Hopping

Title : GSM Frequency Hopping Overview
SANSD GSM/ UMTS Core Engineering
GSM Frequency
Hopping Overview
KK Wong
July 1999
Abstract: This document provides and overview of GSM

Frequency Hopping Implementation
File Ref : KK990601 Page : 1 of 42

Date : July 1999 Version : 3.0 Contact: KK Wong
Motorola Confidential Proprietary

Introduction
GSM networks today are under mounting pressure to provide users with good quality
communication equivalent to wireline networks while meeting increasing traffic load as a
result of subscriber growth. In fact, many users use their phones as their main
instrument for communication with friends, colleagues and clients.
As networks complete their macrocellular layer, and are in the process of planning or
rolling out a microcellular layer, subscriber growth continues unabated. If the network is
to survive and satisfy its paying users, new solutions to capacity and quality have to be
implemented immediately. In addition, any new capacity or quality solution should meet
the following criteria:
• Increases Network Quality
• Increases Network Capacity
• Ease of Feature Rollout
• Utilizes Existing Network Infrastructure
The best feature available today that meets the mentioned criteria is frequency hopping.
Frequency hopping until recently is an underutilized feature in most GSM networks
worldwide. The lack of use is mainly due to not understanding the planning rules, or not
appreciating the capacity increase that frequency hopping can bring to the network. In
the past, most networks were able to handle growth because additional spectrum was
available, and macrocell sites could still be added to handle new subscribers. So there
was not a great amount of interest to use this inherent feature of GSM to add capacity to
the network.
Today Motorola has extensive experience in planning, implementing, and optimizing
frequency hopping in networks throughout the world. In fact, frequency hopping in the
upcoming years will be the norm in networks and not the curiosity that it was in the past.
500.0 50
450.0 45
400.0 40
350.0 35
300.0 30 Penetration %
Growth %
250.0 25
200.0 20
150.0 15
100.0 10
50.0 5
0.0 0
SPAIN
ESTONIA
ITALY
INDIA
INDONESIA
NETHERLANDS
JAPAN
CHINA
SOUTH KOREA
UNITED KINGDOM
PHILLIPPINES
HONG KONG
FINLAND
GERMANY
MALAYSIA
SINGAPORE
THAILAND
NEW ZEALAND
AUSTRIA
PAKISTAN
TAIWAN
FRANCE
AUSTRALIA
OTHERS
Cellular growth % Penetration %
Cellular Penetration and Growth Rates 1997


GSM Basics
Speech Coding in GSM
The GSM speech coder breaks up human voice into 20ms blocks that are transmitted
over eight consecutive TDMA frames. Speech data is divided into three different bit
classes in the following manner:
Class Ia: 50 bits – Block + Convolution Coded
Class Ib: 132 bits – Convolution Coded
Class II: 78 bits – Unprotected (no additional coding)
260 bits
Class 1a Class 1b Class 2

50 bits 132 bits 78 bits
Parity Tail
Bits
50 bits 132 bits

3 4
Convolutional Code
378 bits 78 bits
456 bits
Diagonal
Interleaving
57 bits
57 bits Odd
57 bits Even
57 bits Odd
57 bits Even
57 bits Odd
57 bits Even
57 bits Odd
Even
8 consecutive TDMA burst over the Um air interface
To protect data further so that the speech coder can correct for lost air bursts, the bits
are reordered through diagonal interleaving for transmission. After coding the total
number of bits is equal to 456 bits. These 456 bits are divided into eight sub-blocks.
These sub-blocks are divided into even numbered bits and odd numbered bits, four even
and four odd. This process divides up the bits for transmission over the air interface and
enables the coder to interpolate or fill in missing or corrupted bursts when reassembling
received speech frames.


A non-hopping call does benefit from coding and interleaving as the designers of the air
interface intended since it is quite common to expect to lose air bursts in a real world
radio environment. The problem for a non-hopping call is that speech bursts lost to
signal fading or interference tend to corrupt too many consecutive air bursts. Since the
call is tied to a single frequency, it does not have the ability to move to a better
frequency unless a handover is triggered from sufficient interference or a stronger
neighbor.
In the case of a hopping call, signal fading and interference is combated by switching
from a deficient frequency to better one. In this manner, the chance for a series of
corrupted bursts from a poor frequency can be avoided by spreading the time between
bad bursts on that frequency thus utilizing the benefit of interleaving and allowing the
speech to be decoded into a good speech frame.
Error Measurement in GSM

Bit Error Rate (BER)
Convolutional (de)coder
buffered buffered
260 bits Decode 456 bits
Re-code
Calculate
Compare
BER
buffered
456 bits
Re-coded data
BER estimation in GSM.
BER in GSM is calculated as shown in the above block diagram. The received frames are
convolutionally decoded and re-coded again to compare with the original received input. The
resultant BER is calculated based on the difference. The following scale of BER is defined in
GSM as RxQual:
RxQual BER Range (%) Assigned BER (%)
0 < 0.2 0.14
1 0.2 – 0.4 0.28
2 0.4 – 0.8 0.57
3 0.8 – 1.6 1.13
4 1.6 – 3.2 2.26
5 3.2 – 6.4 4.53
6 6.4 – 12.8 9.05
7 > 12.8 18.1


Frame Erasure Rate (FER)
It is important to realise that the raw BER explained in the previous section is not a direct
representation of perceived speech quality, although both BER and speech quality are loosely
correlated. 2 calls having the same BER (RxQual) may present different speech quality to the
listeners. This is quite evident considering the effect, on the speech quality, of a short but deep
fading and a constant low BER. The average BER may be the same but the recovered speech
will be different.
Speech quality in a GSM network is directly related to the integrity of the recovered speech
frames, after decoding and de-interleaving, which is measured by FER.
GSM uses the speech coding algorithm as explained in section (???). Each Speech Frame is
interleaved over 8 Traffic Channels (TCH) for Transmission. Resulting in an overall rate of one
received speech frame over 4 consecutive Traffic Channels (TCH). TCHs are defined using a
26-frame multi-frame, which is about 120 ms. Out of the 26 frames, 24 are used for traffic, one is
used for the Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH) and one is unused. This is shown in the
following figure.
120 ms
25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
unused SACCH
TCH frame = { 0, 1,2,…11, 13, 14,…25 }
For a recovered speech block to be discarded or erased, either the CRC check on the
convolutionally encoded Class 1 bits fail or the number of error bits in the whole block must
exceed a certain level.
Each TCH Multi-frame supports 6 speech frames. In each measurement report (480 ms) period
there are 4 TCH multi-frames, so a total of 24 Speech frames are received during each
measurement period. FER can be calculated from the recovered Speech Frames and is
available for every measurement report period (480ms). FER has the range of 0 (best) to 24
(worst).
Although FER is a better representation of speech quality, it is not included as part of the
measurement report in GSM recommendations.
Frequency Hopping System
Some Basics
The MS/BTS operating in a frequency hopping system are able to Tx/Rx on different
frequencies for every TDMA burst (≈ 577µs). GSM recommendation defines the
following parameters for a frequency hopping system and they are sent from the BTS to
MS in the assignment messages during call setup.
• Mobile Allocation (MA): This is the set of frequencies the mobile/BTS are allowed
to hop over. Two time-slots on a same transceiver of a cell may be configured to
operate on different MA. MA is the subset of the total allocated spectrum for the
GSM operator and the maximum number of frequencies in a MA list is limited by
GSM recommendation to 64.


