lte LOW throughput

analysis & improvement

techniques
objective
 Analysis flow for low throughput
› throughput investigation from
performance counters point of view
› Demonstrate throughput improvement with
practical cases.
› Key learnings.
objective
 Analysis flow for low throughput
› throughput investigation from
performance counters point of view
› Demonstrate throughput improvement with
practical cases.
› Key learnings.
Content

 Analysis flow for DL throughput

› throughput
 Analysis flow for UL throughput
› throughput
› Sample case Dl throughput
thr oughput investigation
› Sample case Ul throughput
thr oughput investigation
› Parameter settings at E NodeB
› Essential features at E NodeB
› KPI/Counters to check for throughput analysis
› Key Learnings
Analysis Flow for Dl throughput
investigation

Total Check all important Accessibly, Mobility and Retainability KPI.

performance Holistic overview of perfo rmance makes analysis simpler 

RRC connected Dl Throughput would reduce with increase in number of

users connected users (pmRrcConnMax).

CQI ,64/16QAM,TM  Av CQI, % 64QAM samples and RI indicates DL SINR status
modes  Average CQI should be high (>10%), % of 64QAM sample should be high (>10%),

PRB(DL) and High PRB and PDCCH utilization

util ization would impact the DL
PDCCH utilization Throughput (pmPrbUtilDl / pmPrbUtilUl).

DL Latency and High value of DL latency(>9ms) and RLC retransmission(> 1%)

RLC retransmission would impact DL throughput.

Power limited UE High occurrence of pmRadioTbsPwrRestricted and

and No of A2 events pmBadCovEvalReport indicates poor DL coverage.

Basic health check up and baseline parameter/feature Audit along

with all checks
Analysis Flow for UL throughput
investigation

Total Check all important Accessibly, Mobility and Retainability KPI.

performance Holistic overview of perfo rmance makes analysis simpler 

Alarm & Parameter/

Make Baseline Audit for Parameter and feature
Feature Check

High uplink RSSI would impact the throughput

RSSI
(pmRadioRecInterferencePwrPUCCH / pmRadioRecInterferencePwr )

% of 16 QAM Low usage of 16 QAM modulations scheme in UL would impact

samples the UL throughput

PUCCH & PUSCH Poor UL SINR conditions would impact UL throughput

SINR (pmsinrpucchdistr & pmsinrpuschdistr )

High number of power limited UE indicates poor uplink coverage

Power limited UE
(pmRadioTbsPwrRestricted ,pmRadioTbsPwrUNRestricted)
DL throughput
investigation
DL throughput
investigation
Cell Root cause Action plan
090125002 Low average CQI/Low Physical optimization
use of 64 QAM samples

150166001 Low handover success Neighbor recreation/PCI

rate/PCI conflict Replan

094962003 Missing MO/Handover Parameter Audit

relations

095330003 High PRB utilization Add newsite/Bandwidth

Sample case 090125002

% of 64 QAM samples & Av CQI were low, Phy optimization ( EDT 2 4) was made.
Good improvement in all matrices were observed post optimization
Sample case 090125002

Good improvement in Throughput & NO reduction in Data Volume post

physical optimization
Sample case 090125002

Change in
Electric down tilt
from 2 to 4

Improvement in UE power limiting ratio post changes

Sample case 090125002

Clear improvement in LOW RSRQ samples post changes

(RSRQ comparison is from PM UE initiated measurement)
Sample case_150166001

CELL HAD poor MOBILITY & Retainability KPI

When ALL Neighbor relation were deleted ANR created relation with immediate Neighbor instead
of remote relation with SAME PCI
Sample case_150166001

NBR relation “150166001_33420-90427-3” prevented creation of

relation 150166001_33420-150164-3 BY ANR
As Both target cell have same PCI
Sample case_150166001

When All Relation were deleted ANR created relation with natural
neighbor 150164-3 and KPI turned good
Relation 150166001_33420-90427-3 was not created again
 Sample case_150166001

.Good improvement in all matrices were observed post relation creation

with immediate neighbor
Sample case_150166001

% of 64 QAM samples ,Av CQI,MIMO usage improved post changes

Good improvement in all matrices were observed post relation creation with immediate neighbor
Samplecase_094962003

ANR was not adding any neighbor relations for this indoor cell.
Investigation confirmed missing “UTRANfreqrelation” & “EUtranFreqRelation”
MO for this cell
After the creation of these MO, KPI improved
Samplecase_094962003

Improvement in Throughput along with other KPI POST MO CREATION

Samplecase_094962003

Improvement in Throughput along with other KPI POST MO CREATION

Sample case 095330003

SITE DF5330 is highly utilized and throughput for all three cell reduces with
increase in data volume
No user license limitation in these cells as RRC success rate is quite good
95330003 Down link PRB
utilization and Dl throughput

