Radio Network Planning Process

NOKIA

6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Module objectives
At the end of this module you will be able to

DESCRIBE THE RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS DESCRIBE THE MAJOR TASKS IN THE PLANNING PROCESS DESCRIBE THE PLANNING TOOLS FOR DIFFERENT PHASES DESCRIBE THE INPUT AND OUTPUT DOCUMENTS (DATA) DESCRIBE THE PLANNING ENVIRONMENT

NOKIA

6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Content of Planning Process

INTRODUCTION AND PRE-PLANNING DETAILED PLANNING POST-PLANNING DOCUMENTATION MEASUREMENTS

NOKIA

6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Planning Process

INTRODUCTION AND PRE-PLANNING DETAILED PLANNING POST-PLANNING DOCUMENTATION MEASUREMENTS

NOKIA

6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Network Planning
Scope
Customer requirements coverage requirements quality of service recommended sites subscriber forecasts Network planning team data acquisition site survey and selection field measurement evaluation NW design and analysis transmission planning Network design number and configuration of BS antenna systems specifications BSS topology dimensioning of transmission lines frequency plan network evolution strategy Interactions with external subcontractors site hunting teams measurement teams Operator switch planning engineers External information sources topo- & morphological data population data bandwidth available frequency co-ordination constraints

Network performance grade of service (blocking) outage calculations interference probabilities quality observation

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Network Planning Process

General
PREPLANNING
Network Configuration and Dimensioning Requirements and strategy for coverage, quality and capacity, Coverage Planning and Site Selection Propagation measurements Coverage prediction Site acquisition Coverage optimization

DETAILED PLANNING
Capacity Requirements Traffic distribution Parameter Planning Area / Cell specific Handover strategies Maximum network loading Other RRM

POSTPLANNING
Network Optimization Survey measurements Statistical performance analysis Quality Efficiency Availability

Service distribution

Allowed blocking/queuing System features

per service

External Interference Analysis Identification Adaptation

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Network Planning Process

external inputs: (traffic, subs. forecast, coverage requirements...) Initial NW dimensioning TRX, cells, sites bandwidth needed NW topology

Roll-out

nominal cell plan

suggestions for site locations cell parameters coverage achieved

coverage prediction signal strength multipath propagation go to frequency planning create cell data for BSC

field measurements real cell plan

Site pre-validation site inspection

field measurements planning criteria fulfilled? N

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site accepted ?

Network Planning Process

Site Building
issue search area & requirements find suitable site candidates installing & testing calculate coverage range of each candidate

on air!

propagation measurements needed ? transmission links available?

construction work

sign contract with site owner

get building permit

NOKIA

6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Network Planning Process

Site Acquisition

radio planner

site acquisition agent

site owner

measurement teams

network operator

fixed network planner

architect

NOKIA

6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Pre-planning: Dimensioning
Key Quantities

Key quantities for radio network dimensioning (EXCEL tool)

# of BS needed for coverage reasons # of BS needed for capacity reasons Outage probabilities/percentages Frequency re-use rate (vs. interference) Bandwidth used

Design goals are inter-dependant

Network can only be optimised with respect to one single aspect

Design goals to be applied must be clearly agreed with customer!

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Pre-planning: Dimensioning
Target Antenna height? AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC - REUSE FREQUENCY BAND AND NUMBER OF BASE STATIONS (CAPACITY) PROPAGATION PREDICTIONS ANTENNA HEIGHT (CAP. & COV.) MAXIMUM ANTENNA HEIGHT ANTENNA HEIGHT FOR PLANNING AREA PROPAGATION PREDICTION NUMBER OF BASE STATIONS FOR PLANNING AREA (CAPACITY OR COVERAGE LIMITED)

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Pre-planning: Dimensioning
Limiting factors
capacity # of BS

coverage

T0

time

Before T0, the network is coverage limited After T0, the network is capacity limited The other constraint is automatically fulfilled

At the very beginning, just the coverage planning is needed

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Pre-planning: Dimensioning
Network Expansion

When the network is coverage limited, the expansion consists of:

Adding new sites in not already covered areas Adding TRXs; Adding new sites in already covered areas; Adding software capacity...

When the network is capacity limited, the expansion consists of:

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Dimensioning Input Data

Preliminary Questions

Main purpose of the network?

1st operator in country plain coverage? 2nd operator competitive pricing? 3rd operator replacing wire line phones? Where?

Roamer volumes expected?

Neighbouring countries

Existing international regulations?

