Assignment and Immediate Assignment

Feature Parameter Description

Copyright Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 2010. All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written
consent of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Trademarks and Permissions

and other Huawei trademarks are trademarks of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
All other trademarks and trade names mentioned in this document are the property of their respective holders.

Notice
The information in this document is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made in the
preparation of this document to ensure accuracy of the contents, but all statements, information, and
recommendations in this document do not constitute the warranty of any kind, express or implied.

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Contents

Contents
1 Introduction to This Document .............................................................................................1-1
1.1 Scope ............................................................................................................................................ 1-1
1.2 Intended Audience ........................................................................................................................ 1-1
1.3 Change History.............................................................................................................................. 1-1

2 Overview of Assignment and Immediate Assignment....................................................2-1

3 Technical Description ..............................................................................................................3-1
3.1 Immediate Assignment.................................................................................................................. 3-1
3.1.1 Immediate Assignment Procedure ....................................................................................... 3-1
3.1.2 Immediate Assignment Combination.................................................................................... 3-2
3.2 Assignment.................................................................................................................................... 3-2
3.2.1 Assignment Procedure ......................................................................................................... 3-2
3.2.2 Assignment Classification..................................................................................................... 3-4

4 Parameters .................................................................................................................................4-1
5 Counters......................................................................................................................................5-1
6 Glossary ......................................................................................................................................6-1
7 Reference Documents .............................................................................................................7-1

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BSS
Assignment and Immediate Assignment

1 Introduction to This Document

1 Introduction to This Document

1.1 Scope
This document describes the assignment procedure, immediate assignment procedure, and assignment
classification.

1.2 Intended Audience

It is assumed that users of this document are familiar with GSM basics and have a working knowledge of
GSM telecommunication.
This document is intended for:
z

Personnel working on Huawei GSM products or systems

System operators who need a general understanding of this feature

1.3 Change History

This section provides information on the changes in different document versions.
There are two types of changes, which are defined as follows:
z

Feature change
Feature change refers to the change in the Assignment and Immediate Assignment feature of a
specific product version.

Editorial change
Editorial change refers to the change in wording or the addition of the information that was not
described in the earlier version.

Document Issues
The document issues are as follows:
z

01 (2009-11-20)

01(2009-11-20)
This is the first commercial release of GBSS9.0.

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2 Overview of Assignment and Immediate

Assignment

2 Overview of Assignment and Immediate Assignment

When an MS initiates a call or needs to switch from a signaling channel to a TCH, the BSC needs to
assign a channel to the MS.
When the MS initiates a call, the BSC needs to assign an SDCCH or a TCH (the TCH is used for
signaling) according to the specific call establishment cause. This procedure is called immediate
assignment.
After receiving a channel request from the MS, the MSC sends the BSC an Assignment Request
message, instructing the BSC to assign a suitable channel to the MS. The channel to be assigned must
meet the requirements of the MSC and MS, such as the channel type, speech version, and MS
frequency capability. This procedure is called assignment.
The immediate assignment and assignment procedures are very important for call establishment. Proper
immediate assignment and assignment algorithms ensure optimal KPIs, thus improving the performance
of radio networks.
z

Through the immediate assignment procedure, a radio resource (RR) connection is established
between the MS and the network.

Through the assignment procedure, the MSC assigns a specific TCH to the MS so that a stable
connection is established between the MS and the network.

The processing during the immediate assignment and assignment procedures varies based on different
conditions. For details, see Channel Management Parameter Description.

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3 Technical Description

3 Technical Description
3.1 Immediate Assignment
3.1.1 Immediate Assignment Procedure
The immediate assignment procedure is initiated by an MS, with the purpose of establishing an RR
connection between the MS and the network.
The immediate assignment procedure is shown in Figure 3-1.
Figure 3-1 Immediate assignment procedure
MS

BTS

BSC

Channel Request(1)
RACH
Channel Required(2)
Channel Activation(3)
Channel Activation Acknowledge(4)
Immediate Assignment Command(5)
AGCH
Start T3101

SABM(6)
main DCCH
UA(7)
main DCCH
Establish Indication(8)

Stop T3101

1.

The MS sends a Channel Request message to the BTS on the RACH.

