03 Mn1789eu10mn 0002 Design Radio Cells

Design of radio cells
Siemens
Contents
1
2
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
4
5

Cell selection/reselection
Cell selection
Cell reselection
Cell reselection to UMTS
Parameters
Handover
General notes on handover
Measurement preprocessing
Handover criteria
Handover detection algorithms
Target cell list compilation
Handover signaling and timer
AMR-handover
GSM to UMTS intersystem handover
Service dependent handover management
Exercises
Solutions
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
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MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
In textbooks on cellular mobile communications radio cells are idealized by regular

hexagons, which has been proved to be a good model for explaining principle effects.
However, in reality cell borders do not have this simple geometric structure. The
physical cell borders are fixed on the one hand
by the radio propagation conditions
and on the other hand

by the algorithms which decide on changing from one serving base station to
another one on the basis of link quality measurements.

These algorithms are called:
Cell Selection/Reselection (for the idle mode),
Handover (for the connected mode)
and are described in detail in the following sections.

Though it is controlled by some parameters broadcasted from the BS to the MS, the
cell selection/ reselection algorithm itself is implemented in the MS. Therefore, it is
specified in details by the GSM Recommendations (especially GSM 03.22 and GSM
05.08).
In contrast, the handover decision algorithm is implemented in the BSS (assisted by
downlink measurements reported by the MS). Hence, some degree of freedom is left
to the manufacturer to optimize the algorithm.
For this reason and because its very important to take the correct decision when the
MS is in connected mode, the focal point of this chapter is the handover algorithm.
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Cell selection/reselection
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
As mentioned above, the cell selection/reselection algorithm is implemented in the

MS. Because the algorithm for a GSM phase 1 MSs differs from that of a phase 2
MSs, both variants are described (as far as there is a difference).
2.1
Cell selection
Normal Cell Selection:

Measurements for normal cell selection
The MS takes 5 samples of the received level on each RF carrier which are
averaged:
AV_RXLEV = 1/5 * (RXLEV1 + RXLEV2 + ... + RXLEV5)
These samples are spread evenly over a period of 3 - 5 s.
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
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Criteria for Cell Selection

Based on these measurements one can estimate whether a cell will be an
appropriate serving cell from the radio propagation point of view, i.e. whether there
will be a sufficient link quality.
This is done by checking the criterion C1 > 0.
C1 = AV_RXLEV - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN - Max(0, MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P)
=>
AV_RXLEV > RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN + Max(0, MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P)
This means that the received downlink level has to be above a threshold
(RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN).
To ensure a sufficient uplink received level even for MSs of low transmit power level
P a further term is included:
If P < MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH (the maximum allowed MS transmit power level to
access the random access channel), the C1 criterion is equivalent to
AV_RXLEV > RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN + (MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P)
i.e. the received downlink level has to exceed the RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN by a certain
margin to have a reserve for the uplink in the case of a MS of a low power class.
Beside the C1 radio criterion there are some other criteria (administrative and traffic
control) for a cell to be suitable:
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Definition: a Suitable Cell is defined as a cell which

1. is part of the selected PLMN,
2. is unbarred (parameter CELL_BAR_ACCESS = 0),
3. has a parameter C1 > 0,
4. is not in a location area forbidden for national roaming.
To allow e.g. emergency calls the conditions for a serving cell are less restrictive:
Definition: an Acceptable Cell is defined as a cell which
1. is unbarred,
2. has a parameter C1 > 0.
The general strategy for cell selection is to find the suitable cell with the highest C1
(best estimated link quality). If no suitable cell can be found, an acceptable cell is
selected.
For phase 2 mobile stations there is an additional parameter called
CELL_BAR_QUALIFY (values: 0, 1) used to assign priorities to cells:
CELL_BAR_QUALIFY = 0
<=>
normal priority cell
CELL_BAR_QUALIFY = 1
<=>
low priority cell
First it is tried to select a suitable normal priority cell, if no such cell can be found, a
suitable low priority cell is selected.
The complete cell selection process is illustrated in the flow chart below.
Cell Selection with Stored BCCH Information

Optionally, the MS may store information on received level on BCCH carriers when
switched off.
When switched on, the MS first performs measurements on these carriers. If cell
selection for the corresponding cells is not successful, normal cell selection is carried
out.
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
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Cell Selection
Algorithm
(no BCCH Info)
measure all carriers
sort by received level
carriers in list
no
yes
yes
Camp on low
priority cell
no
trial carrier:
best level in list
BCCH
low priority
cell found
Selection of an
acceptable cell
no
remove trial
carrier from list
yes
decode BCCH
suitable cell
no
yes
cell
in selected
PLMN
no
yes
try only carriers of
BCCH allocation
normal priority
no
suitable low priority

cell found
try only normal priority

cells
yes
Camp on normal
priority cell
Fig. 1 Cell selection (no BCCH info stored)
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
2.2
Cell reselection
While moving within the radio network in idle mode, another cell may be more
appropriate to serve the MS. Therefore, cell reselection may be performed.
Preconditions: The MS camps on a cell, which is called serving cell in the following.
The following actions are performed by the MS to detect whether a cell reselection is
necessary.
Down Link Signaling Failure:
downlink signaling failure counter DSC is initialized: DSC0 = round (90 /

BS_PA_MFRMS);
decode message on paging sub-channel;
successful:
DSCt+1 = DSCt + 1 but if DSCt = DSC0 DSCt+1 = DSC0
unsuccessful:
DSCt+1 = DSCt 4
DSC < 0 => downlink signaling failure;

monitor all BCCH carriers given in the BCCH allocation (neighbor cells) of the
serving cell,
take at least 5 samples of the received level from the serving cell (on paging sub-
channel) as well as from the neighbor cells;

=> AV_RXLEV(serving cell) and AV_RXLEV (neighbor cell);
decoding of full BCCH data of the serving cell at least every 30 sec;
decoding of BCCH data of the 6 strongest neighbor cells at least every 5 min.
From the radio propagation point of view it is worth to select a new (neighbor) cell if
the received level from that neighbor cell exceeds the received level of the current
serving cell. For phase 1 MSs this is expressed using the C1 criterion defined in the
paragraph above:
C1 (neighbor cell) > C1 (serving cell).
For the reselection process for phase 1 MSs the neighbor cells are ordered according
to their C1-value.
For phase 2 MSs a modified path loss criterion, the so-called C2 criterion, is used
which is described in the following paragraph.
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2004 Siemens AG
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Cell Reselection Criterion C2 for MS of Phase 2:

The C2 criterion depends upon the value of a timer T:
A timer T is started in the MS for each cell in the list of the 6 strongest neighbor cells
as soon as it is placed on the list. T is reset to 0 if the cell is removed from the list.
C2 = C1 - CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET
for PENALTY_TIME = 31 and arbitrary T)
C2 = C1 + CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET TEMPORARY_OFFSET
for T < PENALTY_TIME < 31
C2 = C1 + CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET
else.
The C2 criterion is illustrated in the figure below.
Cell included in the

list of 6 strongest
C2
TEMPORARY_OFFSET
PENALTY_TIME
CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET
C1
Fig. 2 Illustration of the C2 criterion
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2004 Siemens AG
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Siemens
A negative TEMPORARY_OFFSET reduces the priority of a cell in the list of

strongest neighbor cells.
A positive CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET increases the priority of a cell in the list of
strongest neighbor cells.
This mechanism may be applied in hierarchical cell structures to keep fast moving
mobiles in the umbrella cells and slow moving mobiles in the micro cells: When a
mobile reaches the coverage area of a (neighbor) micro cell given by the C1 criterion,
this cell becomes effectively excluded from reselection during the PENALTY_TIME.
A fast moving mobile is assumed to have left the coverage area of the micro cell
before PENALTY_TIME is reached and hence the micro cell is not selected. In
contrast, a slow moving mobile is assumed to be still within the coverage area of the
micro cell when PENALTY_TIME has expired. Applying the positive
CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET, this cell is selected with preference.
This mechanism will be discussed in more detail when explaining the mobile speed
sensitive handover in chapter 4.2 (Hierarchical Cell Structures).
Triggers for Cell Reselection
Cell reselection is triggered by the following conditions:
1. C1 < 0 for the serving cell for a period of 5 s
2. MS detects downlink signaling failure
3. Serving cell becomes barred
4.
a) Phase 1 MS
C1 (serving cell) < C1 (suitable neighbor cell)
if the suitable neighbor cell is in the same location area for a period of 5
sec.
C1 (serving cell) + CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS < C1 (suitable
neighbor cell) if the suitable neighbor cell is in another location area for a
period of 5 sec.
b) Phase 2 MS
C2 (serving cell) < C2 (suitable neighbor cell)
if the suitable neighbor cell is in the same location area for a period of 5
sec.
C2 (serving cell) + CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS < C2 (suitable
neighbor cell) if the suitable neighbor cell is in another location area for a
period of 5 sec.
5. A random access attempt is unsuccessful even after the maximum number of

repetitions.
For phase 2 there is the additional trigger:
6. A location update request has been rejected with cause location area not
allowed.
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C1
Phase 1 MS
direction of movement
BTS2
high power class MS
BTS1
low power class MS

BTS1
BTS2
CELL_RESELECT_ HYSTERESIS
(h)
C1=0
(l)
(a)
Radius of Cell 2
for selection
(l) low power MS
(h) high power MS
(b)
Cell Reselection
(a) no change of location area
(b) change of location area
Fig. 3 Illustration of cell selection/reselection
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2004 Siemens AG
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13
Siemens
Parameters for Cell Selection/Reselection

BCCH_ARFCN_NC(n) BA - BCCH Allocation
Object
DB Name
BTS / TGTBTS BCCHFREQ
Range
Step Size
Unit
0...1023
In each cell the absolute radio frequency number BCCH_ARFCN_NC(n) (coding as

given in chapter 2) each of its neighbor cell n has to be known. This information is
broadcasted as the so called BCCH Allocation to all MSs in the respective cell. On
the corresponding frequencies the MSs take measurement samples of the received
level used for cell selection/reselection.
Furthermore, the BCCH of neighbor cells has to be decoded by the MS (at least
every 5 min) to know the current values of the control parameters for the reselection
algorithm.
SYS_ID - System Identifier

Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BTS
SYSID
BB900, DCS1800, F2ONLY900,

EXT900, GSMR, PCS1900,
GSMDCS, GSM850, GSM850PCS
Indicates the frequency band to be used by the BCCH channel.
14
Standard GSM band:
BB900
DCS 1800 band:
DCS1800
GSM extended band:
F2ONLY900
GSM mixed band
EXT900
GSM railway band
GSMR
PCS 1900 band
PCS1900
Dual Band cell
GSMDCS
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
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CELL_BAR_ACCESS - Cell Barred for Access

Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BTS
CELLBARR
FALSE/TRUE
A mobile station cannot camp on a barred cell, i.e. a barred cell is not selected by the
cell selection/reselection procedure. Mobile stations which camp on a cell while it
becomes barred, initialize the reselection procedure to find a new (unbarred) cell, i.e.
traffic load is distributed to neighbor cells.
This means that e.g. neither a call nor a location update can start in a barred cell.
However, a cell barred for access is not barred for incoming handovers. To barr a cell
completely, e.g. for maintenance reasons also incoming handovers have to be
avoided.
To reduce overload in a certain cell more moderately without distributing the overload
to neighbor cells, barring of access classes has to be used. Barring access for an
access class does not trigger a cell reselection for MSs of that class.
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2004 Siemens AG
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Siemens
MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - Maximum allowed MS Transmit Power on Random

Access Channel
Object
DB Name
Range
BTS
MSTXPMAXCH 0...31
Step Size
Unit
2 dB
The MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH field is coded as the binary representation of the power

control level defined in GSM rec. 05.05.
GSM900 Phase 1
GSM900 Phase 2
DCS1800
PCS1900
GSM850
0
= 43 dBm
= 39 dBm
= 30 dBm
= 30 dBm
= 41 dBm
= 39 dBm
= 28 dBm
= 28 dBm
= 39 dBm
= 39 dBm
= 26 dBm
= 26 dBm
= 37 dBm
= 37 dBm
= 24 dBm
= 24 dBm
:
15
= 13 dBm
16 - 31 = 13 dBm
:
19
= 5 dBm
20 - 31 = 5 dBm
:
15
= 0 dBm
16 - 31 = 0 dBm
:
15
= 0 dBm
16 - 29 = 0 dBm
30
= 33 dBm
31
= 32 dBm
The transmit power level the MS uses for the access on the random access channel
is given by the minimum of two values:
the output transmit power P of the MS
the maximum allowed power for access within the respective cell
(given by MS_TXP WR_MAX_CCH).
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This parameter affects the

the random access procedure,
the cell selection procedure.
Random access: If there is a collision of channel requests on the random access

channel, the one with the higher received level has a good chance to be decoded
and to get a response by the BS.
Hence, MSs with higher output power are preferred. This imbalance can be avoided
by choosing a low maximum allowed transmit power.
Cell Selection: To be selected by the cell selection procedure, a cell has to fulfill the
C1 criterion C1 > 0 where
C1 = AV_RXLEV - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN - Max (0, MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P).
Choosing for example MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH = Pmin where Pmin is the output
power level for the minimum power class 5 (29 dBm), the C1 criterion reduces to
AV_RXLEV > RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN
for MSs of all power classes. Hence, the same idle mode cell border is seen by each
mobile.
Choosing for example MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH = Pmax where Pmax is the output
power level for the maximum power class 1 (43 dBm), the C1 criterion reduces to
AV_RXLEV > RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN + (MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P)
for MSs of all power classes. Hence, a larger cell radius is seen by a mobile of higher
output power than by a mobile of lower output power. On the other hand one can
ensure by this mechanism that a certain uplink received level is exceeded by each
MS independent of its power class.
POWER_OFFSET - Additional Powerclass for Class 3 DCS1800 MS
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BTS
PWROFS
0...3
2 dB
The parameter POWER_OFFSET is only used by class 3 DCS1800 MS to calculate

the C1-criterion described as follows.
C1 = AV_RXLEV - RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN - Max(0,MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH +
POWER_OFFSET- P).
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2004 Siemens AG
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RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN - Minimum Downlink Received Level for Cell to be

selected
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BTS
RXLEVAMI
0...63
1 dB
The parameter RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN determines the cell border for an MS in idle

mode by means of the C1 or C2 criterion, respectively.
Choosing a high value, reduces the risk of a handover immediately after call setup.
On the other hand the value has to be low enough to achieve a sufficient overlap
between adjacent cells (especially if they belong to different location areas). This is
illustrated in the figure 3 for phase 1 MSs using the C1 criterion for cell reselection. It
has to be observed that the overlap may be different for mobiles of different power
classes (refer to MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH).
In any case RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN has to be above the MS receiver sensitivity level
(-100 dBm for DCS1800, -102 dBm for GSM handhelds, -104 dBm for other GSM
MSs). Furthermore, it has to harmonize with the handover thresholds (RXLEV_MIN,
L_RXLEV_HO).
CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS - Hysteresis for Reselection of a Cell from
another Location Area
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BTS
CELLRESH
0...7
2 dB
In idle mode the MS selects a new (neighbor) cell if the received level of the neighbor
cell exceeds the received level of the current cell in order to be served by the cell with
the expected best link quality. However, due to fading effects, the propagation
conditions may change rapidly and therefore a reselection may occur very frequently.
If the cells involved in the reselection process belong to the same location area,
frequent cell reselection does not have an effect on the network performance.
But if the involved cells belong to different location area, the reselection of a new cell
triggers a location update procedure, which causes signaling load (e.g. on the
SDCCH) and involves all network elements.
To avoid unnecessary signaling load by forward and backward reselection due to
fading, a hysteresis given by the parameter CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS is
introduced, i.e. a cell from another location area is selected only if the corresponding
received level exceeds the level of the current serving cell by the value of this
parameter. This is expressed in terms of the C1 (phase 1) or C2 (phase 2) criterion:
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2004 Siemens AG
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C1 (serving cell) + CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESES (serving) < C1 (suitable

neighbor cell)
or
C2 (serving cell) + CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESES(serving) < C2 (suitable
neighbor cell)
respectively.
The adjustment of CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESES should be a compromise
between
reduction of unnecessary location updates (high value) and
selection of the cell with best reception quality (low value).
Additional Phase 2 Parameters for Cell Selection/Reselection

CELL_BAR_QUALIFY
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BTS
CBQ
0...1
normal priority:
low priority:
Parameter used to assign a priority to a cell selection process. A suitable cell of low
priority is only selected if no suitable cell of normal priority can be found. This
parameter can be used e.g. in hierarchical cell structures that the MS initially selects
an umbrella cell.
CELL_RESELCT_PARAM_IND_ - Phase 2 Reselection Parameter Indication
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BTS
CRESPARI
0...1
CELL_RESELECT_PARAM_IND=1:
The cell reselection parameters CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET,
TEMPORARY_OFFSET and PENALTY_TIME used for the C2 criterion as well as
the parameter CELL_BAR_QUALIFY are broadcasted on the BCCH. These
parameters are taken into account by phase 2 MSs, but are ignored by phase 1 Mss.
CELL_RESELECT_PARAM_IND = 0:
The cell reselection parameters and CELL_BAR_QUALIFY are not broadcasted on
the BCCH. A phase 2 MS then uses the value 0 for all these parameters, i.e. C1 =
C2.
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
19
Siemens
PENALTY_TIME - Time to apply a negative Offset to C2 of a Neighbor Cell

Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BTS
PENTIME
0...30 and 31:
20 sec
PENALTY_TIME = 20 sec + PENTIME 20 sec