In off peak hours -throughput is quite good

In peak hours -High downlink PRB utilization is limiting the
downlink throughput.
95330003 Down link PRB
utilization and Dl throughput

High value of connected user, DL PRB and scheduler utilization

Ways to reduce PRB utilization

› There are very limited means of reducing of PRB

utilization .How ever some of these methods can be tried
on case by case basis
› Traffic offload to less utilized neighboring cells
› Reduce control channel resources(Before that check
PDCCH utilization)
 Add Bandwidth (if system is operating < 20Mhz) as
›

Bandwidth increase would increase number of PRB

› Reduce inactivity timer (tInactivityTimer) value so that
inactive user can be released early
 DF5330-Data Volume

Qoffsetcelleutran to -2

Qoffsetcelleutran to -6

Qoffsetcelleutran to -4

Physical optimization
an and Tilt changes

Physical optimization & Qoffsetcelleutran applied for Traffic offloading to neighboring cell but it did not
help much.
OFFLOADING BY new site/ Bandwidth addition/ second carrier addition are the available options
UL throughput sample
cases
UL throughput
investigation
Cell Root cause Action plan

93704001 Low uplink DAS Check and Audit

coverage/uplink issue
in DAS(Distributed
 Antenna system)
155980003 High RSSI/uplink UL Power control
interference parameter tuning /PIM
testing for internal
interference
Sample case_93704001

CELL 93704001 (IBS cell) has low throughput even though DL throughput
is quite good
Sample case_93704001

*Cell 15014002 & 15014002 shown just for comparison

Data from UL SINR counters confirms poor SINR condition at the cell
Sample case_93704001
UETR TRACES FOR CALL DROP

CTR also confirms uplink issue at the cell as there are many call
drop related to poor uplink coverage
ISSUE forwarded to o&M team for DAS AUDIT and CHECK as Faulty DAS
was suspected as primary cause of poor performance
Sample case_93704001

*Cell 15014002 & 15014002 shown just for comparison

DL throughput is quite good for the cell. DL coverage and SINR is also
good for the cell.
Sample case_155980003

CELL 15598003 has very low uplink throughput

 Sample case_155980003

RLC retransmission rate and packet loss is very high in uplink for this
cell
 Sample case_155980003

RSSI is very high at this cell which is impacting throughput and packet loss in uplink. Aggressive
setting of pZeroNominalPusch & pZeroNominalPucch used for this cell but KPI did not improve.
Cell forwarded to o&M team for PIM testing and ruling out internal interference
Essential Features

 IRC (interference rejection combining) should be enabled.

 Ul FSS (Ul frequency selective scheduling) should be enabled.
 Channel Bandwidth (5, 10, 15 and 20) MHz should be equal to
licensed bandwidth.
 64-QAM DL should be enabled.
16-QAM UL should be enabled.
 Dual Antenna DL Performance Package or MIMO should be
enabled.

All these features should be enabled at eNodeB for Good UL and DL

throughput
Essential Parameters
› Radio Network MO parameters:
 –  EUtranCellFDD
› dlChannelBandwidth / ulChannelBandwidth=should be equal to license bandwidth
noOfTxAntennas for MIMO= 2
noOfRxAntennas for MIMO= 2
› transmission Mode default is 3, TxDiv and Open Loop Spatial Multiplexing (2x2
MIMO)
› pdcchCfiMode (number of OFDM symbols used for PDCCH, 1->3)
› maximumTransmissionPower = 460 (for 40 watt site)
› partOfSectorPower  (for a sector)= 100
› pZeroNominalPucch  some UEs need this to be increased or ACK/NACKs are not
received successfully on PUCCH.
› pZeroNominalPusch  some UEs need this to be increased from default or lots of
errors seen on PUSCH.
 –  SectorEquipmentFunction
› confOutputPower = license power(20/40/60 Watt)
counters for throughput analysis

