A955v62 FP Applnote

Alcatel 9155 RNP
A9155 V6 RNP Application Note: Frequency Planning
3DF 01955 6280 BGZZA
Edition 01
Status Change Note
RELEASED No
Short Title A9155 V6 Frequency Planning Application Note All rights reserved. Passing on and copying of this document, use and communication of its contents not permitted without written authorization from Alcatel
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Contents
Contents
Alcatel 9155 RNP........................................................................ 1 Contents..................................................................................... 3 Figures ....................................................................................... 5 1 2 3 4 Short description of A9155 V6 RNP ..................................... 8 Frequency Planning Capabilities in A9155 RNP................... 9 Frequency Planning Process in Projects ............................. 10 Pre-requisites for Frequency Planning in A9155 RNP ........ 13 4.1 Definition of the Focus of the Network Planning ............ 13 4.1.1 Active Cells ...................................................... 13 4.1.2 Transmitter Filtering.......................................... 14 4.1.3 Computation Zone ........................................... 15 Completed Cell Coverage Planning.............................. 16 Neighbor Cell and Handover Planning......................... 18 Capacity Analysis and Required Hardware Resources.... 22 Frequency Spectrum Resource Definition....................... 23 4.5.1 Step 1: Frequency Band Availability ................ 23 4.5.2 Step 2: Projects Frequency Domains............... 24 4.5.3 Step 3: Celltypes Subcell Requirements ............ 27 Putting higher priority on specific cells .......................... 30 Keeping Fixed Frequencies ......................................... 31 Experience Matrix including Exceptional Pairs.............. 33 The AFP Model ............................................................ 35 4.9.1 Understanding the AFP Algorithm ..................... 35 4.9.2 Definition of AFP Model Parameters .................. 40 Step 1: Define Targets & Basic Separations ................... 50 Step 2: Provisioning of the Interference Matrix............... 53 5.2.1 Calculation of the Interference Matrix................ 54 5.2.2 Exporting the Interference Matrix....................... 55 5.2.3 Importing the Interference Matrix ...................... 55 Step 3: AFP Process...................................................... 56 5.3.1 Substep A: Selection of the AFP Model .............. 56 5.3.2 Substep B: Other Parameters ............................ 57 5.3.3 Substep E: Running the AFP .............................. 57
4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5
4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9
Automatic Frequency Planning Process ............................. 49 5.1 5.2
5.3
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Contents
Frequency Plan Qualification ............................................ 61 6.1 6.2 6.3 Consistency Check Function ....................................... 61 First Statistical Evaluation of Frequency Plan ................. 63 Visual Evaluation of Frequency Plan ............................. 65 6.3.1 Labels and Tool Tips ........................................ 65 6.3.2 Coloring of Strongest Server according to BCCH66 6.3.3 Visualization of Co- and Adjacent Channel Cells67 Interference Analysis of Frequency Plan ........................ 70 6.4.1 C/I Calculation Parameter Settings ................... 70 6.4.2 C/I Calculation Result....................................... 71 6.4.3 Exemplary Frequency Plan Benchmarking using statistical C/I comparison on Areas .............................. 71 Frequency Plan Point Analysis....................................... 72 Complete A9155 Project ATL Document Backup ........... 75 Save TRX Table by Copy into Excel ............................... 75 COF Export/Import for Backup..................................... 76 Enabling the BSIC Addin .............................................. 77 Setting up the BSIC Domains........................................ 78 Performing Automatic BSIC Assignment........................ 78 Graphical Evaluation of BSIC Assignment..................... 80 Exporting Data to PRC Generator Module..................... 81 A9155 PRC Generator Module..................................... 82
6.4
6.5 7 7.1 7.2 7.3 8 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 9 9.1 9.2
Backup and Restore of Frequency Plans ............................ 75
Automatic BSIC Planning .................................................. 77
Frequency Plan Implementation using PRC Generator ...... 81
Abbreviations........................................................................... 85 Index........................................................................................ 86
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Preface
Figures
Figure 1: Frequency Planning Process ........................................................... 11 Figure 2: Active (red) and inactive (white) transmitters .................................... 14 Figure 3: Transmitter Filter ............................................................................ 15 Figure 4: Computation zone in an AFP project............................................... 16 Figure 5: Maximum Field Strength Calculation as part of Radio Coverage Planning .................................................................................. 17 Figure 6: Strongest Server (Service Area) Calculation as part of Coverage Planning .................................................................................. 18 Figure 7: Calculation Parameters for Automatic Neighbor Cell Allocation....... 19 Figure 8: Neighbor cell relations in A9155.................................................... 21 Figure 9: Visualization of Neighbors on Map................................................. 22 Figure 10: 'Requested TRXs' Column in Subcell table ...................................... 23 Figure 11: Frequency Bands in A9155 .......................................................... 24 Figure 12: Definition of Frequency Domains in A9155................................... 25 Figure 13: Frequency Domain consisting of 2 Frequency Blocks ..................... 26 Figure 14: Groups A, B and C in a 1*3 Hopping Scenario............................. 27 Figure 15: Group 1*1 Hopping Group in 1*1 Re-Use.................................... 27 Figure 16: Celltypes in A9155 ...................................................................... 28 Figure 17: Setting a radio-hopping celltype's frequency domains on a per cell basis........................................................................................ 29 Figure 18: Setting the Celltype of a cell in the 'Properties' ............................... 30 Figure 19: Celltypes in the table.................................................................... 30 Figure 20: Introduction of an 'AFP'-weight per cell ......................................... 31 Figure 21: Freezing Channels on a per cell basis........................................... 32 Figure 22: Freezing Channels for several cells ............................................... 32 Figure 23: Setting the freeze option in AFP model......................................... 33 Figure 24: Setting Experience Matrix Separations at cell level ......................... 34 Figure 25: Complete Experience Matrix in Exceptional Pair table .................... 34 Figure 26: COST function of frequency plans ................................................ 36 Figure 27: Modification of Frequency Plans in Simulated Annealing Process ... 37 Figure 28: Simulated Annealing Iteration Loop .............................................. 38 Figure 29: AFP Module Parameter Set General - tab................................... 40 Figure 30: 'Algorithm Control' - tab of AFP Module........................................ 41 Figure 31: 'MISC Tab' of AFP Module ............................................................ 43 Figure 32: 'Violation Cost Configuration' Options Tab in AFP Module............. 44 Figure 33: 'MAIO and HSN' options in AFP Module ....................................... 47 Figure 34: Starting the AFP procedure ........................................................... 49 Figure 35: AFP window Step 1 Page 1 ........................................................... 50 Figure 36: AFP Window Step 1 Page 2 with Separation Constraints................ 51 Figure 37: AFP Progress window for next steps .............................................. 53 Figure 38: Options for Interference Matrix Calculation................................... 54 Figure 39: Successful Import of Interference Matrix ........................................ 55
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Preface
Figure 40: AFP progress window after import of interference matrix ............... 56 Figure 41: Properties of AlcAFP Model .......................................................... 57 Figure 42: Progress Window during AFP Calculation ..................................... 58 Figure 43: Frequeny Plan after AFP ............................................................... 59 Figure 44: Result of checking the frequency plan against separation constraints60 Figure 45: Starting the consistency check on a frequency plan ....................... 62 Figure 46: Result of Consistency Check in Event-Window............................... 63 Figure 47: Copy/Paste TRX List Table to Excel................................................ 64 Figure 48: Exemplary Channel Distribution in a GSM 900 Layer .................... 64 Figure 49: Coloring of Strongest Server According to BCCH .......................... 67 Figure 50: Starting the 'Channel Search' Tool ................................................ 68 Figure 51: Channel Search Tool Visualization ............................................... 69 Figure 52: C/I Level Prediction Parameters .................................................... 70 Figure 53: C/I Level Prediction Color Settings................................................ 70 Figure 54: Resulting network wide C/I Level study.......................................... 71 Figure 55: Report on statistics on areas having certain C/I levels.................... 71 Figure 56: Comparing Frequency Plans using C/I ......................................... 72 Figure 57: Interfered Zones Condition Tab.................................................... 73 Figure 58: Interfered Areas per Cell .............................................................. 73 Figure 59: Point analysis of interference conditions........................................ 74 Figure 60: Starting CAE Export...................................................................... 76 Figure 61: Selecting the data items to be selected.......................................... 76 Figure 62: Enable Addins ............................................................................. 77 Figure 63: Select the BSIC Planner Addin ...................................................... 77 Figure 64: Starting the BSIC Planner ............................................................. 77 Figure 65: Setting Up the BSIC domain ......................................................... 78 Figure 66: Setting BSIC domain for each cell................................................. 78 Figure 67: Options for running the BSCI Planner........................................... 79 Figure 68: BSIC Visualization with Channel Search Tool ................................ 80 Figure 69: Starting CAE Export...................................................................... 82 Figure 70: Selecting the data items to be selected.......................................... 82 Figure 71: A9155 PRC Generator Module..................................................... 83
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Preface
Preface
Scope
The document is dedicated to internal and external customers who are performing frequency planning in GSM environments with Alcatels Radio Network Planning Tool A9155 RNP in its version V6. This document is meant for experienced users or tool administrators of A9155 V6. The document gives the user mandatory pre-requisites for frequency planning within A9155 RNP and guides through the assignment procedure and the evaluation process. A9155 User Guide, 3DF 01955 6183 PCZZA A9155 PRC Generator Users Guide and Process Description, 3DF 01955 0080 PCZZA Frequency Planning Guideline, 3DF 01902 2013 VAZZA A9155 AFP Module Release Notes
Readership Profile Content Summary Reference Documents
Service Information
If you need special assistance, please send a mail to Alcatels A9155 User Support: A9155.Support@alcatel.de Or call them on: Phone: +49 711 821 37234
Restrictions Last Minute Changes Pre-conditions for use
The document refers to A9155 V6 in the version V6.2. No The user should be experienced in the use of A9155 V6.
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1 Short description of A9155 V6 RNP
1 Short description of A9155 V6 RNP