A timer T is started in the MS for each cell in the list of the 6 strongest neighbor cells
as soon as it is placed on the list. T is reset to 0 if the cell is removed from the list.
During Penalty Time (T < PENALTY_TIME) a negative TEMPORARY_OFFSET is
applied to the C2 of the respective neighbor cell
C2 = C1 + CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET - TEMPORARY_OFFSET
which is removed after Penalty Time (T > PENALTY_TIME):
C2 = C1 + CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET.
PENALTY_TIME = 31:
C2 = C1 - CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET.
For PENALTY_TIME = 31 the priority of a neighbor cell for reselection is permanently
reduced.
TEMPORARY_OFFSET
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BTS
TEMPOFF
0...7
10 dB
7: infinity
Subtracting TEMPORARY_OFFSET from CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET reduces the

priority of a cell in the list of strongest neighbor cells, i.e. during run time of the timer
the corresponding neighbor cell is effectively barred for cell reselection.
20
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BTS
CRESOFF
0...63
2 dB
Adding CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET increases the priority of a cell in the list of

strongest neighbor cells when the timer has expired.
This mechanism may be applied in hierarchical cell structures to keep fast moving
mobiles in the umbrella cells and slow moving mobiles in the micro cells: When a
mobile reaches the coverage area of a (neighbor) micro cell, given by the C1
criterion, this cell becomes effectively excluded from reselection during the
PENALTY_TIME.
A fast moving mobile is assumed to have left the coverage area of the micro cell
before PENALTY_TIME is reached and hence the micro cell is not selected. In
contrast, a slow moving mobile is assumed to be still within the coverage area of the
micro cell when PENALTY_TIME has expired. Applying the positive
CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET, this cell is selected with preference.
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
21
Siemens
2.3
Cell reselection to UMTS
The inter-system cell reselection from GSM to UMTS allows a MS to reselect to the
UMTS system.
The cell reselection feature is important to guarantee a better quality connection
when the mobile detects a stronger signal from a neighbor cell, even if this cell
belongs to another Radio Access Technology (RAT).
If an FDD cell is suitable, the following two conditions must be fulfilled:
1. For a period of 5 seconds, the measured RSCP value must exceed the RLA of
the serving GSM and of all non-serving GSM cells by the value FDD_Qoffset.
2. The measured Ec/No of the FDD cell must be greater or equal than the value
FDD_Qmin broadcast in the serving cell.
The principles of the cell reselection from GSM to UMTS are displayed in the figure
below.
22
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
RSCP of WCDMA
neighbor cell
RLA of serving GSM cell
FDD_Qoffset
Qsearch_I
RLA of (non serving) GSM
neighbor cell
5sec
Time
Cell Reselection
(only if CPICH Ec/No
is greater or equal
FDD_Qmin)
start WCDMA
measurements
Fig. 4 Principle of the GSM to UMTS cell reselection
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MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
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23
Siemens
2.4
Parameters
Parameter
Range (default)
Meaning
QSRHI
UMDB98, UMDB94,
UMDB90, UMDB86,
UMDB82, UMDB78,
UMDB74, ALWAYS,
OMDB78, OMDB74,
OMDB70, OMDB66,
OMDB62, OMDB58,
OMDB54, NEVER
This attribute defines a threshold which enables

the searching for 3G cells with regard to cell
reselection. It indicates, when the
measurements of 3G cells have to be initiated.
Default = NEVER
FDDQMI
MDB20, MDB19,
MDB18, MDB17,
MDB16, MDB15,
MDB14, MDB13,
NULL,
The FDDQMI threshold defines a minimum

CPICH Ec/No for a WCDMA cell for cell reselection.
Default = NULL
FDDQO
ALWAYS, MDB28,
MDB24, MDB20,
MDB16, MDB12,
MDB08, MDB04,
DB00, DB04, DB08,
DB12, DB16, DB20,
DB24, DB28
The FDDQO defines an offset value, which has

to be added to the RLA of the serving and nonserving GSM cells. The result is compared with
the RSCP value of the WCDMA cell.
Default: DB00
24
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Handover
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
25
Siemens
3.1
General notes on handover
The handover algorithm is the most important algorithm in cellular mobile

communications.
Its main objectives are:
maintenance of connection in case of cell change (movement)
channel change in case of severe disturbance (interference)
design of cell borders and radio network structure.
Steps of the Handover Process

The handover process can be divided into several sub-processes listed in the table
below together with the network elements involved within the respective process.
26
No.
Sub-process
1.
Measurements
Involved Network Element
link quality serving cell
MS, BTS
received level neighbor cells
MS
traffic load
BTS
2.
Measurement Preprocessing
BTS
3.
Neighbor cell book-keeping
BTS
4.
Handover Decision
BTS
5.
Target Cell Generation
BTS
6.
Target Cell Evaluation

intra BSS handover
BSC
inter BSS handover
MSC
7.
Selection of new channel
BSC
8.
Handover execution
MS, BTS, BSC, MSC
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Types of Handover
Different types of handover can be distinguished with respect to the changed region:
a cell, a BSS area or an MSC area. These are illustrated in the figure below. The
different types of handover can enabled or disabled by several flags.
1.Intracell Handover
2.Intra-BSS Handover
3.Intra-MSC Handover
4.Inter-MSC Handover
BSC 2
MSC 2
BSC 1a
2
MSC 1
3
BSC 1b
Fig. 5 Types of handover
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
27
Siemens
Handover Causes
Two criteria groups of different handover causes are defined:
Radio Criteria
Network Criteria
28
received quality (too low/bit error

rate too high)
inter-/intracell HO
received level (too low)
intercell HO
received UL-level (too low)

/fast measurement
intercell HO
MS-BS distance (too high)
intercell HO
better cell (power budget: relative

received level)
intercell HO
serv. cell congestion >

directed retry for call setup
intercell HO
traffic load (too high)
intercell HO
MS-BS distance (too high/low in

extended cells)
intracell HO
received level or MS-BS distance

(too low/high in concentric cells)
intracell HO
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
The first four causes are known as mandatory or imperative causes, i.e. if one of
these causes occurs, a hand-over is necessary to maintain the call. This may happen
because the MS is leaving the coverage area of the serving cell (intercell handover)
or because there is a strong interferer using the same channel in another cell
(intracell handover).
The fifth cause is an optional one, i.e. the link quality in the serving cell is sufficiently
good, but there are neighbor cells with better received level. Though its not
necessary for the link quality of this specific call, there is a benefit for overall network
performance to handover the call to the better cell: A call in the better cell causes
less interference. Especially, if power control is applied. Since to achieve the same
received level in the better cell, a smaller transmit power can be used in this cell.
In a well planned radio network better cell should be the overwhelming handover
cause. Hence, the locations of a better cell handover determine the cell
boundaries.
The sixth cause is named forced handover because it is triggered by the BSC due to
a congestion situation, and not due to radio conditions on the link. This handover
(directed retry) is performed from a SDCCH in the congested cell to a TCH in a
neighbor cell during call setup.
The seventh cause is named 'Handover decision due to BSS resource management'.
The criteria (traffic load) are evaluated in the BTS; if a BTS detects a high traffic load,
a handover cause is triggered and an intercell handover execution starts.
The last two causes are intracell handovers in special cell configurations:
in extended cells handovers are feasible from single to double timeslots and vice
versa.
In a concentric cell handovers are performed between the inner and complete
area.
These handover causes can be enabled/disabled separately by corresponding flags.
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
29
Siemens
Flags to enable/disable Handover Types and Causes due to Radio Criteria

The flags to enable/disable the different handover types and causes are listed in the
table below.
They are administered in the object HAND with the range TRUE / FALSE.
30
Specification Name
DB Name
Meaning
EN_INTER_HO
INTERCH
Flag to enable/disable all handover types and

causes except for intracell handover.
EN_INTRA_HO
INTRACH
Flag to enable/disable intracell handover.
EN_BSS_INTER_HO
LOTERCH
Flag to enable/disable a BSS internal intercell

handover, i.e. if disabled, the handover is
handled as an inter BSS handover even if the
first cell in the target cell list belongs to the
same BSS as the serving cell.
EN_BSS_INTRA_HO
LOTRACH
Flag to enable/disable a BSS internal intracell

handover, i.e. if disabled, the handover is
handled as an inter BSS handover and the
MSC is involved.
EN_RXQUAL_HO
RXQUALHO Flag to enable/disable intercell handover due

to quality.
EN_RXLEV_HO
RXLEVHO
Flag to enable/disable intercell handover due

to level.
EN_DIST_HO
DISTHO

to distance.
EN_PBGT_HO
PBGTHO
Flag to enable/disable better cell (power

budget) handover.
EN_TRAFFIC_HO
TRFHOE

to BSS resource management criteria
EN_FUL_HO
EFULHO
Flag to enable or disable the Fast Uplink

Handover
EN_INTER_SDCCH_
HO
IERCHOSD
CCH
Flag to enable or disable intercell SDCCH

Handover
EN_INTRA_SDCCH_
HO
IRACHOSD
CCH
Flag to enable or disable intracell SDCCH

Handover
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
EN_UMTS_HO
EUHO
Flag to enable or disable Intersystem

Handover to UMTS
EN_UMTS_BETTER_ EUBCHO
CELL_HO
Flag to enable/disable better cell (power

budget) handover to UMTS
EN_UMTS_SUFF_CO EUSCHO
V_HO
Flag to enable/disable sufficient coverage

handover to UMTS
EN_UMTS_IMPERAT EUIMPHO
IVE_HO
Flag to enable/disable imperative handover to

UMTS
EN_UMTS_SDCCH_
HO
Flag to enable/disable directed retry to UMTS
EUSDCHO
Comments
Enabling BSS internal handover has the following advantages:
reduction of signaling load on the A-interface

reduction of processing load in the MSC
faster handover execution.
Consequences:
BSS internal handover should be enabled,
BSS regions should be adapted to traffic flows to reduce the inter-BSS handover
rate.
Normally, intracell handover should be enabled to allow a handover from a
channel with high interference to another one with less interference within the
same cell. However, if random frequency hopping (see chapt. 6.2) is applied, it
may be reasonable to disable intracell handover since interference is
approximately the same on all channels and no improvement can be achieved by
intracell handover.
If distance handover is disabled, an MS could largely exceed the planned cell
boundaries in the case of favorable radio conditions at the serving cell without
causing a handover. As a consequence, neighboring cells may suffer from
excessive interference produced by this MS. Furthermore, there is a risk that link
quality decreases very suddenly (turn around a corner), i.e. there is the risk of a
call drop. Hence, distance handover should be switched on.
If power budget handover is disabled, no handovers with cause better cell are
generated. Nevertheless, power budget is calculated and evaluated for the ranking
of neighbor cells within the target cell list, which also has to be compiled for
mandatory handovers (Ch. 4.2.4).
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
31
Siemens
3.2
Measurement preprocessing
Measurement Values:
The following parameters are measured and calculated each SACCH multiframe
(0.48 s):
RXQUAL:
It is defined according to GSM TS 05.08 as function of the bit error rate (BER) before
channel decoding:
RXQUAL = 0
BER
<
0.2%
assumed value:
0.14%
RXQUAL = 1
0.2%
<
BER
<
0.4%
assumed value:
0.28%
RXQUAL = 2
0.4%
<
BER
<
0.8%
assumed value:
0.57%
RXQUAL = 3
0.8%
<
BER
<
1.6%
assumed value:
1.13%
RXQUAL = 4
1.6%
<
BER
<
3.2%
assumed value:
2.26%
RXQUAL = 5
3.2%
<
BER
<
6.4%
assumed value:
4.53%
RXQUAL = 6
6.4%
<
BER
<
12.8%
assumed value:
9.05%
RXQUAL = 7
12.8%
<
BER
assumed value:
18.01%
The RXQUAL values are measured on the dedicated channel for the uplink as well
as for the downlink for each TDMA frame (100 frames) within an SACCH multiframe.
The measured RXQUAL values are averaged over the respective SACCH period
using the assumed values of the table above. The resulting RXQUAL value is the one
used within the handover algorithm in the way described below.
RXLEV:
The received level is measured on the dedicated channel for the uplink as well as for
the downlink for each TDMA frame (100 frames) within an SACCH multiframe. The
measured level values in [dBm] are averaged over the respective SACCH period.
The average value is mapped on an RXLEV value using the table below (refer to
GSM TS 05.08):
RXLEV = 0:
- 110 dBm
RXLEV = 1:
- 110 dBm
<
RXLEV
- 109 dBm
RXLEV = 2:
- 109 dBm
<
RXLEV
- 108 dBm
RXLEV = 62:
- 49 dBm
<
RXLEV
- 48 dBm
RXLEV
>
- 48 dBm
RXLEV = 63:
32
RXLEV
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
RXLEV_NCELL(n):
The mobile measures the level received on the BCCH frequency of each neighbor
cell n. The mapping is as for RXLEV above.
MS_BS_DIST:
The distance MS_BS_DIST between the MS and BS is calculated from the timing
advance (TA) value measured by the BS and is coded as follows:
MS_BS_DIST = 0, 1, ... 35. Distance[Km].
Aspects of Discontinuous Transmission
When Voice Activity Detection (VAD) and Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) is
applied not all TDMA frames within a SACCH multiframe may be transmitted. Hence,
RXQUAL and RXLEV measurement values (SUB values) for the corresponding
SACCH frames are less reliable than those for that SACCH with no silence period
(FULL values). Therefore SUB and FULL values have to be distinguished within
measurement preprocessing (see below).
SACCH Multiframe Occupancy
DTX not applied: 100 slots not idle
DTX applied (silence periode): 12 slots not idle
idle slot
speech burst
SACCH burst
Silence description burst
Fig. 6
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
33
Siemens
Measurement Values for Handover (Summary)
34
Measurement
Range
Measurement Type Description
RXLEV_DL_FULL
0 - 63
Received signal level on TCH/SDCCH (full

set of TDMA frames) downlink
RXLEV_DL_SUB
0 - 63
Received signal level on TCH (subset of

TDMA frames) downlink
RXQUAL_DL_FULL
0-7
Received signal quality on TCH/SDCCH (full

set of TDMA frames downlink
RXQUAL_DL_SUB
0-7
Received signal quality on TCH (subset of

TDMA frames) downlink
DTX_USED
0.-.1
DTX used/not used on uplink in previous

frame
RXLEV_NCELL(1..6)
0 - 63
Received signal level on BCCH of up to 6

neighbor cells (downlink)
BCCH_FREQ_NCELL_(1...6) 0 - 31
BCCH RF channel number of up to 6

BSIC_NCELL (1...6)
0 - 63
Base Station Identity Code of up to 6

RXLEV_UL_FULL
0 - 63
Received signal level on TCH/SDCCH (full

set of TDMA frames) uplink
RXLEV_UL_SUB
0 - 63
Received signal level on TCH (subset of

TDMA frames) uplink
RXQUAL_UL_FULL
0-7
Received signal quality on TCH/SDCCH (full

set of TDMA frames) uplink
RXQUAL_UL_SUB
0-7
Received signal quality on TCH (subset of

TDMA frames) uplink
MS_BS_DIST
0 - 35
Absolute MS-BS distance [km]
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Illustration of Measurement Preprocessing

The measured (and reported) data per SACCH multiframe are preprocessed within
the BTS using a gliding average window. The size of the window can be set
separately for RXQUAL, RXLEV, DIST and PBGT. The measured
RXLEV_FULL/SUB or RXQUAL_FULL/SUB values are put into the gliding window
with a multiplicity (weight) given by the parameter W_LEV_HO or W_QUAL_HO,
respectively. This is illustrated in the figure below.
DTX enabled: Averaging of RXLEV
Example:
average of RXLEV with a gliding window of size
A_LEV_HO = 4
and a weight factor of the full values of
W_LEV_HO = 2.
average value = 27
Gliding Window
32
27
27
23
29
29
21
28
31
32
27
23
29
21
RXLEV_SUB (weight 1)
Measurement Values each

SACCH Multiframe (0.48 s)
RXLEV_FULL (weight 2)
Fig. 7 Illustration of weighting and averaging of measurement values
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
35
Siemens
Fast Uplink Handover BR 6.0

In areas of critical radio conditions, situations might occur in which a call drops
because of long handover decision times.
Fast Uplink Handover offers a high speed handover to prevent from rapid uplink level
loss. Saves connections in special places with drop call problems, when the power
level of a mobile decreases rapidly, a handover can be performed to a predefined cell
to save the connection.
Arrival of SACCH report containing a flag

indicating if the MS used DTX.
Time of arrival in task-context is uncertain.
burst of a SACCH report
(4 bursts make up on
SACCH)
n-1
n+1
UL/DL reporting
period; length: 480 ms
'end of measurements'
detected in interrupt
context
Fig. 8 Save of detection time
36
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
The A_PBGT_HO window size (by default approx. 7.7 s) is not suitable to reflect the
current situation related to the event 'Fast Uplink Handover' because it is too long.
When a Fast Uplink HO is detected by evaluating the UL measurements (e.g. during
the last second), a target cell has to be found that was good during that time (last
second) and not during the last 7.7 seconds (during which the measurements of the
A_PBGT_HO were averaged).
Thus, a separate average must be calculated for the Fast Uplink HO, which is based
on the window-size for the Fast Uplink HO on the received UL-level. The window-size
in the Fast Uplink HO's bookkeeping list is one size smaller than that of the Fast
Uplink HO averaging window.
The average of the values within the Fast Uplink HO window of the neighboring cells
list has to be compiled in order to be able to generate a target cell list, when
necessary.
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
37
Siemens
Parameters for Measurement Preprocessing

The parameters for measurement preprocessing for handover are administered in the
object HAND and are listed in the table below.
Specification
Name
38
DB Name
Range
Meaning
HOAVQUAL
AQUALHO
1-31
A_QUAL_HO
Averaging window size for RXQUAL

values, used for handover decisions
due to RXQUAL
HOAVQUAL
WQUALHO
1-3
W_QUAL_HO
Weighting factor for RXQUAL_FULL

values
HOAVLEV
ALEVHO
1-31
A_LEV_HO
Averaging window size for RXLEV

values, used for handover decisions
due to RXLEV
HOAVLEV
WLEVHO
1-3
W_LEV_HO
Weighting factor for RXLEV_FULL

values
A_DIST_HO
HOAVDIST
1-31
Averaging window size for Timing

Advance values used for handover
decisions due to distance.
A_PBGT_HO
HOAVPWRB
1-31
Averaging window size used for

power budget calculation. Averaging
is applied to:
RXLEV_DL
PWR_C_D
RXLEV_NCELL
A_LEV_FUL_HO
ALEVFULHO
ALEVFULHO
1...31
Averaging window size used for Fast

Uplink Handover detection and
target cell list generation
W_LEV_FUL_HO
ALEVFULHO 1...3
WLEVFULHO
Weighting factor used for Fast Uplink

Handover detection and target cell
list generation
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Comments:
Range of W_XX: 1, 2, 3; as default value 3 is recommended.
Range of A_XX: 1...31, Step Size: 1
The adjustment of the averaging size mainly depends upon rate of change of the
radio propagation conditions.

