LTE Optimization Analyze

Internal Only▲

TABLE OF CONTENT

 Part 1 Basic Cell Parameter Planning

 Part 2 LTE Call Drop Optimization

 Part 3 LTE Cell Reselection Optimization

 Part 4 LTE Coverage Optimization

 Part 5 LTE Handover Optimization

Access Problem due to PRACH not Planned (1)
Symptom:
In a site test, the UE under one cell can make a call in the areas opposite to the
antenna, but it is difficult to access or even unable to access the eNodeB in the
areas that other cells can also cover. The RSRP and CINR meet the access
requirements.
Analysis:
1. After the other two cells of the eNodeB are disabled, the UE can access the
eNodeB if the signals meet the access requirements.
2. After all three cells are enabled, access is difficult or unable in the overlapped
coverage areas of the three cells. The UE sends the RRC Connection Request
message, but the system does not respond.
3. Signaling on the eNodeB side shows the system receives the message and
responds, but the response is not received by the UE.
4. Check results of the access parameter configuration show the parameter
“Logical root sequence start number used to generate prach preamble” of the
three cells is set to 0, and the parameter “NCS used to generate prach
preamble” is set to 11. This means the access preambles of the three cells sent
to the UE are the same. When the UE is in the overlapped coverage area, the
three cells receive the message from the UE and returns the MSG4 message at
the same time. The UE receive two MSG4 messages and cannot demodulate
them, so the access attempt fails.
Access Problem due to PRACH not Planned (2)

Solution:
Reset the PRACH parameters, including “Logical root sequence start
number used to generate prach preamble”, and “NCS used to generate
prach preamble”. After the resetting, the UE can access the system in
any coverage area of the eNodeB so long as the signals are of good
quality.
Summary:
Prior to the kickoff of a project, it is required to plan access-related
parameters in addition to PCI and neighbor cells.
UE Unable to Access due to Incorrect Parameter
Configuration (1)
Symptom:
In the pre-preliminary acceptance test of PGP, it is found under the cell
whose PCI is 50, UEs cannot access the SMV eNodeB and several access
failures take place in one minute. However, the radio signal quality is found
good (RSRP = -104 dBm, CINR = 102 dB).
UE Unable to Access due to Incorrect Parameter
Configuration (2)
Analysis:
The UE should report the Status packet to the eNodeB after it receives the LTE
DL AM All PDU message.
However, the analysis of UE logs shows the eNodeB does not receive the
Status packet. As a result, the eNodeB repeats sending the message in the RLC
layer.
On the UE side, the UE has received the message 4 times, while on the
eNodeB side, the RNLU sends the RnluRnlcErrInd message to the RNLC, and
the RNLC returns the RrcConnectionRelease message, causing the UE’s failure
to access.
By default, our network parameter setting allows SRB signaling to be repeatedly
transmitted for up to 16 times.
Check the parameter setting and find the maximum RLC AM retransmission
time was incorrectly set to 4.
Meanwhile, the SRB RLC Type of the eNodeB is also incorrectly configured as
UM (Unacknowledged Mode), which should be AM (Acknowledged Mode).
Solution:
Modify the SRB RLC Type to be AM and the problem is solved.
Access Failure due to a UE Fault (1)

Symptom:
In the pre-preliminary acceptance test of PGP, it is found Samsung UEs
fail to work from time to time, leading to access failure.
Access Failure due to a UE Fault (2)

Analysis:
First, the UE logs are analyzed. The radio environment is good as the
RSRP is -82 dBm and the CINR is 19 dB. But after the UE receives the
“Activate default EPS bearer context request” message from the MME,
it rejects the request through the “ulInformationTransfer” message on
the uplink and returns the reason “PTI unmatched”.
However, the comparison of the signaling elements in the normal
procedure with those in the abnormal procedure shows the PTI
(Procedure transaction identity) sent by the MME is the same as the
PTI carried in the attach request message of the UE.
Therefore, it is concluded that the problem is caused by Samsung UE’s
failing to maintain the PTI properly.
Solution:
Update the HW/SW version of Samsung UE or replace Samsung UE
with other UEs, for example, Qualcomm UEs do not report such a
problem.
 Internal Only▲

TABLE OF CONTENT

 Part 1 Basic Cell Parameter Planning

 Part 2 LTE Call Drop Optimization

 Part 3 LTE Cell Reselection Optimization

 Part 4 LTE Coverage Optimization

 Part 5 LTE Handover Optimization

Call Establishment and Call Drop

 NAS and AS
 NAS: Non-Access Stratum
 AS: Access Stratum

2. Idle/ EPC
1. Power-off Attached 3. Activated
Registered Connected

Evolved Mobility Deregistered Registered

Management (EMM)
Evolved Connection
Idle Connected
Management (ECM)
Radio Resource Control
(RRC) Idle Connected Idle Connected
Call Establishment and Call Drop

 Connection Release

UE EUTRAN

RRCConnectionRelease

 Call Drop – Definition

 A call will be dropped when an UE exits the RRC_CONNECTED

state.
Call Establishment and Call Drop

 Call Drop – Common Causes

 1. Connection Reestablishment Reject (Signaling)
 (1). The UE sends the rrcConnectionReestablishmentRequest; Cause =
otherFailure message through the UL-CCCH.
 (2). The eNodeB returns the rrcConnectionReestablishmentReject message
through the DL-CCCH.
 (3). When experiencing a call drop problem, the UE starts to receive the
broadcast message that contains SIB1 through the BCCH-SCH until the UE
originates the next call.
Call Establishment and Call Drop

 Call Drop – Common Causes

 2. Poor Signal over the Air Interface (Signaling)
 Incomplete signaling: Without receiving the Connection Release message, the
UE is transitioned from the RRC-CONNECTED state to the RRC-IDLE state.
 A typical symptom of this call drop problem: The UE sends the
RRCConnectionReestablishmentRequest message but does not received the
RRCConnectionReestablishment message, and even the UE does not send
the RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete message.
Call Establishment and Call Drop

 Call Drop – Common Causes

 3. Other Causes
 Narrowly speaking, a call drop problem occurs only when the UE
sends the rrcConnectionReestablishmentRequest message, that is
to say, the RRC connection is broken.