• Mobile Allocation Index Offset (MAIO): This is an integer offset that determines
which frequency within the MA will be the operating frequency. If there are N
frequencies in the MA list, then MAIO = {0, 1, 2, … N-1}.
• Hopping Sequence Number (HSN): This is an integer parameter that determines
how the frequencies within the MA list are arranged. There are 64 HSN defined by
GSM. HSN = 0 sets a cyclical hopping sequence where the frequencies within the
MA list are repeated in a cyclical manner.
HSN = 1 to 63 will provide pseudo random hopping sequence. The pseudo random
pattern will repeat itself after every hyperframe, which is equal to 2,715,648
(26x51x2048) TDMA frames or about 3 hours 28 minutes and 54 seconds.
Motorola defines a Frequency Hopping Indicator (FHI) that is made up of the above
three GSM defined parameters. Up to 4 different FHI can be defined for a cell in a
Motorola BSS and every time-slot on a transceiver can be assigned one of the defined
FHI, independently. The tables in Annex (B) shows the Mobile Allocation Index (MAI)
of a frequency hopping system, for different HSN & MAIO settings. MAI is an integer that
points to the frequency within a MA list, where MAI = 0 and MAI = N-1 being the lowest
and highest frequencies in the MA list of N frequencies. MAI is a function of the TDMA
frame number (FN), HSN & MAIO of a frequency Hopping System. The algorithm
involved is documented in GSM 05.02 and it is included in Annex (A).
Frequency Hopping Implementation

There are 2 ways to implement frequency hopping at a BTS.
• Synthesiser Frequency Hopping (SFH)
• Baseband Frequency Hopping (BBH)
Please note that the above 2 methods only refer to the radio transmitter of a BTS. The output
signals from these methods are exactly identical on the air-interface. The mobile station and the
BTS radio receiver will always use the retune method, i.e. SFH.
SFH
The transceiver unit re-tunes to a different operating frequency set (Tx & Rx) on each TDMA
burst (≈ 577µs). The re-tuning will follow the sequence explained in the previous section. In
theory, there is no restriction on the number of frequencies the transceiver unit can hop on.
However, GSM specifications limit the total number to 64 frequencies for a SFH transceiver unit.
BBH
In this method, the transceiver unit will always transmit at an assigned frequency. Frequency
hopping is done by switching the information frame of one call from one transceiver to another
within a cell, per TDMA burst (≈ 577µs). The switching of transceivers will follow the sequence
defined in FHI, as explained in previous section. The resultant transmitted signal on the air-
interface is identical to SFH. Please note that the uplink path will not use BBH and the
transceiver on which the call is established will always receive the uplink signal from the MS. All
the processing (e.g. coding, interleaving etc) will be carried out by this transceiver and the
processed information will be routed to different transceivers for transmission.


MOTOROLA Supported features
The following section outlines how frequency-hopping systems are configured in a Motorola BSS
with software load 1510 (GSR3) and beyond. These may only applicable in a Motorola BSS and
have no direct equivalence in other suppliers’ equipment.
Motorola offers friendly and highly flexible solutions in supporting Frequency Hopping System
defined in ETSI GSM recommendations. Both SFH and BBH can be enabled at different sectors
within the same site.
All existing BSS hardware can be configured to support frequency hopping and all changes that
are needed to configure a frequency hopping system can be carried out in dbase (soft) changes.
The only exception is in BTS where a Remote Tuneable Cavity Combiner (RTC) is used and this
limitation will be discussed in the coming section.
Motorola defines a Frequency Hopping Indicator (FHI) that specifies a frequency

hopping system. Up to 4 (0 – 3) different FHI can be defined for a cell in a Motorola BSS
dBase and every time-slot on a transceiver can be assigned one of the defined FHI,
independently. Each FHI consists of the following parameters:
• Hopping Support: defines the hopping system of a GSM cell, SFH or BBH.
• Mobile Allocation (MA): The hopping frequency list. Valid values are 1 – 63 in SFH
and it must equal or less than the number of hopping carriers in BBH. (see section
??)
• Hopping sequence number (HSN): Defines how the frequencies in the MA are
hopped through. Valid values are 1 – 63. (see section ??)
Each defined FHI can be modified on-line from the OMCR terminal or the BSC MMI
without causing a reset to the affected sites. However, depending on the type of hopping
system and parameters being changed, active calls on the affected transceiver carriers
may be lost. For details of this operation, please refer to the associated technical
manuals.
MAIO of a transceiver carrier is defined by the ARFCN assigned to it during RTF
equipage. Modification to the MAIO can be carried out by the command “chg_rtf_freq”,
which changes the ARFCN of the affected transceiver carrier. Please refer to the
associated technical manuals for the effect of this action to the BSS.
BBH
When a BBH carrier or time slot is activated or de-activated, other affected carriers or
time slots (hop over its frequency) must be reconfigured to include or exclude a channel
in the operating frequency list. Intra-cell handover will be attempted to move all the
active calls on these time slots to unaffected time slots (e.g. non-hopping or MA list
without this frequency) within the cell. Unsuccessful intra-cell handover (e.g no time slots
available) will cause the calls to be cleared.
In a BBH system, a parameter called “hopping_ins_mode “ is used to determine whether
a previously inactive carrier would be brought into service as hopping or not, outside of
site initialization time (sysgen mode).
The number of channels in a MA list must be equal or smaller than the number of BBH
carriers in a cell. It is worth noting that the FHI assigned to a timeslot must be in
accordance to the MA list of the FHI. For example: In a cell with 3 BBH carriers (namely,
A, B & C) and MA = {f1, f2, f3} is defined in FHI 2. If FHI 2 is to be assigned to time slot 2
of carrier A, then time slot 2 of carrier B & C must also be assigned FHI 2, to make the
system work.


SFH
If the BCCH frequency is included in the MA list, timeslot 1 to 7 of the BCCH carrier will
not be able to carry traffic. This is an inherent limitation of SFH and it is recommended
that BCCH frequencies should be excluded from the MA list whenever possible.
SFH cannot be implemented at a cell that uses narrow-band Tx combiner (e.g. RTC
-“Remote Tunable Cavity Combiner”). The reason is SFH requires the hopping carrier
and associated Tx combiner to retune to a new frequency every TDMA burst (≈ 577µs).
Since RTC re-tuning involves mechanical movement, it is not possible to cope with the
speed. As a result, only broadband combiner, e.g. hybrid combiner, can be used at a
SFH cell.
Enhancement in Future Software Load (GSR4)

