GSM RNO Subject-Field MOS Optimization - R2.0

Field MOS Optimization
R2.0

Field MOS Optimization Internal Use Only

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Revision History

Product Version Document Version Serial Number Reason for Revision
R1.0 First published
R2.0
The Xi'an case is
added.

Author

Date Document Version Prepared by Reviewed by Approved by
2010-05-17 R1.0
Jiang Yi and Hou
Shuai
Zheng Hao, Fei
Aiping, and Chang
Haijie
Zheng Hao
2011-5-31 R2.0
Chang Haijie and
Xiang Fei
Zheng Hao Zheng Hao

Intended audience: GSM network optimization engineers


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About This Document
Summary
Chapter Description
1 Overview Gives an overview about MOS optimization.
2 Principles of MOS Test Describes the MOS test principles.
3 Major Factors Affecting Field
MOSs
Describes the major factors that may affect field MOS values.
4 Three Measures for Field
Engineers to Improve the MOS
Describes the three measures for field engineers to improve
the MOS.
5 General Care for the Use of Test
Devices
Describes the general care for the use of test devices.
6 Case Study Describes the typical cases.
AppA Version Requirements for
the AMR + TRO Function
Describes the version requirements for the AMR + TRO
function.
AppB Standard Template of Data
Collection for MOS Tests
Describes the standard template of data collection for MOS
tests.
AppC Glossary Lists the abbreviations and their full names appeared in this
document.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Overview ......................................................................................................... 1
2 Principles of MOS Test ................................................................................... 2
2.1 Basic Concepts ................................................................................................. 2
2.2 MOS Test Principles ......................................................................................... 3
3 Major Factors Affecting Field MOSs.............................................................. 6
3.1 Impact of Handover .......................................................................................... 6
3.2 Impact of Speech Coding Algorithm .................................................................. 7
3.3 Impact of Radio Environment ............................................................................ 8
3.4 TFO Function .................................................................................................... 9
3.5 Impact of CN Signaling Flow ........................................................................... 11
3.6 Impact of Test Vehicle Speed ......................................................................... 12
4 Three Measures for Field Engineers to Improve the MOS ......................... 14
4.1 Optimization of the Coding Modes and HR Traffic Proportions ....................... 20
4.1.1 Optimization of the Speech Coding Modes ..................................................... 20
4.1.2 Optimization of the HR Traffic Proportions ...................................................... 21
4.2 Optimization of the Number of Handovers in the DT ....................................... 24
4.3 Use of the TFO Function ................................................................................ 28
4.4 Use of Other Network Functions ..................................................................... 29
4.4.1 Omission of Optional Parameters in Handover Commands ............................ 29
4.4.2 IRC Function................................................................................................... 30
4.4.3 Impact of the T3105 Parameter on the Number of Times That the PHYSICAL
INFORMATION Message Is Delivered ........................................................... 31
4.4.4 Processing of the PHYSICAL INFORMATION Messages by the DBB ............ 32
4.5 RQ Optimization of the Existing Network ........................................................ 32
4.6 Disabling of the Function of Sending Status Query Messages at the CN Side 34
5 General Care for the Use of Test Devices ................................................... 36
5.1 General Care for the Use of Pilot Pioneer ....................................................... 36
5.2 General Care for the Use of NTAS AUTO ....................................................... 37
6 Case Study .................................................................................................... 39
6.1 Scenarios ....................................................................................................... 39
6.2 Test Methods and Devices ............................................................................. 40
6.3 Test Results and Analysis............................................................................... 40
6.3.1 Comparison Results Before and After the T3105 Parameter Was
Optimization ................................................................................................... 40
6.3.2 Comparison Tests in Typical Scenarios of ZTE (China Unicom), NSN (China
Unicom), and ALU (China Mobile) .................................................................. 43
6.3.3 Comparison Tests Before and After the UL RxLev Handover Threshold and
Dynamic HR Thresholds of Some Cells Were Modified .................................. 51
6.3.4 Comparison Results Before and After the IRC Function Was Enabled ........... 59
6.4 Conclusion and Suggestions .......................................................................... 64


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AppA Version Requirements for the AMR + TRO Function ................................. 66
AppB Standard Template of Data Collection for MOS Tests................................ 67
AppC Glossary ........................................................................................................ 68


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FIGURES
Figure 2-1 Test principles of PESQ ...................................................................................... 3
Figure 2-2 MOS Test Principles ........................................................................................... 4
Figure 3-1 Consecutive Low MOSs and Call Drops Caused by Consecutive High Bit Error
Rates and Error Frames ......................................................................................................... 9
Figure 3-2 Transcoding Function with TFO Inactivated ...................................................... 10
Figure 3-3 Transcoding Function Bypassed With TFO Activated ........................................ 10
Figure 3-4 Signaling of the Originating MS ......................................................................... 11
Figure 3-5 Signaling of the Terminating MS ....................................................................... 12
Figure 4-1 Delivering a Handover Command in Segments (Green for the Layer-2 Messages
and Blue for the Layer-3 Messages) ..................................................................................... 29
Figure 4-2 Enabling the IRC Function of an SDR Base Station .......................................... 31
Figure 4-3 Asynchronous Handover Signaling on the Um Interface (Blue for the Layer-3
Messages and Green for the Layer-2 Messages) ................................................................. 32
Figure 6-1 Um Interface Signaling During the Asynchronous Handover in ZTEs Network . 40
Figure 6-2 Um Interface Signaling During the Asynchronous Handover in NSNs Network 41
Figure 6-3 Comparison Between ZTEs Downtown Area and NSNs Downtown Area ........ 50
Figure 6-4 Comparison Between ZTEs Suburb and NSNs Suburb ................................... 50
TABLES
Table 2-1 MOS Value ........................................................................................................... 2
Table 3-1 Impact of Handover on MOSs Under Different Speech Coding Modes ................. 6
Table 3-2 MOS of Different Speech Coding Algorithms ........................................................ 7
Table 3-3 Impact of Radio Environment on MOS of Different Speech Coding Algorithms .... 8
Table 3-4 MOSs Acquired at Different Vehicle Speeds ...................................................... 12
Table 4-1 Possible Measures and the Verification Results ................................................. 14
Table 4-2 Parameters About the Speech Coding Modes of iBSCs ..................................... 20
Table 4-3 Recommended Values of the Dynamic HR Parameters of iBSCs....................... 22
Table 4-4 Average MOS Values and MOS Distributions of Some Vendors Networks ........ 24
Table 4-5 Test Results of ZTEs Network in the Same Scenario (Downtown Area) ............ 25
Table 4-6 Recommended Values of the PbgtHoStartThs Parameter .................................. 26
Table 4-7 MOS Values Before and After the TFO Function Was Enabled .......................... 28


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Table 4-8 Major Parameters Involved in the TFO Function ................................................ 28
Table 5-1 C/I Statistical Result (With the SAGEM MS) ....................................................... 37
Table 5-2 Result of the Indicator Comparison Before and After NTAS AUTO Is Properly
Adjusted ............................................................................................................................... 38
Table 6-1 Test Routes in Typical Scenarios ....................................................................... 39
Table 6-2 Networking and Version Information of ZTEs and NSNs Equipment ................. 39
Table 6-3 Comparison Results Before and After the T3105 Parameter Is Modified ............ 41
Table 6-4 Comparison Results of DTs in Typical Scenarios of Three Networks ................. 44
Table 6-5 Dynamic HR Cells and Parameter Modification .................................................. 51
Table 6-6 DT Comparison Results of the UL RxLev Handover Threshold and Dynamic HR
Parameters Before and After Modification ............................................................................ 54
Table 6-7 DT Comparison Results Before and After the IRC Function Was Enabled for SDR
Base Stations ....................................................................................................................... 59


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1 Overview
At present, the fundamental service of the GSM network is speech service. Nowadays,
the competition among the operators intensifies and the customers' requirements for the
speech service quality also increase. They will choose the operator on the basis of the
speech service quality, so it has become the focus of the operators. So gradually the
mobile operators begin to pay attention to construct a set of evaluation criteria on the
basis of the QoS requirements for the mobile network, which can be quoted in the
quantitative analysis and evaluation of the speech service quality.
The earliest evaluation criteria for speech quality are based on RxQual, however, in the
actual transmission process of the speech signals, many factors may affect the speech
quality. Therefore, the evaluation criteria based on RxQual or BER is insufficient and
cannot fully reflect the end user's perception of the radio network. Now the industry
mainly uses the MOS test method to objectively evaluate the speech quality. In China,
China Mobile and China Unicom also begin to value the MOS values and have fixed the
related DT specifications and MOS value requirements.
In this article, the author collects the experience gained from the MOS tests performed in
the major projects of China and summarizes the encountered problems. Base on this, the
author finds out the major factors that may affect the field MOS values and methods to
enhance the DT MOS values, which can work as a guide for the test and enhancement of
MOS values in other projects and also can contribute to the experience library.



2 Principles of MOS Test
2.1 Basic Concepts
The evaluation criteria for speech service quality can be divided into subject evaluation
and objective evaluation. In the early time, people judge the speech quality by listening to
phone calls and thus the conclusion is very subjective. The ITU has established the
evaluation criteria for this subject judging method, that is, MOS. MOS is a subjective
evaluation method. During the test, a number of listeners of different genders, ages, and
native languages will be selected within a wide hearing range and they will rate the heard
speech quality of the received phone calls from 1.0 to 5.0, so as to judge the speech
quality.
Table 2-1 MOS Value
Level MOS Value
User's Satisfaction
Degree
Excellent 5.0
Excellent. The speech is
very clear without distortion
or delay.
Good 4.0
Good. The speech is clear
with a little delay and a few
noises.
Fair 3.0
Fair. People cannot hear
very clearly. There are
delay, noises, and
distortion.
Poor 2.0
Poor. People cannot hear
clearly. There are loud
noises or interruptions. The
distortion is serious.
Bad 1.0
Bad. The call is mute or
cannot be understood. The
noises are loud.
Obviously, in real life, it is very difficult to select a group of people and make them answer
phone calls and assess the speech quality, and the cost is high. Meanwhile, it is also very
hard for the operators to trace the speech quality in a long run. Therefore, ITU did much
standardization work to assess the end-to-end speech quality objectively and overcome
the subjective limitation of MOS. Nowadays, the engineers can use objective quantitative
algorithms to evaluate the speech quality and calculate the corresponding level.



2.2 MOS Test Principles
At present, ITU recommends using PESQ to measure the end-to-end speech quality.
PESQ considers factors that may affect speech perception, like coding and decoding
distortion, error, packet loss, delay, and jitter, and it can evaluate the speech signal
quality objectively. Therefore, PESQ is also called the indicator of clarity and is an
objective evaluation indicator for speech quality. First, speech signals are transmitted
from one end to the other end of the network. Then PESQ analyzes the speech signals
sample-by-sample after an alignment of corresponding reference and test signals and
calculates the speech quality. PESQ is an auditory-model-based speech evaluation
method and can present a relatively objective evaluation of the speech quality. Figure 2-1
illustrates the detailed test principles.
Figure 2-1 Test principles of PESQ

The PESQ score is within the range of 0.5 (lowest) to 4.5 (highest). It is used to
compare the received signals with the transmitted signals and calculates the differences.
Generally, the more the output signals and reference signals differ, the lower the PESQ
score is. PESQ_LQ is an expansion of PESQ, and the output range is between 1.0 and
4.5. This new range is a MOS-like score, which is close to the subjective perception of
the user. In P862.1 of ITU, the mapping function between PESQ and PESQ_LQ is
specified. In China, all MOS tests of China Unicom and most MOS tests of China Mobile
should export the PESQ_LQ value.
The test equipment includes the Pilot Pioneer, NTAS AUTO, and FlyWrieLess. Their
using methods are almost the same.
In MOS DT tests, usually two test mobile stations (MSs) and one MOS speech box are
required. Note: SAGEM OT498 and Nokia N85 are recommended for Pilot Pioneer,
Nokia6720 is recommended for NTAS AUTO, and SAGEM OT498 is recommended for
FlyWrieLess. The MSs are set to make speech calls to each other, and the dialing,
answering, and on-hook are set in automatic mode. Figure 2-2 The PESQ score is within
the range of 0.5 (lowest) to 4.5 (highest). It is used to compare the received signals with
the transmitted signals and calculates the differences. Generally, the more the output
signals and reference signals differ, the lower the PESQ score is. PESQ_LQ is an
expansion of PESQ, and the output range is between 1.0 and 4.5. This new range is a
MOS-like score, which is close to the subjective perception of the user. In P862.1 of ITU,



the mapping function between PESQ and PESQ_LQ is specified. In China, all MOS tests
of China Unicom and most MOS tests of China Mobile should export the PESQ_LQ
value.
illustrates the principles of the MOS test.
Figure 2-2 MOS Test Principles

The basic test flow is as follows:
1. The test device and the MSs are connected, and the calling parameter and
templates are set in the MOS test system. Then MS A begins to call MS B.
2. After the call is setup, a standard reference speech sample will be built on the PC
and sent to MS A through the MOS speech box. MS A begins to send this reference
speech sample to MS B. The speech sample is usually 8 s long. In the whole set of
DT test device, the MOS speech box works as a converter of audio signals. The
standard speech card inside the box converts the audio signal format and the box
will not grade the speech with PESQ.
3. After receiving the speech sample, MS B sends the sample to the MOS speech box,
which converts the audio format and sends it to the PC.
4. The MOS test system compares the speech sample received by MS B and sent by
MS A with PESQ, grades the received sample, and exports PESQ and PESQ_LQ.
5. In the next 8 s, MS B sends a reference speech sample to MS A, and Step 2 to 4 will
be repeated. According to the setting, the test MSs send and receive the test
Audio Cable Audio Cable
Data Cable
Data Cable
USB Cable
Speech Sample
Received Speech Signals
MOS Test Software
MOS Speech Box
(Plastic Shell)

MS A

MS B



speech in turns, and one PESQ score and one PESQ_LQ score will be exported
every 8 s till the end.



