2G Call Setup Success Rate

1.
Introduction

The TCH assignment success rate refers to the rate that the TCHs assigned by the BSC are successfully seized.
Successful TCH assignment indicates the procedure from the BSC receiving the Channel Request message sent
by the MSC to receiving the Assignment Complete message. TCH Assignment Success Rate is one of accessibility
KPIs. It indicates the rate of the MSs successfully seizing the TCHs to make calls. This KPI directly affects the
user experience.

1.1 Signaling Procedure and Counters

Figure 1: Common assignment procedure

Figure 2: Inter-BSC directed retry procedure

Note: The measurement points in the previous figure indicate the following.

A——Assignment Requests (Seizure Requests)

B——Completed Assignments (Successful Seizures)

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C——Successful Inter-BSC Directed Retries

The measurement points in the preceding figures show that the assignment success rate of the BSC includes
the assignment requests (seizure requests) and completed assignments (successful seizures).

TakeInter-BSC Directed Retry as an example. In the Inter-BSC Directed Retry procedure, the BSC increases the
value of the successful assignment in the originating cell, on receiving the Clear CMD message from the MSC. In
the Intra-BSC Directed Retry procedure, the BSC increases the value of the successful assignment in the
originating cell, on receiving the Clear CMD message from the MSC. If the directed retry fails, the BSC decreases
the value of the successful assignment in the originating cell. In the Directed Retry procedure, the counters
related to handover are also measured.

The following figure shows the processing workflow after the BSC receives the channel request message and
the measurement points of successful TCH seizures.

Channel
Request

Idle Channel Available

No

Normal Assignment
Queuing Allowed
Procedure
No
Yes

Successful Assignment Queuing

No
Yes
Reassign Allowed
No Queuing Successfully
Yes
No
Idle Channels Available No
No Directed Retry Allowed
Yes Yes
Yes
Reassign
Directed Retry

Reassign Successfully
Measure TCH Directed Retry
Seizure Failures No Successfully
Yes
Measure Successful
TCH Seizures Yes

Figure 3: Processing procedure after the BSC receives the CHAN REQ message

1.2 Factors in Assignment Success Rate

According to the user complaint cases and network optimization experience, the major factors that influence
the TCH assignment success rate are summarized as follows:

1. Hardware fault;

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 2. Transmission fault;
3. Parameter settings;
4. TCH congestion;
5. Intra-network or inter-network interference;
6. Coverage problems;
7. Antenna problems;
8. Repeater problems;
9. Mobile phone problems.
1.2.1 Hardware Fault

When a TRX or a combiner is faulty, some of the TCHs become unavailable for use. Therefore, TCH assignment
success rate decreases.

1.2.2 Transmission Fault

Bad transmission quality on the A interface or Abis interface due to various reasons and unstable transmission
links also cause TCH assignment failures.

1.2.3 Parameter Settings

The settings of some parameters of BSC and MSC also affect TCH assignment success rate. The main
parameters include:

1. Directed Retry Allowed and Allow Reassign are set to No. Therefore, the TCH reassignment and
directed retry functions are not enabled.
2. Speech Version does not support half-rate and AMR half-rate.
3. When the BSC enables half-rate or AMR half-rate, the parameters on the MSC side are not configured
consistently.
4. TCH Traffic Busy Threshold (percentage) is set too great.
5. Assignment Cell Load Judge Enable is set to No.
6. The functions such as queuing and preemption are not enabled on the MSC side.
7. The power level difference between the BCCH and the TCH is great.
8. SDCCH Dynamic Allocation Allowed is set to Yes, and immediate assignment requests are great.
9. T3107 (Timer for the ASS CMP message) is set too short.
10. T3103A (Timer for the HO CMP message) is set too long.
11. Level of Preempting Dynamic Channel is set to Dynamic channels carrying services cannot be
preempted. Therefore, the priority of the PS services is higher.
1.2.4 TCH Congestion

When the TCH congestion occurs, new access requests are rejected due to the unavailability of the TCH. Thus,
the TCH assignment success rate is affected.

The possible causes are:

1. Half-rate and AMR half-rate are not configured for better speech quality.
2. High traffic volume caused by dense subscriber distribution in the cell or cross-coverage

Burst traffic increases because the neighboring BTS is out of service or other burst events occur.

1. The cell is configured with too much static PDCHs or dynamic PDCHs, and the PS services have higher
priority over CS services.
2. Some TRXs in the cell are faulty or the TRXs are manually blocked.
3. Very early assignment is enabled.

