NPI Project

Call Drop Statistic and

Optimization

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Statistics of Call Drops

A call drop indicates that a call ends exceptionally. During a call drop, the service of the subscriber
is interrupted because the BSC or MS releases the business channel.

Statistics of call drops by counters: Upon receiving the connection failure and error indication
messages from the BTS, the BSC sends the clear request message to the MSC to apply for
disconnection. In this case, the number of call drops is counted according to the reason for call
drops.

Statistics of DT call drops: Usually, a normal call release is counted when either of the two
messages, Disconnect or Channel Release appears during a call. A call drop is counted only when
neither of these two messages appears and the MS converts from dedicated mode to idle mode.

MS

BTS

MSC

BSC

connection failure
error indication

clear request
calculat drop counter

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Classification of Traffic Call Drops

According to the reason for call drops, the BSC classifies call drops into various categories.
This helps to identify the type of a call drop and to locate problems.
Typically, most call drops in a network are call drops occurred over radio interface (CM33C call
drops). This type of call drops are divided into call drops occurred in stable state and call drops
occurred during handover and should be given special attention.
Other types of call drops seldom occur in the network. Among these types of call drops, pay
attention to CM334 call drops and CM333 call drops. The loopback function is seldom used in
the network. Therefore, loopback call drops are seldom concerned.
CM33:CELL_TRAF_CH_CALL_DROPS

CM33C:
CELL_T
RAF_CH
_UM_CA
LL_DRO
PS

CM330:
CELL_T
RAF_CH
_CALL_
DROPS_
IN_STA
BLE_ST
ATE

CM332:
CELL_T
RAF_CH
_CALL_
DROPS_
NO_MR

CM333:
CELL_T
RAF_CH
_CALL_
DROPS_
ABIS_L
NK_FAI
L

CM334:
CELL_T
RAF_CH
_CALL_
DROPS_
EQUIP_
FAIL

CM335:
CELL_T
RAF_CH
_CALL_
DROPS_
FORCE_
HO

CM397:
CELL_L
OOP_ST
ART_FA
IL_DRO
PS

CM385:
CELL_L
OOP_RE
STORE_
FAIL_D
ROPS

CM331:
CELL_T
RAF_CH
_CALL_
DROPS_
HO_FAI
L

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Classification of Call Drops occurred over radio interface

CM33C:CELL_TRAF_CH_UM_CALL_DROPS

Call drops occurred over radio interface

are divided into call drops occurred in
stable state and call drops occurred
during handover.
Among call drops occurred in stable
state , pay attention to CM3300 call
drops and CM3301 call drops. In a
normal network, CM3301 call drops
account for the largest proportion.

Usually, most call drops occurred during

handover in a network are caused by
inter-cell handover. Therefore, H3127Ca
call drops and H3128Ca call drops
account for a large proportion.

According to the proportion of various

types of call drops, you can preliminarily
determine whether the problem is caused
by the increase of a type of call drops.
For example, if a type of call drops that
originally account for a small proportion
increase suddenly, you should pay
special attention to this type of call drops.

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CM330:CELL
_TRAF_CH_C
ALL_DROPS_
IN_STABLE_
STATE