 If the RRC connection is reestablished due to a handover or any other

problem, the RRC reestablishment is usually successful. In a real
project, you need to pay special attention to such problem. Whenever
necessary, you must reach an agreement with the customer on
whether regarding such a problem as a call drop problem.
Cause Analysis 1 – Poor Coverage

 Problem Symptoms
Poor
Coverage

20

10
Serving Ce
0 ll CINR

-10 Drop

-70

-90
Serving
Cell RS
-110 RP

-130
Cause Analysis 1 – Poor Coverage

 Cause Analysis: Analyzing the Drive Test Data

 Step 1. Collect the drive test data.
 Step 2. Analyze the drive test data using ZXPOS CNA or
TEMS Discovery.
 Step 3. Check whether there is any of the following
symptoms through the geographical chart or Table View
when a call drop problem occurs:
 Low RSRP (serving cell): RSRP < -105dBm
 Low CINR (serving cell): CINR < 0dB
 Poor signal strength (neighboring cell): Signal strength
> -105dBm
Cause Analysis 1 – Poor Coverage

 Optimization Solutions
 1. Determine which sectors are serving current poor
coverage areas.
 2. Determine the most suitable sectors based on the
network topology and radio environment, and strengthen
the coverage of this area.
 Troubleshoot the hardware faults from the baseband, RF, and
antenna system, VSWR alarms.
 Increase the RS power of the serving cell.
 Increase the power of the serving sector.
 Adjust the antenna tilt of the serving sector.
 Adjust the antenna azimuth of the serving sector.
 Add some sites plus adjusting the antenna tilt and azimuth of the
surrounding base stations.
 3. Implement the Coverage & Capacity Optimization (SON-
CCO) function (pending).
Case Study 1 – Poor Coverage

 Poor Coverage

RSRP < -120 dBm

Serving Cell CINR < -2 dB
Cause Analysis 2 – Handover Failure

 Problem Symptoms
 Before a call drop problem occurs, the UE has ever sent the
measurement report and received the
RRCConnectionReconfiguration message from the eNodeB.

 The UE sends the rrcConnectionReestablishmentRequest;

Cause = handoverFailure message immediately when receiving
the broadcast message from the target cell.

 The UE usually sends the

rrcConnectionReestablishmentRequest message to the source
cell after experiencing a handover failure.
Cause Analysis 2 – Handover Failure
 Cause Analysis: Analyzing the Signaling Data
 Obtain the signaling data collected from the drive test.
 Check whether there is any of the following symptoms when a call drop
problem occurs:
 Before a call drop problem occurs, the UE has ever sent the
measurementReport message.
 The UE can receive the rrcConnectionReconfiguration message that
contains the MobilityControlInfo field from the eNodeB.
 When handover to the target cell that is carried by the
rrcConnectionReconfiguration message, the UE can receive the
systemInformationBlockType1 message through the BCCH-SCH.
 When receiving the systemInformationBlockType1 message, the UE sends
the rrcConnectionReestablishmentRequest Cause=handoverFailure
message.
 Usually, the UE can successfully reestablish the connection within 200 ms, and
handover back to the source cell.
Cause Analysis 2 – Handover Failure
 Optimization Solutions
 Check whether the neighboring cells are properly configured by comparing the
Neighbor Cell worksheet of the source cell to the Serving Cell worksheet of the
target cell.
 Check whether the target cell is normally running.
 No bit errors during the transmission
 Normal power output
 No handover failure due to the cell overload
 Check whether the software versions of both source and target cells are correct.
 Familiarize yourself with common handover failures.
 A handover failure occurs because the X2 interface is improperly configured.
 A handover failure occurs because traffic load is burdened in a single cell.
 A handover failure occurs because the handover success rate is too low in this cell.
 A handover failure occurs because a new site is deployed in the surrounding area.
 A handover failure occurs because the UE is located at the edges of different MMEs.
 A handover failure occurs because the UE is located at the borders of base stations in
different frequencies.
Case Study 2 – Handover Failure

 Inter-Frequency Handover Unsupported

Cause Analysis 3 – Missing Neighbor

 Problem Symptoms
Missing
Neighbor

20

10
Servin
g Cell R
0 CINR N1 CIN
Drop
-10

-70

-90 Serving C
ell RSRP N1 RSRP

-110

-130
Cause Analysis 3 – Missing Neighbor
 Cause Analysis：Analyzing the Signaling Data
 Obtain the signaling data collected from the drive test.
 Check whether there is any of the following symptoms when a call drop problem
occurs:
 Before a call drop problem occurs, the RSRP of the serving cell is continually
decreased.
 Before a call drop problem occurs, the UE sends the measurementReport
message consecutively. The purpose is to check whether the signals of
neighboring cells are strong enough. The signal of the serving cell becomes
poorer and poorer because no neighboring cell is configured, and eventually
this causes a call drop problem.
 The measurementReport message sent by the UE contains the target
neighboring cells that satisfy the A3 or A5 event, depending on system setup.
 The system (neighboring cell) message sent by the serving cell does not
contain the target neighboring cell of the measurementReport message sent
by the UE.
 After sending the measurementReport message, the UE does not receive the
rrcConnectionReconfigurationRequest message with a handover instruction
from the eNodeB.
Cause Analysis 3 – Missing Neighbor

 Optimization Solutions

 Using the configuration tool or batch-import function in

the OMC, add the missing neighbor cells to the
serving cell list prior to the call drop.