Below are the enhancements that are available in the coming software load (GSR4):
• Frequency Redefinition: this is a procedure defined in GSM-phase 2 that can
change the properties of an active Frequency Hopping System, without affecting the
active calls in a cell.
• Improved TCH Control: This feature provides the operator the flexibility of
prioritizing the assignment of TCH in a frequency-hopping cell. A hopping or non-
hopping carrier may be given different preferences in TCH assignment, depending
on the operating RF environment of the cell.
• Explicit SDDH Control: This feature allows the operator to choose the explicit
carrier for SDCCH allocation. It may be desirable to place all SDCCH on the BCCH
carrier to maximize the performance of a hopping cell.
• Different Quality Thresholds: In a frequency hopping system, a call can withstand
higher RxQual (BER) than a non-hopping system. As a result, a RxQual threshold,
for imperative handovers, that is different from a non-hopping carrier will help to
improve system performance.
How Frequency Hopping Improves Quality
Frequency Hopping can improve the radio air-interface quality of a cellular network in 2
ways:
• Frequency Diversity.
• Interference Averaging.
Frequency Diversity
Quality is improved in the network by using frequency hopping to alleviate the effects of
frequency selective fading that is inherent in radio wave propagation in the GSM 900
band, and especially at frequencies in the GSM1800/1900 band where environmental
factors have a great effect on the stability of radio signal levels.
Fixed frequency carriers, non-hopping, experience natural signal fading in the radio
environment. Generally, fading is not a great problem unless the mobile station is in an
area of low signal strength (i.e. indoors or at cell boundaries), or is in an area of no
dominant server. In this case, normal Rayleigh fading can cause disruptions to speech
by inducing bit error that cannot be corrected, since the receiver is getting too many
consecutive corrupted speech bursts over the air interface.
In a GSM, once a speech call is allocated to a channel, voice is transmitted over 8
consecutive TDMA frames for every 20 ms of speech. If a speech call is placed on a
fixed carrier, non-hopping, then the call is tied to the fading profile of that frequency. So
as a call experiences a slow fade the BER becomes a problem and affects call quality.
The GSM air interface is designed to handle some degree of BER to counteract a
reasonable amount of air interface corruption in the mobile environment.

The same call on a frequency hopping system is moving from frequency to frequency
every 4.62 ms, and can take advantage of the different fading profiles of each frequency
in the allocated hopping sequence. The greater the hopping frequencies are spaced,
the greater the de-correlation between the fading profile of each frequency and the
signal level. Field data shows that when calls are made on a hopping and on a non-
hopping carrier, hopping calls have far greater signal stability. Frequency hopping
averages out extremes in high signal levels and low signal levels. Field data of calls
hopping over as little as four frequencies show a “pyramid” shaped graph of receive
signal level with more of the data points near the mean with a smaller standard deviation
than the graph for a fixed frequency, non-hopping, call. These are shown in the figures
below:
20 30
18
25
16
14
20
12
P P
r r
10 15
o o
b b
8
(%) (%) 10
6
4
5
0 0
0-2 2-4 4-6 6-8 8-10 10-12 12-14 14-16 16-18 18-63 0-2 2-4 4-6 6-8 8-10 10-12 12-14 14-16 16-18 18-63
RXLEV Range RXLEV Range
Non Hopping System Hopping System
The following figures illustrate the effect of hopping over 2 frequencies.

Signal
Level
Good Signal level
Deep fade
Threshold
Fading Profile of F1
Good frame
Bad frame

Effect of deep fading to TDMA frames
F1 fading profile
F2 fading profile
F1 on air Good frame
F2 on air Bad frame
Effect of deep fading in a hopping system to the TDMA frames

As can be observed, benefit of frequency diversity gained from frequency hopping is
significant. Not only the total number of bad frames is reduced, more importantly the
occurance of bad frames in consecutive order is reduced as well. This will improve the
speech quality as the lost bits have higher probability to be recovered by the GSM
decoding mechanism and hence a lower number of erased speech frames. (refer section
2.2.2 regarding FER)
Interference Averaging
Interference protection is probably the biggest improvement that comes as a result of
implementing frequency hopping. Calls made on fixed frequency systems may suffer
from interference, which has a good chance of not diminishing in the lifetime of a call
unless the subscriber changes position, or the interfering channel is deactivated.
Either co-channel or adjacent channel interference hits fixed frequency calls normally at
the cell border. This type of interference is constant to the subscriber in the downlink
direction. Usually, interference found at the cell boundary cannot be escaped from
unless a handover is made to a “clean” frequency. To avoid interference on fixed
frequency systems larger separation between reuse groups is used to lessen the chance
of co-channel or adjacent channel interference from degrading call quality. The cost of
“loose” reuse schemes to the network is capacity.


ff 1
Cell A
Interference
Interference !!
fff 1
1
f
1
Cell B
Cell A
Idle time of Cell B
Cell B
Good Frames
Resultant
frames of cell A Potential bad
frames if C/I < 9dB
Co-channel interference in non-hopping cells
A hopping system distributes interference throughout within the hopping cells, instead of
concentrating it in any particular area or bad spots. By sharing the channels
continuously but not necessarily simultaneously, hopping has the effect of eliminating or
smoothing the C/I extremes at “very good” and “very bad” spots. The spreading of
interference creates interference diversity, which reduces the probability of any one
mobile being interfered for long duration. Call quality is improved and the consistency of
a GSM call is improved.


Fixed frequency Frequency hopping

4X3 reuse plan 1X3 reuse plan
Low Interference High Interference

Good Quality Dropped Calls
Medium Interference Very High Interference

Noisy Calls No service
C/I plots of fixed and hopping systems
Trial data from urban cities has found that frequency hopping clearly improves received
quality as compared to a fixed frequency system when even one of three frequencies in
a hopping sequence is interfered. The following figure illustrates this:
Prob RXQUAL 6/7 vs C/I

30
25 Sequence of 3 freqs
20
Sequence of 4 freqs
15
Sequence of 5 freqs
10
5 + Fixed freq
0
6 8 10 12 14 16
C/I dB
1 Freq. in the sequence affected by interference
How Frequency Hopping Enhances Network Capacity

In principle, implementation of frequency hopping system will not add extra capacity to
the existing network. Frequency hopping when implemented will enable more aggressive
frequency re-use pattern that leads to better spectrum efficiency. This enables the
network operator to add more transceivers in existing sites while maintaining the network
quality. In a congested network with fixed frequency plan, adding transceivers would


mean compromising the carrier – interference ratio (C/I), which may lead to
unacceptable quality level that may eventually crash the network if pushed to the limit.
Thus, frequency hopping is effectively “compressing” the available spectrum to make
room for extra capacity, without degrading the average C/I as in a fixed frequency
system.
In a cellular network, there is always a tradeoff between capacity & quality. Maintaining
the current capacity, implementing frequency hopping will improve overall quality. On the
other hand, extra capacity could be added by implementing frequency hopping while
maintaining the current quality. However, realizing maximum gains in both quality and
capacity would not be achievable.
Capacity
Quality
Capacity
Capacity
Quality
Quality
Capacity
Quality
Non Hopping Hopping Hopping Hopping
Frequency Plan
Frequency Planning is considered the most fundamental and important plan for any
cellular system. Limited spectrum is available and frequencies have to be re-used. An
optimised frequency re-use plan is crucial to the success of a cellular network in order to
obtain maximum capacity from limited bandwidth.
Conventional re-use pattern

The most common conventional frequency plan of a cellular system is the 4X3 (3-sector
4-site) re-use plan. This means that the re-use pattern is repeated every four 3-sector
sites or every 12 sectors, as shown in the below figure:


A A
C C
B D B D
F F
G E I G E
IH J H J
L L
K K
For example, an uniform 2-2-2 site configuration would require 4X3X2, 24 channels for
the frequency plan. 4X3 re-use pattern is a good compromise between co-channel
interference and capacity. The typical carrier – Interference ratio (C/I) is calculated to be
about 13.6dB, which is above GSM specified 9 dB.
Aggressive re-use in frequency hopping system

Re-use plan in a frequency hopping network is different and more aggressive than it is in
a fixed frequency network. There are also some general differences between BBH and
SFH system.
SFH
Most of the SFH networks employ 2 different re-use plan for the BCCH and TCH layers.
Since the BCCH will not be hopping, conventional fixed frequency re-use plans such as
4X3 or 5X3 will be used. It is always a design goal to have a best BCCH layer, within the
resource of the network. As for the TCH layer, the common methodology would be 1X3
(1 site 3-sector) re-use pattern. This is a much more efficient spectrum utilization, which
is not possible in a fixed frequency system as the resultant C/I would be degraded badly
beyond ½ of the cell radius. An even more aggressive re-use plan 1X1 (1 site 1 sector)
is feasible in networks where the operating environment permits it. 1X1 is by far the
most efficient and yet practical aggressive re-use plan tested and proposed by Motorola.
Nevertheless, careful planning has to be practiced to achieve good results. The guide
lines are outlined in the next section.