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1.2.5 Intra-network and Inter-network Interference

If inter-network interference or repeater interference occurs, or if severe intra-network interference occurs

because of tight frequency reuse, the MS may fail to decode the assigned TCH properly. Thus, the TCH seizure
failure occurs. This affects the TCH assignment success rate.

The following types of interference may occur:

1. Interference from inter-network scramblers or privately installed antennas

2. Interference from Unicom CDMA network
3. Interference from the repeater
4. Interference from intermodulation
5. Co-channel interference or adjacent-channel interference
1.2.6 Coverage Problems

Due to the low coverage level caused by the poor coverage, the MS may fail to decode the assigned TCH
properly. Thus, the TCH seizure failure occurs. This affects the TCH assignment success rate.

1.2.7 Antenna Problems

For the double transmit antennas, inconsistent azimuth and tilt caused by improper installation of the two
antennas may cause different coverage of the BCCH TRX and the TCH. Thus, the assignment failure occurs.

The inverse connection of the antennas also causes the improper signal coverage. Therefore, the MS cannot
easily seize the TCH and the assignment failure occurs.

1.2.8 Repeater Problems

The band selective repeater magnifies the signals carried on the BCCH frequency; therefore, the coverage
ranges of the BCCH and the TCH are inconsistent. Thus, the MSs on the edge of the cell can receive BCCH
signals but fail to seize the TCH.

1.2.9 Mobile Phone Problems

Some MSs of early models do not support half-rate speech version 1. Therefore, when the BSC assigns the half-
rate channel to the MS, the MS fails to seize the channel and returns the ASSIGNMETN FAILURE message. The
cause of the failure is channel mode unacceptable. Therefore, assignment failure occurs.

2. Analysis Procedure and Optimization Method of Assignment Failures

2.1.1 Choose the cells with high assignment failure rate (higher than 1%) from the traffic statistics.

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 2.1.2 Check the hardware status of the cells with high TCH assignment failure rate.

If the TRX or the combiner is faulty or if the RF cables are incorrectly connected, some TCHs become
unavailable for use; therefore, TCH assignment failure occurs.

You can check whether the hardware is faulty by querying the BTS alarms or the hardware status on the Site
Device Panel on the LMT. In addition, you can check the traffic statistics related to the hardware failures (as
shown in the following table).

Cause BSC Level Cell-Level TRX-Level

Call Measurement ->Channel Activation

Measurement per Cell->
BSC Measurement->
CHAN ACTIV NACK Messages Sent by BTS in
Assignments Measurement per BSC-> Assignment Procedure
Hardware Failed Assignments per BSC Channel Activation Timeouts in Assignment
Failure (Equipment Failure) Procedure
Failed Assignments per BSC (Invalid KPI Measurement->
State)
TRX Availability
TCH Availability
2.1.3 Check the transmission in the cells with high assignment failure rate

Poor transmission quality, unstable transmission links, or insufficient resources on the Abis interface and A
interface may lead to TCH assignment failure. You can check the transmission status by checking the alarms
related to transmission. If a large number of transmission alarms are generated, you can infer that transmission

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 failures occur. Then, you should check the transmission connections. In addition, you can check the traffic
statistics related to transmission failures, as shown in the following table.

TRX-
Cause BSC Level Cell-Level
Level

BSC Measurement->Assignments Measurement Call Measurement ->Assignment

per BSC-> Measurement->
Failed Assignments per BSC (Terrestrial Circuit Number of Assignment Failures (No Abis
Transmissio Resource Available) None.
Already Allocated)
n failure
Failed Assignments per BSC (Requested BSC Measurement-> LAPD Measurement
Terrestrial Resource Unavailable)
Resource Measurement
2.1.4 Check the parameter settings of the cells with high TCH assignment failure rate

Settings of the parameters on the BSC and MSC also affect the TCH assignment success rate. You should check
the parameter settings of the faulty cell from the following aspects:

