2G RAN : RX Diversity Unbalance & Uplink/Downlink Path

Imbalance Issue

2G RAN : RX Diversity Unbalance &

Uplink/Downlink Path Imbalance Issue

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 2G RAN : RX Diversity Unbalance & Uplink/Downlink Path
Imbalance Issue

1. Problem Description :
In our 2G swap project, we have been swapping GSM 900 band RRU of other vendor
& have different implementation solutions. Some involved using same installed
antenna & some involved new antenna installation. Problem faced during project
delivery is that after swapping initial clusters, RF team has started to report high
number of RX diversity unbalance & Uplink/Downlink path imbalance issues.

2. Problem Indication & Detail :

i. RX diversity Unbalance :

When main/diversity RX level difference is more than the threshold ( default value 32 dB ) ,
site will report alarm Alarm ID: 26522, RF Unit RX Channel RTWP/RSSI Unbalanced

Possible Issue Cause :

 Jumpers connector are loose
 Water Intrusion due to improper waterproofing of jumper connectors
 Water Intrusion due to improper bending & routing of jumper cable
 Partial sector jumper swap

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 2G RAN : RX Diversity Unbalance & Uplink/Downlink Path
Imbalance Issue

Counters :

S4556:Average Main Level in the Customized MR

S4557:Average Diversity Level in the Customized MR

Affected KPI’s :
Due to increase in uplink noise, SINR affected ( strength of signal/strength of interference +
power on background noise )

 BTS coverage decreases

 MS have difficulty accessing the network
 Call drops due to handover issues

ii. Uplink/Downlink Path Imbalance :

Balance of uplink & downlink power level 1-2 should be less than 15% or balance of uplink &
downlink power level 11 should be less than 30%

Uplink and downlink balance = Uplink path loss – Downlink path loss = (MS power – Uplink
receive level) – (TRX Power – Downlink receive level)

Counters :

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 2G RAN : RX Diversity Unbalance & Uplink/Downlink Path
Imbalance Issue

S462A:Number of MRs (Uplink-and-Downlink Balance Level = 1)

S462B:Number of MRs (Uplink-and-Downlink Balance Level = 2)
S462K:Number of MRs (Uplink-and-Downlink Balance Level = 11)

If the balance between the uplink and the downlink is mainly at level 1, you can infer that
the downlink loss is too great.
If the balance between the uplink and the downlink is mainly at level 11, you can infer that
the uplink loss is too great.
Snapshot attached for one site :

Possible Issue Cause :

 Installation quality issue from RRU to antenna, including jumper, connector, feeder
or filter.
 Antenna port condition if existing antenna used.

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 2G RAN : RX Diversity Unbalance & Uplink/Downlink Path
Imbalance Issue

 Check interference level 3/4/5. (Intermodulation interference could be caused due

to loose connection)

Affected KPI's :
Due to Uplink & Downlink restriction, following KPI's are affected that leads to poor user
experience

 Voice quality degraded

 Drop call rate & handover success rate degraded
 Call connection fails

3. Handling Process

RX Diversity Unbalance & Uplink/Downlink Path Imbalance :

 Check interference level 3/4/5. (Intermodulation interference could be caused due

to loose connection)
 Jumper connectivity should be checked at RRU & antenna ends. Should be tighten
properly.
 Clean jumper & antenna ports properly & reconnect.
 Waterproofing should be done as per Huawei standards for all jumpers connector
involved in connectivity from RRU to Antenna.
 Jumper bending & routing should be lower than the bottom of RRU to avoid water
intrusion.
 Trace & remove partial sector swap.
 Check jumpers, RRU & antenna port condition. Replace them with healthy sector to
observe & conclude the issue.

Note : Just after the cutover, site KPI’s are not stable and requires more traffic for
mature trend in both RX diversity & path imbalance cases therefore site needs to be
monitored for 3 continuous days, when the traffic is found more than 5 ERL and site
continues to exceed the defined threshold then the issue needs to be rectified from
onsite activity.

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 2G RAN : RX Diversity Unbalance & Uplink/Downlink Path
Imbalance Issue

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 2G RAN : RX Diversity Unbalance & Uplink/Downlink Path
Imbalance Issue

4. Root Cause

As multiple sites faced the issues, following are the reasons found to cater both
problems for further planned swap sites.

i. RX Diversity Unbalance :
 Some sites were found with low installation quality & loose jumper
connectivity of diversity port causing RX diversity unbalance. Must
give higher installation quality requirements to subcon, especially for
advance labeling, sector swap verification, connector tightness and
waterproof quality.
 For RX diversity unbalance, following were defined thresholds :

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 2G RAN : RX Diversity Unbalance & Uplink/Downlink Path
Imbalance Issue

U2020 Alarm Threshold : 32 dB (Alarm ID:26522, name: RF Unit RX Channel RTWP/RSSI

Unbalanced )

Huawei HQ Threshold : 12 dB

Pakistan Other CG Defined Threshold : 10 dB

CMPak Defined Threshold : 3.5 dB

Upon investigation, it has been found that our RF team were reporting issue if site crosses
3.5 dB threshold which was very strict considering the fact that background noise itself have
around 3 dB fluctuation. RF team has confirmed that customer wanted to launch L900 in
future due to which they wanted to restrict the value strictly as higher value can cause
coverage loss. Further it has been checked that if Main/Diversity difference is less than 12dB,
it will cause no more than 0.5% coverage loss.
As per analysis, almost all reported sites RX diversity unbalance difference were less than 10
dB and 10 dB difference translate from 200KHz to 5MHz will be no more than 1dB
difference. 5 MHz would be future L900 carrier bandwidth therefore RF team has been
pushed to discuss with customer with proper reasoning and threshold has been relaxed
onwards.

ii. Uplink & Downlink Path Imbalance :

 For Uplink & Downlink Path Imbalance, It has been found that reported

sites were having interference level 3\4\5 near 80%. High interference will

increase the uplink received level and impact the balance. Further it has

been confirmed by RF & customer that external & band interference is

present in that region causing path imbalance issues.

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 2G RAN : RX Diversity Unbalance & Uplink/Downlink Path
Imbalance Issue

 Loose jumper connectivity were found on 3 sites where there were no

interference issue and resolved after jumpers cleaning & tightening after re-

connecting.

5. Suggestion :

 Site KPI’s are not stable immediately and requires more traffic for mature
trend in both RX diversity & path imbalance cases therefore site needs to be
monitored for 3 continuous days, when the traffic is found more than 5 ERL
and site continues to exceed the defined threshold then the issue needs to
be rectified from onsite activity.
 Need to lock threshold with RF & customer for both RX diversity & path
imbalance cases before project implementation starts so that only valid
issues have been escalated by RF team for rectification.
 Maintaining hardware installation quality as per defined SOP including
jumpers connectivity, waterproofing, filter & feeder connectivity.

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