A test loop is provided in a cellular network for testing and supervising a complete chain of radio equipment needed to carry cellular traffic from a radio base station. A software modified mobile station including a transceiver test unit is cable connected between transmitter and receiver parts in a radio base station. Logic is introduced in the base station controller to establish connections to the mobile station on all traffic channels in the cell and evaluate measurement reports from the transceiver test unit and receiver. If signal strength and/or bit error rate are not within a predefined expected interval, an alarm is given in the base station controller. Also, reports can be provided on the measured signal strength and bit error rate on all traffic channels in the cell. The transceiver test can be initiated by periodic command. In addition, statistics on traffic in the cell can be evaluated to determine abnormal behavior in the cell which results in automatic initiation of a transceiver test. Continuous supervision is provided in the cell to accomplish fast fault detection and fault localization, thus lowering costs, minimizing cellular traffic down time and increasing quality of service for the end user.

Transceiver tester for cellular radio

Mobile radio systems with base stations and mobile stations are known in which an idle channel is selected for setting up a connection from a channel list specified for each base station. The individual channel lists are in this process generated during a radio network-planning phase. To respond to changes in the radio network which only occur during the operation of the radio network, the invention proposes to change the allocation of the radio channels on the basis of measurement data obtained on the operating state of the mobile radio system. In this manner, such a mobile radio system is made to be self-adaptive.

Mobile radio system with adaptive channel allocation

When cellular telephone systems are initially laid out and deployed, engineering necessarily centers on RF prediction and coverage analysis. As the subscriber base grows, the engineering focus shifts from coverage analysis to performance analysis and efficient management of existing system resources. As systems continue to grow, so do the complexities of engineering and operating these systems. Cellular engineers and operations personnel spend many hours correlating and analyzing traffic, maintenance, and other system performance data. Automating certain functions will reduce the amount of time and effort operators spend on day-to-day tasks, especially tasks prone to human error. Enhancements to predictive, data analysis, and prescriptive tools, will allow engineers to optimize system performance both in the short and long term. Future tools and system architectures will allow "intelligent" systems to allocate and manage resources automatically, in response to changing demands. This paper gives a short history of cellular engineering and operations tools, describes where we are today, and discusses possible new directions for these tools.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/10806/34085/01623587.pdf

New directions for cellular engineering and operations tools

Cellular mobile telephone service has been available on a commercial basis for over two years. As more systems go into service, and more markets contain competing systems, the emphasis of the service provider has begun to shift from the predictive tools used for the initial layout of the system to methods of obtaining and maintaining optimal performance of their growing systems. Performance analysis tools in the field are necessarily restrictive than in a laboratory. However the performance of the system in the real environment and with the load offered by the actual subscriber base directly impacts service quality and thus the service providers profitability. The need for performance data from the field should be anticipated in the design of the cellular systems and the ability to collect key performance data provided. The authors have worked with various AUTOPLEXTMcellular system operators in determining performance criteria and developing off-line analysis tools which process the collected performance data to make the analysis task easier. This paper describes some of the raw performance data available in an AUTOPLEXTMsystem, discusses the data analysis tools which have been developed, and gives examples of how these tools can be used to improve system performance from the point of view of both the mobile subscriber and the service provider.

J.J. McCarthy

Papers

Cellular performance evaluation tools and techniques