1) Check whether Directed Retry Allowed and Allow Reassign are set to Yes: The settings of
Directed Retry and Allow Reassign have great impact on the assignment success rate. If the
signaling load of the current network is not heavy,
2) Check whether Speech Version is set to support half-rate CS-1 and half-rate CS-3: If half-rate
and AMR half-rate are allowed at the site.
3) After the BSC enables half-rate or AMR half-rate, check whether the parameters on the MSC
side are configured consistently: If they are not set on the BSC side, adjust the data
configuration on the MSC to be consistent with that on the BSC.
4) Check whether TCH Traffic Busy Threshold (percentage) is set too high in the condition of
supporting half-rate: If TCH Traffic Busy Threshold (%) is set over 80, the full-rate is hard to
change into half-rate. If TCH Traffic Busy Threshold (%) is set too low, more half-rate channels
can be used.
5) Check whether Assignment Cell Load Judge Enable is enabled: Enable the Directed Retry
function. If the cell supports directed retry and the load of the cell is equal to that defined by
the directed retry threshold, then proceed with the directed retry procedure. This avoids the
MSC sending TCH requests when the cell is congested, and thus decreases assignment failures
caused by congestion.
6) Check whether the queuing and preemption functions are enabled on the MSC side: These two
functions should be enabled on the MSC side to improve TCH assignment success rate:Check
whether the power level difference between the BCCH TRX and the non-BCCH TRX is great. If
the difference is higher than two steps, the downlink receives level difference between the
BCCH and the TCH is great. Thus, the TCH seizures of MSs on the edge of the cell are difficult.
Therefore, the static power level difference between the BCCH TRX and non-BCCH TRX should
not be over two steps.
7) Check whether SDCCH Dynamic Allocation Allowed is set to Yes: If it is set to Yes and there are
many immediate assignment requests (such as location updating) in the cell, the congestion
may occur and thus the assignment success rate decreases. If the SDCCH traffic volume is too
high, the capacity of the cell should be expanded.
8) Check whether T3017 (ms) (Timer for the ASS CMP message) is set too small: If it is set too low,
the timer may expire before the assignment is completed, thus leading to assignment failures.
Setting the timer to a greater value can improve the assignment success rate.

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 9) Check whether T3103A (ms) (Timer for the HO CMP message) is set too great: If it is set too
great, the TCH resources may be wasted, thus leading to assignment failures. Setting the timer
to a small value can improve the assignment success rate.
10) Check whether Level of Preempting Dynamic Channel is set to Dynamic channels carrying
services cannot be preempted: If the PS services have higher priority over the CS services and
that the PS flow is high, the dynamic PDCHs are seized by PS services and the TCHs are
insufficient. This parameter should be set to Control channels cannot be preempted. Query the
related traffic statistics to see whether the data configuration is improper. The related traffic
statistics are shown in the following table.

BSC-
Cause Leve Cell-Level TRX-Level
l

Channel Measurement ->Channel Conversion

Measurement per Cell->
Channel Assignment Requests (TCHH)
Improper Number of PCU-Initiated Requests for Dynamic PDCH TRX Attributes->
None Channel Attributes
Parameter Number of Channel Conversions (TCH-SDCCH)
.
Setting Successful Channel Conversions (TCHH-TCHF) Channel Type
Channel Measurement ->Channel Assignment Queue
Measurement per Cell->
Queuing Requests
2.1.5 Analyze the congestion in the cells with high assignment failure rate

.TCH Congestion Rate = [Failed TCH Seizures due to Busy TCH (Signaling Channel)] + [Failed TCH Seizures due to
Busy TCH (Traffic Channel)] + [Failed TCH Seizures in TCH Handovers due to Busy TCH (Traffic Channel)]/TCH
Seizure Requests (Signaling Channel) + TCH Seizure Requests (Traffic Channel) + TCH Seizure Requests in TCH
Handovers (Traffic Channel). If the congestion rate of the faulty cell is high (over 10%), the failed assignment is
mainly caused by congestion. Then, check the causes of TCH congestion from the following aspects.

1) Check whether the cell supports half-rate CS-1 and half-rate CS-3 from the parameter
configuration. If the speech quality meets the demand, you can enable half-rate and AMR half-
rate.
2) Check whether cross coverage or unbalanced distribution of traffic exists in the cell by drive
tests. If the faults exist, decrease the coverage range of the cell by reducing the power,
lowering the antenna tilt, or increasing Min Access Level.
3) Query the alarm logs to see whether the surrounding cells are out of service, and whether an
emergency such as an assembly occurs. The congestion caused by these reasons can be
handled later.
4) Check whether the cell is configured with too much static PDCHs or dynamic PDCHs from the
channel configuration (PS services first). If the PS service volume is relatively small, reduce the
number of PDCHs properly.
5) Check whether the very early assignment function is enabled. If it is, disable the function or
expand the capacity.
6) Check whether TCH Availability is 100% from the traffic statistics. If it is not 100%, the TRXs
may be faulty or some channels may be manually blocked or suspended. In this case, check the
status of TRX and channel and restore them in time.