 Implement the ANR function to optimize the

configuration of neighboring cells. (pending)
Case Study 3 – Missing neighboring Cell

 The UE sends the measurementReport message for several

times before a call drop problem occurs.
Cause Analysis 4 - Overshooting

 Problem Symptoms
Overshooting
(Pilot Pollution)

20

10

0
Serving Serving
Cell CINR Cell CINR
-10 Drop Drop
N1 CINR

-70

-90
Serving Serving Servin Serving
Cell g
-110 1 R SR P Cell 2 Cell 2 Cell 1
R SR P R SR P R SR P
-130
Cause Analysis 4 - Overshooting

 Cause Analysis: Analyzing the Signaling Data

 Obtain the signaling data collected from the drive test.
 Check whether there is any of the following symptoms when a call
drop problem occurs:
 The signals in a coverage area where a call drop problem
occurs, serving cell, or searchable neighboring cell contains
some overshooting signals (overshooting 3 or more layers).
 Determine whether the coverage area where a call drop
problem occurs is in nature a pilot polluted area, which is
served by more than three cells (RSRP > -110 dBm, CINR < 0
dB).
 Determine whether any neighboring cell is unconfigured.
Check whether the neighboring cell list of the coverage area
contains any overshooting cell.
Cause Analysis 4 - Overshooting

 Optimization Solutions
 The general principle is: on the condition that the coverage area
is provided with stable and proper signals, try as best as
possible to control the signals of the overshooting area.
 Decreasing the power of the overshooting area
 Increasing the antenna downtilt of the overshooting area
 By taking the border coverage of the overshooting area as well as the
network topology into consideration, carefully adjust the antenna azimuth of
the overshooting area.

 Pilot Pollution Caused by Overshooting Coverage

 Increase the power of the primary sector
 Adjust the antenna downtilt of the primary sector
 Adjust the antenna azimuth of the primary sector
 Control the polluted signals from other areas

 Neighbor Cell Unconfigured: Optimizing neighbor cells

Cause Analysis 5 – Equipment Fault

 Problem Symptoms
 Equipment Faults
 Handover abnormalities
 A call drop problem occurs and can reoccur when a
service is processed at a fixed time or place.
 A call drop problem occurs and can reoccur in one or
more specific sectors of the eNodeB.
 A call drop problem occurs and can reoccur in an inter-
MME, inter-TA, or any other special area.
Cause Analysis 5 – Equipment Fault

 Cause Analysis: Analyzing the Drive Test Data and

OMC Statistics Data
 Step 1. Collect the required data.

 Step 2. Analyze the data before and after the call drop problem
occurs.
– Radio environment (GE): poor coverage, fast fading,
shadowing
– Coverage of the serving cell (RSRP and SINR)
– Neighboring cell configuration and handover statistics
– Signaling flow abnormalities
 Step 3. Eliminate the causes one by one and sum up some helpful
principles
– Whole or part of a site?
– S1 or X2 interface?
– Affected by any critical operations?
Cause Analysis 5 – Equipment Fault

 Optimization Solution

 If a call drop problem is caused by any equipment fault, you

need to submit it to an R&D engineer.
 When necessary, you must capture the required
information for further analyzing the call drop problem, in
coordination with the R&D engineer.
 Follow up the problem troubleshooting procedure.
 Eventually, verify that the problem is properly eliminated.
Cause Analysis 6 – Interference

 Problem Symptoms (Uplink Interference)

Interference
(Uplink)

20 UE Tx Power
Drop
10 Serving Cell CINR

-10

-70 eNodeB RSSI

-90
Serving Cell RSRP
-110

-130
Cause Analysis 6 – Interference

 Problem Symptoms (Downlink Interference)

Interference
(Downlink)

20

10

0
Drop
Serving Cell and Neighbor Cell CINR
-10

-70
Serving Cell & Neighbor Cell RSRP
-90

-110

-130
Cause Analysis 6 – Interference
 Cause Analysis：Drive Test Data Analysis + OMC Dynamic Data
Analysis
 Step 1. Collect the drive test data and dynamically observe the
RSSI data in the OMC when a call drop problem occurs.

 Step 2. Analyze the data features when a call drop problem

occurs:
 Check whether the RSSI of the BTS is too high (such as -85 dBm or
higher). If yes, you can infer that uplink interference is present.

 Check whether the transmit power of the UE is greater than 20 dBm

within a few minutes prior to the call drop occurrence. At this time, the
UE is not located in any weakly covered area. In this case, you can
infer that uplink interference is present.

 Check whether the RSRP is -90 dBm or better but the CINR is smaller
than 0 dB in the serving cell (even including neighbor cells) that is
being tested. If yes, you can infer that downlink interference is
present.

 Step 3. Determine which type of interference is present, and then

Cause Analysis 6 – Interference

 Optimization Solution

 Determine and troubleshoot uplink interference:

 Specify the rough range of the interference (which cells experiencing
interference and whether these cells are included in a certain cluster)
 Using a spectrum scanner such as YBT250 plus Yagi antenna to
pinpoint the interference source.