CM3300:
CELL_TR
AF_CH_S
TATIC_S
TATE_CA
LL_DROP
S_ERR_I
ND

CM3301
:CELL_
TRAF_C
H_STAT
IC_STA
TE_CAL
L_DROP
S_CONN
_FAIL

CM331:CE
LL_TRAF_
CH_CALL_
DROPS_HO
_FAIL

CM3302:
CELL_TR
AF_CH_S
TATIC_S
TATE_CA
LL_DROP
S_REL_I
ND

H3027Ca:
CELL_INT
RACELL_H
O_FAIL_E
XP_TCHF_
TRAF

Huawei Confidential

H3028Ca:
CELL_INT
RACELL_H
O_FAIL_E
XP_TCHH_
TRAF

H3127Ca:
CELL_INT
RABSC_OU
TCELL_HO
_FAIL_EX
P_TCHF_T
RAF_NOT_
INCLUDE_
DR

Page 4

H3128Ca:
CELL_INT
RABSC_OU
TCELL_HO
_FAIL_EX
P_TCHH_T
RAF_NOT_
INCLUDE_
DR

H3227Ca:
CELL_INT
RABSC_IN
CELL_HO_
FAIL_EXP
_TCHF_TR
AF

H3228Ca:
CELL_INT
RABSC_IN
CELL_HO_
FAIL_EXP
_TCHH_TR
AF

Proportions of Various Types of Call Drops in CJV

In the CJV Telkomsel 2G network, the distribution of various types of call drops is counted as
follows:
Call drops occurred over radio interface account for 98.21%. Other types of call drops,
however, account for a small proportion. This is the case for most networks. If a type of call
drops rather than Call drops occurred over radio interface , CM334 call drops (call drops due
to equipment failure), for example, account for a large proportion, you need to check the
hardware and alarms.
Among Call drops occurred over radio interface , many are call drops due to connection
failure. Among this type of call drops, call drops due to radio link failure (M3101A call drops
and M3201A call drops) account for the largest proportion.

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Basic Process of Troubleshooting Call Drop Problems

If the call drop rate is high in a network, need
first analyze the problem to make clear what
causes the problem and what is the scope of
the problem. Then, you can find the solution
according to the analysis result.
First, should analyze the call drop traffic,

transport failure (CM334 call drops and CM333

call drops) that do not occur over radio interface
increase, need pay attention to hardware failure
and transport failure.

entire network TOP cell

/some cell Analysis of Proportions
Analysis of Proportions
of Various Types of
Call Drops

of Various Types of
Call Drops

BSC
parameters

Proportions of
CM33C is high

core network
parameters

Yes
alarm
information

hardware failure
transport failure
network
planning
software version
problems

neighboring
cells
parameters
interference

If wireless port call drops increase, need pay

attention to factors such as network
parameters, interference, and coverage and
solve the problem by improving the quality of
the air interface.

frequency

No

Proportions of
CM334 and CM333
is high

Yes

coverage
In a normal network, most call drops are call drops occurred over radio interface. This
type of call drops may be caused by improper parameter settings, cross coverage,
improper relation between neighboring cells, interference, and poor coverage. Usually,
problems exist in only few cells. Call drops not occurred over radio interface seldom occur
and usually occur in only few cells. When such call drops occur, you just need to analyze
the few cells.

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No

Channel Conversi on
Mutual ai d of TRXs

If call drops due to equipment failure and

entire
network

hardware fai l ure

transport fai l ure

determine whether the high call drop rate exists

in the entire network or only in some cells,
analyze the proportions of various types of call
drops, and finally determine the problem is
caused by a type of call drops.

Call Drop Problems

Analysis of Proportions of Various Types of Call Drops

The call drop counters during busy

hours in a week are obtained and the
concrete indicators are as shown in the
figure on the right.

The call drop rate is counted in two modes: including handovers and
excluding handovers.
Call drop rate (including handovers) =
CM33/(K3013A+K3013B+K3023);
Call drop rate (excluding handovers) =
CM33/(K3013A+CH323+CH343-CH313-CH333);
The proportion of a type of call drops can be counted as follows:
Proportion of a type of call drops = Indicator of this type of call
drops/CM33. For example,
Proportion of call drops due to equipment failure = CM334/CM33

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Troubleshooting of Call Drops Occurred over Radio Interface in the

Entire Network

If call drops occurred over radio interface account for a large proportion in the entire network, this problem is
usually caused by improper parameter settings in the entire network. In this case, you can check the settings of
various parameters according to the parameter baseline.

Incoordination between settings of core network parameters and settings of BSC parameters may also cause a
high call drop rate in the entire network.

