3G Drive Test Introduction

Radio Network Initial Tuning for WCDMA

Preparations

Parameter
Audit

Drive Testing &

Post
Processing

Analysis &
Change
Proposals

Change
Verification
& Reporting

Commercial
Launch

Drive Test Steps

Tools For Drive Test and Analysis

TEMS Investigation, Nemo, Probe for

WCDMA (Software)
Scanner (Software + HW)
External GPS
User Equipment (UE)
MCOM3g/Mapinfo/Actix
MS Access/Excel based tools

Serving/Active Set +
Neighbors

Layer 3 Messages
Layer 3 Messages are the messages on the Uu interface i.e between
Mobile station and the Node B.

Radio Parameters

WCDMA HSPA/GSM Data Line Chart

GSM Neighbors
This window is very helpful in case of 2G 3G Handovers as we can
see all the 2G neighbors of that particular 3G cell in the compressed
mode state.

Serving/Active Set +
Neighbors

Cell I.D This is the identity or name

given to a particular Node B and its cell
by the operator.
UARFCN It is the frequency band
allotted to the operator. One spectrum
bandwidth is of 5MHz in WCDMA or
3G.This window shows us the centre
frequency of the bandwidth allotted to
the operator.

Serving/Active Set +
Neighbors

Cell Name It is the name given to

particular Node Bs by the operator
generally along the lines of the name of
the area the Node B is located in.
Scrambling Code Scrambling code is a
code assigned to a particular cell. There
are 512 such codes for the network to
differentiate among different Node Bs and
these codes can be repetitive. They are of
two types primary and secondary.

Serving/Active Set +
Neighbors

AS This stands for Active Set. Active Set is

the set of Scrambling Code which the U.E is
currently latched on and there can be a
maximum of 3 Scrambling codes in Active Set.
MN MN Stands for monitored neighbor i.e.
the neighbor cell that is detected by the U.E as
a neighbor and is also defined as a neighbor in
the network. U.E will initiate a Handover onto
the monitored neighbor in case the monitored
neighbor has a stronger RSCP or EcNo than the
AS.

Serving/Active Set +
Neighbors

DN - DN stands for Detected Neighbor and

as the name suggests it is the neighbor
detected by the UE but, is not defined in
our network . Hence, the U.E does not
handover to the detected neighbor. It can
be because of Overshooting of a site,
incomplete neighbor list or in case of a new
site. It is very important to optimize and
have no DNs as they are one of the major
reasons of Call drops in 3G.

Radio Parameters

CPICH Ec/No Common Pilot channel

Ec/No is the ratio of energy of the chip
and the combined power of all the
signals including the pilot itself received
by the UE at that particular point. It is a
very important factor for call quality.
CPICH RSCP Received Signal Code
Power is the level of the signal received
by the U.E from a particular pilot.

Radio Parameters
Radio parameters are the parameters of a Mobile
equipment
Tx Power As the name suggests it is the
transmitting power of a Mobile Station. Its value can
vary from
-50 to 50. The minimum the Tx power of the Mobile
station the better it is for call quality.
UTRA Carrier RSSI - It is the Received Signal
Strength Indicator of the Mobile Station or the U.E. It
tells us the total Power Received by the Mobile
Station from all the Pilots including itself at that
particular location.

Radio Parameters

SIR It is the signal to interference Ratio

is the ratio of Energy in the
DPCC(Dedicated Physical Control
Channel) to that of the interference and
noise received by the U.E.
Target SIR It is the target Signal to
Interference ratio that Mobile Equipment
is supposed to achieve by increasing or
decreasing its power. It is set by the use
of Power Control procedure.

Radio Parameters

SQI - It is the speech Quality Index

which is a parameter to rate the voice
Quality on that particular call. It ranges
from 0 30 with 30 being the best
quality.
RRC State It tells the current state
and channel as in Idle or dedicated.
Mode It is the mode that we are using
GSM or WCDMA.

HSPA/GSM Line Chart

This window gives us the data speed for

both 3G and 2G modes depending on
which mode the mobile equipment is.
RLC DL Throughput This is the total
throughput on the downlink at that
particular point.
The speed shown in this window as
throughput is in Kilobits/sec.

Active Window

Handovers
In UMTS there are the following type of HandoversIntra Frequency Handovers Softer Handover The HOs that take place
between any sectors of the same node B come under
this category.
Soft Handover The HOs that take place between
different Node Bs running on same frequency are
called soft HOs.
Inter Frequency Handover Hard Handover The HOs that take place between
Node Bs running on different frequencies. HOs from
2G-3G fall under this category.

