GSM Network Interference &

Solutions
ZTE university

Training goals
To know the classification of interference;
To master the analytical methods of
interference problem;
To master the flow of handling interference
problem;
To know the analytical tool of interference
problem;
To be able to handle common interference
problems.

Contents
GSM Frequency Allocation
Phenomena & Classification of Interference
Flow of Handling Interference Problem
Analytical Methods of Interference Problem
Typical Cases

GSM Frequency Allocation

Frequency
band
EGSM+GS
M900
DCS1800

UL
frequency

DL
frequency

Duplex
interval

Carrier
Band width frequency
interval

880MHz
~915MHz

925MHz~96
0MHz

45MHz

35MHz

200kHz

1710MHz~17
85MHz

1805MHz~1
880MHz

95MHz

75MHz

200kHz

Contents
GSM Frequency Allocation
Phenomena & Classification of Interference
Flow of Handling Interference Problem
Analytical Methods of Interference Problem
Typical Cases

Phenomena of Interference
Poor
speech
quality

On-and-off
speech

Call drop
Phenomena

Unable to
establish calls

Metallic noise

Classification of Interference

Internal interference
interference
Internal
Internalinterference
interferencerefers
referstotounreasonable
unreasonablefrequency
frequency
Internal
planningand
andequipment
equipmenthardware
hardwarefaults,
faults,which
whichcould
couldlead
leadtoto
planning
decreaseininnetwork
networkservice
servicequality.
quality.
decrease
Externalinterference
interference
External
External interference refers to unknown signal source out of
External
interference refers to unknown signal source out of
thenetwork,
network,whose
whoseexistence
existencecould
couldseriously
seriouslydisturb
disturbthe
the
the
networkssignals
signalsand
andlead
leadtotodecrease
decreaseininservice
servicequality.
quality.
networks
UL interference

UL interference
DL interference

DL interference

Internal Interference _Causes

Unreasonablefrequency
frequencyplanning
planning
Unreasonable

Equipmentfaults
faults
Equipment

Skip-zone coverage
coverage
Skip-zone

Internal
Internal
interference
interference

Internal Interference
_due to unreasonable frequency planning

Unreasonablefrequency
frequencyplanning
planning::
Unreasonable
Frequencyand
andadjacent
adjacentcell
cellrelation
relationmay
maybe
beset
set
Frequency
unreasonableininnetwork
networkplanning
planningbecause
becauseof
of
unreasonable
planningtools
toolsor
orhuman
humanmistakes
mistakes..
planning
Interferencewill
willbe
bereflected
reflectedinintoo
toolarge
large
Interference
DL_RxQuality,MS
MSunable
unableto
toaccess
accessinto
intonetwork,
network,
DL_RxQuality,
poorspeech
speechquality,
quality,and
andcall
calldrop.
drop.
poor

Internal Interference
_due to unreasonable frequency planning

Check and
and confirm
confirm problem:
problem:
Check
Use planning tool to check if co-channel exists;

Use planning tool to check if co-channel exists;

co-channelisiseasy
easyto
tobe
bedetected
detectedififititdoes
doesexist.
exist.
co-channel
As for cells in boundary areas, we can block

As for cells in boundary areas, we can block

co-channelcells
cellsin
inthe
thenetwork;
network;meanwhile,
meanwhile,
co-channel
maketracing
tracingtest
testwith
withDT
DTdevices
devicesat
atareas
areaswith
with
make
emergenceof
oflarge
largeDL_RxQuality.
DL_RxQuality.IfIfco-channel
co-channel
emergence
interferencedoes
doesexist,
exist,the
theDL_RxQuality
DL_RxQualityvalue
value
interference
shallbecome
becomesmaller
smallerafter
afterthe
theblocking
blockingof
ofcocoshall
channelcells,
cells,thus
thuswe
wecan
canadjust
adjustthe
thecells
cells
channel
frequenciesto
toeliminate
eliminatethe
theinterference.
interference.
frequencies

Internal Interference _due to skip-zone coverage

Interference caused by skip-zone

coverage

If the actual cell coverage greatly exceeds

requirement, interference will be increased.