A9155 V6 RNP is software dedicated to radio network engineering for networks working under the GSM and UMTS technology. A9155 V6 RNP supports the following tasks Radio Measurement Evaluation an d Propagation Model Calibration Radio network Coverage Planning Traffic/Capacity Analysis Neighborhood Planning Frequency and BSIC Planning QoS Predictions BS System Data Interfacing
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2 Frequency Planning Capabilities in A9155 RNP
2 Frequency Planning Capabilities in A9155 RNP

With growing traffic in existing GSM TDMA networks most operators face the need for a more efficient use of their most limited resource: the frequency spectrum. Alcatel supports these needs with a wide range of functions embedded in the main application of the A9155 Radio Network Planning software. The A9155 RNP provides features for Enhanced frequency plan analysis for all kind of radio configurations Consistency checks against given resources C/I analysis for overall quality check and local optimizations Efficient visualization functions for manual network check and frequency plan modifications Enhanced algorithms for fast, efficient and reliable resource planning Automatic Frequency planning in non-hopping, baseband and synthesized frequency hopping networks Automatic MAL, MAIO and HSN planning Automatic BSIC planning Standardized Interface to Alcatel BSS system for frequency plan implementation For actual information please check the A9155 AFP Module Release Notes [4].
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3 Frequency Planning Process in Projects

Frequency Planning is an iterative process performed in several steps and several actors are involved when the A9155 RNP package is used. Please refer to the Frequency Planning Guideline [3] for the overall process and schedule. The following actors are mentioned in the next figure A9155 RNP main application
A9155 PRC Generator Module
A9155 AFP Module Frequency Planning Project Leader and Management The first step in the A9155 RNP supported frequency planning process is the setup of 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 A9155. The setup of the network in A9155 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, down-tilting, height and also some maps. This should be the result of a site audit campaign. Otherwise the results predicted by A9155 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 A9155 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
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should be optimized it is strongly recommended to do a detailed analysis of the existing frequency plan.
Figure 1: Frequency Planning Process
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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 A9155 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. After having the operational logical configuration inside A9155 the analysis of the frequency plan can be started using the C/I prediction features and other possibilities described here in this document. At the end a couple Performance Indicators (Pis) should be available for 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 its beginning there should be a at least a verification of the operational neighborhood plan or the neighborhood plan should be calculated from scratch. The neighborhood plan is an important input for the frequency planning so here the necessary care should be taken. The automatic frequency planning using the A9155 AFP Module start with the definition step in A9155 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 so several runs to find a suitable strategy might be necessary. Each plan should also be evaluated with A9155 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 have 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 a 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 A9155 PRC Generator Module. The activation step is also a very complex task that is described in several documents in detail. 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 well in the time after a global frequency plan change.
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4 Pre-requisites for Frequency Planning in A9155 RNP

The frequency planning step is located in the middle of the network planning process chain. It is using results retrieved by previous planning steps also performed within A9155 RNP. This chapter describes the required inputs to AFP Module and the results that have to be available from previous steps to perform a successful automatic frequency planning with A9155 V6.
4.1
4.1.1
Definition of the Focus of the Network Planning

Active Cells
At the beginning the user has to define the focus of the radio network planning concerning the cells and entities in his network. The cells to be included and that should be considered in the planning must be activated. The activated cells are marked as red and the deactivated ones are white.
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Figure 2: Active (red) and inactive (white) transmitters
CAUTION
No consideration of inactive transmitters ! Transmitters that are inactive will completely be hidden from all calculations and the Automatic Frequency Planning module. The user has to ensure that all the transmitters he wants to consider in the planning must be switched on.
4.1.2
Transmitter Filtering
The filter that can be set directly on the transmitter properties page has also an impact on the input that is considered for the AFP module.
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Figure 3: Transmitter Filter The impact of transmitter filter on the AFP is depending on the level on which the filter is applied: In the case of a filter on the main transmitter folder the transmitters that do not pass the filter are completely ignored by the AFP In the case of a filter on secondary folder (for instance during group by function) the transmitters that do not pass the filter are considered as frozen in the case that they have HO relations to passing transmitters or they are potential interferers of passing transmitters.
4.1.3
Computation Zone
The computation zone used in A9155 has an impact on the transmitters that are considered within the AFP process.
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Figure 4: Computation zone in an AFP project transmitters inside the computation area and outside transmitters having HO neighborhoods or potential interference to them are loaded and considered in the AFP module transmitters outside the zone are considered as frozen for all resource types
4.2
Completed Cell Coverage Planning

To be able to perform frequency planning within A9155 RNP it is required that the following calculations have been carried out in advance. Cell specific path loss prediction Coverage by Signal Level Study (recommended) Coverage by Transmitter Study (recommended) For each cell in the network a cell specific path loss file has to be available internally in the document or in the LOSSES directory (external calculation storage case). Every cell specific path loss file has to be valid (all calculations done and no change of cell design and other relevant parameters in the meantime).
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The results Signal Level Study and Coverage by Transmitter Study are not mandatory, but are normally performed before a frequency planning campaign is started to provide a good overview on the network.
Figure 5: Maximum Field Strength Calculation as part of Radio Coverage Planning The applied settings of the calculation providing the maximum field-strength at each pixel where the BCCH subcells minimum reception threshold is exceeded. The given field strength at a pixel has a reliability level of 50 %, that means thatin half of the cases will be higher and in 50 % of the cases is smaller than the given dBm value. Only cells in the Macro Layer are considered in this example.
TIP
Higher Reliability of Result To ensure a higher reliability of the colored field strength level it is recommended to increase this percentage (for instance to 95 %).
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Figure 6: Strongest Server (Service Area) Calculation as part of Coverage Planning The applied settings of the calculation providing the strongest server at each pixel where the BCCH subcells minimum reception threshold is exceeded. It is assumed that the pixels that have the same strongest server are forming its service area. Only cells in the Macro Layer are considered in this example. Also a reliability level of 50 % is considered in this example. In order to gain a higher reliability this value could be increased (for instance to 95%)
TIP
Coverage Planning using Templates of Studies The easiest way for performing coverage planning is to use the predefined templates for different coverage studies. These studies provide prepared parameter settings that ensure that the user gets exactly that kind of result what is described in the comments.
4.3
Neighbor Cell and Handover Planning

