Drive Test Questions, Answers,

Parameter Values and Concepts

Question: What is 1G?
Answer: 1G is analog technology and during 1G wireless phones are used for voice only (1970 to 1980)
Question: What is 2G?
Answer: Digital Narrow band circuit data (2nd Generation). During 2G Celia phones are used for data also
along with voice (1990 to 2000)
Question: What is 2.5G?
Answer: Packet data (2001 to 2004), in 2.5G internet becomes popular and phones start supporting web
browsing through limited data.
Question: What is 3G?
Answer: 3rd Generation, Digital broadband packet data (2004 to 2005). 3G has multimedia services
support along with streaming are more popular in 3G and supported video Call + MMS services.
Question: What is LTE?
Answer: Long term Evolution LTE, marketed as 4G LTE, is a standard
for wireless communication of highspeed data for mobile phones and data terminals.
It is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, increasing the
capacity and speed using a different radio interface together with core network
improvements. The standard is developed by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project).
LTE, Long Term Evolution, the successor to UMTS and HSPA is now being deployed and
is the way forwards for high speed cellular services. In its first forms it is a 3G or as some would
call it a 3.99G technology, but with further additions the technology can be migrated to a full 4G
standard and here it is known as LTE Advanced.

Question: What is 4G?

Answer: 4th Generation mobile ultra-broadband Internet access,it has two types, Mobile
WiMAX and Long Term Evolution (LTE).
Question: What is 5G?
Answer: Not yet soon probably in 2020, currently there is no 5G technology deployed but when this
become available it will provide very high speed to the consumes.

Question: What is the throughput of different networks?

Answer:
The throughput of different networks are given below
GSM data (2G) = 6 to 9 kbps
GPRS data (2.5G) = up to 50 kbps
EDGE data (2.75G) = up to 150 kbps
UMTS data (3G) = up to 384 kbps
HSPA data (3.5G) = HSDPA 14 Mbps, HSUPA 5.7 Mbps
4G (IMT-Advanced) = Download 100 Mbps and Upload 50 Mbps
Question: Explain the Flow chart of wireless system configuration?
Answer: GSM: MS BTS BSC MSC
WCDMA:UE NODE B RNC CN
Question: Define Handover?
Answer: In cellular telecommunications, the term handover or handoff refers to the process of
transferring an ongoing call or data session from one channel connected to the core network to another.
Question: What is soft handover?
 Answer: Soft handover occurs between sectors of the different sites
Question: What is softer handover?
Answer: Softer handover occurs between sectors of same site.
Question: What is hard handover?
Answer: The definition of hard handover or hand off the one where an existing connection must be
broken before the established new connection. For this reason, such handover are also known as “break
before make.”
Question: What is inter and intra handover?
Answer: Handover between the cells of same site is called intra handover, and the handover between the
cells of different site is called inter handover.
Question: What is inter-RAT handover?
Answer: When UE reaches end of coverage area of UMTS (3G) services, it can handover to a 2G service
like GSM (if the UE supports multiple RAT i.e smart phones)

Question: Explain the Causes of Handover Failure.

Answer:
1. Missing Neighbour or neighbor not defined
2. Parameter for the handover are not good
3. Interference.
Question: Explain and define the ranges of the following parameters GSM: Rxlev, RxQual and
WCDMA: RSCP, Ec/io.
Answer
 GSM :RxLev: Received signal level:
-70dbm to -20 dbm good,
-70 dbm to -80 dbm normal,
-80dbm to -90 dbm acceptable,
Below -90 dbm bad
 RXQUAL: Received Signal Quality
0 to 4 Good
4 to 6 Normal
Up 6 Bad
 WCDMA: RSCP: Received Signal Code power:
- RSCP (Received Signal Code Power): received power on one code measured on the pilot bits of the
primary CPICH. The reference point for the RSCP is the antenna connector at the mobile station.
-70dbm to -20 dbm good,
-70 dbm to -80 dbm normal,
-80dbm to -90 dbm acceptable,
Below -90 dbm bad
 Ec/Io: (Ec/No, Eb/No)Energy of chip/ Interference of other cell
- CPICH Ec/No: The received energy per chip divided by the power density in the band. The Ec/No is
identical to RSCP/RSSI. Measurement shall be performed on the primary CPICH. The reference point
for Ec/No is the antenna connector at the mobile station.
0 to -6 Good
-6 to -10 Normal
-10 to -12 Acceptable
Below -12 Bad