3 Major Factors Affecting Field MOSs
According to the MOS tests we have already performed, in a normally operated radio
network without problems like weak coverage or frequency interference, four factors may
lead to low MOSs or most MOSs lower than three. These four factors are whether
functions like TFO, IRC, and handover command optimization that can improve speech
quality are activated, occupancy status of speech coding (like EFR, HR, AMR_HR),
handover frequency, and speed of the test vehicle.
3.1 Impact of Handover
Handover is one of the most fundamental features of the GSM network. Because the
handover happen in GSM is hard handover, an interruption to the speech service when
the MS is handed from the old channel to the new one is unavoidable. Meanwhile, the
necessary FACCH signaling interaction between the BTS and the MS during the
handover will also occupy the TCH speech frames, and the MOS will be impacted and
will decrease. In DT, the engineers may encounter frequent handovers within a short
period. In this case, consecutive low MOSs will be exported. From this, we can see too
many or frequent handovers will greatly impact the MOSs.
The engineers learn from the DT results obtained from some Chinese projects that
handover is the most prominent factor affecting MOS. In some Chinese projects with
favorable radio environment and activated TFO function, the MOS values acquired when
handovers happen are low, as listed in the table below.
Table 3-1 Impact of Handover on MOSs Under Different Speech Coding Modes
Speech Coding
Mode
Channel
Mode
MOS (One
Handover)
MOS (Two
Handovers)
EFR Full rate 3.58 2.95
HR Half rate 2.96 2.79
In EFR coding mode with TFO activated, the MOS can be 4.25 ideally. If one
handover happens, the MOS will be decreased by 0.6 to 0.7 or even worse if the
speech data is being transmitted when the handover happens. If two handovers
happen when the speech sample is transmitted (both originating and terminating),
the acquired MOS may be lower than three.
In HR coding mode, the acquired MOS is low even under ideal conditions and about
three. If one handover happens, the acquired MOS can be lower than three.
Compared to the impact of successful handovers, the impact of handover failure is more
severe. Because the MS will reconnect the original channel if the handover fails, and the
time consumption equals a successful handover. Therefore, the interruption period of



speech service occurred during a failed handover is longer than that occurred during a
successful handover and the acquired MOSs are low.
3.2 Impact of Speech Coding Algorithm
In the GSM network, there are five speech coding algorithms. Three are full rate speed,
which are FR, EFR, and AMR_FR; and two are half rate speed, which are HR and
AMR-HR. Because different coding modes have different data compressing styles and
source compression rates, the speeches may be distorted in different degrees. Even in
the same radio environment, the acquired MOSs of different source coding modes and
channel coding modes differ greatly. As to the projects of Chinese operators, FR, EFR,
and HR are the most commonly used speech coding algorithms, especially EFR and HR.
For these three speech coding modes, the source compression modes and the mean
MOS acquired in CQT with favorable radio environment are listed in the table below.
Note: The values listed in the table below are acquired with TFO inactivated and the AMR
tests are performed in the lab so the acquired MOSs are higher than these acquired in
the field tests.
Table 3-2 MOS of Different Speech Coding Algorithms
Speech
Coding
Mode
Channel
Mode
Source Compression
Algorithm
Speech Rate PESQ LQ
FR Full rate RTE-LTP 13 kbps 3.7*
EFR Full rate ACELP 12.2 kbps 4.17
HR Half rate VCELP 5.6 kbps 3.5
AMR Full rate 12.2 kbps 4.17
AMR Full rate 10.2 kbps 4.08
AMR
Full
rate/half
rate
7.95 kbps 3.98
AMR
Full
rate/half
rate
7.4 kbps 3.96
AMR
Full
rate/half
rate
6.7 kbps 3.84
AMR
Full
rate/half
rate
5.9 kbps 3.76
AMR
Full
rate/half
rate
5.15 kbps 3.59
AMR
Full
rate/half
rate
4.75 kbps 3.49



When the TFO function is inactivated, the mean PESQ_LQ value of EFR acquired in
favorable radio environment can be around 4.1 and that of HR can only be around 3.4.
Besides, the anti-interference capability of HR is worse than that of EFR. When
interference exists in the network, HR PESQ may be lower than three. When AMR_HR is
used, the maximum MOS value of single-rate (from 7.95 kbps to 5.9 kbps) is higher than
that of HR. Therefore, it is recommended to activate AMR_HR in the half rate scenario
and to activate EFR in the full rate scenario so as to enhance the MOSs. If the field
version does not support TFO + AMR, the engineers can activate single rate for
AMR_HR. And 7.4 kbps is recommended for the network with good quality and 6.7 kbps
is recommended for the network with poor quality.
In addition, during the handover, the old and new channels will simultaneously send the
speech signals in advance. However, this rule only works for the handover of the same
speech coding algorithm. For HR-FR handover, the speech signals cannot be sent in
advance. Therefore, the interruption period occurred during the EFR-HR handover is
longer than that occurred during the EFR-EFR handover, and the acquired MOSs are
low.
To sum up, the EFR speech coding algorithm is recommended in the field. As to cells
encountering high traffic volume and congestion in busy hours, the engineers can
activate the dynamic HR function, set the HR threshold on the basis of the actual traffic
volume, and activate AMR_HR to improve MOSs.
3.3 Impact of Radio Environment
A favorable radio environment is the guarantee for radio communication. In network with
poor quality, the corresponding speech quality and MOSs will also be poor. Through the
field tests, the engineers found:
When C/I > 13 or RXQUAL < 4, the impact to DL PESQ is small. The impact of
individual RQ problem on MOS is small.
When 10 < C/I < 13 or 4 < RXQUAL < 5, the DL PESQ may be impacted and is
greatly related to the RXQUAL value acquired during the transmission of the test
speech sample.
When C/I < 4 or RXQUAL 6, the DL PESQ decreases greatly.
The following table lists the MOS values of EFR and HR under different C/Is. Note: The
TFO function is activated, and the analysis data is from the MOS tests of the Chinese
projects.
Table 3-3 Impact of Radio Environment on MOS of Different Speech Coding Algorithms
Speech Coding
Algorithm
C/I < 9 9 < C/I < 12 12 < C/I < 20 C/I > 20
EFR 3.03 3.21 4.06 4.25



Speech Coding
Algorithm
C/I < 9 9 < C/I < 12 12 < C/I < 20 C/I > 20
HR 2.78 2.98 3.23 3.55
Generally, for the radio environment problems on site, the engineers should pay attention
to the following issues:
Co-BCCH or neighbor-BCCH problems caused by improper frequency planning,
which may lead to deterioration of UL and DL RQs
Weak coverage problem, which may lead to low C/I when the DL RXLev is lower
than 85 dBm and further leads to the decreasing of RQ
Overshooting problem, which may lead to co-BCCH or neighbor-BCCH and the
isolated island effect and may severely impact RQ
Figure 3-1 shows a typical case of DL RQ deterioration. When DL RxQual was 7, the
MOS value of the speech sample deteriorated greatly and even reached 1.00, an invalid
score.
Figure 3-1 Consecutive Low MOSs and Call Drops Caused by Consecutive High Bit
Error Rates and Error Frames

3.4 TFO Function
The TFO function can help to avoid the speech from been encoded or decoded twice
during the MS-MS (GSM) call, MS-UE (GSM/3G) call, and UE-UE (3G) call. During the
UE-UE call, the speech signals are first encoded in the originating UE and sent to the air
interface, which are further decoded into 64 kbps PCM signals of G.711 A-law or -law by
the local transcoder. Then the PCM signals are encoded by the peer transcoder again
and transmitted to the peer UE through the air interface. After receives the speech
signals, the peer UE decodes them and reconstruct the speech data. Figure 3-2 shows



the whole call flow. In this configuration, the two transcoders are at the Tandem
Operation status. The speech signals are encoded and decoded twice, which leads to the
deterioration of speech signal quality, especially in the low-rate scenario.
Figure 3-2 Transcoding Function with TFO Inactivated

If the local UE and peer UE use the same speech coder, the speech signals can be
transparently transmitted from the local UE to the peer UE without activating the local and
peer transcoders. This is called the TFO.
Figure 3-3 Transcoding Function Bypassed With TFO Activated
Transcoding
Function
Transcoding
Function
Transcoding Functions Bypassed
MS/UE MS/UE
PLMN A PLMN B
Encoding Decoding
Compressed Speech

The activation of TFO helps to avoid the Tandem Operation, and thus relieves the
deterioration of speech signal quality and effectively improves the speech quality and the
MOS. Besides, the TFO function also has the following advantages:
The speech compression coding rate in PLMN is only 16 kbps or 8 kbps. With TFO,
the coding rate can be multiplexed and the transmission links are saved. Note: The
64 kbps PCM signals are transmitted to facilitate the speedy seamless handover.
The transcoding function is bypassed, which saves the processing capability and
reduces the end-to-end transmission delay.
Note:
With TFO activated, the engineers only have to activate the decoding function to facilitate
the seamless handover.
MS/UE MS/UE
PLMN A PLMN B
Transcoding
Encoding Decoding Decoding Encoding
Compressed Speech Compressed Speech ITU-T G.711 A-Law/ -Law
Transcoding Functions
Transcoding
Function



For intra-BSC communications, activation of the TFO function can save twice transcoding
for the speech signals no matter the transcoder is installed within the BSC or remotely
and can improve the MOSs.
For inter-BSC communications, the engineers must confirm whether the CN supports
TFO before activating the TFO function.
3.5 Impact of CN Signaling Flow
In ZTE CN, after the MSs are connected, the CN sends Status Enquiry to query the
MSs' status and the MSs return Status. Altogether four extra pieces of FACCH signaling
will be sent at the air interface and will steal four TCH speech frames. Therefore, the first
MOS acquired after the MSs are connected is lower than the normal value. The field test
data also shows that the first MOS value is usually around three.
Figure 3-4 Signaling of the Originating MS



Figure 3-5 Signaling of the Terminating MS

As to the MOS test performed by Chinese operators, the short call mode is adopted and
each call is only 90 s long. Only 11 MOSs can be exported during each call. Therefore,
this signaling flow of the CN will compromise the first acquired MOS value, which may
further influence the mean MOS value.
3.6 Impact of Test Vehicle Speed
Vehicle speed may affect the MOSs greatly. When the speed is high, the possibility that
the MOS is acquired when handover happens is high, which may further affect the mean
MOS and the distribution proportion. The following table lists the mean MOS and the
MOS distribution acquired under different vehicle speeds.
Table 3-4 MOSs Acquired at Different Vehicle Speeds
30 km/h (Vehicle Speed) 60 km/h (Vehicle Speed)
MOS sampling number 323 293
Mean MOS 3.75 3.59
Proportion of MOS 3 92.25% 83.62%
MOS sampling
number/Handover times
(including intra-cell
handovers)
3.02 2.40
Handover frequency =
Handover times (including
intra-cell handovers)/MOS
sampling number
0.33 0.42



Therefore, it is recommended to keep the vehicle speed under 40 km/h in the urban area.
And China Mobile and China Unicom have made no specific requirements on test vehicle
speed.



4 Three Measures for Field Engineers to
Improve the MOS
According to the MOS-related problems discovered during the previous field tests, this
chapter analyzes the factors that may affect the MOS and combines experimental tests
with field tests. At the same time, it puts forward several major measures to improve the
field DT MOS on the basis of the experiences gained through the previous field tests and
research findings on special topics. These measures mainly fall into three categories:
enabling system functions, optimizing radio parameters, and optimizing radio
environments.
Table 4-1 lists some measures and the verification results for reference.
Table 4-1 Possible Measures and the Verification Results
Possible
Measures
Description
Version
Implem
entation
Method
Effects
Supporting
the Function
or not



Possible
Measures
Description
Version
Implem
entation
Method
Effects
Supporting
the Function
or not
F
u
n
c
t
i
o
n
s

1
Simulta
neous
DL
transmi
ssion
and
advanc
ed
connecti
on for
E1A
handov
er
During the
handover, for the
same speech
algorithm,
speeches are
transmitted
simultaneously on
the DLs of both the
source channel
and target channel.
For different
algorithms, after
the handover is
detected,
speeches will be
sent to the target
cell. Thereby, the
speech interruption
will be shorter and
the MOS can be
improved.
iBSC: V6.20
series
BSC V2:
V2.97 series
Version
This measure
works only when
the speech versions
before and after the
handover are the
same. (If AMR is
used, the rate sets
should also be the
same.) With this
measure, the MOS
can be improved
obviously.
Currently, all the
versions in the
existing network
support this
function.
For different speech
versions before and
after the handover,
if extra coding or
decoding is needed
for simultaneous
transmission,
because the DSP
load may be
affected greatly,
simultaneous
transmission is not
enabled in this
case.
2
Optimiz
ation of
the EFR
coding
scheme
The coding
scheme is
improved and the
MOS of EFR
speeches can be
improved by 0.1.
All Version
The improvement is
obvious and all the
current versions
support this
function. The
preferred full-rate
speech version
should be set to
Full-rate version 2
on the BSC.