The neighbor cell plan is also an important optional input for the frequency planning algorithm. The fact that the frequency channel separation between GSM neighbor cells BCCHs should be at least 1 or better 2 will put a high impact on the capability of the AFP algorithm to find a solution proper and reliable solution. A
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good neighbor planning is the basis for a good frequency planning. So it is necessary that neighbor planning has been finished before automatic frequency planning and the appropriate table of A9155 is populated with the GSM-cell relationships. The built-in algorithm for neighborhood planning is started using the following command: Transmitter -> Neighbors -> Automatic Allocation
Figure 7: Calculation Parameters for Automatic Neighbor Cell Allocation The automatic neighbor cell allocation algorithm works according to the following principle: A transmitter A will consider a transmitter B as neighbor if: The distance between both transmitters is lower than a userdefinable max inter-site distance. There is an overlap zone (SA SB) with a given reliability level where: SA is the area where the signal reception from the transmitter A is greater than a minimum signal level.
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SB is the area where: The signal reception from the transmitter B is greater than the signal reception from the transmitter A plus the handoff margin start until a handover margin stop The transmitter B is the best server.
Either the % covered surface ((SA SB)/SA*100) is greater than a % minimum covered area if the Covered areaoption is selected, or the % traffic covered on the overlap area is higher than a % minimum covered area if the Covered traffic- option is taken into account.
The user can set the maximum number of neighbors to be allocated to each transmitter. Thus, among n transmitters (n > max number of neighbors), which meet the criteria described above, only those with the greatest covered surface area (Covered area option) or with the most covered traffic (Covered traffic option) will be selected. The force co-site transmitters as neighbors- option enables the user to force the co-site transmitters to be taken into account in the neighbor allocation. The co-site transmitters will be the first neighbors in the list. For more detailed information the technical reference manual has to be consulted.
TIP
Hints for Neighbor Planning It is necessary to perform the neighbor plan in principle using the following rule: As many neighbors per cell as necessary, as less as possible. An oversized neighbor planning will result in a bad frequency plan because neighbor-constraints are solved by the algorithm and no interference can be optimized. An optimum handover planning provides 8-12 neighbors per cell in all directions. There should be neighbor symmetry if possible, but in many cases this setting cannot be used due to limitations of the maximum number of neighbors.
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As a result complete entries in the neighbor cell table should be available. The neighbor cell table is accessible under Transmitter -> Neighbours -> Neigbour List
Figure 8: Neighbor cell relations in A9155 A visual representation of neighborhoods on the map is enabled by clicking the related symbol on the menu bar and selecting a specific transmitter.
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Figure 9: Visualization of Neighbors on Map It has to be ensured that neighbor relations exist in all directions of the cell. The limitation in the number of neighbors must not cut the neighbors only in a specific direction. If this happens the signal level should be decreased or the maximum distance has to be decreased to focus on the important neighbors in the near surrounding of a cell.
4.4 Capacity Analysis and Required Hardware Resources

There are two different ways to supply A9155 RNP with the required information concerning the number of TRXs that have to be assigned with frequencies during the AFP process. manually entering the number of subcells reflecting the TRXs. This method is used when standard configurations are used in a project (for instance 1 TRX per cell in the case of network startup). calculation of required TRXs by A9155 RNP under consideration of a map indicating the expected traffic density per pixel in the network As a result of the capacity analysis each cells subcells should be populated with their requirements. The population can be checked under:
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Transmitter -> Subcells -> Subcell List
Figure 10: 'Requested TRXs' Column in Subcell table The minimum requirement consists of the BCCH subcell requirement that has to be populated with 1 for each cell. This requirement is available per default.
4.5
Frequency Spectrum Resource Definition

The frequency spectrum that is available for the automatic frequency assignment process is defined in several process steps.
4.5.1
Step 1: Frequency Band Availability

The frequency band table is the basis of the spectrum resource within the planning tool. The table of Frequency Bands is available under: Transmitter -> Network Settings -> Frequency Bands
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Figure 11: Frequency Bands in A9155 In the first step it should be checked in this table whether the desired basic frequency band for the used system technology is available here. In the default installation all common system technology data sets are included. For each frequency band the mid frequency and the channel width is specified. For all GSM system technologies frequency band the channel wide is 200 KHz. The First and Last channel are set according to the GSM specifications. All channels within this interval can be used in principle for the AFP-band setup. The parameter Nb Columns is not used.
TIP
Hint for specific projects It is recommended not to modify the existing basic settings. It is preferred to add datasets if required. It is also recommended not to define a certain band structure on this level, but to do it in a later step using Frequency Domains.
4.5.2
Step 2: Projects Frequency Domains

From the overall frequency bands it is now the task to specify the project specific frequency block definitions. This is done via so called Frequency Domains.
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For each subcell requirement it has to be specified which frequency domain should be used for automatic assignment. So it is ensured that each TRX gets a frequency from the domain he is dedicated. The frequency domains are set up under: Transmitter -> Network Settings -> Domains -> Frequencies
Figure 12: Definition of Frequency Domains in A9155
TIP
Hint for complex frequency band structures It is recommended to define complex frequency band structures on domain level. For instance BCCH and TCH band splits can be realized on domain level. Also bands for different hopping modes should be defined on frequency domain level.
Each created frequency domain can now be configured from frequency groups under: Transmitter -> Network Settings -> Domains -> Groups -> Frequencies
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Frequency Groups to form Frequency Domains

Each frequency domain can be configured from different frequency groups under: Transmitter -> Network Settings -> Domains -> Groups -> Frequencies For non-hopping networks the frequency resource for specific subcells as BCCH and TCH can be defined in the following way.
Figure 13: Frequency Domain consisting of 2 Frequency Blocks The different frequency blocks of a domain can be added as data rows in this table. Each block/group can be identified by an arbitrary name. The block is defined by a Minimum border channel and a Maximum border channel as well as by a step size between these two borders. From this block specific frequencies can be Excluded by putting them on the related list. On the other hand additional Extra frequencies can be put to a block. It is in the responsibility of the user to have the definitions of the groups and blocks as transparent as possible.
Radio Hopping Domains can also be defined under the property page.
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Figure 14: Groups A, B and C in a 1*3 Hopping Scenario Radio Hopping Scenarios can also be handled by this implementation of a radio hopping frequency domain. In the example 3 groups A, B and C were defined with 8 frequencies each with a intra channel distance of 3. The domain covers 21 channels.
Figure 15: Group 1*1 Hopping Group in 1*1 Re-Use In the example above only 1 hopping group is defined. This is the case in 1*1 re-use networks where every cell uses the same frequencies by resolving onsite-collisions via MAIO assignment per site and HSN assignment for inter-site collisions.
4.5.3
Step 3: Celltypes Subcell Requirements