A A
A
CB A A
A
A
A
CB
1X3 re-use 1X1 re-use
Loading Factor (or sometimes termed as Fractional load factor) is an important

parameter in SFH systems. It is calculated as:
loading factor = (highest non BCCH transceiver count in a Since the

cell) number of
(Number of hopping channels) frequency
channels is
always higher than the transceiver count in a cell, some channels will be idle at one time.
Thus, loading factor is equivalent to the maximum channel-occupancy to total-channel
ratio in a cell at any given instant. The lower the value the lower is the channel loading,
which indicates fewer collisions of frequencies and hence better quality.
A theoretical maximum of 50% is permitted in 1X3 SFH. Any value higher than 50%
practically results unacceptable quality. Some commonly used loading factor are 40%,
33%, 25% etc. In 1X1 SFH, a practical tested loading factor is 1/6 or 16.7%. For a rough
comparison, this is about equivalent to a 33% loading in 1X3 SFH or a well-planned
4X3Xn fixed re-use network, as far as average quality is concerned. In terms of
spectrum utilization or capacity, 1X1 at 16.6% loading is equivalent to 1X3 at 50%
loading.
BBH
Different re-use patterns are employed in BBH systems. Since the number of hopping
frequencies must equal or less than the number of transceivers in the cell, the quality
gain of BBH is higher in the cells with higher transceiver count. As a result, a progressive
re-use pattern is usually used. This is analogy to a layered cake with a loose BCCH plan
at the base and progressively tighter plan for each subsequent transceiver added to the
cell.


For example:
BCCH – 4X3 plan
1st TCH – 3X3 plan
2nd TCH – 2X3 plan … and so on
Alternatively, a homogeneous re-use plan that is tighter than conventional 4X3 can be
used. The widely used pattern would be homogeneous 3X3 re-use plan, which yields
comparative results as in progressive re-use mentioned above.
2nd TCH (2X3) 2nd TCH (3X3)
1st TCH (3X3) 1st TCH (3X3)
BCCH (4X3) BCCH (3X3)
Progressive re-use Homogeneous re-use
Example in capacity gain

Take the case of an operator who has 7.2Mhz (or 36 GSM channels) of spectrum to use.
The following table compares the network capacities for different frequency re-use plans.
Re-use plan Configuration Capacity per Capacity gain

site (Erlang) over fixed plan
Fixed 4X3 3-3-3 44.7 -
frequency
BBH 3X3 4-4-4 65.7 47%
SFH 4X3 4-4-4 65.7 47%

(BCCH)
(37.5%
loading) 1X3 (TCH)
SFH 4X3 5-5-5 87.6 97%
(BCCH)
(50% loading)
1X3 (TCH)
SFH 4X3 5-5-5 87.6 97%
(BCCH)
(16.7%
loading) 1X1 (TCH)
The above calculations are based on:

• Erlang B table at 2.0% blocking rate.
• 2 time-slots are used for control channels in each sector, for all re-use plans.
It is worth noting that above are theoretical figures that may be different in an actual network and
the operating environment may restrict direct implementation of the mentioned re-use plan.
Nevertheless, it serves as a good example in demonstrating the capacity gain with efficient
spectrum usage.


Planning Guide
The ultimate goal of frequency planning in a GSM network is attaining and maintaining a
highest possible C/I ratio every where within the network coverage area. A general
requirement is at least 12dB C/I, allowing tolerance in signal fading above the 9dB
specification of GSM.
The actual plan of a real network is a function of its operating environment (geography,
RF etc) and there is no universal textbook plan that suits every network. Nevertheless,
some practical guide lines gathered from experience can help to reduce the planning
cycle time.
Rules for SFH

As the BCCH carrier is not hopping, it is strongly recommended to separate bands for
BCCH and TCH. This has the benefits of:
• Making planning simpler,
• Better control of interference.
n channels m channels
BCCH TCH
Guard band
If micro cells are included in the frequency plan, the below band usage is suggested.
Macro BCCH Micro Macro TCH

Micro TCH BCCH (SFH)
Practical rules for 1X3
• BCCH re-use plan: 4X3 or 5X3, depending on the bandwidth available and operating
environment.
• Divide the dedicated band for TCH into 3 groups with equal number of frequencies
(N). These frequencies will be the ARFCN equipped in the MA list of a Hopping
system (FHI).
• Use equal number of frequencies in all cells within the hopping area. The allocation
of frequencies to each sector is recommended to be in a regular or continuous
sequence. (see planning example)
• Number of frequencies (N) in each group is determined by the design loading factor
(or carrier-to-frequency ratio). A theoretical maximum of 50% is permitted in 1X3
SFH. Any value higher than 50% would practically result unacceptable quality.
Loading factor (sometimes termed as fractional load factor) represents the Some
commonly used loading factor are 40%, 33%, 25% etc. As a general guide-line,
N = (highest non BCCH transceiver count in a

cell)
File Ref : KK990601 (loading factor) Page : 17 of 42

For example: mixture of 4-4-4 and 5-5-5 site configurations and loading factor of
33%. Then N = 5/(0.33) = 15 frequencies in the MA list. As loading factor has direct
effect on the overall network quality and its setting is highly dependent on the RF
environment, a smaller scale trial is recommended to obtain the necessary data and
experience before larger scale deployment. As a general rule, SFH with 33% loading
is equivalent to a well-planned 4X3 fixed frequency system.
• Use same HSN for sectors within the same site. Use different HSN for different sites.
This will help to randomize the co channel interference level between the sites.
• Use different MAIO to control adjacent channel interference between the sectors
within a site.
The following example illustrates the above planning guide.
Bandwidth : 10 Mhz
Site configuration : mixture of 2-2-2, 3-3-3 & 4-4-4.
Loading factor : 33%
Multi layer environment (micro & macro co-exist)
The spectrum is split as shown:
8 channels
Macro BCCH Micro Macro TCH

Micro TCH BCCH (SFH)
12 channels 27 channels
A total of 49 channels are available and the 1st and last one are reserved as guard band.
Thus, there are 47 usable channels. 12 channels are used in the BCCH layer with 4X3
re-use pattern.
Based on 33% loading and 4-4-4 configuration, N is calculated as N = 3 / 0.33 = 9
hopping frequencies per cell. Thus, a total of 27 channels are required for the hopping
TCH layer. The remaining 8 channels are used in the micro layer as BCCH.
One of the possible frequency plan and parameter settings are outlined in the below
table:
ARFCN HSN MAIO

Sector 21,24,27,30,33,36,39,42, Any from {1,2,… 0, 2, 4
A 45 63}
Sector 22,25,28,31,34,37,40,43, Same as above 1, 3, 5
B 46
Sector 23,26,29,32,35,38,41,44, Same as above 0, 2, 4
C 47