Question: Introduce the testing for new site

Answer:
1. On Air or not
2. Sector swap or not
3. Site coverage: Inter handover; Intra Handover
4. GPRS, HSDPA HSUPA testing
5. Video Call testing 3G,
6. sms, mms testing.
Question: How to estimate the antenna /feeder Cross during testing?
Answer: When During test at target cell the service line connects to other cell then it is called sector
swap.When we are standing in front of sector A we will find the Rx level of Sector B, it means that it’s a
sector swap between Sector A and Sector B
Question: Explain the Causes of Call Drop
Answer:
1. Poor Coverage: Coverage hole, Dead zone, Isolated Island, Uplink/Downlink unbalance. Coverage,
Overshooting, Signal Attenuation.
2. Interference: Internal Interference, External interference and the Equipment interference Strong
Downlink/ Up link interference.
Question: Introduce the Softwares Which are used in Drive Testing and Post Processing/analyzing.
Answer:
1. TEMS Investigation All versions, TEMS Discovery.
2. Nemo Out Door All versions, Nemo Analyzer
3. Genex Probe, Genex Probe Assistant, Actix Analyzer
4. Map info Professional, Google Earth, Sas Planet
Question:What is C/I and C/A?
Answer: C/I: Carrier-to-interference is the ratio between the signal strength of the current serving cell
and the signal strength of undesired (interfering) signal components. C/A: Carrier-to-adjacent ratio is
defined as the signal-strength ratio between a serving carrier and an adjacent carrier.
Question: What is CCI?
Answer: Co-channel interference or CCI is crosstalk from two different radio transmitters using the
same frequency.

Question: What is SQI?

Answer: Speech Quality Index: SQI Speech Quality Index is a performance metric for voice quality in
GSM and is between 0 and 30.
What is CQI?
Answer: Channel Quality indicator: CQI is the key indicator for HSDPA downlink channel
quality. Channel quality indicators are messages that are sent on a communication system (such as a
mobile communication system) that provide the remote connection (e.g. base station) with channel quality
information. Channel quality information may include carrier level received signal strength indication
(RSSI) and bit error rate (BER).
Question: What is BSIC? Why do we need it?
Answer: Base Station Identity Code is a truncated form of cell identity used on the synchronization
channel in the GSM cellular networks. The BSIC is a 6 bit code, composed of 3-bit Network Color Code
(NCC) and a 3-bit Base Station Color Code (BCC).
Question: What is KPI?
Answer: Key performance indicators.
Question: What is PCI?
Answer: Physical Cell Identity.
Question: What is e-Node-B?
Answer: E-UTRAN Node B, also known as Evolved Node B, (abbreviated as eNodeB or eNB)
is the element in E-UTRA(evolved UMTS(Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Terrestrial Radio
 Access) of LTE that is the evolution of the element Node B in UTRA of UMTS. It is the hardware
that is connected to the mobile phone network that communicates directly with mobile handsets
(UEs), like a base transceiver station (BTS) in GSM networks.
Traditionally, a Node B has minimum functionality, and is controlled by an RNC (Radio
Network Controller). However, with an eNB, there is no separate controller element. This
simplifies the architecture and allows lower response times.
Question: What is AMR?
Answer: Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) is the new speech codec for GSM and UMTS. There are two
different versions of AMR. The basic version, also called AMR-Narrowband (AMR-NB), which is mainly
intended for use by GSM and AMR-Wideband (AMR-WB), which is mainly intended for use by UMTS.
Wideband AMR uses a speech bandwidth of 50 - 7000 Hz, whereas the bandwidth of narrowband AMR is
300 - 3400 Hz. This gives wideband AMR a more natural speech quality.

Question: What is Cell Reselection?