In the next step the user has to specify which resource his specific cells are allowed to use. This is done via celltypes subcells. The celltype table is opened by clicking: Transmitter -> Network Settings -> Celltypes
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Figure 16: Celltypes in A9155 From the list of celltypes that is popping up the user selects the ones that are appearing in its network and clicks on Properties.
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Figure 17: Setting a radio-hopping celltype's frequency domains on a per cell basis The celltypes subcell requirements will now be satisfied from the frequency domains that are given per subcell. In the example above the TRX type BCCH (subcell BCCH) will search its channel in the domain DOMAIN_DCS1800 in free allocation mode. As BCCH is not hopping the Hopping Mode of this subcell is Non-Hopping. The TCH TRXs will search their frequency group in the 1*1-Hopping Domain. As a complete frequency hopping system (FHS) is allocated to the TRX the allocation Mode is Group Constrained. The maximum MAL length is set to 64. The following table gives the combinations that can be set in the A9155: Cell
Standard NH Cell
Subcell
BCCH TCH
Hopping Mode
Non Hopping Non Hopping Base Band Hopping
Allocation Mode
Free Free Free
BBH Cells
BCCH
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TCH RFH Cells BCCH TCH
Base Band Hopping Non Hopping Synthesized Hopping
Free Free Group Constraint
After the definition of the resources for the different celltypes they have to be associated to the network cells.
Figure 18: Setting the Celltype of a cell in the 'Properties'
Figure 19: Celltypes in the table
4.6
Putting higher priority on specific cells

In many projects specific areas are more important than other areas. In A9155 it is possible to introduce an AFP weight on a per cell basis. It is done on the transmitters properties on the AFP-tab.
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Figure 20: Introduction of an 'AFP'-weight per cell The default value of the AFP weight is 1. If the user wants to increase the priority of a cell in the AFP process the user has to enter a value > 1. The regular contribution of a transmitter to the overall cost is multiplied by this weight-factor. This will force the AFP algorithm to solve separations first on these transmitters.
CAUTION
Set only AFP weights on transmitter level ! It is only recommended to set such AFP weights on a transmitter basis. The same thing is possible on sub-cell level, but not recommended to use AFP weights on a transmitter and on sub-cell level at the same time.
4.7
Keeping Fixed Frequencies

In many cases the user wants to restrict changes to certain areas of the network and fix frequencies that should not be touched by the automatic frequency assignment. This can be done on a per cell basis in the TRXs tab of the cell properties.
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Figure 21: Freezing Channels on a per cell basis Freezing of channels for more than one cell can be done in the TRX list table: Transmitter -> subcells -> TRX lists
Figure 22: Freezing Channels for several cells To enable the freezing of channels the Keep only frozen Frequencies must be set in the AFPModel.
TIP
Keep only frozen frequencies recommended as default ! It is recommended to verify/set the freeze option in this way as a default standard within AlcAFP, because it is the most logical one.
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Figure 23: Setting the freeze option in AFP model
CAUTION
Freeze Option on transmitter level currently not used ! Please be aware that the freeze channel button on transmitter level on the AFP tab has no effect on the AFP process.
4.8
Experience Matrix including Exceptional Pairs

The experience matrix contains pairs of cells having specific channel separation requirements that are not considered in the interference or neighborhood matrix. These exceptional pairs can be entered on a per sub-cell basis in the AFP tab of the transmitter properties.
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Figure 24: Setting Experience Matrix Separations at cell level A complete import of an experience matrix into A9155 V6 can be done using the exceptional pair table: Transmitter -> Frequency Plan -> Exceptional Pairs
Figure 25: Complete Experience Matrix in Exceptional Pair table The channel separation constraint value will be considered in the automatic frequency planning module.
TIP
Use results from T180 HO counter evaluation for AFP ! Results coming from T180 HO counter evaluation can be entered into the Exceptional Pair table to ensure that the real HO statistics is considered in the AFP. Copy/Paste into this A9155 table.
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4.9
The AFP Model

This chapter describes the algorithmic basis for the AFP Module as well as the AFP Model parameters that are controlling the implemented process.
4.9.1
Understanding the AFP Algorithm

Most of the implemented heuristic AFP algorithms in the different network planning tools can be classified generally in two different groups: Heuristic with Re-Classification ( Box, ) Heuristic with successive improvement ( Neural Network Approaches, Taboo-Methods, Simulated Annealing, ) It turned out that so called Cost-function driven AFPs are very efficient in quality and performance. They belong to the second group. Such AFP algorithms try to minimize an overall COST-function that describes the quality of a frequency plan. The COST function summarizes up all the violations of a frequency plan against the given requirements. So the AFP tries to find out the absolute minimum of the COST-function that reflects the optimum frequency plan under the given conditions.
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C (s)
Local Minimu m Absolute Minimu m
s'
Frequency Plan s
Figure 26: COST function of frequency plans The figure above describes such a COST function C in dependence of frequency plans s. Each frequency plan has a COST value C(s). When changing a frequency in a frequency plan s the frequency plan is then s. It will have a better or worse cost. During run-time of the algorithm the frequency plan s in moving along a n-dimensional COST-function. The algorithm works in the way that the frequency plan is modified by changing one or several frequencies in an iteration and calculating the COST value for the changed plan. Is the COST value smaller than in the original plan the new plan is accepted as better and the algorithm goes on with the next iteration. If the new plan is worse the plan is rejected. By this way the COST function is reduced step-by-step. The danger with this principal approach is to trap into a local minimum of the COST function that cannot be left with only changing a frequency. So the for minimum-finding a special algorithmic approach, the so-called Simulated Annealing method has been chosen. The Simulated Annealing methodology is coming from solid states physics using the similarity to the behavior of material when the temperature T is decreased. It states that the atomic site (=the frequency plan) will freeze at an optimum point concerning energetic state (=COST) when the temperature is decreased and the dynamic movement of the atoms slows down. Also the tunneling effect that allows the transition of energy hills(=COST Mountains) is considered in the Simulated Annealing.
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Single Step Movement towards worse frequency plans ( Cplan > 0 )
C (s)
Multi-Step Tunneling through COST mountain to avoid trapping into local minima
Local Minimum
Single Step Movement towards better frequency plans ( Cplan < 0 )

Absolute Minimum
Figure 27: Modification of Frequency Plans in Simulated Annealing Process The figure above shows the different movement possibilities. The green Single Step Movement towards better plans with Cplan<0 describes the regular acceptance when a frequency plan gets better when a frequency is changed. In single cases worse plans are accepted temporarily like in the similarity of theory of solid states physics where atoms are moving to energy levels that are normally not allowed. The probability of Single step movement towards worse plans Cplan > 0 is decreasing with the system temperature that is decreasing slowly with each iteration, but it is theoretically possible at each iteration. Additionally a Multi-Step tunneling through COST mountain to avoid trapping into local minima is triggered from time to time. This means changing time by time several frequencies and checking the cost.
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Start with Initial/Operative Frequency Plan Temperature = Start-Temperature (1) Reduce Temperature T linearly Modification of Frequency Plan s -> s' Calculate COST of new Frequency Plan Cnew(s') & Difference to old Plan C = Cnew(s') - Cold(s)
No
Accept New Plan dependant on Temperature T and C?
Yes
Yes Restore old Frequency Plan
Stop Condition reached ?
No
End with new Frequency Plan
Figure 28: Simulated Annealing Iteration Loop The figure above describes the iteration loop of Simulated Annealing. The starting point is an existing plan or an arbitrary plan when there is no existing plan. The COST value C(s) of this starting frequency plan is calculated. Then the temperature T of the system is decreased. Then an arbitrary frequency plan modification s->s controlled by the random generator is performed in single step or multi-step mode in dependence of a probability. The COST value C(s) of the new plan is calculated and the difference C. Depending on C and the temperature T this plan will be accepted or rejected.
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If the new frequency plan s is rejected the previous plan is restored before the next iteration is entered. If the new frequency plan S is accepted it is checked if the stop condition is reached or not. If yes the module ends up with the frequency plan s and the COST value C(s). If the stop condition is not reached a new iteration loop is entered with the frequency plan s. The acceptance of frequency plans works according to the following rules: Single Step Movement towards better plans ( Cplan<0) are always accepted Single Step Movement towards worse plan ( Cplan>0) are only accepted in case that random number R (0 ...1):
Acceptance of W orse Plans
1 0.9 0.8 0.7 exp (-dC/T) 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 High Difference Cost Medium Difference Cost Low Difference Cost
plan
Less acceptance of worse plans in case of high COST difference Cplan and/or with low temperature T->0
R < e
0 0.5 Temperature T
Multi-step tunneling done in random case. Acceptance according Cplan. As it can be seen the definition of the COST function is the kernel part of the algorithm. The COST function is defined as the sum of all violations of the frequency plan s against the requirements. The following contributions to the COST are considered in the AFP module: violations against the co-cell and co-site requirements violations against neighbor list requirements
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violations against the interference matrix violations against given exceptional cell pair separations violations against given frequency domain restrictions violations against a required fix of frequencies/groups The different contributions can be weighted according to their importance in the individual project. These weightings can be set up in the AFP Models Violation Cost Configuration tab.
4.9.2
Definition of AFP Model Parameters