The above MAIO setting will avoid all possible adjacent channel interference among
sectors within the same site. The interference (co or adjacent channel) between sites will
still exist but they are reduced by the randomization effect of the different HSN. (Annex
B)
Practical rules for 1X1
• 1X1 is usually practical in rural area of low traffic density, where the average
occupancy of the hopping frequencies is low. With careful planning, it can be used in
high traffic area as well.
• BCCH re-use plan: 4X3 or 5X3, depending on the bandwidth available and operating
environment.
• The allocation of TCH frequencies to each sector is recommended to be in a regular
or continuos sequence.
• Use different HSN to reduce interference (co and adjacent channel) between the
sites.
• Use same HSN for all carriers within a site and use MAIO to avoid adjacent and co-
channel interference between the carriers. Repeated or adjacent MAIO are not to be
used within the same site to avoid co-channel and adjacent channel interference
respectively.
• Maximum loading factor of 1/6 or 16.7% is inherent in a continuous sequence of
frequency allocation. Since adjacent MAIO is restricted, the maximum number of
MAIO permitted would be:
Max MAIO = ½ x (Total allocated channel)
In a 3-cell site configuration, the logical maximum loading factor would be 1/6 or
16.7%.


Different MAIO to
avoid co-channel
HSN = 1
HSN = 1 HSN = 1
Non adjacent
MAIO to avoid
adjacent-channel
Rules for BBH
All the rules outlined for SFH are generally applicable in BBH. As the BCCH is in the hopping
frequency list, a dedicated band separated from TCH may not be essential. An example of
spectrum allocation is shown below:
Micro BCCH
BBH channels & micro TCH


Optimisation
Frequency Hopping
Implementation
Monitor
Performance
Not Meeting Meet

Expectations !! Expectations
Any major modifications made in a cellular network are initially accompanied by

performance change. Implementing frequency hopping in a planned and optimized
network would certainly shift its overall performance, usually away from the better side.
This is why post implementation optimization is always crucial and important.
There are several means of measuring the network performance and comparing them
before and after implementation:
• OMCR statistics – include key, cell level and carrier/time-slot statistics.
• Drive test – drive around the test area and monitor the RF environment with a test
phone.
• Call tracing – trace every nth call in a cell or BSS and process the result with
analyzing software tools.
• Speech quality – assess the received speech quality with subjective scores.
Performance Monitoring
OMCR statistics
The following table summarizes the important statistics for general performance
measurements. Statistics that are not listed may be used to calculate other performance
parameters.
Statistics Group Statistics name To monitor

Key RF_LOSS_RATE RF Losses
TCH_RF_LOSS_RATE RF Losses
SDCCH_RF_LOSS_RATE RF Losses
HANDOVER_SUCCESS_RAT Handover
E
HANDOVER_FAILURE_RATE Handover
TCH_ASSIGN_SUCCESS_RA TCH assignment
TE


Statistics Group Statistics name To monitor

Cell OUT_HO_CAUSE_ATMPT Handover cause
Carrier/Time-slot INTF_ON_IDLE Interference
BER Interference
Drive Test
Drive test the test area before and after frequency hopping implementation to compare
the results. The routes have to be defined and followed in both cases for consistency. A
test phone with file logging capability is essential. Ericsoft TEMS is the most accepted
industrial standard and is strongly recommended. Using GPS for location logging is an
added advantage and further analysis with propagation tools (e.g. NetPlan) is possible.
Downlink RF characteristics (e.g. RxLev, RxQual, FER, MS_Tx_pwr etc) and call related
parameters (e.g. Handover, call-setup etc) along the drive-test routes are logged to files
and available for post drive analysis. Obvious observations such as poor voice quality,
high BER, dropped calls, handover failures etc should be noted during the drive and file
marks should be inserted accordingly.
A tools called FICS (from Ericsoft as well) is available to aid in analyzing TEMS log files.
It can generate call & RF distribution statistics of the drive test routes, from the log files.
Plotting the RF characteristics on NetPlan is possible by converting the TEMS log files
into LOMS format that is understood by NetPlan. These plots are useful in identifying
“bad” RF spots or locations along the driven routes.
Examples of the RF distribution graphs generated using FICS data are shown below:
RxQual (no attn)

(%)
FER (20 dB attn)
(%)
90
45
80
Mean RxQual: 0.6 40
70 FER Mean: 42%
35
60
30
50
25
40
20
30
15
20
10
10
5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0
0% <= X < 10% <= X 20% <= X 30% <= X 40% <= X 50% <= X 60% <= X 70% <= X 80% <= X 90% <= X
RxQual 82.9 2.8 2.8 3.7 3.1 2.4 1.6 0.6 10% < 20% < 30% < 40% < 50% < 60% < 70% < 80% < 90% <= 100%
FER 41 1.9 2.9 2.1 2.2 3.6 3.7 16.4 24.2 2
Call Tracing
Speech quality
Actions
Optimisation of a frequency hopping system is in many ways similar to the general
process applied in radio subsystem optimisation of cellular networks. In a SFH system,
where the BCCH carriers are not hopping, 2 different approaches are required to
optimize the BCCH & TCH layers. Only the distinctive optimization actions in frequency
hopping system are covered in this chapter


Rxlev recorded by
TEMS along the Route
NetPlan plot based on FICS conversion.


Eliminate Non RF Related Issues

(H/W failures, Congestion
etc)
Optimization
Neighbor List
Neighbour list is a list containing all the information regarding the relationship that the source cell
has with its surrounding neighbour cells. It is the backbone of a GSM cellular network and it forms
the basis of mobility. Without a correct set of neighbour list, a GSM network would collapse as
many handover failures would occur and most calls would be dropped when the RF condition in
the serving cell deteriorates beyond the limits.
There are 3 types of neighbor lists:
• Correct neighbor list.
• Incomplete neighbor list – neighbor cells that ought to be in the list are missing. This
will eventually lead to high handover failure and dropped-call rate.
• Over complete neighbor list – Extra or weak neighbor cells being added or present in
the neighbor list. This usually happens when the neighbor lists are not updated after
cells are added/removed or sites configuration (e.g. bore angle) are altered. A call
may be handed temporarily to a weak neighbor due to signal fading and handed
back to the original cell, seconds later. This creates a ping pong handover and some
calls may be lost because the weak neighbor cell cannot maintain them.
How to Detect
New valid neighbors can be added to an incomplete neighbor list by adding dummy
neighbors to the cell dBase and analyze the Measurement reports (MR) using CTP or
other equivalent tools. The mobiles served by this cell will be instructed to monitor the
dummy neighbors’ frequencies and report the associated Rxlev in the MR. If there is a
valid neighbor with BCCH frequency that is among the dummy frequencies, valid Rxlev
and BSIC will be reported. The “neighbor analysis” function of the CTP can be
configured to generate neighbors’ information (e.g. total number of MR reporting a
particular neighbor, % of MR reporting this neighbor with Rxlev exceeding certain
configurable margin etc). If a neighbor is reported in significant % of MR with Rxlev
exceeding preset margin, it may be considered a new valid neighbor and added in the
neighbor list.