Active Set Update

In 3G there can be 6 pilots in the active set. But,

we generally set it at maximum of three(depends
on the operator) to avoid Pilot pollution. In case
of soft Handover all the cells which are in MN can
be entered into Active set but, only till the
maximum limit of three. This procedure of soft
HO from monitored to Active set is called Active
set update.

Active Set Update(Soft HO)

Monitored Neighbor

Current Location

Active Set Update(Soft HO)

Added to Active Set

Active Set
Update

Current Location

Pilot Pollution

The Cells with which the UE is communicating form the

UEs Active Set
This Active Set is made typically of 3 cells/pilot signals
Any Pilot which is not a member of a UEs Active Set
and exceeds a certain threshold (typ. Ec/Io>-15dB) is
considered a Polluter
Pilot Pollution is a common WCDMA issue that needs to
be sorted immediately.
Pilot pollution should not be confused with poor
coverage, where there is poor coverage, there is
generally pilot pollution/bad Ec/Io.

Pilot Pollution

There are various means of reducing pilot pollution

New Sites: Additional sites may reduce pilot pollution by bringing
dominance to an area (before optimizing for pilot pollution, always check that
a new site is not about to be brought on air in the locality)
Antenna Down tilts: By adjusting tilts on the best servers, or worst
interferers, pilot pollution can be removed.
Azimuth Change: Azimuth can be adjusted to other direction after
discussing with RF Planning Team.
Reduce Power: Power of overshooting cell ( Pilot Polluter ) can be reduced
but it is last step to reduce coverage but in day to day optimization its not
much recommended.

Case 1: Drop due to missing neighbor

Problem: Detected Nighbor (DN)

UE sends a Measurement Report that contains an
event1a means adding a new RL (cell) to Active Set
If the reported cell is not in the current neighbor cell list
and the reported Ec/No is better than the best serving
cell Ec/No in AS by some dBs (set by a RNC parameter)
If for any reason the new cell can not be added to AS,
call will be released

Case 1: Drop due to missing neighbor

DL BLER gets worse

DN cell better than the serving cell

Case 2: Drop due to Poor

Coverage (low RSCP)
Problem: Poor DL coverage
When UE gets to an area with low RSCP ( < -105 dBm)
regardless Ec/No values there is high risk for drop.
UE will likely ramp up the transmitted power and reach its
max power. The DL BLER will probably increase and SIR
target cannot maintain anymore, finally the call drops.

Case 2: Drop due to DL Poor Coverage

Very bad RSCP

UE max Tx power
and
high DL BLER

Drive Test Route with Drop Calls: Cluster 1

30

Quality Comparison
(Long Call) (Scanner)
EcNo of UE dedicated mode is quite low in many areas, main reasons are missing
neighbors and overshooting, all cases are discussed later.

Coverage Comparison
(Long Call) (Scanner)
RSCP of UE dedicated mode is quite low in many areas, main reasons are missing.
All cases are discussed later.

Best SC Comparison
(Long Call) (Scanner)
Scrambling code of UE dedicated mode and Scanner:

Quality Check Comparison

(Long Call) (Scanner)
Quality Check of UE dedicated mode and Scanner:

Overshooting
Analysis

DXB2314-7
(SC
-91)
Down tilt from
4 degree
to 7 degree

DXB2314-8
(SC -92)
Down tilt from 4 degree to 7 degree

DXB2309-7
Down tilt from 4 degree to 7 degree

DXB2309-9
Down tilt from 4 degree to 7 degree

DXB2802-8
Down tilt from 4 degree to 6 degree

DXB2802-9
Down tilt from 4 degree to 6 degree

DXB2307-7
Down tilt from 4 degree to 5 degree

DXB2308-7
Down tilt from 4 degree to 7 degrees. High Call Drop Cell.

DXB2308-8
Down tilt from 4 degree to 7 degree. High Call Drop Cell.

DXB2765-7
Down tilt from 4 degree to 6 degree. High Call Drop Cell.

DXB2765-8
Down tilt from 4 degree to 6 degree

DXB2307-8
Down tilt from 4 degree to 7 degree

DXB2766-7
Down tilt from 4 degree to 7 degree. High Call Drop Cell.

DXB2766-8
Down tilt from 4 degree to 6 degree.

DXB2766-9
Down tilt from 4 degree to 7 degree. High Call Drop Cell.