The AFP model parameter data sets that implement the above described Simulated Annealing algorithm are located on the module tab in A9155 V6.
Figure 29: AFP Module Parameter Set General - tab Double clicking on a model parameter set opens the model properties distributed over several tabs. On the General tab the user should specify a name for that parameter dataset. It is recommended to duplicate the default dataset and then give the clone an individual name.
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Figure 30: 'Algorithm Control' - tab of AFP Module Starting Options: Starting System Temperature: This parameter defines the starting temperature of the frequency plan system. With a default value of 1 the system starts in its most dynamic state in which a lot of intermediate changes to worse frequency plans are possible. The system temperature is decreased during each iteration and this will decrease the dynamic of the system and will stabilize the frequency plan. Selecting a smaller value for the Starting System Temperature will result in less dynamic system from beginning on.
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Low Cost Startup Option: Enabling this option will remove at the beginning of the frequency assignment the co-cell and co-site violations. The enabling of this option will remove first of all the most important problems from the frequency plan, but will cause a limitation of the freedom of the algorithm. Keep existing frequencies: This option indicates which kind of already assigned frequencies will be kept during the assignment or a specific violation cost will be added. Keep no frequencies: Removes the complete plan Keep only frozen frequencies: Considers the frozen flag per TRX Keep all assigned frequencies: Keeps all assigned frequencies and adds only new ones for additional TRXs
Stop Options Algorithm Stop Criterion: Specifies the criterion to terminate the AFP calculation User termination: Stops the algorithm requested by the user by pushing a stop-button. Max Number of Iteration: Stops the algorithm after a given number of iterations has been passed. The maximum number of iterations has to be specified in the field Stop Condition. Cost Target: Specifies a maximum allowed cost for the overall frequency plan. If this criterion is reached the algorithm stops. This cost target is specified in the field Stop Condition.
Control Options Decreasing Factor per Iteration: This value is multiplied in each frequency plan iteration with the current system temperature. A value very near to 1 will force the system to cool down very slowly, but values near to 0 will decrease the system temperature significantly and freeze the frequency plan in early stages. Tunnel Probability: This value is an indicator according to which probability a worse plan compared to the current plan is accepted by the program checked at the end of a iteration.
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Tunneling Process Control: This parameters indicates the maximum number of frequencies to be changed during one tunneling process Enable Reheat and Threshold: Enables the reheating at this cost threshold a reheat is possible. Not recommended to use. Frequency Plan Save Threshold. Threshold from which better plans are saved internally. Threshold diagram chart parameters. Read-only parameters for internal usage.
Figure 31: 'MISC Tab' of AFP Module Power Control Interference Corrections The listed correction factors are applied in the interference cost contribution in dependence whether Power Control is enabled
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on server and interferer. It is recommended not to modify the default 1 currently. DTX ( Discontinous Transmission Options ) This activity factor is applied in the interference cost contribution if DTX is enabled. It is recommended not to modify the given default 1 currently. TRX Initialization Options: These options are used to give specific traffic capacity and protection factors on BCCH and TCH subcells. It is recommended to use currently the default values 1.
Figure 32: 'Violation Cost Configuration' Options Tab in AFP Module
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The Violation Cost Configuration Options Tab describes the violation costs that are applied on a frequency plan in each iteration. Spectrum Violations. Spectrum violations are defined as the assignment of frequencies that are not allowed at all for a specific cell. Frequency Domain Violation Cost: This violation is applied in the case that a frequency is assigned to a TRX in a band that is not allowed globally for this sub-cell type. Example: A TCH TRX has a frequency assigned that is fully dedicated to a restricted BCCH band. Forbidden Frequency Violation Cost. This cost value is applied in the case that a cell has cell specific forbidden frequencies violated. Not used at the moment as A9155 V6 does not support forbidden frequencies up to now. Co-cell Violation Cost: This violation cost is applied in the case that the intra-cell channel distance (recommended default 3 channels distance) is not fulfilled. This value should be set very high, because these kinds of violations can nearly not be tolerated. Co-site Violation Cost: This violation cost is applied in the case that the intra site channel distance (recommended default 2 channels distance) is not fulfilled. This value should be set very high, because these kind of violations can nearly not be tolerated. Neighbor Cell Violation Cost: This violation cost is applied in the case that the channel distance between GSM neighbor cells (minimum 1, recommended 2). This should/could be varied according to the importance of the separation and the weighting of interference. The given violation costs are applied in the case that the channel separations required in the exceptional pair table are violated by the frequency plan. The violations are dependant on sub-cell. Here higher violations could be set for example for BCCHs as for TCH to force the algorithm to solve BCCH constraints first. Interference Cost Weighting
Topological Violations
Exceptional pair violation dependant on sub-cell
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This factor controls the contribution of the interference matrix to the overall cost factor. If the value is set higher the algorithm optimizes for example more interference and relaxes neighbor constraints. Releasing Frozen Frequencies Violations Releasing Fixed Frequencies Violation Cost: If frequencies are fixed by the user the program can them release them, but with the application of this cost value. This value should be set high. Releasing Fixed Frequency Group Violation Cost: If frequency groups are fixed in case of frequency hopping by the user the program can release them, but with the application of this cost value. This value should be set high. Releasing Assigned frequencies / groups: This violation cost value is only applied if the keep assigned frequencies option is enabled in the starting options. If a already assigned frequency is changed then this violation cost contributes to the overall cost.
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Figure 33: 'MAIO and HSN' options in AFP Module MAIO Assignment The MAIO Assignment is also based on the simulated Annealing procedure as the channels assignment works. It is possible to freeze MAIO assignment although this only makes sense when also the related channels are frozen. According to the channel assignment there is a start temperature that is decreased by multiplying it during each iteration with the decreasing factor of the MAIO model. The threshold MAIO Interference Probability threshold is used to detect if sector pairs have the same HSN, the same frequency groups, the same set of MAIOs and the mutual interference is above. In this case a re-assignment of HSNs has to be done to avoid un-acceptable interference. HSN Assignment The HSN assignment is controlled by the given options: Neighboring sectors should have different HSNs
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Sectors with mutual interference above the threshold HSN Interference Probability threshold should have different HSNs.
The assignment for RFH networks is site based. All co-site sectors have the same HSN. If the neighbor criterion is selected for assignment, the neighbors of a site are those sites which contains one of more neighbor sectors of one or more sectors in the site concerned. If the mutual interference criterion is chosen, the mutual interference between a site pair is the maximum mutual interference between the sector pairs of the 2 sites concerned. It is possible to keep an existing HSN plan when in the subcell table the HSNs are fixed and this option in the model is enabled.
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5 Automatic Frequency Planning Process

The frequency assignment process is started from the tree-view of the by selecting with the right mouse button: Transmitter -> Frequency Plan -> Automatic Allocation
Figure 34: Starting the AFP procedure
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5.1
Step 1: Define Targets & Basic Separations