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 The relevant counters are described in the following table.

Causes BSC-Level Cell-Level TRX-Level

-{}-
Call Measurement->KPI
Measurement->TCH Congestion Rate
(overflow)
BSC Measurement->Assignment TCH Availability Failed TCH
Measurement per BSC->Failed Assignments per Seizures due to Busy TCH (Traffic
Congestion BSC (Channel Unavailable) Channel) TCH Seizure Requests None.
BSC Measurement(BSC)->Access Measurement (Traffic Channel)
per BSC-> TCH Congestion Rate per BSC Call Measurement ->Assignment
Measurement->
Failed Assignments (Channel
Unavailable)

2.1.6 Analyze the interference in the cells with high assignment failure rate

When serious intra-network interference and inter-network interference occur, the MS may not seize the
assigned TCH successfully. Therefore, assignment failures occur. You can obtain the information on UL
interference by checking the distribution status of the interference bands. The higher percentage of bands 3-5
indicates that serious UL interference exists. The interference is classified into inter-network interference and
intra-network interference.

The relevant counters are listed in the following table.

Causes BSC-Level Cell-Level TRX-Level

BSC Measurement- MR Measurement->Analyzed Measurement

>Handover Attempt of Interference Band per TRX->
Measurement per BSC-> Call Measurement-
Mean Number of TCHs in
Attempted Handovers per >Outgoing Internal Inter-
Interference Band 1
BSC Cell Handover Measurement
per Cell->Outgoing Internal Mean Number of TCHs in Interference
Uplink Signal Quality)
Inter-Cell Handover Band 2
Interference Attempted Handovers per Requests per Cell (Signal Mean Number of TCHs in Interference
BSC Quality)->Outgoing Internal Band 3
Downlink Signal Quality) Inter-Cell Handover
Mean Number of TCHs in Interference
Attempted Handovers per Requests per Cell (Other
Band 4
BSC Causes)
Mean Number of TCHs in Interference
(Other Causes) Band 5

2.1.7 Check the coverage in the cells with high assignment failure rate

To check the coverage status, query the signal level distribution. If the DL levels of a large number of MRs are
lower than –95 dBm, the coverage of the cell is relatively poor.

If the coverage of the cell is poor but the congestion does not occur, solve the coverage problems by adjusting
the down tilt of the antenna, increasing the transmit power, adding repeaters, or changing the combination
mode.

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 In addition, query the traffic statistics to locate the coverage problems. The relevant counters are listed in the
following table.

Causes BSC-Level Cell-Level TRX-Level

Call Measurement-> Outgoing Internal

BSC Measurement- Inter-Cell Handover Measurement per
>Handover Attempt Measurement Cell->Outgoing Internal Inter-Cell
per BSC-> Attempted Handovers Handover Requests (Signal Strength)
MR Measurement->TCHF
per BSC
Receive Level Measurement
Coverage (Uplink Signal Strength) Call Measurement->Outgoing External
MR Measurement->TCHH
Attempted Handovers per BSC Inter-Cell Handover Measurement per
Receive Level Measurement
Cell->Outgoing External Inter-Cell
(Downlink Signal Strength) Handover Requests(Uplink Signal
Strength)
Outgoing External Inter-Cell Handover
Requests(Downlink Signal Strength)
2.1.8 Check the antenna in the cells with high assignment failure rate

For double transmit antennas, check whether the tilt and the azimuth of the antennas are consistent. If they
are inconsistent, adjust them to be consistent.

In addition, analyze the data of the drive test to see whether the antenna jumpers are reversely connected. If
they are, connect the jumpers correctly.

If the antenna system (antenna and feeder) is faulty, the coverage range of the cell becomes smaller, thus
leading to failed TCH seizures. If the faults are found, change the antenna or feeder.

The fault on antenna system is generally shown in the following ways: The drop rate and handover failure rate
of the cell are relatively high; the difference between the UL quality and the DL quality is great; both the UL
quality and the DL quality are poor. You can query the relevant counters as listed in the following table to see
whether the fault on antenna system exists.