› UL Interference on PUCCH / PUSCH :

pmRadioRecInterferencePwrPUCCH / pmRadioRecInterferencePwr 
› SINR of PUCCH / PUSCH: pmSinrPucchDistr / pmSinrPuschDistr 
› PRB Utilization in DL / UL : pmPrbUtilDl / pmPrbUtilUl
› RLC ACK/NACK: pmRlcArqUlack|pmRlcArqUlNack
› Transport block PWR restricted: pmRadioTbsPwrRestricted /
pmRadioTbsPwrUNRestricted
› Scheduling activity per cell in UL and DL : pmSchedActivityCellDl
/pmSchedActivityUeDl
› Rank distribution MIMO/ SIMO : pmRadioTxRankDistr 
› Number of A2 events(UE in poor coverage) :pmBadCovEvalReport
RSSI
UL Interference on PUCCH* :
UL interference on PUSCH :
pmRadioRecInterferencePwrPUCCH
pmRadioRecInterferencePwr 
The measured Noise and Interference Power on PUCCH
The measured Noise and Interference Power on PUSCH
PDF ranges:
[0]: N+I <= -121 PDF ranges:
[1]: -121 < N+I <= -120 [0]: N+I <= -121
[2]: -120 < N+I <= -119 [1]: -121 < N+I <= -120
[3]: -119 < N+I <= -118 [2]: -120 < N+I <= -119
[4]: -118 < N+I <= -117 [3]: -119 < N+I <= -118
[5]: -117 < N+I <= -116 [4]: -118 < N+I <= -117
[6]: -116 < N+I <= -115 [5]: -117 < N+I <= -116
[7]: -115 < N+I <= -114 [6]: -116 < N+I <= -115
[8]: -114< N+I <= -113 [7]: -115 < N+I <= -114
[9]: -113 < N+I <= -112 [8]: -114< N+I <= -113
[10]: -112 < N+I <= -108 [9]: -113 < N+I <= -112
[11]: -108 < N+I <= -104 [10]: -112 < N+I <= -108
[12]: -104 < N+I <= -100 [11]: -108 < N+I <= -104
[13]: -100 < N+I <= -96 [12]: -104 < N+I <= -100
[14]: -96 < N+I <= -92 [13]: -100 < N+I <= -96
[15]: -92 < N+I [14]: -96 < N+I <= -92
Unit: dBm/PRB [15]: -92 < N+I
Unit: dBm/PRB

For good throughput in UL- RSSI value should be low (< -105 dbm)
UL SINR
SINR of PUCCH: SINR for PUSCH:
pmSinrPucchDistr  pmSinrPuschDistr 

Distribution of the SINR values calculated for P UCCH . Distribution of the SINR values calculated for P USCH .

› PDF ranges: › PDF ranges:

› [0]: SINR <= -15 › [0]: SINR <= -5
› [1]: -15 < SINR <= -12 › [1]: -5 < SINR <= -2
› [2]: -12 < SINR <= -9 › [2]: -2 < SINR <= 2
› [3]: -9 < SINR <= -6 › [3]: 2 < SINR <= 6
› [4]: -6 < SINR <= -3 › [4]: 6 < SINR <= 10
› [5]: -3 < SINR <= 0 › [5]: 10 < SINR <= 14
› [6]: 0 < SINR <= 3 › [6]: 14 < SINR <= 17
› [7]: 3 < SINR › [7]: 17 < SINR
› Unit: dB › Unit: dB
Condition: Each SINR value for PUCCH per UE calculated Condition: Each SINR value for PUSCH per UE calculated
on a TTI basis yields one sample in the distribution. on a TTI basis yields one sample in the distribution.

