congestion Caused by Interference

The TCH congestion rate may be related to the interference. The call drops of the cell occur frequently, and the SDCCH congestion rate is high. In the random access measurement function, the RACH congestion occurs, and the immediate assignment success rate decreases.
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1. Inter-network interference
The transmit power of illegal frequency from other networks results in the interferences on the network. When the system assigns the TCH channel for a call, the channel is affected by the interference. As a result, the assignment fails, and the TCH congestion occurs. Query Average num. of idle TCHs in Interf. band 4 and 5 to check whether it is the uplink interference. It is used as a reference only. To clear the interference, use the spectrum analyzer and high gain directional antenna to search the position of the interference source, and then shut off the interference source.
2. Intra-network interference
If the frequency plan is inappropriate, the same-/adjacent-frequency carrier-to-Interference ratio cannot be met in some positions in the network. The same-/adjacent-frequency interference occurs. Meanwhile, the TCCH congestion occurs owing to the TCH seizure failure. The uplink and downlink of the cell frequency in the network appears in pairs. The interference band of the traffic statistic can be used as the fundament. Query the interference band in the traffic statistic, and locate the cells with high interference band 4 and interference band 5 values. Then, check the network frequency plan. Locate the cell with problem, and adjust the frequency plan to solve the interference. For the intra-network interference, the driving test should be performed in a lot of places, to find the downlink interference and cross-cell coverage interference according to the practical quality allocation, so as to adjust the antenna or frequency plan specifically. For specific troubleshooting, see G- Interference Problem Handling Guide-20050311-A-1.0 1) Hardware fault interference: Features of the interference caused by hardware and equipment problems: Strong interference signals and lasting for a long time. For the interference caused by the adjustment, it may be related to the traffic volume obviously. When the traffic volume is small, you can send the idle BURST for verification. 2) Intra-network interference: It is the intra-frequency interference or inter-frequency interference caused by inappropriate frequency planning, frequent frequency multiplexing, and cross-cell coverage. In general, the intra-network interference increases with the increase of the traffic volume. 3) For specific troubleshooting, see GInterference Problem Handling Guide-20050311-A-1.0
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4.6 Congestion Caused by Frequent Handover

The frequent handovers may result in the TCH channel congestion. Query the handover times and successful call seizures, and check whether the ratio is appropriate. Check whether the ratio of the handover-in and handover-out, and check whether the cell congestion is caused by the inappropriate handovers.
4.7 Congestion Caused by Data Configuration

When the cell is activated with the half rate and overlaid/underlaid functions, the congestion may be caused by the inappropriate setting of parameters. When the GPRS service is activated, the TCH congestion occurs owing to the inappropriate allocation of speech channel and traffic channel. In addition, the TCH channel congestion may be caused by the wrong setting of circuit pool number.
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5 Appendix: TCH Channel Rate Signaling Process

5.1 Immediate Assignment and Assignment Channel Seizure Process
MS Channel Request Channel Requiredt Channel Activation Channel Activation Acknowledge BTS BSC MSC
Immediate assignment Command SABM UA EST IND CR CMP Lay3 information CC CM Service Accept Setp Call Proceeding Assinnment Request Channel Activation Channel Activation Acknowledge SABM UA EST IND
Assignment Complete
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5.2 BSC Intra-handover Channel Seizure Process

MS BTS2 BSC BTS1 MS MSC
Measurement Report from MS(1)
Channel ACT(2) Channel ACT ACK(3) Handover CMD(4) Handover Access(5) Handover Detect(6) PHY INFO(7) SABM(8) EST IND(9) UA(10) Handover Complete(11) Handover Performed(12)
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5.3 Incoming BSC Handover Channel Seizure Process

MS Other BTS Other BSC MSC HUWEI BSC HUAWEI BTS MS
Measurement Report from MS(1) Handover RQD(2) Handover REQ(3) Channel ACT(4) Handover REQ ACK (6) Channel ACT ACK(5)
Handover CMD(7) HANDOVER COMMAND(8)
Handover Detect(10) Handover Detect(11)
Handover Access(9)
PHY INFO(12) PHY INFO(13) SABM(14) Establish IND(15) UA(16)
Clear CMD(19) Clear CMP(20)
Handover CMP(18)
HANDOVER CMP(17)
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GSM TCH Congestion Rate Optimization Delivery Guide

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GSM RNP V1.0