Incorrect setting of engineering and

network parameters may lead to skip-zone
coverage.

Internal Interference _due to skip-zone coverage

Unreasonablesetting
settingof
ofengineering
engineeringparameters:
parameters:
Unreasonable

Wrongantenna
antennatype,
type,down-tilt
down-tiltand
andazimuth
azimuthmay
mayresult
result
Wrong
inover
overlarge
largecell
cellcoverage,
coverage,which
whichexceeds
exceedsactual
actual
in
coverageneed;
need;
coverage

Unreasonablesetting
settingof
ofnetwork
networkparameters:
parameters:
Unreasonable

Networkparameters
parametersinclude:
include:minimum
minimumaccess
accesslevel,
level,
Network
BTStransmission
transmissionpower,
power,MS
MSmax
maxtransmission
transmission
BTS
power,handover
handoverthresholds,
thresholds,etc..Improper
etc..Impropersetting
settingof
of
power,
theseparameters
parameterswill
willresult
resultin
inskip-zone
skip-zonecoverage
coverage
these
problemand
andinterference
interferenceas
aswell.
well.
problem

Internal Interference _ due to equipment fault

Interference caused by equipment

fault:

Radio fault of BTS is mainly caused by

defective UL unit parts.

External Interference

Definition:
Definition:

External
Externalinterference
interferencerefers
referstotoother
otherinterferences
interferences
caused
by
external
factors,
but
not
due
caused by external factors, but not duetotoequipment
equipment
fault
or
unreasonable
frequency
planning.
fault or unreasonable frequency planning.

Common external interferences:

Common external interferences:
due to wide-band repeater;
due to wide-band repeater;

due
duetotoCDMA
CDMAsystem
system(trailing
(trailingsignal);
signal);
due to signal jammer;
due to signal jammer;

Characteristic:
Characteristic:
Its hard to detect this kind of interference without
Its hard to detect this kind of interference without
specific
specificdevices.
devices.

Contents
GSM Frequency Allocation
Phenomena & Classification of Interference
Flow of Handling Interference Problem
Analytical Methods of Interference Problem
Typical Cases

Flow of Handling Interference Problem

Any new sites? If thorough change
of frequency parameters taken
recently?
Interference
exists

Several
cells
Poor speech
quality due
to
interference

Confirm
interference
range

One
TRX

Check
frequency,
change
frequency
points

One cell
Check
VSWR/antenna/divider/dupl
exer

Interference
exists

Interference
exists

Check and
change
TRX

Check
external
interference

Complete

Contents
GSM Frequency Allocation
Phenomena & Classification of Interference
Flow of Handling Interference Problem
Analytical Methods of Interference Problem
Typical Cases

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

Analytical
Analytical
Methods
Methodsofof
Interference
Interference
Problem
Problem

Statistical
Statistical
analysis
analysisofof
network
network
performance
performance
indicators
indicators

Analysis
Analysisofof
parameter
parameter

Investigation
Investigation
ofofhardware
hardware

Drive
DriveTest
Test
and
andDialing
Dialing

checking
checking

fault
fault

Test
Test

External
External
interference
interference
test
test

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

- Statistical analysis of network performance indicators
Statisticalanalysis
analysisofofnetwork
networkperformance
performanceindicators
indicators
Statistical
Statisticsofofinterference
interferenceband
band: :When
WhenTCHs
TCHsare
areininidle
idlestatus,
status,
Statistics
ULnoise/interference
noise/interferenceisisconstantly
constantlybeing
beingmeasured
measuredBTS,
BTS,and
andthe
the
UL
measurementresult
resultwill
willbe
beanalyzed,
analyzed,and
andinterference
interferencelevel
levelwill
will
measurement
besent
senttotoBSC
BSCinin66levels.
levels.

be

Statisticsofofhandover
handoverdue
duetotoUL/DL
UL/DLinterference
interference: :We
Wecan
can
Statistics
judgewhether
whetherinterference
interferenceexists
existsthrough
throughstatistics
statisticsof
ofhandover
handover
judge
causedby
byUL/DL
UL/DLinterference.
interference.
caused

