Antenna Downtilt Selection Methods for Radio Access Network Rollout Automation
Sovinen, Lauri (2022)
Sovinen, Lauri
2022
Tietotekniikan DI-ohjelma - Master's Programme in Information Technology
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2022-11-23
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202211078225
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202211078225
Tiivistelmä
At Elisa, a project called Mass Rollout Automation has been ongoing for a while, with the goal of automating as many parts of the rollout process as possible. This includes the automation of the Radio Access Network planning process. This type of automation differs from the Self-Organizing Network concept, where automation has a focus on operation and maintenance of a network after deployment. One of the parameters that must be selected during RAN planning is the antenna downtilt, which has an effect on network coverage, capacity and quality of service.
The first research question is to determine if automation can reliably enough select the antenna downtilt angle prior to the deployment of a base station. The second research question is to find a downtilt selection method best suited for the Mass Rollout Automation project.
To answer the questions two simulation scenarios were created based on the Elisa live network, and quality and coverage related predictions for three proposed downtilt methods were calculated. After analysis of the results, automation was found to be reliable enough for the selection of the downtilt angle, when comparing the predictions against the live network scenario. One method was found to be the best if quality were to be prioritized over coverage. Another method was found to be the overall safest pick, as it kept the network coverage and quality almost equal to the live network.
The first research question is to determine if automation can reliably enough select the antenna downtilt angle prior to the deployment of a base station. The second research question is to find a downtilt selection method best suited for the Mass Rollout Automation project.
To answer the questions two simulation scenarios were created based on the Elisa live network, and quality and coverage related predictions for three proposed downtilt methods were calculated. After analysis of the results, automation was found to be reliable enough for the selection of the downtilt angle, when comparing the predictions against the live network scenario. One method was found to be the best if quality were to be prioritized over coverage. Another method was found to be the overall safest pick, as it kept the network coverage and quality almost equal to the live network.