After initiating the immediate assignment procedure, the MS always listens to the BCCH and the
corresponding CCCH. If the MS does not receive the Immediate Assignment Command message or
Immediate Assignment Extended message, it resends the Channel Request message at a specified
interval. When the number of times that the Channel Request message is resent exceeds MS MAX
Retrans, the immediate assignment procedure fails.

2.

The BTS sends a Channel Required message to the BSC.

3.

After the reception of the Channel Required message, the BSC assigns a signaling channel and
sends the BTS a Channel Activation message, which carries information elements (IEs) such as
Activation Type, Channel Description, Level, and Time Advance (TA).

4.

After the reception of the Channel Activation message, if the IEs carried in the message are correct,
the BTS turns on the power amplifier on the specified channel to receive uplink messages. At the

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3 Technical Description

same time, the BTS sends the BSC a Channel Activation Acknowledge message carrying the
absolute frame number, which is used by the BSC to determine Starting Time.
The BSC sends the MS an Immediate Assignment Command message, instructing the MS to
access the specified channel. The specified channel can be either an SDCCH or a TCH.

5.

Huawei BSC supports the immediate assignment of an SDCCH and a TCH at the cell level. The
parameter TCH Immediate Assignment specifies whether the immediate assignment of a TCH is
supported.
The IMMEDIATE ASSIGNMENT COMMAND message can be resent only when Use IMM ASS
Retransmit Parameter is set to Yes and the delay time is within the Max Delay of IMM ASS
Retransmit. When the number of times that the Immediate Assignment Command message is resent
exceeds Max Transmit Times of IMM ASS, the Immediate Assignment Command message is not
resent.
6.

The MS sends a Set Asynchronous Balanced Mode (SABM) frame on the main DCCH to access
the network.

7.

The BTS answers with a Unnumbered Acknowledge (UA) frame on the main DCCH.

8.

The BTS sends an Establish Indication message to the BSC.

The MS may send several Channel Request messages during one RR connection establishment
attempt. In this case, the BSS activates multiple signaling channels, whereas the MS uses only one
channel. The other channels cannot receive the Establish Indication message from the BTS for a long
time. As a result, the BSC releases the channels at expiry of timer T3101.

3.1.2 Immediate Assignment Combination

Generally, the Immediate Assignment Command message from the BSC to the BTS contains the
response to the channel request from only one MS. On the UM interface, however, the response to the
Channel Request message are of three types: Immediate Assignment Command, Immediate
Assignment Extended, and Immediate Assignment Reject. One Immediate Assignment Extended
message contains the contents of the Immediate Assignment Command message (for
acknowledgement) sent to two MSs over the Abis interface. One Immediate Assignment Reject
message contains the contents of the Immediate Assignment Command message (for rejection) sent to
four MSs. Therefore, to improve the message sending efficiency, the BTS encapsulates multiple
Immediate Assignment Command messages received from the BSC into one Immediate Assignment
Extended or Immediate Assignment Reject message before sending them to MSs. This procedure is
called immediate assignment combination.
The Wait Indication IE in the Immediate Assignment Reject message from the BSC to the MS carries
timer T3122.
Upon receiving the Immediate Assignment Reject message, the MS attempts to access the network at
expiry of timer T3122.

3.2 Assignment
3.2.1 Assignment Procedure
In the assignment procedure, the network assigns a TCH to an MS.
The assignment procedure is shown in Figure 3-2.

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Figure 3-2 Assignment procedure

MS

BTS

BSC

MSC
Assignment
Request(1)
Start T10

Channel Activation(2)
Channel Activation
Acknowledge(3)
Assignment Command(4)
main DCCH
Start T3107
SABM(5)
FACCH

Establishment Indication(7)

UA(6)
FACCH
Assignment
Complete(8)
FACCH
Stop T3107
Assignment
Complete(9)

Stop T10

1.

The MSC sends an Assignment Request message to the BSS based on the service request and
then starts timer T10. Upon receiving the Assignment Request message from the MSC, the BSC
checks the channel type. If a PS service is requested, the BSC determines whether the requested
service is supported according to the setting of the parameter Data Service Allowed.

2.

The BSC sends the BTS a Channel Activation message to activate the corresponding terrestrial
resources. The message carries IEs such as Activation Type, Channel Description, Level, and TA.

3.