 Determine and troubleshoot downlink interference:

 Confirm that downlink interference does not come from any internal
system (This requires eliminating the overshooting coverage and
unconfigured neighbor cell problems).
 If downlink interference comes from an external system, you need to
use a spectrum scanner such as YBT250 plus Yagi antenna to
pinpoint the interference source.
Cause Analysis 7 – Traffic Congestion

 Problem Symptoms
 There are relatively too many real-time activated subscribers
in the cell.
 The cell starts to reject the UEs during the admission control
procedure.
 The transmit power of the cell is becoming almost saturated.
 The call setup success rate and the call drop rate are
becoming worse.
Cause Analysis 7 – Traffic Congestion
 Cause Analysis: OMC Performance Statistics
Analysis

 Step 1. Collect performance statistics in busy hours from the

OMC, including call setup, handover, and call release.
 Step 2. Query the number of subscribers as well as the traffic
load when a call drop problem occurs, and then check
whether the cell is heavily loaded.
 Step 3. Query the cell setup success rate, handover success
rate, and call drop rate; and locate their potential causes.
 Step 4. When a cell starts to reject the UEs during the
admission control procedure because of resource
insufficiency, you can infer that the call drop problem is
caused by traffic congestion.
Cause Analysis 7 – Traffic Congestion

 Optimization Solutions
 Increase the system capacity.
 Increase the cell power.
 Compress the overhead channel power.
 Increase the resource blocks (RBs).
 Add some base stations.
 Change the network topology and balance the traffic
load.
 Shrink the coverage and adjust the RF for mitigating the
power overload
 Implement the SON-CCO function (pending).
 Internal Only▲

TABLE OF CONTENT

 Part 1 Basic Cell Parameter Planning

 Part 2 LTE Call Drop Optimization

 Part 3 LTE Cell Reselection Optimization

 Part 4 LTE Coverage Optimization

 Part 5 LTE Handover Optimization

The S-criterion for Cell Selection (Srxlev > 0)
Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas – (Qrxlevmin + Qrxlevmin
offset) - Pcompensation
 Qrxlevmeas is the reference signal received power (RSRP) of the
candidate cell.
 Qrxlevmin and Qrxlevminoffset are the minimum received levels for
cell camping configured in the SIB (SIB1). The Qrxlevminoffset is used
only in the situation when the UE camps on a VPLMN cell.
 Pcompensation uses a larger value among 0 and the value of PEMAX
(the peak uplink transmit power of the UE) deducting PUMAX (the
maximum RF output power of the UE), that is MAX（PEMAX－
PUMAX, 0). The unit is dB.
 Actually, it is the compensation of UE’s transmit power and the maximum
allowed transmit power to the cell selection. (If the transmit power of UE is
larger than the maximum allowed transmit power, the Pcompensation is 0;
otherwise it is necessary to use the transmit power of UE to compensate
the access threshold.)
Cell Reselection Process
 The process of cell reselection includes these steps: conducting
measurement as per measurement rules, reselecting a cell as
per cell reselection rules, and cell access verification.
After the UE has camped on a cell, it
will conduct measurement to determine
whether there is a better cell so as to
conduct cell reselection.

The priority-based cell reselection is a

new mechanism in the E-UTRAN.
Cell Reselection Measurement Rules
 To reduce power consumption, less measurement operations are
preferred. The 3GPP Specifications define two thresholds for triggering
the UE’s measurement. They are s-IntraSearch and s-NonIntraSearch,
which are all configured in SIB3.
 If the quality of the serving cell is better than the s-IntraSearch, the
UE can conduct no intra-frequency measurement.
 If the quality of the serving cell is better than the s-NonIntraSearch
but worse than the s-IntraSearch, the UE will conduct the intra-
frequency measurement, but not the inter-frequency or inter-RAT
measurement.
 If the quality of the serving cell is worse than the s-NonIntraSearch,
the UE will conduct the intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-
RAT measurements.
 During the early stage of a commercial network, the UEs are basically
data cards, and there is no need to consider the power consumption.
As a result, the configuration for s-IntraSearch and s-NonIntraSearch
are not available. The UEs are required to conduct the intra-frequency,
inter-frequency, and inter-RAT measurements.
Evaluation and Cell Sequencing 1
 According to the priorities of neighbor cells and the serving cell, the
cell reselection takes place in three situations (see next page):

The cell with lower Serving The cell with higher

priority frequency Cell priority frequency
Evaluation and Cell Sequencing 2
 The priority of the neighbor cell is higher than that of the serving cell.

 The signal quality (SnonServingCell,x) of the measured neighbor is higher

than ThreshX,High in the time of Treselection.

 The priority of the neighbor cell is lower than that of the serving cell.

 If the above two situations are not satisfied, the cell is reselected when the
quality of the serving cell is lower than Threshserving, low, and the
measurement quality SnonServingCell,x of a neighbor cell with lower
priority is higher than Threshx, low.
Evaluation and Cell Sequencing 2
 The priority of the neighbor cell is equal to that of the serving cell.

 All cells (including the serving cell) are put in a queue. If a cell ranks
highest in the queue and lasts longer than the time set in Treselection, the
cell is selected. The R-criterion is shown below:
Rs = Qmeas,s + QHyst
Rn = Qmeas,n - Qoffset
 Rs is the quality score of serving cell (ranking criterion for serving cell);
and Rn is the quality score of the neighbor cell.
 Qmeas,s and Qmeas,n are the RSRP values of the serving cell and the
neighbor cell respectively.
 Q_Hyst is the parameter to control the hysteresis of the serving cell in the
sequence.
 Q_offset defines the offset for a neighbor cell. For the intra-frequency
cells, it is the cell-based offset value. For the inter-frequency cells with the
same priority, it includes two parts: the cell-based offset value and the
frequency-based offset value.
Accessibility Verification for Cell Reselection
 If the best cell in the LTE frequency range is barred or reserved,
it is required that this cell is removed from the cell reselection
candidate list on the UE.
 The UE can try other cell of the same frequency, unless the cell indicates
that the UE can not select any intra-frequency cell in a period of time.

 If the UE evaluates the best target cell and finds that it is not
suitable due to some reasons.
 For examples, the tracking area prohibits roaming, or the cell is not a cell
in the registered PLMN.