Collectionof
ofUL/DL
UL/DLRQ
RQsamples
samplesduring
duringspeeches
speeches: :RxQual
RxQualisis
Collection
anindicator
indicatortotoreflect
reflectspeech
speechquality,
quality,which
whichisisbased
basedon
onerror
error
an
rateand
andfalls
fallsinto
into88grades
grades(0(0
7).
7).
rate

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

- Statistical analysis of network performance indicators

Corresponding relation between RxQual and Ber

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

- Analysis of parameter checking
Parameter
checking

Check
parameters
related to
transmitting
power

Check antenna
engineering
parameters

Check frequency
planning
parameters

Check
parameters
related to skipzone coverage

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

- Checking hardware fault

Checking hardware
hardware fault
fault
Checking
OMCRwarning
warninganalysis
analysis
OMCR
Checking latent equipment fault

Checking latent equipment fault

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

- Checking latent equipment fault

Blockthe
thetwo
two
Block
inputways
waysofof
input
TRX,observe
observe
TRX,
ULinterference
interference
UL
band;ififits
its0,0,
band;
itsproved
provedthat
that
its
TRXhasnt
hasnt
TRX
broughtUL
UL
brought
interference.
interference.

Inputthe
thetwo
two
Input
stimulationsofof
stimulations
TRXwithout
without
TRX
connecting
connecting
themtotopower
power
them
amplifier,
amplifier,
observeUL
UL
observe
interference
interference
band;ififits
its0,0,
band;
means
ititmeans
external
external
interference
interference
doesntexist
exist. .
doesnt

seriousUL
UL
IfIfserious
interferenceexists
exists
interference
eventhough
thoughthere
thereisis
even
nostimulation
stimulation
no
imposedon
onpower
power
imposed
amplifier,disconnect
disconnect
amplifier,
racktop
topfeeder
feeder
rack
cables,ififthe
the
cables,
interference
interference
disappears,we
wecan
can
disappears,
inferthat
thatthe
the
infer
problemisiscaused
causedby
by
problem
externalfactors
factors. .
external

Disconnectthe
the
Disconnect
racktop
topfeeder
feeder
rack
cables,and
and
cables,
observeUL
UL
observe
interferenceband;
band;
interference
theinterference
interference
ififthe
isntfading
fadingatatall,
all,
isnt
thenwe
wecan
can
then
concludethat
thatthe
the
conclude
problemisiswith
with
problem
thedivider
dividerunit.
unit.
the

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

- Drive Test and Call Quality Test

Drive Test and Call Quality Test

Drive test can effectively detect the location and

degree of interference, which is convenient for
analyzing the cause of interference.

In CQT, we can actually feel the speech quality

at areas being interfered, and we can see call
quality class on the test phone.

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

- Drive Test
and Call Quality Test

DT
DTparameters:
parameters:
C/I: co-channel carrier-to-interference ratio
C/I: co-channel carrier-to-interference ratio

RxQual

C/I[dB]

23

19

17

15

13

11

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

- Drive Test and Call Quality Test

DT
parameters:
DT
parameters:

SQI SPEECH QUALITY INDEX is the comprehensive

SQI SPEECH
is the comprehensive
description
of BER,QUALITY
FER andINDEX
HANDOVER
EVENT by TEMS.
description of BER, FER and HANDOVER EVENT by TEMS.

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

- Test of external interference

Confirm
Confirmexternal
externalinterference
interferencewith
withSITEMASTER
SITEMASTER: :

Test of UL interference;
Test of UL interference;

Connect
Connectthe
theinput
inputport
portofoffrequency-sweep
frequency-sweep
generator
to
the
output
port
generator to the output portofofdivider
dividertotoincrease
increase
the
degree
of
sensitivity,
as
shown
in
the
figure.
the degree of sensitivity, as shown in the figure.

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

- Test of external interference

Confirm
Confirmexternal
externalinterference
interferencewith
withSITEMASTER
SITEMASTER: :
persistent strong level exists within the bandwidth of
persistent strong level exists within the bandwidth of
20MHz,
20MHz,we
wecan
canconclude
concludethat
thatserious
seriousUL
ULinterference
interference
exists.
exists.

