FREQUENCY PLANNING PROCEDURE

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FREQUENCY PLANNING PROCEDURE

Revision 2 - March 2001

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Objective

This procedure is intended to provide the frequency planner with a set of guidelines and checklistswhen doing a frequency plan. It encompasses the planning process using the following frequencyplanning tools:

• Asset

• Optimisation Tool Box O:!"lanOpt!Apps!#"lan$i%ard!OTB.exe&

• 'ellOpt (.) or 'ellOpt (.(

• "lanning Tool*ar O:!"lanOpt!Apps!"lanningTool*ar!"lanningTool*ar.exe& for

• Asset Import #requency "lanning Ta*&

• Asset +tilities #requency "lanning Ta*&• Accept B'', carriers"lanning and 'onfiguration Ta*&

• -et'fg ./

1.2 Scope

This document descri*es the procedure for preparing and implementing a frequency plan0 whichentails the generation of an interference matrix0 the generation of a carriers required file0 the runningof the A#" and the implementation of the plan.

1.3 Dei!itio!"

'T1 2 'ell Traffic 1ecording

#31 2 #rame 3rasure 1ate-et'fg 2 -etwork 'onfiguration $ork*ench-'' 2 -etwork 'ontrol 'entre

1.# Re"po!"ibi$it%

The overall responsi*ility of preparing0 implementing a frequency plan is that of the "lanning andOptimisation Team 4eaders& for the areas& where the plan is implemented. All mem*ers of the teamare required to assist.

1.& Ree'e!ce" Doc()e!t"

1* CellOpt 2.1 User’s Manual, and online manual.2* Asset User’s Reference Guide.

3* “Use of TMOS procedure.#* “Generatin! and c"an!in! Radio Cell #ata procedure.&* 1B5(/// 2 5ynthesised #requency ,opping 5yth,op',61.doc&+* A simplified frequency planning procedure 5imple#plan"roc.doc&

2 PROCEDURE

2.1 Doc()e!t St'(ct('e

• A quick overview of the OTB0 that helps one to prepare the files required for 'ellOpt is given in

Section 3 2 this will give a contexts in which the rest of the preparation needs to take place.

• The pre2planning process is descri*ed in Section 4. This pre2planning process is critical for a

conventional prediction *ased plan *ut also applies to a measurement2*ased plan.• 5ite lists need to *e prepared for each plan 7 the "lan2list is a list of site for which you would like to

find new frequencies. #or a prediction *ased plan an Affected2list which should include all sites that


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will affect or *e affected *y the frequency changes also needs to *e generated. Tips on how toprepare these are descri*ed in Section 5 .

• Section 6 provides methods to o*tain traffic information traffic file. This will *e used in many steps of

the planning process.

• Section 7 descri*es how to o*tain an interference matrix. )& In the conventional way: using

predictions and traffic distri*ution in Asset. This is well suited in cases where a large num*er of new

cells need to *e *rought up. Or (& 8easurement *ased using 'T1s. This will require that no ma9or sites were *rought up in the last ( weeks or so. #or radio network quality reasons0 a measurement2*ased plan is strongly recommended. A 'om*ined measurement and prediction *ased plan isrecommended for rural areas.

• ,ow to prepare a carrier file and determine the num*er of required carriers per cell is descri*ed in

Section 8.

• Section 9 gives two methods to o*tain exception files from two possi*le sources: drive test and hand2

over statistics. #or a measurement2*ased plan it is recommended that one do !ot use exceptions asthis will only skew the interference matrix and provide less than optimum results.

• A step *y step procedure for generating a plan in 'ellOpt (.) follows in Section 10 .

• In Section 11 it is suggested to prepare *ackup data to recover if something went wrong during the

implementation of the plan.

• Section 12 informs one how to update the Asset data*ase and validate the sanity; of the plan.• Section 13 descri*es how to implement the plan into the network using -et'fg.

•


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#.1 A""et Dtb"e

• A list of all sites "lan2list& to *e included in the plan must *e maintained at least one month *efore

the plan. This includes all new sites and all new sectorisations. 'o2ordinate with the implementationand transmission division and finalise a list of sites that will definitely *e included in plan0 i.e.0 siteswithout any transmission0 lease or equipment shortage pro*lems. Note that for a measurement ase! "#an a## the sites inc#u!e! in the "#an must e u" for at #east a month efore the "#an .+sed the 8ore#req.exe tool to find frequencies to *ring it up with.