Example:
path loss (change of 3 dB at a distance
MS movement of 400 m
of 2000 m)
long term fading change of 6 dB
MS movement of 5...100 m
short term fading
MS movement of 0.15 m
Hence, at the cell border the main variation of received level is due to long and
short term fading. Within one SACCH multiframes an MS moves
0.5 m
for MS speed = 1 m/s = 3.6 km/h
5.0 m
for MS speed = 10 m/s = 36 km/h
Using an averaging window size of 10 SACCH frames, short term fading is

averaged for pedestrians (as well as for fast moving MSs).
Long term fading is partly averaged for fast moving MSs (the degree of average
depends on the exact speed and the correlation length of long term fading,
whereas there is nearly no averaging of long term fading for pedestrians.
The setting of the averaging window size has to be a compromise between a fast
decision and a reliable decision.
Therefore it is recommended to use a larger window size for the optional handover
(better cell) to do not cause a lot of unnecessary handovers and a smaller window
size for the mandatory handover causes (quality, level, distance) to be able to
react quickly on a sudden decrease of link quality.
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
39
Siemens
3.3
Handover criteria
Evaluation of handover criteria is based on:

Up- and downlink measurements of level and quality
The absolute MS-BS distance
The power budget criterion of up to 32 neighbor cells
BSC-trigger to answer with a HO Condition Indication message
Two types of handover may occur:

Intercell HO requests the allocation of a dedicated channel outside the serving cell
Intracell HO requests the allocation of another dedicated channel within the
serving cell
GSM distinguishes three classes of handover criteria:
Power budget HO as normal criterion
All other TCH-causes as alarm- or imperative criteria
Forced HO triggered by the BSC
On TCHs it is possible that the condition for more than one handover cause is
fulfilled. Therefore it is necessary to rank the evaluation of handover causes. On
SDCCH where only one cause is evaluated, no ranking is necessary.
Static ranking is performed according a priority list.
Priority
Handover Cause
HO type
HO class
evaluated on
Extended Cell Handover
intracell
imperative
TCH
Concentric Cell Handover
intracell
imperative
TCH
Quality Intercell Handover
intercell
imperative
TCH
Level Handover
intercell
imperative
TCH
Distance Handover
intercell
imperative
TCH
UMTS Sufficient Coverage

Handover
intercell
normal
TCH
Power Budget Handover
intercell
normal
TCH
Quality Intracell Handover
intracell
imperative
TCH
Traffic Handover
intercell
normal
BTS
Forced Handover
intercell
forced
SDCCH
Fast Uplink Handover
intracell
imperative
UL-TCH
Handover causes priorities
40
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Handover Criteria Evaluation - Static Ranking
Evaluate HO
criterion
priority 1
HO
detected
Y
N
Evaluate HO
criterion
priority 2
HO
detected
Y
N
Evaluate HO
criterion
priority 3
HO
detected
Y
N
Until evaluation
of HO criterion 7
Fig. 9
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
41
Siemens
Handover Criteria Evaluation - Dynamic Ranking

In some cases it is necessary to rank priorities dynamically:
in case a extended cell HO (single/double timeslot) or an Concentric Cell HO
(inner/complete area) was requested but could not be performed due to lack of
resources, evaluation of these criteria is skipped the next time to make evaluation of
other HO criteria possible (e.g. Quality, Level etc.).
In case the following HO-attempt is also unsuccessful or no other HO can be
detected then the skipped priority is enabled again for the next try. BTS toggles.
The following flow chart shows in principle the dynamic ranking mechanism of
Extended Cell HO/Concentric Cell HO:
42
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Dynamic ranking of HO evaluation is also performed in case of Quality inter-/intracell

HO (see chapter 0 Handover detection algorithms).
Skip evaluation
of HO criterion
(slip_flag set)
Reset skip_flag
HO
condition
fulfilled
Set skip_flag
HO detected
Fig. 10
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
43
Siemens
3.4
3.4.1
Handover detection algorithms

Radio criteria
The standard handover algorithm for radio criteria uses the decision criteria listed in
the table below where the order of processing within the overall handover algorithm is
used (see Fig. 9).
These criteria will be modified for a speed sensitive handover used within hierarchical
cells (refer to reg. 4.2).
Handover Causes
Decision Criteria
Intercell HO due to Quality
1. RXQUAL_XX > L_RXQUAL_XX_H

2. RXLEV_XX < L_RXLEV_XX_IH *
3. XX_TXPWR = Min ( XX_TXPWR_MAX, P )
HO due to Level
1. RXLEV_XX < L_RXLEV_XX_H

2. XX_TXPWR = Min ( XX_TXPWR_MAX, P )
HO due to Distance
1. MS_BS_DIST > MS_RANGE_MAX
HO due to Power Budget
1. RXLEV_NCELL(n) > RXLEV_MIN(n)

+ Max ( 0, MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) - P )
2. PBGT(n) > HO_MARGIN(n)
Intracell HO due to Quality
1. RXQUAL_XX > L_RXQUAL_XX_H

2. RXLEV_XX > L_RXLEV_XX_IH
Fast HO due to UL-Level
1. RXLEV_UL < THR_RXLEV_FAST_UL_HO
* skip flag not set
Notes:
XX:
used as variable for both UL (uplink) and DL (downlink)
MS_TXPWR_MAX:
maximum allowed transmit power of the MS in the

serving cell,
MS_TXPWR_MAX(n):
maximum allowed transmit power of the MS in the

adjacent cell n
P [dBm]:
the maximum power capability of the MS (power class)
An intercell handover due quality or level is only performed if the transmit power of
the MS or BS respectively is on its maximum.
44
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Dynamic Ranking of Quality Inter-/Intracell Handover

When criteria for Quality Intercell HO are evaluated it is first checked if any Quality
handover shall be performed (averaged UL/DL measurements show a high signal
quality value). Then the criterion of Quality Intracell handover is evaluated. Its
obvious that Quality Intercell HO is detected when the criterion of Quality Intracell HO
is not given.
In case a Quality Intracell HO was requested but could not be performed (HO_FAILS)
than Quality Intercell HO is tried the next time (if criterion is still given). When this
Intercell HO attempt also fails then BTS toggles back and tries again an Intracell HO.
To initiate a Quality Intercell HO after an unsuccessful Quality Intracell HO attempt, a
skip_flag is used. This skip_flag is set after an Intracell HO attempt and is processed
in case of Quality Intercell detection.
When the criterion of Quality HO is given and the skip_flag for Intracell HO is not set,
it is possible to perform a Quality Intracell HO if the condition is fulfilled. In this case
the evaluation of handover criteria is resumed with the next priority level.
When the criterion of Quality HO is given and the skip_flag for Intracell HO is set, an
unsuccessful Intracell HO has been performed before. The dynamic ranking
mechanism forces an Intercell HO instead of the previous Intracell HO by skipping
the evaluation for Quality Intracell HO condition. The skip_flag is reset again to make
a future Intracell HO evaluation possible in case this Intercell HO attempt also fails.
BTS toggles between intracell and intercell handover.
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
45
Siemens
Limitation of Intracell HO Repetition

The BTS is informed by the BSC that a number of consecutive and successful Intra
Cell HO over the same connection have been performed. Any further subsequent
Intracell HO has to be disabled for a defined period of time, but if criteria are given
during penalization time a Intercell HO may be tried instead. The O&M flag
Enable_Limitation_Intracell_HO is used to enable/disable this feature.
The attribute Max_Intracell_HO specifies the maximum number of consecutive
successful quality intracell handovers, which are permitted in the same BTS for a
single connection. The next intracell HO is suspended when the threshold
Max_Intracell_HO+1 is reached, until the Timer_No_Intracell_HO expires.
Parameters for Intracell handover limitation
Specification Name
Object
DB Name
Range
Step
Size
Unit
Enable_Limitation_
Intracell_HO
HAND
ELIMITCH
TRUE/
FALSE
Max_Intracell_HO
HAND
MAIRACHO
1 .. 15
Timer_No_Intracell_HO
HAND
TINOIERCHO
1 .. 254
1 sec
The following flow charts show in principle the evaluation of Quality HO criterion (incl.
dynamic ranking mechanism of Quality inter-/ intracell HO and limitation of intracell
HO repetition).
46
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Dynamic Ranking of Quality Inter-/Intracell Handover
N
Max. power
Y
Condition for
Quality HO
fulfilled
Y
N
Skip Intracell HO
(skip_flag set)
Y
Y
RXLEV <
L_RXLEV_IH
reset skip_flag
Y
Quality Intercell
HO detected
Fig. 11
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MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
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47
Siemens
Dynamic Ranking of Quality Inter-/Intracell Handover & Limitation of Intracell

HO Repetition
Limit. of
intracell HO rep:
penalization time
active
Y
set skip_flag
Skip Intracell HO
(skip_flag set)
N
Intracell HO
condition fulfilled
Y
set skip_flag
Quality Intracell
HO detected
Fig. 12
48
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Power Budget:
PBGT(n) =
RXLEV_NCELL(n) - ( RXLEV_DL + PWR_C_D )

+ Min( MS_TXPWR_MAX, P ) - Min( MS_TXPWR_MAX(n), P )
> HO_MARGIN(n)
RXLEV_DL:
averaged value of the measured downlink level in the serving cell,
PWR_C_D:
BS_TXPWR_MAX [dBm] - BS_TXPWR [dBm]

Averaged difference between the maximum downlink RF power
BS_TXPWR_MAX and the currently used downlink power
BS_TXPWR (due to power control) in the serving cell.
RXLEV_NCELL(n) Averaged value of the measured downlink level of the adjacent

:
cell n
HO_MARGIN(n):
Handover margin; if path loss with respect to the serving cell

exceeds the path loss with respect to the adjacent cell n by this
margin, the adjacent cell is considered as the (much) better cell.
Loss(serving) - Loss(adjacent) =
= BS_TXPWR - RXLEV_DL - (BS_TXPWR_MAX(n) - RXLEV_NCELL(n))
= RXLEV_NCELL(n) - (RXLEV_DL + PWR_C_D)
+ BS_TXPWR_MAX - BS_TXPWR_MAX(n).
Assumption:
BS_TXPWR_MAX - BS_TXPWR_MAX(n) = MS_TXPWR_MAX - MS_TXPWR_MAX(n)
if the link budget of the serving cell is designed for MSs of
P = MS_TXPWR_MAX &
if the link budget of the adjacent cell(n) is designed for MSs of
P = MS_TXPWR_MAX(n).
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
49
Siemens
Back Handover Prevention

Back-handover (due to power budget) prevention is triggered by BSC by including
the old cell and the previous handover cause (GSM 08.08 Cause) in the Channel
activation message. A timer is started in BTS and until the timer for the specified cell
expires,
no handover condition due to Power Budget will be evaluated for this cell
this cell is excluded from the target cell list in case of any other handover request
due to Power Budget.

The O&M flag Enable_No_Back_HO is used to enable/disable this feature.
Back handovers due to imperative criteria are not affected by this mechanism.
Parameters for Back Handover Prevention
Specification Name
Object
DB Name
Range
Step
Size
Unit
Enable_No_Back_HO
HAND
NOBAKHO
TRUE/FALSE
Timer_Inhibit_Back_HO
ADJC
TINHBAKHO
1 .. 254
1 sec
General Information Flow
BTS
BSC
HO Cond Ind (B, C, D)
Cell A
Cell B
Chan Activ in B (Cell A, HO-cause)
In case of PBGT-HO:
Cell A is not included
in TCL
Fig. 13
50
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Parameters of Handover Decision

Specification Name
DB Name/
Object
Range
Meaning
L_RXQUAL_DL_H
L_RXQUAL_UL_H
HOLTHQUDL
HOLTHQUUL
0...7
Thresholds for downlink/uplink

quality. If RXQUAL is above
these thresholds, the received
level is low and the transmit
power has reached its
maximum, a quality intercell
handover is initiated.
0...63
Thresholds for downlink/uplink

level. If RXLEV is below these
thresholds and the transmit
power has reached its
maximum a level handover is
initiated.
0...63
If the quality falls below a

threshold, but the received
level is high, higher than
L_RXLEV_XX_IH, an intracell
handover is initiated.
0...35
If the measured timing

advance value is above this
threshold, a distance
handover is initiated in a
standard cell.
Unit: 1Km
35...100
If the measured timing

advance value is above this
threshold, a distance
handover is initiated in an
extended cell.
Unit: 1Km
0...63
Receive signal strength

threshold for an intercell Fast
Uplink HO decision
/HAND
L_RXLEV_DL_H
L_RXLEV_UL_H
HOLTHLVDL
HOLTHLVUL
/HAND
L_RXLEV_DL_IH
L_RXLEV_UL_IH
HOTDLINT
HOTULINT
/HAND
MS_RANGE_MAX
HOTMSRM
/HAND
MS_RANGE_MAX_EXT
HOTMSRME
/HAND
THR_RXLEV_FAST_UL_ THLEVFULHO/
HO
HAND
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
51
Siemens
Specification Name
DB Name/
Object
Range
Meaning
MS_TXPWR_MAX
MSTXPMAXGSM
MSTXPMAXDCS
MSTXPMAXPCS
2...15
0...15
0...15,
30, 31
Maximum TXPWR an MS is
allowed to used in the serving
cell
/BTS
GSM: 2..15 = 39..13 dBm

DCS: 0..15 = 30..0 dBm
PCS: 0..15 = 30..0 dBm
30 = 31 dBm, 31 = 33 dBm
MS_TXPWR_MAX (n) MSTXPMAXGSM

MSTXPMAXDCS
MSTXPMAXPCS
/BTS
/TGTBTS
2...15
0...15
0...15,
30, 31
Maximum TXPWR an MS is
allowed to use in the neighbor
cell n
2 = 39 dBm,
15 = 13 dBm (GSM)
0 = 30 dBm,
15 = 0 dBm (DCS)
RXLEV_MIN(n)
RXLEVMIN
0...63
/ADJC
The level received from a

neighbor cell n has to exceed
this threshold
to initiate a better cell
handover to that neighbor

cell
to include this cell in the
target cell list for a

mandatory handover.
HO_MARGIN(n)
52
HOM
/ADJC
0...126
The path loss difference

between serving and adjacent
cell has to exceed this margin
for a better cell handover.
63 dB ... + 63 dB
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Handover Region
XX=UL : Uplink
Bit-Error-Rate (RXQual)
Handover
Inter-cell handover
due to quality
(skip flag not evaluated)
Intra-cell handover
due to quality
(if skip flag=FALSE)
Inter-cell handover
due to quality
(if skip flag=TRUE or
if INTRACH=FALSE)
L_RXQual_XX_H
HOLTHQUXX
Inter-cell handover
due to power budget
/
Inter-cell handover
due to level
XX=DL :
Downlink
XX UL U li k
HOTXXINT
HOLTHLVTXX
L_RXLev_XX_IH
L_RXLev_XX_H
Level (RXLev)
Fig. 14 Regions of handover defined by quality and level thresholds
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MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
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53
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54
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Handover Scenarios
For adjusting the handover thresholds one has to distinguish two scenarios:
A) Noise Limited Scenario:
Large cells (in rural area) with low traffic load: received level at the cell border not
much above the receiver limit sensitivity level.
B) Interference Limited Scenario:
Small cells (in urban area) with high traffic load: received level at cell border
significantly exceeds the receiver sensitivity level, but C/I not much above the
reference interference sensitivity.
In any case intercell handover due to quality should be avoided as far as possible,
i.e.
set L_RXQUAL_XX_H to highest value for acceptable speech quality,
set L_RXLEV_XX_IH to a appropriate value so that in case of low RXQUAL an
intracell handover is initiated for the locations within the cell area defined by the
other thresholds.
Scenario A:
Main handover criterion is the level criterion and L_RXLEV_XX_H has to be set to a
value just some dBs above the receiver limit sensitivity level.
Furthermore, there should be a hysteresis between the threshold RXLEV_MIN for
incoming handover and the corresponding one for outgoing handover
L_RXLEV_XX_H to avoid a lot of unnecessary forward and backward handover:
RXLEV_MIN - L_RXLEV_XX_H = level hysteresis > 0.
The order of magnitude for the level hysteresis is given by the standard deviation of
the long term fading, i.e. RXLEV_MIN > L_RXLEV_XX_H + 4 ... 10 dB.
Scenario B:
In this scenario the better cell criterion should be the main handover criterion, since
it is the most suitable criterion for designing well defined cell borders,
it guarantees that the mobile is served by the cell with (nearly) the lowest path loss
and therefore offers the greatest potential for power control to reduce interference.
To avoid a lot of unnecessary forward and backward power budget handover caused
by long term fading fluctuations of the received levels from the respective BTSs, a
hysteresis has to be introduced:
HO_MARGIN(cell1 -> cell2) + HO_MARGIN(cell2 -> cell1)
= power budget hysteresis > 0.
Usually, the handover margin is chosen symmetrically; its value should be a
compromise between ideal power budget handover (low value) and a low rate of
forward and backward handovers (high value).
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By choosing unsymmetrical values for the handover margin, one can adapt the cell
area to the traffic load, e.g. increasing HO_MARGIN(cell1 -> cell2) while keeping the
power budget hysteresis constant (i.e. reducing HO_MARGIN(cell2 -> cell1) by the
same amount), increases the effective area of cell 1 while reducing that of cell 2).
RXLEV_MIN(n) should be set to a value so that RXLEV_NCELL(n) > RXLEV_MIN(n)
for almost all locations where PBGT(n) > HO_MARGIN(n), i.e. a better cell handover
is really initiated if the power budget condition is fulfilled.
This means that there should be an overlap of the outgoing power budget area of one
cell and the incoming RXLEV_MIN area of the neighbor cell n.
Furthermore, as for scenario A, there should be a level hysteresis between
RXLEV_MIN and L_RXLEV_XX_H.
This is illustrated for an ideal situation without long term fading in the figure below:
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L_RXLEV_XX_H
RXLEV_MIN
BTS1
ideal power budget

