GSM TCH Assignment Failure

& Solutions
Objectives

 This guidebook mainly describes TCH allocation

failure and investigation of the problem.
Contents

 TCH Assignment Failure & Investigation

 Relevant Counters & Assignment success Rate
 Typical Cases
 Definition of TCH assignment failure

Number of busy hour TCH call attempts Number of busy hour TCH assignment
(excl. HO) failures (excl. HO)

It refers to the number of TCH

  It refers to the number of calls
call attempts after MS occupies when MS fails to occupy TCH after
SDCCH; it seizes SDCCH.
The statistics counted is the
The statistics gathered is


number of “Assignment MS fails to access “Assignment Failure + Clear

Request” sent from MSC to BSC. into TCH after it
sends out request Request (radio interface failure)”.
for TCH
assignment to
Allocation failure may be
BSC. caused due to lack of TCHs or
problems on lower layers.

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 Definition of TCH assignment failure
MSC BSC BTS Ms

Assignment Request

Channel Activation
Assignment Failure（1）
Channel Activation
Assignment Failure（2） Ack

Assignment Command
Assignment Command
SABM

UA
Assignment Failure（3）

Assignment Complete Assignment Complete Assignment Complete

Remarks:
Assignment Failure（1）：BSC can’t complete MSC’s request for TCH
Assignment Failure（2）：BTS can’t complete MSC’s request for TCH

Assignment Failure（3）：MS is not able to occupy TCH assigned by BSC

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 Main causes of TCH allocation failure
Traffic
Trafficcongestion
congestionin
incells
cells

Hardware
Hardwareproblem
problem

Co-channel
Co-channelor
oradjacent
adjacentchannel
channelinterference
interference

Antenna
Antennafeeder
feederproblem
problem

Unreasonable
Unreasonablesetting
settingof
ofparameters
parameters

TCH
TCH allocation
allocation failure
failure Transmission
Transmissionproblem
problemat atAAinterface
interfaceor
or
Abis interface
Abis interface

Influence
Influenceof
ofrepeater
repeater

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 Problem handling procedures Check if traffic
congestion exists

Check if radio
parameters are

TCH assignment failure

set reasonable

Check indicators like

BER, idle interference
band class

Check hardware

Check antenna
system

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Contents

 TCH Assignment Failure & Investigation

 Relevant Counters & Assignment success
Rate
 Typical Cases
 Relevant counters_V3 & TCH assignment
success rate
KPI TCH allocation success rate(%)(exclude handover)
Definition Number of TCH assignment success times (excl. HO)/number of
TCH assignment attempts (excl. HO)

(C900060017+C900060028+C900060036+C900060235
+C900060199+C900060210)*100%/(C900060010+C900060019
+C900060030+C900060038+C900060042+C900060046)

Counter
formula
(C901260014+C901260063+C901260088+C901270014+C9012
70063+C901270088)*100%/
(C901260001+C901260020+C901260069+C901270001+C9012
70020+C901270069)