• All new sites and sectorisations that will *e activated in the frequency plan must *e entered into

Asset. 3nsure that all the sites involved in the frequency plan have the correct data this includes allexisting sites that can affect the planning area&:

. Antenna ,eight.

. A%imuth.

. 3I1".

. 8echanical Tilt.

. Antenna Type.

. 'orrect #lags0 e.g.0 the incorrect B5' and location area will affect the cell data generated after

the frequency plan.

. 3nsure that sites that have recently *ecome operational are marked as operational in Asset0 and

that the necessary change has also taken place in the $A system.

• Once the site data*ase has *een updated0 changes to this data*ase and the sites should *e limited

to sites well outside the planning area.

#.2 P'eictio!"

• 3nsure that the correct prediction models and appropriate prediction radii are applied to all cells:

. All ma9or metropolitan sites must *e predicted to a minimum of ?/ km. The 5u*ur*an model is

recommended

. 5mall town@road sites must *e predicted to a minimum of >/ km. The 6eneral(// model is

recommended for towns and the 1ural model can *e used for the rural sites

. 3xtended2range cells need to *e predicted up to )/km0 the rural is recommended

#.3 Ge!e'te efore p$! I!te'e'e!ce P$ot"

'alculate the Best 5erver and $orst Interference arrays for

). 'o2channel interference on the B'', layer (. Ad9acent channel interference on the B'', layer . 'o2channel interference on the T', layer ?. Ad9acent channel interference on the T', layer

The layers for which the interference is calculated can *e set up on in Tools@Array settings....

#.# Nei45bo('"

• 3nter the neigh*ours for all new cells in -et'fg the Cell relation tap& -eigh*ours could *e identified

*y inspection of the service area plot in Asset. 6enerate command files to run in new sites @ sectors

with their neigh*our relations.• +ndefined neigh*ours can *e identified using the Optimisation Tool*ox 2 -eigh*our 1elation

Identification option. The previously undefined neigh*ours should *e run into the switch and *e activefor a while *efore the plan.

• This is a good time to have a look at existing sites with too many ) typically& neigh*ours and

delete unnecessary neigh*ours. +nnecessary neigh*ours can *e removed0 using the OTB or thehandover counts. -either method should *e used *lindly. The OTB also ena*le one to identifyunnecessary neigh*ours that might *e defined and have a high handover count0 *ut where thehandovers are mostly ping2pong handovers.

• #iles must *e generated remove excessive neigh*ours from existing sites.

• This neigh*our information may *e retrieved from the B5' at a later stage for the purpose of a

neigh*our exception file. In the future the neigh*our relation file will also *e used for B'' planning.


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#.& Ne6 Site7Secto' Co))i""io!i!4

• All new sites and sectors should *e pre2tested *efore activation. This will involve loading test

frequencies into the site and drive testing with T385. 'hecks should *e made for sector swaps0antenna faults and ca*ling faults. These checks will eliminate any dou*t when drive testing after thenew frequency plan has *een implemented. +se as far as possi*le reasona*le clean frequencies to*ring these sites up with. If this is not possi*le and a prediction *ased plan is implemented0 thesesites should *e halted again0 *ut for a measurement *ased plan they should really *e active for aslong as possi*le *efore the plan.

• #or a measurement *ased plan these sites need to *e *rought up on temporary frequencies use the

8ore#req.exe tool& at least a month *efore the scheduled date of the plan0 to allow measurement s totake place on these cells and their neigh*ours.

#.+ Ie!ti% Do!o' Ce$$" o Ce$$ E8te!e'"

• 8ake a cell2list prefera*le "lanet format& of cells that have cell2extenders linked to them. This will *e

used to identify 1B5(/// cells that will not *e allowed to do synthesi%ed hopping. A query #onorscells of Cell$%&tendersis availa*le in the 'T12Admin data*ase O'()lanOpt(#ata(MT* *et+or -nformation(re/uenc0 )lannin!.md is availa*le to ease this. -ote that manual checking is required.