cell border
BTS2
BTS3
Fig. 15 Cell borders defined by handover thresholds
BTS
RXLEV_MIN (incoming HO)
L_RXLEV_XX_H (outgoing level HO)
receiver limit sensitivity
Fig. 16 Relation between handover level thresholds
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3.4.2
Network criteria
3.4.2.1
Extended cell handover
Maximum propagation delay within one timeslot allows a maximum BS-MS distance
of 35 km. In extended cells the operator can configure TCHs optionally as double
timeslot channels where two subsequent timeslots are used for transmission to
provide coverage farther than 35km.
Extended Cell Handover is the intracell handover between a single timeslot channel
and a double timeslot channel and vice versa. Handover detection is based on
comparison of actual BS-MS distance with a threshold (O&M parameter).
Extended Cell handover can be enabled/disabled via O&M flag
ENABLE_EXTENDED_CELL_HO only if there are double and single timeslots
configured in the cell.
Parameters for Extended Cell Handover
Specification Name
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Unit
Size
ENABLE_EXTENDED_CELL_HO HAND
EXTCHO
TRUE/FALSE
HO_MS_TA_MAX
HAND HOMSTAM
0 .. 34
km
HO_MARGIN_TA
HAND HOMRGTA
0 .. 35
km
A single-to-double handover is detected when the actual BS-MS distance exceeds

the threshold HO_MS_TA_MAX (handover alarm distance_near_far); a double-tosingle handover is detected when the actual BS-MS distance falls below the
threshold minus a hysteresis factor HO_MARGIN_TA (handover alarm
distance_far_near).
Following conditions must be fulfilled for a extended cell handover:
Enable_Extended_Cell_HO
= TRUE
skip_flag
= not set (see dynamic ranking).
The following additional condition must be fulfilled for a single to double timeslot
handover:
actual BS-MS distance
> HO_MS_TA_MAX
or the following additional condition must be fulfilled for a double to single timeslot
handover:
actual BS-MS distance
< HOMSTAM - HOMRGTA
(no double to single HO will be performed in case of HOMSTAM - HOMRGTA < 0 ).
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3.4.2.2
Concentric cell handover
Concentric Cells means two logical cells within one GSM/DCS cell: Inner area and
complete area. The TX power of the TRXs belonging to the inner area is strongly
reduced, which results in a lower radius.
Complete Area
Inner Area
Fig. 17 Cell configured as concentric
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Siemens
This feature can be used to introduce an additional frequency re-use pattern for the
frequencies in the inner area, i.e. a new frequency re-use pattern can be used with a
shorter re-use distance. This will increase the network capacity without appreciable
increase of interference.
A flag is used to define whether the cell is a concentric one or not. Furthermore it has
to be specified per TRX whether this TRX should belong to the inner area or to the
complete area. One set of signaling channels -BCCH & SDCCH- in the complete
area is used for both areas.
Objects and parameters in SBS for installation of concentric cell configuration:
60
Object
DB Name
Range
Meaning
BTS
CONCELL
TRUE/
FALSE
Flag indicates whether concentric cell

configuration is used or not
TRX
PWRRED
0...6
Static reduction of TRX output power:

BS_TXPWR_MAX = PBTS - 2 * PWRRED
unit: 2 dB
TRX
TRXAREA
NONE
INNER
COMPLETE
This parameter specifies the area the

TRX belongs to
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Intracell handovers between the two areas are depending on field strength level and
the location of the mobile. These handovers are executed on level / distance
conditions defined by appropriate thresholds in the handover package. Moreover,
during the call setup procedure in a concentric cell the same values are also
evaluated to determine whether the call is set up on a TCH belonging to an inner or
complete area TRX
Parameters for Concentric Cell handover behavior

EN_CON_CELL_DIST
Object
DB Name
Range
HAND
CCDIST
TRUE/
FALSE
Step Size
Unit
Flag to enable/disable whether the distance should also have an impact on the
intracell handover decision in addition to the HORXLVDLI / HORXLVDLO within the
concentric cell intracell handover algorithm.
HO_RXLEV_DL_INNER
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
HAND
HORXLVDLI
0...63
1 dB
This attribute defines the receive signal strength threshold on downlink which is
evaluated for the intracell handover from a TRX belonging to the inner area to a TRX
belonging to the complete area of a concentric cell.
The condition, which must be fulfilled to perform an intracell handover from inner- to
complete area, is:
RXLEV_DL(serv. cell) < HORXLVDLI
The RXLEV_DL(serv. cell) is the averaged value derived from the handover
measurement preprocessing; refer to chapter 3.2.2.
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HO_RXLEV_DL_OUTER
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
HAND
HORXLVDLO
0...63
1 dB
This attribute defines the receive signal threshold level on downlink which is
evaluated for the intracell handover from a TRX belonging to the complete area to a
TRX belonging to the inner area of a concentric cell, furthermore the TCH
assignment is influenced by this threshold.
The condition, which must be fulfilled, to perform an intracell handover from
complete- to inner area, or to assign a TCH directly in the inner area is:
RXLEV_DL(serv. cell) > HORXLVDLO
HO_CON_CELL_DIST
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
HAND
HOCCDIST
0...35
1 Km
This attribute specifies the distance limit between inner and complete area of a
concentric cell which is taken into account for the intracell handover in addition to the
attribute hoRxlevDinner respectively hoRxLevDlouter.
The condition, which must be fulfilled to perform an intracell handover from inner- to
complete area, is:
RXLEV_DL(serv. cell) < HORXLVDLI or
BS_MS_DIST > HOCCDIST (if CCDIST=TRUE)
The condition, which must be fulfilled, to perform an intracell handover from
complete- to inner area, or to assign a TCH directly in the inner area is:
RXLEV_DL(serv. cell) > HORXLVDLO and
BS_MS_DIST < HOCCDIST (if CCDIST=TRUE)
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EN_INNER_INNER_HO
Object
DB Name
Range
HAND
ININHO
TRUE/
FALSE
Step Size
Unit
Flag to enable/disable the intercell handover from inner to inner area in sectorized
concentric cells.
COLOCATED_CELL
Object
DB Name
Range
HAND
CCELL1,
CCELL2
pathname, e.g. BTSM:0/BTS:2
Step Size
Unit
BTS ID
The attribute defines the cells belonging to the sectorized concentric cells for which it
is possible to perform an intercell handover into the inner area.
The condition, which must be fulfilled to perform an intercell handover into the inner
area of a collocated neighbor cell, is:
RXLEV_NCELL(adj. cell) > HORXLVDLO(n) and
BS_MS_DIST < HOCCDIST(n) (if CCDIST(n)=TRUE)
In this case the BSC sends a message: 'preferred_area_request' to the serving BTS
together with the relevant parameters of the target cell. The BTS calculates whether
a intercell handover directly into the inner area is possible or not. The BSC is
informed with message: 'preferred_area' and assigns an appropriate TCH.
To avoid handover oscillation between inner and complete area, the following
recommendations have to be considered:
HORXLVDLO > HORXLVDLI
HORXLVDLO - HORXLVDLI > BS_TXPWR_MAX(Complete) - BS_TXPWR_MAX(Inner)
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Common BCCH for GSM 900/1800 Dual Band Operation

This feature enables operators to be able to configure a single cell with the
frequencies required for both GSM900 and GSM1800 bands, while having a common
BCCH in only one of the bands.
A dual band cell using a common BCCH has to be configured as a concentric
cell as it is described in the previous pages.
The BCCH can either belong to the GSM900 or the GSM1800 band. The operator
can configure a single cell with frequencies in both GSM900 and GSM1800 bands
while the cell still has one common cell identity. In order to optimize signal reception
within the concentric cell feature the BTS selects an intracell handover from the
complete area (GSM900) to the inner area (GSM1800), or vice versa.
In a single-band concentric cell the intracell HO decision is made by analyzing the
downlink received level and -if applied- the measured MS-BS distance, the uplink
conditions are not important because the mobile is not affected when the call is
handed over between the two areas inside the cell
In contrast to this, in a dual-band concentric cell when the mobile is moved from the
GSM area to the DCS one or vice versa, the uplink conditions change due to the fact
that the mobile has different power classes in the two bands.
Therefore the algorithm for intracell HO in a dual band cell from complete to inner
area is extended as follows:
RXLEV_DL(serv. cell) > HORXLVDLO + Max [ 0, MS_TXPWR_MAX(inner) - P(inner) ]
A cell using frequencies from different bands must be configured with different
parameters to define the maximum allowed MS transmit power per band. Additionally
the parameter, which defines the used frequency band in a cell, has to be extended.
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65
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3.4.2.3
Directed retry
Directed retry is the transition (handover) from a SDCCH in one cell to a TCH in
another cell during call setup because of unavailability of an empty TCH within the
first cell.
Directed retry is a means to control the traffic distribution between cells and to avoid
a call rejection because of congestion in one cell. If Queuing of ASS REQs is not
supported within a BSC Directed retry is merely triggered by the BSC by sending a
Forced HO Request message to the BTS, which has to respond with an "initiated"
Intercell HO Cond. Indic. message.
It can happen that the Intercell HO Cond. Indic. message does contain only an empty
target cell list (If triggered by a Forced HO Request message the BTS has to send a
Intercell HO Cond. Indic. message even if no suitable neighbor cell exists - in this
case the target cell list is empty!). In this case a TCH cannot be assigned and the
BSC shall not send a HO RQD message to the MSC of course but shall send an ASS
FAILURE (cause "no radio resource available").
If the target cell list contains cells from inside and outside the BSC area and if e.g.
the first and second cell is inside, the third outside and the fourth inside the BSC area
than the Directed retry attempts shall be carried out as BSC controlled Directed
retries to the first and second one. If these Directed retries are not possible for any
reason (e.g. no empty TCH) than the third attempt and all following attempts
(independently whether the fourth and the following cells lie in- or outside the BSC
area) shall be executed as MSC controlled directed retry.
If in case of a MSC controlled handover the MS cannot access the new cell and the
MSC receives a HO FAILURE (cause "radio interface failure, reversion to old
channel") from the old BSS, it can happen that the MSC generally releases this
SDCCH connection by sending a CLEAR CMD message (cause "radio interface
failure, reversion to old channel") to the BSC independently.
If the MSC does not support Directed retry HOs the BSC may perform BSC
controlled Directed retries (approximately 75% of all Directed retries) only. In this
case the EN_INTER_SDCCH_HO flag in the BSC shall be set to "disabled" and the
BSC has to check the target cell list of Intercell HO_Cond_Ind messages belonging
to a SDCCH connection. All cell identifiers not belonging to the BSC area shall be
skipped and if there remain cell identifiers belonging to the BSC area the
corresponding HO shall be performed to strongest (if impossible to the second
strongest, third strongest etc.) remaining cell. If the target cell list does not contain a
remaining or any cell identifier of the same BSC area, this Intercell HO Cond. Indic.
message shall be discarded and the BSC shall release this SDCCH connection
(Sending of an ASS FAILURE with cause "no radio resource available").
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Flowchart of Directed Retry
Directed Retry
Procedure
Is the incoming
message an
Assignment_REQ ?
Y
BSC sends to BTS

Forced_HO_Request
BTS sends to BSC

Intercell_HO_Cond_Ind
with target cell list
Suiteble cell
in list ?
Y
BSC assigns TCH
internally and sends
Assignmend_Complete
to MSC
Start
Queueing
Procedure
Cell within
BSC area ?
N
EN_INTER_SDCCH_HO
set to enable ?
Y
Assign TCH
Directed Retry towards

MSC successful ?
Fig. 18
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67
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HO Algorithm/Generation of the Target Cell List

The BTS has to send the Intercell HO Cond. Indic. messages toward the BSC.
Please note that for Directed retry the sending of an Intercell HO Cond. Indic.
message for a SDCCH may only be triggered by a BTS external event: The BSC
sends a Forced HO Request because of "no TCH available".
If an Intercell HO Cond. Indic. message is to be sent, the target cell list shall contain
all neighbor cells with:
RXLEV > RXLEV_MIN + Max(0, MS_TXPWR_MAX-P) +
FHO_RXLEV_MIN_OFFSET
in the order of decreasing values of (PBGT - HO_MARGIN <=> 0). Additional
parameters specific to speed sensitive HO shall be taken into account for the ranking
of the target cells. Even if no suitable neighbor cell exists, the BTS shall send an
Intercell HO Cond. Indic. message. In this case the target cell list ("Cell Identif. List
Pref. IE") shall be empty! The cause of the Intercell HO Cond. Indic. message shall
be FORCED. FHO_RXLEV_MIN_OFFSET is a cell specific O&M-parameter to select
only target cells for forced HO which the MS can access without any problems. It is a
result of radio planning for each individual cell. It allows to influence the amount of
Forced HOs failed because of empty target cell list, the amount of HO attempts back
to the "old" cell and the success rate of HO ACCESSes to the target cell.
Prevention of "Back-HOs"
A major general problem of forced HO (Directed retry is one sort of forced HO!) is the
probability of HO due to PBGT back to the "old" (congested) cell. Its drawbacks are:
1. increased load at the Abis-interface because of periodic sending of Intercell
HO_Cond_Ind messages in intervals of T7
2. increased load at the A-interface in case of inter-BSC-HO because of the same
reason
3. additional processor capacity in BSC (and MSC) is required for HO trials for
which it is known in advance that they are useless
4. the load in the congested cell will not be reduced for a certain time, but it will be
kept at a permanent high level.
For the Channel Activation message a new optional information element "Cell
Identifier List (no target)" is defined. This information element contains the cell
identifier (CI) of a cell from which a handover request (intra- or inter-BSC) because of
forced HO was received. If this information element exists in the Channel Activation
message, the BTS
shall not trigger a (TCH-)HO due to PBGT for the time Tbho if the PBGT condition
is fulfilled for the indicated cell only and

shall not include the indicated CIs in the target cell list in this case for the time
Tbho (i.e. for the condition HO due QUAL/LEV/DIST the indicated cell identifier
may be part of the target cell list).
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Tbho is a timer that limits the mentioned prohibitions. It has to be set by O&M
command.
If a HO is necessary the target BSC has to generate the Channel Activation
message. The target BSC shall insert the Cell Identifier List (no target) IE into this
message.
The BSC shall derive the CI for the Cell Identifier List (no target) IE from the stored
context in case of intra BSC HO or from the mandatory Cell Identifier (serving) IE of
the HO REQ message in case of inter BSC HO with cause "Directed retry".
EN_FORCED_HO
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BSC
ENFORCHO
ENABLE
DISABLE
This BSC specific O&M flag allows to enable/disable the sending of Forced HO
Request messages for running SDCCH connections (e.g. queued or not queued ASS
REQs which do not find an empty TCH). It is used to enable/disable Directed retry.
EN_INTER_SDCCH_HO
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BSC
EISDCCHHO
ENABLE
DISABLE
This BSC specific O&M flag allows to enable/disable inter BSC SDCCH-HOs (i.e.
SDCCH-SDCCH-HO and Directed retry). It simply prevents the sending of HO RQD
messages for SDCCH connections to the MSC. This flag should be set to "disable"
by an operator if in a network the MSC, which the BSS is connected to or other
adjacent BSSs do not support the prevention of "back-HO". If it is set to "disable" the
BSC shall skip all cell identifiers of the target cell list of the Intercell HO Cond. Ind.
message, which belong to another BSC area.
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FHO_RXLEV_MIN_OFFSET
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
ADJC
FHORLMO
0...24
1 dB
FHO_RXLEV_MIN_OFFSET ("RXLEV_MIN offset for forced-handover") is a cell

specific O&M-parameter used within the BTS to select only target cells for forced HO
which the MS can access without any problems. It is a result of radio planning for
each individual cell. It allows to influence the amount of Forced HOs failed because
of empty target cell list, the amount of HO attempts back to the "old" cell and the
success rate of HO ACCESSes to the target cell.
Default: 6.
Tbho
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
ADJC
TIMERFHO
1...320
10 sec
Tbho (bho=back handover) is a neighbor cell specific O&M parameter. It is the value
of a timer running in the BTS that controls the duration how long a former serving cell
from which forced HO was performed to the new serving cell may not be considered
in the PBGT HO decision algorithm of the new serving cell and may not be contained
in the target cell list. It is started at the reception of a Channel Activation message
containing a Cell Identifier (no target) IE.
Default: 12.
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3.4.2.4
Siemens
HO decision due to BSS resource management criteria
The purpose of this feature is to increase the network efficiency by redistributing of

traffic between the cells of a BSC area.
The handover for traffic reason has been introduced in order to move calls from
heavily loaded cells into adjacent cells with lower utilization. The expected benefit
from this feature is to be able to free some channels in a high traffic cell in order to
use the released channels for new calls.
The Traffic cause is not foreseen on the A interface and the serving BSC cannot
control the channel occupancy of a cell belonging to another BSC, consequently the
handover for traffic reason may be performed only between cells belonging to the
same BSC.
This feature implementation can avoid the planning of new resources into a cell and
the channel reservation for high traffic situation.
The handover for traffic reason is the lowest priority one, because the technical
necessary handovers shall be proceeded first in order not to disturb the normal
network behavior too much.
The HO due to resource criteria is not triggered for extended cells. In concentric cells
only the outer area is checked for the resource criteria.
This feature as well as Directed Retry has the scope of increasing the capacity of the
network. Whereas Directed Retry acts on new connections by moving them towards
adjacent cells, H/O Decision due to BSS Resource Management Criteria moves
connected users towards adjacent cells allowing in the previously used cells new
connections to be set up. A connection moved for Directed Retry can be far from the
ideal cell border, while the connection moved by H/O Decision due to BSS Resource
Management Criteria is chosen near to the ideal cell border.
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If the function is enabled in a cell (Traffic_Handover_Enable = TRUE), the following

procedure is applied:
1. The BSC periodically (Traffic_Control_Timer) evaluates the traffic level for that
cell. If the percentage becomes higher or equal a given threshold
(Traffic_High_Threshold), the cell is regarded as a high traffic cell and the
handover cause due to traffic is enabled. Otherwise the cell will be regarded as a
low traffic cell and the handover cause due to traffic is disabled.
In order to evaluate correctly the percentage of busy channels in case of FR- and
HR-channels in use, the FR-channels are considered with weight 2 and the HRchannels with weight 1.
If the handover cause due to traffic changes from disabled to enabled or vice
versa, the BTS will be informed.
2. In the BTS two tasks (parent /dedicated) are implemented to proceed the
evaluation of the handover due to BSS resource management criteria. In case of
cause detection and evaluation of appropriate neighbor cell candidate(s), the
BSC will be informed via Intercell_Handover_Cond_Ind message that includes
the handover cause "traffic" together with the list of preferred target cells.
3. When receiving the message "Intercell_Handover_Cond_Ind" with cause "traffic",
the BSC analyses the target cell list in order to discard all cells with a high traffic
load where the percentage of busy channels is higher than a given threshold
(Traffic_Low_Threshold).
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Parameters to control traffic HO