After starting the following window pops up:
Figure 35: AFP window Step 1 Page 1 The General page gives the user the chance to set the resources to be allocated during the AFP: Channels: Must be ticked when Frequencies and Frequency Groups shall be assigned MAIO: HSN: Must be ticked when MAIOs shall be assigned in Radio Hopping Networks Must be ticked when HSNs shall be assigned in Baseband and Radio Hopping Networks
CAUTION
MAL and BSIC Tick Boxes not used ! Please be aware that MAL (Mobile Allocation List) and BSIC Tick boxes are not used in the AFP. MALs are assigned when the channel box is ticked. BSIC allocation will be done in a separate module (see later).
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It is recommended not to change the by default ticked option Load all the potential interferers in the case the user wants to take into account an Interference Matrix. If the "Load all the potential interferers button is not ticked the AFP module will only take "fixed" constraints into account (meaning cosite, co-cell, neighbor and exceptional pair constraints). With this option the loading/start time of the module is much faster, but with the restriction that no interference is taken into account. The second page of the AFP start page is displayed below:
Figure 36: AFP Window Step 1 Page 2 with Separation Constraints On this window the target separation constraints must be entered correctly.
CAUTION
For Co-Site and Co-Cell option only 2nd Column is used ! Please be aware that for the target co-site and co-cell separation constraint only the value in the second column are used (Between composite sucells (control-traffic).
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For the row Between Neighbours all the options from the three columns are used.
The following settings are advised: Co-site Separation: A default separation of 2 is recommend on this setting. That means on the same site at least a minimum channel distance of 2 should be kept by all frequencies on air at one time. Co-cell Separation: A default separation of 3 is recommended if no special allowance is available. The Evolium equipment should also be able to handle a separation of 2, but this setting should only be applied after the user has ensured himself about local equipment. Neighbor-Separation: A default minimum separation of 1 should be kept between direct neighbor cells to keep the HO process without any sources of problems. Better would be to have a separation of 2. The neighbors relationship data is located in the neighbor list table of A9155 V6. Opening the Exceptional Pair table the Channel Separation pairs can be viewed and if necessary some modifications can be performed here. Finishing the Validation Step the following window pops up to start the next steps:
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Figure 37: AFP Progress window for next steps At the top of the window the results of the validation step is given. It contains messages about the result of the loading procedure and some basic consistency checks.
5.2
Step 2: Provisioning of the Interference Matrix

The first step for frequency planning is the provision of the interference matrix.
CAUTION
The AFP Process can be started optionally without the interference matrix ! For good performance of the frequency plan it is highly recommended to use interference conditions as input for the AFP ! So the Interference Matrix has to be provisioned by: Calculation of the Interference Matrix
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Re-loading an existing Interference Matrix from disk
5.2.1
Calculation of the Interference Matrix

The interference matrix has to be calculated at least once. After that it can be exported to an external file to be reloaded for later AFP calculations. In the case the user pushes the Calculate Button the following window pops up:
Figure 38: Options for Interference Matrix Calculation In this property window for the interference matrix calculation the user has to select first the server option: Best signal level per HCS Layer option considers only the interference on the area where a serving cell is the strongest cell per HCS layer including the margin value. Default Option. All option considers all signals The interference probability option gives the user possibility to select the focus of the calculation Interfered Traffic. This option should be taken when a traffic map is available Interfered Areas. Default Option. Clicking on Run the calculation starts and gives you reports about the progress on each subcell.
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After the calculation the Calculation Status turns to Ready and the other parts of the AFP window get accessible.
5.2.2
Exporting the Interference Matrix

To preserve the Interference Matrix for later AFP calculations it can be saved to disk in a specific file format when the Calculation Status is given as Ready. It is recommended to create a directory interference_matrix in the project directory where the data can be stored. After clicking on Export a browser gives the user the possibility to select the location of the interference matrix file. It is in a A9155 V6 internal format with the extension .clc.
5.2.3
Importing the Interference Matrix

Reloading the interference matrix saves a lot of time for the user instead of re-calculating it each time. For reloading of the interference matrix click Import and select the clc-file of a previous export of the data. The data will be reloaded.
CAUTION
During import of the Interference Matrix only rudimentary checks about cell availability are performed. The user has to ensure by himself that the interference matrix reflects the current network status ! After reload the following window appears:
Figure 39: Successful Import of Interference Matrix
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5.3
Step 3: AFP Process

After the provisioning of the interference matrix the AFP module is ready to run.
Figure 40: AFP progress window after import of interference matrix
5.3.1
Substep A: Selection of the AFP Model

First the desired AFP Model has to be selected from the list of available models from the modules tab in A9155 V6. Clicking on Properties the model parameters are popping up.
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Figure 41: Properties of AlcAFP Model The AFP model parameters have to be modified according to the users preferences.
5.3.2
Substep B: Other Parameters

The other parameters have the following effect: DTX: Currently not used by AlcAFP (-> see AFP model) Voice Activity Factor: Currently not used Target Computation Time: Currently not used
5.3.3
Substep E: Running the AFP

Clicking Run the AFP is started.
Progress Information
First a progress window is popping up and is giving the calculation status to the user:
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Figure 42: Progress Window during AFP Calculation The Calculation Status scroll window is giving the different internal procedures of the AFP. The other parameters shown are giving some key indicators of the frequency plan: Best Cost: Overall current cost value of the frequency plan Elapsed Time: Informs the user about the time spent for the plan. Separation Component: Gives the number of performed algorithm iterations Using the Stop Button the process can be stopped in the case no cost-free solution is found by the algorithm.
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Frequency Plan Status

If the calculation has been stopped by the user or a solution was found by the program the actual frequency plan pops up:
Figure 43: Frequeny Plan after AFP The frequency plan tab is giving for each TRX the allocated resource requested by the user. If there are existing violations against the requirements it is possible to check them by clicking on the button given in the Separation Violations column. On the second tab of the frequency plan tab called Separation Constraint Violations the user can now analyze the calculated frequency plan against the topologic requirements.
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The user has to press the button Calculate and Display. Then the calculation is performed an the violations will be listed.
Figure 44: Result of checking the frequency plan against separation constraints The user has now the following options: Commit the Frequency Plan: This loads the plan into the A9155 V6 database. Cancel the AFP process. The window is left without any action and the program returns to the AFP start window. Here now the AFP process can be closed.
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6 Frequency Plan Qualification

When a frequency plan is calculated there are different possibilities to evaluate the quality of the result.
TIP
Use this methods also for operational frequency plans ! The described methods can also applied on operational frequency plans coming from the living network. At the beginning of a frequency planning campaign the existing frequency plan should be loaded into A9155 and analyzed by the given methods to have a comparison between the existing and the improved status.
6.1
Consistency Check Function

This function is checking the frequency plan within A9155 against requirements that can be defined in the following steps. The consistency check is started: Transmitter->Frequency Plan -> Check Consistency
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Figure 45: Starting the consistency check on a frequency plan The check is has different input parameters distributed over three tabs:
On the General tab the requirements that should be checked have to be selected by the user.
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On the Separation tab the separation values have to validated by the user against the frequency plan is checked. The Detailed Result tab triggers the grade of deepness in which the user is informed about results of the consistency checks. The result of the frequency plan consistency check is provided in the event window of A9155.
Figure 46: Result of Consistency Check in Event-Window
6.2
First Statistical Evaluation of Frequency Plan

The statistical evaluation is the first step when checking a frequency plan. The distribution of frequencies in the network is a first indicator about the results of the AFP process. The evaluation is done externally in Microsoft Excel, because it offers more flexibility as inbuilt features would provide.
CAUTION
The statistical evaluation proposed in this document requires the Analysis ToolPak Add-In of Microsoft Excel. The availability of this package can be checked in Excel under Tools -> Add-Ins The procedure of creation of distribution diagram is the following: Step 1: Copy/Paste TRX lists table to Excel
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Figure 47: Copy/Paste TRX List Table to Excel Step 2: Optional Filtering in Excel Step 3: Selecting Channels Column and use the Data Analysis Tool option Histogram under Tools menu. Give the data range and the bin range for the histogram. Step 4: Create a chart with the chart wizard.
Figure 48: Exemplary Channel Distribution in a GSM 900 Layer With this chart the user can evaluate whether the AFP has respected the basic spectrum partitioning inputs in A9155 V6. Of course there are several other possibilities to evaluate statistically a frequency plan.
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These evaluations are always based on the TRX List table and are more a subject of working efficiently with Excel or other table evaluation applications. If you would like to know more about statistical evaluations please refer to the related Microsoft Excel documentation.
6.3
Visual Evaluation of Frequency Plan

