Double BA Lists in GSM

The Double BA Lists feature is defined per cell. This means that it is possible to have double lists in one cell and a single list in another cell. A single list corresponds to having the same list in idle mode and in active mode.The Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Numbers (ARFCNs) to be measured on by an MS in a cell shall be included in the BA list and they are defined by the parameter MBCCHNO. Only ARFCNs for the neighboring cells BCCH frequencies shall be defined (serving cells BCCH frequency can also be included if separate idle mode and active mode BA lists are used). With the parameter LISTTYPE it is possible to determine whether the list is for idle mode or active mode, or both.
Basically up to 32 measurement frequencies can be defined in the BA list. If UTRAN neighbors are registered in the cell, then the maximum number of frequencies in the BA list is 31.The following restrictions will apply according to the global system type and the list type. Note that if the list type is not specified, it is set to BOTH. When the list type is set to BOTH, the restrictions are checked for both IDLE and ACTIVE lists.

Transfer of BA Lists to the Mobile Stations

An MS in idle mode receives the idle mode BA list in System Information 2, 2bis and 2ter messages that are transmitted on BCCH. The format and scheduling is described in the 3GPP Technical Specification 44.018.
An MS in active mode receives the active mode list in System Information 5, 5bis and 5ter messages transmitted on the SACCH.
Measurement Reports
In active mode the MS reports the signal strength and estimated quality of the serving cell and the signal strength of the six strongest neighbours, for which the BSIC is decoded. The measurement reports are sent on the SACCH every SACCH period,  The Measurement Reports contain the downlink measurements, information about the measured frequencies and BSIC for the reported cells and information about what list (old or new) that has been used,
If EMR is activated then the MS may send Enhanced Measurement Reports instead. An Enhanced Measurement Report is a new measurement report containing additional data, of which Bit Error Probability (BEP) and the number of correctly received speech frames are the two most important ones.
The Active Mode BA List
The active mode BA list should correspond to the defined neighbors. The BCCH carrier of serving cell should not be in the active mode list. A short active mode BA list gives better handover performance than a long list. If a long active mode list is used there will be less samples taken from each cell, thus resulting in decreased measurement accuracy. It could also be the case that the MSs spends time decoding the BSIC of an irrelevant cell. Furthermore, if this is not successful it will spend extra time trying to decode the BSIC of this cell and waits longer time before it re-decodes the BSICs of the other cells. Thus, this increases the risk that they are no longer valid. The active mode list should, in the normal case, not exceed 15 frequencies.
The Idle Mode BA List
The idle mode BA list should normally correspond to all the BCCH carriers used. Serving cell should be included in the idle mode BA list. When an MS is switched on, the MS scans the latest received BA list. If the MS has moved, it could be the case that the MS measures a very weak signal from one of the cells in the old list, and camps on it. If this list is very short and does not contain the cells which are the best ones in the current location of the MS, the MS will continue to camp on the "wrong" cell. To set up a call under these circumstances is not favorable. This situation can be avoided if the idle mode list contains more frequencies. Many frequencies in the idle mode list means that less samples are taken per frequency than what would have been the case if the list was short. The decreased accuracy for the idle mode measurements that this gives rise to is not considered a problem.
Main Controlling Parameters
MBCCHNO is the list of BCCH carriers, given as Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Numbers (ARFCNs), of the neighboring cells (and possibly serving cell) on which the MS shall measure. The parameter is set per cell and type of list (idle or active).
LISTTYPE is used to specify to which list, IDLE or ACTIVE, the stated frequencies belong when changes in the BA lists are made. If LISTTYPE is omitted the BCCH carriers defined or changed by MBCCHNO are valid in both lists.