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

- Test of external interference

Confirm
Confirmexternal
externalinterference
interferencewith
withYBT250:
YBT250:
Make UL interference analysis of GSM 900M UL frequency
Make UL interference analysis of GSM 900M UL frequency
band
bandwith
withfrequency
frequencyscanning
scanningmeter-NetTek
meter-NetTekAnalyzer(TEK
Analyzer(TEK
company).
company).The
Themodel
modelwe
weusually
usuallyuse
useisisYBT250.
YBT250.

Connection
Connectionmethod
methodofofYBT250:
YBT250:
One is to use its own test antenna ;
One is to use its own test antenna ;
One is to obtain interference information through connection to
One is to obtain interference information through connection to
the
theoutput
outputport
portofofdivider.
divider.

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

- Test of external interference

Connection method using YBT250 to test UL interference:

CDU

Feeder
Antenna

YBT 250

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

- Test of external interference

Wave
Wavegraph
graphof
ofUL
ULinterference
interferencetested
testedby
byYBT250:
YBT250:
This output is the average value of the test results of one
This output is the average value of the test results of one
minute,
minute,which
whichshows
showsthe
thefrequency
frequencyand
andstrength
strengthof
of
interference.
interference. Persistent
Persistentobservation
observationisisneeded
neededto
toconfirm
confirm
ififthe
theinterference
interferencecontinues.
continues.

Analytical Methods of Interference Problem

- Test
of external interference
Time scatter graph of UL interference tested by YBT250:

Time scatter graph of UL interference tested by YBT250:

TEK frequency scanning meter features in three
TEK frequency scanning meter features in three
dimensional
dimensionalrecording
recordingof
oftime,
time,frequency
frequencyand
andsignal.The
signal.The
vertical
bold
red
lines
in
the
graph
represent
the
vertical bold red lines in the graph represent thetime
time
duration,
signal
level
strength
and
frequency
.
duration, signal level strength and frequency .
Colour
Colour
spectrum
spectrum
=strength
=strength

vertical
vertical
axis=time
axis=time

horizontal
horizontal
axis=frequency
axis=frequency

Contents
GSM Frequency Allocation
Phenomena & Classification of Interference
Flow of Handling Interference Problem
Analytical Methods of Interference Problem
Typical Cases

Typical case 1: Problem description

SinceMarch
March2005,
2005,an
anoperator
operatorhas
hasreceived
receivedaalot
lotof
of
Since
complaintsabout
aboutpoor
poorspeech
speechquality;
quality;sometimes
sometimescalls
calls
complaints
evencouldnt
couldntbe
besetup;
setup;the
thecaller
callercould
couldhear
hearthe
the
even
counterpart,but
butcould
couldnot
notbe
beheard.
heard.
counterpart,

Typical case 1: Problem analysis

Atthe
the
At
beginningwe
we
beginning
thoughtititwas
was
thought
causedby
by
caused
poorsignal.
signal.
poor
Afteron-site
on-site
After
test,we
wefound
found
test,
wasnt
ititwasnt
coverage
coverage
problem.
problem.

Whenthe
thelevel
level
When
testedby
byMS
MSwas
was
tested
-85dbm,UL
ULcall
call
-85dbm,
problem
problem
occurred,which
which
occurred,
wasdisplayed
displayedasas
was
on-and-off
on-and-off
speech,silence,
silence,
speech,
metallicnoise
noise
metallic
andcurrent
currentnoise,
noise,
and
sowe
weconcluded
concluded
so
thatthe
theproblem
problem
that
wascaused
causedby
by
was
interference. .
interference

Performanc
Performanc
statistics
eestatistics
OMCR
atatOMCR
showedthat
that
showed
therank
rankofof
the
idlechannel
channel
idle
interference
interference
bandwas
was
band
high.
high.