Specification Name
DB Name/
Object
Range
Traffic_Control_Timer
TRFCT
10...200 unit = 0.5 sec
/ BSC
Traffic_HO_Enable
TRFHOE
/ HAND
Traffic_High_Threshold
Traffic_Low_Threshold
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Meaning
This parameter establishes for

each BTS the period of time to
wait before evaluating the traffic
level
TRUE
FALSE
This parameter allows to

enable/disable the handover for
traffic reason feature in the BTS
TRFHITH
/ HAND
50...100 unit = %
TRFLTH
/ HAND
0...85
This parameter defines the high

traffic level threshold in order to
establish if the handover for
traffic reason has to be enabled
or disabled.
unit = %
This parameter defines the low
traffic level threshold in order to
establish if a cell can be a
candidate to receive handover
for traffic reason.
73
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Description of tasks in the BTS

If the cause TrafficHo is changed the message O_DMXX_LDMXX_PARA_CHANGE
is sent from the BSC to the initialization task of the BTS. The initialization task sends
the message O_RLRL_TRAF_HO_EN_DIS to the parent task. On receipt of this
message the parent task updates the counter m and starts timer Traffic_Ho_Timer,
if necessary. The counter m is set to 1 if it was 0, m remains untouched if its value
was greater than 0.
Every time the timer expires the following procedure is started:
1. If the HO due to traffic reason is enabled the value m is increased by one up to a
value which is not higher than Traffic_Margin_Max / Traffic_Margin_Step. If m
has already reached this value m stays constant. In any case the timer is
restarted.
2. If the HO due to traffic reasons is disabled the value m is decreased by one and
the timer is restarted. If the value reaches 0 the timer is not started again.
Parent Task
Traffic_HO_Timer
expired
O_RLRL_TRAF_HO_EN_DIS
received
HO cause
enabled
HO cause
enabled
m=0
decrement m
by one
Y
Increment m
by one
m=0
Y
set m = 1
start timer
Traffic_HO_Timer
restart
Traffic_HO_Timer
End
Fig. 19 Parent task in BTS to perform traffic HO
74
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
The counter m is now used in the dedicated task to determine if the traffic HO has to
be evaluated.
Traffic HO
Evaluation
m>0
Traffic HO
condition fulfilled
for adj. cell
BTS sends to BSC

Intercell_HO_Cond_Ind
with target cell list
End
Fig. 20 Dedicated task in BTS to perform traffic HO
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
75
Siemens
The traffic HO condition is fulfilled if one or more internal adjacent cells are evaluated
with a positive result according to the following algorithm:
Case 1 - HCS disabled (HIERC = FALSE)
RXLEV_NCELL(n) > RXLEV_MIN(n) + max[0, MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) - P]
& PBGT(n) > TRAFFIC_HO_MARGIN(n) - K
Case 2 - HCS enabled (HIERC = TRUE)
RXLEV_NCELL(n) > RXLEV_MIN(n) + max[0, MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) - P]
& PBGT(n) > TRAFFIC_HO_MARGIN(n) - K
& (PLNC(n) = PL if parameter Traffic_Keep_Priority is set to TRUE or
PLNC(n) PL if parameter Traffic_Keep_Priority is set to False)
Where K = m * Traffic_Margin_Step
with m = 1, 2, 3,.....,Traffic_Margin_Max div Traffic_Margin_Step
Back Handover Prevention in case of traffic HO

Back-handover prevention is triggered by BSC by including the old cell and the
handover cause (traffic) into the Channel activation message.
A timer (Back_HO_Forbidden_Timer) is started in the BTS and until the timer for
the originated cell expires, the back HO due to BSS resource criteria or due to power
budget is inhibited.
76
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Parameters to control traffic HO in the BTS BR6.0

Specification Name
DB Name/
Object
Range
Meaning
Traffic_HO_Timer
TRFHOT
2...20
unit = sec
/ HAND
Traffic_Margin_Step
TRFMS
This parameter represents the

timer which is used to establish
the period of time to wait before
updating the m value. The m
value is increased if the traffic
HO cause is enabled and
decreased if the traffic HO
cause is disabled, m is updated
until it reaches value 0
1...6
/ HAND
Traffic_Margin_Max
TRFMMA
This parameter establishes the

minimum reduction for
TRFHOM
1...48
/ HAND
Traffic_Keep_Priority
Traffic_HO_Margin
TRFKPRI
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
unit = 1 dB
This parameter establishes the
maximum reduction for
TRFHOM.
/ HAND
TRUE
FALSE
This parameter determines

whether candidate cells have to
be of the same priority as the
serving cell or may be of the
same or higher priority
TRFHOM
0...126
unit = 1 dB (-63 dB .... +63 dB)
/ ADJC
Back_HO_Forbidden
Timer
unit = 1 dB
BHOFOT
/ ADJC
This parameter defines the

nominal cell border between
cells for traffic handover reason
1...120
unit = sec
This parameter represents the
timer used to establish the time
for which a back handover due
to traffic reason or PBGT
(Power Budget) has to be
avoid.
77
Siemens
3.5
Target cell list compilation
The target cell compilation proceeds in several steps:

Definition of Neighbor Cells (Maximum Number = 32) by CI_NCELL(n):
CI_NCELL(n) = Location Area Code (LAC) + Cell Identifier (CI) of Neighbor Cell n.
The selection of neighbor cells affects handover traffic flow. The number of target
cells should be kept to a minimum:
geographical neighbor cells if there is a traffic flow from the serving cell into these
cells
eventually some alternative cells if there is a congestion in the preferred direct
neighbor cell
MS needs the BCCH frequency for each neighbor cell n:
Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number of BCCH: ARFCN_NCELL(n)

MS reports to BTS level measured on a certain ARFCN(n) together with
Relative BCCH frequency number BCCH_FREQ_NCELL(n) (see Fig. 16)

Decoded Base Station Identity Code BSIC(n)
Neighbor Cells n1 and n2 using the same BCCH frequency ARFCN(n1) =
ARFCN(n2) need different Base Station Identity Codes !!!
BSIC:
= NCC +BCC
NCC:
National Color Code (3 bits)
BCC:
Base Station Color Code (3 bits), has to be chosen by the network

operator in accordance with rule given above.
Example
Neighbor Cell
ARFCN_NCELL
BSIC
BCCH_FREQ_NCELL
01
02
11
01
18
01
25
01
32
03
39
02
39
04
BCCH_FREQ_NCELL(n) and BSIC(n) CI_NCELL(n)uniquely!
78
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Illustration of Measurement Reporting and Neighbor Cell Book-Keeping

Process
Measurement Report by MS
reporting of the strongest cells with known and
allowed BSIC;
maximum: 6 cells
BSIC
BCCH_FREQ_
NCELL
RXLEV_NCELL(n)
01
48
02
37
03
36
04
29
01
27
each SACCHMultiframe
Book-Keeping at BS
Neighbour Cell
ARFCN
BSIC
BCCH_FREQ_ RXLEV_NCELL(n)
NCELL
01
02
37
11
01
48
18
01
27
25
01
32
03
36
39
02
39
04
29
For not reported neighbor cells

RXLEV_NCELL is set to 0
Fig. 21
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
79
Siemens
Uniqueness of Neighbor Cell Measurements:

BSIC (n1) BSIC (n2)
for adjacent cells n1 and n2 with
ARFCN(N1) = ARFCN(n2)
Generation of the Target Cell List

The target cell list is generated when a handover cause is detected.
The maximum number of cells to be included in the target cell list is given by the
parameter N_CELL (Parameter NCELL in object HAND, Range: 0 ... 15).
Conditions for Neighbor Cells to be included in the Target Cell List:

for Quality, Distance and Traffic Intercell Handover:
RXLEV_NCELL(n) > RXLEV_MIN(n) + MAX(0, MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) - P)

for Level Intercell Handover:

& RXLEV_NCELL(n) > RXLEV_DL + LEVEL_HO_MARGIN(n)*)
for Fast Uplink Level Intercell Handover:
RXLEV_NCELL(n) > RXLEV_MIN(n) + MAX(0, MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) - P) +

FAST_UL_RXLEV_MIN_OFFSET(n)
for Power Budget Handover:

& PBGT(n) - HO_MARGIN(n) > 0
*) Level Handover Margin
To guarantee that a Level HO will be performed to a cell with higher level than that
from serving cell the additional level handover margin condition shall be satisfied,
with LEVHOM as a new parameter. In general a positive value should be chosen for
this parameter. But for special applications it is possible to choose a negative value
to force a HO even in case of lower level in the target cell.
80
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Order Criterion for Handover Candidate Cells within the Target Cell List:
PRIO_NCELL(n) = BCV(n (Better Cell Value)
BCV(n) = PBGT(n) - HO_MARGIN(n)
BCV(n) = PBGT(n) - TRAFFIC_HO_MARGIN(n) [ if HO-cause = traffic ]
PBGT(n): averaged value of the power budget
Order Criterion for Fast Uplink HO Candidate Cells within the Target Cell List:
1. Order Criterion:
FAST_UL_HO_CELL(n) = TRUE
FAST_UL_HO_CELL(n) = FALSE
2. Order Criterion:
PBGT(n)
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
81
Siemens
Parameters for Target Cell Generation Process

The parameters for measurement reporting and target cell generation are
summarized in the table below.
82
Specification
Name
DB Name/
Object
Range
Meaning
CI_NCELL
MCC-MNC-LAC-CI
CELLGLID
/BTS
/TGTBTS
0...999 0...999 1...65535 0...65535
Global cell identifier of the

adjacent cell consisting of mobile
country code, mobile network
code, location area identifier and
cell identity
ARFCN_NCELL
BCCHFREQ
/BTS
/TGTBTS
0...1023
Absolute radio frequency

channel number of the BCCH
frequency of the neighbor cell.
BSIC = NCC + BCC
BSIC
/BTS
/TGTBTS
0...7
0...7
Base station identity code

consisting of national- and base
station-color code. Neighbor cell
measurement are identified using
BSIC and BCCH_FREQ_NCELL
PLMN_
PERMITTED
PLMNP/
BTS
0...255
The MS includes only received

level values of those cells within
the measurement report which
are defined as cells of a
permitted PLMN
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Parameters for Level Handover Margin & Fast Uplink Handover BR6.0
Specification
Name
DB Name/
Object
Range
Meaning
ENABLE_LEVEL_ ELEVHOM/
HO_MARGIN
HAND
TRUE Indicates if the level handover

FALSE margin condition is enabled or
disabled.
LEVEL_HO_
MARGIN
LEVHOM
ADJC
0 ...
126
FAST_UL_HO_
CELL
FULHOC/
ADJC
TRUE Indicates a cell as a predefined

FALSE FULHO target cell. Cells that have
the attribute set to TRUE will be
preferred to cells that have this
attribute set to FALSE
FAST_UL_RXLEV FULRXLVMOFF/ 0...126

_MIN_OFFSET
ADJC
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
-63 dB ... +63 dB [1 dB step]

Threshold to guarantee a handover
to a target cell with a higher level
than the serving cell
[-63 dB ... +63 dB]

Value is used to select a target cell
for FULHO
83
Siemens
Evaluation of Target Cell List

Intracell Handover:
HO Condition Indication message with cause Intracell HO without target cell list is
sent from the BTS to the BSC. BSC selects new channel for the call within the
same BTS.
Intercell Handover:
HO Condition Indication message with cause and target cell list is sent from the
BTS to the BSC. If the first cell within the target cell list is within its BSS area, the
BSC selects a channel at the corresponding BTS. If no channel is available at that
BTS, the next cell within the target cell is tried. If the first target cell (or the ones
tried in further steps) does not belong to the own BSS area, a Handover Required
message is sent to the MSC. This message contains a reduced target cell list
(without the cells tried internally). This is illustrated in the following figure:
84
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Illustration of Target Cell Evaluation
BTS
BSC
Handover
Detection
MSC
yes
HO Cond Ind
- cause
- target cell list
no
Handover
Failure
next cell
available
yes
next cell
external
no
yes
HO Required
- cause
- (reduced) target cell list
HO cause = traffic
& cell load > TRFLTH
yes
no
select
channel
Channel
Activation
yes
channel
available
no
try
next cell
Fig. 22
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
85
Siemens
3.6
Handover signaling and timer

BTS
serving
MS
BSC
serving
BSS
target
MSC
Measurements
Measurements
HO Cond Ind
HO Required
T_HAND_REQ
HO Request
T7
HO Command
HO Command
HO Command
HO Request Ack
T8
HO Cond Ind
HO Required
HO Access
HO Access
HO Detect
T3124
Physical Info
T3105
HO Complete
NY1
Physical Info
HO Failure
Clear Command
HO Complete
Channel Release
Channel Release
messages for successful handover, e.g.

messages at timer expiry, e.g.
HO Required
HO Failure
Fig. 23 Non synchronized handover
86
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Parameter and Timer for Handover Signaling

T_HAND_REQ
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
HAND
THORQST
0...31
2 * SACCH multiframe
Purpose:
minimum time for HANDOVER CONDITION INDICATION

messages for the same connection
Start:
sending of HANDOVER CONDITION INDICATION by BTS
Stop:
HANDOVER COMMAND received

reason for handover has disappeared
communication with MS is lost
transaction has ended, call cleared
Action expiry:
repetition of HANDOVER CONDITION INDICATION
Default:
T7
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BSC
BSCT7
unit * (0...255)
MS100 = 100 msec

HLFSEC = 0.5 sec
SEC5 = 5 sec
Purpose:
minimum time for HANDOVER REQUIRED messages for the

same connection
Start:
sending of HANDOVER REQUIRED by BSC
Stop:
HANDOVER COMMAND received

reason for handover has disappeared
communication with MS is lost
transaction has ended, call cleared
Action expiry:
repetition of HANDOVER REQUIRED
Default:
HLFSEC-4
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
87
Siemens
T8
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BSC
BSCT8
unit * (0...255)
MS100 = 100 msec

HLFSEC = 0.5 sec
SEC5 = 5 sec
Purpose:
keep the old channel sufficient long to be able to return to it, and to
release the channels if the MS is lost
Start:
reception of HANDOVER COMMAND at BSC
Stop:
reception of CLEAR COMMAND from MSC or HANDOVER

FAILURE from MS at BTS
Action expiry:
release of old channels
Default:
HLFSEC-20
T3124 - MS Timer, not adjustable by parameter,
88
Purpose:
detect the lack of answer from the network at handover access.
Start:
sending of first HANDOVER ACCESS by MS
Stop:
reception of PHYSICAL INFORMATION by MS
Action expiry:
deactivation of new channel, reactivation of old channel, send

HANDOVER FAILURE
Default:
675 msec for SDCCH - 320 msec else
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
T3105
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BTS
T3105
unit * (0...255)
MS10 = 10 msec
Purpose:
period for repetition of PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Start:
sending of PHYSICAL INFORMATION by BTS
Stop:
reception of correctly decoded signaling or TCH frame on new

channel from MS at BTS
Action expiry:
repetition of PHYSICAL INFORMATION;

if the maximum number of repetitions has been reached: release
of new channel
Default:
MS10-10
NY1
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BTS
NY1
0...254
NY1 is the maximum number of repetitions of the physical information by the BTS.
Default: 20
HOSYNC
Object
DB Name
Range
Step Size
Unit
BSC
HOSYNC
NONSYNC/SYNC
Purpose: finely synchronized Handover (GSM 04.08)

The finely synchronized handover is restricted to internal BTSE handover. In this
case the MS only sends four HANDOVER ACCESS bursts (continuously in case of
non-synchronized handover). Furthermore no PHYSICAL INFORMATIO is sent.
The synchronized handover improves the speech quality during handover by a
shorter handover procedure at the air interface.
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
89
Siemens
Prevention of Handover Failure Repetition

To prevent handover repetition after consecutive HO failures to the same cell a
Handover Failure Indication message is received from the BSC. A timer is started
and until expiry of the timer the defined cell is excluded from the target cell list for any
kind of handover.
The penalization time is defined by the O&M parameter Timer_Inhibit_Failure_HO,
the number of permitted HO failures is defined by the O&M parameter
Max_Failure_HO. The O&M flag Enable_No_Failure_Rep_HO is used to
enable/disable this feature.
Parameters for Prevention of Handover Failure Repetition
Specification Name
Object
DB Name
Range
Enable_No_Failure_Rep_HO HAND NOFREPHO TRUE/FALSE

