International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) - Volume4 Issue8- August 2013

Network Audit and Quality Check Of Live BTS Sites: A Practical Survey
Tushar Saxena#1, J.S.Jadon*2
#2

M.Tech, AITEM, Amity University, Noida, India. Associate professor, AITEM, Amity University, Noida, India.

#1

ABSTRACT GSM network is always susceptible to various issues and faults. A BTS site consists of certain parameters which are required to be measured timely. This brings the need of network audit. Network audit is necessary to judge the network performance and maintain QOS standards. The network audit identifies the inconsistencies or the limitations in current BTS site or sites. The parameters are SWR, return loss and cable loss. SWR and return loss are interrelated and cable loss is the loss in the feeder cable which is going from BTS to GSM antenna. This paper is presented as the part of the live BTS quality check for different non showcase sites. In this paper real BTS sites are evaluated and different issues, trials, punch points and improvements have been summarized and observations have been listed to relate together the aspects of network improvement which will affect the QoS of love cellular network. The measurement was carried out with the aid of the Anritsu site master instrument model S325D. This Anritsu site master instrument is capable of determining the voltage standing wave ratio in a transmission line. Index terms GSM, BTS, E tilt, M tilt, MS etc. I. INTRODUCTION GSM network usually called as cellular network (as the whole coverage area is divided into different cells and sectors) is comprised of a mobile Station (MS) which is connected to the Base Transceiver Station (BTS) via air interface. BTS also contains the equipment called Transceiver (TRX or sometimes TRU), which is responsible for the transmission and reception of several radio frequency (RF) signals to and from the end users. BTS is further connected to the base station controller (BSC) through an Abis interface. BSC handles radio resource management and handovers of the calls from one BTS to the other BTS in it. BSC is then connected to Mobile Switching Centre (MSC). Every subscriber demands for congestion free network with no call drops and blocking[1]. To satisfy the subscriber demand, RF optimization teams aims to ensure minimum blocking/congestion over air interface in order to provide better QoS to guarantee significant network performance. RF Optimization teams analyze the

performance and evaluate quality of service offered by the existing network. Since the deployment of GSM network, it has been observed practically that there are many phenomena and issues which have been neglected in literature/available text but they severely influence the network performance[2]. II. NETWORK BASICS There are different terminologies that one should know while talking about network audit and Quality check. There are different manufacturers of BTS equipments like ericsson, NSN and ZTE but a single telecom circle uses the BTS of only one manufacturer for a given circle. The telecom BTS can be of three types as indoor BTS, outdoor BTS and tower top BTS. Indoor BTS are placed inside prefab or concrete shelter with air conditioning as a much needed requirement. Outdoor BTS are installed at open over a foundation generally of 5x6. Tower top BTS can be mounted on wall, tower or a pole. The telecom towers have GSM antennas, microwave antenna and 3G antennas as well. 3G antennas are present only on the 3G network sites. To maintain the balance between the coverage and capacity, GSM antennas are given with E and M tilts. E tilts are given to increase the coverage of the antennas and M tilts are given to increase the capacity of an antenna. The telecom tower can be GBT or ground based tower usually of height of 30 meters to 50 meters from the ground and RTT or roof top towers which are mounted over a building usually in urban areas where there is no space for GBT. Height of rtts aree generally depends on the height of the building and usually ranges from 7 meters to 15 meters. The survey includes 100 NS or non showcase sites to be audited. III. EVALUATION PROCESS GSM network performance and QoS evaluation are the most important steps for the mobile operators as the revenue and customer satisfaction is directly related to network performance and quality. The entire project consists of mainly SWR and corresponding return loss and cable loss for each sectors transmitter and receiver. The hardware tool