 In a period of time (which would not be longer than 300s) that follows, the
UE will not take any cell in this frequency as the target cell for cell
reselection.
Cell Reselection Speed Factor 1
 By calculating the frequency of cell reselections, the UE determines
which mobility state it is in. In SIB3, the mobility state parameters are
configured, including n-CellChangeMedium, n-CellChangeHigh, t-
HystNormal and t-Evaluation.

 In the period of t-Evaluation, if the count of cell reselections is larger than n-

CellChangeHigh, the UE determines it is in a high speed mobility state.

 If the count of cell reselections is larger than n-CellChangeMedium, the UE

determines it is in a medium speed mobility state.

 In the period of t-HystNormal (t-HystNormal must be larger than t-

Evaluation), the UE will return to the normal mobility state if it does not
detect any condition that meets the medium speed mobility state or high
speed mobility state.
Cell Reselection Speed Factor 2
 In the high speed mobility state and medium speed mobility state, the
UE needs to obtain and uses the sf-Medium and sf-High configured in t-
ReselectionEUTRA-SF and q-HystSF from SIB3. Of which, sf-Medium
is the factor used for medium speed mobility state, and sf-High is the
factor used for high speed mobility state.

 Multiply the corresponding factors of Treselection and t-ReselectionEUTRA-

SF, and use it as the new timer for cell reselection.

 Add the sf-Medium or sf-High in q-HystSF to Qhyst. The Qhyst is used in

the R-criterion.
Black / White List, Access Restriction, Cell
States
 The UE should bypass the cells on the black list when it conducts
cell selection, measurement and cell reselection.
 Blacklisted cells are not considered in event evaluation or measurement
reporting.
 For the CSG cells and Hybrid cells, the UE should obtain the
CSG IDs from the system information. If the CSG ID is stored on
the CSG whitelist of the UE, the UE should put the cell in the
candidate list and conduct measurement and sequencing
 Each UE belongs to an access class (AC) in the range 0 - 9.
 Some UEs belongs to one or more high-priority ACs in the range 11-15,
which are reserved for specific uses. AC10 is used for emergency access.
 The UE considers access to be barred if access is barred for all its
applicable ACs.
 When the cellBarred state of a cell in SIB1 is barred, the UE can
not select this cell in cell selection nor cell reselection, even in
emergency.
Late Measurement
 Measurement threshold: s-IntraSearch and s-NonIntraSearch. Due to
improper configuration (too small value), the cell reselection
measurement is started late. The conditions to start measurement are
ready, but no measurement is started.

 The serving cell does not provide configurations for s-IntraSearch

(affecting intra-frequency measurement) or s-NonIntraSearch
(affecting inter-frequency or inter-RAT measurement). The UE
conducts the intra-frequency, inter-frequency and inter-RAT
measurements.

 Increase the value of s-IntraSearch or s-NonIntraSearch so that the

cell reselection measurement is started as soon as the quality of the
serving cell worsens.
Ping-Pong Reselection

 If ping-pong cell reselections occur, you can increase the cell

reselection hysteresis, and raise the priority of LTE cell reselection.

 If the above method does not work, you can decrease the value of
Threshserving, low for the serving cell.

 For the same operator, the priority settings for UTRAN and E-
UTRAN in the UMTS and LTE networks should be the same. The
cell reselection parameter configurations on the two sides must
match each other so as to prevent the ping-pong handover.
Late Cell Reselection
 If the cell reselection is conducted too late, the UE may originate
calls on an unsuitable cell, which easily causes access failure or
call drops.

 Take an intra-frequency cell reselection for example. To speed

up the cell reselection, the following methods can be used:

 Set the value of cell reselection Treselection as small as possible.

At present, we recommend setting it to 1s.

 Decrease the value of QHyst.

 Decrease the value of Qoffset.

Call Congestion

 If subscribers suffer call congestions in the overlapped coverage

area, you should decrease the threshold for cell reselection to
other cells, no matter such call congestions occur in which
network, so as to properly distribute traffic.
 Case Study 1
Improper measurement control threshold setting leading to access
failure
Fault Description
During a commissioning test, we found that the UE failed to originate
calls in a cell, but it could originate calls in a neighbor cell with better
quality soon (hundreds of milliseconds).
Time FD Frame KeyInfo Appearance PCI RSRP CINR RSRQ
16:07:35.421 FD12 LTE RRC Signaling UL-CCCH: rrcConnectionRequest; Cause = mo-Signalling Fail
16:07:36.500 FD12 LTE RRC Signaling DL-CCCH: rrcConnectionSetup
16:07:36.515 FD12 LTE NAS Signaling UL EPS MM: Attach request
16:07:36.515 FD12 LTE RRC Signaling UL-DCCH: rrcConnectionSetupComplete
16:07:36.515 FD12 LTE NAS Signaling UL EPS SM: PDN connectivity request 307 -109 -5 -22.2
16:07:36.515 FD12 LTE RRC Signaling DL-CCCH: rrcConnectionSetup
16:07:36.640 FD12 LTE NAS Signaling DL EPS MM: Authentication request
16:07:36.640 FD12 LTE RRC Signaling DL-DCCH: dlInformationTransfer
16:07:36.984 FD12 LTE NAS Signaling UL EPS MM: Authentication response
16:07:36.984 FD12 LTE RRC Signaling UL-DCCH: ulInformationTransfer
16:07:38.375 FD12 LTE RRC Signaling BCCH-SCH: systemInformationBlockType1
16:07:38.375 FD12 LTE RRC Signaling UL-CCCH: rrcConnectionRequest; Cause = mo-Signalling Success
16:07:38.406 FD12 LTE RRC Signaling UL EPS MM: Attach request
16:07:38.437 FD12 LTE NAS Signaling DL-CCCH: rrcConnectionSetup
16:07:38.437 FD12 LTE RRC Signaling UL EPS SM: PDN connectivity request
16:07:38.437 FD12 LTE NAS Signaling UL-DCCH: rrcConnectionSetupComplete 397 -87 13
16:07:46.421 FD12 LTE RRC Signaling DL EPS MM: Identity request
16:07:56.515 FD12 LTE RRC Signaling DL-DCCH: dlInformationTransfer
Case Study 1
Fault Analysis
We checked the UE log and found that the radio environment of the cell
that the UE accesses for the first time was poor (PCI=307, RSRP=-
109dBm, CINR=-5dB). There was a neighbor cell with good signal
quality (PCI=397, RSRP=-87dBm), but the UE did not select it. The
situation was that the UE failed to access the cell with PCI=307, but it
soon successfully accessed the cell with PCI=397. We checked the
SIB3 messages from the network, and found s-IntraSearch=7 in the
intraFreqCellReselectionInfo section. According the calculation formula,
the serving cell originate intra-frequency measurement when the RSRP
value is smaller than -130+14=-116dBm. Then, it is too late.