Weak neighbors can be detected with the “neighbor analysis” function of the CTP. With
sufficient call trace data, the statistical analysis of the Rxlev of all the neighbors can be
studied. For example, the “neighbor summary” function generates summary report of all
the serving cell/neighbor combinations. This summary gives:
• The server LAC & CI, and its reported neighbors’ BCCH frequency and BSIC.
• The total number of MR of the server and the number of MR reporting one particular
neighbor.
• The number of MR reporting each neighbor exceeding 3 preset thresholds and the
associated % figures.
Based on these statistics, neighbors that are not reported or reported with very weak
Rxlev or reported with low occurrence may be considered as extra neighbor and deleted
from the dBase.
dBase Optimisation
There are 2 important operations that are critical in a cellular radio subsystem:
• Power control for mobile and BTS,
• Handover
In a Motorola BSS, the parameters that control these operations are configurable in the
BSS active database.
Power Control
Instruction : reduce power
RSS > limit
33dBm
Instruction : reduce power

RSS > limit
31dBm
OK. No power instructions

RSS within
limits
29dBm
Power control (PC) is the mechanism where a mobile/BTS dynamically changes its
transmit power in order to maintain the Received Signal Strength (RSS) at the receiving
end falls within certain pre-set limits. In GSM, 2 closed loop control mechanisms are
employed:


• RSS based – the output power of a mobile or BTS are controlled by the BTS, based
on RSS reported (measurement reports) by the mobile or uplink RSS measured by
the BTS.
• Quality based – the same as in RSS based PC, in exception that received quality or
BER is used instead of RSS.
The dBase parameters involved in PC are as following:

Parameter name Function Parameter name Function
l_rxlev_dl_p Downlink PC thresholds ms_p_con_ack Uplink PC acknowledgement
u_rxlev_dl_p ms_p_con_interval & power command interval
l_rxqual_dl_p bts_p_con_ack Downlink PC acknowledgement
u_rxqual_dl_p bts_p_con_interval & power command interval
l_rxlev_ul_p Uplink PC thresholds rapid_pwr_down Rapid power down
u_rxlev_ul_p rpd_offset control parameters
l_rxqual_ul_p rpd_period
u_rxqual_ul_p rpd_trigger
decision_1_n1/p1 n/p voting for power up (Rxlev) alt_qual_proc use BER or QBand
decision_1_n2/p2 n/p voting for power down (Rxlev) decision_alg_num which PC algo to use
decision_1_n3/p3 n/p voting for power up (Rxqual) mspwr_alg oscillation prevention algo
decision_1_n4/p4 n/p voting for power down (Rxqual) ms_power_control_allowed enable Uplink PC
pow_inc_step_size Step size of power increase or bts_power_control_allowed enable Downlink PC
pow_red_step_size reduction for uplink and downlink
Recommendations for hopping system:

alt_qual_proc = 0 – uses BER for receive quality processing. Refer to section 2.2.1 for
BER values on RxQual scale.
decision_alg_num = 1 – uses bts & ms_p_con_ack timers. Also enables power increase based
on quality.
mspwr_alg = 1 – uses enhanced PC algorithm for oscillation prevention, i.e. power down
due to quality and power up due to RSS.
Quality based PC is recommended over RSS based PC because the former will reduce transmit
power to as low as the lower quality level is, whereas the later will not change the transmit power
as long as the RSS falls within the preset window although lower transmit power is possible to
sustain the radio link.
The below examples illustrate the difference.
Paramete Rxqual based RSS based
r PC PC
Hreqave 3 3
Hreqt 1 1
n/p 1/1 1/1
upper limit 0.35% 38dB
lower limit 3.0% 25dB
RSS hreqave BTS Tx RSS hreqave BTS Tx

Pwr Pwr
35 40 32 32.0 36
33 40 30 30.7 36
37 35.0 40 28 30.0 36
38 36.0 40 26 28.0 36

40 38.3 38 24 26.0 36
38 38.7 36 23 24.3 38
36 38.0 36 26 24.3 40
35 36.3 36 28 25.7 40
34 35.0 36 30 28.0 40
30 33.0 36
Rxqual BER hreqave BTS Rxqual BER hreqave BTS

TxPwr TxPwr
0 0.14 40 3 1.13 0.52 32
0 0.14 40 4 2.26 1.23 32
1 0.28 0.19 38 4 2.26 1.89 32
2 0.57 0.33 36 5 4.52 3.02 34
1 0.28 0.38 36 5 4.52 3.77 36
1 0.28 0.38 36 5 4.52 4.52 38
2 0.57 0.38 36 4 2.26 3.77 40
1 0.28 0.38 36 2 0.57 2.45 40
2 0.57 0.47 36 1 0.28 1.04 40
0 0.14 0.33 34 1 0.28 0.38 40
1 0.28 0.33 32 0 0.14 0.24 38
RSS based PC
42
60
40
RSS
50 38
36
40
BTS Tx Pwr
RSS Window
34
30 32
30
20
28
10
26
0 24
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Different Tx pwr at
same RSS


Qual based PC
10
Rxqual scale
9 41
7 36
BTS Tx Pwr
31
5
Quality window
4
26
3
2 21
1
0 16
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
measurement reports
Tx pwr based
on BER
To prevent oscillation, set mspwr_alg = 1. There are no universal values for other
parameters as they depend on the RF environment. The best set of values has to be
obtained through the iterative “try-check-improve” cycle. Nevertheless, the following
gives the range that may be used as a guide line.
l_rxlev_dl_p 20 - 25 l_rxlev_ul_p 20 – 25
u_rxlev_dl_p 35 - 45 u_rxlev_ul_p 35 – 45
l_rxqual_dl_p 0.1% - 0.4% l_rxqual_ul_p 0.1% - 0.4%
u_rxqual_dl_p 2.0% - 3.5% u_rxqual_ul_p 2.0% - 3.5%
pow_inc_step_size 4–6 pow_red_step_size 2
As the effect of interference averaging, the overall BER of hopping systems will be
higher than non-hopping systems at the same perceived speech quality. Thus, the
Rxqual upper thresholds for PC may be set to values higher than they were in a non-
hopping system.
u_rxqual_dl_p
0.3%
l_rxqual_dl_p
2.0%
3.5% l_rxqual_dl_p
(hopping)
Handover
Handover happens when an active call is instructed by the network to change from the current
serving cell to another cell. The reason can be deteriorating radio link of serving cell or a better


target cell. In GSM, the network is in full control of handover process and handover decision is
made based on measurement reports of the RF environment, sent by the active mobiles. In a
hopping system, handovers due to Rxqual and interference (intra-cell) are behaving differently
from a non-hopping system.
The dBase parameter involved are shown below:
Parameter name Function
l_rxqual_dl_h Downlink Rxqual HO threshold
l_rxqual_ul_h Uplink Rxqual HO threshold

u_rxlev_ul_ih used with l_rxqual_ul_h in intra cell HO
u_rxlev_dl_ih used with l_rxqual_dl_h in intra cell HO
decision_1_n6/p6 n/p voting for Rxqual HO
decision_1_n7/p7 n/p voting for intra cell HO
ncell_proc Full power before HO is issued
decision_ alg_num power up for Rxqual reason.
Due to the interference averaging effect, the average interference level in a hopping system is
usually higher than before hopping is turned on. Therefore, the number of HO due to Rxqual may
increase significantly immediately after hopping is turned on, and subsequently increasing the HO
failure rate. HO optimisation is required !
HO optimisation
M o reR xq u a l H O H ig h e r ch a n c e o f
H O fa ilu re
Reduce unnecessary Reduce HO failure rate