Upon receipt of the Channel Activation message, if the IEs carried in the message are correct, the
BTS turns on the power amplifier on the specified channel to receive uplink messages. At the same
time, the BTS sends the BSC a Channel Activation Acknowledge message carrying the absolute
frame number, which is used by the BSC to determine Starting Time.

4.

After receiving the Channel Activation Acknowledge message, the BSC sends the Assignment
Command message on the signaling channel to the MS and starts timer T3107. The Assignment
Command message carries IEs such as Channel Description, Power Command, and Channel
Mode.

5.

After receiving the Assignment Command message, the MS starts to transmit and receive signaling
over the TCH. The MS sends an SABM message to the network over the FACCH through frame
stealing. The SABM frame is the first frame for establishing the asynchronous balanced mode.
Compared with the immediate assignment procedure, the assignment procedure does not have
layer 3 messages.

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3 Technical Description

6.

After receiving the SABM message, the BTS sends a UA frame to the MS over the FACCH. The
layer 3 messages are not carried.

7.

At the same time, the BTS sends the BSC an ESTABLISH INDICATION message without the layer
3 messages. Then, the BSC responds with a UA frame for acknowledgement.

8.

After receiving the UA frame, the MS sends an Assignment Complete message to the network over
the FACCH, indicating that the TCH is established successfully. When receiving the Assignment
Complete message, the BSC stops timer T3107.

9.

In addition, the BSC fills the message with the corresponding information indicated by the
parameter A Interface Tag and sends the message to the MSC. Upon receiving the Assignment
Complete message, the MSC stops timer T10.

3.2.2 Assignment Classification

In different scenarios, the assignment procedure may play different roles during the call. The assignment
type has certain impacts on allocation and seizure of the network resources. According to the roles of the
assignment procedure in the call, the assignment procedure is classified into mobile originating call
establishment without OACSU (early assignment), mobile originating call establishment with OACSU
(late assignment), mobile originating call establishment with very early assignment, mobile terminating
call establishment without OACSU (early assignment), mobile terminating call establishment with
OACSU (late assignment), and mobile terminating call establishment with very early assignment.

Mobile Originating Call Establishment Without OACSU (Early Assignment)

Mobile originating call establishment without OACSU (early assignment) refers to the procedure in which
the calling MS is assigned a TCH before the call is established.
After the immediate assignment is complete, the network sends the MS an Assignment Command
message that requests the calling MS to occupy the TCH even if the Altering message is not received. In
this case, the ringing tone is generated by the network. The mobile originating call establishment without
OACSU (early assignment) procedure is shown in Figure 3-3.

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3 Technical Description

Figure 3-3 Mobile originating call establishment without OACSU (early assignment)
MS

BTS

BSC

MSC

Immediate Assignment Procedure

Establish Indication
(CM Service Request)(1)

CR(L3:CM
Service Request)(2)
CC(3)

CM Service Accepted(4)
FACCH
Setup(5)
SDCCH
Call Proceeding(6)
SDCCH
TCH Assignment Procedure
Alerting(7)
FACCH
Connect(8)
FACCH
Connect Acknowledge(9)
SDCCH
Talking(10)

Release Procedure

Mobile Originating Call Establishment with OACSU (Late Assignment)

In this mode, the network sends the MS an Assignment Command message that requests the calling MS
to occupy a TCH only after the network receives the Alerting message from the called party. In this case,
the ringing tone is generated by the MS because no TCH is available before the RR connection is
established. The mobile originating call establishment with OACSU (late assignment) procedure is
shown in Figure 3-4.

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3 Technical Description

Figure 3-4 Mobile originating call establishment with OACSU (late assignment)
MS

BTS

BSC

MSC

Immediate Assignment Procedure

Establish Indication
(CM Service Request)(1)

CR(L3:CM
Service Request)(2)
CC(3)

CM Service Accepted(4)
SDCCH
Setup(5)
SDCCH
Call Proceeding(6)
SDCCH
Alerting(7)
SDCCH
TCH Assignment Procedure
Connect(8)
FACCH
Connect Acknowledge(9)
SDCCH
Talking(10)

