Drive Testing Basics 2013 March 2013 1

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Sector in Cell sites azimuth Sector 2 Sector 3 Sector 1 Each Site is divided into sectors Usually 3 sectors of 120 degree Azimuth - It is the range covered by each sector , typically 120 degree for each sector

2G GSM 2G EDGE UMTS 3G 4G 4G LTE LTE

VOICE DATA 2G 2G EDGE VOICE DATA 3G 4G VOICE DATA 4G LTE

120 kbps 9.6 kbps 2G 2G EDGE 384 kbps 1.5 Mbps 3G 4G 10 Mbps 4G LTE

Spectrum and Frequency Signal travels in the form of Electromagnetic Wave or Frequency

Make sure that the Band is correctly configured Band Configurations GSM LTE 3G Make sure that the Band is correctly configured

GSM Single Network for Both Voice and Data Edge gives the data components With GSM the speed was 9.6 Kbps With Edge the speed goes to max 384 kbps Practical Achievable speed is 120 Kbps Core Network

UMTS (3G) Two Separate networks One provides Voice Another Provides Data Without HSPA upgrade the DL Speed is max up to 384 kbps With HSPA the DL speed is average speed is up to 2 Mbps and Max is 15 mbps in DL

LTE(4G) Currently it is a data only network Voice will come soon The Voice will be on Internet just like your Vonage Max Speed is 300 Mbps Practical Speed is 10 to 15 Mbps

Currently LTE 3G GSM

Single Set of Antennas used for UMTS and LTE Shared Antennas

LTE UMTS GSM

DEDICATED MODE OR ON CALL MODE You are surfing internet

When you are not making a call or your phone is not updating IDLE MODE When you are not making a call or your phone is not updating Any apps or retrieving an email

DEDICATED MODE IDLE MODE REDIRECTION RESELECTION

FALL BACK LTE 3G GSM

FALL BACK LTE CS FALL BACK 3G For Voice Call on LTE Network GSM

IRAT LTE IRAT 3G For Data Call on LTE Network GSM

RESELECTION LTE IDLE MODE RESELECTION TO 3G 3G PHONE IS IDLE GSM

RESELECTION LTE IDLE MODE RESELECTION TO 4G 3G PHONE IS IDLE GSM

UE Scanner Data Cards Mobile or Smart Phones Always receives commands from Network and acts accordingly Talks to the Network and tells it what is happening and then executes what network Decides Single Scanner for LTE , UMTS and GSM Separate Scanner for LTE and UMTS Acts independently of the network Scanner does not receive any commands From network

SIGNAL STRENGTH HOW STRONG THE SIGNAL IS -50 dBm -60 dBm -70 dBm Away from the site

SIGNAL QUALITY HOW CLEAN THE SIGNAL IS

SIGNAL QUALITY BAD GOOD AVERAGE As you go very far away from site not only does the strength reduce The quality also reduces

SIGNAL QUALITY Quality Problems Quality problems can occur close to the site or far away from the site

Telecom Terminology Technology Received Signal level Received Signal quality Channels GSM Rxlevel RxQual BCCH TCH UMTS(3G) RSCP Ec/Io PSC LTE(4G) RSRP RSRQ/SNR PCI

Good RF Condition GOOD RF CONDITIONS ARE DEFINED BY GOOD SIGNAL STRENGTH AND GOOD QUALITY GSM RSSI > -70dB UMTS RSCP > -70dB Ec/Io > -7dB LTE RSRP > -70dB SNR > 15dB

HANDOVER

HANDOVER BETWEEN SECTORS OF THE SAME SITE THIS IS CALLED INTRA SITE HANDOVER 1 2 3 4

HANDOVER BETWEEN SECTORS OF THE DIFFERENT SITE THIS IS CALLED INTER SITE HANDOVER 1 3 4 2

Types of Drive Testing Site Shakedown Single site based Drive and testing along the provided route Coverage footprint Each sector in the site is tested for throughput for uplink and downlink frequencies Hand overs intra/Inter Sites. I-Rat Handovers Cluster Drive Multiple sites belonging to same location combined as cluster Provided drive routes that are supposed to be followed while driving and testing the network Additional tools used here would be MapInfo and Street Atlas Precautions to be taken: We need to ensure that the GPS is working Verify if the phone is locked for UMTS or LTE(follow market guidelines)

Drive Route

Typical Drive Test setup