Improper network planning and frequency planning of the entire network also cause call drops in the entire
network.

Equipment-level problems, for example, software version problems, may cause a high call drop rate in the entire
network. Such problems, however, seldom occur.

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Troubleshooting of Call Drops Not Occurred over Radio Interface

For call drops not occurred over radio interface, pay attention to CM333
call drops and CM334 call drops. Currently, local switch of BSC/BTS is
not enabled. Therefore, you do not need to pay attention to call drops
caused by loopback start failure and failure of failing to return to normal
call from loopback.

For CM333 call drops, determine whether they are caused by links on
the Abis interface according to the proportion and number of call drops.
Disconnection of RSL links may also cause CM333 call drops.

For CM334 call drops, determine whether they are caused by equipment
failure according to the proportion and number of call drops. The
following factors may cause increase of call drops due to equipment
failure:

Mutual aid of TRXs, dynamic modification of cell

attributes, dynamic modification of frequencies on TRXs,
dynamic modification of frequency hopping data of TRXs,
dynamic deletion of cells, dynamic deletion of TRXs,
blocking of cells, blocking of TRXs, blocking of channels
Software exceptions

If CM333/CM334 call drops increase, check the related alarm

information, rule out possible reasons that cause call drops according to
the alarm information, and locate the problem. If necessary, troubleshoot
transmission equipment and hardware on site.

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TOP Cell Idea

Problem analysis: Narrow down the scope of the problem, find what causes
the problem, and find the solution accordingly.

TOP cell/area filtering: Find what are TOP cells and determine whether a
TOP area exists according to the geographical display.

TOP cell
filtering

Alarm analysis: Check the related alarm information and solve the problems
for which alarms are reported.

TOP area
filtering

Engineering check: Check whether the engineering quality is high, whether

the hardware is in good condition, whether the connecting lines are correctly
connected, and whether the feeders are not inversely connected.

Parameter check: Check the parameters according to the parameter

baseline provided by the Performance Department and the actual situation of
the existing network and adjust the parameters that are improperly set.

Interference check: Check whether any repeater interference, external

interference, and intermodulation interference exists.
Coverage check: Check whether any poor coverage area or any coverage
blind area exists in the TOP cells or in the TOP area.
RF optimization: Check whether any missing configuration of neighboring
cells, frequency interference, cross coverage, and signal leakage of indoor
coverage sites exists.

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call drop problem

Alarm analysis
Engineering
check
Parameter check
Interference
check
Coverage check

RF optimization

Analysis of Call Drop Counters

Extract the data related to call drops and calculate the call drop
rate. Do this by using the PRS if one is available.

Filter TOP cells where call drops occur frequently according to

the call drop rate. Consider the number of calls at the same
time because a cell where few calls are made has small effect
on the entire network even it has a high call drop rate. Such a
cell, however, should not be neglected. If not many call drops
occur in the entire network, be sure to check such cells.
Focus on TOP20 cells and focus on TOPn cells according to
the actual situation.

Place the data according to the sequence

defined in the table header:

Calculation result on the Call Drop Rate & Proportions of Various Call
Drops sheet:

Calculate the call drop rate of the entire network after removing
the call drops occurring in TOP cells and determine whether
the call drop problem is caused by TOP cells.

Calculation of the call drop rate and templates for calculating

the proportions of various call drops

1.

Extract the data and post the data below the table header
according to the format and sequence defined in the header of
the Traffic Data sheet (you can also define a template on the
M2000 according to the sequence defined in the table header).

2.

On the Call Drop Rate Calculation sheet, refresh the pivot

table and obtain the call drop rates of various cells to manually
filter the TOP cells.

3.

The Call Drop Rate & Proportions of Various Call Drops sheet Template for analyzing call drop
can display the data calculated according to the filtering
data:
conditions set according to the Traffic Data sheet.