Possible
Measures
Description
Version
Implem
entation
Method
Effects
Supporting
the Function
or not
3
Optimiz
ation of
the
initial
MS
power
after
handov
er
The initial MS
power after
handover is
improved. For
PBGT handover,
the initial power of
the MS on the
target channel will
be equal to the
power on the
original channel.
V6.20 series Switch
For the early plastic
speech boxes, the
MOS can be
improved. However,
the current speech
boxes are well
shielded, so this
measure hardly has
any impact on the
MOS.
4
Omissio
n of
optional
paramet
ers in
handov
er
comma
nds
Unnecessary
optional
parameters (such
as the ciphering
field,
synchronization
indication, and
AMR multi-rate
parameter) are
omitted from the
handover
commands. For the
SAGEM cell
phone, the MOS
can be improved
by 0.2.
V614CP005 Switch
The probability of
sending handover
commands in
segments is
decreased, which is
good to the MOS.
Especially, when Bit
5 is set to 1 in a
frequency-hopping
network (for
V614CP005 and
later versions), the
MALIST dynamic
decoding will be
enabled, which can
greatly reduce the
number of bytes
occupied by the
MALIST.
5
Optimiz
ation of
UL BTS
decodin
g
capabilit
y (IRC)
The BTS decoding
capability is
improved to
enhance the
resistance to
interference. This
measure can
improve the MOS
when there is UL
interference.
However, it cannot
improve the MOS if
the radio
environment is
good.
BTS V2:
V5.96.523b
and later
versions
BTS V3:
V6.20.102e
and later
versions
SDR: all. The
switch should
be manually
turned on on
the OMCB.
SDR:
switch
The MOS is
improved under
certain conditions.
BTS V2
and V3:
version



Possible
Measures
Description
Version
Implem
entation
Method
Effects
Supporting
the Function
or not
6
TFO
function
The number of
speech coding and
decoding times is
reduced by one
and the MOS can
be improved by
0.2.
See AppA
Version
Requirement
s for the
AMR + TRO
Function for
versions that
support this
function.
Switch
The average MOS
value and MOS
distribution are
improved obviously.
7
AHS
speech
version
Compared with the
traditional HR
algorithm, AHS can
improve the MOS
of half rates by 0.3.
See AppA
Version
Requirement
s for the
AMR + TRO
Function for
versions that
support this
function.
Switch
The MOS
distribution is
improved obviously.
It is recommended
to use the single
rate 6.7 Kbps or 7.4
Kbps.
8
Process
ing of
the
PHYSIC
AL
INFOR
MATIO
N
messag
es by
the DBB
The PHYSICAL
INFORMATION
messages are
processed by the
DBB and the total
duration of a
handover is
shortened by about
20 ms. However, it
has little impact on
the MOS
improvement.
SDR: V4.09
series
BTS V3:
V6.20.200m
and later
versions
BTS V2:
V5.96.520A
and later
versions
Version
The total handover
duration can be
reduced, but the
MOS cannot be
improved obviously.



Possible
Measures
Description
Version
Implem
entation
Method
Effects
Supporting
the Function
or not
P
a
r
a
m
e
t
e
r
s

1
Optimiz
ation of
the
T3105
paramet
er
For cells with good
radio
environments, the
engineers can
consider raising
the T3105
parameter to
reduce the number
of times that the
PHYSICAL
INFORMATION
messages are
delivered. For cells
with bad radio
environments, the
engineers can
consider lowering it
to make MSs
receive the
PHYSICAL
INFORMATION
messages as early
as possible and
reduce the
handover duration.
All
Paramet
er
setting
on the
OMC
Compared with 6, 8
can reduce the
number of times of
delivering the
PHYSICAL
INFORMATION
message by one
and thereby reduce
the number of
FACCH frame
stealing times by
one, but the MOS
cannot be improved
obviously.
2
Optimiz
ation of
the
dynamic
half-rate
threshol
d
For light-traffic
cells, the engineers
can raise the
dynamic HR
switching threshold
and avoid using
EFR speeches to
improve the MOS.
iBSC: all
BSC V2: The
dynamic HR
is
recommende
d.
Paramet
er
setting
on the
OMC
Because the HR
traffic proportion is
reduced, the
average MOS value
and the MOS
distribution are
obviously improved.



Possible
Measures
Description
Version
Implem
entation
Method
Effects
Supporting
the Function
or not
3
Optimiz
ation of
handov
er-relate
d
paramet
ers
The purpose is to
reduce the number
of handovers
(including
900M/1800M
pingpong
handovers). The
adjusted
parameters are:
1. 1800M UL
receive level
threshold (the
HoUlLevThs
parameter):
changed from 13 to
6 or 8
2. 1800M PBGT
handover
threshold: changed
from 53 to 35
3. RxQual margin
of neighbor cells
for 1800M-to-900M
handovers:
increased to 32
iBSC: all the
V6.20 series
The BSC V2
does not
support the
PBGT
handover
threshold
parameter.
Paramet
er
setting
on the
OMC
Because the
number of
handovers is
reduced, the
average MOS value
and MOS
distribution are
improved obviously.
R
a
d
i
o

e
n
v
i
r
o
n
m
e
n
t
s

1
Covera
ge
optimiza
tion
Weak coverage,
overshooting, and
overlapped
coverage
All
Analysis
and
adjustm
ent
based
on the
test data
There is obvious
improvement for
single problematic
spots.
2
RQ
optimiza
tion
Consecutive poor
RxQual (RQ5 or
poorer)
All
Analysis
and
adjustm
ent
based
on the
test data
There is obvious
improvement for
single problematic
spots.
Note:
Because the MOS is only one of the numerous field test indicators, the following
adjustment work to optimize the MOS should be conducted gingerly, so as to avoid
negative effects on other important test indicators such as the CSSR, CDR, and HOSR.



It is recommended to use the Standard Template of Data Collection for MOS Tests (see
AppB Standard Template of Data Collection for MOS Tests during the MOS test and
optimization to record the test data, so as to facilitate the comparison and analysis of the
major factors affecting the MOS and facilitate the troubleshooting by the rear support
engineers.
4.1 Optimization of the Coding Modes and HR Traffic
Proportions
4.1.1 Optimization of the Speech Coding Modes
Because different coding modes have different data compressing styles, the speeches
may be distorted in different degrees. Usually, the average MOS values of various
speech coding schemes are as follows: EFR > AMR_FR > AMR_HR > FR > HR.
For FR speech versions, the MOS of ERF is much better than that of FR. Therefore, if
possible, we recommend that the field engineers should set the default values of FR
speech versions to EFR and set those of HR speech versions to AMR_HR.
Table 4-2 Parameters About the Speech Coding Modes of iBSCs
Paramete
r Name
Parameter
Code
Value
Range
and Unit
Default
Value
Recomm
ended
Value
Description
Preferred
speech
version
(half)
PreferSpee
chVer H
Not
specify
the
preferred
version,
Half-rate
version 1,
and
Half-rate
version 3
Not
specify
the
preferred
version
Half-rate
version 3
Please note that
because some cloned
cell phones in China
have some bugs,
when the AMR
(including AMR_HR)
coding modes are
used, there may be
assignment failures or
handover failures.
Therefore, the
engineers should
confirm this operation
with the operator
before choosing
Half-rate version 3
for Chinas networks.
It is unnecessary to
confirm it with
overseas operators
because there are no
such problems with
overseas networks.
Preferred
speech
PreferSpee
Not
specify
Not
specify
Full-rate
Because full-rate
version 2 (EFR)



Paramete
r Name
Parameter
Code
Value
Range
and Unit
Default
Value
Recomm
ended
Value
Description
version
(full)
chVer F the
preferred
version,
Full-rate
version 1,
Full-rate
version 2,
and
Full-rate
version 3
the
preferred
version
version 2 provides the best
speech quality. It is
recommended to
choose Full-rate
version 2.
In some fields, it is required to choose AMR-FR. However, generally speaking, most
MOS values of the coding modes provided by AMR-FR are smaller than those provided
by EFR: The MOS value of the highest rate 12.2 Kbps provided by AMR-FR is equal to
that provided by EFR, but the MOS values of the other seven rates provided by AMR-FR
are smaller than those provided by EFR. Therefore, for the scenarios where there are
high demands on the MOS values, such as the VIP areas and MOS test areas, the
coding modes of EFR rather than AMR-FR are recommended.
The MOS values of AMR_HR coding modes are much greater than those of ordinary HR
coding modes. In a network in which the HR traffic takes up a large proportion, AMR_HR
can improve the MOS obviously. Single rates are recommended, such as 6.7 Kbps (for
ordinary radio network environments) or 7.4 Kbps (for good radio network environments),
to improve the average MOS value and MOS distribution obviously. For example, after a
domestic site was changed in this manner, the proportion of MOS values greater than
three increased by 2%.
Currently, for iBSCs, Half-rate version 3 is recommended for the PreferSpeechVer H
parameter and Full-rate version 2 is recommended for the PreferSpeechVer F
parameter. For AMR_HR, single rates are recommended, such as 6.7 Kbps or 7.4 Kbps.
4.1.2 Optimization of the HR Traffic Proportions
The dynamic HR function can effectively increase the system capacity and improve the
system connection rate. However, because the MOS values of HR coding modes are
quite small, excessive use may have a very obvious negative impact on the average
MOS test value and the proportion of MOS values smaller than three.
Therefore, the use of half rates should conform to the following principles:
For iBSCs, use dynamic half rates and avoid using static half rates.
On the premise that the capacity can satisfy the service demand (not causing
congestion), avoid using half rates.
The common methods to reduce the use of half rates mainly include the following ones:



1. Raise the dynamic HR switch threshold according to the actual traffic of the cell.
The relevant dynamic HR parameters on site mainly include BSC-level and
cell-level dynamic HR switches and HR switch thresholds. Currently, the default
values of the BSC-level and cell-level HR switch thresholds are 60%. For most of
the normal-traffic cells, this value is too low and may cause over-high HR traffic
proportions.
Table 4-3 shows the recommended values of the dynamic HR parameters.
Table 4-3 Recommended Values of the Dynamic HR Parameters of iBSCs
Paramet
er Name
Paramet
er Code
Level
Value
Range
and Unit
Defaul
t Value
Recommended Value
Dynamic
HR
support
indication
DynaHR
Enable
BSC Yes/No No Yes
Threshol
d for FR
to HR
HRThs BSC
0~100, %(
)
60
80% or a greater value is
recommended for the
BSC-level HRThs, so that the
demands of normal-traffic
cells can be satisfied. For
heavy-traffic cells with
congestion, the cell-level
HRThs can be set separately.
Threshol
d of AMR
HR
AmrHRT
hs
BSC
1~100, %(
)
50
Dynamic AMR switches are
preferred. The threshold
should not be lower than the
threshold of the dynamic HR,
and it will not take effect
unless AMR is enabled. It is
recommended that this
threshold should be slightly
lower than the HRThs, for
example, 78%.
Dynamic
HR
support
indication
DynaHR
Enable
Cell Yes/No No
This function should be
enabled for heavy-traffic cells
that have large traffic
volumes per channel and
may have congestion.
Use cell
dynamic
HR
paramete
r
UseCell
DynHRP
ara
Cell Yes/No No
If this parameter is used, the
engineers can set the HR
switch threshold more flexibly
according to the actual traffic
volume per channel and the
congestion rate of the cell.
Threshol HRThs Cell 1~100, %( 60 The cell-level HRThs should



Paramet
er Name
Paramet
er Code
Level
Value
Range
and Unit
Defaul
t Value
Recommended Value
d for TRX
switched
from FR
to HR
) be set prudently according to
the traffic volume per
channel, congestion rate,
and HR traffic proportion of
the cell and should not affect
the cell congestion rate. For
cells with slight congestion, it
is recommended that the
cell-level HRThs should be
set to 80% or a greater value,
so as to reduce the HR traffic
proportion.
Threshol
d of AMR
HR
AmrHRT
hs
Cell
1~100, %(
)
50
Dynamic AMR switches are
preferred. The threshold
should not be lower than the
threshold of the dynamic HR,
and it will not take effect
unless AMR is enabled. It is
recommended that this
threshold should be slightly
lower than the HRThs, for
example, 78%.
HR
channel
percenta
ge
threshold
HRTsPer
centage
Cell
1~100, %(
)
50
The greater the value of this
parameter is, the higher the
percentage of available HR
resources is. It is
recommended to set it to
10%~20% on the premise
that there is no congestion.
2. Reduce the use of half rates by means of traffic balancing.
For heavy-traffic cells with high HR traffic proportions, the engineers can shift some
traffic to the surrounding cells through traffic balancing, thereby reducing the traffic
and HR use of the local cells.
The means of traffic balancing mainly include the following ones:
Set the cell selection parameter RxLevAccessMin and the cell reselection
parameters CRO and PT to reduce the idle service coverage of busy cells.
Set the PBGT switch threshold to let some service handed over from busy cells
to the surrounding cells.
For a dual-band network, if there is obvious congestion in 900M cells but the
traffic of 1800M cells is not heavy, the engineers can enable the macro-micro



handover (MacroMicroHo) algorithm and traffic handover (TrafficHO) algorithm
to balance the cell traffic and reduce the traffic of 900M cells.
Adjust the antenna downtilts, antenna azimuths, or carrier transmission power
of busy cells to reduce the actual coverage ranges and the traffic of the serving
cells.
4.2 Optimization of the Number of Handovers in the
DT
Excessive handovers during the DT may affect the MOS test result. Therefore,
unnecessary handovers should be avoided, so as to improve the MOS.
Target of handover control: Handover frequency = Number of handovers (including
intra-cell handovers)/Number of MOS samples 0.45
Table 4-4 compares the average MOS values and MOS distributions of some vendors
networks.Table 4-4 Average MOS Values and MOS Distributions of Some Vendors
Networks
Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Downtow
n Area,
Test on
May 16
NSN,
Downtow
n Area,
Test on
May 17
ALU,
Downtown
Area (China
Mobile), Test
on May 18
Average MOS
(PESQ_LQ)
Average MOS 3.57 3.66 3.47
Proportion of
MOS 3
Proportion of MOS 3 82.44% 84.63% 81.29%
Proportion of
each speech
version
EFR 76.16% 77.04% 84.27%
HR 23.84% 22.96% 0.00%
AMR-FR 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
AMR-HR 0.00% 0.00% 15.73%
Handover
frequency
Number of handovers
handovers)/Number of
MOS samples
0.60 0.45 1.09
Table 4-4 shows that the EFR traffic proportions of NSNs network and ZTEs network
were similar, but because NSNs handover frequency was smaller than ZTEs, NSNs
average MOS value and MOS distribution were better especially the proportion of
MOSs greater than three, which was 2% larger than ZTEs. As for ALUs network, though
AMR_HR was enabled and the EFR traffic proportion was the largest, because the
handover frequency was too great, ALUs average MOS value and MOS distribution were
the worst.