Rxqual HO
Immediately after Hopping is on After optimisation
The Rxqual HO thresholds, n6/p6 voting and associated hreqave & hreqt have to be
modified to cater for the new RF environment. As in the case of PC, the settings are
function to the operating RF environment and there is no universal value set available.
However, certain guide-lines can be useful in the iterative optimisation process.
l_rxqual_ul_h 3.5% - 5.5%
l_rxqual_dl_h 3.5% - 5.5%
In areas with high fading, hreqave & hreqt may be set to higher values to obtain more
averages and more accurate representations before a HO decision is made.
l_rxqual_dl_h
2.5%
4.5% l_rxqual_dl_h
(hopping)


It is worth mentioning that in GSR4 load, a different HO quality threshold for hopping
carrier can be defined in the same cell. This means that the BCCH carrier, which is not
hopping in a SFH system, and hopping carriers will use a different quality thresholds for
HO. Please refer to section (4.3).
RF Hardware
Alterations to the physical RF hardware are sometimes the unavoidable actions needed
in cellular optimisation. There are in general 4 types of cell coverage that are
undesirable in a cellular network:
• Umbrella cell – a very high site (e.g. on a hill) that has a very wide coverage area
and has “line of sight” (LOS) to cells that are located far away. It
poses serious interference problem, especially in a 1X3 or 1X1 SFH
system and it has high transceiver count.
• Splash or island – Spilt-over or over-shot coverage of one cell to its neighboring cells
and usually not reciprocal. This is similar to umbrella cell but
splash-over are usually localized within a few spots instead of a
continuous large area.
• Overlap – undesirable high level of reciprocal coverage overlap between 2
neighboring cells.
• Void – coverage holes that exist due to no dominant cell.
In a frequency hopping system, all of the above cell coverage affect RF quality and if
exist must be rectified as soon as possible. This is especially critical in SFH system with
irregular sector orientation, where the re-use pattern is much tighter and collision
probability is higher.
Umbrella Cell
Carrier Signal
Interference !!


Island
Void Overlap
Problem Suggestion
Umbrella cell • Replace site
• Reduce number of carriers
• Modify frequency plan
• Down tilt, antenna type, transmit power.
Island/splash • Antenna height
• Down tilt, antenna type
• Transmit power
Overlapping • Frequency plan
• Antenna height
• Down tilt, antenna type
• Transmit power
Void • Add site
• Sector orientation
• Transmit power, antenna type
How to detect
To detect an umbrella cell is straight forward as it is always a very high site (e.g. on a
small hill) and simple drive test will prove its “over stretched” coverage into other cells.
Splash or island interference is usually localized within small spots. It is also non-
reciprocal, meaning the interference effect is one way, i.e. from the interfering cell to its
neighbors and not the other way round. CTP or drive test can be used to detect island or
splash. The distinctive characteristics are:
• Sudden emergence of the interfering cell as a strong neighbor and may temporary
serve a call.
• A dual-peak distribution of timing advance may be observed in the interfering cell.
The peak at higher end can be attributed to the island of splash spots located distant
away from serving area of the cell.


2nd peak showing

islands that are far
from main serving
area
Overlapping is a reciprocal interference where the effect on the overlapped cells is

mutual. CTP or drive testing can be used to detect overlaps with the following distinctive
characteristics:
• The overlapped neighbors will be reported within low margin from the server Rxlev,
in significant high number of measurement reports (MR).
• High occurrence of HO between the cells within the overlapped area.
Drive testing or CTP can easily detect void in coverage. In any case, there will be a
considerable number of MR reporting very low Rxlev of the server and its neighbor.
Frequency Plan
A frequency hopping system may be planned following the guide lines outlined in
chapter 7. There are cases where the frequency plan may need to be modified.
• An umbrella cell with high transceiver count. If some spare channels are available,
they may be added to or used to replace a few channels in the existing MA. This in
effect reduces the channel occupancy of the original frequency plan, and hence
lowers the frequency collision rate.
• Cells at the boundary of hopping and non-hopping systems. There are usually
interference problems at the boundary of two different frequency plans. As explained
above, some spare channels will be handy in reducing the interference. If no
channels available for spare, swapping the frequency between the sectors within a
hopping site may be a 2nd alternative.


Non Hopping Hopping
Swap with 11 or replace with 18
Interference
34, 10, 14 18
20, 1, 4, 7, 10
24, 2, 5, 8, 11
28, 3, 6, 9, 12
• Areas with no dominant server and served by several cell. This is critical especially in
a network with irregular sector orientation. Introducing spare channels or swapping
channels between cells, as explained above, may be effective in reducing the
average interference level.
Main Road
20, 1, 4, 7, 10
24, 2, 5, 8, 11
Interference
28, 3, 6, 9, 12 area
24, 2, 5, 8, 11
28, 3, 6, 9, 12
24, 2, 5, 8, 11
20, 1, 4, 7, 10
28, 3, 6, 9, 12


Example network & trial

Performance Data
The following sections present some of the actual network performance data before and
after frequency hopping implementation.
1. ASIA (Actual)
• Environment: 50 km radius. Includes city center and several suburbs. Irregular site
distribution, very congested in the city. Regular sector orientation.
• > 100 cells & > 10 BSCs.
• 48 channels available
• Site configuration: mixture of 2/2/2, 3/3/3 & 4/4/4 and several omnis.
• 12 Channels for BCCH. 27 for SFH TCH (1X3X9) at 33% loading. 8 channels for
micro cell.
• Objective: Spectrum efficiency, capacity, cycle time reduction in frequency planning
and optimisation.
2.25% 96.00%
2.20%
95.90%
2.15%
2.10% 95.80%
2.05%
95.70%
2.00%
95.60%
1.95%
1.90% 95.50%
1.85%
95.40%
1.80%
1.75% 95.30%
BEFORE AFTER
DROP CALL 2.20% 1.90%
TCH Asgmt Succ 95.50% 95.90%


2. ASIA (Trial)
• Environment: Rural area with irregular site distribution.
• Site configuration: 2/2/2, 1/1/1, Omni-1 & Omni-2. Only cells with > 1 carrier on SFH.
• 20 channels available for SFH trial.
• Trial conducted: 1X1X20
• Objective: Quality & cycle time reduction in frequency planning
95
90
85
(%)
80
75
70
HO SUCCESS CALL SUCCESS
BEFORE 88.3 77.3
AFTER 90.8 80.5
5
(%)
0
SD LOSS TCH LOSS HO FAIL
BEFORE 6.9 1.24 1.7
AFTER 2.8 1.2 1.6


3. EUROPE (Trial)
• Environment: Regular site distribution. Regular sector orientation. Flat land.
• 10 sites (26 cells)
• 62 Channels available
• Site configuration: mainly 2/2/2 sites and one 3/3/2 site.
• 27 channels available for the SFH trial.
• Trials conducted: 1X3X4, 1X3X8 (pseudo random) & 1X3X8 (cyclical)
• Objective: Quality & Capacity
1.20%
1.00%
0.80%
0.60%
0.40%
0.20%
0.00%
BEFORE 1X3X4 1X3X8 (P.Random) 1X3X8 (Cyclical)
RF LOSS 1.05% 0.83% 0.74% 0.75%
Good call from subjective voice quality test
100.1
99.9
99.7
99.5
(%)
99.3
99.1
98.9
98.7
98.5
BEFORE 1X3X4 1X3X8 (P.Random) 1X3X8 (Cyclical)
Uplink 99.5 99.5 100 100
Downlink 100 99.5 100 100