BSC-
Causes Cell-Level TRX-Level
Level

Call Measurement-> Call Drop Measurement->Call Drop Rate on

TCHF per cell
Call Drop Rate on TCHH per cell MR Measurement->Receive
Quality Measurement per
Antenna None. Call Measurement ->KPI Measurement-> TRX
Call Drop Rate on TCH per cell (Excluding Handover) MR Measurement->Uplink-
Traffic Call Drop Ratio per cell and-Downlink Balance
Success Rate of Radio Handover Measurement per TRX
2.1.9 Check whether the cell with high assignment rate is configured with the band selective repeater.

Check whether Directly Magnifier Site Flag on the LMT is set to Yes. If it is set to Yes, a repeater is configured in
the cell. If it is set to No, check whether other telecom operators mount the repeaters around the cell.

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 If there is a repeater mounted around, check whether the repeater is the band selective repeater
corresponding to the BCCH frequency band. If it is, check whether the UL/DL magnifying coefficient is
excessively high. If it is, reduce the coefficient. If the impact is serious, disable the band selective repeater.

In addition, check whether the difference between the TA distribution of the BCCH TRX and non-BCCH TRX is
great in the cell with high assignment failure rate. If the BCCH TRX with great TA reports certain numbers of
MRs while the non-BCCH TRX does not, the BCCH frequency band may be configured with the band selective
repeater. This may cause inconsistent coverage between the BCCH TRX and non-BCCH TRX, which leads to
many assignment failures.

Causes BSC-Level Cell-Level TRX-Level

None. MR Measurement->
BCCH Frequency Band Configured with Band None. Number of MRs
Selective Repeater Based on TA per TRX

2.1.10 Check whether a large number of MSs do not support half-rate channel in the cell with high
assignment failure rate.

Check whether many subscribers use old-model mobile phones that do not support the half-rate channel. If
there are many such mobile phones, half-rate and full-rate dynamic conversion should be enabled to expand
the capacity.

In addition, check the related counters to see whether the problems exist. The relevant counters are listed in
the following table.

BSC-
Causes Cell-Level TRX-Level
Level

Channel Measurement->Channel Assignment Request

The MS
Measurement per Cell->Channel Assignment Requests
does not
(TCCH)
support None. None.
half-rate Successful Channel Assignments (TCCH)
channel.

2.2 Test Methods

TCH assignment success rate is one of traffic measurement counters, which can be obtained through
registration or reporting of the related traffic measurement counters. Generally, this counter is not measured
through drive tests. Drive tests cannot indicate the actual assignment success rate because of the limited
samples and incomplete test routes.

Currently, manufacturers and operators use different formulas for calculating TCH assignment success rate,
thus leading to different values of this counter. In actual measurement, you should register the specific
counters and use an appropriate formula to calculate the value of the counter.

2.3 Description of Assignment Requests

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Trace the RSL messages on the Abis interface. You can query the signaling tracing file on the LMT or by using
the Signal Analyze Tool., Filter the signaling to find Data Request including the CHAN REQ message, as shown in
the following figure.

The meaning of each message is as follows:

Channel Type: Channel Type indicates the type of the requested channel. Generally, the TCH is requested. It is
represented by the first five bits of byte 12.

TN indicates the number of the timeslot of the requested channel. It is represented by the last three bits of
byte 12.

TSC stands for training sequence code. It is represented by the first three bits of byte 13.

Hopping Flag indicates whether the cell is enabled with frequency hopping. It is represented by bit 4 of byte
13.

MAIO stands for mobile allocation index offset. It is represented by the last four bits of byte 13 and the first
two bits of byte 14. It includes six bits.

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HSN stands for hopping sequence number. It is represented by the last six bits of byte 13.

Power Level indicates the level of MS power. It is represented by the last five bits of byte 15.

CA ARFCN is the frequency of the cell. It is represented by the last four bytes of byte 17 to byte 32.

Channel Mode indicates the mode of requesting channels such as FR, HR, EFR, AMR FR, and AMR HR. It is
represented by byte 34.

Multi–Rate Configuration indicates the parameters related to AMR such as rate conversion threshold and
hysteresis if the requested channel is AMR channel. It is represented by byte 38 to byte 45.

3. Diagrams:

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 Start

IS TCH Assignment SR low

False

True

Is linked to transmission or hardware problem

True Solve hardware or transmission problem

False

Is linked to Data configuration problem Adjust relevant parameters

True

False

False Check external interference

Is linked to Interference Is intra network interference

True

Check frequency configuration

True

False

Is linked to Coverage True Refer to coverage optimization and check document

False

Is linked to Antenna True Adjust antenna problems

False

Is linked to repeater or MS True Solve repeater or MS problem

False

End

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