Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ND - GSM - Design Paper - Overview of GPRS-EDGE Radio Network Design Process in B10 - Ed1
ND - GSM - Design Paper - Overview of GPRS-EDGE Radio Network Design Process in B10 - Ed1
The BSC dimensioning process must be updated to take account of these new capacities, although the
basic dimensioning methodology remains the same.
It is recommended that the 64k Statistical Multiplexing scheme is used for BTS signalling when
multiple CCCH feature is active, especially for larger cells. The presence of an additional CCCH will
have an effect on the capacity of the cell, and so must be accounted for in the network design.
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying of this document, use and communication of its contents not permitted without written authorisation.
Design Paper: Overview of the GPRS/EDGE Radio Network Design
Process in Release B10
Multislot class 11: <= 4 PDCH DL, <= 3 PDCH UL, <= 5 PDCH Total
Multislot class 12: <= 4 PDCH DL, <= 4 PDCH UL, <= 5 PDCH Total
These will allow for higher UL throughput and an improved end-user experience for UL-biased
services. The new classes must now be included in the network dimensioning process.
Network dimensioning must be updated to account for this feature. If STM-1 is selected as the
transport option for either Ater-CS or A interfaces, the required number of STM-1 links must be
calculated and the STM-1 interface card deployed on the TC. This does not affect GPRS or EDGE
dimensioning. Note that the BSC has no native STM-1 capability in B10, so an external ADM is required.
2.5 Gb over IP
In B10, a new transport option is available for the Gb interface, using UDP/IP over Ethernet instead of
Frame Relay. The benefits of this are that IP transport networks are
now the de facto standard for the data world, and this feature allows
easier connection to external networks.
The network dimensioning process must be updated to take account of HSL. If it is determined during
SS7 dimensioning that 16 LSL or more would be required, HSL will be used instead (with 1+1
redundancy). If HSL is to be used, then the number of E1 available for Ater-CS/PS is reduced by 2.
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying of this document, use and communication of its contents not permitted without written authorisation.
Design Paper: Overview of the GPRS/EDGE Radio Network Design
Process in Release B10
Use of CPICH Ec/No & CPICH RSCP for 2G/3G Cell Reselection
First, the achievable GPRS/EDGE throughput per radio TS is assessed. This depends on the
MCS/BLER distribution, which in turn is linked to the SINR (Signal to Interference + Noise Ratio),
the user speed, presence of frequency hopping, etc.
Once the achievable throughput is known, the Air Interface dimensioning is performed. This
relies on the Alcatel-Lucent traffic model and provides the cell configuration or cell capacity
based on the configuration requirements, expected CS and PS traffic mix and the required QoS.
Based on the dimensioned cell configurations, Site Design & Abis Dimensioning are performed;
Using the site configuration and CS traffic load, BSC Design is performed, providing the required
number of BSCs and their configurations.
Finally, MFS Design and Ater & Gb-interface Dimensioning are carried out, completing the
network design.
An (M)CS/BLER distribution is obtained, and the achievable throughput per radio timeslot is computed
as the weighted sum of all (M)CS usage values, using as a weighting factor the corresponding Block
Erasure Rate (BLER). The table below shows a typical example:
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying of this document, use and communication of its contents not permitted without written authorisation.
Design Paper: Overview of the GPRS/EDGE Radio Network Design
Process in Release B10
The intention of the Capacity-on-demand concept is that radio resources form a common pool shared
by both speech and data users, with speech being given the higher priority. TRXs can simultaneously
handle Speech (FR/DR), Circuit-switched Data, GPRS & EDGE traffic.
Signalling: BHCA, SDCCH Call Hold Time, MO/MT Call Ratio, Number of SMS, etc.
CS Traffic: Voice Load (Erl per Sub), FR/HR Call Ratio, CSD Load, CSD Penetration, etc.