Solution
In current network environment, the terminals
are data cards, which have no requirement on
power consumption. So, we can set the
parameter bySIntraSrchPre to false, ensuring
that the terminal conducts RSRP measurement
for intra-frequency neighbor cells all the time.
Case Study 2
Improper cell reselection parameter setting leading to call drops
Fault Description
During a preliminary acceptance test for PGP, the signal quality of the
serving cell worsened gradually in the process of UE access, leading to
RRC call drop. The cell reselection parameters were improperly
configured, and the UE originated calls on the cell with poor quality
signals, leading to RRC call drops.
Case Study 2

Fault Analysis
We checked the UE log and found that the radio environment of the cell
that the UE accesses was poor (RSRP=-92dBm, CINR=1dB). There
was a neighbor cell with good signal quality (PCI=251，RSRP=-
87.6dBm), but the UE did not select it. During the access process, the
UE could not be handed over to a better cell, the signal quality of the
serving cell became worse and worse, and at last the call dropped.
When the time requirement (1s, the minimum value) for intra-frequency
cell reselection is met, the cell reselection process can be initiated
according to the R-criterion. Furthermore, decreasing the value of
Qoffset or Qhyst can accelerate cell reselection.
Solution
Modify the cell reselection parameter Qhyst (3dB -> 1dB) to speed up
cell reselection so that the UE can select the cell with better quality.
 Internal Only▲

TABLE OF CONTENT

 Part 1 Basic Cell Parameter Planning

 Part 2 LTE Call Drop Optimization

 Part 3 LTE Cell Reselection Optimization

 Part 4 LTE Coverage Optimization

 Part 5 LTE Handover Optimization
Trans-Regional Coverage
 the trans-regional coverage usually refers to the coverage of some
base stations exceeds the planned scope. Such problems are
usually the following solution:
1. reduce the power of cross-district coverage area;
2. reduce the antenna down tilt;
3. adjusting the antenna angle;
4. reduce the antenna height;
5. Replace the antenna. Use small-gain antenna. Mechanical downtilt
antenna replaced by electronic downtilt antenna. Lobe width is
narrower beam antenna replacement antenna lobe;
6. If the site is too high causing more area coverage, is invalid in the
case of other means, you can consider adjusting the network
topology, the relocation site is too high.
No dominant cell
 Such an area is no dominant or leading cell, replace cell too
often. This will result in frequent handover, which reduces
system efficiency, increasing the likelihood of dropped calls.
 Area for lead-free areas should be under the antenna by
adjusting the angle of inclination and direction of the other
methods, and enhance a strong signal area (or close-quarters)
of coverage, weaken the other weak signal area (or remote
area) coverage.
Interference Analysis
1. Downlink interference analysis
 Scanner DT test by analyzing the received SINR to target.
 If RSRP good coverage SINR falls below a certain threshold, but there
may be downward interference. Deterioration of regional identity out of
the SINR, check the deterioration of the region downstream RSRP
coverage. If the difference is down RSRP coverage also identified as
coverage issues, coverage issues in the analysis to be addressed.
SINR for the RSRP good and bad situation recognized as the downlink
interference problems because of interference and to resolve them.
2. Uplink interference
 Uplink interference problem judges by checking noise floor of site. If
the noise floor of a cell is too high, and there is no equivalent high-
traffic is present, confirm the presence of uplink interference problems,
analysis interference and resolve.
Analysis of handover
 Neighbor list optimization focus on neighbor list missing.
Neighbor list missing will lead to dropped calls. Through the
drive test data analysis software and statistical analysis, for
each district to provide neighbor list added, deleted,
reservations recommended.
 By adjusting azimuth and downtilt of the antenna, we change
position of handover area and signal distribution. If the
handover area is too small, can solved by reducing downtilt or
adjust the azimuth. If you handover zone signal changes too
frequently, appropriate azimuth and downtilt adjustments could
be considered to ensure a smooth change of a single cell.
RF common method of optimization
 Antenna azimuth adjustment
 Antenna downtilt adjustment
 Neighbor list / PCI adjustment
 Basic wireless parameters verification
 Adjust the antenna height
 Adjust the antenna location
 Adjust the antenna connector
 to use particular antenna
 Adjust the accessories, such as the tower amplifier
 Modified downlink power
Antenna downtilt calculation formula