The visualization of frequency plan can be done using the display features of A9155 V6.1.
6.3.1
Labels and Tool Tips

Visualize channels as text on the map the labeling and the tooltips on transmitter properties can be used. Settings Map Visualization
Label
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Tool Tip
6.3.2
Coloring of Strongest Server according to BCCH

To visualize the re-use of channels a strongest server plot can be colored according to the BCCH frequency of a cell. With this possibility the planner can get a fast overview about the distribution of BCCHs.
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Figure 49: Coloring of Strongest Server According to BCCH The coloring of course makes only sense when there are enough colors that can be distinguished.
6.3.3
Visualization of Co- and Adjacent Channel Cells

A specific evaluation concerning cells having co-channel or adjacent channel allocation can be done with the Channel search Tool that can be started from the View menu.
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Figure 50: Starting the 'Channel Search' Tool Using the channel search tool the co- and adjacent channels can be visualized on the map either as colored arrows or colored strongest server area. The goal is of course that co-channel cells are located as far from each other as possible.
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Figure 51: Channel Search Tool Visualization The user has to enter the channel he is searching for. Clicking the Find button will colorize the transmitter arrows and the strongest server area of the cells having the selected channel number or the adjacent ones: RED: Co-channel GREEN: Lower Adjacent Channel BLUE: Upper Adjacent Channel The user is able to skip comfortable through the spectrum clicking on the arrows beside the ARFCN input frame
TIP
The Channel Search Tool can also be used for visulization of BSIC and BCCH/BSIC combinations ! Please refer to the second and third tab of the Channel Search
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Tool to perform BSIC or BSIC/BCCH visualizations
6.4
Interference Analysis of Frequency Plan

The prediction of interference is the most reliable result derived by A9155 concerning the performance of a frequency plan. At the end of a frequency planning process this calculation should be performed mandatorily to ensure the quality of the channel allocation and to be able to compare frequency plans.
6.4.1
C/I Calculation Parameter Settings
Figure 52: C/I Level Prediction Parameters
Figure 53: C/I Level Prediction Color Settings
The C/I Level prediction calculation evaluates with these settings the following conditions: For each pixel the strongest transmitter per HCS Layer is assumed to be the server At these pixels all interferers (co- and adjacent channels) are considered C/I is colored over the complete useful range (green: OK, red, orange: NOK)
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Detailed channel results are requested
6.4.2
C/I Calculation Result

With this network wide study the network wide C/I conditions can be evaluated on a map.
Figure 54: Resulting network wide C/I Level study A report on this network wide study can be retrieved by clicking on the study and selecting the Report right mouse menu entry. This report is based on a focus zone that can be set up using the mouse as a polygon and can be saved as a vector.
Figure 55: Report on statistics on areas having certain C/I levels The report could be copied/pasted to Excel and a statistical and graphical evaluation could be performed.
6.4.3 Exemplary Frequency Plan Benchmarking using statistical C/I comparison on Areas
The following report extract shows an extract of a report comparing the performance of frequency plans.
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Figure 56: Comparing Frequency Plans using C/I
6.5
Frequency Plan Point Analysis

A9155 allows to analyze the interference conditions at specific points using the Point Analysis tool within A9155. The base for this procedure is the Interfered Zones calculation. It gives the areas where certain (sub-) cells are interfered in the way that a given minimum C/I threshold is undershot.
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Figure 57: Interfered Zones Condition Tab
Figure 58: Interfered Areas per Cell
Based on this result a detailed point analysis can be performed to solve local problems of the frequency plan. When the Detailed Result box is checked this evaluation can be done on single TRX level. Using the Point Analysis tool the configuration from the next figure can be a achieved.
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Figure 59: Point analysis of interference conditions The point analysis tool is enabled in the View menu. The colored (interfered) cell area and its subcell can be displayed on the map. With the moving pointer the certain points on this area can be check to evaluate possible interference level. For the serving transmitter and its interferers on co-channel and adjcacent channels the power values are displayed. The Co-channel transmitters are shown as filled bars and the Adjacent-channels as half-filled bars considering the neighbor channel attenuation. As a black bar the total interference at a certain point is displayed.
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7 Backup and Restore of Frequency Plans

In the case a frequency plan has reached a certain stage and constitutes a milestone it might be necessary to backup this status for archiving and later restore. In principle there are several possibilities to backup a frequency plan.
7.1
Complete A9155 Project ATL Document Backup

This means that the user saves the ATL document including the frequency plan together with all relevant data. He continues working on an document with a different name This solution gives the following advantages Simplest save operation (just use Save As in the A9155 file menu) Full consistency with all settings in A9155 document Fastest restore operation The disadvantage of this solution is the Highest amount of required disk space to save several frequency plans as all calculation results will be duplicated
7.2
Save TRX Table by Copy into Excel

This means that the user marks all the entries in the
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Transmitter->Subcell-> TRXs and copies it into a table oriented program like MS Excel. The user shall copy all columns and not restrict to the channels. This solution gives the following advantages Minimum necessary disk space Use of standard format and tool Fast Copy/Paste Operation The disadvantage of this solution could be Data inconsistency with other parts of the tool (additional cells, violations against new neighbors, .)
7.3
COF Export/Import for Backup

The means that the user uses the standard A9155 export/import interfaces concerning cell logical data to backup a frequency plan. The backup procedure works via the CAE Export item in the Tools menu.
Figure 60: Starting CAE Export Figure 61: Selecting the data items to be selected The frequency plan is included in the Frequencies, FHS and HOP as well as in the TRX information. These files have to be included in the export. The restore of the frequency plan has to be done via the CAE Import item in the Tools menu.
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8 Automatic BSIC Planning

After the frequency assignment step it is necessary to perform the BSIC assignment in a proper way that there are no BCCH/BSIC conflicts with the given neighborhood plan. The automatic BSIC assignment within A9155 is not done in the AFP module, but performed via the BSIC planner Addin.
8.1
Enabling the BSIC Addin

This Addin has to be enabled under the menu Tools:
Figure 62: Enable Addins
Figure 63: Select the BSIC Planner Addin
Figure 64: Starting the BSIC Planner
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8.2
Setting up the BSIC Domains

The input for the BSIC planner Addin is the BSIC domain to be used for each cell. The domains are set under: Transmitter -> Network Settings -> Domains -> BSIC
Figure 65: Setting Up the BSIC domain
Figure 66: Setting BSIC domain for each cell
8.3
Performing Automatic BSIC Assignment

When starting the BSIC planner Addin the following window pops up:
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Figure 67: Options for running the BSCI Planner The BSIC Addin distributes BSIC values on a BSIC Domain - BCCH basis. It groups together all the cells having the same BSIC domain and the same BCCH. For each of the obtained groups the Addin counts the cells. If the group has too many members and the available BSIC values are not enough, it starts grouping together the group cells using the maximum distance between them as grouping criteria. The grouping continues until the group number equals the number of available BSIC values. the neighbors options imply that if two cells are neighbors (or 2nd degree neighbors, i.e. neighbor of one neighbor of the given cell) the distance between them can be set to 0 (preventing them on getting the same BSIC value), depending on the user's choice. For example if two neighbors use the same BCCH and the user on "1-st degree neighbors" one of the following cases will occur: 1. The algorithm finds a solution and those cells will not get the same BSIC value 2. The algorithm cannot find a solution. A message will be printed in the Event window for that BCCH value and the algorithm will begin again decreasing its quality (it means in this case that it will use instead of "1-st degree neighbors" option the "No neighbors" option
The "Refresh Addin ..." check box forces the add-in to discard the current data it has and read them again from A955 tables
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(to take into account changes made by user after he already opened the dialog box)
TIP
Freezing of BSICs possible ! The user can force certain BSIC values on certain cells, using the "BSIC frozen" parameter in the transmitters table.
8.4
Graphical Evaluation of BSIC Assignment