Answer: The cell reselection can be controlled either autonomously by the mobile or by the network. It is
based on measurements performed by the mobile. The network can order that these measurements be
reported periodically.
Question: Define Channel in telecom?
Answer: In telecommunications a communication channel, or channel, refers either to a
physical transmission medium such as a wire, or to a logical connection over a multiplexed medium such
as a radio channel. A channel is used to convey an information signal, for example a digital bit stream,
from one or several senders (or transmitters) to one or several receivers. A channel has a certain capacity
for transmitting information, often measured by its bandwidth in Hz or its data rate in bits per second.
Question: Define control channel and its types?
Answer: In radio communication, a control channel is a central channel that controls other constituent
radios by handling data streams. It is most often used in the context of a trunked radio system, where the
control channel sends data which coordinates users in talkgroups.

In GSM networks, Control Channels can be broadly divided into 3 categories; Broadcast Control Channel
(BCCH), Common Control Channel (CCCH), and Dedicated Control Channels (DCCH).
Question: What is BCCH?
Answer: The Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH) is transmitted by the BTS at all times. The RF carrier
used to transmit the BCCH is referred to as the BCCH carrier. The MS monitors the information carried on
the BCCH periodically (at least every 30 secs), when it is switched on and not in a call.

The BCCH Consists of:

a. Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH): Carries the following information:

1. Location Area Identity (LAI).

2. List of neighboring cells that should be monitored by the MS.
3. List of frequencies used in the cell.
4. Cell identity.
5. Power control indicator.
6. DTX permitted.
7. Access control (i.e., emergency calls, call barring ... etc.).
8. CBCH description.
The BCCH is transmitted at constant power at all times, and all MS that may seek to use it to measure its
signal strength. “Dummy” bursts are transmitted to ensure continuity when there is no BCCH carrier
traffic.

b. Frequency Correction Channel (FCCH): This is transmitted frequently on the BCCH timeslot and allows
the mobile to synchronize its own frequency to that of the transmitting base site. The FCCH may only be
sent during timeslot 0 on the BCCH carrier frequency and therefore it acts as a flag to the mobile to
identify Timeslot 0.

c. Synchronization Channel (SCH) The SCH carries the information to enable the MS to synchronize to
the TDMA frame structure and know the timing of the individual timeslots. The following parameters are
sent:

1. Frame number.

2. Base Site Identity Code (BSIC).

The MS will monitor BCCH information from surrounding cells and store the information from the best six
cells. The SCH information on these cells is also stored so that the MS may quickly resynchronize when it
enters a new cell.
Question: What is CCCH?
Answer: The Common Control Channel (CCCH) is responsible for transferring control information
between all mobiles and the BTS. This is necessary for the implementation of “call origination” and “call
paging” functions. It consists of the following:

a. Random Access Channel (RACH) Used by the mobile when it requires gaining access to the system.
This occurs when the mobile initiates a call or responds to a page.

b. Paging Channel (PCH) Used by the BTS to page MS, (paging can be performed by an IMSI, TMSI or
IMEI).

c. Access Grant Control Channel (AGCH) Used by the BTS to assign a dedicated control channel to a MS
in response to an access message received on the Random Access Channel. The MS will move to the
dedicated channel in order to proceed with either a call setup, response to a paging message, Location
Area Update or Short Message Service.

d. Cell Broadcast Channel (CBCH) This channel is used to transmit messages to be broadcast to all MS’s
within a cell. The CBCH uses a dedicated control channel to send its messages, however it is considered
a common channel because all mobiles in the cell can receive the messages.

Active MS’s must frequently monitor both BCCH and CCCH. The CCCH will be transmitted on the RF
carrier with the BCCH.
Question: What is DCCH?
Answer: The DCCH is a single timeslot on an RF carrier that is used to convey eight Stand-alone
Dedicated Control Channels (SDCCH). A single MS for call setup, authentication, location updating and
SMS point to point use a SDCCH. As we will see later, SDCCH can also be found on a BCCH/CCCH
timeslot, this configuration only allows four SDCCHs.
a. Associated Control Channels (ACCH) These channels can be associated with either an SDCCH or a
TCH. They are used for carrying information associated with the process being carried out on either the
SDCCH or the TCH.

b. Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH) Conveys power control and timing information in the
downlink direction (towards the MS) and Receive Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), and link quality reports
in the uplink direction.

c. Fast Associated Control Channel (FACCH) The FACCH is transmitted instead of a TCH. The FACCH
‘‘steals” the TCH burst and inserts its own information. The FACCH is used to carry out user
authentication, handovers and immediate assignment.