Confirmedthe
the
Confirmed
problemwas
was
problem
causedby
by
caused
interference
interference

Typical case 1: Problem handling processSTEP1

TestUL
ULinterference
interferencewith
withYBT250
YBT250connected
connectedtotoCDU.
CDU.CDMA
CDMAwave
wave
Test
formwas
wasstrong
strongwhen
whenwave
wavefilter
filterwasnt
wasntused,
used,the
thepeak
peakvalue
valuereached
reached
form
about-35dbm
-35dbm(average
(averageabout
about-60dbm),
-60dbm),which
whichwas
wasclose
closetotoGSM
GSMUL
UL
about
waveband
bandand
andcould
couldcause
causeUL
ULinterference
interferencetotoGSM
GSMnetwork.
network.
wave

Typical case 1: Problem handling processSTEP1

thethree
threedimensional
dimensionalgraph
graphofofinterference
interferencetested
testedby
byYBT250,
YBT250, the
the
InInthe
CDMAwave
waveform
formwas
wasstrong
strong and
andthe
thewave
waveform
formofofGSM
GSMbackground
background
CDMA
noiseon
onthe
theright
rightwas
washigh
highininaalong
longperiod
periodofoftime.
time.
noise

Typical case 1: Problem handling processSTEP2

UseCDMA
CDMAwave
wavefilter
filtertotoeliminate
eliminateCDMA
CDMA
Use
interference.
interference.

Common
CDU

CDMA wave
filter

Antenna

Feeder
YBT 250

Typical case 1: Problem handling processSTEP2

WhenCDMA
CDMAwave
wavefilter
filterwas
wasadopted,
adopted,CDMA
CDMAwave
wave
When
formwas
wasobviously
obviouslyweakened,
weakened,but
butititwas
wasstill
stillstrong
strong
form
somecertain
certainpoint;
point;the
thebackground
backgroundnoise
noiseininGSM
GSM
atatsome
frequencyband
bandwas
wasalso
alsoreduced.
reduced.
frequency

Typical case 1: Problem handling processSTEP2

BecauseofofCDMA
CDMAwave
wavefilter,
filter,the
theUL
ULinterference
interferenceininGSM
GSM
Because
frequencyband
bandreduced
reducedgreatly.
greatly.
frequency

Typical case 1: Problem handling processSTEP3

Withthe
theaim
aimtotoeliminate
eliminateCDMA
CDMAinterference,
interference,adopt
adopt
With
IRCDU+CDMA
+CDMAwave
wavefilter.
filter.
IRCDU

IR CDU

YBT 250

CDMA wave
filter

Antenna

Typical case 1: Problem handling processSTEP3

AdoptionofofIRCDU
IRCDU
CDMA
CDMA wave
wavefilter
filtercan
caneffectively
effectively
Adoption
filterCDMA
CDMAwaves
wavestotobelow
below-104dbm.
-104dbm.This
Thiskind
kindofoffiltering
filtering
filter
effectcan
canhelp
helpcompletely
completelyavoid
avoidCDMA
CDMAnetwork
networkinterfering
interfering
effect
GSMUL
ULnetwork.
network.
GSM

Typical case 1: Problem handling processSTEP3

AdoptionofofIRCDU
IRCDU
CDMA
CDMAwave
wavefilter
filtercan
caneliminate
eliminate
Adoption
CDMAwave
waveform
formtotoaagreat
greatextent;
extent; during
duringthe
thetest
testperiod,
period,
CDMA
CDMAinterference
interferencewas
wasalmost
almosteliminated.
eliminated.
CDMA

Typical case 1: Summary

Theinterference
interferencesource
sourcewas
wasfrom
fromCDMA
CDMAsystem.
system.
The
Throughcomparisons
comparisonsof
oftests
testsabove,
above,we
wecan
cansee
seeafter
after
Through
IRCDU+CDMAwave
wavefilter
filterwas
wasused,
used,call
callquality
quality
IRCDU+CDMA
obviouslyimproved.
improved.
obviously

Questions for thinking

How
Howisisinterference
interferenceresulted
resultedfrom
fromwrong
wrong
setting
of
transmitting
power-related
setting of transmitting power-related
parameters?
parameters?

What
Whatisisthe
theflow
flowofofchecking
checkingexternal
external
interference?
interference?