Table 4-5 compares the test results of ZTEs network in the same scenario.Table 4-5
Test Results of ZTEs Network in the Same Scenario (Downtown Area)
Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Downtown
Area, Retest on
May 23
(Modifying the
UL RxLev
handover
threshold and
the dynamic
HR parameter
of some cells)
ZTE,
Downtow
n Area,
Retest on
May 24
(Enabling
the IRC
function)
ZTE,
Downto
wn
Area,
Retest
on June
3 (No
modific
ation)
Average MOS
(PESQ_LQ)
Average MOS 3.64 3.71 3.78
Proportion of
MOS 3
Proportion of MOS 3 83.32% 85.81% 90.42%
Proportion of
each speech
version
EFR 82.00% 85.90% 82.27%
HR 18.00% 14.10% 17.73%
AMR-FR 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
AMR-HR 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Handover
Number of handovers
handovers)/Number of
MOS samples
0.57 0.55 0.51
Table 4-5 shows that the EFR traffic proportions on the three days were similar, but
because the handover frequencies decreased, the average MOS values and MOS
distributions were improved obviously.
Currently, the following measures can be taken to avoid unnecessary handovers:
1. Check the handover parameter settings. The parameter-check function of the
CNO-G can be used.
Check the HoMarginPbgt parameters of neighbor cell pairs and ensure that
the sum of PBGT (A to B) and PBGT (B to A) is greater than 52 (56
recommended), so as to avoid pingpong handovers based on PBGT.
Check the cell reselection parameters CRO and PT of co-site cells in the
dual-band network and the inter-band HoMarginPBGT parameter (the PBGT
handover threshold) and ensure that they are all set properly, so as to avoid
unnecessary handovers: When an MS completes reselection in idle state and
initiates a call, it will immediately perform a handover to another cell of a
different band.
Check the relation between the minimum RxLev for A-to-B handovers and the
DL receive level threshold (the HoDlLevThs parameter) of Cell B. The



HoDlLevThs parameter of Cell B should be lower than or equal to the
minimum RxLev for A-to-B handovers. Otherwise, after an A-to-B handover is
completed, an outgoing handover from Cell B will be initiated immediately due
to an emergency DL-RxLev-triggered handover, which will increase the
number of extra handovers.
Check the relation between the A-to-B macro-micro handover threshold and
the HoDlLevThs parameter of Cell B. The HoDlLevThs parameter of Cell B
should be lower than the A-to-B macro-micro handover threshold, better with a
difference of 10 dB for protection. Otherwise, after an A-to-B macro-micro
handover is completed, an outgoing handover from Cell B will be initiated
immediately due to an emergency DL-RxLev-triggered handover, which will
increase the number of extra handovers.
2. Optimize handovers of the existing network.
Set the PbgtHoStartThs parameter (the PBGT handover threshold) to a reasonable
and small value, so as to avoid unnecessary handovers when the DL RxLevs are
very good. Table 4-6 lists the recommended values.Table 4-6 Recommended
Values of the PbgtHoStartThs Parameter
Paramete
r Name
Recommended Value
Remarks
Dense
Urban
Area
Ordin
ary
Urban
Area
Subur
bs
Country
side
and
Open
Area
Expre
ssway
PbgtHoSt
artThs
50 45 35 30 45
This parameter should
be set on the basis of a
comprehensive
consideration of the
coverage and
interference conditions.
It should be set to a
value as small as
possible on the premise
that there is no
interference increase
caused by handover
delay, so as to avoid
unnecessary handovers.
Note:
Some operators may request a coverage rate of RxLevs greater than 75 dBm in
dedicate mode. The engineers can communicate with the operator to persuade them that
the request is unreasonable because in dedicated mode, the speech quality assessment
requires a less strict demand on the coverage rate for example, RxLevs greater than
90 dBm and it can be changed to a request in idle mode. If the operator persists, the



engineers should set the PBGT handover threshold to 40 or a greater value (to reserve a
space of 5 dB or more).
Pay special attention to the test and optimization of main roads. Categorize the
cells that cover main roads as road-covering cells and separately adjust the
handover parameters for them. Optimize the handover parameters according
to the actual environment, so as to avoid frequent handovers.
For a 900M/1800M dual-band network, the engineers can use dual-layer
network setting for continuous coverage areas of the 1800M network and at
the same time disable 900M/1800M PGBT handovers, so as to avoid
unnecessary handovers. However, before disabling PBGT handovers, make
sure that the operation will not lead to network congestion or degradation of
call quality.
For a 900M/1800M dual-band network, the engineers can appropriately raise
the RxQual margin of neighbor cells for 1800M-to-900M handovers, for
example, setting it to 32 to make it 6 dB to 8 dB greater than the RxQual
margin of neighbor cells for 1800M-to-1800M handovers (usually 24~26), so
that there will be fewer handovers (first 1800M-to-900M RxQual-triggered
handovers and then 900M-to-1900M macro-micro handovers).
Check the UL receive level threshold (the HoUlLevThs parameter). Usually,
as long as the UL RxQual is good, avoid triggering forcible UL handovers, so
as to reduce pingpong handovers. The default value of the HoUlLevThs
parameter is 15 (95 dBm), which is too great and may cause excessive
UL-RxLev-triggered handovers. It is recommended to change it to 7 (104
dBm, to trigger emergency UL-RxLev-triggered handovers) for the 900M
network and to 6 (105 dBm, to trigger emergency UL-RxLev-triggered
handovers) for the 1800M network.
It is not recommended to disable emergency UL-RxLev-triggered handovers. A
field test showed that after emergency UL-RxLev-triggered handovers are
disabled, not only the call drop rate but also the distributions of the UL and DL
RQ values were affected.
For frequency-hopping networks, the engineers should check whether there
are intra-cell handovers caused by UL or DL interference. If there are, disable
this kind of handovers.
Check the cells whose TCH assignment requests (including handovers) are far
more than the TCH assignment requests (not including handovers). For
example, the former are over five times of the latter. This kind of cells may
have over-frequent handovers. The engineers should observe the
AdjacentCellHandoverMeasurement task on the OMC, especially the settings
of handover and reselection parameters.



Check the cells whose handovers triggered by UL and DL RxQual or RxLev
take up a large proportion, for example, over 40%. Pay special attention to the
settings of handover thresholds, radio coverage, and radio interference of
these cells.
4.3 Use of the TFO Function
The TFO function helps avoid Tandem Operations, thereby reducing the degradation of
speech quality in the system and effectively improving the speech quality and MOS.
Some engineers made a comparative DT test in a domestic field. Table 4-7 shows the
comparison results.
Table 4-7 MOS Values Before and After the TFO Function Was Enabled
Indicator
Test Result When TFO Is
Disabled
Test Result When TFO Is
Enabled
Average EFR PESQ_LQ 4.10 4.25
Average HR PESQ_LQ 3.39 3.55
The DT test showed that after the TFO function was enabled, the average MOS of the
EFR speech version was improved by about 0.15 and the improvement was greater for
the HR speech version. On the whole, the TFO function improved the MOS of the whole
network by over 0.15.
Note:
For versions earlier than iBSC V200f P005, you should disable the AMR function before
enabling the TFO function.
For an iBSC, the TFO function involves the following major parameters.
Table 4-8 Major Parameters Involved in the TFO Function
Parameter
Name
Parameter
Code
Default
Value
Recommended Value
TFO enable TFOControl_0 NO YES
Codec type
optimization
enable
TFOControl_1 NO
NO. YES means that when more than
one speech algorithm supports the TFO
function, the system will choose the
algorithm that has the highest speech
quality to perform the TFO.
Codec
mismatch
resolution
TFOControl_2 NO
NO. YES means that if the current
speech algorithm does not support the
TFO function but a speech algorithm



Parameter
Name
Parameter
Code
Default
Value
Recommended Value
enable supported by the BSC supports it, the
system will change the algorithm to
perform the TFO.
AMR
optimization
mode
TFOControl_3
Don't
support
ACS
variations
NO. Usually, it is not recommended to
enable the AMR function. Therefore, the
recommended setting is Don't support
ACS variations.
4.4 Use of Other Network Functions
4.4.1 Omission of Optional Parameters in Handover Commands
According to the protocol, the standard length of a handover command is 23 bytes. If a
handover command is longer than 23 bytes, it will be delivered in segments. As a result,
an extra frame (Frame I) will be transmitted through the UL FACCH over the Um interface
(see I (***) in Figure 4-1), and the MS will reply with an extra RRF on the UL. During a
handover, there will be a speech loss of 20 ms both on the UL and DL, as shown in
Figure 4-1.
Figure 4-1 Delivering a Handover Command in Segments (Green for the Layer-2
Messages and Blue for the Layer-3 Messages)

Remarks:
To shorten the handover command, ZTE has designed an OldToNewctrl parameter on
the OMC. The engineers can set whether to let the handover command carry optional
fields and whether to optimize the frequency-hopping MALIST coding scheme.
The OldToNewctrl parameter controls the contents to be delivered during each outgoing
handover; the contents are in the Old BSS to New BSS information information
element of the HANDOVER REQUIRED message. Four items Synchronization
Indication, Cipher Mode Setting, Multi-Rate Configuration, and Frequency List are
controlled by the following high bits of the OldToNewCtrl system control parameter:
Bit 3: whether to transmit the multi-rate configuration information. 0: No; 1: Yes.
Bit 5: whether to fill the frequency-hopping parameter in FreqList structure. 0: No; 1:
Yes.



Bit 6: whether to optimize the filling of the AMR multi-frequency configuration
parameter. 0: No; 1: Yes.
Bit 7: whether to optimize the filling of the ciphering information parameter. 0: No; 1:
Yes.
Bit 8: whether to optimize the synchronization information parameter. 0: No; 1: Yes.
The above optimization switches are compatible: They can take effect at the same time,
either for intra-BSC or inter-BSC handovers. The default value of the OldToNewctrl
parameter on the OMC is a decimal number, which corresponds to a binary number. For
example, 240 (a decimal number) = 11110000 (a binary number), which means that the
functions corresponding to Bits 5 to 8 are enabled.
The ciphering information can be omitted only during intra-BSC handovers.
Please note that during inter-BSC outgoing handovers, the peer BSC should send the
multi-rate configuration information in the handover request, so that the local BSC can
check the AMR parameter and decide whether to carry AMR to the peer BSC. In this
case, the switch deciding whether to transmit the multi-rate configuration information
must be turned on, that is, Bit 3 must be set to 1.
Bit 5 is quite important to the length of a handover command.
The MALIST code in the network is in the form of Cell Channel Description or Frequency
List After Time. Cell Channel Description has a fixed length of 17 bytes and currently it is
used by default, which may cause the handover command to exceed 23 bytes easily.
Frequency List After Time is a length-variable field in TLV format (4~131 bytes). When
Frequency List After Time is adopted (Bit 5 is set to 1), the length of the handover
command will be obviously shorter. Therefore, it is recommended to set Bit 5 to 1.
Note:
Bit 5 is applicable to iBSC V6.20.614CP005 and later versions only.
4.4.2 IRC Function
The IRC function can suppress interference in scenarios of dense frequency reuse and
large traffic, improve the UL RxQual and MOS, and reduce the handovers due to poor UL
RxQual. Because the software versions of the BTS V2 and V3 have been designed with
this function, no switch is needed. For SDR base stations, the engineers should choose
whether to use IRC or not on the OMCB, and Use IRC is recommended, as shown in
Figure 4-2.