Use of microwave links for transmission? Each network philosophy calls for a different planning approach

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Dimensioning Input Data

Morpho data

Maps

Main cities Important roads Location of mountain ranges Inhabited area Shore lines City skylines Typical architecture Structure of city Local habits

Local knowledge

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Dimensioning Input Data

Demographic Data

Statistical yearbook

Largest towns, cities Population distribution Where are expected customers? Population migration routes Commuting traffic volumes Subscriber concentration points

250 000 pop.

2 mill. pop.

Local knowledge

400 000 pop.

400 000 pop. 300 000 pop.

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Dimensioning Input Data

Coverage Requirements

Roll-out phases & time schedules Coverage level requirements Indoor coverage areas MS classes to plan for Operators cell deployment strategies
Omni-cells in rural areas? 3-sector cells in urban areas? Minimum of 2 TRX per cell?

phase 1 NW launch

rollout phase 3

rollout phase 2

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Exercise: Network Dimensioning

High capacity area of 5 km2 Coverage planning 2 x 3-sector sites and 2 x 2-sector sites required Macrocell environment (antennas @ 25 m) => in macrocell environment safe re-use is 15 Traffic need estimate 100 Erl/busy hour over the planning area Operator frequency band 6 MHz Blocking target 1 %

BTS3

BTS1

BTS4

Q: Can the network offer the required capacity?

BTS2

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NOKIA

6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Planning Process

INTRODUCTION AND PRE-PLANNING DETAILED PLANNING POST-PLANNING DOCUMENTATION MEASUREMENTS

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Detailed Planning

Configuration planning
PBGT calculations (EXCEL tool) BTS and antenna line equipment

Coverage planning / Site selection

Coverage thresholds (NetAct Planner) Coverage predictions (NetAct Planner) Prediction model tuning (NetAct Planner)) Propagation slope measurements (TOM/Nemo) Antenna directions (NetAct Planner)

dt

The cell load

8

Number of reserved timeslots

Capacity planning
CS, PS traffic (NetAct Planner) Signaling needs (NetAct Planner)

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12.2

12.4 12.6 Time / hours

12.8

13

Frequency planning

Reuse factor and C/I requirements (NetAct Planner)

D R

Parameter planning (BSSPAR course)

BSC, BTS, TRX, TSL parameters (NMS/NetAct)
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Configuration Planning

Configuration planning
PBGT calculations DL: TX power, combiner, booster, duplexer, diplexer, cable, power amplifier, antenna UL: antenna, diversity, LNA, cable, diplexer, duplexer, RX sensitivity BTS type (macro/micro, outdoor/indoor, GSM/EDGE/3G) SW features (FH, IFH, ...)

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Coverage Planning

Coverage thresholds
DL Path loss: TX power (max.) - RX power (min.) - margins BTS type (macro/micro, outdoor/indoor, GSM/EDGE/3G) SW features (FH, IFH, ...)

Coverage predictions
Prediction model (Okumura-Hata) BTS-MS distance (max.) = cell range = coverage

Site selection (documentation)

Antenna height, location (x,y), direction BTS location => cable length PWR, TRS!!!

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Site Selection
Criteria

Radio criteria
Good view in main beam direction No surrounding high obstacles Good visibility of terrain Room for antenna mounting LOS to next microwave site Short cabling distances

Non-radio criteria
Space for equipment Availability of leased lines or microwave link Power supply Access restrictions? House owner Rental costs

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Site Selection
General Considerations

Proper site location determines usefulness of its cells Sites are expensive Sites are long-term investments Site acquisition is a slow process Hundreds of sites needed per network

Base station site is a valuable long-term asset for the operator

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Site Selection
Bad Site Location

Avoid hill-top locations for BS sites

Uncontrolled interferences Interleaved coverage Awkward HO behaviours But: good location for microwave links!

wanted cell boundary

uncontrolled, strong interferences

interleaved coverage areas: weak own signal, strong foreign signal

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Site Selection
Good Site Location

Prefer sites off the hill-tops Use hills to separate cells Contiguous coverage area Needs only low antenna heights if sites are slightly elevated above valley bottom

wanted cell boundary

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Site Selection
Site Info

Collect all necessary information about site details

Site coordinates, height above sea level, exact address House owner Type of building Building materials (photo) Possible antenna heights 360deg photo (clearance view) Neighbourhood, surrounding environment Drawing sketch of rooftop Antenna mounting conditions Access possibilities (truck?, road, roof) BS location, approx. feeder lengths

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Site Selection & Site Survey Tools

Map (D)GPS (Test) mobile Digital camera Binoculars Compass Clinometers and tape measure LOS checking tools: lights, mirrors, flags, balloons

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Capacity Planning

Capacity planning

dt

TRXs/cell TRX layer purposes BCCH, GPRS, ... TSL reservations for signaling, HSCSD, GPRS, ... Signaling needs SDCCH, PCH, AGCH, ... Special SW features for TCH FH, extended cell, ... Special SW features for signaling dynamic SDCCH, ...