 Antennas downtilt formula 1

θ = atan (2H / L) * 360 / (2 * p) + b / 2 - e_γ
 Antennas downtilt formula 2
θ = atan (H / L) * 360 / (2 * p) - e_γ
Where: θ indicates initial antenna mechanical downtilt; H indicates
site effective height; L indicates that the distance between antenna
and cell coverage edge; b represents the vertical lobe angle; e_γ
indicates electronic downtilt.
Antenna downtilt calculation formula instruction
1. Formula 1 main scenarios: Under urban dense sites, for the
most energy of the antenna radiation in the coverage area can
reduce the interference of neighboring cells, when setting the
initial downtilt, the antenna's half-power point above the main
lobe aim at coverage edge (defined as L / 2). Generally not
recommended to set initial downtilt according to the formula,
avoid the initial inclination may be set too high, which lead to
network coverage problems, and more as reference of
optimization.
2. Formula 2 is the general formula, the main scenarios: in the
suburbs, villages, roads, sea and so far as to cover as much
as possible, can reduce the initial downtilt, so that a maximum
gain of the antenna main lobe is aligned on cell edge.
Antenna downtilt calculation formula instruction
3. The actual wireless network optimization, optimization of the
antenna set up downtilt depends mainly on the analysis of
drive test data to complete.
 According to the SINR of the pilot overlay can draw the coverage
of each sector, the sector for more area coverage, consider
increasing the antenna down tilt, as required under the angle to
increase the amount of formula 1 can be used to refer to As RF
optimization of empirical strong, many people in this setting is
also under the angle and the surrounding environment.
 For the more serious areas covered sectors, optimizing the
antenna set may be greater than under the dip calculated under
the formula of a much larger angle.
 For the coverage is insufficient, or contaminated areas to be
used in the pilot frequency optimal use of the leading sectors do,
as long as more areas will not be the optimal coverage, the
antenna is less than under the dip can be calculated by the
formula 1 under the angle, Even less than calculated by the
formula 2 under the angle.
Downlink power allocation principle
 power allocation principle defined by 3GPP 36.213
 For the OFDM symbol does not contain the RS,
 Definite = PDSCH-to-RS EPRE ratio
 A =  power-offset  PA [dB]
Among them, the  power-offset only effective multi-user MIMO, and the
remaining values are 0dB format. PA UE-specific parameter
configured by the RRC , its range is [3,2,1,0, -1.77, -3, -4.77, -
6] dB.
Downlink power allocation principle
 For the OFDM symbol that contains RS
 Definition  B = PDSCH-to-RS EPRE ratio, the value of  B
which provided by the following table , PB  B /  A and the value
of the number of antenna port. PB is high-level configuration
parameter, is cell specific.

B /  A

PB Two and Four Antenna

One Antenna Port
Ports

0 1 5/4
1 4/5 1
2 3/5 3/4
3 2/5 1/2
Downlink power allocation principle

Within the OFDM in the presence of RS, and does not

contain within the OFDM symbol, respectively, the
following equation holds.

Single antenna port (  B /  A * 5) and two, four antenna port (  B /  A *

4) .The two values are equal, so the value of P has nothing to
CRS _ RE

do with the antenna ports.

Downlink power allocation principle
 For example, 20M-bandwidth, coupled with the maximum symbol
power 20w assumption (43dBm). We can estimate the range of
reference signal power. Calculated on the basis of above rule, the
combination of the various possible values ,  B /  A
PA and PCRS _ RE is,

（dBm）
(dB) Type B
Type A

3 9.586 10.457 11.549 13.010 9.208

2 10.494 11.343 12.400 13.799 10.218
1 11.370 12.193 13.208 14.537 11.218
0 12.218 13.010 13.979 15.228 12.218
-1.77 13.638 14.363 15.234 16.325 13.988
-3 14.559 15.228 16.020 16.990 15.228
-4.77 15.739 16.319 16.989 17.781 16.988
-6 16.478 16.989 17.570 18.239 18.239
Average() 13.010 13.737 14.618 15.738 13.413
RS power parameter configuration
 RS (Cell-specific Reference Signals Power): This parameter
indicates the cell reference signal power (absolute value).
Reference signal is used for the cell search, downlink channel
estimation, channel detection, directly impact on cell coverage.
This parameter is broadcast by SIB2 notice UE, and in the
whole system bandwidth and the downlink sub-frames is all
constant, unless SIB2 message updates (such as the RS-
power enhancement).
 RS parameters configuration instructions: downlink power
settings are based on reference signal power, so the reference
signal power settings and change, affecting the entire downlink
power setting. RS power too large will cause pilot pollution, and
inter-cell interference; too small will cause cell selection or re-
selection failure, the data channel cannot demodulation.
Cell Transmit Power parameter configuration
 Cell Transmit Power parameter configuration
 Cell actually used transmission power (Cell Transmit Power):
This parameter indicates the actual use of cell transmit power.
 Cell Transmit Power parameter configuration instructions:
depends on network planning and coverage is expected to
determine the maximum cell transmit power, both to ensure
effective coverage and avoid cross-district coverage. This
parameter is the cell total multi-antenna transmit power.
43dBm corresponds to 20W, 46dBm corresponds to 40W.
 Internal Only▲

TABLE OF CONTENT

 Part 1 Basic Cell Parameter Planning

 Part 2 LTE Call Drop Optimization

 Part 3 LTE Cell Reselection Optimization

 Part 4 LTE Coverage Optimization

 Part 5 LTE Handover Optimization

 A3事件的进入条件为：

Radio Parameters – A3-triggered Reporting

 Event A3 related parameters

Event A3 entering condition: Mn  Ofn  Ocn  Hys  Ms  Ofs  Ocs  Off
leaving condition: Mn  Ofn  Ocn  Hys  Ms  Ofs  Ocs  Off
Of which,
Mn: The measurement result of the neighbouring cell, not taking into account any offsets
Ofn: The frequency specific offset of the frequency of the neighbour cell
Ocn: The cell specific offset of the neighbour cell, which is set to zero if not configured for the
neighbour cell
Hys: The hysteresis parameter for this event
Ms: The measurement result of the serving cell, not taking into account any offsets
Ofs: The frequency specific offset of the serving frequency
Ocs: The cell specific offset of the serving cell, which is set to zero if not configured for the
serving cell
Off: The offset parameter for this event
If the values of Ofs and Ocs of the servicing cell are configured the same as the values of
Ofn and Ocn of the neighbor cell during the network planning, the entering condition can
simplified as
 A3事件的进入条件为：