Figure 4-2 Enabling the IRC Function of an SDR Base Station

For the MOS comparative test before and after the IRC function was enabled, see
Chapter 6 Case Study.
4.4.3 Impact of the T3105 Parameter on the Number of Times That the
PHYSICAL INFORMATION Message Is Delivered
The setting of the T3105 parameter may affect the number of times that the PHYSICAL
INFORMATION message is delivered. Because the PHYSICAL INFORMATION
message is delivered through FACCH frame stealing over the Um interface, probably
there will be an extra speech loss of 20 ms during the handover when one more
PHYSICAL INFORMATION message is delivered. As a result, the MOS may be affected
during the handover. A field test showed that when the T3105 parameter was set to 6,



basically the PHYSICAL INFORMATION message was delivered for three times, as
shown in Figure 4-3 .
Figure 4-3 Asynchronous Handover Signaling on the Um Interface (Blue for the Layer-3
Messages and Green for the Layer-2 Messages)

A lab test showed that the period after the BTS delivered the first PHYSICAL
INFORMATION message and before it received the SABM message from the MS was
120 ms. Therefore, it is recommended to set the T3105 parameter to 8, so that one
PHYSICAL INFORMATION message can be omitted. However, a comparative test
showed that after the modification, the MOS was not improved obviously.
For the MOS comparative test before and after the T3105 parameter was changed from 6
to 8, see Chapter 6 Case Study.
4.4.4 Processing of the PHYSICAL INFORMATION Messages by the DBB
The PHYSICAL INFORMATION messages are processed by the DBB and the total
duration of a handover is shortened by about 20 ms. However, it has little impact on the
MOS improvement.
This function can be used between BTS and SDR versions. And the applicable versions
are as follows:
SDR: V4.09 series
BTS V3: V6.20.200m and later versions
BTS V2: V5.96.520A and later versions
It is recommended that if conditions permit, the engineers should upgrade the base
stations to the above versions.
4.5 RQ Optimization of the Existing Network
Usually, the speech quality and MOS values in poor radio environments are poor. Internal
frequency interference may affect the signal quality and lead to frequent handovers,



thereby affecting the MOS test results. Therefore, optimizing the radio environment and
improving the RQ indicator of the existing network are vital to the MOS improvement. In
particular, it is required to make thorough optimization and adjustments for the sections
where the RQ is poor during the DT.
Usually, RQ optimization should be considered from the following three aspects:
1. Handling of the poorest-RQ cells
On the basis of the performance statistics on the OMC, find the cells of the poorest
UL and DL RQ and handle them as follows:
For cells of which the RQ values from six through seven take up a large
proportion (for example, larger than 20%), it is recommended to check the cell
alarms first, so as to judge whether there is any alarm about the combiner,
splitter, TRX, power amplifier, transmission, TMA, or repeater. If there is any
alarm, handle the alarm first.
Check for internal interference and external interference. Observe the
carrier-level indicators of poor-RQ cells to find the carriers of the poorest RQ,
use the frequency planning software to judge whether there are obvious
problems with the planning of ARFCNs, BSICs, MAIOs, and HSNs, and
optimize the frequency parameters. Observe cell-level and carrier-level UL
interference band indicators to judge whether there is obvious external
interference. By optimizing ARFCNs and locating interference sources, solve
the problems of poor RQ caused by external interference.
Check whether the poor-RQ cells have obvious problems of overshooting or
weak coverage. The RMA tool or DT data can be used. For a weak-coverage
cell, it is recommended to check the setting of the carrier transmission power
parameter and the connections of the RF cables and antenna feeder system
and check whether there is any hidden trouble with the TRX and combiner. For
an overshooting cell, it is recommended to properly control the cell coverage
range by adjusting the cell transmission power and the antenna downtilt and
azimuth and conducting DTs.
Use the OMC performance data and RMA tool to check whether the cells have
obvious problems of UL-DL imbalance. For cells whose ULs or DLs are poor,
check whether the external TMAs and repeaters work normally, whether the
feeders, jumpers, antennas, and cables of the RF parts are connected
securely, and whether the carriers and CDU boards work normally step by
step.
2. Optimization for sections where the RQ is poor during the DT, which requires
special attention



For sections where the RQ is poor (consecutively poorer than RQ5) during the
routine network test, analyze the DT data and the performance data and alarms on
the OMC, and then perform optimization as follows:
Analyze the test data and frequency planning data to judge whether the poor
RQ is caused by frequency interference and solve the problem of ARFCN
interference by optimizing the ARFCNs.
Analyze the test data to judge whether the poor RQ is caused by improper
coverage, such as overshooting and weak coverage. Adjust the antenna
downtilt, azimuth, and carrier transmission power to optimize the cell coverage
and ensure a stable serving cell.
Analyze the test data to judge whether the handover parameters and neighbor
cell parameters are properly set and whether the poor RQ is caused by
over-slow handover triggering speed or omission of better neighbor cells. Then
properly configure the neighbor cells and optimize the handover parameters to
improve the speech quality.
3. Handling of network interference
The overall RQ of a network is mainly related to the C/I level of a network. Usually,
the field engineers can adopt a proper frequency planning scheme or enable power
control and optimize power control parameters to reduce the overall network
interference and improve the RQ.
Replan the frequencies of the whole network to reduce the interference. The
automatic frequency planning tool based on MRs can help design more
reasonable and more accurate frequency planning schemes. If the frequency
reuse in the existing network is too dense and the frequency interference is
conspicuous, it is required to take this measure (if conditions permit).
Enable power control and optimize power control parameters to reduce the
interference and improve the RQ. Usually, this method is more effective for
networks with dense frequency reuse. In most cases, it is recommended to
enable the UL power control. For the DL power control, judge whether to
enable it according to actual conditions of the network interference. If the
interference is small and the DL RQ is good (Proportion of RQ0~3 > 98%),
probably the DL power control will have no obvious impact on the RQ
improvement.
4.6 Disabling of the Function of Sending Status
Query Messages at the CN Side
The CN side will have a new switch in the later V9.10 series to control the status query
process. A lab test showed that after this process was cancelled, the first MOS value



after the origination increased by 0.15 averagely. Therefore, it is recommended to
persuade the CN engineers to try to cancel this process, so that the relevant signaling
flow will not affect the first MOS value.



5 General Care for the Use of Test
Devices
The engineers use the test device properly and troubleshoot the problem during the DT,
which can guarantee that the MOS will not drop due to abnormal conditions of the test
device or human errors.
5.1 General Care for the Use of Pilot Pioneer
According to the experience gained and problems discovered during the previous field
tests, the basic DT flow and troubleshooting flow with Pilot Pioneer are as follows:
1. For the Pilot Pioneer device of the early version, the engineers should calibrate its
volume and waveform with the test portable computer, because the volume and
waveform can affect the MOS. The best calibration values in different computers are
various. After the calibration is completed, the engineers perform the frequency-lock
CQTs. If the average PESQ_LQ of the EFR algorithm is above 4.0, it indicates that
the device is calibrated to the best state.
2. Currently, it is unnecessary to calibrate most of the Pilot Pioneer devices.
3. It is necessary for the engineers to check the device cables and MS port before
performing the CQTs. They should check whether the connections between cables
and ports are poor. The typical feature of poor connections is that the MOS is
always 1.0. The engineers should pay attention to it.
4. The engineers should pay attention to the consecutive abnormal low MOSs in the
DT. In the normal network, it is abnormal that several consecutive MOSs are low.
With the DT device, the engineers can judge whether the handover frequently
happens or there are handover failures during the period of time. If yes, the
engineers should record the road sections, sites, and cell information and report
them to the RNO engineers. The RNO engineers should solve the problems by
adjusting network parameters or optimizing the network coverage.
5. If the MOSs of some cells or TRXs are low, the engineers should analyze the RQ of
the cell or TRX. They should judge whether the RQ affects the MOS. If yes, the
engineers should record the problematic cell and TRX information and report them
to the RNO engineers for troubleshooting interference and performing optimization
to solve the problem. If the RQ is good but the MOS is low, the engineers should
record the problematic cell, TRX information, and Abis interface signaling and report
them to the RNO engineers for further analysis and troubleshooting.
Besides, the C/I collected with the SAGEM testing MS has problems. The engineers
should pay attention to it when the C/I is collected in some fields.



The engineers performed tests with the Nokia N85 MS (enabling and disabling the DL
DTX) for comparison in a certain home office. The proportions of C/I 12 dB were
99.22% (enabling the DL DTX) and 99.16% (disabling the DL DTX). There was only one
statistical result, no matter whether the MS occupied the BCCH TRX or TCH TRX.
The result of the test performed by the engineers with the SAGEM OT498 was worse
than that with the Nokia N85 MS. The proportions of C/I 12 dB for the placement tests
(enabling and disabling the DL DTX) are listed in Table 5-1 .
Table 5-1 C/I Statistical Result (With the SAGEM MS)
BCCH C/I ( 12 dB) TCH C/I ( 12 dB)
Test 1 (enabling DTX) 95.36% 85.49%
Test 2 (disabling DTX) 93.81% 54.92
5.2 General Care for the Use of NTAS AUTO
According to the experience gained and problems discovered during the previous field
tests, the engineers should perform adjustments when using NTAS AUTO.
1. The volume of the Nokia MS should be set to 9 instead of 6.
2. For the MOS test setting, the engineers should not set 6 Record to 10 of the play
setting in the gain setting; instead, they should set 3 Record to 12.
3. When performing the MOS test, the engineers should use the MOS box in which the
audio input and output are separated. The MOS box in which the audio input and
output are not separated should be replaced.
4. The test software version should be updated to the latest version.
5. It is recommended to use Nokia 6720 for the test.
6. There are four ports on the NTAS speech box. Port 1 and Port 2 are formed one pair
and Port 3 and Port 4 are formed the other pair. Those two pairs of ports are
independent. The engineers can check which pair of ports has problem by replacing
the ports.
7. During the CQT, the MOSs are always good and bad by turns. It is a very important
way to judge whether the audio cable has problem or the connection is loose,
especially for the speech box in which the audio input and output are separated.
If the engineers do not perform the setting on the basis of the above points, the following
problems may happen during the field test:
The MOSs fluctuate greatly. They are good and bad by turns



The peak MOS is too low.
Sometimes, the MOS is 1.0, which is invalid.
In a same road section in China, the engineers compare the test result on the basis of the
above four points with that without the above four points and the comparison results are
listed in the following table. (Other indicators do not fluctuate.)
Table 5-2 Result of the Indicator Comparison Before and After NTAS AUTO Is Properly
Adjusted
Peak MOS Average MOS
Proportion of MOS
3
NTAS AUTO is not
calibrated
reasonably
4.15 3.46 20.00%
NTAS AUTO is
calibrated
reasonably
4.29 3.87 3.81%



6 Case Study
6.1 Scenarios
Three typical DT scenarios are selected for the test. They are the main road, downtown
area, and expressway in the suburb. Select the areas which belong to ZTE and NSN
(they are the manufacturers in the existing network of Xian Unicom) respectively and
meet the requirement of scenarios for the DTs. Table 6-1 lists the routes in detail.
Table 6-1 Test Routes in Typical Scenarios
Manufa
cturer
Main Road Downtown Area Suburb
ZTE
Da Qing Road
(Yuxiang
GateWest Second
Ring)
East Fenggao
Road-West
Guanzheng Street
West GateWest
Second Ring
West Third Ring
(Entrance of Xihu High
WayExit of Airport High
Way)
NSN
Tangyan Road
West Second
RingEast
Zhangba Road
Keji Road
(Tangyan
RoadHanguang
Road)
West Furong Road
Xiying RoadYannan No.4
Road
The networking and version information in ZTEs and NSNs test areas are listed in Table
6-2.
Table 6-2 Networking and Version Information of ZTEs and NSNs Equipment
ZTE Networking and Version Information
Type and version of the CN ZTEs CN
BSC version V6.20.200F/V6.20.614Cp001
BTS version
BTSV2: V5.96.520A
BTSV3: V6.20.200E
SDR: V47.00.3007P09
A interface (IPA or E1A) Optical port and E1. They are both E1A.
Abis interface (IPOverE1 or others) E1
BTS type (SDR, BTSV3, and BTSV2) BTSV2, BTSV3, and SDR
Speech version configuration and
use condition
EFR and HR
Whether TFO or TrFO is used TFO is used.
Whether the inter-MSC handover is
performed at the test spot
Yes
Whether the inter-BSC handover is Yes



ZTE Networking and Version Information
performed at the test spot
NSN Networking and Version Information
Type and version of the CN ZTEs CN
BSS manufacturer and version Nokia-Siemens
Speech version configuration and
use condition
EFR and HR
Whether TFO or TrFO is used TFO is used
Network coverage area Downtown area
6.2 Test Methods and Devices
Pilot Pioneer and Nokia N85 are used in the test. The short call is used in the DT and the
call duration is 90 s. The call setup duration and call interval are both 20 s. In order to
make each DT result stable, the number of MOS samples collected in each scenario
should be about 300.
6.3 Test Results and Analysis
6.3.1 Comparison Results Before and After the T3105 Parameter Was
Optimization
On May 16, the engineers performed a placement test for the first time. Meanwhile, the
engineers saved and recorded the handover signaling on the Um interface with a
SAGEM MS. They found that the MS received three PHYSICAL INFORMATION
messages during the asynchronous handover in ZTEs network while the MS only
received two PHYSICAL INFORMATION messages during the asynchronous handover
in NSNs network.
Figure 6-1 Um Interface Signaling During the Asynchronous Handover in ZTEs
Network