All of the control channels are required for system operation, however, in the same way that we allow
different users to share the radio channel by using different timeslots to carry the conversation data, the
control channels share timeslots on the radio channel at different times. This allows efficient passing of
control information without wasting capacity that could be used for call traffic. To do this we must organize
the timeslots between those, which will be used for traffic, and those, which will carry control signaling.
Question: What is Modulation?
Answer: In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more
properties of a periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with a modulating signal which typically
contains information to be transmitted.
What is a modem?
Answer: A device that performs modulation is known as a modulator and a device that performs the
inverse operation of modulation is known as a demodulator(sometimes detector or demod). A device that
can do both operations is a called modem (from "modulator–demodulator").
Question: What is a CPE?
Answer: Customer-premises equipment or customer-provided equipment (CPE) is any terminal and
associated equipment located at a subscriber's premises and connected with
a carrier's telecommunication channel.
Question: What types of modulation schemes are used in LTE?
Answer: LTE devices use several modulation techniques to modulate data and control information.
These modulation techniques include: QPSK (2 bits per symbol), 16QAM (4 bits per symbol), and
64QAM (6 bits per symbol). All of these modulation techniques are supported in the downlink direction;
and all but 64QAM, which is optional, are supported in the uplink direction…
A modulation technique is selected based on the measured signal to interference plus noise ratio
(SINR). Each modulation scheme has a threshold SINR. Subscribers located farther from the eNodeB (i.e.
with lower SINR values) use a more robust modulation scheme (lower throughput), while subscribers
closer to the eNodeB (i.e. with higher SINR values) can use less robust modulation schemes (higher
throughput)
Both the eNodeB and the UE measure signal quality using the Reference Signals. The Reference
Signals carry a known (pseudo-noise) bit pattern at a boosted power level.
The eNodeB always controls and selects the modulation and coding scheme for both
the downlink and uplink.
Question: What is BA list?
Answer: BCCH Allocation List is a list of frequencies supported on the neighboring cells. It is broadcast
on the BCCH (Broadcast Control Channel) giving mobiles the frequencies of the BCCH carriers on
neighboring cells.
Question: What is C1 and C2 ?
Answer: C1 is the path loss parameter that is used to determine the strongest cell for selection. C2 is the
parameter used for cell reselection.
Question: Why Do we make “Short Calls” and “Long Calls” During drive test?
Answer: Short Calls are to check the accessibility issues (SDCCH/TCH Blocking and SDCCH Drop)
and long Calls are to check for retain ability (TCH Drop) and mobility Issues (HOST).
Question: What do you mean by CEFR and CSSR?
Answer: Call establishment failure rate (CEFR), Call setup success rate (CSSR).
Question: What is RSSI?
Answer: Received signal strength indicator, (RSSI) is a measurement of the power present in a
received radio signal. The wideband received power within the relevant channel bandwidth, Measurement
shall be performed on downlink carrier. The reference point for the RSSI is the antenna connector at the
mobile station.
Question: What is cell selection? How does MS select a cell?
Answer: Cell Selection refers to the initial registration that a MS will make with a network.
Question: What is GPS?
Answer: Global positioning system (GPS) is a satellite based navigation system made up of a network of
24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S.
Question: What is Tems pocket and Nemo Handy?
Answer: For indoor tests we are using these softwares.
Question: What is BSC and RNC?
Answer: BSC, Base station Controller and BTS base transceiver station is for 2G. RNC, radio Network
controller and node B for 3G.

Question: How to measure the interference?

Answer: There is one device called spectrum analyzer, we can use it to know the interference in the area.
Question: Which mobile we can use to drive test?
Answer: sony Ericson SE W995, SE K800i, k970i, z750i,w600,
Nokia 6680, N95, N70, N80.
Motorola V3XX.
Question: Which device we can use to measure scanning?
Answer: PCTEL Scaner EX/LX, Rhodes-Schwartz R&S®TSMW.
Question: What is dedicated mode and idle mode?
Answer: If call is active then it is called dedicated mode and if call is not active then we call it mobile
station at idle mode.
Question: What is a cluster?
Answer: Group of sites is called cluster.
Question: How to make cluster routes?
Answer: Through map info we can make cluster routes.
Question: What is MAIO?
Answer: A mobile allocation index offset (MAIO) refers a time delay separating traffic channels. When
a GSM(Global system for mobile communication) mobile phone is served be a cell that is hopping over a
set of frequencies, the separate traffic channels hop over the allocated frequencies according to a hopping
sequence number (HSN).
Question: What is Active set?
Answer: Defined as the set of node-Bs the UE is simultaneously connected to (i.e., the UTRA cells
currently assigning a downlink DPCH to the UE constitute the active set)
Question: What is monitored set?
Answer: Which are not included in the active set, but are included in the Cell_info_list Belong to the
monitored set.