Max_Failure_HO
Timer_Inhibit_Failure_HO
90
Step
Size
Unit
HAND MAXFAILHO
1 .. 15
ADJC
1 .. 254
1 sec
TINHFAIHO
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
General Information Flow
BSC
BTS
Cell A
HO Failure (cell B)
HO Failure (cell B)
after MAXFAILHO
consecutive HO
failures on the
same adjacent cells
HO Failure Ind (B)
Cell B is not
included in TCL
for a defined
period time
HO Cond Ind (C, D)
Fig. 24
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MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
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91
Siemens
3.7
AMR-handover
The handover (and power control) decision for AMR calls is in principle the same as
for 'normal' speech calls. The only exception is that for quality based decisions not
the RXQUAL but the C/I is taken.
3.7.1
AMR compression handover
The strategy for (intracell) codec handover (controlled from BSC) is as follows:
1. The AMR HO from HR to FR is always enabled (disregarding the cell load, i.e. if
at least one TCH/F is free, HO is performed even if the percentage of busy
TCH/F exceeds the thresholds HRACTT1/HRACTT2).
2. The AMR HO from FR to HR is only enabled when the percentage of busy TCH
is higher than a predefined threshold (c.f. HRACTT1, HRACTT2).
92
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
BTS
BSC
TRFCT
Check, whether or not traffic load > HRACTT1
If TRUE, AMR compression HO is started in that cell:
SET ATTRIBUTE: "AMR COMPRESSION HO ENABLED"
TRFCT
Check, whether or not traffic load > HRACTT1
If TRUE, AMR compression HO is started in that cell:
SET ATTRIBUTE: "AMR COMPRESSION HO ENABLED"
...
Fig. 25 AMR traffic control
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.
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
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93
Siemens
Parameter
HRACTT1
Object
BTS
Range
Description
0..10000
This parameter is the

threshold that indicates the
percentage of busy TCHs in
case of standard cell or
complete area of a concentric
cell or far area of an extended
cell. If the traffic load in the cell
exceeds the threshold
HRACTT1, the BSC enables
the AMR compression
handover.
Default value: 6000
HRACTT2
BTS
0..10000
Default value: 6000
HOTHAMRCD HAND
L
0 ... 30 (step size 1 dB,

default: 23 dB)
HOTHAMRCU
L
HOTHAMRDD HAND
L
HOTHAMRDU
L
94
This parameter is the

threshold that indicates the
percentage of busy TCHs in
case of inner area of a
concentric cell or near area of
an extended cell. If the traffic
load in the cell exceeds the
threshold HRACTT2, the BSC
enables the AMR compression
handover.
hoThresAMRComprDL
hoThresAMRComprUL
Handover FRHR is triggered
only if both thresholds
HOTHAMRCDL and
HOTHAMRCUL are exceeded.
0 ... 30 (step size 1 dB,

default: 10 dB)
hoThresAMRDecomprDL
hoThresAMRDecomprUL
Handover HRFR is triggered
whenever any of the
thresholds HOTHAMRDDL or
HOTHAMRDUL is exceeded.
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
3.7.2
AMR quality handover
For an AMR call, the quality handover are not based on averaged RXQUAL but on
averaged C/I. The thresholds used for AMR calls (non-AMR calls in brackets) are
1. hoLowerThresQualAMRDL (hoLowerThresholdQualDL) and
2. hoLowerThresQualAMRUL (hoLowerThresholdQualUL).
Parameter
Object
Range
AMRACMRDL
HAND
1 ... 63 (unit
aMRAveragedCMRDL
CMR, default: 5 Size of averaging window for Codec
CMR)
Mode Requests received from MS
during AMR call (for Abis satellited
AMRACMRDL should be set to 63)
HOLTHQAMRDL HAND
HOLTHQAMRUL HAND
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Description
0 ... 30 (step
size 1 dB,
default: 8 dB)
hoLowerThresQualAMRDL
0 ... 30 (step
size 1 dB,
default: 8 dB)
hoLowerThresQualAMRUL
Quality HO for DL is triggered if the DL

quality (C/I) exceeds HOLTHQAMRDL.
For good granularity a minimum
averaging window size of 4 for
averaging C/I is used for AMR calls.
Quality HO for UL is triggered if the UL
quality (C/I) exceeds the value
HOLTHQAMRUL.
95
Siemens
3.8
3.8.1
GSM to UMTS intersystem handover

Basics
This chapter describes the intersystem handover from a serving cell of a GSM
network to a UMTS target neighboring cell of a UMTS network.
HO decisions are always based on measurements of MS/UE and BTS. Therefore the
UMTS neighbor cells have to be added to the database and have be taken into
consideration during the whole order of events of the measurement processing and
the handover decision.
All handover specific evaluations are performed by the GSM base station system
(BSS) and not by the UMTS radio network system (RNS). The BSS informs the
mobiles about UMTS neighboring cells via appropriate system info messages. MultiRAT capability (GSM, UMTS) of mobiles is indicated to the network, as the mobiles
send the class mark information to the BSS.
Calls once established within the GSM system can be handed over to a UMTS
system due to one of the following reasons:
3. Emergency Handover (quality, signal strength, distance, forced)
4. Better cell
5. Sufficient UMTS coverage.
As for circuit-switched GSM services, priorities for their Hierarchical Cell Structure
(HCS) can be defined, with GSM or UMTS as the preferred layer.
96
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
(Source) GSM Cell
(Target) UMTS Cell
Um
Uu
Mobile (MS/UE)
BTS
NodeB
(Circuit Switched) Voice & Data
Abis
Iub
BSC
2G-3G-MSC
(Visited)
RNC
Fig. 26 HO from GERAN to UTRAN
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.
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
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97
Siemens
3.8.2
General
For the handover the mobiles use the UMTS cell information. The hierarchical cell
structure concept of the BSC and BTS is enhanced to include UMTS cells.
The BSS initiates a handover to UMTS according to one of the following reasons:
1. Emergency Handover
2. Better cell
3. Sufficient UMTS coverage.
Handover causes for the emergency handover are triggered by
1. uplink quality
2. downlink quality
3. uplink strength
4. downlink strength
5. distance or
6. forced, which is related to directed retry, O&M intervention, preemption.
Although the link quality within the serving cell may be sufficient, the better cell
handover is triggered if there is available a neighbor cell with a better receive level.
Consequently there is a benefit in terms of overall network performance as a call in a
better cell causes less interference.
The operator can configure, if either the handover due to better cell functionality or
handover due to sufficient UMTS coverage should be applied by the system.
An handover due to sufficient UMTS coverage is triggered by the system as soon as
distinct thresholds (RSCP received signal code power from UMTS, Ec/No quality
related for UMTS cells) have been exceeded regarding to UMTS availability.
The procedure for the intersystem handover of circuit-switched voice and data
services is specified and recommended in 3GPP TS 23.009.
98
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
3.8.3
Siemens
Better cell HO from GSM to UMTS
The main objective of the "Better cell HO" (Power-Budget HO) is to minimize the RF
power needed for communication between the mobile station MS/UE and the network
(base station). Minimizing the RF power reduces the radio interference in the whole
network and increases the battery life of the MS/UE.
The better cell HO decision (power budget HO decision) concerning UMTS neighbor
cells is the same than GSM neighbor cells except an additional adjustment value
which is needed to adapt the UMTS measurement values to the GSM values
because of a difference in measurement method.
Whether or not the conditions for an intercell handover due to power-budget are met
are changed due to the new UMTS neighbor cells.
UMTS neighbor cells are only taken into consideration if the following conditions are
met:
1. MS/UE is UMTS capable
2. Service HO Information Element (in the ASSIGNMENT REQUEST or
HANDOVER REQUEST) is not set to Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 should
not be performed or "Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 shall not be performed
3. HO_from_GSM_to_UMTS is enabled (enableUmtsHO)
4. Better_Cell_HO_to_UMTS is enabled (enable UmtsBetterCellHO)
5. FDD_REP_QUANT == 0 ( 0=RSCP, 1=Ec/No)
6. Flag "ASCI talker" is not set to TRUE
Notes:
1. The GSM system internal Power-Budget HO is not modified!
2. ASCI is a GSM feature and not supported by the UMTS system. Therefore, a
handover from GSM to UMTS shall not be performed for an ASCI talker. I.e. the
ASCI talker shall be kept within the GSM system. The Information about ASCI is
sent from the BSC to the BTS in the IE Channel Options of the Channel
Activation message and of the "Forced HO Request" message. The value of the
flag ASCI talker indicates whether or not the channel is activated for an ASCI
talker. The BTS stores the information and includes it in the HO decision. If the
ASCI-Talker flag is set to TRUE, no HO to UMTS takes place.
3. Handover to cdma2000 is not supported.
4. For: HO "should be" performed:
BTS initiates a "Sufficient UMTS coverage HO" for this MS/UE if the condition of
the "Sufficient UMTS coverage HO" is met.
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
99
Siemens
5. For HO "shall not be" performed:

BTS never performs a handover to UMTS for this MS/UE; i.e. the MS/UE is kept in
the GSM system. The BTS generates a TCL without UMTS target cells.
6. For HO "should not be" performed:
The MS/UE is kept in the GSM system as long as possible.
In order to achieve this:
the BTS only includes UMTS cells in the target cell list (TCL) in case of an
"imperative" handover. I.e., in case of a "Better cell HO", the BTS generates a TCL
without UMTS target cells for this MS/UE. The "Sufficient UMTS Coverage" HO is
disabled by the BTS for this MS/UE.
the sorting of the TCL in case of an "imperative" handover is modified for this
MS/UE because it must be avoided that an UMTS cell is sorted before a GSM cell.
Therefore, GSM and UMTS cells in a "mixed" TCL, i.e. in a TCL which contains
GSM and UMTS cells, are not sorted together according to HCS priority and
PRIO_PBGT. Instead, the UMTS cells and GSM cells are sorted separately. The
GSM cells are sorted relative to other GSM cells according to HCS priority and
PRIO_PBGT (GSM-sublist). The UMTS cells are sorted relative to other UMTS
cells according to HCS priority and PRIO_PBGT (UMTS-sublist). The GSM-sublist
is sorted before the UMTS-sublist to form the complete TCL. This modification of
the TCL sorting ensures, that an UMTS neighbor cell will only be on top of the TCL
if there is no GSM neighbor cell available. Thus, the MS/UE is kept in GSM as long
as possible.
100
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
The "Power-Budget" PBGT condition concerning UMTS neighbor cells, which

compares the serving cell downlink receive level RXLEV_DL and the neighbor cell
received level RXLEV_NCELL, is met under the following circumstance :
PBGT :=
[ Min(MS_TXPWR_MAX(s), P(s)) - RXLEV_DL - PWR_C_D ]

- [ Min(MS_TXPWR_MAX(n), P(s)) - RXLEV_NCELL(n) ]
The main condition that the BTS initiates a "better cell HO" (Power-Budget HO) is:
PRIO_PBGT > 0
PRIO_PBGT := PBGT - HOMARGIN - UMTS_ADJUST
In addition the following minimum condition must be fulfilled:
RXLEV_NCELL(n) > RXLEVMIN(n) + Max (0, Pa)
Pa := (MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) - P(n))
In addition, for HCS the following condition must be fulfilled:
PRIO_NCELL PL
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
101
Siemens
Notes:
1. (s) denotes serving cell, (n) denotes neighbor cell
2. UMTS_ADJUST(n) is a parameter which is introduced for GSM to UMTS
handover and not used for GSM to GSM handover. It is an inter-system
adjustment parameter in order to have the flexibility to adjust the
RXLEV_NCELL(n) of the UMTS neighbor cells (n) to the RXLEV_DL of the GSM
serving cell.
3. For UMTS neighbor cells (n), the UMTS measurement quantity RSCP, which the
MS/UE reports in its Measurement Report, is used for RXLEV_NCELL(n).
4. Not new in the above equations are the following parameters (already in use for
GSM-internal HO):
RXLEV_NCELL(n) is the neighbor cell received level (GSM or UMTS neighbor
cell) measured by the MS/UE.
RXLEV_DL is the GSM serving cell received level (downlink) measured by the
MS/UE.
PWR_C_D is the difference between the maximum downlink RF power permitted
in the GSM serving cell and the actual downlink power due to the BSS power
control.
RXLEVMIN(n) defines the minimum received level which is required to perform a
handover to the neighbor cell (GSM or UMTS neighbor cell).
MS_TXPWR_MAX(s) is the maximum RF TX power an MS/UE is permitted to use
on a traffic channel in the GSM serving cell.
MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) is the maximum RF TX power an MS/UE is permitted to use
in the neighbor cell (GSM or UMTS neighbor cell).
P(s) is the maximum TX power capability of the MS/UE in the GSM serving cell.
'P(n) is the maximum TX power capability of the MS/UE in the neighbor cell (GSM
or UMTS neighbor cell).
HOMARGIN(n) is a threshold which can be used to prevent handover oscillations
between the serving GSM cell and neighbor cells (GSM or UMTS neighbor cell).
PL is the HCS priority value of the GSM serving cell.
PRIO_NCELL is the HCS priority value of the neighbor cell (GSM or UMTS
neighbor cell).
In order to perform the handover, the HCS priority of the neighbor cell must be
equal to or higher than the priority of the GSM serving cell; i.e. the priority value
PRIO_NCELL of the neighbor cell must be equal to or smaller than the priority
value PL of the GSM serving cell.
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3.8.4
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Sufficient UMTS coverage HO from GSM to UMTS
The additional HO cause "Sufficient UMTS coverage HO" is introduced. The main
objective of the GSM to UMTS "Sufficient UMTS coverage HO" is to perform a
handover to the UMTS system as soon as possible, i.e. as soon as the UMTS
measurement quantity (RSCP or Ec/No for FDD cells, RSCP for TDD cells) exceeds
a certain "sufficient" threshold in order to direct as much traffic as possible to areas
which offer "sufficient" UMTS coverage. "Sufficient UMTS coverage HO" has to be
enabled by the operator. Sufficient UMTS Coverage HO has a relatively high priority
(less than emergency HO but higher than power budget HO).
UMTS neighbor cells are only taken in consideration if the following conditions are
met:
1. MS/UE is UMTS capable
2. Service HO Information is not set to Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 should
not be performed or "Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 shall not be performed
3. HO_from_GSM_to_UMTS is enabled (enableUmtsHO)
4. UMTS_Sufficient_Coverage_HO is enabled (enableUmtsSuffCovHO)
5. Flag "ASCI talker" is not set to TRUE
For a "Sufficient UMTS coverage" HO from GSM to UMTS, the BTS compares the
RXLEV_NCELL(n) of the UMTS neighbor cell (n) with a "sufficient" threshold
UMTS_SUFFICIENT(n); the condition that the BTS initiates a "Sufficient UMTS
coverage" HO from GSM to UMTS is:
RXLEV_NCELL(n) > UMTS_SUFFICIENT(n) + Max (0, Pa)
Pa := (MS_TXPWR_MAX(n) - P(n))
The "sufficient" threshold UMTS_SUFFICIENT(n) depends on the UMTS
measurement quantity.
UMTS_SUFFICIENT_RSCP(n) and UMTS_SUFFICIENT_Ec/No(n) are "sufficient"
threshold parameters which are used for GSM to UMTS "Sufficient UMTS coverage"
HO and not used for GSM to GSM handover. They define the "sufficient" threshold
which is required to perform a handover to the neighbor UMTS cell. The kind of
threshold which has to be used depends on the parameter fdd_rep_quant, which
indicates the measurement quantity type.
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3.8.5
Imperative HO from GSM to UMTS
The BTS initiates an imperative handover in the same way as for a GSM internal
handover. Imperative HO is done if the connection run the risk of connection loss
because of bad receive level or distance. The decision basis is the same than in pure
GSM systems because the imperative HO decision depends on the measurement
quantities of the current (active) connection and do not require a comparison with
other cells. This is in contrast to the power budget HO.
The imperative (emergency) HO causes which are currently used for GSM-system
internal handovers are used in the same way for UMTS handover (HO causes:
"uplink quality", "downlink quality", "uplink strength", "downlink strength", "distance").
Imperative HO to UMTS cells is enabled / disabled by the parameter
enableUmtsImperativeHO.
If an imperative HO takes place, the UMTS neighbor cells have to be taken into
account for the target cell list generation.
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3.8.6
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Mobile speed sensitive HO from GSM to UMTS
The idea of the Mobile Speed Sensitive HO is to perform a handover to microcells