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Template for
analyzing call drop data

TOP Cell Filtering

After calculating the call drop rates of various cells, rank the call drop rates according to the call
drop rate (excluding handovers) and filter the TOP cells.
Through the geographical display function of the MapInfo, analyze whether TOP cells appear in
patches, that is, whether a TOP area exists.
Calculate the proportion of various call drops in each TOP cell and make clear which type of
call drop dominates in each cell. For example, most call drops are caused by equipment failure
in cell A and most call drops are caused by transmission failure in cell B. In this way, exclude
possible reasons that cause call drops and make clear what causes the call drops in TOP area.
After obtaining the TOP cell list and making clear which type of call drops dominate in each
cell, focus on this type of call drops and make analysis accordingly. For example:

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Engineering Quality/Core Parameter Checking

The engineering quality directly determines the performance of a network. For example, inverse
connection of feeders and loose connectors directly affect the network quality. Therefore, it is
necessary to make clear what causes engineering problems first. For details, see the Engineering
Quality Problem Troubleshooting.
Checking of hardware failure and transmission failure: Usually, an alarm is reported when a problem
occurs. Sometimes, however, no alarm is reported when a problem occurs. In this case, you can
analyze the traffic to determine whether the problem exists and check the problem on site if
necessary. You can determine how many resources are available according to TCH Usage and TRX
Usage and determine whether the links are normal according to Channel Active NACK and Channel
Active Timeout.
Related Problems

hareware Failure

Transport Failure

Abbreviated Name

Meaning

RR300

SDCCH Availability

RR307

TCH Availability

K3015

Available TCHs

K3015

Configured TCHs

S3655

Activated TRXs in Cell

S3656

Available TRXs in Cell

CR33A

Channel Activation Attempts

CR33B

CHAN ACTIV NACK Messages Sent By BTS

CR34C

Channel Activation Timeouts

Checking of call drop-related parameters: Parameters that have great effect on call drops on the BSC side
include SACCH Multi-Frames, Radio Link Timeout, T200, and N200. These parameters should be set
properly. In addition, core network parameters should also be checked because they involve the
coordination between the core network and the BSC. For details, see page 10. For what parameters should

be checked, see the Core Parameter Checking.

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Interference/Coverage Checking

Interference checking: whether strong interference exists according to the proportion of level 4 and level 5
interference bands. Count the call drop rates of various cells at various intervals. If you use the average value of
call drop rates, you may cannot find the interference bands easily. According to the drive test result, analyze
whether co-frequency/adjacent-frequency interference or external interference exists. Then, find what causes the
interference by checking the possible reasons that cause the interference.

Coverage checking: Analyze the traffic and find whether problems such as high proportion of great TAs,
imbalance between uplink and downlink, and high proportion of low levels exist. Preliminarily determine whether
problems of poor coverage and imbalance of uplink and downlink exist. According to the drive test result,
determine in what areas poor coverage exists. If the problem of imbalance between uplink and downlink exists,
check whether the transmitting power and tower amplifier are set properly.

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Related Traffic Analysis Templates

As mentioned before, you can analyze the related traffic data when
analyzing call drop problems. This provides reference basis and data
support for you to analyze problems.

The main involved traffic items are as shown in the figure on the right.

Templates for analyzing related traffic data:

TRX-level data and cell-level data should be extracted and analyzed
separately.
1. Extract TRX-level data and cell-level data and post the data below the
table header according to the format and sequence defined in the
headers of the TRX-Level Data sheet and Cell-Level Data sheet (you
can also define a template on the M2000 according to this sequence).
2. On the Calculation of TRX-Level Indicators and Calculation of CellLevel Indicators sheets, refresh the pivot table and obtain the TRXlevel data and cell-level data.

3. Set filtering conditions on the TRX-Level Data or Cell-Level Data sheet,

and the corresponding calculation result will be displayed on the
Calculation Result sheet.

Template for analyzing call drop

traffic data
Templates for

analyzing related call dro

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Some cases illustration

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THANK YOU!

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