Question:What is Detected set?

Answer: Cells detected by the UE, which are neither in the Cell_info_list nor in the active set belong to
the detected set. Reporting to the measurements of the detects set is only applicable to intra-frequency
measurements made by UEs in CELL_DCH state
Question: Define Duplex Communication and Differentiate between TDD and FDD?
Answer: Duplexing is the process of achieving two-way communications over a
communications channel. It takes two forms: half duplex and full duplex
In half duplex, the two communicating parties take turns transmitting over a shared
channel. Two-way radios work this way. As one party talks, the other listens. Speaking
parties often say “Over” to indicate that they’re finished and it’s time for the other party to
speak. In networking, a single cable is shared as the two computers communicating take
turns sending and receiving data.

Full duplex refers to simultaneous two-way communications. The two

communicating stations can send and receive at the same time. Landline telephones and cell
phones work this way. Some forms of networking permit simultaneous transmit and receive
operations to occur. This is the more desirable form of duplexing, but it is more complex
and expensive than half duplexing. There are two basic forms of full duplexing: frequency
division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD).

FDD: Frequency Division Duplex

FDD requires two separate communications channels. Wireless systems need two separate
frequency bands or channels. A sufficient amount of guard band separates the two bands so
the transmitter and receiver don’t interfere with one another. Good filtering or duplexers
and possibly shielding are a must to ensure the transmitter does not desensitize the adjacent
receiver.

TDD: Time Division Duplex

TDD uses a single frequency band for both transmit and receive. Then it shares that band by
assigning alternating time slots to transmit and receive operations.The information to be
transmitted—whether it’s voice, video, or computer data—is in serial binary format. Each
time slot may be 1 byte long or could be a frame of multiple bytes.
Application Examples
Most cell-phone systems use FDD. The newer LTE and 4G systems use FDD. Cable TV
systems are fully FDD.

Most wireless data transmissions are TDD. WiMAX and Wi-Fi use TDD. So does Bluetooth
when piconets are deployed. ZigBee is TDD. Most digital cordless telephones use TDD.
Because of the spectrum shortage and expense, TDD is also being adopted in some cellular
 systems, such as China’s TD-SCDMA and TD-LTE systems. Other TD-LTE cellular systems
are expected to be deployed where spectrum shortages occur.

Question: Define Interference?

Answer: Interference is anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a signal as it travels along
a channel between a source and a receiver. The term typically refers to the addition of unwanted
signals to a useful signal. Common examples are:
 Electromagnetic interference (EMI)
 Co-channel interference (CCI), also known as crosstalk
 Adjacent-channel interference (ACI)
 Inter symbol interference (ISI)
 Inter-carrier interference (ICI), caused by doppler shift in OFDM modulation (multitone modulation).
 Common-mode interference (CMI)
 Conducted interference
Queation: What is BER?
Answer: In digital transmission, the number of bit errors is the number of received bits of
a data stream over a communication channel that have been altered due
to noise, interference, distortion or bit synchronization errors.
The bit error rate or bit error ratio (BER) is the number of bit errors divided by the total number
of transferred bits during a studied time interval. BER is a unitless performance measure, often
expressed as a percentage.
Question: Define tilt and its types?
Answer: Antenna gain of base station for a specific user depends on antenna pattern, antenna
orientation (azimuth and tilt) and user's coordinates with respect to base station.
 Electrical tilt
Shaping of radiation pattern in the vertical plane of antenna by electrical means so that maximum
radiation occurs at the angles below the horizontal plane
 Mechanical tilt
Vertical tilt of the mechanical axis of antenna is called mechanical tilt.
Question: What is CSFB?
Answer: Circuit Switched Fall back