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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) - Volume4 Issue8- August 2013
anritsus site master S325D is used to calculate the parameters for every live telecom site. A. Voltage standing wave ratio The ratio of the maximum voltage to the minimum voltage amplitude in a transmission line is called the Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR). In many practical circumstances this parameter can be readily measured and then used as indication of the transmission line performance[3]. The voltage standing wave ratio can be related to the magnitude of the reflection coefficient. If the reflection coefficient is given by A, then the maximum voltage in the standing wave is : VSWR = (1+|A|) / (1-|A|) Where A is the ratio of reflected voltage and incident voltage. The VSWR is always a real and positive number, smaller the VSWR is, better the antenna is matched to the transmission line and the more power is delivered to the antenna. The minimum value of the VSWR is 1.0 indicating that no power is reflected from the antenna, which is ideal. In practical scenario the VSWR of 1.30 is the maximum value. There was a margin given by the telecom company for 0.2 and if the VSWR exceeds 1.5 then it will damage the TRX. B. Return Loss Return Loss can be stated as the measure of the reflected energy from a transmitted signal. It is commonly expressed in positive value of dB scale. More the value, the less energy is reflected. Return loss is generated as the result of the varying impedance of the channel. These variations can generate through the connectors with high or low impedance values. The average input impedance of the patch cables can be significantly different from the horizontal cable's average impedance. The impedance of the cables may have certain variations at specific points due to the instability of the cable design. RL(dB) = 10LOG(Pr/Pt) C. Working with Site Master By using the Anritsu site master instrument, the measurement is done in such a way that the Anritsu site master is connected to the transmission line which in this case was coaxial cable. The measurement setup is shown in Figure 2. The Anritsu site master instrument needs to be calibrated before the measurements were taken. The first process in calibration is to select the desire frequency range which in this case 1800 MHz. The following steps were taken in selecting the frequency range. - Press the ON button to switch on the device. Press the soft key FREQ from the main menu. - Press Soft key F1 from the main menu. - Enter the lower frequency limit (1710-1785) in MHz for the antenna system by using the up/down arrow and press ENTER. - Press the soft key F2 from frequency menu. - Enter the higher frequency limit (18051880) in MHZ for the antenna system by using the UP/down arrow and press ENTER. - Check the new frequency start and stop indication in the FREQ (MHz) scale in the display area. The further actions in calibration are to perform the following. - Turn on the calibration by pressing the start key. - Choose the type of calibration and press ENTER. - Follow the onscreen instructions. After the calibration, site master is connected to the transmitter as shown in Figure 1. Firstly it is connected to the TX and then connected to the RX for every sector without removing the other end.

TRX

Connector

Site master

Fig. 1 Site master arrangements

VSWR may vary because of certain reasons like rainfall when rainwater get inside the connector, if there are more twists and turns in the cable etc. VSWR is a linear measurement and is useful when large reflections are needed to display whereas return loss is a logarithmic measurement when small reflections are needed to display.

IV. OBSERVATION Total of 100 sites were visited and audited but in this paper data of only 30 sites are presented. The different non showcase sites of Haryana state of India are taken from different cities like ambala, jagadhari, sonipat, jind, rohtak and pehowa.

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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) - Volume4 Issue8- August 2013
A. Ambala TABLE 1 VSWR of TX and RX for Ambala
Site ID Cell ID VSWR TX VSWR RX

