Location Information: A Tool for Optimizing Networks Nov 28, 2005 – By Martin Feuerstein, CTO, Polaris Wireless
Martin Feuerstein discusses location information as a tool for optimizing
networks.
Wireless network operators around the world are simultaneously deploying new
3G networks while maintaining existing 2G and 2.5G networks. It's a
challenging task, but nearly all service providers across the globe are now
engaged in the transition to offering 3G services.
By unlocking location information in second-generation systems, operators can
more rapidly and economically achieve success with the move to 3G. They can
also derive location information directly from third-generation networks.
Location information is a diagnostic tool for network buildouts. Think of it
this way: X-rays, CT scans and MRIs arm doctors with precise pictures of what
is going on inside their patients. It is hard to imagine a doctor performing
surgery without first seeing an image of what's inside.
Now it is equally difficult to imagine wireless operators making network
changes without precise geographical knowledge of what's happening in the
network. Location information is the key to planning and optimizing new
networks based on existing cellular traffic patterns for voice and data.
Depending on offered services and customer marketing plans, these
geographical patterns may be repeated in 3G or new patterns may emerge.
Achieving success with next-generation network transitions requires
maximizing customer experiences on both old and new networks. This wireless
network optimization is traditionally performed through guesswork.
Incomplete information from sector level statistics and drive test data cause
operators to speculate about where subscribers place calls and exactly where
network problems occur. For 3G, carriers must go a step further to
hypothesize the geographical locations of traffic hotspots for an emerging
and immature network.
The location problem is compounded by the advent of sophisticated software
tools, such as automated cell planning (ACP) products that can optimize
network performance for high traffic areas¾if the traffic distributions were
known.
Location information can now be brought to bear on these critical
optimization issues. Technology advances enable key network events (calls,
dropped calls, failures and interference) to be location tagged and recorded.
High-resolution traffic maps tell operators exactly where customers use the
network for voice and data services. They also identify problem areas and
more importantly, root causes of the troubles.
Location information changes the speculative nature of planning and growing
3G networks by leveraging the actual usage patterns of mobile customers.
Networks optimized with location information demonstrate better quality
metrics and performance indicators compared to tuning without location
information.
Precisely placing 3G infrastructure where it will be most utilized provides
significant savings in capital and operating expenses. 3G is an expensive
business endeavor, with significant sunk capital already in place for
spectrum and more required to increase cell densities to support high-rate
data services. To make the most of 3G, operators can efficiently deploy
infrastructure by placing it specifically where it can be most utilized.
To bring location information to the table for use in network optimization
dramatically changes the rules of the game in favor of wireless operators.
Truly, the ultimate goal of network optimization is to remedy the problems
observed by real customers, rather than extrapolating from bulk statistics or
drive tests.
Location tagging of network events allows actual customer usage to guide
improvements in network performance. A removal of the guesswork from
optimization benefits service providers in several ways:
First, it provides fundamental economic efficiencies. (Imagine planning
the locations of new cell towers and 3G overlay sites with certainty that the
desired traffic will be offloaded from other sites.)
Second, it drives new revenue streams because new data services can be
rolled out more rapidly and with pinpoint precision.
Third, location information takes quality of service (QoS) to a new level
by enabling differentiated performance improvements for high-value customer
groups, such as roamers and enterprises. Operators can attract high-end
customers and charge more for enhanced-QoS delivery.
Fundamental methods of tuning wireless network performance have changed since
sophisticated software made network location information available. Traffic
density maps generated from real customer calls provide keen insight into how
the network is used. Carrier-based marketing organizations can utilize
knowledge regarding where and how customers on different price plans use the
network. Maps of trouble spots and defined root causes guide performance
engineers, like skilled surgeons, to focus their improvements in the right
areas.
Location information, including traffic maps, problem spots and high-value
customer QoS, changes everything in the game of wireless network
optimization, but does not do it in isolation. In current complex networks,
it is critical that tools coordinate, interact and share data. Location
information can drive tools, such as RF planning, automated frequency
planning (AFP), and ACP to higher levels of performance.
Driven by real-world information about the precise geographic locations of
customers, the entire suite of optimization tools are dramatically more
efficient, contribute to the successful rollout of 3G and help keep existing
2G and 2.5G customers satisfied. After all, tools are only as good as their
source data, making location information extremely valuable for new 3G growth
and existing 2G/2.5G evolution planning.
Wireless network optimization no longer has to rely on guesswork because
location information can now pinpoint hotspots, trouble zones and identify
precise solutions. The ultimate way to improve network performance is to
survey customers about their wireless service usage and where they experience
problems.
Location software turns this vision into a reality. Actual customer activity
optimizes the network based on location information created from their calls,
which in turn drives the performance improvements.
Martin Feuerstein is CTO at Polaris Wireless, which provides a
network-based, software-only solution for wireless location.
Location Information: A Tool for Optimizing Networks