The cell load

8

Number of reserved timeslots

12

12.2

12.4 12.6 Time / hours

12.8

13

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Frequency Planning

Frequency planning

Reuse factor for speech and data (GPRS) C/I requirements for BCCH/TCH TRX Special requirements for intermodulation Interference probability targets Frequency band splitting needs Automatic frequency planning (AFP) interference matrix measurements calculation areas

D R

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Parameter Planning

Parameter planning (BSSPAR course)

BSC level parameters BTS level parameters TRX level parameters TSL level parameters Signaling related parameters RRM related parameters MM related parameters Measurement related parameters Handover related parameters Power control related parameters Other SW feature related parameters HSCSD, GPRS Extended cell Dual band, Half rate, IUO/IFH
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Planning Process

INTRODUCTION AND PRE-PLANNING DETAILED PLANNING POST-PLANNING DOCUMENTATION MEASUREMENTS

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Post - Planning

Verification or pre-optimisation

Monitoring (RANOP course)

Coverage tests (TOM/Nemo) Call setups Handover tests KPI values (Traffica) Drop call rates Blocking percentages Handover success rates Traffic in Erlangs

ADCE BTS HOC POC

BTS HOC POC BTS HOC POC ADCE

ADCE

DX-cause MS BTS BSC

Optimisation (RANOP course)

CH. REQUEST (RACH) ASSIGN(AGCH) IMMEDIATE SERVICE REQUEST (SDCCH) AUTHENTICATION (SDCCH) CIPHERING MODE (SDCCH) TMSI REALLOCATION (SDCCH) SETUP (SDCCH) ASSIGNMENT (SDCCH-FACCH)

KPI values Plan audit (configurations, ...) Counters (Network doctor) Observations (DX causes) IMSI tracing
6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Phase 1 : Paging, initial MS

Phase 2 : MM signalling Phase 8 : Ciphering Phase 2 : MM signalling

Phase 3 : Basic assignment CH.RELEASE ALERTING & CONNECT (FACCH) CONN. ACK. and MEASUREMENT DISCONNECT & RELEASE (FACCH) Phase 4 : Release Phase 2 : MM signalling Phase 15 : Conversation Phase 4 : Release

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Planning Process

INTRODUCTION AND PRE-PLANNING DETAILED PLANNING POST-PLANNING DOCUMENTATION MEASUREMENTS

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Site Selection / Site Survey

Documentation SARF Site Acquisition Request Form SIR/SAR Site Information (Acquisition) Report TSS report Technical Site Survey Report TDRS Technical Data for Radiating System ...

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Radio Network Plan

Output Documentation SITE FOLDER

BTS configuration Antenna line configuration BTS ID, Frequency, NCC, BCC, LAC, neighbours Default parameters Traffic history (TCH, signaling) KPI values (DCR, blocking, ...)

PARAMETER SET

MONITORING REPORTS

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Planning Process

PRE-PLANNING DETAILED PLANNING POST-PLANNING DOCUMENTATION MEASUREMENTS

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Measurements
Types

Propagation measurements

Check coverage area of site, propagation model tuning Site candidate evaluations Test transmitter, mast antenna CW- signal After commissioning of site Coverage audit Parameter checking (HO, power control ...) Drive tests Real network under live conditions The users view

detailed planning

Functional test

pre-optimisation phase dry run

Performance measurements

commercial phase

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Measurements
Choice of Routes

Propagation measurements

Stay within coverage area of cell Radial from site into neighbouring cells Check handovers in & out of cell Define a random route once Drive repeatedly (comparable results !)

Functional tests

Performance measurements

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

Measurements
Results

Propagation measurements

Signal averaging Lees criterium: min. 50 samples per 40 Estimate accuracy of prediction database resolution correct information Identify incorrect parameter settings Check missing HO relations Detect misbehaviour of network Calculate call success rate Key performance indicators Evaluate network behaviour under nominal conditions
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Functional tests

Performance measurements

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Exercises / Questions

List the planning process phases! List the major tasks in the planning process! List the tools needed in the planning process! List the details that have to be documented!

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6-60715/ RADIO NETWORK PLANNING PROCESS/ v 2.0

References
1. 2. 3. W.C.Y. Lee, Mobile Communications Design Fundamentals, John Wiley & Sons, 1993. W.C.Y. Lee, Mobile Cellular Telecommunication Systems, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1990. J. Lempiinen, M. Manninen, Radio Interface System Planning for GSM/GPRS/UMTS, Kluwer Academic Publishers 2001.

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