Figure 6-2 Um Interface Signaling During the Asynchronous Handover in NSNs
Network

Because the PHYSICAL INFORMATION message is sent through the FACCH on the
Um interface, it is likely that 20-ms speech is lost during the handover when one more
PHYSICAL INFORMATION message is sent. Therefore, the MOS will be affected during
the handover. By analyzing the signaling on the Um interface during the NSN handover,
the engineers could deduce that NSNs T3105 was set to 10 (that is, 100 ms) while the
T3105 parameter in most ZTEs cells was set to 6. On the basis of the test result from the
lab, the duration from the first PHYSICAL INFORMATION message sent by the BTS to
the MS SABM received by the BTS was about 120 ms. Thus, it was recommended to set
the T3105 parameter to 8, so that one PHYSICAL INFORMATION message could be
reduced and this message could be resent timely. After the T3105 parameter was
modified, the engineers performed DTs on the main road and in the downtown area
respectively to make comparison. Table 6-3 shows the comparison results.
Table 6-3 Comparison Results Before and After the T3105 Parameter Is Modified
Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Main
Road
, Test
on
May
16
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Test on
May 19
(Modifyi
ng the
T3105
paramet
er from
6 to 8)
ZTE,
Downto
wn
Area,
Test on
May 16
ZTE,
Downto
wn
Area,
Test on
May 19
(Modifyi
ng the
T3105
paramet
er from
6 to 8)
Average MOS (PESQ_LQ)
Number of
MOS samples
294 280 319 280
Average MOS 3.66 3.68 3.57 3.55
Maximum MOS 4.28 4.29 4.27 4.28
Minimum MOS 1.00 1.68 1.00 1.00
MOS distribution
1 MOS 2
2.72
%
0.36% 4.39% 2.86%
2 MOS 2.5
3.06
%
3.93% 6.27% 5.00%



Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Main
Road
, Test
on
May
16
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Test on
May 19
(Modifyi
ng the
T3105
paramet
er from
6 to 8)
ZTE,
Downto
wn
Area,
Test on
May 16
ZTE,
Downto
wn
Area,
Test on
May 19
(Modifyi
ng the
T3105
paramet
er from
6 to 8)
2.5 MOS 3
10.20
%
15.00% 6.90% 12.50%
3 MOS 3.3
10.54
%
9.29% 9.40% 9.64%
3.3 MOS
3.6
6.80
%
7.86% 17.87% 18.21%
3.6 MOS 4
20.75
%
16.07% 10.03% 10.71%
4 MOS 4.5
45.92
%
47.50% 45.14% 41.07%
MOS 4.5
0.00
%
0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Proportion of each speech
version
EFR
99.29
%
98.45% 76.16% 75.74%
HR
0.71
%
1.55% 23.84% 24.26%
AMRFR
0.00
%
0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
AMRHR
0.00
%
0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Number of handovers
Number of
handover
attempts
232 259 191 166
Number of
handover
successes
229 259 191 165
Number of
handover
failures
3 0 0 1
Handover
success rate
98.71
%
100.00
%
100.00
%
99.40%
Number of
intra-cell
handovers
0 0 1 1
Number of
MOS
samples/Numb
er of handovers
1.27 1.08 1.66 1.68



Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Main
Road
, Test
on
May
16
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Test on
May 19
(Modifyi
ng the
T3105
paramet
er from
6 to 8)
ZTE,
Downto
wn
Area,
Test on
May 16
ZTE,
Downto
wn
Area,
Test on
May 19
(Modifyi
ng the
T3105
paramet
er from
6 to 8)
(including
intra-cell
handovers)
Handover
frequency =
Number of
handovers
(including
intra-cell
handovers)/Nu
mber of MOS
samples
0.79 0.93 0.60 0.60
Inter-frequency handover
Number of
900M900M
handover
attempts
8 5 0 0
Number of
1800M1800M
handover
attempts
150 153 173 154
Number of
900M1800M
handover
attempts
35 53 9 6
Number of
1800M900M
handover
attempts
39 48 9 6
Judging from the above comparison results, the engineers found that the MOS was not
affected when the T3105 value was modified. Thus, the T3105 value could not be
modified.
6.3.2 Comparison Tests in Typical Scenarios of ZTE (China Unicom), NSN
(China Unicom), and ALU (China Mobile)
In order to compare the MOSs of different manufacturers in different typical scenarios
and analyze the main factor which affects the MOS during the DT, the engineers
performed comparison tests in typical scenarios of ZTE (China Unicom), NSN (China



Unicom), and ALU (China Mobile). For the test routes of ZTEs and NSNs typical
scenarios, refer to Table 1. ALUs test routes were the same with those of ZTE. The DT
comparison results in three networks are listed in Table 6-4.
Table 6-4 Comparison Results of DTs in Typical Scenarios of Three Networks
Typical Scenario
ZT
E,
Ma
in
Ro
ad,
Te
st
on
Ma
y
16
NS
N,
Ma
in
Ro
ad,
Te
st
on
Ma
y
16
AL
U,
Mai
n
Ro
ad
(Ch
ina
Mo
bil
e),
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
18
ZTE,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
,
Test
on
May
16
NSN
,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
,
Test
on
May
17
ALU
,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
(Chi
na
Mob
ile),
Test
on
May
18
ZT
E,
Su
bur
b,
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
17
NS
N,
Su
bur
b,
Ret
est
on
Ma
y
18
AL
U,
Su
bur
b
(Ch
ina
Mo
bil
e),
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
18
Average MOS
(PESQ_LQ)
Number
of MOS
samples
29
4
25
2
268 319 332 278 321 293 330
Average
MOS
3.6
6
3.6
1
3.1
6
3.57 3.66 3.47
3.6
1
3.5
9
3.6
3
Maximu
m MOS
4.2
8
4.2
9
4.2
7
4.27 4.29 4.28
4.2
8
4.2
4.2
7
Minimu
m MOS
1.0
0
1.0
0
1.0
0
1.00 1.71 1.00
1.0
0
1
1.0
0
Proportion of
MOSs
1 MOS
2
2.7
2%
1.9
8%
13.
43
%
4.39
%
1.20
%
2.16
%
1.8
7%
4.7
8%
2.7
3%
2 MOS
2.5
3.0
6%
2.3
8%
5.9
7%
6.27
%
4.22
%
3.60
%
4.6
7%
2.3
9%
1.8
2%
2.5
MOS 3
10.
20
%
16.
27
%
11.
94
%
6.90
%
9.94
%
12.9
5%
13.
08
%
9.2
2%
11.
21
%
3 MOS
3.3
10.
54
%
6.7
5%
10.
07
%
9.40
%
6.02
%
13.6
7%
8.1
0%
7.1
7%
9.3
9%
3.3
MOS
3.6
6.8
0%
19.
84
%
18.
28
%
17.8
7%
18.0
7%
20.5
0%
7.1
7%
8.1
9%
7.8
8%
3.6
MOS 4
20.
75
%
9.5
2%
27.
99
%
10.0
3%
18.0
7%
26.9
8%
26.
79
%
40.
96
%
31.
52
%
4 MOS 45. 43. 12. 45.1 42.4 20.1 38. 27. 35.



Typical Scenario
ZT
E,
Ma
in
Ro
ad,
Te
st
on
Ma
y
16
NS
N,
Ma
in
Ro
ad,
Te
st
on
Ma
y
16
AL
U,
Mai
n
Ro
ad
(Ch
ina
Mo
bil
e),
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
18
ZTE,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
,
Test
on
May
16
NSN
,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
,
Test
on
May
17
ALU
,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
(Chi
na
Mob
ile),
Test
on
May
18
ZT
E,
Su
bur
b,
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
17
NS
N,
Su
bur
b,
Ret
est
on
Ma
y
18
AL
U,
Su
bur
b
(Ch
ina
Mo
bil
e),
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
18
4.5 92
%
25
%
31
%
4% 7% 4% 32
%
30
%
45
%
MOS
4.5
0.0
0%
0.0
0%
0.0
0%
0.00
%
0.00
%
0.00
%
0.0
0%
0.0
0%
0.0
0%
Proportion of
MSO 3
Proporti
on of
MSO 3
84.
01
%
79.
36
%
68.
65
%
82.4
4%
84.6
3%
81.2
9%
80.
38
%
83.
62
%
84.
24
%
Proportion of
each speech
version
EFR
99.
29
%
74.
41
%
77.
79
%
76.1
6%
77.0
4%
84.2
7%
89.
89
%
88.
06
%
97.
87
%
HR
0.7
1%
25.
59
%
0.0
0%
23.8
4%
22.9
6%
0.00
%
10.
11
%
11.
94
%
1.7
8%
AMRF
R
0.0
0%
0.0
0%
0.0
8%
0.00
%
0.00
%
0.00
%
0.0
0%
0.0
0%
0.0
0%
AMRH
R
0.0
0%
0.0
0%
22.
13
%
0.00
%
0.00
%
15.7
3%
0.0
0%
0.0
0%
0.3
5%
Number of
handovers
Number
of
handove
r
attempts
23
2
11
1
227 191 137 304 217 122 236
Number
of
handove
r
success
es
22
9
11
1
223 191 136 302 215 118 230
Number
of
handove
r failures
3 0 4 0 1 2 2 4 6
Handov
er
98.
71
10
0%
98.
24
100
%
99.2
7%
99.3
4%
99.
08
96.
72
97.
46



Typical Scenario
ZT
E,
Ma
in
Ro
ad,
Te
st
on
Ma
y
16
NS
N,
Ma
in
Ro
ad,
Te
st
on
Ma
y
16
AL
U,
Mai
n
Ro
ad
(Ch
ina
Mo
bil
e),
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
18
ZTE,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
,
Test
on
May
16
NSN
,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
,
Test
on
May
17
ALU
,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
(Chi
na
Mob
ile),
Test
on
May
18
ZT
E,
Su
bur
b,
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
17
NS
N,
Su
bur
b,
Ret
est
on
Ma
y
18
AL
U,
Su
bur
b
(Ch
ina
Mo
bil
e),
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
18
success
rate
% % % % %
Number
of
intra-cell
handove
rs
0 0 0 1 11 0 0 0 0
Number
of MOS
samples
/Number
of
handove
rs
(includin
g
intra-cell
handove
rs)
1.2
7
2.2
7
1.1
8
1.66 2.24 0.91
1.4
8
2.4
0
1.4
0
Handov
er
frequenc
y =
Number
of
handove
rs
(includin
g
intra-cell
handove
rs)/Num
ber of
MOS
samples
0.7
9
0.4
4
0.8
5
0.60 0.45 1.09
0.6
8
0.4
2
0.7
2
Inter-frequency
Number
of
8 4 66 0 2 52 47 1 168



Typical Scenario
ZT
E,
Ma
in
Ro
ad,
Te
st
on
Ma
y
16
NS
N,
Ma
in
Ro
ad,
Te
st
on
Ma
y
16
AL
U,
Mai
n
Ro
ad
(Ch
ina
Mo
bil
e),
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
18
ZTE,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
,
Test
on
May
16
NSN
,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
,
Test
on
May
17
ALU
,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
(Chi
na
Mob
ile),
Test
on
May
18
ZT
E,
Su
bur
b,
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
17
NS
N,
Su
bur
b,
Ret
est
on
Ma
y
18
AL
U,
Su
bur
b
(Ch
ina
Mo
bil
e),
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
18
handover 900M9
00M
handove
r
attempts
Number
of
1800M
1800M
handove
r
attempts
15
0
94 45 173 119 50 104 88 22
Number
of
900M1
800M
handove
r
attempts
35 6 54 9 7 104 38 12 19
Number
of
1800M
900M
handove
r
attempts
39 7 62 9 9 98 28 21 27
RQ distribution
0
85.
59
%
91.
98
%
76.
16
%
88.2
3%
90.8
4%
84.1
0%
80.
21
%
81.
80
%
81.
59
%
1
6.3
3%
2.2
7%
3.2
2%
3.62
%
2.45
%
3.28
%
6.6
4%
3.2
7%
3.5
8%
2
3.9
4%
1.6
3%
2.8
9%
2.42
%
2.13
%
3.02
%
4.8
9%
2.5
9%
3.3
5%
3
2.1
6%
1.5
5%
3.8
5%
1.84
%
2.17
%
3.67
%
3.0
7%
2.9
4%
3.7
0%



