CSFB process and optimization

2021-10-20 Posted   by Learning 5G with Lao Kang

In the 4G (LTE) network, if the mobile phone can use 4G but does not support
VoLTE, the voice call needs to go through the CSFB process to initiate a
call.kangguoying20211019
CSFB(Circuit Switched Fall Back) is a mechanism for migrating users from 4G to
3G/2G (CS RAT).3G/2G networkThe terminal can complete the CS voice call.If CSFB
is not enabled in the network, the voice call made fails; however, the call can
continue, depending on the mobile device.kangguoying20211019
Figure 1 explains the CSFB call flow initiated when a terminal (UE) is in idle
mode.ifterminal(UE)In the idle mode under the 4G network, the core network sends a
paging message to notify the terminal (UE) of voice call access and CSFB needs to be
performed.Once the paging message is read,terminal(UE)The RACH access will be
started, and then the RRC connection will be established.kangguoying20211019
Included in the RRC setup complete messageExtend service pleasebeg(ESR-
Extended Service Request ), and the eNB passes this request to the EPC in the initial
UE message of the S1 interface.ESRIt is a notification to the EPC that the UE has
successfully received the paging and wishes to go through the CSFB
process.kanguoying20211019

                                  Figure 1. CSFB flow of MT in idle mode

Based on the above reasons, the MME will send the Initial Context Setup Request
with the CSFB indicator to the eNB, that is, at this time, the eNB will be notified that
the CSFB process needs to be started; therefore, most CSFB-related counters will start
at this time; if the paging fails or If the ESR is not decoded by the eNB, the CSFB KPI
on the eNB will not be affected.kangguoying20211019
If you want to ask why eNB doesn't involve CSFB counter for paging or ESR?The
answer is: when the network broadcasts paging, the eNB does not know whether the
paging message is intended for data service or voice service in its coverage area.This
is because when the terminal (UE) is in idle mode, it does not obtain an RRC
connection with the eNB.ESRIt is a NAS message, which is the communication
between the UE and the MME, while the eNB transmits transparently and does not
read the NAS message.Therefore the only message that informs the eNB about the
CSFB procedure is the MME's NAS message response to the ESR containing the
CSFB indicator.
kangguoying20211019
Once the eNB obtains the Initial Context Setup Process of the terminal, it can send the
Security Command and RRC Reconfiguration to the UE to create the RAB, and when
the UE responds to these messages, the eNB sends the Initial Context Setup Response
to the MME.
The process may vary thereafter depending on the type of CSFB implementation done
in the network.There are usually the following types, and their characteristics are as
follows:kangguoying20211019
 Blind Redirect CSFB: This is the most common CSFB implementation, where
the eNB will point the terminal (UE) to the 3G/2G network.In this case the
eNB will send an RRC Release message with the target radio network (RAT)
frequency to which the terminal (UE) will be redirected.terminal(UE)This
operator will be searched and attempted to connect and send a paging response
to initiate an MT CS call (mobile terminal).The benefit of this type is that it is
very fast, and since most networks have better CS RAT (2G and 3G) network
coverage, blind redirects are usually not a problem.The downside is that calls
may fail or take longer if the CS RAT has poor coverage or poor quality in the
area.kangguoying20211019
 Based on measuring CSFB: This is that the eNB will send an RRC
reconfiguration message with measurement control, the terminal (UE) will
measure the 3G or 2G cell, and once a cell that meets the required threshold is
found, it will send a measurement report (MR) to the base station.The eNB will
then send an RRC Release message to the UE, and the UE will attempt to
initiate a CS call on this RAT.CSFB can also be based on handover in this
scenario, the eNB will initiate a handover to the target RAT cell and point the
UE to that specific cell for which the UE has generated an MR.This type
generally has higher reliability, but the delay of call setup is longer; because the
UE needs about 500 to 700 milliseconds to complete the measurement of the
target CS RAT.Second, handover-based implementation will also reduce KPIs,
 because a small number of handovers will fail in the preparation phase.Usually,
the implementation of this method is controlled by a timer. If the UE cannot
find 3G and the timer expires, the eNB blindly redirects the UE to 2G.This
reduces latency but increases call reliability.kangguoying20211019
 RIM or FlashCSFB:In this mechanism, the eNB obtains system information
(SIB) from the target RAT and sends the SIB to the UE in the RRC release
message.This reduces the time required for the UE to connect to the target RAT
as it does not have to read all SIBs again.The disadvantage of this approach is
that only a limited number of SIBs can be sent in the RRC release message, and
the UE may not be able to find the cell in the target RAT, so it still has to read
all SIBs.This approach can be used with either blind-redirect CSFB or
measurement-based CSFB redirect, and will generally provide benefits for both
implementations.kangguoying20211019
Once the terminal UE moves to the target RAT, it still needs to connect to initiate the
call; this part may be a call setup failure or a call failure.However, in this scenario, it
will not be recorded in the CSFB KPI of the eNB, because it is successful for the eNB
to send the RRC Release related to the CSFB.The eNB has no way of knowing
whether the call was successful on 2G/3G.kangguoying20211019
Therefore, when someone complains that the call fails, just looking at the CSFB KPI
does not provide the complete process and results.It would be a good idea to check the
CS paging success rate and call setup success rate on the CS RAT.
If the CSFB KPI indicator is poor, it basically means two problems:EPC to eNBstage
problems oreNB to UEreleaseThere is a problem in the release
stage.kangguoying20211019
 EPC to eNB phase:That is, the MME informs the eNB that the CSFB part is
required, which is called "EPC to eNB phase".In idle mode, the terminal
describes the part from initial context setting request to initial context setting
response; while in connected mode, it includes UE context modification request
to UE context modification response.Usually failures at this stage occur in
connected mode, mostly related to other program conflicts.If the UE is
performing a handover and the MME sends a UE Context Modification
Request to the CSFB to the eNB, the eNB may reject it, and the UE has
initiated the handover procedure.Problems like this can be mitigated by
reducing handoffs - if the number of handoffs is large or if some vendor
provides a feature that prioritizes CSFB over other programs.And this type of
failure will not cause the call to fail because the MME will resend the CSFB
request to the target eNB.If both the connected mode and idle mode phases
show a failure, it usually indicates a CSFB licensing issue or the feature is not
activated.kangguoying20211019
 eNB to UE Release Phase:Once the eNB responds to the MME through the
Initial Context Setup Response or the UE Context Modification Response, the
 eNB will start the process over the air interface.In the case of blind redirection
CSFB, the eNB only sends the RRC Release to the UE.If no RRC Release is
sent, it is usually related to the configuration of the UTRAN frequency or
neighbor cell, depending on the operator.If CSFB is based on measurements
and takes too long, verify that the UE sends the measurement report in time
(within 700 ms).If it takes longer than this, it usually indicates that the target
threshold (B1/B2) is too high.If the target RAT is 3G and the B1 threshold is
set to -8dB EcNo, the UE may find it difficult to find cells that meet this
threshold and take longer to send measurement reports.So lowering the
threshold to -12 or -14 will help with this.kangguoying20211019

Figure 2. CSFB flow of MT in connected mode

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