Release Procedure

Mobile Originating Call Establishment with Very Early Assignment

Mobile originating call establishment with very early assignment refers to the procedure in which a TCH
instead of an SDCCH is assigned to the calling MS during the immediate assignment procedure.
If TCH Immediate Assignment is set to Yes and no SDCCH is available in the serving cell of the calling
MS, a TCH is allocated during the immediate assignment procedure.
Mobile originating call establishment with very early assignment can speed up connection establishment.
The network performs authentication, ciphering, other signaling exchanges, and follow-up call
connection procedures on the TCH. In this case, the TCH is used for signaling. Upon receiving the
Assignment Request message from the MSC, the BSC changes the TCH used for signaling to a real
TCH through the Mode Modify command. The mobile originating call establishment with very early
assignment procedure is shown in Figure 3-5.
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3 Technical Description

Figure 3-5 Mobile originating call establishment with very early assignment
MS

BTS

BSC

MSC

Immediate Assignment TCH Procedure

Establish Indication
(CM Service Request)(1)

CR(L3:CM
Service Request)(2)
CC(3)

CM Service Accepted(4)
FACCH
Setup(5)
FACCH
Call Proceeding(6)
FACCH
TCH Mode Modify
Alerting(7)
FACCH
Connect(8)
FACCH
Connect Acknowledge(9)
FACCH
Talking(10)

Release Procedure

Mobile Terminating Call Establishment Without OACSU (Early Assignment)

Mobile terminating call establishment without OACSU (early assignment) refers to the procedure in
which the called MS is assigned a TCH before the call is established.
Mobile terminating call establishment is initiated by the network sending a Paging Request message.
After the immediate assignment procedure is complete, the network sends an Assignment Command
message to the called MS to require the MS to occupy a TCH before answering the phone. In this case,
the ringing tone is generated by the network.
The mobile terminating call establishment without OACSU (early assignment) procedure is shown in
Figure 3-3.

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3 Technical Description

BSS
Assignment and Immediate Assignment

Mobile Terminating Call Establishment with OACSU (Late Assignment)

In this mode, the network sends the MS an Assignment Command message that requests the called MS
to occupy a TCH only after the network receives the Alerting message. In this case, the ringing tone is
generated by the MS because no TCH is available before the RR connection is established.
The mobile terminating call establishment with OACSU (late assignment) procedure is shown in Figure
3-4.

Mobile Terminating Call Establishment with Very Early Assignment

Mobile terminating call establishment with very early assignment refers to the procedure in which a TCH
instead of an SDCCH is assigned to the called MS during the immediate assignment procedure.
If TCH Immediate Assignment is set to Yes and no SDCCH is available in the serving cell of the called
MS, a TCH is allocated during the immediate assignment procedure.
Mobile terminating call establishment with very early assignment can speed up connection
establishment. The network performs authentication, ciphering, other signaling exchanges, and
follow-up call connection procedures on the TCH. Upon receiving the Assignment Request message
from the network, the BSC changes the TCH used for signaling to a real TCH through the Mode Modify
command.
The mobile terminating call with very early assignment procedure is shown in Figure 3-5.

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4 Parameters

4 Parameters
This chapter describes the parameters related to assignment and immediate assignment.
For the meaning of each parameter, see Table 4-1. For the default value, value ranges, and MML
commands of each parameter, see Table 4-2.
Table 4-1 Parameter description (1)
Parameter

Description

MS MAX Retrans

Maximum number of Channel Request messages that can be sent by an MS in an

immediate assignment procedure. After the MS initiates the immediate
assignment procedure, it always listens to the messages on the BCCH and all the
common control channels (CCCHs) in the CCCH group to which the MS belongs.
If the MS does not receive Immediate Assignment or Immediate Assignment
Extend messages, it retransmits Channel Request messages at a specified
interval. If the downlink quality is poor, the MS may send SABM frames to the
BTS multiple times.

TCH Immediate
Assignment

Whether to allow immediate TCH assignment. If this parameter is set to YES, the
BSC can assign a TCH immediately when there is no available SDCCH for a
channel request. If this parameter is set to NO, the BSC can assign only an
SDCCH when processing a channel access request.

Use IMM ASS

Whether the BSC6900 sends immediate assignment retransmission parameters to
Retransmit Parameter the BTS

Max Delay of IMM

ASS Retransmit

Maximum time delay in resending an immediate assignment message. Within the

period specified by this parameter, an immediate assignment message can be
dispatched and retransmitted. Otherwise, the message is not dispatched or
retransmitted.

Max Transmit Times

of IMM ASS

Maximum number of retransmissions of an immediate assignment message.