TABLE 3 VSWR of TX and RX for Sonipat

Site ID Cell ID VSWR TX VSWR RX

BWLA66 BWLA66 BWLA66 DEV111 DEV111 DEV111 HGL187 HGL187 HGL187 KMK182 KMK182 KMK182 KSN570 KSN570 KSN570

BWLA66A BWLA66B BWLA66C DEV111A DEV111B DEV111C HGL187A HGL187B HGL187C KMK182A KMK182B KMK182C KSN570A KSN570B KSN570C

1.25 1.24 1.14 1.29 1.14 1.26 1.18 1.11 1.17 1.2 1.28 1.3 1.24 1.22 1.23

1.23 1.24 1.25 1.19 1.25 1.27 1.2 1.14 1.15 1.12 1.3 1.25 1.29 1.14 1.26

AMP562 AMP562 AMP562 APR558 APR558 APR558 JHAK57 JHAK57 JHAK57 JHR534 JHR534 JHR534 RAJU57 RAJU57 RAJU57
D. Jind

AMP562A AMP562B AMP562C APR558A APR558B APR558C JHAK57A JHAK57B JHAK57C JHR534A JHR534B JHR534C RAJU57A RAJU57B RAJU57C

1.26 1.19 1.25 1.27 1.3 1.15 1.19 1.29 1.2 1.3 1.15 1.24 1.28 1.17 1.19

1.3 1.15 1.24 1.22 1.23 1.28 1.15 1.2 1.2 1.23 1.28 1.29 1.17 1.3 1.15

B. Jagadhari TABLE 2 VSWR of TX and RX for Jagadhari

Site ID Cell ID VSWR TX VSWR RX

TABLE 4 VSWR of TX and RX for Jind

Site ID Cell ID VSWR TX VSWR RX

BSPR22 BSPR22 BSPR22 DRW168 DRW168 DRW168 KHDR84 KHDR84 KHDR84 KNH508 KNH508 KNH508 RNPR87 RNPR87 RNPR87
C. Sonipat

BSPR22A BSPR22B BSPR22C DRW168B DRW168C DRW168D KHDR84A KHDR84B KHDR84C KNH508A KNH508B KNH508C RNPR87A RNPR87B RNPR87C

1.2 1.28 1.3 1.28 1.29 1.22 1.22 1.23 1.28 1.25 1.24 1.29 1.25 1.24 1.29

1.28 1.24 1.2 1.17 1.19 1.14 1.14 1.26 1.17 1.24 1.29 1.2 1.3 1.31 1.24

GNG231 GNG231 GNG231 JIND03 JIND03 JIND03 JIND04 JIND04 JIND04 JIND05

GNG231A GNG231B GNG231C JIND03A JIND03B JIND03C JIND04A JIND04B JIND04C JIND05A

1.3 1.15 1.24 1.15 1.19 1.3 1.24 1.22 1.29

1.23 1.28 1.29 1.28 1.15 1.23 1.29 1.14 1.2 1.2 1.23 1.28 1.29 1.14 1.15

1.2 JIND05 JIND05B 1.3 JIND05 JIND05C 1.15 KLWA75 KLWA75A 1.24 KLWA75 KLWA75B 1.22 KLWA75 KLWA75C 1.19

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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) - Volume4 Issue8- August 2013
E. Rohtak TABLE 5 VSWR of TX and RX for Rohtak
Site ID Cell ID VSWR TX VSWR RX

PHWA36 PHWA36A PHWA36 PHWA36B

V. 1.34 1.33 1.32 1.31 1.3 1.29 1.28 1.27 1.26 1.25 1.24 1.23 1.22 1.21 1.2 1.19 1.18 1.17 1.16 1.15 1.14 1.13 1.12 1.11 1.1 GRAPHS