DXB2420-7
Down tilt from 4 degree to 6 degree

DXB2420-8
Down tilt from 4 degree to 6 degree

DXB2420-9
Down tilt from 4 degree to 6 degree

DXB2425-7
Down tilt from 4 degree to 6 degree

DXB2425-8
Down tilt from 4 degree to 6 degree

DXB2425-9
Down tilt from 4 degree to 6 degree

Down tilt Recommendations for Overshooting Cells

Cell
Current
Name
E-Tilt
DXB231
47
4
DXB231
48
4
DXB230
97
4
DXB230
99
4
DXB280
28
4
DXB280
29
4
DXB230
77
4
DXB230
87
4

Proposed
E-Tilt
7
7
7
7
6
6

Cell Name
DXB27658
DXB23078
DXB27667
DXB27668
DXB27669
DXB24207
DXB24208
DXB24209
DXB24257
DXB24258
DXB24259

Current E- Proposed
Tilt
E-Tilt
4
6
4
7
4
7
4
6
4
7
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6
4
6

5
7

57

Missing Neighbor
Analysis

Missing Neighbors

SRN SCEL SPS NRN NCEL NPS

C
L
C
C
L
C
3126
3132
1
3 442
1
3 501
3126
3131
1
3 442
1
1 496
2314
3126
231
7 91
1
1 440
2314
3131
231
8 92
1
1 496
2314
3110
231
8 92
1
2 41

59

Missing Neighbors
SRN SCE SPS NRN NCE NPS
C
LL
C
C
LL
C
2308
4801
231
8 185
1
1
11
2308
4801
231
9 186
1
1
11
2765
4801
231
8 353
1
1
11
2765
4801
231
7 352
1
1
11
2747
4801
231
7
27
1
1
11
2308
2765
231
8 185 231
7 353
2765
4801
231
7 352
1
3
13
2308
2765
231
7 184 231
7 352
2307
2747
231
7 405 231
7
27
2307
2308

60

Missing Neighbor
SRN SCE SPS NRN NCE NPS
C
LL C
C
LL C
2859
3234
231
8 36
1
2 100
3167
2859
1
3 306 231
8 36
3159
2859
1
1 288 231
8 36
3159
2859
1
2 289 231
8 36

61

Missing Neighbor

SRN SCE SPS NRN NCE NPS

C
LL
C
C
LL
C
2309
3407
231
7 459
1
1 291
2309
3407
231
9 461
1
1 291
3136
2309
1
2 145 231
9 461
2420
4008
231
7 115
1
2 476

62

Neighbor Addition
Following Neighbors are found missing from Drive Test
Analysis :
SCELL SPSC NCELL NPSC
31263 442 31323 501
31263 442 31311 496
23147 91 31261 440
23148 92 31311 496
23148 92 31102 41
23148 93 31102 41
23088 185 48011 11
23089 186 48011 11
27658 353 48011 11
27657 352 48011 11
27477 27 48011 11
23088 185 27657 353
27657 352 48013 13
23087 184 27657 352
23077 405 27477 27
23077 405 23089 186
23078 404 27658 353

SCELL
28598
31673
31591
31592
27668
27668
30152
23097
23099
31362
24207
24208
24208
24207
24207
40081
33351

SPSC NCELL NPSC

36
32342
100
306
28598
36
288
28598
36
289
28598
36
425
34762
172
425
48011
11
265
23077
405
459
34071
291
461
34071
291
145
23099
461
115
40082
476
116
40082
476
116
33341
299
115
33322
260
115
33323
261
475
24258
505
208
24259
506
63

Call Drop
Analysis

64

Line Chart

RSCP(A,N,D)

EcIo (A,N,D)

Best SC

UE TXPO, SIR, BLER

5 Sec Before Drop Call

5 Sec After Drop Call

65

Drop Call#1

Observations & Recommendations

Call
Call was
was dropped
dropped on
on Nokia
Nokia site
site DXB2061
DXB2061 overshooting
overshooting from
from 2.8km
2.8km and
and there
there are
are missing
missing NHBRs
NHBRs in
in the
the
vicinity i.e. DXB20617 and DXB 21357.
Also Nokia site DXB2125 is down.
DXB23147 needs to be down-tilted from 4 to 6.

Drop Call#2 (Dropped, Coverage hole)

Line Chart

RSCP(A,N,D)

During Drop Call

EcIo (A,N,D)

Best SC

UE TXPO, SIR, BLER

Observations & Recommendations

This drop happened in Nokia cluster where there
are
are no
no sites
sites in
in the
the vicinity.
vicinity.
Its a coverage hole and future site DXB2606 will
improve the situation.

RSC
P

EcIo

67

Drop Call#4 (Dropped on Nokia, re-Established on Nokia)

RSCP(A,N,D)

EcIo (A,N,D)

Best SC

UE TXPO, SIR, BLER

5 Sec Before Drop

Call

5 Sec Before Drop

Call

5 Sec After Drop

Call
Observations & Recommendations
Missing Neighbor DXB40082 and DXB24257.

5 Sec After Drop

Call

Thank You

69