only for "slow moving" and not for "fast moving" mobile stations.
Within the current concept of "Mobile Speed Sensitive HO", a timer of duration
HOMDTIME is used to distinguish "fast moving" and "slow moving" mobile stations.
The timer is started when the MS/UE crosses the border of the microcell. If the
MS/UE leaves the cell within HOMDTIME, the MS/UE is considered to be "fast
moving". If the MS/UE is still located within the cell after duration HOMDTIME, the
MS/UE is considered "slow moving".
This "Mobile Speed Sensitive HO" is not modified for GSM-system-internal
handovers. The decision whether a cell border is crossed or not depends on the
PRIO_PBGT as described below. For UMTS cells the additional parameter
UMTS_ADJUST is introduced into PRIO_PBGT.
For Better Cell (Power Budget) GSM to UMTS handovers, concerning UMTS cells,
the term "PRIO_PBGT" is modified by UMTS_ADJUST and is defined:
PRIO_PBGT = PBGT - HOMARGIN - UMTS_ADJUST
For Sufficient UMTS coverage HO, the hoMarginDelayTimer is started when the
above "Sufficient UMTS coverage" condition is met.
The "Sufficient UMTS coverage" HO shall be performed for a "slow moving" MS/UE,
i.e. for a MS/UE for which the "Sufficient UMTS coverage" condition is still met for t
>= HOMDTIME.
The "Sufficient UMTS coverage" HO shall not be performed for a "fast moving"
MS/UE, i.e. for a MS/UE for which the "Sufficient UMTS coverage" condition is
violated before the timer HOMDTIME expires.
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This means:
Within the current concept of "Mobile Speed Sensitive HO", the Power-Budget HO is
penalized for t < HOMDTIME by adding a penalization value HOMSOFF to the
Power-Budget equation and by substituting the HCS cell priority PRIO_NCELL to a
low value PPLNC:
For GSM cells:
PRIO_PBGT = PBGT - (HOMARGIN + HOMSOFF)
PRIO_NCELL is substituted by PPLNC.
For UMTS cells:
PRIO_PBGT = PBGT - (HOMARGIN + HOMSOFF + UMTS_ADJUST)
PRIO_NCELL is substituted by PPLNC.
After timer expiry, i.e. for t >= HOMDTIME, the above Power-Budget penalization is
compensated with HOMDOFF and the HCS cell priority is set back to the original
value PRIO_NCELL (i.e. a handover is possible for the "slow moving" MS/UE):
For GSM cells:
PRIO_PBGT = PBGT - (HOMARGIN + HOMSOFF - HOMDOFF)
HCS cell priority PPLNC is set back to PRIO_NCELL.
For UMTS cells:
PRIO_PBGT = PBGT - (HOMARGIN + HOMSOFF - HOMDOFF + UMTS_ADJUST)
HCS cell priority PPLNC is set back to PRIO_NCELL.
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3.8.7
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Directed retry from GSM to UMTS
During call setup the BSC indicates, that there is a HO necessary and sends a
Forced HO Request message to the BTS.
The Forced HO Request contains the IE Service Handover received from the
ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message and the IE Channel Options. The IE "Service
Handover" specifies whether a handover to UMTS should, should not or shall not be
performed. The IE Channel Options contains information concerning ASCI-Talker.
The BTS answers the Forced HO request if possible (TCL available) with an "Intercell HO Condition Indication" message which contains the Target Cell List (TCL). The
BTS sorts the TCL as for an "Imperative HO" taking into account the setting of the IE
"Service Handover".
It is possible to enable/disable the Directed Retry to UMTS via the parameter
"enableUmtsSdcch". If set to FALSE, the BTS does not include UMTS cells into the
TCL and does not initiate a handover to UMTS for a MS/UE which is on a SDCCH.
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3.8.8
Generation of target cell list
If the BTS has detected that a handover is necessary; i.e. if the conditions for
handover initiation are met, a target cell list TCL is built by the BTS. The TCL
contains the neighbor cells which are handover candidates. The target cell list is part
of the message Handover Condition Indication which will be exchanged from BTS to
BSC.
Apart from the additions/modifications due to GSM to UMTS handover described
below, the BTS shall include GSM neighbor cells into the TCL in the same way as for
a GSM-internal handover.
UMTS target cells will only be taken into consideration if:
7. HO from GSM to UMTS is enabled,
8. the flag ASCI talker is FALSE,
9. the IE Service Handover is not set to "Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 shall
not be performed.
Remarks:
1. If the HO cause is CRL_UMTS_SUFFICIENT the TCL only contains UMTS target
cells.
2. If enableUmtsImperativeHO is true and the HO cause is CRL_DL_LEV,
CRL_UL_LEV, CRL_UL_QUAL, CRL_DL_QUAL, CRL_DIST or FORCED the
UMTS target cells are sorted in the TCL in the same way as GSM target cell lists.
If EC/No is used, UMTS cells are sorted after the GSM cells.
3. If enableUmtsBetterCellHO is true and FDD_REP_QUANT is 0 , the HO cause is
CRL_PBGT, and the UMTS target cells are sorted in the TCL in the same way as
GSM target cell lists.
The sorting of the UMTS-cells in relation to the GSM-cells depends on the
Service Handover Information. If Service Handover is set to:
1. "Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 shall not be performed" no UMTS cell in TCL
2. "Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 should not be performed" in case of
imperative HO the UMTS cells are sorted after the GSM cells. In case of other
HO reasons (e.g. Power Budget) no UMTS cell in the TCL
3. "Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 should be performed" the GSM cells are
sorted after the UMTS-sublist.
4. If Service Handover is not set, a mixed TCL list is generated. This means UMTS
and GSM target cell list are sorted according to their priority and level.
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UMTS cells and GSM cells internally are sorted according to their HCS priority. The
cell with the highest HCS priority is sorted to the top position of the TCL-sublist. If the
HCS priority is the same, GSM cells are sorted in the same way as for a GSMinternal HO.
Detailed description of TCL sorting in dependence of Service HO information:
1. If the IE "Service Handover" is set to "Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 shall
not be performed", the BSC/BTS will not select an UMTS cell; i.e. the MS/UE is
never handed over from GSM to UMTS. The MS/UE is kept within the GSM
system. The BTS generates a TCL without UMTS target cells. The "Sufficient
UMTS Coverage" HO is not possible for this MS/UE.
2. If the IE "Service Handover" is set to "Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000
should not be performed", the MS/UE should be kept in GSM as long as
possible. In order to achieve this, the BTS only includes UMTS cells in the target
cell list (TCL) in case of an "imperative HO". I.e., in case of a "Better cell HO", the
BTS generates a TCL without UMTS target cells for this MS/UE. The "Sufficient
UMTS Coverage" HO is not possible for this MS/UE.
In order to achieve that the MS/UE is kept in GSM as long as possible, the sorting
of the TCL in case of an "imperative HO" must be modified for this MS/UE,
because it must be avoided that an UMTS cell is sorted before a GSM cell.
Therefore, GSM and UMTS cells in a "mixed" TCL, i.e. in a TCL which contains
GSM and UMTS cells, are not sorted together according to HCS priority and
PRIO_PBGT.
Instead, the UMTS cells and GSM cells will be sorted separately; the GSM cells
will be sorted relative to other GSM cells according to HCS priority and
PRIO_PBGT (GSM-sublist). The UMTS cells will be sorted relative to other UMTS
cells according to HCS priority and PRIO_PBGT (UMTS-sublist in case of
FDD_REP_QUANT = 0); and the GSM-sublist will be sorted before the UMTSsublist to form the complete TCL (for FDD_REP_QUANT = 1).
This modification of the TCL sorting ensures, that an UMTS neighbor cell will only
be on top of the TCL if there is no GSM neighbor cell available.
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3. If the IE "Service Handover" is set to "Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000

should be performed", the BSC/BTS should handover the MS/UE from GSM to
UMTS.
The BTS uses the "Sufficient UMTS Coverage" HO in order to support this IE
service handover, i.e. the BTS will initiate a "Sufficient UMTS Coverage" HO for
this MS/UE when the "sufficient threshold" condition of the "Sufficient UMTS
Coverage" HO is met. The BTS initiates a "Sufficient UMTS Coverage" HO for
this MS/UE even if the "Sufficient UMTS Coverage" HO is generally disabled (i.e.
Enable_Sufficient_UMTS_Coverage_HO_to_UMTS is set to FALSE) in order to
allow the handover to UMTS for this MS/UE when the "sufficient threshold"
condition is met.
In order to achieve that the MS/UE is handed over to UMTS as soon as possible
also in case of an "Imperative HO", the sorting of the TCL in case of an
"Imperative HO" must be modified for this MS/UE because it must be avoided that
a GSM cell is sorted before an UMTS cell. Therefore, GSM and UMTS cells in a
"mixed" TCL, i.e. in a TCL which contains GSM and UMTS cells, will not be
sorted together according to HCS priority and PRIO_PBGT.
Instead, the UMTS cells and GSM cells are sorted separately; the GSM cells are
sorted relative to other GSM cells according to HCS priority and PRIO_PBGT
(GSM-sublist); the UMTS cells are sorted relative to other UMTS cells according
to HCS priority and PRIO_PBGT (UMTS-sublist in case of FDD_REP_QUANT =
0); and the GSM-sublist is sorted after the UMTS-sublist to form the complete
TCL (for FDD_REP_QUANT = 1).
This modification of the TCL sorting ensures, that a GSM neighbor cell will only
be on top of the TCL if there is no UMTS neighbor cell available.
4. If the IE "Service Handover" is not set, it is not important whether a MS/UE is
handed over to UMTS or kept GSM. The best cells will be taken. The BTS will
select UMTS and GSM cells. A mixed TCL is sorted according to HCS priority
and PRIO_PBGT.
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Sorting of UMTS and GSM cells which have different HCS priority:
The BTS sorts the UMTS cells and the GSM cells according to their HCS priority. I.e.
cells with a higher HCS priority (= lowest value of PRIO_NCELL) are sorted before
cells with lower HCS priority. The cell with the highest HCS priority is sorted to the
top position of the TCL.
In the following cases, GSM and UMTS cells in a "mixed" TCL, i.e. in a TCL which
contains GSM and UMTS cells, are not sorted together according to HCS priority:
1. In case of GSM to GSM "Better cell" HO
1. If FDD_REP_QUANT = 1: Only the GSM cells are sorted according to HCS
priority. UMTS cells are not included in the TCL.
2. If MS/UE is on SDCCH and Enable_SDCCH_HO_to_UMTS = FALSE: Only GSM
cells are sorted according to HCS priority. UMTS cells are not included in the
TCL for this MS/UE.
3. If ASCI_talker = TRUE: Only GSM cells are sorted according to HCS priority.
UMTS cells are not included in the TCL for this MS/UE.
2. In case of GSM to UMTS "Better cell" HO

1. If FDD_REP_QUANT = 1: The "Better cell HO" from GSM to UMTS is disabled.
2. If MS/UE is on SDCCH and Enable_SDCCH_HO_to_UMTS = FALSE: The
"Better cell HO" from GSM to UMTS is disabled for this MS/UE.
3. If ASCI_talker = TRUE: The "Better cell HO" from GSM to UMTS is disabled for
this MS/UE.
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3. In case of a "Sufficient UMTS coverage" HO:

A TCL, which only contains UMTS cells, is generated and sorted according to HCS
priority.
1. If MS/UE is on SDCCH and Enable_SDCCH_HO_to_UMTS = FALSE: The GSM
to UMTS "Sufficient UMTS coverage HO" is disabled for this MS/UE.
2. If ASCI_talker = TRUE: The GSM to UMTS "Sufficient UMTS coverage HO" is
disabled for this MS/UE.
4. In case of an "imperative" HO
cells are sorted according to HCS priority. UMTS cells are not included in the
TCL for this MS/UE.
2. If ASCI_talker = TRUE: Only GSM cells are sorted according to HCS priority.
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Sorting of UMTS and GSM cells which have same HCS priority:
GSM cells are sorted in the same way as for a GSM-internal HO, i.e. they are sorted
according to the Power-Budget term "PRIO_PBGT". I.e. GSM cells with a higher
"PRIO_PBGT" are sorted before GSM cells with lower "PRIO_PBGT".
For GSM cells, the term "PRIO_PBGT" is defined as:
PRIO_PBGT = PBGT - HOMARGIN
For UMTS cells, the term "PRIO_PBGT" is defined as:
PRIO_PBGT = PBGT - HOMARGIN - UMTS_ADJUST
In the following cases, GSM and UMTS cells in a "mixed" TCLare not sorted together
according to PRIO_PBGT:
1. In case of GSM to GSM "Better cell" HO
1. If FDD_REP_QUANT = 1: In case of a "Better cell" HO from GSM to GSM, a
"mixed" TCL is not sorted according to PRIO_PBGT if FDD_REP_QUANT is set
to 1, because the UMTS FDD measurement quantity Ec/No is not a suitable
parameter for a comparison with the GSM received level (Ec/No is a quality
parameter and not a receive level parameter). Instead, only the GSM cells are
sorted according to PRIO_PBGT. UMTS cells are not included in the TCL.
cells are sorted according to PRIO_PBGT. UMTS cells are not included in the
TCL for this MS/UE.
3. If ASCI_talker = TRUE: Only GSM cells are sorted according to PRIO_PBGT.
2. In case of GSM to UMTS "Better cell" HO

1. If FDD_REP_QUANT = 1: The "Better cell HO" from GSM to UMTS is disabled if
FDD_REP_QUANT = 1 because the UMTS FDD measurement quantity Ec/No is
not a suitable parameter for a comparison with the GSM received level.
2. If MS/UE is on SDCCH and Enable_SDCCH_HO_to_UMTS = FALSE: The
"Better cell HO" from GSM to UMTS is disabled for this MS/UE.
3. If ASCI_talker = TRUE: The "Better cell HO" from GSM to UMTS is disabled for
this MS/UE.
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3. In case of a "Sufficient UMTS coverage" HO:

In case of a "Sufficient UMTS coverage" HO, a "mixed" TCL is not sorted according
to PRIO_PBGT in order to avoid that a GSM cell is sorted before a UMTS cell.
Instead, in case of a "Sufficient UMTS coverage" HO, a TCL which only contains
UMTS cells is generated. If FDD_REP_QUANT = 0, the UMTS cells (FDD and TDD)
are sorted according to RSCP. If FDD_REP_QUANT = 1, the FDD cells are sorted
according to Ec/No and are sorted before the TDD cells (which are sorted according
to RSCP). The main objective of the GSM to UMTS "Sufficient UMTS coverage HO"
is to perform a handover to the UMTS system as soon as possible, i.e. as soon as
the UMTS measurement quantity (RSCP or Ec/No for FDD cells, RSCP for TDD
cells) exceeds a certain "sufficient" threshold in order to direct as much traffic as
possible to areas which offer "sufficient" UMTS coverage.
1. If MS/UE is on SDCCH and Enable_SDCCH_HO_to_UMTS = FALSE: The GSM
to UMTS "Sufficient UMTS coverage HO" is disabled for this MS/UE.
2. If ASCI_talker = TRUE: The GSM to UMTS "Sufficient UMTS coverage HO" is
disabled for this MS/UE.
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4. In case of an "imperative" HO:

1. If FDD_REP_QUANT = 1: An "imperative" HO (imperative HO causes: "uplink
quality", "downlink quality", "uplink strength", "downlink strength", "distance",
"forced") is initiated e.g. because for the GSM serving cell the received level is
too low or the quality is too low or the MS-BTS distance is too large.
In case of an "imperative" HO, a "mixed" TCL is not sorted according to
PRIO_PBGT if FDD_REP_QUANT is set to 1 because the UMTS FDD
measurement quantity Ec/No is not a suitable parameter for a comparison with the
GSM received level. Instead, the UMTS cells and the GSM cells are sorted
separately; only the GSM cells are sorted according to PRIO_PBGT (GSMsublist). The UMTS FDD cells are sorted according to Ec/No and are sorted before
the TDD cells (which are sorted according to RSCP) in order to form the UMTSsublist.
To form the complete TCL, the GSM-sublist is sorted before the UMTS-sublist if
the IE "Service Handover" is set to "Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 should not
be performed" or if this IE is missing at the A-Interface. The GSM-sublist is sorted
after the UMTS-sublist if the IE "Service Handover" is set to "Handover to UTRAN
or cdma2000 should be performed". If the IE "Service Handover" is set to
"Handover to UTRAN or cdma2000 shall not be performed", UMTS cells shall not
be included in the TCL because this MS/UE shall never be handed over to UMTS.
2. If FDD_REP_QUANT = 0 the sorting depends on IE "Service Handover"
cells are sorted according to PRIO_PBGT. UMTS cells are not included in the
TCL for this MS/UE.
4. If ASCI_talker = TRUE: Only GSM cells are sorted according to PRIO_PBGT.
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Short Summary:
If the reason for HO is Power Budget and measurement quantity RSCP is used, the
UMTS cells are sorted in the same way as GSM neighbor cells except the usage of
the UMTS_ADJUST parameter. If measurement quantity Ec/No is used, UMTS target
cells are not allowed.
If the reason for HO is imperative HO and RSCP is used, the UMTS cells are sorted
like in Power Budget HO. The UMTS FDD cells are sorted according to Ec/No and
are sorted before the TDD cells (which are sorted according to RSCP).
If the reason for HO is Sufficient UMTS Coverage the UMTS cells are sorted
according to their measurement quantity. The TCL only contains UMTS target cells. If
FDD_REP_QUANT = 0, the UMTS cells (FDD and TDD) are sorted according to
RSCP. If FDD_REP_QUANT = 1, the FDD cells are sorted according to Ec/No and
are sorted before the TDD cells (which are sorted according to RSCP).
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3.8.9
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Bookkeeping of adjacent cells
The bookkeeping of the adjacent cell list is upgraded to include the UMTS neighbor
cells. The current BTS bookkeeping list contains the averaged MS neighbor cell
measurements of up to 32 neighbor cells.
Since the neighbor cell list of the MS/UE may contain more than 32 neighbor cells,
the current BTS bookkeeping mechanism needs to be adapted in order to handle MS
measurements of more than 32 neighbor cells. In order to avoid an increased BTS
memory consumption, the size of the bookkeeping list is not increased beyond 32
neighbor cells.
Instead, if the bookkeeping list is already filled with 32 neighbor cells and the MS
reports an additional new cell, this new cell replaces another cell already contained in
the bookkeeping list. The cell with the lowest neighbor cell received level average is
replaced by the new cell.
If a neighbor cell is overwritten, no relevant results have been measured in the last
measurement periods.
The different measurement quantities RSCP and Ec/No are registered in the
bookkeeping list equally. (The parameter fdd_rep_quant indicates, whether the
reporting quantity is RSCP or Ec/No.)
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3.8.10
Message flow
The BSS initiates a handover to UMTS by including the UMTS target cells in the
Handover Required message.
The 3G-MSC performs the UMTS service mapping (for speech and data) and
transcoder mapping as well as the GSM to UMTS cipher key conversion. The 3GMSC generates and sends the Iu relocation request message to the UMTS radio
network system (RNS).
After having receipt the Iu-Relocation-Request-Ack message, the 3G-MSC sends
the handover command to the BSS, which sends the RI-HO-Command message
(Radio Interface to UTRAN handover command) to the UE/MS. Now the UE/MS is
instructed to tune to a new radio resource.
After the UE/MS has performed the radio access to the UMTS cell, the RNS sends
the Iu relocation detect message to the 3G-MSC. As soon as the UE/MS has
completed the handover and is successfully communicating with the target RNS, it
will send the radio resource control handover complete message to the target RNS.
The target RNS sends the Iu relocation complete message to the 3G-MSC. Then
the 3G-MSC sends the clear command message to the source BSS, which starts
releasing resources because they are no longer in use. After this, the source BSS
returns the clear complete message to the 3G-MSC, and the execution of the
handover is completed.
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UE/MS
UE
3G MSC
BSS-A
RNS
Handover-Required
Iu-Relocation-Request
Iu-Relocation-Request-Ack
Handover-Command
RI-HO-Command
Iu-Relocation-Detect
RRC-HO-Complete
Iu-Relocation-Complete
Clear-Command
Clear-Complete
Fig. 27 The message flow of a GSM to UMTS handover
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MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
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119
Siemens
3.8.11
Database parameters
The parameters for the handover from GSM to UMTS are located in the following
objects:
1. BTS
2. BSC
3. HAND
4. ADJC3G (Adjacent Cell 3G)
5. TGTFDD (Target Cell FDD)
6. TGTTDD (Target Cell TDD)
120
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Name
Range (Default)
Object
Description
EUHO
TRUE, FALSE (def.)
HAND
Main switch for GSM to UMTS

HOs
EUBCHO
TRUE, FALSE (def.),

NULL
HAND
Enable Better Cell HO from GSM

to UMTS (cannot be TRUE if
FDDREPQTY=1)
EUSCHO
TRUE, FALSE (def.)
HAND
Enable Sufficient UMTS

Coverage HO
EUIMPHO
TRUE, FALSE (def.)
HAND
Enable Imperative HO from GSM

to UMTS (risk for call drop: no
comparison with other cells no
change with UMTS neighbor
cells)
EUSDCHO
TRUE, FALSE (def.),

NULL
BSC
Enable Directed Retry from GSM

to UMTS
UADJ
0 (-63 dB) ..63 (0 dB, ADJC3G

default) .. 126 (63 dB)
For Better Cell HO: adjustment of

level for UMTS cell to level of
GSM serving cell (63 def.)
USRCP
0 (RSCP < -115 dBm) ADJC3G

.. 63 (>=53 dBm);
Threshold required for sufficient

UMTS cell coverage (FDD:
FDDREPQTY=0 required)
USECNO
0 (Ec/N0 < 24 dB) ..