1.22 1.23

1.14 1.26

BLAB30 BLAB30 BLAB30 BYAN19 BYAN19 BYAN19 NIGA68 NIGA68 NIGA68 RTHK10 RTHK10 RTHK10

BLAB30A BLAB30B BLAB30C BYAN19A BYAN19B BYAN19C NIGA68A NIGA68B NIGA68C RTHK10A RTHK10B RTHK10C

1.14 1.26 1.17 1.26 1.17 1.19 1.2 1.3 1.15 1.29 1.2

1.24 1.26 1.29 1.27 1.3 1.15 1.2 1.23 1.28 1.2 1.2 1.23 1.24 1.26 1.29

VSWR TX VSWR RX

1.3 SUND27 SUND27A 1.14 SUND27 SUND27B 1.26 SUND27 SUND27C 1.17
F. Pehowa

Fig 2: Sites at AMBALA

TABLE 6 VSWR of TX and RX for Pehowa

Site ID Cell ID VSWR TX VSWR RX

PHWA01 PHWA01 PHWA01 PHWA01 PHWA14 PHWA14 PHWA14 PHWA15 PHWA15 PHWA15 PHWA15 PHWA34 PHWA34 PHWA34

PHWA01A PHWA01B PHWA01C PHWA01D PHWA14A PHWA14B PHWA14C PHWA15A PHWA15B PHWA15C PHWA15D PHWA34A PHWA34B PHWA34C

1.29 1.2 1.3 1.15 1.24 1.22 1.23 1.28 1.17 1.19 1.27 1.3 1.15 1.24

1.2 1.2 1.23 1.28 1.29 1.14 1.26 1.17 1.3 1.15 1.22 1.23 1.28 1.29

1.34 1.33 1.32 1.31 1.3 1.29 1.28 1.27 1.26 1.25 1.24 1.23 1.22 1.21 1.2 1.19 1.18 1.17 1.16 1.15 1.14 1.13 1.12 1.11 1.1

VSWR TX

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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) - Volume4 Issue8- August 2013
Fig 3: Sites at Jagadhari

1.34 1.33 1.32 1.31 1.3 1.29 1.28 1.27 1.26 1.25 1.24 1.23 1.22 1.21 1.2 1.19 1.18 1.17 1.16 1.15 1.14 1.13 1.12 1.11 1.1

VSWR TX VSWR RX

1.34 1.33 1.32 1.31 1.3 1.29 1.28 1.27 1.26 1.25 1.24 1.23 1.22 1.21 1.2 1.19 1.18 1.17 1.16 1.15 1.14 1.13 1.12 1.11 1.1

VSWR TX VSWR RX

Fig 6: Sites at Rohtak Fig 4: Sites at Sonipat

1.34 1.33 1.32 1.31 1.3 1.29 1.28 1.27 1.26 1.25 1.24 1.23 1.22 1.21 1.2 1.19 1.18 1.17 1.16 1.15 1.14 1.13 1.12 1.11 1.1

VSWR TX VSWR RX

1.34 1.33 1.32 1.31 1.3 1.29 1.28 1.27 1.26 1.25 1.24 1.23 1.22 1.21 1.2 1.19 1.18 1.17 1.16 1.15 1.14 1.13 1.12 1.11 1.1

VSWR TX

Fig 5: Sites at Jind

Fig 7 : Sites at PEHOWA

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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) - Volume4 Issue8- August 2013
VI. OTHER MEASUREMENTS There are various other measurements to be done like E and M tilt of GSM antennas, azimuth of the GSM antennas, height of the antennas and tower, height of the microwave antennas and their azimuth, presence of lightning arrestor. Capacity of air conditioning unit in case of indoor BTS, capacity of rectifier and SMPS modules, Dg set and presence of different working infra alarms. VII. CONCLUSION In this work, the VSWR, return loss and cable loss values were measured in the investigated and the different VSWR values are plotted against various sites in different zones of Haryana state of India. BTS and the result of the study showed that the VSWR values are within the acceptable range during the time of this survey indicating that the level of mismatch are minimum. Refrences 1. Kechagias, S.Papaoulakis, N.Nikitopoulos, D. Karambalis: A Comprehensive Study on Performance Evaluation of Operational GSM and GPRS Systems under Varying Traffic Conditions. IST Mobile and Wireless telecommunications Summit, 2002, Greece. 2. S. Kyriazakos, G. Karetsos, E. Gkroustiotis, C. Kechagias, P. Fournogerakis Congestion Study and Resource Management in Cellular Networksof present and Future Generation , IST MobileSummit 2001, Barcelona, Spain, 9-12 September 2001. 3. Aleksandra N . Modern Approaches in modeling of Radio propagation environment IEEE communication surveys USA, 2000.

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