RNP Tools Notice

GSM Frequency Planning Process in 9155 - [TCC-002-TA]

Executive Summary:
GSM Frequency Planning Process for Projects available modules in 9155
Notice Type: Article
Detailed summary:
This article described the modules available in the GSM frequency planning process in 9155.
Frequency Planning is an iterative process performed in several steps and several actors are involved
when the 9155 RNP package is used. The actors covered in this article are as follows:
9155 RNP main application
9155 PRC Generator Module
9155 AFP Module
Frequency Planning Project Leader and Management
Notice:
GSM Frequency Planning is an iterative process performed in several steps and several actors are
involved when the 9155 RNP package is used. These actors are as follows:

9155 RNP main application

9155 PRC Generator Module
9155 AFP Module
Frequency Planning Project Leader and Management

The first step in the 9155 RNP supported frequency planning process is to setup the network in the
planning tool. This means that positions of sites and information about the cells antenna system have
to be entered in the 9155. The setup of the network in 9155 should contain all the physical data having
an impact on the further steps of the project (coverage predictions and especially C/I plots):
ACCURATE info about the position of the sites, antenna types, azimuths, down-tilting, height and also
some maps. This should be the result of a site audit campaign. Otherwise the results predicted by 9155
might be too different compared to real network. Based on this rudimentary information a Coverage
Planning is performed based on a field-strength prediction. The coverage planning step within 9155 is
mandatory as a base for all kind of frequency planning missions.
When this basis is provided the process splits into two possible branches. If the frequency plan is done
for a from-scratch process the user can directly continue with starting the frequency plan generation
process. In the other case that an existing network should be optimized it is strongly recommended to
do a detailed analysis of the existing frequency plan.

Figure 1: Frequency Planning Process

This gives the user the possibility to benchmark a new plan (Status Quo) against an improved plan. In
order to evaluate an existing frequency plan the logical configuration of the operational network is
downloaded via the 9155 PRC Generator Module. This contains beside some cell individual parameters
the HO plan as well as the operational frequency plan. The interfaces used are standard interfaces

defined within Alcatel-Lucent.

After having the operational logical configuration inside 9155 the analysis of the frequency plan can be
started using the C/I prediction features and other possibilities. 9155 also provides a set of Performance
Indicators (PIs), which can be used for frequency plan benchmarking, usually by creating a report. This
report is the base for a later comparison and benchmark against a new plan.
At this stage now the AFP process can be started. At the beginning there should be at least a
verification of the operational neighborhood plan: either optimize the existing one or create a new one
from scratch, based on predictions. The neighborhood plan is an important input for the frequency
planning so here the necessary care should be taken.
Besides the field strength predictions, 9155 can also use for frequency planning information from the
real network data, like the RMS and T180 counters. Also these counters and measurements can be
used to improve the neighbourhood plan as input for frequency planning.
RMS creates statistics with the C/I for each cell pair serving cell
frequencies of declared neighbour
cell. This C/I information is then summarized and used by 9155 AFP module as an interference matrix.
Since only the frequencies of declared neighbours are measured, in order to get measurements from all
potential interferer cells more neighbours (with a certain BCCH frequencies) are artificially created.
They are so called dummy neighbours.
The usage of RMS in frequency planning is optional, but if it is used, it adds beside a higher accuracy
also more steps in the 9155 frequency planning process:
Dummy data generation (9155)
Upload new configuration (with dummy data) in the network (9155 PRC Generator Module)
RMS measurement (OMC-R)
Remove dummy neighbours after measurements (9155, 9155 PRC Generator Module)
Interference matrix creation out of RMS files (9155)
The handover statistics (T180 counters) are simply used to show the HO relationship of one cell with all
its neighbours. The main idea is that the HO traffic is not homogeneously distributed and some cell
pairs will have more handovers traffic than others. The cell pairs with higher HO traffic will have a higher
channel separation.
These interference factors are used to create an interference probability matrix which can be used
either as a standalone matrix or combined with the predicted matrix or RMS matrix.
The automatic frequency planning using the 9155 AFP Module starts with the definition step in 9155
that specifies all necessary input of frame conditions of the plan. The frequency domains, capacity
requirements and interference conditions have to be set up within the main application. The AFP is then
run based on the given requirements. Frequency planning is an iterative work and several runs to find a
suitable strategy might be necessary. Each plan should also be evaluated with 9155 RNP under the
same conditions like the existing plan and should lead to the same kind of PIs.
If a certain satisfying result is achieved, the PIs of the existing frequency plan and the new frequency
plan should be compared. Frequency Plan Team leader and Project Management has to compare the
frequency plan and their PIs to draw a decision to implement the new frequency plan or not. This kind of
benefit/risk assessment must include all operational risks that are related to the frequency plan
implementation through an MLU session.
If the decision comes to a Go for the new frequency plan the activation is performed on a PRC that is
created from ACIE file import created by the 9155 PRC Generator Module.
After the implementation it should be verified whether the frequency plan calculated has been really
implemented in all cells to avoid problems. The network has to be monitored closely in terms of QoS
indicators and interference, after the new frequency plan has been implemented.

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