49 (Ec/N0 >= 0 dB)
ADJC3G
Threshold required for sufficient

UMTS cell coverage (FDD:
FDDREPQTY=1; 23 def.)
UMECNO
0 (Ec/N0 < 24 dB) ..

49 (Ec/N0 >= 0 dB)
ADJC3G
Min. Level required to include a

UMTS cell in target cell list for
imp. HO (FDDREPQTY=1 req;
19 def.)
BTS
Reporting quantity for UTRAN

FDD cells
FDDREPQTY 0 (RSCP, def.), 1

(Ec/N0)
Parameters in HAND, BSC, ADJC3G and BTS object
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
121
Siemens
Name
Range (Default)
Object
Description
CELLGLID
MCCMNCLAC-CI
TGTFDD
Cell Global ID
RNCID
0 .. 4095
TGTFDD
RNC identifier
FDDARFCN
412 .. 10838
TGTFDD

carrier no. (FDD)
FDDSCRMC
0 .. 511
TGTFDD
Primary scrambling code
FDDDIV
Diversity (1),
No_Diversity (0)
TGTFDD
Indicates if diversity is used (or

not) in FDD cell
Parameters in TGTFDD object
Name
Range (Default)
Object
Description
CELLGLID
MCCMNCLAC-CI
TGTTDD
Cell Global ID
RNCID
0 .. 4095
TGTTDD
RNC identifier
BNDWIDTDD
0 (HCR), 1 (LCR);
TGTTDD
Bandwidth TDD cell
TDDARFCN
9262 .. 10113
TGTTDD

carrier no. (TDD)
TDDCPAR
0 .. 127
TGTTDD
TDD cell parameter
TDDSYNCCAS SYNC1, SYNC2
TGTTDD
Synchronization case for TDD

cell
TDDDIV
TGTTDD
Indicates if diversity is used (or

not) in TDD cell
Diversity (1),
No_Diversity (0)
Parameters in TGTTDD object
122
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Name
Range (Default)
Object
Description
QSRHC
0 (< -98 dB), 1 (<-94

dB) .. 7 (always) .. 14
(>-54 dB), 15 (never,
def.)
BTS
Threshold which enables the

search for 3G cells for HO
measurements on other
RATs
QSRHCINI
QSEARCHI (0, def.),

Always (1)
BTS
Qsearch values which is

used before QsearchC is
received
FDDMURREP,
TDDMURREP
0 .. 3
BTS
Number of FDD / TDD cells

to be included in the
measurement report
BTS
Offset applied to level of

FDD / TDD serving cell (def.
8 0 dB)
MSTXPMAXUM 0 (- infinity), 1 (- 28
TS
dB), 2 (- 24 dB) .. 15
(28 dB)
Parameters in BTS object
Name
Range (Default)
Object
Description
TGTCELL
pathname
ADJC3G
This attribute indicates the

adjacent cell, namely the
BTS object if it belongs to
the same BSC (TGTCELL =
BTSM:#/BTS:#) or the
TGTBTS if it belongs to
another BSC (TGTCELL =
TGTBTS:#), or the TGTFDD
if it is a UMTS one.
ADJC3G
Priority layer of the adjacent

cell
(i.e. OBJ1:2/OBJ2:1/
OBJ3:5)
PLNC
0 .. 15
Parameters in ADJC3G object
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
123
Siemens
Name
Range (Default)
Object
Description
RXLEVMINC
0: RSCP < - 115 dBm
ADJC3G
This parameter determines

the minimum received signal
level the adjacent UMTS cell
must provide to be regarded
as suitable target cell for
handover.
1: - 115 dBm <= RSCP

< - 114 dBm
... ...
62: - 54 dBm <= RSCP
< - 53 dBm
63: - 53 dBm <= RSCP
TINHFAIHO
1 .. 254 (seconds)
ADJC3G
The BTS timer is started

when MAXFAILHO has
been reached. While the
timer is running, the
corresponding cell is
excluded from the target cell
list.
MICROCELL
TRUE, FALSE (def.)
ADJ3G
To enable Mobile Speed

Sensitive Handover
HOM
0 (- 63 dB), 1 (-62 dB)

.. 69 (6 dB, def.) .. 126
(+63 dB)
ADJ3G
Threshold to prevent
repetitive HO if caused by
RX level or power budget
HOMDTIME
0 (def.) .. 255 (SACCH ADJ3G

multiframes)
This parameter is relevant

for speed sensitive
handover; it specifies the
time an immediate handover
request is delayed when a
power budget handover is
requested.
HOMSOFF
0 (def.) .. 127 (in dB)
ADJ3G
Static offset for HO margin

(during run-time of
HOMDTIME)
PPLNC
0 (def.) .. 15
ADJ3G
Temporary penalty priority

layer of the adjacent UMTS
cell
HOMDOFF
0 (def.) .. 127 (dB)
ADJ3G
Dynamic offset for reduction

of HO margin after
HOMDTIME has expired
Parameters in ADJC3G object
124
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
125
Siemens
3.9
Service dependent handover management
The feature Service dependent Handover Management distinguishes fourteen

service groups. This concerns Circuit-Switched services (CS) on Half Rate (HR), Full
Rate (FR), Enhanced Full Rate (EFR), Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR), Advanced Speech
Call Items (ASCI), Voice Broadcast Services (VBS), Voice Group Call Services
(VGCS), and High Speed Circuit-Switched Data services (HSCSD).
For each service group relevant threshold parameters for power control can be
defined individually.
The different service groups are summarized in the table below:
Service Group
Description
SG-1
Signaling on hopping channel
SG-2
Signaling on non-hopping channel
SG-3
CS speech (FR, EFR, ASCI VBS, ASCI VGCS) on hopping

channel
SG-4
CS speech (FR, EFR, ASCI VBS, ASCI VGCS) on non-hopping

channel
SG-5
CS speech (HR) on hopping channel
SG-6
CS speech (HR) on non-hopping channel
SG-7
CS data up to 9,6kbit/s or HSCSD 9,6kbit/s on hopping channel
SG-8
CS data up to 9,6kbit/s or HSCSD 9,6kbit/s on non-hopping

channel
SG-9
CS data up to 14,4kbit/s or HSCSD 14,4kbit/s on hopping

channel
SG-10
CS data up to 14,4kbit/s or HSCSD 14,4kbit/s on non-hopping

channel
SG-11
CS speech (AMR-FR) on hopping channel
SG-12
CS speech (AMR-FR) on non-hopping channel
SG-13
CS speech (AMR-HR) on hopping channel
SG-14
CS speech (AMR-HR) on non-hopping channel
If parameters are set for a specific service group, the system will use those values for
the handover algorithm, otherwise the global parameter settings are used.
126
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Settings for
Service groups activated
in the BSC area
HAND object
General settings for
BSC area for all SGs that
are not activated
HAND parameters for SG1:

HOLTHLVDL
HOLTHQUDL

HAND parameters:
INTERCH
INTRACH
HOLTHLVDL
HOLTHQUDL
SG1PCPAR
SG2PCPAR
SG14PCPAR
HAND parameters for SG14:

HOLTHLVDL
HOLTHQUDL

Fig. 28 Principle of service dependent handover management
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MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
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127
Siemens
128
MN1789EU10MN_0002
2004 Siemens AG
Siemens
Exercises
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Exercise 1
Title:
Cell Reselection
Task
Consider a static (not moving) MS GSM phase 1 of power class 3 camping on cell 1
in idle mode.
The MS monitors the BCCH of cell 1 and cell 2 and measures the following levels:
AV_RXLEV = 26 in cell 1
AV_RXLEV = 20 in cell 2
The following parameters are set:
Cell 1:
MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH = 39 dBm
RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN = 20
CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS = 4dB
Cell 2:
MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH = 33 dBm
RXLEV_ACCESS_MIN = 14
Does the MS perform a cell reselection

1. if cell 1 and cell 2 belong to one location area
2. if cell 1 and cell 2 belong to different location areas
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Exercise 2
Title:
Handover Decision
Task
Consider of output power P = 39 dBm in connected mode served by cell 1. In cell 1
the following handover parameter are valid (consider only the downlink in the
following):
A_QUAL_HO
=7
L_RXQUAL_DL_H
=5
A_LEV_HO
=7
L_RXLEV_DL_H
= 10
A_PBGT_HO
=8
L_RXLEV_DL_IH
= 13
W_QUAL_HO
=3
W_LEV_HO
=3
MS_TXPWR_MAX
= 39
Furthermore, cell 1 has the following adjacent cells:

Parameters for Adjacent Cells.
adjacent cell parameter
cell 2
cell 3
ARFCN_NCELL
35
13
BSIC
00
00
MS_TXPWR_MAX
37
39
RXLEV_MIN
16
16
HO_MARGIN
6 dB
The measurement reports for the last 8 SACCH frames have contained the following
values:
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Measurement Values: F: FULL, S: SUB.

SACCH frame
RXQUAL_SERV
3S
4S
4F
4F
6F
4S
5S
7F
RXLEV_SERV
21 S
16 S
15 F
16 F
12 F
16 S
14 S
10 F
BCCH_FREQ_NC
ELL/ BSIC
0/
00
0/
00
0/
00
0/
00
0/
00
0/
00
0/
00
0/
00
RXLEV_NCELL
14
15
16
17
17
18
19
20
BCCH_FREQ_NC
ELL/ BSIC
1/
00
1/
00
1/
00
1/
00
1/
00
1/
00
1/
00
1/
00
RXLEV_NCELL
15
16
17
18
18
19
20
21
Due to DL power control the BTS transmit power level is reduced by the following
values:
PWR_C_D
1. Which cell corresponds to BCCH_FREQ_NCELL = 0?

2. What are average values for
RXLEV_DL
RXQUAL_DL
PBGT ( cell 2), PBGT ( cell 3)?
3. Is cell 2 included within the target cell list for a handover?
4. Which value for HO_MARGIN (cell 1 cell 3) is required to allow a better cell
handover to cell 3?
5. Assume that a better cell handover to cell 3 occurs. Some seconds after the
handover the received level form cell1 has increased by 6 dB, while the received
level from the new serving cell 3 remains constant. To which HO_MARGIN (cell 3
cell 1) has to be set to prevent a back-handover to cell?
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Solutions
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Solution 1
Title:
Cell Reselection
Task
For a phase 1 MS the following conditions for cell reselection have to be fulfilled:
for
1. own location area
C1 (cell 2) > C1 (cell 1),
for
2. different location areas
C1 (cell 2) > C1 (cell 1) + CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS.
The C1 value is given by
C1 = AV_RXLEV - ACCESS_MIN - Max (0, MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - P)
i.e. for this scenario one has (power class 3 = 37 dBm):
C1 (cell 1) = 26 - 20 - Max (0, 39-37) = 4
C1 (cell 2) = 20 - 14 - Max (0, 33-37) = 6
If cell 1 and cell 2 belong to the same location area, cell reselection takes place. If
they belong to different location areas and if CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS > 2
dB, no cell reselection takes place.
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Solution 2
Title:
Handover Decision
Task
1. The cell with BCCH_FREQ_NCELL = 0 is the lowest ARFCN of the bcch
frequencies (among the neighbor cells of cell 1), i.e. cell 3.
2. The averaging windows for RXLEV and RXQUAL of the serving cell contain 7
values. Since the weight for full values is three, the value of frame 8 is taken with
multiplicity 3; frame 7 and 6 is taken with multiplicity 1. The remaining 2 values
for the averaging window are take from the full value of frame 5. Therefore one
has:
AV_RXQUAL = 1/7 * (3 * 7 + 5 + 4 + 2 * 6) = 6
AV_RXLEV = 1/7 * (3 * 10 + 14 + 16 + 2 * 12) = 12
For calculation of the power budget the values of SACCH frame 1...8 are
averaged without taking into account multiplicities. The power budget is given by
the following formula:
PBGT(n) = RXLEV_NCELL(n) - (RXLEV_DL + PWR_C_D)
+ Min(MS_TXPWR_MAX, P) - Min(MS_TXPWR_MAX(n), P)
For the average values one has:
Min (MS_TXPWR_MAX, P) - Min (MS_TXPWR_MAX (cell 2), P) = 2
Min (MS_TXPWR_MAX, P) - Min (MS_TXPWR_MAX (cell 3), P) = 0
RXLEV_DL + PWR_C_D = 15 + 6 = 21
RXLEV_NCELL (cell 2) = 18
RXLEV_NCELL (cell 3) = 17
=>
PBGT (cell 2) = 18 - 21 + 2 = - 1
PBGT (cell 3) = 17 - 21 + 0 = - 4
3. Although one has AV_RXQUAL > L_RXQUAL_DL_H no quality handover is
initiated:
no intracell handover since AV_RXLEV < L_RXLEV_DL_IH
no intercell handover since the BTS transmit power is not at its maximum.
Furthermore, no level handover is initiated.
Since for a power budget handover the target cell list only contains cells with
PBGT (n) > HO_MARGIN(n) - which is not fulfilled by cell 2 - cell 2 is not included
in the target cell list.
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4. To allow a better cell handover to cell 3, the HO_MARGIN (cell1 cell 3) has to
be set to - 5 or a lower value.
5. PBGT (cell 3 cell 1) = - PBGT (cell 1 cell 3) + 6 dB improvement of cell1 =
10 dB hence to prevent a power budget handover from cell 3 to cell1,
HO_MARGIN (cell 1 cell 3) has to be set to 10 dB or higher.
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03 Mn1789eu10mn 0002 Design Radio Cells

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03 Mn1789eu10mn 0002 Design Radio Cells

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Design of radio cells

Design of radio cells

Design of radio cells

Design of radio cells

Design of radio cells

Design of radio cells

In textbooks on cellular mobile communications radio cells are idealized by regular

and on the other hand

another one on the basis of link quality measurements.

and are described in detail in the following sections.

Design of radio cells

Design of radio cells

Design of radio cells

As mentioned above, the cell selection/reselection algorithm is implemented in the

Normal Cell Selection:

Design of radio cells

Criteria for Cell Selection

Design of radio cells

Definition: a Suitable Cell is defined as a cell which

normal priority cell

low priority cell

Cell Selection with Stored BCCH Information

Design of radio cells

measure all carriers

sort by received level

suitable low priority

try only normal priority

Fig. 1 Cell selection (no BCCH info stored)

Design of radio cells

downlink signaling failure counter DSC is initialized: DSC0 = round (90 /

DSCt+1 = DSCt + 1 but if DSCt = DSC0 DSCt+1 = DSC0

DSC < 0 => downlink signaling failure;

channel) as well as from the neighbor cells;

Design of radio cells

Cell Reselection Criterion C2 for MS of Phase 2:

for PENALTY_TIME = 31 and arbitrary T)

for T < PENALTY_TIME < 31

The C2 criterion is illustrated in the figure below.

Cell included in the

Fig. 2 Illustration of the C2 criterion

Design of radio cells

A negative TEMPORARY_OFFSET reduces the priority of a cell in the list of

5. A random access attempt is unsuccessful even after the maximum number of

Design of radio cells

low power class MS

Fig. 3 Illustration of cell selection/reselection

Design of radio cells

Parameters for Cell Selection/Reselection

BTS / TGTBTS BCCHFREQ

In each cell the absolute radio frequency number BCCH_ARFCN_NC(n) (coding as

SYS_ID - System Identifier

BB900, DCS1800, F2ONLY900,

Indicates the frequency band to be used by the BCCH channel.

Standard GSM band:

DCS 1800 band:

GSM extended band:

GSM mixed band

GSM railway band

PCS 1900 band

Dual Band cell

Design of radio cells

CELL_BAR_ACCESS - Cell Barred for Access

Design of radio cells

MS_TXPWR_MAX_CCH - Maximum allowed MS Transmit Power on Random