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 TCH Assignment Flow

MS BTS BSC
CHL_REQ
CHL_RQD
A1
CHL_ACT

CHL_ACT_ACK
A2
IMM_ASS_CMD
IMM_ASS

SABM EST_IND

A3

Figure 2-1

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 Related Counter

Signaling
Counter(6.20) Counter(6.50) Counter Name
Point

Number of signaling TCH/F

C900060010 C901260001 seizure Figure2‑1 A1
attempts for assignment

Number of signaling TCH/H

C900060038 C901270001 seizure Figure2‑1A1
attempts for assignment

Number of signaling TCH/F

C900060017 C901260014 assignment success for Figure2‑1 A3
assignment

Number of signaling TCH/H

C900060235 C901270014 Figure2‑1 A3
assignment success

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 Normal Assignment Flow

MS BTS BSC MSC

ASS_REQ
B1
Abis，TCU connect
CHL_ACT B2

CHL_ACT_ACK

ASS_CMD B3
ASS_CMD
SABM

UA EST_IND
ASS_COM B4
ASS_COM

B5 ASS_COM

Figure 2-2

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 Related Counter

Counter(6.20) Counter(6.50) Counter Name Signaling Point

Number of voice TCH/F

C900060019 C901260020 seizure Figure2‑2 B1
attempts for assignment

Number of data TCH/F

C900060030 C901260069 seizure Figure2‑2B1
attempts for assignment

Number of voice TCH/H

C900060042 C901270020 seizure Figure2‑2B1
attempts for assignment

Number of data TCH/H

C900060046 C901270069 seizure Figure2‑2B1
attempts for assignment

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 Related Counter

Counter(6.20) Counter(6.50) Counter Name Signaling Point

Number of voice TCH/F

C900060028 C901260063 assignment Figure2‑2 B5
success

Number of data TCH/F

C900060036 C901260088 assignment Figure2‑2 B5
success

Number of Voice TCH/H

C900060199 C901270063 assignment Figure2‑2 B5
success

Number of data TCH/H

C900060210 C901270088 assignment Figure2‑2 B5
success

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Contents

 TCH Assignment Failure & Investigation

 Relevant Counters & Assignment success Rate
 Typical Cases
 IRC Feature Improve Uplink RQ and TCH
Assignment Failure
 One project after swap TCH assignment failure change to worse
than before swap, although the difference is small, but since it is
an important KPI, we are requested to improve it and make the
KPI better than before swap.

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 IRC Feature Improve Uplink RQ and TCH
Assignment Failure
 Interference Rejection Combining (IRC) is an advanced
interference suppression algorithm and improved diversity
reception mode that suppress intra-frequency interferences
based on their relevance to improve signal reception, reduce bit
errors, and upgrade the quality of uplink services in GSM
systems.

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 IRC Feature Improve Uplink RQ and TCH
Assignment Failure
 On 18th Oct. we open IRC feature on all network, it improved
TCH assignment failure

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 IRC Feature Improve Uplink RQ and TCH
Assignment Failure
 After active IRC feature, it improved uplink RQ and TCH
assignment failure, it made the KPI after swap better than before
swap

Pre-Swap Pre-Swap Post-Swap Delta Pre- Delta

Global Last 2 Average Last 2 Swap 2 Average
Weeks 2010 Weeks Weeks 2010

TCH Norm 0.18% 0.17% 0.01% 0.01%

0.18%
Failure%

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 Low TCH allocation success rate in a cell

Total number of TCH Total number of TCH TCH

allocation requests Allocation success Requests success rate

After a drive test and On Site hardware Investigation, the engineer realized problem
with the antenna hardware, after Antenna swaped out the problem was solved.

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 Interference within network

1 2 3
Performance statistics showed that TCH
Problem
assignment failure rate was high in Cell2
description
and Cell3, which led to low TCH allocation
success rate.

From the planning software, we could see the

Problem two cells were right opposite each other, and
analysis their overlapped coverage area was large, and
co-channel existed, thus TCH assignment
failure rate was high

After we changed frequency point in Cell3

Adjustment from 119 to 101, number of TCH assignment
failures in the two cells reduced greatly, from
20times/h to 1time/hour.

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 Discrepancy in time at BSC and OMCR

1 2 3

Problem A customer reported that call completion rate

description exceeded 100%, almost reached115%.

Analysis of basic measurement data showed

Problem that Sum of CallProceeding and CallConfirm was
analysis 4955, while that measured by customer was
9428. We found that time at BSC was 5mins
30secs behind the time at OMCR.

We adjusted time at OMCR and renewed

Adjustment data of OMCR with PMDR, and the data in
OMCR and signaling device conformed to
each other

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 Questions for thinking

 Which parameters can influence TCH allocation success rate?

 Please introduce counters and signaling statistical points relating
to TCH allocation success rate.

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