4. EUROPE (Trial)
• Environment: City center with irregular site distribution.
• 39 channels
• Site configuration: 2/2/2
• 18 channels available for SFH trial.
• Trial conducted: 1X3X4, 2X3X3
• Objective: Quality & Capacity
1.20% 12.00%
1.00% 10.00%
0.80% 8.00%
0.60% 6.00%
0.40% 4.00%
0.20% 2.00%
0.00% 0.00%
BEFORE 1X3X4 2X3X3
DROP CALL 0.96% 0.60% 0.62%
RXQUAL > 4 11.20% 6.50% 5.50%
% of Good Call in Subjective Voice Quality Test
101
100
99
98
97
(%)
96
95
94
93
92
BEFORE 1X3X4 2X3X3
Uplink 96.4 100 98.6
Downlink 94.7 98.9 96


5. Europe (Actual)
• Environment : Irregular site distribution. Irregular sector orientation. Hilly.
• Site configuration: mainly 2/2/2 and some 3/3/3
• 21 channel for BCCH. 18 for SFH TCH. (1X3X6) at 33% loading.
• Objective : Quality & Capacity.
1.4% 94.8%
94.7%
1.2%
94.6%
1.0%
94.5%
0.8% 94.4%
0.6% 94.3%
94.2%
0.4%
94.1%
0.2%
94.0%
0.0% 93.9%
BEFORE AFTER(1X3X6)
TCH RF LOSS 0.9% 0.7%
HO FAILURE 1.2% 1.0%
HO SUCCESS 94.2% 94.7%


6. Europe (Trial)
• Environment : Irregular site distribution. Irregular sector orientation. Hilly.
• 70 sites
• Site configuration: mainly 4/4/4 and some 3/3/3.
• 15 channels for BCCH. 18 for SFH TCH. (1X1X18). 7 channels reserved for micro
sites.
• Objective : Quality, Capacity & ease of frequency planning.
3.00%
2.50%
2.00%
1.50%
1.00%
0.50%
0.00%
HO FAIL DROP CALL
1X3X6 1.45% 2.41%
1X1X18 1.46% 1.68%
2.50%
2.00%
1.50%
1.00%
0.50%
0.00%
Total RF Loss SDCCH RF Loss TCH RF Loss
1X3X6 2.17% 2.04% 1.46%
1X1X18 1.76% 1.72% 1.39%


Capacity Gain
In the case of network (1) in the above section, the operator was running out of
frequency for macro site expansions and micro cell deployment. A new frequency plan
was needed every time a group of new sites (macro or micro) were brought into service.
Optimization of the network was also getting tougher as the limiting factor was the
spectrum efficiency, which was almost at its limit in a conventional re-use environment.
After the implementation of 1X3 SFH, not only the frequency planning and optimization
became simpler, dedicated extra bandwidth was available for micro cell use. This
enabled them to plan micro cell rollouts, which is an effective capacity solution. Today,
this operator is expanding the SFH area to cover more suburbs and turning more cells
into SFH.
In the case of network (5), frequency planning was extremely difficult restricted primarily
by the hilly terrain and limited bandwidth (40 channels). With these limitations, the
operator faced difficulties in expanding the sites from 2/2/2 to 3/3/3 for their capacity
need. After 1X3 SFH implementation, easy expansion to 3/3/3 was realized with quality
improvement as well. The capacity enhancement, in term of offered Erlang, was
calculated to be 82%.
In the case of network (6), the re-use plan was previously a 1X3X6 SFH at 50% loading.
Implementation of 1X1X18 at 16.7% loading improved the quality with the same
available bandwidth, while making frequency planning of TCH virtually effortless.


Summary
Backed with numerous positive trial and network performance data, frequency hopping
has been proven as a very good method in improving network quality enhancing
capacity. It can be implemented as Base Band Hopping (BBH) or Synthesizer Frequency
Hopping (SFH).
Quality of radio interface can be improved in 2 ways.
• Frequency diversity
• Interference averaging
Frequency hopping implementation in general offers the following benefits to a GSM
network:
• Improvement in overall speech quality.
• Enhancement in total network traffic capacity.
• Reduction of cycle time in frequency planning, optimisation and network
expansion.
• Saving in new BTS sites.
Comparing BBH and SFH, SFH offers better solution in network capacity enhancement
while both offers improvement in quality.
SFH has the restriction of:
• Requiring wideband combining devices such as hybrid combiners.
• Not practical to hop over BCCH frequencies.
BBH has the restriction of:
• For phase 1 operation, activation or de-activation of one of the hopping carriers
would affect all active calls having the affected carrier frequency in their respective
MA list.


References
Ref Title Author URL

ANDC Various ANDC papers & reports on ANDC http://www.ecid.cig.mot.com/ANDC
Frequency Hopping


Hopping

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Title : GSM Frequency Hopping Overview

SANSD GSM/ UMTS Core Engineering

Abstract: This document provides and overview of GSM

File Ref : KK990601 Page : 1 of 42

Motorola Confidential Proprietary

SANSD GSM/ UMTS Core Engineering

Cellular growth % Penetration %

Cellular Penetration and Growth Rates 1997

File Ref : KK990601 Page : 2 of 42

Motorola Confidential Proprietary

SANSD GSM/ UMTS Core Engineering

Class 1a Class 1b Class 2

50 bits 132 bits

378 bits 78 bits

8 consecutive TDMA burst over the Um air interface

File Ref : KK990601 Page : 3 of 42

Motorola Confidential Proprietary

SANSD GSM/ UMTS Core Engineering

Error Measurement in GSM

260 bits Decode 456 bits

BER estimation in GSM.

File Ref : KK990601 Page : 4 of 42

Motorola Confidential Proprietary

SANSD GSM/ UMTS Core Engineering

Frame Erasure Rate (FER)

TCH frame = { 0, 1,2,…11, 13, 14,…25 }

File Ref : KK990601 Page : 5 of 42

Motorola Confidential Proprietary

SANSD GSM/ UMTS Core Engineering

Frequency Hopping Implementation

File Ref : KK990601 Page : 6 of 42

Motorola Confidential Proprietary

SANSD GSM/ UMTS Core Engineering

MOTOROLA Supported features

Motorola defines a Frequency Hopping Indicator (FHI) that specifies a frequency

File Ref : KK990601 Page : 7 of 42

Motorola Confidential Proprietary

SANSD GSM/ UMTS Core Engineering

Enhancement in Future Software Load (GSR4)

Motorola Confidential Proprietary

SANSD GSM/ UMTS Core Engineering

RXLEV Range RXLEV Range

Non Hopping System Hopping System

The following figures illustrate the effect of hopping over 2 frequencies.

Motorola Confidential Proprietary

SANSD GSM/ UMTS Core Engineering

Effect of deep fading to TDMA frames

F1 on air Good frame

F2 on air Bad frame

Effect of deep fading in a hopping system to the TDMA frames

File Ref : KK990601 Page : 10 of 42

Motorola Confidential Proprietary

SANSD GSM/ UMTS Core Engineering

Idle time of Cell B

Co-channel interference in non-hopping cells

File Ref : KK990601 Page : 11 of 42

Motorola Confidential Proprietary

SANSD GSM/ UMTS Core Engineering

Fixed frequency Frequency hopping

Low Interference High Interference

Medium Interference Very High Interference

C/I plots of fixed and hopping systems