The graphical evaluation of the BSIC plan can be done via the Channel Search tool available in the View menu.
Figure 68: BSIC Visualization with Channel Search Tool The user is able to visualize same BSIC values on the map.
TIP
Visualization of BSIC/BCCH Combinations possible ! On the third tab of the channel search tool combinations of BSIC/BCCH values is possible.
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9 Frequency Plan Implementation using PRC Generator

After fixing the target frequency plan it will be the task to implement this plan in the Alcatel BSS system together with other logical data. This implementation will be done by the so-called A9155 PRC Generator Module which sets up the interface to the Alcatel OMC. The PRC Generator allows the user to down-/upload the complete logical cell configuration from/to the OMC via ACIE Interface Files supporting different BSS Releases (B6/B7/B8).
9.1
Exporting Data to PRC Generator Module

For uploading the frequency plan and other logical data the socalled CAE Export function has to be started in the Tools menu.
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Figure 69: Starting CAE Export Figure 70: Selecting the data items to be selected The cell logical data to be exported will be put in the directory that is specified in the window. The user has to select the BS System release of the OMC. The data selection contains the following parts: Cell RNO: Physical Cell data like coordinates and antenna Interference Matrix: Potential Mutual Interference Conditions Cell Data: Cell individual logical cell parameters GSM Neighbors: Neighbor relations for handovers Frequencies: ARFCNs in the cells Frequency Allocation PDCH groups: packet data time slot allocation FHS and HOP: Frequency Hopping Systems, HSN and MAIOs TRX List: Time Slot Configuration and Preference Marks for Voice and GPRS
9.2
A9155 PRC Generator Module

The PRC Generator Module is included in the A9155 installation package. For usage please refer to the A9155 PRC Generator Users Guide and Process Description[2].
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Figure 71: A9155 PRC Generator Module The A9155 PRC Generator Module provides the following features: Downloading OMCs logical configuration via ACIE files Consistency Checks on Operational Configuration Viewing Operational Configuration Transfer of Logical Configuration to A9155 main application via COF files Reading planned logical Configuration from A9155 via COF Files Consistency Checks on Planned Configuration Uploading Logical configuration to OMC
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Abbreviations
Abbreviations
AFP AlcAFP BCC BSIC BTS BCCH BSC C/I HCS HSN KPI MA MAIO MAL MLU NCC OMC-R PI PRC SC TCH TS TRX Automatic Frequency Planning Alcatel Automatic Frequency Planning Module Base Station Colour Code Base Station Identification Code Baseband Tranceiver Station Broadcast Control Channel Base Station Controller Carrier/Interference Ratio Hierarchical Cell Structure Hopping Sequence Number Key Performance Indicator Mobile Allocation Mobile Allocation Index Offset Mobile Allocation List Massive Logical Update Network Color Code Operation and Maintenance Center Radio Performance Indicator Provisioning Radio Configuration Supervised Configuration Traffic Channel Time Slot Baseband Transceiver
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Index
Index
A
A9155 RNP ,9 Adjacent-channel, 74 AFP , 12 AFP Algorithm, 35 AFP Model, 35, 56 AFP model parameter, 40, 57 AFP Process, 56 AFP Progress window, 53 Alcatel BS system, 9 Automatic BSIC planning, 9 Automatic Frequency planning, 9 Exemplary Frequency Plan Benchmarking, 71 experience matrix, 33
F
field-strength, 17 fix frequencies, 31 Fixed Frequencies Violation Cost, 46 Forbidden Frequency Violation Cost, 45 Freeze Option, 33 Freezing of channels, 32 frequency assignment process, 49 frequency band, 23 frequency domain, 25 Frequency Domain Violation Cost, 45 frequency group, 26 Frequency Plan Qualification, 61 frequency planning, 13 frequency planning process, 10
B
backup, 75 Best Cost, 58 BS System, 82 BSIC, 77, 80 BSIC assignment, 77 BSIC Domains, 78
H
Histogram, 64 HSN assignment, 47
C
C/I analysis, 9 C/I Calculation, 70 C/I level, 71 CAE Export, 76, 81 capacity analysis, 22 channel search tool, 80 Channel search Tool, 67 Co-cell Separation, 52 Co-cell Violation Cost, 45 Co-channel, 69, 74 COF , 83 Consistency Check, 61 Consistency checks, 9 Co-site Separation, 52 Co-site Violation Cost, 45 COST function, 35 coverage planning, 10, 18 Coverage Planning, 16
I
Interference Analysis, 70 Interference Cost, 45 interference matrix, 53, 54, 55
K
Keep existing frequencies, 42
L
Labels, 65 Low Cost Startup Option, 42 Lower Adjacent Channel, 69
M D
MAIO Assignment, 47 MLU session, 12
Decreasing Factor, 42 distribution of frequencies, 63
N
Neighbor Cell Violation Cost, 45 neighbor planning, 19 Neighbour-Separation, 52
E
Elapsed Time, 58 exceptional pair, 33
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Index
O
OMC, 83
statistical evaluation, 63 subcell, 27
P
Performance Indicators, 12 Point Analysis, 72, 73 PRC Generator, 82 PRC Generator Module, 10
T
T180, 34 Tool Tips, 65
U
Upper Adjacent Channel, 69
S
Separation Component, 58 Separation Constraint Violations, 59 Simulated Annealing, 36 Starting System Temperature, 41
V
Violation Cost Configuration, 40 visualization, 65
END OF DOCUMENT
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Alcatel 9155 RNP

A9155 V6 RNP Application Note: Frequency Planning

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Status Change Note

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4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5

4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9

Automatic Frequency Planning Process ............................. 49 5.1 5.2

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Backup and Restore of Frequency Plans ............................ 75

Automatic BSIC Planning .................................................. 77

Frequency Plan Implementation using PRC Generator ...... 81

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3DF 01955 6280 BGZZA

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Readership Profile Content Summary Reference Documents

Restrictions Last Minute Changes Pre-conditions for use

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1 Short description of A9155 V6 RNP

1 Short description of A9155 V6 RNP

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2 Frequency Planning Capabilities in A9155 RNP

2 Frequency Planning Capabilities in A9155 RNP

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3 Frequency Planning Process in Projects

3 Frequency Planning Process in Projects

A9155 PRC Generator Module

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3 Frequency Planning Process in Projects

Figure 1: Frequency Planning Process

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3 Frequency Planning Process in Projects

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4 Pre-requisites for Frequency Planning in A9155 RNP

4 Pre-requisites for Frequency Planning in A9155 RNP

Definition of the Focus of the Network Planning

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4 Pre-requisites for Frequency Planning in A9155 RNP

Figure 2: Active (red) and inactive (white) transmitters

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4 Pre-requisites for Frequency Planning in A9155 RNP

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4 Pre-requisites for Frequency Planning in A9155 RNP

Completed Cell Coverage Planning

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4 Pre-requisites for Frequency Planning in A9155 RNP

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4 Pre-requisites for Frequency Planning in A9155 RNP

Neighbor Cell and Handover Planning

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4 Pre-requisites for Frequency Planning in A9155 RNP

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4 Pre-requisites for Frequency Planning in A9155 RNP

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4 Pre-requisites for Frequency Planning in A9155 RNP

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4 Pre-requisites for Frequency Planning in A9155 RNP

4.4 Capacity Analysis and Required Hardware Resources

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4 Pre-requisites for Frequency Planning in A9155 RNP

Transmitter -> Subcells -> Subcell List

Frequency Spectrum Resource Definition