Typical Scenario
ZT
E,
Ma
in
Ro
ad,
Te
st
on
Ma
y
16
NS
N,
Ma
in
Ro
ad,
Te
st
on
Ma
y
16
AL
U,
Mai
n
Ro
ad
(Ch
ina
Mo
bil
e),
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
18
ZTE,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
,
Test
on
May
16
NSN
,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
,
Test
on
May
17
ALU
,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
(Chi
na
Mob
ile),
Test
on
May
18
ZT
E,
Su
bur
b,
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
17
NS
N,
Su
bur
b,
Ret
est
on
Ma
y
18
AL
U,
Su
bur
b
(Ch
ina
Mo
bil
e),
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
18
4
1.1
3%
1.2
7%
3.8
7%
1.25
%
1.37
%
2.46
%
2.1
2%
2.6
6%
3.2
3%
5
0.2
9%
0.7
0%
3.7
3%
1.01
%
0.71
%
1.57
%
1.7
9%
2.3
6%
2.5
0%
6
0.3
5%
0.3
7%
2.9
7%
0.84
%
0.29
%
1.12
%
1.0
1%
1.6
8%
1.1
4%
7
0.2
1%
0.2
4%
3.3
1%
0.79
%
0.05
%
0.79
%
0.2
7%
2.6
9%
0.9
0%
TA
0 TA
2
93.
82
%
88.
76
%
73.
99
%
95.6
6%
88.5
1%
91.5
0%
75.
71
%
53.
65
%
65.
39
%
2 TA
5
6.1
8%
10.
95
%
14.
82
%
4.18
%
11.4
9%
3.54
%
24.
16
%
36.
24
%
34.
61
%
TA 5 0
0.2
9%
11.
18
%
0 0
4.96
%
0.1
2%
10.
12
%
0.0
0%
Call completion
rate and call
drop rate
Number
of call
attempts
32 27 27 33 34 27 32 32 34
Number
of call
setup
success
es
30 25 27 32 33 27 32 29 32
Number
of call
setup
failures
2 2 0 1 1 0 0 3 2
Call
completi
on rate
93.
75
%
92.
59
%
100
%
96.9
7%
97.0
6%
100
%
100
%
90.
63
%
94.
12
%
Number
of call
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1



Typical Scenario
ZT
E,
Ma
in
Ro
ad,
Te
st
on
Ma
y
16
NS
N,
Ma
in
Ro
ad,
Te
st
on
Ma
y
16
AL
U,
Mai
n
Ro
ad
(Ch
ina
Mo
bil
e),
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
18
ZTE,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
,
Test
on
May
16
NSN
,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
,
Test
on
May
17
ALU
,
Dow
nto
wn
Area
(Chi
na
Mob
ile),
Test
on
May
18
ZT
E,
Su
bur
b,
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
17
NS
N,
Su
bur
b,
Ret
est
on
Ma
y
18
AL
U,
Su
bur
b
(Ch
ina
Mo
bil
e),
Tes
t
on
Ma
y
18
drops
Call
drop
rate
0 0
3.7
0%
0 0 0 0
3.4
5%
3.1
3%
By analyzing the comparison results, the engineers found that the speech versions used
in ZTEs network (China Unicom) and NSNs network (China Unicom) were both EFR +
HR while that used in ALUs network (China Mobile) was EFR + AHS. Generally speaking,
the MOS of the AHS speech version is 0.3 higher than that of the HR speech version.
However, in the three scenarios, the handover frequency of ALU was the highest, which
made ALUs average MOS and proportion of MOSs higher than three the lowest. In the
suburb scenario, when the proportion of EFR was near 100%, ALUs average MOS and
MOS distribution were a little better than those of ZTE and NSN. Therefore, the handover
frequency is an important factor affecting the average MOS and MOS distribution.
By comparing the test results of ZTEs downtown area and suburb and NSNs downtown
area and suburb, the engineers found that ZTEs proportion of EFR and HR was close to
that of NSN, but ZTEs handover frequency was much higher than that of NSN. The
handover frequency is defined as Number of MOS samples/Number of handovers, so
that the engineers can better compare the handover frequencies instead of numbers of
handovers only. Because the numbers of MOS samples and numbers of handovers
cannot be the same or close to each other for tests, it is more accurate for the engineers
to use the handover frequency instead of the number of handovers to compare the
effects on the MOS by the handover during the DT. Through the comparison, the
engineers found that ZTEs handover frequencies in the downtown area and suburb were
much higher than those of NSN, as shown in Figure 6-3 and Figure 6-4.



Figure 6-3 Comparison Between ZTEs Downtown Area and NSNs Downtown Area

Figure 6-4 Comparison Between ZTEs Suburb and NSNs Suburb

In the two scenarios, the proportion of HRs was high. During the test, when the HR-HR or
HR-EFR handover was not performed, the MOS was in the range of 3.3~3.5. If there was
one handover during the MOS period, the MOS might drop to below 3.0. When the TFO
was set up during the EFR-EFR handover, the MOS would be over 4.0. If there was only
one handover during the MOS period, the MOS would still be over 3.0. When the
proportion of HRs was high, the handover would affect the proportion of MOSs higher
than three more greatly. By comparing ZTEs main road with that of NSN, the engineers



found that ZTEs and NSNs handover frequencies were higher than those in ZTEs
downtown area and NSNs downtown area. ZTEs proportion of MOSs higher than three
was higher than that of NSN, because the EFR was used by ZTE in this scenario. It was
seldom that the MOS was less than three due to HR-HR or HR-EFR calls with handovers.
Therefore, the handover frequency and proportion of speech versions are the two
important factors affecting the average MOS, especially the proportion of MOSs equal to
or larger than three. Thus, the engineers can reduce the unnecessary handovers and
proportion of HRs to improve the average MOS and MOS distribution.
6.3.3 Comparison Tests Before and After the UL RxLev Handover
Threshold and Dynamic HR Thresholds of Some Cells Were Modified
In order to reduce the unnecessary handovers and the proportion of HRs of some cells
with low traffic, the engineers adjusted the UL RxLev handover threshold and dynamic
HR thresholds of some cells in ZTEs typical scenarios. The UL RxLev handover
threshold was modified from 13 to 6 or 8. The dynamic HR cells and parameter
modification are listed in Table 6-5. The comparison results are listed in Table 6-6.
Table 6-5 Dynamic HR Cells and Parameter Modification
Re
ma
rks
B
S
C
BT
S
S
i
t
e
N
o
.
L
A
C
C
I
Dyna
mic
HR
Supp
ort
Indic
ation
(Dyn
aHR
Enab
le)
M
od
ifi
ed
Va
lu
e
Thr
esh
old
for
FR
to
HR
(H
RT
hs,
%)
M
od
ifi
ed
Va
lu
e
Thr
esh
old
of
AM
R
HR
(A
mr
HR
Ths
)
HR
Chan
nel
Perce
ntage
Thres
hold
(HRT
sPerc
entag
e)
M
od
ifi
ed
Va
lu
e
Use
Cell
Dyna
mic
HR
Param
eter
(UseC
ellDyn
HRPar
a)
M
od
ifi
ed
Va
lu
e
Ma
in
roa
d
3
7
37
_6
6_
3
3
8
4
1
0
2
9
0
6
3
0 1 60 80 50 50

0 1
Ma
in
roa
d
3
4
34
_3
8_
1
1
8
4
1
4
5
0
4
3
6
1

80

80 100 50 1

Ma
in
roa
d
3
4
34
_6
7_
1
1
8
4
1
4
1
1
3
4
1
1 0 60

60 100

1

Ma
in
roa
3
4
34
_6
7_
2
8
4
1
1
1
3
1

60

60 100 50 0 1



Re
ma
rks
B
S
C
BT
S
S
i
t
e
N
o
.
L
A
C
C
I
Dyna
mic
HR
Supp
ort
Indic
ation
(Dyn
aHR
Enab
le)
M
od
ifi
ed
Va
lu
e
Thr
esh
old
for
FR
to
HR
(H
RT
hs,
%)
M
od
ifi
ed
Va
lu
e
Thr
esh
old
of
AM
R
HR
(A
mr
HR
Ths
)
HR
Chan
nel
Perce
ntage
Thres
hold
(HRT
sPerc
entag
e)
M
od
ifi
ed
Va
lu
e
Use
Cell
Dyna
mic
HR
Param
eter
(UseC
ellDyn
HRPar
a)
M
od
ifi
ed
Va
lu
e
d 2 4 4
2
Do
wn
to
wn
are
a
3
7
37
_3
4_
1
1
8
4
1
0
2
9
0
7
6
1

60

50 50

0 1
Do
wn
to
wn
are
a
3
7
37
_3
51
_1
1
8
4
1
0
2
9
2
5
6
0 1 60 80 50 50

0 1
Do
wn
to
wn
are
a
3
7
37
_4
1_
1
1
8
4
1
0
2
9
3
7
6
0 1 60 80 50 50

0 1
Do
wn
to
wn
are
a
3
7
37
_4
3_
2
2
8
4
1
0
2
9
8
8
2
1

50 80 50 50

1

Do
wn
to
wn
are
a
3
7
37
_4
3_
3
3
8
4
1
0
2
9
8
8
3
1

60 80 50 50

1

Do
wn
to
wn
are
a
3
7
37
_6
2_
1
1
8
4
1
0
2
6
1
6
1
0 1 60 80 50 50

0 1
Do
wn
to
3
7
37
_7
0_
1
8
4
1
1
0
4
0 1 60 80 50 50

0 1



Re
ma
rks
B
S
C
BT
S
S
i
t
e
N
o
.
L
A
C
C
I
Dyna
mic
HR
Supp
ort
Indic
ation
(Dyn
aHR
Enab
le)
M
od
ifi
ed
Va
lu
e
Thr
esh
old
for
FR
to
HR
(H
RT
hs,
%)
M
od
ifi
ed
Va
lu
e
Thr
esh
old
of
AM
R
HR
(A
mr
HR
Ths
)
HR
Chan
nel
Perce
ntage
Thres
hold
(HRT
sPerc
entag
e)
M
od
ifi
ed
Va
lu
e
Use
Cell
Dyna
mic
HR
Param
eter
(UseC
ellDyn
HRPar
a)
M
od
ifi
ed
Va
lu
e
wn
are
a
1 0 0
1
Su
bur
b
3
0
30
_1
32
_2
2
8
4
2
2
1
2
9
5
2
1

60 80 60 100 50 1

Su
bur
b
3
0
30
_2
03
_2
2
8
4
2
2
2
7
5
8
7
1

60

60 100

0 1
Su
bur
b
3
0
30
_2
03
_3
3
8
4
2
2
2
7
5
8
8
1

60

60 100

0 1
Su
bur
b
3
0
30
_2
15
_1
1
8
4
2
2
2
8
1
8
6
1

60 80 60 100 50 1

Su
bur
b
3
0
30
_2
20
_2
2
8
4
2
2
2
8
3
6
7
0 1 60 80 60 100 50 0 1
Su
bur
b
3
0
30
_2
20
_3
3
8
4
2
2
2
8
3
6
8
0 1 60 80 60 100 50 0 1
Su
bur
b
3
0
30
_2
8_
3
3
8
4
2
2
5
2
3
1
8
0 1 60 80 60 100 50 0 1



Table 6-6 DT Comparison Results of the UL RxLev Handover Threshold and Dynamic
HR Parameters Before and After Modification
Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Test on
May 19
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8)
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on May
23
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8
and
modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
thresh
old and
the
dynami
c HR
parame
ter of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Test on
May 19
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Retest
on May
23
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8
and
modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
thresh
old and
the
dynami
c HR
parame
ter of
some
cells)
Number of
MOS samples
280 314 280 354
Average MOS 3.68 3.77 3.55 3.64
Maximum
MOS
4.29 4.28 4.28 4.28
Minimum
MOS
1.68 1.70 1.00 1.00
MOS distribution
1 MOS 2 0.36% 0.64% 2.86% 1.41%
2 MOS 2.5 3.93% 4.14% 5.00% 3.95%
2.5 MOS 3 15.00% 7.64% 12.50% 11.30%
3 MOS 3.3 9.29% 9.24% 9.64% 10.73%
3.3 MOS
3.6
7.86% 7.64% 18.21% 14.97%
3.6 MOS 4 16.07% 14.97% 10.71% 9.60%
4 MOS 4.5 47.50% 55.73% 41.07% 48.02%
MOS 4.5 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Proportion of MOS 3
Proportion of
MOS 3
80.72% 87.58% 79.63% 83.32%



Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Test on
May 19
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8)
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on May
23
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8
and
modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
thresh
old and
the
dynami
c HR
parame
ter of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Test on
May 19
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Retest
on May
23
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8
and
modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
thresh
old and
the
dynami
c HR
parame
ter of
some
cells)
version
EFR 98.45% 97.32% 75.74% 82.00%
HR 1.55% 2.68% 24.26% 18.00%
AMRFR 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
AMRHR 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Number of handovers
Number of
handover
attempts
259 222 166 202
Number of
handover
successes
259 222 165 201
Number of
handover
failures
0 0 1 1
Handover
success rate
100.00
%
100.00
%
99.40% 99.50%
Number of
intra-cell
handovers
0 0 1 0
Number of
MOS
samples/Num
ber of
1.08 1.41 1.68 1.75



Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Test on
May 19
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8)
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on May
23
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8
and
modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
thresh
old and
the
dynami
c HR
parame
ter of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Test on
May 19
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Retest
on May
23
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8
and
modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
thresh
old and
the
dynami
c HR
parame
ter of
some
cells)
handovers
(including
intra-cell
handovers)
Handover
frequency =
Number of
handovers
(including
intra-cell
handovers)/N
umber of
MOS samples
0.93 0.71 0.60 0.57
Number of
900M900M
handover
attempts
5 4 0 0
Number of
1800M1800
M handover
attempts
153 180 154 191
Number of
900M1800M
handover
53 21 6 5



Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Test on
May 19
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8)
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on May
23
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8
and
modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
thresh
old and
the
dynami
c HR
parame
ter of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Test on
May 19
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Retest
on May
23
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8
and
modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
thresh
old and
the
dynami
c HR
parame
ter of
some
cells)
attempts
Number of
1800M900M
handover
attempts
48 17 6 6
RQ distribution
0 83.94% 85.26% 87.63% 89.90%
1 6.93% 6.11% 3.88% 3.84%
2 4.37% 3.96% 2.75% 1.91%
3 2.25% 2.16% 2.24% 1.37%
4 1.01% 1.11% 1.77% 1.05%
5 0.60% 0.35% 0.93% 0.60%
6 0.31% 0.34% 0.62% 0.44%
7 0.60% 0.71% 0.18% 0.89%
TA
0 TA 2 91.92% 91.70% 96.82% 96.34%
2 TA 5 7.95% 8.30% 3.18% 3.51%
TA 5 0.13% 0.00% 0.00% 0.15%
Call completion rate and
call drop rate
Number of call
attempts
29 33 28 35
Number of call
setup
27 31 27 33



Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Test on
May 19
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8)
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on May
23
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8
and
modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
thresh
old and
the
dynami
c HR
parame
ter of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Test on
May 19
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Retest
on May
23
(Modify
ing the
T3105
parame
ter
from 6
to 8
and
modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
thresh
old and
the
dynami
c HR
parame
ter of
some
cells)
successes
Number of call
setup failures
2 2 1 2
Call
completion
rate
93.10% 93.93% 96.43% 94.29%
Number of call
drops
0 0 0 1
Call drop rate 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 2.86%
By comparing the test comparison results, the engineers found that the proportion of HRs
in the scenario of main roads did not change a lot, but the handover frequency dropped
about 20%. The average MOS was raised about 0.1 and the proportion of MOSs not
lower than three was raised about 7%. Because the RxLev coverage of main roads was
good, the UL RxLev handover was not easily initiated. Thus, it was necessary for the
engineers to further perform tests to verify whether the great reduction of handover
frequency directly related to the modification of the UL handover threshold. However, in
the condition that the proportion of speech versions did not change, the great reduction of
the handover frequency indeed improved the average MOS and proportion of MOSs not
lower than three. In the scenario of downtown areas, the handover frequency did not
change, but the proportion of HRs was reduced obviously. The average MOS was raised
about 0.1 and the proportion of MOSs not lower than three was raised about 4%. Thus,



the modification of the dynamic HR threshold took effect. When the handover frequency
did not change, the reduction of HR speech versions could also improve the average
MOS and proportion of MOSs not lower than three.
6.3.4 Comparison Results Before and After the IRC Function Was Enabled
The IRC function can prevent the UL interference, improve the UL RQ, improve the MOS,
and reduce the handover due to the UL RQ. Because the field V2 and V3 site versions
supported the IRC function, the switch was unnecessary. The field engineers performed
comparison tests before and after the IRC function was enabled in the scenarios of ZTEs
main roads and downtown areas. Because there was no SDR base station in the
scenario of ZTEs suburb, the engineers could not make comparison. The test results are
listed in Table 6-7.
Table 6-7 DT Comparison Results Before and After the IRC Function Was Enabled for
SDR Base Stations
Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on May
23
(Modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
threshol
d and
the
dynami
c HR
paramet
er of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on
May
24
(Enabl
ing
the
IRC
functi
on)
ZTE,
Downto
wn
Area,
Retest
on May
23
(Modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
threshol
d and
the
dynami
c HR
paramet
er of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Retest
on May
24
(Enabli
ng the
IRC
functio
n)
Number of
MOS samples
314 310 354 324
Average MOS 3.77 3.8 3.64 3.71
Maximum
MOS
4.28 4.28 4.28 4.28
Minimum
MOS
1.70 2.11 1.00 1.28
MOS distribution
1 MOS 2 0.64% 0.00% 1.41% 0.93%
2 MOS
2.5
4.14% 1.94% 3.95% 3.73%



Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on May
23
(Modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
threshol
d and
the
dynami
c HR
paramet
er of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on
May
24
(Enabl
ing
the
IRC
functi
on)
ZTE,
Downto
wn
Area,
Retest
on May
23
(Modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
threshol
d and
the
dynami
c HR
paramet
er of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Retest
on May
24
(Enabli
ng the
IRC
functio
n)
2.5 MOS
3
7.64% 5.81% 11.30% 9.57%
3 MOS
3.3
9.24% 9.03% 10.73% 7.41%
3.3 MOS
3.6
7.64%
12.58
%
14.97% 15.12%
3.6 MOS
4
14.97%
20.32
%
9.60% 15.12%
4 MOS
4.5
55.73%
50.32
%
48.02% 48.15%
MOS 4.5 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Proportion of MOS 3
Proportion of
MOS 3
87.58%
92.25
%
83.32% 85.81%
version
EFR 97.32%
96.35
%
82.00% 85.90%
HR 2.68% 3.65% 18.00% 14.10%
AMRFR 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
AMRHR 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Number of handovers
Number of
handover
attempts
222 211 202 175
Number of
handover
successes
222 211 201 175
Number of
handover
failures
0 0 1 0



Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on May
23
(Modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
threshol
d and
the
dynami
c HR
paramet
er of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on
May
24
(Enabl
ing
the
IRC
functi
on)
ZTE,
Downto
wn
Area,
Retest
on May
23
(Modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
threshol
d and
the
dynami
c HR
paramet
er of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Retest
on May
24
(Enabli
ng the
IRC
functio
n)
Handover
success rate
100.00%
100.00
%
99.50%
100.00
%
Number of
intra-cell
handovers
0 0 0 2
Number of
MOS
samples/Num
ber of
handovers
(including
intra-cell
handovers)
1.41 1.47 1.75 1.83
Handover
frequency =
Number of
handovers
(including
intra-cell
handovers)/N
umber of
MOS samples
0.71 0.68 0.57 0.55
Average
handover
duration (for
reference
only)
28.863 s
28.835
s
35.155 s
36.271
s
Average
handover
distance (for
reference
0 (GPS
loss)
0.210
km
0 (GPS
loss)
0.235
km



Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on May
23
(Modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
threshol
d and
the
dynami
c HR
paramet
er of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on
May
24
(Enabl
ing
the
IRC
functi
on)
ZTE,
Downto
wn
Area,
Retest
on May
23
(Modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
threshol
d and
the
dynami
c HR
paramet
er of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Retest
on May
24
(Enabli
ng the
IRC
functio
n)
only)
Number of
900M900M
handover
attempts
4 0 0 0
Number of
1800M1800
M handover
attempts
180 191 191 161
Number of
900M1800M
handover
attempts
21 12 5 7
Number of
1800M900M
handover
attempts
17 8 6 7
RxLev distribution
[110, 94) 0.99% 0.02% 0.35% 0.00%
[94, 85) 4.57% 2.06% 2.95% 0.56%
[85, 75) 28.26%
20.98
%
13.23% 8.15%
[75, 60) 55.95%
66.65
%
71.58% 72.93%
[60, 47) 9.85% 9.92% 11.51% 17.48%
47 0.38% 0.37% 0.38% 0.89%
Average DL RxLev
Average DL
RxLev
71.72 69.81 68.88 66.51
RQ distribution 0 85.26%
84.42
%
89.90% 87.60%



Typical Scenario
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on May
23
(Modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
threshol
d and
the
dynami
c HR
paramet
er of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Main
Road,
Retest
on
May
24
(Enabl
ing
the
IRC
functi
on)
ZTE,
Downto
wn
Area,
Retest
on May
23
(Modifyi
ng the
UL
RxLev
handov
er
threshol
d and
the
dynami
c HR
paramet
er of
some
cells)
ZTE,
Downt
own
Area,
Retest
on May
24
(Enabli
ng the
IRC
functio
n)
1 6.11% 7.21% 3.84% 5.51%
2 3.96% 4.82% 1.91% 2.86%
3 2.16% 2.07% 1.37% 1.82%
4 1.11% 0.94% 1.05% 1.12%
5 0.35% 0.38% 0.60% 0.67%
6 0.34% 0.15% 0.44% 0.36%
7 0.71% 0.01% 0.89% 0.05%
TA
0 TA 2 91.70%
96.26
%
96.34% 96.85%
2 TA 5 8.30% 3.74% 3.51% 3.15%
TA 5 0.00% 0.00% 0.15% 0.00%
Call completion rate and
call drop rate
Number of
call attempts
33 31 35 34
Number of
call setup
successes
31 30 33 31
Number of
call setup
failures
2 1 2 3
Call
completion
rate
93.93%
96.78
%
94.29% 91.18%
Number of
call drops
0 0 1 0
Call drop rate 0 0 2.86% 0.00%



By comparing the test results, the engineers found that the proportion of EFRs in the
scenario of main roads was enabled dropped a little after the IRC function, the average
MOS was raised 0.03, and the proportion of MOSs not lower than three was raised about
4%. In the scenario of downtown areas, the proportion of EFRs was raised about 4%, the
average MOS was raised 0.07, and the proportion of MOSs not lower than three was
raised about 2%. The handover frequency dropped a little. Therefore, the engineers
could improve the average MOS and proportion of MOSs not lower than three by
enabling the IRC function.
6.4 Conclusion and Suggestions
1. By analyzing the comparison test results in three typical scenarios of three
manufacturer (ZTE, NSN, and ALU), the engineers found that the handover
frequency and proportion of HRs were the main factors affecting the average DT
MOS and MOS distribution. The engineers can reduce the unnecessary handovers
and proportion of HRs to improve the average MOS and proportion of MOSs not
lower than three. According to the test comparison results of ZTE and NSN, the
number of 1800m-900M handovers in ZTEs network was larger than that in NSNs
network. The engineers could increase 2~4 dB for the margin of 1800M-900M RQ
handovers and reduce the margin of 1800M1800M RQ handovers properly, so that
the target cell could easily select the 1800M cell. Meanwhile, it is recommended to
adjust the PBGT handover initiation threshold, so that the number of 1800M-1800M
handovers can be reduced in some areas with 1800M consecutive coverage. If the
condition permits, it is better to perform the frequency replanning in the field and
separate the BCCH frequency and TCH frequency, so that the intra-RAT
interference can be reduced.
2. For the problem of handover command segments, the engineers should upgrade
the iBSC version to 614CP005 and the later versions and enable the bit5 function.
Therefore, the 20-ms speech loss during the frequency-hopping handover can be
reduced and the MOS can be improved.
3. The field version does not support that the AMR_HR and TFO are enabled
synchronously. It is recommended that the single rate for enabling AMR_HR is 6.7
Kbps and TFO can be used for cooperation, so that the MOS can be improved.
4. It is recommended to continue the large-scale DTs. The engineers should handle
the sites and cells where handovers happen frequently, handovers cannot be
finished in time, or indicators have problems; they should reduce the effects on
MOS tests by the problems such as handover failures and call drops.
The attachment is the test result.



MOS Test Results
of Xi'an Unicom.xls



AppA Version Requirements for the AMR +
TRO Function
The lowest requirement of versions for enabling AMR/TFO is listed in the following table.
The part before the / refers to the recommended version and that after the / or without
/ refer to the lowest version.
Equipme
nt Type
AMR TFO AMR + TFO
iBSC (R8) V6.20.200fP005 iBSC V6.20.200fP010 iBSC V6.20.200fP010
iBSC (R9) iBSC V6.20.614p005 iBSC V6.20.614p005 iBSC V6.20.614p005
SDR V7.00.30.08p15 V7.00.30.08p15 V7.00.30.08p15
B8018
BTSV6.20.242l/BTSV
6.20.240m
BTSV6.20.202e/BTSV6
.20.240m
BTSV6.20.242l/BTSV6
.20.240m
M8206
BTSV6.20.111d/BTS
V6.20.230e
BTSV6.20.111d/BTSV6.
20.230e
BTSV6.20.111d/BTSV6
.20.230e
BTSV2
BTSV
5.96.520a/BTSV5.96.
530b
BTSV
5.96.520a/BTSV5.96.53
0b
BTSV
5.96.520a/BTSV5.96.5
30b



AppB Standard Template of Data Collection for
MOS Tests
It is recommended to use the following attached table during the MOS test or optimization
to consecutively record the test data, so as to facilitate the comparison and analysis of
the major factors affecting the MOS and facilitate the troubleshooting by the rear support
engineers.
Standard Template
of Data Collection for MOS Tests.xls



AppC Glossary
Abbreviation Full Name
AMR Adaptive Multi-Rate
ARFCN
Absolute Radio Frequency Channel
Number
BCCH Broadcast Control Channel
BER Bit Error Rate
BSIC Base Station Identity Code
CDR Call Drop Rate
CDU Combiner Distribution Unit
C/I Carrier-to-Interference Ratio
CQT Call Quality Test
CSSR Call Setup Success Rate
DL Downlink
DSP Digital Signal Processor
DT Drive Test
DTX Discontinuous transmission
EFR Enhanced Full Rate
FACCH Fast Associated Control Channel
FR Full Rate
HOSR Handover Success Rate
HR Half Rate
HSN Hopping Sequence Number
IRC Interference Rejection Combining
ITU International Telecommunication Union
MAIO Mobile Allocation Index Offset
MOS Mean Opinion Score
MR Measurement Report
MS Mobile Station
RNO Radio Network Optimization
PESQ Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality
PLMN Public Land Mobile Network
QoS Quality of Service
RRF Receive Ready Frame
SAMB Set Asynchronous Balanced Mode
TCH Traffic Channel
TFO Tandem Free Operation
TMA Tower Mounted Amplifier



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Field MOS Optimization

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