Radio Parameters – A3 Threshold

A3事件的离开条件为：

 a3-Offset
 Off in the entering/leaving condition is a3-Offset
 Its default value is 3 dB

 The recommend value is 2, 3 or 4 dB. A greater or smaller

value is not recommended because it may lead to delayed
handover and too many handovers at a time

 This offset is applicable to all neighbor cells

 A3事件的进入条件为：

Radio Parameters – TimeToTrigger

A3事件的离开条件为：

 TimeToTrigger (TTT)
 This parameter specifies the value range used for time to
trigger parameter, which concerns the time during which
specific criteria for the event needs to be met in order to
trigger a measurement report.
 Value range: enumerated (0, 40, 64, 80, 100, 128, 160, 256,
320, 480, 512, 640, 1024, 1280, 2560, 5120)
 Default value: 320 ms。
 A high TTT can put off measurement reporting and reduce
handovers.
 Recommended values: 256, 320, 480, 512 or 640 ms.
 A3事件的进入条件为：

Radio Parameters – Hysteresis

A3事件的离开条件为：

 Hysteresis
 Hysteresis, used to adjust the entering/leaving
threshold of event-triggered reporting, determines the
period the UE stays at Event A3.

 Default value is 0。
 If ReportOnLeave is not enabled，the recommended
value is 0。
 A3事件的进入条件为：

Radio Parameters – ReportOnLeave

A3事件的离开条件为：

 ReportOnLeave
 This parameter indicates whether or not the UE shall initiate
the measurement reporting procedure when the leaving
condition is met.
Mn  Ofn  Ocn  Hys  Ms  Ofs  Ocs  Off

 Default value is False (no reporting)

 A3事件的进入条件为：

Radio Parameters – CIO

A3事件的离开条件为：

 Cell Individual Offset (CIO)

 Event A3 entering condiction
Mn  Ofn  Ocn  Hys  Ms  Ofs  Ocs  Off
 Ocn in the formula is CIO
 Enumerated (-24,-22,-20, -18, -16, -14, -12, -10, -8, -6, -5, -4,
-3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24),
unit: dB
 To quicken handover from the serving cell to one neighbor
cell or to lower the handover threshold, you can increase the
CIO of the neighbor cell by 1 to 3 dB.
 A3事件的进入条件为：

Radio Parameters – ReportInterval and

A3事件的离开条件为：
ReportAmount
 ReportInterval and reportAmount
 Event triggering: reportInterval shall be used with
reportAmount. When reportAmount is greater than 1,
reportInterval is valid.
 Periodical reporting: ReportInterval is the period to report
the measurement
 Value range of ReportInterval: enumerated (120, 240, 480,
640, 1024, 2048, 5120, 10240, 60000, 360000, 720000,
1800000, 3600000), unit: ms
 Value range of ReportAmount: enumerated (1, 2, 4, 8, 16,
32, 64, Infinity), unit: times
 Recommend value for ReportInterval is 480ms, and that for
ReportAmount is 4.
 A3事件的进入条件为：

Radio Parameters – T304

A3事件的离开条件为：

 T304
 Timer waiting for handover success
 Value range: enumerated (50, 100, 150, 200, 500, 1000,
2000), unit: ms
 Default value: 1000 ms
Case Study
 Handover failure due to improper radio parameter settings

 Problem description
 The cluster KPI analysis report shows there is about 5%
call drop because of MR (measurement report) not
processed.
 In a cluster, the call drops because of MR (measurement
report) not processed even account for over 50% of the
call drops excluding those arisen from poor coverage.
 Handover configuration: S1-based; the handover request is
triggered when the neighbor cell’s RSRP is 3.5 dB higher
than the serving cell’s.
Case Study

 Problem description
Case Study

 Problem description
 After receiving a
handover request from an
eNB, the MME processes
the request.

 If the MME receives

another handover request
from the eNB within 1s, it
will ignore this second
handover request.
Case Study

 Problem analysis
 Current parameter configuration
 HO Prepare Timer = 1 s
(Upon receiving one UE’s MR request, the source eNB sends the
“handoverRequired” messages to MME at an interval of 1 s.)
 Intra-frequency Reporting Interval for Event = 1024 ms

 Intra-frequency Amount of Reporting for Event = 1

(If the target cell meets the MR reporting criterion, the UE reports
MR every 1024ms and the total times is 1.)
 If the UE performs handover to two neighbor cells one by
one in 1 second, and the amount of reporting is only 1, the
second handover request message will be bypassed by the
1s timer on the core network side. As a result, the handover
fails and call drop occurs.
Case Study

 Problem analysis: handover time sequence

HO prepare timer time-out,
handover process is
Receive MR Receive cancelled; trigger a 2nd
Trigger handover 2nd MR handover based on 3rd MR

eNB

950 ms

UE
0 480 ms 960 ms 1440 ms 1920 ms 2400 ms 2880 ms

Trigger 1st MR Trigger 3rd MR

Trigger 2nd MR Trigger 4th MR

Case Study

 Problem solution
Setting
Parameter Explanation
before after
In an S1-based handover, the source eNB
sends the HandoverRequired message to the
core network, and starts this timer; After
HO Prepare Timer 1s 950 ms
receiving handover command from the core
network, it stops this timer. If the timer reports a
timeout, it means an abnormality.

Intra-frequency
The parameter indicates the interval to report
Reporting Interval for 1024 ms 480 ms
the MRs interval after event triggering.
Event

Intra-frequency Amount The parameter indicates the maximum report

1 4
of Reporting for Event times after event triggering.
Internal Only▲