• 8ake a list of the cell2extenders0 their locations and the cells that they are linked to. This will *e used

to inform the Installation Technicians of the new frequencies for the cell2extenders.

#.9 Dei!e "eco! c5!!e$ 4'o(p".

• 5econd channel groups need to *e defined for all cells that do not yet have a second channel group

defined. This can *e done in -et'fg Utilities3 *ode %dit. A complete description of the commandsthat need to *e run in can *e found in 1eference . Note that t$o channe# %rou"s arerecommen!e! even for ce## that $i## !o ase an! ho""in%.

& PREPARING T:E PLANLIST AND T:E AFFECTEDLIST• The decision on the "lan25itelist needs to *e made well in advance.

•The Optimisation Tool*ox can automatically generate a plan24ist *ased on queries on the B5's and1egions. The Affected 'ell2list automatically *ased on the interference matrix.

• A "lan25itelist can *e generated in Asset: an option to define a site filter is availa*le on the site

data*ase form 2 use the frequency planning *oundaries to filter the list. The plan site list would needto *e exported iles3%&port3)lanet to *e used in the OTB later.

• #or a prediction *ased plan it is required that an Affected 5ite2list is defined *efore hand to limit the

si%e of the interference matrix. To generate an affected site list in Asset0 a user2defined polygon isuseful. In the 3nterprise tool set under the Tools; tap select %ditors34ectors. +se the polygon optionto draw an affected area around the plan area. This polygon can then *e used in generating anaffected site list in Asset

• Cueries are also availa*le to generate a "lan25itelist in #requency "lanning data*ase

O:!"lanOpt!


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&raffic '(sset )ormat* and &raffic "er Site Sector 7 running this query would create ta*les in the#requency "lanning Access data*ase0 which can *e exported and used with other tools.

• The queries provide the third highest traffic level recorded in any hour over the previous month 7 a

scale factor is entered as parameter to allow for future growth.

+.3 P'eicti!4 t'ic ("i!4 t5e Fo'ec"t too$;

• A traffic forecast tool is availa*le on 5T5 on 8T-sn/; the drive where 'ellCEA runs from&. 1un the

executa*le #orecast.exe;.

• The results appear as c:@ forecast.trf on the "' that you are working from 7 this file is in "lanet

format.

• A conversion utility can *e installed from O:!"lanOpt!Apps!Traffic'onverter!5etup to convert it to

Asset format. This is required for a prediction *ased planF the traffic would need to *e imported&

• 'urrently (///@/& this tool is not considered accurate enough to *e trusted *lindly and planner

should dou*le check all the values 2 especially the sites that came up in the last three month andones that were off during the last three months.

+.# P'ep'i!4 T'ic i$e" ("i!4 A""et;

•$hen )!% !e6 ce$$" are to *e integrated in the frequency plan0 the traffic utilities in Asset can *eused. #or more complete information consult The Asset User’s Reference Guide under Traffic Anal0sis and Terminal T0pe.

• #irst confirm that the necessary Terminal Types are defined use 658 G//&. To define the Terminal

Type or to define or change the way the traffic is spread *etween different clutter types go to Options@Terminal T0pes

• If the new cells are placed amongst existing sites the live data need to *e imported. 6o to

Tools3Traffic35oad 5i6e Traffic and load the live or forecasted traffic data as generated in H.( or H.& in Asset #ormat.

• To determine the traffic distri*ution in the area0 run the Traffic 7i8ard 9Tools3Traffic.

• The traffic can *e forecasted; or grown using the Scale Traffic option.

• To determine the traffic that would *e a*sor*ed *y all the new cells and the old cells& run Anal0se

9Tools3Traffic. The captured traffic is stored in a temporary file. This could *e renamed and importedinto a spreadsheet or into Access where it can *e translated into a normal traffic file.

9 GENERATING AN INTERFERENCE ATRI0.#or completeness and for trou*le shooting it is recommended that *oth interference matrices areprepared for any frequency plan0 particularly so for a com*ined plan.