For good throughput in UL - FEW Samples in poor SINR ranges

PRB utilization
PRB Utilization in Dl :
pmPrbUtilDl
 A distribution that shows the downlink Physical
Resource Blocks (PRB) utilization (total
number of used PRB by available PRB) on
the Physical Downlink Shared Channel
(PDSCH).
PDF ranges:
[0]: 0 % <= Utilization < 10 %
[1]: 10 % <= Utilization < 20 %
[2]: 20 % <= Utilization < 30 %
[3]: 30 % <= Utilization < 40 %
[4]: 40 % <= Utilization < 50 %
[5]: 50 % <= Utilization < 60 %
[6]: 60 % <= Utilization < 70 %
[7]: 70 % <= Utilization < 80 %
[8]: 80 % <= Utilization < 90 %
[9]: 90 % <= Utilization
Unit: -
Condition: One sample should be the utilization
during the sample gathering period.
For Good UL and DL throughput- UL and DL PRB utilization should be
low respectively ( <80%)
PRB Utilization in UL:
pmPrbUtilUl
 A distribution that shows the Physical
Resource Blocks (PRB) utilization (total
number of used PRB by available PRB)
on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel
(PUSCH).
PDF ranges:
[0]: 0 % <= Utilization < 10 %
[1]: 10 % <= Utilization < 20 %
[2]: 20 % <= Utilization < 30 %
[3]: 30 % <= Utilization < 40 %
[4]: 40 % <= Utilization < 50 %
[5]: 50 % <= Utilization < 60 %
[6]: 60 % <= Utilization < 70 %
[7]: 70 % <= Utilization < 80 %
[8]: 80 % <= Utilization < 90 %
[9]: 90 % <= Utilization
Unit: -
Condition: One sample should be the
utilization during the sample gathering
period.
UL RLC NACK
RLC ACK:
pmRlcArqUlack
› The total number of successful
RLC PDU transmissions (ACKs)
in the uplink direction.
› Unit: -
› Condition: Continuous
measurement for Radio Bearers
aggregated to cell level..
For good throughput in UL  – UL RLC NACK RATIO should be low
RLC NACK:
pmRlcArqUlNack
› The total number of unsuccessful
RLC PDU and RLC PDU
segment transmissions (NACKs)
in the uplink direction.
› Unit: -
› Condition: Continuous
measurement for Radio Bearers
aggregated to cell level.
Power restricted
transport block-UL
Transport block PWR restricted:
pmRadioTbsPwrRestricted
› The number of Transport Blocks on MAC
level scheduled in uplink where the UE was
considered to be power limited.
› Unit: -
› Condition: A Transport Block is considered
to be power limited when the estimated
required transmit power is higher than the
UE maximum transmit power.
› Counter type: PEG
› Scanner: Not included in any predefined
scanner 
Ratio of power limited to non power limited blocks should be low
For Good throughput in UL- Ratio should be low(< 50%)
Transport block PWR restricted:
pmRadioTbsPwrUNRestricted
› The number of Transport Blocks on MAC level
scheduled in uplink where the UE was NOT
considered to be power limited.
› Unit: -
› Condition: A Transport Block is considered to
be power limited when the estimated required
transmit power is higher than the UE maximum
transmit power.
› Counter type: PEG
› Scanner: Not included in any predefined
scanner 
CQI
CQI Is a feedback mechanism from UE to eNB in downlink

 –  pmRadioUeRepCqiDistr gives CQI distribution in DL

 –  pmRadioUeRepCqiDistr is a PDF counter and it gives value in range
from 0 to 15
 –  CQI 1-6 map to QPSK
 –  CQI 7-9 map to 16QAM
 –  CQI 10-15 map to 64QAM

For good throughput in DL- Average CQI should be high (>10)

MIMO RANK distribution usage
Rank distribution MIMO/ SIMO : pmRadioTxRankDistr 
The transmission mode / rank distributions gives more detailed information on how much each each
transmission mode and rank is used.
PDF ranges:
[0]: Transmit diversity  same information both branches
[1]: Open Loop SM Rank 1 SIMO
[2]: Open Loop SM Rank 2 MIMO
[3]: Closed Loop SM rank 1
[4]: Closed Loop SM rank 2
Unit: -
Counter type: PDF
Scanner: Not included in any predefined scanner 
SM stands for Spatial Multiplexing

For Good throughput in DL- High samples of MIMO Rank 2

MIMO is used currently used in DL
Ericsson supports TM2(PDF range 1) & TM3(PDF Range 2) currently
Modulation scheme usage DL

› QPSK Samples (%) = 100 * (pmMacHarqDlAckQpsk/

(pmMacHarqDlAckQpsk + pmMacHarqDlAck16qam +
pmMacHarqDlAck64qam))
› 16 QAM Samples (%) = 100 * (pmMacHarqDlAck16qam /
(pmMacHarqDlAckQpsk + pmMacHarqDlAck16qam +
pmMacHarqDlAck64qam))
› 64QAM Samples(%) = 100 * (pmMacHarqDlAck64qam/
(pmMacHarqDlAckQpsk + pmMacHarqDlAck16qam +
pmMacHarqDlAck64qam))

For good DL throughput- High usage of 64 QAM and 16 QAM scheme in DL

Modulation scheme usage UL

QPSK Samples (%) = 100 * ((pmMacHarqUlSuccQpsk/

(pmMacHarqUlSuccQpsk+ PmMacHarqUlSucc16qam ))
16 QAM Samples (%) =100 * ((mMacHarqUlSucc16qam/
(pmMacHarqUlSuccQpsk+ PmMacHarqUlSucc16qam ))

For good UL throughput - High usage of 16 QAM scheme in UL

KEY LEARNING
› Check all important KPI in cases of low throughput as it
make analysis simple and help in finding the root cause
faster.
› Do basic parameter and feature audit before proceeding
further 
› Check RSSI at the cell and UL power control parameter
setting.
› Rule out any transmission issue by checking DL latency
and packet loss rate.
›DL throughput is mostly impacted by poor DL SINR. Low
 Avg CQI/ 64 QAM sample/RI indicated poor DL SINR.
› UL throughput is mostly impacted by poor UL coverage
check CTR traces & UL SINR counters for this.