O ver - D im en sio n in g
V id e o str e a m in g ,
V o ic e , S M S , O p tim ised
A ver a g e
S h o p p in g o n lin e , tr a ffic
D im en sio n in g
W e b b r o w sin g ,
F ile tr a n sfe r ,
U n d er - d im en sio n in g
A g g r eg a te
V id e o g a m e s... tr a ffic
C o m b in a tio n o f 1 ED G E u ser B u sy h o u r
(4 + 1 ) + 3 vo ice u ser s
+ 1 G PRS u ser (3 + 1 )
Dimensioning relies on the Alcatel Traffic Model, and has the following characteristics:
Resource sharing can be complete or partial (i.e. some shared, some dedicated to CS or to PS)
Respects the target QoS parameters: blocking probability for CS services, minimum throughput
vs. average available throughput per radio TS for non-real-time PS services, guaranteed
throughput vs. minimum available throughput for real-time PS services.
In the Alcatel-Lucent GPRS/EDGE solution, radio resource allocation is dynamic, avoiding the
need to reserve timeslots for GPRS/EDGE. TS are shared between CS, GPRS & EDGE services.
Furthermore, all the Extra TS are shared between the cells of a given BTS. The Abis usage is thus
highly optimised, allowing the number of Extra TS to be minimised.
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying of this document, use and communication of its contents not permitted without written authorisation.
Design Paper: Overview of the GPRS/EDGE Radio Network Design
Process in Release B10
The output of the Site Design and Abis Dimensioning processes is the number of required Extra TS, the
site capacity, the required number of
TRX, the number of GCH for each site and
the CS and PS loads, values which are
required in the next stage.
From release B9 onwards, the introduction of GPRS and EDGE has a minimal impact on the
Abis interface. However, to get full benefit from GPRS and EDGE, an increase in Abis and BSC
capacity will be needed.
The BSC Evolution is completely transparent to all Extra TS. The presence of GPRS and EDGE
has no impact on TRX connectivity of the BSC Evolution.
The Ater-PS interface is dynamic and carries PS traffic from all cells connected to the BSC. Moreover,
instead of requiring dedicated links for PS and CS traffic, the Alcatel-Lucent solution also allows the
dimensioning of mixed Ater-CS/PS links.
To calculate the average requirement for Ater nibbles, the overheads generated by certain timers
should also be considered, namely the GCH Inactivity Timer, the Last GCH Inactivity Timer and the
Delayed DL TBF Release.
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying of this document, use and communication of its contents not permitted without written authorisation.
Design Paper: Overview of the GPRS/EDGE Radio Network Design
Process in Release B10
Using the traffic calculated during the site design and the required QoS on the Ater, the number of GP
boards is determined and then based on this figure and the number of GCH required per BSC, the
required number of Ater-PS links is determined.
The number of GP boards required has already been determined. Based on this, the required number
of MFS cabinets is calculated, based on the fact that the MFS Evolution can support up to 21 GP boards
with one additional board for redundancy.
The MFS Evolution can host up to 21+1 GP boards and can handle up to 21 BSCs and up to 3000
cells. Within each GP board, the available bandwidth is dynamically allocated to each cell
according to their traffic needs.
4.5.3 Gb Dimensioning
The Gb Interface may use either a Frame Relay or an IP transport layer, allowing a full sharing of
available bandwidth between all MS transferring data through a given GP (for FR), or through a given
MFS (for IP). Using the Alcatel Traffic Model, the maximum number of GPRS & EDGE PDCHs can be
determined for each GP or each MFS. Knowing the average throughput offered by GPRS/EDGE to the
LLC layer, and adding the Gb overheads, the peak throughput needed on the Gb interface and the
number of Gb links are calculated.
5. CONCLUSION
The ongoing evolution of the GSM BSS to B10 can be managed in a smooth, incremental way. New
features in GSM Release B10 that affect network design are:
Some stages of the Radio Network Design Process are impacted by the introduction of B10 Features:
End of DOCUMENT
All rights reserved. Passing on and copying of this document, use and communication of its contents not permitted without written authorisation.