9.1 Fo' P'eictio! b"e o'


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> PREPARING A CARRIERS FILE• Optimisation Tool*ox provide the facility to extract carrier data from the "lanned


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In the 8odels directory0 three su*2directories exists 2 one -'5NandN"reditions& contains a

recommended@sample model set2up for a prediction *ased plan0 one contains %R>from>CTRs& theset2up *est suited for a 'T1 measurement *ased plan0 and then there is 'om*ined for a com*inedmeasurement and prediction *ased plan. 'hose the model that you would like to implement. 'onfirmthat the files are ta* delimited data0 and ensure that there are no spurious ta*s or spaces in the file.

'opy the following files to your chosen model directory the filenames are important&:

◊ The plan site list as was prepared in 5ection in "lanet format as "ite$i"t.t8t◊ The carriers files as was prepared in 5ection in "lanet format as c''ie'".t8t

◊ If you intend doing a synthesised hopping plan prepare a "lanet format site list of all the 1B5(///

sites. It can *e o*tained using the query R;S2%R.t&t &.

'arefully note in the 6eneral Application log at the *ottom of the 'ellOpt 5creen that everythingloaded successfully.

5tart the Optimiser0 and log the 'CI 'ellOpt Cuality Index& in a log file.

#rom time to time0 without stopping the optimiser export a carriers file in "lanet format.

4et the optimiser run for at least )( hours. A good time to generate *ackup data.&

#rom time to time 3xport the carrier file without stopping the optimiser0 these file can *e used as a

*ackup. 5top the optimiser after it is clear that it has converged and that no further improvements could *e

made. 3xport the carriers in "lanet format. In future the B'' Base 5tation 'olour 'ode& must *e planned in 'ellOpt. 'hoose the exception list

as neigh*ours and the -on,op#31 or Traffic Interference as penalties. 3xport the carriers in "lanetformat. Import this *ack into the OTB where the -'' will *e planned. One will use the OTB to importthe carriers into the Asset data*ase.

'urrently (///@/& the B5I's are planned when the B'', carriers are accepted. 5o the carrier file

exported from need to *e imported into the Asset data*ase using the tool Asset -mport from the"lanningtool*ar.

11 GENERATING /ACUP DATA FOR T:E S-ITC:6enerate command files using -et'fg that can *e used in the case of an emergency to restore thenetwork to its original state *efore the plan.

12 ,ERIFYING T:E FREQUENCY PLAN Before starting with this process ensure that any changes that you want to make in Asset has *een

committed and those that you don=t want to make restored. Import the carriers file that has *een exported from 'ellOpt using the import tool Asset -mport from

the "lanningtool*ar.


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Open Asset and do !ot commit any changes now.

'alculate the Best 5erver and $orst Interference arrays for

). 'o2channel interference on the B'', layer (. Ad9acent channel interference on the B'', layer . 'o2channel interference on the T', layer ?. Ad9acent channel interference on the T', layer

The layers for which the interference is calculated can *e set up on in Tools@Array settings.... Identifyany serious interference pro*lems that might *e customer affecting. Take the necessary action0 e.g.change a frequency0 alter the settings in 'ellOpt or add additional exception or interference arraysinto 'ellOpt 2 change the settings if required.

5tore these interference plots and make printouts as part of the documentation process.

13 IPLEENTING T:E FREQUENCY PLAN INTO T:E NET-OR

Before the new plan is run in0 a frequency dump must *e taken from all relevant B5's i.e.0 14'#":

'344QA44&. This information is read into the Oracle data*ase and will allow the 14'#3 command toend the current frequencies. This should happen automatically0 *ut you can ask


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The *ackup files.

The command files that were generated.

The T385 log files.

The T385 cell lists.

The stiffy0 along with all *efore and after interference plots need to *e stored in a common ca*inet.

DEFINITIONS-@ARECORDS#requency "lanning form0 stiffy and interference plots as specified under ) Seeping 1ecords.

PROCEDURE DETAILS

Originator@Author -ame: 8agdaleen 5nyman

4ocation: ,ead Office

"osition: Assistant 8anager OptimisationOriginatorKs 8anager: ,endi van der 8erwe

4ocation: ,ead Office

"osition: Optimisation 8anager

-ational Cuality 8anager: Andrew "ortokallis

Documents

FREQUENCY PLANNING PROCEDURE