When the value of this parameter is reached, the immediate assignment message
is not retransmitted even if the value of "Max Delay of IMM ASS Retransmit" is not
exceeded.

T3101

Timer for the BSC waiting for an Establish Indication message after sending an
Immediate Assignment message. If T3101 expires before the BSC receives an
Establish Indication message, the BSS releases the seized SDCCH.

T3122

Timer carried by the Wait Indication information element when the BSC6900 sends
an immediate assignment reject message to an MS. After the MS receives the
immediate assignment reject message, the MS reattempts to access the network
after the timer expires.

Data service supported by the BSC6900. You can set this parameter according to
Data Service Allowed actual requirements.

T3107

After the BSC6900 delivers an assignment command, the T3107 timer starts. If the
BSC6900 receives an assignment complete message within the scheduled time,
the T3107 timer stops. If the timer expires, the BSC6900 sends an assignment
failure message.

A Interface Tag

Phase tag for GSM protocols supported by the A interface. The value of this
parameter is chosen according to the A interface phase tag provided by the MSC.

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4 Parameters

Table 4-2 Parameter description (2)

Parameter

MS MAX
Retrans

Default
Value

GUI Value
Range

Actual Value
Unit
Range

MML
Command

4_Times

1_Times(1_Ti
mes),
2_Times(2_Ti
mes),
4_Times(4_Ti
mes),
7_Times(7_Ti
mes)

1_Times,
2_Times,
4_Times,
7_Times

None

SET
GCELLCCBAS
IC(Optional) Cell

None

SET
GCELLBASIC
PARA(Optional
Cell
)

None

SET
GCELLCCTM
R(Optional)
Cell

ms

SET
GCELLCCTM
Cell
R(Optional)

None

SET
GCELLCCTM
R(Optional)
Cell

ms

SET
GCELLTMR(O
ptional)
Cell

SET
GCELLTMR(O
ptional)
Cell

TCH
Immediate
Assignment NO

NO(No),
YES(Yes)

Use IMM
ASS
Retransmit
Parameter

NO(No),
YES(Yes)

NO

Max Delay of
IMM ASS
Retransmit 4
Max
Transmit
Times of
IMM ASS

T3101

T3122

3000

10

0~254

1~5

4-2

10000

NO, YES

0~254

1~5

500~60000

0~255

NT14_5K~0
NT14_5K-0& NT12K~1
NT12K-1&NT NT6K~2
6K-1&T14_4 T14_4K~3
K-0&T9_6K-1 T9_6K~4
&T4_8K-1&T T4_8K~5
2_4K-1&T1_ T2_4K~6
2K-0&T600_ T1_2K~7
Data Service BITS-0&T120 T600_BITS~8
Allowed
0_75-0
T1200_75

T3107

NO, YES

500~60000

500~60000

0~255

Impact

NT14_5K,
NT12K, NT6K,
T14_4K,
T9_6K, T4_8K,
T2_4K, T1_2K,
T600_BITS,
T1200_75
None

SET
GCELLOTHEX
T(Optional)
Cell

500~60000

SET
GCELLTMR(O
ptional)
Cell

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Parameter

A Interface
Tag

Default
Value

GUI Value
Range

4 Parameters

Actual Value
Unit
Range

GSM_PHASE_ GSM_PHASE_
1,
1,
GSM_PHASE_ GSM_PHASE_
2,
2,
GSM_PHAS GSM_PHASE_ GSM_PHASE_
E_2
None
2Plus
2Plus

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MML
Command

Impact

SET
BSCBASIC(Op
tional)
BSC

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5 Counters

5 Counters
For the counters, see the BSC6900 GSM Performance Counter Reference.

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6 Glossary

6 Glossary
For the acronyms, abbreviations, terms, and definitions, see the Glossary.

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7 Reference Documents

7 Reference Documents
z

3GPP TS 48.008
specification

Mobile Switching Centre - Base Station system (MSC-BSS) interface; Layer 3

3GPP TS
protocol

Mobile radio interface layer 3 specification; Radio Resource Control (RRC)

BSC6900 Feature List

BSC6900 Basic Feature Description

BSC6900 GSM Parameter Reference

BSC6900 GSM MML Command Reference

BSC6900 GSM Performance Counter Reference

44.018

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